Friday's Frosty Mug

Some things to read while saving money on color.

Even Ron Roenicke admitted that yesterday's game was tough to watch as the Brewers lost 12-7 to the Cubs, losing the series against one of the NL's worst teams. At least most of us seem to agree that yesterday's loss wasn't Roenicke's fault. Roenicke's approval rating dropped over 20% in this week's BCB Tracking Poll.

Meanwhile, it looks like we're going to be spending another five days trying to figure out what's going wrong for Zack Greinke. Jaymes Langrehr of The Brewers Bar wonders if Greinke is trying to be too efficient. Grant Brisbee of Baseball Nation notes that Greinke is on pace to become just the second pitcher ever to post 7 or more strikeouts per walk and 11 or more strikeouts per nine innings for a full season. Pedro Martinez is the other.

Greinke, by the way, allowed eight runs while striking out ten batters yesterday. He's the first major leaguer to do that since Ryan Dempster did it as a member of the Reds in 2003.

George Kottaras struggled a bit defensively yesterday but hit a home run in his first start since rejoining the team. Zack Greinke told Adam McCalvy that he and Kottaras were a bit rusty in the first inning, but after that their relationship was "perfect." Charles F. Gardner of the JS talked to Kottaras about coming back to the big leagues.

Other notes from the field:

• Both teams scored in each of the first three innings of yesterday's game. It's the first time that's happened since the Mets and Brewers did it on May 29 of last season.
• Here's a transcript of Ron Roenicke's postgame comments.
• Kosuke Fukudome, Starlin Castro and Alfonso Soriano are leading FanGraphs' Star of the Game voting.
• Fukudome's home run off Daniel Ray Herrera was his first off a lefty this season. He hit .262/.327/.524 against lefties in 2010.
• 40,024 people paid to see yesterday's game at Wrigley Field. The Cubs drew 39,000 or more for every game in the series.

Rickie Weeks had two more hits yesterday, giving him eight in the last three days and moving him past Ryan Braun for the team lead. Unfortunately he was also thrown out twice trying to stretch a single into a double, meaning he's been thrown out on the bases three times in two days. That's not the only part of his game that's been slow lately: Larry Granillo of Baseball Prospectus notes that Weeks' home run trot from Wednesday clocked in at 24.85 seconds, the third slowest of the day.

If you watched one of this week's games from a Wrigley Field rooftop, you might want to skip this paragraph: The Chicago Tribune has a story today showing that many/most of the rooftop businesses around the park haven't been inspected in years.

There's no rest for the weary, as the Brewers are in Boston today and open a three game set against the Red Sox tonight. Cash Kruth of MLB.com has the preview. The two teams have also agreed to move Saturday's game to a 6 pm Central start to make way for the Boston Bruins' Stanley Cup parade.

Looking further ahead: The Brewers play the Twins six times in their next 15 games, and Jordan Schelling noted that Yovani Gallardo and Francisco Liriano project to match up twice during that time.

Yesterday I reported that the Angels have released pitcher Scott Kazmir. It seems unlikely the Brewers would be interested in picking him up at this point, but Tom Haudricourt noted that Ron Roenicke had an opportunity to watch Kazmir pitch a fair amount while the two were both in Los Angeles.

Takashi Saito had a good outing in his first rehab appearance in Nashville, and could rejoin the team if his next appearance on Saturday goes as well. Meanwhile, Gord Ash told Adam McCalvy that Zach Braddock can return from AAA as soon as he "is able to demonstrate that he is able to follow the requirements of a major league reliever."

In the minors:

• The Brewers have signed two more draft picks: 20th round RHP Brandon Williamson and 25th round C Parker Berberet.
• Brevard County honored members of the Melbourne Braves, an all-black semi-pro team from the 60's and 70's, before last night's game.
• Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun has a story on Brock Kjeldgaard, who is tearing up the Florida State League over three full years after the Brewers nearly released him. (h/t @SessileFielder)
• The Midwest League All Star game is Tuesday, but it's surprisingly bereft of star power: Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com notes that Tyler Thornburg is one of just four participants who made his own organization's top ten prospect list.

Today in feel-good stories: Adam McCalvy notes that Sunday will be John Axford and Jonathan Lucroy's first Father's Days since the birth of their children.

If you'd like more on the Brewers today but you're sick of reading, this week's View From Bernie's Chalet podcast is up. This week's topics include Ron Roenicke, this week's roster moves and a Red Sox series preview.

Around baseball:

Blue Jays: Placed pitcher Casey Janssen on the DL with a forearm strain.
Cardinals: Placed pitcher Eduardo Sanchez on the DL with a shoulder strain.
Phillies: Designated reliever J.C. Romero for assignment.

Rumor has it the Cardinals are already kicking the tires on Romero. You knew that and much more if you've read today's edition of Around The NL Central, where all of our plot lines are ripped from the headlines.

Today in former Brewers: The Padres are planning on retiring Trevor Hoffman's jersey on August 21. I have no idea why it's taking so long.

Today in baseball economics: The Brewers and Cubs played in front of 39,821 fans Wednesday, the third largest crowd in baseball. The first and second largest crowds were both in Philadelphia, where the Phillies sold out both halves of a day-night doubleheader against the Marlins.

That's all I've got for you today, unless you need an evacuation plan.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get insured for jaguars.

Drink up.