Jim Goulart

Clint Coulter the only Brewer in Baseball America's Arizona League Top 20, coming in at # 10.

*** Latest: Thielbar will represent the Twins in the Arizona Fall League.

John Sickels on Hiram Burgos

VIDEO: Set to Chris Mehring's call -- sweet!

Manager Matt Erickson -- In print form via Bob Brainerd feature article AUDIO: Via WSSP

Via Stars GM Buck Rogers: You have just until noon central today to get your bid in for a Huntsville Stars game worn jersey. There are plenty of jerseys available. An opening bid is $150 for a home (white), road (gray) or alternate (navy) jersey and $75 for the royal blue BP jerseys. You can increase a bid in $5 increments. Bidding closes at noon central time this Friday. Please get your bid in to ensure that we receive it before noon. Email your name, jersey number, color and bid to buck @ huntsvillestars.com or starsinfo @ huntsvillestars.com . Shipping and handling is extra. We will contact winning bidders after lunch on Friday to arrange payment and getting your jersey(s) to you. A letter of authenticity will be included with each jersey purchased. The Hunter Morris BP top is autographed on the number on the back. Below is our current bid list: #1 (L) Lee Haydel White: $150 Gray: $150 Navy: Royal BP: $85 #2 (L) Scooter Gennett White: $150 Gray: $150 Navy: $175 Royal BP: #3 (L) Matt Cline White: Gray: Navy: Royal BP: #4 (L) Juan Sanchez, Jean Segura White: Gray: $150 Navy: Royal BP: #6 (XL) Tommy Manzella White: Gray: Navy: Royal BP: #8 (XL) Jay Gibbons, Hainley Statia, TJ Mittelstaedt White: Gray: Navy: Royal BP: #9 (XL) Jason Jaramillo, Adrian Williams White: Gray: Navy: Royal BP: #10 (XL) Dwayne Hosey White: Gray: $150 Navy: Royal BP: #11 (XL) Darnell Coles Gray: Navy: Royal BP: #12 (XL) Domnit Bolivar White: Gray: Navy: Royal BP: #13 (XL) Eric Marzec, Adam Weisenburger White: Gray: Navy: Royal BP: #14 (XL) Josh Prince White: Gray: Navy: Royal BP: #15 (XL) Hunter Morris (autographed) Royal BP: $285 #16 (XL) Evan Anundsen White: Gray: Navy: Royal BP: #17 (XL) Brandon Kintzler, Andy Gonzalez White: Gray: Navy: Royal BP: #18 (XL) Josh Stinson White: Gray: Navy: Royal BP: #19 (XL) Dan Merklinger, Tim Dillard White: Gray: Navy: Royal BP: #20 (XL) Kentrail Davis White: Gray: Navy: Royal BP: #21 (XL) Michael Reed, Dan Meadows, Brandon Williamson White: $150 Gray: Navy: Royal BP: $75 #22 (XL) Anderson de la Rosa White: Gray: Navy: Royal BP: #23 (XL) Jeff Bianchi. Scott Krieger, Johnny Hellweg White: Gray: Navy: Royal BP: #24 (XL) Khris Davis White: Gray: $150 Navy: Royal BP: #26 (XL) Darren Byrd White: Gray: Navy: Royal BP: #27 (XL) Jesus Sanchez, Andy Gonzalez White: Gray: Navy: Royal BP: #28 (XL) RJ Seidel White: Gray: Navy: Royal BP: #29 (XL) Bradley Blanks, Brian Garman, Johnny Lowe White: Gray: Navy: Royal BP: #30 (XL) Tyler Thornburg White: $165 Gray: $165 Navy: Royal BP: #31 (XL) Brian Baker, Johnny Lowe White: Gray: Royal BP: #32 (XL) Mitch Stetter White: Gray: Navy: Royal BP: #33 (XL) Brock Kjeldgaard White: Gray: Navy: Royal BP: #34 (XL) Roque Mercedes, Hiram Burgos White: Gray: Navy: Royal BP: #35 (XL) Rob Wooten White: Gray: Navy: Royal BP: $75 #36 (XXL) Santo Manzanillo White: Gray: Navy: Royal BP: #37 (XXL) Chris Hook White: Navy: Royal BP: #38 (XXL) Philippe Valiquette White: Gray: Navy: Royal BP: #40 (XXL) Jimmy Nelson White: Gray: Navy: Royal BP: #43 (XXL) Ariel Pena White: Gray: Navy: Royal BP: #44 (XXL) Josh Butler White: Gray: Navy: Royal BP: #45 (XXL) Kyle Heckathorn White: Gray: Navy: Royal BP:

2010 Helena Brewers roster and stats -- Players on the 2010 Helena club and the 2012 Rattlers: Brent Dean, Carlos George, Greg Hopkins, Rafael Neda, Tyler Cravy, Seth Lintz (released, does he get a ring?), Matt Miller, STOSH! Players on the 2010 Maryvale club and the 2012 Rattlers: Yadiel Rivera, Max Walla, Kevin Shackelford Player on both the 2010 clubs and the 2012 Rattlers: Tyler Roberts (three rings)

Sorry if this was discussed elsewhere -- please detail for us (OK, for me) what the Brewers would have to do to get Wily Peralta and/or Brandon Kintzler (particularly Peralta, of course) on the postseason roster. Would it have to involve phantom / real DL stints, and who do we see as candidates for those? I imagine they could make use of Mark Rogers' pre-September 1st roster spot. Thanks!

VIDEO Report from Fox11Online

Timber Rattlers fans welcome home champs Baseball team earned Midwest League crown by Tim Froberg, Post-Crescent GRAND CHUTE — As a slugging left-handed hitter with a home-run stroke and a promising future, Nick Ramirez might have taken his last look at Fox Cities Stadium Monday night. Like the majority of the players on the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers’ roster, Ramirez, 23, likely will be working in another city next summer. But he will take with him unforgettable memories of the summer of 2012 in Grand Chute, where he became a champion for the first time in professional baseball. “Winning a championship is probably the best feeling in baseball,” Ramirez said. “This is something that no one can take away from you. You’ve won a championship and you’ve won a ring. They’re not going anywhere. I’m always going to remember the whole entire season, and especially that last final out.” Ramirez and the rest of the Rattlers returned home Monday afternoon after winning the Midwest League championship Sunday for the first time since the franchise became known as the the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in 1995. The club previously was known as the Appleton Foxes, and the Rattlers’ 2012 Midwest League title is the first since the Foxes won the MWL championship in 1984. Although it was raining when the Rattlers’ team bus rolled into the Fox Cities Stadium parking lot, it didn’t do a thing to dampen spirits. Team mascot Fang and several fans who had spent summer nights watching the group of young prospects jell into a championship-caliber team were on hand to welcome back their team. “This is something you can’t forget,” said third baseman Brandon Macias. “It’s going to be in your mind forever, especially the memory of everyone piling on top of one another after we won it.” The Rattlers — the low Class A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers — posted the third-best regular-season record in the Midwest League (78-61). But the team caught fire in the postseason, winning seven of its nine playoff games. “We just had a group that meshed,” Macias said. “Everyone got along and we developed some amazing friendships. Everyone just clicked and we definitely came together as a team.” For manager Matt Erickson and starting pitcher Chad Pierce, the championship was extra special, considering their local roots. Erickson grew up in Appleton and is a year-round resident. “Going to games at old Goodland Field as a kid to watch the Foxes and just knowing the history here, yeah, this means an awful lot to me,” Erickson said. “I’m just so happy for the players. This team was definitely much more than a sum of its parts. They believed in the daily process and began playing for one another. We had a mix of a lot of different personalities in the clubhouse, but there was one common goal and they figured it out and went and got it.” Pierce was raised 45 minutes from Fox Cities Stadium in Fond du Lac, and had family and friends on hand for most of his starts this season. “As a kid, our Little League would come to games here every summer and I also went to a lot of games here with my parents,” Pierce said. “But when you’re a kid, you don’t really understand what’s going on out there. This was such a fantastic year and now we’re going into the record books. It was such a fun season. I don’t think I could put into words how much fun it was.” The Rattlers returned home with the Midwest League championship trophy and the organization received congratulatory emails from some prominent Milwaukee Brewers officials, including team owner Mark Attanasio and Doug Melvin, the Brewers’ vice president and general manager. “Matt (Erickson) was reading us some of their emails about how proud they were and that winning matters at every level,” said Rattlers reliever Brent Suter. “It’s a mindset thing, which they try and instill, and this team really embodied that.” The Rattlers won’t get much time to savor the victory. Erickson and some of the players will head to Arizona the next few days to participate in the Brewers’ fall instructional program and league. Photo Gallery -- Midwest League Champion Timber Rattlers Return Home

Brew Crew Ball -- Championship Memories: The Timber Rattlers Notebook

Actually, that was the Arizona (Maryvale) Brewers. Yadiel Rivera, Max Walla, Kevin Shackelford, and Tyler Roberts were on that roster.

Looks like the interwebs concur with you

Baseball America: 2012 OVERALL MINOR LEAGUE ORGANIZATION STANDINGS Purely from an W-L standpoint...

Baseball Prospectus on SS Yadiel Rivera: Despite what the numbers say (.247/.290/.402 in 506 PA), the 20-year-old Puerto Rican remains a prospect to keep an eye on. Rivera doesn’t exactly fit the physical profile of a shortstop (listed at 6’2, 175 lbs.), but scouts think he has what it takes to be at least an average defender at the major league level, with tons of range, a good glove, and a very strong arm. If his hit tool plays at all, he’ll have the chance to be a quality major leaguer, but that’s a big “if.” The hit tool and approach have big question marks, but when the barrel can meet the ball, Rivera has a lot natural sting to his swing.

Before this thread was retro-fitted with the new info on Kentrail Davis and Scooter Gennett, there was a discussion within it on 40-man roster salary info. That thread has been split out here. *** Sorry about the confusion on the earlier attempts, folks. Thanks for bearing with us.

Before this thread was retro-fitted with the new info on Kentrail Davis and Scooter Gennett, there was a discussion within it on 40-man roster salary info. That thread has been split out here. *** Sorry about the confusion on the earlier attempts, folks. Thanks for bearing with us.

Who knew? Adam McCalvy tells us there are actually three instructional league teams. Good news abounds within his report, click away.

Rattler Radio Blog: Ten after 10 for September 17, 2012 – Midwest League Champions I'm guessing Chris Mehring knows how much we appreciate all his efforts, truly amazing. Let's say this same core group of Timber Rattlers moves on and wins a Florida State League championship in 2013. For fans, it'd be nice, but there would be about 1% of the media coverage that the young men saw this past year. With the Post-Crescent, Sports 32, local bloggers with first-hand reports, fan reports, etc., these Rattlers truly experienced both a championship chase and a touch of what being in a media market is all about. Thanks for blessing us with a great season, Rattlers, and thanks to all those who helped us learn about them.

AUDIO: Interesting pre-game Brewers interview with RHP Josh Stinson

Here's an earlier thread on Davis.

Burgos, Morris Win Brewers Minor League Awards Your post seemed sincere, but Davis missed bunches of time with a calf injury and Morris put up a historically productive campaign for the Stars.

Articles from the Fort Wayne perspective -- Tip your caps to Wisconsin Tough times hardened these TinCaps for run

VIDEO from the Fort Wayne Gazette -- game highlights and more

Rattlers win Midwest League championship Written by Post-Crescent staff FORT WAYNE — A fantastic playoff run that included dominant pitching good defense and clutch hitting has resulted in a Midwest League Championship for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. The Timber Rattlers defeated the Fort Wayne TinCaps 4-2 on Sunday to claim the title, the first for an Appleton professional baseball team in 28 years. It’s the first pennant for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. The Appleton Foxes won the 1984 title, the third of three consecutive championships (1982, 1983). Appleton also won Midwest League titles in 1964, 1966, 1967, 1969 and 1978. “Obviously, I”m very happy for our players,” Timber Rattlers manager Matt Erickson said. “They put in all the work and preparation over the course of a long season. “And we’ve been very consistent. We won the Western Division in the first half of the season to earn a spot in the playoffs. Then we lost a number of people to promotions and other guys had to step into new roles. But we were able to hang on and play .500 baseball (in the second half) and got the best overall record in the Western Division.” From there, Wisconsin’s pitching staff rose to another level in the playoffs and that was punctuated Sunday by starter Chad Thompson and reliever Brent Suter. Thompson picked up the win with six strong innings and Suter got the save with three scoreless innings of relief. He struck out three and did not allow a hit or walk. “Obviously our starting pitching was unbelievable through the playoff run,” Erickson said. “And we’ve done a nice job of taking care of the baseball and we’ve been preaching to the pitchers to pound the ball and get ahead in the strike zone and they executed. “We didn’t swing the bats relatively great, but we had some timely hitting and it all worked out.” An RBI single from Chadwin Stang put Wisconsin up 1-0 after Brandon Macias reached on a double on the first pitch of the game. A solo home run from Max Walla gave the Timber Rattlers a 2-0 lead in the second inning. Fort Wayne answered with an RBI double from Yeison Asencio and a RBI sac fly from Travis Whitmore tied the game in the third inning. Macias doubled to start the seventh inning and a sac bunt and walk put runners on the corners with one out. That led to a two-run double for Nick Ramirez. Ramirez had 10 RBI in nine postseason games for Wisconsin. Suter entered in the seventh and retired the side in all three innings, with the final out a strikeout of Lee Orr. “I remember early in the season at our preseason meeting, I talked about how we’re going to work and hopefully get better individually and as a ballclub,” Erickson said. “I said we’re going to spend a lot of tip together and we’re going to try and make this clubhouse enjoyable for everybody involved. I think of all the personalities we’ve had on this team and they jelled nicely and we definitely became more than the sum of the parts. “It was really a fun ride and I am very happy for everybody that came through this year, which was a number of people.” Wisconsin celebrates winning the Midwest League championship on Sunday at Parkview Field in Fort Wayne, Ind. / Cathie Rowand/Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette http://cmsimg.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=U0&Date=20120916&Category=APC020602&ArtNo=309160303&Ref=AR&MaxW=640&Border=0&Rattlers-win-Midwest-League-championship http://cmsimg.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=U0&Date=20120916&Category=APC020602&ArtNo=309160303&Ref=V1&MaxW=600&Border=0