Jim Goulart

by Jill Cacic Director of Media Relations, Huntsville Stars HUNTSVILLE, AL - Huntsville Stars (15-13) second baseman Brett Lawrie went 4-for-4 on the night but never touched homeplate in a 5-2 loss to the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx (14-13) Thursday night at Joe Davis Stadium. Lawrie extended his current hitting streak to seven games while right fielder Caleb Gindl ended his five game home hitting streak. Gindl was 0-for-5 on the night with three strikeouts, completely uncharacteristic for the usually hot-hitting outfielder. The Stars offense compiled nine hits, with third baseman Zelous Wheeler, first baseman Chris Errecart, left fielder Brent Brewer, catcher Martin Maldonado, Lawrie and Gindl all pitching in. They only managed to score two runs however, both in the bottom of the seventh. The Stars trademark aggressive base running was back tonight as Lawrie swiped a bag, brining his season total to six. The Stars defense did not commit an error tonight, something they've accomplished only nine other times this year. Stars' starter Amaury Rivas (4-1) got pegged with the loss after having an off night on the mound. He went 4 1/3 innings giving up five runs on ten hits. Prior to tonight, Rivas had given up a total of 15 hits and four runs in five starts. His ERA rose to 2.10. Relievers Mike McClendon, Jim Henderson and Brandon Kintzler combined to pitch the final 4 2/3 innings. They gave up two hits and walked three. Kintzler was lights-out again tonight, throwing 1 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out one. The Diamond Jaxx starting line-up combined for 12 hits on the night, with everyone except right fielder Joe Dunigan and second baseman Jeff Dominguez getting a hit. They only struck out four times, compared to the Stars' 13. West Tenn starter Dan Cortes (3-1) went six innings, giving up the two Huntsville runs on six hits. The Diamond Jaxx and Stars face off again tomorrow at 7:00 PM for game four of the five-game series. Alex Periard (1-2) will be taking the mound for the Stars.

You really can't overstate what Huntsville's closer, Brandon Kintzler, has done so far in 2010. Thursday night, he came in with two out and the bases loaded in the 8th, and stranded Jim Henderson's three baserunners by retiring highly-regarded Mariners' 21-year-old third baseman Alex Liddi on an opposite field flyout. In 11.2 innings, Kintzler has allowed four base hits, walked none, and struck out 13. Left-handed batters, brought up to face Kintzler in the late-inning situations he's thriving in, are 0-for-22 on the season against Brandon, a right-handed pitcher. Just the fact that he was tabbed as the closer coming out of minor league spring training indicates the Brewers liked him from the start this spring. So, like undrafted Joe Thatcher, and like Yankee castoff John Axford, Kintzler, the independent league signee and former Padre farmhand proves that no transaction is insignificant. Now if only the David Riske and LaTroy Hawkins multi-year contracts at big money were insignificant...

Brian and Bill were discussing Cain's potential call-up without nary a mention of his injury status on last night's broadcast. I know we're a tiny piece of kelp in a huge Brewer-related internet ocean, but we have been detailing the minor league action for nine full years now. I'm not expecting these guys to know who the back-end of the 3rd tandem is with Wisconsin, but to think they can't invest five minutes of their day to follow us, a la a dedicated Jim Powell back in the day (hopefully Cory now), Adam McCalvy, and others, is just silly. Do they know what the 40-man roster players have been up to -- Axford, Rivas, even Stetter? It's maddening, especially when it doesn't have to be.

A "for friends and family" post -- : Brevard County Top 8th Brock Kjeldgaard called out on strikes. Juan Sanchez singles on a ground ball to shortstop Jose Pirela. Erik Miller strikes out swinging. Anderson De La Rosa lines out to first baseman Trent Lockwood.

Brad with some new insights on Wednesday's doubleheader, and awesome photo galleries as always. (Since many readers likely wouldn't dip into a late update on Wednesday's Link Report, we'll include this here...)

At least there's Friday: Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Heading for Miller Park WBAY The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers will finish their series with Quad City on Thursday but the players are anxious for Friday. That's when they head south to their parent team's Miller Park to take on Cedar Rapids. It will be the second-straight year the Brewers' single-A team will play in Milwaukee. "You walk in the visitors clubhouse and they treat you so well and you will see how things will be if you make it here," Rattlers infielder Cutter Dykstra said. "I don't know about other guys, but it motivates me to try and make it to play in a place with crowds like that," Dykstra continued. "I have never played in front of that many people before, and there were nerves, but once I got that first hit it was like, OK, the bases are the same, the field is the same, it's just a bigger park."

PDF document: Huntsville Media Notes

West Tenn Top 4th Defensive Substitution: Brent Brewer replaces left fielder Steffan Wilson, batting 7th, playing left field. Huntsville's Wilson, who has played 50 games in corner outfield spots in his pro career, did see quite a bit of action in the prior inning. Odd time to be swapped out unless he's hurting somehow.

Update from Adam we posted yesterday

Rattler Radio: May 6, 2010: Game Notes May 6, 2010: Tonight's Rattlers Pitchers May 6, 2010: Rattlers' Lineup INF Carlos George has been absent for a few days now...

PDF document: Nashville Media Notes

MID Western (click column headers to sort) Club W L PCT GB Home Away L 10 Streak Peoria 18 9 .667 - 14-1 4-8 8-2 W3 Beloit 17 9 .654 0.5 8-5 9-4 8-2 W3 Quad Cities 16 11 .593 2.0 9-4 7-7 3-7 W1 Cedar Rapids 13 14 .481 5.0 9-4 4-10 6-4 L2 Kane County 13 14 .481 5.0 8-4 5-10 6-4 W2 Clinton 11 16 .407 7.0 6-8 5-8 3-7 L3 Burlington 10 17 .370 8.0 6-8 4-9 4-6 L2 Wisconsin 9 17 .346 8.5 6-7 3-10 2-8 L1

Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nashville 16 9 .640 - 5-5 11-4 L3 Omaha 13 13 .500 3.5 5-10 8-3 L2 Memphis 12 13 .480 4.0 7-4 5-9 W3 Iowa 11 15 .423 5.5 5-9 6-6 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tennessee 18 8 .692 - 6-5 12-3 L1 Huntsville 15 12 .556 3.5 5-7 10-5 L2 West Tenn 13 13 .500 5.0 4-10 9-3 W2 Chattanooga 12 14 .462 6.0 8-7 4-7 L2 Carolina 8 18 .308 10.0 3-8 5-10 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Clearwater 18 8 .692 - 11-3 7-5 W7 Tampa 15 12 .556 3.5 8-7 7-5 W3 Dunedin 14 12 .538 4.0 5-7 9-5 L3 Lakeland 12 14 .462 6.0 7-7 5-7 L1 Brevard County 10 16 .385 8.0 4-9 6-7 L3 Daytona 10 17 .370 8.5 3-8 7-9 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 (Gameday also available) Huntsville (Gameday also available) Brevard County Wisconsin

MiLB.com video subscribers can watch the Nashville finale in Round Rock

Thursday's Daily Menu: Stephen Smith has one of his Manatee broadcasts tonight, early enough to take it all in prior to Brewers / Dodgers... Times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: RHP Kameron Loe at Round Rock (Astros), 6:50 PM pre-game; 7:05 gametime Live Audio Link Huntsville: RHP Amaury Rivas at home vs. West Tenn (Mariners), 6:45 PM pre-game; 7:00 gametime Live Audio Link Brevard County: RHP Wily Peralta at home vs. Tampa (Yankees), 5:50 PM pre-game; 6:05 gametime Live Audio Link Wisconsin: LHP Del Howell at home vs. Quad Cities (Cardinals), 6:20 PM pre-game; 6:35 gametime; RHP Nick Bucci will pitch in tandem Live Audio Link

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

Nashville outfielder Drew Anderson at the May 5th audio link

18 photos, about 1/2 of Cutter Dykstra, from Wednesday's action with the Timber Rattlers (Post-Crescent)

Link while active, text follows: Dykstra determined to put last year's woes behind him and get back on fast track to major leagues Brett Christopherson, Appleton Post-Crescent GRAND CHUTE — The text message consists of nine words, yet they have come to mean a great deal to Wisconsin Timber Rattlers second baseman Cutter Dykstra. " 'Don't ever lose the faith you have in yourself,' " he said, repeating the message. "I saved it, actually. I look at it all the time." The sender? New York Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher, who befriended Dykstra during an offseason in which they met up at UCLA to work on all things baseball and chat about all things life. The meaning? "I want to be out there," Dykstra said prior to Wednesday's Midwest League doubleheader with Quad Cities at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. "I want the ball hit to me. I want to make plays. I want to show them that I can play there every day." Don't ever lose the faith. Dykstra hasn't. He insists. He promises. But he easily could have — maybe even should have — following a forgettable 2009 that saw the unraveling of a baseball player as he was coping with the unraveling of a family. His father, former big league star and supposed investment guru Lenny Dykstra, found himself the subject of a seemingly endless string of unsavory headlines that included fraud, lawsuits, bankruptcy and divorce. Meanwhile the younger Dykstra, now 20, opened the season with the Rattlers but scuffled in 29 games, hitting just .212 with a homer and seven RBI before being reassigned to rookie level Helena (Mont.). This was a kid who was plucked by the Milwaukee Brewers in the second round of the 2008 draft and entered the year rated by Baseball America as the seventh-best prospect in the Crew's system. A return to rookie ball only added more grime to a tarnished season after he hit .244 with five homers and 26 RBI in 61 games at Helena while at the same time working on a position switch from the outfield to second base. Dykstra tried to shrug it off but admitted the tenuousness of his family situation undermined his on-field performance. "It did a little bit," he said. "But I'm a strong kid … That's in the past. It's my career. I'm worrying about myself right now. I'm ready to play my game and not let that stuff bother me. And it won't." Rattlers manager Jeff Isom can't help but wonder what might have been had Dykstra been free from the incessant off-field worry. "I'm 38 years old, and when you've got something going on in your personal life, it's hard to focus,'' he said. "And I feel like I'm a mature individual. But when you're talking about an 18-, 19-year-old kid who's trying to get his foot in the door in professional baseball, trying to get off to a good start, then you throw in all kinds of other things – yeah, it's going to be hard to focus on what you're trying to get done out there on the field. "Baseball, if you lack any kind of focus out there, you're probably going to get beat. And when you throw all those things that are just accumulating on his shoulders, the outside pressure, that's pretty tough to have success. "From what I'm hearing, he's got things under control in his life, and I think he and his dad are having conversations now. They're talking. His dad's in his life. So now he can concentrate on baseball." Dykstra said he and his dad chat almost daily and have a tight relationship. "I'm not worried about him," he said. "He'll get out of whatever he (needs to) get out of. The way he played, that's the way he is in life. He'll do whatever it takes. He told me to just go out and play. That's all you can do. Just play the game right." He doesn't care what has or will be written about his family situation. He doesn't care who says what on TV. And he doesn't feel it's anyone's business to know anything about the fate of his $737,000 signing bonus. The blinders are on. "It doesn't matter," said Dykstra, no longer considered a top-30 prospect. "What matters is the numbers you put up and the way you play. If you put up numbers, the cream always rises to the top. … "I've had numerous people come up to me and tell me a weaker person would have collapsed in my situation. We're all strong. We're all fine. We're all tight. We're getting through it. It's part of life. A little bump in the road. But it's all good." As is his outlook. Dykstra was assigned to Wisconsin on Monday when infielder Joey Paciorek was placed on the disabled list with a hand injury. So with his primary focus no longer on family, he's determined to make the most of this second chance. To chase – finally – his dream. "He's an athlete," said Brewers assistant general manager Gord Ash, who attended Wednesday's games. "He's got a lot of athletic skills, and it's just now a matter of trying to get himself focused and concentrating on the task at hand." No worries, there. "After that last game last season, I said, 'OK, I'm going on a mission,' " said Dykstra, who tripled and had three hits in the doubleheader. "I'm going to go home, I'm going to bust it, no one's going to work harder than me. I'm going to come in to spring training, and I'm going to show them that I'm ready to play a full season at second base and have an all-star season. … "I'm ready to help the team win. And that's the way I play. I'm a winning player. I play the game off the scoreboard, and I'm going to do everything you can do to win. Fight, scratch — whatever." Cutter Dykstra of the Timber Rattlers bats against the River Bandits in Grand Chute on Wednesday. (Post-Crescent photo by Patrick Ferron) http://cmsimg.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=U0&Date=20100506&Category=APC021102&ArtNo=5060665&Ref=AR&Profile=1019&MaxW=550&MaxH=650&title=0

The game story from the Austin Statesman indicates that the Sounds were even closer to knotting the score than the log indicates (an eventful game for Johnny Raburn) -- *** Link while active, text follows: Express strand 14 but win third straight By Danny Davis, AMERICAN-STATESMAN CORRESPONDENT Opportunity was knocking at the Dell Diamond on Wednesday night, and the Round Rock Express cracked the door open just enough to get a victory. The Express stranded 14 runners on base but managed a 2-1 victory over Nashville. Round Rock, which on Tuesday became the last team in the Pacific Coast League to win consecutive games, won its third straight game for the first time since closing the 2009 season with three wins. After scoring 37 times in its last five games, Round Rock struggled to get any runs on Wednesday. In the first five innings, Round Rock collected 11 hits but scored only twice. The Express also failed to take advantage of Nashville second baseman Johnny Raburn's botched double-play turns in the second and third innings. "That happens sometimes," Express manager Marc Bombard said before crediting his pitching staff. After watching Nashville avoid trouble all evening, Round Rock got out of a key jam in the seventh inning to preserve its slim lead. The Sounds started the inning with a statement as Trent Oeltjen tripled to right field. But Evan Englebrook struck out Ben Johnson for the first out and first baseman Chris Shelton made a nice snag of a Raburn grounder to record the second out. With Oeltjen still standing at third base, Englebrook struck out pinch hitter Joe Koshansky to end the inning. "Shelton (made) an incredible play, that was unbelievable," Bombard said. "Evan got a couple strikeouts, that was a great job." Nashville had a final chance to tie the game but came up short in the ninth. The Sounds had runners on first and second with two outs but Raburn grounded out to end it. The Express collected 13 hits, upping their three-game total against to 36. Round Rock got its runs on RBI singles by Matt Kata and Jason Bourgeois. Note: Comedian Will Ferrell will be in attendance at Thursday's game.

Technically, OF Drew Anderson's re-acquisition was via a contract purchased from the St. Paul Saints of the independent American Association. Saints site

Ugh -- even if Wisconsin had held on or manages to come from behind, it would have been one of the ugliest doubleheader sweeps ever (remember, they barely held on in game one, 9-7). One thing is sure, the bullpen is fried (and toasted today), and Nick Bucci and Del Howell need to combine for all nine innings in Thursday's tandem. Update: Cam Garfield with a leadoff double, hold on to your hats -- tune in if you can, it's 4:05 Central time.

PDF document: Huntsville Media Notes

Via Adam McCalvy: GM Doug Melvin said rehabbing left-hander Chris Capuano would make one more start for Class A Brevard County before a promotion to Triple-A Nashville. Capuano, coming back from the second Tommy John surgery of his career, last appeared on Sunday and has 12 strikeouts vs. no walks in two starts at Brevard County spanning 9 2/3 innings.