Jim Goulart

No Brewers saw action Monday, but you can review Sam Narron's seven Venezuelan League starts here. The 6'7" lefty never strikes out many, but his ratio this winter was tiny -- 8 K's in 33 IP. Narron's back in Texas now, participating in youth clinics among other things, so he's unlikely to add to his VWL stats (3.82 ERA).

And what if the Blue Jays had waited until after the Cliff Lee decision to make known Shaun Marcum was available. Nice job pulling the trigger, Doug. It's incredible what leverage those clubs willing to offer offering established pitching now have.

LHP Sam Narron (career stats) is the latest "familiarity" signing, as the minor league free agent will be in the Brewers' chain for a 6th consecutive season, as per Baseball America. The 29-year-old has one big league appearance, a start in 2004 with Texas.

Luis Cruz lined out in a pinch-hit at-bat Sunday. Alcides Escobar started both games of a doubleheader for a second consecutive day. He was 1-for-6 with two walks. His one hit was a two-out grand slam in the nightcap (box).

Alcides Escobar a combined 1-for-7 with a caught stealing in a Venezuelan doubleheader (box, box) -- now 17-for-80 (.213) with a single non-intentional walk (OBP .238); 2 SB, 2 CS. Luis Cruz 0-for-3 but on base twice with a walk and HBP (box), played second base in this one -- OPS of .914 in 112 AB's. That's it for Saturday's games...

Now with 16 relief appearances, RHP Zach Segovia finished up a scoreless non-save (four-run lead) effort for his Dominican League team Friday (box) -- Escogido Top of the 9th Pitcher Change: Zack Segovia replaces Jesus Colome. Justin Turner grounds out, third baseman Alex Valdez to first baseman Chris Davis. Colin Curtis walks. Willis Otanez grounds into double play, shortstop Michael Martinez to second baseman Ed Rogers to first baseman Chris Davis. Colin Curtis out at 2nd.

SS Luis Cruz 1-for-3 with a sacrifice fly, 7th error in 30 games. (box) Catcher Martin Maldonado followed up his big game on the 8th with a 1-for-4 day (box) Newcomer catcher Wil Nieves has played three games thus far in Puerto Rico, last game on the 6th (2-for-9, no walks) Those three, along with Carlos Gomez, Alcides Escobar and Josh Butler, represent the six 40-man roster players to see winter ball action for the Brewers this year.

Editorial from the Pensacola News Journal embracing the topic

Miscellaneous thoughts -- Hunter Morris was hoping to play in his hometown of Huntsville, looks like he'd need to see AA in 2011 to do so, which is certainly a possibility, especially by midseason. While the Pelicans is the mascot and logo that Pensacola's independent league team has used while playing in a mostly aluminum bench park on the campus of the University of West Florida (link), that doesn't mean they will be the Pelicans going forward, given their new affiliated identity in the new stadium. With the waterfront (and alliteration), it is a pretty cool identity, though. It's only 58 miles from Mobile, AL (Diamondbacks) to Pensacola, so as noted above, the BayBears may have some concerns. That wouldn't preclude the league from moving forward to a brand new facility when things in Huntsville seem rather hopeless. 502 miles from Pensacola to Viera, home of the Manatees (route) 443 miles from Pensacola to Nashville (route) Pensacola is 352 miles due south of Huntsville. This past season, the Pelicans averaged 1,150 fans in 44 dates for an independent league team playing in the college campus bleacher stadium linked above. Huntsville averaged 1,403 over 65 dates (actually surprised it was that high), by far last in the Southern League in 2010. The Huntsville Times' online coverage of the Stars fell off the map in 2010, after years of decent exposure. We can hope the the Pensacola News Journal, which is online in the same format as the Appleton Post-Crescent, will be all over the new team. We would miss the current excellent Huntsville audio coverage, but that should be covered by local Pensacola media as well given the excitement around the new ballpark. The Brewers must be giddy about this -- if this news was solidified prior to the affiliation alignment season this fall, there probably would have been interest in "Huntsville / Pensacola" as a destination by other organizations, probably seeking to take advantage of the maximum four-year agreement through 2014. The Brewers have placed representative, competitive teams in Huntsville for the majority of their stay since 1999, and the small market big league club has had many identifiable players represent the Stars on their way to the bigs. The Brewers should be able to sell themselves to the new ownership group, and will have 2012 as a direct opportunity to do so. It would be a bummer to be a "one year and out" club with that spanking new facility. But if at all possible, you approach Miles Prentice and see if you can extend from 2012 to 2014 now, unless you think that somehow this deal won't be made. Southern League president Don Mincher is a Huntsvillian, and it would crush him to move the Stars to Pensacola, but I'm not sure he can reasonably keep that from happening. As for the 2014 extension, Prentice would likely defer that decision to the new ownership group, and when would that sale happen -- prior to the 2011 season or after? (For that matter, there's no reason not to extend Brevard and Wisconsin through 2014 now as well.) Mark McCarter, the nationally respected writer with the Huntsville Times who often chimes in on these matters, is on vacation until December 16th. Not sure what we'll read about from the Stars' perspective until then. By tossing some of these notions out there, we've hopefully given him some story angle ideas http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif. As noted, while the Brewers are probably thrilled, don't look for any official comments from them, you'd think. Not until any arrangement becomes official, they will likely steer clear. Lost in all this is that we need to respect the current Huntsville staff top to bottom, and of course, will. Hopefully any new ownership group will recognize all their efforts and bring those wishing to move on to Pensacola with them. That said, it will be an awkward 2011 season if indeed it's a lame-duck year for the Huntsville locals. Even the potential new owner, Mr. Studer, used "90 percent" as a measuring stick for this happening. Those are good odds, but as we saw with the Nashville downtown stadium all of us thought was a lock (including the Brewers, who were burned by a subsequent four-year affiliation agreement), nothing happens until it happens. At least the stadium is being built this time around, while we wait on the sale and the move announcement. We've asked our friends at Baseball America, so adept at investigating the business side of minor league baseball, to peek in on the situation as well...

With Huntsville owner Miles Prentice attempting to put together an ownership group and bid on the Houston Astros, he may very well be looking to sell the Stars to this group.

Double-A baseball in Pensacola's future?Pelicans' owner Quint Studer close to purchase of franchise D.C. Reeves • dcreeves@pnj.com • December 10, 2010 It's looking like Pensacola may have Double-A baseball in its future. Pensacola Pelicans owner Quint Studer confirmed Thursday night that he's getting closer to purchasing a Double-A franchise with the idea of eventually relocating it to Pensacola. Studer placed the certainty at "90 percent" that the area could have an affiliated team for the 2012 season. "We're real pleased," Studer said. "I think we're very close to acquiring a Double-A baseball team. We think that within the next two or three weeks we will have what we think is a very exciting announcement for the city of Pensacola." The team, which would supplant the independent league Pelicans, would be a franchise in the Southern League. Citing a confidentiality agreement, Studer could not specify which franchise he is currently in negotiations to purchase. The Southern League includes teams from nearby cities like Mobile, Montgomery and Birmingham. The new team would serve as a centerpiece of the multi-use facility at the Community Maritime Park, which is currently under construction. Studer said that the sale would be contingent on Minor League Baseball's approval of the lease and the stadium. "What we've tried to do is under-promise and over-perform. When the Community Maritime Park (project) started, the thought was to move an independent team in there to play 45 home games (per season)," Studer said. "But to move a Double-A team downtown and play 70 home games, it's a game-changer." A Double-A franchise would be a significant upgrade to the area's baseball landscape. It would mean that a Pensacola team would serve as an affiliate to a Major League club, and that the organization's top prospects would spend time playing on the Pensacola team while working to move up to Major League Baseball. The Southern League would also be a much better geographic fit. Six of the 10 current Southern League teams are within a six-hour drive from Pensacola. The closest opponent in the Pelicans' current league, the American Association, is Shreveport, about a nine-hour trip from Pensacola. Southern League Commissioner Don Mincher was not available for comment on Thursday, and Southern League Vice President of Operations Lori Webb declined to comment. The News Journal interviewed Mincher in 2009 about the possibility of an affiliated club moving to Pensacola. "The No. 1 thing (for Pensacola to get a Southern League team) is to find an affiliated club that is interested. Once you do that, everything falls into place," he said. "(Pensacola) would fit our footprint very, very well." Mincher said at the time that the average cost for a Double-A franchise was $12 million to $15 million. Minor League Baseball — the governing body of all the affiliated minor leagues — has a rule that once Studer's acquisition of a Southern League team is complete, he can't be approved as the official owner until he has sold his independent league team. Studer said there is a tentative agreement in place to sell the existing Pelicans franchise, which would likely stay in the American Association but move west to make the team a better geographic fit for that league. That means if the purchase happens, there would likely be no professional baseball in Pensacola in 2011. Although Studer would own a Southern League franchise, that team would stay in its current location for a final season before being relocated for the 2012 season. "The goal is always to provide the highest quality of product you can possibly provide," Studer said. "When we thought it was possible to move into the affiliated world, it became evident that when we can go from 45 home games a year (in independent league), to having 70 games with 200,000 to 300,000 people (per season) coming downtown for the games, I think that's significant. I truly think that it puts Pensacola in a wonderful position." "The feeling that we've gotten from (Minor League Baseball) is that they're excited about Pensacola," Studer added. "They're excited for the location, and they're excited for the city as a whole."

Rather than add this potentially big news on to our lengthy Huntsville stadium and fanbase issues thread, we'll start a new topic: From Ballpark Digest: WINTER MEETINGS -- Pensacola Pelicans (independent; American Association) owner Quint Studer says he's on the verge of buying a Double-A Southern League team to play at his new waterfront ballpark in 2012, with an announcement expected in the next few weeks. Based on conversions we had at the Winter Meetings, the team in question is most likely the Huntsville Stars, whose ballpark issues do not appear to have any resolution in sight. If the purchase happens, it's most likely the Pelicans will go dark for the 2011 season. One issue, though: territorial rights concerning neaby Mobile. The race to put an affilated team on Florida's panhandle appears to have been won by Studer and Pensacola. Earlier this year Panama City officials were openly seeking an owner for a potential ballpark on city-controlled land. *** This is horrible news for Huntsville locals (the few diehards that remained, several of which visit with us regularly), but potentially tremendous news for the Brewers. A brand new facility, and one year to hopefully impress the Pensacola folks to renew with the Brewers for 2013 and beyond.

Four players, four leagues -- in order, VEN, MEX, PR, DOM Signs of life from Alcides Escobar with a 2nd consecutive multi-hit game -- 3-for-5, two doubles, run, RBI, K (box) Luis Cruz was only 1-for-5, but his hit was a game-tying 7th inning solo home run in a game his team won 2-1 in 13 innings (box); six home runs and 16 extra-base hits for Cruz in 101 AB's. Sergio Miranda, leading off and playing third base, was 2-for-4 with a sacrifice bunt (box) Erick Almonte, playing first base, singled in four tips (box)

Just a reminder that Narveson spent time in the Cardinals, Rockies, Red Sox systems -- he's not home-grown, although he made fine strides since his acquisition.

McCalvy indicates that's the case -- non-guaranteed.

Toronto's GM discusses Brett Lawrie in detail in this additional audio interview. Adding to the audio available from this thread -- Brett Lawrie talks to Toronto Sports Radio (Yes, he discusses the MillerParkDrunk photos, improperly credited to Deadspin; also dances around the Arizona Fall League decline...)

Never mind, this was the list we saw elsewhere, it's probably been copied in other links as well, and they did not include Rosario either. So it was never an MLB-released list.

Never mind, this was the list we saw elsewhere, it's probably been copied in other links as well, and they did not include Rosario either. So it was never an MLB-released list.

I'll need to look at an older media guide, but since Adrian Rosario did not pitch in 2006, the year that he signed, we had thought for sure that he had signed a 2007 contract. That is so often the case in the signings of young Latinos. But unfortunately, he must have signed a 2006 contract, and thus has five years of pro ball experience, not four. So Rosario was not included in our list kicking off this thread among the eligibles. Earlier this week, somewhere on our forums, was a link to a blogger who listed all the draft-eligibles. Can someone help us find that again? I'm curious to see if he listed Rosario as well. His inclusion on the list would have probably led to some conjecture about him on our part prior to the draft. Apologies for missing that tough one...

I'll need to look at an older media guide, but since Adrian Rosario did not pitch in 2006, the year that he signed, we had thought for sure that he had signed a 2007 contract. That is so often the case in the signings of young Latinos. But unfortunately, he must have signed a 2006 contract, and thus has five years of pro ball experience, not four. So Rosario was not included in our list kicking off this thread among the eligibles. Earlier this week, somewhere on our forums, was a link to a blogger who listed all the draft-eligibles. Can someone help us find that again? I'm curious to see if he listed Rosario as well. His inclusion on the list would have probably led to some conjecture about him on our part prior to the draft. Apologies for missing that tough one...

On top of those positive Wednesday developments, there were two other big days -- In Mexico, SS Luis Cruz homered (his 5th), singled, and walked in three plate appearances. He did miss a catch to commit his 6th error in 28 games. Oddly, he was pinch-hit for in the 7th in the midst of a perfect day at the plate, although his team was well ahead at that time (box). Alcides Escobar doubled and singled in four trips in Venezuela, batting 2nd in the lineup (two runs scored, one RBI, one K) -- box.

Here's a pretty informative paragraph -- Puerto Rican Winter League San Juan 13, Mayaguez 8 Brewers prospect Sergio Miranda ended a 4-for-30 slump by going 4-for-6 with a triple and four RBIs as the Senadores outslugged the Indios. Edwin Maysonet (Astros) added two hits and plated three runs, while Dodgers farmhand Ivan De Jesus was 3-for-5 and scored twice. Martin Maldonado (Brewers) homered, doubled twice and knocked in four runs in a losing effort. That's a box score you may want to see. Despite that prior slump, Miranda is still shining a .353 / .405 / .412 stat line (.817 OPS) in 119 AB's. Sergio Miranda batted .294 with 71 RBIs and 14 steals for Class A Advanced Brevard County in 2010. (Mark LoMoglio/MiLB.com) http://mlb.mlb.com/images/2010/12/09/3qeGWHVP.jpg

RHP Zack Segovia continues to make the Brewers look good with their non-roster spring training invite. Save # 8, some recognizable opponents, tied for the Dominican League lead in saves... (box) Licey Top of the 9th Pitcher Change: Zack Segovia replaces Marcos Mateo. Brad Snyder strikes out swinging. Wily Mo Pena singles on a line drive to right fielder Eugenio Velez. Offensive Substitution: Pinch runner Brian Cavazos-Galvez replaces Wily Mo Pena. Timo Perez singles on a fly ball to left fielder Victor Mendez. Brian Cavazos-Galvez to 2nd. Offensive Substitution: Pinch runner Bernie Castro replaces Timo Perez. Jake Fox strikes out swinging. Andy Marte grounds out, third baseman Alex Valdez to first baseman Chris Davis.

Here's another fine detailed recap from Chris, this time on his # 2 game of the year.

For the record, I love it when Backupcatchers chimes in on the topic of backup catchers...