1.   Anyone making that assumption, he says, is uninformed and listening to the gripes of area scouts, whom he bypasses.

2.   Area scout Jim Bretz was the first set of eyes the Indians assigned to Conroy.

3.   But Cardinals area scout Chuck Fick convinced his organization that Kennedy could hit with the best.

4.   Cox is known as a cross-checker because he checks on the recommendations of area scouts.

5.   Hagemann was an area scout, covering high school players in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey.

6.   Hal Kurtzman, an area scout for the Diamondbacks, wasted no time in getting in touch with Avlas.

7.   Jim Woodward, an area scout for the Mets, was among them.

8.   Johnson and Smith came with sterling recommendations from Hagen, Tampa-based area scout Boyd Dowler and Atlanta-based area scout Ken Blair.

9.   Larry Suppan had been warned by area scouts that a high school player from California going so far away from home could face a difficult adjustment.

10.   Most area scouts sign their draftees, but the Orioles want Miller to know their interest-level is high.