Jim Goulart

Turns out the Sounds didn't include every single player's name on the press release. They just posted a pdf file of the roster. James, Segovia, Henderson, Maysonet, Nowak and Machado are all listed. That's 27 players, so three players will need to go on an inactive list of some sort. Not sure if this rule is still in effect for 2011 -- AAA and AA clubs are allowed to put 24 players on the Active List for the first 30 days of the season, 23 players on the Active List from the 31st day until August 10th and then 24 players again for the rest of the season, including the playoffs. For A teams, the Active List limit is 25 players.

No mentions in the Nashville / Huntsville lists of relievers Justin James (40-man roster) and Zack Segovia, nor INF Edwin Maysonet and C Shawn Riggans. Reliever Jim Henderson hasn't been mentioned for AAA or AA. Neither has INF's Chris Nowak or Anderson Machado. None of those players will be below AA. So we're definitely going to hear about other moves, either DL or releases. No wonder the Sounds' press release still says "tentative". After all, minor league spring training games continue through this weekend, someone could get a dinger requiring a DL stint.

Sounds Announce Tentative Opening Night Roster By Nashville Sounds NASHVILLE - The Nashville Sounds - the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers - have announced their tentative Opening Day roster, a group highlighted by 14 returning players from the 2010 squad and seven members of Milwaukee's 40-man roster. Three of the Brewers' top 10 prospects (as ranked by Baseball America) will open the season in Nashville, highlighted by top prospect and right-handed pitcher Mark Rogers. The former first round draft pick went 6-8 with a 3.71 ERA, and 111 strikeouts in 24 starts for the Double-A Huntsville Stars last season, setting career highs in wins, innings pitched, starts, and strikeouts before making one start in Music City and joining the Brewers in September. The 25-year-old has also been recognized by the publication as having the best fastball in the Milwaukee farm system. Rogers will also be joined by fellow prospect and infielder Eric Farris (#7 prospect) and right-handed pitcher Amaury Rivas (#10 prospect), who was a 2010 mid-season Southern League All-Star and is recognized as having the best changeup in the Milwaukee chain. Fourteen players return to Music City from the 2010 Sounds squad, including starting pitchers Josh Butler, Marco Estrada, Sam Narron, and Chase Wright; relievers Tim Dillard, Robert Hinton, and 2010 PCL All-Star Mike McClendon; catchers Patrick Arlis and Martin Maldonado; infielders Farris and Mat Gamel; and PCL All-Star outfielder and 2010 Fan Favorite Brendan Katin. Katin has spent the past three seasons in a Nashville uniform and is just 23 home runs and 46 RBIs behind Chad Hermansen for the top spot on the Sounds' all-time career leaderboard. Gamel will also return to anchor the Sounds' lineup while making a defensive transition to first base. Sounds pitching coach Rich Gale has a veteran staff to work with in 2011, as 11 of the 14 Nashville hurlers have Major League experience. Narron, who led Sounds pitchers with nine victories in 2010 and 2008, is joined by Butler, Estrada, Wright, and newcomer Frankie De La Cruz in the rotation. In his fifth consecutive season with the Sounds, Dillard currently ranks third in Sounds history in innings pitched (453.1), is tied for third in wins (30), and is sixth in strikeouts (263). Two additional recognizable faces to return to Nashville are catcher Mike Rivera and reliever Mark DiFelice. Rivera ranks ninth in Sounds history with 45 career home runs over his 216 games in a Nashville uniform from 2005-07 and was selected as the starting catcher on the 2006 PCL mid-season All-Star team. DiFelice previously appeared for the Sounds from 2007-08 and posted a 9-3 record and 3.16 ERA in 23 outings. Knoxville native and former MTSU standout Brett Carroll will join the Sounds this season in the outfield. Acquired during spring training, the 28-year-old has spent parts of the last three seasons with the Florida Marlins while also visiting Greer as a member of the Albuquerque Isotopes and New Orleans Zephyrs. Another new addition is outfielder Brandon Boggs, who enjoyed a stellar year in the Pacific Coast League in 2010 while playing for the Oklahoma City RedHawks (AAA-Rangers). The 28-year-old batted .290 with 10 home runs and 50 RBIs in 103 games while finishing third in the PCL with a .406 on-base percentage, and sixth with 72 walks before earning a late-season promotion to Texas. Three players will make their first stop at the Class AAA level with the Sounds in 2010: Rivas, infielder Zelous Wheeler, and outfielder Caleb Gindl. Manager Don Money returns for his third season at the helm in Music City and will be joined on the Nashville bench by his entire staff from last year: pitching coach Rich Gale, hitting coach Sandy Guerrero, athletic trainer Dave Yeager, and strength & conditioning coach Andrew Emmick. The tentative 2011 Nashville Sounds Opening Day roster is available at the link below. Three roster moves will have to be made before Thursday's season opener to reduce the Nashville roster to the 24-man active limit. Media day at Greer Stadium will occur at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon prior to the team's final preseason workout, which begins at 3:45 p.m. The Sounds open their 34th season on Thursday, April 7 at Greer Stadium with a 7:05 p.m. matchup against the visiting New Orleans Zephyrs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Florida Marlins. Ticket packages are currently on sale. Call (615) 690-HITS or visit the Sounds' website at www.nashvillesounds.com/tickets to order or for more information.

Milwaukee Brewers prospects coming to Huntsville Stars include top young playersBy Jacob Carpenter, The Huntsville Times al.com HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - Huntsville Stars manager Mike Guerrero revealed his Opening Day roster on Thursday, announcing that some of the Milwaukee Brewers' top-rated prospects will start the season in North Alabama. The group includes two of the organization's most promising arms, right-handers Cody Scarpetta and Wily Peralta, as well as a few young speedsters in the field. Here's a sampling of what the prospect experts are saying of the soon-to-be Stars that could one day be taking the field in Miller Park: Cody Scarpetta, RHP The 22-year-old drafted out of high school in 2007 will debut in Double-A after a season spent in High-A ball last year. Scarpetta is the second-ranked prospect according to Baseball Prospectus and Baseball America, while Jim Breen of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has Scarpetta ranked first in his annual Prospect Madness. Said Baseball Prospectus: "His 91-94 mph fastball is a tick above average, and his plus-plus curve is the best in the system, capable of generating silly-looking swings from good hitters. ... Scarpetta will flash a solid changeup at times, but it remains an inconsistent pitch that needs refinement. He can get out of whack mechanically, and lose the strike zone." Said the Journal-Sentinel: "The story is very simple with Scarpetta. He gets tons of strikeouts (9.98 K/9) and always has a low HR-rate, but a ton of walks (4.71 BB/9). His fastball has late burst, exploding on hitters, and his curveball fools young players. ... However, his pure stuff and success as a starter - especially in the second-half of 2010 - keeps his ceiling as a #2/3 starter in the big leagues." Wily Peralta, RHP With the Brewers rotation in flux due to injuries, the 21-year-old Peralta had the chance in spring training to play his way into a starting spot with the big league club. An erratic preseason, however, has him in Huntsville. Said Breen of the Journal-Sentinel: "The Brewers want to give the #5 spot in the starting rotation to Wily Peralta, but he is making that decision very difficult by not performing well on the mound. His location has been horrendous all spring. Peralta's control on the mound has been decent. His command within the strike zone, however, is not nearly where it should be. Still, many analysts remain high on Peralta, including ESPN.com's Keith Law, who has him ranked first among Brewers prospects. Said ESPN.com's fantasy projectors: "A Tommy John surgery recoveree (2007), Peralta was a strikeout artist in the lower minor league levels but as he has advanced higher, his three-pitch (fastball-slider-change) combination has been more hittable; he had a 6.17 strikeouts-per-nine innings ratio in eight Double-A starts to close 2010." Lee Haydel, OF The 23-year-old Haydel returns to Huntsville for a second season. In 127 games last year, Haydel hit .285 while spending most of his time in left field. For the second straight year, the Louisiana native has been tabbed as the organization's fastest prospect by Baseball America. Said Breen of the Journal-Sentinel: "Haydel's game is quite simple: Speed and defense. He is one of the fastest players in the Brewers' farm system and is a plus-defender wherever he is played in the outfield. ... While Haydel has no power of which to speak, he has begun to develop more of a line drive / groundball stroke that will keep him from wasting his speed." Right-handed starting pitcher Wily Peralta, pictured in an August 2010 file photo, is one of a few top Milwaukee Brewers prospects bound for the Huntsville Stars this season. (The Huntsville Times/Bob Gathany) http://media.al.com/sports_impact/photo/9445750-large.jpg

Sounds Take Down Bats In Spring Action, 6-1 Nashville Sounds NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Sounds defeated the Louisville Bats (AAA-Reds), 6-1, on Thursday afternoon at Maryvale Baseball Park. The Sounds pitching staff scattered seven hits to limit the Bats to one run. Right-hander Frankie De La Cruz started and twirled four scoreless frames. Brewers right-hander LaTroy Hawkins followed with an inning and allowed the lone run of the game. Right-handers Mark DiFelice tossed a scoreless frame and Tim Dillard closed out the game with three scoreless innings. Meanwhile, the offense made the most out of five hits. Caleb Gindl scored twice and Edwin Maysonet had a triple. Brendan Katin added an RBI double. The Sounds (5-6) have their third and final "camp day" of the spring on Friday, when they'll participate in intrasquad workouts. Nashville closes out its spring slate with a Saturday home contest against the Albuquerque Isotopes (AAA-Dodgers).

These boxes are from Tuesday's games, we just happened to receive them after Wednesday's -- Louisville defeated Nashville, 6-2. Brett Carroll provided the offense for the Sounds, bopping a homer and scoring twice. Mark Rogers gave up three runs on three hits and five walks in five innings of work. R H E Nashville 2 8 0 Louisville 6 8 0 NASHVILLE AB R H BI Caufield 4 0 0 0 Carroll 3 2 3 1 Garcia 1 0 0 0 Gamel 3 0 1 0 Arias 1 0 0 0 Katin 3 0 0 0 Gindl 0 0 0 0 Nowak 2 0 1 1 Wilson 1 0 0 0 Maldonado 3 0 1 0 Arlis 1 0 1 0 Riggans 4 0 1 0 SanchezJu 3 0 0 0 ShawD 3 0 0 0 HR: Carroll Bitmap Bitmap Bitmap IP H R ER BB SO TP Rogers 5 3 3 3 5 2 74 McClendon 2 3 1 1 0 0 26 James 1 2 2 2 1 1 22 Segovia 1 0 0 0 0 1 13 Carolina edged Huntsville, 2-1. Dan Merklinger started and allowed two runs, one earned, in five innings. The Stars pen held the Mudcats scoreless over the last four innings. Pete Fatse had two hits, including a double, but this would be his last game before getting released. Mike Fiers looked good for all eight of his pitches as we digest his AA relief assignment. We have a Corey Frerichs sighting out of the bullpen, so he comes off the "missing" list. R H E Huntsville 1 8 1 Carolina 2 7 1 HUNTSVILLE AB R H BI Komatsu 3 0 1 0 Kjeldgaard 1 0 1 0 Haydel 4 0 1 0 Halton 4 1 1 0

You can download the entire Nashville Media Guide in .pdf format via this link -- now keep in mind that like any media guide, it is prepared in advance based on who would likely be with the team, thus Erick Almonte leads off alphabetically. So it should not be considered an official roster list, which should be available very soon.

From WSSP: 4/1/11 Cody Scarpetta and Austin Ross talk about pitching the Rising Stars game

How's that walkout music poll looking now, Ax? Jeez...

Sounds Double Up River Cats In Spring Action, 8-4 Nashville Sounds PHOENIX, Ariz. -- In their lone spring meeting, the Nashville Sounds doubled up the Sacramento River Cats (AAA-A's), 8-4, on Wednesday afternoon at Papago Park Complex. Brewers left-hander Chris Narveson started for the Sounds and limited the River Cats to two runs on a hit and a walk in 5 1/3 innings of work. Robert Hinton followed with 0.2 scoreless innings before Josh Butler closed out the game by tossing the final three frames for the Sounds, allowing two runs on three hits. Outfielder Brett Carroll had a big day for the Sounds offense. He doubled, homered, and accounted for three Sounds runs. First baseman Mat Gamel added a double and home run of his own for Nashville. Outfielder Caleb Gindl drove in two RBIs, and infielder Edwin Maysonet and catcher Martin Maldonado each added two-hit efforts. The Sounds continue their spring slate on Thursday with a home meeting with the Louisville Bats (AAA-Reds) at Maryvale Baseball Park.

Best and most entertaining preview I've seen thus far. Maybe I consider it well-written because I agree with so many of the points. I wish I had been paying more attention to the Smackdown Mysterio-Rhodes feud, seems like that will be a blast. Love Del Rio. Can't believe John Morrison's year-long buildup led to a match involving Snooki. Please let Miz retain despite any antics between Cena and Rock. The blog writer referred to what is considered the best Wrestlemania ever, 17, in which Taker and HHH had their first mania matchup. For a reminder what that was all about, here's the Wikipedia summary (Test, Benoit, and Guerrero all fought within two back-to-back matches, and of course, are now all gone). Chime in, fans!

First effort already more readable than anything Witrado put together

Indications are that we will begin to see some formal minor league roster announcements as early as Thursday (perhaps not all on the same day) -- gee, it's not like there's a little something going on in Cincinnati that might hold our interest otherwise. So whether it's Toby, Eric, or myself -- or more likely one of our readers -- feel free to link to any formal notices you see here. Don't worry about the initial post format, we'll pretty that up with an edit later if need be. As you might know, we use the "Your 2011" threads to post and link to feature stories that are outside the scope of game activity covered in the Daily Link Report. Each feature story is then tied back to and linked to that player's Brewerfan Player Index page for future reference (check out Hunter Morris' page here, including article links towards the bottom of the page). All the links from the past two years should be "active", others from prior years may not be, as we had linked directly to the newspaper sites previously. These threads have become among the most popular for viewing here, and we look forward to kicking them off formally.

Indications are that we will begin to see some formal minor league roster announcements as early as Thursday (perhaps not all on the same day) -- gee, it's not like there's a little something going on in Cincinnati that might hold our interest otherwise. So whether it's Toby, Eric, or myself -- or more likely one of our readers -- feel free to link to any formal notices you see here. Don't worry about the initial post format, we'll pretty that up with an edit later if need be. As you might know, we use the "Your 2011" threads to post and link to feature stories that are outside the scope of game activity covered in the Daily Link Report. Each feature story is then tied back to and linked to that player's Brewerfan Player Index page for future reference (check out Hunter Morris' page here, including article links towards the bottom of the page). All the links from the past two years should be "active", others from prior years may not be, as we had linked directly to the newspaper sites previously. These threads have become among the most popular for viewing here, and we look forward to kicking them off formally.

Indications are that we will begin to see some formal minor league roster announcements as early as Thursday (perhaps not all on the same day) -- gee, it's not like there's a little something going on in Cincinnati that might hold our interest otherwise. So whether it's Toby, Eric, or myself -- or more likely one of our readers -- feel free to link to any formal notices you see here. Don't worry about the initial post format, we'll pretty that up with an edit later if need be. As you might know, we use the "Your 2011" threads to post and link to feature stories that are outside the scope of game activity covered in the Daily Link Report. Each feature story is then tied back to and linked to that player's Brewerfan Player Index page for future reference (check out Hunter Morris' page here, including article links towards the bottom of the page). All the links from the past two years should be "active", others from prior years may not be, as we had linked directly to the newspaper sites previously. These threads have become among the most popular for viewing here, and we look forward to kicking them off formally.

Indications are that we will begin to see some formal minor league roster announcements as early as Thursday (perhaps not all on the same day) -- gee, it's not like there's a little something going on in Cincinnati that might hold our interest otherwise. So whether it's Toby, Eric, or myself -- or more likely one of our readers -- feel free to link to any formal notices you see here. Don't worry about the initial post format, we'll pretty that up with an edit later if need be. As you might know, we use the "Your 2011" threads to post and link to feature stories that are outside the scope of game activity covered in the Daily Link Report. Each feature story is then tied back to and linked to that player's Brewerfan Player Index page for future reference (check out Hunter Morris' page here, including article links towards the bottom of the page). All the links from the past two years should be "active", others from prior years may not be, as we had linked directly to the newspaper sites previously. These threads have become among the most popular for viewing here, and we look forward to kicking them off formally.

Technically, this could kick off our "Your 2011 Brevard County Manatees" thread, but we'll place it here: Ex-Grissom, Auburn star Hunter Morris to begin season at Class A Brevard County By Mark McCarter, The Huntsville Times al.com HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- The hopes for a hometown player to begin the 2011 season with the Huntsville Stars ended Wednesday when Hunter Morris was assigned to the Milwaukee Brewers' Class A Brevard County team. Morris, a former Grissom High star and an All-SEC player at Auburn, will be in line for a likely promotion to Huntsville by mid-season, if not earlier, depending upon performance and need. He was the Brewers' fourth-round draft pick last year and is considered one of the Brewers' top prospects. However, he had only 71 games' pro experience last summer at a low-level Class A league, and a leap all the way to Class AA would have been almost unprecedented in the current Milwaukee system. Conventional wisdom is that the transition to Class AA ball is the most difficult in pro ball. "You've got to build on the positive, not on the negative, and give the player the opportunity to have success and move on," said Stars manager Mike Guerrero via phone from Maryvale, Ariz., the Stars' spring training headquarters. "You perform better when you feel good about yourself, and when you have success your mind works in a different way and your attitude is different. So every player that is having a good season, if you put them in a spot to have success, they grow and they have that swagger and they feel good about themselves. That's something I think he'll benefit from. He'll grow into it and we'll go from there." Morris batted .251 with nine homers and 44 RBI in 291 at-bats at Wisconsin, making the difficult transition from college and aluminum bats to the wooden bats of pro ball. His value has increased with his versatility, working at both third base and first base in spring training. Morris was selected by the Brewers' to play in the Arizona Fall League, for fast-track prospects, and had five at-bats with Milwaukee in Cactus League games. Guerrero will reveal his entire roster Thursday. One temporary addition will be catcher Jonathan Lucroy, the Brewers' catcher who began last season with the Stars before moving to the majors. He suffered a broken finger in spring training and will be rehabbing with the Stars in their season-opening series at Jacksonville that begins next Thursday. The Stars will travel to Brevard County next Monday, playing an exhibition game against the Class A club and working out at that facility before going to Jacksonville. The home opener is April 13 against Carolina. Hunter Morris, in file photo from his All-SEC days at Auburn http://media.al.com/sports_impact/photo/9436208-large.jpg

Video from Don Money and Rich Gale might help -- expect Caleb Gindl in CF, probably not a long-term home, but nice for future flexibility

Fenway Park 2002 Opening day after the First Patriots Super Bowl It'll be like that -- enjoy!

Good news from the Sounds for those who choose to invest inthe MiLB.TV package -- nice for friends / families of AAA players: Nashville will indeed be a part of MiLB.tv this season, beginning with our second homestand. We won’t have the full multi-camera, graphic-loaded TV broadcast capabilities of many of the newer parks in our league, but we will have a single camera, manned feed coupled with Stu’s audio as part of our coverage. It is our understanding that all 30 Triple-A clubs will indeed be on the MiLB.TV platform for the 2011 season. On the video front, look for a lot more self-produced videos from the Sounds this season. We’ll have a variety of things, from player featurettes to community involvement to fun at the ballpark to who knows?? Brewerfan readers will be most interested in the player stuff, of course. We’ll have all of them on our YouTube page (http://www.youtube.com/nashvillesounds) as they are released. There’s already an Ozzie video and a national anthem audition video up there.

Yeah, I get EI via Comcast and nine out of ten Brewer games I'll see will be non-HD. Sigh...

(I think it best if I withhold comment except to say they'll get folks to check it out -- initially, anyway.) Huntsville Press Release STARS TO WEBCAST HOME GAMES IN 2011 HUNTSVILLE, ALA. - The Huntsville Stars are gearing up for another fun and exciting season of baseball in the Rocket City! They're also ready for an exciting, new broadcast. The Stars will be replacing the traditional radio broadcast with a live web show for every home game. The webcast, "The Living Room Show", will bring a different level of entertainment to the ballpark, putting the broadcast in the hands, and seats, of fans. Ryan "Pokey" Hayden, a former voice of Troy University athletics, will host the show and keep things rolling. He'll also be in charge of calling the play-by-play, and it won't be from the press box. Hayden will be seated on a couch in the seating bowl, calling the game with the people who love it most: the fans. "I think 'The Living Room Show' is going to be something revolutionary to broadcasting. It will be something the fans can really look forward to along with the game itself," said Hayden. Hayden's co-host is to be determined, nightly. A different fan of the game will be given the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to call a few innings of Stars baseball for all 70 home games. They'll put the color in color commentary. Joining the two of them on the couch will be a variety of VIP guests. Stars GM Buck Rogers said, "We want to duplicate that feeling that you're sitting in the living room with your best friends, just hanging out watching some baseball. Minor League Baseball is all about having fun and I don't think the broadcast should be any different." To add to the unpredictability, the Stars are handing the webcast over to the females every Friday night for Pleasures Ladies Night. The host will be local radio personality and rabid baseball fan, Gracie Schroyer. "Baseball has been a passion of mine for many years and to have this opportunity to share my enthusiasm for such a wonderful sport with other women is truly an exciting adventure," Schroyer said. Interested fans can plead their case to join the broadcast in an email to livingroomshow@huntsvillestars.com. The webcast will be available on the Stars website, www.huntsvillestars.com, for home games only. The Stars open the 2011 season on the road at Jacksonville on Thursday, April 7. They return home to open at The Joe on Wednesday, April 13 against the Carolina Mudcats. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. for the Opening Day Oktoberfest celebration. For tickets and more information, call (256) 882-2562 or visit www.huntsvillestars.com!

3/30/11 WSSP - Davey Nelson talks about upcoming season

Yes, they were back-dated to the 22nd.