Micro-Brew News: Early Morning Edition

Occasionally I find myself still awake at ungodly hours. Prior to this job, that meant playing XBox and eating Girl Scout cookies until I could finally drag myself into my bed.

Luckily for you, you do need not witness that particular brand of shamefulness from yours truly. Instead, I decided treat with you a bevy of bite-sized baseball stories that could find no home in longer pieces on this site. Your welcome.

Brewers Boast Major League’s Best 30-Day Record; Almost Nobody Cares

How many teams have a record better than 20-6 since May 9th? If you answered none, you would be correct. The Brewers have now won 4 games in a row, swept a very talented Marlins team and crept to one and one-half games behind the St. Louis Cardinals. Don’t tell anyone though, because it would be hard to discuss how Milwaukee is suddenly the hottest team in baseball and show Albert Pujols highlights and spend an entire hour talking about the upcoming Yankees/Red Sox series. #NotBitter.

Jonathan Lucroy Will (Probably) Not Be An All-Star

It’s sad to see, because this year Lucroy is having a terrific season and is developing into an elite catcher with every game. In the first report of voting numbers, Lucroy did not break the top five in votes for catchers.  Unfortunately, having nearly identical numbers to the leading vote getter – Brian McCann of the Atlanta Braves – is not enough to get on the All-Star Team. Hopefully if the votes start pouring in, people will at least discuss him and get to see what we’re lucky enough to see in Milwaukee all the time.

Chris Capuano Returns to Milwaukee Tuesday

It might not be the story of the season, but it will be fun to see Cappy back on the hill in Miller Park as the Brewers open up against the Mets. I’ve always liked Capuano – it’s good to see him healthy again – but I don’t like him enough not to hope that the Crew lights him up as a welcome back present. Capuano has a 4.07 ERA in his old home stadium, and he’s 0-2 with an ERA nearing 7 in his last three starts. There’s a joke about his 2007 season in there somewhere, I just might not have the energy to reach for it.

Almonte Drives in Seven; Subtley Reminds Milwaukee That He Exists

File this in the “No F ‘ing Way” category: Utility Journeyman Erick Almonte went 5 for 6 with a home run and seven RBI’s on Monday. He’s been stuck in Nashville for some time now, after he mercifully put himself on the DL with a concussion in the early part of the season. So far, the assignment has proven to be a God-send for the 33 year old, he’s hitting .444 with 15 runs driven in so far. There’s little doubt that Almonte will stay in Nashville for a long time, but if he keeps beating up on minor league pitchers at least he will be enjoying himself. It’s all about staying positive.

And finally, in League News…

Tampa Bay Rays Draft An Entire Minor League Baseball Team

Seriously, did anyone else notice this? Tampa Bay lucked out on compensation picks, and walked away with ten prospects in the first round. By the end of tomorrow’s draft proceedings, the Rays will have drafted 15 players. It will certainly be exciting to watch them rise through the Tampa Bay system and eventually play for anyone else in the AL East.