Some things to read while wondering how much rice one could get for Mike Cameron.

Obviously, the Cameron trade is still a hot topic around here: As of this writing, we've already had 344 comments on an astonishing nine posts since Thursday discussing the topic. (UPDATE: It's actually more like 425 and eleven posts, as I missed two FanShots.)With that said, Jeff brought a new point to the table last night, and even if you're completely sick of the conversation, you should go read it for the insight on the unique economic plight caused by a $200 million payroll.

View From Bernie's Chalet notes that the financial flexibility gained from a Cameron trade would allow the Brewers to continue to pursue Brian Fuentes. That argument works if all of the following is true:

1) The savings on Cameron won't be immediately handed to Kei Igawa.
2) The improvement created by adding Fuentes to the bullpen is greater than the loss created by replacing Cameron with Cabrera in center field.
3) Fuentes won't sign with any of a half dozen other teams that are reportedly interested in him, including the Yankees.

Meanwhile, it's possible the Yankees are pursuing Manny Ramirez, which might force them to move Johnny Damon or Hideki Matsui back to center and leave them without a place to play Cameron. It is about the money, stupid isn't thrilled with that premise.

Also, rumor has it Mark Teixiera is getting close to making a decision. If he signs with the Red Sox, Brewed Sports thinks it will set off a series of moves ending with J.J. Hardy in Boston and Mike Lowell and Manny Delcarmen in Milwaukee.

Three minor league notes to pass along today:

• The Baseball America Prospect Blog has started a project to evaluate catcher defense. Click the link to see how close Jonathan Lucroy is to the top and how close Angel Salome is to the bottom in caught stealing percentage.
• Project Prospect has Alcides Escobar #1 over Mat Gamel on their list of top five Brewer prospects.
• 2008 Brevard County Manatees Stephen Chapman, Taylor Green, Brent Brewer and Charlie Fermaint were all among the leaders in errors in high A ball.

Gabe Kapler's play in Los Angeles was voted This Year in Baseball's top play for 2008, with over 12 million voters weighing in. There's video of the play at the link.

On the hot stove:

Cardinals: The team is one of several talking to Brian Fuentes, and may also be interested in Takashi Saito, Kenshin Kawakami and Koji Uehara.
D-Backs: CEO Jeff Moorad chatted with fans Tuesday and made it sound like the team is still in the market for a fourth starter.
Mets: Are treating newly acquired reliever J.J. Putz as a one-year acquisition, despite his $9.3 million club option for 2010.
Pirates: Signed reliever Chris Bootcheck to a minor league deal.
Tigers: May be getting ready to sign Matt Treanor, who has a history with Dontrelle Willis.

Also, this isn't team specific, but does relate to a free agent: Rocco Baldelli's diagnosis with a mitochondrial disorder may have been incorrect, and his condition may actually be treatable. That could raise his value a fair amount.

In an era where baseball seems to be spreading across the globe, it's weird to have two stories on the same day going in the other direction: the Astros are closing their academy in Venezuela (h/t Crawfish Boxes) and Major League Baseball is ending its affiliation with Hawaii Winter Baseball.

Hope springs eternal...except in Seattle. Washington is the only state in a recent ESPN poll voting that their favorite MLB team won't compete in 2009.

Oh, and what if this whole oil thing had gone the other way?

Drink up.

Some things to read while avoiding having "the talk" with your kids.

As noted in the FanShots, the Brewers and Yankees continue negotiations on the Cameron/Cabrera deal, but it now seems relatively certain the deal will include Kei Igawa, with the question being how much of his remaining $12 million contract will be eaten by the Yankees. True Blue LA has an unattributed quote that makes it sound like tensions have run relatively high in the negotiations. A quote from Tom H.'s blog still makes it sound like the Brewers are getting bullied here: There's likely not any truth to the rumor that Doug Melvin has refused to make the trade until Brian Cashman agrees to send over all of his disappointing players.

Meanwhile, the seeming inevitability that Melky Cabrera will be a Brewer has upset Claire, and that rarely ends well.

Even without mentioning the Cabrera/Cameron deal, Jon Heyman ranked the Brewers among the losers at last week's winter meetings.

Apparently there's also a rumor circling the web that the Brewers have offered a package including Alcides Escobar to the Padres for Jake Peavy. It seems unlikely, but it is interesting.

The Brew Town Beat has a plan for the Brewers offseason that involves signing Bobby Abreu, Brad Penny and Juan Cruz to three year deals and starting Seth McClung's 2009 season in AAA. Speaking of Abreu, FanGraphs has a closer look at what the future may hold for him.

Signing Abreu would likely require the Brewers to either trade Corey Hart or move him to center. The Hardball Times thinks Hart is poised to have a nice rebound season in 2009.

Among the players non-tendered on Friday was former Astros 2B/3B Ty Wigginton. I've seen a few comments suggesting the Brewers should be interested, but it looks like the Twins, Giants, Pirates, Indians and Reds are already involved. Elsewhere on the hot stove:

Angels: Have reportedly offered Mark Teixiera $160 million for seven years. The Nationals previously offered $160 million for eight.
Braves: May be interested in Japanese right-hander Kenshin Kawakami.
Cubs: Re-signed Chad Gaudin and Neal Cotts.
D-Backs: Acquired Scott Schoeneweis from the Mets for P Connor Robertson.
Dodgers: Non-tendered Takashi Saito, Scott Proctor, Yhency Brazoban and Angel Berroa.
Mets: May be looking at Randy Wolf as an option for their rotation.
Nationals: Re-signed Willie Harris for two years, $3 million.
Orioles: Will reportedly bring Chad Moeller into spring training to compete for their Opening Day catcher's job.
Pirates: Are reportedly among half a dozen or more teams interested in Derrick Turnbow, who will throw for teams in January in the hopes of getting a major league deal.
Reds: In addition to Wigginton, they're rumored to be interested in Willy Taveras and Aaron Miles. They also signed Laynce Nix.
White Sox Signed Cuban infielder Dayan Viciedo to a four year, $10 million deal.

Here's a relatively complete list of players non-tendered on Friday. Leave a comment if you have a more complete one and I'll swap the link.

While there's a lot of money being thrown around this offseason, 2009 will be another season of peanut butter and jelly for minor leaguers, as MLB has rejected a proposal that would have raised their daily road meal allowance from $20 to $25 per day. It's estimated the league will save $750,000 by rejecting the measure...which is roughly what A.J. Burnett will make per day on the DL.

As Jack Zduriencik continues to overhaul the Mariners, he's about to get a bunch of help: As things stand right now, the Mariners would have three first round picks along with two more in the top 60. They're also apparently taking their advance scouts off the road and bringing the entire operation in-house, to be done via video.

I've heard a lot of big leaguers like to spend their winter someplace warm and put their feet up for a bit. Red Sox reliever Hideki Okajima went someplace warm...and ran the Honolulu Marathon. The Red Sox don't sound too thrilled about it.

Oh, and WeAreFanatics.com wants to see you in your Brewers gear.

Drink up.

Some things to read while trying out new adventures with cheese.

Easily the biggest news of the day: the JS, USA Today and The Official Site are all reporting that the Brewers are still in the hunt for CC Sabathia following a recent meeting with his representatives. Two-Fisted Slopper likes the deal if it has an opt-out clause, and UmpBump thinks the Brewers need to go all in. Meanwhile, there's varying reports on whether or not Sabathia said he wants to be a Dodger and the likelihood he'll get an offer from the Giants.

Meanwhile, Ben Sheets is in Vegas looking for work as well. He's already met with the Yankees and Rangers. Rumor has it the Yankees are ready to offer him a two-year deal, but the Rangers are still trying to figure out if they can afford him.

Yesterday I noted that the Brewers had been mentioned as a team that might be interested in trading for Adrian Beltre, and I said there were worse options out there. One of those options is giving significant playing time to Mike Lamb, who re-signed yesterday. Ken Rosenthal speculated that the Brewers may be willing to trade Bill Hall now that Lamb is back, but Hall is one of Sabathia's 1000 best friends.

If you're curious how Hall moves to his left defensively, or really how any major leaguer moves in any direction in pursuit of any type of hit, Baseball Musings has uploaded defensive charts for the 2008 season.

On prospects: Baseball Prospectus has ranked their top 11 Brewer prospects, with Alcides Escobar coming in at #1. Meanwhile, Ken Rosenthal says the Brewers are not willing to trade Escobar for available closers Bobby Jenks or J.J. Putz.

FanFoodie is a new blog devoted to profiling and uncovering the secrets of great ballpark food. Be sure to check out their story on Secret Stadium Sauce.

Even on minimal sleep, I can see the transition from Secret Stadium Sauce to the Hot Stove...

Blue Jays: Could be in the group of teams looking to sign Rafael Furcal.
Cardinals: Were not in the group of teams looking to sign A.J. Burnett after all.
Dodgers: Have signed Mark Loretta and may be close to re-signing Casey Blake. Also may consider non-tendering Takashi Saito amidst lingering concerns about his elbow.
Giants: Reportedly offered Derrick Turnbow a minor league deal, but he's looking for something guaranteed.
Mariners: Signed Chris Shelton to a minor league deal.
Mets: Are reportedly close to signing Francisco Rodriguez to a three year deal.
Tigers: Signed Adam Everett to a one year, $1 million deal. May also be interested in trading for J.J. Putz.

I'm no fan of Scott Boras, but I don't think this one is his fault: Corey Patterson has dumped Boras and picked out new representation. I'm sure that's what was keeping the .205/.238/.344 hitting outfielder from getting work.

Also, remember Matt Childers? Yes, TheJay, I know you do...anyone else? Beerleaguer is reporting the former Brewer, who spent 2008 in the Phillies organization, is headed to Japan.

Oh, and today is a Woot-off day. This could be your last chance to buy cheap electronic junk before Christmas. Shop accordingly.

Drink up.

It may be the All-Star break, but the news hasn't taken a break.

Win Expectancy Graph
BR Box Score

Apparently hitting a walk-off sac fly only merits a little Gatorade bath.

It appears Ben Sheets will be the first Brewer pitcher ever to start the All-Star Game. It's an honor, certainly, but it also means I'll be holding my breath for the first 2-3 innings. Sheets also won Dayn Perry's first half NL Cy Young, which is much less prestigious but comes without the risk of injury in a meaningless game.

Home Run Derby participants can choose anyone they want to throw pitches they're going to launch into the stratosphere. Ryan Braun, given those roughly 6.4 billion options, has chosen his agent, Nez Balelo. Huh?

Beyond the Box Score is the most recent blog to debunk the "Derby Curse" theory. But if you're looking for a reason to curse during the Derby, feel free to try out the Home Run Derby drinking game.

With six starters and five spots, there's still talk that the Brewers may use a platooned fifth starter, with Dave Bush starting at home and Seth McClung starting on the road. I can't wrap my brain around that logic...statistics would suggest it would work...but how could it?

Maybe next season, one of them can close. Salomon Torres won't say if he's planning on retiring after this season.

The Sabathia trade has been met with pretty widespread approval. In fact, even Matt LaPorta thinks it was the right move.

These brawls are always entertaining when someone else's minor leaguers are in them: here's video (and crappy news coverage) of Saturday night's brawl in Huntsville's game. (h/t Brewerfan.net) I'm guessing suspensions will be coming out shortly for this mess.

On injuries:

Kelvim Escobar will have surgery to repair a torn right labrum and will miss the rest of 2008 and likely some of 2009.
Pedro Martinez left his start Saturday with a sore groin.
Dodgers P Takashi Saito will undergo an MRI to determine the severity and cause of tightness in his elbow.
Kerry Wood will miss the All-Star game due to a blister on his pitching hand.

Reports are coming out that Nats GM Jim Bowden and special assistant Jose Rijo are under investigation for skimming signing bonus money from Dominican players. Obviously, everyone involved is innocent until proven guilty. With that said, if there turns out to be truth behind the allegations, this is a slimy thing to do at best. Many, if not most Dominican players grow up in tremendous poverty, and anyone caught taking money off the top of their first opportunity to do better should never work in baseball again.

Here's a better way to produce some extra cash: Some Korean teams may consider reducing their night games to save on energy costs. The electricity needed to power one night game could power one house for more than six months.

Sabathia's home run was cool, but he's still got a long way to go to reach this milestone: With a home run Friday, Rick Ankiel has now hit more home runs (33) than he's given up (32).

So how bad is Mariners DH Jose Vidro? Apparently it depends on who you ask. Tangotiger asked the question twice, once to non-Mariner fans and once to Mariner fans, and reached an interesting conclusion.

Oh, and the guy who checks IDs at Wrigley Field is sleeping on the job.

Drink up.