Some things to read while discussing Coldstone Creamery. (Some NSFW Language)
It's another week of the offseason without too much pertinent Brewers news, though there are definitely some articles worth mentioning. If you want to read about Brewers pitching coach Rick Peterson, Tom H has an article for you. The Brewers will be having a "pitching symposium" in Phoenix where they will focus on planning how they will build pitching in a system that is far from being known for it. Included in that article is the note that during their stay in Phoenix, club officials will meet with Mark Mulder with a possible deal in the near future. I do find this quote from the article interesting:
Because any agreement would include little or no guaranteed money, Ash said Mulder will not be required to throw for club officials before signing.
Personally, if it were me I would want to see a pitcher that I was thinking about signing and who is coming off major injury throw a baseball a little bit first. Especially when Peterson's philosophy centers around biomechanics, which--though I admittedly don't know a lot about it--seems like something where you would actually want to see the pitcher throwing. I can't imagine that it would hurt Mulder's feelings if club officials asked him to throw the ball a couple dozen times. Maybe it's not that big of a deal, but I still find that rather odd.
Over at the Official Site, McCalvy wonders if Prince Fielder's 2009 season was the best ever by a Brewers player. I'm not well versed in Brewers history and so am not in much of a position to comment on it, but McCalvy includes a short list of other candidates for best Brewers season ever.
With the Brewers being connected to several free agent pitchers, Brewers Daily wonders if the Brewers would be better off filling the #5 Starter spot internally with Chris Narveson. I personally would rather sign a pitcher like Ben Sheets or Erik Bedard.
Speaking of Bedard (See that awesome transition?), Circling the Bases is still trying to figure out when he will be able to pitch again after undergoing surgery on his shoulder. The reports have been pretty varied, though almost all sources seem to think it will be sometime after the season starts.
Elsewhere around the Majors:
Royals: DFA'd INF Luis Hernandez
Rangers: Reportedly have signed Vlad Guerrero to play DH and Khalil Greene as a Utility Infielder
Dodgers: Signed P Russ Ortiz to a minor league deal.
Astros: Signed P Brett Myers to a one year deal.
Also, for those advocating the Brewers to sign Jarrod Washburn, it looks like he turned down a one year, $5M deal from the Twins, so that should give some indication of what his pricetag will be.
Thats all I've got, unless you haven't yet voted for spot #4 on the Community Prospect Rankings. The voting closes at 4 PM today.
Oh, and GO BADGERS!