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When Joe Inglett took the mound for the Brewers on Tuesday night, it added some flair to the end of an otherwise deflating blowout.  Flipping a mixture of 52, 53, and 56 mph pitches to Cincinnati hitters, he recorded three outs on six pitches.  Shortly after he took the mound, Twitter started buzzing with news that Inglett was the first Brewers position player to take the mound since Trent Durrington in 2004.

Inglett and Durrington are not the only position players to take the mound in Brewers history.  In fact, there have been eight position players that have pitched for the Crew in seven separate games.  After the jump, you can find a run-down of these games in reverse chronological order.

• July 27, 2010 - Joe Inglett
  
  As mentioned, Inglett took the mound in a blowout.  With the Reds up 12-4 in the top of the ninth, Inglett was called upon to finish the ballgame.  He came in, threw six soft tosses, and walked back to the dugout with a 0.00 career ERA.
• April 17, 2004 - Trent Durrington
  
  With the Brewers trailing 10-5 in the bottom of the eighth inning at Minute Maid Park, the Brewers called upon workhorse reliever Luis Vizcaino.  Thirty-eight pitches later, he had recorded two outs, allowing two home runs and four runs in the process.  After Orlando Palmeiro worked a ten-pitch walk, Vizcaino was replaced by third baseman Trent Durrington.  Pinch hitter Jose Vizcaino swung at Durrington's first offering and flew out to right field.  Unfortunately for Durrington, his notable moment was not shown live in Milwaukee; FSN North was late coming back from commercial.
• June 20, 2001 - Mark Loretta
  
  Will Cunnane's first and only start for Milwaukee did not end well.  The righthander ran out of gas in the fourth inning, allowing six runs in the frame.  He was replaced by equally memorable Brandon Kolb who allowed five runs in the fifth inning.  With the Crew trailing 11-4 in the eighth inning, Mark Loretta pinch-hit for reliever Mike DeJean and stayed in the game to pitch.  He allowed Pokey Reese to single and walked Juan Castro, but strikeouts of opposing pitcher Chris Nichting and center fielder Ruben Rivera kept the Reds scoreless.
• August 3, 1991 - Rick Dempsey
  
  Listing in reverse chronological order makes it a bit harder to note this, but in this game Rick Dempsey became the first and only Brewers position player to pitch in two games in the same season.  Pretty good work for a guy who only spent one season in a Brewers uniform.  Dempsey, better known for his rain delay entertainment than his pitching skills, entered the game in the top of the ninth with Milwaukee down 14-5.  After walking Gary Pettis, he induced three consecutive force outs at second base.  Another minor note: in the bottom of the inning Rangers DH Kevin Reimer moved to right field, meaning the Rangers forfeited the designated hitter for the rest of the game.  Reimer would do the same thing for the Brewers three times in 1992.
• July 2, 1991 - Rick Dempsey
  
  For Dempsey to make a second pitching appearance in the same season, he quite obviously needed to make a first.  He took care of that during a 14-4 drubbing at the hands of the Boston Red Sox.  A first pitch double by Kevin Romine was followed by an eight-pitch at-bat by future Brewer Tom Brunansky culminating in a pop-up to short.  A groundout to short was followed by consecutive singles, making Dempsey the only Brewers position player to allow a run while pitching [edit: Sal Bando and Buck Martinez did as well, see below].  Another future Brewer, Jody Reed, flew out to right to end the inning.
• May 15, 1989 - Terry Francona
  
  After the Oakland Athletics teed off on Don August, Mark Knudson, and Paul Mirabella for seven innings, Francona was called upon to pitch in the bottom of the eighth.  The score was 12-2 and Francona successfully kept the Brewers within ten runs.  He faced only three batters, inducing flyouts from Terry Steinbach and Tony Phillips before striking out Stan Javier.
• August 29, 1979 - Sal Bando, Jim Gantner, Buck Martinez
  
  I listed these games in reverse chronological order simply to put this one last.  Jim Slaton just didn't have it on that night, allowing five runs before being pulled in the first inning.  When Reggie Cleveland didn't do much better and Paul Mitchell allowed four runs in the fourth without recording an out, the Royals were suddenly up 13-4.  With the pitchers incapable of pitching, manager George Bamberger turned to his fielders.  Third baseman Sal Bando took the mound and threw three innings, quite possibly a record for position players.  He allowed three runs in his three frames, but none after dealing with Mitchell's mess in the fourth.  After the game, he ascribed part of his success to his secret weapon: "I threw two wet ones [spitballs] because I couldn't get my breaking ball over."
  
  Jim Gantner took over from Bando in the seventh, allowing singles to Jamie Quirk and Al Cowens but no other damage.  His clean inning wasn't enough for Pennsylvania's Beaver County Times to learn his name (scroll up and to the right).  Catcher Buck Martinez followed Gantner to the mound in the eighth.  Martinez walked Willie Wilson before recording two force out at second.  Unfortunately, Hal McRae's subsequent double scored Jerry Terrell from first before Amos Otis popped out to end the inning.  One final thought: reading Milwaukee Journal sports editor Bill Dwyre's reaction to the game puts Tom Haudricourt's writing style in perspective.

Joe Inglett's brief foray into the world of major league pitching puts him on an interesting list of Brewers players.  While early pinch-hitting success earned him respect, it probably required a truly strange occurrence for him to make it into Brewers history even as a footnote.  Fortunately for him, the Reds obliged with an offensive outburst at just the right time.

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As I’m sure you’ve all noticed, Doug Melvin likes to spend money on the bullpen. In 2008 he went out and spent large amounts of Mark A's money on names like Eric Gagne, Guillermo Mota, and David Riske. In 2009 it was Trevor Hoffman. This season he brought Trevor Hoffman back and signed LaTroy Hawkins. Other than Hoffman's 2009, none of these free agents have had a lot of success.

As I’m sure you’ve also noticed, our bullpen has been a lot better since some of the veteran relievers were replaced with cheap, minor league relievers such as John Axford, Zach Braddock, and Kameron Loe. At the beginning of the year, these three were known as just a few of the promising relief prospects in the Brewers system, but there are plenty more after them. Here are a few to watch out for.

Brandon Kintzler: Originally drafted by the Padres in the 40^th round of the 2004 draft, Kintzler found himself in the Indy Leagues by 2007. After two mediocre years for Winnipeg and a pretty good half season in St. Paul, the Brewers were able lure him away from there and assigned him to AA Huntsville. He wasn't turning heads right away, posting a 4.54 ERA, but that’s not the case this year. In 20 games for the Stars this season, Kintzler posted a .40 ERA and was striking out more than a batter per inning. Since his promotion to Nashville, the righty has sparkly 2.70 ERA* and an even sparkly-er 0.750 WHIP. He’s walking only 1.4/9 inning and is striking out over 8 batters/9 innings. He was holding batters to a .167 AVG before landing on the DL.

Mike McClendon: Drafted in the 10^th round of 2006, the 25-year-old McClendon started the year off in AA Huntsville. After posting a .61 ERA in seven appearances there, he was bumped up to Nashville were he has continued to be rather impressive. In 21 games in Nashville (5 starts) McClendon has a 2.28 ERA. He’s striking out an even 7 batters/9 innings and is walking only 2.5/9 inn. Those numbers are even slightly inflated because of a few bad starts. If he keeps putting up good numbers like he his, I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the majors in September

Donovan Hand: The righty Hand was drafted in the 14^th round of the 2007 draft and bounced back and forth between starting and relieving throughout his career, mostly starting. But this year he has been mainly a reliever and is getting some pretty decent results. He started the year off in Huntsville, but was recently moved up to Nashville. Through 32 games this year (1 start), Hand has a 2.84 ERA with a 1.289 WHIP. While he’s giving up plenty of hits (10.3/9 inn) and not striking out many (6.5 K/9 inn) he pounds the strike zone, giving up only 1.4 BB/9 inn.

Jeremy Jeffress: While we'd all like to imagine Jeffress as a starter, but it's been forecasted for many years that his future will be the bullpen; possibly as a future closer. After returning from a 100-game suspension, Jeffress dominated the Midwest League, not even allowing a hit over 8 innings. Things didn't go as well in Brevard Co., where he had a 5.40 ERA. He was giving up an even 9 H/9 inn. and walking way too many, over 6 batters/9 inn. Apparently his 1.700 WHIP was good enough for a promotion to Hunstville, where he has yet to pitch. There's so much potential there, hopefully Jeffress will be able to learn some control and start getting the results we all yearn for from him.

Andre Lamontagne: Wow, talk about aggressive movement. Last year’s 10^th round pick started the year off in Wisconsin and has already been promoted twice this year and is currently in Huntsville‘s bullpen. He actually pitched better in Brevard Co. than he did in Wisconsin. He’s not dominating Huntsville like he was dominating Brevard Co., but he’s still putting up a solid 4.35 ERA, which is actually inflated from one bad outing. He’s got some pretty solid peripherals too. This season he’s allowing only 6.7 H/9 inn., walking about 4.1 batters/9 inn., striking out almost a batter per inning, and is holding opposing batters to a .207 avg.; all of this good for a nice 1.204 WHIP. Lamontagne is already 24 so the aggressive promotions aren't exactly surprising. If he continues to pitch well in Huntsville, he'll probably start next year in Nashville, only a phone call away from the big leagues.

Lucas Luetge: Drafted in the 21^st round of the 2008 draft, the 23-year-old Luetge has had pretty decent numbers throughout his career. He spent all of 2009 in Brevard Co. and started there this year as well. His 2.29 ERA for the Manatees earned him a promotion to Huntsville, where he has a still-respectable 4.50 ERA. Right now, Luetge profiles as more of a LOOGY. Left-handed batters are hitting only .160 of Luetge this year, compared to .333 against righties.

Corey Frerichs: Drafted in the 30^th round of 2007, Frerichs missed most of last year with recovering from a torn ACL. This year, the 24-year-old righty is trying to get back on the radar, and is doing a pretty good job. In 34 outing this year for the Manatees, Frerichs has a solid 2.91 ERA and opposing batters are only hitting .206 off him. His sparkly 1.077 WHIP is built around his solid peripherals of 6.5 H/9 inn., 3.2 BB/9 inn., and 7.5 K/9 inn. I'd say he's deserving of a promotion to Huntsville sometime this year.

Dan Meadows: For someone drafted in the 49th round in 2008, Meadows is putting up some pretty good numbers. The 22-year-old lefty switched to relief full time this year and is getting some pretty nice results. In 31 appearances this year, Meadows has complied a 2.81 ERA with a 1.158 WHIP. He's striking out almost a better per inning and is limiting his walks to 2.1/9 inn.. Meadows has also not allowed an earned run in his last 8 outings, dating back to July 6th.

Jon Pokorny: Drafted in the 9^th round of last year’s draft, Pokorny has been one of the few bright spots in the Wisconsin bullpen. He’s holding opposing batters to a measly .208 avg. and is striking out 13.2/9 inn. He’s also limiting his walks to an even 3/9 inn. and allowing only 6.7 H/9 inn. His .358 BABIP also suggests that he’s even been a little unlucky. The left-handed pitcher has also had just as much success against righties as he has against lefties, holding them to a .220 and .180 avg., respectively

Do any of these minor league relievers have the same potential as Zach Braddock? Probably not. But some of them could be very solid arms that help fill out the future bullpen. And if Doug Melvin is still running the show, these homegrown relief pitchers could go a long way in preventing another unnecessary David Riske or LaTroy Hawkins-ish signing.

*All stats as of July 25th.

You've heard of the Twist and the Charlie Brown and the Mashed Potato and the Cabbage Patch (is that a dance?  I'm not sure).

But now: it's the BREWERS SHUFFLE (also known as the Spinning Your Wheels Waltz):

Take two of four from the Braves on the road?  One step forward.

Split with the moribund Pirates -- and give up 29 runs in the process?  Bow your head in shame, slink back two giant steps.

Sweep the Nats at home?  Hey, not bad.  Shimmy up a step. 

What's that?  You missed Strasburg in that series with Washington?  That's OK.  Just ease up on the shimmy a little bit.

And then lose a home series to the Reds, getting bludgeoned 22-4 in the last two games?  Fall down, go boom.

All that marchin' in place isn't going to cut it, and it's not going to make the nullacct Managerometer^TM move an inch:

This week in MACHAWATCH!, we'll discuss why the next couple of months are a very dangerous time, check to make sure The Rapture didn't happen last night, and host a pinch hitter for @notkenmacha, who's once again MIA this week.  He said something about "nipping this Asian Carp thing in the bud once and for all," flashed me a "hang ten" sign, and then dove headlong into the Milwaukee River.  I don't know what the story was there, but I do know that it's time to jump.

This Week in The Most Dangerous Game Time: Here's the situation: there are 59 games left in the season.  The Brewers are dead in the water in terms of contending for the postseason.  Doug Melvin is apparently not going to sell off any of our major parts before the trading deadline.  Most importantly for our purposes: barring some kind of miracle run in the last two months, Ken Macha is not coming back next season.

In my mind, we should start playing for next season (and beyond) in the remaining games.  I fear and I suspect that we won't, given that Prince Fielder and Corey Hart, et al, will remain on the roster for the rest of the season, and given that Ken Macha is apparently going to do everything in his earthly power to win as many games as possible -- even if that means yanking his starting pitcher after 78 pitches and five innings the day after a game in which he was forced to use a position player to pitch the ninth inning.

In fact, yesterday's decision to pull Chris Narveson and force the beleaguered and overworked 'pen to cover four innings is a microcosm of the issue: getting Narveson out of the game at that juncture probably provided the best chance to win the game.  On the other hand, continuing to run Kameron Loe into the ground -- he's pitched in 26 games since being called up two months ago, and he'd thrown 2.0 innings in each of his last two appearances -- probably isn't in the team's best interests going forward.  (See, e.g., Todd Coffey in 2009.)

It's the same song, different verse for guys like Carlos Gomez.  There's no arguing that he's been an abject disaster at the plate this year (and that his "I just need a few 3-for-4s to get my average up to .260" comments show that he doesn't seem to grasp what he needs to do to be valuable to the team) and that Jim Edmonds is a better option with the stick (so long as he's not using his bat as a cane).  But, for better or worse, Gomez is going to be part of the team next season (and probably beyond that), and Edmonds, in all likelihood, won't be.  At this point, unless the Powers That Be have decided that Gomez is a hopeless cause, CarGo needs to be out there, even if he's running into outs at third base.  Sigh.

I say this knowing that Macha is in an incredibly difficult position; after all, self-preservation is the first law of nature, and he's obviously going to do everything he can to save his job.  That said, I hope that his actions this season don't hamper the team in 2011.

This Week in Apocalypse Now?: With his bench ludicrously depleted by Edmonds' lingering heel injury and Hart's bum wrist, Macha's deeply-held "never, ever, ever, ever play your backup catcher" belief was seemingly in dire jeopardy yesterday.  The Four Horsemen were on standby, the rivers were prepared to run with blood, and the locusts were sharpening their ... teeth?  Pincers?  (I don't know how locusts wreak such havoc, and they're gross to look at, so I'm not googling it.)

But, lo!  The 10-2 score in the latter innings made it likely that George Kottaras would stay on the bench, and the world would keep spinnin', and the Horsemen could return to their game of Parcheesi.  

Until Prince got hisself tossed from the game in the bottom of the eighth.  Whoopsie. 

Enter GeoKot at first. 

Exit life as we know it?

According to the National Weather Service, the sun rose at about 5:39 this morning, and there aren't any clouds of pestilence on the radar.  I think we're in the clear.  In the event, however, that you're reading this week's MACHAWATCH! in some kind of bizarre, purgatory-like state -- like, say, the infinite expanse where the Progressive Insurance lady apparently lives -- you have my deepest apologies.

This Week in @notrickpeterson: It's been awhile since we checked in with our (fake) mulleted friend, and, with @notkenmacha defending the seas and waterways, now seemed like as good a time as any to see how our phony pitching coach is doing.  I asked him what he thought of Joe Inglett's pitching debut on Tuesday:

Life is full of surprises, Rubicon. You'd know that if you'd attended my webinar: "Surprises and You: The Best Ways To Avoid Wetting Your Pants." It's the most important webinar I've ever held.

Well, I got a surprise this week when we activated our secret 26th man. I'd never heard of him before, but I think his name is Joe Dragnet. One look at him and you can tell I've never coached him before: His mechanics are awful, his velocity is low and he gets outs. His inning was over before I could even go out and put my hand on his shoulder.

So after the game I put on my lucky postgame windbreaker and went looking for Dragnet to get him signed up for some webinars, but I couldn't find him. Trevor Hoffman told me Dragnet lives in a secret cave under the bench in the bullpen, and I shouldn't go down there or I'll upset him. I haven't seen Dragnet since, and everyone else I've asked says they don't know what I'm talking about.

Hey, where're you going with my pants!?

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Some things to read while getting a few extra minutes.

I'm running behind this morning, as life got in the way a bit. So this morning's Mug is of the quick variety:

• The Brewers allowed ten unanswered runs to the Reds yesterday, with the loudest coming off the bat of Brandon Phillips. Phillips hit a grand slam off of Carlos Villanueva that traveled an estimated 450 feet into Bernie Brewer's slide in left field. According to Hit Tracker Online, 450 feet would be the longest home run at Miller Park this season.
• After the game, Villanueva was sent to Nashville to make room for LaTroy Hawkins, who was activated off the DL. (FanShot)
  
• Jack Moore of Disciples of Uecker hopes Villanueva doesn't get lost in the shuffle.
• The Brewers Bar takes on the argument that Hawkins sucks.

Other notes from the field:

• Casey McGehee was spiked below his knee on a play at third base, but was able to remain in the game. With the team playing with a short bench and Corey Hart and Jim Edmonds hobbled, the Brewers only had two healthy bench players: Craig Counsell and George Kottaras.
• Kottaras was eventually called into action at first base after Prince Fielder was ejected for throwing his helmet following an eighth inning strikeout.
• Kameron Loe struggled again yesterday, and SgtClueLs introduced him to regression.
• Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips and Miguel Cairo are leading FanGraphs' Star of the Game voting.
• Here are the MLB.com video highlights.
• 38,365 fans showed up for the game, which has to be about the best you can hope for on a weekday afternoon.

And in other stuff:

• Roy Oswalt is scheduled to start for the Astros against the Brewers tomorrow, but Houston reportedly has a deal in place to send him to the Phillies, pending his approval.
• The Brewers' next four series are against three of the NL's worst teams: The Astros, Cubs and Diamondbacks.
• Rickie Weeks isn't your typical leadoff hitter, and he's ok with that. View From Bernie's Chalet has Weeks as his cleanup hitter in his projected 2011 lineup. FanGraphs has a look at his 2010 surge.
  
• I'm not sure if they meant "work in the 50's," but apparently Ken Macha told Joe Inglett not to try to light up the radar gun in his emergency pitching appearance Tuesday. Drew Olson has a look at the issue.
  
• Beyond the Box Score did the math and discovered that the Brewers have played baseball's fifth easiest schedule.
• Elsewhere at BtBS, they note that Yovani Gallardo is already among the top 150 hitting pitchers of all time.

On the trade front:

• According to this week's BCB Tracking Poll, 58% of voters are ready for the Brewers to become sellers, and roughly a third are attending and watching fewer games this season.
• Tom Haudricourt reports that the Angels and Rangers have reportedly expressed interest in Prince Fielder recently.
• Jeff Fletcher of AOL says the Rangers can't take on money and haven't discussed Fielder.
• Joey Matschulat of Baseball Time in Arlington says Fielder to the Rangers "almost certainly won't happen, but that never stopped anyone from talking about a rumor before."
• Dayn Perry of Fox Sports listed a Fielder/Rangers move as one of five deals that needs to happen.
• The White Sox have reportedly told infielder Gordon Beckham he will not be dealt. Beckham is one of the names that came up in a possible Fielder deal.
• The Giants are reportedly no longer talking with the Brewers about either Fielder or Corey Hart.
• Trevor Hoffman has a limited no-trade clause that would acquire his approval before he can be dealt to 25 teams.
• Howie Magner says he'd be very surprised if the Brewers pull off a significant deal.

In the minors:

• The affiliates went 3-2 yesterday, with Brevard County starter Dan Merklinger having the best day: He struck out 13 while pitching six shutout innings in the Manatees' 5-1 win over St. Lucie. You can read about that and more in today's Minor League Notes.
  

On power rankings: USA Today has the Brewers holding steady at 22.

On the SBN Wisconsin Hall of Fame:

• Anonymous Eagle nominates Jerel McNeal and Doc Rivers.
• Acme Packing Company nominates Curly Lambeau.

Around baseball:

Angels: Joel Pineiro is expected to miss 6-8 weeks with a strained oblique.
Athletics: Ben Sheets has a torn flexor tendon in his elbow and is done for the year.
Dodgers: Acquired outfielder Scott Podsednik from the Royals for two minor leaguers.
Mariners: Placed pitcher Ryan Rowland-Smith on the DL with a lower back strain.
Nationals: Are expected to place Stephen Strasburg on the DL with shoulder inflammation.
Padres: Outfielder Kyle Blanks needs Tommy John surgery and will miss the rest of the season.
Phillies: Placed outfielder Shane Victorino on the DL with an abdominal strain.
Tigers: Acquired shortstop Jhonny Peralta from the Indians for a minor leaguer.

And in non-Brewer notes:

• The Cubs reportedly reached a deal to send Derrek Lee to the Angels, but he rejected it. As a ten year major league veteran who has played for the same team for five seasons, he has that right.
• Pirates pitcher Ross Ohlendorf narrowly avoided disaster last night. He was hit in the head with a line drive but escaped with a "bad contusion."
• Tigers pitcher Jeremy Bonderman is 27 and could be in line for a huge payday following the season, but he's reportedly considering retirement.
• Ever wonder what it'd be like to play baseball halfway around the world from your home? Sounds like Red Sox reliever Hideki Okajima wouldn't recommend it.
• Ed Price of AOL FanHouse has the trade deadline quote of the day:
  

I'm betting a team that "has to be overwhelmed" and a team that is "likely to stand pat" end up making a deal before Saturday.

On this day in 1975, Don Money and Darrell Porter led off the game with back-to-back home runs as the Brewers beat the Red Sox 4-0.

Happy birthday today to:

• 2004-06 Brewer Mike Adams, who turns 32.
• 1993 first round pick and 1996-97 Brewer Todd Dunn, who turns 40.
• 1956-61 Milwaukee Brave Felix Mantilla, who turns 76.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to my morning routine.

Drink up.

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This week's poll was open from Tuesday at noon to Wednesday afternoon. Here are the most notable results:

• 58% of voters think the Brewers should sell before the trading deadline, with 39% thinking they should hold steady.
• 35% of voters are watching fewer games this season, and 32% are attending fewer.
• Doug Melvin's approval rating is down 8% this week, and Rick Peterson's is down 11%.

Follow the jump for the full results.

Should the Brewers be buying, selling or holding at the trade deadline?

Are you watching more, less or the same number of Brewer games on TV this season?

Are you attending more, less or the same number of Brewer games this season?

Do you approve of the job Doug Melvin is doing as General Manager of the Brewers?

Do you approve of the job Ken Macha is doing as Manager of the Brewers?

Do you approve of the job Rick Peterson is doing as Pitching Coach of the Brewers?

Do you approve of the decision to sign Randy Wolf to a three year deal?

* - The Wolf question last appeared two weeks ago, so "Prev" in this case refers to that poll.

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W: Travis Wood (1-1, first major league win)
L: Chris Narveson (8-7)

HR: Brandon Phillips (14), Joey Votto (26)

MVP: Ryan Braun (+.060)
LVP: Kameron Loe (-.328)

Win Expectancy Graph and Star of the Game Voting
SB Nation Coverage

Travis Wood and Chris Narveson had a pitchers' duel going early, as Narveson worked through five scoreless innings as the Brewers clung to a 2-0 lead. The wheels came off in the sixth, though, when Narveson and Kameron Loe combined to allow five runs, and the Reds coasted off from there. All told, Narveson allowed three runs on six hits in five innings, walking one and striking out two.

Other stuff:

• Rickie Weeks went 1-for-4 with an infield single in the game but was stranded on third in the eighth, ending his runs scored streak at eleven games and his home run streak at three.
• With the Brewers down to three healthy outfielders once again, Joe Inglett got the start in right field for the sixth time in seven days and struck out in all three plate appearances.
• Alcides Escobar had the Crew's lone multi-hit day: He went 2-for-4 with a double batting out of the #2 spot.
• A day after using four relievers and a position player on the mound, the Brewers used five relievers today (Loe, Coffey, Braddock, Villanueva and Riske)
• Prince Fielder was ejected from the game for arguing balls and strikes in the eighth inning.