Your 2011 Nashville Sounds

[Mass Haas]

For Sounds, wins are hair-raising experience

Players believe mustaches end losing streak

by Greg Sullivan, the Tennessean

Their waitress was caught off guard but was duly impressed.

Watching Sounds slugger Brendan Katin and pitcher Chase Wright carefully eat their breakfasts last week so as to not get food caught in their groomed mustaches, she even managed to crack a few jokes at their expense.

“She kept laughing at us,” said Katin, who admitted to darkening his mustache with hair coloring. “She said we wore it well. ‘It’s about time somebody learned how to grow a real mustache.’ Stuff like that.

“People keep telling me mine looks good, but I don’t believe them. I think they just don’t want me to shave it off.”

And with the way things have been going for the Sounds lately, as winners of five of their past seven games, none of them will be making plans to search for the trimmers any time soon.

Nashville opens an eight-game road trip Thursday at Salt Lake. Tuesday’s 11-10 win over Sacramento was their second victory in three days in which they rallied from a five-run deficit.

Half of Nashville’s regular starters now have mustaches. And while there is debate as to how exactly the mustache movement started, they all agree the team could not manage to break a recent nine-game losing streak until their old stubble slowly sprouted into whiskers.

“We figured, what else can we do?” Wright said. “We’ll see how long we’re going to roll with them. We figured, why not?”

“We’re just trying to get some wins, that’s about it. We’re not trying to look like anything,” said infielder Edwin Maysonet, who looks like a 1970s-era baseball card come to life. “It’s working right now.”

Like any new team trend, the mustache trend picked up followers along the way.

“I know Jeremy Reed was going to shave his on Sunday but then he hit the walk-off (home run) so he had to keep his,” Katin said. “Since he kept his, I kept mine and now we’ve got Mat Gamel on board and he put some Just for Men in his.”

But like a lot of other baseball superstitions, the mustaches aren’t for everybody. Outfielder Brett Carroll declined to participate, claiming at first he couldn’t grow one.

“That may not be completely true because, quite frankly, the ’staches are just gross,” Carroll said. “I have to give them credit for the boldness of it, though. The ’staches seem to be carrying us right now.”

Sounds Manager Don Money played in the big leagues from 1968 to 1983, and two of his former teammates — Rollie Fingers and Robin Yount — had memorable mustaches. Money even briefly had a blond mustache of his own.

“They’re allowed to have them as long as they’re not below the lip. Technically, that’s the rule,” Money said. “But if we win a few games we might stretch the rules a little bit.

“If things go the other way we may have to clean it up. Gamel came in here with a Fu-Manchu (Monday) and I said, ‘Nope. Below the lip.’ Reed’s got one. Reed looks odd. He just looks different with it, but to each his own.”

 

Nashville Sounds right fielder Jeremy Reed (20) shows a bunt at Greer Stadium, as the Nashville Sounds vs. Sacramento, Tuesday morning May 17, 2011 in Nashville, Tenn. (SAMUEL M. SIMPKINS/THE TENNESSEAN)

 

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[CheezWizHed]

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

 

This is a perfect comparison imo.

I'm not sure about that... GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAmel just doesn't have the same ring. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

 

 

Nashville Sounds right fielder Jeremy Reed (20) shows a bunt at Greer Stadium

He should lose his 'stache for that. The 'stache makes the man and real

men don't bunt! (Care to guess which version of facial hair I've

sported since HS?)

 

 

[TooLiveBrew]

Harder to make a "G" with your arms, too.

[Mass Haas]

The latest "Getting to Know You" from the Sounds is about Brendan Katin

 

I did not know who Whitney Duncan was. I do now.

Brendan just trumped Taylor Green's Emmylou Harris big-time.

 

http://nashville.sounds.milb.com/images/2011/05/19/a9GINM8M.jpg

[Mass Haas]

Carroll continues to go 'all out' in pursuit of Major League job

By Jerome Boettcher, Nashville City Paper

Injuries can’t slow Brett Carroll.

 

Sure, they have gotten the better of him a couple times. Most recently, he began the year on the 15-day disabled list for the Florida Marlins because of a strained left oblique muscle sustained during spring training. He landed on the Marlins’ disabled list — for several months — with a right shoulder sprain in 2008 after he crashed into the right-field wall while trying to make a catch.

 

But Carroll doesn’t let that stop him from playing baseball the only way he knows how.

 

“I just know one speed,” he said. “That is what I have always enjoyed doing since I was four years old. The speed of playing is all out. It has gotten me a few injuries in the past, but I don’t think you can play in fear. So that is what I want to bring to the yard every day.”

 

Now in his eighth year of professional baseball, Carroll maintains that same approach, just with a different organization — the Nashville Sounds. The former Middle Tennessee State standout was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers organization from the Kansas City Royals for cash considerations in March. The Royals had signed Carroll last December after seven seasons with the Marlins, who drafted him in the 10th round of the 2004 draft.

 

While in the Florida organization, he bounced around in the minors but played in 153 games for the Marlins.

 

The outfielder began the 2008 and 2009 seasons on the opening day Major League roster. He played 92 games for the Marlins in 2009 and batted .234. He hit his first career Major League home run that year — off Randy Johnson, the five-time Cy Young Award winner who at the time was pitching for the San Francisco Giants.

 

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Carroll is the second active player to hit his first career home run off a pitcher who already had 300 career wins. He was also a triple shy of hitting for the first cycle in Marlins history last year against Cincinnati.

 

The 6-foot, 210-pound Carroll, however, never spent a full season with the Marlins and usually found himself as a fourth outfielder when he was on the roster. That meant he wasn’t playing every day and the most at-bats he ever had with them was 141 in 2009.

 

“Over the last few years, when you get a 100, 200 at-bats it is little difficult to find a groove and stay in a rhythm,” Carroll said. “This game is hard enough and ... humbling enough, so more at-bats can be a good thing, yes.”

 

Carroll, 28, already has 125 at-bats for Nashville less than two months into the season. The Sounds who started an eight-game road trip on Thursday at Salt Lake City return to town and Greer Stadium on May 27 to start an eight-game homestand.

 

Carroll is hitting .256 with three home runs and 18 RBIs out of the middle of the lineup. He went 3-for-4 with three RBIs on Tuesday in the Sounds’ 11-10 victory over Sacramento.

 

“He is a pretty good athlete,” Sounds manager Don Money said. “You know, his swing gets big at times. He has some good power when he makes contact.”

 

Carroll’s biggest strength might be his defense — Baseball America said he possessed the Marlins’ best outfield arm prior to the 2008 season — and Money said Carroll can cover “a lot of ground” in center field.

 

“I’ve always really worked hard at the defensive part because I think that is what has helped prolonged my career in a sense,” he said. “I want to make sure those pitchers know we have their back. Defense is huge. I know it sounds like cliché but defense can literally when ballgames.”

 

He has been able to showcase it in front of family and friends, too. His parents still live in his hometown of Knoxville and he often is surprised by a former MTSU teammate or friend from the Nashville or Murfreesboro area.

 

“It does provide a little extra energy when you have family and friends who come to see you play,” he said. “Any time you can see familiar faces, it is nice to have that. It seems like every day there is a former friend or former teammate that I didn’t know was coming and it makes it exciting.”

 

A new team can mean proving one’s worth all over again but Carroll doesn’t see it that way. While he wants to get back to the Major Leagues and eventually settle in as an everyday player up there, he currently is content on getting his hacks in with the Sounds.

 

“For me, it is refreshing being with a different club with a new set of eyes and new opportunities,” he said. “But it is also just exciting to be able to come out and be healthy. That is something I have battled in the past — being healthy — and just playing hard every game and seeing what comes about it. That is my main focus.

 

"I am not really here to prove [anything] but just letting the game hopefully speak for itself and the way I go about my business and the job. If that is seen in a good way, that is what I want to bring every day.”

[Mass Haas]

Hurler sees rays of sunshine

Calgary's Henderson elated to reach triple-A with Nashville

By Scott Cruickshank, Calgary Herald

 

Shuffling around the continent for the better part of a decade, you pick up a trick or two.

 

For starters, how to fritter away long hours on the road.

 

"A lot of down time in baseball, so you have to learn to spend your time wisely," says Jim Henderson, relaxing the other day in his hotel room before his latest employers, the Nashville Sounds, took on the Salt Lake Bees -the early stages of an eight-game road trip in the Pacific Coast League. "Playing cards, watching movies, sleeping, checking out whatever city we are in . . . probably the most common ways of killing time."

 

Also high on the survival list of the well-miled ballplayer?

 

Accentuating the positives. Always. This, too, Henderson has aced.

 

The Calgary-born reliever doesn't deny his rocky opening weeks with the Sounds - a winceworthy 9.50 earned run average - but he prefers to keep sunny stuff in mind.

 

The fact that he throws harder than ever.

 

The fact that he cracked Triple-A out of spring training.

 

"I was excited about that," Henderson, a product of the Dawgs program, says. "It was the first time I had a chance to pitch in some big-league spring training games. To have their eyes look at me, to make an impression on the big-league side - that was a big accomplishment. I think I made a name for myself because I did pitch well.

 

"I'm 28 years old now and I was looking forward to starting (the season) in Triple-A. I have that chance now. I'm just trying to take advantage of it."

 

Adding pop to his fastball certainly helps.

 

Henderson's heaters are clocked in the mid-90s mph now. Never been hotter.

 

Why?

 

His right-shoulder joint was surgically overhauled in 2008 - "No pins or anchors, but it was a pretty major cleanup." Plus, more off-season attention to core and leg strength.

 

Voila. Surplus sizzle. "I never expected to throw this hard, ever," says the six-foot-five right-hander. "My velocity is actually higher than it's ever been. I'm just trying to control that a bit. But everything appears to be headed in the right direction as far as my career, arm-wise and health-wise. Just trying to control my new-found velocity."

 

The past two summers - DoubleA Huntsville - he did have a handle on it.

 

In 2009, fashioning a 2.57 ERA, he was named Canadian minor-league pitcher of the year by the Canadian Baseball Network. Last year, he led Southern League relievers with a .210 opponent batting average.

 

All of which makes his current plight -18 innings, 19 earned runs - somewhat puzzling.

 

"It's a combination," explains Henderson, blaming "bad luck" and one "really rough" outing (seven earned runs in 1.1 innings).

 

But he remains undeterred. Reflecting on his 2003 draft class - the Montreal Expos had selected him 777th - Henderson says the other players "are either in the big leagues or they're not playing any more."

 

So what's made him beat the bushes for nine seasons?

 

Through three organizations (Expos/Washington Nationals, Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers)? Through every conceivable grade of minorleague ball (rookie, A, A-, A+, AA, AAA)? Through nine outfits, a few of them more than once (Vermont Expos, Savannah Sand Gnats, Potomac Nationals, Tennessee Smokies, Iowa Cubs, Huntsville Stars, Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, Brevard County Manatees, Sounds)?

 

"The big picture is to always keep moving," he says. "Any time you can continue to move up the ladder, it's a great opportunity, not a bad thing at all. I've grinded through the minor leagues my whole career. And I wasn't a high-rounder, so I had to earn my way.

 

"There's still potential, I hope, for me."

 

As it stands, Henderson's professional ledger reads 30-31, with a 4.31 ERA in 537 innings.

 

All without a single sniff of the major leagues. So far.

 

"I'd like to make it this year - I try to make it every year," he says. "As long as an organization is still willing to pay me to play . . . I'll keep on playing until someone comes and tells me I don't have a chance. My body feels good and I'm still improving, so I don't see the end in the near future. You get to the point where you make it or break it.

 

"I'm just trying to put together a good streak now, trying to put this first month of the season behind me. You never know what can happen after that."

[Mass Haas]

DiFelice has earned another big-league shot

Dennis Deitch, Delaware County Daily Times

 

Mark DiFelice has been here before — doubted, passed over for promotion.

The right-hander spent 11 years pitching for a dozen different minor-league teams, the Camden Riversharks among them, before he became a 31-year-old big-league rookie with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2008. So when his impressive 2009 season was hampered in the final months by a shoulder problem that eventually required surgery to repair both his labrum and rotator cuff and cost him all of 2010, there couldn’t be another 11-year wait for that next shot in the majors.

That’s why Wednesday DiFelice will have to make a decision — stay, or roam free. The Haverford High product has a clause in his contract that requires the Brewers call him to the majors by June 1, or he has the option of being released and signing with another organization.

DiFelice has spent the first two months of this season pitching for Triple-A Nashville, where he has been effective as usual — 1-1 with six saves and a 2.30 ERA in 14 appearances. He has struck out 18 in 15 2/3 innings and walked just four.

Succeeding in the minors never has been a problem for DiFelice. He’s 83-59 with a 3.50 ERA in 277 minor-league games. His 1.149 WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) in the minors barely diverts at any level; his numbers in 74 big-league games (5-1, 3.44 ERA, 68 Ks, 19 BBs, 1.203 WHIP) offer no reason to believe he would be any less effective in the majors than in Triple-A.

However, things changed in Milwaukee during the year DiFelice missed while on the mend. Ken Macha was the manager when he was called up in 2008 and kept on the roster out of spring training the next year. Macha, however, was fired after last season and Ron Roenicke — who spent a decade on Mike Scioscia’s Angels coaching staff — replaced him.

Sometimes who you know matters, and DiFelice was in spring training trying to impress a new manager and staff.

Put it this way: A 34-year-old right-hander with a fastball in the mid-80s who didn’t pitch in the majors until he was 31 and is coming off shoulder surgery … that isn’t the type of résumé that catches the eye.

That’s too bad, because DiFelice showed during the first four months of 2009 how dominating a guy without overpowering stuff can be when he commits to going after hitters. His ERA stayed below two runs until July 27 of that season, and in his first 39 games he had a 1.64 ERA, had walked just nine batters in 381/3 innings (and five of those were intentional), and opposing hitters were batting just .187 against him. His cut fastball was becoming a mild sensation in Milwaukee.

But his shoulder started to bark, and with it the magic faded as he tried to work through it. Unless you’re making eight-figures or featured in Baseball America’s Top 100 prospects, all it takes is a year on the mend for you to become an afterthought.

The Brewers have had 12 different pitchers work in relief this year, so it isn’t as if they have been enjoying healthy, effective work out there. Veterans Takashi Saito and LaTroy Hawkins have had injury issues, and when Brandon Kintzler went on the disabled list two weeks ago, the Brewers brought up Tim Dillard — a 26-year-old who didn’t do much to impress during cups of coffee in 2008 and 2009, and got knocked around in his only appearance with Milwaukee six days ago.

So DiFelice has some factors to weigh. The Brewers were the organization that brought him back from independent-league oblivion and offered him the big-league shot he didn’t get while pitching effectively in the minors for the Rockies and Orioles. Milwaukee is the place where his persistence was rewarded.

On the other hand, there’s a new regime in charge, and the early signs indicate that it doesn’t appreciate his abilities the way Macha’s staff did.

It’s a tough choice. But there are bound to be people in other organizations who saw his 2009 success, respect his ability to change speeds and stay around the plate. There are baseball guys who want that pitcher they know will go in relief who won’t screw around and will challenge hitters to earn their way on base. It would be nice if the Phillies — who continue to put up with guys like Kyle Kendrick, David Herndon and J.C. Romero, and their addiction to walking guys — would give DiFelice a job in Lehigh Valley and put Kendrick and Herndon on notice.

Some team will give DiFelice at least that much. And he ought to get another chance to show that his shoulder woes are behind him, that his performance in the first half of 2009 can happen again.

[MLS1965]

That would make more sense than a Lion... especially with a musically themed team.

I love the story on how Ozzie the Cougar (not lion) became the Sounds' mascot.

OMG... I'm sure with some digging someone can find it but a few years back they had Tim Dillard dress up in the first Ozzie outfit and do some adlib. It was so funny.

[battlekow]

DiFelice has earned another big-league shot

[/url]Dennis Deitch, Delaware County Daily Times

 

That’s why Wednesday DiFelice will have to make a decision — stay, or roam free. The Haverford High product has a clause in his contract that requires the Brewers call him to the majors by June 1, or he has the option of being released and signing with another organization.

Not so on the out clause, says Doug Melvin by way of Adam McCalvy.

[Mass Haas]

We reached out to the DiFelice author in a polite way and let him know about the front office comments.

 

His reaction --

 

That's incredibly odd, since the person who told me is about as close to Mark as a person can be — and it's such a specific piece of information for someone to share.

 

Hey, it happens occasionally.

[Mass Haas]

Another Brewer is with Sounds to rehab

by Greg Sullivan, The Tennessean

 

It's been a rough few weeks for Brewers outfielder Erick Almonte, but it could have been much worse.

The former Sounds player became the first major leaguer placed on the new seven-day disabled list for concussions, after he was hit in the head during batting practice April 26.

Almonte spent several minutes on the field after being hit by the throw from third baseman Craig Counsell. He then walked slowly to the clubhouse.

"I don't even remember," said Almonte, who has been in Nashville since Saturday rehabbing with the Sounds. "I know I got hit in the forehead, and the next thing I knew I was in the training room.

"I don't remember the moment and probably the next three minutes after that. It could have hit me in the eye. It could have ended my career."

Instead, the 33-year-old Dominican Republic native has started to show signs he soon could be ready for a return to Milwaukee. He went 2-for-2 on Sunday night with a double and two RBI to lead the Sounds to a 4-2 win.

The Sounds also had Brewers reliever Zach Braddock join the team Saturday and now have now hosted eight major league players for rehab assignments this season, the highest single-season total for the club since they joined the Pacific Coast League in 1998.

Braddock went on the disabled list May 3 because of a sleep disorder, but he said Monday he believes he could rejoin the Brewers this weekend when they play at Florida.

"It's been an ongoing process that the Brewers and I wanted to tackle for quite some time," Braddock said. "This warm weather is nice to get used to before I have to go down to Miami. We have these cicadas running around, though, and that's interesting, but I love Nashville."

The 23-year-old lefty pitched most of last year with the Brewers, posting a 2.94 ERA in 46 outings, after being called up from Nashville early in the season.

Sounds Manager Don Money said the higher number of rehab assignments this year might be partially because of changes in how clubs handle players.

"If guys get hurt, they've gotta go somewhere. That's the difference today from when I played," Money said. "I don't think there were (rehab assignments) in those days. You just got ready and you played."

Zack Greinke, Corey Hart, Nyjer Morgan, Manny Parra, LaTroy Hawkins and Takashi Saito all have rehabbed in Nashville this year.

Both Almonte and Braddock said they are excited about the Brewers getting healthy soon.

"We've had a lot of guys come through (Nashville) and there's nothing you can do about it," Almonte said. "Unfortunately, this happened. They told me to be ready, and that's why I'm here."

Added Braddock: "As much as we love Nashville, we love Milwaukee that much, too. I think the both of us, and anybody that comes down here, has the same outlook—just to help the team and get back there as soon as possible."

According to an mlb.com report Monday night, Braddock is expected to pitch today and Wednesday for the Sounds. He pitched a scoreless inning on Sunday in Nashville.

Dillard has strong outing: Tim Dillard, the long-time Sounds reliever who was called up to Milwaukee on May 14, struck out four batters in two scoreless innings against the Cincinnati Reds on Monday night. The Reds, however, went on to beat Milwaukee 7-3.

It was just the second big league outing this year for Dillard. He struggled in his previous outing, giving up two earned runs to Washington in one inning last Monday.

He also pitched briefly for the Brewers in 2008 and 2009.

Transactions: Catcher Mike Rivera was sent down to Nashville from Milwaukee and started Monday's game. To make room on the roster, Sounds catcher Dayton Buller was sent down to Double-A Huntsville. Third baseman Zelous Wheeler, who started the year with the Sounds, came off the disabled list Monday and went 2-for-4 for Huntsville.

[Mass Haas]

Nashville Sounds pitcher Daniel Ray Herrera has small size, big stuff

Newest Sound thrives by mastering screwball

Written by Greg Sullivan, The Tennessean

 

The first time big-league slugger Adam Dunn saw Daniel Ray Herrera was in 2008 when the pitcher was making his major-league debut with the Cincinnati Reds. It was the week of the Kentucky Derby.

“He said he was surprised I showed up at the park that day,” Herrera said. “He thought I was supposed to ride Big Brown.”

At 5-foot-6, Herrera is the shortest pitcher to pitch in the majors since 5-6 Bobby Shantz retired in 1964. And in an era of long-legged speed-ballers, the little lefty reliever from Texas is a true anomaly.

Initially, though, he had to escape the jockey jokes.

“Playing Triple-A ball in Louisville wasn’t the most helpful thing,” said Herrera, who was recently signed by the Sounds. “As soon as Derby season would come around I couldn’t get away from the jokes for at least a month-and-a-half, two months.”

It was in Louisville, too, where he was part of what he considers the best joke so far. That was when burly catcher Alvin Colina picked him up, brought him over to the bullpen and sat him on his lap. Soon he said he realized he was playing the puppet role in a ventriloquist routine and it was a hit.

“He put his hand up my jacket and every time I talked his lips kind of moved,” Herrera said. “It lasted not even half an inning, but people caught on. It was pretty funny.”

While Herrera has been the butt of more than a few jokes since he was drafted in 2006, whenever he’s on the mound the joke has more often than not been on his opponents, including strikeout victims Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell in his big-league debut against the Phillies.

It’s not just his mound presence, but his slow-moving go-to screwball that leaves hitters baffled.

“Usually people just laugh,” said Sounds outfielder Jordan Brown, who faced Herrera regularly coming up through the Indians organization, including in the Triple-A International League. “You can’t do anything but laugh.

“I’d never seen a screwball before. I think the first time I saw it I took it. I thought it was a joke. I was like, ‘Is this a real pitch?’ Even if you know it’s coming, it’s like 50 miles per hour, so his fastball looks like 107.

“So I guess the best idea is to not get to the screwball. The first thing in the zone, you pretty much have to take your chance.”

Then there was the game that Brown said may have been the toughest of his life as a hitter. He faced Herrera and then later came flamethrower Aroldis Chapman, now the hardest-throwing pitcher in the major leagues.

“After the day was over I just sat at my locker going, ‘What just happened?’ ” Brown said. “I just saw a screwball at 50 and then a pitch that was two times that speed. It was not a good experience.”

Herrera said he picked up the screwball his sophomore year of college (New Mexico). Gradually, he worked it into his arsenal and now calls the pitch his “bread and butter.”

“I had a terrible change-up,” he said. “So it was just toying with my change-up and soon enough the rotation kind of rolled over. It spun more like a breaking ball. It took almost two years to really understand what I was doing with it and how to throw it. It all just came from toying with grips and messing around with a change-up.”

Herrera spent parts of three years with the Reds, including all of 2009 and half of last season. During that time he said he came across no other big-league pitchers that used his go-to pitch. Already, he said, his new Sounds teammates have been asking for his tutelage.

“So far I’ve had about five screwball lessons during batting practice,” Herrera said. “But they’re kind of shocked how it comes out of my hand. And then they try it and by about the third throw their elbow starts hurting. The lessons are pretty short.”

The Brewers picked up Herrera off waivers last week. His career big league ERA, coming mostly as a lefty specialist out of the bullpen, is a respectable 3.62 over 92 innings. Now he said he hopes he can soon work his way up to help a Milwaukee staff that is noticeably short on left-handed relievers.

“It’s definitely refreshing being here with a new group and having to impress a new crowd,” said Herrera. “I’m in a perfect situation. The need for lefties is high up there.”

Sounds pitcher Daniel Ray Herrera, right, has used a screwball pitch to thrive in baseball despite standing just 5-foot-6. Photo by Sanford Myers / The Tennessean /

 

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[Mass Haas]

Nashville Sounds keep baseball all in the family

Pitcher's in-law was in majors

by Austin Gregerson, The Tennessean

Standing beside the clubhouse beyond the left-field wall, Sounds pitcher Zack Segovia called his wife, DeAnna. After checking around the corner, they continued planning the birthday celebration for DeAnna’s father, Darnell.

It would feature a clubhouse adorned with SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer decorations, plus an in-game singing of “Happy Birthday” from players and fans in attendance during the homestand that ended Friday.

Darnell isn’t just DeAnna’s father. He also happens to be Darnell Coles, former major league player, World Series-winning player and current hitting coordinator for the Milwaukee Brewers. And this week for his birthday, he was in town to pay son-in-law Zack a visit.

This isn’t Coles’ first stop in Nashville. He spent a brief portion of the 1992 season here as a player for the Sounds when Nashville was the Class AAA affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds.

“He makes sure in his schedule that whenever he came to see us, it was while we’re in Nashville to see his daughter and grandkids because he’s an amazing grandfather,” Segovia said.

Coles, picked sixth overall in the 1980 draft by the Seattle Mariners, not only played with the likes of Ken Griffey Jr. and Harold Reynolds — a close family friend — but after spending 14 seasons with eight big league teams, he also had plenty of knowledge as to what personalities fill a baseball locker room. So when he heard his only daughter brought home another baseball player, he had his reservations.

“I was a bit weary until I got a chance to meet him,” Coles said. “The first thing that came to mind when I found out my daughter brought back a baseball player was, ‘Are you serious?’

“Not in a good way or a bad way, but I just tried to keep an open mind. Baseball players tend to get a bad rap as being knuckleheads, sometimes.”

As the minor league hitting coordinator, Coles spends most of his time traveling through the various teams in the Brewers farm system instructing the proper way of hitting a ball, not throwing one.

That doesn’t mean he won’t give Segovia his opinion.

“When he talks to me like a coach, it’s, ‘What are you doing with X, Y, Z, what’s going on here?’ ” Segovia said.

“My initial reaction is, ‘Well, you’re a hitting coach — what would you know?’ But that’s a set of very experienced eyes and he’s sharing that knowledge with me.”

The celebration of Coles’ 49th birthday wasn’t exactly typical of what a longtime coach and/or player would get away from home. Yet, it was, as Segovia said, in step with the loving “dumbness” of the baseball culture that has been typical of their family.

[Mass Haas]

The Segovia / Coles connection -- who knew? From the "you learn something every day category", right?

 

Although, given the need now to free up a roster spot for Mike McClendon, and the impending return of other ailing Brewer bullpen arms, can't help but think that Zack Segovia is on a bit of a roster bubble regardless.

[Mass Haas]

Sounds outfielders have league's best armsSounds lead league in assists

by Austin Gwin, The Tennessean

 

An outfield assist is a specialized art. It takes timing, accuracy, power and sometimes even luck to steal an out on the base paths.

This season the Sounds have been the best in the Pacific Coast League at getting assists from their outfielders, recording 21 in 54 games entering Saturday night. A big reason for that is newcomer Brett Carroll.

Carroll has 10 out of the 21 outfield put-outs. The former Marlin draws his inspiration from his days in the little leagues.

"For me it takes me back to being a kid. You let your hair down a,,nd get after it," Carroll said. "That what I like to do in the outfield."

It is more than just the throw though that goes into getting an opponent out while he runs the bases.

"I like to think a play ahead and play scenarios in my head," Carroll said. "It's important to have good footwork when you are throwing the ball. You have to have a spot where you are trying to throw it. It takes repetition."

Fellow Sounds outfielder Brendan Katin has long been known to have one of the better arms in the Milwaukee Brewers organization. Over three-plus years with the Sounds, Katin has amassed 20 outfield assists in either left or right.

"Mostly it's just about fielding it clean and getting it out in a timely manner," Katin said. "Sometimes you get a nice easy one-hopper, and your eyes just light up. Here we go, let it fly."

The stat is an important one, especially among pitchers, who have to rely on their outfielders for the occasional assist.

"Pitchers love looking back there and seeing some of the arms in the outfield," Katin said.

Carroll, a Knoxville native and former Middle Tennessee State standout, hopes he can continue to produce from his outfield position and will continue to throw looking for an out.

"I have been blessed with a strong arm. Any chance I can take advantage of to get our team outs is what I'm looking to do," Carroll said. "It's controlled, but its reckless abandonment."

Katin and the rest of the Sounds hope he can keep the outs coming as well.

"Any opportunity he gets to throw, he's throwing," Katin said. "He is ridiculous."

 

Sounds outfielder Brett Carroll has 10 outfield assists this season. / SHELLEY MAYS / TENNESSEAN FILE PHOTO

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[Mass Haas]

"Getting to Know" series continues with Jordan Brown

[Mass Haas]

DiFelice said he has a verbal “out” agreement with the Brewers. Though not a written agreement, DiFelice said his understanding is it could essentially allow him to pursue opportunities with other teams if he's not joined the big league squad by Wednesday.

Milwaukee's director of player development Reid Nichols told the Citizen-Times he wasn't privy to that conversation — which Nichols said would have been between DiFelice and Brewers assistant general manager Gord Ash.

As you'll read below --

MLB recall can't come fast enough for former Western Carolina University pitcher DiFelice
by Tyler Norris Goode, Asheville (NC) Citizen-Times

The conditioning was grueling.

The weightlifting sessions were exhausting.

The bullpen sessions seemed like they would never end.

But there was something Mark DiFelice disdained even more than all that while rehabilitating from shoulder surgery last year.

“The worst part of rehab is the downtime, the time actually away from the competitive aspect of the game,” said DiFelice, a former Western Carolina pitcher who made his big league debut with Milwaukee in 2009. “It's always trying mentally. You have to go through the conditioning, the strengthening of the shoulder. I think I threw 21 bullpens before I actually threw to a live hitter. … And it was my second shoulder surgery, so I didn't know how it was going to respond.”

His body has actually bounced back quite well, based on the numbers he's putting up for Milwaukee's Triple-A club in Nashville. He recently moved from the bullpen back to starter and has been steady in both roles, posting a 1.82 earned run average with 27 strikeouts and five walks in 24 2-3 innings.

He may be back on the diamond and thriving, but he's still not reached the destination he's aiming for. After striking out 11, walking three and posting a 3.86 ERA in 10 spring training appearances (9 1-3 innings), he hoped to break camp with the big league club.

Since joining Nashville, he believes he's worked to show he belongs at the higher level either as a starter or reliever.

“I wanted to be healthy,” DiFelice said. “The fact that I am healthy is the most important thing. I'm comfortable with Triple-A. Do I belong here? I don't think I do. I think I belong in the big leagues.”

However, when asked about DiFelice's progress since returning to baseball, Nichols said: “I think he's back where he was before.”

“As a worker, no one's going to out-work him,” Nichols said.

“Last year when he was rehabbing in Arizona, sometimes it's 117 degrees, and they can get their work in and go home. We had games going on with rookie players, and after he'd get in his work he'd come out and watch the games. He's a real professional.”

Mark DiFelice, who played his college baseball at Western Carolina, is trying to work his way back to the big leagues and is currently with Milwaukee's Triple-A club in Nashville, Tenn. / Mike Strasinger/Special to Citizen-Times

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[Oldcity]

They need to get him up. He's one of their four best relievers.

[TheCrew07]

Unless something has changed he won't get LH hitters out and we already have that in Loe.

[Oldcity]

So you can only have one ROOGY? Plus, Difelice is better against righties than Loe is anyway. Why not stretch out Estrada in AAA so he's ready as the sixth starter? He doesn't pitch much here anyway, and he hasn't been anything special as a reliever.

[TheCrew07]

The more limited the relievers are the more of them you'll use in a game and the harder it is for a manager to use said players in a limited role.

 

I'd prefer every reliever in the pen to be a multi inning guy with some flexibility of use. I don't like the idea of having to use multiple relievers in a single inning because this guy only gets lefties and these 2 guys can only get righties... so we use 6 relievers to get through innings 7-9 and have no one if the game goes to extras.

[Mass Haas]

First things first for Gamel

By Chris Jackson / Special to MLB.com

The Nashville Sounds' Mat Gamel is fully aware of what his move to first base seems to portend for his future.

The former Milwaukee Brewers' top prospect, who only lost the title of prospect due to accumulating 145 scattered at-bats in the Majors over the past three seasons, was a third baseman prior to this year.

Prince Fielder, Milwaukee's current first baseman, is a free agent after this season and is expected to seek a contract far beyond what the Brewers can offer.

So Gamel has been anointed by many as Milwaukee's first baseman-to-be for '12.

"A lot of that's out of my control," Gamel said. "All I can control is what I do on the field. Is it in the back of my mind? Yeah. But am I pressing about it, am I worried about it? I don't believe that you can worry about it and go out and perform like you have to."

Gamel has performed well so far, batting .303 (69-for-228) with 11 home runs and 39 RBIs for Nashville while also "getting comfortable" at his new position.

"So far it's been good, man," Gamel said. "I feel good over there. I feel like I'm doing a pretty decent job."

Gamel was a fourth-round Draft pick in 2005 out of Chipola Junior College in Florida. He methodically moved up the Minor League ladder, breaking out with a monster campaign (.329, 19 home runs, 96 RBIs) at Double-A Hunstville in 2008.

Since then, however, his career seemed to stall at Nashville. Despite swinging the bat well, Gamel was considered a defensive liability at third base. He had a shot at taking over the hot corner in Milwaukee in 2009, but hit just .242 with seven errors and lost the job to Casey McGehee.

Gamel called the criticism of his defense "motivation to get better," but he remained at Nashville for most of 2009 and '10.

"It is what it is," Gamel said. "I would like to be (in the Majors), but in the same breath I need to play. Sitting on the bench isn't going to do me any good as far as development goes. Now I'm getting older, but especially learning a new position I need to be playing as much as I can."

For now, Gamel said he is focused on helping the Sounds continue to turn around their season, which has featured five separate winning streaks of three or more games and six losing streaks of three or more games.

"Very streaky, it's either hot or cold," Gamel said. "I think that's the game. You're going to have those, you're going to have streaks. You've got to try to limit the losing streaks."

A change of position hasn't hurt Mat Gamel (right) at the plate. (Mike Strasinger/Nashville Sounds)

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[TooLiveBrew]

"I would like to be (in the Majors), but in the same breath I need to play. Sitting on the bench isn't going to do me any good as far as development goes. Now I'm getting older, but especially learning a new position I need to be playing as much as I can."

 

Definitely doesn't seem to have any problem with the Brewers moving him to 1B. Or at the very least knows to talk like he doesn't.

[Mass Haas]

Former Lobo Herrera returns for first time as a proBy Christopher Jackson, Albuquerque Baseball Examiner

June 11, 2011

Daniel Ray Herrera has already had a memorable homecoming in Albuquerque this week, even if he has yet to show up in a box score.

 

The Sounds' left-handed reliever has not been called upon through the first two games of Nashville's four-game series with Albuquerque at Isotopes Park, but the former New Mexico Lobo has still managed to soak up every minute of returning to his old college haunt.

 

“I’ve been back to Albuquerque, but I haven’t been to this ballpark," said Herrera, who was drafted out of UNM by the Texas Rangers in 2006. "It’s pretty exciting to be in the same clubhouse, same dugout. Lot of familiar things, lot of familiar feelings."

 

Herrera has spent his mornings at Weck's and his afternoons and evenings at the ballpark, taking time to talk to old friends and the UNM coaching staff in his first visit back to Albuquerque as a professional player.

 

The 26-year-old southpaw is now with his third organization after the Milwaukee Brewers claimed him off waivers from the Cincinnati Reds last month. So far, Herrera has tossed seven scoreless innings of relief for Nashville after starting the year 0-4 with a 3.86 ERA and one save in 17 games for Triple-A Louisville.

 

“I loved the staff and all the players over there on the Reds, it was hard to leave in that respect," Herrera said. "But it’s great to be in a new league, a lot of the hitters don’t really know me. It’s a new group of guys, a new way of pitching. Talking to Rich (Gale, Nashville's pitching coach) is definitely a different pair of eyes to help me out, figure stuff out. It’s refreshing. It’s just like a new start."

 

Herrera was a 45th-round draft pick out of UNM, the type of player who rarely makes it in professional baseball. At 5-foot-6, he is far shorter than most of his fellow pitchers. Even with all of that stacked against him, Herrera made it to Double-A in his second season in 2007 before he was part of a trade between the Rangers and the Reds that included big-league starts Josh Hamilton and Edinson Volquez.

 

His key weapon was a screwball, a sort of circle-change that was devastating against left-handed hitters.

 

"He ain't scared of nothing," New Mexico coach Ray Birmingham said. “It’s the pitch and the mental makeup."

 

The Reds recalled Herrera late in 2008 before making him a permanent part of the bullpen in 2009. Herrera went 4-4 with a 3.06 ERA in 70 games.

 

“He got in the door and he got it done," Birmingham said. "You know he has a heart of a lion. He might be 5-foot-7, but inside he’s 6-foot-9."

 

Herrera went 1-3 with a 3.91 ERA in 36 games in 2010, splitting the year between Cincinnati and Louisville.

 

“I had a pretty quick run of it," Herrera said of his ascension to the Majors. "I look back at it now — it was a fun, quick process. I’m in the shuffle now. It’s great that Milwaukee wanted to pick me up and put me on the (40-man) roster. Hopefully I can impress here enough to go up there soon."

 

Herrera was sporting a Lobos shirt underneath his Sounds uniform this series, something he said he dug up for this season. He added that he was proud of UNM for its back-to-back NCAA regional appearances.

 

“It’s pretty exciting that they finally made it," Herrera said. "We had some teams that came to play. When it came to (the Mountain West) conference tournament we couldn’t push through it. For the year they had last year it was phenomenal. I didn’t have many high hopes this year, but they won in the tournament, so they earned their bid in that respect. They played well, I thought they played pretty well at the regional, they just got walked off and shut out. They did well and I was proud of them."

[Mass Haas]

Gindl and Green boost Nashville Sounds offense

by Austin Gwin | The Tennessean

The month of June has been good to the Sounds’ bats. Nashville has scored 14 or more runs four times.

The offensive explosion started June 2 when the Sounds had 22 hits in a 15-11 win over Iowa to start their season-long five-game win streak. Nashville was averaging 4.4 runs heading into that game. Since then it has averaged 8.1.

“When you get 22 hits in a game, it’s a lot of fun,” outfielder Caleb Gindl said. “It sparked us a little bit.”

Gindl has been a major reason for the improvement. He has a 14-game hitting streak after getting a single in Tuesday’s 5-4 win over Round Rock. During the streak, which is the Sounds’ longest of the season, he has three doubles, a triple, four home runs and 12 RBI.

“It’s about concentrating every pitch.” Gindl said. “When you have a hit streak going, every pitch means something, so you focus a lot harder.”

Hitting coach Sandy Guerrero said the key is staying patient at the plate.

“We have stopped chasing pitches that are out of the strike zone,” Guerrero said. “We are giving ourselves a chance, extending innings and taking the walk when we need to.”

Another big contributor has been third baseman Taylor Green, who has a 12-game hitting streak after Tuesday’s game. He has had an extra base hit in his past nine games.

“Hitting is contagious,” Green said. “Once one guy gets on, the next guy wants to get a hit, and it goes from there.”

Another key factor was the arrival of Brewers minor league hitting coordinator Darnell Coles. He was in the dugout the night the Sounds pounded 22 hits.

Gindl said Coles offered him a nugget of batting wisdom.

“The way (Coles) puts it to me is, ‘Don’t go up there every time trying to get a hit. Go up and there and put a good swing on it. Hit the ball hard,’” Gindl said. “A lot of the time we press too much. Where you hit it is where you hit it. You have no control over it.”