Some things to read while waiting out the weather.
The Milwaukee Brewers were off on Monday and largely unrepresented in the Home Run Derby, but will take center stage tonight when four players participate in the 2014 MLB All Star Game. The game starts at 7 p.m. on FOX, and will feature three Brewers in the starting lineup for just the second time in franchise history.
If you’re looking for Carlos Gomez at the start of tonight’s game, you’ll have to find him in an unfamiliar location. Gomez will start the game in left field to make way for reigning NL MVP Andrew McCutchen to play center field. Gomez hasn’t played left in a regular-season game since his first season as a Brewer in 2010, and hasn’t started out there since doing so as a Met in 2007. Tom Haudricourt, by the way, talked to Gomez about making his first two All-Star appearances in the home parks of two teams that traded him away, the Mets and Twins.
Gomez will bat ninth for the National League, one spot behind teammate Jonathan Lucroy. Lucroy is making his first All-Star appearance and his first start, and Andrew Gruman of FS Wisconsin has a story on the hard work that got him to this point. The Brewers catcher tweeted out a photo of himself with his daughter during the Home Run Derby Monday night. Lucroy will also be getting his first opportunity to catch longtime divisional rival Adam Wainwright, who will be the NL’s starting pitcher. This is Wainwright’s third All-Star appearance, but his first start.
At least Carlos Gomez won’t have to hit off Adam Wainwright tonight. Gomez has just three hits in 15 career plate appearances against the Cardinals ace, and Joe Schwarz of Viva El Birdos has a look back at one of their matchups on Saturday that ended in a strikeout.
Aramis Ramirez, by the way, will bat sixth. Phil Watson of Dairyland Express noticed that Cardinals manager Mike Matheny batted the three Brewers in his starting lineup in the bottom four spots. If you watched Monday night’s Home Run Derby, you might have seen Aramis Ramirez Jr. shagging fly balls in the outfield (h/t @AdamMcCalvy)
The fourth Brewer All Star will have to wait a little longer to get into the game, as Francisco Rodriguez will be available out of Matheny’s bullpen. Adam McCalvy has a reminder that Rodriguez has come a long way since missing time this spring after stepping on a cactus.
K-Rod and his teammates are pocketing nice bonusus for being named to the NL roster. Rodriguez, Ramirez and Gomez each have clauses in their contracts paying them $50,000 for making the trip to Minnesota, and Lucroy is getting $25,000.
By now, you’ve almost certainly memorized the names of the four Brewers appearing in tonight’s game, but how many of their teammates do you know? I was surprised to discover I’d forgotten most of the National League pitchers in this Gaslamp Ball quiz asking you to name the original 33 members of the 2014 NL All Star team. My score was 23.
Of course, during trade season, the current Brewers have to share the spotlight with the players who could be their new teammates by the end of the month. Red Sox pitcher Jake Peavy has been a persistent topic of conversation, and Derek Harvey of Brew Crew Ball has a look at him as a potential addition in the next couple of weeks.
For what it’s worth, Doug Melvin is making his usual denial:
Just exchanged messages with #Brewers GM Doug Melvin. He seemed as puzzled as I was about being linked to Jake Peavy trade rumors.
— Tom (@Haudricourt) July 15, 2014
When the Brewers resume play on Friday, they’ll have some work to do to rebuild an NL Central lead they’ve let slip away over a 2-10 start to July. David Schoenfield of ESPN listed the close divisional race as one of his top 10 stories from the first half.
In the minors:
- Alec Dopp of Brew Crew Ball released an updated version of his ranking of the top 25 prospects in the Brewers organization on Monday. Brevard County shortstop Orlando Arcia has reached the top of this list, with teammate and outfielder Tyrone Taylor second and 2014 first-round pick Kodi Medeiros third.
- Elsewhere in prospect honors, congratulations are due out this morning to Brevard County Manatee Victor Roache for being selected as the Florida State League’s Player of the Week. Roache was 8-for-21 with three home runs in the last seven days.
- Today we also have another acknowledgement of Jimmy Nelson’s remarkable performance in the minors. John Sickels of Minor League Ball has moved him from No. 89 in his preseason ranking of MLB’s top prospects to No. 36 in his midseason list.
- Back on the field, the U.S.-based affiliates went 2-2 on Monday, with one of the wins coming from Huntsville, where Brent Suter pitched all six innings in a rain-shortened 7-1 win over Chattanooga. Brad Krause of Miller Park Prospects has more on the day’s action in today’s edition of Around the Horn.
- Another win came from Wisconsin, where the Timber Rattlers beat Quad Cities 8-4 on Monday to clinch their first season series victory over the River Bandits since 2008. Chris Mehring of Rattler Radio has postgame audio, highlights and more from the game.
- Kevin Kimmes of Cream City Cables was also there, and talked to Wisconsin catcher Clint Coulter about becoming the third Timber Rattler ever to hit two grand slams in a season.
Back in Milwaukee, preparations continue for Wednesday’s soccer match at Miller Park between Chivas and Swansea. The Brewers tumblr has a picture of the infield dirt being replaced by sod for the event. The game’s organizers say that more than 30,000 tickets have been sold, but “good seats” are still available.
Looking ahead another day, the Brewers are still off on Thursday but a documentary on the career of Bob Uecker will air on MLB Network. Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has the details on “Mr. Baseball, Bob Uecker” and the people who came together to produce this new look at the longtime broadcaster and entertainer’s career.
Today in power rankings:
- Jonah Keri of Grantland has the Brewers seventh, down from third a week ago.
- Call to the Pen has the Brewers as baseball’s 10th-best team, down one spot from last week.
If you’d like more Brewers coverage today but you’re sick of reading, then you may be interested in tuning in as I guest host The Home Stretch on 95.3 WSCO in Appleton from 2-4 p.m. today. I’ve got a star-studded lineup of guests scheduled to appear, including:
- Defending Florida State League Player of the Week Victor Roache.
- Frank Madden of Brew Hoop.
- Mike Bates of SB Nation.
- Christina Kahrl of ESPN’s Sweetspot Blog.
- JP Cadorin of Time Warner Cable SportsChannel.
Around baseball:
Blue Jays: Acquired first baseman Brett Wallace from the Orioles for cash.
Today in former Brewers:
- Zack Greinke has the ability to opt out of his contract with the Dodgers at the end of the 2015 season, and Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times has a look at the circumstances that could cause him to do it. Greinke would be leaving three years and $71 million on the table if he chose to move on.
- Casey McGehee has drawn a lot of attention lately, and Michael Jong of Fish Stripes has a look at the possibility that the Marlins could trade him.
In Monday’s Mug, I linked to a post from Lookout Landing on longtime MLB umpire and noted confrontationalist Bob Davidson, who has drawn attention at various times in his career for some pretty dubious ejections. Today, Ashley Varela of LL has a look at ejections in 2014 across baseball, and found that the Brewers are near the bottom of the league with just two early showers this season.
Elsewhere in umpiring, we have this note: Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs notes that 0.25 percent, or about one in 400 pitches in the middle of the strike zone, have been called balls this season. That’s down from slightly more than 1 percent in 2009.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I can’t hold all of this.
Drink up.
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