Milwaukee Brewers 2010 End of Season Review

After finishing 80-82 in 2009, the Milwaukee Brewers entered the 2010 season hoping to return to their form of 2008 when they won 90 games and earned their first post season appearance in 27 years. Instead, they took another step backwards and finished 2010 with a record of 77-85, in third place 14 games behind the division winning Cincinnati Reds. Here's a look at what worked, what didn't work, and a look ahead to 2011.

Milwaukee Brewers 2010 End of Season Review: What Worked

The Brewers hit the ball well in 2010. As a team, they were second in the National League in home runs, third in slugging percentage, and fourth in runs scored, batting average, and on base percentage. There were a lot of great individual performances as well.

Right fielder Corey Hart was the subject of trade rumors all winter and was on the bench opening day, but wound up having the best season of his career, hitting .283 with 31 home runs and 102 RBIs. Third baseman Casey McGehee led the club with 104 RBIs and hit .285 with 23 home runs. Left fielder Ryan Braun had another good year at the plate, hitting .304 with 25 home runs and 103 RBIs. First baseman Prince Fielder led the club in home runs with 32, but his overall production dropped quite a bit from 2009. Fielder had an extraordinary 2009 when he hit .299 with 46 home runs and 141 RBIs. In 2010, he drove in 83 runs and hit .261 to go with those 32 homers. These were the lowest totals for Fielder since his rookie year of 2006.

Perhaps the most pleasant surprise of the season for the Brewers was the performance of second baseman Rickie Weeks. Weeks established himself as formidable leadoff man with 29 home runs and 83 RBIs, although his 184 strikeouts are anything but ideal for someone at the top of the batting order.

Yovani Gallardo was the best starting pitcher for the Brewers, going 14-7 with a 3.84 ERA and 200 strikeouts. Randy Wolf was 13-12 with a 4.17 ERA. John Axford replaced Trevor Hoffman as the closer for the Brewers. Axford had 24 saves and eight wins in relief .

Milwaukee Brewers 2010 End of Season Review: What Didn't Work

Just like in 2009, the biggest problem for the 2010 Brewers was the pitching staff. In 2009, the Brewers' team ERA of 4.83 was the second worst in the National League; in 2010 it improved only slightly to 4.58, or third worst in the league. The only significant change to the starting rotation going into the 2010 season was the addition of Randy Wolf, who was signed as a free agent. While he provided some help, the rotation beyond Gallardo and Wolf was hit or miss, with a lot of it being miss.

Jeff Suppan was 0-2 with an ERA of 7.84. He was sent to the bullpen, and then released. His replacement was Chris Narveson, who was 12-9, but with an ERA of 4.99. Narveson was the only other pitcher besides Gallardo and Wolf to reach double figures in victories. Dave Bush was 8-13, Manny Parra was 3-10, and Doug Davis made only eight starts, spending most of the season on the disabled list. In the bullpen, all time Major League saves leader Trevor Hoffman was largely reduced to the role of setup man after blowing several saves early in the season. The bullpen as a whole was inconsistent.

Looking Ahead

The Brewers will have a new manager in 2011 as the club did not pick up the option on Ken Macha's contract. Gallardo, Hart, and Braun all have multi year contracts; Weeks and Fielder are free agents after the 2011 season. The club will probably retain Weeks, but Fielder is another story. The consensus is that Fielder will be too expensive for the Brewers to sign, so rather than lose him to free agency, the club will trade him before the start of the 2011 season. The Brewers will probably trade Fielder for pitching help. General manager Doug Melvin has had limited success with his acquisitions of veteran pitchers, so Fielder could be dealt for a couple of highly regarded young pitchers or prospects. Milwaukee is a young team, and will continue to improve on offense as their young players gain experience at the big league level. The addition of a manager who can guide a young team will also help.

Sources:

Ken Macha's option not picked up ESPN.com

Statistics from Yahoo! Sports MLB