Tuesday's Frosty Mug: Winter Meetings Day 2

Some things to read while turning off the TV.

The Brewer front office staff has arrived in Nashville for this week's Winter Meetings, but had a pretty quiet first day at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. Adam McCalvy has a roundup of the news from Day 1, but here's the quick version:

• The Brewers have spoken to agents for relievers Sean Burnett and Jason Grilli, but aren't interested in Matt Capps or Daisuke Matsuzaka.
• Doug Melvin said he'll meet with Craig Landis, who represents Ryan Dempster, but downplayed the need to sign a starter.
• Melvin also said he has "no active trade talks" and hasn't discussed either a trade or an extension for Corey Hart.

Given the current pace of things, it's possible this week's biggest Brewer move was already made when the team acquired Burke Badenhop from the Rays over the weekend. Colin Bennett of Reviewing the Brew has a profile of the team's newest reliever.

Elsewhere in free agency:

• Adam McCalvy has a look at the gap between the Brewers (who have said they'd prefer not to go beyond two years) and Ryan Dempster (who wants three years) in potential contract negotiations.
• Over at Cream City Cables Nate has some thoughts on the potential pitfalls of signing Dempster.
• Jon Heyman still insists the Brewers "do appear to be involved at least to some degree" in the Josh Hamilton sweepstakes, although Ken Rosenthal says they're "on the periphery."
• Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs has a look at Anibal Sanchez as an alternative to Zack Greinke.
• Tom Singer of MLB.com has the Pirates as the first team to show interest in recent non-tender Manny Parra.
• The Mets are planning on meeting with Cesar Izturis' agent this week.

Izturis, by the way, was a candidate for a 2012 Streaker Award when he went 31 consecutive games without drawing a walk. Nyjer Morgan's 29 games without an RBI also earned him a mention.

Speaking of Morgan, the fact that he spent the full season on the Brewer roster forced Vince from Miller Park Drunk to have to eat his hat in hilarious fashion. Not to be outdone, Adam McCalvy is now threatening to eat his computer.

Tyler Thornburg is one of several players whose future will be likely be influenced by the moves the Brewers make this winter, although he's likely to open 2013 in Nashville even if the Brewers stop acquiring players now. We took a look at his debut season in yesterday's edition of Lesser Brewers.

In the minors: While the baseball world is focused on Nashville this week, the future of baseball in the city may be growing increasingly bleak. Tom Haudricourt has a note this morning on the stalled negotiations regarding a new stadium in the city, and points outthat the Sounds' lease at Greer Stadium expires following the 2013 season.

Around baseball:

Blue Jays: Claimed catcher Eli Whiteside off waivers from the Yankees.
Braves: Avoided arbitration with infielder Paul Janish (one year, $1 million).
Giants: Signed outfielder Angel Pagan to a four-year, $40 million contract.
Nationals: Signed pitcher Bill Bray to a minor league deal and Zach Duke to a major league deal.
Rangers: Signed reliever Joakim Soria to a two-year deal.
Red Sox: Signed infielder Drew Sutton, outfielder Mitch Maier and pitchers Terry Doyle, Oscar Villareal and Jose De La Torre to minor league deals and signed catcher Mike Napoli to a three-year, $39 million contract.

It's still early, but at this point my favorite thing from the Winter Meetings isn't a transaction, it's Utility Man.

We don't always agree with Doug Melvin's moves here, but at least he's not doing things like this: The SB Nation Winter Meeting Simulation has been going on for one day and already has seen the Brewers trade Rickie Weeks for bullpen help and follow it up by trading Jean Segura, Tyler Thornburg, Ariel Pena and Taylor Jungmann to the Reds for Brandon Phillips.

In former Brewers: Larry Granillo of Baseball Prospectus has reasons not to vote for all 37 players on the 2013 Hall of Fame ballot, including Jeff Cirillo, Royce Clayton and Julio Franco.

Today in baseball economics: It's About The Money has a look at the chunk of your cable bill paid as rights fees for sports on television.

This morning's edition of Today In Brewer History marks Carlos Gomez's 27th birthday. Plunk Everyone notes that Gomez's 28 career HBP are the third most ever for a player born on December 4.

Now, if you'll excuse me, my new cookbook is here.

Drink up.