TooLiveBrew

Challenge accepted. I think Prince even sported a mini-mohawk/fauxhawk for a while a year or two ago, so that could be a decent starting point. I think this'll have to wait until later tonight or tomorrow, though. EDIT: To anyone who uses Twitter & follows Nyjer, please get that Njya Flav pic to him. I'm begging you.

For that kind of beer, I like New Belgium's Skinny Dip. Probably not the best recommendation you'll get, but it's solid.

I think Caleb Gindl & Erik Komatsu could both replace Hart pretty soon (depends on your definition of "soon", I guess). Neither one would bring as much offense, but both are probably better defenders & would have good shots to carry better OBP than Corey does.

He will be an instant upgrade over Prince. Given time, his defense will probably be significantly more valuable than Prince's ever has been.

Don't forget Roenicke is the manager. Kotsay will just DH. He's a Professional Hitter™!

I present... Nyja Flav http://i.imgur.com/mNiAu.png

It's just tough in tight games to rely on a below average Brewer defense to make all the plays - it would be nice to have more relievers who can get outs without needing a ball to be put in play so often. DFA Nieves, call up Taylor Green. Green gets starts v. RHP, & plays as a defensive replacement at 3B. Play Wilson/Counsell as defensive replacements at SS. Problem (mostly) solved.

I saw this late last night, it's pretty cool. Very nice tribute.

I really want to like the guy... and I think I do, but like NYChez said... a bit troubling. Whatever, though, he's having fun, his teammates seem to really like him, so it's all good.

The New Orleans camera"work" is just... special

Whether anyone believes me or not, since I lobbied so hard for Gamel over McGehee, I really hope Casey gets back on track at the plate. That said, I'm glad Taylor Green has hit well enough to force this kind of discussion. If we're even talking about it on Brewerfan, I think you can pretty much guarantee the front office is well aware that Taylor is a viable alternative. I think at some point, just as they did when McGehee forced his way into the starting 3B role in 2009, the Brewers have to say, 'ok, someone else deserves a shot'. Green can obviously outhit what McGehee's done so far, and can probably outhit the updated rest-of-season projection too (for whatever that's worth): .263/.317/.408/.725. Not to mention that he's a better defender.

"I'm trying to make a little extra money" -- and was umpiring a game when his phone rang. He answered just before a play started and called a runner out just as he learned the news. Umpiring fail

The most reliable stats to look at are probably strikeouts vs walks, as these should be fundamentally unaffected by a drop in hitter power I would guess (again, just a guess) that less HR/power would lead to fewer walks & more strikeouts. Maybe not a huge shift for either one, but wouldn't it lead to different totals?

Safecracking is always a good back-up plan, but I was thinking it sounded like more of a Mafia strongman. Congrats to the Axfords. Clamps Axford? http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_u3Fr9eBueMI/SLWVMlW4FEI/AAAAAAAACn8/2KyTuQARP0g/s320/theclamps.gif

Probably just that I'm over-tired, but this made me laugh pretty hard

Orlando "The Pirate/El Pirata" Arrr-cia

Final: Lake County 9, @Wisconsin 0 Lake County shuts out Rattlers 9-0 By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber RattlersGRAND CHUTE, WI - This wasn't the way the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers wanted to start their final homestand of the first half. Steve Goodnight and two Lake County relievers tossed a 9-0 shutout and held the Timber Rattlers to six hits Tuesday night at Time Warner Cable Field. Plus, Wisconsin lost ground in the Western Division playoff chase. Ronny Rodriguez broke the scoreless tie with a leadoff home run for the Captains (27-31) in the top of the fourth inning. Rattlers starting pitcher Jimmy Nelson retired the first two Lake County batters he faced in the top of the fifth. Then, Nick Bartolone singled. Nelson walked the next two batters to load the bases. Rodriguez kept the inning going with a two-run single to left. Carlos Moncrie followed with an RBI single. An error on the play allowed Rodriguez to take third base. A wild pitch by Nelson let Rodriguez score the fourth run of the inning and the Captains were up 5-0. Goodnight pitched six innings, allowed three hits, walked one, and struck out four to put himself in a position to win his third straight decision. Wisconsin (30-28) had two runners on base in the same inning one time against Goodnight. But, Goodnight escaped harm with a 4-6-3 double play in the bottom of the fourth. Lake County put the game away in the late innings. They scored two unearned runs in the eighth inning. Rodriguez tripled to start the inning. Alex Monsalve was walked intentionally with one out, but Rodriguez scored and Monsalve took second on a passed ball. Monsalve took third on an errant pickoff throw by Charly Bashara and scored when Reggie Keen overran the ball in center. Those were two of the four errors committed by the Rattlers in the game. The Captains put two more runs on the board in the ninth on a two run triple by Brent Heere to account for the 9-0 final. Wisconsin's playoff hopes took a hit as well. Burlington, the Western Division leaders, won their game against South Bend 6-3 and the Rattlers are now 9-1/2 games out in the division race. Quad Cities, the leaders in the race for the Western Division Wild Card race, defeated Lansing 5-3. The Rattlers trail Quad Cities by two games for the Wild Card. Wisconsin has twelve games remaining in their season. Game two of the series is Wednesday afternoon at 12:05pm. Wednesday is an AMERICAN TV Win-It Wednesday with a Baker Tilly Business Person's Special. Every fan aged 16 and older will receive a scratch-off ticket and every ticket is a winner with prizes from the Timber Rattlers and American TV of Appleton. The Baker Tilly Business Person's Special is a box seat ticket, a beverage, and a brat or hot dog for $11.50 and a business card. Senior citizens may also take advantage of this deal. Wednesday is also a 'School's Out Day' where kids can come out and receive a free meal, enjoy complimentary inflatable games and play free at the Kids Zone. Plus, Matt Bailey, a member of the cast of Jersey Boys, currently playing at the Fox Cities PAC, will be on hand to sing the national anthem. The Rattlers are sending Jameson Dunn (1-0, 1.02) to the hill as the starting pitcher. The Captains have Steven Wright (1-1, 1.69) as their scheduled starter. Game time is 12:05pm. If you can't make it out to the game, tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 11:45am. HOME RUN: LC: Ronny Rodriguez (2nd, 0 on in 4th, off Jimmy Nelson, 0 out) WP: Mike Goodnight (5-3) LP: Jimmy Nelson (1-6) TIME: 2:31 ATTN: 3,430 Wisconsin Box Score Nick Shaw was 1-3 with a walk. Greg Hopkins, Mike Walker, T.J. Mittelstaedt, Tyler Roberts, & Yadiel Rivera each had a single. That was it, for offense. Roberts, Mittelstaedt, & Keen each made errors. Nelson went seven innings, but nothing else about his final line was particularly impressive: 7 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 5 K. RP Charly Bashara had a rough night, allowing four runs/two earned runs in one inning of work... an inning which saw him throw away a pickoff attempt for an error. RP Thomas Keeling recorded three straight outs after taking over for Bashara in the 9th. Wisconsin Play-by-Play

Final: @Mobile 8, Huntsville 6 BayBears Game Story: "Three Homers Pace BayBears over Stars" MOBILE, Ala. - Ryan Wheeler cracked a three-run homer in the fifth while Marc Krauss and Taylor Harbin banged back-to-back solo shots in the seventh as the BayBears defeated the Huntsville Stars, 8-6, on Tuesday night at Hank Aaron Stadium. Kyler Newby (2-0) made his return to the BayBears (34-25) after pitching for two months with Triple-A Reno. He was greeted rudely by the top of the Huntsville (29-29) lineup in the first as the first three batters reached with two singles and a walk to load the bases. Two hitters later, Steffan Wilson bounced a double past third to score Lee Haydel and Logan Schafer. Huntsville didn't score again until the eighth as Newby worked five frames while allowing those two tallies on five hits. He also pitched around a 40-minute rain delay which halted play in the top of the third. Michael Bowman (2-3) was sharp through the first three innings before the BayBears picked up a run in the fourth. Paul Goldschmidt singled, stole second and scored on a two-out single from Marc Krauss. In the fifth, A.J. Pollock cracked a two-out single while Goldschmidt walked to set up Wheeler as he crushed the go-ahead, three-run bomb to right-center, putting the BayBears up, 4-2. Two more touched home for the BayBears in the fifth as Krauss walked and crossed the dish on a pinch-hit bloop single to right-center off the bat of Alfredo Marte. Pollock grounded out to second with the bags full to allow Jake Elmore to score. Former BayBear Roque Mercedes was on the wrong end of the back-to-back blows in the seventh from Krauss and Harbin while Leyson Septimo struggled in the top of the eighth as he walked four with all of them scoring to pull the Stars within two. Ryan Cook (S, 5) worked a scoreless ninth. The BayBears take on the Stars in the finale of their five-game series on Wednesday afternoon at 12:05. Left-hander Wade Miley (2-2) will start for the BayBears against righty Cody Scarpetta (2-2). Huntsville Box Score Haydel was 3-4 with a walk; Schafer was 2-5. Apparently we don't need to worry about the health of Erik Komatsu, who played a full game tonight, going 0-2 with three walks. Wilson's double was his lone hit on the night. However, Wilson, Haydel, Schafer, & PH Brandon Jones (1-1) were the only Stars to record hits in the game. Angel Gonzalez walked twice; Wilson, Sergio Miranda, & Martin Maldonado each added one walk. Bowman's final line wasn't pretty: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 6 R/ER, 4 BB, 4 K. Robert Hinton worked a scoreless, hitless, walk-less 9th inning in relief, although he allowed a runner to reach by committing a throwing error. Bonus note: BayBears reliever Clay Zavada doesn't just have an amazing mustache (see below). His middle name is "Pflibson". So, yeah. That actually sounds like you're cussing him out -- 'Clay Pflibson Zavada!' Pflibson needs to catch on as a BF.net-approved curseword replacement. Like, 'If Carlos Gomez wasn't so pflibson good on defense, he wouldn't even be on the 25-man roster!' http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/players/mugshot/ph_501826.jpg Huntsville Play-by-Play I'm way too tired & spending way too long on the first of two link report entries tonight, so time to wrap this up. The BayBears got out to an 8-2 lead after 7 innings. Here's the top of the 8th inning, when the Stars did their best to get back in the game, replacing actual offense with walks & RBI groundouts: Huntsville Top of the 8th Erik Komatsu walks. Angel Gonzalez walks. Erik Komatsu to 2nd. Steffan Wilson walks. Erik Komatsu to 3rd. Angel Gonzalez to 2nd. Sergio Miranda walks. Erik Komatsu scores. Angel Gonzalez to 3rd. Steffan Wilson to 2nd. Pitcher Change: Billy Spottiswood replaces Leyson Septimo, batting 9th. Martin Maldonado grounds out, first baseman Paul Goldschmidt to pitcher Billy Spottiswood. Angel Gonzalez scores. Steffan Wilson to 3rd. Sergio Miranda to 2nd. Hainley Statia grounds out, shortstop Taylor Harbin to first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. Steffan Wilson scores. Sergio Miranda to 3rd. Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Brandon Jones replaces Roque Mercedes. Brandon Jones singles on a ground ball to right fielder Marc Krauss. Sergio Miranda scores. Lee Haydel singles on a line drive to left fielder Ollie Linton. Brandon Jones to 2nd. Logan Schafer grounds out, second baseman Jacob Elmore to first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. Huntsville Gameday

Whichever order means RRR won't be telling Weeks to bunt & making me break TVs is the order I want. RRR 'knows' that you have to bunt with the 2 hitter if the leadoff man reaches. I would much prefer the Brewers waste a Morgan PA to a Weeks PA.

WOW. That's saying something. I wonder if he'll just go from Helena right to Huntsville, then. Nah, he will have the "ups" to get all of those, but chances are he will spike the ball while throwing it to first base Well-played

There appears to have been quite a bit of concern over Guerrieri's character. I can't believe he lasted until #24. The Rays look like they got a guy with top-10 type of upside in most drafts there.

Unless he sucked at those other sports, this guy is a tremendous athlete. If a comeback chopper ever gets over his head, I think we can safely declare him a total bust. With some time to think about the first two picks, I feel better about them not just being high-ceiling guys & that these are pitchers with decent shots at being very good. Here are some excerpts from Perfect Game's 50 in 50 scouting reports on Jungmann & Bradley: Jungmann is a power pitcher with a fastball that sits at 93-95 mph, peaks at 98 and has good sinking action. ... Jungmann has a very high ceiling, though, when combining his physical projection and competitive approach, along with a solid three-pitch mix that includes a 12-to-6 shaped curve with explosive downward action and an occasional changeup. Sounds like Jungmann will need to refine his delivery, though: If there is a knock on Jungmann, it’s his high-effort delivery with noticeable violence in his upper half. He has a distinct downward head jerk at the point of release, creating an undesired bobbing motion. But he gains an advantage from his unique, deceptive delivery as his arm speed accelerates from the top of his throwing arc. Scouts have long said he will need to simplify his mechanics as he advances, but Jungmann has never had command issues or trouble repeating his delivery, or even the hint of a sore arm. While Jungmann seems to be quite polished**, Bradley sounds like a more raw player -- but one that scouts believe in, in terms of ability & ceiling. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound Bradley never truly asserted himself as a legitimate high-end prospect for the 2011 draft, or was even on the radar of many clubs, until last summer at the Cape Cod League all-star game. He worked in only one inning, but many of the close to 100 scouts in attendance thought he had the best arm in the contest. Not only did Bradley exhibit a very easy, fluid arm action with sound mechanics, but he was the only pitcher with above-average stuff who commanded everything in his arsenal. His fastball was a steady 93-94 mph, and he complemented it with a solid curve and change. Bradley subsequently went on to lead the Cape League in strikeouts, with 44 in 41 innings, while walking just six. His strikeout total held up as the league’s best, even as he departed the Cape with two weeks remaining in the regular season. I have to admit that I have a little Arnettaphobia with this pick, but I'm going to try to push that out of my head. Bradley has ... a 91-94 mph fastball, 81-84 curve and low-80s changeup in most of his outings this spring. His smooth delivery and refined mechanics, along with his ability to command all his pitches has finally set him apart from other college arms and he will be duly rewarded for his quiet rise up the prospect ranks in this year’s draft. ... he is expected to be one of the top 3-4 picks in the draft, possibly even the first college lefthander selected. So I don't know if there's a tangible reason (aside from a deep class) why Bradley fell to 15 from a projected top 5 pick, but this certainly doesn't sound like a guy the Brewers just reached for at 15. ** Jungmann is the perfect example of a guy I'd love to see the Brewers challenge & skip to BC right out of Helena. Given his track record & stuff, I wouldn't be surprised if he were ready to face AA hitters in 2012.

#babystaching Impossible not to love Axford. Congrats to the new mom & dad!

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_039Muh54lns/TNdC1j1ja8I/AAAAAAAABYY/Nf-yjMHzJW8/s1600/debby+downer.jpg In all honesty, though, your post really made me laugh, Oxy. It achieve just the right amount of reality-fueled groin kick that it was funny (even if you didn't mean it to be).

By what measure?You know, like how 9 is nearly 62