Jim Goulart

How's Brad Nelson doing? Article from Tacoma Nelson's 2009 Numbers

Nice Timber Rattler photo gallery from the Post-Crescent, all captioned

Link while active, text follows: Timber Rattlers get right fielder Komatsu back but lose game to Dragons By Ryan Wilson Post-Crescent staff writer GRAND CHUTE - It has been a long four months for Erik Komatsu. The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers outfielder began the season as the club's starting right fielder. That assignment lasted just one game as Komatsu injured himself on opening night and went on the disabled list immediately afterward. Komatsu returned to the lineup as the designated hitter on Wednesday night, but he received a rude welcome as Dayton defeated the Rattlers 9-4 in front of 4,098 fans at Fox Cities Stadium. While Komatsu's play was limited to offense, it felt good just to be back in the game. "There were a lot of setbacks on the way back," said Komatsu, who listed an injured hand and hamstring among his ailments this summer. "I was supposed to be back in two weeks, but I'd go out and swing again and I was set back about three times." An eighth-round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers in 2008, Komatsu was a Pioneer League all-star a season ago. Before returning to the Rattlers, he spent five games with the Arizona League Brewers, going four-for-13 with three RBI. "Right now, I'm still trying to get in the swing of things," said Komatsu, who finished Wednesday night going zero-for-two with two walks. "It's almost like this is spring training. I'm just trying to get my timing and everything is a little off right now. And health-wise, I'm just trying to get healthy and stay healthy." The night may have been just what the doctor ordered for Komatsu, but there was frustration to go around for the Timber Rattlers. Questionable calls, including a two-run home run by Dayton's Josh Fellhauer that snuck past the right-field foul pole to give Dayton a 5-3 lead in the fourth inning, brought Wisconsin manager Jeff Isom out of the dugout on several occasions. But Isom's greatest frustration came in the fact that his team battled back to tie the game early, but couldn't hold Dayton on defense. "What I talked to our club about tonight was our inability as a pitching staff to go deep in games," Isom said. "We have a taxed bullpen right now, and if they're not going to give us any kind of length, we're in big trouble." The night began well as Wisconsin starter Daniel Meadows retired the first two batters he faced in the top of the first. Then, trouble set in. Dayton's Carlos Mendez and Cody Puckett singled, and Humberto Sosa walked to load the bases. Meadows' control problems continued as he walked in a run, and an ill-advised throw to first on a pick-off attempt by catcher Sean McCraw went into right field to score another run. The Rattlers returned the favor in the bottom of the inning when Brett Lawrie doubled down the left-field line with one out to score Peter Fatse, and then scored on a fielder's choice. The next two innings were much of the same. The Dragons jumped back in front when McCraw threw wild into center field on a steal attempt. The error allowed Kevin Coddington to score from third for a 3-2 Dayton lead. After Fatse led off the Rattlers third with a triple to right-center, Lawrie brought him home with a base hit to tie the game 3-3. But Fellhauer's two-run shot in the fourth gave Dayton the lead for good. The Dragons tacked on two more runs in the fifth and another two in the seventh.

Wisconsin Site Game Summary Return home doesn't help By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Dayton Dragons kept the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers on a rough ride with a 9-4 win at Time Warner Cable Field. Wisconsin returned home from a 1-5 road trip and found themselves down 2-0 before they got to the plate. Wisconsin fought back to tie the game a couple of times, but the Dragons grabbed the lead for good in the fourth inning on a homer by Josh Fellhauer and got solid relief work from Jordan Hotchkiss to keep the Rattlers off the scoreboard. Dayton (39-59 overall, 11-14 second half) put together a two-out rally in the top of the first inning to go up 2-0. Rattlers starter Daniel Meadows retired the first two batters of the inning, but two singles and a walk loaded the bases. Another walk to Byron Wiley forced in a run. An errant pickoff throw to first by catcher Sean McCraw let in the second run. Wisconsin (46-48, 12-12) wasted no time in tying the game in the bottom of the first. Pete Fatse doubled with one out and Brett Lawrie followed with an RBI double. Later in the inning, Lawrie scored on an RBI fielder's choice by Corey Kemp. But, Dayton scored once in the third on another error on McCraw. The Dragons had runners at first and third with two outs. Miguel Rojas, the runner at first, broke for second. McCraw's throw went into center and Kevin Coddington, the runner at third, jogged home with the run that made the score 3-2. Fatse and Lawrie combined to tie the game in the bottom of the third inning. Fatse started the inning with triple. Lawrie singled him in and evened the score 3-3. But, the Dragons got the two-run homer to right from Fellhauer in the top of the fourth to go up 5-3. The Rattlers pulled to within a run in the bottom of the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Juan Sanchez. Then, the Dragons added two more runs in the top of the fifth. Byron Wiley tripled in the first run and scored on an RBI single by Mike Konstanty. That made the score 7-4 Dayton. Hotchkiss entered in the bottom of the fourth and allowed an inherited runner to score on the sacrifice fly. But, that started a streak of 10 straight Rattlers retired by Hotchkiss. He would allow a two-out single to Fatse in the seventh inning, but got the final out of the frame before leaving the game in the hands of his fellow relievers. Dayton tacked on two more runs in the top of the seventh on an RBI single by Coddington and a sacrifice fly by Rojas to account for the final runs of the night. The Rattlers and the Dragons continue their three-game series on Thursday night. Evan Frederickson (3-5, 4.64) is the scheduled starting pitcher for Wisconsin. J.C. Sulbaran (2-2, 5.12) is scheduled to go for Dayton. Thursday night is Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Night with a special Thursday night Fireworks display. Also, the first 1,000 fans into the game will receive a poster of Timber Rattlers All-Star Catcher Corey Kemp courtesy of Express Convenience Centers. In addition, it is also WIXX Thirsty Thursday featuring beer and soda for $1. Game time is 7:05 PM.

Link while active, text follows: Cain flashes ample speed in return Inside-the-park homer shows knee injury is behind Stars outfielder By Brad Shepard For The Huntsville Times As reluctant as Lorenzo Cain was to let loose on the basepaths, maybe he just needed his baseball instincts to take over. The Huntsville Stars center fielder got that chance Wednesday. In his second game back with the team since a knee injury, Cain legged out an inside-the-park home run to forge a 6-1 win over Carolina. In the process, he helped himself over a huge mental wall. "I'm glad that situation came up because it allowed me to push it without thinking about it," Cain said. "Every day I push it, and it feels OK the next day. That's all I can ask for." After tearing a knee ligament diving for a ball in the outfield on April 23, also against the Mudcats, Cain didn't think he was ready to go full-throttle. Then in the bottom of the third inning, he smacked a line drive deep to right-center, and the ball glanced off the glove of Carolina outfielder Sean Henry. Cain winced rounding third, but he kept chugging - though not quite as fast as when he was healthy. He slid into home safely for the Stars' first inside-the-park home run of the season and the first ever for Cain. He had a little limp in his trot to the dugout, but he was running to center field in time for the top of the fourth. "I felt it a little bit, but I had to turn it on and give it all I had," he said. "It forced me to tonight. I slipped a little coming around second. I thought it was a stand-up triple, but he was waving me home, so I had to go." Before the game, Cain was much more guarded in discussing when he'd have the guts to take off on the basepaths. "I've backed off stealing bases, actually," he said. "I haven't attempted a steal at all since the injury. I haven't had enough courage just to go." Now, that journey for the 23-year-old sixth-rated prospect in the Brewers system may not be such an uphill battle. Flashing back to his injury in Carolina, Cain dove for a ball in the gap and banged his knee hard on the ground. Though hurting, he thought he was OK. When Cain went to bat and scorched a line drive to center, he took two steps toward first and collapsed. The next day, he was on a plane to Milwaukee and was diagnosed with a torn posterior cruciate ligament. After such a promising spring training and impressing the Brewers brass, it was a big blow. "I had set goals for myself, and this put a stop to my plans," Cain said. "It took like two or three weeks to get over the fact that I'm injured because I'd never missed any real amount of time." Within a month, Cain was back on the field working out, but it took him nearly 2 months to return to game action. He played 15 games in Single-A Wisconsin - hitting just .192 with three RBIs and 15 strikeouts in 52 at-bats - before getting called back to the Stars. Huntsville manager Bob Miscik witnessed Cain's spring explosion into the 2009 season, and he knows what he can expect from him when he's healthy. "He had a tremendous spring, and he really put himself on the map with the big-league team," Miscik said. "He was well on track to the major leagues, and it just didn't happen for him on the field." After batting .287 with seven homers and 19 steals in 80 games with Brevard County last year, Cain earned a promotion to the Stars when Matt LaPorta was traded to Cleveland for CC Sabathia. Cain batted .277 with four homers and six steals in 40 Double-A games. Poised to build off that breakout year, Cain suffered a hamstring injury late in spring training that set him back two weeks. He played only four games before the knee injury sidelined him another three months. Wednesday's gallop around the bases should help showed he might be back on that fast track. "I feel August is going to be a big month for me," Cain said after the game. "I'll be stealing bags, but I've still got to make sure it's 100 percent."

News from the independent American Association: DURHAM, NC - The American Association of Independent Professional Baseball announced today that the contract of St. Paul Saints RHP Brandon Kintzler has been sold to the Milwaukee Brewers. Kintzler will be headed to the Brewers' Double A affiliate, Huntsville. Kintzler went 8-3 for the Saints with an ERA of 2.79. In 80 2/3 innings pitched, the 24-year-old Kintzler struck out 46 batters and walked only 24. He was first in the league in wins and fourth in earned run average. He was also the starting pitcher for the North Division squad in the 2009 All-Star Game in Grand Prairie yesterday. Kintzler was a selection of the San Diego Padres in 2004. He pitched two seasons with the Padres organization. The last two years Kintzler played with Winnipeg in the Northern League. The Las Vegas native becomes the 11th player sold to a major league organization since the beginning of the 2009 season. *** Link for source, text below: ST. PAUL, MN (July 22, 2009) - Fresh off his two shutout innings at the American Association All-Star game St. Paul Saints pitcher Brandon Kintzler had his contract purchased by the Milwaukee Brewers organization and is headed to Double-A Huntsville. The 24-year-old Kintzler was having one of the best seasons in his career going 8-3 with a 2.79 ERA in 14 games (11 starts) including one complete game. In 80.2 innings pitched he walked just 24, struck out 46 and opponents were hitting .277 against him. He hurled his first professional complete game on June 8 against the Shreveport-Bossier Captains allowing just a ninth inning run on six hits while walking two and striking out five. He led the American Association in wins, was fourth in ERA and tied for fifth in complete games. "Brandon was a top starter in our league this year," said Saints manager George Tsamis. "He deserved this opportunity." Kintzler was a 40th round draft pick by the New York Yankees in 2003, but elected not to sign and was a 40th round selection by the San Diego Padres in 2004. He spent two seasons in the Padres organization reaching Single-A Fort Wayne at the end of the 2005 season. He missed the entire 2006 season due to a shoulder injury and spent 2007 and 2008 with the Winnipeg Goldeyes in the Northern League. He was the Northern League Rookie Pitcher of the Year in '07 and finished sixth in the league with a 4.07 ERA. In 2008 he was voted to the Northern League All-Star Game and finished the season with a career high in innings pitched (112.1) and strikeouts (73). "This is what I've been working towards for three years since my shoulder injury," said Kintzler. "To get signed by the Brewers and go straight to Double-A is incredible." Kintzler is the fifth player from the Saints signed or drafted by a Major League Organization this season. The Saints have had 95 players signed by Major League Organizations in their 17-year history. http://saintsbaseball.com.ismmedia.com/ISM3/std-content/repos/Top/News/Player%20Action%20Shots/Brandon%20Kintzler/kintzler8.jpg RHP Brandon Kintzler Career Stats St. Paul Bio Page Kintzler is 6'1", 180 -- he'll turn 25 August 1st.

LHP Dan Merklinger gets a deserved bump from Wisconsin to Brevard County. More from the Timber Rattlers' Chris Mehring: MEET THE "NEW" GUYS: Outfielder Erik Komatsu rejoins the Timber Rattlers tonight. Komatsu was the Opening Night right fielder for the Timber Rattlers, but was injured and placed on the disabled list. The 8th round pick of Milwaukee in 2008 was a Pioneer League All-Star last season. Pitcher R.J. Seidel has been on Wisconsin's disabled list all season, but has not been in Wisconsin until today. Seidel, who is rated as the #18 prospect in the Milwaukee system, was a 16th round pick of the Brewers in the 2006 draft out of UW-La Crosse. Finally, OF Erik Miller (hand injury after HBP) has been activated from the DL. He last saw action on May 31st.

Watching on MLB.TV. I'd love to know the percentage of times Braun is down 0-1 in the count. Either he watches strike one, as he did here, or makes up his mind he's going to swing no matter what, and lunges and misses. That was a brutal at-bat.

Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nashville 53 42 .558 - 30-20 23-22 W1 Iowa 50 46 .521 3.5 29-19 21-27 W1 Memphis 47 47 .500 5.5 29-19 18-28 L1 Omaha 38 57 .400 15.0 16-26 22-31 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- West Tenn 16 9 .640 - 7-3 9-6 W1 Tennessee 13 13 .500 3.5 5-6 8-7 W1 Chattanooga 12 13 .480 4.0 6-5 6-8 L3 Huntsville 11 15 .423 5.5 4-7 7-8 L2 Carolina 10 16 .385 6.5 5-10 5-6 W3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tampa 15 7 .682 - 4-4 11-3 W6 Brevard County 15 8 .652 0.5 9-6 6-2 W3 Dunedin 13 11 .542 3.0 7-6 6-5 L2 Clearwater 12 11 .522 3.5 4-6 8-5 W1 Daytona 12 12 .500 4.0 4-8 8-4 L1 Lakeland 12 12 .500 4.0 5-6 7-6 W2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pioneer League (R+) - PIO North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Helena 15 12 .556 - 5-7 10-5 W2 Great Falls 14 13 .519 1.0 8-6 6-7 W1 Missoula 14 13 .519 1.0 9-4 5-9 L1 Billings 9 18 .333 6.0 5-10 4-8 W1

Midwest League Standings Arizona League Standings Dominican Summer League Standings

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. *** "Voice of the Rattlers" Chris Mehring's informative and entertaining Rattlers Radio Blog includes game notes an hour or two before gametime.

Link while active, text follows: Shortstop keeps eye, hopes on Majors Johnny Raburn chases his dream while Stars player By Bob Labbe For the Madison Spirit Each day Huntsville Stars shortstop Johnny Raburn wears his uniform, he feels "I have a chance to make 'the show.' I'll never give up." Why give up now? Raburn, 30, has been part of professional baseball, including his second stop in Huntsville, since being drafted in the 16th round after completing his junior season at the University of South Florida eight years ago. Reaching "the show," a slang term for the Major Leagues, will be a difficult step on the baseball ladder for Raburn, not because he doesn't have the talent, but because of a numbers game. He's a utility infielder and there's only so much room for those players among the 30 teams that make up the show. "I'm absolutely happy as a baseball player, as I'm playing well and making the best of my opportunity," said Raburn. Raburn currently calls Madison home while playing as starting shortstop for the Stars. He has taken a room in the home of Mike Johannes, who is an official member of the Stars Booster Club. Raburn said, "Mike is a nice individual. His son used to play minor league baseball, so Mike knows what it's like for a player to move into a community that is not their home." Born in Tampa, Fla., Raburn's current home is in Plant City, located just outside his hometown. His wife of six years, Heather, 32, lives there with their son, Jace, 4. Raburn said every day he feels sad that his son is growing up and only sees him in pictures." "Having a family while I'm on the road for most of the year is difficult, but I'm taking college on line classes during my spare time and that helps take up my down time," said Raburn, who looks to earn a degree in social sciences. "I'm specializing in sociology and criminology, but will not make a decision on what kind of work I'd like to get into until my days in baseball are over." Raburn has been associated with four major league programs by playing on nine minor league teams since 2000. He played for the Stars in 2004. Raburn said he likes Huntsville and admits the area has grown since he last played here. With today's current economy situation he said, "I'm happy I have a job and the opportunity to play baseball. I'm one of those guys that are laid back and takes one day at a time."

The Nashville series at Memphis is available via the MiLB.TV subscription package

Link while active, text follows: Stars OF cherishes mother's goodbye Anderson grew closer to mom in her final months By Paul Gattis, Huntsville Times Sports Staff The red cloth bracelet on Drew Anderson's left wrist carries a familiar message. "WWJD." What would Jesus do? For the Stars outfielder, though, it has a dual purpose. WWJD. What would Julie do? Julie Anderson was Drew's mom. She died from brain cancer June 20. "It's nice to have that remembrance to look at, to think about her and know that she's there," Anderson said. Her passing is one of those tragedies far from the newspaper headlines. She was diagnosed with cancer in January 2008 after doctors found five tumors in her brain. She was 54 and died only five months after her first granddaughter was born. Painful as it was for Anderson, the hurt somehow felt good, because there was time to love, time to laugh and time to say goodbye. "We knew this was going to happen," Anderson said. "Every time I talked to her every night on the phone and on Web cams, I was able to grow my relationship in the last year-and-a-half better than it was ever in the past - even when I lived with her." And suddenly, the hurt-so-good idea doesn't seem so odd after all. "You know what they're going through, so you're not afraid to say anything," Anderson said. "You tell them everything you've ever wanted to say. I talked to her every day. I got to see her a lot. "People lose their family in a car crash and you don't get to do that, and I got to do that for a year-and-a-half. We celebrated everything we went through. That definitely helped." Somewhere along the way, Anderson transformed himself into an all-star. He described last season as "a career year" when he hit .290 with eight home runs and 71 RBIs at Triple-A Louisville. This season, he's been even better - hitting .300 with six homers and 42 RBIs. He was named to the Southern League all-star game this month, the first time in his eight-year minor-league career he's been an all-star. So how did Anderson do it? How did Anderson play the best baseball of his professional career knowing his mom was suffering back home in Kearney, Neb.? "She would want me to be doing this," he said. "She helped me with baseball, but she was also my brother's Little League coach. She was always a huge supporter of all the sports I played. Even when I saw her, she wanted me to play and (said) 'Don't worry about me.' I learned a lot of great life lessons from her throughout the whole experience." Anderson's wife, Stacy, had the idea for the bracelets and gave them to the family. She also gave Drew an armband with his mother's initials and a cross to wear in games. "Without her and (daughter) Maya, I can't imagine how hard that would have been," Anderson said. The laughing, the loving and the celebrating has continued even in Julie's passing. Anderson's father, Jeff, came to Hoover to watch his son in the all-star game, then followed the Stars to Pearl, Miss., for a series against the Braves. But there is still grieving to be done, more hurt to be faced that probably won't hurt so good. "Even when she passed away, it was like it didn't happen," Anderson said. "(Someone) so important in your life, all of a sudden they're not there." "I was home and waiting for her to come out of her room. I still don't know if I know how to deal with it."

Link while active, text follows: Brewers move into first place with second straight win Helena Independent Record Chris Ellington hit his seventh homer, Eric Arnett pitched three solid innings and the Helena Brewers beat the Casper Ghosts 8-4 Tuesday in their last game of a long road trip. With the win, the Brewers moved into sole possession of first place in the Pioneer League North division after the Missoula Osprey fell to the Idaho Falls Chukars. Mike Brownstein and Cutter Dykstra both scored twice for Helena, which scored five runs in the first inning and moved to 15-12 on the season. Ellington's long ball came in the first inning off Casper starter Juan Gonzalez and brought home Brownstein, who had doubled off the top of the wall in center field. It was nearly Brownstein's first home run as a pro. "I don't think (Brownstein) strikes anyone as a power hitter," Brewers hitting coach Ned Yost said. "(A homer) is bound to happen eventually. The Brewers scored again in the first thanks to an error by Casper shortstop David Hernandez. They followed in the third with two runs; Scott Krieger drove Brownstein home, then scored on another Hernandez error. The Brewers had a chance to put down the Ghosts early, but slowed the attack, allowing Casper back into the game. "We started out great," Brewers manager Rene Gonzales said. "But then we settled in, coasted the rest of the game and let them back in it. I thought we could've put the game away much earlier." The Ghosts began chipping away at the Helena lead starting in the fifth inning. At the end of seven, the Brewers lead had been reduced to one. However, the Helena offense came alive again in the ninth, dropping three runs on reliever Paul Bargas, essentially icing the game. "It was a good win, but not completely satisfying," Gonzales said. "We let pitchers coast and get through innings. If we can get the guys in the stretch (position), it seems like we're able to do damage." The Brewers' record is starting to reflect the amount of talent they have. While offensive stats have been high for the Helena team all year, the wins have been somewhat hard to come by. Yost said he has a good idea why the hitting is coming around in timely spots. "They've been working hard, having good at-bats," Yost said. "It pays off. Any time Prince gets on and Brownstein does his thing, we have a good chance, especially with Krieger and Ellington and (Cameron) Garfield coming up." The Brewers have a day off today before starting another homestand against the Great Falls Voyagers (13-13) starting Thursday. "We should be running away with this division," Gonzales said. "I've said it before, we're better than our record shows. Maybe the guys are coming around. I know we're communicating a lot better and making less mistakes than earlier in the year."

This and that, including my thanks to colbyjack: Don Money sending a message? Brendan Katin not your prototypical # 8 hitter, in a game with no DH even -- yikes. Trying to acknowledge pro debuts this season, and LHP Donald Brandt gets the win in relief for Helena despite an outing with some rough edges. Stars' second baseman Shane Justis isn't ancient at 26, and he lifted his OBP to .382 and his OPS to .816, reaching four times in five trips. A Rule 5 minor league phase pickup, the Brewers still own Justis' rights for two more seasons. Attendance = 1 at the Maryvale game as well. That disappoints me, because along with the DSL listing, wondering if that's a technical notation now.

Nashville postponed, makeup details later on. Let's see, Wisconsin's off, colbyjack's got it made... I'm online watching the Crew tonight, so let me help him out with the obscure DSL report anyway. Final: DSL Brewers / Orioles 11, DSL Cubs # 2 Squad 8 DSL Brewers / Orioles Box Score The boys won despite walking 15 batters; Brewer pitchers Rolando Pascual, Jamie King, and Eliezer Montano combined to both walk and strike out 11 over the final eight innings, with Montano stranding an inherited runner and working 2.2 scoreless; catcher Jhonatan Javier (22 in September) is just a beast -- three-run home run, triple and walk (OPS still a touch over 1.000); LF Juan Barrini singled, SS Andres Martinez 0-for-4; the 5th outfield error for the 17-year-old Barrini; will Javier stick at catcher? -- 5th error and 8th passed ball here... DSL Brewers / Orioles Game Log Finally -- a DSL attendance count! Att: 1. OK, I'm out...

Link Report Bonus: In the recent Zach Braddock thread, there was a side discussion that is basically about the number of Minor League fans who might keep up with the daily news in the system. If we can believe Yuku's thread count totals, which appear to register whether you're logged in or not, let's say the Link Report gets 1,200 page views on average a day. There are certainly a large portion of readers (I prefer "diehards" to "get-a-lifers" http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif) who will check it both early, in-between and late, so let's say that knocks it down to 400-700 actual distinct viewers. Even if it's on the low end of 400 unique individuals checking it out each and every day (I prefer to think it might be closer to 500-600), most of whom don't actually post here, we consider that a pretty solid number of fans. And considering how many family and friends of ballplayers, folks in the media, and members of the Brewers front office we've heard from who enjoy reading the media reports, quotes, and miscellaneous fan comments, that suits us just fine. Kind of like a service we provide that also is a labor of love of sorts. Heck, believe it or not, we recently passed the eight-year anniversary of Link Reports (mid-2001). We started archiving Link Reports in 2003. Back then, we just jumped in as the games ended and the Daily Menu actually appeared at the tail end of the Report, setting up the next evening. We were able to paste in actual box scores back in those days, too. And since most of the links are dead, you now know why we currently include the text while still citing and linking to the source whenever possible. Here's the oldest archived Link Report -- the Smithsonian has it on parchment...

Our always imformative and entertaining draft guru colbyjack will be taking you through the next two evenings of Link Report updates. Enjoy the different perspective for a bit. Thanks, my friend. Sorry I've let home and employment interfere with the timing of the Report the past couple of days. Shame on me! http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

After Tim Dillard pitches tonight, you almost are left with four clones in the Nashville rotation -- lefties Chase Wright and Chris Narveson (soft-tossing), Chris Cody (softer) and Lindsay Gulin (softest). That's not questioning their abilities or in Wright and Cody's case, their promise, but an opponent sure could get used to the pitching basics each offers.

Chris Mehring's Rattlers blog with the 2nd half "playoff standings"

Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nashville 53 42 .558 - 30-20 23-22 W1 Iowa 50 46 .521 3.5 29-19 21-27 W1 Memphis 47 47 .500 5.5 29-19 18-28 L1 Omaha 38 57 .400 15.0 16-26 22-31 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- West Tenn 16 9 .640 - 7-3 9-6 W1 Chattanooga 12 12 .500 3.5 6-4 6-8 L2 Tennessee 12 13 .480 4.0 4-6 8-7 L1 Huntsville 11 14 .440 5.0 4-6 7-8 L1 Carolina 9 16 .360 7.0 5-10 4-6 W2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tampa 14 7 .667 - 4-4 10-3 W5 Brevard County 14 8 .636 0.5 8-6 6-2 W2 Dunedin 13 10 .565 2.0 7-6 6-4 L1 Daytona 12 11 .522 3.0 4-8 8-3 W3 Clearwater 11 11 .500 3.5 3-6 8-5 L1 Lakeland 11 12 .478 4.0 4-6 7-6 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pioneer League (R+) - PIO North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Helena 14 12 .538 - 5-7 9-5 W1 Missoula 14 12 .538 - 9-4 5-8 W1 Great Falls 13 13 .500 1.0 7-6 6-7 L2 Billings 8 18 .308 6.0 4-10 4-8 L4

Midwest League Standings Arizona League Standings Dominican Summer League Standings

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.

Follow Tuesday'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_07_21_nasaaa_mrbaaa_1 Huntsville: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t559&t=g_box&gid=2009_07_21_cmcaax_hunaax_1 Brevard County: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&t=g_box&gid=2009_07_21_jupafa_breafa_1 Helena: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=g_box&gid=2009_07_21_helrok_casrok_1&did=t433&sid=t433 Arizona Rookie (Maryvale): http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2009_07_21_giarok_brrrok_1 Dominican Summer League Brewers / Orioles: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2009_07_21_dobrok_dchrok_1