It's a quick one today, coming off the off day.

While the team has been hot and cold with runners in scoring position lately, The Junkball Blues notes that all but three Brewer position players are outperforming their expected RBI's. Weeks, Kendall and Counsell are the three underperformers.

Speaking of Weeks, Tyler Maas of Bugs and Cranks says no one was more surprised by his four hits on Wednesday more than Weeks himself.

Dayn Perry waited until after the Brewers had won back to back games to tell us the Fielder-Parra incident won't matter.

Now that they've played a similar number of games, Fangraphs compared Ryan Braun 2007 to Ryan Braun 2008.

Beyond the Box Score lists Angel Salome as one of eight prospects that could contribute in 2009. I doubt he'll fill the "play once a month" role Mike Rivera is filling now, and Jason Kendall will be back, so 2010 seems like a more viable option.

On injuries:

Mets C Ramon Castro left last night's game in the 4th inning with a sore ankle.
Evan Longoria is ok after being hit on the wrist by a pitch last night. Hey, it's a slow news day.
Nats SP Tim Redding was hit with a line drive during BP and suffered a contusion on his quad.

There were two trades yesterday, with the Rays getting Chad Bradford and the Phillies getting Scott Eyre.

With the pending launch of the MLB Network, Biz of Baseball is reporting that MLB is considering lifting some of the blackout restrictions currently in place on MLB.TV and Extra Innings. Finally, fans in Iowa might be able to watch the occasional Brewer, Twin, White Sox, Cub, Royal or Cardinal game.

Dinosaurs invaded US Cellular Field Wednesday. Thankfully, there was no sign of THE SPAZZOSAURUS!

Oh, and Sam Mellinger wants to make sure you know not to be that guy.

Drink up.

This team is looking more different every day.  Just about every pitcher on the 40-man roster is either on the DL or in the big league bullpen, and we've got Russell the Muscle back on the bench.  What next--the Milwaukee debut of the Crabbe-man?

Game time today is 12:35 CT, and here's the BR Game Preview.  It's Tim Redding vs. Manny Parra, who is down to a 4.40 ERA on the heels of a couple of solid outings.  Redding is actually pitching considerably better--he even blanked the Phillies for 6.1 last time out.

Go Brewers!

If you're like me, you haven't spent a lot of time this season thinking about the Washington Nationals.  But that doesn't mean they're not an interesting team--quite the contrary.  As Brewers fans well know, losing teams can have a lot going for them, and the Nationals have more than their fair share of promising youngsters and surprising (well, somewhat) veterans.

To help introduce us to this team, I turned to Cathy of Miss Chatter, an excellent Nats blog.  Here's what she had to say:

Q: Usually I start with something more general, but I can't restrain my curiosity.  Jesus Flores, last year's Rule 5 pick, has been filling in at catcher, and now I read that he may keep getting playing time when Paul Lo Duca returns.  Tell us about Flores -- what are your impressions so far, and do you think he's ready to leave the minors behind for good?

A: Jesus Flores has worked out wonderfully for a rule 5 pick. He was respectable as Brian Schneider's backup all last season, and since he's come up this season with Paul Lo Duca on the DL, he's made it hard to send him back to the minors. I think he's proven he can hit at the major league level and the pitchers have raved about his game-calling skills. The pitching coach (Randy St. Claire) and manager Manny Acta praise how he sticks to the game plan. I would far rather have him and Wil Nieves as backup than Paul Lo Duca and Johnny Estrada, who haven't been hitting and can't seem to throw runners out (but Lo Duca does give juicy quotes). If this season is all about giving the younger guys a shot and seeing what shakes out, why not? I guess there's about six million dollars tied up in the other contracts why not.

Q: Speaking of youngsters from other organizations, how are Lastings Milledge and Elijah Dukes fitting in?  Something must be working, because they seem to have been controversy-free for quite a while now.

A: Yes, Elijah Dukes and Lastings Milledge have been controversy free so far. Dukes has an ex-cop assigned to him 24 hours a day as a mentor, counselor, and friendly ear. He's wrapped up all his court appearances and community service time, so hopefully he can dedicate himself to the team and baseball without any distractions. I think for both of them, a lot of it was getting them out of the environment they were in, although the transgressions of the two aren't really comparable. It'll be interesting to see if Dukes can stay out of trouble and turn his season around at the plate. We haven't yet seen the raw power and stroke Jim Bowden raved about when he took a chance on him. Milledge seems to have a hoot of a personality and I have no issues with that - in fact, I was impressed he high fived fans.

Q: I would understand if you had a negative view of the Brewers, since the Milwaukee alums in your organization this year are Johnny Estrada and Ray King.  Really, I swear they were overweight and ineffective before we got them.  Do you think Estrada was worth picking up, and do you wish (as I do) that Ray King would pitch as long as Jesse Orosco did?

A: Ha, thanks for them! No, I absolutely don't think Johnny Estrada was worth picking up, but at the time, who knew Wil Nieves would have a breakout season as a backup catcher? Plus, Estrada was recovering from elbow surgery when he was signed and he's still sidelined and on the DL due to that. It's a shame that Ray King was let go, but as a lefty specialist who wasn't particularly effective with right-handed batters, the Nats didn't have room for him on the roster. For the first several weeks, our starters couldn't get more than 5 or 6 innings in before turning things over to the bullpen and we needed more long relief. Ray King recently said he'd like to do sports commentary or play by play and I heard he was on Baseball Tonight the other day. I wish I had caught that! (I haven't yet found a YouTube or Red Lasso of the segment).

Q: Over the weekend, the Brewers are going to face Odalis Perez, John Lannan, and Tim Redding, all of whom have pitched quite well so far this year.  Can you give us an idea about what to expect from these guys?

A: I can't tell you much about Odalis Perez other than he's pitched above expectations so far. I expected Tim Redding to do well based on the last half of last season and he seemed pretty confident in the off-season that he would win a spot in the rotation. He's proved he deserved it. John Lannan is an awesome story unless you're a Phillies fan (he broke Chase Utley's hand hitting him with a pitch in his debut last year and was ejected from the game). Lannan keeps his cool and focus at a level far beyond his years and experience. All of them are more control pitchers than flame throwers.

Q: To wrap up, let's go big picture.  Jim Bowden has always gotten mixed reviews as a GM, but I've been impressed with the job he's done amassing youngsters and putting together a passable pitching staff on the cheap.  Do you think the Nats are on the road to contending in the near future--if not, what has to change to get them pointed in that direction?

A: Baseball is a funny thing - a constantly changing beast. Expectations constantly shift due to injuries, slumps, etc. I would like to think the Nationals will be ready to contend in two years based on "The Plan", but they still have some holes in the farm system, particularly in the infield. The future pitching is shaping up to be ready in two years, if not sooner, plus the outfield has plenty of options. Ryan Zimmerman will hopefully be entrenched at third base, but who will be the shortstop? Second baseman? Hard to say. 

Unless they start making major trades or signing big free agents, when they contend is hard to predict. Bowden and Rizzo have done a great job amassing young arms and without as many high picks this year, it'll be interesting to see who they get in the draft in a couple weeks. They are also aggressively pursuing talent in the Dominican. Jim Bowden still gets mixed reviews - many fans are critical of how his trades have worked out for the team, but everyone agrees he's done well with the drafts he's overseen. Kearns and Lopez were supposed to be the steal of the century when he traded for them with the Reds.

Thanks, Cathy!