The chant “MVP-ED” could be heard during the Milwaukee Brewers opening spring training game in Arizona as Ryan Braun belted out his first home run of the spring in his first at bat, as he helped lead the Brewers to an 11-3 win over the Oakland Athletics.

 After the game Braun’s name was all over ESPN as critics talked about what this means for the team and himself moving forward. To me it means nothing, Braun will continue to rake all over the field and his naysayers will continue to scold him for his wrong doing.

 Meanwhile, despite the distractions the Brewers have started play and have come out with some hot bats along with some solid pitching.

 The big names in Braun, Khris Davis, Carlos Gomez, Jean Segura, and surprisingly Rickie Weeks have come out swinging to start off the spring. Along with this, a top outfield prospect in the organization Mitch Haniger, and shortstop prospect Hector Gomez have also shined in their short time with the team by driving in runs and playing solid defense.

On the flip side, the teams pitching has come out strong to aid the bats as well with strong short performances from Kyle Lohse, Yovani Gallardo, Alfredo Figaro, Wily Peralta and newcomer Zach Duke who is looking to earn a spot in the bullpen this season with the team.

Duke, a high draft pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates years ago, has bounced around to a few teams over his years in the MLB after struggling to find consistency. Despite the struggles as a starter, he has worked hard to gain his strong stuff back and become a strong left-handed reliever for the Brewers this year, which is something they need badly.

As many of you know, the Brewers weak point over the past 5-10 years has been the starting rotation and at times the bullpen. Yes, the strong bats the team has can combat some of these problems but they must hope for some new pitchers to step up this season if they would like to be a contender.

Most of us know what the Brewers will get out of Yovani Gallardo and Kyle Lohse. But from what we have seen of Matt Garza, Tyler Thornburg, Marco Estrada, Johnny Hellweg and Wily Peralta over the last few years, fans have reason to be nervous. Inconsistency is something Brewer fans have become accustomed to with pitching and that needs to change.

Lucky for the pitching staff, some of their blemishes can be hidden behind the team’s great bats. Although the second base starter has yet to be named, and the battle between Scooter Gannett and Rickie Weeks is a close one, the team has to be very happy with how the offense has come together for 2014.

Despite only being four games into spring training, the Brewers have shown a lot to me and many others. Despite the team’s hot start at the plate which most likely will continue, the team cannot solely rely on these bats to get the job done, instead the pitching must surprise us.