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Ryan Braun is back in the Milwaukee Brewers' lineup. Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez are healthy returnees for the Colorado Rockies.

Both teams have been wondering all spring how they would fare with their full teams on the field when the real games begin. It's time to find out.

Opening day is Monday at Miller Park. The Rockies' Kyle Kendrick is scheduled to start against the Brewers' Kyle Lohse.

Braun is looking to regain his 2011 NL MVP form following surgery to fix a lingering nerve injury near his right thumb.

Manager Ron Roenicke remains cautiously optimistic. Braun got off to a slow start in the spring, but he has been raking the last few weeks to finish at .395 with three homers.

''I don't know how we're going to be a month from now. He's been swinging the bat great which is very nice,'' Roenicke said.

The hot bats to end the spring are a contrast to what the offense was like when the Brewers were last seen in Milwaukee. A team-wide offensive slump in September dropped the Brewers from first place to out of the playoffs.

Consistency is important. There's a new hitting coach, too, in Darnell Coles.

But once again, keeping players healthy might be the most important factor.

Third baseman Aramis Ramirez turns 36 in June, and Roenicke hopes to keep him healthy in what could be his final season. Adam Lind seems to have bounced from a lingering back issue.

All-Star catcher Jonathan Lucroy looks as if he is over a hamstring injury that limited him in late February and early March to finish with a team-high five homers in spring training.

''So if there was a number-one thing, it was health and we've had that. We've been fortunate to this point,'' Roenicke said.

The Rockies hope to stay just as fortunate all year long.

The smooth-fielding Tulowitzki has spent various stints on the disabled list over his career. Last season, he played in just 91 games before undergoing hip surgery.

''You guys watch me play and you guys judge for yourself,'' he said when asked about his health. ''I'm not going to sit here and say anything.''

He answered at the plate, where he hit .381 with five homers and 12 RBIs this spring.

Gonzalez hit .310 with one homer in 16 spring games. The outfielder was limited to 70 game last season because of surgery to remove a small tumor in his left index finger and then another on his left knee.

''Mentally, I feel really good to go. And physically, things are going fine. I feel like I can take extra bases,'' Gonzalez said.

Pitching could be a problem - again - for Colorado. Left-hander Jorge De La Rosa has a groin injury, and the team released Jhoulys Chacin. The Rockies may need top prospect Eddie Butler - and eventually minor leaguer Jon Gray - to step up for a chance to avoid a fifth straight losing season.

At least the infield defense will be rock-solid again with Tulowitzki and third baseman Nolan Arenado anchoring the left side.

ReasonablySober wrote:If you're in Wisconsin and you want to watch MLB.tv for the Brewers, use the Chrome extension Hola to avoid blackouts. It's how I'll be watching the Brewers all season, because **** Charter and **** cable TV.

CorporateBucks wrote:

ReasonablySober wrote:If you're in Wisconsin and you want to watch MLB.tv for the Brewers, use the Chrome extension Hola to avoid blackouts. It's how I'll be watching the Brewers all season, because **** Charter and **** cable TV.

I just cut cable and was wondering how I would get around VPN issues, had no idea that extension existed.

No matter what the decision was on the national anthem before the Brewers' opener Monday, it's going to be emotional for team principal owner Mark Attanasio and family. For 10 years, it was performed by his father, Joe Attanasio, who passed away during the offseason.

The Attanasios decided to pay tribute to their patriarch by playing a video of Joe singing the anthem from last year during pre-game ceremonies.

“This was a very well-vetted decision within our family,” said Attanasio, who played the tape for his mother Sunday night to prepare her. “My dad loved baseball, loved the Brewers, loved the community here. He really grew to love the Brewers and the community.

“We wanted to do something to honor him but represent his emotion and be a positive thing. He was a man who liked to have a good time and he’d want us all to have a good time today. We’ll try to present things today in that spirit.”

All Brewers employees wore “Joe” buttons in honor of Joe Attanasio and Mark said the family mission was to get through the emotional anthem and then enjoy the day.

“My dad was 89. He got to share this with me for 10 years,” said Attanasio. “That was a real blessing for me and my family. Had he lived to 79, which is a ripe, old age, he would have not known any of this.

“I’m trying to focus on the blessing of that and all the good times we shared rather than thinking of not having him here today.”

ReasonablySober wrote:If you're in Wisconsin and you want to watch MLB.tv for the Brewers, use the Chrome extension Hola to avoid blackouts. It's how I'll be watching the Brewers all season, because **** Charter and **** cable TV.

ReasonablySober wrote:It isn't actually working for me right now. I'm trying to find out if MLB has found a fix for Hola but that would really suck.

jr lucosa wrote:

ReasonablySober wrote:It isn't actually working for me right now. I'm trying to find out if MLB has found a fix for Hola but that would really suck.

It's been working for me