I caught up with Junior Spivey the other day, he was watching the Angels play the Yankees in the ALCS. Junior was full of enthusiasm for the game of baseball... we had a great conversation.

BF: Hello Junior, thanks for returning my call.

JS: Yeah, sorry I didn't hear it ring, my phone doesn't work in the basement. I was down there watching the game... I can't believe Scioscia took Lackey out, that's overthinking... let the man pitch!

BF: (laughs), Wow, Junior, you're really into the game.

JS: You know, the umpiring has really been exposed this postseason... it's really been bad. When you're out there playing, you can't come out and say that, but sitting here watching, I have to say it.

BF: There's no doubt of that. Are you always this into baseball?

JS: Always, it's a part of me, I love all sports, I grew up playing ball, I'm a huge fan.

BF: Let's talk about your career.

JS: Yeah man, let's go.

BF: You came up with the Diamondbacks...

JS: Yep, you know, the '01 season was magical for me. I got up there and did everything I could, making plays, running hard, keeping the pressure on the defense, everything I could to help the team. We got to the postseason, and that set me up to be there for Opening Day in '02. I did the little things, taking the extra base, scoring on a ball in the gap, a lot of things that help a team win, but a lot of that got overlooked... I was left off the postseason roster.

(long pause)... That still hurts to this day.

Mike Morgan took me aside, and said, "Hey, it happened to me, you deserve to be on this team." I really respected him for that - he knew exactly how that felt.

BF: That was an amazing postseason for the Diamondbacks, were you able to be there?

JS: I was for the home games, but I wasn't allowed to travel. I was there, suited up for the home games, and they did give me a ring... but I felt like an outsider. I got a ring, but I missed the experience.

If I would have been allowed to travel, I would have been right there in the dugout, right there near Ground Zero, so close after 9-11, hearing all those Yankees fans. If I had been there with Randy (Johnson), Schilling, Gonazlez... thinking about missing it just hurts... still.

I won't mention any names, but there was a guy who was on the DL all year, who really wasn't able to contribute, he was allowed to travel, but I wasn't, he went to Atlanta and New York... I just wish I had been there too.

BF: You had a big year in '02.

JS: Yes, I started off red hot, I was making plays and having big ABs, but then I tweaked a hamstring. I made the All-Star team that year, and I really felt like I had established myself. They used four of us in a rotation, myself, Counsell, Tony Womack and Matt Williams, to keep everyone fresh. It worked out well.

BF: OK, Junior, I have to ask this question. When you were traded to Milwaukee, there was a quote...

JS: "I'm devastated."

BF: OK, yes, absolutely. You were quoted as saying, "I'm devastated", when you heard you had been traded to Milwaukee. That has hung around, there are fans here who say that out loud the minute they hear your name.

JS: Ed Price did that to me.

BF: Who?

JS: Ed Price, and I confronted him on it too. He took my words and twisted them all around, and made it sound like I didn't want to come to Milwaukee. Who wouldn't want to come to Milwaukee? It's Robin Yount, it's the Brew Crew... I loved Milwaukee!

The thing was, I had made it to the big leagues with Arizona, and we were all working hard to get back to the postseason, I just didn't expect it when it happened. I was about to go on my honeymoon, and I got the news... it wasn't about Milwaukee at all, it was just a complete surprise.

Listen, Milwaukee was great, the fans were great, my dad stayed with us while we were there, and we loved the city. I just wish I had been able to stay longer so the fans would have gotten to know me, I had a lot of work I wanted to do in the community that I never got to do, because I wasn't there long enough. Doug Melvin, Ned Yost, Mike Maddux, Rich Dauer... those guys were awesome.

That experience made me leery, before that I never turned down an interview, after that, I didn't do many.

BF: You're doing one right now...

JS: (laughs)... Good point.

BF: Thanks for addressing that, Junior... what are your lasting impressions of the Brewers' organization at that time?

JS: I wonder if the fans there truly appreciate what Doug Melvin has done for them. When I was with the Diamondbacks, the Brewers just had no energy, there was no life there... Doug brought in good people, I mean good, quality people as players and coaches, and then when the young guys got up there, you can see it... he brought that team all the way back.

Rich Dauer was the backbone when I was there.

BF: Dauer, really, why is that?

JS: When it comes to defensive positioning, Rich Dauer is a genius. He had us playing all over the place, way out of normal position... and we took a ton of hits away. We'd talk to guys on the other teams, and they just hated us! They'd be like, "That's a hit every time... what were you doing playing way over there?" Rich just always seemed to know where the ball was going to be hit.

BF: How did he do it?

JS: Work. Dauer would start by reading the scouting reports, then he'd look at what each hitter had done in their last series, to see who was hot and who wasn't, and then he'd consider who was pitching for us that night, whether it was Sheeter, Doug Davis, Capuano, or whoever, so he'd know how each batter would be pitched to. Dauer would take that information and shift us around, and it just worked great.

I know one thing, the pitchers all loved it, I remember Sheeter telling me he loved having us behind him, taking those hits away.

BF: Junior, your time in Milwaukee was interrupted by a serious shoulder injury, please tell me about that.

JS: Oh yeah, for sure. We were in Pittsburgh, it was somewhere around the first of July and the team was peaking, we were talking about bigger and better things, then I got stupid and dove into first base for the first and last time. I tore my labrum... tore it right from the bone. I tried to stay in the game, but there was just no way, I could already feel fluid building up in there.

I thought, "This can't be happening." I want home to Arizona to rehab, and I'd just check to see how the guys did... it just hurt.

That labrum tear was front and back, my shoulder was never completely the same after that.

Hey now, let's talk about JJ Hardy. I love JJ, and I still talk to him. Don't forget, he had that labrum tear, it's the same thing for him, sometimes he's going to have to deal with it. When it's right, he's fine, but when it's not, it knocks your swing off. That was his deal this year, trust me on this... .JJ Hardy will be all the way back, there's no question.

BF: Would you trade him?

JS: Never. JJ Hardy is a terrific shortstop, and his swing will come back for sure, after this offseason, you'll see, he'll be all the way back.

BF: Your time in Milwaukee ended with a trade to Washington, which paved the way for Rickie Weeks. Tell me about '05...

JS: Carlos Lee came over, and the guys got off to a good start, except for me. I just couldn't get out of the gates, I just wasn't hitting. I can't blame Doug Melvin for trading me, I wasn't getting it done in Milwaukee, and Rickie was doing what he was supposed to do at AAA, that's just baseball.

BF: How was Washington?

JS: OK now, don't anybody take this the wrong way, I AM NOT saying anything bad about Milwaukee, but Washington was unbelievable. At that time, in Milwaukee, it was a really quiet clubhouse, with no music or anything – when I walked into the clubhouse in Washington, guys were dancing and laughing, they had the TV going, and loud music playing... it was a total culture shock. All of this was right before the game, they were all just having a good time.

I walked over to Marlon Byrd and asked him where I should go, he said, "Get in where you fit in." That's just the way that club was. I got to play under Frank Robinson, with Vinny Castilla and Carlos Baerga, Carlos was just crazy... fun... loose. That was a good time for me.

BF: I believe you signed with St Louis for the '06 season, right?

JS: Yes, and I made a mistake. I pinched a nerve in my neck, and I didn't know how to treat it, so I never got healthy that year. I never should have gone to AAA, I should have gone on the DL, to get that right, but I thought, "OK, I'll go down to AAA and just do my thing, and wait for something to happen." That was the wrong move, I wasn't healthy.

I went to camp with the White Sox in '07 and had a great camp, but they released me. Boston picked me up for the last three weeks that season, and I had a great camp for them in '08, but at the end, they decided to go with a younger player. They thanked me for working hard for them, and told me I'd done all I could do to make their team. I just figured, "I'll go home and raise my kids."

BF: You're still playing though, I know that.

JS: Yep, I'm only 34. I can still run and I still have my range in the field, I feel like I have a lot of game left. I played with the Tucson Toros this year, I still feel like I can play.

BF: Do you think you'll get another shot at the big leagues?

JS: Probably not. They haven't seen me in a while now, I think it's like, "Out of sight, out of mind." I still have the desire to play, and I still have plenty of game left, so we'll see what happens.

BF: A lot of the current Brewers were in the minor leagues when you were with Milwaukee, do you still follow the team?

JS: Oh yeah, that's the team I root for. I still talk to JJ, and Bill Hall, even though he's not there now, and Braun, I just talked to Braun a couple of days ago. That's my team, I know a lot of the guys.

Counsell is another guy I drop a line to, he's going to be a great manager someday, or even a GM if he wants to be.

BF: Why do you say that?

JS: He just knows the game inside and out. What to do, how to do it, when to do it, Counsell just knows baseball.

BF: Anything else you'd like to tell Brewer fans?

JS: Yeah, I could use some help with something. Dave Burba and I are joined at the hip forever because we had a Web Gem together. Burbs made a play I still can't believe.

I went after a ball I didn't think I could reach, and I got to it, I couldn't believe I even touched that ball. I didn't have time for anything, so I just jumped and twisted and threw the ball toward where I thought first base was, I didn't even see if Burbs was at the bag, I just threw it. The throw bounced, right by the base, and Burbs just knicked his cleat on the base to make the play, I couldn't believe he didn't break an ankle or tear up a knee the way that play happened. It was just a great, great play... .I need to know if anyone out there has a copy of it, or if there's an archive somewhere where I could watch it. I'd love to have that.

BF: If anyone reading this can find that play, I'll certainly let you know.

JS: Thank you Milwaukee, thank you Doug Melvin, thank you everybody. I'm happy and blessed, I feel like I took advantage of my opportunities. Oh, and watch Matt Kemp for the Dodgers. He and I are close. He's a good friend, and I've watched him grow as a player. Sometimes, when I see the things he does, I get tears.

BF: Junior, thank you so much, your energy and passion for baseball just jump through the phone.

JS: Thank you, Todd, and thank you Milwaukee!