A Starting Pitcher Appears

Clearly the lucid dream of choice for die-hard Milwaukee Brewers fans has been the pick-up of either Jake Peavy or Erik Bedard to round out the rotation. That has fallen out of favor due to injuries to the two and void left in its wake … I refuse to believe Doug Davis, Jarrod Washburn, or Brad Penny would provide much of a difference. The face they're being mentioned as the next tier of available pitchers means they'll also be too costly.

I haven't noticed anything in Brewersdom about a pitcher hiding in front of our eyes for the past few years … Ian Snell. Thanks to this FanGraphs post, it became clear that Snell has worn out his welcome in Pittsburgh and the feeling is mutual. I don't know the Pirates' inclination to trade within the division (this deal may have soured them forever), but Melvin could make a case for Snell and hope for the best with the "change of scenery" qualifier that works about half the time.

As Dave Cameron at FanGraphs writes, Snell has a FIP of 4.56 … which means he's pitched much better than his ERA indicates. Snell has had his ups and downs in the majors, but sports a decent K rate, doesn't walk a ton, and he isn't injury prone. Not to mention his contract is not cumbersome.

With the current starting rotation woes, I think Snell could plug a hole and pitch six every five games. Pittsburgh appears to be looking for volume players, so perhaps a player stuck at AAA and another from the low minors could do the trick. Of course, many other teams probably have the same idea.

You Know…

Al's Ramblings is fun when he talks about the Brewers.

Is Interleague Over Yet? Can I Come Out?

In the halcyon days of the bottom dwelling Brewers, I thought interleague matchups were cool and a nice break from routine. I even went to the first Brewers' interleague game at Miller Park and got a nifty certificate.

Of course, I was oblivious to the ramifications of interleague until the Brewers started competing for something real. Now I loathe interleague because it gives an unfair advantage for some teams when a game or two difference means you're the outside looking in when it comes to playoff time.

I mused about this last year about how unfair it was for the Brewers to play in Boston whereas the Cubs had lighter interleague matchups, I just wish the schedule was more equitable so that one can measure teams appropriately against one another without qualifying it with "well, they had to play the Yankees and Red Sox, while this other team played the Royals twice and Baltimore."

This comes on the heels of getting smoked by the Twins, the overall poor performance by any NL team against any AL team (except the Indians), and the clogging of I-94 with Twins fans during my afternoon drive home from the grain elevator, and maybe the heat. Still, I think interleague has been played out and a sense of fairness needs to be restored to teams competing for a playoff spot.

I understand the appeal of interleague and the "super rivalry" (any Brewers fan will tell you their super rival is the White Sox and their loathsome fans), and MLB trots out the gimmicks early in the season to get casual fans excited. I, however, am through with interleague, no matter how fun it is not seeing Jeff Suppan hit.

Elsewhere…

Justin Morneau always brings oppressive heat, and Francisco Liriano looks like Jorge de la Rosa.