Some things to read while maintaining a proper allegiance.
As the Brewers get ready for a getaway-day night game in Cincinnati tonight, a couple of familiar faces and a new one will be in the clubhouse: With September upon us, the Brewers called up Carlos Villanueva, Mat Gamel and Jeremy Jeffress after last night's game (FanShot). If you had told me a year ago at this time that Jeffress would be getting ready to make his major league debut this week, I wouldn't have believed you. The Brewers Bar has another look at the path he's traveled.
Meanwhile, Yovani Gallardo continues to struggle, allowing a season-high eight earned runs in just five innings last night. Gallardo told Tom Haudricourt he "needs to turn it around soon," and it's hard to argue with that. Adam McCalvy says Gallardo's body language seemed to be calling for the hook last night. Jordan Schelling noted that opponents are hitting .406 on balls put in play off Gallardo since he returned from the DL, and hitting .303/.365/.454 overall over the same span.
With last night's loss, Gallardo's ERA is up to 7.23 since coming off the DL on July 22. So what should the Brewers do with him? Jordan Schelling thinks he should go back on the DL, injured or not. TheJay makes the case that, if he's not injured, Gallardo could learn more by battling through ineffectiveness.
Yesterday's Worst Timing Award goes to R.J. Anderson of FanGraphs, who wrote this post discussing how underrated and unheralded Gallardo has been on the national scale.
After the game, all the talk that wasn't about Yovani Gallardo focused on new Red Aroldis Chapman's impressive major league debut. Chapman needed just eight pitches to pitch a perfect eighth inning and hit 103 on the gun, the fastest recorded speed in the majors this season.
Other notes from the field:
- Lorenzo Cain had a stiff neck after crashing into the wall Monday night, so Chris Dickerson started in his place in center field last night and went 1-for-4.
- The Brewer bullpen was also shorthanded last night, with Trevor Hoffman, Zach Braddock and Mike McClendon all unavailable.
- Joey Votto, Yovani Gallardo and Corey Hart are leading FanGraphs' Star of the Game voting.
- Here are the MLB.com video highlights.
- Even with Aroldis Chapman's major league debut, the Reds were still only able to draw 19,218 fans last night.
The Reds have also made some additions to their roster for today's game: They've called up catcher Corky Miller, first baseman Yonder Alonso and reliever Carlos Fisher.
And, of course, Doug Melvin never misses an opportunity to complain about baseball's roster rules. Melvin told Adam McCalvy that the rules governing September callups create roster imbalances that "can make a huge difference" in extra inning games. Of course, if Melvin really felt like having more players on the bench would give the Brewers a better chance to win, he could call more players up.
Ryan Braun went 2-for-4 last night, and enters today's series finale with 155 hits on the season. Hang with 'em Brewers! notes that Braun needs 45 hits in the Brewers' last 30 games to reach 200 for the second straight year, which is roughly what he did last year.
Carlos Gomez sat the bench again last night, and Howie Magner says the Brewers are sending a message to him by starting Chris Dickerson in his place. Meanwhile, Miller Park Drunk breaks out the fan fiction to suggest an alternative reason why Gomez might be out.
While Gomez sits on the bench, Lorenzo Cain's legend continues to grow. Jack Moore of Disciples of Uecker has a look at the ground Cain had to cover to make his spectacular catch on Monday, and suggests Cain could be "a 3+ WAR player with room to grow" if he can be around league average offensively and maintain his defensive abilities.
I guess I'm still not allowed to mention Rickie Weeks' performance/health, for fear of jinxing it, so I'll just mention that FanGraphs notes Weeks has one of the most significant changes in his 2010 WAR value.
In the minors:
- The affiliates went 3-2 last night, with the Arizona Brewers beating the Reds 10-8 to win the AZL Championship. You can read about that and more in today's Minor League Notes.
- Wisconsin was also a big winner yesterday, belting three home runs en route to a 16-4 victory over Kane County. One of those home runs came off the bat of Khris Davis, who tied a franchise record with his 21st long ball.
- Two Brevard County Manatees have made the Florida State League's postseason All Star team: utility infielder Sergio Miranda and outfielder Erik Komatsu.
If you're ready to start planning ahead for the offseason, Brewers On Deck has been scheduled for January 30, and tickets go on sale today.
On power rankings:
- SB Nation moved the Brewers down three spots to 20.
- WhatifSports has the Brewers at 23, up one spot.
If you haven't had a chance yet, there's still time to vote in this week's BCB Tracking Poll. The poll will close around noon today, with results posted later in the day.
It was another pretty quiet day on the transaction wire:
Rangers: Acquired outfielder Jeff Francoeur from the Mets for infielder Joaquin Arias, and designated outfielder Brandon Boggs for assignment.
Reds: Placed Laynce Nix on the DL with a sprained ankle.
Rockies: Acquired pitcher Manny Delcarmen from the Red Sox for a minor leaguer.
I just got done learning this rule, and now it might be on its way out: Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball says the "Super Two" arbitration rule will be one of the topics discussed during negotiations for baseball's new Collective Bargaining Agreement, which will begin this winter.
I mentioned the Brewer Arizona Fall League players in yesterday's Mug, but one more player that might interest some Brewer fans has been added to the league: Former Brewer farmhand Tom Wilhelmsen, the Brewers' 2002 7th round pick, will represent the Mariners on the Peoria Javelinas.
On this day in 1964, Bob Uecker had one of the best days of his playing career. Playing for the Cardinals against the Milwaukee Braves, Uecker hit a home run (the only one he hit all season) and drove in the winning run in the ninth inning of a 5-4 win.
Happy birthday today to 1963-65 Milwaukee Brave Rico Carty, who turns 71.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to find my secret admirer.
Drink up.