Good start key for Roenicke, Brewers
No doubt a few eyebrows were raised when the Milwaukee Brewers picked up the contract of manager Ron Roenicke through the 2016 season.
After all, Roenicke presided over a monumental collapse last season. The Brewers held first place in the National League Central from April 5-Aug. 31. But they went 9-17 in September and finished with an 82-80 record, 8 games behind the division-winning Cardinals and 6 behind the Pirates.
No division title. No wild card. No anything.
And no doubt Brewers management and ownership thought about jettisoning Roenicke when it was all over.
But cooler heads prevailed, and the cool presence of Roenicke will be back in the dugout at Miller Park this season. (One criticism of Roenicke is that he's not "fiery" enough and doesn't show enough emotion.)
The real reason the Brewers couldn't hold on last year was that their offense completely disappeared down the stretch.
Through no fault of his own, Ryan Braun wound up being one of the main reasons for the second-half slide. Hampered by a thumb injury that required a noninvasive procedure after the 2014 season, Braun could not produce in the second half.
The contrast was stark:
• Before the all-star break, Braun had a line of .298/.348/.515 with 11 home runs and 52 RBI.
• After the break, Braun went .226/.295/.374 with 8 homers and 29 RBI.
He tried to go to right field, but pitchers jammed him inside, and that did nothing to help Braun's thumb.
On top of that, the power went out on former Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez, who hit only 4 home runs in the second half, only 1 in September.
Braun is back and seemingly healthy this spring, and it looks like his power has started to return.
"It's showing that he's able to pull his hands inside and still attack the ball," Roenicke told the local media recently in Arizona. "I think it's real good to see that."
For his part, Braun went to bat for Roenicke.
"It wasn't his fault," Braun said of last season. "It wasn't the front office's fault. It was our fault, as players."
Roenicke is seemingly safe for now, but if the Brewers get off to a slow start in a tough division, his dugout seat could get hot awfully fast.
There are enough questions marks surrounding the team as the regular season approaches.
Starting pitcher Mike Fiers has battled a shoulder ailment; he's expected to test it Thursday. One-time Cub Matt Garza says he has tweaked his mechanics. He has not logged 200 innings since 2010, although he did pitch 198 for the Cubs in 2011.
The Brewers are trying to come up with a true leadoff man between Carlos Gomez and Scooter Gennett. Jonathan Lucroy put up a nice line of .301/.373/.465 last year while making his first all-star team.
The Brewers will need more of that. They'll also need Braun to stay healthy for a full season and for Ramirez to go out strong in what figures to be his last season in the major leagues.
The bullpen lacks depth, and closer Francisco Rodriguez only recently started pitching in earnest after having visa problems in getting to Arizona.
It all looks to be a bit much for the Brewers to contend this year.