Jeromy Burnitz, who homered in the first, is hit by a pitch in the third. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        It's early, but the Milwaukee Brewers picked up where they left off last season as a thorn in the side of the Cincinnati Reds.

        Almost every preseason publication has ranked the Brewers as the worst team in baseball, but new manager Davey Lopes says his team will prove critics wrong.

        “We're going to battle like this all year long,” Lopes said. “We don't care what the odds are stacked against us. Everything you read in the paper says, "The Brewers don't have this or that, don't expect much of them.' That's all well and good, but those people aren't playing the game.”

        Lopes said the Brewers “can bang the baseball, and we've been banging it ever since spring training started, and we're going to continue to bang it for the duration of the season. I guarantee you, people are going to take notice of us sooner or later.”

        The biggest banger Tuesday night was Jeromy Burnitz, who hit two home runs, the first to right field in the first innning off Denny Neagle to make it 1-0, and the second to left field off rookie Hector Mercado to finish the scoring, 5-1.

        Burnitz gives the Brew Crew an identity. Fans around the league know this guy. He has established himself as one the most feared left-handed hitters in the game (back-to-back 30-homer, 100-RBI seasons).

        It was the eighth time he has hit two home runs in one game in the majors. Burnitz said he thinks it's the first time he did it off two lefties.

        “But the last couple of years, I've hit left-handers just fine,” Burnitz said. “I hit more than 10 home runs last year off them.

        “Now that I have a lot more experience and am playing on a daily basis, I've been seeing them more and they don't really bother me.”

        Burnitz said it was a tough night for hitting.

        “The wind was blowing in,” he said. “It was swirling. If you looked at the flags, it was blowing out, but as I stood in the outfield the wind was blowing in directly against my back hard. This kind of weather isn't conducive to baseball. It's not fun to stand out in the field and freeze.”

        He said when he hit the fastball off Neagle in the first inning, he thought it was “way gone.”

        “But it turned out to barely sneak out,” Burnitz said. “The wind or something held it up.”

        The only concession Burnitz made to the cold as a hitter was in the dugout before he left for the on-deck circle.

        “Holding my hands and my helmet in front of the heater was about all I could do,” he said.

        Also warming up Burnitz was the thought of hitting in Cinergy Field on more pleasant days and nights. It's one of his favorite parks.

        “The ball carries here very well, including center field,” he said. “This is a great place to hit home runs. It's also a great place for base hits, because it's artificial turf. This is an outstanding park all-around to hit in.”

        Lopes said Burnitz is “prime-time.”

        “He's kind of like us (the Brewers),“ Lopes said. “Everybody talks about McGwire and Sosa and Griffey and Bagwell, and rightfully so. I'm not saying "Burny' is going to jump into that category, but as you saw (Tuesday night), when people make mistakes — and even when they make good pitches — he has the ability to drive the ball out of the ballpark.”

        The victory made the home runs much sweeter for Burnitz.

        “It was a great win, partly because we had to play 15 innings to get it,” he said. “That's a big win. It was awesome.”

        NOTE: Lopes and Reds third base coach Ron Oester got into a bit of a jawing session during the last inning. Third-base umpire Randy Marsh came over to quiet things down.

        What were the two former playing competitors getting heated about? “Ah, it was nothing,” said Lopes, smiling. “We were just talkin' about the ol' days.”

Brewers 5, Reds 1 Neagle proves bad March meant nothing Die-hard fans brave chill Burnitz, Brewers remain Reds killers Parris looking ahead, not back REDS NOTEBOOK Runs, box score

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