Brewers On Deck Information
Autograph Schedule
***Please note: Cash is the only acceptable form of payment when paying for autographs.***
Stage 1
11:00 – 11:45 Bob Uecker ($25)/Mark Attanasio
12:30 – 1:15 Jonathan Lucroy ($10)
2:00 – 2:45 Robin Yount ($25)
3:30 – 4:15 Eric Farris (Free)/Brock Kjeldgaard (Free)
Stage 2
11:30 – 12:15 Marco Estrada ($10)/Mike Fiers (Free)
1:00 – 1:45 Yovani Gallardo ($25)
2:30 – 3:15 Shaun Marcum ($10)
3:45 – 4:30 Corey Hart ($25)
Stage 3
10:30 – 11:15 Aramis Ramirez ($25)
12:00 – 12:45 Tim Dillard ($10)/Zelous Wheeler (Free)
1:30 – 2:15 Zack Greinke ($25)
3:00 – 3:45 Caleb Gindl (Free)/Mike McClendon (Free)
Stage 4
11:00 – 11:45 Mat Gamel ($10)/Logan Schafer (Free)
12:30 – 1:15 Randy Wolf ($10)
2:00 – 2:45 Alex Gonzalez ($10)/Martin Maldonado (Free)
3:30 – 4:15 Chris Narveson ($10)
Stage 5
11:30 – 12:15 Rollie Fingers ($25)
1:00 – 1:45 George Kottaras ($10)
2:30 – 3:15 Rickie Weeks ($25)
3:45 – 4:30 Taylor Green (Free)/Brandon Kintzler (Free)
Stage 6
10:30 – 11:15 Manny Parra ($10)
12:00 – 12:45 Nyjer Morgan ($10)
1:30 – 2:15 John Axford ($10)
3:00 – 3:45 Hollywood Guests (Free)
Names in Bold require a winning coupon through random selection process. Additionally the following “Rising Stars” players will sign FREE autographs throughout the day in the Clinic Field area: Jed Bradley, Kentrail Davis, Khris Davis, Scooter Gennett, Taylor Jungmann, Hunter Morris, Michael Reed, Yadiel Rivera, Tyler Thornburg and Mike Walker.
Main Stage Schedule
10:15 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. – Meet the Coaching Staff – Brewers manager Ron Roenicke along with his coaching staff will participate in a Q&A session hosted by Brian Anderson.
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. – Who Wants to be a Brewer? – Several Brewers players will participate in this trivia-style game show to see who has what it takes to win it all. NewsRadio 620 WTMJ/Brewers play-by-play announcer Joe Block will host the show.
12:15 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. – Meet Mark Attanasio, Doug Melvin, Gord Ash, Craig Counsell and the Newest Brewers – Brewers Chairman and Principal Owner Mark Attanasio, Executive Vice President – General Manager Doug Melvin, Vice President – Assistant General Manager Gord Ash, and Special Assistant to the GM Craig Counsell will join free agent acquisitions – Alex Gonzalez and Aramis Ramirez – in a question and answer session with Brewers fans. The session will be hosted by Brewers Hall of Fame Radio Announcer Bob Uecker.
1:15 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. – Milwacky Squares – A spin-off of “Hollywood Squares,” the newest game show to hit Brewers On Deck, features Brewers Hall of Fame Radio Announcer Bob Uecker as the center square along with Brewers players and several surprise Hollywood guests.
2:15 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. – Rising Stars Q&A –Brewers prospects Jed Bradley, Kentrail Davis, Khris Davis, Scooter Gennett, Taylor Jungmann, Hunter Morris, Michael Reed, Yadiel Rivera, Tyler Thornburg and Mike Walker will take questions from fans regarding the future of the organization on the field.
3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. – Brewers Face Off –It’s the Brewers “family” of current Brewers against the Brewers “family” of future stars in what will certainly turn out to be a “feud.” Brewers television voice Brian Anderson will host this classic game show.
4:15 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. – Media Roundtable – Join host Craig Coshun in a discussion about the Brewers with members of the local media including Tom Haudricourt of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Adam McCalvy of Brewers.com and Andrew Wagner of FoxSportsWisconsin.com.
Ryan Braun to Miss Brewers’ “On Deck” Event – Statement From Mark Attanasio
The following statement was issued today by Chairman and Principal Owner Mark Attanasio on behalf of the Milwaukee Brewers:
“In working through the logistics of this weekend’s Brewers On Deck event in Milwaukee with Ryan Braun—and knowing how much he enjoys interacting candidly with Brewers fans —we came to the conclusion that this is too sensitive of a time in the confidential process for him to attend this year.
“I speak for everyone at the Brewers, including Ryan,in thanking our fans for their understanding and patience.”
Milwaukee Brewers Hang National League Central Division Championship Banner
The permanent 2011 NL Central Championship Banner was hung at Miller Park on Monday, January 23rd.
Full Ryan Braun Transcript From BBWAA Dinner
“Thank, you Mark (Feinsand, the NY BBWAA chapter chairman). Before I get started, (Hall of Fame writer) Bob Elliott said he forgot to thank his son, Bob Jr., during his speech and wanted to make sure I did it for him. So, Bob Jr., Bob Elliott truly appreciates you being a great son and supporting him (laughter from audience).
“I’ve really been looking foward to this night for a long time. I first want say thank you to the Baseball Writers Association of America for this incredibly prestigious award. I want to congratulate all of the other award winners and recipients who are here tonight. It’s truly a privilege to be part of this night and be here with all of you guys.
“I want to take a moment to congratulate Matt Kemp, Justin Upton, Prince Fielder, Troy Tulowitzki, Albert Pujols among many others who were also deserving of this award as well. It’s truly an honor for me to be surrounded by so many people in this room who share my deep love and respect for the game of baseball, including those who cover it, all the fans that are here today and all of us who play the game of baseball.
“I’d like to say thank you to the entire Milwaukee Brewers organization for believing in me, for drafting me, for helping to develop me as a baseball player and a person. I specifically want to say thank you to Mark Attanasio and his wife Debbie and their entire ownership group. I want to thank Doug Melvin, Gord Ash and our manager, Ron Roenicke, for all being here tonight and for your incredible support. Thank you, guys.
“I want to thank my teammates and the rest of our coaching staff for putting me in an environment and a position to succeed. For me, tonight is about them and what they have accomplished as much as it is about me. I know that if I didn’t play on an incredible team and I wasn’t a part of a special organization, I wouldn’t be standing here tonight.
“I want to thank my family for their love and support and encouragement. I want to thank them for instilling in me a lot of the values and morals that I live my life by today. I want to thank my dad Joe, my mom Diane, my brother Steve, my grandfather Bob and his wife Liz for all being here tonight and supporting me. I also want to thank my beautiful girlfriend Larisa for being here as well, for being my best friend. I wanted to make sure I didn’t forget you because that would be trouble.
“I want to thank my agency, CAA Sports, Marissa Edler, Terry Prince and my agent, Nez Balelo, for your endless support, for being one of my best friends and for being part of every step of this journey with me. Thank you.
“I also wanted to take a moment to thank the players association for supporting me throughout my career and especially for supporting me through everything I went through over the last couple of months. Thank you, guys.
“Sometimes in life we all deal with challenges we never expected to endure. We have an opportunity to look as those challenges and view them either as obstacles or opportunities. I’ve chosen to view every challenge I’ve ever faced as an opportunity and this will be no different. I’ve always believed that a person’s character is revealed through the way they deal with those moments of adversity.
“I’ve always loved and had so much respect for the game of baseball. Everything I’ve done in my career has been done with that respect and appreciation in mind, and that is why I’m so grateful and humbled to accept this award tonight. Thank you again to everybody and I hope you guys enjoy the rest of your evening.”
Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers: #77 Jed Bradley
***UPDATE: Jed Bradley was just revealed as the #97 prospect in all of Major League Baseball according to MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo. Follow Jonathan on Twitter at @JonathanMayoB3.***
—
Welcome to the second installment of Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers for the 2012 season.
If you need a refresher as to how this thing works, click here. If not, let’s ride!
It is January 20th, which is 77 days before Opening Day.
This year, jersey #77 has been assigned to Jed Bradley.
Jedidiah Custer Bradley is a 6’4″ left-handed pitcher who played collegiately at Georgia Tech.
He was picked 15th overall in the 2011 First-Year Player Draft and was the second first-round selection of the Milwaukee Brewers. Bradley was chosen with the pick the organization received when 2010 first rounder Dylan Covey decided to attend college after being diagnosed with diabetes.
Bradley, like his fellow Brewers first round pick Taylor Jungmann, waited until the deadline day to sign his professional contract with Milwaukee. Unlike Jungmann, Bradley ended up pitching on behalf of the Brewers in 2011.
The Arizona Fall League is a place where prospects are sent to compete for various reasons. Some are on the verge of the big leagues, some simply didn’t get enough innings or at-bats during the course of their regular season, some are high-ceiling prospects who teams want to see compete against other top flight prospects. Bradley was sent to the Brewers affiliate in the Arizona Fall League, the Peoria Javelinas.
Compiling at 1-0 record with a 6.48 ERA over 8.1 innings spanning five appearances (two starts), Bradley demonstrated some talent but also his rawness. Yes, this experience screams small sample size, but Bradley was able to strike out eight batters in those 8.1 innings. He earned himself the accolade of “2011 AFL Rising Star”.
Bradley has stated this off-season that he has been told he’ll be starting the year in Florida pitching for the Brewers High-A affiliate, the Brevard County Manatees. There should be plenty of opportunities during the Manatees’ 140-game regular season for Bradley to refine his craft. Then again, there’s always a chance that Bradley pitches well enough to end the season with the Brewers AA affiliate Huntsville Stars.
Let’s be realistic though. While he has a very projectable body and delivery, the fact remains that Bradley needs some more development and refinement because he has not provided the track record of some of the other pitchers in his draft class. The 2011 college season saw Bradley take some big steps and give a glimpse at the kind of pitcher he could be a few years from now.
Speaking of which…
As, I mentioned at the top, Bradley is a left-handed pitcher who delivers out of a high 3/4 arm slot. He has easy arm action and pitches on a downward plane. As is important with any pitcher looking to avoid injury and maximize results, Bradley is said to have smooth and very repeatable mechanics. He hides the ball a bit providing some deception. While it can be rare to see a left-handed pitcher with good size, a good frame, and a clean and effortless delivery, Jed Bradley possesses these things.
That clean and effortless delivery results in easy low 90s velocity on his fastball though when you take into consideration his size and room for growth, the pitch could sit 92-94 in the future. His fastball is consistently plus and could still improve. Bradley has shown the ability in college to maintain his velocity deep into his starts.
The other pitches in Bradley’s arsenal coming out of college are a slider and change. When the slider is on it provides hard, late sweeping action. It’s a swing and miss pitch that at times looks plus. His change-up also looks plus at times, appearing like his fastball out of his hand but diving and fading late.
Bradley is talked about as having a very high-ceiling almost universally when I’ve seen scouting reports by different people. Potential is just that until it is realized, of course, but that is exactly what the Brewers minor league coaches are tasked with tapping into.
Suffice it to say that we should all be keeping an eye on Jed Bradley this year and going forward.
—
The next installment of “Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers” hasn’t quite been decided yet. I could profile Anderson De La Rosa, a 26-year-old catcher who was extended an invitation to big league camp, but he really has zero chance to make the club and honestly doesn’t profile well to ever make the 25-man roster. I just don’t think it’d be a productive use of our time.
If I skip De La Rosa (which I’m definitely leaning toward doing), and none of the other spring training invitees are assigned jerseys in the 70s, the next player up for sure right now would be recent 40-man roster addition Santo Manzanillo. The right-handed power pitcher was assigned jersey #67 and would therefore be profiled on January 30th.
Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers: #78 Taylor Jungmann
Welcome to the first installment of the 2012 series “Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers”!
As a brief reminder of how this work, as we approach Opening Day on April 6, 2012 I will be reviewing/previewing players in the the Milwaukee Brewers organization that are either on the 40-man roster or have been given an invitation to Major League camp in Spring Training and have a legitimate chance to make the 25-man roster. It’s a way to focus on the individual members of this team sport.
Today is January 19, 2012 which leaves 78 days until Opening Day. Taylor Jungmann was invited to big league camp this spring and assigned jersey number 78. Therefore…
Today I take a look at Taylor Jungmann, a 6’6″, 220 lbs right-handed pitcher.
This will quite probably be the shortest post in the series. That’s not because of a lack of potential on Jungmann’s part. It’s mostly based on the fact that part of what I do in these posts is review the player’s previous season in professional baseball. Jungmann didn’t have a professional season in 2011.
After being drafted by Milwaukee with the 12th overall pick in the 2011 MLB First-Year Player Draft, Jungmann waited until the last day he could to sign his professional contract. Part of the reason for that is because he was still pitching in the College World Series for the University of Texas Longhorns and part of the reason is that there is the idea that waiting until the last possible minute to sign somehow leverages your contract value to its highest point.
Jungmann did have a bit of leverage in draft negotiations because he was drafted as a junior in college. He had the right to return to the Longhorns for his senior season and re-enter the draft in 2012. The Brewers got him signed to a contract, of course, which probably included an invitation to to big league camp for his first Spring Training. Putting a player in that position not only gives him a taste of what to expect in the future (if he’s successful in the minor leagues) but also can serve to fuel the player’s hunger to get back into a position to be back on the Major League side of things sooner rather than later.
Again, though, Taylor Jungmann did not throw a pitch for the Brewers’ organization after being drafted. This is probably a good thing because he was thrown often and long while playing for Texas.
Jungmann wore number 26 in college so don’t let the assigned jersey number throw you. 78 isn’t exactly something you normally see worn by a big league starting pitcher. The 70s are usually reserved for minor-leaguers that don’t have much chance at all of breaking camp with on the 25-man roster. (There are exceptions, of course, like once-again-Brewer Seth McClung who chooses to wear 73 on his back regardless of where he’s throwing.)
This is no different for Jungmann. He has a lot of potential that he will spend all of 2012 in the minor leagues refining. There have already been reports that he will bypass the Low-A level of the minor leagues and begin the 2012 season with the High-A Brevard County Manatees. There he will look to improve upon what scouts have labeled three “plus” pitches. A fastball with plus movement which has been thrown between 91-97 mph, even touching 98 mph, though tends to sit in the 93-95 MPH range. A curve, with a hard and tight 11-to-5 break. Along with a changeup. His command is usually considered average and he occasionally gets too much of the middle of the plate. Jungmann has demonstrated outstanding control though, throwing strikes and not hurting himself with walks.
Jungmann is the kind of college arm that could be on the relative fast track to the bigs, but he will have to prove himself along the way to realize that goal.
So keep an eye on Taylor Jungmann this spring. Just remember that while his results on the mound may or may not be very good, the experience is something that should only benefit him in the long run.
—
Next in the series: #77 Jed Bradley will be profiled on January 20, 2012.
Rumor: “Pillow Pact” Possible for…?
DISCLAIMER: What you are about to read was told to me when I asked what news might there be that would be qualified as “HUGE” that could have presented itself within the past couple of days. Please read everything before you jump to any conclusions and remember that I am not saying that what is laid out will happen for sure. Nothing is ever for sure when it comes to free agency until a contract is actually signed. As with my previous post about Zack Greinke approaching the team about a contract extension, this is officially just a rumor. While I am confident that Greinke did approach the team, it doesn’t mean that anything will for sure ever come of it.
Make sense? I sure hope so.
—–
Earlier this morning on Twitter, a follower of mine posed a question to me @BrewerNation.
He tweeted: “a friend inside the organization told me today that there will be HUGE news out of MKE in the next two days. Any ideas?”
To paraphrase my reply, I responded that I had a couple of ideas on what it could be that would qualify as “HUGE” but that I’d make a call about it since nobody had directly shared anything with me to that point.
I reached out to someone that I trust and was told about an idea that had been presented to the team at some point yesterday.
Allow me to again throw the (unfortunately) necessary disclaimer out at this time:
Please read all of the following things that I was told before jumping to a conclusion about the subject matter. Nothing you are about to read is confirmed as happening for sure.
Okay?
This was simply an idea that was brought to the Brewers by an individual. Surrounding circumstances help to support this idea as being legitimate not only in potential execution but also in having actually come about as I’ve been told.
What are some of those circumstances, you ask?
- Scott Boras was at the Owners’ Meetings in Arizona to discuss some of his clients with different teams. (For example, he is believed to have had a meeting with the Yankees about Edwin Jackson.)
- Boras had a conversation of some kind* with either one or both of the Washington Nationals owners.
- The market hasn’t materialized regarding some of Boras’ clients as they thought it would.
- Boras stated to the media today that he’d have Prince Fielder signed somewhere before Spring Training began.
Yes, Brewer Nation, the idea that I was told about is that super-agent Scott Boras approached the Milwaukee Brewers with an idea for what can only be described as a “fall back option”, if you ask me.
He suggested that if he doesn’t have anything else in place that they like by the end of January, Prince would agree to come back to Milwaukee on (at least) a one-year deal with a full no-trade clause. A dollar figure was quoted to me with the caveat that they often change so I won’t bother to pass that along at this time.
The Brewers reportedly agreed to that idea and also proposed an additional option of a three-year pact. No word on whether Boras…I mean Fielder…would consider that or not.
So there you have it. Like I said, having a tentative agreement of sorts in place with Milwaukee could easily allow Boras to play it against teams practicing feet-dragging like the Washington Nationals, thereby prompting their conversation yesterday. Boras might have said something like “I have something else in place if you guys don’t step up your offer. The time is now if you truly want your organization to take the next step.”
I said on Twitter that this is decidedly in the “believe it when I see it” category because, like many others, I just don’t see how taking a one-year deal makes financial sense for Prince Fielder. I understand the arguments for it, but they are mostly intangible in nature.
Then again, that’s not to say that I wouldn’t welcome the idea with open arms. I’ve said to anyone willing to listen that I’d gladly and knowingly accept five years of awful baseball teams down the road while Mark Attanasio recovers from any financial hardships brought on by breaking his budget for one year and resigning Prince. I’d love it. I’d trumpet it. I’d buy a 20-game pack per season knowing I might see 15 losses every time.
Scott Boras does have limited (though recent) history of doing what he calls a “pillow pact”. It’s where he signs a one-year contract to better position his client for free agency the following year. He’s done it with Adrian Beltre in Boston and this off-season with Ryan Madson in Cincinnati.
I was also told several weeks ago that Fielder had instructed Boras to consider fewer dollars if the offer was coming from a perennial contender. In other words, if your team is usually awful and you want me to play for you, it’ll cost more. That would obviously be unrelated to accepting a one-year deal, but it lends itself to the idea that Fielder might be realizing that an 8yr/$200MM contract just isn’t going to happen this off-season with the biggest spenders unable or unwilling to splurge at this time.
All of that doesn’t mean that I think it will happen. History shows that someone will step up, and if we’ve learned only one thing over the years of Boras’ contract negotiations, it’s that all it takes is one. (To reiterate the record if you haven’t seen me say it before, I’ve been saying since last April or longer that if Prince leaves Milwaukee it makes the most sense to sign with the Rangers.)
Once again jumping the fence post though, I have also said that until Prince Fielder’s name is signed to a contract for the 2012 season, there’s always a chance –however remote– that Fielder could play again in a Brewers uniform.
I don’t want to get hopes up only to have them dashed if Boras finds one team to pay what he and Fielder were originally looking for, but I wanted to pass along this information anyway…
Just in case.
*Some say it was a conversation about Prince Fielder. Another report says it was a casual conversation as Boras was walking through the parking lot.
UPDATE: I’ve seen a tweet from @BillShaikin of the L.A. Times mentioning this same topic but stating that it was the Brewers who approached Boras and he laughed at the idea. Obviously that’s the public stance that Boras must take right now so that it doesn’t appear to teams willing to go multiple years on a contract offer that he’s willing to take a one-year deal instead.
Clearly this idea is one that people are hearing about, so hopefully that lends validity to my report as well.
“Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers” Series Will Return
I’m pleased to announce that I’ll be reviving my “Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers” season preview series for the blog. It’s been too long.
In the series I preview Brewers players on the 40-man roster (along with some non-roster invitees too) the same number of days before Opening Day by their uniform number.
For example: Nyjer Morgan wears #2. He therefore gets previewed on April 4 which is two days prior to Opening Day (April 6). Likewise, John Axford who wears #59 will be looked at on February 7, so on and so forth.
I’m looking forward to this and thought it made good sense to bring the series back this year because of all the roster turnover this off-season.
I hope you’ll come along for the ride!
Remember That One Time…?
If you follow on Twitter or Facebook (I don’t think I put it on Google+) you may have seen a rumor two nights ago regarding a player approaching Doug Melvin about an extension.
I wanted to look into it a bit further before sharing who this player is but shared a bit to prompt guessing from those that saw it.
The theoretical extension that I heard about as an idea brought to Melvin was discussed at five years for “below-market” value though, again, this was the earliest kind if conversation so no numbers would have been exchanged yet anyway.
This player wants to be compensated well but wants to leave the Brewers with room to maneuver in their budget. This, of course, would be in an effort to help the Brewers stay competitive.
I don’t know what point, if anywhere, the talks have progressed to further than just the initial notification of the desire to indeed talk.
Many people guessed the player’s name correctly but I will say to you now that it is referring to Zack Greinke.
Greinke is said to really like it in Milwaukee and would like to stay here for a period of time but, again, wants to get paid too.
I’ll be monitoring this situation as closely as I can. Remember: this is not a situation where a contract offer has been discussed let alone made. Nothing may ultimately come of this.
But the willingness to talk coupled with the fact that it was Greinke that approached Melvin made this register on my radar.
I’ll keep everyone up-to-date on what I hear going forward.
Happy Brew Year!
New Brewer Nation Podcast! – Recorded December 20, 2011
The latest edition of the Brewer Nation podcast is finally available for download!
This episode covers a lot of ground in the Milwaukee Brewers off-season and features an interview with infield prospect Eric Farris!
Download it by clicking the link: http://www.hikeforplay.com/uploads/2/8/7/2/2872638/bnpodcast_20111220.mp3
Brewer Nation
Recent Comments