Some things to read while enduring days like this.
The streak is over: Prince Fielder was scratched from last night's lineup with flulike symptoms, missing a game for the first time since September 3, 2008 (FanShot). Fielder had played in 327 consecutive games, the longest active streak in baseball and the longest in Brewer franchise history.
With Fielder out of the lineup, Casey McGehee moved to first base and Mat Gamel made his first 2010 start at third, going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. Gamel has still been to the plate just eight times in September, but TheJay notes that he's seen more playing time than Craig Counsell.
Speaking of players who don't see much playing time lately, Carlos Gomez started in center field last night and put together his best game in some time, going 2-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base. It was his first multi-hit game since July 16.
Meanwhile, Rickie Weeks didn't get a day off, but Tom Haudricourt says he needs one: Weeks went 0-for-5 last night with three strikeouts and is 2-for his last 37 overall.
Other notes from the field:
- With last night's loss, the Brewers have lost five straight games in Houston, and scored just four runs while doing so.
- Brett Myers allowed just one run on six hits over seven innings last night, and pitched at least six innings for the 30th consecutive start.
- Brett Myers, Brandon Kintzler and Chris Narveson are leading FanGraphs' Star of the Game voting.
- Here are the MLB.com highlights.
The Brewers and Astros will continue their series tonight, and Carson Cistulli of FanGraphs gave the Bud Norris/Chris Capuano matchup a 6 on his NERD scale.
Todd Coffey recorded two outs last night in his 63rd appearance of the season, but just his fourth in the team's last 14 games. He talked to Richard Dean of MLB.com about his recent lack of use, and gave him this quote:
"Obviously, we're not where we want to be standings-wise and there are a lot of young guys they need to see what they've got," said Coffey. "So I'm going to pitch when they ask me to pitch."
The fact that Coffey has posted a 5.54 ERA in his last 30 appearances probably isn't helping his cause, either.
It's probably not the best day to be Brandon Kintzler, who allowed three runs in two-thirds of an inning and picked up the loss last night. Nonetheless, Brewers Daily has reposted an interview with Kintzler from June, and it's worth a read if you missed it the first time.
Yovani Gallardo was the story on Sunday, as he held the Cubs scoreless, doubled and scored the winning run. At Disciples of Uecker, Jack Moore notes that it was Gallardo's fourth career game accounting for more than .500 WPA, or effectively winning the game by himself.
Looking ahead to the offseason, I've heard several people suggest the Brewers should be interested in Cliff Lee, who will be a free agent. MLB Trade Rumors threw a little cold water on that possibility: They list ten teams as having potential interest in Lee's services, with the Yankees, Tigers and Rangers expected to be the most serious.
Looking ahead even further, the Brewers are expected to announce their 2011 schedule tomorrow morning.
On power rankings:
- WhatifSports has the Brewers at 19, up one spot.
- MLB FanHouse has the Brewers steady at 21.
- Craig Calcaterra has the Brewers at 22, up one spot.
- ESPN has the Brewers at 22, down one spot.
I'm not sure what to make of this, so I'll just throw it out there. Since 2008, the Brewers' .261/.333/.426 team batting line has been most similar to White Sox second baseman Gordon Beckham, according to Lookout Landing.
If you haven't yet, please take a moment this morning to vote in this week's BCB Tracking Poll. Voting will remain open until sometime this afternoon and results will be posted tomorrow.
Around baseball:
Diamondbacks: Designated pitcher Cesar Valdez for assignment.
Pirates: Claimed reliever Chris Leroux off waivers from the Marlins and designated pitcher Brian Bass for assignment.
Reds: Acquired utilityman Willie Bloomquist from the Royals for a PTBNL or cash and designated pitcher Enerio Del Rosario for assignment.
I haven't been linking to him as much lately, but I'm still a pretty firm believer that Joe Posnanski is the best sports writer out there at this point. He's also apparently a really nice guy, which made this list of his faults at Baseball Think Factory all the more fun.
The Reds and Braves are both likely headed to the playoffs, but you wouldn't know it from their attendance: They played home games last night and drew 12,061 and 18,647, respectively. Despite being 66-77, the Brewers have averaged over 34,000 tickets sold per game this season.
If you only read one historical post about music at the ballpark today, it should clearly be this one from Wezen-ball. And if you're looking for a review of a fictional book, Miller Park Drunk has you covered.
On this day in 1977, the Brewers beat the Tigers 8-5 behind a pinch hit home run from Ken McMullen in his final major league at bat.
On this day in 1991 the Tigers got revenge, as Cecil Fielder became the first player to hit a ball out of County Stadium in Detroit's 6-4 win.
Happy birthday today to:
- 2006 Brewer Joe Winkelsas, who turns 37.
- Madison native and Hall of Famer Kid Nichols, who would have turned 141. Nichols won 361 games over 15 major league seasons between 1890 and 1906, including 12 seasons spent with the Boston Beaneaters.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to experiment with bacon antlers.
Drink up.