Aside from his dismal performance of late, the schedule also played into the Brewers' decision to send Manny Parra to Class AAA Nashville.

Parra was sent down Saturday, after he gave up six runs in just 1.2 innings. He'd been hit pretty hard over the last month, posting an 0-4 record with a 13.50 ERA.

Thanks to a couple of off-days, the Brewers wouldn't need a fifth starter until June 27. Plus, with six games at American League parks in the next week, the team can be a little more liberal in its use of the bullpen without having to worry about pinch-hitting for the pitcher.

With that in mind, manager Ken Macha hasn't decided whether or not to "stretch out" reliever Seth McClung, who would seem to be the obvious in-house replacement in the rotation. Macha, though, also likes the big right-hander's versitility in relief; being able to pitch multiple innings, and do so with minimal rest between outings.

"McClung is so valuable out there," Macha said. "He can go three innings, he can go just about everyday. … But you have to do what you have to do, too."

Parra will probably make a pair of starts with the Sounds before the Brewers would need to fill his spot in the rotation, but Macha suggested that the young lefty would likely not be back by then.

"You have a bottom and he pretty much hit it,: Macha said. "He needs to start feeling good about himself again."

Chris Narveson was called up to replace Parra on the roster and will get his first big-league action since a five-game stint with St. Louis in 2006. In 20 relief outings with Nashville this season, Narveson posted a 3.38 ERA.

Done deal: After selecting Eric Arnett in the first round of last week's first-year player draft, negotiations between the Brewers and Arnett moved quickly. On Friday, Arnett posted on his Twitter account that a deal was struck and on Sunday, the team officially announced that it reached terms with and formally introduced the right-hander from Indiana University.

"I knew before I even was drafted that its what I wanted to do," Arnett said of the quick negotiations. "All I wanted was to be treated fairly, and they have done that. I knew it wasn't going to be a long process."

The Brewers picked the 21-year-old 26th overall after he went 12-2 with a 2.50 ERA as a junior with the Hoosiers. Had he not signed, he could have elected to return to Bloomington for a final season, but instead Arnett arrived in Montana today and is expected to be ready to go when Rookie League Helena opens its season on June 23.

The Brewers have had a lot of success in recent years when it comes to signing picks quickly. Eight of their last 10 first-round choices came to terms within a month, and only 2006 pick Jeremy Jeffress -- who signed two days after the draft -- was inked quicker.

"You just never know how long the process is going to take," said Bruce Seid, the Brewers amateur scouting director. "This is an individual with his family and his advisor that thought the best path for Eric was to get started. They just wanted to be treated fairly, and we were able to treat them fairly. He knew that to sit out a year, the whole season, was not in his best interest."

Arnett, despite his advanced progress, is not expected to see any big league action this season. The team has no plans to rush his development, especially considering that he threw 108 innings this season at Indiana.

"As much as we'd like to see him here as soon as possible, there's still a time element involved in making sure he's ready," Seid said. "This is an athletic guy we feel has the development skills to get here."

In all, the Brewers have already signed 20 of their 53 2009 draft choices.

Perfect stretch ends: Trevor Hoffman's streak of 18 consecutive scoreless innings came to an end Sunday, when Chicago's A.J. Pierzynski connected with a 3-0 fastball for an RBI single that proved to be the difference in Milwaukee's 5-4 loss to the White Sox.

"The biggest stat you have to worry about today is it was a loss for the team," the all-time saves leader said afterwards.

Hoffman's scoreless start (officially 18.2 innings) ties him for the longest franchise history. Up until Sunday, he had only allowed nine baserunners (eight hits, one walk) heading into Sunday's appearance.

"It's the middle of the season," Hoffman said. "It's a long grind."

No deal: General manager Doug Melvin, talking to reporters Friday, was pretty blunt on the subject of the Brewers dealing for a top-line pitcher.

"As of today, there is not one starting pitcher that is available," Melvin said.

The most popular rumor this season has Melvin working out a deal with the San Diego Padres for right-hander Jake Peavy. Such a deal was unlikely in the first place, as the Brewers didn't have the young arms desired by San Diego GM Kevin Towers. A trade for Peavy is even more unlikely now after he injured his ankle and is expected to miss a month of action.

Aside from Peavy, the Brewers have been linked to a number of teams, but Melvin says that most clubs aren't ready to concede the season by shopping high-priced talent.

"There's not a team willing to say, 'I'm ready to trade my players' yet," Melvin said. "Every team does their homework. They've looked at our club and said, 'They don't look like a match.' There's teams that I've looked at and there teams that you just don't match up with, whether they have a player you want or not."

Melvin also addressed reports that the Brewers were in talks to ship shortstop J.J. Hardy to Boston. He said that he spoke to Red Sox GM Theo Epstein who apologized for the rumors and said that he wasn't responsible for them.

Snakebitten: J.J. Hardy went 0-for-4 Sunday to extend his hitless streak to 28 at-bats and drop his batting average to .208.

Hardy, though, has been the victim of bad luck as much as anything else, smacking an number of balls hard and driving a few to the warning track.

"That's baseball," Macha said. "When you don't get results, it kind of plays in your head a little bit."

The manager has encouraged Hardy, who frequently takes the first pitch, to be more aggressive at the plate because his batting average down, 0-2, is low.

"His last at-bat (Friday), I didn't particularly think that was a very good at-bat," Macha said. "It was sort of a 'put the ball in play' swing instead of going up there and letting it rip. He's in a little bit of a defensive mode."

Tau of Macha:  Macha raised eyebrows on Friday night when he let starter Jeff Suppan hit for himself in the sixth inning and the team down by a run. Suppan got an RBI single to tie the game and the Brewers went on to take the lead later in the inning.

When it comes to starting pitchers, the manager who calls himself a "pitching guy" has a simple philosophy.

"I'm going to give you every chance to win the game," the skipper said. "And I'm not going to put you in a position to lose it.

I think if guys go out there and pitch seven innings and do a great job, if you leave them out there too long and they go home with a loss, I think that's the worse thing that can happen. If you tell 'em, 'Look, I'm going to give you this inning. You can't give 'em any more runs. We'll get you another at-bat and try to win the game for you.' It goes a long way."

At the time, Suppan had only thrown 77 pitches, which also factored into the equation.

Blast from the past: At tonight's Brewers-Indians game in Cleveland, fans will receive a "Ricky Vaughn" Bobblehead. Vaughn was one of the main characters of the 1989 film "Major League" which was shot at Milwaukee County Stadium.

In addition to the give-away, Bob Uecker -- who played broadcaster Harry Doyle in the movie -- will be featured in some promotional videos at the game, and will throw out Monday night's first pitch.

In his blog, MLB.com Brewers beat writer -- and subject of a recent Milwaukee Talks Interview, Adam McCalvy reports that Uecker will also be featured in some in-game promos.

Interestingly enough, when bad weather in Cleveland forced the Indians to move a series to Milwaukee in 2007, fans at Progressive Field were scheduled to receive Ricky Vaughn glasses.

Return of Scottie Po:  Former Brewer Scott Podsednik is strarting to show his old form. Podsednik, signed by the White Sox to a minor league deal after he was released by Colorado in April, had a pair of hits Sunday and has hit safely in 13 of his last 14 games.  He's hitting .311 for the season and went 6-for-14 in three games against the Brewers.

Steiny's Stumper of the Week:  Who was the winning pitcher in the Brewers' first game at  Cleveland's Progressive Field?

Quick hits: Twelve-year-old Aaron Ash, son of the Brewers' assistant general manager Gord Ash, announced 16 of the Brewers' 20 picks on the third day of the draft. … The Brewers' weekend series with the White Sox was the first between the two teams since July 2001. Milwaukee's victory Friday was the first against the White Sox since 1999. … Trevor Hoffman allowed just one hit in a scoreless inning Saturday, extending his streak of shutout innings this season to 18. … The Brewers went 1-5 on the homestand and have lost six of their last seven overall. … Corey Hart's two home runs Sunday marked the sixth time in his career that he had multiple home runs in one game. … The Brewers are 174-199 all-time against the White Sox. … Macha said he would study lefty/righty splits before deciding on who would serve as designated hitter during the upcoming interleague series. … Casey McGehee's first career home run capped off a a 3-for-4 day that also included a double, single, two RBI and two runs scored Sunday. He's hit safely in six straight games.

Injury report: Rickie Weeks was moved to the 60-day disabled list. Weeks is out for the season after undergoing surgery on his wrist.

Rattlers record: The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers' new affiliation with the Brewers is paying off. The Class A team in Appleton set a franchise record for first-half attendance with 107,362. That surpasses the old mark, set in 1998, when 92,563 fans passed through the turnstiles. The Timber Rattlers are averaging 3,253 fans per game.

On the farm: Nashville pounded Memphis, 14-5, Sunday for its seventh straight victory and second series sweep of the season. … Class AA Huntsville is 36-25 and leads the Southern League's North Division by two games. … Class A Brevard County clinched a first-half title in the Florida State League's North Division with a 4-0 victory over Palm Beach Saturday. … Five Timber-Rattlers have been named to the Midwest League All-Star team.

Trivia answer: Ricky Bones picked up the victory and Mike Fetters the save on May 22, 1995 as the Brewers defeated the Indians, 7-5, at what was then called Jacobs Field.

He said it: "The ballpark’s a lot different than the piece of garbage they had in the past." --White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, who was making his first trip to Miller Park since retiring as a player.

This week: It's a trip down memory lane this week for the Brewers, who continue interleague play with a pair of three-game sets in Cleveland and Detroit. The Brewers faced those teams on a regular basis  as members of the American League East and Central Divisions from 1974-'97.

N.L. Central standings (through games Sunday): 1, Milwaukee, 34-29; 2, St. Louis, 34-30 (-1/2); 3, Cincinnati, 31-31 (-2.5); 4, Chicago, 30-30 (-2.5); 5, Pittsburgh, 30-33 (-4); 6, Houston, 29-32 (-4).