Tuesday's Frosty Mug

Some things to read while acknowledging the greatness of Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

Before I get started, I wanted to take a moment to thank J. Scott Loomer for filling in for me while I was on the road yesterday. He does a fantastic job covering the 1982 and 1987 Brewers in real time at PastKast, so head over there to check out more of his work.

Meanwhile, the Brewers' performance would suggest I should take the weekend off more often. They took four straight in Miami to finish off a 5-2 road trip that has Tom Haudricourt wondering what happened to a team that looked lifeless away from home for most of the first two months.

Other notes from the field:

• Prince Fielder, Zack Greinke and Logan Morrison are leading FanGraphs' Star of the Game voting.
• The Brewers and Marlins drew 15,315, 17,204, 13,208 and 12,404 fans to this weekend's four games, respectively. Florida is averaging 16,827 fans per contest on the season, so that's roughly in line.
• This picture from the third inning of Sunday's game would suggest that far less than 13,208 were actually in attendance.

Rickie Weeks went 1-for-3 last night with a double and a pair of walks, scoring two runs. He's hitting .333/.395/.576 in his last eight games, and Vaughn's Valley has a tribute to his performance. Weeks, by the way, needed 21.86 seconds to round the bases following his home run on Sunday.

Weeks was also one of three Brewers in the starting lineup for David Schoenfield's June 7 NL All Star team. Ryan Braun (left field) and Prince Fielder (DH) were the others. Braun is also the NL's leading vote getter for the real NL All Star team.

Here's another note on Braun: Carson Cistulli of FanGraphs has expanded his NERD system to identify baseball's most interesting position players, and Braun cracked the top 20.

And while we're on the subject of Fielder: Jacob Peterson of Beyond the Box Score has a look at his increased effectiveness this season, and noticed that Fielder is very rarely swinging and missing at pitches in the strike zone.

Nyjer Morgan went 1-for-5 and drove in a run last night. Over the weekend he was a first time Brewer of the Week winner.

Last night's win was of the relatively-rare multiple-run variety. The JS notes that the Brewers have already played 23 one run games this season, tied for the second most in the NL.

Sunday's game probably wouldn't have been a one run contest if not for another meltdown inning for Chris Narveson. Ron Roenicke told reporters he's not interested in removing Narveson from the rotation, but did sit down to talk with him about what's going wrong in these big innings.

While the Brewers were finishing off the Marlins, Major League Baseball was holding the first round of the 2011 MLB Draft. The Brewers picked two pitchers in the first round: Texas RHP Taylor Jungmann and Georgia Tech LHP Jed Bradley. I'll try to have more on the picks tomorrow, but in the meantime here's a quick list of reaction posts:

• John Sickels of Minor League Ball discussed Jungmann and Bradley. 
• Todd Rosiak of the JS talked to Doug Melvin about the picks.
• Baseball America also has a recap for both players, but it's subscriber-only.
• Patrick Ebert of Perfect Game has video of Jungmann. (h/t @SessileFielder)
• Neither Bradley nor Jungmann were available for interviews last night.
• Chris St. John of Beyond the Box Score has the day's best graphic, allowing you to look at past drafts by pick #, season and team.
• Ryan Topp of Bernie's Crew says this draft is a critical one for Bruce Seid and the Brewers.
• Rubie has a look at the draft around the division in today's Around the NL Central.
• Doug Melvin told Buster Olney that it's possible but not likely that Jungmann could help the Brewers this season.

The final quote, on Jungmann potentially contributing this season, caught me off guard. Unless Jungmann signs nearly immediately it seems unlikely he'll do more than log a few innings in Helena or Wisconsin in August this season. If the Brewers are planning on going over-slot to sign him, then they'll probably have to wait to do so until near the August deadline.

The draft, by the way, continued today at 11. The Brewers selected RHP Jorge Lopez of Caguas Military Academy with their first pick in the second round.

Meanwhile, the Brewers are back in Milwaukee today and will open a three game set against the Mets tonight. Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com has a preview, and we'll have one too sometime after lunch.

It's unclear if John Axford will be in the bullpen tonight. Axford left the team yesterday to be with his wife, who is expecting the couple's first child.

Zach Braddock is back with the team after missing nearly a month while recovering from a sleep disorder. Tom Haudricourt talked to Braddock about what he was going through and his recovery.

I'm actually pretty surprised he checked in this low: Unathletic listed Prince Fielder as baseball's fifth biggest player. (h/t Pocket Doppler)

In the minors:

• Brewerfan.net has unveiled their new Power 50. Wily Peralta remains at #1, but Tyler Thornburg has climbed nine spots to #2.
• Thornburg was one of four Wisconsin Timber Rattlers selected to the Midwest League All Star game. Teammates Chris Dennis, Mike Walker and Austin Ross will join him.
• The affiliates went 2-1 yesterday, with George Kottaras going 3-for-5 with a walk and two home runs in Nashville's 19-1 win over New Orleans. You can read about that and more in today's Minor League Notes.
• That 19-1 win was the largest for the Sounds since they joined the Pacific Coast League in 1998.
• Erick Almonte, who accepted his outright assignment to the Sounds, went 5-for-6 with four runs scored and seven RBI in the game.
• We have an update on 2009 first round pick Eric Arnett: He's expected to be ready to open the season as a starter with Helena. Pioneer League play begins on June 20.

In power rankings:

• Beyond the Box Score has the Brewers sixth.
• Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune has the Brewers sixth, up three spots.
• FanGraphs has the Brewers steady at 7.
• Craig Calcaterra has the Brewers at 7, up three spots.
• ESPN has the Brewers at 7, up five spots.

If you haven't yet, please take a moment today to vote in this week's BCB Tracking Poll. It will remain open through today and results will be posted tomorrow.

Around baseball:

Athletics: Designated infielder Andy LaRoche for assignment.
Dodgers: Placed shortstop Rafael Furcal on the DL with an oblique strain and designated infielder Juan Castro and outfielder Jay Gibbons for assignment.
Giants: Placed first baseman Brandon Belt on the DL with a fracture in his wrist.
Marlins: Placed shortstop Hanley Ramirez on the DL with a back injury.
Nationals: Placed pitcher Doug Slaten on the DL with ulnar nerve irritation.
Rockies: Placed pitcher Matt Daley (shoulder soreness) and outfielder Dexter Fowler (abdominal strain) on the DL.
Tigers: Placed infielder Brandon Inge on the DL with mono.
White Sox: Designated pitcher Jeff Marquez for assignment.

Today in former Brewers:

• Doug Davis, who is still with the Cubs, is well aware of the fact that he's only about a month away from earning a major league pension.
• Bill Hall has been released by the Astros, and GM Ed Wade called the decision to sign him a "failure in judgment." (FanShot) Jaymes Langrehr of the Brewers Bar has a reminder that Hall is not better than Yuniesky Betancourt.
• While Bill Hall's career may be ending, Jason Kendall's is close to resuming. Kendall took live BP for the first time yesterday and could start a minor league rehab assignment by the end of the month.
• Eduardo Morlan, who was a former Brewer Rule 5 pick and farmhand, has been signed to a minor league deal by the Braves. Morlan had been pitching in the Atlantic League.

Today in baseball economics:

• New Mets minority owner David Einhorn wanted to purchase part of the Brewers when Mark Attanasio was buying the team.
• The Pirates drew 39,441 fans for Saturday's game against the Phillies, the largest crowd in PNC Park history. The stadium's listed capacity is 38,365.
  

Now, if you'll excuse me, I was supposed to run today.

Drink up.