What we learned: April 29, 2014

Yesterday's Results

Brewers 5, Cardinals 3

After trailing for six innings, the Brewers rallied in the seventh inning to tie the game against the Cardinals at 3.  The game ended up in extra innings for the third time in eight games, and the bullpen kept the Cardinals off the board for a total of six innings before Khris Davis hit an RBI triple to put the Brewers ahead for good.

Aramis Ramirez joined the list of injured players.

The win over the Cardinals last night didn't come without a cost.  In the seventh inning rally, the Brewers had the bases loaded down one with Aramis Ramirez at the place.  He tied the game...by taking a pitch on the elbow.  It drove in a run, but resulted in Ramirez having to come out of the game.  Ramirez went for x-rays and they came back negative, and he is listed as day-to-day with an elbow contusion.  Hopefully he will not be out long, because the Brewers are already running out of healthy players on their bench.

The Brewers have some decent broadcasters.

One of the positive parts of Brewers broadcasts has been the announcers that they have.  They generally get positive reviews, and have even been pulled for national broadcasts.  Over on Awful Announcing, the Brewers were ranked eighth among the thirty teams in terms of broadcast quality.

The Brewers will need to search a third baseman in the near future.

Aramis Ramirez is starting for the Brewers this year, but he could be a free agent this offseason.  The Brewers could pick up his option, or could search for someone on the free agent market.  Yesterday, Derek noted that South Korean third baseman Jeong Choi may try to enter MLB in the offseason.  The Brewers don't have much for options available in their system, so a free agent third baseman may be the way they have to go.  It's still a far time away, but we will have to see how that plays out.

Cram Session

Power Rankings

• ESPN kept the Brewers stable at #1.
• Fox Sports also kept the Brewers in the top spot.
• Sports Illustrated moved the Brewers up one spot to #2.
• Justin Schultz of Reviewing the Brew has the Brewers steady at #2.

Other Notes

• The Brewers changed their diagnosis on Ryan Braun, now calling the injury a oblique strain instead of an intercostal strain.  Adam McCalvy writes that this doesn't change the diagnosis on Braun much.
• Prior to yesterday's start, Nate Petrashek of Cream City Cables took a moment to reminisce about a better start for Yovani Gallardo among his many bad starts against the Cardinals.
• Jess Lemont of The Brewers Bar has some stats for the Brewers, and some pictures to go along with it.
• In Sunday's game against the Cubs, Wei-Chung Wang threw a pitch clocked at 96 mph.  Adam McCalvy notes that Ron Roenicke believes it is accurate.
• Could this April be the best month ever for the Brewers?  Adam Weiser of Disciples of Uecker looks back at some of the other 18-win months in Brewers history.
• While there are good feelings among Brewers fans, not everyone is as optimistic.  Vince Morales of Miller Park Drunk looks at eleven things that could go wrong this season.
• AK of Ron Roenicke Stole My Baseball took a minute to look at job opportunities on the Brewers website, and noticed an odd one on the Brewers website.
• The Brewer Nation make a suggestion in regards to serving suspensions: What would happen if teams served suspensions against the teams that they happened against?

Minor League Update

Check out morineko's daily minor league update for a more in-depth look at yesterday's minor league results.

Division Update

• Cubs @ Reds was postponed due to rain.
• Pirates had the day off.

Today's Games

• Pirates (Charlie Morton) @ Orioles (Chris Tillman) - 6:05 pm
• Cubs (Jeff Samardzija) @ Reds (Alfredo Simon) - 6:10 pm

Today's Action

The Brewers continue their series against the Cardinals in St. Louis today.  Kyle Lohse makes the start for the Brewers, and the Cardinals send out Lance Lynn.  First pitch is at 7:15 pm, and Adam McCalvy has the preview.