Jim Goulart

As we brought to everyone's attention on Twitter Sunday, Dominican fans are upset, but the Brewers have apparently shut down Jonathan Villar in the midst of the Championship Final Series. Villar's team lost on Sunday 9-6, and the best-of-nine is now tied at two games apiece. *** Puerto Rico box: Heading into Sunday, the League Championship Series Best-of-Nine was tied at three games apiece, and RHP Hiram Burgos made the start for his new team, Santurce, and it did not go well for the normally steady Burgos in a 4-1 loss. 1.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 1 K Caguas Top of the 1st Jorge Padilla singles on a line drive to right fielder Juan Silva. Rey Navarro singles on a ground ball to left fielder Danny Ortiz. Jorge Padilla to 2nd. Rusney Castillo flies out to right fielder Juan Silva. Randy Ruiz doubles (2) on a line drive to left fielder Danny Ortiz. Jorge Padilla scores. Rey Navarro to 3rd. Ruben Gotay singles on a line drive to center fielder Reymond Fuentes. Rey Navarro scores. Randy Ruiz to 3rd. David Vidal grounds into a double play, second baseman Jose Lozada to shortstop Ivan De Jesus Jr. to first baseman Neftali Soto. Ruben Gotay out at 2nd. Caguas Top of the 2nd Henry Ramos strikes out swinging. Jack Lopez doubles (2) on a fly ball to right fielder Juan Silva. Jonathan Morales triples (1) on a line drive to center fielder Reymond Fuentes. Jack Lopez scores. Jorge Padilla out on a sacrifice fly to center fielder Reymond Fuentes. Jonathan Morales scores. Rey Navarro singles on a ground ball to center fielder Reymond Fuentes. Pitching Change: Fernando Cruz replaces Hiram Burgos. Rusney Castillo singles on a line drive to left fielder Danny Ortiz. Rey Navarro to 2nd. Randy Ruiz flies out to right fielder Juan Silva. Burgos' teammate, SS Ivan Dejesus, Jr., led off and was 1-for-5.

Saturday's games -- Dominican box: Jonathan Villar slid over to second base after some recent defensive struggles at short. At the plate, Villar was 1-for-3, double, sacrifice bunt, RBI, and his 7th SB of the postseason. He left in the 7th inning of an 11-4 win that saw his team go up two games to one in the best-of-nine League Championship Series. *** Australia box: Sydney scored three in the 9th to walk off with a 7-6 win. Malik Collymore was intentionally walked within that rally, was 0-for-4 otherwise. Tucker Neuhaus did not play for a second consecutive game. The team, as per the usual Aussie schedule, has a few days off before their next series. *** Puerto Rico box: In a 12-1 loss, SS Ivan Dejesus, Jr. was 0-for-2, BB, one K, before exiting the lopsided affair. This best-of-nine League Championship Series is now tied at three games apiece -- drama! For the winners, hired gun 6'8" LHP Andrew Barbosa, brought on just for this series as a "reinforcement", continued his spectacular run -- 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K. In three postseason appearances, here is Barbosa's line -- 0.63 ERA, 14.1 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 10 K When combined with his few "regular season" winter appearances, you get -- 1.11 ERA, 24.1 IP, 14 H, 3 R, 6 BB, 23 K Santurce Top of the 1st Drew Ferguson flies out to center fielder Henry Ramos. Reymond Fuentes pops out to shortstop Jack Lopez. Neftali Soto grounds out, shortstop Jack Lopez to first baseman Ruben Gotay. Santurce Top of the 2nd Christian Vazquez lines out to center fielder Henry Ramos. Ivan De Jesus Jr. walks. Juan Silva flies out to right fielder Jorge Padilla. Jose Lozada strikes out swinging. Santurce Top of the 3rd Robert Andino called out on strikes. Roberto Pena strikes out swinging. Drew Ferguson pops out to second baseman Rey Navarro. Santurce Top of the 4th Reymond Fuentes flies out to left fielder Rusney Castillo. Neftali Soto grounds out, shortstop Jack Lopez to first baseman Ruben Gotay. Christian Vazquez singles on a ground ball to center fielder Henry Ramos. Ivan De Jesus Jr. pops out to second baseman Rey Navarro. Santurce Top of the 5th Juan Silva singles on a line drive to right fielder Jorge Padilla. Jose Lozada flies out to left fielder Rusney Castillo. Robert Andino grounds into a double play, shortstop Jack Lopez to second baseman Rey Navarro to first baseman Ruben Gotay. Juan Silva out at 2nd.

Brewers had checked in on Sergio Romo, too, apparently.

Scouting Report: Pleskoff on Mauricio Dubon

Very good Trent Clark feature (with quotes) via 2080baseball

Wow. He's been around for half a year and I'd never heard of him before. Brewerfan Minor League Link Report - Ah, just having fun on a Saturday AM, not everybody's cup of tea.

Looks like Santiago Casilla was the target prior to the Feliz signing -- Casilla ended up signing a 2-year, $11M deal (possible $3M in incentives) with Oakland ‏@hankschulman Casilla on conference call. He said he also got an offer from the #brewers. They then signed Neftali Feliz to close (probably). #athletics *** ‏@JoeStiglichCSN Santiago Casilla mentions Brewers as one team that went after him, chose #Athletics due in large part to familiarity w/them.

Friday's games -- Dominican box: Championship best-of-nine now tied at one game apiece; SS Jonathan Villar 1-for-5, two errors in a 4-2 loss. Former Brewers farmhand LHP Tyler Alexander continues to throw well despite four walks in his five-inning start here. *** Australia: Sydney split a doubleheader, see the results here and here. Malik Collymore has started all 34 games this winter, and Tucker Neuhaus had started each game as well, until he sat out Game Two tonight.

Australia box: Sydney lost 5-3. Malik Collymore, again in left field, was 2-for-4, RBI, K, 13th SB in 17 tries. Third baseman Tucker Neuhaus 0-for-4, one K. Sydney Bottom of the 1st Malik Collymore singles on a fly ball to center fielder D. J. Davis. With Alex Howe batting, Malik Collymore steals (13) 2nd base. Go to the 10:45 minute mark to see the first-pitch hit, followed shortly after by the stolen base. *** Sydney Bottom of the 5th Jacob Younis singles on a line drive to center fielder D. Davis. Joshua Dean singles on a line drive to center fielder D. Davis. Jacob Younis to 3rd. Michael Campbell singles on a ground ball to center fielder D. J. Davis. Jacob Younis scores. Joshua Dean advances to 3rd, on a fielding error by center fielder D. Guy Edmonds strikes out swinging. Ryo Nishimura singles on a fly ball to right fielder David Kandilas. Joshua Dean scores. Michael Campbell to 3rd. Malik Collymore singles on a line drive to left fielder Kyle Perkins. Michael Campbell scores. Ryo Nishimura to 2nd. Go to the 01:13:45 minute mark to see Collymore's full at-bat.

That was the final score, with Goforth charged with the loss in the deciding championship game.

Thursday's action -- Dominican box: We're finally done with the round-robin postseason format, and the best-of-nine final series has begun. Jonathan Villar's team grabs the first game 4-3. Playing shortstop, Villar was 1-for-4, R, one K. *** Puerto Rico box: After a 3-1 win (another low-scoring league game), the team of SS Ivan De Jesus, Jr. has a three games to two lead in the best-of-nine final. De Jesus was 0-for-2, BB, one K, first fielding error of the postseason. *** Mexico box: RHP David Goforth made a brief appearance, and had a tough go in the 7th and deciding game of the League Championship Series. He was trusted in a key spot, as his team led 1-0 heading into the bottom of the 7th inning. Los Mochis Bottom of the 7th Leandro Castro singles on a fly ball to center fielder Sebastian Elizalde. Pitching Change: David Goforth replaces Zack Dodson. Saul Soto flies out to left fielder Ryan Lollis in foul territory. With Yosmany Guerra batting, Leandro Castro steals (1) 2nd base. Yosmany Guerra walks. Sebastian Valle doubles (1) on a line drive to right fielder Joey Meneses. Leandro Castro scores. Yosmany Guerra scores. Sebastian Valle advances to 3rd, on a throwing error by second baseman Jose Manuel Rodriguez. Pitching Change: Oliver Perez replaces David Goforth. Offensive Substitution: Pinch-hitter Sergio Garcia replaces Juan Carlos Gamboa. Sergio Garcia strikes out swinging. Eugenio Velez triples (1) on a line drive to right fielder Joey Meneses. Sebastian Valle scores. Isaac Rodriguez grounds out, shortstop Ramiro Pena to first baseman Oscar Robles. So Goforth's club was down 3-1 entering the 8th inning, which is where this game stands as of this post time at 11:15 PM Central. *** Australia: Hey, another televised Sydney game! It starts live at 2:30 AM Central time (and yes, it will archive with DVR functionality)

The fact that Garza now has a team option for 2018 at only $5M makes it very enticing to fully commit to him to begin 2017. If he shows well in the first half, that option provides extra value for an acquiring team.

REMINDER: Brewers' site video page has added several "brief" clips this week, including a portion of a Josh Hader interview

AUDIO via Brewers.com Wed. 1/18: Ryan Braun is staying active with the team despite the rumors that he is on the trade block. MLB.com's Matt Waymire and Brewers reporter Adam McCalvy discuss Braun's plans on attending the Brewers on Deck Fan Fest and if Neftali Feliz is an option for the bullpen. *** AUDIO via WSSP 105.7 FM Thurs. 1/19: Adam McCalvy on the "Big Show" discusses the Neftali Feliz signing and more

Corey Ray feature with several quotes via Emily Waldon of 2080baseball.com

Others announced today by the team -- RHP David Goforth, RHP Aaron Wilkerson, C Jacob Nottingham and OF Corey Ray have been invited to Major League camp.

Via the Minor League forum: Latest podcast with Chris and Kyle of the Rattlers

Latest podcast with Chris and Kyle of the Rattlers MLB is forcing the changeover to "Medium" for the blogs platform, currently this page doesn't seem to support a mobile listening experience (at least iPhone, but is OK otherwise, it seems).

UT Luis Aviles / C Max McDowell A chance to take a break from baseball...or not By Kyle Lobner / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

Just one game of note on Wednesday -- Puerto Rico box: SS Ivan De Jesus, Jr., slumping and dropped in the lineup, was 0-for-4, but his team won 4-1 on the road to even the best-of-nine championship series at two games apiece.

As per this tweet, look for catcher Dustin Houle to be added to this list of Brewers big league camp non 40-man roster invites.

Via MLB Pipeline: Nottingham #10 on the Catcher list

Brewers Minor League report dates (via @BrewersPD): Minicamp: February 11 Early camp: February 17 Pitchers & catchers: March 4 Position players: March 10

Enjoy (and thanks @BrewersPD) --

Tuesday's games -- Dominican box: SS Jonathan Villar 1-for-2, BB, SB, error, played five innings, no hint of any problem *** Puerto Rico box: SS Ivan De Jesus, Jr. 1-for-5, R, one K in a 4-2 loss. His team now trails two games to one in the best-of-nine league final. RHP Hiram Burgos took the loss in the first game he's pitched since being added from his original squad as a "reinforcement". His line: 5 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, GB:FB 5:5 Caguas Top of the 1st Jorge Padilla reaches on a fielding error by second baseman Abiatal Avelino. Henry Ramos doubles (1) on a line drive to center fielder Reymond Fuentes. Jorge Padilla to 3rd. Rey Navarro reaches on a fielding error by second baseman Abiatal Avelino. Jorge Padilla scores. Henry Ramos scores. Rey Navarro to 2nd. Rusney Castillo reaches on a fielder's choice out, pitcher Hiram Burgos to shortstop Ivan De Jesus to second baseman Abiatal Avelino. Rey Navarro out at 3rd. Randy Ruiz pops out to first baseman Neftali Soto in foul territory. Ruben Gotay strikes out swinging. Caguas Top of the 2nd David Vidal flies out to right fielder Juan Silva. Jonathan Morales flies out to right fielder Juan Silva. Jack Lopez strikes out swinging. Caguas Top of the 3rd Jorge Padilla pops out to first baseman Neftali Soto in foul territory. Henry Ramos grounds out, second baseman Abiatal Avelino to first baseman Neftali Soto. Rey Navarro pops out to third baseman Robert Andino. Caguas Top of the 4th Rusney Castillo grounds out, third baseman Robert Andino to first baseman Neftali Soto. Randy Ruiz flies out to center fielder Reymond Fuentes. Ruben Gotay strikes out swinging. Caguas Top of the 5th David Vidal homers (1) on a fly ball to left field. Jonathan Morales strikes out swinging. Jack Lopez flies out to center fielder Reymond Fuentes. Jorge Padilla flies out to right fielder Juan Silva.