Link Report for Tue. 4/24 -- Hiram Burgos: So Close to No-Hit Glory

[Mass Haas]

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

[Mass Haas]

Tuesday's Daily Menu:

 

All times are Central

 

Nashville: RHP Josh Butler at Omaha (Royals), 10:50 AM pre-game, 11:05 gametime

 

Free Live Audio Link

 

Jeff Hem is the new play-by-play voice of the Sounds; follow him on Twitter @jeffhempbp; we'll link to his blog updates at On the Air…and Off

 

MiLB.TV -- for subscribers; all Nashville games, home and away, will be available to watch via MiLB.TV's $39.99 season-long package ($9.99 to pay for a single month). We imagine the audio feed is from the home team. All MiLB.TV details available at the link.

 

**********

 

Huntsville: RHP Josh Stinson at home vs. Jackson (Mariners), 10:28 AM pre-game, 10:43 gametime

 

Free Live Audio Link -- Select the Huntsville feed from the MiLB main audio page

 

I-Phone friendly audio link

 

Alex Cohen is the new play-by-play voice of the Stars; follow him on Twitter @alexmcohen. It's fantastic that Huntsville is returning to what will be a traditional broadcast format this year. All games, home and away, are scheduled to be broadcast.

 

MiLB.TV subsciption note: A total of 24 Stars' games (in Jacksonville and Tennessee) will be broadcast.

 

**********

 

Brevard County: RHP Hiram Burgos at Clearwater (Phillies), 6:00 PM gametime

 

Sorry, no audio for this series...

 

Once again this season, Brevard does not have its own audio coverage. It appears two teams in the Manatees North Division (within which the majority of games are played) have audio, and all six teams in the South Division have audio (at least for their home games), so there will be opportunities to listen to approx. 70% or Brevard's games this season, just all from the opponent's perspective. There are no Florida State League games on MiLB.TV this year.

 

**********

 

Wisconsin: RHP David Goforth at South Bend (Diamondbacks), 5:45 PM pre-game, 6:05 gametime

 

Free Live Audio Link - 1280 AM WNAM

 

Chris Mehring is back to do his customary fantastic work as the Voice of the Rattlers. Follow him on Twitter @CMehring; we'll link to Chris' infamous blog often -- Rattler Radio.

 

MiLB.TV -- for subscribers; Wisconsin is one of only two (Great Lakes) Midwest League clubs that have all their home games available via MiLB.TV; Chris' call provides the audio. So for the $39.95 season-long package, fans in Brewer Nation can watch all Sounds games, all Timber Rattlers home games, and 24 Stars' road games (one Helena series this summer, too).

[Mass Haas]

Follow Tuesday's action as it happens with box score / game log links:

 

Nashville

 

Huntsville

 

Brevard County

 

Wisconsin

[Mass Haas]

STANDINGS:

 

AAA - Pacific Coast League American Northern Division

 

AA - Southern League North Division

 

Florida State League North Division

 

Midwest League Western Division

[Mass Haas]

To see tweets as to when the Link Report has been technically "completed" with available links, as well as to know when the new day's Report has been posted, please follow @Mass_Haas on Twitter.

[Mass Haas]

Joe Block interviewed Wily Peralta on the WTMJ pre-game show last night -- nice moment talking about his mom, remember, the Brewers had no DSL academy to allow Wily to spend his first years in the organization at home. Also, Wily's appreciation from what he lacked as a youngster to today.

[Mass Haas]

Nashville Media Notes

 

While technically optioned, Wily Peralta won't be with the club until Thursday at Iowa, so no corresponding roster move is necessary today.

[Mass Haas]

Via Jeff hem's blog: Nashville Pre-Game Audio with a very hot-at-the-plate Brooks Conrad

[Mass Haas]

Scooter Gennett showing up big for Stars as Southern League 'Hitter of the Week'

By Mark McCarter, The Huntsville Times

 

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Considering it includes a Muppet, a brush with legal authorities and a frustrated mother, this may be one of most terrific nickname sagas in the history of sports.

 

Young Ryan Gennett's favorite Muppet was Scooter. File that away for a second.

 

When he was five, he balked at buckling his seat belt as he went for a ride with his mother Tina. She became so exasperated as he kept clicking it on and off, she drove to the police department, thinking an officer might scare some sense into her son.

 

When the cop asked, "What's your name, son?" the scofflaw responded out of the blue, "Scooter Gennett."

 

It was the first Tina had heard of the name. But it stuck. Mostly because, as Gennett said, "For a year I didn't answer to Ryan because I thought I'd get in trouble. I thought I'd get arrested."

 

Gennett, the Stars' second baseman and the Southern League "Hitter of the Week" after his 13-for-29 week and walk-off homer Sunday, was 1-for-4 Monday as the Stars lost 6-4 in 10 innings to the Jackson Generals.

 

The series ends with a 10:43 a.m. game today.

 

Jesus Sucre broke the game open with a bases-loaded, two-run bloop single in the top of the 10th off Huntsville reliever Eric Marzec, who had walked a pair of batters. However, the Stars' offense was equally to blame, going hitless after the second inning except for Lee Haydel's 10th-inning solo homer.

 

Ever optimistic, Huntsville manager Darnell Coles noted, "We kept battling. We put the tying run on in the last inning. As long as we keep battling like that, I'm happy."

 

Gennett, who turns 22 next Tuesday, is a 16th-round draft pick out of Florida State who has been ranked as the No. 6 prospect in the Milwaukee organization, according to mlb.com's Prospect Watch.

 

Though born in Ohio, he moved to Florida at age 10 when his father Joe, a former Houston scout, recognized the opportunity for his baseball-crazed son - "I've always wanted to be a major league player," Scooter said to play year-round in warmer weather.

 

Gennett is a modestly sized 5-foot-9, 165 pounds. That means, "So what about your size?" is question 1A to "Where did Scooter come from?"

 

"I've been told a lot that because of my size, I can't do certain things," he said. "I love it when people say that. I like to prove them wrong. Not so much from a selfish standpoint, but to prove to myself I can do it."

 

In spring training, when Gennett hit for the cycle for the Brewers during an exhibition game against the Kansas City Royals, a writer brought up the size issue.

 

"If you're an infielder, the shorter you are, the closer you are to the ground to field the ball, right?" Gennett said.

 

Apprised of that quotation, Coles laughed, "That means he shouldn't come up on any, right?"

 

It seemed almost redundant, then, to have Gennett on his knees in front of the Stars dugout at 4:15 Monday afternoon, Coles slapping grounders at him. But it's a regular drill, helping develop hand-eye coordination.

 

Coles offered high praise for Gennett's work ethic and his mental approach to the game.

 

"He's been playing great defense, and his numbers speak for themselves," Coles said.

 

Gennett leads the Southern League in hits and is in the top 10 in five other offensive categories.

 

"I'm going to try to keep the same routine going," he said. "If I have a bad game, not try to change anything, to stay as consistent as possible. If you have a couple of bad at-bats, you can't let that ruin you for the game."

 

Sunday night's game was a perfect example. He was 0-for-4 until the walk-off homer in the ninth. He stood pretty tall then.

[Mass Haas]

Jeff Hem tweet:

 

Josh Butler: 3+IP, R, 3H, BB, K (52/33). Not sure what issue was but walked off w/trainer. To guess/speculate from booth = foolish.

 

***

 

(Apparently audio issues from Nashville today as well. Depending on when you attempt, you may or may not pick up the web broadcast.)

[TheCrew07]

Final: Jackson (Mariners) 8, Huntsville 1

 

Huntsville Box Score

Well this is definitely not the news I was hoping for after spending the last couple of hours having my left eye tested. Josh Stinson went 4.2IP allowing 9 hits, 4 walks, 1 wild pitch, and 3 earned runs against only 3 strike outs. It looks like his pitch count was 80 in his first start as he was pulled at 79 pitches having thrown 48 for strikes. Bradley Blanks and Roque Mercedes were equally ineffective in their limited outings so Mitch Stetter was the only pitcher not charged with a run although he only went 2/3 of an inning. It looked like Roque had turned the corner in 2009 when he was dealt to AZ, but similar to Omar Aguilar the stint in BC was the peak of his effectiveness. I often think about Lucroy's comment that Aguilar was the filthiest pitcher he had caught to that point in his career... but hey, at least Axford turned out okay.

 

Offensively the Stars only scratched out 5 hits again for the 2nd consecutive day and didn't score a run until the 9th. No Star had multiple hits, though Khris Davis did walk twice. Lee Haydel kept his streak going with double and Anderson De La Rosa also chipped in with a double. There were no errors and Josh Prince gunned another runner at home to save a run in the 3rd. Josh has a been surprisingly effective in CF, he's just not the intriguing prospect that D'Vo is. Speaking of which, no news is never a good thing, I'd like to at least hear that D'Vo had reported and was getting ready in AZ. With literally nothing coming out about Braddock, Bucci, Scarpetta, Lasker, and D'Vo I certainly find myself fearing the worst in every case.

 

Huntsville Play By Play

Plenty of Generals' highlights, the Stars scored their only run on a bases loaded walk. It seems that the Stars always play hard until the end, they never go quietly in the 9th.

Huntsville Bottom of the 9th

• Khris Davis grounds out, shortstop Nick Franklin to first baseman Rich Poythress.
  Hunter Morris grounds out softly, second baseman Gabriel Noriega to first baseman Rich Poythress.
  Anderson De La Rosa doubles (1) on a line drive to right fielder Kalian Sams.
  Juan Sanchez singles on a line drive to second baseman Gabriel Noriega. Anderson De La Rosa to 3rd.
  Lee Haydel walks. Juan Sanchez to 2nd.
  Matt Cline walks. Anderson De La Rosa scores. Juan Sanchez to 3rd. Lee Haydel to 2nd.
  Josh Prince grounds into a force out, shortstop Nick Franklin to second baseman Gabriel Noriega. Matt Cline out at 2nd.

[Mass Haas]

Wisconsin Media Notes

 

http://mlblogsrattlerradio.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/april-23-2012-002.jpg?w=300&h=168

 

Awesome, Chris...

[Mass Haas]

FYI, something to keep an eye on:

 

Back on the 21st, Huntsville's Brock Kjeldgaard looked to be off with a normal rest day, he actually pinch-ran late in that game:

 

Huntsville Bottom of the 8th

Pitcher Change: Steven Hensley replaces Brian Moran.

Khris Davis singles on a ground ball to left fielder Chris Pettit.

Offensive Substitution: Pinch runner Brock Kjeldgaard replaces Khris Davis.

Anderson De La Rosa out on a sacrifice bunt, pitcher Steven Hensley to first baseman Rich Poythress. Brock Kjeldgaard to 2nd.

Lee Haydel reaches on fielding error by second baseman Eric Campbell. Brock Kjeldgaard to 3rd.

Matt Cline reaches on a fielder's choice out, third baseman Francisco Martinez to catcher Jesus Sucre to third baseman Francisco Martinez. Brock Kjeldgaard out at home. Lee Haydel to 3rd on the throw.

 

***

 

Big Brock has since missed the last two games. No DL stint yet, so there's that. Just-promoted Juan Sanchez has started in his place.

[TheCrew07]

Stars Fall to Generals in Series Finale

 

HUNTSVILLE, Ala.- In the finale of a five-game series and ten-game homestand, the Huntsville Stars took a 8-1 whooping at the hands of the Jackson Generals on Tuesday afternoon.

 

While the Generals offense broke out for eight runs on 14 hits, the story of the game was their starting pitcher, LHP Danny Hultzen. The 22-year-old phenom cruised through 5.2 shutout innings, giving up just two hits while striking out five. The second overall pick in the 2011 MLB draft improved to 2-2 on the season.

 

On offense for Jackson, third baseman Fernando Martinez, shortstop Nick Franklin and left fielder Chris Pettit had three hits apiece. As a team, the Generals had more doubles (6) on Tuesday than the Stars had hits (5).

 

For Huntsville, starting pitcher Josh Stinson was tabbed with the loss. In his first start of the season, the 24-year-old righty give up three runs in 4.2 innings to fall to 0-1 on the season.

 

On offense, the Stars plated their only run in the ninth inning as third basemen Matt Cline drew a bases-loaded off of Generals RHP Jandy Sena to score catcher Anderson De La Rosa. Five different Stars batters accounted for all five hits.

 

Overall, the Stars finished their 10-game homestand with a 6-4 record. They won the first four out off five games against the Tennessee Smokies but then could only take two of five games from the Generals.

 

The Stars will head to Pearl, Mississippi for five games with the Mississippi Braves starting Wednesday. Huntsville will send LHP Dan Merklinger (0-1, 5.79 ERA) to face off against a Braves starter that is still yet to be determined. First pitch is at 7:00 PM.

[Tedaldtada]

Sounds Swept Away By Storm Chasers, 5-3

04/24/2012 12:00 PM ET

Nashville Sounds

 

PAPILLION, Neb. - The Nashville Sounds' early-season woes continued on Tuesday afternoon at Werner Park as the club dropped its ninth straight game, a 5-3 defeat at the hands of the division-leading Omaha Storm Chasers in the finale of a four-game series.

 

Nashville (4-16), which has been swept in consecutive four-game series by Oklahoma City and Omaha, has matched the longest losing streak in the franchise's Pacific Coast League era (1998-present) with its current nine-game skid.

 

It was another close loss for the Sounds, who fell to 3-12 in contests decided by one or two runs this season.

 

Omaha (15-5) -- which recorded its 10th straight home victory -- jumped out to an early lead, plating a run in the bottom of the first inning against Sounds starter Josh Butler. Jarrod Dyson (2-for-4) continued his solid series by leading off the frame with a triple off the right-center wall then scored when Irving Falu followed with a sacrifice fly to right.

 

The Sounds evened the contest at 1-1 with a sac fly of their own in the top of the second. Erick Almonte led off the inning with a single to center off Omaha starter Mike Montgomery, moved to second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on a Taylor Green groundout, and raced home on Sean Halton's fly ball to center.

 

Caleb Gindl gave the Sounds their first lead of the day at 2-1 when he led off the fourth with his third home run of the season, a solo shot to left off Montgomery. The Sounds tacked on another run later in the frame when Eric Farris plated Green with a two-out RBI double to left. Hainley Statia, who went 2-for-4 on the afternoon to account for Nashville's lone multi-hit effort, attempted to score a second run on the two-bagger but was gunned down at the plate for the final out of the frame by a relay from left fielder Terry Evans and shortstop Irving Falu.

 

The Storm Chasers got a run back in the home half of the fourth on their second sacrifice fly of the afternoon, this one off the bat of Cody Clark, before pulling even in the fifth against Sounds reliever Amaury Rivas. Johnny Giovatella singled with one out and came around to score the tying run on Max Ramirez's two-out RBI double, knotting the score at 3-3.

 

Omaha pulled ahead, 5-3, with a pair of runs against Victor Garate in the bottom of the seventh inning. With the bases loaded and one out, Garate induced a tailor-made double play grounder to shortstop from David Lough, but second baseman Brooks Conrad was unable to make the turn, fumbling the ball on the exchange to his throwing hand, allowing Falu to score the go-ahead run on the resulting fielder's choice. Kevin Kouzmanoff followed by dumping an RBI single into right to up the Chasers' lead to two.

 

Left-hander Francisley Bueno worked a scoreless eighth for Omaha and retired the first batter of the ninth before ceding to right-hander Roman Colon, who picked up his first save of the year by recording the final two outs.

 

Montgomery (2-0) picked up the victory with a quality start for Omaha, holding the Sounds to three runs on seven hits while fanning seven batters over his seven innings.

 

Garate (0-3) was saddled with his third loss of the year for Nashville after being charged with two runs in his 1 1/3 frames of relief action.

 

Butler worked a short outing and took a no-decision in his fourth start of the year for Nashville, lasting only three-plus innings and throwing just 50 pitches before departing in the top of the fourth frame.

 

Sounds second baseman Brooks Conrad went 1-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to five games, one short of the best effort by a Nashville player this season.

 

Following a league-wide off day tomorrow, the Sounds continue their road trip on Thursday, when they open a four-game series in Des Moines, Iowa. Right-hander Wily Peralta (Rotation Savior) (0-1, 2.12) will rejoin the team and start Thursday's 6:35 p.m. series opener for Nashville. Iowa will counter with a yet-to-be-determined hurler.

 

I will be back with my comments later tonight.

[Mass Haas]

Huntsville will send LHP Dan Merklinger (0-1, 5.79 ERA) to face off against a Braves starter that is still yet to be determined.

 

Merklinger will come off the DL to do so, the Stars will need to make a corresponding move on Wednesday.

[Mass Haas]

Good news from 1B Nick Ramirez, who should see Wisconsin before too long

[battlekow]

FYI, something to keep an eye on:

 

Back on the 21st, Huntsville's Brock Kjeldgaard looked to be off with a normal rest day, he actually pinch-ran late in that game:

 

Huntsville Bottom of the 8th

Pitcher Change: Steven Hensley replaces Brian Moran.

Khris Davis singles on a ground ball to left fielder Chris Pettit.

Offensive Substitution: Pinch runner Brock Kjeldgaard replaces Khris Davis.

Anderson De La Rosa out on a sacrifice bunt, pitcher Steven Hensley to first baseman Rich Poythress. Brock Kjeldgaard to 2nd.

Lee Haydel reaches on fielding error by second baseman Eric Campbell. Brock Kjeldgaard to 3rd.

Matt Cline reaches on a fielder's choice out, third baseman Francisco Martinez to catcher Jesus Sucre to third baseman Francisco Martinez. Brock Kjeldgaard out at home. Lee Haydel to 3rd on the throw.

 

***

 

Big Brock has since missed the last two games. No DL stint yet, so there's that. Just-promoted Juan Sanchez has started in his place.

Huntsville will send LHP Dan Merklinger (0-1, 5.79 ERA) to face off against a Braves starter that is still yet to be determined.

 

Merklinger will come off the DL to do so, the Stars will need to make a corresponding move on Wednesday.

Unfortunately, these two things turn out to be related.

[Mass Haas]

Following starting efforts like this in the system is getting routine.

 

Make that five frames and counting; 'Tees need to score...

[TheCrew07]

Following starting efforts like this in the system is getting routine.

 

Make that five frames and counting; 'Tees need to score...

 

6...

 

If it happens without audio did it really happen? With so many interesting players in A+ every year I'm about ready to be done with the FSL and the crappy media coverage we have down there.

 

edit. Chris just reported that he's clear through 7 with a walk to start the 7th.

[Tedaldtada]

On to the 8th for Hiram.

[TheCrew07]

He's through the 8th.

Clearwater Bottom of the 8th

Cody Asche called out on strikes.

Anthony Hewitt strikes out swinging.

Cameron Rupp grounds out, third baseman Michael Walker to first baseman Cody Hawn.

 

Come on boys, score a run for him.

[Tedaldtada]

On to the 9th for Hiram. 0-0

[Tedaldtada]

And now, with the lead off double off of Burgos, the Threshers are in prime position to win. What a funny game this is.

[TheCrew07]

Well the system is about to get swept today because the T-Rats played some horrible baseball and are losing huge late.