Some things to read while researching.
The Brewers completed a series win over the Diamondbacks in unlikely fashion yesterday, as Carlos Gomez stole second and took home on a pair of errors to close out a 2-1 walkoff win. You can see video of the play here, or Disciples of Uecker has it in gif form. Noah has the recap, if you missed it.
Yesterday's game was delayed and strongly overshadowed when paramedics rushed out to the bullpen before the second inning after a non-uniformed Brewer employee collapsed out there. We don't know many specifics and this is unconfirmed, but Brewer clubhouse attendant Alex Sanchez tweeted that a groundskeeper named Jeff passed away. If that's true, our thoughts go out to his friends and family.
Ryan Braun and the Brewers deferred comment regarding yesterday's game in light of the incident.
Other notes from the field:
- Norichika Aoki had two of the Brewers' four hits yesterday and now has an eight game hitting streak.
- Adam McCalvy has a photo of yesterday's Italian Sausage bobbleheads.
- Friday night Diamondbacks second baseman Aaron Hill became just the fifth opposing player ever to hit for the cycle against the Brewers. It's the second time in a month Hill has cycled.
- Third base umpire Mark Carlson meant to toss the ball into the Diamondbacks dugout following Hill's triple to complete the feat, but overshot it and threw the ball into the stands instead.
- Carlos Gomez rounded the bases in 16.7 seconds following his home run Friday, one of the fastest times in all of baseball this season.
- The Brat won the sausage race on Friday, the Italian won on Saturday and the Polish pulled off the upset on Italian Heritage Day yesterday.
- 41,647 fans paid to see Saturday's game, but just 38,605 came out for the giveaway yesterday.
- MLB.com has video of Emily Greinke discussing Saturday's Brewer wives' basket raffle.
The Brewers continue their homestand tonight when they open a four game set with the Marlins. Zack Meisel of MLB.com has a preview of tonight's game, and Carson Cistulli of FanGraphs gave the Carlos Zambrano/Zack Greinke matchup a 4 out of 10 on his NERD scale.
Away from the field yesterday's big news was the announcement of All Star rosters, and for Brewer fans it was a disappointing day. Ryan Braun was not chosen to start the game, but was selected as a reserve. He's now the Brewers' second five-time All Star, joining Cecil Cooper. He's also #1 in Justin Hull's Brewer Player Power Rankings.
Even though he wasn't voted in, there's still a strong chance Braun will start next week's contest. Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp is not expected to participate in the game due to injury, and as the top player on the players' ballot Braun would move into his spot. Kemp is expected to captain the NL team in the Home Run Derby, however, and did not select Braun (the NL home run leader) to participate.
Meanwhile, Zack Greinke wasn't selected for the game at all. Both Umpbump.com and The Baseball Index agree that Braun and Greinke should have been on the roster. Joe Block compared Greinke's 2012 to Ben Sheets' 2008, when he was the NL starter. Bob Nightengale of USA Today says it would have been cool for Greinke to appear in the game in Kansas City. Nick Prill of The Brewers Bar says it's not a big deal.
National League manager Tony La Russa commented on the situation regarding Greinke yesterday, saying he and Johnny Cueto of the Reds were left off the roster because both are scheduled to pitch on Sunday and wouldn't be available. That's true for Cueto but not for Greinke, who is pitching on Saturday. La Russa also left second baseman Brandon Phillips off the team, and the Reds aren't happy about it.
Speaking of Greinke, here are today's Brewer trade deadline notes:
- Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (via MLB Daily Dish) reports the Orioles are the "team to watch" regarding Greinke.
- Peter Gammons is reporting that the Rangers are not in on Greinke.
- Ken Rosenthal says the Pirates need to acquire either Greinke or Cole Hamels.
While the primary story regarding Greinke this season has been his possible departure, it's worth noting that he's also been very good. Ryan Smith of Cream City Cables looked past the distractions to analyze Greinke's performance. Greinke won our Brewer of the Week award over the weekend, making him the first pitcher to win the voting twice this season.
Randy Wolf, meanwhile, has not been all that good. Ron Roenicke talked to Wolf Saturday morning after Friday night's disaster start and said he plans to stick with the veteran left-hander.
The next real opportunity to remove Wolf from the rotation may come when Shaun Marcum comes off the DL, but that probably won't happen until after the All Star break. By that point it will have been a month since Marcum pitched in a game, so the team may consider sending him out for a rehab assignment.
The timetable is similar for Jonathan Lucroy, who says his rehab and recovery are going as planned but still can't swing a bat. Martin Maldonado's surprising performance has lessened the blow of his absence a bit.
As disappointing as the Brewers have been this season, it's hard to argue with Dan Plesac when he says the Phillies and Tigers have been bigger letdowns.
In the minors:
- The Brewers extended their player development contract with Brevard County over the weekend. The Manatees have been a Brewer affiliate since 2005 and now will be through 2014.
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Brewer Nation is reporting the Brewers have reached an agreement with fifth round pick Damien Magnifico, but I haven't seen that confirmed anywhere else. Magnifico posted a tweet over the weekend that suggested a decision was made, but didn't say which way he was headed.
- The affiliates went 2-4 yesterday with Nashville winning a wild one, beating Iowa 13-12. You can read about that and more in today's Minor League Notes.
- Brandon Kintzler, designated for assignment last week, cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Huntsville.
- John Sickels of Minor League Ball has Tyler Thornburg at 107 on his new list of baseball's top 120 prospects and has Jed Bradley, Michael Fiers, Drew Gagnon, Taylor Jungmann and Wily Peralta as honorable mentions.
- Nashville broadcaster Jeff Hem has an interview with Wily Peralta.
- The Appleton Post Crescent has a profile of Wisconsin pitcher Chad Thompson.
- Cream City Cables has an interview with Wisconsin outfielder Lance Roenicke.
If you'd like more Brewer coverage today but you're sick of reading, I'll be appearing on The Sports Den with Downtown Ollie Burrows on SportsFan 100.5 in Wausau at 5:30 to talk Greinke, Marlins and more.
Finally, congratulations are due out to Kiev 'n Rice, yesterday's winner in our SB Nation Pick 6 contest. Here's the full leaderboard:
| Rank | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kiev 'n Rice | 66.3 |
| 2 | icecreamman | 60.3 |
| 3 | badgerman59 | 57.4 |
| 4 | Beaver9 | 55.5 |
| 5 | gobrew23 | 53.5 |
| 6 | Jesse7124 | 52.2 |
| 7 | sainzeo | 47.2 |
| 8 | MadtownTim | 41.4 |
| 9 | brewman70 | 41.2 |
| 10 | Reno911 | 39.4 |
Tonight's action starts at 6:05, so there's still plenty of time to make your picks for today. And, of course, a new series means there's also a new set of Prognostikeggers.
Around baseball:
Braves: Signed pitcher Ben Sheets to a minor league deal.
Mariners: Placed pitcher Erasmo Ramirez on the DL with a right elbow flexor strain, placed outfielder Franklin Gutierrez on the 7-day DL with a concussion and designated catcher Adam Moore for assignment.
Orioles: Acquired DH Jim Thome from the Phillies for two minor leaguers and designated pitcher Zach Phillips for assignment.
Rangers: Placed pitcher Mark Lowe on the DL with a rib cage strain.
Red Sox: Designated outfielder Darnell McDonald for assignment.
Twins: Signed catcher Ryan Doumit to a two year, $7 million contract extension.
White Sox: Placed pitcher Brian Bruney on the DL with hip inflammation.
Yankees: Claimed pitcher Chris Schwinden off waivers from the Indians, designated pitcher Danny Farquhar for assignment and acquired pitcher Chad Qualls from the Phillies for cash.
Sheets hasn't pitched in the majors in nearly two full years, but could join the Braves in two weeks if his two AA starts go as planned.
Elsewhere in former Brewers:
- The Dodgers reportedly had a deal in place to acquire Carlos Lee from the Astros, but he vetoed the move.
- Over the weekend Scott Podsednik became the latest member of the HOVG Heroes at Hall of Very Good.
This season's opening series in Japan was much lamented for featuring two bad teams and being played in the early morning hours. This idea would present similar problems, but I think it's a little cooler: Apparently there's a chance for the 2014 MLB season to open at the Sydney Cricket Grounds in Australia.
The Mariners, who opened the 2012 season in Japan, are also the subject of my favorite graphics of the day: Lookout Landing has a post and a sequel on infielder Munenori Kawasaki, the most giffable Mariner.
Elsewhere in gifs: Baseball Nation has a gif and video of an infield single that scored a runner from second in a Twins game this weekend.
This morning's edition of Today In Brewer History marks the 27th anniversary of Paul Molitor's 1000th major league hit. Today is also Nyjer Morgan's 32nd birthday, and Plunk Everyone notes that his 42 career HBP are the fourth most ever for a player born on July 2.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need more coffee.
Drink up.