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SweetSpot blogger Dave Schoenfield and I had plenty to talk about on Thursday’s Baseball Today podcast!

1. Cole Hamels let his pitching do the talking about Bryce Harper and the Nationals Thursday, but each time Hamels throws it reminds us of his talent and contract status.

2. Albert Pujols speaks out about his slump! Do we buy his excuses or not?

3. Was Arizona's win over the Dodgers on Wednesday an important win?

4. Our emailers want to know about strength of schedule, ballpark gamesmanship, Drew Sutton and some of the more interesting pitcher-hitter matchups to watch for years to come.

5. Smaller schedule for Thursday but the amazing Justin Verlander is on the mound, as well as the only pitcher in baseball who provides a quality start each and every time out to the mound.

So download and listen to Thursday’s Baseball Today podcast and get ready for Friday’s fun show!

My special co-host for Wednesday’s Baseball Today podcast was ESPN writer and former GM Jim Bowden, and let’s just say neither of us held back in what was an entertaining, honest and lively show.

1. The Red Sox are apparently cool with Adrian Gonzalez playing right field, but for how long? How easy will it be for the team to trade Kevin Youkilis? And should the Red Sox and Phillies be sellers?

2. Jim shares his thoughts on his players that will be traded before July 31, leading with a former Cy Young winner plying his trade for a team that can’t afford him.

3. Ah, here’s a topic we never get to: closers. Jim and I debate the human effect for fellows like Aroldis Chapman and Sean Marshall.

4. When Tampa’s Joe Maddon makes unconventional decisions, we praise him. Is that fair? What if a manager not known for his good moves would have led Carlos Pena off?

5. Finally, we look at Wednesday’s schedule, which includes Cole Hamels versus Bryce Harper. The Nationals are clearly getting the last laugh on their I-95 rivals.

So download and listen to a fun Baseball Today podcast, because it’s boring when everyone agrees. And on this show, that just wasn’t the case!

Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Rickie Weeks is turning into this year's version of Adam Dunn -- a good player having a historically awful season. He's batting .158/.285/.289 and has struck out 57 times in 179 plate appearances. While he's certainly been strikeout prone in the past (184 in 2010), he had cut his K rate down last season.

The other day, Weeks forgot how many outs there way, failing to turn a double play when he could have.

Kenton Wong and Mark Simon of ESPN Stats & Information passed along this at-bat from last night against Sergio Romo, which does a pretty good of summing up Weeks' issues at the plate. He took two strikes and then swung at a pitch about two feet off the plate:





Here's an overhead image of how far outside that pitch was.

Weeks has been diving out over the plate, a problem Brewers manager Ron Roenicke told MLB.com last week is all mental: "He probably swings 50-100 times a day [in the batting cage] the right way. So why, when you get in a game, do you have a swing that's completely different than what you do in practice? Something changes up here [in the player's head]. You're thinking, 'Hey, this guy is going to pitch me away, I've got to go out and hit this ball.' The next thing you know, you're diving out over the plate."

As for the Brewers, they're 17-26 and not just because Prince Fielder is no longer in town. Weeks has been awful, Nyjer Morgan hasn't driven in a run in 116 plate appearances, Aramis Ramirez has a .299 OBP, Randy Wolf has been terrible and Yovani Gallardo inconsistent. It's a bad team right now, bad enough that Jim Bowden thinks Zack Greinke will be traded by the July 31 trade deadline.

In response to Cleveland Indians closer Chris Perez complaining about the team's attendance -- the Indians rank last in the majors in per-game average -- I wrote a little bit about Cleveland's attendance in Clearing the Bases. Susan Petrone of "It's Pronounced Lajaway" had an analogy today, comparing Indians fans to an abused dog: It will take time for the Indians to earn the fans' trust.

That makes sense; one decent season and a good 40 games won't send fans flocking to the ballpark. Still, the attendance problems are a little odd; this isn't Tampa Bay, where the fans have never shown up, or Pittsburgh, where the Pirates haven't fielding a winning team since 1992. This goes beyond waiting for a team to win or a city's economic climate, although all that factors in a bit. It's perhaps worth noting that when the Indians had their great attendance run from 1995 through 2001 the team was not only good (six playoff seasons in seven years) but the Browns were also absent from 1996 to 1998. The Cavs, a strong team through much of the '90s, collapsed in 1999 and suffered through a string of terrible seasons. So the Indians built up a following right at the exact right time. The Oakland A's similarly attracted their largest gates when the Raiders were in Los Angeles.

In most cities, baseball attendance can be cyclical and bandwagon. A decade ago, the Mariners led the major in attendance; but after years of boring, lousy baseball, the Mariners now rank 28th. The Indians, however, aren't boring or lousy. They're in first place. I suspect the front office needs to do a better job marketing the team. And if the team keep winning, the fans will eventually start showing up again.

• A good piece on ESPNW about women who are running minor league teams.
• Rory Paap has an excellent take on Matt Cain, who is pitching better than ever.
• Jon Weisman wrote this before Chad Billingsley's start Sunday night, but it's all about Billingsley's reputation to have "meltdown" innings.
• One of the few bright spots for the Brewers has been catcher Jonathan Lucroy, who is hitting .342. J.P. Breen breaks down Lucroy's hot start and says he's been hitting the ball well to right field.
• Bill Baer breaks down one critical at-bat from a weekend, when Shane Victorino swung at the first pitch after a walk bases loaded. Is that dumb baseball?
• A big week for the Nationals, as they get the Phillies and Braves on the road.
• One Angels fan is starting to feel a little depressed over this team.

Tuesday night was an angry one for quite a few players, managers and umpires, but Mark Simon and I were in good moods to chronicle it all for Wednesday’s Baseball Today podcast!

1. Washington Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg had a miserable outing Tuesday, and then when his manager told the world what might have contributed, it got worse.

2. Toronto Blue Jays slugger Brett Lawrie lost his cool in the ninth inning Tuesday, and look for the Blue Jays to be without his services for a while. Mark says Lawrie needs help.

3. The Angels found a fall guy for the struggles of Albert Pujols, but is manager Mike Scioscia safe?

4. The Mets are in the news for David Wright being pulled from a game, and also a topic for an emailer, as well as Atlanta’s offense and success for certain days of the week.

5. Wednesday’s schedule features the ESPN matchup of Clay Buchholz and Jeremy Hellickson, a pair of right-handers that the metrics do not favor.

So download and listen to Wednesday’s Baseball Today podcast, because we’re never removed early for the fear of retaliation.

Random trade idea that popped into my head during Tuesday's chat: Brendan Ryan from the Seattle Mariners to the Milwaukee Brewers for George Kottaras and Taylor Green.

With Alex Gonzalez out for the season, the Brewers need a shortstop. Cesar Izturis can't hit and Edwin Maysonet is a Triple-A veteran who was hitting .214 at Nashville. Ryan is one of the best glove guys in the business; since 2009, he leads all fielders in Defensive Runs Saved. Even if you're not a big believer in defensive metrics, there is solid evidence that Ryan is a top-level shortstop.

Ryan is off to a slow start with the bat, but he's been better in recent seasons than Izturis. The Brewers improve their defense and don't lose anything at the plate.

With Jonathan Lucroy, backup catcher Kottaras is a luxury the Brewers could deal. Yes, the Mariners already have Jesus Montero, John Jaso and the currently disabled Miguel Olivo, but Montero will still spend a lot of time at DH and Olivo isn't any good. Kottaras does have a similar skill set to Jaso (left-handed hitter), but is maybe a little better. With Mat Gamel also injured, the Brewers may give Green playing time at first base or third base (with Aramis Ramirez moving to first), but if they're more committed to Travis Ishikawa, Green may be expendable. The Mariners get another first base/third base guy to throw into the Justin Smoak (starting to look like he can't hit)/Alex Liddi (we'll see if he can hit)/Chone Figgins (we know he can't hit)/Kyle Seager corner mix. Seager is probably stretched defensively at shortstop, but he can move over for now, at least until prospect Nick Franklin is ready in a couple years. The Mariners also have Japanese veteran Munenori Kawasaki who can play there.

You could actually argue that those two players aren't worth Ryan, who has accumulated 9.5 Baseball-Reference WAR since 2009. Kottaras is a solid backup while Green grades as a marginal corner guy. If you're looking at prospects, the Milwaukee system is pretty thin. You'd be looking at one of their Class A pitching prospects -- Taylor Jungmann or Jed Bradley -- but the Brewers would be unlikely to trade one of those two.

Still, seems like a potential match here. Ryan is an underrated asset, but exactly the kind of player the Mariners should be looking to flip if they can find a team which values his defense.

What a day in baseball on Wednesday! Eric Karabell and myself could have done a two-hour Baseball Today podcast. Here are some highlights of a jam-packed show. Eric even tricked me into comparing Jose Altuve to Al Kaline and Alex Rodriguez. OK, maybe I did that to myself.

1. We discuss Jered Weaver's no-hitter, of course, and wonder how many more no-hitters we'll see this season.

2. We discuss that wild, improbable game in Atlanta between the Phillies and Braves. Are there reasons to be concerned about Roy Halladay?

3. That's only the tip of the iceberg of a crazy night -- bad calls, Jason Giambi's walk-off homer, Jake Arrieta dominating the Yankees and more.

4. We answer some emails about Mat Gamel's injury and other stuff.

5. Finally, we look ahead to Thursday's action and I declare that Jose Altuve is a batting title contender.

Check it all out on Thursday's Baseball Today podcast, and don't miss Friday's show with Mark Simon and awesome guests Jayson Stark and Tampa Bay Rays pitching coach Jim Hickey.

First base: Braun bashes. I was actually thinking about Ryan Braun this afternoon. With Prince Fielder departed for greener pastures, you heard a lot of stuff in the offseason like "Braun won't get anything to hit" or "he'll get pitched around." After all, with Fielder hitting behind Braun last season, the NL MVP received just two intentional walks. Well, entering Monday's night game in San Diego, Braun was hitting .263/.322/.500. Not bad, but certainly not MVP numbers. What's interesting is that his strike rate was way up (24.4 percent from 14.8 percent) and his walk rate was down (6.7 percent from 9.2 percent).

The decreased walk rate indicates pitchers haven't been shying away from challenging him. On the other hand, the strikeout rate suggests maybe they have, only he's been chasing pitches out of the strike zone. So which is it? Actually, it's both. Before Monday, he'd seen basically the same percentage of strikes as last year -- 46.3 percent in 2012, 45.1 percent in 2011. Braun, however, had been swinging at more pitches out of the zone -- 29.9 percent in 2011, 34.4 percent in 2012. He was also swinging at 12 percent more pitches in the zone. Braun has never been a big walker, but this increased aggressiveness perhaps indicates a hitter trying to make too much happen without the big guy hitting behind him.

Anyway, the Padres challenged Braun on Monday and he didn't miss, becoming the first player to hit three home runs at spacious Petco Park, which opened in 2004. He homered in the fourth inning off Joe Wieland, swatting a first-pitch high fastball over the fence in right-center. In the fifth, he tomahawked a 2-2 Wieland slider into the upper deck of the Western Supply Co. warehouse in left field. In the seventh, he hit a first-pitch breaking ball from Ernesto Frieri just over the fence in left-center, prompting a smile as he rounded the bases. He had a chance for a fourth home run, but settled for one-hop triple off the fence in right-center.

Suddenly, he's hitting .294/.347/.647.

The lesson for Braun: Be patiently aggressive, if that makes sense. Two of his home runs came on meaty first pitches. He said after the game he has been inconsistent with his swing. But consistency comes with patience and discipline as well. Quit chasing pitches out of the zone and maybe he'll start connecting more with those in the zone.

Second base: Andy Pettitte roughed up. Hold off on that belief that Andy Pettitte is a sure thing as an upgrade over Freddy Garcia or Phil Hughes in the Yankees' rotation. He gave up six runs and 10 hits in 5.2 innings in a Class A start on Monday. On the positive side, he did strike out eight with no walks. "I feel good and it was another solid day," Pettitte said. "I felt the quality of pitches were as good as I've had in any of my starts up to now, and I was able to hold my velocity throughout. I feel like I'm ready to help the team." While Pettitte says he's ready, the Yankees are likely to give him two more minor league starts.

Third base: Pedro power. Pedro Alvarez still has an ugly .203 batting average and an awful 23/3 SO/BB ratio, but the once-heralded Pirates prospect is at least starting to show something. He hit his fifth home run of the season in the Pirates' 9-3 win over the Braves -- Pittsburgh's first game with more than five runs all month. Over his past eight games, he's hitting .345 with three home runs and four doubles. Hey, it's start. Ten days ago he was batting .067.

Home plate: Tweet of the day. We salute Mr. Braun:

That's why baseball is the greatest game there is. A routine Monday night & there's suddenly a surprise: #Brewers Ryan Braun 3 HR, 6 RBI.

— Steve Berthiaume (@SBerthiaumeESPN) May 1, 2012

First base: Mr Enigmatic. Is Max Scherzer a good pitcher? A mediocre pitcher? A potentially great pitcher? Last October, in Game 2 of the American League Division Series, we saw how good Scherzer can be when he pitched six scoreless innings, using an explosive, moving fastball to throttle the Yankees. And there he was two starts later in the American League Championship Series against the Rangers, getting knocked out in the third inning. One reason so many people predicted the Tigers to run away with the AL Central is they penciled in improvement for Scherzer and Rick Porcello. I wasn't quite so sure; both have maddeningly inconsistent in their young careers and it's been mostly bad Scherzer in 2012. The punchless Mariners roughed him up Tuesday for 10 hits and five runs in five innings, bumping his ERA to 8.24. Frankly, I can't figure him out. He has a nice 23/6 strikeout-to-walk but has allowed 30 hits in 19.2 innings. Unlucky on balls in play? Sure, probably. Mix in a little Miggy Cabrera, Prince Fielder and Jhonny Peralta as well. But it was similar last season, when he posted a 4.43 ERA: Good ratios, but too many hits and too many home runs (29). Coming on the heels of Porcello's one-inning stinker, the Detroit rotation after Justin Verlander remains a work in progress.

Second base: Narveson out for season. Tough day for pitchers, as Michael Pineda will get another opinion on his shoulder and Mike Pelfrey went on the disabled list with elbow inflammation and possibly worse. Brewers starter Chris Narveson, however, is done for the season after it was announced he'll undergo rotator cuff surgery. Narveson was a solid fifth last season, but Marco Estrada is a nice replacement -- maybe even a step up. A fastball/curve/changeup guy, the Nationals originally drafted Estrada but never quite believed in him since his fastball is 90-91, and the Brewers picked him up on waivers in 2010. He pitched well last season, including a 3.70 ERA in seven spot starts, and threw well last week with five innings of one-run ball, with nine strikeouts and no walks against the Rockies. He isn't flashy, but he throws strikes and should be solid. We talk a lot about the need for rotation depth. Estrada will end up being a key to the Brewers' season.

Third base: CarGo-es deep. The Rockies lost 5-4 to the Pirates as the bullpen blew a lead in the eighth inning but the good news was Carlos Gonzalez finally hit his first two home runs, improving his triple-slash line to .278/.328/.500 (he raised his average 38 points and his slugging percentage 140 points in one night). Nice, but the Rockies will need more ... like 2010 more, when Gonzalez led the National League with a .336 average, slugged .598 and finished third in the MVP vote. That season was built on a .384 average on balls in play, third-best in the majors. His BABIP returned to more normal levels last season and his numbers fell. Gonzalez did start out slow last April (.228, one homer) before heating up in May and June, only to come down with a wrist injury in July that he aggravated again in September. Hopefully this is a sign the wrist is completely healthy and he'll start heating up.

Tweet of the night. A's rookie lefty Tom Milone improved to 3-1 with a 2.00 ERA with eight shutout innings against the White Sox.

His tweeting is boring as all get out but @tommymilone_57 is one hell of a pitcher. Outstanding.

— Brandon McCarthy (@BMcCarthy32) April 25, 2012

From beginning to end, this was baseball as it oughta be, any night and every night, from a first-pitch beginning to a dramatic finale. The Milwaukee Brewers came away with their second consecutive walk-off win when Ryan Braun's bases-loaded sac fly plated Nyjer Morgan in the bottom of the 10th for a 3-2 final. As a matter of odds, chance or simple fortune, it wasn’t really supposed to play out that way: Morgan ran through a stop sign, and thanks to the fallible human in blue as well as his own baserunning derring-do, he was ruled safe in what might be better called a sprint-off win, not a mere walk-off.

But from the start, this was one to watch. A contest between the Brewers with Zack Greinke on the mound, going up against baseball’s hottest batter and hottest team, Matt Kemp and the Los Angeles Dodgers? That’s a slice of baseball perfection, the everyday metronome of the season giving you something worth seeing, this night like every night. Add in a surprising pitching duel between between Greinke, the Brewers’ ace du jour, and Chris Capuano, a prodigal son come back to haunt Milwaukee. And add in another game between these two teams decided on the last at-bat, and you’ve got the makings of a rivalry forged on the field, the best way these things happen.

Nevertheless, high stakes ... in April? Well, no, of course not, every game counts the same, and the Dodgers weren’t going to go 9-1 every 10 times out. But after the Brewers’ late-game rally against the Dodgers on Tuesday night, when they won in the bottom of the ninth on George Kottaras two-run double off L.A.’s closer, Javy Guerra, you might have already had a sense that these two teams are more closely matched this time around than Milwaukee’s 14-win advantage from 2011 would suggest.

Morgan, ever the base-paths commando, gets credit for doing something wrong or foolhardy or gutsy or dumb, probably depending on your familiarity with base-out matrix, or perhaps your love or loathing of all things Tony Plush. But it’s more than that, and even Morgan’s scamper, ill-considered though it was, was simultaneously fun and decisive.

You might wonder how Braun, reigning National League MVP, went to the plate in a 10th-inning tie and got to swing a bat in that situation. Well, say what you will about the Dodgers’ Matt Guerrier, the man on the mound, but give the credit to Tuesday’s man, George Kottaras, because Kottaras drew a free pass with runners on second and third and one out. If Kottaras doesn’t do that, if he makes an out, it’s Braun standing on first base with an unintentional/intentional walk and Aramis Ramirez who gets to be johnny-on-the-spot. No Kottaras walk, and we might still be enjoying baseball from Milwaukee. Even that bit of batsmanship was set up by tactical failure -- Ron Roenicke’s reliable penchant for gambitry had Morgan pinch-run and Cesar Izturis pop away a bunt just two batters into the 10th.

These aren’t the only bits of consistency for the Brewers from this year to last. Early on, you could wonder which Greinke was going to show up, the ace he helped propel the Brewers into the postseason, or the incendiary device who got lit up in his first 11 starts last season once he came back from the DL, surrendering 6.1 runs per nine. One out and a triple into the night, watching Kemp plate Mark Ellis from third, you could wonder.

But Greinke settled down from there, but it was the sort of game where the stars weren’t the only ones who shined. Capuano, a man who spent seven years with the Brewers but two of them on the DL with career-threatening elbow problems, was ready to deliver the sort of start that might make Dodgers GM Ned Colletti look good, grinding out six innings to provide a quality start against a good Brewers' offense. If Capuano’s durable enough to join Aaron Harang as innings eaters at the back end of the rotation while Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley do their thing from the front end, the Dodgers will be in enough ballgames to contend.

A.J. Ellis may not get a ton of credit as the Dodgers’ internal choice to fulfill their catching needs this season, but he has been a stathead fave for years for his willingness to work for walks. It was his chopper in the fifth that plated a lead run, and it was his eighth-inning baserunner kill, nailing Carlos Gomez with a perfect peg from behind the plate, that took the bat out of Corey Hart's hands. And maybe, just maybe, he got the tag on Kemp’s throw from shallow center down on Morgan in time; history may not record it, even if instant replay might. Of course, his throwing error in the 10th makes him partially responsible for the outcome, but the unloved Ellis had his moments as well.

Going forward, the Dodgers were due to cool off, and two late-game losses in a row might represent that bit of karma. But with Kenley Jansen coming into his own as baseball’s next great set-up man, Guerra’s talent, and Josh Lindblom looking pretty good, late-game drama won’t always come at the Dodgers’ expense.

And for Milwaukee? They’re still good, surprising nobody on this or any night to come. In the broad strokes, with Greinke’s season tally at two good starts and one awful one, you can wonder if his Jekyll-Hyde act can go only so far if his rep as a Cy Young winner is going to have any enduring value. That’s not just significant for the Brewers now as they try to defend their NL Central crown, it’s important for Greinke immediately afterwards, because he’s lined up to be a free agent this winter. He’ll make his millions, to be sure, but you can wonder if Greinke’s a great bet for the highest of high rollers in the biggest of big markets -- and the media glare that comes with such things.

Christina Kahrl covers baseball for ESPN.com. You can follow her on Twitter.

If you've seen the video of the controversial triple play from the Padres-Dodgers game on Sunday, you'll see umpire Dale Scott initially raise his hands indicating a foul ball on Jesus Guzman's bunt attempt. As the ball then rolled fair, Scott reversed his call and Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis proceeded to start a triple play, snuffing a potential rally in the ninth inning of a tie game.

Dave Cameron of FanGraphs breaks down the play and calls for the game to be replayed from the point of Guzman's at-bat, his argument being that Padres' couldn't have been expected to run once Scott raised his arms, and also pointing out that one game in the expanded playoff system could be the deciding game on one team making the playoffs and another missing them.

At issue: Judgment calls cannot be protested (and thus overturned). Was this just a bad judgment by Scott -- reversing his call in the middle of a play -- or do the Padres have a right to protest based on a rules interpretation (that the play should have been ruled dead once Scott raised his arms)? To confuse matters, it was a fair ball. As reader Dave Alden wrote on FanGraphs, "Letting it stand is unfair to the Padres. Pretending it never happened would be unfair to the Dodgers. There is no perfect solution."

There is about zero chance that if the Padres do end up protesting that the call would be reversed and the game replayed from that point on (as what happened with the famous George Brett pine-tar home run game). But Dave raises an interesting point, and if the Dodgers sneak into the playoffs by a game, maybe they can give a playoff share to Mr. Scott.

• Jon Weisman argues that there is no reason to replay the game.
• Joey Matschulat's headline about the Rangers says it all: The best team in the American League.
• The Cardinals honor the Rally Squirrel on their World Series championship rings. Best ring ever?
• Fire Brand of the AL ask a simple poll question: Is Bobby V already screwing things up?
• The Nationals have a 1.99 ERA, and if not for the Dodgers, could be the biggest story in baseball right now.
• Michael Baumann has a suggestion for Jonathan Papelbon.
• It was not a fun weekend for the Royals.
• The Angels aren't supposed to be 3-6. And Albert Pujols isn't supposed to be homerless.
• Mop-Up Duty examines Eric Thames' start for the Blue Jays.
• Jack Moore looks at the Brewers' problems preventing runs so far.
• Michael Pineda will throw a bullpen session on Tuesday.
• Will Clark is drinking beer and blowing kisses. Can he still play first base?

Remember one week ago? I know many of you wanted to kill off the Yankees and Red Sox. Both teams were 0-3 and in such dire straits that Bill Simmons had a special podcast with his buddy JackO -- a Yankees fan -- to commiserate in their pain.

Well, it's not so easy to get rid of the wicked witches of the East. The Red Sox pummeled the Rays over the weekend, scoring 31 runs in a three-game sweep in games started by David Price, Jeremy Hellickson and Matt Moore.

The Yankees, meanwhile, took two of three from the Angels to climb above .500, although they did miss Jered Weaver and Dan Haren while getting shut down by C.J. Wilson. (Hey, we don't want Yankees fans to get too comfortable.)

OK, in all seriousness, it's a reminder of the hysteria that's easy to ensue when a team with high expectations doesn't go 7-3 out of the gate. A similar sense of panic exists in Philadelphia, where the Phillies are 4-5 and scoring barely three runs a game. It's early, folks.

Before the Yankees and Red Sox meet this weekend, the Yankees will have an excellent opportunity to pad their win total with a four-game series against the hapless Twins, looking like a good bet early on to challenge the Astros as baseball's worst team. Don't expect much run support for Carl Pavano, who faces Freddy Garcia on Monday night on ESPN and ESPN3 (7 ET): The Twins have scored three runs or fewer in seven of their nine games.

Outside of Derek Jeter (.366, four doubles, two home runs) and Nick Swisher, most of the Yankees hitters are off to lukewarm starts. Robinson Cano has one RBI, Alex Rodriguez is hitting .222 with one home run and Mark Teixeira (a career .235 hitter in April) is off to his usual slow start with a .222 average and zero home runs.

But with four games against the Twins, look for Cano and Teixeira to enter their showdown with Boston with at least one home run on their ledger.

Series of the week

Cincinnati Reds at St. Louis Cardinals, Tuesday through Thursday

Johnny Cueto (1-0, 2.25) vs. Kyle Lohse (2-0, 1.35)
Mat Latos (0-1, 5.59) vs. Jaime Garcia (1-0, 4.22)
Bronson Arroyo (0-0, 2.63) vs. Adam Wainwright (0-2, 11.42)

In some regard, the Cardinals were baseball's most impressive team through the first 10 games of the schedule. They methodically took two of three from the Brewers, Reds and Cubs, as well as beating the Marlins on Opening Day. Their plus-23 run differential is the best in the majors, as is their 57 runs scored. So far, the Cardinals' bench is shaping up as a possible strength. Matt Carpenter stepped in for the injured Lance Berkman (who should return Tuesday) and has driven in 10 runs in just 22 at-bats. Tyler Greene and Daniel Descalso provide flexibility in the infield. And so far, Yadier Molina (.353/.421/.735, three home runs) is showing his offensive growth in 2011 was for real.

The Reds have scored just 31 runs in 10 games. Outside of Joey Votto and Zack Cozart, the offense hasn't done much. I was worried about Scott Rolen's ability to produce heading into the season and Dusty Baker's cleanup man is off to a .121 start (4-for-33, no home runs, one walk). Baker has also given rookie catcher Devin Mesoraco just 12 at-bats, and Drew Stubbs is still having big issues making contact. Yes, Brandon Phillips missed some games, but there appear to be some red flags about the Reds' offense. The Reds can hardly afford to let the Cardinals put six games between them this early in the season, but that's what they're facing if St. Louis sweeps the series.

Three pitching matchups to watch

1. Monday: Roy Halladay (2-0, 0.60) vs. Tim Lincecum (0-1, 12.91, Phillies at Giants (10:15 p.m. ET)

Halladay has been terrific while Lincecum has been terrible and is coming off the shortest outing of his career on Wednesday, when he couldn't escape the third inning in Colorado. Lincecum is 4-1 with a 2.61 ERA in nine career starts against the Phillies -- teams that had better offenses than this Phillies team, of course. Wednesday's Cliff Lee-Matt Cain matchup ain't exactly chopped liver, either. Yes, I just used that phrase.

2. Wednesday: David Price (1-1, 4.82) vs. Brandon Morrow (0-0, 2.57), Rays at Blue Jays (7:07 p.m. ET)

Tampa Bay's brutal April schedule continues with a Monday morning Patriots Day affair in Boston, three in Toronto and then a bit of a reprieve with three at home against the Twins. Price is coming off a poor stint against the Red Sox in which he had issues locating his fastball and threw 83 pitches in three innings. Morrow has gone seven innings in each of first two starts, a good early sign for somebody looking to prove he can pitch 200 innings for the first time.

3. Saturday: Neftali Feliz (1-0, 2.25) vs. Justin Verlander (0-1, 2.25), Rangers at Tigers (1:05 ET)

Yes, please. The Tigers will prove to be a sterner test for Feliz than the Twins and Mariners. Feliz used his changeup successfully in seven shutout innings against the Mariners in his first start, less so on Sunday against the Twins. He's still a work in progress as a starter, and while nobody doubts his fastball, we'll see if his secondary stuff can catch up. Many still consider moving him to the rotation a bit of a risk, considering his strikeout rate as a closer in 2011 didn't exactly reflect domination (54 strikeouts in 62.1 innings). So far he has seven K's in 12 innings.

Player on the hot seat: Aramis Ramirez, Brewers

After hitting .306/.361/.510 with 26 home runs for the Cubs, the Brewers signed Ramirez to help replace Prince Fielder. So far he's hitting .114 without a big one.

Player to watch: Chad Billingsley, Dodgers

Billingsley has made two strong starts -- one run with a 15-1 strikeout-walk ratio -- raising hopes that the Dodgers will have a strong No. 2 starter behind Clayton Kershaw. Billingsley suffered through the worst season of his career in 2011 as he walked 84 batters, but made some mechanical adjustments this spring. "Success breeds confidence," pitching coach Rick Honeycutt told ESPNLA's Tony Jackson. "They go hand in hand. Right now, you're seeing him totally in control. He isn't right on target with every ball he throws, but we're not seeing that wildness. I like to call them well-thrown balls, and we are seeing a lot of well-thrown balls coming out of his hand. Those are quality pitches. He just needs to do that consistently."

Heat map of the week

Courtesy of Mark Simon and Katie Sharp of ESPN Stats and Information, we have to do a Matt Kemp heat map. Baseball's hottest hitter is just the fourth player since 1920 hitting .450 with at least six home runs and 16 RBIs through his team's first 10 games. The typical major leaguer hits a home run on every nine to 10 of the fly balls he hits, but Kemp's first nine fly balls have resulted in six home runs. He's hit the ball to the opposite field six times, resulting in five hits and four home runs. And in at-bats ending in curveballs, he's 5-for-5 with three singles, a double and a home run.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

On a packed Friday Baseball Today podcast with Mark Simon we exchanged thoughts on many pertinent topics, from struggling players to a weekend preview to former All-Star Jason Dickson (yep, he was an All-Star!).

1. From Thursday, was Zack Greinke really that bad, should Matt Garza have gotten the chance to finish his gem and what did the middle of the Twins order do that was so rare?

2. We take an in-depth look at the weekend schedule, with Albert Pujols at Yankee Stadium the headliner, but also it’s always about the Red Sox and which pitchers could be next to throw no-hitters?

3. When can we really start looking at sample sizes in baseball? Mark talks to a former manager and we each share thoughts.

4. Is there a legitimate statistical concern for Jose Reyes and Alex Rodriguez? Mark thinks so!

5. Our emailers have opinions on the quality starts stat, bunting, Dusty Baker’s style and much more!

So download and listen to Friday’s expertly produced Baseball Today podcast (by Frank Dale!) and please have a great weekend. Sunday night baseball is Angels-Yankees!

Stuff ...

• Baseball America has lists of the 10 youngest players in each full-season league. Mariners pitcher Erasmo Ramirez was the youngest player to make a major league roster, with a May 2, 1990 birthdate. Giancarlo Stanton is still one of the 10 youngest players in the National League.
• Walkoff Woodward looks at what happened to Justin Verlander and the Tigers in Wednesday's ninth inning.
• Neftali Feliz used his changeup a lot in his first start and he was pretty awesome.
• Dodger Thoughts author Jon Weisman has a piece in Variety exploring how TV networks can justify bidding billions to broadcast baseball games.
• Tristan Cockcroft has a fun look at early season paces. Yes, small sample size. It's still a fun to read.


• ESPN Insider Dan Szymborski looks at which closers are used most effectively -- ie, in high-leverage situations -- by their managers. Kudos to Mike Scioscia and Bruce Bochy.
• Franklin Rabon examines Dan Uggla's reverse-platoon split. Since 2009, Uggla is slugging nearly 50 points higher against righties.
• Our new Blue Jays blog looks at J.P. Arencibia's pitch-framing abilities. Pitch-framing is sort of the new trendy thing in defensive analysis, a big reason the Rays signed Jose Molina this offseason. Obviously, baseball people have always talked about this, but pitch f/x data allows catchers to be studied in this skill.
• One scout still believes Daniel Bard belongs in the bullpen.
• The Padres recalled Joe Wieland and Insider Eric Karabell looks at whether he can help the Padres (and fantasy owners).
• The Brewers have broken off talks with Zack Greinke about a contract extension.
• Will Freddy Galvis become a good player for the Phillies? Or is he ultimately just a younger version of Wilson Valdez? Michael Baumann ponders the question.
• Danny Duffy had a nice start for the Royals on Tuesday. OK, it was against the A's, but there many positives signs for the young left-hander.
• Jon Shields thinks the Mariners should start playing John Jaso more instead of Miguel Olivo. Jaso has yet to appear in game. The knocks against Olivo? He has trouble catching the ball and getting on base. Otherwise ... he's awesome!
• Nick Faleris looked at Brian Matusz's first start of the season for the Orioles. Remember, this is a guy everyone was calling a future ace after 2010.
• Baseball Prospectus has a list of 10 players who should receive contract extensions.
• Jorge Posada will throw out the first pitch at the Yankees' homer opener on Friday.
• Finally, Miami columnist Dan LeBetard was on ESPN Radio talking about the Ozzie Guillen situation.

The Milwaukee Brewers have returned all five rotation starters from 2011, a season that was almost certainly the best in franchise history other than 1982. It's a solid group that puts Milwaukee in position to reclaim its NL Central title. It is not, however, a rotation that should be considered elite or ranked among the 10 best in baseball. I put that out on Twitter last week and Brewers fans came attacking like badgers. Wisconsin badgers, I guess. So I called Tom Haudricourt, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's veteran Brewers beat writer and asked him for some perspective.

"They went so long without any starting pitching to speak of," Haudricourt said about Brewers fans, "and now they finally have some and they want some credit for it."

The Brewers' passionate fan base is rushing to fill Miller Park at a pace that has team officials expecting to exceed last season's franchise-record attendance mark of more than 3 million fans. Those fans vigorously defend reigning NL MVP Ryan Braun as if lab test results showing the presence of exogenous testosterone simply never existed. I realize watching Prince Fielder go 5-for-12 with two home runs to begin his Tigers career may send fans running and screaming into the streets of Sheboygan Falls but let's not bet the bratwurst that this 2012 rotation is a pass into the postseason.

Good versus great can be oddly subjective in baseball but a simple numbers crunch is a fair start. After the wave of Twitter outrage from Brewers fans, ESPN Stats & Information analyst Lee Singer ran some numbers and it turned out my suspicion was correct: Using 2011 Wins Above Replacement totals from Baseball-Reference.com for the five pitchers in each 2012 Opening Day rotation, Milwaukee's group does not rank among baseball's 10 best.

2012 starting rotations according to 2011 bWAR
1. Phillies, 22.5
2. Angels, 18.8
3. Tigers, 17.7
4. Yankees, 17.6
5. Diamondbacks, 16.5
6. Rays, 15.3
7. Red Sox, 14.8
8. Giants, 14.2
9. Dodgers, 13.5
10. Nationals, 12.9
11. White Sox, 11.9
12. Brewers, 11.7

"They're in the top group in the National League," Haudricourt said. "There might be other rotations that individually may rank better in across-the-board stats but this rotation just seems to work well in conjunction with their late-inning bullpen." After watching countless closers either land on the disabled list or implode to begin 2012, the Brewers' duo of Francisco Rodriguez and John Axford seems worth its weight in gold.

Jose Veras, acquired from Pittsburgh for Casey McGehee last December, gives Milwaukee a third reliable reliever. "Ron Roenicke seems really comfortable pulling the starters and giving it to the bullpen," Haudricourt said. "Sometimes your rotation is just better than its stats because of what it does in conjunction with the bullpen. They're very protective in terms of pitch counts -- you won't see any staggering 125- or 130-pitch counts." Indeed, the reliability of that bullpen and Roenicke's willingness to use it is one reason why Milwaukee pitchers posted only one complete game in 2011 but all five Brewers rotation members started at least 28 games and Milwaukee used only six starting pitchers all season.

Last season, Yovani Gallardo allowed more than three earned runs only three times in his last 16 starts. Zack Greinke had a 2.61 ERA over his final 16 starts. Gallardo, however, can't beat the Cardinals, the Brewers' NL Central rival who have now won five of their past six games in Milwaukee. Following last Friday's Opening Day drubbing in which he allowed three homers in a four-batter span, Gallardo is now 1-9 in 13 starts against St. Louis with a 6.24 ERA, including last year's postseason.

Saturday, Greinke continued to be unbeatable in a Brewers uniform at Miller Park. He's 12-0, 2.91 at home for the Brewers in the regular season with 126 strikeouts in 102 innings. He was, however, just 5-6, 4.70 on the road last season. Rotation aces win on the road and they win critical games against big rivals. Greinke said last month that he's "very comfortable" in Milwaukee and called the organization "amazing" but he's a free agent after the season, just hired a new agent last week and if you don't think Matt Cain's new $127.5 million contract just shot Greinke's price through the roof you're kidding yourself.

Shaun Marcum is also a free agent after this season. After going just 3-4 in 11 starts last August and September, Marcum turned in a 0-3, 14.90 postseason. Marcum was acquired from Toronto for top prospect Brett Lawrie, who may be headed toward superstardom with the Blue Jays. The deal could end up rivaling the 1992 trade that sent Gary Sheffield to the Padres for Ricky Bones, Matt Mieske and Jose Valentin as the worst in Brewers history. "When they traded for Marcum they had no idea they were going to be able to get Greinke and they didn't have enough starters," Haudricourt explained. "There's no question the trade is going to work out better in the long run for Toronto and the Brewers readily admit that. But they had close to an 'all-in' year, last year and they just decided to go for it. They knew it was going to bite them in the end."

Any organization which goes "all-in" deserves support from its fan base and kudos to the Brewers brass for not simply claiming tied hands. But if that gamble doesn't pay off tension can increase as the window narrows. Gallardo, Greinke, Marcum, Randy Wolf and Chris Narveson make up one of the National League's most competitive rotations, one certainly capable of bringing the postseason back to Milwaukee this year. Let's keep in mind, however, that it's a somewhat thin division in a league that fell another step behind the American League this winter.

Steve Berthiaume hosts "Baseball Tonight" on ESPN. Follow Steve on Twitter @SBerthiaumeESPN.