What we learned: April 9, 2014

Yesterday's Results

Brewers 10, Phillies 4

If Ryan Braun feeds off the boos of fans, he's going to have a tough season at home and an amazing season on the road. With three home runs and seven RBI, Ryan Braun carried the offense to a big 10-4 win. He went 3-for-5 on the day, with all three hits leaving the park. The offense had 9 or more hits for the fourth straight game, also aided by two hit games from Carlos Gomez, Jean Segura, Mark Reynolds, and Scooter Gennett. Jonathan Lucroy also had a three hit day in the win. Meanwhile, Kyle Lohse had a tough day allowing seven hits and five walks, but managed to limit the damage to three runs. It was more than enough for the Brewers to win.

The chances of the option on Rickie Weeks' contract being picked up is very low.

Rickie Weeks is in his last guaranteed year of his contract, though he also has an option for next season at $11 million. There was a chance that the option could have been guaranteed but it is unlikely at this point. Is it possible that the option is picked up anyway? Noah asked this question yesterday and wondered if there is a scenario where the option is exercised. The only scenario he could see is if Weeks has a great year and Scooter Gennett struggles. To this point in the season, the opposite has happened, but there is still time for that to happen.

Week two of the season could be just as successful as week one.

It was a surprising 4-2 week to start the season. What is a little more surprising is it came after a 1-2 start at home. Could the Brewers continue to build off of that? The week two opponents will play the most important factor in this, and Derek broke down those opponents the Brewers will face this week. It's not going to be an easy week, but the possibility is there for another good week. So far, the Brewers are 1-0 this week. Can the team build on that?

The hot start to the season should change projections a little.

It's only been a week, but the hot start is something that not many people were expecting. How does this affect projections for the rest of the season? That's the question that Jordan asked yesterday following the Brewers win against the Phillies. It's too early to make massive changes to the projections, but the good start can bump the projections up a little. It's something to build off of in the young season.

Cram Session

Ryan Braun

• While the boos may have helped Ryan Braun hit some home runs, it's not the only factor that's changed with Braun. Adam McCalvy notes that Braun made a change to his batting stance and swing, and that has helped him find success.
• It's not often that a doctor gets analyzed by a Brewers blog, but that's exactly what Enrique Bakemeyer of The Brewers Bar did yesterday. He did some research on Ryan Braun's hand specialist and noticed that he didn't get good reviews.

Aramis Ramirez

• Aramis Ramirez is known for cold starts, but this season has been much different. He has started hot and credits it to being healthy. Tom Haudricourt profiles the hot start from Ramirez.
• Adam McCalvy also has some notes on the fast start from Aramis Ramirez.

Brewers Pitching

• David Laurila had an opportunity to talk to Kyle Lohse over the weekend at Fenway Park, and has a transcript of the interview on FanGraphs.
• Jaymes Langrehr of Disciples of Uecker has a special on TMJ4 on how Yovani Gallardo has found success in his first two starts.
• Ben Tannenbaum of The Brewers Bar looked at the brewing closer controversy that is coming between Jim Henderson and Francisco Rodriguez.
• Could this year's rotation for the Brewers be better than the rotation in 2011? Andrew Vrchota of Reviewing the Brew matches up the two rotations to see which one is better.
• Justin Schultz of Reviewing the Brew wonders how long Gallardo's success this season will last.

Other Notes

• The Brewers players aren't surprised that they are starting fast. Paul Hagen of MLB.com profiles the team and how they managed to start so well.
• David S. Grant of Reviewing the Brew has power rankings of the Brewers players through the first week of the season.
• We know how good Jonathan Lucroy is, but not everyone knows it. Alex Skillin of Beyond the Box Score profiles the catcher and how good he has been.

Outside the Game

• Caitlin Moyer of John & Cait looks back at Hank Aaron's 715th home run on the 40th anniversary of the historic occassion.
• Corbin Bernsen, who played Roger Dorn in Major League, returned to Miller Park to relive some memories on the 25th anniversary of the movie. Caitlin Moyer has some details from the visit.
• There's a new partnership between MLB and MTV, headlined by their new series "Off the Bat from the MLB Fan Cave". Caitlin Moyer has a preview of the new series.

Minor League Update

Division Update

• Pirates 7, Cubs 6: Starlin Castro homered twice to help the Cubs rally twice, but Russell Martin broke a 6-6 tie in the eighth inning to give the Pirates the win.
• Cardinals 7, Reds 5: The Reds led 4-0 after their first two innings, but the Cardinals rallied and a two-run double from Matt Holiday gave them the lead for good.

Today's Games

• Reds (Mike Leake) @ Cardinals (Shelby Miller) - 12:45 pm
• Pirates (Wandy Rodriguez) @ Cubs (Jason Hammel) - 7:05 pm

Today's Action

The Brewers play their second game against the Phillies tonight. Matt Garza makes his second start of the season for the Brewers, trying to build off of a great debut that included a tough luck loss. For the Phillies, Roberto Hernandez makes his second start following a decent debut in Chicago. Today's game is at 6:05 pm, and Adam McCalvy has the preview on MLB.com.

(Don't forget about making your predictions for Prognostikeggers.)

More from Brew Crew Ball

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• The Brewers' Hot Start and Playoff Odds
• Brewers 10, Phillies 4: Team Braun is blasting off again
• The Brewers did well in their first week of the season. How does the second week look?
• Rickie Weeks contract: What would make the Brewers pick up his option?
• Prognostikeggers 2014 - Week 2