Pitchers and catchers report for Brewers' training camp

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PHOENIX - Spring training officially begins today for the Milwaukee Brewers, as pitchers-and-catchers report. The full Crew will have its first formal workout tomorrow.

Among other things, third-year manager Ron Roenicke will look to complete his starting rotation. Yovani Gallardo and Marco Estrada are in the first-and-second spots. And Chris Narveson, Mark Rogers, Mike Fiers, and Wily Peralta will compete for the other three spots. Also, Mat Gamel will try to keep the first base spot warm for Corey Hart, who’s not expected to play until May after he recently had knee surgery. Spring Training is starting earlier than normal. That’s because big league teams will lose a number of players to the World Baseball Classic, which is held every four years and starts on March 7th. Fifteen Brewers are playing for their various home countries – and they’ll have several exhibition games under their belts, since the Cactus League season begins on February 23rd.

Milwaukee trains at Maryvale Baseball Park in Phoenix. They’ll break camp on March 28th, and play their final two exhibitions at Milwaukee’s Miller Park against the Chicago White Sox on March 29th-and-30th.

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Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Mike Fiers says he doesn’t care where he ends up in the starting rotation – just as long as he’s there come April. Today marks the official start of spring training for the Brewers’ pitchers and catchers. They’ll hold their first formal workout tomorrow, and the rest of the team is scheduled to join them on Saturday. Fiers made his big league debut last May, after Shaun Marcum went out with a sore elbow. He confused the Los Angeles Dodgers that night, giving up just one run on five hits in seven innings to get his first victory. Throughout the summer, Fiers had a stingy ERA of 1.80 in his first 15 starts. But he wore down in September – and he finished the year at 9-10 with an ERA of just under three-and-three-fourths. Fiers says he’s excited to have a shot at the rotation for the full year – and he’s pushing himself harder to get to the next level. He was drafted in 2009 in the 22nd round out of Division II Nova Southeastern University in Florida. If things don’t go as planned, Fiers says he wouldn’t mind starting the year in the Milwaukee bullpen.

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