Thursday's Frosty Mug: Tears in your beer

Some things to read while finding your reason.

Late last night, as I was getting ready for bed, I received this message from a BCB contributor who shall remain nameless:

This team makes me want to cry

Moving from depression to anger, this morning I saw this tweet from @Mass_Haas:

"Pathetic" just doesn't do justice to the #Brewers now. Literally an embarrassment, and diehard fans shouldn't be called out for saying so.

— Jim Goulart (@Mass_Haas) May 30, 2013

I'm running out of ways to talk about how bad this team has been, so I'll let those quotes lead us into the fact that the Brewers lost 4-1 to the Twins last night to drop to 5-21 in May. Nicole has the recap, if you missed it.

Let's just move right into the other notes from the field:

• The Brewers have now played 50 innings since the last time they led a game.
• Norichika Aoki, Rickie Weeks and Jean Segura were all hit by pitches last night, and Segura's was the 2000th in franchise history. Plunk Everyone has more on the accomplishment.
• Aramis Ramirez went 1-for-4 with a double as the DH last night. Enrique Bakemeyer of The Brewers Bar has a look at the recent history of Brewer DH's.

The Brewers wrap up their interleague week in Minnesota tonight at 7:10, when Kyle Lohse takes on P.J. Walters. Kevin Massoth has the MLB.com preview, and noted leisured gentleman Carson Cistulli of FanGraphs gave tonight's pitching matchup a four out of ten on his NERD scale.

A Brewer win seems almost unfathomable at this point, but if they somehow pull it off Kyle Lohse could have a piece of history: with a win tonight he'd become just the 13th MLB pitcher with a victory against all 30 franchises.

Somehow, despite a month that has demoralized even the most hardy among us, not everyone has given up. Joe Block notes that the Brewers could reach 88 wins by going 69-42 the rest of the way, and they've done that three times in franchise history. Personally, at the moment I'm looking at the 44 wins they still need to avoid 100 losses.

With that said, "anything can happen" is one of Howie Magner of Milwaukee Magazine's five reasons to keep watching this Brewer team.

Carlos Gomez is another reason to keep watching. David Schoenfield of ESPN has a look at his hot start and wonders if he can keep it up, while Jon Morosi of Fox Sports lists Gomez and Jean Segura among ten first-time All Star candidates.

Meanwhile, Norichika Aoki went 0-for-3 with the aforementioned HBP last night and is now 2-for his last 26. Todd Rosiak says he wouldn't be surprised if the Brewer right fielder gets the night off tonight.

Aoki is also one of several players listed on J.P. Breen of Disciples of Uecker's look at players the Brewers could deal if they decide to become sellers.

In the shorter term, though, the Brewers have to figure out how they're going to sell tickets for the rest of this season. Robert J. Baumann of NotGraphs reflects on Ryan Braun's decision to help the team out with June's "Brewers win, you win" promotion.

Brewer starting pitchers have a 5.32 ERA this season, nearly a run and a half above the NL average. Could that statistic lead to the end of Rick Kranitz? Benjamin Orr of Reviewing the Brew says he's walking a tightrope.

That ERA would actually be worse if not for this stat: Bill Chuck of Baseball Analytics notes that Yovani Gallardo has recorded a strikeout with two outs and runners in scoring position 12 different times already this season, putting him among the league leaders.

Elsewhere in struggling starting pitchers, Wily Peralta took advantage of an extra day between starts this week and threw an extra bullpen session yesterday.

In the minors:

• The affiliates went 2-2 last night and Ariel Pena recorded eight strikeouts over six innings in Huntsville's 6-5 win over Jackson. You can read about that and more in today's Minor League Notes.
• That Huntsville game, by the way, was interrupted when a skunk ran on the field.
• Chris Mehring of Rattler Radio has a recap from Wisconsin's 3-0 loss to Beloit, including a bizarre story involving a player disguised as an outfield sign.
• Nashville broadcaster Jeff Hem has an interview with Sounds manager Mike Guerrero.
• Our own Alec Dopp has an interview with Texas Tech pitcher Trey Masek, a candidate for the June MLB Draft.

Around baseball:

Angels: Designated pitcher Mark Lowe for assignment.
Blue Jays: Placed third baseman Brett Lawrie on the DL with a sprained ankle.
Marlins: Designated infielder Nick Green for assignment.
Phillies: Placed infielder Michael Young on the bereavement list.

If that waiver activity wasn't enough for you, MLB Daily Dish has a list of ten players who have been DFA'd and await their next step.

Let's go around the NL Central:

• The Cardinals scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth to come from behind and beat the Royals 5-3. Allen Craig and Yadier Molina each had three hits in the game.
• The Indians cooled off the Reds with a 5-2 win in Cleveland. Even after the loss the Reds are still 14-4 in their last 18 games.
• The Pirates moved into a tie for second place with a 5-3 win over the Tigers. Jason Grilli pitched a scoreless ninth for his 22nd save.
• The Cubs are now winners of three straight following a 9-3 win over the White Sox. Catcher Dioner Navarro had three home runs in the game, driving in a career-high six and scoring a career-high four times.
• The Brewers, of course, lost to the Twins.

Here are today's standings and probables:

Team	W	L	GB	Today	Time	Matchup
Cardinals	35	17	--	v KCR	7:15p	Michael Wacha (MLB debut) v Jeremy Guthrie
Reds	33	20	2.5	@ CLE	6:05p	Homer Bailey v Scott Kazmir
Pirates	33	20	2.5	v DET	6:05p	Jeff Locke v Doug Fister
Cubs	21	30	13.5	v CHW	1:20p	Travis Wood v Jake Peavy
Brewers	19	32	15.5	@ MIN	7:10p	Kyle Lohse v P.J. Walters

Today in former Brewers: Boston.com has Paul Molitor and Gary Sheffield on a list of players whose original position has been forgotten. (h/t BBTF)

Today in baseball economics:

• MLB revenue sharing rules mean the Dodgers are going to lose about a billion dollars in revenue from their recent TV deal.
• Major league players are given access to free tickets to games at home and on the road, but have to pay taxes based on the face value of the seats. The Yankees reportedly aren't happy with the Mets because face value for seats in their "friends and family" section was well over $200 for their recent series.

Today's most unusual story comes from Pittsburgh, where Pirates relievers have installed a shark tank in the clubhouse. It's all fun and games until someone throws a bat-swinging tantrum.

This morning's edition of Today In Brewer History marks the 44th anniversary of the first meeting between the Seattle Pilots and the Tigers. Chris Jaffe of The Hardball Times notes that it's also been 20,000 days since Hank Aaron's final five hit game.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need a vacation. (h/t PocketDoppler.com)

Drink up.