MLB Fan Cave Interview Part II: Steven and the Crew

When we last left Steve Sievwright, he was desperately trying to get into to the MLB Fan Cave – and you were his only hope.

That hasn’t changed at all, but fortunately Steve and I did not spend our entire interview simply vote-mongering. We are gentlemen, after all. As it turns out, Steve Sievwright is a gentleman, and a scholar, and a good baseball man. I threw out a couple of questions regarding the Brewers, the NL Central and the Majors and Steve knocked it out of the park.

Colin – First off, Who’s your all-time favorite Brewer?

Steve – Robin Yount. It’s an obvious answer but it’s true. I make sure to buy his lemonade all the time. [ed.’s note: that is delicious lemonade, and the profit goes to charity. Definition of a win-win.]

Elephant in the Room: What do you think of the Ryan Braun debacle?

I think that I’m going to wait and see. It all seems really weird, not a usual case. I wish people would stop saying that he took steroids because has clearly been dismissed. I don’t like seeing the ‘take the MVP away’ talk either.  I hope that he isn’t suspended.

How much does Prince’s departure hurt us, honestly?

I could go and break down the stats or WAR but I don’t want to bore everyone. I don’t see a huge drop in our performance. I still see 92ish wins this year. I think we still win a lot of games just in different ways then we’re used to seeing. We can play around with our speed now, which would be fun to see. Prince being gone opens up a lot of options and last time I checked he threw Zero pitches last year.

Is [Norichika] Aoki the real deal?

Yeah, he’s Aoki by me. (Puns!) [ed.’s note: the parentheticals were, in, fact, Steve’s idea.]

Do you think Gamel has it in him to hold down 1st base this year?

I’m excited to find out, they’ve been teasing us with him for the last few years now. I’m definitely ready to see a whole year out of him. It makes me think of the Moneyball talking about learning to play 1^st base. I’ve always believed in him and I think he’ll be fine.

Who’s the real ace this year – Greinke or Gallardo?

I love them both I really do but I think again a whole year of Greinke he emerges as the ace. He had 201 K’s to Yo’s 207 in 5 less games.

Will Tony Plush (or Nyjer Morgan, for that matter) be more of a help or a hindrance this year?

First, I LOVE T-Plush and I have since the Pirates. But his antics and how they go over are completely dependent on our record. I think that Milwaukee is the right place for him, the fans have embraced him for him and he’s behaved well.

Fact or Fiction: K-Rod and Axford are the best 8-9 pitching team in the Majors right now.

Fact, this is another thing I can’t wait to see for a whole year. No other tandems that come to mind are as dominant as they can be. As long as we stay away from those K-Rod 30min innings.

Does the playoff performance of our pitching staff scare you at all going into 2012?

Not at all, I think that Marcum will bounce back for sure. Pitching didn’t bother me as much as defensive/offensive play did.

How do you think the NL Central shakes out this year?

With the departures of Prince and Pujols, I think that the division is wide open. Some might say that the Reds will step up but they don’t seem to be able to put together a whole season. The Cubs and Astros aren’t even worth taking about. I’m keeping an eye on the Pirates but don’t expect much out of them. I really think that we will repeat as the NL Central Division Champs.

Give a reasonable set of odds for the Crew making it to the Series this year.

Well the odds right now are 20/1. Which is better than the rest of the division except the Cardinals. That’s also better than the Blue Jays and Marlins (Two teams that I’m high on). With how close the division will be this year I would consider us to have an even better shot I would say somewhere between 10 and 15/1.

Finally, do you think the Brewers need to bring back the Beer Barrel and ditch the Splash Zone for good?

Absolutely, I grew up on the barrel and I think they should bring it back no question.

A man after my own heart. What are you guys still doing here? Go over to the Fan Cave website and vote for this guy immediately!