SB Nation - Jason Bourgeois

Astros show interest in Kelly Johnson, Gustavo Chacin and Jason Michaels sign on the dotted line

HighLeveragePerformer — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 12:00:29 -0000

How does "Kelly Johnson, Houston Astro" sound?

After second baseman Kelly Johnson was non-tendered by the Atlanta Braves, a number of teams have expressed interest in him. That link notes that the D-Backs are on record that their hat has been thrown in the KJ ring, but Tim Dierkes said Monday on his site that three NL Central clubs: the Pirates, Cardinals and Astros desire his services to various extents.

Johnson's non-tendering came as a surprise to many, including clack, and his bat would be welcome in Houston, assuming he returns to his normal self after a down 2009. Take Bill James' optimistic projection and the fan's projections off FanGraphs, and you can get a pretty good idea of what is expected out of the middle infielder in 2010.

This wouldn't be an offseason-defining signing by Ed Wade, but if the Astros could get Johnson, the team would be much improved. The Diamondacks are in a position where they would trade another one of their backup infielders in order to create space for Johnson. Neither the Cards or Buccos have the greatest infields in the world, and while Pittsburgh signed Bobby Crosby to bolster theirs, it's not as if Kelly Johnson wouldn't be able to get significant playing time in Pittsburgh. St. Louis may not get Troy Glaus back, which leaves them with Skip Schumaker, David Freese, and Joe Thurston at 2B/3B entering spring training. Not exactly household names.

Pedro Feliz is an upgrade for Houston over Geoff Blum, but it's no guarantee that Feliz will be even a win better than Blummers. Kaz Matsui is injury-prone at second, is coming off a disappointing season and his backup, Edwin Maysonet, does not project to be anything special. Cost is something to focus on, as KJ made $2.8 million in 2009 and should demand a contract worth more than that in 2010. A deal in the mid-3 millions for one season maybe a gamble worth taking, especially if Wade cannot sign a starting pitcher or convert Jason Bourgeois to a second baseman as some have hypothesized.

Just when we thought we were getting rid of him...he pulls us back in. Or rather, we pull him back in. That's right: Jason Michaels has been re-signed to an $800,000 contract. Again, not a disaster, but the money could have been better allocated elsewhere. I would still like to see the team make a move for Ryan Church, if their budget allows for it. Bottom line, as with most of the Astros' moves, this won't be the difference between a postseason berth and another Astro-less October. Michaels wasn't near as bad as I thought he was in 2009, but I would have liked to have seen Wade think a little more out of the box. Reggie Abercrombie, and the aforementioned Bourgeois and Church could be in the running for the fifth and assumedly final outfield reserve spot.

Alyson Footer also tweets that Gustavo Chacin has been signed to a minor league deal and given an invite to Spring Training. Chacin hasn't pitched in the majors since 2007 and hasn't pitched a full season since 2005, so let's not hold our breath on anything happening for him with the Astros. His experience working with pitching coach Brad Arnsberg in Toronto most likely has a lot to do with his being given a shot. Think of him as Russ Ortiz with perhaps a bit more upside.

Looking back at community projections: Second basemen

KLSnow — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:00:31 -0000

More photos » by Jim Prisching - AP

Rickie Weeks tosses his bat to one of the five other Brewers to play his position in 2009. The bat was later stolen by Prince Fielder, who used it to win the Home Run Derby, if I recall correctly.

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Ok, after a day off for The Thinker, let's jump back into this with a look at second basemen:

Take a moment to think, once again, about what happened at second base for the Brewers, and the somewhat miraculous results. Early in the season, Rickie Weeks went down for the year and the Brewers were left with turmoil at the top of the order and at second base. Six players played second at one point or another for the Brewers, yet somehow the position was one of the team's most productive.

Projections:

Rickie Weeks
Projected: .257/.362/.425
Actual: .272/.340/.517

Craig Counsell
Projected: .231/.322/.332
Actual: .285/.357/.408

Casey McGehee
Projected: ..279/.334/.393
Actual: .301/.360/.499

TheJay, while refusing to predict exactly who would end up playing in Weeks' place, nearly nailed a 2009 prediction for Weeks, saying: "Hey, someone has to figure he’ll both bash up his wrist again and hit about what he’s done so far in his career." Wekks was ahead of his career numbers at the time, but sure enough, a wrist injury ended his season significantly early.

Craig Counsell's playing time projection at this and the other infield positions will probably seem low, but keep in mind, Counsell wasn't actually re-signed for 2009 yet when we made these projections.

Finally, there's probably not a single player at any position we missed on more than Casey McGehee. Back in January, we collectively projected him to get roughly two and a half percent of the plate appearances at second base, and didn't project him to play third at all.

Playing time:

Player	Projected %	Actual %	Diff
Rickie Weeks	80.2%	21.2%	-59%
Jason Bourgeois	6.1%	0%	-6.1%
Hernan Iribarren	5.6%	.4%	-5.2%
Alcides Escobar	2.7%	0%	-2.7%
Casey McGehee	2.7%	12.1%	+9.4%
Craig Counsell	2.2%	27.1%	+24.9%
Bill Hall	.5%	0%	-.5%
Felipe Lopez	0%	38.6%	+38.6%
Frank Catalanotto	0%	.5%	+.5%

Wow, look at that mess. I didn't even know how to sort this table to appropriately display the chaos. And yet somehow, it worked.

At this point in January, Jason Bourgeois had just wrapped up a long hitting streak in Mexico, and if you had told me the Brewers would use six second basemen in 2009 and he wouldn't be one of them, I would have been shocked. In a world where Craig Counsell had yet to re-sign, Bourgeois projected to be Weeks' top backup. Instead, he spent most of the season patrolling the outfield in Nashville.

Overall:

	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Projected	.258	.354	.413	.767
Actual	.302	.378	.475	.852
Difference	+.044	+.024	+.062	+.085

Tuesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:43:48 -0000

More photos » by Jim Prisching - AP

Jason Bourgeois, seen here celebrating his solo home run on Aug. 28, is expected to compete for a roster spot in Houston.

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Some things to read while having a new reason to hate Ft. Wayne.

The Brewers cleared a spot on their 40-man roster yesterday, but not in the way they had planned: The Astros claimed Jason Bourgeois off waivers when the Brewers tried to outright him to AAA (FanShot). Bourgeois hit .189/.250/.270 in 40 plate appearances as a Brewer, and .316/.354/.410 with 36 steals in 454 PAs for Nashville. Astros GM Ed Wade said he liked Bourgeois' versatility and expects him to compete for a spot in the outfield next spring.

With the World Series nearly ready to open, the Brewers are getting closer to decision time on Felipe Lopez. Baseball Reflections rated him as the top potential free agent second baseman this offseason.

It also wouldn't surprise me to discover they're working on a deal involving J.J. Hardy. Baseball Intellect took a look at Hardy's mechanics in an attempt to identify issues that came up last season, but found no notable changes. He expects Hardy to have a big bounce back season with a fresh start next spring.

We spent most of yesterday discussing Trevor Hoffman in the comments of yesterday's Mug. Today, we have more on Hoffman, as Miller Park Drunk has a post straddling the fence on the issue.

Up for more MVP talk? Quevedo at the Buffet has Prince Fielder second and Ryan Braun ninth on their MVP ballot.

In the minors and winter leagues:

Project Prospect ranked Brett Lawrie as the third best second base prospect in all of baseball. That's pretty high praise for a guy who's only spent a few weeks above Low-A.
Not only did Adam Heether hit in the minors this season, he's also spending the offseason in Venezuela showing off his grit: Plunk Everyone notes that Heether is tied for the VWL lead with 5 HBP.
The AFL's Peoria Javelinas picked up a 2-1 victory last night, moving into a tie for first place in the Western Division, with 20 games to play. You can read more about last night's game in today's Fall/Winter League Update.

While some Brewer farmhands spend the offseason in Arizona and across Latin America sharpening their skills, three other Brewers are in a variety of other places:

Rick Peterson was at the MLB Network Studios in New Jersey yesterday doing some taping for 3P Sports, his side venture. I guess I assumed some of that work would get back-burnered once Peterson was officially a Brewer.
Trevor Hoffman attended a U2 concert at the Rose Bowl with Rob Dibble.
Ryan Braun continues to work on his new restaurant. Adam McCalvy has more details on the plans for the Lake Geneva launch (scheduled for April), and the possibility of rapid expansion into Madison and/or Milwaukee. Meanwhile, Miller Park Drunk is not high on the idea.

I'm not quite ready to start looking ahead to Christmas yet but, if you are, then you may be interested in hearing more about the Brewer Holiday Cards that will be released on Friday. They'll be released as part of an event to "launch" Brewer Charities' presence on Twitter.

Just a quick reminder, in case you missed it yesterday: Brew Crew Ball is looking to add a weekend editor. Here are the details on what we're looking for. I'm hoping to wrap up the search within the next few days, so if you're interested, be sure to let me know.

Just one transaction note to pass along today:

Pirates: Pitcher Tyler Yates rejected an outright assignment to the minors and will become a free agent.

I've already announced my World Series allegiance: I'll be casually rooting for the Phillies if I happen to be in a place where the game's on, but I also doubt I'll stay up late enough to catch the end of most of the games. Tyler Maas of Bugs & Cranks also makes a half-hearted argument for supporting the Phillies. Amazin' Avenue will be cheering for the team that doesn't have Shane Victorino, and MetsGrrl reminds us that we're not legally obligated to pick a side. We'll have more on the topic later today.

Meanwhile, an unexpected prospect is making himself the early story of the Arizona Fall League. Grant Desme, a center fielder in the A's organization who just finished his first full professional season and has never played above High-A, has eight home runs in his first ten games, and is on pace to break the AFL record set by Angels prospect Brandon Wood in 2005. Desme has been the AFL's Player of the Week in each of the league's first two weeks.

Once the AFL is over, are you ready for the AWL? This is the first I'd heard of it, but apparently the Arizona Winter League is a showcase for independent players looking to latch on with a team before spring training. Players will report to their teams on January 24. In perhaps the most confusing part, the league has Arizona in its name but has four teams in a Canadian division. Baseball in Canada in January doesn't strike me as a good idea.

Happy birthday to two long time Brewers born on the same day: 1982 AL Cy Young Award winner Pete Vuckovich and four time 12-game winner Bill Travers. Both turn 57 today.

Oh, and today is a Woot-off day.

Drink up.

Brewers 2, Giants 1 (12 innings)

KLSnow — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 22:06:22 -0000

More photos » by Morry Gash - AP

Felipe Lopez throws to first to complete a triple play during the sixth inning Sunday.

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W: Mitch Stetter (4-1)
L: Merkin Valdez (2-1)

HR: Prince Fielder (37)

MVP: Braden Looper (+.257)
LVP: Jason Bourgeois (-.333)

Win Expectancy Graph
SBNation Coverage

It took 12 innings and nearly four hours, but the Brewers managed to take one game in this series, as Prince Fielder hit a walk off home run and untucked in the 12th inning, giving the Brewers a 2-1 victory in a series of three one run contests.

Braden Looper pitched well, scattering ten baserunners (eight hits and two walks) over seven innings while allowing just one earned run. He's posted a 3.24 ERA over his last four starts, lowering his season ERA from 5.03 to 4.77. He also benefited from a 5-4-3 triple play in the sixth inning, the fifth triple play in Brewer franchise history and their first since 1999. The Brewers got a scoreless inning each from David Weathers, Trevor Hoffman, Todd Coffey, Claudio Vargas and Mitch Stetter.

Looper received a no-decision for his trouble, though, as the Brewers managed to score just one run through the first eleven innings of today's game. Casey McGehee drove in a run with an RBI single in the sixth, but the Brewers managed just eight hits in the game and left 13 runners on base. Ryan Braun and McGehee each reached base three times, but the starters in the 6-9 spots in the Brewer lineup (J.J. Hardy, Jason Kendall, Jody Gerut and Braden Looper) went 1-for-14 with three walks. Kendall struck out with runners on first and third in the eighth, and lined out with the bases loaded in the tenth.

Kirbir's Pictures of the Week

kirbir — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 14:00:17 -0000

For the last two weeks now, the Brewers have lost their weekday games, only to win Friday and Saturday. It was a nice change to see Brauny and Fielder fail to perform last night only to have their slack picked up by the rest of the team. Craig Counsell even said so last night. As an odd aside, did anyone else know Craiggers had an IMDB page?

Also in the exciting news category, Dave Bush is back!

Follow the jump for actual pictures and more discussion on the starter we missed...

Dave Bush's new song could be ACDC's "Back in Black." He returned to the majors Thursday, throwing 92 pitches. Unfortunately, his ERA rose to 5.88 as he couldn't quite make it through the fifth.

On Friday night, Jason Bourgeois hit his first home run since being called up to the majors to help the Brewers win by two runs.

This picture captures Felipe Lopez after he decided he needed to sit down.

Nope, this isn't an optical illusion folks. Mike Cameron is really flying lately, hitting .300 with ten extra base hits since August 8th! Wowee!

And, of course, here's the obligatory Prince Fielder/Ryan Braun congratulatory punch-fest shot. Of course, this isn't from last night when the dynamic duo was 0-5.

Here's a fun thought: six out of our next nine games are against the St Louis Cardinals and one Albert Pujols. This could get interesting. I plan on untucking maliciously when possible.

Pictures from Yahoo! but not Yoo-hoo.

Brewers 8, Pirates 6

KLSnow — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 02:52:55 -0000

More photos » by Jim Prisching - AP

Jason Bourgeois celebrated his first major league home run Friday.

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W: Manny Parra (9-10)
L: Zach Duke (10-12)
S: Trevor Hoffman (28)

HR: Prince Fielder (36), Jason Bourgeois (1), Ryan Braun (28), Andrew McCutchen (10)

MVP: Prince Fielder (+.209)
LVP: Manny Parra (-.102)

Win Expectancy Graph
SBNation Coverage

The Brewers got another dose of Bad Manny tonight, but the bats carried them through it.

In a series of events that looked very similar to yesterday's game, the Brewers jumped ahead early on Prince Fielder's three run home run, and turned the order in the first inning en route to a 5-0 lead. The difference tonight: They kept scoring, adding additional runs in the second, third and fourth.

Meanwhile, Manny Parra kept it close, allowing six runs, all earned, on ten hits and four walks in six innings. David Weathers pitched 1.2 scoreless innings in relief, Todd Coffey retired the only batter he faced and Trevor Hoffman struck out the side in the ninth for his 28th save. The Brewers have won nine of Parra's 23 starts this season, and he's collected the win in each of them.

At the plate, six Brewers were on base multiple times, including four Brewers who picked up multiple hits. Felipe Lopez went 0-for-4 and was the only Brewer starter without a hit.

Milwaukee Brewers, 11-9 Over Washington Nationals On Frank Howard Bobblehead Night.

Ed Chigliak — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 12:47:32 -0000

More photos » by Luis Alvarez - AP

"Mr. Riggles Gets Tossed!!!" - Washington Nationals interim manager Jim Riggleman, center, is ejected from the game by home plate umpire Mike Reilly, left, during a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers in the third inning Saturday, Aug. 22, 2009. Riggleman was ejected after Washington Nationals' Ryan Zimmerman struck out swinging. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)

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Top 5 Things That Went Wrong On Frank Howard Bobblehead Night.

1) The Rain - Just like every other time I've come to DC this year, (and really, last year too), the rain came down from NJ with me (doesn't work that way, I know), but this time it actually worked for me...Had it not rained, I would have been somewhere on I-95 stuck in traffic when the first pitch was thrown, but the start of the game was delayed close to 90 minutes after which both teams took to the rain-soaked field and played the second of four for Milwaukee in DC this weekend under a steady drizzle.

2) John "Cool Hand" Lannan Struggles...Again? - 1.2 IP? 7 H? 7 ER? 2 WALKS?? Alright, there was nothing extraordinary about the walks, but it was "Opening Night" John Lannan again last night, who needed 43 pitches to get two outs in the second, after he'd allowed three-straight hits (two singles, 2-RBI double) to start the game and put Milwaukee ahead 2-0 in the first. Lannan didn't make it out of the second after forcing DC Skipper Jim Riggleman's hand by giving up three doubles, a home run and four runs to the Brewers before he was pulled, and one run afterwards, when Nationals' reliever Saul Rivera let Casey McGehee, (who hit the last double off Lannan), score on an RBI single by Jason "Discreet Charm Of The" Bourgeios. By the time the second inning was over, the Nationals trailed 5-2, after Ryan Zimmerman walked to start the frame and scored on an error on an Elijah Dukes' grounder, and Ronnie Belliard scored on a DP grounder by Jorge Padilla, after doubling his way on following Zim's leadoff walk.

3) Comeback Failure.

(Cont. After The JUMP)...

Brewers win, 11-9 final.

• Miss The Game? The DC Faithful Were Watching...

• Check Out The SB Nation's Milwaukee Brewers Blog:Brew Crew Ball Game Thread.

• "Game 123: Losses only look a little better from the $$$ seats" - Doghouse. (ed. note - "Doghouse gets an upgrade from the upper deck above third to within shouting distance of The RZO, DC GM Mike Rizzo, in the super comfy little used seats behind home...")

Nationals now 43-80. (Countdown To 100 Losses Now At...20.)

(cont.)

3) Comeback Failure. - After battling back from an 7-0, and then 8-2, the Nationals tied the game in the 4th on the strength of the error on the Dukes' grounder, Jorge Padilla's run-scoring DP grounder, Ronnie Belliard, or Belli-YARD's 3rd-inning Grand Slam, Nyjer Morgan's RBI double and Alberto Gonzalez's game-tying sac fly. The tie lasted through the fifth, but then Casey McGehee singled in a run in the sixth, Felipe Lopez singled in a run in the seventh and Jason Kendall doubled in a run in the eighth to make it 11-8 and finally 11-9 after Willie Harris' solo HR off former Expos' pitcher Claudio Vargas.

2) E: 109, E: 110. - E: 109 - Fielding error in the outfield by Nyjer Morgan on a double by Casey McGehee. OUTCOME: Runs scores on the error, John Lannan chased, McGehee scores on Jason Bourgeois' single. E: 110 - Brewers' center fielder Mike Cameron grounds back to the mound and off pitcher Jason Bergmann's glove, Ronnie Belliard fields the deflection and throws by Adam Dunn at first, for Belliard's 5th error of '09. OUTCOME: Cameron scores the game's winning run three batters later when McGEHEE!!! singles in the Brewers' ninth run of the night.

1) Failure by Ed Chigliak - I worked half a day in NJ, drove for four hour and a half hours through a hard rain, sat in traffic for an extra hour on what should be a 3 and a half hour trip, then waited out the Rain Delay in my hotel, made my way to the park in time to get my Frank "Hondo" Howard bobblehead, sat through a rain-soaked, run-filled affair and arrived home after midnight, at which point I foolishly listened to myself when I said I would just "rest my eyes" and didn't wake up until 5:30 am EST, at which point I composed this post with apologies to anyone who came looking for a postgame wrapup before now and didn't find one. BUT I GOT MY HONDO BOBBLE!!!!

Nationals now 43-80.

Wednesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 14:32:35 -0000

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

Ken Macha talks with Willie Randolph during a loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates Tuesday. If the Brewers don't improve soon, Macha and Randolph may have something else in common.

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Some things to read while your arteries are clogging.

So, the Brewers have lost back to back games to the Pirates, who were 4-18 since taking two of three from the Brewers in their last meeting. The Grand National Championship says the Brewers are done and should look to sell off spare parts. Casa de Machado has a similar sentiment with significantly more NSFW language.

The Brewers allowed two more home runs last night to raise their NL leading total to 161, 17 more than the second place Reds. They're now on pace to allow 219 on the season, up from 175 a year ago. The Reds (201) were the only NL team to allow more than 200 last season. Ken Macha called the situation out of control.

So, it seems logical that the Brewers are still looking for answers to their pitching woes. Perhaps one of the answers will come from Dave Bush, who pitched three hitless innings last night on 37 pitches in front of a sold out crowd in Appleton. Cody Scarpetta relieved him and pitched six more shutout innings as the Rattlers beat Beloit, 1-0. Bush is expected to make one more rehab start in Huntsville before returning to the big leagues.

By then, the Brewers may also have worked out a trade. Doug Melvin says he's working on a deal involving Bill Hall, who needs to be traded or released by Friday. (Also noted in FanShot.) The Reds are rumored to be interested in Hall, and looking to deal one of two bad contracts they're stuck with: Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo. Scott Jensen of Dugout Central thinks a Hall-for-Arroyo swap makes sense for the Brewers, but Brewers Daily would rather have Harang.

Prince Fielder has a second post up on his blog with thoughts on roster moves, Alcides Escobar and Usain Bolt.

Brewer Paradise Lost is looking ahead to the center field situation in 2010. He doesn't expect the Brewers to offer arbitration to Mike Cameron, and thinks they should try a Jody Gerut/Jason Bourgeois platoon in center. I think the Brewers will offer Cam arbitration, but he'll likely reject it and head off to seek a multi-year deal in free agency. If that happens, the Brewers could do much worse than this platoon.

In the minors:

The Brewers promoted Brett Lawrie to Huntsville yesterday (FanShot), skipping over High-A entirely with last year's #1 pick. Doug Melvin told Tom H. that he expects Lawrie to DH in AA for ten days before leaving to play for Canada in the Baseball World Cup.
Jim Callis of Baseball America had some high praise for the Brewers' 2009 draft in his most recent chat, and especially seems to like Max Walla, Brooks Hall and 15th and 16th round picks Del Howell and Scooter Gennett. (FanShot)
For whatever it's worth, two Brewer draft picks (OF Scott Krieger and P Mike Fiers) appeared in John Sickels' shadow draft for the Twins.
The Brewers spent just over $6 million signing their 13 picks in the first ten rounds. That's the sixth highest total in baseball, but would rank much lower if the rankings were calculated by dollars per player.

At least this 2009 slide could net the Brewers a better player next June: Andy Seiler has updated his projected 2010 draft order, and has the Brewers picking 14th.

Could this slide cost Ken Macha his job? Ken Rosenthal lists Macha among 15 managers whose contracts expire by the end of the 2010 season, and notes that Mark Attanasio may not be patient with him.

On power rankings and playoff odds:

Inside the Majors moved the Brewers up one spot to 17th.
CoolStandings gives the Brewers a 1.3% shot at the playoffs.

Around baseball:

Astros: Placed Mike Hampton on the DL with a shoulder issue.
Cardinals: Are expected to sign John Smoltz when he becomes a free agent today.
Dodgers: Are expected to place Hiroki Kuroda on the DL with a concussion.
Rangers: Acquired Ivan Rodriguez from the Astros for two minor leaguers (three if the Rangers make the playoffs), and placed infielder Esteban German on the DL with a groin strain.
White Sox: Placed DeWayne Wise on the DL with a shoulder strain.

Felipe Lopez has been pretty good as a Brewer, but how much will the Crew miss Cole Gillespie? AZ Snakepit reports that the former Brewer farmhand is hitting .325/.448/.542 for AAA Reno, and could compete for a job with the D-Backs next spring.

A lot of money was handed out this week to draftees, but a fair amount is going overseas as well: The Twins signed German 16-year-old Max Kepler Rozycki this week, and his $800,000 bonus was the largest ever given to an amateur player outside of the US and Latin America.

On this day in 1985, Danny Darwin pitched a complete game one-hitter as the Brewers beat the Twins 4-1. And on this day in 1987, Rob Deer hit the first of his two grand slams in two days as the Brewers beat the Indians 13-2. Paul Molitor also picked up four hits in the game to extend his streak to 34 games.

Happy birthday today to J.J. Hardy, who turns 27, Chris Capuano, who turns 31, Ned Yost, who turns 54, and Paul Mitchell, who pitched in 35 games for the Brewers in 1979 and 1980 and turns 60.

Oh, and I know we've all spent a day inundated with news updates about a Wisconsin sports icon getting ready to return, but take a deep breath, everyone: Gorman Thomas isn't going to play for the Cubs.

Drink up.

Monday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 14:23:50 -0000

More photos » by Darren Hauck - AP

Jason Kendall looks over his shoulder after his throw to first wasn't in time to get Ivan Rodriguez in the third inning Sunday.

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Some things to read while never getting too old.

Welcome back to the Jason Kendall Era. After Mike Rivera went 3-for-6 with two home runs and was on base seven times while starting back to back games for the first time since 2006, Jason Kendall was back in the starting lineup Saturday and Sunday, and responded by going 1-for-5, getting intentionally walked (!), and getting hit by a pitch. The performance actually raised Kendall's OPS to .599. Brew City Sports thought the Brewers had finally figured it out, but no such luck.

If you're going to argue that Kendall's defensive prowess earns him a free pass, save it. Baseball Digest Daily ranked Kendall as baseball's 11th best defensive catcher in 2009. I'm having a hard time believing that Kendall's middle-of-the-road defense makes up for the fact that he's one of baseball's worst hitters.

On the plus side, his HBP Saturday was the 499th in Miller Park history, which opened the door for Felipe Lopez to pick up the 500th.

If you're coming up with a new stat, it's probably a good idea to give it a smell test. For example, Joe Posnanski came up with a new hitting stat over the weekend, and Jason Kendall is fifth from the bottom. That smells about right.

Meanwhile, Ken Macha is updating the schedule to slot Dave Bush and Jeff Suppan back into the rotation in the coming weeks. Suppan's rehab start in Wisconsin wasn't good enough to earn him an immediate return to the Brewers, so he'll make a start in Nashville on Thursday and could rejoin the team on August 25. Bush, meanwhile, will start for Wisconsin tomorrow, in Huntsville on Saturday and hopefully for the Brewers on the 27th.

While Suppan is in Nashville he'll most likely get a chance to say hello to J.J. Hardy, who's doing very little to prove he deserves to return to Milwaukee. Even though he was given three days to report to the Sounds, Hardy showed up late on Friday and was only available to pinch hit. Then, he hit a home run on Saturday, but went 0-for-4 again last night, making him 1-for-9 in his first three games. Beyond the Box Score did the math and says the Brewers are about 2.3 runs better over the course of a season with Escobar playing short.

Meanwhile, Jason Bourgeois is hoping to prove he belongs in the major leagues on a permanent basis. He picked up his first major league RBI in Friday's game and hasn't been heard from since.

Prince Fielder has an eight-game hitting streak going, and has hit .412/.447/.824 over that time. Yesterday he hit his 30th home run, becoming the first Brewer ever to hit 30 home runs and drive in 100 runs in three straight seasons. Fielder has posted a .973 OPS in August, which is impressive enough, but he was actually better in May, June and July.

In the minors:

The Brewers were hoping to announce a deal with 2009 sandwich pick Kentrail Davis yesterday, but were unable to do so. Davis was at Miller Park yesterday, presumably to undergo a physical. Tom H. thinks a deal is done but is awaiting approval from the Commissioner's Office, which has to approve any deal for more than slot money.
If that deal is in fact done, the top two remaining unsigned picks would be high school pitcher Brooks Hall and shortstop Scooter Gennett, and the team is still negotiating with both of them.
2001 first round pick Mike Jones is expected to be promoted to Nashville today. After years of battling shoulder and elbow problems, this will be the first time Jones has been above AA.
Josh Butler, currently working his way back from injury in Arizona, will take Jones' spot in Huntsville.
Also noted in the previous link: The Brewers are expected to send Lorenzo Cain, Taylor Green, Jonathan Lucroy, Mark Rogers, Josh Butler and Zach Braddock to the Arizona Fall League. Braddock's selection will depend on his health. Even if he goes, the Brewers will need to select one more pitcher.

Casey McGehee is still not playing every day, but FanGraphs ranked him fifth in the race for NL Rookie of the Year. McGehee could be having quite the magical season if his knee and Ken Macha allowed him to play more often.

On Power Rankings and playoff odds:

THT's Dartboard has the Brewers at 19th.
MLB Playoff Odds gives the Brewers a 1.8% chance of making the playoffs.
CoolStandings gives them a 3.3% chance.

Around baseball:

Mets: Placed David Wright on the DL with a concussion.
Pirates Designated outfielder Jeff Salazar for assignment.
Rangers: Placed Nelson Cruz on the DL with a sprained ankle.
Red Sox: Acquired Alex Gonzalez from the Reds for a minor league infielder and designated Chris Woodward for assignment.
Rockies: Released Mike Timlin.

How do you get a black eye in a bar fight you weren't involved in? That's the question someone needs to ask Brett Myers, who missed a rehab start over the weekend with said eye injury. To make matters worse, Myers initially told the team and media he suffered the injury playing catch with his son, then changed the story to say he fell out of his car, sober.

At least she finished the race, which is more than many of us would do: Trenni ran in the Sausage Race over the weekend, but finished in fourth place.

Of course, if you've been to Miller Park lately you know that the Sausage Race is also the start of the race to beat traffic out of Miller Park. Miller Park Drunk outlines the acceptable reasons to leave early. There's not many.

Baseball faces lots of issues: High ticket prices, poor umpiring, steroids, etc. With that said, American Polymath has a solution I've never heard before, but can get wholeheartedly behind: Baseball Needs Rob Deer.

How many times has a Brewer runner take off on a 3-2 pitch, just to return to your base when it's fouled off? I'm not sure I would have invested the time in tracking it, but Plunk Everyone reports they've done it 54 times this season, which puts them in the bottom third of teams. The Dodgers have fouled off a 3-2 pitch with runners going 103 times.

On this day in 1983, Tom Candiotti pitched a complete game in his first major league start and beat the Red Sox 5-1.

Happy birthday to Skip Lockwood, who pitched in 132 games for the Pilots and Brewers between 1969 and 1973 and turns 63 today. Jeff Liefer, who appeared in 16 games for the Brewers in 2004, also turns 35.

Oh, and I think we all wish our significant other was a little more like Sloane Peterson. (h/t C. Trent Rosecrans)

Drink up.

Kirbir's Pictures of the Week

kirbir — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 14:00:12 -0000

So this week saw a lot going on for the Brewers. JJ Hardy was sent down to Nashville, Bill Castro was fired, and Bill Hall was designated for assignment. The team also won three games in a row for the first time since sweeping the June 15-17 series against the Cleveland Indians.

Follow the jump to see this week's news in pictures!

This will probably be the last time that Bill Hall gets featured as a Brewer in PotW. I wish it were a better picture, but there are reasons for the moves that Brewers management made. Bill Hall will have to do it all for another team in another stadium. I feel a Goonies moment coming on:

Don't you realize? The next time you see sky, it'll be over another town. The next time you take a test, it'll be in some other school. Our parents, they want the best of stuff for us. But right now, they got to do what's right for them. Because it's their time. Their time! Up there! Down here, it's our time. It's our time down here. That's all over the second we ride up Troy's bucket.

If Bill Hall does end up leaving the Brewers system, I want to wish him luck. I hope that, wherever he ends up playing, he gets enough time and help to do it to the best of his ability.

Ryan Braun has balls and he shares them with his fans... who all seem to be guys right there. Ewww.

Mike Burns pitched very well last night, leading the Brewers to a 6-2 victory over the Houston Astros. He deserves a beer, or at least a pat on the back.

Alcides Escobar forces out Mike Bourn for the last out of the game. I wasn't sure he was going to make the play, but now I'm a little more confident in his abilities to play than I was in Hardy's, at least at this point.

The ever-refreshing Todd Coffey gets a congratulatory whatever-this-is from teammate Mike Cameron.

The defense never does it alone. Craig Counsell had three RBIs last night and scored a run himself.

Mike Cameron, Jason Bourgeois, and Alcides Escobar celebrate the Brewers win on retro night Friday.

Mike Rivera hit his two season home runs Thursday against the San Diego Padres.

Also, dragonfly! :D

All pictures from Yahoo!