Two months ago, everyone was asking Brewers general manager Doug Melvin which veteran pitcher he was going to trade from his surplus. Now, minus four arms from 2007 without having made a single deal, Melvin has opened himself to questions about which front-line prospect he will have to deal to bolster the starting rotation. ...

The last 46 days have seen Milwaukee lose to injury or dump three pitchers who combined for 68 starts, 25 wins and nearly 400 innings a year ago (Chris Capuano, Yovani Gallardo and Claudio Vargas). Meanwhile, the only consistent holdover for the Brewers, Ben Sheets, also happens to be their most fragile commodity. ...

Now isn 't the best time for Melvin to be out shopping for quality, rotation-ready starters -- struggling teams usually start looking to unload players after June 1 -- but conventional wisdom says he has to be weighing which electric bat at Class AA Huntsville is most expendable: third baseman Mat Gamel or right fielder Matt LaPorta? ...

Incidentally, the Brewers did Gallardo a huge disservice when they allowed him to pitch after he suffered what turned out to be a season-ending knee injury. You don't need advanced medical training to see the TV replay and suspect something traumatic happened during that first-base collision in Chicago, which should have triggered his immediate removal. ...

That $10 million Melvin spent on closer Eric Gagne is a bargain if you like unprecedented dramatics. Gagne is on pace to set a Brewers record for saves and a major-league standard for blown saves in the same season. ...

The only thing more laughable than grading NFL teams on their drafts 24 hours after the fact are all the mock drafts leading up to it. Mel Kiper and Todd McShay were 7-for-31 on first-round projections -- even with one gimme, since Jake Long signed with Miami before the draft -- and many believe those two ESPN draft wonks are the gold standard for such insight. ...

News: Bowl Championship Series money grubbers reject a plus-one format for a title game, leaving us stuck with the same annoying, dysfunctional format for deciding a major college football champion until 2014. Views: It would be fun to see Penn State coach Joe Paterno, a playoff proponent, stick around until then and win one at 90. ...

Aside from its condescending tone, absence of specifics and utter lack of sincerity, that statement of apology from Roger Clemens was a keeper. ...

Of course, we should put Clemens and Barry Bonds in a room together and, you know, have them strip down to their legal briefs and compare FBI witness lists. ...

When a big-time college athlete like former LSU quarterback Ryan Perrilloux has, according to news accounts, "a long-time attorney," then you shouldn't be surprised when the oft-suspended Perrilloux and his baggage are put at the curb. ...

A week from today, Spygate conspirator Matt Walsh will finally cue up his top-secret video wares for NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. A blockbuster would be a blast -- not for Patriots coach Bill Belichick, of course -- but something tells me it will be closer to "Leatherheads."