Friday's Frosty Mug: Meanwhile, north of the border...

Some things to read while consulting your attorney.

The slowest week of the offseason wraps up today with a hometown profile of Jim Henderson, as Kristen Odland of the Calgary Herald talked to him about his first full season in the majors and the winter ahead. Henderson is moving from Calgary to Phoenix this winter, so he's likely to be one of the first Brewers to report to spring training.

When Henderson reports to spring training (in 119 days, by the way), Rick Kranitz will still be his pitching coach. Kranitz coached in Baltimore before coming to Milwaukee, and Roch Kubatko of MASN (via Twitter) suggests the Orioles might have been interested in a reunion if the Brewers hadn't kept him around. Kranitz was part of a coaching staff which received a C- grade from BCB voters.

Kranitz coached a starting rotation that used 12 different pitchers in 2013 and posted a 4.20 ERA, which ranked eleventh among 15 NL teams. Justin Schultz of Reviewing the Brew predicted the rotation will be an issue again in 2014 as one of his five things he thinks he knows.

Most of the members of the aforementioned rotation will also almost certainly be pitching to Jonathan Lucroy next spring. Benjamin Orr of Reviewing the Brew gave Lucroy an A- for his performance this season.

Yovani Gallardo may also pitch to Lucroy, but his career ERA is almost half a run lower when he works with Martin Maldonado. Yesterday BCB readers selected Gallardo as 2013's eighth most valuable Brewer, and you can see his profile here. The voting for the #9 spot will remain open until noon today, and it's our closest vote to date.

Today in free agency: Noted leisured gentleman Carson Cistulli of FanGraphs is asking for your help predicting the free agent contracts signed by three more pitchers the Brewers could consider this winter: Ricky Nolasco, Paul Maholm and Tim Lincecum.

In the minors:

• Jason Rogers, playing left field, went 1-for-4 with an RBI and stole a base in Surprise's 10-5 win over Scottsdale in the Arizona Fall League yesterday. Here's the box score.
• Mitch Haniger went 0-for-3 yesterday but did drive in a run with a sac fly, and his hot start in the AFL continues to draw some attention. The San Luis Obispo Tribune has a hometown story on the Cal Poly alum.

Around baseball:

Angels: Claimed pitcher Robert Carson off waivers from the Mets.
Dodgers: Claimed outfielder Mike Baxter off waivers from the Mets and designated outfielder Alex Castellanos for assignment.
Indians: Re-signed reliever Matt Capps to a minor league deal.
Phillies: Re-hired assistant hitting coach Wally Joyner and first base coach Juan Samuel, re-signed infielder/outfielder Michael Martinez to a minor league deal and announced that pitcher John Lannan has rejected an outright assignment to the minors, becoming a free agent.
Rangers: CEO Nolan Ryan is expected to retire at the end of the month.
White Sox: Are expected to sign Cuban first baseman Jose Dariel Abreu to a six year, $68 million deal.

I only casually observed last night's ALCS Game 5, but I was shocked to see Jose Veras enter the game in the seventh inning and record five outs without allowing a walk. He only matched that feat once during the regular season. Jaymes Langrehr notes (on Twitter) that his curveball is still great when it works, though. Then @mpbMKE blew my mind with this tweet:

If you told a #Brewers fan last year that each of Loe, Axford and Veras would be on a playoff team, they'd have laughed or punched you.

— Mike Bischoff (@mpbMKE) October 18, 2013

A reply later noted that he forgot Manny Parra.

I've already spoiled some of the answers, but this week's Thursday Thinker deals with former Brewers in the postseason.

Elsewhere in former Brewers:

• I've already mentioned that the Orioles are in the hunt for a new pitching coach. Another candidate on their list is former Brewers coach and tight pants connoisseur Rick Peterson, who currently works in their organization with minor leaguers.
• Candy Maldonado, Frank Catalanotto and Corey Patterson are among the candidates on Bluebird Banter's poll to select the best left fielder in Blue Jays history.

Today In Brewer History was off this morning but today is 1978 Brewer Ed Farmer's 64th birthday and Plunk Everyone notes that his 12 career HBP are the fifth most ever for a pitcher born on October 18.

Today's Mug is a little light on content, so here are some things I found interesting even if they're relevant to nothing:

• Rob Neyer of Baseball Nation has a look at how the Indians have slowly removed their Chief Wahoo logo from their merchandising, but also says the block C they're advancing isn't the answer.
• Jeremy Blachman of NotGraphs used President Taft as a jumping off point for a discussion on the lack of healthy food options at ballparks.
• Marlins Park is scheduled to host a college football bowl game, the "Miami Bowl," in 2014. The game will feature a team from the American Athletic Conference, formerly known as the Big East. (h/t Fish Stripes)
• The "neighborhood play," where a runner is called out at second base on a force play despite the fielder having pulled his foot off the bag, is a longstanding baseball understanding that may go away with the implementation of instant replay next season. David G. Temple of NotGraphs has a look at some neighborhoods that could have fit into the gap in a recent egregious violation.
• Brad Bortone of Bugs & Cranks makes a case for all MLB parks to adopt uniform dimensions. It'll never happen, of course.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get out from under this tarp.

Drink up.