Some things to read while taking pride in your ramp.
Day nine of spring training 2013 is a rainy one in Arizona, so it's likely the Brewers will do whatever they can inside before calling it a day in Maryvale. 12 pitchers were scheduled to throw live BP today, so hopefully they can find a way to make that work.
Hiram Burgos, Yovani Gallardo and Marco Estrada already have their first BP sessions in, and Adam McCalvy has a story on how the Brewers are working to get the three starting pitchers ready early before sending them off to the World Baseball Classic. Estrada and Gallardo will also start the team's intrasquad game on Friday, but the starter for Saturday's Cactus League opener has yet to be announced.
Estrada, by the way, was the subject of The Brewer Nation's latest installment in their "Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers" series and Curt Hogg of Reviewing the Brew's latest season outlook post.
Estrada is one of several question marks facing the 2013 Brewers, as he's gone from minor league camp participant in 2011 to the #2 spot in the rotation two years later. Tim Muma of Brewers Mix is optimistic about Estrada and the rest of the rotation, though, noting their ability to get strikeouts and limit fly balls. That young rotation is part of the reason Rob Deer for President stopped by the FanPosts section yesterday to say the Brewers are "going for it the right way." Dave Radcliffe of Yahoo also has five reasons why they're underrated.
Other notes from camp:
- Adam McCalvy has a profile of Aramis Ramirez and the difference between his first and second spring as a Brewer.
- Mike Vassallo has photos from Norichika Aoki, Jeff Bianchi and Jim Henderson's photo shoots for this year's edition of MLB The Show.
- Jonathan Lucroy has a picture from the annual spring training catchers dinner.
- ASU student Alexia Porto of the JS has photos of the Brewer facility in Maryvale.
- ASU student Carrie Adams of the JS has video from interviews with Rickie Weeks and others about the relaxed atmosphere of spring training.
- Finally, fellow ASU student Jason Galvis has a story on Carlos Gomez's opportunity to make a big splash in 2013 before becoming a free agent after the season.
Gomez, by the way, is one of three players Conner Boyd of Reviewing the Brew listed as the Brewers' biggest wild cards for 2013. Jean Segura and Jonathan Lucroy are the others. Gomez is also the subject of the Brewers' June 9 bobblehead giveaway.
Meanwhile, the first base question mark carries into another day. Nathan Petrashek of Cream City Cables has a look at the options to fill the spot, while Spencer Schneier of MLB Daily Dish says the Brewers have not shown any interest in free agent Carlos Lee. Joe Tarring of UmpBump.com listed Morris as the most interesting in a relatively non-descript group of non-roster invitees.
Alex Gonzalez might get a chance to play consistently at first base in April and May, but that doesn't mean he has to like it. It sounds like the Brewers are having to twist his arm a bit to convince him to accept his new utility role.
Sean Halton is already playing with house money at this point, as he wasn't even expecting to be a part of major league camp and now has a chance to open the season on the roster. Tom Haudricourt has a story on the 2012 Nashville Sounds first baseman.
Whoever ends up playing first base for the Brewers on Opening Day, it won't be Mike Carp. The Mariners traded their recently DFA'd first baseman to the Red Sox for a PTBNL or cash.
In the minors:
- Baseball America unveiled their 2013 list of baseball's top 100 prospects yesterday, and Wily Peralta (#69) was the only Brewer to appear. Peralta is down from the #56 spot a year ago, and Jed Bradley and Taylor Jungmann have fallen off the list entirely.
- The Brewers have had just 60 appearances on the top 100 list since 1990, the fourth lowest total in all of baseball.
Odds are predictions like this won't happen often this spring, so we'll have to take them from whoever will give them: Jose Canseco is picking the Brewers to win the NL Central.
If you'd like more Brewer coverage today but you're sick of reading, Tuesday's edition of The Home Stretch Hangout features Justin Hull of 95.3 FM WSCO in Appleton and I talking about the Brewer bullpen, roster battles and more. We'll be back later today with a conversation on Rickie Weeks.
Aside from Carp I don't have any transaction notes today, so here's a video for the song that's been stuck in my head since Valentine's Day:
- ESPN had another Biogenesis report yesterday and revealed five new names, including 2012 Nashville Sound Fautino De Los Santos. FDLS came to the Brewers in the George Kottaras trade last season and was recently claimed off waivers by the Padres.
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Disciples of Uecker inducted Geoff Jenkins and Bob Uecker into their Hall of Greatness from the 2000's.
If your favorite player looks a little different at the plate this spring, it might be his new helmet. Major League Baseball is making the switch this spring from traditional plastic helmets to new carbon fiber versions which will offer better protection.
Here are my favorite spring training stories from today:
- The Astros actually held a draft for their Thursday intrasquad game, and outfielder Justin Maxwell went #1.
- Parking outside the outfield fence at a spring training facility remains a bad idea.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to lower the bar a bit. (h/t PocketDoppler.com)
Drink up.