Notes: Hendrickson tunes up mechanics

02/24/2006
PHOENIX -- Two years ago, he was a top 10 Brewers prospect. Last year, he was a disappointment. Now Ben Hendrickson is just trying to be himself again.
The 25-year-old right-hander is coming off a season in which he went 6-12 with a 4.97 ERA for Triple-A Nashville. Hendrickson ranked third in the Pacific Coast League with 27 starts, but struggled with mechanics from the first day of Spring Training.
"There were three different ways they were having me throw," Hendrickson said. "By the end of last spring I didn't know what was right and what was wrong."
Hendrickson said his mechanics were not all that good in 2004, either, despite some stellar results. He was releasing his fastball from one point and his trademark curveball much higher, near his right ear.
But that season he went 11-3 with a league-best 2.02 ERA for the Brewers' former Triple-A International League affiliate in Indianapolis. He was named the Brewers' Minor League Pitcher of the Year and International League Most Valuable Player, but fatigued in a late-season promotion to Milwaukee, going 1-8 in the Majors with a 6.22 ERA in 10 games.
Could those struggles have contributed to Hendrickson's subpar 2005?
"How could it hurt him?" Brewers manager Ned Yost said. "We knew Ben would probably get knocked around a little bit, but that he would be strong enough that he would be able to handle it."
Hendrickson hopes to get back on track this spring. He threw a bullpen session and live batting practice on Wednesday and was again at Maryvale Baseball Park on Friday.
"I've got my arm angle back to normal now," he said. "All of my 'pens have been really good. It's back to the way I know I can throw."
The plus is that Hendrickson remained healthy throughout his personally disappointing 2005 season. His curveball is considered one of the organization's best.
Three to go: Reigning Brewers Minor League Player of the Year Nelson Cruz arrived in camp Friday morning, leaving three players yet to show: outfielder Carlos Lee and non-roster infielders Hernan Iribarren and Brian Dallimore. Yost said he expects all three to be in attendance on Saturday. After a series of clubhouse meetings and the traditional pep talks from Yost, general manager Doug Melvin and owner Mark Attanasio, the team will participate in its first full-squad workout.
Cover boys: Infielders Prince Fielder, Bill Hall, J.J. Hardy and Rickie Weeks appear on the cover of the snazzy new Brewers media guide, which arrived Friday and was distributed in the clubhouse.
Hall and Hardy are pictured in the Brewers navy alternate jerseys, while Fielder and Weeks are wearing the "new" retro uniforms for Sunday home games this season. The guide, which underwent a major re-design for 2006 and is full-color throughout for the first time, will be available for $12.
"There are big expectations put on all of us, but it's not going to change the way we play," said Hall.
"It makes us feel important," Hardy joked.
Major players: The Brewers continued to tap into the Latin American market, signing 17-year-old Dominican pitcher Wily Peralta for a $450,000 bonus, Baseball America first reported.
Last fall, the Brewers signed another right-hander, Rolando Pascual, for $710,000. Pascual was considered the top Dominican pitching prospect.
"We've signed a lot of pitchers," Melvin said. "The one thing we've talked about is we haven't signed a lot of position players out of the Latin market."
Melvin said a number of other teams liked Peralta as a position player. But, like many Latin players and young players in general, he struggled to hit breaking balls and took his plus arm to the mound.
"He has some work to do with his offspeed pitches, and he's different from Pascual because he's not as big, but we saw him up to 96 [mph] with his fastball," Brewers Latin America scouting director Fernando Arango told BA.
Peralta, Pascual and a number of other Latin American players reported to Maryvale Baseball Park earlier this week and, one-by-one, introduced themselves to Melvin during the Brewers' workout.
Multitasking: Robin Yount's primary duties this season will be as bench coach and co-infielder instructor with fellow newcomer Dale Sveum, but on Friday he worked on defensive drills with Brewers outfielders.
"Robin's real smart and he wants to know what we're doing in all phases of our game," Yost said.
Yount won the American League MVP Award both as a shortstop and a center fielder during his 20-year Brewers career.
Last call: Minor League camp formally opens on Saturday. Among the attendees will be Yost's son, Ned IV, who signed with the Brewers last year. ... Fans who purchase single-game tickets at the Miller Park box office will have the option to buy "4-Packs," which include tickets to either a Cubs or Cardinals game. The team made 500 additional packages available for Saturday's first day of sales. ... With Attanasio in town beginning Friday, talks may resume on a contract extension for Yost. The Brewers exercised their 2006 option on the skipper last August, but he is not signed past this year.

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