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What we learned: April 9, 2014

Today's lessons include the chances of Rickie Weeks' option being picked up, the possible challenge of week two, and how the projections should change after the hot start.

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Drew Hallowell

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

Aramis Ramirez

Brewers Pitching

Other Notes

Outside the Game

Minor League Update

Team Level Record Yesterday Today
Nashville Sounds AAA 3-3 Nashville 4, Iowa 1 Nashville @ Iowa
Huntsville Stars AA 4-1 OFF Pensacola @ Huntsville
Brevard County Manatees A+ 4-1 Brevard County 6, Lakeland 0 Brevard County @ Lakeland
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers A 2-3 West Michigan 3, Wisconsin 2 Wisconsin @ West Michigan

Division Update

Team W L GB
Brewers 5 2 -
Pirates 5 2 -
Cardinals 5 3 .5
Cubs 2 5 3
Reds 2 6 3.5
  • 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.)