Tuesday's Frosty Mug: Starting A New Countdown

Some things to read while putting it back.

As we wake up for the first time in 2013, our eyes look ahead to the next baseball milestone: Pitchers and catchers report to Maryvale in 43 days.

Of course, the Brewers may or may not have more work to do before heading to spring training. Uncertainty about the team's offseason plan and budget leads Adam McCalvy's list of ten questions the team faces entering 2013.

Assuming no more moves are made, The Brewer Nation has a look at one possible Opening Day roster. If that happens Nick Michalski of The Brewers Bar won't be happy: he says the team still must address the starting rotation.

If the Brewers do enter the season with their current roster, it'll make for some interesting discussions about the rotation during spring training. Nicholas Zettel of Disciples of Uecker is making a case for Marco Estrada, who has to be considered a near-lock for the Opening Day rotation, to be replaced by Tyler Thornburg.

The only guaranteed spot in the Brewer rotation at this point belongs to Yovani Gallardo, who will almost certainly take the ball when the team opens the regular season 90 days from today. Reviewing the Brew surprised no one by naming Gallardo 2012's top Brewer pitcher.

Elsewhere in near-sure things: Dobber Sports ranked Ryan Braun as the #2 fantasy hitter in all of baseball for 2013.

I'm not sure if this is meaningful, but I did find it interesting: Brewer catchers allowed runners to advance on defensive indifference 18 times in 2012, the third-highest total in all of baseball.

The Brewers also led the NL in home runs, and Jaymes Langrehr of Disciples of Uecker has a look at the season's top home run gifs.

In the minors: Colin Bennett of Reviewing the Brew listed Kyle Heckathorn and Hunter Morris as Brewer prospects to watch in 2013.

If you haven't yet (and most of you haven't), please take a moment today to vote in our BCB Tracking Poll. It will remain open through the day and results will be posted tomorrow.

Around baseball:

Blue Jays: Are expected to hire Tim Raines as their new outfield/baserunning coach.
Royals: Signed infielder Miguel Tejada to a one-year, $1.1 million deal and outfielder Endy Chavez to a minor league deal.

Last week I mentioned a post by Glenn DuPaul of The Hardball Times looking at payroll increases and the impact they do or do not have on winning. DuPaul is back this week with a re-examination of the data, which still seems to show that winning teams who increase payroll don't necessarily get better.

Now, if you'll excuse me, it's time to wrap it up.

Drink up.