Congrats, Reds fans from a Brewer fan!

Hi all! My name is Bill. I'm new to the forum, and I likely won't be around much until spring training draws near...but as a Brewer fan, I just wanted to extend my congratulations to you all upon the announcement that Barry Larkin is going to Cooperstown. I only saw him in person once, but I've always been an admirer. I had a feeling that he would go someday, but I must admit I am a bit surprised it only took three years. So many great players have had to wait so long...it's nice to see the voters got something right. He was a great player, and more importantly, he represented your organization with class. Like my three favorite baseball players, Roberto Clemente, Robin Yount, and Ryan Braun, he spent his entire career with one team, and quite frankly, like the others I mentioned,

I've found that the baseball season is more enjoyable when I can enter into some friendly discussions with fans of the other teams, so I hope to get to know all of you come the first signs of spring. You've got a great young team (I would give my left nut to get Joey Votto on my team, especially since Prince Fielder's departure is imminent), and I look forward to some great baseball in 2012.

Again, congrats for this well deserved honor, and I will talk to you all soon!

Thanks! So how do you as a brewers fan see your team doing this year w/o prince in your lineup? how do you see the central ending up and how do you view the reds this season?

Thanks, Joe! ;)

Brewers are completely up in the air. Losing Prince will sting, there's no doubt. His power production not being there will hurt, as will his high obp. The Brewers have been grooming Mat Gamel in the minors for a while now, and I'm high on his upside. I see him as a .300 hitter, 25-30 HR, 100 RBI a year guy if he stays healthy-not as much power as Prince, but should give us good production. We've upgraded third with Ramirez. Addition by subtraction. Helps us, hurts the Cubs. McGehee really regressed last year, not only offensively, but with the glove, so shipping him was the right decision. Ryan Braun's status is up in the air. It's clear he didn't use PED's, so his reputation will recover, but it appears he took something for a medical condition, and neither he or his doc told MLB. He should miss 50 games, even if he didn't knowingly do anything to break the rules. Doesn't matter. There needs to be accountability, and as much as I love Brauny, he goofed.

The Brewers will really go as far as their pitching carries them. We'll have Greinke for the full season. He and Gallardo are solid. Marcum's ineffectiveness late in the season and postseason scared me. He wore down, and after being really good for 1.5 years after Tommy John surgery (iirc), that's got me really nervous.

Reds should be really good, and can make a run at winning the division. Votto is the best overall player in the division now that Pujols is gone. High average guy, plus plus power, super high OPS...you've got a solid batting order, no doubt. Probably the top offense in the Central. The Cards will likely win the division, the Reds could definitely win it, the Brewers...lots of questions. Will Gamel live up to the hype? Will Ramirez play the entire season, or will injuries catch up with him again. What do we do if Braun misses 50?

My prediction:
Cards
Reds
Brewers
Pirates
Cubs

Astros in last, but I can't remember if they move to the AL this season, or next season.

The Central could be one of the most exciting divisions in baseball.

How do you figure he took something that wasn't a PED? What is the 50-game suspension for then?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by texasdave

How do you figure he took something that wasn't a PED? What is the 50-game suspension for then?

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The rumor I heard was he was taking herpes medication which messed with his testosterone. He is being suspended for not getting the substance cleared by the MLB or the Brewers since it did raise his testosterone.

Anyway south, welcome to the forums. It's good to have other fans on here sometimes, helps add to the site IMHO. I will have to disagree with you on one thing. I think that with the Cards losing Duncan, Pujols, and LaRussa (he retired right?) they are going to be a much different team. And even with the additions of Wainwright and Beltran, they don't quite make up for it. I'd say top two in the division will be some order of Reds/Brewers.

My thoughts on the division is it will in fact look completely look different this year I see it like this

Reds-Best overall team
Brewers-Losing Prince hurts Braun loses alot of protection
Pirates-I like the young players they have
Cards-To many injury prone guys all over there roster with no depth
Cubs-I like the moves they made in the offseason they got rid of bad money
Astros-They have zero talent at all levels of there organization

Reds-92 wins
Brewers-83
Pirates-76
Cards-74
Cubs-73
Astros-67

Welcome to board. The Cards will be a different team, but still a great team. They will have improved pitching (if Wainright is right) and better defense, and they will be slightly less great at the plate. I think the Reds should be the favorite, followed by the Cards, Brew Crew, Bucs, Cubbies and Houston, respectively.

I just wanted to say that it's nice to have a friendly fan of an opposing team on the board to talk baseball with. I've never had the disdain for the Brewers that I do for the Cards or Stros because I view them as underdogs, much like we've been for most of the last 15 years.

Also worth mentioning that Ive encountered a lot of Milwaukee fans in Cincinnati over the past few seasons, and while they like to party and can sometimes be bad drunks (but hell, I guess you find that in any fan base) I'm consistently impressed with their passion for the game.