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If you took the day off yesterday, then I'd recommend you start this morning by going back and reading yesterday's 1000th Frosty Mug. Consider this your final reminder that we'll be celebrating The Night Of (Approximately) 1000 Mugs tonight at Rounding Third. Hope to see you there.
Some things to read while testing a new recipe.
We're 46 days away from pitchers and catchers reporting to Maryvale, meaning it's possible we'll have 46 more non-updates on the Ryan Braun situation. Rumors are still circulating that Braun's appeal will not be successful, but Doug Melvin told Adam McCalvy that the team still doesn't know anything, and a Newsday report suggested this whole situation could drag on into spring training. At the end of the day the situation can be summed up with this sentence: I still don't know anything and I'm not confident anyone else is certain about anything either.
Elsewhere in rumor and speculation, here are today's Prince Fielder notes:
- Tom Haudricourt is citing an unnamed MLB official (for the second consecutive day) who said the Nationals are the current favorites to land Fielder.
- Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post says the Nationals plan to stick with Adam LaRoche at first base unless "something extraordinary" happens, but signing Fielder would count as something extraordinary.
- MLB Trade Rumors linked a Ken Rosenthal report suggesting Fielder and Scott Boras might be seeking an opt out clause in his new deal.
- The Baseball Historian says the Giants would benefit the most by adding Fielder.
- Baseball Time In Arlington has another look at how Fielder would impact the plans in Texas.
Today is the last day to go read the Journal Sentinel for free before the pay wall is implemented tomorrow. Our poll is showing that just 8% of you are planning on paying for the paper's content online, and 59% think I should either avoid linking the subscriber-only content or only use it when presented no alternatives.
In the minors:
- Erick Almonte started in right field and went 1-for-4 with a run at Gigantes beat Licey 9-1 in the Dominican Republic playoffs. You can read about that and more in today's Minor League Notes.
- Mark Hudziak of Yahoo's Fan's View section has a look back at Brewer position players who appeared in Venezuela this winter. (h/t @joe_block)
- Logan Schafer (and his brother Justin) are holding a baseball skills clinic next week in Los Gatos, California.
That's all the Brewer news I've got for today, unless you'd like to help with John Axford's mustache resolution.
I don't have any transactions to report today, so our musical interlude comes via Mark Aaron James:
In former Brewers: Carlos Lee's 2006 season (split between the Brewers and Rangers) was worth 0.9 wins above replacement (rWAR), and High Heat Stats is listing it as the 13th worst season ever for a player who hit .300.
Meanwhile, Larry Granillo of Baseball Prospectus found a 1953 Baseball Digest article on soon-to-open Milwaukee County Stadium, home of the new Milwaukee Braves.
Today in baseball economics: A recent report suggests that there's been a steady decline in attendance at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown over the last few seasons. Roughly 270,000 people visited the museum in 2011, and that number has gone down each year since 2007.
This morning's edition of Today In Brewer History remembers the first anniversary of Chris Capuano signing with the Mets. Chris Jaffe of The Hardball Times notes that it's also been 1000 days since Yovani Gallardo became the only pitcher ever to homer off Randy Johnson.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need a second opinion.
Drink up.