Pitcher Yovani Gallardo had a 16-9 record this season and his 204 strikeouts were by far the most in the Milwaukee Brewers starting rotation. Credit: Mark Hoffman

By of the

OFFENSE

Many observers expected the Brewers' production to fall off greatly with the departure of slugger Prince Fielder and in the early going that concern appeared legitimate. Rickie Weeks had a miserable first half. Free-agent signee Aramis Ramirez needed several weeks to get going. Nyjer Morgan played himself out of a job after hitting .304 in 2011. Red-hot Jonathan Lucroy was lost for two months with a broken hand. In the second half, however, things started coming together. Norichika Aoki was a catalyst atop the lineup when he became a starter in right field. Weeks got back to his old ways. Ramirez, Ryan Braun and Corey Hart did the heavy lifting. Lucroy and Martin Maldonado combined to form a potent offensive duo behind the plate. Carlos Gomez came alive. By the end of the season, Milwaukee led the NL in homers (202) and stolen bases (158), becoming the first team since the Colorado Rockies in 1996 to display that versatility in the senior circuit, and also scored the most runs with 776. Additionally, the Brewers ranked second in the NL with 76 sacrifices, demonstrating an ability to score runs in many ways. The home run total ranked fifth in club history. Grade: A-minus.

DEFENSE

The Brewers were unexpectedly solid in the field, especially considering the leaky defense played in 2011. What also made the improvement surprising was the number of positional changes made after shortstop Alex Gonzalez and first baseman Mat Gamel were lost in early May with knee injuries. Hart moved from right field to first and looked like he had been there his entire career. Aoki took over in right and was more than adequate with good range and arm strength. Maldonado upgraded the catching defense when he came up from the minors to team with Lucroy after Lucroy recovered from a broken hand. Ramirez had the best season of his career at third base at age 34 and should be considered for a Gold Glove. The Brewers tied for fourth in the NL with a .984 fielding percentage. Grade: B.

STARTING PITCHING

One season after using six starting pitchers, the fewest in the major leagues, the Brewers needed 11 to get through 2012. They combined to go 55-46 with a 3.99 ERA, which ranked ninth in the NL. Last year, the Brewers starters posted a 3.78 ERA. Their 941 1/3 innings pitched were down from last season's 992, but considering the turnover stemming from injury (Shaun Marcum missed two months), trades and other moves, that was a respectable number. The Brewers didn't post a complete game, giving them just one over the last two years. The rotation changed after Zack Greinke was traded and Randy Wolf was released, giving younger pitchers an opportunity. Opposing batters hit .259 against the starters compared to .249 in 2011. The starters excelled at striking batters out with 875, a category in which the Brewers ranked second in the NL behind Philadelphia and fifth in the majors. Yovani Gallardo's 204 Ks were by far the most in the rotation. Grade: C-plus.

RELIEF PITCHING

This area was primarily responsible for the team falling out of the NL Central race in the middle of the season, requiring a remarkable late-season surge just to get in the hunt for the second wild card. In particular, closer John Axford (nine blown saves, eight losses) and setup man/Plan B closer Francisco Rodriguez (seven blown saves, seven losses) melted down simultaneously, resulting in some hideous last at-bat defeats. It got so bad that bullpen coach Stan Kyles finally paid for it with his job at the end of July. Manny Parra and Kameron Loe were erratic in the middle innings, and Jose Veras made things harder on himself by retiring the first batter he faced only 45 of 72 times. The second-half additions of Jim Henderson and Brandon Kintzler helped bolster the bullpen, as did the recoveries of Axford and Rodriguez. The relief corps led the majors with 29 blown saves and was last in the NL with a 4.66 ERA and 33 losses. They allowed the second-most home runs (56) and third-most walks (234). Grade: D.

BENCH

For the second consecutive season, the Brewers' bench wasn't much of a factor. Pinch hitters batted .223, which ranked 11th in the NL and just one percentage point higher than in 2011. Reserves racked up a prodigious 89 strikeouts - most in the NL - that contributed to an on-base percentage of just .290. The likes of Brooks Conrad early and Cody Ransom later didn't help in that area. Travis Ishikawa received the fourth most at-bats as a pinch hitter in the NL (50) and hit a respectable .260 with two doubles, a triple and eight RBI. Rookie Logan Schafer was solid over the last few weeks, going 4 for 8 with four RBI. Grade: C.

MANAGER/COACHES

Nothing makes a manager look worse than a bad bullpen, and Ron Roenicke's late-inning moves backfired on him too often in June, July and early August. As he eventually pointed out while venting about the situation, what other choices did he have? Roenicke's calming influence did help the Brewers navigate through the tough times and eventually rally to roar into the wild-card race and finish with a winning season. It's never a good year for the coaching staff when somebody gets fired, though Lee Tunnell impressed his bosses enough as Kyles' replacement to return in 2013. The hitters were slow to warm to new hitting coach Johnny Narron in the early going, but the offense evolved into the most productive in the NL, leading it with 776 runs, 202 homers and 158 stolen bases. Pitching coach Rick Kranitz had to navigate around Marcum's injury and a bad year by Wolf that led to his release as well as the bullpen woes. Grade: C-plus.

FRONT OFFICE/OWNERSHIP

It was a respectable year in this category, spearheaded by general manager Doug Melvin, who received an extension through 2015 in early May. Ramirez, his replacement for Fielder, exceeded expectations. The off-the-radar signing of an unknown Aoki was marvelous. Gonzalez had the makings of a solid signing until lost for the season in early May to a knee injury. After it appeared the Brewers were out of the race, Melvin traded upcoming free agent Greinke to the Angels for a potential starting shortstop in Jean Segura and a couple of power arms in Johnny Hellweg and Ariel Pena, only to see the team roar back into the wild-card chase. Melvin and assistant GM Gord Ash remained proactive, signing Lucroy to an extension in spring training. Melvin also made the decision to dump the underperforming Wolf in late August. On the flip side, Melvin admitted the lack of flexibility and competition in the bullpen handcuffed his ability to make changes. Part of that problem could be traced to the decision to offer arbitration to Rodriguez. Principal owner Mark Attanasio certainly did his part by stretching payroll beyond $100 million, a high for the franchise, which likely will put the club in the red after attendance dropped from more than 3 million to 2.83 million. Grade: B-minus.

OVERALL

It was a roller-coaster season that certainly did not go as planned, especially after the 96-win 2011 season that resulted in the NL Central crown. The offense and the starting rotation sputtered early and the bullpen was a train wreck for long periods. Just when it appeared the season would be a total disaster, things came together in late August and the Brewers proceeded to win 24 of 30 games to climb into the race for the second wild card before eventually settling for the consolation prize of a winning season. Better yet, the surge was made while young pitchers Mike Fiers, Mark Rogers and Wily Peralta were getting starts and a 22-year-old prospect was manning the shortstop position. The result was a more positive feeling about this season as well as optimism for 2013, something that seemed unimaginable as late as mid-August. The Brewers thought they had another playoff team, but events conspired against them before the uplifting ending. Grade: C-plus.

FREE AGENTS

SS Alex Gonzalez (club option), RHP Livan Hernandez, RHP Shaun Marcum, RHP Francisco Rodriguez, C Yorvit Torrealba.

ARBITRATION ELIGIBLE

RHP John Axford, RHP Marco Estrada, CF Carlos Gomez, 1B Travis Ishikawa, RHP Kameron Loe, OF Nyjer Morgan, LHP Chris Narveson, LHP Manny Parra, RHP Jose Veras.