What we learned: January 27, 2015

Brewers News and Analysis

• The Brewers Opening Day ticket opportunity is back, and Cait Covers the Bases has the details on how to enter this year's drawing.
• Following the Brewers on Deck event, both The Brewers Bar and Reviewing the Brew have a wrap up of the event.
• Kyle Lesniewski of Reviewing the Brew notes that the Brewers signed pitcher Chris Leroux to a minor-league deal.
• Yesterday was Bob Uecker's 81st birthday.

Around Baseball

Transactions

• The Reds signed catcher Devin Mesoraco to a four-year extension.
• The Orioles avoided arbitration with starting pitcher Bud Norris and signed him to a one-year deal worth $8.8 million. They also signed utility players Chris Parmelee and pitchers Dane De La Rosa and Steve Johnson to minor league deals.
• The Braves signed catcher John Buck to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training.
• The Padres signed infielder Ramiro Pena to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training.

Other Notes

• How would eliminating defensive shifts affect the game of baseball? Daniel Meyer of Beyond the Box Score analyzes the impact of removing defensive shifts from the game.
• Meanwhile, Mike Oz of Big League Stew has his own list of what could be eliminated from baseball to increase offense.
• Over on Disciples of Uecker, Nicholas Zettel looks at a different potential source of declining runs: revenue sharing.