Jim Goulart

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

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

Programming notes: Jackson has MiLB.TV coverage, so if you're a subscriber, you can watch this Stars' series (live and/or archived). *** No Brevard County audio from the Manatees' crew for this series in Clearwater, but you can listen to the Threshers' call here.

Wednesday's Daily Menu: All times are Central Nashville: RHP Johnnie Lowe at home vs. Iowa (Cubs), 6:45 PM pre-game, 7:05 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: RHP Ariel Pena at Jackson (Mariners), 6:50 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime Free Live Audio Link -- Select the Huntsville feed from the MiLB main audio page Alex Cohen is the play-by-play voice of the Stars; follow him on Twitter @alexmcohen. All games, home and away, are scheduled to be broadcast. It appears four Southern League teams air their home games on MiLB.TV, and we'll let you know when those dates pop up on the schedule ********** Brevard County: LHP Jed Bradley at (Phillies), 12:00 PM gametime ********** Wisconsin: RHP Eric Semmelhack at Beloit (Athletics), 10:50 AM pre-game, 11:00 gametime; look for RHP Preston Gainey in a tandem effort 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. So for the $39.95 season-long package, fans in Brewer Nation can watch all Sounds games, Stars' road games from four Southern League locales, and all Timber Rattlers home games and some road games. NOTE: 32 of the Rattlers' 70 home games will be broadcast on TV this season. Time Warner Cable SportsChannel has seventeen games scheduled and WACY-TV My NEW32 plans to show fifteen games. We'll let you know when, but won't be providing day-before DVR reminders, so regularly check for proper channel and time planning (scroll to the bottom of this link).

http://www.brewerfan.net/images/store/dailylinkreport.jpg

Check it out -- Homer the Polecat made his way to Jackson, TN to root on the Stars VIDEO How the announcer called "Pepe Le Peu" Italian and not French is pretty bad....

Rattler Radio Blog -- Writing it out – Postgame post for May 28, 2013

Stars fall despite Nelson’s strong outing Matthew Raines, Huntsville Stars On Tuesday, the Huntsville Stars opened up a series with the Jackson Generals at The Ballpark at Jackson, looking to gain ground in the Northern Division. Despite starter Jimmy Nelson’s ten strikeout performance and a ninth inning rally, the Stars fell to the Generals by a score of 5-4. Huntsville trailed almost the whole night until third baseman Mike Walker lifted a home run to left field with one out in the ninth off Generals closer Tyler Burgoon to tie the score at four. Unfortunately, the Generals managed to load the bases against reliever Greg Holle (L, 2-2, 4.38 ERA) and Generals right fielder James Jones succeeded in singling up the middle to score shortstop Gabriel Noriega to win the game in walk off fashion. The scoring started early in the game when the Generals pushed a run across in the bottom of the first inning as center fielder Denny Almonte got on base and, after moving over to second on a steal and third on a hit by Jones, came around to score on a fielder’s choice to put the Generals on top 1-0. The Stars answered back quickly, getting a second inning leadoff triple from center fielder Rene Tosoni. Tosoni was brought home when Walker grounded out, tying the score at one going into the bottom of the second. Huntsville would fall behind again though in the bottom half of the second. Jackson second baseman Jack Marder came around to score the second Jackson run after leading off the inning with a hit by pitch. He came home thanks in part to an error by Stars right fielder Kentrail Davis after a single by Noriega, which also put Noriega on second. Noriega was then brought home two batters later when Almonte singled, ballooning the Generals lead to 3-1. The scoring stopped until the fourth inning when the Stars benefited from a Jackson mistake. Walker, after getting on with a walk, managed to score from first after designated hitter Robinzon Diaz hit a deep drive to left that was misplayed by Generals left fielder Leon Landry. The error resulted in a run and Diaz standing at second, cutting the lead to 3-2. The Generals didn’t take long to answer back. After getting on with a single and advancing to second on a groundout, catcher Michael Dowd scored after pinch hitter Leury Bonilla looped a hit over the infield, bringing the score to 4-2 Generals. The scoring slowed down again until Huntsville got their offense going again in the top of the seventh. Diaz led off the inning with a double and was brought home on a double by catcher Adam Weisenburger, leaving the Stars with a man on second with no outs. Unfortunately for Huntsville, Weisenburger got picked off of second and the score stood at 4-3 going into the seventh inning stretch. Nelson threw eight innings, giving up four runs, two of them earned, on nine hits while striking out ten and walking none. His record stays at 5-3 and his ERA sits at 2.89. The ten strikeouts in the game is Nelson’s season high. Burgoon picked up the win despite blowing a save opportunity in the ninth. He improves to 3-1 on the year. Generals starter Erasmo Ramirez went five innings, giving up two runs, one earned, on three hits with three strikeouts and two walks. On offense, the Stars were led by right fielder Kentrail Davis, who had two doubles in his first two at bats. Diaz contributed two hits and Walker scored twice in addition to his home run. The Generals got a balanced attack with five hitters getting two hits, led by Noriega who went 2-4 with two runs scored and Almonte who went 2-4 with a run scored and an RBI as well as two stolen bases. With the loss, the Stars fall to 22-29 on the season and sit ten games back of the division leading Birmingham Barons. Jackson improves to 23-26, eight games behind Birmingham. The Stars will continue their series with the Generals on Wednesday. Huntsville will send RHP Ariel Pena (4-3, 2.77 ERA) to the bump to square off against Jackson LHP Anthony Fernandez (2-0, 6.66 ERA). First pitch is at 7:05 CT.

Audio from Nashville – Trainer Aaron “Red” Hoback Tonight’s interview is with Sounds athletic trainer Aaron “Red” Hoback, who discusses his first year as a trainer at Triple-A after several at Double-A for the Brewers, how baseball has changed the past few years in dealing with concussions (or possible concussions), why he enjoys working in baseball compared to other sports, and the influence on baseball from renowned orthopedist Dr. Lewis Yocum, who passed away Tuesday morning. http://jeffhempbp.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/aaron_hoback_trainer.jpg?w=225&h=300

VIDEO: The 2nd of two Cole Garner home runs for Nashville Monday *** VIDEO: Jason Rogers Monday blast for the Stars -- like the little deke from the left fielder

Quick update on former farmhand and infielder Pete Fatse, coaching and developing players.

Via Jeff Hem -- Johnnie Lowe to start Wed., replace Frankie De La Cruz (to 'pen). Chris Narveson scheduled for rehab start Thurs. *** Not that Johnnie Lowe is someone to do backflips over, but the 2013 Frankie De La Cruz as a starter experiment is mercifully over after nine starts (ten appearances overall - stats).

Via the Sounds -- OF Sean Halton has been activated from the Sounds D.L. for tonight's game vs. Iowa; C Dayton Buller replaces him on D.L. *** That leaves Blake Lalli and Anderson De La Rosa to share catching duties.

The Timber Rattlers' Michael Reed and his three-triple game last week caught the attention of his hometown fans in the Austin, TX area. Reed provides additional quotes here.

Nice read, Brad -- Every season when the Brewers and their four full season affiliates in Nashville, Huntsville, Brevard County and Wisconsin break Spring Training in early April, there are a group of players who stay behind at the Brewers facility in Maryvale, Arizona. XST: Extended Spring Training

Old friend: Manatees face Carlos Zambrano tonight in Clearwater

Weather.com: Nashville, TN Jackson, TN Clearwater, FL Beloit, WI

Look for Nashville and Wisconsin media notes at the links just prior to their game times. 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.

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.

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

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

Programming notes: Jackson has MiLB.TV coverage, so if you're a subscriber, you can watch this Stars' series (live and/or archived). *** Tuesday's audio for the Huntsville game is only available via the Jackson link. Alex indicates he'll be back on board Wednesday. *** No Brevard County audio from the Manatees' crew for this series in Clearwater, but you can listen to the Threshers' call here.

Tuesday's Daily Menu: All times are Central Nashville: LHP Zach Kroenke at home vs. Iowa (Cubs), 6:45 PM pre-game, 7:05 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: RHP Jimmy Nelson at Jackson (Mariners), 7:05 gametime It appears four Southern League teams air their home games on MiLB.TV, and we'll let you know when those dates pop up on the schedule. ********** Brevard County: LHP Brent Suter at (Phillies), 6:00 PM gametime ********** Wisconsin: RHP Ryan Gibbard at Beloit (Athletics), 6:10 PM pre-game, 6:30 gametime; look for RHP Jorge Lopez in a tandem effort 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. So for the $39.95 season-long package, fans in Brewer Nation can watch all Sounds games, Stars' road games from four Southern League locales, and all Timber Rattlers home games and some road games. NOTE: 32 of the Rattlers' 70 home games will be broadcast on TV this season. Time Warner Cable SportsChannel has seventeen games scheduled and WACY-TV My NEW32 plans to show fifteen games. We'll let you know when, but won't be providing day-before DVR reminders, so regularly check for proper channel and time planning (scroll to the bottom of this link).

http://www.brewerfan.net/images/store/dailylinkreport.jpg

Pierce off to good start for Manatees by Steve Clark, The Reporter Media By his own admission, Chad Pierce doesn’t bring anything overly special to the pitcher’s mound. The Fond du Lac native now pitching for the Brevard County Manatees, the advanced Class A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers, doesn’t feature a 95 mph-plus fastball or a slider that sends hitters running back to the dugout. His curveball and change-up may be above average pitches but not the caliber that have scouts drooling in the stands. What Pierce does have is the ability to get opposing hitters out. And has he tries to make a name for himself to keep rising through the organization, he believes that will help him stand out. “I’m not overpowering at all, but the majority of the time I’m able to throw three pitches for strikes and that’s key at this level or any level,” Pierce said in a phone interview before a game against Clearwater this past weekend. “I think being able to keep guys off my fastball, whether it’s with a change up or a curveball, if I keep doing that hopefully it can set me apart from other guys and hopefully, this season or next season get up a level.” After a rough start to the 2013 season, Pierce has found his groove on the mound. Over his last eight appearances, the right-hander, who pitches mainly out of the bullpen, has allowed just one run in 20 1/3 innings and hasn’t allowed a run in his last 14 2/3 innings. For the season, he is 2-1 with a 2.36 earned run average and has allowed just 18 hits, while striking out 39 in 34 1/3 innings. “The last couple games, I’ve taken off a little bit after a couple rough ones early on in the season,” Pierce said. “Overall a good start to the season and something I’m looking forward to all year long.” The biggest key for him — and something every pitcher deals with — is staying away from walks. That played a role in his slow start when he allowed eight earned runs in his first 14 innings of work this season. “They don’t like to see guys walk a lot of people. I did early in the season and that really bugged me,” Pierce said. “It’s a long season so you need to be able to weather some storms, the ups and downs. … If you have a bad outing, the next one, you just get back on the bump and get after it.” With Pierce’s help, the Manatees are currently in second place in the Florida State League’s North Division, one-game behind Dunedin, a Toronto Blue Jays affiliate. It shouldn’t be any surprise that this group is near the top of the standings since the bulk of the roster were members of the Midwest League Champion Wisconsin Timber Rattlers last year. It’s not something that the team relives with regularity, however, the experience of being a part of a championship winning team has definitely carried over to this season. “We’ll talk sometimes about last year, but last year is in the past and this year we’re trying to win a championship here,” Pierce said. “We’ve got a great clubhouse. That helped us last year and we’re able to relive it this year just by the way we are with each other. “We won in the past and we believe in ourselves and I think that will carry over into this season and it has so far.” The only thing that hasn’t carried over for Pierce is the fans in the stands backing him personally. He said family and friends regularly made the jaunt up Highway 41 to Fox Cities Stadium last season to watch him play for the Timber Rattlers, which obviously doesn’t happen this season. As much as he misses the support, he believes playing in Florida may be tougher on his family than on him. “They were able to live a dream last year. Not often do you get a chance to watch your sun play pro ball or even college ball so close to home and my parents were fortunate enough to see me play a lot,” said Pierce, who played collegiately at UW-Milwaukee. “For me, it’s the same thing no matter where I am. You have to go out and there compete.”