Mike Rivera

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<a href=http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/showthread.php?p=392995#post392995 target=_blank>Brewers have catching up to do</a>

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<a href=http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/showthread.php?p=427948#post427948 target=_blank>Brewers sign six to Minor League contracts release Glover</a>

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Transaction: Mike Rivera

Player: Mike Rivera
Date: 07/06/2006
Action: Contract Purchased
From Team: Nashville Sounds
To Team: Milwaukee Brewers

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<a href=http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/showthread.php?p=471497#post471497 target=_blank>Brewers shuffle roster</a>

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<a href=http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/showthread.php?p=472653#post472653 target=_blank>Miller sits</a>

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<b><font size=4>Gambling with his future</font>
Rivera cast lot with Atlantic City team</b>

San Francisco - When catcher Mike Rivera was released at the end of the Detroit Tigers' spring camp in 2005, he knew he had to do something to stay on the baseball radar screen.

With no other major-league club offering a job of any kind, Rivera signed up for duty with the Atlantic City Surf of the independent Atlantic League. Many players in the independent leagues are has-beens or never-weres, but others, such as Rivera, simply seek to stay active until another opportunity arises.

"I decided to go there to stay in shape and wait for my chance," said the Puerto Rican native who now lives in Florida. "I knew it was a matter of time that somebody picked me up."

That time came May 21, 2005, when the Milwaukee Brewers called, offering Rivera a job at Class AAA Nashville. The Brewers had sold veteran Pat Borders to the Seattle Mariners and needed another catcher to split time with journeyman Julio Mosquera.

"I got lucky," Rivera said. "I went to a good team."

Rivera made the Sounds even better, batting .285 in 60 games with 16 home runs and 43 runs batted in. Nashville went on to win the Pacific Coast League title, making the experience an uplifting one for a catcher who had no job when the season started.

"I had a good season, hit some home runs," Rivera said. "We had a good pitching staff, and I clicked pretty good with everybody."

Though the Brewers were set with returning catchers Damian Miller and Chad Moeller, they invited Rivera to their spring training camp this year. He made a positive impression on manager Ned Yost and his staff, batting .261 with three homers and 11 RBI in 11 exhibition games.

"I like guys that get on the field and produce," Yost said. "He works hard and plays hard. He almost made our team in spring training. We thought about it."

Instead, the Brewers decided to stay with Moeller, who had a $700,000 contract, as the backup. But Moeller's inability to contribute offensively finally proved his undoing. Batting only .184 with two homers and five RBI in 29 games, Moeller was sent to Nashville, and Rivera was summoned from that club on July 6.

The Sounds had just won a game in Memphis when Rivera was called to manager Frank Kremblas' office and told that he was returning to the big leagues for the first time since a brief stint with San Diego in 2003.

"At first, I said, 'Stop lying,' " recalled Rivera with a laugh. "But they don't joke about that. I was pretty happy."

Rivera earned his shot with a strong first half at Nashville, batting .297 with 10 home runs and 46 RBI. He was tabbed to be the starting catcher for the PCL in the Triple-A All-Star Game in Toledo, Ohio, but was called up by the Brewers before he got a chance to play.

"I was sitting home at the (major-league all-star) break, and my wife said, 'Do you miss (being at the Triple-A All-Star Game)?' " Rivera said. "I said, 'Nope.' "

Rivera, 29, has held his own thus far with the Brewers, batting .235 with two homers and four RBI in 17 at-bats. He started two of three games against the San Francisco Giants this week in place of the slumping Miller, who is in a 0-for-15 skid.

Rivera does not have a strong throwing arm, but Yost said he has been impressed otherwise with his work behind the plate.

"He does a great job of blocking balls in the dirt," Yost said. "He has done a nice job."

Rivera played in 43 games with Detroit in 2001-'02, batting .236 with one homer and 12 RBI. In 19 games with the Padres three years ago, he batted .170 with one homer and two RBI.

Rivera always believed he would get another chance and said he feels more prepared to contribute at the big-league level at this stage of his career.

"I never doubted that," he said. "I know the talent I have and the things I had to do to get back. I had to work harder on things.

"It feels different in a good way. I feel more confident than before. I feel more prepared to be here. That's a good feeling to have. This is the chance I looked for."

And the reason Rivera went to Atlantic City last year. It was an appropriate venue for a calculated gamble that has paid off handsomely.

[645]

Rivera, Rottino, pitchers sign one-year contracts (http://www.addictsports.com/baseball/showthread.php?p=510097#post510097)

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Player: Mike Rivera
Date: 03/27/2007
Action: Outrighted
From Team: Milwaukee Brewers
To Team: Nashville Sounds

[645]

Player: Mike Rivera
Date: 09/04/2007
Action: Contract Purchased
From Team: Nashville Sounds
To Team: Milwaukee Brewers