Some things to read while installing a window.
Last night's loss was ugly, but the Brewers appear to have dodged a major bullet: Ryan Braun was diagnosed with a left elbow contusion but nothing more after being hit by a pitch and leaving the game. Ken Macha told Adam McCalvy he'd be surprised if Braun isn't back in the lineup tonight.
Elsewhere in outfield injury news, Carlos Gomez has been placed on the DL with a strained rotator cuff (FanShot). The move is backdated to May 6, so Gomez could be eligible to return as soon as the 21st if he's ready. In the meantime, Adam Stern has been called up to serve as the last option on the bench. Stern is 30 and his last plate appearance in a major league game came in 2006 with the Red Sox. He had a very good spring and was hitting .349/.429/.442 for Nashville.
When/if Stern eventually gets into a game, he'll be the 27th player to appear in a Brewer uniform this season. Bernie Brewer noted that the Brewers are one of just three teams to get this far into the season having used only 26.
Other notes from the field:
- Braun's HBP was also the 28th of his career, moving him into a tie for 994th on the all time list. Plunk Everyone has that and much more.
- Martin Prado's grand slam was the Braves' first in 253 games, ending baseball's longest active streak.
- Tommy Hanson, Martin Prado and Troy Glaus are leading FanGraphs' Star of the Game Voting.
- CoolStandings dropped the Brewers' playoff chances to 18.6%.
Also, Peter Moylan sounds like he'd be a fun teammate.
The Braves put up eight runs on the Brewers last night despite playing their fifth straight game without Jason Heyward, who has been out with a groin strain. After the game, he told David O'Brien that he's hoping to return to action tonight.
Despite carrying a no-hitter into the fifth inning, Doug Davis was charged with six of those runs (three earned), and credited with his fourth loss. In-Between Hops asks a question we might have thought unthinkable a few weeks ago: Should Jeff Suppan replace Davis in the rotation?
Elsewhere in pitching decisions, Disciples of Uecker has a look at the Brewers' decision to recall Mitch Stetter instead of calling up Zach Braddock when LaTroy Hawkins was put on the DL. Jack Moore says he expects to see Braddock with the Brewers soon.
In the minors:
- David Riske is inching closer to returning to the major leagues, and is expected to begin a rehab assignment with Brevard County tonight.
- Adam McCalvy reports that the Brewers have signed infielder Justin Parker to a minor league deal. Parker is 23 years old and was Arizona's seventh round pick in 2008. He hit .252/.349/.373 while playing third base for South Bend in the Midwest League last season.
- If you've got some time to kill after reading the Mug, the Brewerfan.net Link Report has just the thing: Chris Cody is starting for Huntsville against Montgomery at 10:35 this morning. Follow the link for audio coverage.
- A couple of postponements this spring have led to Wisconsin being scheduled to play eight games in the next six days. Rattler Radio has the pitching schedule.
- Meanwhile, Scooter Gennett's early performance in the Midwest League continues to draw accolades, Jim Callis of Baseball America says Gennett could be an offensive second baseman in the majors. (h/t Battlekow)
- Project Prospect has updated their list of baseball's top 25 prospects, and has Alcides Escobar at #13.
- Andy Seiler of MLB Bonus Baby has a new mock draft, and has the Brewers selecting Washington high school outfielder Josh Sale at #14.
Ryan Braun leads the NL with 31 runs scored, led the league last season with 203 hits and is hitting .359/.443/.594 this season, but is he a Hall of Famer? Baseball In-Depth says only injuries could prevent Braun from being a first ballot inductee.
If you like your award nominations to be accompanied by below-average attempts at songwriting, then you're the target audience for Right Field Bleachers' Vote for Casey campaign.
On power rankings:
- ESPN moved the Brewers up from 24 to 17.
- Craig Calcaterra has the Brewers at 18.
- MLB FanHouse moved the Brewers up from 25 to 22.
There's still time to vote in this week's BCB Tracking Poll, so please do so if you haven't yet. As of this writing 226 people have voted, including one ballot cast at 4:01 am. Now that's dedication. The poll will remain open until noon today and results will be posted tomorrow.
Around baseball:
Dodgers: Placed pitcher Charlie Haeger on the DL with right plantar fasciitis.
Mets: Designated Frank Catalanotto for assignment.
Pirates: Designated pitcher Brian Bass for assignment.
The timing of Haeger's injury seems somewhat dubious, bringing up once again the topic of the "phantom" DL trip. True Blue LA has a post on the morality and legality of the subject.
There's not much going well in Seattle this season, but this can only make things worse: A couple of Mariner players told a reporter that Ken Griffey was unavailable to pinch hit on Saturday because he was asleep in the clubhouse. Jeff Sullivan of Lookout Landing notes that Griffey has had a long-standing sleep issue and cautions against overreactions, but Dave Cameron of USS Mariner notes an overarching issue: If Griffey's own teammates are telling the media about this stuff, they mustn't be too excited to have him around.
Of course, Griffey isn't the only one asleep on the job: Big League Stew has video of Mets broadcaster Keith Hernandez falling asleep and having to be woken up by a producer during a recent game.
With Dallas Braden's perfect game on Sunday, the perfect game trivia is all over the place this week. Jeff Fletcher noted that Ken Macha is the answer to one such trivia question: He's one of two active managers who have been in uniform for three perfectos.
Statheads, rejoice: Baseball Reference announced yesterday that they're adding several defensive metrics to player pages, and will be updating them on a day-to-day basis.
Royal fans, meanwhile, have much less to rejoice about: Will Carroll noted that Ned Yost has been mentioned as a possible interim candidate if Trey Hillman is let go.
Between Ned Yost and Ken Macha, the Brewers haven't had great luck with managers lately. It's worth noting that it could always be worse, though. As evidence of that claim, I submit Bob Brenly for your consideration.
On this day in 2000, the Brewers beat the Cubs 14-8 in a nine inning game that lasted four hours and 22 minutes, becoming the longest nine inning game in National League history.
Happy birthday today to 2006-07 Brewer Francisco Cordero, who turns 35.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to pick an adjective.
Drink up.