NOTES: LEHR GETS RELIEVED OF HIS JOB: MILWAUKEE DECIDES TO DESIGNATE STRUGGLING PITCHER FOR ASSIGNMENT

Milwaukee skyline

      Cincinnati -- The Milwaukee Brewers have insisted they are raising the bar this season and as further proof, they gave struggling reliever Justin Lehr the boot Tuesday. 

     Lehr, whose earned run average ballooned to 8.62 with his second consecutive dreadful outing Monday, was designated for assignment. The Brewers have 10 days to trade, release or assign Lehr to the minors. 

      To replace Lehr in what has become a muddled bullpen, the Brewers purchased the contract of reliever Joe Winkelsas from Class AA Huntsville. Should other pitchers continue to swoon, assistant general manager Gord Ash said more changes would be forthcoming. 

      "He might be the first (reliever to go out) but not necessarily the last," Ash said. 

     The Brewers' staff suffered two beatings in a three-day period and each cost a pitcher his job. After surrendering six first-inning runs Saturday night in a 16-10 pounding by Minnesota, right-hander Ben Hendrickson was sent to Class AAA Nashville. 

      Lehr, who allowed three runs in two-thirds of an inning in that loss to the Twins, was tagged for five hits and three runs in 1 1/3 innings Monday in a 15-5 whipping by Cincinnati. 

      "This game is built around production," manager Ned Yost said. "You've got to earn your keep to stay here. That's true for all of us." 

      Ash said the Brewers would entertain trade offers if other clubs expressed interest in Lehr. But he indicated that the Brewers would prefer keeping Lehr in the organization if possible. 

      "If we wind up keeping him, he'll go to Nashville and pitch in the starting rotation," Ash said. "We'd like to keep our depth if we could." 

      Ash said several pitchers in the system were considered, including Nashville relievers Mike Adams and Allan Simpson. In the end, they settled on Winkelsas. 

      With veteran right-hander Rick Helling already on the disabled list, the Brewers knew they were in trouble when starters Tomo Ohka (partial rotator cuff tear) and Ben Sheets (shoulder tendinitis) were sidelined, also, in early May. The inability to fill those slots adequately has seeped into the bullpen, causing some turmoil there as well.