Jim Goulart

Not exactly a transaction, but... Milwaukee Brewers have until June 15 to decide on pitcher Jeff Weaver MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Brewers have a little bit longer than they originally thought to make a decision on the future of pitcher Jeff Weaver. The 31-year-old Weaver signed with the Brewers in April and has been playing for triple-A Nashville. After speaking with agent Scott Boras on Wednesday, Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said Weaver can opt out of the deal and become a free agent if he hasn't been called up to the majors by June 15 - not June 1, as the team had thought. "We don't have to (decide) right now," Melvin said. "And right now, Dave Bush and Seth McClung have pitched in the big leagues, and they've pitched better in the big leagues than what he has at triple-A." Weaver is 1-3 with a 6.69 ERA at Nashville and was hit hard Monday, giving up nine runs (five earned) and eight hits - including two home runs - and five walks in six innings. But Melvin said Weaver hasn't had enough work to get a true sense of his ability to pitch. "Right now, he's only into 30-something innings," Melvin said. "That's only a little more than spring training. Any pitcher could use more time. But he's just trying to get comfortable. He had no spring training whatsoever." The Brewers' pitching staff is thin after serious injuries to Yovani Gallardo and Chris Capuano. But Bush seems to be rebounding from a shaky start to the season, and McClung has shown the potential to be a starter. "It's an evaluation going day-by-day, and that goes for Jeff, too," Melvin said. "We've talked internally a little bit, I talked to his agent today and we'll just have ongoing discussions." Weaver couldn't find a job after struggling in Seattle last season, when he was 7-13 with a 6.20 ERA. In April, he agreed to a minor league contract with Milwaukee that pays him $12,000 a month. He would get a $1.25 million salary if added to the Brewers' major league roster, and he would have the chance to earn $2.75 million in performance bonuses. Weaver is 93-114 with a 4.72 ERA in a nine-year career with Detroit, the Yankees, the Dodgers, the Angels, St. Louis and Seattle. He was the winning pitcher for the Cardinals in the clinching Game 5 of the World Series against Detroit.

RHP Travis Wendte has been activated from his 2nd DL stint of the season to take Omar Aguilar's spot with Brevard County.

In a nice surprise, both in a "prospect progress" way and in a first-half division title push for the Stars, Huntsville has themselves a closer, as RHP Omar Aguilar takes his 0.35 ERA to AA. To make room on the Stars' roster, RHP E.J. Shanks has been transferred to Brevard County, where he has also been placed on the disabled list, back-dated to May 26th.

Link while active, text follows: Power baseball sinking toward its worst half-season by Jacob Messer Charleston Daily Mail sportswriter A highly successful streak likely will end for the West Virginia Power next month when the team takes a three-day break for the South Atlantic League All-Star Game festivities. Charleston's Class A club hasn't had a losing record in seven of the last eight half-seasons, including five in a row. Here is a year-by-year, half-by-half breakdown of West Virginia's winning ways: 2007 -- 48-20 in the first half; 34-34 in the second half. 2006 -- 39-30; 35-30. 2005 -- 25-45; 35-33 (first year as a Brewer affiliate). 2004 -- 41-29; 43-27. Extending its streak is improbable if not impossible for the Power (19-32), which must go 16-2 in its final 18 games in the first half to avoid its first losing record in three years. The last time that occurred was 2005, the team's first season in the Milwaukee Brewers' farm system. The Power lost 13 of its first 15 games, including its first seven, to finish the first half 20 games under .500 that year. Incidentally, the Charleston-based franchise (then the Alley Cats) had only one winning record in 12 halves -- six seasons -- from 1998 through 2003. "It's a confidence thing," said West Virginia Manager Jeff Isom, whose team was swept by the visiting Lakewood (N.J.) BlueClaws in a four-game series that ended Tuesday afternoon with a 6-5 loss in front of a Grand Slam School Day crowd of 9,140 at Appalachian Power Park. "You start winning a couple of games in a row and it builds confidence with the club." The Power has had only four modest winning streaks this year -- one three-game stretch and three two-game stretches. The team needs an attitude adjustment, Isom said. The problem, he believes, is the players are trying not to lose instead of trying to win. "Once you are in a game, you should expect to win it," Isom said. "Right now, it feels like we just want to try to hang on and keep the game close." The Power has lost nine games by one run and seven games by two runs. "At the beginning of the season, we were losing games by three, four or more runs," Isom said. "Now, there are a lot of one- and two-run games. "It's a credit to our players, but we have to turn that corner and we have to learn how to win games. We're close, but we're a little ways off right now. It's just a matter of finding a will and finding a way to get it done." The Power led only once in the series -- 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning Tuesday -- against the BlueClaws, who scored 30 runs on 51 hits. "When you put a couple of guys together and they are all hitting good at the same time, it does become contagious," said Lakewood left fielder Michael Taylor, who was 9-for-14 with two runs, three doubles, five walks and five RBI in four games against the Power. "It makes it that much more difficult for the pitcher. If he has to get out six or seven guys in the lineup as opposed to one or two, it puts more pressure on him. Also, he will make more mistakes and leave more balls up, which makes it easier to hit. "And this is a great hitter's ballpark. The infield is fast and the ball carries here, too. I think we had a good approach. I don't know if there was something we picked up on or not. I think we were just focused on having our plan. That was to see the ball up. "They have a couple of right-handers with good sinkers, and they have a couple of left-handers who have good off-speed pitches. What we wanted to do as a unit was see balls up and then try and put our swings on them. I think the 51 hits demonstrate we were able to do that on a consistent basis." T.J. Warren collected a one-out single in the top of the ninth, and Dennis Winn delivered a double to score the game-winning run, helping the BlueClaws (28-24) extend their winning streak to seven games.

Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Iowa 26 25 .510 - 17-10 9-15 W3 Memphis 27 26 .509 - 11-13 16-13 L1 Omaha 25 25 .500 0.5 14-13 11-12 W2 Nashville 21 30 .412 5.0 11-12 10-18 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- West Tenn 33 19 .635 - 19-6 14-13 W1 Huntsville 32 20 .615 1.0 19-11 13-9 W1 Carolina 29 23 .558 4.0 14-11 15-12 L3 Chattanooga 25 27 .481 8.0 14-13 11-14 L4 Tennessee 20 32 .385 13.0 10-17 10-15 W4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Palm Beach 31 20 .608 - 18-8 13-12 W1 Brevard County 26 25 .510 5.0 16-10 10-15 L1 Daytona 25 26 .490 6.0 11-14 14-12 W1 Vero Beach 25 26 .490 6.0 16-9 9-17 W2 Jupiter 24 27 .471 7.0 15-10 9-17 L1 St. Lucie 11 40 .216 20.0 5-21 6-19 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - SAL Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lake County 33 19 .635 - 14-12 19-7 W3 Greensboro 28 24 .538 5.0 13-13 15-11 W3 Lakewood 28 24 .538 5.0 15-13 13-11 W7 Delmarva 27 24 .529 5.5 18-11 9-13 L3 Hagerstown 27 24 .529 5.5 12-12 15-12 L1 Hickory 27 26 .509 6.5 11-16 16-10 L1 West Virginia 19 32 .373 13.5 7-17 12-15 L4 Lexington 15 36 .294 17.5 6-19 9-17 L3

Follow Wednesday'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_05_28_nasaaa_albaaa_1 Huntsville: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_05_28_hunaax_mobaax_1 Brevard County: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_05_28_dbcafa_breafa_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): www.nashvillesounds.com/pdf/notes.pdf

Wednesday's Daily Menu: All times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: RHP Richie Gardner at Albuquerque (Marlins), 7:50 PM pre-game; 8:05 gametime Audio link: www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/ Huntsville: LHP David Welch at Mobile (Diamondbacks), 6:50 PM pre-game; 7:05 gametime Audio link via WUMP (game will also archive at this link): http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/audio.jsp?sid=t559 Brevard County: RHP Alex Periard at home vs. Daytona (Cubs), 6:00 PM gametime Audio link via Cubs' broadcast (game will also archive at this link): http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/audio.jsp?cid=503&sid=t503 West Virginia: Idle

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

Final: Albuquerque (Marlins) 11, Nashville 3 Nashville Site Game Summary: Link for Callix Crabbe photo, text follows -- ALBUQUERQUE - The Albuquerque Isotopes scored 11 runs on 14 hits in handing the Nashville Sounds an 11-3 defeat on Tuesday evening at Isotopes Park in the opener of a four-game series. Albuquerque took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on John Gall's eighth home run of the season, a two-out solo shot to left off Sounds starter Chris Narveson. It would have been a two-run shot but catcher Vinny Rottino gunned down Robert Andino attempting to steal second during Gall's at-bat. The Isotopes erupted for four more scores in the fourth against Narveson to increase the lead to 5-0. Andino got things started with a one-out solo homer to left, his first longball of the year. Later in the frame, a pair of two-out walks came back to haunt Narveson when Gall and ex-Sound Jason Wood both drew free passes then trotted home on Tagg Bozied's three-run home run to center, the first baseman's sixth roundtripper of the season. The Sounds plated their lone runs of the evening in the top of the fifth against Isotopes starter Chris Seddon to pull within 5-3. Two of the three runs came plateward on a Callix Crabbe two-run triple. AUDIO: Crabbe Two-Run Triple Albuquerque put the game out of reach by scoring in each of its final four trips to the plate, with much of the damage coming off the bats of former Sounds. Wood plated a run in the fifth with a single then added a two-run single in the eighth, and three-year Sound Chris Barnwell delivered a two-out RBI single in the sixth. Seddon (4-3) fanned nine batters over six innings of his quality start to earn the win. He allowed three runs on nine hits in the outing. Narveson (2-7) took the loss after he lasted only three innings for Nashville and surrendered five runs on seven hits while throwing 67 pitches in his third consecutive losing outing. The teams continue the series with another 8:05 p.m. CT meeting on Wednesday night. Right-hander Richie Gardner (3-1, 5.35) will make the start for the Sounds to face Isotopes right-hander Dallas Trahern (0-4, 9.25). Nashville Box Score Sounds batters fan 13 times while drawing only one walk; the Sounds' current rotation of Narveson, Gardner, Narron, Gulin, and Weaver is a little less than inspiring for Brewer fans -- I honestly think if Dave Bush had "blown up" last night, Mark DiFelice would have been moved into the rotation next turn... Nashville Game Log

We'll be watching Nashville today -- a move must occur to make room for Zach Jackson.

Final: Huntsville 3, Mobile (Diamondbacks) 0 Huntsville Press Release: Stars Post Second Shutout Victory of Season HUNTSVILLE EARNS MUCH-NEEDED WIN Derek Miller, Robert Hinton, Patrick Ryan and Juan Sandoval combined on a five-hit shutout in Huntsville's 3-0 win over Mobile Tuesday night at Hank Aaron Stadium. The Stars improved to 32-20 and stayed within a game of victorious West Tenn in the North Division, while the BayBears dropped to 21-31. Huntsville had at least one hit in every inning and had multiple hits in six innings in collecting 17 hits, their second-highest single game total of the season, both of which have come against Mobile. The Stars loaded the bases in the first inning on a walk to Michael Brantley and singles by Alcides Escobar and Matt LaPorta but the threat ended when Chris Errecart grounded into a double play. Angel Salome singled with two outs in the second inning and was thrown out trying to advance to third base on a single by Miller, who picked up his first hit of the season. Brantley led off the third with a double, advanced to third base on an Escobar sacrifice bunt and scored on a base hit by Mat Gamel, who knocked in his 43rd run of the season. LaPorta followed with a single before Errecart bounced into an inning-ending double play. The Stars stranded two runners in the fourth and LaPorta grounded into an inning-ending twin-killing in the fifth. Mike Bell walked with one out in the sixth and scored on a double by Cole Gillespie to push the visitors lead to 2-0. Mobile starter Brooks Brown was taken out after six frames and was charged with two runs on 11 hits, while walking three and fanning one. He is winless in five starts at home and dropped to 2-6 after the BayBears were shutout for a third time in one of his turns. Matt Elliott took over in the seventh inning and gave up a pair of singles before LaPorta grounded into another inning-ending double play. Jose Marte took over in the eighth and gave up a leadoff double to Errecart, who moved to third base on a Bell sacrifice bunt and scored on a Gillespie single to make it 3-0. Gamel collected his fourth hit of the night in the ninth only to be wiped out when LaPorta bounced into the Stars fifth inning-ending double play to match a franchise record set in August, 1986 against Knoxville. Meanwhile, Miller stranded runners at second and third in the first inning and yielded only two singles in his five frames to earn his fifth win. The southpaw walked three and struck out three in his third start of the season in which he tossed five shutout frames. Hinton tossed two scoreless innings, yielding one hit, walking one and fanning one before Ryan tossed a shutout eighth inning. Sandoval took over in the ninth and gave up a one-out double to Cyle Hankerd and walked Frank Currerri before getting Orlando Mercado to ground out and striking out pinch-hitter Greg Thompson to end the game and record his fifth save. The series continues Wednesday night with southpaw David Welch taking the hill for Huntsville against BayBears' right-hander Tony Barnette. Coverage of the game begins at 6:50 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 Three runs on 17 hits -- how often have you seen that on any level? The crooked numbers this team puts up is just dizzying; it's too bad only the AAA box scores have pitch counts -- too often Derek Miller doesn't get past the 5th despite fine results... Huntsville Game Log

Nashville Pre-Game Audio Coaches Chat with Manager Frank Kremblas Discussion begins with Steve Sollmann's retirement...

As they've done in the past, the Sounds site with a questionnaire format with their players. Up first, Getting To Know Your Sounds: Brad Nelson

Link while active, text follows: Turnbow trying to regain form with Sounds Pitcher's career takes different turn By MAURICE PATTON Tennessean Staff Writer As he stood atop the mound at Wrigley Field that night in late April, Derrick Turnbow knew he was already on a short leash. Three days earlier, the Milwaukee Brewers' pitcher and Middle Tennessee native appeared in a game against the Florida Marlins and failed to record a single out, walking two batters and giving up a base hit before his manager pulled the plug. On this night in Chicago, Turnbow was brought in during the eighth inning with his team trailing 13-5. Under the lights, in front of thousands of fans and millions more watching on television, Turnbow's nightmare season turned from bad to worse. Again, the right-hander, who pitched at Franklin High School and was a big league All-Star less than two years ago, failed to last an inning, giving up six runs on four hits and four walks before being sent to the showers. "I felt like I was always one more bad game away from getting sent down or released," Turnbow said. "Pitching under that kind of pressure doesn't lead to good things." And sent down he was. These days, Turnbow has traded in the glitz and glamour of the big leagues for the relative anonymity of minor league baseball in Nashville. Instead of regular appearances at luxurious Miller Park in Milwaukee, he plays his home games at aging Greer Stadium, where he's struggling to regain his control - and his confidence. "With guys that throw that hard, they're really prone to mechanical errors that can keep them from throwing strikes," said Mark Pickle, Turnbow's high school coach. "That's always been a battle with Derrick, keeping consistency with what he's doing mechanically." A rough year Without question, it's been a tough year for Turnbow. In December, he was among scores of current and former baseball players named in the Mitchell Report on steroids in baseball. His use of the performance-enhancer androstenedione - a substance legal for big leaguers at the time - was detected in a 2003 drug test as he prepared for the 2004 Olympic baseball team, the report said. Turnbow was barred from the team under international competition rules. But the negative publicity stemming from his naming in the report was only the start of his recent troubles. After a reasonably strong year as the Brewers' set-up man last season, Turnbow was moved into a mop-up role in 2008 and couldn't regain his form. Over 6 1/3 innings, he issued 13 walks with just five strikeouts, while posting a 15.63 earned run average. No longer able to wait for him to turn his fortunes around, the Brewers' sent him and his $3.37 million salary to Triple-A Nashville. "It's tough, especially when you've been in the closer's role and in the setup role and feel like you've pitched well enough to be back in that setup role and before you even get out of the spring, you're not in that setup role," Turnbow said. "It takes a toll on you mentally, just one hit after another. There's only so much you can take before mentally it just wears you down and gets to you, affects your performance. Walks hurting Turnbow He joined the Sounds on May 12 in Las Vegas and pitched in the final two games of the series. It was more of the same. Turnbow issued five walks and allowed a hit with no strikeouts, giving up two runs in one inning of work for an 18.00 ERA. "One thing that's killing me is walks," he said. "You're trying not to walk guys because you know bad things happen. You're pitching not to walk guys instead of pitching to get guys out. You get to the point where you just have to get away from it for a while and try to get back on track and get it going again." After his career as a fireballing pitcher at Franklin, Turnbow was a fifth-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Phillies in 1997. After a stint with the Anaheim Angels, he settled into a rhythm with the Brewers, converting 51 of his first 55 career save opportunities and playing his way onto the 2006 National League All-Star team. The Brewers and Sounds hope that pitching on a more consistent basis will allow Turnbow to regain that All-Star form. "This gives him an opportunity to get himself righted in, obviously, a less pressured situation," Brewers assistant general manager Gord Ash said. "If he can get himself righted, he either comes back to Milwaukee and helps us out or he becomes a tradeable asset. I think there's nothing but good that can come out of it. "I think he's a guy that just needs to get in a zone and once he's in there, he'll stay in there." The plan with the Sounds is for Turnbow to get the ball out of the bullpen at least three times a week. His only appearance in the last six Sounds games was last Thursday, when he walked four batters in two-thirds of an inning. "Guys like that need to get as much work as possible," Nashville pitching coach Stan Kyles said. "Command being the problem, he needs to be out there and can't take long days off when you're not getting any work. We'll make sure he gets regular work here and gets a chance to get himself back together and clear his head a little bit and hopefully be a serviceable major league pitcher again." Turnbow sees a silver lining in being able to work in front of family and friends who still live in Middle Tennessee. "I'm just trying to get back to having fun again," he said, "pitching and getting away from all the other stuff, the pressure of being in the big leagues, just for a little bit." But, Turnbow adds, make no mistake: "I'd rather be in the big leagues. That's for sure." Photo by GEORGE WALKER IV / THE TENNESSEAN http://cmsimg.tennessean.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=DN&Date=20080527&Category=SPORTS0401&ArtNo=805270338&Ref=AR&Profile=1002&MaxW=550&MaxH=650&title=0

Nashville Media Notes: SOLLMANN RETIRES; HOPF ACTIVATED: Sounds infielder Steve Sollmann announced his retirement following Nashville's 9-4 loss in Memphis yesterday afternoon, a game in which he hit a home run during a 1-for-3 effort. In 31 games with Nashville this season, the fifth-year pro batted .210 (17-for-81) with two home runs and 10 RBIs. It was his first career stop at the Triple-A level. The 26-year-old Sollmann batted .291 in 452 professional games in the Brewers' farm system after being selected by Milwaukee in the 10th round of the 2004 draft. Sollmann is the first Sounds player to announce his retirement during the season since veteran hurlers Justin Thompson and Joe Winkelsas each hung up his spikes during the 2006 campaign. To fill Sollmann's spot on the roster, catcher J.R. Hopf has been activated after spending the majority of May inactive while on the rookie-level Helena roster. In six games this season, Hopf is batting .357 (5-for-14) with one RBI for the Sounds. Didn't see that coming, and we wish Steve well. The 26-year-old Notre Dame product heads out with a .292 career pro average and .401 career OBP (.757 OPS). He used the HBP to his advantage, getting plunked 83 times in his five-plus seasons. He peaked at # 32 on the Power 50 in 2005.

Final: Lakewood (Phillies) 6, West Virginia 5 Entertaining game, as I listened in, but another painful loss.. West Virginia Site Game Summary: WILSON DRIVES IN FOUR, POWER LOSE Steffan Wilson hit his eighth homer of the season on Tuesday morning at Appalachian Power Park and drove in four of West Virginia's five runs but it was not enough as the red-hot Lakewood BlueClaws completed the four game sweep of the Power with a 6-5 victory. The Power took their only lead of the series in the bottom of the first when Wilson grounded out to score Lee Haydel. Lakewood answered quickly with a two-run homer from Matt Rizzotti in the top of the second. Michael Taylor ripped a two-out RBI double in the third to give Lakewood a 3-1 lead. Jonathan Lucroy ripped a run-scoring double in the fifth inning before Wilson's second RBI groundout tied the game. Lakewood snapped the 3-3 tie in the top of the eighth after Rizzotti's sacrifice fly scored Dominic Brown and Travis Mattair's double plated Taylor. Wilson struck again in the bottom of the eighth on a two-run homer to tie the game. T.J. Warren ripped a one-out single in the ninth and scored on Dennis Winn's game-winning double. David Fonseca began the bottom of the ninth with a single and was left stranded at third when the game ended. Moises Melendez (2-0) allowed four runs on four hits with four strikeouts over four innings and got the victory. Jared Simon (8) tossed a scoreless ninth to get the save and Mike Ramlow (2-2) was tagged with the loss after allowing a run on three hits over an inning and a third. The Power fell to 19-32 with the loss and the BlueClaws improved to 28-24 with the win. The BlueClaws have now won seven in a row. The BlueClaws scored 30 runs on 51 hits in the series. Lucroy and Haydel had the only multi-hit games for the Power. Lucroy paced the Power with his second straight three-hit game going 3-for-4. West Virginia has now lost seven games in a row at Appalachian Power Park. The Power are off on Wednesday but will begin a four game series against the Greensboro Grasshoppers at NewBridge Bank Ballpark on Thursday night. Right hander R.J. Seidel (1-3, 4.86) will get the start for the Power and the Grasshoppers will counter with left hander Jay Voss (0-2, 3.00). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:00 PM (6:00 Central). West Virginia Box Score Eric Farris and Lee Haydel couldn't plate the winning run in the 9th; Chris Cody with a decent starting effort; Mike Ramlow could not strand Rob Bryson's runners from 2nd and 3rd with one out in the 8th; Jonathan Lucroy is just solid; Jeff Isom tried to give Zelous Wheeler a day off, but he was needed as a sub late -- Wheeler has still appeared in every single Power game this season; just what this team needs after a brief homestand -- hit the road again, not that they've been winning at home... West Virginia Game Log Steffan Wilson's huge (at the time) 8th inning two-run HR was worth a "Jack-Jackety-Jack" Call to brighten your day -- go to the WSWW archive of May 27th, then to the 02:36:00 minute mark (two hours, 36 minutes)

One of the better Brewer blogs, out there, BrewersNation, with a Jonathan Lucroy Q&A.

Link while active, text follows: Power's Fryer does it all by Jacob Messer Charleston Daily Mail sportswriter Eric Fryer came to Charleston as a catcher. He might leave as an outfielder. Or maybe both. Fryer joined the West Virginia Power on May 7, the day the Milwaukee Brewers promoted him to their Class A club. Fryer has made an immediate impact on the South Atlantic League team. He sports a team-high .298 batting average with one triple, two doubles, three home runs, six RBI, seven runs and 17 hits in 17 games. "He has done a great job for us in the short time he has been here," Power Manager Jeff Isom said of Fryer, 22, an Ohio State University product whom the Brewers selected in the 10th round of the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft. "He has given us a spark." Fryer was 1-for-4 on Monday afternoon in West Virginia's 4-3 loss to Lakewood (N.J.) in front of a Memorial Day crowd of 1,827 at Appalachian Power Park. "He is a catcher, but we have Jonathan Lucroy, who is going to get the majority of the reps, and we have Uly Snijders, who is the backup," Isom said of the 6-foot-2, 215-pound Fryer. "He is the third-string catcher behind those guys, but the way he is swinging the bat, you have to find a place for him. "We put him in the outfield and he has done a pretty good job defensively. The way he is swinging the bat, you can't take him out of the lineup. He has earned the opportunity to play everyday. "If he keeps hitting, it won't be temporary by any means. He has already made it not temporary. He is a fixture out there in left field." Fryer hit .209 with three home runs, seven doubles, 19 RBI, 25 runs and 29 hits in 43 games with Helena (Mont.) of the rookie Pioneer League last season. His success this season "has been a little bit of a surprise to us," said Isom, who managed Fryer and his Helena teammates last season. "He didn't hit like this last year. But I see a completely different player this year. "Offensively, there is no comparison between the two. He comes here and now he is putting the ball in play with authority. He is a real tough out at this point. That is a credit to him and all of the work he put in during the offseason, working with our hitting coordinator and hitting coaches down in extended spring training in Arizona." Playing in the outfield isn't uncharted territory for Fryer, who catches bullpen sessions for Power pitching coach John Curtis and his hurlers to "stay sharp." Fryer was primarily a catcher and occasionally a first baseman at Ohio State from 2005 to 2007. He was exclusively an outfielder in the Great Lakes League in 2005 because he tore a ligament in one of his thumbs and couldn't catch. He was primarily a catcher and occasionally an outfielder in the Cape Cod League in 2006. He was exclusively a catcher at Helena in 2007. "It has been a little different," said Fryer, who has played only one game at catcher with West Virginia this season. "You definitely have a lot more responsibility as a catcher. There is a lot more action behind the plate than there is in the outfield. "It has been a nice change because maybe you can relax a little more as an outfielder. But I do miss being a catcher because it's (the position) I have played ever since I was a kid."

Charleston Daily Mail: Milwaukee promoted West Virginia shortstop Brent Brewer to high Class A Brevard County (Fla.) after the game. "I'm just happy," said Brewer, 20, who also spent last season in West Virginia. "I finally get the chance to go down there and show what I can do. "I'm just going to do the best I can. I'm just going to work as hard and play as hard as I can everyday. I know I have a lot of talent, and my talent will take care of itself." Brewer hit .213 with two triples, 13 doubles, 16 stolen bases, 17 RBI, 25 runs and 37 hits in 47 games with the Power this season. His promotion could be called a surprise considering he struggled with errors (15) and strikeouts (54). Sources said Brevard County shortstop Matt Cline, 22, who played in Helena last season, will trade places with Brewer. Cline hit .266 with one triple, five doubles, eight RBI, 15 runs and 25 hits in 32 games with the Manatees this season. He also made 11 errors.

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): www.nashvillesounds.com/pdf/notes.pdf

Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Memphis 27 25 .519 - 11-13 16-12 W1 Iowa 25 25 .500 1.0 16-10 9-15 W2 Omaha 24 25 .490 1.5 13-13 11-12 W1 Nashville 21 29 .420 5.0 11-12 10-17 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- West Tenn 32 19 .627 - 19-6 13-13 L1 Huntsville 31 20 .608 1.0 19-11 12-9 L2 Carolina 29 22 .569 3.0 14-11 15-11 L2 Chattanooga 25 26 .490 7.0 14-12 11-14 L3 Tennessee 19 32 .373 13.0 9-17 10-15 W3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Palm Beach 30 20 .600 - 17-8 13-12 L1 Brevard County 26 25 .510 4.5 16-10 10-15 L1 Daytona 25 26 .490 5.5 11-14 14-12 W1 Jupiter 24 26 .480 6.0 15-10 9-16 W2 Vero Beach 24 26 .480 6.0 16-9 8-17 W1 St. Lucie 11 39 .220 19.0 5-20 6-19 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - SAL Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lake County 32 19 .627 - 14-12 18-7 W2 Delmarva 27 23 .540 4.5 18-11 9-12 L2 Hagerstown 27 23 .540 4.5 12-12 15-11 W2 Greensboro 27 24 .529 5.0 12-13 15-11 W2 Lakewood 27 24 .529 5.0 15-13 12-11 W6 Hickory 27 25 .519 5.5 11-15 16-10 W1 West Virginia 19 31 .380 12.5 7-16 12-15 L3 Lexington 15 35 .300 16.5 6-18 9-17 L2

Follow Wednesday'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_05_27_nasaaa_albaaa_1 Huntsville: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_05_27_hunaax_mobaax_1 West Virginia: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_05_27_lwdafx_wvaafx_1

Tuesday's Daily Menu: All times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: LHP Chris Narveson at Albuquerque (Marlins), 7:50 PM pre-game; 8:05 gametime Audio link: www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/ Huntsville: LHP Derek Miller at Mobile (Diamondbacks), 6:50 PM pre-game; 7:05 gametime Audio link via WUMP (game will also archive at this link): http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/audio.jsp?sid=t559 Brevard County: Idle West Virginia: LHP Chris Cody at home vs. Lakewood (Phillies), 9:20 AM pre-game, 9:35 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