Jim Goulart

Last time Brewers did so...

Bummer, Card Sharks was awesome, largely in part to Jim.

Kaye Ballard, who appeared in the movie "Freaky Friday" and the TV series "The Mothers-In-Law" and "The Doris Day Show", turned 90 today. http://www.kayeballard.com/ http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/EXID4636/images/kaye_ballard_tv_guide.jpg Ballard on the left (with Mothers-in-Law co-star Eve Arden, who passed in 1990)

Brewers' Rivera earns AFL's Stenson Award Prospect recognized for unselfishness, hard work and leadership By Ginger Poulson / Special to MLB.com

AUDIO via Melanie Newman: Shuckers (and Surprise) Manager Carlos Subero (right-hand column)

In this notes article (via translation), RHP Junior Guerra's innings are being limited now to avoid fatigue but he likely will return to starting later this winter season. Also -- recently signed RHP Jim Miller is expected to join Guerra's club in Venezuela around December 22nd.

Venezuela Box Friday 11/20 Hernan Perez, playing third base (throwing error), was 0-for-3 before departing in a 10-0 loss. *** Venezuela Box Friday 11/20 SS Orlando Arcia 1-for-4, run scored in a 6-4 win. On the other side, RHP Junior Guerra, scaled back to relief as of late after seven starts, 2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 35 pitches (20 strikes). Caribes Bottom of the 5th Pitching Change: Junior Guerra replaces Tyler DeLoach. Niuman Romero walks. Gorkys Hernandez out on a sacrifice bunt, pitcher Junior Guerra to first baseman Miguel Rojas. Niuman Romero to 2nd. Orlando Arcia singles on a fly ball to right fielder Jose Martinez. Niuman Romero to 3rd. Jose Castillo doubles (6) on a line drive to center fielder Yonathan Daza. Niuman Romero scores. Orlando Arcia scores. Jeremy Hazelbaker flies out to left fielder Ronnier Mustelier. Jose Gil strikes out swinging. Caribes Bottom of the 6th Defensive switch from first base to shortstop for Miguel Rojas. Raul Padron remains in the game as the first baseman. Oscar Salazar grounds out, second baseman Jorma Rodriguez to first baseman Raul Padron. Willians Astudillo grounds out, shortstop Miguel Rojas to first baseman Raul Padron. Cesar Valera strikes out swinging.

Dominican Box Friday 11/10 Leadoff man Elian Herrera, playing second base, was 1-for-4 (triple, walk) with two runs scored in his team's 6-2 win.

Puerto Rico Box Friday 11/20 New catcher Rene Garcia homered (1-for-3) in his club's 5-2 win. Guess there were fisticuffs/ejections in this one, but Garcia wasn't involved. *** Puerto Rico Box Friday 11/20 In the first of a three-game series in Orlando, FL (details on that), RHP Hiram Burgos made his winter debut (in relief). Burgos was aided by his follow-up reliever. He was the 5th of 12 pitchers his team used in a 2-1 14-inning win (how big is that traveling party?). Santurce Bottom of the 6th Edwin Medina remains in the game as the right fielder. Pitching Change: Hiram Burgos replaces Dennis Torres. Rene Rivera singles on a fly ball to center fielder Lewis Brinson. Neftali Soto grounds into a double play, shortstop Elmer Reyes to first baseman Kennys Vargas. Rene Rivera out at 2nd. Reymond Fuentes called out on strikes. Santurce Bottom of the 7th Edgardo Baez doubles (6) on a fly ball to right fielder Edwin Medina. Pitching Change: Hoby Milner replaces Hiram Burgos. Jose Lozada out on a sacrifice bunt, third baseman T. Rivera to second baseman Jesmuel Valentin. Edgardo Baez to 3rd. Offensive Substitution: Pinch-hitter Jorge Padilla replaces Kevin Rivera. Offensive Substitution: Pinch-runner Ian Miller replaces Edgardo Baez. Jorge Padilla grounds out, third baseman T. Rivera to first baseman Kennys Vargas. Hoby Milner intentionally walks Ruben Sosa. Pitching Change: Tyler Herron replaces Hoby Milner. Christian Vazquez grounds out, shortstop Elmer Reyes to first baseman Kennys Vargas Young OF Omar Garcia was used as a pinch-runner in the game.

Brewers confirmed that RHP Hiram Burgos and INF Hernan Perez received formal big league training camp invites today. They also announced a big league camp invite for a new Brewer, 25-year-old (26 in March) RH-hitting catcher Rene Garcia (career stats). David Stearns would know him well, as Garcia (35th round, 2008, out of a Puerto Rico high school) spent the first seven of his eight pro seasons (all in the minors) with the Astros organization. Garcia signed with the Phillies organization for the 2015 season, which he split between AAA and AA. Of his 532 pro games, only 32 have been at AAA. Here are nine video clips from MiLB.TV, dating from 2013-15. Add Garcia to an ever-growing winter ball participants roster -- Garcia is playing in his 11th game of the Puerto Rico Winter League season tonight (winter stats included here via MiLB.com), and he homered tonight to celebrate his signing! In this 2014 Baseball America feature, Garcia earned a token nod in the AA rankings -- Getting Defensive: Catcher Prospects Worth Loving For Their Gloves In other articles on the web (like this one), Garcia is described as a premium defender (37% career caught stealing), but there aren't a lot of specifics written outside of raw numerical stats via Baseball Reference. Garcia has earned big league camp invites for several years, but it appears he has never been placed on a 40-man roster. Garcia is a year and a half younger than Adam Weisenburger, the possible Colorado Springs tandem. Welcome Rene, folks will get to meet you at big league camp in Maryvale!

Adrian Houser On Verge of Adding AFL Championship to Year of Firsts Alex Smokoloff, Today's Knuckleball Houser may pitch Saturday, but won't start...

This super obscure deal: Mariners (03/24/10) -- Acquired cash in exchange for INF Edgar Trejo Trejo never suited up for a Mariner affiliate, played indy ball in 2011, was idle for 2012/13. has been updated in the initial post of this thread with the Sardinas deal. The Jonathan Villar trade was also updated; you shouldn't have to think hard about which Astros deal it replaced as the most recent.

Here's a bunch of Ramon Flores video for you, including several 2015 minor league highlights.

Excellent writeup at BrewCrewBall via Travis bringing us up-to-date and preparing us for the last bit of AFL and Team USA play. This AM's Team USA Box Score Kudos to Team Mexico's 3B Brandon Macias (1-for-3, walk); Brett Phillips 0-for-3, walk. Good luck this Sunday, Brett!

This is pretty wild -- In August of 2009, the Brewers traded (dumped) a tiny portion of Bill Hall's hefty salary to the Mariners for the very forgettable RHP Ruben "Buddy" Flores, not to be confused with today's deal with the same organization for OF Ramon Flores. Here's our discussion thread from 2009. (They're not related.)

HIS TWEET: OF Ben Guez will be playing in Venezuela this winter

This new article out of Detroit includes the following text: Will the Tigers draft a player in the Rule 5? Will they lose a player in the Rule 5? That remains to be seen, of course. What happens shortly after the Rule 5 draft could be more intriguing to Tigers fans. It's likely that the reason the Tigers included a player to be named later in the trade that brought them closer Francisco Rodriguez was because the Milwaukee Brewers wanted the Tigers to keep that player on their 40-man roster through the Rule 5 draft to prevent them from having to expose a player they did not want to expose. It's very likely that trade will be completed shortly after the Rule 5 draft is completed. At that point, Tigers fans will know exactly what the Tigers gave up for Rodriguez. So if this is accurate (seems reasonable), then the PTBNL is currently on Detroit's 40-man roster (which stands at 38 after they added three players to it this morning, those three players are discussed in the linked article).

Dominican Box Thursday 11/19 RF Domingo Santana on base four times (three singles, walk, run, two RBI, throwing error); 1B Jason Rogers 1-for-5, run, two K *** Venezuela Box Thursday 11/19 Hernan Perez, playing shortstop, 2-for-6, one K, throwing error *** Venezuela Box Thursday 11/19 SS Orlando Arcia 0-for-4, BB, 1 K *** Venezuela Box Thursday 11/19 22-year-old RHP Gian Rizzo made his 11th appearance (2.19 ERA), wrapping up in a 10-2 loss -- Lara Bottom of the 7th Freddy Parejo remains in the game as the left fielder. Gabriel Lino grounds out, second baseman Jose Flores to first baseman Mike Jacobs. Rubi Silva strikes out swinging. Pitching Change: Gian Rizzo replaces Jose Guanchez. Offensive Substitution: Pinch-hitter Elvis Escobar replaces Maikol Gonzalez. Elvis Escobar doubles (2) on a soft line drive to left fielder Freddy Parejo. Ildemaro Vargas grounds out, first baseman Mike Jacobs to pitcher Gian Rizzo. Lara Bottom of the 8th Jose Queliz remains in the game as the catcher. Chad Oberacker strikes out swinging. Offensive Substitution: Pinch-hitter Guilder Rodriguez replaces Rangel Ravelo. Guilder Rodriguez flies out to right fielder Rene Reyes. Carlos Rivero pops out to shortstop Bryant Flete.

Ferrone is joining the Tigers, where he was from 2003-07 (link).

Brewers only trading for players currently in winter ball, Jonathan Villar in 15 Dominican games: 11-for-52 (.212, .586 OPS), three doubles, three RBI, 8 BB, 13 K, 4-for-4 in SB attempts

Via the Manatees' site -- Q&A: Ned Yost IV at the World Series Yost's Father Wins Title

Via Derek at BrewCrewBall -- Rule 5 Draft Protection Deadline Tomorrow Good stuff, but there's also a hidden aspect to this we won't know about. Here's an excerpt from the October 2013 Baseball America piece "Ask BA: How Do The Minor League Phases Of The Rule 5 Draft Work?" In the Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 draft, teams may select any eligible player left off the major league 40-man roster or the Triple-A reserve roster of 38 players. In the Double-A phase of the draft, teams may select any eligible player left off the major league roster, the Triple-A reserve roster or the Double-A reserve roster of 37 players. In other words, a player selected in the Triple-A phase does not rank among his organization’s top 78 talents, and a Double-A selection does not rank among its top 115. In these cases, players are not required to remain on a particular roster. The player’s contract is irrevocably assigned to the drafting team and the drafting fee ($12,000 for Triple-A, $4,000 for Double-A) is paid. OK, so here's the scoop. After Friday, we'll know how many players are on the Brewers' 40-man roster. At that point we'll then know from the initial post in this thread, how many players weren't protected who were Rule 5 eligible. (It should be about 38 or 39). Now, keep in mind the italicized paragraph above. The Brewers will submit a list to MiLB of the players they are protecting at the AAA roster level. With a maximum of 38 allowed, the Brewers could protect every single one of those assets from being able to be taken in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft. We won't see that list at all, it won't be posted on MiLB.com's roster pages. The Brewers were in a similar situation last year. They could have protected everyone. But as we learned, they did not protect Sean Halton and Kentrail Davis at the AAA level. They were left exposed as a favor by the Brewers, and were indeed snapped up by other organizations. Eric Farris was allowed to walk in similar fashion in 2012. Several years ago, the Brewers sent a roster my way which showed which players were protected at each level, but they stopped that practice (I can see why) since that one instance.

Happy 96th (wow, 96!) Alan Young -- video from 2007

By the way, new Brewer Javier Betancourt is playing winter ball in Venezuela (for Caracas), his last game was the 14th. Eight games thus far, started five of them, an .833 OPS through 20 at-bats.

Wednesday Box 11/18 Surprise wins 8-6, one more game Thursday before Saturday afternoon's championship game (2:00 Central on MLB Network) Yadiel Rivera, leading off and playing second base, was on base three times (.405 OBP this fall) *** LHP Josh Hader got the start -- he owes a big thanks to stud Yankee catcher Gary Sanchez: Glendale Top of the 1st Drew Stankiewicz pops out to shortstop Aledmys Diaz. Andrew Knapp strikes out swinging. Brandon Dixon doubles (4) on a sharp line drive to right fielder Bubba Starling. Nicky Delmonico walks. With J. D. Davis batting, Nicky Delmonico caught stealing 2nd base, catcher Gary Sanchez to second baseman Yadiel Rivera. Glendale Top of the 2nd J. D. Davis flies out to right fielder Bubba Starling. Jake Peter singles on a ground ball to center fielder Charlie Tilson. Chan Jong Moon walks. Jake Peter to 2nd. With Aaron Brown batting, Gary Sanchez picks off Jake Peter at 2nd on throw to Aledmys Diaz. Aaron Brown pops out to shortstop Aledmys Diaz. *** It was an adventure, but RHP Damien Magnifico bounced back from a disastrous outing last time out, and earned his 4th save -- Glendale Top of the 9th Pitching Change: Damien Magnifico replaces Ryne Slack. Aaron Brown grounds out sharply, second baseman Yadiel Rivera to first baseman Mike Ohlman. Trey Michalczewski walks. Drew Stankiewicz singles on a ground ball to right fielder Bubba Starling. Trey Michalczewski to 2nd. Andrew Knapp strikes out on a foul tip. Brandon Dixon singles on a line drive to second baseman Yadiel Rivera. Trey Michalczewski to 3rd. Drew Stankiewicz to 2nd. Nicky Delmonico lines out to right fielder Bubba Starling. *** All the high-octane pitch types/speeds are available via Gameday's pitch-by-pitch.