The Brewers have designated 33-year old righty swinging reserve infielder Joe Dillon for assignment. Dillon played in 56 games for the Brewers last season and he was 16 for 75 (.213 avg, .630 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 1 homer and 6 RBIs. Dillon played in parts of two seasons with the Brewers covering 95 games in which he was 42 for 151 (.278 avg) with 25 runs scored, 1 homer and 16 RBIs. The Brewers likely won’t miss Dillon much in the future if at all.

The Brewers have claimed 26-year old righty swinging 3B Casey McGehee off waivers from the rival Chicago Cubs. The Brewers have a huge hole at 3B so McGehee might get a chance to compete for some playing time there. McGehee played in 9 games for the Cubs in 2008 and he was 4 for 24 (.167 avg, .368 OPS) with 1 run scored and 5 RBIs. McGehee also played in 133 games in AAA ball in 2008 and he was 147 for 497 (.296 avg, .774 OPS) with 68 runs scored, 12 homers and 92 RBIs. This was a nice low risk/decent reward move for the Brewers.

The Phillies ripped 4 homers against the Brewers yesterday and they couldn’t overcome it. Jeff Suppan got the start and he was horrible working the first three innings in which he allowed 6 hits, 5 earned runs, walked 2 batters and whiffed 3. He earned the loss by allowing 3 homers in the game. Yovani Gallardo replaced Suppan in the game and he pitched well working 3 innings and allowing only 1 hit and no runs. Manny Parra followed Gallardo and he was also very effective pitching 1.2 innings allowing 0 runs and whiffing 3 batters. Ryan Braun had a good game with the bat in his hands going 2 for 4 with a RBI. Prince Fielder went 1 for 4 and his hit was a solo homer. J.J. Hardy also had a solid game going 2 for 4. The Brewers’ season ends as they lose this series 3-1 to the Phillies but they still had a good season in 2008.

The Brewers have sent 21-year old outfielder Michael Brantley to the Indians to complete the C.C. Sabathia trade. Brantley was the #24 prospect in the Brewers’ system coming into this season according to Baseball America. He played in 106 games in AA ball this season and he was 134 for 420 (.319 avg, .793 OPS) with 80 runs scored, 4 homers, 40 RBIs and 28 stolen bases. Still, the Brewers will have no regrets no matter how well Brantley plays in the future as they would have no way made the playoffs this season without Sabathia.

With the Brewers’ backs against the wall yesterday some of their complementary players stepped up big time. J.J. Hardy had a great game going 3 for 4 with 1 run scored and 1 RBI. Bill Hall (1 run scored) and Jason Kendall (1 RBI) were each 2 for 4 yesterday against the Phillies. Mike Cameron led off for the Brewers and he had a solid game going 1 for 2 with 2 runs scored. David Bush started the game and he was outstanding. He pitched the first 5.1 innings yesterday for the Brewers and he allowed 5 hits, 1 earned runs and whiffed 3 batters. Bush was the winning pitcher for the Brewers. Mitch Stetter, Carlos Villanueva and Eric Gagne followed Bush by working 2.2 scoreless innings allowing only 1 hit. Salomon Torres struggled in the 9th inning allowing 3 hits but no one scored off of him as he earned the save. The Brewers are now down 2-1 in this series.