Thursday's Frosty Mug: The "Post Randy Wolf, Day 2" Edition

Some things to read while an evil twin steals your clothes.

Thye Brewers improved to 38-28 at home this season by completing a three game sweep of the Cubs with a 3-2 win yesterday. We've got the recap, if you missed it.

Yovani Gallardo was one of the Brewers' big stories yesterday as he pitched seven innings and allowed two runs on just four hits. He's only the fourth pitcher since the Brewers opened Miller Park to pitch seven innings in five straight starts. After the game Gallardo revealed that his mother had been in the hospital this week but is back home and doing better.

Ryan Braun also had a big day yesterday, going 3-for-4 with a double, triple and home run. Braun leads the NL with both 34 home runs and 60 hits, prompting David Pinto of Baseball Musings to post this note:

"The Brewers dominate the NL extra-base hit leader board as Braun has 60, Aramis Ramirez 59, and Corey Hart 56. With all that power, you would think the team would be doing better."

The Brewers carried a one run lead into the ninth inning yesterday but that was no problem for John Axford, who struck out the side for his 20th save. This week marked the first time he's recorded saves on back-to-back days since the end of May. He also joins Dan Plesac and Rollie Fingers as the only Brewers with three 20 save seasons.

Other notes from the field:

• Yovani Gallardo struck out nine batters yesterday, and seven of them were looking.
• The Brewers struck out ten or more Cubs in all three games in the series.
• Bryan LaHair homered for the Cubs yesterday for the first time since July 4.
• We've got a look at the game's turning points and a transcript of Ron Roenicke's postgame comments.
• The Chorizo won the sausage race.
  

The Brewers are off today before heading to Pittsburgh for their first PNC Park series of the 2012 season tomorrow. Mark Emery has the MLB.com preview.

The Brewers were not hit by a pitch yesterday, and with the off day there's a good chance they won't be hit today either. They've been plunked 72 times this season and are now ten shy of the franchise record, set in 2006.

A day later, of course, there's still a fair amount of conversation regarding the Brewers' surprise decision to release Randy Wolf yesterday morning. Here's a sampling of what's out there:

• Wolf took the high road when discussing his release with Adam McCalvy.
• Howie Magner says the Brewers still made the right decision by signing Wolf.
• Keep Turning Up The Heat! says they're more interested in the Brewers now that Wolf is gone.
• Kevin Kimmes of Cream City Cables feels bad for Wolf for getting released on his birthday.
• Rob Neyer says "you might argue that releasing Randy Wolf was the best birthday present the Brewers could have given him," because it opens the door for him to try to latch on elsewhere.
• Miller Park Drunk has a list of his favorite Wolf memories and a Wolf tribute video.

Yesterday we reported that the Brewers were recalling Jeff Bianchi to fill Wolf's roster spot, but that's not the case: Bianchi isn't eligible to join the team until Saturday as he has to wait ten days after being optioned to AAA. That left the Brewers with one available shortstop yesterday and possibly again tomorrow, although they're hoping Jean Segura's sore foot will be better by then.

Having Randy Wolf out of the picture should open the door for Mark Rogers to get more major league opportunities. J.P. Breen of Disciples of Uecker asks if Rogers can be relied upon as a starter long term.

Meanwhile, with Wolf out of the picture the Brewers may have to alter their catching rotation a bit. Martin Maldonado had been catching Wolf and Yovani Gallardo, but if the Brewers intend to keep him in two out of five games he'll have to match up with someone else.

Elsewhere in catchers: Jonathan Lucroy rounded the bases in 21.86 and 21.36 seconds following his pair of home runs Monday, while Carlos Gomez had the fastest time in baseball at 17.69.

In the minors:

• As the minor league season winds down, Brewerfan.net has a list of farmhands who will be eligible for free agency this winter. Notables include Tim Dillard, Evan Anundsen, Amaury Rivas and Brandon Kintzler.
• The affiliates went 2-5 yesterday and one of the wins came from Helena, where 2012 fourth round pick Tyler Wagner pitched seven innings without allowing an earned run in the Brewers' 3-2 win over Grand Junction. You can read about that and more in today's Minor League Notes.
• Rattler Radio has video highlights from Wisconsin's 5-1 win over Cedar Rapids.
  

Finally, congratulations are due out today to BigMac73, yesterday's winner in our SB Nation Pick 6 contest. Here's the full leaderboard:

Today's action starts at 12:05, so you're running out of time to get your picks in.

Around baseball:

Angels: Placed outfielder Peter Bourjos on the DL with a sore wrist.
Astros: Designated pitcher Armando Galarraga for assignment.
Athletics: Pitcher Bartolo Colon has been suspended 50 games for testing positive for elevated levels of testosterone.
Blue Jays: Placed shortstop Yunel Escobar on the paternity list.
Marlins: Placed outfielder Emilio Bonifacio on the DL with a right knee sprain.
Padres: Designated outfielder Jeremy Hermida for assignment.

Today in former Brewers: Eric Gagne is serving as the pitching coach for the French team in their World Baseball Classic qualifier this September.

I've spent a fair amount of time over the years attempting to define and enforce the rules we use to try to ensure the comment conversations here stay civil and fun. This morning Bless You Boys showed me what that conversation has been missing with their MS Paint-illustrated look at the difference between Good and Horrible.

This morning's edition of Today In Brewer History marks the anniversary of Bob Hamelin's fourth pinch hit home run, setting a single season franchise record. Chris Jaffe of The Hardball Times notes that it's also the anniversary of the 1996 trade that brought Bob Wickman to Milwaukee. Today is also 1997 Brewer Julio Franco's 54th birthday, and Plunk Everyone notes that his 38 career HBP are the fourth most ever for a player born on August 23.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going outside.

Drink up.