Some things to read while becoming one of us.
Carlos Gomez went 1-for-4 with a ninth inning bunt single in his return to the lineup last night (dropping his OBP to .285), then told Anthony Witrado that he's the team's best center fielder. Tom Haudricourt says Gomez wasted no time reminding fans how bad he's been this year.
A majority of BCB readers don't share his confidence. 53% of voters in this week's BCB Tracking Poll think Gomez should have been left in AAA until September 1 instead of being activated this week, and 45% are now disapproving of the trade that acquired him from the Twins.
Gomez was in the lineup in place of Corey Hart, who continues to recover from his sore hamstring. Hart was able to pinch hit in the ninth inning, popping out to short. He could be back in the lineup today.
The big story off the field yesterday was the unveiling of Bud Selig's statue outside Miller Park. Tom Haudricourt has a list of baseball stars past and present who were on hand for the ceremony and quotes from the post-ceremony press conference, including this one from Robin Yount suggesting he nearly left for California in 1990. Even Kevin Kaduk of Big League Stew, who had previously spoken out against the statue, is now acknowledging its place. Meanwhile, Drew Olson makes the case that a statue for Bob Uecker should be next.
Other notes from the field:
- Rod Barajas, Casey McGehee and Dave Bush are leading FanGraphs' Star of the Game voting.
- Here are last night's MLB.com video highlights.
- If you missed last night's FS Wisconsin broadcast, you missed out on this masterpiece.
Another day, another note on Manny Parra. Jack Moore of Disciples of Uecker has a look at Parra's struggles and upside, and it looks like his optimism appears to be starting to fade a bit: For the first time I can recall, he's suggesting the possibility that Parra might be better utilized in the bullpen or in a more non-traditional starting role.
It's been a while since we've discussed Prince Fielder trade stories, and if Ken Rosenthal is right it might be a while before we discuss them again: He makes the case that a free agent market full of first basemen might limit the market for Fielder's services and make it difficult for the Brewers to fair value in return for him.
Instead, I guess we'll settle for a discussion of Fielder's defense. Tom Tango needs your help identifying the defensive strengths and weaknesses of Brewer position players in his annual Fan Scouting Report. You can cast your votes here and see the results here.
If the Brewers are serious about negotiating a contract extension for Rickie Weeks, there's no longer anything stopping them from doing so. Negotiations had been put on hold while Weeks hired a new agent, but he's now settled on Greg Genske of Legacy Sports. Genske's Wikipedia page says he also represents CC Sabathia, Adam Dunn, Livan Hernandez, Scott Kazmir and Vernon Wells, among others.
In the minors:
- The affiliates went 4-1 last night, with Jake Odorizzi (eight innings) and Adrian Rosario (one inning) combining to pitch the third no-hitter in Wisconsin Timber Rattler history, beating Cedar Rapids 3-0. You can read about that and more in today's Minor League Notes.
- Jack Moore notes that Odorizzi has struck out 121 opposing batters in 108 innings this season. He was also one strike away from a combined no-hitter with Damon Krestalude in April.
- That wasn't Wisconsin's only good news yesterday, though: They also have three Midwest League postseason All Stars: outfielder Khris Davis, second baseman Scooter Gennett, and reliever Jon Pokorny.
- Speaking of Gennett, he's been out of the lineup for nearly a week now, and Battlekow spotted a note in the Cedar Rapids Gazette suggesting that he's "in the doghouse" with manager Jeff Isom.
- Don't be surprised if Huntsville ends up as one of the lowest rated teams defensively in all of minor league baseball this season. Adam Foster of Project Prospect notes that Caleb Gindl (in center field) and Zelous Wheeler (at shortstop) are playing out of position defensively for the Stars. Gindl is playing in place of Logan Schafer, who has missed most of the season due to injury, and Wheeler is at short because there's no room for him at second (Brett Lawrie) or third (Taylor Green).
- The Nashville Sounds have a profile of reliever Donovan Hand.
On power rankings: SB Nation has the Brewers at 17, up four spots.
The final nomination for the SBN Wisconsin Hall of Fame is in, with Bucky's 5th Quarter nominating Al Toon. Fan voting for the inaugural class will open next week.
Around baseball:
Cardinals: Placed reliever Dennys Reyes on the DL with a left elbow strain.
Diamondbacks: Released shortstop Bobby Crosby.
Phillies: Signed pitcher Nate Robertson to a minor league deal.
Rangers: Designated infielder Joaquin Arias for assignment.
Reds: Placed Jim Edmonds on the DL with an oblique strain.
If you've seen any of the highlight shows this morning (or were up late), you've probably heard about last night's Phillies-Astros game, which went 16 innings and featured Roy Oswalt, forced into action in the outfield against his former team, grounding out to end it. Wezen-ball has a look at the history of pitchers playing the field.
Happy birthday today to:
- Brevard County Manatee Cody Scarpetta, who turns 22.
- AZL Brewer Nick Shaw, who also turns 22.
- Nashville Sound David Johnson, who turns 28.
- 1981-85 Brewer Rollie Fingers, who turns 64.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to rename a school.
Drink up.