Monday's Frosty Mug: Just another series loss

Some things to read while possessing all the requisite equipment.

It was like looking into the past yesterday as the Brewers took a nice lead against the Rockies, but the bullpen couldn't hold it in a 6-5 loss. Noah has the recap, if you missed it.

The Brewers lost yesterday despite a big offensive day from Caleb Gindl, who had a pair of doubles and scored a run. Joe Block notes (via Twitter) that Gindl is hitting .348/.444/.696 in eight games since rejoining the Brewers for the third time. Six of his eight hits over that span have gone for extra bases. Hopefully Gindl won't remain on this list for long, but right now he's one of twelve major leaguers whose only career home run was a walkoff.

Norichika Aoki only had one hit in five tries yesterday, but it was a big one: His third inning home run gave him 100 for his career between Japan and the US (Twitter link). It was also Aoki's third homer against Jhoulys Chacin, who allowed his first MLB homer last season.

Other notes from the field:

• BrewGIFS captured a great Jean Segura catch from Friday for posterity.
• Yuniesky Betancourt dropped a ninth inning popup in foul territory on Saturday, but the official scorer's ruling was later changed from "error" to "no play."
• Sunday was Ellis Burks Bobblehead Day at Coors Field (Twitter link).

Let's put a bow on the Rockies series with a look at this weekend's home run distances and trot times, with help from Hit Tracker and Larry Granillo of Wezen-ball (more here):

Day	Player	Distance	Trot Time
Sunday	Yuniesky Betancourt	402 feet	21.85 seconds
Sunday	Norichika Aoki	397 feet	20.72 seconds
Saturday	Juan Francisco	415 feet	23.96 seconds
Saturday	Jonathan Lucroy	405 feet	20.69 seconds
Friday	Carlos Gomez	449 feet	18.24 seconds

Gomez's blast, which you can see here, is the longest by a Brewer this season.

The road trip continues today as the Brewers head to Chicago to open a three-day, four-game engagement with the Cubs. Kyle Lohse will take on Jeff Samardzija at 7:10 tonight and Chad Thornburg has the MLB.com preview. Lohse, by the way, is our reigning and defending Brewer of the Week.

Elsewhere in Thornburgs, after yesterday's game Ron Roenicke announced that Tyler Thornburg will start the second game of tomorrow's doubleheader as long as he's not needed in relief today (Twitter link). He'll be on six days' rest for the start, and has appeared in just three games in July. The Brewers are allowed to call up a 26th man for the doubleheader but have not yet announced their plans.

The Brewers may see Jean Segura back in the lineup tonight after he left Saturday's game early and missed yesterday's game with a bruised wrist. Segura was hit by a pitch on Saturday.

Of course, almost a week later the big story around this team remains Ryan Braun. Here are the notable pieces from over the weekend:

• Zack Greinke may have been the most critical of all of Braun's critics, saying Braun was "willing to use anyone."
• Meanwhile, Paul Molitor took on a much more sympathetic tone, comparing Braun's issues to his own struggles with cocaine.
• Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness has a great perspective on how we look at performance enhancing drug issues in baseball compared to other sports and other issues.
• Scott Boras told Ken Rosenthal he's worried about the precedent MLB is setting with the BioGenesis investigation.
• Lance Rinker of Beyond the Box Score wonders if MLB contracts should be more easily voided, considering all of the money still due to Braun and Alex Rodriguez following their respective scandals.
• The Brewers apologized to the fan they asked to leave Miller Park for turning a Braun shirsey into a "Fraud" shirt.
• This has not been a good breakup for Zach Reynolds of NotGraphs.

Meanwhile, we're now just days away from Wednesday's non-waiver trade deadline. Speculation has slowed regarding most of the Brewers' higher-ticket items, but Adam McCalvy says the Crew could still move a bullpen arm or two sometime in the next couple of days. On a more general note, D.J. Gallo of ESPN has a list of the eleven types of players available.

Meanwhile, Yovani Gallardo probably won't need to pack his bags anytime soon. Ron Roenicke Stole My Baseball dispels the notion that he could be a #2 starter for a team in a pennant race.

In the minors:

• I wanted to take a moment this morning to send out best wishes to Nashville manager Mike Guerrero, who was rushed to the hospital after passing out in the dugout during Sunday's game in Omaha. (h/t @AdamMcCalvy)
• Chris Mehring of Rattler Radio has photos and highlights from Wisconsin's 6-5 walkoff win over Burlington.
• Congratulations are due out to the Pioneer League Helena Brewers, who clinched a first half division title over the weekend and will advance to the playoffs.
• Wisconsin Sports Tap has a first look at new Brewer farmhand Nicky Delmonico, acquired in the K-Rod deal.
• Delmonico is fifth in Jonathan Mayo's updated list of the Brewers' top 20 prospects. Jimmy Nelson has moved up to the #1 spot.
• @Mass_Haas reports the Brewers have signed veteran minor league reliever Dustin Molleken to a minor league deal. He's 28 and a ten-year professional, and has posted a 3.38 ERA over the last two seasons in relief for Nippon Ham in Japan.
• Nashville broadcaster Jeff Hem has an interview with Sean Halton from shortly after his return to the minors.
• Tim Froberg of the Appleton Post Crescent has a profile of Wisconsin outfielder Michael Reed.

Back in Milwaukee, congratulations are due out to Rickie Weeks as the Brewers' nominee for the Branch Rickey Award. It's given out annually to "individuals who give unselfishly of themselves to their communities."

If you're looking for more Brewer coverage this morning but you're sick of reading, my Friday appearance on The Home Stretch with Justin Hull on 95.3 FM WSCO in Appleton from Friday has been archived. I'm not sure either of us knew exactly what to expect coming into this interview, but we had a great discussion on Ryan Braun after a few days to develop perspective.

Around baseball:

Angels: Placed Albert Pujols on the DL with plantar fasciitis.
Astros: Placed outfielder J.D. Martinez on the DL with a sprained wrist.
Giants: Designated pitcher Yusmeiro Petit for assignment and acquired pitcher Guillermo Moscoso from the Cubsfor a PTBNL or cash.
Mariners: Placed catcher Mike Zunino on the DL with a broken hamate bone and signed catcher Humberto Quintero.
Marlins: Accepted the resignation of hitting coach Tino Martinez and replaced him with John Pierson, and placed pitcher Kevin Slowey on the DL with right forearm discomfort.
Orioles: Designated reliever Jairo Asencio for assignment.
Phillies: Released pitcher Carlos Zambrano.
Pirates: Placed catcher Travis Snider on the DL with a toe injury.
Reds: Designated pitcher Greg Reynolds for assignment.
Rockies: Placed pitcher Drew Pomeranz on the DL with biceps tendonitis.
Yankees: Signed infielder Brendan Harris to a minor league deal and acquired Alfonso Soriano from the Cubs for a minor league pitcher.

Let's go around the NL Central:

• The Cardinals were swept by the Braves in Atlanta this weekend, losing the final game 5-2 yesterday. Braves third baseman Chris Johnson went 3-for-4 and scored three runs to down St. Louis.
• The Pirates only fared slightly better, losing two of three in Miami. The Marlins took the series victory with a 3-2 win yesterday, with Jose Fernandez (13 strikeouts over eight innings) outdueling Gerrit Cole (eight strikeouts over seven).
• The Reds lost three of four to the Dodgers this weekend, including a 1-0, eleven inning defeat Sunday. Yasiel Puig hit a walkoff solo shot with two outs for the victory.
• The Cubs were the Central's best team this weekend, sweeping the Giants in a trio of one-run games. The final score was 2-1 yesterday, with Travis Wood allowing a single run on four hits over seven innings.
• The Brewers, of course, lost 6-5 to the Rockies yesterday to wrap up a series loss.

Here are today's standings and probables:

Team	W	L	GB	Today	Time	Matchup
Cardinals	62	40	--	@ PIT	6:05p	Jake Westbrook v Francisco Liriano
Pirates	61	42	1.5	v STL	6:05p
Reds	59	47	5	@ SDP	9:10p	Mike Leake v Sean O'Sullivan
Cubs	48	55	14.5	v MIL	7:05p	Jeff Samardzija v Kyle Lohse
Brewers	43	61	20	@ CHC	7:05p

Today in former Brewers:

• Jose Veras recorded his eleventh consecutive save for the Astros on Saturday.
• Gaslamp Ball constructed a team of players who have been both Brewers and Padres. They pretty thoroughly undervalued Mike Cameron.
• nullacct continued his series last week by naming Kurt Bevacqua as the face of the 1976 Brewers.

Odds are you missed it, but Sunday the Baseball Hall of Fame held their 2013 induction ceremonies. The writers did not elect a player this year and all three entries were posthumous, so the crowd was pretty small: the Hall announced just 2500 fans were in attendance (Twitter link), and only 34 current Hall of Famers (Twitter link).

This morning's edition of Today In Brewer History marks the 12th anniversary of Rickey Henderson's final appearance in a game against the Brewers. Here are today's other bits of history:

• Chris Jaffe of The Hardball Times notes that it's been 1000 days since the Brewers hired Ron Roenicke as manager, 8000 days since Jim Gantner snapped a 1762 at bat homerless streak and Robin Yount hit his final walkoff homer, and seven years since Chorizo debuted as part of the Sausage Race.
• Today is also 1956-61 Milwaukee Brave Felix Mantilla's 79th birthday, and Plunk Everyone notes that his 26 career HBP are the fifth most ever for a player born on July 29.

Finally, before I wrap up this morning's Mug I wanted to take a moment to thank Noah, -JP- and everyone who helped fill the gap while I was out last week As usual I unwittingly picked the worst possible time to be unavailable, but also as usual the site barely skipped a beat in my absence. I'm feeling much better now and I'm grateful for the opportunity to get back to work.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to see if these genes are still available.

Drink up.