MassBrew

Another 0-for-4 on Saturday (2 K's) places Hardy at 2-for-18 with nine K's and 2 walks -- one of the hits was a double. The tiny sample means nothing to us, but we've often read that these winter league games are taken pretty seriously by the locals, so even if it's only to escape the wrath of the Sugarcane Grower fans, J.J. needs to apply that Rustoleum soon. Flawless defense in his five games, no surprise there... GAME DATE: 12/04/04 HER at MOC HERMOSILLO 8 AT MOCHIS 10 YTD YTD HERMOSILLO AB R H BI AVG MOCHIS AB R H BI AVG J.Nunnally CF 2 1 1 0 .262 R.Johnson CF 3 2 0 0 .331 J.Nunnally RF 2 1 1 2 .262 M.Carrillo LF 5 2 2 3 .318 C.Gastelum 2B 1 1 1 0 .298 V.Bojorquez LF 0 0 0 0 .283 J.Montenegro PH 1 0 1 0 .250 J.Cirillo 3B 5 2 2 1 .269 J.Montenegro LF 0 0 0 0 .250 C.Sievers DH 3 2 1 0 .317 D.Fernandez PH 1 0 0 0 .236 M.Santana CAT 2 1 0 0 .330 D.Fernandez CF 1 0 0 0 .236 S.Soto 1B 4 1 3 5 .233 D.Doster 2B 1 1 0 0 .319 J.Bass RF 4 0 2 1 .223 D.Doster 3B 1 0 0 1 .319 [b]J.Hardy SS 4 0 0 0 .111[/b] D.Doster SS 1 0 0 0 .319 J.Arredondo 2B 3 0 1 0 .188 J.Canizalez DH 4 0 0 0 .333 P.Rivera PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 D.Johnson 1B 1 2 0 0 .261 A.Mercado PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 D.Johnson LF 2 0 1 0 .261 M.Gomez PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 I.Franco CAT 5 1 2 3 .282 C.Chavez PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Sandoval SS 3 0 1 1 .345 A.Osuna PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 R.Aguirre 2B 1 0 0 0 .000 B.Lopez PH 1 0 0 0 .000 A.Martinez 3B 3 0 0 0 .269 A.Martinez LF 0 0 0 0 .269 H.Garcia LF 0 0 0 0 .373 H.Garcia RF 1 0 1 0 .373 C.Garcia PH 0 1 0 0 .143 C.Garcia 1B 1 0 1 0 .143 J.Castllanos PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 A.Alvarez PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Lopez PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Cerros PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 33 8 10 7 TOTALS 33 10 11 10 HERMOSILLO 2 0 0 1 3 2 0 0 0- 8 10 0 MOCHIS 4 2 0 1 0 3 0 0 X-10 11 1 E--S.Soto. DP--HERMOSILLO 1, MOCHIS 2. LOB--HERMOSILLO 8, MOCHIS 7. 2B--J.Nunnally (3), M.Carrillo (11), S.Soto 2 (7), J.Bass (7). HR--J.Nunnally (4), I.Franco (12), M.Carrillo (8), S.Soto (9). SB--C.Sievers (3). HBP--M.Santana. SF--D.Doster. SH--M.Santana. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA HERMOSILLO J.Castllanos 1.1 5 6 6 2 1 1 6.62 A.Alvarez 3.0 3 1 1 4 5 0 6.59 J.Lopez (L,1-4) 1.2 3 3 3 0 1 1 4.30 J.Cerros 2.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4.58 MOCHIS P.Rivera 3.2 6 3 2 4 2 0 4.07 A.Mercado 1.1 1 3 3 2 1 1 5.79 M.Gomez (W,1-0) 2.0 2 2 2 1 2 1 5.09 C.Chavez 0.2 1 0 0 0 0 0 4.50 A.Osuna (S,2) 1.1 0 0 0 2 2 0 2.45 HB--J.Castllanos. [b]SO[/b]--J.Nunnally, D.Fernandez, D.Doster 2, J.Canizalez, B.Lopez, A.Martinez, R.Johnson 2, J.Cirillo, J.Bass 2, [b]J.Hardy 2[/b], J.Arredondo. BB--J.Nunnally, D.Fernandez, D.Doster, J.Canizalez, D.Johnson 2, A.Martinez, H.Garcia, C.Garcia, R.Johnson 2, C.Sievers 2, M.Santana, J.Arredondo. T--3:46. A--1000

Deeswan, that's the Brad Nelson link. Mistake, or am I missing something?

J.J. now 0-for-6 with two walks and 4 K's as he works off considerable rust -- just thank goodness he's on the field... www.baseballamerica.com/t..._moc.shtml It's funny that he teams up with another J.J. (Furmaniak) in the middle infield, a nice little Padres prospect who I remember well from High Desert Cal League webcasts...

Nine baserunners allowed in three innings for JDLR in his first start, second appearance -- at least he fared better than the long-gone Francisco Campos: GAME DATE: 12/01/04 MAZ at HER MAZATLAN 4 AT HERMOSILLO 8 YTD YTD MAZATLAN AB R H BI AVG HERMOSILLO AB R H BI AVG T.Hubbard CF 5 1 1 0 .215 J.Nunnally RF 4 2 2 1 .250 M.Flores 2B 4 1 2 1 .276 C.Gastelum SS 5 2 2 2 .302 S.Seabol 1B 3 0 1 1 .192 D.Doster 2B 4 1 1 1 .304 J.Dillon RF 4 0 0 0 .171 D.Johnson 1B 4 0 1 0 .257 J.Dubois LF 4 1 1 1 .254 L.Garcia LF 3 1 1 2 .321 M.Ojeda CAT 2 0 0 0 .264 J.Canizalez DH 3 1 2 1 .346 P.Mere 3B 4 0 0 0 .118 A.Martinez 3B 4 0 0 0 .287 R.Saucedo DH 4 1 2 1 .233 D.Fernandez CF 3 0 0 0 .239 D.Castro SS 2 0 0 0 .400 J.Montenegro CAT 3 1 1 1 .143 D.Fornes PH 0 0 0 0 .231 J.De la rosa PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 F.Campos PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Cannon PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 L.Munoz PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Lopez PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 P.Ochoa PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 D.Carrasco PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 W.Silva PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 32 4 7 4 TOTALS 33 8 10 8 MAZATLAN 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0- 4 7 0 HERMOSILLO 5 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 X- 8 10 0 DP--MAZATLAN 2, HERMOSILLO 1. LOB--MAZATLAN 9, HERMOSILLO 7. 2B-- M.Flores (9), S.Seabol (4), J.Nunnally (2), D.Johnson (7), L.Garcia (10). 3B--C.Gastelum (3). HR--J.Dubois (9), R.Saucedo (5), J.Nunnally (3). SB--T.Hubbard (11), M.Flores (10). HBP--S.Seabol, M.Ojeda. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA MAZATLAN F.Campos (L,3-2) 3.1 8 8 8 4 2 1 5.02 L.Munoz 1.2 1 0 0 0 1 0 10.50 P.Ochoa 2.0 1 0 0 2 2 0 10.31 W.Silva 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 4.70 HERMOSILLO [b]J.De la rosa 3.0 5 4 4 2 3 2 8.31[/b] J.Cannon (W,1-1) 3.0 1 0 0 2 1 0 8.10 J.Lopez 2.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3.38 D.Carrasco 1.0 1 0 0 1 2 0 0.00 [b]HB--J.De la rosa 2.[/b] [b]WP[/b]--W.Silva, [b]J.De la rosa[/b]. SO--T.Hubbard, S.Seabol, J.Dillon 2, J.Dubois, P.Mere, J.Nunnally, D.Doster, L.Garcia, J.Canizalez, A.Martinez, D.Fernandez, J.Montenegro. BB--M.Flores, S.Seabol, J.Dillon, M.Ojeda, D.Castro, D.Fornes, J.Nunnally, D.Doster, L.Garcia, J.Canizalez, D.Fernandez, J.Montenegro. T--3:08.

J.J.'s arrived in Mexico: GAME DATE: 12/01/04 MOC at OBR MOCHIS 1 AT OBREGON 10 YTD YTD MOCHIS AB R H BI AVG OBREGON AB R H BI AVG R.Johnson CF 2 0 1 0 .348 D.McDonald CF 3 2 1 0 .223 V.Bojorquez CF 1 0 0 0 .293 J.Robles SS 3 0 1 1 .371 M.Carrillo LF 3 0 0 0 .308 L.Garcia LF 5 0 1 1 .261 C.Quintero LF 0 0 0 0 .173 A.Tracy 3B 4 1 2 1 .352 J.Cirillo 3B 3 0 0 0 .282 C.Coste DH 4 2 1 0 .321 T.Robles 3B 1 0 0 0 .196 M.Valdez 1B 2 2 1 1 .321 C.Sievers DH 2 0 0 0 .321 G.Gil CAT 3 2 2 5 .345 R.Mendez PH 1 0 0 0 .278 S.Gutierrez PR 0 0 0 0 .176 M.Santana CAT 2 0 0 0 .330 S.Gutierrez CAT 0 0 0 0 .176 H.Hurtado CAT 2 0 0 0 .000 L.Arredondo RF 4 1 2 0 .291 S.Soto 1B 3 0 0 0 .216 C.Valencia 2B 4 0 1 1 .233 J.Bass RF 2 1 1 0 .218 L.Rivera PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 [b]J.Hardy SS 2 0 0 0 .000[/b] A.Ramirez PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Arredondo 2B 3 0 1 1 .190 O.Verdugo PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 B.Patrick PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 O.Bustillos PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 I.Lomeli PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 A.Mercado PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 B.Zambrano PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 27 1 3 1 TOTALS 32 10 12 10 MOCHIS 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0- 1 3 0 OBREGON 0 5 3 0 0 1 0 1 X-10 12 0 DP--MOCHIS 3, OBREGON 2. LOB--MOCHIS 4, OBREGON 7. 2B--M.Valdez (2), G.Gil (8). 3B--D.McDonald (4). HR--G.Gil (5). CS--R.Johnson. SF-- J.Robles. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA MOCHIS B.Patrick (L,0-1) 1.2 5 5 5 3 1 0 17.18 I.Lomeli 3.1 3 3 3 3 2 1 8.68 A.Mercado 2.0 2 1 1 1 1 0 3.38 B.Zambrano 1.0 2 1 1 1 0 0 2.96 OBREGON L.Rivera (W,2-0) 5.0 2 1 1 4 6 0 2.31 A.Ramirez 2.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.47 O.Verdugo 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 7.84 O.Bustillos 1.0 0 0 0 1 2 0 1.33 [b]SO[/b]--R.Johnson, M.Carrillo, J.Cirillo 2, T.Robles, R.Mendez, H.Hurtado, S.Soto 2, [b]J.Hardy[/b], J.Arredondo, D.McDonald, L.Garcia, A.Tracy 2. [b]BB[/b]--R.Johnson, C.Quintero, C.Sievers, J.Bass, [b]J.Hardy[/b], D.McDonald 2, J.Robles, A.Tracy, C.Coste, M.Valdez 2, G.Gil. T--3:21.

Love those translated pages: The thrower Glen Woolard could not work with consistency by more than three episodes, in which he allowed to three races and abanicó to three opposites. Final line Wednesday: 3.1IP, 3R, 3ER, 4H, 2BB, 2K, HBP And yes, there's actually a live game log I was peeking at last night: www.cardenalesdelara.com/...amp;pid=10

LHP Rigo Beltran turns 35 this week; career stats here -- not sure what his career splits vs. LH batters might be, oh well, at least Nashville will likely have a lefty in the pen: www.sports-wired.com/play...?Name=IGJI Rotoworld's summary of his 2004: www.rotoworld.com/content...mp;id=5818

There's just no stopping the first-place Lara Cardenales, and they proudly declare on their site that Glenn Woolard gets the call again tonight: www.cardenalesdelara.com/

Charlie Fermaint with a bases-loaded pinch-hit walk in his only plate appearance Sunday -- no need for the full box score...

I think I began here back in 1999, because I'm pretty sure the Vina-Belliard debates were raging I think DHonks has missed that "Est. 2001" heading at the top of every Brewerfan page http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif ...

In what continues to be the story of the winter league season, RHP Glenn Woolard (# 14 on the Power 50) extends his season again with seven innings (4 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 3 K) in Venezuela. Now with 37.2 winter innings under his belt (4.06 ERA), that's 174 IP for 2004 at age 23. Here's hoping Glenn says "that's enough" soon. I've lamented Woolard's non-inclusion on the 40-man roster plenty already, it sure seems Woolard's "showcasing" in Venezuela won't shy away any Rule 5 suitors. Hopefully Woolard's local paper in Pennsylvania puts together something on him this offseason. I'm sure he'd have some interesting tales to tell from down south.

Helena OF Charlie Fermaint (2003 4th round pick) made his second appearance for Ponce in his native Puerto Rico Friday, going 0-for-2 with a K, coming into the game to replace the immortal Hiram Bocachica in right field. Fermaint just turned 19 years old last month, and even if it's just an occasional cameo appearance, I certainly can't remember when such a young Brewer prospect saw any winter ball time at all.

OF Mario Mendez has appeared in a couple of games for Azucareros in the Dominican League -- teammate of SS Ozzie Chavez (yet to get an AB): www.licey.com/numeritos20...areros.asp SS Enrique Cruz numbers (more than any of the other leagues, players tend to "drop in" to Dominican games for token appearances: www.licey.com/numeritos20...cogido.asp RHP Pedro Liriano (another small sample): www.licey.com/numeritos20.../licey.asp

LHP Jorge de la Rosa makes his debut in his native Mexico an impressive one: IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA HERMOSILLO E.Dessens 1.2 2 2 1 2 1 0 5.40 [b]J.De la rosa 1.1 1 0 0 0 3 0 0.00[/b] S.Arellano 1.2 4 1 1 1 2 0 1.69 M.Rubio 2.1 1 0 0 3 3 0 3.57 M.Whiteside 0.1 2 3 3 2 1 2 5.12 J.Garcia 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 8.31 J.Lopez (L,1-3) 1.0 1 1 0 0 2 0 3.63Former Indianapolis teammates Matt Childers and Jon Nunnally join him on this team; by the way, since we finally picked up on 3B Chris Barnwell's Mexican League season (after his 8th game), he never appeared in another after that; just a Mexican League FYI -- Jeff Cirilo's playing, not ready to hang them up yet...

Thanks again to the Brewers for helping us out with some transaction updates today. This past weekend, all major league teams had to formalize their rosters so as to protect players for the Rule 5 draft, scheduled for the GM meetings taking place December 10th - 12th. From the Brewerfan FAQ: How does the "Rule 5 Draft" work? A player is eligible for the offseason Rule 5 draft if he is not on the 40-man Major League Roster if he was 18 or younger when he first signed a pro contract and this is the fourth Rule 5 draft since he signed or if he was 19 or older when he first signed a pro contract and this is the third Rule 5 draft since he signed. A player drafted in the Rule 5 draft must remain in the majors, be it on the 25-man roster or the disabled list, for all of the following season, or the club that drafted him must return him to his original club. Since a player to is returned must first be place on waivers, a third club can claim the player. The claiming club would then be responsible to the same rules placed upon the team that drafted him in the Rule 5 draft. Does it cost anything to draft a Rule 5 selection? Yes. The selection price was increased in 1985 to $50,000 from $25,000. Is there more than one segment to the Rule 5 draft? Yes. There are Triple-A and Double-A segments of the Rule 5 draft, with price tags of $12,000 and $4,000 respectively. That being said, the Brewers can make use of the 30 spots on the Nashville roster in such a way that if any of these players are selected, they would have to remain on the selecting team's 25-man roster for the entire 2005 season. Here are the 30 players protected in this manner on Nashville's roster: LHP Brian Adams (was moved from the Huntsville roster) RHP Khalid Ballouli (from Brevard County) RHP Greg Bruso (from Brevard County) LHP Ryan Costello (from Huntsville) LHP Matt Ford (from Huntsville) LHP Josh Habel (from Huntsville) RHP Bo Hall (from Brevard County) RHP Jesse Harper RHP Wilfrido Laureano (from Arizona Rookie) RHP Ryan Miller (from Huntsville) RHP Greg Moreira (from West Virginia) RHP David Nolasco (from Brevard County) RHP John Novinsky RHP Glenn Woolard C Pat Borders C Kade Johnson (from Huntsville) C Mark Johnson SS Ozzie Chavez (from Huntsville) 2B Callix Crabbe (from Brevard County) SS Enrique Cruz (from Brevard County) 2B/3B Matt Erickson 3B Jeff Eure (from Brevard County) 1B/OF Brandon Gemoll 1B Travis Hinton (from Brevard County) 2B Guilder Rodriguez (from West Virginia) IF Steve Scarborough 3B Tony Zuniga OF Kennard Bibbs (from Brevard County) OF Ryan Knox OF Chris Morris (from Brevard County) The following Rule 5 eligible players are listed on the Huntsville roster -- they could be had for the minor league cost detailed above, with no restrictions on placement. The Brewers actually acquired LHP Ryan Costello, who has shown some promise, via this means last winter (and don't forget the immortal David Manning the year prior!): RHP David Bradley (from Brevard County) LHP Carlos Ramirez (from Arizona Rookie) RHP Eric M. Thomas (activated from the restricted list) C Joel Alvarado C Kelley Gulledge C Alberto Segura (from Helena) C John Vanden Berg (from Brevard County) C Jeff Winchester 3B Chris Barnwell UT Johnny Raburn OF Adrian Myers OF Mario Mendez (from Brevard County) The following players listed on the Brevard County roster would also seem eligible for the minor league phase of Rule 5: RHP Josh Alliston LHP Mark Hamilton LHP Eric Henderson RHP Dan Kolb The following player listed on the West Virginia roster would also seem eligible for the minor league phase of Rule 5: IF Wandel Campana All of these player level changes have been reflected in the Brewerfan Player Index, which you can also view by level with its convenient filters: www.brewerfan.net/ViewPlayerIndex.do These moves will not be reflected in the Brewerfan transaction database, and will be deatiled in this post only. And finally, if I've misrepresented any of the data provided to us by the Brewers, someone in the know should chime in ASAP. I would imagine that this specific data is not available anywhere else on the web, nor that any other organization's submission to MLB from this past weekend is represented online. So, thanks again to the Brewers for their cooperation with our little dedicated website. Very cool...

Third baseman Tony Zuniga (he'll be 30 years old in January) has been inked to a minor league deal, and reviewing the overall organizational roster, he'll likely fill the third base void for Nashville in 2005, somewhat like veteran Scott Sheldon did for a portion of 2004. Zuniga fared better in 2004 after he moved on to the Mexican Summer League. www.baseballamerica.com/c...yer=zuniga Career stats: www.thebaseballcube.com/p...?Name=HFEH On what should be a young Nashville team, players like Adrian Myers and Zuniga fill necessary voids. Somehow, I remember being much more intrigued by the 2002 and 2003 minor league free agent signings. Oh well, it's still early. Now if Daphne Zuniga had been signed http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

The Brewers dip again into the minor league free agent bin in OF Adrian Myers, this time to address a speed bench need, most likely for AA Huntsville or AAA Nashville. And, once again, Doug Melvin looks up a former Texas draft pick. Myers will turn 30 in May, as Melvin fills in some of the "organizational soldier" needs at the upper levels. www.sports-wired.com/play...?Name=GDIJ

In recent years, the Brewers seem to locate former first round draft picks who failed elsewhere. That's the case with catcher Jeff Winchester, who toiled in the Rockies' system since being selected 40th overall (supplemental pick) in the '98 draft. He'll get his chance with the Crew, although he only reached AA last season -- he just hasn't hit. He'll be 25 in January. www.sports-wired.com/play...sp?ID=7483 The catchers in the organization are (in orrder of level, not ability or ceiling, obviously): Chad Moeller Pat Borders Mark Johnson Kade Johnson Joel Alvarado Nestor Corredor Kelley Gulledge Alberto Segura John VandenBerg Jeff Winchester Carlos Corporan Lou Palmisano Clay Blevins Ruben Angoma Bryan Opdyke Angel Salome

Pretty bold of Glenn Woolard to be toiling on his own (in terms of Brewers) in Venezuela. He's up over 160 innings for the year now, with his 30.1 IP down south thus far. And unlike duty in let's say, the Dominican League, he's making "regular" starts in Venezuela, like this latest effort, bouncing back from his one real dud of the winter season: IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA LARA [b]G.Woolard (W,3-2) 6.0 3 1 1 2 3 0 4.40[/b] L.Urdaneta 2.0 2 1 1 1 2 0 3.45 R.Guttormson 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00Looks like that 40-man roster snub didn't bother him a bit -- don't worry, Glenn, it bothers plenty of us. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/embarassed.gif By the way, since the Brewers botched their attempt of being a large part of that Mexican League team, just where and when is J.J. Hardy supposed to start getting all these AB's he needs to get a head start on 2005? We heard the Domincan, but finding regular playing time in that league is tough, as everybody and his brother takes a turn at some point during the winter....

The Brewers' site has an all-time roster (alphabetical feature) for major leaguers: milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com...layers.jsp

From colbyjack: Thanks to rpms6 for providing this on the MLB forum. MassBrew already brought up Kelley Gulledge, and I'm sure he'll add the rest to the transaction thread later: Milwaukee Brewers - Signed catcher Pat Borders to a minor league contract; purchased the contract of catcher Kelley Gulledge from Fargo-Moorhead of the Northern League (Independent); added shortstop J.J. Hardy, outfielder Brad Nelson and pitchers Luis Pena, Mike Jones and Jeff Housman to the 40-man roster. OK, colby, duly recorded for eternity. well with these moves anyone who was left off the 40 that shoulda been added??? cheezscott's question is a fair one. For me, RHP Glenn Woolard seems like the one guy who could definitely be plucked in the Rule 5 draft. He's eligible, as, like Jeff Housman, Woolard was a college pick who made his debut in 2002. He'll be 24 years old in April, and with his knuckle-curve out pitch, would be a tempting candidate to stash in middle relief for a season. It stinks that the Brewers need to protect two pitchers (Chris Saenz and Mike Jones) who likely won't pitch in 2005 (I realize Jones may return by late in the season). added RHP Luis Pena to the 40-man roster Wow, Luis Pena signed when he was 16 years old out of Venezuela back in 1999. That, my friends, is how you sneak under the radar when it comes to Rule 5 speculation. He'll be 22 when next season starts -- it must be about upside, but Pena's even slipped under Toby's current Power 50 scope. Meanwhile, Mr. Woolard, at # 14, is there for the taking. added LHP Jeff Housman to the 40-man roster Congratulations to Jeff, but to Bruce Seid, too. Who's Bruce Seid? The area scout who signed Housman out of Cal St. Fullerton in the 33rd round in 2002. And that was no draft-and-follow-type 33rd rounder, either. Jeff Housman showed up in rookie ball in Ogden in the summer of 2002 and promptly gave up 55 hits (including five HR's) in 32.1 IP. His ERA was 8.13 and his WHIP was over 2.00. I mean, talk about a candidate for release at the end of the summer. Then in 2003, we chronicled in detail his opportunity in Beloit (only after early injuries hit the Snappers), which not only included a roster spot, but a rotation spot. One thing we know about Jeff, play defense behind him -- that ERA has glittered for two seasons now, but he's allowed an amazing 42 unearned runs since 2003. If you boot it, they'll come around to score. But that shouldn't take away from a remarkable success story -- congratulations to Jeff! Now about this Woolard situation...

I believe I read about Brewerfan in an old "Davey's Diary".

The Brewers have purchased the contract of catcher Kelley Gulledge from Fargo-Moorhead of the independent Northern League. Gulledge, who will be 26 in January, was born in Nashville and attended the University of Alabama, so he should enjoy any time he spends in the organization's AA and AAA ranks. Baseball America named him the top catcher in all of independent baseball in 2004: www.fmredhawks.com/news/i...ase_id=223 2004 numbers in detail: www.baseballamerica.com/c...r=gulledge Gulledge was the Twins' 10th round pick in 2000, and spent a portion of 2003 in the Rangers' system: www.sports-wired.com/play...?Name=FFED I would imagine that Gulledge would be placed on the Huntsville roster initially. Nice feature story on Gulledge from this past June: www.in-forum.com/articles...ion=sports

The Dominican Winter League season is underway -- while this may be a future home for J.J. Hardy, it appears only two current Brewer farmhands have made appearances thus far, each in their homeland. SS Ozzie Chavez is with Azucareros: www.licey.com/numeritos20...areros.asp SS Enrique Cruz is with Escogido: www.licey.com/numeritos20...cogido.asp These rosters are always changing -- it's not uncommon for big-name Dominican big-leaguers to make appearances late in the winter season.

Props to 3B Chris Barnwell, who is playing for the Navojoa Mexican League team from which Frank Kremblas was fired; so even if Prince, J.J., etc., aren't there, Chris is still plugging away -- he reached base three times on Friday, no walks or extra-base hits after 30 AB's, though... www.baseballamerica.com/t..._nav.shtml RHP Matt Childers, now a free agent after an eight year Brewer career that included a cameo with Milwaukee, is pitching for Hermosillo in Mexico.