Well, wasn't that exciting?

JJ Hardy optioned to AAA Nashville, Alcides Escobar called up

Something wasn't right with JJ, and it was starting to affect his usually-good defense too. He has his own theory.

"I think these next couple of days are going to be really nice. Just having three days off, that's going to be exactly what I needed. Triple-A, whatever, I'll go down there and do what I'm supposed to do, but I'm pretty excited about getting three days to rest."

Didn't you just have three days off over the All-Star break though? JJ then went on to make a weird golf analogy:

"I like to think of it as the equivalent of a golfer who is a five- or six handicap and they're going out there for four straight months shooting in the 100s and they can't figure it out. I think a golfer, after that, would take a week off and then come back and shoot in the 70s again. In baseball, you can't do that."

Some guys just want time off to work on their rap album. Other guys want that week off so they can magically increase their performance by 30%. Clearly, JJ Hardy has discovered the secret to both baseball and golf.

I'll admit that I've been a huge fan of Escobar ever since he was signed at age 17, so I'm really excited to have him around for an extended look. For me, the encouraging thing is that he's 1) always been young for his level, and 2) made significant improvements every single year. Believe it or not, there were a lot of questions about his defense during his first couple of seasons. Now, he's a defensive wizard. There were questions about his power, but with the exception of one bad year at pitcher-friendly Brevard County, his ISO has increased at every stop in the minors. At 22, he's already a major league player, and he's only going to get better. Hardy may still be the better player right now, but I expect Escobar to have the better career.

Bill Hall DFA, Jason Bourgeois called up

You know, I was really starting to think Bill Hall might be turning it around. But I thought the same thing at the beginning of the season too. Best case, the Brewers work out a trade that involves eating some of Hall's salary. That's better than just releasing him, at least.

Bourgeois is a speedy slap hitter, or the type of player that routinely kills the Brewers despite not actually being good. Maybe I won't be quite so annoyed if one was on my team.

Bill Castro fired, Chris Bosio called up

Brew Crew Ball pointed out yesterday morning that, of the seven major league veteran starters we've used this season, six have ERAs higher than 2008. Five currently have their worst ERA since 2003. Three of them have their career-worst ERA.

ERA over a partial season isn't the most meaningful thing in the world, but that still says a lot. When everybody is underperforming, its logical to look at the one common thread. That is the pitching coach.

Boz'sNashville staff had a 4.10 ERA, good for third in the PCL. He's gotten good results from not-so-good pitchers, so I'm hopeful. Good to see him back in a Brewer uniform.

I don't think any of these moves will magically turn our season around, but they certainly can't hurt. I'm excited to watch Escobar play.