2013 Season in Review: Milwaukee Brewers

A season that held promise evaporated into one of injuries and scandal.

Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

To say the Milwaukee Brewers 2013 was a mess is a vast understatement. We know of the “scandal”, but there were a number of other factors in play which led to them finishing with a record of 74-88. As you will see, there were more negatives than positives. Happens when you finish below .500.

Some Positives

What do you say about the season Carlos Gomez had? We knew he could play defense. We knew he had some pop. But did anyone foresee the performance he put together in 2013? A Gold Glove and 9th in the MVP voting.

There was that whole home run thing…

Remember when the Brewers 2013 preseason goal was to rebuild the bullpen? I think we could say that it was a success. There were issues at the back-end, but eventually Jim Henderson was placed into the closer’s role and Brandon Kintzler stepped into roles which they were not expecting when the season began. And the duo anchored a pretty stout bullpen.

Jean Segura was an All-Star and showed the promise that many thought when he was part of the Zack Greinke deal. His first half was substantially better than his second half, but with a full season under his belt, he now should have the knowledge of how to put an entire season together.

Many Negatives

Welp, you knew it was going to be brought up, so here we go.

Ryan Braun…but it’s not only tied into his connection with Biogenesis and subsequent 65-game suspension. He also dealt with a bad thumb. But his absence had an effect on the left field position. Look at this…

What’s hard to fathom is how in the world Logan Schafer managed 163 PA.

It wasn’t until later in the season that Davis emerged and posted a fantastic August, a month where he started 19 games and posted a triple slash of .319/.383/.653 with 6 HR and 15 RBI.

And with Braun dealing with his injuries, the Brewers were also without Corey Hart for the entire season and Aramis Ramirez played in only 92 games. That’s three big bats that missed a total of 333 games.

But the Brewers missed even more games at first base. Mat Gamel and Taylor Green also missed all of the 2013 season after they suffered injuries. It was a patchwork system at best. For Gamel, it was the second consecutive year he suffered a season-ending injury.

For all the improvements the bullpen made, you can’t say the same for the starting rotation. Milwaukee doled out a three-year, $33MM deal for Kyle Lohse. Along with Yovani Gallardo, all seemed set at least at the top of the rotation. Lohse performed well, as did Marco Estrada, but the remainder of their starters didn’t. That includes Gallardo. As far as ERA+ is concerned (94), 2013 was Gallardo’s worst season. Wily Peralta‘s was 90.

The rotation ranked in the bottom third in a lot of categories, including ERA (4.20, 11th), WHIP (1.32, 12th), and triple slash against – .263 (12th)/.322 (11th)/.413 (11th).

While the overall offensive numbers weren’t ugly (8th in runs scored with 640), there was a certain stat where they were abysmal: RISP, 2 outs. How’s this triple slash? .182 (last)/.303 (14th)/.297 (14th).

And there is the continued downward spiral of Rickie Weeks. After a fantastic 2010, Weeks was mentioned as possibly one of the NL’s best second basemen. Since then, he has endured a harsh descent with his bat.

Hot Stove

Well, you start with Hart. The club is interested in bringing him back, and Hart has interest in returning. There are other teams with a need at 1B that are interested in Hart’s services, too. According to assistant general manager Gord Ash, the team is waiting for Hart to get clearance and begin baseball activities.

And GM Doug Melvin shot down the rumor that the Brewers and Mets were working on a deal…involving Braun and possibly Ike Davis? Really? Teams contacted Melvin about Braun, and as expected, his response was “no”.

And while we’re on the subject of Braun, there’s a possibility he could move to right field.

There aren’t a lot of holes here. First base is a glaring need and there is the question of Weeks or Scooter Gennett at second. Another starter wouldn’t hurt either.

Can Gomez and Segura replicate the 2013 seasons…and can they stay healthy for 2014?