This was supposed to be a short week. So why am I looking at my calendar and saying "Really? It's only Thursday?"

Win Expectancy Graph
BR Box Score

Apparently all it took was a Dave Bush meatball for Ryan Church to get his stroke back.

Also yesterday, Angel Salome, Alcides Escobar and Mat Gamel got their first major league at bats. The kids grow up so fast. The Official Site notes that Brad Nelson has the ball from his first big league hit, but not a house to keep it in. Maybe he can borrow Bob Hamelin's house.

CC Sabathia is NL Pitcher of the Month for the second time in two months, but he won't get a belated no-hitter.

Jeremy Jeffress has a new agent, the same guy who represents Taylor Green, Mickey Brantley and a handful of other Brewers. I just spent 5 minutes reading the agent's blog for the first time. Professional isn't the first word that came to mind. But he does claim to know who the PTBNL in the Sabathia trade is, giving him the opportunity to be completely wrong on something he claimed as fact for the third time this season.

Speaking of Brewer minor leaguers, MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo is all over the minor league playoffs, so much so that he blogged about the first six innings of West Virginia's game last night but didn't bother to mention how the game ended. The Power lost game 1 of their series, here's the box score.

Also, Jeff was on the radio last night discussing the Brewers. I haven't had a chance to listen to it yet, but it's Jeff, so at the very least he might introduce you to a hot tennis player you hadn't heard of before.

Only one injury today: Jered Weaver cut his hand on the visiting dugout this week and will have to have his next start pushed back.

Remember when the Brewers dumped Grant Balfour on the Rays for Seth McClung, and the general consensus was happiness to be rid of a guy who was more or less done? Turns out Balfour is pitching pretty well for the Rays, so perhaps the deal worked out for both teams.

Not working out: the 2008 Reds, who were eliminated from postseason contention last night.

The Cubs aren't exactly eliminated, but you might guess they were from the tone of this all caps diatribe re-posted on The Junkball Blues.

More signs pointing to a AAA shakeup: Hot Foot notes that the Indians' decision to leave Buffalo will likely open the door for the Blue Jays to move from Syracuse to Buffalo, leaving the Mets free to move from New Orleans to Syracuse and have their AAA team closer to home. Where this leaves the Zephyrs is unsure, but the music hasn't even started playing yet so the game of musical chairs is far from over.

Oh, and apparently players become more aggressive when wearing black.

Drink up.

So a few weeks ago I moved into a new place. This is the first place I've ever lived where my garbage goes out to the curb and not into a dumpster. I think a key part of growing up is remembering to take the garbage out on time. I'm 1-for-3 in the new place, and forgot it again this morning. Just FYI - when my fiancee comes home and asks why the garbage didn't go out, I'm blaming you.

Win Expectancy Graph
BR Box Score

I probably don't need to tell you about the excitement of yesterday, which was certainly better than a normal Tuesday. Reviews of the Sabathia deal continue to pour in, including the long awaited BTF Transaction Oracle, which projects CC for 101 innings over 14 starts the rest of the way, with a 3.48 ERA.

Dayn Perry says the trade makes the Brewers the odds-on favorite to win the wild card, but still leaves the Cubs as favorites to win the division.

Regardless of what it will mean for the standings, Adam Charles of Bugs and Cranks would like to share a George Webb cheeseburger with CC.

Ryan Braun will participate in Monday's Home Run Derby. In-Between Hops took a look at the numbers and debunked the myth that being in the Derby "screws up your swing."

On injuries:

Erik Bedard won't pitch again until after the All-Star break.
Eric Byrnes' hamstrings aren't recovering and may need surgery which would mean the end of his season.
Ryan Church has returned to the DL for the third time with symptoms related to concussions.
Rangers RP Eric Hurley has been placed on the DL with a sore hamstring.
White Sox closer Bobby Jenks still has pain when he throws off a mound, and is headed to the DL.
Rangers SP Vicente Padilla will miss his start today with a neck strain and sore thumb.
Marlins C Matt Treanor aggravated an abdominal injury and may be headed for the DL.

Of course the biggest non-Brewer story of the day, as noted in the Fanshots, is the Cubs' acquisition of Rich Harden. Drawing much less attention: the Braves signed Julian Tavarez.

Have I used this joke before? I don't remember. Even if I have, having the Rockies in town gives me an excuse to ring-rang-a-dong for Matt Holliday.

Even 3 months later, Ben Sheets' performance on April 6 against the Giants is tied for the fifth best game score of the season. A more surprising fact, though: Hiroki Kuroda has outperformed him twice in 2008.

The Reds are delaying radio broadcasts of their games so the audio matches up with the video on their TV broadcasts. I haven't done it in years, but I grew up listening to the radio broadcast while watching the Brewers on TV, and don't ever recall having a lag problem. Is it a problem now?

Oh, and it's pretty much never a good idea to intentionally walk home the tying run in the bottom of the 9th.

Drink up.

I don't think I've ever been this disappointed with a split of a road series.

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

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

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

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

Wow, after four days away, where do I even start? As reported in the fanposts, today the Brewers will announce they've signed Julian Tavarez. Also, while it won't be "announced," it will be strongly implied that the Brewer organization's desperation for reliable bullpen arms has reached a very dangerous stage.

Russell Branyan is back and sharing time at third with Bill Hall. Hall is unhappy, and understandably so, with the loss of playing time to the one guy in all of baseball who strikes out more than he does. Some guy named Eli completely destroyed his credibility by suggesting the Brewers may be ready to DFA Hall. Marty over at Fire Ned Yost is upset by the decision, and is now refusing to spend money on the team until Melvin is fired. Seriously? I was way more upset by the Tavarez move.

Jason Kendall batted eighth yesterday, in an attempt to "shake up the lineup." I know stat guys will say all lineup tinkering is relatively irrelevant, but this one seems especially small.

Remember that error thar J.J. Hardy committed on Friday? Apparently it attempted to destroy Washington.

Phil Rogers puts the Brewers at #22 in most recent power rankings, with the following comment:

In ESPN's most recent power rankings, the Brewers are also #22, with this comment:

It's close, but in this case I'm going to give the "one sentence or less analysis" challenge to Rogers, for actually analyzing something beyond home runs.

This makes his strategic decisions even more puzzling: Apparently Ned Yost has read The Book. I'm still going to guess he doesn't read blogs, but Mariners manager John McLaren does.

It's been five days, but I'm still confused and strangely fascinated by Babes Love Baseball's "sabermetric" analysis of Ryan Braun.

On injuries:

Rockies SS Clint Barmes is on the DL with a sprained MCL.
Fausto Carmona is out around 4 weeks with a strained hip.
Marlins OF Brett Carroll has a severely separated shoulder, partially torn ligaments and a swollen face. He'll be out a while.
Mets OF Ryan Church is still dizzy after getting his second concussion of the season last week.
Rockies OF Brad Hawpe is on the DL with a sore hamstring.
Felix Hernandez missed his start Saturday with soreness in his leg.
Matt Holliday was placed on the DL, also with a sore hamstring.
Andruw Jones will have the surgery he's been delaying on his knee and miss 4-6 weeks.
Padres P Chris Young, who suffered a broken nose via line drive, has other fractures in his face as well and will not be allowed to resume baseball activities for at least 2 weeks.

How do you react when your team is severely underperforming and is consistently painful to watch? Ichiro says you should try a beer from Papua New Guinea. U.S.S. Mariner is on the case.

When you find yourself complaining about the tough start Rickie Weeks is having, consider Reds leadoff hitter Corey Patterson, and his wafer-thin .242 OBP. In a move that has to be at least partially related, Jay Bruce will debut Tuesday.

On the flip side, Lyle Overbay set a Jays franchise record by reaching base in 12 straight plate appearances.

Oh, and Jamie Moyer has finally proven that all 30 MLB teams are capable of swinging and missing at 60 MPH pitches.

Drink up.

So, the Brewers are 1-0 now in the Gagne shutdown era, just saying...

Win Expectancy Graph
BR Box Score
BDD Recaps

Defensive Indifference thinks the decision to leave Ben Sheets in to throw 120+ pitches and finish the game last night was the wrong call. I'm not sure where I stand on it. I guess we'll see the results in 5 days.

Brewers Bar has raised a straw man and beaten the crap out of it, saying that "many people" feel race was a factor in the Brewers decision to sign Ryan Braun to a long term contract before Prince Fielder. Does anyone out there know anyone who thinks that? I don't. I'm listing Scott Boras as the primary factor.

I've heard a lot of theories this spring on why Eric Gagne isn't pitching well. I've heard his glasses fog up, he misses HGH and/or steroids, his breaking stuff isn't as good, etc. But this theory is new. Perhaps Eric Gagne...is Fidel Castro?

On injuries:

Moises Alou left yesterday's game with a cramp in his calf.
Angels IF Erick Aybar is on the DL after dislocating his right pinky finger.
Mets OF Ryan Church and Braves IF Yunel Escobar missed yesterday's action following a collision Tuesday.
Tigers P Clay Rapada has been placed on the DL with biceps tendinitis.

If Doug Melvin is looking for relief pitching, a couple of options might be available: The Mariners DFA'd Cha Seung Baek and the Rangers DFA'd Franklyn German yesterday. Here are the BR pages for Baek and German. We could do much worse. For example, we could sign Ray King, who appeared on Baseball Tonight last night to discuss what it's like to pitch overweight.

Every now and then we have a conversation around here about what the JS and other outlets would look like if the people who covered the Brewers weren't afraid to be all-out negative. If you really want to see how the other half lives on this one, go back and click on the first link about Cha Seung Baek, and read some of Geoff Baker's other work, as well. Someone needs to talk him off the ledge.

Jose de Jesus Ortiz says the Astros are ready to compete. Admittedly, he works for the Houston Chronicle, so he's probably a little biased, but they're certainly better than most expected.

Soapbox time: If you've read the Mug more than 3 consecutive days, ever, you know I'm not a fan of Dayn Perry. Here's the first two paragraphs from his most recent column. I've added the bolding: So the Cubs hot start is only significant because it's been 100 years? No Dayn, you're wrong. The Cubs are significant because they're significantly overachieving, on pace to win 101 games, lead a division with two surprisingly successful teams and they just might have first and second place in the final balloting for NL Rookie of the Year. It's almost Memorial Day, Dayn, can we shut up about curses for five minutes and just cover the game on the field?

Oh, and here's a 1997 Marlins World Series Ring on Ebay.

Drink up.

Before yesterday's game, Where Have You Gone, Andy Van Slyke? posted the following:

Apparently they weren't.

Win Expectancy Graph
(BR Box Scores are having technical difficulties this morning)
BDD Recaps

Still more reaction to the firing that wasn't: Apparently Ned had a conversation with reporters yesterday that was somewhere between a "mild tirade/venting session" and "a furious Ned Yost," depending on who you ask. Two-Fisted Slopper also has a reaction that should not be missed.

As noted in the Fanshots, Seth McClung has been moved into the rotation, taking the place of Carlos Villanueva. I'm not arguing the decision, but it's proof that baseball can be a funny game sometimes. The Brewers opened camp with Ben Sheets, Jeff Suppan, Yovani Gallardo, Dave Bush, Carlos Villanueva, Manny Parra, Claudio Vargas, Chris Capuano, Zach Jackson and others on the roster, and have since signed Jeff Weaver. Less than a month ago there were those arguing that McClung shouldn't even be on the roster. Who would've guessed he'd start a game before the All Star Break?

We probably won't know more specifics until later today, but Eric Gagne left last night's game with an inability to throw strikes shoulder stiffness.

Jim Powell's most recent blog covers the "PNC Curse," Gagne, McClung, Dale Sveum, Ryan Braun, salmon and Braveheart.

Beyond the Box Score says the Brewers have played a much tougher schedule than their NL Central rivals, and should not be counted out.

The Brewers remained steady at 17 in the most recent Bugs and Cranks Power Rankings.

On injuries:

Gary Bennett hit his home run off Ben Sheets while suffering from plantar fasciitis, which has since landed him on the DL.
A's reliever Andrew Brown is on the DL following an emergency appendectomy.
Mets OF Ryan Chruch got his second concussion of 2008 last night sliding to break up a double play.
Derek Jeter is day to day after being hit by a pitch and being gorilla press slammed by a Bizarro Ray.
Twins IF Matt Tolbert had surgery to repair a torn ligament in his thumb and will miss 4-5 weeks.

This was the first thing today to make me laugh out loud: Hire Jim Essian is not impressed with Mark DeRosa's blog and has some fun with the comments it generates, like this one, for example:

Earlier this week, Jon Lester, a cancer survivor, pitched a no-hitter. On Friday, Doug Davis will become baseball's newest cancer survivor when he returns to the D-Backs rotation.

Mike Piazza announced his retirement yesterday. UmpBump is encouraging us all to enjoy, one last time, his unfortunate facial hair.

Oh, and here's a story from Paul Depodesta about scouts being top secret by reporting on players from porta potties.

Drink up.