What we learned: April 2, 2014

Yesterday's Results

Braves 5, Brewers 2

The dream of 162-0 is over. Despite a quick start with a first-pitch leadoff home run from Carlos Gomez, the Brewers offense never got completely going, and the Braves offense woke up against Kyle Lohse. Led by two home runs from Freddie Freeman, the Braves struck against Kyle Lohse and then added on against the bullpen to get a 5-2 win. Even though Kyle Lohse allowed three runs, he did pitch seven innings and strike out eight. Aramis Ramirez and Jonathan Lucroy both had two-hit games. On the other side, Khris Davis was 0-for-4 for the day, and is hitless in his first two days. He has also left seven runners on base in those two games.

There is a GIF recap available if you want to see some of the important moments of the game.

Kyle Lohse is still the best starter in the rotation.

Despite Yovani Gallardo's good start on Monday, he is probably not the best starter currently in the rotation. That honor belongs to Kyle Lohse. After a successful 2013 season, he is looking to continue that success in 2014 and help put together a successful season for the Brewers. Before his start yesterday, Derek analyzed Kyle Lohse's performance and concluded that his success may be more dependent on his defenders. It is clear that Lohse will need to pitch well for the Brewers to contend, and while yesterday was a good start, it didn't go the way the Brewers hoped it would.

The opinions on whether Ryan Braun should have received a standing ovation at Opening Day are varied.

I didn't write too much about this yesterday, but the opinions kept coming out on this topic. Many people in the media thought that the Brewers fans were completely in the wrong for giving Ryan Braun any kind of applause, while others were ok with it. Grant Brisbee of SB Nation has a great opinion on this, saying that Brewers fans are not wrong for cheering for him and that other fans would do the same if he played for their team. It's easy to stand on the high ground when whatever is said by someone doesn't affect them. The truth is that the reaction would be the same in most stadiums if it was that team's player, whether other people want to admit it or not. Meanwhile, over on The Brewers Bar, Enrique Bakemeyer echoes some of these same thoughts from Grant Brisbee, but with his own twist on them. He sees it as Brewers fans protecting their turf and fighting back against the people who want to discourage them. This is another situation where no one is right, but both make a simple point here. Don't follow along with what everyone else says, make your own decision on how you feel about Braun.

While the Brewers are off on Thursday, their minor league teams will start their seasons.

The Brewers are off tomorrow, but four of their minor league affiliates (Nashville, Huntsville, Brevard County, and Wisconsin) will start their seasons, with rookie teams in Arizona and Helena starting in June. Up in Appleton, the Timber Rattlers had their media day yesterday, and Kyle was there for interviews with several of the players and coaches. One of the more interesting situations came up with Lance Roenicke, the son of Ron Roenicke. With the Brewers system filled with outfielders, there was no spot for him. However, he was offered a spot as a player/coach and accepted it. This will allow him to start working on a career in coaching and remain with the organization.

Meanwhile, Brevard County is also preparing for their season, trying to build off of a season where they finished just below .500. Miller Park Prospects continued their series of previews of the minor league teams on Tuesday with the team, and Marcus Young has the preview. Finally, the preliminary roster list for the Brewers minor leagues also came out, and Adam McCalvy has the complete rundown of the rosters.

Cram Session

The Bullpen

• Ryan Topp of Disciples of Uecker went through his thoughts in Monday's game when he saw the progression of relievers.
• Jaymes Langehr of Disciples of Uecker has some comments from Jim Henderson after he lost his job as closer.
• Ron Roenicke wants Jim Henderson to be the closer, and laid out his plan to get Henderson back there.

More Notes from Opening Day

• Ron Roenicke had a chance to challenge in the second inning of Monday's game when it looked like Aramis Ramirez was safe on a double-play, but didn't take the opportunity to challenge. Steve Garczynski of Disciples of Uecker argues that not only should Ron Roenicke have challenged there, he should be willing to use his challenges early in the game and as often as possible.
• Also on Disciples of Uecker, Nicholas Zettel looks past the TOOTBLAN in the first inning and argues why the Brewers should continue to be aggressive when running on the basepaths.
• Adam McCalvy looked back on a busy Opening Day, and highlighted several parts of the day in a blog post. The post has articles on some of the big stories from the day, as well as some video highlights from the game.
• Over on The Brewers Bar, Ben Tannenbaum wonders if any of the free agents who couldn't sign in time for Opening Day would be a fit for the Brewers.
• Following Opening Day, David Grant of Reviewing the Brew has power rankings of the Brewers players.

April Fools Day

• In a move that absolutely no one saw coming, Ryan Braun was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. Justin Schultz of Reviewing the Brew breaks down the trade.
• It hasn't been all good for Hank the Ballpark Pup in Milwaukee. He went to the vet yesterday to be neutered, which was completed successfully.
• Before Tuesday's game, Brewers players and staff surprised fans on the concourse with various gifts. John and Cait have some pictures as well as details on the program.

Today's Action

The first series of the season concludes today with the rubber match between the Brewers and Braves. Today's afternoon matinee will feature a couple of new starters. Matt Garza will make his Brewers regular season debut, and Aaron Harang will make his debut for the Braves after signing late in spring training. First pitch is at 12:10 pm today. The game will be on FS Wisconsin, and will also be on MLB Network for out-of-market fans.

(Don't forget to make your predictions for Prognostikeggers.)