Before we get started with today’s Mug, I need to make an announcement. Effective two weeks from today (Monday, November 3), the Frosty Mug will move to its own site at BrewersFrostyMug.net. The Mug you know and love will continue uninterrupted in this new space, and its Facebook and Twitter feeds will remain the same, but if you wish to continue following the Mug after the end of this month please bookmark (or follow the RSS feed) from its new location.
Some things to read while seeing what that button does.
Today, we open the fourth week of the offseason for the Milwaukee Brewers, and we do it with fresh estimates on what the team will have to pay to retain some of its veteran players for next season. Charlie Wilmoth of MLB Trade Rumors has a preview of the organization’s next few months, including a look at that site’s salary projections for the team’s four arbitration-eligible players, Here’s the breakdown:
| Player | Pos | Arb. Year | 2014 salary | Proj. 2015 salary |
| Gerardo Parra | OF | 4 | $4.85 million | $6.4 million |
| Marco Estrada | P | 3 | $3.325 million | $4.7 million |
| Martin Maldonado | C | 1 | $502,000 | $1 million |
| Brandon Kintzler | P | 1 | $507,000 | $900,000 |
There are a pair of likely tough decisions here regarding Parra and Estrada, who could combine to earn more than $11 million while playing bench and middle relief roles in 2015 as things stand right now. The decision regarding Parra will likely hinge on the organization’s plans for Khris Davis, and the Estrada figure is almost certainly too much to pay unless the Brewers think he has a chance to win and hold a spot in the starting rotation.
With several players on the roster getting raises and a fair amount of money already committed to others, it seems unlikely the Brewers will retain most of their free agents this winter. One player who could be on his way out is reliever Zach Duke, but Steven Jewell of Reviewing the Brew previewed his free agency and said he’s the most likely of the three departing Brewer relievers to return.
Meanwhile, 2014 teammate Rob Wooten is still under team control for several more seasons but will likely need to win a spot on the roster in spring training. Wooten announced on Twitter on Friday that he will represent the Brewers on the MLB Japan All Star series in November, and one teammate with some experience in Asia immediately reached out to him:
@RobWooten35 I know the ins and outs of Japan. If you have questions haha @mlb @Brewers
— Matt Clark (@MattClark60) October 17, 2014
The Brewers stole 102 bases in 2014, the fifth-most in the National League. This is the third consecutive season in which they’ve collected at least 100 stolen bases as a team, but their aggressiveness is nowhere near what it once was: Brew Crew Ball user nullacct has a look back at the 1992 team, which stole 256 times.
Jonathan Lucroy only went 4-for-8 in stolen base attempts in 2014, but thankfully, he provided a lot of value in other ways. On Friday, Brew Crew Ball opened the voting for their community-powered ranking of the season’s Most Valuable Brewers, and Lucroy is running away with the balloting for the No. 1 spot. That poll will close at noon today, and the voting for the second spot will open this afternoon.
Lucroy was the Brewers’ fifth-best defensive player in 2014, according to Tom Tango’s Fan Scouting Report. Balloting for that user-driven project has closed for the season and you can see the results at the link above. If you’re not interested in following the link, here are the top and bottom three Brewers overall on the 20-80 scouting scale:
| Player | Rating |
| Gerardo Parra | 76 |
| Carlos Gomez | 75 |
| Jean Segura | 66 |
| … | |
| Lyle Overbay | 35 |
| Khris Davis | 34 |
| Rickie Weeks | 27 |
In the minors:
- Several Brewers were active in the Arizona Fall League over the weekend, headlined by a nice outing for Wei-Chung Wang. He started for Glendale on Friday and allowed a single run on four hits with no walks or strikeouts in the Desert Dogs’ 6-5 win over Scottsdale (box score). Outfielder Tyrone Taylor and first baseman Nick Ramirez combined to go 0-for-7 in that game, though Ramirez did walk and score a run.
- @TGold_PG was in attendance for Wang’s outing and offered a positive scouting report.
- Taylor and catcher Shawn Zarraga each had a hit and scored a run in Glendale’s 9-4 win over Surprise on Saturday (box score). Pitchers Tyler Wagner and Michael Strong each threw two innings in that game and allowed two runs apiece.
- @Mass_Haas spotted an audio interview with Nick Ramirez discussing his time in the Fall League.
- Meanwhile in Venezuela, shortstop and top prospect Orlando Arcia went 1-for-5, scored a run and drove one in during Caribes’ 8-3 win over Caracas on Sunday (box score). Arcia has a .785 OPS in his first nine appearances in winter ball.
- Elsewhere in that league, pitchers Eric Marzec (five innings, one earned run), Tim Dillard (two scoreless) and Gian Rizzo (also two scoreless) combined to pitch all nine innings in Zulia’s 9-2 win over Margarita (box score). Brewers farmhand Greg Holle also pitched in the game for Margarita and allowed two runs on two hits and two walks while recording just one out.
Around baseball:
Astros: Hired former Mets hitting coach Dave Hudgens to the same position and announced that Pat Listach will not return as third base coach for 2015.
Blue Jays: Bullpen coach Bob Stanley will not return for 2015.
Braves: Signed infielder Pedro Ciriaco to a minor league deal.
Nationals: Are expected to decline reliever Rafael Soriano’s club option for 2015.
Red Sox: Hired former Athletics hitting coach Chili Davis to the same position.
Yankees: Second baseman Brian Roberts plans to retire this offseason.
We’ve gone multiple days now without postseason baseball, and we’ll have to wait one more. The World Series opens with the Kansas City Royals (and James Shields) hosting the San Francisco Giants (and Madison Bumgarner) on Tuesday night. The Giants haven’t played since eliminating the Cardinals on Thursday, and the Royals have been off since completing their sweep of the Orioles on Wednesday.
The World Series will determine Major League Baseball’s champion for 2015, but the series features the fifth-best regular season team from each league. Daniel Meyer of Beyond the Box Score asks how many games teams would need to play for the most talented team to win the championship each year.
It’s also worth noting that Tuesday’s game will feature two teams that finished in the bottom half of their respective leagues in strikeouts, and the Royals are the only team in baseball to whiff less than 1,100 times this season (they had 985). High Heat Stats has a look at how putting the ball in play more often has been a factor for both winning teams this October.
Tuesday night’s six-man umpiring crew will feature four longtime arbiters making their World Series debut: Jerry Meals, Hunter Wendelstedt, Eric Cooper and Jim Reynolds all have more than 14 years of MLB experience but are being rewarded with an opportunity on the big stage for the first time. Mark Townsend of Big League Stew has a look at how the results of baseball’s new replay system led to these new faces getting an opportunity.
Of course, by now you’ve almost certainly heard that the Royals reached the World Series while featuring several former members of the Brewers. Adam McCalvy of MLB.com is the latest to write about the tie between the two franchises, and David Golebiewski of Gammons Daily has a look at how the Zack Greinke trade allowed Kansas City to acquire the talent needed to make this run.
Today’s former Brewers notes are largely playoff-centric:
- Jeff Wiser of Beyond the Box Score has a look back at early scouting reports on Lorenzo Cain, long before he became the Royals’ ALCS MVP.
- The fan who caught Travis Ishikawa’s walkoff home run in Game Five of the NLCS returned it to Ishikawa and was rewarded with tickets to a World Series game (h/t BBTF). Justin Schultz of Beyond the Box Score has a closer look at that plate appearance, and Graham Womack of Baseball: Past and Present compared the blast to other historic home runs.
- Michael Trzinski of Reviewing the Brew listed the 1990 Stockton Ports as the third-best Brewers farm team of all time. That team featured catcher Dave Nilsson, infielder Pat Listach and pitchers Steve Sparks and Angel Miranda.
Meanwhile, the teams that fell just short of the World Series are left to ponder what could have been. Cardinals manager Mike Matheny’s bullpen management is getting some of the blame for his team’s failure to advance to the Fall Classic, and Ben Humphrey of Cardinals blog Viva El Birdos asks if St. Louis will ever reach a Series in spite of its manager.
Despite questions about their manager, the Cardinals project to be a very good team again in 2015. Ben Lindbergh of Grantland listed them as one of five 2014 playoff teams likely to repeat in 2015. Bill Berg of Reviewing the Brew asks if they’re the NL Central’s only good franchise.
Today in baseball economics: The Orioles reached the American League Championship Series with a $107 million opening day payroll in 2014 and expect to spend more in 2015.
Finally, with help from Brewerfan.net and the Baseball Reference Play Index, we’d like to wish a happy birthday today to:
- 2014 Brevard County Manatee Parker Berberet, who turns 25.
- 2012 Brewer Jose Veras, who turns 34 (Today In Brewer History).
Today is also the 32nd anniversary of the Cardinals beating the Brewers in Game 7 of the 1982 World Series. Follow the link for that event’s entry in Today In Brewer History at Brew Crew Ball.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get that nickel back.
Drink up.
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