On the mlb.com site, Adam M. does a nice job of reviewing the Brewers' offseason thus far and what Moustache will be looking for as he returns from his vacation with his family.  Although pitching is on everyone's mind, a brief note at the end of the article suggests that Looper won't be wearing the ol' ball-and-glove anytime soon:

The Brewers entered the final week before Christmas showing interest in free-agent starter Braden Looper, but after a Dec. 21 conversation with agent Alan Hendricks, Melvin said, "I don't think we're going to get him."

As you Frosty Mug readers already know, the Brewers seem to be one of the few teams with money left to spend.  Although I don't think we'll have enough to seriously enter the Derek Lowe sweepstakes, I wonder if we'll be able to avoid signing Ben Sheets at this point: he's one of the last "ace" starters left, and we might be one of the last teams with money to spend and in need of an ace pitcher.  I think I saw something just like this on the "high school dance" episode of Full House once.

Of course, if we re-sign Sheets, I assume we'd lose the draft pick we'd get if he signed somewhere else.  I wonder if that plays a role in the decision-making.