Jim Goulart

Saturday's Daily Menu: All times are Central Nashville: RHP Tyler Thornburg at Omaha (Royals), 6:50 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime Free Live Audio Link Jeff Hem is the new 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). We imagine the audio feed is from the home team. All MiLB.TV details available at the link. ********** Huntsville: RHP Jimmy Nelson at home vs. Montgomery (Rays), 6:28 PM pre-game, 6:43 gametime Free Live Audio Link -- Select the Huntsville feed from the MiLB main audio page Alex Cohen is the new play-by-play voice of the Stars; follow him on Twitter @alexmcohen. It's fantastic that Huntsville is returning to what will be a traditional broadcast format this year. All games, home and away, are scheduled to be broadcast. MiLB.TV subsciption note: Huntsville road games in four locales (Mississippi, Tennessee, Jacksonville and Pensacola) will be broadcast. ********** Brevard County: RHP Taylor Jungmann at Clearwater (Phillies), 5:30 PM gametime Sorry, no audio available for this series... Once again this season, Brevard does not have its own audio coverage. It appears two teams in the Manatees North Division (within which the majority of games are played) have audio, and all six teams in the South Division have audio (at least for their home games), so there will be opportunities to listen to approx. 70% or Brevard's games this season, just all from the opponent's perspective. There are no Florida State League games on MiLB.TV this year. ********** Wisconsin: RHP David Goforth at home vs. Peoria (Cubs), 6:15 PM pre-game, 6:35 gametime 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. MiLB.TV -- for subscribers; Wisconsin is one of only two (Great Lakes) Midwest League clubs that have all their home games available via MiLB.TV; Chris' call provides the audio. So for the $39.95 season-long package, fans in Brewer Nation can watch all Sounds games, all Timber Rattlers home games, and Stars' road games from four Southern League locales. ********** Helena: LHP Taylor Wall at Orem (Angels), 7:50 PM pre-game, 8:05 gametime Free Live Audio Link -- Select the Helena feed from the MiLB main audio page We're lucky to have Steve Wendt back on board for another H-Crew season. ********** Arizona Rookie (Maryvale): at home vs. the Padres' prospects; 9:00 PM gametime; never audio for games in this league ********** DSL Brewers: at the DSL Braves, 9:30 AM, although game data won't be available until late afternoon at the earliest; first the teams will complete this seven-inning contest, detailed here by our own TC07, prior to the nine-inning nightcap

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Nice story on long-time Brewers farmhand Robert Hinton (career stats). He's having a good year in AA for the Orioles, isn't it ironic for him that the Orioles' bullpen has been among the majors' very best while Milwaukee's has collapsed?

Photo / video from Brewers' site: Brewers Dominican Summer League Team Completes Service Project Nice!

"Candidates' Night" at Joe Davis Stadium HUNTSVILLE Ala. (WAAY) - Huntsville's three Mayoral Candidates were at Joe Davis Stadium Friday evening for Candidates night. For many fans at the game the focus was not only politics, but on the politicians' plans for the future of the stadium. "These players need a new stadium. This should be the focus of the mayoral election." said Huntsville Stars fan Mike Edwards. Joe Davis Stadium, home to the Huntsville Stars, is the oldest stadium in the minor leagues (note -- that can't be, can it? Southern League, yes...). It's considered by many as the Southern League's worst stadium. Huntsville's mayoral candidates all have different ideas about what should be done. "It would be very nice to have a new stadium. You know we've talked about it but we've got some things that need to be done to do that. If you can make a business case for it and its a good deal for the taxpayers, then you start moving forward. We're slowly but surely talking about it," said Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle. Mayoral Candidate Loretta Spencer said instead of spending money for a new stadium she believes in improving the current one. "Financially that is just a drain on the city to do that kind of project so I don't want to get people's hopes up saying I think we should start with a brand new one but I think there are improvements we can make," Spencer said. Candidate Jackie Reed says the idea needs a little more studying before she's willing to sign off on a plan. "That's something financially we need to look into. I know the backside of it needs tearing our for sure. I mean this needs a lot of studying to see if we can find a way to maybe rebuild it," Reed said. Fans that spoke to WAAY 31 agreed. They don't want to see improvements they want a new stadium. "We need a new stadium, not improvements. A new stadium because this is the oldest in the Southern League," said Stars fan Donna Cowart. I vote for the kid. http://www.waaytv.com/media/lib/158/2/a/4/2a4d7614-9ff2-4c64-b139-c700b745b5b1/Original.jpg Actually, you'll find a video report at the link. Adore the field broadcast reporter's Huntsville accent, would trade that for my Boston tone in a flash for a nice change of pace.

MiLB.com has the story of the one-hitter vs. the Manatees by the Phillies' 2010 1st round pick With no audio, Phillies' fans equivalent to us here could do nothing but wait for an end-of-game log update for the final verdict with the no-hitter lost in the 9th, no at-bat by at-bat Gameday, either. Wonder how it would have been here if reversed...

Might as well post these two standings links again: AA - Southern League North Division High-A - Florida State League North Division The Manatees have made things exceedingly difficult for themselves, and let's face it, the Stars exited the playoff chase at the beginning of this week, they're cooked. Yay, 1st half Timber Rattlers! (And it's not like the 2nd half Rattlers have played poorly, more kudos to them!)

Owlz batter Brewers in 18-6 romp Helena Independent Record (road game summary) The Helena Brewers sent four pitchers to the mound and four left bruised and battered as the Orem Owlz stormed to an 18-6 victory Friday night in Utah. The Owlz finished with four home runs by four different players and chalked up a total of 19 hits in the offensive barrage. Center fielder Joel Capote, second baseman Sherman Johnson and designated hitter Andrew Ray each had three hits, while right fielder Chevy Clarke, shortstop Wendell Soto, third baseman Michael Bolaski and catcher Anthony Bemboom each chalked up a pair of hits. Designated hitter Raul Mondesi Jr. and left fielder Ruben Ozuna each had two hits for Helena, and Ozuna (two doubles) added two RBIs. Orem scored in all but the seventh and ninth innings — not needing to bat as the home team — and Owlz starter Jairo Diaz picked up the victory on the mound, despite giving up five hits and four runs (three earned) in five innings. Preston Gainey got the start for Helena, but departed after allowing four hits and four runs, while registering only two outs. Gainey was saddled with the loss, but the three pitchers who followed him to the mound didn’t fare much better. Michael Schaub pitched 2 2/3 innings, allowing five hits and four runs (two earned), Manuel Ruiz tossed 1 1/3 innings and gave up two hits and two runs, and Elliott Glynn pitched 2 2/3 innings, allowing six hits and eight runs (six earned). Connor Whalen, meanwhile, pitched the final 2/3 of an inning and allowed two hits, but kept the Owlz off the scoreboard. Soto and Ray each had a double and a home run, while Walsh was responsible for Orem’s other home run. Ray and Bemboom led the Owlz with three RBIs apiece.

Boy, you're not kidding. Fellow top-10 round high schoolers, 9th round RHP Alex Lavandero (3.83!) and 10th round LHP Anthony Banda (2.10), sport WHIP's even higher than Keller's 2.08. Of course I'm posting this a day after stating we accentuate the positive around here, but after striking gold with 2004 2nd round high school pitcher Yovani Gallardo (and we'll also now credit them with the 2004 1st round choice Mark Rogers), it's been a mixed bag with highly drafted high school pithers, but Bruce Seid's early returns in this specific regard should give us pause. 2004 7th round LHP Craig Langille -- Canadian never escaped rookie ball 2004 8th round LHP Brandon Parillo -- peaked with 11 games at low-A 2005 3rd round RHP Will Inman -- now 25, may have found a niche with Boston in AAA this year out of the bullpen; Brewers get a pass, he had value 2005 10th round LHP Steve Garrison -- now a Mariner organizational soldier, he did manage one scoreless big league outing with the Yankees 2006 1st round RHP Jeremy Jeffress -- we know the story 2006 4th round RHP Evan Anundsen -- seven solid, never spectacular seasons in the system, scheduled to become a free agent in the fall at age 24, he'll find suitors 2006 8th round RHP Shane Hill -- never left Maryvale 2007 7th round LHP Efrain Nieves -- can you believe this young man is still just 22? He's been pitching in the New York - Penn League (short-season A-ball level) for the Tigers this year. 2007 9th round LHP Kristian Bueno -- never above Helena with Brewers, short subsequent stint with Astros now over 2008 supplemental 1st round RHP Jake Odorizzi -- kudos to the Brewers (and the Royals), one of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball, now on the cusp of the majors in AAA at age 22. 2008 2nd round RHP Seth Lintz -- major disappointment, never above Wisconsin; given the combo of Odorizzi / Lintz, still a win 2008 5th round RHP Maverick Lasker -- lost his rookie season to back problms, which re-surfaced early in 2012; jury still out at age 22, but long road ahead *** That concludes the Jack Z. era, now we enter the Bruce Seid era of drafting high school pitchers early (top ten rounds). Even without giving Seid the benefit of patience and hindsight thus far, the early returns are troubling: 2009 -- None taken (perhaps he knew what future picks would do) 2010 1st round RHP Dylan Covey -- you likely know all about the diabetes decision, awful freshman season, better sophomore campaign (3.32 ERA, but 43 walks and only 50 K's in 81.1 2012 innings). Especially under the new CBA, Covey will never see anything near 1st round 2010 money, and given his college results, this was probably not going to be a pretty Brewer start to a pro career. 2010 7th round RHP Joel Pierce -- tough sledding thus far for the Canadian, now in Helena's middle relief corps 2011 2nd round RHP Jorge Lopez -- won't be 20 until February, but Maryvale struggles led to a 2012 move to the DSL, not Helena; way too soon to judge yet 2011 6th round RHP Danny Keller -- linked to begin this post in addition to Alex Lavendero and Anthony Banda, also linked above, you have 2012 3rd round RHP Zach Quintana -- flashing promise, but not dominance, in the early small sample of 37.1 innings Note that the rookie player development staffs have something to be responsible for here as well. It's been a rocky few years for developing highly thought-of high school arms.

Maryvale RHP Jeffrey Saba, the 3rd year pro (2nd year stateside), hasn't pitched since July 20th.

Boy, you're not kidding. Fellow top-10 round high schoolers, 9th round RHP Alex Lavandero (3.83!) and 10th round LHP Anthony Banda (2.10), sport WHIP's even higher than Keller's 2.08. Of course I'm posting this a day after stating we accentuate the positive around here, but after striking gold with 2004 2nd round high school pitcher Yovani Gallardo (and we'll also now credit them with the 2004 1st round choice Mark Rogers), it's been a mixed bag with highly drafted high school pithers, but Bruce Seid's early returns in this specific regard should give us pause. 2004 7th round LHP Craig Langille -- Canadian never escaped rookie ball 2004 8th round LHP Brandon Parillo -- peaked with 11 games at low-A 2005 3rd round RHP Will Inman -- now 25, may have found a niche with Boston in AAA this year out of the bullpen; Brewers get a pass, he had value 2005 10th round LHP Steve Garrison -- now a Mariner organizational soldier, he did manage one scoreless big league outing with the Yankees 2006 1st round RHP Jeremy Jeffress -- we know the story 2006 4th round RHP Evan Anundsen -- seven solid, never spectacular seasons in the system, scheduled to become a free agent in the fall at age 24, he'll find suitors 2006 8th round RHP Shane Hill -- never left Maryvale 2007 7th round LHP Efrain Nieves -- can you believe this young man is still just 22? He's been pitching in the New York - Penn League (short-season A-ball level) for the Tigers this year. 2007 9th round LHP Kristian Bueno -- never above Helena with Brewers, short subsequent stint with Astros now over 2008 supplemental 1st round RHP Jake Odorizzi -- kudos to the Brewers (and the Royals), one of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball, now on the cusp of the majors in AAA at age 22. 2008 2nd round RHP Seth Lintz -- major disappointment, never above Wisconsin; given the combo of Odorizzi / Lintz, still a win 2008 5th round RHP Maverick Lasker -- lost his rookie season to back problms, which re-surfaced early in 2012; jury still out at age 22, but long road ahead *** That concludes the Jack Z. era, now we enter the Bruce Seid era of drafting high school pitchers early (top ten rounds). Even without giving Seid the benefit of patience and hindsight thus far, the early returns are troubling: 2009 -- None taken (perhaps he knew what future picks would do) 2010 1st round RHP Dylan Covey -- you likely know all about the diabetes decision, awful freshman season, better sophomore campaign (3.32 ERA, but 43 walks and only 50 K's in 81.1 2012 innings). Especially under the new CBA, Covey will never see anything near 1st round 2010 money, and given his college results, this was probably not going to be a pretty Brewer start to a pro career. 2010 7th round RHP Joel Pierce -- tough sledding thus far for the Canadian, now in Helena's middle relief corps 2011 2nd round RHP Jorge Lopez -- won't be 20 until February, but Maryvale struggles led to a 2012 move to the DSL, not Helena; way too soon to judge yet 2011 6th round RHP Danny Keller -- linked to begin this post in addition to Alex Lavendero and Anthony Banda, also linked above, you have 2012 3rd round RHP Zach Quintana -- flashing promise, but not dominance, in the early small sample of 37.1 innings Note that the rookie player development staffs have something to be responsible for here as well. It's been a rocky few years for developing highly thought-of high school arms. For discussion purposes (if you so choose), we'll copy this post into the lead post of its own thread.

Speaking of the DSL, catcher Carlos Pena, such an early-season stalwart when he was virtually the only Cerveceritos backstop, hasn't played since July 24th: Carlos Pena singles on a fly ball to center fielder Jose Morel. Yunior De La Cruz scores. Raphachel Colatosti to 3rd. Francisco Castillo to 2nd. Juan Ortiz grounds out, second baseman Gerald Chin to first baseman Ibrahim McKenzie. DSL Braves Top of the 3rd Defensive Substitution: Natanael Mejia replaces catcher Carlos Pena, batting 3rd, playing catcher. Squad is 5-14 since that injury, including nine losses in a row immediately after.

It's been a rough-go of it for 18-year-old DSL LHP Marcos Padilla this season. He got off to a late start (July 11th) but had a great outing on August 3rd (3.2 scoreless, no walks). But even after TC07 posted it, this type of outing is impressive in and of itself. Entering the 8th with men on 1st and 3rd and two out: Pitching Change: Marcos Padilla replaces Orlando Torrez. Francisco Contreras walks. Anderson Yance to 2nd. Yerison Pena walks. Anderson Yance to 3rd. Francisco Contreras to 2nd. Lenny Pena hit by pitch. Anderson Yance scores. Francisco Contreras to 3rd. Yerison Pena to 2nd. With Victor Ovalles batting, wild pitch by Marcos Padilla, Francisco Contreras scores. Yerison Pena to 3rd. Lenny Pena to 2nd. Victor Ovalles doubles (8) on a fly ball to center fielder Francisco Castillo. Yerison Pena scores. Lenny Pena scores. With Felix G. Santana batting, wild pitch by Marcos Padilla, Victor Ovalles to 3rd. With Felix G. Santana batting, wild pitch by Marcos Padilla, Victor Ovalles scores. Felix G. Santana walks. Pitching Change: Joshua Torres replaces Marcos Padilla. Hey, Santo Manzanillo walked 47 in 16.1 innings as a 17-year-old, and he eventually netted a 40-man roster spot. See you in Milwaukee, Marcos. Haven't yet, but now am scared to check the Helena / Maryvale lines.

RHP Andy Moye (stats) placed on the Brevard County 7-day DL. Roster one short at 24. Manatee DL sure is crowded now at seven -- Austin Ross (Tommy John), Eric Marzec (strep / mono), Jed Bradley (tired arm), Brooks Hall, Hector Gomez, Shawn Zarraga (since May 26th), and Moye (last four, no reported injury details).

Audio from Nashville — “(Jesus) Sanchez Says” Jeff Hem's note: Tonight’s interview is with Sounds reliever Jesus Sanchez, who picked up the victory Thursday night in the Sounds’ extra-inning win, which arrived just before a massive thunderstorm. Sanchez, who is 7-2 with a 1.43 ERA and 11 saves in 46 games this season between Double-A Huntsville and the Sounds, discusses his campaign to this point, his transition this year to full-time relief and his earlier days in pro ball when he was a hitter in the Yankees’ and later Phillies’ systems before taking to the mound in ’08 and joining the Brewers organization prior to last season.

April 2011

John Sickels recognizes Adam Giacalone as a 2012 sleeper pick (hat tip Kyle at BrewCrewBall)

Helena audio: Catcher Joe Andrade RHP Joel Pierce

Look for Nashville and Wisconsin media notes at the links just prior to their game times. Huntsville is posting theirs more consistently (although they last did so on the 11th). Rest your pointer under the "Roster" banner on the Stars' home page to see the link. Have a nice summer Friday night, everyone!

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 Rookie Advanced - Pioneer League North Division Rookie - Arizona Summer League DSL - Dominican Summer League San Pedro de Macoris Division *** 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 current 2nd half standings.

Follow Friday's action as it happens with box score / game log links: Nashville Huntsville Brevard County Wisconsin Helena Maryvale DSL Brewers

Friday's Daily Menu: TGIF! All times are Central Nashville: RHP Brian Baker at home vs. Tacoma (Mariners), 6:50 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime Free Live Audio Link Jeff Hem is the new 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). We imagine the audio feed is from the home team. All MiLB.TV details available at the link. ********** Huntsville: RHP Evan Anundsen at home vs. Montgomery (Rays), 6:28 PM pre-game, 6:43 gametime Free Live Audio Link -- Select the Huntsville feed from the MiLB main audio page Alex Cohen is the new play-by-play voice of the Stars; follow him on Twitter @alexmcohen. It's fantastic that Huntsville is returning to what will be a traditional broadcast format this year. All games, home and away, are scheduled to be broadcast. MiLB.TV subsciption note: Huntsville road games in four locales (Mississippi, Tennessee, Jacksonville and Pensacola) will be broadcast. ********** Brevard County: RHP Matt Miller at Clearwater (Phillies), 5:30 PM gametime Sorry, no audio available for this series... Once again this season, Brevard does not have its own audio coverage. It appears two teams in the Manatees North Division (within which the majority of games are played) have audio, and all six teams in the South Division have audio (at least for their home games), so there will be opportunities to listen to approx. 70% or Brevard's games this season, just all from the opponent's perspective. There are no Florida State League games on MiLB.TV this year. ********** Wisconsin: RHP Chad Pierce at Beloit (Twins), 6:40 PM pre-game, 7:00 gametime 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. MiLB.TV -- for subscribers; Wisconsin is one of only two (Great Lakes) Midwest League clubs that have all their home games available via MiLB.TV; Chris' call provides the audio. So for the $39.95 season-long package, fans in Brewer Nation can watch all Sounds games, all Timber Rattlers home games, and Stars' road games from four Southern League locales. ********** Helena: Preston Gainey at Orem (Angels), 7:50 PM pre-game, 8:05 gametime Free Live Audio Link -- Select the Helena feed from the MiLB main audio page We're lucky to have Steve Wendt back on board for another H-Crew season. ********** Arizona Rookie (Maryvale): at the Giants' complex in Scottsdale; 9:00 PM gametime; never audio for games in this league ********** DSL Brewers: at home vs. the DSL Tigers, 9:30 AM, although game data won't be available until late afternoon at the earliest

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It is interesting that you see Seid see "thoroughly' outmatched. Are you building a thread to discuss, or should we do it here? No, no specific thread planned. More an indication that the discussion will probably be ripe when we look into a post-season analysis and review. Anyone can feel free to kick something off any time... On a side note, we regularly accentuate the positive here because it's fun, it's the right thing to do, and it's been an established Link Report pattern for 11 years now. The Power 50 (site, forum, fan, whatever version you may see) tends to do the same. So in that type of commentary atmosphere, sometimes the larger picture is overlooked. In that light, further discussion this fall will prove more beneficial, and certainly folks will have thoughts on both sides of the ledger.