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.

So, the Brewers are 1-0 now in the Gagne shutdown era, just saying...

Win Expectancy Graph
BR Box Score
BDD Recaps

Defensive Indifference thinks the decision to leave Ben Sheets in to throw 120+ pitches and finish the game last night was the wrong call. I'm not sure where I stand on it. I guess we'll see the results in 5 days.

Brewers Bar has raised a straw man and beaten the crap out of it, saying that "many people" feel race was a factor in the Brewers decision to sign Ryan Braun to a long term contract before Prince Fielder. Does anyone out there know anyone who thinks that? I don't. I'm listing Scott Boras as the primary factor.

I've heard a lot of theories this spring on why Eric Gagne isn't pitching well. I've heard his glasses fog up, he misses HGH and/or steroids, his breaking stuff isn't as good, etc. But this theory is new. Perhaps Eric Gagne...is Fidel Castro?

On injuries:

Moises Alou left yesterday's game with a cramp in his calf.
Angels IF Erick Aybar is on the DL after dislocating his right pinky finger.
Mets OF Ryan Church and Braves IF Yunel Escobar missed yesterday's action following a collision Tuesday.
Tigers P Clay Rapada has been placed on the DL with biceps tendinitis.

If Doug Melvin is looking for relief pitching, a couple of options might be available: The Mariners DFA'd Cha Seung Baek and the Rangers DFA'd Franklyn German yesterday. Here are the BR pages for Baek and German. We could do much worse. For example, we could sign Ray King, who appeared on Baseball Tonight last night to discuss what it's like to pitch overweight.

Every now and then we have a conversation around here about what the JS and other outlets would look like if the people who covered the Brewers weren't afraid to be all-out negative. If you really want to see how the other half lives on this one, go back and click on the first link about Cha Seung Baek, and read some of Geoff Baker's other work, as well. Someone needs to talk him off the ledge.

Jose de Jesus Ortiz says the Astros are ready to compete. Admittedly, he works for the Houston Chronicle, so he's probably a little biased, but they're certainly better than most expected.

Soapbox time: If you've read the Mug more than 3 consecutive days, ever, you know I'm not a fan of Dayn Perry. Here's the first two paragraphs from his most recent column. I've added the bolding: So the Cubs hot start is only significant because it's been 100 years? No Dayn, you're wrong. The Cubs are significant because they're significantly overachieving, on pace to win 101 games, lead a division with two surprisingly successful teams and they just might have first and second place in the final balloting for NL Rookie of the Year. It's almost Memorial Day, Dayn, can we shut up about curses for five minutes and just cover the game on the field?

Oh, and here's a 1997 Marlins World Series Ring on Ebay.

Drink up.

I think I got a little too much frustration yesterday. Saturday night, the cruise control on my car went out about 350 miles from home. Narveson had a no-hitter going through 3 innings in Omaha yesterday before I jinxed it and he gave up the game-winning run in the 4th. Mike Cameron is jogging out his ground balls in AAA in a way that would make Johnny Estrada jealous. Omaha walked the bases loaded in the seventh, but Brad Nelson saw fit to swing and miss at 3 straight pitches to end the inning anyway.

Then I got back in the car and heard the last 3 innings of yesterday's game. One strategic note still irks me:

Craig Counsell walked in the 9th, which was great. So now we've got Bill Hall up, fresh off a seventh inning home run. Am I the only one who screamed when they told him to bunt? I know he's a big risk to strike out, but the pitcher can't find the strike zone and we handed them an out anyway. Advancing the runner via the sacrifice actually brought the win expectancy down, and was made completely irrelevant when Weeks walked too. Did this drive anyone else nuts? I had 300 more miles in the car to think about it, and it's still bugging me.

Win Expectancy Graph
BR Box Score
BDD Recaps
BP Postseason Odds have us at 84 wins and 19.7% to win the Central.

So Dave Bush has been sent to AAA to make room on the roster for Mike Cameron. Brewers Bar thinks Parra should've gone down instead. In-Between Hops says the buzz about Parra's inability to pitch deep into games is overblown and based on pitch counts. Today I have a new Fan Opinion Poll. I'm curious to hear what people think about this one. Results from last week's poll are below.

Adam Charles at Bugs and Cranks is using his excitement about the Cubs series to forget that the Brewers just lost to Wes Helms.

With the 16th pick in the first round, the Milwaukee Brewers selected Christian Friedrich, a LHP from Eastern Kentucky, in Minor League Ball's mock draft.

Phil Rogers ranked the Brewers 16th in his most recent power rankings, behind 3 NL Central teams. The Southpaw ranks them 8th and does a better job of including some eye candy with the rankings.

Speaking of rankings, Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun Times rated Miller Park 25th. I'll admit I haven't been to all (or even most) major league parks, and I'm not Miller Park's biggest fan, but I find 25th hard to believe.

On injuries:

Moises Alou may have broken his ankle in rehab.
Jorge Posada has a torn muscle in his rotator cuff.
John Smoltz left yesterday's start with discomfort in his shoulder.

No one's calling it an injury, but there does seem to be some concern and difference of opinion regarding Brett Myers' struggles to regain velocity.

No one, though, will doubt Joel Pineiro's flexibility.

Here are the results from last week's Fan Opinion Poll, with a record 168 votes:

• 48% of voters thought the Brewers should have 12 pitchers on their roster. 44% voted for 13.
• 25% of voters thought Derrick Turnbow should be the pitcher to go. 18% voted for Mitch Stetter and Seth McClung, 16% voted for Dave Bush and 15% voted for Manny Parra.
• 96% of voters thought Yovani Gallardo was brought back at just the right time.
• 69% of voters thought 3 consecutive days should be the limit for Eric Gagne.
• 36% of voters thought Ben Sheets will miss five to ten starts this season. 35% thought he will miss three to five.
• Ned Yost's approval rating is at 47%, with 22% disapproval and 29% unsure. He was at 78%/8%/12% last week.
• Doug Melvin's approval rating is at 83%, with 4% disapproval and 11% unsure. He was at 97%/0%/2% last week.
• 94% of voters approved of the Cameron/Hall/Braun move.
• 47% of voters approved of the decision to sign Eric Gagne, down from 61% last week.
• 30% of voters thought the Brewers shouldn't offer Ben Sheets a contract until after the season. 29% think they should do it now, and 25% think they shouldn't do it at all.

Full results here.

To cast your vote in this week's poll, Click here. Last week's poll set a turnout record for the third straight week. Thanks to everyone who helped promote it, and if you can help us out this week, please do so.

That's all for today. Drink up.