Jim Goulart

Here's where we stand with Brewers still playing in the four Caribbean Leagues -- the four league champions will battle it out in the Caribbean World Series in San Juan, Puerto Rico starting February 2nd, televised on ESPN Desportes. Puerto Rico: Congrats to SS Yadiel Rivera's Santurce team, they have locked up a spot in the best-of-seven league finals that start Tuesday. Their opponent will be determined Sunday, as Martin Maldonado's Mayaguez team is in a do-or-die round-robin game. If Maldonado's team wins Sunday, then one Brewer is guaranteed to be in the Caribbean World Series (CWS). If Maldy's team loses Sunday, then only Rivera remains with a chance from Puerto Rico. Note: RHP Jorge Lopez had a stellar early winter for Mayaguez, but his season wrapped up December 4th after six starts. Young OF Omar Garcia saw light activity with Rivera's club, but similarly his season is done now. Dominican Republic: The best-of-nine DWL finals are underway, and there will be Brewer representation on the D.R. team that reaches the CWS. SS Jean Segura and Game One starter LHP Nick Additon are on the Gigantes squad, while infielders Elian Herrera and Luis Jimenez and RHP Wirfin Obispo are on Estrellas, which holds a 1-0 game lead in the series. Mexico: The best-of-seven league semifinals are underway, and RH reliever Manny Barreda's Tomateros team is down three games to two, needing to win their next two games to advance to the league finals, also a best-of-seven. Venezuela: The Venezuela round-robin continues through the 22nd, and the winner of the round-robin apparently takes the league title. SS Orlando Arcia's Caribes team currently is 9-3 and has a one-game lead. The Zulia team of RHP's Tim Dillard and Gian Rizzo has work to do, currently 5-7. *** It's quite possible each country will have a Brewer representing in the CWS.

Here's Maldy last night, umpire brought to you by Hertz --

Puerto Rico Box Score Martin Maldonado willed his Mayaguez team to a 2-1 11-inning win with an awesome performance at the plate and behind the plate, including this walkoff -- Mayaguez Bottom of the 11th Jesmuel Valentin walks. Luis Montanez singles on a line drive to center fielder Reymond Fuentes. Jesmuel Valentin to 2nd. Randy Ruiz out on a sacrifice bunt, pitcher Travis Ballew to second baseman Robert Andino. Jesmuel Valentin to 3rd. Luis Montanez to 2nd. Travis Ballew intentionally walks Daniel Ortiz. Martin Maldonado singles on a line drive to right fielder Peter Lavin. Jesmuel Valentin scores. Luis Montanez to 3rd. Daniel Ortiz to 2nd. Here's the walkoff at-bat -- love how Maldonado makes his teammates chase him deep into center field for the walkoff celebration! Maldonado finished 3-for-5, one a bunt base hit. Maybe more impressive is what he did in cutting down each and every baserunner that dared challenge him in this tight game -- CS: Rivera, Y (1, 2nd base by Parise/Maldonado), Rodriguez, Jon (1, 2nd base by Burgos/Maldonado), Fuentes (1, 2nd base by Texeira/Maldonado). SS Yadiel Rivera was 1-for-4, and as you can see just above, was gunned down by his Brewer organizational mate.

By the way, Luis "Lucho" Jimenez celebrates birthday #27 on Sunday. Enjoy, Lucho!

Dominican Box Score LHP Nick Additon never really gave his club much of a chance Saturday night -- 2.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 0 K Estrellas Bottom of the 1st Lew Ford walks. Gustavo Nunez grounds into a force out, second baseman Alexi Casilla to shortstop Jean Segura. Lew Ford out at 2nd. Gustavo Nunez to 1st. Luis Jimenez singles on a soft fly ball to center fielder Leury Garcia. Gustavo Nunez to 3rd. Robinson Cano pops out to shortstop Jean Segura. Audy Ciriaco doubles (1) on a line drive to left fielder Moises Sierra. Gustavo Nunez scores. Luis Jimenez to 3rd. Jordany Valdespin grounds out, second baseman Alexi Casilla to first baseman Brian Burgamy. Estrellas Bottom of the 2nd Wilkin Castillo singles on a ground ball to center fielder Leury Garcia. Mike Bianucci grounds into a force out, third baseman Maikel Franco to second baseman Alexi Casilla. Wilkin Castillo out at 2nd. Mike Bianucci to 1st. Michael Martinez grounds into a force out, third baseman Maikel Franco to second baseman Alexi Casilla. Mike Bianucci out at 2nd. Michael Martinez to 1st. Lew Ford flies out to left fielder Moises Sierra. Estrellas Bottom of the 3rd Gustavo Nunez doubles (1) on a fly ball to left fielder Moises Sierra. Luis Jimenez reaches on a fielder's choice out, shortstop Jean Segura to third baseman Maikel Franco to shortstop Jean Segura to pitcher Nick Additon. Gustavo Nunez out at 3rd. Luis Jimenez to 2nd on the throw. Robinson Cano singles on a ground ball to right fielder Carlos Peguero. Luis Jimenez scores. Robinson Cano to 2nd on the throw. Audy Ciriaco grounds out softly, third baseman Maikel Franco to first baseman Brian Burgamy. Jordany Valdespin doubles (1) on a line drive to center fielder Leury Garcia. Robinson Cano scores. Wilkin Castillo doubles (1) on a line drive to center fielder Leury Garcia. Jordany Valdespin scores. Pitching Change: Willy Paredes replaces Nick Additon. Mike Bianucci singles on a sharp ground ball to left fielder Moises Sierra. Wilkin Castillo scores. Michael Martinez grounds out softly, second baseman Alexi Casilla to first baseman Brian Burgamy Yeah, that Robinson Cano guy is pretty good. Luis Jimenez played first base, and was 1-for-4 with a walk (two runs scored). Oh, and Jimenez flashed some leather at the position he only has limited history with -- Added to the "Segura Tracker" Game seventeen 01/16 -- at least for one night, a revert to the ground ball woes: Grounds into a force out, fielded by the shortstop Grounded out to shortstop Walked Grounded out into a 6-4-3 double play *** They take things seriously -- six umpires for the Championship Series.

Venezuela Box Score RHP and Venezuelan fan favorite and legend Tim Dillard pitched a perfect inning and netted a hold in his team's round-robin win -- Aragua Top of the 7th Pitching Change: Tim Dillard replaces Elvis Araujo. Josmil Pinto pops out to shortstop Freddy Galvis. Hector Gimenez pops out to third baseman Ray Olmedo. Jose Martinez grounds out, shortstop Freddy Galvis to first baseman Donell Linares.

Brewers minor league signing LHP Nick Additon starts Game One for Segura's Gigantes club tonight. Jimenez is back after a few days off, Herrera is idle with his knee stitches (see the posts above), and Segura's batting 3rd. Follow box/log here. *** In Puerto Rico, the round-robin continues tonight - SS Yadiel Rivera and C Martin Maldonado are on opposite squads in a key game. Rivera's club is 8-3, Maldonado's 6-5. Follow box/log here.

After eight years in the Brewers' organization, RHP Donovan Hand trades Pacific Coast League early flights for International League bus rides, signs with the Reds, a nice spot for him.

As indicated in Matt Eddy's transaction update at Baseball America -- The Brewers have released 2013 13th round pick Tanner Norton (Baseball Reference page). Norton won't turn 20 until July. He spent his age 17/18 season as a catcher in Maryvale, the last year was at first base, again in Maryvale, as an 18/19 year old. Only five of the LH bat's 54 base hits had gone for extra bases (all doubles). Article written about Norton upon signing Via MLB.com, a brief scouting video PrepBaseballReport Scouting at time of signing -- The 6-foot-1, 190-pound prospect registered a 7.25 60-yard dash. Norton, who passes the look test, is a solid, muscular prospect. He showed the ability to both catch and play first base. Behind the plate, he registered a consistent 1.85 pop time and wasn’t afraid to get dirty. At the plate, Norton uses a smooth left-handed swing with an easy load to generate gap-to-gap power. Good luck to Norton, make use of any negotiated money for college.

The Dominican Finals begin tonight, best-of-nine series. On one side will be Jean Segura, the other Elian Herrera / Luis Jimenez / Wirfin Obispo.

Puerto Rico Box Score Martin Maldonado 1-for-5 in his club's extra-inning loss, his team now 6-5 and now fighting to finish in the top two in the four-team round robin, as the top two will qualify for the Puerto Rico League finals. Maldonado saw another game behind the plate (no stolen base attempts against).

Saw a good point online. Season ticket holders will choose to renew coming off a season when their tickets maintain face value through most (or all) of the year. With the hot start last year and the five-month 1st place stint, those August and September games could still be sold or used without taking a loss.

Matt Clark was not part of an MLB affiliated team while in Japan, so no options were used there. In 2014, he was in AAA, playing on a minor league deal, when his contract was purchased by the Brewers. This was the first time he had ever been on a 40-man roster. He remained on the 25-man roster for the remainder of the season, so his 2014 option was not used.

Dominican Box Score Jean Segura's team is now 10-6 in the round robin, as is his opponent's team in this game, Elian Herrera's. Those two clubs will face off in a traditional final series to determine the Dominican League representative in the Caribbean World Series. Added to the "Segura Tracker" -- Game sixteen 01/15 -- Hit by pitch Flied out to left field Flied out to right field Grounded out softly to second base Herrera made an early exit, and hopefully it's not quite as bad as this picture looks -- Gigantes Top of the 3rd Carlos Peguero singles on a soft ground ball to first baseman Mike Bianucci. With Maikel Franco batting, Carlos Peguero caught stealing 2nd base, catcher Wilkin Castillo to second baseman Elian Herrera. Maikel Franco strikes out swinging. Moises Sierra singles on a ground ball to center fielder Junior Lake. With Wilson Betemit batting, Moises Sierra steals (1) 2nd base. With Wilson Betemit batting, throwing error by Wilkin Castillo on the pickoff attempt, Moises Sierra to 3rd. Wilson Betemit strikes out swinging. Estrellas Bottom of the 3rd Mike Bianucci lines out softly to pitcher Parker Frazier. Michael Martinez singles on a ground ball to second baseman Hanser Alberto. Offensive Substitution: Pinch-hitter Juan Diaz replaces Elian Herrera. So it looks like Herrera stayed in the game after the injury on the pickoff attempt (tweets in Spanish indicated he received stitches in his knees). He flied out in his lone at-bat. UPDATE: Herrera tells a local reporter he received five stitches and will be ready for the next game.

AUDIO 1/15: Kyle Lohse on WTMJ's "Brewers Weekly"

New Voice of the Shuckers named-- welcome Chris Harris, and good luck to Steve Jarnicki, who we enjoyed in Huntsville. We've already reached out to Chris, who will be providing online media notes, and importantly, online media in the form of archived interviews. He built up the Jackson Generals Media Relations Department over the years, and the new ownership should be anxious to provide him with the resources to meet and surpass that quality in the shiny new ballpark. Chris' signature call is "Kiss It Goodbye!", here's an example.

VIDEO MLB.com: 2015 MLB Rookie Career Development Program: Brewers prospect Taylor Jungmann talks about the great resources available at the RCDP

Jason Arndt got a few quotes from Fall League RHP Tyler Wagner.

Speaking of out of options, the three "bubble" players on the Brewers roster who are out of options are all Dominican infielders -- 3B/1B Luis Jimenez, SS/3B/2B Hector Gomez, and IF/OF Elian Herrera. Remaining options, Brewers 40-man roster

Dominican Box Score It is now my formal crusade to get 30-year-old RHP Wirfin Obispo an official invite to big league spring training with the Crew. Dude has been slicing and dicing going back to the very beginning of the winter season in October, dominating both regular season and round robin winter play. Aguilas Top of the 8th Pitching Change: Wirfin Obispo replaces Luis Garcia. Manny Ramirez grounds out, shortstop Gustavo Nunez to first baseman Ed Rogers. Dan Black flies out to left fielder Michael Martinez. Juan Perez flies out to right fielder Jordany Valdespin. Do you think Manny ran out that grounder? Obispo's teammate, Elian Herrera, aided in the win out of the leadoff spot, with a single and a walk in five plate appearances. He did commit his first error of the round-robin. Another teammate, 40-man roster and out-of-options Luis "Lucho" Jimenez, hasn't played since an 0-for-5 on Sunday. We detailed his mostly miserable extensive winter season that evening -- Jimenez, Winter Regular Season: .207/.287/.357 (.644 OPS in 140 AB's) Jimenez, Winter Post Season: .143/.240/.238 (.478 OPS in 42 AB's)

Dominican Box Score Added to the "Segura Tracker" -- Game fifteen 01/14 -- Flied out to center field Popped out sharply to shortstop (really, popped out sharply?) Singled on a soft pop up to second base Grounded into a 4-6-3 double play in the 9th That double play was painful in an eventual 5-3 loss. Segura committed his 5th error in 15 games, this one a throwing miscue. This photo is from Tuesday's game: *** Remember this from Sunday's action? We haven't seen red-hot Hector since.

Venezuela Box Score SS Orlando Arcia, batting 9th, singled in three AB's (infield single to third base). He also struck out swinging twice. Arcia's hit came against a familiar name -- Caribes Bottom of the 7th Felix Perez grounds out to first baseman Jose Flores. Jose Castillo walks. Oscar Salazar doubles (1) on a fly ball to center fielder Ender Inciarte. Jose Castillo scores. Pitching Change: Tim Dillard replaces Alex Torres. Jose Gil strikes out swinging. Orlando Arcia singles on a ground ball to third baseman Gabriel Noriega. Oscar Salazar to 3rd. Niuman Romero grounds out to first baseman Jose Flores. So Dillard survived a man on 2nd, one out situation. His club defeated Arcia's, 6-2.

Puerto Rico Box Score Never mind the box score, let's get to the scrum and melee! This is video of Martin Maldonado getting hit by a pitch that was up and in. The pitch wasn't that inside, and Maldonado is actually hit as part of a checked swing. Maldonado takes a step or two towards the mound, and then the fun begins. (It should be pointed out that that two batters earlier, Martin's teammate Randy Ruiz was also plunked, and was still on first base, likely adding to Maldonado's dissatisfaction.) Here's the aftermath: Mayaguez Bottom of the 7th Kennys Vargas grounds out, shortstop Ozzie Martinez to first baseman Brendan Harris. Randy Ruiz hit by pitch. Daniel Ortiz pops out to third baseman Enrique Hernandez. Martin Maldonado hit by pitch. Randy Ruiz to 2nd. Gigantes de Carolina pitcher Mario Santiago ejected by HP umpire Kelvin Bultron. Indios de Mayaguez catcher Martin Maldonado ejected by HP umpire Kelvin Bultron. Gigantes de Carolina catcher Rene Garcia ejected by HP umpire Kelvin Bultron. Indios de Mayaguez pitcher Hiram Burgos ejected by HP umpire Kelvin Bultron. Pitching Change: Danny Barnes replaces Mario Santiago. Offensive Substitution: Pinch-runner Yovan Gonzalez replaces Martin Maldonado. Luis Figueroa pops out to third baseman Enrique Hernandez. Former Brewer and current Maldonado teammate Hiram Burgos was ejected, and he wasn't in the game. Just for giggles, there was more fun in the following half-inning: Carolina Top of the 8th Yovan Gonzalez remains in the game as the catcher. Pitching Change: Tyler Herron replaces Scott Maine. Jobduan Morales hit by pitch. Indios de Mayaguez pitcher Tyler Herron ejected by HP umpire Kelvin Bultron. Indios de Mayaguez Manager Lino Rivera ejected by HP umpire Kelvin Bultron. Maldonado grounded out and walked in prior at-bats. Irving Falu managed to steal a base against Maldy and former Brewer farmhand RHP Zack Segovia. And Martin's team lost this home game, 5-2.

Pretty fascinating write-up on this at Baseball Prospectus

Orlando Arcia finished third in the Venezuelan League's Rookie of the Year voting, as per MLB.com's article. (No word on who finished ahead of Arcia...)