Tuesday's Frosty Mug: Let's play 20

Some things to read while taking your time. (h/t Baseball Musings)

The Brewers have been off on three of the last 12 days, but they're about to start making up for it. They open a series with the Cubs tonight as the first of 20 games in 20 days leading up to the All Star break. After the break they'll play 23 more games in 24 days.

In the meantime, though, off days this time of year frequently lead to rampant trade speculation. That was certainly the case yesterday, as Doug Melvin sparked a conversation about Yovani Gallardo by alluding to the possibility that the Brewer ace could be dealt. Michael Hunt of the JS says Gallardo "must go" to help the Brewers build for the future.

Off days are also a great time to spark up a conversation about the merits and demerits of a manager. Ron Roenicke Stole My Baseball dissected a Roenicke quote about helping Francisco Rodriguez get to 300 saves (also noted in this FanShot), while Justin Schultz of Reviewing the Brew took issue with Roenicke's recent statement that "things are okay."

Elsewhere in coaching, Brewer hitting coach Johnny Narron recently appeared on the David Glenn Show in Raleigh, North Carolina. You can hear the archived interview here.

Rickie Weeks resumes play tonight on an eight game hitting streak and is hitting .364/.435/.618 in his last 19 games. Jim Owczarski of OnMilwaukee.com has a great feature on him this morning that includes some stories I'd never heard before.

Jean Segura also has a hit in seven consecutive games and is back in the NL lead with 99 on the season. Mike Woods of the Appleton Post Crescent says he deserves consideration for a spot on the All Star team. I'll go a step further and say he's a near-lock to represent the Brewers at this point.

The Brewers will almost certainly not, however, be represented at first base. Rob Neyer lists their collection of "talent" at the position among baseball's greatest positional disasters.

In the minors:

• The affiliates went 2-2 last night and one win came from Helena, where the H-Brewers got a pair of home runs from Taylor Brennan and picked up a 7-6 victory over Great Falls on Michael Ratterree's walkoff single. You can read about that and more in today's Minor League Notes.
• Noted leisured gentleman Carson Cistulli of FanGraphs listed Hunter Morris among the AAA leaders (in the age 24 or less category) in his SCOUT stat.
• Nashville broadcaster Jeff Hem has an interview with Sounds manager Mike Guerrero.
• As part of his recent visit to Appleton, Benjamin Hill of MiLB.com talked to three Wisconsin relievers about the "quarter game" that greatly subsidizes their income in the bullpen.

Back in Milwaukee, Gunaxin.com has an infographic showing that beer prices at Miller Park ($6 for 16 ounces) are roughly in the middle of the road among MLB stadiums. Interestingly enough, the Angels, Diamondbacks and Rangers all offer much better bargains. (h/t PocketDoppler.com)

If you're at Miller Park this week and struggling to identify a song you're hearing, John and Cait have updated their player entrance music list to include Caleb Gindl (Kool and the Gang) and show some recent changes.

Looking back to Saturday, you may have heard that the sausage race was taken over by Dan Patrick and his staff. Howie Magner of Milwaukee Magazine has a look at their experience, which led to an increasingly rare Hot Dog victory.

On Sunday, of course, the Brewers debuted "Piwowarzy" jerseys for Polish Heritage Day. Big League Stew has photos and more from the occasion.

If you haven't yet, please take a moment today 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:

Astros: Designated pitcher Wade LeBlanc for assignment.

There were only four games played around baseball yesterday, and none of them involved NL Central teams. Here are today's standings and probables:

Finally, quick bits of history:

• Today is Aramis Ramirez's 35th birthday, and Plunk Everyone notes that his 103 career HBP are the second most ever for a player born on June 25.
• Kevin Kimmes of Cream City Cables continued his look at pre-Braves era Milwaukee baseball cards with a profile of 1909 Milwaukee Brewer Shad Barry.

Now, if you'll excuse me, someone spoiled this for me.

Drink up.