In 2004, Ben Sheets had one of the best pitching seasons in Brewer history. How many Brewers with comparable seasons can you name? Photo via fullcountpitch.com

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Before I left on vacation, we had a couple of extended conversations about Ben Sheets and his value. Sheets had the best season of his career in 2004, going 12-14 with a 2.70 ERA in 237 innings, striking out 264.

Only six pitchers in Brewer history, including Sheets, have ever finished a season with a sub-3.00 ERA and over 200 innings pitched. How many can you name in five minutes?

Again, here are the rules: Post your score in the comments, but don't comment on any specific answer until after 6 pm Central time, so everyone gets a chance to try it out without having it spoiled for them. And, of course, there's no reason to cheat here, because there's no prizes.

Since there are only six answers, odds are someone will get a perfect score. If you manage to get them all, post your time along with your score in the comments. With that said, don't be too embarrassed if you forget a couple (I wouldn't have gotten them all).

Have fun, and don't forget to post your score in the comments!

More photos » by Pat Sullivan - AP

This guy is one of the seventeen managers in franchise history. How many of the other sixteen can you name?

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I mentioned in this morning's Mug that today is the seventh anniversary of the hiring of Ned Yost. Yost was the fifteenth manager of seventeen in Brewer history.

How many of the 17 can you name in five minutes?

Again, here are the rules: Post your score in the comments, but don't comment on any specific answer until after 6 pm Central time, so everyone gets a chance to try it out without having it spoiled for them. And, of course, there's no reason to cheat here, because there's no prizes.

Of the three quizzes I've posted, this is probably the easiest. If you manage to get them all, post your time along with your score in the comments. Of course, if you've only been following the Brewers for a few years, you may only remember 4-5 of them.

Have fun, and don't forget to post your score in the comments!

More photos » by Morry Gash - AP

This pitch missed J.J. Hardy. Can you name the Brewers most likely to be hit by one?

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Everyone loves some alliteration, right?

This week's edition of the Thinker is focused on hit by pitches. Twenty-five Brewer batters have been hit by a pitch at least 18 times in their careers. How many can you name in eight minutes?

To make it a little easier on you, I've given you the number of HBP, and more importantly, the seasons the player spent as a Brewer. With those hints, I wouldn't be surprised to see someone knock down as many as 21 or 22 of them. Even if you've only followed baseball for a few seasons, there's probably eight or so of them you'll immediately know and more you can guess from the hints.

The same rules as last week apply here: Post your score in the comments, but don't comment on any specific answer until after 6 pm, so everyone gets a chance to try it out without having it spoiled for them. And, of course, there's no reason to cheat here, because there's no prizes. If you're only interested in prizes, perhaps you should try this contest instead.

So, have fun, and don't forget to post your score in the comments!

More photos » by Darren Hauck - AP

Jason Kendall is one. Can you name the other 26?

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Ok, here's a new offseason feature: The Thursday Thinker.

If you've been clicking links in the Mug lately, you've most likely come across a Sporcle quiz. For as long as I can come up with new ideas, I intend to post a new one every Thursday.

The link to the quiz is below, but before I post it, here are some simple groundrules:

1. Please don't spoil the quiz for others. In the comment section below, feel free to post your score to compare with others. But, until 6 pm tonight, please do not use that space to discuss which answers you did/didn't get. After 6 pm tonight, when everyone's had six hours to play, then it's fair game, discuss it as much as you'd like.
2. There's no reason to cheat here.  All the information used to make these quizzes is relatively easily available online. You could look it up and get a perfect score on the quiz, but what's the point? There are no prizes here, just a fun contest. If you're going to cheat that way, just post a fake score in the comments and save yourself the time.

Now, this week's question:

Since the beginning of the 1996 season (Jason Kendall's rookie year), 27 players have played in at least one game at catcher for the Brewers. How many can you name in eight minutes?

Here's the link to the quiz. Have fun, and don't forget to post your score in the comments!

The Journal Sentinel broke the story Wednesday night, not that anyone wants to read it...

Say, how about that Jon Lieber guy?  I hear he's good.

Yes indeed after a mini-vacation we are back in action here at Brew Crew Ball... Jeff has asked me to help out with the site here as work and family stuff have kept him ultra busy.

The Crew are 5 games below .500 at 35-40, having come off of a very solid 10 game stretch where they took 2 of 3 from Toronto and Minnesota and split with the Cubs (all teams with winning records).  

Saturday's game featuring career-first HR's by both Weeks and Fielder in a come from behind victory over the Twins ranks as one of my favorite baseball games I've seen in a long time. It's been a thrill watching Rickie Weeks, he's the real deal with incredible talent and amazing bat-speed.  It's way early to say such a thing (but of course I'll say it anyways!) but I think Weeks, barring injury, has Hall of Fame potential written all over him. Watching him fly around the bases on that triple was something else. Granted he's a work in progress in the field, but I'll think that'll come around for him.

Prince Fielder has a swing resembling Babe Ruth's like no-one else I've ever seen (Now, I'm not saying he's going to be as good as Ruth, just that his swing reminds me of Ruth's!!). The kid is going to hit 8 or 9 "routine pop flies" for Home Runs a season. His HR on Saturday was a monster shot, I think we'll be seeing plenty of those for year's to come in Miller Park. While there is much speculation that Fielder will be headed back to Nashville after the Cubs series when Russell 3TO Branyan returns, I think there is a chance that a deal for Lyle Overbay is in the works and we'll see Fielder staying in the big leagues.  I've added a poll about the Fielder/Overbay situation at 1B.  Personally I'd like to see Overbay traded to Boston for Stoppach, the 25 year old AAA catcher, who would be an upgrade over Moeller and likely a future starter starting in 2006.  (There are also rumors of the Brewers sending Bottalico or Santana to Boston for Stoppach... the Red Sox do need relief pitching help).

The next 13 games before the All-Star break will tell us alot about our Brewers and their chances at finishing .500 or above, as only 3 of those games are at Miller Park and the Brewers must improve on their 14-25 road record.  

Yes indeed after a mini-vacation we are back in action here at Brew Crew Ball... Jeff has asked me to help out with the site here, as work and family stuff have kept him ultra busy.  I'll be posting every day, including game threads as per usual.

The Crew are 5 games below .500 at 35-40, having come off of a solid 10 game stretch where they took 2 of 3 from Toronto and Minnesota and split with the Cubs (all teams with winning records).  

Saturday's game featuring career-first HR's by both Weeks and Fielder in a come from behind victory over the Twins ranks as one of my favorite baseball games I've seen in a long time. It's been a thrill watching Rickie Weeks, he's the real deal with incredible talent and amazing bat-speed.  It's way early to say such a thing (but of course I'll say it anyways!) but I think Weeks, barring injury, has Hall of Fame potential written all over him. Watching him fly around the bases on that triple was something else. Granted he's a work in progress in the field, but I'll think that'll come around for him.

Prince Fielder has a swing resembling Babe Ruth's like no-one else I've ever seen (Now, I'm not saying he's going to be as good as Ruth, just that his swing reminds me of Ruth's!!). The kid is going to hit 8 or 9 "routine pop flies" for Home Runs a season. His HR on Saturday was a monster shot, I think we'll be seeing plenty of those for year's to come in Miller Park. While there is much speculation that Fielder will be headed back to Nashville after the Cubs series when Russell 3TO Branyan returns, I think there is a chance that a deal for Lyle Overbay is in the works and we'll see Fielder staying in the big leagues.  I've added a poll about the Fielder/Overbay situation at 1B.  Personally I'd like to see Overbay traded to Boston for Stoppach, the 25 year old AAA catcher, who would be an upgrade over Moeller and likely a future starter starting in 2006, and another Boston prospect.  (There are also rumors of the Brewers sending Bottalico or Santana to Boston for Stoppach... the Red Sox do need relief pitching help).  This would allow Fielder to stay on in Milwaukee and would provide much needed power into the Brewer's lineup... the logical side of me doesn't want to see the Brewers use up time on Prince's arbitration clock, the fan in me wants to watch Fielder hit every day. Perhaps I'll just need to be patient and wait for 2006.

The next 13 games before the All-Star break will tell us alot about our Brewers and their chances at finishing .500 or above, as only 3 of those games are at Miller Park and the Brewers must improve on their 14-25 road record. There are many possible roster changes and trades that could happen in the next few weeks.

Much has been written about the surprising Brewers pitching staff, especially with Sheets on the shelf (until tonight!).  The notable thing right now is that with the Phillies' 12-5 win over the Braves earlier today, the Brewers are now 2nd in NL staff ERA.  The Crew is at 3.44, just behind the Marlins at 3.40.  A slightly better performance from Sheets than from Dontrelle Willis (hmm, maybe I shouldn't be putting money on this...) will put the Crew in first.  

Across MLB, the Brewers are now 4th, behind the ChiSox (3.23), Marlins, and Twins (3.41).  All of those teams haven't lost their ace, so I'd say we're doing pretty nicely.

And while I'm sorting stats: the Brewers are first in the NL in WHIP, which may well be a better indicator of pitching success than ERA.