Jim Goulart

Midwest League Standings Dominican Summer League Standings

Follow Wednesday'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_03_iowaaa_nasaaa_1 Huntsville: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t559&t=g_box&gid=2009_06_03_biraax_hunaax_1 Brevard County: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&t=g_box&gid=2009_06_03_breafa_sarafa_1 Wisconsin: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=g_box&gid=2009_06_03_cedafx_wisafx_1&did=t572&sid=t572 Dominican Summer League Brewers / Orioles: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&gid=2009_06_03_dobrok_dpirok_1&cid=3130&t=g_box

Wednesday's Daily Menu -- All times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Link here for the live audio choices - audio will no longer archive. Sorry, no audio for this Brevard County series. Nashville: LHP Chase Wright at home vs. Iowa (Cubs), 11:45 AM pre-game; 12:00 PM gametime Huntsville: RHP Mark Holliman at home vs. Birmingham (White Sox), 6:45 PM pre-game; 7:00 gametime Brevard County: TBD at Sarasota (Reds), 6:00 PM gametime Wisconsin: RHP Trey Watten at home vs. Cedar Rapids (Angels), 11:50 AM pre-game, 12:05 PM gametime Dominican Summer League Brewers / Orioles: at the DSL Pirates 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...

Stars lose 13-12 -- Vinny Rottino could not bring in the tying run with one out and a man on third base in the 10th. Details in a bit...

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

It's 10:15 PM Central and the Stars and Barons are 12-12 in the 10th. One quick click gives you the live audio with Brett. EDIT: 10:16 PM, 13-12 Birmingham, action still going...

Final: Cedar Rapids (Angels) 1, Wisconsin 0 Wisconsin Site Game Summary: KERNELS EDGE RATTLERS GRAND CHUTE, WI - Wisconsin Timber Rattler starting pitcher Cody Scarpetta allowed one run on Tuesday against the Cedar Rapids Kernels. But, that one run was enough for a 1-0 Kernels win. The win pushed Cedar Rapids' winning streak to 11 games. Roberto Lopez bashed a 2-2 pitch from Scarpetta over the left field wall to lead off the fourth inning with a homer. That broke the scoreless tie and that was it for the scoring. Kernels starting pitcher Tyler Chatwood was effectively wild on the evening. He allowed two hits and struck out seven. But, he also walked six in 5-2/3 innings. A two-out double by Chris Dennis, who had both hits off Chatwood, knocked the Kernel starter out of the game. But, reliever Jeremy Thorne got out of the inning. In the bottom of the ninth, John Delaney singled with two outs against Mike Kohn for the third and final hit of the night for the Rattlers (24-27). Delaney tried to advance on a pitch in the dirt to pinch-hitter Corey Kemp, but was thrown out at second to end the game. The win moved the Kernels to 31-20 on the season. Game two of the four game series is Wednesday afternoon. Trey Watten (2-6, 5.36 ERA) is the scheduled starter for the Timber Rattlers. Manaurys Correa (1-3, 5.47) is the set to start for the Kernels. Game time on Wednesday is 12:05 PM. Wisconsin Box Score Hopefully LHP Efrain Nieves can build on his three scoreless relief innings here... Wisconsin Game Log

Timberrattlers.com Players of the Month for May

Final: Nashville 3, Iowa (Cubs) 0 Nashville Site Game Summary: Link for new Lindsay Gulin photo, text follows -- Gulin, Heether Lead Sounds' Shutout Of Cubs NASHVILLE - Left-hander Lindsay Gulin worked eight scoreless innings and the Nashville lineup produced three two-out RBI doubles to lead the Sounds to a 3-0 victory over the division-rival Iowa Cubs on Tuesday evening at historic Greer Stadium in the opener of a four-game series. With the win, the first-place Sounds (29-24) notched their fourth shutout of the year and recorded back-to-back victories for the first time in over two weeks. Gulin (3-2) turned in his best outing of the season, working a Sounds season-high eight innings and allowed only three hits while striking out four batters. Chris Smith closed out the victory with a scoreless ninth to notch his 11th save of the year. Nashville third baseman Adam Heether powered the offense with a 3-for-3 evening that included a pair of RBI doubles. The Sounds took a 1-0 lead in the second when Heether reached on a two-out infield single then scored when Angel Salome ripped an RBI double to left off Cubs starter Esmailin Caridad. AUDIO: Angel Salome RBI Double Nashville doubled the advantage to 2-0 in the fourth with a similar sequence of events. After the first two batters were retired, Joe Koshansky singled through the right side of the infield and came plateward a batter later when Heether doubled to the left-center gap. Sounds right fielder Brendan Katin stifled the first Iowa scoring opportunity of the evening in the top of the fifth, gunning down Nate Spears at the plate as he attempted to score from second on a Caridad single to right. Heether ripped his second run-scoring double of the night in the sixth, a two-out line drive to left that was just over the glove of third baseman Nate Spears' glove. Katin, who had been hit by a Caridad pitch, scored on the knock. Caridad (3-6) took the loss after giving up three runs on five hits in six frames of action for the I-Cubs. The teams continue their series with a noon matinee on Wednesday afternoon. Left-hander Chase Wright (3-5, 4.58) will man the bump for the Sounds to face Iowa left-hander J.R. Mathes (7-3, 2.89). Nashville Box Score With Mike Burns promotion (nice job in Florida tonight, Mike), there should not be a need for a roster move to activate Chase Wright off the Helena roster Wednesday morning; who would have fared better starting in Landshark Stadium tonight, Lindsay Gulin or Manny Parra? Closer Chris Smith has only 11 appearances since May 7th, so while he's been fantastic, he hasn't been on a Rob Wooten-like pace in our stream-of-consciousness; Adam Heether's 2009 AAA OPS is 1.001... Nashville Game Log

Final: Brevard County 5, Fort Myers (Twins) 0 Game Summary (OK, blurb) from the Miracle's Site We love our friends with the Manatees' staff, but we shouldn't have to pick up timely game summaries from the opponent's site for home games... Miracle can't solve Manatee pitching, shut out in second straight VIERA -- The Manatees had two straight strong pitching performances and two straight shutouts of the Fort Myers Miracle at Space Coast Stadium as the two division leaders in the Florida State League split a four-game series. Jeremy Jeffress (1-0) had his best outing of 2009 in a seven-inning performance with just one hit (Deibinson Romero), no walks, and seven strikeouts. Carlos Gutierrez (2-3) suffered his third loss with a line of five innings, seven hits, two runs (earned), one walk, and one strikeout. Brevard County Box Score Will we look back on June 2nd, 2009 as the key turning point in Jeremy Jeffress' minor league career? Brandon Rapoza (ERA 0.00) and Rob Wooten complete the shutout; Chris Errecart solo home run, double, walk, three RBI, two runs scored... Brevard County Game Log Game log gives you a real sense of Jeffress' dominance on this evening...

Link while active, text follows: Commanding the curve By Matt Trowbridge, Rockford (IL) Register Star ROCKFORD - Cody Scarpetta's "12 to 6" curveball breaks so much it's almost impossible to hit. "He's got a big curveball," Wisconsin Timber Rattlers pitching coach Chris Hook said. That big curve is a big reason why Scarpetta, an 11th-round draft pick out of Guilford in 2007, is listed as the Milwaukee Brewers' 11th-best prospect by baseball-intellect.com. But it's also a reason he is averaging 5.8 walks per nine innings for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in the Class A Midwest League. "It's a tough pitch for anybody to throw," Hook said before a game against the Beloit Snappers last month. "He's got a lot of depth on that pitch. There's more of a learning curve with that. He'll struggle with it at times during games, then he'll throw a few and it's like, Whoa! That's a special pitch." Scarpetta, a 20-year-old right-hander, said a curve that breaks down as much as his is far tougher to throw for strikes than a slider, which features a shorter and more sideways break. "You've got to have a good feel of where you want to start it, and it's a difficult pitch to get a feel for," Scarpetta said of his curve, which he now throws only 10 percent of the time and only when he's ahead in the count. "I don't have much feel for it now, but I think I will get there." Strikeouts - he's averaging 11.6 per nine innings - make Scarpetta a big-time prospect, and controlling his curve is the key to making pro hitters look foolish. "I've always been a strikeout guy, but pro ball is a totally different game," said Scarpetta, who is 1-3 with a 4.68 ERA in 32 2/3 innings in his first full season as a pro. "In high school, it's hard to catch up to any guy throwing 85 mph and above. But everyone you come across here is going to be able to hit a fastball. Even in A ball, they will hit a 95 mph fastball. It's about mixing pitches up and keeping them off-balance. "That's what's good about my curveball; it comes out of the hand looking like a fastball. Sometimes I do a good job of keeping hitters off-balance. That's when high strikeout numbers come to me." In high school, and in his first pro season in rookie league last year, Scarpetta just needed his curveball to break, no matter where it broke. Now he has to show he can throw it for a strike. "At the lower levels, you can just throw that breaking ball in front of the plate and batters are swinging at it," Hook said. "As you go higher up, they don't swing at it anymore. When Cody needs to throw it in the dirt, he just throws the heck out of it. But he knows he has to be able to throw both his breaking ball and his change-up when he's behind in the count for strikes. Those are big keys, and he's slowly developing that." As much as Scarpetta needs to control his curveball - "Commanding a secondary pitch is when you can pitch," he said - his fastball will always be his main pitch. The 6-foot-3, 240-pound Scarpetta throws consistently between 90 and 93 mph. "You just can't teach hand speed, and he's got hand speed," Hook said. "He's a big, strong kid as well. To find a guy who can pitch 200 innings at the big league level, you've got to be a sturdy guy. And he's got that build to be a sturdy, 200-inning type of pitcher. "He's got all the tools to pitch in the big leagues. He's just got to learn how to pitch a little bit." Baseball-intellect.com predicts Scarpetta will make the majors in 2012. Scarpetta, whose father, Dan, was a third-round choice of the Brewers, is just focused on learning and advancing. "I just want to get higher as soon as possible," he said. http://www.rrstar.com/archive/x1175998752/g1a91909a781fdef362a433a90776fb2d76b08f5262b393.jpg

Final: DSL Yankees"1" 4, DSL Brewers / Orioles 0 Ages in parentheses... DSL Brewers Box Score RHP Edwin Linares (19 years old) 2.1 innings of shutout relief, has already made two appearances -- he made 13 relief appearances for the Maryvale kids last summer; infielder Joan Abreu (18) walked and singled out of the leadoff spot; left fielder Luis Chirinos (16), catcher Jhonatan Javier (21), and CF Juan Barrini (17) all 0-for-3, Barrini now 0-for-10 on the season... DSL Brewers Game Log

And welcome to your Link Report, once and future home of Manny Parra.

There are literally dozens of players with ties to the Brewers organization in independent ball, so we can't possibly track them here, but we will notify you about players who were with the Brewers organization very recently who are involved in indy league transactions. Lou Palmisano has signed with the Sioux City (Iowa) Explorers of the American Association.

There are literally dozens of players with ties to the Brewers organization in independent ball, so we can't possibly track them here, but we will notify you about players who were with the Brewers organization very recently who are involved in indy league transactions. Lou Palmisano has signed with the Sioux City (Iowa) Explorers of the American Association.

Rattler Radio Blog: June 2, 2009: Game Notes June 2, 2009: Tonight's Pitchers (Scarpetta / Nieves) June 2, 2009: Starting Lineup

colbyjack wrote: Here's a summary of the players the Brewers did sign: Luis Chirinos - Venezuelan corner OF signed for $90,000. Turned 16 in late August. Jaime King - 6'4", 210 pound 19-year old Dominican RHP. Touches low-90s with CB and CH. Jose Ramos - another 19-year old Dominican RHP. Also touches the low-90s. ******************************************************************************** Not sure if King would be considered the "prize" of that crop, as we don't have his signing bonus number. To put some things in perspective, signing bonus info is tough to come by. These had been reported in various Baseball America reports previously. RHP Rolando Pascual, 2005 -- $710,000 OF Jose Garcia, 2007 -- $550,000 RHP Wily Peralta, 2005 -- $450,000 SS Yohannis Perez, 2006 (DR vis Cuba) -- $450,000 OF Hitaniel Arias, 2007 -- $450,000 RHP Roque Mercedes, 2004 -- $375,000 Peralta and Mercedes look like "hits", it's much too early to know on Garcia and Arias, Perez looks to be a "miss" despite his somewhat gaudy numbers in a part-time role this season, and Pascual could be a big miss. Hopefully having him pitch in his native Dominican with the DSL squad will kick-start him.

One of our readers (Minigoon) recently asked about LHP Dan Merklinger. Merklinger has been activated back on to the Wisconsin roster off the disabled list. To make room, RHP Liam Ohlmann was placed on the Helena roster. We're also working on determining Ohlmann's status (awaiting re-activation or actually heading back to Maryvale for now). EDIT: Early indications are Ohlmann reamins with the Wisconsin squad for now, if not actually on the team's 25-man roster at this moment.

LHP Chase Wright has been shifted from the Helena roster to the Brevard County roster. This is simply a technical shift of a paper move made when Wright was placed on the Helena roster on May 30th. Look for Wright to be activated at AAA in time for his next start.

brewmann04, if you've been following along, you'll know that the Brewers have made liberal use of the Helena roster in a slew of paper transactions to give them temporary space on the various rosters, particularly Huntsville's. Jones will be back in time for his next start.

Congratulations to Nashville's Mike Burns, added to the 40-man and 25-man rosters, replacing the released Jorge Julio (being discussed in the major league forum here). Remember this recently linked article? But as well as he's pitching, even Burns admits he's a longshot to put on a Brewers uniform this season. "Realistically, as far as me getting a shot, something would have to go wrong," Burns says. As in a slew of pitching-related injuries in the organization. You never know, folks. Burns must be psyched. News from Huntsville: The Milwaukee Brewers and the Huntsville Stars announced today that LHP Chris Cody has been promoted to Triple-A Nashville. Also, RHP Mike Jones has been assigned to Helena. Taking Cody and Jones' spots on Huntsville's roster (from Helena's roster) are LHP Bobby Bramhall and RHP Nick Bucci (the Bucci era lives on -- good for the kid...). All moves are effective immediately and Bramhall and Bucci will be in uniform tonight as the Stars host the Birmingham Barons. I'm sure we're all excited to see Cody work his way through AAA lineups. That is one soft-tossing southpaw-laden Nashville rotation (Lindsay Gulin, Sam Narron, Chase Wright, Cody).

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):

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_06_02_iowaaa_nasaaa_1 Huntsville: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t559&t=g_box&gid=2009_06_02_biraax_hunaax_1 Brevard County: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&t=g_box&gid=2009_06_02_ftmafa_breafa_1 Wisconsin: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=g_box&gid=2009_06_02_cedafx_wisafx_1&did=t572&sid=t572 Dominican Summer League Brewers / Orioles: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&gid=2009_06_02_dyarok_dobrok_1&cid=3130&t=g_box