Larry Brown Sports

Zack Greinke was ejected in the first inning of Saturday’s Brewers-Astros game after spiking a ball following a close call at first base.

With a runner on third, Astros second baseman Jose Altuve hit a ground ball in between first and second to score the run. First baseman Corey Hart made a diving stop to field it and tossed to Greinke who raced to first. Greinke touched the bag at the same time as Altuve, so first base umpire Sam Holbrook called Altuve safe.

Greinke turned around and spiked the ball, likely because he was frustrated with the call and/or giving up the run (Carlos Gomez misplayed a ball in center to give Jordan Schaefer a triple to lead off the game). Holbrook immediately ejected Greinke, who had only faced two batters and thrown four pitches.

Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke came out to discuss the call with Holbrook and was ejected for arguing.

The questionable ejection put the Brewers in a horrible spot because it meant the bullpen would have to pitch almost the entire game. It also came at a bad time for Milwaukee as Greinke is being mentioned in trade talks, and the quick ejection prevented interested teams from being able to see him pitch.

It’s also worth mentioning that Holbrook is part of umpire Joe West’s crew, which is notorious for questionable calls.

Here’s a video of Greinke talking about the ejection after the game. He says he was mad at himself for making a mental mistake on the play:

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The dislike between the Cardinals and Brewers was evident throughout the season and it carried into the NLCS. One of the off-field issues between the teams involved the location of the family section seats in St. Louis. The Brewers were unhappy that the tickets for family members were spread throughout Busch Stadium. Nyjer Morgan reportedly felt it was a “bush league” move by the Cardinals. One person who agreed was Zack Greinke’s wife, who was dissatisfied with her seat.

Following Milwaukee’s Game 5 loss in St. Louis, Emily Greinke wrote on Twitter “Thanks Cards for the lovely seats in the outfield! I hope our behind home plate seats for you mysteriously disappear!”

The photo above accompanied her tweet, so her seat was apparently down the left field line.

The seat problems were said to be a non-issue after Game 3, but obviously that wasn’t the case. I can understand why the Brewers would want to receive equal treatment for their family members on the road. But between Emily’s complaint, and Zack’s pre-series comments about Chris Carpenter, I’m sure Brewers fans have had enough talk from the Greinkes. There is no doubt the Cardinals got the last laugh.

Chest bump to Busted Coverage

Milwaukee pitcher Zack Greinke made a pinch-hit appearance Saturday for the Brewers. Greinke put down a sacrifice bunt in the fifth that moved Jonathan Lucroy over to second. As odd as it was to see a pitcher pinch hit, what was stranger was seeing Greinke wear a different jersey from everyone else:

The Outside Corner explains that Greinke was wearing the “Bierbrauers” uniform which the Brewers have set aside for German Heritage Day at Miller Park on Sunday. Nobody knows if Greinke wore the jersey on purpose or by accident, but now we know what to look forward to Sunday (in addition to the Craig Counsell bobblehead). Hey, at least this time the jersey screw up was a players’ fault and not the equipment manager’s.

Thanks to Hardball Talk for the story

A bad fall in a pickup basketball game could be enough to derail Milwaukee’s go-for-broke season. The Brewers, who are facing the reality of losing Prince Fielder after the year, decided to trade several prospects to acquire pitching help this off-season. They reeled in Zack Greinke from Kansas City and Shaun Marcum from Toronto to bolster their effort to win it all. But their plan can already be in trouble before the season has even started.

Greinke suffered a cracked rib after falling while chasing after a rebound during a pickup basketball game. He didn’t think he was hurt too badly when it happened two weeks ago so nothing went reported, but a recent MRI revealed the crack. Typical healing time is 4-6 weeks and Greinke is two weeks into the process. Another two weeks off would be the best-case scenario, but Greinke is already expected to miss the first few weeks of the season. Once you factor in the arm strength he needs to rebuild and stamina that is generally gained during spring training, it puts Greinke even further behind schedule.

In a competitive NL Central where the Reds are poised to repeat, the Cubs look better, and the Cardinals are always difficult, it’s not the start Milwaukee wants. Dropping a few extra games in April that they might not have had Greinke been healthy could be enough to keep them out of the post-season. Hopefully they will play well enough to keep the injury from being an issue. But if we see Yovani Gallardo or Shawn Marcum go down next, we’ll know it’s not their year much like it doesn’t seem to be St. Louis’.

By now all of you know that the Royals traded Zack Greinke to the Brewers in exchange for much of their top talent. The deal sent Greinke and shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt — basically an incidental piece — and cash to Milwaukee for two Major League ready players in shortstop Alcides Escobar and center fielder Lorenzo Cain. The Royal also received two right-handed pitching prospects — Jeremy Jeffress and Jake Odirizzi — the latter widely regarded as the Brewers’ top pitching prospect.

Just a couple of weeks ago, the Brewers sent their top prospect, second baseman Brett Lawrie, to the Blue Jays in exchange for right-handed pitcher Shaun Marcum — a move thought to pave the way for Greinke’s trade to Toronto. In a two-week span, the Brewers have simultaneously strenghtend their team considerably for next season and seemingly bankrupted their farm system — not to mention the two players who had already reached the majors.

As recently as last season, Escobar was considered a top prospect — though last year, in his first full season in the majors, he hit only .235 with a .288 on-base percentage. At 24, Escobar still has plenty of room for growth. Betancourt, who will be 29 when the season starts, is hitting .272 for his career and has an on-base percentage of just .292. It appears that he has hit his ceiling, and it’s not very high. Betancourt does however offer slight upgrades defensively and in terms of power.

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Late Saturday evening, we passed along word of a reported Zack Greinke to the Brewers trade. The report was met with skepticism because a fan blog called “Bernie’s Crew” published the news, while no mainstream reporters had any information on the deal. Between Greinke’s trade demands and Milwaukee’s candidacy to make a deal, we thought the report was significant and it turned out to be accurate.

Credit goes to Bernie’s Crew blogger Jim Breen for blowing away the competition when it came to the Greinke trade. He was ahead of information men like Buster Olney, Ken Rosenthal, and even Brewers reporter Tom Haudricort. So how did Breen come out of nowhere to break the news? He told LBS in an email “I do not feel comfortable giving much information on my source, as I do want to adhere to his wishes as far as anonymity and the like. I was simply lucky enough to make the right connections at the right time.” His wishes to protect his source makes complete sense. But did he get tipped off to the news by a commenter on his blog? Sure seems like a possibility.

As D.J. Short informed us via Fantasy Fix, a commenter left this informative comment on a Bernie’s Crew post Saturday afternoon:

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The consistent losing in Kansas City took its toll on pitcher Zack Greinke who eventually demanded a trade from the Royals. Greinke was so serious about playing elsewhere he fired his agent on Friday, helping to ensure a deal would get done. Now, according to a fan blog on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Web site, Greinke has been traded to the Brewers.

Jim Breen says the Brewers and Royals have reached a preliminary agreement that sends Greinke to Milwaukee for shortstop Alcides Escobar, outfielder Lorenzo Cain, and pitching prospect Jeremy Jeffress. He also says the Royals are throwing in Yuniesky Betacourt and cash as part of the deal. On Milwaukee’s Andrew Wagner says pitcher Jake Odorizzi is also heading to Kansas City as part of the trade.

No other reporters have been able to confirm the trade, but it wouldn’t be the first time the Brewers came out of nowhere to acquire a pitcher with little reporting surrounding the move. Tread cautiously until there’s official confirmation of the news, but recognize Zack Greinke will likely be traded and that Milwaukee is one of the candidates.

If the Brewers indeed have added Zack Greinke, their rotation has undergone the biggest improvement this offseason than any other team. Greinke, Shaun Marcum, and Yovani Gallardo is a pretty healthy 1-2-3 combination and it would make Milwaukee a legit contender in the NL Central.