Microbrew News – Offseason Edition

Oh man, how long was I out? I remember the Brewers losing to the Cardinals and then it all sort of went blurry and –

WHAT?? THE CARDINALS WON THE WORLD SERIES????

Anyways, now that I’m finally back in the saddle I might as well give you something useful with my time. Here’s a delightful little sampling of Brewers news for you to digest over the week as we all have to find a way to live in a world with St. Louis being champions.

Ryan Braun named Brewers MVP by BBWA –

In their infinite wisdom and grace, the Baseball Writers of America unanimously named Ryan Braun as the MVP for the Milwaukee Brewers. It was an 8-0 sweep of local affiliates of the BBWA and marked his first time winning the award by narrowly edging out team mate and two-time winner Prince Fielder. John Axford came in third, but garner Best Pitcher honors. Braun’s big bat and speed on the base paths got him the award, as he finished the season with 33 home runs and 33 stolen bases. Ryan Braun was only the second 30/30 Brewer in franchise history. You can read about all of the BBWA Brewer awards here.

John Axford’s Mustache Honored by AMI –

Speaking of shoo-in awards, John Axford was honored by the American Mustache Institute over the weekend with the coveted Robert Goulet Memorial Mustached American of the Year in their annual ‘Stache Bash (yes, that is a real thing, and it looks glorious) held at Joe’s Bar in Chicago. Axford swept the prize with nearly one million votes. No one even seemed to mind that he’s Canadian.

Sox Get Green-Light to Look at Sveum –

Doug Melvin ended the speculation on Friday when he told reporters that Brewers hitting coach Dale Sveum has permission to interview with the Boston Red Sox at some time this week for the now-vacant managerial post at Fenway Park. There isn’t a definite meeting set at this time with Boston, but according to sources he was one of the first people contacted for an interview with the historic franchise. Apart from being an interim manager at the end of the 2008 season in Milwaukee, Sveum was also the third base coach in Boston from 2004-2005. Also considered in the mix is former Milwaukee and current Texas pitching coach Mike Maddux. You can read more about that on our Fansided freinds at BoSox Injection.

Stetter Moves To Nashville for 2012

The Brewers 40-Man Roster now sits at 39, as the organization decided to send relief pitcher Mitch Stetter to Nashville outright after his release from the disabled list. Stetter only pitched in a handful of appearances this season after suffering a debilitating hip injury that required surgery in the early part of May. The move will allow Stetter to explore his options with other clubs and a chance to get back into a regular appearance schedule next season, but it also allows a spot for Milwaukee to fill in a bullpen that include free agency questions with Saito, Hawkins and Rodriguez all on the market.

That’s all there is right now in terms of MicroBrew News, but stay tuned here and we’ll keep you posted about Sveum, Braun, and all this free agency nonsense as things move along. You stay classy, Milwaukee.