I'm not sure if you've heard, but the Brewers played yesterday. Unfortunately, it was more of the same.

Win Expectancy Graph
BR Box Score

Even Mike Cameron's return (1-for-4 with a K) and a Jason Kendall home run weren't enough to save the Brewers last night.

Sounds like the locker room after the game might have been a little lacking in realism, as well. Salomon Torres said the Brewers will still catch the Cubs, and Ned Yost said everything short of "math is still on our side." I'm officially starting to worry.

I'll just go ahead and lump all the bullpen stuff together in bullet points:

• Buster Olney ranked the Brewer bullpen 11th out of the 14 remaining playoff contenders.
• In-Between Hops crunched the numbers and suggests that the bullpen may actually be suffering from underuse.
• The Official Site says David Riske might have a sore arm. Seriously, someone couldn't just walk up to him and ask?
• Chuckie Hacks has made Gagne into a verb.

So, with an unreliable bullpen forcing him to go farther into games, is CC Sabathia wearing out? Dixieflatline says no, over at The Hardball Times.

I haven't talked much lately about defense. Would it surprise you to discover that the Brewers are the sixth best defensive team in baseball? Beyond the Box Score makes that case. Other notes from the same post: Jason Kendall is the top defensive C in baseball, Ray Durham is tied for the worst defensive 2B (and not with Rickie Weeks), and Prince Fielder's defense has cost the Brewers 17 runs this season.

The new Whisnant rankings have the Brewers 9th.

On injuries:

Giants SS Emmanuel Burriss could be done for the year with a strained oblique.
Rays C Shawn Riggans will be out 3-5 days with bursitis in his knee.
Rays RP Juan Salas had to be taken to the hospital after suffering an epileptic seizure at Fenway Park yesterday but should be fine today.
Marlins C Matt Treanor will likely be relegated to emergency-only duty for the remainder of the season after fouling a ball off his left knee.
Rays CF B.J. Upton has a strained quad and will miss a few days.
Billy Wagner is out for the rest of 2008 and could be the first pitcher out for all of 2009 with a torn MCL in his elbow.
Jack Wilson is finished for 2008 with a hairline fracture in his finger.

Yesterday I mentioned that A's OF Rajai Davis had entered the game as a pinch runner and hit a grand slam in the same inning. Recondite Baseball followed up on that. Today, another strange line: Tigers 1B Mike Hessman was hit by two pitches in the same inning last night. It was only the fifth time in baseball history that that's happened.

Via Baseball Musings, I found out that Chris Young shook off his catcher before throwing the pitch Gabe Kapler used to hit a home run and end his perfect game on Sunday. Oops.

This seems unlikely at best, but worth mentioning: Mark McGwire may consider a 2009 return.

Oh, and apparently the pizza is terrible in Cincinnati.

Drink up.

Well, at least now we know for sure Jason Kendall will be back for 2009. He made his 100th start yesterday, vesting his option for next year at $4.25 million. He celebrated the milestone by picking up one single in 4 plate appearances yesterday, raising his OPS to .645.

Win Expectancy Graph
BR Box Score

Now that it's been 10 days and the ensuing winning streak is over, can we finally stop talking about Prince Fielder shoving Manny Parra? Baseball Digest Daily called it "The Shove of Inspiration."

Two-fisted Slopper isn't buying the hype on a possible 2008 return for Yovani Gallardo. Maybe there aren't enough innings to go around, but if a guy with a career 132 ERA+ wants to come back and try to pitch, I'm guessing the Brewers can find an opportunity for him from time to time.

Cardinals Diaspora is waving the white flag. They no longer think the Redbirds can catch the Brewers or the Cubs. In the meantime, The Cub Reporter asks if the Cubs should tank the NL Central to set up a more favorable playoff matchup.

Last night I was in attendance as the Iowa Cubs (managed by Pat Listach) defeated the New Orleans Zephyrs 6-3. Today, The Official Site's "Where are they now?" feature caught up with the former Rookie of the Year.

I may have been a little too hard on Big League Stew yesterday. They recently added a tattoo combining the retro logo and the Grateful Dead logo to their collection. Love or hate the retro logo, it's cool ink.

On injuries:

Blue Jays RP Scott Downs will be out at least a few more days with a rolled ankle, but may avoid the DL.
Yankees RP Dan Giese has rotator cuff tendinitis and should hit the DL any minute now.
Angels SS Maicer Izturis has an injured thumb that has kept him out of action for most of the last 10 days.
Troy Percival left yesterday's game after spraining his knee fielding a bunt. Grant Balfour came in and blew the save for him.
Aaron Rowand left last night's game with a back injury.
Brad Penny has been placed on the DL with shoulder inflammation.
Aramis Ramirez suffered a hip contusion and had to leave last night's game.
Dodgers RP Cory Wade has been placed on the DL with shoulder inflammation.
Padres SP Chris Young has been placed on the DL with a forearm strain.

Via Skyking162, I found this Lookout Landing post gathering way more stuff than I have time to read on the topic of statistical analysis in baseball. Years ago a professor friend of mine asked if I thought there would be enough interest to do a semester class on baseball statistics. Dan, if you're reading, there's your textbook.

Today is the last day to sign 2008 draft picks. Marc Hulet of Baseball Analysts has a nice roundup of what's remaining to be done.

It appears the Giants might have a hard time signing their top pick, Yonder Alonso, as he has an invitation on the table to play in the Atlantic League and live with Alex Rodriguez.

It looks like Zach Jackson had a solid but unspectacular debut with the Indians: He gave up three runs on eight hits in five innings and did not factor in the decision in Cleveland's 11-6 loss to the Orioles.

The Cubs did win yesterday, but they did it despite the efforts of Mark Kotsay, who was the first Brave in 21 years to hit for the cycle.

Oh, and this guy posted something unintelligible in the comments of a Youtube clip. (h/t Aaron Gleeman)

Drink up.

I don't think I've ever been this disappointed with a split of a road series.

Monday's Win Expectancy Graph
Monday's BR Box Score
Monday's BDD Recaps

Sunday's Win Expectancy Graph
Sunday's BR Box Score
Sunday's BDD Recaps

Saturday's Win Expectancy Graph
Saturday's BR Box Score
Saturday's BDD Recaps

Friday's Win Expectancy Graph
Friday's BR Box Score
Friday's BDD Recaps

Wow, after four days away, where do I even start? As reported in the fanposts, today the Brewers will announce they've signed Julian Tavarez. Also, while it won't be "announced," it will be strongly implied that the Brewer organization's desperation for reliable bullpen arms has reached a very dangerous stage.

Russell Branyan is back and sharing time at third with Bill Hall. Hall is unhappy, and understandably so, with the loss of playing time to the one guy in all of baseball who strikes out more than he does. Some guy named Eli completely destroyed his credibility by suggesting the Brewers may be ready to DFA Hall. Marty over at Fire Ned Yost is upset by the decision, and is now refusing to spend money on the team until Melvin is fired. Seriously? I was way more upset by the Tavarez move.

Jason Kendall batted eighth yesterday, in an attempt to "shake up the lineup." I know stat guys will say all lineup tinkering is relatively irrelevant, but this one seems especially small.

Remember that error thar J.J. Hardy committed on Friday? Apparently it attempted to destroy Washington.

Phil Rogers puts the Brewers at #22 in most recent power rankings, with the following comment:

In ESPN's most recent power rankings, the Brewers are also #22, with this comment:

It's close, but in this case I'm going to give the "one sentence or less analysis" challenge to Rogers, for actually analyzing something beyond home runs.

This makes his strategic decisions even more puzzling: Apparently Ned Yost has read The Book. I'm still going to guess he doesn't read blogs, but Mariners manager John McLaren does.

It's been five days, but I'm still confused and strangely fascinated by Babes Love Baseball's "sabermetric" analysis of Ryan Braun.

On injuries:

Rockies SS Clint Barmes is on the DL with a sprained MCL.
Fausto Carmona is out around 4 weeks with a strained hip.
Marlins OF Brett Carroll has a severely separated shoulder, partially torn ligaments and a swollen face. He'll be out a while.
Mets OF Ryan Church is still dizzy after getting his second concussion of the season last week.
Rockies OF Brad Hawpe is on the DL with a sore hamstring.
Felix Hernandez missed his start Saturday with soreness in his leg.
Matt Holliday was placed on the DL, also with a sore hamstring.
Andruw Jones will have the surgery he's been delaying on his knee and miss 4-6 weeks.
Padres P Chris Young, who suffered a broken nose via line drive, has other fractures in his face as well and will not be allowed to resume baseball activities for at least 2 weeks.

How do you react when your team is severely underperforming and is consistently painful to watch? Ichiro says you should try a beer from Papua New Guinea. U.S.S. Mariner is on the case.

When you find yourself complaining about the tough start Rickie Weeks is having, consider Reds leadoff hitter Corey Patterson, and his wafer-thin .242 OBP. In a move that has to be at least partially related, Jay Bruce will debut Tuesday.

On the flip side, Lyle Overbay set a Jays franchise record by reaching base in 12 straight plate appearances.

Oh, and Jamie Moyer has finally proven that all 30 MLB teams are capable of swinging and missing at 60 MPH pitches.

Drink up.

So, at least Corey Hart and Rickie Weeks are heating up, right?

Win Expectancy Graph
BR Box Score
BDD Recaps

There's not much out there this morning that I (or someone else) haven't already told you about. We've covered that Gagne has biceps tendinitis and won't throw again until at least Sunday.

We've also covered that Ned is still here, even though Dayn Perry thinks he should be fired, Scott Miller of CBS Sportsline lists him second (behind Willie Randolph) on his list of managers on the hot seat, and some guy named Eli lists him second on his list of managers to be fired, behind M's manager John McLaren.

So, since it's a slow news day, here's a stat to think about instead:

Johnny Estrada, April 2007: .312/.346/.455
Johnny Estrada, May 2007: .236/.244/.449

Jason Kendall, April 2008: .301/.366/.398
Jason Kendall, May 2008: .224/.314/.290

On injuries:

Moises Alou is back on the DL with a strained calf, meaning Raul Casanova is back in the big leagues.
Twins SS Adam Everett has been placed on the DL with a strained shoulder.
Nats OF Austin Kearns is out 3-4 weeks after surgery to remove bone chips in his elbow.
Phillies OF Jayson Werth left last night's game with an oblique strain.
Padres P Chris Young has been placed on the DL with a broken nose after being hit by a line drive Wednesday.

The results from the most recent Baseball Happenings blogpoll have been posted. Josh Hamilton takes home the AL MVP this week, with Cliff Lee winning the AL Cy Young and Jacoby Ellsbury winning Rookie of the Year. Full results here. Here's the ballot I cast:

MVP:
1. Josh Hamilton
2. Kevin Youkilis
3. Carlos Quentin

Cy Young:
1. Cliff Lee
2. Daisuke Matsuzaka
3. Shaun Marcum

Rookies:
1. Greg Smith
2. Jacoby Ellsbury
3. David Murphy

Maybe I'm just an NL guy, but I think the NL Rookie of the Year race is far more interesting, with Fukudome, Geovany Soto and Jair Jurrjens, who Braves beat writer Dave O'Brien thinks might be the best rookie of them all.

Astros 3B Ty Wigginton is tough. But can his toughness be matched by a Houston Chronicle writer? Click here to find out!

Oh, and here's a story about the inaugral "All-you-can-eat day" at the Metrodome.

The Mug is off tomorrow, Sunday and Monday for the holiday weekend. Drink up.