Happy Patriot Day, Brewer fans. I've been away from the TV, radio and computer for most of the last 3 days, but coming home today I see that the Brewers took two of three and should've swept the Reds, and open today's series with the Cardinals a game back of first place. It's time for a Frosty Mug.

Win Expectancy Graph
BR Box Score
ESPN Video Highlights
Baseball Digest Daily recaps
BP Postseason odds projecting the Brewers for 84 wins and a 23.6% shot at winning the Central.

Let's talk about Ben Sheets for a moment. The team says Sheets will only have to push his next start back a day. That doesn't seem serious, but at the same time, they've gone up to 14 pitchers on the roster just to make sure they have enough to cover the delay. Jim Powell also says Sheets is feeling better. I'm not entirely sure how keeping a guy like Mitch Stetter on the roster would fix the problem, even if he wasn't.

Inside the Book asks if teams overvalue guys with great stuff but questionable control. Since we seem to be having occasional debates lately about the value of Derrick Turnbow, I thought this belonged in the top half of the Mug.

Brian Shouse's streak of 83 consecutive appearances without allowing a home run was the 14th longest all time.

If you thought everyone loved Paul Molitor, it turns out it's only almost everyone.

Thanks to all 142 of you who voted in last week's fan opinion poll. The results:

• 74% of voters thought Dave Bush should move to the bullpen in place of Seth McClung when Gallardo returned.
• 45% of voters thought Eric Gagne's position as closer should be re-evaluated at the end of April. 32% thought he should be re-evaluated at the All Star Break and 21% think he's the closer indefinitely.
• 82% of voters thought Prince Fielder's slow start had nothing to do with becoming a vegetarian.
• 66% of voters thought the Brewers should make an effort to limit Manny Parra's innings.
• Of those voters, 68% thought it should be done by skipping his spot in the rotation when possible.
• Ned Yost's approval rating is at 78%, up from 77% last week, with 8% disapproval and 12% unsure.
• Doug Melvin's approval rating is at 97%, with one lone no vote and 2% unsure. Last week he was at 91%/5%/2%
• 96% of voters were in favor of the Cameron/Hall/Braun move.
• 61% of voters were in favor of the Gagne signing, with 17% opposed and 21% unsure.
• 35% of voters thought the team should offer Ben Sheets a long-term deal, with 29% wanting to wait until after the season, 19% opposed and 16% unsure.

Full results here. I'm hoping to write this week's poll today and post it later or tomorrow. If you have questions you'd like to see included, drop them in the comments.

Brief Alphabetical Morning (BAM) Injury Reports:

Doug Davis is recovering well from surgery and throwing off flat ground. He could return in May.
Kosuke Fukudome missed last night's game with a cyst above his right eye, but should play today.
Chipper Jones was pulled from yesterday's game with a quad injury.
Alex Rodriguez was also pulled from yesterday's game with a quad injury.
Jimmy Rollins has been placed on the DL, but since he pinch-hit Saturday, he's not eligible to be placed retroactively.
David Weathers has been placed on the DL with nerve inflammation in his elbow.

Frank Thomas was released rather abruptly yesterday. Obviously, this will lead to lots of speculation about who he could help, but Landon Evanson at Bugs and Cranks likes him as a Twin.

This would be a much better reason to be cursed: Historical evidence suggests the Cubs may have thrown the 1918 World Series.

Now available: Hideo Nomo. Potentially available May 1: Bartolo Colon.

Bucs Dugout's tournament to determine the worst GM in baseball has moved on to the second round. Voting is open for the first matchup, Jon Daniels v. Bill Bavasi.

And while you're voting, go here as well and help me fill out my AL awards ballots. Thanks!

Drink up.

There are two hard-and-fast rules that guide Brewers fans in the 21st century:

1. It's all okay if it ended in a win.
2. The above does not apply if Ben Sheets got hurt.

Of course, the big news this morning is that Ben Sheets got hurt.  He left with "triceps tightness" after 60 pitches and 5 innings.  Here's the MLB.com story, which has all the relevant quotes.  If Ben's "cautiously optimistic," I guess I might as well be cautiously optimistic too.

The usuals:

• Win Expectancy Graph
  
• Baseball-Reference box score
• ESPN Video Highlights
• Baseball Digest Daily Recaps
• Baseball Prospectus Postseason Odds

Some injury reports:

• Jay Bruce is back in the lineup after missing a day for Triple-A Louisville.
• Howie Kendrick goes on the DL with a strained hamstring.
• Both Scott Kazmir and Dioner Navarro were rehabbing in A-ball; Navarro will be back next week, Kazmir the beginning of May.
• Tom Glavine officially went on the DL for the first time in his career.
• Hideo Nomo is pitching like he has an injury.

The biggest news outside of Milwaukee yesterday came from Tampa Bay, where the team locked up Evan Longoria for six years (including options for his first three two years of free agency) after Longoria's first week or so in the majors.  Dave Cameron notes the trends and the risks.   What interests me is that Longoria is almost certainly leaving millions (perhaps tens of millions) on the table...but this isn't the first time he's done so.  Unlike most very high draft picks--he was #3 overall--he signed almost immediately because he wanted to play ball.  Needless to say, Scott Boras is not his agent.

Also at FanGraphs, Eric Seidman notes that Brian Shouse is is strand-a-rific.  That's not news to those of us around here, though it's always cool to see someone like Shouse get ink outside of our little blogosphere.  Beyond stranding all those runners, Shouse is just a really good pitcher, as Jacob pointed out in the comments to this FanPost last week.

Here's a blog I didn't know about until yesterday: D-Backs on Deck.  It's written by A.J. Hinch, the former MLB catcher, who is now Director of Player Development for the Diamondbacks.  I don't expect to get any big scoops straight from the horse's mouth on this one, but details on the inner workings of front offices are always welcome.  Unlike a lot of MLBlogs, this one reads like Hinch actually wants to write it.

That'll do it for this morning.  Game time: 12:10 CT.