Some things to read while establishing an acceptable salutation.

In the weeks following the 2009 season we've spent a fair amount of time discussing what went wrong, but this graph at Beyond the Box Score probably sums it up better than any other: The Brewers were the fourth worst team in all of baseball at keeping below-replacement level players off the field, losing 5.4 wins.

Looking forward, the Brewers have unveiled their spring training schedule (FanShot). Mark your calendar now: the first game will start at 1 pm Arizona time on Thursday, March 4. I've got roughly four months to figure out if Arizona time in March is one hour or two hours behind Central time.

Could Felipe Lopez have a tough time finding a home this offseason? Jorge Says No! has a look at the developing market for second basemen, and doesn't see many teams with money to spend.

Meanwhile, Milwaukee may not be the first choice for Wisconsin native Jarrod Washburn, who told a reporter he'd like to return to Seattle. Hopefully the front office won't overspend to convince him otherwise.

View From Bernie's Chalet is holding out hope for the return of Ben Sheets, and proposes a one year deal with an option for a second. I still think Sheets is going to disappoint someone next spring by reporting to camp out of shape and nowhere near ready to compete after a year off. If he can prove he's ready to pitch, I'd be willing to take him back...but I'm not sure how one can do that in a non-WBC season.

I'm operating under the assumption he'll be back until told otherwise, but Miller Park Drunk seems relatively confident that Mike Cameron is already gone, and has a look at Jody Gerut as a possible 2010 replacement. He presents three possible outcomes: Gerut is good, bad, or injured.

Jonathan Lucroy is tearing up the AFL, hitting .385/.407/.615 through his first seven games, but that wasn't enough to earn him a spot in the Rising Stars Showcase, which will be televised on MLB Network this Saturday. In fact, the only Brewer prospect on the roster will be Mark Rogers, who's posted a 12.27 ERA in 7.2 AFL innings. Zach Braddock was also snubbed, despite allowing just one earned run in 8.2 innings and picking up two saves.

Elsewhere in the minors:

• Minor League Ball needs your help selecting a Community Top Five prospects for the Brewers. In the early going, guys like Cody Scarpetta, Jake Odorizzi and Eric Arnett, who all have high ceilings but are very far from the big leagues, are getting a lot of attention, while guys like Angel Salome and Jonathan Lucroy are not.
• Project Prospect ranked Mat Gamel as baseball's sixth best third base prospect.
• Rattler Radio has a look at some of the holiday specials the Timber Rattlers are working on, if you're looking for something to get that special someone in Appleton...or me.

I don't have any transactions to report today, so we'll jump straight into other notes: This might be one of the creepier things I've seen in a while, but superstition would suggest it now needs to happen for World Series Games 6 and 7: Todd Zolecki has a photo of The Harry Kalas Cake that was in the press box before last night's game. Kalas, a long time Phillies broadcaster, passed away earlier this season.

I haven't spent much time discussing the Cubs' sale because it moves at an excruciatingly slow pace and is covered well enough elsewhere, but I thought this milestone was worth noting: With the sale finalized, investor Laura Ricketts is Major League Baseball's first openly gay owner.

I link to Beyond the Box Score a lot, as you've probably noticed, as it's quickly developed into one of the premier places for stat-based baseball conversation and research. A lot of the credit for that development belongs to Sky Kalkman, who announced yesterday that he's moving on. If you've enjoyed Sky's work at BtB as much as I have, stop by sometime today to say thank you.

On this day in 1981, Rollie Fingers was awarded the AL Cy Young and a year later, Pete Vuckovich was awarded the 1982 version.

I was unable to find a Brewer birthday today (Fatter than Joey will probably point one out in the comments), so we'll have to settle for wishing a happy birthday to Hall of Famer Bob Feller, who turns 91.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention: I'm leaving on vacation in a few hours, and will be gone until Sunday. Fear not, though, I've left the site in capable hands with the moderators you all know and love and an All Star cast of Guest Muggers while I'm gone, and I've got some posts scheduled to appear during my absence, as well. All told, you probably won't notice I'm gone...or may wish I'd stay away. Either way, I'll be back on Monday morning.

Drink up.

Some things to read while getting new cufflinks.

So, with the World Series possibly one day away from being over, we're quickly closing in on hot stove season. Let's start today's rumor roundup with J.J. Hardy. Buster Olney thinks the Brewers could non-tender Hardy, but Al and I both agree that the concept is sheer lunacy. The logic behind it (as cited on MLB Trade Rumors) is beyond flawed:

Olney writes that the Red Sox inquired about Hardy at the deadline, but balked when the Brewers asked for excellent prospects in return. Olney wonders if this is a sign of things to come, and if no market for Hardy develops, would the Brewers be better off non-tendering the former All-Star?

So let me get this straight: The Brewers turned down an offer from the Red Sox because it wasn't enough. If nothing else develops, instead of returning to the Red Sox and asking for the same offer, Olney thinks the Brewers could let Hardy walk for free? On what planet does that make sense?

Roguejim also has a look at Hardy's trade value, and MLB Trade Rumors has a look at other shortstops that could be available via trade.

Elsewhere on the (hypothetical) market, we have Mat Gamel. MLB Trade Rumors has him listed among third basemen who could be on the move this offseason. The Nashville Sounds' website has an article from Baseball America with Gamel's reaction to a tough season offensively.

Until Jarrod Washburn either becomes a Brewer or signs somewhere else, his name is most likely going to keep coming up. Keep Turning Up the Heat! has a look at Washburn's recent performance and would accept a one year deal for him, but also notes that the 2010 Brewers are probably in trouble if Washburn is their biggest acquisition.

Meanwhile, Mike Cameron's name continues to come up in connection to other teams: The Cub Reporter has a look at Cameron as a potential fit in Wrigley in 2010, but doesn't think the two sides are a match.

As they suggested they would, the Brewers have found another job in the organization for former interim pitching coach Chris Bosio. He'll serve as the team's advance scout next season (FanShot).

Jonathan Lucroy is off to a hot start in the AFL, as he hit his second home run on Friday. Tom H. also got a positive review from a scout who recently saw Lucroy play for Peoria. Lucroy is probably a candidate to represent the Brewers when rosters are announced later today for the Rising Stars Game, which will be played on Saturday and broadcast live on MLB Network.

For more on Lucroy, the rest of the Brewers in the AFL and Alcides Escobar's season debut weekend in Venezuela, be sure to check out today's Fall/Winter League Update.

Elsewhere in the minors, I may have committed a Twitter foul. Yesterday afternoon I made a joke about the somewhat unexciting nature of Eric Arnett's recent Twitter activity, and today his account has been removed. Hopefully I'm not responsible for that. Meanwhile, Seth McClung has a picture of his daughter's Halloween costume.

Yet again, we have less-than-encouraging news about the depth of prospects in the Brewer organization, at least defensively: Alex Pedicini of The Hardball Times has the top four minor leaguers at each position, ranked by Total Zone, and there's not a single Brewer prospect among the 28 players listed.

Around baseball:

Astros: Declined their option for 2010 on Doug Brocail, and re-signed Geoff Blum to a one year deal worth $1.5 million.
Giants: Re-signed Freddy Sanchez to a two year deal worth $12 million, and declined their 2010 option on Noah Lowry. They also removed pitchers Justin Miller and Kelvin Pichardo from the 40-man roster. Miller is expected to become a free agent.
Indians: Removed pitchers Mike Gosling and Scott Lewis and infielder Niuman Romero from their 40-man roster.

Did Robin Yount use a corked bat? A game used Robin Yount bat with cork in it is up for auction, leading to discussion regarding the possibility. There's also a strong possibility the bat was corked sometime after it left Yount's possession. I'm reluctant to believe Yount corked the bat, for a simple reason: If Yount knew the bat was corked, he most likely also knew that someone would be able to figure out it had been tampered with. Why, then, would he ever give that bat away? That's like giving your autograph on the back of a steroid prescription.

Could John Maine be a reclamation candidate for Rick Peterson in 2010? Amazin' Avenue suggests he's a candidate to be non-tendered, but concludes the Mets should bring him back.

Baseball Analysts has an interesting look at pitchers' velocity and how it changes as the season goes along, broken down by several demographics. Most of the data isn't exceptionally surprising, but the difference in pitch speed between April and the rest of the season is pretty striking. (h/t Beyond the Box Score)

I'll admit it: I'm having a hard time getting excited for or paying much attention to the World Series. I have yet to sit through an entire game, and I've fallen asleep before the end of both games 3 and 4. Yet somehow, I don't feel as bad now that I know that Jon Heyman caught writers playing Scrabble and solitaire on their computers during Game 3.

Among the five candidates (Lopes, Royster, Yost, Sveum and Macha), I think you can make a solid case that Jerry Royster was easily the worst Brewer manager of the 2000's, even among a pretty bad field of contenders. With that said, his stuff apparently works in Korea, where he has led the Lotte Giants to back-to-back postseason appearances and signed a $600,000 contract extension over the weekend.

If you're hanging around the site tomorrow afternoon, you may notice some minor changes in the site as part of the visual refresh of the SB Nation platform. The changes will be minor, but will also be step one in a project to improve the load time of sites, which should be good news for everyone.

On this day in 1974, the Brewers acquired Hank Aaron from Atlanta for outfielder Dave May and minor league pitcher Roger Alexander. Aaron would go on to hit .232/.326/.360 in his final two seasons as a Brewer, make the 1975 All Star team and hit 22 home runs.

Happy birthday today to:

• Taylor Green, 2009 Huntsville Star and current Brewer representative in the Arizona Fall League, who turns 23.
• 2007-09 Nashville Sound Lindsay Gulin, who turns 33.
• Paul Ridgon, who made 27 starts as a 2000-2001 Brewer after coming over from the Indians in the Bob Wickman-Richie Sexson deal, and turns 34.
• Paul Hartzell who appeared in four games for the '84 Brewers and turns 56.

Oh, and the Phoenix Desert Dogs ate mac and cheese after Friday's AFL contest. I don't know if they used this recipe.

Drink up.

Some things to read while having it both ways.

If we're not hearing much from the Brewer front office this week, it's because they're in Arizona working on a plan for the offseason.

Here's proof that it's been a quiet week: The Brewers' Wives announced the release of their 2010 Pet Calendar, and it's one of today's top stories.

Keith Law chatted with fans again yesterday, and View From Bernie's Chalet has a roundup of all the Brewer-related notes. Today's topics include a terrible Ryan Braun trade proposal and Rickie Weeks.

The full article is Insider-only, but Jason Gray of ESPN has a look at Jonathan Lucroy, and the sudden shift that has led to him being considered the organization's top catching prospect.

Elsewhere in the minors:

• I don't remember if I've seen/mentioned this previously, but Baseball America's Minor League Transaction Report noted that the Brewers re-signed former first round pick Mike Jones as a minor league free agent. Jones reached AAA for the first time in 2009.
• The Timber Rattlers are asking for your help to pick a first baseman for their 15th anniversary team. Follow the link for bios on the candidates, then jump over to the front page to vote.

Around baseball:

Blue Jays: Claimed pitcher Sean Henn off waivers from the Orioles and designated Michael Barrett for assignment.
Mariners: Outrighted first baseman Bryan LaHair, and pitchers Randy Messenger, Cesar Jimenez and Marwin Vega to AAA. Vega is the only one who won't become a minor league free agent.
Orioles: Declined their option for 2010 on Melvin Mora.
Pirates: Claimed left handed pitcher Justin Thomas off waivers from the Mariners.

Do you have software development and/or engineering skills and the desire to find a job where you can spend the day talking sports? SB Nation is hiring for a couple of positions.

Oh, and speaking of open positions, you have until the end of the day today to express interest in the Weekend Editor position here at BCB. I'm planning on making a decision tonight or tomorrow.

Happy birthday today to Manny Parra, who turns 27. Hopefully Rick Peterson turns out to be an early birthday present for him.

Elsewhere, happy birthday to:

• Laynce Nix, who turns 29.
• Former Brewer farmhand Marco Scutaro, who turns 34.
• Dave Valle, who played in 16 games for the 1994 Brewers and turns 49.
• And a posthumous happy birthday to longtime Milwaukee Brave Joe Adcock, who would have turned 82.

Drink up.

Some things to read while testing the healing powers of bacon.

Jon Heyman is the latest to bring up the possibility that Jarrod Washburn could become a 2010 Brewer (as noted in Rumorville). Al says "he's been solid for far too many seasons to pretend he's not a good pitcher." With that said, he's also 35 years old and coming off surgery.

I'm having a hard time getting off the fence on this possibility. Obviously, Washburn's age and injury status would create the possibility that signing him could turn into a major mistake. With that said, his ERA in Seattle was never over 4.69, and when you adjust that for the NL he could very well be expected to post something in the 4.20-4.40 range next season. Giving him anything more than a two year deal would be a mistake, but to me he's worth considering in the short term.

Meanwhile, Jorge Says No! is still listing the Brewers as one of six teams that could trade for Gary Matthews Jr., but only if the Angels eat most of his salary. Every GM starts the offseason looking for players who are cheap and good: Trading for GMJ with the intent of playing him in center field would mean sacrificing the "good" part to get the "cheap."

Here's an unsubstantiated possibility I'll throw out there: The Mets are reportedly looking for a right-handed platoon partner for Daniel Murphy at first base next season. At first glance, Casey McGehee would make sense, as his versatility would allow him to fill in at other positions when he's not starting at first. Just a thought.

And while I'm out here on the rampant speculation train, View From Bernie's Chalet has a look at one potential Opening Day lineup for the 2011 Brewers. He presents a pretty encouraging possibility: A productive Brewer lineup with all eight position players under 30.

Earlier this week, the Milwaukee chapter of the BBWAA announced their postseason awards, but it's possible they didn't tell the whole story. Miller Park Drunk has the full list of awards presented.

By the way, to answer MPD's question: No, the Milwaukee BBWAA chapter isn't just the three writers from the Journal Sentinel. Six ballots were cast when voting on the awards: One of them was likely AP reporter Colin Fly, and I'm pretty sure the Madison Capital-Times and Racine Journal-Times also have active BBWAA members.

In the minors:

• Bernie's Crew has short videos of the deliveries of three of the Brewers' top pitching prospects: Cody Scarpetta, Jake Odorizzi and Wily Peralta, if you haven't seen them before.
• Baseball Intellect, at least partially spurred by this Battlekow interview, discusses Evan Anundsen's drop in velocity and the possibility that his high pitch counts in high school are to blame.
• Baseball America has a report card for the Brewers' 2009 Draft. It's behind their pay wall, but Rattler Radio has several of the salient points.

Around baseball:

Astros: Outrighted catcher Chris Coste to AAA. Coste will be a minor league free agent.
Braves: Are expected to sign Tim Hudson to a three year contract extension worth $27 million.
Dodgers: Manny Ramirez exercised his $20 million player option to remain with the team next season.
Rays: Outrighted first baseman Chris Richard to AAA, making him a minor league free agent.
Rockies: Reliever Joel Peralta rejected an outright assignment to the minor leagues and will become a free agent.

Yesterday, Roguejim noted MLB Trade Rumors' Bad Contract Swap Meet. That's a good idea, but this one would be better TV: Dave Cameron of FanGraphs proposes the Bad Contract White Elephant. Clearly it's intended to be tongue in cheek, but I'd watch it.

Earlier this week, BCB endorsed the Phillies in the World Series, and we're off to a pretty good start. It appears not everyone got the memo, though: Ryan Grant is rooting for the Yankees.

I don't buy a lot of baseball books, but I gladly shell out the money for John Sickels' Baseball Prospect Book every year. It's easily my top resource for scouting reports on over a thousand prospects and it's great to have on hand when attending spring training or minor league games. I've probably consulted it 30-40 times in my work here during the 2009 season. Sickels is currently accepting pre-orders for the 2010 book, which help pay for its publication. If you're a minor league buff or just want to be one step closer to knowing what you're talking about when discussing prospects, I'd highly recommend picking up a copy.

Speaking of the minors, the Reds' decision to move spring training from Sarasota to Goodyear, Arizona has sent a ripple into the minor leagues: The Reds, who also own their Florida State League affiliate in Sarasota, are selling it to the Pirates, who intend to move it to their spring training facility in Bradenton. So, in one year's time the city of Sarasota may lose both their spring training presence and their FSL team.

On this day in 2002, Ned Yost was hired to manage the Brewers, and Ken Macha was named manager of the A's. We'll have more on Brewer managers later today.

Happy birthday to Dana Eveland, who pitched in 36 games as a Brewer in 2005 and 2006 and turns 26, knuckleballer and 2007 Nashville Sound R.A. Dickey,, who turns 35, and Narciso Elvira, who appeared in four games for the 1990 Brewers and turns 42.

Oh, and if you're feeling nostalgic, this description of Gabe Kapler's play should bring back some memories.

Drink up.

Some things to read while getting a new backpack.

So apparently Gary Matthews Jr. wants out of Anaheim, and some Brewer fans (including Al) think he could be a good fit in center field next season, if the Angels agree to pay most of his salary. Meanwhile, Angels management is somewhere hoping and praying that there's one general manager left in baseball who thinks Matthews can be a productive major leaguer next season. Dave Cameron of FanGraphs notes that Matthews has been worth -$5.3 million in salary over the last three seasons. And while he was a pretty good defender at one point, TotalZone ranked him as the fourth worst defender in all of baseball last season. And he's 35 years old. On the scale of center fielders, Matthews is much closer to Corey Patterson than Mike Cameron.

The Milwaukee chapter of the BBWAA has unveiled their postseason awards, with Prince Fielder and Yovani Gallardo surprising no one by taking home Team MVP and Pitcher of the Year honors, respectively. Trevor Hoffman was named top newcomer, Todd Coffey was named Unsung Hero and Craig Counsell won the "Good Guy" award, which may be renamed for him when he retires. Mike Cameron also received two community service awards: one from the team and one from the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Congratulations to all of them.

Speaking of Mike Cameron, he's one of two Brewers among the top 6 free agents by WAR. Cameron ranks sixth with 4.3 WAR, a couple spots down from Felipe Lopez, who is fourth with 4.6.

Josh Butler has a new blog post from the AFL. Today's topics include night games, strep throat and his repertoire. Butler has been home for a few days with strep but still expects to make his scheduled start today.

Unless another package of stuff shows up on my doorstep, today is your last chance to enter the Bring Back Seth McClung contest. As of this writing, 401 people have signed up. I'll draw seven winners from the group at 5 pm today.

There had previously been speculation that Doug Melvin could consider leaving the Brewers to become president of the Blue Jays. You can lay that rumor to rest: Interim President Paul Beeston has been given the full time job. Elsewhere around baseball:

Astros: Signed former Red Sox bench coach Brad Mills to be their new manager.
Rays: Signed Gabe Kapler to a one year deal for slightly more than $1 million.

As you may have heard, Mark McGwire is coming out of hiding to return to the Cardinals as hitting coach. Lookout Landing speculates on how his first meeting with Skip Schumaker might go.

Speaking of Lookout Landing, they spent the evening last night watching a winter league game in Venezuela, and have some observations on the experience.

Side note: Lookout Landing also has a link to free live broadcasts of VWL games, but when I clicked on it the first thing I got was a box asking for permission to connect to my Facebook account. Don't fall for it.

Still looking for a replacement for Jason Kendall? MLB Trade Rumors has a list of catchers that may be available via trade. Most of them aren't too exciting, but it's possible all of them would be better than Kendall next season.

So this is how the other half lives: As part of the McCourt divorce, Jamie McCourt has submitted a list of her monthly living expenses, which includes over $30,000 (per month) for clothing and accessories, over $1000 for wine, and $533 per month for a birthday party. Apparently when you're that wealthy, you get a birthday every month. Who knew?

Speaking of birthdays, happy birthday to:

• Braden Looper, who turns 35.
• Lenny Harris who spent 2002 as a Brewer and turns 45.
• Mark Knudson, who appeared in 106 games as a Brewer in the late 80's and early 90's, and turns 49.
• And Bob Melvin, who served as Phil Garner's bench coach and turns 48.

Staying on the subject of birthdays, Wezen-ball has compiled a calendar of Top Birthday WARs. So if you've ever wanted to know the best player born on your birthday, there you go. Mine is Joe Judge, who racked up 43.7 WAR playing first base for the Washington Senators from 1915 to 1932.

That's all I have for you today, unless you're someone in need of a list of unacceptable Halloween candy.

Drink up.

Some things to read while having a new reason to hate Ft. Wayne.

The Brewers cleared a spot on their 40-man roster yesterday, but not in the way they had planned: The Astros claimed Jason Bourgeois off waivers when the Brewers tried to outright him to AAA (FanShot). Bourgeois hit .189/.250/.270 in 40 plate appearances as a Brewer, and .316/.354/.410 with 36 steals in 454 PAs for Nashville. Astros GM Ed Wade said he liked Bourgeois' versatility and expects him to compete for a spot in the outfield next spring.

With the World Series nearly ready to open, the Brewers are getting closer to decision time on Felipe Lopez. Baseball Reflections rated him as the top potential free agent second baseman this offseason.

It also wouldn't surprise me to discover they're working on a deal involving J.J. Hardy. Baseball Intellect took a look at Hardy's mechanics in an attempt to identify issues that came up last season, but found no notable changes. He expects Hardy to have a big bounce back season with a fresh start next spring.

We spent most of yesterday discussing Trevor Hoffman in the comments of yesterday's Mug. Today, we have more on Hoffman, as Miller Park Drunk has a post straddling the fence on the issue.

Up for more MVP talk? Quevedo at the Buffet has Prince Fielder second and Ryan Braun ninth on their MVP ballot.

In the minors and winter leagues:

• Project Prospect ranked Brett Lawrie as the third best second base prospect in all of baseball. That's pretty high praise for a guy who's only spent a few weeks above Low-A.
• Not only did Adam Heether hit in the minors this season, he's also spending the offseason in Venezuela showing off his grit: Plunk Everyone notes that Heether is tied for the VWL lead with 5 HBP.
• The AFL's Peoria Javelinas picked up a 2-1 victory last night, moving into a tie for first place in the Western Division, with 20 games to play. You can read more about last night's game in today's Fall/Winter League Update.

While some Brewer farmhands spend the offseason in Arizona and across Latin America sharpening their skills, three other Brewers are in a variety of other places:

• Rick Peterson was at the MLB Network Studios in New Jersey yesterday doing some taping for 3P Sports, his side venture. I guess I assumed some of that work would get back-burnered once Peterson was officially a Brewer.
• Trevor Hoffman attended a U2 concert at the Rose Bowl with Rob Dibble.
• Ryan Braun continues to work on his new restaurant. Adam McCalvy has more details on the plans for the Lake Geneva launch (scheduled for April), and the possibility of rapid expansion into Madison and/or Milwaukee. Meanwhile, Miller Park Drunk is not high on the idea.

I'm not quite ready to start looking ahead to Christmas yet but, if you are, then you may be interested in hearing more about the Brewer Holiday Cards that will be released on Friday. They'll be released as part of an event to "launch" Brewer Charities' presence on Twitter.

Just a quick reminder, in case you missed it yesterday: Brew Crew Ball is looking to add a weekend editor. Here are the details on what we're looking for. I'm hoping to wrap up the search within the next few days, so if you're interested, be sure to let me know.

Just one transaction note to pass along today:

Pirates: Pitcher Tyler Yates rejected an outright assignment to the minors and will become a free agent.

I've already announced my World Series allegiance: I'll be casually rooting for the Phillies if I happen to be in a place where the game's on, but I also doubt I'll stay up late enough to catch the end of most of the games. Tyler Maas of Bugs & Cranks also makes a half-hearted argument for supporting the Phillies. Amazin' Avenue will be cheering for the team that doesn't have Shane Victorino, and MetsGrrl reminds us that we're not legally obligated to pick a side. We'll have more on the topic later today.

Meanwhile, an unexpected prospect is making himself the early story of the Arizona Fall League. Grant Desme, a center fielder in the A's organization who just finished his first full professional season and has never played above High-A, has eight home runs in his first ten games, and is on pace to break the AFL record set by Angels prospect Brandon Wood in 2005. Desme has been the AFL's Player of the Week in each of the league's first two weeks.

Once the AFL is over, are you ready for the AWL? This is the first I'd heard of it, but apparently the Arizona Winter League is a showcase for independent players looking to latch on with a team before spring training. Players will report to their teams on January 24. In perhaps the most confusing part, the league has Arizona in its name but has four teams in a Canadian division. Baseball in Canada in January doesn't strike me as a good idea.

Happy birthday to two long time Brewers born on the same day: 1982 AL Cy Young Award winner Pete Vuckovich and four time 12-game winner Bill Travers. Both turn 57 today.

Oh, and today is a Woot-off day.

Drink up.

Some things to read while the tables are turned.

View From Bernie's Chalet has the transcript of a recent chat with Keith Law over at ESPN where he touched on several Brewer-related topics, but the most notable was probably Trevor Hoffman. He thinks the Brewers made a mistake bringing Hoffman back at the price they're paying, and that it will handicap their efforts to improve the team elsewhere.

Admittedly, $8 million is a lot to pay a reliever, but it's possible there's a perception benefit from having an elite closer. When the Brewers announced the Hoffman signing, Doug Melvin suggested free agent pitchers may be more likely to sign with a club with an established closer. I have no idea if it's true, but I suppose it's possible. And if Hoffman pitches a full, effective season as a Brewer and notches his 600th save, it's possible he'll pay for himself in publicity and marketing.

Elsewhere on the pitching front, rumors continue to swirl around the possibility that the Brewers could have interest in Mark Mulder. Mulder probably can't be depended upon for significant innings, but bringing a pitcher of his caliber into the fold on a cheap deal to see what he can do is almost always a good idea.

Mulder, of course, pitched under Rick Peterson in Oakland. Mets Merized recently conducted an interview with Peterson, and has audio clips of some of Peterson's thoughts on developing prospects and pitch counts. (h/t Rob Neyer)

Although unlikely, it's still possible Peterson could spend 2010 helping Ben Sheets return to form. Sheets, who had his high school number retired this weekend, is throwing off flat ground and expects to pitch in the majors next season. Jorge Says No! wonders what he'll get on the open market.

If Jeff Suppan was on the market this offseason, he likely wouldn't command much at all. Suppan was the winner of Brew City Sports' Hendy Award, which will look great on his mantle next to a photocopy of the $12.5 million paycheck he'll take home next season.

Hopefully this will be the only career parallel between Suppan and Ryan Braun: Braun is opening a restaurant in Lake Geneva. Braun is also giving away autographed baseballs to the first 100 fans to spend at least $150 on Remetee clothing at Solis in Las Vegas. If you stop by in January, there might still be some left.

We won't know the actual results until sometime after the World Series, but Baseball Digest Daily had Prince Fielder third in their balloting for NL MVP, and Braun fifth.

The JS has a note on Jonathan Lucroy's early performance in the AFL, which has been pretty impressive. He's only racked up 19 at bats, though, so it's probably a little early to get too excited. Tom H. also mentions "poor starts" from both Lorenzo Cain and Taylor Green. Both are hitting under .250 but have OBPs of .364 and .400, respectively (in 50 combined ABs). We have more on all three prospects and the rest of the Brewer winter leaguers in today's Fall/Winter League Update.

Around baseball:

Cubs: Removed utilityman Bobby Scales from their 40-man roster.
Indians: Hired Manny Acta as their new manager.
Mets: Removed catcher Robinson Cancel, shortstops Wilson Valdez and Argenis Reyes and pitcher Carlos Muniz from their 40-man roster.
Padres: Are expected to name former Red Sox Assistant GM Jed Hoyer as their new GM.

After two searches and interviews involving over a dozen candidates, the Indians and Astros both settled on Acta as the best candidate to manage their teams next season. The Indians, however, were willing to offer a three-year deal with an option for a fourth, and the Astros were only willing to offer two years. Houston is reportedly considering Red Sox bench coach Brad Mills and former Astros and Brewers manager Phil Garner.

So, the World Series matchup is set. I guess I'll be rooting for the Phillies out of sheer anti-Yankee bias and some form of vague NL pride. Rob Neyer notes that it'd be nice if the games started earlier, so they won't drag on past midnight, but that seems unlikely. Meanwhile, the new Yankee Stadium didn't even make it through its first season without some structural concerns: cracks in pedestrian ramps have already started to appear. The concrete was poured by a local firm that had previously been banned from doing city work because of suspected ties to organized crime.

The ALCS wasn't actually decided until late last night, but apparently the result was already known, as MLB.com started selling AL Champion Yankees gear well before the final out was recorded. This has drawn a lot of backlash but maybe we're looking at it the wrong way: Maybe MLB should start selling World Series gear for every team in Spring Training.

The Florida Winter Baseball League opens play this week with teams in four cities, composed mainly of low-level minor leaguers. I haven't checked the rosters for Brewers yet, but a successful, competitive winter league based in Florida could be a huge development for American minor leaguers who want to play winter ball but either don't speak Spanish or simply don't want to spend the winter in Latin America.

If you'd like to read more about life in the Arizona Fall League but your attention span is really short, then you're the perfect candidate to follow Scottsdale Scorpions Clubhouse Manager Chad Chiffin on Twitter.

While some minor leaguers head off to winter ball, one major leaguer will spend the offseason in Washington: Pirates pitcher Ross Ohlendorf is spending the offseason on an internship with the Department of Agriculture.

Last week I mentioned the continuing debate on John Lannan, who has posted effective ERAs for two seasons without many of the peripheral stats one would expect from a successful pitcher. Nick Steiner of The Hardball Times has Part 2 of his look at Lannan, looking primarily at pitch sequencing. Steiner concludes that luck is the most likely option.

I'm going to be late for Gorman's vet appointment if I don't wrap this up asap, so here's what I have left:

• Minor leaguer Shawn Haviland on the importance of throwing two of the first three pitches for strikes.
• Recondite Baseball on hitters who hit .300 but had short careers anyway.

Happy birthday today to Rafael Novoa, who pitched 56 innings for the 1993 Brewers and turns 42 today, and to Mark Sweeney, who appeared in 119 games for the 2000-2001 Brewers and turns 40.

Also, a posthumous happy birthday to Gus Polidor, who would have turned 48 today.

That's all I've got for you today, unless you want to see a Jose Valentin autograph or win one from Miguel Tejada.

And if you'd like to win something autographed by Seth McClung, don't forget to enter the Bring Back Seth McClung contest.

Drink up.

Some things to read while not crossing the line.

Ryan Braun was a unanimous pick for The Sporting News' Postseason NL All Star Team (FanShot). Prince Fielder was left off the team to make room for some guy named Pujols.

As it turns out, though, it's not all good news for Braun. As noted in this comment in yesterday's Mug, Braun missed the cutoff for becoming arbitration eligible as a Super 2 player by just 12 days. If Braun had qualified, the Brewers would have owed him an additional $6 million over the course of his contract.

There's not much else for Brewer news today, so let's jump straight into the minor league notes:

• Project Prospect has a look at four major Top 100 prospect lists issued before the season, the differences between them and what they say about their respective publications. Mat Gamel, Alcides Escobar and Jeremy Jeffress each appeared on all four lists. Angel Salome appeared on three.
• Behind their pay-wall, Baseball-Intellect has some video and a scouting report from a Jake Odorizzi game in Helena in July. I haven't seen it myself, but if you're a subscriber (or have some time to kill and $3 to burn), then it might be worth a look.

Clearly, the Brewers have some holes that need patching this offseason. Tyler Maas of Bugs & Cranks thinks they could fix one of them by cloning Bob Uecker.

In the meantime, since the Brewers have yet to perfect the cloning technology, they're looking to hire a retail merchandising assistant.

Bobby Valentine sat down with reporters yesterday after interviewing for the managerial vacancy in Cleveland, and told reporters he doesn't know anything about the team, the AL Central or the American League. As one might imagine, that's raised a few red flags...but I also think Ken Macha might have said something similar if asked the same question after his interview in Milwaukee last year.

Speaking of people whose stock might be falling, Nationals Enquirer has a look at some of the red flags surrounding likely #1 overall pick Bryce Harper. If the Nats don't select Harper first overall, it's possible his salary demands and other factors could lead to him falling precipitously in the draft, and he could be a candidate for the Brewers. This topic also came up in yesterday's Mug comments, where Jeff made a great point:

One problem with Bryce is that he’s really young. By opting for community college, he’s getting himself into the draft a year earlier than high-school picks.

That’s good for him in the long run, but remember that the team that drafts him only cares about his first six years in the bigs.

Now, maybe Harper will be like A-Rod, show up and mash, but if he forces his way to the big leagues by age 19, he’s a FA at 25, with his prime ahead of him. "The potential to be one of the greatest players of all time" is only relevant if you’re buying some of his seasons of greatness.

The bloom is off the rose in San Diego, where Gaslamp Ball is now refusing to refer to Anthony Gwynn Jr. as "Tony" until he finishes a full season batting .300. I wouldn't have mentioned it, but it's a slow news day.

Since today's Mug is short, you'll probably have some time to kill once you're done reading it, and if you do, I highly recommend this Sporcle quiz asking for each team's career leaders in hits, home runs, wins and saves. I got 57.

Happy birthday today to David Riske, who turns 33.

Drink up.