Official Coaching Thread -- Latest: 9 Questions, Don Money

[MassBrew]

Brewers make Money a Star

Three-time All-Star replacing Kremblas as manager

Tuesday, December 21, 2004

By MARK McCARTER

Times Sports Staff markcolumn@aol.com

 

So far, it hasn't been such a bad month for Don Money.

 

On Dec. 11, Money was announced as one of the 2005 inductees into the Milwaukee Brewers' "Walk of Fame'' that pays tribute to the club's top players.

 

And now Money has received a promotion within the Milwaukee farm system - to the job as the Huntsville Stars manager.

 

Money, a three-time major league All-Star, replaces Frank Kremblas, who'll manage the Brewers' Triple-A team in Nashville. Kremblas managed in Huntsville for three seasons and was the Southern League Manager of the Year in 2003.

 

Joining Money on the Stars staff are new pitching coach Rich Sauveur, along with holdover hitting coach Sandy Guerrero. Fred Dabney, the Stars' pitching coach in 2004, will be with the Brewers' new Brevard County team in the Single-A Florida State League, close to his home in Venice, Fla.

 

Money has been the manager at Single-A Beloit for the past six seasons where he was 404-426. He has posted a winning record the past two seasons and three times took the Snappers to the Midwest League championship series.

 

"I'm very happy,'' Money said. "I've been in Beloit six years, and I always wanted to go where the organization need me the most, and help the team out. When this opportunity came up, I told Reid (Nichols, director of player development) I'd be interested. He offered me the job and I'm very pleased with that.''

 

Money, 56, is a resident of Vineland, N.J., where he lives with wife Sharon. They have two grown children, Don Jr. and Shannon, and are grandparents of five.

 

He was drafted by the Pirates, but made his major league debut in 1968 with the Phillies. He was with that club through 1972 - he is the answer to the trivia question: Who hit the first home run at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia? - and was traded to Milwaukee before the 1973 season.

 

Primarily a second baseman and third baseman, Money batted .264 for his major league career, with 169 homers and 690 RBIs. In 1977, he had a banner year with a .279 average, 25 homers and 83 RBIs. He was on the Brewers' 1982 World Series club.

 

He ended his career in Japan, then managed at Oneonta in the Single-A New York-Penn League in 1987-88 before leaving the game. Eventually, he took a job coaching at Sacred Heart, a small Catholic high school that didn't even have its own baseball field. In five years, though, he took the team to two state tournaments.

 

"Then I got out of that,'' he said. "But my kids were grown up. Both have their own families now. Your lifestyle changes. Now it's you and the wife, and you can do what you want to do.''

 

Money said "I got the itch back.'' With all that freedom, he could scratch it.

 

He contacted former teammate Cecil Cooper, then in the Milwaukee front office, who hired him to manage at Beloit.

 

Money knows he'll have some adjustments to make. "It's a little bit different, with American League and National League rules (and the sporadic use of the DH). Rosters are a little smaller.

 

"In low A, the players are still learning. They're trying to get into a professional mode. There is a lot of teaching, a lot of early work,'' said Money.

 

"Hopefully the teaching is carried on in high A."

 

Money has not worked yet with Guerrero, but Sauveur was his pitching coach last year at Beloit.

 

"He's a classic,'' Money laughed. "He's a goofy lefthander. But he's a good teacher, he works well and presents a case to the pitcher. He can be forceful, but he's got a good head on his shoulders.''

 

Sauveur, 41, pitched in the majors for six different clubs during a pro career that lasted 16 seasons. He is a native of Falls Church, Va.

 

Around the rest of the Milwaukee system, Kremblas is reunited with pitching coach Stan Kyles at Nashville, along with hitting coach Gary Pettis.

[MassBrew]

Nice to see pitching coach Rich Sauveur, who has had two excellent years in Beloit since joining the system, remain with Don Money. He'll catch some of his Snapper pupils again now in Huntsville.

 

Former major league speedster Gary Pettis replaces Bobby Randall as hitting coach in AAA.

 

Will let you know about other organizational managerial / coaching spots filled as we learn about them, all within this thread please...

[MassBrew]

Kremblas will manage Sounds next season

By MAURICE PATTON

Tennessean Staff Writer

 

Frank Kremblas, a two-time all-Ohio Valley Conference performer at Eastern Kentucky, has been named the newest manager of the Nashville Sounds.

 

''It's one step closer to the big leagues,'' said Kremblas, 38, who spent eight seasons in the Cincinnati Reds' organization but never reached the majors. ''Everybody has their aspirations. My job is to prepare these guys at Triple-A to go up and do the job they're being asked to perform. I'm super-excited about that.''

 

Kremblas, who spent the past three seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers' Class AA affiliate in Huntsville, will be helped by hitting coach Gary Pettis and pitching coach Stan Kyles. Jeff Paxson will be the team trainer.

 

''Frank is energized with the opportunity,'' said Reid Nichols, director of player development for the Brewers.

 

''We always try to promote from within when we can. Our staff knows that. It's a good way to give them incentive to work hard and do the best they can.''

 

In three seasons at Huntsville, Kremblas posted a cumulative record of 210-207. That includes a 75-63 finish in 2003 when the Stars won the Southern League Western Division championship and he was named SL Manager of the Year.

 

Prior to the 2002 season, Kremblas spent two years with the Brewers' Class A affiliates in the California League, and had managed two years in the Montreal Expos' minor league system before that. In parts of seven seasons, he has a career managerial record of 423-403.

 

Kremblas was an all-OVC infielder in both 1987 and '88. His younger brother currently plays in the Oakland Athletics' organization, and his father quarterbacked Ohio State's 1957 Rose Bowl and co-national championship squad.

 

Pettis, an 11-year major league outfielder with the Angels, Tigers, Rangers and Padres, comes to Nashville after spending two seasons as first-base and outfield coach with the Mets. Kyles was pitching coach for the Brewers' Triple-A affiliate at Indianapolis last year after working with Kremblas in Huntsville during the '03 season. He pitched 11 minor league seasons after being selected in the fourth round of the 1979 draft by the Cubs.

 

''Gary's a good addition, with some Gold Gloves under his belt,'' Nichols said. ''It'll be good to have him, with the outfielders we've (likely) got there. Stan has done a good job for us every year as pitching coach.''

 

Replacing Kremblas at Huntsville will be former Brewers third baseman Don Money. He will be joined by holdover hitting coach Sandy Guerrero and first-year pitching coach Rich Sauveur. A former Sounds reliever, Sauveur spent the last two years as pitching coach with Milwaukee's Midwest League (Class A) team in Beloit, Wisc.

[Past Member]

After going to tons of Snappers games I am delighted to see Money and Sauveur get this respect. They deserve it. Rich Sauveur has got to be one of the nicest guys I've ever met and Don Money is just a character. I will miss them a lot in Beloit as Money has managed for the last 6 years. Won't be the same without those guys and I wish them the best.

[kenfanelli]

I am glad to see Don and Rich working together again. They have very complimentary personalities on and off the field. They certainly will be missed in Beloit.

[madbad2000]

I'm glad Rich got a "promotion" as his work is top notch. I'm also glad to see Money move up to Huntsville...if only for the fact I don't have to watch him manage a game in Beloit. I hope his work with the young hitters is what keeps him around...that and his name/affiliation with the Brewers past.

[gregmag]

I love Gary Pettis as the AAA hitting coach. Speedster, indeed, but more importantly Pettis was about as much of a walk machine as a crappy hitter can be, never chalking up less than a BB per ten ABs and occasionally approaching one per five. Struck out a ton, too, but whaddayawant -- he was a truly crappy hitter. I don't know whether a player can really learn patience, but if so, Pettis is the perfect guy to be working with Hart and Nelson.

 

Greg.

[Al the Thinking Man]

Perfect for Krynzel too, if Dave is in AAA.

[lend d money]

I am very happy for my namesake and selfishly for myself. I know I will be going to Huntsville this coming year, but not sure about Charleston.

[MassBrew]

From the Stars' site, for those of you who know Greg:

 

The Stars? trainer has not been announced. Greg Barajas, the Stars? trainer for the last three seasons, has joined the Boston Red Sox organization and will be the trainer for the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox.

[MassBrew]

milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com...;fext=.jsp

 

From MLB.com:

 

MILWAUKEE -- Brewers prospects expecting promotions next summer can also expect some familiar faces at the end of the bench.

 

The team announced its minor league coaching staffs on Tuesday and stayed in-house to fill two key openings. Frank Kremblas, named the Double-A Southern League's manager of the year in 2003 and the league's top managerial prospect in 2004, was promoted to manage the Brewers' top affiliate at Triple-A Nashville. That created a managerial vacancy at Double-A Huntsville, which was immediately filled by former Brewers All-Star Don Money, who was promoted from the Brewers' Class A affiliate.

 

Kremblas' staff will consist of hitting coach Gary Pettis, pitching coach Stan Kyles and trainer Jeff Paxson. The latter two are holdovers from the Brewers' Triple-A coaching staff and Pettis spent the last four seasons as the White Sox and Mets first-base coach.

 

The Brewers are entering the first season of a player development deal with Nashville after terminating their five-year tenure in Indianapolis.

 

In seven seasons as a minor league manager, including the last three at Double-A Huntsville, Kremblas is 348-340 (.506). Known as a "player's manager," he was recognized by his peers as the "best managerial prospect" in the Southern League in a 2004 Baseball America poll. In 2003, he skippered Huntsville to the Southern League Western Division Championship and was chosen as the league's manager of the year.

 

In his second year as Huntsville's skipper, Kremblas was awarded 2003 top managerial honors in the Southern League after leading his team to a 75-63 record, the Southern League West first-half title. Kremblas also served as a manager in the 2003 Arizona Fall League, leading the Peoria Saguaros to an 18-16 record.

 

He played eight professional seasons, topping out at the Triple-A level and posting a .235 career average in 671 games.

 

Money is more familiar to Brewers fans, who helped vote the former infielder into the team's Walk of Fame at Miller Park. Money and former manager Harvey Kuenn will be inducted in a ceremony next summer, joining the greatest players and executives in club history.

 

Money is entering his seventh season in the Brewers' organization and his ninth overall as a minor league manager. He has managed at Class A Beloit in the Midwest League for the past six seasons, compiling a 401-426 (.485) mark.

 

The Brewers also named staffs at a pair of new affiliates. John Tamargo, who spent the last six seasons on the Houston Astros' coaching staff including the last three as bench coach, will manage at Advanced Class A Brevard County.

 

Ramon Aviles will manage the Class A West Virginia Power. A former major league infielder, Aviles has served in the Philadelphia Phillies' minor league chain as a coach and instructor.

 

The Brewers will announce staffs for rookie level Helena and Arizona at a later date.

 

2005 Brewers minor league coaching staffs:

 

Triple-A Nashville: Manager Frank Kremblas, pitching coach Stan Kyles, hitting coach Gary Pettis, athletic trainer Jeff Paxon.

 

Double-A Huntsville: Manager Don Money, pitching coach Rich Sauveur, hitting coach Sandy Guerrero, athletic trainer to be announced.

 

Class A Brevard County: manager John Tamargo, pitching coach Fred Dabney, hitting coach Johnny Narron, athletic trainer Masa Koyanagi.

 

Class A West Virginia: Manager Ramon Aviles, pitching coach Mark Littell, hitting coach Tony Diggs, athletic trainer Alan Diamond.

[MassBrew]

As of the end of the season, it was our belief High Desert pitching coach John Curtis was still with the organization -- perhaps he was hoping to stay on the west coast, near his home, as his name's absent from the above.

 

Mark Littell will follow many of his pitchers from Helena to West Virginia, probably a plus...

[950opsLHcatcher]

Mark Littell will follow many of his pitchers from Helena to West Virginia, probably a plus...

 

Considering the troubles of quite a number of the H-Brewers' pitchers last season, maybe, maybe not. For guys like Walker, Martinez, DeCarlo and Theodorakos, we can only hope that Littell's has a "Part 2" to the lesson plan.

[MassBrew]

Aviles heads Power staff

Charleston Gazette

 

With a new team name in place and a new East End ballpark under construction, Charleston?s South Atlantic League affiliate now has a new field staff.

 

Ramon Aviles has been named the manager of the West Virginia Power, and he will be joined on the staff by pitching coach Mark Littell, hitting coach Tony Diggs and trainer Alan Diamond.

 

Aviles, a Puerto Rico native who?ll turn 53 in January, has had extensive coaching and managing experience at the minor-league level within the Philadelphia Phillies organization, serving as manager at every level from rookie ball to Triple-A. His most recent assignment with the Phillies was as a coach for the club?s rookie-level Gulf Coast League team in 2003.

 

Charleston?s first season as a Milwaukee Brewers affiliate will also be Aviles? first with the Brewers. Aviles is managing in the Puerto Rico Winter League.

 

Aviles played in the major leagues for parts of four seasons, appearing in 1977 for Boston and from 1979-81 for the Phillies. An infielder, Aviles played in 117 games, compiling a .268 career average with two home runs and 24 RBIs.

 

Littell, 51, spent nine seasons in the majors (1973 and 1975-82). A reliever most of his career with Kansas City and St. Louis, he compiled a 32-31 record and a 3.32 ERA. He?s best remembered for allowing Chris Chambliss? series-clinching walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth of Game 5 of the 1976 American League Championship Series, giving the New York Yankees a 3-2 series win over the Royals.

 

Diggs, a sixth-round draft pick by the Brewers in 1989 who never reached the big leagues as a player, is in his second season as a coach in the Milwaukee organization. Last season, he was the hitting coach for the Beloit Snappers of the Class A Midwest League.

 

Diamond also comes to Charleston from Beloit, where he was trainer for the past two seasons. In 2000, he was Midwest League trainer of the year while working for the Kane County Cougars.

[MassBrew]

Baseball Prospectus:

 

The New Man: There's very little to learn from minor-league press releases. The latest from the Triple-A Nashville Sounds, the new affiliate of the Brewers, isn't any different. Naming Gary Pettis the hitting coach is interesting. Known more for his defense and speed than his bat--a lifetime .236/.332/.310 batting line doesn't recall Ted Williams--Pettis was brought in to work with Brewers prospects Dave Krynzel and Rickie Weeks. Krynzel and Weeks are both similar players to Pettis, relying on their physical skills and, in Krynzel's case, plus defense to move towards Milwaukee.

 

Hoping that Pettis' past rubs off on the two prospects directly is a reasonably common thread in the minor leagues. Teams have a tendency to hire certain types of players, usually with some link to the team's past, in hopes that like the common cold the skills get transferred. There's certainly no real training for coaches and no teams have anything resembling a training program. As with most business innovations, the latest training and education techniques haven't penetrated front offices quite yet.

 

Sabermetrics has left coaching to the side for much of its history since it's exceptionally difficult to get objective data on what a coach actually does. A hitting coach isn't necessarily the cause when a Double-A prospect suddenly makes a leap forward and he's often not to blame when someone can't hold their skills when changing levels. One of Keith Woolner's "Hilbert Questions" from Baseball Prospectus 2000, objective analysis of the effects of coaching is still a major shortcoming with performance analysis. It's easy to say that Wendell Kim, the Cubs third-base coach nicknamed "Wave 'Em In Wendell," costs the team runs. It's entirely another thing to prove it. Credit given to Leo Mazzone might need to be shared with Guy Hansen, the longtime pitching coach at Triple-A Richmond who is now the new Royals pitching coach.

 

The Brewers certainly aren't breaking ground or doing something other teams aren't doing by hiring Pettis at Nashville. It will be years before we know if it was a good move, and we might only do so then if Dave Krynzel remembers to thank Pettis for helping him win the Gold Glove.

[MassBrew]

So new homes were found for familiar names within the organization --

 

Helena Press Release:

 

The Helena Brewers announced today that Eddie Sedar will manage the club for the 2005 season. Sedar, who led the Brewers in 2003, replaces Johnny Narron who was recently named hitting coach of the Brevard County Manatees (Brewers class A affiliate) in the Florida State League. Joining Sedar are pitching coach John Curtis; hitting coach Bobby Randall and trainer Tim Steinhaus.

 

?With Eddie as our manager we will be a very formidable club,? said General Manager Paul Fetz. ?The players respect him, he knows how to win and our fans enjoy his aggressive approach to the game.?

 

Sedar played professionally in the Chicago White Sox organization for eight seasons from 1981-1988. He was drafted as an outfielder in the 6th round but eventually played every position including pitcher before injuries prematurely ended his playing days.

 

Sedar begins his 15th year with the organization working primarily as an outfield and base running roving instructor and field coordinator. Nevertheless he is no stranger to the Pioneer League. He managed the Ogden Raptors (former Brewers affiliate) from 1998-2001. In 2003, he guided Helena to a league best 48-28 record, earning a berth into the playoffs as well as Pioneer League Manager of the Year. His overall record as a manager is 177-152 (.537 winning percentage).

 

?Ed Sedar is the best manager and teacher of young players that the Brewers have in the system,? said Reid Nichols, Director of Player Development. ?If possible, I would like Ed to manage every young team that is a Brewers affiliate. The young players learn the game and how to be a professional.?

 

John Curtis replaces Mark Littell who was promoted to Class A affiliate Charleston WV in the South Atlantic League. Curtis played for five major league teams (Boston, St. Louis, San Francisco, San Diego, and California) compiling an 89-97 record with a career ERA of 3.96 over 15 seasons. Since retiring from the Major Leagues, Curtis has worked as a freelance writer and an editorial assistant. In 2001, he returned to baseball as a pitching coach for the Long Beach Breakers of the now defunct Western League. In 2003, he was named pitching coach for the Brewers Class A affiliate the High Desert Mavericks of the Cal League where he remained through the 2004 season.

 

Bobby Randall played five seasons at the Major League level with the Twins from 1976-1980. From 1981-2002, he coached at Iowa State and the University of Kansas. After one year at the high school level, Randall worked in 2004 as the hitting coach of the Indianapolis Indians (Brewers AAA affiliate) of the International League.

 

Tim Steinhaus comes to Helena with a wealth of experience in sports medicine. From June 2001 to December 2003 he was a Graduate Assistant Athletic Trainer for the University of Missouri. He has also worked in other capacities as a physician extender for two orthopedic clinics in Missouri and is a registered nurse. Steinhaus graduated from Lindenwood University in St. Charles MO, and resides in Washington MO in the off-season.

[MassBrew]

Looks like David Yeager is the new Huntsville trainer -- a couple of his philosophies are posted below:

 

www.hughston.com/hha/a_13_1_2.htm

 

www.hughston.com/hha/a.pnf.htm

 

Looks like he was in Boston's chain last year, which is where 2004 Stars' trainer Greg Barajas ended up, with AAA Pawtucket.

[MassBrew]

Charleston Gazette:

 

John Curtis has been named the new pitching coach for the Class A West Virginia Power.

 

Curtis, a 16-year major-league veteran, replaces Mark Littell. Curtis served as pitching coach for the Milwaukee Brewers? California League farm team last season.

 

A first-round draft pick by Boston in 1968, Curtis pitched in the big leagues for the Red Sox, Cardinals, Giants, Padres and Angels.

 

We should know soon if Littell will be heading back to Helena. It's our understanding it was a tough off-season health-wise for Littell, and all of Brewerfan wishes him the best and hopes he still is part of the Brewer family.

[MassBrew]

It does look like Mark Littell will be back in Helena as pitching coach for the 2005 season....

[Mass Haas]

Instructors like Skaalen essential to team's prospects

Contact Mark McCarter at markcolumn@aol.com

Huntsville Times

 

Callix Crabbe is in the batting cage. The noise you hear is the humming-clicking of the hard-drive inside Jim Skaalen's head.

 

Something about the stance doesn't look right. Skaalen excuses himself from a conversation and walks to a perch closer to the cage. Quietly, unassumingly, he has a few words for Crabbe, the Stars' second baseman.

 

"There's not a lot of things I do well in life,'' says Skaalen, the Milwaukee Brewers' minor league hitting coordinator.

 

"But one of the things is I have a memory for players' names - only players' names, I'll forget anybody else's name in a second - and I can remember their stance.

 

"I can't balance a checkbook. Most of the things that life entails,'' he says, "I stink at.''

 

Remember a name.

 

Remember a stance.

 

Be a genius about the subtle mechanics of a swing or a pitch or other intricacies of the game.

 

Read an airport departure sign.

 

Pack efficiently.

 

You, too, can be a roving instructor in minor league baseball.

 

Well, with all that - and an inordinate amount of patience, communication skills, experience, a body immune to time-zone changes and no symptoms of claustrophobia, considering you wind up sharing dressing quarters with three or four others in tiny minor league clubhouses.

 

Skaalen, the old hand in the bunch in terms of Milwaukee tenure, is joined here this week by Jim Rooney, Milwaukee's pitching coordinator, and Noberto "Paco'' Martin, the roving infield instructor.

 

At various times, Ed Sedar, the field coordinator and catching instructor Charlie Greene have visited town, along with Tim Hewes, the employee assistance program coordinator.

 

Sedar, an affable sort who goes through baseball like Norm walking into "Cheers,'' is currently managing the Helena team, in the short-season Pioneer League. "The best of both worlds,'' he says.

 

Advise and go

 

Theirs is a job with a simple goal, and a tough realization as they visit each team on Milwaukee's minor league ladder throughout the course of a summer.

 

"They (players) all have a need, and you try to make them get better. But,'' says Martin, "you know it's not going to happen for everybody.''

 

Roving instructors are baseball's version of the consultant.

 

"Part scout, part administrator, part coach,'' Rooney says.

 

They travel. They assist. They add their expertise.

 

And they're gone.

 

"The value of a rover is you get a guy in his field of expertise,'' says Reid Nichols, the Brewers' director of player development.

 

"Your coaches and managers are good, but he comes in and gives you an outside view. Somebody's not there every day that can see changes happening, and addresses that.''

 

For each of the players, either filed away in notebooks or crannies of their brains, the rovers have a blueprint of sorts to build these young prospects into major leaguers.

 

"We have a game plan and a direction of what we want to accomplish with each individual, and we work on it,'' Rooney says. "It's a 'how's-it-going?' each step of the way.''

 

"I'm not here for the quick-fix,'' Skaalen says. "I'm just here to help out, make some suggestions.''

 

Half the time, the rovers are more shrinks than anything.

 

There is almost a sense of obligation in these men, to hand things down like some next-generation Yoda what they had been taught.

 

"I was talking to (Stars pitcher Alec) Zumwalt, and telling him I had been around baseball a long time,'' Rooney says, "and learned from Hall of Famers like Sandy Koufax and Robin Roberts, around (pitchers) like Jim Palmer and Mike Flanagan and Scott Flanagan and Sparky Lyle. This gives me an opportunity to pass along knowledge. I've been pretty lucky. I've been blessed.''

 

Road rules

 

The rovers endure a screwy lifestyle. Typically, they're on the road two to three weeks, then get to head back to their homes for a week of normalcy. Then, back on the road. Charleston, W. Va. for four days. Down to Brevard County for another four. The early flight out of Orlando to Huntsville.

 

"The 4 a.m. wakeup calls on getaway days, it's easy to complain,'' Skaalen says. "But I try not to. I've got one of the best jobs in baseball.''

 

Skaalen - he answers to the nickname "Ski'' - was once a player in this league, a semi-prospect in the Orioles system in the late 1970s, before he decided to try a different path. In college, he had worked baseball clinics and "really enjoyed the feedback and watching the little kids get better.''

 

He landed a job in the Houston system, then has since had a quarter-century a typical baseball life, fluttering along on a career path as unpredictable and maddening and up-and-down as a knuckleball.

 

The San Diego system, then the Rangers, then back to San Diego, his hometown, and where he served as the director of the Padres' player development. He came to the Brewers' in 2000.

 

"This,'' Skaalen says, "is the most enjoyable thing that I've done.

 

"I've enjoyed aspects of everything I've done, but (this is the best) to have the opportunity to hopefully have an impact on all the players, and to get to travel and see them.''

 

A chance, sort of, to still watch the little kids get better.

 

"But,'' he says, throwing a glance of mock complaint at Stars manager Don Money, "I still have to dress in the bathroom here.''

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.al.com/sports/huntsvi...amp;coll=1

 

Sauveur watched, learned in first majors game

Contact Mark McCarter at markcolumn@aol.com

Huntsville Times

 

So bright and shiny, a magical piece of treasure. Sits there glowing, like some exotic jewel from one of those hobbit movies.

 

Too bright and shiny to touch.

 

Just stand and look at it a while.

 

Then - poof!

 

Gone.

 

That's the story of Rich Sauveur's first game in the major leagues.

 

Sauveur, the Stars' pitching coach, played 18 seasons of pro ball. He pitched for, first, the Pirates. Then he bounced to several other organizations, valuable as a lefty who was especially tough on left-handed hitters but without the sort of radar-jamming velocity that makes scouts drool.

 

The screwy thing, despite pitching in 34 games in the majors, he never collected a win.

 

And was tagged with only one loss.

 

There are two most memorable moments in Sauveur's professional career.

 

One, he was there, as a Kansas City Royals pitcher, when George Brett got his 3,000th career hit.

 

(Sauveur has another thread to history: He was born Nov. 23, 1963, and was two days old, in an Arlington, Va., hospital, when not far away echoed a 21-gun salute and a mournful taps was played as John F. Kennedy was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.)

 

Sauveur's top moment was July 1, 1986.

 

Major league debut.

 

Pitching for Pittsburgh, at Three Rivers Stadium, against the Phillies.

 

Check the lineups. The opposing pitcher was Mike Maddux, now a colleague of sorts as Milwaukee's pitching coach.

 

There was Gary Redus, the Athens native, the first man Sauveur would face.

 

On the Pirates side, there was Sid Bream at first. And there was a then-skinny center fielder. Kid named Barry Bonds.

 

Sauveur got Redus to fly out to Bonds in the first. Rick Schu and Juan Samuel grounded out.

 

Leading off the second, Mike Schmidt got plunked by Sauveur. Revenge would come later - and not just with his sixth-inning single.

 

Sauveur pitched nicely. He sprinkled around seven hits in 6 2/3 innings. He walked three. He only allowed two runs, on a Schu home run.

 

After he was pulled from the game, Pirates radio man Jim Rooker found him in the clubhouse.

 

"Rooker came down, we talked. He said I was going to be 'player of the game,' for the radio broadcast,'' Sauveur recalls.

 

"They gave me a gold watch. It was worth more than I was making in a month at Triple-A.''

 

Somebody put the watch on a shelf in his locker in the eighth inning, the game tied 2-all.

 

"I didn't even take it out,'' Sauveur says. "I just looked at it.

 

Then, in the 10th, the Phillies scored two runs, the second by Schmidt, who had walked.

 

But the Pirates tied it up in the bottom half with two runs off Steve Bedrosian.

 

In the top of the 12th, Schmidt homered off Larry McWilliams.

 

In the bottom of the 12th, Bonds grounded into a double play to end the game.

 

Phillies 5, Pirates 4.

 

"I came back into the clubhouse,'' Sauveur says, "and the watch was gone.''

 

The man with the game-winning homer, Mike Schmidt, was named player of the game.

 

"Yeah,'' Sauveur says.

 

"Like Mike Schmidt needed it.''

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.al.com/sports/huntsvi...amp;coll=1

 

A player right on the Money

11 years as a Brewer - four as an All-Star - lead to team's Walk of Fame

By MARK McCARTER

Huntsville Times Sports Staff markcolumn@aol.com

 

Don Money was in a rut. The Phillies weren't happy with his hitting style. He wasn't producing enough power. There was a promising kid named Mike Schmidt coming up behind him in the organization.

 

So, like a couple of fantasy-league seamheads, the Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers got together for a trade. Seven players would swap uniforms.

 

The day of the trade, Oct. 31, 1972, Money was pretty much clueless about his new destination. He had never been there. "I knew nothing about who the manager was or anything,'' he says.

 

How, then, could he have imagined what would be in store - 11 seasons, four All-Star selections, a World Series, a major role on a near-legendary team.

 

"It turned out to be the best thing that could ever happen,'' he says.

 

Now, the biggest, best thing of all:

 

Money, the manager of the Huntsville Stars, is being inducted into the Brewers' Walk of Fame, the team's most prestigious honor, Tuesday evening before the Brewers' game with Arizona.

 

He joins his former manager, the late Harvey Kuenn, in growing the Walk of Fame to 12 members. Among those previously inducted are Commissioner Bud Selig, the Brewers' former owner, and Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, Robin Yount and Rollie Fingers.

 

Money, 58, will be joined at the ceremonies by wife Sharon, son Don Jr., daughter Shannon and his five grandchildren.

 

"It makes me feel very good,'' Money says. "The biggest thing is that it was voted by the fans. I always had a good rapport with the fans and tried to play hard.''

 

"A professional's professional,'' his former teammate Charlie Moore calls him.

 

Moore, a Milwaukee catcher who now lives in Cullman, Alabama, noted that the Milwaukee organization was "always trying to get players to fit the city. It was a hard-working, blue-collar type people. And we had players like that.''

 

"It's a blue-collar city, and we had guys like Gorman Thomas and Pete Vukovich; if you ever saw them, they looked like they walked in from the coal mines and put on a uniform,'' Money says. "People liked them. And there was a lot of tailgating in those days.

 

"We'd have a day game and we'd get to the park and see them at 9 o'clock in the morning. We'd stop and say hello to them. And, four or five in the afternoon, they were still there. We had a good rapport between the players and the fans.''

 

Cecil Cooper, familiar to Huntsville fans as the Brewers' one-time farm director, was the Milwaukee first baseman in those days and is now a coach for the Houston Astros.

 

"I played against him and I played with him. Don showed up every day ready to go,'' Cooper says. "He was a hard worker. He was always focused on the game, thinking the game. I never saw him out of position to make a play.

 

"He always threw the ball (to first base) in one area,'' Cooper continues. "He didn't have a strong arm. It was always in the same spot, every time. I don't think I ever got a bad throw from him. He was a good glove man. He played third, he played second, he played first. He did what he could to beat you.''

 

There are some strong ties in the Cooper-Money relationship.

 

In 1974, Cooper broke his leg and Money moved from second to first base. But Money was on the All-Star ballots, printed before the season, as a second baseman. He wound up leading the vote at second base, becoming the first Brewer elected by the fans to start in an All-Star Game.

 

Then, when Money got the itch to return to pro ball, he contacted Cooper, who was able to offer him a job in the Brewers' organization.

 

Money batted .270 as a Brewer, with 134 homers (of his career 176) and 529 RBIs (out of 729 career RBIs) while in Milwaukee. At the time of his retirement he owned the record in both leagues for most consecutive games by a third baseman without an error.

 

He played on the Brewers' 1982 World Series team that lost to St. Louis. Those Brewers were a slugging team nicknamed "Harvey's Wallbangers,'' in honor of their manager, Kuenn. It was the end of an era in which Money says "we were as good as anybody (in baseball) for three or four years.''

 

Getting into the Walk of Fame may ultimately prove to be easier than getting to the Walk of Fame itself.

 

Several weeks ago, Money's wallet was stolen from the clubhouse in Mobile. He has a temporary driver's license, but spent hours trying to obtain a photo ID.

 

"I don't know how I'm going to get on the plane,'' he bemoaned one day earlier in the month.

 

What?

 

Airport security won't accept an '82 Topps baseball card with your picture on it as adequate identification?

 

Houston free-lance writer Gene Duffey, a former Times sports writer, contributed to this story.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

dailymail.com/news/Jack+B...k-20050725

 

Honesty, patience drive Aviles

Jack Bogaczyk

Charleston Daily Mail Sports Editor

 

Ramon Aviles has been here. He has been there. The West Virginia Power manager made his Major League baseball debut 28 summers ago in a city that his players hope one day to call home.

 

It was a 1977 summer Sunday in Milwaukee. Boston Manager Don Zimmer, his Red Sox with a double-digit lead in the American League East, watched the Brewers bring in Bob McClure from the bullpen for a lefty-lefty matchup.

 

With two men on base, Zim called for buried backup infielder Aviles to pinch-hit for Bernie Carbo. "He told me, ?You're bunting, even with two strikes,' " Aviles recalled of that day at County Stadium.

 

The 25-year-old rookie wasted no time. First pitch. Sacrifice. Runners move up. Bosox win.

 

Aviles spent three months in the majors that season, with one plate appearance and no official at-bats in one game. Two years later, he won a World Series ring with the Philadelphia Phillies.

 

Yet, now in his 36th year in pro baseball and 10th season in which he's managed, the proud Puerto Rican grandfather of two hasn't forgotten the summer of ?77. It has become his basis for teaching Charleston's Baby Brewers.

 

"You have to have patience dealing with young kids," Aviles said Sunday, before the Power's 8-3 loss to Lakewood at Appalachian Power Park. "You have to stay on an even keel. Some kids don't know how to do that, but they'll learn."

 

Aviles' teammates included names like Yastrzemski, Carlton, Fisk, Rose, Schmidt, Eckersley and Tiant, but just to have that opportunity, he spent a decade in the minors first, wrapped around one Boston bunt.

 

Aviles, 56, has shown Power players his 1980 Series ring, told them to try it on and see how it feels. He carries in his briefcase a Phils' team photo that appeared in a recent Sports Illustrated 25-year retrospective -- the first time the Power has been mentioned in SI. His players know that.

 

There's another thing they know, too.

 

"Zimmer lied to me in 1977, lied to me more than once," said Aviles.

 

"I never forgot that, and when I became a manager (21 years ago in Bend, Ore., with Phillie rookies), I told myself the one thing I'd never do to a player is lie.

 

"These players here know that I'll tell them what I think, I'll tell them the truth. I always say, ?If you want me to tell you what you want to hear, don't ask.' If they really want to know, then I'll be glad to tell them the truth."

 

Aviles said Zimmer told him he'd make the ?77 Boston team out of spring training if he hit .250. He batted .325, but was shipped to Class AAA Pawtucket when the Red Sox went north. He was recalled in May, then sat.

 

"We had a nine-game lead and we were playing in Yankee Stadium when I was called up," Aviles said.

 

"Yankee Stadium, my first weekend in the big leagues ... Zimmer told me if we beat the Yankees two out of three, he'd play me the following Monday and Tuesday in Detroit to rest (shortstop Rick) Burleson."

 

The Red Sox swept New York, and Aviles was somewhat giddy on the plane to Motown. Teammate Luis Tiant asked why. Aviles told him he was going to play in a Major League game.

 

" ?You should believe it when it happens,' " Aviles recalled Tiant saying. "Looie said (Zimmer) had lied to him before and others ... The next day came, and I looked at the lineup. I wasn't there."

 

That winter, he was sold to the Phillies, for whom he played 117 games in the next three seasons. In 1982, he started the season at Triple-A Denver after a winter trade to Texas, but after only a few games went back to the Phils, playing at Class AAA Oklahoma City.

 

"We finished with 93 losses ... that caused me to retire," Aviles said, half-jokingly.

 

He was a couple of games off, but those 89ers finished 43-91, so his current Power players should know their skipper was on a club mired much more than the 24 games below .500 that has been the West Virginia nadir.

 

Aviles and coaches John Curtis and Johnny Narron have turned a potential disaster of a Power season -- the first for the Brewers in Charleston, and in a new ballpark -- into something respectable in July.

 

"We've made a lot of progress hitting with men in scoring position," Aviles said. "We were fine in spring training, and then we started the season (with 14 games, 2-12) against Hagerstown and Lexington, teams with very good pitching.

 

"The only thing that's disappointed me is at the beginning of the season, we lost our confidence. I stayed as positive as I could. I did tell the players that I didn't think they had the pride they needed."

 

Aviles recalled his ?82 season in OkCity, "and when we'd come into the clubhouse after a loss you could hear a pin drop ... Here, at the start of the season, we'd lose and there would be all kinds of noise in the clubhouse.

 

"I told the team it was too happy, that it needed more pride. You have to have pride in this game. I think as much as anything it was a lack of experience. You have to learn that when you have two hits and the team loses, you really didn't do your job."

 

Aviles found that many of his Power players were listening, but they weren't hearing. He had started his career where they were, in 1970, in Greenville (S.C.) in the Western Carolinas League, which in 1980 became the South Atlantic League.

 

"I know what they're going through and you talk about that," Aviles said, as his team reaches the 100-game mark tonight at Lexington, and the dog days are scorchers. "Most have never played more than 70-something games in a (short) season before. It's an adjustment you have to make if you're going to keep moving up."

 

Aviles' team is a lot like the wiry 5-foot-9 former infielder. A scout for one organization passing through Charleston a month or so back said the Power may have been struggling, but was the hardest-working team in the league. Most days, the players are on the field by 2 p.m., if they haven't had a morning workout following a night game.

 

West Virginia (14-15 second half) ranks fourth in the SAL in stolen bases, but doesn't have the power to take advantage of the way the balls flies out of their new yard. So, the Brewer bosses here preach gap-to-gap hitting.

 

As far as the other gaps -- generational, informational -- Aviles has made solid strides in bridging those with the Power, in comparison to two months ago.

 

"My goal is still to finish .500 for the season, which means we have to win 45 this half (after a 25-45 first half)," he said.

 

"I still think we have a chance at that. If not, if we can play 10 games over .500 for the second half, that would be a big improvement."

 

That would fit with Aviles, too. It's no lie.

[Mass Haas]

Nashville Hitting Coach Gary Pettis to manage in the Arizona Fall League:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...;fext=.jsp

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....328/SPORTS

 

Kremblas keeps tinkering, builds Sounds into winner

By JEFF LOCKRIDGE

Tennessean Staff Writer

 

What image pops into your mind when you picture a mad scientist?

 

A cartoon character, perhaps. Short, bald with green skin. Laboratory inside a spooky castle nestled on a hill with lightning flashes in the background.

 

There's no Frankenstein in this tale, but there is a Frank Kremblas. He manages the Nashville Sounds.

 

"(Pitching coach) Stan Kyles calls him the mad scientist," Sounds outfielder Ryan Knox said. "I play my guitar to mimic the noise that I think is going on in Frank's head. It sounds like a computer."

 

Kremblas, 38, is the mastermind behind a winning Sounds team that sits comfortably atop its division with just over a month remaining in the season.

 

He is aggressive ? even daring ? in his approach. The numbers show he is undeniably successful, both in terms of wins and the talent he's developed in the Milwaukee Brewers' farm system over the last few years.

 

"Some people love to hate winners," Kremblas said. "They hate the Yankees, Michael Jordan, Phil Jackson. To me, that's stupid. When you see winners like that, you want to do two things: emulate what they do and study their habits."

 

Kremblas goes along with the mad scientist bit. He concedes that his managerial style is not exactly conventional.

 

He's been known to test defenses in every imaginable way. He will send runners home from second base on infield groundouts and call for double steals with runners on first and third. If a pitcher is struggling at a key point in the game, he may leave them in to see how they respond after getting knocked around.

 

Kremblas once suggested that Knox, who was on first base at the time, should run toward second on a foul ball and remain one step short of the bag rather than return to first, thus taking an 89-foot leadoff before the next pitch. Then when the ball was put in play, he could take one step and have a stolen base.

 

Knox declined.

 

"I didn't want to get hit in the head (the next time at bat)," Knox said between laughs. "The pitcher was big and he was throwing like 95 miles per hour.

 

"A bunch of Frank's ideas would make baseball purists upset. He likes to experiment."

 

The Brewers seem to feel Kremblas's approach has a home in their organization.

 

Prior to his arrival this year in Nashville, Kremblas managed the Double-A Huntsville Stars for three seasons. He was Southern League Manager of the Year in 2003 and was recognized by his peers as the "best managerial prospect" in the Southern League in a 2004 Baseball America poll.

 

"It's always been the organization's take that when a manager is named best prospect in his league that it's a credit to him, the people that work around him, and that we have good players," said Reid Nichols, who oversees managers as the Brewers' special assistant to the general manager for player development.

 

"That's not taking anything away from Frank and what he's done. On the baseball field, there isn't anything that gets by him in a game. He's able to manage his staff and players well."

 

Last year the Brewers dropped three of their top prospects, including sons of two former major league All-Stars, in Kremblas's lap: Prince Fielder (son of Cecil Fielder), Tony Gwynn Jr. (son of Tony Gwynn) and Rickie Weeks.

 

Fielder is now with the Sounds. Weeks, the NCAA's all-time career batting leader (.473) in three years at Southern University, is now in Milwaukee.

 

Kremblas was praised for the way he handled the situation.

 

"He let us keep playing, knowing we're going to make mistakes and he let us try to fix them," Prince Fielder said. "He handles himself like a big-league manager already. He lets you go out there and play. He has that fire, he's still young and he's always into the game. You feed off him as a player. He would still play himself if he could."

 

Kremblas' playing days ended after 671 games in the minors spanning eight years. He posted a career .235 batting average as a utility player and topped out at the Triple-A level.

 

A native of Carroll, Ohio, Kremblas was twice an All-Ohio Valley Conference selection at Eastern Kentucky before being drafted by Cincinnati in 1989.

 

He grew up in a household of ballplayers. His younger brother, Mike, was a catcher and actually played under him two years ago in Huntsville. His father, Frank Sr., quarterbacked Ohio State to a Rose Bowl victory and a share of the 1957 national title.

 

"The most important thing I learned from (Frank Sr.) is that if you're going to do something, be the best at it," Kremblas said. "The second thing was to play hard, hustle and have fun."

 

Kremblas, a bachelor, fills what little spare time he has with books, sleep and online poker. When he's away from baseball, he enjoys golf and finds peace in fishing.

 

How many mad scientists do you know who can reel in a largemouth bass?

 

"I've been with him for five of my seven years with the Brewers," Knox said. "If you don't play for him, it's very difficult to get a read on him. One time he screamed at me and I was sure he was joking, but he was dead serious.

 

"He's brilliant in his subtle motivation of players, and he understands the mentality of what it's like to struggle and what it's like to do well. He understands the psyche of baseball players. And he understands opponents. Sometimes he'll make a decision based on the mental stability of a guy on the other team."

 

Although Kremblas never made it to the major leagues as a player, he hopes to as a manager. That was not his objective when he accepted his first coaching job in the Expos organization in 1996. He was just looking for work.

 

"They were offering a player/coach position, with an emphasis on coaching," Kremblas said. "I almost got activated once.

 

"It would be nice to manage (a World Series) ? with the Brewers, preferably. There have been enough good players coming through the system that they could someday be in the playoffs and contend for a World Series. I've told them I want to be a part of that."

 

Current statistics suggest that it's a long shot. Of the 30 men managing today in the big leagues, only the Florida Marlins' Jack McKeon did not make it to the majors as a player. There were two when the season began, but Cincinnati fired former Sounds Manager Dave Miley in June.

 

Nichols said that Kremblas' vision is a possibility, but more time must pass.

 

"It's too early to tell," Nichols said. "Everybody in the game is working toward a big-league job. I think Frank is certainly capable of doing that. It's just a matter of experience for him."

 

Jeff Lockridge is a staff writer for The Tennessean. Reach him at jlockridge@tennessean.com.