Roenicke: 'This is going to be a good team'

MILWAUKEE It's hard to improve on a 96-victory season but Ron Roenicke is ready for the challenge. Roenicke heads into his second season at the Brewers' helm with a decidedly different look to his lineup, which will be without first baseman Prince Fielder, shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt and third baseman Casey McGehee. "Ninety-six wins (in 2011) is a lot of wins," said Roenicke. "It's hard to say we're going to win more than that. Our goal is to do whatever it takes to get back in the playoffs. Our first goal is win our division." To make up for the losses, the Brewers were active on the free agent market over the winter, signing shortstop Alex Gonzalez and third baseman Aramis Ramirez. To fill the hole at first base, prospect Mat Gamel is going to get his first chance at an every day opportunity. Adding Gamel, a career .304 hitter in the minors and Ramirez, a .270 hitter at Miller Park, are expected to make up for much of the lost production of Fielder. Should Ryan Braun be suspended 50 games for violation of baseball's banned substance policy, Japanese outfielder Norichika Aoki, a .329 career hitter, will likely take over in left and provides a slightly different dimension to the offense. "We think the offense, the more creative we get, the more opportunities we have to score runs without home runs, the better off we'll be," Roenicke said. "This is going to be a good team." It's not hard to recognize that once again, the Brewers' biggest strength will be its pitching. All five starters return from last season and Francisco Rodriguez and John Axford will be back, also, to work the eighth and ninth innings, respectively. Other relievers, like Marco Estrada and Kameron Loe will return and the Brewers are expecting to get Manny Parra and Zach Braddock back healthy in 2012, making for a strong staff from top to bottom. "I've been here for a pretty long time now, and we never had pitching," second baseman Rickie Weeks said. "Last year was the first time we had pitching. I don't care how much offense you have, if you don't have pitching you can't win ballgames. We have that now still. Prince, he'll be missed, but at the same time I think we have some pieces in place that will still keep us at that top level." Nyjer Morgan had some friendly advice for those worried about a drop off in the post-Fielder era and with the possibility of losing Ryan Braun for 50 games. "My pep talk -- basically, don't panic," Morgan said. "Everything's going to be OK. We're all professionals. Doug and Gord, they brought players in to help get us back on top and still continue what we're doing. There's no panic. Stay tuned." Big money: Brewers owner Mark Attanasio said the team's payroll will exceed 100 million on opening day this season, easily the highest in franchise history and a far cry from the 27 million Attanasio paid his players during his first season. "When I first bought the team people said, 'Is the payroll going to have a '4' in front of it? They meant 40 million," Attanasio said. "Now, we've gone way past that. We'll see. The community is incredibly supportive of the team." The Brewers' payroll was 95 million at the end of last season and even with Prince Fielder's salary coming off the books, the cost of raises to players already under contract for next season and money due to arbitration-eligible players ate up a significant chunk of the budget. Add in the money being spent on Ramirez, the 8 million going to Rodriguez and the purse strings become even tighter. Attanasio, during his tenure as owner, has often stressed the need for flexibility in the payroll to make deals like the ones that brought CC Sabathia to Milwaukee in 2008 and Rodriguez last year. With the payroll so high, Attanasio said the flexibility isn't what it used to be, but if the Brewers are in the race and have a need, they won't sit idly by. "We've stretched things more than we ever have this year," Attanasio said. "I'm a competitive person, though. Greinke wants to stay: Zack Greinke has yet to hire a new agent but he is open to the possibility of a contract extension with the Brewers. This will be his second season in Milwaukee and the final year of a four-year, 38 million contract extension he signed with the Royals in 2009. After being traded to Milwaukee in December 2010, Greinke parted ways with his agency, CAA Sports. "I'll talk to them about it. I don't really want to talk to anyone else about it. But I like the business of baseball. It's exciting for me. It's not like I plan on being my agent, but it is exciting being able to know what's going on behind the scenes." Greinke told reporters that he enjoyed his time in Milwaukee last season, especially his first taste of postseason play. "The team is great," Greinke said. "When you go to the stadium, it just feels real comfortable. Everything feels real good. I like the whole coaching staff and front office, too. The owner is probably the best owner in baseball, maybe. He's incredible." Backing Braun: Ryan Braun's absence was noticeable Sunday, but the report that he tested positive for a banned substance did little to dampen the mood at the Frontier Airlines Center. In fact, during a question-and-answer session with the Brewers' front office, six or seven fan questions were asked before the topic of Braun was brought up. Management and ownership don't have many specifics and Braun hasn't been able to speak about the situation, but his teammates let it be known that they stand behind him 100 percent. "Playing with him a few years, we know how hard he works and we know what he does. It's not something negative that we're trying to look at," John Axford said. "People want to talk about it. They want to try to figure out what's happening, what's going on. "Obviously, the time is going to come soon. But being with 'Braunie' and seeing how hard he works, I definitely have his back every step of the way, for sure." Happy to be here: The newest Brewers, Aramis Ramirez and Alex Gonzalez took part in the festivities and during a session with fans, Ramirez expressed his excitement to play a full season under the roof at Miller Park. A fan mentioned being in attendance at Wrigley Field when Ramirez hit a game-winning two-run home run against Francisco Cordero on June 29, 2007 -- capping off a five-run rally -- and asked if he was looking forward to returning the favor against the Cubs. "Hopefully, I'm a Cub-killer now," said Ramirez, which drew an ovation from the crowd. On Deck was Ramirez's first public appearance as a Brewers player and he spent the weekend getting to know his new teammates. He was one of several players in attendance Saturday night at the Bradley Center for the Bucks-Lakers game. "I'm new here, so I have to build a rapport with the guys," Ramirez said. "It was nice, just to hang out with a couple guys . . . I'm going to do my best just to fit in." Classic Uecker: At least one fan wasn't laughing at one of Bob Uecker's trademark one-liners. During a main stage session, a young boy was about to pose a question for the Brewers' front office. The boy introduced himself as Tyler, to which Uecker responded "poor kid," a joking nod to Brewers' vice president of communications Tyler Barnes. The youngster, dressed in a Craig Counsell jersey, started crying and after some apologetic encouraging from Uecker, made his way to the stage where Counsell offered a high five and signed his jersey. Brewers GM Doug Melvin, assistant GM Gord Ash and owner Mark Attanasio also signed the boy's jersey. An amused Uecker quipped "Mark, give the kid a 20." It was one of many gems from the session, which included Uecker responding to a fan's question about a possible "Mr. Belvedere" reunion by saying "not with him, he's taking a dirt bath," in reference to the show's star, Christopher Hewitt, who passed away in 2011. Bob Uecker, ladies and gentlemen. Never a dull moment. Strong turnout: Even without Prince Fielder or Ryan Braun, attendance at On Deck was strong with a record 12,118 taking part in the festivities. "The fans love Brewers baseball," Attanasio said. "They were a lot of fans here last year even when they thought we might have to trade Prince. The potential for Prince departing is long telegraphed. There's a lot of excitement around the team." Roenicke walked away impressed. "It makes the job rewarding and fun and that it isn't just a ball club, it's a community," Roenicke said. Follow Andrew Wagner on Twitter @ByAndrewWagner.