Thursday's Frosty Mug

Some things to read while waiting for your invitation.

The Brewers dropped another road game yesterday, and for the first time I can recall we're seeing an acknowledgement of their struggles away from Miller Park. Here's what Shaun Marcum told reporters following last night's game:

"We haven't played that great on the road. Whether it's the Yankees or Red Sox, it doesn't really matter. We need to start winning some games on the road, and we'll go from there."

After months of watching him struggle, the Brewers moved Casey McGehee from fifth to seventh in the lineup yesterday (FanShot), and he went 1-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts. 

Meanwhile, interleague play is giving another league an opportunity to learn what Brewer fans already know: It's About The Money says Yuniesky Betancourt is the worst player of this era.

The Brewer bullpen has been getting a pretty heavy workload this week, and had to cover three innings again last night. Mike McClendon was with the team yesterday, but the Brewers decided not to activate him and he's expected to head back to Nashville today. Sergio Mitre also won't be coming back to help out: He was traded back to the Yankees yesterday for cash considerations (FanShot). 

Other notes from the field:

• Ryan Braun picked up a single in the first inning to extend his hitting streak to 19 games. Prince Fielder singled in the eighth to extend his streak to 11 games.
• Here's a transcript of Ron Roenicke's postgame press conference.
• A.J. Burnett, Ryan Braun and Jorge Posada are leading FanGraphs' Star of the Game voting.

The Brewers and Yankees wrap up the series at 12:10 today, with CC Sabathia on the mound against his former team for the first time. Quinn Roberts of MLB.com has the preview, and Miller Park Drunk has more on the occasion.

The Brewers have one last chance this afternoon to avoid the sweep: Cory Provus has a look at how teams typically struggle when visiting New York.

They're also taking the opportunity today to see what Mat Gamel can do at first base: He's starting there and Prince Fielder will DH.

A day later, we've still got a fair amount of stuff related to Zack Greinke's performance on Tuesday:

• Ron Roenicke and Greinke met before last night's game to clear the air regarding Roenicke's comments after Tuesday's game.
• In today's single link most likely to make smoke come out of Rubie Q's ears, Chris Cwik of FanGraphs says Greinke can't catch a break.
• I haven't seen many people questioning the Brewers' decision to acquire Greinke, but Trenni Kusnierek has a message for those who are.

Elsewhere in this week's recurring themes, Jaymes Langrehr of The Brewers Bar says the team still looks good at the season's midpoint.

Prince Fielder is getting most of the attention in NL MVP conversations, but it's worth noting that Ryan Braun deserves consideration too. Hersh of Baseball Junkies has him #1 on his ballot.

While the team is in New York this week John Axford and Nyjer Morgan paid a visit to MLB's Fan Cave.

The Brewers likely do have some bullpen help on the way: Takashi Saito pitched another scoreless inning on Tuesday for Nashville and could rejoin the team in Minnesota tomorrow. 

In the minors:

• Wisconsin played their annual home game at Miller Park yesterday, beating Peoria 5-1. The Brewers and Timber Rattlers also took the opportunity to announce that they've extended their Player Development Contract through 2016.
• The organization made a collection of roster moves yesterday involving Wisconsin. The most notable transactions involve catcher Tyler Roberts (demoted to Helena) and pitcher Damon Krestalude (released). Krestalude was a 2008 17th round pick.
• The team also demoted infielder Zelous Wheeler from Nashville to Huntsville.
• Dominican outfielder Ruben Ozuna has also been moved up from Arizona to Helena.
• Mark DiFelice and Sam Narron have been named to the Pacific Coast League All Star team.
• Wisconsin Sports Tap has issued their midseason awards.

Around baseball:

Astros: Claimed outfielder Luis Durango off waivers from the Padres.
Cardinals: Released pitcher Ryan Franklin.
Cubs: Released pitcher Doug Davis.
Diamondbacks: Released infielder Melvin Mora.
Mariners: Placed pitcher Erik Bedard (sprained knee) and catcher Chris Gimenez (oblique strain) on the DL and designated pitchers Edward Paredes and Chaz Roe for assignment.
Nationals: Signed pitcher J.C. Romero to a minor league deal.
Orioles: Designated pitcher Clay Rapada for assignment.
Yankees: Designated pitcher Buddy Carlyle for assignment.

You already know about Franklin, Davis and Durango if you've read this morning's edition of Around the NL Central, which is so hot right now.

Today in former Brewers: Reliever Luis Vizcaino, who is currently a free agent, has been suspended for 50 games after failing a drug test.

When the Brewers were in Chicago recently I mentioned that several rooftop businesses around Wrigley Field hadn't been inspected as recently as they should have been. The Chicago Tribune has a followup on that story: Several of them have now failed inspections.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go gather supplies.

Drink up.