If you’re not one of those baseball nerds who follows every single thing going on in the Milwaukee Brewers Organization, don’t worry, because The Sports Bank’s Nick Grays has you covered with what happened in the past week and what’s going on in the future.
And if you are one of those nerds, feel free to join in on some good old analysis of America’s pastime in the Brew City.
This week we talk about Opening Day on March 31st and the Nyjer Morgan trade.
By: Nick Grays
Last Week’s Headlines:
Yovani Gallardo Gearing Up For Opening Day
I’ve said it before and I won’t give in here, Yovani Gallardo should be the ace of this Brewers squad regardless of the health of Zack Greinke. In five spring training starts, Gallardo had no bad outings while compiling a team-best 1.96 ERA.
With Greinke headed for the DL to start the season, Yovani will make the his debut Thursday when the Brewers take on the Reds in Cincinnati on Thursday.
In a Class AAA start on Monday, Gallardo showed he can go the distance by throwing 92 pitches and recording seven strikeouts. He followed that up by pitching five shut-out innings versus the Mariners on Saturday.
“He had great stuff again,” said Brewers Manager Ron Roenicke following Gallardo’s Class AAA start. “Those minor-league guys were really swinging early, first pitch, so he threw a lot more changeups on the first pitch, which I was glad because he got a chance to throw more change-ups. Nieves thought it was around 10 or 15 and it was really good.
“He’s been great. Like I told you before, I knew he was good but I didn’t know he had this good a stuff.”
Brewers Acquire CF Nyjer Morgan
Watch out Carlos Gomez, the Brewers have acquired the speedy left-hander Nyjer Morgan in an attempt to bolster their bench. While Milwaukee claims that Gomez has the center-field job, I won’t believe anything until a month into the season. Both of these guys have track records of inconsistent offense.
And yes, this is the same Morgan who was suspended for throwing a baseball at a fan and igniting a brawl with the Marlins which went viral last season. If anything, he brings a lot of excitement to Milwaukee.
On a more serious note, he’s another set of legs to bring in and steal a bunch of bases. Morgan had 34 stolen bases, but batted a depressing .253 in Washington last season.
Looking Ahead:
Opening Day Brings First Series With Division Rivals
After months and months of cold weather, baseball is almost here and how fitting the Brewers kick off the season with the Cincinnati Reds who project to be Milwaukee’s biggest competition this season.
Thursday, March 31st (@ Cincinnati 1:10 PM)
Probable Pitchers: Yovani Gallardo (RHP) vs. Edison Volquez (RHP)
Saturday, April 2nd (@ Cincinnati 6:10 PM)
Probable Pitchers: Shaun Marcum (RHP) vs. Homer Bailey (RHP)
Sunday, April 3rd (@ Cincinnati 12:10 PM)
Probable Pitchers: Randy Wolf (LHP) vs. Bronson Arroyo (RHP)
Via Brewers beat writer Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, here’s the Brewers projected roster come Thursday.
Are you ready for Milwaukee Brewers baseball? What did you think of the Nyjer Morgan trade? Let me know by commenting below!
Nick Grays is a senior editor at the Sports Bank where he covers the Wisconsin Badgers, Green Bay Packers, Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Brewers. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here or visit his blog Nick Knows Best.