Monday's Frosty Mug

Some things to read while thawing out your sandals.

The Brewers open a three game series with the Cardinals in a few hours, and they're probably working to forget this weekend's series in Minnesota. Before they left, though, Ken Macha chatted with Anthony Witrado about last night's HBP call reversal, which led to a huge momentum shift late in the game.

In the end, though, the Brewers have no one to blame but themselves for their terrible play over the weekend. Rookie Anthony Swarzak, who held the Brewers scoreless for seven innings on Saturday, was one of nine debuting pitchers profiled at Beyond the Box Score. Swarzak's performance was impressive, but it was even more impressive to discover he did it while throwing 75% fastballs.

Casey McGehee was one of this weekend's lone bright spots. He's made five starts at second base since Rickie Weeks' injury, has reached base in all of them and is hitting .429/.500/.571 in his last 20 plate appearances. Anthony Witrado profiled him over the weekend, and the Brewer coaching staff had positive things to say.

Mike Cameron's home run yesterday was the 250th of his career, making him just the 20th player with 250 home runs and 250 stolen bases. The Brewers celebrated the accomplishment after the game.

Meanwhile, the Brewers continue to be mentioned as a possible destination for Jake Peavy. Both Jon Heyman and MLB Trade Rumors mentioned it again over the weekend. With that said, it still seems like Peavy is owed far too much money to fit into the Brewer budget.

Could Matt Cain be a target instead? As Battlekow noted over the weekend, the Giants are reportedly shopping Cain, but the organization has denied the report.

R.J. Swindle appeared in two games over the weekend. Thor Nystrom of The Official Site says Swindle was excited for the opportunity. After Mitch Stetter hit Joe Mauer and gave up a grand slam to Justin Morneau, one could make a case for Swindle staying with the team and Stetter going back down.

Speaking of bullpen arms, Driveline Mechanics takes a look at the delivery of everyone's favorite anomaly, Mark DiFelice. They see several concerning things in his motion, but wonder if the decreased workload in the bullpen and his lack of velocity might save him from injury.

How much credit for the pitching staff's success should go to new pitching coach Billy Castro? The Wisconsin State Journal profiles Castro, who is spending his eighteenth season as part of the Brewer coaching staff.

Maybe he should play second base in a catcher's mask: Brett Lawrie broke his nose getting hit with a bad hop on a ground ball on Thursday. He was able to pinch hit yesterday, so one would assume he's close to being back in the lineup.

Around the league:

Angels: Placed Shane Loux on the DL with shoulder inflammation.
Cubs: Placed Rich Harden on the DL with a mid-back strain. (h/t FanShot)
Dodgers: Signed Korean pitchers Ji-Mo Lee and Hyang-nam Choi to minor league deals and placed outfielder Xavier Paul on the DL with an infection in his knee.
Indians: Placed Anthony Reyes (elbow inflammation) and Aaron Laffey (oblique strain) on the DL.
Orioles: Released Adam Eaton.
Rays: Placed Scott Kazmir (quad strain) and Troy Percival (shoulder tendinitis) on the DL, and are also expected to place Akinori Iwamura on the DL with a knee injury. Percival may consider retirement.
Reds: Designated OF Darnell McDonald for assignment and placed Edinson Volquez on the DL with a back issue.
Rockies: Placed catcher Chris Iannetta on the DL with a hamstring strain.
Royals: Placed SS Mike Aviles (forearm strain) and pitcher Robinson Tejeda (rotator cuff tendinitis) on the DL.

With Scott Kazmir out, the Rays have called up David Price, who will start tonight. Price has been striking out over nine batters per nine innings in AAA while posting a 3.93 ERA.

Ever wonder what life is like for a career journeyman like Ron Villone? Nats320 sat down with the former Brewer to discuss his first day as a National.

The MLB Draft doesn't get the hype of its NFL and NBA counterparts, but if you need starting pitching it's very important. Minor League Ball crunched the numbers and discovered that 34% of last year's top pitchers were former first round picks.

Oh, and with the proper training and sound effects, you too can make it look like you're beating the crap out of your kids.

Drink up.