Jim Goulart

Stars Pitcher Lends Hatton a Hand By: Kyle Burger, waaytv.com HATTON, Ala. – “There was some tears shed, some thankfulness, then we got here and just trying to get everything we could out,” Huntsville Stars pitcher Donovan Hand said. Hatton is the hometown of Hand. He grew up ten minutes away from his cousin's house, which was leveled during last week’s fury of tornadoes. “Unbelievable,” Hand said looking back at the demolished house. “[We played] horse shoe games out back, Xbox in what was left of this back room, every Saturday me and [my girlfriend] Haley and [my cousin’s] wife watched Alabama football games and would grill out. It’s really sad to see it like this. Just a slab left.” Last Wednesday, the Stars game was postponed. So Hand rushed to Hatton, about 60 miles west of Huntsville, to be with his family. “I heard sirens and an hour later my aunt's calling to tell me that my cousin’s house had been blown away,” Hand said. Hand explained that his cousin and children took cover underneath a built-in entertainment center. When the tornado had passed, the entertainment center was the only piece of the house still standing. After making sure his family was safe, he had to return to Huntsville to catch a bus to play a game in Mississippi the next night. “My mind wasn't really on baseball,” Hand said. “Then that night at seven o'clock, I tried to get locked in to play with family and friends on your mind.” Even though none of the other Stars are from North Alabama, this is still a place they have a strong connection to - even more so with last week's events. They show this by not only rallying around their teammate, but rallying around their surrounding community. “You hear about what happened and how it went down, just devastated you don't realize how close or how fortunate you were until see the damage,” Stars leftfielder Chuck Caufield said. “They were there for me,” Hand said of his teammates. “They offered to take up a collection to help the families.” Hand's family, like many others, will have to rebuild and move on. Just like Hand, who is moving after being promoted Triple-A Nashville only hours after this interview. http://www.waaytv.com/media/lib/158/6/c/9/6c9b4a1c-76a4-4708-af6e-af4292a834ed/Original.jpg

Nashville Media Notes

Wednesday's Nashville media notes make no mention of any roster moves. It almost appears as if Donovan Hand's transfer is a pre-cursor to, let's say, Mike McClendon joining the Brewers bullpen if necessary after a doubleheader workload. Regardless, consider Hand in roster limbo for the moment.

Lee Haydel's first inning leadoff single gives me a "Beat the Streak" winner for the day at 11:20 AM Central. A new record for earliest ever! http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

Thanks, just adjusted the Daily Menu. Both audio feeds are functional, by the way. Unfortunately, just listened to Peralta walk three consecutive batters with two down in the 1st... EDIT: Groundout ends the inning unscathed.

From Huntsville Media Relations -- Pitcher Donovan Hand has been promoted to Triple-A Nashville. Hand split time between Huntsville and Nashville in 2010, but started the 2011 season with the Stars. In nine games with Huntsville, he allowed just three earned runs on 16 hits (2.38 ERA). He only allowed one walk while striking out 12. In a related move, infielder Hainley Statia signed as a free agent and has now been assigned to the Huntsville roster. In 30 games with the Salt Lake City Bees (Triple-A LAA) last season, Statia hit .260 (25-96) with four doubles and 14 RBI. With these moves, the Stars active roster stays at 24, the Southern League limit. *** When we have an update regarding the corresponding move Nashville will make to accommodate Hand's addition, we'll let you know.

PCL American North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Omaha 15 10 .600 - - 9-3 6-7 7-3 W1 Iowa 12 13 .480 3.0 117 5-4 7-9 3-7 L2 Memphis 10 14 .417 4.5 116 8-7 2-7 6-4 L1 Nashville 9 15 .375 5.5 115 6-8 3-7 3-7 L2 SOU North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Huntsville 15 9 .625 - - 8-1 7-8 6-4 L1 Tennessee 16 10 .615 - - 7-3 9-7 5-5 L1 Jackson 13 11 .542 2.0 44 3-6 10-5 7-3 W1 Chattanooga 13 12 .520 2.5 43 6-9 7-3 4-6 W1 Carolina 8 18 .308 8.0 37 6-10 2-8 5-5 W1 FSL North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Daytona 18 8 .692 - - 10-4 8-4 7-3 W2 Clearwater 17 9 .654 1.0 44 10-4 7-5 8-2 W4 Lakeland 13 13 .500 5.0 40 8-5 5-8 4-6 L1 Dunedin 11 15 .423 7.0 38 3-8 8-7 5-5 W1 Brevard County 10 16 .385 8.0 37 4-10 6-6 4-6 L3 Tampa 9 17 .346 9.0 36 3-9 6-8 2-8 L6 MID Western Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Burlington 18 6 .750 - - 10-2 8-4 7-3 W3 Cedar Rapids 17 8 .680 1.5 - 7-3 10-5 7-3 W3 Beloit 14 9 .609 3.5 45 8-4 6-5 6-4 W1 Peoria 12 13 .480 6.5 41 4-3 8-10 5-5 L3 Wisconsin 10 12 .455 7.0 42 5-8 5-4 5-5 W3 Quad Cities 11 14 .440 7.5 40 5-10 6-4 5-5 L3 Clinton 8 18 .308 11.0 36 4-12 4-6 4-6 L1 Kane County 8 18 .308 11.0 36 4-9 4-9 1-9 L3

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

The Stars will be playing whether there is stadium power available or not. It would be tough to provide any type of broadcast if power is out. We've linked above to both the Stars' "couch-cast" and the more traditional Jacksonville broadcast. Today may be a day for some of you to at least briefly sample the Huntsville audio experiment.

Wednesday's Daily Menu: Times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: RHP Amaury Rivas at Oklahoma City (Astros), 6:50 PM pre-game; 7:05 gametime; top Houston prospect arm Jordan Lyles is the opposing starter Live Audio Link iPad/iPhone: Listen Huntsville: RHP Wily Peralta at home vs. Jacksonville (Marlins), 11:03 AM gametime Live Audio Link iPad/iPhone: Listen Traditional broadcast via the Jacksonville feed: Listen Brevard County: RHP Hiram Burgos at Dunedin (Blue Jays), 6:00 PM gametime Live Audio Link -- Look for the Dunedin Feed Wisconsin: RHP Matt Miller at Beloit (Twins), 6:10 PM pre-game; 6:30 gametime Live Audio Link

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Nashville Audio Archive -- May 3 - Chat with reliever Jim Henderson

Brevard's Kentrail Davis with a dubious exit -- Brevard County Top of the 8th Pitcher Change: Chris Malone replaces Nestor Molina. Sean McCraw grounds out, second baseman Justin Jackson to first baseman Jon Talley. Mike Brownstein strikes out swinging. Josh Prince singles on a ground ball to center fielder Chris Hopkins. Scooter Gennett singles on a line drive to left fielder Brad McElroy. Josh Prince to 2nd. Kentrail Davis grounds out, shortstop Ryan Goins to first baseman Jon Talley. Dunedin Bottom of the 8th Brevard County Manatees right fielder Kentrail Davis ejected by HP umpire Brian DeBrauwere. Jon Talley grounds out to first baseman Hunter Morris. Kevin Ahrens lines out to shortstop Josh Prince. Sean Ochinko pops out to shortstop Josh Prince. *** Chase Wright had a lousy night for the Sounds, but you can hear his RBI single here. *** One reason the Sounds are struggling? Jeremy Reed batting cleanup -- with Brendan Katin unable to go hard every day (knees), there is just no power on this team.

Wisconsin Media Notes

Rattler Radio Blog via You Tube: We learn that 1B/ OF Jason Rogers' hand surgery is specific to the hamate bone, and that Cameron Garfield's knee ligaments are intact and his absence is expected to be about two weeks... I'm a big fan of non-drafted free agents, and Charly's a Massachusetts kid (well, he will be 24 later this month), so this brief interview has to get the Mass Haas seal of approval.

Nashville Media Notes Jordan Brown squeezes on to the roster via Mark Rogers' DL stint.

PCL American North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Omaha 14 10 .583 - - 9-3 5-7 7-3 L2 Iowa 12 12 .500 2.0 119 5-3 7-9 4-6 L1 Memphis 10 13 .435 3.5 118 8-7 2-6 6-4 W2 Nashville 9 14 .391 4.5 117 6-8 3-6 3-7 L1 SOU North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Tennessee 16 9 .640 - - 7-3 9-6 6-4 W1 Huntsville 15 9 .625 0.5 46 8-1 7-8 6-4 L1 Jackson 12 11 .522 3.0 44 2-6 10-5 7-3 L1 Chattanooga 13 12 .520 3.0 43 6-9 7-3 4-6 W1 Carolina 7 18 .280 9.0 37 5-10 2-8 4-6 L1 FSL North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Daytona 17 8 .680 - - 10-4 7-4 7-3 W1 Clearwater 16 9 .640 1.0 45 9-4 7-5 7-3 W3 Lakeland 13 12 .520 4.0 42 8-5 5-7 4-6 W2 Brevard County 10 15 .400 7.0 39 4-10 6-5 5-5 L2 Dunedin 10 15 .400 7.0 39 2-8 8-7 5-5 L1 Tampa 9 16 .360 8.0 38 3-8 6-8 2-8 L5 MID Western Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Burlington 18 6 .750 - - 10-2 8-4 7-3 W3 Cedar Rapids 17 8 .680 1.5 - 7-3 10-5 7-3 W3 Beloit 13 9 .591 4.0 45 8-4 5-5 6-4 L1 Peoria 12 13 .480 6.5 41 4-3 8-10 5-5 L3 Quad Cities 11 13 .458 7.0 41 5-9 6-4 5-5 L2 Wisconsin 9 12 .429 7.5 42 5-8 4-4 4-6 W2 Clinton 8 17 .320 10.5 37 4-11 4-6 4-6 W1 Kane County 8 18 .308 11.0 36 4-9 4-9 1-9 L3

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 Oklahoma City (Astros), 6:50 PM pre-game; 7:05 gametime Live Audio Link iPad/iPhone: Listen Huntsville: Idle; home game vs. Jacksonville postponed to Thursday as part of a doubleheader; the series opener Wednesday AM is free to all in attendance Brevard County: RHP Kyle Heckathorn at Dunedin (Blue Jays), 6:00 PM gametime Live Audio Link -- Look for the Dunedin Feed Wisconsin: RHP Tyler Thornburg at Quad Cities (Cardinals), 6:40 PM pre-game; 7:00 gametime Live Audio Link

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Provided by Chris Mehring of the Rattlers -- ROSTER MOVES: Earlier today, Timber Rattlers reliever Brian Garman was placed on the disabled list. Pitcher Eric Marzec has been activated from the DL and is available for tonight?s game against the River Bandits. *** This seems to be the season for poor results followed by DL stints. Makes one think that several of these kids are pitching initially through injuries, albeit some may be minor.

Chris' Rattler post-game thoughts list keeps getting longer, and we love it.

The River Bandits weren't too quick to credit Timber Rattler hurlers -- Pull-happy Bandits strike out 18 times in loss Steve Batterson, Quad City Times There was a nice breeze Monday afternoon on the banks of the Mississippi River and the Quad-Cities River Bandits did their part to contribute to it. Quad-Cities batters struck out a season-high 18 times in a 4-3 Midwest League loss to Wisconsin, including 10 times over the final four innings as they attempted to chip away at the Timber Rattlers' lead. Eight of the 12 runners the River Bandits left on base were stranded in scoring position and in addition to disappointing the kid-filled crowd of 5,028 - the largest of the season at Modern Woodmen Park - the effort drew the ire of manager Johnny Rodriguez. "Their pitchers did not show me an out pitch. We didn't have the right offensive approach at all," Rodriguez said. "We didn't use the middle of the field. We got pull happy. It was hard to watch." At least Rodriguez had company from his viewing vantage in the third-base coach's box. Quad-Cities had runners on third with one out in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings but mustered just two runs. "Opportunities were there all day. We couldn't make the most of them, and that is what is frustrating," said Nick Longmire, who collected a pair of doubles but struck out with the bases loaded to end the seventh. The River Bandits played from behind almost from the onset. Mike Walker and Chris Dennis delivered back-to-back homers in the top of the first inning to give the Timber Rattlers a 3-0 edge. Longmire cut the lead to 4-2 in the sixth with a run-scoring double, but as was the case in the eighth inning, Quad-Cities stranded runners on second and third. Yunier Castillo opened the seventh with a triple and scored on a passed ball in the seventh to pull the River Bandits within a run. After a pair of Wisconsin pitchers walked the bases full with one out, the Rattlers gave the ball to Tyler Cravy, who came in and struck out Kyle Conley and Longmire to end the threat. "We had enough chances, but we didn't put any pressure on their defense at all," Rodriguez said. "Your job as a professional is to shorten your swing with two strikes, work the middle of the field, put the ball in play, and we didn't do that. They were giving us runs and we didn't take them." K COUNT: Wisconsin pitcher Austin Ross, an eighth-round pick of the Brewers in the 2010 draft from LSU, continued his early-season dominance of the Midwest League as he improved to 3-0. In his 5 1/3 innings Monday, Ross struck out nine and scattered four hits, extending a string which has seen him work at least five innings in each of his five starts. Right-handers are hitting .148 against Ross, while left-handers are hitting .146. The Timber Rattlers used six pitchers Monday, but Ross and Cravy combined for 15 of the 18 strikeouts recorded by Wisconsin pitchers. QUOTEBOOK: "He's been mashing against us. He's had a couple of homers and is showing what he can do.'' - River Bandits outfielder Nick Longmire, referring to his former Pacific teammate Mike Walker, a Wisconsin infielder who belted a two-run homer vs. the River Bandits on Monday SCORE IT: From the something you don't see every day department, the Timber Rattlers' Tony Pechek advanced teammate Carlos George with a 1-4-3 sacrifice in the fourth inning. The grounder glanced off the glove of pitcher Zach Russell and was scooped up by second baseman Greg Garcia who threw to Jonathan Rodriguez at first to complete the rare sacrifice.

Nashville Audio Archive -- May 2 - Chat with LHP Chase Wright