I got out and swung the club yesterday for the first time since last fall.

Unfortunately, I now have an oblique injury and am listed as day-to-day.  I am a bit worried because the injury has plateaued, but I think playing through it will help alleviate the tightness I am feeling.  Roger Caplinger and the Brewers have me on a strict rehab regiment, and I should be ready to go before Opening Day.

Yes, I am joking.

Major League News

Casey McGehee walked the Brewers off in style yesterday, launching a two-run shot off Randy Messenger in the bottom of the ninth inning.  Milwaukee has now one six games in a row.  The offense is still as hot as ever.  Rickie Weeks went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI.  Prince Fielder hit a two-run shot to get the Brewers on the board in the sixth, and Mike Lamb knocked in three runs on a sacrifice fly and a two-run single.

Manny Parra threw the ball well on Monday.  He surrendered a two-run home run to Mike Wilson of the Mariners, but featured fantastic control of his fastball and worked efficiently through six innings.  Parra also gave up a run due to his own error in the first.  He finished the game with three runs against, two earned, on five hits and two walks.  The lefty also struck out four.  Ken Macha called yesterday's outing the best of the spring for Parra.  The fastball command had been shaky at best until Monday afternoon.

Milwaukee's new closer, Carlos Villanueva, pitched another scoreless inning in relief, allowing a hit and striking out one.  Ken Macha, however, said that Carlos was only "OK."  The overwhelming consensus has been that CV's stuff has been mediocre down in Arizona.  The coaching staff is hoping it is the dry Arizona air, but that seems unlikely.  That tends to only affect pitchers who feature power curves, like Ben Sheets.

The Brewers made a plethora of roster moves yesterday, optioning Hernan Iribarren to Triple-A Nashville and returned utility man Vinny Rottino to minor-league camp.  The team also informed Carlos Corporan, Lindsay Gulin, and Wes Littleton that they would not be making the 25-man roster.  The three will still stay with the big league team, however, as Ken Macha will need them at his disposal for the exhibition games in LA this weekend.  Macha voiced his happiness with Gulin for his performance this spring.

"Lindsay Gulin had a tremendous spring," Brewers manager Ken Macha said of the veteran lefty, who lowered his ERA to 2.77 on Monday. "He showed a lot of people a lot of stuff, so he should be proud of his spring."

Gulin mostly showed that he has a nasty changeup that can still allow him to sneak a low-80s fastball by hitters with regularity.

Ken Rosenthal predicts that Yovani Gallardo will win the NL Cy Young Award.  The selection is billed as "this year's Cliff Lee," which signifies that Rosenthal is mostly going out on a limb.  If he is correct at the end of the season, he will play himself off to be a genius -- yet he still qualified his selection by stating that other pitchers who he believes are better than Gallardo pitched too many innings last season.  It is not that Rosenthal believes Gallardo will be the best pitcher in the NL.  He simply through out a flyer to make himself look good if he is correct -- all while qualifying it heavily to protect himself.

Peter Gammons has jumped on the Rickie Weeks bandwagon.  Gammons says his confidence in Weeks' breakout season is due to the work Willie Randolph has done with Weeks this spring.  While that is nice, I think the progress Dale Sveum has made with Weeks at the plate is far more impressive and more promising.  The Brewers second baseman has proven himself to be extremely coachable this spring, which should pay dividends throughout the season.

Speaking of Rickie Weeks, Two Fisted Slopper lists him as #7 on the Too Big To Fail list.  I always appreciate someone who understands that Rickie is not a bad ballplayer.  He is simply average, and contrary to popular belief, average is not bad.  The good news is that I am harboring a significant amount of optimism when it comes to Rickie Weeks in 2009.  If nothing else, the 26-year old has gained loads of confidence at the plate this spring.  As Cliff Lee proved last season, confidence may be all one needs to break out.

Baseball Musings previews the NL Central, and it does not feature positive news for the Milwaukee Brewers.  David Pinto projects Milwaukee to finish fourth in the division, behind the Cubs, Cardinals, and Astros.  While I agree that Milwaukee has not "replaced" the +9.3 wins provided by CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets last season, Yovani Gallardo and Braden Looper should produce a little more than most believe.  Add bounce back seasons from Prince Fielder and Corey Hart, and the Brewers could be in business in 2009.  One thing is clear, however.  The Milwaukee Brewers will have to score runs.

Should J.J. Hardy eventually be moved to second or third base?  Al's Ramblings outlines the discussion and shows that J.J. would still create more runs than an average player at both positions.  While this may be true, his value truly is maximized at short.  He has displayed no desire to change positions, and I suspect he will only switch if his range decreases significantly this season.  I still believe he will be traded next winter.

Dugout Central attempts to determine who the best hitter of the 1980s was.  Robin Yount and Paul Molitor are, of course, discussed.  Did you know that Robin Yount had the most hits in the decade by almost 100 over Eddie Murray?

Don Walker has some ideas of what may be on the $1 menu at Miller Park this upcoming season.  Fans at the Great American Ballpark, the only other venue trying this promotion, can choose from a hot dog, soda, popcorn, peanuts, ice cream, or a Redlegs Chew candy.  The items are obviously not full-sized, and we can expect something Brewers-related for the chew candy.  This is an extremely nice option for families with young kids.

Minor League News

Rattler Radio notes that Trevor Hoffman could be coming to Appleton for a couple rehabilitation outings with the Timber Rattlers.  The other option is Nashville, and I suspect weather conditions will play a significant role in where the Brewers closer goes to prepare for the big league season.  If it is with the T-Rats, however, you can certainly expect to see me in the crowd.

Now that Hernan Iribarren and Vinny Rottino have been optioned to Nashville, Adam McCalvy wonders where the two utility men will fit into the roster.  Neither player projects to crack the starting lineup, and Rottino will be supplanted by Carlos Corporan as the backup catcher for the Sounds.  Add Jason Bourgeois to the mix, and Don Money will have more utility players than he will know what to do with.  Some roster issues could easily be solved, however, if the Brewers opt to keep Chris Duffy or Casey McGehee with the big league club.

Beyond the Box Score lists the range factors for minor league shortstops.  Alcides Escobar is far and away the best defensive shortstop in the minors.  It is not even close.  As the article says, he is a "human vacuum cleaner."

Would you like to tryout to be Homer the Polecat, the mascot for the Huntsville Stars?  10:00am Saturday.  Mark it down on your calendars.

Other Baseball News

Here is another list of other articles to peruse while bored at work today.

• The Los Angeles Dodgers signed left-handed reliever Will Ohman to a minor-league deal with major-league terms.  He will make $1.35MM plus incentives this season.  He has an opt-out clause if the Dodgers do not call him up by April 14th, which they will. 
• The Baseball Analysts discuss whether or not Albert Pujols can win the Triple Crown in 2009.  In my opinion, only injuries or Ryan Howard can stop him this season.
• The Colorado Rockies sent down both Josh Fogg and Matt Murton yesterday.  Murton is not a bad outfielder, but he simply cannot catch on anywhere despite solid skills.
• Gary Matthews Jr. is upset about being buried on the bench with Angels.  The Halos apparently tried to move him to Cincinnati.  Talks broke down, however, and no deal is on the horizon.
• Derrick Turnbow had been close to cracking the big league bullpen with Texas, but was informed that he will not make the 25-man roster.
• The Tigers released outfielder Gary Sheffield in what was a very surprising move.  Sheff can only play DH at this point, and Detroit wishes to feature a more versatile lineup.
• With Sheffield now out of the picture, the Detroit Tigers acquired outfielder Josh Anderson from the Braves for minor league pitcher Rudy Darrow.  The center field job in Atlanta now presumably goes to Jordan Schafer.  A side note, Darrow hits 94 MPH with a sidearm delivery.
  
• Former Brewer Zach Jackson made the Cleveland Indians as a reliever.
• The Rays will be placing either Jeff Niemann or Jason Hammel on waivers, as both pitchers are out of options.  The Padres and Pirates are reportedly interested in Niemann, but the Rays have been asking for too much.
• Jerry Owens has been placed on waivers by the White Sox.  After appearing slated for the starting center field job, Owens is likely headed for Triple-A once more.
• Thank you to Rob Neyer who pointed out what confused me yesterday.  Dontrelle Willis has been placed on the DL for an anxiety disorder that the doctors found in his blood.  That makes no sense, however, as there is no blood test that would lead to a diagnosis of a psychological disorder.  What is really wrong with Willis?
• Cole Hamels will officially not be pitching on Opening Day for the Philadelphia Phillies, due to a sore elbow.
• Nippon Professional Baseball now has a rudimentary English website for all those that like to keep up with Japanese baseball.

Official BC-sanctioned Music Video of the Day

Nickel Creek -- Smoothie Song