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.

No, the Brewers did not just draft right-handed pitchers; there are a few position players salting the draft haul. One of the more intriguing of the bunch is East Carolina catcher Corey Kemp. Kemp hit .341/.444/.628 for the Pirates and was named second-team All-America for his trouble. Hits well and plays catcher? Sounds good to me.

BCB: Are you in Arizona now?

CK: Yes I am.

BCB: I hear the weather is brutal.

CK: True, thank God we practice in the morning.

BCB: So, did you know the Brewers were interested in drafting you before they did?

CK: Yes I did. [Brewers’ scout] Dan Nellum was in contact a lot.

BCB: What other teams talked to you?

CK: The Reds, Cardinals, and Cubs were the most interested.

BCB: Were you surprised at where you were drafted? Were you expecting to go higher or lower?

CK: I wasn’t sure really, I was told anywhere from [round] 8 to 20. I was happy to go in the 14th.

BCB: Did you know they were interested in your teammate, [42nd-round pick, shortstop] Ryan Wood, too?

CK: Yeah, probably more so than me.

BCB: Oh, really? Did they discover you while scouting him?

CK: Yeah, Ryan is a stud; no one knows how he fell so far. Not real sure really.

BCB: Signability? Do you think he'll sign?

CK: Might be, be but he said he would sign anywhere before the 15th [round]. He was my two-year roommate.

BCB: So you're pretty good buddies with him then?

CK: Great friends.

BCB: So if the Brewers are willing to give him top 15-round money, he might be interested?

CK: I'm pretty sure.

BCB: How's his defense at short? You think he'll be able to stick there?

CK: For sure. Cannon for an arm.

BCB: How are you defensively behind the plate?

CK: I'm okay, I suppose; I still have a lot to learn.

BCB: Did you just recently take up catching?

CK: Full-time, last year.

BCB: What did you play before that?

CK: Third base, but I was back and forth for about five years, just never really focused on catching till this year.

BCB: What are your strengths as a player?

CK: Work ethic and love for the game. I also believe I bring positive energy to a team.

BCB: Do you know yet whether you'll go to Helena when their season begins?

CK: Not real sure; we'll find out in the next day or two.

BCB: Do you know anyone in the organization?

CK: Sam Narron, who is in AAA, is from ECU, and I’ve talked to him on a few occasions. Great guy.

BCB: I'm rooting for him to make it back to the big leagues, just because the one game he was up with Texas a few years ago was so terrible.

CK: Yeah, he had a tough outing, but that happens. That's baseball.

BCB: As an African-American, does the presence of so many young black talents on the big league club make you more comfortable in the organization than you might otherwise be?

CK: I mean, that's great to see. I don't know if that makes me more comfortable--I've always been the minority on every team; mostly I was the only black kid.

BCB: Did you ever see being the only black kid on the team as a problem?

CK: No, not really. I didn't really ever focus on it, but I definitely always noticed.

BCB: Is that a problem to be fixed, or is just one of those things?

CK: I’m not sure. Baseball can get very expensive to play competitively; some summer teams charge $1000 to play in the summer.

BCB: How did you get into baseball?

CK: Most of my family is from St. Louis, so as a young kid I spent summers in St. Louis dressing in Cardinal red. Went to my first game and didn't eat for three hours, which was a record for me, and I begged my dad to sign me up. From that, game on.

BCB: Oh so you're a Cardinals fan? Well, better than the Cubs, I suppose.

CK: (laughs) Yeah, that's true.

BCB: Is there a Major Leaguer you pattern your game after?

CK: I really love watching Manny [Ramirez] and Big Albert [Pujols] hit, and I love to watch Yadier Molina and [Brian] McCann catch.

BCB: Molina is primarily known for his defense, while McCann is mostly known for offense. Who do you identify with more?

CK: That's why I love to watch both--mixing the two makes the perfect catcher, and McCann's defensive skills are underrated.

BCB: So when you make it to the big leagues, we'll call you McYadi, yeah?

CK: Sure, great comparison. (laughs)

BCB: Do you have any favorite baseball books?

CK: Moneyball was interesting. That and Ball Four.

BCB: What did you take away as the message of Moneyball?

CK: Just that this is a business now, and that there is a whole other side to the game that is very statistical.

BCB: Do you get into statistical analysis at all?

CK: Nah, I just play the game as hard as possible.

BCB: Fans can’t ask for anything more. We appreciate the time, and we’ll be cheering for you.

CK: Thanks.

Here's a tradition I'd like to see more of.

Win Expectancy Graph
BR Box Score
BDD Recaps

You can either stop holding your breath, or prepare to hold it for 15 more days: the Brewers' deadline to make a decision on Jeff Weaver has been extended to June 15.

Apparently David Riske has no new structural damage, but is taking longer than expected to recover. That's bad news all around. Of course, Salomon Torres is pretty excited about getting to close games.

So last night the Brewers got 3 hits and won. That's a stark contrast from August 24, 2002, when they got 20 hits and lost, tying the tenth highest hit total in a nine inning loss of all time. Recondite Baseball has the full list at that link. Or, you could stay here and watch me struggle with bad segues and awkward linking.

In the fanposts yesterday, Greg8370 mentioned a report that the Brewers might be looking to move their AA team to the Eastern League, and had been mentioned as a candidate to play home games in Norwich, CT. After a brief search this morning, I found the column mentioning it. Sounds like the Defenders are having some real problems with the Giants organization, mainly tied to the fact that the Giants don't like the ballpark dimensions, and also don't like playing 30-degree home games. I think I'd stick with Huntsville. I emailed the reporter, though, to see where he got the rumor from.

UPDATE: I've been in touch with Joe Perez, the writer from the Norwich Bulletin. You can see our conversation here .

So yesterday afternoon I had a moment to kill, and I got an email from the Brewers. They really wanted me to vote (25 times) to get some Brewers in the starting lineup of the All-Star Game. They've also posted a story about how close Braun is to only being 4 spots back of the leaders. So I sat down with the stats, picked out the best candidate at each position...and didn't vote for a single Brewer. Here's the ballot I clicked and reclicked and submitted 25 times:

AL:
C: Joe Mauer
1B: Kevin Youkilis
2B: Ian Kinsler
3B: Joe Crede
SS: Michael Young
OF: Milton Bradley
OF: Josh Hamilton
OF: Magglio Ordonez
DH: David Ortiz

NL:
C: Brian McCann
1B: Lance Berkman
2B: Dan Uggla
3B: Chipper Jones
SS: Hanley Ramirez
OF: Nate McLouth
OF: Pat Burrell
OF: Adam Dunn

On injuries:

Pirates P Zach Duke will get an extra day before his next start to allow a blister to heal.
Carlos Guillen is battling some hemorrhoids his manager seems a little too eager to talk about.
Marlins P Scott Olsen still isn't getting velocity back after an exceptionally long outing against the Brewers weeks ago.
Troy Percival collapsed falling off the mound last night and has a tight hamstring. Grant Balfour may be called up in his place.
A's OF Ryan Sweeney had to be taken to the hospital for X-rays after fouling a ball off his foot.
Frank Thomas may be headed to the DL after an MRI on his strained right quad revealed major inflammation.
Blue Jays C Gregg Zaun has been placed on the DL with inflammation in his elbow.

Does the price include my computer and rent for mom's basement? The Juiced Sports Blog ranks the 100 most valuable sports blogs.

It didn't crack the top 100, but I think this post is pretty valuable: The Padres recently acquired Cha Seung Baek, and Paul DePodesta discusses the move.

Oh, and a hydrochloric acid spill is a pretty good reason to suspend a game.

Drink up.

So, in this morning's Mug I included this stat, to get people thinking a bit about the Brewers' catching situation:

The Brewers have what I consider to be a disturbing trend going on with their catchers, dating back to last season, but also visible during the Damian Miller era: They play their starting catchers a lot, often to the point of impacting their performance. Last year, despite being unavailable for some significant stretches of time, Estrada caught more innings than all but 7 NL catchers. He caught nearly everyday despite being nearly unable to move in August and September.

Make no mistake, Jason Kendall is catching a lot this season too. Consider this list: the top 10 NL Catchers by percentage of team innings caught.

Jason Kendall, 88.6%
Brian McCann, 88.1%
Russell Martin, 86.7%
Geovany Soto, 85.2%
Yadier Molina, 79.3%
Bengie Molina, 76.0%
Paul Bako, 71.8%
Chris Snyder, 70.0%
Josh Bard, 70.0%
J.R. Towles, 64.0%

An important note regarding this list: Brian McCann is 24. Martin and Soto are 25. In fact, there's only three catchers on this list over 30: Bako (37), Kendall (34) and Bard (30).

There were only five catchers in the National League who caught 1000 innings last season. Kendall is on pace to catch 1282. That's more than any NL backstop caught in 2007, and it'd be the second highest total of his career. Again, he's 34 years old and has already caught over 14,000 innings. Maybe this would all be irrelevant if he was hitting. But as I mentioned above, there's a visible decline in play. His OPS is down over 150 points in May. And he's still got 4 full months of catching nearly every day ahead of him.

At the same time, he has a capable backup. Mike Rivera battled it out in spring training and beat out an established major league catcher (Eric Munson) and a fan favorite (Vinny Rottino) to earn the right to wear his catcher's gear just 8 times and get just 25 plate appearances in the opening 47 games. It's hard to imagine he's having any luck staying sharp when he's playing less than once per week. But he's still 7-for-24, hitting 27 points better than Kendall.

I don't think one can make an argument that Rivera should play every day, or even that a 50/50 split is in order. I like Kendall's contributions to this team, and I've bought into the hype on his defensive skills and game-calling abilities. I have one simple recommendation that I think would keep Kendall stronger and healthier, keep Rivera getting consistent plate appearances and give the team the best chance to win:

When Manny Parra starts, Mike Rivera should too. This is win-win all around. It gives Kendall consistent rest, Rivera consistent plate appearances, and it gives Parra a familiar catcher to throw to as he works to improve his game at the big league level. Parra has a 4.09 ERA this season when pitching to Rivera, and a 4.50 ERA when pitching to Kendall. Plus, Rivera caught Parra's perfect game in AAA last season.

What do you think?