What we learned: April 11, 2014

Yesterday's Results

Brewers 6, Phillies 2

The Brewers completed a six-game road trip sweep last night by beating the Phillies. Marco Estrada had a solid start, pitching six innings and allowing five hits, two runs, two walks, and six strikeouts. Khris Davis led the offense with a 2-for-4 day that included two RBI. Carlos Gomez had three hits and an RBI in the game, and Ryan Braun joined in with two hits and an RBI.

Kendrys Morales could be a target for the Brewers.

Mark Reynolds has had a good start to the season, but questions still remain about if he can keep it up and what to do with the other half of the "platoon" with Lyle Overbay. There is a possible solution still out there, and that solution could be signing Kendrys Morales. Rumors have come up that the Brewers are interested, and Noah looked at the likelihood of it happening yesterday. The biggest problem with signing Morales now is the loss of a draft pick, but it is possible he could improve the situation at first base. For now, the situation is decent for the Brewers, but if the situation changes, Morales could look more attractive as an option at first.

The Brewers have a problem at the top of their lineup.

So far this season, the Brewers offense has been successful. It would be hard to picture a problem in their lineup. However, that's exactly what Derek Harvey sees as he looks at the top of the Brewers lineup. He notes that while Carlos Gomez and Jean Segura are good options for the top, their similar profiles mean that opportunities for stealing bases will drop, and can be wasted in front of hitters that don't need help driving in runs. It's hard to imagine the Brewers changing such a successful offense right now, but it doesn't hurt to look at areas of improvement, even while the Brewers are winning.

Cram Session

Tyler Thornburg and the bullpen

• Ryan Topp of Disciples of Uecker has some notes about the Brewers' bullpen, specifically related to Tyler Thornburg, Jim Henderson, and Wei-Chung Wang.
• Tyler Thornburg has been impressing so far out of the bullpen, and Adam McCalvy looks at why Thornburg has been so impressive.
• Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel looks at how Tyler Thornburg has adjusted to the change in moving to the bullpen.

A humorous take on Ron Roenicke and Instant Replay

• Here on Brew Crew Ball, Jordan Mader provided the transcript of a conversation between Stickman and Ron Roenicke, who hates to take any kind of risks.
• Meanwhile, over on Ron Roenicke Stole My Baseball, AK has a transcript of his attempt to ask Ron Roenicke about his opinions on instant replay.

The "Happy" Video

• If you're one of the few people that haven't heard about it, Adam McCalvy of Brewers.com has the music video of "Happy" that the Brewers produced, along with some quotes from players about the filming of it.
• Meanwhile, Ron Roenicke Stole My Baseball has its top nine images from the video.
• Finally, on BrewGIFs, Jaymes Langrehr pulled some of his favorite parts of the video and put them in GIF form.

Other Notes

• Jay D on Reviewing the Brew had an opportunity to go to Fenway Park last weekend while the Brewers were in town, and posted about his experiences at the historic ballpark.
• In what has become a yearly tradition in Philadelphia, the Phillie Phanatic performed a body check on some "racing sausages".
• It's not often you hear "Ron Roenicke" and "furious" in the same sentence. However, Corey Seidman of CSN Philly notes that's how Ron Roenicke was feeling after Logan Schafer's game-winning hit was ruled an error instead of a double.
• The Brewers will present Carlos Gomez his Gold Glove award on Saturday, and Adam McCalvy has some notes about the occasion.
• Prior to yesterday's game, Adam McCalvy posted a list of stats from the Brewers winning streak on his blog.
• Curt Hogg of Disciples of Uecker answers some questions about the Brewers, including the situations at first and second base and the state of the Brewers offense.
• FanGraphs notes some early season trends from the first week and a half of the season.
• In power rankings on Yahoo, the Brewers jumped 17 spots to #7.

Minor League Update

Division Update

• Pirates 5, Cubs 4: Travis Wood struck out nine and pitched six scoreless innings, but after leaving one batter into the seventh, the bullpen melted down and allowed five runs on home runs by Travis Snider and Pedro Alvarez.
  

This Weekend's Games

• Rays @ Reds
  Friday: David Price vs. Johnny Cueto - 6:10 pm
  Saturday: Alex Cobb vs. Alfredo Simon - 12:10 pm
  Sunday: TBD vs. Tony Cingrani - 12:10 pm
  
• Cubs @ Cardinals
  Friday: Jeff Samardzija vs. Joe Kelly - 7:15 pm
  Saturday: Carlos Villanueva vs. Adam Wainwright - 1:15 pm
  Sunday: Edwin Jackson vs. Michael Wacha - 1:15 pm
  

This Weekend's Action

After a 6-0 road trip, the Brewers return to Miller Park to start a six-game homestand. They have their first game against a NL Central opponent as they take on the Pirates. Here is the weekend's matchups.

Friday: Francisco Liriano vs. Wily Peralta - 7:10 pm
Saturday: Edinson Volquez vs. Yovani Gallardo - 6:10 pm
Sunday: Charlie Morton vs. Kyle Lohse - 1:10 pm