Jim Goulart

Just a note that John Alonso, on the list above, was released a while back...

BrewCrewBall Interviews 14th round catcher Corey Kemp battlekow's been relentless this week, much appreciated...

Nashville Media Notes: STOCKER RETURNS: Outfielder Mel Stocker has been reinstated from the Sounds' temporary inactive list after spending five days away from the team while attending the birth of his son, Caethen Romel, on Monday. It is the first child for he and his wife, Diana. Stocker fills the roster spot vacated Thursday when pitcher Jeff Weaver requested and was granted his release by the Milwaukee Brewers. Happy Father's Day, Mel!

We think it's postponed, although the teams could play in an empty stadium... DES MOINES, Iowa -- The Iowa Cubs vs. the Nashville Sounds Saturday night game at Principal Park has been postponed due to the evacuations of the city Des Moines and flood recovery, team officials said Saturday morning. Andrea Breen with the I-Cubs said the two teams might play Saturday night if field conditions allow, however fans will not be admitted. People with tickets to Saturday's game will be treated as a rainout, meaning you can exchange tickets for any home Iowa Cubs game in the 2008 regular season except for July 3. Information about Sunday's doubleheader will be announced Sunday morning. Breen said parking lots around Principal Park are still not accessible due to levees that were built to keep flowing water from the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers out of downtown Des Moines.

A huge loss, and I echo all the sentiments mentioned above. You do wonder what toll his work schedule, which we're hearing was near never-ending (self-imposed), had on his health. He was an immensely popular guest speaker, and had done several commencement speeches as of late as well. MSNBC has literally dozens of video reports available.

Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Iowa 37 29 .561 - 19-11 18-18 L2 Omaha 33 33 .500 4.0 15-19 18-14 W4 Memphis 34 35 .493 4.5 15-17 19-18 L1 Nashville 27 39 .409 10.0 15-16 12-23 L5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Huntsville 40 28 .588 - 22-13 18-15 L2 West Tenn 40 28 .588 - 23-10 17-18 W1 Carolina 37 31 .544 3.0 19-14 18-17 W2 Chattanooga 36 32 .529 4.0 20-15 16-17 L1 Tennessee 26 42 .382 14.0 13-22 13-20 L7 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Palm Beach 41 26 .612 - 26-11 15-15 L2 Brevard County 34 32 .515 6.5 21-14 13-18 L1 Daytona 33 34 .493 8.0 15-17 18-17 W2 Vero Beach 32 34 .485 8.5 20-12 12-22 L3 Jupiter 32 35 .478 9.0 18-12 14-23 L2 St. Lucie 18 49 .269 23.0 9-26 9-23 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - SAL Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lake County 40 27 .597 - 18-17 22-10 W1 Greensboro 38 30 .559 2.5 17-18 21-12 L1 Delmarva 37 30 .552 3.0 21-12 16-18 L1 Lakewood 37 31 .544 3.5 19-15 18-16 W1 Hagerstown 32 34 .485 7.5 16-20 16-14 L2 West Virginia 30 37 .448 10.0 11-20 19-17 W1 Hickory 29 39 .426 11.5 13-20 16-19 W1 Lexington 21 46 .313 19.0 10-24 11-22 L1

Follow Saturday's action as it happens: Here's what you do, right click on each of the links below and choose "Open in New Window". Open the Nashville Gameday. For the others, choose "Log" or "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_06_14_nasaaa_iowaaa_1 Huntsville: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_06_14_hunaax_jaxaax_1 West Virginia: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_06_14_gboafx_wvaafx_1

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):

Nashville's game at Iowa is also available for subscription viewing at MiLB.TV. If receding flood waters allow, of course...

In honor of the 1981 horror spoof flick, "Saturday the 14th" , which co-starred then 20-year-old Kari Michaelson, who beat out Helen Hunt for the role of Katie on the sitcom "Gimme a Break!". A TV crush I'm still not over -- anyway, back to the Link Report basics... Saturday's Daily Menu: All times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: RHP Richie Gardner at Iowa (Cubs), 6:50 PM pre-game; 7:05 gametime Audio link: www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/ Huntsville: LHP Brae Wright at Jacksonville (Dodgers), 5:50 PM pre-game; 6:05 gametime Audio link via WUMP (game will also archive at this link): http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/audio.jsp?sid=t559 Brevard County: The Manatees' staff hosts the All-Star Game -- 6:15 gametime, check out the tail end of this thread for details, including box score and audio links West Virginia: RHP Amaury Rivas at home vs. Greensboro (Marlins), 5:50 PM pre-game, 6:05 gametime Audio link via WSWW, be sure to select the proper date (game will also archive at this link): www.minorleaguebaseball.c.../audio.jsp

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

From the Toronto Sun: Sarnia right-hander pitcher Nick Bucci of Team Ontario received a $50,000 US signing bonus from the Milwaukee Brewers. Bucci was drafted in the 18th round.

Click here for your box score, game log, and audio link -- 6:15 Central Time Saturday the 14th. Florida State League All-Star Game with Taylor Green and Darren Ford

As in years past, we'll go outside of the Link Report with your Florida State Leage All-Star Game coverage -- FSL stars coming to Viera All-Stars, autographs, home runs and fireworks will be a part of today's Florida State League All-Star Game at Space Coast Stadium. Center fielder Darren Ford and third baseman Taylor Green will represent the host Brevard County Manatees in the 7:30 PM contest (6:30 Central). Manatees manager Mike Guerrero will lead the East Division against the West Division in the midseason classic. The day kicks off with an autograph crawl at The Avenue Viera. Space Coast Stadium gates open at 5 PM local time, followed by a Home Run Derby at 6. Fathers will have an opportunity to play catch with their children on the field at 6:45 p.m. After the game, an awards ceremony and large fireworks show will wrap up the event. *** Field set for Home Run Derby By Lisa Winston / MLB.com VIERA, Fla. - The rosters are pretty much set for the 47th annual Florida State League All-Star game, which will be played Saturday at Space Coast Stadium, home of the Brevard County Manatees. But for those who are anxiously awaiting the announcement of the starting pitchers for the East and West Division squads, you're just going to have to wait a little longer. "We should know by the Home Run Derby," joked Clearwater manager Razor Shines, who will be at the helm for the West, thanks to the Threshers' position as reigning FSL champions. The starters are not expected to be named until Saturday afternoon, though it should be a little earlier than the 6 p.m. ET Home Run Derby. Truth is, picking a starter for this kind of game is not as easy as handing the honor to whoever is the "top" pitcher in the league. For one thing, the rosters are as shifting as the sands of the Florida beaches, thanks -- or no thanks -- to injuries and promotions. So once the field staffs (in this case Clearwater in West and Brevard in the East) sit down with their (hopefully) final pitching staffs in front of them, their job is just starting. At that point, they have to talk to each pitcher and find out the last time they pitched. In some cases, the All-Star Game falls on a day when they would be starting, or at least throwing on the side, making them candidates for the slot. In others, they may be limited to a few pitches later in the game. That said, here are a few candidates: In the East, the obvious choice would be Vero Beach Devil Rays ace Jeremy Hellickson. At 6-1 with a 2.26 ERA, he has the best ERA of any starting pitcher in Saturday's game, and his five walks against 76 strikeouts in 67 2/3 innings isn't too shabby, either. He last pitched on June 5, so his arm is ready to go. But is his finger? In his last start, Hellickson tossed five hitless innings but left after aggravating a chronic blister. That will likely be the determining factor if and when he pitches Saturday. Other East candidates include his teammate, Ryan Morse, who has a 2.90 ERA and pitched five innings of three-hit shutout ball on Wednesday and Jupiter Hammerheads (Marlins) right-hander Kyle Winters, who pitched on Tuesday and has a 3.00 ERA. Jupiter southpaw Graham Taylor, with a 3.38 ERA and 68 strikeouts and only 14 walks in 85 1/3 innings, is another possibility. For the West, if Shines wants to go with his marquee name, he'd turn to Lakeland Flying Tigers right-hander Rick Porcello. The former first-round pick boasts a 2.94 ERA and has walked 19 while striking out 41 over 67 1/3 innings in his pro debut since signing out of high school in New Jersey. Porcello is ready to roll, having made his last start on June 7. The other likely candidate is Fort Myers Miracle ace Jeff Manship (Twins), who is 7-3 with a 2.86 ERA and last started on June 8. No matter who gets the honor of starting, both pitching coaches will try to get every eligible hurler into Saturday's game. Home Run Derby participants: The FSL may be known as a pitchers' league, but eight hitters will try to disprove that theory in the traditional pregame exhibition. Each division will send four sluggers into battle. Trying to go deep for the East will be Brevard County's Taylor Green, Jupiter's Logan Morrison, Palm Beach's Tony Cruz (Cardinals) and Vero Beach's J.T. Hall. The West will be repped by Dunedin teammates J.P. Arencibia and Brian Dopirak (Blue Jays), Sarasota's Juan Francisco (Reds) and Lakeland's Cale Iorg. If crowd support make a difference, look for Green to take the title. The hometown favorite is the starting third baseman for the Manatees and comes into the game with a .316 average, six homers and 42 RBIs. The Canadian-born prospect is also the Brewers' reigning Minor League Player of the Year. Morrison, a 2005 22nd-round pick who signed with the Marlins as a draft-and-follow, brings in the most homers among East representatives with seven to go with a .318 average and 40 RBIs. Cruz, a catcher/third baseman, is hitting .259 with five homers and 37 RBIs. Hall is batting .298 with five homers and 27 RBIs. Arencibia is the leading home run hitter among the West contingent. The former first-rounder out of Tennessee has been enjoying a monster first full season, hitting .315 with 13 homers and a league-leading 62 RBIs. Dopirak is batting .278 with eight homers and 25 RBIs. Francisco, the lone switch-hitter in the field, is batting .286 with nine homers and 41 RBIs after leading the Midwest League with 25 roundtrippers in 2007. Iorg, the son of former Toronto Blue Jay Garth Iorg, rounds out the octet with a .264 average, eight homers and 33 RBIs. Taylor Green is third in the FSL with 42 RBIs and fourth with a .316 average. (Photo by Jerry Hale/MLB.com) http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/2008/06/14/mZKhkmPW.jpg

So far, MiLB.com has added a few Player Pages -- assigned to Helena (it appears, this is still a fluid situation) are RHP's Michael Bowman and Mark Willinsky, catcher Derrick Alfonso, infielders John Delaney and Jose Duran, and outfielder Cutter Dykstra. Those are the only MiLB.com pages thus far from the new draft crop. It's also the first confirmation of 6th round pick Jose Duran signing, which was expected after Texas A&M's elimination from College World Series play. More on Jose Duran, including colbyjack's Brewerfan.net Scouting Report, can be found here

Link while active, text follows: I-Cubs dealing with uncertainty By RANDY PETERSON Des Moines REGISTER STAFF WRITER The Iowa Cubs will determine by 10 a.m. today when they hope to play again at Principal Park. Flood waters from the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers forced postponement of Friday's 7 p.m. Pacific Coast League game against Nashville. "If the flooding's gone down by Saturday morning, if we can get the ballpark in playing shape, and if we're not causing a problem from a public safety standpoint, we'll try to play," general manager Sam Bernabe said. "That's a lot of ifs, but right now, we're like everyone else - we're making hour-by-hour decisions." Water flowed into stadium parking lots early Friday, but recently created levees sealed lot entrances, and water had not moved to neighboring streets. The water began creeping onto the main field from the outfield area by 7 a.m. - and was about 20 feet in from the outfield fences as of mid-afternoon. Bernabe said he took a gamble in trying to host at least the first part of the eight-day, nine-game homestand that was supposed to start Friday. He opted against moving the games to Memphis. "From a public safety standpoint, no one told me we couldn't play when I talked to the city officials about it Thursday afternoon," Bernabe said. "Would that have changed (Friday) even if the field would have been playable? "Maybe, and if they would have said we couldn't have played, then we wouldn't have played. "We will do whatever they tell us to do. I'm not going to put anyone at risk." Aside from Thursday projections that showed Principal Park below the anticipated flood stage, trying to play at home was a business decision. "The weather so far this season hasn't been real conducive to big crowds," Bernabe said. "I get only 71 dates that I can play home games. That's 71 dates to make as much money as I can make." Revenue from games moved from Des Moines would have stayed with the Memphis organization. Crowds of at least 10,000 in the 11,000-seat stadium were expected Friday and tonight, according to Bernabe. "If I lose dates, then we're not making money," he said. "Each missed date is money out of our pocket." Bernabe said he wouldn't second-guess his decision yet. "Right now, I still think I made the right move," he said Friday. "If we can play by at least Sunday, with there being no risk from a public safety standpoint, then I will have made he right decision. If we're still not playing on Monday, then I might reconsider whether I made a good decision." Principal Park has received $6.5 million in recent renovations. Officials said the main improvements - scoreboard, fountain, new seats and other upgrades - are high enough to avoid rising flood waters. The last time floods affected the home of the Iowa Cubs was 1993, but the team was on a road trip at the time. The Principal Park playing surface underwent a $1.2 million makeover six years ago, Bernabe said. The City of Des Moines paid 75 percent of the bill, Iowa Cubs owners paid the rest. "It's too early to tell how much grass, if any, will be killed," Bernabe said. Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie said that any decision on playing will be made by Iowa Cubs officials and not city officials. City officials urged businesses along Court Avenue to close as part of the voluntary evacuation of downtown, but some bars stayed open.

Link while active, text follows: Iowa Cubs: Flooding forces team out of Principal Park RANDY PETERSON Des Moines REGISTER STAFF WRITER Michael Gartner looked out the window from his downtown residence near Principal Park. "All I saw was water," the majority owner of the Iowa Cubs said. He spoke while walking inside a stadium that had water standing in the outfield from the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers and ensuing sewer backup. Immediately, he knew Friday's game against Nashville would be postponed, and the journalist in him took over. "Five in the morning, I called the morning news TV shows, radio shows and sent an e-mail to the newspaper," said Gartner, a former newspaper editor and former president of NBC News. Friday the 13th Gartner and Iowa Cubs general manager Sam Bernabe stood in the outfield bleacher-patio area, watching water cover at least 20 feet of neatly manicured grass. Suddenly, Bernabe hollered down to head groundskeeper Chris Schlosser, who was sloshing through the flood water. "Happy birthday," Bernabe hollered. Gartner looked bewildered at Bernabe. "It's his birthday - Friday the 13th?" Gartner asked. "He's fired." View of water from 801 While watching water, Bernabe's cell phone went off. Ownership partner Mike Giudicessi wanted to talk while watching the stadium from his office at 801 Grand. "What's it look like from up there?" Bernabe said, waving toward the building. A wet walk to stadium Shortly before 8 a.m., Iowa Cubs assistant general manager Jim Nahas parked across the street from the flooded parking lot in which he usually parks. He took off shoes and socks before gingerly walking through water, which by now had become part Raccoon River and part sewer backup. "A carp jumped up in front of me," Nahas declared. "It scared me so much that I about (wet) my pants." Stunning homecoming The Iowa Cubs returned from a 12-day road trip around 10 a.m. Friday. Most of the players drove directly to their Des Moines-area residences. Randy Wells drove past the stadium. "Unbelievable," he said, looking onto the players' parking lot behind the locker room. "Amazing." Manager Pat Listach could not see the stadium as the Iowa Cubs neared Des Moines International Airport Friday morning. "I saw more flooding than I've ever seen out the window on the side of the plane I was sitting," Listach said. "It's just terrible, the flooding and the tragedy to the Boy Scouts in western Iowa. "Makes you wonder just how important baseball really is in the grand scheme of things."

Nice, that last article was a good read. Starting in a day or two, we'll kick off the "Your 2008 Helena Brewers" and "Your 2008 Arizona Brewers" individual threads.

Link while active, text follows: Newest Brewers report to orientation By Tom Singer / MLB.com PHOENIX -- If baseball is young dreamers' promised land, the parched sun-baked complex of manicured fields in the middle of a Phoenix suburb is heaven's gate. They've come from all corners of the map, and from all rungs of last week's First-Year Player Draft, for their professional baptism. They've stepped off a week-long merry-go-round, which began spinning out of control with their names being called during the two days of the Draft, and into the blue "Milwaukee Brewers equipment" T-shirts. "Now it's like a job," says Maverick Lasker, a right-handed pitcher. "A totally different lifestyle. It's going to be a grind, and this is a chance to learn about it and prepare for it." "I can't wait to break some bats," Liam Ohlmann, another right-hander, says with the glee of someone who heretofore had only pitched into the rigid arcs of aluminum bats. It is Friday. It is the first day of a fast-paced two-day mini camp-slash-mixer for the greenest members of the Brewers organization. It is, quite literally, the first day of the professional lives of kids drafted last week. Not everyone here is a recent draftee; the 60-some participating players include already "veterans" of one of the Brewers' two rookie-league teams, most of them Latin Americans. And hardly every recent draftee is here. Some, like No. 1 pick Brett Lawrie, the high school catcher from British Columbia, will take a while to sign. Others, like outfielder Cutter Dykstra, simply couldn't arrive in time for the first morning. But everyone here is getting a crash course in Brewers baseball and in the professional life. This quilt of green diamonds five miles northwest of Chase Field is an Ellis Island, where new emigrees from amateur ball gather before dispersing to various destinations. It is a boot camp in the computer sense of the word "boot": launch. "It gives everyone a good feel for what to expect," says Reid Nichols, the Brewers' director of player development. "We have all of our [roving Minor League] instructors here, and they talk to everyone. So they all get uniform instructions on the basic way to do things, rather than hearing it from different people once they get to their clubs. "They learn what we expect -- and what they should expect from us." The Brewers aren't unique in holding such orientation camps, of course. Concurrently, the A's are having their own a few miles away in Phoenix, for instance. Others flash through Arizona and Florida. There is a good reason these baseball springboards are barely noticed. They take place in the flash-forward vacuum between the Draft and the start of Rookie League seasons -- sometimes, a span of all of 10 days. Some of the Brewbabes here will stay right here -- the Maryvale Brewers' Arizona League season begins Monday. Others will be off to Helena, Mont., where the Pioneer League season starts Tuesday. That gives Nichols and staff precious hours, not days, to learn everything about their new charges for which there is no entry in scouting reports. "Scouts do a pretty good job these days," says Nichols, an understatement for an organization which has excelled in that area for many years. "We haven't been caught off-guard by many things. "But these next couple of days, we'll have individual sit-downs with the guys ... find out about their families, where and how they grew up, their lives at home. We try to gather any personal info that could affect them." The skull sessions can wait. The skill sessions take precedence. Now, they disperse to fields with Hall of Fame names -- Rollie Fingers Field, Don Sutton Field, Robin Yount Field, Paul Molitor Field -- to begin the blending process. Individual skills which caught scouts' eyes now undergo the mesh test. Second basemen and shortstops -- Is there a combination that could remain intact for the next 15 years? Who knows? -- orchestrate for the first time. Fielding drills proceed under game situations, without a lot of chatter. There are a lot of kicked grounders, dropped throws, other muffs; it's about as smooth as sandpaper. For "repeaters," the clock has slowed down. "I learned a lot of things last year but, now, this is just a chance to ease back into the flow," says Joey Paciorek, a corner infielder who batted .281 in 40 games last summer in the Arizona League. For others, the novelty still glows as bright as the sun. "What I'm really looking forward to is my first professional game under the lights," says Ohlmann, the 20th-round pick out of Manchester Community College in Connecticut. "Where I'm from, we didn't play any night games." Nor, any games following 110-degree days. Ohlmann will also stay here and pitch in the Arizona League. As will Lasker, who is cool with the heat. He lives about 20 miles away, a product of Phoenix's O'Connor High School. He is named after the Tom Cruise character in "Top Gun" -- not, one must admit, bad karma for a pitcher. "To me, 'professional' means everything is run the right way. And no excuses," says Lasker, taken with the Brewers' fifth-round pick. "You've got to be very responsible. You've got to take care of your own business, because you won't have someone else helping you anymore." Various things pave that transitional road. Some are tangible, such as the metal-to-wood switch to which Ohlmann had alluded. That transition actually can be more drastic for pitchers than for batters, who customarily rehearse for it by using wood in batting practice as they approach the Draft. "In college and high school, pitchers tend to pitch away from contact, because of the aluminum bats," explains Nichols. "Here, we encourage them to pitch to contact, to trust their stuff." But most of the slippery footing is mental. "I'm preparing myself for the season, for the mental regimen," Ohlmann says. "It will be completely different from what you find in college. I know that going in. Being here gives me a chance to learn a lot about what I can expect." And what he can look forward to. Ohlmann's zealous anticipation of turning some bats into splinters was relayed to the steward farmer of this bumper crop. "Good," Nichols beams. "That's what we like to hear. That's the attitude we want from pitchers." Cutter Dykstra could open the Pioneer League season with Helena. (Photo by Larry Goren/Long Beach State) http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/2008/06/14/eUoMHqBg.jpg

Part One focuses on Brett Lawrie, Part Two the other selections Jim Powell & Jim Callis, Executive Editor of Baseball America Magazine, Part 1 of 2 Jim Powell & Jim Callis, Executive Editor of Baseball America Magazine, Part 2 of 2

Chris Cody is going to make a few in-season blog entries for his alma mater, Manhattan College -- this is just the introductory start, we'll keep an eye on it for you: The Manhattan College Athletic department has launched it inaugural web blog on GoJaspers.com entitled 'Jaspers on Deck' which tracks the progress of former baseball standouts in their quest to reach the Major League. Jasper alumni Chris Cody '06, Nick Derba '07, Matt Rizzotti '07 and Jesse Darcy '07 will be featured in this blog series, as each player will keep Manhattan fans updated with their progress throughout the 2008 season. Additionally, the blog will enlighten Jasper fans on the everyday life of a minor league baseball player. Chris Cody - (June 12, 2008) Dear Jasper fans, This is Jasper alum, Milwaukee Brewers farmhand, and left handed starting pitcher, Chris Cody. I'm writing to you from Charleston, West Virginia, home of Brewers' single A affiliate, West Virginia Power of the South Atlantic League. I am in my third professional season, and my second season with the Milwaukee organization. I was originally drafted as a senior out of Manhattan College by the Detroit Tigers in June '06. After a season and a half with them, I was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers on July 1, 2007. I've been with the Power for about three weeks now after spending the first two months of the season in Phoenix, AZ, getting my arm back to full health in extended spring training (not a pleasurable experience). I expect to make a few rehab starts here before returning to where I was last year: Advanced A level, Brevard County Manatees of the Florida State League. So far, my 2008 campaign has gone well. It's great to get back into action with a team and to get out on that mound every five days. I seem to have bounced back well from the elbow injury that set me back since the end of the '07 season. I'm scheduled to pitch tonight (Thursday 6-12-08) so hopefully I throw well and I continue to build up my pitch count and arm strength enough to earn that promotion back to Brevard County. Thanks for checking out our new blog and I hope you continue to check out future entries to see how all the former Jaspers are doing. Thanks again and I'll talk to you soon.... Go Jaspers! Sincerely, Chris Cody

By the way, West Tenn did win, 12-4, and the Stars and Diamond Jaxx are tied for first place with two games remaining. If they tie, the first half champion will be decided in the two teams' first head-to-head meeting of the second half schedule, which coincidentally, opens the second half slate. It'd be this Tuesday the 17th at home in Huntsville with Steve Hammond on the mound. But the Jaxx are home this weekend, while the Stars are on the road against a tough Jacksonville club, so getting to a championship game may be tougher than actually winning it.

Link while active, text follows: Power plays spoiler, nips Greensboro 6-5 By Doug Smock Charleston Gazette Staff writer A visiting reliever scored a "hat trick" of wild pitches and the managers nearly got in a Friday night fistfight, but in the end the West Virginia Power inflicted a damaging blow to the Greensboro Grasshoppers' first-half title chances. Steffan Wilson's two-run single with two outs in the sixth inning gave the Power a 6-4 lead, and the home team hung on to win 6-5 at Appalachian Power Park. A fireworks night crowd of 3,630 attended, though a postgame storm scrubbed the fireworks. The customers got a little extra bang for their entertainment buck beginning in the fourth inning, when the Power ousted Greensboro starter Jay Voss. Power batters touched Voss for nine hits in 3 2/3 innings, but had just a 3-2 lead to show for it. Eric Basurto took three pitches to change that, and not to the Grasshoppers' benefit. Those first three pitches all went to the backstop, moving runner Eric Farris around from first to score, giving West Virginia a 4-2 lead. "We'll take the runs any way we can get them," said Power manager Jeff Isom. "They're hard enough to come by." The real fun came in the Power's fifth. Caleb Gindl walked on four pitches, with the last two going behind him and to the backstop. Home-plate umpire Mike Brundage immediately warned Basurto and both managers. That begged the question: As wild as Basurto was, could he have hit a Power batter if he so intended? "When the pitch goes behind the hitter twice in an at-bat, they should be throwing out warnings, even if it was an accident," Wilson said. "It's like, get your stuff together, because it's dangerous. With the tension already high, I think that's the right move there. I know their coach wasn't happy about it, but why not warn them?" Wilson was the next batter up, and he hit a potential double-play grounder to third. But Gindl nicely broke up the twin-killing, taking out second baseman Ryan Curry. Curry didn't think the play was very nice, and said as much to Gindl. That little chat emptied both dugouts. Gindl and Curry were separated, and the players didn't seem in the mood for combat. But Isom and Greensboro manager Edwin Rodriguez got into several heated exchanges. "We've hit a few of their players in the last series, and he took exception to that, and understandably so," Isom said. "That's what that all stemmed from. We go in and break up a double play with Gindl, just hard baseball, and it all started from there. "It's understandable. They're frustrated; they're in a playoff run, tensions are high for them. We don't want them clinching at our home field, so we're taking care of our business. That's going to happen when you have two teams that are wanting to win." "We're going to try to break up two every day of the year," Wilson said. "And if they have a problem with that, then we're probably going to have more problems like this." The teams settled back down to baseball, and the Grasshoppers tied the game in the top of the sixth on a Mike Stanton triple and a Ryan Anetsberger single. But Wilson put the Power ahead for good off reliever Steven Cishek (1-2), when his line drive sailed just past the shortstop's glove and scored runners Matt Cline and Farris. As it turns out, Wilson had all three of the Power's RBIs. "It's the third time in the last two weeks we've seen [Cishek]," Wilson said. "[He throws] a pretty good fastball, a little cutter. He started me out with a cutter for a ball, and that was a good pitch that could have gone either way. Got down 2-0 and he came back with two fastballs in a row, and the second one I managed to stay up the middle with it, which is kind of what we're taught." That made a winner of R.J. Seidel (3-4), who struck out seven and walked just one before yielding to Mike Ramlow. Ramlow got in trouble in the eighth, allowing an unearned run on a Stanton sacrifice fly that made it 6-5. But he got bonus-baby Matt Dominguez to hit into a 6-4-3 double play to stifle that threat. The Grasshoppers (38-30) got a runner to third in the ninth on an Anetsberger single, a balk and a groundout. Isom summoned Rob Bryson to get the final out, which he did by fanning pinch-hitter Tom Hickman. West Virginia (30-37) put Greensboro on the brink of first-half elimination. The Grasshoppers fell to 2 1/2 games behind Lake County, whose game Friday was suspended by rain. Now, Greensboro must beat the Power today and Sunday and have Lake County lose three times in a row to force a first-half tie on the Northern Division. "That was the theme of this whole series," Isom said. "If we're not going to be in it, let's be the spoiler for somebody. And we want to make something of these games here, and take some momentum into the second half." BRIEFLY: The fireworks are rescheduled for tonight, after the Grasshoppers and Power play their 7:05 PM game (6:05 Central). Fans were offered admission tonight with their Friday ticket. ... Stanton struck out for the 82nd and 83rd time this season. ... Farris, entering the game with a .190 batting average, went 3-for-5. ... Cline went 1-for-4, dropping his team-high batting average to .298. ... Zelous Wheeler's 12-game hitting streak was snapped. ... The four-game series, and the first half, wraps up Sunday with a 6:05 PM game (5:05 Central). Charleston Gazette Photo by Chip Ellis Greensboro's Emilio Ontiveros slides home safely as Power catcher Jonathan Lucroy tries to handle the throw. http://www.wvgazette.com/images/thumbs275/WVP2_G0806133bjym1.jpg

Final: West Virginia 6, Greensboro (Marlins) 5 West Virginia Site Game Summary: POWER TAKE DOWN 'HOPPERS IN HEATED BATTLE The West Virginia Power and Greensboro Grasshoppers went back and forth on Saturday night in a heated battle at Appalachian Power Park. West Virginia took the lead on three different occasions and a fight nearly broke out in the fifth inning as the Power came away with a 6-5 victory to take the second game of the series. Zelous Wheeler reached on Matt Dominguez's fielding error in the bottom of the first inning which allowed Matt Cline to score, giving the Power 1-0 lead. Greensboro took their only lead of the game in the third inning where they scored twice on three hits. Danny Garcia began the inning with a single and scored on Emilio Ontiveros's double. Ryan Curry singled later in the inning to score Garcia, giving Greensboro the lead. Steffan Wilson tied the game in the next half inning as he drove in his first of three runs with a two-out RBI single. The Power scored twice in the fourth inning to regain the lead. Cline hit into a 4-6-3 double play but Curt Rindal scored in the process. Eric Farris singled off Jay Voss before Voss was taken out in favor of Eric Basurto. Basurto threw three wild pitches in a row to bring Farris around to score. In the fifth inning, Basurto fell behind Caleb Gindl 2-0 before the next two pitches went behind Gindl, putting him on first base. Steffan Wilson then hit a groundball to third base, giving the Grasshoppers a chance at a double play. Gindl's extremely hard slide into second base broke up the double play possibility and caused the benches to clear. There were a number of heated discussions, but there were no ejections. Greensboro tied the game in the sixth inning with their second two-run inning. Mike Stanton tripled in Bryan Petersen and scored on Ryan Anetsberger's base hit. Wilson struck again with two outs in the sixth inning, as he singled in a pair of runs to put the Power ahead. Greensboro scored one final run in the eighth when Stanton's sacrifice fly plated Ryan Curry. R.J. Seidel (3-4) allowed four runs on six hits and fanned seven over six innings to get the victory. Rob Bryson (4) fanned Tom Hickman with the tying run on third base to finish the game and earned the save. Steven Cishek (1-2) gave up a pair of runs on two hits over two innings and was tagged with the loss. The Power improved to 30-37 with the win and the Grasshoppers fell to 38-30 with the loss. Farris paced the Power with a 3-for-5 performance while Wilson and Rindal chipped in with two hits a piece. Gindl's walk extended his on base streak to 15 games. Zelous Wheeler reached on a walk in the sixth but went 0-3, bringing his 12 game hit streak to an end. The Power will continue the four game series with Greensboro Saturday night. Right hander Amaury Rivas (5-2, 3.02) will get the start for the Power and the Grasshoppers will counter with right hander Stu Alexander (6-5, 5.40). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM (6:05 Central). West Virginia Box Score West Virginia Game Log

Final: Jacksonville (Dodgres) 9, Huntsville 4 Huntsville Site Game Summary: Seventh Inning Sends Stars to Defeat Huntsville's Hold on Top Spot Tenuous By Brett Pollock / Huntsville Stars Russell Mitchell tripled in three runs to finish off a six-run seventh inning rally that pushed Jacksonville past Huntsville 9-4 Friday night in the middle of a five-game set at the Baseball Grounds. The Stars dropped to 40-27 and saw their lead over West Tenn in the North Division cut to a half-game, pending the outcome of the Diamond Jaxx' game with Chattanooga at Pringles Park. (As of this post time, West Tenn led, 8-4, in the 7th). The Stars have now dropped 11 of their last 13 games in Jacksonville since June, 2006. Patrick Ryan took over in the seventh for David Welch and gave up a leadoff single to Adam Godwin, who then stole second base. Pinch-hitter Matthew Berezay walked before James Tomlin dropped down a sacrifice bunt attempt past Ryan that was fielded by Mat Gamel, who threw wildly past first base into the stands, allowing Godwin to score the go-ahead run, Berezay to reach third and Tomlin to advance to second. Jamie Hoffman was given an intentional pass to load the bases before Mark Bellhorn and Lucas May singled in runs and Mitchell tripled over the head of Michael Brantley in center field to make it a 9-3 game. Travis Schlichting tossed two scoreless frames behind the starter James McDonald to earn his first win and was followed to the hill by Zach Hammes, who gave up a leadoff long ball to Chris Errecart in the eighth to account for the game's final run. Brantley started the game with a leadoff home run, his fourth of the season, to right field. The Suns answered in their half of the inning with a pair of runs on an RBI hit by Hoffman that plated Tomlin and a Mitchell sacrifice fly that scored Ivan DeJesus, Jr. to put the home team ahead for the first time at 2-1. Matt LaPorta started the second inning with a double off of McDonald, advanced to third base on a Cole Gillespie ground out, stayed there when Errecart struck out and then scored to tie the game on a wild pitch by McDonald with Mike Bell at the plate. The Suns struck again in the bottom of the inning on a leadoff long ball by Juan Gonzalez, his 10th of the season, to regain the lead. Huntsville got the game tied in the top half of the third when Welch led off with a single, moved to third base on an Alcides Escobar double and scored on a sacrifice fly by Gamel, who drove in his league-best 62nd run. Gillespie led off the fourth with a single, moved to third on an Errecart double but they could not score after Bell skied out to shallow center, Welch lined out to first, Brantley walked and Escobar was called out on strikes. Welch went six innings, giving up three runs on four hits, walking two and matching a season-high six strikeouts, while McDonald allowed three runs on seven hits over five frames with two walks and seven strikeouts. The series continues Saturday night with left-hander Brae Wright taking the hill against Suns' right-hander Mario Alvarez. Coverage of the game begins at 5:50 pm central time and can be heard locally on SportsRadio 730 WUMP and through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com and www.730ump.com. Huntsville Box Score Michael Brantley on base three times, five other Stars on base twice apiece, which should have equaled more than four runs... Huntsville Game Log