By: Big Rygg

Yeah, the Brewers lost today. It was an annoying game in which the Brewers got their first hit in the 1st inning, loading the bases in the first thanks to a couple of walks, but were unable to push a run across. Heck, they weren't even able to register another hit for quite a while. It was a LONG day with lots of pitches, especially early.

But that's not what this post is about.

What this post is about is a little ceremony that took place prior to the game. In a short bit, Manager Ken Macha was handing out offical All Star Game jerseys to the Milwaukee Brewers selected to the game.

But what's this? There are three Brewers standing to Macha's right for the ceremony. Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun are announced and handed jerseys with their names and numbers on the back of them. Then PA Announcer Rob Edwards says that earlier in the day it was announced that Dodger Closer Jonathan Broxton was pulling out of the game with an injury and that replacing him would be a man that deserved to go in the first place in Brewer Closer and all-time MLB saves leader Trevor Hoffman!

Apparently the word came down late enough that they couldn't get a Hoffman ASG jersey whipped up in time so Macha ended up handed Hoffman a Braun jersey as well which led to a humorous moment when Hoffman turned the back of the jersey to the camera and fans.

But it was nice to see the Phillies and NL All Star team Manager Charlie Manuel finally realized when all of Milwaukee (and the rest of the NL) already knew. Trevor Hoffman is having an All-Star-worthy season.

An interesting thought in all of this? Jonathan Broxton pitched in Milwaukee on Friday night, throwing a VERY long 10th inning as Milwaukee did its best to rally from a 6-run deficit. How ironic would it be that Broxton gets hurt in Milwaukee which allows the Brewers' closer to make it to the All Star Game?

But yes, the Home Run Derby is Monday evening, eminating from Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Milwaukee's own Happy Youngster (thehappyyoungster.mlblogs.com) will be in attendance in the front row behind the Cardinal bullpen. Cheer him on, but more importantly cheer on Prince Fielder as he takes on several big bats in the Derby.

By: Big Rygg

This post will be short and sweet. Here is a recap of a small chunk of my evening.

Ryan Braun is at the plate in the bottom of the 9th inning after Trevor Hoffman unfortunately blew a save.

I happen to glance up at the bullpen since because Ken Macha didn't double-switch to bring Hoffman into the game, they had to pinch-hit for him in the top of the 10th inning.

So I glance up at the bullpen and see a right arm throw a ball and as the player's back turns to me I see a # 12.

I say, out loud, "Well, the game's over one way or the other now. Either we walk off now or they'll basically do it in the 10th."

If you don't know what happened, go check out the box score.

Good night Brewer Nation.

...so let's get going.

By: Big Rygg

Hey Brewer Nation! Thanks for dealing with our collective hiatus from the written word over the past couple of weeks. It's been a crazy length of time for both South Side Rob and me. Suffice it to say that my hiatus is over and I'll be posting more often going forward.

Anyway, like I said in the lead...let's get going.

When I last posted, the Milwaukee Brewers were 37-29 (put away your calculators, that's 8 games over .500) and held a one-game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals (then 36-30) as the Crew sat atop the National League Central.

While the Brewers have lost more than they've won over the past 18 games, they now sit 4 games over .500 at 44-40, and are one game behind the St. Louis Cardnials (who remain six games over .500 at 46-40) as the Redbirds sit atop the NL Central.

Casey McGehee has emerged as a potential NL Rookie of the Year candidate, Manny Parra threw his way to the minors and has hopefully pitched his way back to staying in the rotation for the remainder of the year. (Let's be honest with ourselves...As much as I like Seth McClung and Mike Burns as people, they aren't ever going to make up 40% of a playoff rotation.) Jody Gerut still can't get a hit to save his soul. Prince Fielder is still tearing the cover off the ball.

But let's hit on a few big items specifically, shall we?

And let's get the negative out of the way.

Ryan Braun vs. Doug Melvin

I'm happy to say that this happened, exploded, was reacted to and overreacted to, and has nearly gone away from the mainstream media before I had the chance to comment here on the blog.

What I am on record as saying is that Braun was out of line in the words he chose to express his feelings. We all agree that the pitching hasn't been up to par, which was especially evident in the Cubs series, but the words Braun said called out half of his team whether he intended it that way or not.

Doug Melvin responded in the media, something he has never done before against a player to my knowledge (at least since taking over here in Milwaukee). Braun has been saying lots of things over the last couple of years, but again in the words he chose to use, he crossed the line a bit too far this time and Melvin let him know it. Should Melvin have taken it to the media? Probably not, but the way in which Braun took it there made a non-response a non-option for Melvin if he wanted the club to save face at all.

The two met, Braun apologized for the misunderstanding, we move on. Above, though, are some of my thoughts on it.

Speaking of St. Louis, Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder...

Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder...St. Louis-bound!

The bad about this is that Trevor Hoffman isn't joining them (though hopefully someone will have to back out and maybe he'll be able to go). The positives are that both men are now two-time All Stars. Prince was the NL Starter back in 2007 at 1B and is a reserve this year. Braun became the first Milwaukee Brewer to be named as an All Star starter two consecutive years since some guy named Robin Yount back in '82 & '83. Sounds like impressive company to me.

Fielder will also be joining the three other National League first-basemen in the Home Run Derby on Monday, July 13th. For those of you that don't know who they are, the four men are Fielder, Albert Pujols, Ryan Howard and Adrian Gonzalez. That should be one heckuva display as all four men have 20+ home runs so far in the regular season and Howard (the low man on that totem pole) is a past winner of the Derby.

Milwaukee's own Happy Youngster will be in attendance at the Derby as well. Look for the yellow shirt in the first row behind the St. Louis bullpen (from what he told me at the ballpark last night, anyway).

Rotation Situation

I use this heading to talk about the following things:

1 - The Death of Dave Bush's Beard. I will summarize this situation with one question: Was Dave Bush on the DL when his Beard was protecting him?

2 - The Rebirth of Manny Parra. Parra was sent to the minors sporting a 3-8 record and an ERA of 7.52. After putting together "quality" starts in four straight outings and five of six starts, Parra went on a run of futility that landed him in the minors. His ERA jumped nealry 2 runs in three starts. That's a lot when you get to June. Parra allowed a lot of runs, though, in accomplishing that feat. In those three starts combined, Parra amassed a stat line reading; 0-2, 11.1 IP, 21 ER, 25 H, 7 BB, 9 K. That's an ERA, over that span, of 16.68!!

Now, having said all that, Parra comes back to the Brewers to start his first game since June 13th at Miller Park when he lost to the Chicago White Sox. I think he'll be fine so long as he stays relaxed. Even though he might be pitching for his position in the rotation in the 2nd "half" of the season, he can't pitch that way.

3 - The Life of Roy Halladay Rumors. Lo and behold, Roy Halladay is on the block after all! Despite so many people saying that Halladay would never be moved this year, I told everyone that he was on the block. Sure, the Brewers might not end up with him, but it wasn't that hard to see coming despite the good doctor having over a year left on his contract if you were paying close enough attention. Halladay does also possess a full no-trade clause basically allowing him to hand-pick his next team or to choose to stay with Toronto. However, once your name gets dangled out there as possible trade bait, and you're a superstar (in talent if not in recognition outside of the AL East yet), you will be moved.

The Brewers have prospects that they could package together to get Halladay, of this there can be little doubt. It's really just a matter of whether or not Doug Melvin is willing to part with them, further depleting a farm system that lost two top prospects to Cleveland in the deal that brought CC Sabathia (and a playoff berth) to the city of Milwaukee. Another potential option that would help save a piece from the farm system would be to package a current major leaguer in with prospects. Regardless of what the winning team ends up spending, they will gain easily the best pitcher available this season. No Jake Peavy or Cliff Lee or Javier Vazquez or Jarrod Washburn or Erik Bedard or anyone else would make the impact that Roy Halladay can and most assuredly will make on a contending team.

So, the question here becomes...

What Would You Be Willing to Trade for Roy Halladay?

Here is how I worded it a couple of days ago.

Halladay is under contract for the next season. If only we had a larger sample size on Casey McGehee. I'd like Gamel's LH bat in the lineup going forward but with Rickie back next season, McGehee's ABs will come at 3B. I would be willing to move Gamel. Point two: I'd personally rather move Hardy and hang on to Escobar as his immediate replacement. That said, the Jays would certainly rather have Escobar what with his better range, more speed and cheaper cost. I would be willing to move Escobar, but only if we're able to sign Hardy to an extension. And pretty much any pitching prospect (with a couple of personal favorites excluded) would be fair game. Oh and feel encouraged to throw in a bat from last year like Canada's own Lawrie if that gets the deal done.

Anyway...

I'll go right ahead and close this down for tonight. There's more I could talk about, but a hugely long post is usually a skipped over post.

So, good win tonight over the Cardinals. Glad Hoffman slammed the door shut. Let's win a series tomorrow and then handle the Dodgers on our way to a nice three-day break for 23 of our 25-man roster.

By: Big Rygg

For anyone that has seen the iconic, timeless, awesome movie that is Major League, you know that the Indians defeated the Yankees in a dramatic one-game playoff in order to advance to the post-season.

What they don't tell you officially until Major League II is that the Erie Warriors lose in the ALCS to the Chicago White Sox, the team's antagonist in the second film.

Well, the Milwaukee Brewers swept the Cleveland Indians in the stadium formerly known as Jacobs Field. And while the team won't be taking a 757 back to Milwaukee (they're headed to Detroit tonight), they put on quite a hitting display during a series which featured a Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn bobblehead giveaway, Bob Uecker throwing out a first pitch and even a Bob Uecker autographed jersey prize to a "follow-the-ball" video board game.

The totals for the Brewers in the three games? 30 runs on 40 hits!! (And that we gave up 25 runs on 34 hits? Who cares? We won all three games!!)

Individual totals for the hitters (in alphabetical order by player's last name):

Ryan Braun          6/13, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 7 R, 6 RBI, 2 BB, 1 K
Mike Cameron          2/14, 1 3B, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 5 K
Frank Catalanotto          DNP
Craig Counsell          4/9, 1 2B, 1 3B, 4 R, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 0 K
Prince Fielder          6/11, 3 2B, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 3 BB, 1 K
Mat Gamel          3/14, 2 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 SB
Jody Gerut          0/2
Bill Hall          1/10, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 K
J.J. Hardy          5/12, 1 HR, 4 R, 4 RBI, 2 BB
Corey Hart          6/14, 2 2B,1 HR, 3 R, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
Jason Kendall          3/8, 1 RBI, 1 BB
Casey McGehee          3/9, 1 2B, 3 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
Mike Rivera          1/4, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K

Take a moment to really let that soak in.

I'd write more now about the series, but I started this last night after the game and am finishing it today after work because I fell asleep while writing it. Suffice it to say, it was an amazing three days for the offense.

Let's hope that's the part of our game we bring with us from Cieveland to Detroit.

By: Big Rygg

If it's been said once, it's been said 1,000 times as it relates to baseball...

"Things even out in the end."

We've had a few gems in the pitching duel department this year, to be sure. Well, tonight we had a good old fashioned slobberknocker, if I may.

14-12 was the final score. That's a total of 26 runs scored, math majors. The Brewers were down by five runs more than once in this game and battled back to within striking distance and eventually take the lead. We had home runs, timely hitting and just enough pitching (including a nice bounce-back from future member of the Hall of Fame Trevor Hoffman).

All told, the Brewers bats appear to have finally stopped hitting the snooze button and gotten out of bed. Hopefully we can continue the momentum that we built up over the past 9 innings (which started during the White Sox series) through the rest of the month and into the dog days of summer.

Without going into every part of the box score...

Ryan Braun finished a double shy of the cycle. Prince Fielder hit his first career grand slam. Together Braun and Fielder drove in a combined 11 runs (5 and 6 respectively) which is only the 4th time in the last 30 years that the numbers 3 and 4 hitters in a lineup drove in 11 or more runs together in the same game. Helluva night.

The same CANNOT be said for Dave Bush (who trimmed the beard...big mistake) and Chris Narveson as they combined to give up 11 of the Crew's 12 runs allowed. Mark DiFelice gave up the other as he threw the pitch that Travis Hafner deposited into the right-field bleachers allowing two of his teammates to trot around the bases in front of him. But hey...the pitchers will have an off night every now and then too. The offense wiill have to pick them up every now and then, and while you usually can't and therefore don't overcome a pitching staff that gives up 12...well, they did it tonight and that's all that matters at the moment.

Big win. Nice confidence boost for the bats and hopefully we can stay out of the funk for a while that this team finds themselves in a little too often.

The team is now 2-6 in Interleague play this year. Hopefully we can ramp up the victories a bit and even that record up over these next few days.

By: Big Rygg

So have we finally seen enough? Wait...wrong question. We definitely have. Allow me to rephrase...

So...have they finally seen enough?

Of course the "they" in the revised question refers to Milwaukee Brewer Manager Ken Macha and General Manager Doug Melvin. And whatever might I be talking about when I ask if enough of it has been seen?

That's a simple answer as well.

Jorge Julio.

Julio almost single-armedly threw the Milwaukee Brewers from a series-opening (and road trip-beginning) victory into a loss. Between walks, hitting a couple of batters and general ineffectiveness all the way around, Julio was ultimately charged with four earned runs without recording a single out.It skyrocketed his ERA from 5.71 (still poor by itself, don't get me wrong) to 7.79.

Now, to be fair, over his last four outings, Julio had put together 5.2 innings of scoreless ball. This was is mostly low pressure situations. Monday night should have been another low pressure spot again, just bridging the gap between Jeff Suppan who Houdini'd his way around trouble for the most part but did so by racking up 100 pitches in just 5 innings. All Julio was charged with was pitching through the 6th so that Coffey, Villanueva and (if necessary) Trevor Hoffman could take the game over and close the door.

But what did Julio accomplish? He loaded the bases, pushed a run across whether the Marlins wanted it or not, and finally gave way to Coffey who couldn't stop the bleeding and actually allowed a run of his own in the inning as well. But with a a four run lead, facing the bottom of the order...you just can't do what Julio did tonight and expect to stick in the big leagues very long.

I'll admit that after seeing the numbers Julio put up in Atlanta at the end of last season, I was optimistic when the Brewers signed him in the off-season.

After a rough spring, Julio surprised everyone by making the 25-man roster when the team headed north to San Francisco for the opening series of the 2009 regular season. That could be as much of a matter of timing that he's stuck with the team as long as he has. Julio made the team in the first place primarily because Hoffman was injured so there was an opening. When Hoffman was ready to come back, David Riske needed time on the DL (from which he's still rehabbing). Even now, when the rumors are that the Brewers will be calling up someone from the minors to help the bullpen out, there's talk that Mark DiFelice might have to go on the DL due to some elbow inflammation.

But truly, I don't see how the stars continue to align to allow Julio to ply his trade at the Major League level. Maybe it's because he does have a live arm and can throw very hard. Maybe it's because every now and then he comes out and has a few appearances in a row where he doesn't allow any runs to score.

Therein lies the problem, however, is because you just don't know who is coming to the mound from the bullpen on a given night despite Ken Macha having Bill Castro call Stan Kyles with the exact same name.

Julio's earned runs allowed over his last 10 appearances? 0, 0, 1, 0, 4, 0, 0, 0, 0, 4. How can a manager be expected to trust that arm?

So, to quote some lyrics from the song that the Miller Park audio crew has been using for when Jorge Julio is summoned from the bullpen:

"Well, I'm on my way
I don't know where I'm going
but I'm on my way
I'm takin my time but I don't know where"

Allow me to respond to those lines the way Doug Melvin should have tonight after the game in Miami...

You're going to the waiver wire because you've been designated for assignment. Oh, and as for taking your time? Don't bother. Get to steppin'.

(I mean seriously...could you see Doug Melvin say "Get to steppin'"? That'd be hilarious.)

• Miguel Tejada - Astros - 154 pts.
• Ryan Braun - Brewers - 97 pts.
• Albert Pujols - Cardinals - 92 pts.
• Brandon Phillips - Reds - 89 pts.
• Andy LaRoche - Pirates - 88 pts.
• Hunter Pence - Astros - 86 pts.
• Prince Fielder - Brewers - 84 pts.
• Jack Wilson - Pirates - 80 pts.
• Joey Votto - Reds - 72 pts.
• Jerry Hairston - Reds - 70 pts.

• Joel Pineiro - Cardinals - 204 pts.
• Adam Wainwright - Cardinals - 143 pts.
• Kyle Lohse - Cardinals - 128 pts.
• Aaron Harang - Reds - 121 pts.
• Bronson Arroyo - Reds - 110 pts.
• Wandy Rodriguez - Astros - 102 pts.
• Francisco Cordero - Reds - 100 pts.
• Todd Wellemeyer - Cardinals - 100 pts.
• Chris Carpenter - Cardinals - 96 pts.
• Matt Capps - Pirates - 91 pts.

By: Big Rygg

As first reported by me, it looks like the Milwaukee Brewers may have made an additional inquiry when ironing out the Tony Gwynn for Jody Gerut deal yesterday.

Ladies and gentlemen, according to someone with inside knowledge of such matters, Jake Peavy's agent has submitted an addendum to the league office in which he has named the Milwaukee Brewers as an additional team to which he would approve a trade should one get worked out between the Brewers and his current team, the San Diego Padres.

I, for one, welcome the fact that conversation just may be taking place between Padre GM Kevin Towers and our own Doug Melvin. Now, depending on what the cost of acquiring Jake Peavy would be, I reserve the right to dislike a negotiated deal at a later time. However, there can be no argument against the fact that Melvin and Towers talking is a good thing. Just being in the conversation is step 1.

So, despite the 3-11 loss to the Minnesota Twins tonight (God will I be glad when we no longer have to play in the Humpty Dump), the Milwaukee Brewers still possess the lead in the NL Central as opposed to being 9.5 games behind (entering play today) in the NL West. If Jake Peavy is truly mostly concerned with winning, my only real question would be "Why did it take him quite so long to put us on his list?"......

But hey, since we seem to be on it now (or rather we will be once some language is reviewed by the league office if it hasn't been already), I'll save my snippy comments for another time.

This is the toughest test we've faced in a while to keep our series non-losing streak alive, but let's go ahead and win this series too. What do you say?

By: Big Rygg

(And what do we do to cover for Rickie Weeks?)

First and foremost, allow me to say "Welcome to the Show, Mat Gamel!"

Yes, I know (as you should, if you don't) that Gamel made his official Major League debut last September. Heck, he even recorded his first big league base hit. But tonight? All he did was smack a three-run home run and make a terrific defensive play (and, naturally, a throwing error but let's focus on the positives) en route to helping the Brewers to a series sweep over the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

Coming into this series, as a side note, the Milwaukee Brewers were tied with the Cardinals atop the NL Central Division. As mentioned a tidy little sweep through town puts us a full 3 games up on the redbirds.

But tonight was Mat Gamel's first career start and he made a nice day out of it by hitting his first career home run and playing a great hot corner with the exception of his thrown away ball in the bottom of the 7th.

Here's to many more big flies, Mr. Gamel!

---

Something else I wanted to talk about this evening is the loss of Rickie Weeks to probable season-ending surgery which he will undergo in very short order. Weeks tore a tendon sheath in his left wrist while striking out to lead off the game last night. Weeks was having the best start to a season in his career by a long shot and this is the purest definition of "bad timing".

The real question, of course, is "How do the Brewers cover up Weeks' absence?"

Do they bring up Hernan Iribarren? Do they sign a free agent like a Ray Durham or Mark Grudzielanek? Do they try to pull off a trade? If a trade, what do they do once Weeks is ready to go for 2010? Do they perhaps bring up Frank Catalanotto to have a 5th OF again and simply go with what they've got to cover 2B (which means some combination of Craig Counselll and Casey McGehee and maybe Bill Hall in an emergency)?

All viable options, but not one of them screams that it is the correct option.

Keep your eye on this, Brewer fans, as it truly could impact our march to the playoffs more than you might initially think.

But, in better news, the Brewers did finish that sweep of the Cardinals. We move on to Houston for the second time this season and look to at least duplicated our 2 out of 3 effort that we accomplished last time.

Let's have another winning road trip!