Jim Goulart

Mitch Stetter and Matt LaPorta named to special AFL Player Showcase -- The Huntsville Site provides a link

The only author of a Brewer no-hitter now the White Sox bullpen coach

In the epic 5-4, 14-inning Red Sox win in Game Five, the repositioning of Fenway Park for Ted Williams paid off as Ruben Sierra was on first and Tony Clark ripped a ground rule double to right field that almost kicked off the wall but instead bounced into the seats. If it had kicked off the wall, Sierra would have easily scored, thus giving the Yankees the lead and likely the win. The ball cleared the wall by an inch or so. You'd have no Bloody Sock, comeback, etc. Go Indians!

Matt LaPorta cranks a three-run blast, his third of the AFL season, and leads the league in RBI with 12. Matt also walked, and did not K. Steve Sollmann with his first base hit, and Steve Hammond allowed two earned runs in his four-inning start. Mesa rolls, 9-2. MiLB.com Photo by Melissa Wintemute http://www.mlb.com/images/2007/10/20/YXuarMHJ.jpg

Steve Chapman a two-run single and a walk; Mat Gamel 0-for-3 with a walk (one fielding chance only, handled cleanly), and Kevin Roberts a 1-2-3 inning, striking out two: http://www.mlb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=l405&t=g_box&gid=2007_10_19_waiwin_nshwin_1

Mitch Stetter has faced seven lefthanded batters thus far in the AFL. He has struck out each and every one of them. http://www.mlb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=l119&t=g_box&gid=2007_10_19_msswin_peswin_1

Mesa wins, 6-2, Thursday afternoon Adam Heether getting penciled in the # 3 spot again and doubles and walks in five plate appearances; Matt LaPorta, a fixture in left field and the cleanup spot, singles and walks in his five trips. Each K'd twice. Dave Johnson and Tim Dillard close things out with a scoreless inning apiece. Johnson loaded the bases before wriggling out of trouble. Scottsdale Top 8th - Pitcher Change: Dave Johnson replaces Jimmy Barthmaier. - Wilkin Castillo singles on a ground ball to first baseman Mark Hamilton. - Reid Brignac pops out to second baseman Jed Lowrie. - Ryan Patterson singles on a ground ball to third baseman Adam Heether. Wilkin Castillo to 2nd. - Mike Carp flies out to center fielder Josh Flores. - With Evan Longoria batting, wild pitch by Dave Johnson, Wilkin Castillo to 3rd. Ryan Patterson to 2nd. - Evan Longoria walks. - Caleb Stewart strikes out swinging. Scottsdale Top 9th - Pitcher Change: Tim Dillard replaces Dave Johnson. - Travis Snider grounds out, second baseman Jed Lowrie to first baseman Mark Hamilton. - Sergio Santos singles on a ground ball to left fielder Matt LaPorta. - Mike Nickeas strikes out swinging. - Wilkin Castillo flies out to center fielder Josh Flores. http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=l119&t=g_box&gid=2007_10_18_scowin_msswin_1

On a now non-Brewer side note, the maddeningly inconsistent Dennis Sarfate has struck out seven while walking none in three IP in Mexico, nailing down three saves in as many chances. After striking out 14 in and walking one in 8.1 IP in Houston, Astros fans are feeling pretty good about that deal. We'll see, but Dennis just didn't do this in Nashville this season. http://www.mlb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?n=Sarfate%20%28S%2C%203%29&pos=P&sid=l132&t=p_pbp&pid=430610

Yes, the samples are still tiny, we know: Extra-base machine Matt LaPorta 2-for-5 with two doubles, two RBI in Mesa's 7-4 win -- now at .300 (9-for-30) with seven of his nine hits for extra bases. Three walks, six K's, and a 1.064 OPS. The Brewers' 2007 first-round draft pick leads the Arizona Fall League with nine RBIs in eight games. Lou Palmisano's fine fall continues, on base four times, including a double, his first extra-base hit. Now at .500 (6-for-12), 3 BB's, 2 K's, 1.183 OPS. Lou looks like a likely candidate for 40-man roster inclusion at this point. Steve Sollmann still looking for his first base hit, now 0-for-8 with a HBP. He played third base in this, his third AFL game: http://www.mlb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=l119&t=g_box&gid=2007_10_17_msswin_scowin_1

Steve Chapman and Mat Gamel did their parts with two singles apiece, but Honu was shut out for a second consecutive game, 2-0. Omar Aguilar pitched a socreless 9th, working around a two-out double. He struck out two: http://www.mlb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=l405&t=g_box&gid=2007_10_17_honwin_nshwin_1

Steve Bray had a brutal 2nd inning (six runs, five earned) in Mexico Tuesday night: Navojoa Bottom 1st - Luis Arredondo grounds out, pitcher Steve Bray to first baseman John Lindsey. - Oscar Robles grounds out to first baseman John Lindsey. - Adan Munoz grounds out, shortstop Jose Luis Sandoval to first baseman John Lindsey. Navojoa Bottom 2nd - Jesse Gutierrez homers (2) on a fly ball to left field. - Doug Clark reaches on fielding error by shortstop Jose Luis Sandoval. - Scott Thorman homers (1) on a fly ball to right center field. Doug Clark scores. - Luis Cruz singles on a line drive to second baseman Carlos Alberto Gastelum. - Brandon Jones singles on a line drive to right fielder Juan Canizalez. Luis Cruz to 3rd. - Abel Martinez doubles (1) on a line drive to center fielder Ivan Terrazas. Luis Cruz scores. Brandon Jones to 3rd. - Luis Arredondo singles on a line drive to left fielder Jesus Cota. Brandon Jones scores. Abel Martinez scores. Luis Arredondo out at 2nd on the throw, left fielder Jesus Cota to third baseman Marshall McDougall to second baseman Carlos Alberto Gastelum. - Pitcher Change: Federico Castaneda replaces Steve Bray.

Steve Chapman 0-for-4; Mat Gamel 0-for-3 as Honu loses 2-0 -- they only had four baserunners. Gamel had several assists at third base. Kevin Roberts returned with two scoreless innings, although eventful: Honolulu Top 7th - Pitcher Change: Kevin Roberts replaces Blair Johnson. - Brad Suttle strikes out swinging. - Jason Place walks. - Phillip Britton grounds into double play, third baseman Mat Gamel to second baseman Masahiro Nagata to first baseman Stephen Chapman. Jason Place out at 2nd. Honolulu Top 8th - Miguel Abreu singles on a soft ground ball to third baseman Mat Gamel. - With Nate Samson batting, Miguel Abreu steals (4) 2nd base. - With Nate Samson batting, Miguel Abreu steals (5) 3rd base. - Nate Samson strikes out swinging. - With Austin Jackson batting, Dusty Ryan picks off Miguel Abreu at 3rd on throw to Mat Gamel. - Austin Jackson walks. - Coaching visit to mound. - Shoji Ohiro singles on a ground ball to right fielder Brad Corley. Austin Jackson to 2nd. - With Matt Wieters batting, Austin Jackson advances to 3rd on a balk. Shoji Ohiro advances to 2nd on a balk. - Matt Wieters grounds out, first baseman Stephen Chapman to pitcher Kevin Roberts.

Latest Steve Hammond journal: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071016&content_id=310957&vkey=news_milb&fext=.jsp Journal: Hammond shakes off rust By Steve Hammond / Special to MLB.com A 2005 sixth-round pick by the Milwaukee Brewers out of Long Beach State, Steve Hammond posted sub-3.00 ERAs in five different stops over his first two seasons in the Brewers farm system. The 25-year-old southpaw went 7-9 with a 4.69 at Double-A Huntsville in 2007, helping lead the Stars to the Southern League Championship Series. Hammond is a member of the Mesa Solar Sox. Send Steve an email With five games having passed, I think I have begun to settle in to my surroundings a little bit. I have seen all of my teammates play and am impressed with the amount of talent on the field every day. I have also been able to get onto the mound and knock a little bit of rust off. Coming into this fall season, I think my idea of what to expect was a little better than most of the other players. I am one of about 20 guys who have had the opportunity to be here in Arizona before. I was invited to this league in 2005 as an injury replacement for the last three weeks, so I got a taste of what this is all about. There is a lot to be learned in an environment where over half of the players go on to play in the Major Leagues if they have not already. It really is an honor to be a part of a group like this and while I am out here I want to learn as much as I can. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/2007/10/01/9G3dmCN5.jpg On the field last week I tried to make a few adjustments after my outing on Opening Day. I knew I would feel uncomfortable on the mound because it had been a few weeks since I had pitched, but I was pleased with how it turned out. I did a pretty good job of throwing the ball where I wanted to, and didn't make any mistakes over the middle of the plate where the hitters out here will make you pay in a hurry. As a starter, you have a long time after you pitch to think about what you did and what you want to change for the next time. For me, my next outing can never come soon enough. If I pitch well, I want to get back out there and continue my success while the game seems easy. And if I make some bad pitches and get knocked around, I want a chance to redeem myself as soon as possible. It's tough to wait five or six days between games because it can be hard to keep momentum when things are going well, and also hard to get out of a rut if I'm pitching poorly. Physically, it usually takes that many days for my body to recover and get ready to take the pounding of throwing 100 pitches again, but mentally I want to get on the mound and pitch again the next day. That is just one of the challenges of being a starting pitcher, and one that I hope I am lucky enough to face for many years to come. I received many nice emails from people all over the country and I'd like to answer a couple of them. I had a question for you in regards to pitching left-handed and my son. My son Tyler is 10 years old and is a southpaw also. What other pitch should he work on besides a fastball and changeup at his age? How many pitching camps did you go to growing up? What is your strikeout pitch? Thank you for taking my email and hope to see you at Miller Park. -- Don To answer your first question, Don, I don't think Tyler needs to throw anything but a fastball and changeup at his age. I see no benefit to throwing a bunch of offspeed pitches at an early age. I think it is much more important to first be able to have command of a fastball inside and outside and be able to throw a changeup for a strike before you begin to throw curveballs and possibly cause too much stress to your arm. I didn't go to very many pitching camps when I was young. I kept busy with every sport I could find when I was a kid and played baseball, football and basketball in high school. I didn't focus solely on baseball until I went to junior college. I can't say that I have one strikeout pitch. It really depends on the batter and the situation. I don't pitch for strikeouts because it usually leads to me throwing too many pitches. I would rather have the batter put the ball in play in the first two or three pitches. First off, congrats on a nice season and good luck in Arizona. My question is: What do Minor Leaguers like you do for a place to live during the season? Promotions, the fall league, winter ball -- that can add up to a lot of places being "home." -- Kyle Hi Kyle. Generally in the Minor Leagues everybody tries to find a roommate or two and looks for an apartment when they get to their team's city. Sometimes you can find out from guys who played there the previous year where the best places to stay are. With a Minor League salary, most of us can't afford to live the way we'd like to, but it's only for a few months so it doesn't bother me too much. There can be a lot of moving around, which makes it difficult. The year I got drafted I went from school in Long Beach, Calif. to living in Helena, Mont., Charleston, W.Va., Melbourne, Fla., and here in Phoenix in a matter of three months. Needless to say, you learn to pack light and live with just the necessities quickly. Steve Hammond is 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA in his first two starts for the Mesa Solar Sox this fall. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/2007/10/16/xzBxvPN2.jpg

Adam Heether 0-for-4 (three K's); Matt LaPorta 1-for-4 (RBI double, three K's); Mitch Stetter with a scoreless inning (one hit) in a mop-up 9th in a 9-1 Mesa loss -- by the way, Stetter has faced four LH batters thus far in the AFL -- he's struck out all four: http://www.mlb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=l119&t=g_box&gid=2007_10_16_msswin_perwin_1

The Huntsville site points out that Luis Pena is on the La Guaira roster in Venezuela (hasn't pitched yet): http://www.mlb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=l135&t=t_ros&cid=698

This thread in the Major League Forum notes that Vinny Rottino plans on playing in the Dominican Winter League: http://forum.brewerfan.net/viewtopic.php?t=8480?page=1

Steve Chapman 3-for-5 and scored the winning run in Honu's 10-inning 4-3 win; Mat Gamel walks as a pinch-hitter; Jonathan Lucroy 0-for-4 as the DH: http://www.mlb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=l405&t=g_box&gid=2007_10_15_honwin_nshwin_1 By the way, in the other HWL game, the teams agreed to end the game early to spare pitcher's arms. Kevin Roberts hasn't pitched since the 11th after two really rough outings (1.2 IP, 6 H, 6 BB), so something to keep an eye on.

Steve Chapman and Mat Gamel homer on Sunday, and Jonathan Lucroy has two hits: http://www.mlb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=l405&t=g_box&gid=2007_10_14_wocwin_nshwin_1

Link, text follows: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071014&content_id=310609&vkey=news_milb&fext=.jsp Journal: Jonathan vs. the volcano By Jonathan Lucroy / Special to MLB.com Catcher Jonathan Lucroy was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the third round of the 2007 draft. Assigned to Helena of the Rookie-level Pioneer League, the University of Louisiana product immediately impressed by hitting .342 in 61 games. The Brewers have sent him to Hawaii Winter Baseball this year to further his professional education. He'll be periodically posting his thoughts on playing baseball in paradise for the North Shore Honu. Send Jonathan an email Hi everybody, my name is Jonathan Lucroy. I'm a catcher and I am here in Hawaii playing for the North Shore Honu. The Milwaukee Brewers were kind enough to send me out here for the winter ball season to allow me work on some things and hopefully get better. I'm actually one of the few rookies in the entire league. At the beginning of this year, I was playing college baseball at the University of Louisiana. So as you can tell, I am fairly new to the whole professional baseball experience. I'm only 21 years old -- a lot of the guys here are two to three years older then me and have much more experience. http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com//images/2007/10/15/CIfxzZVn.jpg After being drafted I was sent to Helena, Montana to play for the Helena Brewers in the Class A Short-Season Pioneer League. It was a wonderful experience, and I learned a lot of things about professional baseball and how it's different from the college game. Montana was very different from my hometown in central Florida -- I'm from a small town called Umatilla. If anybody has heard of this town, please email me and let me know! Not too many people have. Back to paradise. Hawaii is a wonderful place to play winter ball. There are so many things to do here! Renting scooters, surfboards and bikes are a common activity. A few days ago I rented a bike and went for about a five-mile ride around Honolulu and Waikiki. Many of the other guys do that as well. We have all been pretty busy though. For our first trip we went to Maui, which is only about a 20-minute plane ride. We played three games before taking a bus up into the rain forest, which was absolutely unbelievable. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. Waterfalls on the sides of the mountains, crystal clear streams and lush tropical forest all made for a truly rewarding sightseeing trip. We also went snorkeling over an extinct volcano -- actually half of an extinct volcano. It was a half-moon shape and consisted of aged volcanic magma. It was really beautiful and unique to see and experience; the fish were as colorful and diverse as I've ever seen as well. I've never been snorkeling in the ocean before, so it was a completely new experience. Later, we drove up to the very top of a dormant volcano and got to take a peek in the crater. There were several cones in the crater itself that looked still active but thankfully were not. Later on in the season we will be going to the big island, Hawaii, to play at Hilo. I will write about that later. Our baseball team here is unique as well. We have players from the Astros, Phillies, Reds, Brewers, Marlins, Pirates and Tigers. We also have several guys from Japan. These players all have big-league experience in Japan, so they are all pretty solid. All in all, our team is very good. Our record is one of the best in the league and we are getting better. All the guys here are great -- like me they're here to get better and have fun in paradise. Not having fun here would be a really tough thing to do, considering the circumstances. Playing baseball in paradise, go figure. If anybody has any questions, feel free to email me at lucroyhwb@gmail.com and I'll do my best to answer a couple of them in my next posting. Mahalo (thank you) and Aloha! http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/2007/10/15/f3RWehAd.jpg

Taxpayers still have their say towards financing, which is iffy at best: http://www.helenair.com/articles/2007/10/14/helena/a011014_02.txt Kindrick Legion Field Two years ago, one of the old, 200-foot-tall light poles at this historic ballpark cracked under the stress of Helena Valley winds and fell into the outfield fence. If a sturdy metal fence post hadn't stopped its fall, the pole would have fallen onto the field during an American Legion baseball game. A few years before, Legion General Manager Joe Underkofler watched a grounder take a bad hop on the rocky infield and break a player's jaw. Helena Brewers General Manager Paul Fetz shook his head as he showed reporters the team's workout area - an exercise bike and a small weight machine are squeezed into a corner, a few feet from players' lockers. The project to upgrade Helena's historic ball park, built around 1940, is primarily a matter of performing some needed housekeeping, though Fetz noted the work will improve fans' experience and make the park safer for players. "Nowadays in the baseball business, and even in Legion ball … you want the people who come to enjoy themselves, that's a bottom line," Fetz said. The professional ball club has outgrown its clubhouse, the poor playing surface hardens and sprouts numerous rocks through the summer, an uneven outfield sometimes causes injuries, the wooden baseline bleachers are nearing the end of their useful lives, and the ballpark lights are dim, inefficient and mounted on old wooden poles. Officials want to rework the field, providing a softer, more manageable surface. The plans call for new bleachers - though the charming, historic grandstands will be left in place - and new metal light poles with energy-efficient lamps that will provide more light for players and fans and cut down on light pollution to the surrounding area. The home clubhouse will be renovated and expanded, and parking improved with reused road millings, which cost less than asphalt surfacing. "These improvements will maintain the character of the park but bring it up to standards that will be better for everybody," Underkofler said. "It's going to be good for a long time to come, and I'd say that really for the whole (parks) project." A timeline hasn't been set, but if voters approve the bond, some work at the ball field could begin in the next year.

Mesa wins Saturday, 4-0 Mitch Stetter closes it out striking out the side in the 9th (one walk) -- he struck out two LH bats; in August '05, Stetter topped out at # 31 on the Power 50, he'll be 27 in January and would have graduated off the list via age this winter (he's currently not on the P50), but he's obviously got a chance to contribute for quite some time at the big league level. Matt LaPorta homers to left-center field; his 2nd of the season -- it's a tiny five-game sample, but his .294/.400/.765 (1.165 OPS) line is just a tad better than his awesome West Virginia numbers (1.142 OPS in 88 AB's). Steve Sollmann (second base) was 0-for-3 (now 0-for-5). http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=l119&t=g_box&gid=2007_10_13_peswin_msswin_1

Honu wins Saturday, 8-4 Steve Chapman goes 3-for-4 with a double, his first extra-base hit (now .292; 7-for-24, 2 BB, 11 K's, .679 OPS), drives in two; Mat Gamel 1-for-4 with an RBI (now .325; 13-for-40, 5 BB, 11 K, 1.025 OPS). Gamel committed two more errors, one throwing, one fielding -- has four in 11 games; he handled one of three chances cleanly. Omar Aguilar pitched for the 7th time in 14 days -- yikes; he came in with two down and the bases loaded in the 7th and got an inning-ending groundout; then had a 1-2-3 8th, asked to pitch the 9th, he loaded the bases on one out before ending his evening; one run eventually scored. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_10_13_wocwin_nshwin_1

Lou Palmisano (1-for-2) off to a nice AFL start (now 4-for-6); Matt LaPorta smacked a two-run triple and walked twice, nice; Adam Heether gets his first AFL hit in his lone at-bat and finishes up in right field of all places; Mesa loses, 6-4, to fall to 1-3: http://www.mlb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=l119&t=g_box&gid=2007_10_12_surwin_msswin_1

Mat Gamel and Steve Chapman combined to reach base five times (two hits for Mat, three walks combined) in Honu's 5-0 victory Friday. Gamel caught three foul pop ups and handled one ground ball cleanly at third base. http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=l405&t=g_log&gid=2007_10_12_wocwin_nshwin_1

Tom Haudricourt of the J-S with an R.J. Seidel update