At least he was until McDonald, Jeff D'Amico, John Jaha, Fernando Vina, Jose Valentin, Marc Newfield and sundry associates took turns climbing off and on stretchers. As a result, Garner's had to wait until this season to decide whether the Brewers have what they need to be consistent contenders. You don't want to use it as a crutch, but it is a legitimate reason when you lose McDonald, and then you lose his backup. And then you lose the backup to the backup to McDonald. When Vina went down, he was carrying our club.
Nobody's four deep in any one position, let alone two.
Now if this just keeps happening to us, then we don't have the right kind of people who can stay on the field. This sounds like a team in need of a tonic, and maybe the move to the National League can provide it. The Brewers can still get outhit by their new Central Division neighbors, but they're not as likely to get outspent. They're a lot deeper than they were a couple of years ago, but they're also top heavy with designated hitter types like Jaha and David Nilsson, who will have to perform on the field if they're going to perform at all. One is coming off shoulder surgery and the other off a knee operation.