One of the most comforting parts of the Milwaukee Brewers team of 2012 was the starting pitching. With a few exceptions aside, the starting rotation of the Brew Crew was consistently giving this club a chance to win every time they stepped to the mound. Whether it was the high-paid star, the staff ace, the spot starter or the rookie, it seemed like every one of the starters knew what they needed to do and how to handle the pressure.

With so many great performances, it was hard to pick just one. So we didn’t.

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The Milwaukee Brewers are no stranger to the events of this get-together. This year, more than any other, Doug Melvin and company will be looking to be a major part of the conversation as they look to retool from a disappointing 2012 campaign and work their way back to the top of the NL Central.

The team has remained quiet thus far in the off-season, content to let rumors and second-hand stories steer the way as free agents sign and prices rise going into the home stretch of the off-season.

Will Milwaukee make a splash, or will they be priced out of crucial pieces they need?

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Baseball’s free agency and off-season period are unlike any other, with players being dealt and dealing with team management in closed door plutocratic struggles littered with red herrings and off-handed comments.

One such off-handed comment has put Milwaukee General Manager Doug Melvin and former staff ace Zack Greinke right in the thick of things.

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Looking back, that rotation is literally in tatters.

Greinke was traded to the Angels when the Brewers thought they were out of contention. Marcum went on the disabled list for over two months, and has a 5.70 ERA in five starts since returning. Wolf was released towards the end of August after he was unable to ever find himself as a starter this season. Narveson went down after just his second start in April with a torn rotator cuff.

In other words, Gallardo has been the one staple of the rotation. The Brewers have had to dip into their farm system to find the rest of their current rotation. And, I have to say, most of them have filled in admirably. Marco Estrada, who pitched out of the bullpen to start the season, was the first guy the Brewers turned to, and, despite the fact he hasn’t been able to notch many wins, he’s been very solid. Mike Fiers, who was having just a mediocre year at Triple-A Nashville prior to his call-up, has come up and established himself as a perennial Rookie of the Year candidate. Mark Rogers was solid before his shut-down, but Wily Peralta has been dominant since taking his rotation spot.

Let’s say the Brewers don’t make any starting pitching-related moves this offseason. The 2013 rotation would look something like Gallardo, Estrada, Fiers, Rogers, and Peralta, since Marcum is leaving via free agency. There are plenty more prospects who will get a chance in ’13 Spring Training, but these pitchers are the ones with the most experience (despite the fact some of them still have very little experience).

There is definitely a lot of inexperience in that rotation, but, if they all pitch to their ability (and get solid run support while doing so), they could all be successful in the Majors. And, personally, I’d almost like to see the Brewers experiment with that next year.

But we know they won’t, because there’s too much risk involved. The Brewers will more than likely go after at least one free agent starter. But, many consider the 2012-13 offseason’s starter front to be one of the worst in years. The highlights will be Greinke, Marcum, Ryan Dempster, and that’s really about it, at least for big names. Greinke is definitely the safest of the three, and he expressed the possibility of re-signing with the Brewers this offseason. But we might have to wait and see if he’s still around after waiting for the $15 million per year that he isn’t going to get.

Since it’s more than likely the Brewers won’t pick up one of those three, I’d almost like to see the Brewers try an experiment of young, in-house starters in the rotation, like I said earlier, and I’d like to see that for a few reasons.

First off, it would keep the Brewers from thinking they need to make an actually unnecessary move that would make the team worse. The most recent examples of that are Wolf and Jeff Suppan. Now don’t get me wrong; I liked Wolf. He had a solid year and a half under his belt with the Crew prior to his release. But things weren’t clicking this year, which makes me worry about the Brewers signing a similar veteran over this offseason. I don’t think I need to explain my reasoning for Suppan.

The front office will probably think that veteran presence is needed in a young rotation, but Gallardo should be at the point of his career where he can start setting an example for the guys behind him and serve as that “veteran” (although he’ll only be 27 next year). Estrada hasn’t been on the Brewers for very long, but he’s been around. I don’t think the Brewers should waste money on getting that “veteran starter” this year.

My second reason is that the Brewers have something that they didn’t have previous years in which they needed a veteran guy: they have a ton of prospects that are big league ready. Fiers, despite his inconsistency recently (which could be due to fatigue from his first year in the Majors), should have a rotation spot locked up for next year. Before his shut-down, Rogers was giving the Brewers a chance to win every time out. It’s too early to say about Peralta, but, after three dominant starts, a good Spring Training next year could net him a rotation spot. And then there are all the prospects (i.e. Hiram Burgos) and the recent draft picks (i.e. Taylor Jungmann, Jed Bradley) that haven’t even made it to the Majors yet.

Even though Gallardo is the only pitcher who has a spot locked down for next year, the Brewers have so many starting pitching prospects that they’ll have to be able to get something out of at least some of them, particularly the ones who are getting big league experience this year. This could be the makings of a very dominant future rotation for the Brewers; why not get a glimpse of it next year?

It certainly doesn’t feel like it, though. Marcum has been out since early June, and was originally slated to miss just one or two starts with shoulder soreness, which has become quite common with Marcum over the past few years. But, it feels like he’s had to go through endless setbacks, including both shoulder and elbow issues. So here we are in mid-August, and Marcum still hasn’t returned to the rotation.

Barring any more “frustrating,” as Marcum calls them, setbacks, we should see him finally back in the rotation as soon as next week. Marcum has been rehabbing with the Timber Rattlers, the Brewers’ Class A affiliate, and has had up and down results. In his first start, which was last week, Marcum threw 36 pitches- 28 for strikes- over three solid innings while surrendering a solo homer. Marcum made his second start last night, which didn’t go quite as cleanly. He went 3 2/3 innings while giving up three runs, two of which were earned, on four hits. He also walked two and struck out four. But, Marcum needed 59 pitches (39 strikes) to get through those 3 2/3 innings.

Prior to his injury, Marcum was one of the more consistent Brewers starters, with a 5-3 record and 3.39 ERA. His only real bad start was a six-run disaster against the Giants back in May. Had he stayed healthy, Marcum would have been on pace to have a similar season to that of his 2011 season, when he went 13-7 with a 3.54 ERA.

Unfortunately, it looks like Marcum is going to come back, hope to stay healthy the last month or so, then test the free agent waters this offseason. I’ve heard multiple reasons that Marcum might be choosing to stay with the Brewers. The first is Marcum is bitter that the Brewers didn’t even attempt to extend him last offseason because they focused so much on Zack Greinke, despite the fact Marcum showed a lot of interest in staying Milwaukee long-term. Another rumor is that the Brewers think Marcum is going to draw $12.5 million per year. Even though Marcum is probably going to be a coveted starter in an offseason where there won’t be many starters available, I just can’t see him getting that much; his injury-plagued career doesn’t match it. The last reason is the Brewers simply don’t want him anymore because of his collapse in September and the postseason of 2011. Marcum had a 5.17 September ERA last year, and a horrible 14.90 ERA in three postseason starts, all of which he lost.

The most likely of those is that Brewers honestly think he’s going to attract too many suitors on the free agent market, and that they won’t be able to maintain him.

But we’ll see what happens. It’s a bit early to get into all of that free agent mumbo-jumbo. There’s still time for us to see how Marcum responds to not pitching in over two months, and that will determine his free agent situation.

Ron Roenicke (10) argues with home plate umpire Joe West (22) after being ejected from a game against the Houston Astros. Photo:

As a game, baseball is unfair.  Not just on the field, but on the business end as well.  Sometimes, heads have to roll.  One Brewers coach already did a Louis XVI earlier this season, bullpen coach Stan Kyles.  I think that is enough for now, but it turns out I am in the minority of the Brew Crew Nation.  Many of you do not want to see RRR back in the dugout next season.   

We can credit this seasons disappointments to many things: poor pitching, untimely hitting, a complete and total lack of facial hair.  The one thing I do not think any of us can blame this on is the skipper, Ron Roenicke.  (I mean you can, and most of you do, but you shouldn’t) 
 
It is not Ron’s fault that his bullpen couldn’t close out a Little League World Series game.  The only guys that he can roll out there to finish of the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings, are the ones on the roster.  It’s not like he can waive a magic bullpen wand and make them all go away.  Or even better, waive the wand and make them better pitchers.  The current state of the pen leaves RRR very little to work with.  K-Rod has been a joke(2-6, 3 saves, 5.55 ERA), Axford has been uncharacteristically bad (4-7, 18 saves, 5.25 ERA), and everyone else has been adequate at best.  So, I  guess the question is, why is everyone ragging on RRR for the teams struggles? 
 
I am fairly certain that there is not a skipper on this earth that would trade places with Ron.  This guy lost his opening day shortstop, 1st baseman, and #5 starter in his rotation within the first 2 weeks of 2012.  Then you add the loss of Prince Fielder, Takashi Saito, his lover Mark Kotsay, Jerry Hairston Jr, and LaTroy Hawkins before the season even started.  Sprinkle a dash of 23 blown saves by your bullpen, two sluggers who started the season batting under .200 (Ramirez and Weeks), and finally a pinch of terrible batting with runners in scoring position…and you have the 2012 Brewers.  A mess, by any standard. 
 
Now, I am not a Ron Roenicke fan.  I did not think that he was the right person for the job when they hired him last winter (I love Dale Sveum), and that still holds true.  However, what is happening this season, can not be put on him.  And I will defend him for the duration of the season, because the assault he has taken from Brewers fans is unwarranted.  While he may not be my favorite Brewers skipper, he is certainly better than the last two (Macha and Yost). 
 
This bullpen has 23 blown saves.  TWENTY-THREE!!!!!  If they had saved even 40% of those opportunities the team would be a game over .500 and maybe Greinke would still be around.  But they didn’t, so we aren’t, and he isn’t.  Again, not Ron’s fault. 
 
Trying to predict the Crew’s offensive consistency, is a lot like trying to predict how many pounds of garbage it would take to make an entire city stink.  It’s pointless and nobody wants to know. 
 
If you are one of the many people who want Roenicke’s head to roll, just ask yourself this question:
 
If I was coaching the Brewers and we had a one run lead in the 9th inning, who do I send out to close the game?
 
That question SUCKS!!  And quite frankly, I don’t want to answer it.  Do you?  Can you imagine being in that position on Friday and Saturday night against the fricking Astros.  It is a lose/lose situation.  And if we can not stop the Astros offense from walk-off wins…who can we stop? 

Put quite simply, Brewers fans are better than regular fans.  This unnecessary assault on Ron Roenicke needs to stop.  We are not the Yankees, Phillies, or Red Sox.  Let’s not just assume that everything that is wrong with the team is the managers fault.  It is not his fault that management offered K-Rod arbitration, thus ending any hope of bringing back Hawkins and Saito.  It is not Ron’s fault that there is not a single pitcher in his bullpen that he can trust.   And it is certainly not his fault that this team has played flat and lifeless baseball from day one. 

My Dad always said, “If you dress a turd in a tuxedo, it is still a turd.”  The 2012 Brewers are lucky to even have a tuxedo.  I think that any skipper should be given at least 3 season, unless that manager is Ken Macha.  In my next piece (due next week), I will share with you why I think the Brewers are in a prime position for making a run in 2013.  And I would be extremely disappointed in Brewers management if Ron Roenicke was not a part of that.

Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Mike Fiers is D-E-A-L-I-N-G Photo: Benny Sieu-US PRESSWIRE

This is something that Brewers management needs to be asking themselves right now.  And if you are asking me?  The answer to that question is YES!  And this article will have many opinions and Lou oriented hearsay…no one will blame you if you turn back now. 

After what we saw yesterday, Mike Fiers talent can not be denied.  The kid has no fear.  To no-hit the Reds through 6 complete innings is nothing to turn your nose up at.  Shaun Marcum has not pitched for almost 2 months and has never really “wowed” me.  Mike Fiers “wowed” me yesterday.  So that makes it a quick 1 to nothing. 

Marcum will be a free agent at seasons end.  This is a fact.  He will probably fetch upwards of $10-$12 million a season, from a team looking to over spend on a middle of the rotation starter.  My thoughts are still along the lines of…the Brewers will throw everything they can at Zack Greinke to get him to come back.  It would be one of the biggest coups in baseball if we snag Zack back.  That would leave Shaun playing second fiddle, which will piss him off, which will give him road rage, which will cause him to drive his car into Miller Park, which will cause him to burn it to the ground, which will cause him to sign with the Cubs, because he is the type of guy a team like that will spend money on…and jerks play for the Cubs.  I’m not saying Marcum is a jerk, but if he drove his car into Miller Park and burned it to the ground, he would clearly be a baby bear loving jerk.  

Mike Fiers will cost us almost nothing (for a few years anyway) and he has shown me enough for me to believe that he can be a dominant pitcher in this league.  After his first few starts, I was very skeptical of the kid.  There was no doubt that he could pitch at the major league level, but I was concerned about his delivery and stamina.  There was something so herky-jerky about his delivery.  Plus he has kind of a small frame, so I thought maybe he would be better suited for long relief.  I no longer believe any of those things, it was a phase, like POGS or Tamagatchi.   

In 12 major league starts, the kid is 6-4 with a 1.80.  This is something we all know by now.  It has been all over the news.  Have you not seen it?  Well…it’s true, so accept it. 

Fiers has thrown 80 innings already this season and strikes out 1 batter per inning.  That is not just a rookie getting lucky.  Mike’s delivery is very deceiving and a little bit jerky, I want to compare it to Tim Lincecum…but Fiers looks much more graceful.  I think that a large part of his success comes from his ability to hide the baseball prior to delivery.  As he rears back, the ball drops almost behind his thigh and then he brings it down, over the top of his body arch.  This delivery makes his off-speed stuff crippling to batters.  Yesterday he got Brandon Phillips to drop to one knee after a swing and miss.  Whatever Fiers is doing, it works and we should continue to encourage it. 

Now, why does Fiers make Marcum expendable?  Yovani Gallardo, Randy Wolf, Chris Narveson, and Marco Estrada.  That’s how. 

In my opinion, Mike Fiers is a solid #2 starter going into next season.  He is a perfect compliment to Yo and a wonderful lead in for Wolf.  Should we not get Greinke or Marcum back, I feel very confident in the rotation referenced above.  Let’s not forget that we still have some absolute flame throwing studs in the minors.  They will not be held down for much longer. 

Mike Fiers is a cheaper, younger, more marketable option.  Oh, I’m sorry…did I hurt your feelings by reminding you that baseball is a business?  Mike Fiers is a marketing gold mine!  His name alone will spurn all kinds of amazing t-shirts and signs. ”We Didn’t Start the Fiers”  “Fiers Down Below”  “Then you add in that amazingly well crafted facial hair?!?!?  This guy is everything a front office could possibly want.  Shaun Marcum is kind of bland…he probably fit in better in Canada. 

Look, I like Shaun Marcum.  He is not a bad pitcher, but I would rather we save the money and spend it elsewhere.  By comparison, Marcum only threw 82.1 innings before getting injured.  His stats were as follows: 5-3 record, 3.39 ERA, 31 ER (Fiers has 16), 10 HR’s, 26 walks, and 77 strikeouts.  In my mind it is a bit of a wash right now, but it is certainly not worth dropping a lot of coin to keep Marcum around. 

Mike Fiers has made me feel very good about the future of this team, although his offense leaves something to be desired.  This team could still contend for the NL Central next season.  I honestly and truly believe that.  If Doug Melvin guts the bullpen, figures out what to do with Mat Gamel (Corey Hart should be our 1st baseman, end of discussion), and can get Rickie Weeks to not suck …we might really have something to cheer for in 2013.  Unfortunately, this season is lost.  That does not mean we can not watch some of the young kids play and see what the future holds.

On an unrelated note, Jean Segura is awesome.  I am a fan.  His future is so bright….he will have to wear shades.