Jim Goulart

Chris, Voice of the Rattlers, with a World Cup update for us

Baseball America with some miscellaneous housekeeping transactions -- we'll catch these up on our own Player Index within the next week or so: Placed on 7-day DL: OF Caleb Gindl Reinstated from DL: RHP Tim Dillard, RHP Garrett Sherrill, LHP Chris Capuano, LHP Mike Ramlow, C Sean McCraw, C Angel Salome, C Brett Whiteside, SS Steve Braun, OF Chris Dennis, OF Erik Komatsu Reinstated from inactive list: RHP Cody Adams, RHP Nick Bucci, LHP Efrain Nieves, OF Chris Duffy, OF Adam Stern *** Technically, we believe all injured players come off the DL at the end of the minor league seasons regardless of current health, so we'll probably see more names in next week's BA transactions as well, if not, it's just an online oversight. Among them might be LHP's Brae Wright and Josh Romanski (each with Tommy John surgery, believed to be the case with Josh) and RHP Donovan Hand (undisclosed).

To the minor league fans, just making sure you are aware there are two distinct threads in the Major League Forum re: John Axford and Josh Butler. Each thread includes local newspaper articles, the type you've seen often in this forum. Please continue any discussions within the linked threads. John Axford Josh Butler

Link while active, text follows: Axford pitches in first MLB game Jacob Robinson Simcoe (Ontario, Canada) Reformer Brian and Vera Axford have watched their son John play a ton of baseball games. From little league in their hometown of Port Dover, to college at Notre Dame and Canisius, to close to home in Brantford for the Red Sox and even at single-A Brevard County (Florida), double-A Huntsville and triple-A Nashville. But nothing will top Tuesday night. It was then that they watched their 26-year-old son accomplish his dream of playing Major League Baseball. John -- a 6-foot-5, 195-pound relief pitcher -- had been added to the Milwaukee Brewers' 40 man roster last week, and it was anyone's guess as to when he would see action. His family and friends convoyed to Miller Park as the Brewers took on the St. Louis Cardinals last week, and then watched with anticipation as the team traveled to Arizona to face the Diamondbacks. But Axford didn't see any action in either series. Last night, at historic Wrigley Field in Chicago, it was finally time for number 59 to do what he had replayed in his backyard numerous times. He threw one inning, striking out one, giving up a run and walking three batters in the Brewers 13-7 loss to the Cubs. For those in Port Dover, it was a victory. "We were looking forward to it for a long time, and for it to finally come, it's hard to explain. You almost get choked up," said Brian. "When you look at where he's been and how hard he's worked -- he's been down a hard road. He was a late bloomer in terms of pitching and has worked very hard to get to where he is now." Not only has Axford had to endure pain on the diamond -- a Tommy John surgery that took a year of rehab -- but he endured pain off it as well. The passing of John's grandfather John Koopman and former pitching coach Dave King -- two of his biggest fans -- made the moment a little bittersweet. Through it all Axford's family never once stopped believing in him. "We did go to Milwaukee and hoped to see him pitch there . . . but for him to make his debut at Wrigley Field is fantastic," said Vera. "I always believed he could do it and that he would be there. It was only a matter of time." That time was last night; when the Axfords, along with their three daughters Michelle, Marsha and Theresa, could watch John do what he does best. Surprisingly, Axford was pretty calm while performing in front of 38,986 on the south side of the Windy City. "He called about 12:30 a.m. (Tuesday night) and said that he was nervous in the bullpen, but when he got on the mound he was fine. He said he felt great," explained Vera. He had support at the park too. When friend, former roommate and fellow pitcher Josh Butler got the call from double-A and arrived with the team earlier in the week, Axford was able to give up the "candy bag," a rookie ritual that sees a player fetch gum for all the veterans in the bullpen. The two are also sharing a locker in the Milwaukee clubhouse for the time being. Back in Port Dover, watching the game took the Axfords back a few years. "Since he was a little boy he dreamed of playing in the major leagues, just like any young boy who plays the game," said Brian. "He was always playing in our back yard, throwing the ball off the wall or pretending to catch home runs just before they went over the fence." The only difference is, now he's trying to prevent home runs in the world's best league. AXFORD PITCHES AT WRIGLEY Port Dover's John Axford is now officially in the record books as having played a major league game. Here's how his first major league outing went, batter-by-batter: - Forced Bobby Scales to fly out to left field - Gave up a hit to Jeff Baker, who singled to shallow right - Baker stole second base - Walked Ryan Theriot - Baker and Theriot advanced on wild pitch - Struck out Kosuke Fukudome - Walked Derrek Lee - Walked Micah Hoffpauir, which scored Baker - Forced Geovany Soto to fly out to left centre field to end the inning.

Hey, how about what recently-turned 19-year-old RHP Nick Bucci is doing on the world stage? This kid is going to be ultra-confident next season, might he be polished enough to begin at Brevard? Seems like it, plus the gushing we read from Brewer brass... 4.1 shutout innings in his start, yet to give up a run in 9.1 IP -- he walked two batters in the 5th (three overall), but was picked up by the bullpen in a Canada team victory. This was over Mexico, where I'm sure players were toiling all summer in a AAA-compatible Mexican League. Brett Lawrie had an RBI on a sac fly. Box Score "We needed this one for sure," says Bucci. "We came out strong tonight, got a couple of run on the board early then we were able to shut them down for the most part." The Canadians got on the board in the top of the first inning when Brett Lawrie of Langley, B.C., drove in a run on a sacrifice fly and Toronto's Tim Smith hit an RBI single to give Canada an early 2-0 lead. In the bottom of the second, things got heated after Bucci struck out Mario Valenzuela. Some words were exchanged between the two and both benches cleared, but cooler heads prevailed. "That's just the way I am - I'm a little fiery," said Bucci. "I don't mean harm. It's just my intensity." Full game story

A lot of school sytsems, at least here in the East, have the April week off as part of school vacation time when the Brewers are in Washington for a weekend series. Definitely eyeing that one as part of a family roadtrip.

Link while active, text follows: At the Buzzer: San Ramon Valley product makes it to the show By Kyle Bonagura Tri-Valley Herald When Josh Butler woke up Monday, he was set to begin a 2,000-mile road trip from Huntsville, Ala., to San Diego. Butler's Double-A baseball team, the Huntsville Stars, had just been eliminated from the playoffs and he figured he had a few weeks to kill before joining the Milwaukee Brewers Fall League team in Arizona at the beginning of October. But before the 2003 graduate of San Ramon Valley High hit the road, he received a text message from Milwaukee's assistant general manger, Gord Ash. "It just said 'Have you left yet?'" Butler said. "I told him no and then he called me." Ash told him they needed him in Chicago, where the Brewers were about to start a series with the Chicago Cubs, and that he was booked on a flight from Huntsville to Chicago later that day. "I was shocked. I'm still shocked," Butler said Tuesday. "I talked to him again that night when I got to Chicago and he told me they decided to activate me and what time I needed to be at the field." Not just a field - the field. Wrigley Field. I can't say this comes as much of a surprise. I've known Josh since I was in second grade and grew up playing Little League baseball (Canyon Creek), youth soccer (San Ramon Soccer Club) and CYO basketball (St. Joan of Arc) with him in the San Ramon Valley - he has been one of my best friends since we were 9 years old. Some of our old soccer teammates still joke that he was a better goalie than baseball player, and somewhere there is a tape of him dunking over a kid in a freshman basketball game at Cal High. It never really was a matter of if he was going to be a pro athlete; it was a matter of when, and in what sport. "Realistically, I didn't know if I had a chance to make it (to the major leagues) until my junior year (at the University of San Diego)," said Butler, who was drafted by Tampa Bay in the second round of the 2006 draft before being traded for Gabe Gross last year. "That's when I thought it was really possible." After two up-and-down years in the minors, Butler finally put it all together this year, compiling a 9-3 record and a 2.97 era for four teams in the Brewers' minor league system - including three starts with Triple-A Nashville. "You kind of learn that players aren't that much more talented, they are just more consistent," he said. "Everyone I've talked to said it's the same game (in the majors), but it's just in a bigger stadium." He was officially added to the 40-man roster on Tuesday and will wear No. 62, but it's unclear what the Brewers have planned for him the rest of the season. He could end up as a starter or in a long-relief role out of the bullpen. In 2001 and 2002, Butler was a teammate of current San Francisco Giants outfielder Nate Schierholtz at San Ramon Valley. "It's pretty extraordinary that two guys from the same high school team are both in the majors," said Rick Steen, who was the coach at San Ramon Valley when Butler and Schierholtz were there. "I'm not really surprised that either of them made it; they were both such good athletes." Brad Bergesen, who graduated from Foothill in 2004, has been in the majors nearly all season with the Baltimore Orioles and is 7-5 with a 3.53 ERA - meaning three players who were in the East Bay Athletic League at the same time have now ascended to the highest level of baseball. "It says a lot about the talent (in the Tri-Valley) year in and year out," Butler said.

Wow, check out LHP David Welch's line for Australia vs. Chinese Taipei -- he was long gone before a wild 10th inning decided things. Way to go, mate!

Link to the thread in the Trading Post Forum about game worn jerseys available, these look to be 2008-2009 combos for the most part.

From Stars' GM Buck Rogers: We have a limited amount of game-worn jerseys available for sale on a first-come, first-served basis. Listed below are the jerseys ranked according to jersey number, then size, the player(s) that wore the jersey and the color. The red jerseys are full-button, the blue are one-button pullovers. These jerseys are $125 and include free S/H to any US address excluding FPOs/APOs and any other that include additional S/H fees. If you're interested, please email Kylee Hanish at kylee@huntsvillestars.com or call (256) 882-2562, or stop by the stadium. Those that want Letters of Authenticity should indicate so when ordering. ##-Size-Player(s)-Color 1-L-Mike Bell, Kevin Mellilo (Blue) 6-XL-Not Worn (Red) 10-XL-Juan Sandoval, Vinny Rottino (Red & Blue) 19-XL-Steve Bray, Thomas Atlee (Red & Blue) 20-XL-Jeremy Jeffress, Derek Miller (Blue) 23-XL-Mike Jones, Rusty Tucker (Red) 24-XL-Michael Brantley, Frank Cattalanotto, Nick Green (Blue) 25-XL-Alex Periard, Carlos Corporan (Red & Blue) 27-XL-Robert Hinton (Red & Blue) 28-XL-Adam Heether (Red) 28-XL-Adam Heether, Nick Bucci (Blue) 29-XL-Omar Aguilar, EJ Shanks (Red) 31-XL-Ben Howard (Blue) 33-XL-Patrick Ryan (Blue) 36-XXL-Nick Ungs, Melqui Torres, Ben Stanczyk (Blue) 43-XXL-Sam Narron (Blue) Also available on a limited basis are new Batting Practice t-shirts. These are the same shirts that the players wore during BP everyday. The gray t-shirts have Stars Batting Practice on the front and a number on the back. Numbers and sizes vary; call or email Kylee for more information.

Rotoworld Updates on Josh Butler and Mark DiFelice Now 43 men on the 40-man roster, three on the 60-day DL. McCalvy

Florida Today: It's good knowing the organization sees that I had a pretty good year and they recognize that by giving me the Robin Yount Award," Logan Schafer said from his California home where he returned following a four-day drive from Melbourne. "I feel privileged and I feel pretty lucky to get the award. I knew I was having a pretty good year, but I didn't expect anything like this. I'm just happy and feel pretty good about it." Schafer won't be playing in the Instructional League or the Arizona Fall League, so he plans on returning to Cal Poly for another quarter of classes and prepare for spring training on his own. Amaury Rivas is playing in the Instructional League in Arizona.

Rough outing for RHP Jim Henderson as Australia defeats Canada in 10. Yes, three runs against Henderson in the 10th were unearned and were allowed by R.J. Swindle after Henderson's departure, but Jim still struggled, and also allowed a 9th inning home run. Brett Lawrie 1-for-5 with a walk. I guess "placed on first" means issued a walk? Have we missed all or any of LHP David Welch's outings for Australia in this tournament?

John Sickels with a nice Michael Brantley write-up

John Sickels with a nice Michael Brantley write-up

Brett Lawrie 0-for-4, future minor league free agent Adam Stern reached twice, former Brewers R'.J. Swindle and Vince Perkins pitched for Canada in their 8-0 loss to the U.S.

http://media.knoxnews.com/media/img/photos/2009/09/13/smokies_0006_t607.JPG Knoxville News Photo by Saul Young Tennessee Smokies centerfielder Jim Adduci makes it safely to second base after Huntsville's Zelous Wheeler, right, dropped a throw from teammate Yohannis Perez, left. The Smokies defeated the Stars 3-1 at Smokies Park to win the Northern Division title. Tennessee advances to the Southern League finals starting Tuesday in Jacksonville.

Video of Steffan Wilson's HR in the finale here, unfortunately the winning Smokies' rally, too

Hey Yuku, what's up with the little arrows in my links?

Final: Tennessee (Cubs) 3, Huntsville 1 It had to be a Cubs affiliate... Huntsville Site Game Summary Stars Season Comes to an End in Sevierville Seventh Inning Rally Sends Tennessee Into Title Series By Brett Pollock / Huntsville Stars Starlin Castro singled in the game-winning run in the seventh inning to push Tennessee past Huntsville 3-1 Sunday afternoon and into the Southern League Championship Series. The Smokies won the last three games of the best-of-five North Division Playoffs to take the series in four games and set up a showdown with the winner of the South Division series between Jacksonville and Birmingham for the league title. Stars' starter Brandon Kintzler was lifted after six innings, trailing 1-0, allowing a run on six hits, while walking one and fanning five. Mike McClendon took over in the seventh inning and gave up back-to-back singles on two pitches to Marquez Smith and Wellington Castillo. Jonathan Mota dropped down a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners and the Stars then walked Brandon Guyer to load the bases. Castro followed with a line drive single into center field to deliver Smith to put the Smokies back in the lead at 2-1 and chase McClendon from the game. Casey Baron took over and got Jim Adduci to bounce into a force at the plate for the second out. Pinch-hitter Russ Canzler then bounced a ground ball to shortstop Yohannis Perez, who fielded it and tossed to second baseman Zelous Wheeler covering at second base. However, Wheeler could not handle the throw, allowing Adduci to reach safely and Guyer to score to make it a 3-1 game. Marco Carillo started the eighth on the hill for Tennessee and issued a one-out walk to Wheeler before Drew Anderson lined out to the third baseman Smith, who threw back to first to double off Wheeler to end the inning. Brian Schlitter allowed a leadoff single to Jonathan Lucroy in the ninth inning before Taylor Green fouled out and Steffan Wilson bounced into a game and series-ending double play. Schlitter saved all three Tennessee wins in the series after recording 22 in the regular season. Castro led off the home first with an infield hit, moved to second base on an Adduci bunt base hit and was then thrown out at third base by Kintzler on a failed Ty Wright sacrifice bunt attempt. Blake Lalli then slapped a single into left field to bring Adduci around from second base with the game's first run. The Stars had two runners on the first inning before Lucroy lined into a double play and then had runners at the corners with two out in the second inning for Kintzler, who ripped a sinking line drive to left field that was caught by a diving Wright to end the inning and squash the threat. Smokies' starter Hung-Wen Chen settled in and wound up retiring eleven of the last 12 batters he faced to finish off his five frames of work. The Taiwanese right-hander yielded just one hit, an infield single by Wilson in the fourth, walked three and struck out four. Chen threw 46 pitches to get through the first two innings and wound up tossing 85. Jason Ruhlman followed Chen to the mound for the Smokies and set down the first four hitters he faced before Wilson belted a home run just over the left-center field wall on a 3-0 pitch to get the game tied at one in the seventh. Freddy Parejo followed with a single that chased Ruhlman and brought on Marcos Mateo, who struck out the next two hitters to end the frame. The Smokies' right-hander earned the win by facing only two batters before the winning rally. Huntsville Box Score Ho-hum, it's like Groundhog Day with these Huntsville box scores -- well, Bill Murray is a Cubs' fan, right? Steffan Wilson be 24 next May and should be a fun power source at this level; looks like RHP Brandon Kintzler was a find, at the very minimum as starting rotation depth at the upper levels; here's hoping we see production from Lorenzo Cain and Taylor Green in the AFL; thank you, Jonathan Lucroy, for a fun season following you... Huntsville Game Log

Remember -- Players who signed when 18 or younger are eligible for the draft after five years. Players who signed when 19 or older are eligible after four years. This is why LHP Zach Braddock, for instance, does not need to be added this fall. So in terms of 40-man roster consideration, these are the players not eligible for free agency, but who would be Rule 5 eligible if not placed on the 40-man roster. If any of the players in the prior post resign a minor league deal with the Brewers, add them to the list below: Thanks to poster Minigoon for tracking all this for us -- RHP Chris Cody RHP Robert Hinton RHP David Johnson OF Brendan Katin 1B Joe Koshansky (it appears the Brewers own his rights for one more season -- his origianl affiliated contract was never terminated, but re-assigned through waiver claims) RHP Josh Butler OF Lorenzo Cain OF Chuckie Caufield IF Taylor Green C/1B J.R. Hopf 2B Shane Justis RHP Mike McClendon SS Yohannis Perez RHP Josh Wahpepah LHP David Welch LHP Brae Wright C Anderson De La Rosa 1B Chris Errecart LHP Mike Ramlow RHP Amaury Rivas UT Juan Sanchez 1B Brock Kjeldgaard LHP Jose Romero RHP Rolando Pascual So Lorenzo Cain, Taylor Green, Josh Butler, and Amaury Rivas appear to be locks. Close but probably no cigar on Chris Cody. Considering how many players are likely to be coming off the current 42-man roster (42 because of 60-day DL stints), having to add only four players should give the Brewers sufficient flexibility to maneuver without prematurely dropping a fringe 40-man roster player like Alex Periard or Omar Aguilar.

Following is a list of players who are free to leave the organization in mid-October when minor league free agency begins. These players and the Brewers could agree to sign an additional one-year minor league deal to extend the relationship. Or the Brewers could add the player to the 40-man roster, thus extending the "ownership" of the player. A player who has exhausted all seven years of his original minor league affiliation to the organization that signed him is eligible. Here are the Brewers farmhands who have been with the organization for their full commitment (or even longer in the cases of Jones and Lluberes). We've been following these guys their whole careers. C Carlos Corporan INF Adam Heether RHP Mike Jones OF Freddy Parejo LHP Rafael Lluberes Once a player's original affiliated contract is terminated, minor league players all assume one-year deals going forward with any organization that signs them. Often, especially with younger players below AAA who perform well after literally being picked up from the scrap heap, the organization and the player will both seek to renew the contract for another season fairly quickly -- RHP's Jim Henderson and Brandon Kintzler would seem to fall into that category this year. Here are the players who aren't on their original Brewers affiliated contract who would otherwise be free to walk in mid-October: IF Erick Almonte C Patrick Arlis OF Chris Duffy RHP Matt Ginter LHP Lindsay Gulin RHP Ryan Houston OF Jon Knott LHP Sam Narron IF Johnny Raburn OF Tike Redman OF Adam Stern LHP Chase Wright OF Drwe Anderson IF Michael Garciaparra RHP Jim Henderson RHP Brandon Kintzler RHP Wes Littleton IF Kevin Melillo RHP Juan Sandoval RHP Buddy Flores C Martin Maldonado C Sean McCraw LHP Chris Capuano RHP Ryan DeLaughter If you believe a player is listed in error or have an addition, let us know. We believe we're close, but don't claim to be 100% accurate.

Here's to seeing one more Link Report beyond this one in 2009....

Sunday's Menu: Huntsville: RHP Brandon Kintzler at Tennessee (Cubs), 1:45 PM CT pre-game; 2:00 gametime; game four in a best-of-five series, Smokies lead, 2-1 Live Audio Link *** Follow Sunday's action as it happens: MiLB.com now has Gameday available for AA this season. Huntsville: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=g_box&gid=2009_09_13_hunaax_tenaax_1&did=t559&sid=t559

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