Right mix of ingredients

They are so surprising and so much fun to watch that they inspired a Wisconsin fan to start a website called PeeYourPantsForTheBrewers.com. The 24-year-old fan, known only as "Bernie," is taking pledges from fans to do as the website's name suggests if the team makes the playoffs.

"I just saw it myself for the first time," laughed Brewers general manager Doug Melvin, who was on his way to watch his Double A team in Huntsville, Ala., Friday. "I guess you never know what you're going to see on the Web.

"This is the kind of excitement that we're starting to feel for our ball club. It's a long year and I'm sure we'll have our dips, but right now we have five good starters, a good bullpen, and a young lineup that's surrounded by a few veterans. Our manager, Ned Yost, has really got these guys believing, as do our coaches."

On this day, Melvin was curious to see how the young Brewers would handle going into New York and dealing with that atmosphere, and then Philadelphia.

"It's one reason I decided to stay away and watch our Double A club instead," said Melvin, "because you don't want to give the feeling that this is a series any more important than another. But as a GM, you do want to see how a young club reacts to different situations."

The Brewers are in a 16-game stretch in which they play 13 on the road -- against the Mets, Phillies, Dodgers, and Padres -- with a three-game set against the Twins in the middle. By June 1, there should be a better gauge of how legitimate this team is. But there's a buzz in Milwaukee.

Melvin, who in 2002 was a consultant for the Red Sox after gigs as Yankees scouting director, assistant GM in Baltimore, and GM of the Rangers, probably wasn't the most popular guy in Milwaukee for a while. He traded Richie Sexson, Lyle Overbay, Scott Podsednik, and Carlos Lee. It might have looked like a fire sale, but Melvin -- the man who negotiated Alex Rodriguez's 10-year, $252 million deal in Texas -- seemed to know what the goal was.

He wanted players who could help the major league team. If he had to look back on the deal he's most proud of, it probably would be getting something for Lee once he realized he wasn't going to be able to sign him.

"I had another deal on the table for prospects, and I didn't do it, feeling I needed major league-ready players," said Melvin. "So we traded him to Texas and we got Francisco Cordero and Kevin Mench and Laynce Nix, players that could help us right now. Cordero is our closer and he's done a terrific job, and Mench has been a productive part of our outfield."

Nix has been injured since the Brewers got him (he's on rehab assignment), but Melvin has made other good moves, such as obtaining Johnny Estrada from Arizona, finally giving Milwaukee an offensive catcher to pair with the defensively strong Damian Miller.

The big things, though, are health and the continued development of first baseman Prince Fielder, shortstop J.J. Hardy, and second baseman Rickie Weeks. Melvin moved Bill Hall from third base to center field. Outfielder Geoff Jenkins has been a powerful bat. Jeff Suppan has added a much-needed veteran presence to the rotation.

Suppan, who signed a four-year, $42 million deal, is to Melvin what Greg Maddux has been to his teams.

"To me, he's a Greg Maddux type," said Melvin. "He fields his position, he can hit well for a pitcher, and he knows how to pitch. He's been a great presence in our clubhouse."

Derrick Turnbow, who became a wild thing in the second half of last season, has settled down and is half of a potent eighth/ninth-inning tandem with Cordero.

"I often give the analogy that relievers are like shooters in basketball," said Melvin. "When they go bad, what's the best way to come out of it? You have to keep shooting.

"Relievers don't have the luxury of starters where they can take a few days off between starts and work on things. Sometimes they have to be used two or three times in a row. Derrick worked his way out of it by pitching.

"Then in the offseason, he was able to really take a look at what he was doing and he's come out with a terrific start to the year."

There could be more to come.

Melvin thinks two of his Triple A Nashville prospects -- power-hitting third baseman Ryan Braun and righthanded pitcher Yovani Gallardo -- could make their way to Milwaukee this season.

But they may not even be needed. And if that's the case, the guy who started the website could have quite a mess to clean up.

Representing the facts

According to an e-mail sent to me by Roger Clemens's agent, Randy Hendricks, here's how it all went down with him and the Yankees:

"I never talked to [Brian ] Cashman while I was in Boston. On Monday [April 30], he e-mailed me saying he was in Texas and could we meet. I e-mailed him back and said I would be out of town. On Tuesday [May 1], he e-mailed me about meeting later in the week, and I e-mailed him back that I was out of town, but Friday might work; I asked when he was leaving Arlington. He said he would make himself available to me.

"On Wednesday night [May 2], he e-mailed me about possibly meeting Thursday, and the bad weather in Arlington, and I e-mailed him back about 10 p.m. saying I was in Fenway Park so there was no way I could be at a meeting on Thursday.

"Ultimately, we agreed to talk on the phone, which we did Thursday in the evening when I was back in Houston. I let the Red Sox know on Tuesday that they should make a 'no regrets' offer. I told them I would get back to them; I never said I would have a counter offer.

"I was surprised at the Red Sox' offer on Wednesday, since when they brought up $18 million to me on Tuesday, I later [that night] phoned and said, 'Don't make that offer; it will never work.' Remember, they offered $21 million in 2006.

"Anyway, they offered $18 million the next night. What was I supposed to think? It was probably the 'recommended number' for Roger out of the commissioner's office. Hard to believe, though, that when the price of pitching had gone way up [look at Vicente Padilla, Gil Meche, Jeff Suppan, etc.], Roger is supposed to accept either a 35 percent pay cut from the Astros or 20 percent from the Red Sox. Especially when he would have been approximately 17-2 with good run support in 2006.

"A fair summary, to me, is that Roger had more value to the Yankees than he did to the Red Sox, because of the composition of their respective pitching staffs and their team records."

Surprising Upton is on the upswing in Tampa Bay

A few questions for Tampa Bay second baseman B.J. Upton:

For five days last week, you were leading the league in average and strikeouts and also hitting home runs. You've always been able to hit, but has this start surprised you?

BU: "I always thought I could hit but definitely didn't expect this. I've done a little bit better than I thought I would and I'm just trying to keep it going -- just by making adjustments and studying pitchers."

Could this be the best you've ever felt at the plate?

BU: "Um, yeah, definitely this early. I figured coming in that it wouldn't be until the second half of the year that I'd get a little bit more adjusted, but it's been OK so far. I mean, I'm happy I'm hitting early, so hopefully I'll keep hitting later. I just want to have a consistent year.

Do you envision yourself being a hitter who can hit for average and power? Or do you think you'll wind up doing one or the other?

BU: "I want to be balanced. I just want to get my share of hits and help my team in whatever situation I'm needed in. I can use my power when we need it. I can use my speed or if I need to move a runner over or something like that."

Your position hasn't been the most stable, moving from outfield to third to short and now second. Do you feel you finally have a home at second base?

BU: "I'm definitely starting to get comfortable over there. I have a long way to go and so much to learn, but I just need to get better and better as the season goes on and get to the point where it's all second nature to me. The biggest problem for me has been turning the double play. The feed is a little bit different and the footwork is a little bit different."

It seems like you're not in awe of the pitchers that you've faced anymore. Is that just because of your confidence?

BU: "This is the third time I've been up to the big leagues, so I've started to see some of the same pitchers and maybe I've picked up some things every time I've come up. Definitely experience and repetition is a big thing for me. I just want to keep doing what I'm doing and hopefully that will lead to winning because that's what we all want here ultimately."

Etc.

Touching the bases
Apropos of nothing: 1. In our continuing hot dog survey, Cubs PR man Peter Chase estimates that yellow mustard is preferred over brown mustard, 58 percent-42 percent, at Wrigley. 2. Here's some pretty good pitching: C.C. Sabathia had only two 3-and-0 counts in his first six starts and 90 0-and-1 counts. 3. Edgar Renteria's first 180 games with the Braves: .301, 18 homers, 48 doubles, 90 RBIs, and 16 errors. Why can't we get players like that? 4. Got to admit, I'm really impressed with Ichiro Suzuki's AL-record 41 straight stolen bases. 5. How about predictions on Roger Clemens's record this year? I'll start: 12-7, 3.67.

Fade, then trade
The Dodgers have had a good start, but if they could, they'd probably trade for a third baseman. Dodger scouts were watching the Red Sox and Blue Jays last week. There doesn't appear to be any chance the Sox would move Mike Lowell after the hot start he's had, but the Blue Jays, given their demise, might consider parting with Troy Glaus. If the Jays fade fast, there could be a fire sale in Toronto. Glaus, who hurt his heel in Friday's game and didn't play yesterday, would appear to be a candidate for trade.

One-sided argument
We've written about the great impression Trot Nixon has made on the Indians. He's always had the rap that he can't hit lefties, and the rap is real. He had hit .213 against them entering this season and was 1 for 15 against them before his 5-for-5 day last Saturday against the Orioles. All five hits came against lefties. One of the coaches over there told me that Nixon has really been working on hitting lefthanders.

The annual Sotheby's and SCP sports memorabilia auction will be held in New York June 5. Two Ted Williams items of interest: his 1955 All-Star Game bat (estimated at $45,000/$65,000) and the cleats he wore when he homered in his final at-bat ($20,000/$30,000).

Now that Brad Lidge is starting to turn his season around, the Astros are in position to either have a very strong bullpen with Lidge, Chad Qualls, and closer Dan Wheeler, or turn around and trade one of them for a starter or outfielder. You're never really out of it in the NL Central, although the Cubs are playing well and could give Milwaukee a fight before it's over. The Astros knew they were never getting Clemens, so that's not considered a loss, but they could use one more starter, and Lidge could be the chip they use.

Had a nice conversation with Don Zimmer in the Tampa Bay clubhouse Friday about Major League Baseball enforcing the rule that keeps icons such as him and Johnny Pesky off the bench during games. "I know that Johnny is upset about it, and I was, too," said Zimmer, who is a consultant for the Devil Rays. "When Lou [ Piniella] was the manager, he'd always tell me, 'You're in the dugout!' and then someone would complain and I'd get booted out. It got a little bit embarrassing so I just didn't do it anymore. Tonight I'm watching the game from in here and I'd much rather be out there, where I watched for 59 years. I feel bad for Johnny because that's his life." Zim was also excited about his granddaughter, a third baseman for the UMass softball team, which won the Atlantic 10 championship yesterday .

As much as Minnesota's Torii Hunter would love to play for the Red Sox and team up with Big Papi, we don't see it happening with Jacoby Ellsbury in the picture. Nor should you rule out the Twins. After all, they did pick up his $12 million option, which surprised a few people. There will be teams lined up for the Gold Glove center fielder when he becomes a free agent at season's end. He lives in Texas, so the Rangers and Astros are possibilities, as are the Cubs, White Sox, and Cardinals.

The Marlins situation is getting worse with the state Senate voting down a proposal to build a $490 million stadium in Miami. The team was asking for $60 million in subsidiary costs from the state. Now the Marlins have to find a way for the city of Miami to pick up more of the freight or they must pick up the tab. Major League Baseball doesn't want to move the franchise out of such a large market, but one wonders whether continued frustration would lead owner Jeffrey Loria to sell.

Nick Cafardo can be reached at cafardo@globe.com; material from personal interviews, wire services, other beat writers, and league and team sources was used in this report.