Thursday's Frosty Mug

Some things to read while collecting acorns. 

Chris Capuano posted his best outing of the season last night, holding the Cardinals to one run on four hits over seven innings, his longest outing since 2007. Capuano will be a free agent following the season, and In-Between Hops wonders if the Brewers are making a mistake by showcasing him for other teams. 

If Capuano continues to pitch as well as he has for the next few weeks, he'll be a very interesting free agent. At the moment he looks like a pitcher that could contribute to someone's rotation, but his injury history and low pitch counts (he threw 83 last night, the most he's thrown all season) make him somewhat difficult to depend on.

Ryan Braun had the big blow at the plate, hitting a three run home run in the fourth inning off Jaime Garcia. It was his 20th home run of the season, making the 2010 Brewers the fourth team in franchise history with five 20 HR hitters.

With the game no longer in doubt, Ken Macha was able to give some low leverage innings to Manny Parra and Jeremy Jeffress last night. Parra struck out two while pitching a 1-2-3 eighth inning, and Jeffress was clocked at 98 mph while pitching a scoreless ninth.

The Brewers also got a chance to face Jeff Suppan for the first time since releasing him earlier this season. He allowed a run on two hits over 1.1 innings in mop up duty, and his reception at Miller Park was about what you'd expect.

Other notes from the field:

• Rickie Weeks stole his tenth base last night, giving the Brewers four players with ten (Ryan Braun, Carlos Gomez and Alcides Escobar are the others).
• Here are the MLB.com video highlights.
• Mike Cameron paid a surprise visit to the Brewer clubhouse last night.

Kameron Loe got the night off, and hasn't pitched since Saturday after pitching 43 times in 83 Brewer games since debuting on June 1. TheJay noted that Loe is guaranteed another day off today, clinching his longest break of the season.

Reaction to Trevor Hoffman's 600th save continues to pour in:

• Adam McCalvy has quotes from several of Hoffman's teammates, and his reaction to the volume of congratulations he's received.
• John Steinmiller has more pictures and a look at the experience from a media relations perspective.
• He also has information on how you can get one of the 600 Saves t-shirts.
• Braves closer Billy Wagner took Hoffman out to dinner when the Brewers visited Atlanta in July, and told David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution he was "thrilled" to see Hoffman reach the milestone.
• Yankees closer Mariano Rivera said Hoffman is "worthy of respect."
• Rob Neyer was surprised to discover that Hoffman has only led the NL in saves twice.

John Axford continues to be one of this season's best stories. Mop-up Duty has a recap of his road to the big leagues, and says he might be Rookie of the Year if he played in the AL.

In the minors:

• Helena extended their season last night, beating Missoula 3-1 to clinch a berth in the Pioneer League playoffs. You can read about that and more in today's Minor League Notes.
• Amaury Rivas is in Milwaukee this week, but won't be joining the Brewers. Doug Melvin said Rivas, who threw 141.2 innings in the minors this season, has pitched enough and the team doesn't need to push him further. (h/t Battlekow)
• Khris Davis set a new Wisconsin franchise record this season with 22 home runs. Chris Mehring has photos of the record breaking shot.
• Call to the Pen is starting work on their Top 100 prospect list, and listed Brett Lawrie and Cody Scarpetta among the honorable mentions.

The transaction wire is quiet today. That's always weird.

Jim Edmonds' major league career might be over, as he struggles to come back from an oblique injury. At Hardball Talk, Aaron Gleeman asks if he's a Hall of Famer.

On this day in 1992, Robin Yount collected his 3000th hit, singling off Jose Mesa in the Brewers' 5-4 loss to the Indians. 

Happy birthday today to:

• Todd Coffey, who turns 30.
• Gratiot, WI native Abner Dalrymple, who would have turned 153. Dalrymple played 12 major league seasons for four teams, including the 1878 Milwaukee Grays and 1891 Milwaukee Brewers.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to find a better hiding place.

Drink up.