Your 2008 Helena / Arizona Brewers -- Latest: RF Chris Dennis

[Mass Haas]

Despite the many links provided as of late, still behind on some of my browsing -- this one's a week old but a good read:

 

Brew Town Beat interviews Steven Braun

[battlekow]

Efrain Nieves was the Pioneer League Pitcher of the Week:

Efrain Nieves, Helena

2-0, 1.93 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 14.0 IP, 10 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 16 SO

An easy choice, certainly after tossing the league's best start of the week Aug. 25, with eight shutout innings against Great Falls. Nieves faced just one batter over the minimum, striking out a career-high nine batters. His next start, his last of the season, also came against Great Falls, and Nieves continued to make the Voyagers swing and miss, with seven whiffs in six innings. The Puerto Rican left-hander finishes his summer with a 4.61 ERA, but there were great positive steps, especially with his command (just eight walks over 70 1/3 innings). He finished the season by scattering 11 hits in 17 innings over his last three starts, striking out 22 batters in the process.

[battlekow]

Brewers reflect on successful season, change

BY CLIFF PFENNING - Independent Record - 09/11/08

It's only been a week since the Pioneer League baseball season ended for the Helena Brewers, but next season is already in the planning stages at Kindrick Legion Field.

 

The field and stadium are set for renovation that will add around 200 seats and an irrigation system to bring the playing surface closer the Major League specifications.

 

"Major League teams want a safe place for their players to develop and this renovation is going to be a big help to our program," President and General Manager Paul Fetz said Wednesday. "The stadium construction is going to add to the overall experience fans get from coming to a game.

 

"We're excited about the work being done prior to next season."

 

The Brewers finished second in the Northern Division during the first half of the league schedule and third in the second half, briefly stirring interest they might be involved in the league playoffs.

 

Fetz and Steve Wendt, who serves as play-by-play announcer for radio broadcasts and media relations director, said the team had a successful season in terms of fan interest.

http://adsys.townnews.com/32726729/creative/helenair.com/sports+local+story/13038-%7D1212071868.gif

One game drew more than 1,900 fans, the largest crowd in five years.

 

"The on-field success is something we really can't control, so we focus on the fan experience," Wendt said. "We feel good about how our fans responded to the work we did off the field."

 

"We'll go into the offseason and look at the promotions we offered and how they worked," Fetz said. "We'll work on what appeals to clients and what worked well with fans.

 

"Each year there's a mixture of curent promotions and new ideas that we come up with. We'll do some talking to other teams during the winter meetings and get some ideas."

 

The Pioneer League general managers plan to meet in October, while the baseball winter meetings are in Las Vegas in December.

 

Fetz said the easy call for a holdover promotion is the Wing Fling, where fans attempt to catch a rubber chicken flung into the air from a large rubber band.

 

And, the horse race behind the left field fence is a keeper.

 

"That's a fun promotion, especially for the bullpen pitchers from the visiting team," Fetz said. "They're always volunteering to be the horses; hold the sticks attached to the horses."

 

Fetz said one of the biggest wins for the team off the field is its contract with the City of Helena, which owns the stadium.

 

In March, Helena and the Elmore Sports Group negotiated an agreement for the Brewers to play at Kindrick Legion Field for 10 years, with 10 more years lined up thereafter. That keeps the Brewers in Helena through at least 2017.

 

"We feel especially strong about what that agreement says about our team and the city," Fetz said. "Our role in the community is to offer an inexpensive entertainment option and we're going to be around for a long time to do that."

 

http://www.helenair.com/content/articles/2008/09/11/sports/local/100spl_080911_brewrs.jpg

Brock Kjeldgaard helped the Helena Brewers battle for a playoff spot in late August.

(Lisa Kunkel)

[Mass Haas]

Jim at Bernie's Crew has an interview transcript with Helena broadcaster Steve Wendt

[battlekow]

Summer in the minors proves to be a real eye-opener for Odorizzi

He went 1-2 with a 3.48 ERA in rookie ball

BY NORM SANDERS
News-Democrat

One of the first adjustments former Highland High star Jake Odorizzi had to make in the minor leagues was losing.

After all, Odorizzi won his final 25 decisions in high school and helped lead the Bulldogs to the 2008 Class 3A state championship.

He was 14-0 this spring with a 0.08 ERA and nine shutouts. Odorizzi allowed only three runs all season, just one of them earned. His last loss before this summer was on May 22, 2006, to Marion during his sophomore season.

The 2008 USA Today National High School Player of the Year and Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year finally found someone who could catch up to his fastballs and handle his array of breaking pitches and changeups.

"It was just the ability of the players you're playing against," said Odorizzi, taken 32nd overall by the Milwaukee Brewers in the first round of the 2008 Major League Draft. "I was getting hit and giving up runs again, so that took a while to get used to."

For the 18-year-old right-hander, just giving up runs was something new.

"I gave up my first home run in about three years on an inside fastball that almost nobody could hit in high school," he said. "He turned on it and hit it about 400 feet."

Pitching for Milwaukee's team in the Arizona Rookie League, Odorizzi was 1-2 in 11 games with a 3.48 ERA. Working on a pitch count of 35 to 40 because of his high prep baseball workload, he allowed 18 hits in 20 2/3 innings, striking out 24 and walking nine.

Those aren't great numbers for a first-round draft pick, but Brewers assistant player development director Tony Diggs said not to worry.

"You're coming from a situation where you're probably the highest cream of the crop in high school, then you're dealing with a lot of the cream of the crop in pro ball," Diggs said. "Things are going to happen that have never, ever happened to him."

Odorizzi admitted that trying to blow fastballs by professional hitters was a lot different than dominating at the high school level.

"You can't throw too many pitches by people unless you locate the ball where you want it," he said. "If you throw it down the middle, they're going to hit it nine times out 10."

Diggs also will be Odorizzi's manager when he joins the Brewers' team in the Arizona Instructional League later this month.

Diggs said the Brewers are very high on Odorizzi's potential.

"He's more than just a high-school kid," Diggs said. "His maturity level is pretty good -- and his understanding of what he's trying to do is pretty advanced over a regular high school kid coming in.

"He has a great feel for his pitches and what he's trying to do out there."

Diggs said Odorizzi's ability to locate different pitches with accuracy show how advanced he is for an 18-year-old prospect.

Diggs also said Odorizzi's athleticism was immediately evident; he watched him make what he felt was an almost unbelievable play to throw out a hitter on a bunt.

"You can project that he's going to grow a little more and fill out a bit better," Diggs said. "There was a good distinction between his curveball and his slider, and very few young pitchers can make that distinction."

Another tough adjustment for Odorizzi was not getting any opportunities to hit. Highland's all-time home run leader who turned down a scholarship to Louisville -- where he would pitch and play shortstop -- Odorizzi won't swing a bat with the Brewers until he reaches the Class AA level.

The Brewers want all of his focus on pitching.

"I didn't touch a bat the whole time I was down there," he said. "It was difficult sitting there and having to watch, but I had to get used to it. I wanted to quite a few times, but all the coaches said no."

The Brewers drafted Odorizzi for his arm, not his hitting talent.

"We told him just wait to you get to Double-A, then you can start doing that again," Diggs said.

Odorizzi said plenty of family and friends made the trip to the Phoenix area to watch him pitch this summer. Included in the group were former Highland teammates Wes DeGroot, Gary Kharibian, Travis Becherer and Brent Kuper.

But while the majority of his friends are still in high school or away at college, Odorizzi has plenty of money --thanks to his $1.06 million signing bonus -- and waiting to continue his baseball job again.

"Now I'm just sitting at home," he said, "and it seems kind of weird."

[MWS77]

In March, Helena and the Elmore Sports Group negotiated an agreement for the Brewers to play at Kindrick Legion Field for 10 years, with 10 more years lined up thereafter. That keeps the Brewers in Helena through at least 2017.

 

How is that possible ? Do the Brewers own Helena ?

[Mass Haas]

It keeps baseball in Helena. Whether the Brewers will be affiliated in Helena, even for the next two years, is yet to be determined. If an affiliate switch occurs (unlikely, we think), the Helena team would obviously change their team name.

[Mass Haas]

The boys at BrewCrewBall pointed out this analysis of RHP Seth Lintz' delivery at the Hardball Times.

[TheCrew07]

Hmm, a #3... seems a bit premature after just rookie ball with 2 plus pitches already. Interesting analysis of his mechanics none the less, I really love the side by side fastball/curveball analysis.

[Mass Haas]

Back in July, we posted this:

 

MiLB.com is listing a newcomer pitching for the Arizona Brewers, soon-to-be 24-year-old RHP Bobby McEwen.

 

Apparently he pitched out of Gonzaga, his college career ended after '07, this looks like it will be his pro debut.

 

It appears he's been focused on coaching and academy work (scroll on link). To be signed at that age, McEwen must have really impressed at a local tryout or such.

 

Career stats at Gonzaga are amazingly non-impressive.

 

Good luck to the "kid", there must be a nice backstory here somewhere.

 

***

 

Anyway, here is the backstory from an August article, text follows:

 

Local baseball player gets a second chance to be a pro

Bobby McEwen thought his baseball career was over. But the Archbishop Murphy coach got a surprise when he joined the Seattle Studs and caught the eye of a pro scout

By Mike Cane

Everett (WA) Herald Writer

Bobby McEwen had moved on.

 

His career as a baseball player included far more achievements than most hopeful youngsters ever attain. McEwen, a right-handed pitcher, earned all-state honors at Jackson High School in Mill Creek and competed for four seasons at Gonzaga University.

 

But last summer, after playing with a semipro team in California, the 5-foot-11 McEwen -- considered short by pro standards -- let go of his dreams of making it to the pros.

 

He took a job as a mortgage consultant in Marysville, Washington. That was that. No more baseball.

 

"When I played in California that was my last go at it, to give it a shot," said the 23-year-old. McEwen said he pitched well there but didn't get an offer from a major-league team. McEwen didn't throw a baseball for four months. He didn't know it at the time, but his baseball career was far from over.

 

Back in the game

 

These days, McEwen has his ideal occupation.

 

Last month he quit his job in Marysville. The reason: He signed a baseball contract with the Milwaukee Brewers.

 

Through July 30 McEwen had made three pitching appearances for the AZL Brewers of the Arizona Rookie League, compiling a 1.69 earned-run average.

 

"This is what I want to do, is be able to put all my efforts toward baseball with no distractions," he said from Arizona last week in a phone interview. "Getting paid to play, this is now my job. I want to go for it and see where it will take me."

 

Wait. How did McEwen go from former athlete to pro pitcher? It was an unexpected, remarkably swift journey that seemingly no one -- especially McEwen -- would have predicted.

 

Not done yet

 

After graduating from Gonzaga in spring 2007 and playing his third and final summer season with the Santa Barbara Foresters, McEwen decided to coach, in addition to working his day job in Marysville.

 

He guided the U13 Seattle Bombers select team and also was an assistant coach at Archbishop Murphy High this past spring. Besides throwing batting practice to Murphy hitters once a week, he wasn't pitching or working out.

 

But McEwen got a call from Barry Aden, manager of the Seattle Studs. The Studs play in the semi-pro Pacific International League, which mainly features college players. Aden, who knew McEwen's dad, wondered if McEwen would like to pitch a handful of mid-week games for the Studs.

 

McEwen agreed to give it a try, expecting no more than a chance to help the team and hopefully have a good time.

 

In his first start, McEwen threw five innings of no-hit ball -- pretty good for a guy who had not started a game since April 2007, for Gonzaga.

 

"It all just kind of clicked for me," said McEwen.

 

Using a fastball that topped out in the 92-mph range and a new knuckle curveball that he tinkered with during spring practices with Archbishop Murphy, McEwen impressed Aden. After McEwen's successful debut, the Studs manager asked McEwen's dad a question: "Are you sure that he wants to be done playing baseball? There might be something out there for him."

 

McEwen's second start, on June 11, was even more impressive. He notched six shutout innings while allowing only one hit against the Bellingham Bells, coached by Brandon Newell, who is also an area scout for the Brewers.

 

Newell immediately asked Aden about McEwen. It turned out Aden was right: There was still something out there for McEwen.

 

'The most surreal moment'

 

By the time McEwen traveled with the Seattle Studs to Kamloops, B.C., for a tournament in early July, he knew some pro scouts, including Newell, were interested in him.

 

Pitching on Saturday during the weekend tourney, McEwen continued to dominate. He earned a complete-game, shutout victory as Seattle decisively defeated the Red Deer Riggers.

 

When the game ended, Aden asked his players to stick around for team pictures. Members of the grounds crew set up a table and a few chairs on the field.

 

McEwen was confused. He noticed a large video camera, but that didn't give away the surprise. He finally realized what was about to happen when he saw Newell, the Milwaukee scout, walk towards him with a Brewers cap.

 

Said McEwen, "It was the most surreal moment in my life."

 

Newell asked McEwen, just a few months removed from thinking his playing days were over, if he would like to be a professional baseball player. McEwen sat down and quickly signed the contract Newell brought.

 

"My face, I don't think I could have smiled any bigger. I was shaking," McEwen said.

 

"I don't even know what my signature looked like. I signed it so fast," he added.

 

The surprise signing ceremony, witnessed by teammates and fans, totally stunned McEwen. Aden and McEwen's parents, who attended the game, were in on it the whole time.

 

McEwen never suspected a thing.

 

"I couldn't have written a better script," said Aden.

 

It was an emotional moment for many, including Pacific International League secretary Steve Potter.

 

"It was pretty cool. It brought tears to my eyes," Potter said. "It's special to watch a kid fulfill his dreams."

 

Aden estimated that in his 19 seasons coaching the Studs he's had at least a dozen former players reach the major leagues, including Willie Bloomquist of the Mariners and Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum. But McEwen, Aden said, is just the third player he's had sign a pro contract after leaving the game.

 

Said Aden, "That's kind of unique."

 

After coming to the Studs with no expectations, McEwen finished with a 5-0 record, a 1.03 earned-run average and 36 strikeouts in 35 innings pitched.

 

Older and wiser

 

In the rookie-level Arizona League, McEwen is an oddity.

 

Most of his teammates and opponents are four or five years younger -- players who signed right out of high school. Though he's new to the team and the pro-ball atmosphere, McEwen's confidence and experience stand out.

 

"He's a quality right-hander who brings maturity, especially to a young staff," said Tony Diggs, first-year manager of the AZL Brewers.

 

Previously a starter, McEwen has been used in a relief role with the Brewers. He fit right in and is already known as a hard worker, Diggs said.

 

In his pro debut July 21 McEwen allowed one hit and one run in two innings.

 

"He didn't seem nervous at all. He's been chewing at the bit to get the ball," said Diggs.

 

Although McEwen did add a more devastating breaking ball to his repertoire this year, it's not like the pitcher came out of nowhere. He always had talent, but his lack of height probably limited his opportunities.

 

Mark Potoshnik is Archbishop Murphy High's head baseball coach. He has known McEwen since the 2002 Jackson High graduate was 10 years old.

 

"Going back to his high school times, he's always had a very, very strong arm. But as an under 6-foot right-handed pitcher it's always tough early in your career for (scouts) to want to sign you or draft you," Potoshnik said.

 

But with the success of hard-throwing, relatively short pitchers like Lincecum (5-foot-11), more doors could open for players such as McEwen.

 

How far will McEwen go? What other twists will his unusual story include?

 

McEwen said he's determined to work as hard as possible and make the most of his opportunity. But even if he never gets to the major leagues, he's content making it this far, especially after thinking his career was over.

 

"This is my goal," McEwen said, "and I've made it. Anything else is great."

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

Brewers prospects given tour of Tent City

Gary Grado, East Valley (AZ) Tribune

 

Chad Robinson, a pitching prospect for the Milwaukee Brewers, is about to turn 21, but on Tuesday he got a dose of reality that will make him think twice about drinking too much when he celebrates.

 

SLIDESHOW: Brewers tour Tent City

 

Robinson and about 40 other prospects ranging in age from 17 to 22 took a tour of Tent City, the Maricopa County jail where convicted felons who are sentenced to up to year go to serve their time.

 

"It's really sinking in since I'm turning 21," Robinson said.

 

The Brewers, who played their Cactus League games for years in Chandler and are now in Maryvale, set up the tour for the impressionable young players, some of whom could be making big money in a few years. "You guys have a few beers and get pulled over, this is reality, this is reality in Arizona," said Frank Neville, the team's minor league medical coordinator.

 

The players are in town for a winter conditioning program where they work out for four hours in the morning and usually spend a few afternoons a week visiting hospitals, Boys and Girls Clubs or some other community service function.

 

The players, most of them baby-faced, walked through the jail in matching black sweat suits as inmates lounged on their metal cots wearing their black-and-white striped uniforms.

 

Sheriff Joe Arpaio struck up a conversation with a Spanish-speaking inmate, who told the players he was there for a month for having a tiny amount of cocaine.

 

Deputy Doug Matteson, a former professional hockey player who lost part of a leg four years ago when a drunken police officer crashed into his motorcycle on U.S. 60, gave the players advice about going to the clubs in Scottsdale and Tempe.

 

There are "professional socialites" whose main purpose is to start relationships with athletes and celebrities, he said.

 

He cautioned the players to be careful around strangers they're hanging with, because they may be carrying drugs.

 

If someone associating with a ballplayer is arrested, it will reflect badly on the player and team even if he didn't do anything wrong, Matteson said.

 

Valley police and judges aren't impressed by athletes either, Matteson said.

 

"If you got a 10-for-10 hitting streak, it doesn't matter," he said. "You'll get 10 days in Tent City."

 

Arpaio reminded the players that top athletes such as former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson have served time in Tent City.

 

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/images/photos/2008/11/11/0bvrd5i8.jpg

 

Players Wayne Dedrick, left, and Jake Odorizzi check out a bag containing an inmate meal. Phoenix.

Photo by Julio Jimenez, East Valley (AZ) Tribune

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

In this case, you want to go to the link while available, rather than read the text below, which matches that spoken in a video news report from Scarpetta's Rockford, Ill. area hometown station.

Scarpetta Optimistic

Reported by: Scott Leber

 

Baseball players will soon be reporting to Arizona and Florida for spring training. Rockford resident Cody Scarpetta will be one of them. He plans to get a jump by leaving Monday for the Brewers' training complex in Arizona.

 

Scarpetta has been taking this offseason very seriously. He's been working out four times a week at Tim Bailey's Top Performer's Sports Performance Training Center in Loves Park.

 

"He comes in here and he busts his butt," said Bailey to WTVO.

 

He goes through workouts that you might expect to see a football player do, not a pitcher.

 

"Pitchers have to have stength in their lower extremeties as well as their upper body, and they definitely have to have endurance," said Bailey.

 

Scarpetta has always been serious about baseball. But some adversity early in his professional career has made him even more determined to succeed. His senior season at Guilford two years ago was cut short by a torn tendon in the middle finger of his pitching hand. That caused him to fall in the draft from a likely early-round pick to an 11th round pick by the Brewers.

 

Later that summer the tendon ruptured again, and Scarpetta underwent a second opertion. The scars are still visible from where surgeons removed a tendon in his forearm and inserted it into his hand. Scarpetta says he has fully recovered.

 

"It feels good. I feel like I'm ready to go," said Scarpetta to WTVO.

 

Scarpetta pitched the second half of last season for two of the Brewers' rookie league teams. His fastball was clocked as high as 97 miles per hour. In 36 innings he struck out 58 batters, an amazing ratio of 15.5 strikeouts per nine innings.

 

"My goal is just to get somebody out," said Scarpetta. "When I get two strikes I just have the mentality to put a batter away."

 

Young, power pitchers are coveted by major league organizations. Scarpetta is rated in some Brewers' blogs as one of the top 13 prospects in their entire organization.

 

Since November he has been listed on the Brewers' 40-man major league roster right there with Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun and all of the other big-leaguers. He's there because the Brewers needed to protect him from the rule-five draft this winter.

 

Most players have to have five years of minor league service before they're eligible for the rule-five draft. A rare clause made Scarpetta eligible. Any player who has his contract voided within a year of playing time is also eligible. The Brewers had voided Scarpetta's original contract after his finger tendon ruptured the second time.

 

Now that Scarpetta is healthy, the Brewers couldn't risk having another major league team grab him based on his power and his potential.

 

"I guess they thought enough of me to put me on the roster, and I'm real thankful for that," said Scarpetta.

 

Scarpetta is realistic enough to know he's still a few years away from having a shot at playing in Milwaukee. Although last weekend he was included in the Brewers' Fan-fest.

 

"Everyone was there. They had Prince Fielder and J.J. Hardy...all the big guys," said Scarpetta. "You kind of realize I'm not too far away from there just being with them."

 

This season Scarpetta will most likely wind up with the Brewers' high class A team Brevard County in Viera, Florida. Or he could wind up pitching for their Class A Midwest League affiliate in Appleton the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. That would mean he would be pitching close to home.

 

"It would be great to pitch in front of everybody."

[brewpitch]

Mass Haas wrote:

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/images/photos/2008/11/11/0bvrd5i8.jpg

 

Players Wayne Dedrick, left, and Jake Odorizzi check out a bag containing an inmate meal. Phoenix.

Photo by Julio Jimenez, East Valley (AZ) Tribune

That's actually Wayne Dedrick and Blake Billings. I know it says otherwise in the article.

[Mass Haas]

In this update on a Texas Summer Collegiate League club, we're reminded about the raw size and stuff of 49th round LHP Daniel Meadows:

 

Although he played at little-known Temple Junior College, Meadows quickly demonstrated why the Milwaukee Brewers selected him in the 49th round of the draft. In his two appearances with the Bombers last summer, he struck out eight hitters in just four innings while only surrendering one hit. He completely baffled opposing hitters on his way to a win and a save in the two games he pitched. At 6'6" and 235 pounds, the imposing southpaw is a difficult matchup for any hitter as he uses a devastating slider to complement his fastball.

 

2008 Helena stat line

[Mass Haas]

Wow, so many of us love Chris Dennis' young power bat, I have to admit I'm shocked he wasn't part of the pre-minor league spring training mini-camp, and that he's among the many farmhands who have to report this weekend.

 

Link while active, text follows:

 

Brewers make plans for Dennis

Villanova (Canada) high school grad to play for Class A affiliate

Windsor Star

Local baseball prospect Chris Dennis flies out for Phoenix today but he's really hoping to land in Wisconsin.

 

A 13th-round draft choice of the Milwaukee Brewers in 2007, Dennis will take part in the club's minor league spring training camp which opens Saturday.

 

If all goes well, he hopes to be assigned to a Class A affiliate of the Brewers in Wisconsin.

 

"That's where they're projecting me to be," the 20-year-old right-fielder said. "Hopefully, that's the way it works out."

 

In his first full season at the pro level, Dennis had seven doubles, two triples, 12 homers and 40 RBIs for a rookie ball team in Montana in 2008.

 

"They like my power potential," he said. "Hitting is really the main part of my game."

 

Drafted as a catcher who helped Canada earn a bronze medal at the world juniors in 2006, the Brewers moved him to outfield.

 

"It's coming around," he said of the position switch. "I was definitely a little bit uncomfortable my first year but I'm happy with the way things are progressing."

 

WORKING HARD

A Villanova grad, Dennis played 70 games with the Helena Brewers in 2008 and admits he hit a wall physically and mentally at one point during the season.

 

"Going into this season, I'm trying to put myself in the best position possible to avoid that," he said. "I've been working hard at getting my body in shape."

 

If he makes the Wisconsin club, his 2009 season opens April 9.

 

Photo by Scott Webster, Windsor Star

 

http://a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465/1d/media.canada.com/idl/wist/20090313/135138-44508.jpg?size=l