hsvstarsfan

Unless something has changed, I believe I read earlier this year on Brewerfan.net that Corey Kemp has quit baseball.

The only one I see is Brent Krause. Could Reed Dickert be the other.

The only one I see is Brent Krause. Could Reed Dickert be the other.

No logical reason. Huntsville should be proud to have a professional team of ANY stripe, but of those who love baseball here, they are largely Braves fans first. Perhaps it was an increase in prices (it's $4 just to get in the parking lot), perhaps it was the lack of bonafide prospects as a draw. (Canseco, McGwire, and Weiss were part of the first three teams). I always have and still point to one big reason that Gord Ash picked up on instantly: apathy.

1- First and foremost, Huntsville's "fans" are not knowledgeable by any stretch. 2- For some reason, many won't go to the park because they hate the Brewers. Maybe its why attendance declined after they came. Me. I just want to see baseball and I don't care who they connect with. But for others, it seems to be an issue. I don't get that. 3- Attendance hit its peak during the old days of their Oakland affiliation. Consequently, there's more people who will remember those days and remember them with wistfulness. Attendance in Huntsville started its precipitous decline in 2000, the second year of its affiliation with Milwaukee.

1. The general sentiment among Huntsvillians, from reading the paper and internet postings, is that once the Brewers leave, so will baseball, and they couldn't really give a darn. One point I never made in my earlier, more lengthy posting, is that the culture, the embrace and love for baseball, never existed in this town. In the early years before Milwaukee's connection with the Stars, people came out because the owner was giving away tickets to games like crazy. A good marketing idea the first year in that you want to introduce your product, but it never ended. I remember the Huntsville Times carried once a feature story about a customer, an elderly lady well known then at the ballpark, who would come all the way from Fayetteville, Tennessee only when tickets were given away are businesses. When that ceased, she stopped coming. But to answer your question, I believe the Stars would pick up another affiliate should the Brewers leave and I have my educated guesses on that, but I won't say. 2. Not many. Biloxi or Pensacola perhaps. Maybe Lexington. There's not much interest in baseball in the South, except for the Carolinas and parts of Georgia. Support in Rome is very good.

Tough sell is an understatement in this town which repetitively since the early '70s have voted down property tax increases for the schools, mind you. Huntsvillians erupt like mad dogs when the city, which spent $80 million for a new jail, spends money on anything!

If the current regime is genuinely interested in keeping the team in Huntsville... that means things like Buyout Nights, quality giveaways, major league exhibitions, and cheaper parking and ticket prices. It's more than just that I'm afraid. Gord Ash hit the target on the reason --- apathy. As a former season ticket holder, who has gone to games regularly since 1985 and goes to many as humanly possible, the attitude of the area's residents has been, as summed up by one person on al.com: "Huntsville has a baseball team?" This city, its leaders, and to some degree the media today, simply could care less about the team. There is absolutely no pride emanating from this city over having a professional baseball team connected with major league baseball. This, in spite of all the efforts of GM Buck Rogers, to instill some community involvement and pride, is the disease. From a 1985 curiosity that drew over 300,000 the first season, home attendance declined each of the following four years after that, sinking to below 200,000 in 1988 (which was a horrible season), even with buyouts that continued as practice well into the late '90s. But there are too, other issues that the following poster hit on, that are reasons for disinterest. And finally, the city needs to step up and fix issues such as the marquee on the Parkway, the scoreboard (which has never worked correctly), and dedication of a permanent year round restaurant on the grounds. There are other things Huntsvillians could spend their money on, but this town deserves a baseball team. Especially for those of us transplanted from major league cities who adore the game of baseball...." This ballpark is owned by the city, which as I addressed, shares some of the apathy, especially during former mayor Spencer's administration. I saw city council members at the ballpark in the early years. I don't see them anymore and haven't for a very, very long time. The marquee is their responsibility. The marquee sign is elevated on a service road on the side of Memorial Parkway, which is the main North-South artery running through Huntsville. If it doesn't work, you lose advertising. No one knows from this wasted space if there is a game, let alone who is playing. The scoreboard is a very important source of not just information for the fan, but connection to the fan and the players. If they don't care about the players, it's because they don't know who they are. And if they want to know who they are, they have to shell out $3 for a program. Those who come to the ballpark, including me, are not going to shell out $3 extra after paying $4 for parking, $8 to get in, $3.50 for a drink, $3 or $4 more for something to eat, and so one. It adds up! Finally, the park, which has been dressed up to look more attractive, is old. It was built before HOK designed Camden Yards, which started a whole new trend in ballpark construction right down to minor league parks across the US. I've seen more modern parks that serve Class A teams (Rome). With deep foul from one end to the other, the seating becomes detached from the players and the game itself. There is no berm or cheap outfield bleacher seating, no way, as in Memphis, that you can walk around the entire stadium and see the game, no concession area in view of the field, such as there is in Montgomery, no restaurant, such as can be found in the M'Braves and Smokies' parks. Joe Davis Stadium, the oldest park in the Southern League, is outdated. It is time for a new stadium and one that's done right. With the infusion of BRAC workers coming mostly from Virginia, they will come. I've made my complaints known a number of times on my web site until I tired of it. It does no good. Someone in this city with the vision of former mayor Joe Davis needs to step up to the plate and realize this before it's too late.

I get the reference. Would you believe the Van Dyke-bearded one is still alive and living on the Cayman Islands? He's upwards of 92 now.

This is the first time in club history that the Stars have been rained out at home for three consecutive dates. They were rained out three consecutive days back in 1986, their second season, but the series (May 27, 28, 29) was at Columbus. Chance of rain Monday is 50% for a double-header that is scheduled to start at 5 pm.

It's official. It's been called off (it's raining now). We'll play two Sunday. Maybe Monday, too.

This was the Stars' first opening day loss since 1995 when Dana Eveland lost to Carolina, 1-0. Of course, I meant 2005. Don't know what I was thinking. Probably won't be the first mistake I make this year.

I was told by Brian Massey, Dir. of Media Relations, at 1 pm today that there is "still a puzzle piece to be filled" before they can send out a roster, but hopefully, I can get one before 4 pm today. More than likely, it will be later than that, though.

(TB - H + BB + SB - CS) / AB Not that I'm up on every baseball stat, but I never heard of it. I like it thought. It appears that it's trying to measure the players ability to get into scoring position. I'm not sure why it adds walks though. Its really just a quick number to address all the skills a player has not covered by BA. So TB-H gives you power, BB gives you on base ability and SB-CS givers you speed/baserunning. My way of explaining it, when someone asks, is it tells you what kind of .260 hitter that .260 hitter is. A .260 hitter who gets on base with singles or one that gets a good share of walks and steals bases as well. That turns a .260 avg. hitter into, say, someone with a .340+ secondary average.

With Matt LaPorta in Florida seeing after an ill grandfather and Chris Errecart out of the lineup, Don Money's benchwarmers had their chance to show what they could do....... All they did was help win this thrilling ballgame. Carlos Corporan, 0-for-3 in the game, stepped up in the 8th with runners on the corners, and after a couple of throws to first, pulled a double straight down the left field line to score Angel Salome with the go-ahead run as the Stars came back from a 5-1 deficit, to beat the Diamond Jaxx, 7-6, before a crowd of over 6,300 -- the largest of the year -- on Bat Day....... Guilder Rodriguez, 0-for-13 since May 25, broke out with three straight hits -- a hard ground ball single through the right side in the 3rd, a bunt single in the 5th, and a double to left in the 7th, scoring a run that put them ahead 6-5 at the time. Donovan Hand, who had given up 3 home runs in 27 innings coming into this game, served up three bombs in 6 innings that put the Stars behind the eight ball, 5-1, after four innings........ Luis Valbuena's 3-run HR just cleared the first fence and Freddy Parejo's glove in right field to put the Stars in front, 3-1...... The next pitch by Hand was a high, arcing shot by Mike Wilson to left off the ballpark's iconic star-shaped ad....... Then in the 4th, Jon Nelson made it 5-1 with one almost to dead-center, squeezing through the open space to the left of the scoreboard. Hand had given up 9 hits in 4 innings, so you knew he wasn't long for this game, but on the other hand, if you were a knowledgeable fan, you knew he was going to stay for at least six....... After two extra inning games, Don went to his pen for 6 innings on Thursday and 8 innings on Friday, and Juan Sandoval went three on Thursday........ Hand retired the side (for the first time in the game) in the 5th, and worked his way out of trouble with two on and two out in the 6th. Nevertheless, Don called on Sandoval to close out this one-run ballgame........ Now Sandoval is on a roll. After a very inconsistent May (5 saves and a 7.59 ERA), Juan had given up just one run -- earned -- in 12 innings this month. Other than Joe Bateman (1 save, 1.15 ERA in June), who threw 4 innings of relief, Thursday, he was only one of two pitchers left who has been consistently reliable to go to on this occasion........ Jason Shiell, just back from Nashville, was available, but in picking from a bullpen that has been very inconsistent this year, you go with Sandoval. Sandoval proceeds to throw five straight balls -- the last being a wild pitch that sent Luis Valbuena to second, but after fouling off three straight pitches, Sandoval caught the dangerous Mike Wilson (2, 11, .308 vs. Stars pitching) looking at a slider -- a pitch that was really off and on for him -- for the first out....... It's not over till it's over. Sandoval, behind 2-and-0 on Johan Limonta, nearly throws away ball four. (Brent Johnson, a position player who picked up the save for the Diamond Jaxx on Friday, ran for Limonta)....... Fans now have to sweat through Adam Moore, who has hit 4 HRs, driven in 14, and hit .364 vs. the Stars. Sandoval throws five pitches before he hits a harmless ground ball to G.Rod at first who trots in a few steps and steps on first for the second out, but now the runners have moved up....... The tying run is on third and the go-ahead run -- Johnson -- is on second....... The hitter is designated hitter Jon Nelson, who returned from the disabled list on June 11 after sitting out with a torn miniscus....... A .263 hitter in the series, Sandoval throws three straight strikes. Nelson hits nothing but air, ending the game. The gray concrete walls that have divided the upper and lower levels of the stands since Day One in 1985 have been painted a deep blue within the week by the booster club, I'm told. The players rave about it, saying they can pick up the ball a lot better with the walls in the background........ From what I know, the next step will be some murals, possibly starting in October. The forecast for Sunday's 5 pm game looks great. Clear skies, 86°, puffy white clouds...... Lefty Ryan Ketchner (6-2), who was 1-11 with Class AAA-Portland last year, but nonetheless silence the Stars on 4 hits over 7 1/3 innings in Tuesday's one-game playoff for the first-half title, will get the call for West Tennessee. Mike Jones (0-2, 7.90) will counter for the Stars. Could be interesting. After going 0-for-4, Tuesday, Angel Salome is 9-for-19 in the last four games of this series. He's driven in 22 runs in June and at least one in 12 of this month's 18 games........ The Stars have had 9 games with 10 or more hits this month after having 13 in April and a record 21 in May. They are hitting .309 in their last 4 games after slumping at the plate to a tune of .200 in 8 games from June 8-17........ Freddy Parejo, who had a record .421 June, then hit just .230 in May, is hitting .238 this month........ Cole Gillespie has 9 HRs, but has not hit one since May 26 and has driven in just 6 runs in his last 16 games. He has scored only 4 times this month, compared to 17 in April and 20 in May. He's also hitting just .149 vs. the Diamond Jaxx, but he hit a big 2-run triple in the 6th inning contributing to the Stars' 7-6 victory....... Mat Gamel is just a .230 hitter vs. West Tennessee. The hottest hitter this month has actually been Alcides Escobar. He's hit .345 with 4 doubles, 2 triples, and 9 RBIs. He's riding an 8-game hitting streak at the moment and has hit safely in 17 of 19 games. Alcides picked up his 100th hit of the season on Thursday. That makes him the second player behind Mat Gamel to get his milestone hit ahead of D.T. Cromer's former record pace of 1997. ...... Chris Errecart, who did not play in Saturday's game, is 1-for-16 in this series and .174 vs. Diamond Jaxx pitching....... Gamel and Angel Salome remain 1-2 on top of the league's leaderboard in hitting with .366 and .357 averages respectively. The Stars are hitting .296 as a team, tops in the league......... Birmingham pitcher Carlos Torres won his 8th game, Saturday, blanking Jacksonville 2-0 over 8 innings, tying him with David Welch for the league lead in wins.

In a chain reaction move, the Brevard County Manatees have promoted pitcher Donovan Hand to Huntsville. Jason Shiell is back in Nashville and Tim Dillard has been promoted to Milwaukee. This information I just received from Brian Massey of the Stars' Media and Public Relations.

I'd like to know myself, but the speed display at our antiquated ballpark no longer works.

Huntsville: LHP Brae Wright at home vs. Jacksonville (Dodgers), 1:50 PM pre-game; 2:05 gametime It's raining here in Huntsville. Game time has been pushed for the moment to 2:35.

CAN ANYONE STOP JASON PERRY? The Stars closed the books on two streaks for Mississippi, Monday night....... A franchise record nine losses in a row, and 12 straight to the Stars........ That ties the club record for longest winning streak against any Southern League opponent....... The Stars beat Chattanooga 12 straight times in 1985 stretching into 1986....... Former voice of the Stars Steve Kornya pointed out to me that the Stars also lost 12 straight to Orlando over the 1997 and 1998 seasons, and sure enough, the Stars beat Orlando, 11-3 on August 15, 1997, then won 11 straight against them the next season....... Somehow I overlooked that 1997 game. Anyhow, Braves starter Todd Redmond worked quickly tonight, and more effectively than his last start in the 1st game of a double-header on April 5 in the 1st game of a double-header when he gave up 4 hits and walked 2 in 4 innings...... Using his fastball to set up his curve and slider, he pitched a strong 8 innings, striking out 5 and walking none and shut the door on the Stars in the first three innings........ Previously, the Stars had outscored the Braves, 24-4, in the first three innings of this year's meetings. In the 4th, Alcides Escobar singled to center, but was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a double........ Matt LaPorta, named the Southern League Player-of-the-Week, sent a home run into the grassy berm area to give the Stars a 1-0 lead, not that the extra run from Escobar would have made a difference........ LaPorta has homered now in three straight games. Brendan Katin did this last year against the Diamond Jaxx at Pringles Park, August 14-16. The record is five games by Mark McGwire........ Cole Gillespie chopped a single to the left side and had thoughts about stretching it, but thought the better of it........Chris Errecart, who picked up a single on a bad call in his first trip to the plate in the 2nd inning, hit a triple off the base of the wall in right field to drive in Gillespie, giving the Stars a 2-0 lead....... Errecart, who came in with a .208 average, and had never had a multi-hit game so far for the Stars, went 4-for-4, raising his mark to .269. The Braves, who were hitting starter David Welch pretty hard, despite the scoreless result in the earlier innings, finally had something to show in the 4th, then they came alive in the 5th........ Welch started out by hitting Jason Perry with his first pitch inside. Perry had, to this point, had not yet been retired in his first five trips against the Stars...... Perry scored one a one-out double to right by big (6'7") Greg Creek on a 1-1 pitch, but Welch got out of the inning on a grounder by Diory Hernandez that sent Creek to third, then striking out Mark Jurich, who despite a 2nd inning double, was hitting .167 against Huntsville pitching. In the 5th, Todd Redmond picked up his 2nd hit of the game with a one out line drive double to the gap in left-center that went all the way to the wall. The Braves had only one hit by their pitchers before Redmond delivered tonight....... Matt Young's single through the middle past Alcides Escobar moved him to 3rd......... With runners on the corners now and two out, Welch was ahead on Jason Perry 0-and-2. He fouled off a 1-and-2 pitch deep down the right field line that nearly went yard before he connected on a 3-and-2 pitch for a 3-run HR toward the Crystal Springs restaurant to put the Braves ahead, 4-2. Perry has driven in 6 of the 7 runs Mississippi has scored in this series. For Welch, this was the 4th HR he has given up this season, 2nd-most in the league..... After Kala Ka'aihue walked on a 3-2 pitch, E.J. Shanks started throwing in the pen, then came on in the 6th. In the 6th, Jurich sent a leadoff double down the line past a diving Mat Gamel. Former Huntsville catcher J.C. Boscan sacrificed him to 3rd. With the infield in, and the Stars trailing by a pair, Shanks struck out Redmond, but Matt Young went the other way on a 3-1 pitch to poke a hit to drive in Jurich to give the Braves a 5-2 lead....... Patrick Ryan came on for the Stars in the next inning and quieted the Braves on one hit. Ryan has thrown eight scoreless innings for the Stars and given up just that one hit, coming to Kala Ka'aihue with one out in the 7th. Brae Wright (1-1, 1.93) will try to get the Stars a win, Tuesday night facing lefty Carlos Sencion, who started the season striking out 15 in 12 innings in three starts at Class A-Myrtle Beach (Carolina)........ Don Money could pass Casey Parsons as the 2nd winningest manager in Stars history. Both have 213 victories under their belt...... Parsons managed the Stars from 1991-1993, taking the team to the Western Division Playoffs in 1992, losing to Chattanooga in four games. In the Florida State League, Donovan Hand and Omar Aguilar combined to shutout Vero Beach, 2-0, Monday night. 3rd baseman Taylor Green drove in both runs for Brevard County....... The Brevard County Manatees are in 2nd place, a game behind Palm Beach...... In Albuquerque, the Isotopes pounded Nashville again, 12-6. The Stars, through 18 games, are hitting .276. This is their best performance this early in the season in 10 years and it's only the 5th time in their 24-year history that they've hit .270 or better this early in the season........ Alcides Escobar has hit safely in 8 of his last 9 games, raising his average from .118 to .211....... Mat Gamel is working on a 7-game hitting streak (10-for-30, 5 XBHs, 5 RBIs)......... Cole Gillespie is slowly getting his bat working. He's 8-for-19 in his last 7 games...... Matt LaPorta is hitting .409 in his last 6 games with 3 HRs, as I mentioned, and 7 RBIs....... Michael Brantley has reached base in every game he's played, except one -- in which he came in, April 18, as a pinch-hitter. he's hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games (that one game being his pinch-hit appearance) and is 4th among Southern League batting leaders with a .350 average

The Stars have dominated the Mississippi Braves lately like no other team in their history -- a record 12 straight wins going back to last year, starting with a 5-1 victory on April 9, the last game of the opening series of 2007....... The Stars have now outscored the Braves 40-16 this season, socking Mississippi pitchers for a .299 average....... I had to go back to the early years of Stars baseball to find a run like this....... 12 straight wins over the Chattanooga Lookouts from August 7, 1985 to May 14, 1986...... Side-by-side, here are the two streaks. (www.starsboxscore.com) Oddly, they came almost at the same point in their respective seasons. The Mississippi Braves have now lost 9 straight and are off to their worst start (2-15) since moving from Greenville to Trustmark Park. They have he worst batting average in the league (.214) and scored the fewest runs -- 45. (By comparison, the Stars have scored a league-leading 93) -- and, of course as if things aren't bad enough, the Braves lost Van Pope and Carl Loadenthal, two of their best players from last year....... Pope, their 3rd baseman who was 3rd on the team in doubles last year, had been on the DL with a strained hamstring until he was activated Saturday night. On his 2nd at-bat in the 4th inning, he pulled up on a grounder back to Steve Hammond, clutching the back of his thigh. Loadenthal, who hit .300 last year and was an All-Star, also after two at-bats, took himself out after striking out, clutching his mid-section. I suspect it was an abdominal strain........ Both players were struggling, Pope hitting .241 and Loadenthal, their speedy centerfielder, just .210. The Stars, who scored four times in the 2nd inning Saturday night, did the same in 1st inning Sunday, sending 7 men to the plate...... Michael Brantley walked on a 3-2 pitch, his team-leading 12th of the season. Alcides Escobar, who twice hit into a double play Saturday for the 3rd time in 7 games, roped a line drive double to left, moving Brantley to third. It was Escobar's first double this year in 62 at-bats. Alcides had as many triples and home runs last year (5) as doubles, and curiously, seems to be repeating that trend. He has 2 triples and 2 HRs this year...... With two out, Cole Gillespie, who has finally raised his batting average above the Mendoza line by going 7-for-15 in his last 6 games, walked to load the bases. That set up Michael Bell's grand salami into the Braves' bullpen in left on a 2-2 fast ball...... It was Bell's 1st home run of the year, and the 2nd grand slam hit by the Stars, both coming against the Braves. From that point, the M'Braves never caught up, although they had half of their six hits off starter Derek Miller in the bottom of the 1st ........ After back-to-back one out walks to Javier Guzman and Diory Hernandez, Jason Perry, added to the Braves roster today, looped a fly ball to right-center that dropped in in front of Freddy Parejo, scoring Guzman, and sending Hernandez to third........Perry, now in his 7th year in the minors, spent last year in the Oakland A's and Detroit Tigers organization, spending most of his time at Class AAA-Sacramento (PCL), where he hit .268. The Stars, for the first time this year, hit three home runs in a game....... They added two more runs in the 3rd to make it 6-1....... Mat Gamel, with a new, more closed stance that seems to be paying off, led off the 3rd with a triple....... Matt LaPorta, playing in left field for the second straight day, the first time we've seen him out there this year, followed with a home run that went not just over the picnic area in left, but into the parking lot where it hit a parked car...... In the 9th, Cole Gillepie made it 10-3 with a 2-run home run that left the yard in left-center. David Welch (2-0, 3.24) will try to give the Stars their unprecedented 13th straight victory against a single opponent on Monday night. That game will start at 7:05. Right-hander Todd Redmond, who lasted four innings the last time he faced the Stars, will go to the hill for hapless Mississippi. The Carolina Mudcats (13-4) remain two games in front in the Northern Division after they beat the Smokies, 4-1. The Smokies have lost four in a row...... Michael Brantley, who has hit safely in 10 of his last 11 games, is 4th among batting leaders with a .357 average and 2nd in hits (20)...... The Stars, themselves, lead the Southern League in batting with a .276 average. Haven't seen that in April very often. In fact, it's the best since 1986, when they finished April with a .291 mark, although they had a .274 April in 1998........ Matt LaPorta is 2nd in the league in RBIs. He's driven in 10 of his 14 runs against Mississippi...... On the mound, the Stars' pitching staff has given up 17 home runs, tying them with Montgomery for the most gopher balls. Still, with a 3.65 ERA, they are doing a fine job. It's Carolina's formidable pitching rotation and 2.52 team ERA that's making them the team to beat this first half....... The Stars made Dan Smith the league's first 4-game loser this year...... Despite the success of his grand-slam today, Mike Bell is 2-for-14 in his last four games....... Ryan Crew is 0-for-7 after his 4-for-4 game (his first 4-hit game as a Star), April 9...... Cole Gillespie got his 2nd start this year in right field today, and Michael Brantley was moved to 1st base, giving Freddy Parejo, the Stars' hottest hitter, some playing time....... Chris Errecart, lugging a .208 average, got the day off - his first since April 12...... Parejo is on pace to become the hottest April hitter in Stars' history, outpacing Marcos Armas, the Stars' 1992 All-Star outfielder, who hit .415 in April, en route to a .283 season. Even after a 1-for-5 day, Parejo is hitting .472. He would have to have qt least 50 ABs to qualify and he has 36 so far....... Who would have thought it would come from a 5th outfielder who hit .219 at Brevard County last year? Here are the top 10 April hitters in Stars' history: (www.starsboxscore.com) Mat Gamel is 9-for-26 (.346) in his last six games, raising his average to .292. Even better news -- he hasn't made an error at 3rd base in his last 8 games and has 4 so far. Last year, he committed 11 in April, on his way to a ridiculous total of 53 at Brevard County last year. With the victory, Don Money has tied Casey Parsons as the 2nd winningest manager in Stars history. Both now have 213 victories under their belt...... Parsons managed the Stars from 1991-1993, taking the team to the Western Division Playoffs in 1992, losing to Chattanooga in four games. Adam Heether hit his 1st home run of the year for Nashville in the Sounds' 11-8 loss in Albuquerque, home of former voice of the Stars, Robert Portnoy. Brendan Katin (.262) went 2-for-5 and drove in 3 runs in that game. Heether is off to a slow start, hitting .213. With the success of "3Rs for the Stars" GM Buck Rogers wants to take this a step further in Huntsville next year...... Taking an idea he implemented at Brevard County, Rogers wants to incorporate baseball with the students' education at every grade level but high school (and he's not averse to that idea)....... As he did at Brevard, Rogers wants to solicit the ideas and suggestions of teachers and school board members for a teachers' guide, similar to one used successfully at Brevard........ Students would learn, of course, how math is applied to baseball, but also geometry, geography, science, social studies, and language arts, as well....... For instance one of the tasks Buck described to me is how the kids would have to identify the places the Stars are from on an outlined map...... It would presumably be called Education Day at Joe Davis Stadium. Buck told me he plans to present his ideas as early as September. REAL Sports with Bryant Gumbel on HBO has a feature on Mike Coolbaugh this week. Check your listings...... Some of the scenes show Coolbaugh in a Stars uniform during the 1997 season.

The Laws of Baseball The laws of baseball say that if you have an early ballgame the next day, expect extra baseball on the night before........ It nearly looked as if we'd go extra innings after the Stars got hit after hit after hit in the 7th, in which both teams scored nine runs, but it was one minute shy of a three-hour ballgame on another chilly night......... It wasn't the freeze-out fans got Monday night when it was 45° at first pitch, but it brought out only 100 more to the ballpark tonight........ Still, it fans endured a game-time temperature of 59°, and by the time it was over, it was 47°........ The wind was blowing again from the north, and by the time the sun went down, the blanket was needed....... It would have been nice to have some hot cocoa, but here's some good news and bad news for those who are thinking about the cocoa the next time at The Joe -- the cups for the hot cocoa are bigger, and it's only $2, which I consider to be a bargain....... The bad news is, it wasn't hot........ It wasn't even warm cocoa....... More like luke warm, which in my book, is too warm to call it cold........ So here's a little advice your way --- don't buy the hot cocoa. Save your money. Now here's a puzzler for you.......... How many runs does a team score in an inning after they get two consecutive doubles and a walk to load the bases?........ The answer: NONE!........ The Lookouts were on the short end of this rarity, tonight....... It happened in the top of the 8th after Eric Eymann, who took over at shortstop in the 7th when Ryan Lutz entered the game, doubled to straightaway center off the Stars' new pitcher, Rusty Tucker. Then on a 1-0 pitch, Cody Strait roped a pitch to right so hard that when it caromed off the wall, right fielder Matt LaPorta was able to catch it on the bounce, then swiftly fire it into the infield. With respect for his arm, Eymann held third....... With runners on 2nd and 3rd and none out, Tucker worked a gem of an inning....... He struck out Michael Griffin on five pitches --- all of them strikes after Griffin fouled a pair off -- then Tonys Gutierrez, who has the highest on-base pct. in the league, lined a low laser straight to Alcides Escobar, who didn't have to move a foot in front of the inside edge of the infield....... Tucker walked Luis Bolivar, who hit in the cleanup spot tonight. (Bolivar hit in every spot in the lineup last year but the #4 spot)....... Finally, Tucker got out of what looked like to be an impossible jam when Angel Salome held on to a foul tip for strike three to end the inning. It was a swiftly-paced contest for the first five innings. Daryl Thompson, the recently-named Southern League Pitcher-of-the-Week, and Derek Miller were both pretty efficient. Thompson seemed to have a little trouble staying in the strike zone, but finished his first four innings with a strikeout. Miller, the hard-luck pitcher here, threw 60 pitches in his first four innings, 40 for strikes, then had a little trouble in the 5th, giving up a leadoff triple down the right field line to Juan Castro, the #8 hitter..... Miller walked the pitcher Thompson, getting his first professional at-bats tonight, on seven pitches, then got out of trouble by fielding a comebacker by Strait. Miller trapped Castro with a throw to Mat Gamel, who threw to Angel Salome who made the tag. The rundown was a little too long to be good fundamental baseball, and it allowed Thompson to take third and Strait to reach second. Griffin was walked intentionally to fill the bases and again, Miller got a break when Gutierrez hit a 1-1 pitch straight to LaPorta, who was playing pretty shallow. LaPorta didn't have to move much for the liner and made a perfect throw to Salome, who made a long turn from the first base side of the plate to tag Thompson for the completion of the double play. Miller left the game with a 1-0 lead, thanks to a long home run to right center by Gamel, his first of many more we hope for the Stars....... Ben Stanczyk's outing was disastrous. He gave up back-to-back home runs to the 2nd and 3rd hitters he faced....... Sean Henry's home run, his first, arced high over everything to the left of the light standard in left center, and Craig Tatum's shot -- a no-doubter -- banged high off the left side of the scoreboard, giving the Lookouts a 2-1 lead...... Then in the 7th, the roof caved in on Stanczyk, who has yet to have an outing without allowing a run....... a single, a double, another single, a play at the plate to retire Griffin coming home, then a triple, a double, and a single...... A tailor-made double play gracefully ended the 5-run inning...... The Stars valiantly made a comeback in the bottom of the 7th, getting all four of their runs after Chris Errecart's comebacker and Matt LaPorta's checked-swing strikeout made us all believe this was going to be another quick inning....... Six straight singles followed, and the Stars wound up batting around in the order, instead of going down 1-2-3. Tomorrow is morning baseball, with busloads of schoolkids coming to fill the park on what looks to be a beautiful day...... David Welch (2-0, 1.64) will face Ramon Ramirez (0-1, 4.50)........ After Wednesday's day game at the Joe with Chattanooga, you can "Meet the Stars" at O'Charley's on Balmoral Drive from 6-8 pm. Some of the front office people will be there, too, although you may prefer to get your autographs from the players...... Wednesday is also a Bookmark Giveaway coinciding with "Three 'Rs for the Stars". REAL Sports with Bryant Gumbel on HBO has a feature on Mike Coolbaugh this week. Check your listings...... Some of the scenes show Coolbaugh in a Stars uniform during the 1997 season. Brewerfan.net reports that the Arizona Diamondbacks have released Dave Krynzel....... Krynzel was hitting .232 in 69 at-bats for Class AAA-Tucson (PCL) with 3 HRs and 9 RBIs....... He was the most exciting centerfielder I have ever seen play in Huntsville, but he just didn't hit enough (.276 at Indy was his best after he left Huntsville) and struck out too many times for a leadoff hitter. He had seasons of 122 and 100 Ks for High Desert, 119 Ks in a full season for the Stars in 2003, and 138 strikeouts with Nashville in 2005, followed by 107 the next season. He never walked more than 64 times a season, and that was his first season at High Desert........ Here's hoping he'll catch on somewhere else. He's still only 25.

DEUCES WILD Another chilly day at The Big Chip -- even cooler than last night, 41° with the sun out, no less........ Even a bit of sleet fell 20-30 minutes before the game got underway..... So it's no surprise only 744 showed up for this game. Things aren't going to get any better for West Tenn when they travel to Mobile tomorrow, either. This cold front is deep and has dug all the way down to the gulf. Stars fans, pack your coats and gloves tomorrow night. The game-time temperature will be somewhere in the mid-40s. It doesn't warm up much for Tuesday, either, with a daytime high of 64°........ Sam Narron, Huntsville's starter, was 1-2 with a 6.45 ERA in 4 appearances vs. the Diamond Jaxx last year, but he threw 8 shutout innings, giving up just 4 hits for his 1st win, May 18 at the Joe, for a 4-0 victory...... Nothing like that this time. Narron was gone after four innings. Michael Brantley started the game off again with a hit -- a one-hopper to center, but that was erased when Alcides Escobar hit into a double play, his 2nd in 3 games. Despite snapping an 0-for-15 slump today, he hit into another DP in the 8th when the game was far out of reach ........ The other DP came in the 3rd inning when Freddy Parejo, who had singled with one out, slid into 2nd base not knowing that Brantley had popped out in foul ground. Parejo, was naturatlly, doubled up. What was he thinking??? The Diamond Jaxx didn't waste their opportunities, though. They scored all but two of their runs on two-out opportunities and it began in the bottom half of the 1st....... Michael Saunders bunted his way on base, moved to second on a ground ball, and stole third on an 0-1 pitch to Adam Moore......... Moore, a .261 hitter, hammered a ball to the alley in center over Freddy Parejo to drive in their first run, then Marshall Hubbard yanked a 2-2 pitch down the first base line past Brantley and slid into second for a double giving the Diamond Jaxx a 2-0 lead..... Hubbard has lit up Stars pitching in this series, going 6-for-14 with 7 RBIs....... Narron was scored upon in the 1st inning last year in 7 of the 14 games he started on the road and had a 1st inning ERA of 8.36. Freddy Parejo, who has forced Brantley out of his position with his hot start, singled up the middle on a 2-0 pitch in the top of the 3rd to stretch his hitting streak to 6 games, and make him 9-for-18 on the season...... Alcides Escobar led off the 4th with a single, snapping an 0-for-17 stretch at the plate, but Mat Gamel and Matt LaPorta, a combined 0-for-16 at the plate, couldn't move him over. Escobar wound up with two hits, raising his average to .158........ LaPorta, still struggling, was 1-for-15 in the series, dropping his average to .194. The Diamond Jaxx rallied again in the bottom of the 3rd, stretching their lead to 4-0........ Mark Kiger walked on four pitches, but was caught stealing. So with two out, WT started over again....... Adam Moore reached with an infield single, then Hubbard, after fouling off a 2-2 pitch, with an inside-outside swing pulled the ball into the left field corner for his second double, sending Moore to 3rd....... Prentice Redman followed with another double into the left field corner, scoring both Moore and Hubbard....... The Stars finally got on the scoreboard in the 5th inning on a long sacrifice fly by Gamel, but Adam Prettyman yanked a 2-run HR high over the right field fence off Robert Hinton in the 6th to make it 6-1, and that was pretty much all she wrote for that ballgame.. So, the Stars have lost 4 of their last 5, and the lead in the Northern Division (Carolina beat Montgomery and the Smokies beat Jacksonville). In fact, the Stars are occupying 3rd place at the moment. But there's some positive spin........ The Stars, after 10 games, are off to their best start since 1999. In fact, the Stars, historically, in the past 10 seasons have never done well. After an 8-2 start in 1997, they've done no better than start 6-4 -- this year and 1999....... After ten games, they're hitting .259, their best mark, also since 1999 when they hit .267. That's a 40-point improvement over last year....... However, the bullpen ERA is 4.44, a sorry turnaround after a record 1.27 ERA in their first ten games of 2007. The Stars are home during the week....... Steve Hammond (1-1) will face Sam Lecure for Chattanooga tomorrow night. Lecure was.7-5 with a 4.17 ERA last year for the Lookouts in 21 starts..... Against the Stars, he lost 3 of his 4 starts (a May 5 game was a no-decision), but had a decent ERA of 3.80...... Lou Palmisano beat him with a 1st inning 2-run HR on June 28, Adam Heether drove in 4 runs to help beat Lecure, 8-2, July 11, and Lindsay Gulin picked up his 10th victory against him, July 30. Travis Chick came in from the bullpen to relieve Ryan Ketchner in the 6th....... Interesting story I'll interject here...... Ketchner is deaf -- totally. He wears hearing aids in both ears and reads lips well....... Major league baseball has had a few deaf ballplayers, most notably Curtis Pride, who was deaf at birth from rubella (German measles). He has his own web site: http://www.togetherwithpride.org....... William "Dummy" Hoy (1862-1961) was the first. He had a major league career that stretched from 1888-1902, and is the reason umpires give hand signals to signify balls, strikes, safe and out calls. He is one of only 29 players to have played in four major leagues. He had quite a career. Anyway, the Stars, in various permutations, have seen Chick before -- going back to April 20, 2005 when he was pitching for Mobile...... Once the #2 prospect in the Padres' organization, he's pitched with a suitcase in the other hand, having been through the Reds and now the Mariners organization..... This was his 13th appearance against the Stars. He's 5-4 with a 5.82 ERA over 65 innings facing Huntsville hitters. Michael Brantley finished the series 6-for-20, but scored just twice and left 10 runners on base....... Cole Gillespie went 2-for-16 in the series. One of those hits, though, was his first home run of the season in the Stars 10-1 victory, Friday. After Wednesday's day game at the Joe with Chattanooga, you can "Meet the Stars" at O'Charley's on Balmoral Drive from 6-8 pm. Some of the front office people will be there, too, although you may prefer to get your autographs from the players...... Wednesday is a Bookmark Giveaway coinciding with "Three 'Rs for the Stars". That means schoolkids, hopefully in droves, coming to the ballpark.

Ben Van Iderstine has signed with the Sioux Falls Canaries of the American Association.

Thanks for the link to the live game! Are any of the other games going to be shown there? Only Game 2 in Montgomery. Joe Davis Stadium does not have the necessities for further link-ups.

I now work at WAFF-TV in Huntsville and just want to say that Game One between Huntsville and Montgomery can be seen courtesy of our sister station, WFSA in Montgomery, via streaming video at www.waff.com Just click on SPORTS and click on the link.