Some things to read while acknowledging the error of your ways ...
Howdy, kids! KL is meeting with undisclosed personnel from an undisclosed professional sports league at an undisclosed remote location regarding some undisclosed text messages received from an undisclosed athlete, so it's your friendly neighborhood Rubie Q here to sling some links and loosely-assorted whimsy at you before the weekend hits.
After a quiet week, there was a flurry of activity yesterday. BrewCrewBall is the blog that brings you All the News That's Fit to Link, so let's get to the headlines!
Today in Precious Metals
After getting blanked in the Gold Glove department, the Brewers picked up some hardware of a different kind yesterday, as Ryan Braun and Yovani Gallardo claimed Silver Slugger awards. (FanShot) It's the third Slugger for Braun and the first for YoGa, who clubbed four of the sixteen taters hit by pitchers in the 2010 season.
It was a pretty good haul for the Crew, but the omission of a couple of players left some people scratching their (respective) heads:
- Tom H. wondered aloud if Casey McGehee should have beaten out Ryan Zimmerman for the NL award at third base, (based, apparently and exclusively, on the fact that McGehee had more RsBI than Zimmerman) which lead to a quick, furious, and devastating response from the Twitterverse, and a prompt retraction from Tom. I love all of you.
- Jaymes from Brewers Bar wonders who Rickie Weeks needed to bribe to get some luv in the Slugger voting. Curiously, the NL leader in WAR for second basemen wasn't even on the list of candidates for the award, falling short of the benchmark established by Brandon Phillips and his .275/.332/.430 line.
Today in the Job Market
News broke yesterday that erstwhile first base coach "Easy" Ed Sedar, who had already taken a job with the Houston Astros, was instead returning the Brewers' coaching staff in an undetermined capacity. (FanShot) If you're scoring at home, that's two coaches held over from the previous regime.
Meanwhile, pitching coach Rick Peterson still hasn't heard whether he'll be allowed to continue molding the young hearts and arms of the Brewers pitching staff, but @notrickpeterson is OK with waiting a bit longer, as long as he's got his windbreaker nearby.
Out west, the Angels have promoted Rob Picciolo to fill the bench coach slot vacated by new Brewer skipper Ron Roenicke. And in Philly, Juan Samuel -- the candidate for the Brewers' top job who apparently wasn't actually ever a candidate for the Brewers' top job -- signed on to coach third base for the Fightin's.
In the broadcast booth, Hardball Talk reports that deposed ESPN "analyst" Joe Morgan wasn't surprised by ESPN's decision to put Morgan out to stud. Morgan says he wasn't comfortable with ESPN's decision to move Sunday Night Baseball in a "different direction" in the last two years. I don't wanna say I saw this coming, but: I saw this coming.
Today in Futures Speculation
Earlier this week, Peter Gammons raised the collective blood pressure of Brewer Nation, reporting that he'd heard rumblings that the Crew might be willing to move Ryan Braun and suggesting the Sawx as a potential destination. The report was predictably and summarily (and rightly) poo-pooed by Brewer fans, but Andrew Wagner of onmilwaukee.com writes that trading Braun might be the only option to significantly upgrade the pitching staff. Steven Hyden of the A.V. Club Milwaukee isn't sure that's the case, though: "We’re talking about losing the team’s main attraction for a chance at improving our pitching that might not actually pan out."
Jaymes from Brewers Bar -- and, really, at this point, the man deserves his own daily section in the Mug -- asks everybody to cool it with the Zach Greinke to Milwaukee talk.
Yesterday, we kicked the tires on the potential addition of Javy Vazquez to the Brewers rotation, and the consensus seemed to be: "Meh." Let's try another veteran pitcher today: word is that the talks between former Indian Jake Westbrook and the Uptight Citizens of St. Louis have stalled. Anybody interested?
Last year, the Brewers reportedly had a brief flirtation with unemployed former White Sock (Sox?) Jermaine Dye before settling on Jim Edmonds as their backup outfielder / Guy Who Rose From The Dead. The move worked splendidly for the Crew, as Edmonds was one of the players who produced positive batting wins with less than 350 plate appearances. This year, Dye is hoping to channel Edmonds for one last summer in the sun.
Today in Tugging at Your Heartstrings
Yesterday, as you're no doubt aware, was Veterans' Day, and Friend of the Show Larry Granillo re-ran his touching tribute to his brother, Captain Casey Granillo, who recently returned from his second tour of duty in Iraq. There's really nothing else to say except: Welcome home, Captain Granillo, and thank you.
Today in Religion
It looks like we're getting closer to answering the question: Whither our Deity? Tom H. tweets that Doug Melvin says he's "making progress" on a deal to have Craig Counsell return for his 134th season. In all likelihood, the deal will be for more than the veteran's minimum, which is sure to ruffle some feathers for a team with more pressing concerns than "back-up infielder."
Have you started your holiday shopping yet? If you're still looking for that special something for that special someone, the Brewers start their Holiday 4-Packs sale today. The only downside? You get an Italian Racing Sausage Ornament with your order. Make it the Brat and we've got a deal.
I'm sorry to link and run, but as you might've heard, tonight is the opening of college basketball's regular season for Marquette, which makes this our Basketball Christmas over at Anonymous Eagle. I'll be stringing popcorn for the tree, if anybody wants to join me.
And if you want to avoid an uncomfortable talk with your child, here's the book for you.