Jim Goulart

Thanks to one of our readers for pointing out that MiLB TV has highlights specific to teams, so for the Sounds here. AAA level only for now, naturally. We'll look to incorporate these into Link Reports when possible in the future.

From the Peoria Journal-Star game story: The Timber Rattlers came to Peoria after going 7-3 on a homestand that featured three doubleheaders. “We challenged our bullpen back home and they did an excellent job,” Wisconsin manager Matt Erickson said. “We had another situation tonight in cutting our starter short and (Brian) Garman did an excellent job getting us innings that we badly needed.”

Bill Simmons is the man.

Nashville Audio Archive -- May 24 - Chat with reliever Sean Green

Nashville Media Notes No transaction for Daniel Ray Herrera until Wednesday at the earliest

PCL American North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Omaha 24 20 .545 - - 12-9 12-11 5-5 W1 Iowa 20 24 .455 4.0 97 10-10 10-14 5-5 L2 Memphis 18 25 .419 5.5 96 12-11 6-14 6-4 W1 Nashville 17 26 .395 6.5 95 11-11 6-15 6-4 L2 SOU North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Tennessee 29 16 .644 - - 15-5 14-11 8-2 W7 Jackson 25 18 .581 3.0 24 13-10 12-8 7-3 L2 Chattanooga 22 22 .500 6.5 20 11-14 11-8 4-6 W1 Huntsville 22 22 .500 6.5 20 13-6 9-16 3-7 W2 Carolina 13 31 .295 15.5 11 9-15 4-16 3-7 L1 FSL North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Daytona 33 12 .733 - - 15-6 18-6 8-2 W6 Clearwater 28 17 .622 5.0 21 15-9 13-8 5-5 L1 Dunedin 25 20 .556 8.0 18 8-12 17-8 7-3 L2 Lakeland 23 22 .511 10.0 16 12-10 11-12 6-4 W2 Tampa 19 26 .422 14.0 12 11-15 8-11 6-4 W1 Brevard County 15 30 .333 18.0 8 7-17 8-13 2-8 L6 MID Western Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Burlington 30 14 .682 - - 15-3 15-11 5-5 L2 Peoria 25 19 .568 5.0 - 16-7 9-12 6-4 W5 Wisconsin 25 19 .568 5.0 - 17-12 8-7 7-3 W2 Quad Cities 24 20 .545 6.0 26 11-11 13-9 7-3 L1 Cedar Rapids 22 22 .500 8.0 24 11-8 11-14 2-8 W1 Beloit 21 23 .477 9.0 23 11-11 10-12 2-8 L6 Kane County 19 26 .422 11.5 20 9-13 10-13 8-2 W4 Clinton 11 34 .244 19.5 12 5-17 6-17 2-8 L5

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

Tuesday's Daily Menu: Times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: LHP Chase Wright at Tacoma (Mariners), 1:20 PM pre-game; 1:35 gametime Live Audio Link iPad/iPhone: Listen MiLB.TV -- for subscribers Huntsville: Idle Brevard County: RHP Hiram Burgos 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: RHP Tyler Thornburg at Peoria (Cubs), 6:10 PM pre-game; 6:30 gametime Live Audio Link

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

The Rattlers roster has 25 active players. Any players on the DL don't count against that limit, but remain on the inactive portion of the roster.

Nice story includes this remembrance -- Steve Wendt, radio sportscaster for the Helena Brewers, shared his experience with Killebrew. It occurred in Ogden, Utah, about six years ago, when the Minnesota Twins legend appeared as a guest commentator for the Raptors. “After the top half of the inning on the other side, he came over to my side just out of courtesy, and asked if I wanted him to sit in for the bottom half of the inning,” Wendt recounted. “I don’t even remember saying ‘Yes’ — I think I just handed him the head-set.” As fate would have it, the Raptors scored 11 runs in the inning, giving the Brewers’ broadcaster 45 minutes on the air with Killebrew. “The first thing he talked about was how he knew all about Helena, from the stories Calvin Griffith told him,” Wendt said. “We covered a wide range of topics, but what I think stands out the most, is how unbelievably kind he was.” He said that Killebrew was deferential to the idea that many of the big boppers at the time surpassing him on the home run list were suspected of using steroids. When asked if he could relate to the young guys in Class A ball working their way up, Killebrew admitted “No,” since he went straight to the majors from high school. In his first five years in the majors, he appeared in only 104 games, hitting just 11 homers. It is conceivable had he experienced the normal two-plus years of seasoning in the minors, he would’ve started his big league career as a more mature 21-year old, and could have possibly hit more than 650 career homers.

Walker coming through for Timber Rattlers by Tim Froberg, Appleton Post-Crescent GRAND CHUTE — Mike Walker learned plenty about patience in his first year as a professional ballplayer. He opened the 2010 season in a nightmarish slump at Helena, managing just one hit in his first 36 at-bats. Walker's 2011 start has gone so much smoother. The slugging first baseman is hitting .293 and leads Wisconsin in home runs (eight) and RBI (33). He has also proven to be a clutch hitter and his timely power was the difference for the Timber Rattlers on Monday afternoon in a 4-3 win over the Burlington Bees. Walker slammed a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning to erase a 3-2 deficit and give the Rattlers a lead they would never surrender. The left-handed-hitting Walker is known as a fastball hitter, but got hold of a hanging changeup from Burlington starter Tyler Vail and hammered the 1-2 delivery over the wall in left-center field. The ball cleared the 385-foot mark and traveled an estimated 391 feet. "I haven't seen a ton of fastballs lately and didn't see many today, so it kind of forces you to sit on the off-speed stuff," Walker said. "I put a good swing on it and the wind carried it out. I'll take it." The 22-year-old Walker appreciates his fast start at the plate considering his miserable month of June in 2010. "I'm a lot happier this year than I was last year at this point," Walker said. "But you can never get too content. Baseball has its ups and downs." The Maryville, Calif., native rebounded from his horrendous start to hit a respectable .277 last year at Helena (Rookie League) with eight homers and 41 RBI. "It (his 2010 start) was rough," said Walker. "But you have to stay positive or you're going to keep going downhill. I was able to work through it. You learn very quickly in this game that you're not going to make or break a season in a day or two. When you're not doing so hot, you have to ride it out and keep grinding every day, no matter what." The 6-foot-4, 206-pound Walker played college ball at the University of Pacific and was a 14th-round pick by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2010 Major League Baseball draft. He can also play third base. "Ever since day one, he's been one of our solid guys," said Wisconsin manager Matt Erickson. "He's a big kid and has got good extension throughout the zone. He has good power to all fields and seems to have a knack for getting big hits." It was Walker's second home run in the last three games. "He has some gap-to-gap thunder," said Erickson. Walker's round-tripper made a winner out of reliever Eric Marzec, who worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings in relief of starter Austin Ross. Milwaukee Brewers left-hander Zach Braddock was scheduled to make his third rehab start for the Timber Rattlers, but was scratched when he developed a cut on his fingernail on his pitching hand before the game. "He was scheduled to throw 35 pitches, but had a cut on his fingernail — part of the fingernail was just hanging there," said Erickson. "Pax (athletic trainer Jeff Paxson) tried to fix him up with Superglue, but they just weren't comfortable with it and thought it would be better if we didn't throw him. "You see that often with pitchers. They have problems with cracks and fingernail issues. It's usually not something that puts you on the backburner for a while, but you have to take care of it. With him being close to the big leagues, we didn't want to do anything to set him back." Erickson wasn't sure if Braddock would make another appearance for the Rattlers.

Nashville Audio Archive -- May 23 - Chat with trainer David Yeager Always an interesting chat with the support personnel...

Manatees fall to Cardinals, suffer sixth straight loss by Mark DeCotis, Florida Today Something had to give in Monday night's matchup of two of the Florida State League's last place teams. And unfortunately for the home folks, it was the Brevard County Manatees who dropped their sixth straight game and their 30th in their first 45, falling 4-1 to the Palm Beach Cardinals. A Space Coast Stadium gathering of 707 fans saw the Cardinals, tied for last in the South Division, improve to 17-28. The cellar-dwelling Manatees outhit the Cardinals, seven to six, but sloppy pitching -- seven walks and two hit batters -- a two-run first inning and their inability to get the right hit at the right time were the difference. "Obviously, we got shut down by their pitchers," Manatees Manager Jeff Isom said. "We should be able to get a little more offense than that. A little frustrating now at the plate. "The last two nights, they've shut us down. We've got to do a better job of getting the team to play together, hitting on all cylinders if you will. Right now it seems like we'll get good pitching and our offense will be shut down and vice versa. "We're close to where we need to be. We've just got to get everything working together." Isom wasn't pleased with the walks and hit batters. "We obviously have got to work on cutting down our walks," he said. "That's one thing (pitching coach) Fred (Dabney) has been working on a lot with them, commanding the fastball and being able to throw it for strikes at any time." The teams play the third game in their four-game series at 7:05 PM today (6:05 Central).

From Huntsville Media Relations -- Bad Blood... With the series tied at 2-2, game five will be a heated contest after tempers were flaring last night. Martin Maldonado has been hit by three pitches over the last two games. Montgomery manager Billy Gardner and shortstop Tim Beckham were ejected from the game. Change is Good... Sergio Miranda changed his number from 33 to 6. In two games with the new number, Miranda reached base safely in 5-of-8 plate appearances while recording three RBI’s.

It's 3:15 Central, Rattlers lead 4-3 after seven. Listen in. The teams are due to pick it up again soon after a rain delay. Chris just explained that the start of the game was delayed by 16 minutes at the start because Zach Braddock was such a late scratch, that Austin Ross needed more time to warm up.

Nashville Media NotesNo move needed quite yet to make room for LH reliever Daniel Ray Herrera (major league forum thread)

Actually TLB, no doubleheader scheduled for today. Ross was to piggy-back Braddock.

Manny Parra has been placed on the 60-day DL to free up a spot on the 40-man roster. Rotoworld Brewers claimed LHP Danny Herrera off waivers from Reds; optioned him to Triple-A Nashville. With Zach Braddock, Manny Parra and Mitch Stetter on the disabled list, Milwaukee could certainly use a left-hander out of the bullpen. They don't currently have a healthy one, though they opted to option Herrera to Triple-A for now. Expect to see him with the big league club soon. The diminutive left-hander boasts a career 3.62 ERA in 92 innings, including a 3.91 ERA over 36 relief appearances with the Reds last season. He's been particularly tough on left-handed hitters, posting career marks of 7.2 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 44 innings against them.

Didn't get a chance to listen to Chris' pre-game, but the start of today's game was delayed, that may have factored into the non-Braddock sighting.

Southern League fans -- next year the Carolina Mudcats become the Pensacola Blue Wahoos

This is true, as MiLB.com now lists him as a Nashville Sound. Of course, he could be recalled to Milwaukee at any time.

I'm aware we have a "First Base Options" topic, and perhaps this thread will eventually be combined with that thread, but thought this warranted its own discussion. Or maybe I'm way off base. Have at it. David Ortiz Baseball Reference Page How it could happen -- The Red Sox did not want to go beyond his option year this year. It was a very generous option, $12.5 M -- anybody but the Sox would have passed. So it's going to take a two-year offer this winter to entice him away from another Red Sox one-year deal. What it would take over two years ($18-$20 M?) remains to be seen. Heck, if Carlos Pena got a one-year, $10M deal... Ortiz will be 36 in November (well, so says his U.S. paperwork). He may still maintain a home in the Appleton area, where he established roots with a connection to his Timber Rattler days in the Mariners' system (2006 blog). His wife is from the area. Would he embrace the challenge of playing first base? He's looked fine (OK, pretty passable) there in interleague and postseason play in recent years. With Adrian Gonzalez now on board, he'll sit almost completely idle for a nine-game Red Sox interleague road trip next month. He'd love Miller Park. He's left-handed. This would kibosh or significantly alter plans for one of the few remaining minor league chips, Mat Gamel. Consider me self-intrigued.

PCL American North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Omaha 23 20 .535 - - 11-9 12-11 4-6 L4 Iowa 20 23 .465 3.0 99 10-9 10-14 6-4 L1 Memphis 17 25 .405 5.5 97 12-11 5-14 5-5 L1 Nashville 17 25 .405 5.5 97 11-11 6-14 7-3 L1 SOU North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Tennessee 28 16 .636 - - 14-5 14-11 8-2 W6 Jackson 25 16 .610 1.5 27 13-8 12-8 8-2 W1 Chattanooga 21 22 .488 6.5 21 11-14 10-8 3-7 L1 Huntsville 21 22 .488 6.5 21 12-6 9-16 2-8 W1 Carolina 13 30 .302 14.5 13 9-14 4-16 3-7 W1 FSL North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Daytona 32 12 .727 - - 14-6 18-6 7-3 W5 Clearwater 28 16 .636 4.0 23 15-9 13-7 5-5 W3 Dunedin 25 19 .568 7.0 20 8-11 17-8 8-2 L1 Lakeland 22 22 .500 10.0 17 11-10 11-12 6-4 W1 Tampa 18 26 .409 14.0 13 10-15 8-11 6-4 L2 Brevard County 15 29 .341 17.0 10 7-16 8-13 3-7 L5 MID Western Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Burlington 30 13 .698 - - 15-3 15-10 6-4 L1 Peoria 24 19 .558 6.0 - 15-7 9-12 6-4 W4 Quad Cities 24 19 .558 6.0 - 11-10 13-9 8-2 W3 Wisconsin 24 19 .558 6.0 - 16-12 8-7 6-4 W1 Beloit 21 22 .488 9.0 25 11-10 10-12 2-8 L5 Cedar Rapids 21 22 .488 9.0 25 11-8 10-14 1-9 L3 Kane County 18 26 .409 12.5 21 9-13 9-13 7-3 W3 Clinton 11 33 .250 19.5 14 5-17 6-16 2-8 L4

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