| | ESPN.com
The Braves left Milwaukee for Atlanta. Dean Taylor left the Braves for
Milwaukee.
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BREWERS LOWDOWN |
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|  | | Jamey Wright will begin the season on the DL. |
1999: 74-87
Runs: 815, 9th in NL
Allowed: 886, 14th in NL
Key facts
Brewers may bat Marquis Grissom leadoff despite his terrible on-base percentages of .304 (1998) and .320 (1999) in his two seasons in Milwaukee.
Milwaukee acquired All-Star Jeromy Burnitz from Cleveland in 1996 for Kevin Seitzer.
Brewers were 8-21 in August, 66-66 the rest of the season.
Tim Kurkjian's scenarios
Best-case: The young pitching makes a giant leap, giving Brewers hope at Miller Park in 2001.
Worst-case: The young pitchers aren't ready, making a sad final year at County Stadium.
Prediction: 6th in NL Central
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By the time this season is over, the Brewers' new general manager may wonder
what he was thinking.
All the earmarks for disaster were in place for the Brewers before they
even entered the starting gate. The turbulent times began last summer when a
tragic crane accident killed three workers and delayed the construction of Miller
Park, which sits just beyond the outfield walls of County Stadium.
The firing of manager Phil Garner and GM Sal Bando followed that
incident, leaving Taylor and new manager Davey Lopes to rebuild a Brewers
team that is working on seven straight losing seasons. The program is not off
to a good start.
Injuries have already made this weak team weaker. Ron Belliard, coming
off a solid rookie season, will miss the first month with a dislocated thumb.
The other crippling injury is a small tear to Jamey Wright's rotator cuff
that could keep the young right-hander out of the rotation for the first
month.
Fairly or not, Taylor's first season as the Brewers' general manager will
probably be judged a great deal by what Wright does this season. In order to
get Wright, Taylor had to give up Jeff Cirillo, who was one of the few
Brewers who seemed worth keeping.
The gamble Taylor took is that Wright will blossom now that he has
escaped the unfriendly confines of Coors Field. But thin air was only part of
Wright's problem in Colorado. In 92 major-league outings, he has 261 walks
compared to 239 strikeouts.
That has to change. Wright, 25, was demoted by the Rockies after a slow
start last season and did not pitch well at Triple-A Colorado Springs after
that. From the outside looking in, it appears as if Taylor's first major deal
as a general manager has the potential to be a bust.
Taylor's solution to losing Cirillo is also suspect. Jose Hernandez is a
nice player, but he's not in the same class as Cirillo.
Should things turn sour for Wright this season, Taylor is going to hear
about it.
Thanks to their new general manager, the Brewers look different. But they
don't look better.
-- Bob Brookover
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Lineup comments and grades from ESPN The Magazine
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Player
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Comment
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Grade
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M. Loretta, SS
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Slow, can't throw from hole. But a smart guy who knows the hitters. Scrappy
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C
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R. Belliard, 2B
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Will miss first month with dislocated thumb. When well, has serious punch
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C
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J. Burnitz, RF
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First Brewer since Cecil Cooper (1982-83) with consecutive 100-RBI seasons
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A
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G. Jenkins, LF
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Looks exactly like Brett Favre. Can't throw like Packers QB, but hits a lot better
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B
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K. Barker, 1B
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Shortened his long swing. Battles at plate. Can hit ball the other way
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C
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M. Grissom, CF
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Davey Lopes' first edict: Don't trade this guy
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B
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J. Hernandez, 3B
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Few more HRs, lot more HR's, much lower BA and OBP, than Cirillo
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C
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H. Blanco, C
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Much-needed upgrade: Brewers C's threw out only 20% of runners in 1999
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C
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Pitching comments and grades from ESPN The Magazine
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Pitcher
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Comment
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Grade
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S. Woodard, SP
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Ambidextrous. That means he could be the best two pitchers in the rotation
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C
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J. Haynes, SP
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Sixth-highest career ERA (5.75) ever for pitcher with at least 500 IP
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D
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J. Snyder, SP
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Can't believe the White Sox traded this guy as quickly as they did
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D
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J. Wright, SP
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More career BB (261) than K's (239). Trying to tighten delivery
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D
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C. Leskanic, RP
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Hard slider, resilient arm. But the fastball's as straight as uncooked spaghetti
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C
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B. Wickman, RP
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Great movement on two-seamer. Always down in zone, always throws grounders
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C
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