The Brewers have pulled righty starter Carlos Villanueva from the starting rotation and they’ve replaced him with Seth McClung. Villanueva was very ineffective as he pitched in 11 games (9 starts) for the Brewers this season and he is 3-5 with a 6.06 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. He will return to his former job of being the Brewers’ long man in the bullpen. Seth McClung will replace Villanueva in the rotation and he has a big time arm. In 12 games (1 start) for the Brewers this season he is 2-1 with a 3.55 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. McClung has to tighten his control a little bit if he wants to stay in the rotation for a while. He has walked 13 batters and whiffed 24 in 25.1 innings which shows that he has the stuff to succeed if he can stay focused.

The Brewers have signed 35-year old righty Julian Tavarez to a contract for the remainder of the 2008 season. Tavarez pitched in 9 games (0 starts) for the Red Sox this season and he was 0-1 with a 6.39 ERA and a 2.13 WHIP before being released. The Brewers will initially use Tavarez in the bullpen but he might work his way into the rotation if they continue to have problems there. Tavarez has pitched in 743 games (108 starts) in his major league career and he is 84-71 with 22 saves, a 4.44 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP.

Ben Sheets is pitching some of the best baseball of his major league career right now. He has started 9 games this season for the Brewers and he is 5-1 with a 2.92 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. He has whiffed 49 batters and walked only 12 in 61.2 innings pitched this season which is a big reason for his success. The Brewers also have been scoring runs when he starts but they aren’t doing that for any of the other starting pitchers. This could be the season that Sheets wins 20 as long as he can stay healthy.

Eric Gagne has been diagnosed with rotator cuff tendinitis which will cause him to miss at least a week. If he doesn’t improve by then he will likely be placed on the D.L. Gagne has pitched in 20 games this season for the Brewers and he is 1-2 with 10 saves, a 6.98 ERA and a 2.02 WHIP. He has allowed 5 homers and walked 16 batters in only 19.1 innings this season for the Brewers. He had lost his closer’s job due to pitching poorly and he might have a real hard time getting his job back.

The Brewers have placed reliever David Riske on the 15-day disabled list with a hyperextended right elbow. Riske has pitched in 18 games for the Brewers this season and he is 0-1 with 1 save, a 4.71 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. The Brewers made the mistake at looking at Riske’s numbers in the off season when they signed him and not realizing that he doesn’t pitch well under pressure. The Brewers have recalled 31-year old righty Mark DiFelice to replace Riske on the roster. His major league debut didn’t go to well as he allowed 5 hits, 3 earned runs and walked a batter in only 1 inning of work. DiFelice was a starter in the minors this season. He started 4 games in AAA ball this season and he was 3-0 with a 3.91 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. He whiffed 28 batters and walked only one batter in only 23 innings in the minors this season.