Who do you most want to succeed (bounce back) in 2008?

[BrewCrewForever]

Matt Wise...

 

Never said it had to be a Brewer.

Always thought Matt was a class act kind of player. Always liked him.

 

But as for Brewers....

 

It'd have to be Cappy or Billy E. Hall.

Where is Matt now? Hope he can bounce back from hitting that Reds player in the face. He was never right after that.

 

[endaround]

Wise is on the Mets and likely to make the team. So yep the Mets dumped the Mota contract on the Brewers and picked up Wise for half the price

[logan82]

Weeks would have to have a good season first and then a bad one to bounce back. Weeks has yet to have a really good season.

[ILuvDaBush]

I'll say Ryan Braun....defensively. I remember the spring training game at Miller against the Pale Hose when Corey Hart got moved off the hot corner into the outfield for the Brews. He, like Braun, needed to get moved off the hot corner for defensive deficiencies and had a difficult transition to his new position. I just wish Braun all the best in his new endeavor. Also, T-Bow and JJ. JJ really fell off after his acting stint and T-Bow was overworked in the second half.

[Gobias Industries]

I'd have to go with Weeks. I'm sick of having to defend him to casual fans who call him a bust. Tons of talent, but just hasn't been able to keep those wrists healthy. And after reading McCalvy's article on him on the main Brewer's website today I just get the impression that he is a good dude. Really humble for a professional athlete which is always nice to see.

[Kurt]

I'm a little confused on the "weeks bounce back". Am I the only one who thinks that weeks had an overall good year last year? Sure, he was streaky and you would like to see come consistency but the guy had an .374 OBP. 2nd highest on the team next to Prince. Can you imagine if he batted .275? He obp would be through the roof. So if anything, I hope that weeks wrists are healthy, he keeps up the great work and gets a few more base hits. if his wrists are healthy and he maintains the same discipline at the plate, he is in line for an amazing year.

[Kurt]

footnote: Week's .374 OBP ranks as the 8th highest by a Brewer this decade.

 

Last year was his best year yet and he is only getting better. Don't look too heavily on .AVE when you have an great .obp. Oh yeah, and also cut his errors last year by half!

[naivin]

The easy answer is Sheets, but the better answer is probably Capuano. If Sheets can have the excat same year he had last year, and Capuano has a year like he had in '06, we'll be better. If Sheets can just make even a couple more starts, and Capuano has a year like he had in '06, we'll win the division. All of that assumes of course that everyone else does about what is expected. Sheets will always be a key, but the best thing that could happen for the Brewers would be Cappy pitching well and forcing his way into the rotation (Not just being put into the rotation because he's left handed)....

 

Sheets

Gallardo

Suppan

Villenueva

Capuano

 

With Vargas, Bush, Para all waiting in the wings, that's tough.

[Blancofan1]

my vote has to be Cappy. he's gone through tough physical problems with the tommy john surgery, and now if he could make it through a tough emotional year I would really be happy for him. I don't think he was nearly as bad for the year last year as others do, some of it was tough breaks and some of it was poor performance.

[JohnBriggs12]

Bush. I like the way he approaches his job. He never seems to let his emotions get the best of him. He'd be a sure fire 15 game winner if the manager would learn take him out a batter or two earlier.

 

Hall. I've always liked him on and off the field. He's not the best or most talented but in a lot of ways, he's a leader and they need their leader to be productive.

[Gopher74]

Gagne and Sheets both need to be TYPE A free agents.

Just think if Sheets, Gange and Turnbow are type A FA's, then you're getting 8 picks in the top 60 or so. We really need to keep Jack Z around for another year if that's the case. Hopefully some teams will be stupid enough to pass on him for just one more season.

[danzig6767]

Weeks is the guy i'm really hoping has the year many Brewers fans have been waiting for him to have. I have no concerns he'll take is walks and get on base, i just want to see more consistent extra base hits through the who season. If he has that special year, this Brewers offense should terrorize pitching staffs.

[Klements Bratwurst]

Sparky and Tim Allen are discussing this thread on WSSP 1250 AM right now. FYI

[milwaukeesportsfan]

Sparky is talking about this very thread right now on 1250. Nice work, everybody.

[BrewCrewForever]

Yeah Im listening right now as well. Pretty neat.

[Ashford Lando]

Billy Hall -- 2008 NL Comeback Player of the Year

 

Gagne, Cappy, Sheets, Turnbow to follow (from the Crew) -- these individuals "need" to have comeback years.

 

 

 

Weeks will have a "breakout" year, not a "comeback" year.

[Oldcity]

I think it has to be Sheets. If he puts together a full season (without dropping off much in production) the Brewers will very likely make the playoffs.

[Menotti80]

Sparky is talking about this very thread right now on 1250. Nice work, everybody.

I really dont know why, but reading that made me proud... haha

[GenoSeligPrieb]

For Brewer players (and their manager), I only bother to invest hope in those who can benefit from my magic touch! Some, I believe, like Yost, Turnbow, Suppan, Kendall, Bush and our motley cast of reserve outfielders, are not exactly "hopeless", but certainly not worth investing much emotion or prayers, toward. So hoping for them to change, seems to be a waste of time. Others are so good, like Prince and Ryan, that I don't have to bother hoping for better performances from them.

 

And since I'm not exactly a Barack Obama, with all the audacity of hope thing, I'll parcel out the little hope I have, to Brewer players who could either step up, or regress without my cheering, in this order, I guess...

 

5) Billy Hall. OK, he may not be a 35 HR guy again, but I certainly HOPE he's not that same 14 HR guy from last year. Besides, he's probably my favorite Brewer, so...

 

4) Ben Sheets. May he start at least 30 games. That even allows wiggle room for him to miss a start for a nasty splinter, another for vertigo, another for a paper cut, another for a planter's wart, and another for a bad dose of St. John's Wort. That's not hoping for too much, right, Ben?

 

3) Chris Capuano. Like Billy, he may not be as good as he was before 2007, but he can't be as bad as he was last year again, can he? I hope not.

 

2) Rickie Weeks. Was his post-demotion production real and sustainable, or was it a reaction to being dropped to the minors which he may not be able to keep up? Heads? Tails? C'mon, Rickie!

 

1) Eric Gagne. Who knows what to expect? Was he so godawful in Boston because his ego was bruised when he was forced to defer to Schilling by switching from #38 to #83? Was it because he was not the designated closer, and just one of the guys? Was it because the HGH and the roids wore off? If he's even Texas Rangers-good this year, he can make us forget about CoCoCo pretty fast. But then again, if he is, Scott Boras will "guide" him to a richer team anyway, so as an 8-figures-a-year rental, all the risk is on us, and he'll just walk away after 2008, one way or the other, anyway. Just be good, Eric, that's all I'm hoping for...

[Fanof17andBrew]

Turnbow and Yost. Really would like to see Weeks brake through and have a monster year. If Weeks does what they think he can, its the best lineup in the NL.

[Biestie1]

Sheets, without him healthy and effective, I don't think we win more than 83, or 84 games.