The youth movement which promised brighter days for the Brewers has finally arrived and is living up to its billing.
Not much more can be said about the offensive prowess of Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun; J.J. Hardy and Rickie Weeks are quietly establishing themselves as one of baseball's best middle-infield tandems; Corey Hart is one of the more underrated players in the game, and young pitchers like Yovani Gallardo, Manny Parra and Carlos Villanueva have proven themselves as legit big league starters.
The bullpen, though, is an entirely different story. During the offseason, general manager Doug Melvin completely overhauled the Brewers' relief corps.
Closer Francisco Cordero left for the Cincinnati Reds as a free agent. Villanueva, who was solid out of the bullpen for most of the 2007 season, was moved to the rotation. Derrick Turnbow is the only holdover from the 2007 Opening Day roster. David Riske was signed from the Kansas City Royals while Salomon Torres and Guillermo Mota were picked up via trades.
Topping off the acquisitions was the signing of Eric Gagne.
Through the first five games of the season, the bullpen has combined to allow six runs on 10 hits with 16 strikeouts in 16 innings of work. Relievers have issued six walks and allowed three home runs while posting an ERA of 3.38 with three saves in four opportunities.
The only real hiccup this season came at Gagne's expense. In the season opener at Chicago, the right-hander gave up a 3-0 lead on back-to-back walks and a home run. The Brewers wound up winning the game in the 10th.
Gagne's $10 million contract was questioned by some who wondered if the Brewers would get the Texas version (2-0, 16 saves, 2.16 ERA) or the Boston version, which pitched so poorly down the stretch (2-2, 6.75 ERA) that Gagne was almost left off the Red Sox' post-season roster.
Melvin and Yost both thought that some of Gagne's troubles could be attributed to pitching in a set-up role, after a career as a closer.
Though not the same player he was during his record-setting years with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Gagne can still throw the heat; he topped out at 94 on the radar gun Saturday afternoon. Yost thinks that while he may no longer be a flame-thrower, he's a more complete pitcher; one that utilizes his full repertoire of pitches and hits his spots.
"In years past we saw 97, 98 mile-per-hour Gagne, but he's come back from his injuries and learned how to pitch," Yost says. "He still spots a 94 mile-per-hour fastball, which is really good, but he has a nice curveball, a nice change-up ... he really pitches out there.
"He upgraded his game, and that's the mark of a good player."
What Yost likes best about his relievers is their durability. Mota, Torres and Riske are all capable of throwing multiple innings, if needed. The ability to use different players in different situations -- set-up, middle relief, 7th inning -- also will be beneficial.
Yost would prefer to establish set bullpen roles. But having flexibility isn't a bad thing, either.
"With this pen, it's awful hard to do," Yost says. "Everybody's really, really good. Everybody, in my mind, is an eighth or ninth inning pitcher.
"It doesn't make any sense for me to try to establish roles for theses guys. (I) try to just keep them balanced, keep them all working."
Riske, who came on in relief of Manny Parra to snuff out a possible sixth-inning San Francisco rally Saturday, earned the save in the season opener and also threw two innings in a 6-3 loss to the Cubs on April 2.
"It's awesome to have guys out there with the eighth or ninth inning experience," Riske says. "It's like flipping a coin because you can trust in anybody out there."
The ability of his relievers to throw extended innings or on back to back days shows how talented the bullpen is.
"Riske came in and saved us the sixth inning," Yost says. "That could have saved us the game right there. We haven't had -- at least since I've been here -- the quality of a reliever that can come in in the sixth inning and close an inning down."
In addition, hard-throwing Seth McClung will work in long-relief while Brian Shose will again be the team's left-handed specialist, with an ability to work full innings, if needed. Derrick Turnbow, who has closed and worked as Cordero's set-up man last year, is also available.
"It's nice to have that," Yost says of the bullpen's depth. "It shows you the strength of our pitching staff."
