Milwaukee Brewers @ Bare Baseball - Baseball MLB Blog

Little Tony a chip off the old block

b2blog@gmail.com (David) — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 18:53:00 +0000

07/19/2006
SAN FRANCISCO -- He'll always be "Little Tony" to me, running around with my son Raphi at the old Days Inn, just miles from what was then the Padres' Spring Training complex in Yuma, Ariz., back in the 1980s.
They were about 5 years old back then, if that. Big Tony was a young Major Leaguer still developing into one of his era's greatest hitters, a sure Hall of Famer next year in the Class of 2007 when he gets his first shot at it. I was the beat writer for the long gone San Diego Tribune, covering the team.
My wife's name is Alicia, his wife's name is Alisia. They have a daughter, Anisha, who is quite a singer. We have a daughter, Joanna, who is a budding documentary film producer. Raphi graduated from The American University this past May. Little Tony was brought up by the Milwaukee Brewers to the Major Leagues this past Saturday.
"It all hasn't kind of settled in yet," Little Tony said on Wednesday after he smacked his first Major League hit. "It's not real. I'm kind of standing here in disbelief a little bit."
I personally saw the elder Tony pound out about 2,000 of his 3,141 hits, as well as all 33 he had in the postseason. Now I've seen Little Tony get his first big-league hit, a first-pitch, pinch-hit double coming Wednesday off Giants rookie Brian Wilson with two out in the ninth inning at AT&T Park in a 7-6 Brewers loss.
We have come full circle.
"I'm so happy," said Alisia Gwynn, acting every bit the proud momma outside the Brewers clubhouse. "It's so weird. His dad got his first hit, too, on this day. It's amazing, it's just crazy."
His dad wasn't there on Wednesday, but his shadow certainly was. Twenty-four years ago, on July 19, 1982, Big Tony collected his first Major League hit, also a double at what was then San Diego Stadium off Sid Monge, a left-hander then pitching for the Phillies who later would be traded to the Padres.
Big Tony was 22 that day. Little Tony is 22 now. They are both left-handed hitters. Both balls were stung to right field.
May the comparisons only continue to keep rolling as the years start to quickly slip past.
"Tony called me afterwards and said, 'I had a feeling he was going to get it on this day because that's when I got my first hit,'" Alisia said. "He was in a meeting down in San Diego and said he heard about it on the radio."
Alisia, of course, was also in the stands the day her young husband got his first hit: Section 31, Row 4, Seat 9, up on the plaza level on the first-base side. "I still have the ticket stub," she said. "I was eight months pregnant with Little Tony in my stomach."
Little Tony, of course, has heard the story. He has either heard or been part of them all. He was there with his dad at Yankee Stadium in the days before the first game of the 1998 World Series, walking Monument Park at Yankee Stadium during the workout day, sitting next to his father's cubicle in the clubhouse the day Big Tony hit his only World Series home run, off the right-field façade of the hallowed old ballpark.
The day Tony retired in October 2001, the Padres honored him at what is now called Qualcomm Stadium, sending out the greats at each position during his 20 seasons, all played in San Diego. It was Little Tony, who was sent out to center field, a fitting touch. Big Tony moved on to coach the baseball team at his alma mater, San Diego State, a job he still relishes. Little Tony would play for his dad there before the Brewers snatched him in the second round of the 2003 First-Year Player Draft, one pick before the Padres intended to take him.
And now he's off on his own, trying to separate himself from the old man.
"The guys were giving me a hard time after the hit," Little Tony said. "They told me I only need 3,140 to catch him."
The line drew a few laughs. When I told him that those were the kind of things he'd had have to put up with his entire career, he added: "Pretty much, you know. But that's not a bad thing to have to put up with."
Like father, like son. At that age, there was no nicer kid than the elder Tony. He came to the park every day with such ebullience and glee that it was contagious. That love of the game seemed to last every day he played even after he came to understand that baseball is a grueling business.
Likewise, little Tony, sporting a fuzzy goatee on his chin, is soaking it all in. Three at-bats so far in his brief big-league stint, .333. Good start. His dad hit .338 in his career and won eight National League batting titles. Something to shoot far.
In the end, it was time for big hugs all around, but I've always been that kind of person. I wear my emotions on my sleeve, so to speak. Little Tony, little Raphi. In my mind's eye they are still running around the old Days Inn, perpetually 5 years old.

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

Early power not enough against Giants

b2blog@gmail.com (David) — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 18:52:00 +0000

07/19/2006
SAN FRANCISCO -- Derrick Turnbow can't catch a break. Doug Davis knows the feeling.
Turnbow, the Brewers' All-Star closer, suffered his fourth straight blown save and cost the lefty Davis a win for the second straight start, as the Brewers dropped a 7-6 heartbreaker to the Giants on Wednesday at AT&T Park.
For the first time in his Cinderella-type year and a half as the Brewers closer, Turnbow (4-6) didn't want to talk about it.
"I'll talk to you guys tomorrow," Turnbow told a gaggle of reporters. "I have to get myself under control."
Turnbow was reminded that Thursday is an off-day, and it was suggested that Wednesday's loss was as much about poor luck as poor pitching. Turnbow repeated his refusal.
"I can't," he said. "I have to get control."
So do the Brewers, who have lost nine of their last 11 games and have dropped consecutive series at Arizona and San Francisco to start the second half. Carlos Lee, Bill Hall and Gabe Gross all homered in the first three innings for an early 6-2 lead against Matt Morris and the Giants, but Milwaukee's offense shut down, and the lead slowly slipped away.
Davis got the start and worked 6 1/3 innings for the Brewers, and scheduled Saturday starter Dave Bush made a surprise relief appearance in the seventh and eighth, while the Giants cut the deficit to 6-5 entering the bottom of the ninth.
With one out and the bases loaded, Ray Durham hit a two-run single that glanced off Turnbow's glove and past second baseman Rickie Weeks. Had Durham's line drive not glanced off Turnbow's glove, Weeks believes he would have been able to initiate a game-ending double play.
"Easy," Weeks said. "It's just their luck right there. We know [Durham] has speed, but it's unfortunate that the ball hit [Turnbow's] glove and had enough to get to the outfield. ... The first reaction for a pitcher is to go after the ball."
Brian Wilson (1-2) worked the ninth for San Francisco and got his first Major League win. He worked around a two-out double by pinch-hitter Tony Gwynn Jr., the rookie's first Major League hit and the only hit by a Brewer over the final six innings.
Durham finished with four RBIs and Turnbow has not converted a save since June 29.
"Nothing's going right for him," Brewers manager Ned Yost said.
Turnbow was sharp in a non-save outing at Arizona on Sunday, but he was unable to convert his three previous save chances. The ninth inning on Wednesday started with a pinch-hit single by Barry Bonds. Turnbow then struck out Omar Vizquel before Steve Finley bounced a double through the middle of the infield that somehow eluded both Weeks and shortstop Hall.
With runners at second and third base, Turnbow intentionally walked Moises Alou to face Durham.
"There's nothing I can do about it or say about it," said Davis of Turnbow, who happened to suffer his last blown save in Davis' last start. "Even if I could say something, I can speak for everyone in saying that we still have confidence in what he's doing. He's throwing more strikes now, his curveball is getting in there for strikes.
"He's still a competitor. I know the results aren't there, but he's looking better. It was freaky out there today."
Bush echoed those words.
"It would be different if he was getting hit around all over the place," Bush said. "A soft single, a ground-ball double, then a ball off the glove. Those are the games that you can't even worry about. You go through stretches where things aren't going your way, and that was a good example of it."
The Brewers struck early against Morris, a longtime St. Louis Cardinal who entered the game 11-4 against Milwaukee in 19 career appearances. Geoff Jenkins, who scored a pair of runs for Milwaukee, knocked a two-out single before Lee launched his team-best 27th home run this season.
Hall homered leading off the second inning, and Gross hit a three-run shot in the third for a 6-1 Brewers lead. But that was it for the Brewers, who were limited to Gwynn's double and a hit batsman over the final six innings. Morris worked seven innings, allowing six earned runs on seven hits.
The Giants cut the lead to 6-4 against Davis on Durham's two-run homer in the fifth inning, and they trimmed it further on a solo homer by Eliezer Alfonzo off Bush in the eighth. Bush, pitching because right-handed reliever Jose Capellan developed a sore shoulder after his outing on Sunday in Arizona, started last Sunday in Arizona and is scheduled to start again on Saturday at Cincinnati on an extra day's rest.
"We like curveballs over sliders against those guys," Yost said. "We figured we'd let Bush throw a 25-pitch outing to substitute for a side day."
Capellan "should be fine" for the start of a series in Cincinnati on Friday, according to Yost. Bush knew on Tuesday night that he would likely be called into duty.

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

Thirty years ago, homer king hit his last

b2blog@gmail.com (David) — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 18:51:00 +0000

07/19/2006
MILWAUKEE -- At the time, it was just another day, just another home run.
Thirty years ago, July 20, 1976, the greatest home run hitter of them all, Hank Aaron, hit his last.
It was a significant moment in baseball history, but no one knew at the time. Ask a baseball fan old enough to recall where he or she was when Aaron hit No. 715 in 1974, eclipsing Babe Ruth for the all-time home run record, and the answer probably comes quickly.
But this is a story of a moment that didn't start out significantly at all. Its key characters remember so little about the actual home run it's almost as if it never happened. In fact, it took several months for anyone to realize that home run No. 755 might be notable.
It's notable now. As Giants outfielder Barry Bonds slugs his way closer and closer to Aaron's mark, Aaron's final home run is back in the spotlight 30 years after he hit it.
"Records are made to be broken," Aaron told MLB.com at the 2004 All-Star Game, when all living members of the 500-homer club gathered. "You know, I broke Babe Ruth's record. Barry can break mine. Somebody else could probably come along and break his.
"I'm not hung up on records. My career is over with, done with. I'm not going to hit any more home runs."
Repeated attempts to contact Aaron to comment on the 30th anniversary of his historic homer were unsuccessful.
No. 755
None of the 10,134 fans in attendance for a midsummer game between the last-place Brewers and last-place California Angels knew on that July day in 1976 that the home run would be Aaron's last. How could they? With 76 games remaining on the schedule, it seemed impossible that the last long ball by Aaron would land only few rows past the left-field wall at Milwaukee's County Stadium.
The journey of home run No. 755 began in the way most of the 754 prior ones had.
Angels' relief pitcher Dick Drago, working in his fourth inning of relief, was starting to wear down in the seventh. After George Scott hit a two-run home run, Aaron stepped to the plate. Drago got Aaron out on a fastball in their previous at-bat, but this time, he started with a slider.
It hung. Aaron turned on it.
755. The last.
The Brewers went on to win the game, 6-2, and moved to within 18 1/2 games of the first-place Yankees in the American League East. By all standards, it was an insignificant contest and just another game in the last season of a titan of the sport, save for that one moment.
Return to Milwaukee
Flashback almost two years. The 40-year-old Aaron had just finished his ninth season in Atlanta, home of the Braves since they left Milwaukee in 1966. Aaron saw his home run production get cut in half from 40 to 20 in 1974. He wanted a change of scenery.
That's when a close friend of Aaron's and one of the owners of the Brewers at the time, Bud Selig, saw an opportunity to bring Aaron back to the place his Major League career started.
During the 1974 World Series, Selig flew down to Atlanta to make sure Aaron wanted to return to the city he spent his first 12 seasons.
"It was a long process," said Selig, now the Commissioner of Major League Baseball. "I talked with Bill Bartholomay, who was the Chairman of Braves, and I knew Hank wanted out of Atlanta. I was mostly anxious because the Brewers needed a shot in the arm."
Selig talked with Bartholomay several more times, eventually meeting him halfway between Chicago and Milwaukee to hammer out a trade. On Nov. 2, 1974, Aaron was traded from Atlanta to Milwaukee for outfielder Dave May -- an All-Star in 1973 -- and a player to be named later.
"It was a stunning deal," Selig said. "It was exciting. It was great. For Hank it was a great sense coming home. He was happy and he had really fond memories in Milwaukee. He loved Atlanta, but for him it was like coming home."
For 19-year-old Brewers shortstop Robin Yount, the deal was stunning as well. Two years prior, Yount was in a high school science classroom. Now, he would be in the same lineup as a future Hall of Famer.
"When I first heard we were getting Henry Aaron, I mean, Hank was going to be on our team," Yount said. "I thought, 'Wow, I get to play with the home run king!' I thought this was going to be pretty cool, and it was."
The anticipation for Aaron's return to Milwaukee built for months, climaxing in an electric Opening Day to start the 1975 season.
Selig and Aaron, sitting in the dugout like two friends about to embark on a long journey, could only think of one thing to say as a crowd of 48,160 filed into the stadium.
"He just looked at me and I looked at him and he just said, 'Wow,' and I said the same thing," Selig remembered. "It was an emotional day."
As Aaron took to the field, the sounds of "Hello, Dolly" rang in the air, only the words had been changed to "Hello, Hank." It was all part of "Welcome Home, Henry" day, in which Milwaukee defeated Cleveland, 6-2, in Aaron's return.
The return of Aaron was the prescription the ailing Brewers needed in attendance, as they set a record with over 1.2 million fans that season. On the field, though, it was clear Aaron's best days were behind him. The 41-year-old slugger managed to hit only .234, with 20 home runs and 60 RBIs in his first season back. In 1976, his statistics didn't get any better, with Aaron hitting .229.
Lasting legacy
His numbers pale in comparison with the influence Aaron wielded over the Brewers' young core of Yount, Don Money, Jim Gantner and especially outfielder Gorman Thomas.
Thomas, a young but brash player who would later become one of the most beloved Brewers of all time, said it was easy to see the influence Aaron had on his career.
"He's the classiest guy I think I ever met in baseball," said Thomas, who still lives in Milwaukee and serves as a sort of club ambassador. "He would tell me how a guy would pitch me, or little tells that the pitcher was doing that would indicate what he would throw. Off the field he's quiet, always caries himself with class. This man is nothing but class."
Although Aaron was generally a quiet leader in his final two seasons in Milwaukee, his sense of humor didn't get lost on the young team, or a man never shy in telling a story like Thomas.
"I actually played a couple of games with him in the outfield," Thomas said. "He called timeout and he said 'Gorman, you got line-to-line out here today, both gaps. It's all your responsibility.' I thought it was funny as hell."
Yount said it was refreshing to see Aaron carry himself the way he did, which then rubbed off on the young shortstop.
"I learned so much about how to be a person and how to deal with everything," Yount said. "He made you feel like baseball wasn't all that big a deal. It's what we do. It was really neat to see the greatest player of our time act like that. That's what I appreciated the most about him."
Six years after Aaron retired, Yount and Thomas were two of the major reasons why the Brewers advanced all the way to the 1982 World Series, the lone Series appearance in franchise history. Both credited Aaron's influence as a reason why they were so successful on and off the field.
A legend hangs 'em up
With Aaron's skills in obvious decline, he decided to retire after the 1976 season and on Oct. 3, Aaron suited up for the final time. His last-at bat came in the sixth inning, and somehow Aaron legged out an infield single. On the play, he also drove in his 2,297th and final run, another all-time record.
Brewers manager Alex Grammas then sent in the rookie infielder Gantner to pinch-run. Aaron took the first steps toward retirement to a standing ovation. He walked off the field as the last Negro Leagues player to also play in the Major Leagues.
"It's an amazing arc," said Raymond Doswell, curator of the Negro League Baseball Hall of Fame. "His experience encompasses the hopes of so many other black baseball players. It's just an amazing story to a lot of people if you think.
"At that period you're starting to see this arc of black baseball players being involved in baseball. After that, the numbers start to slowly go down. It marked the end of an era in baseball history that was really important."
Years after Aaron's retirement, Drago realized he had the dubious distinction of being the man who gave up Aaron's last home run.
"It came up somewhere in some trivia thing or something I read," Drago said. "After that I kind of used it as trivia and nobody knew the answer [even though] I was asking the question."
If Bonds passes Aaron's mark, someone else will be a trivia answer.

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

Sheets strong in outing at Omaha

b2blog@gmail.com (David) — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 18:47:00 +0000

07/20/2006
SAN FRANCISCO -- The Brewers are among a number of teams considering making Toronto an offer for embattled third baseman Shea Hillenbrand, but it might be a long shot.
The Brewers are thin at third in the wake of injuries to shortstop J.J. Hardy, who is having season-ending ankle surgery on Thursday, and third baseman Corey Koskie, who is back in Milwaukee and sidelined indefinitely with post-concussion syndrome. But one of Hillenbrand's problems with the Blue Jays was his playing time, and the Brewers may not be able to promise him anything.
"I've got people studying it," said Brewers general manager Doug Melvin, who planned to meet with assistant GM Gord Ash later Thursday in Charleston, S.C., to see one of Milwaukee's Class A affiliates. "We're trying to figure out if Koskie's status has changed any."
That's the complicated part. Koskie, acquired from the Blue Jays in January, was having a fine season for Milwaukee before he suffered a minor concussion playing defense on July 5. The team figured he would miss a few days, but symptoms persisted to the point that the team sent Koskie back to Milwaukee to "rest his brain" as manager Ned Yost put it -- no television, no video games, no reading. He could return in a few days -- or a few weeks.
"You can get somebody like [Hillenbrand], but if Koskie comes back, you've got a problem on your hands," Melvin said.
Koskie and Hillenbrand both play third base and first base, and Jeff Cirillo plays first, second and third (he could play shortstop, but only in a pinch). Melvin worries that having all three on the roster would create a numbers problem.
"You can't only look at what it does for you today," Melvin said. "You have to look at what it does for you tomorrow. Will the player be happy? If Koskie is out until September, then, yeah, we would do that. But we don't know."
The Blue Jays designated Hillenbrand for assignment Wednesday night after he refused to sit in the dugout with his teammates after he was chastised during a team meeting. He reportedly was upset because he wasn't in the starting lineup for the second consecutive game and nobody in Toronto's front office congratulated him on adopting a child last weekend. Toronto has 10 days to trade Hillenbrand or release him, and with other teams like the Angels and Padres showing interest, a trade is likely.
Does Melvin worry about character issues?
"I've heard good things about Hillenbrand," Melvin said. "This sounds like a personal problem with the manager."
Hillenbrand is hitting .301 with 12 homers and 39 RBIs. He had cooled in June and July, batting .246 with five home runs and 14 RBIs. There is also a debate within Brewers circles about Hillenbrand's propensity to hit into double plays.
The Padres released 39-year-old veteran third baseman Vinny Castilla on Wednesday, but he "doesn't do anything for us," Melvin said.
The Brewers have lost nine of their last 11 games, including an especially tough one on Thursday, when they blew a 6-1 lead and lost in the bottom of the ninth on closer Derrick Turnbow's fourth straight blown save.
"We just have to get consistent overall," Melvin said. "There's nothing hurting us more on our club than the overall consistency."

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

Mailbag: Who to watch this spring

b2blog@gmail.com (David) — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 17:52:00 +0000

02/20/2006
I'm going out to Arizona for a week and plan to go to a few Spring Training games. Who are some of the "dark horse" players who could earn a roster spot?-- Erik M., Racine, Wis.
Zach Sorensen's name keeps coming up as a favorite of some Brewers scouts. Sorensen can play three infield and three outfield positions, and he also has going for him the fact that he was a Doug Melvin waiver claim. Melvin is on an incredible streak of finding gems on the wire after the success of Derrick Turnbow and Scott Podsednik. It also may be too early to count out Nelson Cruz, who has a chance to open some eyes with a strong Spring Training.
In terms of pitchers, Mike Adams reported to camp on a mission, admitting he let up a bit after being handed the closer job last spring. He will push hard to prove he deserves a second chance. Right-hander Dennis Sarfate is also a player to watch; even if he does not make the roster, he could get a look for the bullpen and is considered very close to being ready to pitch in the Major Leagues.
Look for more dark horses to emerge this week. Right now, the pitchers are throwing only at about 80 percent, and the hitters do not formally report until this weekend. Everyone will start to ramp it up as time goes by.
Could you compare prospects Corey Hart and Cruz? In my opinion, Cruz has a lot better arm and is more valuable in the outfield. What are your thoughts?-- Josh Z., West Salem, Wis.
Cruz does have a better arm, but Hart is more advanced and may still have work to do in the Minor Leagues. He was the organization's Minor League player of the year last season, but he split the season between Double-A Huntsville and Triple-A Nashville. Hart put together a solid Triple-A season, and barring injury, he will make the Brewers' Opening Day roster.
Are the Brewers going to address the catcher position? It seems to be the weak link right now.-- Rich, Oshkosh, Wis.
As I've written previously, the numbers do not bear out that Brewers catchers are a weak link. Damian Miller and Chad Moeller combined to rank 13th of 30 Major League teams in catchers' OPS (.710 -- or .001 lower than the Yankees). Yes, Miller was disappointed with his performance with runners in scoring position, and Moeller is not happy with his poor batting average, but the team believes very strongly their familiarity with Ben Sheets & Co. is a huge plus that is not easily translated into numbers.
Bottom line: Melvin and manager Ned Yost have talked about the catching tandem since they arrived in Phoenix, and the Brewers are more than happy with their duo.
I am disturbed at the recent news that the Brewers won't be adding anyone to their Walk of Fame this year. I understand their reasoning and concern that at some point they may run out of players, but, for instance, George Bamberger is absent and he was the first winning manager in Brewers history and, along with Harry Dalton, helped craft a Brewers team that became formidable American League opponents for the next years to come.-- Ryan K., Watertown, Wis.
The Brewers changed the voting system this year, and no one appeared on the required 75 percent of ballots to join the 12 former players and club officials already in the Walk of Fame. I think that's a shame because there are plenty of qualified candidates.
Bamberger most certainly was on my ballot. Before Bamberger was hired for the 1978 season the fledgling Brewers had never done better than 76 wins; they won 93 that first year and 95 in 1979 before Bamberger decided to retire after heart surgery limited his 1980 season. He returned for a couple of forgettable seasons from 1985-1986.
Bamberger is the third-winningest manager in club history, but his legacy with the team goes beyond that. His players, including Gorman Thomas and Larry Hisle, have told me that Bamberger's style had a lot to do with those "Bambi's Bombers" teams being so loose and so good. He passed away last April, and it would have been nice to see him honored at Miller Park this summer. I will vote for him again next year.
Mike Caldwell also should not have to wait, in my opinion. He posted club records for a starting pitcher with 22 wins and a 2.36 ERA in 1978, and he ranks second on the club's all-time wins and winning percentage lists.
Do you think the Brewers will sign Sammy Sosa to take over Russ Branyan's power pinch-hitting role?-- Jon D., Luxemburg, Wis.
No way. When the Brewers look at free agents, they almost always are looking for players who fit into a plan for this season and beyond, and Sosa certainly does not fit that mold. Also, why would Sosa be inclined to sign with the Brewers to sit on the bench? It appears that he simply will retire if he does not find a job offering everyday duties.
The Brewers might not have a true slugger off the bench, but Bill Hall and Gabe Gross have some pop, and Corey Koskie will get a break now and then and represents another option.
Though all are important, which would you consider the most important thing for the Brewers to seriously contend this year: Ben Sheets to stay healthy, Geoff Jenkins and Carlos Lee to hit well at the same time, Chris Capuano repeating 2005 or the bullpen getting to Turnbow?-- Nate S., Mequon, Wis.
To me, Sheets' health is the key to taking the next step. He is entering the prime of his career and is due to break his streak of 10-12 win seasons.
Do you think the Brewers' objections to Sheets involvement in the World Baseball Classic affected his not being selected, or was there simply not enough room for him behind the rest of Team USA's great staff?-- Nile S., Milwaukee
Sheets says he pulled out on his own because he did not want to take up a spot unless he was 100 percent sure of his health. At this point, he could not make that guarantee.
I want to find out what happened to Chris Saenz? I watched the one game on MLB.com that he pitched in 2004 against St. Louis (six innings, two hits, no runs) and haven't seen his name since. Is he still in the Brewers' system?-- Cuthbert T., Sacramento, Calif.
Saenz missed 2005 after undergoing Tommy John surgery and was non-tendered, but he re-signed a Minor League contract for 2006. Those guys have already started trickling into the Minor League complex here at Maryvale Baseball Park.
If I'm not mistaken, Doug Davis is a free agent after the 2006 season. Are the Brewers negotiating an extension?-- Steve T., Milwaukee
Davis' contract is up after this season, but he actually has one more year of salary arbitration eligibility before being eligible for free agency. Melvin said the Brewers have not yet had any discussions about an extension.
Any word on how the Brewers' fantasy football league went?-- David J., University Hts., Ohio
Turnbow loaded up on wide receivers instead of running backs and was the 2005 champion. He bought a huge trophy that has been sitting in front of Jenkins' locker, and Jenkins, the '04 champion who has not reported to camp yet, likely will not be happy with Turnbow's hot-dogging.

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

Notes: Capuano to add cutter to arsenal

b2blog@gmail.com (David) — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 17:51:00 +0000

02/21/2006
PHOENIX -- After a breakthrough, 18-win season, Chris Capuano does not have to worry about winning a roster spot. He has time to tinker.
So within the next two weeks, after he builds back his arm strength and gets his legs under him, Capuano plans to join what seems like a hoard of Brewers pitchers working on a cut fastball.
"I won't want to work on a new pitch before I feel good with my other pitches," he said following Day 3 of mandatory workouts for Brewers pitchers and catchers. "I expect in the next two weeks to start playing around with it."
Why has the "cutter" become such a popular pitch in Milwaukee?
"Mostly because guys have had success with it," Capuano said. "[Pitching coach Mike] Maddux used to have success with it. Doug Davis has had a lot of success with it. Tomo [Ohka] throws it. We've all seen that it can be an effective pitch for a lot of guys."
It's also a relatively easy pitch to learn, Capuano said. When thrown well by a left-handed pitcher, a cut fastball has late action inside on right-handed hitters and away from lefties.
Davis has enjoyed great success with a "back-door" cutter, a pitch that starts off the plate away from right-handed hitters and then breaks back over the corner.
"It's not a whole lot different from throwing a regular fastball," Capuano said. "It's not like a split-fingered [fastball] or something else that is typically rough on the arm. ... I just want to mess around with it and see if it helps."
Capuano was 18-12 last season with a 3.99 ERA. The last Brewer to win at least 18 times was Teddy Higuera in 1987.
Moving forward: Pitching prospect Manny Parra is ramping up his rehabilitation and hopes to resume throwing early next week.
Parra, one of the team's top left-handed prospects, has not thrown a baseball since the second week in January but is scheduled to see Dr. William Raasch on Saturday. Parra hopes Raasch gives the go-ahead to resume workouts.
"It's kind of hard right now because we're out there doing [fielding] drills and I'm the only one not throwing," Parra said. "But at the same time, I have to remember that this way is probably smarter."
He can't throw. He can't lift weights. He couldn't even join roommate and fellow pitching prospect Mike Jones for a round of golf Tuesday.
Parra was limited to 16 starts at Double-A Huntsville last season and underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery last August. He had been throwing successfully before the Major League Baseball Players Association Rookie Career Development Program in mid-January. But after resuming workouts, Parra felt some discomfort in his shoulder and was shut down.
"We're just letting things calm down," he said. "When I get back throwing, my goal is to be totally healthy for a whole season -- no setbacks."
Time off: Brewers bullpen coach Bill Castro will travel on April 2 to Kissimmee, Fla., along with other members of the Dominican Republic's entry into the World Baseball Classic.
Castro has been asked to serve as the team's pitching coach under manager Manny Acta and is anxious to assemble a staff. The Dominican squad plays first-round games in Orlando and enters the tournament as one of the favorites.
Castro also said that Brewers left-hander Jorge De La Rosa will be on Team Mexico's final roster when it is announced. De La Rosa is on Mexico's provisional roster, but the nation has yet to announce its final 30-man squad.
Higuera is expected to serve as a coach for Mexico.
Plugging away: There were no major developments during the Brewers' workout on Tuesday, and that was just fine with manager Ned Yost. He calls the first week, "boring, fundamental work."
In past seasons, Brewers hitters who reported early would take batting practice off Brewers pitchers, who were told to throw at about 80 percent of full strength. This year, that will not happen until the second week of camp.
"Hitters don't like it," Yost said. "They'd rather get their feet underneath them and work into [hitting] off of coaches."
Hit him up: Yost will answer questions in an online chat at MilwaukeeBrewers.com on Thursday afternoon at 3 p.m. CT. Fans must be registered ahead of time to participate.
Is he next? Teammates have already told newcomer Zach Sorensen about the Brewers' success with waiver claims.
The team plucked Sorensen away from the Angels on Nov. 18, and he will compete for a job as a backup infielder and outfielder. Last year the Brewers found waiver-wire success with closer Derrick Turnbow, who also came from the Angels, and before that it was center fielder Scott Podsednik, who came from the Mariners.
"If they picked you it means they want you around," Sorensen said. "I look at it as a good thing."

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

Krynzel eager to redeem himself

b2blog@gmail.com (David) — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 17:50:00 +0000

02/21/2006
PHOENIX -- One of the Brewers' top outfield prospects made a huge mistake last winter. He fessed up to the Brewers, and now he's ready to fess up to his fans.
"I thought I was doing what was right," said 24-year-old Dave Krynzel. "I look back now, I was wrong.
"I've apologized, and that's going to go as far as I can throw a rock. Right now, that's not very far."
That's because Krynzel, a former first-round draft pick and one of the organization's fastest baserunners, underwent surgery in January to repair a broken collarbone. He was injured in a motorcycle accident in November but sought private medical care. Two months later, when the bone failed to heal itself, Krynzel was forced to seek help.
It was a major setback for a player already coming off one of his poorest professional seasons, and Krynzel knows it.
"It was a hobby of mine, a passion," he said. "I love speed, the adrenaline rush, the excitement of it. That's me all the way.
"I was being ignorant, not realizing what I had. [Baseball] is much more than some other little passion I've got. This is my life. I live for this."
Brewers assistant general manager Gord Ash, the team's point man on injuries, said he and GM Doug Melvin planned to sit down with Krynzel to lay out the team's expectations.
For now, he still has a locker in the Major League clubhouse at Maryvale Baseball Park, but after undergoing his regular preseason physical on Saturday, Krynzel has moved his rehabilitation to the Minor League complex.
He has been working with new Brewers Minor League physical therapist Kenny Patterson on range of motion exercises, and assuming things go well, Krynzel is on track to resume baseball activities by the second week in March.
"Timing is everything, and this was a pivotal year because we were on the lookout for exactly what he is: a guy that can play center field, who can run a little bit," Ash said. "Now he's not in that mix because he's not in the first part of camp. The other guys will get a jump on him.
"Can he overcome it? Yes. I've seen players in the past who have fallen out of favor and have come back to be a great success."
According to Ash, had Krynzel reported the injury right away and received proper medical care, he would have been healthy by now and in the running for a spot on the Brewers' bench. Now, Krynzel is ticketed for a return to Triple-A.
"I'm lucky that Milwaukee still wants me," Krynzel said. "I have a very, very, great, big opportunity in front of me. I am the first to say that I am going to work my [tail] off to make the most of it."
Krynzel told his story this week for the first time.
After four or five years riding motorcycles, he considers himself an intermediate rider. But this year, Krynzel made a decision to stop riding on the streets of Las Vegas, where he makes his offseason home, ironically because he felt they were unsafe.
One night in November he paid $20 to enter a winding, paved track usually used for go-karts. Riding a 125cc sports bike, Krynzel started the first few laps slowly, but he began accelerating as he became more comfortable.
"I started learning the mechanics of it a little bit," he said. "I was really whipping around corners, passing people. It was such a rush, but at the same time, it was so dangerous. I liked that, at the time."
Coming out of one of those turns, he crashed. Krynzel said he does not remember any of the details of the actual tumble -- only the tremendous impact as he hit the asphalt.
"I've been hit in the head by baseballs and I've hit [outfield] walls as hard as possible," he said. "That was nothing like this."
Krynzel believes the leather jacket, helmet and pads he was wearing saved his life. He struggled to his feet and was helped off the course but refused offers for an ambulance. His girlfriend drove Krynzel to the hospital.
That's when he made the pivotal decision to seek his own care. Krynzel said an orthopedic surgeon advised him that the broken right clavicle would heal itself given time. But it did not, and as a required Brewers physical approached in January, it became clear to Krynzel he would have to alert club officials.
Tests revealed that the injury was not healing because tissue was pinned between the broken bone. He flew to Milwaukee for surgery, during which Dr. William Raasch essentially re-broke the bone and set it in place with a metal plate. Rehabilitation was expected to take eight weeks.
"I'm very lucky," Krynzel said. "It was definitely a wakeup call. If that's what it took for me to change, so be it. No one ever slapped me in the face and said, 'This is the way it's got to be.'"
Because Krynzel is not on a guaranteed Major League contract, he did not technically break the rules by riding a mini-bike, according to Ash. The team has not taken any disciplinary action.
Krynzel's troubles did not begin on that speed bike. The last player cut out of camp after a strong 2005 Spring Training, Krynzel made a brief appearance with the Brewers in June, but otherwise he slumped through a personally disappointing season.
The Triple-A Nashville team won the Pacific Coast League Championship, but Krynzel batted .256, including .247 as the leadoff hitter, and he struck out 138 times. Considered an excellent defensive player, he also committed 10 errors.
"I'm sure he didn't like his performance offensively, and defensively he was not the same player as he was in the past," said Triple-A manager Frank Kremblas, who has coached Krynzel at the Double-A and Triple-A levels since 2002. "He lost confidence at times."
"There were flashes of Dave being Dave," teammate Brad Nelson said. "He would really get it going for a few days or weeks, but he couldn't keep it going."
In July, Krynzel left the team without permission for several days, but Ash said the reasons were confidential. He did not appear in a game with the Sounds from July 15-23.
"He does have a lot going on in his head, but that's why we have people like Tim Hewes," Ash said, referring to the director of the team's employee assistance program. "They can help resolve some of that. [A player] has to compartmentalize when he is on the field.
"There is a long list of players who have significant talent but do not make it to the Major Leagues because of other issues," Ash continued. "Hopefully, Dave is not one of those guys. It is far too early to say that he is."
Said Kremblas: "The first step in improvement [is] standing up like a man and dealing with it. I think that's what Dave is doing."
Brewers manager Ned Yost's own son, Josh, suffered a broken collarbone last week while riding a skateboard at a park in Phoenix. Yost said Krynzel will get a chance to redeem himself.
"David's hurt right now. He can't mix in to what we're going to do, so he'll rehab as hard as he has been working to get himself back," Yost said. "There is no more to it than that. Accidents happen. Things happen.
"And I can see from his end of it that you don't want to tell anyone about it. It's a scary thing, and you think that you can get it healed before anyone knows about it. He felt that way, and he made a mistake."
Krynzel knows he will have to hit and run his way out of the doghouse.
"That's all that's left for me to do," he said. "If you guys want to see a turnaround, it's going to be this year. I can't say what I'm going to hit [or] how many bases I'm going to steal, but you'll see a big difference."
He also plans to sell his bikes.
"It's not worth it," Krynzel said. "I've reprioritized my life, with baseball being No. 1. Finally."

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

Brewers counting on Turnbow

b2blog@gmail.com (David) — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 17:49:00 +0000

02/22/2006
PHOENIX -- Bushy-haired Brewers closer Derrick Turnbow did a national television interview Tuesday that had one of his teammates rolling.
"I was cracking up the whole time," said Brewers newcomer Jason Kershner. "He actually said, 'Preesh.'"
That's Turnbowese for, "I appreciate your kind sentiments." There's also the rapid-fire "Whaddup-whaddup," Turnbow's favorite greeting and the basis of his clubhouse champion fantasy football team's name. And while most people might simply say, "Yes," Turnbow goes with, "Believe it."
It sometimes gets confusing because the Tennessean tends to slur his words more than the two-fisted slobber on the old scoreboard at County Stadium. When that happens, fellow reliever Matt Wise steps in as translator.
"He's one of my best friends and it's cool to know that he's not going to change," said Wise, who first met Turnbow when they were teammates with the Angels and does a spot-on impression. "He's going to be the same guy."
The Brewers hope so.
They plucked Turnbow off waivers from the Angels and he shocked himself and everyone else by emerging as the closer and saving 39 games, tying the club record. He won his last seven decisions and his 1.74 ERA was fourth-best of regular Major League relievers behind Mariano Rivera, Billy Wagner and Huston Street.
Turnbow was named the Brewers' pitcher of the year, tied Carlos Lee for top newcomer honors and won a legion of fans in Milwaukee.
Did he ever see it coming?
"Not a chance," Turnbow said this week at Maryvale Baseball Park. "I was just hoping to be in the big leagues. I never expected to be anywhere close to where I'm at. I just have to keep working hard and just keep it going as long as possible."
Turnbow extended a hot streak for Brewers general manager Doug Melvin and assistant GM Gord Ash. Scott Podsednik, selected off waivers from the Mariners, was the first, followed by Brady Clark (Mets) and Turnbow. All have blossomed into big-league regulars.
That doesn't mean Melvin could have envisioned Turnbow's dramatic step forward.
"We took some chances [at the 2004 Winter Meetings] trading Danny Kolb and Luis Vizcaino, both our closer and setup guy, and a great story came out of it with Derrick Turnbow," Melvin said. "We can't sit here and say we knew that was going to happen."
Turnbow reported to Spring Training last year as a relative unknown. The Brewers knew he could throw hard, but finally harnessed his command under the tutelage of Brewers pitching coach Mike Maddux and bullpen coach Bill Castro.
He eliminated jerky hand movement in his delivery and found a consistent release point. He learned a slide step. As the year progressed, he developed a devastating slider.
By mid-April, Brewers manager Ned Yost had lost some confidence in right-hander Mike Adams, who was supposed to be the closer. He needed a new closer, and turned to Turnbow on April 24 at San Francisco.
"I was in a daze, but at the same time I knew what the situation was," Turnbow says now. "It was the first time that I had felt pressure like that. I'm not going to lie. But like every first, you just have to get through it and try to learn something from it.
"It's something where either a guy can deal with it or he can't deal with it. Fortunately, I can deal with it pretty well."
At the time, Turnbow had 11 Minor League saves but none in 44 career relief appearances since 2000. He took quickly to the new role, saving 39 of 43 opportunities for the Brewers.
"He's a special guy," Castro said. "He got the chance and went ahead and took advantage of it. It's unbelievable what he's done."
"I seriously think he should have gotten some consideration for the Cy Young [Award]," said Wise. "Maybe I'm biased because I'm a teammate and he's a good friend of mine, but he was dominating."
Turnbow's goal this spring is to "continue doing what I'm doing." But there were a few changes; he was married on Nov. 7 in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and he did not start a throwing program until the first week in December. He is tinkering this spring with a move from the first base side of the pitching rubber to the third base side, looking for more plate coverage with his slider.
For the first time in his career, he heads into the season entrenched as a closer. Wise and the newly re-acquired Kolb (who shares the franchise saves record with Turnbow) likely will set up Turnbow, leaving three or four open spots in what should be another solid Brewers bullpen.
"It makes you a little more relaxed because you know your role, but at the same time it adds a little more pressure," Turnbow said. "There is pressure to repeat, no question about it."

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

Notes: Trio works with infield coaches

b2blog@gmail.com (David) — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 17:48:00 +0000

02/22/2006
PHOENIX -- A multi-positional group of players that includes Corey Hart, Brad Nelson and Vinny Rottino has been logging overtime at Maryvale Baseball Park.
The trio has been working late with new infield coaches Robin Yount and Dale Sveum; Hart and Nelson at first base and Rottino at third.
"It's coming back," said Hart, who was originally drafted as a first baseman but later was moved to third base and then the outfield. "It takes a little while to get the feel for the bounces again. But I'm definitely on the way."
His versatility should help him out this season. Hart has an inside track for a bench spot for the Brewers and could see action at five different positions.
Nelson was also drafted as a first baseman before moving to the outfield, but is expected to replace Prince Fielder as the first baseman at Triple-A Nashville. Rottino, a Wisconsin native, is in camp as a catcher but could play all over the diamond at Nashville or Double-A Huntsville this season.
Hart was a high school shortstop, so he has an idea defensively. He has been especially excited to work with Yount, the former Brewers shortstop and center fielder who re-joined the Brewers this season as bench coach.
"Anything he says is good advice," Hart said.
Yount was hired as the Brewers' bench coach over the winter and Sveum as third base coach, but both former Brewers are serving as co-infield instructors.
Staying put: For now, Bill Hall is taking only his infielder's glove out to the practice fields. Eventually he will take balls in center field, and like Hart expects to see action at a number of different positions this season.
"Right now, I want him to get accustomed to working with Robin and Dale," manager Ned Yost said. "This is kind of a period where I want Robin and Dale to really observe and see what they've got."
Yost says he has not yet worked out how Hall and Corey Koskie will split time at third base, but Koskie is projected by most observers as the starter.
Progress: Ben Sheets is on the same throwing program as the rest of the pitchers in camp, and has not experienced any setbacks in his rehabilitation from a torn muscle behind his right shoulder.
Sheets threw a five-minute side session and 10 minutes of batting practice on Wednesday and is "right on schedule," Yost said.
The Brewers' ace finished 2005 on the disabled list because of a torn latissimus dorsi muscle.
Bobblehead alert: The team released its promotion schedule on Wednesday in advance of this weekend, when single-game tickets go on sale for all 81 home games.
The list includes six games at which all fans will receive a bobblehead or wooden "nesting" doll. Closer Derrick Turnbow -- complete with his trademark wild hair -- will be featured as the first bobblehead doll, and Damian Miller, Cecil Cooper and Yount will also be featured.
On July 30, the Brewers will give away a unique nesting doll featuring the young infielders Hall, Fielder, J.J. Hardy and Rickie Weeks.
Tickets for Brewers home games can be purchased starting this Saturday at 9 a.m. CT online at MilwaukeeBrewers.com, at the Miller Park Box Office, and by calling the Brewers at (414) 902-4000 or 1-800-933-7890. Tickets are also available and at all Tickets.com outlets.
Air time: The club also announced that 125 games will be broadcast on Fox Sports Net North during the regular season. Thirteen Sunday home games will also air on the Spanish-language Telemundo.
"With ratings up 43 percent last year, it is clear that there is an even greater appetite for Milwaukee Brewers baseball on television," FSN North vice president and general manager Mike Dimond said in a statement.
The Brewers radio network will broadcast all 162 regular-season games, plus 12 Spring Training games.
Cactus League games not carried on WTMJ (excluding split-squad action against the A's on March 3 and the Giants on March 19) will be available to fans via an online webcast. Fans must purchase a 2006 Gameday Audio subscription for access to Daron Sutton's webcast call.

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

Notes: Prospect Jones turning heads

b2blog@gmail.com (David) — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 17:46:00 +0000

02/23/2006
PHOENIX -- Former first-round draft pick Mike Jones impressed Brewers manager Ned Yost on Thursday, but he knows he has a long road ahead.
Jones, a right-hander who has not pitched in a Minor League game since June 2004 because of a shoulder injury, threw 35 pitches in batting practice to a group that included outfielder Gabe Gross.
Jones was all smiles immediately following the workout, but he later expressed a more reserved outlook toward his rehabilitation.
"I still didn't feel quite like I remember," said Jones, who underwent surgery in October 2004 and again in April 2005, but is still just 22 years old. "Going through this whole process, I just get tired of feeling [bad]. I want to feel good. I want to feel like I could pitch here. I want to just let it go."
Yost was more impressed.
"Today was the first day I saw loose life out of his arm," said Yost, who stood near home plate for Jones' session. "It was impressive to see. I was really glad to see that life was still there."
Jones said that he is on track to start the season at Class A Brevard County in the Florida State League, where large rosters will allow the team to keep him on a strict pitch count in 2006.
He has thrown at least four batting practice sessions already this spring, and his medical outlook so far is good. The Brewers already have Jones on an every-five-days schedule, with a short bullpen session in between.
"This year is just to get healthy," Jones said. "I've missed a year and a half, and I need a full season of pitching and staying off the DL before I start worrying about anything else."
In 59 Minor League games, including 57 starts, Jones is 19-14 with a 3.03 ERA. He has 243 strikeouts versus 132 walks and has surrendered just eight home runs in 293 2/3 innings.
"I'm going to get there -- it just gets old," Jones said. "Everybody's watching me, keeping an eye on me. I just want to get healthy."
Nothing for granted: Reliever Matt Wise knows that he has a good thing going. He has posted a 3.85 ERA in 79 games over the last two seasons with the Brewers, and over the winter, he was rewarded with a two-year, $1.7 million contract.
Wise led Brewers pitchers with a .160 opponents' batting average last season, but he missed much of last August and September with shoulder fatigue.
Wise underwent more physical therapy and increased his weight regimen over the winter, and he did not begin a throwing program until Jan. 1. He attended the team's pre-Spring Training minicamp and worked out with strength and conditioning coordinator Dan Wright.
"The goal was to build more strength in my shoulder," Wise said.
After missing all of 2003 following Tommy John surgery, Wise did not exactly find teams lining up to sign him.
"The Brewers were the only legitimate offer I had, so I was ecstatic to come here," Wise said.
Follow the rules: Count his teammates among those who can't wait for Derrick Turnbow bobblehead day at Miller Park on May 13.
Turnbow's likeness will come complete with his trademark bushy hair, which begged a question: What on Earth would Turnbow do if he played for the New York Yankees?
The Yankees forbid long hair and apparently a lot of other things, evidenced by a rulebook that looks like the baseball version of War and Peace. Yost got his hands on a copy and compared it to the two pages of rules distributed to Milwaukee players when they arrived in camp.
"But I've got different things that I don't allow my teams to do that they do, I'm sure," Yost said.
One of Yost's biggest pet peeves is pregame music in the clubhouse, and he also does not allow anything on the stereo system postgame that contains profanities. Otherwise, the Brewers' rules are straightforward.
Rule No. 1: Be on time. Others set standards for things like dress code, card playing and curfews.
"It's common sense," Yost said. "Set some structure and discipline with common sense rules that treat men like men, and let's go. This ain't kindergarten."
Rewarded: Shortstop J.J. Hardy agreed to terms on a 2006 contract this week that included a nice little bonus. According to a source, he signed for $355,000, a $38,000 bump from last season and $26,000 more than this year's Major League minimum.
"I was surprised when I first heard what they offered," Hardy said. "I was really happy. They don't have to do that."
Brewers general manager Doug Melvin and assistant GM Gord Ash have traditionally rewarded players not yet eligible for salary arbitration for good seasons. Three such players remain unsigned for 2006: pitchers Mike Adams and Chris Capuano and infielder Bill Hall.
The team is considering a multi-year offer for Hall, who will be eligible for arbitration after the upcoming season.
Already? Brewers Spring Training games will begin next Thursday, March 2, with split-squad matchups against the Giants and at the Angels. Ticket sales are up at Maryvale Baseball Park, but seats remain for all games there this spring.

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

Yost outlines goals, areas to improve

b2blog@gmail.com (David) — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 17:45:00 +0000

02/23/2006
Ned Yost: Hello Milwaukee fans. I would like to thank you for taking time to submit your questions. Let's get started.
Base_Ball: Ned, all of Wisconsin is excited and can't wait for 2006 Brewers baseball. Is the team as anxious and excited as the fans?
Yost: Yes. The excitement level is pretty high inside the clubhouse. I think everyone got a taste of success last season and is really looking forward to a lot more of it this year.
Base_Ball_3: Ned, rumor has it that you are a fan of "The West Wing." Are you in the camp that thinks the show has tanked, or that it saved its best for the last season?
Yost: I'm really a fan of the earlier stuff.
Base_Ball_3: It seems almost unavoidable that your name will be linked to the manager position in Atlanta, should Bobby Cox retire. Does it concern you that this could become an unnecessary topic of conversation during the season?
Yost: No, it doesn't really concern me. My heart is in Milwaukee and that's all that really concerns me.
Base_Ball_3: Is there any chance Ben Sheets will be on a pitch count during the first month of the season?
Yost: It's early in the spring, but Benny is right on schedule. He looks and feels good and I don't anticipate him being on any type of pitch count once the season starts.
Base_Ball: Ned, are the coaches and players' true expectation to make the playoffs this year?
Yost: Last season, after finishing 81-81, we looked back and saw a lot of areas that we can improve in. We can foresee a healthy Ben Sheets and by playing better defense we think we can pick up two more wins a month, which would put us in that 90-95 win range. I think everyone in that clubhouse -- barring some major injuries -- feels that mark is an attainable goal and should put us in the thick of a playoff race.
Kory_Klug: Which new player will have the greatest impact this season?
Yost: That's a good question. I've thought about that a lot this spring. What I've come up with is -- it won't be a player, it's a coach. The addition of Robin Yount is going to pay great dividends for our team.
Base_Ball_2: How do you feel about your role as one of the saviors of this franchise?
Yost: I don't really feel I've played a major role in saving this franchise. I believe Doug Melvin has taken this organization and turned it completely around by his leadership and direction.
Base_Ball: Ned, you've been around a championship team as a player. Does this team have the preseason swagger and emotion to mentally compete for the playoffs?
Yost: I don't know about swagger, but they've got a confidence about their abilities, a desire to learn with tremendous work ethic -- those are all ingredients for success.
Kory_Klug: What effect, if any, do you think the World Baseball Classic will have on the Major League Baseball season?
Yost: Barring any major injury to a star player, I doubt that it will have any effect on the Major League season. It should be exciting to watch. Our players that will be participating in the Classic are looking forward to representing their countries.
Base_Ball: Ned, what is the best thing about Spring Training at Maryvale Baseball Park?
Yost: First of all, the weather in Arizona is always great. I think the stadium here in Maryvale is as nice as any in Arizona. At Maryvale, we have eight fields that we can work on and we are able to get a great amount of work done in a short period of time. Plus, it's fan friendly.
crazyforcappy: Do you think the Central Division is going to be tough this year?
Yost: The Central Division is tough every year. The division is loaded with great pitching. St. Louis, Chicago and Houston are always tough. Pittsburgh and Cincinnati have really improved teams this season.
berniebrewer4life: How important is it to you and the players that a home game vs. the Cubs actually have more Brewers fans than Cubs fans? Also, what is your opinion of the Take Back Miller Park idea?
Yost: The last couple of seasons it actually feels that you're playing in the opposition's home park. We don't want Miller Park to be Wrigley Field North. It's important for the club to seize every opportunity when we're playing at home.
Base_Ball_2: Are you looking forward to donning the retro uniforms on Sundays?
Yost: I think all of our players know about the success that the franchise had in the early '80s wearing that uniform and they're excited about wearing them this year.
signloretta: Hits and runs aside, how often do you call for a steal vs. the runner going on his own? Are there any runners that have earned the right to go whenever they see fit?
Yost: Most of the time we put on the green light, which enables the runner to steal if he gets a jump. There are times when we put the "must steal" signal on, but more times than not -- depending on the situation -- we run the green light. Last year, Billy Hall, Rickie Weeks and, believe it or not, Carlos Lee had permanent green lights.
berniebrewer4life: After watching his second-half coming out party, is it unreal to expect a .300 season from J.J. Hardy this year?
Yost: J.J. has worked very hard this winter. He's got a full season under his belt, is completely healthy from the surgery (in 2004) and is swinging the bat really well so far this spring. I look for him to have a really good season offensively in 2006.
Base_Ball_4: What are some of the team's main goals heading into Spring Training?
Yost: We need to really improve on our team defense. We need to improve on our small ball capabilities -- bunting, moving runners over and driving runners in. And we need to improve our pitchers' offensive production.
Base_Ball_2: How is your son's career coming along? Future Brewer?
Yost: He played in Helena last season and really enjoyed it. He's here in Maryvale right now for Spring Training. He's working hard and hoping to make the West Virginia squad this season.
bman112789: Mr. Yost, I would first like to say that I think that you are doing a wonderful job as manager. What is the status of Geoff Jenkins coming off his surgery?
Yost: Geoff didn't have surgery in the offseason. He just needed an extended period of time after the season to heal. He plays so hard that he's always nursing some sort of bump or bruise. He came into camp in great shape and is feeling good.
mikeykliff: What are the odds that we could see Ryan Braun play for the Brewers this season?
Yost: Ryan was the No. 1 pick for the Brewers in last year's draft. We think he is most definitely going to be a big leaguer one day, but he still needs more time to refine his game.
Base_Ball: Ned, when I was a player in high school and legion baseball, I wanted to play in front of big crowds. As a Major Leaguer, do big crowds at Miller Park make a significant impact on the Brewer players?
Yost: Most of the time, players are so focused when they're playing the game, they don't see the crowds, but certainly feel the electricity that's generated from the stands. That always gives a big boost to a player.
Base_Ball_2: What home series are you most looking forward to?
Yost: I would have to say that the Opening Series against the Pirates considering that it is the first season that the club has opened in Milwaukee since Miller Park was built. Also, I look forward to the Cubs series.
Base_Ball_2: Ned, have you ever walked out to the parking lot before a game? I will grill you the best brat ever made.
Yost: I've thought about it a couple of times, but I've never done it. Perhaps this year could be the year.
Base_Ball_4: Do you think that lefty Zach Jackson could see some time in the Majors this season?
Yost: Zach has been very impressive so far in Spring Training. It's hard to say, but he very well could see some time with us this season. The competition for the bullpen this season is stiff -- which is a good problem to have. We anticipate him starting the season in the Minor Leagues.
Brian_Kendl: What do you normally do in Milwaukee on an off day?
Yost: Normally, I lay pretty low. I don't do much of anything.
madisonian: Great to have you back for another season. I'm concerned that Corey Hart will become the next Wes Helms: good enough to play but can't break into the starting eight. What's his ceiling? What in his game needs to improve before he can be a regular star?
Yost: Corey's always been a kid who has success everywhere he's played. In his defense, the Brewers have moved him around defensively quite a bit in the last few years. He's a kid that has a lot of power and can swing the bat for average. He is probably our best baserunner on the team. We think that in time, Corey's got a chance to be a pretty decent Major League player.
Base_Ball_2: How expendable is Bill Hall this season now that we have Corey Koskie?
Yost: Billy is not expendable. He's every bit as valuable as he ever was. He provides our team with great depth with his ability to play multiple positions. Every Major League team would die to have a player of Bill Hall's caliber on the roster.
Tim_Hanson: What's your approach to this season after last year's breakthrough?
Yost: Our approach this season is to focus on playing more fundamental baseball. We need to improve our small ball capabilities, to refine our defensive abilities and continue to play hard together as a group with one goal in mind.
sanpatso: Thanks, Ned, for a good season last year. I want to know your early impression of Dave Bush and where you think he fits in the team's plans?
Yost: We've been impressed with Dave. We like his make-up and his work ethic has been unbelievable so far. Coming from an American League team, where they don't do any hitting or bunting, he has been in the cage countless hours working on his offensive game. We like what we've seen so far of his stuff. He has a live arm with a good breaking ball. It's too early to tell what his role will be.
bman112789: What kind of impact have you noticed already from Robin Yount?
Yost: Robin's had a huge impact. He brings the credibility of a Hall of Famer to the ballpark everyday. He knows the game as well as anyone I've ever been around. He has a passion for working with our young infielders. He is the last one off the field everyday. Robin just has that knack of communicating -- the players listen and have learned a great deal so far.
Yost: I want to thank you all for your time and your questions. You can be assured that the Brewers are training hard and are looking forward to seeing you all in 2006 at Miller Park.

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

Brewers ink three players

b2blog@gmail.com (David) — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 17:44:00 +0000

02/24/2006
PHOENIX -- The Brewers did some last-minute roster maintenance on Friday, a day before the team's first full-squad workout.
In a spate of moves:
• Veteran infielder Brian Dallimore, who signed a Minor League contract with the Brewers over the winter, announced his retirement.
• The team signed former first-round draft pick Jason Romano, a speedy outfielder who could add depth at Triple-A Nashville.
• Left-hander Chris Capuano and right-hander Mike Adams, players already under the Brewers' control, agreed to terms on 2006 contracts.
Dallimore, 32, played 27 games with the Giants over the past two seasons and likely would have headed to Nashville. He batted better than .300 in four of his last five Minor League seasons but made only brief appearances in the Major Leagues.
"We got a letter from him today saying he got a business opportunity that he couldn't pass up," Brewers manager Doug Melvin said. "He saw that it was going to be difficult to make our club, and I think he just tired of being a Triple-A player."
Dallimore is good friends with former Brewers first baseman and former Arizona farmhand Lyle Overbay, who helped convince Dallimore to take a chance with the Brewers.
But Overbay was traded to Toronto during the Winter Meetings, and in a separate trade several weeks later the Brewers acquired third baseman Corey Koskie, further hurting Dallimore's chances to win a roster spot.
"He's a smart guy," Melvin said. "It's not entirely surprising."
Romano, 26, was a first-round draft pick of the Rangers in 1997, when Melvin was that team's GM. He has played 129 Major League games over four seasons with the Rangers, Rockies, Devil Rays and Reds, and batted .267 in 30 games with Cincinnati last season.
Melvin called Romano a great athlete with speed who plays center field but can also play second base. Melvin said Romano's presence will "challenge" another former first-round pick, Dave Krynzel, who suffered a broken collarbone in an offseason motorcycle accident but did not immediately alert the organization. Krynzel later required surgery and is not expected to resume baseball activities until mid-March.
Capuano, 27, is coming off a career year in which he posted career-bests in wins (18), ERA (3.99), starts (35), innings (219) and strikeouts (176). His 18 wins were fourth in the National League and his 176 strikeouts ranked fourth among NL left-handed pitchers. Capuano also led the Majors with 12 pickoffs.
Adams, also 27, began the 2005 season with Milwaukee but was demoted to Triple-A Nashville in May.
Infielder Bill Hall remains the only member of Milwaukee's 40-man roster not under contract for 2006. Hall is entering his final season before salary arbitration, and the Brewers have talked with his representatives about a multi-year deal.
"We're getting to the point where we have to make a decision one way or another," said Melvin, who hopes to have the matter resolved before the Brewers begin Cactus League play next week.

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

Notes: Hendrickson tunes up mechanics

b2blog@gmail.com (David) — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 17:41:00 +0000

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/

Adams working his way up from Minors

b2blog@gmail.com (David) — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 17:40:00 +0000

02/24/2006
PHOENIX -- If he could do it all over again, Mike Adams would keep his mouth shut.
But he can't go back, and now the lanky Milwaukee Brewers right-hander will have to pitch his way back to Milwaukee. Adams is competing for a spot in the Brewers bullpen, but barring injuries to others will start the year at Triple-A Nashville, according to a club source.
"I kind of said some things that were pretty uncharacteristic," Adams said this week. "You can't take back anything you said, but I was out of line. I didn't see the true picture of everything."
Some background:
When the Brewers traded All-Star Dan Kolb to the Braves and Luis Vizcaino to the White Sox at the 2004 Winter Meetings in Anaheim, they essentially handed the closer's job to Adams, then a 26-year-old coming off a surprisingly solid rookie season with the team.
Adams had a poor Spring Training -- he was not alone in that regard among Brewers relievers. When he struggled to command his fastball as March turned into April, he quickly fell out of favor with manager Ned Yost.
Derrick Turnbow assumed the closer's role in late April and Adams appeared in only five games in May. On May 27, the Brewers demoted Adams to Triple-A Nashville to make room for Ben Sheets, who was coming back from an inner-ear ailment. At the time, Adams was 0-1 with a 2.70 ERA, only one save and 10 walks in 13 1/3 innings.
Caught completely off guard, Adams wasn't happy.
He blamed his early struggles on slight shoulder soreness, which he claimed began after Brewers coaches suggested a mechanical adjustment to his delivery.
"I don't think I'm a Triple-A pitcher, to be honest with you," Adams said at the time. "I think I deserve to be in the big leagues. I guess it's business.
"It's kind of rough to be in the big leagues [doing] what you think is getting the job done and get sent down to Triple-A. It's discouraging. I'm not gonna lie about it. It's discouraging. I just hope I can look past it. I hope I can get over the disappointment and go down there and throw the ball."
Looking back now, Adams wishes he had kept those sentiments private.
"There were a lot of emotions going at once," he said this week at Maryvale Baseball Park, where he has kept a bit of a low profile during the first week of camp. "The emotions were speaking there. But I said what I said, and I can't take it back."
Adams said he has not yet mended fences with pitching coach Mike Maddux. Bullpen coach Bill Castro said he was not even aware that Adams had popped off after being demoted last season.
"I wasn't trying to blame anybody. It just kind of came out that way," Adams said. "It really came down to my performance. I never got off to a good start last year."
Exactly the opposite was true in 2004, when Adams won the Brewers' "Newcomer Award" after posting a 3.40 ERA in 46 games. He began his Major League career by pitching 13 consecutive scoreless innings, and Yost raved about the way Adams defied his thin frame by pounding the strike zone.
"I've seen broomsticks with that build," Yost quipped.
It was the zenith of a fast rise through the Brewers' system. Adams went undrafted out of tiny Texas A&M University-Kingsville in 2001 but signed with the Brewers and advanced all the way to Double-A Huntsville by the end of his second professional season.
Given all of that quick success, 2005 was a major letdown. Nashville won the Pacific Coast League title, but Adams missed five weeks in midsummer with a left oblique strain and never got back into a groove. He went 3-4 with a 5.75 ERA in 26 games for the Sounds.
"Overall, it was a real disappointing year," Adams said. "Things didn't go the way I planned on them going, and it's always disappointing when that happens.
"It was the first year I didn't have success, so it was a big learning year for me. I had to learn how to deal with failure."
Looking back, has he figured out what went during his time with the Brewers?
"I knew I had a job, and I think I let up a little bit," Adams admitted. "This year, I'm back to where I have no guarantees. I have to win a job. I have a lot of work to do, and I think there might be even more pressure now than there was last year. The difference is that I know how to handle it."
Instead of trying to be a prototypical closer, something Adams said he struggled with last Spring, he will get back to his strengths.
"I would much rather be a groundball guy in the big leagues than a strikeout guy in the Minor Leagues," he said.
"I'm trying to slow everything down to get back to where I was two years ago. There are a few mechanical things, but I think it's more mental. A lot of things got into my head last year and that was the biggest thing that hurt me. I think I came out and I was trying to do too much. I set my standards too high and I was trying to become a success too fast, instead of taking it step-by-step like I did my first year. I was trying to go straight to the top."
Turnbow is now entrenched as the Brewers closer, and the team re-signed Kolb to pitch setup alongside Matt Wise. Assuming the Brewers break camp with an 11-man pitching staff, including five starters and one long reliever, that leaves two open bullpen spots.
Left-handers Jorge De La Rosa and Dana Eveland and right-handers Jose Capellan, Justin Lehr, Kane Davis and Chris Demaria -- among others -- are all on the 40-man roster and competing with Adams.
"When the team is getting better, it's tougher for a guy to make a team," Castro said. "And it's tougher for us coaches to make decisions. In the past, it was easy. You were just hoping to have enough guys good enough."

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

Notes: Fans set single-day ticket record

b2blog@gmail.com (David) — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 17:38:00 +0000

02/25/2006
PHOENIX -- Thousands of Brewers fans braved the elements and helped set a single-day ticket sales record Saturday.
The Brewers sold a franchise-best 94,000 tickets in the first eight hours of single-game sales, beating last year's record by 4,000. Thousands of fans braved the cold elements at Miller Park to buy in person, and thousands more purchased via the Internet, telephone or at Tickets.com outlets.
"That's why I was so interested in this job," said Brewers manager Ned Yost, who was rewarded Saturday morning with a contract extension. "That's the reason right there."
Fans began lining up at the box office at 5:30 p.m. CT on Friday, and by 9 a.m. Saturday the line snaked nearly halfway around the ballpark. The Brewers had encouraged local fans all week to "Take Back Miller Park" from Cubs and Cardinals fans, who traditionally invade the ballpark in large numbers.
The total announced Saturday night does not include 22,000 tickets that were sold in new "4-Pack" packages over the last nine days.
Two games were near sellouts by 5 p.m. CT: Opening Day against the Pirates and July 8 against the Cubs. Some standing room and obstructed view seats remained available, and tickets to those games can also be secured by fans purchasing nine-, 20- and full-season ticket packages.
Tickets remain on sale via MilwaukeeBrewers.com, at the Miller Park box office, by phone at (414)902-4000) and at all tickets.com outlets. Normal box office hours are 9 a.m.-7 p.m. CT Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday.
State of the Crew: Last year, a film crew captured Yost's preseason pep talk to players and a portion was worked into the pregame entertainment at Miller Park. This year the team went back behind closed doors, and Yost delivered a message of increased expectations and opportunities.
"For the first time, they actually can come into camp and live the dream of playing into October," Yost said, paraphrasing his off-the-cuff speech. "There are a lot of things that have to go right, but for the first time we can dream about that in a realistic sense."
Yost has set a lofty goal of improving by two games per month, which would give the Brewers a 93-win season.
"This year, I think there is more of a determination and a setting of the bar," Brewers owner Mark Attanasio said. "[Yost] clearly set a bar for the players. I have only been here one day, but I sense a different atmosphere this year."
"The Horse" rides in: Carlos Lee reported to Maryvale Baseball Park on Saturday in time for the team's first full-squad workout. Lee is entering a contract year after setting career bests with 32 home runs and 114 RBIs in 2005.
"He came into camp in great shape," Yost said. "He really looks good."
Afterward, Lee iced a sore groin but called it minor and attributed it to eight hours on airplanes Friday, traveling from his ranch in Aguadulce, Panama.
He will get on another plane after the team's March 1 workout for a trip to Viera, Fla., where Team Panama will prepare for the upcoming World Baseball Classic. Lee said he expects to play full games during the Classic.
The Brewers acquired Lee from the Chicago White Sox during the 2004 Winter Meetings and this winter exercised his $8.5 million option for 2006. He is eligible for free agency after the season.
"I don't worry about that," Lee said. "I like it here, and if it works out that I stay here, I would be happy."
Last call: Attanasio said that a contract extension for closer Derrick Turnbow is "on the radar." Turnbow already signed for 2006 and reportedly will earn $488,000, but by extending him now the Brewers could gain some cost-certainty and avoid at least one season of salary arbitration with the big right-hander. ... With all of the position players on hand, Yost scheduled the first live batting practice of the spring. As usual, the pitchers are ahead of hitters at this stage. "Everything looks so fast," said Brad Nelson, who has a headstart because he stood in earlier this month during right-hander Mike Jones' throwing sessions. ... Left-hander Doug Davis has received some treatment for a sore back in recent days, but threw successful bullpen and mound sessions Saturday.

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