wvpowerblkwel

Eric Fryer is another one of my favorites. Defensively he is solid but not spectacular. He did make good strides in playing out from behind the plate this year which was nice. Offensively he has some pop on his bat that the only player I could compare to him in the last 4 years was Ryan Braun! Is he Ryan Braun, no, but the ball certainly jumps off his bat at times, especially when he went one his mid-season run where he ran his average up this year. I saw him hit a broken bat laser beam homerun to left this year that was absolutely amazing. If he continues to improve, he should be a solid big leaguer some day.

At least here in WV, the players do not live with the host families. Our role is one of surrogate parent, or whatever the player needs. As for what we have done for our players.....we meet them when they come to town, do research on apartments/houses that might be available. Show them housing, assist with getting utilities connected and helping them get settled. We have accumulated enough furniture/furnishings from family and friends to basically set them up a house. They have air mattresses, a king size bed (we bought to for a 6' 10" pitcher we had), sofa, table and chairs, all the kitchenware and linens they would need, a recliner, etc. We often provide transportation as is necessary because many of them don't have their cars when they arrive. Our most important task during the season is showing up at the games and providing support. Some players like to know there is an interested party in the stands, that won't ask them for bats/balls/hats gloves etc. It amazes me how much the fans ask for, and these guys generally give up. Of course I'd be telling a lie if I said my 7 yr old son doesn't have a nice memorabilia collection. Also during the season we provide a "road bag" of snak food and drinks when they leave for a road trip. These guys usually have very limited meal money when on the road, and things in our players road bags included lunch meat and sub buns and condiments, beef jerky, chips and candy as requested, granola bars, peanuts, pub mix, gatorade, water and soda (usually mtn dew). We had two players this year and it usually took a duffle bag and a cooler to arm our guys for an 8 day road trip. This takes a lot of pressure off their food money when they spend 10 hrs on a bus. We probably went overboard, but it was always appreciated. At season end we clean housing and help return any borrowed items....and trust me, cleaning up after 20 year old guys is true blood sweat and tears. It is as if you are their family away from home. On the other hand, some players we have hosted wanted nothing more than a road bag and a word or two after the game. These guys are all different and all want/like differeing amounts of involvement. While I understand not all host parents due what we do, it is a very rewarding thing for my family, and gives my wife and daughter interests at the park as well as myself and my son. We took a road trip to Carolina to meet with some of our former guys who were with Huntsville this year, and made road trip to Lake County to watch one of ours traded to Cleveland....it makes us a baseball family, and we meet a lot of nice young men! It is an important function for some of the guys, but maybe not all.

I have been busy at work, and just discovered this thread, but for the record, I don't brag about being a host family. I consider it a privilege to get to know some of these kids. But just like everything else that gets spoken about on this board, sometimes all of us talk before we know who we are talking to. The players I did host family duty for had air mattresses, a king size bed (which I purchased when we had a 6' 10" player), a sofa, a furnished kitchen in every way, linens, microwaves, televisions, cleaning supplies, and anything else they asked for was provided. I have not had use of my garage because I store items for my players there each year so that my stuff doesn't go into the "garage". We spent large sums of my families income to show up for games to support our players and see to it that they had a road bag each and every time they went on the road that would help them save their meal money for actual meals. I put my heart, soul, blood sweat and tears into this deal. I clean houses after they leave town in the fall, I find apartments/houses, and for the last 2 years had to pay deposits until the guys get paid. I take great offense to the personal attack here. I do agree at times that the overall program here is not equal top to bottom, and that not all host families do as I do. I am sorry if I said something that was negative that didn't sit well with the original poster here, but I still have conversations almost daily with our player from this year, so I think I did a good job for him here in Charleston. Sorry about your own experience but perhaps during the season when the guys weren't getting the help they needed might have been a better time to voice your complaint. And for the record, I do know how hard it is for these players...I spent the night at the park till midnite the nite one got traded to the indians and his buddies all went on a road trip that nite, I followed him to Lake County to see him play, I stored his vehicle at my house for 2 months until he could get back for it. I don't know where all the negativity towards me came from, but perhaps you should drop me a note and I'll be happy to discuss anything I have ever said on this board.

I am very careful about what I say in a negative spin, because it doesn't get taken very well sometimes on this board. Case in point my comments earlier this year on Jonathan Lucroy who I wasn't a big fan of during his time here. I generally comment on the kids that we have done host duty for that I feel have the talent, at least from what I've seen over the years, and that I have spent a lot of time watching. Those guys over the last couple years have been Zach Braddock, who I am certain has the talent but has to be healthy, Caleb, and Rob Bryson now with the Indians. As far as guys discussed here that I haven't been real impressed with that have been bantied about a bit lately outside of Lucroy, I wasn't all that impressed by Taylor Green. I am also not a big Mike Ramlow fan who we have had for multiple years here, and figured he was just a solid A pitcher, but he was strong here during the playoffs, and is having a nice winter in Hawaii, so maybe I'm wrong there. Caleb is one that has to mature, but I believe it was mentioned to him that if he put up numbers n Hawaii, he might get a shot at a double bump in the spring, but he has struggled a little there also so we'll see. Let's just say, I go by the old parental addage if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all, or the experts will hand you your head!

5' 9" will not be a problem for Caleb. I watched him here all season, and he will be fine. He is very young (turned 20 on August 31) and very intense! He does the little things that will make a successful big leauger....takes the extra base, looks to throw everybody out, works really hard. He has a gun for an arm....could've been drafted as a pitcher out of high school, but he told teams he wanted to play everyday. Has a lot of pop in his bat, but tries to pull everything. As the season progressed and he started going the other way more, the BA and the HR totals both went up. Very hard worker, and actually very quick. I think he could steal a lot more bases also, but he is very selective of when he goes. I think he was hindered a little bit this year in that they always made him take on a 3-0 count...the entire season. I think partly that was responsible for his high strikeout rate in that after going down 3-1, you want to swing at the next one which he oftern fouled off....now your 3-2 and in the SAL you have to protect the plate due to the umpiring. I think if he continues to play the way I see him, height won't be a problem.http://images.yuku.com/image/jpeg/3d1356ad9270799aea4fc5bcee3782a4a7bf6f9.jpg

Just a for what it's worth update. Rob had surgery on wednesday and said everything went well. He's hurting pretty good right now, but that's to be expected. I'll keep you updated when I find out more about it when he's feeling better.

I tell you what, wherever JJ starts, if he puts together the kind of season i think he is capable of, he will be on the short path to the bigs. I honestly think after having watched some of the talented young pitchers that the Brewers have pass through Charleston, that it's just a matter of time on guys like Jeffress. When he pitches with some more solid guys behind him, I say watch out! Seems like a lot of the real young guys will have one really bad inning in an outing that scues their stats, when it usually is a mental issue more so than a pitching issue.

Not to much to say about the Brewer farmhands today as Canefires go down 9-1. Logan Schafer does get the only RBI of the nite with a Sac fly and three walks. Caleb Gindl gets the day off (tough thing when your in Hawaii!) Canefire Box Score I think the following link is a simple way to keep up with our winter active guys http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/org.jsp?id=mil

Canefires win again with Mike Ramlow picking up the win., Gindl with 2 RBI. Boxscore (now available!)

Our guys are playing for the West Oahu Canefires. Follow the link...boxscores will be there, but sometimes a little slow getting there.

I'm really happy for you guys....I've experienced all the stuff you guys are gushing about here and WV, and we weren't Brewer fans first. The talent train headed for Milwaukee the 4 years in WV has been phenomenal! All I have to say is you guys better fill that stadium. I'm gonna miss following the new talent, but I'll be a Brewer fan till all the guys I've gotten to know have been traded off....I guess I better learn about Pirates minor league talent! But that is the big league city I associate/watch games in the most, so I guess in time it will be better for me too! CONGRATS AND ENJOY!

I agree with all you say. I guess I got to watch those three guys in low A ball and have followed them then season and was a little disappointed they didn't get more of a shot to help. These guys were all very solid most of the year. I would have love to seen Angel spend some time learning from Kendall this year. Kendall .248 2 HR 46 RBI in 496 AB's production couldn't have been hurt much by getting Angel a few AB's. Same with Gamel and Bill Hall's .226 15/54. Escobar also brought the threat of SB's with him. I have to be honest...in not giving up these guys, I think the Brewers had to try what they did. I just hate to see LaPorta go as he was something special when he passed through here. I get to know these young guys down here, and generally I get a feel for expendable, and you are right, they are just young guys getting going and are a small price for a pitcher the status of CC. I think Bryson has the makings of a big league closer someday, but he will be having surgery this off season more than likely. I'm not complaining, I am disappointed, but I just thought in years past, the Brewers have given young guys like Prince Fielder a chance to help. Of course I'm not comparing any of these guys to Prince, but who was he besides Cecil's son several years ago? Anyhow, I hope the deal works, but when I see those sub .250 veterans with young guys like this in the minors, I would love to see some pre-september auditions. I still root, and will continue to root for the Brewers even though they are pulling out of here, because I think they have had an incredible minor league talent pipeline during the 4 years here. What do you guys think of someone like Jeffress getting a call up next year?

For what it's worth, I thought I pointed out pretty well that we didn't sell off ALL our minor leaguers. My question is why do we NOT give some of the younger guys a shot earlier, and feel that the only way to fix this is to rent a pitcher?..but I guess on second thought, there was no reason to give the younger guys a shot with a 5 1/2 game lead. I guess I never thought about us getting something better than LaPorta back in return.

I guess as someone who is about to lose my Brewer association, I should keep my thoughts to myself, but here goes. Why when you have Angel Salome (.360 13hr 83 RBI), Mat Gamel (.329 20 99) and Alcides Escobar (.328 8 76 34sb) why do you try to solve all the worlds problems by selling off your minor league chips (Matt LaPorta .288 20 66 before trade) again? Seems to me like giving up Inman, Thatcher, Garrison, LaPorta, Bryson (20 yr old kid that can touch 96 with a little better control than Aguilar at this point), and who knows what is next, for a guy who comes in goes, 9-2, pitches on short rest, pretty much does all you ask, and STILL NOT MAKE THE PLAYOFFS should tell you that maybe they should've learned a lesson last year and not pinned everything on the hopes of 1 arm! Would it not have made some sense to bring at least one of your young studs up from AA to try and help? That seems to be what most other MLB teams do finding someone who can help from time to time. Not only have you had to let your manager go with 12 games to go, but you've mortgaged a good bit of your minor league talent to do so. Thank God the three mentioned above didn't get disposed of in this mess...I understand it would've been worse without Sabathia, but as they say, second place is still just the first loser!

Just for someone who came along post Beloit, why did the Brewers leave there to start with anyhow?

I couldn't agree more with that statement. I've gotten to know several pitchers here in WV, and I think Brae Wright is a perfect example of what you just said. He struggled here but just put up a very solid season in Huntsville!

I think Wooten will be a strong arm out of the pen. He seemed mature in his approach, and should progress quickly through the system. I got to watch him come out of the pen here in Charleston, and always felt comfortable when he took the mound. Some of these guys passing through Low A, tend to make you nervous with what you get from game to next, even those who are successful, but Wooten nver gave me that feeling

Guys, it is with great sadness that I read the headline here. I have been spoiled with what has been some of the best low A baseball talent I imagine I will ever see the last 4 years! My plan on following "my guys" always involved planning trips to Pittsburgh to see them against the Pirates, but now I'll guess they will be Pirates. The hardest part is meeting guys like Mike Vass and Erik Komatsu that due to old habits I found myself telling them "see ya next year", and now I guess I won't, not even as the opposition. I wish you guys all the best! Mass, the link report is a fantastic thing! I'll miss that most. On the positive side, my family and I made road trips to Lexington, Lake County, Carolina to see the Stars, and BC to see the manatees, so maybe you'll see a few pics and posts next year as I follow our former players that we did host duty for....Zach Braddock, Bobby Bramhall, Rob Bryson, Caleb Gindl, and Michael Vass. Our other Brewer player was Steve Palazzolo, the 6 10" pitcher from a few years back who spent this year as high as AAA with the Giants system. Of course as I have made known, one of my favorite Power guys to watch has been Angel Salome, so I'm sure you'll still see me around posting some on the major league side! Thanks again, it's been loads of fun, and you guys have a 1st class operation here!

I think that Brantley will be the man when the PTBNL axe falls. The Brewers are sending Caleb Gindl and Logan Shaffer to the Hawaiian winter league, and they called up Mike Vass and Erik Komatsu from Helena before and during the playoffs, when the Power really could've used some arms instead...just makes me think that they're auditioning outfielders and not third basemen, considering 3rd has always been a defensive need. Also, Josh has been pretty smug about "I got a secret", so that would still make sense there. Just a couple things that make me say hhmmm!

Guys...it has been a great season! Thanks for your efforts! I guess with the exception of following some of my "old boys", our association with the Brewers is drawing to an end here in Charleston? I sure hope not, but even if it's so, I'll be lurking around following up on the guys I have gotten to know as they came thru town. This year we hosted Caleb Gindl and Rob Bryson, and they both made baseball season a pleasure for me and my family. I'm sure I'll be around, but I doubt you guys will be interested in my photos next season unless I make a few road trips to see my guys! Thanks for all the discussion here on Brewerfan...it has been fun and informative! WVPowerblkwel...

I see Erik Komatsu has joined the Power...too bad Helena didn't have a couple POWER arms to send along with him!

http://images.yuku.com/image/pjpeg/f091589b74e7c1ec0a3627d617e21c7536f234f.pjpg I agree!! Congrats to you all! I definitely think Caleb would agree with your last statement....he also put up one heckuva 2nd half!

Anundsen spectacular through 7, 2 hits 1BB and 6k's thus far...Power up 10-0!

I could be wrong guys, but I don't think Power game is until Friday nite!

For what it's worth, Rob Bryson was not totally done for the year. He pitched a strong inning on the 29th of August, and could possibly face his former team on Friday night in Lake County. Still has some soreness but I don't think it was quite as bad as originally reported.