Jim Goulart

Rattler Radio Post-Game Thoughts

Zack Greinke loves life on a winning team in Milwaukee Just an excellent piece of work, worth your time. “We’ve been talking about it lately,” he says, meaning his wife. “We really like it here.”

Cory Provus with pre-game interviews: Taylor Green Logan Schafer *** Ron Roenicke discusses the kids with Bob Uecker

Look for the Nashville and Wisconsin media notes here and here later on, respectively. If Huntsville posts theirs (last did so on Tuesday 8/30), it will be found by placing your cursor over the "roster" banner at the Stars' home page.

Follow Sunday's action as it happens: Nashville (Gameday also available) Huntsville (Gameday also available) Brevard County Wisconsin Helena

Pacific Coast League American Northern Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak # Omaha 79 61 .564 - - 40-32 39-29 6-4 W1 Memphis 76 65 .539 3.5 E 44-25 32-40 6-4 W3 Nashville 70 72 .493 10.0 E 40-32 30-40 4-6 L3 Iowa 64 77 .454 15.5 E 38-31 26-46 3-7 L1 SOU North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Chattanooga 41 27 .603 - - 20-13 21-14 6-4 W4 * Tennessee 39 29 .574 2.0 1 22-13 17-16 6-4 L1 Carolina 30 37 .448 10.5 E 16-17 14-20 4-6 W1 Jackson 29 39 .426 12.0 E 15-20 14-19 5-5 W1 Huntsville 27 40 .403 13.5 E 11-21 16-19 4-6 L2 FSL North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak # Dunedin 40 29 .580 - - 20-14 20-15 6-4 W4 Tampa 37 31 .544 2.5 E 17-19 20-12 5-5 W3 Clearwater 35 33 .515 4.5 E 23-12 12-21 5-5 L4 Brevard County 34 33 .507 5.0 E 13-17 21-16 8-2 W4 * Daytona 29 37 .439 9.5 E 14-17 15-20 4-6 L4 Lakeland 27 40 .403 12.0 E 13-20 14-20 3-7 L3 MID Western Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Quad Cities 40 26 .606 - - 22-12 18-14 8-2 W3 @ Clinton 38 29 .567 2.5 - 19-15 19-14 6-4 W1 @ Kane County 36 32 .529 5.0 1 14-19 22-13 3-7 L1 Beloit 30 36 .455 10.0 E 15-17 15-19 4-6 L1 * Burlington 30 36 .455 10.0 E 17-15 13-21 7-3 W4 Cedar Rapids 28 39 .418 12.5 E 16-19 12-20 3-7 L1 Wisconsin 28 39 .418 12.5 E 15-20 13-19 4-6 L5 Peoria 26 41 .388 14.5 E 12-20 14-21 4-6 W1 PIO North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Great Falls 22 11 .667 - - 11-5 11-6 8-2 W6 Billings 20 13 .606 2.0 4 10-4 10-9 7-3 L2 * Missoula 15 18 .455 7.0 E 9-8 6-10 2-8 L1 Helena 10 23 .303 12.0 E 6-13 4-10 3-7 W1

Sunday's Daily Menu: Nashville: RHP Josh Butler at Memphis (Cardinals), 5:50 PM pre-game, 6:05 gametime Live Audio Link -- Select the Nashville feed from the MiLB main audio page MiLB.TV -- for subscribers Huntsville: RHP Cody Scarpetta at home vs. Mobile (Diamondbacks), 1:03 PM gametime Live Audio Link iPad/iPhone: Listen Traditional broadcast -- Mobile feed Brevard County: RHP Tyler Thornburg at Daytona (Cubs), 4:35 PM gametime Live Audio Link -- Daytona feed Wisconsin: RHP Eric Arnett at Beloit (Twins), 1:40 PM pre-game, 2:00 gametime Live Audio Link MiLB.TV -- for subscribers Helena: RHP Drew Gagnon at Great Falls (White Sox), 1:50 PM pre-game, 2:05 gametime Live Audio Link -- Select the Helena feed from the MiLB main audio page Arizona Rookie (Maryvale): Season complete; 17-39 record, worst in the 13-team league DSL Brewers: Season complete; 44-27 regular season, first-round playoff series loss

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

Brevard's season ends Sunday, Nashville, Huntsville and Wisconsin Monday, and Helena Thursday. Unlike last year's Pioneer League champs who kept things going deep into September, next week's Helena games will be more of a curiosity only. Some nice individual efforts to get excited about in the system, thankfully at the AAA level in particular, but in terms of wins and losses, just a brutal 2011. And yes, we know it's about development. But it's sure easier to type about victories and winning streaks...

Cravy helps Brewers win season's final home game Helena Independent Record The Helena Brewers pushed across six runs in the bottom of the third inning and breezed past the Missoula Osprey 9-3 on Saturday night in the team’s final game of the year at Kindrick Legion Field. Helena starting pitcher Tyler Cravy picked up the win after tossing six solid innings, allowing just two hits, no runs and no walks, while striking out nine. The win moved Cravy to 3-4 on the season. The Brewers (10-23) managed their nine runs on just eight hits, thanks in large part to a wild effort from usually steady Missoula starter Jesse Darrah. Darrah fell to 5-2 on the season after picking up the loss after surrendering six hits, eight runs and three walks in just three innings of work. He also plunked a batter and surrendered a wild pitch — one of six in the game. The Osprey (15-18) followed Darrah’s effort with a solid piecemeal relief effort from four pitchers. Helena did not score its final run until the bottom of the eighth when Gant Elmore singled in Mike Nemeth off Missoula’s Matt Sample in the hurler’s lone frame of work. Left fielder Ben McMahan led the Brewers’ offense with a 2-for-4 effort at the plate — including a double and a triple — that knocked in three runs, while crossing the plate once himself. Helena’s Yadiel Rivera, Parker Berberet, Max Walla, Nemeth and Elmore all plated runs on one hit apiece. Brewers relievers Mark Williams and Alex Jones surrendered all three of the visitors’ runs. The pair combined to allow four hits and a pair of walks in just over an inning of work apiece, while also plunking a pair of Missoula batters each. Helena Box Score In 83.1 combined innings at Wisconsin and Helena, 22-year-old RHP Tyler Cravy has a wonderful 107 K's and 28 walks, so the season-long 5.29 ERA hides his stuff; Ben McMahan's slugging .529... Helena Play-by-Play

Final: @Helena 9, Missoula 3 Brewers Beat Missoula in Home Finale By Nicholas Allen, Helena Brewers The Brewers last home game of the 2011 season ended with the same result as the first, a victory over the Missoula Osprey. Helena jumped on top in the bottom of the first inning and never relinquished the lead. Tyler Cravy (3-4) earned the win after tossing six scoreless innings in which the right-hander surrendered just two hits and no walks with nine strikeouts. Parker Berberet got the Brewers on the board with a sacrifice fly that scored John Dishon. Max Walla added an RBI single to give Helena a 2-0 lead. The Brewers broke the game open in the fourth with six runs off Missoula starter Jesse Darrah. Mike Nemeth doubled in a run and Tyler Roberts scored on an Osprey error to stretch the lead to four runs. Nemeth then scored on a single by Yadiel Rivera and leftfielder Ben McMahan highlighted the inning with a bases loaded triple that chased Darrah from the game and gave the Brewers an 8-0 lead. Neither team then scored until the eighth when Missoula scored two unearned runs off of Brewers reliever Mark Williams. Gant Elmore answered for Helena with an RBI single in the bottom half of the inning and the Osprey scored once in the ninth for the final margin. Following Saturday's game, the Brewers will embark on a season-ending five-game road trip, with three games in Great Falls against the Voyagers and two games in Billings. In 2011, the Brewers are 4-9 against Great Falls and 6-8 versus the Mustangs. All Brewers' contests can be heard on 1340 AM KCAP and by clicking on the Gameday Audio link on www.helenabrewers.net.

Nashville Audio Archive -- September 3 - Chat with outfielder Brandon Boggs The plight of the guys coming to terms with their 4A status (my words, not within the interview); the recent interview list reflects this...

From Chris Mehring: UPDATE: Saturday’s game has been rained out. It will not be made up. Next game is at 2:00pm on Sunday afternoon. *** So that's single games Sunday and Monday to end the season.

To all our Minor League Forum readers -- As you begin to digest another Daily Link Report, I'd like to direct everyone to this thread, on our Issues Forum. Whether you are a family member or friend of a Brewer farmhand, or just a big Brewer fan who likes to follow the players throughout the system regardless of how fabulous a year it's been thus far on the big league level, please consider helping Brian defray the costs of the site by contributing, which will also keep all our forums, including the Minor League Forum, advertisement-free. If you've come to appreciate the efforts here of Eric (Sessile), Conor (TooLiveBrew), Toby (And That), and our contributors (OK, and myself too I guess, eleven years running now), and love your Link Reports, transaction updates, and other feature topic threads here, we would be so thankful. As Brian notes, this is the first fundraiser in 15 months -- let's see if we can raise enough to take us through Milwaukee's 2013 three-peat, which would be partly fueled by the current minor leaguers. Thanks again! -- Jim

Look for the Nashville and Wisconsin media notes here and here later on, respectively. If Huntsville posts theirs (last did so on Tuesday 8/30), it will be found by placing your cursor over the "roster" banner at the Stars' home page.

Pacific Coast League American Northern Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak # Omaha 79 61 .564 - - 40-32 39-29 6-4 W1 Memphis 75 65 .536 4.0 E 43-25 32-40 6-4 W2 Nashville 70 71 .496 9.5 E 40-32 30-39 4-6 L2 Iowa 64 77 .454 15.5 E 38-31 26-46 3-7 L1 SOU North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Chattanooga 40 27 .597 - - 19-13 21-14 5-5 W3 * Tennessee 39 28 .582 1.0 3 22-13 17-15 6-4 W1 Carolina 29 37 .439 10.5 E 15-17 14-20 4-6 L2 Jackson 28 39 .418 12.0 E 15-20 13-19 4-6 L4 Huntsville 27 39 .409 12.5 E 11-20 16-19 5-5 L1 FSL North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Dunedin 39 29 .574 - - 19-14 20-15 6-4 W3 Tampa 36 31 .537 2.5 E 16-19 20-12 4-6 W2 Clearwater 35 32 .522 3.5 E 23-12 12-20 6-4 L3 Brevard County 33 33 .500 5.0 E 12-17 21-16 7-3 W3 * Daytona 29 36 .446 8.5 E 14-17 15-19 4-6 L3 Lakeland 27 39 .409 11.0 E 13-20 14-19 3-7 L2 MID Western Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Quad Cities 40 26 .606 - - 22-12 18-14 8-2 W3 @ Clinton 37 29 .561 3.0 - 19-15 18-14 6-4 L4 @ Kane County 36 31 .537 4.5 3 14-18 22-13 4-6 W1 Beloit 30 36 .455 10.0 E 15-17 15-19 4-6 L1 * Burlington 30 36 .455 10.0 E 17-15 13-21 7-3 W4 Cedar Rapids 28 39 .418 12.5 E 16-19 12-20 3-7 L1 Wisconsin 28 39 .418 12.5 E 15-20 13-19 4-6 L5 Peoria 26 41 .388 14.5 E 12-20 14-21 4-6 W1 PIO North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Great Falls 21 11 .656 - - 10-5 11-6 8-2 W5 Billings 20 12 .625 1.0 6 10-4 10-8 8-2 L1 * Missoula 15 17 .469 6.0 1 9-8 6-9 3-7 W1 Helena 9 23 .281 12.0 E 5-13 4-10 2-8 L3

Follow Saturday's action as it happens: Nashville (Gameday also available) Huntsville (Gameday also available) Brevard County Wisconsin Helena

Saturday's Daily Menu: Nashville: RHP Amaury Rivas at Memphis (Cardinals), 5:50 PM pre-game, 6:05 gametime Live Audio Link -- Select the Nashville feed from the MiLB main audio page MiLB.TV -- for subscribers Huntsville: LHP Dan Merklinger at home vs. Mobile (Diamondbacks), 6:43 PM gametime Live Audio Link iPad/iPhone: Listen Traditional broadcast -- Mobile feed Brevard County: RHP Evan Anundsen at home vs. Daytona (Cubs), 6:05 PM gametime Live Audio Link -- Daytona feed Wisconsin: RHP Eric Arnett at Beloit (Twins), 6:45 PM pre-game, 7:00 gametime Live Audio Link MiLB.TV -- for subscribers Helena: RHP Tyler Cravy at home vs. Missoula (Diamondbacks), 7:50 PM pre-game, 8:05 gametime Live Audio Link -- Select the Helena feed from the MiLB main audio page Arizona Rookie (Maryvale): Season complete; 17-39 record, worst in the 13-team league DSL Brewers: Season complete; 44-27 regular season, first-round playoff series loss

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

Osprey toss 3-hit shutout at Brewersby Amber Kuehn, Helena Independent Record Missoula pitchers Dexter Price and D.J. Johnson threw a combined three-hit shutout, second baseman Eric Groff blasted a pair of home runs and the Osprey snapped a five-game skid in style. The Osprey topped Helena 4-0 Friday at Kindrick Legion Field, the third time the Brewers (9-23) have been held scoreless this season. Despite just three hits in the contest — two of them from Mike Nemeth — Helena loaded the bases in the eighth and brought the tying run to the plate with the help of a hit batter and a walk to Adrian Williams. But after Price dazzled through 7 1/3 innings, the longest outing by an Osprey pitcher in 2011, Johnson came in and worked out of a bases-loaded jam with back-to-back strikeouts to earn his ninth save of the season. “He’s done great all year and tonight he showed what he does best, just coming in there and throwing fuzz,” said Price, Missoula’s big 6-foot-6, 218-pound righty. “He was really able to locate and throws a nice cutter as well.” Price was as efficient as he was phenomenal. He carried a no-hitter into the third inning, had thrown just 55 pitches through six frames and struck out six Brewers. The count went full just three times. “The coaches told me to go out there and work with my fastball, locate down in the zone,” said Price, who also threw curveballs early in a couple of counts and came back with changeups to keep hitters off balance. “I was able to do that and I had a great defense behind me, some guys made great plays.” Like his shortstop Stephen Cardullo, who fielded a well-struck ball by Yadiel Rivera deep in the hole — way back on the grass — in the fourth frame. “We hit some balls hard and their defense made a couple nice plays,” said Brewers manager Joe Ayrault. “That’s what they’ve done all year long is play solid defense.” Helena had a few nice stops of its own. Right fielder Max Walla fielded a pair of deep balls at the wall, and Rivera turned a 1-6-3 out off the glove of David Goforth in Missoula’s final at-bat. “Rivera’s played solid defense for us all year long and he deserved the all-star vote,” Ayrault said of his shortstop, the youngest player on the squad and the only Brewer named to the Pioneer League All-Star team. All of Missoula’s runs came via the long ball. Chris Ellison led off the game with an opposite-field shot, and reached in the third when Kevin Shackelford hit him in the back. With two outs in the inning, Groff went deep with a two-run jack over the wall in left-center for his first home run against Helena. Entering the game, Groff had struggled against the Brewers, hitting just .232 with just three RBIs. In three different contests, Helena hurlers had held the infielder hitless. But that all changed Friday night. Groff went yard again in the sixth inning, giving him three RBIs in the 2-for-4 performance. The combination shutout by Price and Johnson was the third of the season by the Missoula staff, the second Price had a role in and the first since 2008 that just two Osprey pitchers were needed in the shutout. Price said the victory was necessary to shift momentum, after the first-half division champs had dropped their previous five contests. “We were in a little bit of a drought there, so we just kind of got together and said ‘let’s step it up here before the playoffs,’ ” he said. The Brewers close out the season series with Missoula (15-17) tonight, Helena’s final home game of the season. First pitch is slated for 7:05 PM (8:05 Central), with Tyler Cravy heading to the mound for the hosts. NOTES: Missoula’s 2011 club has been one of the best in team history. The Osprey have hit 35 triples this season for a franchise record, and also own the most home runs in team history with 89 ... The Arizona Diamondbacks top picks were promoted from the Arizona League to the Osprey, with 2011 first-rounder Archie Bradley, supplemental first-round pick Andrew Chafin and second-rounder Anthony Meo joining the team. All are pitchers, and Meo is expected to make a bullpen appearance tonight behind starter Jesse Darrah.

From the Rattlers' Chris Mehring -- speaking of twitter…There are a few new Rattlers on the social media outlet. Nick Ramirez Rafael Neda TJ Mittelstaedt Nick Shaw

Rattler Radio Post-Game Thoughts Includes a bit of injury news on catcher Rafael Neda...

Brewers' Peralta Refines Pitchability In High Minors By Tom Haudricourt / Baseball America MILWAUKEE - People take notice when a pitcher's results improve as he climbs the minor league ladder. Such is the case with righthander Wily Peralta, who has impressed talent evaluators both within and outside of the Brewers organization. The 22-year-old topped an impressive run with Double-A Huntsville by pitching even more effectively for Triple-A Nashville, where he had gone 2-0, 2.16 through his first four starts. "That's definitely a good sign," Brewers minor league pitching coordinator Lee Tunnell said. "That's what you like to see." Peralta earned his promotion by going 9-7, 3.46 in 21 starts at Huntsville. He collected 117 strikeouts and allowed 106 hits and 48 walks in 120 innings. Hardly intimidated by facing Triple-A batters for the first time, Peralta struck out one-third (33) of the first 98 he faced, while allowing just 26 baserunners in 25 innings. Opponents had batted .174 without a home run. Peralta's second start, against Tucson, was particularly impressive. He went seven shutout innings, allowing three hits and no walks with nine strikeouts. It wasn't until Peralta's fourth start with Nashville that he hit his first speed bump, losing his fastball command and issuing seven walks in five innings against a hard-hitting Memphis squad. Even with that difficulty, he surrendered just two runs. "He was rushing to the plate a little and that led to some walks," Nashville manager Don Money said. "But he still battled and gave us a chance to win. That's what you like to see when you don't have your best stuff." Projection Realized A long-time minor league skipper who offers balanced player evaluations, Money had not seen Peralta pitch much until he arrived in Nashville. To say the least, Money was suitably impressed with the repertoire of the 6-foot-2, 240-pound righthander. And why not? Peralta has flashed a fastball that reaches 96-97 mph at times and regularly sits at 92-94. He also throws a sharp-breaking slurve and deceptive changeup. That repertoire has allowed Peralta to mature into a pitcher, not just a thrower. "I was a little surprised," Money said. "He's still a young pitcher. I didn't know much about him, but he's willing to listen and work. He's a down-to-earth guy. "He has the velocity, the breaking ball and changeup to be a pretty good major league pitcher. He gets a lot of swings and misses. When I'm coaching third, I talk to the other team's third baseman a lot and they all say this kid has some good stuff." This is what the Brewers had in mind when they signed Peralta as a raw 16-year-old with a strong arm out of Samana, Dominican Republic, in November 2005. He faced major adversity almost immediately, having Tommy John surgery and missing the entire 2007 season. As might be expected, it took Peralta some time to get his game back together, and the Brewers made sure not to rush him. After pitching the entire 2009 season at low Class A Wisconsin, he moved up a rung to high Class A Brevard County last year, then up to Huntsville for the final weeks. Now, Peralta finds himself one step from the major leagues as a still-young pitcher. With a deep big league rotation headed by Zack Greinke, Shaun Marcum, Yovani Gallardo, Randy Wolf and Chris Narveson, the Brewers had no need for Peralta's services this season, but his upward momentum bodes well for 2012. Nearly Ready For Prime TimeRight-hander Mark Rogers opened the season as the top pitching prospect in the Brewers organization, in part because of his rise to Milwaukee last September. Rogers lost his footing, though, as he pitched poorly for Nashville, running up a 13.20 ERA in five starts, before having surgery in August on both wrists to alleviate pain caused by carpal tunnel syndrome. That development opened the door for Peralta, if he wasn't already on the way with his 2011 performance. "I'm not surprised by what he's doing," said Tunnell, who watched Peralta make five starts at Huntsville before moving up. "I see him as a solid big league starter, maybe in the middle of the rotation. "He's following the developmental model we have set in the organization. He has mixed in a two-seamer this year and that has become a very good pitch for him. He's doing more with his fastball now, and that's very encouraging to see. He's a real bright spot for us." Tunnell calls Peralta a "baseball rat," a player who can't wait to get to the ballpark each day. That work ethic, in addition to an aptitude to take coaching lessons to the mound, has played a big role in his progress this year. Peralta has come a long way since spring training, when he auditioned for the big league rotation because Greinke had cracked a rib playing basketball. Peralta pressed and tried to do too much, not surprising considering his age and the unexpected situation, allowing 10 runs in 10 innings. "At his age, he's still a projectable pitcher," Tunnell said. "Earlier in his career, he didn't have the feel for his offspeed pitches that he has now. With any pitcher, there's a transitional period and this has been one of those years for Wily, and he has handled that very well. "Wily is all business when he goes out there. Every time he steps on the mound, he has the intention of beating you. He has shown the internal growth you like to see in a pitcher." As it stands now, the Brewers retain club control of the five pitchers who comprise their current rotation through 2012. What that means for Peralta remains to be seen. "You have to pitch a little more as you move up the ladder, and he has done that," Money said. "The fact that he has fared better shows that he knows you can't just go out there and throw your fastball down the middle. "If he keeps going like he is now, you're looking at the big leagues next year if the need comes up. From what I've seen of him, he's got the stuff to be a No. 2 or 3 starter up there. He just needs to keep pitching and getting the innings." Photo by Mike Strasinger / Nashville Sounds http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/2011/09/02/ZodrdLk4.jpg

AUDIO: Jordan Brown Solo HR *** Nashville Audio Archive -- September 2 - Chat with Of / 1B Jordan Brown *** VIDEO: Jordan Brown double

To all our Minor League Forum readers -- As you begin to digest another Daily Link Report, I'd like to direct everyone to this thread, on our Issues Forum. Whether you are a family member or friend of a Brewer farmhand, or just a big Brewer fan who likes to follow the players throughout the system regardless of how fabulous a year it's been thus far on the big league level, please consider helping Brian defray the costs of the site by contributing, which will also keep all our forums, including the Minor League Forum, advertisement-free. If you've come to appreciate the efforts here of Eric (Sessile), Conor (TooLiveBrew), Toby (And That), and our contributors (OK, and myself too I guess, eleven years running now), and love your Link Reports, transaction updates, and other feature topic threads here, we would be so thankful. As Brian notes, this is the first fundraiser in 15 months -- let's see if we can raise enough to take us through Milwaukee's 2013 three-peat, which would be partly fueled by the current minor leaguers. Thanks again! -- Jim