Jim Goulart

Nice to see Caleb Gindl (hamstring) avoid the DL, making a pinch-hit appearance in Nashville (groundout).

K-Rod trade -- updated folks on LHP Daniel Ray Herrera's unfortunate news today, which reminded me to see how 22-year-old RHP Adrian Rosario was doing. Nicely, in tiny chunks -- the Manatees will see him when they hook up with St. Lucie next month.

Courtenay's Green begins climb back to major leagues By Mario Annicchiarico, Times Colonist The disappointment in Taylor Green's voice vibrated all the way from Nashville. Sent down to the minor leagues two weeks ago by the Milwaukee Brewers, the Courtenay native is still trying to settle into his role in triple-A ball after having a taste of a run at the Major League Baseball playoffs in 2011. And his current funk is obviously more mental than it is physical for the 25-year-old infielder. "Absolutely it was disappointing, because I went in there thinking I had a very solid chance to earn a spot, especially if I outperformed the other guys, and it just didn't work out this time," Green admitted over the phone while in Nashville with the Sounds of the Pacific Coast League. Green still sounded defeated, two weeks after being demoted and admitted his biggest challenge is returning to form emotionally and psychologically. "I have to find a way to do that. It's not easy at all right now," said Green, who was batting just .205 in 12 games in the PCL. "You just have to get your head on straight. "The hits will come. I have started out slow a couple of times before and once the at-bats even out, my numbers will be there in the end." They were certainly where he wanted them to be in spring training, where Green batted .316 over 21 Cactus League games with the Brewers. It was the fourth-best average among Milwaukee players with the highest plate appearances. His batting numbers sat behind only Jonathan Lucroy, Alex Gonzalez and George Kottaras. It still didn't help Green, who had 12 hits over those 21 games, including a two-run home run. The Brewers opted to go with Travis Ishikawa in a backup infield spot. Ishikawa picked up his first two hits of the season Thursday in a 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers and has five strikeouts in his 11 at-bats. "It went well, I thought," said Green. "It was a good spring training. I hit pretty well and it was fun. It was just a matter of not matching up at the right position or however they wanted to start the season with the positions they had. I'm still not too sure what it was. "I went in thinking I had to earn spots. It was an even competition between me and a couple of other guys and it just didn't work out." And he's not alone in his sluggish start in the minors as the Sounds are singing a hurtin' song in Nashville, just 4-9 to start the season, despite being loaded with talent. "We have a lot of guys that were kind of on the cusp and I think our hitting will come around pretty quick. I'm sure this entire team will catch fire soon," said Green, who went 10-for-37 at the plate for a .270 average when called up to Milwaukee late last year. He was also included on the Brewers' postseason roster as the club made it to the National League Championship Series. "Like always, I'm trying to get better at each facet of the game," he said. "Just try and keep getting better. You never know what can happen because there are 29 other teams out there."

Who's bigger among the locals? Hunter Morris in Huntsville or Fond du Lac's Chad Pierce in Appleton?

Nashville Pre-Game Audio with OF Corey Patterson

Nashville Media Notes The Nashville rotation got tossed about given Wily Peralta's callup and yesterday's doubleheader. Mike Fiers pitches on three days' rest Friday night after his short outing last time out. On Saturday, RHP Donovan Hand makes his first start since his only 2010 start (with Huntsville); Hand made a dozen starts in Huntsville in '09. Seth McClung returns to the Sounds' rotation Sunday, to be followed by Mark Rogers Monday and Brian Baker Tuesday. Wednesday is an off day, so the Sounds will reset -- we'll see what Peralta's status is at that time, along with a slumping Josh Butler.

From Nashville's Media Notes: McCLENDON TO MILWAUKEE: Right-handed pitcher Mike McClendon has been recalled by the Brewers today to replace left-handed pitcher Chris Narveson, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a tear of the left rotator cuff, retroactive to 4/16. McClendon was 1-0 with a 1.17 ERA (1 ER / 7.2 IP), one save, and seven strikeouts in five games with Nashville this season. Replacing McClendon on the Nashville roster is right-hander Johnnie Lowe, who had been participating in the Brewers’ extended spring training program in Phoenix. Lowe has spent the last two full seasons pitching for Double-A Birmingham, combining to go 13-9 with a 3.85 ERA (81 ER / 189.1 IP) in 55 games (24 starts). PERALTA SUMMONED TO BREWERS; FIERS STARTS TONIGHT: Tonight’s scheduled Sounds starting pitcher Wily Peralta will be joining Milwaukee tomorrow to make his Major League debut when he is added to the Brewers roster to fill in for Kameron Loe (bereavement leave). The 22-year-old has tossed quality starts in two of his three outings for Nashville but remained winless on the year (0-1, 2.12 ERA, 4 ER / 17.0 IP). Peralta ranks 2nd among PCL starting pitchers with a .155 opponent batting average (9-for-58) and 5th in the circuit with a 0.88 WHIP.

Follow our Major League Forum on news re: Chris Narveson's rotator cuff tear. Wily Peralta won't be starting in Nashville tonight (temporarily changed to TBD on our playlist above).

Wisconsin Media Notes

Wisconsin's Chris Mehring featured in MiLB.com's feature on "scoring" games

Huntsville's Jill Cacic's YouTube interview with Tyler Thornburg after his near perfect game

Baseball America Prospect Hot Sheet -- We Have A Brewer! By the way, surely I'm jinxing this, but it seems like it's been three years or more since a Brewer farmhand was in the "Not-So-Hot" portion of the Sheet.

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 Florida State League North Division Midwest League Western Division

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

Friday's Daily Menu: TGIF! All times are Central Nashville: RHP Michael Fiers at home vs. Oklahoma City (Astros), 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 Brandon Williamson at home vs. Jackson (Mariners), 6:28 PM pre-game, 6:43 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: A total of 24 Stars' games (in Jacksonville and Tennessee) will be broadcast. ********** Brevard County: RHP Austin Ross at Dunedin (Blue Jays), 5:30 PM gametime Free Live Audio Link -- Select the Dunedin feed from the MiLB main audio page 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 Andy Moye at West Michigan (Tigers), 5:15 PM pre-game, 5:35 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 24 Stars' road games (one Helena series this summer, too).

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

On a long Huntsville Stars work day, roving instructors play key role in development process By Mark McCarter, The Huntsville Times HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- It's 2:20 p.m. It's the ballplayers' time of day that you don't see. They don't merely punch the clock and start a three-hour work day a few minutes before "Oh, say can you see ..." "We spend more hours here than our apartments," one player observes, not entirely thrilled with that fact. It's busy and early and hot. And it's over-run with outsiders. The rovers are in town. They're the gypsies of minor league baseball, special instructors who hop from team to team. They give a new voice to the same sermon, help polish skills with one-on-one tutoring and observe the talent. And, yes, try not to mess up the karma. On Thursday afternoon, Bob Miscik, Don Money and Lee Tunnell are working with the Huntsville Stars. Miscik (2009) and Money (2005-2008) are former Stars managers. There's some nice symmetry here. Current manager Darnell Coles is a former rover. Miscik, the Brewers' field coordinator and infield instructor, is throwing soft pop flies that infielders chase over their shoulders like wide receivers running post patterns. Nearby, Money, a special advisor in the Brewers' system, wields a fungo bat, waiting to provide grounders and guidance to third baseman Andy Gonzalez. He's worth a listen. Money was recently named the best-fielding third baseman in Milwaukee history. Tunnell, the Brewers' roving minor league pitching instructor, is in the bullpen, the Stars' pitchers around him in a semi-circle as he gives a brief lecture. The first minor league team I covered, in 1976, the manager didn't have a coach, much less "roving" help. These days, scarcely a homestand goes by without an instructor visit. You want to collect hotel points for a living, this is a way to do it. After six weeks at spring training, Miscik has been here since Sunday and catches a flight this morning for Wisconsin. Money, the winningest manager in Huntsville history now in a "new chapter" after 15 years as a manager, leaves here Tuesday to join the Brevard County club in Florida. At each stop, the rovers need "to have a feel for things," as Miscik puts it. Don't put undue pressure on players. Blend with the permanent staff. And, as Miscik says, there's "the if it ain't broke, don't fix it" situation. "It's great to have them," Coles says. "It's two-fold. They're here to help us (Coles and coaches Chris Hook and Dwayne Hosey), but they're here to help the players, too." "I'm here, basically, to grade the team, talk to the manager and coaches, do my rounds and talk baseball and throw my two cents at 'em," Money says. Asked his job description, Miscik grins, "I hit a lot of bouncing balls." It's more than that. The Brewers have a certain way they do fundamentals - bunt plays, relay throws, whatever - that is taught all the way through the system. The rovers' "value is setting the philosophy," Miscik continues. "Whatever they're doing in the big leagues, we're doing in Triple-A, Double-A and with the A-ball clubs." Another value, Coles says, "is a different set of eyes." Or, "a different voice," Miscik says, "(that) validates what the manager is trying to do." Parents may relate. Sometimes it takes a different voice to make something sink in, even if it's the same message preached a dozen times before. You know the cliché, that "it takes a village to raise a child." Same thing in baseball, to get a player to the big leagues. And when it happens, Coles says, "Player development is a beautiful thing." Bob Miscik works with Milwaukee minor league infielders http://media.al.com/sports_impact/photo/10860105-large.jpg Now an special advisor, Don Money is winningest manager in Huntsville history http://media.al.com/sports_impact/photo/10860125-large.jpg

Huntsville News Station with brief video highlights

John Dishon and "unidentified baserunner" Rattler photos from the road game

We consistently learn more from Chris Mehring's post-game Timber Rattlers blog notes than just about anything else we link to here, ever -- great stuff.

Stars Handle Smokies in Series Finale HUNTSVILLE, Ala - On Thursday, the Huntsville Stars closed out their five-game series against the Tennessee Smokies with a 9-7 victory at Joe Davis Stadium. The Stars got the scoring starting early off of Smokies starting pitcher Dae-Eun Rhee in the first inning. A Brock Kjeldgaard RBI groundout and an RBI single by Hunter Morris gave Huntsville a 2-0 lead. Then in the second, the Stars tacked on three more runs on an RBI groundout by Josh Prince , an RBI single by Jeff Bianchi and a sacrifice fly by Scooter Gennett, making the score 5-0. However, the Smokies would not go down without a fight. Tennessee’s third baseman Nate Sampson hit a solo shot to put the Smokies on the board. They would go on to score four more unanswered runs over the next four innings off of Stars starting pitcher R.J Seidel and reliever RHP Josh Stinson to tie the game up after six innings. Luckily for the Stars, that tie would not last for long. Third baseman Andy Gonzalez came through in the clutch with a two-out, two-run double in the seventh inning that gave the Stars the a 7-5 lead. After the Smokies cut their deficit to one, it was Gennett who struck yet again, delivering a two-run single in the bottom of the eighth inning that gave the Stars the lead for good. On the pitching side, reliever Bradley Blanks was able to shut the door for the Stars in the ninth inning, earning his first save of the season. Stinson was also credited with the win, as he pitched 4.0 innings while in relief, improving to 3-0 on the season. Offensively, Gennett led the way with his third 3-for-4 night at the plate in four games, knocking in three runs and scoring two in the process. He also swiped a base. The 21-year-old second basemen also increased his hitting streak to 11 games. Khris Davis, 0-for-2 on the night, ended his 12-game hitting streak. For Huntsville, their victory on Thursday gave them their fourth win in five games to start off their 10-game homestand. The Stars will welcome the Jackson Generals to town starting Friday, as Huntsville RHP Brandon Williamson (0-0, 4.50 ERA) to the mound to square off against RHP Andrew Carraway (2-0, 2.00 ERA). First pitch is at 6:43 p.m.

No mention in the box score but from the Dunedin site: Brevard County tied it at 2-2 in the seventh, but would see their rally end - along with their Manager's (Joe Ayrault) night - when Miguel Velazquez was thrown out at home plate by Michael Crouse on a very close play.

‘Tees fall in the ninth at Dunedin Brevard rallies but falls short in series opener By Frank Longobardo / Brevard County Manatees The Brevard County Manatees opened a six-game road trip with a 5-4 loss to the Dunedin Blue Jays at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium on Thursday night. The ‘Tees tied the game in top of the ninth but the Blue Jays won it with two outs in the bottom of the inning. Hiram Burgos gave Brevard County (8-5) a strong start as he allowed two earned runs on three hits in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out seven and walked just one. The two runs that Burgos gave up were in the second on a two-out double by Kevin Ahrens. The Manatees’ offense was stifled for just two hits in the first five innings by Dunedin (11-2) starter Asher Wojciechowski. Brevard County was able to get to Wojciechowski in the sixth as Nick Shaw led the inning off with a single and two batters later T.J. Mittelstaedt reached with a single of his own. Cody Hawn would then drive in Shaw with an RBI single. The ‘Tees only put the one run on the board as the inning ended with Miguel Velazquez grounding into a double play. With two outs in the seventh against Scott Gracey, Scott Krieger doubled to right and then Franklin Romero Jr. reached on a fielding error by Gracey which allowed Krieger to tie the game at 2-2. Romero Jr. would then steal second and would attempt to score on a single by Shaw, but he was thrown out at the plate to end the inning. Dunedin took the lead back in the bottom of the seventh as they scored two runs off of Thomas Keeling on three singles and a walk. Greg Holle replaced Keeling and was able to get the last two outs of the inning, leaving two Blue Jays stranded. Brevard County’s last chance came in the ninth as Mike Walker led the inning off with a walk. After a Shawn Zarraga fly out, Krieger walked to put two on with one out. Romero Jr. would then tie the game with a bases-clearing triple to center. Shaw would follow Romero Jr. with a walk, but then Reggie Keen’s hard hit ball right to the third baseman Ahrens caught Romero Jr. in a rundown and he was retired. Mittelstaedt would then draw Brevard County’s sixth walk of the night but with the bases loaded Hawn flied out to short as the ‘Tees left the bases loaded in a 4-4 game. Brevard County closer Casey Medlen relieved Holle and struck out the first two batters of the inning, but he would then give up a two-out walk to Ryan Schimpf. Ivan Contreras would pinch run for Schimpf and steal second. Then Jake Marisnick won the game for the Blue Jays as his single to center scored Contreras. Shaw, Hawn and Krieger each had two hits, while Romero Jr. had two RBI. Brevard County and Dunedin will face-off again on Friday night as the ‘Tees will send Austin Ross (0-0, 0.90) to hill. The Blue Jays will counter with Sam Dyson (1-0, 2.45).

Nashville Sounds' Brooks Conrad hopes to play his way back to major leagues Former Brave waits for his opportunity with a new team by Greg Sullivan, The Tennessean New Sound Brooks Conrad had been to Greer Stadium prior to Nashville’s opening homestand, but only as a member of a visiting team. The former Atlanta Braves utility man is a Pacific Coast League veteran, although he hopes this return to Triple-A is only a brief stop. “All you can ask for is a shot to make the club (out of spring training) and that’s what I got with the Brewers,” Conrad said. “Hopefully at some point they’ll need somebody else (in Milwaukee) and hopefully at that point I’ll be swinging the bat well.” Conrad started the season on the disabled list with an injured shoulder and has played in just three games. But he was 3-for-9 with a homer after Thursday’s doubleheader with Oklahoma City. “Brooks has the ability to make us a better ball club,” Sounds Manager Mike Guerrero said. “He has the ability to hit from both sides and play different positions. He can be a pretty good boost to our offense. We’re looking forward to seeing what happens.” Conrad, 32, had 507 games of Pacific Coast League experience before making his big-league debut in 2008 with the Athletics. He is Round Rock’s career leader for runs (269), doubles (98), triples (21), extra-base hits (186) and walks (169). “I spent four years in the PCL, man,” Conrad said. “Last time I was here they didn’t even have these clubhouses (built in 2008). It was down-under, down in the dungeon in Nashville.” Conrad injured his shoulder diving back into second base prior to the season, but was told the injury wouldn’t require surgery. He admitted he was somewhat anxious prior to his Sounds debut. “Everybody had been hitting the ball hard and I got up there in my first at-bat of the year and hit a little chinker down the line (for a pinch-hit single Sunday). But I’ll definitely take it,” Conrad said with a laugh. “I’m just happy to have a job. I was ready to go, real excited on the bench all day just from sitting out. You know, it felt good to be out there getting an at-bat and just getting back to some action.” Conrad spent the past two full seasons with the Braves as a backup infielder, making a name for himself as a clutch pinch-hitter. He hit a career-best .250 with eight home runs off the bench in 2010. But he also made some critical defensive blunders in the team’s 2010 divisional playoffs appearance against the eventual World Series champion Giants. Then last season the Braves blew a big wild-card lead down the stretch and didn’t make the playoffs. Neither Conrad nor starting shortstop Alex Gonzalez were re-signed by the Braves and both ended up signing with the Brewers. “I didn’t have an inkling I wasn’t going to come back,” said Conrad, who hit .223 last year in Atlanta. “Milwaukee plays the game hard, man. So when they came calling I said, ‘Yeah. I’m in for that.’ “It was sad to leave Atlanta. I can’t say enough about how awesome it was there. But, you know, I moved on. I’m with the new club now and we’ll see how it goes here.” Sounds infielder Brooks Conrad (6) watches his hit during a game against Oklahoma City. / Jae S. Lee/THE TENNESSEAN http://cmsimg.tennessean.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=DN&Date=20120420&Category=SPORTS04&ArtNo=304200069&Ref=AR&MaxW=300&Border=0&Nashville-Sounds-Brooks-Conrad-hopes-play-his-way-back-major-leagues