Jim Goulart

As of this post (late morning), RHP Brooks Hall is actually on the Helena roster. He'll be activated later today with more roster shuffling to take place as the Midwest League offices overlook (understandably) the various paper moves to get through this brutal stretch of doubleheaders. *** MiLB.com lists RHP Nick Bucci as Saturday's Brevard starter. RHP Kyle Heckathorn has been idle for six days now, so we'll see. Perhaps they're giving Heckathorn a planned skip of a rotation turn. MiLB hasn't had the Manatee starter correct for a few days now.

Saturday's Daily Menu: Times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: LHP Sam Narron at Salt Lake City (Angels), 7:20 PM pre-game; 7:35 gametime Live Audio Link iPad/iPhone: Listen MiLB.TV -- for subscribers Huntsville: RHP Michael Bowman at home vs. Montgomery (Rays), 6:43 PM gametime Live Audio Link iPad/iPhone: Listen Traditional broadcast via the Montgomery feed: Listen Brevard County: TBD at Fort Myers (Twins), 5:05 PM gametime Live Audio Link -- look for the Fort Myers feed off the master MiLB.com audio list Wisconsin: RHP Brooks Hall and TBD in a doubleheader at home vs. Burlington (Athletics), 4:45 PM pre-game; 5:05 gametime; each contest slated for seven innings Live Audio Link

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Ironically, it's a good thing the Brewers farm system is down right now, so there aren't a lot of high-end prospects to protect on the 40-man. The Brewers have 13 of the 40-man roster spots tied up in relievers right now, and six of them are hurt. The other seven are in Milwaukee. If the Brewers needed another reliever today, there is none available already on the 40-man. (Yes, Braddock could be back at any time you could see a spot freed up by DFA'ing Nieves or such, but it's still a pretty interesting and unique situation.)

Just posted this on the minor league forum in our transaction thread there -- To make room for Michael Fiers in Nashville, RHP Justin James was placed on the Sounds' 7-day DL with an undisclosed injury. He last pitched in a two-inning stint on the 13th. MiLB.com indicates the move was official back to the 18th. Since James is on the 40-man roster, Gord Ash should be less hesitant to provide injury information. We'll drop a note with Mr. McCalvy to inquire. In what is assuredly a world record, there are now six relievers on the Brewers' 40-man roster on a disabled list of some sort -- Saito, Kintzler, Braddock, Parra, Stetter, James.

To make room for Michael Fiers in Nashville, RHP Justin James was placed on the Sounds' 7-day DL with an undisclosed injury. He last pitched in a two-inning stint on the 13th. MiLB.com indicates the move was official back to the 18th. Since James is on the 40-man roster, Gord Ash should be less hesitant to provide injury information. We'll drop a note with Mr. McCalvy to inquire. In what is assuredly a world record, there are now six relievers on the Brewers' 40-man roster on a disabled list of some sort -- Saito, Kintzler, Braddock, Parra, Stetter, James.

Buller entered the game in the 3rd for George Kottaras in what would have been Kottaras's first plate appearance. Nashville play-by-playThe only play Kottaras was involved in before being lifted was a caught-stealing in the bottom of the 1st; perhaps he fainted from shock or retired on the spot. ********** I pulled up the MiLB.TV archive to see what we could learn. Turns out that Dayton Buller was the starting catcher, and it was his throw that nailed the runner (awesome throw by the way, off an offspeed pitch, yet). So no faint or retirement for Kottaras -- it'll be interesting to see if Buller gets credit for the CS in updated stats. The Salt Lake announcer indicated that Kottaras had been listed as the starter, but there had been a late change in the starting lineup.

Press Release from Jill Cacic of the Stars -- Huntsville, AL – The Milwaukee Brewers have made a few roster moves that will impact their Double-A affiliate Huntsville Stars prior to Saturday night's game against the visiting Montgomery Biscuits. Infielder Hunter Morris has been transferred to Huntsville from High-A Brevard County. The Huntsville native is batting .317 (52-164) in 40 games with the Manatees. He has hit four home runs and a team-high 16 doubles. RHP Mike Fiers has been promoted from Huntsville to Triple-A Nashville. Fiers is 2-1 with a 4.86 ERA (16.2 IP / 9 ER) in 14 games with the Stars. He’s converted five of six save opportunities while holding opponents to a .226 batting average. Additionally, RHP R.J. Seidel will join the Huntsville roster from High-A Brevard County. Seidel has compiled a 4.22 ERA (21.1 IP / 10 ER) in 13 appearances with the Manatees. This will be both Morris and Seidel’s Double-A debuts. With these moves, the Stars active roster sits at 24, the Southern League limit. *** Congratulations, too to Michael Fiers, on his AAA debut. His peripherals outside of his ERA are just fine. There will need to be moves at other levels, and we should have those for you during the course of the day today.

Be sure, like always, to check out all of Chris' post-game Rattler thoughts (the thoughts that rattle around in his head?). See, to me, I'm more amazed by the fact that T.J. Mittlestaedt's walk-up music for the night has been viewed over 1,000,000 times on YouTube than I am that he actually had the song for his walk-up. Oh yeah, at that same link, you'll find this:

Nashville Audio Archive -- May 20 - Chat with starting pitcher Chase Wright Best soft-spoken Texas drawl in the system -- if I was of another persuasion, I'd melt http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

Nice baseball-related tribute to Randy And yes, he did play minor league baseball. Say hi to Miss Elizabeth, Randy. Excuse me while I snap into a Slim Jim.

Carroll continues to go 'all out' in pursuit of Major League job By Jerome Boettcher, Nashville City PaperInjuries can’t slow Brett Carroll. Sure, they have gotten the better of him a couple times. Most recently, he began the year on the 15-day disabled list for the Florida Marlins because of a strained left oblique muscle sustained during spring training. He landed on the Marlins’ disabled list — for several months — with a right shoulder sprain in 2008 after he crashed into the right-field wall while trying to make a catch. But Carroll doesn’t let that stop him from playing baseball the only way he knows how. “I just know one speed,” he said. “That is what I have always enjoyed doing since I was four years old. The speed of playing is all out. It has gotten me a few injuries in the past, but I don’t think you can play in fear. So that is what I want to bring to the yard every day.” Now in his eighth year of professional baseball, Carroll maintains that same approach, just with a different organization — the Nashville Sounds. The former Middle Tennessee State standout was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers organization from the Kansas City Royals for cash considerations in March. The Royals had signed Carroll last December after seven seasons with the Marlins, who drafted him in the 10th round of the 2004 draft. While in the Florida organization, he bounced around in the minors but played in 153 games for the Marlins. The outfielder began the 2008 and 2009 seasons on the opening day Major League roster. He played 92 games for the Marlins in 2009 and batted .234. He hit his first career Major League home run that year — off Randy Johnson, the five-time Cy Young Award winner who at the time was pitching for the San Francisco Giants. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Carroll is the second active player to hit his first career home run off a pitcher who already had 300 career wins. He was also a triple shy of hitting for the first cycle in Marlins history last year against Cincinnati. The 6-foot, 210-pound Carroll, however, never spent a full season with the Marlins and usually found himself as a fourth outfielder when he was on the roster. That meant he wasn’t playing every day and the most at-bats he ever had with them was 141 in 2009. “Over the last few years, when you get a 100, 200 at-bats it is little difficult to find a groove and stay in a rhythm,” Carroll said. “This game is hard enough and ... humbling enough, so more at-bats can be a good thing, yes.” Carroll, 28, already has 125 at-bats for Nashville less than two months into the season. The Sounds who started an eight-game road trip on Thursday at Salt Lake City return to town and Greer Stadium on May 27 to start an eight-game homestand. Carroll is hitting .256 with three home runs and 18 RBIs out of the middle of the lineup. He went 3-for-4 with three RBIs on Tuesday in the Sounds’ 11-10 victory over Sacramento. “He is a pretty good athlete,” Sounds manager Don Money said. “You know, his swing gets big at times. He has some good power when he makes contact.” Carroll’s biggest strength might be his defense — Baseball America said he possessed the Marlins’ best outfield arm prior to the 2008 season — and Money said Carroll can cover “a lot of ground” in center field. “I’ve always really worked hard at the defensive part because I think that is what has helped prolonged my career in a sense,” he said. “I want to make sure those pitchers know we have their back. Defense is huge. I know it sounds like cliché but defense can literally when ballgames.” He has been able to showcase it in front of family and friends, too. His parents still live in his hometown of Knoxville and he often is surprised by a former MTSU teammate or friend from the Nashville or Murfreesboro area. “It does provide a little extra energy when you have family and friends who come to see you play,” he said. “Any time you can see familiar faces, it is nice to have that. It seems like every day there is a former friend or former teammate that I didn’t know was coming and it makes it exciting.” A new team can mean proving one’s worth all over again but Carroll doesn’t see it that way. While he wants to get back to the Major Leagues and eventually settle in as an everyday player up there, he currently is content on getting his hacks in with the Sounds. “For me, it is refreshing being with a different club with a new set of eyes and new opportunities,” he said. “But it is also just exciting to be able to come out and be healthy. That is something I have battled in the past — being healthy — and just playing hard every game and seeing what comes about it. That is my main focus. "I am not really here to prove [anything] but just letting the game hopefully speak for itself and the way I go about my business and the job. If that is seen in a good way, that is what I want to bring every day.”

Link Report Bonus: Tonight in Salt Lake, the Sounds (actually an ironic team name in this case) go up against Salt Lake LH starting pitcher Ryan Ketchner, who is deaf. Ketchner was drafted in 2000 by the Angels and is now 29, and at AAA is on the cusp, but still waiting for a big-league callup, now in his 5th big league organization. Cusp defined by level only, not necessarily by performance / prospect status. In this recent news piece, Ketchner is interviewed in the accompanying video link. Do check it out if you think you'd be interested. Very cool. FYI -- back in 2003, the Brewers drafted deaf LHP Justin Wilson out of an Arizona community college in the 37th round. Wilson topped out at Helena in 2004.

The Burlington Bees (smallest market in full-season minor league baseball -- Burlington, Iowa) are sporting a 29-10 record. As Chris noted, the Timber Rattlers are now in the wild card lead, so a big challenge for them this series. PCL American North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Omaha 23 16 .590 - - 11-5 12-11 6-4 W4 Iowa 18 22 .450 5.5 100 8-8 10-14 4-6 W1 Memphis 16 23 .410 7.0 99 12-11 4-12 5-5 W1 Nashville 15 24 .385 8.0 98 11-11 4-13 6-4 W2 SOU North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Jackson 24 15 .615 - - 12-7 12-8 8-2 W7 Tennessee 25 16 .610 - - 11-5 14-11 6-4 W3 Chattanooga 20 20 .500 4.5 26 11-14 9-6 4-6 L2 Huntsville 19 21 .475 5.5 25 10-5 9-16 2-8 L8 Carolina 11 29 .275 13.5 17 7-13 4-16 2-8 L3 FSL North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Daytona 29 12 .707 - - 13-6 16-6 6-4 W2 Clearwater 25 16 .610 4.0 26 13-9 12-7 4-6 L2 Dunedin 23 18 .561 6.0 24 8-10 15-8 9-1 W5 Lakeland 20 21 .488 9.0 21 9-9 11-12 5-5 L2 Tampa 17 24 .415 12.0 18 9-13 8-11 7-3 W2 Brevard County 15 26 .366 14.0 16 7-15 8-11 5-5 L2 MID Western Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Burlington 29 10 .744 - - 15-3 14-7 7-3 W1 Wisconsin 21 18 .538 8.0 - 13-11 8-7 7-3 W2 Beloit 21 19 .525 8.5 31 11-7 10-12 4-6 L2 Cedar Rapids 21 19 .525 8.5 31 11-8 10-11 1-9 W1 Peoria 21 19 .525 8.5 31 12-7 9-12 5-5 W1 Quad Cities 21 19 .525 8.5 31 8-10 13-9 7-3 L1 Kane County 15 26 .366 15.0 24 9-13 6-13 6-4 L1 Clinton 11 30 .268 19.0 20 5-17 6-13 2-8 L1

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

Friday's Daily Menu: TGIF! Times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: RHP Amaury Rivas at Salt Lake City (Angels), 7:20 PM pre-game; 7:35 gametime Live Audio Link iPad/iPhone: Listen MiLB.TV -- for subscribers Huntsville: LHP Dan Merklinger at home vs. Montgomery (Rays), 6:43 PM gametime Live Audio Link iPad/iPhone: Listen Traditional broadcast via the Montgomery feed: Listen Brevard County: RHP Kyle Heckathorn at Fort Myers (Twins), 6:05 PM gametime Live Audio Link -- look for the Fort Myers feed off the master MiLB.com audio list Wisconsin: LHP Charly Bashara at home vs. Burlington (Athletics), 6:15 PM pre-game; 6:35 gametime Live Audio Link

That was a heck of a start for Hiram Burgos last night for Brevard. After getting hit hard on the 19th (4 IP, 10 H, 5 R), he tossed six scoreless with no walks on three days' rest last night.

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As Chris indicated in the link above, he would post Game Two highlights as well, and they're here now, enjoy.

Chris Mehring with plenty of detail on plenty of topics of interest to anyone who is reading the Link Report to begin with, so click here for his post-Rattler doubleheader thoughts and Game One video highlights.

Timber Rattlers sweep Snappers as Thornburg pitches strong game in opener of doubleheader by Mike Woods, Appleton Post-Crescent GRAND CHUTE — Many of his teammates had yet to arrive in the clubhouse when Tyler Thornburg was already out of uniform and going through his postgame workout. "Because you're such a nice guy, I'll do it for you," Thornburg said to Wisconsin Timber Rattlers strength and conditioning coach Tim Gifford as he urged Thornburg to push through his workout. Thornburg had just completed a pretty good workout on the mound as he threw six innings, allowed just three hits, no runs, walked one and struck out seven as the Rattlers beat Beloit 6-1 on Thursday in the first game of a Midwest League doubleheader on Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. In the nightcap, Chris Dennis' sacrifice fly in the fourth inning was the difference as the Rattlers rallied from a 3-0 deficit to earn a 4-3 victory and get the sweep. "As far as my outings this year, I'd probably have to say it was my best as far as control," said Thornburg, who pushed his record to 3-0 and lowered his ERA to 1.75. "All my pitches were there today and I definitely used them and things worked out." Thornburg is one of those baseball anomalies. Despite standing just 5-foot-11 and weighing 185 pounds, he can get it up to the plate as high as 98 mph and regularly throws his fastball in the low to mid-90s. "Genetics, probably," said Thornburg in explaining where his power comes from. "That, and over the years tweaking things and working hard." Dennis has also been working hard as he continued his tear at the plate since coming to Wisconsin on May 1 from high A Brevard County. Dennis went three-for-three in the first game, driving in a run and scoring twice while raising his batting average to .321. "When things are going well, they say the ball gets bigger," said Dennis. "I'm seeing the ball well out of his hand right now. It makes it easier when the guys in front of you are hitting, as well as the guys behind you. Everyone in the lineup seems to be hitting the ball right now. "Everyone else has contributed and I want to get up and do my job. It's fun when I'm on base because I know the guys behind me are going to bring me in. Things are just working out well right now for me." The only thing that didn't work out for Dennis was he ran through manager Matt Erickson's stop sign at third and was tagged out at the plate, but not before he punished Beloit catcher Tobias Streich. "Yeah, I got him pretty good," said Dennis. "But I won't be running through any more stop signs because that could have been a really important run in the game. That really would have meant something in a close game. It really would have mattered. So, obviously, you don't want to do that too much. But I got him pretty good and, unfortunately, he did hang on to the ball."

Nashville Audio Archive -- May 19 - Chat with Infielder Taylor Green

This thread may help. We made a conscious decision in 2009 to just stop following this story, wisely as it turned out -- it was just too tiring a matter, and two years later, is still spinning its wheels, just nowhere. We're basically at the point of "wake us when they decide to break ground", and of course, there's no guarantee the Sounds would be loyal to a Brewer commitment if and when a ballpark was ever ready.

Inexcusable -- Boggs was his last OF, so what? Counsell can move to left if somehow another OF was hurt. Boggs must be thinking what do I have to do.