Your 2009 Nashville Sounds -- Latest: McCalvy on Dillard's New Approach

[Mass Haas]

The Nashville staff, via maintaining their own site outside the MiLB.com umbrella, is able to best present their roster. Right now, there are 25 guys on there so one move will need to be made prior toThursday to get them down to the 24-man active limit. That's been confirmed by the Sounds.

 

Three players will make their first stop at the Class AAA level with the Sounds in 2009: reliever David Johnson (who posted a 3.32 ERA in 40 relief outings for Huntsville last season), Alcides Escobar, and Angel Salome.

 

Of course, Alcides and Angel got a taste of Milwaukee last September, so the real congrats on progressing up the chain a step goes to Johnson, the 26-year-old 2004 15th round pick out of UCLA.

 

Top Prospects Highlight Opening Day Roster

Formal Roster List -- Clicking on a name will provide bio information, some players bio's will be added in the coming day or two...

[igor67]

No Cole Gillespie on the Sounds Roster? Is he hurt and I missed it? Otherwise he really needs should be in AAA. I place a decent value on corner OFs who can be 4th OF and produce some good offensive value at the minimum and give you roster flexibility with options.

[Mass Haas]

Igor, Adam McCalvy reported that Cole will be the DH at Brevard County until his elbow stops barking (can hit, can't throw).

[ClosetBrewerFan]

What about Rottino? I thought he was going to be the utility guy.

[battlekow]

Rottino is going to play third at Huntsville.

[twobrewers]

Rottino is officially organizational filler.

[JJHardy7]

So is the 'Hurricane' back to being a 2B now? It looks like according to the JS he is the starter. Anyone know what the plan is? I hope Heether gets a good amount of playing time?

[JoeHova]

Plenty of room in that outfield if they want to move Cain or Gillespie up to AAA soon.

[LouisEly]

My guess is one of Burns/Ginter/Houston gets dropped.

 

Rottino is going to play third at Huntsville.

 

I'm assuming that Taylor Green is hurt and not ready to go?

 

So is the 'Hurricane' back to being a 2B now?

 

I hope so. Lawrie is a long way off and I think Iribarren is the next best guy they have. I think he could be an adequate stop-gap for a year or two between Weeks and Lawrie.

[clancyphile]

Plenty of room in that outfield if they want to move Cain or Gillespie up to AAA soon.

Gillespie is doing the DH thing at Brevard County until he can play the field.

 

I'm assuming that Taylor Green is hurt and not ready to go?

Correct. Kudos to Rottino for being willing to go down to AA. I hope he at least gets another look on the major-league roster in September.

[JohnBriggs12]

Plenty of room in that outfield if they want to move Cain or Gillespie up to AAA soon.

Gillespie is doing the DH thing at Brevard County until he can play the field.

 

I'm assuming that Taylor Green is hurt and not ready to go?

Correct. Kudos to Rottino for being willing to go down to AA. I hope he at least gets another look on the major-league roster in September.

The reality is Rottino turns 29 tomorrow and the chances he appears in another major league game are slim. It's great that he still has the desire to play and that the Brewers had a place for him to play. My guess is that in 2010, he's the marquee player on the new Northern League team in Zion, IL, about 20 minutes from Racine.

[And That]

I wonder who is gonna close for the Sounds? Chris Smith might make the most sense of the guys there, but it would be nice to see Dave Johnson get a shot, too. Really any of the guys who aren't in the rotation could do it.

[JoeHova]

I'm aware that Gillespie is DHing because of his injury. That was kind of my point, that they don't have to worry about displacing anyone worthwhile when they feel that Gillespie is OK.

[Kricket755]

Unless we have been Tejadaed, I dont think the 6/8/66 is correct for Angel Salomes DOB. Yea, If you add Gillespie and maybe Cain and/or Jeffress a little later in the year, this could be one of the most exciting AAA teams for the Brewers in a while.

[pogokat]

Cain and gillespie will definitely join this team at some point this season...i'd guess Tyner and TGJ will exit at that point..

[battlekow]

Nashville notes from MiLB.com's PCL preview, with special note taken of Escobar and Gamel as top prospects in the league:

Nashville Sounds

2008 record: 59-81

2009 manager: Don Money

What's on deck: This is Money's first season at the Triple-A level. The 61-year-old former Major Leaguer spent the past four seasons at Double-A Huntsville, guiding the Stars to a pair of postseason appearances. He coached in the All-Star Futures Game and was named Southern League Manager of the Year in 2007. ... Pitching coach Chris Bosio begins his first season in the Brewers organization after spending 2008 with Double-A Chattanooga in the Reds system. ... Hitting coach Sandy Guerrero also is new to Nashville after spending the past six seasons at Huntsville. ... Greer Stadium received a $2 million facelift in the offseason that included upgrades to the rest rooms, concession stands, scoreboard, sound system and seating. ... The Sounds should have plenty of talent this season, with four of the Brewers' top five prospects expected to see time in Nashville. SS Alcides Escobar is the most exciting member of the group. The other standouts are 3B Mat Gamel, C Angel Salome and RHP Jeremy Jeffress, who will begin the year in Double-A but could earn a late-season promotion.

Alcides Escobar, SS -- Nashville

The defensive whiz was a late cut by the Brewers in Spring Training and will start the season in the Music City.

Mat Gamel, 3B -- Nashville

Gamel, along with Escobar and C Angel Salome, helps form a dominant trio of Brewers prospects heading to Greer Stadium.

[battlekow]

Nashville Sounds happy to leave dismal 2008 season in the past

By Mike Organ

Tony Gwynn doesn't need much to be happy when he's on the baseball diamond.

Being able to know the score is one of the few things the Nashville Sounds' outfielder deems a necessity.

"There were a few times last year when I actually thought we were winning the game and I'd be like, 'Why are we hitting in the bottom of the ninth?"' Gwynn said. "It'll be good to have the scoreboard working finally."

The refurbished guitar scoreboard is just one of the new sights at Greer Stadium.

Nashville's minor league team opens its 32ndst season against New Orleans at 7 p.m. Thursday, under new ownership, a new coaching staff and with several new players who are expected to play key roles.

And the changes couldn't have come at a better time.

The 2008 Sounds posted the worst record (59-81) in franchise history, landing them in last place in the Pacific Coast League American Conference Northern Division.

Manger Frank Kremblas was fired after the season and replaced by former major league third baseman Don Money.

"We're moving on now and our makeup might be a little different,'' Money said. "Frank had his style on and off the field and my style is a little bit different from Frank's.''

The media already picked up on one of the changes Wednesday when reporters realized none of the players were sporting trendy moustaches or goatees.

Money is known as a disciplinarian who doesn't allow facial hair.

"Don's a good baseball guy and he's a little different than Frank,'' outfielder Brendan Katin said. "We've got to abide by the rules a little bit more this year. He's not going to let us have the facial hair and any of that nonsense. You have to wear collared shirts. He's by the book. He's a great guy … we'll see if it makes a big difference."

A better start is among the biggest difference players are hoping for. The Sounds lost nine of their first 10 games and 15 of their first 18 in 2008.

"We got in a rut and it was just about impossible to get out of it,'' Katin said. "Hopefully the fans will come out and support us and not count us out because of last year."

For all the changes, Money, who spent the previous four seasons as skipper of Milwaukee's Double-A team in Huntsville, said he's familiar with much of his new team.

"These guys know me because I've had most of them except for a lot of the pitchers,'' Money said. "A lot of them are six-year free agents, and they'll learn."

Third baseman Mat Gamel is one of the Brewers' top prospects and spent most of last season playing for Money in Huntsville, save for short stints in Nashville and the Brewers in September.

A key to the Sounds' success, Gamel said, is for prospects like himself to avoid being fixated on getting called up and to do their best to help the team.

"I'm working on defense, getting my game better to where I can go up and help the big league team win ballgames,'' Gamel said. "But I've also got to worry about this team and what's going on here. Hopefully we can come out, string together some wins, and maybe win a ring."

[Mass Haas]

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

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

My friend Nick Green has gone through a lot at a young age

By Steve Carter/Tifton (GA) Gazette News Editor

 

I am not going to sit here and deny it, I consider Nick Green to be my friend. I think he is a great person, and I admire him for working hard to try to live out his dreams of being a big league baseball player.

 

Nick is with the Triple-A Nashville Sounds this season, hoping to get a shot at pitching for the Milwaukee Brewers sometime in 2009.

 

He starts his first game Sunday, and has spent this week getting adjusted to living in Nashville.

 

But something has happened to put a lot on anyone's mind, especially a young man who is trying to live out his dream.

 

Nick's roommate from last season, Nick Adenhart, was killed in an early morning hit-and-run wreck Thursday morning in California. Adenhart had just pitched six scoreless innings for the Los Angeles Angels in a game against the Oakland Athletics.

 

The report has Adenhart and three friends hit by a drunk driver, who was charged with murder Friday.

 

I have not talked to Nick Green, but Adenhart's death means Nick has lost two very close friends in five years due to car wrecks. The other is Stefanie ten Hoope, who died in 2004. Nick thought so much of Stefanie he has done his best to wear the same No. 23 she wore as an ABAC Fillie softball player during his career in minor league baseball.

 

Nick also saw a coach killed by a line drive two years ago during a game in Arkansas. The first base coach, Mike Coolbaugh, was hit in a temple by a line drive, and is the reason you see base coaches wearing batting helmets in professional baseball now.

 

That's a lot of death for one person to have seen in five short years, especially for a person who is only 24 years old.

 

I would love for Nick to get a chance to make the Major Leagues, but I am also going to be praying that he will be able to live a good long time now without having death hanging over his head. He is too good of a person to have had to live with what he has gone through in a span of five years.

 

I am also going to be praying for Nick Adenhart and his family, and I will also be praying that folks will finally learn that you shouldn't drink and drive. It is just too deadly of a proposition.

[Mass Haas]

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.

[TheCrew07]

Went to the Brewer game yesterday... not one of my of better decisions knowing who was pitching and against whom, but gotta support the team. Just catching up on the site and what a wonderful article about GW. Kudos to coach32sm for some more national recognition as well. I really hope Angel figures out his defense because by all accounts including national, local beat writers for each team, and coach, he's an excellent young man who goes out of his way to help those around him and give back.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

Friend's death still haunts Sounds pitcher

Green was close to Angels' Adenhart

By Maurice Patton

THE TENNESSEAN

 

Nick Green and Nick Adenhart shared more than a first name.

 

The two grew up together as professional baseball players, rooming together last season as members of the Angels' Triple-A affiliate at Salt Lake.

 

So it will be a grief-stricken Green who is scheduled to take the mound tonight for the Nashville Sounds at New Orleans, just hours after his friend - the victim of a car crash allegedly caused by a drunk driver - is buried in Maryland.

 

Just as he did in his initial start last Sunday, Green will have "NA34" just above the right corner of the bill on his cap.

 

"Each time I put the hat on, it's for him," said Green, who struggled through that first start, giving up five earned runs over five innings.

 

"Me and Nick were in the same draft class, 2004. We came up in the minor leagues. We were actually competing against each other, year-in and year-out. At the same time, even though he was my competition ... we're all in the minor leagues for the same reason, to get to the big leagues. To see him get up there and have a great game and then have that happen, was heartbreaking."

 

On April 8, Adenhart started for the Angels and threw six shutout innings against the visiting Athletics. In the early-morning hours of April 9, the vehicle in which Adenhart was a passenger was struck by a hit-and-run driver. Two passengers were pronounced dead on the scene. Adenhart was transported to a hospital, where he died.

 

Green was still getting settled into his Nashville apartment and preparing for the Sounds' season opener when he received the news.

 

"I was on the phone trying to get cable hooked up and in two or three minutes, I had 8 or 10 text messages," he recalled nearly a week later, pausing periodically to stop the trickle of tears. "I knew something wasn't right. I read one of them and saw what happened. That hurt."

 

"I actually didn't break down then. It just seemed unreal. I'd just seen him pitch that (previous) night. After a while, maybe two or three hours later when I sat down and thought to myself about the situation, that's when it hit me."

 

Adding to the pain was that Green, claimed off waivers by the Brewers in February after being released by the Angels, was virtually alone in his suffering.

 

"It's tough, being over here, in a new organization," he said. "No one's really feeling the situation. I think it would have been easier there. All those guys would be feeling the same thing I'm feeling. Being the lone guy over here that knew him very well, I'm like the oddball of the group. But everybody, from (Milwaukee General Manager Doug Melvin) down has been comforting. Everybody was respectful about the situation."

 

Being the competitor that he is - a trait he said Adenhart helped him to develop - Green stopped short of blaming his shaky first outing on his emotional state.

 

"I'm sure he won't use that as an excuse, but if he does, it's certainly OK by me," Sounds outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr. said. "If you're a human being and you have any type of heart, you can definitely be impacted. You've got to be able to find a way to separate the two. I don't know anybody who does it 100 percent successfully."

 

Rather than shutting off his emotions, Nashville pitching coach Chris Bosio hopes to help Green direct them positively during games.

 

"Some people say you've got to move on, you've got to forget about it," said Bosio, whose mother died this past Christmas. "That's not the way it works. Everybody says 'time will heal.' But it's hard to forget loved ones and friends that pass away. We're not asking you to.

 

"He'll remember that the rest of his life, and that's alright, as long as you can channel that. He'll continue to carry that with him. But along with that will come some strength and some power."

 

Before he throws his first pitch tonight, just as he did last Sunday, Green will mark Adenhart's initials and jersey number in the dirt on the back of the mound.

 

"I won't forget about him," he said. "I want to make sure I keep his name alive.

 

"It's going to be tough. The only thing to help a situation like this is time. I think it'll be easier for me as time goes on."

 

Sounds pitcher Nick Green was close friends with Los Angeles Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart, who was killed last week in an automobile accident. Photo by SAMUEL M. SIMPKINS / THE TENNESSEAN

 

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[Mass Haas]

The Nashville interviews (including Friday's with Angel Salome) have been posted within the Daily Link Reports.

But every so often, we'll remind folks of this archived interview page, should they have missed one and wish to catch up.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

Ex-Sound Mark DiFelice sees persistence pay in a big way

By Bryan Mullen

THE TENNESSEAN

 

Instead of postgame meals of hot dogs and chicken fingers, Mark DiFelice feasts on steak, lobster, shrimp and pasta.

 

Instead of bus trips and commercial planes, there are luxurious chartered flights with every amenity imaginable.

 

He plays in the best parks and gets the best perks.

 

And the salary? That's the best part.

 

Mark DiFelice spent more than a decade in the minor leagues, including most of last season with the Nashville Sounds. Now the affable 32-year-old pitcher has been thrust into a fantasy world as a dependable relief pitcher with the Milwaukee Brewers.

 

It's a dream not lost on the 25 current members of the Nashville Sounds, who are all-too-aware that they're just one phone call from what baseball players call "The Show."

 

"I shake my head at it," DiFelice said of his new environment. "I spent 11 years in the minor leagues. It makes every one of those years so worth it."

 

DiFelice, who has a 1.29 ERA in five games this season, made approximately $9,000 a month last season with the Sounds. Not bad money at all, but his recent bump in pay is life-changing. He makes the league minimum of $400,000 with the Brewers, which comes to more than $33,000 a month.

 

"If I make the minimum the rest of my career, I'll be happy," DiFelice said.

 

He allowed himself a gift recently and purchased a new Chevy Tahoe. But DiFelice is quick to point out that he is cautious. With a plummeting economy, he doesn't want to come across as unappreciative. And he also doesn't know exactly how long he'll remain in the big leagues. One bad inning or one sore shoulder could find him back in Nashville.

 

"When you first get up (to the majors), you don't know how long you're going to stick," DiFelice said. "I didn't want to blow all my money. I'm trying to do the things where I can be around for a few more years. Talking to the guys, they say if I keep throwing my pitch - my cutter - you're going to have success for years to come. Lord willing, I stay healthy. We'll see."

 

It's 'Show' time

 

After toiling through the minors for more than a decade, shoulder surgery in 2001, and after playing independent league baseball just three seasons ago, DiFelice got the call last season after posting solid numbers for the Sounds.

 

In his Major League debut, he faced one of the more potent 2-3-4 combos in baseball history. First up was American League MVP Dustin Pedroia, then David Ortiz, then Manny Ramirez.

 

"Pedroia hit a double off the Green Monster, Ortiz hit a two-run home run, and I struck out Manny Ramirez," DiFelice said laughing. "It was a crazy debut. I started out with a 27.00 ERA but worked it all the way down to like a 2.84."

 

After settling in, the Pennsylvania native made 14 more appearances before the season ended. After spring training this year, he was one of the last players added to the Brewers' big league roster.

 

"It makes you realize how close you are to being there because he was a guy I played with the last few years," said current Sounds outfielder Brendan Katin, 26, who is in his fifth professional season. "You do get envious a little bit, but you try to be happy for those guys."

 

Sounds reliever Lindsay Gulin sees DiFelice's move as a reason to stay optimistic. Gulin, 32, is the same age as DiFelice. He is in his 15th professional season but has yet to be called up to the majors.

 

"The dream is to make it to the big leagues," Gulin said. "DiFelice worked 11 years to follow his dream and he made it, and deservedly so. It's good to see someone who has put in the time to get that opportunity."

 

The pressure to perform well against the world's best hitters can be overwhelming, however. DiFelice said he is becoming more comfortable with every pitch he throws, and is going to make the most of his big break.

 

"Baseball is all about right place, right time," DiFelice said. "Throughout my career, things never really worked out for me. But then I came over with the Brewers and everything clicked. I just got that opportunity and the next thing you know, I'm having a pretty good go of it."

 

Additional Facts

MARK DIFELICE FILE

Height/weight. 6-2/190

Position. Relief pitcher

Age. 32

Residence. Havertown, Pa.

Note. After spending 11 seasons in the minors, made his Major-League last year with the Milwaukee Brewers and pitched in 15 games. … Currently has a 1.29 ERA in five games with the Brewers. … Went 5-1 with a 3.22 ERA in Nashville last season. … Played college baseball at Western Carolina … Selected by Colorado in the 15th round of the June 1999 draft.

 

Photo by SCOTT PAULUS / MILWAUKEE BREWERS

 

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[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows: (written from the perspective of last week, posted online today)

This kid can't miss, or can he?

By Terry McCormick, Nashville City Paper

Mat Gamel's bat has him on the fast track to reach the major leagues.

 

His glovework is apparently the only roadblock between here and Milwaukee.

 

Just through the first five games of the Nashville Sounds season, the highly regarded third baseman has shown exactly what his past few seasons have suggested about him. He has opened the year batting a scorching .556 with two home runs and 10 RBIs already. Of course, those slow-pitch softball numbers won't continue all year, but as advertised, Gamel is quite the hitting prospect.

 

On the other hand, however, is the defense, where Gamel is still adjusting and trying to improve his fielding to the point where the Brewers can take full advantage of his potent offensive abilities.

 

Gamel already has three errors in five games at third base, including a 10th inning error against New Orleans on last Sunday that opened the floodgates for six runs in the extra frame of an 11-5 loss.

 

In Monday's 4-3 victory over Oklahoma City, Gamel hammered a home run and had a fielding error as well.

 

Gamel is well aware that while he is quite the hitting prospect that there is work to be done before he is a finished product ready for an extended stay in the big leagues.

 

"I'd love to start up in Milwaukee, but this is a good learning experience to see what I have to work on and improve on to better my chances to stay up there," Gamel said.

 

He has a good mentor and instructor in Sounds manager Don Money, himself a former major league third baseman and veteran of 16 major league seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies and Brewers.

 

"He put good numbers up. That's how you get on the fast track. He had very solid numbers last year in '08 and he hit .300 in '07," said Money, who managed Gamel at Double-A Huntsville last year. "His Achilles heel is his defense, and he made very solid progress from '07 to '08 and now we just have to continue making progress from '08 to '09."

 

Gamel batted .329 for the Huntsville Stars last year, then got a five-game call-up with the Sounds where he batted .238, and even got two at-bats and his first major league hit last September with the Brewers.

 

Defensively, however, Gamel has been a work in progress. He had 34 errors at third base in 2006, his first full year of pro ball, 53 errors in the Class A Florida State League in 2007 and 32 more last year. But Money is seeing improvement.

 

"He made 55 errors or whatever it was. Hopefully, you get better," Money said. "When I asked him, I said, 'What's your problem - throwing or fielding.' And he said 50-50. I said, 'We're going to eliminate a lot of your throwing errors, because that's all footwork, and his footwork was all fouled up."

 

The throwing error on Sunday came because Gamel didn't square his body after making a nice stop, according to Money. But the manager hopes to use it as a learning tool.

 

"I said, 'Just tell me you knew what you did wrong,'" Money said. "And he said, 'I didn't get my shoulders turned." So at least he knew what he did wrong. Our job is to get these players ready. We're trying to win, too. You're trying to win as many games as you can. It's our job to get them ready, make sure they get their work done."

 

Gamel knows there is work to be done, in all aspects of his game, such as making the jump up another level and facing the tougher pitching before going on to the majors. But he is trying to shore up the defensive aspect of his game as well.

 

"I have lots to work on at third base and just defense in general. I'm starting to get more comfortable. But I just have to keep working on it every day," Gamel said.

 

Gamel also doesn't take his status as a top prospect - he was a fourth-round pick out of Chipola Junior College in Florida in 2005 - for granted either.

 

"It doesn't mean I'm going to get to the big leagues. You've still got to come out and play the game and do a lot of other things to get there," Gamel said. "I just try to come out and focus on what I'm supposed to focus on, which is here in Nashville. Hopefully, I get a call-up, but in the same breath, I can't worry about when it's going to happen, because then I won't be focused 100 percent on what I have to do here."

 

Is there the thought of doing with Gamel what the Brewers eventually did with Ryan Braun just to get Gamel's potent left-handed bat in the lineup? Braun started out as a third baseman, tore Triple-A pitching apart at Nashville for about six week in 2007 and went on to be National League Rookie of the Year in just 113 games with a .324 average and 34 homers for the Brewers. It was his 26 errors at third that eventually shuttled him to the outfield for good the next spring.

 

"We'll have to determine all those things," said Money, pointing out that third base is still the priority for Gamel.

 

For his part, Gamel is most comfortable at the hot corner as well, saying, "I've been a third baseman since I can remember."

 

So for now and the foreseeable future, Gamel will work on his game in Nashville, readying for a call to Milwaukee that both he and the Brewers hope is permanent. And he won't assume a call-up is in the works, until he knows for sure.

 

"Right now, we're just waiting for him to get more innings and at-bats under his belt and to be more successful at the Triple-A level," Money said. "He had a very good year at the High-A level, a solid year last year and defensively got better. This year, we have to see him get better.

 

"Third base is just waiting for him in Milwaukee. It's just a matter of time when he gets there."

 

Photo by Mike Strasinger for The City Paper

Mat Gamel hopes his time with the Sounds will help him get to and stay in 'the show.'

 

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