Jim Goulart

PCL American North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Omaha 16 11 .593 - - 9-3 7-8 6-4 L1 Iowa 13 14 .481 3.0 115 6-5 7-9 4-6 L1 Memphis 10 16 .385 5.5 113 8-7 2-9 5-5 L3 Nashville 9 17 .346 6.5 112 6-8 3-9 1-9 L4 SOU North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Tennessee 17 11 .607 - - 7-3 10-8 5-5 W1 Huntsville 16 11 .593 0.5 43 9-3 7-8 4-6 W1 Jackson 15 11 .577 1.0 43 5-6 10-5 8-2 W3 Chattanooga 14 14 .500 3.0 40 7-11 7-3 4-6 L1 Carolina 8 20 .286 9.0 34 6-12 2-8 3-7 L2 FSL North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Daytona 20 8 .714 - - 10-4 10-4 7-3 W4 Clearwater 19 9 .679 1.0 42 10-4 9-5 8-2 W6 Dunedin 13 15 .464 7.0 36 5-8 8-7 7-3 W3 Lakeland 13 15 .464 7.0 36 8-7 5-8 3-7 L3 Brevard County 10 18 .357 10.0 33 4-10 6-8 3-7 L5 Tampa 9 19 .321 11.0 32 3-11 6-8 2-8 L8 MID Western Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Burlington 19 7 .731 - - 10-2 9-5 6-4 W1 Cedar Rapids 18 9 .667 1.5 - 8-4 10-5 7-3 L1 Beloit 16 9 .640 2.5 44 10-4 6-5 8-2 W3 Peoria 14 13 .519 5.5 40 6-3 8-10 5-5 W2 Quad Cities 12 15 .444 7.5 38 5-10 7-5 4-6 L1 Wisconsin 10 14 .417 8.0 39 5-8 5-6 5-5 L2 Kane County 9 19 .321 11.0 34 5-10 4-9 2-8 W1 Clinton 8 20 .286 12.0 33 4-12 4-8 3-7 L3

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 Frankie De La Cruz at Round Rock (Rangers), 6:50 PM pre-game; 7:05 gametime Live Audio Link iPad/iPhone: Listen MiLB.TV (for subscribers) Huntsville: RHP Jesus Sanchez at home vs. Jacksonville (Marlins), 6:43 PM gametime Live Audio Link iPad/iPhone: Listen Traditional broadcast via the Jacksonville feed: Listen Brevard County: RHP Adrian Rosario at home vs. Daytona (Cubs), 6:05 PM gametime Live Audio Link -- Cubs' feed Wisconsin: RHP Jimmy Nelson at Beloit (Twins), 6:10 PM pre-game; 6:30 gametime Live Audio Link

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Nashville Audio Archive -- May 5 - Chat with IF / OF Jordan Brown

Baseball is no longer foreign to George Kottaras By Ryan Aber, Staff Writer, The Oklahoman Baseball came late to Nashville catcher George Kottaras. The 27-year-old from Markham, Ontario, Canada, didn't pick up the game until he was 15 years old. “I was a fast-pitch softball player until then,” Kottaras said. “I'd done about all I could with that. I figured it was time.” The hard part then was finding a baseball team to take a player who'd never played the baseball by that age. The Ontario Blue Jays took a chance on Kottaras, and he blossomed. “I was pretty much starting from scratch,” Kottaras said. “Everything is different.” The game has taken him from Ontario to Oklahoma to Greece and, finally, to the majors. Kottaras and the Nashville Sounds finished a four-game series Thursday night at RedHawks Field at Bricktown against the RedHawks. Out of high school, Kottaras wound up at Connors State in Warner. He played for the Cowboys' longtime coach, Perry Keith, for the 2003 season before signing with the San Diego Padres. “He expects a lot out of his players,” Kottaras said of Keith. “That season was a big part of my development as a player.” The next year, Kottaras found himself playing for Greece in the Athens Olympics. Although Kottaras grew up in Canada, he was eligible to play for the host country because both of his parents were Greek immigrants. “It was an amazing experience,” Kottaras said. “Walking out on the field for the first time over there was unbelievable.” The Olympics weren't Kottaras' first time in Greece. His family has a home there. When he returned, Kottaras got to work climbing the ladder toward the big leagues. He was traded to the Red Sox in the deal that sent David Wells to San Diego late in the 2006 season. Two years later, Kottaras made his Major League debut for Boston and spent time as the personal catcher for knuckleballer Tim Wakefield. With the acquisition of Victor Martinez, though, Kottaras was expendable. He was picked up by Milwaukee and spent all of last season with the Brewers. He was outrighted to Triple-A Nashville after playing nine games with Milwaukee to start this season. Entering Thursday's game, Kottaras was hitting just .071 for the Sounds. “It's tough right now, but I'm just going to keep working,” he said. “It's always a learning process playing this game.”

Why stats can be a joke sometimes -- Huntsville's Michael Fiers retires one of five batters in the disastrous 7th but gets a "hold".

This was written August 16th of last year -- Green will have option in 2011 *** On September 6th, though, there was this from the same source, explaining how circumstances would have changed -- GREEN DAY: Reliever Sean Green had a plane ticket in hand, prepared to join the Mets for a mid-August series in Houston when he was informed of a change of plans at the last moment. Because it was within 10 days of Green being taken off an injury rehab assignment and officially optioned to the minors, the Mets were prohibited rule-wise from promoting Green unless he was replacing a player placed on the disabled list. Because Francisco Rodriguez was being placed on the disqualified list, not the disabled list, Green was barred from the promotion. Instead, Ryota Igarashi -- the player who had filled in for K-Rod during the initial two-day suspension for Rodriguez -- was allowed to be recalled. The 31-year-old Green is back now, having joined the Mets with outfielder Jesus Feliciano, left-hander Raul Valdes and Gee on Monday. (Nick Evans was promoted Sunday.) Where does Green fit in terms of his future with the Mets? That’s an open question. But there now appears a better chance he is back in 2011 than when he was bypassed for a promotion when his 30-day rehab clock expired last month. *** But heck, if you read the first link above, a Mets official makes it seem as though he'd have another option for 2012, which makes even less sense. *** So the real issue now becomes how did Green beat out McClendon to begin with?

If it makes you feel any better, we just don't get it, either.

Nashville Media Notes

Final: @Beloit (Twins) 10, Wisconsin 5 Snappers strike it big in the fifth inning Chris Mehring, Wisconsin Timber Rattlers BELOIT, WI – The Beloit Snappers broke a 2-2 tie with a big eight run fifth inning and cruised to a 10-5 victory over the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers on Thursday afternoon at Pohlman Field. Andy Leer hit a three-run homer in the frame as the Rattlers dropped their second straight game. Tobias Streich put the Snappers (16-9) up 2-0 in the bottom of the fourth. His two-run homer to center came off Rattlers starting pitcher Del Howell. Wisconsin (10-14) rallied to tie the game in the top of the fifth inning. Tony Pechek doubled to start the inning. One out later, Nick Shaw singled to drive in Pechek. Cody Hawn doubled to send Shaw home to even the game 2-2. But, the bottom of the fifth was not good for the Rattlers bullpen. Beloit sent 13 batters to the plate and scored eight times to go up 10-2. Daniel Britt started the inning and allowed all five batters he faced to reach base. Jamaal Hawkins singled to start the onslaught. An RBI double by Nate Roberts put Beloit in front 3-2. A four pitch walk to Michael Gonzales was followed by an RBI double off the bat of Daniel Ortiz and a three run homer by Andrew Leer. The long ball by Leer knocked Britt out of the game and brought Tyler Cravy on in relief. But the Snappers continued to hit. Streich greeted Cravy with a single. Wan Wei Lin followed with a single. Gunner Glad doubled in both runners. Daniel Santana would double in Glad to make the score 10-2. The Rattlers chipped away at the edges with a single run in the sixth and two more in the seventh. Franklin Romero drove in all three runs. His RBI grounder in the sixth sent Robbie Garvey home. In the seventh, Romero’s two-run double extended his hitting streak to nine games. But, that was a close as the Rattlers would get. Garvey and Shaw each had three hits for the Rattlers offense. Damon Krestalude (2 IP) and Eric Marzec (IP) worked the final three innings without allowing a run. Wisconsin wraps up their road trip on Friday night with the final game of the series at Pohlman Field. Jimmy Nelson (0-2, 4.74) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Rattlers. Beloit will send Manuel Soliman (0-0, 5.19) to the mound. Game time is 6:30 PM. Tune in for the Miller Lite Pregame Show on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting at 6:10 PM. Wisconsin Box Score Before you get too excited about soon-to-be 23-year-old RF Franklin Romero's hit streak and .345 average, he's yet to walk in 58 AB's -- Romero has walked only nine times in 604 professional AB's -- I realize that's raining on his current parade, but just pointing out that his work is unsustainable without any free passes to speak of; balls are starting to fall in for Mr. Walk, Nick Shaw; all four outfielders on the Rattler roster are under 6' feet tall, not that there's anything wrong with that -- LF Robbie Garvey tripled among his three base knocks, but Reggie Keen was 0-for-5; the teams combined for 13 extra-base hits, six for Wisconsin; the Snappers were 7-for17 with RISP, the Timber Rattlers were 3-for-19. Delayed discussing the mound work, but here goes -- Del Howell's four innings will show only two runs allowed, but five hits, three walks, and two HBP's don't make for a strong outing; Dan Britt's last two appearances combined (no outs recorded today) -- 3 IP, 11 H, 10 R, 9 ER; Tyler Cravy (1 IP, 5 H, 3 R today) has struggled, you wonder how quickly he had to get warm given Britt's out-free outing; the club is carrying 13 pitchers on the 25-man roster, but given some of the middling starting efforts outside of Austin Ross' work (and doesn't he stand out even more in comparison), some of these guys may be gassed already. Wisconsin Play-by-Play Game was scoreless after 3.5 innings; yet another outfield assist for Wisconsin (Romero) -- does anybody put up the stop sign in this league? Shortstop Carlos George left after grounding out in the 6th, something to keep an eye on, or perhaps just an opportunity to sit after the game was out-of-hand. We will note the only "line drive" or "line out" of this painful frame actually resulted in an out -- that's really reaching for a silver lining... Beloit Bottom of the 5th Pitcher Change: Dan Britt replaces Del Howell. Jamaal Hawkins singles on a ground ball to third baseman Gregory Hopkins. Nate Roberts doubles (2) on a fly ball to center fielder Reggie Keen. Jamaal Hawkins scores. Michael Gonzales walks. Daniel Ortiz doubles (11) on a ground ball to right fielder Franklin Romero. Nate Roberts scores. Michael Gonzales to 3rd. Andy Leer homers (1) on a fly ball to left field. Michael Gonzales scores. Daniel Ortiz scores. Pitcher Change: Tyler Cravy replaces Dan Britt. Tobias Streich singles on a ground ball to center fielder Reggie Keen. Wang-Wei Lin singles on a fly ball to center fielder Reggie Keen. Tobias Streich to 2nd. Gunner Glad doubles (3) on a ground ball to left fielder Robert Garvey. Tobias Streich scores. Wang-Wei Lin scores. Daniel Santana doubles (3) on a fly ball to left fielder Robert Garvey. Gunner Glad scores. Jamaal Hawkins strikes out swinging. Nate Roberts singles on a fly ball to right fielder Franklin Romero. Daniel Santana to 3rd. Michael Gonzales lines out to right fielder Franklin Romero. Daniel Ortiz strikes out swinging.

Stu Paul in Oklahoma City with the Sounds; Stu's not going to wow us with off-the-cuff humor or controversy, but he's earnest and sincere in his efforts.

JB12, Frost just signed with the St. Paul Saints of the independent American Association. It definitely is nice to be able to cheer for locals, regardless of where you may be from. Tampa Bay reliever Brandon Gomes made a successful big league debut Tuesday night -- he's a local Massachusetts kid from my wife's hometown who was drafted by the Padres out of Tulane and was dealt to the Rays in the Jason Bartlett trade. I think those types of attachments will always have meaning for locals, especially from non-traditional baseball hotbeds.

H/T to BrewCrewBall

Wisconsin Game Notes and starting lineup

Thanks, but as indicated a few posts above, Evan Anundsen took Trey Watten's (DL) spot. The current Manatees roster is at 24, one below the high-A limit. MiLB.com confirms this, this morning.

PCL American North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Omaha 16 10 .615 - - 9-3 7-7 7-3 W2 Iowa 13 13 .500 3.0 116 6-4 7-9 4-6 W1 Memphis 10 15 .400 5.5 114 8-7 2-8 6-4 L2 Nashville 9 16 .360 6.5 113 6-8 3-8 2-8 L3 SOU North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Huntsville 15 10 .600 - - 8-2 7-8 5-5 L2 Tennessee 16 11 .593 - - 7-3 9-8 4-6 L2 Jackson 14 11 .560 1.0 44 4-6 10-5 7-3 W2 Chattanooga 14 13 .519 2.0 42 7-10 7-3 4-6 W1 Carolina 8 19 .296 8.0 36 6-11 2-8 4-6 L1 FSL North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Daytona 19 8 .704 - - 10-4 9-4 7-3 W3 Clearwater 18 9 .667 1.0 43 10-4 8-5 8-2 W5 Lakeland 13 14 .481 6.0 38 8-6 5-8 4-6 L2 Dunedin 12 15 .444 7.0 37 4-8 8-7 6-4 W2 Brevard County 10 17 .370 9.0 35 4-10 6-7 3-7 L4 Tampa 9 18 .333 10.0 34 3-10 6-8 2-8 L7 MID Western Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Burlington 18 7 .720 - - 10-2 8-5 6-4 L1 Cedar Rapids 18 8 .692 0.5 - 8-3 10-5 8-2 W4 Beloit 15 9 .625 2.5 44 9-4 6-5 7-3 W2 Peoria 13 13 .500 5.5 40 5-3 8-10 5-5 W1 Quad Cities 12 14 .462 6.5 39 5-10 7-4 5-5 W1 Wisconsin 10 13 .435 7.0 40 5-8 5-5 5-5 L1 Clinton 8 19 .296 11.0 34 4-12 4-7 3-7 L2 Kane County 8 19 .296 11.0 34 4-10 4-9 1-9 L4

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

Thursday's Daily Menu: Times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: LHP Sam Narron at Oklahoma City (Astros), 6:50 PM pre-game; 7:05 gametime Live Audio Link iPad/iPhone: Listen Huntsville: LHP Dan Merklinger and RHP Michael Bowman in a doubleheader at home vs. Jacksonville (Marlins), 4:43 PM gametime Live Audio Link iPad/iPhone: Listen Traditional broadcast via the Jacksonville feed: Listen Brevard County: RHP Nick Bucci at Dunedin (Blue Jays), 6:00 PM gametime Live Audio Link -- Look for the Dunedin Feed Wisconsin: LHP Del Howell at Beloit (Twins), 10:40 AM pre-game; 11:00 gametime Live Audio Link

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As you plan your Brewer Thursday and hope to get the taste of Brewer Wednesday out of your mouth, remember that Chris Mehring has the Rattlers' call at 10:40 AM Central. We'll effort to kick off a new Link Report prior to game time.

Nashville Audio Archive -- May 4 - Chat with catcher George Kottaras The interviews with the guys with plenty of big league experience can be a bit awkward...

No word yet on a backfill for Corey Frerichs on the Brevard County roster. *** In order to make room for Donovan Hand in Nashville, the Brewers transferred little-used (at least at AAA) utility man Juan Sanchez to Patrick Arlis-land, also known as the temporary holding place called the Helena roster. No actual flight to Montana has to be taken, at least not until mid-June.

by Ryan Aber, the Oklahoman GAMEL ADJUSTING TO FIRST Nashville infielder Mat Gamel had been almost exclusively a third baseman before this season. But with Prince Fielder's free agency looming after the season, Milwaukee has decided to play Gamel at first this season in hopes he could transition to a big-league role should Fielder depart. “It's been fine over there,” Gamel said. “Hopefully, this will just give me another opportunity to make it.” Gamel has struggled at the plate of late, going 7 of 41 (.170) in the last 10 games. All but two of those hits came April 30 against Albuquerque. “I feel good up there,” Gamel said. “They're just not dropping in for me. I'm not worried about my hitting. That will come around.” CORPORAN HEADED TO THE DL RedHawks catcher and former Brewer Carlos Corporan is expected to miss 4-6 weeks after fracturing his throwing hand in the fifth inning Wednesday. Corporan stood up on a high pitch to Sounds pitcher Amaury Rivas but Rivas swung and caught Corporan's hand. He stayed in the game after being attended to by the trainer but couldn't grip a bat and was replaced by Robinson Cancel, another former Brewer. Corporan had the hand wrapped after the game but said it didn't hurt. He said he couldn't put much pressure on the hand. “Hopefully, it'll be a quick thing,” he said. *** You can listen to newcomer Jordan Brown's RBI single via this linked page.

Wisconsin Lineup and Game Notes