FanHouse Brewers

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That the Doctor is in again. Toronto ace Roy Halladay (aka "Doc") returned from a two-week stint on the disabled list and pitched credibly, but lost 4-1 to Tampa Bay. Halladay, who had been out with a sore groin, gave up two runs in six innings.

"It wasn't too bad," Halladay said. "Location there in the second and third inning was kind of hit and miss a little bit. For the most part I felt pretty good with everything."

Halladay lost for the first time since April 21. He is 10-2 with a 2.56 ERA. If you're looking ahead, Halladay -- and Giants ace Tim Lincecum, who pitched a gem on Monday -- would both be on perfect rest to start the All-Star Game.

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Over the last few years the Milwaukee Brewers have begun to develop into a threat in the National League. They're now a team that is a legitimate contender to win their division and possibly even the NL pennant, and a lot of the credit should go to the organization's ability to develop young talent. They've produced players like Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun and Yovani Gallardo as part of a solid young core for the organization, and they have more players waiting for their shot in the minors.

One of those players is pitcher Jeremy Jeffress, who some consider to be the best pitching prospect in the team's farm system. The 2006 first-round pick (18th overall) has run into some trouble in his career, however, particularly with marijuana. Jeffress has already been suspended once for testing positive for "a drug of abuse," which he later admitted was weed, and it looks like he just can't give the ganja up.

He's tested positive for "a drug of abuse" yet again, and now he's going to miss the next 100 games.

Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.

"This concludes our test of the emergency attendance enhancement system. We now return to the regularly scheduled season."

Yes, the 13th season of interleague play wraps up Sunday, except for a Cubs-White Sox makeup game. We have survived six San Diego-Seattle games (that's more zeroes than an A-Rod paycheck).

We didn't learn much we didn't already know: the system has inherent flaws and the American League rules.

For the sixth straight year, the AL has had** the better record in interleague play – 129-108 going into today.

Take out Cleveland and Oakland, and the AL is 119-84.

"It probably is" as big a gap between leagues as in past years, one AL team official said, "until you get to the World Series. Then it doesn't matter."

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That on the right night the minor leagues can be awfully interesting, even for someone who doesn't care at all about minor league baseball. Manny Ramirez batted leadoff Tuesday night for the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes, playing four innings and going 0-for-2 in his first rehab game since being suspended 50 games for a violation of Major League Baseball's drug policy.

Ramirez faced former Brewers starting pitcher Manny Parra in both at-bats. Parra, now pitching for the Nashville Sounds, is trying to work his way back to the majors as well after a woeful couple of months in the Milwaukee rotation. He went 3-8 with a 7.52 ERA in 13 starts there before getting demoted, but he was the hard-luck loser against Albuquerque, tossing seven innings of one-run ball. The Brewers could use another effective starter, that much is certain.

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Ever since CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets left Milwaukee via free agency, questions about starting pitching have hounded the Brewers. Could they replace their two aces? Could they compete without them? Yovani Gallardo has been great at the top of the rotation this year, striking out nearly a batter an inning to go with his 3.00 ERA, but behind him the rotation is in shambles. Manny Parra was demoted to Triple-A last week and Tuesday, the Brewers learned they're going to have to put Dave Bush on the disabled list with a small tear in his triceps.

It might seem that this move, which leaves Braden Looper and Jeff Suppan as the best two starters behind Gallardo, would precede some kind of trade, but a major league source told FanHouse Tuesday night that the Brewers don't expect Bush to miss much time, and while he's on the DL, they'll try to get by with Mike Burns,who is taking Bush's rotation spot on Thursday.

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That Zack Greinke and Trevor Hoffman are human.

Greinke took the loss Wednesday as Kansas City fell 12-5 to Arizona, allowing six runs (four earned) on eight hits in 6 2/3 innings.

And since Greinke went 8-1 in his first 10 starts he has gone winless in four straight starts. Over his past 26 innings, he has given up 31 hits and 20 runs (five of them unearned).

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Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That the Indians had a night to forget on a day they honored a movie about their days as lovable losers. The Brewers and famed announced Bob Uecker were in town for a memorable night in which Uecker's team was on the right end of a few big homers.

The Indians led 8-3 in the fifth and 12-7 in the eighth before the Brewers scored seven runs to win, including four on Prince Fielder's first career grand slam. Fielder's big blast was set up by three consecutive Indians walks, which Uecker must have called by saying "Ball Four. Ball Eight. Ball 12."

"Overall, it was a very bad night on the mound," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "We continually got ourselves in bad situations. They kept coming, and we kept making it tougher on ourselves."

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NEW YORK – Thanks in part to the influence of a 300-game winner, and the brother of a 300-game winner, the Rangers no longer have to try to out-slug people.

In the most remarkable turnaround of the season, Texas' pitching staff is actually pretty good, with a 4.46 ERA after shutouts Thursday and Friday and allowing three runs Saturday. If the Rangers can keep it there all year, it would mark the first time since 1993 the franchise had an ERA better than 4.50.

Not coincidentally, Texas leads the AL West at 35-26, the second-best record in the league.

"This is my third year here," right-hander Brandon McCarthy said, "but in two years I got sick to death of hearing, 'Texas pitchers stink. Texas pitchers stink.'

"Now we can turn those tables a little bit, be the group that maybe changes that whole mindset. It would be an awesome accomplishment."

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That Jose Contreras and Manny Parra took a day between Triple-A assignments to share a mound in Milwaukee. Parra and the Brewers can only hope that he emerges from his demotion as well as Contreras did.

The White Sox veteran righty pitched eight scoreless innings to beat the Brewers on Saturday. In two starts since returning from his voluntary Triple-A assignment, Contreras has not allowed a run in 16 innings.

"I know what Jose went through during the last eight months, and going to the minor leagues was a great thought by him," manager Ozzie Guillen said. "Before he left, he told [White Sox general manager Kenny Williams] and myself, 'I need to pitch, I need to go out on the mound, I need to get stronger. When I come back, I'll come back fine.' "He's stepping up to his word, and he's just throwing the ball good."

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Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That Brad Lidge has come back to Earth with a thud this season. On Saturday Lidge gave up a game-tying homer to Rafael Furcal in the ninth, despite the leaping effort of Jayson Werth, right. It was Lidge's second blown save in two days. After being perfect in converting saves to help the Phillies to the World Series title last year, Lidge now has six blown saves, three losses and a 7.27 ERA.

The nature of a closer's job is that a few bad breaks or bad pitches are magnified, but Lidge isn't simply shrugging off this season's struggles.

"The results are starting to frustrate me," Lidge said. "It just seems to be one thing. Tonight, it was the slider he hit. I don't know. I feel good, but I know something needs to change in terms of results. You've just got to get it done, and right now for whatever reason, it's not happening."

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel added a vote of confidence for Lidge: "He'll always be my guy."

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