Jim Goulart

Ugly loss for the Stars. Wasted chance after chance early, then Patrick Ryan gets lit up, which is like a Halley's comet event. Mat Gamel with two more errors (17), a pace that even Bill Hall (15) can't keep up with. And I know Mat has made strides, just looking for a minor league vent thread (which we're not going to start, by the way). Oh yeah, West Tenn is romping...

Last I checked, the Brewers had pretty much failed to establish themselves as being better than either of these teams. Why would I think they can hang with them? Well, that's what the word "trails" means. They've failed to be better than them thus far. Do I really have to list the reasons the Brewers could gain 2-3 games over these two teams over the next 100 or so contests? You've really squashed your entire summer already, huh? The Cards are losing 14-1 after five innings tonight, if you want to limit yourself to one-game samples, as you seem to be doing with the Crew tonight.

Well, the Brewers only trail the flawed Cards and young Marlins for the wild card. If you choose to disregard that, then you may as well be watching the 2002 Brewers.

Hernan is becoming the master of the called third strike.

Did anybody tell the Brewers there's a game tonight?

One mention in the sheet this week, but not among the usual rankings -- MEN AMONG BOYS Low Class A West Virginia catcher Jonathan Lucroy (Brewers) is celebrating his 22nd birthday today, the downside of which is that he'll be sentenced to the Men Among Boys section of the Hot Sheet whenever he puts up a good week while staying in low Class A. That's the case this week for Lucroy, who hit .320/.452/.600 (8-for-25) with a double, two home runs, and three RBIs. The 2007 third rounder is hitting .311/.390/.515 in 235 at-bats for the season. He's a very solid prospect, we just are looking forward to seeing what he can do against older competition.

battlekow's quest of interviewing everyone ever associated with the Brewer organization extends to 2007 draft pick, highly-regarded RHP Cody Scarpetta. Nice job as always. BrewCrewBall is the beneficiary of your work specifically, but all of us as Brewer diehards.

While not mentioned here, Alex Periard and Taylor Green are likely members of the Canadian Olympic Team this summer, discussed here.

LHP Chris Cody has been transferred to Brevard County. We can all exhale now after waiting for that move. RHP Pedro Lambertus, who struggled at West Virginia in six early-season appearances, gets another chance with the Power, moved up from extended spring training.

Certainly a serious situation if you've seen the news sites today -- Nashville Site: DES MOINES - Flooding around Principal Park from the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers has caused the Iowa Cubs to postpone Friday night's game against the Nashville Sounds, which was scheduled to begin at 7:05 p.m. No makeup date has been set. The teams are now scheduled to open the series on Saturday evening at 7:05 p.m. Right-hander Richie Gardner (5-2, 3.98) is slated to man the bump for Nashville. Iowa will counter with left-hander J.R. Mathes (3-3, 2.76).

Jeff Liefer, aka "I don't want to be remembered as the guy who got stuck in the bathroom" while in AAA for the Brewers, shares interesting experiences of his two recent seasons in Japan.

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):

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 Memphis 34 34 .500 4.0 15-17 19-17 W2 Omaha 32 33 .492 4.5 15-19 17-14 W3 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 27 .597 - 22-13 18-14 L1 West Tenn 39 28 .582 1.0 22-10 17-18 L1 Carolina 36 31 .537 4.0 18-14 18-17 W1 Chattanooga 36 31 .537 4.0 20-15 16-16 W1 Tennessee 26 41 .388 14.0 13-22 13-19 L6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 29 .567 2.0 17-18 21-11 W5 Delmarva 37 29 .561 2.5 21-11 16-18 W2 Lakewood 36 31 .537 4.0 19-15 17-16 L1 Hagerstown 32 34 .485 7.5 16-20 16-14 L2 West Virginia 29 37 .439 10.5 10-20 19-17 L1 Hickory 28 39 .418 12.0 12-20 16-19 L8 Lexington 21 45 .318 18.5 10-24 11-21 W1

Follow Friday'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_13_nasaaa_iowaaa_1 Huntsville: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_06_13_hunaax_jaxaax_1 West Virginia: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_06_13_gboafx_wvaafx_1

Nashville's game at Iowa is also available for subscription viewing at MiLB.TV.

Friday's Daily Menu: TGIF! 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 David Welch 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: Idle for the All-Star Break; Link Report details on the game to be provided Saturday AM... West Virginia: RHP R.J. Seidel 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

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Link while active, text follows: West Virginia's Wilson maximizing his power by Michael Dailey Charleston Daily Mail sportswriter Milwaukee Brewers farmhand Steffan Wilson is just 111 games into his professional baseball career, but he already has developed a reputation as a long-ball threat every time he steps into the batter's box. Well, actually every 17 times he steps to the plate. Wilson, a 28th-round pick in the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft, pounded a team-best 12 home runs in 183 rookie league at-bats in Helena (Mont.) last season. Now a member of the West Virginia Power, Wilson has a team-high 11 round-trippers in just 212 at-bats, placing him third in the South Atlantic League for home runs this season. "He gets good extension and hits the ball out in front of the plate," Power hitting coach Jim Lett said of Wilson's knack for the long ball. "He still needs to be a little more disciplined and try to get better pitches to hit, but I think that hitting for power is going to be his forte. "He'll probably continue to hit home runs as he progresses up the minor league chain. He hit his homers (12) in around 50 games last season, so he's on about the same pace as he was last year. If he can keep it going, he could hit 20 this year." Power Manager Jeff Isom, who coached Wilson in Helena last season, also believes Wilson's power will help him climb the minor league ladder. "His ability to hit for power and for average is going to carry him to the next level," Isom said. "He's not a bad infielder and he's not a bad outfielder, but he's not a Gold Glove-type of guy. It's his bat that's going to help him move along. "It's just a matter of him having quality at-bats all night and every night instead of every once in a while. Consistency is the biggest thing he needs to work on." Wilson, whose batting average has dropped from .328 last season to just .255 through 66 games this season, isn't sure where his penchant for the long ball comes from, but he would trade a few home runs to see his average climb. "The big thing that helps me, and I don't know if it's something that I've always had or just something that has evolved with my swing, is good backspin on the ball," said Wilson, who went 1-for-4 in a 3-1 loss to visiting Greensboro (N.C.) on Thursday evening. "That helps the ball carry a lot better. I'd guess my power comes from hitting the ball with backspin. Other than that, it's really unexplainable. "Hitting with power has always been a part of my game, but it's never been the focus of my game. I'm a little frustrated that my average isn't where I want it to be right now. The numbers are decent, but I've always had a good balance with power and average and I'd like to get back there. I'm just a work in progress, I guess." Right now, as is the case with most minor leaguers, developing consistency at the plate is Wilson's biggest challenge. "The big thing for all of us is consistency," Wilson said. "As the season progresses and you move through the summer, you've got to make the right adjustments at the plate. "Coming up with a swing that I can replicate everyday is what I'm striving for. I've made a lot of changes from spring training to this point in the season and I'm still not able to do the exact same thing every time. "That's what separates a lot of the levels. The guys in Triple-A and in the Big Leagues can have the same swing everyday and be successful with it, whereas a lot of us are still trying to perfect our swing and become more consistent." One thing that helps separate Wilson from other baseball prospects is his ability to play more than one position. So far this season, he has played 33 games at third base, 18 games at first base and two games in the outfield. "He's the type of guy that his bat is going to take him as far as he goes," Isom said. "But because he's got the ability to play multiple positions, he'll have more value as he moves up. "He's a guy that you just try to find a position for because he's going to hit for power, he can hit for average and he can drive in some runs. He's a pretty multi-dimensional player that's great to have on the club." Two photos in a Steffan Wilson gallery via the Charleston Daily Mail

Huntsville Pre-Game Audio Interview with RH reliever David Johnson, on the DL with a sore elbow Go the WUMP audio archive of June 12th, then to the 3:00 minute mark...

Link, text follows: Lawrie won't play Parksville Vancouver Island baseball fans hoping to catch a glimpse of the latest B.C. Premier Baseball League first round pick in the Major League Baseball draft will be out of luck on Saturday. Brett Lawrie, the 16th overall pick on the draft by the Milwaukee Brewers, won't accompany his Langley Blaze teammates when they visit the Parksville Royals Saturday at Parksville. There's two reasons why Lawrie will be missing -- it's grad weekend for the BCPBL's highest-ever draft pick, and his playing time has been limited until he comes to a contract agreement with the Brew Crew. "Brett doesn't know when he's going to sign," said Blaze head coach Doug Mathieson. "It's all in negotiations at this point. He's only going to be playing home games. He wants to concentrate on finishing up his grades."

Final: Oklahoma (Rangers) 8, Nashville 3 Nashville Site Game Summary: Link for Brendan Katin photo, text follows -- RedHawks Sweep Sounds With 8-3 Win OKLAHOMA CITY - Former Sound Nelson Cruz homered and drove in four runs to lead the Oklahoma RedHawks to an 8-3 victory over Nashville on Thursday evening at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark, completing a four-game sweep of the Sounds. With the loss, Nashville fell to 0-8 against the RedHawks on the year and suffered its fifth straight loss overall. The scoring started early as the clubs exchanged first-inning runs. Callix Crabbe opened the game with a double for the Sounds and came all the way around to score on the play on a throwing error by Oklahoma left fielder John Mayberry. The RedHawks began the bottom of the frame with three straight singles off Ben Howard, the last of which by Cruz tied the contest at 1-1. Cruz struck again in the third, belting a three-run homer to right-center off Howard to give Oklahoma a 4-1 lead. The slugger's PCL-leading 20th roundtripper of the year plated Jason Ellison and Joaquin Arias, who had opened the frame with consecutive singles. The Sounds pulled back within a run at 4-3 in the top of the fourth when catcher Vinny Rottino singled to extend his hitting streak to 21 games then scored when Brendan Katin blasted his tenth home run of the year, a well-struck two-run shot to left off Oklahoma starter Steve Rowe. AUDIO: Brendan Katin Two-Run HR Call - "Oh, my!" Nashville didn't record a hit over the final 4 1/3 frames of action against Oklahoma pitching, including four combined innings of hitless relief from Paul Komentani, Kazuo Fukumori, and Bill White. Oklahoma first baseman Chris Davis extended the home team's lead to 5-3 in the seventh with a leadoff solo homer to right-center off Jason Shiell, his fourth roundtripper of the year and second of the series. The RedHawks added two unearned runs later in the frame on left fielder Katin's two-out fielding error on a ball hit by Travis Metcalf. The RedHawks finished off the evening's scoring in the eighth with a two-out rally against Sounds reliever Luis Pena. With two down, Davis ripped a double to right and scored when Mayberry followed with an RBI single. Rowe (2-2) picked up the win after working five innings and allowing three runs on nine hits for the RedHawks. Howard (2-2) was saddled with the loss after giving up four runs on a Sounds season-high 13 hits over his 5 2/3 innings of work. The Sounds travel to Des Moines, Iowa after the game and will conclude their trip with a five-game, four-day series against the division-rival Iowa Cubs. Right-hander Richie Gardner (5-2, 3.98) will man the bump for Nashville in Friday's 7:05 p.m. series opener. Iowa will counter with left-hander J.R. Mathes (3-3, 2.76). Nashville Box Score Vinny Rottino walked twice in addition to extending the hit streak; Brendan Katin actually made two errors, giving him seven on the season, putting a bit of a damper on his HR bomb... Nashville Game Log

Link while active, text follows: Power's Cody sharp but suffers lapse By Mike Whiteford Charleston Gazette Staff writer His pitches lack intimidating velocity, thus making them look tantalizingly hittable from the comfort of the dugout and on-deck circle. But since joining the Power a few weeks ago, left-hander Chris Cody has baffled South Atlantic League hitters, earning the league's pitcher-of-the-week honor, with a good mix of location, movement and speed changes. And other than a lapse in the fifth inning Thursday night at Appalachian Power Park, Cody continued that success. In that fifth inning, however, he surrendered three straight two-out hits and, an inning later, served up a solo homer, allowing the surging Greensboro Grasshoppers to pick up a 3-1 victory. "At this level, a majority of the pitchers throw harder than I do,'' said Cody, a native of Brewster, N.Y., "so when the hitters see me warming up and throwing at 82 and 83 miles an hour, they say to themselves, "OK, we're going to get our hits today.' '' The 24-year-old former Manhattan College pitcher entered Thursday's play having yielded just 13 hits, three earned runs and three walks in 25 innings. He owned a 2-0 record and a 1.08 earned run average. Through 4 2/3 innings Thursday, he had shut out the Grasshoppers on two hits, had not walked a batter and had struck out four. At first glance, the Grasshopper hitters apparently were not impressed with Cody, said Greensboro manager Edwin Rodriquez. "He goes one time through the lineup, and everybody says they're going to get him,'' said Rodriguez. "And all of a sudden, it's the sixth inning, and the guy is still there. He knows what he's doing.'' With two out and no one on base in the fifth, Greensboro's No. 8 hitter, Tyler Belcher, punched a single to right on an 0-2 pitch. Justin Jacobs, a .214 hitter, then ripped an RBI double into the left-field corner. Ryan Curry singled home Jacobs for a 2-0 Greensboro lead, and Mike Stanton homered in the sixth to complete the Grasshopper scoring. "He was trying to work the inner part of the plate,'' said Power pitching coach John Curtis, "and left them out there to turn on, but these [Greensboro] guys are hot. They're doing a lot of good things.'' Cody was obtained by Milwaukee in a trade with the Detroit organization last year and pitched part of the season at the Brewers' high-Class A team in Brevard County. A minor elbow injury in spring training, however, kept him in extending spring training until his recent assignment to the Power. "This a very talented kid, and he's got a pretty good idea of what he's doing out there,'' said Curtis. "He makes hitters uncomfortable by changing speeds and changing planes. He's on schedule to graduate here. He's got nothing to prove here or learn. He's pretty much carved 'em up. He just ran into a pretty good team tonight.'' In six innings Thursday, Cody allowed six hits and three earned runs. He struck out six and did not walk a batter. POWER POINTS: The Power will play host to the Grasshoppers Friday and Saturday night and conclude the series with a 6:05 game (5:05 Central) Sunday evening. ... The Power scored in the sixth as Lee Haydel singled, moved to third on Matt Cline's double to left and came home on Jonathan Lucroy's infield out. ... Paid attendance was 5,569. ... Second baseman Hernan Iribarren, who played for the 2005 Power, recently earned a promotion to the Brewers. He is the third player from the '05 Power to reach the Brewers, joining Ryan Braun and Yovani Gallardo. Gallardo is on the disabled list and may not pitch again until next year. ... The Grasshoppers have won 10 of 11. ... Wheeler Bob averages between 12 and 15 cents in gross sales for each fan in the park. If attendance is 4,000, he's likely to sell $500 worth of programs and souvenirs. Charleston Gazette Photo by Chip Ellis Chris Cody delivered another strong pitching performance for the Power but was tagged with his first loss. http://www.wvgazette.com/images/thumbs275/PowWow1_I080612235407.jpg

Final: Greensboro (Marlins) 3, West Virginia 1 West Virginia Site Game Summary: GREENSBORO HOPS PAST THE POWER The Greensboro Grasshoppers extended their winning streak to five games on Thursday night at Appalachian Power Park as they took the first game of the series with a 3-1 victory over the West Virginia Power. Power lefty Chris Cody held the 'Hoppers scoreless through four and two-thirds until Tyler Belcher began a string of three straight two-out hits that produced a pair of runs. Belcher scored on a double from Justin Jacobs who scored on Ryan Curry's base hit. Mike Stanton, the South Atlantic League's leader in home runs, went deep for the 15th time this season with a solo homer in the top of the sixth inning to give Greensboro a 3-0 lead. The Power scored their lone run in the bottom of the sixth when Lee Haydel came home on Jonathan Lucroy's groundout. Brett Durand (7-3) allowed just a run on five hits over five two-thirds to get the victory. Garrett Parcell (17) pitched a scoreless ninth inning to get the save. Cody (2-1) allowed three runs on six hits and struck out six in a losing effort. Corey Frerichs held the 'Hoppers scoreless through three innings of relief. The Power fell to 29-37 with the loss and the Grasshoppers improved to 38-29 with the win. Zelous Wheeler extended his hitting streak to 12 games and was the only Power player to hit safely more than once. Lucroy's hitting streak came to an end, even though he knocked in West Virginia's only run. Caleb Gindl walked in the ninth inning to extend his on-base streak to 14 games. The Power will continue the four game series with the Greensboro Grasshoppers at Appalachian Power Park on Friday night. Right hander R.J. Seidel (2-4, 5.44) will get the start for the Power and the Grasshoppers will counter with left hander Jay Voss (2-3, 3.75). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM (6:05 Central). West Virginia Box Score Eric Farris' first 30 games have been shockingly underwhelming (.468 OPS), and he committed his sixth error as well; this was reliever Corey Frerichs' third consecutive scoreless three-inning stint -- the just-turned 22-year-old had a fine season... West Virginia Game Log

We saw a Greensboro player blog in which he mentioned his buddy Wes Etheridge's injury at West Virginia, so we now know how he landed on the DL: He took a ball off the ankle about two weeks ago and fractured his ankle so he's actually on the DL for a while. He said that he'll hopefully be ready to go by the beginning of the second half.

Final: Jacksonville (Dodgers) 10, Huntsville 1 Huntsville Press Release: Stars Fall in Jacksonville SUNS JUMP ON STARS EARLY, COAST TO WIN Juan Gonzalez and Adam Godwin each knocked in three runs to back the solid pitching of Cody White in Jacksonville's 10-1 win over Huntsville Thursday night in the second of a five-game set at the Baseball Grounds. The Stars slipped to 40-27 but maintained a one-game lead over West Tenn in the North Division. The Stars have now dropped 10 of their last 12 games in Jacksonville. James Tomlin and Ivan DeJesus, Jr. opened the home first with singles before Tomlin stole third base and scored on a Jamie Hoffman sacrifice fly to make it 1-0 Suns. Mark Bellhorn and Russell Mitchell walked to load the bases before Gonzalez emptied the bases with a double down the left field line to extend the home side's edge to 4-0. A wild pitch moved Gonzalez to third and he scored an infield hit by Godwin to cap the rally. Stars' starter Derek Miller was removed after one inning, allowing five runs on four hits and a pair of walks to suffer his first loss since April 10 at West Tenn in his second start of the season. Mike Jones took over for Miller and led off the third inning with a single and came in to score Huntsville's only run of the night on a sacrifice fly by Mat Gamel, who drove in his league-leading 61st run. The Suns got the run back in the fourth on a run-scoring double by James Tomlin, who collected three hits in a game for a second time this season. Jones was taken out after three innings, giving up a run on four hits and was replaced by Josh Wahpehpah, who was making his double-A debut. The Suns scored two runs against him in the fifth on a two-out, two-run single by Godwin and added two more in the sixth on a two-run double by former big leaguer Mark Bellhorn. Wahpehpah was charged with four runs on five hits and three walks over an inning and two-thirds before Robert Hinton finished with 2 1/3 scoreless frames. White didn't allow a hit after the third inning and was taken out with the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh and replaced by Brian Akin, who got Alcides Escobar to fly out to end the frame. The right-hander tossed shutout relief in the eighth and ninth innings to preserve the win. White earned his first double-A win after yielding a run on three hits, walking three and fanning five. Escobar went hitless in four at-bats and lost a 16-game hitting streak, dating back to May 10 at Tennessee. The series continues Friday night with left-hander David Welch taking the hill against Suns' right-hander James McDonald. 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 Over 9,500 in attendance-proud Jacksonville on a weeknight... Huntsville Game Log