Some things to read while trying out a new look.
Thanks to @poonix for supplying today's opening line:
Same road, same Brewers who managed to get shut out for the 10th time this season.
And to @MarcumsChangeup, who added this:
Same Zack Greinke HR balls.
Zack Greinke provided more of the same for the Brewers last night, as he was nearly perfect except for two home runs allowed during the fourth inning. The Common Man of The Platoon Advantage notes that the polarizing nature of Greinke's 2011 season even extends to his WAR numbers: rWAR has him at -0.4 and fWAR has him at 1.9.
While Greinke's home runs didn't help, the middle of the lineup was the issue for the Brewers last night as Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks and Casey McGehee combined to go 0-for-11 with a walk and six strikeouts while the rest of the team went 6-for-20. Adam McCalvy said that Fielder looks like he needs a break.
The Brewers were shut out last night for the tenth time on the road this season, but in this case Tom Haudricourt says it was just because Diamondbacks pitcher Ian Kennedy was that good.
Other notes from the field:
- Nyjer Morgan went 1-for-3 last night and now has a hit in eleven straight games, a career high.
- Last night's loss snapped a nine game winning streak for the Brewers in games played in Arizona with Ryan Braun in the lineup.
- Braun, by the way, rounded the bases in 20.61 seconds following his homer on Wednesday. It was the fourth fastest trot of the day.
- Nyjer Morgan was hit by a pitch last night, and Plunk Everyone notes that it was Arizona reliever Bryan Shaw's first MLB plunking. Morgan has been hit six times this season, and three of them have come since Tuesday.
- Ian Kennedy, Braun and Miguel Montero are leading FanGraphs' Star of the Game voting.
- Despite the fact that he's been hitting fifth for six games now, FS Wisconsin is still running the "Rickie Weeks really knows how to set the table" ad.
The Brewers managed to escape Arizona with a split, although at times neither team deserved to win. Over at Ron Roenicke Stole My Baseball, Rubie Q has a look at some of the puzzling/bizarre/indefensible managerial decisions both Roenicke and Kirk Gibson made in the late innings Wednesday.
With Phoenix in the rear view mirror the Brewers are in San Francisco tonight to open a three game set with the Giants. Jon Schlegel has the MLB.com preview. Shaun Marcum will face Matt Cain tonight, as the Giants are skipping Barry Zito's turn in the rotation.
Meanwhile, Carlos Gomez remains one of the team's top stories. The Brewers made the expected move yesterday by placing him on the DL and purchasing the contract of outfielder Brett Carroll from Nashville to take his place on the roster (FanShot). Carroll is expected to start against lefty Madison Bumgarner on Sunday.
Carlos Gomez is on the 15-day DL for now and has returned to Milwaukee to be examined. Toby Harrmann has a great post discussing the reasons why the Brewers wouldn't just jump straight to the 60-day. Cory Provus noted that the Brewers had a relatively rare working platoon in center until the injury.
Craig Counsell (and the entire Brewer bench) got the night off last night. Bill from The Platoon Advantage listed him as Brewer fans' blind spot.
While the Brewers are in San Francisco this weekend, Doug Melvin is in Cooperstown for the Hall of Fame induction of longtime GM Pat Gillick. He told Peter Gammons, "This will be the most baseball people ever in Cooperstown.". He was also seen having dinner last night with Reds GM Walt Jocketty. (h/t @Brewerfandotnet) Let the rumors commence.
Jon Heyman says it will be interesting to see if the Brewers' interest in Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran increases now that Carlos Gomez is out, and lists them as one of the four most likely candidates to acquire him. Meanwhile, Craig Calcaterra called a Buster Olney post on the subject "your useless trade rumor of the day." With that said, Doug Melvin told Tom Haudricourt he's "possibly" seeking center field help.
In more helpful trade notes, Jack Moore of Disciples of Uecker notes that Jamey Carroll could help solve the Brewer problems at shortstop...and so could Clint Barmes.
In the minors:
- The affiliates went 2-3 last night, and Taylor Green went 2-for-3 with a home run and two walks in Nashville's 8-7 win over Iowa. You can read about that and more in today's Minor League Notes.
- Bob Brainerd of Time Warner Sports 32 has a story on Wisconsin catcher Joey Paciorek, who comes from a long line of baseball players.
- Baseball America has a story on Mat Gamel, but it's subscriber-only.
Here's one of the cooler things I've stumbled across in a while: Twins infielder/outfielder Michael Cuddyer (or someone claiming to be him) has a great Flickr album of photos from around Miller Park and several other stadiums. The Miller Park photos include a lot of perspectives and angles I hadn't seen before. (h/t Lookout Landing)
Once the Brewers are done with the Giants, they'll head home to open a three game set with the Cubs on Tuesday. Tickets for the series mustn't be selling well, as the Crew had 10,000 seats to give away this morning as part of a promotion with a new sponsor. Everyone loves free stuff, though: The giveaway was over in 20 minutes. TheJay had an alternate promotion idea.
Meanwhile, the Brewers are going to get a fair amount of national TV attention in August. Earlier this week their August 13 game against the Pirates was picked up by Fox, and today their August 20 game against the Mets was picked up as well. Both games are now 3:10 Central starts.
In power rankings: Yahoo has the Brewers eighth, down two spots.
If you're ready to make your predictions for tonight's game or any of this weekend's contests, head over to Prognostikeggers. Don't forget, as I seem to every day lately.
Around baseball:
Cardinals: Infielder Ryan Theriot has had his suspension reduced from two games to one and has dropped his appeal.
Indians: Designated infielder/outfielder Jared Goedert for assignment.
Phillies: Signed pitcher Aaron Heilman to a minor league deal.
Yankees: Signed outfielder Marcus Thames to a minor league deal.
The NL Central landscape may change a bit this weekend, as the Pirates and Cardinals open a three game set in Pittsburgh tonight. You know about that and much more if you've read this morning's Abita Turbodog-fueled edition of Around the NL Central.
Earlier this week I mentioned that the Cardinals had gone over 30 games without stealing a base, the longest streak in the majors since the 1970's. Danny Knobler notes that the streak ended last night with a steal by catcher Yadier Molina. You can't make this stuff up.
Here's another fascinating streak: The Mariners haven't had a walkoff win since 2009.
Today's edition of Today in Brewer History celebrates (kind of) the birthday of 1970's Brewer Tim Johnson. Until this morning I didn't know that it's also Tom Haudricourt's birthday.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I feel naked.
Drink up.