Jeffress journey reaches top | NOTES Pitcher started season suspended

Cincinnati - The season became an unexpected journey for right-hander Jeremy Jeffress.
The Milwaukee Brewers' 2006 first-round draft cheap nfl jerseys
pick missed the first two months while finishing a 100-game suspension for testing positive a third time for marijuana.
He then was assigned to low Class A Wisconsin, moving up to high Class A Brevard County and eventually Class AA Huntsville. Then the big leagues. "I'm on cloud nine right now," Jeffress said Wednesday after reporting to the Brewers as a September callup.
"It was a hope and prayer (to come up). It's a great opportunity.
I couldn't even stand up when I first heard it.
"It was big steps, back on the mound, coming off the suspension. A great learning experience. I've been to the bottom and I worked my way back to the top. I thank everybody that stuck behind me." The Brewers put Jeffress, 22, on their 40-man roster June 29, some two months before necessary. They called it a reward for good behavior coming off the suspension, but it also protected him from a lifetime ban should he test positive for marijuana again.
Jeffress knew there would be skeptics who expected him to lapse back into marijuana use.
"I've been doing great, staying clean," he said. "The temptation was there, but nothing can be greater than playing baseball for a living. This is what I love to do. The only way I can (stop speculation) is to prove them wrong." Jeffress was converted from starting to relief to give him a daily focus coming off the suspension. He said he has enjoyed the new role.
"I actually love it," said Jeffress, who later made his debut with a scoreless eighth inning in a 6-1 loss to Cincinnati.
"I would love to stay in the pen in any role they'd have me do. I know I can do it and succeed. I come to the field every day ready to throw." Manager Ken Macha said Jeffress would be used exclusively in relief in September but could return to a starting role in 2011.
"I don't think either option is set in concrete or eliminated," said Macha. Gamel will sit: Third base prospect Mat Gamel, who also joined the club, was swinging a hot bat at Nashville (.302, 13 HRs, 67 RBI in 82 games) but probably won't see much action.
Third baseman Casey McGehee has a shot at 100 RBI, first baseman Prince Fielder never sits out Indianapolis Colts jersey
and rightfielder Corey Hart also has a shot at 100 RBI.
Gamel made two starts at first and five in right for Nashville over the past few weeks. There has been speculation he might move to first next year if Fielder is traded over the winter for pitching, but Gamel said he preferred right field.
"It was a lot easier for me out there than it was at first (base)," he said. "It's definitely a lot less stressful. "It's tougher (at first base) than people think. First ain't easy. I have a lot more respect for those guys knowing what they do now." Making a U-turn: Leftfielder Ryan Braun batted.424 in August, the third-highest average in club history for a calendar month. In July, he batted.200, the lowest monthly average of his career. So, how did Braun go from batting.200 one month to.424 the next? "There are a lot of things that factor into it," said Braun. "I know exactly what happened (in July). I'm not going to get into it because it'll just sound like an excuse." That made it sound as if Braun was not 100% healthy in July, but he declined to address that issue.
"You just continue to believe in the process," he said. "You can't always focus on results. It's a game where you have no control over results. I was all right (in July). It's a long year. After a few years you have a track record and you're going to be somewhat close to what you've done in the past (at season's end) whether you start off good or bad.
"I think everybody ends up somewhere close to what they usually do, assuming they're able to stay healthy. It all depends how you respond to adversity. I'm very proud of what I did last month." Champs in Arizona: The rookie-level Arizona Brewers claimed the Arizona League championship with a 10-8 win over the Arizona Reds on Tuesday night at Maryvale Baseball Park in a one-game final.
Left-hander Charly Bashara and second baseman Nick Shaw were named to the league's Dallas Cowboys jersey
all-star team, and Tony Diggs was named the Arizona League manager of the year.
Copyright 2010, Journal Sentinel Inc. All rights reserved. (Note: This notice does not apply to those news items already copyrighted and received through wire services or other media.)