With an entire state basking in the glory of Aaron Rodgers, Ted Thompson and the rest of the Green Bay Packers organization, it's sort of easy to get over the frigid temperatures this week.
The cold and extra few weeks of football has done some masking of its own. Lost somewhere in a snow bank or a ski boot or a Valentine's Day card is a glimmering benchmark of warmer days.
Pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training next week.
Opening day is still seven weeks away, but once we get players into camp, it's never long before the first full workouts and split-squad scrimmages get underway.
The players get sick of the daily spring grind quickly, and no matter how slow of a start Corey Hart gets off to, I'm sure he'll be ‘ready for the regular season to start' by the second week of March. Still, it gives us a chance to see what young players can do, overanalyze the performance of veterans, speculate as to what particular lineup or pitching combinations might mean—even if it's all completely arbitrary—and generally just relish the fact that there are pros out there honing swings and pine tar levels.
Folks in this neck of the woods should be particularly excited that baseball is just around the corner because the Brewers look great on paper, the Cubs found at least one compelling player and the division as a whole should be fun to watch all summer long.
Obviously, the Brewers had a busy offseason. For the first time since I've started following them the pitching staff has the makings of a team strength. All the talk has been about the trades for Shaun Marcum and 2008 AL Cy Young winner Zack Greinke. But, it's not unrealistic or homer-ish to think that these acquisitions might really help Milwaukee's homegrown ace, Yovani Gallardo, pitch without feeling like he has to win every start for the team to compete.
The biggest pitching question might be whether or not John Axford can continue to pitch well in the closer role. I wouldn't bet against him, not with a mustache like that. The Brewers tend to roll through closers and big-league hitters are very good at figuring out pitchers with enough exposure. Still, having Takashi Saito and LaTroy Hawkins should be some relief for the Brew Crew faithful.
Bolstering their pitching staff should make for a summer of dynamite pitching matchups in the NL Central. The Cincinnati Reds will attempt to defend their division crown with their young hard-throwing nucleus of Johnny Cueto, Edinson Volquez and Mike Leake. The Cardinals have veteran aces Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter to go with the young Jaime Garcia. Even the Cubs added a dynamic pitcher when they acquired Matt Garza from the Tampa Bay Rays.
The North siders gave up a ton of talent to get Garza, but he should help them stay in contention for much of the season, as Greinke and Marcum will do the for the Brewers.
The difference in Milwaukee is that they have a young, powerful offense to go along with their new arms. Even in a doomsday scenario where Hart flails at sliders, Prince Fielder feels the pressure of being in a contract year, Casey McGehee can't reproduce his offensive output, and the bottom part of the batting order shows no improvement, Milwaukee should still be around .500 thanks to pitching.
San Fransisco won a World Series title with a lot less offense than the Brewers have right now. Granted, Greinke and Gallardo may not be Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, but at least the front office in Milwaukee has figured out the importance of pitching and has taken real steps toward making theirs elite.
I'm not anointing the Brewers division champs, or even favorites just yet. There are plenty of things that could derail a successful season for any team—injuries chief among them. Still, this has the makings of a special summer at ballparks all across the Midwest.
Think the Brewers are ready to rule the NL Central? E-mail Parker at pjgabriel@dailycardinal.com.
