In late May, with injuries piling up for the Milwaukee Brewers, Doug Melvin and company claimed the 36 year-old shortstop off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks to add infield depth.

Yesterday, the Diamondback returned the favor, and brought him back to Arizona off said waiver wire to finish out the year.

It left Milwaukee one man shy of a full roster, but today that gap is closed as Eric Farris joins the team as a utility infielder.

(more…)

Farris, listed at 5-foot-9, makes up for his stature with a blend of speed, average, and fielding. He swiped 70 bases in high-A ball in 2009. Over his minor league career, he has accumulated 159 steals, compared to 20 home runs.

March 7, 2012; Glendale, AZ, USA; Chicago White Sox right fielder Brent Lillibridge (18) steals second base in front of Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Eric Farris (33) in the third inning at Camelback Ranch. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-US PRESSWIRE

Now in his third season with the AAA Nashville Sounds, Farris is on the cusp of the big leagues. He made his debut in the majors on July 28 of last season when he grounded out to second–the at-bat stands at his only appearance in a major league game so far.

Not only is he one of the top prospects in the organization, but one of the top tweeters, as well. His Twitter handle (@eRoc86) has gained over 2,000 followers. #EricsRandomThoughts are some of the best tweets from any Brewers player–I mean, how do hotel maids make the beds so perfectly?

Reviewing the Brew recently interviewed Eric as I try to reach the goal of interviewing at least one player from each level of the Brewers organization. This follows up interviews with Seth Harvey and Tyler Thornburg from A Wisconsin and AA Huntsville, respectively.

RtB: How is the environment in Nashville with each player knowing he’s just one call away from the big leagues? 

Eric Farris:  Everyone jus tries to keep themselves prepared and on their toes because like u said we’re all simply a phone call away and we have to be ready!

RtB: What are your short-term goals as a player?

Farris: Short term I want to keep all my skills sharp and have improve daily and I want to have a good season and compete at a high level.

RtB: Long-term?

Farris: Ultimately I want to be in the big leagues and stay there. There’s nothing more that I want than an illustrious big league career.

RtB: Minor League sites and publications have you listed as one of the top prospects in the Brewers organization. Do you pay any attention to these or are irrelevant to you?

Farris: I try not to worry or pay too much attention to the media or publications like that. All I can control is what I do on the field and thats what I work at. If I was to worry to much about those other things than it could hinder my play.

RtB: I’ve asked this to the two guys I’ve interviewed so far: What are the best and worst parts of being a minor leaguer?

Farris: I definitely enjoy the grind of being a minor leaguer and the continuous work it takes to get to the big leagues. When you’re in the minors you know what you’re striving for and you go for it everyday. The tough part is the travel…A minor league schedule is not easy and days off dont come too often. Not to mention commercial flights are rough when traveling with 30 people!

RtB: You spent some time with the Brewers last year after Rickie Weeks got injured. What was that like and what were the most noticeable differences between the life in the minors and majors?

Farris: In the big leagues there’s a certain seriousness and expectation from the fans, the organization, and your teammates. The intensity level is really high and the atmosphere is electric! I’d say it’s everything anyone could possibly imagine!

RtB: You stole 70 bases in 2009. Would you say that’s your strongest area? What part of your game would you say you focus the most on improving?

Farris: Base stealing is definitely one of my stronger areas as well as defense. I can’t say I focus on anything the most since there’s so many aspects of the game that I want improve upon and perfect.

RtB: Is there a player in particular whose game you model yours after? Or is it your own style?

Farris: My skill set may be similar to certain players but I don’t purposely model my game after anybody! I want to be in the big leagues and ultimately be One of a Kind!

RtB: You’re the man Eric! Keep doing work in Nashville and the Farris Wheel’s gonna be coming to Miller Park soon! Best of luck this season.

Farris: You bet!

This is where the Brewers come into play. Deftly put, they tweet, I read. I tweet, they don’t read. And, as of now, they tweet, I read, and I blog about reading their tweets.

“Tweeting with the Brew Crew” will be a regular segment on RtB, especially once the season begins and I finish the Season Outlook series. Each week or so, I’ll scour my list on Twitter containing solely Brewers players and post the ones I deem worthy in this segment. They might be funny, insightful, updates, inspiration, in Spanish (with loose translation done by yours truly), from prospects, current Brewers, coaches, or the always-comical parody accounts. I might even throw in some commentary. Who knows?

Let the Tweets commence.

• 

  Nyjer Morgan's "TwitCon".

  Nyjer Morgan (@TheRealTPlush): Sweet Sixteen Baby http://pic.twitter.com/j6AloDnM

• @TheRealTPlush: Tony Stumble love it!!! Did anybody get the sniper that tried to take Plush out?
• Carlos Gomez (@C_Gomez27): Lol Thank you for the support!! RT @Ericalovesbraun @C_Gomez27your by far the best looking brewer good luck this season!!! Can you RT?

So the girl’s Twitter handle is @Ericalovesbraun, but she’s hitting on Go-Go? Welcome to Milwaukee.

• @C_Gomez27: @_DennyBoo gracias el placer ees mioo tener fanaticos tan fieelees como usteedes gracias

Thanks, the pleasure is mine to have fans as faithful as you guys. Thanks.

• Nick Ramirez (@nickramirez3314): Well my followers unfortunately yest i broke my hamate bone in my right hand. Surgery on wednesday game ready again in 6-7 weeks small speed.
• Eric Farris (eroc86): If ur wearin Jordan 11s u automatically have the illest kicks in the building! #EricsRandomThoughts
• Kyle Heckathorn (@kyleheckathorn): Nap city, nap nap nap city
• Evan Anundsen (@ImOldGreeeeg31) : Elway goes from Gods qb to the greatest qb haha I think it’s time I buy my Bronco jersey lets go Peyton!

Now for some Tarheel posts.

• Rob Wooten (@robwooten35): A win is a win! #GoHeels #surviveADVANCE
• Chris Narveson (@sleep_trick): Great finish for the tar heels!! Gave me a heart attack but played with passion the last 5 min!! #heart #heels

Wooten also commented on the Wisconsin loss to Syracuse. It hurt too much to post here.

• Hunter Morris (@huntermorris15): Serious breakthrough on Finding Bigfoot, think they’re gonna find him this time. #squatchin #idiots
• NotRonRoenicke (@notronroenicke): Oh, Zack Greinke’s on your fantasy team, eh? That’s cool. He’s on my major league team.
• Seth Harvey (@mrsethharvey): My hamstrings so tight I can’t reach my soda #firstworldproblems
• John Axford (@JohnAxford): Just had my first shower in over a month…without a dozen other naked dudes around! #ILoveOffDays

……………………….

• @JohnAxford: I thought for sure that Peyton was coming to play for the Ti-Cats!#ThatsATeamInTheCFL

And now, Hunger Games, anyone?

• Danny Ray Keller (@dannyray17): One more day till the #hungergames movie comes out! #excited
• Jimmy Nelson (@jimmy_j_nelson): At Hunger Games with about half the pitching staff and Cody Hawn
• Ben McMahan (@BenMac15): Hunger Games..so pumped

Oh, yeah. Follow me on Twitter @CurtKnowsBest.

Feb 26, 2012; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Wily Peralta (60) during photo day at Maryvale Baseball Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-US PRESSWIRE

Don’t be scared.  When I say cut, I just mean re-assigned to the Brewers various minor-league teams.  Of the 9 total players, 5 of them are pitchers and 4 of them position players.  Most of these moves were expected, but there are two players in particular that I was surprised to see on this list.  Those two players will be my focus this Sunday afternoon.

First, let’s go over the position players.  None of these are surprising to me, so let’s get them out of the way.  Jeff Bianchi, Eric Farris, Zelous Wheeler, and Patrick Arlis were the four position players excused from big league camp.  Zelous Wheeler showed some flashes of talent, but he is just not ready for the big show.  Eric Farris will be joining him on the Triple-A Nashville squad for 2012.  Both Wheeler and Farris are good infielders who will benefit from a full season in Nashville.  Jeff Bianchi will fill in the infield at Double-A Huntsville.  While young catcher, Patrick Arlis has been returned to minor league camp for seasoning.  There is some talent in this group, so none of these guys should be disappointed.  There time will come. 

As for the pitchers, some of them were obvious, while a couple of them were a bit premature I think.  Mike Fiers, Amaury Rivas, and Santo Manzanillo were all optioned to Triple-A Nashvilee.  They all belong there for now.  They were all given opportunities and in my opinion, these three young men just need more game experience.  I expect big things from Fiers and Rivas in the coming years. 

Let’s start with Mark Rogers.  This organization has wasted far too much time on this guy.  After his little drug suspension episode from last season, I fully expected the team to cut ties and let him go.  They didn’t.  He was drafted in 2004 and we have seen him in 4 major league games.  At some point, you have to cut your loses.  How long can you expect to keep this guy in the organization?  I appreciate that he was the 5th pick overall, but if he is not competing to be on the big-league roster…what is he still doing here?  We have plenty of young arms to be in the Triple-A starting rotation.  At this point in his “growth”, I can not see the benefit of having him on the organization.  Either watch him throw through all of Spring and add him to the roster, or cut him and be done with it.  This guy is a waste of time and I am officially done with him.

Wily Peralta was not given enough opportunities.  This kid is going to be something special, but you needed to give him more exposure to major league batters.  Yes, in his limited experience he got throttled, but we need a clearer view of this guy.  My only real question on his removal from the roster is, what was the rush?  In his last ST appearance, Peralta threw two scoreless innings against the Padres.  I am just surprised that he was not given more of an opportunity to excel.  Wily is so young that he could probably use another full season at Triple-A, that is not what bothers me about this.  Peralta is one of our top prospects and I wanted to see more of him.  I know that is selfish, but I don’t care. 

Today’s fat trimming has basically cemented Nashville’s pitching rotation: Rogers, Peralta, Fiers, and Rivas.  All four of these guys will benefit from pitching in Triple-A, but I just wish we could have seen more this spring.  But, they are gone and in all likelihood not going to be with the Brewers in 2012. 

On an unrelated note, the Brewers will be the focus of MLB networks “30 in 30″ series on Monday at 7pm CST.  For me that will be 5pm, so I will have to speed home from work in order to catch it.  Set your DVR’s, VCR timers, computers, and so on.  Don’t miss it.

Go Brewers!!

Technically, I was supposed to preview Chris Narveson’s season outlook today; I instead got caught up in the (Spring) Opening Day hysteria. As expected, Ron Roenicke started his typical starters on offense with Randy Wolf on the mound. More and more players got involved as the game progressed, holding a 1-1 tie against San Francisco in the Spring opener. As a whole, the game was a positive, though the Brewers only scratched four hits, which isn’t a call of concern yet as the hitters have only had a week of practice.

Roenicke inserted prospects into the game in its latter stages, giving Brewers fans a glimpse of the future. In case you missed it, here’s what we learned from a paltry sample size of action.

Michael Fiers

Fiers emerged as one of the top prospects in the Brewers farm system in 2011, winning the Pitcher of the Year in the Brewers organization while spending time in AA Hunstville and AAA Nashville. At 6’3″, 200 lbs. and 26 years, Fiers is an older prospect and should see his time with Milwaukee coming soon. Last season he pitched two scoreless innings as a September call-up after going a dazzling 8-0 with a minuscule 1.11 era in 12 games. His fastball is nothing special at 88-92 mph, but has late movement not normally seen in the Minors. He uses every inch of his 6-3 frame in his delivery, somewhat reminiscent of John Axford’s motion, but with a longer step and less arm movement.

Personally, Fiers’s prospects as a Big Leaguer excite me as much as any other Brewers farmhand, which is why I listed him first. After blossoming in 2011, he might be seen in the bullpen in 2012 and should compete for a much-engrossed starting spot in 2013 with the likes of Jed Bradley and Taylor Jungmann. He inherited a tie ballgame in the ninth and pitched a scoreless frame. He retired the Giants’ Roger Kieschnick, Tommy Joseph, and Connor Gillaspie on two weak groundouts and an infield pop out, respectively. Overall Fiers has  shown enough  positives on the mound that I think he can contribute in the majors as a fifth starter or a bridge-inning reliever.

Eric Farris

Farris put himself in a position to possibly score the winning run after singling with one out in the bottom of the ninth. After a Nori

Brewers prospects warm up during a practice in Maryvale, Arizona. (Photo credit: Ross D. Franklin) - AP

Aoki fly out and with Taylor Green at the plate, Farris was caught leaning and Wilmin Rodriguez picked him off to end the game. The pick off isn’t any sort of an alarm; Farris stole 70 bases in 2009 while in high-A ball. The aggression is something good, especially on a team that will need to manufacture more runs with the loss of Prince Fielder. Farris is a long shot to make the Opening Day roster and will most likely begin in Nashville. There is, however, a glimmer of hope that he will beat out veteran Cesar Izturis and former Braves pinch-hitting great Brooks Conrad on basis of his speed and glove. A second baseman of small stature, Farris’s future hopes at starting for the Brewers shouldn’t be very high–he’s stuck behind Rickie Weeks. On Sunday, however, he showed promise with a solid stroke to the opposite field.

Caleb Gindl

The stocky outfielder (he’s 5’9″, 200 pounds) made an appearance in Sunday’s game, rolling out to second in his only at-bat. He may not look great in a baseball uniform, but he possesses above average pop and solid defense. Fellow RtB Steve Alstadt profiled Gindl and his future with the Brewers here. I recommend referencing the article. Anything I would write about the man affectionately called the “human bowling ball” by his teammates would be exactly what Steve already wrote.

Martin Maldonado

The 25-year-old catcher has been a journeyman throughout his Minor League career, making stops with two organizations and every possible level with the exception of the Majors. He made his name known with a strong showing in the Winter Leagues this past season, posting solid .271/.350/.415 numbers with four homers and 15 RBI. His prospects with the Brewers in 2012 are bleak with the re-signing of backup catcher George Kottaras this winter, but he is projected to hold that spot in the future. His role with the team will be limited as long as Milwaukee keeps Jonathan Lucroy–as it is expected to do–but his quick release and strong arm behind the plate along with improved offense give the Brewers a future backup catcher.

Brock Kjeldgaard

Pronounced “kill-guard”, the 6’5″, 235 pound pitcher-turned-outfielder has shown enough promise to be placed on the 40-man roster. He appeared as a pinch hitter on Sunday, striking out in his one plate appearance. Kjeldgaard doesn’t flash much leather on defense and strikes out a lot, as shown in the Spring opener. He doesn’t project to be an everyday starter in the future, but could manage a spot on the roster as a pinch hitter by 2013. His 18 homers in his first two and one-half months at Brevard County in 2011 showed promise at the plate, but his strikeout rate combined with below-average defense and no definite defensive spot will nag his chances.

The Brewers obviously didn’t want to lose Kjeldgaard’s bat, signing him and placing him on the 40-man roster to avoid losing him in the Rule 5 draft. Expect him to roam in AA and AAA in 2012 before actually competing for a job in the Big Leagues in 2013 or ’14, when he’ll be competing for a spot with guys like Khris Davis, Kentrail Davis, Gindl, and Hunter Morris.

Having Braun back can make all the difference in the world. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

Let’s face it, we all want the momentum from 2011 again. Ryan Braun’s back, we’ve got new faces in Aramis Ramirez and Alex Gonzalez alongside others and the pitching is still solid. So why exactly is 2012 critical? I know even though Prince is gone, we still have guys who want to play for Milwaukee and not for the money. I’m hoping that a selective few are a part of that and not just money-hungry athletes, I’m looking at you Zack Greinke. There’s a lot of concerns the Brewers face, such as the obvious how does life go on without Prince, will the pitching stay consistent and how can we fare against the Cardinals who won the World Series?  There’s a lot more than that, but focusing on the positives,  two good years in a row would be great for our ball club and here’s to hoping that doesn’t fade!

(more…)

Oct 5, 2011; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Carlos Gomez (right) celebrates with teammate George Kottaras after hitting a two run home run in the eighth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks during game four of the 2011 NLDS at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

In 2011, the Brewers went to great lengths to fill their bench with aging veterans to help the team.  From what I saw this off-season, the team ran out of money, so they could only afford one or two old guys.  From my personal standpoint, this is excellent news.  Veterans should be starters, not bench warmers.  You need to have the young guys getting some opportunities to play in the big leagues, thus your bench should be littered with promising young talent. 

Over the past few seasons, the Brewers have gotten away from that.  Thanks to K-Rod and some well deserved raises, the team did not have the funds to add three to four players worthless players to fill the bench.  Since that is the case, lets meet the some potential bench candidates for the 2012 Crew.

So, here are our options and who I think will be on the opening day roster.

(more…)

    It is with a heavy heart that I write this letter/blog post.  For the past 15 years you have been a staple in the game of baseball.  Your batting stance alone made you a household name during the late 1990′s.  Between your defensive abilities and your sparkling personality, it is hard to say what needs to be said.  Alas, here it goes; Mr. Counsell, please retire.

(more…)

(more…)