SB Nation - Brett Tomko

The Two Sides of Adam Dunn: Graph of the Day

Walter Fulbright — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:47:58 -0000

’"You're not going to succeed if you don't have the talent," Reds general manager Jim Bowden said. ’"The ones with the makeup and the character are the ones who take it to the next level. I don't think Adam Dunn needs any nurturing. You just let him go."...

... Dunn is not frightened by Griffey's recent experiences in the spotlight. Neither is he the type to change his persona to fit fame. ’"I'm not going to change," he said. ’"I'm a pretty loud guy, a pretty outspoken guy."

Example: "Aaron (Boone) would be a great wife if he were a woman."

From the Cincinnati Enquirer, February 26, 2002

It's weird to remember, but Adam Dunn was once highly prized as a prospect as much for his athleticism as his perhaps patient to a fault batting eye and prodigious power. It's a world away from when the Mariners' insistence of his inclusion in the Ken Griffey Jr. trade almost sunk that deal. But not necessarily in a bad way.

Considering their eventual haul in that trade: Brett Tomko, Mike Cameron, Antonio Perez and Jake Meyer, maybe Seattle should have stuck to their guns. But the 235 pound University of Texas backup quarterback became perhaps the most polarizing player in baseball ... and by almost nothing of his own doing. No firecrackers or water bottles thrown into the stands, no notable tirades, no frustrating nagging injuries, no media meltdowns.

Just a frustratingly patient (for a certain baseball element) approach that emphasized walks over singles, and downplayed the negative impact of strikeouts, now a common skillset (as is noted by Mark Reynolds and Jack Cust owning the league records for strikeouts in a season. Of course Reynolds broke Ryan Howard's record that had stood for a whopping 2 years, then broke his own record the very next year.)

But 235 pounds (even a trim, streamlined one, as he was) is relatively heavy for a baseball player. Now at over 300 (as constant rumors, as well as basic evalutation by the naked eye have put him), he's still a pretty good athlete - if in the Nationals are planning on fielding a scrimmage football team for the fall. His top speed still grades out at about league average (it was once well above it in his salad days). But that pesky law of inertia is a fickle one, and with that size the acceleration and change of direction is gone, far and away the more important baseball skills. His tracking fly balls down in the outfield is like chasing an automobile with a freight train: raw mph doesn't really describe why it can't work.

The total UZR chart above actually has Adam Dunn split between two positions: generalized OF (mostly RF, some LF) and a not insignicant amount of time at 1B. The thing is, unlike his body type comparables (say, Ryan Howard and Prince Fielder), Adam Dunn can't hide his failings at the cold corner. Whatever advantage he has for reaching to balls above his head (a pretty low percentage play anyway) are absolutely obliterated by his inability to scoop balls in the dirt, either from throws or from ground balls. He's so completely top heavy that he has an inherent disadvantage to those born with the virtue of just being closer to the ground. This is a pretty definite trend, he has roughly the same power off the bat as when he was 23, only with 60-70 more pounds packed on, his defense has gone from pretty bad to awful to absolutely unacceptable. But is this his failing? He's still a superstar, just playing out of position because he no longer has one. There is, however, a rule change in the American League from 1973 that I'd like to make J.P. Ricciardi aware of.

It wasn't but two offseasons ago that I thought Dunn would make an excellent replacement for Manny Ramirez in Boston considering the eventual probably decline of David Ortiz and the much friendlier dimensions of LF in Boston (one it seems he might have been able to handle as capably as Jason Bay has, at the same age and a little less price). There will be a VOC graph tomorrow about the Nationals, and since I dedicated about a thousand words to him here, I'm going to make that analysis completely Donkey-free. However, pay attention to where he stands ... and let's start a letter writing campaign to see if we can find the Nationals an American League trading partner. For what the Royals gave up for Yuniesky Betancourt*, could they have landed an Adam Dunn to replace the similarly defensively challenged Mike Jacobs?

*Also wanted to point out in the UZR chart above that of the players listed, only Betancourt was acquired primarily for his defense. I think I can let that fact stand on it's own.

This is an unfortunate turning point for Adam Dunn - neither the traditional nor the statistically-leaned are particularly on his side at this point, and it's possible his future is now railroaded to obscurity. But I'm pretty sure there'll be a special place in statistical history for Adam Dunn ... and his 50% of Mike Schmidt style skill set.

Tuesday a.m. Rangers things

Adam J. Morris — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:21:15 -0000

More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

3 months ago: Texas Rangers pitcher Scott Feldman reaches up to grab a grounder back to the mound by Oakland Athletics' Jack Cust in the fifth inning of a baseball game in Arlington, Texas, Monday, Sept. 14, 2009. Cust was out at first. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

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Another game gone. 19 to go. Anaheim lost as well, so no ground was lost, but things are looking pretty bleak as far as playoff chances go right now.

Jeff Wilson says that being shut out in a critical game by Brett Tomko, of all people, was a punch in the gut to the Rangers.

Evan Grant says the Ranger offense looked tired and lacked energy.

Jeff (the writer) Miller notes that Scott Feldman looked like he was cruising, and might be able to record his first every complete game, before suddenly losing his command and opening the door for a couple of big Oakland innings.

Kevin Millwood is working on his mechanics in a side session, and Derek Holland's next start will be Monday, giving him a little extra rest.

C.J. Wilson is hosting a charity event on Thursday where you can buy "Wolfpack" t-shirts.

A's score early & often, cruise to a win over the Chisox

Flashfire — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 03:00:13 -0000

More photos » by Paul Beaty - AP

Visual evidence that Carlos Torres did, in fact, pitch tonight. Not well, but he pitched.

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When your bullpen gets up a handful of minutes into the game and it isn't injury-related, you're in for a long night. Such was the case for rookie Carlos Torres and the Chicago White Sox tonight as the A's sprayed hits all over the Cell in an 11-3 laugher, scoring in all but three innings. As the game started they noted Torres pitches out of the stretch all the time and given his line (2/3 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 2 HR) I'm not surprised. He only threw six pitches for balls but when you factor in he threw more warming up before the game than he did in it (22)...well, yeah.

As a sign of how evenly distributed the 20 hits the A's had were, everyone in the lineup had at least one and Kurt Suzuki was the only hitter who didn't have at least two. Ryan Sweeney tore it up (ahem) with four against his former team, Rajai Davis had three and both scored three times. Jack Cust had a big three-run homer in the first after Torres got the second out on a sacrifice fly by Suzuki. Mark Ellis followed by depositing another one over the fence for back-to-back homers and an early shower for Torres. Then again, I don't know that he really worked up a sweat to begin with. After that sacrifice fly the last ten runs by the A's came with two out, always a good thing to see.

Two more runs in the second helped stake Brett Tomko to a big 7-0 lead early and while he didn't complete the sixth his outing was more than enough to maintain a comfortable lead. He'd wind up allowing 3 earned on 6 hits, 1 walk and 3 strikeouts, also giving up a pair of homers to Mark Kotsay and Paul Konerko. He had no trouble at all with the rest of the lineup, probably because none of their last names started with a K. Lefties Craig Breslow, Jerry Blevins and Brad Kilby looked great in relief of Tomko, combining to allow just a hit and a walk (both by Breslow) in 3 2/3 innings.

Just one of those fun games to be able to watch as the season winds down. The, uh, series finale is tomorrow.

Triumvirate of Dingers Doom A's; Mariners win 7-4

67MARQUEZ — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 05:17:04 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Chiu - AP

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"From where I was at after the All-Star break to what's transpired, it's a good feeling."

- Brett Tomko

Alas, that feeling of good came to an abrupt halt just two batters into tonight's game, when Franklin Gutiérrez- the infamous Franklin Gutiérrez- cranked a home run with Ichiro on base in front of him to make it 2-0 before most of the twelve fans in attendance had a chance to find better seats.

Four batters later Bill Hall- can there be a more boring baseball name?- followed an Adrián Béltre two-bagger with a no-doubt-about-it blast to left, and just like that the A's were four runs in the red. It was Hall's first American League homerun.

Suddenly those ugly-uniformed pigskin carriers were looking fairly decent as a sports alternative.

"Not so fast", said the Home Nine, who thanks to a two-run base knock by their handsome devil of a catcher Kurt Suzuki, cut the lead in half in their first time at the bat. With two men aboard and two out in the second, Ryan Sweeney grounded out to short to end the inning. Except that he didn't.

Jack Wilson's (or was it Josh?) underhand throw went over the head of second baseman José López, allowing Adam Kennedy to touch home plate with Oakland's third run.

In the fourth Brett Tomko officially turned back into Brett Tomko, as Kenji Johjima drilled a two-run homerun, his seventh of the season, and third off these very A's.

The game stayed at 6-3 until after the stretch when Daric Barton turned on a Mark Lowe fastball and drilled it to deep right in the eighth, only to see the Mariners get that run back in the ninth on a perfectly-executed suicide squeeze by that man Gutiérrez to score former Athletic Jack Hannahan.

While there was a tease thread (for my own selfish reasons), the A's barely showed any skin in the ninth, going down quietly against David Aardsma, who earned his 34th save of the campaign.

Only four more 67M threads left for 2009, not counting games that extend past the A's season.

Kendry Morales Tatters the A's Bullpen, Undoing Tomko's Bid to Go 3-0

louismg — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 05:27:48 -0000

More photos » by Mark Avery - AP

Are you kidding me? I got that guy out! And you know we're doomed if you don't call this right! Don't you? Argh!

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When Brett Tomko walked off the mound with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, the A's had a 6-1 lead, and all signs pointed to his coasting to a calm evening in the dugout while chalking up his third win in as many decisions in Oakland. But the Angels had other ideas, scoring 10 unanswered runs, largely on the back of a huge 5-5 night from Kendry Morales, who posted 2 home runs and 2 doubles as part of his 6 RBI night for the Halos.

The bottom of the 7th started off ugly, when Adam Kennedy made a throwing error to open the inning. And it got worse. Bobby Abreu was called safe after being tagged, while in the air, by Craig Breslow, who was beside himself when the umpire, already unloved by the A's dugout, completely missed the play. With Breslow out, Ziggy came in and rapidly the game got away. A 2-run Guerrero single made it 6-5, and after Rivera singled, the aforementioned Morales hit a three-run shot to make it 8-6 Angels. Aybar tripled and Kendrick, up for the second time in inning, singled him in to make it 9-6. All told, it was a 7-run 7th.

While livid over the first base umpire's blatant miss, following his smugness during a previous argument with Scott Hairston, a single play doesn't usually plate 7 runs. Okay. It never does. The game got away because of sloppy defense that opened the door, and an extremely hittable bullpen, which later included Jay Marshall and Santiago Casilla, who both gave up a run, to make the Angels score a solid 11 runs, and spotting them a 5-run lead.

At this point, with Tomko's sharp start long since forgotten, the A's did what they have often done this season - tease us into thinking there might be a chance, scoring one in the 9th to make it 11-7, and bringing the tying run on deck. But that's as close as we would get.

Unlike some other blogs (Rhymes with "Stale-O's Seven"), we won't be doing a Blame of the Game. What's the point? But any time you give up 10 unanswered runs to your division rival, you deserve to lose. Tomko did all he could, showing the A's that he is a legitimate starter, but there was no stopping Morales tonight, and this game is best forgotten as quickly as possible.

Could it be...? No, it can't be... OMG it really is! It's a Minor League Update!!!

grover — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:00:25 -0000

Hello again.

Work called me away for a while and it’s been tough getting back into the groove of things. For those who don’t know, I’m a wildland fire fighter and August got a little busy for those in my career field. So when I disappear again for a couple weeks just remember… I envy your access to in-door plumbing.

Anyways, I want to focus this week’s minor league update on the 40 man roster and the options that are going to have to be decided upon in the coming months. Why do this now instead of waiting until September 1st? The topic tickles my fancy, that’s why. As I seem to have (once again) misplaced my Cap o’ Omnipotence I’m forced to resort to basic logic and common sense reckoning to try and deduce the future roster.

That’s right… none of what I’m about to tell you is guaranteed!

The way I see it, there are 28-29 spots on the future 40 man roster all but guaranteed. On the pitching side, Brett Anderson, Andrew Bailey, Jerry Blevins, Dallas Braden, Craig Breslow, Trevor Cahill, Joey Devine, Gio Gonzalez, Jeff Gray, Jay Marshall, Vin Mazzaro, Clayton Mortensen, Josh Outman, Henry Rodriguez, Michael Wuertz and Brad Ziegler all seem certain to have jobs in the Oakland organization next year. That’s 16 pitchers of varying combinations of success/cheapness/options that aren’t going to be released just to make room on the roster. (There’s a pretty good chance that Outman will open next season on the 60-day DL, opening up an additional spot on the 40 man.) Santiago Casilla and Edgar Gonzalez are both arbitration eligible next season but neither pitched so well that the A’s are going to be eager to give them big pay raises, which could mean either or both players could end up as trade fodder or possibly even released. Dana Eveland is still on the 40 man roster as well, but his poor performance led to a demotion that will keep him from seeing any arby money next season. Unfortunately, Mr. Eveland’s suckitude forced the A’s to use his last option this season; meaning he can’t be stashed on Sacramento’s roster next season without first passing through waivers. Chances are Eveland isn’t going to be one of the 5 best SP candidates for the A’s come Opening Day 2010 and as a lefty with a pulse he’d probably get snapped up by some other team desperate for pitching. Therefore, I think this is good-bye to Mr. Eveland.

As it just so happens, it looks as if the A’s are going to need maybe 3 openings on the 40 man roster just to protect some arms that should attract a lot of interest in the Rule 5 draft. Pedro Figueroa hasn’t advanced past High-A ball but he’s a lefty with a low-90’s fastball. Brad Kilby is another lefty who’s put up back-to-back quality campaigns in Sacramento’s bullpen. Fautino De Los Santos is still trying to bounce back from 2008 TJ surgery but he wouldn’t last long if the A’s made him available for the Rule 5 draft. Jason Ray is in the same boat but I don’t think there’s much risk of someone grabbing him and keeping him on a 25 man roster all season.

There’s also a chance the A’s might be interested in bringing back Brett Tomko or Justin Duchscherer next season. Dan Giese should be fully recovered in time for next season; maybe the A’s are still interested in him as a swing man type. Plus, guys like Sam Demel and James Simmons could be knocking on the door next season and they’d need a spot on the 40 man to do so. Like I said, I could see 3-4 spots going to the guys I just listed and we haven’t even looked outside the organization to find help.

The hitting side of things is even more in flux.

Kurt Suzuki, Landon Powell, Eric Chavez (who?) Mark Ellis, Daric Barton, Travis Buck, Aaron Cunningham, Rajai Davis, Scott Hairston, Ryan Sweeney, Jack Cust, Tommy Everidge, Cliff Pennington and Gregorio Petit have spots on the 40 man roster. (Although I’m not sure if Petit has another minor league option available to him in 2010… if someone has a conclusive answer I’d appreciate hearing it.) C Anthony Recker is the most prominent bat in the A’s system that would be eligible for the Rule 5 draft this winter and I’m not sure if the A’s would consider his departure to be a great loss. So any Recker fans out there can protect him on their 40 man lists, but I’m thinking the A’s leave him off the protected roster. Chris Denorfia and Eric Patterson are both out of options, so if they aren’t in Oakland come Opening Day there’s a good chance they’ll be playing for another organization in 2010. I can maybe see Patterson as a back-up at 2B and in the outfield but I’ve got to squint and angle my head to one side to see it. I think it’s more likely that the A’s will try to bring back Adam Kennedy to serve as a deluxe back-up option/veteran mentor type.

The real twist comes when you consider the minor league bats that the A’s have in AA or higher that aren’t yet on the 40 man roster. Sean Doolittle, Adrian Cardenas, Josh Donaldson, Corey Brown, Chris Carter and Brett Wallace highlight the next wave of Oakland offense… which could be much more refreshing than the current ripple in the still waters we’ve experienced as of late. Yet again we haven’t looked outside the current organization to determine if maybe there’s another bat to be had.

So bring back Kennedy, add the newbies and you’re looking at 38-39 players on the 40 man roster before the Rule 5 draft. Does anyone see any glaring omissions?

Until the next time...

Bizarro Universe - Yankees lose to Tomko and A's, 3-0

Travis G — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 05:35:06 -0000

More photos » by Ben Margot - AP

"A.J. How are we losing to Brett Tomko?!" "No idea, Jorge. No idea."

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This is truly a topsy-turvy world when Brett Tomko out-pitches A.J. Burnett.

A-Rod did Tomko a huge favor by swinging at the first pitch with the bases full and one out. He grounded out weakly to Tomko, who turned a 1-2-3 GDP. That was the best chance of scoring the Yanks had all game.

It just wasn't our night. For example, Damon's AB in the 8th inning saw him pull a potential double a couple feet foul, then line an atom ball right at the second-baseman. If either are hits, the Yanks bring the tying run to the plate with no outs.

Burnett doesn't deserve any blame. He wasn't great, but certainly wasn't bad: 8 ip, 3 er is enough for a win most of the time, especially with the lineup the Yankees have. The offense, for whatever reason, couldn't get anything going.

I'll take the blame for jinxing the team. No more 'easy wins' this year.

Tomko Teams with Three to Blank Yanks

67MARQUEZ — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 04:43:48 -0000

More photos » by Ben Margot - AP

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I guess that's why they play the game.

With Brett Tomko the apparent sacrificial lamb sent out to face the big, bad Yankees, this was one of those games that you marked with an "L" on your magnetic schedule long before the first pitch.

But a funny thing happened on the way to a Big Apple beat-down. Tomko tossed five shutout innings, Rajai Davis and Mark Ellis continued their torrid ways, and the A's walked off the diamond with a 3-0 victory.

Oh and it seems there were some signings tonight, too.

Seems Tomko's arm was not a bomb threat after all. Although he retired the side just once, he was never in any real danger, except for the third when he faced Alex Rodriguez with the bags loaded, and only one out. But Tomko got A-Rod to hit one back to the mound where he started an inning-ending, 1-2-3 double play.

All the game's runs were scored in the fourth, and good news for you dear reader, they all came on the A's side of the board. Davis doubled with one out, and stole third without a throw before Kurt Suzuki singled him home. Scott Hairston's base hit was followed by a Ryan Sweeney groundout that moved the runners up ninety feet. Suzuki scored on a balk by starter A.J. Burnett, who appeared to stop himself as if time was called. With Hairston on third, Ellis drove him in on a double that eluded Nick Swisher. Make that 20 RBI's in August for the second baseman.

And that was pretty much it, with one more scare in the eighth.

Craig Breslow allowed just a hit, while striking out a pair in two innings of work, and was followed by Brad Ziegler. With two on and two out in the eighth, Ziggy K'd Jorge Posada to douse the fire, and Andrew Bailey pitched a perfect ninth to close out a most improbable win.

Prove Us All Wrong, Tomko!

Nico — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:27:58 -0000

More photos » by Ben Margot - AP

Scott Podsednik is distracted by seeing the "over/under" on Brett Tomko's earned runs tonight.

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And by that, I mean please last into the 3rd inning and keep the damage to less than 5 runs. This is the post where I hate on Brett Tomko for giving me less confidence than Dana Eveland, Edgar Gonzalez, or Dan Freaking Giese, which is hard to do. But you see, Tomko pitching well is actually slightly less likely than finding a pitcher named Danegardan Evezoliese, and let's face it: That's pretty unlikely.

Here are some things I'd like to see tonight:

1. Edgar Gonzalez getting loose in the bullpen as Tomko takes his warmups on the mound before the top of the 1st.

2. Kurt Suzuki putting down four fingers, Tomko calling him out to the mound to double-check the sign, and Suzuki explaining, "I'm calling for Mazzaro's fastball; you think I'm gonna call for yours?"

3. Suzuki putting down nine fingers, then one finger, then one finger. Where's On-Star when you need them?

4. A Scotsman on a horse.

5. The A's bring the infield in with a runner at 1st and nobody out, "just to get a head start."

I kid, I kid, I kid. Brett Tomko is not a horrible pitcher, he's just incapable of getting hitters out. He feels he didn't get "a fair shot" with the Yankees, because after posting a 5.23 ERA in 15 games, the Yankees wouldn't let him pitch for them any more. Even though last year he had proven himself with a 2-7 record, 6.97 ERA, and WHIP of 1.53 "pitching" for Kansas City. 60.2 IP, 80 hits, 11 of them HRs. Oops. Sounds like a lot of "shots" that stayed "fair," Brett!

What IS impressive about Tomko, in fairness to the guy, is that he's consistent. Here are his ERAs since 1998: 4.44, 4.92, 4.68, 5.19, 4.49, 5.28, 4.04, 4.48, 4.73, 5.80, 4.61, 6.97, 5.23. That's right, one season with an ERA below 4.44. So essentially, any 2-inning period in which Tomko gives up only 1 run means he's "really on his game right now."

What you'll hear scouts say is that Tomko "has a good arm." But no one ever asks the crucial follow-up question: Which arm? Tomko's left arm is like Derek Holland's back: Hubba hubba, folks. Sadly, the right one produces bombs at a rate rivaled only by CBS' comedy department. ("Tonight on The New Adventures Of Old Tomko: Hilarity ensues when the Yankees find themselves with five baserunners but only three bases they're allowed to be on, and Wanda Sykes has plenty to say about it.")

Go get 'em tonight, Brett! We kid because ~~we love~~ we're frightened.

Thursday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:32:24 -0000

More photos » by Morry Gash - AP

Casey McGehee is congratulated by Felipe Lopez after hitting a two-run home run Wednesday.

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Some things to read while reusing a pizza box.

Casey McGehee had a night to remember last night, hitting the game-winning pinch hit home run just hours after his 2 1/2 year old son Mackail threw out the first pitch, with the help of Prince Fielder. Mackail, McGehee's only child, is battling cerebral palsy. Last October, McGehee's wife Sarah set up a blog and posted about the first two years of Mackail's life. There's only one post, but it's a worthwhile read. (h/t TheJay)

Last night wasn't Manny Parra's best outing, but he managed to straighten things out after a rough start and get through six innings, saving the Brewer bullpen and keeping the team in the game. View From Bernie's Chalet saw some encouraging signs in the performance. Parra did, however, walk home two runs in the second inning, pushing the Brewer season total to 16. The franchise record is 20, and the Brewers may demolish it by the end of August as part of their Shattering Records, Shattering Hearts campaign.

Meanwhile, Doug Melvin continues to scour the market for potential pitching help. Today's notes:

Kevin Correia popped up in Rumorville this morning. He's posted a 4.75 ERA in 21 starts for the Padres, and while they may be looking to unload him, I believe he's also a free agent after the season, which is the type of player the Brewers have said they're not pursuing. Correia signed as a free agent with the Padres in December. (And actually, his new team could still take him to arbitration, since he'll only have about 5 years of service time. Thanks, TheJay!)
Eli Greenspan of MLB Daily Dish thinks the Brewers might be players for Orioles closer George Sherrill, and suggests the Brewers should offer a package with Jake Odorizzi (BCB Prospect #9) as the centerpiece. Odorizzi has a high upside but is also still in rookie ball, so he's probably a little too far from the big leagues to be the centerpiece in a deal.
Jesus Colome, meanwhile, pitched another scoreless inning, allowing a hit and striking out two, while picking up the save in Nashville last night.

At what point does the blame for the Brewers' poor pitching performance in 2009 fall on first year pitching coach Billy Castro? Obviously, injuries are a part of it, but Brewer Paradise Lost crunched the numbers and found a decline in every Brewer starter in 2009, while former Brewer pitching coach Mike Maddux is guiding an exceptional turnaround of the Rangers' staff.

Carlos Villanueva will make his second start on Sunday, giving him another opportunity to prove he belongs in the rotation. Villanueva pitched reasonably well into the fourth inning on Tuesday, and the Brewers don't really have anyone more deserving of the opportunity at this point.

Mike Rivera went 0-for-3 but walked and scored a run last night, meaning Brewer catchers are now 101 games into the season and still have yet to hit a home run. Over at Recondite Baseball, TheJay notes that Brewer catchers and Mets second basemen are the only two positions in baseball yet to go deep.

The Brewer outfielders, though, would probably still play deep against them. The outfielders have been moved back after Doug Melvin noticed the Brewers were giving up an inordinate amount of extra base hits, especially triples. Now, they're more prone to allowing bloop singles but should have fewer balls hit over their heads. I feel the need to correct one note in the article, though:

"Balls are going to fall in front, but in order to score one run with a ball dropping in front of you you're going to need two more hits," Macha said. "With a triple, you're just going to have to put the ball in play."

One of those instances came in Sunday's 10-2 loss to the Braves. With two out in the seventh inning, Atlanta's Garret Anderson lined a single that dropped in front of Brewers right fielder Corey Hart and led to howls of boos for the right fielder.

I was at Sunday's game, and I booed on that play, but I didn't boo because the outfielders were playing deep. I booed because, from my vantage point, it looked like Corey Hart took his time and jogged up to a playable ball, catching it on the hop instead of making a full effort. I don't think I've ever booed defensive positioning.

If you're planning on watching today's game, you'll be witnessing history: "Cowboy" Joe West will be today's home plate umpire, in his 4000th career game.

On Power Rankings:

Beyond the Box Score dropped the Brewers three spots to #22.
MLB FanHouse dropped the Brewers one spot to #20.

Around baseball:

Cubs: Reed Johnson is expected to miss a month after breaking his foot.
Giants: Acquired Freddy Sanchez from the Giants for minor league pitcher Tim Alderson.
Mariners: Acquired Ian Snell and Jack Wilson from the Pirates for Jeff Clement, Ronny Cedeno and three minor leaguers, and traded Wladimir Balentien to the Reds for reliever Robert Manuel.
Orioles: Placed Rich Hill on the DL with shoulder tendinitis or a torn labrum, depending on who you ask.
Phillies: Acquired Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco from the Indians for four prospects.
Rockies: Signed Mike Timlin to a minor league deal.
White Sox: Placed Bartolo Colon on the DL with swelling in his elbow.
Yankees: Acquired reliever Jason Hirsh from the Rockies and released Brett Tomko.

We're one day closer to the trading deadline and Roy Halladay still has not moved. Jorge Posada thinks the Jays are asking for too much, but that wasn't enough to keep the Beloit Snappers from making an offer.

It's a strange world sometimes. When last we heard from Jose Rijo, he was leaving the Nationals amidst an FBI investigation into a bonus skimming scandal. So, what does one do next after being disgraced and chased off by the Nats? Rijo is running for mayor of San Cristobal. His opponent is Raul Mondesi. (h/t Baseball Musings)

Sometimes, when you sell at the trade deadline you don't get as much back as you'd like. On this day in 2001 the Brewers traded David Weathers for a mystery box that included Ruben Quevedo and Peter Zoccolillo.

Happy birthday today to 2004 Brewer and Timber Rattlers hitting coach Matt Erickson, who turns 34, 1992 Brewer Scott Fletcher, who turns 51, and former Brewers owner Bud Selig, who turns 75 and should celebrate his birthday by announcing his immediate retirement.

Drink up.