Friday's Frosty Mug: A Closer Look At Average

Some things to read while getting fooled by the hype.

Another day, another conversation on Rickie Weeks: Glenn DuPaul of Beyond the Box Score used Weeks as an example of a player rated as roughly league average in 2012 by Wins Above Replacement.

Yovani Gallardo, meanwhile, was above average in 2012 and yesterday we named him the season's third most valuable Brewer. You can see his profile here, then cast your vote for #4 here. We'll unveil the winner at 2 pm today.

Norichika Aoki remains on the ballot and will probably win one of the next few spots. Jack Moore of Disciples of Uecker has a look at his two-homer game in June that changed the course of his rookie season.

John Axford was our third Most Valuable Brewer in 2011, but probably won't show up anywhere near that point on the 2012 list. Colin Bennett of Reviewing the Brew has a look at Axford's pending arbitration case, though, and says he "would not be surprised to see a multi-year deal completed for Axford long before any arbitration hearing is set."

Today in free agency: Mike Johnston of Sportsnet.ca listened to a Shaun Marcum radio appearance in Canada yesterday and heard him say the Blue Jays are "on my list" of potential free agent destinations.

Their rotation plans remain to be seen, but the Brewers will still have two of baseball's best players in 2013. John Sickels of Minor League Ball lists Ryan Braun and Aramis Ramirez among the game's top 30 position players and has a look at how he evaluated them as prospects.

In the minors:

• Zack Cox of MLB.com has a story on starting pitcher Jimmy Nelson and his strong start to the AFL season. Nelson allowed a run over three innings of work yesterday and is now carrying a 2.57 ERA after two appearances for Phoenix.
• Rattler Radio has a new video and some photos showing the progress of offseason renovations at Time Warner Cable Field.
  

If you weren't around yesterday you might have missed the return of one of our longest running offseason features: The Thursday Thinker is back for its third year and yesterday we asked how many 2012 Brewers you can remember.

We know the Brewers won't be there, but we're still planning on holding a BCB meetup to watch Game One of the World Series at The Tracks Tavern and Grill in Milwaukee on Wednesday, October 24. Make plans to join us and RSVP today, if you haven't already.

Around baseball:

Astros: Fired bench coach Joe Pettini.
Blue Jays: Claimed pitcher Tyson Brummett off waivers from the Phillies.
Mets: Outfielder Fred Lewis has been removed from the 40 man roster and will be a free agent.

Congratulations are due out this morning to Prince Fielder, who caught the final out as the Tigers completed a sweep of the Yankees last night to advance to the World Series. My lasting memory of the game, though, is Tigers owner Mike Ilitch's terrible hairpiece.

Today in baseball economics:

• The White Sox, who drew less than 2 million fans in 2012 despite being a surprise contender, are lowering the price on 54% of seats (some by as much as 26%) and dropping the price of parking in 2013.
• The Nationals and Orioles will have to refund money for tickets sold for LCS and World Series games which won't happen in their ballparks, but have opted not to refund a $6-per-order "service charge" on those orders.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I think it's time to get out.

Drink up.