Jim Goulart

Monday's Winter League action -- Dominican Box Score It's Game One of a Best-of-Nine, folks! Licey (with three Brewers, including Alfredo Figaro, idle in this one) took game one, 2-1. Cleanup first baseman Juan Francisco was 1-for-4 (RBI single in the 1st inning, one K), and RF Eugenio Velez, batting 8th, was 1-for-3 (stolen base).

1/20 AUDIO: Doug Melvin on the Mike Heller Show out of Madison *** Print article from the Wisconsin State Journal - General manager Doug Melvin preaches patient approach to upcoming season

Via BrewCrewBall -- a lot of words, but worth the read considering all the effort put into it. One Way or Another, the Brewers Will Have a New Double-A Team Next Year Really not sure why the author considers Nashville and Milwaukee a secure renewal on the AAA level, though.

Here you go, digest away!

This detailed December 2012 feature story on Liu Rodriguez's coaching aspirations gives quite a few insights into the Brewers' newest member of the Maryvale Rookie Level coaching staff.

Sunday's Winter League action -- Puerto Rico Box Score RHP Jose De La Torre tossed a hitless inning of relief as his Caguas club won the opener in the league best-of-seven final, 5-1. Former Brewer farmhand starting LHP Efrain Nieves got the win. For Mayaguez, Irving Falu led off, played second base, and was 0-for-5 (one K). Martin Maldonado was 1-for-3 (walk, one K); no baserunners attempted steals with Maldy behind the dish. Mayaguez Top of the 8th Pitching Change: Jose De La Torre replaces Luis Gonzalez. Eddie Rosario flies out to center fielder Miguel Abreu. Randy Ruiz grounds out, shortstop Luis Mateo to first baseman Neftali Soto. Ruben Gotay walks. Martin Maldonado strikes out swinging. *** Just a reminder, the four winter league champions (Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Venezuela) will meet in Venezuela in February to compete in the Caribbean World Series. *** Former Brewer 40-man roster member Zelous Wheeler (now a Yankee farmhand) has played the entire winter, start to finish, for his team in the Mexican League, and he was on base four times in the deciding game seven Sunday that put his team into the league finals.

Jason Arndt caught up with RHP Damien Magnifico

Via his own Tweet, Josh Prince will join Maldonado and Falu on that Mayaguez team.

Juan Francisco, Brian McCann is on Line One.

Wow, Licey wins, 9-8, as noted above, on Juan Francisco's go-ahead blast in the top of the 9th. He hit the HR off former Brewer farmhand RHP Zack Segovia. Not sure if "Juan Francisco" was trending on Twitter, but from a Dominican perspective, Twitter absolutely "blew up" with Juan's name. As you'll see below, the passion of the players for these Caribbean-based games is over the top. That being said, watch Francisco's home plate display upon crushing the home run. It puts Carlos Gomez' theatrics after his HR against the Braves to shame. And there's a team-wide celebration at home plate -- keep in mind, this is with two outs in the TOP of the 9th! Hopefully this gives Francisco a big boost for the Dominican Finals (which begin Monday) and then spring training and beyond. Behold -- make sure you watch the whole video to see the replay. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUxi2ujIjwc&feature=youtube_gdata_player Here's the box score link again -- Francisco finished 2-for-5 (one K), his HR was his 5th of the round-robin tournament in 19 games. He's also hitting .232 in those games. Teammate Eugenio Velez was 1-for-3 (walk, RBI, K). For the losing Gigantes club, shortstop Hector Gomez ended his winter season with a 1-for-4 night (two runs, RBI, K). *** In Puerto Rico, Martin Maldonado and Irving Falu (Mayaguez) will travel to face fellow Brewers Jose De La Torre and Yadiel Rivera (Caguas) in Game One of the best-of-seven league finals beginning today (Sunday). You'll be able to follow that box score / game log at this link. Last night, Maldonado posted a picture of himself with CC Sabathia on Twitter. A few folks asked if that was from Rickie Weeks' wedding, which was last night. Looks like it was, as Maldy just tweeted "On my way to the airport back to PR #finals".

Wow, 8-8 after eight innings. Enjoy the game log, live readers.

Congrats to 29-year-old catcher Anderson De La Rosa, the Venezuelan native who spent ten full seasons in the Brewers chain (2004-2013), he found more affiliated work by signing with the Angels.

Congrats to 29-year-old catcher Anderson De La Rosa, the Venezuelan native who spent ten full seasons in the Brewers chain (2004-2013), he found more affiliated work by signing with the Angels.

It's Saturday in Australia, so we have this -- Australia Box Score RHP Eric Marzec earned the win with a really nice outing here as his Melbourne club rallied for three 8th inning runs. Marzec finished up with three hitless innings (walk, HBP) in Melbourne's 5-3 win. And what a way to close it out in the 9th! The Australian Winter League's regular season runs through January 26th. Brisbane Top of the 7th Pitching Change: Eric Marzec replaces Justin Erasmus. Logan Wade grounds out, third baseman Jared Schlehuber to first baseman Ryan Casteel. Andrew Campbell strikes out swinging. Joshua Roberts walks. Joey Rickard grounds into a force out, shortstop Brad Harman to second baseman Darryl George. Joshua Roberts out at 2nd. Brisbane Top of the 8th David Sutherland grounds out, second baseman Darryl George to first baseman Ryan Casteel. Ryan Battaglia strikes out swinging. Steven Greer hit by pitch. Brad Dutton called out on strikes. Brisbane Top of the 9th Connor MacDonald strikes out swinging. Logan Wade strikes out swinging. Andrew Campbell called out on strikes.

I'll take a bit of credit for this one, as I contacted the WTMJ producer of Brewers Weekly to ask why this offseason's shows haven't been archived. And with that, here's the show from Thursday 1/16. Listen to Scooter Gennett's interview at the 7:30 minute mark. Also included in the 42-minute show with Doug Russell, is David Brown of Yahoo's Big League Stew.

Friday's Winter League action -- Dominican Box Score Wow, what an interesting winter SS Hector Gomez is having. Gomez, who will be 26 in March, was brought back from minor league free agency despite posting a .494 OPS (not a typo) in 368 Huntsville at-bats in 2013. On Friday, Gomez hit his 5th HR in the postseason (his 8th overall this winter), and also doubled, scoring two runs in what turned out to be a huge 6-5 win for his Gigantes club (more on that below). Gomez also committed his 8th error of the round robin (Gigantes have only played 18 round-robin games, and Gomez has not played all of those). *** Dominican Box Score Licey defeated Jason Rogers' first-place Escogido team, 6-1. In what is likely Rogers final winter game, Jason was 0-for-3 (one K). For Licey, Juan Francisco was 1-for-5 (one K), and Eugenio Velez, playing right field, was 2-for-4, scoring twice. *** So here's the scoop in the Dominican -- Licey, with Francisco, Velez, and Alfredo Figaro, and Gigantes, with Hector Gomez, (now both 9-9) will play a one-game playoff on Saturday at Gigantes for the right to advance to the finals against Escogido. Rogers was Escogido's only Brewer. OK, got it? *** Puerto Rico Box Score 21-year-old SS Yadiel Rivera was 0-for-3 as his Caguas team lost 9-1. *** Despite that loss, Rivera and his teammate RHP Jose De La Torre will get to experience the Puerto Rico League final series with their team. Caguas will face Martin Maldonado and Irving Falu's Mayaguez team in the final series, starting Sunday. Both Maldonado and Falu sat out Mayaguez's final non-playoff factor game on Friday.

Good luck to former Brewers farmhand RHP Ryan Gibbard, new indy ball contract in Normal, IL.

Goodness, I thought I'd swear off Bleacher Report forever just because of the stupid slideshows. I still do for the most part, but now that they're under the CNN banner and don't accept nearly as many random user entries, here you go. Taylor - Nelson - Haniger - Hellweg - D. Williams - Arcia - Jungmann - Roache - Goforth - Delmonico

Thursday's Winter League action -- Venezuela Box Score RHP Arcenio Leon made 24 regular winter season appearances, and now must be nearing 30 combined with the round-robin play. Leon stranded both of his inherited runners upon coming in to the game, and while he did allow one run, his effort over 2.1 innings here is pretty solid within the context of his team's wild 12-11 loss -- Caracas Top of the 3rd Jesus Aguilar singles on a line drive to left fielder Jose Pirela. Bobby Abreu doubles (5) on a line drive to center fielder Ender Inciarte. Jesus Aguilar to 3rd. Alex Gonzalez singles on a line drive to left fielder Jose Pirela. Jesus Aguilar scores. Bobby Abreu to 3rd. Jesus Guzman strikes out on a foul tip. Daniel Mayora singles on a ground ball to second baseman Jose Flores. Bobby Abreu scores. Alex Gonzalez to 2nd. Gregorio Petit flies out to center fielder Ender Inciarte. Henry Blanco doubles (1) on a line drive to center fielder Ender Inciarte. Alex Gonzalez scores. Daniel Mayora to 3rd. Pitching Change: Arcenio Leon replaces Jason Lane. Yangervis Solarte grounds out, shortstop Freddy Galvis to first baseman Ernesto Mejia. Caracas Top of the 4th Alex Romero grounds out, shortstop Freddy Galvis to first baseman Ernesto Mejia. Jesus Aguilar grounds out, shortstop Freddy Galvis to first baseman Ernesto Mejia. Bobby Abreu grounds out, second baseman Jose Flores to first baseman Ernesto Mejia. Caracas Top of the 5th Alex Gonzalez grounds out, shortstop Freddy Galvis to first baseman Ernesto Mejia. Jesus Guzman singles on a line drive to right fielder Freddy Parejo. With Daniel Mayora batting, Jesus Guzman steals (1) 2nd base. Daniel Mayora strikes out swinging. Gregorio Petit singles on a ground ball to right fielder Freddy Parejo. Jesus Guzman scores. Gregorio Petit advances to 2nd, on a fielding error by right fielder Freddy Parejo. Henry Blanco flies out to center fielder Ender Inciarte. *** Dominican Box Score The Gigantes and Licey teams are now tied for the final spot in the DWL finals, both at 8-9. For Licey in their 9-6 loss, 1B Juan Francisco was 1-for-4 (RBI, one K). Eugenio Velez, playing right field in this one, was 2-for-4 (double, run scored). Wow, not only did SS Hector Gomez not miss any additional time with his hand injury from the night before, but he had a monster game here -- 3-for-4, including his 4th HR of the round robin, a two-out, three-run shot he pulled to left in the 2nd inning. *** Puerto Rico Box Score RHP Jose De La Torre may be one of the more anonymous names among 40-man roster members for casual Brewer fans, but if you've been following this thread, you've seen all his groundball-heavy winter outings detailed, another hold for him here -- Ponce Bottom of the 8th Pitching Change: Jose De La Torre replaces Miguel Mejia. Henry Ramos grounds out, second baseman Rey Navarro to first baseman Neftali Soto. Benji Gonzalez flies out to right fielder Juan Silva. Reymond Fuentes grounds out, second baseman Rey Navarro to first baseman Neftali Soto. *** Puerto Rico Box Score Mayaguez is in a real battle for a finals spot. Third baseman Irving Falu's weak winter continued, 0-for-5, although he did drive in a run. OK, Martin Maldonado, another HBP -- let's count the winter bruises. Maldonado played first base to catch a bit of a break in this 7-2 win. He also singled, walked, and scored a run (one K, one caught stealing).

Reuben Kincaid and the Professor, yikes, tough day. Via the Associated Press report -- “The Partridge Family,” which ran on ABC from September 1970 to March 1974, revolved around a widowed mother and her five children who form a band. Towering and rumpled, Mr. Madden played Reuben Kincaid, the agent who managed the band and regularly clashed with its impish preteen bassist, played by Danny Bonaduce. The series starred Shirley Jones, with her real-life son David Cassidy as the resident heartthrob. But it was Mr. Madden and the freckle-faced Mr. Bonaduce who were the reigning comic duo. “His relationship with Danny Bonaduce is what made the show work,” Ms. Jones said of Mr. Madden on Thursday, “this strange, mad little boy and the grown man who was even worse as a father figure.” Though Mr. Madden played a man bedeviled by the youngsters surrounding him, off camera he “loved kids,” Ms. Jones said. Mr. Bonaduce later wrote that during his troubled youth Mr. Madden served as his surrogate father.

Jason Rogers (who did not play Thursday night) tweeted (protected account) that his offseason finally begins this weekend, so he's wrapping things up even if his Dominican team advances to the DWL final, which it's currently set up to do. Long season after the AFL and winter ball. "Much needed" R&R, as per Jason. Enjoy! *** (Thursday's game results will be posted by mid-morning today.)

Liu followed up for us to confirm he'll be working with the Maryvale kids all summer. Welcome, Liu!

And Rosenthal follows suit: Source: #Brewers close to signing Mark Reynolds.

Now Jon Heyman sends out a tweet, must have followed up on Polek's tip: #Brewers are making a push for mark reynolds, and he's leaning toward signing with them. Makes sense. Milw has 1B opening.

That must have been a very minor injury (perhaps injured ego after his 3rd error), but SS Hector Gomez is in Thursday's starting lineup.