Wednesday's Frosty Mug

Some things to read while getting a glimpse of eternity.

Talk about quick turnarounds: We're roughly two hours away from the first pitch of today's 12:10 series finale against the Rockies. Here's the MLB.com game preview, and the game thread will open at 11:30.

Randy Wolf wasn't great last night, and told Tom Haudricourt his start "wasn't a cap-tipping worth performance," but that didn't keep the Miller Park crowd from giving him a standing ovation as he left the field after pitching 6.2 innings with eight strikeouts and no walks. A standing ovation might have been a bit much but after last season, any outing where a starter doesn't walk the ballpark will be a noted improvement.

Trevor Hoffman allowed a run in the ninth inning yesterday but didn't need to be perfect to record his 592nd career save. Viva Cerveceros predicts Hoffman will pick up his 600th save sometime before the end of the month. He picked up his ninth save in his tenth appearance (and seventeenth team game) as a Brewer last season: If he keeps that pace this season, he'd be due to pick up #600 on April 24, at home against the Cubs.

Meanwhile, Adam McCalvy noted that Hoffman didn't allow a run until his 19th outing last season, but allowed one in his first appearance in 2010. Not that it mattered, of course.

Elsewhere in yesterday's notes:

• FanGraphs has Casy McGehee as the star of yesterday's game, with Ian Stewart and Rickie Weeks checking in second and third, respectively.
• CoolStandings has the Brewer playoff chances at 19.8%, up 3% from yesterday.

Speaking of Ian Stewart: After two games he's still on pace for 162 home runs this season, and as Battlekow noted on Twitter, the numbers would suggest he might have another good day today against Doug Davis.

It was supposed to be a pretty good publicity day for Mark Attanasio yesterday, as he and his wife Debbie announced a $1 million donation to create a permanent fund for the Brewer Community Foundation. Instead, he was publicly called out for whining by Yankees president Randy Levine, in response to comments Attanasio made earlier in the week regarding the challenges involved in extending Prince Fielder (FanShot). Attanasio took the high road in his response. Some other responses from around the web:

• Craig Calcaterra noted that the Brewers received an estimated $30 million in revenue sharing last season, but also noted that their payroll is around $85 million this season.
• Marc Normandin suggests some other places that money might have gone.
• Jay Jaffe says Randy Levine needs to be punched in the mouth.

Good news for people who love bad news: Despite opening the season on the DL, Jeff Suppan is still a candidate, and perhaps the leading candidate, to be the Brewers' fifth starter when they need one mid-month. Since Suppan is headed to the minors for a rehab start, he could be the only starting candidate that's actually stretched out to start on April 15. The silver lining: If both Manny Parra and Chris Narveson are still in the bullpen at that point, Suppan will probably be on a pretty short leash.

Last year at this time there was only one player on this list: With four hits on Monday, Carlos Gomez became just the third Brewer ever with four hits in his debut, joining Chuckie Carr and Felipe Lopez.

Another day, another speculation on Prince Fielder's future: Eli Greenspan of MLB Daily Dish has a look at what the Brewers might be able to get by trading the slugger.

In the minors:

• Brewerfan.net has the official roster for the 2010 Brevard County Manatees, headlined by Wily Peralta and Cody Scarpetta in the rotation and Kentrail Davis in the outfield. 
• Rattler Radio has pictures from yesterday's Timber Rattlers Fan Fest.

If you're headed out to a Brewer game this season, you're more likely than the average baseball fan to come away with something: Don Walker of the Journal Sentinel noted a study showing the Brewers offer more game promotions than any other team in baseball, and giving the Brewers a B+ for their promotional plan.

In power rankings:

• The inaugural SB Nation Power Rankings have the Brewers 15th. (Full disclosure: I'm a voter.)
• ESPN has the Brewers 17th.
• MLB FanHouse dropped the Brewers one spot to 17th.

It's another quiet day on the transaction log:

Twins: Signed outfielder Jason Repko to a minor league deal.

Each time the Brewers play the Rockies we seem to end up in another extended Ryan Braun v. Troy Tulowitzki debate, as the two remain forever linked by their battle for 2007 NL Rookie of the Year. If you haven't had enough Tulo this week, Minor League Ball has a "Not a Rookie" profile for him.

I usually write the Mug before breakfast, which occasionally leads to a link I wish I hadn't clicked. Since reading this review of new ballpark food, for example, I've been craving a giant pretzel.

I also occasionally spot a Sporcle quiz and can't do anything else until I've attempted it: Two minutes in, I already had 25 of the 30 Opening Day Starters, but I sat there for four more minutes and only remembered one more. (h/t Lone Star Ball)

That Sporcle quiz came out at a good time, because over half of baseball had a day off yesterday, on day two of the regular season.

If you've been anywhere near a television or the internet this week, you've probably heard about Jason Heyward's home run in his first major league at bat for the Braves on Monday. The Hall of Very Good has a bunch of notes about the accomplishment, including this one that surprised me: Of the 104 players to homer in their first AB, 21 never hit another one. (h/t Big League Stew)

On this day in 1970 the Brewers played their first home game in Milwaukee, losing to the Angels, 12-0. Fatter than Joey had a lot more on that game in his Weekend Mug.

28 years later, on this day in 1998, the Brewers beat the Expos 6-4 in their first home game as a National League team. It was the team's sixth straight win as part of a 17-9 start that saw them in first place on May 1, but they went 57-79 the rest of the way and finished in fifth place.

Happy birthday today to:

• 1992-1996 Brewer and 1994 All Star Ricky Bones, who turns 41.
• 1998-2002 Brewer Ronnie Belliard, who turns 35.
• 2006-2008 Brewer Vinny Rottino, who turns 30.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm craving grilled cheese.

Drink up.