Jim Goulart

In what may be the first real "bummer" of Link Report season, it does not appear that MiLB.com is archiving broadcasts as they have done in the past. MiLB presents Gameday Audio as a FREE service to baseball fans everywhere. Please note that Gameday Audio links will only be active when games are in progress. Check the MiLB schedule to confirm game times. This would mean no links to archived interviews or key moments in the game. Boo! We'll follow-up with Jonathan Mayo or Lisa Winston of MiLB.com and see if we can learn more.

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

The Huntsville Times' Mark McCarter recounts the 25 biggest moments over 25 years of Stars' baseball, as the Brewers enter year 11 in Huntsville. (Linked to the "print" page for easier reading.)

Link while active, text follows: Long road leads home for Wisconsin Timber Rattlers hitting coach Matt Erickson By Brett Christopherson Post-Crescent staff writer GRAND CHUTE - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers hitting coach isn't the only job title you'll find on Matt Erickson's business cards. "The last few days, I've been a human MapQuest for a couple of these guys," he said. Such is life for the 33-year-old Appleton resident, who has been busy ironing out swings in preparation for today's Midwest League season opener against Quad Cities at Fox Cities Stadium. "No doubt about it, it's a great situation," said Erickson, a 1994 Appleton West graduate who went on to play 11 professional seasons as an infielder in the Florida Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers and Arizona Diamondbacks organizations. The Rattlers are entering their first year as a low-Class minor league affiliate of the Brewers, the same club that gave Erickson his only big league opportunity, with four game appearances in 2004. His lone hit in six major league at-bats came against Chicago Cubs hurler and future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux. "We had Fan Fest (on Tuesday), and I looked up in the stands and knew about 80 percent of the people," added Erickson, selected by the Marlins in the seventh round of the 1997 June draft and a collegiate standout at the University of Arkansas. "Most of them are my family. (My son) Maddox and I were out here yesterday, throwing batting practice in the bullpen. "It's a great set-up. I know the front office people do a great job here. I just want to do my part." That includes dealing with the sometimes grueling mental aspect of the game, as much as tinkering with mechanics, although Erickson's resume is stamped with a .300 career minor-league batting average. "We know that he was a heady player, and he brings that knowledge to the field," said Brewers assistant general manager Gord Ash, the keynote speaker at Wednesday's Lead-Off Experience team banquet. "Sometimes, it's difficult for a player to make the transition from player to coach this quickly, but I think Matt has the background to make that adjustment - maybe a little better than most." Erickson's background has been enhanced by a father who spent the previous 34 years as a baseball coach - the first 30 as the head man at Appleton West and Appleton North and the last four as an assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh before retiring. "The biggest thing about coaching is you've got to be able to communicate," said Erickson's father, Bruce, a member of the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame. "It's a selling job. You've got to be able to communicate with the kids and make them believe that what you're teaching is sound. And I think Matt's No. 1 asset is his ability to communicate. "Obviously, the best thing about it is he just came off 11 years of playing professional baseball. And now he gets to work in his hometown. He had been offered coaching jobs with other organizations, but he wasn't ready to do that because of the time commitment away from home. Now, with the Brewers moving to Appleton, it works out perfect." Just ask Erickson, whose wife is expecting the couple's second child - a baby girl - in July. "I've been traveling, living out of a suitcase for about the last 11 years I played minor-league baseball," he said. "So this will really be the first time I'll be involved in baseball and still be at home. "I have a new opportunity, a new challenge, a new career. And I get to stay involved in the game of baseball, the game that I love, and at the same time be around my family, which is numero uno with me." Bruce, on the other hand, sees another perk. "If I ever get the urge to hit fungos," he said with a chuckle, "I'm going to walk right out on that field during batting practice and do it."

Link while active, text follows: Manatees ready for '09 run Season opener tonight at home BY PETER KERASOTIS FLORIDA TODAY It never gets old for Mike Guerrero, even though this is his 16th year managing minor league baseball. "Every day is exciting," said Guerrero, manager of the Brevard County Manatees, who open their season at Space Coast Stadium tonight at 7:05 (6:05 Central) against the Daytona Cubs. "I enjoy what I do." What Guerrero does is develop baseball players. And when you work in an organization like the Milwaukee Brewers, the Manatees' parent club, that's vital. "The Brewers have more homegrown players than most organizations," Guerrero noted. The reason why is obvious. Milwaukee is a small-market franchise, so it's not as if the Brewers can go out and spend $423.5 million on free agents, as the New York Yankees just did this past offseason. In fact, the Yankees' biggest free agent signing was pitcher CC Sabathia, whom they plucked off the Brewers' roster. Again, that makes player development important. And then there's the Brewers' way of developing players. "The Brewers' way," Guerrero said, "is that defense is a priority, situational hitting is a priority, base running is a priority. We're trying to develop fundamentally sound baseball players in all areas. We emphasize the little things." The little things that lead to big league players. Guerrero, 41 and a native of the Dominican Republic, has seen many of his players progress to the majors, and it is satisfying to him. When he was a hitting coach for the Beloit (Wisc.) Snappers in the Midwest League, one of his pupils was local Eau Gallie High graduate Prince Fielder. Fielder had obvious major-league potential. Other players that he's coached that have made it to the big leagues weren't as much of a sure-fire prospect. That's why if you ask Guerrero who the Manatees' top prospects will be this season, the veteran manager smiles. "All 25 of the players on my roster," he said. "Anyone who has a uniform has a chance to get to the big leagues. My job is to polish all of them." Not all of them will shine, though. And sometimes the ones who do, surprise you. "There's always diamonds in the rough," Guerrero said. "All of them have an opportunity to shine. That's what makes this job so exciting. Helping people. The bottom line is, if my players are successful, then I'm successful." Brevard County Manatees infielder Eric Farris warms up during Tuesday's practice at Space Coast Stadium. (Photo by Craig Rubadoux, FLORIDA TODAY) http://cmsimg.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=A9&Date=20090409&Category=SPORTS&ArtNo=904090317&Ref=AR&Profile=1002&MaxW=318&Border=0

Stars win their exhibition 4-1, here's a brief recap from the UA-Huntsville perspective.

Link while active, text follows: Jeffress brings 102-mph heat Top prospect has fastball to behold By PAUL GATTIS Huntsville Times Sports Staff, paul.gattis@htimes.com Since you may not be able to see Jeremy Jeffress' fastball tonight, keep your eye on the reading from the radar gun on the left-field scoreboard. As the Huntsville Stars face the Mobile Bay Bears at Joe Davis Stadium, Jeffress will be the opening-night starting pitcher. And he brings a fastball that leaves hitters to conclude, "It sounded fast." "It's a special fastball," said first-year Stars manager Bob Miscik. It's that special fastball - one that has peaked, according to Jeffress, at 102 mph when he was pitching for Single-A West Virginia in 2007 - and one that makes Jeffress the top-rated prospect on the Stars' season-opening roster. Baseball America ranks the 21-year-old Jeffress - a first-round draft pick in 2006 - as the No. 4 prospect in the Milwaukee Brewers farm system. "His promise is his fastball," Miscik said. "He can really run it up there. It's a hard pitch to hit. If he can find a second pitch he can use in the strike zone and be consistent with it, he's going to be very tough. "If he can get three pitches in the zone, he's going to be in the big leagues - quickly. His fastball is dominating." For now, Jeffress is happy to be tonight's starter for the Stars. "There's always going to be pressure," said Jeffress, a South Boston, Va., native. "Everybody is looking for the No. 1 (pitcher) to do good. But it's all about having fun, playing your game and do what you can do. "If the fans see you're playing hard, that's alll you can give them. But it's a great feeling to be No. 1 on the team." As for the other top-rated prospects, this isn't 2008, when the Stars were stocked with six of the Brewers' top 10 prospects. Huntsville starts this season with only Jeffress and catcher Jonathon Lucroy among the organization's top 10 prospects. Outfielder Lorenzo Cain, rated the Brewers' No. 6 prospect by Baseball America, remained at extended spring training because of a hamstring injury and is expected to join the Stars soon. There is also third baseman Vinny Rottino, who has spent parts of the last three seasons with the Brewers. Of course, Miscik doesn't view his team through those labels. To the manager, if you're in uniform, you're a prospect. "I treat them all like they are promising major leagues," Miscik said. "And they all can be, in the right spot. I don't care if you're the so-called 24th guy (on the roster), I'm going to treat you like you've got a chance to play in the big leagues and that's going to be it. Everybody else can talk about if you're a prospect or not."

Look for the initial post of our annual Link Report link-fest to be up by mid-afternoon each day, including today. It's a bit of a shame the awkward Brewer big league game start time will bump head-to-head against all the kids on their Opening Night, but we'll continue to promote listening in to the farmhands whenever possible. For newbies to Brewerfan -- here's a sample of what we do. You can pull up all our archived reports here. The Link Report is not an in-game thread meant for random one-line user comments, but meaningful and insightful comments from our user community are always welcome, especially first-hand accounts. Obviously, the whole dynamic of the Link Report is going to change in a big way this year, as so many of you have indicated you will regularly be attending games in Appleton (and other Midwest League outposts) this season. We really do look forward to hearing from all our new "correspondents". And to those who think the Timber Rattler kids are going to be overly scrutinized to the point of ad-nauseum this year (and to those Timber Rattler players themselves), guess what -- you're right! At the same time, those same players had better prepare themselves for the black hole that is Florida State League coverage next year. So it will all balance out in the end. We really do appreciate all the feedback we get from fans about the Link Report. Please keep in mind that the Link Report is not meant to be a "ticker" with instant updates -- on some evenings, you'll see posts and game summaries almost immediately following game conclusions. On other occasions, reports may not be posted until the early morning hours the next day. Our goal is to have a complete summary for you in place, including box score and game log links, all pre- and post-game audio interviews, and newspaper and blog coverage links, in place for you to check out just before you head out the door to work or within that first hour or two at the office. Thanks for your patience in that regard -- MiLB.com is the place to visit for live audio, live game log updates, etc. We would be remiss if we did not thank the front office and broadcast crews in the affiliate locations for all the help and guidance they provide Brewerfan all year long. We wish them all amazing, successful 2009 seasons!

This page from the Post-Crescent includes photos of each player in their new Timber Rattlers hat. Kind of cool to see a player like third baseman Edgar Trejo for the first time -- many others we saw photos of from draft coverage and such. A while back the decision was made here not to borrow (OK, steal) these photos for our own Brewerfan Index. Plus, they were a bit awkward to add anyway http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif. Hopefully folks still find our Index, especially the sortable aspect of it, occasionally helpful. In an eventual new Brewerfan release, Brian will likely link to the players' MiLB.com stat page within our Index.

From the link in the prior post comes this photo of Angel Salome (he always photographs well, doesn't he?), taken by Billy Kingsley of the Tennessean -- the Tenessean does an awesome job with photos -- look for the Post-Crescent in Appleton to do the same, their newspapers have the same web format. http://cmsimg.tennessean.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=DN&Date=20090409&Category=SPORTS0401&ArtNo=904090373&Ref=AR&Profile=1030&MaxW=550&MaxH=650&title=0

Injured it in spring training -- just bad luck on this one. We'll see what we can learn on Romanski and a few others -- injury info is tough to come by, believe me (and that's no disrespect to the Brewers, they're following proper protocol).

Just-released LHP Curtis Pasma has landed with the independent Sioux City (Iowa) Explorers of the American Association.

Just a wondefully detailed feature article from Kary Booher of Baseball America on Jeremy Jeffress, his new two-seamer, his relationship with pitching coach John Curtis, and more. Enjoy!

In order to get down to the 25-man Midwest League roster limit, two of the Timber Rattler roster players previously announced, RHP Daniel Meadows and catcher Corey Kemp, are opening the season on the seven-day disabled list with undisclosed injuries.

From the "Among the Missing" thread on this forum -- RHP Corey Frerichs -- 2.82 ERA, 92 K's in 73.1 IP at West Virginia -- he'll be 23 in May Turns out Frerichs is rehabbing a blown-out ACL in Maryvale. We'll learn more shortly about how and the timing and such, but needless to say, it will be a while before we see him. Good luck to him along the way. Wow, is it just me, or have the kids already topped the major injury frequency from all of 2008?

The Brewers have filled the final open spot on the Huntsville roster by signing infielder Kevin Melillo. Career stats at link. Melillo, a LH bat, will turn 27 in May. He was the 2004 5th round pick of the Oakland A's out of the University of South Carolina, and split last season at AAA in the A's and Blue Jays systems. He has a career .841 OPS, playing in primarily offensive parks, but that still works. Like a true Athletic, he walked in his only career big league plate appearance, for a career MLB OBP of 1.000. He has been a second baseman the majority of his career, with some time at the corner infield spots as well. That's a pretty diverse and very veteran middle infield group at Huntsville. You've got Yohannis Perez, Shane Justis, Johnny Raburn, and Melillo, with Michael Garciaparra on the DL. As noted elsewhere on this forum, until the younger kids get healthy, this is an older, somewhat non-descript AA roster.

Just-released RHP Reed Dickert signs with the independent St. Paul Saints of the American Association.

More video, top right corner of page as of now -- Manager Jeff Isom and Brett Lawrie interviews, some batting practice as well

Just-released reliever Steve Bray found an independent Atlantic League job in Bridgeport, CT (his home state). RHP Dan Reichert, also mentioned in the press release, was once a AAA veteran signee of the Crew.

Brett with an update Tuesday night

Here's our annual "among the missing" post as rosters are announced. We should have news on these players within the next 48 hours that we'll pass along: Infielder Matt Cline -- 14 games split at the two A-levels in '08 RHP Corey Frerichs -- 2.82 ERA, 92 K's in 73.1 IP at West Virginia -- he'll be 23 in May LHP Jose Romero (Missed all of 2008 with a left elbow strain) The Helena roster on our Brewerfan Index includes a couple of older players, who, while they have not played above rookie ball yet, may be in a tough situation based on age and absence from a placement on an A-ball roster: Catcher Derrick Alfonso, 24 on July 6th Infielder Steve Braun (Ryan's brother), he'll be 24 May 17th RHP Kris Dabrowiecki, newly signed this offseason, turned 23 last month (March 23rd) OF Derrick McPhearson, newly signed this offseason, will turn 23 next month (May 8th) Dabrowiecki and McPhearson are pretty sure to be playing in Helena in June as newcomers, might be a tougher call on Alfonso and Braun. We'll see.

Others besides Whiteside and Almonte making the jump directly to high-A from rookie ball (bypassing Wisconsin) are 23-year-old RHP Brandon Rapoza and just-turned 22-year-old Mark Willinsky. On the Brewerfan Player Index, we placed Taylor Green on the DL at Brevard, which is probably where he's tucked in a paper move even though his name's not included in Adam's list.

The Stars play the University of Alabama-Huntsville Chargers at 7:00 local time Wednesday night in an exhibition baseball game at Joe Davis Stadium.

The Manatees host the Florida Tech Panthers at 6:00 local time Wednesday night in an exhibition baseball game at Space Coast Stadium in Viera.

David Weiser's starsboxscore.com: Well it looks like I'm going to miss Wednesday's exhibition, too. Thanks to brewerfan.net (actually Adam McCalvy of MLB.com), which beat me to a final roster this year. The Stars will start out with five players on the disabled list....... No wonder it took so long......... Here it is. It will also be on the 'standings' link later. PITCHERS Casey Baron Bobby Bramhall Chris Cody Derrick Ellison Donovan Hand Robert Hinton Mark Holliman Jeremy Jeffress Michael McClendon Juan Sandoval Josh Wahpepah David Welch CATCHERS J.R. Hopf Jonathan Lucroy INFIELDERS Chris Errecart Shane Justis Yohannis Perez Johnny Raburn Vinny Rottino OUTFIELDERS Chuckie Caufield Charlie Fermaint Freddy Parejo Adam Stern DISABLED LIST Omar Aguilar, rp Alexandre Periard, sp Brae Wright, sp Michael Garciaparra, inf Lorenzo Cain, of I remember sometime in the early '90s this many starting out the year on the DL.. Brae, I understand, underwent Tommy John surgery and will be out all year....... The Stars opening day roster includes three former Southern Leaguers: Shane Justis, who hit .266 last year for Jacksonville; Mark Holliman, who, as a member of the Tennessee Smokies, pitched a no-hitter against the Stars two years ago; and Adam Stern, who is back in Double-A for the first time since hitting .322 (3rd best in the Southern League) for the Greenville Braves in 2004. Of the five returning pitchers, I'll be keeping a watch on Jeremy Jeffress (2-1, 5.52), David Welch (11-4, 3.90), and Juan Sandoval (2-6, 3.30, 20 saves)....... Depending on how long Welch stays with the club, he has a shot at making his mark on the all-time victory list (he needs four), ERA, if he has a good season, and innings pitched (he's short a little less than a hundred)....... Sandoval is already tied for 7th with Matt Childers on the all-time saves list. He could add to that and needs 14 to pass Todd Revenig. If manager Bob Miscik makes him his closer........ Robert Hinton, with 69 appearances over two seasons, is the likeliest to last the longest. He'll crack the all-time list in games pitched with his 10th appearance. He is already 18th in relief innings pitched....... Jeffress is the most interesting to watch. He'll probably have a full season with the Stars under his belt. The fireballing right-hander who struck out 115 hitters in 94 innings divided between Brevard County and Huntsville, is the best pitching prospect in the Brewers' organization and the 4th overall, making him also the highest-ranking prospect on the team. And what of the others? Lorenzo Cain, of, 6th Jonathan Lucroy, c, 10th Alexandre Periard, rhp, 13th Omar Aguilar, rhp, 21st Although they did not make Baseball America's Top 30, newcomers to the pitching staff Casey Baron, Bobby Bramhall, Chris Cody, Derrick Ellison, and Mike McClendon won their spots with a good spring....... In six appearances, Baron gave up three runs on seven hits in 9 1/3 innings, struck out nine and walked two....... Bramhall, a lefty, had a sparkling 2.51 ERA for the Manatees last year, leading the staff. He had one rough outing in Arizona, but erase that, and you have one earned run allowed in five innings........ Cody, another lefty, is also coming off a fine season at Brevard (4-5, 1.83). He came up from West Virginia earlier in the '08 season, where he logged a sub 2.00 ERA in just five games. He continued that excellence in Arizona, where he pitched 11 scoreless innings over three appearances, striking out 12. He should be a good one and one to watch this season....... Ellison was scoreless in his first four appearances this spring before Birmingham touched hiim for three runs on three hits in two innings in a 15-8 Huntsville win. He also had a good year at Brevard last year, a team that finished in the middle of the pack in the Florida State League in ERA (3.86)....... McClendon was the reverse. He turned it around after his first bad inning in Arizona, then threw eight scoreless innings. With Baron, he was one of the Manatees' leaders out of the bullpen, throwing in 45 games. Behind the plate, J.R. Hopf will back up prospect Jonathan Lucroy, who is behind Angel Salome on the depth chart.. Lucroy hit .310 for West Virginia, winning him a promotion to Brevard, where he picked up where he left off and hit .292. Technically, he still needs to work on blocking pitches for his batterymates and blocking balls in the dirt, but his quick release allowed him to throw out 45% of all baserunners trying to steal on him. Former Star Brian Moon with a stick. He's more advanced offensively than defensively, so we should see a .280-.290 hitter here........ Hopf, who started the season last year with the Stars, but played only 16 games, was 11-for-26 (.423) this spring for the Stars with four doubles, a triple, a HR, and six RBIs. Four returnees in the infield. The new guy, Shane Justis, came to the Stars in the minor league phase of last December's Rule 5 draft. He didn't hit for a high average in Arizona, but he drove in ten runs....... Chris Errecart is bouncing back from last year's wrist injury, which took him out after July 4. He was hitting .291 at the time, but after he came back, he hit just .137 and struck out 34 times in 87 at-bats (.391) down the stretch........ Yohannis Perez is known as the shortstop who was sent down to Brevard in 2007 to make room for Alcides Escobar, now the Brewers' top minor league prospect. Perez got a late July look, but was hitless in eight at-bats and was sent down. We'll see how he's improved this year in, what looks to be, a full season........ Johnny Raburn and Vinny Rottino are coming back, as already reported. Raburn hit .245 for the Stars in 2004, then went to the Rays in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft that December. He played in over 200 games for the Montgomery Biscuits, hitting .284 in 2005 and .297 the following year, then wound up back in the Southern League for the Carolina Mudcats in 2007. Last year, he was back in Montgomery. But he's gotta find the pop back in his bat. Between the Biscuits and the Mudcats the last two years, he hit just .238. Raburn fills the gap at 2nd base, and can play the outfield, while the Stars wait for Eric Farris to arrive........ Rottino spent the last three seasons with Nashville, with a cup of coffee spent in Milwaukee each of those seasons. But with each season came decreasing success at the plate, although his RBI numbers increased with each campaign. From a .314 season in 2006, he went to .289 in 2007 and .260 in 2008. With the Stars, he was primarily a 3rd baseman, but the Brewers wanted to get him behind the plate more and that's where he was most of the time for the Sounds. He'll be back at third this year for the Stars. The outfield is what gives me the most concern this year. Until Lorenzo Cain returns, there's no history of any pop there, although Freddy Parejo had a surprising season, coming off a .219 year at Brevard in 2007. Parejo got off like a firecracker, hitting .421 in April -- the hottest start in Stars history! Despite a .230 May, he stayed fairly consistent and wound up with a .275 average and struck out only 59 times in 334 at-bats (17.7 %) ....... What will fans get though from Chuckie Caufield and Charlie Fermaint? Fermaint, a 4th round pick in 2003, had only seven hits in 51 at-bats in Arizona. In his last two years at Brevard, he hit .210 (in 47 games) and .212 (122 games). He's a contact hitter who needs to be more patient at the plate. He stole 27 bases last year, but I see him hitting in the #6 or #7 hole most of the time....... Caufield, a 39th-round pick in 2006, had a better spring, hitting safely in 10 of the 13 games he played for the Stars. Ryan Crew (#40) and Derek Miller (#47) were lower choices in Stars history, but Caufield hit well until he got to Brevard. Last year, he hit just .235 for the Manatees. His power and on-base averages also fell off the cliff. So here's hoping Caufield, from the Oklahoma panhandle, can surprise us the way Parejo did last year. A pre-game parade for the Huntsville Little Leaguers will precede the Stars-Braves game on Friday, April 17. The little guys will be on the field thru the National Anthem. The Brewers released a number of players as they pare down their organizational rosters......Catcher Andy Bouchie, who was 1-for-7 for the Stars this spring, and a #7 pick in the 2006 draft, Scott Thorman, a former first base prospect with the Braves, who hit .305 for the Mississippi Braves in 2005. In 2007, he was ranked as the 7th best minor league prospect on the Braves. Thorman was a flop in two seasons in the show, hitting just .222 in 175 games, mostly off the bench...... Joe Bateman, who had a strong season last year. Started out in April as the closer and was promoted to Nashville after going 2-1 with four saves and a 2.47 ERA.. But he did not impress in his four innings in Arizona and the Brewers felt there was no room for him on Nashville's staff........ Former Stars Steve Bray and Brent Krause were released....... Krause hit just .171 for the Stars this spring, but drove in eight runs. He was added to the Stars roster at the tail end of last season after hitting .317 for St. Paul of the independent American Association. He had three hits in eight at-bats for the Stars........ Bray was 5-4 for the Stars with a 2.70 ERA in 2006. That won him a promotion to Nashville, where he had a successful year, going 5-2 with a 1.63 ERA in 42 games in a tough league for pitchers. But that didn't win him even a cup of coffee with the Brewers. The next year, the floor fell through, and he was 1-3, 4.29 with Nashville before being dropped back to Huntsville on June 26. He had only three bad outings in 21 games for the Stars, but it was enough to inflate his ERA to 4.29 with them. In his last game for the Stars, he pitched two scoreless innings against the Lookouts, September 1 - the final game of the season........ Also released was pitcher Brian Reith, a former Lookout hurler with a minor league record of 61-59, who was signed by Milwaukee as a free agent last winter, and Stephen Chapman, who was the Brewers #6 draft pick in 2004.