Tuesday's Frosty Mug

Some things to read while getting back on your feet.

The Brewers had a pretty quiet off day, with the exception of one transaction: They've returned Eric Farris to Nashville to make room for Alex Gonzalez, who is expected to be activated off the paternity list today. Farris didn't get into a game with the Brewers in Atlanta this weekend, so the highlight of his two days with the big club might have been getting interviewed by Joe Block.

A four game losing streak followed by an off day has given us plenty of time to discuss various ways in which the sky may or may not be falling, but Howie Magner makes a really good point on the Brewer performance to date:

Brewers are 13th in NL with a .228 team batting average, last in NL with a 5.65 team ERA, and are 4-6. This is good news.

This team is almost certainly going to play better over the next 152 games than they have in the first ten, so the fact that they've still won some games while not playing well has to be seen as encouraging.

The Brewers return to action at Miller Park tonight, with Yovani Gallardo taking on Chad Billingsley at 7:10. True Blue LA has a series preview, and I'm hoping to have ours sometime this afternoon.

If you're tuning in to tonight's game on the radio, don't be surprised when you don't hear Bob Uecker. Ueck is being inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame tonight, and will rejoin the team in Milwaukee tomorrow. Davey Nelson and Joe Block will have the call of tonight's game in his absence.

Adam McCalvy chatted with fans at The Official Site yesterday and MLB Trade Rumors has a breakdown of the most notable stuff, including a note on Zack Greinke's contract talks stalling, chances the Brewers could sell off talent at the trade deadline and the long-term payroll.

I still have a copy of this sitting on top of my entertainment center, and I've been meaning to watch it: Miller Park Drunk has a review of the 2011 Year In Review DVD the Brewers gave out on Easter Sunday, and he says it's awesome.

In the minors:

• The affiliates went 2-1 last night with Tyler Thornburg carrying a perfect game into the eighth inning and Scooter Gennett hitting a pair of home runs in Huntsville's 5-2 win over Tennessee. You can read more about that and big nights for Jimmy Nelson, Caleb Gindl and Logan Schafer in today's Minor League Notes.
• Jim Shonerd of Baseball America has more on Thornburg's outing.
• MiLB.com has a story on Jimmy Nelson, who also pitched well last night but was one-upped by Thornburg.
• @Mass_Haas reports that Caleb Gindl was lifted early from Nashville's game with what appeared to be a hamstring injury.
• Wisconsin was rained out yesterday, so I took the opportunity to talk to Assistant GM Aaron Hahn about life in the ballpark during bad weather and the factors that go into the decision to play or postpone a game.
• 2009 Brewer second round pick Max Walla posted on Twitter that he'll be joining Wisconsin. Walla is a 21-year-old outfielder who has spent the last three years in rookie ball.
• Nashville broadcaster Jeff Hem has an interview with Sounds manager Mike Guerrero.
• The Brewers Bar has posts looking at the early results in Wisconsin and Brevard County.

Today in power rankings:

• ESPN has the Brewers 16th, down four spots.

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

Around baseball:

Giants: Signed pitcher Madison Bumgarner to a five year, $35 million contract extension with club options for 2018 and 2019.

Over the weekend many of us noticed and commented on the grass at Turner Field in Atlanta, which appeared to be a different color in the infield than it was in the outfield. The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that the lighter green grass on the infield is new this year, and is intended to slow balls down more than the infield did last year.

The 2012 Rule 5 draft class remains an interesting story a couple of weeks into the season. Jonathan Mayo notes that there wasn't much enthusiasm for the draft when it was held at the winter meetings, but eleven of the 12 players selected in the major league portion are still with their new teams.

This morning's edition of Today In Brewer History marks the anniversary of a 1954 Braves game in Milwaukee where Nino Escalera and Chuck Harmon became the first black players in Reds history. Today is also former Brewers Marquis Grissom (45) and Pedro Garcia's (62) birthdays, and Plunk Everyone notes that they rank third and fifth on the career HBP list for position players born on April 17, respectively.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to take more pictures.

Drink up.