SB Nation - Milwaukee Brewers

Making Your '00 Face: Fifth outfielder

KLSnow — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 22:00:17 -0000

With the '00's almost behind us, it's time to take a look back and work together to make a BCB All Decade team for the '00s. Each day, we'll tackle a new position, and we'll have our 25 man roster complete sometime around the 1st of the year.

The concept here is pretty simple. Each day, I'll give you a list of candidates: For position players, it's the full list of players who appeared in at least 100 games at the position during the '00s. Here are the players we've selected so far:

First Base: Prince Fielder
Second Base: Rickie Weeks
Shortstop: J.J. Hardy
Third Base: Bill Hall
Corner Outfield: Ryan Braun
Center Field: Mike Cameron
Corner Outfield: Geoff Jenkins
Catcher: Damian Miller
Bench IF: Craig Counsell
Bench COF: Carlos Lee

#1 SP: Ben Sheets

Voting for a closer opened yesterday and will close at 4 pm tomorrow. Today we need to select a fifth outfielder. Since Carlos Lee won the voting for the other outfield spot, we need to select an outfielder that can play center, meaning we're down to two nominees:

Brady Clark

Seasons as a Brewer: 4, 2003-2006
Slash line as a Brewer: .284/.361/.393
UZR (Fielding) as a Brewer: -1.1 runs
WAR as a Brewer: 5.8

Scott Podsednik

Seasons as a Brewer: 2, 2003-2004
Slash line as a Brewer: .276/.344/.401
UZR (Fielding) as a Brewer: -11.3 runs
WAR as a Brewer: 8.7

Poll

Who should be the fifth outfielder on the Brew Crew Ball All Decade Team?

Weekend Dad Mug -- "OMG!! Misty May is a Brewer" Edition

Fatter than Joey — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 15:52:53 -0000

More photos » by Pat Sullivan - AP

Members of the Milwaukee Brewers enthusiastically rejoice upon learning of the acquisition of Misty May, at an undisclosed winter work-out.

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Hello Kiddies!

Merry Christmas and Happy Other Stuff! I am not sure why your Regular Dad dropped you off at my door again so soon, I can only assume, he is either getting beat up by cheerleaders, or getting whacked with a steak. Well let me get a new pair of sweatpants on, (I got a bit messy practicing for egg-nog drinking contests), and tell you all about the Brewers, bikinis and big snakes.

After a seemingly endless parade of "up the chimney moves", Doug Melvin finally decided to come down our collective chimney this off-season, by acquiring Misty May. It should have been obvious to all Brewer fans that Doug Melvin's most pressing need was to acquire a player for the Brewer fanbase to crush over, after the trade of JJ Hardy to the Twins (by the way, any Minnesotans wanting to crush on JJ need to get in line behind Harmon Killebrew).

Thinking outside the box, Doug Melvin filled our stockings in a way we could have never expected. I know you all want to get cracking on sending some inappropriate Christmas fanmail to Ms. May, so let me help you get started...

Misty May's backside once humbled the most powerful man in the world.
Here is a youtube video, where Misty May: throws out her first first pitch, amazes Rex Hudler and that Steve Psycho guy with her amazing grasp on the game of baseball, and Mike Scioscia asks her for her autograph "for his daughter"
Misty celebrated Halloween as Little Bo Peep -- and made her husband dress up as former Brewers reliever Mike Myers, and apparently scared the neighborhood kids with his bizarre armslot.

I openly challenge those party-poopers at FireDougMelvin.com, to put a bad spin on this move.

In other Brewers news, the Brewers recently worked out a minor league deal with Agent Page Odle, (nice name!) to get Kameron Loe in Maryvale this spring.

Kameron Loe, who is the first Ranger castoff to ever play for the Brewers, spent last year in Japan, and his famous for his big snake named "Angel". Here is a gripping story about Loe sharing his big snake with his roommate CJ Wilson in 2006 - apparently if you ever lose track of your big snake, you can use some free-range rats to draw them out from under the refrigerator.

Unfortunately Kam no longer has his big snake, as I don't think he could take it to Japan with him. I am certain that I share a lot of disappointment with Brewer fans coming to grips with knowing that we will never find out if Loe's snake, Angel or Todd Coffey is higher on the food chain.

In other Cameron news, former Brewer Mike Cameron signed a 2 year, $15.5M contract with the Boston Red Sox. Here is a good collection of Mike Cameron notes, after the smoke has cleared a little. Over the Monster claims that Cameron has been more valuable than Jason Bay or David Ortiz..... combined.

I am certainly sad to see Mike Cameron leave for Boston, I am glad however, he got a decent contract with a decent team. It is interesting to me though, that Cameron will take a ~25% paycut in 2009 ($7.25M v. $10M). Had Doug Melvin offered Cameron Arbys, Cameron probably would have gotten a lot more money for his 2009 piggy bank - this means that not offering Cam Arbys was probably a frugal decision, once the Brewers front office decided that they weren't going to try to resign Cameron.

The Brewers also resigned Claudio Vargas to a one year deal. The Brewers also bought new pitching coach Rick Peterson one of these, to help him appropriately monitor Vargas's gamespeed.

In other Baseball News:

The Reds solidified 3rd base by signing Scott Rolen to a 3 year extension.
Scotty Pods is being targeted by the Cubs and other teams, I assume to play CF, and not as prey in some sort of forest manhunt, although upon reflection, I do think Scotty Pods would be a challenging quarry to hunt.
Marlon Byrd is apparently close to signing with the Cubs to replace Milton Bradley. Here is a good collection of opinions on the Bradley/Silva deal.
Laynce Nix got a minor league deal with the Reds.
Former Brewer Joe Dillon signed a minor league deal with the Rays.
Former Brewer Superstar Eric Young is now a roving-instructor for Houston.

Happy Holidays to everyone of my weekend kids. I will leave you with this video. If there is a worse Christmas Video, I haven't seen it.

Nationals eye Jon Garland

Eli Greenspan — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 23:22:02 -0000

More photos » by Ross D. Franklin - AP

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FOXSPORTS.com is reporting that the Nationals are making a strong run at free agent starter Jon Garland. Garland is believed to be seeking a three year deal, likely similar to what Randy Wolf received from the Brewers.

Garland, 30, posted 11 wins last season with the Diamondbacks and Dodgers, and posted a 3.35 ERA after June 1st.

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Jon Garland	3-2	6	6	0	0	0	0	36.1	37	16	11	4	9	26	2.72	1.27

The Nationals also have their eyes on Jason Marquis and Doug Davis, so it is likely that they will make a splash on the free agent starter market in the near future.

Making Your '00 Face: Closer

KLSnow — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 22:00:15 -0000

Voting opened yesterday for the first starting pitcher. Today we're opening the voting for a closer. Five pitchers have saved at least 30 games as a Brewer since 2000. Follow the jump for their stats, and cast your vote below.

Derrick Turnbow

Seasons as a Brewer: 4, 2005-2008
Traditional numbers: 218 G, 15-16, 4.84 ERA, 65 saves, 198 IP, 222 K, 122 BB
Advanced numbers: 3.99 FIP, 1.429 WHIP, 10.1 K/9, 5.5 BB/9
WAR as a Brewer: 0.1

Dan Kolb

Seasons as a Brewer: 3, 2003-2004, 2006
Traditional numbers: 154 G, 3-8, 3.31 ERA, 61 saves, 147 IP, 86 K, 54 BB
Advanced numbers: 3.93 FIP, 1.30 WHIP, 5.3 K/9, 3.3 BB/9
WAR as a Brewer: 3.5

Francisco Cordero

Seasons as a Brewer: 2, 2006-2007
Traditional numbers: 94 G, 3-5, 2.60 ERA, 60 saves, 90 IP, 116 K, 34 BB
Advanced numbers: 2.62 FIP, 1.18 WHIP, 11.6 K/9, 3.4 BB/9
WAR as a Brewer: 3.7

Mike DeJean

Seasons as a Brewer: 3, 2001-2003
Traditional numbers: 201 G, 9-14, 3.50 ERA, 47 saves, 224 IP, 191 K, 105 BB
Advanced numbers: 4.24 FIP, 1.41 WHIP, 7.7 K/9, 4.2 BB/9
WAR as a Brewer: 2.6

Trevor Hoffman

Seasons as a Brewer: 1, 2009
Traditional numbers: 55 G, 3-2, 1.83 ERA, 37 saves, 54 IP, 48 K, 14 BB
Advanced numbers: 2.68 FIP, 0.91 WHIP, 8.0 K/9, 2.3 BB/9
WAR as a Brewer: 2.5

Poll

Who should be the closer for the BCB All Decade Team?

Making Your '00 Face: #1 Starter

KLSnow — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 22:00:27 -0000

Now, it's time to change gears a bit. Today we're opening the voting for the ace of the staff. Eleven pitchers started at least 50 games for the Brewers between 2000-2009. I've nominated all of them, plus one more. Follow the jump for their numbers, then place your vote below.

Ben Sheets

Seasons as a Brewer: 8, 2001-2008
Traditional numbers: 221 GS, 86-83, 3.72 ERA, 1428 IP, 1206 K, 313 BB
Advanced numbers: 3.56 FIP, 1.20 WHIP, 7.6 K/9, 1.97 BB/9
WAR as a Brewer: 23.8

Dave Bush

Seasons as a Brewer: 4, 2006-2009
Traditional numbers: 153 GS, 38-40, 4.86 ERA, 695.2 IP, 498 K, 167 BB
Advanced numbers: 4.38 FIP, 1.26 WHIP, 6.4 K/9, 2.2 BB/9
WAR as a Brewer: 3.2

Chris Capuano

Seasons as a Brewer: 4, 2004-2007
Traditional numbers: 116 GS, 40-44, 4.39 ERA, 678.2 IP, 562 K, 229 BB
Advanced numbers: 4.62 FIP, 1.37 WHIP, 7.5 K/9, 3.0 BB/9
WAR as a Brewer: 7.4

Doug Davis

Seasons as a Brewer: 4, 2003-2006
Traditional numbers: 111 GS, 37-36, 3.92 ERA, 685.2 IP, 568 K, 295 BB
Advanced numbers: 4.10 FIP, 1.37 WHIP, 7.5 K/9, 3.9 BB/9
WAR as a Brewer: 11.3

Jeff Suppan

Seasons as a Brewer: 3, 2007-2009
Traditional numbers: 95 GS, 29-34, 4.93 ERA, 546 IP, 284 K, 209 BB
Advanced numbers: 5.05 FIP, 1.573 WHIP, 4.7 K/9, 3.4 BB/9
WAR as a Brewer: 0

Jamey Wright

Seasons as a Brewer: 3, 2000-2002
Traditional numbers: 77 GS, 23-34, 4.73 ERA, 473.2 IP, 294 K, 249 BB
Advanced numbers: 4.99 FIP, 1.52 WHIP, 5.6 K/9, 4.7 BB/9
WAR as a Brewer: 2

Jimmy Haynes

Seasons as a Brewer: 2, 2000-2001
Traditional numbers: 62 GS, 20-30, 5.10 ERA, 372 IP, 200 K, 178 BB
Advanced numbers: 4.99 FIP, 1.58 WHIP, 4.8 K/9, 4.3 BB/9
WAR as a Brewer: 0.5

Manny Parra

Seasons as a Brewer: 3, 2007-2009
Traditional numbers: 58 GS, 21-20, 5.17 ERA, 332.1 IP, 289 K, 164 BB
Advanced numbers: 4.40 FIP, 1.65 WHIP, 7.8 K/9, 4.4 BB/9
WAR as a Brewer: -2.1

Glendon Rusch

Seasons as a Brewer: 2, 2002-2003
Traditional numbers: 53 GS, 11-28, 5.34 ERA, 334 IP, 233 K, 121 BB
Advanced numbers: 4.49 FIP, 1.554 WHIP, 6.3 K/9, 3.3 BB/9
WAR as a Brewer: -0.8

Victor Santos

Seasons as a Brewer: 2, 2004-2005
Traditional numbers: 52 GS, 15-25, 4.78 ERA, 295.2 IP, 204 K, 117 BB
Advanced numbers: 4.68 FIP, 1.49 WHIP, 6.2 K/9, 3.6 BB/9
WAR as a Brewer: 0.3

Yovani Gallardo

Seasons as a Brewer: 3, 2007-2009
Traditional numbers: 51 GS, 22-17, 3.57 ERA, 320 IP, 325 K, 139 BB
Advanced numbers: 3.77 FIP, 1.29 WHIP, 9.1 K/9, 3.9 BB/9
WAR as a Brewer: 5.7

CC Sabathia

Seasons as a Brewer: 1, 2008
Traditional numbers: 17 GS, 11-2, 1.65 ERA, 130.2 IP, 128 K, 25 BB
Advanced numbers: 2.41 FIP, 1.00 WHIP, 8.8 K/9, 1.7 BB/9
WAR as a Brewer: 4.8

Poll

Who should be the ace on the Brew Crew Ball All Decade Team?

Ben Sheets

355 votes

Dave Bush

2 votes

Chris Capuano

3 votes

Doug Davis

1 votes

Jeff Suppan

2 votes

Jamey Wright

0 votes

Jimmy Haynes

0 votes

Manny Parra

1 votes

Glendon Rusch

2 votes

Victor Santos

2 votes

Yovani Gallardo

15 votes

CC Sabathia

147 votes

530 votes | Poll has closed

They Should've Been Catchers...

TheJay — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:00:28 -0000

Wednesday's Frosty Mug noted it was former Brewers pitcher Matt Kinney's 33rd birthday. Now that Gregg Zaun is on the team, I find myself automatically comparing former Brewers players' ages to that of the team's new starting catcher. I've put together a partial list of Brewers players since 1990 who are both younger than Gregg Zaun and out of baseball (or at least the majors). Zaun was born on April 14, 1971.

Enjoy this blast from the past:

Izzy Alcantara
Jeff D'Amico
Trent Durrington
Timber Rattlers hitting coach Matt Erickson
Wayne Franklin
Keith Ginter*
Ben Grieve
Jimmy Haynes
Adrian Hernandez
Scott Karl
Brooks Kieschnick
Matt Kinney*
Robert Machado**
Chris Magruder
Julio Mosquera**
Nick Neugebauer
Marc Newfield
Alex Ochoa
Kyle Peterson
Ruben Quevedo
Rafael Roque
Alex Sanchez*
Junior Spivey
Antone Williamson
Joe Winkelsas
Steve Woodard

* - Played in the minors or Mexican League in 2009.
** - Yes, I know these guys actually were catchers.

Friday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:03:38 -0000

More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

It appears Claudio Vargas was never photographed as a Brewer. He'll get another chance to show up in an AP photo in 2010.

Browse more photos »

Some things to read while simulating a sunrise.

Claudio Vargas is expected in Milwaukee for his physical late in the day today, so we can expect an official announcement on his contract sometime late this afternoon. Vargas had to return from the Dominican Republic, where he just reported to winter ball a few weeks ago and has yet to allow an earned run in four relief appearances, including two saves. Since he's only logged 6.1 innings of work, he might head back down there after the physical.

Until last season, Vargas had thought of himself as a starter temporarily pitching out of the bullpen, but Adam McCalvy has the story of how a late-season matchup against Albert Pujols changed his mind and caused him to embrace his new role.

Once the Vargas signing is official, the Brewer 40 man roster will be full. Tom H. engaged in a little rosterbation and notes the team is pretty much set going into spring training, barring an injury or trade.

With a tight roster, apparently there's no room for Seth McClung. McClung tweeted that the Brewers sent an email to his agent letting him know they're not interested in pursuing a deal to bring him back as a free agent. He's also looking to sell his house in Florida, if you're in the market.

Meanwhile, Adam McCalvy posted a correction to an earlier report on the incentives in LaTroy Hawkins' contract: they're actually tied to appearances and games finished, not saves. As TheJay noted, the collective bargaining agreement prohibits teams from tying incentives to "skill" stats, but allows them for playing time.

Elsewhere in the bullpen, Chuck Lofgren's hometown paper has a story about his opportunity to pitch for the Brewers this spring. They also have this quote, which might remind you of another former Brewer reliever/pinch hitter:

"I don't prepare for spring training like a hitter would, but I do still get in the cage,'' Lofgren said. "I can still hit. I never really lost it.''

Months into the offseason, the market hasn't heated up quite as much as one might have expected for second basemen. FanGraphs has a look at the guys that still remain on the market, including Felipe Lopez, and the possibility that they'll have to change positions to find work this offseason. I still think Lopez would have turned down arbitration in search of full-time work, but perhaps the Brewers knew something we didn't in terms of the market for his services.

Adam McCalvy also picked up on that note, and his ensuing post on Lopez included this note regarding the Brewer payroll for 2010:

Melvin says he still has some flexibility left over to troll the market in January and February for bargains. If he doesn't find any deals to his liking, Melvin could retain that flexibility into June and July to make a pre-trade deadline deal.

I guess the possibility of another signing shouldn't be ruled out.

Have the Brewers done enough to improve themselves this offseason? Reds Blog handicapped the 2010 NL Central, and said the Brewers "may be slightly better than the Reds, but not much."

John Steinmiller and Caitlin Moyer continue to give us looks into the offseason jobs of the Brewer front office staff: Today they have a look at the work being done by Aleta Mercer, Brewers Senior Director of Entertainment and Broadcasting.

Meanwhile, the Timber Rattlers' front office staff still has some time on their hands, as demonstrated by the five minute battle for superiority between ketchup and mustard in this week's episode of The Offseason.

The Timber Rattlers are also looking for your help to select a shortstop for their 15th anniversary team. Follow this link to read about the candidates, then click over to the front page to vote.

Speaking of voting, we have two of the closest races to date for our BCB All Decade Team. You have until 4 pm today to cast a vote for a backup catcher, where Mike Rivera leads Jason Kendall by 13 votes. You also have until 4 pm tomorrow to cast a vote for our fourth outfielder, where Carlos Lee leads Scott Podsednik by 28 votes, with Jeromy Burnitz lurking over his shoulder.

Around baseball:

Dodgers: Signed infielders Doug Mientkiewicz and Angel Berroa to minor league deals.
Marlins: Signed Ricky Nolasco to a $3.8 million, one year deal, avoiding arbitration.
Mets: Signed Japanese reliever Ryota Igarashi to a two year deal worth $3 million.
Padres: Signed outfielder Chris Denorfia to a minor league deal.

Here's another research project for a reader looking for something to do: Max Marchi of The Hardball Times looks at the difference in pitches CC Sabathia threw to three Yankee catchers in 2009, showing he appeared to prefer to throw sinkers to Jose Molina. I'd be curious to see if there are any disparities in pitches thrown to Mike Rivera and Jason Kendall last season.

There seem to be enough sites discussing it so I'm not going to turn the Mug into a daily receptacle for notes on Hall of Fame voting, but I did find these notes interesting:

Tom H. submitted his ballot yesterday, and had nine players on it. He didn't name them but based on this argument for Bert Blyleven, it's safe to assume he's one of them.
Followers on Twitter convinced Jeff Fletcher of AOL to change his mind and vote yes for Tim Raines.
Rob Neyer reminded us that some Hall of Fame voters still don't get it.

Speaking of Neyer, earlier this week I mentioned his post on the top 100 players of the decade, which included Corey Koskie (among others), but not Prince Fielder. Tangotiger has a look at Koskie's career, and his somewhat surprising route to 22 WAR in slightly more than five full seasons.

If that's not enough stat content for you today, Big League Stew has everything you always wanted to know about WPA.

There may be snow on the field on or near Opening Day, but at least Target Field will have functional bathrooms. Hall of Famer and Twins exec Tony Oliva was recently trapped in a Metrodome bathroom when the handle fell off the door.

I've heard of players doing all kinds of things to break slumps, but Hee Seop Choi might have topped them all by climbing Mount Seorak.

On this day in 1985, the Brewers traded two minor leaguers to the Giants for Rob Deer. Long before Russell Branyan was king of the Three True Outcomes, Deer was a 3TO Pioneer, hitting .229/.329/.450 with 333 walks, 137 home runs and 823 strikeouts in five seasons as a Brewer. Those 137 home runs were the tenth most in baseball during that stretch.

Happy birthday today to 2009 Nashville Sound Patrick Arlis, who turns 29.

Oh, and I'm hoping Garrett Broshuis will eventually share the plans for his Radioactive Cardboard Catcher.

Drink up.

Making Your '00 Face: Backup Outfielder

KLSnow — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 22:00:17 -0000

Voting for a our backup catcher opened yesterday and will close at 4 pm tomorrow. Today we need to select a fourth outfielder.

Jeromy Burnitz

Seasons as a Brewer: 2, 2000-2001*
Slash line as a Brewer: .242/.352/.480
UZR (Fielding) as a Brewer: n/a**
WAR as a Brewer: 4

* - Burnitz was also a Brewer from 1996-1999, but those stats aren't reflected here.
** - FanGraphs only has UZR data dating back to 2002, so Burnitz has no data.

Carlos Lee

Seasons as a Brewer: 2, 2005-2006
Slash line as a Brewer: .273/.333/.511
UZR (Fielding) as a Brewer: -23 runs
WAR as a Brewer: 2.1

Brady Clark

Seasons as a Brewer: 4, 2003-2006
Slash line as a Brewer: .284/.361/.393
UZR (Fielding) as a Brewer: -1.1 runs
WAR as a Brewer: 5.8

Scott Podsednik

Seasons as a Brewer: 2, 2003-2004

Slash line as a Brewer: .276/.344/.401
UZR (Fielding) as a Brewer: -11.3 runs
WAR as a Brewer: 8.7

Poll

Who should be the fourth outfielder on our BCB All Decade Team?

Jeromy Burnitz

84 votes

Carlos Lee

143 votes

Brady Clark

49 votes

Scott Podsednik

102 votes

378 votes | Poll has closed

The Thursday Thinker: Breaking in early

KLSnow — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 18:00:21 -0000

More photos » by Jeffrey Phelps - AP

Alcides Escobar is much younger than Gregg Zaun.

Browse more photos »

Alcides Escobar turned 23 yesterday, and barring injury he'll likely be the Brewers full-time shortstop next season. Last week we talked about Gregg Zaun, and how rare it is for a player at his advanced age to make 100 appearances as a Brewer. If Escobar plays in 100 games in 2010, he'll become just the 19th Brewer to play that often at age 23 or younger. How many can you name in five minutes?

Again, here are the rules: Post your score in the comments, but do not comment on any specific answer until after 6 pm Central time, so everyone gets a chance to try it out without having it spoiled for them. And, of course, there's no reason to cheat here, because there's no prizes.

This might be the hardest Thinker I've posted to date. If you've only followed the Brewers closely for a few years, don't be surprised if you only get 3-6 of them. If you manage to get them all, though, post your time along with your score in the comments.

Have fun, and don't forget to post your score in the comments!

Thursday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:09:33 -0000

More photos » by David J. Phillip - AP

LaTroy Hawkins and Glenn Robinson faced each other in high school. This is the kind of thing that passes for news in December.

Browse more photos »

Some things to read while trying not to dance.

LaTroy Hawkins was in Milwaukee yesterday for his physical, making his deal official (FanShot). As mentioned previously, he's due $3.5 million in 2010 and $4 million in 2011, plus $550k available if he maximizes his incentives. One thing I didn't know until reading it afterwards: Hawkins grew up in Gary, Indiana and played basketball against former Buck Glenn Robinson.

I've mentioned previously that the bullpen situation is starting to fill up, but realized yesterday that I've been leaving Carlos Villanueva out of all of my projections. As Adam McCalvy noted in his story on Hawkins, the bullpen now has Trevor Hoffman, Hawkins, Todd Coffey, Mitch Stetter, Claudio Vargas, Carlos Villanueva and David Riske, and barring a trade or injury, it looks like Chris Smith, Chris Narveson, Chuck Lofgren and Zack Braddock, among others, are on the outside looking in.

While there may not be much competition for a spot in the bullpen, there will be an interesting race to see who opens the season as the backup catcher. View From Bernie's Chalet handicaps the candidates, and is hoping for George Kottoras to open the season in the majors, with Jonathan Lucroy in AAA and Angel Salome on the trading block. Two quick thoughts on that:

Kottoras is out of options, so unless one of the prospects blows him out of the water this spring, he'll likely make the team.
You can never have too many catchers, so don't be surprised if the Brewers hang onto both Lucroy and Salome and try to work out some kind of rotation in Nashville.

Speaking of competitions involving backup catchers, we need your vote to help select a backup catcher for the BCB All Decade Team. As of this writing, Mike Rivera leads Jason Kendall by 15 votes.

At Mike Cameron's press conference in Boston yesterday, we heard some insight for the first time into Ken Macha's feeling toward the running game last season. 2009 was the first time in Cameron's career he's had single-digit stolen bases, and he said he "ran into a little situation where I had to abide by the rules of the manager, even though I’ve been pretty successful, I mean, 80 percent of the time that I’ve ran." Macha has admitted he'll have to open up the running game a little more this season, but this is the first time I can recall hearing a player talk about restraints last season.

Every now and then the Mug provides me an "Ask and you shall receive" moment. Yesterday I asked about differences in attendance at Miller Park based on the starting pitcher, and Wisconsin Sports Tap did the research, discovering no correlation. Many, if not most, Brewer tickets are probably purchased too far in advance to predict starting pitching assignments, so that's likely what I should have expected.

In the minors: FanGraphs unveiled their Top Ten Brewer Prospects yesterday. Alcides Escobar sits atop the list, as he likely will in just about every set of rankings coming out this winter, but Brett Lawrie climbed in front of Mat Gamel for the #2 spot. We'll be doing our Community Prospect Rankings in January, and I'm curious to see where Lawrie will rank there.

Around baseball:

D-Backs: Signed pitcher Rodrigo Lopez to a minor league deal.
Dodgers: Signed infielder Jamey Carroll to a two year deal worth $3.85 million and signed reliever Luis Ayala to a minor league deal.
Orioles: Signed reliever Mike Gonzalez to a two year deal worth $12 million, and third baseman Garrett Atkins to a one year deal.
Rangers: Signed pitcher Geoff Geary and infielder Ray Olmedo to minor league deals.
Tigers: Re-signed infielder Ramon Santiago to a two year deal.

The Blue Jays, Phillies, Mariners and A's also finalized their four way deal involving Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee. It's been a time for change in Toronto over the last few months: Jordan Bastian noted that the Rogers Centre features three-story images of Alex Rios, Scott Rolen, B.J. Ryan and Roy Halladay. All four will now need to be removed.

In the interest of keeping conversation going and providing fresh content on the site each day, I occasionally post things that wouldn't be front page-worthy during the season, but keep things lively in December. Occasionally when I do that, someone stops by the comments to make sure I know I'm wasting their time, or ask why we're voting for bench players on the All Decade Team. Yes, I know those posts aren't hard-hitting news, but they beat spending a day ranking and discussing your favorite Pixar movies, like Keith Law and Rob Neyer did yesterday.

Earlier this week he celebrated a birthday, and today former Brewer Matt Kinney is the subject of Lookout Landing's Faces series.

Happy birthday today to 1986 and 1989 Brewer Bryan Clutterbuck, who turns 50.

Drink up.