Jim Goulart

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):

Tuesday's Daily Menu: Cinqo de Mayo! 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: RHP Tim Dillard at Iowa (Cubs), 6:10 PM pre-game; 6:35 gametime Huntsville: RHP Jeremy Jeffress at West Tenn (Mariners), 6:50 PM pre-game; 7:05 gametime Brevard County: RHP Amaury Rivas at Clearwater (Phillies), 6:00 PM gametime Wisconsin: RHP Michael Bowman at home vs. Burlington (Royals), 6:20 PM pre-game, 6:35 gametime

Diehard Sounds fans can watch the series in Iowa via MiLB.TV. The cost is $6.95 monthly, $29.95 for the season for live and archived video feeds. The Sounds will likely be on MiLB.TV approx. 15-20 times this season, I'd imagine. It does not appear single game purchases are still available any longer, and blackouts (Des Moines area in this case) do apply.

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Link while active, text follows: Brett Christopherson column: Error of Lambertus' way tough to understand Appleton Post-Crescent Why? That's what Tim Hewes would like to know, too. Make that love to know. Why, in this age of education and scrutiny and scorn, would an athlete even begin to think about dabbling with a performance-enhancing drug? Or any drug for that matter? Why would they risk ruining a career? "There are probably lots of reasons why they do it," Hewes, employee assistance director with the Milwaukee Brewers, said prior to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers' 6-4 Midwest League setback to Lansing on Monday at Fox Cities Stadium. "Trying to find an edge. It's different for each guy. But it's something they don't think is a reality, and they're going to get bagged if that's the road they go down." Rattlers hurler Pedro Lambertus decided to traverse that path. And last week, the 20-year-old right-hander found himself on the receiving end of a verbal beanball - one tossed by Major League Baseball officials who informed the kid of his 50-game suspension. In technical terms, Lambertus reportedly tested positive for metabolites of Boldenone, an anabolic steroid that violates the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. In layman's terms, he had something flowing through his body that didn't belong and screwed up. Big time. And just to make sure all on board understood the severity of his error, the Brewers - Wisconsin's major league parent club - added 10 more games to the suspension. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Lambertus was signed by Milwaukee as a non-drafted free agent in September of 2006 and appeared in three games this season with the Rattlers, going 0-1 with three strikeouts, three walks, one save and a 4.91 ERA in 3 2/3 innings. His bio now includes a damaged reputation, not to mention sports' version of the scarlet letter. So again … why? "The players are fully informed what the situation is, what they can and can't do and what they shouldn't be messing around with," said Hewes, who soon hopes to check in with Lambertus at the Brewers' spring training complex in Phoenix. "It's very disappointing because they are really without any excuse." He would know, since his job involves educating players on ways to steer clear of the potholes they might encounter, so relaying the dangers and reinforcing the stupidity of toying with drugs A, B and C certainly falls under his watch. Hewes is part of an army of presenters who take time out of the players' spring training preparation to focus on that very topic. And as part of those presentations, the Brewers' team physician is on hand to discuss nutritional supplements and the major league and minor league drug treatment and prevention program. Also, Hewes said every new player to the organization is required to watch a video that outlines the specifics of baseball's drug policy, reminds again of the banned substances and details the penalties that will be imposed when tested positive. "So every player, even at this level and in their short careers so far, have had multiple times in which they've heard the rules and regulations," he said. "Major League Baseball does a random test (on minor leaguers) during spring training on a certain percentage of our players, which I believe (Lambertus) was part of. "And we do our own testing. The Brewers do their own additional testing, just so that we feel we're being very proactive and identifying things." So again … why? "They are educated in spring training," said Rattlers manager Jeff Isom, who expects Lambertus to return to the Wisconsin roster upon the conclusion of the suspension. "And through the season, our strength and conditioning staff will have talks all the time about what you can and can't take. You hope that they do get something out of (what happened to Lambertus) - that they see that baseball's not going to joke around if you are doing something. "And if there is that something that comes in their minds, that they'll think, 'Well, this is what happened to one of my teammates, and this will happen to me.' You hope they learn from it." Rattlers pitcher Evan Frederickson, acting on an organizational directive to decline comment on the situation, could only say those in the clubhouse were shocked by the news and fully realize the consequences that come in making the wrong choice. "If you do it, you're going to get caught," the 22-year-old left-hander said. "That's all there is to it." So once more … why? Isom only shook his head as he propped his leg on the concrete ledge of the Rattlers' dugout wall and pondered a question that no longer should need to be asked. He didn't ... couldn't ... utter a word. And that said a lot.

jjjf44, continue to read through the Link Reports and other associated threads. Information is grouped and organized within the Minor League Forum in the best manner possible to make all available news presented in a clear manner. Nearly every post on this forum, either from Brewerfan staff or our many knowledgable posters, is informational. The overall volume of posts on this forum is not so overwhelming that you can not easily keep up with Mark Rogers, or specifically the Manatees, if that makes things easier for you. We are glad you're a Mark Rogers fan. Not sure if you know him from Maine, or whether you've just latched on to him as a Brewer fan. We're glad you're a reader. But you're going to have to inform yourself through our existing Minor League threads. You're placing your posting rights at risk (you'd still be able to read threads) if you continue to ignore our requests. Please take note.

Final, Game One: Tennessee (Cubs) 3, Huntsville 2 Game Two, Postponed, Rain Huntsville Site Game Summary More Rain Washes Out Game Two Smokies Edge Stars in Another Close One By Brett Pollock / Huntsville Stars Ty Wright doubled in the winning run in the sixth inning to push Tennessee past Huntsville 3-2 in the opener of what was supposed to be a doubleheader Monday night at Joe Davis Stadium. Heavy rains postponed the second game of the scheduled twin bill. The Smokies won both of the games played in the series to improve to 12-9 and lengthen their lead to two and a half games in the North, while the Stars lost a fifth game in a row to drop to 10-12. The Stars have been involved in 13 one-run games. Darwin Barney led off the sixth inning with a double and scored when Wright sliced a double into the right field corner. Blake Lalli bunted Wright to third base before starter Chris Cody was removed from the game in favor of Robert Hinton, who got Marquez Smith to tap back to the mound, which led to Wright getting tagged out in a run down. James Russell threw two scoreless innings in relief to grab his second win of the season in his second relief appearance, while former Stars pitcher Vince Perkins worked a shutout seventh inning to nail down his second save. Kevin Melillo singled in a run in the first inning for Huntsville and the game stayed that way until Lalli belted a home run in the fourth to get the game tied. Huntsville reclaimed the lead in the bottom half of the inning on a two-out single by Adam Stern that plated Shane Justis. The visitors then retied the game in the top of the fifth on a home run by Tony Thomas, his fifth of the season. Cody was saddled with the loss, his first, after yielding three runs on six hits over 5.1 innings. He struck out two and walked one in his second longest outing of the season. Marcos Mateo went four innings in his second start for the Smokies, giving up two runs, one earned, on four hits, while walking three and striking out one. The Stars begin a five-game series Tuesday night in Jackson, TN with right-hander Jeremy Jeffress taking the hill for the Stars against Smokies' left-hander Daniel Christensen. Coverage of the game begins at 6:50 pm central time and can be heard through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com. Huntsville Box Score The Brewers are once again having Jeremy Jeffress start a series, so in effect, he's starting two out of three Stars' games with all the rain -- others will have to scramble for their work... Huntsville Game Log Only 776 in attendance on another dreary day, so Buck Rogers keeps his head of hair...

Final: Brevard County 6, Clearwater (Phillies) 4 Brevard County Box Score The Manatees began the night with the 4th best record in minor league baseball, and kept it going here; winning pitcher John Axford strands three inherited Mike Jones baserunners, then combines with Zach Braddock and Rob Wooten on 4.1 scoreless innings as the Brevard bullpen dazzles again, combining to strike out eight and walk just one in the process; catcher Carlos Maldonado guns down 2-of-3; the Manatees did not draw a walk, so they made the most of only seven hits, three for extra bases (Logan Schafer double, Lee Haydel triple, and Zelous Wheeler home run, his 3rd); Chris Errecart 1-for-4 in his return to A-ball, hitting cleanup as the DH; Brent Brewer's OPS drops to .570, hitting .211 in his last ten games... Brevard County Game Log This team loves posting crooked numbers early, or so it seems; Jones cruised until the 4th; all three of Braddock's K's were swinging, awesome to see his name again; Wooten K'd the side in order in the 9th, all swinging -- yee-hah!

Nashville Pre-Game Coaches Chat with Manager Don Money Chuck Valenches and Money begin the conversation discussing Hernan Iribarren's solid defensive play at second base...

Final: Nashville 5, Iowa (Cubs) 1 Nashville Site Game Summary: Link for Joe Koshansky photo, text follows -- Sounds Take Down Cubs In Series Opener, 5-1 DES MOINES - First baseman Joe Koshansky homered and drove in three runs to lead the Nashville Sounds to a 5-1 victory over the Iowa Cubs on Monday evening at Principal Park in the opener of a four-game series. Iowa took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning on right fielder Brad Snyder's sixth home run of the year, a leadoff solo shot to right off Nashville starter Nick Green. The Sounds pulled in front, 2-1, in the top of the fourth against Iowa reliever J.R. Mathes, who took over on the hill after starter Randy Wells worked three scoreless frames and threw only 39 pitches. Third baseman Mat Gamel evened the score with an RBI double, his team-leading ninth two-bagger of the season, before scoring to give the visitors a lead later in the frame on a Koshansky groundout. Koshansky gave Nashville some breathing room in the top of the ninth when he belted a two-run homer run off Kevin Hart to extend the lead to 4-1. Brendan Katin, who opened the frame with a double, scored on the blast, Koshansky's fourth of the season. Cole Gillespie increased the lead to 5-1 later in the frame when he plated Angel Salome with a sacrifice fly. AUDIO: Joe Koshansky Two-Run HR Green (2-2) picked up the win after allowing one run on four hits over five innings of work for the Sounds. R.J. Swindle followed with a pair of scoreless frames before Chris Smith and Ryan Houston closed out the victory by tossing a scoreless inning each. Mathes (3-3) took the loss for the host I-Cubs after allowing two runs in his lone inning of work. The teams continue their series on Tuesday evening with another 6:35 PM matchup. Right-hander Tim Dillard (4-0, 1.17) puts his perfect 2009 record on the line for the Sounds when he toes the rubber to start against Cubs right-hander Mitch Atkins (1-2, 6.99). Nashville Box Score Nick Green effective again through five innings (90 pitches), and the bullpen also needed work after recent rainouts -- Green has walked only four in 28 innings, with two coming tonight; the Nashville bullpen has been nearly as effective as Brevard's, Chris Smith tosses another scoreless inning, and R.J. Swindle and Ryan Houston have yet to allow a run in 14.1 combined innings; Angel Salome throws out the only Cub baserunner attempting a steal; how about nine Nashville base hits, four of them for extra bases, coming from nine different batters; both Erick Almonte and Jason Bourgeois had late-inning pinch-hit singles; 38-year-old Chad Fox still hanging in there, and pitching well... Nashville Game Log Mat Gamel handled all three of his groundball chances...

Post-Crescent Blog Entry includes the following: Stat pack 1: Hit by the Rattlers in 10 trips to the plate on Monday with runners in scoring position. 4: Series this season in which the Rattlers have been swept. Fort Wayne (April 13-15), Clinton (April 16-18) - the final game of the series was rained out - and Quad Cities (April 25-28) equaled Lansing's feat. 9: Current hitting streak of Wisconsin infielder/outfielder Juan Sanchez. The 22-year-old, making his first start of the year in right field, singled in the first inning to extend his streak, which matches fellow outfielder Erik Miller for the team season-high. .462: Sanchez's average (18-of-39) during his streak. Did you know? Miller's homer was also the first of his professional career. He was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers - the Rattlers' major league parent club - in the 17th round of the 2007 June draft and appeared in 34 games that season with the rookie level Arizona Brewers. Miller spent most of the 2008 with the rookie level Helena (Mont.) Brewers.

Link Report Bonus: Not going to dredge up the Thatcher, Garrison, Inman thread from last year, but -- AA Texas League Pitcher of the Week Will Inman, San Antonio 2-0, 0.90 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 11.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 12 SO Will Inman, one of the top pitching prospects in the Padres organization, fanned seven over six shutout innings for the win on April 27. He surrendered a run on two hits and two walks over five innings to post another win on May 2, whiffing five in that game. Inman, who led the Texas League with 140 strikeouts last season, is in a three-way tie for the lead with 22 so far in 2009. 22-year-old Will Inman's Statistics and Game Logs YTD

Wisconsin Site Game Summary Rattlers swept by Lugnuts By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Lansing Lugnuts defeated the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 6-4 on Monday afternoon at Time Warner Cable Field. Kenny Wilson's two-run single in the top of the sixth inning erased a brief Wisconsin lead and helped the Lugnuts to a three game sweep. Lansing (8-15) grabbed the early lead with three runs on a pair of Rattler errors in the first inning. Wilson singled to start the frame. An error allowed Tyler Pastornicky to reach. Mark Sobolewski and Yohermyn Chavez had back-to-back RBI singles for a 2-0 lead. An error on a potential inning ending double play let Sobolewski to score for a 3-0 advantage. Wisconsin (9-14) got a run back in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI fielder's choice by Brock Kjeldgaard. Erik Miller gave the Rattlers the lead in the bottom of the fifth. Sean McCraw and Michael Marseco, Wisconsin's eighth and ninth hitters, both singled with one out. Miller lined a home run over the left field wall for a 4-3 Wisconsin lead. The homer was the first for Miller in his professional career. But, the lead did not last. Rattler reliever Cody Adams entered the game in the top of the sixth and the Lugnuts loaded the bases on a single, an error, and another single. Adams got the first out, but he gave up the two-run single to Wilson and the Lugnuts led 5-4. An RBI double by Mike McDade in the top of the seventh inning made the scored 6-4. Frank Gailey pitched a scoreless eighth inning and Matt Daly finished off the Rattlers with a scoreless ninth for his third save. The Rattlers start a three-game series with the Burlington Bees on Tuesday night. Michael Bowman (0-1, 4.00) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Luis Cota is slated to start for the Bees. Game time is 6:35 PM. Wisconsin Box Score Wisconsin Game Log Jose Duran and Brock Kjeldgaard with the first-inning errors (as mentioned, sometimes the details on the negative plays -- errors, bad innings on the mound, aren't pointed out in the game summaries from the broadcasters, which is somewhat understandable). But when it's a key moment or inning, they often should be. But then again, we're not the ones who have to endure ten-hour bus trips with these same kids...

A no-brainer for the Florida State League folks -- Florida State League Pitcher of the Week Evan Anundsen, Brevard County 2-0, 0.64 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 1 CG, 1 SHO, 14.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 14 SO Brewers prospect Evan Anundsen tossed a nine-inning no-hitter on April 28, walking just one and striking out 10. He followed that outing by taking another no-hitter into the fourth inning on May 3. Although he eventually surrendered three hits and a run over five innings in that game, he notched his second win of the week.

Final: Lansing (Blue Jays) 6, Wisconsin 4 We'll wait for the game summary, but having listened in / followed the game log, this team always manages to do just enough to lose. Examples: -- Two errors, one on a potential inning-ending double play, in the first inning, as noted above -- Wily Peralta forced to get five outs -- After the two leadoff Rattlers reached in the 4th, a GIDP to quickly quiet things -- Juan Sanchez inexplicably just cruised into 3rd base to be tagged out to end the 4th inning after a routine fly ball; perhaps lost track of the outs? -- Another error (catcher Sean McCraw handling a sacrifice bunt) in the Lansing 6th led to two runs when a bloop single fell in with two outs to knock in the tying and go-ahead runs -- Corey Kemp picked off first base with one out in the 6th -- Cutter Dykstra (playing LF now with Erik Miller, the more natural fielder, in CF) struck out with the tying runs on base (1st and 2nd) to end the 8th Now certainly some of these are more egregious than the others, and it's not to single out the players mentioned today, but it's just a frustrating pattern with this group. I can't imagine there are minor league clubs getting better game summaries than we do on a daily basis from Nashville, Huntsville, and Wisconsin, but those folks do tend to accentuate anything positive (which, to be honest, we try to do as well), without always mentioning items such as those above.

Rattler Radio Blog: May 4, 2009 Game Notes May 4, 2009 Timber Rattler Pitchers (Peralta / Adams) May 4, 2009 Starting Lineup

Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Memphis 13 8 .619 - 9-4 4-4 W3 Iowa 13 9 .591 0.5 6-2 7-7 L3 Omaha 13 9 .591 0.5 4-3 9-6 L1 Nashville 12 11 .522 2.0 6-9 6-2 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tennessee 11 9 .550 - 5-4 6-5 W2 Huntsville 10 11 .476 1.5 5-6 5-5 L4 West Tenn 10 12 .455 2.0 5-4 5-8 W1 Carolina 9 15 .375 4.0 3-6 6-9 L1 Chattanooga 9 15 .375 4.0 5-5 4-10 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brevard County 17 6 .739 - 10-2 7-4 W6 Clearwater 13 10 .565 4.0 7-6 6-4 L1 Dunedin 11 12 .478 6.0 3-7 8-5 W4 Daytona 10 13 .435 7.0 5-6 5-7 W1 Lakeland 9 14 .391 8.0 6-5 3-9 L3 Tampa 9 14 .391 8.0 4-8 5-6 L5

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):

Midwest League Standings

Follow Monday'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_05_04_nasaaa_iowaaa_1 Huntsville Game One: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t559&t=g_box&gid=2009_05_04_tenaax_hunaax_1 Huntsville Game Two: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t559&t=g_box&gid=2009_05_04_tenaax_hunaax_2 Brevard County: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&t=g_box&gid=2009_05_04_breafa_clrafa_1 Wisconsin: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=g_box&gid=2009_05_04_lanafx_wisafx_1&did=t572&sid=t572

Diehard Sounds fans can watch the series in Iowa via MiLB.TV. The cost is $6.95 monthly, $29.95 for the season for live and archived video feeds. The Sounds will likely be on MiLB.TV approx. 15-20 times this season, I'd imagine. It does not appear single game purchases are still available any longer, and blackouts (Des Moines area in this case) do apply.

Monday'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: RHP Nick Green at Iowa (Cubs), 6:10 PM pre-game; 6:35 gametime Huntsville: LHP Chris Cody and TBD (it's Bobby Bramhall's turn) in a twinbill at home vs. Tennessee (Cubs), 4:45 PM pre-game; 5:00 gametime; each contest seven innings Brevard County: RHP Mike Jones at Clearwater (Phillies), 6:00 PM gametime Wisconsin: RHP Wily Peralta at home vs. Lansing (Blue Jays), 11:50 AM pre-game, 12:05 PM gametime

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The indy league only noted this Friday, so MiLB.com will need to catch up from over the weekend. Check again at end-of-week.

Link while active, text follows: Mistakes come back to haunt Timber Rattlers in loss to Lansing By Ryan Wilson Post-Crescent staff writer GRAND CHUTE - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers were playing a game of back-and-forth on Sunday afternoon. When the Rattlers scored one run, Lansing followed with three. When Wisconsin came back with two runs, the Lugnuts would score another two of their own. Eventually the rollercoaster stopped, with Lansing holding on to beat the Timber Rattlers 8-6 in a Midwest League game at Fox Cities Stadium. While the Lugnuts scored several of their runs with the bat, Wisconsin's players left the park knowing they gave a few away as well. "We've got to do a better job, when we make mistakes, of not compounding those into runs," said Rattlers manager Jeff Isom. "Mentally, we've got to pick up anyone who makes a mistake. We've got to go out there and try to make a play for them, whether it's a pitcher making a good pitch, or a defensive player making a good play." On Sunday, Isom was specifically referring to the fourth inning. It appeared the Rattlers were out of the inning without giving up a run when second baseman Brett Lawrie fielded his third fly out of the frame. However, catcher's interference was called on Wisconsin catcher Corey Kemp, keeping the inning alive for Lansing with runners on first and second. The Lugnuts used the extra out and turned it into three of their eight runs thanks to a two-run double by Jon Talley and an RBI single from Kenny Wilson. Instead of remaining tied at 1-1, Wisconsin found itself down 4-1. "It was no question it was catcher's interference," said Isom. "We made a mistake there, and it ended up they scored three runs after that. We could have been out of that inning, but (catcher's interference) happens." On offense, it was another story. The Timber Rattlers hit the ball all over the ballpark, connecting for a season-high 17 hits, but were held off the scoreboard much of the afternoon. The frustration mounted when Lugnuts reliever Mike Barbara replaced starter John Anderson in the seventh. Wisconsin collected six hits against Barbara in the seventh and eighth, but could get only one run across the plate. "We wanted to get more runs, but that's baseball," said Rattlers left fielder Juan Sanchez. "There are always ups and downs." Individually, there have been more ups than downs for Sanchez at the plate lately. He continued his hot hitting, going four-for-five to extend his hitting streak to eight games. During that span, he is 17-for-34 and has improved his batting average to .375. "I'm just doing the day-to-day routine, and doing the simple stuff," said Sanchez. "If you do that, the rest will happen by itself." Lawrie, who also had four hits, joined Sanchez as the first two Rattlers to have four-hit games this season.