Yelich on 'Roxane,' reaction: I expected it all
Moustakas out Tuesday; Woodruff set to throw; Miller granted release
Adam McCalvy
@AdamMcCalvyMILWAUKEE ¨C When Christian Yelich said he has no regrets about his decision to pose nude for ESPN¡¯s upcoming Body Issue, he meant it -- even after some images from his shoot aired during Monday¡¯s Cardinals-Brewers game and social media reaction started pouring in.
One fan who raised an objection garnered a two-word response from the reigning National League Most Valuable Player Award winner: ¡°Relax Roxane.¡±
¡°I was actually expecting that reaction,¡± Yelich said. ¡°I went into it with the mindset of I don¡¯t really care what people think. I¡¯m doing this because I want to do it. I expected there is going to be positive reaction, there¡¯s going to be negative reaction, there¡¯s going to be somewhere in-between. I went in fully realizing that was going to be the reaction. I did this for myself because I wanted to. I thought it would be fun.
¡°I¡¯m cool with all the reactions, and that was just a fun little clapback on Twitter. Athletes have to score a point every now and then, too. We can¡¯t always take a beating on there. Hopefully, I got one for the good guys today.¡±
Roxane made her account private on Tuesday evening, but not before Yelich¡¯s clapback generated tens of thousands of interactions on Twitter and became the stuff of T-shirts. Yelich walked to the plate in the first inning to the song ¡°Roxanne¡± by The Police.
It was all meant in good fun, but Yelich wanted to share a message about positive body image, too.
¡°It¡¯s just about being confident, having fun, embracing yourself,¡± he said. ¡°I think that¡¯s probably the biggest message behind the whole thing, other than all these athletes posing. There are athletes of all kinds of shapes. I think it¡¯s a great, positive message. ¡ If you want to find negativity in it, you can find negativity in it. If you want positivity, you can find that, too. Like I said, I was expecting reactions both ways.¡±
Incidentally, the photos that appeared on Monday¡¯s ESPN broadcast were tame compared to more ¡°intense¡± ones that Yelich expects to appear in the magazine. The feature is slated to appear online Sept. 4 and on newsstands a few days later.
¡°It¡¯s a side of me people don¡¯t necessarily realize I have,¡± said Yelich, no pun intended. ¡°I try to keep it straight and narrow in front of the camera, but there is a fun side of me, too.¡±
Last call
? As expected, third baseman Mike Moustakas was absent from Tuesday¡¯s lineup with a sore left hand suffered on a scorching ground ball in the second inning of Monday¡¯s loss. X-rays were negative.
¡°He¡¯s sore, as you¡¯d expect,¡± Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. ¡°We¡¯ll treat him and see how the next couple of days go.¡±
? Right-hander Brandon Woodruff is on track to throw a bullpen session later this week at Wrigley Field. It would be his first mound work since going down with a left oblique strain in late July.
? The Triple-A San Antonio Missions reinstated catcher David Freitas from the injured list on Tuesday after missing eight games with an intercostal strain and started him as the designated hitter. Freitas entered the night leading the Pacific Coast League with a .386 average and is a candidate to be a September callup for the Brewers.
? Veteran right-hander Shelby Miller was granted his request for release from Triple-A. Miller surrendered five earned runs in 3 1/3 innings on Monday night at Round Rock and logged a 4.79 ERA in five starts for the Missions.