Brewers looking at winning seasons ahead

[RockSports17]

MILWAUKEE -- Had the Brewers won either of the last two games of the season in Pittsburgh, thus marking a winning season for the first time since 1992, the team would not have celebrated the way a playoff-clinching team would have.

But it would have been close.

"We did have champagne in Pittsburgh that we were going to break open, not for a champagne party but for a toast," Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said on Thursday. "We were going to have a champagne toast to put losing seasons behind us and look at the winning seasons ahead of us. We didn't pop it open because we didn't win another game."

In other words, the Milwaukee Brewers are still thirsty.

Melvin, assistant general manager Gord Ash and team executive vice president Rick Schlesinger were each on hand at Miller Park to review the season that was, an 81-81 campaign that fell short of a "winning season" but still broke a longstanding string of losing.

"I think one of the best things about getting to .500 is that we don't have to hear about it anymore," Melvin said. "It creates new challenges for us and it raises the bar. Our expectations are going to be greater."

Melvin and friends tackled a number of issues in the team's home clubhouse, mostly about the pending offseason, which could be among the most important in Milwaukee Brewers history.

On the free agent market: "We do look like we have to fix our bullpen," Melvin said. "Our bullpen really ran out of gas at the end of the year. I look at some of these teams in the playoffs, and they have bad bullpens too -- we are all going to be looking for the same thing. So we're going to have some competition trying to improve our bullpen.

"You can get caught up in free agency. [Angels outfielder] Steve Finley got a big deal last year, Russ Ortiz in Arizona, Derek Lowe [in Los Angeles] ... it can be devastating if you don't make the right decisions. We're going to pursue free agency, obviously, but it still has to make sense over the long haul. It's not something you delve into because we're at this level."

On the "Lyle Overbay or Prince Fielder at first" debate: "We don't have to do anything," Melvin said. "The worst-case scenario would still be a good-case scenario -- if Lyle's still on the ballclub and Prince Fielder had to go to Triple-A and play a few months. Another scenario could be that clubs call us and offer an outlandish package for Overbay or Prince Fielder. I have to be open-minded to anything or any phone call. Some other club is going to have to make the call to us."

"We're currently lobbying the National League to institute the DH," joked Ash.

On success making their task harder: "Where Rickie Weeks and Prince Fielder were the second player in the draft picked or the fifth player in the draft picked, that's not going to happen anymore," Melvin said. "We have the 16th selection now. To find those players with the 16th pick is not going to happen."

"It's the same with waiver claims. We were able to get Derrick Turnbow because we were one of the worst teams in baseball. I know when we claimed Brady Clark, he was claimed by someone else. The Tigers claimed Derrick Turnbow when we claimed him too. If we were in a position where we are today, we don't get Derrick Turnbow. Those waiver claims aren't going to be the same kind of player because there's going to be a lot of teams choosing ahead of us [with waiver claim priority based on a lesser record]."

On third base: "Billy [Hall] does a wonderful job," Melvin said. "He creates a lot of energy on our ballclub; his versatility is valuable and he had a good year. If he's our third baseman and putting up these numbers, maybe even building on the numbers he put up this year, he probably would rank in the top tier of third basemen out there. There are areas he could improve on defensively but we asked him to move over there without a lot of experience. [Upgrading the position] is not high on the priority list; our focus is more on pitching and depth."

Said Ash, "You don't want to get locked in too early in the process that you don't have the ability to come back later and make deals. As we sat here a year ago, we weren't thinking about Carlos Lee and the kind of transitions we made. We want to keep flexibility. Certainly Bill had a great season, but it's way too early to make that decision."

Tidbits: Schlesinger said no decisions had been made on ticket prices for 2006, though the "marquee" prices that went into effect for higher-profile contests would remain in place. ...

Getting left-handed help in the bullpen will be of particular concern, especially with the struggles of talented southpaw Jorge de la Rosa in 2005.

"You always give guys with that kind of talent -- especially a left-hander with that kind of talent -- the benefit of the doubt," Ash said. "I can't say that he's a lock for coming to Spring Training. But I can tell you this: He's not going to be cast aside. You have to make sure if you do entertain moving him, you have to get equal value." ...

Ash also added that Ben Sheets' torn back muscle will be examined by Dr. William Raasch at the end of October in Milwaukee. "Hopefully he gets the green light to go ahead and throw," Ash said. "He hasn't been throwing to this point and until he does, you're not going to know where he is."

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[love_that_reefer]

If they keep Carlos Lee then yeah, they will have a few winning seasons ahead.

[awefullspellare]

They are definitely in a lot better shape then a few years ago. Could definitely get that winning season next year.