Monday's Frosty Mug: Two Catchers Advance

Some things to read while becoming a sapphire.

We're on to day 28 of spring training 2013, and we're starting to see Brewers trickle back into camp following pool play in the WBC. Yovani Gallardo and Marco Estrada are already back following Mexico's elimination, and Taylor Green, Jim Henderson and John Axford should be back soon after Canada was eliminated yesterday.

Speaking of Green, he drew the ire of Jon Morosi of Fox Sports for swinging early in a plate appearance instead of working the count and not wearing his sunglasses while chasing a popup yesterday. Nationals infielder Will Rhymes defended Green for the latter infraction, though.

Meanwhile, both Brewer catchers will be away from the team for a while longer. Jonathan Lucroy (and Ryan Braun) and Team USA beat Canada yesterday to advance to the next round, and Martin Maldonado (and Hiram Burgos) and Puerto Rico have also moved on. Todd Rosiak talked to Lucroy about his experience on the big stage.

While players drift back into Brewer camp, one more locker is emptied out. The team released Kelvim Escobar yesterday, ending his comeback attempt. Escobar had appeared in just one game this spring and left that appearance early with a nerve impingement in his hand. The Brewers are now down to 50 players in major league camp.

Back on the Cactus League fields, the Brewers lost 6-1 to the Giants yesterday to fall to 6-8 on the spring. We've got the recap, if you missed it.

Other notes from camp:

• Aramis Ramirez took BP and fielded some ground balls on Sunday to test his sprained knee and expects to be back in the lineup by the end of this week.
• The news is also good for Corey Hart, who is off crutches and ready to ramp up the rehab on his surgically repaired knee.
• Tyler Thornburg threw three hitless innings against the Rangers on Friday before the game was rained out.
• Wily Peralta was knocked around a bit by the Reds on Saturday but his stuff impressed at least one onlooker: Home plate umpire Tony Randazzo asked Ron Roenicke if Peralta's changeup was a screwball.
• Dave Radcliffe of Yahoo has a look at three Brewers who have been impressive during WBC pool play.
• ASU student Edmund Hubbard of the JS talked to several Brewers about the dangers of playing second base and the rules regarding takeout slides.
• ASU student John de Groote of the JS talked to Mike Fiers and Rickie Weeks about the role of stats in the modern game.
• ASU student Justin Marshall of the JS has some pictures of Hunter Morris playing first base.
• Jeff Bianchi (Italy) and Carlos Gomez (Dominican Republic) were both invited to play in the WBC and could have been members of teams that advanced out of pool play, but both remain in Brewer camp and Adam McCalvy talked to them about watching the games from afar.

Cactus League play continues today as the Brewers host the Dodgers in Maryvale at 3 pm Central time in the first televised game of the spring. Mike Fiers is due up for the Brewers and is scheduled to face Zack Greinke, but Greinke may be scratched due to elbow discomfort.

It was a busy weekend for The Brewer Nation, who posted three entries into their "Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers" series covering Logan Schafer, Rickie Weeks and Mat Gamel.

In the minors:

• Likely Nashville outfielder Rene Tosoni and the six other players ejected for their role in Canada and Mexico's WBC brawl on Saturday are not expected to face any discipline.
• Will Wojcik of Disciples of Uecker has a Khris Davis interview from the end of the 2012 season.
• Chris Mehring of Rattler Radio has photos of the latest progress from the renovation project at Fox Cities Stadium. I've been invited to tour the construction site tomorrow and should have more on this story.
  

Around baseball:

Cardinals: Signed 1B/OF Allen Craig to a five year, $31 million contract extension with a club option for 2018.
Nationals: Released pitcher Will Ohman.
Phillies: Released outfielder Joe Mather.

Today in former Brewers:

• Francisco Rodriguez pitched for Venezuela in the WBC but may not have done himself any favors by doing so. Tim Brown of Yahoo reports that K-Rod was clocked at just 86-88 mph with his fastball and was having command issues with his slider.
• Baseball Think Factory has a story on outfielder Tom Brunansky shoplifting during his time in the minors.

I couldn't narrow down my list of this weekend's best spring training stories, so here you go:

• Cardinals pitcher Marc Rzepczynski is out indefinitely after being hit in the eye by a piece of debris while golfing.
• Phillies manager Charlie Manuel was hit by a tricycle during an on-field contest.
• Marlins and Team USA slugger Giancarlo Stanton broke a Diamondbacks staffer's windshield with a long batting practice home run, then autographed the broken glass.
• Cubs video assistant Nate Halm made it all the way to the finals of the club's spring training bunting tournament, outbunting all but one member of the team's actual roster.

Today in baseball economics: Dave Cameron of FanGraphs quoted Red Sox analyst Bill James as saying the team spends about $200,000 per day on minor league operations. Assuming a 150-day minor league season from April-August, that'd be roughly $30 million per season.

This is where I normally talk about history, and today I want to highlight a pretty cool project. Longtime reader Mr. Owgust is chronicling the 100th anniversary of the 1913 American Association Milwaukee Brewers on a day-by-day level at his new site. He also ran a FanPost to promote it over the weekend.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm covered in grit.

Drink up.