Alumni Thread

[uwisfan]

91-93. Ugh, not again.

[Mass Haas]

91-93. Ugh, not again.

You can't place this anywhere near the possible big fumble of Josh Romanski. Bueno isn't even back in an official uniform as of yet, affiliated or independent, and the Brewers had him for three and a half seasons.

 

At least I think that's what you were hinting at...

 

 

[uwisfan]

correct

[Mass Haas]

For San Diego, RHP Will Inman remains on their AAA DL since mid-June with an elbow injury. LHP Steve Garrison was getting raked in five AAA starts before he landed on the DL with an ankle injury last week.

 

Among all the alumni links above, the player perhaps having the best season is Diamondbacks' 26-year-old AAA catcher Carlos Corporan -- yes, PCL-inflated numbers, but surely still flashing his stellar defense as well. It'll be interesting to see if Arizona lets him go to minor league free agency at season's end, not necessarily from a Brewer perspective, but for Carlos and his future.

[Mass Haas]

Recently released LHP A.J. Murray couldn't find another affiliated gig right away, so he signed with the York (PA) Revolution of the independent Atlantic League.

[Mass Haas]

LHP Steve Hammond had his independent Atlantic League contract purchased by the LaNew Bears of the Chinese Professional Baseball League.

 

Should be quite the adventure for him.

[Mass Haas]

Rotoworld:

 

Indians optioned OF Michael Brantley to Triple-A Columbus.

 

Brantley has not been seeing enough action in the big leagues and has not hit well in the starts that he's made. The 23-year-old will head back to the Triple-A level, where he was batting .320 with 11 stolen bases before his promotion. He was 16-for-102 (.157) while with the Indians.

 

(Major / minor stats)

[Mass Haas]

LHP Kristian Bueno did indeed sign with the Astros, and is pitching in the Gulf Coast League at the rookie level. His story was referenced in this post earlier in this thread. He was a Josh Kusnick (agent) player, probably still is, so kudos there to both.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

Former Milwaukee minor leaguer Wilhelmsen gets career back on track with Mariners

By Jim Oskola, Post-Crescent staff writer

 

GRAND CHUTE — A 5-5 record, a 2.76 ERA and a spot on the Midwest League All-Star squad.

 

That was Milwaukee Brewers prospect Tom Wilhelmsen for the Beloit Snappers in 2003.

Monday night, Wilmelmsen was back in the Midwest League, pitching for Clinton, throwing seven innings of two-hit, one-walk baseball and leading the Lumber- Kings to a 5-0 win over the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium.

"Tonight's the first time I've seen him in eight years," Clinton pitching coach Dwight Bernard said. "I was the pitching coordinator in Milwaukee when he was in Beloit at that time.

"He overthrew a couple pitches, but still he made enough quality pitches that got him by at this level right now. Obviously, this is not where we want him to stay."

In a sport that cherishes pitchers with strong arms, the Mariners are certainly hoping that Wilhelmsen can recapture what made him a seventh-round pick of the Brewers in 2002.

"This go-round is a much better experience than it was seven years ago," Wilhelmsen said. "I'm a lot more mature and better understand how baseball works at this level. I'm having a lot more fun because I'm more responsible and understand it."

Coming out of Tucson Magnet High School and becoming a professional baseball player was more than the then-teenager could handle.

There were two suspensions for failed drug tests when Wilhelmsen was in the Brewers system. Then in 2005, he retired from the game.

Before rediscovering his love for baseball, Wilhelmsen bartended and backpacked but found he missed the game.

"I started just running every day and doing a bunch of arm exercises," said Wilhelmsen about getting back in baseball shape before pitching for the Tucson Toros of the Golden Baseball League in 2009. "I want to be another 10 or 15 pounds heavier but during the season, it's just working out to stay in shape. That's what I will focus on now."

According to a story in The Seattle Times, Wilhelmsen got the call from the Toros the day before his wedding.

There was now a clearer direction on the road he was traveling.

Wilhelmsen signed a minor league free agent contract with the Mariners before the 2010 season, pitching eight times for the Arizona League Mariners and Everett Aquasox before being promoted to Clinton.

In those eight appearances, he struck out 22 and walked two in 15 innings.

Then came Monday's start where Wilhelmsen allowed just one walk through four innings before Cutter Dykstra ended the thought of a no-hitter by bunting for a single leading off the fifth.

No problem. Wilhelmsen got three outs on a pair of flyballs and a groundout, went 1-2-3 with the Rattlers in the sixth and finished off his night pitching out a seventh-inning jam when Kentrail Davis tripled with one out.

Bernard wasn't expecting seven innings out of Wilhelmsen.

"In the six neighborhood is where we were looking," Bernard said. "If he did that, we'd be satisfied, but he sailed through a few innings and the pitch count was down."

Wilhelmsen wasn't expecting to go seven innings, either.

"I think the furthest I've gone this year is five," he said. "Going an extra two felt good."

Next up for Wilhelmsen is critiquing his performance with Bernard.

"That's what I'm taking into this whole experience," he said. "Sitting down for five or six years, you don't realize how much of the mental aspect of pitching you've lost. That's what I'm gaining back. Physically, my fastball is there, my curveball, my pitches are there. Knowing what pitches to throw at certain times is the one thing I want to work on."

How many more starts Wilhelmsen makes for Clinton is unknown, but Bernard has high hopes.

"Hopefully, even at the age of 26, he can move up the ladder pretty quick," Bernard said. "I was pleased with what I seen."

There's even a touch of fatherly pride that comes from Bernard in seeing Wilhelmsen back in the game.

"You've got to take your hat off to a kid who signed, got some money and had some issues but overcome all of that," Bernard said. "As hard as he's worked in order to get himself back to this point, it's a tremendous thing. Nice to see."

[Mass Haas]

Adam Heether no longer on the A's 40-man roster, designated for assignment.

[Mass Haas]

A recent point made in our Josh Romanski thread got me thinking -- I've always contended that Doug Melvin (and staff's) roster management at the highest levels has been pretty superb, at least in terms of tracking "ones that got away".

 

Is there even one among all the alumni links in the first post in this thread?

 

Some would argue Marco Scutaro -- pre-dates Melvin, but find yourself the movie "A Player to be Named Later" (even if only for Mrs. Scutaro's blue jeans http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif)

 

Craig Breslow's had a fine bullpen career, and will probably be around for ten more years -- his 2004 release from High Desert was pretty justifiable.

 

Nelson Cruz will spur debate, of course -- but the Rangers exposed him to waivers after the Kevin Mench trade and every team in baseball passed on picking him up. I guess you could argue, then, that he got away from Melvin twice, as he should have been claimed back.

 

Grant Balfour -- when he's been on, as in 2008 and 2010, the return of Seth McClung pales, so perhaps?

 

The return on the Sabathia acquisition was so franchise-changing, you can't argue on any of those dealt to Cleveland, even if one or more of LaPorta / Brantley / Bryson come up big someday.

 

You can't argue the R.A. Dickey types years after the fact, you can only be happy for a guy like him.

 

***

 

For me, you have to look at two San Diego relievers.

 

Mike Adams to the Mets for (the now late -- lightning strike in 2008) Geremi Gonzalez in 2006? Too quick to give up on him.

 

Joe Thatcher's inclusion in the Scott Linebrink deal bothered me more than losing Will Inman and Scott Garrison, as was well-documented ad nauseum back in the day.

 

So those are my two "ones that truly got away", and each is a non-closing reliever, so how painful can they truly be? Your thoughts?

[Tedaldtada]

Well, MH, I can't say I miss anyone you mentioned besides Nelson Cruz. He was flukeish though. Maybe JDLR, but just for that good season he had. Balfour is pretty nasty too.

[dadofandrew]

Balfour has been effective and cheap for ages, though McClung had moments as well, especially in '08. DLR could not have been kept longer, as they did not have a place to hide him when they contended. Brantley and Laporta were moved for CC, and no one regrets that. I can't count Cruz, any team could have had him for a 40 spot. He just was a late bloomer, why you take chances on good AAA numbers and athleticism. I was partially right, I said he might be a good CF...just leave off the "a CF" and I nailed it.http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

Balfour is the only one that bothers me, and that is minimal.

[dlk9s]

I agree with what you guys have said. Cruz is the only real "imagine if we had him" guy, but we all know his recent ascent to stardom was unforeseen. A couple of those other guys would be nice to have, but they are relatively inconsequential losses.

 

Well, I suppose I would have liked to have kept Coco and since the money was close, it looks like we could have, but I guess he really wanted to get that extra million per year. I don't blame Melvin in the slightest for Cordero's departure.

[DHonks]

For me, I really wish we hadn't done the Balfour for McClung trade. I felt fans fell in love with McClung's velocity rather than effectiveness. I really thought Balfour was another Chad Fox. Imagine having him and Axford together in the 8th/9th innings!

[pete]

McClung had some great stretches, although not particularly long. He had a couple appearances against the Cards that I recall.

[Mass Haas]

Brad Nelson is playing in his home state of Iowa for Tacoma this weekend, so the locals caught up with him and ran this feature story.

[Mass Haas]

Just when we thought there couldn't be any new details on RHP Tom Wilhelmsen's baseball (and life) comeback, there's a new MiLB.com article with multiple new nuggets including this specific passage --

 

***

 

After Wilhelmsen stubbed out his last cigarette, he decided to try out for an independent team in Tucson.

 

"There were a couple hundred players there," Wilhelmsen said. "It was a little intimidating, thinking that all these guys were probably playing baseball nonstop for as long as I had been away. But once I got on the mound, the fastball just flew out of my hand, and they signed me up."

 

Wilhelmsen struck out 13 batters in 11 2/3 innings when the Brewers found out their prodigal pitcher was in independent ball.

 

"When I quit the Brewers, they never released me," he explained. "They still owned my rights. Once they found out I was pitching, they said I needed to pitch for them. I said, 'OK, but I need to pitch this next game [for Tucson].' During warmups, I blew out a nerve between my neck and shoulder. I drove up to the Brewers' complex and told them about the injury."

 

After a few weeks and no progress with the injury, the Brewers released him.

 

"That was a setback," Wilhelmsen said, "but shortly after, the Mariners contacted me and their doctors wanted to take a look at my arm. This was in December, and it was already starting to heal, so they signed me in February. Jack Zduriencik, the GM with the Mariners, was with the Brewers when I was with the Brewers. He decided to give me another shot, and I'm forever grateful for it."

***

 

As noted, the full article is worth a read, even if you think you've had your fill on the topic...

[Mass Haas]

The Mariners really need to get Tom Wilhelmsen up to AA before season's end --

 

Wilhelmsen near-perfect for Clinton -- Older, wiser right-hander retires first 20 in order vs. Burlington

 

[Mass Haas]

Video of Michael Brantley's ankle injury -- not a pleasant sight, hopefully OK...

[Mass Haas]

Matt Kinney suspended 50 games for amphetamines -- Baseball America.

[Mass Haas]

Been a while since we highlighted reliever Rob Bryson's link. Part of the Sabathia trade, Bryson has now reached AA at age 22, and has 71 K's in 44.2 IP, although the walks have picked up at the higher level. Still effective, though. And that's 22 at AA despite missing significant time with injury.

And there's no regrets here. Kudos to the Indians...

[TooLiveBrew]

Brantley's MRI didn't show any significant damage, and he expects to be back in the lineup tonight, fwiw.

Brantley had an MRI Friday that did not reveal any structural damage, but he has been out of the lineup the past four games, including Tuesday's series opener with the A's. But after fully participating in pregame workouts Tuesday, Brantley expects to be back in the lineup Wednesday.

 

"That's how it's looking," Brantley said.

 

Brantley injured the ankle during his ninth-inning at-bat Thursday. He grounded to short and fell to the ground in the batter's box.

 

"My ankle rolled, and I heard a pop in the back," Brantley said. "But all the tests came back negative, so hopefully I'm ready to go."

Link

[Mass Haas]

Rotoworld:

 

Tigers purchased the contract of C Max St. Pierre from Triple-A

 

978 games over 14 minor league seasons and he finally gets a chance in the show. You have to love stories like this come September. St. Pierre certainly deserves it. The 30-year-old backstop batted .270/.350/.476 with 10 homers and 36 RBI over 189 at-bats between Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo this season. He'll function as a third catcher down the stretch.

 

***

 

You may remember that St. Pierre was the bounty for RHP Ben Hendrickson when Ben was traded to the Royals. St. Pierre was 5-for-32 with Huntsville in 2007. The Brewers tried to convert him to pitching, but thankfully for St. Pierre (as it turns out), that didn't pan out. Our friend David Weiser in Huntsville will have to add one more name to his "former Stars to make the big leagues list", and one of the more obscure ones at that.

[TooLiveBrew]

Excerpt from San Francisco Mercury News story on last night's 2-1 defeat of the Rockies. The win pulled the Giants within three games of the West-leading Padres, and 1.5 games of the Wild Card leaders, Philly. The Giants' lone September callup, Darren Ford, played a starring (albeit limited) role.

 

***

 

Called up from Double-A Richmond, Ford didn't arrive until the second inning because of a two-hour flight delay in Detroit. That might be the only way to slow down the 24-year-old speedster.

 

With the score 1-1 in the eighth, Ford pinch ran for Mike Fontenot, who had drawn a walk. Lincecum bunted Ford to second, and when Jimenez's slider to Andres Torres skipped a few feet toward third base, Ford took off.

 

Catcher Miguel Olivo pounced on the wild pitch, but his throw to third sailed into left field, allowing Ford to scamper home.

 

"I thought I could make it, so I just told myself to go, and it was a good decision," Ford said.

 

Lincecum said Ford "was like a blur," and Fontenot called his replacement's speed "unbelievable "... something I was hearing stories about in the dugout."

 

But manager Bruce Bochy remembered Ford's strong spring training, which he called "one of the best displays of baserunning I've seen."

 

"He's electric, and he has no fear," Bochy said of his decision to use Ford right away. "This kid can outrun the ball."

 

Before Wednesday, Ford had never even entered a major league ballpark. He conceded to being nervous, and when asked what he remembered from his first moments in a big league dugout, said, "I think Tim Lincecum was striking somebody out, but I'm not sure who it was."

 

***

 

A bit more from Mercury News beat writer Jeff Baggarly's blog:

 

***

 

Much more on young Darren Ford in the game story, but I wanted to share some of the tidbits from his remarkable day. Ford’s flight was delayed two hours in Detroit this morning, meaning he didn’t even get to the ballpark until the second inning…

 

(On a side note, Ford was asked how he passed the time and hit us with a beauty: “It was a long flight. I had a couple conversations with a couple girls. A couple friends, some girlfriends. They kept me busy a little bit. I took a little nap and came here and was ready to go.” Well played sir.)

 

But I digress. He was listening to the game while being driven to the yard, and knew he might have to pinch run late in the game so he prepared for it. And how ‘bout this – Darren had never even been inside a major league ballpark before, not as a player, and never as a fan growing up. He certainly made a grand debut. I won’t even bother to describe it; if you missed the game, go watch the highlights of Darren running online. What a weapon down the stretch, and for the future. Fastest Giant since ____. I dunno, anyone have a good answer?

 

***

 

MLB.com video recap of the game:

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/..._id=8879974&c_id=mlb