[UPDATE 12:43pm]

This has nothing to do with baseball, but there is a Jesus shark.  That's pretty cool.

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The blogosphers is looking pretty bleak today.  Here are a few links that I scrounged up.

• The Milwaukee JS came out with their player grades today.  Not surprisingly, Rickie Weeks pulls in a D-plus.  I'd like to point out that Craig Counsell received a higher grade than that.  Yes, Craig Counsell, with his .226 average and his .302 slugging percentage, was rated as a better overall player than Rickie Weeks.  C'mon.  I understand Rickie is the whipping boy of the team because he has never lived up to his potential, but he's not that bad.  Even TH admitted that he turned it on once the Crew traded for Ray Durham.  Did that play into the grading system?  Nope.
• The Brew Town Beat hands out bullpen grades.  Eric Gagne pulls in a D-plus, which is rather generous for BTB.  The right-hander threw the ball a little better down the stretch, which saved him from the dreaded failing grade he was destined to receive.  If anyone is wondering about my thoughts on resigning Gagne, I'll tell you.  Please no.
• MLB Trade Rumors says that the Brewers have until five days after the World Series to pick up Mike Cameron's club option.  The post also goes on to say that the deal originally looked like a one-year deal, but that changed this season.  Cam had a fine season, and his plus defense makes the option an easy decision.  I completely agree with that sentiment.  Sorry to all the Mike Cameron haters out there.
• The manager of the Boston Red Sox, Terry Francona, endorsed Dale Sveum for manager of the Milwaukee Brewers yesterday.  That's not overly surprising, but I do agree with the part where Francona says that the players love and respect Sveum.  I think that was clear in the final couple weeks of the season.  He's certainly a player's coach, and that might work well with such a young nucleus of players.
• It seems that a certain Seattle Mariners site believes that Doug Melvin could be a candidate for their open GM job.  Not quite, but I can see why they would want him in Seattle.  (h/t Brew Crew Ball)
• Viva El Birdos has a preview of the ALCS.  They chart out who is on the Tampa Bay Rays, and the article points out that Tampa could pretty much trot out the exact same team next season.  That's impressive.  That's how you build a franchise with longevity.  Not to mention that their farm system is absolutely stacked.  It's a good time to be a Rays fan.  Too bad no one ever comes to their games...
• Lookout Landing says that Albert Pujols is the most underappreciated player in baseball.  My feelings about his personality this year aside, I have to agree.  He absolutely dominated the league this season...and he had a pretty severely injured elbow.  That's much like Tiger Woods winning the U.S. Open on one knee.  That's incredible.  Can you imagine what Albert would have done this season with a healthy elbow?  The guy is the best hitter in baseball right now, and everyone talks about the likes of Ryan Howard and Alex Rodriguez.  Pujols is the man.  Hands down.

Taylor Green made his Arizona Fall League debut, going 2-for-4 with a double and a stolen base.  That's not a bad start to the fall for the young man.  Unfortunately, he's going to be under the microscope after the CC Sabathia deal.  He needs to prove he can become a better player than Michael Brantley.  At least, that is what some believe, as they need to console themselves about what Milwaukee gave up for the deal.

In the same game, Jeremy Jeffress and Alexandre Periard both took the mound.  Jeremy got the win, giving up one run on two hits and a walk in three innings.  He also was charged with an error, but struck out four batters.  All in all, I'd say it was a positive outing for the young right-hander.  Periard, on the other hand, pitched two scoreless innings.  His stat line suggests he wasn't that sharp, however, as he gave up two walks and a hit.  He did strike out two batters though.  

Caleb Gindl went 1-for-4 with a run and a strikeout yesterday for West Oahu.  His partner in crime, Logan Schafer, took the collar with an 0-for-4 night.  He did have an RBI, however.  Both look to break out in a system that is stacked with outfield prospects.  They will have to do better than they have thus far in the Hawaii Winter League.