Friday's Frosty Mug

Some things to read while finding a phone book to stand on.

The Brewers got the second half off to a rough start last night, getting blown out in Denver after a rough start for Yovani Gallardo. His defense and luck didn't help him out much but Gallardo allowed six runs and eleven hits in just four innings, walking none and striking out two. Jaymes Langrehr of The Brewers Bar says Gallardo struggled to adjust to pitching at Coors Field.

There is some good news, though: Ryan Braun returned to the lineup last night and doubled in the first inning to extend his hitting streak to 23 games. It's now the longest streak by a Brewer since Paul Molitor's 39 game run in 1987, and the third longest in franchise history. Chris Cwik of FanGraphs notes that Braun is one of four major leaguers on pace for a 30-30 season.

With the Brewers getting blown out, Francisco Rodriguez's first day in a Brewer uniform was a pretty quiet one. Todd Rosiak talked to K-Rod about the trade and his new team, and he seemed to say all the right things (FanShot). Ron Roenicke, meanwhile, is continuing to say that Rodriguez will get some save opportunities. I answered some questions for Amazin' Avenue yesterday about the possible PTBNL's in the deal.

Other notes from the field:

• Last night's game was the 27th time in franchise history the Brewers have allowed 20 or more hits in a game and second time in 2011. They allowed 23 hits to the Padres on May 11.
• Zach Braddock was charged with four runs and didn't record an out last night. He's given up eleven runs over five innings since coming back from AAA on June 28.
• Todd Rosiak has a transcript of postgame interviews with Ron Roenicke and Yovani Gallardo.
• Ryan Spillborghs, Ubaldo Jimenez and Prince Fielder are leading FanGraphs' Star of the Game voting.
• Fielder had to borrow some sunglasses from a fan to fight the glare at first base during the early innings - apparently the clubhouse staff had a hard time finding Fielder's glasses in a timely fashion.
• Second base umpire Brian O'Nora left last night's game early with back discomfort.

The Brewers and Rockies play game two of their four game set tonight, and Quinn Roberts of MLB.com has the preview. If you haven't read it yet, you can also check out Purple Row's series preview here. Tonight's game will be broadcast on WMLW, if that impacts your evening plans.

Prince Fielder went 1-for-2 with an intentional walk, a double and an RBI last night. We'll vote for Brewer of the Week later today, but I'd guess he's more or a less a lock to win it. Dave Sheinin of The Washington Post said "Nobody in baseball, with the possible exception of Roger Clemens, has had a better week than Prince Fielder." As part of the ongoing celebration of his All Star MVP Award, the Brewers are selling some field level tickets for July 26 and 27 for $28 (Fielder's uniform number). I almost jumped on the possibility, then I remembered it's a Cubs series.

In the minors:

• There's a new way to follow Wisconsin this season: The team announced yesterday that the remainder of their 2011 home games will be broadcast on MiLB.tv.
• The affiliates went 5-2 last night, and Wisconsin improved to an organizational-best 47-43 with a 2-1 win over West Michigan. You can read about that and more in today's Minor League Notes.
• Rattler Radio has highlights of Wisconsin's 2-1 win over West Michigan last night. They also have this video of Sgt. Slaughter singing Take Me Out To The Ballgame.
• Dominican SS Orlando Arcia also had a pretty good day, going 2-for-4 with a double, triple, walk and a stolen base. Ben Badler of Baseball America named him the DSL prospect of the day.
• Mass Haas reports the Brewers have released Nashville pitcher Chase Wright. He's 28 years old and was spending his third season in Nashville after being acquired from the Yankees in the spring of 2009.

Around baseball:

Diamondbacks: Designated outfielder Wily Mo Pena for assignment.
Nationals: Released pitcher J.C. Romero.
Orioles: Pitchers Kevin Gregg (four games), Mike Gonzalez (three games) and manager Buck Showalter (one game) have been suspended for their roles in a fight on Sunday. Gregg and Gonzalez have appealed.
Phillies: Placed infielder Placido Polanco on the DL with back inflammation.
Rangers: Designated pitcher Zach Phillips for assignment.
Rays: Placed catcher John Jaso on the DL with an oblique strain.
Red Sox: DH David Ortiz has been suspended four games for his role in a fight on Sunday.
Yankees: Signed pitcher J.C. Romero.

We've got a nice update on the trade market status of most of the NL Central this morning: The Cardinals are buyers, the Pirates could be buyers, the Reds may not be buyers and the Astros are selling. You know that and more if you've read this morning's edition of Around the NL Central, where the stars come out to shine.

We've done a fair amount of complaining over the years about relatively poor conditions for baseball at the Brewer minor league affiliates in Huntsville and Nashville. Here are a couple of stories that show that the problem isn't limited to the Brewer organization:

• Nationals GM Mike Rizzo has called out management at Potomac, his club's low-A affiliate, for failures to address "a field that we believe represents a safety threat." Potomac cancelled a doubleheader yesterday.
  
• In Augusta, Georgia, a South Atlantic League game had to be cancelled last night when a chunk of the outfield wall blew down.

Once upon a time these were relatively commonplace, but now they're so rare it's newsworthy: If I'm not mistaken, The A's are scheduled to play 2011's only non-makeup game doubleheader on Saturday.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to pay closer attention.

Drink up.