Jim Goulart

Link while active, text follows: Helena's Prince ties record for stolen bases; Osprey drop Brewers By JASON SCOTT - Helena Independent Record Josh Prince turned a tough Brewers loss into something special Wednesday. Prince stole six bases to tie a Pioneer League record, though the Brewers fell to the Missoula Osprey 8-7. He reached base five times and stole third twice plus he got Helena's first hit of the game. "I felt like I just got good jumps," Prince said. "I happened to be running on good pitches. If you steal six, you've got to be doing something right." The Brewer fans that somehow found parking at Kindrick Legion Field got to take in a strange but great game. The Osprey had the Brewers down early - though Helena battled back to within one - and had the tying run in Prince on third before the rally died in the eighth inning. Missoula's starting pitcher Anthony Smith kept the Helena bats at bay into the fifth inning, only allowing two earned runs. While Smith was at work, the Osprey bats were toiling as well. Missoula scored a run in the first, then scored twice in the second and third. A key two-run single by Antonio Sepulveda in the second and a big double by Bobby Stone one inning later were the key for Missoula's early offense. "We didn't play a very clean game," said Helena manager Rene Gonzales. "There were some balls that got through that I felt we could've knocked down." Down 5-1 in the fourth inning, Helena started to climb back into the game. Chris Ellington and Cameron Garfield both reached to lead off the inning before coming home on a wild pitch and a sacrifice, respectively. The Brewers struck again when Garfield led off the sixth with a long double to straightaway center. He came home on a Derrick Alfonso single to cut the Osprey lead to 7-4. The seventh inning was a big one for the Brewers. Prince reached on a walk, then stole second, his fourth steal of the game. Kyle Dhanani made it to first thanks to a Sepulveda error before Scott Krieger laced a double to the right-field corner. Prince scored on the hit and Dhanani came home when Missoula first baseman Paul Goldsmith dropped the relay throw. Garfield sacrificed Krieger home with a ground ball to second base and when the inning ended, Helena had cut the deficit to 8-7. "At no point did anyone get down," Prince said. "We battled. If a couple balls get through, we win that game." In the eighth, designated hitter Derrick Alfonso led off swinging, driving the first pitch he saw in the inning just left of the left-field pole for a loud strike. He later struck out for the first out of the inning. Prince rapped a two-out single, then stole second and third to tie the single-game record, shared with Ogden's Mario Mendez, who set the mark in 2002. "It's a great feeling, a great accomplishment," Prince said. "Maybe someday I'll break it, steal seven." Gonzales said that while he called for some of Prince's steals, the speedster was able to be cut loose and use his own instincts to get the rest. "He's a madman out there," Gonzales said of Prince. "I was wondering in the latter part of the game what the record was. When he gets on he makes things happen." Later in the inning, Krieger got a pitch that he hit hard to right field, but it was right at Ender Inciarte and the rally fell short. "It was a strange game," said Gonzales. "I was proud of the fact that we came back, especially in a game like that. When we do it early in the season, we have that to work with later." The Brewers are back home tonight at 7:05 (8:05 Central) against the Osprey. It is the last game of the homestand, after which Helena will head to Missoula for the Osprey home opener. Cutter Dykstra will start his first game at second as a Brewer today, while Damon Krestalude is slated to start on the mound. Krestalude, a right-hander from Port St. Lucie, Fla., will face Missoula's Miguel Pena. Cameron Garfield, catcher for the Helena Brewers, just misses tagging Missoula's Ramon Castillo as he makes his way home, pulling his team ahead four with a score of 5-1 in the top of the third Wednesday night. (All photos by Eliza Wiley, Helena Independent Record) http://www.helenair.com/content/articles/2009/06/25/sports/top/50spl_090625_brewers.jpg Josh Prince, Helena Brewers, safely steals second from Antiono Sepulveda, Missoula Osprey. http://images.townnews.com/helenair.com/content/articles/2009/06/25/sports/top/50spl_090625_brewers-2.jpg Brewer's Josh Prince makes it safely to first after the ball is overthrown to Missoula's first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. http://images.townnews.com/helenair.com/content/articles/2009/06/25/sports/top/50spl_090625_brewers-3.jpg

Final: Missoula (Diamondbacks) 8, Helena 7 Helena Site Game Summary Brewers Fall to Osprey By Dan Douts / Helena Brewers HELENA, MT-- Helena's Josh Prince tied a Pioneer League record stealing six bases on Wednesday night against Missoula. However, Prince's effort was not enough to boost the Brewers past the Osprey, as Missoula took game two of the series 8-7. Prince, a 2009 3rd round pick out of Tulane University, led Conference USA last season with 48 stolen bases and continued swiping bases in professional ball. Prince began his record-setting night by stealing second and third after he reached leading off the first. He came around to score to tie the game up 1-1. The Osprey quickly responded by scoring two runs in the second and third innings giving Missoula a lead the Brewers could not overcome After dropping the season opener on Tuesday 10-5, Missoula responded by putting up eight runs on ten hits against the Brewers staff that featured two first-round picks in the game. 2008 first-round pick Jake Odorizzi started the game and was given the loss after he gave up five earned runs in four innings. Fellow first-rounder Eric Arnett made his professional debut coming out of the bullpen tonight. Arnett, the 26th overall pick in this year's draft, struggled through one inning pitched allowing two earned runs on one hit and two walks. Missoula starter Anthony Smith gave up two earned runs on two hits in 4.1 innings pitched. Although he left the game with the lead, he did not record enough outs to qualify for the win. Keith Cantwell relieved Smith in the fifth and pitched 1.2 innings giving up one run to record the win. The two teams will play the rubber match game tomorrow night at Kindrick Field. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM with Helena sending Damon Krestalude (0-0) to the mound to face Missoula's Miguel Pena (0-0). Helena Box Score Impressive professional debut for 24-year-old RHP Michael Fiers, who will need to make a quick impression, but we won't harp on his age every outing this summer; 18-year-old Dominican Hitaniel Arias, all 6'6" of him, makes his season debut playing first base, as opposed to the outfield while in Maryvale in 2008; seven walks among the top six in the order... Helena Game Log

By the way, we'll start a second-half season transaction thread after July 1st. This monster is probably getting a bit unwieldy for most -- you can thank all those Helena "paper" transactions http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/tongue.gif

Another undrafted free agent inked -- Link while active, text follows: Marion's Dunn joining Brewers organization By Justin Walker Marion (IL) Daily Republican Andrew Dunn is not quite sure how it happened, but he's glad it did. Dunn, who threw off pitching mounds at Marion High School, John A. Logan College and Southern Illinois University over the past half-decade, was contacted by the Milwaukee Brewers organization Wednesday night. The 6-foot-5 righthander will board a plane Sunday for Phoenix, Ariz., where he will sign a professional contract, take a physical examination and begin an arm-strengthening program. He also expects to play a few games in the Arizona League, although was told he'll likely be joining the Brewers' rookie league team in Helena, Mont., in the upcoming few weeks. "I haven't been throwing much since college ended so they're going to make sure I'm in shape and put me in rookie ball," Dunn said. "I went out in the yard and threw a lot of changeups and curveballs tonight, and I'm going to stop by SIU's field tomorrow to throw a little more and thank all my coaches for everything." Dunn was anticipating a potential call from the San Francisco Giants, but was instead contacted by the Brewers out of the blue - despite no previous contact from them. "I had a funny number on my phone and it was the Brewers," he said. "I thought it was a little weird, but I have filled out so many questionaires that they must have gotten one of them. They said they need pitchers, ones with college experience that can throw strikes. I think the main thing was the low number of walks I had this year." This past spring, Dunn went 8-4 with a 3.15 ERA in 18 appearances with the Salukis, nine of them starts. He struck out 29 and walked just 10 with five hit batsmen in 71 1-3 innings. In 2008, Dunn started 10 games and went 2-6 with a 5.40 ERA, striking out 18 and walking nine in 46 2-3 innings. As a freshman at Logan, Dunn won six games and struck out 52 batters, leading to his being drafted in the 29th round of the major league draft by the Atlanta Braves. But he chose to return to Logan, where he went 9-1 with a 1.57 ERA. Dunn, who was an all-South Seven Conference selection during his tenure with Marion, is taking a little extra motivation with him as he chases a dream. "I wasn't picked up in this year's draft, so that just means I have to prove myself a lot more," Dunn said. "I can't go down there and throw wild or look like I don't have good stuff." Southern Illinois University Player Page http://www.mariondaily.com/archive/x488812130/g2582585b4757dd30e8e1d9a97b7968a9bf34490dca8838.jpg

AAA plays a full season, just like the bigs.

Formal updates on Helena's 8-7 loss and Nashville's marathon (now 3-3 in the 15th) in the "real" AM, not the overnight AM.

Final: Arizona Cubs 12, Arizona Brewers 6 C'mon guys, it's the Cubbies! Learn now.... Arizona Box Score 100 degrees at game time -- 85 in Helena, a bit warm there, too, but Mesa actually had a stronger breeze; pro debut for 17th round pick junior college RHP Tyler Cravy; 35th round lefty Matt Costello already with two, two-inning stints after three team games; LaCrosse's R.J. Seidel quickly overcoming winter knee problems, as noted above; just-turned 19-year-old Dominican RHP Luis Guerrero posted decent Maryvale numbers as a workhorse in '08, but he's back in Arizona, no harm there; twice Cub outfielders threw Mike Brownstein out at third (one seemed justified as a run scored), and he also was eliminated at home on a fielder's choice -- long night, but he finally got to score in the 9th; by the way, Brownstein reached all five plate appearances and has a 1.650 OPS after three games; moreso than in years past, a "starting lineup" seems to have been established early on -- we're only three games in and outside the three catchers, only nine position players have seen action... Arizona Game Log

LINK

Final: Chattanooga (Dodgers) 8, Huntsville 5 Perhaps some technical issues, no game summary available from Brett this evening, on we go... Huntsville Box Score David Welch much too hittable tonight (perhaps he could have borrowed a smidge of wildness from the Manatees hurlers on this evening); only a four-run Stars' 9th (Kevin Melillo bases-loaded triple) made the final score respectable; Josh Wahpepah cleaned up late, three runs in three innings -- not singling out Josh here, but it has to be tough for the likes of Wahpepah, Robert Hinton, or other long-tenured Stars to see a very "hot" John Axford blow by them after a quick AA pitstop -- teammates yes, but emotions must still run strong, an overlooked aspect of we fans following these kids... Huntsville Game Log

Chuck Valenches has a good grab on the current vibe and who he needs to interview. This is a must-listen if only for the exchange Manny Ramirez and Angel Salome shared at the plate Tuesday night (they played at the same high school, as many of you know). Nashville Pre-Game Audio Chat with Catcher Angel Salome Also -- 6/24 Cory Provus Pregame Interview w/ Pitcher Chris Narveson Cory also interviewed Mike Burns and Chris Smith a while back, but SportsBubblers' archive page is having issues. If someone stumbles upon those, link away.

Now that's some serious detective work. Taylor just broke MiLB's own HIPPA privacy laws.

I can't speak for the other forums, which I barely get a chance to visit in-season while "Link Reporting", but it takes about 30 seconds to read (and learn quite a bit) about our new rookie ballers in Wednesday's Link Report, and obviously we had a few highly motivated (and entertaining) posters who kept some of us on the edge of our seat for a while. It's unlikely things are going to morph much beyond that, and to be honest, you don't want to see just my posts there each night. You are the only one to comment specifically on the Link Report thus far. a bunch of "Wow, Jim hit a fly ball to the warning track!" style posts. That's just a blatantly poor description of what you were "forced" to deal with Wednesday evening in that thread.

But apparently one-liners do have meaning.

Hey fans, don't worry about this on the rookie levels for now, but every so often a player at the non-rookie levels will be out for an extended time, and it simply flies under the radar because there wasn't an official transaction. But keep us posted on such instances when you notice them, usually they involve lower-end prospects, and we guess Chris Errecart falls in that category now. Hasn't played since June 11th despite being on the active Brevard roster.

Final: Dunedin (Blue Jays) 12, Brevard County 1 Brevard County Game Summary (Press Release): Dunedin Completes Sweep with Blowout Win (Viera, FL) Anytime your backup catcher is your best pitcher, things are probably not going your way. This was the case for Brevard County Wednesday night, as they were routed by Dunedin, 12-1. The Blue Jays hammered Manatees' pitchers all night, pounding them for 13 hits. They took advantage of the general inability of the Brevard County staff to find the strike zone, drawing 13 walks. Raul Barron led the Dunedin attack with a 3-5 performance, including a triple and six runs batted in. He was helped by Manny Rodriguez, who added two hits and three RBI, and Kevin Ahrens, who had two hits and two RBI. Eight Blue Jays had a hit, and eight scored a run as well. Kenny Rodriguez (6-2) continued his strong season, allowing just one run on six hits over five innings, lowering his ERA to 1.97. Michael Bowman (2-2) lasted just three innings, absorbing the loss for the Manatees. He was rocked for five runs (four earned) on four hits and five walks. Brandon Rapoza was unable to put out the fire, as he was tattooed for six runs on six hits and three walks in just 1.2 innings. Backup catcher Brett Whiteside was the lone bright spot on the mound for Brevard County, allowing just one hit and one walk in two scoreless innings, while striking out three. Whiteside has been excellent as the emergency pitcher, with a scoreless streak of six innings this season. Lee Haydel, Eric Farris and Zelous Wheeler each contributed two hits on the offensive side. Dunedin's win gives them a sweep of the three-game series. They finish the first half at 33-34, good for third place in the FSL North. The Manatees ended the first half on a sour note, as their losing streak has reached a season-high six games. They still won the FSL North first half title easily, with a record of 40-24, a comfortable 7.5 games ahead of second place Daytona. The Manatees continue their homestand Thursday, opening a four-game series with Palm Beach, who they swept at Roger Dean Stadium two weeks ago. Amaury Rivas (4-5, 3.82 ERA) is expected to pitch the opener. Brevard County Box Score Caleb Gindl ejected after grounding out to end the 5th -- doubtful he agreed with the call; Gindl's first start in a bit, so he's fine -- feisty, too; just one of those nights on the mound, what can you say, so out of the ordinary; CF Logan Schafer threw out a man at third base on what was a "sacrifice double play" in the 4th -- don't see that often; backup catcher Michael Roberts an interesting choice to sub for Gindl, this roster isn't swimming in outfielders... Brevard County Game Log

Just a note that soon-to-be 19-year-old infielder Joan Abreu of the DSL squad hasn't appeared in a game since June 8th. Everyone else has been active regularly. And if you've somehow benefited by knowing this, then I worry about your sanity. Now question mine...

Final: DSL Blue Jays 3, DSL Brewers / Orioles 2 Another walk-off loss... DSL Brewers / Orioles Box Score No Brewers on the mound; catcher Jhonatan Javier reached base twice to lift his OBP to .432 and stole his 4th base -- passed ball # 7, however; 16-year-old Luis Chirinos was the DH and also reached twice -- he and Javier drove in the team's runs; LF Ronny Puella (.921 OPS in a linited 35 AB's) 2-for-3 with a double; OF Juan Barrini also doubled; Barrini threw out a man at the plate to end the 1st inning and nearly did the same to end the 7th -- however, his throwing error did result in the same baserunner eventually being out at home on the play -- see the log, it'll be clearer; SS Andres Martinez a late sub only... DSL Brewers / Orioles Game Log

Midwest League Standings Arizona League Standings Dominican Summer League Standings

Nashville fans willing to pay the associated fee can watch the Albuquerque series this weekend via MiLB.TV. *** 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. *** AAA All-Star voting is here with your MiLB.com online account. Time is running out -- vote through the 26th.

Follow Thursday's action as it happens: Here's what you do, right click on each of the links below and choose "Open in New Tab or New Window". Choose "Recap". While you're listening to your minor league game of choice (or watching/listening to the big league Crew when they are playing), simply refresh your game log browsers every so often. 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_06_25_nasaaa_albaaa_1 Huntsville: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t559&t=g_box&gid=2009_06_25_cngaax_hunaax_1 Brevard County: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&t=g_box&gid=2009_06_25_pbcafa_breafa_1 Wisconsin: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=g_box&gid=2009_06_25_peoafx_wisafx_1&did=t572&sid=t572 Helena: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t433&gid=2009_06_25_misrok_helrok_1&cid=433&t=g_box Arizona Rookie (Maryvale): http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2009_06_25_athrok_brrrok_1 Dominican Summer League Brewers / Orioles: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&gid=2009_06_25_dobrok_dchrok_1&cid=3130&t=g_box

Thursday's Daily Menu: All times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Link here for the live audio choices - audio will no longer archive. For this Brevard County series, the opponent (Palm Beach) audio is available via this link Nashville: LHP Chris Cody at Albuquerque (Dodgers), 7:40 PM pre-game; 8:05 gametime Huntsville: LHP Bobby Bramhall at home vs. Chattanooga (Dodgers), 6:45 PM pre-game; 7:00 gametime Brevard County: RHP Amaury Rivas at home vs. Palm Beach (Cardinals), 6:05 PM gametime Wisconsin: RHP Alex Periard at home vs. Peoria (Cubs), 6:50 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime; LHP Dan Merklinger is scheduled to pitch in relief Helena: RHP Damon Krestalude at home vs. Missoula (Diamondbacks), 7:50 PM pre-game; 8:05 gametime Arizona Summer League: at home in Maryvale vs. the rookie Athletics; no more day games -- all games begin at 7:00 local time in the desert; no audio, naturally... Dominican Summer League Brewers / Orioles: at the DSL Cubs # 2 squad (see this thread for some roster background) -- all games are 10:30 local time in the Dominican, and no need to ask about web audio; we usually won't see updated box scores until the overnight...

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

RHP Adam Arnold, the 2007 41st round pick out of Canada who was released by the Brewers this spring, was released this week by the Kalamazoo (MI) club of the independent Frontier League.

RHP Adam Arnold, the 2007 41st round pick out of Canada who was released by the Brewers this spring, was released this week by the Kalamazoo (MI) club of the independent Frontier League.

Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nashville 41 31 .569 - 23-15 18-16 L3 Iowa 38 34 .528 3.0 21-16 17-18 L1 Memphis 33 38 .465 7.5 20-15 13-23 W1 Omaha 27 44 .380 13.5 11-21 16-23 L3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Huntsville 2 0 1.000 - 2-0 0-0 W3 Carolina 1 1 .500 1.0 1-1 0-0 W1 Tennessee 1 1 .500 1.0 0-0 1-1 L1 Chattanooga 0 2 .000 2.0 0-0 0-2 L2 West Tenn 0 2 .000 2.0 0-0 0-2 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brevard County 40 23 .635 - 15-13 25-10 L5 Daytona 33 32 .508 8.0 16-13 17-19 L1 Dunedin 32 34 .485 9.5 12-21 20-13 W2 Clearwater 31 34 .477 10.0 15-17 16-17 L2 Tampa 30 36 .455 11.5 16-21 14-15 W2 Lakeland 28 35 .444 12.0 16-19 12-16 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pioneer League (R+) - PIO North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Billings 1 0 1.000 - 1-0 0-0 W1 Helena 1 0 1.000 - 1-0 0-0 W1 Great Falls 0 1 .000 1.0 0-0 0-1 L1 Missoula 0 1 .000 1.0 0-0 0-1 L1