Tuesday's Frosty Mug

Some things to read while disrespecting the pretzels.

The Brewers had a pretty quiet off day yesterday but made news this morning by announcing they've officially sold the 3 millionth ticket for the 2011 season. This is the third time in franchise history they've reached that mark and the second earliest (the 2008 team reached this point on August 28) they've done it.

Elsewhere in high numbers: Brew Gritt has a look at the Brewers' chances of reaching 100 wins for the first time in franchise history. They'd need to go 19-8 in their final 27 games to get there.

If Corey Hart stays this hot, they have a pretty good shot at it. He rounded the bases in roughly 22.6 seconds following his homer on Sunday.

The Brewers could take a big step towards clinching the NL Central by beating the Cardinals two or three times this week. Dennis Punzel of Madison.com has quotes from several Brewers who aren't taking anything for granted yet.

If the Brewers do in fact make the playoffs it'll be first October baseball experience for several of this team's key players. Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star says "it appears we're just a month or so away from finally seeing what Greinke can do in the postseason." Ron Shandler of USA Today's "Pure Quality Starts" stat makes Greinke look pretty good. Meanwhile, Jack Moore of Disciples of Uecker used both Greinke's full name and the word "alacrity" in the first sentence of a post comparing him to CC Sabathia.

Casey McGehee is another Brewer with no postseason experience (he was left off the Cubs' playoff roster in 2008). Vaughn's Valley has a post defending his defensive contributions to this team.

I would say it's been a pretty good week to be Ryan Braun, but I'm pretty sure every week is a pretty good week to be Ryan Braun. In addition to being our reigning Brewer of the Week he took home the El Super and is in the top spot on Running of the Sausages' MVP ballot. Prince Fielder was third.

Adam McCalvy used the off day yesterday to compare Braun and Fielder to another epic Brewer tandem: Robin Yount and Paul Molitor.

Elsewhere in awards: Brad of View From Bernie's Chalet is making the case for John Axford to receive Cy Young consideration.

Today in injury notes: Jay Sorgi of TMJ4 talked to Ron Roenicke about some of the decisions that will need to be made once Rickie Weeks and Carlos Gomez are healthy enough to rejoin the team.

In the minors:

• Pitcher Randy Flores requested and received his release from the Sounds on Sunday (FanShot). As a lefty with a pulse he was a candidate for a September callup, but hadn't pitched all that well in AAA.
• Taylor Green (AAA Pacific Coast League) and Scooter Gennett (High-A Florida State League) have both been named to their respective leagues' postseason All Star teams (FanShot). Green is also this week's Monday prospect at Disciples of Uecker.
• The affiliates went 1-4 yesterday and five Brevard County Manatees had multiple hits in their 13-3, six inning win over Tampa. You can read about that and more in today's Minor League Notes.
• Bob Brainerd of Time Warner Cable Sports 32 has a profile of 2011 fourth round pick and Wisconsin Timber Rattler Nick Ramirez.
• A rumor made the rounds yesterday suggesting the city of Nashville was interested in pursuing the Rays, but has since been debunked.
  

In power rankings:

• ESPN has the Brewers remaining fourth.
• FanGraphs has the Brewers holding steady at five.
• Beyond the Box Score also has the Brewers fifth.

If you haven't yet, please take a moment today to vote in this week's BCB Tracking Poll. It will remain open until tonight and results will be posted tomorrow.

If you'd like more Brewer content this morning but you're sick of reading and you've already listened to my appearance on The Pulse Network, the View From Bernie's Chalet podcast is up. This week's topics include Taylor Green, Chris Narveson and Wily Peralta.

It's a pretty quiet day around baseball:

Rangers: Placed outfielder Nelson Cruz on the DL with a hamstring strain.

There's no magic number news to report, but today's edition of Around the NL Central has updates on injuries to Reds catcher Ramon Hernandez, Pirates pitcher Jeff Karstens and Cubs pitcher Andrew Cashner.

The season can't end soon enough for the 2011 Pittsburgh Pirates, who lost again last night to fall to 62-72. Yesterday the team turned a triple play when they only needed two outs (h/t You Can't Predict Baseball) and one of their relievers (may or may not have been Jason Grilli) complained about getting too much media attention.

It hasn't been the best season for the Reds either. Their 3-2 loss last night was their 29th in one run games this season, leading baseball. They've played 52 one run games this season, compared to 43 for the Brewers (who are 28-15 in those contests).

In former Brewers: Bill of The Platoon Advantage has a proposal to rename baseball's divisions after players who played for the most teams in them, and suggests the NL Central should become the Jim Edmonds Division.

If you haven't chosen a side yet in this epic battle, you're behind the times: Craig Calcaterra has a look at the debate between proponents and detractors of high socks.

Maybe I'm just a TV nerd, but I thought this was interesting: Flip Flop Fly Ball has a graphic showing the placement of the score bug on the broadcasts of every MLB team.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get some bottled water.

Drink up.