Jim Goulart

Final: West Tenn (Mariners) 6, Huntsville 3 Huntsville Site Game Summary: Diamond Jaxx Down Stars Huntsville's Offensive Struggles Continue By Brett Pollock / Huntsville Stars Justin Thomas tossed 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief to help pitch West Tenn past Huntsville 6-3 Thursday night in the second of a five-game set at Pringles Park. The Stars dropped to 22-25 in the second half, while the Diamond Jaxx improved to 19-27. The Jaxx have won ten of the 18 games between the teams, including five of seven at home. Angel Salome, the league's leading hitter entering the game, led off the second inning with a triple and scored on a Cole Gillespie sacrifice fly to give the Stars a 1-0 lead, marking the fourth straight game in which they have scored first. West Tenn answered in the bottom half of the frame with run-scoring hits by Adam Moore and Erick Monzon, who then crossed the plate on a Matt Mangini scoring fly ball to complete the three-run rally. Lorenzo Cain opened the fifth inning with a walk, stole second and scored on a double by Michael Brantley that cut the lead to 3-2 and chased starter Tracy Thorpe from the game. Thomas took over and walked Alcides Escobar on four pitches before Mat Gamel fanned for the second out. Thomas then committed a balk that advanced the runners but Salome grounded out to end the threat. Thorpe was charged with two runs on four hits over 4 1/3 innings, while walking two and fanning five. Thomas grabbed the win to move to 7-6, giving up one hit, walking one and striking out one. Huntsville starter Mike Jones was lifted after four innings, allowing three runs on three hits and suffered the loss to fall to 1-5. He walked two and struck out a pair before reaching his prescribed 75-pitch limit. Donovan Hand took over and retired the side in order in the fifth before yielding an unearned run in the sixth that gave the Jaxx a 4-2 lead. Hand went two frames, giving up one hit, walking one and striking out two in his first appearance in two weeks after being sidelined with a strained oblique muscle. Brent Johnson belted a two-run home run off of Omar Aguilar in the seventh to push the West Tenn lead to 6-2. Gillespie's base hit with two outs in the eighth plated Escobar to trim the lead to 6-3 before Shawn Kelley threw a scoreless ninth inning to end the game. Kelley went two innings and has now yielded only run in 7 1/3 innings over five outings against the Stars. Huntsville was held to three runs or less for a 15th time in the last 18 games. The series continues on Friday night with left-hander Brae Wright taking the hill for Huntsville against West Tenn right-hander Gaby Hernandez. Coverage begins at 6:50 pm central time and can be heard live locally on Sports Radio 730 WUMP and through the internet at www.730ump.com and www.huntsvillestars.com. Huntsville Box Score That lineup, with Freddy Parejo at DH, is the same lineup we marveled at all season, swapping Lorenzo Cain for Matt LaPorta -- the offensive struggles sure seem to wrap around Mat Gamel (0-for-4, two K's); two unearned runs didn't help -- 1B Chris Errecart (two) and 2B Mike Bell with errors... Huntsville Game Log

Beyond the Box Score Angel Salome, catcher, Milwaukee Brewers. Salome plays on a Huntsville Stars team that is loaded with…well, stars. Even after the recent trade of Matt LaPorta, Salome is still overshadowed by such prospects as Mat Gamel, Alcides Escobar, Cole Gillespie, Michael Brantley (and, of course, the recently-signed and promoted Jay Gibbons). Salome's eye-popping batting line of .339/.394/.521 is partly fueled by an unsustainably high BABIP of .388. He also hits twice as many ground balls as fly balls, which limits his power. However, Salome is 22 years old and has a chance to stick behind the plate, making him a solid prospect - and is particularly valuable in an organization currently relying on Jason Kendall behind the plate.

Niagara Falls, Canada Somehow the "touristy" areas nearby with the kitschy Guinness Book and Ripley's museums add to, and don't distract from, the awesomeness and majesty. We honeymooned there, then celebrated our 10th anniversary there, and then made a return visit years later with our daughter. We'll probably return in five years for our silver anniversary. Toronto is a beautiful city for a side trip.

Final: West Virginia 13, Hickory (Pirates) 2 West Virginia Site Game Summary: POWER USE NINE RUN EIGHTH TO BEAT HICKORY The West Virginia Power sent 13 batters to the plate in the eighth inning of Thursday night's game against the Hickory Crawdads at Appalachian Power Park and scored nine times on seven hits to pull away with a 13-2 victory. Hickory scored the first two runs of the game. Tom Hagan hit a solo homer in the second inning and Matt Hague drove in their final run with an RBI single in the third. Steffan Wilson began a two-out rally for the Power in the fourth inning with a base hit and Zelous Wheeler followed with a walk. Caleb Gindl knocked them both in with a game-tying triple and scored the go ahead run on Curt Rindal's base hit. Logan Schafer singled in West Virginia's fourth run in the seventh. Gindl began the nine-run rally in the eighth inning with a walk. Rindal followed with a base hit before Matt Cline walked to load the bases. Lee Haydel, Eric Farris, Schafer, Eric Fryer and Wilson followed with five straight base hits. Haydel, Farris, Schafer and Wilson brought in a run apiece with their base knocks and Fryer drove in two. Rindal doubled in two more runs and Wheeler scored the final run of the inning on Cline's groundout. All nine batters reached and scored in the big frame. Lucas Luetge (1-1) allowed just a pair of runs on five hits over six innings and fanned five to get the victory. Mike Ramlow (8) tossed three perfect innings of relief to get the save in his return to the Power. Duke Welker (3-10) was tagged for three runs on seven hits over five and two-thirds and got the loss. The Power improved to 63-52 on the year and 31-15 in the second half with the win. The Crawdads fell to 45-71 on the year and 15-31 in the second half with the loss. Six Power players turned in multi-hit games including Fryer, Wilson and Rindal who had three hits apiece. Fryer extended his hitting streak to 12 games. The nine-run inning is the third inning this home stand in which the Power have scored nine or more runs. The Power will continue the four-game series against Hickory Friday night. The Power will start right hander R.J. Seidel (7-4, 5.57) and the Crawdads will counter with right hander Rodolfo Aguirre (0-2, 7.00). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM (6:05 Central). West Virginia Box Score Lakewood won again, so for all the Power's fantastic play, they only lead by a game and a half with three weeks to go; Power fans thrilled to have Mike Ramlow back from Brevard; Logan Schafer only 3-of-8 in steal attempts with West Virginia; Eric Fryer is on his way to a South Atlantic League batting title, as the current league leader (the Pirates' Miles Durham) was promoted to high-A several weeks ago and will not qualify for the title -- you could not have made a more off-the-wall prediction at the start of the season, as Fryer was in extended spring without a "job" unil May 7th! West Virginia Game Log West Virginia Bottom 8th - Pitcher Change: Francisco Ortiz replaces Wanell Macia. - Caleb Gindl walks. - Curt Rindal singles on a line drive to center fielder Austin McClune. Caleb Gindl to 3rd. Curt Rindal to 2nd on the throw. - Matt Cline walks. - Lee Haydel singles on a line drive to left fielder Joe Munoz. Caleb Gindl scores. Curt Rindal to 3rd. Matt Cline to 2nd. - Eric Farris singles on a line drive to right fielder Erik Huber. Curt Rindal scores. Matt Cline to 3rd. Lee Haydel to 2nd. - Logan Schafer singles on a line drive to center fielder Austin McClune. Matt Cline scores. Lee Haydel to 3rd. Eric Farris to 2nd. - Eric Fryer singles on a ground ball to center fielder Austin McClune. Lee Haydel scores. Eric Farris scores. Logan Schafer to 2nd. - Steffan Wilson singles on a line drive to center fielder Austin McClune. Logan Schafer scores. Eric Fryer to 2nd. - Pitcher Change: Charles Benoit replaces Francisco Ortiz. - Zelous Wheeler walks. Eric Fryer to 3rd. Steffan Wilson to 2nd. - Caleb Gindl called out on strikes. - Curt Rindal doubles (18) on a ground ball to left fielder Joe Munoz. Eric Fryer scores. Steffan Wilson scores. Zelous Wheeler to 3rd. - Matt Cline grounds out, shortstop Jordy Mercer to first baseman Tom Hagan. Zelous Wheeler scores. - Lee Haydel grounds out to first baseman Tom Hagan.

Steve Wendt's Helena call (now a 4-4 game) is fantastic as always, but the ridiculous "hooting" by Orem Owls fans may be the most distracting fan noise I've ever encountered during a broadcast or while visiting a ballpark...

Final: Brevard County 6, Vero Beach (Rays) 3 Manatees sweep the three-game road series by a combined score of 13-4... Brevard County Box Score Soft-tossing but uber-effective lefty Chris Cody is pitching unconscious -- last seven starts: 45.1 IP, 29 H, 4 ER, 13 BB, 39 K, 0.79 ERA; newcomer Derrick Ellison made it interesting in the 9th, but closer Mike McClendon came in for the save, stranding the tying run; Taylor Green's three-run home run in the 3rd gave Cody all the cushion he'd need; Jonathan Lucroy added a solo blast in the 9th; both of those top prospects reached base three times, as did Chuck Caufield; Charlie Fermaint and Mel Stocker stole two bases apiece... Brevard County Game Log

I immediately thought of one of the best Golden Girls episodes ever You Tube

Cody Scarpetta strikes out his first Pioneer League batter -- still time to jump on the Helena audio here as of 9:25 PM Central, 1-1 in the 6th; Cutter Dykstra nails the runner at second trying to stretch a single as the next batter...

West Virginia in the middle of a nine-run (and counting) 8th inning that has them up 13-2 -- it took over a half-hour for the Power to make their first out of the inning -- such a fun squad since early June...

Best outing in ages for Will Inman Wednesday

Good work rewarded: RHP Cody Scarpetta and INF Miguel Vasquez escape the Maryvale heat for Helena.

Mr. McCalvy is the man, and no, I don't know if he first learned of the Jeffress move here, but he's a big fan of the site, particularly the out-of-the-way newspaper reports that we link to here, and is a daily reader. It's not as if reporting the Jeffress promotion was investigative journalism, so I wouldn't expect anyone to cite us as a source. The news was included in an official release from the Media Relations staff with Brevard County, and we're fortunate to be on great terms with the various affiliates. While I don't see Adam among the direct addressees on the release, MLB.com is mailed the info via their "minors" address, so it's quite possible Adam saw it via a different route. Adam, or others on the Brewers' MLB.com / MiLB.com staff, helps put together the weekly affiliate updates that MiLB.com puts out. Each week, there are multiple quotes from The Tennessean, the Huntsville Times, Florida Today, the two Charleston newspapers, the Helena Independent Record, etc. And we're pretty sure (OK, very sure) they're gleaming those quotes from the Link Reports. Nothing wrong with that, in fact, we're honored to indirectly contribute to the fanbase that way. And of course, those articles are correct in quoting "The Huntsville Times" and not the "The Huntsville Times via Brewerfan.net who made it convenient for us to get the quote", if you see what I mean. We've "broken" a few stories over the years -- the Yohannis Perez signing comes to mind, wish that had worked out better, but for the most part, we're pretty content in serving you folks as we currently are. We've received plenty of props over the years from folks like Jim Powell and Adam, and we're now likewise complimenting some of the additional outlets on the web who are obtaining first-hand interviews and observations. All the better for the Brewer Fan (and Brewerfan).

After his complete game victory for Huntsville last night, RHP Nic Ungs has earned a return trip to AAA Nashville. The Sounds will have to make a roster move on Friday, almost assuredly with a pitcher, as they now have 13 on the 25-man active roster (need to cut to 24). RHP Donovan Hand (oblique strain) is good to go, and has been activated from the Stars' disabled list.

The latest in the "Getting to Know You Series" Catcher / 1B J.R. Hopf

I really like how forthright the coaches have been in these BrewCrewBall interviews -- if a fastball is only average, then it's described as only average. Jeff Sackmann and his contributors at BCB have been an awesome addition to the blogosphere and in particular the minor league info we can link to here -- kudos to all! BCB Interview with West Virginia Pitching Coach John Curtis

A's top pick Weeks suffers hip flexor injury

Arizona League Standings As long as Billings (the first-half Pioneer North Division winner) remains in first place in the second half as well, then Helena just needs to finish ahead of Great Falls and Missoula to qualify for the post-season, which isn't overly difficult in the eight-team split-season league.

Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Iowa 69 49 .585 - 42-22 27-27 W1 Memphis 64 54 .542 5.0 30-25 34-29 L1 Omaha 51 67 .432 18.0 24-35 27-32 L3 Nashville 48 70 .407 21.0 21-33 27-37 W4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Carolina 29 17 .630 - 15-6 14-11 W5 Tennessee 24 22 .522 5.0 11-14 13-8 W1 Huntsville 22 24 .478 7.0 11-14 11-10 W2 West Tenn 18 27 .400 10.5 6-14 12-13 L2 Chattanooga 18 28 .391 11.0 8-13 10-15 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Daytona 25 17 .595 - 15-6 10-11 L2 Jupiter 25 18 .581 0.5 12-9 13-9 W6 St. Lucie 22 19 .537 2.5 11-9 11-10 L2 Palm Beach 22 22 .500 4.0 14-9 8-13 W2 Brevard County 19 24 .442 6.5 9-12 10-12 W2 Vero Beach 14 31 .311 12.5 6-16 8-15 L8 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - SAL Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- West Virginia 30 15 .667 - 16-6 14-9 L1 Lakewood 29 17 .630 1.5 14-8 15-9 W1 Delmarva 25 21 .543 5.5 10-12 15-9 L1 Hagerstown 20 26 .435 10.5 9-15 11-11 L2 Lake County 20 26 .435 10.5 11-13 9-13 W1 Lexington 18 26 .409 11.5 9-14 9-12 W2 Greensboro 17 28 .378 13.0 9-13 8-15 W1 Hickory 15 30 .333 15.0 4-17 11-13 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pioneer League (R+) - PIO North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Billings 8 1 .889 - 5-0 3-1 W2 Great Falls 4 5 .444 4.0 1-2 3-3 W1 Helena 3 6 .333 5.0 1-4 2-2 L2 Missoula 3 6 .333 5.0 3-2 0-4 L1

Follow Thursday's action as it happens: Here's what you do, right click on each of the links below and choose "Open in 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. Huntsville: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t559&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_07_hunaax_wtdaax_1 Brevard County: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_07_breafa_vbdafa_1 West Virginia: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_07_hicafx_wvaafx_1 Helena: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_07_helrok_orerok_1 Arizona: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_07_mrnrok_brrrok_1

Thursday's Daily Menu: All times Central except Arizona League; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: Idle Huntsville: RHP Mike Jones at West Tenn (Mariners), 6:50 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: LHP Chris Cody at Vero Beach (Rays), 6:00 PM gametime Audio link via Vero Beach broadcast, be sure to select the proper date (game will also archive at this link): http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/audio.jsp?cid=503&sid=t503 West Virginia: LHP Lucas Luetge at home vs. Hickory (Pirates), 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 Daniel Meadows at Orem (Angels), 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: TBD vs. the mini-Mariners in Maryvale, 7:00 PM local Mountain Standard Time Never any audio for the Maryvale Crew

http://www.brewerfan.net/images/store/dailylinkreport.jpg

RHP Wes Etheridge has been placed on the Temporary Inactive List, which frees up the needed roster spot at West Virginia.

davego, the Hawaiian League is for lower-level prospects (think Brevard and West Virginia) while the Arizona Fall League would be made up of AAA, AA, and a very small sprinkling of high-A players.

Final: Brevard County 4, Vero Beach (Rays) 1 Brevard County Box Score Five Manatee pitchers somehow manage to scatter ten hits and five walks while allowing only one run; only three games, all three squads on the road so no newspaper coverage of note, no Nashville and Huntsville pre-game audio available, it's your Weight Watchers version of the Link Report today... Brevard County Game Log

Final: Huntsville 3, West Tenn (Mariners) 1 Huntsville Site Game Summary: Ungs Finishes the Deal in Stars' Win Huntsville Wins a Second Straight By Brett Pollock / Huntsville Stars Nic Ungs tossed a complete-game five-hitter in pitching Huntsville past West Tenn 3-1 Wednesday night in the opener of a five-game set at Pringles Park. The Stars improved to 22-24 in the second half, while the Diamond Jaxx dipped to 18-27. The Stars have now won eight of the 17 games between the teams. Alcides Escobar singled with one out in the second inning, stole second base and remained there when Angel Salome was hit by a Joe Woerman pitch with two outs. Escobar then broke for third as Cole Gillespie hit a ground ball past a diving Matt Mangini, as he was moving back to his left after moving to his right toward the bag and was screened by Escobar, who scored to give the Stars a 1-0 lead. Chris Errecart followed with a double that plated Salome before Gillespie was thrown out at the plate for the final out of the frame. Woerman lasted six innings in his first turn for the Jaxx, giving up seven hits, walking one and fanning five. He stranded runners at second and third in the second inning, a runner at third in the fifth and left Lorenzo Cain at second after a double in the sixth. Ungs retired nine in a row before walking Matt Mangini with one out in the sixth. Brent Johnson singled with two outs and Greg Halman singled into centerfield to plate Mangini to cut the Stars lead to 2-1. Ungs avoided further trouble by setting down Marshall Hubbard to end the frame. The Stars tacked on an insurance run in the eighth against Jason Kershner when Salome led off with a double, moved to third on a bunt base hit by Gillespie and scored when Errecart grounded into a double play. The Stars were held to three runs or less for a 14th time in the last 17 games but managed to win while scoring fewer than four runs for only an 11th time in 41 games. Ungs retired the side in order in the seventh, stranded Jeffrey Dominguez after a two-out double in the eighth and set down the Jaxx in turn in the ninth, getting Mike Wilson to fly out to end the game. Ungs improved to 4-1 after walking one and fanning six. Three of his wins have come on the road. The veteran right-hander finished off the Stars fourth nine-inning complete game win of the year. The series continues on Thursday night with right-hander Mike Jones taking the hill for Huntsville against West Tenn right-hander Tracy Thorpe. Coverage begins at 6:50 pm central time and can be heard live locally on Sports Radio 730 WUMP and through the internet at www.730ump.com and www.huntsvillestars.com. Huntsville Box Score Alcides Escobar on base three times and steals three bases, now 31-for-39 on the basepaths; Angel Salome sporting a .920 OPS in the Southern League with a reasonable number of K's -- this kid's been a hitting stud since day one of his pro career... Huntsville Game Log