If you’re not one of those baseball nerds who follows every single thing going on in the Milwaukee Brewers Organization, don’t worry, because The Sports Bank’s Nick Grays has you covered with what happened in the past week and what’s going on in the future.
And if you are one of those nerds, feel free to join in on some good old analysis of America’s pastime in the Brew City.
This week, we talk about Rickie Weeks’ contract extension and spring training looming right around the corner.
By: Nick Grays
Last Week’s Headlines:
Brewers Extend Rickie Weeks’ Contract
The 28 year-old second baseman and lead-off hitter will be a Brewer through 2014 and is set to make 38.5 million over the next four years. Shouldn’t be too much of surprise that Milwaukee wanted to hold on to this guy. He was only supposed to be the best of the homegrown talent when selected second overall in 2003.
Weeks hasn’t come close to the success of Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder, but he is still a work in progress. After being set back with a bad wrist in 2009, he bounced back with a respectable season in 2010. His 29 home-runs and 83 RBI were both career highs.
Overall, this was a good move for Milwaukee. Even though Rickie is a high-risk/high-reward type of player, he is a familiar face and brings great tools to the top of the order. He’s definitely not going to win you a golden glove, but he could realistically be a 20-20 guy (20 stolen bases and 20 home-runs for those of you not familiar with the term).
Catchers and Pitchers Report to Spring Training
When the snow melts and NFL football is no more, Wisconsinites know it’s just about time for some MLB baseball. This was the case last Wednesday when the first set of Brewers made the trip to Arizona to begin their preparation for the upcoming season.
In 2011, the Brewers are going for it all after a busy off-season, particularly in the pitching department. Earlier this week, I highlighted all of the changes the Brewers made on the pitching end in an article entitled Analyzing the Milwaukee Brewers Off-Season.
Looking Ahead:
Cactus League Play Starts Monday, February 28th
The Brewers will officially begin Spring Training next Monday when they take on the Chicago Cubs and the San Francisco Giants in a split-squad affair at 2:05 PM CT.
It will be interesting to see what kind of relationship forms between the long-time players and new Manager Ron Roenicke. Another significant story to watch during spring training is how pitchers Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum adjust to playing with their new team.
How far can the Milwaukee Brewers go this season? Was extending Weeks’ contract the right thing to do? Let me know by commenting below!
Nick Grays is a senior editor at the Sports Bank where he covers the Wisconsin Badgers, Green Bay Packers, Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Brewers. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here or visit his blog Nick Knows Best.