Friday's Frosty Mug

Some things to read while figuring it out.

Finally, after four tries, the Brewers managed to beat the last place Diamondbacks. Much of the credit for yesterday's win belongs to Casey McGehee, who went 4-for-4 and set a new franchise record with hits in nine consecutive ABs. McGehee enters tonight's game needing three more hits to tie the major league record, and In-Between Hops gives him a 2.3% chance of doing it. McGehee's streak is also the top note in Carson Cistulli's One Night Only for today.

It wasn't pretty, but John Axford managed to work out of bases loaded jams in the eighth and ninth yesterday to pick up a five out save. Axford has five saves of four outs or more this season. Since 1990, there are only seven other Brewers with that many 1+ inning saves in their careers:

Other notes from the field:

• Even after being given a 6-0 lead, Randy Wolf could only complete six innings yesterday, making it the fifteenth straight game a Brewer starter has gone less than seven.
• Wolf allowed a home run to Stephen Drew in the game, his eighth allowed to a lefty this season. That's a new career high for Wolf, who only allowed one homer to a lefty in all of 2009.
• Casey McGehee, Craig Counsell and John Axford are leading FanGraphs' Star of the Game voting.
• Here are the MLB.com video highlights.

Mike McClendon is still waiting to make his major league debut after joining the team yesterday morning. I didn't think of it at the time, but the decision to promote McClendon over Carlos Villanueva is interesting, for sure. Tom Haudricourt cites McClendon's impressive ground ball rate, and also notes that he only appeared in one Cactus League game this spring. Jack Moore of Disciples of Uecker says "McClendon has a good enough profile that, both short and long term, it's hard to see this move hurting Milwaukee." By the way, Gregg Zaun was moved to the 60 day DL to make room for McClendon on the 40 man roster.

If you're stopping by a little late this morning, you might have missed TheJay's post on the place in history Dave Bush secured by allowing four consecutive home runs on Wednesday. Here are some other notes on it from around the web:

• Stephen Drew's solo shot (the fourth of four) was Wezen-ball's Home Run of the Day.
• The Baseball Codes says Dave Bush missed an opportunity to knock down a batter.

Bush's implosion overshadowed Prince Fielder's 300th consecutive game played. Miller Park Drunk has a look at his impressive durability. Meanwhile, Jeremy Greenhouse of The Baseball Analysts has a look at why Fielder can't hit Pittsburgh's Paul Maholm.

In injury news, LaTroy Hawkins flew out to California this week to get a second opinion from Dr. Lewis Yocum on his shoulder. His official diagnosis at this point is "shoulder weakness," but Hawkins says there's also a tightness preventing him from getting full extension on his pitches.

In the minors:

• The affiliates went 3-1 last night with the performance of the night coming from Helena second baseman Greg Hopkins, who went 6-for-6 with three doubles and a home run in a 17-6 win over Missoula. You can read about that and more in today's Minor League Notes.
• Huntsville got the night off last night due to equipment damage suffered during a thunderstorm earlier in the day. They'll play two tonight.
• Mat Gamel is continuing to hit in AAA, and you can add Satchel Price of Beyond the Box Score to the list of people arguing for him to get a shot in the majors.
• Dan Toman of slnsports.com has a profile of Brewer seventh round pick Joel Pierce, who reportedly received a $175,000 signing bonus.
• Baseball America's Best Tools in Low A is available on their site, if you're a subscriber. If not, you'll have to settle for knowing that Kyle Heckathorn was credited with the Midwest League's best changeup.
• BA also has a subscriber-only story on Jake Odorizzi.
• Wisconsin has Military Appreciation Night coming up on Thursday, with members of the armed forces getting in for free and members of their families receiving discounted tickets.

On power rankings:

• Beyond the Box Score has the Brewers holding steady at 20.
• Call to the Pen has the Brewers at 21.
• Yahoo has the Brewers steady at 21.
  

Around baseball:

Cardinals: Manager Tony La Russa has been suspended two games for his role in a brawl on Tuesday.
Nationals: Released pitcher Ron Villone.
Reds: Pitcher Johnny Cueto has been suspended for seven games and manager Dusty Baker for two for their roles in a brawl in Tuesday.
Twins: Placed reliever Jose Mijares on the DL with a sprained right knee.

I don't usually report on transactions until they're done, but here's a bonus for today: The Giants are reportedly close enough to a deal to acquire Jose Guillen from the Royals that there's speculation he could be in the lineup tonight.

When we discussed Corey Hart's new contract last week, we talked a fair amount about replacement level. Over at The Hardball Times, Jeff Sackmann makes the case that our current definition probably overvalues players at easier defensive positions. (FanShot)

At least 2-3 times a week I'm called a blogger, and I cringe. It's probably a fair assessment of what I do, but the term has such a broad definition and negative connotation that I'd prefer to be called something else. Craig Calcaterra does a better job than I could have of explaining why some of us shy away from the term, but also the difficulty of finding an alternative.

Happy birthday today to:

• Huntsville Star Robert Hinton, who turns 26.
• 2009 Brewer Corey Patterson, who turns 31.
• La Crosse, WI native Jarrod Washburn, who turns 36.
• 1961-65 Milwaukee Brave Tony Cloninger, who turns 70.
• 1953 Milwaukee Brave Sid Gordon, who would have turned 93.
• Sharon, WI native George Perring, who would have turned 126. Perring played five major league seasons for the Cleveland Indians and Kansas City Packers of the Federal League.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to check my pockets.

Drink up.