Tuesday's Frosty Mug: Waiting For Scooter

Some things to read while not answering.

Yesterday we reported that the Brewers were nearing the deadline to add players to the 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft, and today all we know for sure (as of this writing, anyway) is that they're 24 hours closer to that deadline. They have until 11 pm Central time tonight to announce their decision, and Tom Haudricourt says to expect Huntsville second baseman Scooter Gennett and pitcher Hiram Burgos to be added. The Brewers have several more available spots on their roster.

Meanwhile, yesterday's biggest news was the Brewers' announcement that they're making some renovations to the Dew Deck (adding a giant, climbable Mountain Dew can) and the Home Plate Lounge at Miller Park for next season.

In free agency:

• Jon Heyman has a look at Josh Hamilton's "mystery market," as several teams have been rumored to have interest in the Rangers outfielder but nothing is for sure.
• Meanwhile, John J. Parent of Call to the Pen says the pitching market will remain undefined until Zack Greinke signs.
• Halos Heaven asks if the Angels would be better off signing Japanese pitcher Kyuji Fujikawa instead of re-signing Zack Greinke.
• MLB Daily Dish quotes a source as saying teams have been unwilling to offer pitcher Dan Haren a multi-year deal to this point.

Nate summed up my opinion on all these Hamilton rumors in our Tweet of the Day:

I wish they would just stop with this crap about Hamilton to the Brewers.

— Nate Petrashek (@NPetrashek) November 19, 2012

Here's a rumor that probably won't get Hamilton-level traction: Benjamin Orr of Reviewing the Brew wonders if the Brewers could be a fit for disgruntled Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton.

Logan Schafer is much more likely to be patrolling the outfield at Miller Park next season. We profiled him yesterday as part of our "Lesser Brewers" series, which will continue today.

In the minors:

• Ashley Marshall of MiLB.com has the Brewers' organizational All Star team from 2012, and it's dominated by members of the Midwest League Champion Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.
• Noted leisured gentleman Carson Cistulli of FanGraphs has compiled his final SCOUT leaderboards from the 2012 Arizona Fall League and both Josh Prince and pitcher Nick Bucci are on them.

If you'd like more Brewer coverage today but you're sick of reading, I'll be making my weekly appearance on The Sports Den with Downtown Ollie Burrows on SportsFan 100.5 in Wausau at 5:30 today.

Around baseball:

Blue Jays: Designated pitcher Joel Carreno for assignment and are expected to re-hire former manager John Gibbons.
Cubs: Re-signed pitcher Shawn Camp to a one year, $1.35 million deal with incentives.
Dodgers: Signed infielder Nick Evans to a minor league deal.
Padres: Exercised manager Bud Black's contract options for 2014 and 2015 and avoided arbitration with 1B/OF Kyle Blanks (1 year, $605,000).
Pirates: Signed outfielder Felix Pie to a minor league deal.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner's office finally ruled yesterday and allowed the Marlins and Blue Jays to complete their massive salary dump trade from last week. Craig Calcaterra used coverage of the deal as a reminder that teams have no incentive to be honest in public about their financial situation.

Marlins team president David Samson, by the way, slammed the Brewers in 2006 in an interview with Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball for "celebrating mediocrity."

Today in former Brewers:

• Jesmuel Valentin, Jose's son, was drafted #51 overall by the Dodgers last season and is playing winter ball in Puerto Rico.
• Brad Komminsk was a Brewer briefly in 1987 and according to Rowland's Office he's the 17th worst Atlanta Brave of all time.

Winter and fall leagues are a good way to get your offseason baseball fix as prospects and other players get some extra work in, but teams have to be holding their breath every time something like this happens: Reds top prospect Billy Hamilton is ok but had to be removed from an AFL game last week after crashing into the fence tracking a fly ball.

A few weeks ago I reviewed a DVD set of classic Brewer broadcasts, and one of the things I mentioned is that the preserved games really demonstrate how much more thorough the broadcasts have become over the past few decades. Will Leitch of Sports On Earth has a deeper look at how things have changed.

This morning's edition of Today In Brewer History marks the 43rd anniversary of the firing of Joe Schultz, the first manager in franchise history and the only man to manage the Seattle Pilots. Chris Jaffe of The Hardball Times also notes that today is the 122nd anniversary of the adoption of a rule giving out a walk after four balls.

Now, if you'll excuse me, my hat is getting moldy.

Drink up.