The Milwaukee Brewers ended Cactus League play on Thursday with a 8-2
Kyle Lohse / UPI/Bill Greenblatt
loss to the Cincinnati Reds.
Kyle Lohse allowed five hits and two runs while striking out four.
Lohse left trailing 2-1. The Reds broke the game open late against some of the Brewers minor league pitching.
The Brewers are back in Milwaukee and will play exhibitions against the Kansas City Royals tonight (7:10pm) and again tomorrow. They’ll open the regular season on Monday against the Atlanta Braves at Miller Park.
Wang
Some interesting thoughts from Brewers manager Ron Roenicke on rookie 21-year-old rookie Wei-Chung Wang in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel this morning.
Roenicke told the newspaper that he’s not sure how things will go for the pitcher because of the language barrier.
Roenicke said he went through a Rule 5 before, as a coach with the Los Angeles Angels, with Derrick Turnbow who later pitched with the Brewers.
“The difference was he didn’t throw strikes. He had a great arm but he didn’t throw strikes. So this is a little different.
“And it’s also way different because of the language barrier. I don’t feel like I can sit down and help this guy a lot because I can’t talk to him and look him in the eye and … see that he’s getting it.
“Always when you go through an interpreter, there’s something that’s lost. That’s the part I don’t like. I really feel like I’m not going to contribute to this guy and his development simply because of the language barrier.”
Wang is trying to make the jump from rookie ball to the majors. As a Rule 5 pick, he must be kept for the entire season or offered back to his original club, the Pittsburgh Pirates.
(Thanks to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and reporters Todd Rosiak and Tom Haudricourt for the insight)