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Striking back
New outlook helps left-hander regain form
By BRAD SHEPARD
For The Huntsville Times

Mired in the first slump of his career last season, Huntsville Stars pitcher Steve Hammond began feeling the weight of expectations.

The left-hander began 2007 as the Milwaukee Brewers' No. 7 prospect after breezing through his early stops in the minors. Then, with his dream of pitching in the majors seemingly in sight, he became ordinary.

"I had a lot of expectations, and that was part of (the struggles), definitely," Hammond said of last season's 7-9 record and 4.69 earned run average when opponents batted .292 against him.

"I thought I had a good shot to make it to the big leagues last year. When you hit a rough spot, you want to get back on track as fast as you can, and I didn't."

The malaise lasted until late June when he was removed from the rotation for two weeks.

Hammond regrouped, and returned as a starter July 14, winning his next two starts by tossing 14 innings without an earned run. It started a surge of eight quality starts in his final 10 outings that dropped his ERA by nearly a run.

After a strong performance in the Southern League playoffs, his success has bled into this season. The 26-year-old Long Beach State product is 5-1 with a 2.61 ERA and leads the league with 58 strikeouts in 51 2/3 innings.

"When a starter goes to the pen, usually you're not doing your job," Stars manager Don Money said. "Maybe that's just what he needed.

"If you're reading up on how good you are, you start wondering, 'Why aren't I winning?' Players get locked up too much in numbers."

Hammond said a turning point came during the final game of last year's league championship series against Montgomery. After allowing a first-inning run, Hammond was perfect for the next six innings, leaving with a two-run lead, though Huntsville ultimately lost 4-3.

He also exited with a new outlook.

"When I'm that focused, throwing it one pitch at a time, I'm not thinking about the future," Hammond said. "I was only thinking about winning that game. That's what I took from that.

"I pitch my best when I've got a lot of energy. That's another thing I carried over. I was excited, aggressive. I just want to pitch every game like it's the championship game."

Since that game, he has attacked hitters more with his change-up, quite a weapon when he's ahead in the count.

In Thursday's start against Carolina, Hammond was behind in the count and only had three strikeouts. Last year, such an outing may have hurt him, but this time he worked around it and lasted six innings.

After the game, he and new pitching coach Chris Hook watched video of his mechanics and discussed ways to improve. Even that's a vast difference from last season when Hammond was reluctant to listen to suggestions.
"He was hard-headed on occasion last year," Money said. "He thought he had all the answers."

With Hammond more receptive, he and Hook have hit it off.

"I think my job is to know a personality and adjust by person," Hook said. "I'm not hard to get along with. Steve is a hard-working guy, and I knew that the first time I met him. I know he wants to get better."

After Thursday's start, Hammond learned that teammate Sam Narron got the call to Triple-A Nashville, and if Hammond keeps pitching the way he has, he may be next.

"There's no way you can't think about it - I'm trying to pitch in the big leagues," Hammond said. "But when I'm on the mound, I have to remember the only thing that matters is the next pitch."

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Gamel wants defense to match bat
By BRAD SHEPARD
For The Huntsville Times

Huntsville Stars third baseman Mat Gamel is dominating the Southern League in hitting, but all he wants to talk about is his glove.

His defensive deficiencies consume him, but rather than deflect criticism, Gamel seems driven by it. He wants to shake the "defensive liability" label with which some have branded him.

"I know that I'm capable at third base, but I know I've got to prove it to (the Milwaukee organization), and I'm up to that challenge," Gamel said.

At least now, he's not trying to prove it to himself.

Last year at Single-A Brevard County, the former fourth-round draft pick batted .300 and turned heads with his 33-game hitting streak. But he also committed 53 errors, most in the minors, and lost confidence.

Stars manager and former Gold Glove third baseman Don Money has worked with Gamel on his footwork to improve his throwing.

Gamel had mechanical issues last year setting his feet, causing him to drop his arm and airmail throws. This season, although he has made 11 errors, Money said only two of them were throwing miscues.

"To me, I think he's playing well (compared to) what I heard in the past," Money said.

Gamel is pleased with his progress. He knows he has a long way to go, but his approach and confidence have improved.

"Last year, it was more of a mental thing than anything," he said. "It's like when a pitcher gets the yips and can't throw strikes. I've been more consistent this year, I think. I make the routine plays pretty regularly.

"This year, I'm not saying, 'Oh God, don't hit me the ball' out there. I want the ball every single play. I want to prove I can play third base in the big leagues."

The 22-year-old's improvement is being monitored by Milwaukee's front office.

Milwaukee assistant general manager Gord Ash said Money and Brewers roving infield instructor Garth Iorg have praised Gamel's defensive strides, saying his future is still at third base.

"Our preference is to have him at third base and be an everyday, accomplished major league third baseman," Ash said. "When you look at need, that's what we will need, because we have a pretty crowded outfield, and first base looks pretty locked in (with Prince Fielder).

"He certainly has great athletic ability and a strong arm. He just needs to work on getting his mechanics smoothed out."

The normally easygoing Gamel's grip tightened and knuckles whitened on the bat when he was asked about a potential position change. He takes that personally, he said.

But the Brewers have been adamant that they need to develop all-around players after finishing 25th in major league fielding percentage last year. Gamel knows that, especially after Ryan Braun - who was the MLB's worst defensive third baseman statistically - was moved to left field.

"We know some of these guys can hit, but we need to know can they be the complete player, and that's important," Ash said. "It's that way with Gamel and (Stars right fielder Matt) LaPorta. That's why they are where they are."

Gamel's focus on defense this year hasn't hurt him at the plate. He is currently in the top three in the Southern League in batting average, home runs, RBIs, hits, runs, total bases and slugging percentage.

His renewed dedication is evident, according to coaches and teammates. Even girlfriend Julianne Marie has noticed.

"He feels like that is tattooed onto him now, all those errors," she said. "He does have to overcome that, but he knows it. Once it gets in his head, it's bad, but he tries not to think about it. He's much more focused this season, and everybody sees that."

Such a commitment amazes Marie considering for the first three months they were dating, she didn't even know Gamel played baseball.

They began seeing each other last year on Thanksgiving night when Gamel had just returned to his Jacksonville, Fla., home after winning MVP in the Hawaiian Winter League. Marie saw this shaggy-headed guy she went to high school with wearing beach clothes and thought he was just another surfer.

Then, in mid-February, he took her home to meet his parents and she saw all his baseball pictures and awards.

"He doesn't even tell anybody," Marie said of Gamel's career. "He's probably the most humble person I know."

Marie and Gamel's parents are still in the dark at some of his accomplishments, which they hear second-hand. Just last week, the Brewers discussed calling up Gamel to be a designated hitter in an interleague series against Boston. Though Gamel found out about it after the fact, he didn't tell anyone.

As exciting as that promotion would have been, he said he is more concerned right now with becoming a complete player.

"I'll take it to heart and keep working," Gamel said. "You can't take a day off up there.

"I'd rather them realize the improvements I've made on defense. I've made 10 or 11 errors, which isn't great, but it's better than it has been."

The blog BrewersNation has a nice interview with Voice of the Stars Brett Pollock

One of the reasons Jim Powell is such a fine broadcaster and good guy is that Brewerfan suggested to Jim that he arrange a phone interview from Chattanooga with David Welch for the Milwaukee pre-game interview today, and he immediately agreed and set about to make it happen. Surely it must have been a nice bonus for David -- here's the audio, fantastic stuff -- thanks, Jim & a very well-spoken David.

Mark McCarter of the Huntsville Times -- Blog Entry

ATLANTA -- A funny thing happened on the way to Atlanta. A Huntsville Stars pitcher threw a no-hitter.

I snuck out of town on Monday, to spend time in Chattanooga with my mom and my daughter, who snuck a long weekend from work and flew home for a visit. Then I was headed here to cover the Braves for a couple of days.

Tuesday morning, when I picked up the Chattanooga paper -- where I worked for 17 years, back in the days when we all wore fedoras with PRESS cards in the brim and people always yelled "Extra! and "Stop the presses!" -- I saw where the Stars' David Welch threw a no-hitter against the Lookouts.

It was the second game of a doubleheader and my buddy David Paschall barely had time to squeeze in three paragraphs in his story in the Chattanooga paper, since it ended almost at midnight Eastern. I knew, with our deadlines, we'd not have much on it either. There's no worse feeling for us than to be watching history and have no time to report it adequately.

I did a quick lunch at Nikki's, a small diner near downtown that's a Chattanooga landmark. (Onion rings the size of hula hoops. Fried shrimp the size of your fist. Cheeseburgers so good, you can rest one on your forehead and your tongue will slap your face silly trying to get to it.)
Then I called Don Money, the Stars' manager, to have him track down Welch for me.

I rushed by the team's hotel out near The Big Mall as it is unofficially known and immediately found pitching coach Chris Hook. Money came down to the lobby, then Welch wandered in from lunch. I figured I might have a little 500-word second-day follow up to the no-hitter, then I'd head on to Atlanta for the regularly scheduled column.

Except it turned out that Welch was celebrating his 25th birthday, he has a son named Maddox, semi-named for Greg Maddux, he's from Australia and he was a terrific interview. So the 500 word story went to about 1,000. Still, hope you'll check it out today.

Meanwhile, I'm in Atlanta. And I have stuff in the trunk of my rental car. And the battery on the remote control is dead. And I can't find a keyhole anywhere. The first person to e-mail me to tell me where the secret truck-opening button in a Pontiac Grand Prix is wins, well, my everlasting appreciation.

***

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No big celebration for no-hitter
Stars' Welch takes Monday's 2-0 shutout in stride
Contact Mark McCarter at markcolumn@aol.com or visit his al.com blog at http://blog.al.com/mccarter
Huntsville Times

CHATTANOOGA - This is how David Welch celebrated two major milestones in his life:

With a wee-hours-in-the-morning, two-block walk to an all-night mini-mart for an adult beverage.

"I went down to the gas station, got a couple of beers and came back to my room," Welch said. "I had two and it was lights out."

That's how Welch, a native of Sydney, Australia, celebrated his 25th birthday, 9,200 miles from home.

That's how Welch, a Huntsville Stars pitcher, celebrated the first complete game no-hitter of his life.

Wow. Like New Year's Eve at the senior citizens' home. Two beers. Lights out.

He barely squeezed the no-hitter into his birthday, tiptoeing in just before midnight Eastern time in the 2-0 seven-inning victory over the Chattanooga Lookouts Monday in the second game of a doubleheader. He struck out six, walked two, was perfect through 5 2/3 innings, faced only 22 batters and didn't even need a miraculous defensive play, as most no-hitters seem to.

Basically, he was lights-out.

No one-pitch pony

In the Chattanooga first, Cody Strait and Eric Eymann popped to second base. Sean Henry struck out. Things were already clicking smoothly between Welch and catcher Carlos Corporan. Not once would Welch shake off one of Corporan's signs.

"They're as one right now," said pitching coach Chris Hook.

In the second, Daniel Dorn and Justin Turner struck out and Drew Anderson flew to left.

Though he came into the game 6-1, Welch had been relying too much on his fastball until Hook told him flatly, "Listen, you can't pitch with one pitch in Double-A." So, said Hook, "he's really embraced the change-up and his curve ball, which he was so much in love with, has become his third pitch."

In the third, B.J. Szymanski struck out, Chris Denove grounded to short and Travis Wood popped up to second.
"I really started thinking about (a no-hitter) at the end of the third, when I had gone through the lineup and I was fixing to face the No. 1 hitter again," Welch said. "It was in the back of my mind."

In the fourth, Strait whiffed, Eymann grounded to short and Henry hit a smash to Mat Gamel at third, the first hard-hit ball of the evening.

"In the fourth inning, in a seven-inning game, you start thinking about (a no-hitter)," manager Don Money said, "because you only have three innings to go."

An Internet audience

It may be the only two-Aussie no-hitter in American pro baseball history. On Aug. 5, 2005, Melbourne native Simon Beresford started for the Brewers' Helena farm club in the Pioneer League, then Welch followed in a four-man no-hitter against Billings.

Welch had been an amateur hot-shot Down Under, traveling extensively on national teams as a high school player. He decided to come to the U.S. to attend Tyler (Texas) College but the school suddenly de-emphasized its baseball program. Two Tyler players, also Australian, transferred to Texarkana College. The Tyler coach put in a good word for Welch, and he tagged along.

Welch continues to live in Queen City, Texas, a town of 5,000 or so. It's a reverse Crocodile Dundee deal. Instead of the man from the Outback going to a big city in the U.S., city-boy Welch is out in the sticks, learning to hunt and fish.

In the Chattanooga fifth, he shot down Dorn and Turner on routine grounders, Anderson on a fly to right.

Fans were trying to jinx him. "You've got a no-hitter going!"

Though superstitious teammates were growing skittish around Welch, "I was just joking around, talking to the guys," he said. At one point, he even asked a solemn Gamel, "Do you know what's going on?"

In the sixth, Szymanski flew out, Denove grounded to second and pinch-hitter Chris Valaika walked on a borderline pitch.

Kelli Welch was listening to the game on the Internet. She said a cuss word or two.

When David and Kelli were pondering names for their first-born, who arrived 3 1/2 months ago, they were thinking about baseball names.
"Kelli said, 'Let's call him Pedro.' " David went through a few more names, finally coming to "Maddux." "I like that," Kelli said. "If it's a boy, that's it." They modified it to Maddox, with an O.

Maddox was still awake when his mom started her fussing and he began giggling. He was laughing louder than he had in his life.

"It's not funny," Kelli said to her baby. "He just lost a perfect game."

Welch helps his cause

Welch was the lead-off hitter in the Huntsville seventh, having escaped trouble in the sixth when Strait flew out. The Lookouts brought on newcomer Sean Watson, who was registering 93 to 95 mph on his warm-up pitches.

"I'm like, 'You've gotta be kidding,' " Welch said.

On the first pitch, Welch swung just as the ball hit catcher Denove's mitt. Both Denove and ump Toby Basner laughed. Watson was "pumping fastballs past me," but ran the count to 3-2.

"I think the ball was past me, but I dropped the bat down and it hit it. It was a line drive past the first baseman," Welch said. He hustled all the way to second base, then later scored the second Huntsville run.

When Mike Welch, David's father, called from Australia early Tuesday morning, forget the no-hitter. The first thing Mike said was, "You got a double, huh?"

In the Chattanooga seventh, Eymann walked. Henry drilled a grounder to shortstop Alcides Escobar, who cashed it in for a 6-4-3 double play. Welch sent Dorn fishing for a curve ball in the dirt for strike three, then jabbed his fist into the blue-black sky.

Teammates rushed the mound from their positions, from the dugout, even making the 100-yard dash from the bullpen. Said Welch, "You can't describe (the feeling)."

In Sydney, his mom Narelle, a high school teacher, was at work. "She was," David said, "in middle of class screaming." Mike had listened to the game and read an Internet account, but phoned because "he still wanted to hear from me that I did it," David said.

The Stars left the ballpark and drove through a sleepy city. Nowhere to party near their hotel. Just an all-night mini-mart to provide refreshments.

"From celebrating my birthday on my own (away from family), to doing that," said Welch, "it kind of made it a really good day."