SubscribeShalom, Schoeneweis
JML fans know what a terrible year 2009 was for Scott Schoeneweis. The lefty reliever lost his wife, Gabrielle in May and the rest of the season was simply an attempt to get his family life back on track.
But sports is a business and his employer, the Arizona Diamondbacks, decided not to retain her services for 2010.
So the good news — relatively speaking — is that Schoeneweis has signed a minor league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers.
From the story on MLB.com,
“I still want to play,” Schoeneweis said. “But first and foremost I had to make sure that my family was all right, and they are. We’ll make it work. Last year was difficult, no doubt, but we’re all in a better situation now.”
The Brewers made sense on several fronts, chief of which is that they hold Spring Training in Phoenix and Schoeneweis lives in the area with his four children, all of whom are younger than 16.
They also have a new pitching coach, Rick Peterson, who worked with Schoeneweis for parts of two seasons with the Mets in 2007 and ’08. The Brewers had Peterson speak to his former pupil before committing to a contract.
“Once I made the decision to play, this was a good place to settle in,” Schoeneweis said. “I’m excited to get back into the game, I’m excited to compete for a job and I expect to make the team and go back to Milwaukee.”
If he makes Milwaukee’s roster, Schoeneweis’ salary would be $800,000.
Glad to hear things are looking up for Schoenweis. Hopefully he makes the Brewers coming out of training camp.