DHonks

I might have given an error on Edmonds' double that hit the heel of Pods' glove, but Spivey and Helms did not deserve errors.

Overbay does hit it hard each time, but good to see Counsell pounding it still (like each game I saw in the spring). A homer and two smashes (two great plays and a little bad luck to get him by 1 step combined in two outs) gotta add that he just hit a hard liner over SS for a hit

about MAtheny: Boy it has been a couple of years, but it still hurts when it is a former brewer Anybody else want to laugh last night when the Cards finished with a battery of Tavarez and Matheny?

He'll still be making $30,000-$40,000 a month pitching in the minors I think that's pretty high. I believe the 40 man roster spots are more like $60-100k for the year, unless the contract he signed stipulated a higher minor league salary

As for Parra...man I cringe when I hear shoulder problems when associated with a pitcher. I always cringe when I hear this about Parra, because I was told that he partially tore his labrum in his post-signing workout, hence why he didn't debut for over a month.

The Journal Sentinal is reporting several bits of news. First on Neugy: Melvin said Neugebauer was sent to High Desert to pitch in warm weather and not have the pressure associated with higher levels in the system. "He just needs to pitch," Melvin said. "We talked to him and he's fine with it. He needs to start over at ground zero and build his arm back up. If he could get to 60 pitches (per outing) by the end of the year, that would be good." Then on Parra: Left-hander Manny Parra, one of the top pitching prospects in the organization, has been shut down with shoulder problems and will begin the season on the disabled list. Parra originally was targeted to start the year at Class AA Huntsville. It says he should be back in early May.

They mention Neugy going to High Desert. My question is more with our current 40 man roster...people keep saying he'll go on the 60 day dl. But why? He isn't hurt and he isn't rehabbing. He should still have an option to use, which is beneficial because then he won't rack up even more service time.

so I guess we can forget those projections for Foster...you know, 30 homers, 250 K's.

I wonder if Silva wanted to go somewhere with a major league offer, then thought twice after reading somewhere how weak our pen is. He has a decent chance of making the team

Except RoCo, isn't Leifer gonna be the AAA 1b?

forget the money...who in their right mind would take Cruz in the Rule V after last year? I would imagine he'll be the SS in Huntsville

Was at about half the championship game today, which was won by Dewon Brazleton's team, 7-2 (I think it was Solar Sox over Desert Dogs). Brazelton looked effective but unspectacular. I'd have to say that Hendrickson was easily the best starting pitcher that I saw in the league. Jonny Gomes looked good today. Delmon Young K'd on a terrible pitch. And Philly pitcher Josh Hancock looked like a soft-tosser who could not find the strikezone.

nice job Massbrew as baseballamerica now has the stats up for the Puerto Rican league

I have no details yet, and I have not heard anything on the news yet. I just know what I reported earlier. Edit: well, I have heard more, but I don't know what all is appropriate. What I hear is that his entire team was at a bar last night, and when they left he went back in for something. That's the last any of his teammates saw him. Apparently some sort of argument ensued, leading to him later being shot and killed, with his car being left in another part of town (not sure if he was with it). Those are supposedly facts. Anything beyond that that I've heard is rumor, and I'm sure we'll hear lots about it on Sportscenter and espn.com. Terrible events regardless of the details.

Not Brewers related, but Reds Outfielder Dernell Stenson--hitting .394/.453/.500 for the Fall League's Scottsdale Scorpions--passed away sometime after Tuesday's game. Apparently they began worrying when he failed to show up to BP. Tonight's Scorpions game was cancelled due to the tragedy. So everyone, please keep him, his family, teammates, etc in your prayers.

MAssbrew, I thought we allowed Campos out of his contract...or do we still have his rights?

Extra impressive as a DH. That throw to second from the dugout is a bear http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif boy do I feel stupid! I guess I just hadn't noticed him DH all fall, so figured he caught. Oh well.

Good to note Kade gunned down 2 out of the three runners.

Maybe his hands are too fast for the AFL. Maybe Royce Clayton would be an All-star if we only had a league to match his abilities. I was trying to contrast his stance to Krynzel's. I like how little movement both have, but it just seems that Rickie's puts him in much better position to both lay off pitches and turn on them. Just a rough day for Weeks. I didn't want us to draft him #2, but after seeing him I get excited more and more each time....even after 0-4 w/4K's.

Final Score....something like Scorpions 6, Sags 3. Now for the good news. Hendrickson started and worked 5.0 innings ( I think, maybe 6 though). He allowed 3 hits, no walks, and struck out maybe 4 or 5. The Scorps didn't come close on his curve, however this time around they were zeroing in on his heater, several times getting robbed on lined shots. The key is that he never got the ball up, so they never got any elevation on the ball. I've now seen two of Ben's last three starts (the two good ones), and he looks fantastic. He didn't seem to throw as hard tonight (last time I guessed around 94...tonight maybe the 2-seamer was probably consistently around 89-91), and his heater didn't have quite the movement (evident because they made better contact than the Rafters), bur his curve was much sharper. His mechanics look fantastic, he keeps the ball down, he pounds the zone with all his pitches, and he fields his position very well. What more is there to say?!! I've got to think the Brewers are thinking about giving Ben a serious look in spring training. Then Bausher came in to relieve...I believe the 3rd time I've seen him. He also threw well, allowing the first Scorpion run on a single up the middle. Krynzel came up throwing and nearly nailed the runner who had started at second. David was lucky though, because his throw was too high to be cutoff, yet the hitter didn't move to second. Bausher went 2.0, gave up one run, struck out a few, and looked great again. Unfortunately that's the end of the highlights. Krynzel got one hit that I saw (although I got there in the first and he was on 3rd base...I assumed a hit...so perhaps he had two). The one I saw was a sharp grounder through the hole which drew a comment from someone "look, the pitch found the bat." That was after his previous at bat when he struck out swinging on an upper 80's thigh high fastball over the heart of the plate. As noted before, David's setup probably keeps him from being a star. With a very upright posture, high hands, and open stance, he seems to have a tough time reacting in time to hit even mediocre fastballs. This seems to play into a note I made previously where I said his idea of plate discipline reminds me of Jenkins in that he often looks like he only takes pitches because he has decided in advance not to swing. I've seen Hardy, Weeks, NElson, and K. Johnson all look like they react to pitches, but David looks like he doesn't allow himself enough time to do so, so in order to get around on pitches he has to guess the pitch and decide to swing in advance. When he makes contact, he stings it though. David also got picked off of first, but in all fairness, the pitcher caught another guy the same inning (or maybe the next). Nelson started in left, and he looked better.. I don't remember him reaching, but he hit a shot to right center that moved a runner to third allowing him to score one batter later. Weeks looks great out there. I love his stance as it reminds me of Eric Young's (and maybe a bit like Ginter). It's a stance that seems to allow for quick hands to make contact, yet also helps provide some power. Like I said before, he reacts to pitches and is extremely selective. I believe he struck out twice, but both were on huge breaking balls, the second one was in the 9th off a Dbacks closer with an extremely tight curve/slurve that looks like a heater out of the hand. Oh, and Kade Johnson sure looked great warming up Hendrickson between innings (had to include as many brewers guys as I could). The score became lopsided because the Scorpions scored 5 times in the bottom of the 8th off a really short reliever.

just thought I'd note that I'm going to the game Wed night in Scottsdale. Full report to follow as usual

Any word on why Weeks was playing SS?] Why not have him play SS? my first thought is that the 2b is a priority guy. My second thought is that since Weeks appears to be playing the Utility role, he's gonna play 2b and SS. Weeks has all the ability in the world. His arm looks great. If he was to work on fielding, throwing, and footwork, he could be a tremendous SS. Assuming Hardy opens at SS in 2004, I'd almost rather see Weeks play SS so that he can learn to be more of a field leader. He'll better learn when to throw the ball, eat the ball, etc etc. Plus, footwork is much more necessary at SS than 2b, so I think it would benefit him in the long run.

do the Brewers instruct all their minor leaguers to slide feet-first all the time in order to avoid injury? apparently not, cause when Weeks scored he not only slid head first, but he came in so hard that his left arm undercut the catcher making him fall down. It shocked me because he was playing so recklessly...while it can look fun, it didn't seem appropriate in a Fall League game. Shows he's a gamer though, because he did whatever it took to score. I'd never before seen a guy reach for the plate and take out the catcher with his forearm in the process.

Sags lose, 4-3.. Hendrickson started and looked great. I can't recall him walking a man. He went 5.0 innings allowing 4 hits (one double was hit sharply but was just inches below the 1st baseman's glove...almost an out). Lots of K's. He surprised me, because I expected him to throw lots of curves. Instead I'd say he mainly utilized a hard fastball with great movement (deadly combination, as guys rarely made solid contact). He has two speeds of curves plus I believe a changeup. He froze some guys with both curves...one is like a Sheets' curve in that it's in the 80's, the other is slower. The only run allowed came as a result of a Rickie Weeks throwing error from SS. I'll stick with Rickie here. He started at SS and looked iffy. Just watching him take warmups one can instantly tell he is a superior athlete and has a superior arm to JJ Hardy (after seeing him yesterday). Whereas JJ relied on footwork to make throws, Rickie effortlessly threw rockets to first with poor footwork and a contorted body. He committed two errors, one fielding and one throwing,resulting in all 4 runs. He also took his time on some that made the plays look too close. At the plate, I believe he went 1-5 with a chopper to the hole that he beat out. He then scored from second on a single which got the crowd on it's feet because of how he created the run. It appeared there was no way he should have scored, but he hustled and he had a great slide. Weeks also hit a deep fly to center where the sign says it is something like 430, and he hit it to the track. Krynzel singled by tomahawking a 2-2 pitch that was over his head to center. He then was caught stealing...not sure how. He had a great jump and was flying. Is the Yankees catcher that good? His slide didn't look great, as most great basestealers don't choose to slide footfirst. If he goes headfirst, he easily avoids the tag, because the only reason he was out was due to his foot being slightly above the bag (so too high) as he came in. DAvid hit a great sac fly to score Nelson and give the Sags an early 2-0 lead. It was to the wall in right. Krynzel looked great as usual in the field. NElson started and played in left. He walked in his first appearance, and took some mighty hacks, but failed to register a hit. Defensively he gets good jumps and has a good arm, but his range seems very limited.

the boxscore is messed up, because Kade batted for Willingham. don't forget, he walked, too