So I'll admit it: I was thinking sweep after Monday's game. It was a trap.

Win Expectancy Graph
BR Box Score

After the game, Astros beat writer Brian McTaggart had this to say: Geoff Blum is hitting .229/.269/.419 with 12 HR. Rickie Weeks, for comparison purposes, is hitting .229/.331/.381 with 10 HR. We complain an awful lot about Tom H. around here, but wow...even he wouldn't have said something like that.

Brewer management is still playing defense after leaving CC Sabathia in to throw 130 pitches Monday. Ned says it's ok because Sabathia only averages 13.7 pitches per inning. That's a "math is still on our side" moment if I've ever seen one. Ken Rosenthal got some similar quotes from Doug Melvin.

Over at Fangraphs, Dave Cameron compares Sabathia to the greatest mid-season pitching acquisitions of all time. Dugout Central and Rob Neyer both make a case for him to win NL MVP.

Corey Hart needs to hit one home run to be the first Brewer ever to finish with 20 HR and 20 steals more than once. Does it surprise anyone else that it's never happened twice? It surprised me.

Between this catch last night and this one Saturday, Gabe Kapler is giving me a reason to scroll through the Yahoo photos that doesn't involve searching for untucked shirts.

Ben Sheets ERA for August is up over 4. In-Between Hops notes that Sheets had a similar stretch in 2004, and it's probably nothing to worry about.

Power Rankings, quickly:
Whatifsports: Second, behind the Cubs.
Bugs and Cranks: Seventh.
Whisnant Rankings: Ninth.

Between the Green Pillars has made a list of four things to watch for the Brewers down the stretch. Let me summarize them for you:

1. Health
2. Health
3. Bullpen
4. Someone needs to get hot.

Tomorrow, we apply these needs to every other playoff team.

On injuries:

Josh Beckett's next start has been pushed back 3 days while doctors try to find the source of numbness in his pitching hand.
Braves IF Ruben Gotay has been placed on the DL with a hamstring strain.
Jason Isringhausen is likely out for the season with elbow tendinitis and a partially torn tendon.
O's closer George Sherrill is on the DL with shoulder inflammation.
Billy Wagner's elbow isn't getting any better and he's likely done for the year.

So, let's say for a moment you're a Reds fan. You signed Francisco Cordero before the season, hired Dusty Baker to manage and showed all the signs of "going for it." Then, you underperformed, cleaned house in the front office, traded away Ken Griffey and Adam Dunn, and now it doesn't look like you'll be any better in 2009. Is one letter to season ticket holders really going to make you feel better? Me either.

Oh, and the Cardinals season really must be over, because Cardinals Diaspora is talking about The Hills. Seriously.

Drink up.

Looks like I didn't miss much this weekend.

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

Saturday's Win Expectancy Graph (Game 1)
Saturday's BR Box Score (Game 1)
Saturday's Win Expectancy Graph (Game 2)
Saturday's BR Box Score (Game 2)
Saturday's BDD Recaps
Friday's BDD Recaps

By now, I was hoping to have breaking news: Rumors were circulating last night that Ned Yost was going to be fired today. This morning, however, Tom H. is reporting no decision has been made.

As noted in the fanposts, Ryan Braun spoke out after yesterday's loss, saying the team didn't expect to win this weekend. Beyond the Green Pillars doesn't like the way he did it, speaking out in the press instead of to his teammates, but I like that he's being honest. At least one person is done saying "it's early."

Jim Powell's most recent blog has a bad pun in the title and covers the series at Fenway, Mark Difelice, the Red Sox radio team, Johnny Pesky, Chip Caray and Ryan Braun's contract.

The Red Sox are unveiling solar panels at Fenway today to help heat water and save energy at the ballpark. They didn't need them over the weekend because all the power was supplied by Brewer pitchers and Ryan Braun. Related link

Here's a year-by-year breakdown of what the Brewers are paying for Braun's power, btw.

Bucs Dugout doesn't understand why the Brewers aren't hitting. Me either.

On injuries:

Rangers OF Josh Hamilton has bumps and bruises all over the place from a dive Friday, and has played sparingly over the weekend.
Felix Hernandez was pulled from his start after the fifth yesterday with tightness in his calf.
Rich Hill, who the Cubs had sent to AAA, missed a start down there with a stiff back.
Jason Isringhausen has been placed on the DL after an encounter with THE SPAZZOSAURUS!
Jake Peavy will miss today's scheduled start and have an MRI to determine the source of his elbow soreness.

The Junkball Blues is doing some interesting work on the development of a new stat for relief pitchers.

And, by the way, one former Brewer and the father of a current Brewer are in the top 20 all-time for most plate appearances without a sacrifice.

Drink up.

The Cardinals are 12-7, which has to qualify as one of the bigger surprises in the early going.  I don't think it's going to last, but I also think that many pundits (probably including myself, though I don't think I ever published a pre-season prediction) underestimated this team in the spring.

I don't have any important points to make, but St. Louis is an interesting team, and I thought I'd poke around and see what factoids I could find:

• Of the six pitchers who have started games for the Cards so far this year, five of them--everybody but Lohse--have spent substantial time in the majors as relievers.  Wainwright was always slated to become a starter, but everybody else has been an experiment of some sort or other. 
• On that subject, I don't think you can give Dave Duncan enough credit.  It must be frustrating for a team like the Reds to watch Duncan, year in and year out, take a couple of guys making the minimum and turn them into league-average-or-better 10 game winners.  I certainly wouldn't mind if Jeff Weaver skipped extended spring training and did a few coaching sessions with Duncan before making an appearance for the Brewers.
• So far, the Cards are a very strong on-base team.  Their team OBP is .365, a very close second to the Cubs at .366.  Pujols is no surprise, and we saw the kind of ridiculous start Ryan Ludwick is having, but...Cesar Izturis and Adam Kennedy above .340?  Really, Ankiel and Molina are the only sub-par OBP guys getting playing time.
• During the series in St. Louis, I heard from a few different angles that Jason Isringhausen might be the best closer in the division.  I guess you can make the argument, but at this point, it's more because the competition is in such flux than because of his dominance.  I haven't been sold on Izzy for a couple of  years, and I continue to be skeptical.  Sure, he'll rack up 35 saves (just like Gagne will), but I don't think he'll be the shutdown guy of 3-5 years ago.
• Are the Cards still a stellar defensive team?  I don't know.  Molina and Pujols are great, and Izturis has that reputation, but Glaus instead of Rolen is a huge step down, and Edmonds is gone, too.  Certainly Chris Duncan is not a strong fielder in left, and while Ankiel is still something of an unknown quantity (remember, arms get talked about, but range matters more in the long run) in center, I think it's safe to assume he won't be gold glove-worthy in his first year.  One approximation we can use is Defensive Efficiency, which measures the number of batted balls that turn into outs.  The Cards are currently at .702, which is a little below average.  (The Brewers are at .718, so take that for what it's worth.)
• St. Louis has now played their entire season series with the Giants, and lost four out of seven.  That's not an endorsement of their playoff chances.  True, two of those losses came at the hands of Tim Lincecum, but the other two were thanks to Kevin Correia and Jonathan Sanchez.  I'm not going to pretend that I can tell a team's chances from a few games against one opponent, but...3-4 against San Fran?
• I mentioned yesterday that teams tend to revert to average in extra inning games; the same is true in one-run games.  The Cards have played five one-run games, and won four of them.  Perhaps they'll lose one or two in Milwaukee.