A quick glance at the Brewers' roster shows a load of bona fide, major-league talent. First-round draft picks, all-stars, MVP and Cy Young Award winners and candidates, and players that are on a fast track to stardom.

At the same time, there are the veterans and journeymen; players that have bounced around from team to team and city to city, trying to find a chance to stick ... and a regular paycheck.

Brian Shouse falls into the latter category. The 39-year-old left-hander joined the Brewers through a trade in May 2006 (for former Rule 5 draft choice Enrique Cruz). He's been a mainstay in the bullpen ever since, but it was a long road with many stops to get here.

Originally selected by Pittsburgh in the 13th round of the 1990 Major League Draft, he made his big-league debut three years later, making six appearances for the Pirates. It would be another five years until he made it back to the bigs -- this time for seven games with the Red Sox -- and another four he made it back again.

Before coming to Milwaukee, Shouse spent all or parts of 13 seasons playing at the Class AAA level for eight different organizations. He's been released nine times and his road to the majors has even included a year spent playing for Kintetsu Buffaloes in Japan.

The southpaw sat down with OnMilwaukee.com to talk about his career, family, life and the thrill of chasing his first-ever playoff berth. Enjoy this Milwaukee Talks with Brian Shouse:

OnMilwaukee.com: Let's start out with an easy one; what's the background for Brian Shouse?

Brian Shouse: I grew up in Effingham, Ill. I went to college at Bradley in Peoria, where we live now. I started playing professionally in 1990. This is my ninth different team. I spent a solid 10 years in Triple-A, 12 years in the minors before I got a chance to stay at the big-league level. I had a cup of coffee, so to speak, up until 2002 and that's when I stuck in the majors. I've been to Japan to play, too. My wife has moved over 100 different times as part of the baseball life.

OMC: What was it like spending that much time in between big-league appearances? I can't imagine it was easy spending that much time on buses, especially when you've had a taste of the leagues.

BS: I've always just loved playing the game of baseball. God has allowed me to stay healthy, enjoy it and to persevere. It's kind of a "for love of the game" type of thing to continue to do this day in and day out. I love coming to the ballpark every day. I love playing the game and I think the biggest thing is that I've managed to stay healthy.

OMC: And you were obviously doing something right because you were able to keep finding work.

BS: Teams kept giving me opportunities. I've made the most of them and that's what's kept me going. There's been so many times where I just wanted to shut it down, it just seemed like each year I felt great. My family kept saying I should keep going and keep going until somebody doesn't want you anymore. It's just happened to turn out like this. Better late than never, I guess.

OMC: Let's get away from the game for a minute. You mentioned your wife. How did you two meet?

BS: I met her when I was at Bradley University. We had a class together our senior year. I always say -- it was around Halloween -- that she threw candy at me in class and that's how it started; she started flirting with me first. Her story is different.

OMC: Through all the years, the uncertainty and especially all the moves, how important has she been in your life?

BS: I get to fly wherever we're supposed to go, but she is the one staying behind taking care of things, packing up the car and the house and the kids ... driving sometimes 15-16 hours, sometimes two days ... she's just been so fantastic. I couldn't have done it without her.