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What we learned: April 8, 2014

Today's lessons include why Ryan Braun is not evil, why Yovani Gallardo will come back down to earth, and what those new colored cards on the field mean.

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Jared Wickerham

Yesterday's Results

The Brewers-Phillies game was postponed and rescheduled to today.

Despite what the sports media outside of Wisconsin says, Ryan Braun is not evil.

We've heard too much about this so far. So many people are upset that Brewers fans gave Braun a standing ovation when he made his first start of the season. Is he really as bad as some people are making him look? Noah says that he isn't, and argues why he isn't as bad as the media makes him look. He has some good points about why we shouldn't view Ryan Braun any worse than Andy Pettitte, and that the biggest difference between the two is that Pettitte didn't have to fight a suspension like Ryan Braun (whose appeal should not have been public). Would Braun be viewed better if the circumstances were different? Probably, but there's not much that can be done now.

Don't expect Yovani Gallardo to keep up his hot start.

Through two starts of 2014, Yovani Gallardo has pitched 12 2/3 scoreless innings. It's a welcome sight to see him performing well to start the season. However, is his pitching a result of luck or a change in his pitching? Fred Hofstetter analyzed Gallardo's first two starts to see how well he pitched. Despite the good results, Fred is not impressed. He doesn't see a reason to think that Gallardo will keep up this good pitching.

There are new colored cards on the field.

I attended the Brewers-Royals exhibition game on the Friday before the season started. For the game, I sat behind home plate and noticed a person standing on the field near the Royals dugout holding up various color cards. I didn't think too much about it at the time, but it is apparently part of a new system set up by MLB to help coordinate broadcasts. Nathan Petrashek of Cream City Cables has an overview of the system and how it works. If it works properly, it shouldn't cause too much of a disruption to the game. It's just another element of making a baseball game as smooth as possible.

Cram Session

Khris Davis

Brewers Pitching

Other Notes

Power Rankings

Outside the Game

Minor League Update

Team Level Record Yesterday Today
Nashville Sounds AAA 2-3 Nashville 1, Iowa 4 Nashville @ Iowa
Huntsville Stars AA 4-1 Huntsville 8, Jacksonville 2 OFF
Brevard County Manatees A+ 3-1 Brevard County 5, Daytona 4 Brevard County @ Lakeland
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers A 2-2 OFF Wisconsin @ West Michigan

Division Update

Team W L GB
Brewers 4 2 -
Pirates 4 2 -
Cardinals 4 3 .5
Cubs 2 4 2
Reds 2 5 2.5
  • Cardinals 5, Reds 3: The Cardinals scored early with a three-run double from Yadier Molina, and Michael Wacha pitched six strong innings. The Reds loaded the bases in the ninth down 5-1, managed to score two runs but couldn't finish the comeback.

Today's Games

  • Pirates (Charlie Morton) @ Cubs (Edwin Jackson) - 7:05 pm
  • Reds (Homer Bailey) @ Cardinals (Lance Lynn) - 7:15 pm

Today's Action

The Brewers return to the field today as they face the Phillies in their home opener. Kyle Lohse will make his second start of the season and will face Kyle Kendrick. First pitch is at 3:05 pm, and Adam McCalvy has the preview on MLB.com.