Jim Goulart

Shortly before game times, you'll be able to find Nashville and Wisconsin media notes.

PCL American North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Omaha 14 8 .636 - - 9-2 5-6 9-1 W1 Iowa 11 11 .500 3.0 120 5-2 6-9 4-6 L1 Memphis 9 13 .409 5.0 118 8-7 1-6 5-5 W1 Nashville 9 13 .409 5.0 118 6-8 3-5 3-7 W1 SOU North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Tennessee 15 8 .652 - - 6-2 9-6 6-4 L1 Huntsville 14 8 .636 0.5 48 8-1 6-7 6-4 L2 Jackson 11 10 .524 3.0 46 2-6 9-4 6-4 W3 Chattanooga 12 11 .522 3.0 45 5-8 7-3 3-7 L3 Carolina 6 17 .261 9.0 39 5-10 1-7 4-6 W1 FSL North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Daytona 16 6 .727 - - 9-2 7-4 9-1 W3 Clearwater 14 9 .609 2.5 46 7-4 7-5 6-4 W1 Lakeland 11 12 .478 5.5 43 8-5 3-7 2-8 L1 Brevard County 10 13 .435 6.5 42 4-8 6-5 6-4 W1 Tampa 9 14 .391 7.5 41 3-8 6-6 2-8 L3 Dunedin 8 14 .364 8.0 41 2-8 6-6 5-5 L1 MID Western Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Burlington 15 6 .714 - - 7-2 8-4 7-3 L1 Cedar Rapids 14 8 .636 1.5 - 7-3 7-5 7-3 L1 Beloit 12 8 .600 2.5 49 8-4 4-4 6-4 L1 Peoria 12 10 .545 3.5 47 4-3 8-7 7-3 W1 Quad Cities 11 11 .500 4.5 46 5-7 6-4 5-5 W1 Wisconsin 7 12 .368 7.0 45 5-8 2-4 3-7 L2 Kane County 8 15 .348 8.0 42 4-6 4-9 3-7 W1 Clinton 7 16 .304 9.0 41 3-10 4-6 3-7 W2

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

Sunday's Daily Menu: Times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: RHP Josh Butler at home vs. Albuquerque (Dodgers), 1:50 PM pre-game; 2:05 gametime Live Audio Link iPad/iPhone: Listen Huntsville: RHP Jesus Sanchez at Mississippi (Braves), 1:05 PM gametime Live Audio Link - Braves' feed Brevard County: RHP Adrian Rosario at home vs. Lakeland (Tigers), 4:05 PM gametime Sorry, no audio available for this game... Wisconsin: RHP Dan Britt at Quad Cities (Cardinals), 4:40 PM pre-game; 5:00 gametime Live Audio Link

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Rattler Radio Blog: Several post-game thoughts and your video highlights

Timber Rattlers profile: No. 12 Austin Ross, pitcher compiled by Mike Woods, Appleton Post-Crescent Quick hits - Age: 23. - Position: Pitcher. - Height, weight: 6-2, 200. - Bats/throws: Right/right. - Hometown: Shreveport, La. - Notes: Selected by the Brewers in the eighth round of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft. ... Was a member of LSU's 2009 College World Series championship team. ... Earned all-SEC Academic Honor Roll recognition at LSU as a petroleum engineering major all three years (2008-10). ... Was named Midwest League pitcher of the week for week of April 17-24. ... Owns a 2-0 record with a 1.08 ERA, fourth-lowest in the Midwest League. ... Opponents are hitting .140 off him this season. Favorites MLB team growing up: "I don't think I had a certain favorite one. If I had to pick one, I'd say the Braves. I don't know why. My first Little League team was the Braves and that group, the kids I played with in Little League, we'd always be the Braves for some reason." MLB player growing up: "Probably Chipper Jones. Obviously, for the same reason — we were the Braves and I started watching them." Current MLB player: "Not sure if I have a favorite player. It's different now. They're almost your competitors now so you try not to look at them in awe. But my favorite players are probably guys that I know that are in the big leagues now, guys I throw with in the off-season. Scott Baker would be one. He's from Shreveport and he's with the Twins." Sport other than baseball: "Definitely golf. I try to play a lot of golf. I played a good bit down in Phoenix during spring training and that kind of came to a halt when I came up here in the cold and freezing snow." Food: "Anything my mom cooks. A home-cooked meal is good because, for six, seven months out of the year, I don't get any of those. My favorite meal is baked chicken with lima beans and rice." Thing about Shreveport: "I do a lot of hunting in the off-season so that's probably my favorite thing. I duck hunt a lot. I have some friends who have farms so it's fun to be able to do those things with them." Musical artist: "I'm big into country music. I like a lot of Texas country music. But no one specifically." Q&A Q: Given the horrible weather, are you surprised by your start? A: "Maybe a little bit but I felt prepared coming up here. Someone was talking about the cold weather and I said I'm looking at it as more of an opportunity to get off to a fast start because it's a lot harder to hit in cold conditions. You ask anybody, no one wants to hit when it's 35 degrees out and the wind is blowing. It's tough to pitch in it, as well, but at least you're moving every pitch and you stay a lot warmer." Q: What have you worked on? A: "My fastball command so far has been really good. I've been able to command the ball on both sides of the plate and change speeds when I need to. Anytime you can command the ball on either side of the plate and down in the zone, you're going to have success. And then if you can work the ball back and forth, changing speeds, that's all pitching is." Q: How do you feel about being name a Midwest League pitcher of the week? A: "Someone told me when I walked into the locker room (Monday). I didn't even know it. It's good. I had a good outing. It's good to be honored for it. But I don't think there were even that many games last week. There probably weren't too many outings to go up against." Q: What pitch would you like to master? A: "I'd like to develop my change-up a little more. It's gotten better, a whole lot better than last year, and I developed it during spring training. I'm still working on it and developing it as a strong third pitch." Q: What's the difference between learning a pitch and mastering a pitch? A: "I think it's more just developing confidence in it and being able to throw it in any situation. Anyone can throw it 0-1. You're up by a lot, no one on base. It's when can you throw that pitch to get somebody out when it's 3-2, with the tying run on third base late in the game. I think you've mastered a pitch when you can throw it in any situation and you're confident enough to do it. But I don't think you ever really master a pitch. You're continually working to make those pitches better. Cy Young winners in the big leagues are doing that." Q: What is your routine between starts? A: "Between my last start, a lot of stuff, because it will be nine days between my two starts. But most of the time it's five days. So the day after, it's going to be a light-throwing day, whatever your arm needs. Then I'll work out and lift really hard that next day. The day after is my bullpen day, doing upper body lifts, and the following day I kind of like to stretch it out a little bit and, the day before my start, just throw it light and easy." Q: Do you ever have to fight boredom? A: "No, not really. Especially with every five days. Just about the time your arm is feeling good, you're back up on the hill. So that's good. In college, it was seven days and you could throw really well one outing and then you'd be like: 'I've got another seven days until I can get back out there.' I like the quicker turnaround. You're continually working on things to build up to that next start so I don't really get bored. It's like looking forward to the weekend." Q: LSU has won six College World Series titles since 1991. What's it like to play at a school with such high expectations? A: "It's definitely helped me a lot in my maturing process and helped me learn to not let things affect me. Everything you do there is under a microscope. There is no college place in the country that is like that. I don't think it's really like that until you get to the big leagues. I mean, every aspect is under the microscope. You throw good and everybody is behind you. You throw bad and everyone is calling for you not to start your next time, questioning 'Why didn't you take him out? Why is he still pitching?' You kind of get some thick skin but it was definitely a wonderful experience." Q: What was it like to attend a football game in Death Valley? A: "It's about as fun as it gets. Baseball is big there but baseball is a notch down from football. It was just fun. A lot of times, we'd have practice in the morning and then just go out and walk out straight from practice and just start tailgating with everybody. That place is unreal on Saturday night." Q: What is your most prized sports possession? A: "Right now, I'd have to definitely say my national championship ring. That's as good as it gets in college baseball. We played our last game and won it." Q: What is the best advice you received? A: "Someone told me one time: 'Don't believe what anybody says that's too good or too bad. Just stay even-keeled and do your job.' " Q: How did you get your middle name of North? A: "I get that a lot. That's my dad's middle name, too, but it is his mom's maiden name. She was one of four sisters. Obviously, the name wasn't going to continue, so my grandmother gave my dad the middle name of North and then they in turn gave it to me. So we'll probably just keep going from here on, keep the name in the family." Tool Box Timber Rattlers pitching coach Chris Hook breaks down Austin Ross: "I think he's doing what we expected him to do. I think he's an experienced guy. He's a strike thrower. He throws all three pitches for strikes. On an A-ball level, when you do that, you'll have a lot of success. But we want to continue to do more. We can't regress from this point. And, obviously, as you go and try to be a big league starter — A-ball guys are going to get away with some things — we want to continue to sharpen up what he's doing and continue on how he's thrown so far. "I think he's got a good change-up. Last outing was a great example. He went through the lineup the first time without throwing a breaking ball. I think that really showed him that the change-up is a big pitch for him and for him to get a little bit better feel for that. I think he can throw it any count, any time. I think he just needs to trust it. The trust in the change-up to me is his biggest hurdle right now. "Fastball command is his strength. He commands all his pitches very well but fastball command is his strength. If he wants to put it on the outer half, he'll put it on the outer half. He doesn't miss in. He doesn't miss middle. He puts it there. When you do that at this level, you're going to have a lot of success." Austin Ross of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers is 2-0 with a 1.08 ERA so far this season. / Post-Crescent photo by Dan Powers http://cmsimg.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=U0&Date=20110501&Category=APC020602&ArtNo=105010614&Ref=AR&MaxW=300&Border=0

Changeup changes Nelson's attack by Jesse Osborne, Post-Crescent staff writer GRAND CHUTE — Everything about Jimmy Nelson screams power pitcher. Start with his size — 6-foot-6, 245 pounds — and move on to his stuff — a fastball and sinker that can register in excess of 90 mph, along with a hard slider. But over the past couple of starts, the right-hander has introduced some more effective deception to go along with his grip-it-and-rip-it perception in the form of a refined changeup, a pitch that was regularly on display during Nelson's 6 1/3 innings of work during Saturday's 5-2 loss to the Clinton LumberKings at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. "It's just one of those pitches that you have to develop to make it to the big leagues," Nelson said of the changeup. "This is where they want you to work on that. I've definitely thrown a lot more of them here, and I've been getting better results with it." Nelson worked with pitching coach Chris Hook to improve his off-speed offering during side sessions over the past two weeks when weather issues postponed several games. Nelson tinkered with his changeup grip and now holds the ball "a little looser, a little bit farther out on my fingertips." The results, in the two starts since the adjustment, have been encouraging. "I've had a lot more command with it, and it's working a lot better than my old one was," said Nelson, whose changeup checks in around 80 mph. "The main thing for me hadn't been the velocity in the past with the changeup — it had been the command of it. I've thrown changeups in the past, but I didn't throw it enough for a strike for the other team to even factor that in as a pitch." Now, opposing hitters have something else to think about when facing Nelson. "He's got some comfort now. It feels good in his hand, and it feels like something he can attack with," Hook said. "He's really worked hard on it. He's got such a good sinker and he can just go ahead and say, 'Here's my sinker. Here's my changeup. These are going to act similar, but there's going to be a 10- to 12-mile (per hour) difference.' If you throw 93 (mph) and then an 81 (mph) changeup, it's really tough to hit. "That's an exciting thing for him, and an exciting thing for our organization for a guy like him to be able to go to that changeup when he wants to."

Greg Sullivan of the Tennessean: (link also includes a story on Jay Gibbons and his thank you to Gord Ash) -- Mat Gamel had his best game of the season Saturday night for the Sounds, hitting the game-winning double in the eighth and, earlier, his first home run of the season. "It's been a while since I've had one like that," Gamel said of his first five-hit game since 2008. He went 5-for-5, drove in five runs and hit three doubles in the Sounds' 7-6 win over Albuquerque, including the game-winner that drove in Brett Carroll. "I'm not too concerned about the home runs," Gamel said. "If you start trying to force it to happen you start messing your swing up." Getting the game-winning hit meant a lot, he said, especially with the way the team had been struggling riding a five-game losing streak. "It's better than a cycle," Gamel said. "It's not like we've been playing terrible baseball, we just haven't been capitalizing with guys on base and we've been getting hits when nobody's been on base. "It was good for us to put a complete game together as far as pitching and hitting."

Mark Rogers must be working on the side (season stats). Last pitched on the 23rd, and is not scheduled to start a game through at least this Wednesday the 4th. LHP Chase Wright makes his first start of the season near his hometown of Oklahoma City on Monday.

Nashville Audio Archive -- April 30 - Chat with outfielder Jeremy Reed

Nashville Media Notes

Another sobering note from Buck Rogers about the situation in greater Huntsville -- deserved props to their efforts! Stars fans, it's been three days without power but everybody is hanging in there. Our concessionaire, Sodexo, is serving breakfast, lunch and dinner for a minimal cost. Stop by the stadium if you're hungry. First responders, emergency workers, power crews will eat free. Make a note of these businesses and groups because they not only brought food to the stadium, but staffing as well: Brix, Cafe Berlin, Baumhowers Wings, Panera Bread, Grace Lutheran Church, Whitesburg Baptist Church and random individuals. We are now out of ice. Except for what's cooling down the food and drink, we are tapped. Please understand the little we have left is cooling down the supplies to feed residents and we cannot part with any of it. Like you, we have thrown out loads of food from our refrigerators and freezers. We understand the gravity of it. The latest word is power may be on Monday afternoon. I'll remain optimistic and start planning for the return of baseball next week sometime. We will firm up that information later today. We will not be moving our series against Jacksonville to Jacksonville; this series will be played in Huntsville if we have to play day time games. Hang in there, North Alabama. Be safe. Help your neighbors and do what you can to make life easier for everybody. If you're reading this on your phone you know we're OK and, God willing, that in a few more days things will return to normal. Rock On!

Rattler Radio Blog: Lineup & Game Notes: April 30, 2011

PCL American North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Omaha 13 8 .619 - - 8-2 5-6 9-1 L1 Iowa 11 10 .524 2.0 122 5-2 6-8 5-5 W1 Memphis 8 13 .381 5.0 119 7-7 1-6 4-6 L1 Nashville 8 13 .381 5.0 119 5-8 3-5 2-8 L5 SOU North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Tennessee 15 7 .682 - - 6-1 9-6 7-3 W2 Huntsville 14 7 .667 0.5 49 8-1 6-6 6-4 L1 Chattanooga 12 10 .545 3.0 46 5-7 7-3 4-6 L2 Jackson 10 10 .500 4.0 46 2-6 8-4 6-4 W2 Carolina 5 17 .227 10.0 39 5-10 0-7 3-7 L4 FSL North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Daytona 15 6 .714 - - 8-2 7-4 8-2 W2 Clearwater 13 9 .591 2.5 47 6-4 7-5 5-5 L1 Lakeland 11 11 .500 4.5 45 8-5 3-6 3-7 W1 Brevard County 9 13 .409 6.5 43 3-8 6-5 6-4 L1 Tampa 9 13 .409 6.5 43 3-8 6-5 2-8 L2 Dunedin 8 13 .381 7.0 43 2-8 6-5 6-4 W1 MID Western Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Burlington 15 5 .750 - - 7-1 8-4 7-3 W2 Cedar Rapids 14 7 .667 1.5 - 7-3 7-4 8-2 W1 Beloit 12 7 .632 2.5 50 8-3 4-4 7-3 W4 Peoria 11 10 .524 4.5 47 4-3 7-7 7-3 L2 Quad Cities 10 11 .476 5.5 46 4-7 6-4 4-6 L1 Wisconsin 7 11 .389 7.0 46 5-7 2-4 3-7 L1 Kane County 7 15 .318 9.0 42 4-6 3-9 2-8 L6 Clinton 6 16 .273 10.0 41 3-10 3-6 2-8 W1

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

Saturday's Daily Menu: Times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: RHP Frankie De La Cruz at home vs. Albuquerque (Dodgers), 6:20 PM pre-game; 6:35 gametime Live Audio Link iPad/iPhone: Listen Huntsville: LHP Dan Merklinger at Mississippi (Braves), 6:05 PM gametime Live Audio Link - Braves' feed Brevard County: RHP Nick Bucci at home vs. Lakeland (Tigers), 6:05 PM gametime Sorry, no audio available for this game... Wisconsin: RHP Jimmy Nelson at home vs. Clinton (Mariners), 12:45 PM pre-game; 1:05 gametime Live Audio Link

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Here's the post in the Major League Forum injury thread that includes Zack Greinke's post-game video interview and Greinke coverage from the Tennessean. And this link isn't about any remorse or doubt, just acknowledging a great night for Jake Odorizzi.

Nearly four minutes with Zack Greinke in a one-on-one post-game locker room video interview: Nice job by the interviewer (we're efforting on learning just who that was), and Zack was responsive and only seemed slightly put-off at the tediousness of things. Greinke is such a fascinating study, on and off the mound. *** Greinke looks good, takes loss as Nashville Sounds fall 4-1 to Albuquerque by Greg Sullivan, The Tennessean Even after taking the loss Friday night against Albuquerque, Zack Greinke pitched well enough that the Sounds probably would like to keep the Brewers right-hander around a little longer as he continues to regain his Cy Young form. With a fastball away that clocked 91 mph, Greinke blew a pitch past a swinging Jay Gibbons, a fellow big leaguer on rehab assignment, for his seventh strikeout, looking as good as he had all night on his final pitch of what turned out to be a 4-1 loss to the Isotopes at Greer Stadium. "I could have gone a couple more innings," Greinke said. "I'm pretty sure I've faced (Gibbons) a couple times in Baltimore, but it's been a while, though." With seven strikeouts in his five-inning, 75-pitch outing, Greinke displayed better command Friday compared to a short outing Sunday, when struggled with control and allowed long at-bats. "I got a little tired the time before, probably just throwing too much," Greinke said. "So I tried to pitch like a starter and be a little smarter, and it felt better." He gave up a two-run home run to Jamie Hoffman in the fourth inning, but otherwise proved to be overpowering for Triple-A Albuquerque. Greinke succeeded at keeping his pitch count down, as he threw 50 of his 75 pitches for strikes. "I was throwing all my pitches for strikes with decent movement on them," Greinke said. "I felt comfortable out there, and it felt good. "It was a pretty decent pitch the guy hit the home run on, so I'm OK with that. It was pretty much where I wanted it." Greinke swung the bat well, himself. He hit a double in the third inning off Alberto Bastardo. "I was pretty lucky, for the most part," Greinke said. "I got some pitches to hit last time and the time before that, but I got lucky." Now Greinke will just have to wait to see whether his superiors are ready for him to be promoted to Milwaukee. It could be as soon as Wednesday against the Atlanta Braves. "We'll see," he said. "I've got to talk to the bosses, but hopefully." Music City Brewers: In just their first 21 games, the Sounds already have more players on major league rehab assignments spend time on their roster this season than they have had since 1998, their first season in the Pacific Coast League. With rehab visits in recent games by Greinke, Takashi Saito and Nyjer Morgan, who is rehabbing a deep thigh bruise, the Sounds have hosted six Brewers on rehab assignments this season.

Timber Rattlers ace Matt Miller finding his groove with seven-inning shutout against Clinton by Mike Woods, Post-Crescent staff writer GRAND CHUTE — As the saying goes, a double play is a pitcher's best friend. Wisconsin Timber Rattlers right-hander Matt Miller would disagree. "Personally, I think it (the pitcher-catcher relationship) is one of the most underrated things in baseball," Miller said. "The dynamic between the pitcher and the catcher, there's so much chemistry that goes into that. And when you're on the same page and thinking the same pitch, the game just seems to flow." Miller made things look easy Friday, tossing a complete-game three-hitter to lead the Timber Rattlers over Clinton 5-0 in the first game of a Midwest League doubleheader at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Wisconsin lost the second game 6-1. A fifth-round draft pick out of the University of Michigan, things were rather hard for Miller at the start of this season. He entered Friday's game with a 0-2 record and a 6.46 ERA, having given up 12 runs in 15 1/3 innings, including 11 hits and 11 walks. But he was spot-on Friday, striking out six against one walk in his seven innings of work as he lowered his ERA to 4.43. "He was in the strike zone. I think that was a big key for him," Timber Rattlers pitching coach Chris Hook said. "I think he underestimates his stuff sometimes. I think he picks a little bit. Change-up was kind of a key for him. He used that as a strike pitch and, as the game went on, he had a little more conviction with the fastball, which really helped him." A lot of things helped Miller. He faced just one batter over the minimum due to a double play, an outfield assist and a base runner caught stealing. The latter came with the help of catcher Tyler Roberts, a.k.a. Miller's best friend. "If you get in a rhythm out there, and that's key for a pitcher to just get in a rhythm, in the sixth we were just clicking," Miller said. "Then when we got to the seventh and we just carried the same momentum we had in the sixth. I thought we were more locked in there than early on in the game. That kind of happens. You find your chemistry and your moments as the game goes on. And Tyler did a great job tonight just being there with me." Expectations were clearly high for Miller and the rest of the starting staff entering the season. But like every other level of baseball, there is an adjustment period. And when you have three straight starts pushed back because of weather, it makes that adjustment period more trying. "It's different at every level," Miller said. "Obviously, you come here with high expectations. If you looked at our starting pitching staff, just a slew of great arms and great college careers. And last year we all played together and had some success. "We've tried to bring that here and everybody is trying to feel it out. Obviously, in the beginning of the season, everyone is going through bumps. But we're just going to put our head down and keep working. Collectively, everybody played a great game today." Miller hopes that work, and his chemistry with Roberts, will make the road ahead a bit smoother. "All the stuff mechanically that we've been working on, I felt a lot better," he said. "Tyler and I were obviously clicking and building chemistry slowly game by game because we're new working together. He just did a great job behind the plate and made me feel comfortable. Kept it simple at the start and then starting attacking guys late as the game got on. "I think this does big things for everyone's confidence. Life is a whole lot better when you win. Everything is better."

Timber Rattlers Pitcher Trying to Get News from Tuscaloosa By Jason Zimmerman, WBAY.com The tornadoes in the southern states produced a scare for a member of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. Pitcher Jimmy Nelson went to school at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. He's thankful to find out most of his friends are doing OK. It was just after Wednesday night's Timber Rattlers game that Nelson found out that a devastating tornado struck Tuscaloosa. "I was shocked, because you always get tornado warnings and watches and all that, but you never think it will happen, you know? It's just crazy it would happen right there, and be that massive of a tornado, and do that much damage." Nelson spent three years at the university. He says it's been to struggle to contact friends with most of the cell phone towers down. "Even though, as of right now, knock on wood, I don't know of anybody that has been injured or killed by the, my heart goes out to them, and I'm hoping I don't get any bad news." Still, the damage in Tuscaloosa has hit close to home. Nelson says, two of the houses he lived in attending school are gone. But he's thankful the university itself was somewhat spared. "Down there they don't have basements, you know, so it's hard to find shelter, and that stuff happens so quick it's hard to take cover." Nelson continued, "With stuff like this, it's unpredictable. It can take you by surprise, and you just can't take anything for granted."

Well-spoken, breaks down his game very well -- it's still A-ball, but hard not to be enthused over Ross.

Nashville Audio Archive -- April 29 - Chat with outfielder Caleb Gindl Caleb discusses facing AAA vs. AA pitching, his pre-draft pitching days, playing CF, and more.

Nashville Media Notes