Monday's Frosty Mug

Some things to read while grabbing a bite.

This morning's biggest news comes away from the field, where the Brewers have agreed to a three year extension with Corey Hart, extending his deal through the 2013 season (FanShot). Financial details were not immediately available, but Tom Haudricourt expects the deal to be worth around $25 million, with Jordan Schelling predicting $20-25.

Here's some early reactions:

• SgtClueLs notes that the Brewers are buying high, and wonders what this means for Lorenzo Cain.
• David Pinto of Baseball Musings says "Hart will likely earn the value of this contract, but I would not be surprised if most of the value came in one year."
• Kris Willis isn't happy with the Brewers' decision to extend Hart before Rickie Weeks.
• The Brewers Bar wonders if this is a sign the Brewers have given up on re-signing Prince Fielder.
• Aaron Wilberding is calling this "Great news to wake up to."
• Drew Olson says this signing can't hide the fact that the Brewers have bigger problems.

Of the two Brewers rumored to be potential trade targets over the weekend, Hart might be the only one happy to stick around. Consider these two tweets from Adam McCalvy. First, from Hart:

Hart on passage of deadline: "It's good that nothing happened."

Then, from Prince Fielder:

Is Prince happy the deadline passed with no deals? "I don't want to talk about it. I have to go hit in the cage."

Jack Moore of Disciples of Uecker has a reaction to the Brewers' lack of trade action. Jordan will have a reaction here later today.

On the field the story of the day was Randy Wolf, who left yesterday's game in the seventh inning after taking a line drive off his wrist. X-rays on the wrist were negative, but he's expected to undergo an MRI today for a better look (FanShot). Adam McCalvy noted that Wolf was off the field nearly immediately following the play, so it would be surprising if this turns out to be just a bruise.

Kameron Loe was called into the game when Wolf was injured, but couldn't find the strike zone and was lifted after facing just two batters. After the game, he told Tom Haudricourt he'd never come out of the bullpen in an injury situation before, and probably didn't spend enough time warming up.

Other notes from the field:

• Jason Michaels, Randy Wolf and Zach Braddock are leading FanGraphs' Star of the Game voting.
• CoolStandings has the Brewer playoff chances bottoming out at less than 0.1%.
• Here are yesterday's MLB.com video highlights.

Yesterday's loss closed out a three game sweep in Houston, with the Brewers shut out twice by a team that was busy selling off its best major leaguers. Tom Haudricourt makes the case that it was the worst series of the season.

So, the Brewers were embarrassed once again this weekend, and their starting rotation took them out of two of the three games early. Eager to deflect blame for the situation, Doug Melvin unveiled a detailed plan for better pitching success (FanShot). Baseball Brew says Melvin is just using the plan to cover for his failures. I'm all for a change in organizational approaches in response to a sustained lack of success, but this does reek of "CYA."

Ryan Braun has hits in back-to-back games, but is still hitting just .135/.195/.270 over his last ten appearances. Jack Moore of Disciples of Uecker is worried about Braun's power, and notes a distinct lack of home runs down the line in left.

Jim Edmonds was back in the lineup yesterday after missing several days with his sore Achillies. He went 0-for-3 in the game, but that probably wasn't taken into account when Walkoff Walk's Crowdsourcing the Greats series listed him as the 11th best center fielder of all time.

Rickie Weeks hit .292/.392/.594 in July, which was enough to earn him the starting job on MLB Depth Charts' July NL All Star team.

Prince Fielder is just 3-for his last 15 with no extra base hits, runs scored or RBI, but entering play Sunday he was still 13th in all of baseball in RE24/boLI, whatever that is.

Carlos Gomez struck out in a pinch hitting appearance yesterday, and finished the Astros series 0-for-7 with a walk and six strikeouts. Even Tom Haudricourt is calling for Lorenzo Cain.

In the minors:

• The Brewers have taken the first steps towards and eventual position change for Mat Gamel. Gamel made his right field debut over the weekend, and will likely see some time at first base as well (FanShot). With Hart extended, though, there's likely no room in a corner for Gamel anytime soon.
• On the field yesterday the affiliates went 3-3, with Wily Peralta, Nick Green and Jeremy Jeffress combining to hold Mississippi to one run over ten innings in Huntsville's win. You can read about that and more in today's Minor League Notes.
• Eric Arnett had another rough outing over the weekend, allowing seven runs (five earned) on seven hits, four walks, a hit batsman and two wild pitches in just five innings.
• Space Coast Baseball has video from Brevard County's game on Friday, including a clip of Cody Scarpetta on the mound. (h/t Battlekow)
• At Minor League Ball, John Sickels compared Brett Lawrie and Mariners prospect Dustin Ackley and chose Lawrie, but only because he's younger.

There's not much positive to say about the present, so let's look back instead: A Brewer Perspective has named Joe Inglett's pitching debut as the July Clip of the Month.

Now that the Brewers have come to terms on Corey Hart's new deal, they'll have to find a way to pay for it: The A.V. Club Milwaukee has six sponsorship ideas they're unlikely to consider.

Here are more nominations for the SBN Wisconsin Hall of Fame:

• Acme Packing Company nominated Vince Lombardi, Ray Nitschke and Sterling Sharpe.
• Brew Hoop has their first nomination: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
  

Around baseball:

Astros: Signed pitcher Brett Myers to a two year extension with an option for 2013 that could be worth $29.5 million.
Blue Jays: Acquired first baseman Mike Jacobs from the Mets for a PTBNL.
Braves: Acquired outfielder Rick Ankiel and pitcher Kyle Farnsworth from the Royals for reliever Jesse Chavez, outfielder Gregor Blanco and a minor leaguer, and acquired outfielder Wilkin Ramirez from the Tigers for a PTBNL.
Cardinals: Acquired pitcher Jake Westbrook, a minor leaguer and cash from the Indians in a three team deal, sending outfielder Ryan Ludwick to the Padres, and placed third baseman Tyler Greene on the DL with a right hand contusion.
Cubs: Released pitcher Bob Howry.
Dodgers: Acquired pitcher Ted Lilly and infielder Ryan Theriot from the Cubs for infielder Blake DeWitt and two minor leaguers.
Indians: Placed pitcher Mitch Talbot on the DL with a back strain.
Mariners: Placed outfielder Milton Bradley on the DL with a sore knee.
Marlins: Acquired reliever Will Ohman from the Orioles for pitcher Rick VandenHurk.
Mets: Placed outfielder Jason Bay on the DL with a concussion.
Padres: Placed infielder Oscar Salazar on the DL with a strained Achilles.
Pirates: Traded reliever D.J. Carrasco, infielder Bobby Crosby, outfielder Ryan Church (to the D-Backs), reliever Javier Lopez (to the Giants), closer Octavio Dotel (to the Dodgers) and cash for catcher Chris Snyder, pitcher Joe Martinez, outfielder John Bowker, two minor leaguers and cash.
Rangers: Acquired infielder Cristian Guzman from the Nationals for two minor leaguers.
Rays: Acquired reliever Chad Qualls from the Diamondbacks for a PTBNL and placed Grant Balfour on the DL with an intercostal strain.
Red Sox: Acquired catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia from the Rangers for cash, two minor leaguers and a PTBNL and designated outfielder Jeremy Hermida for assignment.
Royals: Placed reliever Robinson Tejeda on the DL with right bicep tendinitis.
Twins: Placed infielder Nick Punto on the DL with a hamstring strain.
White Sox: Acquired pitcher Edwin Jackson from the Diamondbacks for pitcher Daniel Hudson and a minor leaguer.
Yankees: Acquired Lance Berkman from the Astros for two minor leaguers, acquired pitcher Kerry Wood and outfielder Austin Kearns from the Indians for PTBNLs or cash, and designated pitcher Chan Ho Park for assignment. (h/t hotstove.com)

There's a ton of transactions above, but there's only one that involves a DL stint for an injury stemming from wrestling with a pitching coach.

Tigers closer Jose Valverde isn't in the injury reports yet, but might be soon: Entering play Friday he hadn't thrown 30 pitches in a game all season. Friday night he threw 60 while pitching the final two innings.

The Brewers might not have been active before the July 31 trade deadline, but that doesn't necessarily mean they can't make a move. This MLB Trade Rumors note is a nice resource on the rules involved in making trades in August.

On this day in 1992, Rollie Fingers was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Happy birthday to:

• 2007-08 Brewer Joe Dillon, who turns 35 today.
• Nashville Sound Brandon Kintzler, who turned 26 yesterday.
• 1978-80 and 1985-86 Brewer manager George Bamberger, who would have turned 87 yesterday.
• 1972 Brewer Earl Stephenson, who turned 63 on Saturday.
  

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go install more pads.

Drink up.