Wednesday's Frosty Mug

Some things to read while being three times as cool.

Umpiring issues took center stage last night as the Brewers lost 5-0 to the Cardinals, falling two games back in the Central. Home plate umpire Bill Hohn ejected Dale Sveum and Willie Randolph following their complaints that Hohn was inconsistent in asking for help calling check swings. Perhaps the most vocal criticism of Hohn came from Tom Haudricourt, who tweeted about Hohn no less than six times, including this one:

Umpiring has been under fire a lot this week around baseball, and deservedly so in some cases. However, major league umpires can't be fired for incompetence, leading Matthew Pouliot of Circling the Bases to call the profession "America's Most Secure Job."

Of course, Adam Wainwright was pretty good last night too. He's posted a 0.77 ERA in three starts against the Brewers this season, with 25 strikeouts and just six walks.

Ryan Braun and Doug Melvin met before yesterday's contest to clear the air between the two and hopefully mark the end of the issues between the two. After the meeting, Braun delivered this statement to the media. If nothing else, at least Braun got a new nickname out of the deal. Also, video from his Remetee event at Decibel has hit Youtube.

Meanwhile, Doug Melvin continues to work on making a move:

• He freed up a spot on the 40-man roster yesterday, outrighting Joe Koshansky.
• As noted in Rumorville, the Brewers reportedly have serious interest in Roy Halladay.
• Ken Rosenthal says Javier Vazquez is too valuable to the Braves to be traded for any of the available hitters, including Corey Hart.
• Here's one pitcher available for nothing: The A's designated former Brewer farmhand Dana Eveland for assignment yesterday. Eveland may not be the answer in the rotation at this point, but the Brewers have a 40-man roster spot open and Eveland is certainly better than Chris Narveson.

Manny Parra appears to be on his way back to the majors. He's not listed among Nashville's probable starters for this week, and the Brewers have now have "TBA" listed as their starter for Thursday. Jeff Suppan will start today, and Looper, Burns and Gallardo will pitch Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

In today's only minor league story, Dennis Punzel of the Capital Times made the trip up to Grand Chute to see the Timber Rattlers and discuss the massive attendance bump they're seeing since becoming a Brewer affiliate. I'm thinking of going to Monday's afternoon game - anyone interested in doing a BCB meetup?

On Power Rankings and whatnot:

• WhatifSports dropped the Brewers seven spots to thirteenth in their rankings.
• Inside the Majors dropped the Brewers two spots to #11.
• The Ghost of Moonlight Graham ranks the Brewer bullpen as the fourth best in baseball.

Did a pitcher from that Brewer bullpen belong in the All Star Game? Cory Provus makes a case for two snubbed relievers: Trevor Hoffman and Mitch Stetter.

Meanwhile, SportingNews.com ranked every major league ballpark, and put Miller Park 15th, behind Wrigley Field, the new Yankee Stadium and Busch Stadium, among others. (h/t THT)

Around baseball:

Cardinals: Placed Mark DeRosa on the DL with a partial tear of the tendon sheath in his left wrist.
Cubs: Placed Ryan Dempster on the DL with a displaced fracture of his big toe.
Mariners: Placed Mike Sweeney on the DL with back spasms.
Marlins: Are expected to sign Scott Williamson to a minor league deal.
Nationals: Jesus Colome, who had been designated for assignment, cleared waivers and elected to become a free agent.
Padres: Designated Walter Silva for assignment.
Royals: Designated infielder Luis Hernandez for assignment.
Tigers: Designated outfielder Don Kelly for assignment.
White Sox: Acquired reliever Tony Pena from the Diamondbacks for a minor league infielder.

It's been about ten days since the Brewers lost to Giants starter Ryan Sadowski, who was making his major league debut. What we didn't know at the time was the long and winding road Sadowski took to the majors, including brain surgery and having his mom set up meetings with scouts after Sadowski pitched just 6.2 innings in college. The whole story is a great read.

Should baseball consider realignment to even out competitive balance? TangoTiger makes the case for it. It's also worth noting that the disparity between leagues in baseball is not as big as the disparities in the NHL or NFL.

Oh, and happy anniversary to Ben Oglivie, who hit three home runs in the first half of a doubleheader on this day in 1979, and also drove in the winning run in the second game.

Drink up.