Brewers preparing a lefty specialist

02/26/2006
PHOENIX -- The Brewers are grooming Mitch Stetter to be a left-handed specialist, something the team has gone without in recent seasons.
"My stuff is best that way," said Stetter, a tall, lanky 25 year old. "I'm not a typical lefty, where I have a good changeup. I'm more of a cutter-slider type of guy."
He relies partly on deception and describes himself as "all arms and legs." Stetter split the 2005 season between Double-A Huntsville and Triple-A Nashville, and his 59 appearances led all Brewers Minor Leaguers.
Stetter then reported to the Arizona Fall League, but he began feeling some elbow soreness and was shut down. He knew he was in trouble when left-handed hitters started teeing off.
"I'm supposed to get those guys out," Stetter said. "I went back and noticed my velocity was down on all of my pitches."
Now, he is back on a normal schedule. Stetter is a non-roster invitee in camp and is probably headed back to Nashville for the season.
"I'm a non-roster invitee, and I'm just going to go throw," he said. "Of course you want to make the team, but it's kind of a long shot."
The Brewers selected Stetter in the 16th round of the 2003 First-Year Player Draft out of Indiana State University.
On the move: Outfielder Jason Romano, who signed a Minor League contract with the Brewers on Friday, is expected to report to Minor League camp on Monday. Romano is a former first-round draft pick of the Texas Rangers and could add depth at Triple-A Nashville.
On the pine: Highly-regarded left-hander Manny Parra, sidelined with a sore shoulder, has moved over to the Minor League complex at Maryvale Baseball Park.
"He saw the doctor yesterday and there is no concern," assistant general manager Gord Ash said. "But he can't participate in the [Major League] program right now, and with the crowded conditions there is no sense in him being here."
Names in the game: Former Gold Glove outfielder Gary Pettis has quickly become one the organization's most popular coaches and is heading into his second season as Nashville's hitting coach. Corey Hart is particularly fond of Pettis and said the former Angels, Tigers, Rangers and Padres outfielder has a knack for simplifying hitting. Pettis also served as manager of the Peoria Javelinas in last year's AFL.
They're No. 1: The team already has right-hander Mike Jones on an every-five-day schedule as he works back from a shoulder injury. The team's first-round pick in the 2001 First-Year Player Draft, Jones missed half of 2004 and all of 2005, but he has been throwing bullpen sessions this spring without incident. He expects to be assigned to Class A Brevard County and will remain on a strict pitch count this season.
Class of '05: Brewers left-hander Dana Eveland said his younger brother, Kyle, a 43rd-round pick last year, has enrolled at College of the Canyons, a junior college in California, and may sign as a "draft and follow" player this summer.
What they're saying: "We'd been looking forward to seeing [Brian] Dallimore for three years, and we finally get him and he quits." -- Brewers manager Ned Yost, on the versatile infielder. Yost said Brewers pitching coach Mike Maddux had recommended for several years that the Brewers look to sign Dallimore, and the team did just that this winter, but Dallimore opted to retire last week rather than report to camp as a non-roster invitee.

Source: http://milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com/