Jim Goulart

Brewers hold first practice By Amber Kuehn, Helena Independent Record The boys of summer are back in town. The first wave of the 2011 Helena Brewers arrived Sunday afternoon, and players participated in a light workout Monday at Kindrick Legion Field. A handful of new signees watched in street clothes while awaiting results from their physicals, but those who were in uniform were already fielding groundballs and taking batting practice a week before opening day. “It’s very exciting to be back here,” said Brewers manager Joe Ayrault, who coached last year’s squad to a Pioneer League title in his first season. “It’s always good to see the guys get back on the field.” Players will continue to trickle in throughout the week and the roster is not yet finalized, but fans can expect to see some familiar faces this season. Back from last year are catcher Brent Dean and outfielders John Dishon and Kenny Allison. Other known names among Capital City fans return, like pitcher Eric Arnett, a first-round draft pick two years ago, and Joey Paciorek and Seth Lintz, who have donned Helena uniforms before and are back on rehab assignments. Paciorek, recovering from a broken hand, played third base for the Class A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, but is being converted to a catcher. Ayrault noted that the staff’s primary goal is to develop the players’ skills so that they may move up the minor league ladder, though he admits that having athletes return can help ease the transition for those just starting out. “It’s good to have guys with experience to help guide these younger guys,” he said. Ayrault was right at home back on the baseball diamond Monday and is happy to be back in the Treasure State. The avid outdoorsman has already jammed plenty of activities in since arriving with his family on June 8. “We went to Canyon Ferry and caught some fish, then went from hanging out on the beach in our shorts to having a snowball fight and making snow angels on McDonald pass,” he said. “I’ve been enjoying the outdoors and seeing the wildlife.” A few players taken in last week’s draft have not yet signed, as their seasons continue in the College World Series. Among them is Milwaukee’s top pick from this year, Texas pitcher Taylor Jungmann. The 21-year-old was taken 12th overall and was just recently tagged with his second defeat after starting the season 13-0. The Longhorns advanced out of the Super Regionals by defeating Arizona State. Opening day for the Brewers is Monday, June 20, when Missoula comes to town for a 7:05 PM start (8:05 Central).

Still 16 years old (until next month), yet 6'3", 215, LF Elvis Rubio was pulled (as we just bolded it above) at an awkward spot after committing two errors earlier in the inning. No word on if Elvis actually left the building.

Nashville Audio Archive -- June 13 -- Chat with Manager Don Money

Petition MLB for a 4th option year for him. Of course we're already counting on Scarpetta getting one.

How MiLB.com worded it -- Florida State League Brock Kjeldgaard, Brevard County .400/.538/1.000, 6 G, 8-for-20, 1 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 6 RS, 4 BB, 5 K, 2 SB, 0 CS If this guy keeps it up, this honor will have to be renamed the Brock Kjeldgaard Award. This is the Brewers prospect's third straight week to claim it, and he remains on an absolute tear. Through his first three games of the week, he was 1-for-7 with a homer, but he'd done plenty of work without his wood, walking three times, stealing a base and crossing the plate three times. He drove in two and missed the cycle by a double Friday, homered and had three more hits to put together five RBIs Saturday and added another RBI Sunday, doubling, walking and stealing another base.

Former Lobo Herrera returns for first time as a proBy Christopher Jackson, Albuquerque Baseball Examiner June 11, 2011 Daniel Ray Herrera has already had a memorable homecoming in Albuquerque this week, even if he has yet to show up in a box score. The Sounds' left-handed reliever has not been called upon through the first two games of Nashville's four-game series with Albuquerque at Isotopes Park, but the former New Mexico Lobo has still managed to soak up every minute of returning to his old college haunt. “I’ve been back to Albuquerque, but I haven’t been to this ballpark," said Herrera, who was drafted out of UNM by the Texas Rangers in 2006. "It’s pretty exciting to be in the same clubhouse, same dugout. Lot of familiar things, lot of familiar feelings." Herrera has spent his mornings at Weck's and his afternoons and evenings at the ballpark, taking time to talk to old friends and the UNM coaching staff in his first visit back to Albuquerque as a professional player. The 26-year-old southpaw is now with his third organization after the Milwaukee Brewers claimed him off waivers from the Cincinnati Reds last month. So far, Herrera has tossed seven scoreless innings of relief for Nashville after starting the year 0-4 with a 3.86 ERA and one save in 17 games for Triple-A Louisville. “I loved the staff and all the players over there on the Reds, it was hard to leave in that respect," Herrera said. "But it’s great to be in a new league, a lot of the hitters don’t really know me. It’s a new group of guys, a new way of pitching. Talking to Rich (Gale, Nashville's pitching coach) is definitely a different pair of eyes to help me out, figure stuff out. It’s refreshing. It’s just like a new start." Herrera was a 45th-round draft pick out of UNM, the type of player who rarely makes it in professional baseball. At 5-foot-6, he is far shorter than most of his fellow pitchers. Even with all of that stacked against him, Herrera made it to Double-A in his second season in 2007 before he was part of a trade between the Rangers and the Reds that included big-league starts Josh Hamilton and Edinson Volquez. His key weapon was a screwball, a sort of circle-change that was devastating against left-handed hitters. "He ain't scared of nothing," New Mexico coach Ray Birmingham said. “It’s the pitch and the mental makeup." The Reds recalled Herrera late in 2008 before making him a permanent part of the bullpen in 2009. Herrera went 4-4 with a 3.06 ERA in 70 games. “He got in the door and he got it done," Birmingham said. "You know he has a heart of a lion. He might be 5-foot-7, but inside he’s 6-foot-9." Herrera went 1-3 with a 3.91 ERA in 36 games in 2010, splitting the year between Cincinnati and Louisville. “I had a pretty quick run of it," Herrera said of his ascension to the Majors. "I look back at it now — it was a fun, quick process. I’m in the shuffle now. It’s great that Milwaukee wanted to pick me up and put me on the (40-man) roster. Hopefully I can impress here enough to go up there soon." Herrera was sporting a Lobos shirt underneath his Sounds uniform this series, something he said he dug up for this season. He added that he was proud of UNM for its back-to-back NCAA regional appearances. “It’s pretty exciting that they finally made it," Herrera said. "We had some teams that came to play. When it came to (the Mountain West) conference tournament we couldn’t push through it. For the year they had last year it was phenomenal. I didn’t have many high hopes this year, but they won in the tournament, so they earned their bid in that respect. They played well, I thought they played pretty well at the regional, they just got walked off and shut out. They did well and I was proud of them."

Nashville Audio Archive -- June 11 -- Chat with outfielder Brendan Katin A naturally subdued Katin indicates he could be active, but it's a numbers game with outfielders at the AAA level, and he still can't go every day. He also relays a tale about playing second fiddle to Ozzie, the Sounds' mascot. *** Nashville Audio Archive -- June 12 -- Chat with reliever Zack Segovia

Nashville Media Notes: MEADOWS PROMOTED FROM HUNTSVILLE, JAMES PLACED ON D.L.: Left-hander Daniel Meadows has been promoted to Nashville after going 5-2 with a team-leading 1.70 ERA (7 ER / 37.0 IP) and 31 strikeouts in 19 games for Huntsville while being named to the 2011 Southern League mid-season All-Star squad. To make room for Meadows on the Nashville roster, right-hander Justin James has been placed on the disabled list. The 29-year-old has gone 1-2 with a 4.88 ERA (13 ER / 24.0 IP), one save, and 15 strikeouts in 18 games for the Sounds this season.

Nashville Media Notes Huntsville Media Notes

PCL American North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Omaha 35 28 .556 - - 19-13 16-15 5-5 W1 Memphis 30 32 .484 4.5 78 16-15 14-17 6-4 L1 Iowa 28 35 .444 7.0 75 14-17 14-18 3-7 L1 Nashville 27 35 .435 7.5 75 16-14 11-21 6-4 L3 SOU North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Tennessee 40 24 .625 - - 20-10 20-14 5-5 L1 Jackson 37 27 .578 3.0 4 17-11 20-16 5-5 W1 Huntsville 32 31 .508 7.5 E 18-10 14-21 5-5 L1 Chattanooga 32 32 .500 8.0 E 15-20 17-12 7-3 W6 Carolina 19 45 .297 21.0 E 12-22 7-23 3-7 W1 FSL North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Daytona 44 19 .698 - - 24-9 20-10 4-6 W2 Clearwater 38 25 .603 6.0 2 20-12 18-13 5-5 L2 Dunedin 34 29 .540 10.0 E 13-16 21-13 5-5 W1 Lakeland 33 30 .524 11.0 E 18-15 15-15 5-5 L2 Tampa 32 31 .508 12.0 E 14-17 18-14 7-3 L1 Brevard County 24 39 .381 20.0 E 13-20 11-19 4-6 W2 MID Western Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Burlington 41 23 .641 - - 20-9 21-14 4-6 L4 Quad Cities 35 28 .556 5.5 - 16-14 19-14 6-4 W1 Beloit 33 30 .524 7.5 6 16-15 17-15 7-3 W5 Peoria 33 30 .524 7.5 6 21-11 12-19 5-5 W3 Wisconsin 33 30 .524 7.5 6 20-15 13-15 6-4 W1 Cedar Rapids 29 34 .460 11.5 2 17-15 12-19 2-8 L2 Kane County 27 36 .429 13.5 E 14-18 13-18 4-6 W1 Clinton 21 43 .328 20.0 E 8-24 13-19 5-5 L3 DSL S.D. North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak DSL Brewers 9 3 .750 - - 3-2 6-1 7-3 L2 DSL Mariners 6 5 .545 2.5 59 3-3 3-2 6-4 W2 DSL Athletics 4 7 .364 4.5 57 2-3 2-4 3-7 L4 DSL Cardinals 2 8 .200 6.0 56 1-5 1-3 2-8 W1

Follow Monday's action as it happens: Nashville (Gameday also available) Huntsville (Gameday also available) Brevard County DSL Brewers

Monday's Daily Menu: Times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: RHP Josh Butler at home vs. Round Rock (Rangers), 6:50 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime Live Audio Link iPad/iPhone: Listen MiLB.TV -- for subscribers Huntsville: RHP Cody Scarpetta at home vs. Jackson (Mariners), 6:43 PM gametime Live Audio Link iPad/iPhone: Listen Traditional broadcast -- look for the Jackson feed off the master MiLB.com audio list Brevard County: TBD at Lakeland (Tigers), 6:00 PM gametime Sorry, no audio available for this series... Wisconsin: Idle DSL Brewers: at the DSL Mariners, 9:30 AM, although game data won't be available until late afternoon at the earliest

Kjeldgaard earns FSL honor for third consecutive week Edmonton, Alberta native leads league in homers, two away from team record By Frank Longobardo / Brevard County Manatees VIERA, Fla. -- The Florida State League announced on Monday that Brevard County Manatees outfielder Brock Kjeldgaard was named the league's player of the week for the period of June 6-June 12. It is the third week in a row that Kjeldgaard has earned the honor. In six games last week, Kjeldgaard hit .400 (8-for-20) with one double, one triple, three home runs, nine RBI and six runs scored. He also stole two bases during the week. Kjeldgaard, 25, had a .538 on-base percentage and a 1.000 slugging percentage during those six games. The Edmonton, Alberta native also had two three-hit games during the week. Heading into Monday's action, Kjeldgaard leads the Florida State League with 17 homers and is second in the league with a .593 slugging percentage. In the month of June, he is hitting .400 (16-for-40) with seven homers, 14 RBI, with a .489 on-base percentage and a 1.025 slugging percentage. Kjeldgaard has also raised his batting average 65 points since May 24. Kjeldgaard is two homers away from breaking the Manatees single-season mark of 18, set by Jose Santos in 2001. He was drafted by the Brewers in the 34th round of the 2005 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft as a pitcher. He was converted to a position player beginning in 2008 and to date has hit 68 homers in his minor league career, including 34 with the Manatees.

That was quick. See now that RH reliever Justin James, the 40-man roster spot holder who really struggled in the Sounds' 16-14 loss on Sunday, has been placed on Nashville's DL. Thus Daniel Meadows' promotion.

In a very well-deserved promotion, LHP Daniel Meadows (career stats) is moved from Huntsville to Nashville. No word yet from the Sounds on a corresponding roster move to make room for the 2008 49th round pick out of Temple College in Texas. Meadows is the type of arm that could make a Joe Thatcher-style rise to the big leagues before long. To fill Huntsville's spot, RHP Darren Byrd is activated from the DL. Miscellaneous catch-ups: back on 6/4, veteran INF Anderson Machado was transferred from Nashville to Huntsville while on the Temporary Inactive List. On 6/10, Machado was moved from the TIL list to the AA 7-day disabled list, retroactive to 6/8. Finally, we noticed that catcher Jhonathan Javier, a catcher / DH type who made his way from the DSL in 2009 to Maryvale in 2010, was released some time this spring.

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

Video highlights -- Mat Gamel opposite-field HR Saturday Taylor Green monster shot Sunday (caption says Caleb Gindl, but it's Green)

First things first for Gamel By Chris Jackson / Special to MLB.com The Nashville Sounds' Mat Gamel is fully aware of what his move to first base seems to portend for his future. The former Milwaukee Brewers' top prospect, who only lost the title of prospect due to accumulating 145 scattered at-bats in the Majors over the past three seasons, was a third baseman prior to this year. Prince Fielder, Milwaukee's current first baseman, is a free agent after this season and is expected to seek a contract far beyond what the Brewers can offer. So Gamel has been anointed by many as Milwaukee's first baseman-to-be for '12. "A lot of that's out of my control," Gamel said. "All I can control is what I do on the field. Is it in the back of my mind? Yeah. But am I pressing about it, am I worried about it? I don't believe that you can worry about it and go out and perform like you have to." Gamel has performed well so far, batting .303 (69-for-228) with 11 home runs and 39 RBIs for Nashville while also "getting comfortable" at his new position. "So far it's been good, man," Gamel said. "I feel good over there. I feel like I'm doing a pretty decent job." Gamel was a fourth-round Draft pick in 2005 out of Chipola Junior College in Florida. He methodically moved up the Minor League ladder, breaking out with a monster campaign (.329, 19 home runs, 96 RBIs) at Double-A Hunstville in 2008. Since then, however, his career seemed to stall at Nashville. Despite swinging the bat well, Gamel was considered a defensive liability at third base. He had a shot at taking over the hot corner in Milwaukee in 2009, but hit just .242 with seven errors and lost the job to Casey McGehee. Gamel called the criticism of his defense "motivation to get better," but he remained at Nashville for most of 2009 and '10. "It is what it is," Gamel said. "I would like to be (in the Majors), but in the same breath I need to play. Sitting on the bench isn't going to do me any good as far as development goes. Now I'm getting older, but especially learning a new position I need to be playing as much as I can." For now, Gamel said he is focused on helping the Sounds continue to turn around their season, which has featured five separate winning streaks of three or more games and six losing streaks of three or more games. "Very streaky, it's either hot or cold," Gamel said. "I think that's the game. You're going to have those, you're going to have streaks. You've got to try to limit the losing streaks." A change of position hasn't hurt Mat Gamel (right) at the plate. (Mike Strasinger/Nashville Sounds) http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/2011/06/13/iSooj4KG.jpg

Fantastic highlights (flashing leather, whoo!) and much more, including Chris' thoughts at the Rattler Radio Blog. Watch Reggie run!

He's back -- Huntsville CF Logan Schafer now with a nine-game hit streak -- in fact, his one-hit effort Sunday followed up five consecutive two-hit games. Schafer is 15-for-39 (.385) during the streak (one double, two walks, five K's).

Timber Rattlers coping with the pressure of being in playoff race Nelson, Roberts raising level of their play by Mike Woods, Appleton Post-Crescent GRAND CHUTE — Pressure has done a lot of funny things to people. See Jean Van de Velde, 1999 British Open, as Example A. But there hasn't been anything funny about how Wisconsin Timber Rattlers pitcher Jimmy Nelson and catcher Tyler Roberts have handled some pressure situations this year. They've been usually rated R, for language and violence to the water cooler. But that all changed Sunday, when the Rattlers were involved in their greatest pressure-filled situation of the season. "Some guys today that haven't had success in pressure situations had some really good success,'' said Wisconsin Timber Rattlers manager Matt Erickson after his team's 4-1 victory over Fort Wayne in a Midwest League game on Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. "That was fun to watch.'' It was a sharp contrast when the Rattlers, fighting for a first-half playoff spot, weren't fun to watch at all as they committed nine errors in a pair of losses the previous two days. "After the last two days, it would have been easy to kind of tank, I guess, because we did not play very well,'' said Erickson. "We had some concentration issues defensively. But today, we made the plays.'' It started with the Rattlers holding a 2-0 lead in the sixth when Nelson, after he struck out the first batter who nonetheless reached first on a third-strike wild pitch, gave up consecutive singles to load the bases. Then he uncorked another wild pitch to give the TinCaps their first run. But he responded by striking out the next three hitters and left the field pumping his first. "Those are those innings I was talking about where some stuff happens, some stuff falls. A walk, mix in an error, something,'' said Nelson, who improved to 2-6. "Those innings this year have been extended to big-run innings. So I was just excited I was able to execute the pitch and our defense was able to make the plays. I was just pumped up that I kind of finally got over that little hill.'' Erickson said Nelson showed him something more than just making the right pitch at the right time. "This is the day that we've been waiting for from Mr. Nelson,'' said Erickson. "Because each time he's been out there he has shown signs of being pretty good then he'll have some sort of adversity and things will then fall apart for a little bit and then after that happens he seems to go out and be pressure free and things are all right. "Today, when he dealt with that adversity, he battled right through it. He showed some tenacity, he showed a little competitiveness with the fire and that's what, in my opinion, you have to have that. Not just as a pitcher; but you have to have that inner fire if you're going to play at the highest level. Because the talent is just so close, each level you move up, when you can find ways to get those competitive juices going and working for you I think that's how you really separate yourself.'' As for Roberts, he blocked the ball three times at the plate with a runner at third in the sixth and then made a slick pick on an in-between hop on a throw from third baseman Greg Hopkins for a force at the plate in the seventh. "I've kind of been on Roberts about his inconsistency of play and we've had a lot of talks,'' said Erickson. "But he was really good in that sixth inning … and then he was good in the eighth as well. Those are big-time plays. Those are game changers.'' The Rattlers also needed a stellar effort from reliever Greg Holle, who came on in the eighth with the bases-loaded and nobody out. But he got out of the jam unscathed, making him 14-for-14 in save situations. "Coming into that situation you're more thinking about minimize or, obviously, keep the ball down and I was able to do that,'' said Holle. "Got a couple of weak ground balls. … The eighth inning was pretty big for me just to minimize the damage. Luckily I got out of there with nothing.'' The Rattlers will now take to the road for a seven-game road trip, still trailing Quad Cities by two games in the race for the final playoff spot in the season's first half. The pressure will be on.

Speaking of "why not on the DL" with D'Vontrey Richardson, how about Kyle Heckathorn (stats)? Since his June 1st start when he retired only one of seven batters, he's been idle. The Manatees have four games this week prior to next weekend's All-Star Game break, and his turn could now be skipped all week, resulting in at least a 19-day absence.

It's 4:40 Central, and Nashville and Albuquerque are tied 9-9 after four innings should you be seeking audio or video (MiLB.TV) entertainment. This is nice to see -- making AAA fun to follow and two of the best developments in the system this year: Nashville Top of the 4th Taylor Green homers (9) on a fly ball to right field. Caleb Gindl homers (7) on a fly ball to left field.

Look for the Nashville and Wisconsin media notes here and here later on, respectively. If Huntsville posts theirs, and they are doing so more consistently now, it will be found by placing your cursor over the "roster" banner at the Stars' home page.

PCL American North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Omaha 34 28 .548 - - 18-13 16-15 5-5 L1 Memphis 30 31 .492 3.5 80 16-15 14-16 7-3 W2 Iowa 28 34 .452 6.0 77 14-16 14-18 4-6 W1 Nashville 27 34 .443 6.5 77 16-14 11-20 6-4 L2 SOU North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Tennessee 40 23 .635 - - 20-10 20-13 6-4 W3 Jackson 36 27 .571 4.0 4 17-11 19-16 5-5 L3 Huntsville 32 30 .516 7.5 1 18-9 14-21 5-5 W3 Chattanooga 31 32 .492 9.0 E 15-20 16-12 6-4 W5 Carolina 18 45 .286 22.0 E 11-22 7-23 2-8 L5 FSL North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Daytona 43 19 .694 - - 23-9 20-10 4-6 W1 Clearwater 38 24 .613 5.0 4 20-12 18-12 5-5 L1 Dunedin 33 29 .532 10.0 E 12-16 21-13 5-5 L1 Lakeland 33 29 .532 10.0 E 18-14 15-15 6-4 L1 Tampa 32 30 .516 11.0 E 14-17 18-13 8-2 W1 Brevard County 23 39 .371 20.0 E 13-20 10-19 3-7 W1 MID Western Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Burlington 41 22 .651 - - 20-8 21-14 4-6 L3 Quad Cities 34 28 .548 6.5 - 15-14 19-14 6-4 L1 Beloit 32 30 .516 8.5 7 15-15 17-15 7-3 W4 Peoria 32 30 .516 8.5 7 20-11 12-19 4-6 W2 Wisconsin 32 30 .516 8.5 7 19-15 13-15 5-5 L2 Cedar Rapids 29 33 .468 11.5 4 17-14 12-19 3-7 L1 Kane County 26 36 .419 14.5 E 13-18 13-18 3-7 L4 Clinton 21 42 .333 20.0 E 8-23 13-19 6-4 L2 DSL S.D. North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak DSL Brewers 9 3 .750 - - 3-2 6-1 7-3 L2 DSL Mariners 6 5 .545 2.5 59 3-3 3-2 6-4 W2 DSL Athletics 4 7 .364 4.5 57 2-3 2-4 3-7 L4 DSL Cardinals 2 8 .200 6.0 56 1-5 1-3 2-8 W1