UPDATE 07-17-08 12:50pm - 

• Battlekow from Brew Crew Ball is amazingly proficient with his interviews.  Today, he talks with OF Erik Komatsu, who has been dominating in Helena thus far this season.  He seems quite confident with his abilities, and it appears that he has a reason to be.
  
• Again, I forgot to add my own article that is on the front page.  One of these days I will remember.
  
• Nicholas has a nice article that outlines the 10 things the Brewers need to do to have second half success.  I more than agree with the part about the bullpen.  I would personally like to see Guillermo Mota shown the door and call up Mark DiFelice, but that's just me.  The one part of the article that I find troublesome is the part about Lady Luck.  Yes, the Cubs had a much higher BABIP (batting average on balls in play) than did the Brewers, but there is a reason.  The Cubs are not as aggressive as are the Brewers at the plate.  They drive the ball much more.  Milwaukee has an inordinate amount of pop-ups, and it stems from being overaggressive at the plate and getting fooled on bad pitches.  Those pop-ups are not going to fall in the second half either.  The point still stands that Milwaukee did get a little unlucky in the first half, but it's not all luck.  The team needs to cut down on the pop-ups.
• Here is an article about the West Virginia Power's big win last night, accompanied with video highlights.  One thing that strikes me about the highlights is that almost every hit in the segment was to the opposite field.  That is great to see from young hitters.
• This morning, I linked to a post that said the St. Louis Cardinals are willing to part with their top prospect, Colby Rasmus.  The Cardinals Chairman, Bill DeWitt Jr., shot that down this afternoon.  So much for that.
  

After a day of nothingness yesterday, baseball returns.  The Brewers, however, return to action tomorrow night against the San Francisco Giants.  Until then, I will satiate all your Brewers needs with some wonderful articles to read.  Hopefully this will hold you over until tomorrow.

• Jeff Sackmann from Brew Crew Ball takes a look at the second base problem in Milwaukee.  He outlines all the external options Doug could, and probably has, looked at.  Unfortunately, it seems that the replacements are either too expensive (Roberts) or don't provide a big enough upgrade (Durham, Grudzielanek, and Ellis).  It appears as if Milwaukee will ride out the season with Rickie Weeks atop the batting order and playing second base.  It hurts me to keep relying on potential, but he has proven that he produces in August and September.  A weak argument...I know.
  
• In one of my favorite posts of the day, Beyond the Box Score analyzes the "hackiness" of players in the major leagues.  How often does a player swing at a pitch outside the strike zone?  Not surprisingly, Ryan Braun is the eighth-worst hacker in the league.  35.28% of his swings are at balls that are outside the strike zone.  To become a truly great hitter, Ryan will need to learn to have better plate discipline.  There is a reason Chipper Jones sits atop the league in batting average.  He only swings at pitches outside the zone 14.94% of the time.
• Aaron from Brew Crew Pub debunks the notion that Milwaukee's biggest strength is its offense.  I would agree with that.  The team's biggest strength is its home run power, closely followed by its starting pitching.  The bullpen has been average, with individuals performing well below-average.  I'm looking at you, Guillermo Mota and Eric Gagne.
• Brewers Fanatics grades the hitters on the Brewers.  There is one thing that jumps out at me right away.  There is no way that Ryan Braun should be given an A on this list.  He is only hitting .248 with men on base and had a horrendous June, hitting only .248 as well.  Ryan is a special hitter and the ball makes a different sound off his bat, but he has not lived up to expectations this season, fair or not.  The home runs are nice, but I would like to see the average and OBP climb a bit before he gets an A in my book.
• Battlekow from Brew Crew Ball has a great interview with 3B Taylor Green from the West Virginia Power.  As has been discussed incessantly, Taylor is the leading candidate for the PTBNL in the CC Sabathia deal.  The interview makes it sound like Taylor has been completely left in the dark about his whole deal, and he probably has been.  What is Milwaukee supposed to do?  Go tell him, "Hey, you might be traded, but you might not be."?  The same can be said for everyone.  Taylor has been handling himself beautifully in Brevard County, and I do not expect that to change.
• Right Field Bleachers hands out some awards to the minor league players.  David Welch gets the nod for the most effective starting pitcher.  I would have given the nod to Alexandre Periard and his wonderful first half of the season.  Periard has a 3.58 ERA in 105.2 innings, which is fantastic for a 21-year old in high class-A ball.  His GO/AO ratio is also a very respectable 1.84.  That's just me though.  David Welch has done a fine job in Huntsville this season.
• Team USA has been picked, and Mat Gamel is not on the list.  Either the Brewers nixed the idea because they are considering him for a September call-up, or Team USA wanted someone at third that can handle the glove.  It could be a combination of both, as well.  Matt LaPorta has been a media darling since the Cleveland trade, and he grabs the headlines for making the squad.  Congratulations, Matt!  Make us proud in Beijing.
• Baseball Digest Daily loves Mat Gamel.  They were down at the Future's Game and said the ball makes a different noise off Gamel's bat compared to everyone else.  That is high praise considering the amount of talent present at the game.  That description matches a couple of players that are currently on the Milwaukee Brewers -- Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder.  Not bad company.  And if you're one of those people who think Erin Andrews is hot, there are pictures of her as well.  I think she's very attractive.  I just don't care, as I will never meet her.
• Battlekow is busy again on the MLB Draft signings.  He is reporting that Milwaukee has signed RHP Blake Billings from Hillcrest High School in Alabama.  With this signing, the Crew has managed to sign the players they drafted in the first 26 rounds.  That, of course, is assuming Brett Lawrie signs before the August 15th deadline.  That is great work by Doug Melvin and his crew.
• Pittsburgh's Xavier Nady has had his name come up in trade talks, and he doesn't want to be traded.  The team wants the chemistry to stay intact.  That's nice.  It's too bad that chemistry has not translated into wins.  It's fine if everyone is friends on the team, but the management is not worried about that.  They are concerned with fielding a championship-caliber ball club.  Pittsburgh is currently not that, and changes need to be made.
• Jon Heyman from SI.com says the St. Louis Cardinals may be willing to part with top outfield prospect, Colby Rasmus.  That would put them in the market for Xavier Nady, Jason Bay, or even Matt Holliday.  I have also heard the team is scouring the Triple-A to try to find a diamond in the rough and pull a fast one on opposing teams.  Laynce Nix is available if they want him.
• Dugout Central has what they call an objective way to rank teams in the major leagues.  Milwaukee is ranked as the 18th best team in the league, one spot below the St. Louis Cardinals.  Something just doesn't seem right about that...