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Some things to read while not getting congratulated.
The Brewers are coming off a quiet off day yesterday and opening a series in Houston tonight, their final 2012 trip to see an Astros team playing their final season in the National League.
This team's playoff hopes may be all but over, but their situation combined with the struggling bullpen may open the door for some longtime minor leaguers to make a name for themselves in the season's final months. Jeremy Warnemuende of MLB.com has a story on Jim Henderson and Mike McClendon, who have been thrust into opportunities.
Meanwhile, this news may create another opportunity for a minor league pitcher: Tom Haudricourt (behind the JS paywall) is reporting the Brewers are worried about overextending Mike Fiers' workload and will probably shut him down at some point instead of allowing him to make the roughly ten more starts he'd get if he retained his spot in the roation. Fiers pitched 128 innings in 2011 and is already at 135 (55 in AAA and 80 in MLB) in 2012.
The Brewers' home/road split over the last two seasons has never been more apparent, as they enter play tonight winners of six straight home games and losers of nine straight on the road. Voters in this week's BCB Tracking Poll, however, are split on whether or not this is actually a problem.
Shaun Marcum's efforts to get back to the majors were pushed back a day last night as his scheduled rehab appearance for Wisconsin was rained out. They'll play a doubleheader tonight with Marcum starting the first game at 5:35.
Elsewhere in the minors:
- Baseball America's annual "Best Tools" survey is out and contains encouraging news for several Brewer prospects: Huntsville first baseman Hunter Morris was named the Southern League's best hitting prospect and best defensive first baseman, while Jean Segura was named the Texas League's fastest baserunner and Ariel Pena was credited with the league's best breaking pitch.
- The affiliates went 0-for-4 last night but it wasn't Scooter Gennett's fault: He went 3-for-3 with a walk and a double in Huntsville's 5-3 loss to Tennessee. You can read about that and more in today's Minor League Notes.
- Nick Cole of The Tennesseean has an article on Eric Farris, who is hitting better for Nashville lately and could be a September callup in a few weeks.
- Josh Flickinger of the Beloit Daily News has a story on Wisconsin catcher Cameron Garfield, who is having his best professional season. (h/t @Mass_Haas)
- Bob Brainerd of Time Warner Cable Sports 32 has a feature on Wisconsin outfielder Ben McMahan.
- The 2012 Arizona Fall League schedule was released yesterday and the Phoenix Desert Dogs (who will feature Brewer minor leaguers) open play at home on October 9. The rosters will be announced around September 1.
If you'd like more Brewer coverage today but you're sick of reading, my weekly appearance on The Home Stretch with Justin Hull has been archived. I was in studio for most of an hour yesterday covering topics across the Brewer spectrum.
Finally, congratulations are due out to Hendrik, yesterday's winner in our SB Nation Pick 6 contest. Here's the full leaderboard:
| Rank | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hendrik | 75.6 |
| 2 | arails4 | 69.1 |
| 3 | Megalomaniac | 65.0 |
| 4 | GoGregGo | 64.6 |
| 5 | coachseibel | 62.4 |
| 6 | aaronetc | 59.6 |
| 7 | gobrew23 | 50.9 |
| 8 | Ashcampbell | 48.7 |
| 9 | Badger Boy in Vail | 46.6 |
| 10 | Berryjs | 42.3 |
Today's action starts at 1:20, so there's still time to get your picks in. And, of course, a new series means a new set of Prognostikeggers.
Around baseball:
Astros: Acquired infielder Tyler Greene from the Cardinals for a PTBNL or cash and designated infielder Brian Bixler for assignment.
Indians: Fired pitching coach Scott Radinsky and hired AAA pitching coach Ruben Niebla to replace him.
Red Sox: Signed outfielder Scott Podsednik.
- Amelia Rayno of the Minneapolis Star Tribune has a great story on Corey Koskie, his recovery from concussions and his life after baseball. (h/t Aaron Gleeman)
- Jack Moore of FanGraphs used Prince Fielder to illustrate the difference between a "power hitter" and a "hitter with power." Fielder is the latter.
In the grand scheme I'm not nearly as successful as noted leisured gentleman Carson Cistulli of NotGraphs, but I did find myself nodding along to nearly every point in his post explaining how to become an Internet Baseball Writer. If you've ever considered writing about baseball on the web, this single sentence is a must read:
It may or may not be disheartenting to hear, but it’s entirely the case that, like, 90% of blogging is demonstrating the ability to produce content on a regular basis.
Furthermore, writing that consistently is how you get better. It's my opinion that my work here today is much, much better than it was when I started writing for BCB in 2008 but it should be: I've written over 1000 Frosty Mugs and easily over a million words about the Brewers since then. Given that level of practice you could get good (or better, at least) at almost anything.
This morning's edition of Today In Brewer History marks the 25th anniversary of Paul Molitor setting a new franchise record by extending his hitting streak to 25 games. Today is also 1996-97 Brewer Gerald Williams' 46th birthday, and Plunk Everyone notes that his 31 career HBP are the third most ever for a player born on August 10.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to work on my disguise.
Drink up.