Some things to read while looking for the perfect hat.

The Brewers exchanged arbitration figures with their three remaining arbitration eligible players yesterday, news so big that Hyatt (in a FanPost) and I (in a FanShot) both could not resist the urge to report on it. The Brewers are down to three arbitration eligibles because Seth McClung agreed to a one-year deal for slightly more than $1.6 million.

The three remaining eligible players are arguably three of the team's biggest lightning rods: Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks and Corey Hart, so it should come as no surprise that reactions to the offers came from a broad spectrum of directions:

• The Bucky Channel thinks the Brewers are lowballing Fielder.
• In-Between Hops thinks the Brewers expected Scott Boras to ask for more on Fielder's behalf, and thinks there's a high likelihood the Brewers will strike a deal with Fielder before arbitration.
• Boras said he also expects to continue negotiations.
• Brewed Sports doesn't think Rickie Weeks deserves to double (or triple) his 2007 salary.

If you haven't yet, be sure to stop by and project Rickie Weeks' 2009 performance in the BCB Community Projections.

I guess I'll just lump all the negativity together in one paragraph: Brewed Sports has a list of their ten biggest Brewer fears for 2008, and Greg Connolly of the University of Idaho Argonaut thinks the Brewers and Padres are tied for the worst offseason.

I've got four minor league notes today:

• The Merced Sun-Star has a profile on Omar Aguilar. They give him "an outside shot" at making the Opening Day Roster. "Outside shot" may be a bit of an understatement.
• Bad Wax has listed Mat Gamel as one of their "Ridiculous Rookies" for 2009.
• John Sickels of Minor League Ball has uploaded his profile of Cole Gillespie as one of the excerpts from his book. I buy a copy of the book every year, and if you follow the minors at all you should too.
• Right Field Bleachers has an interview up with Brae Wright.

On the hot stove:

Cubs: Signed Japanese pitcher Ken Kadokura, Luis Rivas and Mike Stanton to minor league deals.
Mariners: Acquired David Aardsma from the Red Sox for a minor league pitcher.
Mets: Signed OF Cory Sullivan to a minor league deal. Also, their interest in Ben Sheets may be driven by the fact that Oliver Perez is still seeking a five-year deal.
Tigers: Are still interested in Brandon Lyon, but a "mystery team" has reportedly made him a 2-year, $9 million offer.

Also, the D-Backs are in the market for a new mascot after firing the previous one following a DUI arrest. I'm really not an expert in the field, but I would think general drunkenness wouldn't really impact a mascot's ability to do his job.

Oh, and it's possible we're all going to hell.

Drink up.