In Arizona: Brent Brewer went 1-for-3 with a double and a walk, Lorenzo Cain went 0-for-3, and Omar Aguilar gave up two runs on a hit and two walks in 1.1 innings of work as the Javelinas lost to Mesa, 10-4. The two runs Aguilar allowed were his first in Arizona, ending a 10 game, 10.1 inning scoreless streak in AFL play.

The Javelinas travel to Scottsdale for their final AFL home game tonight at 8:35.

In Mexico:

• Casey McGehee went 1-for-4 with a single to stretch his hitting streak to seventeen games for Culiacan.
• Chris Narveson pitched 6.1 innings, allowing just two runs on two hits, two walks and striking out six, but he picked up a no-decision for Hermosillo. He has a 3.54 ERA in Mexico in 40.2 IP, with 42 K and 9 BB in that time.

In Venezuela:

• Alcides Escobar went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run for Lara. He has a hit in seven straight games.
• Tony Gwynn went 1-for-3 with a walk and scored a run for Magallanes.
• Hernan Iribarren went 1-for-5 and was caught stealing for Lara.
• Brendan Katin went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts for Zulia. He's 2-for his last 18 with seven strikeouts.
• Guilder Rodriguez had hits on back to back days for Lara, going 1-for-5 on Sunday and 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored Monday.

In the Dominican Republic: Juan Sandoval appears to have switched teams from Licey to Oriente, and pitched 1.2 perfect innings in his first two appearances for Oriente on Sunday and Monday.

In Puerto Rico:

• Martin Maldonado struck out in his only plate appearance for Mayaguez.
• Mike Rivera went 0-for-4 with a strikeout for Santurce. Maybe playing everyday isn't his thing after all: He's 0-for his last 10 with five strikeouts.

In Arizona: Lorenzo Cain went 1-for-4 with a double and a walk and Alexandre Periard got shelled, giving up six runs on eight hits and four walks in 3.2 innings of work as the Javelinas lost to Mesa, 13-6. Braves prospect Tommy Hanson pitched five scoreless innings while allowing just one hit and striking out ten to pick up his fifth AFL victory.

The Javelinas host Mesa at 1:35 today.

In Venezuela:

• Alcides Escobar went 1-for-3 to extend his hitting streak to six games.
• Hernan Iribarren went 2-for-5 with a stolen base and scored a run for Lara.
• Brendan Katin went 2-for-4 with a double, a triple and three RBI for Zulia.

In The Dominican Republic: Rafael Lluberes pitched on Sunday and put up a scoreless inning despite allowing two walks. He's walked four in his last five outings, spanning 2.2 innings.

Some things to read instead of simulating a universe with rocks.

So if you missed the announcement yesterday, I decided to go ahead and create the Brew Crew Ball WhatifSports League. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, click this link for an explanation. There are only 12 teams in the league and two have already been created, so if you want one of the 10 remaining spots, click the first link soon.

As the trade market continues to swirl, you may find yourself wondering, "Has anyone ever created a database featuring every trade Doug Melvin has ever made as a major league general manager?" Yes, someone has.

There are more than a handful of free agent predictions out there today, so I'll just dump them into bullet points and you can decide for yourself what's worth noting:

• Fire Brand of the American League predicts the Brewers will pick up Jeremy Affeldt and Brad Penny, and has the Brewers as the runner-up to land Juan Cruz and Jon Garland.
• The Pinstriper has the Brewers signing Brad Penny, Juan Cruz, Jeremy Affeldt, Russell Branyan and Brad Wilkerson.
• Baseball Blogging Network says the Brewers would be a good fit for Trevor Hoffman. So does FakeTeams.
• A monkey drawing names and teams out of a plastic cup thinks CC Sabathia will be a Marlin.

Let's move right into a Sabathia Smorgasbord:

• Dave Cameron of FanGraphs estimates Sabathia's value at 6 years, $162 million.
• Blue Jays beat writer Jordan Bastian says the Yankees' big offer to Sabathia could impact the Jays' negotiations with A.J. Burnett.
• Chone Smith has a projection for the 2009 Yankees that includes Sabathia, Burnett AND Derek Lowe.
• The Mets reportedly are not pursuing Sabathia after all.
• Sabathia received one vote in ESPN's NL MVP balloting.
• Oh, it's THOSE Girls has made a list of pros and cons for Sabathia to consider before signing or not signing in New York.

Staying on the mound, there are a few notes out there regarding Ben Sheets. Crawfish Boxes has combined predictions for the Astros for 2009 and the monetary value of a win to make the case that, in Houston, signing Ben Sheets could pay for itself. USS Mariner thinks the Mariners should also be keeping a close eye on him. Finally, Recondite Baseball noted that Sheets was one of only twelve pitchers since 1990 to post a season with a WHIP under 1 and pitch enough innings to qualify for the ERA title. (Sheets did it in 2004)

Will the Brewers trade one high priced, high injury risk pitcher for another? Adam McCalvy says the Brewers are not a likely candidate to sign Kerry Wood. Neither are the Tigers.

On defense: Baseball Musings Probabilistic Model of Range has the Brewers 23rd in baseball in first base defense, and Prince Fielder well below average at 95.26. On the flip side, Brewer catchers ranked first, and Jason Kendall was the best full-time defensive catcher in all of baseball at 109.97. It's worth noting that a measure of range isn't really the complete picture on catcher defense.

Two prospect notes today: The Official Site has another look at Lorenzo Cain's impressive season in the AFL, and Hot-prospects.net thinks the Brewers will have Brent Brewer play in Brevard County for the third straight season in 2009.

Elsewhere, around the hot stove:

A's: Might be looking to trade Bobby Crosby.
Braves: Are reportedly out of the running for Jake Peavy but may have interest in A.J. Burnett.
Cardinals: Are reportedly making left-handed relief and shortstop a priority.
Cubs: May consider offering a deal to Randy Johnson.

As Francisco Rodriguez, Brian Fuentes, Kerry Wood, Trevor Hoffman and others continue to sit on the free agent market, Big League Stew asks when everyone started hating closers. The answer is pretty resounding: "When they started asking for 5/$75 deals."

Does the ball fly differently at Miller Park based on the month? Beyond the Box Score did the math and the answer, perhaps surprisingly, is yes.

FanGraphs has resurrected their "Get to know a stat" series. The first two up this time are First pitch strike percentage and outside swing percentage.

Looking for something to do in between Mugs? Apparently MLB.com is hiring. I think I may polish my resume a bit today.

Oh, and as someone witnessing way too much wedding planning, seeing virtually every picture taken at Chad Cordero's wedding was a bit more than I needed this morning.

Drink up.

In Arizona: On Friday, Lorenzo Cain led off and went 1-for-5 with a double, and Brent Brewer went 2-for-4 with his first AFL home run as the Javelinas defeated Surprise 8-6.

On Saturday, Lou Palmisano went 1-for-4 with a double and Brent Brewer went 1-for-3 with a walk as Surprise returned the favor, 10-8. David Welch pitched two scoreless innings in relief, giving up just one hit and striking out four.

The AFL is off on Sundays to give the players a chance to do some early Christmas shopping. The Javelinas play at Mesa at 1:35 today. The AFL season ends on Thursday.

In Hawai'i: Friday, Caleb Gindl went 3-for-4 with a walk, his fifth AFL home run and three RBI, and Logan Schafer went 0-for-3 as the CaneFires defeated North Shore 6-5.

Saturday's final game of the regular season was rained out.

Then, on Sunday, Caleb Gindl went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and a GIDP and Cody Scarpetta allowed two runs on four hits and three walks in just 2.1 innings to pick up the loss as the CaneFires lost the HWB Championship game to Waikiki, 5-1. Chris Cody pitched in relief and threw 3.2 scoreless innings, giving up just one hit and striking out two.

With that, the Hawai'i Winter Baseball season has concluded. I'm hoping to write a season recap later today.

In Mexico: Casey McGehee stretched his hitting streak to sixteen games, going 5-for-11 over the weekend with a double, two walks, two home runs and four RBI. He's hitting .331/.354/.562 for Culiacan.

In Venezuela: All stats are from Thursday-Sunday.

• Alcides Escobar went 3-for-7 with three walks and a double for Lara. He's now hit in five straight games to bring his numbers back up to .233/.313/.288 in Venezuela.
• Tony Gwynn went 3-for-7 with two walks, a stolen base and three runs scored for Magallanes. He's hitting .317/.406/.366 in Venezuela, including .429/.556/.524 in 26 plate appearances against lefties.
• Hernan Iribarren went 3-for-11 over the weekend with three walks, a stolen base and two runs scored. He's hitting .333/.417/.505 for Lara.
• Brendan Katin returned from five days off to go 0-for-6 with a run scored for Zulia. He's currently 0-for his last-12 and has slipped to .235/.330/.642 in VWL play.

In the Dominican Republic:

• Brad Nelson went 0-for-3 on Friday, his only action of the weekend. He's still hitting .306/.375/.750 in DWL play, including .390/.444/.829 in 45 plate appearances against righties.
• Joe Bateman pitched an inning for Este on Saturday, giving up one run on two hits. He's still 3-0 with a 3.60 ERA in 15 DWL innings.
In Puerto Rico: All results are from Thursday-Sunday.
• Carlos Corporan went 0-for-7 with three strikeouts.
• Martin Maldonado went 1-for-3 with an RBI on Saturday.
• Mike Rivera went 0-for-6 with four strikeouts, but did walk twice and score a run for Santurce.
• Steve Bray picked up his first win Sunday, throwing two perfect innings with two strikeouts for Carolina. He has yet to allow an earned run in nine PWL innings.

In Arizona: Lorenzo Cain went 1-for-3 with a walk and his fifth AFL home run, Lou Palmisano went 2-for-3 with two doubles, and Omar Aguilar struck out two while pitching a scoreless ninth for his second save as the Javelinas survived a wild finish and beat the Saguaros 9-6.

The Javelinas host Surprise at 1:35 today. There's only six games remaining on their schedule, and they'd have to win out to reach .500.

In the Dominican Republic: Sam Narron, who appears to have pitched his way out of the rotation, pitched in relief and continued to struggle, giving up two runs on five hits in 1.2 innings for Este.

In Arizona: Lorenzo Cain went 2-for-4 and scored a run, Alexandre Periard allowed one run on four hits and three walks in four innings and David Welch allowed one run on three hits in three innings, but it was not enough as the Javelinas allowed Mesa to score seven runs in the final three innings and lost 8-4.

The Javelinas will play the AFL's best team, the Peoria Saguaros, today at 1:35.

In Hawai'i: Logan Schafer went 0-for-4 but Cody Scarpetta was dominant, striking out eight and allowing only one hit and one walk over five scoreless innings for the win as the CaneFires beat Waikiki, 6-3.

Since Hawaii doesn't do daylight savings time, they're only four hours behind now, so the CaneFires game with Honolulu today starts at 7 Central time.

In Mexico: Casey McGehee only needed one hit to keep his 11 game hitting streak alive, but he got four, including two doubles and his fourth LMP home run. He's hitting .327/.343/.505 in 104 plate appearances.

In Venezuela:

• Alcides Escobar finally snapped out of his slump yesterday, going 2-for-3 with a stolen base and a run scored for Lara.
• Hernan Iribarren went 1-for-4 with his second VWL home run for Lara.
• Luis Pena pitched a scoreless 1.1 innings with a hit and a walk yesterday for La Guaira, only his second outing since October 15.

In the Dominican Republic: Results from Monday:

• Brad Nelson went 1-for-4 with a solo home run for Cibao, his 8th home run in DWL play. Those eight home runs put him second in the DWL behind 35-year-old shortstop Mendy Lopez, who had seven cups of coffee in the big leagues but spent 2008 in the Mexican League.
• Joe Bateman picked up his third win for Este, giving up just one hit and picking up a strikeout in two scoreless innings. He's got a 3.21 ERA in 14 DWL innings.
• Rafael Lluberes pitched .2 scoreless innings with a strikeout for Cibao in his first appearance since October 29.

In Puerto Rico:

• Carlos Corporan hit a three run home run in his only plate appearance for Caguas.
• Steve Bray pitched a scoreless inning for Carolina. He has yet to allow a run in his first 5.1 PWL innings.

In Arizona: Lorenzo Cain went 4-for-4 with a walk, a double and two home runs, driving in five runs, Lou Palmisano went 2-for-5 with his first AFL home run, and Brent Brewer went 1-for-5 with a double as the Javelinas upended Mesa, 13-9. Omar Aguilar pitched a scoreless ninth, allowing two hits.

The Javelinas host Mesa at 1:35 today.

In the Dominican Republic: Brad Nelson picked up three singles in five at-bats Sunday for Cibao.

In Arizona: Friday, Brent Brewer entered the game late and went 0-for-2, Lorenzo Cain went 1-for-4 with an RBI, David Welch threw two scoreless innings with two hits and two strikeouts, and Omar Aguilar allowed only a walk while striking out two in one inning of work as the Javelinas lost again, 13-4 to the Saguaros.

Then on Saturday, no Brewers appeared and the Javelinas lost their 10th game in 11 opportunities, 9-6 to Surprise.

The AFL was off Sunday, so at least the Javelinas didn't lose again. They travel to Mesa at 1:35 today.

In Hawai'i: Caleb Gindl went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Friday, and Logan Schafer went 1-for-3 as the CaneFires defeated North Shore, 4-1.

Saturday, Logan Schafer went 2-for-5 as the CaneFires rode the wave of an 8-run second inning to a 13-4 victory.

Sunday, Logan Schafer entered the game late and went 1-for-1, Caleb Gindl went 1-for-4 and scored a run, and Chris Cody pitched five scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks with two strikeouts, as the CaneFires played to a 6-6 7 inning tie.

Hawai'i Winter Baseball is off on Monday to avoid overdoing it. They return to action Tuesday.

In Mexico: Casey McGehee went 3-for-11 over the weekend with a double and his third home run. He has a hit in ten straight games for Culiacan.

In Venezuela:

• Alcides Escobar went 0-for-2 on Saturday for Lara. He's now 3-for his last 34 and hitting .155/.231/.207 overall.
• Tony Gwynn went 1-for-5 over the weekend with two walks and two RBI for Magallanes. He's hitting .307/.391/.360 in the VWL.
• Hernan Iribarren went 6-for-15 in four games over the weekend, picking up a double, two stolen bases and driving in three runs. He's hitting .354/.407/.524 for Lara, and has stolen seven bases in nine attempts.
• Brendan Katin went 1-for-8 over the weekend, walked, scored a run and got caught stealing. He's still hitting .253/.345/.693 for Zulia, and still leads the VWL with 10 home runs.

In the Dominican Republic: from Thursday-Saturday's games:

• Brad Nelson walked in his only plate appearance Friday, then went 2-for-4 with two home runs on Saturday. Nelson is hitting .304/.381/804 for Cibao, leads the DWL in OPS and is second in home runs and RBI.
• Joe Bateman pitched three innings over two appearances Friday and Saturday, giving up one run on two hits and three walks. He did strike out two.

In Puerto Rico:

• Carlos Corporan went 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI Saturday in his debut for Caguas.
• Charlie Fermaint was caught stealing as a pinch runner in his debut Friday, then singled, drove in a run and scored in his only at bat Saturday for Ponce.
• Martin Maldonado went 0-for-3 in his debut for Mayaguez on Saturday.
• Jorge Crespo gave up six runs (three earned) on four hits and a walk in .2 innings of work for Arecibo Saturday.
• Richie Gardner started and gave up four runs on six hits in four innings for Carolina Saturday, but escaped with a no decision.
• Steve Bray pitched two scoreless innings of relief, allowing only a walk and a hit for Carolina on Sunday.

Note: Erasmo Ramirez, Jay Gibbons, Chris Woodward and Ozzie Chavez are all minor league free agents now, so they will no longer appear in these reports.

In Arizona: Lou Palmisano went 0-for-2, Lorenzo Cain went 0-for-4, and Alexandre Periard got smoked to the tune of six runs on nine hits in 2.1 innings as the Javelinas lost their eighth straight, 11-4 to Surprise. David Welch and Omar Aguilar each threw a perfect inning of relief with one strikeout.

The Javelinas travel to Surprise at 1:35 today. Expect the unexpected.

In Hawai'i: Caleb Gindl went 1-for-4 and was one of only three CaneFires to get a hit in a nine inning scoreless tie with Honolulu. I didn't realize that was allowed.

The CaneFires are off today to consider how ties affect the integrity of the game. They host North Shore tomorrow.

In Mexico:

• Casey McGehee went 3-for-4 with a home run and drove in three runs for Culiacan. He has a hit in six straight games.
• Chris Woodward went 1-for-4 with a strikeout for Mazatlan. He's had that exact line in three straight games.
• Erasmo Ramirez pitched two scoreless innings yesterday, allowing one hit and striking out two.

In Venezuela: Results from Tuesday and Wednesday:

• Alcides Escobar went 0-for-3 with a walk for Lara Wednesday. He's 1-for his last 17, and hitting .167/.233/.222 in VWL play.
• Tony Gwynn went 1-for-4 with two walks and scored a run Tuesday, then went 0-for-4 with three K's Wednesday.
• Hernan Iribarren went 0-for-4 Wednesday for Lara.
• Brendan Katin continues to destroy Venezuelan pitching. Tuesday he went 2-for-4 with a double and a home run. Wednesday he went 1-for-4 with another home run. He leads the VWL with 10 home runs (second place has 6) and is second in RBI.
• Luis Pena pitched yesterday for the first time since October 15, and showed some signs of rust, giving up a run on two hits in .2 innings.

In the Dominican Republic: Joe Bateman faced one batter and got one out Tuesday. He's pitched five consecutive scoreless outings, spanning five innings.

So the morning after election day used to be a huge hangover day for me. This year, I didn't drink and I'm still sick. That's just not fair.

Let's start with awards today. We all know Jason Kendall had a pretty good season defensively, but would you have guessed he was the second best catcher in all of baseball? The Fielding Bible Awards ranked Kendall second at catcher.

They also ranked J.J. Hardy second at shortstop, which fits in nicely with Beyond the Box Score ranking him as the fourth best shortstop overall.

Some other rankings, while I'm on the subject:

• Walk Like a Sabermetrician ranks Brewer leadoff hitters (mainly Rickie Weeks) 20th in all of baseball in 2008.
• Baseball Musings' Probabilistic Model of Range ranked the Brewers as the 8th best team in baseball defensively.
• Want further proof that all free agents cost more than you think they should? Beyond the Box Score rates Ray Durham as the 20th most valuable free agent this offseason...and says he's worth $10 million.

Marc Hulet of FanGraphs has a review of the Brewer minor leagues in 2009. Players featured include Manny Parra, Jonathan Lucroy, Brent Brewer, Jake Odorizzi and Efrain Nieves.

Here's a quick walk around Rumorville: Bleeding Blue and Teal lists the Brewers as one of the four teams most likely to acquire Mariners closer J.J. Putz. There's also whispers out there about a trade involving Braves 2B Kelly Johnson and Ryan Ludwick, which Al thinks could evolve into conversations about Corey Hart.

Speaking of rumors, Jon Heyman of SI.com has one you almost certainly haven't heard every day for two weeks: the Yankees are interested in CC Sabathia.

He's not getting as much of an opportunity to play in the AFL as I'd like, but The Official Site has a nice profile on Lorenzo Cain and his efforts to be more patient at the plate.

If you're excited about the new MLB Network in January, here's reason to be even more excited: the lead studio host for MLB Network will be former Brewer TV guy Matt Vasgersian. Also, while I haven't seen this confirmed anywhere, Al says Trenni will be there too.

No Brewers filed for free agency Tuesday, but here are some players that did generate hot stove news:

Blue Jay A.J. Burnett officially opted out of his contract Tuesday, leaving him free to seek more than 2 years, $24 million on the open market.
Cardinal Mark Mulder filed for free agency.
Dodgers declined their option on C Gary Bennett and also may be willing to make Russell Martin available.
Marlin Luis Gonzalez filed for free agency.
National Dmitri Young was outrighted to AAA. He accepted the move and is due $5 million in salary in 2009 anyway. He could be eligible for the Rule 5 Draft.
Padre Jake Peavy is reportedly down to three potential teams for next season: the Braves, Cubs and Dodgers.
Yankees Jason Giambi and Carl Pavano both had their option declined for 2009.

Oh, and after three straight nights of waking me up in the middle of the night, I'm about ready to offer Gorman up as a tester for AirDog Hover Vests.

Drink up.