Jim Goulart

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

YouTube Fun:

Thursday's Daily Menu: All times are Central Nashville: RHP Johnny Hellweg at home vs. Oklahoma City (Astros), 6:50 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime Free Live Audio Link -- Select the Nashville feed from the MiLB main audio page 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 Taylor Jungmann at home vs. Jacksonville (Marlins), 6:18 PM pre-game, 6:43 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: RHP Brooks Hall at home vs. Lakeland (Tigers), 5:05 PM pre-game, 5:35 PM gametime Free Live Audio Link -- Select the Brevard County feed from the MiLB main audio page 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. NOTE: Dave indicates that he hopes to include a pre-game interview prior to each game; it's a 30-minute pre-game! We'll fill you in if Brevard masters archiving a la Nashville and/or Helena. ********** Wisconsin: Postponed; details on Friday's doubleheader vs. Kane County (Cubs) here 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

Also announced by the Brewers: RHP Johnnie Lowe moves from Huntsville to Nashville; infielder Hector Gomez (oblique) comes off the Stars' DL to fill that spot. At Nashville, Lowe takes the spot of RHP Kyle Heckathorn, no additional word on the nature or severity of his injury. Heckathorn last pitched on the 7th.

Thursday's Link Report out at lunch time, but here's a heads-up: No Rattlers Thursday, either

Updates from Brevard County (links lead to stat pages): RHP Eric Marzec transferred from Brevard County to Huntsville. Marzec appeared in ten games at the AA level in 2012. This also fills the one open roster spot on the Stars' roster. RHP Andre Lamontagne placed on the disabled list, retroactive to 4/8. Bummer, we imagine this is related to Lamontagne's long road back from shoulder surgery, but we don't know that, it may be unrelated. RHP Tyler Cravy transferred from Helena to Brevard County. Word is that Cravy looked strong this spring, so his non-inclusion on the Manatee roster initially was a bit of a surprise. Brevard County's roster is at 24 active players with two players on the DL (OF Ben McMahan - broken thumb, and now Lamontagne).

Video from Huntsville, including both the Kjeldgaard and Walker home runs

More from Mark McCarter of the Times: HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- What started almost nightmarishly turned into a dream of a home opener for the Huntsville Stars Wednesday night. Starting pitcher Jimmy Nelson struggled early, with the first four Jacksonville Suns reaching base. However, as Nelson kept his poise, the Stars found their power and went on to a 5-1 victory in front of an announced crowd of 3,031. It was the fifth win in six games this season for Huntsville, which hosts Jacksonville again Thursday at 6:43 at Joe Davis Stadium. As manager Darnell Coles noted, it was a game when every facet of the team seemed to shine: Starting pitching: Nelson escaped his no-out, bases-loaded situation -- a mess caused by an error and a hit batsman -- with a strikeout and a double play, then held Jacksonville to only two more hits in the next six innings. That earned the second win of the season for the former Alabama hurler. Hitting: Brock Kjeldgaard and Mike Walker homered in the fourth inning to take the 2-1 lead. The Stars had 10 hits, two each by Kjeldgaard and Adam Weisenburger. The latter had a clutch two-out double in the sixth, then Jason Rogers smacked an RBI single and Kentrail Davis an RBI double in the seventh. Defense: The Stars turned three double plays, including the key play in the first and then a game-ender. Relief pitching: Brian Garman, Alan Williams and Santo Manzanillo combined for three innings of one-hit relief, with four strikeouts among them. All of which was, as Coles put it, "a microcosm" of the Stars' four-out-of-five dominance in Chattanooga in the season's first series. The Stars are batting a league-best .245 as a team, have four saves and a bullpen ERA of 1.19.

Huntsville Times Photo Gallery

A lot to like from Huntsville Stars' 2013 home opener Mark McCarter, Huntsville Times HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Good to be giddy now and again. Especially at a mausoleum of a ballpark that doesn't do giddy very often. This is junior-high, first-crush kind of giddy. So far, you like what you see of the 2013 Huntsville Stars. Then again, you've got to be careful. Bandwagons often have flimsy wheels. Six games is barely breaking a sweat in a 144-game schedule. The Stars are 5-1 on the year after their 5-1 win over Jacksonville Wednesday night. It's not exactly history making. They began 5-1 in 2008 and, alas, finished only 73-67 and didn't make the playoffs. It was, however, a sweet little beginning to the home season, one of those games you'd script if you wanted some return customers. Quick game. Some drama. Web gems. Solid pitching. Home runs by the home team. One of those, in a nod to Stars fans still caught in the riptide of nostalgia, was almost Canseco-esque in proportions, with Brock Kjeldgaard clearing both fences in dead centerfield. Kjeldgaard may never go to the big leagues and hit 462 homers. He'll also not embarrass himself with a sordid tryst with Madonna or by treating steroids like peanut M&Ms. There was an announced crowd of 3,031. Not bad for a Wednesday school night. Not great for opening night in a city this size where baseball's future is a continuing source of conversation, where the team has lagged at the bottom of attendance figures for a decade. Among those in attendance was a delegation from the parent club, the Milwaukee Brewers. For the usual requisite cheap-shot from this column on such an occasion, among those not in attendance was the team owner, Miles Prentice. Prentice did phone two hours before the pitch and got a weather report from general manager Buck Rogers. Let's update the weather report: Eighty percent chance of storms tonight. Chilly relationship with ownership and the city. Hot baseball team. Starting pitcher Jimmy Nelson helped provide the drama. Fueled by enough adrenaline to bench-press a school bus, he quickly found himself in a 1-0 deficit with the bases loaded and nobody out, courtesy of a single, error, walk and hit batsman. He then got a strikeout, a double play ball and five ensuing innings of brilliance. "He threw six strong innings when it's all said and done," said manager Darnell Coles. "He pitched fantastic." It's appropriate to mention here, for the benefit of potential fans and to achieve the journalistic priority of search-engine optimization, that Jimmy Nelson is a former pitcher for the University of Alabama Crimson Tide. And if you want to see him in Huntsville before he's promoted, better hurry. Here's hoping he didn't sign a long-term lease. Coles, back for his second year as the Stars' manager, was still on the field 15 minutes after the win, signing autographs and talking with fans. "It was a good opening night crowd," he said. "These guys come out every day not playing for the amount of fans. They're playing for a city. And for an organization. And they're trying to play the best brand of baseball they can play." At that, he trudged up the ramp toward the clubhouse, another mission to accomplish. No manager in the last 15 years has been as attuned to the off-the-field needs of this franchise as Coles. Community outreach is important to the team and it's a skill worth cultivating should players reach the majors. On this first morning after the first home game, Coles was booked for a 7 a.m. civic club breakfast appearance today. He promised he'd bring along some players. Something else you have to like about these Stars.

Stars Win Their 4th Straight Home Opener Alex Cohen, Huntsville Stars To begin their 2013 regular season home slate, the Huntsville Stars beat the Jacksonville Suns by a score of 5-1 at Joe Davis Stadium on Wednesday night. After allowing the first four batters he faced to reach base and a run in the first inning, Stars starting pitcher Jimmy Nelson dazzled in his second start of the season. The 23-year-old righty improved to 2-0 on the year after giving up just one run and three hits over six innings. After exiting in the game before the seventh inning, relievers Brian Garman, Alan Williams and Santo Manzanillo each pitched an inning of scoreless relief over the final three frames. Following that first inning run for Jacksonville, the Stars pitchers held the Suns offense scoreless over the final eight innings of the game. Jacksonville only had two hits over that span as well. On offense, the Stars got a pair of solo homers from right fielder Brock Kjeldgaard and third baseman Mike Walker in the span of three batters during the fourth inning off of Suns starter Brian Flynn to take a 2-1 lead. Two innings later, a two-out double by center fielder Rene Tosoni led to an RBI single by catcher Adam Weisenburger two batters later to increase the Stars lead to two. In the seventh inning, shortstop Nick Shaw began a rally when he snapped an 0-for-12 skid with a double off of Suns reliever Michael Ojala. Two batters later, first baseman Jason Rogers drove him home with an RBI single to make the score 4-1. Rogers would then score the next at-bat on an RBI double by right fielder Kentrail Davis for the Stars' final run of the game. Overall, Kjeldgaard and Weisenburger paced the Stars offense two hits apiece, while the RBI double for Davis in the seventh inning extended his hitting streak to six games. As a team, the Stars cranked out ten hits, with all but one player in the starting lineup having one. The victory for Huntsville was their 4th straight when opening their season at Joe Davis Stadium, the second against the Suns during that time span (2010). In addition, the win also improved the Stars league-best record to 5-1, their best start since 2008 where they began the season 5-0. The Stars and Suns will play game two of their five-game series on Thursday night. Huntsville will send RHP Taylor Jungmann (1-0, 1.80) to the bump to square off against Jacksonville RHP Robert Morey (0-0, 1.50 ERA). First pitch is at 6:43 CT. The Stars are in the midst of opening their 2013 home slate with a five-game series against the Jacksonville Suns immediately followed by a five games against the Tennessee Smokies.

Brevard's bats come alive in Lakeland Hopkins hits grand slam, Garfield hits go-ahead homer in 7-6 win By Andy Towne / Brevard County Manatees LAKELAND, Fla. - The largest offensive output of the season by the Brevard County Manatees was led by a grand slam from Greg Hopkins and a two-run homer from Cameron Garfield as the 'Tees edged the Lakeland Flying Tigers 7-6 on Wednesday night at Joker Marchant Stadium. It was the second straight win for Brevard County (3-3) over Lakeland (3-3) in as many nights and it was much different than Tuesday night's low scoring affair, as the power outage that the Manatees had suffered through to start the year was put to rest. It only took until the second inning to put runs on the board against Flying Tigers starting pitcher Tommy Collier. In that frame, the 'Tees batted around for the first time in 2013, as Brandon Macias doubled with one out and later scored on a Dionis Hinojosa single. In between, Yadiel Rivera was the first Manatee to be hit by a pitch in the inning, with Chadwin Stang being the other to load the bases. Hopkins then stepped in and launched a 1-0 pitch halfway up the left field berm, making it the first home run for a member of the team this season and the first grand slam in the Florida State League in 2013. It was also the first grand slam hit by a Manatee since Cody Hawn's on July 6, 2012 against the Tampa Yankees. The shutout didn't last long though as Dean Green skied one over the right field fence off of Manatees starting pitcher Drew Gagnon (0-1, 12.27) to make it 5-1 in the bottom half of the second. A strong second start of the year turned sour for Gagnon in the bottom of the fifth, when he surrendered four more runs to even up the score. The tying run came in on a sacrifice fly, his only out recorded in the fifth, following a walk, a pair of doubles and a single to load the bases. Gagnon did not factor in the decision as he allowed five runs in 4.1 innings. He surrendered six hits and two walks, while fanning three on the night. Nick Ramirez led off the seventh inning with a double, but didn't have to wait long before crossing the plate. Garfield climbed halfway up the light tower in left on a full count with his first long ball this year, in what would end up being the game-winning RBI. Chad Pierce was credited with the win despite getting into trouble after the in the bottom of the seventh. An error was charged to Garfield on a tough pop up by John Murrian in front of the plate to start the inning, and then a walk and a single scored Murrian. Another walk loaded the bases and Kevin Shackelford into the game for Pierce. Shackelford induced a shallow pop-up and a ground out to get out of the bases loaded, one-out jam. He allowed a hit in the eighth before Tommy Toledo came on to close the game out with a perfect ninth inning earning his first save. Lakeland and Brevard County will finish their three-game series at Space Coast Stadium in Viera on Thursday at 6:35 (5:35 Central). The game will be broadcast live locally on AM 1300 WMEL as righties Brooks Hall (0-1, 4.50 ERA) and Drew VerHagen (0-0, 6.24 ERA) square off on the mound, for the Manatees and the Flying Tigers respectively.

Looks like RHP Tyler Cravy will be added to the Brevard roster within the next 24-48 hours.

New ballpark for Huntsville unlikely Mike Brown, 48 News (Huntsville) Wednesday night, the Birmingham Barons will christen their new ballpark - a 64 million dollar facility that holds 8,500 fans. It features a fantastic view of the Birmingham skyline, and top of the line amenities around the concourse. A short trip on I-65 north, to 565 east and down Memorial Parkway, you'll find the Huntsville Stars - also holding their home opener Wednesday evening. But instead of a shiny new ballpark, they're beginning their 28th season at Joe Davis Municipal Stadium. One ballpark blogger who's made a second career of touring and critiquing facilities calls it : "one of those oddball baseball parks built in the 1980's before the new wave of minor league stadiums. So what Huntsville is left with is a large, concrete, sterile stadium (not ballpark)." In fact, the "new wave" of stadiums is in its second generation for some places. But the Joe essentially remains the same as it did when it opened in 1985. The stadium sits in councilman Bill Kling's district. Where critics see an outdated relic, Kling sees something else : "I like our stadium." Kling told WAFF 48 News on Wednesday. "We had three American League Rookie of the Years come through there. A lot of history there. In many ways we're like the Wrigley Field of the Southern League." Kling says the city spends hundreds of thousands of dollars a year on Joe Davis. This year alone, he cites several key improvements. "Lighting's being upgraded, there's some additions being done to the field, the locker rooms for both teams are going to be upgraded." Kling also says the current location of the stadium is a huge selling point. "It's located off the Parkway, so it's easy to get in and get out, we don't have a lot of congestion." Kling dismisses the idea of a new stadium, at least one funded by city dollars. He also had some choice words for his counterparts in Jefferson County. "I suppose if some large company wanted to come out and build the stadium so it could be named after them, something could be worked out." Kling said. "But, Birmingham - they're being excessive, spending millions of dollars they really don't have." It remains to be seen who'll have the last laugh though. Regions Field is expected to sell out multiple games this week. Joe Davis? Unlikely. *** Local reader comments can be found at the bottom of the linked page kicking off this post.

Via Jeff Hem's blog: Audio from Nashville — “Dish from Dan (O’Brien),” Part 2 Here is the second installment of a two-part interview with Dan O’Brien of the Brewers baseball operations department. In this segment, O’Brien discusses the state of the Astros (parent club for the Sounds’ current opponent and where O’Brien worked for 15 years back in the day), the impact the Astros’ move to the American League had on the Brewers’ preparation for the NL Central this year, whether or not O’Brien would like to see the National League adopt the designated hitter and how he thinks the Triple-A level has evolved over his 30-year career in baseball.

Brevard County Media Notes

Yikes, check out Chris' pictures from the Rattler Radio blog.

Brewers on Twitter: Big Leaguers (12) Minor Leaguers (97)

Brevard's pitching shines in win at Lakeland Manatees snap three-game skid with 3-1 victory By Andy Towne / Brevard County Manatees LAKELAND, Fla. - A quartet of pitchers held the defending Florida State League champions in check as the Brevard County Manatees defeated the Lakeland Flying Tigers 3-1 on Tuesday night at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland. The Manatees (2-3) snapped the scoreless tie in the top of the fourth inning, with a Nick Ramirez triple followed by a Cameron Garfield double that plated Ramirez. Garfield would later score in the inning when Greg Hopkins drove him in with a two-out single. Lakeland (2-3) had runners on second and third with nobody out in the home half of the fourth, but Brevard County starting pitcher Jed Bradley (1-0, 3.00) got out of the inning by allowing just one run to cross the plate. In all, Bradley went five innings and surrendered four hits and three walks, while fanning six men and earned credit for the win thanks to a near-perfect bullpen. Eric Marzec used just 18 pitches to plow through six batters in two innings, before Stephen Peterson recorded two strikeouts in an inning of work. Seth Harvey shut the door in the ninth and picked up his second save of the season. Lance Roenicke doubled home Cody Hawn in the seventh to give the Manatees an insurance run. Brevard County and Lakeland will play the second game of a three-game set on Wednesday at 6:30 PM (5:30 Central) at Joker Marchant Stadium. The two teams will then travel to Space Coast Stadium in Viera for the series finale on Thursday. On Wednesday, Drew Gagnon (0-1, 15.00) will get the ball for the 'Tees. In his last two starts of 2012, which were against the Flying Tigers, Gagnon went 1-0 with a 0.75 ERA as he allowed one earned run in 12 innings of work with 12 strikeouts. Lakeland will send Thomas Collier (0-0, 4.50) to the mound. Collier was a 2012 Midwest League mid-season All-Star. Wednesday's game will be broadcast live on ManateesBaseball.com with the pre-game show starting at 6:00 PM (5:00 Central).

NEW FEATURE! Weather.com: Nashville Huntsville Lakeland Wisconsin (Appleton)

Look for Nashville and Wisconsin media notes at the links just prior to their game times. Once we're aware of the new online location for Huntsville's Media Notes this season, we'll let you know. New this season: Brevard County has media notes; as of now, it's a unique link each day (we'll post when available), we've asked for a consistent posted link like Nashville uses, we'll see...

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.