Some things to read while going extra casual.

Remember yesterday, when the Mug was late because I had so much to write about? Today's Mug is nothing like that. Adjust your schedules accordingly.

It sounds like Doug Melvin has been active at the GM meetings: Adam McCalvy noted that he's spoken to the agents for Randy Wolf and Doug Davis, and is expected to also speak to Scott Boras, who represents Jarrod Washburn. Al may have summed it up best:

If you have an arm and an agent, odds are Doug has talked to them at the GM meetings.

Arn Tellem, who represents Randy Wolf, told the Brewers his client is seeking a multi-year deal. The Brewers, in turn, told Tellem not to expect $5 million for Jason Kendall. Neither of those are really shocking developments: Wolf was also seeking a multi-year deal last offseason before the market evaporated and he was forced to settle for less, and Kendall hasn't been worth $5 million for several years now.

Meanwhile, FanHuddle wonders if the Brewers are building for 2011, not 2010, with the coming season being spent as development/evaluation time for players like Carlos Gomez, Alcides Escobar and Jonathan Lucroy.

Speaking of Gomez: Fire Doug Melvin has some fan fiction that might explain the decision to acquire him.

Today's "Around Baseball" segment has been reserved for senior citizens:

Mariners: Signed Ken Griffey Jr. (who turns 40 in November) to a one year deal for 2010. The deal is worth $2 million plus incentives.
Red Sox: Signed Tim Wakefield (who is 43) to a two year deal worth $5 million.

Looking for more info on the Arizona Fall League? John Sickels of Minor League Ball just returned from a trip out to the desert and is answering your questions today.

Meanwhile, there might be trouble brewing in Venezuela: the threat of violence and war is once again coming up in the country, and the Mets are considering calling home one of their top prospects in the Venezuelan Winter League. Meanwhile, Adam Heether still hasn't been seen in a game since November 1...

The Gold Gloves were announced yesterday, and I checked to see if any Brewers were honored, then tuned the rest out. Over at The Book Blog, Tangotiger has a press release on the irrelevance of the awards.

Looks like money is getting tight for the Dodger organization, trapped in the middle of the McCourt divorce. As Cute Sports noted, they recently cut the salary of 87-year-old amateur scout George Genovese to $8000. We've had discussions in the comments before about the "plight" of scouts and how it's not always as bad as it sounds, but this is ridiculous.

Speaking of financial issues, I mentioned yesterday that the Reds are looking to cut payroll this offseason and, as Tyler Hissey of Dugout Central notes, that makes last season's decision to trade for Scott Rolen even more puzzling. Rolen is due to make $11 million this season.

While most players are spending their offseason in various warm places getting ready for 2010, I still think Ross Ohlendorf is having the most interesting offseason of all, and now he's blogging about his work with the US Department of Agriculture (h/t Jen Langosch).

Need a Trenni fix this offseason? She's the guest in the most recent Phillies Nation Podcast.

On this day in 2007, Ryan Braun was named the NL Rookie of the Year. Braun has posted a .937 OPS in his first three major league seasons: Among players with at least 1500 PAs as a Brewer only Braun, Prince Fielder (.931) and Richie Sexson (.902) are over .900.

I couldn't find any Brewer birthdays today, so we'll have to settle for wishing a posthumous happy birthday today to Moonlight Graham of "Field of Dreams" fame, who would have turned 132.

Drink up.