MassBrew

Former Brewer Adrian Hernandez with the rare complete game shutout in Venezuela, a three-hitter, 2 BB's, 10 K's. Where was that all year? That might give you a bit of a read on the level of play as well...

Yeah, the alumni roster in the Minor League forum is getting pretty unwieldy -- I've been promising to tighten that up forever now. Regardless, we did mention last spring that McCormack, unquestionably one of the bigger disappointments in recent memory (how do you get drafted in the 7th round and not get out of low rookie ball?), played independent ball in 2004 in Long Island. His dad was the Duck's (great logo) manager. www.liducks.com/roster.ht...1081805180 2004 numbers: www.baseballamerica.com/c...rmack%2C+t

The following additional info from Mark McCarter in Huntsville discusses why we haven't seen Prince in Mexico yet, either. Quite a few things went into goofing up the plans to have the Brew Crew represented there, huh? Frank Kremblas was managing in Navojoa in the Mexican Winter League, but was fired after a 6-13 start, the last episode in a debacle that included the last-minute decision of Brewers prospect Prince Fielder not to play there and visa problems for coach Sandy Guerrero.

Looks like the Brewers will at least conduct some courtesy interviews, this from the Nashville press coverage: ''It's a great opportunity for Coop since he lives in Houston,'' said Reid Nichols, director of player development for Brewers. ''We'll interview some folks ? our Double-A Manager Frank Kremblas and a couple of others within our organization. I think we owe it to Don Money. He's done a great job for us at Beloit (Wis., Class A) and is set to move to Charleston (W.Va.) next year.'' Kremblas has been at Huntsville, Ala., the last three seasons and was named best managerial prospect by Southern League managers in Baseball America. Money is a former major league third baseman with the Brewers. And lest we forget, there's a manager yet-to-be-named for the high-A kids in Brevard County this summer...

Brewers' 2002 18th round pick Steven White (Baylor RHP) is listed as the Yankees' # 4 prospect as Baseball America kicks off its legendary team-by-team Top 10 & chat combos: www.baseballamerica.com/t...nkees.html Q: Frankie from PinstripesPlus asks: What is the ceiling for Steven White? A: John Manuel: I think White can be a solid No. 3 starter, a 200-plus innings guy. He doesn't have a true strikeout pitch or else he'd have a higher ceiling, but I like him a lot as a prospect, especially if the improvement he showed on his breaking ball continues.

From the Journal Sentinel: Former Brewers star Cecil Cooper, who is scheduled to return for a third season in the organization as Class AAA manager, is being interviewed for the bench coach position with the Houston Astros under manager Phil Garner. The Astros sought and received permission from the Brewers to conduct the interview.

No Dave Krynzel in a week or more -- still in Mexico?

Similarly, the Brewers own the rights to four players assigned to the VSL -- they play for a team called Venoco 2: RHP Jesus Chourio: www.baseballamerica.com/c...ourio%2C+j OF Herman Jimenez C Isaac Palencia: www.baseballamerica.com/c...r=palencia RHP Miguel (Millan) Parejo (perhaps a relative of Arizona Rookie's Freddy): www.baseballamerica.com/c...yer=parejo

The Brewers still own rights to three players in the Dominican Summer League. Although the Brewers disbanded their DSL and Venezuelan Summer League clubs, the three DSL players saw action with the Phillies' entry in 2004. RHP Carlos Cespedes: www.baseballamerica.com/c...%2C+carlos Switch-hitting OF Oscar Emeterio: www.baseballamerica.com/c...erio%2C+os RHP Nathaniel Villar: www.baseballamerica.com/c...illar%2C+n

The Brewers have also signed some new names from the Latin pool for 2005 pro debuts. It's doubtful any of these names are as "prized" as big-time pitching hopeful and already Power 50 member Roque Mercedes, but it is four new names, regardless. We could pester the Brewers and ask about these kids now, but it's probably best to cash in other chips and wait for the 2005 media guide next April: All to be listed on the Arizona Rookie roster: RHP Jose Beltre RHP Alirio Ledezma C Ruben Angoma IF Harold Mejia

Yet some more (five to be exact) -- again, chime in if you have conflicting information regarding these names: Still only 22 years old, the Brewers' version of Manny Ramirez (first baseman) seemed like he was around quite awhile. We didn't hear good defensive reports, and his playing time was uneven with Beloit this summer. Signed out of Venezuela in 2000 and making his pro debut in 2001, we didn't know what to make of his assignment to High Desert to start 2002 at age 19. All the way back down to Helena in 2003 with a .330 average and 11 HR's didn't translate to 2004 success. Remember when Manny was a catcher?! www.brewerfan.net/ViewPla...ayerId=140 Another Venezuelan, infielder Gilberto Acosta, didn't put up Hurricane Hernan Irribarren numbers in Maryvale in 2002 and 2003, but he came close and there was a buzz about him that earned him some Power 50 time. Bumped to Beloit to start 2004, the solid numbers disappeared. We read about Acosta having difficulty with his night vision, something never exposed in the Arizona League. Suddenly, a youngster who was a team MVP in 2003 is no longer in the system. For those of you who remember the Acosta name from last year, a pretty stunning and unfortunate turnaround: www.brewerfan.net/ViewPla...ayerId=166 Another member of the Venezuelan crop, catcher Yonnata Lopez, saw action in the Dominican League in 2003, and very brief action early in 2004. Thought we heard something about an injury, regardless Lopez is out at age 19: www.brewerfan.net/ViewPla...ayerId=660 Another Epy Guerrero signee out of Venezuela (well, Epy did recommend the Hurricane, so we have that) was catcher Franklin Tua, who made his pro debut with Arizona Rookie in 2004. Tua turns 20 this week, but apparently won't be back in Maryvale next spring. Normally the Brewers have quite a few very raw catchers in camp to earn their stripes in rookie ball -- Latin kids, kids from Africa, Germany, etc. Not exactly the case at the moment with the releases of Lopez and Tua: www.brewerfan.net/ViewPla...ayerId=612 Not a good day to be from Venezuela, I guess. Infielder Oscar Angulo only appeared in the field in four of his 26 games, DH'ing otherwise. He chipped in with two mop-up pitching appearances as well, and actually had an ERA of 0.00 in his 3.2 IP: www.brewerfan.net/ViewPla...ayerId=609

Thanks brewcru1 for the clarifications. Never, ever hesitate to chime in or correct us on a transaction move -- especially anything involving players being released -- it's too important to get that info right if we're going to discuss someone having a job or not. Here are some links regarding the names brewcru1 touched on: RHP Dan McKenna was a relief project, the 27th pick in the 2003 draft out of Rutgers-Camden. He was given a chance briefly with Beloit this spring, but stumbled back to Helena, and pitchers out of four-year programs can't afford to do that: www.brewerfan.net/ViewPla...ayerId=560 RHP Jeff Garner, undrafted out of Central Michigan, was signed last June. At age 24, he spent too much of the summer pitching to younger kids in Maryvale: www.brewerfan.net/ViewPla...ayerId=710 LHP Brandon Murray was another undrafted college sign in June 2004, and Murray was 2nd on the Helena team in appearances -- he struggled badly with control, ironic given the circumstances of his signing: Not that Brandon Murray wanted his teammate to get hurt, but things certainly took a turn in the former NFA (Norwich, CT, Free Academy) standout's favor recently. While playing for NAIA Flagler College in St. Augustine, Fla., a scout from the Milwaukee Brewers was there to watch one of the Saints pitch. When he got hurt after just one inning, Murray -- a 2000 NFA graduate -- stepped in and impressed. So much so that the Brewers went after Murray and late Tuesday night signed him to a contract. Murray will join the Rookie League Helena (Mont.) Brewers Friday morning. Their first game is Friday night. "It was being in the right place at right time," Murray said Wednesday. "I went in to pitch when the guy got hurt and the scout was impressed. I threw strikes and that goes a long way." After a solid career at NFA, the left-handed Murray spent two years with Roger Bidwell at Avery Point, then the last two at Flagler. He went 4-0 this season, including an impressive win over Division II Florida Southern. "I knew playing professionally was a real possibility since I was in 11th grade," Murray said. "There were always scouts around. I've looked at the guys that have been drafted and they throw as hard as I do (86-87 m.p.h.) but they threw more strikes. I needed to get more consistent and throw more strikes." The trip to Big Sky country will be the first for Murray, who has been to Canada and up and down the East Coast. "I'm looking forward to it," he said. "I'm not really too nervous. I'm really excited to start." www.brewerfan.net/ViewPla...ayerId=714

It appears injuries have ended the Brewer career of 2002 3rd round pick Eric M. Thomas, the 6'9" RHP out of the Univeristy of South Alabama, who missed all of the 2003 and 2004 seasons. The Brewers have cut ties with Thomas. The only players remaining from the first eleven rounds of that recent draft are SS Josh Murray and RHP Tom Wilhelmsen, each on somewhat shaky ground within the organization, LHP Edwin Walker, trying to come back from major arm surgery, RHP Khalid Ballouli, and oh yeah, some kid named Prince. www.brewerfan.net/ViewPla...ayerId=317

It also appears that the Brewers have officially cut ties with High Desert utility man Scott Candelaria, their 22nd round pick in the 2000 draft. Candelaria had been placed on a restricted list this past mid-season, believed to be unhappy about his status within the organization: www.brewerfan.net/ViewPla...layerId=41

Brewerfan does wish all these players well in their post-Milwaukee organization careers (Brewerfan Player Profile Pages follow each transaction): Released from the Huntsville roster: 29-year-old outfielder Jamie Gann, who provided a nice little bolt of energy to the Stars' roster when signed during their first-half chase for a playoff spot, which came up short. He cooled off in the second half: www.brewerfan.net/ViewPla...ayerId=720 Released from the Brevard County (formerly High Desert) roster: OF/3B/DH Jeremy Frost signed for short money out of Central Florida University in the 10th round of the 2002 draft. He lost most of the value he had when it became apparent early on that he was not going to see significant action at his drafted position of catcher. www.brewerfan.net/ViewPla...ayerId=323 OF Pete Rasmusen, a free agent signing out of Stetson University, saw very, very sporadic action for the Mavericks this year and didn't fare well when he did play, although he was part of the Greek Olympic squad: www.brewerfan.net/ViewPla...ayerId=667 RHP Travis Teeter only got in 16.1 innings with the Mavs after being signed out of independent ball. Apparently, he won't be on board in April to show more of his skills: www.brewerfan.net/ViewPla...ayerId=729 RHP Danny Stout, a part of the 2003 Mavericks, was carried for a portion of this season within the organization (injured), but it looks like that is no longer the case: www.brewerfan.net/ViewPla...ayerId=603

The Brewers have until November 20th to finalize their minor league rosters for the Rule 5 draft; they've confirmed for us that those changes will not be made until closer to the 20th. To prepare the Brewerfan Player Index Page for Rule 5, you will notice that the following players on the 40-man roster have been "assigned" by us to Milwaukee for the off-season, since technically they are not on a minor league roster during the offseason (there is no 25-man big league club until April, just the 40-man): Ben Diggins, Sam Narron, Andy Pratt, Chris Saenz, Dennis Sarfate, Rickie Weeks, and Corey Hart. So, for instance, the Nashville roster is properly reflected on the Player Index Page to have just nine players at this time: RHP's Jesse Harper, John Novinsky, and Glenn Woolard, LHP Jeff Housman, infielders Matt Erickson, Brandon Gemoll, J.J. Hardy, and Steve Scarborough, and outfielder Ryan Knox. We are working with information provided by the Brewers (thank you guys!), so we hope to have the Player Index accurate to the letter by later today. We'll post updates throughout the day within this thread.

Well technically he did there for a while; I guess we need to set up a transaction called "un-retire". Fortunately, Kenny had a change of heart and apparently had a heck of an instructional league showing.

David Krynzel 1-for-4 with a double and strikeout Saturday, now 9-for-28 (.321), with two walks...

David Krynzel after the small five game sample thus far: eight base hits (still looking to poke one in the gap, strikeouts down): www.baseballamerica.com/t..._nav.shtml Glenn Woolard: www.baseballamerica.com/t..._lar.shtml

Glenn Woolard on Wednesday in Venezuela: 6.1 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, ERA now at 2.65 after three starts -- nice! It's been several games since Brandon Gemoll made an appearance...

We kick off the Off-Season transaction thread by first linking to this season's prior transaction threads: p082.ezboard.com/fbrewers...2439.topic The Brewers have re-signed Appleton native Matt Erickson to a minor league contract for 2005. Erickson's career numbers: www.sports-wired.com/play...?Name=FCDH A couple of nice Matt Erickson hometown stories from July: www.wisinfo.com/postcresc...7266.shtml www.wisinfo.com/postcresc...0567.shtml

Scott Brosius for a 2005 Huntsville bobblehead? Ugh, c'mon.... Help Stars fans vote on the team's 2005 Bobblehead choice: What former Star would you like to see as a bobblehead for the 2005 season? Ben Hendrickson Dave Krynzel Scott Brosius Bill Hall I personally voted for Hall, for all that's worth, although come to think of it, Billy really "earned" his bobble while in High Desert... Vote here: www.huntsvillestars.com/Default.asp

We linked to a story about this a couple of years ago -- still cool to see (not necessarily Brewer-related): Link while active: www.azcentral.com/news/ar...ool26.html Elite school teaches chosen few how to spot baseball talent Joseph A. Reaves The Arizona Republic Learning to become a baseball scout isn't exactly curing cancer. If it were, Emily Christy might be the only one walking into Game 3 of the World Series tonight at St. Louis' Busch Stadium toting a radar gun and a stopwatch. Christy is a Princeton graduate, former post-bachelor's, pre-med student at Georgetown University and one-time manager of a nationally recognized cancer research lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She's also a lifelong Boston Red Sox fan and one of the newest graduates of Major League Baseball's Scout Development Program, held at the Phoenix Sheraton Crescent Hotel this month. Baseball's invitation-only scout school is an annual event in the Valley of the Sun, but almost nobody knows about it. Nobody that is, except everybody in baseball and anybody who ever yearned to be a scout. At scout school, students learn to grade a prospect's arm strength and evaluate fielding, hitting, power and running. But in the end, it comes down to a judgment call. Is this a major league ballplayer or not? There is an art to going to ballparks across the country and "finding a guy who looks like a player," said Don Pries, former director of the Major League Scouting Bureau and undisputed dean of the scouting world. Pries said that when he started scouting in 1959, "they handed me a black book and said, 'Go sign somebody.' " On the fast track At this year's school, Christy and 40 other hand-picked students spent 12 days and nights learning from some of the legends of scouting how to tell a budding Barry Bonds from the next future flop. Students sat through more than 70 hours of classroom lectures and often-rambunctious discussion groups with a dozen instructors. "It was the fastest two weeks of my life, and that was just the first two days," said Christy, 28, who is on something of a fast track herself. While at MIT, Christy ran the New England Women's Baseball League. She always loved the game, but running that league helped convince her that she wanted to be part of baseball more than she wanted to write another research paper on the "epigenetic effects" of "astrocytoma in mice." She wanted it so much that she left MIT and accepted an internship with the Los Angeles Dodgers' Class-A affiliate in Vero Beach, Fla. For good measure, she double-dipped as business manager for the Rookie League Gulf Coast Dodgers. In just 10 months, Christy rose from intern to assistant general manager of the Vero Beach Dodgers. Then the big league club asked her to go to scout school. "I was really proud to be named assistant general manager, but to tell you the truth, it was more of a big deal to me that the Dodgers sent me here," said Christy, the lone female in this year's class and just the sixth to graduate since scout school began in 1989. Harder than Harvard Christy should be proud. The Scout Development Program is harder to get into than Harvard. Students must be nominated by one major-league team or the Major League Scouting Bureau, which runs the school. "If we opened it to the public, we'd have a thriving business," said Frank Marcos, director of the Scouting Bureau. Marcos scouted for the California Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers before joining the California-based Scouting Bureau in 1988. Marcos is right. The lure of baseball scouts is almost as powerful as their lore. Major league clubs and the Scouting Bureau are peppered year-round with e-mails, phone calls and letters from wannabe scouts. It isn't the money. Even those lucky enough to land a full-time scouting job can expect to make only between $30,000 and $40,000 for seemingly endless, year-round 16-hour days that more often than not end in cut-rate motels with bags full of burgers and dozen of reports to write. A veteran national cross-checker who travels the county doing just that, cross-checking prospects written up by less-experienced scouts, may pull down $100,000 or more. And the top professionals who scout only in the major leagues make $150,000 and up. But those salaries, and those openings, are few and far between. "You have to love the game to want to do this. You're not going to get rich," Pries said. At 76, Pries is the mastermind and master of ceremonies at scout school. "There are a lot of people out there who want to be in baseball, but your clubs chose you," he said. Still, not everyone who attends the school makes it as a scout. Teams have 30 days to hire a person they sent to scout school before the graduate's name goes to the Scouting Bureau to be shopped around. Of last year's graduates, 16 were hired by clubs other than the one that sponsored them at the school. Among this year's scouting class was former major leaguer Mike Thurman, who won 26 games with the Expos and Yankees and turned out to be the best scout in the crowd. "He rated out best in the class," Marcos said, after he, Pries and 10 other instructors spent an intense day and a half ranking every student from one to 41 at the end of scout school. "Mike came in a little slow. It wasn't easy for him. But near the end, he really made the turn and he was impressive." So impressive that the New York Yankees, the team that sent him to scout school, read his evaluation and offered him a full-time job on the spot. Even before some of his classmates had left Phoenix, Thurman was flying back from New York to Arizona to scout future Yankees prospects. What to look for Twenty-four of Major League Baseball's 30 teams nominated students and paid for them to attend school this year. Most of the students earn their invitation the way Christy did, by working for clubs in some capacity. Each major-league team has its own scouts, who cover the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico searching for amateur talent. Only players in those areas are eligible for the annual June draft. Prospects in Japan, the Dominican Republic and other baseball-rich regions are covered by separate rules. In addition to the scouts who scour those areas, each team has its national cross-checkers and talent evaluators who deal with professional players - minor league and major league. Much of what scout school teaches is geared to "finding a guy who looks like a player." Students are trained to rate prospects' abilities in several areas on scales of two to eight, with five being an average performance by someone in the major leagues. "We use two to eight because that puts five right in the middle," Marcos said. "It's easier than using a scale of one to 10. Five wouldn't be in the middle." Scouts grade a prospect's arm strength, fielding, hitting ability, power and running speed. Pitchers are rated on their fastball, curve, slider and whether they have another pitch. Five is considered average - again, average for a major leaguer - and anything below four is unacceptable for a prospect. The numbers are combined to create a player's Overall Future Potential, which ranges from a low of 38 for someone considered a career minor leaguer to a perfect 80 for the next Bonds or Vladimir Guerrero. In addition, scout school students are taught to emphasize different strengths based on the position a prospect might play. Arm strength, for example, is the most important attribute for a catcher. Power is tops for first basemen, left fielders and right fielders. Power, though, is the least-important tool for a center field prospect. Fielding is king in center. "You have to have a passion for the game to do this," scout Jim Walton said. He dazzled students a third his age by pushing two dining tables together one day in scout school and spending the next hour standing, squatting, standing, squatting in cowboy boots and skintight blue jeans to demonstrate the proper catching techniques to look for in a prospect. "Most people don't realize just how fast this game is," Walton said. "The industry has come light speed forward with computers, ray guns and everything else. But unless you have a trained eye, you just can't see what you need to see." Tom Randolph was sent to the school by the New York Mets. "In scout school, subjectivity is praised," Randolph said. "Mr. Pries asked us every day, 'Do you like that guy?' We learned gut feeling is a good thing. Liking a player can be the unscientific manifestation of a scout's years of experience and knowledge." That experience and knowledge starts in scout school - for the lucky few who get to go. Reach the reporter at joseph.reaves@arizonarepublic.com.

David Krynzel made his Mexican League debut Saturday: GAME DATE: 10/23/04 MAZ at NAV MAZATLAN 4 AT NAVOJOA 12 YTD YTD MAZATLAN AB R H BI AVG NAVOJOA AB R H BI AVG M.Flores 2B 5 1 2 1 .333 D.Clark LF 3 2 1 0 .316 H.Gomez SS 4 0 1 0 .276 [b]D.Krynzel CF 5 3 1 2 .200[/b] L.Sutton 1B 4 0 1 1 .250 M.Burkhart 1B 5 2 3 1 .367 J.Dubois LF 4 1 1 0 .241 R.Pemberton DH 4 1 2 3 .269 J.Borchard CF 3 1 2 0 .172 O.Robles 2B 5 0 3 4 .333 J.Sandberg 3B 3 0 0 1 .214 J.Headley RF 1 0 0 0 .172 R.Saucedo DH 4 0 1 1 .148 J.Espinoza PH 1 0 0 0 .000 D.Fornes RF 4 0 0 0 .259 J.Espinoza RF 0 0 0 0 .000 R.Lugo CAT 4 1 1 0 .250 J.Aceves CAT 5 0 0 0 .261 D.Magee PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 I.Lara 3B 5 2 3 0 .286 H.Castllanos PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 L.Cruz SS 3 0 0 0 .160 E.Mora PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 R.Diaz SS 2 2 2 0 .250 E.Quintnilla PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 I.Pineda PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 L.Munoz PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Valerio PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 W.Silva PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 M.Mendoza PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 35 4 9 4 TOTALS 39 12 15 10 MAZATLAN 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 0- 4 9 4 NAVOJOA 0 0 2 0 0 3 4 3 X-12 15 1 E--M.Flores, H.Gomez, J.Dubois, J.Sandberg, O.Robles. DP--MAZATLAN 1, NAVOJOA 1. LOB--MAZATLAN 8, NAVOJOA 13. 2B--L.Sutton (1), J.Borchard (1), R.Lugo (1), M.Burkhart (4), O.Robles (2), I.Lara (1). HR--M.Flores (2). SB--D.Clark (2), J.Headley (1), R.Diaz (2). CS--D.Clark. HBP--H.Gomez. SF--L.Sutton. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA MAZATLAN D.Magee (L,1-1) 5.0 5 2 2 6 3 0 2.70 H.Castllanos 0.1 1 1 1 0 0 0 27.00 E.Mora 0.1 3 2 2 2 0 0 9.00 E.Quintnilla 0.2 1 1 0 0 1 0 9.00 L.Munoz 0.1 0 2 0 1 0 0 3.86 W.Silva 1.1 5 4 3 1 1 0 20.25 NAVOJOA I.Pineda (W,1-0) 6.0 5 1 1 2 9 0 3.24 J.Valerio 1.0 1 1 1 0 0 1 1.93 M.Mendoza 2.0 3 2 2 0 0 0 4.05 HB--I.Pineda. WP--W.Silva, I.Pineda. SO--M.Flores, L.Sutton, J.Dubois 3, J.Borchard, R.Saucedo, D.Fornes, R.Lugo, J.Espinoza, J.Aceves 2, I.Lara, L.Cruz. [b]BB[/b]--J.Borchard, J.Sandberg, D.Clark 3, [b]D.Krynzel[/b], M.Burkhart, R.Pemberton 2, J.Headley 3. T--3:35. A--4913

I also asked another question to see if anyone wanted to hit a bar for game one of the WS. I did that on Wednesday after the game. I saw this morning it had about 26 people read it, the number dropped to 12, went up again to 30, and now shows 2. Simple answer on this one -- a moderator moved it from Brewerfan Issues to Off-Topic to give it a wider audience. That reset some of the view numbers. Don't give it a second thought -- your computer's fine.