Some things to read while Grandma updates her status.
I'm back from one of the better road trips I've done in recent memory: A quick, two day sprint through two Brewer games and last night's Timber Rattlers season opener. Thanks to Rubie Q, BrewHaHeather, Morineko and everyone else who kept the gears spinning around here while I was out.
As you might expect, I'm still a little worn out after three baseball games and 200 miles in the car in slightly more than 24 hours. As such, I got off to a slow start this morning and, to keep it from being published after noon, I'm going to try to make today's Mug a quick one. Here are today's headlines:
The Nyjer Morgan Golden Era is upon us. Tony Plush went 1-for-4 yesterday, made some excellent plays in right field and showed off his eccentricities on the radio afterwards. Vaughn's Valley wants more Nyjer. Adam McCalvy is on board too.
In fact, everyone loves Myjer Morgan...except for fans of his former team.
Shaun Marcum pitched six innings yesterday and allowed two runs on five hits and two walks. Tom Haudricourt notes that his control was much better.
Kameron Loe has pitched in five of the Brewers' seven games. He's on pace for 116 appearances.
Other notes from the field:
- Ryan Braun's home run yesterday was the Brewers' first non-solo shot of the season, and he rounded the bases in 18.4 seconds.
- Braun narrowly missed the day's fastest trot, which instead belongs to B.J. Upton of the Rays (17.86 seconds). He told Adam McCalvy that "baseball is fun again."
- The home run was Braun's fourth off Tommy Hanson, his most against any pitcher. Hanson said he plans to continue to challenge him.
- Braun, Marcum and Alex Gonzalez are leading FanGraphs' Star of the Game voting.
- Carlos Gomez bunted his way on base yesterday. Howie Magner wants him to try to set a record for bunt attempts.
- The Polish Sausage won the sausage race.
Takashi Saito was still unavailable yesterday with a sore hamstring, but doesn't expect to go on the DL.
Corey Hart still isn't healthy enough to play, but told Trenni Kesnierek that he's trying acupuncture to speed the healing process.
Beyond the Box Score says Hart is the 20th best right fielder of the last five seasons.
When Marco Estrada and Yovani Gallardo won games earlier this week, they became the first Mexican starting pitchers to win back-to-back games since 1998, and the first Mexican pitchers to do it since 2003, when Elmer Dessens and Oscar Villareal did it for the Diamondbacks.
Estrada's performance impressed Ron Roenicke enough to make him consider keeping Estrada in the rotation until Zack Greinke returns.
Prince Fielder is one home run away from being the first to ever hit 100 at Miller Park. Jaymes Langrehr of The Brewers Bar wants you to shut up about his "clutch struggles."
Spencer Fordin and Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com previewed tonight's Brewers-Cubs game.
Off The Bench has news you might have heard before: Rickie Weeks is really good.
Satchel Price of Beyond the Box Score tied the Brewers' 2011 results to Weeks.
Carson Cistulli of NotGraphs has a commercial idea that involves Craig Counsell stabbing someone.
Miller Park Drunk raised a red flag on management at Ryan Braun's Graffito.
In the minors:
- Daniel Merklinger cleared waivers and was assigned to Huntsville.
- Amaury Rivas had a great Opening Night for Nashville last night, completing seven innings with just 77 pitches.
- Jonathan Lucroy's rehab is going well - he drew two walks and played the full game at catcher for Huntsville.
- MLBDepthCharts picked Maverick Lasker and Sean Halton as the Brewers' under the radar breakout candidates.
- Huntsville is broadcasting games on the web from a couch in the seating bowl.
Some people seem to think Miller Park needs a nickname. A Twitter feed has been created to promote The Keg.
Around baseball:
Athletics: Placed pitcher Michael Wuertz on the DL with a hamstring strain.
Cubs: Placed pitchers Randy Wells (forearm strain) and Andrew Cashner (shoulder strain) on the DL
Giants: Placed pitcher Santiago Casilla on the DL with elbow tendonitis.
Mariners: Placed catcher Adam Moore on the DL following surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee.
Red Sox: Designated reliever Dennys Reyes for assignment.
Rockies: Placed pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez on the DL with a thumb injury.
Tigers: Placed pitcher Ryan Perry on the DL with an eye infection.
Twins: Placed second baseman Tsuyoshi Nishioka on the DL with a broken leg.
White Sox: Designated outfielder Lastings Milledge for assignment.
As noted above, the Cubs are going to need two new members for their starting rotation. One of the newcomers is Casey Coleman, who is now scheduled to start against the Brewers on Sunday.
The Brewers gained a game in the standings yesterday when the Astros beat the Reds 3-2. The Reds' loss leaves the Brewers 2.5 games back in the Central, and in fourth place. Cincinnati is headed off on a west coast road trip, and Redleg Nation says that's rarely good news. Meanwhile, the Astros' win was their first of the season.
Today in baseball economics: Royals Review has a great story to ponder on the difficulty of having three major sports in a small market city.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to work.
Drink up.