Brewers camp report
MARYVALE, Ariz. -- Five things to know about the Milwaukee Brewers:
1. The Brewers, remember, will be without newly signed center fielder Mike Cameron for the season's first 25 games as he serves a suspension for testing positive for amphetamines twice in three months. "We're really going to miss Cameron," manager Ned Yost says. "He's been really great this spring." Aside from hitting .367 with three home runs and seven RBI in his first 13 games, Cameron has blended into the clubhouse exceptionally well. Until he returns, though, you'll likely see Tony Gwynn Jr., Gabe Gross and Gabe Kapler in center field during April. "I'm very OK mixing and matching," Yost says.
2. Newcomers Cameron and Jason Kendall have tagged a new nickname on the affable Prince Fielder: Big Friendly.
3. Behind Fielder (50) and Rookie of the Year Ryan Braun (34), the Brewers led the majors with 231 home runs in 2007. It's the fourth time in franchise history the club has led the majors in home runs, and the first since 1982 -- the year the Brewers played in their only World Series.
4. Improved defense is a big mission this season for a club that struggled too often last year, especially at third base, where Braun seemed to have a perennial case of soapy hands, and at first, where Fielder led NL first basemen in errors. The club has moved Braun to left field this season, Billy Hall to third (he played center last year) and Cameron will be a plus in center once he returns from suspension. The Brewers are very excited about the Braun-to-left move. "He's so much better than I anticipated," Yost says. "It's worked out so much better than we dreamed. He's been very good out there."
5. That won't be a mistake in the box scores when you see Kendall hitting ninth and the Brewers' starting pitcher eighth on any given night this season. Yost isn't always going to bat the catcher position ninth, but he will when Kendall is the receiver -- which will be the case on most nights. "There are a lot of good reasons for it," Yost says. "You've got to have a special player to make it work, someone with a high on-base percentage, low slugging percentage and a groundball hitter. He's a guy who puts the ball in play all the time, often on the ground -- which is conducive to double plays. With the pitcher hitting ahead of him, moving runners into scoring position, it could cut his double-play potential in half and increase production. That could mean 30 more run-scoring opportunities for us this year. It's worked wonderfully so far this spring."
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