Tuesday's Frosty Mug: Wrapping up and watching

Some things to read while not missing anything.

The Brewers' offseason officially started yesterday but it'll take a first step today as Doug Melvin addresses the media in his annual end-of-season press conference at 10 am (h/t @MikeVassallo13). Melvin has been the Brewers' GM for eleven years as of today.

The Brewers did make a couple of announcements yesterday, naming Aramis Ramirez and Marco Estrada their player and pitcher of the month for September (h/t @MikeVassallo13 on Ramirez, Estrada). Ramirez hit .338/.413/.538 with 12 RBI in the season's final month, while Estrada allowed just five runs over 27.2 innings for a 1.63 ERA. Estrada was also the team's pitcher of the month for August.

A fair number of the Brewers' upcoming transactions, though, can wait for a while. @Mass_Haas notes that the Brewers don't have to activate players off the 60-day DL until five days after the World Series, so they've got some time to clear a space for Rickie Weeks, Taylor Green and Mat Gamel.

With that said, I think we'd all be ok with it if they cleared a roster spot by DFA'ing Yuniesky Betancourt today. @BadgerNoonan has a look at where Yuni's 2013 bWAR total rated among the worst Brewers of all time.

The break between the end of the season and the start of offseason action gives us all some time for retrospection and introspection. Adam McCalvy has a look back at how the 2013 season got to this point and a preview of the months to come.

Before hot stove season, we'll have award season. You can add Jon Heyman of CBS to the list of BBWAA members who have left Carlos Gomez off their MVP ballots. Meanwhile, Andy Baggot of the Wisconsin State Journal makes the case for the fans to be named this season's Brewers MVP.

If you'd like to play along with the 2013 awards, GoldenFrank has a contest for you in the FanPosts. Before casting your vote, though, you should check out Joe Posnanski's four points on award voting.

Looking ahead, the calendar has already turned to 2014 for some. The 2014 Milwaukee Brewers already have their own Wikipedia page.

Meanwhile, looking back, Adam Wieser of Disciples of Uecker has declared a Brewers/Diamondbacks game from April to be the Brewers' game of the year.

If you're looking for a timekiller today, here's something you can sink an hour into: Baseball Reference has updated their Sim Scores to include statistics from the 2013 season. Jean Segura's new top comparable player, for example, is three-time Reds All Star Lonny Frey.

If you'd like more Brewer coverage today but you're sick of reading, I'll be making my weekly appearance on The Home Stretch with Justin Hull on 95.3 FM WSCO in Appleton at 2:30 today. I'll be live in studio taking your calls, emails and tweets, so listen in and get your voice heard. This might be the last one for a while (especially if no one calls), so don't miss this chance to talk Brewers with us.

Around baseball:

Marlins: Reassigned hitting coach John Pierson to the minors.
Padres: Designated catcher Chris Robinson for assignment.
Phillies: Fired pitching coach Rich Dubee.
Rangers: Designated outfielder Joey Butler for assignment.
Twins: Signed manager Ron Gardenhire to a two-year contract extension.

With all due respect to the players and coaches listed above, Monday's most notable transaction occurred in the Commissioner's office when Rob Manfred was named MLB's new Chief Operating Officer. Manfred has held several roles within the game and now seems like the likely candidate to take Bud Selig's place as commissioner following next season.

Meanwhile in Texas, the Rays became the final team to clinch a 2013 playoff spot by beating the Rangers 5-2 in a tiebreaker game last night. The most Brewer-relevant event of the night, though, might have been the warm reaction Rangers fans gave to outfielder Nelson Cruz in his first game back following his BioGenesis suspension. Jon Morosi of Fox Sports has our two-part Tweet of the Day:

Fan reaction for Cruz? A standing ovation. And loud.

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) October 1, 2013

After this, Ryan Braun can feel confident of the reception he’ll get at Miller Park next year.

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) October 1, 2013

The playoffs officially open tonight when the Pirates and Reds face off in the NL Wild Card Game in Pittsburgh at 7 pm. Here are some notes to help you get ready for that game:

• Pirates outfielder and potential NL MVP Andrew McCutchen was hit in the head by a line drive during BP Monday but is expected to be ok.
• McCutchen is one of 16 position players available to Pittsburgh for tonight's game.
• Chris Mehring of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers reviewed every postseason team and concluded he's rooting for the Pirates.
• Grant Brisbee of Baseball Nation has an open letter explaining why he's rooting against the Reds.

Today in baseball economics: We've spent a lot of time over the last few seasons discussing the Rays' attendance woes, but @craigcalcaterra puts it in perspective by noting that they drew 1.5 million fans in 2013, while the Indians drew less than one million 22 times in a 25 year span between 1960-85.

This morning's edition of Today In Brewer History marks the 35th anniversary of catcher Larry Haney's final MLB game in 1978. Haney was the last member of the 1969 Seattle Pilots to appear in a game as a Brewer.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have enough to share.

Drink up.