Your 2011 Nashville Sounds

[battlekow]

Haudricourt:

[Doug] Melvin said [George] Kottaras will report Saturday to Nashville and share catching duties with Martin Maldonado. What that does to Mike Rivera's status there was unclear.

[Mass Haas]

Bunt single helps Sounds catcher catch fire at the plate

By Jerome Boettcher, Nashville City Paper

When the batting average begins to dip well below the Mendoza Line, batters will do anything to get a hit.

 

Martin Maldonado is no different.

 

Through his first five games this season with the Nashville Sounds, the catcher struggled at the plate. His manager Don Money called it over-swinging. Maldonado said his confidence was low. Whatever the cause, the eight-year minor league veteran was 2-for-14.

 

So, the right-handed hitter decided to take matters into his own hands and create hits — with a drag bunt.

 

Last week, against Oklahoma City in just the sixth game of the season, he got a running start in the batter’s box and laid a soft bunt down the third-base line. It was his second drag bunt of the season and it came in the middle of a three-hit game for Maldonado.

 

“He loves getting away with that drag bunt,” Sounds center fielder Brett Carroll said. “It is beautiful that he gets it done.”

 

Added Maldonado: “I was just trying to get a bunt. However, they give it to me — that is for a base hit.”

 

The hits are rolling in now.

 

After three and a RBI against Oklahoma City on April 13, he added two more and drove in another run the next day. It was part of a five-game stretch where he went 9-for-18 and lifted his batting average to .343. For the season, he is batting .278 as the Sounds (6-8) wrap up a series in New Orleans on Friday.

 

They open up an eight-game homestand at 6:35 PM start Saturday at Greer Stadium against Omaha.

 

Any offense Maldonado can bring is welcomed, considering he bats in the bottom third of the lineup.

 

“For him to contribute not only defensively — which is first and foremost — but for him to contribute offensively is only going to be a team boost,” Carroll said.

 

Maldonado’s defensive attributes could be his ticket to the next level. Before this season began, Baseball America dubbed him as the “best defensive catcher” in the Milwaukee Brewers system.

 

He showed off his cannon against Oklahoma City when he threw out out two runners on April 13. Last year, he threw out 42 percent (36 of 84) of attempted basestealers while he bounced around in the Milwaukee organization. He started in High-A Brevard County (Fla.), then moved up to Double-A Huntsville (Ala.) before he played his last 52 games with the Sounds.

 

Spending the last half of the 2010 season in Nashville has helped Maldonado this spring.

 

He knows a lot of the pitchers’ tendencies, which helps him when calling games. His selection of pitches might also be why the Sounds lead the Pacific Coast League in team ERA with a 3.25 mark.

 

“I try to bring the same pace,” he said. “I have been knowing those guys for a little bit so we are pretty much on the same page.”

 

The 24-year-old from Puerto Rico seems to be built for the wear and tear with a 6-foot-1, 212-pound frame. He caught 452.2 innings last year and has started 11 of the Sounds’ 14 games this spring. He also caught all 14 innings of a loss to New Orleans on April 10.

 

“He has been a rock behind the plate,” Carroll said. “Defensively, those guys that can play like that can play at a high level for a lot of years.”

 

He is hoping all the time spent in the minor leagues will pay off and allow him to get his shot at the Major Leagues.

 

He was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 2004, released three years later and soon after he was signed by the Brewers. He spent the last three spring trainings with the Brewers and is on the team’s 40-man roster.

 

The Brewers are carrying three catchers right now but, as Money pointed out, one trade or one injury could move Maldonado up the ladder.

 

Maldonado, however, is concentrating on the rung he is on right now.

 

“I have to focus right here,” he said. “That’s where I want to be, up to the big leagues — so I try to do my job here. If something happens, that is probably going to be my chance. [but] I focus more here than upstairs. That is why I try to do my job here every day. Come, ready to play every day so that is the bottom line.”

[Mass Haas]

Catching up with Stu Paul's Nashville blog posts.

 

April 7th

April 19th

[battlekow]

Nashville Sounds outfielder Brett Carroll sees more playing time in minor leagues

Greg Sullivan/The Tennessean

Sounds center fielder Brett Carroll has experienced the thrill of wearing a major-league uniform.

But after spending parts of the last four seasons with the Florida Marlins as a fourth outfielder, the Knoxville native and former MTSU player is trying to become an everyday player.

"It's a little difficult to find a groove when you're only getting 200 at-bats, so I'm excited about (this year)," Carroll said. "To be able to just come out and know you're in the lineup, hopefully, and get consistent at-bats … I feel good.

"It's been fun being so close to home. It provides a little extra energy when you've got friends and family that come see you play."

The Sounds open an eight-game homestand beginning today at 6:35 p.m. against Omaha.

Carroll's parents still live in Knoxville and he has former teammates and coaches who live nearby from his days in Murfreesboro.

After spending most of his professional career as a right fielder, Carroll has already proven to be a versatile asset for the Sounds. He stepped in as the team's center fielder when Caleb Gindl went down with an injury in the second game of the season.

Carroll hit .205 in 173 major-league games, but his fielding percentage was .985 and he had 10 assists. He was hitting .240 with the Sounds heading into Friday's game at New Orleans.

What he lacks in some categories, Carroll makes up for in others.

"He's a pretty good athlete," Sounds Manager Don Money said. "He's got a good arm and he likes to show it off, and he covers a lot of ground out there."

Now, said Carroll, it will be up to the Brewers to take notice.

"For me it's refreshing being with a different club; a new set of eyes and new opportunities," he said. "I'm letting (my) game speak for itself. I'll take whatever happens."

http://cmsimg.tennessean.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=DN&Date=20110423&Category=SPORTS04&ArtNo=104230305&Ref=AR&MaxW=640&Border=0

(George Walker IV/The Tennessean)

[battlekow]

Adam McCalvy:

[Manny] Parra[/b] will make "three or four more" outings for the Triple-A Nashville Sounds, Brewers assistant general manager Gord Ash said Saturday afternoon. The first of those was scheduled for later Saturday night, and Parra will pitch again Tuesday.

[Mass Haas]

Getting to know catcher Patrick Arlis

[battlekow]

Former Yukon baseball star happy to have another chance at big leagues

Ryan Aber/The Oklahoman

There are few players, if any, enjoying life in Triple-A more than Nashville relief pitcher Justin James.

“Life's great right now,” said James, a 29-year-old Yukon High School product. “I'm getting a second opportunity, and it's a privilege to be able to play baseball.”

It wasn't long ago when James wondered if baseball was for him.

He reached the Triple-A level in 2007 and thought he was close to breaking through to the majors. But James was released by the Cincinnati Reds organization following the 2008 season, when he spent time at Double-A or below.

No other affiliated teams took a chance on the right-hander. So James signed with the independent Kansas City T-Bones.

Then came throwing arm issues. His velocity was down, though no specific diagnosis had been made.

Last year, no affiliated teams took a chance on James, and he wound up back with the T-Bones.

“After I got released and was playing independent ball, it was the hardest struggle I'd ever been through,” James said.

James turned to his faith.

“I was looking for answers that nobody could give me,” James said. “Jesus had always been in my life, but when I got back after that season, I went to church that first Sunday back here and turned my life back over to Him.”

At the same time, James' younger brother, Chad, was about to embark on his professional career after being a first-round draft choice of the Florida Marlins in 2009.

Justin got together with his brother's agent, Rob Martin, and started working alongside Chad and trainer John Carey.

The older James got off to a hot start for the independent Kansas City team, posting a 1.69 ERA in 11 appearances.

“It was like every time I took the mound, I took it like it was my last outing,” James said. “And that's what it felt like.

“Being my age, and going through being hurt, I knew that I was on about my last chance.”

The arm issues behind him, Oakland took a chance and signed James midway through last season, initially sending him to Double-A Midland, Texas.

He continued his strong performances and moved up to Triple-A after 12 appearances. In September, the A's called up James to make his Major League debut.

“In my mind, nothing was going to stop me from making it to the big leagues,” he said.

James made his big-league debut Sept. 2 in Yankee Stadium.

“It was great,” he said. “It felt like that was where I should be.”

James threw four innings for the A's in the last month of the season, posting a 4.50 ERA in five appearances.

He was claimed off waivers by the Milwaukee Brewers last November and optioned to Nashville late in spring training. Nashville is in Oklahoma City for a four-game series at Bricktown Ballpark.

James, who is 0-1 with a 2.70 ERA in seven appearances so far this season, couldn't be happier.

“Sometimes, you've got to hit rock bottom to realize what's going on,” James said. “I'm grateful to have another chance.”

[Mass Haas]

Baseball is no longer foreign to George Kottaras

By Ryan Aber, Staff Writer, The Oklahoman

Baseball came late to Nashville catcher George Kottaras.

 

The 27-year-old from Markham, Ontario, Canada, didn't pick up the game until he was 15 years old.

 

“I was a fast-pitch softball player until then,” Kottaras said. “I'd done about all I could with that. I figured it was time.”

 

The hard part then was finding a baseball team to take a player who'd never played the baseball by that age.

 

The Ontario Blue Jays took a chance on Kottaras, and he blossomed.

 

“I was pretty much starting from scratch,” Kottaras said. “Everything is different.”

 

The game has taken him from Ontario to Oklahoma to Greece and, finally, to the majors.

 

Kottaras and the Nashville Sounds finished a four-game series Thursday night at RedHawks Field at Bricktown against the RedHawks.

 

Out of high school, Kottaras wound up at Connors State in Warner. He played for the Cowboys' longtime coach, Perry Keith, for the 2003 season before signing with the San Diego Padres.

 

“He expects a lot out of his players,” Kottaras said of Keith. “That season was a big part of my development as a player.”

 

The next year, Kottaras found himself playing for Greece in the Athens Olympics.

 

Although Kottaras grew up in Canada, he was eligible to play for the host country because both of his parents were Greek immigrants.

 

“It was an amazing experience,” Kottaras said. “Walking out on the field for the first time over there was unbelievable.”

 

The Olympics weren't Kottaras' first time in Greece. His family has a home there.

 

When he returned, Kottaras got to work climbing the ladder toward the big leagues.

 

He was traded to the Red Sox in the deal that sent David Wells to San Diego late in the 2006 season.

 

Two years later, Kottaras made his Major League debut for Boston and spent time as the personal catcher for knuckleballer Tim Wakefield.

 

With the acquisition of Victor Martinez, though, Kottaras was expendable.

 

He was picked up by Milwaukee and spent all of last season with the Brewers. He was outrighted to Triple-A Nashville after playing nine games with Milwaukee to start this season.

 

Entering Thursday's game, Kottaras was hitting just .071 for the Sounds.

 

“It's tough right now, but I'm just going to keep working,” he said. “It's always a learning process playing this game.”

[battlekow]

Look at the the two articles above and marvel at the modern paragraph.

[battlekow]

Ex-Bulldog baseball star Brown hopes for fresh start with Brewers organization

Tim Roe/Vacaville Reporter

Jordan Brown has a new home. Now all he needs to do is find a new home.

Such is the life of a minor-league baseball player. Brown hopes to become a major-leaguer, but now must make that dream come true with the Milwaukee Brewers instead of the Cleveland Indians.

Brown was traded last week from the Columbus Clippers, the Indians Class AAA team, to the Brewers AAA team, the Nashville Sounds.

"I hope it will be a good thing," the Vacaville High School graduate said. "Cleveland wasn't a good fit for me. I always thought if you produce, you would get a chance. But it's production and fit. Hopefully this will be a better fit for me."

Brown will play his first home game tonight as the Sounds host the Sacramento River Cats.

The left fielder-first baseman joined the Sounds during an eight-day road trip to Oklahoma City and then Round Rock (Texas). He already had been on a road trip with the Clippers when he learned of the trade.

"You never expect for that to happen," he said. "You walk into the ballfield, and see your name whited out from the lineup, and then someone says, 'You've been traded.'

"It's tough, because my car and a lot of my stuff is still in Columbus. I need to find a place to live in Nashville that's month-to-month, and I need to get my stuff moved."

Brown already has moved right in on the field, starting five straight games. He's batting .263 with a double and two RBI.

He was batting .278 through 20 games in Columbus, with three home runs and 13 RBI.

"The good news is, they traded for me. Now they want me to produce," Brown said of the Milwaukee organization. "I've got to play like I'm capable of playing. I still believe, if you play well, good things will happen."

The 27-year-old had been with the Indians organization since being drafted in the fifth round of the 2005 Amateur Draft out of the University of Arizona.

Brown was a September call-up of the Indians last fall, batting .230 in 26 games in his first stint in the majors.

He spent the bulk of the last three seasons at AAA Columbus, even though he won the International League batting title in 2009 with a .336 average.

In 2010, Brown fought through an early-season injury and drove in 67 runs in 83 games, batting .298.

"It's not just being productive ... that's why I was so frustrated," Brown said. "I got an opportunity, but it was sparing. I want to get back there (to the majors). Hopefully that can happen with Milwaukee."

[CheezWizHed]

Look at the the two articles above and marvel at the modern paragraph.

 

Twitterfied.

[TooLiveBrew]

"Cleveland wasn't a good fit for me"

 

Some Brewerfan posters raked Lawrie over the coals for saying basically the exact same thing about the Brewers after being sent to Toronto. Funny how it just doesn't jump off the page at you when it's not being said about your team.

[CheezWizHed]

Funny how it just doesn't jump off the page at you when it's not being said about your team.

 

Actually, it still did jump out to me. It made me read deeper into what he was going to say about it (not much). There are some occasions where it is a simple mismatch. But most times (e.g. Sheffield), its a player complaining that they weren't treated at the level they thought they deserved (i.e. too full of themselves).

[TooLiveBrew]

There are some occasions where it is a simple mismatch.

 

The Lawrie comments read exactly this way to me... sorry, probably shouldn't have even brought it up. It just occurred to me when reading it how similar the two guys' comments were.

[Mass Haas]

Still Waitin’

Brendan Katin is closing in on the Sounds’ all-time homerun record but his most cherished prize is a call from Milwaukee

Tennessee Sports Magazine

Brendan Katin has a chance this season to become the all-time leading home run hitter in Nashville Sounds’ history. But the journey between Katin’s 69 home runs entering this season and former Sound Chad Hermansen’s team record 92 homers could be quite an adventure.

It might not look like such an uphill climb, given Katin hit 26 home runs last season. Another 23 homers might appear within reach at first glance. But although no other player stands between the two, Katin has all kinds of obstacles in his way before reaching the top of the list.

For starters, he has a bad knee. Katin missed seven weeks of playing time last year because of the knee injury, and that lingering problem alone could cut down on the amount of playing time he receives this season. Katin might not get enough at-bats to make a real home-run chase possible – even though he hit his single-season career high in homers last year in 336 at-bats. He hit 24 the year before in 459 at-bats.

Ideally for Katin, who is now in his fourth year as a Sound, the whole home run thing would become a moot point if he were to be called up by the parent club Milwaukee Brewers. But there has been little to suggest the Brewers are eager to promote him. Katin is 28, and although he has been in the Brewers’ organization for his entire seven-year career, he has never made it to the major leagues – not even for the proverbial cup of coffee.

Throw in the fact that the Brewers have outfield talent like Caleb Gindl and Brandon Boggs who stand to see considerable playing time with Katin and Brett Carroll as part of an outfield rotation, it’s no sure thing Katin will be in the lineup. The Brewers are a National League team, so that means Katin couldn’t even see playing time as a designated hitter in games against other National League-affilliated clubs.

When he hits, Katin is a classic power hitter. He’s likely to bat in the clean-up spot. He is also likely to get about as many extra-base hits as singles. And he is likely to strike out a lot, although Katin points to improvements in that category.

Katin could also become the team’s all-time RBI leader this season. He is second to Hermansen there as well. The leader has 286, Katin 240, which makes the RBI record a far more reachable goal.

Hermansen was in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization at the time, and played for Nashville from 1998-2002. The two players have never met.

Katin, who stands 6-feet-1-inch and 223 pounds, calls the home run record a “bittersweet” subject, a very nice accomplishment if it happens but also a painfully obvious bit of evidence that he is spending his time in the minor leagues. He will be a free agent at the end of the season, and he is already thinking about the possibility of playing in Japan, which he sees as potentially good money.

Is a call-up to the Brewers in the future? Sounds Manager Don Money says he can’t say yes or no because so much depends on what the Brewers need.

“He has the power. But I will say he’s pitch-able,” Money said. “What I mean by that is he can be pitched to.”

What Money means by that is pitchers can figure out how to get Katin out. Money isn’t sure Katin can make the adjustments needed to face big-league pitching.

“Physically, he has a bad knee. I don’t see him playing as much this year as last year, just because of that,” Money said.

And like other power hitters, Katin goes hot or cold.

“He’s a streaky hitter,” Money said. “When he’s hot, he carries the team. When he’s cold, he’s as cold as an iceberg.”

“This game is always a game of adjustments. He’s a right fielder, an OK right fielder. He’s got a pretty good arm. At times in the past, he just doesn’t know how to use it. He throws to the wrong base sometimes. He overthrows guys. He has made some improvements, but you’ve got to pretty much do it all the time.”

Money says he has seen players who can hit 30 home runs a season in the minor leagues but can’t play in the big leagues. He has seen guys hit for a .320 average in the minors but can’t make it in the majors because “there are other things they can’t do.”

Katin was asked how much Brewer officials have told him about their plans for him in the field.

“To be honest with you, not much at all,” he said. “I’m not the kind of guy that goes in and asks. If I’m in there, I’m in there. If not, I’ll be in the dugout ready to pinch hit. My best guess is we we’ll have some sort of outfield rotation. There are four outfielders for three positions. It’s just how it plays out.”

Katin doesn’t sound especially fond of being a designated hitter anyway.

“On a bad day at DH you get frustrated, because you don’t have anything to make up for it. You can’t go out there and rob a hit or throw a guy out to make up for a bad day at the plate,” he said.

Katin lives in Wellington, Fla. He played in high school in Fort Myers and collegiately at Lake-Sumter Community College in Leesburg, Fla., then at the University of Miami, where he was a member of a College World Series team, although he didn’t get to play much on that trip.

“I came in late against South Carolina and ended up going 2-for-2, so my career batting average in the College World Series is 1.000,” he said.

Katin is one of eight children in his family, and he recalls playing baseball in his youth in the yard with two older brothers. His favorite player was a power hitter, Mark McGwire, first with the Oakland A’s and then with the St. Louis Cardinals. When asked what he thought about the steroids issue that swirled around McGwire after his retirement, Katin said it didn’t bother him much.

Katin is a fixture with the Sounds, so much so the team has already scheduled a Brendan Katin Bobblehead day July 14. It has become the new measure that shows you have arrived in baseball when they make a bobblehead doll of you. But just like with the home run record, Katin would just as soon be in Milwaukee.

He was asked his own opinion as to why he has never received the big-league call.

“In 2008 or ‘09, my understanding was it was strikeouts,” he said. “Last year, in my opinion, I cut them down, increased my walks, increased my batting average, and increased my home runs and RBIs.

“Last year, I thought I had a shot. It kind of frustrates me a little bit, but as far as one part of my game that’s keeping me there, I honestly couldn’t tell you. Who knows? I guess I’m just stuck behind a good group of outfielders in the big leagues.”

In 2009 with the Sounds, Katin hit .244, with the 24 homers, 92 RBIs, 35 walks and 164 strikeouts. Last year, he batted .286 with 26 homers, 76 RBIs, 39 walks and 91 strikeouts. Money notes that Katin also had fewer at-bats last year, however.

Baseball at any level can be a grind. On an off day, Katin will usually just crash on the couch at home and watch television. In the offseason, he occasionally enjoys fishing. And that’s Florida fishing, not freshwater fishing like in Nashville.

“I’ve tried bass fishing here a couple of times and came up empty,” he said. “So that’s off my list.”

But he has found an appreciation for a lot of things after playing winter ball in Venezuela and Mexico.

“The first time I went to Venezuela, I came home 15 pounds less,” Katin said. “The access to food is a little different. You don’t have a 7-11 on every street corner. You don’t have the drive-thrus and whatnot. I’ve been to Venezuela three times and Mexico once. My stint in Mexico lasted only two or three weeks.

“It’s a different world. It’s great to go see how other people live, but when you come home you appreciate a little more being able to do what we do every day. We get in our cars and go to the mall. We have hundreds of places to eat. There, you’ve got hamburger stands, and it’s just completely different. It makes you appreciate living in the United States.”

 

 

[battlekow]

Great news for Taylor Green:

Emmylou Harris sings national anthem, introduces adoptable dogs at Greer

Peter Cooper/The Tennessean

Country Music Hall of Famer Emmylou Harris is also animal adoption advocate Emmylou Harris. She’ll be at Greer Stadium Sunday afternoon, May 15, to sing the national anthem before the Nashville Sounds take on the Sacramento River Cats at 2:05 p.m., and she’ll be introducing adoptable dogs during the game.

Through her Bonaparte’s Retreat organization, Harris provides foster care for dogs who have run out of time at Metro Nashville Animal Control, preventing those dogs from being euthanized while seeking permanent homes. Dogs available for adoption will be at Greer, outside the stadium near the front box office.

Harris has become something of a good luck charm for baseball teams. She sang the anthem at game seven of the 1992 National League Championship Series in Atlanta, when the Braves defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates as slow-footed Sid Bream slid safely home ahead of a throw from pre-steroids-era Barry Bonds. She also greeted Sounds third baseman Taylor Green this year for a Bonaparte’s Retreat photo shoot, and Green hit a home run in his first post-Emmylou at-bat. The Sounds, who as of Tuesday had lost eight games in a row, could use the luck.

Tickets for Sunday’s game are available through www.nashvillesounds.com.

[TooLiveBrew]

Great news for Taylor Green:

 

If Brewerfan has things that qualify as memes, this is my favorite one so far

[Mass Haas]

Sounds slugger hopes move to first base helps him move up to big leagues

By Jerome Boettcher, Nashville City Paper

The Nashville Sounds aren’t leaning on Mat Gamel for his glove or fielding.

 

And if Gamel is to become an everyday player in the Major Leagues, he knows what that will take.

 

“I feel like my bat is my ticket,” he said.

 

Though Gamel has hit .302 in seven seasons in the minors, if he expects to make the jump up to the Milwaukee Brewers and into the National League, he’ll need to solidify himself at a position. First base could be the answer.

 

Gamel has moved from the left side of the infield to the right and has started 30 games there for the Sounds, who snapped a nine-game losing streak on Wednesday with a 4-3 comeback victory against the Fresno Grizzlies.

 

First base is a transition for Gamel, who made 72 starts last season at third base, where he spent most of his first six professional season. He hopes the move to first base helps him eventually move up to the Major Leagues.

 

Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder is a free agent after this season. He will be in high demand and is reportedly eying at least a seven-year deal. ?While the left-handed hitting Gamel might not provide the same amount of power as Fielder — Gamel has never hit more than 19 home runs in one season — his ability to hit for average could give the Brewers an option at first.

 

“I wouldn’t feel uncomfortable” with Gamel as an everyday starter in 2012, Brewers Assistant General Manager Gord Ash said. “The only thing he doesn’t have is that experience. If we are going to be a Major League contending club, we are going to have to make sure that is a pretty important part of our lineup. I’m not saying he couldn’t do it. But I don’t think at this point you could suggest that is going to be the case. ... At least you have alternatives. Whether it is third, whether it is first, he even played a little in the outfield. When he comes to Milwaukee, he can be inserted into the lineup in a few different places, which is always a good thing.”

 

Gamel, a fourth-round draft pick by Milwaukee in 2005, has played for the Brewers in each of the last three seasons. He was a September call-up in 2008 and 2010 but was promoted to Milwaukee in May 2009 after a hot start with the Sounds. He played in 61 games for the Brewers that season but struggled to find consistency — he hit .242 with 54 strikeouts.

 

“I haven’t done anything up there consistently,” Gamel, a native of Jacksonville, Fla., said. “I feel like I can go be an everyday player for someone. But a lot of that is not up to me.”

 

Lately, though, the 6-foot, 215-pound Gamel has been swinging a hot bat. He is riding a six-game hitting streak and has homered four times in the last five games. His solo blast in the second inning on Wednesday was his fifth of the year and he leads the team with 19 RBIs.

 

On April 30 against Albuquerque — the Sounds’ last victory before Wednesday — Gamel matched a career-high with a 5-for-5 performance and five RBIs. He was a triple shy of the cycle with three doubles and a home run.

 

“He is going to hit,” Ash said. “We’ve always thought he is going to hit. It is just a matter of where we can get his bat in the lineup.”

 

So far, first base looks like the best option. In his first 20 games at the position, he didn’t commit an error and has just three on the season.? The miscues were more apparent at third base, though. He committed 114 errors at third during the 2006-08 seasons, which he spent at the Low- and High-A levels and in Double-A Huntsville (Ala.). Last year, he had a career-low 16 errors there. Gamel, who has also played in the outfield, never appeared to adjust, especially from a throwing standpoint.

 

“My footwork was always the issue. I would get lazy with my feet and throw a ball away,” he said. “It is less stressful [at first]. I don’t have to worry about throwing it anywhere. It has to be less stressful for everybody.”

 

And it could be more rewarding for Gamel, especially with Fielder’s future up in the air.

 

“That is probably why they were so adamant about me going to first base,” Gamel said. “I don’t care where I play. I just want to play.”

[TooLiveBrew]

“My footwork was always the issue. I would get lazy with my feet and throw a ball away,” he said. “It is less stressful [at first]. I don’t have to worry about throwing it anywhere. It has to be less stressful for everybody.”

...

 

“That is probably why they were so adamant about me going to first base,” Gamel said. “I don’t care where I play. I just want to play.”

 

Certainly a far different portrait of the young man than has been painted by certain reporters. It sounds like he's getting comfortable playing at first, and is hungry for his shot. I'm actually really looking forward to Gamel being the 1B of the near future.

[DHonks]

TLB, I'm thinking that Gamel projects as a better version of Overbay. If he can cut down on the K's a bit, he'll be huge for us. The Dbacks gave up on Overbay, so it shows that if you are patient, these guys can adjust.

[TooLiveBrew]

I'm thinking that Gamel projects as a better version of Overbay.

 

This is a perfect comparison imo.

[Mass Haas]

From the "man among boys" section of this week's Baseball America Prospect Hot Sheet --

Mat Gamel, 1b, Brewers. One way or another Gamel will be in the big leagues next season, and probably with the Brewers. Not only will the 25-year-old be out of minor league options, but slugger Prince Fielder's uniform front likely won't read "Milwaukee" in 2012. For now Gamel's doing his best to prove that he's worthy of being the organization's first baseman of the future by batting .323/.390/.528 through 127 at-bats for Triple-A Nashville. His bat came alive this week with a 13-for-27 (.481) performance that included four homers, a double, eight RBIs and a 2-to-2 walk-to-strikeout distribution. The power will be key for the lefty-swinging converted third baseman because in the previous two seasons with the Sounds he hit a combined 24 homers and slugged an ordinary .493 in 679 trips to the plate.

[Mass Haas]

Sounds' newcomer brings bigtime bat

by Greg Sullivan, The Tennessean

While the Sounds have had some trouble with run production early in the season, their recent addition of a former Triple-A batting champion is already beginning to remedy that problem.

Jordan Brown, who won the International League batting title in 2009 with a .336 average and spent part of last season with the Cleveland Indians, is now playing in his first home-stand with the Sounds after the Brewers acquired him on May 2.

"The idea was that he could help our offense," said Brewers assistant general manager Gord Ash, who observed this week's Sounds series with the Fresno Grizzlies. "Our scouts have liked him for a good bit and finally he was made available."

It was Brown who proved to be the difference in Thursday night's 5-2 win over Fresno, the Sounds second straight win before Friday night's game that featured a long rain delay. He tied a Pacific Coast League single-game record with three sacrifice flies in the game.

Despite never hitting more than 15 home runs in a professional season, Brown has always managed to be a productive hitter, at least at the minor-league level.

"When you hit in the middle of the lineup you're going to be in a position to help your team win ballgames," Brown said. "I take a lot of pride in what I do."

That attitude and execution is not lost on the Sounds' coaching staff.

"He was the right man in the right spot," Sounds manager Don Money said. "That's part of the game and when Milwaukee calls and says, 'Who knows how to play the game?' Those are the things we talk about."

Brown, a 27-year-old infielder-outfielder, spent his first six professional seasons with the Indians organization, earning MVP honors in both the Eastern League and the Carolina League.

The change in scenery this year, though, may work out in his favor, he said, following a difficult 2010 season where he worked to recover from a torn meniscus injury that he sustained in spring training.

"I was with that team for six years," Brown said. "I was in need of a change.

"I was healthy the whole year (in 2009). I was confident in my ability. I took advantage of it. I'll try and get that feeling back here with the new organization."

[Mass Haas]

Sounds pitcher goes extra miles to regain form

Year in Japan proved useful to De La Cruz

by Greg Sullivan, The Tennessean

Sounds starter Frankie De La Cruz had to travel to the other side of the globe to rediscover his powerful windup.

The 27-year-old right-hander looks so comfortable now with his hard-throwing approach, it's almost hard to imagine he had been throwing exclusively from the stretch just prior to his full year in Japan last season.

"Now I have my windup back. That's got my velocity up," De La Cruz said. "If you play (in Japan), I think you'll be able to play anywhere in the world."

The results since his return have been promising for De La Cruz, who signed with the Brewers organization in January after five seasons as a professional. He is 0-1 but leads all Sounds starters with a 3.25 ERA in 36 innings and has posted a team-leading 35 strikeouts.

 

"He's certainly got the stuff to be one of the dominating pitchers in the league," Sounds pitching coach Rich Gale said. "At any given time 96 (mph) or 98 will jump out of his hand. If you're a hitter you've got to respect that, and then he'll put that filthy change-up on you. He can make hitters look sick if he commands the ball."

But it was not easy, De La Cruz said, as he adjusted to life as a pitcher in the Tokyo Yakult system. He had made brief appearances with Detroit, Florida and San Diego.

"I almost quit," he said of his workload in Japan. "I never threw that many pitches in my life."

Sometimes, he would throw bullpen sessions of up to 200 pitches, he said, and would throw at least 50 even on supposed days off.

But De La Cruz attributed the seemingly unending repetitions for giving him enough renewed confidence in his control to go back to his wind-up, which he had abandoned due to mechanical issues.

"In the beginning I was doing all right (this year), but I have to keep working on my left (non-throwing) shoulder," said De La Cruz. "I'm going to fix that and hopefully get more wins."

"He flies open," Gale said. "But he has the capability to have electric dominating stuff and can shut guys down and just blow anybody away.

"As long as his arm is healthy and he doesn't have any injuries, we'll keep working on it."

[tyguy20204]

Wow, I didn't realize Cruz had that type of stuff. Here's to hoping that he finds consistency, it sounds like the Crew might have found a diamond in the rough...