While all is pretty quiet on the Cubs front for right now (knowing that Milton could be moved at any moment) I think its a good idea to look at the offseason situation for the rest of the teams in the NL Central. Today the Cubs little brothers up north the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Brewers were 80-82 in 2009 and suffered with one of the worst pitching staffs in all of baseball. They made up for it with a solid offense that included two superstar sluggers and a number of emerging young hitters to put around them. It would appear that they have built a fearsome lineup that will keep them in most games until the very end. Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun are franchise cornerstones. Rickie Weeks was having a breakout season before his wrist injury ended his season. Former Cub minor leaguer Casey McGehee emerged as a solid third baseman, JJ Hardy's struggles at shortstop opened the door for defensive star Alcides Escobar to take over. Throw in Mike Cameron's usual solid centerfield numbers and you have argueably the best offense in the division.

There have already been some changes for the Brew Crew, Hardy was moved to the Twins for centerfielder Carlos Gomez, which means Cameron will be moving on. They also need to replace Jason Kendall at catcher, whoever they get will almost for sure be an upgrade since Kendall is one of the worst hitters in baseball right now. Corey Hart may be at a career crossroads of sorts after having a disappointing 2009 effort, but right now he isn't a terrible option in right field. With the right move at catcher the Brewers are pretty well set on offense, that won't be the problem they have at all.

The pitching staff is another issue entirely. The Brewers ranked a cool 27th in all of baseball for team ERA. Their starting pitching staff was downright brutal. They had a combined ERA of 5.37 which was good enough to be the worst in baseball. They have one starter who can be considered above average- Yovani Gallardo. He had a respectable pitching line this season his 3.73 ERA and 3.97 FIP show that he is a good pitcher despite a mediocre record. He has problems walking people though which inflates his pitch count and  gets him out of games too early. The rest is a train wreck. Braden Looper managed to go 14-7 despite a 5.74 FIP, Jeff Suppan (their opening day starter) had a 5.70 FIP, Dave Bush actually was looked on kindly by FIP which was 4.99 despite a 6.38 ERA. Then we get to Manny Parra who might just be one of the worst pitchers in all of baseball. His FIP says he was unlucky (6.36 ERA, 4.88 FIP) but his WHIP suggests he just isn't good.

Ironically their bullpen isn't actually that bad. Trevor Hoffman was solid as closer and there were able to mix and match a group of good relievers. They will need to look for starting pitching still, and that starts in free agency. I would target John Lackey if I was in the Brewers situation. They need a bulldog that can stop long strings of bad pitching and Lackey is one of those guys. Joel Piniero is another guy I think they will target, or should target. Other names that have been rumored include Jarrod Washburn, Randy Wolf, and Doug Davis. Odds are it depends on how much money they want to spend. Lackey and Piniero might be too expensive, meaning they will have to go for the weaker options.

No matter what the Brewers key to success in 2010 will hinge entirely on their ability to bring in at least two new starting pitchers who aren't terrible. Otherwise they will waste one of the best offenses in baseball for the second season in a row.

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