The Return Of Big Ben

Ben Sheets makes his return for the Crew tonight vs. the Pirates, a very welcome sign for anyone that's followed the struggles of all the pitchers who tried to replace Sheets and Ohka during their absences (i.e., Ben Hendrickson, Zach Jackson [who wasn't that bad], Jorge De La Rosa, Dana Eveland, etc).

So far through the first his velocity is down on his fastball (topping out at 94, mostly around 89-91) and his hook isn't quite there yet, both of which are to be expected. Encouraging, however, is the fact that he's not having trouble finding the strike zone.

Now for the bad news: Rickie Weeks is sitting out tonight because of tenderness in his wrist, so Chris Barnwell is making the start at 2nd Base. When added to the uncertainty of the Koskie post-concussion situation, the Brewers really can't afford to lose Weeks for any significant preiod of time, and hopefully he'll be back in the lineup within the week.

A bit of trade news with the Crew as well. Reports are that the Brewers have traded reliever Jorge De La Rosa to the Royals for utility infielder Tony Graffanino. Not really sure this is noteworthy, but it does provide an opportunity down the road for Hall and Cirillo to get some rest in the upcoming weeks, since both have been thrust into everyday duty.

According to ESPN, the Brewers are not shopping Carlos Lee around the trading deadline, which is potentially a mixed bag. Word is that Doug Melvin is working with Lee's agent Adam Katz to get a long-term deal done, but according to the Journal Sentinel, the two sides are still very far apart. If the Brewers elect not to trade Lee at the deadline, it is absolutely imperative for them to re-sign him, because otherwise they're left with nothing but a 30-100 sized hole in their lineup.