Brewers trade OF Alex Sanchez:

There is no denying that speedy outfielder Alex Sanchez was electric at times, and that he single-handedly won a few games for the Milwaukee Brewers. There was also no denying that his undisciplined style on the bases and poor play in the outfield cost the Brewers more than a few games, too.

Now, Sanchez is a project for Detroit manager Alan Trammell.

The Brewers dealt Sanchez for two Tigers minor leaguers on Tuesday morning. Milwaukee gets left-hander Chad Petty, 21, and outfielder Gary "Noochie" Varner, 22, plus some roster flexibility in anticipation of players coming off the disabled list.

Sanchez was hitting .282 with 15 runs scored and 14 RBIs in 43 games through May 12, when he earned a spot on manager Ned Yost's bench. Brewers coaches wanted Sanchez to work pitchers deeper into counts, bunt more and work harder on his outfield defense, but Sanchez failed to comply.

In the trade, the Brewers have acquired outfielder Gary Varner and left-handed hurler Chad Petty. Varner, 22, began the season with Double-A Erie of the Eastern League. With Erie, Varner hit .303 in 44 games with three home runs and 30 runs batted in. Last season, Varner was named to Baseball America's Low Single A all-star team as well as the Midwest League's post-season all-star squad. He led the Midwest League with 247 total bases, was second with 534 at-bats and 13 triples, tied for second with 163 hits, was fourth in the league with 37 stolen bases and finished seventh with a .305 batting average. In 2001, he led the Pioneer League with 102 hits, finished third with 156 total bases, tied for third with a .351 batting average and 291 at-bats and tied for fifth with 33 extra-base hits and five triples. Varner also earned Pioneer League Player of the Week honors, Aug. 13-19, 2001, when he bat .448 (13-29) with seven runs, two doubles, three home runs and 14 runs batted in. Varner will report to Double A Huntsville of the Southern League. He was originally selected in the 10th round of the 2000 June Free Agent Draft.

Petty, 21, began the season with Class A Lakeland of the Florida State League where he went 3-4 with a 4.40 ERA in 10 starts. He has allowed just 10 walks and struck out 36 in his 10 starts this season. Last season, Petty tied for the lead in the Midwest League with 15 wins and 28 games started, tied for second with two shutouts and tied for third with three complete games. He was tied for the lead among all minor league pitchers with five wins during July and was named the 10th-best prospect in the Tigers organization by Baseball America. In 2001, Petty was selected to the Gulf Coast League's mid- and post-season all-star squads and was named to Baseball America's rookie level all-star team. He was also named the Star of Stars by Howe Sportsdata for the Gulf Coast League and was selected as the league's top prospect by Baseball America at the conclusion of the season. Petty was originally selected by the Detroit Tigers in the second round of the 2000 June Free Agent Draft. He will report to Class A High Desert of the California League.

"Scott Podsednik's performance over the last several weeks gave us this opportunity to trade Alex Sanchez," said Melvin. "We were able to get two young players to add to our minor league system and we believe that Alex, with his talent, will get a better opportunity with Detroit and we wish him well."

With this move, the Brewers have 37 on the 40-man roster.

The question now remains, who will take over centerfield full time? I don't really think that Scott Podsednik or Brady Clark are up for full-time duties. I really think that they are best when they come in during clutch pinch-hitting situations. Scott and Brady have been listed as players who will not start but, they are definitely threats off of the bench. Neither are the real package with power, speed, or defense. This definitely opens the doors for more trading opportunities to aquire a legitimate starter. There has been no discussion but, Guillen out of Cincinatti is a choice that the Brewers could make. However, he has the history of not being happy anywhere he goes. Maybe, a full chance at starting would change his mind but, are the Brewers willing to take a chance on him? Time will only tell what the Brewers will do, remember the Brewers do have a temporary fix in the minors in the name of Izzy Alcantara.

Manager Ned Yost had a couple of things to say about the Sanchez trade..."Well, we got two young minor league prospects for Alex and our goal is to try to rebuild our farm system," said Yost. "And we got two quality kids to mix right in with the young guys we have there already. So it was a good deal for both teams. They needed a centerfielder and we needed to try to restock our farm system a little bit."

"Petty is a 21 year-old left-handed pitcher who won 15 games last year, threw 160 innings for them. I think he was a No. 2 draft pick was their 10th best prospect in the organization last year. So he's a quality young arm.

"And the outfielder (Varner) is a kid who can run a little bit, who has hit .300 wherever he's been. He was hitting .300 in Double-A and he'll mix right in with our Double-A prospects.

"Scott Podsednik had done so well," Yost said. "And it wasn't fair to Alex to sit on the bench because he does have tremendous talent and tremendous ability and it enabled us to take an area that we're strong in and help build up an area that we are a little weak in. So it was a good trade for both teams."

Brewers Sign Four 2002 Draft Picks

The Brewers have reached agreement with four players from the 2002 June Free Agent Draft, it was announced today by Director of Scouting, Jack Zduriencik. Heading the list is 2002 16th round pick Dana Eveland, a left-handed pitcher from Palmdale, California who played for the College of the Canyons this past season.

Milwaukee also signed right fielder Adam Mannon (18th round), right-handed pitcher Simon Beresford (32nd round) and right-handed pitcher Tim Dillard (34th round).

Mannon is from Chandler, Arizona where he played at Chandler-Gilbert Community College this season. Beresford, who is from Glen Waverly, Australia, played at Texarkana College in Texas in 2003. Dillard hails from Saltillo, Mississippi and pitched for Itawamba Community College in Mississippi this year.

All four players will report to the Brewers extended Spring Training program in Maryvale, Arizona.

2003 June Free Agent Draft

The Brewers have the 2nd overall pick in the June Free Agent Draft, right behind the Devil Rays who pick 1. There are two choices that the Brewers have at this point, but the choice will not be made by them. Whichever of the two that the Rays decide not to take, will be the one that the Brewers do take. Here are the two choices...

The Devil Rays are thought to be planning on taking Delmon Young who showed a very impressive power display at Miller Park last week in front of Brewers staff. From what I have heard, he reached the far points of the ballpark many times and showed a great bat. Don't let the stats fool you between Young and Weeks, Young is in High School and Weeks went to Southern U. Young only had 57 at-bats while Weeks had 195.

Rickie Weeks shows great speed and discipline in the middle of the diamond and could be a perfect fit in the future for the Brewers. Eric Young is pretty much at the end of his rope and the Brewers have lone prospect Bill Hall that could possibly cover for him however, Hall is most likely Claytons eventual replacement at Short. I think that the Brewers might be hoping that Weeks falls to them.

Questions From Brewers Fans:

If we trade Young, are we going to give ginter the full-time position? Don't get me wrong, I like Ginter's potential, but I don't think he is ready, the same goes for Billy Hall and Cruz. But on the other hand we are not going to win this season anyway so why not get something for Young while we still can?

The question is not if we trade Young, it is what are we going to do after Young? There is no way that E.Y. will be a Brewer in two years, he probably will be sipping back a Bacardi on a beach in Florida by that time. Nearly all of the Brewers top prospects are corner infielders or corner outfielders, there isn't much up the middle in the Brewers farm system. Enrique Cruz is only in the Majors because he was a Rule 5 pick, we can't send him down or we lose him. That is the thing that I despise about the Rule 5, it not only penalizes the organization that takes him but, it penalizes the player by taking an entire year of learning from him. There is no way that a player can learn on the bench. After this season, Enrique will probably be sent down to AA at the maximum. Don't look for him to be ready for at least 3-4 years, if not more because of the learning experience that he has missed.

Bill Hall is probably one of the best fielding shortstops on the farm for any team. This guy makes the impossible look possible, and he also has some pop for his position. Come next year, he could be a viable fit for the Crew.

Keith Ginter has never had any experience in the middle of the diamond, and I hear no word that the Brewers want to try him as such. Depending on the play of Wes Helms, I think Ginter could definitely be shipped, possibly in a package to pick up a middle infielder. The best bet for the Crew, is to fill Youngs position via trade, although I really doubt that Young himself would be involved in that trade.

Who else is sick of this b.s., Rusch and Vizcaino, two biggest disappointments of the season. I say ship them both to detroit, get a 15th round pick for the both of them. Rusch blows a 5 run lead. What else could you ask for in run support, yeah the bats went cold after the first, but then Ginter bailed him out at the end. Can we ever get a quality start out of him? I'd rather have Quevedo start than him. It's almost an automatic loss. And Vizcaino, what the heck, Yost has to stop putting him in important situations. Dejean shoulda pitched the 9th, cuz you know he won't be used against the dodgers, cuz he won't have a save situation. Ford and Estrella were both available. why?

Glendon is already 1-8 on the season with a 7.24 ERA. He is simply allowing too many base hits. His walks (21) against strikeouts (46) is great, there is no simple answer as to what is going on with him. However, he is not the worst man in the Brewers rotation right now.

Ruben Quevedo is starting right now in place of Todd Ritchie. He isn't much better then he was last year, a 5.30 ERA and 2 more walks then strikeouts.

Coming into the season, Luis Vizcaino was labeled one of the best set-up men in baseball due to his fantastic year last season. With Ray King and Jose Cabrera gone, that meant that the Brewers were going to need him to step up more. He has a 9.64 ERA in 23 games and has allowed two walkoff homeruns thus far. Former Brewer and current Cubs Catcher Paul Bako said that he sees what Rusch and Vizcaino are doing wrong but he can't tell them because the Cubs play the Brewers too much. As far as Luis goes, his slider isn't working and he doesn't have the confidence that he should with his fastball.

I don't think you want to bring Matt Ford (Rule 5 Draft along with E. Cruz) in any important situation. You have to realize that the guy is, and will not be ready for a while. Ford should be brought in with a huge lead or a huge deficit. Estrella was a viable option, but we just have to hope that Vizcaino turns things around. With Jayson Durocher coming off of the DL, the Brewers will have another option to turn to.

Trade Jenkins now! Yes,my wife loves the guy. I think he's a good ballplayer. I enjoyed listening to the game at work when he took the padres deep...3 times. The dude plays with reckless abandonment, which I like. But he will be on the DL soon. Stock is up....sell,sell,sell!!! You can all beat me up, I dont care, if he brings a fair deal. I can easily watch Brady, Vandy, or Guillen from cincy. Thoughts?

Ugh....Geoff's stock is not up. It is down from his .300, 30 HR year. He is showing that he is starting to come around, however, he will have to be healthy at least one entire season before his stock is acceptable enough to get anything for. You don't want to trade him for nobodies and then have him come out with a force and become the All-Star that he could be.

Not only does he look like Brett Favre, but he plays like Brett Favre. The man does not care about his body, he just wants to win. There is nothing wrong with that however, he has been stricken with terrible luck. What team in the league will want a player who will make $8 Million next season, and has a better chance of ending up on the DL then Roseanne has a chance of growling at someone who tries to take the last bon bon that she delightfully stuffs in her bra? The Brewers have put all of their chips on the table with Jenkins and Hammonds by signing them to long term highly paid deals.

Geoff is one of the best defensive Outfielders in the game, with one of the strongest, most accurate arms. A healthy Jenkins and Sexson means that the Brewers have a pretty good three and four in the lineup. Look for Jenkins to remain a Brewer.

Correspondents Note:

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