First Greinke Sighting!!

Today we finally got to see Zack Greinke on the mound in a Brewers uniform.  Well, I have said it before and I will say it again now; Spring Training games really do not show you much.  Zach had a rough go of it today.  It took him 8 batters to record 4 outs.  ZG finished the afternoon with 3 walks, 2 strikeouts, and one hit.  Let’s be real, those are Suppan numbers, but I ain’t scared.

After the game Zack said that he was having problems keeping his fastball from sailing, but that overall he felt pretty good.  Overall the pitching staff looked great, not giving up a run until the 9th inning.  Chris Narveson looked surgical out there in his 2 innings of work.  Kam Loe and Mark DiFelice also threw solid innings in relief.

Brewers 3 vs  White Sox 1

     This afternoon’s game was a defensive affair to say the least.  Only 3 runs on 11 hits for the Crew today, primarily because they left 16 runners on base.  Again, I issue the disclaimer that spring training does not tell us a whole lot about the team, but these numbers do look similar to pretty much every Brewers game last season.  Something to keep in mind, no Braun, Fielder, McGehee, or Hart (injury) in the lineup today. 

     Yuniesky Betancourt went 2 for 3, which is promising.  Carlos Gomez chose to go the other way, putting up a typical 0 for 3 day at the plate.  Fortunately for Go Go, no other outfielder seems to want to take his job other than Caleb Gindl who continues to capitalize on his minimal playing time. 

     Big Boss Ron really wants the team to know that he is serious about being aggressive on the base paths.  The team went 2 for 3 today in stolen base attempts.  Edwin Maysonet was then thrown out trying to go from first to third on a single in the 6th inning.  I guess spring ball is the best time to get everyone used to this new style of vicious baserunning.  It’s safe to say that Macha brainwashed the franchise into thinking that we were better off not stealing bases. 

     Todays gameball goes to Yuni Betancourt.  I do not want to jinx the guy, but he seems to be showing some discipline at the plate.  So far he is 3 for 5 on the spring campaign.  Hopefully the combination of Sveum and Yount working with him is paying some dividends. 

     In fun Brewers news, my new friends over at Babes Love Baseball put together a Milwaukee Brewers Season Preview Haiku.  Please take a second and read the Haiku, it would do you all some good to take in a little literary cultural every now and again.  Check out the girls site too, they are becoming a huge part of the Fansided family and write some pretty terrific articles. 

     Hey, not enough of you have voted for the All Brewers Team.  Don’t mean to call you out, but seriously dude’s and dudette’s.  Colin and I are unable to decide on a Catcher or DH and we need your help.  If you could take a couple of seconds out of your day and just place a quick vote it will help us finalize the team faster.  The sooner you vote, the sooner we can reveal the ultimate Brewers team.   

The team pushed back Takashi Saito’s first appearance of the spring, which was originally scheduled for tomorrow.  Takashi went to the team and asked to have it moved to Sunday due to some hamstring tightness.  Does not sound like anything serious, but I will keep you posted.

Corey Hart is expected to miss the next two weeks worth of games, due to a rib-cage strain.  This is sort of a blessing in disguise.  Now the coaching staff will have a better opportunity to see the young outfielders play on an everyday basis.  Plus, it is probably a good idea not to rush Corey back into the lineup.

Tomorrow the Brew Crew will be up against the Cubs again, this time in Maryvale Park.  Game starts at 2pm CST.  Hope everyone is having a terrific start to their month of March.  Be sure and check back tomorrow for more spring training updates and be sure to vote for the all Brewers team.  See you all tomorrow!!