Jim Goulart

Final: Huntsville 5, Mississippi (Braves) 4, 13 innings Huntsville Site Game Summary: COLD NIGHT CLIMAXES IN COMEBACK VICTORY Stars Outlast Braves By Brett Pollock / Huntsville Stars Vinny Rottino singled in the game-winning run with two outs in the 13th inning to lift Huntsville to a 5-4 win over Mississippi Tuesday in the opener of a five-game set at Joe Davis Stadium. The Stars snapped a three-game slide to improve to 2-4, while the Braves dropped their second straight to fall to 2-4. Brian Dumensil took over on the hill for the Braves in the decisive frame and recorded two ground outs before walking winning pitcher Casey Baron, who advanced to third base on a Jonathan Lucroy single. Rottino, mired in a 13 at-bat hitless drought, roped a line drive into left field on a full count pitch to end the four hour, 28 minute contest. Each team stranded at least one runner in scoring position in each half of the 10th, 11th and 12th innings. Baron struck out Kody Kirkland with runners at second and third to end the 12th and retired the side in order on five pitches in the 13th to earn his first double-A win. Donovan Hand, Josh Wapehpah and Derrick Ellison combined for six innings of shutout relief behind starter Jeremy Jeffress, who recorded eight strikeouts in four frames and retired the last 10 batters he faced. Mississippi took a 4-3 lead in the ninth against Juan Sandoval on consecutive sacrifice flies by Willie Cabrera and Travis Jones, who each knocked in their first run of the year. Yohannis Perez led off the home half of the inning with an opposite field home run off of Rafael Cruz to tie the score and drive in his third run of the game. Kevin Melillo followed with a pinch-hit double but was left stranded at third base. The series continues on Wednesday night with southpaw Chris Cody making the start for Huntsville against Braves' right-hander Deunte Heath. Coverage of the game begins at 6:45 pm central time and can be heard through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com. Huntsville Box Score Chris Errecart, Chuckie Caufield, and Yohannis Perez with three-hit nights; Stars pitchers struck out 19 (!) and walked four; only 490 on hand on a 53 degree night... Huntsville Game Log Clutch Stars pitching -- Braves only 1-for-14 with RISP...

Nashville Pre-Game Audio Chat with Starting Pitcher Tim Dillard Final: Oklahoma City (Rangers) 12, Nashville 2 Nashville Site Game Summary: Link for latest Hernan Iribarren photo, text follows -- RedHawks Unload On Sounds, 12-2 NASHVILLE - The Oklahoma City RedHawks cranked out a season-best 17 hits en route to a 12-2 victory over the Nashville Sounds on Tuesday evening at Greer Stadium in the second game of a four-game series. The RedHawks received multi-hit efforts from seven different players on the night, led by Royce Huffman (3-for-4) and Esteban German (3-for-5). For the fifth time in Nashville's six games this season, the opposition struck first as Oklahoma City took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. After the first two batters of the initial frame were retired, Brandon Boggs and Ben Harrison connected for back-to-back two-out doubles off Sounds starter Sam Narron to put the visitors on the board. The RedHawks doubled the lead in the second when a leadoff walk to Huffman came back to haunt Narron. With one out, Greg Golson singled to move Huffman to second before he came around to score later in the frame on Julio Borbon's two-out RBI single to center to make it a 2-0 contest. Oklahoma made it a 3-0 game in the sixth against Narron on a Joaquin Arias sacrifice fly. RedHawks starter Luis Mendoza (1-0) was nearly flawless in his first outing of the season, limiting the Sounds to two hits while striking out six batters over five scoreless innings of work to record the victory. Nashville took immediate advantage of Mendoza's departure, touching former Sound Derrick Turnbow for a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth to pull within 3-2. Third baseman Mat Gamel extended his season-opening hit streak to six games by leading off with his fourth double of the season. After moving to third on a Brendan Katin single, Gamel came plateward with the first Sounds run of the evening on Erick Almonte's RBI single to right. Hernan Iribarren followed with a seeing-eye single through the right side of the infield that extended his hit streak to five games and brought home Katin to make it a one-run contest. AUDIO: Erick Almonte RBI The RedHawks bullpen went into lockdown mode following Turnbow's exit, allowing no hits to Nashville batters over the final 3 2/3 frames. Brian Gordon worked 1 2/3 hitless innings before Thomas Diamond and Pedro Strop each turned in a scoreless frame to close out the contest. Oklahoma City added an insurance run in the top of the eighth against Nashville reliever Lindsay Gulin when Arias lifted his second sacrifice fly of the night to right to bring in Max Ramirez, then pulled ahead comfortably in the ninth with an eight-run eruption against the southpaw to increase the lead to 12-2. Narron (0-1) worked seven innings, the longest outing by a Sounds hurler during the young season, but took a loss after allowing three runs on nine hits while walking one batter and striking out six. Sounds shortstop Alcides Escobar went 0-for-4 on the evening to snap his season-opening hit streak at five games. The teams continue their series with an 11 a.m. matinee on Wednesday morning at Greer. Right-hander Mike Burns (0-0, 9.00) will take the hill for the Sounds to face Oklahoma City right-hander Doug Mathis (0-0, 3.00). Nashville Box Score Carlos Corporan doubled and walked twice... Nashville Game Log

Link while active, text follows: BY RACHEL LENZI, MaineToday.com Friday in Viera, Fla., Mark Rogers made his first professional start since Aug. 18, 2006, after undergoing two surgeries on his right shoulder. Rogers, a right-hander from Orr's Island and Mt. Ararat High School, pitched three scoreless innings in his first start of the season with the Brevard County Manatees -- a Brewers' farm team -- in the Class A Florida State League. He will make his second start Thursday when Brevard County faces the Tampa Yankees. Rogers threw 44 pitches, giving up two hits, a walk, and striking out one in a 7-6 loss to Daytona. The Brewers wanted him to throw no more than 50 pitches. "I stuck to my strengths," said Rogers, 23, whom Milwaukee selected fifth overall in the 2004 amateur draft. "I watched the team the night before and took notes, and when it came time to pitch, I stuck to my game plan. "Having a game plan and staying within yourself is a plus. When you're younger, you're just pitching, and that's the name of the game but there's a way to accomplish it. It's more methodical, and it's not about being gung-ho." Reid Nichols, director of player development for the Brewers, expects Rogers to remain on a limited pitch count through the first half of the season with Brevard County. Nichols said that Class A -- with a 25-man roster, as opposed to 24 at Double-A -- is ideal for a pitcher on a limited pitch count to develop. The Brewers' medical staff, he said, will determine if and when his pitch count could increase to up to 75 a game. "We don't want to extend him too far and we don't want to overtax him," Nichols said. "We're all hopeful he will be a major-league starter for us. But we're patient as he works through this." Rogers, 23, spent the summer of 2004 in the Arizona Rookie League, the 2005 season with the low-Class A West Virginia Power and the first half of 2006 with Brevard County before he injured his right shoulder during a game. Six months later, after going through physical therapy, Rogers underwent surgery to repair a labral tear and to tighten a loose ligament in his shoulder. He sat out the next two seasons of baseball. Last June, Rogers underwent a second surgery to remove scar tissue that developed after the first surgery. A day after the surgery, Rogers said he started rehabilitation and resumed workouts, focusing first on range-of-motion exercises and progressing to a point where, six weeks later, he began throwing. In October, Rogers began throwing bullpen sessions in an instructional league in Arizona. Rogers took four weeks off for a hunting trip to Saskatchewan in November with his father, and when he resumed throwing right before the holidays -- and right after the Brewers added him to the 40-man roster -- he felt a difference. Rogers has been actively pitching since the start of spring training in February. "I was very fortunate to be around a lot of very good pitchers during my rehabilitation, guys like Mike Jones and Chris Capuano, and I owe a lot to my pitching coach, Steve Cline," Rogers said. "He's helped me so much, with the mental side of the game, the correct way to go about business and to be a professional." Rogers said that since his first surgery, he has become a student of the game, whether he was working out at the ballpark, throwing, or watching other players. "Rehab is a grind," said Rogers, who lives in Arizona in the offseason. "It's hard because some of the guys I was drafted with and some of my good friends are in the big leagues now. "But you also learn about the game through the process and I've found that I've improved. My body strength is better, my endurance is better and my pitching is better."

Link while active, text follows: BY RACHEL LENZI, MaineToday.com Friday in Viera, Fla., Mark Rogers made his first professional start since Aug. 18, 2006, after undergoing two surgeries on his right shoulder. Rogers, a right-hander from Orr's Island and Mt. Ararat High School, pitched three scoreless innings in his first start of the season with the Brevard County Manatees -- a Brewers' farm team -- in the Class A Florida State League. He will make his second start Thursday when Brevard County faces the Tampa Yankees. Rogers threw 44 pitches, giving up two hits, a walk, and striking out one in a 7-6 loss to Daytona. The Brewers wanted him to throw no more than 50 pitches. "I stuck to my strengths," said Rogers, 23, whom Milwaukee selected fifth overall in the 2004 amateur draft. "I watched the team the night before and took notes, and when it came time to pitch, I stuck to my game plan. "Having a game plan and staying within yourself is a plus. When you're younger, you're just pitching, and that's the name of the game but there's a way to accomplish it. It's more methodical, and it's not about being gung-ho." Reid Nichols, director of player development for the Brewers, expects Rogers to remain on a limited pitch count through the first half of the season with Brevard County. Nichols said that Class A -- with a 25-man roster, as opposed to 24 at Double-A -- is ideal for a pitcher on a limited pitch count to develop. The Brewers' medical staff, he said, will determine if and when his pitch count could increase to up to 75 a game. "We don't want to extend him too far and we don't want to overtax him," Nichols said. "We're all hopeful he will be a major-league starter for us. But we're patient as he works through this." Rogers, 23, spent the summer of 2004 in the Arizona Rookie League, the 2005 season with the low-Class A West Virginia Power and the first half of 2006 with Brevard County before he injured his right shoulder during a game. Six months later, after going through physical therapy, Rogers underwent surgery to repair a labral tear and to tighten a loose ligament in his shoulder. He sat out the next two seasons of baseball. Last June, Rogers underwent a second surgery to remove scar tissue that developed after the first surgery. A day after the surgery, Rogers said he started rehabilitation and resumed workouts, focusing first on range-of-motion exercises and progressing to a point where, six weeks later, he began throwing. In October, Rogers began throwing bullpen sessions in an instructional league in Arizona. Rogers took four weeks off for a hunting trip to Saskatchewan in November with his father, and when he resumed throwing right before the holidays -- and right after the Brewers added him to the 40-man roster -- he felt a difference. Rogers has been actively pitching since the start of spring training in February. "I was very fortunate to be around a lot of very good pitchers during my rehabilitation, guys like Mike Jones and Chris Capuano, and I owe a lot to my pitching coach, Steve Cline," Rogers said. "He's helped me so much, with the mental side of the game, the correct way to go about business and to be a professional." Rogers said that since his first surgery, he has become a student of the game, whether he was working out at the ballpark, throwing, or watching other players. "Rehab is a grind," said Rogers, who lives in Arizona in the offseason. "It's hard because some of the guys I was drafted with and some of my good friends are in the big leagues now. "But you also learn about the game through the process and I've found that I've improved. My body strength is better, my endurance is better and my pitching is better."

Link while active, text follows: BY RACHEL LENZI, MaineToday.com Friday in Viera, Fla., Mark Rogers made his first professional start since Aug. 18, 2006, after undergoing two surgeries on his right shoulder. Rogers, a right-hander from Orr's Island and Mt. Ararat High School, pitched three scoreless innings in his first start of the season with the Brevard County Manatees -- a Brewers' farm team -- in the Class A Florida State League. He will make his second start Thursday when Brevard County faces the Tampa Yankees. Rogers threw 44 pitches, giving up two hits, a walk, and striking out one in a 7-6 loss to Daytona. The Brewers wanted him to throw no more than 50 pitches. "I stuck to my strengths," said Rogers, 23, whom Milwaukee selected fifth overall in the 2004 amateur draft. "I watched the team the night before and took notes, and when it came time to pitch, I stuck to my game plan. "Having a game plan and staying within yourself is a plus. When you're younger, you're just pitching, and that's the name of the game but there's a way to accomplish it. It's more methodical, and it's not about being gung-ho." Reid Nichols, director of player development for the Brewers, expects Rogers to remain on a limited pitch count through the first half of the season with Brevard County. Nichols said that Class A -- with a 25-man roster, as opposed to 24 at Double-A -- is ideal for a pitcher on a limited pitch count to develop. The Brewers' medical staff, he said, will determine if and when his pitch count could increase to up to 75 a game. "We don't want to extend him too far and we don't want to overtax him," Nichols said. "We're all hopeful he will be a major-league starter for us. But we're patient as he works through this." Rogers, 23, spent the summer of 2004 in the Arizona Rookie League, the 2005 season with the low-Class A West Virginia Power and the first half of 2006 with Brevard County before he injured his right shoulder during a game. Six months later, after going through physical therapy, Rogers underwent surgery to repair a labral tear and to tighten a loose ligament in his shoulder. He sat out the next two seasons of baseball. Last June, Rogers underwent a second surgery to remove scar tissue that developed after the first surgery. A day after the surgery, Rogers said he started rehabilitation and resumed workouts, focusing first on range-of-motion exercises and progressing to a point where, six weeks later, he began throwing. In October, Rogers began throwing bullpen sessions in an instructional league in Arizona. Rogers took four weeks off for a hunting trip to Saskatchewan in November with his father, and when he resumed throwing right before the holidays -- and right after the Brewers added him to the 40-man roster -- he felt a difference. Rogers has been actively pitching since the start of spring training in February. "I was very fortunate to be around a lot of very good pitchers during my rehabilitation, guys like Mike Jones and Chris Capuano, and I owe a lot to my pitching coach, Steve Cline," Rogers said. "He's helped me so much, with the mental side of the game, the correct way to go about business and to be a professional." Rogers said that since his first surgery, he has become a student of the game, whether he was working out at the ballpark, throwing, or watching other players. "Rehab is a grind," said Rogers, who lives in Arizona in the offseason. "It's hard because some of the guys I was drafted with and some of my good friends are in the big leagues now. "But you also learn about the game through the process and I've found that I've improved. My body strength is better, my endurance is better and my pitching is better."

Look for all your updates by mid-morning, a bit of a computer issue this AM. Thanks for your patience.

Brevard County Press Release: Tuesday's game between the Brevard County Manatees and Tampa Yankees has been postponed due to dangerous field conditions. It has been rescheduled as part of a doubleheader Wednesday morning. Game 1 begins at 10:35 AM (9:35 Central), as it is Education Day at Space Coast Stadium. Each game will be a seven-inning contest.

I was 13 in '76 and immersed in all things baseball. Mark was a Massachusetts kid, and I was captivated, like the rest of the nation. Read about the attendance-related items in Jim Caple's ESPN remembrance. America took a break from fixating on this kid for a little something called the Bicentennial. But that was about the only thing that diverted our attention. It was amazing, and wonderful, and an important part of my baseball childhood. Thanks, Mark. God Bless.

Rattler Radio Blog: April 14, 2009 Starting Lineup April 14, 2009 Game Notes April 14, 2009 Timber Rattler Pitcher

Midwest League Standings

Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Omaha 4 1 .800 - 0-0 4-1 W4 Memphis 3 1 .750 0.5 3-1 0-0 W2 Iowa 3 2 .600 1.0 0-0 3-2 L1 Nashville 2 3 .400 2.0 2-3 0-0 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- West Tenn 4 1 .800 - 0-0 4-1 W2 Carolina 3 2 .600 1.0 0-0 3-2 W1 Tennessee 2 3 .400 2.0 0-0 2-3 L2 Chattanooga 1 4 .200 3.0 0-0 1-4 L2 Huntsville 1 4 .200 3.0 1-4 0-0 L3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Clearwater 3 1 .750 - 1-1 2-0 W1 Daytona 3 1 .750 - 3-0 0-1 W3 Lakeland 2 2 .500 1.0 2-0 0-2 L1 Tampa 2 2 .500 1.0 2-0 0-2 W1 Brevard County 1 3 .250 2.0 1-0 0-3 L3 Dunedin 1 3 .250 2.0 0-2 1-1 L1

Follow Tuesday'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_04_14_orhaaa_nasaaa_1 Huntsville: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t559&t=g_box&gid=2009_04_14_msbaax_hunaax_1 Brevard County: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&t=g_box&gid=2009_04_14_tbyafa_breafa_1 Wisconsin: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=g_box&gid=2009_04_14_ftwafx_wisafx_1&did=t572&sid=t572

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):

Tuesday's Daily Menu: All times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Link here for the live audio choices - audio will no longer archive. Sorry, no audio for this Brevard County series Nashville: LHP Sam Narron at home vs. Oklahoma (Rangers), 5:35 PM pre-game; 6:00 gametime Huntsville: RHP Jeremy Jeffress at home vs. Mississippi (Braves), 6:45 PM pre-game; 7:00 gametime Brevard County: RHP Amaury Rivas at home vs. Tampa (Yankees), 6:05 gametime Wisconsin: RHP Michael Bowman at home vs. Fort Wayne (Padres), 6:15 pre-game, 6:35 gametime

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Link while active, text follows: Timber Rattlers still confident their offense will get going By Brett Christopherson • Post-Crescent staff writer GRAND CHUTE - Erik Miller insists the bats will warm soon. But for now, the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers right fielder admitted the frustration is creeping following Monday's 2-1 Midwest League loss to Fort Wayne in 10 innings at Fox Cities Stadium. Once again, Rattlers pitching looked sharp, with three hurlers combining to scatter five hits and strike out eight. But again, the offense scuffled to the tune of a two-hit outing, which led to this take from Miller, whose sixth-inning single was Wisconsin's second and final hit of the game. "Those guys pitched their butts off," he said in looking back at the Rattlers' first setback of the season after opening the year with a three-game sweep of Quad Cities. "It kind of hurts a little bit when we can't score any runs for them. They've just got to keep pitching, and we'll come around eventually." Throughout the first four games, the Rattlers are hitting just .206 with 16 runs scored. And that's including Friday's 10-1 victory over Quad Cities, a game in which they amassed 14 hits. Six TinCaps pitchers came together to whiff 13 hitters and exited without being charged with an earned run. Their only blemish came in the first after second baseman Brett Lawrie tripled and later scored after advancing on a pitch in the dirt. Fort Wayne starter Rob Musgrave was charged with an error on the play because he couldn't hold onto the ball as Lawrie slid across the plate. Other than that, it was a quiet night for a Wisconsin offense looking to give its pitching staff - it will be taking a 1.22 team earned run average into today's game against Fort Wayne - a boost. "We've got to do a better job of making adjustments at the plate," Wisconsin manager Jeff Isom said. "Realistically, we haven't been hitting the ball extremely well. We've been putting it into play a little bit and scratching runs here and there and taking advantage of mistakes. … But when you go out there and walk the leadoff guy in the ninth and the leadoff guy in the 10th, that's where the game was lost right there." Both of those walks, issued by relievers Cody Adams in the ninth and Pedro Lambertus in the 10th - eventually came around to score, erasing a 1-0 Rattlers lead heading into the final inning. Still, the pitching has been sturdy enough in leading Wisconsin to a pair of low-scoring, one-run victories against Quad Cities and seemed in line to do so again before Fort Wayne rallied. "It'll come. It'll come," catcher Sean McCraw said of the Rattlers bats. "This is my first year in I don't know how many years to play in this kind of weather, where it was this cold. I think for a lot of these guys, it's their first time playing in these extreme conditions. "As long as our pitching stays where it's at right now, we're going to win a lot of ballgames. Our hitting will come around." Monday's game time temperature was 43 degrees and dipped to 39 degrees by the end with gusty winds producing a wind chill of 30 degrees. Not terrible, but not exactly ideal, either. "It's a little bit different than spring training right now," Isom said with a grin. "But guys are fine. It seems like every year, my guys start off slow offensively, and it's just a matter of adjustments - catching up to the league and seeing pitchers in front of fans. "But as long as you can get pitching and defense, you're going to give yourself a chance to win. And for the most part, that's what we had tonight."

Link while active, text follows: Sounds struggle with slow start to season Starting pitching, defense falters By Maurice Patton • THE TENNESSEAN Five runs should be enough to win most baseball games, according to first-year Nashville Sounds Manager Don Money. "I'd take my chances," he said. But five runs wouldn't have won any of his team's first four games during the season-opening series against visiting New Orleans. Coming off a 2008 season in which the Sounds scored 655 runs (4.7 per game) en route to a franchise-worst 59-81 record, Nashville totaled 22 runs (5.5 per game) against New Orleans - but won just once, a 10-6 decision on Friday. Four games into a 144-game schedule, no one is hitting the panic button yet. "It's early," Money said. But the Sounds are eager to avoid a repeat of last season, when the team lost nine of its first 10 games and 15 of the first 18. This year, the slow start has a lot to do with the 6.50 earned run average posted by the team's starting pitchers before Monday. "We don't have many hard throwers," Money said. "We've got some control pitchers. If we're going to strike (the opposition) out, we've got to get them to swing at our pitches. "We're going to give up some hits." Nashville allowed 44 hits in the opening series, though the staff as a whole - including relievers - put together a respectable 4.38 ERA, ninth in the 16-team Pacific Coast League. "Once these pitchers get their pitch counts up, we'll get deeper into games and take a little pressure off the bullpen," said Nashville left-hander starter Chase Wright, who allowed one earned run on seven hits over four innings and got a no-decision in Saturday's 6-2 loss. Defense was also an issue in the opening series when six errors led to 12 unearned runs. Monday night, however, Nashville played error-free in grabbing a 4-3 win over Oklahoma City in the first of four games against the RedHawks. "You want to limit the mistakes that (take) you out of the game," said Nashville third baseman Mat Gamel, who was charged with an error for mishandling a line-drive Sunday, resulting in a six-run 10th inning. "You've got to score to win, but you've also got to keep the opposition from scoring more than you. Defense wins ballgames," said Gamel, who hit .563 (9-for-16) with the only homer and eight RBIs through the opening series. He's among several Sounds seeing their first extensive Class AAA action. "It's part of the game," Gamel said. "You're not going to win every game. The first series, you want to win. But it didn't work out that way." Along with their .294 batting average - fifth in the PCL - only four PCL teams scored more runs through four games than the Sounds. "For a lot of these guys, it's their first time up," veteran outfielder Tony Gwynn said. "When we get those nerves out of the way, get to playing baseball, we'll be fine. We're a great defensive team, we've got great pitching and our hitting's going to be there."

Link while active, text follows: Stars' bats start cold Huntsville in 1-4 hole as Bay Bears dominate By PAUL GATTIS Huntsville Times Sports Staff, paul.gattis@htimes.com The buzzwords Monday afternoon bounced from one end of the clubhouse to the other. "We just can't get discouraged," Huntsville Stars manager Bob Miscik said. "You can't panic," added Stars second baseman Shane Justis. But when teams say they can't get discouraged and can't panic, that often means there's reason to get discouraged and reason to panic. And the reason is the Stars aren't hitting. Wrapping up their fourth loss in the five-game season-opening series against Mobile, the Stars were romped 13-2, trailing 10-0 in the third inning. "We haven't started out too hot," Justis said. "A couple of guys swinging it, a couple of guys not. There's no rhythm in the lineup right now. "But it's coming. It's early. No reason to panic. Everybody can hit. It's just a matter of time. Mobile threw some good pitchers out there." Through five games, the Stars are hitting a paltry .201 and averaging 2.8 runs per game. The Stars had one hit in Sunday's 3-0 loss and scored both runs Monday on one swing of third baseman Kevin Melillo's bat - a two-run double in the third inning. But it's not as if the lineup is a collection of batting slumps. Justis leads the Stars with four extra-base hits and six runs scored. Leadoff hitter Adam Stern has been steady, hitting .316. Catcher Jonathan Lucroy is hitting .308 with a team-high four RBIs. Beyond those three, however, the hits have been sparse. "Our offense is not going to be about one guy," Miscik said. "We have to click as a group. We're not going to be a one-man team. It's going to take all eight guys in the lineup doing their thing. They're going to have to do it as a unit. "We're going to have to grind out games. We're going to have to wear down pitchers and make it hard. We're not going to score a lot by one guy carrying us. That ain't going to happen." No chance of grinding out Monday's game. Starting pitcher David Welch got lit up for 11 hits and eight runs in 1 2/3 innings, and the Stars batters never had a chance to make a difference. "You want to stay focused like it's a tight game," said Justis, who was 2-for-4 with a run scored. "But in all honesty, your focus lapses and you have a little more distractions."

TinCaps 2, Rattlers 1 -- Plenty of extra "stuff" in the Post-Crescent blog summary of the game

Final: Fort Wayne (Padres) 2, Wisconsin 1, ten innings MiLB.com: TinCaps rally to end Rattler win streak By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI -- A pair of 3-0 teams took to Time Warner Cable Field on Monday night. It was the Fort Wayne TinCaps who kept their record perfect to start the 2009 season. The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers grabbed an early lead, but Fort Wayne scored single runs in the ninth and tenth innings for a 2-1 victory. Brett Lawrie was a one-man rally in the first inning for the Timber Rattlers (3-1). He tripled to right with two outs. The Rattler second baseman broke for the plate on a pitch in the dirt to Brock Kjeldgaard. Fort Wayne catcher Adam Zornes made a good throw to pitcher Rob Musgrave, who was covering the plate. But, Musgrave dropped the ball allowing Lawrie to score for a 1-0 Timber Rattler lead. Rattler starting pitcher Wily Peralta made that lead stand up through his six innings of work. He help Fort Wayne to two hits and one walk as he struck out four. Unfortunately, for Wisconsin they managed just one hit after Lawrie's first inning triple and the Rattlers could not extend their lead. Wisconsin reliever Cody Adams worked a scoreless seventh and a scoreless eighth. However, he would run into trouble in the ninth. Daniel Robertson drew a leadoff walk. Then, Blake Tekotte lined a double to rightcenter. Robertson scored easily to tie the game. The TinCaps got Tekotte to third with one out, but Adams got out of the game with the scored still tied. The Rattlers had a two-out rally brewing in the bottom of the ninth inning after TinCap reliever Zach Herr walked Lawrie and Kjeldgaard with two outs. But, Herr escaped to send the game into extra innings. In the top of the tenth, Fort Wayne took advantage of a pair of walks by Rattler reliever Pedro Lambertus. Matt Clark and Allan Dykstra drew back-to-back free passes to start the frame. A James Darnell sacrifice bunt moved both runners up a base. Lambertus got a strikeout for the second out, but an infield single by Jeudy Valdez allowed Clark to score from third with the go ahead run. Brad Brach worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the tenth by striking out the side and picked up his second save of the season. Game two of the series is Tuesday night. Michael Bowman makes his Timber Rattler debut as the starting pitcher on Tuesday. The TinCaps will counter with Stiven Osuna on the mound. Game time is 6:35 PM. Wisconsin Box Score Small sample fun -- Brett Lawrie with a .970 OPS despite a .182 average, two walks in addition to his triple; OF Erik Komatsu idle since Opening Night -- anyone with an injury update? Wisconsin catchers Sean McCraw (0-for-12, five K's) and Shawn Zarraga (0-for-3) yet to reach base this season; pitching coach Chris Hook must be loving this staff right now; Wily Peralta is going to be the first real studly Latin pitcher fully developed by the Brewers since, well, an awfully long time -- enjoy... Wisconsin Game Log Pedro Lambertus nearly escaped his own mess in the 10th... WLUK-TV Photo of Wily Peralta http://media2.fox11online.com//photo/2009/04/13/Rattlers_Peralta_20090413221944_640_480.JPG

Nashville Pre-Game Audio Chat with Third Baseman Mat Gamel Discusses both his offensive and defensive game in detail - nice interview, Chuck Valenches (and Mat)... Final: Nashville 4, Oklahoma City (Rangers) 3 Nashville Site Game Summary Link for latest Mat Gamel photo, text follows -- Gamel Homers Again In Sounds' 4-3 Win NASHVILLE - Mat Gamel belted his second home run of the season as the Nashville Sounds edged the Oklahoma City RedHawks, 4-3, on Monday night at Greer Stadium in the opener of a four-game series. Gamel, who leads the Sounds with 10 RBIs on the year, extended his season-opening hit streak to five games and is batting .556 (10-for-18) on the year. The visitors took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning against Sounds starter Tim Dillard. Julio Borbon led off with his first double of the season and scored the contest's first run two batters later on Brandon Boggs' RBI single to center. Gamel powered the Sounds to a 2-1 lead in the home half of the frame when he mashed a mammoth two-run homer to right that landed on Chestnut Street well beyond the outfield wall. The blast, which came against Oklahoma starter Derek Holland and plated Alcides Escobar (double), was Gamel's second of the year. AUDIO: Mat Gamel Homers Onto Chestnut Street Hernan Iribarren increased the Sounds' lead to 4-1 in the fourth with a two-run double to left-center that brought in Brendan Katin and Erick Almonte, who had opened the frame with consecutive singles off Holland. Oklahoma City got a run back in the top of the fifth on Boggs' second RBI knock of the evening, a one-out single off Dillard that plated Casey Benjamin. Following a 27-minute rain delay in the top of the seventh inning, the RedHawks cut the lead to one at 4-3 after loading the bases with no outs against Sounds reliever Chris Smith. Ben Harrison's one-out RBI infield single brought home Benjamin. Smith escaped further damage by striking out Scott Thorman and inducing an inning-ending flyout from Royce Huffman, leaving the bags full. Chris Narveson worked the final two innings in hitless fashion to preserve the victory and notch the Sounds' first save of the season. Dillard (1-0) became the first Nashville starting pitcher to earn a win on the year after allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits in his five innings of action. Holland (0-1) took the loss for the RedHawks in his season debut. He gave up four runs on five hits over four frames. Gamel and Escobar each extended their season-opening hit streaks to five games in the contest, the lone Nashville batters to hit safely in all of the club's games. The teams continue their series with another 6 p.m. meeting on Tuesday evening. Left-hander Sam Narron (0-0, 5.40) will man the bump for the Sounds to face Oklahoma City right-hander Luis Mendoza, who makes his first appearance of the year. Nashville Box Score No Redhawk attempted to run on Angel Salome in this one; Sounds drew six walks; Scott Thorman landed a job with Oklahoma... Nashville Game Log No idea why Hernan Iribarren ended the 4th attempting a steal of third base, although Alcides Escobar was successful doing so in the 5th, it doesn't make it right; 1-2-3 9th for Chris Narveson, striking out the side -- surely appears to be closer by situation...

Final: Daytona (Cubs) 6, Brevard County 5, ten innings Walkoff loss... Daytona Site Game Summary (obviously from the Cub perspective): DAYTONA BEACH - Yet another back and forth battle between the Daytona Cubs (3-1) and the Brevard County Manatees (1-3) went the way of the Cubs, who pulled out a 6-5 win in ten innings to earn a sweep of the three-game series. Shortstop Starlin Castro's bloop single into shallow right field fell just out of the reach of a diving Caleb Gindl to score catcher Mark Reed for the game-winning, walk-off run. The Cubs had several chances to win the game in the ninth, as hitters came up twice with the bases loaded. Two groudouts later and the game was headed into extras. Relief pitcher David Cales (2-0) allowed just two hits over the final two innings putting Daytona in position to come out victorious. Reed bunted his way on to lead off the bottom of the tenth, then advanced to third when infielder Zelous Wheeler committed his second error of the game and threw the ball into the visitors bullpen. Two hitters later, Manatees Manager Mike Guerrero would replace left fielder Lee Haydel with an extra infielder, Eric Farris, leaving just two players to man the outfield. Castro would take advantage with the pop fly to shallow right for the winning run. The Manatees put up the game's first run after just three batters, but the Cubs would answer quickly. A lead-off double by second baseman Nathan Samson, followed by a Marwin Gonzalez single tied it up at one apiece. Three hitters later, right fielder Dylan Johnston rode a fastball from Manatees starter Mike Jones over the center field wall for his, and the teams, first home run of the season and a 3-1 lead. Brevard County would regain the lead with a run in the fifth with a run and extend the lead to two with another in the sixth, but the resilient, young Cubs responded in the bottom of the sixth. Three hits and two walks gave the Cubs opportunities to score with the bases loaded and two away. Manatees reliever John Axford walked Reed to bring in one run, then surrendered an RBI hit to centerfielder Jonathan Wyatt. For Wyatt, it marked his first hit and RBI of the 2009 season. The two teams would combine for 26 hits in the contest as all but one position player to start the game would record a hit. Johnston and Jonathan Wyatt led Daytona with two apiece, while Gindl and Cole Gillespie both notched three hits for Brevard County. Brevard County Box Score Cole Gillespie on base four times; Caleb Gindl added a sacrifice fly to his three hits; Logan Schafer hit the 'Tees only home run thus far this season; the middle infield turned three double plays; infielder Sergio Miranda and catcher Anderson Delarosa saw their first action of the season; three stolen bases, but some adventures (two picked off) as well; of the three Brevard pitchers who bypassed Wisconsin (Mark Willinsky, Rigo Almonte, Brandon Rapoza), Rapoza had the best evening... Brevard County Game Log Review the box score -- double plays played a huge part, and start to finish all three hours, 22 minutes, look incredibly entertaining...

Regarding players like Josh Romanski and David Fonseca, because they finished up 2008 on Helena's roster, the Brewers don't have to make any formal disabled list announcement for them until June. So if they are nursing minor injuries in Maryvale, or even trying to overcome more serious ones, there is no mention of a disabled list placement at this time.

Thanks. That's really weird the original didn't work (I just updated it). It was the exact format it's supposed to have been in, and that has worked forever.

This will probably be our final post in this thread before starting a regular season transaction thread -- From Baseball America: Placed on restricted list: SS Matt Cline Placed on 7-day DL: RHP Omar Aguilar, RHP Corey Frerichs, RHP Ryan Houston, RHP Alex Periard, RHP R.J. Seidel, LHP Zach Braddock, LHP Chris Capuano, LHP Daniel Meadows, LHP Jose Romero, LHP Brae Wright, C Corey Kemp, C Brett Whiteside, SS Michael Garciaparra, OF Lorenzo Cain Cline may have "retired" without filing final paperwork -- speculation only. Let's see: Aguilar (oblique), Frerichs (ACL), Periard (shoulder), Seidel (ACL), Braddock (coming back from some type of arm surgery, not Tommy John, rotator cuff, or labrum), Capuano (Tommy John), Wright (Tommy John), Cain (hamstring) Others unknown -- gee, Whiteside can't stay on the field.