Some things to read while watching Buzz eat.
The Brewers lost last night's game to finish off a 2-2 road trip, but unfortunately that's not today's big news: Ryan Braun left last night's game early with a sore left shoulder which he says he injured on a swing. He'll likely be reevaluated once the team gets to the ballpark today.
Before leaving last night's game Braun picked up a single in three ABs, pushing his hitting streak to nine games. Brew Gritt has a look at how he compares to the NL's other All Star candidates in the outfield.
Mark Kotsay started in center last night for the second consecutive game, but moved to left when Braun departed. He went 0-for-4 in the game and caused The Rational World to send Roenicke a message via SgtClueLs' Twitter feed.
The Rational World also voiced their opinion here: Ron Roenicke's approval rating dropped below 50% for the first time in this week's BCB Tracking Poll.
Meanwhile, the Brewers failed to score a run for the fifth time on the road this season and lost 1-0, wasting an excellent effort from Chris Narveson. He held the Padres scoreless on four hits through 7.1 innings, walking just one and striking out four. David Pinto of Baseball Musings notes that Narveson is one of just six starting pitchers who have held opponents scoreless in three or more outings this season without pitching a complete game.
Other notes from the field:
- The Brewers and Padres were a combined 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position through seven innings last night.
- Ron Roenicke told Tom Haudricourt he's not panicking.
- Aaron Harang, Chris Narveson and Orlando Hudson are leading FanGraphs' Star of the Game voting.
Corey Hart went 1-for-3 with a walk last night and has now been on base seven times in three games since returning to the #2 spot in the order. Tom Haudricourt said Hart is finding his way at the plate.
Yuniesky Betancourt didn't start last night, but grounded out on the first pitch in a ninth inning pinch hit appearance. MLB Depth Charts listed him among major leaguers who are "Losing Their Grip."
Carlos Gomez was also supposed to get the night off last night, but was pressed into duty when Braun left the game. Tyler Maas of The AV Club says Gomez is "robbing homers and stealing hearts" this season.
Nyjer Morgan took BP yesterday and is getting close to returning to the lineup. The B-Ref Blog notes that Morgan's 178 2011 OPS+ is the highest among players who posted an OPS+ under 80 last season.
Today's best news may be that the Brewers are returning home, and open a series with the Rockies tonight. Brewers Mix says optimism should still exist. Apparently many of you agree: The Brewers were among this week's Fan Confidence Booms at SBNation.com.
Zack Greinke will be on the mound when the Brewers resume play tonight. Tom Oates of Madison.com says Brewer fans will like what they see once Greinke is back at full speed. Quinn Roberts of MLB.com has a preview of tonight's game, and our series preview will be up at noon today.
Prince Fielder hit .333/.444/.467 on the road trip, but was held homerless and remains on 201 for his career. Yesterday Larry Granillo of Baseball Prospectus dropped by and shared this post on some of Fielder's most notable home run trots. Fielder's home run off Brett Myers in Houston is still the longest in baseball this season.
Speaking of notable home runs, Craig Calcaterra of Hardball Talk selected Ryan Braun's home run on the final day of the 2008 regular season as the most memorable in Brewer history.
LaTroy Hawkins has been a little shaky recently, but he's still riding an 8.2 inning scoreless streak. He told Adam McCalvy he's still seeking consistency in his delivery this season.
In the minors:
- Sean Green accepted his assignment to Nashville and will remain in the organization.
- Curt Rallo of MiLB.com has a profile of Wisconsin pitcher Austin Ross in this week's Midwest League Notes.
- The affiliates went 3-2 yesterday, with Chris Dennis going 4-for-4 with a home run, walk and 3 RBI in Wisconsin's doubleheader sweep of Beloit. You can read about that and more in today's Minor League Notes.
- Rattler Radio has video highlights from both games.
- Zach Braddock is expected to make another rehab appearance for Wisconsin tonight.
Around baseball:
Dodgers: Placed pitcher Vicente Padilla on the DL with forearm soreness.
Giants: Placed infielder Mark DeRosa on the DL with a strained wrist.
Indians: Designated pitcher Justin Germano for assignment.
Orioles: Placed first baseman Derrek Lee (oblique) and second baseman Brian Roberts (concussion) on the DL.
Red Sox: Acquired reliever Franklin Morales from the Rockies for a PTBNL or cash, designated pitcher Hideki Okajima for assignment and signed pitcher Kevin Millwood to a minor league deal.
By Monday we'll likely have another transaction to report: Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier is likely to be fined and/or suspended after he flipped off a photographer during batting practice prior to a game during the Brewers series.
We have a new leader in the NL Central this morning: The Reds were swept in a two game set by the Pirates this week and opened the door for the Cardinals to retake the lead. You know that and much more if you've read this morning's edition of Around the NL Central.
From time to time it's important that we take a moment to step back and gain some perspective. As bad as this Brewer team has looked at times, they're only a few games worse than the 1982 Brewers were at this point. PastKast notes that the eventual AL Champions fell to 18-17 and were booed at home 29 years ago yesterday.
Elsewhere in former Brewers:
- Chris Dickerson had a scary moment in one of his first games with the Yankees: He was hit in the helmet by Orioles reliever Michael Gonzalez during the 15th inning of a game Wednesday. He was back at the ballpark yesterday and appears to be ok.
- Geoff Jenkins will represent the Brewers at the draft in two weeks.
- When Trevor Hoffman was at Wednesday's game he also stopped by San Diego's TV broadcast booth, where Dick Enberg called him "Dustin."
Last night's most interesting statistical note came in Philadelphia, where Jason Giambi homered three times in the Rockies' 7-1 win over the Phillies. He became the second oldest player ever to do it and just the fourth to do it after his 40th birthday.
Today in baseball economics: The Padres' new TV deal is close to being official and is expected to net them between $25-30 million per season from Fox. Their previous deal was worth roughly $15 million per season.
Another day, another story about embarrassingly bad major league umpires: The Padres' game on Tuesday was impacted by Joe West, who called a runner out for leaving third base early on a sac fly despite the fact that replays showed he wasn't even looking at the runner at the time.
In another umpire-related note, MLB is reportedly investigating an incident involving longtime punchline Phil Cuzzi and Nationals GM Mike Rizzo, who apparently had a confrontation regarding a blown call earlier this week.
Now, if you'll excuse me, my chicken is done.
Drink up.