Jim Goulart

July 24 - Nashville Two-Part Chat with manager Don Money Strong words from Don Money regarding Mat Gamel -- little progress making defensive adjustments in two years -- about as candid as you're going to hear, in some detail as well; Lorenzo Cain is discussed in Part Two, along with Josh Butler (before Saturday's fine effort)... There's a Mat Gamel thread here should you wish to discuss, we imagine those quotes will prompt some to comment.

Final, Game Two: Brevard County 8, @Fort Myers (Twins) 3, seven innings as scheduled Brevard County Sweeps Doubleheader By Alex Margulies, Fort Myers MiracleFORT MYERS, FL (July 24th, 2010) - The Fort Myers Miracle dropped both games of a doubleheader on Saturday to Brevard County, falling 2-1 in game one, and 8-3 in the nightcap. With a loss from the Mets earlier today, Fort Myers (14-14) had an opportunity to be tied atop of the FSL South Division with St. Lucie if they took both games of the doubleheader. Instead they were swept by the Manatees to remain two games back. Brevard County outfielders Erik Komatsu and Brock Kjeldgaard provided most of the offense for the Manatees. Komatsu had a solo home run in game one, and two RBI's in game two. Kjeldgaard hit two home runs against Miracle reliever Shooter Hunt in game two, with a solo shot in the sixth and a three-run home run in the seventh. For the Miracle, Estarlin De Los Santos finished the doubleheader 3-for-6 with two doubles, a triple and two RBI's. Angel Morales was 4-for-6 with an RBI triple. In the nightcap, the Manatees scored two first inning runs against Miracle starter Santos Arias (2-3), and never looked back. Arias gave up two more runs in the fifth, as he took the loss. He lasted five innings, giving up the four runs on five hits. He walked three and struck out one. Manatees starter Cody Scarpetta (5-8) was excellent, striking out nine batters in five innings for the win. The righty allowed his only run of the night in the third inning, on an RBI infield hit by Brian Dozier. He gave up just three hits, but walked five. In game one, the Miracle outhit the Manatees 7-4, but left seven men on the bases, including six in scoring position. Drew Thompson squandered the most opportunities, leaving five men in scoring position, including Chris Herrmann who was left at third with two out in the bottom of the seventh inning. Corey Frerichs struck out Thompson to end the game, earning his third save of the year. Miracle starter Matt Williams (2-1) took the loss, giving up both runs to Brevard County in five innings of work. He gave up a two-out solo home run to Komatsu in the first, and a two-out double to Sean Halton in the third. He allowed just one more hit on the night, walked three, and struck out two. Kyle Heckathorn (1-0), who made his debut in the FSL as the starter for the Manatees, picked up the win. He lasted six innings, giving up seven hits, but allowed just one earned run. The Miracle will try and split the four-game series on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is set for 1:05 PM (12:05 Central). Brevard County Game Two Box Score Cody Scarpetta now with 107 K's in 91.1 innings, 52 walks as well -- hard to like the five free passes here, but tough to dislike the rest of his gaudy line; the teams combined to go 7-for-7 in stolen base attempts, Shawn Zarraga behind the plate for the 'Tees, Erik Komatsu and his fantastic .400 OBP now 20-for-26 in swipes -- Komo is hitting .471 (16-for-34) in his last nine games; Pete Fatse doubled and walked three times after an 0-for-4 doubleheader opener; Brock Kjeldgaard has 12 RBI in his last ten games -- that has included his four RBI here and his monster seven-RBI game on the 16th -- each contest featured two home runs; Ryan's 25-year-old brother Steve Braun is batting .113 (8-for-71, .377 OPS) -- his very limited playing time isn't taking that many at-bats from the Matt Cline's and such, I suppose... Brevard County Game Two Game Log Tight game through four, 2-1 Brevard; Scarpetta induced an inning-ending pop-up with the bases loaded to end the Fort Myers one-run 3rd, Buddy Flores allowed back-to-back triples in the 6th to make the score 5-3, Mark Willinsky had to bail him out and finish up through the 7th for the save...

Cody Scarpetta is indeed starting Game Two for the Sea Cows and is off to an OK start on his normal four days' rest -- Fort Myers Bottom 1st Estarlin De Los Santos called out on strikes. Chris Herrmann called out on strikes. Brian Dozier strikes out swinging. Jeremy Jeffress last pitched on Tuesday and left with what was believed to be shoulder discomfort. It'll be interesting to see when his name next appears in a box score.

Final, Game One: Brevard County 2, @Fort Myers (Twins) 1, seven innings as scheduled Brevard County Game One Box Score Welcome to the Florida State League, Kyle Heckathorn! Six innings, seven hits, one run, two walks, two K's; Erik Komatsu gave the big hurler an immediate lead to work with on a first-inning solo home run; Sean Halton, Mr. RBI, hit the first of his two doubles in the 3rd, this one a two-out fly to center that scored the game's eventual winning run, Matt Cline, who had walked; Heckathorn retired the first seven Miracle batters before allowing a walk, single, and run-scoring double in the 3rd, but also wriggled out of that mess to limit the damage and hold the lead; RHP Corey Frerichs survived a leadoff walk to garner the one-inning save... Brevard County Game One Game Log If you've never been a big "read the game log" guy, just peruse this one tonight and give it a try -- it's only seven innings. You'll see that Heckathorn had some help, with two outs made on the basepaths, including one at home. He stranded two in scoring position in the 5th, and then two more baserunners in the 6th. So while you can't say Kyle was dominant here, he was effective and showed the ability to bear down. Way to play defense behind him, the only error was Heckathorn's own on a pickoff attempt...

Cool -- RHP Kyle Heckathorn is making his High-A debut in Game One of the Manatee doubleheader. That start time must have been delayed.

Huntsville audio with RHP Michael Bowman Discusses the tensions with Jacksonville, and the quotes from the Suns' manager regarding Mike Guerrero...

PDF Documents: Nashville Media Notes Huntsville Media Notes

RATTLERS POSTPONED IN SOUTH BEND Chris Mehring, Wisconsin Timber Rattlers SOUTH BEND, IN - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers will have a day of rest in South Bend, Indiana. Their game, which had been scheduled for 4:30 PM CDT on Saturday night at Stanley Coveleski Regional Stadium, against the South Bend Silver Hawks has been postponed due to wet grounds. The South Bend area was hit hard by a pair of severe thunderstorms on Friday night and early Saturday morning. The heavy rains made the field unplayable for Saturday's game. The series will now start with a single game on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 PM CDT. Saturday's game will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Monday evening. The first game will begin at 4:00 PM CDT and a second game will follow the conclusion of the first. Both games of the doubleheader are scheduled for seven innings.

On a personal note, since I live in Massachusetts, my own in-person connections to the Brewers' minor league system had dried up in recent years, basically since the AAA team moved to the Pacific Coast League -- no more hanging out with the Indianapolis Indians in Pawtucket, Rhode Island for instance. So I was intrigued when I learned that the Canadian National Junior Team was coming to New England, and more specifically, to the city where I grew up, New Bedford, as part of a tune-up tour, taking on the NECBL (New England Collegiate Baseball League) New Bedford Bay Sox in preparation for the World Junior Baseball Championship which got underway just last night in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Last Wednesday evening the 14th, my cousin Tom and I headed to my old high school field (quite refurbished since my school days 30 years ago), and the plan was to visit with two Brewer draft picks who are yet to sign, 7th round RHP Joel Pierce and 19th round C/OF (drafted as an outfielder) Rowan Wick. This was scheduled to be a big night for Bay Sox management. They had invested money in bringing the Canadian team to town and were expecting a larger-than-normal crowd for this game. Unfortunately, heavy afternoon rainstorms left the sky especially gloomy and there was a question as to whether the game would even take place when we arrived shortly before the 6:30 PM start time. We literally were among about a dozen fans only who were waiting to see if the box office would even open. Lucky for us, around 7:00 came the word that we could enter the ballfield and that the game would begin around 8:15. That worked out just fine, as it left plenty of time for me to seek out Pierce and Wick. As players from both squads mingled by the edges of the property concourse as the tarp was being removed and the field groomed, I asked a couple of the Canadian kids to let Joel and Rowan know I wouldn't mind speaking to them for a moment -- my Brewer T-shirt was probably a good clue to my allegiance! Before long, the young men came on over to say hello. Among the first things I learned was that Joel was the scheduled starter that evening, and Rowan would be his batterymate. Lucky me again! This wood-bat game would pit the Canadian youngsters (and they are young, 16-18 years old, both Pierce and Wick won't turn 18 until this December and November, respectively) against a team made up mostly of college sophomores and juniors from around the country. So while the 6'4" Pierce and the rock-solid 6'2", 205 lb. Wick had physical attributes to match the college players, it was clear from their faces that I was speaking with 17-year-olds, as they would have blended in seamlessly on the high school campus. Canadian manager Greg Hamilton is an institution of his own up north. This squad was made up of 26 players that would be trimmed down to 20 for the World's. Eleven of the players were drafted this June (several are still too young to be eligible); catcher Kellin Deglan was a first-round pick by Texas, and he's actually made his pro debut in the Arizona League already. He was not with the team for the touring game I saw. I tried to convince the Brewer draftees I wasn't a stalker, or worse yet, a player agent (sorry, Josh -- there were actually two agents small-talking with the players in the pre-game). But they realized quickly I knew a lot about them, so that helped move the conversation along. I asked them how they enjoyed their clubhouse visit for a Braves / Mets game at Citi Field three days earlier, which was coordinated by their countryman Jason Bay. (A week after I spoke with them, the team was hosted at Target Field in Minnesota for a game, this time hosted by Justin Morneau.) I had read that Wick in particular had joined workouts last winter with Morneau, of which he was so excited to acknowledge. Of course, I had to get to the topic on our minds -- will they be signing with Milwaukee? The sides have until August 15th to come to terms, the final game of the World Tournament is August 1st. Pierce's eyes seemed to light up in a big way as he flashed a Tiger Beat smile when I asked if there was anything to his Coastal Carolina college commitment. He could only say so much, naturally, but my own indication would be that the Brewers would really have to undercut any offer for Pierce not to sign. He seemed very ready to get on the route to Miller Park. Wick was a bit more serious in his thoughtful response -- his commitment to St. John's is pretty intriguing, apparently there is an opening in right field waiting for him there, and you have to remember that he's a 19th round pick. So he seemed truly humbled by the Brewers interest, very honored, but Big East baseball at the fine NYC institution seems pretty tempting. We'll see... We talked about the scouts who had followed each in Canada, and the two players' own familiarity with some of the many Canucks in the Brewer system. Now-Helena RHP Stosh Wawrzasek was one very familiar name for them, for instance. So I did my own selling job for the organization, but it was time for pre-game workouts (plus Rowan had interrupted his dugout meal to come chat). I wished each young man well. I had seen other Brewer draftees in Cape Cod League or NECBL action in past years, and knew that if this night was like those, the Brewers would have someone in the crowd keeping an eye on the kids. It wasn't long before before I saw a tall gentleman with a discreet Brewer logo on his cap among the especially sparse pre-game crowd , and recognized him as Asst. Director of Scouting Ray Montgomery (thank you, photos in Brewer media guide). I introduced myself to Ray, tried to direct him to locally spiced Portuguese sausage at the concession stand (he went with a less glamorous choice), and tried to make myself less of a nuisance and more of a diehard fan. He was familiar with Brewerfan.net, and spoke highly of how the Milwaukee front office staff views our minor league coverage in particular. It was fun chatting with Ray on a variety of Brewer topics, but in particular he made it clear that the Brewers would not have drafted Pierce and Rowan if they did not like them to begin with. So just the fact that he was on-site, with radar gun in hand, tells you that Brewer interest remains high. Of course, he couldn’t comment more specifically to me regarding anything about potential offers or negotiations, which I understood. On to the game, which was scheduled down to seven innings given the late start. The mist had cleared, yet the walk-up crowd was non-existent. The game was played before literally maybe 50 fans, most of which seemed to be host family members with whom the Bay Sox players were staying with locally. It's too bad, because management had done all the normal international host preparation, right down to the exchange of gifts between players. University of Georgia junior RHP Eric Swegman (there you go, colbyjack) was the Bay Sox starter. 1-2-3 1st. Out came Joel. Montgomery positioned himself behind the screen. I conveniently sauntered over there beginning in the 2nd inning. From the stands in the 1st, I watched Pierce work a 1-2-3 inning of his own -- comebacker to the mound, and two more ground balls, each to the right side. By the way, the "Sham-Wow" dries up aluminum stands wonderfully. Pierce pitched a scoreless 2nd -- K, BB, SB (Rowan Wick made a nice throw, but the baserunner appeared to kick the ball out of the fielder's glove on the tag), ground ball to 1B moving the runner over, a BB, and then a K to strand runners on 1st and 3rd. Pierce was hitting 89 consistently with his fastball (may have gone above that on an occasional heater), and he seemed to have better command of his change-up (came in around 78 MPH) than his still-developing slider. Everything, for the most part, was down, which was nice to see. Leading off the 3rd against Pierce, Michael Johnson, a 5'9" junior infielder LH bat from Samford College took Joel high and deep over the right-field fence on what looked like a wheelhouse slider down and in. So even the location seemed close to appropriate, maybe too much of the plate. That was followed by a K, F4 (nice line drive catch at 2B -- I was really impressed with the Canadians' composure against the older Bay Sox). With two outs, there was an E-6 and Pierce faltered a bit from there -- ground ball single to right, then a walk to load the bases. On an 0-2 count, Pierce hit the next batter to force in the 2nd run of the inning. Collected himself nicely with another strikeout to end the inning. Pierce tossed a 1-2-3 4th (F9, K, 4-3). His 5th was more eventful, but importantly, scoreless (HBP, then a nice Wick throw to second base when the runner tried to advance on a ball in the dirt, followed by a single, passed ball, F8, BB, 4-3). That would end the evening for Pierce. His final line was 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 4BB, 2 HBP, 5 K's. He seemed in more control than that final line would indicate. Wick fanned in the two AB's I recollect. It seems I may have missed one AB, or he may have been pulled later in the game. Three Bay Sox pitchers held the Canada bats in check, three hits total I believe, no real threat, and the game's final score was 2-0. I had asked Ray Montgomery that if he were to tell me what words I should use to describe what I just saw on the mound from Pierce, what should I say. That was my sneaky way of trying to get specifics from him. He turned it around in a bit of scout-speak in such a way that I could tell he was pleased (I believe) but I could tell that I wouldn't be getting a detailed report. Those guys are good in that sense, very guarded when they have to be. Not rude in the least, in fact very respectful, just careful. Post-game, I congratulated and thanked Joel and Rowan again, and specifically told Joel that I'd see him in Miller Park, which brought about a wide smile. I am a bit surprised to see that in the first four scheduled Canada games in the World Tournament, Pierce is not listed as a scheduled starter. His report from his one inning of relief in Game One, a 9-2 win over the Netherlands last night -- "Joel Pierce came in for relief of Jesen Dygestile-Therrien in the seventh, and quickly got into %*++!+ walking both Bayron Cornelisse and Daniel Arribas. Canada turned a 4-6-3 double play on a grounder, but left Cornelisse on third. Pierce struck out Urbanus to save the inning." We'll post updates from the tournament over the next week. Thanks again to Joel, Rowan, and Ray. A pretty unique night, nice summer treat...

Here's your overdue update.

PCL American North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Iowa 55 45 .550 - - 30-26 25-19 6-4 W1 Nashville 53 46 .535 1.5 44 27-22 26-24 5-5 W2 Memphis 52 47 .525 2.5 43 28-21 24-26 4-6 L1 Omaha 51 47 .520 3.0 43 23-23 28-24 3-7 L1 SOU North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak * Tennessee 16 12 .571 - - 10-6 6-6 8-2 W4 Carolina 15 13 .536 1.0 42 6-7 9-6 5-5 W2 Huntsville 14 14 .500 2.0 41 6-7 8-7 5-5 W1 Chattanooga 13 15 .464 3.0 40 8-7 5-8 3-7 W1 West Tenn 12 16 .429 4.0 39 6-6 6-10 6-4 W5 FSL North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Tampa 18 8 .692 - - 8-4 10-4 8-2 W2 Daytona 18 10 .643 1.0 43 8-4 10-6 7-3 W6 Brevard County 15 12 .556 3.5 41 10-5 5-7 6-4 L2 Clearwater 12 17 .414 7.5 36 9-6 3-11 3-7 L2 * Dunedin 11 16 .407 7.5 37 7-6 4-10 4-6 L2 Lakeland 9 17 .346 9.0 36 6-7 3-10 4-6 W1 MID Western Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Quad Cities 16 9 .640 - - 8-5 8-4 6-4 L1 * Cedar Rapids 16 10 .615 0.5 - 9-5 7-5 7-3 W5 Kane County 16 11 .593 1.0 44 12-3 4-8 7-3 L3 Burlington 13 12 .520 3.0 42 10-4 3-8 5-5 W1 Clinton 13 13 .500 3.5 42 9-6 4-7 4-6 L4 Wisconsin 13 14 .481 4.0 41 9-6 4-8 5-5 L1 Beloit 11 14 .440 5.0 39 8-7 3-7 4-6 L1 Peoria 10 15 .400 6.0 40 7-7 3-8 6-4 L2 PIO North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak Great Falls 18 14 .563 - - 7-8 11-6 5-5 L1 Billings 17 15 .531 1.0 6 10-5 7-10 6-4 W3 Helena 16 16 .500 2.0 5 10-7 6-9 4-6 W1 Missoula 12 20 .375 6.0 1 9-8 3-12 4-6 L4 AZL Central Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak AZL Brewers 18 9 .667 - - 5-5 4-4 5-5 W2 AZL Dodgers 13 14 .481 5.0 25 4-5 4-3 4-6 L1 AZL Indians 13 14 .481 5.0 25 4-4 6-2 6-4 W1 AZL Reds 12 15 .444 6.0 24 3-4 4-4 5-5 L2 DSL S.D. North Club W L PCT GB *ELIM # Home Away L 10 Streak DSL Mariners 24 17 .585 - - 15-6 9-11 8-2 W5 DSL Cardinals 23 18 .561 1.0 31 18-3 5-15 5-5 L3 DSL Athletics 18 24 .429 6.5 25 10-11 8-13 4-6 W3 DSL Brewers 17 23 .425 6.5 26 11-8 6-15 4-6 L5

Follow Saturday's action as it happens: Here's what you do, right click on each of the links below and choose "Open in New Tab or New Window". Choose "Recap". While you're listening to your minor league game of choice (or watching/listening to the big league Crew when they are playing), simply refresh your game log browsers every so often. Nashville (Gameday also available) Huntsville (Gameday also available) Brevard County Game One Brevard County Game Two Wisconsin Helena DSL Brewers

For Nashville diehards, the entire series in Albuquerque (through Monday) can be viewed via an MiLB.TV subscription.

Saturday's Daily Menu: Times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: RHP Josh Butler at Albuquerque (Dodgers), 7:50 PM pre-game; 8:05 gametime Live Audio Link Huntsville: RHP Amaury Rivas at Jacksonville (Marlins), 5:50 PM pre-game; 6:05 gametime Live Audio Link Brevard County: TBD squared (RHP Cody Scarpetta is likely) in a doubleheader at Fort Myers (Twins), 4:05 PM gametime; each contest slated for seven innings Live Audio Link (Miracle's Feed) Wisconsin: RHP Hiram Burgos at South Bend (Diamondbacks), 4:10 PM pre-game; 4:30 gametime Live Audio Link Helena: LHP Evan Frederickson at Ogden (Dodgers), 7:45 PM pre-game; 8:00 gametime Live Audio Link Arizona Rookie (Maryvale): Idle DSL Brewers: at the DSL Mariners, 9:30 AM -- if the weather allows, the clubs will almost assuredly play two

The Brewers never allow Arizona League pitchers to throw consecutive days, it seems, or not certainly multiple innings, even if it's just a combined 4.2 innings, so Brooks Halls' starting assignment seems really out-of-place in this box score. It's still not adjusted -- it's just a thought, but 20-year-old RHP Blake Billings has made only one appearance for this club, a start on June 26th. Might one of these two Brooks Hall appearances have been Billings coming back from whatever injury he faced? Perhaps. We're not going to sweat over it at this point, just pointing out the oddity.

Audio highlights, including Mark Rogers' double, have been added to the Huntsville game recap above, since it was originally posted during the overnight.

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Link while active, text follows: Different perspective By AMBER KUEHN, Helena Independent Record John Dishon is a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. If the Helena Brewers outfielder hadn’t fallen asleep behind the wheel as a teenager one fall, he might have went on to a successful career as a college quarterback. If that automobile accident had never happened, he might have decided to go a different route than baseball, might not be one of the hottest hitters in Helena now. But Dishon couldn’t be happier with how his life has turned out. The 21-year-old walked away from a crash that could have killed him, signed a contract with the Milwaukee Brewers after being drafted in the 42nd round, and will marry the love of his life on Jan. 22. He hit his first professional home run on his daughter’s seven-month birthday, with little Parker Leigh in the Kindrick Legion Field stands. “I can’t complain about a thing,” an always-cheery Dishon said last week before batting practice. “I have everything going for me right now.” *** It was the autumn of 2005 and Dishon, a junior, was the star quarterback and a running back at Bridge City High School in Beaumont, Texas. It’s no secret that prep football is bigger in Texas than perhaps anywhere else, and Dishon’s team was preparing for the state semifinals. After practice one day the week before the big game, Dishon was driving back to his mom’s house, which was about 30 minutes away from the school. “I set my car on cruise, just fell asleep and woke up driving on the median,” Dishon recalled. The car rolled five or six times, he said, but he would walk away from the crash with only a hairline fracture in his neck and a few bumps and bruises. “I was very fortunate to walk away from that accident because not many people would,” he said. “At first, my adrenaline was pumping right after the wreck. I would say five or 10 minutes after the wreck happened, the adrenaline stopped and the pain kicked in.” The true pain would really kick in when the injury meant Dishon would have to sit out of the semifinal contest and watch his team lose to the eventual state champions. Universities like Louisiana State, Rice and Texas had been recruiting the three-sport athlete (he also ran track) to play both football and baseball collegiately, and the realization that football might now be out of the question was even more painful at first. “I was always serious about baseball, but thought it was kind of boring,” Dishon admitted. “Football, you’re more involved with the sport, there’s more going on, but at the same time there’s more contact and it’s a lot more physical. “Baseball was a safer route with the wreck and everything. I tried playing football my senior year and I just had too much pain. I didn’t feel it was worth the risk to play both sports in college.” With that, Dishon accepted a baseball scholarship to LSU and played three years for the Tigers. With so much talent on the roster, he never did see as much playing time as he would have liked. That’s why being drafted came as somewhat of a surprise to Dishon. “Fortunately the Brewers took a chance on me,” he said. “With my limited at-bats there, maybe they saw something in me that LSU didn’t.” So far, he’s proven to be the right pick. Through July 21, Dishon was leading the team in bunt base hits with eight, was tied for fourth in the Pioneer League with nine stolen bases (a team high), and was batting .312 for the Brewers. He ranks second on the team among active players with 19 runs scored. “He’s just a very good all-around baseball player, and individual off the field,” Helena manager Joe Ayrault said. “The way he carries himself, he’s a great guy to have in the clubhouse.” A lot of Dishon’s success has come on the base paths, and he credits his speed to his prep career as a sprinter. At the plate he’s been a timely hitter, reading situations perfectly. Take the game on July 9 against Great Falls, when Dishon laid down the perfect bases-loaded suicide squeeze bunt in the bottom of the ninth inning to rally the Brewers to a win. Bunting is something he’s been working on, since coaches at LSU told him it was one of his weaknesses. Typically, Ayrault lets Dishon decide when to bunt, and he’s been practically flawless. “He’s one of those guys who’s got a real knack for reading third basemen,” the Brewers skipper told the Independent Record after the game. “I always joke with him, I can’t roll the ball better than that to third base ... he’s very confident in what he’s doing.” And, even when things aren’t always going his way on the diamond, Dishon keeps a good perspective. “Without a doubt, that wreck definitely gave me a different outlook on life,” he said. “I don’t take life for granted. I live everyday like it’s my last with no regrets.” *** It’s July 16, and Dishon couldn’t be happier. His fiancee, Kristy Lyn Sanders, and daughter are in Helena for the seven-game homestand. Dishon comes from the batting cages with a big smile on his face, and instantly whisks Parker away from her mom. She’s wearing a big, pink bow on her head and a pink shirt with “Daddy’s Little Girl” on the front and “DISHON 56” on the back. “It’s hard missing my daughter grow up,” he says. “She’s starting to crawl, starting to say her first words. But it’s good to have them here now. She’s becoming a baseball fan; she’s going to be a little sports star.” Technology has made it easier for Dishon to keep in touch with his family, even if he can’t be there for all of Parker’s firsts. “I try to keep him updated with pictures, and we do Skype on the Internet, so Johnny gets to see her,” said Sanders, Dishon’s high school sweetheart. “It’s been really tough, but we’re real supportive of him; we know this has been his dream.” There was a time when he dreamed of a career on the gridiron, too. “I do think about (football) sometimes,” Dishon said. “But everything happens for a reason—I got to do my baseball career here, and now I’ve got a beautiful family and beautiful soon-to-be wife.” “Things like that make you stronger,” Ayrault said. “To get through a car crash like that and to see the guy carrying his daughter out there, those are two big things in your life that make you look at life differently.” Photo by Dylan Brown Independent Record Helena Brewers’ John Dishon, his fiancee, Kristy Lyn Sanders, and their daughter Parker Leigh are seen here at Kindrick Legion Field. The outfielder survived a rollover accident as a teen, but had to switch his emphasis from football to baseball after injuring his neck. http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/helenair.com/content/tncms/assets/editorial/a/74/2a3/a742a312-96e8-11df-a20f-001cc4c002e0-revisions/4c4a8153bdf0b.image.jpg

Calling out the opposing manager, not cool... *** Linkwhile active, text follows: Tense atmosphere as Stars edge Suns 3-2 By Jeff Elliott, Jacksonville.com One night after both dugouts stormed the field and Suns pitcher Dan Jennings was ejected, there were no incidents in Friday's game between the Huntsville Stars and the Jacksonville Suns. But the tense atmosphere was raised to another level after the Stars' 3-2 win when Suns manager Tim Leiper questioned whether Huntsville skipper Mike Guerrero has control of his team. The two teams have played a number of close games this season. For the sixth time in the last nine meetings, the margin of victory was one run. That might help explain why there seems to be a growing feud between the two clubs. On Thursday night, both dugouts emptied in the sixth inning when Suns reliever Jennings threw a pitch behind Huntsville's Michael Bowman. The Stars starting pitcher had hit a Suns batter an inning before after he had been hit by a pitch two innings earlier. In Friday's game, three more batters were hit by pitches, including Suns first baseman Lee Mitchell, who was hit on his left elbow. Mitchell will have the swollen elbow examined today. The repercussions from the Thursday night's game hit home for the Suns early Friday when Jennings was fined $100 and suspended three games by Southern League president Don Mincher. Neither team had been warned about throwing at batters in that game, but home plate umpire Tripp Gibson ruled that Jennings intentionally threw at Bowman, resulting in the automatic fine and suspension. "It's a little bit tough to swallow, but you basically just have to wear it for the team," Jennings said. "I don't even hit the guy, and no warnings are issued and the next thing you know it's a three-game suspension and a fine. "Nobody likes to have a suspension, not to mention $100 out of your wallet. It's tough." Leiper tried to downplay the five batters who were hit in the first two games of the series, but did question whether Guerrero has control of his team. "It's a non-issue. I know I have control of my team," Leiper said. "They [the Stars] did some things earlier that. ... You've got to control your team, you've got to manage your players. And when you're irresponsible and you don't pay attention to the small stuff and you act like nothing's going on, then I think it's completely irresponsible. "I know our guys in our [clubhouse] know what's going on. For them over there, I have no idea. Some of the things they do, it just makes me shake my head. But our job is to go play baseball and we're just going to go play." Huntsville earned the win against the Suns on Friday with two eighth-inning doubles by Drew Anderson and Taylor Green. The five-game series resumes tonight with Suns right-hander Jose Rosario (3-2, 3.88) facing Stars right-hander Amaury Rivas (8-5, 2.58). Photo by JOHN PEMBERTON/The Times-Union Huntsville shortstop Zelous Wheeler gets Jacksonville's Lee Mitchell out but can't make the double play on Friday night at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.http://jacksonville.com/sites/default/files/editorial/images/images/mdControlled/cms/2010/07/24/682046488.jpg

July 23 - Nashville Chat with second baseman Eric Farris Gee, wonder what Stu will open the conversation with? Eric's progress from his knee injury, of course; Farris discusses the jump from high-A directly to AAA...

Final, Regularly Scheduled Game: @West Michigan (Tigers) 14, Wisconsin 8, seven innings BIG WEST MICHIGAN INNING PLAGUES RATTLERS By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers COMSTOCK PARK, MI - The West Michigan Whitecaps jumped out to a big lead thanks to a seven-run third inning and ran off to a 14-8 win over the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in the regularly scheduled game at Fifth Third Field on Friday night. Tony Plagman went 3-for-3 with a homer, four runs, and four RBI to lead the way for West Michigan. The Whitecaps (34-63 overall, 8-19 second half) scored a pair of runs in the second inning. Avisail Garcia doubled in the first run. A two-out wild pitch by Damon Krestalude allowed the second run to score. West Michigan took control of the game in the bottom of the third. The first nine batters of the inning reached base. There were five hits, three walks, and a fielder's choice on a sacrifice bunt attempt that did not retire anyone. The Whitecaps scored seven runs against a pair of Wisconsin pitchers to go up 9-0. Krestalude gave up a walk and a single to start the inning. Then, Corey Jones tried to bunt both runners up a base. Instead, the throw to third was late and the bases were loaded. Wade Gaynor singled in a pair of runs and the Whitecaps were off to the races. Another walk reloaded the bases for West Michigan. Then, Krestalude gave up another two-run single, this one to Garcia. One more walk reloaded the bases and knocked Krestalude out of the game. Adrian Rosario relieved Krestalude and gave up consecutive RBI singles to Alexis Espinoza and Jimmy Gulliver. The final run of the inning scored on the first out of the inning. Jamie Johnson's sacrifice fly made the score 9-0. The Rattlers (39-56, 13-14) got a pair of runs in the top of the fourth inning. Kentrail Davis doubled in the first run. He scored on a Khris Davis sacrifice fly. But, the Whitecaps were not done. They added a pair of runs in the fourth on an RBI single by Plagman and a Timber Rattlers error. In the fifth, Plagman struck again. His long, three-run homer to right-center put West Michigan up 14-2. Wisconsin plated four runs in the top of the sixth inning. An RBI single by Joey Paciorek got the first run home. Austin Stockfisch followed with a bases loaded double to the right field corner to unload the bases and make the score 14-6. Cutter Dykstra's two-run single in the top of the seventh accounted for the final runs of the game. The Timber Rattlers continue their road trip by starting a three-game series at South Bend against the Silver Hawks. Hiram Burgos (1-5, 5.40) makes his first start of the season for Wisconsin after returning to the team from the Pioneer League earlier this week. South Bend has Adam Worthington (3-1, 1.17) as their scheduled starter. Game time is 4:30 PM CDT. Tune in for the broadcast on AM1280 WNAM starting with the Miller Lite Pregame show at 4:10 PM. Wisconsin Game Two Box Score Just turned 21-year-old RHP Damon Krestalude has definitely had rough outings as of late and a good April is a very distant memory (May 19th -- 2 IP, 6 ER, July 5th -- 2.1 IP, 5 ER, tonight, July 23rd -- 2 IP, 9 ER); looks like manager Jeff Isom made the right choice of relievers on the night in terms of the tight game and the blowout game-- RHP Santo Manzanillo did a nice job picking up the club to begin the suspended game, and RHP Adrian Rosario allowed all three Krestalude runners he inherited to score. If those two had been reversed, it may have been a double loss for the Rattlers on the evening; unfortunately, it's at the point where 24-year-old LHP Andy Sauter and his 12.00 ERA can't even provide quality mop-up innings... Cutter Dykstra reached another three times, with his two-out, two-run single, a walk, and an HBP -- all as the designated hitter as Chris Dennis sat; Khris Davis walked twice and had a sacrifice fly... Wisconsin Game Two Game Log Over 6,700 on hand loved this -- West Michigan Bottom 3rd Jamie Johnson walks. Jeff Rowland singles on a fly ball to center fielder D' Vontrey Richardson. Jamie Johnson to 2nd. Corey Jones hits a sacrifice bunt. Jamie Johnson to 3rd. Jeff Rowland to 2nd. Corey Jones to 1st. Wade Gaynor singles on a ground ball to left fielder Khristopher Davis. Jamie Johnson scores. Jeff Rowland scores. Corey Jones to 2nd. Tony Plagman walks. Corey Jones to 3rd. Wade Gaynor to 2nd. Avisail Garcia singles on a ground ball to left fielder Khristopher Davis. Corey Jones scores. Wade Gaynor scores. Tony Plagman to 2nd. Robert Brantly walks. Tony Plagman to 3rd. Avisail Garcia to 2nd. Pitcher Change: Adrian Rosario replaces Damon Krestalude. Alexis Espinoza singles on a ground ball to right fielder Kentrail Davis. Tony Plagman scores. Avisail Garcia to 3rd. Robert Brantly to 2nd. Jimmy Gulliver singles on a ground ball to center fielder D' Vontrey Richardson. Avisail Garcia scores. Robert Brantly to 3rd. Alexis Espinoza to 2nd. Jamie Johnson out on a sacrifice fly to left fielder Khristopher Davis. Robert Brantly scores. Jeff Rowland grounds into a force out, first baseman Hunter Morris to shortstop Michael Marseco. Alexis Espinoza to 3rd. Jimmy Gulliver out at 2nd. Jeff Rowland to 1st. Corey Jones flies out to left fielder Khristopher Davis.

Final, Completion of Suspended Game: Wisconsin 3, @West Michigan (Tigers) 2 Rattlers top Whitecaps By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers COMSTOCK PARK, MI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers held on for a 3-2 win over the West Michigan Whitecaps Friday night in the conclusion of a suspended game from Thursday at Fifth Third Ballpark. Santo Manzanillo got out of a pair of jams and Chris Dennis hit a big home run to lead the Rattlers to their third straight win. The Rattlers (39-55 overall, 13-13 second half) led 2-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning on Thursday and starting pitcher Del Howell was cruising through the West Michigan lineup. However, as threatening weather loomed Howell gave up a pair of singles and a walk to load the bases with no outs in the bottom of the fifth inning. The game was halted by lightning and rain after Howell threw a ball to Luis Alberto Sanz. When the game was picked up again on Friday night, Manzanillo replaced Howell, but threw three straight balls to Sanz and fell behind 3-0. After a strike, Sanz lined the next pitch off Manzanillo and the ball deflected to Joey Paciorek at third. Paciorek threw to the plate and got the force play. Jamie Johnson got a run home with a sacrifice fly, but Manzanillo got the final out to keep Wisconsin in front. Dennis launched a long solo home run to right-center with one out in the top of the sixth inning to put the Rattlers back up by a pair of runs. The long ball was his twelfth of the season. But Manzanillo got into a jam of his own making in the bottom of the sixth. Wade Gaynor doubled with one out. Tony Plagman followed with a single. Then, Avisail Garcia singled in Gaynor to make the score 3-2. Michael Rockett singled for a fourth straight hit off Manzanillo and the Whitecaps (33-62, 7-19) loaded the bases with one out. Then Manzanillo did another escape act as he got the next two hitters on infield popouts to keep the Rattlers in front. In the bottom of the ninth, closer Jon Pokorny struck out the first two batters, but walked Johnson to put the tying run on base. Pokorny appeared to have retired Hernan Perez on a fly ball to center for the final out, but he had been called for a balk to move Johnson into scoring position. Pokorny shook off the misstep and struck out Perez to nail down his ninth save. Wisconsin Box Score Congrats to all involved here, as the Rattlers played clean defense as well to secure the tight win; Santo Manzanillo, still just 21 years old despite having five years in the system, came up big for the victory -- he did not walk a batter in his 3.1 innings; all three outs recorded by LHP Jon Pokorny for the save were swinging strikeouts; Hunter Morris was uncharacteristically on the move in the early innings last night, successful on two stolen base attempts, although he was thrown out at home after a subsequent Chris Dennis single in the 3rd; Joey Paciorek was 3-for-4 and had his running shoes on as well; Kentrail Davis walked three more times -- OBP is a sick .464 in 24 Rattler games; Cameron Garfield singled twice and walked; 38 of Dennis' 82 hits have been for extra bases; the Rattlers were never retired 1-2-3 but stranded 11, so the pitching had to be clutch, and was... Wisconsin Game Log Venezuelan brothers, born 3 1/2 years apart (recent article), made up the Whitecaps' battery, which is why you see this extended text in the box score: BASERUNNING SB: Paciorek 2 (3, 2nd base off Sanz, Luis Angel/Sanz, Luis Alberto, 2nd base off Sanz, Luis Angel/Sanz, Luis Alberto), Morris 2 (3, 2nd base off Sanz, Luis Angel/Sanz, Luis Alberto, 2nd base off Sanz, Luis Angel/Sanz, Luis Alberto). CS: Gennett (4, 2nd base by Sanz, Luis Angel/Sanz, Luis Alberto).

Courtesy of Tropical Depression Bonnie -- all things considered, Brevard has had uneventful weather this season thus far: The Fort Myers Miracle announced that today’s (Friday, July 23) game against the Brevard County Manatees has been postponed due to inclement weather. The game has been rescheduled and will be played tomorrow (Saturday, July 24) at 5:05 PM (4:05 Central) as part of a doubleheader (both games will be seven-innings in length).

Here's Chad Anderson's call of the action and the aftermath -- nice job by Chad, fills over seven minutes of audio as the sole man in the booth in fine detail.

PDF Document: Huntsville Media Notes Tough starter facing the Stars -- let's go, Mark!