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Chris Capuano signed a deal with the Brewers and could end up playing under a former teammate

On Dec. 1, 2003, Chris Capuano and a host of other players, including Craig Counsell, were traded from the D-backs to the Brewers in exchange for Richie Sexson, Shane Nance and the amazingly named Noochie Varner. 
A little over 12 years later, Capuano has signed a Minor League deal to return to the Brewers, making a homecoming to the team where he found his greatest success. (Sadly, there was no Noochie this time. He hasn't played since 2007.) 
While that's not all that notable -- other than to Brewers fans who have warm memories of his 18-win campaign in 2005 -- it does mean that if he manages to make the team, he'll be playing for Counsell, not alongside him. 
Here's how the duo looked before their first season with the Brewers, back in those mid-2000's days: 

And here's how they look now. Apparently the two decided to swap facial expressions. 

While it's relatively rare for a manager to pencil in former teammates on the lineup card, there's plenty of precedent for it. Beyond the days of player/managers, which included names like Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker and Frank Robinson to name but a few, Joe Girardi was in charge of a number of Yankees that he had played with, including Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera. Still, it probably always feels a little like when an older sibling becomes the babysitter for the night and all of a sudden you have to listen to them. 
Whether next season will see the two embroiled in a name-calling, hair-pulling scandal, we'll just have to wait and see. 

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