More photos » Gene J. Puskar - AP

Felipe Lopez suddenly realizes he's about to make an out on the basepaths for the second straight day.

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Some things to read while staying ahead of profanity.

So, yesterday started with notes on grudges and postulations on the mysterious identity of Dave Kerwin, but ended with a relatively quiet and drama-free 2-0 victory. Hopefully both teams got some rest tonight, because they'll need it before today's 11:30 start.

With the win last night, Braden Looper improved to 7-2 in 16 starts following a Brewer loss. The Brewers are 11-5 in those starts (Thanks TheJay). He pitched seven shutout innings (on just 94 pitches) last night, ending a streak of nine consecutive starts where he had lasted six innings or less. On the other end of the spectrum, B-Ref says Roy Halladay (13) and Dan Haren (9) have each had streaks this season of nine starts or more where they've pitched seven innings or more.

Speaking of Halladay, any effort to acquire him will have to accelerate soon. Halladay has a scheduled start on July 29, and the Jays are saying that won't trade him after that date. Other notes on potentially available pitchers:

• Dayn Perry thinks the Brewers should clean out the farm and make a strong push to acquire Halladay or Cliff Lee.
• The Brewers could be one of several teams asking the Pirates about Ian Snell, but the Pirates aren't willing to give him away or deal him in a swap of bad contracts. That's a shame, because I think Bill Hall would look great in a Pirates uniform.
• Justin Duchscherer showed up in Rumorville yesterday, but Jorge Says No! wonders why the A's would consider trading him at this point. Duchscherer has missed all of 2009, and will be a free agent after the season.

We'll probably find out in an hour or so if Felipe Lopez will be able to play today. Lopez left last night's game early with tightness in his hamstring, but the move was called "precautionary." Lopez has 13 hits in his last eight games, so the Brewers may have acquired him at the right time.

The Brewers may also be catching the Pirates at the right time. There's some drama in the Pirates clubhouse right now involving Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson, who were recently thrown lowball "take it or leave it" extension offers from the team, then had the offers taken off the table when they took too long to respond. FanGraphs has the details on the offers, which included voiding an $8 million vesting option for Sanchez for next season, but only paying him $10 million over two seasons instead.

Today will be day two of Dale Sveum's three game suspension. Tom H. called the suspension a joke, and his concerns about the quality of umpiring are valid. Baseball is the only major sport where umpires are allowed to be confrontational about it after blowing calls. With that said, if you watched the game last night you probably heard Brian Anderson and Bill Schroeder mention that Dale Sveum accidentally spit sunflower seeds on an umpire in the post-game confrontation, and that's almost certainly grounds for the suspension he received.

Are the Brewers too good at holding a grudge? Pat Lackey of MLB FanHouse had this to say following Monday's incident:

Here's breaking news: The Brewers don't like getting hit by pitches, especially near the head. And the fact that they don't like it makes them bad people. Obviously. Just ask Dave Kerwin.

Mat Gamel is back in Nashville, where he'll get the opportunity to play everyday and be ready, should the Brewers have to call on him again this season. Matthew Pouliot of Circling the Bases says Gamel's brief run in the big leagues was a success, and points to his .267/.341/.493 line as a third baseman as evidence.

Eric Arnett had a pretty nice outing last night for Helena, throwing three innings with no runs, no hits and two walks. (Noted in Minor League Notes.) Project Prospect has a nice quick scouting report on Arnett. We haven't been hearing as much, though, from Arnett himself: his Twitter account has been quiet since July 3, and one has to wonder if the Brewers told him to stop.

Around baseball:

Cubs: Milton Bradley appeared in his 75th game last night, vesting an option that will pay him $10 million in 2011.
Giants: Placed Rich Aurilia on the DL with an infected big toe.
Mariners: Designated Josh Wilson for assignment.
Red Sox: Placed Tim Wakefield on the DL with a back strain.
Yankees: Designated Brett Tomko for assignment.

I mention Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star every so often, because he's one of my favorite beat writers. Today, he demonstrates why again, as he attempts to use PitchFx to identify what's wrong with Juan Cruz. Most beat writers might not have made the effort.

They don't get mentioned as often as they should, but host families frequently play a huge role in the life of young minor leaguers who wouldn't be able to afford to live on their own on small minor league paychecks. The San Jose Mercury News has a nice profile today of one host family. (h/t Andrew Baggarly, who also has some extra quotes.)

If you're still looking for more baseball content to tide you over until today's Game Thread opens at 10:30, Amazin' Avenue has a look at the best stuff from some of the other sites around SBNation.

Of course, today is also a Woot-off Day.

Drink up.