Some things to read while getting sucked in.

We're 78 days away from pitchers and catchers reporting to Maryvale, and this morning we have news to report regarding Prince Fielder: Buster Olney is reporting that the Brewers have told Fielder they're willing to extend their offer to six years and $120 million (FanShot). As Jaymes Langrehr of The Brewers Bar notes, it's still unlikely this will be resolved anytime soon.

So it appears the Brewers have informed Fielder how much money they'll be willing to pay him, and for how long. However, it is apparently important to note that THIS IS NOT AN OFFER. The semantic differences here are really not significant to me, but apparently that's why I've got people calling me an idiot and accusing me of bad journalism on Twitter this morning.

Anyway, on to other speculation: MLB Trade Rumors is listing the Brewers as one of three teams (along with the Cardinals and Giants) interested in former Braves shortstop Alex Gonzalez. He posted a .270 OBP in Atlanta last season but would bring above average defense: He's been around +6 UZR/150 at shortstop in his career.

Elsewhere in shortstops: The Brewers have said they're unlikely to be interested, but sources in Japan indicate that they do intend to bid for the right to negotiate with shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima. Noah translated the article in the comments of yesterday's Mug.

Meanwhile, we have an update on the condition of pitcher Santo Manzanillo, who was injured in a car accident earlier this week. The Brewers have changed the wording of his injury from a "separated" shoulder to a sprain and that sounds like good news, but Tom Haudricourt says "the change of wording from separation to sprain didn't mean it was less severe." He underwent an MRI and the results have been sent back to the US to be studied.

By this time next week the winter meetings will have wrapped up. Adam McCalvy has a preview of the events in Dallas.

This appears to have come out of nowhere, but I suppose it's possible: Jon Heyman is reporting the Brewers and Padres have shown interest in former Mets GM Omar Minaya. His tenure as a major league GM was much maligned, but he probably would have some value as an assistant to Doug Melvin. The speculation led to Miller Park Drunk spelling out his punctuation.

In the minors:

• Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus is reporting the Brewers have signed outfielder and former Rangers prospect Miguel Velazquez to a minor league deal (FanShot). He's 23 years old, has never played above A ball, has dealt with some off the field issues and missed the entire 2011 season, but John Sickels rated him as a C+ prospect last spring.
• All of the winter league Brewers were off yesterday.
• If you'd like to test your visual perception this morning, the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers have posted another "spot the difference" challenge. I was able to get one of five this time, which is better than I've done previously.

The Brewer Clubhouse Sale opened to the public this morning and continues through tomorrow. If you're still considering attending, John and Cait have a look at some of the items available.

Yesterday I mentioned that FanGraphs has opened their 2012 fan projections. Today they're asking for your help predicting the 2012 season of Ryan Braun and the other 2011 MLB award winners.

Our Brewer-by-Brewer look at the 2011 season continued yesterday with this profile of Casey McGehee. We still have a few players left to cover, so check back this afternoon to see who we're discussing today.

Around baseball:

Athletics: Signed outfielder Brandon Moss to a minor league deal.
Blue Jays: Signed pitcher Garrett Mock to a minor league deal.
Marlins: Signed closer Heath Bell to a three year, $27 million deal.
Orioles: Acquired catcher Taylor Teagarden from the Rangers for a minor league pitcher and a PTBNL and designated pitcher Pedro Viola for assignment.

On Monday we reported that Astros team president Tal Smith had decided to retire. As it turns out that's not exactly what happened: Smith was fired and given just two weeks' severance pay after working for the organization for 35 years. New owner Jim Crane is wasting no time making friends.

Today in former Brewers:

• Chris Capuano is still a free agent, and LaVelle Neal reports the Twins are interested.
• Jeromy Burnitz is on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time this year, and Jim Breen of Bernie's Crew remembers his Brewer career.
• Ken Rosenthal is reporting that former Brewer pitching coach Rick Peterson has interviewed for a minor league position with the Orioles and is also being considered for the Red Sox's major league opening.
• Rollie Fingers is The Outside Corner's MLB Mustache Madness champion.
• Paul Molitor will be the keynote speaker at the Burlington (Iowa) Bees' annual winter banquet.

Finally, I wanted to take a moment this morning to thank all of you for stopping by. Sometime yesterday BCB passed ten million page views, which is a pretty cool round number. Next on the horizon is five million visits, which we should reach sometime in mid-2012.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to see this.

Drink up.