Jim Goulart

Appleton Post-Crescent Photo Gallery includes several player photos

No, we didn't forget http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif-- Final, Game Two: Wisconsin 6, Cedar Rapids (Athletics) 3 Wisconsin earns doubleheader sweep By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers erased an early deficit with a four run third inning and Hiram Burgos provided very solid relief for a 6-3 win over the Kane County Cougars. The victory in the second game of the Friday night doubleheader gave the Timber Rattlers, who won game one 5-4, a sweep of their division rivals to start the season. It wasn't an easy start of the game. The Cougars (0-2) took advantage of early miscues by the Timber Rattlers to grab a 2-0 lead. In the top of the first, with two out and one on, Timber Rattlers starting pitcher Nick Bucci walked three consecutive batters to allow Kane County to take a 1-0 lead. In the top of the second, a botched 1-2-3 double play that could have ended the inning allowed a run to score. Turnabout was fair play as Wisconsin got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second. Carlos George swung and missed strike three for what should have been the final out of the inning. But, the ball got to the backstop and George kept the inning alive by reaching first base. Franklin Romero, Jr. delivered an RBI triple to the right-centerfield gap to chase George home with Wisconsin's first run of the game. The Rattlers (2-0) grabbed the lead with four runs off Cougars starter Robert Gilliam in the bottom of the third. A pair of singles by Scooter Gennett and Khris Davis and a walk to Chris Dennis loaded the bases with no outs. Sean Halton drove in Gennett with the tying run with a sacrifice fly. Davis and Dennis pulled off a double steal with Joey Paciorek at the plate and Dennis raced home with the go ahead run when the throw to third base wound up in left field. Austin Stockfisch drove in Dennis, who took third on the wild throw, with a sacrifice fly for a 4-2 lead. George sent Paciorek home with the final run of the inning with a two out double. Wisconsin added one more run in the bottom of the fifth inning. Halton's RBI single drove in Dennis to pad the Rattler lead to 6-2. Hiram Burgos, who took over for Bucci in the top of the fourth, shut down the Cougars in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings. The right hander did not allow a hit until a leadoff double by Rashun Dixon in the top of the seventh inning. Kane County got to within 6-3 on an RBI double by Conner Crumbliss. A walk brought the tying run to the plate with one out. But, Burgos got a strikeout and a grounder to short to end the game. Burgos allowed one run on two hits and struck out six over four innings to get the win. The final game of the three game series is Saturday afternoon. Wisconsin has Efrain Nieves as the scheduled starting pitcher. LHP Del Howell is also slated to see action. Kane County sends Dan Straily to the hill. Game time is 1:05 PM. Wisconsin Game Two Box Score RHP Hiram Burgos picking up where he left off in the Puerto Rican Winter League, where he was Rookie of the Year -- he has to break into this team's starting tandems at some point; Chris Dennis drew three walks; looks like Scooter Gennett is indeed a second baseman for now, with Carlos George at short, and Michael Marseco also on the roster in reserve... Wisconsin Game Two Game Log

Nashville's broadcaster Stu Paul's blog post on the night in Des Moines

Des Moines Register: The Iowa Cubs’ record took a beating on a Friday night when baseballs easily cleared the Principal Park fence. Jason Dubois moved closer to becoming the franchise’s career homer leader, and Micah Hoffpauir came within two of cracking the top five. Their performances came during a 5-2 loss against Nashville before an announced crowd of 7,010 that saw the Sounds hit three homers for the second game in a row. “The ball flies out of here, especially when the wind blows like it did tonight,” Dubois said. Iowa has losses in its first two games. Big cheer: One of the biggest cheers of the night came when Nashville's Adam Heether struck out one pitch after inadvertently sending his bat into the stands on a swing-and-a-miss. Fortunately, the bat landed in an empty row behind the Iowa Cubs' dugout.

Link while active, text follows: Cubs scoreless again in 1st game at home By SEAN KERNAN, DAYTONA NEWS-JOURNAL STAFF WRITER DAYTONA BEACH -- Friday night was perfect for baseball at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. Unfortunately for the crowd of 4,945 that turned out for the Daytona Cubs' home opener, the D-Cubs were far from perfect. Daytona dropped its second straight game to the Brevard County Manatees, a farm club of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cubs have yet to score, losing 7-0 Friday on the heels of being one-hit in a 3-0 setback in Thursday's season opener at the Manatees' home park. "It's hard to win if you don't score runs," Daytona manager Buddy Bailey said. "We have to hit more balls in play. We had 12 strikeouts (Friday night) and 11 strikeouts (Thursday night). That's 23 of 54 outs. That's way too high of a percentage. We're not putting pressure on anyone." The Cubs were sluggish at the plate again, getting just six hits as Brevard County's Wily Peralta, Evan Fredrickson, Nick Tyson and Ruben Flores combined for the shutout. Peralta struck out eight, didn't walk a batter and scattered four hits over six innings for the win. "Peralta's pretty good, too," Bailey added. "But that's the kind of pitching you're going to see in this league. A lot of our guys haven't seen pitching at this level before. This is part of the learning process." The Manatees jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the third inning as they reached Cubs starter Chris Rusin (0-1) for four runs on four hits. Brevard County did its damage with two outs and while Daytona didn't make any errors, there were a couple of balls hit on the ground that shouldn't have made it to the outfield, but did. Erik Komatsu bounced an RBI double past first baseman Ryne White for the 1-0 lead. Kentrail Davis hit a run-scoring single up the middle that went under diving shortstop Junior Lake. Anderson De La Rosa then grounded a two-run single between short and third. Two more runs were charged to Rusin after he gave up a triple to Komatsu and a single to Davis in the fifth inning. Reliever Oswaldo Martinez yielded an RBI single, a walk and a grounder to third that resulted in a run to make it 6-0. The Cubs are not going in panic mode after the slow start. "It's only two games," Cubs third baseman Josh Vitters said. "I think we can get this rolling. It definitely felt nice to get out in front of the home crowd." Vitters was signing autographs for a few youngsters, one of whom offered the following advice: "Maybe next time." That could be tonight when the Manatees and Cubs play at 7:05 (6:05 Central).

Video highlights of Jeff Suppan and Scooter Gennett's game one game-winner for Wisconsin available here (video link on the left sidebar) Video lowlights available here of Huntsville's loss -- not a pretty feed to short by Brett Lawrie here

Huntsville broadcaster Chad Anderson's blog site: Stars can't recover from early deficit The Huntsville Stars failed to pull their 2010 record even by falling at Chattanooga on Friday night 3-2 in a late inning thriller. In a departure from Thursday’s season opener, Chattanooga was the first to lead thanks to throwing errors by Zelous Wheeler and Brett Lawrie, respectively. One inning later, Elian Hererra singled home Lookouts third baseman Anthony Hatch to neutralize the Stars first inning score, a run credited to Chris Errecart. Errors have been commonplace for the Stars over the first two games this season. On Thursday, Amaury Rivas’ dazzling five inning effort was wasted; Huntsville gave up four unearned runs in a 4-2 loss. After a pitching change, Caleb Gindl drew Huntsville to within one by plating Lee Haydel with a two out double in the Stars half of the seventh. Huntsville caught the break of the night in the eighth when Chattanooga catcher Lucas May missed a two out, opposite field home run by mere feet. He instead was relegated to a double. A wiley set of substitutions from new Manager Mike Guerrero, including putting Mike Jones on the mound, preserved the one run deficit as Jones worked his way back in the count against Thursday’s hero Scott Van Slyke to retire him on a soft grounder. The Stars could not, however, take advantage of the momentum as the Lookouts 24 year old flamethrower Javy Guerra retired the stars in the ninth 1-2-3. The Stars are left hanging their heads as the lone Northern Division team to be without a win in 2010, leaving eight base runners on base Friday night. Alex Periard takes the loss for the Stars allowing three runs (two earned) over six full innings. Alberto Bastardo scattered seven hits over five innings while allowing one run in taking the win. Guerra picks up his second save in as many games. Three games remain in the current five game series in Chattanooga before the Stars return home on Wednesday. Saturdays contest starts again at 6:15 while Sunday is a matinee affair with a first pitch scheduled for 1:15. Coverage of all Stars baseball games begins 15 minutes before the first pitch and can be heard on the Huntsville Stars Radio Network (AM-1450/92.9-FM WTKI Huntsville) or online at www.huntsvillestars.com, www.chadandersonweb.org and www.wtkiradio.com.

Daytona Site: DAYTONA BEACH, FL - Opening Night at "The Jack" hosted 4,945 fans, but the large crowd could not will the Daytona Cubs to victory as they dropped their second straight game by the final score 7-0. Daytona Cubs' starter Chris Rusin got the nod on opening night. Rusin pitched four innings allowing seven hits and six runs. The damage started in the fourth inning when Brevard County's Matthew Cline appeared to be picked off, but a high throw from Ryne White sailed into center field aiding to a four run frame. The Cubs offense appeared ready to break into the early deficit in the bottom of the fourth after a Josh Vitters leadoff single, but six pitches later he was picked off. The Cubs finished the game with just six hits. Brevard County's starter Wily Peralta dazzled through six innings only allowing four base runners and struck out eight. Peralta picked up his first win of the early season and Chris Rusin gets the loss.

Iowa Bottom 2nd Defensive Substitution: Norris Hopper replaces left fielder Adam Stern, batting 1st, playing center field. Defensive switch from center field to left field for Trent Oeltjen. Stern singled leading off the game, was stranded at second base, and played defense in the bottom of the inning.

PDF documents: Nashville Media Notes Huntsville Media Notes From Chris Mehring's blog: April 9, 2010: Timber Rattlers Lineup (GM 1) April 9, 2010 Timber Rattlers starting pitchers April 9, 2010 Game Notes

LHP Sam Narron was released by the Tigers. RHP Matt Ginter was released by the Astros. OF Corey Patterson released by the Mariners.

LHP Sam Narron was released by the Tigers. RHP Matt Ginter was released by the Astros. OF Corey Patterson released by the Mariners.

Once again this season, it appears we'll have to bring you Midwest League standings via a separate link (a Brewerfan program issue), thanks for your understanding. Midwest League Standings

Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nashville 1 0 1.000 - 0-0 1-0 W1 Omaha 1 0 1.000 - 1-0 0-0 W1 Iowa 0 1 .000 1.0 0-1 0-0 L1 Memphis 0 1 .000 1.0 0-0 0-1 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Carolina 1 0 1.000 - 0-0 1-0 W1 Chattanooga 1 0 1.000 - 1-0 0-0 W1 Tennessee 1 0 1.000 - 0-0 1-0 W1 West Tenn 1 0 1.000 - 0-0 1-0 W1 Huntsville 0 1 .000 1.0 0-0 0-1 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brevard County 1 0 1.000 - 1-0 0-0 W1 Clearwater 1 0 1.000 - 0-0 1-0 W1 Tampa 1 0 1.000 - 1-0 0-0 W1 Daytona 0 1 .000 1.0 0-0 0-1 L1 Dunedin 0 1 .000 1.0 0-1 0-0 L1 Lakeland 0 1 .000 1.0 0-0 0-1 L1

Follow Friday'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. MiLB.com now has Gameday available for AA as well as AAA this season. Nashville: http://web.minorleaguebas...&cid=556&t=g_box Huntsville: http://web.minorleaguebas...&cid=559&t=g_box Brevard County: Wisconsin Game One: Wisconsin Game Two: http://web.minorleaguebas...10_04_09_kccafx_wisafx_2

Unfortunately, the Rattlers TV broadcast on Sports32 scheduled for Opening Night won't happen Friday night. Their next scheduled TV broadcast is Tuesday, April 13th. The station may add a game to their planned broadcast schedule later on in the season. *** For Nashville diehards, you can buy a monthlong $6.95 subscription to MiLB.TV ($29.95 for the season), as there are a few PCL destinations that webstream all their home games. Iowa is among those teams so the Nashville opening series can be viewed online with a subscription. *** Catching up from Thursday: Nashville broadcaster Stu Paul provides additional detail on the opener and how he overcame multiple technical snafus as he provides some behind-the-scenes insights in his blog post. *** Dennis Greenblatt / Hawkeye Sports Photography with this photo of Manatees' RHP Michael Fiers in the midst of his fine effort Thursday night. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/2010/04/09/EDuBUKK7.jpg

Friday's Daily Menu: TGIF! Times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: LHP Chuck Lofgren at Iowa (Cubs), 6:20 PM pre-game; 6:35 gametime Live Audio Link Huntsville: RHP Alex Periard at Chattanooga (Dodgers), 6:00 PM pre-game; 6:15 gametime Live Audio Link just click the "UStream" box on the right Brevard County: RHP Wily Peralta at Daytona (Cubs), 6:05 PM gametime Live Audio Link (Cubs' Feed) Wisconsin: RHP's Jeff Suppan and Nick Bucci in a doubleheader at home vs. Kane County (Athletics), 5:45 PM pre-game; 6:00 gametime; each contest slated for seven innings Live Audio Link NOTE: LHP Del Howell, originally scheduled to tandem with Nick Bucci on Opening Night, will now tandem with LHP Efrain Nieves on Saturday evening (because of the shortened game this evening).

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

Baseball America analyzed all rosters -- Brett Lawrie, Caleb Gindl, and Cameron Garfield among the youngest players in their respective leagues.

Yes, that was the case in recent years, but MiLB.com and other sources had seemed to indicate that was no longer the case. We have a note into the Sounds...

For the Chico (CA) Outlaws of the independent Golden Baseball League -- pretty cool story. She has more "experience" than you might think. http://www.goldenbaseball.com/ConPics/Con5328/Eri.jpg

Well, the Huntsville mayor has the proper last name as you'll see in this photo gallery. Look for it in the rotating updates currently on the Stars' home page.

Link while active, text follows: Nashville spoils debut for Ryne Sandberg with Iowa Cubs By RANDY PETERSON, Des Moines Register Not even a Hall of Fame baseball player could do much about this one - not without figuring out how to keep Nashville's Brendon Katin from hitting home runs. The Sounds' power hitter hit two home runs, had three RBIs and at least shared Iowa Cubs manager Ryne Sandberg's spotlight in Nashville's 6-3 Pacific Coast League victory before an announced crowd of 6,034 Thursday at Principal Park on opening night in Des Moines. "No one's going to steal his spotlight," Katin said. "They love Ryne Sandberg here in Des Moines, and why not?" It was the first of the Iowa Cubs' 144 games, and the first at the triple-A level for Sandberg, a 2005 inductee into baseball's elite after an exceptional career with the Chicago Cubs. "In this game, there are times when you have to tip your hat to the opposition, and this is one of those times," Sandberg said. "We faced a righty out there that looked pretty tough - a 6-foot-7 guy coming out of the sky." That was Nashville starting pitcher Kameron Loe, who pitched last season in Japan after spending seven seasons in the Texas Rangers organization. He struck out six in six innings, and two of the three runs the Cubs scored during his stint came on his throwing error. "We couldn't get much going off him," Sandberg said. "If he wouldn't have thrown the ball away on an error, we wouldn't have had much of anything against him. "He pitched well." Iowa, which is expected to be a good-hitting team, got only four hits, all singles, while losing its sixth Opening Day game in a row. "Our guys will swing the bats better than that," Sandberg said. "We've got some guys that can hit." They've got some guys who can hit very well, according to hitting coach Von Joshua. "This could be one of the best-hitting clubs I've had in the five years I've been here," he said. "If everybody does what they're capable of, it's going to be exciting," But first, Iowa must figure out a way to keep Katin's hits in the quaint stadium. "Last year, I didn't really get started until May," said Katin, who hit 24 homers for Nashville last season. "This has got to be a fluke."

All photos by Justin Hayworth/The Des Moines Register Nashville's Angel Salome tries to beat the ball to second base and Iowa Cubs second baseman Darwin Barney during the sixth inning of the ICubs season opener at Principal Park Thursday evening. http://cmsimg.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?NewTbl=1&Site=D2&Date=20100408&Category=SPORTS&ArtNo=4080812&Ref=PH&Profile=1166&Item=26&Maxw=542&Maxh=352&q=90 Salome is tagged by Iowa Cubs second baseman Darwin Barney after sliding past the base. http://cmsimg.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?NewTbl=1&Site=D2&Date=20100408&Category=SPORTS&ArtNo=4080812&Ref=PH&Profile=1166&Item=27&Maxw=542&Maxh=352&q=90 Iowa Cubs starting pitcher J.R, Mathes looks up at the scoreboard after giving up a homerun to Nashville's Adam Heether in the third inning http://cmsimg.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?NewTbl=1&Site=D2&Date=20100408&Category=SPORTS&ArtNo=4080812&Ref=PH&Profile=1166&Item=21&Maxw=542&Maxh=352&q=90 Iowa Cubs manager Ryne Sandberg watches from the dugout as Nashville's Trent Oeltjen reacts to getting hit by a pitch. http://cmsimg.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?NewTbl=1&Site=D2&Date=20100408&Category=SPORTS&ArtNo=4080812&Ref=PH&Profile=1166&Item=19&Maxw=542&Maxh=352&q=90

Link while active, text follows: Basics turn ugly for Stars in debut Trio of errors allows Chattanooga to capture 4-2 victory By Mark McCarter Huntsville Times Sports Staff CHATTANOOGA - When you put a rather young Huntsville Stars team under a microscope as the season opens, logical concerns emerge. First, will their hitters will be overmatched at this level? Second, will inexperienced pitchers be bullied? But on a chilly Thursday night perched above the Tennessee River, it was defense and experienced pitching that were the Stars' downfall in a 4-2 loss to the Chattanooga Lookouts in their 2010 season opener. The Stars committed three errors, all directly contributing to Chattanooga's four runs, and three relievers who were with Huntsville last season - Brandon Kintzler, Casey Baron and Robert Hinton - were unable to overcome the miscues. "If we made the routine plays, the score would have been different," said manager Mike Guerrero. "But they had an opportunity and they took advantage of it." Shortstop Zelous Wheeler booted a bouncer up the middle in the sixth and after Kintzler retired the next two batters, Scott Van Slyke (son of ex-major leaguer Andy Van Slyke) doubled to deep center. In the eighth, third baseman Taylor Green's one-out throwing error led to a three-run Chattanooga outburst, with another two-out Van Slyke double - this time off Hinton and for two runs - and a Tommy Giles RBI single. The loss marred an impressive start by right-hander Amaury Rivas. He allowed only three hits and struck out four in five innings in his Double-A debut. Initially, the Stars made it look easy. Lorenzo Cain opened the game with a sharp single, stole second and scored on a Brett Lawrie double off the centerfield wall. After a one-out Jonathan Lucroy single, a Taylor Green sacrifice fly brought home Lawrie. Then Chattanooga starter Chris Withrow got his equilibrium and didn't allow another hit through six innings. "I think we played a pretty good ball game," Guerrero said. "I would like to be fundamentally sound defensively. If it goes that way today, instead of a loss we'd have a W. But the guys played hard and it was an outstanding ball game. "Just one game," Guerrero said, looking up at a schedule on the wall. "We've got 141 to go." The Stars continue the five-game stand here tonight (WTKI 1450 AM and 92.9 FM) before returning to Huntsville for the home opener next Wednesday against Jacksonville. *** FYI -- Considering some folks had issues with the MiLB.com link for Huntsville last night, and at least one user mentioned a more steady audio stream from the Stars' flagship station, we'll try and refer you to its site instead for a while. You just click the "UStream" box on the right. -- Mass Haas