Jim Goulart

July 7 - Chat with Brewers Minor League Pitching Coordinator Lee Tunnell The discussion doesn't open any eyes in a truly insightful way, because the focus, as is understandable with a Nashville broadcast, isn't on the lower levels. Tunnell mentions Mark Rogers as an All-Star, apparently he didn't get the Michael Bowman memo http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif.

The Southern League is only a ten-team league, and its All-Star game is in-house, so it's not like some of the other All-Star games that go league vs. league. So five squads squeeze into one. They also play their ASG later than most, which makes little sense since the best AA players tend to get promoted pror to mid-July. The rosters get pretty watered down. You can understand the effort to give Huntsville another player (pitcher) as the host team this year. Michael Bowman over Mark Rogers makes little sense here, and that's overlooking the other four North Division squad candidates. Heck, they could have rewarded Donovan Hand for his relief efforts and that would have been fair. Congrats to Michael, though Mike Guerrero was reaching for the right words in offering his good wishes.

Rattler Radio: July 7, 2010: Starting Lineup Kentrail Davis idle (again) July 7, 2010: Tonight's Starting Pitcher July 7, 2010: Game Notes Be sure to read the Scooter! section, what a season

PDF Document: Nashville Media Notes

"Getting to Know" series -- catcher Ben Johnson (everyone thought Zach Braddock was the most intense teammate, it seems)

Some Huntsville highlights in this Knoxville news report...

Final: Huntsville 8, Chattanooga (Dodgers) 2 Stars overpower Lookouts By Aaron Morse, Huntsville Stars Steffan Wilson delivered a two-out three-run home run in the sixth as the Huntsville Stars (8-8, 41-45) took the lead for good in an 8-2 victory over the Chattanooga Lookouts (9-7, 42-23) Wednesday morning. The victory made a winner out of Michael Fiers (1-0) in his Double A debut. The right-hander went six innings, scattering six hits as he gave up two runs. Fiers walked two and struck-out five in the victory. The Stars put a run across against Chattanooga starter Bobby Blevins in the third. With one away, Brett Lawrie drew a walk. Caleb Gindl singled to right and the aggressive Lawrie advanced to third on the play. That set up Drew Anderson nicely and he came through with a sacrifice fly to center. The Lookouts took the lead back in the bottom of the frame. With two out and a man on first, Jerry Sands singled to left. After Corey Smith was hit by a pitch, loading the bases, Andrew Lambo singled to right, driving in two runs and giving Chattanooga the 2-1 edge. Their lead lasted until the fateful sixth inning. Gindl got things going with a single to right. One out later Zelous Wheeler was hit by a pitch. That would be it for Blevins (1-1), who went 5.1 innings, giving up three runs on four hits. He walked one and struck-out seven. New pitcher David Pfeiffer got Taylor Green to pop out, but Wilson stepped to the plate and on a 1-1 pitch crushed a ball up in the zone way out of the yard in deep left field to give the Stars a 4-2 lead. It was Wilson’s sixth homer of the 2010 campaign. They’d do more damage in the eighth and ninth. With one on and one away in the eighth, Green took Pfeiffer deep to dead center field for his fourth bomb of the year. Then in the ninth, they got two runs off reliever Justin Miller thanks to a RBI double by Anderson and an RBI single off the bat of Green. Meanwhile the Stars’ bullpen was as strong as ever. Robert Hinton worked two scoreless innings and Donovan Hand finished things off with a solid ninth inning to preserve the win. The Lookouts left 11 runners on base as the Stars were able to get the outs when they needed to. Green, Wheeler, and Gindl tallied multi-hit games while Lawrie and Wheeler each scored two runs. Green and Wilson had three RBI apiece, and Anderson knocked in two. The victory moves the Stars to within one game of first place in the Southern League standings. They’ll look to win their fourth straight Thursday evening as they send Michael Bowman (7-7, 5.82) to the mound to face Brent Leach (3-1, 5.75). You can catch all the action on the Stars Radio Network beginning at 6:00 PM central time with the Window World Pre-Game Report. Huntsville Box Score Michael Fiers doing exactly what someone who made their pro debut right around their 24th birthday (last year) should do, make up for lost time; Robert Hinton and Donovan Hand workhorses out of the Stars' pen; Aaron covered it nicely in his offensive summary above... Huntsville Game Log

Nice win for a suddenly very impressive Stars squad, 8-2. Details a bit later, but a nice sight was Taylor Green taking a side-arming lefty deep cutting across the wind for a home run. Multiple sweet performances today, another hot weather day game, a day after traveling from Knoxville to Chattanooga for the start of a new series.

8th round RHP Austin Ross, the Brewers 8th round pick out of LSU, has been transferred from Maryvale to Helena, where he should make his pro debut some time this week. Ever since he signed, the Brewers have referred to him online on MiLB.com as "Cody" Ross, a nickname we haven't seen referenced from his LSU days, so they'll clean that up eventually. It's obviously not the Marlins' outfielder.

Stars up, 4-2 in the 6th -- unfortunately, the Stars audio was chugging along all day and then became unavailable just prior to Steffan Wilson's clutch two-out three-run home run a short time ago. Hopefully the audio's back up again soon, as Chattanooga does not appear to be offering audio for this early day game.

Patrick Arlis joins the Stars, as Anderson de la Rosa remains in Nashville with Ben Johnson.

That only leaves Dayton Buller in Huntsville behind the plate, so expect one of the three Nashville catchers to drop down today.

MLB.com: Class A Wisconsin right-hander Maverick Lasker and Double-A Huntsville second baseman Brett Lawrie were selected as Milwaukee's Minor League Pitcher and Player of the Month for June. Congrats!

PDF Document: Huntsville Media Notes

PCL American North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Memphis 47 38 .553 - - 24-16 23-22 7-3 W1 Nashville 45 38 .542 1.0 60 23-18 22-20 6-4 W1 Omaha 44 39 .530 2.0 59 20-20 24-19 4-6 W1 Iowa 44 40 .524 2.5 58 23-23 21-17 4-6 L2 SOU North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Chattanooga 9 6 .600 - - 6-3 3-3 5-5 L2 Carolina 8 7 .533 1.0 55 4-2 4-5 7-3 W2 * Tennessee 8 7 .533 1.0 55 5-4 3-3 4-6 L2 Huntsville 7 8 .467 2.0 54 3-3 4-5 5-5 W2 West Tenn 5 10 .333 4.0 52 3-3 2-7 3-7 L5 FSL North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Tampa 8 2 .800 - - 4-1 4-1 8-2 W1 Daytona 8 4 .667 1.0 59 5-0 3-4 7-3 W3 * Dunedin 6 6 .500 3.0 57 3-3 3-3 5-5 W2 Clearwater 6 7 .462 3.5 56 5-1 1-6 5-5 L3 Brevard County 5 7 .417 4.0 56 4-4 1-3 4-6 L1 Lakeland 2 9 .182 6.5 54 1-4 1-5 1-9 L2 MID Western Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Clinton 7 4 .636 - - 4-2 3-2 7-3 W2 Quad Cities 7 4 .636 - - 3-2 4-2 7-3 W1 * Cedar Rapids 7 5 .583 0.5 59 4-2 3-3 6-4 W2 Burlington 6 5 .545 1.0 59 5-1 1-4 6-4 L1 Kane County 6 6 .500 1.5 58 4-2 2-4 5-5 W2 Beloit 5 7 .417 2.5 57 3-3 2-4 4-6 L2 Wisconsin 5 7 .417 2.5 57 4-2 1-5 3-7 L2 Peoria 3 8 .273 4.0 56 1-4 2-4 2-8 L4 PIO North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Helena 11 5 .688 - - 6-1 5-4 6-4 W1 Great Falls 9 7 .563 2.0 21 4-5 5-2 5-5 L1 Billings 6 10 .375 5.0 18 2-4 4-6 5-5 W1 Missoula 6 10 .375 5.0 18 5-5 1-5 4-6 L1 AZL Central Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak AZL Brewers 10 3 .769 - - 0-0 0-0 0-0 W1 AZL Dodgers 7 6 .538 3.0 41 0-0 0-0 0-0 W1 AZL Reds 6 7 .462 4.0 40 0-0 0-0 0-0 L1 AZL Indians 3 10 .231 7.0 37 0-0 0-0 0-0 L4 DSL S.D. North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak DSL Cardinals 19 14 .576 - - 15-2 4-12 6-4 W1 DSL Mariners 18 15 .545 1.0 39 12-5 6-10 6-4 W4 DSL Brewers 15 18 .455 4.0 36 11-5 4-13 6-4 L1 DSL Athletics 14 19 .424 5.0 35 8-8 6-11 2-8 L7

Follow Wednesday'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 Arizona Rookie (Maryvale) DSL Brewers

Nashville diehards can view the entire series in Oklahoma City (if they ever play) via a subscription to MiLB.TV.

Wednesday's Daily Menu: Times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: LHP Chris Waters and RHP Marty McLeary in a doubleheader at Oklahoma City (Rangers), 4:50 PM pre-game; 5:05 gametime Live Audio Link Huntsville: RHP Michael Fiers at Chattanooga (Dodgers), 10:00 AM pre-game; 10:15 gametime Live Audio Link Brevard County: TBD at home vs. Dunedin (Blue Jays), 6:05 PM gametime Sorry, no audio for this series... Wisconsin: LHP Del Howell at Beloit (Twins), 6:40 PM pre-game; 7:00 gametime Live Audio Link Helena: RHP Hiram Burgos at home vs. Great Falls (White Sox), 7:50 PM pre-game; 8:05 gametime Live Audio Link Arizona Rookie (Maryvale): at the Cubs' complex in Mesa; 9:00 PM; never audio for games in this league DSL Brewers: at home vs. the DSL Mariners, 9:30 AM

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Link while active, text follows: Brewers take down Osprey, 7-4; Hawn drives in three By MICHAEL HEINBACH of the Missoulian The Pioneer League North Division-leading Helena Brewers closed out their four-game series with the Missoula Osprey with a 7-4 victory Tuesday over the O's at Ogren-Allegiance Park. The Brewers scored three times off Missoula starter Patrick Schuster in the top of the first, highlighted by a two-run homer off the bat of designated hitter Cody Hawn. Helena scored twice more in the sixth and a final run in the ninth to earn the series split with the Osprey and move to 11-5. Schuster, who began the evening second in the PBL among starting pitchers with a 1.69 ERA and on a streak of 5 1-3 scoreless innings pitched, took the loss. The 13th-round selection in the 2009 draft fell to 2-1 after throwing five innings of six-hit ball. Schuster allowed four runs and five walks while fanning four. Osprey first baseman Bobby Stone, who was 2 for 4 with a pair of singles, believes splitting a four-game homestand with the division leaders is something for the Osprey to build on. "Overall, Helena is in first place and we got the split with them," Stone said. "That's not exactly what we wanted, but we're not going to complain. We battled pretty well with a very good team this series after getting swept by them to open the season." Brewers starting pitcher Tyler Cravy, who threw a solid 5 2-3 innings in Helena against the Osprey in the season opener June 21, got the win to move to 2-1. He went 5 1-3, allowing a pair of runs on two hits. Like Schuster, he walked five and fanned four. Hawn finished 1 for 4 with three RBIs to pace the Brewers, who pounded out 10 hits against three Osprey hurlers. Shortstop Shea Vucinich was 2 for 4 with a double for Helena. Missoula, which slipped to 6-10, four games back of the Brewers, was led by shortstop Raul Navarro. He was 2 for 4 with an RBI. Catcher Richie Rowland, third baseman Eric Groff and second baseman Antonio Sepulveda each had an RBI for the O's. Missoula manager Hector De La Cruz was ejected in the top of the seventh after arguing that Helena first baseman Brandon Sizemore's double down the third-base line was foul. "I was at first all the way across the field," Stone said. "It looked foul to me, but I'm not going to fault the ump because it really happened so fast." Putting his neck on the line for his team, down 6-2 late in the game, is an example of why the Osprey love playing for De La Cruz. "Anything Hector does has a point to it," Rowland said. "Just to play for a coach that will stick up for his players and fight for every last breath the way he did tonight, you just got to love it. I love playing for the guy." De La Cruz received a standing ovation from the 2,771 in attendance after he was sent packing by home-plate umpire Nate White.

Not sure you realized you copied and pasted this, TC07, but the Missoulian has more details -- Helena Top 1st [li]Reggie Keen grounds out, second baseman Antonio Sepulveda to first baseman Bobby Stone. Shea Vucinich doubles (5) on a line drive to left fielder Roberto Rodriguez. Cody Hawn homers (3) on a fly ball to right field. Shea Vucinich scores. Gregory Hopkins walks. With John Dishon batting, Gregory Hopkins steals (1) 2nd base. Offensive Substitution: Pinch runner Connor Lind replaces Gregory Hopkins. Helena Brewers third baseman Gregory Hopkins left the game due to an injured head. [/li] Helena starting second baseman Greg Hopkins left the game after sliding into Sepulveda while stealing second base in the top of the first. Hopkins appeared to take a forearm from Sepulveda to his head and looked unsteady as he was helped off the field and replaced by Connor Lind. And thus goes a decent Beat the Streak set for me...get well, Greg.

Hey Manager Bob Miscik, how about flashing the red light in Matt Cline's direction at Brevard. Cline is negating his .401 OBP with a hideous 8-for-19 SB rate in 2010. I guess it's not 2008 in West Virginia any more, Matt, when you were 15-for-17.

Tampa Top 3rd Ramon Flores grounds out, second baseman Steve Braun to first baseman Sean Halton. Ryan Baker walks. Raymond Kruml pops into double play, shortstop Matt Cline to first baseman Sean Halton. Ryan Baker doubled off 1st. (runner was in motion on the pitch) That's the action you get to see as Stephen C. Smith's site provides video of Lacrosse, Wisconsin RHP R.J. Seidel works with catcher Michael Roberts in game two of the July 5th doubleheader against the Tampa Yankees.

Link while active, text follows: Nashville Sounds hit gold in Canada Olympian Adam Stern leads group of 5 By Bryan Mullen, THE TENNESSEAN Adam Stern was 11 years old and living in Ontario when he began playing baseball. Some of his friends saw this as sacrilege. Baseball? In hockey-crazed Canada? He might as well have punched Wayne Gretzky in the face. "Everyone asked why I didn't play hockey," said Stern, 30, an outfielder with the Nashville Sounds. "Everything revolves around hockey up there, and I just took a liking to baseball. If I wanted to go out in the backyard with my dad, it was to play catch. It wasn't shooting the puck around." Stern should feel right at home playing in the Milwaukee Brewers organization. The Sounds opened the season with five Canadian players on the spring training roster, and that was no coincidence. The Brewers are one of a handful of Major League Baseball organizations that have hit Canada hard for years. The main reason is Gord Ash, who serves as the Brewers' vice president and assistant general manager. He was born in Toronto, was the highly-successful general manager for the Toronto Blue Jays from 1995-2001 and was the assistant GM when the team won the World Series title in 1992. "Baseball has been played in Canada for a long time, but it wasn't played at an elite level," Ash said. "The coaching wasn't that good, and it was more recreational. It was what hockey players played to separate the seasons." Once the Montreal Expos and Blue Jays began making an impact, things slowly began to change. In the late 1980s and 1990s, a few stars began trickling into the big leagues from Canada, most notably outfielder Larry Walker. Other teams began to take notice. During the past 10 to 20 years, teams like the Mariners and Twins began to target Canadian players, and Ash began to see serious interest in players he once only knew about. "We still have one of the larger groups of Canadian players, and in the last three or four years, we've had the most (Canadian) players drafted in the amateur draft," Ash said. "But it is now getting to be a crowded market place." Teams that have targeted Canadian players are seeing good results. Players such as Minnesota's Justin Morneau, Cincinnati's Joey Votto and Colorado's Jeff Francis have become familiar major-league names. "When the coaching improved in Canada, some of the athletes that maybe specialized in hockey then spent more time playing baseball," Ash said. "As a result, you had some better players. I can't say it's very deep. There's not an abundance of players, but the ones who are there are very focused on the game." The country's biggest win in several years came in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. During that event, Team Canada beat Team USA. "It was a huge stepping stone for Canada baseball as far as putting us on the map and letting people know we're not just hockey players up there," said Stern, who played for Team Canada. "There's some really good talent, and a lot of guys coming through the system. Last year there were 17 or 18 in the big leagues." The other four Canadian Sounds were pitchers John Axford and Jim Henderson, and infielders Taylor Green and Brett Lawrie. Stern said younger players in Canada have it much better than when he started. When he was 11, he played for a small team in a loosely run organization, competing in about 20 games. A few years later he played for a travel team. Then, at age 18, he and his family drove two hours to Toronto to play for a more widely known team. "That was to give me the exposure," Stern said. "That was when I got serious." Stern played for Nebraska and was drafted by the Braves in the third round of the 2001 draft. Still, it is admittedly difficult to get hockey out of a Canadians' blood. Ash was an investor for a group that purchased the Milwaukee Admirals in 2005. The Admirals are the top-level affiliate of the Nashville Predators. And Stern still likes to check out a Predators game, if time permits. "We wanted to get to the Predators playoffs games, but the timing was bad," Stern said. "We were on the road when they were home. It's the bond all the Canadian players have." Sounds outfielder Adam Stern played for Canada during the 2008 Olympics. The Sounds opened the season with five Canadian players on their spring training roster. Photo by SANFORD MYERS / THE TENNESSEAN http://cmsimg.tennessean.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=DN&Date=20100707&Category=SPORTS0401&ArtNo=7070367&Ref=AR&Profile=2073&MaxW=550&MaxH=650&title=0

July 5th - Stu's Nashville Chat with SS Luis Cruz, the new dad, so it's actually Luis Cruz, Sr. July 6th - Stu's Nashville Chat with RH reliever David Johnson