Some things to read while remembering the Contra code.
Good morning, Brewer fans, and welcome to the Trevor Hoffman era. Adam McCalvy has the story of the most talked about ninth inning appearance in a non-save situation in Brewer history.
Ryan Braun was still upset after the game about getting hit by Jeff Karstens, and suggested retaliation may be in order today. The Brewers and Pirates play each other 13 more times this season, so a prolonged grudge would have plenty of time to develop into an ugly mess.
It probably wasn't fun to be the families of the three Pirates with Wisconsin ties last night. One of them, Jason Jaramillo, was profiled in the Racine Journal Times.
Here's something else you may not have known about this Brewers-Pirates matchup: According to Joe Posnanski, these two teams have waited the longest and second longest in all of baseball to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated. The Brewers have the longest drought, not having appeared solo on the cover since Rob Deer did it in 1987. Ryan Braun appeared with two non-Brewers last season.
Mike Cameron continued his hot start last night, connecting for his fifth home run. Jack Moore of Right Field Bleachers took a deeper look at Cameron's start, and says there's more to it than just luck.
On the other end of the spectrum, Brad Nelson struck out last night and is now 0-for-13. Chuckie Hacks is ready to throw Nelson under the bus, but if every player who went 0-for-13 was DFA'd there would be an awful lot of talented players on the move. Nelson worked the count again last night (there was a full count when he struck out), and if he stays patient he'll connect eventually. It's not like he's hitting weak grounders on the first pitch.
Baseball Analysts is working to determine the best pitches of 2009, and Yovani Gallardo checks in with the fourth best slider.
If the Brewers decide to get Gallardo some help in the rotation, it won't be Pedro Martinez. Doug Melvin squashed a rumor that the Brewers might be interested in signing him. The original rumor came from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, which is why I never bothered mentioning it in the first place.
Several minor league notes today:
- Lorenzo Cain won't need knee surgery after all and is expected to miss just 4-6 weeks after damaging his PCL, not his MCL. (h/t FanShot)
- Mark Rogers missed his turn in the rotation in Brevard County after bruising his shoulder running into the wall shagging fly balls, but is expected to be fine.
- Pedro Lambertus, a reliever for the Timber Rattlers, has been placed on the suspended list. Not sure what happened there.
- MLB Prospect Watch lists Alcides Escobar #29 in their ranking of baseball's top 50 prospects.
If you're bored this morning and would like to listen to some baseball, Nashville closes out a series with Iowa at 11 am today and you can listen to it here. (h/t Rattler Radio)
The Brewers have won six of their last eight games and recently took two of three from the defending world champions on the road, so it's probably safe to assume that the baseball world will take a little notice, right? That's not the case for Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star, who left the Brewers at 26 in his power rankings. The Brewers moved up from 27th to 22nd in ESPN's rankings.
When do you boo at Miller Park? Miller Park Drunk says fans are booing too often, and has a list of times when it's allowed.
Around the league:
Astros: Jose Valverde will miss a few days after aggravating a strained calf in Sunday's game.
Giants: Outfielder Andres Torres is expected to be placed on the DL with a hamstring strain.
Padres: Designated pitcher Eulogio de la Cruz for assignment.
Tigers: Released pitcher Scott Williamson.
With new technology comes new opportunities to make yourself look like an idiot. Giants closer Brian Wilson blew a save Sunday, just a few hours after mentioning having fun in Scottsdale on Twitter, at 1 am. Wilson has responded to concerns and is quitting Twitter. The Giants would probably be better off if he stopped going out before day games.
The Ballpark in Arlington has always been a scary place for pitchers, even more so than it should be based on dimensions and climate factors. Beyond the Box Score spotted a quote over the weekend regarding the mound construction, and wonders if that might be a factor.
Oh, and BCB still doesn't have a resident photoshopper, but I'd rather have a resident Lego builder anyway.
Drink up.