Jim Goulart

Where's the take sign on 3-and-1?

Rattler Radio Blog for Game notes and such...

From Wednesday's Day 2, colbyjack challenged us to learn about Ohio high schooler Austin Pressley, the only "mystery man" among the top 30 picks. From October '08, on the small-school player -- *** F-M's Pressley tuning up his baseball, golf games Versatile athlete who helped Jets capture sectional links title is also drawing scouts' attention as a pitcher By Dave Long Dayton Daily NewsStaff Writer PITSBURG - Austin Pressley hasn't lopped as many points off his earned run average as he has his golf score. There isn't much room to maneuver when your ERA is already hovering around 1.00. On the golf course, however, "there's always room to improve," he said. "I'm hitting the ball a lot longer this fall, but my short game wasn't real consistent. "If I had hit my irons better, it would have set up easier putts. But I played pretty well for not playing much in the summer." Pressley is a senior at Franklin-Monroe High School and one of the area's better small-school athletes. He was the Cross County Conference Golfer of the Year, averaging 35.9 strokes per nine holes. That's down from 40.1 last season. He was the medalist at the CCC conference tournament, shooting a 72 on the Beechwood course in Arcanum as F-M won the conference title. His short game inconsistency showed at the Division III sectional at Moss Creek in Trotwood on Sept. 24. He shot an 81, but F-M was still able capture one of only a few sectional championships in school history, shooting a 341. Arcanum was second at 348, National Trail third at 366 and Bethel fourth at 370. Nate Feitshans was the Jets' low scorer at 78, which earned him medalist honors. Pressley came in with his 81 followed by Gavin Glasscoe at 88 and A.J. Boutwell at 94. All four teams are at the D-II district tournament today, Oct. 2, at the Weatherwax course in West Middletown, hoping to qualify to the state meet next week in Columbus. "It's always kind of been my dream to make it to state in golf, basketball and baseball," said the 6-foot-4, 200-pound Pressley." But that's pretty hard to do. If I had my choice to go to state, it would be baseball." As with his golf, Pressley has had a breakout year as a pitcher. He was a first pick on the Division IV All-Area last spring. Over the summer he pitched for the Patterson Park Classics, one of the state's amateur programs. "I'd been with the Extreme Cardinals for a few years and they merged with Patterson Park," he said. "Before this summer. I pitching against 16- and 17-year-old competition. "Patterson Park was a big jump because I was going against 18- and sometimes 19-year-old guys who could really swing the bat. I used to just rely mainly on my fastball and a change-up. "But this summer, working the Rick Castle (Patterson Park pitching coach), I really learned how to pitch." Pressley first got scouts' attention a couple of years ago when he hit 90 mph throwing in summer ball. This past summer he was consistently in the 85-88 mph range for Patterson Park. His most impressive outing came at the end of July, when he threw at no-hitter in the championship game of a tournament in Indianapolis. His potential as a Division I college and pro prospect got him invited to the Buckeye Prospect Showcase in early September to work out for college and pro scouts. He again was impressive enough to get the attention of several Division I schools. After graduating from Career Tech Center next spring, he plans on pitching at Sinclair Community College for two years before making a decision on whether to attend a four-year school or see if he is drafted.

Just click your heels and tell yourself, "still in first place, still in first place"...

From Tyler Stover of the Manatees: Manatees actually cannot clinch the division tonight. Despite being behind Clearwater, the magic number over Daytona is still at 3, due to them having more games remaining in the first half.

Chris Mehring updates the Wisconsin starting pitcher for tonight.

The Huntsville Stars announced today that Stars RHP Juan Sandoval has been placed on the disabled list. Undisclosed injury, although Sandoval has certainly struggled in several of his recent outings.

Actually, 35 on the rookie levels, although the Brewers have rarely, if ever, had that many bodies in the dugout at Helena. Arizona, yes. And remember, AAA and AA is 24, not 25.

26-year-old reliever John Axford (posting ridiculous numbers at Brevard County) gets a well-deserved bump to AA Huntsville. That was a nice minor league free agent signing by the Crew in the sping of '08 after the Yankees released him. We should get word on a corresponding AA move today.

Yeah, the draft is going great guns right now, fast as lightning. I think we had very limited availability in terms of assistance today, and you'll see us catching up later. I know why they do it (to fill rosters), but I always shrug when 23- and this year, even 24-year-olds are drafted. We always end up reminding ourselves of their age when they dominate Pioneer League pitching, and then they normally stumble and get released halfway through their next season. Doug Melvin was in the booth last night and made it sound as though they may have a tough time coming up with 50 picks. I hate losing the draft-and-follow, that's what made these 30-50 round selections interesting in the past. Hey, they talked 49th round LHP Daniel Meadows away from Texas Tech last year, so we'll see...

I'll carry the mantle for now. Nieves is at # 22 now, # 20 to open the season. It's not in the 40's, but it's not quite rarified air either. We've described Nieves' as a work in progress, or actually, "uneven", here in the past. But when he's on, he's been fantastic. Heading into this season, his K-to-BB ratio was 115-to-36 along with fewer hits than innings, and he was 18 years old in 2008 when he posted a 66-to-10 ratio in the Pioneer League. He was a 7th round pick, so there was enough seen as a 17-year-old to warrant a selection that high. Earlier reports had him in the 88-to-90 MPH range. It won't show up on stat sheets, but reports from last year indicated he had outstanding intangibles and leadership skills. Oh yeah, he is left-handed, y'know http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif Look at how he wrapped up the 2008 season, which included two Pitcher of the Week awards -- Efrain Nieves, Helena 2-0, 1.93 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 14.0 IP, 10 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 16 SO An easy choice, certainly after tossing the league's best start of the week Aug. 25, with eight shutout innings against Great Falls. Nieves faced just one batter over the minimum, striking out a career-high nine batters. His next start, his last of the season, also came against Great Falls, and Nieves continued to make the Voyagers swing and miss, with seven whiffs in six innings. The Puerto Rican left-hander finishes his summer with a 4.61 ERA, but there were great positive steps, especially with his command (just eight walks over 70 1/3 innings). He finished the season by scattering 11 hits in 17 innings over his last three starts, striking out 22 batters in the process. *** So I hope I've at least backed up our thinking. Let's see where he goes from here. But yes, it's been a disappointingly inconsistent 2009 for Efrain.

Midwest 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. *** AAA All-Star voting is here with your MiLB.com online account.

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_11_mrbaaa_nasaaa_1 Huntsville: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t559&t=g_box&gid=2009_06_11_jaxaax_hunaax_1 Brevard County: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&t=g_box&gid=2009_06_11_breafa_pbcafa_1 Wisconsin: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=g_box&gid=2009_06_11_kccafx_wisafx_1&did=t572&sid=t572 Dominican Summer League Brewers / Orioles: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&gid=2009_06_11_dblrok_dobrok_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, you can pick up the Cardinals' audio via this link. Nashville: RHP Josh Butler at home vs. Memphis (Cardinals), 6:35 PM pre-game; 7:00 gametime Huntsville: LHP David Welch at home vs. Jacksonville (Marlins), 6:45 PM pre-game; 7:00 gametime Brevard County: TBD (LHP Lucas Luetge or RHP Michael Bowman) at Palm Beach (Cardinals), 6:05 PM gametime Wisconsin: LHP Daniel Meadows at home vs. Kane County (Athletics), 6:50 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime Dominican Summer League Brewers / Orioles: at home vs. the DSL Blue Jays 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

Link (no other relevant text) Howell, of Tuscaloosa, went 5-3 with a 6.53 ERA in 11 starts this season for the Tide. He set the Alabama single-game record with 14 strikeouts (7-inning game) against Alabama A&M on March 17. "I'm happy to be drafted, but I had hoped for a little better," junior left-hander Howell said. "It's an honor to be drafted by the Brewers. They have a good organization. I will sit down with everyone and look at things and see what happens as the summer progresses."

Here's your Draft Forum Scouting Report Link to 3rd round SS Josh Prince, out of Tulane Sulphur resident Josh Prince signs with Brewers Sulphur, LA Southwest Daily News After years of hard work, one Sulphur resident realized his dream on Tuesday, as Josh Prince was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the third round (105th overall) of the Major League Baseball draft. "It is a dream come true," Prince said. "I am still on cloud nine. "I like how they handle the system with the younger guys. It is a great place for me to be." Prince was drafted as a shortstop and recently finished his second season for the Tulane University Green Wave. He will have a just a few days to celebrate before heading off to Helena, Montana on Sunday to play for the Helena Brewers of the Pioneer League. Helena is a Rookie Affiliate of the Brewers. Prince said that he would be attending a mini-camp for about a week before the start of the Pioneer League season. Prince (6'3", 195 lbs) spent last summer playing for the Green Bay Bullfrogs in the Northwood League in Wisconsin. Prince was an All-Star shortstop for the Bullfrogs in 2008 while leading the Bullfrogs with 37 runs, seven triples and 20 stolen bases while batting .317. He received the Rawlings Big Stick award for being the top shortstop in the Northwood League. He is coming off a solid 2009 season for the Green Wave after batting .353 with 15 doubles, four triples, six home runs, 31 RBIs and 48 stolen bases. Prince's 48 stolen bases put him a tie for first in the nation. Prince was a two-time All-State selection in his four years at Barbe High School in Lake Charles. The 2006 graduate played both shortstop and pitcher for the Bucs and still holds the record for most saves in a season (5) and career (12) at Barbe. Out of high school, Prince played one season for the University of Texas while earning Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American honors before transferring to Tulane. Information from www.greenbaypressgazette.com and www.tulanegreenwave.com Josh Prince (center) wraps up paper work on Wednesday after being drafted by the Miwaukee Brewers in the third round of the MLB draft. Pictured with with Prince is (L-R) his agent Bobby Straface, his mother Cathy Prince, Brewers scout Jeremy Booth (sitting), his father B.B. Prince and his brother Dooley Prince. http://www.sulphurdailynews.com/archive/x124625005/g25825828f07ab23ea1ed2d6c86e045f608f9b76cb3d9a6.jpg

Final: Wisconsin 7, Kane County (Athletics) 4 Wisconsin Site Game Summary Kjeldgaard connects for game winner By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - Brock Kjeldgaard's three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning broke a 4-4 tie and gave the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers a 7-4 win over the Kane County Cougars on Wednesday night. Kjeldgaard had four RBI on the night to help the Rattlers to their second straight win. Kane County (36-23) jumped to the early lead with three runs in the first inning off Timber Rattler starting pitcher Dan Merklinger. Steve Kleen drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and Grant Desme made it 3-0 with his eleventh home run of the season. The Rattlers (28-31) responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first. Cougars starter Anthony Capra walked the first two batters of the inning. Then, Corey Kemp doubled in the first run and Kjeldgaard drove in the second with a sacrifice fly. Capra would walk two more batters in the inning, but the Rattlers would leave the bases loaded. Petey Paramore led off the top of the fifth inning with a homer to left and the Cougars pushed their lead to 4-2. Wisconsin strung together four straight hits against Kane County reliever Scott Deal in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game. Kjeldgaard started the inning with a double. John Delaney singled to put runners on first and third. Michael Vass singled to knock in Kjeldgaard. An RBI single by Jose Duran sent Delaney home with the tying run. Brandon Ritchie relieved Merklinger with two outs in the top of the seventh inning. He helped set the stage for Kjeldgaard's game winner by keeping the Cougars off the scoreboard over 2-1/3 innings. The winning rally in the bottom of ninth started against Jamie Richmond with a leadoff single by Juan Sanchez. Michael Marseco sacrificed Sanchez to second. Kemp was intentionally passed and that was it for Richmond. Justin Murray entered the game and struck out Chris Dennis for the second out. Murray got ahead of Kjeldgaard 1-2. But, the big Canadian lined his ninth home run of the season just inside the foul pole in left for the game-winning, three-run homer. The game-ending homer was the first by a Timber Rattler since Gavin Dickey hit a leadoff homer in the bottom of the tenth inning to beat Quad Cities 4-3 on June 5, 2008. Game two of the four game series is Thursday night. Wisconsin will send Daniel Meadows (9-1, 3.40) to the hill as the scheduled starting pitcher. Kane County counters with Shawn Haviland (4-2, 3.45). Game time is 7:05 PM. Wisconsin Box Score Twelve hits for the T-Rats, four for extra bases; six walks also; every batter but catcher and # 9 hitter Sean McCraw with at least one base knock... Wisconsin Game Log

The DSL game has been postponed by rain. Only the Timber Rattlers remain for tonight's report.

More from Steve Braun

The Rattler Radio Blog should have its various pre-game updates available by game-time in Appleton.

Final, Game Two: Brevard County 1, Charlotte (Rays) 0, nine innings (scheduled for seven) Brevard County Game Two Box Score There weren't many instances, but both teams definitely had prime opportunities to push across a single run well before the 9th, please review the game log; it wasn't so much the shutout innings on the Manatee mound as much as it was knowing that serious heat and breaking stuff was getting the job done, as has been the case with the "Four Horsemen" of Mark Rogers, Zach Braddock, John Axford, and Rob Wooten all season; the southpaw Braddock in particular has the potential to be legendary, it seems... Brevard County Game Two Game Log The music is really overdone at Space Coast -- it's one thing to have walk-up music, but you don't start the song as the player enters the batters box -- other music was very out-of-place for long stretches at awkward times as well. At least that was the lament of the Charlotte broadcaster who travels throughout the league, and it came through in the audio as well to an extent...

Manatees win the scheduled seven-inning game in nine innings, 1-0 -- bullpen stalwarts shine again. Details shortly. Winning run finally scored on sloppy Charlotte defense.