Some things to read while trying to figure out what happened here.
This is my fifth season writing the Frosty Mug every weekday, and this is honestly the first time I can ever recall saying this: There's no news today. The Brewers were off last night and apparently so was everyone else, because I don't have a single top story for you this morning.
At least there will be baseball again tonight: Tom Gorzelanny takes on Jordan Zimmermann as the Brewers and Nationals open a three game set at Miller Park at 7:10. Miller Park Drunk has a post loosely based on the premise of this weekend series.
If the Brewers find themselves in a save situation tonight, it's safe to assume Jim Henderson will get the ball for the ninth inning. Henderson has recorded three saves in the last week, and Todd Rosiak talked to him about returning to the closer role.
I also don't have any trade deadline news to report, because the deadline has come and gone. MLB Trade Rumors has a primer on how the trade rules change during the August waiver period.
The rules change again on September 1, when teams are allowed to expand their rosters. The Brewer Nation has a look at some of the players we may see as September callups.
Meanwhile, looking much further ahead, the Wisconsin Sports Blog attempted to predict a Brewer Opening Day lineup for 2016. The only real leap I noticed was playing Victor Roache in right field.
The Brewers are 4-3 in their last seven games, but as I noted last night they're going to have to do better than that the rest of the way to dig out of this hole:
If the Brewers go 4-3 in every 7 game stretch the rest of the way, they'll finish around 76-86.
— Brew Crew Ball (@BrewCrewBall) August 2, 2013
Here's another example of how far they've fallen: Tim Brown of Yahoo has them 27th in this week's power rankings, and that's actually up a spot from a week ago.
In the minors:
- He's currently off the 40-man roster, but it's possible Chris Narveson is just about ready for a return to the big leagues. He threw seven scoreless innings for Nashville last night (Twitter link) and has quality starts in four of his last six outings.
- Kevin Massoth of MLB.com has a story on Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Victor Roache and Tyrone Taylor, two prospects with very different histories chasing a common goal.
- Roache went 0-for-4 with a couple of strikeouts in Wisconsin's 6-2 loss to Kane County last night. Chris Mehring of Rattler Radio has more from the game.
- Nashville broadcaster Jeff Hem has an interview with Brewer minor league hitting instructor Al LeBoeuf.
If you'd like more Brewer coverage today but you're sick of reading, I'll be making my weekly appearance on The Home Stretch with Justin Hull on 95.3 FM WSCO in Appleton at 2 pm today. I'll be in studio for an hour taking your calls, tweets and emails, so get your questions in and get your voice heard.
Around baseball:
Blue Jays: Placed outfielder Melky Cabrera on the DL with a knee injury.
Diamondbacks: Placed catcher Miguel Montero on the DL with a lower back strain.
Nationals: Promoted GM Mike Rizzo to team president and gave him a long-term contract extension.
Pirates: Released infielder Brandon Inge.
Rays: Released pitcher Ramon Martinez.
Red Sox: Reliever Brandon Lyon has opted out of his minor league deal and is now a free agent.
Rockies: Designated pitcher Josh Sullivan for assignment.
Royals: Placed second baseman Chris Getz on the DL with a sore knee.
Let's go around the NL Central:
- The Cardinals avoided a five-game sweep in Pittsburgh by trouncing the Pirates 13-0 yesterday. Eight St. Louis players drove in a run in the game, while Joe Kelly pitched six scoreless innings.
- The Cubs lost 6-4 in their series opener against the Dodgers. Yasiel Puig homered in the ninth inning to provide an insurance run.
- The Reds and Brewers were off Thursday.
Here are today's updated standings and probables:
Team | W | L | GB | Today | Time | Matchup |
Pirates | 65 | 43 | -- | v COL | 6:05p | Gerrit Cole v Jhoulys Chacin |
Cardinals | 63 | 44 | 1.5 | @ CIN | 6:10p | Shelby Miller v Bronson Arroyo |
Reds | 60 | 49 | 5.5 | v STL | 6:10p | |
Cubs | 49 | 59 | 16 | v LAD | 3:05p | Travis Wood v Hyun-Jin Ryu |
Brewers | 46 | 62 | 19 | v WAS | 7:10p | Tom Gorzelanny v Jordan Zimmermann |
The Brewers are 26-29 at Miller Park this season, but 20-33 on the road. As it turns out, significant home-road splits are a trend across baseball this year: Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter) notes that there are only three NL teams with winning records in away games.
If you attend tonight's Brewer game, you may notice that (gasp!) there are women present. Stacey May Fowles of TheWalrus.ca noticed an article on the increasing number of women attending baseball games and pokes holes in the argument that they're all just there to drink and ogle men in baseball pants. (h/t BBTF)
I thought I had a lot of time on my hands with the off day yesterday, but apparently Larry Granillo of Baseball Nation had more: He spent the day checking to see if various baseball events in Peanuts and The Simpsons actually could've had plausible box scores.
This morning's edition of Today In Brewer History marks the 21st anniversary of Rollie Fingers' induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Today's other bits of history are also reliever-related: Chris Jaffe of The Hardball Times notes that David Weathers made his major league debut on this day in 1991, and Francisco Cordero made his in 1999.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need some ice.
Drink up.