Nov. 18 -- SCOUTING CHANGES & MEET SCOTT PROEFROCK

BY SCOTT LAUBER

Scouts, by and large, do their work in anonymity. They aren't known by fans. They aren't hailed in newspaper headlines. They are nameless, faceless nomads who travel from one town to the next, pointing radar guns and scribbling notes and doing the grunt work that often goes unrewarded.

So, when the Phillies won the World Series, Pat Gillick quickly credited the scouts.

Gillick noted that Chuck LaMar, recently promoted to assistant GM, led a five-man team that scouted the Rays and Red Sox in the AL Championship Series. LaMar, Charley Kerfeld, Gordon Lakey, Hank King and Jim Fregosi Jr. compiled reports that detailed the strengths and weaknesses of every hitter and pitcher that the Phils would face. Sure enough, the Rays' top hitters, Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria, went a combined 3-for-37 with 15 strikeouts in the World Series.

Today, Fregosi and King were rewarded.

King, the Phillies' major-league advance scout since 1985, has moved to the pro scouting staff. Fregosi, the team's amateur scouting coordinator and son of former manager Jim Fregosi, also has been added to the pro scouting staff and will cover major-league clubs. They will be joined on the pro staff by former amateur scouts Jerry Lafferty and Roy Tanner, who will cover the minors.

Also, the Phillies have hired Howie Freiling away from the New York Mets. Freiling, a Philly native who played baseball at Northeast High while Ruben Amaro Jr. was at Penn Charter, will be a special-assignment scout. On a personal level, I know Howie very well. He managed the Double-A Binghamton Mets in 2001 and 2002, when I was the beat writer who covered the team.

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Had a chance to chat with new Phillies assistant GM Scott Proefrock last night. He's an interesting guy. He has worked in baseball operations for the Pirates (1989-90), Braves (1991-95), Devil Rays (1995-2005) and Orioles (2005-08). He has a master's degree in sports management degree from UMass, and he's a certified public accountant.

And his wife's family loves the Phillies.

Proefrock is married to the former K.K. Keegan of Wilmington, and her family has a long athletic history at Salesianum and Ursuline. "They're all Phillies fans from growing up back in the '80s," Proefrock told me. He'll begin working for the Phillies next week, and he has his work cut out for him. The Phils have 10 arbitration-eligible players, and Proefrock will be handling the negotiations with many of those players.