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Wednesday's Frosty Mug

Milwaukee Brewers manager Ken Macha argues with home plate umpire Bill Hohn during the third inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday, July 7, 2009, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

More photos » Morry Gash - AP

7 months ago: Milwaukee Brewers manager Ken Macha argues with home plate umpire Bill Hohn during the third inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday, July 7, 2009, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

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:

Hohn's strike 3 call on Hardy was a joke. If these guys really are being graded by QuesTec, he should see how bad that call was.

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:

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.

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Comments

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Eveland very well could be the answer

Of course that seriously depends on what the question is. That’s probably “How many marginal lefty starters can the Brewers org collect and stash in Nashville?”

by morineko on Jul 8, 2009 9:45 AM CDT reply actions   0 recs

one of them might work out

I would like Eveland in the minor league system…

Had an ERA of 4.34, but his WHIP is way too high at 1.48… but being only 24 last year… maybe he will emerge later in his career like you hope most lefties do… also maybe the move from the AL to the NL would help

The designated hitter rule is like letting someone else take Wilt Chamberlain's free throws.

by Kyguy922 on Jul 8, 2009 10:01 AM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

well, apparently we all misread this

Eveland still has options left; the “DFA” was only to get him off the 40-man roster. I know it sounds weird that he’d still have options, but it only seems like Eveland is older than the wheel. (I didn’t realise he’s still only 25 until you pointed that out.)

by morineko on Jul 8, 2009 10:40 AM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Ok

So the Brewers could still claim him off waivers, but once they did they’d have the ability to option him to AAA, like they did with Chase Wright. Better yet.

"The reports are that he is getting better. The definition of better is nebulous."

by KLSnow on Jul 8, 2009 12:22 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

And when I said Chase Wright, I meant Nick Green.

"The reports are that he is getting better. The definition of better is nebulous."

by KLSnow on Jul 8, 2009 12:22 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

and they're probably right

The newspapers covering the A’s have some exceptionally sloppy journalism. Not to the “I’ll never complain about Witrado again” point, but pretty close.

by morineko on Jul 8, 2009 1:34 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

That would be rather weird...

The A’s already optioned him down in May, so this year is definitely an option year. He doesn’t have any options beyond that, though, as far as I can tell…we used one in 2006, then the Dbacks in 2007, and he’s not eligible for a fourth option (I think).

by Zeyes on Jul 8, 2009 2:22 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

He was optioned in 2008, as well

But it was for fewer than 20 days so it doesn’t count. That could be why Rotoworld got confused though.

Obscure baseball records and more at my blog, Recondite Baseball.

by TheJay on Jul 8, 2009 5:26 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Yes, I already discounted that one.

Still, there’s really no way to see that a player has been optioned in this same season and reasonably conclude that he’s out of options, no matter what happened in prior seasons.

by Zeyes on Jul 8, 2009 6:17 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

The 'consistent strike zone' argument

Has always killed me. A player who ‘consistently’ fails to execute at the plate isn’t long for MLB. A pitcher who consistently gives up walks and runs isn’t long for MLB.

But every umpire who consistently makes the bad calls is given a pass, even congratulated for being so consistently bad. And don’t even get me started on the neighborhood play and ‘the ball beat him there so he’s out, even though its not a force situation’. If you can’t be bothered to make the right call, then don’t bother waddling your fat a$$ onto the field.

by Getting Yosted on Jul 8, 2009 10:07 AM CDT reply actions   1 recs

Divisional realignment.

I don’t think that MLB would do that unless the add/subtract teams to the league for two reasons. One, they would want to keep the bug rivalries like Yankess/Red Sox together and two, they would still have to keep all the teams in the same league the whole time, anyway, otherwise they would have to put the DH in the NL or abolish it from the AL.

Plus, if you than switch division format from location, that creates a lot more travelling hassle if they still play more games against division opponents. Like, say, when a division consists of Brewers, Marlins, Mets, Astros, Giants or something like that.

:) + Suppan = :'(

by NoahJ on Jul 8, 2009 10:15 AM CDT reply actions   0 recs

Thanks for posting the argument picture

I was at the game, and had no idea what THwitter was talking about when he kept referencing the moustache.

Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".

by tcyoung on Jul 8, 2009 10:48 AM CDT reply actions   0 recs

He probably got stuck at a buffet

"That's not a weird stat. Rickie is a run-scorer," Yost said. "It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter," Yost told reporters. "See, you guys have no concept. He's a run-scorer. So there's nothing weird about it. That's what he does."

by Hyatt on Jul 8, 2009 10:59 AM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Boom, Roasted.

Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".

by tcyoung on Jul 8, 2009 11:19 AM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

While everybody is scrambling to put together a deal for Halladay,

We should swoop in and snag Bedard

Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".

by tcyoung on Jul 8, 2009 11:19 AM CDT reply actions   0 recs

3 Bedards?

Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".

by tcyoung on Jul 8, 2009 11:36 AM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Pitch him every 3 days like we did CC! It’s someone elses problems next year ;)

by SgtClueLs on Jul 8, 2009 11:53 AM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Dempster, as noted, broke his big toe and is out for a month

Check out the little Cub fan lauging at him!

Deadspin Link

This was done during the celebration after beating the Brewers… so maybe there was a good thing for the Brewers that came out of the loss! I never wish injury on anyone, but when they do it in celebration, ala Martin Gramatica, it makes you laugh!

The designated hitter rule is like letting someone else take Wilt Chamberlain's free throws.

by Kyguy922 on Jul 8, 2009 1:42 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

"Don't trust a guy with a porn-star moustache. That's my motto." -TH

"We're a lot better when everybody contributes, that's for sure." -JJ

by GoCrew on Jul 8, 2009 3:06 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

TH watching porn...

makes me very very afraid

battlekow: Bill is having an oppo-gasm

by Michael M on Jul 8, 2009 3:16 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Maybe someone introduced him to it

And that’s why he’s less grumpy lately.

"The reports are that he is getting better. The definition of better is nebulous."

by KLSnow on Jul 8, 2009 3:30 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

THwitter continues to cause a raise in TH's stock

Cards Announcers On Gamel's First Career HR, ""That’s all they need is another home run hitter".

by tcyoung on Jul 8, 2009 3:36 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Let's pick up BJ Ryan, just for the hell of it...

… wait, collecting closers was last year.

NM.

by Mykenk on Jul 8, 2009 3:34 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

WOW, had no idea he was released

battlekow: Bill is having an oppo-gasm

by Michael M on Jul 8, 2009 3:54 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

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