MILWAUKEE - Charter buses have been replaced by jetliners.

Burger and fries meal money has been replaced by a per diem that can buy the best steak dinner in town with plenty of change left over.

And dark clouds have been replaced by radiant sunshine as far as Jason Jaramillo's disposition.

The 2001 Case High School graduate appears to have arrived as catcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates - at least until starter Ryan Doumit is expected to return from a broken bone in his right wrist around midseason - and Jaramillo has arrived with a smile.

Take Monday afternoon, when he walked into the Pirates' clubhouse at Miller Park with a big grin before sitting down to chat with pitcher Ian Snell.

Contrast that to last September, when the Philadelphia Phillies called up Lou Marson from Class AA Reading instead of Jaramillo from Class AAA Lehigh during their run to the World Series championship, leaving Jaramillo heart-broken.

An offseason trade to Pittsburgh and the wrist injury to Doumit finally opened the door for Jaramillo that had been locked for so long.

"This is an amazing dream come true," said the 26-year-old Jaramillo, a Franksville native who becomes the first position player from Racine County to start for a major league team since Case graduate Duane Kuiper started 18 games at second base for the 1984 San Francisco Giants. "All the blood, sweat and tears, I guess they say, about battling and working hard to achieve your dream is coming true."

There were plenty on hand Monday night to share his dream. Exactly how many family members and friends were at Miller Park Jaramillo couldn't say, but he does know he needed every ticket he could get his hands on.

"I kind of lucked out," Jaramillo said. "There's a family member who actually works in the front office - I'm not sure what she does - but she got her hands on some tickets, so she helped out. And I had 15 or 20 of my own."

If Jaramillo continues to play as well as he has for the Pirates, his family and friends will be in for a treat during a three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers that concludes Wednesday. In eight games, the switch-hitting Jaramillo has gone 9-for-26 (.346) with a four doubles and an RBI. He's also drawn three walks and stolen a base.

Jaramillo went 1-for-4 in the Pirates' 10-5 loss to Milwaukee Monday.

And from a defensive standpoint - and defense is Jaramillo's forte - he has yet to commit an error and has thrown out two baserunners, one of which was a SportsCenter highlight.

So delighted is Pirates manager John Russell, who managed Jaramillo with the Class AAA Ottawa Lynx in 2007, that he only could think of one complaint.

"The only knock I have on him is he's from Oklahoma State," joked Russell, who was a catcher for arch-rival Oklahoma from 1979-82.

Jaramillo has been no laughing matter. Wearing the No. 35 three-time All-Star catcher Manny Sanguillen wore for the Pirates from 1967-80, Jaramillo has filled a huge hole in Doumit's absence.

"I knew he was a good player when he was with the Phillies," Russell said. "He was a top prospect and they kind of rushed him through the system a little bit. But he struck me as a very good defensive catcher and he really became a student of the game with switch-hitting. He showed flashes of potential with his batting, as well, so he has a lot of tools.

"He made the team because of his defensive abilities, but some of his offensive skills are starting to show up."

During spring training, Jaramillo insisted he was "no slouch" offensively. Ask Pirates coach Don Long and he'll tell you Jaramillo won't be stereotyped as a good-field, no-hit player.

"I think he's made great progress from where he was coming into spring training to where he is now," Long said. "He's shortened his swing a lot to the ball and his ability to read the pitch longer and wait on the pitch has really improved. He's attacking the ball well and he's hitting the ball to all fields."

Come to think of it, there isn't anything Jaramillo isn't doing well at the moment.

"He's filling in great," left-handed pitcher Donald Veal said. "We haven't missed a beat with the pitchers. He's getting hits, driving in runs, helping the staff and just doing a tremendous job behind the plate. We have no complaints."