Jim Goulart

Several Brewers will have photos for friends / family from their first pro game -- Helena Independent Record photo gallery

Because Chris worked so hard on this... Timber Rattlers Walkoff Heroes 2005-present

Huntsville Stars' first-half rollercoaster ends with 35-35 record By Mark McCarter, The Huntsville Times HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Fresh from having been reprieved after a nine-game losing streak, Stars manager Darnell Coles sat behind the laptop computer in his office, pulled the reading glasses from his nose and leaned back in his chair. "It's been up and down," Coles said. "That's for sure." It's been a 70-game ride of improvements and disappointments, successes and frustrations. The Stars' 3-1 victory over the Montgomery Biscuits Sunday afternoon enabled them to finish the first half at 35-35. There is some consolation in salvaging the .500 record, yet it's a letdown in some ways brought on by a nine-game losing streak that ended on Friday. Josh Prince led off with a homer and Tommy Manzella had a two-run single in the first inning. Hiram Burgos picked up the win, allowing only three hits in six innings. While Coles wants his players to enjoy the three-day Southern League All-Star break, five of his players won't have the time off. First baseman Hunter Morris, second baseman Scooter Gennett and pitchers Evan Anundsen, Jesus Sanchez and Tyler Thornburg have been selected for the North squad. Anundsen is on the disabled list but will still make the trip. Morris will also compete in the Home Run Derby. The Stars open the second half of play on Thursday at Jackson. The Generals were the first-half North champs. "You're never as good as you think you are, and you're never as bad," Coles said, when asked about his greatest lesson of the first half. "In the big picture you've got to understand this is a process," he continued. "There's going to be great. There's going to be good. There's going to be bad. And there's sometimes going to be ugly. But along the way, there are teachable moments. You've got to understand that and not get on the rollercoaster." The good moments have been plentiful. Morris has improved on offense and defense. Thornburg won his first eight decisions. Gennett leads the league in hits and has been a popular personality. Prince is emerging as an offensive force. The Stars have hit well as a team, but don't have the production to show for it. Too often, men have been left on base in key situations. The pitching has been solid. The defense hasn't been error-plagued, but at times just hasn't made the routine play. "It's not from the lack of trying," Coles said. "It's not from the lack of effort. Sometimes it's trying too hard to make a play, or make a tough play instead of making it routine. "To put it in a nutshell, the guys have played well. But we still have to play better." First half highlights -- Attendance is on an upswing. Saturday's announced crowd of 6,389 has the Stars ahead of last year's pace and has them eighth in the league, ahead of Mobile and Jackson. -- Morris has been superb in his double role as offensive leader and the face of the club. The first Huntsville native to play for the Stars has juggled family life, public appearances and media obligations with grace and maturity. -- This is the best Stars team in many years in terms of accesibility, fan relations and off-the-field representation of the organization. -- The Stars lead the league in team batting at .264. -- Several players are at the top of the league statistically: Morris is first in doubles (23), second in extra-base hits (32) and total bases (119), third in RBI (45). Gennett leads the league in hits (83) and games played (70). Prince is first in sacrifice flies (8), stolen bases (23) and runs scored (40). Thornburg is tied for the lead in wins (8), second in WHIP (1.08) and fourth in opponents' batting average (.212). First half lowlights -- A nine-game losing streak, the longest since 2009, dulled the first-half finish and knocked the Stars out of the pennant chase. -- Brock Kjeldgaard, the slugging outfielder, suffered a broken hand April 21 and won't return until mid-July. Speedy outfielder Khris Davis has had only 71 at-bats because of a nagging leg injury. -- Injuries at the major league level bled the Stars, who lost key, experienced players to promotions to fill spots in Triple-A. -- There were some ill-tempered moments. Thornburg was ejected for twice hitting the same Mobile hitter, leading to a three-game suspension; it was his second ejection in three starts. In the ensuing brawl, Matt Cline and Juan Sanchez were also tossed and suspended. Coles served a three-game suspension previously. -- The Stars may lead the league in hitting, but the hits haven't been productive or timely. They're third in most men left on base and are sixth in RBIs.

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 2nd Half Standings A - Midwest League Western Division Pioneer League North Division DSL - Dominican Summer League San Pedro de Macoris Division

Follow Monday's action as it happens with box score / game log links: Brevard County Helena

Monday's Daily Menu: All times are Central Nashville: Idle ********** Huntsville: Idle for the Southern League All-Star Break; game is Tuesday evening, details Tue. AM ********** Brevard County: RHP Taylor Jungmann at Lakeland (Tigers), 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: Idle for the Midwest League All-Star Break; game is Tuesday evening, details Tue. AM ********** Helena: LHP Will West at home vs. Great Falls (White Sox), 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. ********** DSL Brewers: Idle

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

Also, 28th round RHP Martin Viramontes out of USC has signed, and has been assigned to Helena as well.

According to MiLB.com, 31st round LHP Brent Suter out of Harvard is an addition to the Helena staff, not the Maryvale staff.

LHP West to start for Brewers in season opener By Amber Kuehn, Helena Independent Record Helena Brewers pitcher Will West will get the nod tonight when the 2012 season gets under way at Kindrick Legion Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM (8:05 Central). West, a 6-foot-4, 177-pound southpaw from Tallahassee, Fla., will be making his Helena debut. The 19-year-old signed a free agent contract last year and spent the 2011 season in the Arizona League, where he was 1-3 with a 3.99 ERA. As is common in the Arizona League, West split time between the bullpen and the starting rotation in his rookie season. But he started all five games he played in earlier this spring for Class-A Wisconsin, and said he’s happy to be back in that role. His most recent outing was a no-decision on June 12, when he allowed six hits and one earned run through five innings of work. His go-to pitches are fastball and changeup. “It’s pretty awesome – I’ve never been an opening day starter before,” said West, who carries a 1-1 mark and 6.20 ERA over from the Midwest League. Great Falls will send right-hander Keegan Linza to the mound for tonight’s opener. The defending Pioneer League champion Voyagers are aiming to build on last season’s success, when they won nine of their last 11 regular-season games and then swept Ogden in the best-of-three finals. Manager Ryan Newman returns for his second season after leading Great Falls from worst to first. Helena’s new skipper, Jeff Isom, noted Friday that he wasn’t all too familiar with the Voyagers’ roster. Isom said at this level, it’s far more important to focus on getting your own team prepared rather than worrying about what the opponent is going to try to do. “We’ve just got to focus on what we’re capable of doing,” he said. The Brewers opened last season in dramatic fashion, beating Missoula with a walk-off home run in the 12th inning. Helena overcame an early 4-0 deficit to win its third straight season opener. Can the Brewers make it four in a row? West might have something to say about that. “I’m excited to take on the challenge and give it my best shot,” he said. Right-hander Mike Schaub is the tentative starter for Tuesday night’s contest. Amber Kuehn: follow her on Twitter @IR_AmberKuehn.

Audio from Nashville — “Insight from (Travis) Ishikawa” Jeff Hem's note -- Today’s interview is with first baseman Travis Ishikawa, one of three Brewers currently with the Sounds on major league rehab assignment (also Cesar Izturis & Marco Estrada). Ishikawa shares his thoughts about coming back from his oblique injury, how things have gone for the Sounds’ parent-club Brewers so far this year and his thoughts about his former Giants teammate Matt Cain, who authored a perfect game for San Francisco this past Wednesday.

7-2 loss, but Stars video highlights

VIDEO: Mike Nemeth with advice for his new teammates

Omaha has altered their rotation, and Nashville and Wily Peralta will not face Jake Odorizzi today after all; instead another top gun in LHP Mike Montgomery.

Candidate for Tweet of the Year

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

Article -- Memphian Reggie Williams hits his stride with Brewers Did you catch Jeff Hem's audio interview with the Brewers' outfield and baserunning instructor last week? Here you go...

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 DSL - Dominican Summer League San Pedro de Macoris

Follow Sunday's action as it happens with box score / game log links: Nashville Huntsville Wisconsin DSL Brewers

Sunday's Daily Menu: All times are Central Nashville: RHP Wily Peralta at home vs. Omaha (Royals), 1:50 PM pre-game, 2:05 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 Hiram Burgos at home vs. Montgomery (Rays), 12:48 PM pre-game, 1:03 gametime Free Live Audio Link -- Select the Huntsville feed from the MiLB main audio page I-Phone friendly audio link 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: Idle until Monday for the weekend All-Star break ********** Wisconsin: RHP David Goforth at Quad Cities (Cardinals), 4:40 PM pre-game, 5:00 gametime; expect RHP Chad Pierce to appear as the tandem 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 24 Stars' road games (one Helena series this summer, too). ********** DSL Brewers: at the DSL Braves, 9:30 AM, although game data won't be available until late afternoon at the earliest

If you come to the Link Report via Twitter directly only, do remember that our Minor League Forum consists of other detailed threads as well. Make sure you check out Sunday morning's extra-thorough Helena coverage here.

We're ridiculously fortunate to have the coverage at the lower levels of the system that is provided in Appleton and Helena. Once again, Amber Kuehn and the Helena Independent Record grace us with another fine Opening Day preview for Monday. BREW CREW REDO: Manager Isom 'can't wait' to open 2nd stint in Helena Fantastic read on Jeff Isom, one small correction -- while former farmhand Eric Fryer did reach the major leagues with Pittsburgh in 2011, he has been in AAA (and struggling) all of 2012 *** Eclectic clubhouse aims to put Brewers back atop league Quotes from several players, another excellent must-read... *** Small photo gallery (expect many more this season) *** PDF Web Page: Meet the 2012 Helena Brewers We haven't seen anything like this since the Charleston days with the West Virginia Power -- bravo, Helena IR! (Well, the Sounds place their entire media guide online, unreal -- so don't want to short-change them...) *** By the way, couldn't remember if this was the first we've learned that Raul Mondesi Jr.'s signing bonus was $800,000.

The Post-Crescent with a stat-line profile for each of the seven Timber Rattlers in the All-Star Game