Opening Day Roster Round-Up

Spring Training is winding down and Opening Day is right around the corner for the Brewers. Are they all set for the opener against the Cubs on March 31^st?

Well, the roster questions have been answered - for now. The infield is set with Fielder, Weeks, Hardy and Hall. As is the outfield with Hart, Cameron and Braun as starters; Gwynn, Gross and Kapler round out the outfield. Jason Kendall will be the starting catcher with Mike Rivera for the backup position.

As for the pitching, the rotation seems to be set with Sheets, Suppan, Bush, Villanueva and Parra. With the surprising release of Claudio Vargas, that opened the door for both Villanueva and Parra. Don’t forget that Yovani Gallardo will be ready to get back in the rotation by mid April.

That means someone will have to go to bullpen or back to Triple A.

The bullpen with Gagne, Turnbow Riske, Torres, Shouse, McClung and Mota seems to be pretty well set. Craig Counsell and Joe Dillon will be on the bench as the utility players.

Here are some decisions GM Doug Melvin and MGR Ned Yost will have to make:

- M ike Cameron will miss the first 25 games of the season due to suspension. Centerfield looks like it will be Tony Gwynn handling most of that duty while Cameron serves his suspension. What happens when Cameron comes back? Someone has to go. The decision will be whether to stay with 6 outfielders and 1 utility player. They will probably go with 5 outfielders and 2 utility players. Joe Dillon a utility infielder has been used in the outfield.

- Another decision will be made when Yovani Gallardo moves back in the rotation. Someone will again have to go. Villanueva has pitched out of the bullpen and could be moved there. Manny Parra could be sent to triple A depending on how he is doing. They could also move someone out of the bullpen depending on need. They seem like tough decisions, and they are, but the players involved will help make those decisions for Melvin and Yost.

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Some of you are concerned whether the Brewers will sign Prince and some of the other young players who they consider the core of the team. Owner Mark Attanasio has made it known that he would like to not only sign Prince but the other players like Braun and Hart. I believe he will do whatever he can to sign these players and keep them in the fold for as long as possible.

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A lot of you emailed me asking about Damian Miller; Damian is retired and living in La Crosse. He was a class act and will be missed both on the field and in the clubhouse.

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I also received emails concerning Tony Graffanino; Graff is still recovering from his knee injury and feels once healed he can help a team out.