March 16, 2008

Brewers Bullpen Rated Best in NL Central

I mentioned the Reds placement on an MiLB.com article about the best minor league systems, but the Brewers place in another evaluation article, as well.

Despite losing closer Francisco Cordero to the Reds, along with effective middle reliever Scott Linebrink, the Brewers still apparently have a killer bullpen. Heck, the article seems to bestow kudos for getting rid of the 44-save closer.

Cordero already had a track record (with Texas) for crash-landing after a big season, so Melvin felt better about rebuilding his bullpen and went all out. A lot rides on whether Guillermo Mota and Eric Gagne can re-enact the deadly combination they formed with the 2002-04 Dodgers.

The Brewers were rated 4th best in all of baseball, which I find a little hard to believe. Gagne was unbelievably bad with Boston last year, and Mota’s average, at best. Plus, there’s no real telling how Gagne will pitch now that he’s no longer allegedly juicing.

The Brewers could have the best bullpen in the central, although that strikes me as faint praise. 4th in all of MLB? Probably not.

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