Link includes Steve Wendt's audio calls of Mike Roberts home run and triple

Brewers' Roberts plates five in pro debut

Mike Roberts couldn't possibly have been more nervous Tuesday afternoon, an hour before beginning his life as a professional ballplayer. Off the field for more than a week and unsure how his debut would play out, Roberts struggled to even hit the ball in batting practice.

Then he homered on the first pitch he saw in his first game.

Roberts made a seamless transition from college to the pros as he homered, tripled and drove in five runs in his pro debut to power the Helena Brewers to a 15-8 victory over the Missoula Osprey at Ogren Park Allegiance Field.

Selected by Milwaukee in the 38th round of last month's First-Year Player Draft, Roberts homered in his first pro at-bat, launching a three-run shot to right field in the second inning off Missoula starter Rafael Quezada.

"It was the first pitch. I guess I just swung and hit it," Roberts said. "It got out and I didn't think think it was going out. It was pretty exciting. "I was real nervous. I don't think anyone isn't nervous in their first pro at-bat."

Roberts joined the Brewers last week but wasn't activated until Tuesday. He said he got exactly what he was looking for from Quezada.

"I was looking fastball and if he had thrown me a slider or some breaking pitch, I was done," he said. "He threw a fastball, I swung, and good things happened."

The VMI product reached on a fielder's choice and scored in the fourth, lined a two-run triple in the fifth and reached on an error and scored again in the seventh.

Catchers don't leg out a lot of triples and Roberts said it was a rarity for him.

"I hit another fastball. It just got out there to the fence, and I just kept running," he said. "I don't think I had more than two or three in college, so this is a new thing for me."

Roberts became the second Virginia Military Institute player to be drafted by the Brewers after Michael Bowman went in the ninth round.

"It's kind of been a whirlwind. It's probably like that for everyone," Roberts said. "It's been a lot different. I didn't have my hopes up to get drafted because once you get your hopes up and something bad happens, it really stinks. But I was happy, I was ecstatic. It's great, I'm really blessed to be able to play baseball."

The catcher's big debut highlighted a season-high in runs for the Brewers, a day after they were no-hit by a trio of Osprey pitchers.

"I've been around for a week, I've just been watching," said Roberts, who had to finalize his contract with the Brewers. "I hadn't seen pitching in a week and half."

None of that seemed to matter when Roberts finally stepped to the dish.

"In BP, I was terrible. I was really worried about how the game was going to go," he said. "I didn't have my hopes up. But after the first at-bat, I was OK; it's baseball. It's a lot different, but something I've been playing since I was 5 years old.

"That's all I kept thinking -- relax and have fun. Honestly, I just wanted to have fun today, and I did."

Roberts had a big junior season at VMI in 2008, hitting .298 with nine homers and ranking second on the Keydets with 44 RBIs. The Prince George, Va., native finished with a .480 slugging percentage and .372 on-base percentage.

Roberts said he was planning to call his parents back on the East Coast after the game.

"I called my parents before, I told them they better stay up," he explained. "They said that everyone at home will be listening to the game online."

Cody Adams (2-1) struck out four and held the Osprey to one hit over three innings of scoreless relief for the win. Trey Watten allowed six runs on eight hits over four innings in his third start.

Roberts said he felt partly responsible for the early runs allowed.

"I hadn't caught any of the guys that pitched tonight, so that was a challenge," he said. "I think it showed in the first inning; we gave up five runs. It was definitely different, but it's fun."

MiLB Honors:

Pioneer League Pitcher of the Week
Efrain Nieves, Helena
1-0, 1.38 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 13.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 10 SO
Nieves has been lights-out since being roughed up in his first start of the season and has now won four consecutive decisions for Helena. He earned no decision Tuesday night against Idaho Falls, despite allowing just one earned run on four hits in six innings while striking out six. The southpaw did get the victory Sunday against Casper, giving up only three hits and one run in a season-high seven innings for the Brewers.

Link while active, text follows:

Ball in the Family
By Mike Hardman, Hanson (MA) Town Crier

The sounds of baseball fill the Delaneys' household on a nightly basis.

Of course, the Boston Red Sox are must viewing. There's nothing unusual about that here in Red Sox Nation, but the voices coming out of their computer is an entirely different story.

If it's early in the evening, the Altoona Curve are booming through the computer speakers, with Jason Dambach calling the games on WHPA in western Pennsylvania.

Naturally, that's followed by Steve Wendt doing the Helena Brewers in Montana on KPAC later in the evening.

Why is a family in Hanson following the Altoona Curve and the Helena Brewers on the Internet? It's because their sons, Jason and John, are playing minor league baseball this summer.

"Every night, we have Jason on," Gary Delaney said during an early evening interview. "We'll click on John later on and we have the Red Sox on TV."

With Jason's Eastern League game with the Curve vs. the Trenton Thunder playing in the background, Gary and Terry Delaney are in the middle of listening to the game as Jason went one for four with a double in an 8-0 loss in New Jersey.

Even losses, though, don't take away from what the Delaneys are experiencing.

"It's wonderful," said their mother. "Not too many families get to experience this."

Gary jokes about having their lives revolved around listening to their sons' game, but out in the Pioneer League in the West, there is one player who really appreciates it.

"We're two hours behind out here," John said. "They probably hear my first two at-bats, but then it gets too late. I know they have the computer speakers up real loud so they can hear it in the bedroom."

On the same night Jason's team lost to Trenton, John's Brewers dropped a tough 4-3 to the Idaho Falls Chukars. John went 0-3 with a walk and almost beat out a ground ball to second base in the eighth inning before being called out on a close play.

Jason has been playing in the Pittsburgh Pirates' organization and will be playing in the Eastern League All-Star Game at first base. He was batting .300 last week in the midst of a 10-game hitting streak, with six homers and 38 RBI.

In June, John was drafted in the 25th round by the Milwaukee Brewers after a standout career at Quinnipiac College.

While the Delaneys have been through this before when Jason was drafted, it didn't make John's selection any less of an accomplishment.

Watching at the house, the father and son celebrated after they saw John was headed for a summer in the Brewers' farm system.

"It was pretty exciting, to say the least," Gary said. "I had gone through it before, but I had forgotten what (it) was like."

After a stint at the Brewers' mini-camp at their spring training site in Arizona, John was sent to Helena to play for the Brewers' team in the Pioneer League. He's starting at third base and batted leadoff last week against Idaho Falls.

Playing in Maryvale, Arizona was a different experience for the former Xaverian High standout.

"We were up at 5:30 (a.m.) and at the ballpark by 7," said John, a 5-10, 185-pounder infielder. "It was hot, but not humid. It was like it would be a 110 here (Hanson).

"It's nice out here (in Montana). The temperatures are in the mid-80s and very comfortable."

With his brother going through the experience before him, John knew what to expect in his first year of professional baseball. It also helped that he spent last summer playing in the Northwoods Summer League in Michigan.

"My college coach (Dan Gooley) told me that it would be a chance to see a different part of the country," John said. "I really enjoyed it."

The experience of playing a 65-game schedule over the summer got him used to the long bus rides all over Michigan and the upper Midwest. He also adapted well to the grind of playing every day, something that already is paying off this year in Montana.

Besides, his brother is only a phone call away.

"He's been a big plus me," John said. "I can talk to him about what I'm going through. You have to stay positive, no matter if you go 0-4."

His brother made what can be a very difficult transition from playing a full schedule in the spring and then going right into professional baseball games every day.

"Jason wore down quickly after the long college season and then it went into the short (professional) season," Gary said. "John is a little more durable and he was used to the long bus rides and long days (from being in Michigan). John learned a lot from that experience."

For John, the adjustment to pro ball has been making sure he gets his rest, eats right and gets in his off the field workouts. In the meantime, he's getting another chance to experience living in another part of the country.

"It's a beautiful out here," he said. "There are two mountains right behind the ballpark.

"The air is really thin out here. The ball flies off the bat."

Going into last Tuesday afternoon, John already had the first two homers of his career, while playing in the infield and batting in the lead off spot for the Brewers.

"It was good to get the homer out of the way early," John said.

"Like all of the hitters going from college baseball to the professional league, it's a matter of switching from the aluminum bats to wooden ones.

"The biggest adjustment is the old wooden bats," John said. "This level is the first time we are using wood and the pitchers have the advantage. The college players aren't use to the wooden bats."

After playing shortstop for the Quinnipiac Bobcats, where he batted .463 for All-New England Conference first team honors, Delaney is playing more of a utility role with the Brewers (although he has started every game at third base after an early season injury to a teammate).

"I was expecting to do that," he said. "I have no problem with it. I knew I was going to have to learn the different positions."

There also was the matter of getting used to the pros. After the loss to Idaho Falls, John's batting average dropped to .195, with two homers and 11 RBI. (Having since hit .359 in his last ten games, he's at .274 for the season.)

His 6-foot-3, 220-pounder older brother went through the same thing after signing with the Pirates in 2005 after a standout career at Boston College High and Boston College. Playing in the rookie league at Williamsport that year, Jason batted .213 in 55 games.

"Playing baseball, whoever you are, you're going to have 0-4 days," John said. "It was a little tough lately, but I had a lot of bad luck. I've been hitting the ball hard."

Still, he's in a position he's dream about since roaming the Hanson fields as a youngster.

"It's not bad to be playing professional baseball in Montana," said John with a laugh.

And it all started with the youth baseball games in his hometown.

"I played with the same guys growing up and we always had a good team, always competitive," he said. "I had a lot of coaches who all knew a lot about baseball."

When it was time for high school, John went to Xaverian Brothers in Westwood where he was named Unsung Hero as a senior on the 2004 Division 1 state championship team.

"(Head coach) Gerry Lambert had played over at Holy Cross and he knew what was going at the college level," John said. "Quinnipiac helped me learn more. It was very good for all four years."

After his junior year at Quinnipiac and the summer in Michigan, pros were taking a close look at John during the Bobcats' winter sessions.

"I had a good year and I tried not to worry about the scouts," he said. "It was a positive year for me when the season ended. I was expecting to get drafted."

Both the Brewers and the Atlanta Braves showed the most interested. Delaney was expecting to go around the 25th round. After he saw he was drafted, the Brewers called right away and told him that they were ready to sign him.

"It was a big relief," John said. "Rene Mons (the Brewers' East Coast scout) called me and then came down and signed me."

And that's when the sounds of baseball in the Delaney household extended all the way to Montana.

***

John's brother Jason is having a nice season for Pittsburgh's AA squad -- stats.

Closer Rob Wooten interview at BrewCrewBall

Did that get ruled safe on fielder's choice? Cool. Is there audio with that, battlekow, or is it just my PC somehow?

Thanks a lot.

Nick Tyson's turn to chat with battlekow at BrewCrewBall

Within the interview, they touch on RHP Wes Etheridge's situation, as it appears that his placement on the Temporary Inactive List was not related to bereavement or family leave. The 2007 12th rounder may have left the team on his own. Hopefully we'll learn more down the road. Don't let that bit of news sidetrack you from enjoying another fine interview with one of the Brewer prospects.

battlekow, you should know that I've heard form folks, including some of the affiliate broadcasters, about how much they enjoy and learn from your interview series. Considering the sheer volume you've done, it's clear that the players are all very familiar with the series, have seen that the interviews are well-done, insightful, and thus, more and more players have been willing to chat with you. Once again, you should be commended and thanked -- again.

Helena OF Erik Miller at BCB
To Erik's dad, I think I've edited "Eric" to the proper "Erik" in every game story we've copied this year, doing you and your son proud...