Jim Goulart

Hunter Morris dealing with a season of a few headaches Mark McCarter, Huntsville Times NASHVILLE, Tennessee - "It was really kinda funny," Hunter Morris begins, and well, I guess if concussions and disabled lists are real hilarious, thigh-slapping, Comedy Central sort of events, then this was it. Fresno's Chris Dominguez, a mere 6-foot-5, 235 pounds, hit a two-hop bouncer off the nub of his bat, down the first base line. Morris scampered up to get the ball and tag the oncoming Dominguez. About that time pitcher Tim Dillard, was hustling over to help on the play. "Dillard was in front of me and we got out feet tangled up," Morris says. "And when I fell forward, my head and the runner's knee were in the same place at the same time." We'll pause for a moment while you stop guffawing. Not quite as long as Morris got himself paused - a week on the disabled list, his first DL sentence in pro ball - early this season, his first at Class AAA Nashville. Morris is the former Grissom High and Auburn University standout who in 2011 became the first Huntsville-born player to appear for the Huntsville Stars. He spent the full 2012 season with Huntsville, winning the Southern League Most Outstanding Player award, batting .303 with 28 homers, 113 RBIs and 40 doubles; he led the league in homers and RBIs, was second in doubles and slugging average, 11th in batting average. There are no physical after-affects from the concussion. Everything is 100 percent now, as Morris leans on the wall of the third-base grandstands at Greer Stadium minutes before a pregame ceremony in which he'd be presented the 2012 Huntsville Times Sportsperson of the Year award. Morris homered in his Class AAA debut and is third in the Pacific Coast League - yes, geography students, Nashville is in the Pacific Coast League - in homers at 18, which puts him ahead of last year's pace. But going into Tuesday night's play, he was batting .244 with only 48 RBIs. "Defensively, I'm very pleased with where I am," he says. "That's been a main focus of mine. At the plate, the power numbers are ahead of last year but the batting average and RBIs have taken a big hit. That comes with this being my first year in Triple-A. I'm facing a lot of guys with experience who know how to pitch. Now I'm making the adjustments, trying to keep up with them." There has been a lifestyle adjustment for him as well. The demands of being in his hometown have subsided. However, it also means wife Macie and son Tripp aren't there on a daily basis. The travel has gone from bus rides, most of which were six hours or less, to cross-country commercial flights, with 3:30 a.m. wakeup calls after a night game, to hustle to the airport for a flight and a game that night. Morris was given a look-see in spring training by the Milwaukee Brewers for the first base job, left open by an injury to Corey Hart, but he didn't produce at the plate. Since then, Milwaukee has used seven different first basemen on its stagger to last place in the NL Central, and nine different Sounds have been promoted to the majors since April. "If I start worrying about what's going on in Milwaukee, I'll drive myself crazy," Morris says. "I already put enough pressure on myself. Most people will tell you that the pressure I feel I put on myself. That's something I've got to get past." There is this one thing, though. "From what I've heard, the travel in the big leagues is easy," he says. "That's something to look forward to." Former Grissom High standout Hunter Morris, center, is presented the 2012 Huntsville Times Sportsperson of the Year award by Times columnist Mark McCarter, left, at a recent Nashville Sounds game. Sounds manager Mike Guerrero is at right. (Special photo/The Nashville Sounds) http://imgick.al.com/home/bama-media/width620/img/sports_impact/photo/13059225-mmmain.jpg

Be sure to read the new Hunter Morris feature just posted in our Nashville thread.

STANDINGS: AAA - Pacific Coast League American Northern Division AA - Southern League North Division High-A - Florida State League North Division A - Midwest League Western Division Rookie Advanced - Pioneer League North Division Rookie - Arizona Summer League DSL - Dominican Summer League San Pedro de Macoris Division *** NOTE: To view first half or overall standings for Huntsville, Brevard County, and Wisconsin, you'll notice options at the respective links for that. Otherwise it's second-half standings as the default view for those three leagues.

Weather.com: Albuquerque, NM Viera, FL (Melbourne) Helena, MT San Pedro de Macoris, DR

Look for Nashville media notes at the link just prior to game time. New this season: Brevard County has media notes; as of now, it's a unique link each day, but look for it just prior to game time each day within the "Stats and Scores" banner here. Also new this season: Helena has media notes; it's a unique link each day, but look for it just prior to game time each day within the "Stats and Scores" banner here.

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 Brevard County Helena DSL Brewers New MiLB.com feature -- organizational scoreboard, Brewers

Programming note: DVR ALERT! (One day's notice) Wednesday's Timber Rattlers game will be broadcast on Time Warner Cable Sports 32 at 7:00 PM; no formal pre-game, but "Timber Rattlers Field Pass" is scheduled to air immediately after at 10:00.

Tuesday's Daily Menu: All times are Central Nashville: LHP Chris Narveson at Albuquerque (Dodgers), 7:45 PM pre-game, 8:05 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 $39.99 season-long package ($9.99 to pay for a single month). The audio feed is from the home team. All MiLB.TV details available at the link. ********** Huntsville: Idle ********** Brevard County: RHP Tyler Cravy at home vs. Clearwater (Phillies), 5:05 PM pre-game, 5:35 gametime Free Live Audio Link -- Select the link based on listed schedule Manatees audio, hooray! Dave Walkovic is the first play-by-play voice of the 'Tees since 2007, he's joined by Andy Towne; 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, we'll let you know that. ********** Wisconsin: Idle ********** Helena: RHP Brandon Moore at home vs. Idaho Falls (Royals), 7:45 PM pre-game, 8:05 gametime Free Live Audio Link Voice of the Helena Brewers Steve Wendt is back on board, and this year he's added Twitter to the mix @steve_wendt. We've been treated to Steve's work for many years now (ten!); he is among the very best at the art of the pre-game interview, especially considering how at ease he makes all these first-time professional ballplayers. MiLB.TV -- When the H-Crew makes their way to Idaho Falls (July) and Grand Junction (August), those games will be available for viewing online. ********** Arizona Rookie (Maryvale): Idle ********** DSL Brewers: at home vs. the DSL Cubs, 9:30 AM, although game data won't be available until later in the day

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AUDIO INTERVIEW: Manatees LHP Brent Leach on the Manatees Pregame Show 2009 big leaguer with the Dodgers...

Via MLB.com: The other side of A-Rod's rehab stint The full article includes these passages: *** Talk to Cody Scarpetta, a 24-year-old right-hander back in the Florida State League with an interesting story of his own. Formerly one of the top prospects in the Brewers organization, he reached the Majors for one day in 2011 because Milwaukee needed a long reliever. Scarpetta didn't pitch that day, went back to Double-A and started to feel some soreness in his arm. He didn't break camp in 2012 and underwent Tommy John surgery last May. He's worked his way to this point, his arm feeling "OK" in his sixth start for Brevard County on a long road back to full health. Scarpetta has been on a restricted pitch count as part of his return, but he's rolled through four innings on this gorgeous Saturday evening, probably his best outing yet. Obviously excited to face one of baseball's most accomplished hitters, Scarpetta induced a groundout in the first inning before giving up a single -- A-Rod's first rehab hit -- in the third. "We heard that he was coming a few days ago, and everyone started to get a little wired," Scarpetta said. "Once he steps into the box, it sets in." Scarpetta was nearing his pitch limit after recording two outs in the fifth and putting runners on first and second. Rodriguez was due up next. In the bullpen, lefty Stephen Peterson was hoping Scarpetta's night was over. He wanted a chance to face A-Rod, too. But Scarpetta stayed in, ran up a 1-1 count and threw a "backup curveball" too far inside. The pitch hit Rodriguez on the left side, very close to his surgically repaired hip, the main reason he's in Viera and not in the Bronx right now. A-Rod later explained that the pitch hit him in the IT band, but he winced and grabbed his hip before trotting to first base. Scarpetta had reached his pitch limit, and he apologized to Rodriguez as he walked off the field. "A lot of people were obviously there to see him. You definitely want to perform," Scarpetta said. "But the buzz, you could definitely feel it. "It's definitely something that you can write home about." *** Talk to Joe Ayrault, Brevard County's manager, who came to the mound to get Scarpetta after that errant curveball. Ayrault, 41, had crossed paths before with Rodriguez, who will turn 38 later this month. Ayrault was a coach in the Rangers organization during A-Rod's final years in Texas. He recalled being in the room when Rodriguez talked to several hitting coaches about his approach, sharing ideas and techniques that Ayrault still teaches today. "He's a big leaguer. You see that. It's a Hall of Famer," Ayrault said. "You tell the guys, 'That guy was the best in the game when he was rolling.'" The two occasionally chatted during Saturday's game, Ayrault in the third-base coach's box while Rodriguez played defense. Ayrault said he mostly told Rodriguez he was happy to see him back on the field. But when A-Rod came out for the bottom of the fifth, the Manatees' skipper saw a chance to crack a joke. "I ran over to [Rodriguez], I said, 'See how I roll? Somebody hits a Major League rehab guy, I take him out of the game,'" Ayrault said. "He was laughing about that." Ayrault also smiled about how excited some of his players were to be on the same field as Rodriguez, how they'd hoped he would get on base so they could talk to him and how the home crowd seemed to respond to Rodriguez, whether it was with a loud cheer or a round of boos. "It's cool for my guys to be a part of it," Ayrault said. "[There were] a lot of fans at the game [saturday]. It's pretty neat."

Link Report Bonus: Tennessean Video Report - Nashville Sounds' distinctive guitar scoreboard turns 20 The guitar-shaped scoreboard at Greer Stadium, installed 20 years ago, has become one of the most popular in all of sports. Its future is unknown if Nashville gets a new stadium.

If you scroll to the bottom of this link, you'll hear some post-doubleheader comments from the Stars' Jason Rogers via the Smokies' broadcast.

Via Jeff Hem's blog -- Audio from Albuquerque — “Mondays with Mike” Here is this week’s installment of “Mondays with Mike” with Sounds manager Mike Guerrero, who discusses the Sounds’ recent week, which included wins early in the week and losses late; updates on Hiram Burgos, who left last night’s outing in Memphis after just 52 pitches, and outfielder Khris Davis, who has missed the last three games; and coming to hitter-friendly Albuquerque for the first time this season. Also a nice Pedro Cerrano reference regarding "slugger" Hainley Statia... http://jeffhempbp.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/pedro-cerrano.jpg?w=300&h=169 *** Importantly, we learn in the interview that Hiram Burgos is re-experiencing shoulder discomfort (waiting on word from medical staff) and that Khris Davis is having hamstring issues (may play next on Wednesday).

Earlier you heard Jeff Hem's audio call, now watch -- VIDEO: Caleb Gindl goes yard in Nashville's 6-5 loss to Albuquerque

VIDEO: Huntsville's Mike Walker doubles home two runs in the Stars' 2-0 win over the Tennessee Smokies (Play at the plate!) AUDIO: Same play, but with Alex's call *** VIDEO: David Goforth strikes out Arismendy Alcantara in the Stars' 2-0 win over Tennessee *** Alex has the audio call from the final out of Goforth's Game One shutout Christian Villanueva lines out to shortstop Hector Gomez. (More exciting than it reads...) *** Here are audio highlights via Alex from the nightcap 6-3 victory for the doubleheader sweep

Stars Cruise Past Smokies in Doubleheader By Matthew Raines / MILB.com Kodak, TN. - The Huntsville Stars might finally be hitting their stride. Pitching performances like those thrown by Drew Goforth and clutch hitting by batters like Chadwin Stang will do that. The Stars won their second series in a row on Monday, sweeping a doubleheader with the Tennessee Smokies 2-0 and 6-3 respectfully. Huntsville has now won five of their last eight games, as well as three in a row. In the first game, the Stars struggled at the plate, only getting five hits for the game. Luckily, Goforth (W 2-1) didn't need much. Goforth cruised through the Smokies hitters, throwing only eighty three pitches over seven innings. He retired twenty one of the twenty three batters he faced, giving up two hits and a walk to go with four strikeouts. Huntsville's winning runs came in the fourth inning when Mike Walker doubled, bringing in Kentrail Davis and Brock Kjeldgaard. Walker went three for three on the day including his ninth double of the year. Smokies pitcher Kyle Hendricks (L 8-3) went five innings, giving up two hits and two runs. He walked three and struck out five. In the second game, the Stars' bats woke up early, scoring quickly in the top of the first. Three of the first four Huntsville batters got a hit, capped by Jason Rogers' single, bringing in Stang and making the score 1-0 Stars. It was the third time that Huntsville had scored in the first inning this half. The score would hold until the fifth, when Christian Villanueva scored on a sacrifice fly by Chad Noble against Stars reliever Kevin Shackelford. This tied the score at one, going to the sixth. This set the table for the top of the seventh. Huntsville managed to scratch another run as Stang singled to right, scoring Shea Vucinich. The Stars would add an insurance run before heading to the bottom of the seventh ahead 3-1. Huntsville closer Casey Medlen though would not be able to hold the lead and the Smokies would tie the score but could not take the lead, sending the game into extra innings. In the eighth inning, the Stars seized the lead back in a big way. Huntsville got three hits, two walks and a sac fly as they scored three runs, the last one driven in by Stang as he finished the night four for five with two RBI's and a run scored. Greg Holle then nailed the sweep down, striking out two of the three batters he faced to earn his seventh save. Huntsville starter Brooks Hall got the no decision despite leaving with the lead. He pitched four innings, giving up two hits, struck out Javier Baez and walked none. Medlen (W 2-3) earned the win despite allowing two runs on two hits and a walk in an inning of work. With the sweep, the Stars record improves to 37-51 on the year, 8-12 in the second half of the season. The Smokies record falls to 44-43, 10-8 in the second half. Huntsville will return home to Joe Davis Stadium on Wednesday after a scheduled off day to open up their final series of the year with their rivals, the Birmingham Barons. Game is set to start at 6:43.

Goforth tosses gem for Huntsville Milwaukee right-hander throws first complete-game shutout By Robert Emrich / MiLB.com David Goforth learned a valuable lesson in his first Southern League start: Throw strike one. That lesson proved crucial on Monday. The right-handed Brewers prospect allowed two hits over seven innings to notch the first complete-game shutout of his career as Double-A Huntsville blanked Tennessee, 2-0, in the opener of their doubleheader. Goforth fanned four and gave up one walk while throwing 53 of his 83 pitches for strikes. He allowed just one runner, Jonathan Mota, to reach second base, in the sixth inning. "I was just able to get ahead of guys and pretty much just work with my fastball all night," the 24-year-old said. "My secondary pitches weren't as sharp as they have been in the past. I was able to show some breaking pitches, it wasn't like I didn't have any feel for a breaking pitch. I feel like the best pitch in baseball is a well-located fastball." Goforth (2-1) was promoted to Double-A on June 25. In that first start against Birmingham, he allowed six runs on six hits and walked four over 2 2/3 innings. Despite the disheartening numbers, Goforth learned something that day. "I was behind guys that whole start," he said. "At any level, doesn't matter if it's Double-A or Rookie ball, if you get behind guys, these guys are professional hitters. They are going to get hits and hit the ball hard. That was the biggest thing, not getting behind guys and putting the hitters in good counts to make contact. "The one major difference that I realized guys don't chase many pitches out of the zone. They will if you get ahead, but the main thing is making your pitches look like a strike out of your hand. If you can get ahead of guys, it's pretty much the same. That was biggest thing I had to get used to." The Mississippi native went 7-5 with a 3.10 ERA in 14 Florida State League starts for Class A Advanced Brevard County. Since joining the Stars, he is 2-1 with a 4.60 ERA. Mike Walker's two-run double in the fourth inning accounted for the Stars offense. Walker finished with three of the club's five hits. Kyle Hendricks fell to 8-3 after allowing two runs on two hits and striking out five over five innings for the Smokies.

Quite the family night for yours truly last night, hosting the Mrs.' family up from Florida -- got up early to watch the amazing DVR'd Brewers game (wow!), and wanted to get in the Maryvale details. Looks like our Link Reporters did their usual awesome job, haven't reviewed in full and followed up with the post-game and next morning links yet, will do so by mid-morning, at which point we'll send out our daily reminder tweet. As always, thanks for reading along...

Final: AZL Brewers 14, @AZL Diamondbacks 3 The non-Elvis Rubio portion AZL Brewers Box Score Wow, was this needed! Excellent pitching, perfect defense, and an overdue offensive outburst! 5th round RHP Josh Uhen out of UW-Milwaukee, and two non-drafted free agents, LHP Chris Matulis out of LSU and RHP Sean Wardour of Cal State-Dominguez Hills, were all effective, as you'll note in their lines. No shame in the "non-drafted" status, just look at what Taylor Mangum is doing in Wisconsin. The A-Crew stranded 12, yet were also 7-for-16 with RISP. 18 base hits included 15 singles, but were welcome. Somehow 2B Francisco Castillo did not score nor drive in a run, despite a 4-for-6 day. He did eliminate himself once with a caught stealing, now just 3-for-6 in that department. Castillo is tied for the Arizona League lead in base hits. 18-year-old Florida high school draft pick Brandon Diaz doubled, singled, walked, and drove in three to continue a solid spring. Youngsters who had previously struggled or had seen very limited playing time filled the numbers at the bottom of the order, please review the box score. Eric Williams and Tucker Neuhaus left the game when the lead was large, allowing for Yonki Hernandez and Joe Andrade to join the fun. Williams, the Texas high schooler, continues to contribute regularly. Neuhaus was 0-for-4 (in four innings), but if you heard Doug Melvin on the Brewers broadcast last night, you know these newbies are just focused on learning to play every day, and any real adjustments will come during instructionals. That's fairly generic (surely Neuhaus is receiving some instruction), and balls in play should start falling for him soon. Arizona Game Log Bon appetit!

That's already six HBP's for Rubio in 12 games in 2013. Rubio had eight HBP's in each of his two DSL seasons, a total of 16 in 96 games, so it's part of his skill set. What's the elbow armor situation in Maryvale?

Maryvale OF Elvis Rubio was the DH Monday, his night: AZL Brewers Top of the 1st Elvis Rubio singles on a line drive to center fielder Matt McPhearson. Brandon Diaz scores. Elvis Rubio to 2nd. AZL Brewers Top of the 3rd -- Seven run inning! Elvis Rubio homers (3) on a fly ball to left field. Eric Williams scores. Elvis Rubio hit by pitch. Eric Williams to 2nd. AZL Brewers Top of the 5th Elvis Rubio hit by pitch. AZL Brewers Top of the 7th Elvis Rubio homers (4) on a fly ball to left field. Yonki Hernandez scores. AZL Brewers Top of the 8th Elvis Rubio flies out to right fielder Dane McFarland. *** The A-Crew rolled to a much-needed 14-3 win, more details will follow shortly.

For those wondering, most MiLB box scores aren't displaying right now, at least in some browsers. It's not our links, should be rectified during the overnight...

Moye Wins Pitcher of the Week Award By Alex Cohen / Huntsville Stars Just a few days following having a bid for a no-hitter broken up in the ninth inning, Stars starting pitcher Andy Moye got his revenge in being named the Southern League Pitcher of the Week from July 2nd-8th. Against the Chattanooga Lookouts on July 3rd, Moye pitched 8.1 innings, giving up a single to Rafael Ynoa with one out in the ninth inning en route to leading the Stars to a 2-0 series-clinching victory. Righty Kevin Shackelford came on in relief of Moye at the point to finish off the third one-hitter on the year for the Stars pitching staff. The one-hitter was the only start of the week for the Alpharetta, GA native. For Moye, the one-hitter was his the second of the season against Chattannoga. During the Stars opening series of the 2013 season, the 25-year-old righty combined with righty Greg Holle to one-hit the Lookouts in a seven-inning game on April 7th at AT&T Field. On the season, Moye is 4-9 with a 4.16 ERA. His two complete games on the season and three starts of eight innings or longer both lead the Stars. Moye has given up two earned runs or less in three of his last four outings. Moye is the Stars first pitcher to win the Southern League Pitcher of the Week award in almost two full seasons. The last pitcher to win the award from Huntsville is current Milwaukee Brewers hurler Wily Peralta, who got the nod in 2011 (July 25th- August 1st).