Some things to read while making things right. (h/t @JPosnanski)
Yesterday was a pretty quiet Brewer off day, but several writers filled the void by giving the Crew some national attention:
- Terence Moore of MLB.com compared the 2011 season to Brewer teams he remembers from the 1970's.
- Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com compares this team to the 2008 playoff team.
- Albert Chen of Sports Illustrated is the latest to retell the "bartender to major leaguer" John Axford story.
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Jerry Crasnick of ESPN was the roughly 100th media member to do a profile of Nyjer Morgan. There's some good stuff in there, but LaTroy Hawkins had the best quote:
"Geez, everybody is doing something on Nyjer,'' said a semi-exasperated LaTroy Hawkins when approached for a comment for this story.
Trenni Kusnierek has a reminder that there are 24 other players in the Brewer clubhouse, and some of them are interesting too.
Tom Haudricourt used the off day to look back at the Brewers' surge to separate themselves from the pack over the last month.
The Brewers' recent play has ignited a fair amount of talk about the World Series and comparisons to the 1982 team. Tim Schaefer of Disciples of Uecker, however, wants to make sure you're tempering your optimism. He's still listing the Brewers as the NL's third best team (behind the Phillies and Braves).
Ryan Braun's consistency this season has been one of the Brewers' strongest assets. Bill Petti of Beyond the Box Score has a stat showing Braun as baseball's 17th least volatile hitter.
Another day, another note on Prince Fielder's pending free agency: MetsBlog doesn't think the Mets can afford to sign both Jose Reyes and Fielder this winter.
Fielder, meanwhile, is one of just six hitters that have hit every pitch type well this season, according to Jeff Passan. Yuniesky Betancourt is one of just two players to rank below average against every pitch.
Speaking of Betancourt, the majority of voters in this week's BCB Tracking Poll think Jerry Hairston Jr should take his place at shortstop once Rickie Weeks is healthy enough to return. Just 30% think he should hold on to the job.
In the minors:
- The affiliates went 1-4 last night and Tyler Thornburg had one of his best performances: He allowed just three hits and a run over seven innings and struck out ten in Brevard County's 2-0 loss to Clearwater. You can read about that and more in today's Minor League Notes.
- John Sickels of Minor League Ball had notes on several Brewers in yesterday's All Questions Answered thread: He seems to think both Caleb Gindl and Logan Schafer have a major league future, says Taylor Green has a "nice swing but didn't stand out," and projects Wily Peralta as a mid-rotation guy or very good reliever.
If you've been watching the Brewers on TV this season you've likely seen the work of Ellen Homb and 2-Story Creative. They're the ad agency that produces the Brewer TV commercials, some of which are really pretty funny. Rich Kirchen of The Milwaukee Business Journal has a story on Homb and her work.
Looking for something sweet at the ballpark this season? John and Cait have a review of dessert carts I don't recall ever having seen at Miller Park.
Are you someone who likes to plan ahead? Then you might be interested in knowing that "Brewers On Deck" has been scheduled for January 29, and tickets will go on sale next week.
Around baseball:
Indians: Acquired first baseman/DH Jim Thome from the Twins for a PTBNL.
Twins: Placed pitcher Francisco Liriano on the DL with a shoulder strain.
The Thome trade creates a great story (Thome going back to his original team for an unlikely pennant race), but it's also going to create an unusual headache for the Twins. They had a Thome giveaway (wind-up walkers) scheduled for tonight.
It's a quiet day on the magic number front: The Brewers were off and the Cardinals won, so the division lead is down to 9.5 games and the Brewers' magic number remains at 22. You know that and much more if you've read this morning's edition of Around the NL Central. Gene Matzek of WTMJ talked to Doug Melvin about the number's significance.
Today in former Brewers: Dayn Perry of NotGraphs has a picture of Jim Edmonds as a duck.
This weekend is going to feature a somewhat bizarre baseball schedule as east coast teams do everything they can to work games in around Hurricane Irene, which should hit the northeast Saturday night and Sunday. Boston and Philadelphia will both play day-night doubleheaders tomorrow in place of games on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Yankees wanted to play two in Baltimore today but the Orioles said no.
If you missed it this morning, be sure to scroll down to check out today's edition of Today In Brewer History. Special guest Rob Peterson of Pastkast and Brewers1987.com stopped by to remember the end of Paul Molitor's 39 game hitting streak.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to water my pets.
Drink up.