Season's Greetings!

It is time for another season of Milwaukee Brewers baseball, and more importantly, another go-round of the Brew Crew Project.

The format this season is going to be different than last. Instead of trying to recap every game and then running out of things to say after game 14, this year I am going to write a preview for each series and use this blog as a forum to vent as necessary. In theory, this will enhance the quality of each post, allow me to learn more about other teams, and prevent me from breaking things during a losing streak. My primary hope of version 2.0 is to expand my knowledge of the NL and in the process find new reasons to despise the Cubs and Cardinals. What will the new format look like? I'm glad you asked. It will look a something like this...

Series One: Cardinals versus Brewers

Five things I'll be paying attention to:

1) Ryan Braun was booed and heckled viciously throughout spring training. Apparently people are still a little peeved about the whole "Steroids in baseball" thing. It does not help that the common perception is that Braun got off on a technicality. I'm inclined to believe Braun got off for good reason, but I can see why non-Brewer fans would beg to differ. Thus, Braun can expect to hear lots and lots of boos in 2012.  On the road, that is. I expect Miller Park to be a safe haven for him this season and I'll be interested to see what type of ovation he'll receive on Opening Day. Busch Stadium will be another story, which is kind of hypocritical considering Mark McGuire used steroids when he hit 70 homers and is currently the Cardinals' hitting coach.

2) Mike Matheny is best known in Milwaukee for the time he took a fastball to the face and barely showed any signs of pain. Speaking of pain, watching Tony La Russa manage every game like it was Game 7 of the World Series was like getting cavities filled with just enough anesthesia to feel the lovely sting of dental pain. Fortunately Mr La Russa is gone, which hopefully means I will not have to sit through three consecutive pitching changes during the 8th inning of a 9-2 game anymore.

3) The loss of Prince Fielder left a huge hole in the Brewers' lineup. The loss of Yuniesky Betancourt did not.  Offense aside, the Brewers upgraded defensively at shortstop and first (I mean, I can't imagine Mat Gamel being any worse than Fielder at first). I think the Brewers are going to make up for the loss of Fielder's bat with better defense at short and first (as well as Gamel hitting .280 with 25 homers). I expect we'll find out pretty early on if this will actually be the case.

4) Zach Greinke was more dominant last season than his 3.83 ERA would indicate. He struck out 201 batters despite only pitching 171 innings. Minus his last start, Greinke has been totally locked in this spring. I think Greinke is primed for a dominant season. I'll feel even better about Greinke if he can shut down the Cardinals on Saturday.

5) For the first time since 2001 the Cardinals will not have Albert Pujols starting. I, for one, am happy his is in the AL. Even so, I don't think the Cardinals offense will suffer too much without him. David Freese (who is poised to be a star) and Carlos Beltran (if he stays healthy) should pick up most of the slack left by the departure of Pujols. Of course, I will feel a lot more comfortable when the 3-spot comes up during a high-leverage situation and Mr Pujols is 2,000 miles away.