Today's links look at the first home series of the season being spoiled, Henry Owens' masterful start in Portland, and a new injury.

Edward Mujica had a rough outing the other day, but his importance to this team is readily apparent. (Alex Speier; WEEI.com)

What's happening with Ryan Lavarnway? (Harry Burnham; Fire Brand of the AL)

The Red Sox opened up their home schedule this weekend, but the return to Boston was spoiled by the Brewers. (Gordon Edes; ESPN Boston)

Henry Owens had a great start to his season, so is it time for everyone to jump on the lefty's bandwagon? (Troy Patterson; Yawkey Way Academy)

Brock Holt has been called up from Pawtucket, as Will Middlebrooks hits the 15-day disabled list. (Steve Silva; Boston.com)

The Red Sox have plenty of depth in terms of prospects, but of course, none of them are sure things. (Ron Chimelis; Masslive.com)

It's not Red Sox-related, but Dan Le Batard has a fantastic piece on Yasiel Puig, the "controversy" surrounding him, and understanding his circumstances. (Dan Le Batard; Miami Herald)

Braun's comeback has been hampered by a "troublesome" nerve between his thumb and fore finger.

Former National League MVP Ryan Braun is suffering from the same thumb injury that limited him before he was suspended last season, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.

Braun has been dealing with the pain, but has now begun to experience numbness throughout his hand.

The numbness has resulted in blisters and bruises from throwing a baseball without being able to tell how hard he's gripping it. Weird.

If Braun opts to have surgery on his hand to repair the nerve damage, he could miss significant time again this year. He has met with special Don Sheridan about his options, but did not disclose a timeframe for how long a procedure would keep him sidelined.

The Brewers could use Logan Schafer or Caleb Gindl to spell Braun if he spends time on the disabled list, but it goes without saying that the drop off in production would be overwhelming for Milwaukee as they attempt to navigate the NL Central.

Ryan Braun was cheered by Milwaukee fans and people took issue with it because of course they did.

The other day, I was talking to a coworker at the bar about baseball and he asked me what I thought about Ryan Braun receiving a standing ovation from Brewers fans on opening day. I explained that I was cool with it, that Braun had served his time, etc. etc.

The coworker then brought up two familiar points that people like to bring up in order to prove that Braun is awful. Those points:

1. Ryan Braun threw the sample collector and several other people under the bus at his press conference
2. If Ryan Braun had only come clean like Andy Pettitte, it would not be nearly so bad.

Andy Pettitte gave a grandiose apology on December 16, 2007, saying, among other things:

"In 2002 I was injured. I had heard that human growth hormone could promote faster healing for my elbow. I felt an obligation to get back to my team as soon as possible. For this reason, and only this reason, for two days I tried human growth hormone. Though it was not against baseball rules, I was not comfortable with what I was doing, so I stopped.

This is it -- two days out of my life; two days out of my entire career, when I was injured and on the disabled list. I wasn't looking for an edge. I was looking to heal.

I have the utmost respect for baseball and have always tried to live my life in a way that would be honorable. If I have let down people that care about me, I am sorry, but I hope that you will listen to me carefully and understand that two days of perhaps bad judgment should not ruin a lifetime of hard work and dedication."

Of course, Pettitte said this only after the Mitchell Report came out and his name was on it, and when he knew he would not be punished because what he was doing at the time was not yet against baseball's rules. That's a completely different scenario than Braun faced.

If you want to believe that Andy Pettitte would have been just as forthcoming had he tested positive and faced a 50-game suspension, by all means believe it. I don't, though. Pettitte would have appealed his suspension just like Braun did.

The only difference would be that we wouldn't have heard about Pettitte's appeal. We were never supposed to hear about Braun's. Baseball has a confidentiality agreement in place wherein results of failed drug tests are not announced until any appeal process is over. We should never have heard about Ryan Braun being connected to steroids until Biogenesis. No Dino Laurenzi. No press conference. Nothing.

Of course, that's not to retcon what did happen. It's to say that Andy Pettitte would likely have fought a suspension as well. And after an appeals process nobody knew about, he would likely say similar things as he did. Andy Pettitte comes off a lot better than Braun due in part to the situation they were in, not just what they said.

Speaking of what Ryan Braun did say, he never threw any innocent person under any metaphorical busses. Braun's sample collector did his job crucially wrong, or Braun would have been suspended two years ago. He did his job so crucially wrong that someone who should have been suspended was not. Braun, in his press conference, gave the facts of what Laurenzi did wrong that night. He didn't name names, he didn't sound spiteful, he didn't say anything but factual evidence that led Braun to evade punishment. If Braun had editorialized at all, then sure, that sucks. But unless you think Braun somehow framed Laurenzi, nobody was trampled by any rampant herds of busses.

But wait! What about Braun calling Laurenzi an anti-semite and so on and so forth. Oh, but, yeah, that didn't happen according to Troy Tulowitski. So I guess if you want Braun to stop lying, maybe stop doing it yourselves? Or don't stop reading after the sensational headlines get the press, then the facts come out the next day.

Is Braun the greatest, most wonderful person on Earth? Nah, of course not. He did lie, a few times. Unlike Pettitte, he did still try to evade punishment when his name was in the Biogenesis report. He came clean shortly thereafter, though, and that's better than, say, A-Rod can say. Of course, Braun also had the same excuse for using performance enhancing drugs as Pettitte -- that it was to get over nagging injuries. Only one of those guys are believed, though.

Brewers fans shouldn't be looked down on for cheering Ryan Braun. Did he lie? Yup, sure looks like it. Is he one of the best players in the game on a marvelous contract for the team? Absolutely. Has he done all the right things since his suspension? Pretty much.

Cardinals fans don't seem too down on Mark McGwire or Jhonny Peralta. Giants fans are cool with Barry Bonds. Padres fans enjoy Everth Cabrera. You don't get to pick and choose which players that used steroids are OK and which ones aren't. If lying is your big issue with Braun over the others, then, hoo-boy, I'm sure I could create a nice long list of people in baseball who have lied.

So let's get over it, let Ryan Braun play baseball, let Milwaukee fans cheer for him, and let's just enjoy baseball being played. The point of a punishment is to be the punishment. It's over. Braun got his -- 15 more games than he should have, even. The sanctimonious garbage is getting tiring.

Of course this post, all in all, was probably a waste of time. Such is the steroids issue. The people who, like me, are still fans of Ryan Braun are maybe nodding along and agreeing and wondering why people don't get this. The people who still loathe Braun are coming up with counter-arguments to each and every point and will give plenty more reasons why we should despise him.

More from Brew Crew Ball

Follow @BrewCrewBallFollow @SBNationMLB

• What we learned: April 7, 2014
• Wisconsin runs to doubleheader split with Peoria
• Get out the brooms in Fenway: Brewers sweep Red Sox with 4-0 win
• Monday's Brewers-Phillies game postponed
• Ryan Braun back in lineup, Aramis Ramirez at DH, Mark Reynolds, Lyle Overbay, and Jeff Bianchi also in lineup

Iowa wins their second straight. The Smokies lose their second straight by the same score to the same team. Daytona falls to Brevard County.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs silenced the Nashville Sounds (Brewers), 4-1.

It was an impressive start for Tsuyoshi Wada, who went 6.2 innings and allowed only one run, and that came from a solo home run. Wada gave up only three hits overall. Wada struck out eight and walked one.

Blake Parker added to his Iowa career saves record by pitching the ninth, but not without drama. After retiring the first two batters, Parker allowed a single and a double before striking out the final batter.  He had two total strikeouts in the inning.

The difference in this game was a three-run home run in the sixth inning by third baseman Christian Villanueva. It was his first of the year and he was 1 for 4.

Right fielder Brett Jackson was 2 for 2 with a triple and a walk before exiting as part of a double-switch. Jackson scored once.

Left fielder Josh Vitters exited the game in the fourth inning, accompanied to the clubhouse by the team trainer.

Tennessee Smokies

The Tennessee Smokies were extinguished by the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (Reds) 3-2. It was the second straight 3-2 loss for the Smokies to the Blue Wahoos.

Matt Loosen started and took the loss after he allowed three runs on six hits over five innings. He walked three and struck out two.

For the second straight night, first baseman Dustin Geiger hit a solo home run in the top of the ninth to make the score 3-2. Obviously both times it wasn't enough. Geiger was 2 for 4.

Shortstop Jeury Valdez went 2 for 3 with an RBI double in the eighth inning that scored John Andreoli.

Daytona Cubs

The Daytona Cubs were shipwrecked by the Brevard County Manatees (Brewers), 5-4.

Rob Zastryzny had a rough first start for Daytona, pitching with men on base in every inning. Zastryzny went four innings and allowed four runs on six hits. He walked two and struck out six.

But Zastryzny exited a tie ballgame and Yao-Lin Wang took the loss when he allowed an unearned run in the fifth inning when shortstop Marco Hernandez misplayed a grounder. Wang just pitched the one inning. He allowed a just one hit and no walks, although he did hit a batter. Wang struck out two.

Arodys Vizcaino pitched a perfect eighth inning, striking out one. According to Sean Kernan of the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Vizcaino was sitting 95 mph and hit as high as 98.

Third baseman Jeimer Candelario tripled with one out in the ninth, but Willson Contreras and Rock Shoulders failed to plate the tying run. Candelario was 2 for 4. He scored once and had one RBI.

Left fielder Shoulders went 2 for 4 with a two-run double in the second inning. He scored later that inning.

Kane County Cougars

On the way back home to Geneva. They'll play their home opener tomorrow at 6:30. I hope some of you get the chance to be there.

Today's lessons include why Ryan Braun is not evil, why Yovani Gallardo will come back down to earth, and what those new colored cards on the field mean.

Yesterday's Results

The Brewers-Phillies game was postponed and rescheduled to today.

Despite what the sports media outside of Wisconsin says, Ryan Braun is not evil.

We've heard too much about this so far. So many people are upset that Brewers fans gave Braun a standing ovation when he made his first start of the season. Is he really as bad as some people are making him look? Noah says that he isn't, and argues why he isn't as bad as the media makes him look. He has some good points about why we shouldn't view Ryan Braun any worse than Andy Pettitte, and that the biggest difference between the two is that Pettitte didn't have to fight a suspension like Ryan Braun (whose appeal should not have been public). Would Braun be viewed better if the circumstances were different? Probably, but there's not much that can be done now.

Don't expect Yovani Gallardo to keep up his hot start.

Through two starts of 2014, Yovani Gallardo has pitched 12 2/3 scoreless innings. It's a welcome sight to see him performing well to start the season. However, is his pitching a result of luck or a change in his pitching? Fred Hofstetter analyzed Gallardo's first two starts to see how well he pitched. Despite the good results, Fred is not impressed. He doesn't see a reason to think that Gallardo will keep up this good pitching.

There are new colored cards on the field.

I attended the Brewers-Royals exhibition game on the Friday before the season started. For the game, I sat behind home plate and noticed a person standing on the field near the Royals dugout holding up various color cards. I didn't think too much about it at the time, but it is apparently part of a new system set up by MLB to help coordinate broadcasts. Nathan Petrashek of Cream City Cables has an overview of the system and how it works. If it works properly, it shouldn't cause too much of a disruption to the game. It's just another element of making a baseball game as smooth as possible.

Cram Session

Khris Davis

• After a hitless opening series at Miller Park, Khris Davis came alive by going 8-for-15 against Boston. Adam McCalvy wrote about how Khris Davis rose through the ranks to become a critical starter for the team.
• Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel also writes about Khris Davis and how his approach changed to get back on track.
• Jess Lemont of The Brewers Bar has an illustration of a great catch by Khris Davis in Sunday's game.

Brewers Pitching

• Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel looked at the dominance of the Brewers starting pitching and bullpen.
• Curt Hogg of Disciples of Uecker looks into the dominance of the Brewers bullpen, and focuses on Will Smith and Tyler Thornburg.

• Ryan Topp of Disciples of Uecker has a special on TMJ4 about what four things the Brewers have to do if they want to make the playoffs.
• We all know how much Ron Roenicke loves to utilize productive outs, but are they really that productive? Adam Weiser of Disciples of Uecker argues against the idea of productive outs.

Power Rankings

• Reviewing the Brew raised the Brewers three spots to #13.
• ESPN has the Brewers up one spot to #17.

Outside the Game

• The movie Major League turned 25 yesterday. Mike Oz of Big League Stew marks the occasion with 15 facts you may not have known about the movie.

Minor League Update

Division Update

• Cardinals 5, Reds 3: The Cardinals scored early with a three-run double from Yadier Molina, and Michael Wacha pitched six strong innings. The Reds loaded the bases in the ninth down 5-1, managed to score two runs but couldn't finish the comeback.

Today's Games

• Pirates (Charlie Morton) @ Cubs (Edwin Jackson) - 7:05 pm
• Reds (Homer Bailey) @ Cardinals (Lance Lynn) - 7:15 pm

Today's Action

The Brewers return to the field today as they face the Phillies in their home opener. Kyle Lohse will make his second start of the season and will face Kyle Kendrick. First pitch is at 3:05 pm, and Adam McCalvy has the preview on MLB.com.

More from Brew Crew Ball

Follow @BrewCrewBallFollow @SBNationMLB

• Curb Yo Enthusiasm: Is Yovani Gallardo's early-season success an anomaly?
• Ryan Braun is not the devil, and Milwaukee fans are not wrong in cheering him
• Wisconsin runs to doubleheader split with Peoria
• Get out the brooms in Fenway: Brewers sweep Red Sox with 4-0 win
• Potential Brewers milestones in the 2014 season

It’s time we start appreciating just how good Milwaukee’s Jonathan Lucroy is.

Any serious discussion of baseball’s best catchers generally includes a list of familiar names: Buster Posey, Yadier Molina, and Joe Mauer (until those Twins moved him to first base) are always among the first to be mentioned. Sometimes Brian McCann gets included in the action, and increasingly, youngsters like Carlos Santana and Salvador Perez have received well-deserved praise for their great work behind the dish.

One player rarely mentioned, however, is Jonathan Lucroy, who has quietly become one of MLB’s best backstops. Fans in Milwaukee, who get to watch Lucroy play every day, are likely well aware of just how good the 27-year-old is, but that hasn’t quite trickled down to a wider baseball audience.

This is partially because Lucroy plays for a Brewers team that hasn’t contended the past two seasons, but this is also due to how well rounded and subtly excellent Lucroy is.

His offensive numbers—Lucroy hit .280/.340/.455 with 18 home runs and 118 wRC+ in 2013—don’t jump out at you by any means. Yet let’s remember that, on average, MLB catchers batted just .245/.310/.388 last season. The unique duties required of catchers along with the daily physical toll their bodies undergo often precludes any type of offensive excellence. Still, Lucroy’s .345 wOBA ranked fifth-best among big league catchers last year.

Even more encouraging, Lucroy has improved his batting every season since debuting for the Brewers in 2010. Initially a glove-first catcher who posted a 21.2% strikeout rate and 6.2% walk rate in 2011, Lucroy has enhanced his plate discipline, made more consistent contact, and belted more extra-base hits as he has gained further experience in the majors.

In 2012, Lucroy sliced his strikeout rate nearly in half down to 12.7% and batted .320/.368/.513 for Milwaukee in 346 plate appearances. He continued those plate discipline improvements last season, cutting down his strikeout rate further to 11.9% and also increasing his walk rate to a career-best 7.9%.

In some ways, his offensive production dipped in 2013, but much of this was due to a BABIP that regressed back to league average (falling from .338 in 2012 to .290 last year) and Lucroy’s shouldering of full-time catching duties for the Brewers. At the very least, Lucroy remains an above-average catcher with the bat.

Lucroy really excels with the glove, though, and as Harry Pavlidis and Dan Brooks showed at Baseball Prospectus in March, he has arguably been the best pitch framer in baseball dating back to 2010. According to Pavlidis and Brooks, Lucroy’s framing skills are so good, the 27-year-old contributed roughly 39 more runs to his team than Carlos Santana in 2011, which is somewhere in the neighborhood of four wins. This isn’t to say that Lucroy is worth four wins per season for his pitch framing alone, but at least he has a positive and valuable impact on his pitchers through his framing abilities.

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Indeed, as Pavlidis and Brooks acknowledge, both Yovani Gallardo and Kyle Lohse have benefited greatly from Lucroy’s pitch framing excellence in recent seasons, ranking among the league leaders in framing runs added from 2008-2013.

Lucroy’s exceptional framing skills, his otherwise strong defense (he has a good arm and has shown strong blocking skills), and above-average production at the plate make him one of the most well-rounded and valuable catchers in the game. Since the start of the 2012 season, in fact, Lucroy is fourth overall among catchers in total WAR at 7.2 and trails only Buster Posey, Yadier Molina, and Joe Mauer.

Always a strong defender, Lucroy’s bat has begun catching up with his defense, something that often happens with catchers, who are tasked with other responsibilities when they arrive in the majors. With three full seasons of experience and youth on his side, Lucroy could be in for a career year, one in which his defense continues to be elite and his offensive production takes a leap as he keeps refining his plate discipline.

At the minimum, Lucroy will continue to greatly aid the Brewers pitching staff, which, with the addition of Matt Garza in free agency and a potential rebound from Gallardo, could be among the best rotations in the NL. Like Lucroy himself, in fact, the Brewers have a chance to surprise people this season.

...

All statistics courtesy of FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.

Alex Skillin is a writer and editor at Beyond the Box Score. He works as an Editorial Producer for MLB.com and also writes for SB Nation's MLB hub. You can follow him on Twitter at @AlexSkillin.

In what was one of the tougher weeks of their schedule, the Brewers managed to win 4 out of 6 games. Now, with a slightly easier week ahead of them, can they build on that success?

Last time I wrote this type of article I argued the Brewers caught a lucky break in the pitchers they faced during the Atlanta series. I also though the Brewers could have had an easier match-up in Boston had they faced different pitchers and skipped Wily Peralta. I think it’s fair to say I was spectacularly wrong. I still think my reasoning was sound though. Regardless of how they got there, the Brewers are now 4-2 after a week in which I would have been happy with a 3-3 record. This week presents them with an opportunity to build on that success.

The first three games this week are against the Phillies who are no longer the powerhouse of the NL East. The Brewers will be facing Kyle Kendrick, Roberto Hernandez, and Cliff Lee. Kendrick and Hernandez pitchers are nothing special, though both have fared well enough in their first starts. Cliff Lee is still a very good pitcher and I’m ignoring his current season 6.00 ERA. That being said, he is a LHP and even though they didn’t against Alex Wood, I still maintain that the Brewers line-up can crush a lefty.

The Phillies offense is pretty mediocre. They still have a few solid bats in Chase Utley, Domonic Brown, and Carlos Ruiz but Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard aren’t what they used to be. As an added advantage, Utley will miss at least the first game. The Brewers will send Kyle Lohse, Matt Garza, and Marco Estrada to the mound and that has me feeling pretty confident. In the Braves’ series I thought things broke right for the Brewers allowing them the chance to win 2 games. Here, against the Phillies, I feel like the Brewers are supposed to win 2 out of 3.

Things should be tougher against the Pirates. The scheduled starters are Francisco Liriano, Edinson Volquez, and Charlie Morton. Each of these pitchers has gotten off to a solid start, but I’m not too intimated by the trio. The best pitcher of the bunch is Liriano, and again, the Brewers really should have an easier time against left-handers. That’s just on paper though. We’ll have to hope the Pirates aren’t able to secure a lead late in a game because they have Mark Melancon and Jason Grilli in the bullpen. They’re two of the best relievers in the National League so scoring runs off them won't be easy.

I probably don’t have to tell you the Pirates’ offense is a good deal better than the Phillies. Andrew McCutchen and Starling Marte are the headliners but Neil Walker, Pedro Alvarez, and Russell Martin are decent bats too. It’s not the kind of offense that is going to overwhelm a team, but it shouldn’t be taken lightly. It’ll have to face Wily Peralta, Yovani Gallardo, and Kyle Lohse. Peralta and Gallardo are the two pitchers I feel least confident about, but so far they’ve impressed me. I know Peralta got hit around in Boston, but a large part of that was shoddy defense.

I’m feeling pretty good about the Phillies series and I really do think the Brewers should take at least two there. Sweeps don’t happen all that often so, while I think there's a chance, I’m not predicting that. The Pittsburgh series is hard to judge. Overall the Pirates are a tougher team, but I’m really not intimidated by Volquez and Morton. Of course if I was a Pirates fan I might be saying the same thing about Gallardo and Peralta. Going 3-3 would have been a pretty good outcome for the first week. I feel like the Brewers have an easier 6 games this time around so I’m going to put my fan hat on and say the Brewers end Sunday having gone 4-2 for the second straight week pushing their season record to 8-4. I wonder in what ways I will be spectacularly wrong this time around!

More from Brew Crew Ball

Follow @BrewCrewBallFollow @SBNationMLB

• Rickie Weeks contract: What would make the Brewers pick up his option?
• Prognostikeggers 2014 - Week 2
• What we learned: April 8, 2014
• Curb Yo Enthusiasm: Is Yovani Gallardo's early-season success an anomaly?
• Ryan Braun is not the devil, and Milwaukee fans are not wrong in cheering him

Moore left Monday's start in the fifth inning with elbow pain. He will be out at least 15 days, and maybe much longer.

"Anytime a pitcher goes on the DL and is going to see Dr. Andrews, you have reason to be concerned." - Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman

Rays pitcher Matt Moore was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday. After an MRI exam proved inconclusive, the left-hander will visit Dr. James Andrews in Pensacola, Fla. for further evaluation. The injury was worse than initially diagnosed by Rays team trainer Ron Porterfield.

"From the original test it was a little bit worse, or more, than we had thought originally because (Monday) night Ronnie was pretty confident it was not going to be at the level that it had been last year," Rays manager Joe Maddon told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. "But it was a little bit more than we thought originally."

Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports reported that he heard Moore's elbow injury involves his ulnar collateral ligament, which would most likely mean season-ending Tommy John surgery. Moore said if surgery is required he wants to get the procedure done as soon as possible, per Topkin.

"I don't think necessarily the surgery part concerns me or the rehab part, it's the preparation that went into this season for the guys in the locker room and everyone that goes into this particular organization, a lot of high hopes, a lot of expectations and things that we prepared for this season that I very much want to be a part of, and I have not ruled out any part of that," Moore said.

Braun goes deep thrice

Entering Tuesday, Brewers outfielder Ryan Bruan was 3-for-20 with three singles and a walk in five games, and not much of a factor at the plate so far this season. That all changed against the Phillies, as Braun hit three home runs in a 10-4 win for Milwaukee.

His three-run home run in the third inning against Kyle Kendrick snapped a 1-1 tie and was Braun's first home run since May 22, 2013, snapping a streak of 77 plate appearances without a long ball.

Tuesday was the second three-home-run game of Braun's career, matching his performance on April 30, 2012 in San Diego.

Scoreless showdown in Kansas City

The Rays were without Moore, but sent another young stud to the mound against the Royals on Tuesday. Chris Archer didn't disappoint, with seven scoreless innings in a game Tampa Bay ultimately won 1-0 thanks to a ninth inning on an RBI single by James Loney.

But Archer wasn't alone in mound brilliance, as Royals hurler Yordano Ventura made his 2014 debut with six scoreless innings of his own with six strikeouts in just his fourth major league start. In just nine days of regular season baseball (plus two more in Australia), there have already been five games that saw both starting pitchers through scoreless ball for at least six innings (thanks to the great Baseball-Reference):

• March 31: Cubs (Jeff Samardzija) at Pirates (Francisco Liriano)
• March 31: Indians (Justin Masterson) at Athletics (Sonny Gray)
  
• April 2: Cardinals (Michael Wacha) at Reds (Tony Cingrani)
  
• April 6: Rangers (Yu Darvish) at Rays (Alex Cobb)
• Tuesday: Rays (Archer) at Royals (Ventura)
  

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.

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

Yovani Gallardo had a simultaneously lauded and panned start in Boston on April 6th. He allowed no runs, but got no swinging strikes against one of the most prudent teams at the plate. The start was a catalyst for discussion about Yovani Gallardo, and how exactly he got to this point in his career despite drastic changes in velocity and release point.

Very early Monday morning (or very late Sunday night, if you prefer) a tweet from Gabe Kapler mentioned Yovani Gallardo's performance during the game that day and the possibility that he'll finally put it together. Mitchel Lichtman (often referred to as MGL) responded to Gallardo's post and a long discussion began discussing Gallardo's career to date, his performance against the Red Sox, and pitcher aging curves. Lichtman's initial response that piqued my interest in the conversation:

@gabekapler First of all, he has had a very good career. Second of all, he is not getting better at 90-91 when he used to be 92-93.

— Mitchel Lichtman (@mitchellichtman) April 7, 2014

Lichtman went on to make several other points that are both relevant and interesting. He mentioned that there is a strong relationship between faltering performance with dropping velocity. He also went on to mention that pitchers start losing velocity almost immediately, and that it gets worse as they age. This, he explains, is why pitcher aging curves don't have an up slope.

The purpose of this post is not to research and provide hard data to support or refute Lichtman's claims, but rather to use them as context for understanding the ups and downs of Yovani Gallardo's career. Getting back to Kapler's original point, it's important to note how Gallardo performed in his start versus the Red Sox.

Gallardo threw 6 and 2/3 innings against the reigning World Series champs, allowing 7 hits but no runs. He also struck out 3 Red Sox hitters while walking none. That pitching line is very impressive, but PITCHf/x data from BrooksBaseball shows that he did not get a swinging strike in the game, which could be troubling.

Kapler's original tweet mentioned this season could be the one that Gallardo finally puts it together. in Gallardo's defense, he's only posted a below league average FIP- once in his career, and that was last season. Even then, his FIP- was just 102, or 2% worse than league average. Over his career his FIP- is 91, so he's 9% better than average over the seven seasons he's been in the majors. Gallardo doesn't exactly need to "put it together", as he's had a good career to date, though he did disappoint last season.

What Gallardo has done since becoming a full time big league pitcher is see his velocity change significantly. The graph below shows Gallardo's velocity over time, and hints at Lichtman's original response to Kapler.

In 2008, Gallardo averaged 91.32 mph with his four-seam fastball, a figure that would improve in each of the two subsequent seasons. In 2011, Gallardo's average four-seam fastball velocity peaked at 93.47 mph. This coincided with him adding a sinker which had almost exactly the same velocity as his four-seam fastball. From 2011 to 2013, Gallardo's fastball velocity would fall nearly 2 mph to just 91.57 mph last season. His sinker would follow suit, dropping from 93.40 mph at its peak in 2011, to just 91.45 mph last season.

Gallardo is throwing his fastball (and sinker) slower than he ever has since his rookie season in 2008. In 2014, it's falling even further, albeit through just two starts. This is obviously not enough of a sample to make any definitive claims, but something to note moving forward this season.

One thing Kapler says is that Gallardo's heavy fastball reminded him of Curt Schilling. Generally speaking, pitchers with heavy fastballs are ones who get a lot of ground balls, something Schilling wasn't really known for later in his career. So far this season, Gallardo has shown off a heavy fastball, as he's getting twice as many ground balls as he is fly balls. Granted, the caveats here are the small sample size, and the fact that his ground ball rate would be a career high if he maintained it and his fly ball rate would be a career low.

Gallardo's velocity has gone up about 2 mph during his career, and it's also fallen back down to where it was when he first started his career. He also went from a four pitch pitcher who threw his fastball and curve 88% of the time, to a five pitch pitcher that uses four of those five pitches at least 17% of the time.

Another change for Gallardo is what we'll call his wandering release point. In 2008, Gallardo released nearly all of his pitches from about 6 feet 7 inches above the mound, and 1 foot 3 inches to the left of the center of the rubber (from the catcher/batter point of view). Last season, his release point was approximately the same height, but a full foot to the right. Interestingly, his release point has moved back to where it was earlier in his career so far in 2014, with most pitches being released from roughly 1 foot 4 inches to the left of the center of the pitching rubber. He's also releasing the ball from a few inches lower than last season so far in 2014.

Below are two screenshots from MLB.com videos of Gallardo. The one on the left is from an April start from 2013 against the San Diego Padres; the one on the right is from Sunday's start against Boston. The camera angles are different here, but it seems that Gallardo was delivering the ball from a more upright position in early 2013, compared to Sunday's start against the Red Sox. As Doug Thorburn notes in this excellent analysis of Ubaldo Jimenez, a pitcher's posture when his plant foot lands is important for the rest of his mechanics. The difference for Gallardo isn't nearly as significant as it is for Jimenez, but it is a possible cause for the change in Gallardo's velocity and performance from year to year.

(Images above courtesy of MLB.com: Link 1 | Link 2)

I can't speak to how heavy Gallardo's fastball felt in either 2008 or last Sunday's start. Only an MLB player like Kapler who has stood in the batter's box against Gallardo can attest to something like that. What I do know, based on the data we have, is that Gallardo has been very successful over his career despite significant changes in velocity, repertoire, and release point. I also know that the margin for error with a 90-91 mph fastball is smaller than it is for a 92-93 mph fastball. Gallardo may be adjusting well enough to be competitive despite a loss of velocity, but he's undoubtedly a worse pitcher with less velocity on his fastball.

If Yovani Gallardo wants to have a strong bounce-back season in 2014, he'll need to keep doing all of the things he's done in his first two outings this season—get more ground balls, walk fewer batters, and give up less home runs. It's unlikely that all of those things (among others) will remain in Gallardo's favor moving forward and that smaller margin for error will catch up to him.

Beyond the Box Score's own Scott Lindholm said it best a few weeks ago in his analysis of pitcher aging curves. Scott said:

It's a new day with pitchers--pitch hard, flame out young and leave a pretty fWAR. Those who beat the odds are amongst the best in history. As the aging charts show, the difference between solid careers and Hall of Fame ones are the pitchers that can defy Father Time from around 28 on and still deliver quality pitching.

"Pitcher Aging Curves" - Scott Lindholm

2014 just happens to be Yovani Gallardo's age 28 season. He's already thrown over 1,100 innings in his career, so this could be the point where we find out if Gallardo is going to put it all together and become an elite starter, or if he's just another solid starting pitcher.

A special thanks to Gabe Kapler, Mitchel Lichtman, and Scott Lindholm for inspiration for this post.

All statistics courtesy of Fangraphs,Brooks Baseball, and Baseball-Reference.

Jeff Long is a writer at Beyond The Box Score and Baltimore Sports and Life. You can follow him on Twitter at @BSLJeffLong.

It seemed like things were working out so that Wei-Chung Wang could make his major league debut yesterday against the Phillies. That didn't happen and one has to wonder when it will.

Yesterday the Brewers were beating the Phillies 10-4 going into the bottom of the 8th inning. It seemed like a most opportune time to give Wei-Chung Wang his major league debut. Instead they used Brandon Kinztler and Jim Henderson. That makes 7 games without an appearance for Wang. It’s a tricky situation for the Brewers. Wang has never pitched above rookie ball and the team is hoping to compete for a playoff spot so they can’t just put him in at anytime. However, he needs to pitch and if they won’t put him in a game where they possess a 6 run lead against a team as unimposing as the Phillies, when will they?

I was fine with Henderson pitching the 9th because he seemingly needs to be eased back in and he had a really nice inning too, so that was a positive. My problem is that they pitched Kintzler in the 8th. If I recall correctly, the top of the line-up was due up so perhaps that’s part of it. It’s also possible that they put Kintzler in the game because he had already been warming up. I expect that’s the reasoning, but I still think it’s flawed. I doubt he would have messed up his arm had he not pitched. If anything, it was all the more reason to put Wang in there. Kintzler would be available quickly should the kid get into trouble.

I’ve seen it suggested that it makes more sense to put Wang in a game where the Brewers are losing by 6 runs, than in one where they’re leading by 6. I agree that is the traditional way of thinking about it and the most likely real world scenario, but I disagree that it’s the correct way of thinking about it. The fear is that Wang will give up runs. If they’re already losing by 6 runs, turning that into a 7, 8, or 9 run deficit helps insure that you aren’t going to win that game. If Wang gives up runs in a game where they’re winning by 6 runs, then they can pull him for a better reliever and still have a 3, 4, or 5 run lead. You’re in the better position when you’re leading.

Wang didn’t make the team for his ability to get hitters out now. That’s not to say that he can’t get outs. He wouldn’t have made the team if they thought he was completely useless, but his ability to do so is of secondary concern. He made the team for what he could be in the future. He’s already the 3rd or 4th best pitching prospect in the system, depending on how you feel about Johnny Hellweg. MLB Pipeline has him currently ranked as the Brewers 11th best prospect overall. The future of the farm system isn’t one of the things a major league manager thinks about, nor should it be. This is a unique situation where Ron Roenicke’s thought process might have a direct influence on that farm system.

At the end of the day it’s not that big of a deal when Wang makes his debut. It’s just a little worrisome that he didn’t pitch yesterday. I really don’t believe a trade is going to happen, especially now that the season is underway, so if they’re going to keep him they’ll have to pitch him. If it’s simply that they wanted to get Kintzler in the game because he was already warm or they didn’t want Wang facing the Phillies best hitters, well okay I guess. But, if the reasoning really is that they didn’t want to put him in a game where they were leading it’s at best a failure in logic. At worst it could be a sign that Ron Roenicke doesn’t have faith in Wang’s ability. If that’s the case then, in a season where the Brewers are trying to compete, I fear he won’t last the season.

More from Brew Crew Ball

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• Hot New Jim Henderson Update
• What we learned: April 9, 2014
• Extra Hops: Gifs of the Brewers' 10-4 win over Philly
• The Brewers' Hot Start and Playoff Odds
• Brewers 10, Phillies 4: Team Braun is blasting off again

It was a big day for some former big prospects in Iowa. The Smokies won their home opener while Daytona dropped two and Kane County lost.

We've actually got a photo from today's I-Cubs game accompanying today's story, thanks to www.dylanheuer.com. That's a first.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs played taps for the Nashville Sounds (Brewers), 6-1.

It was a great start for Carlos Pimentel, who got his first win in the Cubs organization. Pimentel allowed a solo home run in the second inning, but that was one of only three hits he allowed over six innings. Even better, Pimentel struck out ten and only walked one.

It was "Old Top Prospects Day" at Principal Park today. First, right fielder Brett Jacksonhit a solo home run in the sixth inning. Jackson was 1 for 4.

Next, in the seventh inning, Josh Vitters hit a two-run home run to put the game out of reach at 6-1. It was Vitters' second home run this year. He was 1 for 3 with a walk.

Shortstop Javier Baez was 2 for 4 with a double. He scored twice.

Tennessee Smokies

The Tennessee Smokies won their home opener, 3-1 over the Chattanooga Lookouts (Dodgers)

C.J. Edwards had some control issues tonight, but his results weren't too bad as he allowed only one run on five hits over 5.2 innings. He did walk four and had a wild pitch. Edwards struck out five.

P.J. Francescon relieved Edwards with the bases loaded and two out in the sixth and got a ground out to end the threat. He stayed in the game to pitch another inning and he retired all four batters he faced, striking out two. He got his second win when Tennessee took the lead in the bottom of the sixth.

A.J.Armando Rivero recorded a four-out save, retiring every batter he faced. Three of them went down on strikes, swinging.

All three Smokies runs scored when catcher Rafael Lopezdoubled with two men on the bottom of the sixth inning. Both runners scored and then Lopez came around to score on a throwing error. Lopez was 2 for 3 with a walk.

Second baseman Stephen Bruno went 2 for 4.

Daytona Cubs

The Daytona Cubs dropped a doubleheader to the Dunedin Blue Jays, 1-0 and 6-4.

In the first game, Felix Pena took the hard-luck loss. Pena allowed only one run on five hits over six innings. Three of those hits were in the third inning when he allowed the run. He struck out five and didn't walk anyone.

Center fielder Albert Almoradoubled twice but failed to score in a 2 for 3 game. He had two of the D-Cubs four hits.

Jose Rosario started game two and didn't pitch poorly, but took the loss anyway. Rosario pitched five innings and gave up two runs, one earned, on three hits. He walked three and struck out four.

Starling Peralta relieved Rosario in the sixth and gave up three hits and one batter reached on an error. All four runners eventually came around to score, three of them on a double against Andrew McKirahan. Peralta struck out the first batter he faced, but that was the only out he recorded.

Daytona made it close when Dan Vogelbach hit his first home run of the season in the bottom of the sixth with two men on. Vogelbach went 1 for 3.

Kane County Cougars

The Kane County Cougars fell back to .500 with a 7-4 loss in ten innings to the Fort Wayne TinCaps (Padres).

Paul Blackburn's second Kane County start was better than the first. He gave up a two-run home run in the second inning, but those were the only runs he allowed over five innings. Blackburn allowed only two hits. He walked two, hit a batter (who scored on the home run) and struck out four.

It was a tough outing for Jose Arias, who blew the one-run save opportunity in the top of the ninth on a solo home run and then gave up three unearned runs in the top of the tenth after an error by center fielder Jacob Hannemann. Arias pitched two innings and allowed four runs on three hits and a walk, although only one of the four runs were earned. He walked one and did not have a strikeout.

Batters one through eight in the Cougars lineup each had one of the eight hits the team had on Wednesday afternoon. First baseman Jacob Rogers hit his first home run this season with the bases empty in the second inning. Rogers went 1 for 4.

Hannemann was 1 for 5. He tripled and scored in the bottom of the first inning.

Today's lessons include the velocity of Jim Henderson, the home runs of Ryan Braun, and the potential debut of Wei-Chung Wang.

Yesterday's Results

Brewers 9, Phillies 4

The Brewers continued their hot play yesterday. They got started quick with two runs in the first in inning, but sloppy defense allowed the Phillies to show the runs in the bottom half of the first. The Brewers tied it in the second and took the lead again in the fourth, but the Phillies responded with another run in the fifth to tie the game at 4. The Brewers would take the lead for goods in the eighth thanks to an error by Ryan Howard, and Ryan Braun added two more runs with a RBI triple. Mark Reynolds would finish the scoring with a two run home run in the ninth. Matt Garza had a rough first inning but recovered to pitch six innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on eight hits and two walks with four strikeouts.

Jim Henderson has regained his velocity.

When the season started, Jim Henderson was removed from the closer role because of diminished velocity. He was put into situations for him to work back into the role, and his velocity has slowly returned. Yesterday, Jordan looked at Henderson's velocity over his three appearances and noted an upward trend in the velocity. In his appearance on Tuesday, his fastball was between 95 and 98 mph. While that is a good sign, it may be early to get too excited. Factoring in last night, his fastball started around 92 mph, but by the end of the appearance he was hitting between 94 and 96 mph consistently. Either way, Jordan also notes that the situation with Henderson may have put the Brewers in a good place to have both a closer and a reliever for high-leverage situations.

Wei-Chung Wang watch is still in progress and could be for a while.

The Brewers are eight games into the season now, and we still haven't seen Wei-Chung Wang pitch in a game. We keep hearing from Ron Roenicke that he is looking for the right opportunity to get him into a game, but it seems like we've already seen those situations comes up. The Brewers led by six runs in the eighth and ninth innings on Tuesday, and then by five runs in the ninth inning yesterday. However, we still did not see Wang enter the game. Derek Harvey asks this question and thinks we've seen some good chances already for Wang to enter a game. If Ron Roenicke doesn't get Wang into a game, he's essentially forcing himself to work with a 24-man roster. While that has worked so far, he could find himself needing that 25th man in a tough situation.

Ryan Braun could hit over 400 home runs in his career.

With his three home runs on Tuesday night, Ryan Braun passed Geoff Jenkins for third place in home runs hit as a Brewer. It is clear that by the end of next season, he should hold the record in that category. The only question is how many additional home runs he will hit. Noah put together a projection of what Braun could hit based on his first eight seasons. 400 home runs looks well within reach, but 500 may be too high. Where will Braun land? It could be fun to find the answer.

Cram Session

(Note: Sorry, no organization on links today. I was barely able to get this typed up due to computer issues.)

• Did Ryan Braun take a shot at Phillies fans in yesterday's game? Corey Seidman of CSN Philly notes a gesture assumed to be for the Brewers dugout may have actually been pointed at the crowd.
• Jeffrey Long of Beyond the Box Score saw a tweet from Gabe Kapler and used it as a springboard to start an in-depth analysis on Yovani Gallardo.
• It probably won't be long before we see a Brewers-based one of these. Mike Bates of NotGraphs found a Ron Gardenhire nickname generator and experimented with it a little bit.
• Is it a good thing that the Brewers are holding on an extension for Jean Segura? Benjamin Orr of Reviewing The Brew has an argument about why holding on an extension is a good idea.
  
• Andrew Vrchota of Reviewing the Brew found some speculation that the Brewers may be scouting Kendrys Morales.
• Curt Hogg of Disciples of Uecker has a roundup of tweets about Ryan Braun following his three home run game on Tuesday.
  
• Are you waiting for the upcoming regression for the starting rotation? Jonathan Judge of Disciples of Uecker breaks down what you should expect to see when it happens.
  
• Dan Zinski of Call to the Pen found a tweet with a giant needle sign for taunting Ryan Braun.
  
• Braun wasn't the only player to have multiple home runs on Tuesday night. Roger Schlueter of MLB.com breaks down some of the other home run events that happened on the 40th anniversary of Hank Aaron's 715th home run.
• Adam McCalvy of Brewers.com has a story on how Jim Henderson regained velocity on his fastball.
• Ron Roenicke finally called a challenge in the regular season, and also won the challenge. Unfortunately, it didn't help too much as the Phillies still put together a big inning despite the challenge.

Minor League Update

Division Update

• Reds 4, Cardinals 0: Mike Leake pitched eight shutout innings and Billy Hamilton went 3-for-4 and scoured two runs as the Reds shut out the Cardinals.
• Cubs 7, Pirates 5: Jason Hammel allowed three home runs, but all of them were solo shots as he pitched seven innings, while Mike Olt and Junior Lake led the Cubs offense with 5 RBI combined to get a 7-5 win.

Today's Games

• Pirates (Gerrit Cole) @ Cubs (Travis Wood) - 1:20 pm
• Cardinals and Reds have the day off.

Today's Action

The Brewers go for the sweep against the Phillies and the six game road trip sweep tonight. The Brewers will have a tough game ahead of them as they face Cliff Lee. For the Brewers, Marco Estrada will get his second start of the season. First pitch is at 6:05 pm, and Adam McCalvy has the preview on MLB.com.

Morales would cost a draft pick unless the Brewers waited until after the June amateur draft to sign him.

The Brewers have sent scouts to see free agent first baseman Kendrys Morales and that may be the least surprising thing in the world.

The Orioles and Mariners were mentioned alongside Milwaukeeas having interest in Morales, according to Jon Heyman.

I say it's the least surprising thing in the world because of course the Brewers have some interest in Morales. They are running out a 37-year-old with one hit on the season against right-handers. It got so bad that they seem to have decided 'screw it' and are now just starting Mark Reynolds full-time. So Morales, a switch-hitter who has hit much better against righties in his career, could be an excellent platoon partner for Reynolds. Or just the full-time starting baseman if the team doesn't believe in Reynolds' hot start.

So of course the Brewers are interested. They haven't had a first baseman since Corey Hart's knees decided they didn't want to work anymore. The question is how much interest does the team have in Morales, who hit .277/.336/.449 with 23 home runs last year for the Mariners?

If the Brewers really want Morales, I think most fans can agree that they would rather wait a couple months before the team signs him. Morales turned down a qualifying offer from the Mariners, necessitating the forfeiture of a draft pick by any other team that signs him. By waiting until after the June draft, the Brewers would no longer be required to lose a first round selection.

But that also puts the Brewers in a funny position. They have started out hot with a 6-2 record, including a sweep of the defending World Series champion Red Sox. Management clearly thought they had a chance to make the playoffs coming into the season, but those hopes may now be elevated. By waiting to sign Morales, they lose out on two months of solid production that could be the difference in a postseason berth or an early offseason.

Also playing into the timing are the other interested teams. Any one of them could pull the trigger soon, leaving the Brewers out in the cold. Thus, if the team wants Morales, they may need to jump quick. If Morales does wait until after the draft to sign, it will certainly increase the pool of teams who would love to have him on their team. Keep in mind the division-rival Pirates are also looking for a first baseman and their situation at the position may be even worse than the Brewers'.

It's a tough situation for the Brewers, and I'm not envious of the decision they may have to make. Sign Morales and maximize the team's win potential as early as possible, or wait until after the draft which saves and draft pick, but may mean he'll no longer be available. I'd much rather they save their draft pick, personally. Morales is good and is certainly an upgrade to what the team has now, but he's not good enough to forfeit a pick. If he was, he wouldn't still be a free agent. Still, I can see the merits of both options.

The other factor to this is how much Morales would cost, too. The qualifying offer would have netted him $14.1 million for the year. Nelson Cruz, in a similar situation as Morales, settled for $8 million over one year. Morales would likely end up at a prorated salary close to that, something the Brewers may not be able to afford as their budget is already stretched thin. Then again, Mark Attanasio has opened his checkbook before when he deemed it worthwhile.

It all depends on just how interested the Brewers are. If it's just a checking-in type deal, there's likely no way they approach him with a solid offer before the draft. If management thinks he's the missing piece, though, all bets are off.

Of course, Stephen Drew is also still available in free agency if the Brewers would rather just stick with shortstops playing first base.

More from Brew Crew Ball

Follow @BrewCrewBallFollow @SBNationMLB

• What we learned: April 10, 2014
• Brewers 9, Phillies 4: Offense carries Crew
• Ryan Braun's home run total: How many can he hit in his career?
• When is Wei-Chung Wang going to pitch?
• Hot New Jim Henderson Update

The Brewers are scoring runs and winning games. So what's the big deal?

The top of the order has been performing quite well to start the season and it’s hard to find any fault in it at all. I have noticed one slight issue though and it’s coming from the 2-hole. Carlos Gomez and Jean Segura have somewhat similar offensive profiles in that they’re both elite base stealers and they both make a good amount of contact. The problem is they’re both super aggressive. While that’s not necessarily a bad thing in and of itself, batting them back-to-back could have unintended consequences.

Last year Jean Segura saw the second fewest pitches per plate appearance (3.64) among Brewers’ hitters. So far this year he's last (3.34) in this respect. Of the pitches he sees, he swings at about 48% of them. He makes contact with about 85% of the pitches he swings at. I’m not saying he should change his approach or anything. It’s just the type of player he is and he’s effective with it. The problem is that it gives Gomez fewer chances to steal.

There’s another problem. Gomez and Segura both stole 40+ bases last year. That speed is being wasted in front of sluggers like Ryan Braun and Aramis Ramirez. They don’t need help to drive in runs.

This isn't me doing another article advocating for the ideal sabermetric lineup. That’s clearly never going to happen with the current decision makers in place. That’s okay though, there is hope for some improvement. Before the season started Ron Roenicke was toying with idea of hitting Jonathan Lucroy in the 2-hole. He has one of the higher on-base percentages on the team so it’s logical in that sense. It would also be beneficial to have some of that elite speed towards the back of the lineup where some of the hitters may need the help driving in runners.

Lucroy's patience also makes him an ideal option to hit behind Gomez. Last year Lucroy took 4.02 pitches per plate appearance. That was the highest among Brewers’ regulars. He’s doing it again this year. Unfortunately Roenicke (right or wrong) seems to like the idea of a consistent line-up, and putting the catcher so high up might not be something he’s willing to do. I also have to wonder if Roenicke is falling prey to all that RISP talk about Lucroy from last year. That's probably a whole other article by itself.

I’ll admit, this is one of those "good" problems to have. Gomez and Segura are solid offensive threats so it’s not like having them hit 1 and 2 is going to hurt the Brewers chances to win all that much if at all. It probably will impact Gomez’s stolen base totals though. Gomez is still crazy fast and just as aggressive on the base paths as he is at the plate so he's still going to get his steals in. If you’re stealing 35 bases instead of 40 you’re still doing pretty well for yourself.

More from Brew Crew Ball

Follow @BrewCrewBallFollow @SBNationMLB

• Kendrys Morales free agency: Brewers rumored to have interest in 1B
• What we learned: April 10, 2014
• Brewers 9, Phillies 4: Offense carries Crew
• Braun, Reynolds remain in lineup as Brewers take on Phillies
• Ryan Braun's home run total: How many can he hit in his career?

Weeks will have a tough matchup as he has just a 494 career OPS against Lee.

Here is today's Brewers' lineup:

CF Gomez
SS Segura
RF Braun
3B Ramirez
C Lucroy
LF Davis
1B Reynolds
2B Weeks
P Estrada

Poor Rickie Weeks. The guy is the right-handed player in a platoon at second base and doesn't get many starting opportunities. Now that he does have the chance to start a game, he has to face Cliff Lee. This is not likely to help him break out of a 1-11 slump to start the season.

Lee started the season off on the wrong foot with an eight-run outing to open the year. However, he got back on track in start number two when he shut out the Cubs over seven innings. He has not been great against the Brewers in seven career starts against the team with a 4.66 ERA while allowing an 812 OPS. Individual Brewers have been successful against him, as well. Carlos Gomez (977 OPS), Ryan Braun (1.304 OPS) and Aramis Ramirez (1.036 OPS) have all wrecked Lee in over 20 plate appearances apiece. Weeks starting because of the platoon split may not end up working well: In 17 plate appearances against Lee he has a .200/.294/.200 career line.

Meanwhile, Marco Estrada will hope to keep his strong start going. He pitched 5⅔ innings against the Red Sox last week, allowing just one earned run on four hits. However, it took him over 100 pitches to last that long and he walked three batters. He did strike out six others, though. A healthy and productive Estrada will be a sight to see this year. Here's hoping he keeps the forward momentum going.

Here is the Phillies' lineup for today, featuring Chase Utley's return after a bout with the flu:

1. Ben Revere, CF
2. Jimmy Rollins, SS
3. Chase Utley, 2B
4. Ryan Howard, 1B
5. Marlon Byrd, RF
6. Domonic Brown, LF
7. Carlos Ruiz, C
8. Cody Asche, 3B
9. Cliff Lee, P

More from Brew Crew Ball

Follow @BrewCrewBallFollow @SBNationMLB

• The Brewers have a problem at the top of their lineup.
• Kendrys Morales free agency: Brewers rumored to have interest in 1B
• What we learned: April 10, 2014
• Ryan Braun's home run total: How many can he hit in his career?
• When is Wei-Chung Wang going to pitch?

... and why wouldn't they be?

Their star is back. They adopted a cool dog and made him their unofficial team mascot. They still have Bob Uecker calling their games on the radio.

The Brewers apparently have a lot of things to be pleased about, so they decided to convey their feelings to the world with a music video set to the tune of Pharrell Williams' "Happy," and it features almost every person in the organization from players to concession stand attendants.

Awww, Hank!

It has become apparent that the Brewers lost those two game to the Braves so that after they go 160-2 this season, they still have something to shoot for next year.

Winning Pitcher: Marco Estrada

Losing Pitcher: Cliff Lee

Boxscore

The first inning was pretty clear sailing for both teams. Cliff Lee allowed a single to Ryan Braun but that was it. Marco Estrada one up'd him retiring the Phillies in order, including one strikeout. Rickie Weeks had a nice play backing up Mark Reynolds who had a ball squeak under his glove.

Lee followed up his first inning by striking out the side. That ended what had been a 22 inning hitting streak. Unfortunately Estrada did not respond in like. He gave up a home run, as he is wont to do, to Marlon Byrd. That would be the only hit though.

Byrd tried to make up for it by misplaying a flyball from Gomez allowing him to reach third base. However it was for naught as there were two outs already and Jean Segura was unable to drive Gomez in on a grounder to second. Estrada returned to the mound in strong fashion by getting two strikeouts and comebacker to the mound for the third out.

Ryan Braun led off the 4th inning with his second single of the game. Ramirez quickly followed up with a double that would see Braun score from first to tie the game. Jonathan Lucroy would ground out, but in doing so advanced Ramirez to third. Khris Davis was able to squeak a grounder through the left side of the infield for an RBI single. That was it for the inning, but the Brewers took the a 2-1 lead. Estrada gave up a lead off single to Jimmy Rollins, but he was caught stealing. He followed that with two more ground outs.

In the fifth inning Carlos Gomez was thrown out at second trying to stretch a base hit into a double. It was a close play but yet again, Ron Roenicke shows he won't replay anything unless it's obvious. It's a frustrating strategy, especially in a close game against a pitcher as good as Cliff Lee. You think he'd want to use every advantage at his disposal to even the odds given the chance. Thankfully Marco Estrada would return allowing only one base hit for another scoreless inning.

WIth two outs in the 6th inning, Jonathan Lucroy hit a double and Khris drove him in with a double of his own to extend the Brewers lead to 3-1. The Phillies threatened in the bottom half of the inning. With two outs, Jimmy Rollins drew a walk and advanced to third on a base hit by Chase Utley. Ryan Howard would then draw a walk to load the bases for Marlon Byrd who would get an RBI on a grounder to third base to cut the Brewers lead to 3-2. With the bases still loaded and two outs Domonic Brown hit a lazy fly to center to end the inning.

Jeff Manship replaced Cliff Lee in the 7th. Rickie Weeks led off with a single. Logan Schafer came in to pinch hit for Marco Estrada. Roenicke had him lay down a bunt which was fielded by the catcher Carlos Ruiz who threw to second. The umpire ruled that the throw pulled the second baseman off the bag and everyone was safe. Carlos Gomez immediately singled in Weeks. Schafer also advanced to third base. Manship, who until this point had not given up a run, would exit the game. Jake Diekman took the mound. Segura greeted him with a bloop single scoring Schafer. Gomez with heads up base running was able to get to third. With runners at the corners Ryan Braun hit a sac-fly bringing the Brewers' lead to 6-2. Ramirez struck out and Segura got picked off to end the inning.

In a move that I found equal parts surprising and encouraging, Ron Roenicke went with Tyler Thornburg (who pitched 2 innings in yesterday's game) in the 7th. He responded by striking out the first two batters and getting the third out on an easy pop-up. It was seriously impressive.

Jonathan Lucroy reached on an error and Mark Reynolds drew a walk but that was it in the Brewers half of the 8th inning. Utilizing a double switch, Will Smith took the mound and Scooter Gennett replaced Weeks at second base. Smith got a strikeout and a ground out but gave up a base hit to Chase Utley and walked Ryan Howard. Byrd came to the plate with runners at 1st and 2nd. Smith struck him out.

The Brewers batters would go quietly in the top of the 9th, but so would the Phillies. Having not pitched since Saturday, Francisco Rodriguez took the mound and retired them in order to secure the win.

The Brewers complete the road trip sweep to advance to a 7-2 record! Tomorrow they're back in Milwaukee to take on division rivals Pittsburgh Pirates. It'll be Wily Peralta facing off against Francisco Liriano. Start time is 7:10 pm CT.

More from Brew Crew Ball

Follow @BrewCrewBallFollow @SBNationMLB

• Brewers vs Phillies lineups: Rickie Weeks starting at second base
• The Brewers have a problem at the top of their lineup.
• Kendrys Morales free agency: Brewers rumored to have interest in 1B
• What we learned: April 10, 2014
• Brewers 9, Phillies 4: Offense carries Crew

Iowa and Kane County win while Tennessee and Daytona fall.

Once again, we've got a photo from today's game thanks to Dylan Heuer.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs got their record back to .500 by stomping on the Nashville Sounds (Brewers), 6-1.

Kyle Hendricks shut down the Sounds for seven innings this afternoon, giving up only one run on five hits. Hendricks struck out five and walked only one as he got his first win of the season.

So the Kyle Hendricks Fan Club can all exhale. You know who you are.

Neil Ramirez and Blake Parker each threw a scoreless inning to finish out the game.

Shortstop Javier Baez hit his second home run of the season when he took an 0-2 fastball over the right-center field wall. The two-run home run put Iowa ahead to stay. Baez was 1 for 4.

Second baseman Arismendy Alcantara was 2 for 4 with a double. He also scored once. First baseman Chris Valaika was also 2 for 4 with a double. He had two total RBI.

Center fielder Matt Szczur went 2 for 4 with a stolen base. He scored on the Baez home run.

Left fielder Josh Vitters was 1 for 2 with two walks. He scored two runs.

Tennessee Smokies

The Tennessee Smokies couldn't ignite against the Chattanooga Lookouts (Dodgers), 1-0.

Jake Arrieta made a rehab start and it certainly looked like it was successful. Arrieta threw 3.2 scoreless innings, allowing three hits, all singles. He struck out four and walked two.

Dae-Eun Rhee came on in the top of the fifth and got stuck with a hard-luck loss when Tony Zych allowed a two-out RBI single in the top of the ninth, scoring a runner inherited from Rhee. Rhee pitched 4.2 innings and allowed the one run on four hits. He struck out three and walked one.

Tennessee managed only four hits on the afternoon. Second baseman Stephen Bruno was 1 for 3 with a double and a walk.

Daytona Cubs

The Daytona Cubs were done in by the Dunedin Blue Jays 12-2.

Are you sure you want to hear about this one? Well, OK. You asked for it.  Tayler Scott couldn't follow up his strong first start of the season, and he was cuffed around for eight runs on eleven hits over 3+ innings. Four of the eight runs he allowed were unearned. Scott walked three and struck out two.

Arodys Vizcaino pitched the ninth and was throwing gas. According to Sean Kernan of the Daytona Beach News-Journal, his fastball was sitting 96-97 with one at 95 and one at 98. Vizcaino pitched one inning and didn't allow a hit or a run. He did walk one and he struck out one.

Left fielder Bijan Rademacher was a perfect 3 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.

Second baseman Gioskar Amaya left this game in the second inning with an apparent shoulder injury.

Kane County Cougars

The Kane County Cougars fried the Fort Wayne TinCaps (Padres), 7-5.

Starter Tyler Skulina pitched pretty well for five innings, but then he came out for the six and gave up four runs, which makes his final line look a lot worse than he actually pitched. Skulina lasted 5.2 innings and allowed five runs on six hits. Four of those six hits came in the sixth inning. Skulina struck out six and only walked one.

It was Skulina's first professional win.

Tyler Bremer pitched the ninth inning and got his first save, albeit not without some drama. Bremer allowed two singles and there were runners on first and second with one out, but he got a pop up and a fly out the end the threat and the game. Bremer did not have a strikeout in his inning of work.

Shortstop Carlos Penalver scored three runs in a 2 for 5 effort. One of those hits was a double and he also stole a base.

Second baseman Danny Lockhart was 2 for 5 and scored twice. Right fielder Yasiel Balaguert went 1 for 4 with a walk and three RBI.

Today's lessons include a new first base target, changing the Brewers lineup, and a comical take on Ron Roenicke's mindset on challenging.

Yesterday's Results

Brewers 6, Phillies 2

The Brewers completed a six-game road trip sweep last night by beating the Phillies. Marco Estrada had a solid start, pitching six innings and allowing five hits, two runs, two walks, and six strikeouts. Khris Davis led the offense with a 2-for-4 day that included two RBI. Carlos Gomez had three hits and an RBI in the game, and Ryan Braun joined in with two hits and an RBI.

Kendrys Morales could be a target for the Brewers.

Mark Reynolds has had a good start to the season, but questions still remain about if he can keep it up and what to do with the other half of the "platoon" with Lyle Overbay. There is a possible solution still out there, and that solution could be signing Kendrys Morales. Rumors have come up that the Brewers are interested, and Noah looked at the likelihood of it happening yesterday. The biggest problem with signing Morales now is the loss of a draft pick, but it is possible he could improve the situation at first base. For now, the situation is decent for the Brewers, but if the situation changes, Morales could look more attractive as an option at first.

The Brewers have a problem at the top of their lineup.

So far this season, the Brewers offense has been successful. It would be hard to picture a problem in their lineup. However, that's exactly what Derek Harvey sees as he looks at the top of the Brewers lineup. He notes that while Carlos Gomez and Jean Segura are good options for the top, their similar profiles mean that opportunities for stealing bases will drop, and can be wasted in front of hitters that don't need help driving in runs. It's hard to imagine the Brewers changing such a successful offense right now, but it doesn't hurt to look at areas of improvement, even while the Brewers are winning.

Cram Session

Tyler Thornburg and the bullpen

• Ryan Topp of Disciples of Uecker has some notes about the Brewers' bullpen, specifically related to Tyler Thornburg, Jim Henderson, and Wei-Chung Wang.
• Tyler Thornburg has been impressing so far out of the bullpen, and Adam McCalvy looks at why Thornburg has been so impressive.
• Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel looks at how Tyler Thornburg has adjusted to the change in moving to the bullpen.

A humorous take on Ron Roenicke and Instant Replay

• Here on Brew Crew Ball, Jordan Mader provided the transcript of a conversation between Stickman and Ron Roenicke, who hates to take any kind of risks.
• Meanwhile, over on Ron Roenicke Stole My Baseball, AK has a transcript of his attempt to ask Ron Roenicke about his opinions on instant replay.

The "Happy" Video

• If you're one of the few people that haven't heard about it, Adam McCalvy of Brewers.com has the music video of "Happy" that the Brewers produced, along with some quotes from players about the filming of it.
• Meanwhile, Ron Roenicke Stole My Baseball has its top nine images from the video.
• Finally, on BrewGIFs, Jaymes Langrehr pulled some of his favorite parts of the video and put them in GIF form.

Other Notes

• Jay D on Reviewing the Brew had an opportunity to go to Fenway Park last weekend while the Brewers were in town, and posted about his experiences at the historic ballpark.
• In what has become a yearly tradition in Philadelphia, the Phillie Phanatic performed a body check on some "racing sausages".
• It's not often you hear "Ron Roenicke" and "furious" in the same sentence. However, Corey Seidman of CSN Philly notes that's how Ron Roenicke was feeling after Logan Schafer's game-winning hit was ruled an error instead of a double.
• The Brewers will present Carlos Gomez his Gold Glove award on Saturday, and Adam McCalvy has some notes about the occasion.
• Prior to yesterday's game, Adam McCalvy posted a list of stats from the Brewers winning streak on his blog.
• Curt Hogg of Disciples of Uecker answers some questions about the Brewers, including the situations at first and second base and the state of the Brewers offense.
• FanGraphs notes some early season trends from the first week and a half of the season.
• In power rankings on Yahoo, the Brewers jumped 17 spots to #7.

Minor League Update

Division Update

• Pirates 5, Cubs 4: Travis Wood struck out nine and pitched six scoreless innings, but after leaving one batter into the seventh, the bullpen melted down and allowed five runs on home runs by Travis Snider and Pedro Alvarez.
  

This Weekend's Games

• Rays @ Reds
  Friday: David Price vs. Johnny Cueto - 6:10 pm
  Saturday: Alex Cobb vs. Alfredo Simon - 12:10 pm
  Sunday: TBD vs. Tony Cingrani - 12:10 pm
  
• Cubs @ Cardinals
  Friday: Jeff Samardzija vs. Joe Kelly - 7:15 pm
  Saturday: Carlos Villanueva vs. Adam Wainwright - 1:15 pm
  Sunday: Edwin Jackson vs. Michael Wacha - 1:15 pm
  

This Weekend's Action

After a 6-0 road trip, the Brewers return to Miller Park to start a six-game homestand. They have their first game against a NL Central opponent as they take on the Pirates. Here is the weekend's matchups.

Friday: Francisco Liriano vs. Wily Peralta - 7:10 pm
Saturday: Edinson Volquez vs. Yovani Gallardo - 6:10 pm
Sunday: Charlie Morton vs. Kyle Lohse - 1:10 pm