Tuesday's Frosty Mug

Some things to read while expanding your vocabulary.

We're 11 days from pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training, and one more Brewer minor leaguer received a late camp invitation yesterday: BCB Community Prospect #3 Tyler Thornburg will be in big league camp for the first time, wearing #70. Thornburg was a third round pick in 2010 and posted a 2.57 ERA over 156.2 innings between Wisconsin and Brevard County last season, striking out 10.5 batters per nine. He also appeared in three games in the Arizona Fall League.

After about a week of listening to gloom and doom from baseball's various national analysts, David Schoenfield of ESPN has turned the tide the other way a bit: He previewed the NL Central position-by-position and arrived with the Brewers as the best of its six teams. If you like your previews with less analysis and more haiku, Babes Love Baseball has exactly what you're looking for.

Zack Greinke (as #2 starter) was one of several Brewer pitchers to come up #1 in Schoenfield's position rankings. At Disciples of Uecker, Jack Moore compares the players the Brewers gave up to acquire Greinke to the hauls of talent the Cubs and Reds had to give up for Matt Garza and Mat Latos.

We still don't know the outcome of Ryan Braun's appeal, but we do know he'll be on the cover of the 2012 media guide along with Carlos Gomez and Nyjer Morgan. Apparently someone in the front office learned to use Photoshop this winter.

Speaking of Braun, his potential meeting with 2011 NY Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw and MVP runner-up Matt Kemp when the Brewers host the Dodgers on April 17 is one of John Schlegel of MLB.com's most intriguing moments of early 2012.

In the minors:

• Seedlings To Stars created an All-Prospect Team for the Brewers, and the picture isn't as grim as you'd expect.
• Three Brewer batters combined to go 0-for-9 last night, but at least Sergio Miranda walked twice in Puerto Rico's 4-3 win over Mexico. You can read about that and more in today's Winter League Notes.
• The Brewer Nation's "Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers" series continues with a profile of Wily Peralta.
• The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers borrowed a speech from "Miracle" for their latest video to promote their Opening Day bobbleheads.

As of this writing Zelous Wheeler has a ten vote lead on Nick Bucci and Jimmy Nelson for the #15 spot in our Community Prospect Rankings. Voting will remain open until 1 today, and the voting for the #16 spot will begin at 2.

Around baseball:

Astros: Signed outfielder Justin Ruggiano to a minor league deal.
Cardinals: Signed infielder Alex Cora to a minor league deal.
Cubs: Claimed infielder Adrian Cardenas off waivers from the Athletics and designated infielder Blake DeWitt for assignment.
Dodgers: Designated infielder Russ Mitchell for assignment.
Mariners: Signed pitchers Hong-Chih Kuo and Shawn Camp to one year deals and designated catcher Chris Gimenez and outfielder Mike Wilson for assignment.
Nationals: Signed third baseman Mark Teahen to a minor league deal.
Rangers: Signed first baseman/outfielder Conor Jackson and pitcher Joe Beimel to minor league deals.

In former Brewers:

• Chicken Friars is hoping Mark Kotsay can provide some veteran leadership for the Padres in 2012.
• Mitch Stetter says you should never trust a cat, including Frank Catalanotto.

This morning's edition of Today In Brewer History remembers Jeff Cirillo's 2005 return to Milwaukee as a free agent. Chris Jaffe of The Hardball Times notes that it's also been 4000 days since Devon White was traded to the Brewers and 20,000 days since Hank Aaron's worst game as a major leaguer.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm working on my flexibility.

Drink up.