Jim Goulart

Follow Friday's action as it happens: Nashville (Gameday also available) Huntsville Game One (Gameday also available) Huntsville Game Two (Gameday also available) Brevard County Wisconsin

Friday's Daily Menu: TGIF! Times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: RHP Frankie De La Cruz at home vs. Oklahoma City (Astros), 6:50 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime Live Audio Link iPad/iPhone: Listen MiLB.TV -- for subscribers Huntsville: LHP Dan Merklinger and RHP Michael Fiers in a doubleheader at Chattanooga (Dodgers), 4:15 PM gametime; each contest slated for seven innings Live Audio Link -- Lookouts' feed Brevard County: RHP Nick Bucci at home vs. Jupiter (Marlins), 6:05 PM gametime Live Audio Link -- look for the Jupiter feed off the master MiLB.com audio list Wisconsin: RHP Jameson Dunn at Kane County (Royals), 6:40 PM pre-game, 7:00 gametime Live Audio Link

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

Chris' postgame(s) thoughts, Rattler-style as always

In what could be a one-time deal or is hopefully a "what have you been waiting for?" situation, RHP Michael Fiers gets the start in Game Two of the Stars' doubleheader Friday night. Dan Merklinger are Michael Bowman are listed as future rotation scheduled probables, as one would imagine Cody Scarpetta would be. RHP Jesus Sanchez has an awful 24-to-28 K-to-BB ratio in 41.2 IP (nine starts), so Fiers' bump up from the bullpen would be a welcome sight.

Despite last night's twinbill loss, here's a news video report (from Monday) on the Rattlers' turnaround in May.

Manatees ace growing into roleby Mark DeCotis, Florida Today As the Brevard County Manatees top pitcher and one of the best in the Class A Florida State League, right hander Nick Bucci isn't one to rest on his laurels. The 6-foot, 2, 180-pound 20-year-old Sarina, Ontario, Canada native has a team-best 2.42 earned run average among starters -- good enough for third best in the league as of Wednesday. And while his won-loss record is a pedestrian 3-2, it doesn't reflect what he has meant to the struggling Manatees. "He's been kind of that stabilizer for us," Manatees Manager Jeff Isom said. "He goes out there and he's going to give you a competitive outing. "I've been very impressed. I had him last season (at Class A Wisconsin) and he had success . . . but he would at times struggle with command with the fastball. But the difference between Bucci last year and this year is he's able to command his fastball in any count, inside, outside and then also being able to drop in a breaking ball for a strike when he needs to as well." Bucci has pitched a team-high 52 innings -- eighth best in the league -- in nine games, eight of them starts. He has struck out 45, tied for seventh best in the FSL, and allowed 45 hits, 29 pitchers surrendering more. "He's really established himself as one of the top pitchers in this league," Isom said. "He's improving every outing . . . it seems like his last four or five outings, it just continues to get better. You see a different ball club when he's out there. You know you have a chance every time he takes the mound." That's generous praise, but then again Bucci has earned it with a lot of effort. He began his professional career as a 17-year-old for the Milwaukee Brewers in the Arizona Fall League, where big league teams annually get a good look at players they consider top prospects. From there, he pitched for Helena in the Pioneer Rookie League and briefly for the Brewers Double A team in Huntsville in 2009 before appearing in 26 games (6-7 won-loss record, 3.51 ERA) for Wisconsin in 2010. Now, he's making an impression with the Manatees with the possibility of advancing back up to Huntsville looming as it does for all quality Advanced A players. But he's not concerned with that. There are more immediate challenges ahead. "Overall, I'm definitely pleased with how things are going," he said. "In saying that, there's obviously a long season ahead, there's a lot of things I need to work on, a lot of things I need to do to become better as a pitcher." Bucci is focusing on sharpening his changeup and continuing to develop his curveball as he works about 100 pitches a game. He also sharpens his mental game by taking walks on the beach near his Cocoa Beach home, continuing to prepare himself for the long, hot, humid summer and the competition in the FSL which will only increase as players adapt and continue to strive to survive or thrive. "It's definitely a step up from last year for the most part," Bucci said. "But all in all if you pitch your game, things can go the right way." They have so far and he can lean on the experience he gained setting out on his own as a 17-year-old playing baseball for a living in another country and learning how to be a professional. "You learn things, I kind of got it all out of the way when I was 17, 18," he said. "I kind of matured."

Nashville Audio Archive -- May 26 - Chat with infielder Anderson Machado 15-year pro seems like a really nice guy; cool Barry Larkin story and recollections...

Final, Game Two: Nashville 3, @Tacoma 2, seven innings Sounds Win 3-2 To Split Twinbill With Tacoma Nashville finishes 4-4 on eight-game road trip Nashville Sounds TACOMA, Wash. - The Nashville Sounds split a doubleheader with the Tacoma Rainiers with a 3-2 victory in the twinbill finale on Thursday evening at Cheney Stadium. Nashville (18-28) avoided a series sweep with the victory in the doubleheader finale, and finished 4-4 on the eight-game road trip. Sounds starter Sam Narron (3-1) continued his strong pitching in the nightcap for the victory. The left-hander tossed his third consecutive quality start, giving up two runs on five hits with six strikeouts over six innings pitched. Nashville took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning of the nightcap on knuckleballer Charlie Haeger. Caleb Gindl singled to lead off the contest, followed by Eric Farris being hit and Brett Carroll taking a walk. Mat Gamel would later record his team-leading 26th RBI with a softly hit infield-grounder to score Gindl from third. Tacoma went ahead in the next frame, 2-1. After striking out the first Tacoma batter, Narron walked Matt Tuiasosopo and gave up three straight singles, highlighted by a Mike Carp two-run base hit. Nashville knotted the contest at 2-2 in the top of the fifth inning. Carroll reached on a fielding error, moved to third on a Gamel single, and scored on an RBI base knock by Jeremy Reed. Nashville took a 3-2 lead in the next inning. Taylor Green drew his third walk of the contest to reach base, moved to second on Gindl's base hit, and scored on the next play as Farris singled up the middle. Sounds reliever Sean Green worked around a Nashville fielding error in the seventh inning, stranding the tying run on second base to earn his first save of the season. Haeger's game-opening Caleb Gindl single was the only hit allowed by the knuckleballer, as he walked six while giving up one run on in four innings for Tacoma. Josh Lueke (1-3) took the loss. The Sounds travel back to Music City on Friday, when they'll begin an eight-game homestand with the 7:05 PM opener of a four-game series against the Oklahoma City RedHawks (AAA-Astros). Right-hander Frankie De La Cruz (0-3, 4.47) will man the bump for Nashville to face Oklahoma City left-hander Ryan Rowland-Smith (2-3, 5.23). Nashville Game Two Box Score Nice salvage of a road trip for a better flight home, didn't stay awake for this one, sorry; despite hitting .240 thus far in 121 AAA at bats, 24-year-old Taylor Green's .347 / .413 line gives him a respectable .760 OPS; at some point here, Zelous Wheeler will return from his badly sprained right knee injury, it'll be interesting to see what roster shuffle manifests; Caleb Gindl in CF for this one, Mat Gamel back at first base (error # 6); Sam Narron doing what he can to build upon his one and only big league appearance, a start with Texas seven seasons ago -- it would be nearly an Erick Almonte-sized gap in time should he return to the bigs this year; Sean Green's save was only the 8th save all season for the Sounds -- yikes; a lovely 52 drizzly degrees in the great Northwest... Nashville Game Two Play-by-Play We should be enjoying the win, but it was a fortunate W. Each of the three innings in which the Sounds scored a single run (the 1st, 5th, and 6th) should have been much more fruiful...

Final, Game One: @Tacoma 4, Nashville 1, seven innings Sounds Drop Twinbill Opener In Tacoma, 4-1 Nashville Sounds TACOMA, Wash. - The Nashville Sounds came up on the short end of a 4-1 loss to the Tacoma Rainiers on Thursday evening in the first game of a doubleheader at Cheney Stadium. Tacoma recorded its fourth straight victory while the Sounds (17-28) suffered their fourth consecutive defeat. The Rainiers took an early 1-0 lead against Sounds starter Amaury Rivas. After the first three batters reached to load the bases on a pair of singles sandwiched around a walk, Mike Carp followed with a fielder's choice grounder to short, which allowed Dustin Ackley to score the game's first run. Rivas limited the damage, however, striking out Luis Jimenez and Johan Limonta in succession to strand two runners and escape the jam. Sounds center fielder Brett Carroll evened the contest with one swing of the bat to lead off the second, fouling off four straight 3-2 offerings from Tacoma right-hander Blake Beavan before drilling the 10th pitch of the at-bat of the wall in left for his fifth home run of the season (audio is available via the lead link in this post). A baserunning gaffe cost Nashville a chance to grab a lead later in the frame. With one out, George Kottaras tripled off the top of the wall in right, extending his season-best hitting streak to seven, but took a wide turn past the bag as the throw skipped past the third baseman. Beavan backed up the play, caught the ball, and threw back to third, where Kottaras was tagged out as he scrambled back to the base. Nashville squandered another scoring opportunity in the third, when it had the bases loaded with one out and came up empty. After the Sounds filled the bags against Beavan on a Jeremy Reed single, a Caleb Gindl double, and a walk to Eric Farris, Jordan Brown hit a bouncer to first that forced Reed at the plate for the second out. Carroll followed with a grounder to third that ended the frame as the Tacoma right-hander escaped the jam unscathed. The Sounds finished the opener 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Tacoma pulled back ahead in the fifth, plating three runs off Rivas for a 4-1 advantage. Ackley (3-for-4) led off with a bloop single to shallow right-center that glanced off the glove of a diving Gindl for a single then scored one batter later when Matt Tuiasosopo (2-for-2) smashed an RBI triple off the base of the batter's eye in center. After issuing a walk to put runners on the corners with no outs, Rivas was lifted in favor of left-hander Daniel Ray Herrera, who made his Brewers organization debut after being claimed off waiver from the Reds earlier in the week. The southpaw was greeted by a seeing-eye RBI single through the right side of the infield off the bat of Carp. Jimenez followed with a sacrifice fly to right that brought in Alex Liddi. Beavan (2-1) picked up the win with a solid start for Tacoma, holding the Sounds to one run on five hits over five frames of action. Left-hander Royce Ring closed out the game with two hitless innings for the Rainiers to secure the victory and nail down his second save of the year. Rivas (3-4) took the loss after allowing four runs on five hits in his four-plus innings of work. It marked his sixth consecutive start without a victory. Herrera finished with a pair of scoreless innings in his Sounds debut, although he allowed both of his inherited runners to reach home in the contest. Farris finished 0-for-2 with a walk in the opener to snap his season-best hitting streak at nine games. Nashville Game One Box Score So now we know what happened with George Kottaras on that triple; via MiLB.TV, Amaury Rivas looks the part of a starting pitcher -- wide body, works quickly; that three run-fifth was soft line single, crushed triple (Tuiasosopo) and walk before departing. Of course, 102 pitches to get 12 outs isn't a solid night's work. Kottaras doubled in addition to that wayward three-bagger; Taylor Green's crouch is even more pronounced than Caleb Gindl's, Green's legs spread wider -- either way, it makes their sub-6' statures even more noticeable, although a tighter striker zone, I'd imagine; either way, Gindl rests his post-game soda on Daniel Ray Herrera's head, as we're familiar with his build -- I'm Gindl-sized myself, so I appreciate all their efforts. Mat Gamel was your DH, perhaps preparing for work at New York, Boston, and Minnesota, although I fear we'll be seeing just way too much of Mark Kotsay during that stretch instead. Nashville Game One Play-by-Play Summing up the Sounds season, the wasted 3rd -- Nashville Top of the 3rd Jeremy Reed singles on a line drive to center fielder Ryan Langerhans. Taylor Green called out on strikes. Caleb Gindl doubles (5) on a line drive to left fielder Mike Carp. Jeremy Reed to 3rd. Eric Farris walks. Jordan Brown grounds into a force out, first baseman Matt Tuiasosopo to catcher Josh Bard. Jeremy Reed out at home. Caleb Gindl to 3rd. Eric Farris to 2nd. Jordan Brown to 1st. Brett Carroll grounds into a force out, fielded by third baseman Alex Liddi. Eric Farris out at 3rd.

Darn, I put MiLB.TV on five minutes too late to catch this in Tacoma -- George Kottaras triples (1) on a line drive to right fielder Johan Limonta. George Kottaras out at home, pitcher Blake Beavan to third baseman Alex Liddi. Don Money sends Kottaras to try for an inside-the-park home run with only one out -- ugh. Should be able to catch it on the archive Friday and see just how it went down. 10:07 Eastern / Sounds doubleheader barely underway (top of the 3rd). Seven inning games be damned, it's still going to be a late night / early morning http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif.

Chattanooga site for rescheduling info: Thursday's game between the Chattanooga Lookouts and Huntsville Stars has been postponed due to rain. The game will be made-up as part of a double-header tomorrow, Friday, May 27th with the first game beginning at 5:15 PM (4:15 Central). The double-header will consist of two seven-inning games.

Wisconsin Top of the 1st (Game Two) Reggie Keen strikes out swinging, catcher Micah Gibbs to first baseman Ryan Cuneo. Nick Shaw walks. T. J. Mittelstaedt singles on a bunt ground ball to pitcher Hayden Simpson. Nick Shaw to 2nd. Offensive Substitution: Pinch runner Robert Garvey replaces T. J. Mittelstaedt. Wisconsin Timber Rattlers left fielder T. J. Mittelstaedt left the game due to an injured neck. Chris Dennis grounds into a force out, first baseman Ryan Cuneo to shortstop Arismendy Alcantara. Nick Shaw scores. Robert Garvey out at 2nd. Chris Dennis advances to 1st, on throwing error by shortstop Arismendy Alcantara. Michael Walker grounds out, second baseman Pierre LePage to first baseman Ryan Cuneo. As Chris Mehring described things, the throw to first was high -- the first baseman leapt for the catch and came down with a swipe tag of sorts on the back of Mittelstaedt's head and neck. Mittelstaedt was knocked onto his backside, and stumbled as he regained his feet and was eventually walked off the field by staff. The 23-year-old 5'10" Mittelstaedt, drafted in the 44th round last year, has posted a very solid .267 / .400 / .412 (.812 OPS) line thus far in 2011. He's also capable of playing infield, although most of his time this year has been in LF. Hopefully he'll be back soon.

Nashville Media NotesRead, learn, enjoy the clever item headings...

PCL American North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Omaha 25 20 .556 - - 13-9 12-11 6-4 W2 Iowa 21 25 .457 4.5 95 11-11 10-14 6-4 W1 Memphis 19 26 .422 6.0 94 12-11 7-15 6-4 L1 Nashville 17 27 .386 7.5 93 11-11 6-16 5-5 L3 SOU North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Tennessee 31 16 .660 - - 17-5 14-11 9-1 W9 Jackson 25 20 .556 5.0 20 13-10 12-10 5-5 L4 Chattanooga 24 22 .522 6.5 18 12-14 12-8 5-5 W3 Huntsville 22 23 .489 8.0 17 13-6 9-17 3-7 L1 Carolina 13 33 .283 17.5 7 9-17 4-16 3-7 L3 FSL North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Daytona 35 12 .745 - - 17-6 18-6 9-1 W8 Clearwater 29 18 .617 6.0 18 15-9 14-9 5-5 W1 Dunedin 26 21 .553 9.0 15 9-13 17-8 7-3 W1 Lakeland 24 23 .511 11.0 13 13-11 11-12 6-4 W1 Tampa 20 27 .426 15.0 9 12-16 8-11 6-4 W1 Brevard County 16 31 .340 19.0 5 8-18 8-13 3-7 W1 MID Western Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Burlington 32 14 .696 - - 15-3 17-11 5-5 W2 Wisconsin 26 19 .578 5.5 - 17-12 9-7 8-2 W3 Peoria 25 20 .556 6.5 25 16-8 9-12 6-4 L1 Quad Cities 25 20 .556 6.5 24 12-11 13-9 8-2 W1 Cedar Rapids 23 23 .500 9.0 22 12-9 11-14 3-7 W1 Beloit 21 25 .457 11.0 20 11-13 10-12 1-9 L8 Kane County 19 27 .413 13.0 17 9-13 10-14 7-3 L1 Clinton 12 35 .255 20.5 10 5-17 7-18 3-7 L1

Follow Thursday's action as it happens: Nashville Game One (Gameday also available) Nashville Game Two (Gameday also available) Huntsville (Gameday also available) Brevard County Wisconsin Completion of Suspended Game Wisconsin Regularly Scheduled Game

Thursday's Daily Menu: Times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: RHP Amaury Rivas and LHP Sam Narron in a doubleheader at Tacoma (Mariners), 7:45 PM pre-game, 8:00 gametime; each contest slated for seven innings Live Audio Link iPad/iPhone: Listen MiLB.TV -- for subscribers Huntsville: LHP Dan Merklinger at Chattanooga (Dodgers), 6:15 PM gametime Live Audio Link -- Lookouts' feed Brevard County: RHP Kyle Heckathorn at home vs. Jupiter (Marlins), 6:05 PM gametime Live Audio Link -- look for the Jupiter feed off the master MiLB.com audio list Wisconsin: First, it's RHP Brooks Hall picking things up in the completion of Wednesday's suspended seven-inning game (Timber Rattlers trail, 5-1 after 2.5 innings), then RHP Jimmy Nelson in a seven-inning nightcap at Peoria (Cubs), 4:45 PM pre-game, 5:00 gametime Live Audio Link

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

Chris gets all technically savvy and makes us appreciate Mother Nature's wrath in this slideshow...

The DSL Brewers are set to begin their season on Saturday 5/28, and will promptly take Sunday off (Sundays off in this league). Like last year, the Brewers will be in a four-team division. Here was last year's final standings: DSL Santo Domingo North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak # DSL Mariners 43 28 .606 - - 23-13 20-15 7-3 L1 DSL Cardinals 39 32 .549 4.0 E 24-11 15-21 5-5 L2 DSL Athletics 32 39 .451 11.0 E 17-19 15-20 6-4 W2 DSL Brewers 28 43 .394 15.0 E 17-18 11-25 3-7 W1Thankfully, for variety in 2011, there are a few games (not many, but a few) sprinkled in against Red Sox, Rays, Dodgers, and Indians squads. The current MiLB.com DSL Brewer roster page likely does not reflect the Opening Day roster, and we probably won't see this roster page updated until after the first game. We expect that several players listed will be in Arizona preparing for the start of the Maryvale season (please, OF Ruben Sanchez), and that several (perhaps even many) new players will be listed. We'll incorporate each box score into the daily Link Reports, while of course placing way too much emphasis on what we decipher http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif. Just wanted to toss out the heads up...

Nashville Media Notes Huntsville Media Notes Wisconsin Media Notes and Game One Lineup

PCL American North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Omaha 25 20 .556 - - 13-9 12-11 6-4 W2 Iowa 20 25 .444 5.0 95 10-11 10-14 5-5 L3 Memphis 19 25 .432 5.5 95 12-11 7-14 7-3 W2 Nashville 17 27 .386 7.5 93 11-11 6-16 5-5 L3 SOU North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Tennessee 30 16 .652 - - 16-5 14-11 9-1 W8 Jackson 25 18 .581 3.5 23 13-10 12-8 7-3 L2 Chattanooga 23 22 .511 6.5 19 11-14 12-8 5-5 W2 Huntsville 22 22 .500 7.0 19 13-6 9-16 3-7 W2 Carolina 13 32 .289 16.5 9 9-16 4-16 3-7 L2 FSL North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Daytona 34 12 .739 - - 16-6 18-6 9-1 W7 Clearwater 28 18 .609 6.0 19 15-9 13-9 5-5 L2 Dunedin 25 21 .543 9.0 16 8-13 17-8 7-3 L3 Lakeland 23 23 .500 11.0 14 12-11 11-12 6-4 L1 Tampa 19 27 .413 15.0 10 11-16 8-11 6-4 L1 Brevard County 15 31 .326 19.0 6 7-18 8-13 2-8 L7 MID Western Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Burlington 31 14 .689 - - 15-3 16-11 5-5 W1 Wisconsin 26 19 .578 5.0 - 17-12 9-7 8-2 W3 Peoria 25 20 .556 6.0 25 16-8 9-12 6-4 L1 Quad Cities 25 20 .556 6.0 25 12-11 13-9 8-2 W1 Cedar Rapids 22 23 .489 9.0 22 11-9 11-14 2-8 L1 Beloit 21 24 .467 10.0 21 11-12 10-12 2-8 L7 Kane County 19 27 .413 12.5 18 9-13 10-14 7-3 L1 Clinton 12 34 .261 19.5 11 5-17 7-17 3-7 W1

Follow Wednesday's action as it happens: Nashville (Gameday also available) Huntsville (Gameday also available) Brevard County Wisconsin Game One Wisconsin Game Two

Wednesday's Daily Menu: Times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: RHP Amaury Rivas at Tacoma (Mariners), 8:50 PM pre-game, 9:05 gametime Live Audio Link iPad/iPhone: Listen MiLB.TV -- for subscribers Huntsville: RHP Wily Peralta at Chattanooga (Dodgers), 6:15 PM gametime Live Audio Link -- Lookouts' feed Brevard County: RHP Maverick Lasker at home vs. Palm Beach (Cardinals), 6:05 PM gametime Live Audio Link -- look for the Palm Beach feed off the master MiLB.com audio list Wisconsin: LHP Charly Bashara and RHP Jimmy Nelson in a doubleheader at Peoria (Cubs), 4:40 PM pre-game, 5:00 gametime; each contest slated for seven innings Live Audio Link

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