Friday's Frosty Mug: Worse day, or the worst day?

Some things to read while bringing out the worst in people.

I've already used the phrase "new low" once this week, but it's possible the Brewers dropped a little further yesterday. Jonathan Lucroy told Adam McCalvy yesterday's 7-4 loss to the Astros was "easily" the worst game of the season. Morineko has the recap, if you missed it.

John Axford worked out of a jam yesterday to keep the game alive in the ninth and recorded his 18th consecutive scoreless outing. That's tied for the fifth longest streak in franchise history, and it's the longest streak since Trevor Hoffman matched it in 2009.

The Brewers did not play well yesterday, but they also weren't managed well. Dave Radcliffe of Yahoo has a look at some of Ron Roenicke's more head-scratching decisions from the late innings.

Other notes from the field:

• TOOTBLAN Tracker credits the Brewers with three bad outs on the bases, crediting one each to Jean Segura, Scooter Gennett and Caleb Gindl.
• Aramis Ramirez was hit by a pitch for the 103rd time in his career yesterday, moving him into a tie for 71st place all time. Plunk Everyone has more on the accomplishment.

Let's put a bow on the Astros series with a look at the week's home runs with help from Hit Tracker and Wezen-ball:

Day	Player	Distance	Trot Time
Tuesday	No home runs
Wednesday	Aramis Ramirez	361 feet	25.74 seconds
Wednesday	Rickie Weeks	375 feet	23.57 seconds
Thursday	Jonathan Lucroy	381 feet	19.81 seconds

Following yesterday's loss the Brewers headed home and will open a series with the Braves tonight. Wily Peralta will take on Julio Teheran at 7:10, and Joey Nowak has the MLB.com preview. Miller Park Drunk has a post roughly based on the concept of previewing the series.

Following yesterday's game the Brewers made a somewhat unexpected transaction, activating Chris Narveson off the DL and outrighting him to Nashville (FanShot). Narveson had been with the Sounds rehabbing a finger injury and posted a 7.00 ERA in five appearances. This move removes him from the 40-man roster.

Meanwhile, a transaction to activate Ryan Braun from the DL is apparently not coming as soon as we'd hoped. Braun's recovery from his thumb contusion is going slower than expected and he's unlikely to be ready when he's eligible to be activated on Tuesday.

Yesterday was the Brewers' second game without Norichika Aoki, who left the team following Tuesday's game and was placed on the paternity list. As of this writing we haven't heard anything about the birth of his child, but he's due to rejoin the team Saturday.

Aramis Ramirez is not on the DL at this point, but it looks like it's possible he may have to go back on at some point. Adam McCalvy talked to him about trying to battle through continued soreness in his left knee.

Jonathan Lucroy was one of three Brewers with multiple hits yesterday and also caught all 149 offerings thrown by Brewer pitchers. Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs has an updated look at pitch framing and notes that the Brewers are actually a little better at getting additional called strikes this year than they were in 2012.

Meanwhile, Yuniesky Betancourt started all three games in the Houston Series and went 1-for-11. You can add Miller Park Drunk to the list of writers exasperated by the Brewers' decision to continue to employ and play him. This week's BCB Tracking Poll shows that most of us would be on board with a decision to take him off the roster ASAP.

Looking ahead, each loss makes the Brewers a little more likely to consider wholesale changes at the trade deadline. The Book of Gorman has a one act play featuring a potential deadline scenario. Considering potential trade candidates, Dave Radcliffe of Yahoo suggests Norichika Aoki could be the most valuable moveable asset while Jess Lemont of The Brewers Bar makes the case for keeping Yovani Gallardo.

Even past the trade deadline, though, there are a pretty significant number of individual reasons to watch this Brewer team down the stretch. Adam Wieser of Disciples of Uecker has a look at some milestones on the horizon.

In the minors:

• The affiliates had a rough night last night, going 0-for-6 in their first full slate of action in 2013. 2013 draft pick Garrett Cooper had a big night, though, homering twice for Helena in his professional debut. You can read about that and more in today's Minor League Notes.
• Chris Mehring of Rattler Radio has video highlights and more from Wisconsin's 3-1 loss to Cedar Rapids, including a note mentioning Michael Reed's 37-game on-base streak.
• The Brewers moved a couple of minor league pitchers up the ladder today, promoting David Goforth from Brevard County to Huntsville and Damien Magnifico from Wisconsin to Brevard County to take his place. Those two probably combine to have a 200 mph fastball.
• Nashville broadcaster Jeff Hem has an interview with Tyler Thornburg.

Back in Milwaukee, we're about a week away from a pretty cool anniversary: The Official Site has a story on the first sausage race from June 27, 1993.

If you'd like more Brewer coverage today but you're sick of reading, I'll be making my weekly appearance on The Home Stretch on 95.3 FM WSCO in Appleton at 2 pm today. I'll be in studio with guest host Joey D for most of an hour taking your questions, so plan to join us.

Around baseball:

Astros: Placed outfielder Trevor Crowe on the DL with a sprained shoulder.
Mariners: Released catcher Kelly Shoppach.
Mets: Placed pitcher Scott Atchison on the DL with a groin strain.

Let's go around the NL Central:

• The Cardinals are the first team in baseball to reach 47 wins following a 6-1 win over the Cubs. Lance Lynn pitched six innings for the win and is now 10-1 on the season.
• The Pirates and Reds wrapped up their weekday series with a 5-3 Pittsburgh win. Pedro Alvarez had three hits and drove in all five runs.
• The Brewers, of course, lost again.

Here are today's updated standings and probables:

Team	W	L	GB	Today	Time	Matchup
Cardinals	47	26	--	v TEX	7:15p	Tyler Lyons v Derek Holland
Reds	44	30	3.5	@ ARI	8:40p	Johnny Cueto v Wade Miley
Pirates	43	30	4	@ LAA	9:05p	Gerrit Cole v Jered Weaver
Cubs	29	42	17	v HOU	1:20p	Matt Garza v Dallas Keuchel
Brewers	29	42	17	v ATL	7:10p	Wily Peralta v Julio Teheran

Today in former Brewers: Shaun Marcum lost again yesterday to fall to 0-9 with a 5.76 ERA for the Mets, and Metsblog looks at the possibility that his job is in jeopardy.

Today in baseball economics: The AAA team currently known as the Tucson Padres will move to El Paso for 2013 and Padres Public has a look at their suggested team names.

If you're sick of all this reading and you'd prefer some alternate visual stimulation, Rays Index has a gif they're calling "The coolest view you will ever see of a Yunel Escobar home run." I'm inclined to concur with that assessment.

Chris Jaffe of The Hardball Times notes that today is the 54th anniversary of Hank Aaron's lone three homer game in 1959, the 46th anniversary of Bob Uecker's only grand slam in 1967 and the 20th anniversary of Jeromy Burnitz's MLB debut in 1993. Finally, today is longtime Brewer Charlie Moore's 60th birthday. Plunk Everyone notes that his eleven career HBP are the second most ever for a player born on June 21.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to clean out my pockets.

Drink up.