What we learned this week: August 3, 2013

What we learned this week is a new feature on Brew Crew Ball that is starting this week, and is the result of one of your suggestions from the suggestion box. It will run every Saturday morning.

Good morning everyone. Today, we take a look back at the week and see what we learned about the Brewers. This week, we will take a look at some lessons from the trade deadline, the development of Brewers players, and more.

The Brewers couldn't get the value they wanted for their players.

For many weeks, many fans have been talking about how the Brewers need to trade every piece of value they have in players to restock the farm system. Last week, the Brewers made the first of those trades, sending Francisco Rodriguez to Baltimore for minor league infielder Nick Delmonico. What we didn't know at the time was that it would be the only trade the Brewers would make before the non-waiver trading deadline.

There are a variety of reasons that the Brewers didn't make any trades at the deadline. There were injuries, declining performance, high contracts, an overall quiet market, and value was just not available. Whatever the reasons were, the Brewers decided to stay where they are at the trade deadline. It's still possible to see some moves before the end of August (when players must be on 40-man rosters to count for the postseason), but the big splash many of us were hoping for is probably not happening until the current season is over.

The Brewers traded Francisco Rodriguez at the right time.

More of a side note here to the point above. Francisco Rodriguez has struggled in his first few appearances in Baltimore, much more than anyone was expecting. After allowing a total of two home runs and three earned runs in his 24 2/3 innings in Milwaukee, he has already allowed four home runs and four earned runs in his first four innings in Baltimore. Call it regression, call it bad luck, call it whatever you want. It looks like the Brewers made a good trade at the right time.

Jonathan Lucroy can play first base.

There's been discussion around BCB about Lucroy playing first base for a while, and this week, the Brewers took the first step towards this. At Lucroy's suggestion, he made his first career start at first base on Wednesday night. It was a rough outing for him, and he did end up committing an error on the night. However, the overall goal was a success, as they got Lucroy's bat back into the lineup and got two doubles from him for the game.

Of course, Lucroy has no plans of changing positions anytime soon. The time at first base is not much more than getting his bat into the lineup to get a day off from catcher. He still plans to stay primarily at catcher.

The injury situation isn't improving anytime soon.

Two more injuries were added to the list this week. On Tuesday, Yovani Gallardo left his start early with a strained left hamstring. He may not have needed the full fifteen days to recover, but the situation required him to go on the disabled list. This was followed up on Friday by a random injury as Tom Gorzelanny was nailed in the left elbow by a line drive. X-rays came back negative, and he's currently listed as day-to-day.

That's just two more injuries added to a long list that has been building all season. If Gorzelanny needs a DL stint, he would be the eighth player currently on the DL, the fourth "starting pitcher" currently on the DL, and the seventh "starting pitcher" to end up on the DL (Burgos, Estrada, Fiers, Figaro, Gallardo, and Rogers have also ended up on the DL). In short, Brewers starting pitchers (in addition to several other positions) have had problems staying off of the DL.

Caleb Gindl can handle playing at the major league level.

Taking a look at the top players in terms of WAR over the last week, leading the list is Jonathan Lucroy (0.5) followed by Carlos Gomez (0.4). In third (0.3), there's a tie between Jean Segura and...Caleb Gindl. Before last night's game, Gindl had recorded multiple hits in five straight starts and at least one hit in seven straight starts. He also recorded five doubles and three RBI in those games. There's still a long way to go to prove he can be a regular contributor at the MLB level, but that's a start.

Fans will show up for a good deal.

Early this week, the Brewers announced a plan they were putting in place to reward loyal fans who came out to games in August by giving everyone who came to a game in August a $10 voucher good for almost anything at the park. The organization announced the estimated cost at $3.6 million (which, coincidentally, is right around how much money the Brewers are saving from Braun's contract). In the first game with the vouchers, the Brewers seemed to gain a little in attendance from it. After seeing crowds in the 30,000 to 33,000 averaged on Friday over the last few months, the Brewers drew 34,824 last night. In addition, our own NPetrashek reported the concession stands, team stores, and other areas were swamped with fans. It's only one game, but so far, it looks like the promotion is working.

There are times to mourn and times to celebrate.

Many of us already knew this, but we got a reminder of it this week. The week started with some sad news, as the Brewers organization announced that former great George Scott had passed away at the age of 69. It then ended on a positive note, as the organization celebrated the career of Robin Yount at Friday's game, which marked the twentieth anniversary of his retirement. It's a reminder of how fast things can change. We should celebrate the good times and mourn the bad, because it all can change quickly.

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