Friday Night Fireworks and then some in Des Moines (posted April 10, 2010)

The Nashville Sounds are certainly making “sounds” alright in their first two games of the regular season. They continued where they left off from the opener the previous night by belting three home runs and prevailing with a 6-3 win over the Iowa Cubs at Principal Park on Friday night.

There was also an interesting development in the game when Chuck Lofgren made his first start as a Milwaukee Brewer farmhand and he did not fail to impress. Lofgren retired the first 11 batters and I was thinking about a special feat while Chuck was flirting with perfection. In more than 20 years broadcasting baseball, I never received the privilege of calling a perfect game and I thought this night might be my first chance. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be, because with two outs in the fourth inning, I-Cubs’ right fielder Micah Hoffpauir belted a long home run over the center field wall. So, on one swing, a no-hitter, perfect game, shutout and the lead went up in smoke as the Cubs tied the game at 1-1. Angel Salome did show why he is an excellent prospect in the Brewers’ system since he went deep for his first homer of the year against Cubs’ righthander Jay Jackson in the second inning. Luis Cruz had the game-winning hit when he hit a two-run shot to left field in the 4th inning and gave the Sounds a 3-1. Sounds’ first baseman Joe Koshansky added good measure with a mammoth two-run homer over the right field wall to give Nashville much needed insurance.

One thing that must not be lost in the game and the series is the success of the Sounds’ bullpen so far. I have seen clutch strikeouts in both games and one basic example was when righthanded reliever Mike McClendon made his first regular season Triple-A appearance and struck out Catcher Wellington Castillo to end the threat. John Axford picked up his first save of the year for the Sounds when he induced pinch batter Bobby Scales to hit into a game-ending 4-6-3 double play in the ninth. The Sounds’ bullpen has fanned 10 in 6.1 innings this year.

Outside the ballpark, I got to walk around Des Moines for the first time. I was a bit disappointed to see how quiet that downtown was. However, I walked around more and saw there were quite a few things to do. The city boasts a four mile skywalk and you can walk inside and go from building to building and get around without going outside. This would certainly be ideal for the frigid temperatures that Iowans must deal with in the winter.

There are some great venues like the Iowa Events Center, made up of Hy-Vee Hall, Veterans Memorial Auditorium and Wells-Fargo Arena. In Hy-Vee Hall, they feature the Hall of Iowa Pride, which is a museum of the history of Iowa as well as notable Iowans. I didn’t get to see the museum yet, but will plan on doing so tomorrow and will give a report.

The great joy of being a sportscaster and traveling to different cities is getting a chance to tour the cities and venturing out to see what the ambience is like and to visit any special attractions, such as museums. I’ve always like museums since I learn so much from visiting there.

Anyway, I hope you have a nice weekend and are enjoying the webcasts. Saturday night’s game starts at 6:35PM with the Sam’s Sports Bar & Grill Pre-game chat starts at 6:20PM. All the action is at www.nashvillesounds.com Almost sounding like Batman’s narrator when I say “Same Bat Time”, “Same Bat Channel”. Pardon the pun, but I can use the word “bat” since the baseball bat is part of the game!

On a side note, I got the thrill of interviewing I-Cubs skipper and Hall of Fame Second Baseman with the Chicago Cubs, Ryne Sandberg. He mentioned how much he enjoyed playing at Wrigley Field and playing for managers Jim Frey and Don Zimmer. He is planning on going to Cooperstown again this summer, but to see his friend and former teammate, Andre Dawson get inducted and join Ryne Sandberg in the Hall of Fame. Congrats to The Hawk! Well-deserved honor!

• Posted on April 10, 2010 at 12:43 am

First Game of the season; First WIN of the season! (posted April 9, 2010)

Well, I finally made my broadcast debut at the Triple-A level last night, despite having a couple of technical snafus early on during the internet broadcast.

I was busy preparing for the first broadcast and ordered room service. The restaurant at the hotel is called Doozie’s and it was more than a Doozie. The quality of the food was outstanding. I ordered buffalo wings and a bleu cheese and bacon hamburger. Room service was prompt and excellent as I was still preparing for the game.

I left the hotel and went to the ballpark via the hotel van. Principal Park, the home of the Iowa Cubs, is located east of the hotel and in the downtown area. I had a nice view of the ballpark. A double-deck stadium with 45 suites and a nice view of the State Capitol of Iowa way beyound the center field fence, albeit the view from my hotel room is a lot better.

As i got to the ballpark, I was seeking to find my way around. Like any new ballpark I enter for the first time, I always have a little bit of difficulty finding my way around, but people at the ballpark were very helpful. I finally made my way to the clubhouse to get the lineup. Already, I was getting good natured ribbing by a few of the guys. I just laughed it off and joked around a bit, too. I interviewed Don Money for my first interview (which I will eventually get on the Sounds’ website) and he talked a bit about a few of the players.

After my brief duties in the clubhouse, I made my way to the pressbox. I had to walk out of the clubhouse the same way one enters it. From the left field corner. I made sure that I kept my eye on the field in the event I had to duck out of the way of any batted balls so I don’t get nailed with them.

I set up my equipment and checked everything out. It seemed to run fine, until the start of the game which I will explain a bit later on. Deene Ehlis, the long tenured and talented broadcaster of the Iowa Cubs came into my booth and warmly greeted me. I did the same. We shook hands and went over the pronunciations and over tidbits that us broadcasters like and need to do. I met Deene’s partner, Randy as well. The notes and all of the media guides were accessible and they had a nice spread. Instead of lasagna (which was being served, but for some reason, I was never a lasagna fan), I opted for cold but tasty pasta with meat sauce. It was awesome.

Well, everything was squared away, but as Norris Hopper stepped into the batter’s box, I got an immediate call from my Sounds’ front office colleague, Jeff Young, who has done a masterful job in assisting me in putting together the internet procedures. Like I said, we checked things out early and everything went fine, but wouldn’t you know it, Jeff informed me that he was NOT picking up my signal. I thought to myself, “Aiy yay yay” but i stayed calm and I knew that I had to switch the cable from one connection to the alternate connection. While all this was happening, Hopper draws a walk to start the season and he scored later on when Trent Oeltjen doubled him home. Then Brenden Katin belted a long two run homer to make it 3-0. We were still having some snafus when this took place, but once we got everything restored, there were no troubles on the internet. Still, I had a few other issues. Sure enough, when I was playing my Don Money interivew, the batteries went dead on the recorder. I thought for a moment that someone from upstairs was playing tricks on me. Even my CD player to play the commercials had issues, until I was able to smooth everything down.

Anyway, for the rest of the night, we had no problems and I was able to broadcast the innings where the Sounds got single runs in the 2nd and third innings against Iowa Cubs’ lefthander, J.R. Mathes, who won 12 games for the team last year. However, he did not pitch like the 12-game winner from the year before in last night’s game. He did make a few mistakes early on and the Sounds made him pay, especially in that 3 run first inning.

Meanwhile, 6’8″ Kameron Loe started for the Sounds last night and the former Texas Ranger did a nice job despite issuing four walks in the game. He did have some trouble in the third inning when there were two runners in scoring position for Iowa and two men out when Cubs’ left fielder, Jim Adduci, hit a slow bouncer back to the mound. I figured easy out, right? WRONG! Unfortunately, Loe “babied” the play when he took too much time and tried to make too perfect of a throw to Joe Koshansky at first base and ended up throwing the ball away! Two runs scored and Iowa was on the board to make it 5-2, Sounds. Still, like being an established professional, Loe didn’t let the error bother him and he settled down to get the next batter when Catcher Chris Robinson bounced out to first.

Iowa would get to Loe for another run in the 7th inning to cut the Sounds’ lead to 5-3. At that point, Loe was maximizing his pitch count as he was supposed to throw 85 pitches in the opener. He did start to tire, but left handed reliever Zach Braddock came in and showed why the Brewers think highly of him. Here is a 22 year old lefty in Triple-A ball and what does he do? He was able to strike out pinch batter, Bryan LaHair went two runners in scoring position and none out in the 8th. He did allow Center Fielder Sam Fuld to knock in a run with a sac fly to drive in the third Cubs run. The next batter, Second Baseman, Darwin Barney lined out to right to end the inning. Braddock showed his prowess when he struck out the side in the eighth inning.

Sounds right fielder Brendan Katin displayed why he will be important to the Sounds again this year. He had hit a long two run homer over the left field wall in the first, but Katin went deep again in the eighth when he hit a mammoth homer over the left center field wall for a big insurance run to make it 6-3, Nashville.

Sounds’ reliever Chris Smith picked up his first save of the season to help Kameron Loe get his first win and fanned two batters in the ninth inning despite giving up a walk. Loe also helped his own cause with two hits in the game, including a bunt single. He could have had his first RBI of the year had it not been for Sam Fuld’s great throw to the plate when he nailed Sounds’ Catcher Angel Salome, who tried to score from seoond base on Loe’s single to center in the third.

A crowd of 6,034 witnessed the game and despite their disappointment, they seemed to enjoy themselves. So did I and of course, so did the Sounds team since they got the result that they as well as every sports team looks for in a contest and that is a win.

Well, tonight, we will see former Indian farmhand Chuck Lofgren make his Sounds’ seasonal debut and a very promising lefthander indeed. Ted Lilly was supposed to start on a rehab assignment tonight, but he was pushed back to Saturday’s contest in favor of right hander Jay Jackson. Tonight’s webcast will start at 6:20PM with the Sam’s Sports Bar & Grill report and then the play-by-play, which will follow. I’m sure that things will be a lot smoother, technical-wise tonight. Until then, have a great day and thanks for tuning in to the first webcast last night!

• Posted on April 9, 2010 at 10:34 am

Baseball Season is finally here! (posted April 8, 2010)

Well, it might have taken us a while to get to Des Moines, Iowa, but the Nashville Sounds arrived late last night, an hour later than anticipated.

As the excitement builds in broadcasting NOT only my first game with a new team and a new league, but this is also my first broadcast at the Triple-A level.

After toiling in Double-A for so many years, it is nice to have the experience of a new and refreshing ambience and a new and great group of people. I learned that in Triple-A, you have a lot of veterans and just about everyone on the ballclub is capable and ready to play in a major league game now. Of course, due to a numbers game or a few things that players need to work on, they have been assigned to Triple-A Nashville for those reasons.

We arrived at Nashville International Airport around 3:00PM yesterday and check in for a 4:40 flight. I learned immediately that our flight was going to be delayed for one hour due to bad weather in Dallas, where we would make our connection. You are probably wondering why we would fly out to Texas for a connection to a city that seemed closer to Nashville than Dallas. Having said that, that’s the why the American Airlines flight was arranged. We were able to board our plane for the flight that now left at 5:40PM. It was nice that we were finally on our way. I continued to get to know the players and talk a little baseball.

We were able to land at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport around 7:45PM. We had to take the skyline link from one section of the airport to another. This airport, though, is certainly not foreign terrain to me because as a broadcaster for the Double-A San Antonio Missions, I would connect at this airport. Getting on the skyline was light getting on a New York City subway train, which I experienced as a passenger often, having grown up in the Big Apple. Instead, the skylink train was less crowded

There were times while we waited, we got entertained by a few of the players, who displayed their sense of humor. This is a loose bunch of players and Don Money is one person who has a great sense of humor himself. Money had a very good career as a player for both the Philadelphia Phillies and the Milwaukee Brewers. Since he’s been with the Brewers’ organization as a manager for so long, he knows what to do to make the players click and you can tell that he knows the game inside out.

We had a slight delay on the connecting plane and discovered it was an American Eagle plane, a much smaller plane than the normal DC-3. I felt like I was in the Continental Basketball Association again, not only because of being on the plane and traveling with a bunch of very tall men, but I also felt for two of the tallest guys in Pitching Coach Rich Gale and pitcher, Kameron Loe, who will be starting in tonight’s opener against the Iowa Cubs here in Des Moines. Somehow, they were able to get to their seats without any problems. Veteran Erick Almonte entertained the guys during the delay with his jokes and stories. I felt like I was on a chartered flight because almost every passenger, including myself, was the team.

Anyway, we finally arrived at the Des Moines airport and we got our belonggings and went outside. I anticipated a bus but instead we had a couple of vans from the hotel to pick us up. I didn’t mind that at all since it would be quick to get in and quick to get out. We loaded our bags in the back and jumped in.

The hotel where we stay is in downtown. As soon as I checked into my room, it was close to midnight. I looked out the window and saw a nice and illuminated view of the State Capitol. Yes, Des Moines is the capitol of Iowa and going through downtown was real nice.

I hope that sometime tomorrow, I will try to tour the town more and get into the environment. One of the joys of being a sportscaster is traveling to the many cities around the country and trying to take in the culture of these particular towns. To me, life is more than just being at the hotel and the ballpark. You like to look around.

Tonight is the night we start at the Iowa Cubs will host the Sounds and will do so for the next three days. Lefthander J.R. Mathes is scheduled to start for the I-Cubs. He won 12 games for the I-Cubs a year ago. They have some pop with the likes of Micah Hoffpauir and Jason Dubose. These two have also been in Iowa for quite some time, but are ready to be in Chicago at any given moment. However, they’re not the only team with some pop. Sounds returnees Brendan Katin and Joe Koshansky are back with the club and those two can jack one out with one swing of the bat at any given time. Going back to Kameron Loe, he’s had experience at the big league level in the past with the Rangers and with his versatilty as a starter and a reliever, I know he will be a big asset to the Sounds.

Tonight’s pre-game show is at 6:20PM and the first pitch is at 6:35PM. Tonight’s broadcast will be via webcast only at www.nashvillesounds.com. As a matter of fact, the first 7 games of this road trip will be on the webcast with our debut with the new radio station, 104.5 The Zone, taking place on Thursday night, April 15th against the Omaha Royals at Rosenblatt Stadium. It’s hard to believe after 76 years, this will be the ballpark’s swan song since the stadium will be no more aftre this year. I will fill you in on the details about the first radio broadcast later on.

I look forward to not only having all of you tune in tonight, but every single night. 75 of the games will be on 104.5 The Zone and all 144 regular season broadcasts will be onwww.nashvillesounds.com. On Friday night, April 16th at 7:05PM, the Sounds have their home opener against the very same Iowa Cubs. I urge all of you to make your plans for that night since we are giving away 5,000 Magnetic Schedules and on display, there will be an excellent fireworks show afterwards.

Thank you for tuning and and stay tuned for my first game report after tonight. It will also be exciting to see HOFer Ryne Sandberg, in his first year as manager of the Iowa Cubs. Enjoy tonight’s game. LET’S PLAY BALL!

• Posted on April 8, 2010 at 10:21 am

Final Full Day of Spring Training (March 26, 2010)

Well, today is my final full day of Spring Training with the Milwaukee Brewers. It was a fun-filled, exciting and interesting week. It was so nice to meet many of the Brewers’ executives, the Brewers’ major and minor league players, Nashville Manager, Don Money and the list goes on and on.

I still continued my round with interviews in the Brewers’ clubhouse. Rickie Weeks and Prince Fielder were two of the players I interviewed. Rickie is a class individual and he was a joy to speak to. Fielder was also nice, albeit he didn’t say too much.

It was also nice to see some familiar faces on the Padres, who were with me when I broadcast for the Class AA San Antonio Missions. A number of guys are expected to play for Portland this year, so they are looking forward to seeing me when the Beavers come to town in May.

The biggest thrill of them all was getting the opportunity to be part of the Brewers’ webcast for today’s game against the San Diego Padres on www.brewers.com. I did a half inning of color and a half inning of play-by-play with a former colleague of mine from the Missions. He is the current television voice of the Milwaukee Brewers and is a very talented individual. His name is Brian Anderson. You might have seen Brian as he also broadcast for TBS during a couple of National League playoff series over the last couple of years. It was great to see BA again and a pleasure to work with him again.It was great to do a major league broadcast, even though it was an exhibition game and it was just on the Brewers’ website.

Of course, the Brewers still have a few tough decisions to make, but it won’t be long before we know the final roster for the Sounds when the 2010 Pacific Coast League season gets underway.

I encourage all of you to tune in to www.nashvillesounds.com as I open the PCL season on Thursday, April 8th in Des Moines, Iowa vs. the Iowa Cubs. Our first broadcast on 104.5 The Zone is on April 14th at Omaha vs. the Royals. I’m excited about the season to get underway real soon.

Hope you all had a nice week. I sure did. Hope the rain didn’t discourage anyone this week. I look forward to seeing all of you come out to Greer Stadium to support the Sounds during the baseball campaign. Thank you again and let’s PLAY BALL!

• Posted on March 26, 2010 at 8:12 pm

Day 3 of Spring Training with the Milwaukee Brewers (posted on March 25, 2010)

Well, today was a shorter schedule than I had imagined. The weather has continued to be a pleasure here in Phoenix, Arizona. It has been great getting to know the Brewers as well as the Nashville Sounds on-field personnel for 2010 as well.

Today, I got to meet some of the players on the major league club. I had the pleasure of interviewing outfielder Corey Hart and pitcher Yovani Gallardo. It was nice to discuss about the Brewers’ prospective season and where things are shaping up. Everyone seems excited not only to have Alcides Escobar in camp, but also a healthy Rickie Weeks. Rickie has worked hard at second base under coach Willie Randolph, the former major league second baseman and Milwaukee is confident they will have a nice double play combination in Escobar and Weeks. Willie would have a very good career as the longtime second baseman for his hometown New York Yankees. He would help the Yankees to win a pair of World Championships with the Bronx Bombers. I passed by him in the clubhouse and gave him a nod. It would have been nice if I had more time to exchange words with the fellow Brooklyn native. However, I just decided to wait for another time.

I had the pleasure of interviewing the Brewers’ General Manager, Doug Melvin. I remember Doug from his days with the Orioles’ organization. He also worked for the Texas Rangers. Doug made some moves this past off-season when he acquired pitchers Doug Davis and Randy Wolf and reliever LaTroy Hawkins. These moves should bolster a Brewers’ pitching staff that needed improving in the worst way. He is happy with the moves that he made and mentioned to me that Nashville should have some great starting pitching staff. The interviews with Doug Melvin, Corey Hart and Yovani Gallardo, will be made available shortly.

George King, ,the Sounds’ VP and General Manager, came to town today. He as well as Doug Scopel, the Sounds’ Director of Media Relations and myself, went to a Mexican Restaurant for lunch not far from our hotel. There was a buffet available for only $9.95. A lot of great dishes were on hand for us to try and explore. A lot of great restaurants can be found at the Westgate Outdoor Mall, which is near the hotel we stay with. The University of Phoenix Stadium is nearby and Jobling.com arena is right at the Mall.

The continuous amount of drills is the schedule of the day for the Brewers’ minor league players. Tim Dillard is expected back with the club and I notice he is using the sidearm approach to pitching. Milwaukee is trying to get Tim to do something different and Tim opted to try the sidearm approach. Dillard is working hard with Sounds’ pitching Coach Rich Gale and only time will tell to see how effective the new delivery will be.

Tomorrow, I hope to get to interview Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun, two former Sounds who eventually made the majors with the Brewers. Anyway, have a nice evening and please stay tuned. As always, the interviews can be found on www.nashvillesounds.com.

• Posted on March 25, 2010 at 5:38 pm

Day 2 of Spring Training with the Milwaukee Brewers (posted March 25, 2010)

Well, today was another day of Spring Training at the Maryvale Baseball Complex in Arizona. The parent Brewer club had the day off today, so I continued to interact with the Brewers’ minor league players.

I continued to interview a variety of the players, including Angel Salome, Mat Gamel, Brendan Katin, Chuck Lofgren and Lorenzo Cain.

I couldn’t believe how well-chiseled that both Salome and Katin are. I thought I was witnessing a body-building contest when I saw these two. They appeared to be more than just baseball players with their physiques. However, on the field, they displayed why they are talented prospects in the Brewers’ system. Katin was able to belt a few out in batting practice. Both have been in Nashville before and of course, like everyone else, they are seeking a spot for the parent club in the future.

Lofgren came over to the Brewers from the Cleveland Indians and is excited to look forward to a new opportunity with Milwaukee. He feels fortunate to be working with Sounds’ pitching coach Rich Gale, who is helping Chuck perfect his delivery and to prepare him to be in the starting rotation for the Sounds when the season opens up in a couple of weeks.

Today, the Sounds played the White Sox’ Triple-A affiliate, who play in Charlotte, North Carolina and go by as the Charlotte Knights. Former Yankee First Baseman, Christ Chambliss was there as the Knights’ skipper. Although I never brought this up to Don Money, it was back on April 14, 1976 when the Brewers were hosting the Yankees at County Stadium in Milwaukee. Money hit what was an apparent game-winning grand slam home run and the Brewers thought they had a win. However, unbeknownst to almost every umpire on the field, Chris Chambliss called time out while the pitch was being delivered and the first base umpire accepted Chambliss’ request for time. The first base umpire conferred with the umpires, who reversed the call and disallowed Money’s home run. Don would settle for a sacrifice fly and a run batted in and the Brewers wound up losing the ballgame by two runs. You can imagine the frustration felt by Money.

Angel Salome had a two-run single in the game and Brewers’ promising lefty pitching prospect, Zach Braddock, pitched the ninth inning and did allow a run in the inning. However, except for a double, the three outs were easy flyballouts and Braddock showed a lot of promise as Rich Gale urged him to try to keep his pitches down and he did after giving up a one-out double in the 9th inning.

Lorenzo Cain was also very gracious as he was happy to chat with me during my interview with him. Last year, Cain missed most of the season when he tore an ACL in his knee as he dove after a flyball. He mentioned to me how great he felt and is just happy to be back on the ballfield. By the way, you can listen to these interviews at www.nashvillesounds.com.

Last but not least, the day ended on a personal positive note for me when two of my childhood friends and I got together for the first time in many years. We all lived on the same block in Brooklyn, New York City, where I grew up. My two friends have lived out here in Arizona for many years. We ate at a restaurant in the Westgate outer mall, which also features jobling.com arena, where the Phoenix Coyotes of the National Hockey League now play. Right next door was the University of Phoenix Stadium, where the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals play. Glendale appears to be growing like weeds.

Tomorrow, I look forward to visiting the major league club and hope to speak with the likes of former Sounds’ players Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun. That should be fun

Tomorrow, I will be on the radio for three interviews. You can tune in to hear a report at 9:30AM Central Time on WJJM, 94.3FM with Jeff Haslett, 104.5 The Zone at 4:05PM Central Time with George Plaster and Willy Daumic and 105.9 The Rock with Joe Elvis at 5PM Central Time.

I hope you all had a nice day and as always, thank you so much for reading.

– Stu Paul

• Posted on March 25, 2010 at 1:34 am

My first Spring Training! (posted March 21, 2010)

For the first time ever, I will be going to Spring Training-Live! Of course, I won’t be swinging a bat or throwing a ball or running a base. I will be flying to Phoenix on Monday night to spend a week, checking out the Brewers and their top prospects at Maryvale Spring Training Complex.

It will be exciting and exhilarating as I will acquaint myself to the Brewers’ organization and to meet Don Money and the near future Nashville Sounds this week. It will be great to learn more about the players, what they can do, what they need to work on and how they can contribute to the table as far as the Sounds and the Brewers go.

Cut down days have started and will continue. It will almost be like watching Donald Trump eliminate candidates one by one on “The Apprentice”. It won’t be an easy task for Doug Melvin and Gord Ash as they must determine who will be the best 25 players to represent the Milwaukee Brewers. Any player that doesn’t quite make the cut will most likely be sent to Triple-A Nashville.

Not to narrow down one position, but the Brewers certainly have encountered a pleasant problem with the catching situation. Veteran Greg Zaun is the Brewers’ new starting catcher, having replaced Jason Kendall. Kendall moved on to the Kansas City Royals. There is still competition for the backup job to Zaun. One of the players to most likely look out for in Nashville is Angel Salome, who shows a lot of promise and spent some time with Nashville. Jonathan Lucroy is another great catching prospect, who had a great year offensively at Double-A Huntsville in 2009. Lucroy is still hoping to improve on the defensive side. It will be an interesting week.

As for the rest of the positions? That is something for me to find out in Phoenix this week. I look forward to the balmy desert air and the beautiful mountains, including Camelback. I’ve been to Phoenix before and I look its vast valley and its marvelous scenery and real estate. I can see why people like to retire there.

I will be looking forward to witness the daily chores of Spring Training with players conditioning themselves and getting themselves back into “game shape”. Spring Training is certainly a tedious process in terms of getting ready, but going through the calisthenics, the drills and all of the other aspects of the game are extremely important. It’s an audition for rookies and minor league prospects who are fighting for a job. For the rest of the established major leagueers, it’s getting accustomed to another long grind of a 162-game schedule and hopefully the players.

The Brewers helped themselves when they acquired pitchers Doug Davis and Randy Wolf. LaTroy Hawkins is a veteran relief pitcher, having spent time with the Twins, Cubs and the Yankees. He will certainly be a great bridge between the starters and Trevor Hoffman, who at 42, is still looking to squeeze out another year of competition. Hoffman has been a great closer over the years and he is bound to be inducted into the Hall of Fame one of these days. How long will he continue to pitch? That remains to be seen. I wish him and the rest of the Brewers the best. That’s why you always have Spring Training and that’s why you always have Minor League Baseball. You want to look for answers and to fulfill future roles in the event that Hoffman decides when to hang them up.

Having a minor league system is the analogy of having a bank account. You always want to make sure you have the resources in case you need to make changes/additions. The same analogy of maintaining a car applies when you know one part may get old and you must replace it with a new part. The same situation applies when it comes to players.

Please check in on my daily reports on Sping Training. I look forward to a fun, yet busy week. Thanks for reading! It will be nice to get to introduce myself to the Brewers as they have a solid organization!

• Posted on March 21, 2010 at 11:01 pm