Monday: Dave Bush quality start.

Tuesday: Carlos Villanueva quality start.

I don't dare suggest what might follow.

Tonight the matchup is Manny Parra and Derek Lowe.  Speaking of matchups, the BR Game Preview tells us something harrowing: Andruw Jones has a career 1.750 OPS against Gagne.  Apparently things could've worked out a little differently.

If Yost decides to play with his LaRussa-style index cards, I wouldn't be surprised to see a Counsell start tonight--he's got an .873 OPS in 26 career PAs against Lowe.

Game time is 7:05 Central.

Go Brewers!

Ok, so it isn't exactly a series preview...consider it a rest-of-series preview.  Rob runs the great Dodgers/Angels site 6-4-2, and he was kind enough to take the time to answer some questions about one of his teams for us.  Without further ado:

Q: You've had the opportunity to watch Joe Torre in action for six weeks now--kind of like the previous decade, I'd imagine, only on local TV instead of national.  What are your impressions so far?

A: Torre seems to be under the impression that the press release version of his team is the actual team; it's certainly the only explanation why Juan Pierre and Andruw Jones have both appeared as starters in various lineups.  With Rafael Furcal out, it's simply shocking to have Torre miss what seems obvious to everyone else:  Andre Ethier is the team's second best hitter, and the Dodgers can ill-afford to miss both while plugging in arguably worse defense (and certainly worse offense) in left.

Q: In Juan Pierre and Andruw Jones, the Dodgers have a pair of outfielders who are underperforming the youngsters in every category but age.  How do you see the outfield situation shaking out over the course of the season?  Are there any other prospects who Pierre might end up blocking?

A: My inclination is to place the blame for this squarely on the shoulders of ownership. As Joe Sheehan recently pointed out in a Baseball Prospectus piece picked up by Sports Illustrated, the Dodgers are really three teams in one: the Paul DePodesta Dodgers, the Ned Colletti Dodgers, and the (VP of Scouting) Logan White Dodgers. Unsurprisingly, the Logan White team is the most productive as measured by value-for-salary, but the Colletti players -- which includes the likes of Jason Schmidt, Nomar Garciaparra, Juan Pierre, and Andruw Jones -- contains all the deadweight. "Grady Little's inability to play his best players at the expense of those veterans was the critical factor in the Dodgers finishing eight games out in a competitive NL West", Sheehan opined, and it's absolutely a factor again with Torre running the team.

Unfortunately, it's unclear what the Dodgers will do going forward. Pierre's contract virtually dictates he will end up with playing time (almost certainly too much and at the expense of Ethier, from what we can gather so far). Likewise Jones' glove, and more, his arm represent a significant improvement over the noodle Pierre uses to toss his rainbow throws back to the infield. If there were a clearly superior outfield prospect in the wings, it seems likely that the Dodgers would have blocked that player, too. So, no, I have no idea how this will shake out, other than to say it will be done sub-optimally.

Q: Similar question: with Blake DeWitt playing well, Andy LaRoche stuck in AAA, and Nomar pretending to healthy sometime soon, what will happen at third?  If you were running the team, what would you do about that spot?

A: I would tell Nomar his duties are limited to pinch-hitting and spot starting, or cut him. The best thing he's done for the 2008 Dodgers so far has to spend substantial time on the DL, thus giving Blake DeWitt an extended showcase. I don't think DeWitt is quite as good as he's shown so far, and LaRoche will probably, eventually, develop more power, but either or both of those young players can bring to the table more, now, than Nomar. (In case you can't tell, the big problem with this team is that it doesn't have enough injuries to the right players.)

Q: The Brewers aren't going to see Hideki Kuroda this series, but he hasn't gotten a whole lot of national coverage, so I'm curious what your impressions are so far.  He's certainly gotten results--do you see that holding up as the league sees him for the second or third time?

A: League? Try, lineup. In Sunday's contest against Houston, he uncharacteristically carried a no-hitter into the seventh, but as Vin Scully mentioned in the TV broadcast, Kuroda tends to wilt the third time through the order. (Baseball-Reference doesn't show this data on his splits page, but you can get a feel for it by pitch count; after 75, his line goes ballistic to a slapped-silly .355/.412/.516.) Jon Weisman thought he was actually trying too hard, but it seems to me his stuff flattens out early. Fortunately, the Dodgers only need a third starter, or should; it's likely that with rotational ineffectiveness (Derek Lowe's groundballs haven't been coming as they used to, and Brad Penny's meatball catering service is giving the team fits), the team wiill have to bring up Clayton Kershaw earlier than they might like.

Q: Overall, the LA bullpen has been quite effective, but not in the way I would've expected.  Beimel dominating while Broxton is scuffling?  Fill us in on the pecking order behind Saito, and how you see this group performing over the course of the year.

A: Beimel wears the number 97, which tells you a little something about his psychology; he tends to blend into the background, but you're right that he appears to be dominating in the early season. Emphasis should be on appears, because in point of fact, he's second on the team for allowing inherited baserunners to score (so far, five have, one back of Scott Proctor's six), thus deflating his ERA while adversely affecting both the team and the pitcher(s) ahead of him. Broxton had the worst outing of his career on Sunday, giving up six runs while making only one out, but he'll revert to form; one of his hallmarks early on was his tendency to get in a funk and lose control on his fastball, and it looks like that's what happened.

The real question is what happens once Chan Ho Park turns back into the guy Texas knew and hated. By ERA, he's the third best pitcher on the team (2.16 in 25 IP), but there's no way he sustains that with his low strikeout rate. Scott Proctor is looking mighty like a midseason DFA or a slow regression to mopup duties, something that will be hard to accomplish given Torre's extended experience with him in New York. Most likely to replace him, and perhaps the biggest wild card currently on the 25-man, is Yhency Brazoban. The man with a name designed for Scrabble had a rough but scoreless go in the team's 7-1 Friday loss. He was all but unhittable for a couple months in 2004, but injuries sidetracked him. Even at league average, he could still be a useful part given the likelihood of both injury and ineffectiveness elsewhere in the pitching staff.

Thanks, Rob!

So the Brewers win, the Cardinals lose, the Cubs lose, and they appear to be signing Jim Edmonds. That's win-win-win-win if I ever saw it.

Win Expectancy Graph
BR Box Score
BDD Recaps

The circle of life continues: Chris Capuano will have Tommy John surgery as soon as Thursday, giving up the effort to come back without it. Also on Thursday, 2006 first round pick Jeremy Jeffress will return from his 50-game drug suspension and report to Brevard County.

Beyond that, it's kind of a slow day for Brewer news. Baseball Analysts, though, did take a look at players looking to avoid a sophomore slump, including one guy you may have heard of who's hit 6 extra base hits in 3 days.

On injuries:

Milton Bradley was held out of last night's Rangers game with a sore shoulder.
J.D. Drew injured his wrist making a sliding catch and is day-to-day.
A's 2B Mark Ellis missed last night's game with a hamstring injury, and will miss a few more.
O's C Ramon Hernandez missed last night's game with a sprained left wrist.
Reds SS Jeff Keppinger fouled a ball off his knee last night and has a fractured kneecap.
O's 3B Melvin Mora was hit by a ball in warmups yesterday and missed last night's game.

If you haven't been paying attention, Lance Berkman is pretty hot right now. He's hitting .605 in his last 11 games, and has scored a run in 15 straight games, leaving him 2 games shy of tying the NL record Rickie Weeks tied earlier this season.

Berkman also won this week's BaseballHappenings blogpoll for NL MVP. Brandon Webb ran away from the field in the Cy Young voting, and Geovany Soto dominated the Rookie voting. Here's the ballot I cast:

MVP:
1. Lance Berkman
2. Chase Utley
3. Chipper Jones

Cy Young:
1. Brandon Webb
2. Edinson Volquez
3. Carlos Zambrano

Rookie of the Year:
1. Geovany Soto
2. Jair Jurrjens
3. Kosuke Fukudome

Click the link above for the full results.

A rare former Brewer trifecta happened yesterday: The Mets designated Nelson Figueroa for assignment, called up Claudio Vargas and activated Matt Wise from the DL in the same day.

Oh, and here's a story about Tigers P Nate Robertson's unrequited love for bats.

Drink up.

Nashville Sounds (AAA) Notes:

Season Record: 15-23, -5.0 GB, 4th place (last) in the PCL’s American North Division
Away Record: 8-15
Home Record: 7-8
Last 10 Games: 6-4
Streak: 1 Win

Won (5-1) @ Las Vegas
Richie Gardner (W, 3-1), 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K – 4.50 ERA, Game Score: 61
Derrick Turnbow, 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 0 K – 18.00 ERA
Russell Branyan-3B, 2-3, 2B, R, BB, SB - .354 BA
Adam Heether-SS, 1-4, HR (3), R, RBI, 2 K - .250 BA
Laynce Nix-CF, 1-5, HR (4), R, RBI, 2 K, GIDP - .287 BA

Huntsville Stars (AA) Notes:

1st Half Record: 28-11, +5.0 GA, 1st place in the Southern League’s North Division
Away Record: 11-8
Home Record: 17-3
Last 10 Games: 9-1
Streak: 5 Wins

Won (3-2) @ Tennessee in 13 innings
Brae Wright, 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K – 4.17 ERA, Game Score: 60
Mat Gamel-3B, 2-6, HR (9), 2 R, RBI - .367 BA
Christopher Errecart-1B, 1-1, HR (6), R, RBI, BB, E - .293 BA
Michael Brantley-CF-1B, 2-6, SB, CS - .331 BA

Brevard County Manatees (High A) Notes:

1st Half Record: 19-19, -4.0 GB, tied for 2nd place in the FSL’s East Division
Away Record: 9-11
Home Record: 10-8
Last 10 Games: 3-7
Streak: 1 Win

Won (3-0) @ Daytona
Fermaint’s 9th inning, 3-run home run all Manatees need for the win.
Donovan Hand, 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K – 2.10 ERA, Game Score: 75
Charlie Fermaint-LF, 1-4, HR (2), R, 3 RBI - .235 BA
Lorenzo Cain-RF, 0-2, 2 BB, 2 K - .262 BA
Chuckie Caufield-DH, 1-3, R, BB - .257 BA

West Virginia Power (A) Notes:

1st Half Record: 14-23, -9.5 GB, 7th place in the SAL’s Northern Division
Away Record: 7-11
Home Record: 7-12
Last 10 Games: 3-7
Streak: 2 Losses

Lost (4-7) vs. Lake County
Roque Mercedes (L, 1-2), 2 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 3 K – 6.55 ERA, Game Score: 35
Jonathan Lucroy-C, 3-5, 2B, HR (5), R, RBI, K - .318 BA
Steffan Wilson-1B, 2-4, HR (7), R, RBI, 2 K - .267 BA
Eric Fryer-LF, 2-4, HR (1), R, RBI, K - .333 BA

Penny.  Villanueva.  Preview.  7:05 CT.  Go!

So, sometime around the sixth inning of last night's game, I got an email from a Cubs fan, offering a thank you for taking 3 of 4 from the Cardinals. Just to make sure he didn't get too far ahead of himself, I sent him this.

Win Expectancy Graph
BR Box Score
BDD Recaps

Obviously, it's smiles all around after Dave Bush put up a nice performance last night and Ryan Braun's bat sent a couple more baseballs screaming into the masses. But, in the JS Online game story, there's still a hint of Ned being Ned:

Kudos to Anthony Witrado for publishing that exchange and coming through with more than just the "it's early" refrain.

Adam Charles at Bugs and Cranks thinks last night's game was just part of an elaborate plot by Tony LaRussa. We're still waiting for the twist.

The Grand National Championships has a quick rant on bullpen management and closers. I will give credit to Ned for pitching Gagne in a non-save situation last night and giving him an opportunity to straighten himself out.

Last night's game didn't involve a save situation, but it did involve two teams going closer by committee. Baseball Musings asks what happens if it works.

Not only did Dave Bush pick up his first win of the season last night, he also qualified to start in row 7 of the Hank Aaron 755, Big League Stew's race for players with NASCAR names.

The Padres have designated Rule 5 pick Callix Crabbe for assignment (also noted here in the Fanshots), meaning the Brewers could have him back. Al doesn't seem to think they'll be interested, but it's middle infield depth, how could they not be?

On injuries:

Rafael Furcal will miss the upcoming series with the Brewers after being placed on the DL with a lower back injury.
Marlins P Scott Olsen isn't hurt, but he was having a hard time regaining velocity after his 8 2/3 inning, 121 pitch outing against the Brewers last week.

Here's pretty much all you need to know about Dayn Perry: He thinks Carlos Zambrano should win the Cy Young even though Brandon Webb is 8-0, has thrown more innings, struck out more batters and has a lower WHIP. I know compiling award ballots can be hard, but writing Webb in for Cy Young is a no-brainer at this point.

Apparently he hits other teams, too: Lance Berkman had stretches last week where he went 16-for-20 and 19-for-25. That second feat had only been accomplished once in the last 50 years.

David Sloane is the agent for Carlos Delgado. He's making Delgado a lot of money, but the Mets 1B is his only client. Why, you ask? Because he's insane.

Oh, and here's video of an unassisted triple play.

Drink up.

Nashville Sounds (AAA) Notes:

Season Record: 14-23, -5.0 GB, 4th place (last) in the PCL’s American North Division
Away Record: 7-15
Home Record: 7-8
Last 10 Games: 6-4
Streak: 1 Loss

Lost (1-4) @ Las Vegas
Chris Narveson, 5.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 5 BB, 0 K – 3.94 ERA, Game Score: 62
Derrick Turnbow, 0.1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 0 K – 54.00 ERA
Hernan Iribarren-LF, 1-5, 2B, K - .294 BA
Vinny Rottino-C, 2-4, K, SB - .244 BA
Brad Nelson-1B, 0-1, R, 3 BB - .317 BA

Huntsville Stars (AA) Notes:

1st Half Record: 27-11, +4.0 GA, 1st place in the Southern League’s North Division
Away Record: 10-8
Home Record: 17-3
Last 10 Games: 8-2
Streak: 4 Wins

Won (9-7) @ Tennessee
David Welch (W, 5-1), 5 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 3 K – 4.47 ERA, Game Score: 36
Alcides Escobar-SS, 3-5, HR (3), 2 R, RBI, CS - .274 BA
Christopher Errecart-1B, 2-4, HR (5), R, 2 RBI, K - .287 BA
Cole Gillespie-RF, 1-4, HR (7), R, 2 RBI - .272 BA
Michael Bell-2B, 1-4, HR (4), R, RBI, K - . 289 BA
Matt LaPorta-LF, 1-1, 2 R, BB, HBP - .333 BA

Brevard County Manatees (High A) Notes:

1st Half Record: 18-19, -4.0 GB, tied for 3rd place in the FSL’s East Division
Away Record: 8-11
Home Record: 10-8
Last 10 Games: 2-8
Streak: 1 Loss

Lost (4-7) @ Daytona
Joshua Butler (L, 0-4), 6 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 3 K – 4.74 ERA, Game Score: 44
Lorenzo Cain-RF, 2-4, R, BB, GIDP - .266 BA
Charlie Fermaint-LF, 1-3, 2B, RBI, K, SF - .234 BA
Chuckie Caufield, 2-4, 2B, R, RBI - .255 BA

West Virginia Power (A) Notes:

1st Half Record: 14-22, -8.5 GB, 7th place in the SAL’s Northern Division
Away Record: 7-11
Home Record: 7-11
Last 10 Games: 4-6
Streak: 1 Loss

Lost (2-4) vs. Lake County
Robert Bryson (L, 0-2), 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K – 5.04 ERA, Game Score: 54
Jonathan Lucroy-C, 1-2, HR (4), R, RBI, 2 BB - .307 BA
Steffan Wilson-DH, 1-4, 2B, R, K - .259 BA
Brent Brewer-SS, 1-3, RBI, BB, K - .222 BA