MassBrew

As of the end of the season, it was our belief High Desert pitching coach John Curtis was still with the organization -- perhaps he was hoping to stay on the west coast, near his home, as his name's absent from the above. Mark Littell will follow many of his pitchers from Helena to West Virginia, probably a plus...

milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com...;fext=.jsp From MLB.com: MILWAUKEE -- Brewers prospects expecting promotions next summer can also expect some familiar faces at the end of the bench. The team announced its minor league coaching staffs on Tuesday and stayed in-house to fill two key openings. Frank Kremblas, named the Double-A Southern League's manager of the year in 2003 and the league's top managerial prospect in 2004, was promoted to manage the Brewers' top affiliate at Triple-A Nashville. That created a managerial vacancy at Double-A Huntsville, which was immediately filled by former Brewers All-Star Don Money, who was promoted from the Brewers' Class A affiliate. Kremblas' staff will consist of hitting coach Gary Pettis, pitching coach Stan Kyles and trainer Jeff Paxson. The latter two are holdovers from the Brewers' Triple-A coaching staff and Pettis spent the last four seasons as the White Sox and Mets first-base coach. The Brewers are entering the first season of a player development deal with Nashville after terminating their five-year tenure in Indianapolis. In seven seasons as a minor league manager, including the last three at Double-A Huntsville, Kremblas is 348-340 (.506). Known as a "player's manager," he was recognized by his peers as the "best managerial prospect" in the Southern League in a 2004 Baseball America poll. In 2003, he skippered Huntsville to the Southern League Western Division Championship and was chosen as the league's manager of the year. In his second year as Huntsville's skipper, Kremblas was awarded 2003 top managerial honors in the Southern League after leading his team to a 75-63 record, the Southern League West first-half title. Kremblas also served as a manager in the 2003 Arizona Fall League, leading the Peoria Saguaros to an 18-16 record. He played eight professional seasons, topping out at the Triple-A level and posting a .235 career average in 671 games. Money is more familiar to Brewers fans, who helped vote the former infielder into the team's Walk of Fame at Miller Park. Money and former manager Harvey Kuenn will be inducted in a ceremony next summer, joining the greatest players and executives in club history. Money is entering his seventh season in the Brewers' organization and his ninth overall as a minor league manager. He has managed at Class A Beloit in the Midwest League for the past six seasons, compiling a 401-426 (.485) mark. The Brewers also named staffs at a pair of new affiliates. John Tamargo, who spent the last six seasons on the Houston Astros' coaching staff including the last three as bench coach, will manage at Advanced Class A Brevard County. Ramon Aviles will manage the Class A West Virginia Power. A former major league infielder, Aviles has served in the Philadelphia Phillies' minor league chain as a coach and instructor. The Brewers will announce staffs for rookie level Helena and Arizona at a later date. 2005 Brewers minor league coaching staffs: Triple-A Nashville: Manager Frank Kremblas, pitching coach Stan Kyles, hitting coach Gary Pettis, athletic trainer Jeff Paxon. Double-A Huntsville: Manager Don Money, pitching coach Rich Sauveur, hitting coach Sandy Guerrero, athletic trainer to be announced. Class A Brevard County: manager John Tamargo, pitching coach Fred Dabney, hitting coach Johnny Narron, athletic trainer Masa Koyanagi. Class A West Virginia: Manager Ramon Aviles, pitching coach Mark Littell, hitting coach Tony Diggs, athletic trainer Alan Diamond.

From the Stars' site, for those of you who know Greg: The Stars? trainer has not been announced. Greg Barajas, the Stars? trainer for the last three seasons, has joined the Boston Red Sox organization and will be the trainer for the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox.

Another AAA arm in the mix -- news courtesy of the Sounds' site: RHP Julio Santana - Santana, 31, spent most of the 2003 season and all of 2004 playing for the Yomiuri Giants in the Japanese League. He has been signed to a minor-league contract with a non-roster invitation to Brewers spring training. Julio began his professional career in 1992 and made his Major League debut on April 6, 1997 vs. Baltimore while pitching for the Texas Rangers. Santana has played for Texas, Tampa Bay, Montreal, and Detroit. In 172 minor-league games (117 starts) over the course of his 13-year pro career, he is 48-45 with a 3.97 ERA. Career numbers: www.sports-wired.com/prof...c17566.asp

Kremblas will manage Sounds next season By MAURICE PATTON Tennessean Staff Writer Frank Kremblas, a two-time all-Ohio Valley Conference performer at Eastern Kentucky, has been named the newest manager of the Nashville Sounds. ''It's one step closer to the big leagues,'' said Kremblas, 38, who spent eight seasons in the Cincinnati Reds' organization but never reached the majors. ''Everybody has their aspirations. My job is to prepare these guys at Triple-A to go up and do the job they're being asked to perform. I'm super-excited about that.'' Kremblas, who spent the past three seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers' Class AA affiliate in Huntsville, will be helped by hitting coach Gary Pettis and pitching coach Stan Kyles. Jeff Paxson will be the team trainer. ''Frank is energized with the opportunity,'' said Reid Nichols, director of player development for the Brewers. ''We always try to promote from within when we can. Our staff knows that. It's a good way to give them incentive to work hard and do the best they can.'' In three seasons at Huntsville, Kremblas posted a cumulative record of 210-207. That includes a 75-63 finish in 2003 when the Stars won the Southern League Western Division championship and he was named SL Manager of the Year. Prior to the 2002 season, Kremblas spent two years with the Brewers' Class A affiliates in the California League, and had managed two years in the Montreal Expos' minor league system before that. In parts of seven seasons, he has a career managerial record of 423-403. Kremblas was an all-OVC infielder in both 1987 and '88. His younger brother currently plays in the Oakland Athletics' organization, and his father quarterbacked Ohio State's 1957 Rose Bowl and co-national championship squad. Pettis, an 11-year major league outfielder with the Angels, Tigers, Rangers and Padres, comes to Nashville after spending two seasons as first-base and outfield coach with the Mets. Kyles was pitching coach for the Brewers' Triple-A affiliate at Indianapolis last year after working with Kremblas in Huntsville during the '03 season. He pitched 11 minor league seasons after being selected in the fourth round of the 1979 draft by the Cubs. ''Gary's a good addition, with some Gold Gloves under his belt,'' Nichols said. ''It'll be good to have him, with the outfielders we've (likely) got there. Stan has done a good job for us every year as pitching coach.'' Replacing Kremblas at Huntsville will be former Brewers third baseman Don Money. He will be joined by holdover hitting coach Sandy Guerrero and first-year pitching coach Rich Sauveur. A former Sounds reliever, Sauveur spent the last two years as pitching coach with Milwaukee's Midwest League (Class A) team in Beloit, Wisc.

Nice to see pitching coach Rich Sauveur, who has had two excellent years in Beloit since joining the system, remain with Don Money. He'll catch some of his Snapper pupils again now in Huntsville. Former major league speedster Gary Pettis replaces Bobby Randall as hitting coach in AAA. Will let you know about other organizational managerial / coaching spots filled as we learn about them, all within this thread please...

Brewers make Money a Star Three-time All-Star replacing Kremblas as manager Tuesday, December 21, 2004 By MARK McCARTER Times Sports Staff markcolumn@aol.com So far, it hasn't been such a bad month for Don Money. On Dec. 11, Money was announced as one of the 2005 inductees into the Milwaukee Brewers' "Walk of Fame'' that pays tribute to the club's top players. And now Money has received a promotion within the Milwaukee farm system - to the job as the Huntsville Stars manager. Money, a three-time major league All-Star, replaces Frank Kremblas, who'll manage the Brewers' Triple-A team in Nashville. Kremblas managed in Huntsville for three seasons and was the Southern League Manager of the Year in 2003. Joining Money on the Stars staff are new pitching coach Rich Sauveur, along with holdover hitting coach Sandy Guerrero. Fred Dabney, the Stars' pitching coach in 2004, will be with the Brewers' new Brevard County team in the Single-A Florida State League, close to his home in Venice, Fla. Money has been the manager at Single-A Beloit for the past six seasons where he was 404-426. He has posted a winning record the past two seasons and three times took the Snappers to the Midwest League championship series. "I'm very happy,'' Money said. "I've been in Beloit six years, and I always wanted to go where the organization need me the most, and help the team out. When this opportunity came up, I told Reid (Nichols, director of player development) I'd be interested. He offered me the job and I'm very pleased with that.'' Money, 56, is a resident of Vineland, N.J., where he lives with wife Sharon. They have two grown children, Don Jr. and Shannon, and are grandparents of five. He was drafted by the Pirates, but made his major league debut in 1968 with the Phillies. He was with that club through 1972 - he is the answer to the trivia question: Who hit the first home run at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia? - and was traded to Milwaukee before the 1973 season. Primarily a second baseman and third baseman, Money batted .264 for his major league career, with 169 homers and 690 RBIs. In 1977, he had a banner year with a .279 average, 25 homers and 83 RBIs. He was on the Brewers' 1982 World Series club. He ended his career in Japan, then managed at Oneonta in the Single-A New York-Penn League in 1987-88 before leaving the game. Eventually, he took a job coaching at Sacred Heart, a small Catholic high school that didn't even have its own baseball field. In five years, though, he took the team to two state tournaments. "Then I got out of that,'' he said. "But my kids were grown up. Both have their own families now. Your lifestyle changes. Now it's you and the wife, and you can do what you want to do.'' Money said "I got the itch back.'' With all that freedom, he could scratch it. He contacted former teammate Cecil Cooper, then in the Milwaukee front office, who hired him to manage at Beloit. Money knows he'll have some adjustments to make. "It's a little bit different, with American League and National League rules (and the sporadic use of the DH). Rosters are a little smaller. "In low A, the players are still learning. They're trying to get into a professional mode. There is a lot of teaching, a lot of early work,'' said Money. "Hopefully the teaching is carried on in high A." Money has not worked yet with Guerrero, but Sauveur was his pitching coach last year at Beloit. "He's a classic,'' Money laughed. "He's a goofy lefthander. But he's a good teacher, he works well and presents a case to the pitcher. He can be forceful, but he's got a good head on his shoulders.'' Sauveur, 41, pitched in the majors for six different clubs during a pro career that lasted 16 seasons. He is a native of Falls Church, Va. Around the rest of the Milwaukee system, Kremblas is reunited with pitching coach Stan Kyles at Nashville, along with hitting coach Gary Pettis.

Is Saul Rivera still Brewers property? No longer Brewer property, he's a minor league free agent, unless he hooked up with another club on a deal that hasn't hit a transaction wire as of yet.

Yee-haa! We'll take lines like this any day -- by the way, Glenn Woolard makes his final winter league start on Saturday... GAME DATE: 12/17/04 MXC at HER MEXICALI 2 AT HERMOSILLO 12 YTD YTD MEXICALI AB R H BI AVG HERMOSILLO AB R H BI AVG S.Gastelum 2B 3 0 0 0 .344 C.Gastelum 2B 4 2 2 0 .293 J.Hernandez PH 1 1 1 0 .258 D.Doster 3B 0 0 0 0 .314 J.Gomez RF 3 0 1 0 .364 D.Doster SS 4 1 1 0 .314 J.Cruz DH 4 0 0 0 .179 V.Castilla 3B 4 2 2 2 .412 D.White LF 3 0 1 0 .184 A.Ahumada SS 0 0 0 0 .226 R.Pimentel PH 1 0 0 0 .000 D.Johnson 1B 4 2 2 1 .267 B.Smith 1B 4 1 2 1 .260 L.Garcia DH 5 2 2 2 .339 B.Selby 3B 3 0 0 0 .264 J.Nunnally RF 4 2 1 3 .286 C.Presichi CF 3 0 0 0 .167 I.Franco CAT 4 1 2 3 .297 E.Garzon CAT 2 0 0 0 .324 J.Montenegro CAT 0 0 0 0 .286 N.Garcia SS 3 0 0 0 .219 H.Garcia LF 4 0 0 0 .338 C.Moreno PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 D.Fernandez CF 4 0 0 0 .232 H.Castellano PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.De la rosa PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 S.Garibay PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Cerros PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 S.Arellano PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 30 2 5 1 TOTALS 37 12 12 11 MEXICALI 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1- 2 5 3 HERMOSILLO 5 0 0 0 0 0 6 1 X-12 12 1 E--S.Gastelum, E.Garzon, N.Garcia, J.Nunnally. DP--MEXICALI 0, HERMOSILLO 2. LOB--MEXICALI 3, HERMOSILLO 6. 2B--J.Gomez (7), V.Castilla (1). HR--B.Smith (18), J.Nunnally (7), I.Franco (16). SB--V.Castilla (1). CS--J.Gomez. HBP--C.Gastelum. CI--D.Doster. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA MEXICALI C.Moreno (L,5-5) 6.0 6 5 5 2 6 1 4.29 H.Castellano 1.0 4 6 5 1 1 1 4.82 S.Garibay 1.0 2 1 1 0 0 0 27.00 HERMOSILLO [b]J.De la rosa (W,1-2) 6.0 3 1 1 1 4 1 4.74[/b] J.Cerros 2.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4.62 S.Arellano 1.0 1 1 0 1 0 0 3.21 HB--C.Moreno. WP--S.Garibay. SO--J.Gomez 2, J.Cruz, B.Selby, C.Gastelum, D.Doster, V.Castilla, D.Johnson, L.Garcia, J.Nunnally, I.Franco. BB--J.Gomez, E.Garzon, V.Castilla, D.Johnson, J.Nunnally. T--2:57.

The Brewers re-sign another of their own six-year free agents -- thanks again to the excellent Nashville site: RHP Clint Weibl - In 2004, Weibl opened the year with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League and posted a 2-1 record and 3.55 ERA in four starts before being signed by the Brewers in late May. He finished the year by logging a 4-3 record and 3.94 ERA (35er/80.0ip) in 24 games (nine starts) for Triple-A Indianapolis. The 29-year-old right-hander, who re-signed for his second year in the Milwaukee farm system, is no stranger to Greer Stadium, having pitched for the cross-state rival Memphis Redbirds from 1998-2003. In five career outings against the Sounds, Weibl is 1-0 with a 0.84 ERA (2er/21.1ip).

Gee, I can remember wanting the Brewers to target this guy back in '98... From the Nashville site: INF Kevin Orie - Orie, 32, brings 316 games of major-league experience with him to the third base position. The 12-year veteran split the 2004 season between the Cleveland Indians and Houston Astros farm systems after missing the 2003 campaign while recovering from right shoulder surgery. Orie batted .319 in 22 late-season games for the Double-A Round Rock Express then helped the club to the Texas League finals by hitting .353 (6-for-17) in the post-season. Orie ? who was a sandwich 1st-round selection by the Cubs in the 1993 draft and has spent time in the majors with Chicago and the Florida Marlins ? carries a .291 minor-league average (704-for-2422) in 683 games during his career. He batted .299 with 20 home runs and 63 RBIs in 86 games for the Iowa Cubs in 2002 during his last stop at the Triple-A level. Career numbers: www.sports-wired.com/play...Name=BGBIF

Young outfielder Charlie Fermaint uses his "let me play" card and strikes out in one AB Wednesday -- now 1-for-5 on the winter in extremely limited action in Puerto Rico: www.baseballamerica.com/t..._pon.shtml

Brian, I'll take the conversation here to you directly behind the scenes...

I can pull up the player index, but when I filter (on 40-man, for instance) I see colbyjack's dog cooper in the error message...

Try that last fix again, square, when you can -- thanks...

Old friend David Weiser of www.starsboxscore.com comments on another recent Mark McCarter Southern league tidbit: Next season will be the last for the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx. According to McCarter, the Southern League Board of Directors have approved their somewhat surprising move to South Carolina. The D'Jaxx are moving to the Greenville suburb of Mauldin for the 2006 season, so it will be a short absence for Southern League baseball in Greenville........ The Diamond Jaxx move must be approved by Minor League Baseball, and that decision should come in January........ County officials in Greenville have presented plans for a new stadium to West Tenn owner Bob Lozinak........ The Diamond Jaxx have one of the smallest markets in Double-A, in Jackson, Tennessee. The closest major city is Memphis, an hour away, and with a very successful Triple-A team that attracts fans from near and far. The D'Jaxx were 28th among the 30 Double-A teams in attendance last year. (Huntsville was 25th, by the way, and with the two teams in the Southern League that finished below Huntsville in attendance now gone or going away, it should give fans and the city of Huntsville something to think about.)........ According to The Jackson Sun, the city will examine other avenues to keep pro baseball at Pringles Park in 2006.

Quite the story of how he got his first job in baseball... Stars will search for new GM Dingo steps down to spend more time with family By MARK McCARTER Times Sports Staff markcolumn@aol.com To an extent, the past weekend brought a nice symmetrical ending for Bryan Dingo of the Huntsville Stars. Dingo, the club's general manager the past five seasons, has resigned his position. Though he'll be tying up the proverbial loose ends in the coming week, a vast number of his final duties were completed at the annual baseball meetings in Anaheim, Calif., that ended Monday. Dingo, 33, will be a divisional support manager for Buffalo Rock, the soft drink distribution company. He told The Times the primary reason he is leaving baseball is to spend more time with his family. "After 10 years, I still enjoy the business and the people I've met and the relationships I have in baseball,'' Dingo said. "But I'm at a stage in my life and my family's life, it's time for a change. I can be more of a husband to my wife and more a father to my kids, and enjoy seeing them grow up more.'' Dingo and his wife, Lynn, have two children, Brendan, 5, and Cameron, 2. A replacement for Dingo is expected to be named by team owner Miles Prentice in the near future, possibly even before the end of the week. The new general manager could come from the staff of the Midland, Texas, team Prentice also owns. "Whoever it is, I look forward to working with them and doing all I can to make this a smooth transition,'' Dingo said. That Dingo's last extensive weekend on the job was spent at the winter meetings is somehow appropriate, since he was "discovered,'' almost in some screwy act of fate, at the winter meetings in 1994, in Dallas. Don Mincher, then the club president and part-owner, bumped into Dingo, who was attending the meeting's job fair. "I had left the area where the job fair was going on and was walking back to my room,'' Mincher recalled. "I saw this guy standing by himself. There was just something about him that struck me. I walked over to him and asked him, 'Young man, are you here looking for a job?' "The first two words were, 'Yes, sir.' That hooked me,'' Mincher said. "I realized very quickly, through his body language and his answers that he was a guy who would make decisions and he was very intelligent.'' After interviewing with then-assistant GM Patrick Nichol, Mincher said, "I offered him a job. And, bless his heart, he took it.'' Dingo was elevated to assistant general manager in 1998. Then, when Mincher became president of the Southern League and had to divest himself of interest in the club, Dingo moved into the GM role in 2000. Dingo, a native of Cincinnati, attended Ohio Northern University. Since moving to Huntsville, he has been active in various civic functions, including President of the CAJA Friends Board of Directors. Mincher, now the president of the Southern League, said, "I'm both sad and glad to see Bryan make this decision. I'm sad, because he's a good person to have at the top with the Huntsville Stars. But I'm glad for him and his family.'' Dingo will miss baseball, but it'll miss him more Mark McCarter Huntsville Times All those years as the Huntsville Stars' general manager, and Bryan Dingo never learned a couple of things. He never learned about "pulling rank.'' He never learned about "delegation of authority.'' He did learn that baseball's worst cuss words are "pull the tarp.'' To unroll, or roll up, that heavy, fickle mass of canvas that covers the field, often in the teeth of wind and rain, is a nightmare. But every shower, there he was. The team general manager, the big boss, pitching in, pulling the tarp. No nonsense about leaving the grunge work up to the minions. Thirty years around pro baseball, I've known general managers who were less accessible to the fans and the public than Howard Hughes. I've known GMs more worried about getting their hands dirty than a trophy wife with a fresh $100 manicure. Not Dingo. He wasn't afraid to work. He wasn't afraid to get dirty. He wasn't afraid to listen and learn. I don't know what Bryan's salary has been. But I do know, if he got paid by the hour, it'd have been below minimum wage. To be the general manager of the Huntsville Stars is like the Twelve Labors of Hercules from mythology. Especially the one about cleaning the Augean Stables. Dingo tried valiantly to make a Taj Mahal out of a double-wide. He's been doing business in an outdated mausoleum of a stadium. He's had good help, but it's been often inexperienced, and insufficient in number. He's had an absurd amount of 8 a.m. mornings that stretched into 1 a.m. departures the next morning, all piled into eight-day home stands. That stress will eventually wear steel down. No longer. Dingo has tendered his resignation. He's not afraid of work. It's not that. You hear it all the time in sports retirements. "I want to spend more time with my family.'' It's a dead-solid fact here. There's Lynn, his wife. Bryan outkicked his coverage there. They have a son, Brendan, the only kid in his class who can brag about being caught up in a champagne-soaked pennant celebration. There is the irrepressible Cameron, who's almost 3. They need husband and dad around a little more than a minor league GM's schedule permits. I'm more than a little sad about this. He's become a good and trusted friend. I'm going to truly miss seeing him around the ballyard, even if we've all but done a blood-oath to make sure we meet often socially. I know he's going to miss baseball ... well, except for the tarp. But it's the baseball fans of Huntsville who should really be mourning now. I have grown a bit skeptical in recent years about how much people truly care about minor league baseball in this community and keeping it here - whether it be the decision-makers, the fans or even the ownership. Never once have I questioned how much Bryan cared for it. But even a god can only shovel so long. Contact Mark McCarter at markcolumn@aol.com

IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA HERMOSILLO [b]J.De la rosa (L,0-2) 4.2 4 5 3 3 8 1 6.23[/b] M.Rubio 1.1 1 0 0 0 1 0 2.96 M.Childers 1.0 1 1 1 1 0 0 3.96 D.Carrasco 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00JDLR continues to be a high pitch-count guy... Winter-to-date numbers in 13 IP (little bit of everything): www.baseballamerica.com/t..._her.shtml

There were 120 at one point. Heck, that almost matches the number of Podsednik threads in the Trade Rumors forum...

Newcomer RHP Jose Capellan is pitching in the Dominican this winter: Winter League Notebook By John Manuel (Baseball America) December 3, 2004 Power arms win championships in the major leagues. Whether or not it holds true in the Dominican Winter League remains to be seen. Escogido has as many power arms, if not more, than the average big league staff, yet it remains in the middle of the pack in the Dominican standings. Led in the starting staff by righthanders Jose Capellan (Braves), Ezequiel Astacio (Astros) and Merkin Valdez (Giants) and in the bullpen by Ramon Colon (Braves), Jairo Garcia (Athletics) and Jose Veras (Rangers), the Lions had allowed just 253 hits in their first 289 innings, holding opponents to a .233 batting average. The pitching staff had not been good enough to keep Escogido from a poor 14-18 start, fourth in the league behind Aguilas. Escogido?s staff leans to the right, but even their lefthanders throw hard. Starter Francisco Liriano (Twins) and reliever Franklin Gracesqui (Devil Rays) both reach the mid-90s as well. ?Every big Latin arm seems to pitch for Escogido,? said one scout with an American League organization, just back from a trip to the Dominican. ?I think I saw seven guys throw 95 for that team in a span of about two days. ?Capellan was the most impressive. His arm action is outstanding, his velocity is easy, and while his fastball is a little straight, it?s 96 and he puts it where he wants to.? His winter numbers thus far: 23 IP, 0-2, 4.30 ERA, .264 AVG against, 24 H, 14 R, 11 ER, 7 BB, 19 K

As mentioned on the major league forum, news from Tom Haudricourt of the JS: The Brewers? plan to get shortstop prospect J.J. Hardy a month?s worth of playing time in Mexico received a blow when Los Mochis placed him on its disabled list after only seven games. Hardy did not re-injure the shoulder that required surgery in May and forced him to miss all but one month of the season at Class AAA Indianapolis. But after getting off to a slow start at the plate (.154), the decision was made to deactivate him in favor of another player. The Brewers had dispatched minor-league manager Frank Kremblas to work with Hardy. Now, if they are unable to find him another job, Hardy probably will return to the States and wait for the start of spring training. Despite that setback, Doug Melvin said the plan still was for Hardy to get a shot to win the shortstop job in spring camp.

Maybe this Venezuelan experience will help him not to get drafted. He hasn't been pitching that well against what I would assume to be closer to MLB-caliber competition. With a non-power arm like Woolard's, you really have to know he could handle MLB hitters fairly effectively, otherwise there'd be no reason to take him at this point in time. Good points... At the same time, how many 23-year-old Rule 5 eligible pitchers are posting league average (see chart below) numbers in not just nine games, but nine starts, anywhere in this winter league season? And with a career WHIP of 1.20? 26 K in 46.1 winter innings isn't good, but Glenn's minor league K rate is still at 8.48 per nine IP. TEAM PITCHING W-L ERA H CG SHO SV HR BB SO ORIENTE 26- 17 3.95 386 0 4 17 37 124 277 LARA 27- 16 4.14 413 3 4 8 30 151 271 ARAGUA 23- 23 4.18 444 0 6 10 33 118 297 CARACAS 27- 16 4.23 408 0 1 14 47 156 270 OCCIDENTE 19- 24 4.33 399 1 2 11 43 133 275 ZULIA 21- 24 4.57 419 1 4 10 38 141 300 MAGALLANES 20- 26 4.86 443 0 3 15 35 147 333 LA GUAIRA 13- 30 5.62 453 0 0 8 40 118 242

Rotoworld: Glenn Woolard yielded three runs in 5 1/3 innings yesterday in his start for Lara of the Venezuelan Winter League. Woolard, one of the prospects the Brewers received from the Giants in the Wayne Franklin trade last spring, is 3-3 with a 4.47 ERA in nine starts. Milwaukee has made him available in the Rule 5 draft. And here we were hoping he was our little secret http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/ohwell.gif ... Woolard's full line from his latest start: 5.1IP, 3R, 3ER, 6H, 2BB, 5K, 2 HBP Look for Woolard to make two more starts and head home for the holidays (as so many of the American players do) with 55-60 winter innings under his belt. That should wrap things up for him until spring training. We'll know on Monday whether that spring training site will be Maryvale or not...

Wow, another pitcher signed to AAA. Any chance some of these guys can play other positions? We sure have enough of them!! Pitchers currently under contract likely to begin the season in Nashville: From the 40-man roster: Jeff Bennett Jorge de la Rosa (L) Jeff Housman (L) Andy Pratt (L) Dennis Sarfate And not on the 40-man: John Novinsky Rigo Beltran (L) Kane Davis Glenn Woolard Then you've got a slew of guys ages 23-27 in that AAA/AA slot that really could be placed at either level, but with AA perhaps more likely (Brian Adams, Ryan Miller, Greg Bruso, Ryan Costello - I imagine you're a big fan, cosnj, good for you, and welcome to Brewerfan -- Matt Ford, Josh Habel, Jesse Harper). And among that group, I would say that Costello has the best chance of beginning the season at AAA. Let me go on record that I'd like to see guys like Adams and Miller rewarded for their hard work as well, rather than the Kane Davis' of the world... So actually, cosnj, it'd surprise me if there were not 3-4 more pitching additions among minor league free agents made prior to spring training. If veteran guys like Beltran and Davis don't show well, they'll be cut prior to the season (see Mike Crudale, Scott Wiggins -- March 2004). Maybe 950opsLHcatcher can resurrect his roster projection thread (I mean, come on, it's been over three whole weeks now, Toby http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif !) p082.ezboard.com/fbrewers...2633.topic

Former Brewer RHP Kane Davis (remember all the names from the Wickman / Sexson trade?), with less than impressive 2004 numbers with AAA Buffalo (Cleveland), has been signed to a AAA deal. It does not appear that there is a spring training invite to the big league camp at this time. Davis, now 29, had gone to the independent ranks to begin both his 2003 and 2004 seasons. Career numbers: www.sports-wired.com/prof...tbc896.asp Thanks to the Nashville site for the heads' up: Davis, 29, enters his 13th season of play and will return to Nashville for the second time in his career. He previously pitched for the Sounds in 1999 while a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. The right-hander, a 13th-round Bucs selection in the 1993 draft, spent the 2004 season in the Cleveland Indians organization, where he played for former Sounds skipper Marty Brown at Triple-A Buffalo. Davis posted a 3-2 record and 6.15 ERA (31er/45.1ip) in 32 relief appearances. He tossed 4 2/3 scoreless relief innings in the International League playoffs to help lead Brown's club to a league title. A starter early in his career, Davis has appeared exclusively in relief the past four years and will be a valuable asset in the Sounds' bullpen.