Jim Goulart

The Manatees' Game vs. the Tampa Yankees was postponed due to heavy rainfall. The 'Tees and Yanks will square off in a double-header Saturday beginning at 5:00 PM (4:00 Central).

The Nashville Media Notes are always jam-packed -- here's some especially relevant points -- MAT MASHING: Third baseman Mat Gamel has emerged from a recent slump to hit .294 (27-for-92) over his last 25 games. He had hit only .109 (5-for-46) over his previous 14 contests for the Sounds. GIVE 'EM THE HEETHER: Appearing at a team-leading seven positions this season, utilityman Adam Heether is hitting .380 (27-for-71) in his last 22 games. Heether ranks 4th in the PCL with a .405 on-base percentage, reaching base safely in 83 of 107 games.

Nashville Media Notes: CLINE NAMED PITCHING COACH: Steve Cline joins the Sounds as interim pitching coach today, replacing Jim Rooney who returned to his scouting duties for the organization. Cline, who joins Nashville from the Brewers' rookie-level Arizona League affiliate, is in his 29th season as a pitching coach in the minor leagues and 14th year in the Brewers' farm system.

Nashville catcher Angel Salome was activated from the DL Friday. Now, will he play? This is not a designated hitter series in New Orleans.

The Brewers are dying for Gamel's LH bat, although Gamel has killed lefty's this year. Adam Heether could potentially be McGehee next year, just need to add him to the 40-man. Heether has multiple position flexibility as well, including shortstop and a bit of OF. Thanks for 2009, Casey. You'll be elsewhere next year, hopefully as part of a profitable deal.

From Tom at the J-S: Schafer impresses Ken Macha was happy to hear that Brevard County centerfielder Logan Schafer was leading the Class A Florida State League with a .311 batting average. Schafer, a third-round pick in the 2008 draft out of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, was one of the last minor-leaguers the Brewers kept in spring training and impressed Macha with his poise and skills. "I liked him," said Macha. "So, congratulations to him. He's not scared, that's for sure."

Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Memphis 73 66 .525 - 40-27 33-39 L1 Nashville 73 67 .521 0.5 38-33 35-34 W1 Iowa 71 69 .507 2.5 43-25 28-44 L4 Omaha 63 77 .450 10.5 34-39 29-38 W5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tennessee 35 31 .530 - 17-18 18-13 L1 West Tenn 35 31 .530 - 19-12 16-19 W1 Chattanooga 34 32 .515 1.0 19-13 15-19 L1 Huntsville 25 40 .385 9.5 13-17 12-23 L5 Carolina 25 41 .379 10.0 11-20 14-21 W4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tampa 46 18 .719 - 19-12 27-6 W2 Brevard County 38 23 .623 6.5 22-13 16-10 W2 Clearwater 34 33 .507 13.5 18-17 16-16 L2 Dunedin 32 32 .500 14.0 18-13 14-19 L2 Daytona 28 37 .431 18.5 14-21 14-16 W1 Lakeland 25 37 .403 20.0 11-13 14-24 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pioneer League (R+) - PIO North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Great Falls 15 14 .517 - 6-8 9-6 W6 Missoula 15 15 .500 0.5 6-7 9-8 W1 Helena 8 20 .286 6.5 5-10 3-10 L1 Billings 8 21 .276 7.0 7-9 1-12 L3

This link will be included in each daily report when the Nashville Sounds are scheduled to play. Normally it is updated a few hours prior to gametime. Nashville Media Notes (Adobe .pdf format): *** We're going to include the link to Kraig McNutt's Nashville blog in the same post as the Nashville media notes link going forward. Check out Adam Heether's 2nd HR of Thursday's game, the go-ahead blast, at the link above. Nice work, Kraig! *** "Voice of the Rattlers" Chris Mehring's informative and entertaining Rattlers Radio Blog includes game notes an hour or two before gametime. *** Midwest League Standings

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.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2009_09_04_nasaaa_nozaaa_1 Here's a bonus link to the Memphis game vs. Oklahoma City in Memphis (Redbirds lead the Sounds by 1/2 game): http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t238&t=g_box&gid=2009_09_04_orhaaa_mrbaaa_1 Huntsville: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=g_box&gid=2009_09_04_jaxaax_hunaax_1&did=t559&sid=t559 Brevard County: http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&gid=2009_09_04_tbyafa_breafa_1&cid=503&t=g_box Wisconsin: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=g_box&gid=2009_09_04_cedafx_wisafx_1&did=t572&sid=t572 Helena Completion of Suspended Game: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2009_08_08_helrok_bilrok_2 Helena Regularly Scheduled Game: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=g_box&gid=2009_09_04_helrok_bilrok_1&did=t433&sid=t433

Friday's Menu: TGIF! Times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: LHP Chris Cody at New Orleans (Marlins), 6:40 PM pre-game; 7:05 gametime Live Audio Link Huntsville: RHP Brandon Kintzler at home vs. Jacksonville (Marlins), 6:45 PM pre-game; 7:00 gametime Live Audio Link Brevard County: TBD at home vs. Tampa (Yankees), 5:50 PM pre-game; 6:05 gametime Live Audio Link -- Thank You Stephen Smith of SpaceCoastBaseball.com Wisconsin: RHP Trey Watten at home vs. Cedar Rapids (Angels), 6:20 PM pre-game; 6:35 gametime Live Audio Link Helena: First, it's the completion of August 8th's game at Billings (Reds) with the H-Crew up 1-0 in the 4th; then, in the seven-inning nightcap, RHP Eric Arnett is scheduled to start, 6:50 PM pre-game; 7:00 gametime Live Audio Link Arizona Summer League: Season complete (12-16 first half, 13-15 second half, 25-31 overall) Dominican Summer League Brewers / Orioles: Season complete -- the squad finished 27-43, 11th place in the 12-team division, 24.5 games behind the first-place DSL Giants. If it makes you smile, the DSL Cubs #2 squad finished last at 15-52, and lost their final 19 games of the season.

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

LHP Sam Narron is activated from the "DL" (term used loosely) at Nashville.

Corey Patterson to Milwaukee. Is this really the time and place, Nashville's 1/2 game out, and it's not like Mike Cameron and Jody Gerut are hurt. Discuss in the major league thread here -- the link starts within today's posts in the thread. With Adam Stern at World Cup, you've got Jon Knott, Tike Redman, and Brendan Katin, all right-handed bats, as your true outfielders. Hernan Iribarren and Adam Heether can help out. Corey Hart is also there, but probably for limited innings this weekend.

Nice, thanks! I'll say one thing. That field in Appleton looks pristine, nice job, staff!

Final: Missoula (Diamondbacks) 11, Helena 3 Link while active, text follows: Brewers slipping out of pennant race Helena Independent Record A night after a walk-off win, the Helena Brewers dug themselves a big hole Thursday in front of 808 fans at Kindrick Field. Brewers starter Jake Odorizzi gave up seven runs to Missoula in the first inning and the Osprey dominated en route to an 11-3 victory to take the series. "It was pretty much just a (butt) whooping," Helena manager Rene Gonzales said after his team fell to 8-20 in the second half. Odorizzi has been good lately, but Thursday was not his night. "His location was terrible during warmups and it just carried over into the game," Gonzales said. As has been the storyline for the Brewers, run production was lacking and didn't come until late in the game. Helena still finished with nine hits, while Missoula (15-15) had 14. Miguel Pena started on the mound for Missoula, picking up just his second win of the season. Pena gave up six hits and a pair of runs in five innings, striking out two. "He was really nothing special, but we made him look good tonight," Gonzales said. Carlos George, the Brewers new infielder from the Arizona League, was the only player in the Helena lineup to record more than one hit. George was 2-for-4 with an RBI. No other Brewer had more than one hit, although Chad Stang stroked a double, the only extra-bagger of the night for the home team. Chris Ellington returned from an injury to play left field and, although he didn't start, Cutter Dykstra entered the game for a couple of at-bats at second base. Scott Krieger attempted batting practice but was unable to go, still nursing a wrist injury. He didn't play at all during the series. The Brewers head to last-place Billings (8-21) for a doubleheader today. The two will pick up a makeup contest in the fourth inning at 6:00 PM (5:00 Central) and then play the originally scheduled game following that. The Brewers got a look at new pitcher Jose Oviedo. The right-hander from the Arizona league pitched the ninth inning and struck out one and walked one without allowing a hit. Helena Box Score What can Jake Odorizzi say or do? Just come out next time and forget about it... Helena Game Log Ejections: Helena Brewers pitcher Andre Lamontagne ejected by HP umpire Mike Walsh (after an HBP in the 5th). Two Brewers were plunked in consecutive at-bats in the 3rd, so this seems a bit unfair.

Final: Cedar Rapids (Angels) 4, Wisconsin 2 Wisconsin Site Game Summary Wisconsin strands 13 in loss By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - Tyler Chatwood finally gave up a run to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. But, that was all the Cedar Rapids Kernels starting pitcher allowed over five innings and he picked up the win in a 4-2 Cedar Rapids win at Time Warner Cable Field. Gabe Jacobo homered and drove in a pair of runs for the Kernels and offset a four-hit night for Rattlers outfielder Brock Kjeldgaard. Wisconsin had at least one runner on in all but one inning and wound up with 13 left on base for the game. Jacobo gave the Kernels (75-59 overall, 35-29 second half) a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning. His solo homer with one out was his tenth home run of the season. Wisconsin (58-77, 24-41) got the game back to even in the bottom of the second inning. Brandon Sizemore doubled to start the frame. He was still there with two outs. Then, Erik Miller singled to right to drive in Sizemore with the tying run. That run off Chatwood was the first run Wisconsin scored in 20 innings against him this season. The right-hander would not give up another. But, he almost did. Wisconsin almost took the lead in the bottom of the third. Pete Fatse walked to start the inning and went to second on a wild pitch. Kjeldgaard singled to center and Fatse tried to score on the play. But, Tyson Auer threw a strike to the plate and Fatse was out. Kjeldgaard made it to second on the play, but was left stranded when the inning ended. The Kernels loaded the bases with one out in the top of the fourth inning on a pair of singles and a walk. Darwin Perez singled in the go ahead run. A two-out RBI single by Jacobo in the top of the fifth inning put the Kernels up 3-1. Cedar Rapids added an unearned run in the sixth inning. Wisconsin committed a pair of errors which led to runners on second and third with one out. A sacrifice fly by Rolando Gomez made it 4-1. Chatwood pitched a scoreless fifth inning by leaving the bases loaded and that qualified him for the win. Chatwood was 4-0 in four starts against the Timber Rattlers this season. He allowed one run in 23-1/3 innings for an ERA of 0.39. The Rattlers cut into the lead with a run in the bottom of the seventh against reliever Chris Armstrong. Josh Prince singled to start the inning. One out later, Kjeldgaard doubled into the left field corner. Prince scored easily on the fourth hit of the night for Kjeldgaard. However, Kjeldgaard was left stranded at third. In the bottom of the eighth, Wisconsin had runners at second and third with one out after a hit batsman, a walk, and a wild pitch. But Johnny Hellweg got out of the inning with a pair of popups to keep the Kernels up 4-2. In the bottom of the ninth, Kjeldgaard walked with one out and Sizemore singled with two outs to bring the winning run to the plate. Hellweg got a strikeout to end the game and pick up his second save with the Kernels. The Timber Rattlers wrap up the home part of their 2009 schedule on Friday night against the Kernels. Trey Watten (5-13, 4.58) is the scheduled starter for the Rattlers. Cedar Rapids sends Will Smith (9-5, 3.95) to the mound. The first 1,000 fans into the stadium on Friday night will receive a reusable bag from Baycom. Friday is also North Shore Bank Family Night with Kids 12 and under eating free. Kids 14 and under will have the opportunity to run the bases courtesy of Thedacare after the final KISS 95.9 FM post-game fireworks display of the season. In addition, the Rattlers will be having their final Bang for Your Buck Night featuring beer, soda, and hot dogs for $1. There will also be a 2010 magnet schedule giveaway from Fast Signs of Appleton and all fans wearing Timber Rattlers apparel will receive a 2010 ticket voucher. Finally, at some point before the game on Friday night, the Timber Rattlers will break the 250,000 mark in attendance for the first time ever. Thursday's attendance of 4,479 bumped Wisconsin's season attendance to 247,788. That leaves them 2,212 fans shy of a quarter million in attendance for the 2009 season. Game time is 6:35 PM. Wisconsin Box Score RHP Corey Frerichs kept it close in the top of the 9th, getting two outs while stranding all three Rigoberto Almonte runners, always look to mention incidentals like that; LF Derrick McPhearson nailed a runner at the plate to end the 7th; Brock Kjeldgaard hitting .339 in 124 August / September AB's; rough night for Michael Vass, golden sombrero; INF John Delaney's turn to hit cleanup, it's a patchwork lineup but it does give guys a chance to step up; it was a Wily Peralta start, so it was a game of note -- we'll need to see some six snd seven inning outings at Brevard in 2010 should the Brewers cut him loose from any limits... Wisconsin Game Log

Details on the Wisconsin (4-2) and Helena (11-3) losses a bit later this AM, thanks for coming back to us...

Final: Brevard County 6, Clearwater (Phillies) 4, 11 innings Brevard County Box Score Not a shred of coverage anywhere, so here goes; Logan Schafer singled in the go-ahead run in the top of the 11th and Eric Farris added an insurance run with a sacrifice fly; Manatees led 4-0 going to the bottom of the 4th, but the Threshers scored single runs in four of the next six innings (each off a different Manatee pitcher) to send the game to extra innings; lefty Rafael Lluberes pitched a perfect 11th, saving the win for Omar Aguilar, who was a victim of Brent Brewer's 33rd error, in the bottom of the 9th; given the use of pitchers in this one (starters Mark Rogers, Amaury Rivas, and Evan Anundsen all seeing action), everything is being geared towards lining up this talented bunch for the tough playoff series vs. the Tampa Yankees, including keeping the squad together at nearly all costs... Schafer doubled, singled, and walked twice, plus he gunned down a key man at the plate in the 8th from center field -- wow; Steffan Wilson and Zelous Wheeler each reached base three times; Caleb Gindl, as noted above, three hits including his 16th HR; Lee Haydel doubled, singled, and stole his 38th base in 48 tries; season-ticket holders at Space Coast Stadium may not be treated to a season like this again for a long time -- what a superb year for these kids in nearly every aspect of the game... Brevard County Game Log

Final: Jacksonville (Marlins) 1, Huntsville 0 Huntsville Site Game Summary Suns Slow Down Stars to Start Series Jacksonville Gets Closer To Clinching Division Title By Brett Pollock / Huntsville Stars Graham Taylor spun seven scoreless frames and combined with two relievers on a three-hit shutout in Jacksonville's 1-0 win over Huntsville Thursday night in the opener of a five-game at Joe Davis Stadium. The Suns improved to 43-23 in the second half and maintained their two-game lead over victorious Birmingham in the South Division with four games left in the regular season, while the Stars suffered a fifth straight loss, all by one run, to fall to 25-40 in the second half and 63-71 overall. The Suns lead the season series eight games to three and have won four of the six in Huntsville. Stars' starter Nick Green retired the first four hitters he faced before Scott Cousins collected his league-leading 11th triple of the season and came in to score the game's lone run when Kevin Randel followed with a double. Mike Brownstein doubled to lead off the home third in his first double-A at-bat, advanced to third base on a Green sacrifice bunt but stayed put when Drew Anderson struck out and Shane Justis popped out to end the inning. The Suns put runners at the corners with one out in the fourth for Matt Dominguez, who hit a ground ball that Brownstein fielded at third and threw home to try to cut down Cousins. Catcher Jonathan Lucroy chased Cousins back towards third base and tagged him out before going to his knees to tag out a sliding Randel trying to advance to third to complete the inning-ending double play. Green finished his seven innings of work by setting down the last 10 batters he faced. He allowed four hits, walked one, struck out five and recorded a dozen ground ball outs. The right-hander fell to 1-6 and has received four runs of support in his six non-winning turns when he has actually been on the hill. Casey Baron worked a perfect eighth inning in his first appearance for the Stars since July 21 and was followed by Bobby Bramhall, who set down the first two batters in the ninth before walking Mike Stanton to end a string of 15 straight Suns' hitters retired. Cousins singled to extend the inning before Randel fanned to end the threat. Taylor allowed three hits, walked one and fanned four to grab the win to improve to 8-7. He has blanked the Stars on four hits over 12 2/3 innings in his two turns in Huntsville. Kasey Olenberger tossed a scoreless eighth inning and was followed by Matt Peterson, who retired the side in order in the ninth to earn his league-best 34th save. The three pitchers did not allow a base runner past first base over the final six frames, as the Stars suffered their second straight 1-0 loss. The series continues Friday night with Huntsville sending right-hander Brandon Kintzler to the hill against Suns' right-hander Nic Ungs. Coverage of the game begins at 6:45 PM central time and can be heard through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com. Huntsville Box Score If the Stars think they'll just be able to flick on the offense after Labor Day for the playoffs, think again -- this team is limping to the postseason; RHP Nick Green's work has been impressive, just a level too low and a bit late for 2009; LHP Bobby Bramhall getting infrequent bullpen work, a long ways away from his (largely ineffective) rotation stint for most of the season; just-turned 22-year-old infielder Mike Brownstein didn't picture himself at AA as of now on draft day -- good for him; will Lorenzo Cain's struggles continue in the Fall League? It truly will be a lost season for him if so... Huntsville Game Log

Final: Nashville 7, Memphis (Cardinals) 6 Nashville Site Game Summary: Link for Adam Heether photo, text follows -- Sounds Rally Late To Take Home Finale, 7-6 NASHVILLE - The Nashville Sounds sent the fans home happy as they concluded their 2009 regular season home slate by rallying from a five-run deficit to post a 7-6 victory over the division-leading Memphis Redbirds in front of a crowd of 5,385 on Thursday evening at historic Greer Stadium. With the victory, Nashville (73-67) pulled back within a half-game of the first-place Redbirds with four games remaining in the season. The Sounds split the four-game series with their cross-state rivals and posted a 10-6 victory in the season series between the clubs. Shortstop Adam Heether enjoyed his second two-homer game of the season for Nashville, pacing the club with three RBIs on the night including a go-ahead two-run blast in the seventh. Nashville trailed 6-1 in the seventh inning before staging a six-run rally in the frame against the Memphis bullpen to claim the victory. It was the club's ninth win this year when trailing in the seventh inning or later. The scoring started early as the clubs exchanged runs in the first inning. After David Freese put Memphis on the board when he plated Tyler Greene with a two-out RBI single off Sounds starter Chase Wright, Heether answered in the bottom of the frame with a two-out solo homer to left to knot the score at 1-1. The blast, which came against Redbirds starter Jaime Garcia, was the infielder's 15th of the year. Memphis pulled back in front with a three-run third against Wright. Greene (3-for-5) led off with a single, stole second and third, and put the visitors on top when he scored on Allen Craig's RBI single to left. After Freese and Jarrett Hoffpauir each singled to load the bases with no outs, Wright recovered to strike out the next two batters before Shane Robinson blooped a two-run single into shallow center to make it a 4-1 contest. The Redbirds tacked on a pair of runs in the fourth against Sounds reliever Robert Hinton, who replaced Wright to start the frame. Jon Jay led off with a walk and moved to second on a Greene single, the infielder's third hit of the night. Hinton then uncorked a pair of wild pitches to allow Jay to score. Craig added a sacrifice fly to push the Memphis lead to 6-1. Nashville rallied to take its first lead of the evening with a six-run rally in the home half of the seventh, sending ten batters to the plate against the Redbirds bullpen. Second baseman Johnny Raburn made it a 6-3 contest when he lifted a two-run homer to right off Memphis reliever Matt Scherer. Mat Gamel preceded Raburn with a single and scored on the blast, his second of the year. The Sounds' rally continued when Patrick Arlis reached on a bunt single and Joe Koshansky walked. Following a wild pitch by Memphis reliever Charlie Manning, Tike Redman lifted a sacrifice fly to left. Corey Patterson followed and drilled Royce Ring's only pitch of the contest down the right field line for a run-scoring double. After the third Memphis pitching change of the inning, Heether belted his second home run of the night, greeting Josh Kinney with a go-ahead two-run homer to left that gave the Sounds a 7-6 lead. AUDIO: Adam Heether Go-Ahead HR John Axford (5-0) picked up the victory for Nashville after working two scoreless innings of relief. David Johnson worked a scoreless ninth to notch his fifth save of the year. Kinney (3-3) absorbed the loss for the Redbirds after giving up Heether's go-ahead homer in his one-third of an inning of action. The Sounds travel to New Orleans on Friday for a regular season-ending four-game series at Zephyr Field. Left-hander Chris Cody (8-7, 4.77) will make the start for Nashville in Friday's 7:05 PM CT series opener to face New Orleans right-hander Clay Hensley (8-4, 3.74). Nashville Box Score Adam Heether is Casey McGehee without the big league opportunity (and oh yeah, the ability to play shortstop as well) -- will the Brewers simply let Adam walk? RHP Juan Sandoval tossed an important scoreless 8th -- deserves a mention as well; how about Johnny Raburn kicking off the comeback with a blast? Sounds' starters just aren't getting the job done -- Chris Cody needs to turn that around Friday night... Nashville Game Log Yes, it was a LH Redbirds' starter, but Mat Gamel hitting 6th, behind newcomer Jon Knott? Gamel's OPS vs. lefties still over 1.000, Don Money (70 AB's); Brendan Katin losing favor as of late, fewer starts and more pinch-hitting appearances; important game and odd time to "rest" Hernan Iribarren, but Raburn made it pay off...

At Wisconsin: Catcher Sean McCraw goes on the DL with an undisclosed injury. Helena's Shawn Zarraga moves us (actually returns to) Wisconsin to fill that spot.

Brett Lawrie Bobblehead Night tonight in Appleton...

Baseball America article, would have been nice to see a Brewerfan mention, but that's OK... A Whole New Game -- Internet has brightened the spotlight for minor leaguers

This link will be included in each daily report when the Nashville Sounds are scheduled to play. Normally it is updated a few hours prior to gametime. Nashville Media Notes (Adobe .pdf format): *** "Voice of the Rattlers" Chris Mehring's informative and entertaining Rattlers Radio Blog includes game notes an hour or two before gametime. *** Midwest League Standings