On beautiful Wednesday afternoon, when Milwaukee Brewers outfielders Ryan Braun and Norichika Aoki had to rest to recover from ailments (thumb and elbow, respectively), we learned from manager Ron Roenicke that starter Marco Estrada would begin throwing batting practice this weekend when the team heads to Arizona.

So, there was a sliver of light at the end of the injury tunnel, at least for one of the many dinged up Brewers players.

But, conversation then turned to Hiram Burgos, who suffered a setback with his throwing shoulder during a recent rehab start in Class AAA Nashville. The 25-year-old right-hander was a revelation during the World Baseball Classic in March for Puerto Rico, and he earned a spot with the Brewers in late April.

Unfortunately, he was not the same pitcher who posted a 0.69 earned run average and struck out 12 over 13 innings in the WBC, going 1-2 with a 6.44 ERA in six starts before going on the disabled list with shoulder discomfort.

At the time, it didn’t seem like that big a deal. Now, he is being examined by Brewers team doctors once again.

Unfortunately, it’s something a lot of people are looking at. At this point in the season, with the team 16 games under .500 and so many injuries to manage, no straw seems too short to grasp at to explain why.

The Brewers ended up with 12 players in the WBC (infielder Jeff Bianchi injured his groin a day before heading out to play for Italy) and none have breezed through this season without some sort of issue, whether it be in health or productivity.

Pitchers
Burgos has suffered the most physically since the WBC, but fellow starters Marco Estrada and Yovani Gallardo have had their issues. Gallardo made an excellent 49-pitch start for Team Mexico while Estrada was roughed up in a 53-pitch outing during the WBC in their only appeareances.

Estrada is currently on the disabled list with a hamstring injury, though he has had problems with that muscle throughout his career. Prior that, however, he struggled – posting a 5.32 ERA in 12 starts. And, he was striking out a career low 8.0 batters per nine innings. Gallardo has not had any health problems (that we know of) but the erstwhile ace has seen his velocity dip and has struck out a career low 7.4 batters per nine. He has a 4.85 ERA through 19 starts.

In the bullpen, John Axford started the year as the closer but lost that position immediately after a poor start. He had pitched 1 2/3 innings for Team Canada in the WBC, allowing one run and striking out two and noticed this velocity dropped considerably after returning from international play. He wasn’t sure if he had a dead arm, but admitted his mechanics changed slightly that led to his rocky start. All is well now for the right-hander, but would he have gotten out of whack at all – or would the Brewers’ pitching coaches noticed it sooner – if he didn’t go?

Interestingly, Jim Henderson got lit up in the WBC by giving up five runs in just an inning of work – but he was the one Brewers player who seemed unaffected by the competition once the major league season began. From April 1 through May 24 he had a sparkling 0.92 ERA and struck out 23 batters in 19 1/3 innings of work. Unfortunately, he pulled a hamstring during his appearance on May 24th however, and has been OK in his 13 games since (12 2/3 innings, 3.55 ERA).

Position players
Utility man Taylor Green played for Team Canada, hitting .286 in 14 at-bats. Then, upon his return to Brewers spring training, he injured his hip during batting practice. Already struggling at the plate (.139 in 36 at-bats) it was later determined he would need season-ending surgery.

Backup catcher Martin Maldonado played for Team Puerto Rico and didn’t record a hit in just nine trips to the plate in his five games. Unfortunately for the Brewers, he hasn’t been able to find any semblance of his 2012 form where he hit .266. Currently, Maldonado is hitting .189.

Starting backstop Jonathan Lucroy had two hits in just five at-bats for Team USA, but he struggled mightily right out of the gate this season, hitting .229 through May 30.

Former National League Most Valuable Player played in all six games for the United States and tied for third on the team with 25 at-bats. He hit .280 and did not homer, and he too started slow (for him) by hitting .266 through April 29. He was also affected by a neck strain almost immediately after the start the season as well, forcing him to miss games. While Braun did hit seven home runs in his first 78 plate appearances of the season, he has since hit only two in his last 167 trips to the plate (40 games) from April 27 through July 9.

Minor leaguers
Rene Tosoni, a 27-year-old outfielder at Class AA Huntsville, is hitting just .235 on the season after appearing in just one game for Team Canada. That might be alarming, but he hasn’t hit above .240 since 2010. He does have eight home runs in 85 games, his highest power output since 2009 and will likely be remembered for being in the middle of the bench-clearing brawl between Canada and Team Mexico.

Mike Walker, 25, is faring even worse at the plate after hitting a robust .455 for Team Australia. He is currently batting .227 in Huntsville after earning a promotion following a year at Class A+ Brevard County where he hit .280. He is also flashing some power, with nine homers.

Nashville’s Hainley Statia, 27, is hitting .256, well below his career minor league average of .272. He appeared in four games (nine at-bats) and hit .222 in the WBC.

Is the WBC to blame for all of these issues? There’s no way to prove it, and you’re not going to get any of the players to admit to that (at least not now). But, in a year where so many things have gone wrong for the Brewers, it’s not that much of a stretch to at least wonder if the brief spring competition has had a lingering affect.