Jim Goulart

Rattler Radio Blog: April 13, 2009 Starting Lineup April 13, 2009 Timber Rattler Pitchers April 13, 2009 Game Notes

Final: Mobile (Diamondbacks) 13, Huntsville 2 Ugh... Huntsville Site Game Summary: Early Offense Carries Mobile to Victory BAYBEARS FINISH OFF SERIES WITH LOPSIDED WIN By Brett Pollock / Huntsville Stars Ricardo Sosa collected five hits, scored four runs and knocked in four to power an 18-hit attack in Mobile's 13-2 win over Huntsville Monday afternoon in the last of a five-game set at Joe Davis Stadium. The BayBears took four of five to begin the season by outscoring the Stars 30-14. The Stars were swept in a five-game home set last year by Montgomery from July 28-31 and dropped four out of five on home soil to Carolina and Birmingham in consecutive series from May 15-25 last season. Chris Rahl wasted no time getting the scoring started, belting David Welch's fourth pitch of the game for a home run, the second of the series for the visitors. Bryan Byrne knocked in a run with a scoring fly ball and Orlando Mercado doubled home two with two outs to finish off a four-run first inning. Gerardo Parra's two-run triple highlighted a four-run second inning that Welch failed to get out of. He took the loss after allowing eight runs, seven earned, on 11 hits over 1 2/3 innings in his first start of the season. Robert Hinton took over and gave up a two-run home run to Sosa in the third that made it a 10-0 game. Huntsville's only offense came in the third inning when Kevin Melillo doubled in two runs with two outs. Mobile starter Cody Evans went five innings, giving up six hits and striking out three to grab the win. The BayBears' five starters totaled 24 2/3 innings of work in the series, allowing seven runs on 18 hits, while walking three and striking out 19. Daniel Schlereth, Vince Bongiovanni and Scott Maine blanked the Stars over the final four frames. Rahl reached base five times with a single and three walks and scored three times, while Parra reached four times with two singles and a walk in addition to the triple and scored four times. Pedro Ciriaco was the only Mobile starting position player not to collect a hit or reach base and the top six hitters in the lineup all had multiple-hit games. The Stars open a five-game series with Mississippi on Tuesday night with right-hander Jeremy Jeffress making the start for Huntsville against Braves' southpaw Johnny Venters. Coverage of the game begins at 6:45 pm central time and can be heard through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com. Huntsville Box Score 23-year-old Charlie Fermaint is in his 7th year in the system -- postseason 2006 he was # 9 on the Power 50 (tools, tools, tools), but the tool shed has been broken to bits ever since; no Star drew a walk; maybe utility man Johnny Raburn should have started -- he tossed a scoreless 9th... Huntsville Game Log

Until Lorenzo Cain and Taylor Green are back, that Huntsville lineup is just beyond hope. On days when Jon Lucroy is resting, it's completely devoid of young talent. Chris Errecart is 0-for-25 going back to last season, "Voice of the Stars" Brett Pollock just noted.

Yikes times two -- Welch's second inning was no better... - Cody Evans singles on a ground ball to left fielder Vinny Rottino. - Chris Rahl singles on a ground ball to right fielder Charlie Fermaint. Cody Evans to 2nd. - Coaching visit to mound. - James Skelton out on a sacrifice bunt, pitcher David Welch to second baseman Shane Justis. Cody Evans to 3rd. Chris Rahl to 2nd. - Gerardo Parra triples (1) on a fly ball to center fielder Adam Stern. Cody Evans scores. Chris Rahl scores. - Ricardo Sosa singles on a ground ball to left fielder Vinny Rottino. Gerardo Parra scores. - Bryan Byrne singles on a fly ball to center fielder Adam Stern. Ricardo Sosa to 2nd. - Cyle Hankerd singles on a fly ball to left fielder Vinny Rottino. Ricardo Sosa to 3rd. Bryan Byrne to 2nd. - Orlando Mercado reaches on fielding error by third baseman Kevin Melillo. Ricardo Sosa scores. Bryan Byrne to 3rd. Cyle Hankerd to 2nd. - Pedro Ciriaco called out on strikes. - Pitcher Change: Robert Hinton replaces David Welch, batting 9th. - Coaching visit to mound. - Cody Evans called out on strikes.

Look, we've been rooting for Mike Jones forever, but basically the Brewers said we want to release you but we'll let you go to Brevard if you really want to. So not only is Jones keeping another pitcher from the Manatee roster (one of the Wisconsin kids or perhaps another Rigo Almonte or Mark Willinsky, both who jumped from rookie ball), but apparently he's blocking one of the starting spots at high-A as well. Just seems awkward to me.

Yikes, David Welch with a tough first half-inning to his season, down 4-0 -- - Chris Rahl homers (1) on a fly ball to center field. - James Skelton singles on a ground ball to center fielder Adam Stern. - Gerardo Parra singles on a fly ball to left fielder Vinny Rottino. James Skelton to 2nd. - Ricardo Sosa singles on a ground ball to shortstop Yohannis Perez. James Skelton to 3rd. Gerardo Parra to 2nd. - Bryan Byrne out on a sacrifice fly to center fielder Adam Stern. James Skelton scores. Gerardo Parra to 3rd. Ricardo Sosa to 2nd. - Cyle Hankerd strikes out swinging. - Orlando Mercado doubles (1) on a fly ball to center fielder Adam Stern, deflected by left fielder Vinny Rottino. Gerardo Parra scores. Ricardo Sosa scores. - Pedro Ciriaco flies out to right fielder Charlie Fermaint.

I know everyone is excited to have the little Brewers back in Wisconsin but a 5 hour, 40 minute pre-game show it a bit much I gotta say especially on a work day. Maybe not, have you met play-by-play man Chris Mehring, the mad blogger? Nice catch, that didn't take long for my first unforced error of Link Report season.

A factor in all this is do the Brewers see themselves breking in three new big league starters in April 2010? (Escobar, Cain, and Gamel) Sorry, Hardy fans, he's not going to sign an extension this winter when he's only one year away from free agency. So if Gamel does not see significant playing time in 2009, that's the possible scenario you face.

C'mon Bill Hall's OPS is .875. But on a serious sidenote, as long as Billy's doing the job, you may as well play the David Price / Matt Weiters game and delay until at least June to avoid early arbitration Super-2 status.

Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Iowa 3 1 .750 - 0-0 3-1 W3 Omaha 3 1 .750 - 0-0 3-1 W3 Memphis 2 1 .667 0.5 2-1 0-0 W1 Nashville 1 3 .250 2.0 1-3 0-0 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- West Tenn 3 1 .750 - 0-0 3-1 W1 Carolina 2 2 .500 1.0 0-0 2-2 L1 Tennessee 2 2 .500 1.0 0-0 2-2 L1 Chattanooga 1 3 .250 2.0 0-0 1-3 L1 Huntsville 1 3 .250 2.0 1-3 0-0 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Clearwater 2 1 .667 - 1-1 1-0 L1 Daytona 2 1 .667 - 2-0 0-1 W2 Lakeland 2 1 .667 - 2-0 0-1 W1 Brevard County 1 2 .333 1.0 1-0 0-2 L2 Dunedin 1 2 .333 1.0 0-1 1-1 W1 Tampa 1 2 .333 1.0 1-0 0-2 L1

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_04_13_orhaaa_nasaaa_1 Huntsville: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t559&t=g_box&gid=2009_04_13_mobaax_hunaax_1 Brevard County: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&t=g_box&gid=2009_04_13_breafa_dbcafa_1 Wisconsin: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=g_box&gid=2009_04_13_ftwafx_wisafx_1&did=t572&sid=t572

Monday's Daily Menu: All times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Link here for the live audio choices - audio will no longer archive. Nashville: RHP Tim Dillard at home vs. Oklahoma (Rangers), 5:35 PM pre-game; 6:00 gametime Huntsville: LHP David Welch at home vs. Mobile (Diamondbacks), 12:45 PM pre-game; 1:00 gametime Brevard County: RHP Mike Jones at Daytona (Cubs), 6:05 gametime -- for this game only, click here for the Cubs broadcast Wisconsin: RHP Wily Peralta at home vs. Fort Wayne (Padres), 12:55 pre-game, 6:35 gametime

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

George Washington: New York's diamonds in the rough USA Today with a story on Steve Mandl, Angel Salome's former high school coach who has posted here often in the past, and his New York City team -- unlike fellow alum Manny Ramirez, as we've read in the past, Angel honors his own legacy by working with catchers at the school in the offseason.

David Weiser's starsboxscore.com -- Stars Lay an Easter Egg Leadoff double by Stern and two walks Easter Sunday in Huntsville, Alabama -- the Bible Belt....... Despite mascot Homer the Polecat's offer of chocolate bunnies, only 503 (the smallest Sunday crowd in history) came out to the Joe, while the rest of Huntsville was celebrating the holiday at home, attending Easter egg hunts, or practicing another religion other than baseball. It started out as a gorgeous sunny 68° day and the prospect of a Stars win looked good in the bottom half of the 1st as Adam Stern (.333) reached the left field wall on a bounce for a double and became the only Huntsville hitter to hit safely in all four games this series...... With the sudden chill and the clouds came the Stars' fortunes. Bryan Augenstein struck out two in the 1st, six strikeouts in five innings overall. The Stars mounted just two attempts at a rally after that. Stern walks in the 3rd and steals 2nd, but with two out, Shane Justis flies to center to end the inning....... From the 3rd to the 9th, Augenstein, Clay Zavada and Justin Urquidez combined to retire 16 straight hitters....... Then Freddy Parejo walked on four straight pitches to lead off the 9th, and Stern took three straight balls, necessitating a mound conference....... Whatever was said did some good. Stern took three straight pitches for strikes, then after getting ahead 2-and-0, Justis looked at three strikes....... Kevin Melillo fell behind 0-and-2, took a couple of balls, then grounded hard to 2nd baseman Kevin Hallberg to end the game...... It's the first one-hitter the Stars have lost since August 30, 1990, when the Stars were eliminated from the playoff race by Greenville. The Stars, last in the league in hitting, have been held to a .179 average in this series...... Chuck Caufield, Chris Errecart, J.R. Hopf, and Charlie Fermaint are still hitless -- a combined 0-for-25...... Still, the team ERA is a decent 3.25 -- 4th in the SL. David Welch, an 11-game winner last year for the Stars, will face righthander Cody Evans, who was 4-8 last year, on Military Monday....... The Stars have a .192 average vs. righties so far...... Anyone presenting a military ID or an ID card if you're a dependent will get in for a dollar. It's a 1 PM game, but the forecast of late is iffy. Another storm system is set to arrive to give a 90% chance of rain to the forecast. There is a slight risk of damaging winds in the afternoon hours. Bobby Bramhall did not make his first start of the season last year until June 9 after he had made 18 relief appearances. He wound up 4-1 with a 1.88 ERA in his nine starts....... The Stars were 9-8 on Sundays last year.

Link while active, text follows: Huntsville can't overcome walks Stars fall 3-0 to BayBears after walking nine By PAUL GATTIS Huntsville Times Sports Staff, paul.gattis@htimes.com There is the good, which is a team ERA of 3.00 through the first four games of the season for the Huntsville Stars. There is the bad, which is a record of 1-3 after Sunday's 3-0 loss to Mobile at Joe Davis Stadium. And good as the pitching has been, the staff still has guilty fingerprints on the losses, too. "I like the arms," Stars pitching coach John Curtis said. "I think the staff, the way they pitched in spring training, certainly led me to believe we could compete and win in this league. "What I don't like is, obviously, the walks. Boy, oh, boy, we've had a lot of free passes." Indeed, of the 17 runs the Stars have allowed in the first four games, nine reached base on walks. Sunday was no different, with two of the three BayBear runs being scored by batters who reached on walks. Four Stars pitchers combined for nine walks Sunday. By comparison, three Mobile pitchers combined for two walks. "Clearly, there's a lot of room to tighten up," Curtis said. "But it's still very, very early." Stars manager Bob Miscik must be hoping for the same from his offense. The Stars scored just one run in a 2-1 loss on Friday and put just three runners on base Sunday. Adam Stern had the Stars' only hit, leading off the game with a double to left. After that, Stern walked in the third and pinch-hitter Freddy Parejo walked in the ninth. Along the way, Mobile pitchers retired 16 straight batters. But reliever Josh Wahpepah has been a bright spot in the slow start. The 6-foot-4 righty has twice pitched two scoreless innings out of the bullpen - including two hitless innings Sunday. "I feel pretty good," Wahpepah said. "I'm just trying to focus on throwing down in the zone and get people out. It doesn't matter how you get them out. I'm just trying to get them out." Wahpepah, an Oklahoma native who now lives in Shawnee, Okla., is half-Native American. Wahpepah said he's one-quarter Shawnee and one-quarter Kickapoo. "I'm a pretty standard guy," Wahpepah said with a smile when asked about his Native American background. "I try not to be too superstitious." Mostly, he just gets batters out. "He's locating very well, using both sides of the plate," Curtis said. "He's another one that's been there when we've needed him and he's done pretty well. I'm pleased for him."

Good news about Taylor Green in Josh's latest agent post

Probable Pitching Matchups for this week's Wisconsin - Fort Wayne Series

Final: New Orleans (Marlins) 11, Huntsville 5, ten innings Nashville Site Game Summary (link for latest Tony Gwynn photo) NASHVILLE - The New Orleans Zephyrs sent 11 batters to the dish and plated six runs in the top of the tenth inning to record an 11-5 victory over the Nashville Sounds on Sunday afternoon at Greer Stadium in the finale of a four-game series. With the win, New Orleans took three of the four games in the clubs' season-opening series. Pinch-hitter Michael Ryan led off the tenth with a single to center off Sounds reliever Matt Ginter then moved to second when Jai Miller laid down a bunt and Ginter's throw to second was late. After Brett Hayes reached on a bunt single to load the bases, veteran infielder Dave Matranga ripped a two-run single off the glove of third baseman Mat Gamel to put the visitors in front by a 7-5 margin. Later in the tenth, Manny Mayorson (3-for-6) doubled the visitors' advantage with a two-out, two-run single to center off Ginter. Gaby Sanchez (3-for-6) and Ryan each added RBI singles off the right-hander to bring the score to its final 11-5. Zephyrs reliever Willie Collazo retired the Sounds in order in the bottom of the tenth to preserve the victory. Tim Wood (1-0) was the beneficiary of the late Zephyrs rally and picked up the win after working two scoreless innings. Ginter (0-1) took the loss for Nashville after being touched for six runs on six hits in his lone inning of work. New Orleans grabbed a 2-0 lead in the top of the second against Sounds starter Nick Green. Sanchez and John Lindsey opened the frame with consecutive singles. Later in the inning, Hayes plated Sanchez with an RBI groundout and Matranga doubled the advantage with a two-out RBI single to left. Sanchez extended the visitors' lead to 3-0 in the fourth with a leadoff solo homer to left, his first roundtripper of the season. The Z's pulled ahead 5-0 in the fifth against Green with a two-out rally. Matranga opened the inning with a walk and later scored on Mayorson's RBI double into the right field corner. Chris Coghlan followed with a run-scoring single to left. The Sounds missed a chance to put runs on the board in the bottom of the frame. After the home team loaded the bases with only one out, New Orleans starter Dallas Trahern coaxed an inning-ending double-play grounder from pinch-hitter Joe Koshanksy to escape unscathed. Nashville broke through in the sixth, plating three runs to make it a 5-3 contest. Alcides Escobar and Mat Gamel reached on back-to-back one-out singles before Erick Almonte roped an RBI single to left to break up the shutout. Jason Bourgeois later added a two-out, two-run single to left off Z's reliever John Koronka. With their knocks in the sixth, Escobar, Gamel, and Bourgeois became the lone Sounds to record a hit in each of the club's first four games this year. The Sounds knotted the score at 5-5 in the seventh with a pair of unearned runs off Koronka stemming from an inning-opening dropped fly ball by Miller in right field. Tony Gwynn drove in Adam Heether with an RBI double before Gamel later brought him plateward with a game-tying sacrifice fly. AUDIO: Tony Gwynn RBI Double Green took a no-decision in his Brewers organization debut after surrendering five runs on six hits over his five innings of action. The Sounds continue their season-opening homestand on Monday evening at Greer Stadium by welcoming the Oklahoma City RedHawks (AAA-Rangers) to town for the opener of a four-game series. Right-hander Tim Dillard will man the bump for the Sounds to face Oklahoma City right-hander Luis Mendoza. It will be each hurler's first start of the year. Nashville Box Score Tony Gwynn is already 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts after four games -- keep up that pace and another organization would surely notice; pinch-hitters were used as such that Don Money had to turn to pitcher Mike Burns to bat in the 9th, not wanting to use Carlos Corporan in a possible extra-inning game; Mat Gamel singled and was intentionally walked; Jason Bourgeois remains hot, as he was in winter ball all offseason; Erick Almonte starting at first base? If Joe Koshansky is going to hold a 40-man roster spot, he should not be starting only half the time... Nashville Game Log

Final: Mobile (Diamondbacks) 3, Huntsville 0 Mobile Stymies Stars Offense Huntsville Site Game Summary: IMPRESSIVE DOUBLE-A DEBUT FOR ANOTHER BAYBEARS STARTER Bryan Augenstein, Clay Zavada and Jason Urquidez combined on a one-hit shutout in Mobile's 3-0 Easter Sunday blanking of Huntsville at Joe Davis Stadium. The BayBears have taken three of the four games in the series and matched their win total against the Stars from last season in ten games. Bryan Byrne walked with two outs in the fourth inning, advanced to second base on a passed ball and scored on a base hit by Cyle Hankerd, who knocked in his second run of the series. Bobby Bramhall was saddled with the loss in his first double-A start, giving up a lone unearned run on two hits, while walking four and fanning three. Derrick Ellison, who had retired the side in order in the seventh inning, gave up a leadoff double to Evan Frey in the eighth and walked the next two batters to load the bases. He was replaced by Mike McClendon, who gave up a two-run single to Ricardo Sosa, who knocked in his first two runs of the year, to extend the lead to 3-0. Four Huntsville hurlers combined to issue nine walks Sunday and the staff has issued 27 walks in the series with nine of those put on with a free pass coming into score. Huntsville's only hit of the game was a leadoff double in the first inning by Adam Stern, who remained planted at second base after Augenstein retired the next three hitters. The right-hander closed his performance by setting down 12 of the next 13, save for a walk to Stern in the third, including the last seven he faced. Augenstein struck out six to earn the win in his first double-A start and was followed by Zavada, who retired all six hitters he encountered. Jason Urquidez took over in the eight and set down the side in order, making it 16 straight batters retired and the third time in the series at least 12 Huntsville hitters have been retired in succession. Freddy Parejo drew a leadoff walk in the ninth before Urquidez retired the next three hitters to end the game and earn his first save. The series wraps up Monday afternoon with southpaw David Welch taking the hill for Huntsville against BayBears' right-hander Cody Evans. Coverage of the game begins at 12:45 PM central time and can be heard through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com. Huntsville Box Score Tiny performance for a tiny Easter crowd (503); other than Bobby Bramhall, not a lot of compelling names to review -- within this group of organizational soldiers (sorry, often an unfair term), there is opportunity for breakout stars to stand out, but nobody is seizing that opportunity yet... Huntsville Game Log One amazing stat -- Gerardo Parra of the BayBears was picked off base three times -- Stars pitchers picked off four in all...

So when we locate a hometown newspaper article or some other feature story, are we supposed to forward it to the person responsible for that prospect so they can hopefully post it? Would we still post it on the Minor League Forum so others don't miss it in a timely manner? We're not going to post it in two places. This would require yet another forum. You couldn't possibly manage it conveniently within the Minor League Forum itself. That is probably the least concern. MiLB.com's player pages already list stats by month, so even a monthly posting by the responsible thread owner analyzing stats would be more duplication. We've seen this before, and even at fan sites of "Nations" like the Red Sox, it really doesn't bring anything special or worthwhile. There's a reason we've been reluctant to see it here. Molitor, feel free to kick off your Omar Aguilar thread here -- we'll see how it looks. Maybe it will set a standard for many others to follow.

Al was in attendance at the T-Rats' game Saturday afternoon and posted his thoughts. Interesting about Mike Marseco, others can keep us posted and let us know if he's switch-hitting now, or if all the media guides and such have been wrong all along. Hey Al, you can link to us once in awhile, too http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif -- it's one big happy Brewer interweb out there.

Midwest League Standings