A week from today, I’ll be at Maryvale Baseball Park in sunny Phoenix to get my first look at the 2013 Milwaukee Brewers. It’s a trip I’ve taken every year since 1998, and it’s one of my all-time favorite traditions.
Off the top of my head, I can’t think of a Brewers pre-season laden with so many question marks before pitchers and catchers even reported.
The obvious ones this March include:
- Will Ryan Braun be suspended, and if so, how do the Brewers fill that hole?
- Who’s on first while Corey Hart is recovering and Mat Gamel is out again?
- How will the World Baseball Classic affect the Brewers’ readiness?
- What does this rotation look like after Yovani Gallardo?
- Is Jean Segura ready to be an everyday shortstop?
- Will Aramis Rameriz play while I’m there?
- Has Doug Melvin healed from his scorpion bite?
I’m kidding about the last question, but the other six came to me in about a minute. I’m scared to say that this season could be an absolute nightmare.
But maybe it won’t be. Hope springs eternal, and I’m not willing to write off the Crew before I even see them take the field.
I’ll keep my eye on answering those first six questions next week, but let me know what else you’d like to look for.
Personally, I’m interested in scoping out the new improvements to Maryvale and to see if Bobby Crosby will be the latest Doug Melvin amazing reclamation project.
It should be a very interesting Spring Training, indeed.
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
