Jim Goulart

Wednesday's Daily Menu: All times are Central Nashville: Idle ********** Huntsville: LHP Brent Suter at home vs. Mobile (Diamondbacks), 10:45 AM pre-game, 11:00 gametime Free Live Audio Link Steve Jarnicki is the new play-by-play voice of the Stars - welcome aboard! Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveJarnicki. All games, home and away, are scheduled to be broadcast. MiLB.TV - It appears seven of the ten Southern League teams telecast their home games (not the Stars). Mississippi does host MiLB.TV broadcasts - be among those hoping Steve's audio link synchs up nicely with your MiLB.TV investment. ********** Brevard County: RHP Jorge Lopez at Tampa (Yankees), 5:30 PM pre-game, 6:00 gametime Free Live Audio Link -- Select the proper link based on listed schedule Dave Walkovic returns as the play-by-play voice of the 'Tees; follow the Brevard broadcast booth staff on Twitter @BCManateesRadio. All home games and many road games are scheduled to be broadcast. When road games are only available via the opponents' audio feed (or not at all), we'll let you know that. No Florida State League games are available via MiLB.TV. ********** Wisconsin: LHP Anthony Banda at Burlington (Angels), 6:10 PM pre-game, 6:30 gametime Free Live Audio Link - 1280 AM WNAM Chris Mehring is back to do his customary fantastic work as the Voice of the Rattlers. Follow him on Twitter @CMehring; we'll link to Chris' infamous blog often -- Rattler Radio. For the $49.95 season-long package, fans in Brewer Nation can watch all Sounds games, Stars' road games from seven Southern League locales, and all Timber Rattlers home games and some road games. NOTE: Thirty-nine (!) of the Rattlers' 70 home games will be broadcast on TV this season. Time Warner Cable SportsChannel (9) and WACY-TV My NEW32 (30) will split duties. We'll let you know when and who, and remember to refer to the Rattlers' full TV schedule so you can coordinate your DVR activity. DVR Alert: Next local TV game is Mon. 4/28 on MyNEW32.

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Biloxi baseball GM excited to launch in brand new market by Danielle Thomas, WLOX.com BILOXI, MS - Buck Rogers will be the face of Biloxi baseball. On Tuesday, team officials announced the current general manager of the Huntsville Stars has been hired to be the GM when the Stars move to Biloxi. The Biloxi Baseball Club did a lot of interviews while looking for a general manager. Owners said the most important qualities were credibility and knowledge. They said it was that, along with Buck Rogers' passion and enthusiasm, that won him the top job in Biloxi baseball. Building Biloxi as a market for minor league baseball is about more than the bricks and mortar of a new stadium. Those in the business say to be successful, it also takes a general manager who knows how to lead. "Anything to do with ticket sales and promotions, concessions, advertising and marketing, he oversees all of those areas and basically operates the franchise for the ownership group," former MLB player Barry Lyons said of Rogers. "He is the man in charge. So he has a lot of responsibility. His days are pretty long, especially during the season. But when you have a good general manager in place, it shows." General Manager Buck Rogers has many years of experience in entertaining fans, but he said coming to Biloxi will be a whole new ballgame. "From a general manager's point of view, to go into a new market, with a new stadium, with a new name, with a new logo, with new excitement is - imagine being 10 years old with Christmas, birthday, New Year's and Fourth of July all rolled in to one," said Rogers. "That's what it equates to opening up a new ballpark." Rogers said he'll be able to juggle his job as the new Biloxi GM while still in that role in Huntsville because of the support he has in Alabama. "The staff. You've got to have some great baseball experience," Rogers said. "There's a lot of people who want to work in baseball who don't know what they're getting into. The long days. Ten days at a time without a day off. Sometimes going in at seven in the morning and not leaving until one in the morning. You're off six hours and you're back. So you've got to shower, sleep and get back to work." Now that a GM has been selected, the Biloxi baseball club said the next step will be naming the team and its mascot. In a few months, people will be asked to submit ideas online. Those will be narrowed down to the top five, and South Mississippians can vote on their favorite. "Certainly something that reflects the area is very important," Biloxi Baseball Club President Ken Young said. "The other thing is that we also need something that will be fun for the fans." "It's going to be something that's unique to Biloxi and the Gulf Coast and it will be something that the people will embrace," said Rogers. "They'll love wearing the logo. We've got a design team that's above reproach and when the time comes and we put it all together, it will market itself. You watch and see." Rogers said more than 900 people have signed up for information about season tickets. He said that shows Biloxi baseball already has a large amount of support.

Out with the old, in with the old: Huntsville GM Buck Rogers to keep job after Biloxi move By Warren Kulo | GulfLive.com BILOXI, Mississippi -- After interviewing a number of qualified candidates, many from inside the baseball world, Biloxi baseball President Ken Young decided the best man to be general manager's of the new Biloxi minor league franchise was the one who already had it. Young announced Tuesday that Buck Rogers, General Manager of the Huntsville Stars, will serve in the same capacity after the team moves to Biloxi for the 2015 season. "We interviewed a lot of people, but it kept coming back to Buck's passion, his knowledge of the game," Young told The Mississippi Press after a Tuesday afternoon press conference at the Biloxi Visitor's Center. "We put him through the same interview process as everyone else. He came to the top. He stood out." Rogers, 54, is a native of Wisconsin, but is familiar with the Mississippi coast. He and his wife, Babs, met at Edgewater Mall in 1986, he said. Babs Rogers is a native of Gulfport and graduated from Harrison Central High School. "I am stoked. I am fired up," he said, thanking Young and the rest of the ownership group for having "trust and faith" in him. "We're going to make it the best experience you can have at a minor league game," he said. The City of Biloxi is building the team a $36 million stadium adjacent to the Beau Rivage. Rogers said he will spend much of the summer in Biloxi, assembling a staff and preparing for the move at the conclusion of the current season -- one which currently finds the Stars sitting atop their division in the Southern League. "I've always believed you surround yourself with the best people possible," Rogers said about the challenge of running the team this season and preparing for a move. "They will execute and gets things done." After the press conference, Rogers said coming to a new market, a new stadium, with a new team name and new logo is like a kid having "Christmas, New Year's and Mardi Gras all rolled into one." Despite being a native of Wisconsin, Rogers is a fan of (brace yourselves, Saints fans) the Minnesota Vikings. With little prompting, he can recite a litany of excuses as to why his beloved Vikes lost the 2009 NFC Championship Game to the Saints. He spent 14 years in the U.S. Army -- most of those as a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne. He served in combat, participating in the invasion of Panama in December 1989. Rogers began attending minor league baseball games while stationed at Ft. Bragg. After a severe parachuting accident, he was discharged from the Army and was hired on the staff of a farm team in the former Montreal Expos organization. He went on to work in the Chicago Cubs organization for three years, then back to the Expos organization the same year they moved to Washington, D.C. and became the Nationals. Rogers was hired as General Manger of the Huntsville franchise -- a Milwaukee Brewers affiliate -- in 2009. He is already acclimating himself to the area and flawlessly pronounced the names "Saucier" and "Gautier" for those attending the press conference. Young said the announcement of Rogers staying on as GM was just the first in the "evolution" of Biloxi baseball leading to the start of play next spring. "You're going to see a lot of things coming out of Biloxi baseball in the coming months," Young said. A contest to name the team will likely begin in about 10 days, when the team sends out a press release announcing the start of the campaign. Fans will be able to submit their suggestions to an online site. From those submitted, five will be chosen by team officials and then voted on by the public. Young also said about 16-20 people will be hired to the front office staff, with the total number of jobs created by the team, including part-time/seasonal employees, will be around 200. Rogers said the Stars have a young team with excellent pitching, not much power but timely hitting and would love nothing more than to see them with a Southern League title in their final year in Huntsville. "We want to leave Huntsville on a good note," he said, "but Biloxi is our future." Ken Young (left), President of the new Biloxi minor league baseball franchise, speaks during a Tuesday press conference as newly-announced General Manager Buck Rogers looks on. (Warren Kulo photo/Gulflive.com) http://imgick.al.com/home/bama-media/width620/img/sports_impact/photo/14756966-mmmain.jpg

A Wednesday Link Report in time for Huntsville's late-AM Wednesday affair will be online by mid-morning.

From Monday: VIDEO: Nashville's Jimmy Nelson registers a season-high ninth strikeout in a 7-0 win on the road at Omaha From Tuesday: VIDEO: Hunter Morris hits an infield single in Nashville's 5-1 loss to Omaha VIDEO: Omaha's Carlos Peguero golfs a Hiram Burgos breaking ball for a home run *** Brevard County Tuesday -- AUDIO: RHP Austin Ross joins Justin Rocke on the Manatees Pregame Show to talk about his early season success AUDIO - Game highlights, including Tommy Toledo striking out the side in the ninth as the 'Tees hold on to beat the Yankees, 2-1 *** Wisconsin Postgame -- Rattler Radio Blog - Chris with much analysis and detail, including a re-configured starting rotation plan Rattler Radio Blog - Game audio

Final: Mobile 13, @Huntsville 2 Errors Plague Stars in Loss to Mobile Huntsville, AL - The Mobile BayBears pounded out seventeen hits on their way to scoring a season high thirteen runs as they dominated the Huntsville Stars from start to finish in a 13-2 victory. With the win, the BayBears improved to 11-8 and have guaranteed themselves a series victory over the Stars in their five-game series. The Stars fall to 11-8 after the loss. Mobile's Justin Greene was a perfect 5-5 at the plate with 3 RBI and David Peralta was 4-4 with 7 RBI. Peralta homered twice, one of which was a grand slam. Already leading 1-0, the BayBears took advantage of a key two-out error by the Stars in the second inning. Stars starter Taylor Jungmann (1-2) was facing Mike Lee, the Mobile pitcher. Lee grounded a slow grounder to third baseman Jason Rogers. Rogers fielded the ball, but never could get the ball out of his glove which allowed Lee to reach. Michael Freeman followed with a single. Greene then made Jungmann and the Stars pay. Greene lined a two-run double to left-center field making it 3-0. Mobile added to their lead in the fourth inning. Sean Jamieson led off by reaching on a Nick Shaw error at shortstop. Mobile once again would capitalize off the Stars miscue. Greene added another RBI single making it 4-0. Then with the bases loaded, Peralta hit a grand slam down the left field line. The grand slam was the second of the series by the BayBears and it extended the lead to 8-0. Jungmann pitched just four innings and gave up eight hits on eight runs as only five were earned runs. Jungmann struck out five in the loss. Lee (2-2) held the Stars bats in check all night long. The Stars did finally get on the scoreboard in the seventh. Trailing 11-0, the Stars' Nick Ramirez led off by reaching on second baseman Michael Freeman's fielding error. Rogers then singled setting up an RBI single from Shawn Zarraga scoring Ramirez making it 11-1. Mitch Haniger also added an RBI single in the inning cutting it to an 11-2 deficit. The BayBears came back with two runs in the eighth on a Jon Grffin RBI single and a Jake Lamb groundout to first base. Lee pitched six innings and allowed five hits on one earned run in Mobile's win. He also struck out six. The Stars and BayBears conclude their five-game series Wednesday morning at "The Joe" in Huntsville. The Stars will have LHP Brent Suter (2-0, 1.06) on the mound while Mobile will start RHP Bryan Woodall (0-0, 2.53). The game can be heard starting at 10:45 AM with Steve Jarnicki on the internet only at http://www.wtkiradio.com or huntsvillestars.com. Huntsville Box Score Well, Taylor Jungmann, Johnnie Lowe, and Eric Marzec combined to strike out nine and walk only one, but the BayBears whacked 17 hits, five for extra bases. Jungmann did hit two batters and his line in this one can be classified as "opposite of good", despite some faulty defense behind him. Only two errors at third base for Jason Rogers thus far, so without video evidence, it's tricky to say if that experiment is truly going well. We like catcher Adam Weisenburger, but Shawn Zarraga (.469/.538/.500) continues to rake, so go, both guys. Does the Crew really need all three of Robinzon Diaz, Matt Pagnozzi, and Lucas May in Nashville in expense of Zarraga (career stats worth reviewing) finally reaching AAA? Zarraga, in his 7th season out of high school, will be a minor league free agent at season's end. Huntsville Game Log Huntsville Bottom of the 6th Johnnie Lowe strikes out swinging. Josh Prince strikes out swinging. Greg Hopkins strikes out swinging, catcher Steve Rodriguez to first baseman Jon Griffin. Mobile Top of the 7th Defensive Substitution: Brock Kjeldgaard replaces left fielder Josh Prince, batting 1st, playing left field. 11-0 at the time, likely just getting Brock a few innings...

Hellweg discussion can take place in the Sounds thread if you wish.

McCalvy: Hellweg has torn elbow ligament

From Fox Sports Fantasy -- Brewers' Fiers on fire at Triple-A Nashville

The Huntsville Media Notes aren't available online yet, but we'll pass along some of the various tidbits from them when we can -- GOOD DEFENSE: The Stars defense leads the Southern League in most double plays turned with 21, and has committed the fewest errors in the league with 10. Entering tonight’s game, the Stars have turned at least one double play in six straight games. CLOSE CALLS: 14 out of the first 18 games that the Stars have played have been decided by 3 runs or less and three have gone into extra innings. The Stars are 7-7 in these contests and 0-3 in extra innings. SCORING EARLY: The Stars have enjoyed scoring runs in the 1st innings of games this season. In 8 games or in 44% of games played thus far, the Stars have scored at least 1 run in the 1st inning. When the Stars score a 1st inning run they are 5-3. ALL ABOUT PITCHING: Through 18 games, the Stars pitching staff has the lowest team ERA in the Southern League. After having the second worst team ERA in 2013, third year pitching coach Chris Hook’s pitching staff is sporting a 2.77 ERA The 44 walks issued by the staff are the 2nd fewest and the 8 saves are tops in the Southern League. The Stars pitchers have allowed the most homeruns in the league (16). 10 of those 13 came in one series in Huntsville against Pensacola. 13 of the 16 homeruns allowed have been in Huntsville. STEALING BAGS: Stars OF/INF Josh Prince enters today with 10 stolen bases tied with Montgomery’s Willie Argo for the most in the league. In 2012, Prince finished 2nd in the Southern League in stolen bases only behind Pensacola’s Billy Hamilton who set the minor league record for steals in a season that year. In his 6 year pro career, Prince has 182 steals. He is 182-232 in stolen bases(78%) during his career. During Prince’s junior season at Tulane, he stole 48 bases which was tied for the most stolen bases in the nation. WALK THIS WAY: Stars hitters have shown the ability to grind out at-bats and take walks in the early stages of the season. Greg Hopkins, Nick Shaw and Prince all have walked 10 times this season. The trio is tied for 8th in the Southern League in walks. RUN PRODUCERS: Stars 1B Nick Ramirez enters today with 11 RBI which is the 3rd most in the Southern League. Last season, he drove in 81 runs for Brevard County(High-A) which was a career high. He is on pace for 86 RBI in his first season at Double-A. He has 5 RBI in his last 4 games. Ramirez also struck out a career high 171 times last season. With his 19 strikeouts this season, he’s on pace to strikeout 148 times. Mitch Haniger enters tonight’s game with 10 RBI which is 4th most in the Southern League. He had 58 RBI combined last year with Wisconsin(Low-A) and Brevard County(High-A). This season he is on pace for 82 RBI. NOT AS UNUSAL AS YOU MAY THINK: With Mobile’s Jake Lambs’ inside-the-park-grand slam Saturday, one would assume an inside-the-park-grand slam is a rare occurrence in baseball. However, just seven days ago on April 13th, Pittsburgh Pirate prospect Erich Weiss hit an inside-the-park grand slam for the Class A West Virginia Power. It was also his first ever professional homerun and his first with a wooden bat. In major league baseball, there have been 224 inside-the-park grand slams in Major League Baseball history, 26 in the past 50 years, and only eight since 1990 (as of August 1, 2011). Honus Wagner has the most in MLB history with five. THE HIT KING: Stars pitching coach Chris Hook has made mention that Stars catcher Shawn Zarraga’s batting stance reminds him of the all-time hit king Pete Rose. Zarraga, has been a tough out this year. Saturday, he recorded his 2nd 3-hit performance of the season in just 13 games played. He has recorded at least one hit in every game that he’s started this season. On the year, Zarraga is batting .464 with 6 RBI.

From Nashville's game notes: VELEZ PICKS UP WHERE HE LEFT OFF: Utilityman Eugenio Velez ranks 2nd in the Pacific Coast League with his .420 batting average. The 31-year-old has hit safely in 12 of his 13 starts with his lone miss occurring Sunday. He has seven multi-hit games this season, ranks 6th in the PCL with a .491 on-base percentage and is 14th with a .620 slugging mark. Velez is tied for 3rd in the league with six stolen bases. The veteran closed out the 2013 campaign by reaching base safely via hit or walk in his final 36 games, including a season-ending 22-game hit streak. *** Now it's just ridiculous. Velez has three singles and an RBI in his first three plate appearances today and is now hitting .453 (24-for-53). Since signing with Milwaukee last July 26th, Velez is 81-for-204 in a substantial sample (that's .397).

Baseball America's... PITCHER OF THE DAY: Jimmy Nelson, rhp — Triple-A Nashville (Brewers) Nelson struck out nine against just one walk on Monday in seven shutout innings against Omaha. The massive righthander has 25 punchouts in as many frames this season, making him one of the bright spots on an otherwise bereft Brewers farm.

Weather.com: Omaha, NE Huntsville, AL Tampa, FL Burlington, IA

Sortable individual stat pages: Nashville Huntsville Brevard County Wisconsin

STANDINGS: AAA - Pacific Coast League American Southern Division AA - Southern League North Division High-A - Florida State League North Division A - Midwest League Western Division

Look for these just prior to the respective game times (Nashville's linked above) -- Brevard County Media Notes - again, it's a unique link each day, but look for it under the "Multimedia" banner on the Manatees' site. Wisconsin Media Notes - Linked on the Rattler Radio blog

To see tweets as to when the Link Report has been technically "completed" with available links, as well as to know when the new day's Report has been posted, please follow @Mass_Haas on Twitter.

Follow Tuesday's action as it happens with box score / game log links: Nashville Huntsville Brevard County Wisconsin MiLB.com feature -- organizational scoreboard, Brewers

Jeff has already tweeted out today's starting Sounds lineup, and this morning's Media Notes are also now available.

Tuesday's Daily Menu: All times are Central Nashville: RHP Hiram Burgos at Omaha (Royals), 10:45 AM pre-game, 11:05 gametime Free Live Audio Link Jeff Hem is the play-by-play voice of the Sounds; follow him on Twitter @jeffhempbp; we'll link to his blog updates at On the Air…and Off MiLB.TV -- for subscribers; all Nashville games, home and away, will be available to watch via MiLB.TV's $49.99 season-long package ($12.99 to pay for a single month). The audio feed is from the home team. All MiLB.TV details available at the link. ********** Huntsville: RHP Taylor Jungmann at home vs. Mobile (Diamondbacks), 6:15 PM pre-game, 6:30 gametime Free Live Audio Link Steve Jarnicki is the new play-by-play voice of the Stars - welcome aboard! Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveJarnicki. All games, home and away, are scheduled to be broadcast. MiLB.TV - It appears seven of the ten Southern League teams telecast their home games (not the Stars). Mississippi does host MiLB.TV broadcasts - be among those hoping Steve's audio link synchs up nicely with your MiLB.TV investment. ********** Brevard County: LHP Jed Bradley at Tampa (Yankees), 5:30 PM pre-game, 6:00 gametime Free Live Audio Link -- Select the proper link based on listed schedule Dave Walkovic returns as the play-by-play voice of the 'Tees; follow the Brevard broadcast booth staff on Twitter @BCManateesRadio. All home games and many road games are scheduled to be broadcast. When road games are only available via the opponents' audio feed (or not at all), we'll let you know that. No Florida State League games are available via MiLB.TV. ********** Wisconsin: RHP Barrett Astin at Burlington (Angels), 6:10 PM pre-game, 6:30 gametime Free Live Audio Link - 1280 AM WNAM Chris Mehring is back to do his customary fantastic work as the Voice of the Rattlers. Follow him on Twitter @CMehring; we'll link to Chris' infamous blog often -- Rattler Radio. For the $49.95 season-long package, fans in Brewer Nation can watch all Sounds games, Stars' road games from seven Southern League locales, and all Timber Rattlers home games and some road games. NOTE: Thirty-nine (!) of the Rattlers' 70 home games will be broadcast on TV this season. Time Warner Cable SportsChannel (9) and WACY-TV My NEW32 (30) will split duties. We'll let you know when and who, and remember to refer to the Rattlers' full TV schedule so you can coordinate your DVR activity. DVR Alert: Next local TV game is Mon. 4/28 on MyNEW32.

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As per @BrewersPD -- Utilityman Hainley Statia has been transferred to Nashville from Huntsville. OF Kevin Mattison to the DL (as we discussed yesterday, Grade 2 shoulder strain, out anywhere from 2-6 weeks). *** Statia should see some time at short, where incumbent Hector Gomez has been proving last season's AA sub-.500 OPS was no fluke - MH No official roster move announced on RHP Johnny Hellweg as of yet.

This Jimmy Nelson run, coming off the second half of last year as well, feels so much more legitimate than Johnny Hellweg's 2013, which was always marred by poor peripherals. Enjoy, Brewers fans. Keep rockin' it out, Jimmy.

Look for Tuesday's Link Report preview to come out by mid-morning, but plan on catching the Sounds' action in the office late this morning.