Notes: O'Brien visiting Brewers camp

02/26/2006
PHOENIX -- Former Reds general manager Dan O'Brien is taking part in a series of meetings with Brewers scouts this week while he considers joining Milwaukee's front office as a consultant.
The Reds let O'Brien go after two seasons as GM on Jan. 23, days after a new ownership group assumed control of the team. O'Brien was Brewers general manager Doug Melvin's top assistant for five of Melvin's seven seasons as GM of the Rangers.
"We're just visiting with him for a couple days, but we haven't finalized anything yet," said Melvin, who watched Saturday's first full-squad workout at Maryvale Baseball Park with O'Brien. "Maybe it won't work out, but right now we think it will."
After he was let go by Texas, Melvin picked up a similar job with the Red Sox before the Brewers hired him in September 2002.
"It's good to stay in the game," Melvin said. "And from our perspective, it's good to have another outside opinion on players."
If he does join the team, the Brewers will have four former Major League general managers in high-ranking positions: Melvin, O'Brien, assistant GM Gord Ash (Blue Jays) and pro scout Lee Thomas (Phillies).
"[O'Brien] would not be a threat to Gord's job, and Gord knows that. He would not be a threat to anyone's job," Melvin said. "He's just a guy with a wealth of information."
O'Brien's role is still being discussed, Melvin said, but he would work out of his home and focus on professional scouting. Before joining Melvin in Texas in 1997, O'Brien was the scouting and player development director of the Astros.
Behind the scenes: Melvin and director of professional scouting Dick Groch led the afternoon meeting of Brewers scouts. Among other topics, they planned to go over 25-man roster projections for the rest of the league.
Lining them up: Manager Ned Yost said Brewers ace Ben Sheets is "right where he needs to be," in terms of preparing for a franchise-record fifth consecutive Opening Day start.
Sheets will make his first Cactus League start on March 4 against the A's. That puts him on an every-five-day schedule culminating April 3 against the Pirates at Miller Park.
Brewers pitchers will not throw any live batting practice on Monday to be ready for an intrasquad game on Tuesday afternoon. Yost said 26 different pitchers would throw one inning or 20 pitches apiece. That group will not include left-hander Manny Parra, who is rehabbing a shoulder injury and was relocated to Minor League camp, or right-hander Mike Adams, who has been experiencing back spasms and sat out his third consecutive workout on Sunday.
Yost said starting position players would play the first five innings of the game. Some players from the invitation-only Minor League mini-camp that opened Saturday also will take part.
Let's talk: Brewers closer Derrick Turnbow said his representatives from the Beverly Hills Sports Council have begun preliminary discussions with Melvin regarding a possible contract extension.
Turnbow, who is already signed for 2006 and would be eligible for salary arbitration if he pitches the entire season, said the first meeting between his agents and the Brewers included talk about a two-year extension through 2008. Such a deal would effectively buy out his first two arbitration years.
"They're in the early stages," Turnbow said. "We'll see. I'd love to be here, so I hope it happens."
Last call: Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Uecker stopped by Maryvale Baseball Park this weekend to say hello to players, coaches and staff. Uecker is entering his 36th season of Brewers radio broadcasts and his 11th teamed with Jim Powell on the Brewers Radio Network. Uecker and Powell will call 12 Cactus League games this spring, beginning with Sheets' March 4 start against the A's at 2 p.m. CT. ... New bench coach Robin Yount introduced some new wrinkles to the Brewers bunt defense scheme on Sunday during the team's second full-squad workout. ... Braves manager Bobby Cox called Yost on Sunday morning and had great things to say about right-hander Wes Obermueller, who was traded from Milwaukee to Atlanta during the Winter Meetings. "Bobby asked, 'Can he be a one-inning guy?'" Yost said. "Maybe he can. He just needs a little confidence. A change of scenery can be good for guys. I would love nothing more than for 'Obie' to be successful, because he's such a good kid. I really hope that happens."

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