Well, this weekend was a nice step back into tradition. First, on Friday, the Brewers came home with an 8 game winning streak. They'd just finished what Jim Powell was calling the greatest Brewer road trip of all time. So they put on the retro uniforms and lost.

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

The Brewers are 4-5 in retro uniform home games this season, and 28-14 in all other home games. The Brew Town Beat has joined me in calling for the end of Retro Fridays. We don't need to use 1982 to generate excitement anymore, the team on the field right now is pretty good.

Then, on Saturday, a come from behind victory and high fives all around:

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

Finally, on Sunday, we took a trip through more recent history, and had a good old fashioned Yosting.

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

This should come as a surprise to no one: Ned Yost says Suppan was one pitch away from getting out of the 5th, which is why Ned left him in to surrender 7 runs. Al says most of Suppan's problems can be traced to bad luck. That doesn't change the fact that he walked the leadoff man, gave up hits to 5 of the next 6 batters he faced, and came within about 20 feet of giving up back-to-back-to-back home runs to Carlos Lee, Geoff Blum and Hunter Pence. And he was allowed to do all of this in a pennant race game while an extra starter, Seth McClung, was sitting in the bullpen.

In-Between Hops wants Suppan pulled from the rotation. I still think he can be effective if managed properly. Yesterday was the textbook definition of improper management.

All of this plus the tight races in the AL and NL East have combined to create the closest pennant races in decades. Baseball Musings looks at just how close they are.

Phil Rogers ranked the Brewers 5th in his most recent power rankings. This week, there's only real teams in front of them.

Tom H. ranked the top remaining Brewer prospects by position. I'm curious to hear what people with a better grasp of the minors think of that list. I immediately noticed that Hernan Iribarren is nowhere to be found.

Skyking162 gives Prince Fielder a 3.5 and Ryan Braun a 3.0 in his rating system for hitters. I think Braun belongs on the same level as Fielder, but aside from that I can live with it.

On injuries:

Rick Ankiel was scratched yesterday with an abdominal strain.
White Sox 3B Joe Crede was DL'ed Friday with back stiffness.
Phillies 3B Pedro Feliz missed the weekend series with a stiff lower back but should play Tuesday.
Twins OF Carlos Gomez had to be taken off the field on a cart Friday night after colliding with the wall while making a catch.
Scott Linebrink has been placed on the DL with shoulder inflammation.
Brian McCann left yesterday's game with a mild concussion after a collision at home plate.
Kevin Millwood has been placed on the DL with a right groin strain.
Tigers RP Joel Zumaya left yesterday's game with tightness in his tricep.

Obviously the Sheets-Sabathia 1-2 punch is pretty good, but could a Sheets-Oswalt combination be similar? Astros beat writer Brian McTaggart thinks the Astros should make a run at Ben Sheets this winter.

If that doesn't work out, Gary Glover will likely also be on the market, as the Rays may be getting ready to DFA him.

Major League Baseball has kicked the issue around long enough. Bats are breaking at an alarming rate, and they're calling in...The US Forest Service? What?

Oh, and if you have to postpone a game because of a stabbing a block from the ballpark, maybe you're playing baseball in the wrong neighborhood.

Drink up.

There's no stress release quite like exercise. Yesterday, after listening to Ned leave Sheets in to get pounded in a six-run inning, I took my bike out for a ride. I was almost home when a car pulled up alongside me with a rottweiler in the back, head out the window. The rottweiler snaps at me. I swerve away and stop on my bike, allowing the car to get some distance. The car stops at a stop sign and the rottweiler JUMPS OUT. By the time I got home, I had forgotten all about the loss.

Win Expectancy Graph
BR Box Score
BDD Box Score

Dave Pinto at Baseball Musings wants to know the same thing I'm asking: Where was the bullpen yesterday?

Jim Powell has a new blog up. Topics covered include yesterday's game, Bobby Thomson, Ryan Braun's contract, Mark Attanasio and the upcoming trip to Boston.

Big League Stew also interviewed Bob Uecker, but the questions had more to do with Mr. Belvedere than baseball.

Bugs and Cranks has the Brewers 17th in their most recent power poll. Is snark required here? I've lost my decoder ring.

This has been done to death, I know, but Fangraphs still thinks the Padres won the Scott Linebrink trade.

On injuries:

Mariners utilityman Willie Bloomquist harvested too many razor clams and was fined $50.
Twins OF Carlos Gomez missed yesterday's game with the flu.
Nats 1B Nick Johnson will miss 4-6 weeks with a torn tendon sheath in his wrist.
White Sox 2B Juan Uribe left last night's game with a leg injury.

I don't recall if I've mentioned it here or not, but Paul DePodesta is blogging now. On the surface it seems like a great idea, but Gaslamp Ball notes that some of the comments he's getting are getting increasingly obnoxious. I'd rather have my front office personnel working on improving the team, personally.

Some people know what it takes to win: Brandon Webb is 9-0.

And some people don't: Reds IF/OF Jerry Hairston reportedly told Marlins 1B Wes Helms he thinks the Marlins will win the East, because they're gritty.

Speaking of former Brewers, Glendon Rusch declined an outright assignment to the minors and is now a free agent. Supposedly the Rockies are interested. Really?

Apparently Andruw Jones only hits changeups. Did someone tell Ben Sheets?

I think everyone stashes change sometimes. I keep mine in a giant plastic parking meter. But I've never managed to accumulate 150,000 pennies, and even if I did I probably wouldn't stash them in a teammate's locker.

I'm not sure if it'll help you make 150,000 pennies, but Baseball Digest Daily is looking for writers.

And, by the way, here's the most bizarre animation you'll ever see made from graffiti. Incredible.

The Mug is off tomorrow and Sunday so I can go back to driving all over the midwest. Drink up.

So I leave the state for a day, the Brewers lose a top starter for the year, DFA a former All-Star and give up five home runs to the Astros? I may need to reevaluate my calendar. First, I need a Frosty Mug.

Win Expectancy Graph
BR Box Score
BDD Recaps
BP Postseason Odds: 82.2 wins and a 14% shot at the Central.

Jim Powell's reaction to the Gallardo injury was similar to mine.

On a happier note, Matt LaPorta is hitting in Huntsville and blogging about it at BDD.

The Cub Reporter wants your thoughts on NL Central third basemen and catchers.

On injuries:

O's P Randor Bierd has been DL'ed with shoulder soreness.
Gary Glover was placed on the DL by the Rays with shoulder tendinitis.
Twins OF Carlos Gomez was hit in the head by a throw while stealing a base last night, and had to be carried off the field.
Angels IF Maicer Izturis is on the DL with a strained lower back.

Some days it's good to remember things could always be worse: The Pirates had to release Olivo Astacio, a top prospect, after he attacked a teammate with a bat.

Or, the Brewers could've been forced to cancel Dr. Seuss night, as the Lake Elsinore Storm were.

Or, in the middle of a three game series with the Brewers, you could be involved in a poll to determine baseball's worst GM, as Astros GM Ed Wade is.

Despite missing a start, Ben Sheets was still third in the most recent Baseball Happenings blogpoll for NL Cy Young. Geovany Soto edged out Fukudome by one point in the Rookie of the Year poll.

That's all I've got for today. I'm still on the road for a couple more days, so there may not be a Mug tomorrow, but there will be one Monday. Drink up.

No Reds bloggers returned my emails in time to get a 5 questions post up for last series...maybe that's why we didn't win it.  I hope that's how it's going to work, because here we go with some Mets talk.  Our lucky guest is Jessica Bader, who writes for Take the 7 Train and MetsGeek.

First things first: How do you feel about the Johan Santana trade?  In particular, were there any pieces Minaya included in the deal who you think the Mets will come to regret giving up?

I spent much of the offseason highly fed up with the Santana trade speculation because I thought that the only offers the Mets could make that would top the Red Sox or Yankees would be far too costly even for a pitcher of Santana's caliber (remember, the early speculation was that the Mets would have to part with Jose Reyes to have any hope of landing Johan). Then the AL East behemoths decided that they were okay with not getting Santana as long as the other guy didn't get him, and Omar was able to acquire Santana without giving up Reyes or top outfield prospect Fernando Martinez.

Of the four prospects the Mets gave up in the deal, the one I think they will come to regret the most is Deolis Guerra, who has the highest ceiling by far of the three pitchers who went to Minnesota. Carlos Gomez is off to a hot start with the Twins, but I have my doubts about whether he will reach his considerable potential. Had Gomez remained a Met, I would have wanted him to spend at least half of this season in AAA as he is still fairly raw (he was rushed to the majors last year because the entire outfield depth chart got hurt pretty much all at once), and I fear that throwing him into the majors right away will have a negative impact on his development.

The Phillies won the division last year, but the Braves have become the trendy underdog pick this spring.  Which one do you think is going to be the biggest challenge to the Mets in 08?

I think that the Braves and Phillies have similar strengths (lineup, particularly the infield, and a solid 1-2 punch) and weaknesses (bullpen, the rest of the rotation), but I think that the Braves will pose the bigger challenge. They're not going to be shooting themselves in the foot with four months of Scott Thorman this year, and instability at the back end of the rotation is something that is easier to survive when you play your home games in a pitchers' park.

With Pedro and El Duque both out, the rotation is already suffering.  What's your ideal scenario to get the Mets through the next month or two without them?

I tend to be optimistic where Pedro is concerned - he may be fragile, but he's not a slow healer - and I expect to see him back on the mound by this time next month. As for El Duque, after his latest setback I doubt we'll ever see him pitch another major-league game. This puts a lot of pressure on Mike Pelfrey - the most advanced pitching prospect remaining in the Mets' system - to perform at an adequate level.

If Pelfrey can harness his command of his secondary pitches (a big problem for him last year), he can be a solid contributor at the back end of the rotation (his being the only groundball pitcher in a flyball-heavy rotation may also be helpful). That would make it a lot easier to stomach the occasional Nelson Figueroa start until Pedro returns.

Tell us how excited you are to have two recent Brewers--Matt Wise and Brady Clark--on your roster.  If the Mets sign Claudio Vargas, do you think Mr. Met will start drinking Miller?

I like what Clark brings to the table in terms of OBP off the bench, but I don't think he was worth losing Ruben Gotay on waivers (to the Braves, no less). Wise seems like a decent middle relief arm, but he hasn't exactly endeared himself to Mets fans with the combination of giving up walkoff home run to a light-hitting utility infielder and going on the DL with forearm soreness a week into the season. I suspect that Mr. Met will crave poutine if the Mets sign Vargas (a strong possibility now that El Duque isn't coming back any time soon [now official -js]); Omar has brought in a handful of former Expos whose stint in Montreal coincided with his own.

I like to be ahead of the curve.  When the rumor mill goes into high gear in June, what will the Mets be looking for?  Any early bets on who will be that missing piece?

One thing the Mets still need badly is a right-handed bat who can play first base. Chris Shelton and Josh Phelps were both there for the taking this winter, but the team didn't make much of an effort to go after either one of them. I suspect that once the Orioles start playing like the Orioles and Carlos Delgado gets at-bats against lefties not named Jamie Moyer, Kevin Millar's name will come up quite a bit.

Thanks Jessica!