In the News (5/20)

Today's Game: Brewers 7, Pirates 2

Record: 21-24, tied for fifth place
Games Behind Cubs: 6.5

- The Brewers won! And it was on the road! And in Pittsburgh! The road losing streak was snapped at nine, tied for fourth longest in franchise history.

- Manny Parra pitched 5 2/3 innings and gets the win, giving up no runs.

- This is very encouraging:

• Weeks: 2-4
  
• Cameron: 3-4
  
• Hart: 2-5
  
• Hardy: 2-4
  
• Hall: 2-3
  

- Gagne gave up two runs in 2/3 of an inning to blow the shutout. Ugh... He left the game with shoulder stiffness. We'll know more later today.

- The Brewers shook things up a little bit today:

• Seth McClung will start Saturday with Carlos Villanueva going to the bullpen. Hopefully in the longterm Carlos is back in the rotation, but it could be good for him to pitch with a little less pressure. And it'll be nice to see what McClung can do as a starter. More HERE.
• Dave Bush and Jeff Suppan swapped spots in the rotation. Bush will pitch the third game in Pittsburgh and Suppan will pitch the opener in Washington on Friday.
• Hardy moved up to the sixth spot in the batting order and Hall moved down to eighth.

- Yost was not happy about the Internet rumor that he was fired and how the Journal-Sentinel handled it. More HERE.

- Torres is back in Pittsburgh, but he doesn't necessarily have fond memories of his former club, at least the management.

- The Junkball Blues shows how poorly Brewers' pitchers have pitched with two outs in losses this year.

- Bill Shaikin of the LA Time says the Padres could trade Randy Wolf to the Brewers, among other teams. He also mentions that Greg Maddux could be on the block.

- Mike Lucas suggests replacing Yost with Nashville manager Frank Kremblas could spark the Brewers.

- When the Brewers reacquired Crabbe, they let infielder Abraham Nunez go. The Mets signed him to a minor-league deal.

- Barry Rozner of the Chicago Daily Herald says the Cubs will win the NL Central by at least 10 games.

- BrewersNation is keeping things positive.

- Yost is winning Big League Stew's poll for which MLB manager will be fired first.

- The Brewers finished 28th in WhatIfSports.com's baseball simulation. But, hey, at least they beat the Giants and the Nationals...

- OnMilwaukee.com's 100 Things Not to Do in Milwaukee list features several Brewer-related things not to do:

• 1. Invite Prince Fielder to a pig roast
• 8. Root, root, root for the Cubbies at Miller Park
• 25. Wear Packers apparel to a Brewers game ... or on any other day other than Sunday.
• 27. Wear a shirt to Miller Park that says "I have a Hart on for Corey" and expect to get on TV.
• 44. Swing a bat at the sausage racers at Miller Park.
• 46. Take your grandma to Brewers opening day.
• 55. Go to a Brewers game without tailgating.
• 93. Be the two-fisted slobber.

- Gord Ash and Dave Nelson will be the Brewers on-air representatives during the draft.

- Shortstop prospect Alcides Escobar is the Sports Bubbler Brewers Prospect of the Week.

- Sam Narron is pitching well for the Brewers in the minors and made a successful return to AAA after battling back from injury.

- Fans that made the trip to Boston had a good time despite the Brewers' play.

- Mark DeRosa is a douchebag:

"Thanks for all the suggestions for a blog title. It's now 'The Pulse,' which is something my teammates have called me for the last two years.

Everything goes through me. My teammates know it. The fans see the superstars and all this stuff. I'm the glue, baby. I'm the guy who floats from the No. 1 man to the 25th man. I'm somewhere in the 15, 13 range. I'm the bell curve."

Even Cubs fans realize it.

- The Pirates may draft college third baseman Pedro Alvarez with the second pick in June's draft.

- The Reds may be busy on the trade market this year. Ken Rosenthal says they'll trade Scott Hatteberg and a catcher before looking to deal Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey Jr.

- Looks like the Yankee's new stadium is still jinxed.