Thursday's Frosty Mug: Brewer News, Links And Notes

Some things to read while seeking balance.

Another day, another road loss: Yesterday the Brewers overcame a rough start from Mark Rogers but couldn't hold the lead anyway and lost 7-6 to the Rockies on a walkoff double. We've got the recap, if you missed it.

Jim Henderson was the latest Brewer reliever to struggle yesterday, allowing two runs on three straight hits as the Rockies came back to win. It's the 23rd time a Brewer has blown a save this season, and the third time in four starts it's cost Mark Rogers career win #1.

The Brewers played a game without Ryan Braun for just the eighth time this season yesterday as Ron Roenicke gave him the day off in an effort to work out his recent struggles. Amazingly enough, yesterday's loss dropped the Brewers to 7-1 in games without Braun this season. In a related note, Tracy Ringolsby of MLB.com says Braun has answered his doubters by having a solid season in 2012.

Other notes from the field:

• The Brewers left seven men on base in the first four innings last night, prompting me to take a look at the season and franchise highs for team LOB.
• We've also got a look at the game's turning points and a transcript of Ron Roenicke's postgame comments.

The Brewers return home tonight to open a four game set with the Phillies at 7:10. Jeremy Warnemuende has the MLB.com preview and noted leisured gentleman Carson Cistulli of FanGraphs gave tonight's Cliff Lee/Marco Estrada matchup a six out of ten on his NERD scale.

If you're hoping to tune into tonight's game on the radio, you'll need to switch over to the FM dial. The Brewers have been bumped to WLWK 94.5 FM in Milwaukee to make room for tonight's Packer preseason game on WTMJ. If you're somewhere else in the state you may want to check out our guide to finding games on the radio on Packer game days from last season.

After last night's Brewer loss a fair amount of attention turned to Beloit, where Shaun Marcum allowed three runs (two earned) over four innings in his second rehab appearance for Wisconsin as the starter in their 13-10 loss to the Snappers. Marcum could rejoin the team as soon as Monday, and the Brewers could consider moving to a six-man rotation to make room for him. Meanwhile, here's what Marcum told Adam DeCock of MLB.com about his plans for next season:

"If I had the opportunity [to re-sign with Milwaukee] I'd love to," Marcum said. "That's definitely a possibility. It's a great organization. Most of the guys are going to be back next year. It's a good group. They still have a chance to do some things in Milwaukee. It's pretty special."

Elsewhere in the minors:

• Yesterday the Brewers announced that they've released longtime minor league reliever Dan Merklinger and Wisconsin native catcher Jason Jaramillo. Merklinger posted a 6.50 ERA in 24 appearances for the Stars this season, while Jaramillo hit .188/.272/.256 in 41 games for the Sounds.
• Mark McCarter of the Huntsville Times talked to Doug Melvin yesterday about the Brewers' soon-to-expire player development contract with the Stars, September callups and more. (h/t @Mass_Haas)
• The affiliates went 0-5 last night but it wasn't Drew Gagnon's fault: He pitched eight innings and allowed just one unearned run in Brevard County's 2-1 loss to Dunedin. You can read about that and more in today's Minor League Notes.
• Marc Hulet of FanGraphs has a look back at Santo Manzanillo's disappointing season and the recent work of 15 other NL prospects he identified as sleepers before the year.
• Nashville broadcaster Jeff Hem has an interview with Sounds pitcher Hiram Burgos.
• The Appleton Post Crescent has a great story on Wisconsin intern Kevin Ross, who has spent most of the 2012 season as Fang.

Given the way things have been going lately, there's a strong chance this will be the highlight of the rest of the season: The Brewers announced plans yesterday to unveil Bob Uecker's statue at Miller Park on Friday, August 31 at 1:30. Bob Costas will emcee the event.

If you'd like more Brewer coverage today but you're sick of reading, I've got two options for you:

• I'll be making my weekly appearance on The Home Stretch with Justin Hull on 95.3 FM/AM 1570 The Score in Appleton at 4 pm today. I'll be in studio for most of an hour taking your questions, so get them in early and listen in live.
• I also made an appearance yesterday on From the Phans on CBS Radio in Philadelphia.

Finally, congratulations are due out this morning to BrewCrewBrian, yesterday's winner in our SB Nation Pick 6 contest. Here's the full leaderboard:

Today's action starts at 12:05, so you're running out of time to get your picks in. And, of course, with a new series comes a new set of Prognostikeggers.

Around baseball:

Athletics: Signed pitcher Jeremy Accardo to a minor league deal.
Cubs: Fired Vice President of Player Personnel Oneri Fleita.
Giants: Outfielder Melky Cabrera has been suspended for 50 games after testing positive for synthetic testosterone.
Rockies: Designated reliever Mike Ekstrom for assignment.
White Sox: Signed infielder Jose Lopez to a minor league deal.

If not for the Cabrera suspension yesterday's biggest story around baseball would easily have been Felix Hernandez of the Mariners pitching just the 23rd perfect game in major league history. He pitched it against the Rays, who have been the opposing team for 13% of all perfect games despite having been in existence for less than 15 full years.

Yesterday also saw a slight shift in the NL playoff picture: With a win last night and Pittsburgh's loss to the dodgers the Cardinals are now tied for second place in the NL Central and tied for the league's final playoff spot. The Pirates are still eleven games over .500 at 64-53 but have gone 5-9 in August.

The 2012 MLB draft already feels like it was a long time ago, since all players had to be signed by July 15. Jim Callis of Baseball America notes that under the old system the signing deadline would have been yesterday.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I should probably be watching the road. (h/t @dwalsh76)

Drink up.