Brewerfan.net would like to thank Jack Zduriencik, Tom Flanagan & the entire amateur scouting department for giving us the chance to sit down & get a better idea of some of the finer points of amateur scouting. Their primary responsibility is scouting high school, college & junior college players leading up to the June draft, the biggest day of the scouting year. For a struggling, low budget team almost devoid of major league talent, draft day is arguably the biggest day of the year.

Brewerfan.net (BF): You have a pretty extensive history of scouting: You currently are the director of scouting for the Brewers, a position you also held with the Pirates in the early 90s, you were the director of international scouting with the Dodgers serving as a special assistant to the GM, and you have served several different roles with the scouting & player development departments with the Mets. Given all of your experience, who is the best player you have ever scouted at the amateur level? Who's the best player you've been responsible for signing?

Jack Zduriencik (JZ): Well Arod (Alex Rodriguez) would be the best player. Thinking back on it, he's the best player I ever saw. Of course, he was the number one pick in the country, and it was almost a no-brainer that he would be the number one pick. The most dominating player that I ever saw though to compete at any level, and I'm not saying that he was the best player as a big league player, but for what he did for his team was Pete Incaviglia of Oklahoma State. When you consider back, I think it was Ô85, when he had 145 RBIs in like 65 games, I may be wrong about the numbers, he hit 48 home runs, he was phenomenal. Great year, and teams were walking him 3 or 4 times again, pitching around him. Again, that didn't necessarily transfer to being the best big league player, but Arod was the best talent that I ever saw.

In terms of my career of course I've signed some guys that remain to be seen. When I was the director of scouting I took Jason Kendall in Pittsburgh. I was the national crosschecker with the Mets when we took Paul Wilson number one in the country. It looked like he would be a star, it didn't happen. We took Jay Payton, we took Terrence Long, all of them in the first roundÐwe had 3 first round picks that year. As an area scout I signed a kid named Keith Miller, I signed Butch Huskey, Anthony Young and several other guys that played in the big leagues for a little while. I signed a kid with the Dodgers, Chen Chin-Feng*, who was the first Taiwanese player to play in the big leagues.

*Writer's note: Taiwanese players, like those in Japan, China, etc., spell their name with their last name first, for those of you familiar with Dodgers' prospect Chin-Feng Chen. This is a reason you see guys like Ichiro Suzuki placing "Ichiro" on the back of his jersey along with "Yao" that we see with Yao Ming in Houston. Another example that Jack Zduriencik gave me is that Chan Ho Park (now with the Texas Rangers) in Korea is known as Park Chan Ho.

BF: What are you currently working on at this time of year (early to mid-January)?

JZ: We're doing a lot of preparation for the season, we're certainly talking every day to the scouts. There has been some activity that has gone on recently with events that our scouts have attended: Our scouts are in house visiting families, talking to perspective draftees for the following year, doing a lot of homework, getting to know the kids & families, interviews, psychological testing, eye testing, things like that, getting caught up with their medicals, etc. There are clinics that our guys are working at including the one we just attended in Nashville and the coaching convention in San DiegoÐwe have a few guys out there representing the Brewers, so they get a chance to mingle with the college coaches and a lot of pro people are there in terms of speakers. So, we do everything you can. In the offices here, obviously we had a series of meetings this week. Doug (Melvin) brought up the coaching staff as well as the AAA people, some of the other minor league coaches, coordinators (etc.). We're always trying to sign players, we just finished up the Rule V draft, the Winter Meetings, trade talk and all that stuff. From our (scouting department) standpoint we're trying to get our ducks in a row to make sure we're ready for the spring season which is right around the corner. We want to be really organized in who we want to see. We have meetings set up in San Diego with our of our scouts in the middle of this month. So we'll bring them all together, we'll be there for about 2 days and we'll set the tone, talk about the players & set out agenda. A lot more goes on than what people think.

BF: Now with the official scouting season about the start with the beginning of the college & high school seasons, how much of your time will actually be spent here at Miller Park?

JZ: Not much. I'm on the road at least 25 days a month. So starting in the middle of January up until about a week before the draft, around the 25th of May, I'm here about 5 days a month. Our season is intense. You keep moving on as we're trying to see 3, 4, 5 games a day if we can. You may see a high school kid playing that you say "hey, let's run over & try to catch this kid, he's in relief an hour away," you get there in the 7th inning & maybe you're lucky to see him pitch the 8th & 9th, and then you run down to see another ballgame. So, you're scrambling to see as many game & players as you possibly can.

BF: Your primary responsibility is overseeing the scouting at the amateur level. However, a couple of weeks ago I noticed some published comments of yours on Enrique Cruz, whom the Brewers took with the first pick in the Rule V draft. In the offseason, does some of your focus turn to adding your expertise on decisions at the pro level, whether it be with the Rule V draft, in trade discussions, minor league free agents, potential waiver wire acquisitions, etc.?

JZ: We all have input on that. My primary responsibility is the draft. Dick Groch is in charge of professional scouting here. Naturally, Dick & I are going to communicate, we've been here this week, we went to dinner last night, we've been in meetings all week, we've gotten together about the draftÐwe're going to help each other out any way we can. Ultimately when you're taking a guy in the Rule V draft at the Major League level that's the General Manager's final sign off. Dick runs the pro department so he sent me a great deal of input on that, and if it's with a recommendation and anywhere I can assist with I most certainly will.

BF: How much does the scouting department get involved with decisions made on the player development level after scouted, drafted & signed players are installed into the organization? Do you ever see players possibly being cast in a role not suited to their strengths from what you and your scouts saw at the amateur level?

JZ: Oh yeah. (New Director of Player Development) Reid Nichols is just coming on board. I go out & see the minor league teams in the summertime, and I have to trust the other departmentsÐjust as I have to trust Reid just as he has to trust me. We're hand in hand, we're a team. By him running the minor league department, he's very well qualified for that, his experience is outstanding on the field including his career as a player. What ends up happening here is they are the expertise so to speak once the guy signs & we get him out there. Quite frankly, before we sign a player, we do the very best we can to see the player as many times as we can & get to know him the very best we can. But we're not in the dugout with that kid. We're not with them at meals every night. Once a player signs and he goes into professional baseball, these guys (player development department) are with them on a daily basis. We may see a guy for 30 to 35 days in a row in spring training. They'll see that guy every single day as will the entire staff. When they go out & play they're getting the input from a coach that has that guy every single day. They look at this from the inside out, because they have that player. If you're scouting, we're looking at it from the outside in, because there are college coaches & high school coaches that run that kid's life, if you will, run his career. So we're the outside force coming in trying to observe & do the best we can in gathering as much information to make valuable decisions. Once that guy comes to us, our development people are the inside out people. Now, we will give input here and there, and often times they'll ask questions about a player, because guys may go through bumps in their careers, and we may know a player a certain way and make a recommendation to them. Obviously we follow our kids not just through signing but out there playing, many of them far exceed the expectations and other ones underachieve. So, if a player is being handled differently, it's a professional thing, it's how you handle it. You see a guy struggling & you tell them this is what we saw, they may come back & say "hey, we tried that for 2, 3 weeks." We're all in the business to make the right decision. We all have input, we're all building for the same thing. There's no animosity between departments, that would be ridiculous. We need to work hand in hand because this is a team effort. They have the goal of getting a guy to the big leagues, we have the goal of supplying them with players to get to the big leagues. So there's differences of opinion that are handled professionally.

BF: So does the player development department ever come to you & ask for help at third base, catcher, the outfield, or wherever else there may be specific needs?

JZ: Of course, sure. Before we draft we all sit down and I'll look over the organization of what our strengths & weaknesses are. Obviously with Corey Hart, Prince Fielder, Brad Nelson, even Brandon Gemoll and maybe Daryl Clark, these guys fill 1B a lot better than other positions. We'll sit down and they'll say "look Jack, we have a big need for catchers here," or "we have a need at third base." If that position is available for when we're picking, then we'll do the best we can to take that type of player. But, you still have to put in the big picture & realize that these guys are 3, 4, 5 years away from playing in the big leagues. That being said, you have to draft, in my mind, the best player available. It's not like the NFL where I'm going to draft a cornerback & he's going to play cornerback next year. A lot happens in 3, 4, 5 years. And you may be looking to fill a certain position one year in which there isn't much to choose from, but the next year it will be a strong group. I've always said this: The draft talks to you, and if you listen as the year begins to unfold the draft will begin tell you what's out there. "This is the year of the right-handed pitcher," "this is the year of the left-handed pitcher," "this is the year of the shortstop." You look in the big leagues 7 years ago there weren't any shortstops, and now you have Vizquel, Arod, Jeter, Garciaparra, Tejada, and they're all carriers.

BF: So what would you say is the strength of this year's draft?

JZ: It's too early to tell. So much happens to kids from one year to the next. We know what we're looking at going in, but often times half way through spring, all of the sudden, BOOM, 3 or 4 catchers will pop backwards & 2 or 3 high school kids will all of the sudden develop & you'll go "hoo-ho, we gotta come over & see this guy again." And all of the sudden what you thought you were going into may change over the year.

BF: I don't know if you remember this or not, but last year about this time I called into a "Talkin' Brewers" segment hosted by Jim Powell and asked you a question about projecting the 2002 draft. You noted that you & your staff were projecting the potential picks you might have with your pick at #7 overall, and mentioned that there were 5 guys that you were specifically targeting. Were your projections at that time fairly accurate to what happened 6 months later in June?

JZ: Yeah, oh yeah. I think they were. Even a kid like (#1 overall selection, Bryan) Bullington, we liked Bullington a lot going into the year. I don't think many people would have told you that Bullington, the kid out of Ball State, was going to be the first pick in the country. I think he evolved into the first pick in the country. 2 years before that, as an example, the Florida Marlins took Adrian Gonzalez, and nobody would have told you going into that year that Adrian Gonzalez was going to be the first in the country. He's gone on, he's done a real nice job for them, it's just the way it happens sometimes. There are guys that disappoint you. Last year there were a bunch of college pitchers that went down, physically. Their draft status would have been much better had they stayed physically healthy, as a result they're going back to school this year.

BF: Like Bobby Brownlie of Rutgers?

JZ: I can't comment on any names, but yes, it did happen to several guys who are going to be back at school pitching this year.

BF: Just to give us an idea of draft value in regards to where they're taken, last year you took Prince Fielder 7th overall, the year before you took Mike Jones 12th & David Krynzel 11th in 2000. Did some of those guys fall further than you expected, was there anybody else you were hoping would fall that didn't, or were they expected to be the picks all along?

JZ: You know, we liked David Krynzel a lot, because that was our first year here & if you go back & look at this organization in the year 2000, we didn't feel like we had any really good athletes. David Krynzel is an excellent athlete. Not only a good baseball player, but the guy can fly & do other things with great athletic ability. When we were looking at trying to stock this system we were going to do it with pitching or we're going to do it with an athlete type of player instead of a certain type of hitter. We needed athletes, we didn't have any. So with David, we targeted him, and we really liked him, he was on our list, he was one of the guys we were talking about, but there were other guys too in the mix. We had a lot of needs. We could have taken a catcher, we could have taken a pitcher, a shortstop & we would have technically filled a void that the organization had. When it got down to David the final thought on him was that it's very difficult to find a leadoff hitter in the major leagues. He can hit, he can run, he can throw, and eventually he probably will have some power. We targeted him as a consideration, and as the year went on and we saw him a lot he was the guy we had to take.

And Jonesy, we felt we were fortunate that Jones was there. Going into the year he was our number one high school pitcher in the country. Did we think he would slide in the draft? We didn't think he would. He hurt his ankle, he missed some time, he had a little tendonitis, and a lot of clubs were anxious to take that college pitcher & Jonesy slid a little bit and we were elated when he was there.

This year, you know Prince, again, we'd seen a lot of Prince. We kind of thought that he might be there, but, we had a lot of needs as well. You know, "should we take a high school pitcher, should we take this guy or that guy?" As I said, some pitchers that we targeted weren't healthy come draft time and it came to, this guy, in our estimation, I said it then & I'll say it again, is the best hitter in the countryÐin our estimation. But he also had tremendous power, a pretty good combination. So, when it was all said & done, he was our pick.

BF: I had the chance to see him Beloit, and his hitting ability was pretty impressive.

JZ: He wasn't as happy in Beloit, he was a little tight with a groin pull that slowed him down. You know, he tried to play it cool, tried to disguise it, and as things went on it really kind of cost him. If you look at what he did in Ogden, shoot, he could have won the triple crown if he would have stayed there the whole year.

BF: Last year you landed a gem in the draft & follow process with Manny Parra. While it's impossible to hope for a similar progression this year much less any year, is this a process that you plan to continue to aggressively pursue in hopes of landing more talented ballplayers for the organization?

JZ: Yeah, absolutely. I think we have 12 draft & follows this year. Some of them are tough to tell right now because a lot happens between November & June. We have some guys under control that we're anxious to see this spring, and it would be difficult to say any of them will be a Manny Parra, because I've been in this business for 20, 30 some years, and that's the first opportunity that I've personally had to sign a guy like Manny Parra. You know he went from 85 to 95 miles an hour in a year, is left-handed, 19 years old and throws 5 pitches. You just don't find those types of players very often. Our Area scout Justin McCray & did a great job identifying this guy. Did we know he was going to throw 95? No, of course not. If we did we would have signed him the day we picked him. He was the best (draft & follow) candidate out there, and there were some good ones. There were like 4 guys that signed for good money, and he was rated the best: Left-handed, 19 years old, six-three, great stuff. Will anybody be a Manny Parra this year? I probably would say no. Do we hope some of them do? Sure it would be great, but we just can't bank on that. Hopefully we get a guy that develops, that becomes a nice prospect for us. And we think we have a few of those guys to look at. We do. But a guy like Manny Parra doesn't come around very often.

BF: So many players are scouted so thoroughly that you rarely find any true sleepers leading up to & on draft day. While all teams I'm sure have their list of players that they really like, probably more so than any other organization, who are a few examples from the past 3 drafts that you would identify as draft "sleepers" for the Milwaukee Brewers? Is Josh Murray a strong candidate as a "sleeper" since most places didn't identify him as a 2nd round talent as you had?

JZ: Sure. Josh Murray is an interesting guy that we (Reid Nichols) just talked about. He's 17 years old, he played very well in the Florida All-Star game, he's a good sized kid, very mature. But, he was 17 years of age and he went to Ogden, you know that's the second level. That was a tough step for the kid. He held his own, you look at his numbers & they weren't that bad, he hit .255. But he probably would have been a lot better off sending him to rookie league, where he would have been in a different environment that would have allowed him to be more relaxed. He puts a lot of pressure on himself as he really has a strong desire to succeed.

You look at Corey Hart, we took Hart in the 11th round. Matt Yeatman was a 13th round pick that we just traded to Minnesota. Obviously we felt he was going to be a very good pitcher for us, but in return we got two big leaguers back in Valentin & Kinney. So there was certainly value in that pick. Mike Adams is a kid that I think is going to be a real nice looking surprise for us. He signed a year ago and competed in AA this year. At the end of year he played in the (Arizona) Fall League & pitched great. He only played one year of college baseballÐhe was a basketball player at Texas A&M-Kingsville. He's got a slider & a fastball, and I wouldn't be surprised if he's on the fast track.

Steven Moss probably was the guy we were really excited about signing last year. He went out & played well, and he's looking like a pure center-fielder. In the spring he was considered somewhat unsignable. We knew him, but he was injured, he had a bad ankle. He went to Notre Dame High School in California. Our scout Corey Rodriguez did a wonderful job, staying with the family & we took him in the 29th round. We had a LOT of interest in him, and I don't know if a lot of other clubs did. He had a great instructional league.

Wilhelmson is another kid from last year's draft that we took in the 7th round. By the end of last summer he was throwing the ball awfully hard. We signed him and we had to back him off a little bit because he threw a lot that summer and in high school heading into the instructional league, but we're expecting good things out of him.

So, we've had our pearls: Corey Hart, Matt Yeatman, Steven Moss & Tom Wilhelmson. Guys that were later picks that are very big parts of our organization. And Manny Parra for that matter.

BF: We've heard that a lot of people were scared of Moss because of his college commitment.

JZ: He was going to UCLA. You know I think it was a combination of that & he wasn't healthy, the whole spring, he had a bad ankle & he never got that healthy. Our scout knew that. And then of course he had a big asking price with UCLA in one corner, his dad is a lawyer, his mom is a big executive, with I think CBS, so a lot of people didn't think they could sign this guy. But Corey (Rodriguez) insisted "I'll get him signed. You take him, I'll get him signed." So, we took him in the 29th round & we signed him.

BF: Since taking over as Scouting Director for the Brewers, you have stressed the importance of in-house visits, making sure you know a player for more than just his ability on the field. Why is this so important to you?

JZ: You know it's tough. It's like when you buy an automobile. If you just go & buy an automobile & drive it away without doing your homework you don't know what you have. If you take it for a test drive you get a feel for what the car is like. In this case it's the same way. I mean when the kid's 17 or 18 years old he has a major decision that he's going to be making in his life. Because there's a fork in the road: I'm going to go the college route now and get my pro career later down the road, or I'm going to take this road here & start my pro career. They need to trust somebody. And for us to walk in blind June the 5th & think just because we're professional baseballÐyou know there's a lot of information out there, and like I tell my guys all the time it's VERY important to develop relationships with families, that they know you, that they trust you. Because they're going to get the other stories from the college coaches that have desires for that same kid to come to their school. So they're going to hear the downside of going into pro baseball. We're here to develop a relationship where they trust us, they know you, they feel comfortable with you. Because if he's a good player he's going to have 30 people in his house. He's not going to trust all 30 people. So, we work on it, trying to create that distinction. Does it always work? No. We've had our heart broken this year with a couple of kids that we thought we were going to sign, they just went the opposite direction once they were drafted, that happens. We know that going in. But the more information you have the better decision you can make on anything. Because when you invest your money in something, you had better make sure that stock is sound, you need to have an assurance in it because you can't go into it blind. We're the Milwaukee Brewers. We need them to know us. We're not visible like the Braves or the Yankees or the Cubs. Therefore, they're going to know the Milwaukee Brewers through the scout that they know.

BF: So your scouts also have to sell the Brewers?

JZ: Absolutely. We make an effort to get to know our people. I think the kids that we have in our system that we have signed, I feel rest assured that when our scouts walk in the ballpark the families more than most places are going to know the scoutÐ"Hey Corey, how you doing," or "Hey Bruce" you know whoever it is. Corey Rodriguez or Bruce Seid who may have done a great job signing that guy, you can go on & on & on throughout our system. Like with J.J. Hardy it was Brian Johnson & Rick Wilson together out there to get him signed. And the relationships continue. Brad Nelson with Harvey Kuenn Jr...We've worked hard to have the sit down, this time (interview), we need to get an edge and this is one way we feel we get that edge.

BF: With the change of leadership at the top, both Ulice Payne & Doug Melvin have expressed an interest in targeting more college players in the draft. Under Dean Taylor you seemed to show a preference early in the draft towards high school players. Are there any new philosophical changes to be expected in regards to scouting with the change of management?

JZ: It's always tempting, & in some ways logical, to think you can take a college player & get him to the big leagues sooner than a high school player. And that's one of the things we're experiencing right now. We have that gap between some of the high school kids we've taken & what was already here. But I think you have to be careful. I think all of us are wise enough & all of us will put our heads together to say that as we're going through the draft you have to select the best players. This market here you're not going to be able & go out & sign those multi-million dollar free agents that might turn the organization around. We might get those in the draft. So, I think you have to look at this wisely. With the second pick in the country this year you have to be very wise in what we're choosing here. Obviously we would love to get a player to the big leagues soon. Those are all considerations that will be evaluated as the course of the spring goes on. In the same sense, you can't take the 5th best college player & pass up the 2nd best high school player. There's a balancing act here. In Oakland they talk about the fact that they have taken the college players. But when you really look at the Oakland ballclub the carriers on that team (include) Terrence Long in centerfield who was a high school player, they got Tejada who was a non-college draft to sign with the organization. When they took Mark Mulder they had the second pick in the country. They took Zito, they did a great job signing Barry Zito and they deserve a lot of credit for that pick. Tim Hudson was a 5th or 6th round pick. I wish one of our guys like Ballouli would come up like that. We'd be tickled pink to have Ballouli or Jon Steitz or Eric Thomas or somebody like that becomes a Tim Hudson, and it remains to be seen whether they do or they don't. Eric Chavez too. You take Chavez you take Tejada & you take Terrence Long and those guys batted right in the middle of their lineup and they're all technically high school kids. You have to look at the big picture. Would I love to have Jason Giambi, another big college guy? Without a doubt. But again I think you have to look at everything with wide eyes.

BF: Going back to a guy like Chin-Feng Chen, you've had your taste of international scouting along with both Doug Melvin & Gord Ash who are both well known for their efforts scouting overseas while with the Rangers & Blue Jays respectively. Do you expect the Brewers to be more active with the new management in their efforts to sign more international players, and I'm not necessarily talking about a big-named guy such as Jose Contreras, but more along the lines of the 16 & 17 year olds?

JZ: 2 months ago we just signed a 16-year old kid out of South Africa, an infielder. We've signed a couple of other kids out of South Africa prior to this, we signed a kid out of Germany. I think that everything is under review right now. We're beginning to look at all of the people that have had international tiesÐpretty strong backgrounds. I think what we have to do right now is similar to what we're trying to do with the big league club, with a certain focus on what we're doing with the first year draft coming up, and as we go through the course of the summer, and as we go through the course of the spring, everything is going to be evaluated. We're going to be looking at strengths & weaknesses, where can we do things better. Where can the organization make itself better under the financial restraints that we have. If it is the international market, I'm sure we're going to address that. It may not be, as you just said, Jose Contreras, but maybe somebody else that ends up being Jose Contreras. It's all under review. I think all of us together are looking to make this organization better and lend a helping hand wherever we can.

BF: With guys like Mike Jones, Prince Fielder and even Arod, people all over hear about these guys once they sign, even if they're years away from contributing at the Major League level. We don't hear about the international signees until they've made their presence at the pro level usually stateside. Are there any international signees within the past couple of years that you feel really good about?

JZ: It's early to say. Again, we just signed a 16 year old kid, he'll be 17 as he goes through the course of next year, but he's 3 years away from anyone recognizing who he is. We'll know him. But until he gets to those upper levels of the minor leagues, whether it's high A or AA, that's even an early start of where people start to say "hey, this guy is legit." Carl Michaels is a kid from South Africa, he pitched pretty well for us in the minor leagues and we're kind of excited about him. You have some of the Latin kids that we like: Ozzie Chavez is a nice looking shortstop that played in Beloit last year. We have a kid named Plasencia, he played in rookie league, center-fielder, he's a nice looking player. These guys are puppies now. Ozzie was 19. Plasencia was 17. The kid from South Africa we just talked about is going to play & start the year at 16. So they're way down the line. Unless you get those big name guys like a Contreras, the Japanese guy that just signed (Hideki Matsui), Ichiro, they're not enormously publicized, at least around here. A year ago most people in the United States didn't know who Jose Contreras was. It took his experience against the Orioles, and if he didn't have that experience against the Orioles they wouldn't have known who he was. Then all of the sudden they're a hot item and everybody in the world, or at least most baseball fans are saying "who is this Jose Contreras?" and "we have to sign him." That would be a household name like El Duque. Most people in baseball circles knew about Ichiro for years. But the average baseball fan in the United States probably didn't hear much about Ichiro until about a year before he started talking about how he wanted to come out. All of the sudden people started hearing about this Ichiro guy and how he's the real deal.

BF: How do teams compete with the Yankees on the international market who seem to gulp up every available player out there?

JZ: (Laughing) Well, they can't sign everybody. They're trying. They spent three & a half million several years ago when I was with the Dodgers on Willy Mo Pena. He got a major league contract and is a Cincinnati Red today. They also signed a kid from Venezuela, the outfielder Jackson Melian. He was traded to Cincinnati and we had him here. So just because they're paid the highest dollar, they don't always pan out. There are no guarantees. They certainly have the talent to get them to the highest level to play baseball. Jackson Melian I think at that time was the highest paid Venezuelan player to ever sign. Wily Mo Pena was the highest Dominican player to ever sign.

BF: Similar to what we talked about with the past couple of drafts, do you have a list of players that you are seriously targeting with the #2 overall pick, and are you doing even more homework this time around given the implications of such a high pick & the potentially high bonus that will be necessary to sign this player?

JZ: At the end of the draft last year, immediately after that we're preparing for the next year. So we have seen the Cape Cod League, which is the best college (summer) league out there. Myself, Larry Doughty and area scouts as well as some crosscheckers have seen the USA team, the senior USA team which is the college All-Star team. We all saw the junior team, which is the junior USA team, which is like the best high school team in the country. We covered the tournament in Jupiter, Florida which is a big showcase, we covered a tournament in Wilmington, North Carolina which is a big showcase. We had a force at the Area Codes games, which we have a team in. So we know what we're going into this year. We've seen those kids pitch or play last summer, whether it be high school or college, whether it be in school or at any of the summer programs that they participated in. We've covered a lot in the fall. Our ducks are in order, and we're ready to go. And as soon as they start playing, we're going to be there. And we've been in houses, we've taken some kids out to dinner, their families I should say, it has to be at their own expense, it has to be that way. We've been with them, we've talked with them, extensively, and we have a good handle on what's there. Now, it's just like the Kentucky Derby, the horses are in the stable, and the race it about the start. But the favorite doesn't always win. So as we go in we may have 1, 2 & 3 in order and number 4 may end up being our pick because he may surpass 1, 2 & 3. So, we'll see what happens, we feel good about where we're at. We know what's out there, it's a matter of letting them run the raceÐwe'll be there at the finish line.

BF: That's interesting that you bring up the Area Code games because I did read how the Brewers had a team there. What is the benefit of representing a team, and is it mutually beneficial to the Brewers & players alike?

JZ: Well, yeah. A couple of things, I'll give you some information that you may or may not know. There's always been 3 teams in California. They always had a team in Northern California which the Giants usually ran, they had a team in Central and then Southern California. That's technically how they ran it. They took the best players in California & ran them through 3 teams. Last year we took over one of the teams from Southern California & incidentally they played very well in their games. But what that enabled our scouts to do is to cover those territories and to have open tryout camps with the best players that lived in that area, those area codes, to come & participate. So, in addition to the final 24 kids that made the Area Code team, imagine how many players we saw that tried out for this team. We had our tryout camps in 3 different places so we had to select from the best. So we had a try-out, cut some. Had another try-out, cut some more. And then we had the final try-out and picked the team. So, if these are the best kids in that area, then our scouts have been with these kids on a daily basis. Not only through the try-outs, but they have them (the final team) for a whole week, and the week prior to that. So they get to know the families, and they get to know the kids.

It's been announced, I don't know if you missed it, but this year they have decided that they are going to take the whole state of California and divide it into only 2 teams. So they're eliminating one team. We're taking over both clubs. So we the Milwaukee Brewers will have the whole state of California. So our scouts, Corey Rodriguez, Bruce Seid and Brian Johnson, will be running tryout camps in the summer throughout the state of California. Every high school kid will have the desire to be at our tryout camp being the Area Code games. We will then select 2 teams, both shortstops could be from Northern California, it doesn't matter, we're going to select the best 48 players & we're going to put together 2 teams: Milwaukee Brewers Blue and Milwaukee Brewers White. So, what does it give us? It gives us an opportunity to see the very best kids in a hands-on basis, we're working them out, they're at our tryout camp, we're on the field with them. And we have them, managing them, coaching these kids for 10 days to 2 weeks. This is the one edge we have. We needed an edge. What is the edge? The edge is that we get to know these kids, we're going to get to see these kids face to face, we're going to get to make the change when a pitcher goes to the mound.

So when I talked to Bob Williams who runs the Area Codes, he's been running it for years, and asked him if he would consider us (to take over the Southern California team last year). He knew Corey, and I asked Corey to stay on top of it to be very persistent in pushing Bob, and Bob told him then "you know, you guys do a good job, if you want to take a team I'd be happy to have you." So we did it. At the end of this year, after we took the team, Bob came to us and said "I'm going to condense California by one team, I'd like you to take both clubs. You won, I'll give you first crack at taking another ballclub." So instead of having 2 other clubs, this allows us to have 2 Milwaukee Brewer teams. So we said great. So we got the uniforms ready & we're all set to go. Pretty good for us.

BF: Especially considering California is one of, if not the premier hotbed for baseball talent.

JZ: Yeah. Again, we're not going to outspend the Yankees or any of those major market clubs, but we are looking for an edge. And we have guys that are willing to do this. We're excited about last year, we only lost 1 game. We were 6 and 1 or 5 and 1, whatever it was. The kids played well, they played hard, and the coaches did a great job. There's other things that we do with them. We took them to Australia this winter, and they represented the Milwaukee Brewers, and took a tour. And it's at no expense to us because the amateurs have to pay their own way. But it gave us an international flavor if you will running the team, I think it was for 15 days this winter, it just finished before Christmas. So our scout Corey Rodriguez accompanied them.

BF: Sounds like an exciting edge, and we look forward to seeing if it does give the Brewers an added advantage in the years to come. On the behalf of Brewerfan.net, I'd like to thank you very much for your time.

JZ: Alright, take care my man. Anytime.

Please email Patrick Ebert at pebert@brewerfan.net with any questions or comments