Some things to read while branching out.
Day 17 of spring training will probably be best remembered for being the end of Guido's Big Adventure. Yesterday the team announced that the racing Italian Sausage costume (the costume, not the person inside) went missing following an appearance in Cedarburg this weekend and some apparent bar-hopping. He's since been returned, but not before The Catlantis compiled a list of suspects.
Guido's disappearance might actually have been a welcome distraction yesterday as the Brewers lost their fifth straight Cactus League game, falling 3-2 to the Royals. Noah has the recap, if you missed it.
The highlight of yesterday's game might have been the return of Chris Narveson, who pitched 1.1 innings in his first appearance since injuring his shoulder last April. Cash Kruth of MLB.com talked to Narveson about his long road back and his first outing.
Other notes from camp:
- Burke Badenhop pitched a scoreless fourth inning in his first outing of the spring.
- Patrick M. Clems of the San Luis Obispo New Times has a story on former local college student turned Brewer outfielder Logan Schafer. (h/t @Mass_Haas) Schafer, by the way, went 3-for-3 yesterday for the first three-hit game by a Brewer this spring.
- Scooter Gennett went 0-for-2 after entering yesterday's game as a defensive replacement. Tom Haudricourt has a story on the diminutive second baseman's ascent to the majors.
- Gennett also made Lou Olsen of Reviewing the Brew's list of five players to watch for the rest of the spring.
- Dave Radcliffe of Yahoo is making the case for Kelvim Escobar, Michael Olmsted and (A's first baseman) Daric Barton to make the Opening Day roster.
- ASU student Justin Marshall of the JS has a photo essay on Brewer coaches.
- ASU student John De Groote of the JS talked to some spring Brewers about what they'd be doing if they weren't playing baseball.
The Brewers return home today to take on the White Sox at 2 pm Central time. Wily Peralta is scheduled to make his first start of the spring and face lefty Scott Snodgress, who I'm 90% sure is a real person. Jim Margalus of South Side Sox stopped by to help us preview this game as part of our "Better Know A Spring Training Opponent" series.
It seems likely Ryan Braun will be back in the lineup today after getting the day off yesterday. Jack Moore of FanGraphs has a look at the unique power-speed combinations of Braun and two other major leaguers.
We, of course, won't be seeing Mat Gamel. He received a second opinion on his knee but the prognosis remains the same: He needs surgery to repair his re-torn ACL and will miss the 2013 season.
"Grit" has been something of a long-running joke around here, which is why I was surprised to see someone else trying to quantify it: Max Weinstein of Beyond the Box Score has Norichika Aoki among the league leaders in his statistical formula, while Corey Hart is near the bottom. As a team, the Brewers rank ninth overall.
To be fair, he could be talking specifically to fans located in AAA cities: Andrew Ball of Fake Teams says Hunter Morris is coming to a stadium near you.
Moving onto the WBC, mark your calendar/set your DVR for a week from Friday: Yesterday Puerto Rican pitcher Javier Vazquez announced he would not pitch in the Classic, so Hiram Burgos is expected to get the start in their first Pool C game against Spain.
If you'd like more Brewer coverage today but you're sick of reading, here you go:
- Disciples of Uecker has a link to video of Doug Melvin's Wednesday appearance on MLB Network's Clubhouse Confidential.
- Wednesday's Home Stretch Hangout has been archived, and Justin Hull of 95.3 FM WSCO in Appleton and I discussed the potential implications of the Astros leaving the NL Central.
No transactions to report today, so here's some Cake:
Today in former Brewers:
- After making just one start, Shaun Marcum has been pulled from the Mets' spring training rotation to "strengthen his shoulder."
- Kyle Domingos of Purple Row asks if Jorge De La Rosa can bounce back from his recent injuries in 2013.
- True Blue LA has a profile of utilityman Jerry Hairston Jr.
Easily my favorite spring training story of the day came from Nationals camp, where they've got "Teenage Mutant Ninja Hurlers" t-shirts.
If not for that story, my favorite spring training note might have been this Tweet:
#Tigers Leyland, still a smoker, of course: "My new favorite player on the team is Nick Castellanos - because his dad is a lung doctor."
— Tom Gage (@Tom_Gage) February 27, 2013
This morning's edition of Today In Brewer History marks the 58th anniversary of the Milwaukee Braves reporting to spring training in Bradenton, Florida, and being fined for doing so too early. Chris Jaffe of The Hardball Times notes that it's also the 25th anniversary of the death of 1982 Brewer manager Harvey Kuenn.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm on to the next case.
Drink up.