Jim Goulart

You can make the case the Brewers lost the most effective Rule 5 pick last December.

You can make the case the Brewers lost the most effective Rule 5 pick last December.

AUDIO: Pre-Game Interview w/ OF Logan Schafer Happy 26th birthday today (Saturday), Logan!

Saturday's Daily Menu: Time listed is Central Wisconsin: RHP Chad Thompson at Clinton (Mariners), 6:10 PM pre-game, 6:30 gametime; first game of the second round best-of-three, series moves to Appleton Sunday night Free Live Audio Link - 1280 AM WNAM *** Follow the action as it happens with box score / game log links: Wisconsin *** Check the Rattler Radio blog for the media notes just prior to gametime

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Good stuff you may have missed above....

Goforth goes the distance in clincher Rattlers' right-hander pitches first complete game, fans nine By Zack Cox / Special to MLB.com Although David Goforth's pitch count was climbing into the mid-80s and Wisconsin led by a somewhat uneasy three-run margin, he returned to the mound for the seventh inning. And the eighth. And again for the ninth. Was there any concern in the Timber Rattlers' dugout about a converted reliever throwing more than 100 pitches in the most crucial game of the season? "Absolutely none," Goforth said. The Brewers' No. 17 prospect went the distance Friday night, tossing a four-hitter as Wisconsin blanked Burlington, 3-0, to advance to the Midwest League semifinals. The 23-year-old right-hander struck out nine and threw 113 pitches -- both career highs -- in his first Minor League complete game. "I was just looking to get quick outs and go as deep into the ballgame as I could, and it just so happened that it turned into a complete-game shutout," Goforth said. "It's definitely a good feeling." The University of Mississippi product is wrapping up his first season as a starter, having worked out of the bullpen for Rookie-level Helena last year -- his first in the Minors. He'd pitched into the seventh or eighth inning four times for Wisconsin but had never gone a full nine. While he was in uncharted territory in the later innings, the pressure of the moment and the desire to close out the series actually improved his stuff as the game went along, Goforth said. "By the eighth and ninth inning, adrenaline kind of took over," he added. "I felt great, honestly maybe even better than I felt earlier in the game. When I got to the seventh or eighth inning, I started to realize, this might happen. So you're just sitting in the dugout, anxious to get back out there and keep pitching." That desire to finish what he started was shared by the Timber Rattlers coaching staff. "There was no talk whatsoever [of me coming out]," Goforth said. "When I got to the eighth, our pitching coach [David Chavarria] just told me to keep going." The outing was hardly flawless, with the Bees putting runners on base in each of the first five innings. It wasn't until the sixth, when his breaking ball began to materialize, that Goforth went into full shutdown mode. He retired the final 13 batters, with six of his nine strikeouts coming in the sixth or later. "I actually started striking more guys out toward the end of the ballgame," he noted. "That was due to [me] getting my curveball over for strikes. The first part of the game, my curveball wasn't there at all. I was basically just going off my two-seam fastball for the first five innings and luckily, they were beating balls into the ground and getting ground-ball outs." After Wisconsin dropped a 4-0 decision in the series opener, Chad Pierce baffled the Bees in Game 2, pitching a three-hit shutout in a 4-0 victory. "We lost the first game of the series, then Chad Pierce came out last night and did a heck of a job," Goforth said. "We won Game 2 and I came out [tonight], just trying to give our team a chance to win." Wisconsin did not need much run support in the clincher, with back-to-back solo homers by Ben McMahan and Nick Ramirez in the fourth proving to be the difference. David Goforth did not allow a baserunner after the fifth inning. (Rinaldi Photos) http://www.milb.com/images/2012/09/08/nUwLHIXu.jpg

Wisconsin advances to next round after beating Burlington by Tim Froberg, Post-Crescent staff writer GRAND CHUTE — A gorgeous rainbow hung high above the first-base line at Fox Cities Stadium prior to the start of Friday’s Midwest League playoff series finale. And while rainbows are rare, back-to-back, complete-game shutouts in minor league baseball are even less common. Yet, that’s what the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers pitching staff pulled off, allowing the Rattlers to win their first-round Midwest League playoff series with Burlington. David Goforth fired a four-hit shutout with nine strikeouts to lift Wisconsin to a rousing 3-0 victory in a decisive Game 3. The Rattlers advance to the Western Division finals tonight at Clinton, starting at 6:30 p.m The LumberKings won their first-round series over Beloit on Friday night with a 10-inning, 4-1 victory. Wisconsin will host Game 2 of the Western Division finals Sunday night at 7:05 p.m. and Game 3 on Monday, if necessary. If the Rattlers continue to pitch like they did against the Bees, they will be in excellent shape. A night after Chad Pierce tossed a three-hit, complete-game shutout in Game 2, Goforth practically duplicated the feat with a route-going mound gem of his own. “Chad did a heck of a job the other night and it was funny, I was saying after the game, ‘How am I going to back that performance?’ ” said Goforth, “I just came into this game trying to get quick outs and go as deep into the game as I possibly could, and give our team a chance to win.” Wisconsin went the entire regular season without having a nine-inning, complete-game shutout by a pitcher, but Pierce and Goforth delivered a pair in an amazing 24-hour postseason period. “He (Goforth) was outstanding,” said Wisconsin first baseman Nick Ramirez. “I didn’t think you could top Pierce’s performance, but Goforth went out and did the same thing.” Goforth walked only two and gained strength as the game progressed. After striking out three in the first six innings, he fanned six hitters in the final three innings and hit 98 mph on the radar gun in the ninth inning. “I did feel stronger toward the end,” said Goforth. “The first five innings, all I had was a two-seam fastball and they kept beating it into the ground. Toward the end, I was able to get my curve over for strikes and late in the count, I was able to throw my slider and they were missing it.” The Rattlers had just three hits, but two were long back-to-back solo home runs delivered in the bottom of the fourth by Ben McMahan and Ramirez. The Rattlers smashed a franchise-record 107 home runs this season. McMahan walloped a towering shot over the left-field wall off Bees starter Drew Granier that traveled about 382 feet. Ramirez followed with an even longer blast, landing in the “Welcome to the Beach” area in right center and carrying an estimated 417 feet. “That ball that Ben (McMahan) hit was just crushed,” said Ramirez. “I was looking for a good pitch to hit, but I’m not going to tell you that it (homering) wasn’t in the back of my mind. He left a change-up up and I made good contact..” The Rattlers pushed across their final run in the fifth, scoring on a two-out error by shortstop Addison Russell. “To come back and win this series after losing the first game, it shows you the character of this team,” said Goforth. “We figure that we’ve come this far, we might as well try and win this thing.” VIDEO INTERVIEW WITH GOFORTH AT THE LEAD LINK IN THIS POST.

The power of the cheese sandwich!

Grilled cheese with carmelized apples -- on to the 13th! http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UIXOn06Pz70/S57HclTnR1I/AAAAAAAAJys/v8hM_pOjr4g/s800/Caramelized+Apple+Grilled+Cheese+Sandwich+1+500.jpg

2:25 AM here in the East. 18 of us in this forum now. Cheers! On to the 12th... Are there curfew rules in play here, MLB?

Rattler Radio Blog with video highlights -- remarkable opening highlight as described above!

Taylor Green will be playing in the Dominican Republic this winter, as per his agent Josh.

AAA relievers Rob Wooten and Donovan Hand are set to play in the "always safe" Venezuelan Winter League, as per Rob's tweet. Enjoy, gentlemen!

AUDIO: INF Greg Hopkins on Appleton Sports Radio 1570 Prior to Thursday's game...

Check the Rattler Radio blog for the media notes just prior to gametime

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 (FINAL) AA - Southern League North Division (FINAL) High-A - Florida State League North Division (FINAL) A - Midwest League Western Division (FINAL) Rookie Advanced - Pioneer League North Division (FINAL) Rookie - Arizona Summer League (FINAL) DSL - Dominican Summer League San Pedro de Macoris Division (FINAL) *** NOTE: AAA Nashville, Rookie Maryvale and the DSL do not play a split schedule. When you click on a standings link for Huntsville, Brevard County, Wisconsin, and/or Helena, you'll then be able to choose 1st half and/or overall standings in addition to the 2nd half standings.

Follow Friday's action as it happens with box score / game log links: Wisconsin

Friday's Daily Menu: TGIF! Times listed are Central Nashville: Season complete; final stats here. ********** Huntsville: Season complete; final stats here. ********** Brevard County: Season complete; final stats here ********** Wisconsin: RHP David Goforth at home vs. Burlington (Athletics), 6:15 PM pre-game, 6:35 gametime; deciding game of the first round best-of-three Free Live Audio Link - 1280 AM WNAM ********** Helena: Season complete; final stats here ********** Arizona Rookie (Maryvale): Season complete; final stats here ********** DSL Brewers: Season complete; final stats and analysis here

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Our own Brad's photos from the Rattlers game Thursday.

AUDIO: Brewers Pregame Interview with RHP Taylor Jungmann

BrewCrewBall's report from the Rattlers game Wisconsin Media Notes (for Thursday's game)

Helena Site: The season finale at Kindrick Legion Field was a wild one that included a combined 24 runs, 35 hits, six errors and 14 walks. When the final out was recorded the Great Falls Voyagers stood victorious by the score of 14-10. Every single hitter in the Brewers lineup recorded multi-hit games, but it was the fill-in, Elliot Glynn, that led the charge recording three hits on the evening. Glynn, who had exclusively been a pitcher this season as a Brewer, was forced to play left field due to an injury to Ruben Ozuna. Glynn wasn't without left field experience. In 2008 and 2009, he played the position for the University of Connecticut Huskies. During that time, he was a .308 hitter playing in over 70 games. This season for the Brewers, Glynn finishes as a .600 hitter in one game, going 3-for-5 with an RBI. First baseman Adam Giacalone went 2-for-6 on the evening raising his batting average to .317. By reaching base, Giacalone tied the league's season long on base streak at 35, which was set by Ogden's Jeremy Rathjen. Giacalone finished the season with 17 doubles and 32 RBI. One Brewer of note that didn't appear in the boxscore on Thursday night, was second baseman Chris McFarland. McFarland, who entered the evening tied for first in the Pioneer League with 72 games played, was given a well deserved night off in the final game of the season. Thanks to a late double in his prior game, McFarland finished the season with a .301 batting average. The Brewers finished the season 24-52 and 11-27 in the second half. First half champion Great Falls, who scuffled to a 16-22 record in the half, will head straight to Missoula for game one of a three game series to determine who will face the Southern Division representative for the 2012 Pioneer League title.