Some things to read while rocking out to the Ultimate Warrior's theme. (h/t FanShot)
By completing a three-game sweep of the Reds yesterday, the 2009 Brewers won their 30th game, making them the quickest team to 30 wins in franchise history. They also won 18 games in May, meaning loge seats for the June 9-11 series against the Rockies are now just $10. Those tickets became available about half an hour ago.
Here are some tidbits on the Reds series:
- Brandon Phillips still thinks the Reds are the better team.
- Aaron Harang said he was having a hard time locating everything but his fastball on Saturday.
- Friday's 3-2 win was the Brewers' third win this season when collecting three or fewer hits. No other team has more than one such win.
As it turns out, the Reds may have caught Yovani Gallardo at the worst possible time. Joe Posnanski noted that Gallardo has allowed just one earned run in four day starts this season, but posted a 5.26 ERA at night. Matthew Pouliot of Circling the Bases ranked Gallardo #9 on his list of 50 pitchers to build a team around. Gallardo was the only Brewer listed.
Dave Bush missed the cut, but you can help him make another one: He's an eight seed, up against Aaron Rodgers in the first round of Sconnie Sports' tournament to determine Wisconsin's most popular athlete.
There's plenty of credit to go around when you're winning:
- The Wisconsin State Journal has a profile of Brewer third base coach and Madison resident Brad Fischer.
- The JS has a profile of pitching coach Bill Castro.
- And while Greg Giesen of the Racine Journal Times says the Brewers aren't playing enough small ball, Tom Oates of the Wisconsin State Journal says Ken Macha has stats arguing against it.
Macha also ranked 13th in Nick Cafardo's rankings of all 30 managers. He came in behind Dusty Baker (10th), Lou Pinella (9th) and Tony LaRussa (1st), among others. (h/t Reid Laymance)
The Brewers open a series with the Marlins today. Here's something you may not have known about Trevor Hoffman: He's the only original Florida Marlin still active in the major leagues.
Hopefully Mike Cameron is getting hot again. Cameron has home runs in back-to-back games and leads the team in doubles (12) and slugging percentage (.550). Baseball Musings says the Brewers should be happy they held on to him this offseason.
Turns out, the Brewers are above average against above average teams. Baseball Reference says the Brewers went 20-29 against teams with winning percentages over .600 from 2004-2008, the eleventh best record in baseball.
In the minors:
- Alcides Escobar's second base experiment appears to be over. Apparently the adjustment is more difficult than expected.
- Joshua Butler, acquired when Gabe Gross was sent to the Rays, was 6-0 in Brevard County before getting called up to start for Nashville on Saturday, and allowing two earned runs in six innings of work. Maybe the Brewers will get something out of Butler after all.
- If you'd like to go out and see a Timber Rattler game this week or next and sit in great (free) seats, you should check Rattler Radio's giveaways.
Just one draft note to pass along today: MLB Outsider has the Brewers drafting high school pitcher Matt Hobgood with their first round pick.
Around the league:
Astros: Roy Oswalt has reportedly informed the team that he will not accept a trade to the White Sox.
A's: Placed Travis Buck on the DL with an oblique strain.
Dodgers: Placed pitcher Eric Stults on the DL.
Indians: Placed Grady Sizemore (elbow) and Rafael Betancourt (groin) on the DL and designated David Dellucci for assignment.
Mets: Acquired OF Emil Brown from the Padres.
Orioles: Designated Chad Moeller for assignment.
Pirates: Placed reliever Donnie Veal on the DL with a groin pull.
Rangers: Placed starter Matt Harrison on the DL with a strained shoulder.
Rockies: Fired manager Clint Hurdle and replaced him with Jim Tracy.
Royals: Placed John Buck on the DL with a slight herniation in his back.
Twins: Placed Nick Punto on the DL with a strained groin.
White Sox: Placed Carlos Quentin on the DL with plantar fasciitis, acquired catcher Ramon Castro from the Mets and designated Corky Miller for assignment.
The Cardinals also placed Khalil Greene on the DL over the weekend with a social anxiety issue. No one seems certain on a course of action or a timeframe for his return but, for the first time, retirement has been brought up as a possibility.
Baseball is an incredible game sometimes. When last I mentioned Randy Choate, it was to point out that he had not retired a major league batter since 2006, despite appearing in games in 2007 and 2009. Now, he has two saves for the Rays.
Economic times remain tough for many, and the Pirates are cutting staff midseason on their business side. Today I also have reports that a deal to buy the AA Connecticut Defenders and move them to Richmond has fallen through and the Memphis Redbirds are in default with their stadium financing plan.
Finally, as noted in a FanShot over the weekend, Austin Wood, a reliever for the University of Texas, was allowed to throw 13 innings (169 pitches) in a marathon extra inning game over the weekend, despite the fact that he'd thrown 30 pitches the previous day. The Grand National Championship hopes prospective recruits were paying attention.
Oh, and throwing 13 innings in relief is pretty impressive, but it's nowhere near as hilarious as this rain delay dance off.
Drink up.