Jim Goulart

Tuesday's Daily Menu: All times Central except Arizona League; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: LHP Chris Narveson at home vs. Albuquerque (Marlins), 5:45 PM pre-game; 6:00 gametime Audio link via WNSR, be sure to select the proper date (game will also archive at this link): http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/clubs/ip_index.jsp?sid=milb&cid=t556 Huntsville: LHP's David Welch and Brae Wright at home in a doubleheader vs. Carolina (Marlins), 4:45 PM pre-game; 5:00 gametime; each contest seven innings Audio link via WUMP, be sure to select the proper date (game will also archive at this link): http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/audio.jsp?sid=t559 Brevard County: RHP Amaury Rivas at home vs. Jupiter (Marlins), 6:00 PM gametime Sorry, no audio for this series... West Virginia: RHP Evan Anundsen at Lexington (Astros), 5:55 PM pre-game, 6:05 gametime Audio link via WSWW, be sure to select the proper date (game will also archive at this link): http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/clubs/ip_index.jsp?sid=milb&cid=t525 Helena: RHP Cody Adams at home vs. Great Falls (White Sox), 7:55 PM pre-game, 8:05 gametime Audio link via KCAP, be sure to select the proper date (game will also archive at this link): http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/clubs/ip_index.jsp?sid=milb&cid=t433 Arizona: Idle

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Final: West Virginia 4, Lexington (Astros) 1 West Virginia Site Game Summary: POWER HOLD LEGENDS TO THREE HITS IN 4-1 VICTORY Dan Merklinger, Corey Frerichs and Rob Wooten held the Legends to just a run on three hits at Applebee's Park on Monday night as the Power took the third game of the series with a 4-1 victory. West Virginia took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second. Curt Rindal began the inning with a double. He moved to third base on Matt Cline's first of three base hits and scored on Lee Haydel's single. Haydel scored the final run of the inning on Eric Farris's two-out base hit. The Legends plated their lone run of the game in the bottom of the fourth. Brandon Barnes ripped a two-out double and scored on Jonathan Fixler's base hit. West Virginia plated a pair of insurance runs with two outs in the seventh. Caleb Gindl doubled off the wall in left field to score Eric Fryer and he scored on Zelous Wheeler's opposite field double a few pitches later. Corey Frerichs (6-8) pitched two perfect innings of relief to get the victory. Rob Wooten (4) tossed three scoreless innings of relief and fanned four batters to get the save. Jeff Icenogle (3-10) allowed a pair of runs on nine hits over five innings and was tagged with the loss. Dan Merklinger pitched well, allowing just a run on three hits over four innings but did not last long enough to get the decision. The Power improved to 74-59 on the year and 42-22 in the second half with the win. The Legends fell to 43-89 on the year and 22-41 in the second half with the loss. Five Power players turned in multi-hit games, including Caleb Gindl and Lee Haydel. They both extended their hitting streaks to eleven games. Matt Cline paced the Power with a 3-for-4 performance. Eric Fryer did not reach, bringing his on base streak to an end at 33 games. West Virginia now has a 3.5 game lead on the second place Lakewood BlueClaws with six games remaining. The Power will finish the four game series against Lexington Tuesday night. The Power will start right hander Evan Anundsen (11-7, 4.20) and the Legends will counter with left hander Anthony Bello (7-6, 3.88). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM (6:05 Central). West Virginia Box Score West Virginia Game Log

Final: Brevard County 7, Palm Beach (Cardinals) 3 Brevard County Box Score Big night for J.R. Hopf, two hits, including a double, and drove in four; Manatees led 5-1 after three and did not look back; Brent Brewer on base four times -- something has definiely clicked; Jonathan Lucroy two singles, two runs scored; Bobby Bramhall, as was noted above, solid again, this time through five innings as four relievers finished up... Brevard County Game Log

Helena Pre-Game Audio with Outfielder and "Rapper" Erik Komatsu Click on the KCAP archive of August 25th, then browse to the 09:15 minute mark; his home runs are "Komalished", among other humorous nickname words; "lovin' life"... Listen to John Delaney's triple followed by Cutter Dykstra's Two-Run 9th inning Home Run Same link as above, then browse to the 02:04:00 hour / minute mark... Helena Box Score Ten groundouts, five flyouts in eight brilliant Efrain Nieves innings; one hour, 50 minute game -- wow... Helena Game Log

Link while active, text follows -- the link includes audio calls from Helena's Steve Wendt: Nieves, Brewers one-hit Voyagers By John Torenli / Special to MLB.com Helena's Efrain Nieves pitched the best eight innings of his career Monday night. The way Great Falls' Kevin Skogley was dealing, he had to. Nieves and Garrett Sherrill combined on a one-hitter and Cutter Dykstra belted a two-run homer in the ninth inning as the Brewers pulled out a 2-0 victory over the Voyagers at Centene Stadium. Having surrendered 15 earned runs over 11 2/3 innings in his previous three outings, Nieves (5-3) was desperate for a strong performance. The 18-year-old left-hander may have topped even his own expectations with Monday's effort. Nieves, the Milwaukee Brewers' seventh-round pick in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft, yielded only a leadoff double to Mike Grace in the second while striking out a career-high nine. He also did not issue a walk for the eighth time in 14 appearances this year. "I felt pretty good," Nieves said. "First of all, my fastball command was phenomenal. I combined it with my changeup and curveball and kept the batters guessing." Despite facing just one batter over the miniumum, however, Nieves knew his night was done when he walked off the mound in the eighth after striking out Lee Fischer. "I did want to go out for the ninth, but my pitch count was 80 and I already passed it," Nieves revealed. But Nieves wasn't even in line to get the win after watching Skogley scatter four hits and a walk with eight strikeouts over eight scoreless frames. "It was amazing," Nieves said of the pitchers' duel. "I was trying to do my best to keep hitters off base and he was doing his best over there. It was a pretty nice game." Dykstra followed John Delaney's leadoff triple in the ninth off Daniel Albritton (2-2) with his fifth homer of the season, snapping the scoreless deadlock and setting Nieves up for his first win since July 13. "I was jumping up and down in the dugout when he hit hit," Nieves admitted. "I really, really wanted that game." Sherrill made sure he got it. The 20-year-old right-hander retired the side in order in the ninth for his third save, nailing down the one-hitter and Helena's league high-tying fourth shutout of the season. "I'm pretty confident in our closer," Nieves added. "He just went in and got it done." Brock Kjeldgaard doubled in the second and Corey Kemp, Steven Braun and Erik Miller had the other hits for the Brewers (10-17), who won their third in a row. The Voyagers (14-13) were shut out for the first time since a 5-0 loss to Ogden on July 20. *** I'll link to Cutter Dykstra's home run audio, and fill in all the usual, including Brevard and West Virginia victories (as the Power near a playoff spot), later this AM. The Arizona Brewers game was canceled -- due to wet grounds, will not be made up.

28-year-old Nelson Cruz and his 1.123 AAA 2008 OPS get another chance in Texas with the Rangers.

Nashville Site: Tonight's scheduled series opener between the Nashville Sounds and Albuquerque Isotopes at Greer Stadium has been postponed due to rains as Tropical Depression Fay entered Middle Tennessee. A makeup date for tonight's game has not been determined. Tickets for tonight's game (August 25) may be exchanged for tickets of equal or lesser value, pending availability, to any remaining 2008 Sounds home game or to any 2009 Sounds home game. Please visit the Greer Stadium box office to exchange your tickets or for further information. The Sounds and Isotopes are now scheduled to open their series at 6 p.m. on Tuesday at Greer Stadium. Left-hander Chris Narveson (6-12, 5.14) will man the bump for Nashville to face Albuquerque southpaw Chris Seddon (9-9, 5.21).

This one was a no-brainer... South Atlantic League Offensive Player of the Week Caleb Gindl, West Virginia .429 (12-28), 8 R, 0 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 2 BB, 7 SO, 1 SB, .857 SLG It's the nature of the beast, that good performance equals high expectations. So in 2007, when Caleb Gindl was the Pioneer League batting champ with a .372 average, big things would be expected from the then 18-year-old. So when Gindl hit .263 in April, it wasn't enough, even for a teenager making his full-season debut. It hasn't really been enough until this second half, during which time Gindl is batting .341. He has 32 extra-base hits during the span, with four of his 13 homers on the season coming this week. However, in terms of his performance matching the preseason expectations set for him, nothing was more important than his two hits on Aug. 20, which pushed his average up to .300 for the first time since Opening Day.

Who was saying Brewer organization pitching is down this year? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif Third award this week... South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week R.J. Seidel, West Virginia 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 13.0 IP, 8 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 7 SO It has been a good first full season for Seidel, with many milestones being passed. The La Crosse, Wisc., native put a new one behind him last week by posting back-to-back scoreless starts for the first time as a professional. Needless to say, it resulted in back-to-back wins for the big right-hander, who pushed his record to 9-5 for the season. Seidel was dominant over six innings against Greenville on Monday, but even better five days later versus Lexington, shutting down the Legends by scattering four hits over seven innings. Seidel has been at his best in August, posting a 2.35 ERA in five starts as he's pushed himself to an impressive 6-1 record in the second half.

Well, this didn't take long, did it? Southern League Pitcher of the Week Jeremy Jeffress, Huntsville 2-0, 0.77 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 11.2 IP, 9 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 7 BB, 11 SO It wasn't a perfect week for Jeffress by any standard; surely the former first-round pick has had better ones in his so-far stellar Minor League career. However, for a 20-year-old making just his second and third starts in Double-A, this is pretty impressive stuff. Jeffress didn't make it out of the third inning in his debut with the Stars, so perhaps he came out with something to prove against Birmingham last Monday. The right-hander allowed just three hits over six scoreless innings, showing minimal command difficulty with four walks. That didn't go away in his next outing against Carolina, when he walked three in 5 2/3, but Jeffress allowed just one run and struck out seven batters. So, while the shaky command is still there to be worked on, there's no questioning his stuff, nor the dominant results so far.

West Virginia RBI machine Steffan Wilson out of the lineup tonight while the club determines the severity of a thumb injury -- big loss for now.

From Huntsville Staff: Monday's game between the Stars and Mudcats has been rained out and is scheduled to be made up as part of a doubleheader beginning at 5 pm central time Tuesday night. Huntsville will send left-handers Brae Wright and David Welch to the mound against Carolina southpaws Graham Taylor and Andrew Miller.

Let the bidding begin on Huntsville 2008 jerseys

From Buck Rogers, Huntsville GM: The Huntsville Stars are auctioning off the team's gray (road) and red (alternate) game worn jerseys. if you're interested in placing a bid for any of these jerseys, send your bid, contact information and jersey selection to buck@huntsvillestars.com. All jerseys come with a 2008 card set, an uncut card sheet, a letter of authenticity and shipping/handling is included. Here is a list of all the jerseys with the players' names that wore the jersey this season and current bids. The jersey auction will end at season's end. Opening bids are the replacement costs for new replacement uniforms ($150). Bids must be in $5 increments. Want to avoid the hassle of bidding? Buy it now for $600 and help support our MDA fundraiser for the upcoming Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon. First come, first served on buy-it-now jerseys. ## Size Player Red Gray Blue 1 L Mike Bell $150 $150 2 L Jay Gibbons, Anderson de la Rosa $150 $150 3 L Matt LaPorta $150 SOLD $600 (Samuel Lam) 4 L $150 $150 5 XL Mike Bell, # Retired $150 $150 $150 6 XL $150 $150 7 XL Don Money $150 $150 8 XL Guilder Rodriguez $150 $150 9 XL Cole Gillespie $150 $150 10 XL Juan Sandoval $150 $150 11 XL Michael Garciaparra, Ryan Crew $150 $150 12 XL $150 $150 13 XL $150 $150 14 XL $150 $150 15 XL Alcides Escobar $150 $150 16 XL Sandy Guerrero $150 $150 17 XL Mat Gamel $150 $150 18 XL Lorenzo Cain, Steve Hammond $150 $150 19 XL Steve Bray, Thomas Atlee $150 $150 20 XL Jeremy Jeffress, Derek Miller $150 $150 21 XL Martin Maldonado, Joe Bateman $150 $150 22 XL Chris Errecart $150 $150 23 XL Mike Jones, Rusty Tucker $150 $150 24 XL Michael Brantley $150 $150 25 XL Alex Periard, Carlos Corporan $150 $150 26 XL Angel Salome $150 $150 27 XL Robert Hinton $150 $150 28 XL $150 $150 29 XL Omar Aguilar, EJ Shanks $150 $150 30 XL Brae Wright $150 $150 31 XL Ben Howard $150 $150 32 XL Freddy Parejo $150 $150 33 XL Patrick Ryan $150 $150 34 XXL David Johnson $150 $150 35 XXL Yohannis Perez, Troy Cate, JR Hopf $150 $150 36 XXL Nick Ungs, Melqui Torres, Ben Stanczyk $150 $150 37 XXL Chris Hook $150 $150 38 XXL David Welch $150 $150 39 XXL Donovan Hand $150 $150 40 XXL Jason Shiell, Sam Narron $150 $150 Rock On! NOTE: If / when Buck provides bidding updates, we'll pass those on, along with any other info. Season ends Labor Day, September 1st.

Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Iowa 80 55 .593 - 46-22 34-33 W1 Memphis 71 64 .526 9.0 33-30 38-34 L1 Omaha 59 77 .434 21.5 28-40 31-37 W1 Nashville 58 78 .426 22.5 28-40 30-38 W2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Carolina 38 24 .613 - 20-10 18-14 W1 Tennessee 32 30 .516 6.0 14-18 18-12 W1 Huntsville 28 34 .452 10.0 15-17 13-17 L1 West Tenn 27 34 .443 10.5 13-18 14-16 W2 Chattanooga 26 36 .419 12.0 13-17 13-19 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Daytona 32 22 .593 0.5 20-9 12-13 W3 Jupiter 36 25 .590 - 19-13 17-12 L1 St. Lucie 30 27 .526 4.0 13-14 17-13 L3 Palm Beach 30 29 .508 5.0 16-13 14-16 L1 Brevard County 28 33 .459 8.0 13-16 15-17 W1 Vero Beach 17 41 .293 17.5 6-22 11-19 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - SAL Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- West Virginia 41 22 .651 - 21-9 20-13 L1 Lakewood 38 24 .613 2.5 18-12 20-12 L3 Delmarva 34 27 .557 6.0 16-14 18-13 L2 Lake County 30 31 .492 10.0 15-16 15-15 W3 Greensboro 25 38 .397 16.0 12-18 13-20 L3 Hagerstown 24 38 .387 16.5 12-20 12-18 W2 Lexington 22 40 .355 18.5 12-21 10-19 W1 Hickory 20 43 .317 21.0 7-24 13-19 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pioneer League (R+) - PIO North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Billings 13 11 .542 - 10-5 3-6 L2 Great Falls 13 13 .500 1.0 7-6 6-7 L1 Helena 9 17 .346 5.0 2-10 7-7 W2 Missoula 7 18 .280 6.5 5-6 2-12 W1

Arizona League Standings

REMINDER: The big West Virginia series in Lexington is available on a live or archived basis via MiLB.TV. It looks like $6.95 gets you all four games. So there you go, Power player family and friends, West Virginia fans in the Charleston area, Brewer front office staff, etc. *** This link will be included in each daily report when the Nashville Sounds are scheduled to play. Normally it is updated several hours prior to gametime. Nashville Media Notes (Adobe .pdf format):

Follow Monday's action as it happens: Here's what you do, right click on each of the links below and choose "Open in New Window". Open the Nashville Gameday. For the others, 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: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_25_albaaa_nasaaa_1 Huntsville: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t559&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_25_cmcaax_hunaax_1 Brevard County: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_25_pbcafa_breafa_1 West Virginia: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_25_wvaafx_lexafx_1 Helena: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_25_helrok_grfrok_1 Arizona: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_25_cubrok_brrrok_1

Monday's Daily Menu: All times Central except Arizona League; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: LHP Chris Narveson at home vs. Albuquerque (Marlins), 5:45 PM pre-game; 6:00 gametime Audio link via WNSR, be sure to select the proper date (game will also archive at this link): http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/clubs/ip_index.jsp?sid=milb&cid=t556 Huntsville: LHP Brae Wright at home vs. Carolina (Marlins), 5:50 PM pre-game; 7:05 gametime Audio link via WUMP, be sure to select the proper date (game will also archive at this link): http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/audio.jsp?sid=t559 Brevard County: TBD (likely LHP Bobby Bramhall) at home vs. Palm Beach (Cardinals), 6:00 PM gametime Sorry, no audio for this series... West Virginia: LHP Dan Merklinger at Lexington (Astros), 5:55 PM pre-game, 6:05 gametime Audio link via WSWW, be sure to select the proper date (game will also archive at this link): http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/clubs/ip_index.jsp?sid=milb&cid=t525 Helena: LHP Efrain Nieves at Great Falls (White Sox), 7:50 PM pre-game, 8:00 gametime Audio link via KCAP, be sure to select the proper date (game will also archive at this link): http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/clubs/ip_index.jsp?sid=milb&cid=t433 Arizona: TBD vs. the Cubs' brats in Maryvale, 7:00 PM local Mountain Standard Time Never any audio for the Maryvale Crew

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Link while active, text follows: First baseman continues offensive surge in Sounds victory By GREG SULLIVAN Tennessean Staff Writer A long two-run homer from first baseman Brad Nelson put Nashville ahead in the first inning Sunday night on the way to a 7-2 win over Round Rock at Greer Stadium. Nelson had four RBIs, driving in two more runs with a groundball out in the third inning and a sacrifice fly in the seventh. The homer, his 18th this season, bounced off the light pole in left-center field. He also hit a homer Saturday. "I've been feeling good lately," Nelson said. "I was trying to get more weight on my back leg. It's been working lately." Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas said he's been pleased with his team's offensive production of late. The team has averaged 7.3 runs per game in their past 10 games. Joe Dillon added a sacrifice fly in the first inning. Prospect arrives: Infielder Mat Gamel joined the Sounds on Sunday after being promoted from Double-A Huntsville. Gamel arrived with a .329 average, 19 home runs and 96 RBIs in 127 games with the Stars. Infielder Ozzie Chavez was sent to Huntsville after spending the entire season with Nashville. Chavez was batting .223 with three home runs and 29 RBIs. Gamel struggled in his Triple-A debut, striking out four times and mishandling a ground ball at third base. Fast starts: The Sounds have outscored their opponent 27-6 in the first inning over their past nine games. All nine of those games have been against Round Rock.

Final: Nashville 7, Round Rock (Astros) 2 Nashville Site Game Summary: Link, text follows -- Nelson, Narron Lead Sounds To Series Finale Win NASHVILLE - Brad Nelson homered for the second straight evening and drove in four runs to lead the Nashville Sounds to a 7-2 victory over the Round Rock Express on Sunday evening at Greer Stadium in the finale of a five-game series. With the victory, Nashville (58-78) secured a three-games-to-two series victory and wins in six of their nine consecutive meetings with the Express dating back to last Saturday. Left-hander Sam Narron (9-4) earned his team-leading ninth victory of the year for Nashville by turning in his sixth quality start with the club. He allowed two runs on five hits while striking out four batters and walking none over six frames. Round Rock grabbed a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Edwin Maysonet opened the contest with a single and Nick Gorneault followed with a double to put a pair of runners in scoring position. Ex-Sound J.R. House plated Maysonet with a groundout before Gorneault scored the second run when new Nashville third baseman Mat Gamel committed a fielding error on a Ray Sadler groundball. The Sounds responded with three runs in the bottom of the frame to take a 3-2 lead. Callix Crabbe drew a four-pitch walk from Round Rock starter Runelvys Hernandez to start the inning, moved to second on a Tony Gwynn single, and later scored on a Joe Dillon sacrifice fly. Nelson followed with a mammoth two-run home run off the light pole to the left of the batter's eye, his 18th roundtripper of the season and second in two nights against Express pitching. AUDIO: Brad Nelson Go-Ahead HR Nashville manufactured a run in the third to increase the lead to 4-2. Gwynn led off with a single, stole second, moved to third on a Dillon flyout, and scored on a Nelson groundout, which netted the Sounds first baseman his team-leading 77th RBI of the year. Jay Gibbons increased the Sounds' cushion to 6-2 in the fifth when he belted his fourth home run of the year, a two-run shot to right-center off Hernandez that careened off the top of the clubhouse building. The home run extended the outfielder's hitting streak to five games, matching his longest of the season. Gwynn, who walked to open the frame, scored his third run of the contest on the blast. Nelson drove in his fourth run of the evening in the seventh when Gwynn scored his fourth run of the night from third on a sacrifice fly to left, making it a 7-2 contest. Gamel got off to a rocky start to his Triple-A career for the Sounds, striking out in all four of his plate appearances (three times caught looking) and committed an error on one of two balls hit to him at the hot corner on the evening. Nashville shortstop Chris Woodward went 0-for-4 to snap his season-best hitting streak at eight games. Mitch Stetter (1.0 IP) and Tim Dillard (2.0 IP) followed Narron by closing out the game in scoreless fashion to continue the recent strong performances by the Nashville bullpen. Hernandez (7-8) absorbed the loss for the Express after giving up six runs on five hits over six innings of work. The Sounds continue their final homestand of the 2008 season on Monday when they welcome the Albuquerque Isotopes (AAA-Marlins) for the 6 p.m. opener of a four-game series. Left-hander Chris Narveson (6-12, 5.14) will man the bump for Nashville to face Albuquerque southpaw Chris Seddon (9-9, 5.21). Nashville Box Score It would be criminal at this point if Brad Nelson doesn't get the courtesy of a September callup; Mitch Stetter and Tim Dillard are primed to return to the bigs; if the Brewers want to retain 15-game winner Sam Narron, they'll have to find a 40-man roster spot or convince Narron to once again sign a minor league free agent deal -- money can talk in those cases... Nashville Game Log

Nashville Pre-Game Audio Chat with Third Baseman Mat Gamel Soft-spoken, as had been indicated earlier...

Link while active, text follows: Jones vows 'I can't give up' In his seventh minor-league season, former No. 1 pick copes with a career beset by injuries and failures By BRAD SHEPARD For The Huntsville Times Mike Jones had just surrendered another home run. As the Huntsville Stars pitcher roamed the mound, the crowd at Joe Davis Stadium fell nearly silent enough to hear the ball land beyond the outfield wall. Then came a voice from the bleachers. "Hey Don!" the fan yelled toward Stars manager Don Money. "When are you going to figure out that Mike Jones sucks?!" The heckling actually brought applause. After Jones was pulled from the game, he sat in an empty clubhouse, five years of frustration flowing to the surface. Later that night, his fiance, Nicole Zaloumis, could sense that Jones had emotionally crashed. "He just broke down in his locker," Zaloumis said. "To hear that (heckling), I think he questioned in his own mind: 'Will I ever get it back?' "Mike's not an emotional person. To have so much failure and so many heartbreaks over the years and to not ever let it out, I think he needed that." After seven minor-league seasons, two shoulder operations and a Tommy John elbow surgery, Jones carries plenty of pent-up emotion. The promise of being the 12th overall pick in the 2001 draft has mostly evaporated. Whereas Jones once blew away batters, the 25-year-old now gets a muted thrill from simply throwing 75 pitches without pain. "I've had a lot more support than I would have ever thought, especially considering how my performance has been on the mound," Jones said. "You get, from time to time, the guy who paid his money to come watch a game, who yells I'm terrible and I'm no good anymore. "That's fine because I know that I'm not good right now. There's nobody who's going to be harder on myself than I am." That's why he decided against playing winter baseball after this season - wanting to give his body and mind time to recuperate. "I'm tired," Jones said He's also embarking on another important chapter of his life. Getting married Jones is thinking about Bora Bora. Sitting in the Stars' dugout, his mind stretches to a beach where the Tahitian priest marries him and Nicole. There's no 1-5 record and 6.15 earned run average. No home runs or walks. No arm fatigue, no pain, no doctors or trainers, no hecklers. "I just think it's reached a point where I need to get away from baseball for a while," Jones said. He also believes he needs to take the next step in his life with Zaloumis, a television reporter who covers the Seattle Mariners and Seahawks for Fox Sports Northwest. During what he called last year's "rock bottom" after learning he faced elbow surgery, Jones didn't turn to his old vices - hiding in an alcohol bottle or all-night parties with teammates. Instead, he leaned on Zaloumis, whom he had met a few months previously in Phoenix thanks to an introduction from Milwaukee pitcher Manny Parra. "She provided a light at the end of the tunnel for me," Jones said. "Even if baseball didn't work out, when I met her, I knew there would be something else." On Sept. 19, they'll officially get married in a Seattle courthouse in front of family before eloping to the French Polynesian islands for the beach ceremony. "God knows both of us need that," Zaloumis said. Getting hurt Jones' signing bonus topped $2 million in 2001, a Brewers club record at the time. He was chosen in the first round of a draft alongside players such as Joe Mauer, Mark Teixeira, Mark Prior and Casey Kotchman. His smooth right-handed delivery led many scouts to declare Jones would be less susceptible to injuries. Yet he served multiple stints on the disabled list his first three seasons with elbow and shoulder troubles. In October 2004 he underwent major shoulder surgery. Six months of rehabilitation followed, and when he was re-evaluated in April 2005, Jones was told that part of his labrum was still torn away from the bone, so he had another surgery and another six months of rehab. "There's no rhyme or reason to some of these things," Milwaukee assistant general manager Gord Ash said. "Mike had about as perfect a delivery as you can have - a nice, clean delivery and good arm motion. From a scouting perspective, there was no way to predict that happening." During June 2007, Jones felt he was healthy and progressing when he felt elbow pain during a game. His fastball plummeted below 80 mph, and he was immediately removed. Tommy John surgery followed. Some 14 months later, he's still recovering. "This entire year has been a real roller coaster," Jones said. "I've gotten up to like 92 (mph) and been as low as 86. The inconsistency is a prime example of how the past five years have been." Getting healthy Jones' path to recovery led him to Huntsville - again. Pardon him if he's a little skittish returning to the site of so many of his problems. He has pitched here during parts of five seasons, starting in 2003. "I've seen this place grow up a little," Jones said. "I don't have anything against the city itself. It's the fact that I've been stuck in Double-A for five years and that for some reason, every time I come back here, I get hurt." More disappointing numbers have followed his midseason return to Huntsville. He has allowed 10 homers in 52 2/3 innings, along with 42 walks against only 29 strikeouts. "I don't like going out there and walking people," Jones said. "I don't like going out there and giving up home runs. One hitter, I'll go out there and have a good sequence of pitches, and the next hitter, I won't have any idea where the ball's going." He is still re-learning his mechanics, under close inspection from Stars pitching coach Chris Hook. "His hand sometimes is just not in the same slot from pitch to pitch," Hook said. "Sometimes, his body won't allow himself to repeat." It's a daily struggle, but beyond the frustration and fatigue, there is a silver lining of an injury-free season. "My ultimate goal is to get through an entire season healthy," he said. "I haven't done that since 2002. I know it may sound insignificant." A healthy season and a clean break for a while could provide a fresh start. Jones is a free agent after this season, and though he said he would love to stay with Milwaukee, he realizes it's a business decision - one that the organization won't discuss now. Regardless, Jones said he plans on pitching next spring. "Here I am today getting ready to get married, coming back from Tommy John surgery, and I've been healthy all year," he said. "There have been plenty enough things to keep me going, and that's worth looking forward to. "I can't give up. It would be an injustice for everything I've worked for the past five years to just quit."