Wednesday's Frosty Mug:Would Return Kyle Lohse

Some things to read while your success is assured.

The Brewers have had a pretty quiet winter to this point but it's worth noting that things could always be worse: Former MLB GM Jim Bowden of ESPN says the Brewers could "save their offseason" by signing former Cardinals starter Kyle Lohse. Lohse is 34, has pitched 200 innings just three times in his 12 MLB seasons and is coming off a career year. Nick Prill of The Brewers Bar has the counterargument.

Elsewhere in free agency, MLB trade Rumors listed Shaun Marcum as one of just a handful of "innings eaters" left on the free agent market. 42% of voters an an MLBTR poll think Adam LaRoche, not Marcum, will be the next top 50 free agent to sign.

This number could go down a bit with the Brewers cutting payroll, but will also come back up with the Astros shipped out: MLB Trade Rumors notes that the average NL Central team spent $89.4 million on payroll in 2012, the lowest of any MLB division. The AL Central was second-lowest at $96.3mm.

Of course, part of the reason the Brewers have been able to spend enough to bring the average up in past years is their significant fan support coming from their relatively small fan base. A recent Scarborough poll identified 73% of residents of the Brewers' market as Brewer fans.

Moving back to players the Brewers have acquired, The Official Site has a holiday Q&A with new Brewer Burke Badenhop.

Is Carlos Gomez hitting his peak just in time to become a free agent next winter? Ray Guilfoyle of Fake Teams asks of Gomez is a late bloomer. It's worth noting, though, that Gomez just turned 27.

In the minors: 2012 Nashville Sound Donovan Hand may have done a good job of raising his prospect stock this winter, as noted leisured gentleman Carson Cistulli of FanGraphs has him listed among the pitching leaders in the final Venezuelan Winter League edition of his SCOUT stat.

'Tis the season for year-in-reviews, and Jaymes Langrehr of Disciples of Uecker has 2012's best defensive gifs. Brew Crew Blasts also continued through the holiday with a look at Norichika Aoki's best home runs and the balls that just cleared the fence.

It was a pretty quiet holiday around baseball:

Marlins: Signed pitcher John Maine to a minor league deal.

Today in former Brewers: Yuniesky Betancourt's agent told MLB Trade Rumors that his client expects to sign soon and has major league offers from four teams. Jeremy Blachman of NotGraphs has a list of four fictional teams that may be interested.

And in baseball economics: Glenn DuPaul of The Hardball Times has a look at teams that have "gone for it" with payroll increases in recent years and their somewhat mixed results.

Even if you didn't get exactly what you wanted for Christmas this year, at least you didn't get one of these things: Lookout Landing has a list of awful gifts for the Mariners fan in your life.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to restock.

Drink up.