Tuesday's Cold Margarita

Despite it being an off day yesterday, there was quite a bit of Brewers chatter around the interwebs:

ESPN.com's David Schoenfield says the Brewers will be kicking themselves if they miss the playoffs when they've given a league-high 1250 ABs to players with an OPS+ of 75 or less. The Braves are the next closest NL team with 823. (Scroll down to #2 in the Three Strikes Section) (h/t Brewerfan.net)

SI's Jon Heyman says the Brewers are among teams looking at Wily Mo Pena. Take that for what it's worth

This article from Haudricourt says Melvin has been working the phones as the trade deadline nears. Notably, it mentions that they've looked at Taylor Green, but the goal is to get Casey going and we probably won't see Green or Mat Gamel til September.

On that note, Brewers! Brewers! Keep Turning Up the Heat! has compiled a list of the shortstops they see as viable options for the Brewers and comes to the conclusion that they should trade for either Clint Barmes or Brendon Ryan AND Jamey Carroll.

Audrey Snyder has a sweet piece on Casey McGehee and son Mack, who has Cerebral Palsy. Mack's made huge strides since the McGehee's first made his story public last year. It's good to hear that he's doing so well.

Jack Moore of Disciples of Uecker says the road woes aren't as bad as they look - especially recently. Daily scoreboard watching can make games played in April and May seem like the distant past, but those rough stretches are really affecting our perception of the team.

James Langrehr of Brewers Bar took a look at Brewers' outs on the base paths, confirming what you already knew.

LaTroy Hawkins is one of the players involved in a Foundation for Children with Cancer fundraiser at Dave and Buster's next weekend. He said on Twitter today that he'll be giving away some tickets to the event.

Disciples of Uecker took the off day as a chance to look back at some Braves' history in Milwaukee.

Interesting stat: Haudricourt says Brewers have 34 of 59 games remaining at home. 25 games vs. teams above .500 and 34 against teams below .500.

In-Between Hops reminds us that Nyjer Morgan's BABIP is the highest in the majors.

Brewers Mix looks at the (closing) market for short stops.

Reviewing the Brew asks about the (changing) role of Mat Gamel

Hang with 'Em Rach named Yovani Gallardo her El Super of the Week

In the minors:

• The Timber Rattlers have joined MiLB.com and for the rest of the season all their games will be broadcast online. The package for the rest of the season is just $19.99. (The Nashville Sounds are also broadcast through MiLB.com)
• The Rattlers also have a promotion going. Call the box office and say you're a twitter follower or Facebook fan and you get half off tickets for August 1.
  
• Sounds pitcher Frankie De La Cruz was named Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week
• The Brevard County Manatees beat Charlotte 8-7.
• Nashville beat the I-Cubs 8-3

There aren't too many rare feats in baseball these days, so this one seemed worth sharing. There was an inside-the-park grand slam in AAA two nights ago. Sports Grid has the video

Around the majors:

Athletics: Signed first-rounder Sonny Gray for $1.54 million. Pitcher Daric Barton has a torn labrum in his right shoulder. He's seeking a second opinion.
Braves: Chipper Jones was activated from the DL. He hit a HR and then strained his quad. Outfielder Wilkin Ramirez was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett. CF Jordan Schafer has a small finger fracture but won't be going on the DL.
Cardinals: Lance Berkman sat with a strain of his right rotator cuff, but is expected to return tomorrow.
Diamondbacks: Signed their #1 draft pick (#3 overall) Trevor Bauer. The rumor is that he got $7 million. They are also calling up OF Colin Cowgill to replace Geoff Blum who fractured his pinky and is headed for the DL
Dodgers: Juan Uribe will have an MRI on his lower abdomen, which placed him on the DL earlier in the season
Mariners: Erik Bedard is set to return from the DL Friday.
Marlins: Optioned Chris Volstad to AAA New Orleans.
Orioles: Luke Scott will undergo surgery for a torn labrum. DH Vladimir Guerrero is expected to be activated on Tuesday.
Pirates: Placed OF Alex Presley on the 15-day DL with a left thumb contusion and recalled 3B Pedro Alvarez from AAA.
Rockies: Pitcher Esmil Rogers was reinstated from the 15-day disabled list. They designated left-hander Eric Stults for assignment.
Rays: Reliever Adam Russell has cleared waivers and will join the AAA Durham.
Red Sox: Activated Jon Lester from the DL. JD Drew was put on the DL with a shoulder impingement.

You'd know about Berkman and Presley if you read this morning's Around the NL Central.

And from the rest of baseball:

Albert Pujols is now six hits shy of 2,000

Carlos Lee hit his 16th career grand slam, tying him with Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth.

The New York Post reported yesterday that the Baseball Hall of Fame is considering lowering its waiting period to three years.  Now the Daily Star out of Oneota, New York is saying that report is false (h/t BBTF)

I don't know why, but I find this interesting: Brian McTaggert says Astros CF Michael Bourn has more hits than any NL player since June 1 with 64. He also leads the Majors with 37 stolen bases. The Cardinals have 36 stolen bases as a team.

White Sox GM Kenny Williams has said that if the team doesn't improve this week, he's ready to put the whole team up on the block and look to "turn over the whole roster." ESPN Chicago's Doug Padilla breaks down the roster to see what that clearinghouse could look like.

Speaking of that, Baseball Past & Present looks at the stress a GM must go through in the month of July.

For Baseball Junkies breaks down the trade-deadline situation for each team in each of the leagues. It's a good overview of the current market.

Mike Quade says coaching the Cubs was his dream job, but it hasn't worked out like he's liked.

The History of Baseball in one Facebook thread - from Sports Pickle (h/t soccerhaus)

Before cell phones, ball players tried to stay anonymous by using aliases on the road. Alyson Footer has a look at this by-gone practice.

I got frustrated and gave up, but this Sporcle quiz asking which city has the largest stadium in each state was a good brain tease

So you want to work in sports.

Kyle always ends with a joke, but I thought this list was too yummy not to pass on. Here's the list of new foods to try at the State Fair this year.