Thursday's Frosty Mug

Some things to read while looking for a place to stop.

It's possible (maybe even likely) that it's another false start, but for a while yesterday we thought we had big news on the managerial front: Bill Scott of the Wisconsin Radio Network was reporting that Bobby Valentine had an agreement in principle on a three year contract, with an announcement likely soon to follow (FanShot). From there, though, we took another step back: Doug Melvin denied having made a decision and Valentine told Tom Haudricourt "there is nothing ongoing and no meetings scheduled" between he and the team (FanShot).

So, at this point it's hard to tell where we are. Tom Haudricourt says he's hearing the Brewers are still interested in Valentine, but also open to Bob Melvin or Joey Cora if a deal doesn't get done. Neither Miller Park Drunk nor Jordan Schelling are excited about the possibility of Valentine in a Brewer uniform. Chris Mehring wonders if Greg "The Hammer" Valentine is available.

Meanwhile, we have good news regarding Bob Uecker: He was released from the hospital yesterday, eight days after undergoing heart surgery. His recovery is reportedly progressing well.

Adam McCalvy unveiled a new feature yesterday: The Brewers Six-Pack. In the inaugural edition he talked to Mike McClendon about his debut season, Camp Hoffman and his offseason plans.

It's tough to tell what the future holds for Doug Davis at this point. After a disastrous return to Milwaukee he's a free agent coming off elbow trouble, and it'd be hard for a major league team to rely on him. With that said, Matthew Pouliot of The Hardball Times ranked him at #70 on his list of free agents-to-be.

Is Davis' future brighter or dimmer than Jeff Suppan's? Yesterday Suppan was named the first ever back-to-back winner of Brew City Sports' Hendy Award for the worst Brewer.

In the minors/winter ball:

• It was a big day for the Brewers in the AFL yesterday: four Brewer prospects were in the starting lineup for Surprise and scored four of the team's seven runs in a shutout victory (AFL/Winter League Update). One of those Brewers was center fielder Logan Schafer, who was making his AFL debut.
• Bryan Smith of FanGraphs was in Arizona for a Surprise game earlier this week and has some thoughts on Dan Merklinger and Jeremy Jeffress.

Around baseball:

Blue Jays: Exercised catcher Jose Molina's option for 2011, which will pay him $1.2 million.
Tigers: Declined shortstop Jhonny Peralta's contract option for 2011 but are expected to sign him to a two year deal.
Yankees: Declined first basemen Nick Johnson and Lance Berkman and pitcher Kerry Wood's contract options for 2011.

We're not that far away from the 2010 Rule 5 Draft, and Jonathan Mayo has a reminder of its relevance: Four of the 50 players on World Series rosters were Rule 5 selections, including one player taken in the minor league phase.

Speaking of the Series, Randy Wolf previewed it for Sports Illustrated.

If you've seen it once, you've likely seen it hundreds of times: A batter works the count to his advantage, then stands and watches as a 3-0 pitch goes right down the middle for a strike. Should the batter swing more often in that situation? Jeremy Greenhouse of The Baseball Analysts looked into it.

Happy birthday today to:

• 2009 Brewer Braden Looper, who turns 36.
• 2002 Brewer Lenny Harris, who turns 46.
• Bob Melvin, who turns 49.
• 1986-91 Brewer Mark Knudson, who turns 50.
• Columbus, WI native Frank Lange, who would have turned 127. Lange pitched in the majors from 1910-1913 with the White Sox.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to make dinner plans.

Drink up.