The Countdown Begins

Welcome back Brewer fans! I know it's been a while, but I've had a rough winter. That coupled with the fact that other than signing Jeff Suppan, (what a great Christas gift that was!), there hasn't been much to write about.

But with the Winter Warmup last week, the countdown to Opening Day is officially on. Pitchers and catchers report to training camp in just a few short weeks, and April 2 can't come soon enough for me.

The Winter Warmup was the official introduction of Jeff Suppan and new announcer, Brian Anderson. Daron Sutton did get on my nerves a bit with the whole refusal to believe in the jinx thing, but he was a great announcer most of the time, and Mr. Anderson has some large shoes to fill. He seemed a little nervous after he took control of the Warmup broadcast, but that's to be expected, and I'm sure he loosen up with time. Just out of curiosity, what will become of the Buckethead Brigade?

Jeff Suppan, on the other hand, was as cool as a cucumber in his first official introduction to Milwaukee. I also thought it was extremely classy of him to show up in a suit and tie while the other guys' attire was substantially more casual. He presented himself very well, and seemed genuinely excited about being in Milwaukee. An indication that Suppan definitely wants to be here is a complete no-trade clause in his contract for the first two years, and he has veto power after that. That's definitely a good sign.

Suppan joins Ben Sheets, Chris Capuano, Dave Bush and Claudio Vargus in a starting rotation that, dare I say it, looks to be one of the best in the National League. We have five solid, dependable starters, along with Carlos Villanueva waiting in the wings. I know it's been said before, but 2007 could be the year. Fingers crossed!

That's it for now. I mainly just wanted to let my four or five faithful readers know I'm still kicking. 76 days till Opening Day! Until next time, go Brewers!