Jim Goulart

Link while active, text follows: Fans enjoy Sounds opener, just not result Team loses in 11 innings in Greer Stadium debut By Maurice Patton, THE TENNESSEAN After waiting more than a week, Nashville Sounds fans were finally able to see their home team take the field Friday. And the enthusiasm at Greer Stadium got an early boost with pregame fireworks, the national anthem performed by the Oak Ridge Boys and a first pitch thrown out by Nashville Mayor Karl Dean. "When you walk in and see the field, how beautiful it is, it gets you excited," Dean said. "You get a sense that it's time for baseball." For David Stone of Nashville, the first Sounds game of the year is a rite of passage. "I've been coming since 1978 (the franchise's first season)," he said. "It's the beginning of summer. The first baseball game marks the beginning of summer. "I'm amazed at how good the field looks. We got here early and came (into the seating area), and I couldn't get over it. It's never been in this good of a shape." Coming off a season-opening eight-game road trip that resulted in seven wins, though, the Sounds struggled in their Greer debut. With an announced crowd of 8,122 — the largest Greer opening-day attendance figure since joining the Pacific Coast League in 1999 — on hand, Nashville rallied before losing 7-4 to visiting Iowa in 11 innings. "We're trying to do the little things we have to do, every at-bat," said Ray Olmedo, whose two-run pinch-hit single in the ninth tied the game at 4-4. "Everybody here knows what they need to do." The Sounds, who came into Friday's game hitting just .209, had nine hits against four Iowa pitchers but stranded nine runners. "It's just part of baseball," Nashville Manager Don Money said. "We've been playing pretty solid. Our pitching's been outstanding, and it was (Friday). We could have won with another hit in the ninth. Hopefully the hitting will come." Money admitted that it's not just the fans that enjoy the start of the season. "We're just happy to be home," he said. "You're in spring training for five, six, seven weeks and you're away from home. Then you come home for about a day and a half, and then you go on the road for eight days. The guys want to get settled in. We'll get started (Saturday) on our regular routine." The Sounds' offense took a hit when right fielder Brendan Katin — whose four home runs were a minor league high — left the game after grounding out to third base to lead off the second inning. His status for today's game is uncertain.

Link while active, text follows: Jones remains a Stars mainstay By Brad Shepard, For The Huntsville Times Mike Jones is polite but pointed in his feelings about Huntsville. "I'll be honest with you, I'm tired of it," the Stars pitcher said with a laugh. "From a career standpoint, I'm sick of seeing Huntsville, Alabama. I don't want to set records here." Who can blame him? The 26-year-old former 2001 first-round draft pick has spent a portion of each of his past seven professional seasons - excluding injury-erased 2005 - in a Stars uniform. He is as much a part of spring in the city as pollen and Panoply. But this year, the role is different, though the surroundings are the same. Jones - a long-time starter - is pitching in relief where he has a 2.45 earned run average in three appearances. It's his latest attempt to revive a once-promising career, and he's embracing it even though he originally expected to compete for a starting job in Triple-A Nashville. Several offseason acquisitions changed the Brewers' plans for Jones as they wanted more pitchers with major league experience in Nashville. "I consider myself somebody who's going to take advantage of the opportunity given to me, and right now, the organization sees me in a relief role," Jones said. "At the end of the day, you have to swallow your pride and move forward. "The days of prospect status and potential have faded, and now, it has turned into whatever it takes to get to the show." That he is still kicking around the minors speaks volumes for his work ethic and perseverance, Stars pitching coach John Curtis said. After all, Jones' right arm has been a playground for surgeons. He blew out his shoulder in 2004, which led to surgery. He had another shoulder surgery in '05 and rehabbed during '06 only to come back, experience elbow troubles and have "Tommy John" reconstructive surgery. "Yes, he's been in this league a number of times, but this is an amazing story what he's come through," Curtis said, "and where he's slotted now (as a reliever) opens up a future for him. "He's as hard a working athlete as I've ever been around." Regardless of what happens with baseball, the future is bright for Jones and wife Nicole, who welcomed son Michael in the offseason. "Being a father is humbling, and it's a huge responsibility, but the reward is unbelievable," he said.

Cody Scarpetta and the Manatees deserve better after their nice 4-1 victory, but there's no coverage whatsoever from that one this evening -- the kids now in AA and AAA are used to that from their Florida State League days...

What Chris' gut tells him -- so close (4/16/10)

Rattlers fall one out short of no-hitter By Danny Wild / MLB.com When Jake Odorizzi walked back into the dugout for the eighth inning Friday night, he glanced at the scoreboard at Burlington's Community Field and kept his mouth shut. "No one was talking about it, everyone was just acting normal, trying to play it off," said Odorizzi. "But in the ninth inning, everyone stood up and got on the dugout railing." Odorizzi and his Wisconsin teammates looked on for two quick outs before Bees center fielder Hilton Richardson lined a double to left field, breaking up the Timber Rattlers' no-hit bid. "We were close enough to get one though," Odorizzi said. Odorizzi pitched five innings before reliever Damon Krestalude finished up as Wisconsin blanked Burlington, 9-0. One of the Brewers' first-round picks in the 2008 Draft, Odorizzi struck out eight and walked one in his second outing since earning a promotion this spring to the Midwest League. After Richardson doubled, Krestalude popped up Deivy Batista to end the game, sealing the one-hitter. "I was pretty relaxed, I was just chilling in the clubhouse, hanging out," said Odorizzi, who rejoined his teammates after getting in some extra work in the locker room. "It's nice to see our hard work pay off." Odorizzi, who threw a no-hitter in high school, said Friday's game had a much different atmosphere. "This was a lot more cool, being in pro ball, it was definitely exciting," he said. "Everyone was pumped." It would have been Wisconsin's first no-hitter since Derrick Van Dusen tossed one on Aug. 27, 2001 against Cedar Rapids. Odorizzi, a 6-foot-2 right-hander, was selected out of Highland (Ill.) High School as the 32nd overall selection -- the Brewers drafted shortstop Brett Lawrie at No. 16. After committing to Louisville, Odorizzi eventually made his Minor League debut in 2009 with Rookie-level Helena in the Pioneer League, going 1-4 with a 4.40 ERA in 12 outings, including 10 starts. The 20-year-old, who features a four-seam fastball in the low-90s as well as a two-seamer, slider and a good curveball, made his Class A debut on Sunday, holding Clinton to one hit over three innings for his first save. On Friday, Odorizzi struck out the first two batters he faced and set down 11 in a row before hitting Will Myers in the fourth. He retired Rene Oriental to end the frame, and his only other bump came an inning later when he walked Carlos Testa with one out. Testa was thrown out stealing before Odorizzi fanned Gerard Hall to end his evening. "I felt really good, it felt natural," he said. "Just out there working, it was really nice. And it's pretty easy to pitch with a big cushion -- maybe not easy, but it's easy to pitch with those factors." The former first-rounder said he knew he had a no-hitter going when he was pulled after five. "I knew it was in the back of my head, but I just had to let it ride out," he said. "They told me I was done after five. I was a little fired up, but after a couple minutes I was good to go." Odorizzi, who faced many of the same batters last year at Helena, said he's hoping to add some secondary weapons to his arsenal. He broke out a new changeup Friday but used it only once. "I threw my four-seamer, curve and slider. And one changeup," he said. "We try to get changeups in there early in the count, now that we're getting up to a higher level." Krestalude, taken out of Port St. Lucie (Fla.) High School in the 17th round of the 2008 Draft, came on to begin the sixth and cruised through three innings, striking out three. He retired Fernando Cruz and Jose Bonilla to begin the ninth. The 20-year-old split the 2009 season between Helena, where he was Pioneer League Pitcher of the Week on June 29, and Class A Advanced Brevard County. Krestalude and Odorizzi will get more chances at history -- they are tandem starters and will alternate starting and relieving to begin the season. "I came back out in the eighth and saw we had no hits," Odorizzi said. "[Krestalude] pitched real well, he changed speeds. I thought we were going to get it." Falling one out short, the code of silence ended in the dugout. "We laughed about it, we tried to blame it on people, tried to pin it someone who moved," Odorizzi joked. "It was all kinda relaxed. We knew it was a great performance." Odorizzi and Krestalude had plenty of support after Peter Fatse put the Timber Rattlers ahead with a two-run single in the third inning. Fatse homered in the fifth and finished with five RBIs. The season continues to be a memorable one for Odorizzi, who helped build a snowman with his teammates after a storm postponed Wisconsin's home opener last week. An Illinois native, the right-hander is living with teammates in an apartment and couldn't be happier. "I'm close to home, so it's nice to be back in the midwest again," he said. "[Tonight] was a good confidence-booster, but you've got to put it aside now and get a game plan for the next team. "It's kind of hard to compare an outing like this, but you've kind of got to live in the moment and forget it tomorrow." Jake Odorizzi was a first-round pick by Milwaukee in 2008. (Chris Proctor/Four Seam Images)Photo not from last night's game...Jake's # 23 this season http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/2010/04/16/r3Ph2AEC.jpg

Not that it's doing me a lot of good (my current streak is "1"), but something to consider -- you may want to use the scoreboard option off of MiLB.com to go to the next day's date and try to learn the identity of opposing starting pitchers. You can then click on the opponent's logo on that same page to go their roster page and determine if the guy is a lefty or righty. For instance, the Timber Rattlers face a southpaw Saturday night. This may be more important on the major league side of Beat the Streak, where $3 million is the top prize, but hey, we're talking Brewerfan bragging rights here!

On a daily basis, you can click on the "Standings" link to see the top active streaks -- it's not a guarantee, but guessing that whenever you see a Brewer farmhand as the latest selection, that's someone from Brewerfan. Hey, I know you from the board, Kevbo -- keep it going!

Final: Iowa (Cubs) 7, Nashville 4, 11 innings Cubs Drop Sounds On Opening Night In Extras, 7-4 NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Nashville Sounds lost to the division-rival Iowa Cubs, 7-4, in 11 innings on Opening Night thanks to a two-run double by Iowa second baseman Bobby Scales on Friday evening at historic Greer Stadium in front of 8,122 people, the largest Opening Day crowd for Nashville since joining the Pacific Coast League. Nashville moves to 7-2 with the extra-inning defeat, but remains in first place by 2.5 games in the American Northern division. Iowa shortstop Darwin Barney led off the contest with a single, followed by a base hit from right fielder Micah Hoffpauir. Left fielder Jason Dubois then knocked home Barney for an early 1-0 Cubs lead. Nashville tied it up in the bottom of the next inning as Sounds third baseman Adam Heether drew a two-out walk to start the rally. Shortstop Luis Cruz then lined a single to center field and advanced Heether to second base, followed by a an RBI-base knock by catcher Ben Johnson to knot the game at 1-1. The Cubs got two more runs in the top of the fourth inning on Chris Robinson's first home run of the season, advancing the Cubs lead to 3-1. Dubois then made it 4-1 with his fourth homer of the season off the top of the guitar scoreboard in left field in the next frame. Nashville got a run back in the bottom of the frame to trim the Iowa lead to 4-2 on another Johnson RBI-base knock, singling home Cruz from second base. Right fielder Erick Almonte singled to center field in the bottom of the ninth inning to start the Nashville rally. Heether was then beaned by a Brian Schlitter curveball, followed by Cruz single to load the bases. Pinch hitter Ray Olmedo then drove home Almonte and Heether to tie the game at 4-4 and force it to extras. Sounds southpaw Chris Waters allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits with three walks and six strikeouts in 4 and 2/3 innings in his second start of the season. Sounds right-hander Tim Dillard threw 3 and 1/3 scoreless innings and surrendered three hits with three strikeouts in relief, while left-hander A.J. Murray added a scoreless inning. John Axford (1-1) took the loss, surrendering three runs on three hits in two innings pitched, his first runs allowed on the season. Iowa starter Casey Coleman allowed two runs on five hits over seven innings to earn the no-decision. Blake Parker (1-0) picked up the win for Iowa after throwing 1 2/3 scoreless innings in relief and striking out two. John Gaub picked up his second save of season. Cruz went 4-for-5 with a double in the loss, while Johnson added two hits and two RBIs. The Sounds and Cubs continue with the second game of a four-game series on at 6:35 pm CT on Saturday evening at historic Greer Stadium. Nashville southpaw Chase Wright (0-0, 4.50) takes the hill against Iowa right-hander Mike Parisi (0-0, 3.00). Nashvile Box Score Luis Cruz bumped his average 95 points tonight; things wil be so much easier to make sense of when the samples are meaningful... Nashville Game Log

Based on tonight's result, anyway, Mr. Axford -- lose the 'stache... http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/players/mugshot/ph_446099.jpg

Final: Jacksonville (Marlins) 8, Huntsville 0 Huntsville Box Score Five lonely singles for the Stars in this one, as Huntsville was 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position as they stranded nine; Mark Rogers allowed ten baserunners and four runs (two earned) in his four innings -- 80 pitches, only 46 for strikes; Caleb Gindl remained hot, 2-for-4; Lorenzo Cain also reached twice (single and walk); RHP Donovan Hand followed Rogers with three innings of one-run ball, but lefty Casey Baron struggled as the Suns padded the lead in a three-run 8th... Huntsville Game Log Well, this early Steffan Wilson out on the basepaths wasn't very descriptive -- Huntsville Bottom 2nd Steffan Wilson reaches on fielding error by shortstop Osvaldo Martinez. Lee Haydel pops out to shortstop Osvaldo Martinez. Steffan Wilson out at 2nd. Sean McCraw walks. Mark Rogers grounds out, pitcher Alejandro Sanabia to first baseman Lee Mitchell. Brett Lawrie's fielding error in the 3rd turned a one-run Suns inning into a three-run Suns inning, but Rogers had walked consecutive batters earlier in the frame, as he did to open the game (he managed to survive the 1st unscathed); Rogers ended his night by getting uber-prospect Mike Stanton to pop out with the bases loaded in the 4th...

Hopper out on a ten-pitch strikeout -- details from the Sounds within the hour...

FYI -- Sounds doing their best to rally in the bottom of the 11th, looks like Angel Salome will get a chance to pinch-hit here representing the tying run -- Angel is back from New York City. Angel walks to load the bases -- two outs, new pitcher coming in for Norris Hopper. Hope for some magic, hope some are listening...

Still waiting for news, that Milwaukee bench was awfully left-handed again tonight, wasn't it? Katin wasn't involved in the defensive sequences in the prior half-inning.

PDF document: Huntsville Media Notes

In progress -- Iowa just took the lead over John Axford and Sounds in the top of the 11th, 7-4. Ray Olmedo had hit a clutch two-out, two-run single to tie the score in the bottom of the 9th for Nashville. Tim Dillard was big in middle relief, tossing 3.1 shutout innings.

RATTLERS PITCH IN FOR NEAR NO-HITTER Chris Mehring, Wisconsin Timber Rattlers BURLINGTON, IA - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers pitchers Jake Odorizzi and Damon Krestalude made a bid for history on Friday night at Community Field. The duo of Milwaukee pitching prospects took a no-hitter into the bottom of the ninth inning, but Hilton Richardson's two-out double off Krestalude wrecked the attempt at the first Timber Rattlers no-hitter since 2001. The Rattlers snapped a four game losing streak with the 9-0 win over the Burlington Bees. Wisconsin (4-6) looked like they would grab the lead in the first inning. Scooter Gennett was at third and Khris Davis was at first with one out. Chris Dennis lifted a fly ball to medium left field that was deep enough to score Gennett. But, Gennett left too early and was the third out as the Bees appealed the play. (Thus the odd scoring in the prior post...) In the second inning, the Rattlers loaded the bases with two outs, but Bees' starting pitcher Matt Mitchell got D'Vontrey Richardson to pop out to end the inning. In the third inning, Wisconsin loaded the bases with no outs. Mitchell got the next two batters and was on the verge of getting out of the inning. Then, Pete Fatse came through for Wisconsin. The designated hitter ripped the first pitch he saw from Mitchell into right field for a two-run single. The Rattlers padded their lead in the fifth with four runs. Back-to-back doubles by Chris Dennis and Cameron Garfield got the first run of the inning home. Fatse drove in Garfield with an RBI ground out. Later in the inning, Franklin Romero, Jr. tripled in a run. He would score the final run of the inning on a wild pitch and Wisconsin was up 6-0. Odorizzi turned the game over to Krestalude in the bottom of the sixth inning. The only blemishes for Odorizzi on the night were a two-out hit batsman in the fourth and a one out walk in the fifth. The starter left the game after five innings as he had reached his pitch limit. Krestalude picked up right where Odorizzi left off by striking out a pair in a 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth. Fatse continued to swing the hot bat as he launched a two-run homer to right in the top of the seventh to put the Rattlers up 8-0. The longball, Fatse's first of the year, gave him five RBI on the evening. Krestalude worked perfectly through the seventh and eighth innings and Romero added another run on an RBI grounder in the top of the ninth. The Rattlers defense recorded the first two outs of the bottom of the ninth. Then, Krestalude fell behind Burlington (3-6) leadoff hitter Hilton Richardson 2-0. The left hand hitter slapped the next pitch down the third base line for a double to break up the no-hit bid. Krestalude got the next batter to pop out to end the game. The last time the Timber Rattlers no-hit an opponent was on August 27, 2001. Derrick Van Dusen no-hit the Cedar Rapids Kernels in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The Timber Rattlers continue their road trip through Iowa when they begin a three-game series with the Quad Cities River Bandits Saturday night. Eric Arnett (0-1, 8.31) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Quad Cities sends Dan Calhoun (0-0, 0.00) to the mound. Listen to the Miller Lite Pregame show on AM 1280, WNAM starting at 5:40 PM. Game time from Modern Woodmen Park is 6:00 PM.

Final: Wisconsin 9, Burlington (Royals) 0 Wisconsin Box Score We'll wait for Chris' always detailed game summary, but as you can glean above, history was oh-so-close for RHP's Jake Odorizzi and Damon Krestalude tonight, as the two young men combined to strike out 11 while walking one and hitting one batter in their combined down-to-the last-gasp one-hitter; as soon as this tandem combination was announced as the season opened, we mentioned that you need to get yourself to Appleton when this combo is on the mound (or, in this case, to Burlington, Iowa); the Rattlers reached via seven walks and an HBP to go along with their 12 base knocks, five of which went for extra bases; Pete Fatse, batting 7th as the DH, led the way with a 3-for-4 night plus a walk, with one of the hits being a two-run shot in the 7th -- Fatse drove in five on the night; seven other Rattlers reached at least twice as Chris Dennis paced that group with a double and two bases on balls... Wisconsin Game Log Scooter Gennett has had some adventurous times on the basepaths the last few nights -- he was out to end the first inning on a 7-1-6-5 putout at third base; we should focus on the positive, but things were tight early, as Wisconsin failed to score in the 2nd despite a walk, single, wild pitch, and HBP; Fatse's two-run single in the 3rd was huge, as it appeared the T-Rats were about to waste a bases loaded, no out situation...

PDF document: Nashville Media Notes

I was hoping this was the photo of the exact moment when Scooter Gennett left Thursday night's Wisconsin game early -- but this is actually from the first inning double play on which he was erased. Khris Davis grounded into both DP's, this one and the one in the third inning. Photo by John Lovretta/The Hawk Eye -- Burlington's Gerard Hall jumps Wisconsin's Scooter Gennett while turning a double play in the first inning. We'll have to wait and see Friday's starting lineup.

Link Report Bonus -- the Brevard County area code is 3-2-1, which was assigned as an homage to the space industry. Countdown, get it? Thanks to Stephen Smith for the tidbit.

Stephen's full archived game call of the Brevard County 3-2, ten-inning win Thursday night is now available on his site, spacecoastbaseball.com. You'll see the link for the April 15th archive. The game-tying rally in the 9th begins at the 02:15:00 hour/minute mark. Enjoy.

MID Western (click column headers to sort) Club W L PCT GB Home Away L 10 Streak Quad Cities 7 1 .875 - 3-0 4-1 7-1 W6 Kane County 5 3 .625 2.0 4-1 1-2 5-3 W1 Cedar Rapids 4 4 .500 3.0 4-1 0-3 4-4 W2 Clinton 4 4 .500 3.0 2-3 2-1 4-4 L2 Beloit 3 5 .375 4.0 1-2 2-3 3-5 L1 Burlington 3 5 .375 4.0 3-2 0-3 3-5 W2 Peoria 3 5 .375 4.0 0-0 3-5 3-5 L2 Wisconsin 3 5 .375 4.0 3-3 0-2 3-5 L4

Follow Friday'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): http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t556&gid=2010_04_16_iowaaa_nasaaa_1&cid=556&t=g_box Huntsville (Gameday also available): http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t559&gid=2010_04_16_jaxaax_hunaax_1&cid=559&t=g_box Brevard County: http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&gid=2010_04_16_dunafa_breafa_1&cid=503&t=g_box Wisconsin: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t572&gid=2010_04_16_wisafx_burafx_1&cid=420&t=g_box

Friday's Daily Menu: TGIF! Times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: LHP Chris Waters at home vs. Iowa (Cubs), 6:50 PM pre-game; 7:05 gametime -- Sounds' home opener Live Audio Link Huntsville: RHP Mark Rogers at home vs. Jacksonville (Marlins), 6:45 PM pre-game; 7:00 gametime Live Audio Link Brevard County: RHP Cody Scarpetta at home vs. Dunedin (Blue Jays), 6:05 PM gametime Sorry, no audio for this game... Wisconsin: RHP Jake Odorizzi at Burlington (Royals), 6:15 PM pre-game; 6:30 gametime; RHP Damon Krestalude scheduled to tandem in this game Live Audio Link