Jim Goulart

Helena just grabbed a 7-4 lead (and counting), hopefully will hang on for our early-morning recap. Good night from the East Coast, where it's 30 minutes into Sunday...

Final: Nashville 8, Oklahoma City (Rangers) 5 We're waiting on a detailed game summary from the Sounds, but in the meantime, behold the box of Alcides Escobar, touted big-time by yours truly http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif since his 2004 debut as a 17-year-old in Helena... Nashville Box Score More by morning, as promised... Nashville Game Log

As of 11:15 PM Central, the Helena boys are tied at 4-4 in the 10th. Listen in to Steve Wendt here.

More on the Maryvale shellacking when final, but as 2nd round high school RHP picks go, RHP Seth Lintz is showing he's no Yovani Gallardo -- 3 IP, 7 H, 8 R, 4 BB, 2 HBP, 2 WP, 2 HR allowed Lintz has walked 28 in 21.2 innings with nine wild pitches. Three runs scored after Lintz left the bases loaded with none out.

Final: DSL Mets 13, DSL Brewers / Orioles 3 DSL Brewers / Orioles Box Score The boys were actually leading 3-0 after five innings; no Brewers pitched, so a sigh of relief there; relatively quiet night -- first baseman Hitaniel Arias singled in four trips in his first game since flying in from Helena; 2B Joan Abreu had a sacrifice; DH Jhonatan Javier singled and was caught stealing; SS Andres Martinez sacrificed and walked; a walk and a sacrifice for LF Juan Barrini... DSL Brewers / Orioles Game Log Bad game on defense -- two errors for Martinez, now with 15, also one apiece for Arias and Barrini, but the highlighted Brewers took part in a triple play -- DSL Mets Top 3rd Wandel Avila singles on a line drive to right fielder Gregory Lorenzo. Marcus Guillen walks. Wandel Avila to 2nd. Yucarybert De La Cruz hits a sacrifice bunt. Fielding error by first baseman Hitaniel Arias. Wandel Avila to 3rd. Marcus Guillen to 2nd. Yucarybert De La Cruz to 1st. Gilbert Gomez grounds into a triple play, second baseman Joan Abreu to shortstop Andres Martinez to first baseman Hitaniel Arias to third baseman Felix Bido to catcher Eliecer Avila to shortstop Andres Martinez to first baseman Hitaniel Arias. Marcus Guillen out at home. Yucarybert De La Cruz out at 2nd. That would be the old 4-6-3-5-2-6-3 for those of you scoring at home on your pocket doppler.

Final: Peoria (Cubs) 9, Wisconsin 1 Wisconsin Site Game Summary Road woes continue By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers PEORIA, IL - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers began a six-game road trip with a 9-1 loss to the Peoria Chiefs at O'Brien Field on Saturday night. The Chiefs used a seven-run sixth inning to break open a close game. Kyler Burke and Ryan Flaherty both homered for the Chiefs. Three Peoria pitchers combined to keep the Rattler bats in check. In their last eight road games, Wisconsin is 1-7 and has been outscored 67-25. Brett Lawrie gave the Rattlers (47-50 overall, 13-14 second half) a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning with his tenth homer of the season. Lawrie jumped on a 3-2 pitch from Peoria starter Jeff Beliveau with two outs and crushed the home run off the netting behind the grass seating in left field. But Lawrie committed an error on a grounder that would have been the third out of the bottom of the third inning and allowed the tying run to score for the Chiefs (51-46, 13-15). Burke hit an opposite field homer to left that put the Chiefs up 2-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning. It was his eighth homer of the season. Peoria put the game away in the bottom of the sixth. Michael Brenly drove in the first run of the inning with a single and scored the second run on a wild pitch. That was just the start. Nelson Perez drove in a pair of runs with a double and chased Rattlers starting pitcher Trey Watten out of the game with the Chiefs up 6-1. Pedro Lambertus relieved and got the second out of the inning, but an error kept the frame alive and followed with a three-run homer to left-center and the Chiefs were up 9-1. Kevin Kreier (2 IP) and Marcus Hatley (2 IP) worked the final four innings without allowing a run and to close out the Rattlers. Game two of the series is set for Sunday afternoon. Cody Scarpetta (2-6, 3.06) is the scheduled starter for the Rattlers. Peoria has Aaron Shafer (7-6, 7-6, 4.56) as their scheduled starting pitcher. Game time is 2:00 PM. Wisconsin Box Score Brett Lawrie's two errors give him 15 on the season; Rattlers 0-for-9 with RISP; Corey Kemp, playing first base, doubled twice and walked... Wisconsin Game Log

The Brevard County -- St. Lucie game was cancelled by rain, it will not be made up. That is the 7th game that has been cancelled (not just postponed, but actually taken off the books) for the Manatees this season.

Final: Huntsville 4, Carolina (Reds) 1 Huntsville Site Game Summary Welch Wings Huntsville to Win Over Mudcats Stars and Mudcats Split Season Series By Brett Pollock / Huntsville Stars David Welch tossed seven strong innings and Huntsville received some timely hitting in a 4-1 decision over Carolina Saturday night in front of 5,782, the second biggest crowd of the season, in the last of a five-game set at Joe Davis Stadium. The Stars lifted their record to 13-17 in the second half and 51-48 overall, while the Mudcats fell to 12-18 in the second half and 49-50 overall. The teams evenly divided the ten-game season series, with the road team claiming three out of five in each set. The Stars struck first in the second inning when Camilo Vazquez issued back-to-back two-out walks that were followed by a looping single to right field by Yohannis Perez, who knocked in his first run since June 5 over 69 at-bats. Shane Justis led off the third inning with a single, moved to second base on a throwing error by Vazquez on a Lorenzo Cain comebacker and both runners scored one out later on a double by Jonathan Lucroy, who knocked in his 49th and 50th runs of the year to make it a 3-0 game. Vazquez was taken out after laboring through four innings, allowing four hits, walking two and fanning four. He was charged with three runs, two earned, and suffered the loss to fall to 2-3. Ruben Medina took over in the fifth and gave up a two-out, run scoring single to Taylor Green that gave the Stars a 4-0 lead. Medina, Ramon Geronimo and Phillippe Valiquette then blanked the Stars over the next three frames. Welch stranded Vazquez at third base after a leadoff double in the third and retired nine of the next 10 hitters over the next three frames. Logan Parker led off the seventh with a single but was erased when Carson Kainer grounded into a double play, the second turned in the game by Huntsville. Shaun Cumberland then followed with his first home run of the season to get the visitors on the board. Welch set down Chris Denove to end the inning and his performance, as he won for the first time since June 5 at West Tenn and for only the second time at home. He gave up six hits, walked one and fanned four to improve to 5-7. Robert Hinton struck out the side in a scoreless eighth inning and Rob Wooten earned his fifth save in as many tries with a shutout ninth inning during which he struck out a pair. The Stars won for just the second time in their last 10 games at home to improve to 20-25 on home soil. The Stars begin a five-game series in Montgomery Monday night with right-hander Mike Jones taking the hill for the Stars against Biscuits' right-hander Brian Baker. Coverage of the game begins at 6:50 PM central time and can be heard through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com. Huntsville Box Score So you think Jason Kendall is a workhorse? What if we told you Jonathan Lucroy has 26 more plate appearances than Kendall? Lucroy has DH'd on several days off, but he's sure getting his experience this season; with Lorenzo Cain in center field, Adam Stern has no place to play -- of course, Cain has to start in that spot... Huntsville Game Log

RHP Rob Bryson (Sabathia deal) just started an injury rehab stint in the Arizona Rookie League on Friday. There are also links in our initial thread post to the Diamondbacks' Cole Gillespie and Roque Mercedes. Mercedes has made two scoreless appearances with AA Mobile in the Southern League.

RHP Rob Bryson (Sabathia deal) just started an injury rehab stint in the Arizona Rookie League on Friday. There are also links in our initial thread post to the Diamondbacks' Cole Gillespie and Roque Mercedes. Mercedes has made two scoreless appearances with AA Mobile in the Southern League.

Yes, we had posted it about 12 hours earlier in our Minor League Forum, and actually, pinned the news above all the forums here as a featured thread. Brewers haven't confirmed it yet, but with bonus figures and such public (see Minor League Forum), looks to be a done deal.

FYI -- there won't be another Power 50 until a couple of days after the trade deadline, as prospects could move prior to or on the 31st...

Link while active, text follows: By Lindsey Young, Chattanooga Times Free Press Kyle Heckathorn officially will begin a new job Monday after signing a professional baseball contract with the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday. The former Ringgold High School and Kennesaw State University star pitcher will report to Helena, Mont., where the Brewers' short-season rookie league team is based. First, though, he will attend Milwaukee's weekend series with the Atlanta Braves and be introduced to the fans today. "It's going to be really exciting to go to Milwaukee and see the ballpark and meet the players and fans," said Heckathorn, who was the team's second pick and the 47th overall selection in the recent Major League Baseball first-year player draft. "I'm excited, but I'm also a little nervous. I just feel blessed to have this opportunity." Two major factors led to Heckathorn's signing, according to agent Victor Menocal of Career Sports & Entertainment. First, the Brewers agreed to pay Heckathorn more than he was slotted ($776,000 instead of the slotted figure of $739,000). They also agreed to invite him to spring training next year. "That was a big factor," Menocal said. "They haven't done that since 2003 when they drafted Rickie Weeks, so that really impressed Kyle. He's very excited about it and ready to get started."

Glad to have Adam McCalvy back from his Canadian wilderness vacation -- he's likely glad we're still around as he referred to the Kyle Heckathorn link we provided in his game preview for Saturday. Nothing in the J-S yet. Once in a while we get lucky with a link and become your "first source" -- well actually, the Chattanooga Times Free Press was your first source, but how many of you read that? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif Be sure you read the updated link and see in our transaction thread what helped prompt Heckathorn to sign.

For now, get your standings here, thanks

This link will be included in each daily report when the Nashville Sounds are scheduled to play. Normally it is updated a few hours prior to gametime. Nashville Media Notes (Adobe .pdf format): *** We're going to include the link to Kraig McNutt's Nashville blog in the same post as the Nashville media notes link going forward. *** "Voice of the Rattlers" Chris Mehring's informative and entertaining Rattlers Radio Blog includes game notes an hour or two before gametime.

The Nashville game at Oklahoma City is available via the MiLB.TV subscription package

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. MiLB.com now has Gameday available for AA as well as AAA this season. Nashville: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2009_07_25_nasaaa_orhaaa_1 Huntsville: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t559&t=g_box&gid=2009_07_25_cmcaax_hunaax_1 Brevard County: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&t=g_box&gid=2009_07_25_breafa_sluafa_1 Wisconsin: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=g_box&gid=2009_07_25_wisafx_peoafx_1&did=t572&sid=t572 Helena: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=g_box&gid=2009_07_25_helrok_grfrok_1&did=t433&sid=t433 Arizona Rookie (Maryvale): http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2009_07_25_athrok_brrrok_1 Dominican Summer League Brewers / Orioles: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2009_07_25_dmerok_dobrok_1

Saturday's Menu: Times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: LHP Chase Wright at Oklahoma City (Rangers), 5:40 PM pre-game; 6:05 gametime Live Audio Link Huntsville: LHP David Welch at home vs. Carolina (Reds), 5:45 PM pre-game; 6:00 gametime Live Audio Link Brevard County: LHP Dan Merklinger at St. Lucie (Mets), 5:00 PM gametime -- it's the high-A debut for Merklinger Live Audio Link (Mets' Feed) Wisconsin: RHP Trey Watten at Peoria (Cubs), 6:15 PM pre-game; 6:30 gametime Live Audio Link Helena: LHP Jonathan Pokorny at Great Falls (White Sox), 7:45 PM pre-game; 8:00 gametime Live Audio Link Arizona Summer League: at home vs. the Athletics' kids in Maryvale; no more day games -- all games begin at 7:00 local time in the desert; no audio, naturally... Dominican Summer League Brewers / Orioles: at home vs. the DSL Mets (see this thread for some roster background) -- all games are 10:30 local time in the Dominican, and no need to ask about web audio; we usually won't see updated box scores until the overnight...

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David Weiser's starsboxscore.com Ironically, it was in the 2nd inning after Kevin Melillo singled to load the bases that a breaker blew in the stadium, killing all the lights, except for the partly-functioning scoreboard....... I hope this is not a metaphor for the future of Stars baseball. The news is bad enough....... The Stars are 5-12 in their last 17 games after tonight's 7-5 loss to the Mudcats, who have won this series -- only the second and last series at home this month....... With the wind blowing left to right, and the air rather dry for once, Carolina hitters blasted three out of the park. Third baseman Juan Francisco was the major irritant, going 4-for-4 with a single, double, and two home runs -- one a blast that went into the trees in right-center about 440 feet away. That home run, in the 5th, after Mike McClendon walked leadoff hitter Juan Castro, gave the Mudcats a 5-3 lead, one they would never give up....... Francisco homered in his next trip, as well, driving one deep to center, making it 7-3. He walked on a full count in the 1st and scored on Todd Frazier's home run to left, and doubled down the right field line in the 3rd, moving Castro to third. Castro wound up scoring on a ground ball fielder's choice, so Francisco, in one way or another, accounted for six of Carolina's seven runs tonight. Not a very nice night for the Stars, but a very nice night for baseball, and it showed at the gate with an attendance figure of 2,732 --- pretty good by current standards...... Mark Holliman lost his 3rd straight. He threw 83 pitches in four innings, and gave up a single, home run, and double in that order in the 5th...... He's also given up 14 home runs this year in 92 innings (4th in the Southern League)......Adam Stern and Shane Justis both failed to get their 100th hit of the season tonight...... Drew Anderson came in with a hot bat (12-for-21 in his last five games), yet was more constructive with his leadoff 7th inning walk in a two-run inning....... McClendon has remained unscored upon in four straight appearances, covering 6 1/3 innings........ Huntsville pitchers are hitting a combined .123, the lowest mark ever. (The 2003 pitching staff hit .127.)..... Taylor Green has left 44 runners in base in 62 at-bats this month, as many runners as all of May and June, totaling 113 at-bats....... Vinny Rottino extended his hitting streak to seven games, hitting .370, and has driven in a run in five straight....... Melillo's average this month has not wavered lower than .267 nor higher than .273, and is currently .269....... Justis has been hit by pitches in three straight games (four times in this series), and now has been plunked 13 times this season, placing him 8th with Mark Sobolewski and Jared Mathis on the top 20 list for a single season. The Stars placed pitcher Casey Baron on the disabled list, which made room for a Brewer acquisition from independent St. Paul (American Association), Brandon Kintzler (5.3 Ks per 9 innings at St. Paul). He'll turn 25, August 1...... Former Stars Jeff Eure and Brent Krause are playing at St. Paul...... Kintzler (7-6, 4.65 at St. Paul) spent a couple of years in the Padres organization and was originally a 40th round draft pick by the New York Yankees in 2003. He'll wear #32 for the Stars. Saturday wraps up the series, then the Stars are on the road again, this time to Montgomery, where Mike Jones will start the first game of the series on Monday. It will be the Stars' first look at the Biscuits this season. They'll come to the Joe, August 22-26...... Saturday, David Welch (4-7, 5.06) will take on the league's top pitcher, Travis Cook (9-3, 1.21) or left-hander Camilo Vazquez (2-2, 5.63). There will be a Bobblehead Giveaway night on August 10, but the bobble head person is a closely guarded secret.

David Weiser's starsboxscore.com Francisco night Stars make headlines -- off the field It started with Gord Ash's visit to Huntsville, and his post-July 4th assessment of Huntsville's support of baby-Brewer baseball, and it hasn't ended since....... Off the field, the Stars have been making more news than the team has been making on the field, because Huntsville apparently doesn't care that their team is going to the post-season for the 13th time in 25 years -- an enviable track record....... The Brewers want something done, the true fans of the Stars want something done, and GM Buck Rogers wants something done. That's why Buck has already met with Huntsville mayor Tommy Battle and on Thursday, owner Miles Prentice met with the mayor. The headline in Friday's Huntsville Times: STARS OWNER PITCHES NEW PARK Personally, I think the park just needs major renovation -- $15-20 million worth. A new park could cost the city perhaps $35 million or more, but Miles wants a new park, not major modifications...... Buck has told me on two occasions that the mayor, unlike previous mayor Spencer, is receptive to pleas for a new park, or a major renovation, but a new ballpark in this city would be an uphill battle........ Soon representatives of the Brewers, perhaps GM Doug Melvin, will probably meet with the mayor as well to make their case, as well. Gord Ash's words that Huntsville is "a very apathetic baseball town that could cause us (the Brewers) to lose our interest in the team" hit a sore spot among Huntsvillians, but the assessment was right on the mark. Yet it was treated as an insult by those who have posted their remarks on the internet, who don't even go to the games! (Those people shouldn't have the right at all to speak. If you're not going to support the Stars, and still criticize, then SHUT UP!)...... That, as I'll explain further on, is what makes it an uphill battle. Joe Davis Stadium is the oldest park in the league, built cheaply and in a haste in the late fall and winter of 1984 (before the age of the retro-ballpark, starting with Camden Yards), designed by architects who in Buck's words, "had no idea how to build a ballpark" (concessions out of the sight line of the field, deep foul territory and home plate pushed away from the seats, skyboxes without an outdoor alternative, no berm, no wraparound concourse, no restaurant, and so on and so on)........ Miles, owner since 1991, made his pitch to the mayor Thursday, pleading that it's time for a new ballpark, one done right this time, one that will attract fans from everywhere, as well as sorely apathetic Huntsville...... The Brewers want the Stars to remain their affiliate in Huntsville, but only if they can get a first-class stadium...... A new ballpark at the present site, he claims, would save the city an estimated $5-10 million....... This was the only reason for Miles' visit to Huntsville. He left town immediately afterward for a function in upstate New York. While the mayor is receptive, economic factors make the wishes of Buck, Miles, the Brewers, and fans alike unfeasible for the present. If it happens at all, it would be two, maybe three years down the road, if the national economy recovers...... Huntsville, like most of the state, relies heavily on sales taxes. There is no gambling revenue (there's no state lottery, no horse racing, no casinos), and the tourism dollars can't match that of Florida, Louisiana, or states that do have gambling. (Gambling dollars turned Tunica from the poorest county to one of the richest in Mississippi). It varies from 8-11% depending on where you go in north Alabama, and largely the taxes come from the people who can least afford it, and those people right now are looking at unemployment rates inching toward 10%. They are hardly in a listening mood when it comes to being taxed, as if they ever were...... So this is hardly the time to ask Huntsville's ultra-conservative citizens for a half-cent or quarter-cent sales tax increase to fund a stadium. From the letters I've read in the paper and internet postings, they would blow their collective tops if it were proposed, and one misguided letter-writer a week ago said the Stars were a financial drain on the city and it is they that should go. (An absurd and unintelligent remark from someone who admittedly was not a baseball fan at all. Actually, the Stars are an asset to the city and the stadium's cost in maintenance to the city is actually a trickle in the city budget.)...... Mayor Battle says "you can't build it this year or the next and building or revamping would be more of a long-term project."

Link while active, text follows: Voyagers clean up Brewers By JASON SCOTT - Helena Independent Record The rainclouds never really lifted for the Helena Brewers Friday night. In a game delayed a few minutes for field preparations, the Brewers were unable to hit their stride, falling to the Great Falls Voyagers 12-1 at a wet Kindrick Legion Field. First baseman Jose Vargas homered twice to lead the Voyagers, who pulled to within a game of the Brewers and became tied with the Missoula Osprey at 15-14. Missoula lost to the Billings Mustangs to remain a game back. Things were rocky from the start for Helena (16-13). The first four Voyagers batters scored, thanks to sloppy fielding by the Brewers, who committed four errors in the game. Cyle Colligan and Johny Celis had back-to-back sacrifice flies before Jordan Cheatham drove home a run on a single. Before the Brewers had the chance to bat, they were faced with a 4-0 deficit. "You're going to have those kind of games," said Brewers manager Rene Gonzales. "It may happen again. We're going to do it to some clubs, some clubs are going to do it to us." Helena showed signs of life in the bottom of the second, when Josh Prince reached on a walk, then stole his 25th base of the year. He later came home one pitch later, when Mike Brownstein laced a double to the gap in right field. "I was just looking for a fastball," Brownstein said. "It was early in the game. With (Prince) on, you like to let him steal. He's safe more often than not. I'd rather hit with him in scoring position." The game might have been more one-sided, but Chad Stang was a one-man highlight reel in center field. He made several tough running catches, ending would-be Great Falls rallies and delighting the 964 Brewers fans in attendance. The Voyagers added runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, then blew up for three more in the ninth on a Celis homer. "I don't feel bad about it," Gonzales said. "We just need to move on from here. That was our first real ugly game where we lost real bad." Helena's starting pitcher Adrian Rosario was touched up, losing his second game of the year. He allowed five runs n three of them earned, while scattering three hits over three innings. Great Falls starter Justin Collop was effective enough to win his second game. With a nice cushion, he settled in for five innings, allowing one run on three hits while striking out six and walking just one. The Brewers will now travel to Great Falls to finish their four-game set with the Voyagers, starting Saturday night. After Great Falls, Helena will head for Missoula for two games before coming back to Kindrick for two more against the Voyagers. "We've just got to let this game go. Tomorrow's a new day," Brownstein said. "We do have a great pitching staff. They're going to keep us in games, but our offense has to come ready."

Post-Crescent Photo Gallery from the Rattlers game -- Lawrie, Sanchez, Fatse, Seidel among the shots...

Final: Arizona Cubs 4, Arizona Brewers 1 Arizona Box Score RHP Luis Guerrero gave up two 8th inning runs, he's really undeperfromed coming off 2008's promise -- this is the just-turned 19-year-old's third Maryvale season already; Franklin Romero, Allixon Cequea, and Demetrius McKelvie combined for seven hits (all singles, three by Cequea); McKelvie doubled his season-long hit total and is now 4-for-41 with 21 K's -- no stopping him now; seven Cubs pitchers combined for the win; Brewers had a baserunner in every inning but the 1st, but managed only one run... Arizona Game Log