Tony DeMarco

The Milwaukee Brewers' first winning season since 1992 didn't end the way they wanted it to, and this off-season didn't start so well, either.

But this is one small-market team bent on winning now, and with one of the game's better (and underrated) general managers in Doug Melvin orchestrating the effort to upgrade, the Brewers head into spring training as the National League team most likely to become this year's version of the unlikely defending league-champion Colorado Rockies.

The Brewers led the NL Central for 133 days last season, only to finish two games behind the Chicago Cubs. The problem wasn't so much September, when Ned Yost's team went 16-12 to the Cubs' 17-12, but a 9-18 August when their pitching temporarily hit the skids.

The Brewers did help knock the San Diego Padres out of the playoffs by winning on the final two days of the regular season, but their 83 wins left them short of a Cubs team that needed only 85 victories to reach the postseason.

And then their bullpen got blown apart with two early-winter free-agent defections — lights-out closer Francisco Cordero to the Reds for a $46-million deal, and setup man Scott Linebrink to the White Sox for an even more surprising four-year, $19-million pact.

Since then, Melvin has rebuilt the relief crew by signing free agents Eric Gagne, David Riske and Randy Choate, and trading for Guillermo Mota and Salomon Torres — all of whom will fit with holdovers Derrick Turnbow, Brian Shouse and Seth McClung, plus a loser or two from an eight-man rotation battle.

The key, of course, is Gagne, whose split-personality season was a bizarre one. In 33.1 innings for Texas, he allowed only 23 hits and 12 walks, struck out 29, posted a 2.16 ERA, and converted 16 of 17 save opportunities. The Red Sox got him to be the bridge to Jonathan Papelbon, but Gagne couldn't make the transition down the stretch, posting a 6.75 ERA and becoming a non-entity in the postseason.

The 2008 version of Gagne probably lies somewhere in the middle, but don't be surprised to see something closer to a full season of his 2007 Texas numbers. And Turnbow, Riske and Torres all have closing experience, just in case.

The other big change is Mike Cameron in effect replacing longtime Brewer star Geoff Jenkins, who wasn't re-signed, and landed in Philadelphia. The knocks on Cameron are there — too many strikeouts, not a contact guy, the Brewers needed a left-handed bat more. Not to mention the 25-game suspension Cameron must serve to start the season, likely leaving Tony Gwynn Jr. with most of the center field duty.

But Cameron (as well as new regular catcher Jason Kendall) will make a big difference defensively — where the Brewers need it most. Cameron's Gold Glove-caliber play in center will be a nice upgrade over Bill Hall, who will switch positions for the second year in a row — this time to third base — pushing Ryan Braun to left, where the Brewers hope his defensive shortcomings will be less problematic. While it is rare to see a Rookie of the Year switch positions the following season, it also was rare to see a Rookie of the Year taken out of games for defensive purposes down the stretch last season, too.

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But what Braun can really do is hit. Check out the Bill James Handbook projection for his 2008 numbers: .326, 46 homers, 122 RBI, 121 runs, 20 steals, 1.042 OPS. And then add that to Prince Fielder's projection — .289, 44 homers, 111 RBI, 101 runs, .979 OPS — and you could have the game's most-lethal 3-4 combination.

Braun is expected to hit behind Fielder this season, giving Braun more opportunities to steal bases, and with Corey Hart, Cameron and Rickie Weeks, the Brewers could have four 20 homer/20 steal performers in their lineup. They also could have as many as six players with 20 homers or more, including J.J. Hardy. No, scoring runs isn't going to be a problem.

Now toss in two 2007 underachieving starting pitchers who could bounce back in David Bush and Chris Capuano, and a potential emerging star in Yovani Gallardo, and there is reason to believe manager Ned Yost will have a formidable rotation, especially with ace Ben Sheets in a contract year.

The Rockies showed late last season what can happen when a nucleus of young players comes of age. It just might the Brewers' turn this season.

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