Jim Goulart

Fan Fest Photo Gallery (Players aren't identified in the majority of the photos, although we could wager some educated guesses...) Post-Crescent reporter Brett Christopherson maintains a blog for the Post-Crescent; between this blog and that of Voice of the Rattlers Chris Mehring, not to mention the hundreds of first-hand account posts we'll see this year, there will be wall-to-wall coverage for all (overload occasionally, perhaps? Yes, but that's fine...) Last night's post includes a Cutter Dykstra video interview. Link while active, text follows: Brett Lawrie, Cutter Dykstra give Wisconsin Timber Rattlers star attractions Brett Christopherson column, Appleton Post-Crescent GRAND CHUTE - Tuesday was a day for the two teen sensations to speak now or forever hold their peace. Both spoke up. And neither held anything back. For example, there was this bring-it-on response from 19-year-old Wisconsin Timber Rattlers second baseman Brett Lawrie when asked about the pressure cooker life supposedly comes in being rated by Baseball America as the third best prospect in the Milwaukee Brewers minor league system. The Rattlers, by the way, are entering the season as Milwaukee's new low-Class A Midwest League affiliate. "I've had pressure ever since I was 8 years old," Lawrie said during the team's annual Fan Fest event at Fox Cities Stadium. "And you know what? It is what it is. Baseball is a game of failure. Obviously, you can't succeed 100 percent of the time. I play hard for everybody, my teammates and the people who are watching. And I play hard for myself." Then there was this shrug-of-the-shoulders from Rattlers center fielder Cutter Dykstra, another 19-year-old and, like Lawrie, a highly-rated prospect - No. 7, to be exact, as deemed by the good folks at Baseball America. "We kind of just let our games speak for ourselves," Dykstra said. "Me and Brett both play hard. It's kind of like, between the lines, you forget about it and just play." Of course, it's a chore to forget about anything when you're constantly offered reminders. Like Tuesday, when the media's glare shined primarily on them, the bells and whistles of a promising roster dotted with eight of Milwaukee's top 30 minor league players. Hey Brett, you were selected by the Brewers in the first round, 16th overall, during last June's draft and inked a deal that included a $1.7 million bonus. How has life changed? "Everyone expects you to succeed, right?" said Lawrie, who - get this - is still seeking his first professional at-bat because he spent last summer representing Team Canada at the World Junior Championships and the Beijing Olympics. He also played for his homeland in last month's World Baseball Classic. "I don't worry about succeeding because I know if I just play hard and play my game and don't try to do too much, hopefully things will work out," Lawrie added. Hey Cutter, you were plucked by the Crew in the second round, 54th overall, during last year's draft and signed for $737,000. And your father, Lenny, starred in the majors. That's got to be a burden, right? "When I have my name on the back of my jersey, I like it because I want people to leave the field saying, 'He plays the game like his dad,'" said Dykstra, who hit .271 with five homers and 17 RBI in 48 rookie level games last year. "I don't feel any pressure." Well, a little wouldn't hurt. "They're high picks and they got a lot of money, no question," said Rattlers hitting coach Matt Erickson, a former Appleton West standout who appeared in four major league games with the Brewers in 2004. "But they still are 19 year old kids, and they still have a lot of growing up to do on and off the field. "(The big leagues) are something that they have to earn. There are no gifts. It doesn't matter if you're drafted in the first round, you pretty much have to prove it on the field. And I think those kids understand that." Both insist they do. "I try to forget about stuff like money, because the goal is to get to the big leagues," Dykstra said. Added Lawrie: "I've always thrived on trying to do well. I never wanted to fail. And I think that's what has helped me get to where I am - having the drive inside of me to keep going." Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Brett Lawrie and Cutter Dykstra warm up during the annual Fan Fest on Monday. Post-Crescent photo by Patrick Ferron http://cmsimg.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=U0&Date=20090408&Category=APC021102&ArtNo=304080013&Ref=AR&Profile=1009&MaxW=550&MaxH=650&title=0

Thanks, David, it's more important that we get it "right" before we get it "fast", so if you end up posting it at your site, www.starsboxscore.com, please link to it here (but in a new thread) for us this evening.

Chris Mehring with news of how the Timber Rattlers' starting rotation and piggyback system is going to shape up to start the season THU: RHP Cody Scarpetta/LHP Efrain Nieves FRI: LHP Evan Frederickson/RHP Trey Watten SAT: LHP Dan Merklinger SUN: OFF DAY MON: RHP Wily Peralta/RHP Cody Adams TUE: RHP Michael Bowman Further details in the link to his post above.

We've been told that the situation with the final two rosters (Stars and Manatees) is still fluid, and we will absolutely honor the request from the Brewers at the top as we patiently wait for confirmation from the Huntsville and Brevard front offices. The Brewers and all the affiliate front offices have been very kind to us over the years; it's pretty easy to honor that request to stay in their good graces... A reminder that there may be some "maintenance" at AAA and low-A as well; we know Nashville definitely has to free up one spot. That being said, I personally will not be online after this afternoon until the very late overnight -- it may be that others will be the first to present the rosters to you here this evening, if at all.

Voice of the Timber Rattlers Chris Mehring is doing a live blog from the Wisconsin -- UW-Oshkosh game in Appleton at 2:45 Central Tuesday.

Latest on what the $2.5 million of improvements at Greer went towards

RHP Kevin Roberts, who was dealt to the Pirates with RHP Marino Salas for Salomon Torres, was released by Pittsburgh.

From Adam McCalvy's blog post, linked here: "Wisconsin native right-handed pitcher R.J. Seidel, is out for the year with a knee injury. He slipped on some ice during the winter and "tore up" his knee, Melvin said, and underwent surgery. Fellow pitching prospects Zach Braddock and Alex Periard will also miss the start of the season with injuries. Periard was sidelined all spring by a sore right shoulder, but Melvin was not sure of the nature of the left-hander Braddock's injury, but he did have offseason surgery. Both Braddock and Periard should be able to pitch in 2009." "Playing time at Huntsville opened up for Vinny Rottino because prospect Taylor Green is "taking longer than we thought" to return from offseason wrist surgery, Melvin said. The Brewers don't expect him back until June, and Green may be asked to return to the Arizona Fall League at the end of the season." Yikes... Read the blog post entry in full for updates on Mike Jones (back to Brevard) and Rottino...

Titans take on Timber Rattlers April 7 The UW Oshkosh baseball team will play the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in a five-inning exhibition game at 3 p.m. April 7 at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute. The competition is part of the Timber Rattlers' annual Fan Fest Celebration. The Timber Rattlers, a Class A minor league affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers, will supply the pitchers and catchers for both teams. The Titans will play defense and use wooden bats in lieu of their customary aluminum/composite bats. UW Oshkosh's baseball program long has been a producer of professional talent, including former Timber Rattlers Sean Parnell and Korey Feiner as well as major leaguers Jack Taschner of the Philadelphia Phillies and Jarrod Washburn of the Seattle Mariners. The Timber Rattlers' Fan Fest Celebration begins at noon and concludes at 6 p.m. The event also includes free pizza, hot dogs, soda and popcorn; a tour of the stadium; and a player autograph session following exhibition game.

Buck Rogers in Huntsville: The 2009 Huntsville Stars began arriving to Joe Davis Stadium today. A huge thanks to members of the Stars Booster Club for assisting with a hectic day in lousy weather. The Booster Club met the team, provided snacks and lunches and welcomed them 'home.' We couldn't make it without them. Anybody interested in joining this part of the Stars family can log onto http://www.starsboosters.hostse.com/. The Stars Booster Club always welcomes new members and your involvement will always be appreciated. Join the fun and get to know your Stars up close and personal with a variety of private picnics, parties and team events. For more information, check out the Stars Booster Club web site (at the above listed link). We will have a complete roster finalized tomorrow and released once we get the green light from Milwaukee. There may be a couple last second player shuffles and we want an accurate roster before releasing it. Wednesday night's exhibition game against UAH is open to the public. The game is being played in lieu of a team workout and the game will probably be six or seven innings in length. Immediately after the game we'll have a short autograph signing session on-field with both teams. There is no cost to attend this exhibition game.

R.J. Seidel on the disabled list to open the season. 27 active players? Unless MiLB has adjusted roster limits at low-A, thought it was 25. Newcomer RHP Jim Henderson is a vet of AA and even a bit of AAA with the Cubs. He can't be long for low-A.

Press Release: Lawrie & Dykstra Headline 2009 Timber Rattlers Highlights of the 2009 Timber Rattlers: The infield is led by the Brewers 1st round pick in the 2008 draft (16th overall), Brett Lawrie. After signing with Milwaukee, Lawrie participated with the Canadian National Team in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. The 3rd best Brewers prospect according to Baseball America will be making his professional debut with the Timber Rattlers. After spending two years as a pitcher, Brock Kjeldgaard (34th round 2005) was converted to the infield and was a Pioneer League All-Star for Helena in 2008 after hitting 27 doubles and 14 home runs. INF Michael Marseco (11th round 2008) hit .311 in 40 games for Helena. OF Cutter Dykstra was a 2nd round pick of the Brewers in 2008. Rated as the 7th best prospect for the Brewers, he is the son of former Major Leaguer Lenny Dykstra. Cutter is joined in the outfield by Erik Komatsu, Milwaukee's 8th round pick in the '08 draft. The Cal State Fullerton product batted .321 for Rookie Helena last year. OF Michael Vass (35th round 2008) is no stranger to Time Warner Cable Field, having played for Chapman University in the 2008 NCAA Division III Championships. He hit .333 (4-12) with 4 RBI for the Panthers in their three games in Appleton. The pitching staff features eight players drafted in the top twelve rounds of the MLB Draft, including 2008 Supplemental 1st rounder LHP Evan Frederickson and 2008 2nd round choice RHP Cody Adams, as well as five members of the Brewers top 30 prospects, led by RHP Cody Scarpetta at number 15. RHP Wily Peralta (#22), LHP Efrain Nieves (#23), Frederickson (#24), and Adams (#28) also made the Baseball America list.

Thanks, mls. We'll be tidying up and shortening up the alumni thread for 2009 in a couple of weeks, and your research there will be very important. Matt Wise also retired, by the way. Kevin Mench is overseas. Richie Sexson and Ray Durham never found suitors.

The Brewers have released one of their offseason signings, INF Jonathan Ash. The Nashville site had described his signing as follows-- INF Jonathan Ash - The 26-year-old second baseman was selected by the Brewers in the Triple-A phase of December's Rule 5 draft off the Double-A Corpus Christi roster of the Houston Astros. Ash batted .240 (66-for-275) with 11 RBIs in 105 games between Corpus Christi and Triple-A Round Rock last season, when he gained his first career Class AAA experience. Ash carries a career .299 batting average in 483 games over his five professional seasons after being selected by the Astros in the 11th round of the 2004 draft. Also getting released was: Big (6'3", 218) 19-year-old first baseman Pedro Ramos, the left-handed Puerto Rican native, hit .211 in 142 AB's with the rookie Arizona Brewers in '08 (13 BB, 52 K's).

Isn't this an extreme comment? Give the kid a chance -- yikes. Kevin Goldstein's "Notes from the desert" article at Baseball Prospectus from 4/3 included an ominous note about Lawrie generated by a quote from a scout: Brett Lawrie, 2B, Brewers: "He sure can hit, but I don't know what they're going to do with him now that he's not a catcher. Second base was just a joke. No way, no how he's going to be able to stay there." C'mon, dude, the kid's 19 and hasn't played a pro game yet. Lots of eyes in Appleton will watch him make progress and tell us about it here.

Igor, Adam McCalvy reported that Cole will be the DH at Brevard County until his elbow stops barking (can hit, can't throw).

The Nashville staff, via maintaining their own site outside the MiLB.com umbrella, is able to best present their roster. Right now, there are 25 guys on there so one move will need to be made prior toThursday to get them down to the 24-man active limit. That's been confirmed by the Sounds. Three players will make their first stop at the Class AAA level with the Sounds in 2009: reliever David Johnson (who posted a 3.32 ERA in 40 relief outings for Huntsville last season), Alcides Escobar, and Angel Salome. Of course, Alcides and Angel got a taste of Milwaukee last September, so the real congrats on progressing up the chain a step goes to Johnson, the 26-year-old 2004 15th round pick out of UCLA. Top Prospects Highlight Opening Day Roster Formal Roster List -- Clicking on a name will provide bio information, some players bio's will be added in the coming day or two...

So Jim Powell gets to call the first pitch of the season tonight! I'm going to try and check out some of that audio this evening for sure.

Thanks for the heads up, BrewCrewBall -- this has been up at the Manatees' site since late March: Interview Transcript with Manatees Hitting Coach Corey Hart Also: Interview Transcript with Manatees Pitching Coach Fred Dabney Interview Transcript with Manatees Manager Mike Guerrero

Earlier in this thread, we posted this: In this thread, we made note of the following six signings, thanks -- Here's a summary of the players the Brewers did sign: Luis Chirinos - Venezuelan corner OF signed for $90,000. Turned 16 in late August. Jaime King - 6'4", 210 pound 19-year old Dominican RHP. Touches low-90s with fastball, adds a curve and change. Jose Ramos - another 19-year old Dominican RHP. Also touches the low-90s. Baseball America reports that the Brewers have signed an outfielder named Juan Barrini. LHP Manuel Ruiz is the latest Latin American youngster to be signed, according to Baseball America. Baseball America reports the Brewers have signed RHP Heri Olivo. ************************************************************************* 4/4/09 Update: With media guide in hand, we can now tell you the following about those newcomers and others -- we probably won't see any in action until June at Helena and/or Maryvale -- some of the comments above are repeated below (with adjustments): Joan (we imagine pronounced Jo'- ahn) Abreu will be 19 years old in July. He's a 5'11", 180 lb. Dominican infielder; a right-handed bat. Outfielder Juan Barrini turned 17 years old last New Year's day. The Dominican native is listed at 6'2", 175; a right-handed bat. Luis Chirinos - Venezuelan corner OF signed for $90,000. Turned 16 in late August, as noted above. Another RH bat. Jaime King - 6'4", 210 pound 19-year old Dominican RHP. Touches low-90s with fastball, adds a curve and change. (The media guide now lists him at 190). Throughout his career, we'll need to remember he's a Latin-based talent with that name. Andres Martinez is a 6'2" 178 lb. infielder (corner, we would imagine) from the D.R. He turned 17 last January. RH bat. LHP Eliezer Montano (we always cheer lefty's) is a 17-year-old Venezuelan who stands at 6'7" (Wow! And still growing, we imagine) and a lean 170. Immediately we're intrigued. Jose Ramos - another 19-year old Dominican RHP, Ramos turns 20 in June. Also touches the low-90s. (Actually, the Brewer media guide lists him as a LHP. Cool!) 6'5", 215 -- nice. LHP Manuel Ruiz (it's a run on southpaws!) is a 20-year-old Dominican. Another tall, thin youngster at 6'5", 175. RHP Heri Olivo's signing came after the media guide went to press, apparently. We'll know more about his home, height and weight when he begins play in June (via MiLB.com). Retired 29-year-old Venezuelan minor league and independent league LHP Rolando Valles has joined the Brewers organization this season as its new "Latin Liaison", assisting with the off-field needs and development of the non-English speaking minor leaguers. The Canadian kids are on their own, though -- wink...

We're kind of completely circling the TGJ discussion on both the Major and Minor League Forums at the moment, so we'll close this version and direct folks here.

The Brewerfan staff chimes in on the upcoming season in our annual prediction / discussion on the home page.

Yeah, that anonymous Vin Scully guy...http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif How are you seeing the game on tv? I was watching via MLB.TV on the PC with my subscription. But they're not activating the new feature where you can synch up either radio feed with the TV broadcast until the regular season, so I bailed out on watching and now have Ueck and Corey on only. On another note, why doesn't anyone use the chat room anymore? It should be a rocking place starting Tuesday.

OK, so this is the last IGT befoere we welcome IGT preview master Woogie back with open arms on Tuesday. Check out tonight's game in the new MLB.TV high-definition player with all the new bells and whistles (MLB Premium subscription required) http://mlb.mlb.com/mediacenter/index.jsp The game is also on the MLB network, and on WTMJ. 2B Rickie Weeks RF Corey Hart LF Ryan Braun 1B Prince Fielder SS J.J. Hardy CF Mike Cameron 3B Bill Hall C Mike Rivera RHP Todd Coffey

And that's a wrap! Link Report season begins on Thursday.