Finally, we're back to regular season baseball...if this break had gone on much longer, I might have started building things out of cardboard.

I've gotten so used to scrolling past JS articles without reading them that I almost missed this Anthony Witrado piece on the trials and tribulations of Prince Fielder, which isn't half bad.

If I asked you to guess which Brewer swings at the most pitches that aren't strikes, would Ryan Braun have been one of your first five guesses? Me either. But Beyond the Box Score has him swinging at 35.28% of balls, which is in the top 10 in all of baseball.

UPDATE: Turns out the stat actually means 35.28% of the pitches he swings at are outside the strike zone. Thanks to Battlekow for correcting my work but ignoring our Scrabble game.

I'm guilty of complaining about it myself, but do the Brewers really struggle to hit bad pitching? Turns out the answer is no.

Would an interview with a sideline reporter normally be interesting enough to make the Mug? No. But Trenni...well, Trenni's a lot smarter than your average sideline reporter.

On injuries:

Aaron Harang's "forearm strain" diagnosis could be a sign of worse things to come.
Orlando Hernandez was pulled from his rehab start with a sore foot after just one inning of throwing the banana.
Scott Kazmir isn't injured, but his next start is being pushed back a couple of days after his unexpected All-Star Game outing.
Tim Lincecum's flulike symptoms turned out to be dehydration, and he should be fine.
Pedro Martinez has been scratched from his start Sunday and received a cortisone shot on his sore groin. Ouch.
Edgar Renteria left last night's game with a sore left hamstring (again).

It's possible the pitching market may dry up well before the trading deadline. Yesterday, the Phillies traded three prospects to the A's for Joe Blanton. Phillies Nation thinks it was the wrong move. In the meantime, does this mean the best pitcher still available is Erik Bedard?

Maybe it's actually Francisco Liriano. He's 7-0 with a 2.73 ERA in his last nine starts in AAA, and he's filed a grievance with the Twins, since his extended stay in AAA will keep him from being arbitration eligible this winter. Ron Gardenhire is not at all happy about the union trying to dictate his roster management.

This would be an even bigger dictation: Major League Baseball is considering taking a break for the Olympics, if baseball returns as an Olympic sport in 2016.

For once, the Yankees were frugal: They've signed Richie Sexson, but only for a pro-rated share of the $390,000 league minimum salary.

The All-Star Game pulled in a bit more than $390,000 in ad revenue. Marketwatch takes a look at the relationship between television and baseball, and how the All-Star Game coverage has changed over the years.

Royals beat writer Sam Mellinger has hardly slept for days and just got done sitting in a really uncomfortable seat at Yankee Stadium for several days, but wanted to take a moment to tell us all about the stresses of being a writer. I've emailed him and offered to trade jobs, if he's interested.

Oh, and if you're not sure what you're eating today, try out the Wheel of Lunch.

Drink up.

Ok, I think my hiatus is done. I've gone on vacation, I've moved, and last night I got home from 5 days in Denver. And somehow, I managed to schedule my return for the biggest Brewer news day of the season.

Win Expectancy Graph
BR Box Score

First, if you haven't seen them yet, the specifics of the trade: In exchange for a 3 month rental of C.C. Sabathia and the increased potential of a long playoff run, the Brewers are giving up Matt LaPorta, Zach Jackson and West Virginia reliever Rob Bryson. They will likely also add Brevard Co. 3B Taylor Green.

Of course, some people have written about this:

Baseball Intellect has a nice overview of the trade, complete with a review of Sabathia's stuff, if you're not familiar with him.
In-Between Hops likes the move.
Phil Rogers says it's time to take the Brewers seriously again...so he ranks them behind All-Star arguments in his most recent power poll.
Thomas Wayne of Dugout Central pulls out the smallest possible sample size and says the Sabathia move won't help the Brewers, based on his 7+ ERA in four career postseason starts.

I think the most interesting Sabathia conversation has yet to start, though: Who does he replace in the rotation? Assuming Sheets and Suppan are safe, and Dave Bush is similarly safe based on his recent performances and Ned Yost's man-crush on him, then we're down to Seth McClung and Manny Parra. In the Fanposts, Badgermaniac suggests platooning them. What do you think?

A semi-related note: The Biz of Baseball has made a list of six GMs on the hot seat. If this move doesn't work out and Doug Melvin traded a large chunk of the future for a 3 month rental on a team that misses the playoffs, he'll likely be on lists like that next season.

Also, while I doubt he'll slide directly into Sabathia's spot in the rotation, the Indians signed Jeff Weaver yesterday.

Are the Brewers done dealing? Buster Olney, via The Brew Town Beat, says the answer may be no. They're reportedly still talking to the Padres about Randy Wolf and Greg Maddux.

Somehow overshadowed in all of this: The Brewers finished a 3-game sweep of the Pirates yesterday, and J.J. Hardy is hitting .468/.507/1.000 in his last 15 games with 9 doubles, 8 HR and 19 RBI.

All told, the last 24 hours have certainly been more interesting than sitting on the roof.

On injuries:

Braves reliever Manny Acosta injured his hamstring running out a sac bunt and has been DL'ed.
Braves P Jeff Bennett is on the DL after injuring himself throwing to first.
Lance Berkman missed yesterday's game with what sounds like a pretty nasty eye condition.
A's SS Bobby Crosby is on the DL with a strained hamstring.
D-Backs RP Juan Cruz is on the DL with a strained oblique.
Johnny Damon is on the DL for the first time in his career after injuring his shoulder colliding with the wall Friday.
Nats OF Elijah Dukes will be out 4-6 weeks after having arthroscopic surgery to repair damage to his patella.
Phillies reliever Tom Gordon is on the DL with elbow inflammation.
Orlando Hernandez pitched four rehab innings yesterday. It's unclear whether he threw the banana.
Reds OF Norris Hopper will miss the rest of the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Braves IF Omar Infante is on the DL with a strained hamstring
Roy Oswalt's next start is being pushed back to give him time to recover from pain in his hip.
Troy Tulowitzki is on the DL after breaking a maple bat against the wall and slicing open his hand.

A quick maple bat story: Saturday night I attended my first game at Coors Field (worth seeing if you're in Denver, but don't go out of your way to get there). I was nearly reduced to tears by the inane conversation of two young women behind me, who showed incredible perseverance by hanging in there through 3 full hours and two rain showers despite the fact that they had almost no idea a game was going on. Some examples from their conversation, when they weren't too busy talking about drinks, hookups and drugs: The Rockies were up 8-0 at the time. The following quote came after a home run was inadvertently knocked back onto the field by a fan trying to make the catch: But, in the middle of all of that mess, they also said this: My point: Even the ditziest blonde in Denver recognizes the problems with maple bats. Major League Baseball, however, still says the matter needs more research.

Stories like this put our pitching conversations into perspective: Mark Mulder is starting for the Cardinals again.

The Phillies have taken an opportunity to drive up the price of closers, and rewarded Brad Lidge's half-season of effective bullpen work with a 3-year, $37.5 million extension.

Oh, and by the way, I hate the X-Games with the fire of a thousand suns, but I love Darkmane.

Drink up.

Good morning. With 12 wins in our first 20, we're sitting two back of the Cubs and half a game back of the Cardinals. Tonight, we open a two game series against Geoff Jenkins and the Phillies. Time for a Mug.

Win Expectancy Graph
BR Box Score
BDD Recaps
BP Postseason odds putting the Brewers at 84.8 wins with a 21% chance of winning the Central.

As you've most likely heard, following yesterday's game Gabe Gross was traded to Tampa for a warm body who's struggling in A ball. Brewers Bar has a nice farewell post. I still think Gabe will be a productive everyday outfielder somewhere, but I know it wasn't going to be here, so I'm glad to see him getting a chance somewhere else.

All of a sudden, there's rumblings that Eric Gagne might be pulled from the closer's spot. Admittedly, I'm not real excited about his performance yesterday, but Gagne had pitched in four straight games and warmed up in the fifth straight on Monday before pitching in the sixth game Tuesday. I don't think any closer would pitch exceptionally well in that situation. I think the Gagne signing was a mistake and his most effective days are past him, but pulling him now would be a mistake too.

Speaking of struggling relievers, apparently Ned's not done with Turnbow.

If you're looking for the whiniest possible recap of yesterday's game, Bugs and Cranks has it. Bring your violin.

The chatter around Fielder's new diet must be getting louder in the clubhouse, because now even Ned Yost is commenting on it.

Dugout Central says Brewer fans are the unluckiest in baseball. They make a decent case. But, with that said, Midwest Airlines seems to value them more than most customers.

Brief Alphabetical Morning (BAM) Injury Reports:

Josh Beckett was scratched from yesterday's game with a stiff neck.
Orlando Hernandez will be in a boot for two more weeks and still can't throw the banana.
Rangers P Dustin Nippert has been placed on the DL with a sore right foot.
Indians P Jake Westbrook is on the DL with a rib cage strain.
Mariners OF Brad Wilkerson was pulled from yesterday's game with a sore hamstring.

Cubs GM Jim Hendry has advanced to the second round of Bucs Dugout's Worst GM Tournament, and now faces Astros GM Ed Wade in the second round. Go cast a vote, if you're so inclined.

Could Charlie Manuel have been a Civil War General? Tim McCarver seems to think so.

That's all for today. If you have an item for inclusion in tomorrow's Mug, drop it in the comments. 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!