Some things to read while babyproofing.
The Brewers were without Ryan Braun for the first time all season last night. After Monday's game, Ken Macha said he'd be surprised if Braun was out of the lineup on Tuesday, but Braun told Adam McCalvy he knew there was no chance he'd play. Braun is expected to be held out of the lineup again today, and hopes to be ready to go for Friday.
With Braun out, Jim Edmonds started in center field last night and batted third, going 2-for-5 with a double. Even with those two hits, though, Edmonds is batting just .179/.233/.321 in May, and Call to the Pen listed him among last week's worst cold streaks.
Other notes from the field:
- Last night's loss continued a strange and somewhat alarming trend for the Brewers: They're now 12-1 when they score first, and 3-17 when they don't.
- Tim Hudson, Eric Hinske and Jason Heyward are leading FanGraphs' Star of the Game Voting.
- CoolStandings dropped the Brewer playoff chances to 14.9%.
Corey Hart stole a base last night, his third of the season. With that steal, the Brewers are now 23-for-25 in stolen bases this season, the best percentage in all of baseball. With that said, those 25 attempts are only the ninth highest total in the National League. Alcides Escobar still only has one attempt on the season: Marc Hulet of FanGraphs says "it's borderline criminal that the young infielder isn't utilizing his speed better."
Speaking of speedy players, Carlos Gomez was able to complete his running and throwing drills in the outfield yesterday, and should be ready to return on his first day of eligibility.
Dave Bush left last night's game with a quality start, but the Brewer bullpen allowed eight runs in the game's final three innings. As the Brewers' team ERA creeps back up towards 5.00 (currently 4.95, 13th in the NL), A Girl's View of the Brewers wonders if we all had too high of expectations for Rick Peterson. We're 33 games into the season, and I haven't seen him walk on water one time.
In the minors:
- Wisconsin Sports Tap has posted their bi-weekly Farm Report, with capsules on 26 players and more.
- Chris Capuano's rehab from his second Tommy John surgery continues to progress: Capuano has been promoted to Nashville and will start for the Sounds on Thursday (FanShot).
- David Riske took Capuano's place in Brevard County and pitched a scoreless, hitless inning to open last night's game, allowing a walk and striking out one. That and more are covered in this morning's Minor League Notes.
- If you've ever wondered what it would be like to play in the Pacific Coast League, Nashville broadcaster Stu Paul has a taste of the travel schedule for you.
- Actually, if you'd like to play in the PCL, the Brewers have an opening: Doug Melvin told Adam McCalvy the team plans to look outside the organization to fill Adam Stern's vacated spot on the Sounds' roster.
- A little closer to home, North Shore Bank is giving away 60 free tickets to the June 12th Timber Rattlers game as part of their Rattlers Tailgate Tweetup. Follow this link to sign up for yours.
I've got the power (rankings)!:
- WhatifSports has the Brewers at #13.
- SBNation has the Brewers at #15.
Finally, on a sad note, Tim O'Driscoll, longtime Brewers official scorer and the winningest baseball coach in Wisconsin high school history, has decided to retire from his post at Arrowhead High School to deal with health concerns. O'Driscoll has been scoring games in Milwaukee for over 20 years, and the team isn't sure if his health issues will take him away from those duties.
Around baseball:
Astros: Outfielder Michael Bourn has been suspended for two games for bumping an umpire during an argument on Saturday. He plans to appeal.
Padres: Pitcher Tim Stauffer underwent an appendectomy yesterday and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks.
Rockies: Released pitcher Tim Redding and placed reliever Franklin Morales on the DL with shoulder weakness.
Twins: Placed J.J. Hardy on the DL with a left wrist contusion.
White Sox: Signed pitcher Alan Embree to a minor league deal.
Yankees: Are expected to place reliever Alfredo Aceves on the DL with lower back pain.
Here's something to keep an eye on this weekend: The Phillies will finish up a three game set with the Rockies with a doubleheader today, but after Monday's game they were warned by Major League Baseball for reportedly stealing signs. Apparently they were using binoculars in the bullpen to pick up the signs, and relaying them via the bullpen phone.
And, if you needed something else to worry about, here you go: Giants infielder Mark DeRosa will be out at least a few days with wrist trouble: He had offseason surgery to repair it, but the surgery has been deemed a failure and will need to be performed again. If I recall correctly, DeRosa had the same tendon sheath issue that Rickie Weeks has had in both wrists.
Not only are the Phillies stealing signs, they're also getting three extra home games: Major League Baseball has moved the June 25-27 Blue Jays-Phillies series from Toronto to Philadelphia due to security issues with the G20 Summit in Toronto. They did this despite the fact that Detroit's Comerica Park, roughly 3 and a half hours down the road from Toronto, was available. Miller Park might also have been an option, but the Brewers are home that weekend.
The Ken Griffey nap story got uglier yesterday, if that's possible. In a team meeting, Griffey's Mariner teammate Mike Sweeney demanded the source of the story step forward so he could fight them. When no one did, he accused reporter Larry LaRue of making the story up. Clearly, Sweeney has a future in law enforcement.
This spring you might have ready one or more stories about the ceremonies held in various ballparks as the Yankees presented players with their 2009 World Series rings. I didn't know this, but not everyone gets one of those ceremonies: Apparently the Yankees mailed a ring to Astros catcher Kevin Cash.
If you watched last night's FSWisconsin telecast, you probably learned everything you've ever wanted to know about major league umpiring, and about twice as much more. But you might not have known that several major league teams are developing umpire scouting reports.
Congratulations are due today to Sky Andrecheck of The Baseball Analysts, as he's leaving the baseball blogosphere to take a job in the Indians front office.
Happy birthday today to:
- 2009 Brewer Felipe Lopez, who turns 30.
- 2003-05 Brewer Wes Helms, who turns 34.
- 1984 Brewer Willie Lozado, who turns 51.
- 1982 Brewer Kevin Bass, who also turns 51.
- 1970-71 Brewer Ted Kubiak, who turns 68.
- 1964-65 Milwaukee Brave and 1974 Brewer Felipe Alou, who turns 75.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to repackage my lunch.
Drink up.