Tuesday's Frosty Mug

Some things to read while eating a squirrel.

Award season continued yesterday as MLB.com handed out accolades to players on all 30 teams. Adam McCalvy and The Official Site named Ryan Braun Brewer MVP, Yovani Gallardo best pitcher and John Axford breakout player of the year.

Dale Sveum's offseason adventure continues: Yesterday he interviewed with the Cubs and talked to reporters afterwards. His odds of landing the Boston job just got a little better: Mike Maddux removed himself from consideration for that vacancy yesterday. Maddux is still planning on meeting with the Cubs tomorrow, but sounds like he'd prefer to stay in his current role in Texas.

Here are today's Prince Fielder notes:

• Pro Ball NW says Fielder can fit into the Mariners' offseason plans.
• Tom Haudricourt expects the Marlins to pursue Fielder.

Stand with me for a moment, friends, and look down the path not traveled. Jaymes Langrehr of The Brewers Bar notes that last winter, when the Brewers traded Brett Lawrie to the Blue Jays for Shaun Marcum, they also offered him to the Braves for Jair Jurrjens. Marcum is likely the better pitcher, but Jurrjens is under team control for an extra season.

At some point this winter I think we're probably going to have an extended conversation on bunting and the volume of outs the Brewers gave away by doing so in 2011. Matt Klaassen of FanGraphs, though, says Nyjer Morgan's sacrifice attempt that resulted in an error and plated two runs on July 16 was the third best bunt in the majors this season.

The Brewers' search for a new broadcaster to sit alongside Bob Uecker is in its second week. Miller Park Drunk has a look at several in-house options, most of which are not in the least bit appealing. Say it with me, folks: "Chris Mehring is the man for the job."

In the minors:

• Here's something you don't say very often: Yesterday's AFL game between Peoria and Mesa was cancelled due to wet grounds. Between the Rising Stars Game, Sunday's league-wide off day and yesterday's rainout most of the AFL Brewers haven't seen game action since Friday.
• Seedlings to Stars has a first look at Michel Fiers' stuff in the big leagues.

Ever wondered what the Brewers' PR staff does when the team isn't on the field? John Steinmiller fills you in as part of the latest installment of his site's "There's No Offseason For..." feature.

Today in power rankings: Paul Swydan of FanGraphs has a look at how various teams moved up and down as the season went along.

We wrapped up the top ten in our Most Valuable Brewers series yesterday with Randy Wolf's profile. We still have a couple dozen more 2011 Brewers to discuss, though, so check back here later this afternoon for our first honorable mention.

If you haven't yet, please take a moment today to vote in this week's BCB Tracking Poll. It will remain open through the day today and results will be posted sometime later this week.

Around baseball:

Blue Jays: Announced that Pat Hentgen will not return as bullpen coach in 2011, and Pete Walker will replace him.
Giants: Acquired outfielder Melky Cabrera from the Royals for pitcher Jonathan Sanchez and a minor league pitcher.
Twins: Fired general manager Bill Smith and named former GM Terry Ryan as his interim replacement.

The Cabrera trade, by the way, opens the door for Lorenzo Cain to start in center field next season for the Royals. I wonder how many other major league GMs called Brian Sabean to "congratulate" him on the deal and see if he had any other pitchers he was looking to trade.

Meanwhile, things could get pretty bad before they get better in Minnesota. At yesterday's press conference the Twins revealed they're planning to cut payroll from last season's $113 million to $100 million in 2012.

Today in former Brewers:

• Chris St. John of Beyond the Box Score has an all "True Brewers" team, looking at players who spent their entire major league career in a Brewer uniform.
• Chris Capuano is believed to be seeking a two year deal, and Jon Heyman says the Mets are unlikely to bring him back.
• Jose Valentin is expected to be named the new manager of the Fort Wayne TinCaps, the Padres' Midwest League affiliate.
• Rollie Fingers and Pete Vuckovich have both advanced to the second round of The Outside Corner's MLB Mustache Madness tournament, and now face each other.

I'm having a rough time this morning: I tweaked something in my back yesterday and I'm headed in for a root canal in a couple of hours. With that said, Jeremy Blachman's list of your favorite team's top five prospects made me laugh hard enough to forget both of those facts for a moment.

Once I get back from my root canal, I'm planning on planting myself on the couch and watching the first episode of MLB Network's Clubhouse Confidential on the DVR. Bill Petti of Beyond the Box Score talked to Brian Kenny about the new show and its sabermetric approach.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to make sure it misses.

Drink up.