Jim Goulart

MiLB.com Report on the Manatee Game

Final: Helena 7, Missoula (Diamondbacks) 3 Helena Independent Record: Wilson powers Brewers past Missoula MISSOULA - Steffan Wilson had two home runs and three RBI to lead the Helena Brewers to a 7-3 victory over the Missoula Osprey Tuesday night. Wilson hit his first homer with two outs in the second inning to give the Brewers an early lead. Kurt Crowell would hit an RBI double to left field to score Zelous Wheeler and give Helena a 2-0 lead. The Osprey tied it in the fourth when Reynaldo Navarro and Peter Clifford both scored, but the Brewers came back quickly, scoring three runs in the fifth inning. Crowell doubled, Edgar Trejo reached on an error to score him, and Scott Houin would bring Trejo home on a ground rule double for the winning run. Jonathan Lucroy grounded out to bring in Houin. Wilson's two-run blast, his 11th homer of the season, also brought in Curt Rindal in the sixth for insurance. The Brewers had 10 hits to the Brewers six and just one error to Missoula's five. Wilson went 2-for-4 while Crowell was also 2-4 with two doubles, scoring one run and an RBI. Clifford went 2-3 with a home run in the sixth to score twice and get an RBI. Brewers starter R.J. Seidel (4-0) had the win. He went five innings, allowing four hits, two runs while striking out six and walking one. Missoula's Bryan Henry (5-3) gave up seven hits, five runs while striking out two in his five-inning performance. The Brewers (19-16) are second in the Pioneer League's Northern Division and will host Missoula (13-22) today at 7:05 PM (8:05 Central). Helena Box Score: Fine pitching throughout... http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_09_04_helrok_misrok_1 Helena Game Log: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_log&gid=2007_09_04_helrok_misrok_1

Link, text follows: http://www.northernleague.com/cgi-bin/dist/news.cgi?id=1188959166 [align=center] Milwaukee Brewers Purchase Contract of Edmonton Catcher Brian Munhall 'Cats Catcher Headed to Nashville for Pacific Coast League Playoffs [/align] The Edmonton Cracker-Cats and Northern League announced that 'Cats catcher Brian Munhall had his player contract purchased by the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers have already announced Munhall will immediately be assigned to their Triple-A affiliate Nashville Sounds (Pacific Coast League). Munhall, a six-year minor league veteran, was traded mid-season by the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks to the Cracker-Cats on June 30th with first baseman Clint Johnston in exchange for catcher Adam Shorsher. The 6-0, 200-pounder, was originally signed by the San Francisco Giants as a non-drafted free agent out of Gonzaga University (Spokane, WA). Over five seasons in the Giants organization, Munhall carried a .270 career batting average and played as high as Triple-A in 2004 and 2005. The sale of Munhall's player contract to the Brewers marks the eighth of the season and 607th of the Northern League since 1993. Brian Munhall Career Statistics: http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/M/Brian-Munhall.shtml

Final: St. Lucie (Mets) 8, Brevard County 0 Mets lead the best-of-three, 1-0... Brevard County Box Score: Cole Gillespie showed up for this one and Darren Ford reached twice, otherwise a real stinker; Mat Gamel and Chris Errecart with particularly tough nights at the plate, striking out three times each -- Errecart has been brutal for over two months now, with an OPS of well under .600 during that stretch; it would not have mattered tonight, but it's still ridiculous that we're not seeing Angel Salome this time of year... http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&t=g_box&gid=2007_09_04_breafa_sluafa_1 Brevard County Game Log: Wasted chances in the Manatee 1st, 4th, 7th and 8th innings... http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&t=g_log&gid=2007_09_04_breafa_sluafa_1

In progress: St. Lucie (Mets) 8, Brevard County 0, after seven innings Horrible defense (a bugaboo all season long), no hitting with men on base, and pitching that can't overcome the defensive lapses -- why waste reliever Patrick Ryan late in this one? Oh well, hopefully the 'Tees will get all the "blech" out of their system tonight...

Haven't peeked around yet to determine who will back up Nashville catcher J.R. Hopf for the playoffs, but the Brewers were forced to call up Mike Rivera because of Damian Miller's day-to-day injury -- important for the parent club, but a tough blow to the Sounds.

Buck Rogers, Manatees GM: The Manatees jersey auction closes at noon ET tomorrow (Wednesday). There is no guarantee you will get the jersey of your liking without placing a bid. After the auction closes and the season ends we will sell all remaining jerseys for the replacement cost. If you haven't bid on a jersey and are holding out hope that nobody will bid on the one you want, please understand that you're taking a risk. Besides other fans interested in the jersey you want, there are players that are also interested, hence, you may be out of luck, so get your bid - and a guarantee - submitted before it's too late! Also, don't wait until the last second to submit a bid, especially by email. If the server is slow and your email gets stuck in no man's land, your bid may not be received until after the bidding closes. We will accept bids by email, fax or dropping off hard copies, but any bid received after noon time tomorrow will not be accepted. Please read the auction rules at www.bcmanatees.net. Some playoff factoids going into tonight's opening round: a.. The Manatees are 11-6 against the Mets this season, including 7-2 at home and 4-4 on the road b.. The teams are 1-1 in extra inning games between the two teams c.. The Manatees are 3-0 in DH games against the Mets (just a note -- how can they have an odd number of doubleheader games -- rainouts, or is that three doubleheader sweeps?) d.. The Manatees are 4-2 in one-run games against the Mets e.. The teams are 1-1 in shutout games f.. The Manatees have outscored the Mets, 91-65 g.. The Milwaukee Brewers have five MiLB affiliates in the playoffs, the most of the 30 MLB teams h.. In the PCL & FSL the Brewers affiliates (Nashville & Brevard County) face the NY Mets affiliates (New Orleans & St Lucie) i.. In the SAL and the PL the Brewers affiliates (West Virginia & Helena) face the Pittsburgh Pirate and Chicago White Sox affiliates, respectively (Hickory & Great Falls) j.. In the SL the Brewers affiliate (Huntsville) faces the Chicago Cubs affiliate (Tennessee) k.. Only three MLB teams do not currently have at least one affiliate in the MiLB playoffs: Boston, Florida and Washington. There are, however, a couple leagues that haven't ended their seasons and playoff berths are still up for grabs. l.. In the FSL all four playoff teams are NL affiliates: Sarasota (CIN), Clearwater (PHI), St Lucie (NYM) and Brevard County (MIL) m.. The Managers of three of the five Brewers affiliates in the playoffs have earned Manager of the year honors (Frank Kremblas, Nashville; Don Money, Huntsville, John Tamargo, Brevard County) n.. The Manatees home winning percentage this season was .638; the road winning percentage .438 o.. The Manatees are 5-7 on the road on Tuesdays and only 3-8 at home on Wednesdays this season p.. The Manatees banged out a season-high 19 hits in one game against the Mets this season; the Mets also cracked out 18 hits against the Manatees, a season high for hits surrendered in one game for the Manatees q.. Manatees Manager John Tamargo used to manage the Mets r.. Mets Manager Frank Cacciatore used to be a rover in the Montreal Expos organization while the 'Spos utilized Space Coast Stadium for Spring Training s.. The Mets Trainer, Ruben Barrero, is a former Manatees Trainer t.. NY Mets GM Omar Minaya was the GM of the Montreal Expos the last season at Space Coast Stadium u.. The Mets won the 2006 FSL Championship; the Manatees have never won it (shared with Tampa in 2001 after playoffs cut short during the terrorist attacks on 9/11) v.. The Mets concessions cook their pretzels over fire on a grill; the Manatees pitchers will turn Mets batters into pretzels and cook 'em with fire for a thrill w.. Last season the Mets celebrated on our field and we had to watch, this season we'll celebrate on our field and return the favor. See you at Tradition Field tonight. Rock On!

Power 50 will be updated about a week after all playoff activity is done, so it will be fairly late into September, hopefully.

MiLB.com's Season Preview for Nashville / New Orleans, which opens on Wednesday

Standings through Sunday's games: Arizona's standings reflect the final year both halves combined; after today, we'll only post Helena's standings for the remainder of the week... Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nashville 89 55 .618 - 48-24 41-31 W3 Iowa 79 65 .549 10.0 43-29 36-36 L3 Omaha 73 71 .507 16.0 45-27 28-44 W3 Memphis 56 88 .389 33.0 30-42 26-46 L3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Huntsville 38 31 .551 - 18-16 20-15 L1 Chattanooga 38 32 .543 0.5 16-19 22-13 W6 Tennessee 37 33 .529 1.5 22-13 15-20 L2 Carolina 32 38 .457 6.5 17-18 15-20 W2 West Tenn 29 40 .420 9.0 12-23 17-17 L5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- St. Lucie 37 32 .536 - 19-16 18-16 L2 Palm Beach 35 35 .500 2.5 18-18 17-17 W1 Brevard County 33 34 .493 3.0 19-14 14-20 W1 Jupiter 32 37 .464 5.0 20-15 12-22 L1 Daytona 25 43 .368 11.5 13-22 12-21 L3 Vero Beach 25 44 .362 12.0 13-19 12-25 W2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - SAL Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hickory 43 26 .623 - 24-13 19-13 W7 Lakewood 36 33 .522 7.0 19-15 17-18 L3 West Virginia 34 34 .500 8.5 21-14 13-20 W3 Delmarva 34 35 .493 9.0 17-18 17-17 W2 Lake County 33 35 .485 9.5 17-16 16-19 L2 Greensboro 33 37 .471 10.5 22-13 11-24 L7 Lexington 28 42 .400 15.5 16-19 12-23 L3 Hagerstown 26 43 .377 17.0 12-22 14-21 W3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pioneer League (R+) - PIO North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Great Falls 24 9 .727 - 13-4 11-5 W5 Helena 18 16 .529 6.5 8-9 10-7 W4 Billings 16 18 .471 8.5 9-7 7-11 L4 Missoula 13 21 .382 11.5 7-11 6-10 L5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arizona League (R) - Arizona League Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AZL Mariners 37 19 .661 - 24-4 13-15 W1 AZL Angels 33 23 .589 4.0 20-8 13-15 L1 AZL Giants 33 23 .589 4.0 17-11 16-12 W9 AZL Padres 28 28 .500 9.0 17-11 11-17 W1 AZL Royals 28 28 .500 9.0 15-13 13-15 L1 AZL Cubs 27 29 .482 10.0 14-14 13-15 W3 AZL Athletics 25 31 .446 12.0 14-14 11-17 L1 AZL Rangers 22 34 .393 15.0 11-17 11-17 L3 AZL Brewers 19 37 .339 18.0 10-18 9-19 W1

Follow Tuesday's action as it happens: Here's what you do, right click on each of the links below and choose "Open in New Window". Choose "Log". 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. Brevard County: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&gid=2007_09_04_breafa_sluafa_1&cid=503&t=g_box Helena: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_09_04_helrok_misrok_1

Tuesday's Daily Menu: All times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: Idle; playoffs begin Wednesday in New Orleans Huntsville: Idle; playoffs begin Thursday night in Huntsville Brevard County: LHP David Welch at St. Lucie (Cardinals) in Game One of a Best-of-Three series, 5:45 PM pre-game, 6:00 gametime; Game Two and (if necessary) Three will be at home Wednesday and Thursday evenings... Audio link (game will also archive at this link): http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/audio.jsp?cid=503&sid=t503 West Virginia: Idle; playoffs begin Wednesday night in Hickory Helena: RHP R.J. Seidel at Missoula (Diamondbacks), 7:50 PM pre-game, 8:05 gametime; R.J.'s folks are in Helena, out from LaCrosse -- keep in mind Helena's regular season doesn't end until Friday the 7th... Audio link (game will also archive at this link): www.minorleaguebaseball.c.../audio.jsp Arizona: Season complete

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Link while active, text follows: http://www.dailymail.com/story/Sports/2007090417/Powers-LeFave-wins-Sally-League-batting-title/ Power's LeFave wins Sally League batting title Christopher Wade For the Charleston Daily Mail Through the early parts of the season, some people called West Virginia Power first baseman Andrew LeFave a nobody. He wasn't a first-round or even a high draft pick. In fact, the 23-year-old LeFave signed a minor league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers' organization as an undrafted free agent. LeFave, however, has certainly made a name for himself this year, winning the Class A South Atlantic League batting title this season --the first Charleston franchise player to do so in 21 seasons in the SAL. The 5-foot-10, 205-pound LeFave batted .345 with 17 home runs and 79 runs batted in. His batting average was 12 points higher than Greensboro's John Raynor, who hit .333. Neither LeFave nor Raynor played in the regular-season finale at Appalachian Power Park on Monday afternoon as the Power defeated Greensboro 10-4. The victory also marked the 500th career professional victory for Power Manager Mike Guerrero. With LeFave's batting title, he became the first Charleston player in 24 years to achieve the feat. Infielder Jack Perconte was the last to do so, for the 1983 Charleston Charlies in the final Class AAA International League season here. He hit .346. The question about LeFave is regarding the SAL playoffs. The Power opens the best-of-three Northern Division series Wednesday night at Hickory, and LeFave hasn't played in the Power's final five regular-season games due to a pulled ligament in his left wrist. "It's a great honor for me, but especially for the team too," LeFave said of winning the batting title. "We've all did so much this year and had a lot of accomplishments, making the playoffs as a team, and individually with (Steve) Chapman setting the (franchise) home run record (24)." Being an undrafted free agent has made the accomplishment even greater for LeFave. That proved to be a great motivational tool. "All season long, I've gone out with a chip on my shoulder," LeFave said. "People look at you and are like 'you're a free agent, you're a nobody.' That fuels the fire to prove everybody wrong and that I can play at this level." While LeFave's season may have surprised many, it didn't to himself or Power hitting coach Corey Hart. "From his first at-bat, he's been impressive," Hart said. "It was an eight-pitch at-bat and he hit an opposite field home run. All season, he's been solid. He has a great swing." The only surprise LeFave has seen in his game is in home run total (17). Last season, playing rookie ball in Arizona, LeFave batted .353 but only had one home run in his 136 at-bats. "My average has always been pretty good," LeFave said. "My game plan was to be as consistent as possible. The goal was to get at least one hit a game and if I was able to get another, that's a bonus." While it wasn't LeFave's goal to win the batting title, it became clear to him midway through the season that it could become a reality. "About halfway through the season, I had started to establish myself and was hitting around .290," Lefave said. "Once I went over .300, I knew I wouldn't drop underneath. "I started to get in a rhythm and just ran with it. It's all about determination and confidence and both has been pretty high." While LeFave's regular season has been nothing short of spectacular, his postseason remains a question mark. As the Power opens at Hickory, LeFave hopes to get back in the lineup. "We are trying to give it some extra time to get better and get me ready for the playoffs, so we'll see," LeFave said. After that, it's home to Anacortes, Wash., for LeFave. In the offseason, he's a commercial fisherman for the giant Dungeness crab, in business with his father. However the postseason plays out for LeFave and the Power, the new SAL batting champ hopes to continue the success he's had this season and one day make it to the Major Leagues. "I'd like to make it to the Majors but my number one priority is to be successful at every level where I play," LeFave said. "I don't like to look ahead."

Nashville Pre-Game Audio Chat with Starting Pitcher R.A. Dickey: http://www.nashvillesounds.com/audio/2007/Interview%209-3.mp3 Final: Nashville 3, Memphis (Cardinals) 1 Nashville Site Game Summary: Link for Zach Jackson photo, text follows -- Sounds Close Regular Season With 3-1 Win MEMPHIS - The Nashville Sounds wrapped up the 2007 regular season with a 3-1 win over the cross-state rival Memphis Redbirds on Monday afternoon at AutoZone Park. With the victory, Nashville (89-55) pulled into a tie with Single-A Augusta for the most wins in minor league baseball in 2007 at 89. The playoff-bound Sounds also improved to a season-best 34 games over .500 and upped their lead in the PCL American Conference Northern Division to a season-best 10 games to close out the year. Zach Jackson (11-10) worked eight strong innings to earn his second win in his last three starts after a stretch of eight winless outings. The southpaw held Memphis to one run on seven hits while walking three batters and striking out five. The Sounds took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning by cashing in on a two-out error by the Redbirds. Drew Anderson doubled with two outs then scored when Mike Rivera's popup in front of the mound fell between three Memphis players, with an error charged to pitcher Mike Parisi. Anderson (3-for-4) finished with a pair of doubles to tie Joe Dillon for the team lead in two-baggers. Including his seven doubles with Double-A Huntsville, the outfielder finished the year with a career-high 35 two-baggers. Catcher J.R. Hopf doubled the Nashville lead to 2-0 in the fourth with a one-out solo home run to right off Parisi, his second of the year as a Sound. AUDIO: J.R. Hopf Home Run Jackson helped his own cause in the eighth when his bases-loaded sacrifice fly made it a 3-0 contest, his eighth RBI of the year. Laynce Nix, who was hit by a Mark Worrell pitch to open the frame, scored on the play. Memphis broke up Jackson's shutout bid in the bottom of the eighth inning by loading the bases with one out then executing a triple steal on a botched pickoff play, with Mike McCoy swiping home on the play for the Redbirds' first run. After Jackson walked Tagg Bozied to reload the bags, he induced an inning-ending lineout double play to third from Joe Mather. Franklin Nunez worked a scoreless ninth inning to earn his first save in just his second appearance for the Sounds after joining the club at the start of the road trip. Parisi (8-13) suffered the loss after he allowed two runs (one earned) on seven hits over his six frames of action. He walked one batter and struck out five. Following the game, Nashville will travel to New Orleans, where the club will enjoy an off day on Tuesday. The Sounds open the 2007 postseason on Wednesday evening at New Orleans when they begin the best-of-five American Conference Finals with a 7:00 p.m. contest against the Zephyrs. Nashville won the regular season series between the clubs by a 9-7 margin. PCL Pitcher-of-the-Year R.A. Dickey (13-6, 3.72) will take the mound for Nashville in Wednesday's playoff opener to face a former Sound, New Orleans left-hander Dave Williams (3-4, 3.96). Nashville Box Score: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_09_03_nasaaa_mrbaaa_1 Nashville Game Log: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_log&gid=2007_09_03_nasaaa_mrbaaa_1

Link while active, text follows: http://www.al.com/sports/huntsvilletimes/mmccarter.ssf?/base/sports/118889740148570.xml&coll=1 Stars: Lucky and good is winning combination Contact Mark McCarter at markcolumn@aol.com Huntsville Times The wise, old baseball man Branch Rickey famously said that "luck is the residue of design." Maybe so. But, really, who would have designed this for the Huntsville Stars? A sub-.200 hitter driving in the winning run in the 16th inning. Or, winning a pennant-clinching game on a wild pitch. Or, being no-hit for 7 2/3 innings before a hit by a part-time player who has spent more time cracking his teammates up with his goofiness and coaching first base than he has in the field, Guilder Rodriguez. Then, once the no-hitter is ended, to have the winning run score on a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch. (The wild pitch and HBP, coincidentally, both came courtesy of the Birmingham Barons, who are pretty much a Neiman Marcus catalog for the Stars.) Or, getting help from a team that had lost eight consecutive games, the Carolina Mudcats, who rallied from a four-run deficit to trip up Tennessee, which was tailgating Huntsville in the race. Luck? Design? If it's better to be lucky than good, it's even better to be lucky and good. The Huntsville Stars are good. Hardly great. This was ostensibly to be a down year. The pipeline of terrific prospects had slowed to a trickle. The gurus of Baseball America would turn their nose up at this team like a wine snob with a screw-top bottle of Zinfandel. The season opened with a first-time first baseman, a shortstop who hadn't played in two years and a half-dozen pitchers left on the curb by other teams. Even as things unfolded, there wasn't much glitz. You drive faster on I-565 than the best pitcher throws. The leading run-producer also set a team record for strikeouts. But the Stars have swept both halves of the Southern League North play. They have now won three consecutive half-season titles. They have advanced to the playoffs four times in seven years. It's astounding and unprecedented and, considering woeful attendance figures, unappreciated by the Huntsville sporting public. The Stars won with the old formula of employing a different hero every night. Adam Heether. Carlos Corporan, who won the aforementioned 16-inning game and was the bull's-eye on the hit-by-pitch. G-Rod. Steve Sollmann. Steve Moss. Hernan Iribarren, a hitting machine. Brendan Katin, the league leader in homers and RBIs. Despite losing two original starters to promotion and a third to career-threatening injuries, Huntsville's pitching staff was third in RBIs and first in WHIP, the walks-and-hits per innings pitch stat that may be the best indication of effectiveness. The closer-by-committee amassed 39 saves, second-best in the league. If there is any design to it all, it would be on the part of the Milwaukee Brewers. Their top five (out of six) minor league teams are going to the playoffs. And if the Chicago Cubs start acting like the Cubs, perhaps the Brewers themselves will make the National League playoffs. Playoff-bound are Nashville, Brevard County, West Virginia and Helena. And, ho-hum, the Stars. Again. Lucky. And good. Not a bad double-play combination.

Final: Birmingham (White Sox) 6, Huntsville 2 Huntsville Site Game Summary: Link, text follows -- http://www.huntsvillestars.com/news/news.asp?newsId=1351 Stars Fall in Regular Season Finale Chris Getz's three-run home capped off a five-run eighth inning rally that lifted Birmingham to a 6-2 win over Huntsville Monday afternoon to close out the 2007 regular season at Regions Park. The Stars finished the second half at 38-31 and 75-62 overall, while the Barons ended the year at 30-40 in the second half and 62-78 overall to complete their worst two-year run since 1973-74. The Stars took 11 of the 20 games played between the two teams to win the season series for a second straight year after not claiming the season series against the Barons since 1994. Vince Perkins took over on the hill for the Stars in the eighth and gave up back-to-back one-out singles to Chris Kelly and Victor Mercedes before walking Ricardo Nanita to load the bases. Pinch-hitter Cole Armstrong fouled out for the second out of the inning before Sean Smith drew a walk on a ball four wild pitch that allowed two runs to score to put the Barons on top 3-2. Getz then walloped an 0-1 offering from Perkins over the wall in right field for his third home run of the season and first since leading off each game of an April 11 doubleheader at Mobile. Carlos Corporan led off the eighth inning with a walk, moved to second on a Mike Goetz ground out, advanced to third on a wild pitch by Tim Bittner and scored on a base hit by Michael Brantley against a drawn-in infield to give the Stars a 2-1 lead. Hernan Iribarren singled with one out in the fourth, stole second base and scored on a two-out single by Brendan Katin to give the Stars a 1-0 lead. Katin drove in his 94th run and is the first player to lead the league in home runs and RBI in the same season since David Kelton of West Tenn did it in 2002. Stars' starter Steve Hammond gave up two singles with one out in the second inning before retiring Mercedes and Nanita on fly ball outs to end the threat and stranded two more runners in the fourth by getting Mercedes to pop out. Hammond closed his performance by fanning David Cook with two runners on to end the fifth inning and wound up striking out six, walking one and yielding five hits. He threw 14 shutout innings in his two turns in Birmingham and wound up finishing the season at 7-9. David Johnson took over for the Stars in the sixth and gave up the tying run after walking Cory Aldridge, hitting Kelly and yielding a run-scoring hit to Nanita. The Stars' right-hander stranded two runners in scoring position by striking out former Brewer farmhand Jeremy Frost to end the inning. Johnson gave up a run on two hits over his two innings of work and wound up getting scored on in 12 of his last 20 appearances. The Stars begin the best-of-five North Division playoffs on Thursday night at home against Tennessee with left-hander Sam Narron taking the hill. Coverage begins at 6:50 pm central time locally on SportsRadio 730 WUMP and through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com. Huntsville Box Score: Mike Goetz 0-for-4 in his AA debut; Hernan Iribarren your left fielder... http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_09_03_hunaax_biraax_1 Huntsville Game Log: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_log&gid=2007_09_03_hunaax_biraax_1

Final: West Virginia 10, Greensboro (Marlins) 4 West Virginia Site Game Summary: POWER SWEEP 'HOPPERS The West Virginia Power concluded the 2007 regular season on Monday afternoon at Appalachian Power Park with a 10-4 victory over Greensboro to complete the three game sweep of the 'Hoppers. Matt LaPorta put West Virginia ahead in the first inning with a solo home run, his tenth of the year in just 23 games with the Power. The home run extended his hitting streak to 14 games. Adam Howard's sacrifice fly brought in Greensboro's first run in the second inning to tie the game. The Power answered with a two-run homer from Steve Chapman in the bottom of the inning. It was the 24th of the season for Chapman, establishing a new franchise record. West Virginia plated three runs in the third. John Alonso singled into center field with Taylor Green on first base. The ball got past Scott Cousins in center field and allowed Green to score. Chapman singled in Alonso and Andy Bouchie doubled in the final run of the inning. Howard struck for the 'Hoppers again with a two-run homer in the fourth inning. Chapman drove in his fourth run of the game on a groundout in the fifth inning. Justin Webb singled in Greensboro's final run in the seventh. The Power pulled away with a three-run eighth inning. Jimmy Mojica singled in the first run, Chuckie Caufield reached on a fielder's choice that brought in Bouchie and Mojica scored on Kenny Holmberg's sacrifice fly. J.T. King (8-2) pitched one scoreless inning of relief to get the victory. He was one of seven pitchers used by the Power during the regular season finale. Christhian Martinez (9-5) was tagged with the loss after surrendering six runs on nine hits over three innings. The Power improved to 82-54 overall and 34-34 in the second half, while the Grasshoppers fell to 71-69 overall and 33-37 in the second half. The Power finished the regular season with a .281 batting average, four points higher than their 2006 average which was a franchise record. Though he didn't play in the regular season finale, Andrew Lefave finished the season with a .345 batting average, which is also a franchise record. Jason LaRue had the record, hitting .315 in 1997. The Power will begin the first round of the playoffs at L.P. Frans Stadium against the Hickory Crawdads on Wednesday night. Right hander Alex Periard (7-7, 3.55) will start for the Power and the Crawdads will counter with right hander Mike Crotta (10-5, 4.39). First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 PM (5:30 Central). West Virginia Box Score: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_09_03_gboafx_wvaafx_1 West Virginia Game Log: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_log&gid=2007_09_03_gboafx_wvaafx_1

Final: Helena 5, Missoula (Diamondbacks) 0 Helena Independent Record: MISSOULA - The Helena Brewers seriously out-hit the Missoula Osprey on Monday, going 13-for-37 while the Osprey had only two hits in 30 at-bats. Ten of the Brewers' knocks in their 5-0 win were hit off Missoula starting pitcher Jason Durst, who was pulled in the fourth inning and relieved by Houston Summers. The Brewers' runs all came in the second and third innings. In the second, Eric Fryer reached on a line drive double, then was driven in by Scott Houin. The Brewers stacked up the score in the third with two home runs. Almost right away in the inning, Jonathan Lucroy (3-for-5, 2 RBI) hit a homer to drive Farris in. Four batters later, Fryer (2-4, 2 RBI) smacked another home run to left field, driving in Zelous Wheeler. The Brewers didn't score again, but they kept Missoula blank the entire game. The Osprey and the Brewers play in Missoula again tonight, then return to Helena to face off in their last series of the season. *** Birds blanked: Osprey manage just two hits against three Helena hurlers By MICHAEL HEINBACH of the Missoulian The announced crowd of 1,560 in attendance rooting for the Missoula Osprey had very little to cheer about Monday evening at Ogren-Allegiance Park. Three Helena pitchers combined to allow just two singles as the Brewers used the unofficial last day of summer to deal the O's a 5-0 shutout. Helena starter Evan Anundsen was sharp in his five innings of work to claim the victory and move to 7-5. He surrendered only Pete Clifford's two-out single in the first, didn't walk a hitter and struck out three. "He kept us off balance a little bit," said Missoula first baseman Anthony Smith. "As far as our side goes, we just didn't put together very many good at-bats." Jason Durst, who started for the O's, didn't fare nearly as well. In three frames of work, Durst (1-9) allowed all five runs on 10 hits. He fanned one and didn't issue a walk as the O's sank to 13-21 in the season's second half. Durst squeezed out of trouble in the first after allowing three singles to open the game, loading the bases. But Durst struck out Pioneer League average-leader Caleb Gindl before getting Helena third baseman Zelous Wheeler to ground into an inning-ending double play. Scott Houin had an RBI single in the second before the Brewers opened the flood gates in the third. Helena designated hitter Jonathan Lucroy belted a two-run homer to left-center to put the Brewers up 3-0. Four batters later, Brewers catcher Eric Fryer sent a towering blast over the right field fence for another two-run round-tripper, giving the Brewers the 5-0 advantage. "It seemed like we were getting after good pitches to hit all night," said Fryer, an Ohio State product who went 2-for-4 with a double in addition to his long ball. "Games in the past we might have been swinging at pitches that weren't really ours. But tonight (Durst) was leaving it in the zone and we just hit him well." Osprey pitching coach Steve Merriman attributed Durst's performance to winding down a long season. "He's tired and he said he's a little arm weary," Merriman said. "Obviously his velocity wasn't what it normally is. The sharpness of his stuff wasn't there, but he competed well despite not having his good stuff." Meanwhile, the Osprey offense could do very little, getting a baserunner in the third when Eli Rumler was hit by a pitch and in the fifth when Ariel Urena reached on an error. Urena reached again in the eighth when Fryer was called for catcher's interference and Rumler had an infield single in the frame before Reynaldo Navarro struck out to end the threat. Brewers reliever Curtis Pasma allowed a hit in three innings, striking out four before giving way to Brock Kjeldgaard, who tossed a hitless ninth to complete the shutout. Helena second baseman Eric Farris went 3-for-5 and Lucroy was 2-for-4. Houston Summers threw thee innings of one-hit ball in relief of Durst. Bryan Augenstein tossed the final three innings for Missoula, giving up two hits and no walks to go with a pair of strikeouts. The teams meet Tuesday at 7:00 PM (8:00 Central) in Missoula's final appearance this season at Ogren-Allegiance Park. Notes from the nest: Smith, who began the day as Missoula's lone batter with an average over .300, finished 0-for-4 to dip his average to .296. In comparison, Helena had five starters who finished the evening hitting better than .300... The Brewers could have scored another run in the second. With Zach McAngus on third, Osprey right fielder Jimmy Principe made a diving catch of a sinking liner off the bat of Matt Cline and McAngus scored easily after tagging up. But he was later called out on an appeal that the runner had left third early. Helena Box Score: Evan Anundsen still with a super ground ball ratio (3.25) after a 10-to-2 effort in this game; H-Crew hit into four double plays... http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_09_03_helrok_misrok_1 Helena Game Log: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_log&gid=2007_09_03_helrok_misrok_1

MiLB.com's St. Lucie Brevard County Series Preview -- Lots of Details Here, Including the Manatee Rotation

Matt LaPorta with his daily recommended allowance of "Jack-Jackety-Jack", Man among boys...

Link while active, text follows: http://www.dailymail.com/story/Sports/+/2007090349/Power+fueling+up+for+the+postseason/ Power fueling up for the postseason Tom Aluise Charleston Daily Mail sportswriter After a brutally long season that has stretched beyond 130 games, it would be understandable if the West Virginia Power might have trouble recharging its battery for the postseason. The players think otherwise. "If we don't show up, we're going home," the Power's 19-year-old shortstop, Brent Brewer, said. "No one here wants to go home yet. "Once you get in the playoffs you want to win. I want to win that ring. I'm not ready to go home yet." Neither is Brewer's teammate, Kenny Holmberg. "When you show up, you play to win," the Power infielder said. "I'm not going to lose. Ever since T-ball, I compete to win." Brewer, Holmberg and the rest of the Power open the Class A South Atlantic League playoffs Wednesday at Hickory, N.C., against the Crawdads, winners of the Northern Division's second half title. Game two of the best-of-three divisional series will be played at Appalachian Power Park on Friday. A third game, if necessary, is scheduled for Saturday in Charleston. The Power is scheduled to wrap up its regular season today against the Greensboro Grasshoppers at Power Park. Sunday's 3-1 victory over visiting Greensboro -- the Power's second straight win -- improved West Virginia's second-half record to 33-34 and its overall mark to 81-54. Finishing the regular season on a three-game winning streak would be a nice way to move into the playoffs. But not a necessary one, Holmberg said. "We've won our fair share of games to get to this point," said Holmberg, who contributed to the Power's 10-hit attack on Sunday with a seventh-inning double. "We just need to win two or three more. "We really haven't played to our capability in the second half," he added. "When the ball gets rolled out there to the mound it's going to be a gut check. We're going to have to play as well as we played all year long. We're looking forward to it. "It's going to be a different atmosphere because the games mean so much more. You've just got to stay loose and play your game."

Link while active, text follows: http://www.goldenbaseball.com/ArDisplay.aspx?ID=3908&SecID=303 Armada Closer 's Contract Purchased By Milwaukee RHP Dane De La Rosa Nabbed by the Brewers (Dublin, CA. September 2, 2007) The independent Golden Baseball League (GBL) announced today that Long Beach Armada RHP Dane De La Rosa has had his contract purchased by the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers plan to send him immediately to the Helena Brewers where there is a week to go in the season and the club has already qualified for the playoffs. "This is a great opportunity for Dane and one he deserves," said Darrell Evans, Manager of the Long Beach Armada. "I applaud Milwaukee on moving quickly after scouting him in the GBL Championship Series this weekend. The Toronto Blue Jays and the Philadelphia Phillies had invited him down to Florida for tryouts in two weeks and a team in the Mexican Winter League was offering him a job as well." De La Rosa, 24, was originally drafted in the 34th round out of high school in Wildomar, CA by the Texas Rangers. He elected to go to college and was drafted in the 24th round by the New York Yankees a year later out of Riverside Community College in California. He spent two years in their farm system reaching as high as the A-ball New York-Penn League with the Staten Island Yankees. Used primarily out of the bullpen by the Yankees (just two starts in 20 appearances), he compiled a record of 2-0 with one save as he struck out 45 batters in 45 innings pitched and posted an E.R.A. of 2.80 during his two seasons. Released in the off-season he joined the Yuma Scorpions of the Golden Baseball League in 2005 as a 22 year old where he was converted to a starter midway through the season and finished that year with a 1-6 record and a 6.45 E.R.A. Out of professional baseball for the first time in 2006 he kept himself ready while working on his velocity and off-speed pitches. He attended the Long Beach Armada tryout this spring and was the hardest thrower hitting 96 MPH on the radar gun. He was signed by the Armada and was handed the role of closer where he flourished as he appeared in a league leading 39 games, posted a 2-4 record, saved 16 games, compiled a 3.69 E.R.A., struck out 53 in 46 innings pitched while walking only 16, garnered a Player of the Week award, and saved the only game he appeared in during the playoffs.. De La Rosa is the 12th GBL player acquired by a major league organization this year.

Standings through Sunday's games: Arizona's standings reflect the final year both halves combined... Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nashville 88 55 .615 - 48-24 40-31 W2 Iowa 79 64 .552 9.0 43-28 36-36 L2 Omaha 72 71 .503 16.0 45-27 27-44 W2 Memphis 56 87 .392 32.0 30-41 26-46 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Huntsville 38 30 .559 - 18-16 20-14 W3 Chattanooga 37 32 .536 1.5 16-19 21-13 W5 Tennessee 37 32 .536 1.5 22-13 15-19 L1 Carolina 31 38 .449 7.5 16-18 15-20 W1 West Tenn 29 39 .426 9.0 12-22 17-17 L4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- St. Lucie 37 32 .536 - 19-16 18-16 L2 Palm Beach 35 35 .500 2.5 18-18 17-17 W1 Brevard County 33 34 .493 3.0 19-14 14-20 W1 Jupiter 32 37 .464 5.0 20-15 12-22 L1 Daytona 25 43 .368 11.5 13-22 12-21 L3 Vero Beach 25 44 .362 12.0 13-19 12-25 W2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - SAL Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hickory 42 26 .618 - 24-13 18-13 W6 Lakewood 36 32 .529 6.0 19-14 17-18 L2 Lake County 33 34 .493 8.5 17-16 16-18 L1 West Virginia 33 34 .493 8.5 20-14 13-20 W2 Delmarva 33 35 .485 9.0 16-18 17-17 W1 Greensboro 33 36 .478 9.5 22-13 11-23 L6 Lexington 28 41 .406 14.5 16-18 12-23 L2 Hagerstown 25 43 .368 17.0 12-22 13-21 W2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pioneer League (R+) - PIO North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Great Falls 23 9 .719 - 12-4 11-5 W4 Helena 17 16 .515 6.5 8-9 9-7 W3 Billings 16 17 .485 7.5 9-7 7-10 L3 Missoula 13 20 .394 10.5 7-10 6-10 L4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arizona League (R) - Arizona League Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AZL Mariners 37 19 .661 - 24-4 13-15 W1 AZL Angels 33 23 .589 4.0 20-8 13-15 L1 AZL Giants 33 23 .589 4.0 17-11 16-12 W9 AZL Padres 28 28 .500 9.0 17-11 11-17 W1 AZL Royals 28 28 .500 9.0 15-13 13-15 L1 AZL Cubs 27 29 .482 10.0 14-14 13-15 W3 AZL Athletics 25 31 .446 12.0 14-14 11-17 L1 AZL Rangers 22 34 .393 15.0 11-17 11-17 L3 AZL Brewers 19 37 .339 18.0 10-18 9-19 W1

Nashville's series in Memphis is available via MiLB.TV for a small fee: http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/multimedia/video.jsp