Jim Goulart

Video report available here -- the previously reported mid-2008 season opening still seems the most likely outcome: wkrn.com/nashville/news/c.../72255.htm

SI.com's top 75 prospects is in the midst of being unveiled this week. Bryan Smith, co-founder of Baseball Analysts, is a freelance writer with work appearing at the Hardball Times, BaseballProspectus.com and Baseball America. The Brewers have none between 75 and 46, look for Yo and Ryan later this week, obviously. Smith did include two in his "Honorable Mention" category: Will Inman, SP, Brewers 2006 Stats (A-): 1.71 ERA, 75H/110.2IP, 134K/24BB Inman is my No. 76 prospect. The right-hander was A-ball's most dominant starter, thanks to an aggressive and controlled approach to hitters. Inman pitches around 90 mph but succeeded by throwing the ball on the inner half as consistently as any other pitcher in A-ball. We should learn in 2007 if Inman's breaking ball is a good enough pitch to provide success at the highest levels. Jeremy Jeffress, RHP, Brewers 2006 Stats ®: 5.88 ERA, 30H/33.2IP, 37K/25BB While Tim Lincecum struggled all spring with complaints about his size, despite his velocity, Jeffress quietly became the third prep pitcher drafted. Like Lincecum, Jeffress touches the mid-to-upper 90s with ease, and does so with a delivery less likely to evoke winces. A center fielder in high school, Jeffress is very athletic, but quick legs could not help ugly control numbers during his Arizona Summer League stint. Jeffress' 2.56 G/F ratio suggests his fastball is as heavy as it is fast, so injury notwithstanding, the Brewers would be misguided to not make at least an ace reliever out of their first rounder. Link leads to the entire series: sportsillustrated.cnn.com...index.html

"The concern is, 'Is this thing ever going to happen?' " At-Large Metro Councilman David Briley said Wednesday. Some building contractors and real-estate insiders are growing more pessimistic about the ballpark being built as construction costs continually rise. Complete link: tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....328/SPORTS

Nashville's Spring Training Schedule

More on the passing of the DFE process: story.scout.com/a.z?s=228...p;c=609782

Link from Sounds' site: www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=2174 1B/OF Andy Abad - The 34-year-old left-handed slugger -- who previously played for the Sounds in 2004 (.292, 12 HR, 49 RBIs in 99G) -- has posted some impressive numbers in Triple-A ball over the past nine seasons, batting over .290 in eight of those campaigns and averaging 14 home runs and 67 RBIs per year over that span. Abad spent the bulk of the 2006 season with Louisville (AAA-Reds), where he hit .267 with nine HR & 32 RBIs in 82 games. He opened the year with Cincinnati but went hitless in three at-bats. Abad carries a .288 average in 1,397 minor-league games during his 14-year pro career. Career Statistics: www.thebaseballcube.com/p...Abad.shtml

Rockies acquire Rodrigo Lopez: sports.espn.go.com/mlb/ne...id=2729377 Rotoworld: Rockies acquired RHP Rodrigo Lopez from the Rockies for RHP Jim Miller and RHP Jason Burch. The Rockies didn't give up anything they're likely to miss, so this is a pretty good move for them. Lopez figures to be an adequate fourth or fifth starter in the NL. His addition will leave two rotation spots open for Jason Hirsh, Byung-Hyun Kim and Josh Fogg behind Aaron Cook and Jeff Francis. It's doubtful he'll have any fantasy value at all. Orioles acquired RHP Jim Miller and RHP Jason Burch from the Rockies for RHP Rodrigo Lopez. A little better than non-tendering Lopez would have been. Miller saved 34 games between Single-A Modesto and Double-A Tulsa in 2005, but he failed to take a step forward last year, finishing with a 3.86 ERA and 12 saves in 44 1/3 innings for Tulsa. The 24-year-old might have a career as a middle reliever. Burch, also 24, had a 4.95 ERA as a reliever for the same team. He was one of the prospects the Rockies received from the Cardinals for Larry Walker in 2004.

Visit the top-notch Sounds' site for details on the signing of Nashville native RHP R.A. Dickey: www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=2191 In this case, with a conversion to knuckleballing recently, career stats don't reflect a lot, but here they are: www.thebaseballcube.com/p...ckey.shtml

Latest from MLB.com: brewers.mlb.com/NASApp/ml...p;c_id=mil

Jenkins mentioned in this Pittsburgh article -- writer's speculation only: www.post-gazette.com/pg/0...238-63.stm

Brewers invited pitchers Tim Dillard and Yovani Gallardo, catchers Lou Palmisano and Nestor Corredor and third baseman Ryan Braun to spring training. Dillard is a nice surprise among those not yet on the 40-man roster; 22-year-old Nestor Corredor gets a chance for a second consecutive year, because you always need catchers in camp. Carlos Corporan got this invite last year, but he's more of a first baseman han a catcher now, it seems. The previous non-roster invitees are listed here, there are now 14: milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com...p?c_id=mil

Pre-Game Warmup Question What former big-league Brewer managed high-A High Desert to a 60-80 record in 2002? Mike Caldwell, better known coaching-wise for his pitching coach years in Huntsville (And yes, I remember that 1978 season -- I was 15) www.thebaseballcube.com/p...well.shtml By the way, after the Brewers' kids went 91-189 in their last two seasons in the Desert, the Royals' farmhands have gone 148-132. Level One: Sacrifice Bunt In 2003, the Brewers had three prospects win MVP awards, the first organization to do that since the Mets in 1995. Who were the MVP's, and in which league did each win? One of those MVP awards, while well-deserved, would not have been won if another organization hadn't called up a top prospect who was having an absolute monster season, with 59 RBI in 69 games. Bonus point if you can name this now-superstar major leaguer. Corey Hart (Southern), Prince Fielder (Midwest), and Lou Palmisano (Pioneer). The Marlins' call-up of Miguel Cabrera paved the way for Corey. Level Two: Ground Rule Double An oldie but a goodie -- name the six current Brewer farmhands (or big leaguers) who have dads that played in the big leagues. Bonus point if you name a separate player, another current farmhand, who had a grandfather play in the bigs. (Hint: the player and grandfather share the same name.) The Fielders (Prince and Cecil) The Gwynn's (Tony and Tony, Jr.) The Yost's (Ned III and Ned IV) The Dillard's (Tim and Steve) The Brantley's (Michael and Mickey) The Hinton's (Robert and Rich) Bonus (Grandpa): www.baseball-reference.co...sa01.shtml Level Three: Bases-Clearing Triple Which current Brewer farmhand was born in the U.S. Virgin Islands? Got it? OK, hotshot -- St. Croix, St. John, or St. Thomas? The man with one of the best names in all of pro ball, Callix Crabbe, was born in lovely St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Level Four: Turning an Unassisted Triple Play while Hitting for the Cycle While the Brewers organization has given West Virginia Power fans three decent half-seasons, it's hard to overcome the "first impressions" a young Power squad gave West Virginia fans in a horrific first half-season with Milwaukee that included an 0-7 start. Which player, acquired in spring training of 2005 in the tiniest of trades (presumed cash), began his Power career 0-for-24 (no walks, OPS of .000) before being released as the first casualty of that club's shake-up? My apologies to the player, still in pro ball (independent league), who certainly has accomplished more than 99.9 percent of us Brewerfan readers have in our "pro baseball" careers.... You need serious counseling if you pulled the name Jason Tuttle out of midair on this one. www.thebaseballcube.com/p...ttle.shtml Acquired from the Expos/Nationals, ironically he spent most of 2004, a level higher, at Brevard County, pre-Brewer days. His 0-for-24 even included a caught stealing. And yes, to add even more inane meaning to this bit of knowledge, he went to Elon University in North Carolina, same as Joe Winkelsas, who undoubtedly will be a trivia answer himself in future years. ***Well, that will wrap up our farmhand trivia for at least ten days or so, as yours truly jets south to the Sunshine State for some family reunion time, rooting on those Patriots vs. LT and the Bolts while watching on my brother-in-law's big screen. I will have some online access over the next week or so, and others among "staff" will pick up on any major news about the minor leagues and will pass it on. We'll sneak in one more round of trivia later this month, and then will revisit this next January, when things are pretty quiet otherwise.

Our thanks to new "Voice of the Manatees" Scott Pinner for some further details: We have two radio stations that will be covering us here locally on the Space Coast. We will have roughly 65 games on the radio this year, look for the schedule to be announced soon. All 140 games will be broadcast via the web (home and away). I am also currently trying to negotiate a state wide simulcast of the All Star game in Daytona as well. Our video coverage will include video hi-lites and clips from Manatees games as well as special in house productions for the promotion of the team via the web site. We are trying to do webcast of video (highlights) from the road but at this time the technological requirements for that are beyond what most stadiums on the road are equipped for. So no actual video game streaming quite yet, but even some game highlights makes for an exciting update.

good luck with surgery in Texas and take care with the rehab Thunnis' one-line post after a couple of weeks of inactivity within this thread is not only an indication that a surgical procedure is now finally scheduled, but also an indication that Mark's camp won out in determining who would perform the surgery (not the Brewers' doctors). We had heard through the "grapevine" (not thunnis) that this had been an important point of contention over the past few weeks. Regardless of those details, certainly our very best to Mark, still just 20 years old. We await details of the surgery results, and will pull a reverse jinx by indicating we don't want to see the word "labrum" anywhere in the eventual report.

David Nilsson (yes, that David Nilsson), now 37 years old, has signed with the Aiken (South Carolina) Foxhounds of the brand new South Coast League, which will have six teams in the southeastern part of the country in its inaugural season. 6'4", 265 pounds as a listed weight -- check back when games begin in May. aikenbaseball.com/team/roster/

RHP Victor Santos and LHP Jason Kershner (Reds) and INF Jose Hernandez (Pirates), all on minor league deals, but look for Jose to stick on the 25-man come April.

Link while active, text follows: www.al.com/stars/huntsvil...amp;coll=1 Stars not losing Money in dugout Manager back for third season with Double-A team By MARK McCARTER Huntsville Times Sports Staff, markcolumn@aol.com Don Money, who shepherded the Stars through a worst-to-first season last summer, will return as Huntsville's manager in 2007. Money, a 59-year-old former major league all-star infielder, will be in his third season with the Stars, he confirmed Monday. "I'm happy to be coming back," Money said. "We had a good team late last year and we should have a lot of those same players. I'm looking forward to it." The Stars' staff will remain intact, with pitching coach Rich Sauveur returning for the third year and hitting coach Sandy Guerrero, an offseason resident of Huntsville, back for a fourth year. Trainer Dave Yeager, also an offseason resident of the area, will return, too. Tom Reynolds, who was strength and conditioning coach at Single-A West Virginia last season, will serve in that capacity in Huntsville this season. "The nucleus of the staff has been together a while and they know each others' moves and work well together," Stars general manager Tom Van Schaack said. "The second half of last year, they showed all the hard work and patience from the first half paid off. The second half everyone could see that what the coaching staff was teaching and saying was working." The staff will be in new surroundings. Bids have been submitted for construction on a new clubhouse for the Stars, with larger quarters for the staff. The old one was the oldest and smallest of any home clubhouse in the 10-team Southern League. That's part of a renovation plan agreed to by the city of Huntsville, which owns the park, and team owner Miles Prentice. Money, who played 16 seasons in the majors as an infielder with Philadelphia and Milwaukee, was the Brewers' MVP in 1974 and 1977, and still owns the major league record for most consecutive errorless games at third base. He was four times chosen to the All-Star team and is one of 12 members of the Brewers' "Walk of Fame." He previously managed six seasons with Milwaukee's Single-A team in Beloit, Wisc. He guided the Stars to the Southern League North second half title in '06, and a sweep of Chattanooga in the playoffs. However, they were knocked out by Montgomery, three games to one, in the championship series. It brought to close what Sauveur would call "an incredible run." The Stars were 24-45 in the first half, last in their division. The team was being compared to the worst in Huntsville's history. An 11-18 start in the second half left them 35-63. Then came the run to first place, with some key on-field acquisitions to a club that the staff had somehow managed to at least keep barely afloat during the dismal start. The Stars won 36 of their final 47 games (32 of 40 in the regular season) and reached the postseason for the fourth time since Huntsville's relationship with the Brewers began in 1999. Money, Sauveur, Guerrero and Yeager had been offered 2007 contracts by the Milwaukee Brewers organization late last season, but were not assigned to specific clubs. There were several situations that led to this fairly late finalization of the Stars' staff. Brewers manager Ned Yost reshuffled his coaching staff, bringing aboard minor league hitting coordinator Jim Skaalen to work with Milwaukee hitters and outfielder coordinator Ed Sedar as the first base coach. Money and Nashville manager Frank Kremblas were also reportedly being considered for the third base coaching vacancy before Nick Leyva was hired. Then Nashville lost its hitting coach, Gary Pettis, to Texas, forcing a move to find a replacement there. Harry Spilman will coach at Nashville alongside Kremblas and pitching coach Stan Kyles, the Sounds announced Monday.

If Tony Festa was old at 25 for West Virginia last season, not sure how he looks there at 26-- but, as always, And That, you're willing to stick your neck out on the projections -- always good stuff to kick around and appreciate. Ryan Barba in Festa's spot... Other thoughts -- Joe Valentine didn't choose to resign with the Brewers to set-up at AA; I really hope you're right and the Cuban, Yohannis Perez, can begin at AAA; Brevard's going to be fun to watch.

Frank Kremblas and Stan Kyles will once again be Manager and Pitching Coach in Nashville, and former Houston Astros Hitting Coach Harry Spilman replaces Gary Pettis, who was hired as the Texas Rangers? first base coach in November after spending two years with the Sounds. All the details at the Sounds site: www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=2190

The Brewers have released three current farmhands: 2004 11th round infielder Lenny LeClercq spurned Indiana University for a $100,000 signing bonus, plus an additional $72,000 set aside for future college education. He's endured three full sets of extended spring training and full-season summers in the Arizona Rookie League, never advancing even to Helena. Lenny LeClercq Career Statistics: www.brewerfan.net/ViewPla...ayerId=709 His signing in June of 2004 was announced in this post: p092.ezboard.com/fbrewers...mp;stop=29 An example of Draft Day synopsis not panning out, LeClercq didn't handle shortstop defensively his first year, and subsequently spent most of his time at third or first base in 2005 and 2006. Extremely athletic SS prospect that has solid tools across the board. His speed probably highlights his toolset, as he also runs track, reaching the state finals in the 100 meter dash. He has a strong arm, quick feet, and positions himself well on defense. He has been extremely productive at the plate with good power potential. ***Also released was catcher Garry Savas, who hit 3-for-38 in extremely limited playing time after being signed out of Oklahoma City University near the end of 2005. He was hurt by the fact that Helena carried six would-be catchers for the better part of 2006. Garry Savas Career Statistics: www.brewerfan.net/ViewPla...ayerId=862 ***Finally, RHP Josh Louis was also let go. Louis was a 42nd round pick in 2004, who signed as a draft-and-follow, pitching at Helena in 2005 and West Virginia in 2006. He had a couple of outings with West Virginia last season that were clutch, but apparently didn't show the Brewers staff enough to move beyond 2006. Josh Louis Career Statistics: www.brewerfan.net/ViewPla...ayerId=823

Sorry guys, I've amended the wording of the Round Three trivia question about big league dads to include current Brewer farmhands or current Brewer big leaguers (to correctly allow for the most obvious combo, Cecil and Prince).

Ozzie Chavez has six, not seven, years in the system, so one wonders what the circumstances were that had the Brewers needing to "sign" him again. Ordinarily that would have come up next year. A reader astutely pointed out to me that Ozzie Chavez spent the 2000 season with the Brewers' DSL team as a 16/17 year old. Thus, he does have seven years in the Brewers' system already, so at age 23, the Brewers signed him to a new one-year deal. We'll add that 2000 season to his Brewerfan Index page later today (it is included in the Brewers' press guide). Placed RHP Stuart Sutherland on restricted list Sutherland's inclusion on the restricted list, as we've seen in the past with others, indicates the player has "retired" without submitting the official paperwork indicating as such. The Brewers' thus maintain his rights.

Terry Trofholz Certainly, there were fans of Mrs. Trofholz, a board visitor back in the day... Everyone knows I've glommed onto any farmhand with New England ties, take your pick...

As a follow-up to one of our Round One questions, this is from Buck Rogers, Manatees GM: Former Brevard County Manatees Catcher 'Sweet' Lou Palmisano's fiance, Katherine, is one of three finalists in the Miami Heat's Dance Contest. The winner will represent the Heat at the NBA's All-Star Game in Las Vegas this season. Many fans remember Katherine sitting in the stands cheering on the Manatees; now it's the 'Tees fans to cheer on Katherine...log onto the following web site and let's get Katherine some votes. If you forward this email off to family and friends and asked for a few additional votes, we won't tell! Go to: www.nba.com/allstar2007/dance/mia.html

Round Three, Same "Rules", answers by Wednesday night the 10th: Pre-Game Warmup Question What former big-league Brewer managed high-A High Desert to a 60-80 record in 2002? Level One: Sacrifice Bunt In 2003, the Brewers had three prospects win MVP awards, the first organization to do that since the Mets in 1995. Who were the MVP's, and in which league did each win? One of those MVP awards, while well-deserved, would not have been won if another organization hadn't called up a top prospect who was having an absolute monster season, with 59 RBI in 69 games. Bonus point if you can name this now-superstar major leaguer. Level Two: Ground Rule Double An oldie but a goodie -- name the six current Brewer farmhands (or big leaguers) who have dads that played in the big leagues. Bonus point if you name a separate player, another current farmhand, who had a grandfather play in the bigs. (Hint: the player and grandfather share the same name.) Level Three: Bases-Clearing Triple Which current Brewer farmhand was born in the U.S. Virgin Islands? Got it? OK, hotshot -- St. Croix, St. John, or St. Thomas? Level Four: Turning an Unassisted Triple Play while Hitting for the Cycle While the Brewers organization has given West Virginia Power fans three decent half-seasons, it's hard to overcome the "first impressions" a young Power squad gave West Virginia fans in a horrific first half-season with Milwaukee that included an 0-7 start. Which player, acquired in spring training of 2005 in the tiniest of trades (presumed cash), began his Power career 0-for-24 (no walks, OPS of .000) before being released as the first casualty of that club's shake-up? My apologies to the player, still in pro ball (independent league), who certainly has accomplished more than 99.9 percent of us Brewerfan readers have in our "pro baseball" careers....