Tuesday- Preparing for Pittsburgh

Some things to read while looking for work.

The Milwaukee Brewers were off on Monday but return to action tonight, hosting the Pittsburgh Pirates at Miller Park. Marco Estrada will take on Gerrit Cole at 7:10 p.m., and the story of the game is likely to be Cole and the Pirates’ first meeting with the Brewers since a brawl involving Carlos Gomez on April 20. Gomez, by the way, is still waiting for an announcement from MLB on his pending suspension.

The Brewers beat the Pirates in that game on Easter Sunday as part of a long downhill slide for the 2013 NL Wild Card winner. Pittsburgh is 10-18 since its 6-3 start, although it did win four straight against the Giants and Cardinals last week. Kevin Ruprecht of Beyond the Box Score attempted to explain the Pirates’ sudden return to mediocrity.

The other story of tonight’s game is likely to be the return of Ryan Braun. He’s expected to be activated off the disabled list after sitting out the minimum 15 days with an oblique strain. The Brewers opted not to send Braun on a rehab assignment, so if he plays today, he’ll be facing live pitching for the first time in more than two weeks.

The Brewers are going to have to get through this series and a few more after that without Aramis Ramirez, who is expected to be placed on the DL today with a strained hamstring suffered on Saturday night. Noah Jarosh of Brew Crew Ball has a look at the candidates to play more often while Ramirez is out, and Adam Wieser of Disciples of Uecker has a look at his recent slump.

Of course, one option to fill Ramirez’s spot in the batting order remains a free agent: Former Mariners first baseman/DH Kendrys Morales is still looking for work with nearly a quarter of the 2014 season behind us. Doug Melvin said, however, that the lack of a DH in the National League makes it hard for the Brewers to seriously consider Morales.

Another, potentially less expensive option could be Padres first baseman/outfielder Kyle Blanks. Blanks is 27, bats right-handed and has never quite caught on in the majors, but is a career .295/.394/.568 hitter (batting average/on-base percentage/slugging) in parts of five seasons in Triple-A. The Padres are expected to trade Blanks soon, and the A’s appear to be the most likely candidate to acquire him.

The Brewers are also likely to spend a day or two this week without the services of Carlos Gomez, who is expected to have his suspension announced soon. Recent incidents aside, Grant Brisbee of SB Nation listed Gomez as an example of a player all fans should root for this season.

Gomez is the only Brewer who has appeared in all 38 games to this point, as injuries or rest days have sidelined every other regular at one time or another. Mike Woods of the Appleton Post Crescent says this Brewers team will go as far as their health takes them.

Of course, getting suspended doesn’t help either. Gomez pending suspension is the direct result of another team’s reaction to one of his bat flips, and Dodgers manager Don Mattingly says “we have to loosen up a bit” in response to the on-field emotion of guys like Gomez and Yasiel Puig.

Meanwhile, Pirates reliever Jason Grilli isn’t expected to pitch in this week’s series as he continues to rehab from an oblique strain suffered against the Brewers on April 20. He has a new book out, though, and Charlie Wilmoth of Bucs Dugout called it “hilariously narcissistic.”

In the minors:

• The affiliates went 1-3 yesterday, with the lone win coming from Huntsville, where the Stars improved to a Southern League-best 26-12 on the season after a 7-1 win over Chattanooga. You can read about all of yesterday’s action in the Link Report at Brewerfan.net.
• Chris Mehring of Rattler Radio has highlights and more from Wisconsin’s 4-3 loss to Quad Cities.
• It’s a big week for players earning their league’s respective weekly honors: Wisconsin second baseman Chris McFarland took home the Midwest League Player of the Week award, while Tyler Cravy won the Southern League’s Pitcher of the Week and Jed Bradley took home the corresponding honor from the Florida State League.
• Brevard County outfielder Tyrone Taylor went 2-for-3 with a home run in the Manatees’ 8-2 loss to Fort Myers last night, but the bigger story might be that he didn’t hit a double: His 18 doubles this season are the most in all of baseball, both the major and minor leagues (h/t @BrewersPD).
• Nashville broadcaster Jeff Hem has an interview with Sounds manager Rick Sweet. 

Today in power rankings:

• ESPN has the Brewers fourth in all of baseball this week.
• Bill Evans of the South Jersey Times also has them fourth.

If you’d like more Brewers coverage today but you’re sick of reading, I have a few options for you today.

• First, my weekly Monday appearance on The Talking Cheeseheads with Ben Larson has been archived and can be heard here. This week, we wrapped up the Yankees series, looked ahead to the Pirates and discussed Rickie Weeks’ current situation.
• Today, I’ll be appearing on The Home Stretch with Justin Hull on 95.3 WSCO in Appleton around 2 p.m. to talk all things Brewers. I’ll be live in studio taking your calls, tweets and emails, so listen in and get your voice heard.
• After that, I’ll also be appearing on The Watercooler with Jimmie Kaska on Sports Radio 1400 in Eau Claire. Follow me on Twitter @BrewFrostyMug for an update on when that segment will air.

Around baseball:

Marlins: Placed pitcher Jose Fernandez on the DL with what could be a season-ending elbow injury.
Mets: Placed pitcher Gonzales German on the DL with a virus.
Nationals: Signed third baseman Greg Dobbs to a minor league deal.
White Sox: Released pitcher David Purcey and infielder Alex Liddi.

Let’s go around the NL Central:

• The Cubs ran out to an early lead and kept going Monday night, beating the Cardinals 17-5 in St. Louis. Junior Lake had six RBIs, including a three-run home run, and Emilio Bonifacio tied a Cubs franchise record by scoring five times.
• The Brewers, Reds and Pirates were off on Monday.

With cooler temperatures in the forecast today, it’s likely the Brewers and Pirates will play under a closed roof at Miller Park tonight. Conditions could always be much worse, though: The Rockies woke up to find Coors Field covered in snow on Monday. They’re currently on the road but are scheduled to open a homestand against the Padres on Friday.

Today in former Brewers:

• Aaron Gleeman of Hardball Talk has a look at how Paul Molitor has helped the Twins improve their baserunning.
• There aren’t any current Brewers mentioned in Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs’ look at baseball’s most and least “homerable” pitches, but Chris Capuano’s slider and Carlos Villanueva’s changeup made the side of the ledger you don’t want to be on.

Finally, with help from the Baseball Reference Play Index, we’d like to wish a happy birthday today to:

• 2006-08 Brewer Zach Jackson, who turns 31.
• 1999-2000 Brewer Lyle Mouton, who turns 45.