Some things to read while making weekend plans.
So, team stretching didn't turn out to be the answer either, and the Brewers were swept at home for the first time since early June. Hal McCoy wonders if the Reds are that much better with Scott Rolen in the lineup, but doesn't rule out the possibility that the Brewers are just that terrible.
Trevor Hoffman has come to terms with the possibility that he'll be dealt in the next day or so. It's been a long time since Hoffman has had to face this situation: His 10+ seasons in the major leagues and more than five with the same team mean he's had the right to veto a trade from the Padres for the last six seasons. Jayson Stark says AL teams aren't expected to have much interest in him.
Meanwhile, Prince Fielder just keeps hitting. His home run yesterday was his 10th in August, his most in a month since hitting 11 in September of 2007. I have three unrelated notes on Fielder today:
- Hardball Cooperative looks at Fielder and Hanley Ramirez as potential MVP candidates, but decided that Fielder doesn't have a chance to catch Albert Pujols.
- The B-Ref Blog noted that Fielder is one of just 25 players with an OBP over 100 points higher than his batting average.
- Hit Tracker Online has a cool scatter plot of the landing points of Fielder's home runs in 2009.
Fielder isn't really part of this problem, but Ken Macha said he wants the offense to be more consistent down the stretch. The Brewers rank fourth in the NL in runs scored, but a lot of those runs have been coming in bursts.
The Brewers won't be getting any help down the stretch from Rickie Weeks, who has abandoned any remaining hope of returning this season. Weeks was, at best, a long shot to return. Hopefully he can come to camp healthy next spring and pick up where he left off. Baseball by Paul is already projecting Weeks as the 12th best second baseman in baseball next season.
Where does the precipitous decline of J.J. Hardy's bat rank among disappointments? Dayn Perry listed Hardy among his most disappointing players this season.
Obviously, now that the Brewers have drifted out of contention it's become football season for a lot of fans, but if you're still here, Sconnie Sports has a list of ten reasons to watch this September.
In the minors, the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers are closing out their 15th season in the next couple of weeks. Rattler Radio has a nice video package their production crew put together to commemorate the milestone.
On Power Rankings and playoff odds:
- Beyond the Box Score moved the Brewers up one spot to #22.
- CoolStandings has the Brewer playoff odds holding steady at .3%.
It's a quiet day around baseball:
Nationals: Nyjer Morgan suffered a broken hand last night and is done for the season.
Rangers: Designated Jason Jennings for assignment.
How valuable is consistency? Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals probably won't win the NL Cy Young this season, but he's pitched at least six innings in 25 consecutive starts, dating back to April 16. For context, the longest streak by a Brewer this season is five starts, by Dave Bush in May.
On this day in 1992, the Brewers racked up 31 hits against six Blue Jay pitchers en route to a 22-2 victory. Nine Brewers had multi hit games (Kevin Seitzer and Scott Fletcher, who batted #8 and #9, combined to go 10-for-13), but Paul Molitor hit the only Brewer home run.
I wasn't able to find any Brewer birthdays today, so you'll have to settle for wishing a happy birthday to Lou Piniella, who turns 66. Lately, he gets a new present from Milton Bradley every day.
Drink up.