Some things to read while striking back.
Well, as predicted, the Brewers got through the day yesterday without firing Ken Macha or making any other moves. The Brewers Bar has the list of days going forward where the Brewers could potentially make a change, and it's getting pretty short. If the Brewers don't make a move soon, odds are they won't in 2010.
At least someone made good use of the off day: Disciples of Uecker has a look at the difference between Trevor Hoffman's early season performances and his clean inning Sunday, and noted that Hoffman is getting much less vertical movement on his pitches, which could help generate more ground balls.
I'm not sure I'd use "roller coaster ride" to describe the Brewers' recent trends, because there's been an awful lot of "down" and not much "up" to speak of in the Brewers' 2-11 stretch. With that said, Adam McCalvy is bringing back the Ken Macha/roller coaster story again to illustrate his point about the Brewers' battles with inconsistency.
Once you get past Prince Fielder, the Brewers might not have a lot of interesting candidates to be traded to contending teams. MLB Trade Rumors lists the Brewers among seven teams that could sell starting pitching, although I have no idea why a contending team would want Dave Bush, Doug Davis or Jeff Suppan.
If the Brewers are going to bounce back, this week's series against the Astros would seem to be a good time for it. Baseball Brew has a list of former Brewers working in the Houston organization, including Eric Young and Sean Berry.
In the minors:
- Wisconsin native and 2006 16th round pick R.J. Seidel made his 2010 debut last night, pitching a perfect inning for Brevard County. Injuries cost Seidel most of the 2009 season (he pitched 57 innings between the AZL and Wisconsin), so it's great to see him back on track.
- We've got more on Seidel's outing and much more, including a three home run game for the Timber Rattlers, in today's Minor League Notes.
Chris Capuano is still in the minors, but the Brewers have until the end of the week to either add him to the roster or risk letting him request his release. In-Between Hops says the decision is a no-brainer, and the Brewers should call him up. That's one of several issues you can vote on in this week's BCB Tracking Poll, which will remain open through the day today.
On the draft: Keith Law has released his first mock draft, but it's insider-only at ESPN so I haven't seen it.
In power rankings:
- Craig Calcaterra has the Brewers at 25.
- MLB FanHouse has the Brewers at 26, down from 25.
- ESPN has the Brewers at 27, down from 25.
Around baseball:
Phillies: Designated catcher Paul Hoover for assignment.
Red Sox: Designated outfielder Darnell McDonald for assignment.
Reds: Placed pitcher Homer Bailey on the DL with shoulder soreness.
Rockies: Signed infielder Kazuo Matsui to a minor league deal.
This is the first and last time you'll see me talk about LOST, since I didn't watch a minute of it. With that said, I'm amused by the fact that the finale drew fewer viewers than the last episode of Mr. Belvedere.
Much like LOST, I'm glad Brewer fans are done talking about this: Joe Pawlikowski of FanGraphs asks how many innings are too many for a catcher, and notes that Jason Kendall has caught 92.2% of the Royals' innings this season, the highest percentage in baseball.
Wezen-ball has spent the whole season to date researching for this very discovery: David Ortiz is baseball's slowest home run trotter, with five of the six slowest times on the season and 2010's first 30+ second trot over the weekend.
Happy birthday today to 2000-01 Brewer Angel Echevarria, who turns 39.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to find a tiny Bowflex.
Drink up.