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06-16-2005, 11:39 PM
<b>Weeks, Fielder, and Hardy all start during Interleague Play</b>
TORONTO -- The stars aligned over the Brewers this week, offering an unexpected glimpse of what looks like a brighter future.
The chain of events began last Friday, when Junior Spivey was traded to Washington and the team called up top prospect Rickie Weeks. Weeks is a second baseman, and the Brewers would rather him play then sit on the bench, so utility man Bill Hall moved to third base, where the Brewers were short because of injuries to Russell Branyan and Jeff Cirillo.
A few days later, when the schedule took them to Tampa Bay and Toronto, the Brewers decided to call up No. 2 prospect Prince Fielder to serve as the designated hitter.
All of a sudden, the 21-year-old Fielder is in a starting lineup alongside 22-year-old Weeks, 22-year-old shortstop J.J. Hardy and the 25-year-old Hall. And all of a sudden, the Brewers future is not looking so distant.
"We've got the makings of something that could be out there for a while," Brewers manager Ned Yost said.
Most of the interest this week focused on the infield, where Hall, Hardy and Weeks have played this week with 28-year-old first baseman Lyle Overbay. Fielder, who is expected to return to Triple-A Nashville on Monday for more seasoning, is also a first baseman, and at some point the Brewers will have to move him or Overbay, either to the outfield or to another team.
That decision can wait. For now, the kids are enjoying the ride.
"Let's get it started," said Hardy, who was the first Brewers rookie to debut on Opening Day since Paul Molitor in 1978. "If this is the future, then why not get it started and start working with it and learning? Everything we've been talking about is coming together."
There are more kids on the way. Fielder, outfielders Dave Krynzel and Corey Hart and pitcher Ben Hendrickson have all tasted the Majors already in brief stints.
Hard-thrower Jose Capellan, who moved to the bullpen this week and could be a future closer, has tremendous promise. Those players could fit nicely around a young nucleus already in Milwaukee, anchored by 26-year-old ace Ben Sheets.
Hardy and Weeks have been learning to co-exist, building on the relationship they built playing alongside each other in Spring Training. Hardy has the second-best fielding percentage of any big-league shortstop, but while Weeks has made progress, he proved on Wednesday that there is still work to be done. His two errors both led to crucial, unearned runs in an eventual 5-3 loss to the Devil Rays.
"I'm not taking anything for granted," Weeks said. "I just want to go out and do things one thing at a time. You don't want to look too far down the road because someone might get hurt or something like that. It's an opportunity, for sure."
Weeks has been getting advice from Hall, who first arrived in Milwaukee as a 21-year-old way out of his element in 2002. Like Weeks, Hall was a defensive liability and bounced between the Minors and Majors again in 2003, played mostly off the bench in 2004, but has emerged as a full-time player this season who demands a spot in the starting lineup.
Yost has started Hall at shortstop, his natural position, and at second base, his second-favorite. But circumstances now dictate that Hall move to third, where Yost says he will start about four times a week.
"That's fine with me," Hall said. "If I'm playing third every day, at least I have a position. They can say, 'third baseman Bill Hall' instead of, 'middle infielder Bill Hall.'"
Hall said third base is feeling more and more like home. Maybe Hall is the third baseman the Brewers have been looking for. It's a weak spot in the organization, and the team last week used its top pick in the First-Year Player Draft to select University of Miami third baseman Ryan Braun, who is at best a few years away from the Majors.
"It's starting to happen a little bit," Hall said. "When I first started over there I was thinking so much about being out of position, thinking about all the different situations. Now it's feeling more comfortable."
While the Brewers appear to be settling throughout the majority of the infield, first base remains a major question mark. Overbay has been the team's best hitter since he arrived in the Richie Sexson trade, and last season he broke Robin Yount's franchise doubles record while batting .301. But Fielder is the kind of prospect that comes along once in a great while.
"We have discussions about it all the time because, at some point, it's going to be a decision," infield coach Rich Dauer said. "Overbay is a tremendously good defensive first baseman. And throughout baseball, that is a very, very important position. Our defense is set by the first baseman, and how far he can range off."
Fielder said he sometimes takes fly balls in the outfield, and, just for fun, he asked then-Double-A manager Frank Kremblas for a start in left field on the final day of the 2004 season.
"I caught everything that came to me and I hit the cutoff man, so that's not bad," said Fielder, who would be open-minded about such a move. "I'm open to anything."
That decision will come later. Dauer is just as jacked about the influx of youth as the players themselves.
"It's exciting, because we strive as coaches to make these guys the best they can be," Dauer said. "We live for these guys."
TORONTO -- The stars aligned over the Brewers this week, offering an unexpected glimpse of what looks like a brighter future.
The chain of events began last Friday, when Junior Spivey was traded to Washington and the team called up top prospect Rickie Weeks. Weeks is a second baseman, and the Brewers would rather him play then sit on the bench, so utility man Bill Hall moved to third base, where the Brewers were short because of injuries to Russell Branyan and Jeff Cirillo.
A few days later, when the schedule took them to Tampa Bay and Toronto, the Brewers decided to call up No. 2 prospect Prince Fielder to serve as the designated hitter.
All of a sudden, the 21-year-old Fielder is in a starting lineup alongside 22-year-old Weeks, 22-year-old shortstop J.J. Hardy and the 25-year-old Hall. And all of a sudden, the Brewers future is not looking so distant.
"We've got the makings of something that could be out there for a while," Brewers manager Ned Yost said.
Most of the interest this week focused on the infield, where Hall, Hardy and Weeks have played this week with 28-year-old first baseman Lyle Overbay. Fielder, who is expected to return to Triple-A Nashville on Monday for more seasoning, is also a first baseman, and at some point the Brewers will have to move him or Overbay, either to the outfield or to another team.
That decision can wait. For now, the kids are enjoying the ride.
"Let's get it started," said Hardy, who was the first Brewers rookie to debut on Opening Day since Paul Molitor in 1978. "If this is the future, then why not get it started and start working with it and learning? Everything we've been talking about is coming together."
There are more kids on the way. Fielder, outfielders Dave Krynzel and Corey Hart and pitcher Ben Hendrickson have all tasted the Majors already in brief stints.
Hard-thrower Jose Capellan, who moved to the bullpen this week and could be a future closer, has tremendous promise. Those players could fit nicely around a young nucleus already in Milwaukee, anchored by 26-year-old ace Ben Sheets.
Hardy and Weeks have been learning to co-exist, building on the relationship they built playing alongside each other in Spring Training. Hardy has the second-best fielding percentage of any big-league shortstop, but while Weeks has made progress, he proved on Wednesday that there is still work to be done. His two errors both led to crucial, unearned runs in an eventual 5-3 loss to the Devil Rays.
"I'm not taking anything for granted," Weeks said. "I just want to go out and do things one thing at a time. You don't want to look too far down the road because someone might get hurt or something like that. It's an opportunity, for sure."
Weeks has been getting advice from Hall, who first arrived in Milwaukee as a 21-year-old way out of his element in 2002. Like Weeks, Hall was a defensive liability and bounced between the Minors and Majors again in 2003, played mostly off the bench in 2004, but has emerged as a full-time player this season who demands a spot in the starting lineup.
Yost has started Hall at shortstop, his natural position, and at second base, his second-favorite. But circumstances now dictate that Hall move to third, where Yost says he will start about four times a week.
"That's fine with me," Hall said. "If I'm playing third every day, at least I have a position. They can say, 'third baseman Bill Hall' instead of, 'middle infielder Bill Hall.'"
Hall said third base is feeling more and more like home. Maybe Hall is the third baseman the Brewers have been looking for. It's a weak spot in the organization, and the team last week used its top pick in the First-Year Player Draft to select University of Miami third baseman Ryan Braun, who is at best a few years away from the Majors.
"It's starting to happen a little bit," Hall said. "When I first started over there I was thinking so much about being out of position, thinking about all the different situations. Now it's feeling more comfortable."
While the Brewers appear to be settling throughout the majority of the infield, first base remains a major question mark. Overbay has been the team's best hitter since he arrived in the Richie Sexson trade, and last season he broke Robin Yount's franchise doubles record while batting .301. But Fielder is the kind of prospect that comes along once in a great while.
"We have discussions about it all the time because, at some point, it's going to be a decision," infield coach Rich Dauer said. "Overbay is a tremendously good defensive first baseman. And throughout baseball, that is a very, very important position. Our defense is set by the first baseman, and how far he can range off."
Fielder said he sometimes takes fly balls in the outfield, and, just for fun, he asked then-Double-A manager Frank Kremblas for a start in left field on the final day of the 2004 season.
"I caught everything that came to me and I hit the cutoff man, so that's not bad," said Fielder, who would be open-minded about such a move. "I'm open to anything."
That decision will come later. Dauer is just as jacked about the influx of youth as the players themselves.
"It's exciting, because we strive as coaches to make these guys the best they can be," Dauer said. "We live for these guys."