Jim Goulart

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bb/5130929.html Hard-throwing righthander Dennis Sarfate, acquired in exchange for cash from the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday, joined the team Wednesday. A ninth-round pick of the Brewers in 2001, he has spent his entire seven-year career with the Brewers, including eight games in the majors last year. "I'm happy to have a fresh start," Sarfate said. "I've been with the Brewers for seven years and to come over to a class act like these guys are, I'm happy for a new experience." Sarfate, who has struck out 614 batters in 636 innings in the minors, gives the Astros a power arm in the bullpen. His fastball was sitting between 94 and 98 mph at the end of this season at Class AAA Nashville. "I'd like to see the walks go down, but I've always been a guy that strikes people out," he said.

The Huntsville Times reports, as noted in the link report, that Jeff Housman was released and Vince Perkins was placed on Nashville's roster in a paper transaction.

David Weiser's http://www.starsboxscore.com/ KATIN LEADS STARS TO GAME ONE VICTORY PROVIDES GO-AHEAD HR IN THE 7th Brendan Katin's 1st post-season homer, just inside the foul pole in left, provided the Huntsville Stars with the go-ahead run as the Stars went on to take Game One of the Southern League Championship Series vs. Montgomery at Riverwalk Park........ After Katin homered in the 7th, the Stars sent eight men to the plate in the 8th inning to open up an 8-4 lead......... Sam Narron threw 103 pitches in seven innings, walked one and struck out four, then gave way to Robert Hinton, who continued his shining post-July relief with two no-hit innings. That gives him a 1.32 ERA in 14 appearances that he's made since August. Quite a recovery from a May-June-July in which he gave up 32 runs in 27 1/3 innings....... As usual, Narron shook off a rough 1st inning, giving up a three-run blast to Chris Nowak, then settled down in the later innings..... What a debut for Mat Gamel!!... 2-for-4 a double and a sacrifice fly!...... Before you get too excited, remember the Stars won the first game of the series against the Biscuits last year. It's not over till it's over, Stars fans...... What can the Stars do for an encore after defending their Northern Division Title on a no-hitter, a three-hitter, and one of the most exciting finishes to a game this season?........ Simply, they can beat the Biscuits and win their first Southern League title outright since 1994 in the first championship rematch since 1976-77, which interestingly enough, involved Montgomery (then known as the Rebels) and the Orlando Twins. By the way, you can see the game at Riverwalk Stadium by going to www.waff.com. Click on SPORTS, then follow the link to the LIVE streaming video. What do the Stars and Biscuits bring to war?....... First, the Stars added some power. Grabbing Mat Gamel from Brevard County, which was quickly eliminated by Clearwater in the Florida State League Championship Series. And then they got some help in the bullpen, adding right-hander Pat Ryan......... Ryan, in 34 appearances, was 3-3 with a 1.75 ERA for the Manatees. Hopefully, he'll keep the ball low and induce some double plays (3.74 groundball/fly out ratio) when they're needed. Impressively, he held Florida State League hitters to a .204 average. Earlier in the season with West Virginia, he was 2-0, 3.23, holding Sally League hitters to a .213 average....... Gamel, a Florida State League All-Star, will be available for DH and pinch-hit duties (after all, he committed 53 errors at 3rd base for Brevard). Reportedly, he's a patient hitter (58 walks) with a power stroke (37 doubles, 8 triples, 9 HRs, .300 average). He finished his season 9th among FSL slugging leaders (.472) and 6th on on-base + slugging pct. (.850) The Stars beat the Biscuits in 7 of 10 meetings this year and that included a 19-4 whipping on May 30, but this was a team that finished .500 in the first half. The Stars never saw the second half version that won 18 of their last 20 games. Keep that in mind when you look at what these two teams did head-to-head: [align=center] Stars Biscuits Average .303 .270 Runs 73 40 Hits 105 93 2bs 20 10 3bs 3 2 HRs 8 9 BBs 40 25 SBs 15 9 Slugging .447 .388 On-Base .388 .326 ERA 3.90 6.55 Saves 3 2 Strikeouts 80 73 Walks 40 25 HBPs 11 4 Errors 8 11 [/align] Side-by-side, here's the way they finished in the Southern League:: [align=center] Stars Biscuits Average .259 (6th) .269 (3rd) Runs 647 (4th) 695 (1st) Hits 1,165 (8th) 1,284 (1st) 2bs 215 (10th) 251 (4th) 3bs 47 (1st) 40 (3rd) HRs 73 (10th) 114 (4th) BBs 507 (4th) 532 (1st) SBs 142 (2nd) 102 (6th) Slugging .376 (9th) .411 (1st) On-Base .717 (8th) .757 (1st) ERA 3.90 (3rd) 4.00 (5th) Saves 39 (2nd) 31 (8thT) Strikeouts 1,062 (4th) 939 (10th) Walks 410 (10th) 502 (3rd) HBPs 43 (8th) 75 (1st) HRs 117 (3rd) 106 (5th) [/align] Individually, here are the top hitters, head-to-head: [align=center] 10 games STEVE MOSS .447, 2 hr, 14 rbi, 17 hits, 8 walks STEVE SOLLMANN .410, 3 2bs, 11 rbis, 4 SBs (led) ADAM HEETHER .407, 2 hr, 8 rbis, 2 2bs, triple DREW ANDERSON .438, 7-for-16 BRENDAN KATIN .389, 2 hrs, 11 rbis [/align] Hernan Iribarren hit just .200 vs. Montgomery, but bear in mind, he was hitting .257 after the Stars' next-to-last meeting against them on May 31. Iribarren did not play the following day..... Lou Palmisano hit .286 vs. the Biscuits in 21 ABs. Here's how the Biscuits did at the plate, head-to-head: [align=center] CHRIS NOWAK .353, 1 hr, 4 rbis, .934 ops EVAN LONGORIA .333, 3 hrs, 9 rbis, 13 hits (led) JOSH ASANOVICH .321, 1 double, 5 rbis JOHN JASO .320, double,1 RBI, 3 walks FERNANDO PEREZ .294, hr, 3 rbis, 3 walks [/align] The starting rotation has not been very effective against Montgomery. Of the seven wins against this team, five came from the starters, and only two pitchers on the current roster picked up those victories....... On the mound, Sam Narron will start Game One, and we all know Sam's history -- rough start, particularly in the 1st inning, then marked improvement by the middle innings. (And as I say this, Chris Nowak his hit a three-run HR in the 1st inning, giving Montgomery an early 3-0 lead.)....... But he beat the Biscuits on May 28th, 12-3, thanks to 1st inning support from Adam Heether, who hit a three-run HR in a five-run 1st, but Narron has a 5.54 ERA in 13 innings........ Adam Pettyjohn was the only Stars pitcher to pick up a pair of wins against Montgomery. Two others came from Mike Jones and Manny Parra. Other than Narron, the remaining win from the current rotation came from Lindsay Gulin on June 1. The Stars bullpen, on the other hand, was exceptionally effective, allowing just nine earned runs in 32 1/3 innings -- and seven of those came from Luis Villareal, who finished his season with the Class A-Clearwater (Fla. St.) Threshers....... Take out Villareal, and the bullpen has two wins (coming from Joe Thatcher and Corey Thurman), three saves (all from Marino Salas), and an ERA of 0.64!....... Factor in Villareal, who gave up seven runs on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings, and you have a bullpen ERA of 2.51 against Montgomery. But once again, keep this in mind, this all happened before Montgomery's torrid 2nd half, in which they finished 46-24.

Montgomery Advertiser Photos: Adam Heether Alcides Escobar Hernan Iribarren Lou Palmisano

Montgomery Audio Call of Brendan Katin's Go-Ahead HR: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070913&content_id=302660&vkey=news_l111&fext=.jsp&sid=l111 Brendan Katin had one RBI in five playoff games before homering Wednesday. (Tom Priddy/MLB.com) http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/2007/09/13/2kaBIWxc.jpg

Mark McCarter Series Blog Entries: http://blog.al.com/mccarter/2007/09/narrons_determination_wins_out.html Sam Narron has always been one of the more interesting Stars to talk with. Partly because of his enthusiasm, partly because he's a fascinating story, as one of eight Narrons to play pro baseball. He's a guy who can be easy to root for -- especially after he had a tough start in the first round of the playoffs with some devastating walks and a couple of small but deadly hits against him. He took the loss hard. I asked him the other day if this start in the Southern League championship would be a mulligan of sorts for him. "Yeah, I hope so. You just want to give you team a chance." He then promptly gave up a three-run first-inning homer -- and settled down wonderfully to give his team a chance to win Wednesday night. And they did, 8-4 over Montgomery. Narron was sprawled on the training room floor, doing some postgame weight work, when I found him. He hopped up and visited for a second, and talked about shrugging off the homer. "One thing I've always prided myself on is the ability to bounce back after a bad inning. When you wear your emotions on your sleeve, you show them (opponents) they're getting to you," he said. "If you stay on an even keel, it's like 'We just hit a three-run homer after him and he looks like he's sleeping out there.'" http://blog.al.com/mccarter/2007/09/forecast_raises_questions.html#more MONTGOMERY -- There is a 70 percent chance for rain for Thursday's game two of the Southern League championship series between the Stars and Biscuits. There are also 70 different ideas about what would/should/could happen. And nobody seems to know for sure. Major league farm directors, who don't want to keep paying player salaries over an extended period of time, want the playoffs to end as quickly as possible. So the rumor is, next Monday's the drop-dead date to have the series end. But if it's rained out tonight, do they play here Friday. Do they play a pair of nine-inning games in a Friday doubleheader in Huntsville, with Montgomery as home team in the first one? If they stay here, it kills Huntsville's best night for a good crowd. It'd be a financial crusher if the series went five games in Huntsville, going up against college football on Saturday night, then church on Sunday and Monday being a school night. Here's an idea: Maybe it just won't rain.

Link while active, text follows: http://www.al.com/sports/huntsvilletimes/mmccarter.ssf?/base/sports/1189674934132620.xml&coll=1 Newest Star gets fashion tips and a pair of hits Contact Mark McCarter of the Huntsville Times at markcolumn@aol.com or visit his al.com blog at http://blog.al.com/mccarter MONTGOMERY - It took Mat Gamel, oh, about an hour to become a full-fledged, initiated Huntsville Star. "What were you wearing on the bus? What do you think this is, Beach City, or what?" It was Stars manager Don Money, off on a teasing rant as he stood by the batting cage. "Did you see him walk on the bus today?" Money turned to Steve Sollmann. "Gol-l-l dog." This, only a few minutes after Gamel had even addressed his manager as "Mr. Money." Gamel pleaded that, hey, at least he was dressed nicely on the airplane flight into Montgomery. "Why didn't you wear it today? Geez," Money said. "It's embarrassing." "Not a very good first impression," Gamel would say later of his lived-in jeans and polo shirt ensemble as he sat in the Stars' dugout before Wednesday's Game 1 of the Southern League championship series. "I just rolled out of bed and looked kind of ragged," he explained. In truth, if you're getting needled by Money, you officially belong. The real first impression would come at game time. Gamel - "Camel, with a G," he offered as a pronunciation tip (and only one T in Mat) - was immediately placed in the starting lineup, as the designated hitter. Any qualms about a kid just promoted this very day from Single-A ball inserted into the lineup under this pressure? "None," said Money. Gamel's first at-bat wasn't so impressive. With two out, none on in the second, he whiffed on an 94 mph fastball from Biscuits starter Wade Davis, up and in. The second impression was much better. As were others. Gamel cracked a resounding two-out RBI single to right in the fourth, then hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth and a double in the ninth. Not a bad debut: 2-for-4, 2 RBIs. That Gamel, a 22-year-old native of Jacksonville, Fla., was rolling out of bed to catch the Stars' bus to the ballpark Wednesday afternoon is understandable. He had only recently flown in, having been promoted to the Stars from Brevard County after the Manatees were eliminated Tuesday in Clearwater. "At first, I had a little mixed emotions, to be honest," Gamel said. "I was looking forward to some time off before I head out (to instructional league in Arizona). Then I started thinking clearly. It's obviously a good thing if they wanted me to come up here and help them. I'm pretty excited about moving up." Gamel and the Manatees made the cross-state bus ride from Clearwater to Viera, near Melbourne. Then "I cleaned out my stuff a little bit at the ballpark, got what I needed to bring here, then went back to my house, threw together some stuff and got in the truck and headed to the airport." He and pitcher Patrick Ryan, also promoted to Huntsville, were on a 7:15 a.m. flight to Atlanta, then on to Montgomery. And to Don Money's fashion review. At Brevard County, Gamel batted .300 with nine homers and 60 RBIs. He made headlines with a 33-game hitting streak in midseason. A three-game streak now could make a really good first impression in Huntsville.

Link while active, text follows: http://www.al.com/stars/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/sports/1189675007132620.xml&coll=1 Katin crushes ball, Biscuits in Stars' rally Towering home run sparks Huntsville in series opener By MARK McCARTER Huntsville Times Sports Staff, markcolumn@aol.com MONTGOMERY - Let's tally up the damage for the poor rascal. A foul ball off his foot - even if the umps wrongly called him out. A fastball in the thigh. A broken bat on a foul ball. Another broken bat on another foul ball on the very next pitch that left the guys in the Huntsville dugout trying to hide their giggles. And, oh yeah. Brendan Katin also had a line-hugging, jaw-dropping, nine-story home run that put the Stars ahead for good in their 8-4 victory over the Montgomery Biscuits Wednesday night. It also put them ahead 1-0 in the Southern League championship series. Before anybody does any champagne shopping, recall that Huntsville had a 1-0 lead over Montgomery exactly a year ago, only to drop the final three games. "It was a different kind of game," said Katin. "Last year, they gave it to us. This one we came out and won. It'll be a little more momentum for us." Game two will be here in Montgomery tonight at 7:05 - though there is a 70 percent chance of rain - with the Stars' Corey Thurman (5-8) going against Jake McGee (3-2). The Stars made two roster moves Wednesday. Mat Gamel, who'll serve as designated hitter, and right-hander Patrick Ryan were promoted from Class A Brevard County after the Manatees' playoff run ended. Pitcher Jeff Housman was released and pitcher Vince Perkins was placed on Nashville's roster. Gamel made a quick contribution with an RBI single and a sacrifice fly. "He's probably thinking this Double-A stuff has got to be easy for him," said starting pitcher Sam Narron, who gave up seven hits in seven innings, and withstood a three-run Montgomery first on a three-run Chris Nowak homer. After that, Narron said, "You've just got to bow your neck and give 'em what you can and try to finish with a bang." Despite the homer, he remained composed. "One thing I've always prided myself on is the ability to bounce back after a bad inning," he said. "When you wear your emotions on your sleeve, you show them (opponents) they're getting to you. "If you stay on an even keel, it's like 'We just hit a three-run homer off him and he looks like he's sleeping out there.' " A Michael Brantley sacrifice fly cut the Biscuits lead to 3-1 in the third, then Gamel singled home Heether in the fourth. However, the Stars left the bases loaded that inning, and had left runners on third in two of the previous three. Gaby Martinez homered with two out in the fourth, but the Stars responded in their half as Hernan Iribarren tripled and scored on a Heether single. Steve Sollmann reached when shortstop Reid Brignac booted a sure double play ball, then Katin was hit by a pitch. Gamel followed with a sacrifice fly against the right-field wall to make it 4-4. Katin's homer came with two out in the seventh, off Richard De Los Santos, the second of five Biscuit pitchers. In the eighth, Iribarren was hit by a pitch and Heether walked with the bases loaded, then Sollmann hit a sacrifice fly. "We kept pecking and kept pecking and kept pecking, then Katin hits the big home run for us," manager Don Money said. And though it's a 1-0 edge, he was quick to caution, "You've still got to win three to win it all."

Final: Huntsville 8, Montgomery (Devil Rays) 4 Huntsville Site Game Summary: Link, text follows -- http://www.huntsvillestars.com/news/news.asp?newsId=1364 Stars Come Back to Win Game One of Title Series! Brendan Katin's seventh inning home run put Huntsville ahead to stay and Sam Narron worked through seven gutty innings in an 8-4 win to open the Southern League Championship Series Wednesday night at Riverwalk Stadium. The Stars took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series after falling behind by three runs after the first inning and coming back to score eight of the last nine runs in the contest. Katin clubbed his home run with two outs and nobody on off of Richard De Los Santos, who had allowed three home runs in 72 innings during the regular season. De Los Santos took the loss after allowing the decisive run and two hits over 2 2/3 innings of work. Evan Meek took over in the eighth and gave up singles to start the frame to Lou Palmisano and Steve Moss and was replaced by Brian Henderson, who gave up a sacrifice bunt to Michael Brantley and walked Alcides Escobar to load the bases to face the left-hand swinging Hernan Iribarren. The strategy backfired when Henderson hit Iribarren with his first pitch to force in Palmisano to make it 6-4 and then made it worse when he walked Adam Heether on four pitches to force in Moss to push the lead to three. Steve Sollmann finished off the rally with a sacrifice fly, the third of the game for the visitors. Robert Hinton closed out the win with two scoreless, hitless frames and has now tossed six shutout innings in the playoffs, allowing only one hit. Narron earned his first win in the playoffs after overcoming a bumpy beginning, allowing four runs, three earned, on seven hits and walk, while fanning four. He grabbed his first win since August 12. The Stars had runners at first and third and nobody out in the first inning but could not score after Iribarren popped out into a double play, with Escobar breaking from first, and Heether was called out on strikes. The Biscuits then seized the momentum after a Heether throwing error, a Reid Brignac double and a three-run home run by Chris Nowak. Narron gave up four runs in the first inning in his first post-season start and was scored on in the first frame for an eighth time in 15 turns away from home. Michael Brantley's sacrifice fly in the third got the Stars on the board but they left Moss stranded at third base with one out. The visitors then pulled to within 3-2 in the fourth inning on a two-out run-scoring single by Mat Gamel, playing in his first game at the double-A level. Gabriel Martinez belted a home run in the bottom of the frame to push the home side's advantage back to a pair. Iribarren tripled with one out in the fifth and scored when Heether followed with an infield hit to bring the Stars back to within a run and chase Biscuits' starter Wade Davis. Brignac then misplayed a Sollmann grounder, allowing Heether to remain on the bases, advance to third base when Brendan Katin was hit by a pitch and score to tie the game on a Gamel sacrifice fly. Elvis Andrus in right field made a tremendous leaping catch up against the wall to take away a potential extra-base hit with the bases loaded for the second out of the frame. Huntsville reached double digits in hits (12) for a fourth straight game in the post-season and have scored 36 runs in their first six games. The series continues on Thursday night with right-hander Corey Thurman taking the hill for the Stars against Biscuits' southpaw Jake McGee. Coverage begins at 6:50 pm central time locally on SportsRadio 730 WUMP and through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com. Huntsville Box Score: Five of the Stars' eight RBI came without benefit of a hit; welcome to AA, Mat Gamel; tale of two seasons for Robert Hinton, pre- and post-All Star game... http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_09_12_hunaax_monaax_1 Huntsville Game Log: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_log&gid=2007_09_12_hunaax_monaax_1

To make room for Mat Gamel and Patrick Ryan, two relievers, LHP Jeff Housman and RHP Vince Perkins, are not on the postseason Huntsville roster.

Because Tampa's in the A.L., this is a designated hitter series, so Mat Gamel's in the strating lineup for his AA debut: Brantley LF Escobar SS Iribarren, H 2B Heether 3B Sollmann 1B Katin RF Gamel DH Palmisano, L C Moss, S CF Narron P

Jim Powell's Pre-game interview with Brewers AAA Manager Frank Kremblas

Here's that same link, which includes an end-of-home-season Power photo gallery: http://www.dailymail.com/story/Sports/2007091252/Power-faces-near-insurmountable-odds/

Link while active, text follows: http://www.dailymail.com/story/Sports/2007091252/Power-faces-near-insurmountable-odds/ Power faces near insurmountable odds Christopher Wade For the Charleston Daily Mail There will be no more slices of burnt toast thrown into the stands or slices of heckling thrown into opposing dugouts by Rod "Toastman" Blackstone for the next seven months at Appalachian Power Park. Nor will there be any "Rowdies" in the stands or Two-for-Tuesday beer seekers. Unfortunately for Power fans, there won't be any more baseball, either. The Power played its final home game of the season Tuesday evening, dropping a 5-2 decision to the Columbus Catfish in the second game of the South Atlantic League Championship Series. The win gives the Catfish a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series. After a travel day today, the series resumes in Columbus, Ga., on Thursday evening. The Power will have to win three consecutive road games against the Catfish to capture their first SAL championship since 1990. "It's going to be difficult, especially since they took three out of the four games against us earlier in the season in Columbus," said John Alonso, who had two hits including a solo home run for the Power Tuesday. "But we have just got to play our game because we have the team to do it." The Power self-destructed several times during the loss Tuesday, due to shoddy fielding that allowed two extra Columbus runs to score. The first gift run came in the first inning, giving the Catfish a 2-0 lead. The second charitable run occurred in the fourth inning, handing the Power a 4-1 deficit. West Virginia also committed two huge base-running blunders that cost them two runs, as well. "We had two errors, but it could have been four or five," said Power Manager Mike Guerrero. "We also got into situations on the base paths where we didn't execute, either. "With so much on the line, you have to play your best and we haven't done that." Despite the uphill battle the Power faces, it has been a magical season with the team breaking its attendance record and having its best season on the field since 1992. "This season has been absolutely remarkable and is the best season for baseball in Charleston in a long, long time," said Blackstone, who earlier this season was inducted into the Charleston baseball Wall of Fame for his contributions to the franchise. Blackstone, who by day is the Assistant Mayor and by night, is well known around the league for heckling opponents from his front-row seat behind home plate, as well as for his chants and throwing of burnt toast into the stands when a visiting player strikes out. "This has been one of the most enjoyable seasons I've had," said Blackstone, "because I've got to cheer on a great home team that wins much more than they lose and heckle bad guys who are losing much more than winning." Meanwhile, the atmosphere at Appalachian Power Park and the city of Charleston will be missed greatly by the Power players during the upcoming off-season. "The atmosphere here is something you don't see any other place," said Power first baseman Andrew LeFave, who won the SAL batting crown with a .345 average. "If I was playing against the Power, the Toastman and the Rowdy's would get into my head, too. "Charleston is definitely a great city and we've thoroughly enjoyed our time here and had a ball. Plus, it's a great ballpark and a great hitter's park. "It's been awesome and we will miss it." NOTES: LeFave, who missed the final five regular-season games and hasn't played in the post-season, finally was placed on the disabled list ending his stellar season. The Power called up outfielder Caleb Gindl. Gindl, like LeFave, won the batting title by exactly .12 points for Helena in the Pioneer League.

Feel free to comment on the happenings tonight in more of an in-game format. Yes, some eyes and ears will be focused on Cubs - Astros, but here's hoping some of the minor league regulars will be tuning in and will fashion an in-game commentary tonight as well. Go Stars!

Link while active, text follows: http://www.al.com/stars/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/sports/1189588915148130.xml&coll=1 After striking out in '06, Stars try again Huntsville gets another shot at title, Montgomery By MARK McCARTER Huntsville Times Sports Staff, markcolumn@aol.com The postgame celebration had dimmed to something more along the lines of a midweek frat party instead of Times Square on New Year's Eve. Still in full uniform, Huntsville catcher Lou Palmisano returned to the field to retrieve some gear. In a stadium dark and empty save for a couple of clean-up people and one of his teammates on a cell phone in the stands, Palmisano meandered quietly through third-base foul territory, alone with his thoughts. He walked over to one of the sprinklers and got a little spritz on his hand. "When I got down there I was like, 'I'm going to sit here a little bit.' I couldn't believe it. We're back. Against Montgomery. Again." "Montgomery, again" translates to a rematch of the 2006 Southern League championship series, which the Biscuits won in four games, outscoring the Stars 30-8 in the last three. The series opens tonight in Montgomery at 7:05, and game two is there Thursday at 7:05. Montgomery Mayor Bobby Bright has officially declared today "Biscuit Day" in the city. Game three will be in Huntsville Friday at 7:05; games four and five, if needed, would also be at Joe Davis Stadium. The Biscuits reached the finals by knocking off Mississippi in four games. The Stars are coming off an epic five-game series against Tennessee in which three Huntsville pitchers combined for a Friday no-hitter, Lindsay Gulin threw a three-hit shutout on Sunday and Luis Pena escaped a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the ninth on Monday. Sam Narron, who started Thursday's opener against the Smokies and fell quickly behind, will be Huntsville's starter tonight. "You hear it over and over, but it's the same thing. You try to get out there and give your team a chance to win. I've got to get off to a better start," he said. It'll be his third start against Montgomery, with one good performance and one bad performance, that coming the first week of the season before his mechanics were perfected. "This is the rubber match," he said. "I've worked on some stuff (since then) and feel a little more comfortable on the mound. We'll see how it goes." "I have all the confidence in the world he's going to come out and throw his game," Palmisano said. Safely away from some of the party, but hardly out of earshot of the music, Palmisano talked about the team's persona, which can best be summed up as "different game, different hero." Where Ryan Braun carried the offense and Joe Valentine was a dependable closer in last year's run, it's been a cast of thousands. Steve Moss had two important but unsung hits to keep rallies going in the game five win over Tennessee. Three pinch hitters - Mike Goetz, Guilder Rodriguez and Ryan Crew - did their job with sacrifices. "There's (Brendan) Katin. So many people overlooked him. But he's got 24 homers and 94 RBIs. Without that, where are we?" Palmisano said. "Look at the first half, me and Moss were swinging well. The second half, we slowed down but the other guys picked it up - (Adam) Heether, (Hernan) Iribarren and (Alcides) Escobar. "Whether it's our bullpen picking up our hitters, or the hitters picking up the pitching staff, whenever something goes wrong, the other guys are there for it. "When we started this year," Palmisano said, "you want to have a good year and play good baseball. Now, we're right back to where we were. Right back to the championship." Montgomery. Again. But wanting a different ending.

Huntsville Box Score / Game Log: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_09_12_hunaax_monaax_1 MiLB.com's Series Preview: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070911&content_id=302147&vkey=news_l111&fext=.jsp&sid=l111

Wednesday's Daily Menu: Great opportunity for you to listen in to Brett Pollock, the Voice of the Stars, tonight from Montgomery Central time; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: Season complete Huntsville: LHP Sam Narron at Montgomery (Devil Rays), 6:50 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime; Game One of a Best-of-Five for the Southern League Championship Audio link: http://www.huntsvillestars.com/ Brevard County: Season complete West Virginia: Idle until Thursday; trail Columbus 2-0 in a Best-of-Five for the South Atlantic League Championship Helena: Season complete Arizona: Season complete

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I took the afternoon off, the wife's at work, the kid's in school, I've got MLB.TV's Mosaic providing me a TV view while pulling in Bob and Jim via MLB audio -- I'm golden, baby!

Link while active, text follows: http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/cs-070911rogers,1,4562474.column?coll=cs-cubs-headlines Loss in extras exactly what Cubs don't need Phil Rogers On Baseball HOUSTON-If the Cubs are going to play baseball in October, they must win the winnable games in September. Perhaps you can go 2-12 in one-run games in April and May, as the Cubs did, because there is time still to win your share of the close ones. But if they let games get away in September, the Cubs are going to find themselves watching the Milwaukee Brewers in October. Trust me, they're going to like this less than anyone, including the television networks. That's why Tuesday night's 5-4, 11-inning loss to the Houston Astros was such a downer. Jason Marquis was given a 4-1 lead by Mark DeRosa's three-run homer but couldn't hold it. A game the Cubs had been in control of instead meandered into extra innings, where Ryan Dempster blinked in the 11th inning. Luke Scott's game-winning triple came long after the Brewers had held serve in Pittsburgh, beating the Pirates easily after getting pasted Monday. That's eight victories in the last 11 games for Milwaukee, which now leads the Cubs by one game and hasn't lost back-to-back games since Ben Sheets returned. You couldn't tell baseball was in the stretch run by the atmosphere at Minute Maid Park. Many of the 33,493 counted in the paid crowd found it easier to buy tickets than to actually use them, and even the Cubs fans in attendance seemed only marginally interested in baseball's tightest division race. Only two years after facing the White Sox in the World Series, the Astros have joined the Sox in tumbling into a battle of a whole different kind. They were among six teams separated by 1½ games for the worst record in the majors through Monday, with the biggest loser in line for the first pick in the 2008 draft. Who said the Astros have nothing to play for anymore? You know the Cubs are in the race because their hitters and their manager are showing signs of being overly anxious. Bases loaded, two outs in the second inning. Houston starter Brandon Backe had just plunked Alfonso Soriano with a pitch and walked Ryan Theriot. He falls behind Derrek Lee 2-0, and Lee lets him off the hook by hitting a soft fly to right field. Runners on first and second, one out in the eighth inning. Houston reliever Chad Qualls has just walked Daryle Ward intentionally. Soriano pops up the first pitch to shortstop. The inning ends when left fielder Carlos Lee makes a diving catch of Theriot's bid for extra bases. Given the lifetime he has spent in the dugout, you would figure the 64-year-old Lou Piniella would be the last man to start pressing in September. But it's hard to understand the tinkering he has done with his starting rotation, moving Steve Trachsel in front of Carlos Zambrano so Zambrano will pitch in St. Louis rather than Houston. To give Zambrano a chance to set the tone against the Cardinals and then "to get everything back on track," Piniella is going to start Trachsel, Zambrano and Ted Lilly on three days' rest once each. That's a risky call, as the downside would seem to outweigh the advantages. Zambrano is set to make four more starts the rest of the way. Why not let all of them be on their regular schedules? The one move worth making is to start Lilly on three days' rest in Trachsel's place next Wednesday, before one of two scheduled off days in a five-day stretch. That allows Lilly to get an extra start, potentially in Game 162. For the second time in two weeks, the Cubs will duck Roy Oswalt in this series. They get rookie Matt Albers and the 8-14 Woody Williams the next two games. The Brewers won't be so lucky when they visit Houston next week, tentatively catching Oswalt on Sept. 19. He's hardly the only big-name pitcher due to go against Milwaukee, either. In their remaining 18 games, the Brewers figure to see Oswalt, Tim Hudson, John Smoltz, Greg Maddux, Chris Young and, if the San Diego Padres need a victory to reach the playoffs, Jake Peavy (in Game 162). Dontrelle Willis is the biggest name in the Cubs' future, and he's 8-15 with a 5.27 ERA to this point. Their biggest challenge figures to come when they twice catch Cincinnati's top two starters, Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo, in consecutive games Monday and Tuesday and on the last weekend of the season. Pittsburgh's Tom Gorzelanny and St. Louis' Braden Looper are the only other double-figure winners in their way. That means the key for the Cubs isn't to make magic-just win the winnable games.

MiLB.com's coverage of the Manatee loss: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070911&content_id=302272&vkey=news_milb&fext=.jsp

Link while active, text follows: http://www.wvgazette.com/section/Sports/200709121 Power on the brink Team facing elimination after loss to Columbus By Nick Scala Charleston Gazette Staff writer In a season full of rallies and comebacks, the West Virginia Power is in desperate need of some final heroics. For the second night in a row Tuesday, the Columbus Catfish handed the Power a 5-2 setback at Appalachian Power Park to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five South Atlantic League championship series. To bring the title back to Charleston for the first time since 1990, the Power faces a daunting task - win three straight on the road against a team that has been dominant against West Virginia this season. Including the playoffs, the Catfish have handled the Power in five of six meetings between the teams. "The only way we can win is to go out and battle and win three games in Columbus [Ga.]," said Power manager Mike Guerrero. "We have the ability to come back, we've proven that all year. Now we just have to go out and do it. "[The Catfish] haven't seen the best out of our team. They haven't seen us play baseball as good as we're capable of playing." After a travel day today, Game 3 is set for Thursday night. Games 4 and 5, if necessary, are scheduled for Friday and Saturday. A crowd of 2,231 was on hand for the last game of the season at Appalachian Power Park, and it started off poorly for the Power. The first batter, Maiko Loyola, drilled Power starter Shawn Ferguson's second pitch for a home run, then John Matulia followed with a double to left and scored when Cesar Suarez delivered an RBI single. The Power got one of those runs back in the bottom of the first when Chuckie Caufield singled and scored on Taylor Green's one-out single. Ferguson settled down from the shaky start, retiring 10 in a row before running into two-out trouble in the fourth. Quinn Stewart's single up the middle plated two runs, giving Columbus a 4-1 lead. John Alonso led off the Power fourth inning with a home run, but that was the last West Virginia run of the night. Columbus tacked on an insurance run in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Stewart, who finished the night with three RBIs. "Our team all year, it hasn't been one guy or two guys carrying the team," said Columbus manager Jim Morrison. "Everybody's had a contribution. We've had good pitching, and outstanding pitching is gonna take care of good hitting teams most of the time." Jeremy Hall pitched 4 1/3 innings in relief of Columbus starter Will Kline to pick up the win, while Ryan Reid got the final two outs to record the save. Ferguson was handed the loss after allowing five earned runs in five-plus innings. He walked three, struck out one and allowed six hits. Donovan Hand, who started and won the Power's Northern Division playoff series clincher Saturday night, will get the starting nod Thursday night. Hand, 1-2 with a 2.16 ERA during the regular season, has pitched 31 innings since joining the Power and has yet to give up a base on balls. Morrison said right-hander Jeremy Hellickson (13-3, 2.67) will start Thursday for the Catfish. POWER POINTS: Andrew Lefave, who led the league with a .345 batting average, was placed on the disabled list by the Power Tuesday. Lefave missed the final five games of the regular season and all playoff games to date with a wrist injury. ... Lefave's spot on the roster was taken by Caleb Gindl, who was promoted from the Helena Brewers. Gindl, a 19-year-old left-handed swinger who led the Pioneer League with a .372 batting average, appeared as a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning Tuesday and was retired on a grounder to second. ... Since winning the 1990 title, Charleston's entry in the SAL is winless in its last eight games in the championship series. The Charleston Wheelers were swept in the league finals in 1990 and '91. ... Tuesday's attendance set the final season tally at 255,838, a franchise record. ... Power relievers pitched four innings, allowing just two hits and no runs while recording eight strikeouts. Mike Ramlow struck out the first four batters he faced and Bobby Bramhall whiffed all three Columbus hitters he faced in the ninth. ... The Power hurt itself on the bases. Taylor Green was thrown out at second trying to stretch a single in the first inning and Caufield was thrown out trying to steal with runners at the corners and one out in the seventh. Charleston Gazette Photographer: Chris Dorst Power second baseman Kenny Holmberg moves to collect the relay throw from outfielder Matt LaPorta during Tuesday's game. Columbus' John Matulia was safe on the play with a double. http://www.wvgazettemail.com/images/stories/SAFE.jpg

West Virginia Site Game Summary: CATFISH ONE WIN AWAY FROM SALLY LEAGUE TITLE The Columbus Catfish pitched their way out of trouble to take the first game of the South Atlantic League Championship 5-2 on Monday night at Appalachian Power Park, and repeated that feat on Tuesday night to take game two, and are now just a win away from capturing the title. Maiko Loyola hit a leadoff home run to give the Catfish the lead and they never looked back. Two batters later, Cesar Suarez singled in John Matulia to make it a 2-0 lead. Taylor Green ripped an RBI single in the bottom of the first to cut the Catfish lead in half. Quinn Stewart, who hit safely three times on Monday, drove in three runs for Columbus on Tuesday. He drove in his first two on a clutch two-out single in the fourth. The Power scored their final run on John Alonso's solo home run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Quinn knocked in his third run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth. Jeremy Hall (1-0) gave up a run on three hits through four and a third innings of relief to get the win. Ryan Reid pitched two-thirds of the ninth to get the save and Shawn Ferguson (0-2) was tagged with the loss after allowing five runs on six hits over five innings. Patrick Lawler, Mike Ramlow, Chris Toneguzzi and Bobby Bramhall combined to toss four scoreless innings of relief. West Virginia's bullpen has yet to allow a run in the series. The pen has tossed seven scoreless innings of relief. Alonso and Chuckie Caufield were the only two Power players with multi-hit games. The franchise has now lost eight straight Championship games. The Power will continue the best of five South Atlantic League Championship Series against the Columbus Catfish on Thursday night at Golden Park. Right hander Donovan Hand (1-2, 2.16) will start for the Power and Columbus will counter with right hander Jeremy Hellickson (13-3, 2.67). First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 PM (6:00 Central).

Final: Columbus (Devil Rays) 5, West Virginia 2 The Power find themselves in the same very tough situation the Manatees were in -- go on the road and win three in a row... West Virginia Box Score: Bullpen kept it close, Lefty Bobby Bramhall particularly nasty.... http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_09_11_clmafx_wvaafx_1 West Virginia Game Log: Failures in the 6th and 7th proved ultra-costly... http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_log&gid=2007_09_11_clmafx_wvaafx_1