Jim Goulart

Link while active, text follows: Brewers’ offense silenced By AMBER KUEHN, Helena Independent Record Great Falls manager Chris Cron believes if the Pioneer League playoffs were to start today, his team could win a ring. Looking at the way the Voyagers pitching staff has dominated the Helena Brewers the past two nights, Cron might not be too off base. Great Falls pitchers worked the fastball effectively, pounded the strike zone and threw nasty breaking balls to beat the Brewers for the second straight night, 2-1, Thursday at Kindrick Legion Field. Helena now holds just a half-game lead over the Voyagers in the second-half standings, but caught a lucky break when Billings lost to Missoula in the first game of a doubleheader. The Brewers need to win the second half or finish with a better overall record than Billings to make the playoffs. It’s no secret how the Voyagers locked up their postseason berth by winning the first half—pitching. “It starts and ends with that. It’s everything when you go up against an offensive force like these guys have been,” Cron said of the Brewers. “They’ve been swinging the bat extremely well — then we come in here and have done an outstanding job limiting them to just one run. You’ve got to tip your hat to our kids, they’ve done a hell of a job pounding the strike zone.” The Brewers (38-31 overall, 19-12 second half) have gotten on the board just once in the past 18 innings against Great Falls, scoring in the fourth on an error by Voyagers third baseman Andy Wilkins. But from the fifth inning on, Helena had just two hits and would finish with only five in the contest. “Our pitching staff did a great job tonight keeping us in the game,” said Helena first baseman Mike Walker, the only Brewer with more than one hit. “If this one’s on anybody it’s probably on our offense.” Helena did play well defensively, working out of two bases-loaded jams, making several heads-up plays in the infield and striking out six Voyagers on the night. Still, the Brewers had three errors, including a throwing mishap by catcher Rafael Neda that plated what wound up being the winning run for Great Falls (41-27, 18-12). Steven Upchurch (4-2) earned the win for the Voyagers in his best outing of the year, striking out a season-high six and allowing just five hits and a run. Doug Murray and Jacob Wilson were perfect in relief, and the staff did not issue a walk in the contest. Brewers pitchers walked four. Stosh Wawrzasek (2-4) was handed the loss after giving up five hits and two runs through five innings while fanning four. The bullpen gave up just two hits the rest of the way, as Helena was able to keep Great Falls’ lead manageable thanks to a leaping catch by Carlos George and a nice back-handed scoop by Walker on balls that could’ve easily resulted in extra bases for the Voyagers. Great Falls struck first blood in the second inning, when Rafael Vera singled home Mike Blanke. It was the third straight hit for the Voyagers, who refuse to take any plays off despite having already guaranteed they will be playing past next Friday. “Everybody knows we’re already in the postseason, but you also want to go into the postseason with a little momentum,” Cron said. “I’m a big momentum guy. You’re in it, you might as well win it.” The Brewers would like to extend their season as well, but most of the players realize it’s going to take an all-around effort to do so. “Obviously it’s really important this part of the season to be able to beat anybody,” Walker said. “Unfortunately we haven’t been able to score too many runs the last two nights.”

Not quite the typical Florida State League crowd, but on some days, not too far off: Only about 75 fans showed up Wednesday when the Tampa Yankees took on the Brevard County Manatees at Steinbrenner Field. The New York Yankees may sell their Class A Tampa Yankees affiliate to a group of Orlando investors, a move that could move the minor-league team to Orlando. http://www2.tbo.com/exposure/ar/659/372/2010/09/02/66045_steinbrenner-field.jpg Story -- it would bring a team closer to the Manatees to help out with travel, but that's about it from a Brewer perspective...

PDF document: Huntsville Media Notes *** Rattler Radio Blog Media notes and more...

Similar to the Max St. Pierre story, Braves catcher J.C. Boscan, who spent an un-inspiring 2006 season in the Brewers' chain -- After 14 years, Boscan gets called to Majors -- Following 976 Minor League games, catcher joins Braves

PDF document: Nashville Media Notes The Sounds are officially eliminated from playoff contention

PCL American North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Iowa 80 59 .576 - - 37-31 43-28 6-4 W4 Memphis 79 60 .568 1.0 5 47-26 32-34 8-2 W1 Omaha 77 62 .554 3.0 3 39-32 38-30 6-4 W3 Nashville 73 65 .529 6.5 E 39-31 34-34 7-3 L1 SOU North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak *# Tennessee 41 24 .631 - - 25-10 16-14 6-4 W1 Huntsville 32 32 .500 8.5 E 18-13 14-19 4-6 W1 Chattanooga 32 33 .492 9.0 E 16-19 16-14 6-4 W2 West Tenn 29 36 .446 12.0 E 16-14 13-22 4-6 L1 Carolina 27 36 .429 13.0 E 12-18 15-18 4-6 L1 FSL North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Tampa 40 23 .635 - - 20-10 20-13 6-4 L1 Daytona 39 26 .600 2.0 4 22-11 17-15 6-4 W2 Brevard County 35 31 .530 6.5 E 18-17 17-14 3-7 W1 Lakeland 32 32 .500 8.5 E 15-12 17-20 5-5 W1 Clearwater 29 36 .446 12.0 E 16-16 13-20 5-5 L2 * Dunedin 28 37 .431 13.0 E 15-19 13-18 5-5 L1 MID Western Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Quad Cities 40 24 .625 - - 14-15 26-9 5-5 W3 Clinton 36 29 .554 4.5 - 20-14 16-15 5-5 L2 Kane County 35 29 .547 5.0 5 18-12 17-17 6-4 W1 Beloit 33 29 .532 6.0 3 18-14 15-15 6-4 W1 * Cedar Rapids 34 31 .523 6.5 4 18-14 16-17 3-7 W1 Peoria 31 32 .492 8.5 1 18-16 13-16 6-4 L1 Wisconsin 31 34 .477 9.5 1 17-16 14-18 6-4 L1 Burlington 21 41 .339 18.0 E 14-17 7-24 3-7 L1 PIO North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Helena 19 11 .633 - - 8-7 11-4 9-1 L1 * Great Falls 17 12 .586 1.5 8 10-4 7-8 8-2 W3 Billings 14 14 .500 4.0 5 8-6 6-8 5-5 L2 Missoula 11 18 .379 7.5 2 6-8 5-10 2-8 L5 AZL Central Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak # AZL Brewers 34 22 .607 - - 13-12 12-10 3-6 W1 & AZL Reds 31 24 .564 2.5 E 12-8 14-9 8-2 W6 AZL Dodgers 30 25 .545 3.5 E 12-11 13-8 5-5 L1 AZL Indians 21 35 .375 13.0 E 8-14 10-13 2-8 L2 DSL S.D. North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak # DSL Mariners 43 28 .606 - - 23-13 20-15 7-3 L1 DSL Cardinals 39 32 .549 4.0 E 24-11 15-21 5-5 L2 DSL Athletics 32 39 .451 11.0 E 17-19 15-20 6-4 W2 DSL Brewers 28 43 .394 15.0 E 17-18 11-25 3-7 W1

Follow Thursday's action as it happens: Here's what you do, right click on each of the links below and choose "Open in New Tab or New Window". Choose "Recap". While you're listening to your minor league game of choice (or watching/listening to the big league Crew when they are playing), simply refresh your game log browsers every so often. Nashville Game One (Gameday also available) Nashville Game Two (Gameday also available) Huntsville (Gameday also available) Brevard County Wisconsin Helena

Thursday night's game wraps up the TV viewing schedule for locals with access to Time Warner Cable Sports 32 -- Fire Up the DVR's! Minor League Baseball: Quad Cities River Bandits @ Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Thursday, September 2: 6:30-9:30 pm LIVE Rebroadcasts -- Friday, September 3: 1-4 pm Saturday, September 4: 12-3 pm Sunday, September 5: 3-6 pm

Nashville's doubleheader in Oklahoma City is available for subscription viewing via MiLB.TV.

Thursday's Daily Menu: Times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: RHP Marty McLeary and LHP Sam Narron in a doubleheader at Oklahoma City (Rangers), 1:50 PM pre-game; 2:05 gametime -- each contest slated for seven innings Live Audio Link Huntsville: RHP Amaury Rivas at Montgomery (Rays), 6:50 PM pre-game; 7:05 gametime Live Audio Link Brevard County: LHP Mike Ramlow at Tampa (Yankees); 6:00 PM gametime Sorry, no audio for this series... Wisconsin: LHP Del Howell at home vs. Quad Cities (Cardinals), 6:15 PM pre-game; 6:35 gametime Live Audio Link Helena: RHP Stosh Wawrzasek at home vs. Great Falls (White Sox), 7:50 PM pre-game; 8:05 gametime Live Audio Link Arizona Rookie (Maryvale): Season complete -- League Champions! DSL Brewers: Season complete

http://www.brewerfan.net/images/store/dailylinkreport.jpg

Somebody just beat you to the news in this detailed post, so closing this thread...but thanks!

With power being such a valuable commodity these days, it's hard to see Katin being completely passed over in Rule 5 if he's not added to the 40-man roster. 29 other teams, somebody would have to take a shot, right?

A Brewerfan reader who was in Montgomery last night wrote us -- he was sitting behind the Huntsville pitchers charting with the gun. Mark Rogers was consistently between 97 and 99. He was throwing extremely hard, and apparently even the pitchers keeping the gun and pitch count were excited. At one point, Rogers had a string of about five pitches at 99 and then jumped to 101 for three pitches. That's right, folks -- 101.

Brevard's Matt Cline just needs to have a strong weekend to net two nice milestones -- he's hitting .299 and his OBP is .399 (stats page). His teammate Erik Komatsu (stats) appears to have those areas covered nicely (stats).

Audio calls from Huntsville's game -- De La Rosa double (2-0) - Lawrie double (3-0) - Gindl double (4-0) - Anderson error (5-0) - Lawrie single (6-1) - Gindl double (7-1) - Wheeler homer (9-1) - Nowak homer (10-1)

Voyagers shut out Brewers, snap win streak Helena Independent Record The Great Falls Voyagers already assured themselves a spot in the Pioneer League playoffs when they won the North’s first-half title. But that didn’t stop them from taking any plays off Wednesday night, as the Voyagers shut out the Helena Brewers 2-0 at Kindrick Legion Field to snap the hosts’ nine-game winning streak. The Great Falls pitching staff dominated this one, striking out 13 on what has been a hot Brewers offense as of late. Paul Burnside got the start and the win Wednesday—his sixth victory of the season—after allowing just three hits and fanning eight through six innings. Helena had just one hit the rest of the way, off reliever Addison Reed. “We’ve been on a hot streak lately, so a night like this was bound to happen,” said Helena skipper Joe Ayrault. “Our bats were quiet and (Burnside’s) got good stuff. All three of their pitchers threw the ball very well tonight.” Helena starter Tyler Cravy (6-6) also had a solid night on the mound in the pitchers’ duel but was tagged with the loss. Cravy gave up just six hits and two earned runs, and Rob Currie gave up just one hit in relief. The Brewers brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth, after closer Stephen McCray issued a two-out walk to Helena catcher Rafael Neda. Brandon Sizemore stepped up to the plate but quickly fell behind in the count, 0-2, after he ripped a hanging breaking ball foul. He then struck out on the next pitch, also a breaking ball, an ending representitive of how the Brewers’ night had gone. Helena (19-11) is still in the driver’s seat for a playoff spot but the race is far from over. If Great Falls overtakes the Brewers in the second-half standings, the postseason spot will go to the team with the best overall record—a battle Billings can still win. DIAMOND NOTE: Six players were promoted to Helena a night after winning the Arizona League Championship in low rookie ball: 2B Nick Shaw, OF Kenny Allison, C Tyler Roberts, and pitchers Charly Bashara, Jose Sanchez and rehabbing Milwaukee 40-man roster player Alex Periard. All photos by Dylan Brown, Helena Independent Record Brewers' second baseman Greg Hopkins tags out Great Falls' Ross Wilson Wednesday night at Kindrick Legion Field. http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/helenair.com/content/tncms/assets/editorial/3/ed/b13/3edb1334-b643-11df-a48f-001cc4c002e0-revisions/4c7f1bb63396d.image.jpg Brewers' catcher Brent Dean guards the plate before catching the ball and tagging out Great Falls' Kyle Davis. http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/helenair.com/content/tncms/assets/editorial/1/ee/965/1ee9659e-b643-11df-82d7-001cc4c002e0-revisions/4c7f1b812e4d5.image.jpg

Post-Crescent: Wisconsin trailed 2-1 when Nick Bucci departed after six innings and the game quickly spun out of control following his exit. Quad Cities roughed up reliever Maverick Lasker in a three-run eighth, drilling five consecutive hits off him, including Fred Parejo's two-run double. The Bandits added a final run in the ninth off Santo Manzanillo. A night after pushing across a season-high 16 runs, Wisconsin managed just a single run and was shaky in the field with three errors. "We didn't get the big hit when we needed it and a couple of those errors were costly," said Manager Jeff Isom. "One of them cost us a run and without that, it might have been a different game." Scooter Gennett of the Timber Rattlers is late with the tag on a steal of second by the River Bandits' Michael Swinson in Grand Chute on Wednesday. (Post-Crescent photo by Wm. Glasheen) http://cmsimg.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=U0&Date=20100902&Category=APC021102&ArtNo=9020675&Ref=AR&Profile=1019&MaxW=550&MaxH=650&title=0

Link while active, text follows: Despite loss to Quad Cities, Bucci impresses Timber Rattlers with his aggressive style By Tim Froberg, Post-Crescent Staff Writer GRAND CHUTE — Nick Bucci's on-the-mound mentality is like a shark at feeding time. It's a go-right-after-them type of game plan. Bucci's aggressiveness has made him one of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers' best starting pitchers and a legitimate major league prospect. It's also an area he has to learn to channel to continue climbing in the Milwaukee Brewers' organization. The 20-year-old right-hander kept the Timber Rattlers in Wednesday's game with Quad Cities by allowing just two hits and one earned run with four strikeouts in six solid innings of work. His only negative was five walks, which pushed his season total to 65 — the highest on the staff. "Nick is super-aggressive and that's a positive and a negative," said Wisconsin pitching coach Chris Hook after the Rattlers' bullpen crumbled in the late innings leading to a 6-1 loss to Quad Cities. "He's in an attack mode at all times. Sometimes that attack mode gets him off-kilter in terms of his delivery and his command suffers. But you have to like that aggressiveness. If he can learn to control his intensity, he's going to be fine. He's had a good year." Indeed he has. Bucci, rated by Baseball America as the 29th best prospect in the organization, is second on the staff in strikeouts (96) and has compiled a 5-6 record with a 3.72 earned run average. He was named the Brewers' minor-league player of the month for May after going 3-1 with a 1.13 ERA in five starts. "I feel I've had a respectable year," said Bucci. "I've definitely got a lot to work on to become a big leaguer and I'm going to the instructional league in a couple weeks to work on my stuff. I got into a little trouble with walks tonight, but fortunately they didn't hurt me. I was able to execute some pitches when I needed to." Bucci, a native of Canada who was Milwaukee's 18th round pick in the 2008 major league draft, throws a fastball that tops out at about 92 mph along with a change-up and what manager Jeff Isom calls an "improving" curveball. "Bucci threw the ball very well," said Isom. "He used all his pitches and kept them off balance. He's done a real good job all season. What he needs to work on is locating his fastball and eliminating those walks. When he gets ahead of hitters, he's a completely different pitcher than when he's behind in the count. He's pretty tough when he's pounding that strike zone."

Please be patient on discussing Rule 5 protection possibilities. That will involve a list of players still under Brewer control for 2011, so it will be a separate thread from this one, and the players listed above won't cross over to that list. We'll have that thread out for you early next week, perhaps even several days earlier, if all goes as we plan.

Please be patient on discussing Rule 5 protection possibilities. That will involve a list of players still under Brewer control for 2011, so it will be a separate thread from this one, and the players listed above won't cross over to that list. We'll have that thread out for you early next week, perhaps even several days earlier, if all goes as we plan.

As for the other potential free agents, you'd have to think that catcher Martin Maldonado will be offered a deal to come back, but probably not a 40-man roster spot, so it will be Maldonado's call, and he could be in some demand in the open market. He only turned 24 last month. The Brewers did really well, as we've noted often in the Link Reports, with their veteran 2010 AAA signings / acquisitions. Kudos to guys like Adam Stern, Erick Almonte, Norris Hopper, Ray Olmedo, Sam Narron and others. Don't forget the Trent Oeltjen's of the world, either. Yes, Kameron Loe, too, lest we forget. It was from this type of free agent group that Adam Heether netted his 40-man roster spot last fall. While we may see players (like Maldonado) offered minor league deals to stay on, there probably won't be a Heether-like addition fom the above list this fall. A return of Tim Dillard to the 40-man, I imagine, remains a possibility though, doesn't it? But likely not...debate away.

As for the other potential free agents, you'd have to think that catcher Martin Maldonado will be offered a deal to come back, but probably not a 40-man roster spot, so it will be Maldonado's call, and he could be in some demand in the open market. He only turned 24 last month. The Brewers did really well, as we've noted often in the Link Reports, with their veteran 2010 AAA signings / acquisitions. Kudos to guys like Adam Stern, Erick Almonte, Norris Hopper, Ray Olmedo, Sam Narron and others. Don't forget the Trent Oeltjen's of the world, either. Yes, Kameron Loe, too, lest we forget. It was from this type of free agent group that Adam Heether netted his 40-man roster spot last fall. While we may see players (like Maldonado) offered minor league deals to stay on, there probably won't be a Heether-like addition fom the above list this fall. A return of Tim Dillard to the 40-man, I imagine, remains a possibility though, doesn't it? But likely not...debate away.

Amazingly, Angel Salome (a Brewer since 2004) is soon to be a free agent. Makes his decisions of 2010 all the more maddening. Robert Hinton's plus slider never translated to a 40-man roster spot, so he can now abdicate his Mayor of Huntsville honor, like Derek Lee before him. David Johnson has been almost as anonymous as his common name, but should be able to find affiliated work in 2011. I think it's important we say thanks separately to those gentleman (plus Tim Dillard and Anderson de La Rosa). De La Rosa could continue either his playing or coaching career with the Brewers, or both. He just turned 26 years old last month.

Amazingly, Angel Salome (a Brewer since 2004) is soon to be a free agent. Makes his decisions of 2010 all the more maddening. Robert Hinton's plus slider never translated to a 40-man roster spot, so he can now abdicate his Mayor of Huntsville honor, like Derek Lee before him. David Johnson has been almost as anonymous as his common name, but should be able to find affiliated work in 2011. I think it's important we say thanks separately to those gentleman (plus Tim Dillard and Anderson de La Rosa). De La Rosa could continue either his playing or coaching career with the Brewers, or both. He just turned 26 years old last month.