current betus line:
Milwaukee Brewers regular season wins
Moneyline331 Over 85½ reg season wins -125 332 Under 85½ reg season wins -105
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...e-the-brewers-this-years-san-francisco-giants
Milwaukee Brewers: Are the Brewers This Year's San Francisco Giants?
By Zachary D. Rymer
(Featured Columnist) on February 26, 2011
Milwaukee Brewers Could Be Loaded for a Deep Playoff Run
If you were to take a look around Major League Baseball's six divisions, it might become apparent that the deepest of the bunch is the National League Central.
For starters, you have last year's champs, the Cincinnati Reds. They're chock full of young talent up and down their lineup, which is of course spearheaded by Joey Votto, the 2010 NL MVP.
Next to them are the Chicago Cubs, whose acquisitions of Kerry Wood and Matt Garza must not be underrated. Their bullpen is much deeper with Wood back in the fold, and adding Garza to a mix that already includes Ryan Dempster and Carlos Zambrano gives the Cubs three pitchers that could conceivably start the first game of a playoff series.
Next you have the St. Louis Cardinals. They may have lost Adam Wainwright for the season, and Albert Pujols may be in a walk year, but history tells us that they're going to be right in the thick of things.
Then there's the Milwaukee Brewers. Thanks to a pair of bonafide sluggers in the middle of their lineup in left fielder Ryan Braun and first baseman Prince Fielder, you can't say that they haven't been worth watching in the last couple years. But this year, it's hard to look at them without seeing a playoff team.
This has everything to do, of course, with the fact that they were able to go out and get Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum this offseason. Greinke, the 2009 AL Cy Young winner, has some of the best stuff of any pitcher in the Major Leagues, and the transition over to the Senior Circuit should only help his numbers (a la Roy Halladay). Marcum was one of the more underrated pitchers in the AL East last season for the Blue Jays, posting a 3.64 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP, and he too should reap the benefits of playing in the National League.
And yes, they still have Yovani Gallardo in their rotation as well. He's one of the best young arms in the game, and 2011 could be the year where he takes his rightful place as a perennial 15-game winner.
Taking a look at the Brew Crew's bullpen, it's apparent that they could have themselves one of the league's next great closers in John Axford, who was able to take advantage of Trevor Hoffman's absence to save 24 games last season. The Brewers brought in Takashi Saito to work the eighth, and they could be playing a lot of six-inning games if LaTroy Hawkins can revert back to his 2009 self.
True, comparing the Brewers to the 2010 San Francisco Giants might not be fair for either club. The Giants more or less came out of nowhere last season, and there are plenty of people out there who like the Brewers as a trendy pick to win the Central.
Still, the Brewers are similar to the Giants in that they are built around a deep starting five. The main difference is that the Brew Crew's lineup packs more punch.
Translation: good things.
Long story short, what's not to like?
Milwaukee Brewers regular season wins
Moneyline331 Over 85½ reg season wins -125 332 Under 85½ reg season wins -105
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...e-the-brewers-this-years-san-francisco-giants
Milwaukee Brewers: Are the Brewers This Year's San Francisco Giants?
By Zachary D. Rymer
(Featured Columnist) on February 26, 2011
Milwaukee Brewers Could Be Loaded for a Deep Playoff Run
If you were to take a look around Major League Baseball's six divisions, it might become apparent that the deepest of the bunch is the National League Central.
For starters, you have last year's champs, the Cincinnati Reds. They're chock full of young talent up and down their lineup, which is of course spearheaded by Joey Votto, the 2010 NL MVP.
Next to them are the Chicago Cubs, whose acquisitions of Kerry Wood and Matt Garza must not be underrated. Their bullpen is much deeper with Wood back in the fold, and adding Garza to a mix that already includes Ryan Dempster and Carlos Zambrano gives the Cubs three pitchers that could conceivably start the first game of a playoff series.
Next you have the St. Louis Cardinals. They may have lost Adam Wainwright for the season, and Albert Pujols may be in a walk year, but history tells us that they're going to be right in the thick of things.
Then there's the Milwaukee Brewers. Thanks to a pair of bonafide sluggers in the middle of their lineup in left fielder Ryan Braun and first baseman Prince Fielder, you can't say that they haven't been worth watching in the last couple years. But this year, it's hard to look at them without seeing a playoff team.
This has everything to do, of course, with the fact that they were able to go out and get Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum this offseason. Greinke, the 2009 AL Cy Young winner, has some of the best stuff of any pitcher in the Major Leagues, and the transition over to the Senior Circuit should only help his numbers (a la Roy Halladay). Marcum was one of the more underrated pitchers in the AL East last season for the Blue Jays, posting a 3.64 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP, and he too should reap the benefits of playing in the National League.
And yes, they still have Yovani Gallardo in their rotation as well. He's one of the best young arms in the game, and 2011 could be the year where he takes his rightful place as a perennial 15-game winner.
Taking a look at the Brew Crew's bullpen, it's apparent that they could have themselves one of the league's next great closers in John Axford, who was able to take advantage of Trevor Hoffman's absence to save 24 games last season. The Brewers brought in Takashi Saito to work the eighth, and they could be playing a lot of six-inning games if LaTroy Hawkins can revert back to his 2009 self.
True, comparing the Brewers to the 2010 San Francisco Giants might not be fair for either club. The Giants more or less came out of nowhere last season, and there are plenty of people out there who like the Brewers as a trendy pick to win the Central.
Still, the Brewers are similar to the Giants in that they are built around a deep starting five. The main difference is that the Brew Crew's lineup packs more punch.
Translation: good things.
Long story short, what's not to like?
