Wednesday's Frosty Mug

Some things to read while waiting for anything.

The Brewers didn't sign or acquire anyone yesterday during the GM meetings at the Pfister Hotel, but they did give us a few hints regarding the composition of the 2012 team.

First, here's the most obvious news: Doug Melvin and friends sat down yesterday for an hour with Scott Boras, but still aren't planning on offering a contract to Prince Fielder in the short term. Melvin is still talking up Mat Gamel, and I still think he's posturing.

Melvin also told reporters that he's not planning on offering Craig Counsell a contract for 2012. Counsell hasn't retired yet but told Tom Haudricourt he'd consider a "non-playing" opportunity.

Finally, Mark Kotsay also won't be back. He signed a one year, $1.25 million deal with the Padres yesterday (FanShot). Knowing that he won't be in center field or at first base next season brightened my mood considerably, but @NotRonRoenicke is bordering on inconsolable.

Meanwhile, award season continues this week. Yesterday the Sporting News named Doug Melvin its co-Executive of the Year, splitting the award between him and Dave Dombrowski of the Tigers. The BBWAA will announce their Manager of the Year awards today and Kirk Gibson is largely expected to win the NL's honor over Ron Roenicke. Roenicke was voted first on three of 24 ballots en route to a second place finish in ESPN's Sweetspot voting.

By the way, I had previously mentioned that the NL MVP would be awarded on Friday, and that's incorrect. It will actually be the final award handed out on Tuesday. In the meantime, Braun will have to settle for this nearly indescribable post at NotGraphs.

Here are today's Prince Fielder notes:

• David Schoenfield of ESPN wonders if Matt Kemp's new contract is going to impact Prince Fielder's market value. Kemp's $20 million annual average is less than what Fielder is believed to be seeking.
• Bob Nightengale of USA Today says the Cardinals aren't interested in Fielder, even if they lose Albert Pujols.

Meanwhile, here's another option the Brewers could consider at first: Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel is reporting that the Brewers have contacted the Marlins to inquire about Gaby Sanchez (FanShot). Sanchez hit .266/.352/.427 in 159 games for Florida last season but could be displaced if the Marlins sign Fielder or Albert Pujols.

The Brewers are scheduled to meet with Clint Barmes' agent today, but perhaps they won't be the only ones: Marc Hulet of Bluebird Banter thinks the Blue Jays should target Barmes to play second base. Barmes is represented by Barry Meister, who is also Craig Counsell's agent.

I wish about a month ago I'd thought ahead and had a graphic made for "Dale Sveum's Offseason Adventure." Jon Heyman reports that Sveum appears to be the leading candidate for both the Cubs and Red Sox's managerial vacancies at this point. Sveum is also the subject of High Heat Stats' Card of the Week.

Nyjer Morgan is also compiling a list of adventures: He was in attendance for the premiere of the new Twilight movie this week. He's also in a runoff vote for the "Interrobang" nickname at NotGraphs.

Hopefully Morgan can find some time in his schedule to head up to British Columbia: Spencer Anderson of Canada.com has a story on the party the Comox Valley Baseball Association is planning on throwing for local hero Taylor Green next week.

In the minors:

• Teams have until Friday to add players to their 40 man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 draft. Brewerfan.net has a list of Brewers that could be selected, including Caleb Gindl, Daniel Meadows, Brock Kjeldgaard, Santo Manzanillo and Zelous Wheeler. There's only 31 players on the current 40 man roster, so there's plenty of room for the Brewers to protect some of these guys.
• Elsewhere in roster notes, Mark Rogers and Cody Scarpetta have both been awarded fourth options. I have no idea how or why that happens.
• Minor League Rundown unveiled their list of the Brewers' top 20 prospects yesterday. Wily Peralta leads the way, followed by Tyler Thornburg (FanShot).
• Peralta, by the way, pitched four scoreless innings and allowed just one hit in Gigantes' 4-1 win over Escogido in Dominican Winter League play yesterday. You can read about that and more in today's Winter League Notes.
• Closer to home, Scooter Gennett had another three hit game in Arizona yesterday. He has multiple hits in seven of his last eight contests and is now just three points back in the race for the AFL batting title.
• Elsewhere in the AFL, Zelous Wheeler has been nominated for the league's annual Dernell Stenson Sportsmanship Award (FanShot).
  
• John Steinmiller is in Arizona and talked to Logan Schafer about his 2011 season and his goals for next year.
• The Janesville Gazette's "Peace and Glove" blog has a five tweet interview with Nashville second baseman Eric Farris.
• The Huntsville Stars must be getting new jerseys for 2012 - they're auctioning off the old ones, including tops worn by Jonathan Lucroy, Taylor Green and Brett Lawrie. (h/t @Mass_Haas)

We continued our Brewer-by-Brewer look at the 2011 season yesterday with this profile of Jerry Hairston Jr. The series continues this afternoon, so be sure to check back.

We also announced yesterday that the BCB Book Club will be reading The Extra 2% as our inaugural selection. If you'd like to participate, pick up a copy of the book sometime between now and Tuesday and meet us back here.

Around baseball:

Astros: Signed infielder Scott Moore to a minor league deal.
Athletics: Signed outfielder Jason Pridie to a minor league deal.
Dodgers: Signed catcher Matt Treanor to a $1 million deal with an option for 2013.
Yankees: Signed pitcher Mike O'Connor to a minor league deal.

The Astros' pending move to the American League could be announced as soon as tomorrow, but that's not making it any more popular: The Houston Chronicle has several longtime Astros' reactions to the decision.

It's possible there's not a single award in sports with more convoluted criteria than baseball's Rookie of the Year. Here's a case in point: Angels prospect Mike Trout meets all three criteria to qualify for the 2012 award, but will be removed from consideration because he's being awarded an extra 17 days of service time for a short stint in the minors.

This is dangerously close to wandering off into politics, but it's MLB-related so I'll proceed with caution: MLBAM apparently sells server space to (among others) noted pundit Glenn Beck, but is receiving some pressure to stop doing so.

In former Brewers: Robin Yount has advanced to the semi-finals of The Outside Corner's MLB Mustache Madness tournament, and now faces Eddie Murray.

Sure, mustaches are cool, but can they travel through time? The Common Man and NotGraphs would like you to witness the incredible powers of Wally Moon's unibrow.

Once he's done in the Old West, maybe Wally Moon can return to the present and fix the internet at the Pfister.

Here's probably the strangest story you'll hear today: An independent league veteran is in some hot water after getting a spot in the Australian winter league by promising to bring Pirates outfielder Xavier Paul along. The problem was that Paul was unaware of the arrangement. I'm not sure how one could think that would end well. (h/t Bucs Dugout)

The Orioles unveiled their new uniforms yesterday, and I must say I'm pleased with their decision to go back to the cartoon bird logo. Larry Granillo of Baseball Prospectus noted the similarity to uniforms Cal Ripken used to wear, while Grant Brisbee of Baseball Nation has the funniest post on the topic you'll see today.

For many years, the Reds have been allowed to open the MLB season. There's a parade and various festivities involved, and last year they followed it up by being one of the few teams to steal a save away from John Axford. This year, however, they were scheduled to open their home schedule on Good Friday and pitched a fit. As such, baseball has agreed to let them move the game ahead a day and play a series-opening afternoon game.

I'm thinking of ripping this idea off, and replacing key words with "Prince Fielder" and "Cubs." Amazin' Avenue has a Jose Reyes to Marlins Doomsday Clock.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to start the process.

Drink up.