What we learned: April 1, 2015

Yesterday’s Results

Reds 10, Brewers 4

It wasn't a good day for the Brewers. Mike Fiers had a rough start, giving up three runs on three hits and four walks in five innings. Neal Cotts was also roughed up again, giving up five runs in 1/3 of an inning.The defense didn't help either as Carlos Gomez committed an error in center field to aid the Reds big inning. On the offense, Jonathan Lucroy and Ryan Braun each added to their hot springs with hits.

Brewers News and Analysis

• Yesterday's lineup was confirmed by Ron Roenicke to be the lineup for Opening Day (with Kyle Lohse in there instead of Mike Fiers). Noah breaks down the lineup and what we can expect from it this season.
• How good are your predicting skills? We're putting together a little contest (for fun) on BCB to see who can most accurately predict the 2015 season for the Brewers. If you haven't entered yet, you can check out the contest here.
• With Opening Day approaching, MLB will once again enter the season with the same streaming package as the last several years. However, it could be much better if the league is willing to work out a deal to allow more people to stream their games.
• After a few days off of the Brewers roster, the Brewers re-signed Chris Perez to a minor league deal for the season. Perez had left to seek a major-league job, but it appears he had no luck with that.
• The Brewers made a series of roster moves yesterday to get their camp down to near what it will be for Opening Day. Matt Clark, Juan Centeno, Jason Rogers, and Rob Wooten were all optioned to Triple-A Colorado Springs, and Nevin Ashley, Matt Long, and Ariel Pena were returned to the minor league camp. 27 players remain in camp, and the only battle remaining is for the final bench spot.
• Over on The Brewers Bar, Nick Michalski sees the roster choices the Brewers have made as uncharacteristic for a club that generally prefers offense over defense. Also, he believes that Bud Selig could make a good gesture and help pay off the Miller Park Stadium Tax.
• Continuing in their NL Central preview series, Nicholas Zettel of Disciples of Uecker previews the ballparks in the division and the relevant factors that will come into play.
• Ryan Kaufman of Miller Park Prospects posted an interview with Dan Karcher, longtime broadcaster for the Colorado Sky Sox, previewing the upcoming season for the team.
• Looking for excuses for Opening Day? Cait Covers the Bases has you covered with excuse notes from Kyle Lohse and Scooter Gennett.
• Justin Schultz of The First Out At Third reports that Jonathan Lucroy is retiring after losing his love for baseball following the situation with Ryan Braun and last year's collapse. (This is an April Fool's Day post, if you didn't figure it out right away.)

NL Central Update

Yesterday’s Scores

• Marlins 3, Cardinals 2
• Pirates 7, Tigers 3
• Cubs 15, Rangers (SS) 10

Today’s Games

• Cardinals @ Mets - 12:10 pm
• Diamondbacks @ Reds - 3:05 pm
• Pirates @ Orioles - 6:05 pm

Around Baseball

Roster News

• As Opening Day gets closer, more and more roster moves will be made as teams cut their rosters down to 25 players. Some of this will include several releases, and Scott Gelman of MLB Daily Dish has a list of the moves made so far.
• The Dodgers officially signed RHP Freddy Garcia to a minor-league deal.
• The Rays acquired RHP Erasmo Ramirez from the Mariners for LHP Mike Montgomery.

Other Notes

• As part of their season preview, ESPN ranked the top 100 players in the game. Jonathan Lucroy was the only Brewer to crack the top 25, Carlos Gomez made it into the 26-50 range, and Ryan Braun was in the 51-100 list.
• The Yahoo sports writers published their predictions for 2015, with no writer predicting the Brewers to have more than 77 wins. They also didn't see any award winners among the Brewers, though one did mention Mike Fiers as a breakout pitcher for this season.
• Continuing in their season preview series, a group of writers from The Hardball Times previews the 2015 season by looking at strikeouts.
• In Colorado, John Axford has left the team to be with his family after his son was bitten twice by a rattlesnake. He is expected to recover, but is still in the hospital for now.

Today’s Action

The Brewers travel to face the Cubs one more time this spring, with Kyle Lohse making his final spring start before Opening Day. First pitch is set for 3:05 pm, and only a stream from MLB.com is available.