Jim Goulart

Chris Mehring chats with RHP Cody Scarpetta. Love the offseason stuff, Chris, thanks!

From the 14th: Willie Randolph Corey Hart (not so audio-dynamic) Ryan Braun (always a fun listen)

Trying to locate more online news about the Big League Orientation program that took place last week, we did learn that Amaury Rivas, Josh Butler, Zack Braddock, and Jonathan Lucroy represented the Brewers among other prospects in Washington, DC. They had a private tour of the White House and spoke to press secretary Robert Gibbs, then had dinner at the Capital, where I'm sure they put their "which fork to use" skills to the test. MiLB.com normally has a pictorial up within a week or so of the event.

Link while active, text follows: WM grad ready for Brewers spring training BY JOSH HACHAT Newark (Ohio) Advocate Sports Writer PATASKALA -- Eric Arnett got on a plane early this morning, heading to Phoenix to prepare for spring training. Before leaving Ohio, he made sure to leave with a memorable moment. The Watkins Memorial graduate and first-round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers was honored at the high school Saturday, as his No. 22 jersey was retired at a dinner that honored his career. "This means a lot," Arnett said. "When you get a chance to come home and soak some things in, it's pretty special. This is a great experience. "(Having the jersey retired) is something I never thought would happen. It means a lot to me." Arnett finished off an impressive senior season at Indiana this past spring and was then selected with the 26th pick in the Major League Baseball first-year player draft. Watkins Memorial baseball coach Donald Schone said he was excited to celebrate Arnett's time at the school. "You don't get too many major league players -- and on top of that, a first-rounder -- so it's a very rare thing," Schone said. "It's a special night." Arnett spent much of the evening signing autographs and celebrating, but part of him likely already was thinking about the road ahead. He will crank up the workouts upon returning to Phoenix with hopes of opening more eyes in the organization. "You always have goals in the back of your mind, but you have to take it a day at a time," Arnett said. "This will be my first full year, but I always have goals, whether it's move up to double-A or whatever. I just have to throw strikes and let everything take care of itself." Arnett spent his first professional season with the Helena Brewers -- Milwaukee's rookie-level team -- going 0-4 with a 4.41 ERA in 34 2/3 innings. Despite pitching 108 innings with Indiana in the spring -- Arnett went 12-2 with a 2.50 ERA and was a first-team All-American -- Arnett said he never had any arm troubles and felt strong all summer. He then spent the fall pitching in an instructional league where the hard-throwing right-hander saw even more improvement. "That really helped. You weren't really worried about stats or anything, you're just working on a new pitch or something mechanical," Arnett said. "That was real good. "The main focus was doing the same thing with my delivery every time and working on a changeup. I got a pretty good grasp on it." Schone also talked glowingly of Arnett's development in other areas that could pay dividends in the future. "The biggest thing that impresses me is his maturity level," Schone said. "He's grown up and he's shown a lot of maturity. "I think he's figured out he's capable of playing well. A lot of it is between the ears and he's figuring it out. His mental game is improving a great deal." Arnett will start with the Brewers in spring training, getting a chance to work with the MLB team for an extended period. From there, the Brewers will designate him to the minor leagues, but Arnett is hoping to take advantage of his time this spring. "It will be big just to watch how the players prepare and what they do," Arnett said. "That will be really beneficial. You can learn a lot from their work ethic." http://cmsimg.newarkadvocate.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BF&Date=20100117&Category=SPORTS&ArtNo=1170321&Ref=AR&Profile=1006&MaxW=550&MaxH=650&title=0 Watkins Memorial baseball coach Don Schone, left, and Eric Arnett hold up Arnett's framed jersey that will hang in the halls of the high school. (Photo by Joe Hahn, The Advocate)

One way to guarantee plenty of ink about yourself is to be from Canada -- Axford looks to brew success in '10 By BOB ELLIOTT, TORONTO SUN John Axford got Albert Pujols to pop up in the bottom of the 10th inning on the final day of the season. Not a bad way for the Milwaukee Brewers rookie from Port Dover, Ont., who began the season at class-A Brevard County to register his first save. "Bring that with you next spring," Brewers manager Ken Macha said. Teammates congratulated Axford, surely a tiding of good things to come in 2010 after Axford struck out David Freese and Khalil Green before getting Pujols out, saving a 9-7 Milwaukee win. Axford has taken pen to paper to figure out the Brewers' bullpen spots. "Seth McClung has gone, another guy was non-tendered, LaTroy Hawkins signed as a free agent and they added an arm in the Rule V (Chuck Lofgren)," Axford said. "I think there's one spot open." Axford was presented a special recognition award at the annual Baseball Canada Fund Raiser banquet Saturday. Released by the New York Yankees in 2007, Axford was signed by London's Jay Lapp in February of 2008. "There was supposed to be a few scouts there but there was a snowstorm, Jay was the only guy who made it," Axford said. Adam Stern of London, Ont., received the World Cup MVP Award after helping Canada to bronze at the World Cup in Italy, Canada's first medal. Representing Major League Baseball, Bruce Froemming handed over a cheque for $50,000, Jim Fanning and Sean McCann gave $25,000 cheque from the Blue Jays and the Royal Bank handed out $15,000.

Yes, Heckathorn's invite was announced at the time of his signing, which led us to believe Arnett had it written into his contract as well...

Not exactly transactions, but we'll link everyone here to Tom H., who summarizes all the big league camp invites. You can comment here if you wish, but if we get off on a tangent, we may have to split the thread up.

Brad Nelson discusses his minor league re-signing with the Mariners with his hometown paper.

Brad Nelson discusses his minor league re-signing with the Mariners with his hometown paper.

Good for LHP Sam Narron, who managed to get a big league spring training invite with his Detroit Tiger minor league contract, as did Max St. Pierre (the infamous Ben Hendrickson trade).

Good for LHP Sam Narron, who managed to get a big league spring training invite with his Detroit Tiger minor league contract, as did Max St. Pierre (the infamous Ben Hendrickson trade).

Brock Kjeldgaard with Chris Mehring -- another nice Q&A session

Waukesha native and Spaghettio's "inventor" passes away. Huge part of my childhood, at my age my lifespan pretty much has matched Spaghettio's. Still indulge occasionally today. Franks or Meatballs? It's like Ginger or Mary Ann.....

Link while active, text follows: Former Wallace State (Alabama) slugger now with the Huntsville Stars By Johnny Thornton When Wallace State Community College baseball coach Randy Putman signed Zelous Wheeler to a scholarship in 2006, he saw an athlete with good skills and the potential of making it to the major leagues one day. Wheeler is on the right path as the former standout for one of the top junior college programs in the nation is moving up in his quest to be a major league performer. Wheeler will be in his first full season for the Huntsville Stars this year, the Double A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. Following two great seasons that helped Wallace State produce its sixth Alabama Junior College championship and a third place finish in the National Junior College World Series, Wheeler has made progress in two seasons of organized ball for the Brewers, getting promoted from the rookie league in 2007 to the Midwest League in 2008 and on to Brevard County in the Florida State League last year. "Zelous was a great player for us for two years," Putman said. "He has contnued to improve and has a chance to play in the big leagues." A friend of Putman's informed the veteran coach about Wheeler in 2005 when Putman was well into recruiting for the upcoming season. "We could tell that he was very athletic. He was extremely quick for a big guy who weighed 220 pounds. He could move very well playing third base." While at Wallace State, Putman was able to develop Wheeler into a solid hitter, especially hitting the ball the opposite way from the right side of the plate. "He was one of our best hitters," Putman added. "a great clutch hitter, we wanted him at the plate when the game was on the lne. Zelous is a hard worker. He came here as a pretty good player and left here as a better player. He's very coachable." His numbers have increased from one year to the next while playing professional ball. Wheeler batted . 258 with 13 home runs and 87 runs batted in during the 2008 season and last year in getting the move to play for Brevard County, he clubbed a .268 average, smacked 23 doubles, belted seven homers, drove in 64 runs and had an on base plus slugging percentage of .760. Drafted in the 19th round by the Brewers in the 2007 draft, Wheeler was a mid-season All-Star in the Florida State League last year and was selected player of the week during the third week of '09 FSL season. His best performance came in the rookie league when he was four for five in a game against Casper with a triple, home run and three runs scored. Putman said Wheeler got to play for Huntsville in the final couple of weeks for the Stars and was a member of their Southern League playoff team. Putman compared Wheeler's skills to former Cubs and Pirates' slugger Bill Madlock. Madlock had a stocky-type body and could hit for power and average, especially when he was traded to Pittsburgh and helped the Pirates win the World Series in 1979. With good ability to hit the ball to the opposite side of the field, Putman feels that Wheeler has the potential of getting a lot of extra base hits and possibly hitting 15 to 18 homers in the upcoming season for the Stars. "I felt Zelous was ready for professional baseball when the Brewers drafted him in 2007," Putman continued. "He's very mature and was ready for it." Putman reflected on a time where many coaches have told the 21-year veteran at Wallace State that Wheeler is one of the best third baseman they've seen in junior college. Wheeler is one of five former Lions that is currently innvolved in Major League Baseball. Pitcher Derek Holland has worked his way to the roster for the Texas Rangers while Trey Kimbrell is in the Atlanta Braves' organization, Jake Elmore is playing minor league ball for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Ryan Keedy is a member of the Florida Marlins' farm system. Putman will continue to follow the career of Wheeler, especially that he's an hour from the Wallace State campus in Hanceville, even while he is busy with his 21st season coaching the Lions and trying to lead his ball club back above the rest of solid competition in the Northern Division of the Alabama Community College. Putman has experienced a great moment from the coaching standpoint in having former players such as Jey Bell, Travis Fryman, Terry Jones and Derek Holland to make it to the majors and believes that with the determination and hard work Zelous Wheeler provides on an every day basis, he will be wearing the uniform of the Milwaukee Brewers in the near future.

It'll be pretty exciting if we get to listen to any Huntsville players hit for the cycle during a home game in 2010. Of course, it'd be more exciting if we were there with a chance to win: Cycle Nation is sponsoring the Cycle Nation 'Hit for the Cycle' promotion. If a Huntsville Stars player hits for the cycle (Single, Double, Triple and Home Run) during any 2010 home game, one lucky fan will win a $5,000 gift certificate from Cycle Nation. That lucky fan will be determined by a lucky signature on the Cycle Nation ad in the Game Day Roster Insert. If you have the program with the lucky signature you'll win the certificate if the Stars player hits for the cycle during that game. http://www.cyclenationhuntsville.com/ Remember when Milwaukee players could actually win a Harley by doing the same?

No, brand new to the 40-man, Milwaukee can shuttle him for the next three years to AAA (or keep him there full-time, which would be tough for Adam, having already toiled in the system for seven seasons).

More "Sign of the Times" in this press release from Nashville, including: In 2010, The Zone will air all 72 home games as well as five select away games (April 14 at Iowa, May 27 at Sacramento, June 13 at Omaha, June 25 at Memphis, August 11 at Las Vegas) over the airwaves on 104.5 FM, with the remainder of games available to fans via live internet webcast based at www.nashvillesounds.com. I imagine across the country fewer and fewer markets will support (via advertising) radio coverage of 140 games. In terms of Brewerfan's interest, as long as there's a webcast... Broadcasts will begin approximately five minutes prior to game time and will include a 10-minute postgame show. That's a much shorter daily pre-game than in the past, and doesn't bode well for the archived pre-game audio interviews we're accustomed to from the Sounds. We'll have to see on that one.

That's part of the reasoning, yes. Also, battlekow will once again give us a 4th voice in the Power 50 rankings, and I'll have formal help more often than in past years with Daily Link Reporting come the regular season. Needless to say, we think we signed the top free agent contributor we could find this offseason http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif.

Normally we don't "report" on each and every independent league transaction involving former Brewer farmhands (we'd all be overwhelmed), but we do like to mention when recently released Brewers find homes in the indy ranks. RHP Josh Wahpepah is a Kansas City T-Bone of the Northern League, with details in this press release.

Normally we don't "report" on each and every independent league transaction involving former Brewer farmhands (we'd all be overwhelmed), but we do like to mention when recently released Brewers find homes in the indy ranks. RHP Josh Wahpepah is a Kansas City T-Bone of the Northern League, with details in this press release.

RH reliever Saul Rivera to the Indians. OF Jay Gibbons to the Dodgers. RHP R.A. Dickey to the Mets. C Mike Rivera to the Yankees (as discussed elsewhere previously). None include 40-man roster spots.

RH reliever Saul Rivera to the Indians. OF Jay Gibbons to the Dodgers. RHP R.A. Dickey to the Mets. C Mike Rivera to the Yankees (as discussed elsewhere previously). None include 40-man roster spots.

Catching up on audio archives from January 6th: Ken Macha Yovani Gallardo Jody Gerut

Waterbury (Connecticut) Newspaper: Voice of Waterbury Spirit alive and well By Joe Palladino Waterbury is fortunate and all the richer for its long-running and exceptional broadcast legacy. It began half a century ago with the radio voice that defines the phrase broadcast legend, the man we called AV, Allie Vestro Sr. The link remains unbroken, from AV Sr., to AV Jr., to Jim Senich and today to The Voice, Bob Sagendorf. There is a link in that chain you may not remember. This link remains vibrant in the business, and he may be the highest achiever of all our broadcasters. To remember him, you must remember professional baseball in Waterbury, the last vestige being the independent Waterbury Spirit. The voice of the Spirit, Stu Paul, is still climbing the ladder in the world of sports broadcasting. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native, 51, did play-by-play for home Spirit games for four seasons, with occasional turns as a color analyst when Senich slipped behind the microphone. "I really enjoyed being in Waterbury," said Paul in a telephone interview last week from San Antonio, Texas. "For one thing, it was really close to home for a guy who lived in Brooklyn, and I met some great people there. You couldn't work with a better man than Jim Senich, and, the guy who covered the Spirit for your newspaper, Roger Cleaveland, he is still there? You tell him I said hello." Consider it done. Paul's broadcast career started where all good ones do, in small stations in small towns, doing sportscasts and high school games in upstate New York. He moved up to minor league hockey, with the Utica Blizzard, San Antonio Iguanas and Tulsa Oilers. His true passion, though, is baseball, and Paul had stops in Hagerstown, Md., Jacksonville, Fla., and of course, the garden spot of the game, Waterbury. He has done Quad Cities Thunder basketball, University of Texas-San Antonio men's and women's college basketball, and his most recent gig, the Double A San Antonio Missions. Now, comes the big step. Paul has finally landed a big one: This summer he will be the play-by-play man for the Nashville Sounds, the Triple A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. When we reached him by phone, he was packing up the last few boxes and preparing for the long drive to the Music City. "I've had shots at jobs with the Cleveland Indians and Florida Marlins," Paul said. "There have been a few close calls. This is my first Triple A job. These are larger crowds, in the largest cities in America without major league teams." Triple A ball is the place where young men prove they are ready for the bigs, or where fading talent proves it deserves one more shot. It is the same for broadcasters. Paul is not a young buck and this is not his last chance, but it is his first chance to prove he is ready. "I wasn't the best student growing up," Paul admits. "I also knew I was not going to be the next Mickey Mantle, but I wanted to be somebody and do something with my life. I love sports, and I can talk, so I worked hard to get rid of a Brooklyn accent and now I go to work at a ball park or an arena every day. I love what I do, plain and simple. I love doing play by play. It is my life. It jangles my juices, as Satchel Paige said. If I couldn't be a ball player, this is what I wanted to do, and I am glad I stayed with it for all these years." Paul's dogged pursuit to get the major leagues, in any sport, has taken him to every level of sport in America. This was his third shot to get a Triple A job. He won this one over more than 100 candidates. Nashville has big league teams in the Preds and the Titans. Now it has a broadcaster who has taken the long and winding road to get to a big league town, and earn his shot to the Big Show. One stop along the way was Waterbury.

Ta-da! Thanks, Patrick (colbyjack) for the compilation and the commentary.