Jim Goulart

RHP Jose Garcia is your Helena starter. It's been years since the Brewers went with such a straightforward Pioneer League rotation (Seidel, Anundsen, Garcia, Mercedes, Hand) without "piggy-backing" and shuffling of starters.

RHP Josh Baker quickly back from his latest stint on the Manatee DL.

Buck Rogers, Manatees GM: The inaugural MLB All-Star Game Party was a success! Held at Hooters Merritt Island, Manatees fans joined players and staff in downing some wings, cold drinks, winning tickets and prizes in raffles and enjoying the All-Star Game. The Manatees players, fans and staff had a great time and everybody walked out with at least Manatees game tickets just for showing up and joining us in the festivities! Additionally, we had a free All-Star Game prediction contest where fans predicted the results of the game, the score and who they thought the game's MVP was going to be. If anybody correctly hit the four categories, he or she would win a lifetime season ticket. A pair of season tickets to the 2008 Manatees was offered as the consolation grand prize for the person predicting the closest if the lifetime season ticket were not won. There were some fans that were close, but in the end it was Don Leyko who walked away with a pair of season tickets for next season! In the 'how did this stupid trick backfire?' department, an unnamed Manatees Pitcher whose last name begins with 'McC' and ends with 'lendon' informed a Hooters Waitrees that it was his birthday (it wasn't). The waitress grabbed him and another Manatees Pitcher who is a recent Brewers acquisition from the Detroit Tigers organization (see photo on home page), and had the duo acting out 'I'm a Little Teapot...' in front of the crowd. If either of them ever leave the game of baseball there will be work available for them on Dance Fever. All in all, everybody had a great night enjoying the game as part of the Manatees family. We'd like to thank Maggie Scott and the good folks at Hooters Merritt Island for hosting this event and making it a fun place to watch the game and hang out with fans. As promised, the drinks were cold, the wings hot and the Hooters Girls were in top-notch form all night long. Manatees Pitchers Chris Cody (middle) and Mike McClendon (right) show their true talents. "I'm a little teapot short and stout..." http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/2007/07/11/58yQL4EP.jpg Manatees' players signed autographs, posed for photos with fans and performed magic tricks (like making a platter of wings disappear in seconds flat). The team is heading to the left coast today for a four-game series against the Sarasota Reds. When the teams last faced off the Manatees took three of four here at Miller Lite Park. The Reds, you will recall, have won the Western Division's first half and like the Manatees, have secured a post-season playoff berth. On Saturday, the Milwaukee Brewers will be conducting open tryouts for those 15-25 years of age here at Space Coast Stadium. Registration will begin at 8:00 am and tryouts commence at 8:30. You must have a government issued photo ID, e.g., Driver's License, Passport, etc., to register. Parents or Legal Guardians must be present to sign for those under the age of 18; NO EXCEPTIONS! These tryouts will be conducted by the Milwaukee Brewers Scouting Department. All participants should be dressed, ready to play and have their own gear. This Sunday is another Snip-it's Sunday. But the game time has been changed to a special 6:00 pm start. The Manatees will face the Dunedin Blue Jays beginning Sunday. Minor League Baseball rules dictate that a game cannot begin before 4:00 pm the day after one of the participating teams has had a night game and had to travel at least 150 miles. The distance from Space Coast Stadium in Viera to Knology Park in Dunedin is 153.3 miles. So this game, and the game on August 5th against the Tampa Yankees, will begin at 6:00 pm. And you thought we just made this stuff up, didn't you? But here's the good news. This Sunday night's game will be followed by post-game fireworks, courtesy of Harris Corporation as a part of our salute to the United Way. It gets better for those of you with kids: it's still a Snip-its Sunday. Kids simply have to go to a ticket window and say, "Snip-its haircuts for kids, where haircuts are fun," and they will receive a free ticket to the game, just like every other Snip-it's Sunday! More mail from the masses, and some of it's just weird: Any transactions in the last couple days? Pitcher Vince Perkins has been promoted to AA Hunstville and pitcher Josh Baker has been activated from the Disabled List. My sanity was placed on the DL. Why does the Radar Gun display show a pitcher's ball speed and then jump into the 40 mph range? Because the radar gun is aimed at the pitcher's mound from behind home plate, it also picks up the traffic traveling up and down Stadium Parkway. Those speeds in the 40's are simply the vehicles' speeds traveling on Stadium Parkway. I know, I know, I know.they're breaking the law. The speed limit on Stadium Parkway is 30 mph when the road construction is on-going but our radar gun isn't certified so our Sheriff's Deputies cannot call in for a squad car to book 'em, Dan-o. Radar guns are calibrated using tuning forks, for those that were wondering. No kidding. What did Mat Gamel do differently on the day the streak ended? A clubhouse report said that he didn't make his bed, put on his left shoe before his right, ate Frosted Flakes instead of Cheerios and forgot to strain the pulp from his orange juice. We'll try to confirm those reports. Back to live action here. Mat Gamel, for those that weren't in the loop, recently had a 33-game hitting streak end. The FSL record is 36 games and Mat was this close to erasing that record. I don't know what Mat did differently, but I do know the situation was tougher because the streak ended during a seven-inning doubleheader game, and he didn't receive a 4th or possibly a 5th at-bat that he would've seen in a nine-inning game. That may not sound like a lot, but streaks are ended with peculiar circumstances. When the Brewers' Paul Molitor's 39-game streak ended in 1987 he was on-deck and although I can't remember who was batting (Rick Manning), the player could've went down swinging to give Molly another AB, but he drove in a game winning run and that was that. Mat is a pretty low key guy and I don't think he did anything different, but if he did, we'll try to find out for you. Where do I find hardcore Brewers fans? Locally, they're around. Hit some of the local sports bars and you'll see them. You'll also see Brewers baseball caps at Manatees games and I think the number will grow as the season progresses with the pennant races. If the Brewers seal the deal and wrap up a playoff berth you'll see as many Brewers fans running around as you do Dallas Cowboys fans when they're winning, because they'll be jumping on that bandwagon just like we said they would back in this newsletter in March or April. But look close and you'll see the real Brewers fans from the wannabe Brewers fans. What's that? How do you recognize a real Brewers fan? Good question. A real Brewers fan will have a stain on his or her shirt from where the bratwurst grease dripped out on the first bite. It won't wash out, you can't Shout it out, but the shirt is just too valuable not to wear. A real Brewers fan knows what secret stadium sauce is and what it tastes like. A real Brewers fan knows about the 25-year cycle of success. A real Brewers fans hates the Cubs and won't even chew Wrigley's gum because of the name. Hello, Bazooka Joe. Good-bye Doublemint Twins. A real Brewers fan says a prayer and takes a deep breath every time he or she drives over the Cheddar Curtain into Illinois because he or she just inherited a day full of toll roads, crazy drivers and bad attitudes. Hey, I lived in northern Illinois for two years and lived that experience and I relive it every night in my nightmares. Look close, you'll see die-hard Brewers fans here in Brevard County. If you're looking for Brewers fans behind the scenes or you just can't get enough of your daily dose of Vitamin B(rewers), hit the web. Those that want to really be in touch with what's going on can find a plethora (today's Pee Wee's Playhouse word of the day) of web sites that follow every team in every sport at every level. For the Brewers there are no exceptions. If you can't find what you want at www.brewers.com then go to www.brewerfan.net for everything Brewers. The guys there are pretty hardcore and if you don't have Brewers Blue blood in your veins, carry your fingers with the carpal tunnel syndrome down the information superhighway to something in a more royal Cubbsie-Wubbsie lighter shade of blue, because this site probably isn't for you. You know what I mean.if the Brewers lose a game of have a bad year they don't blame goats. It's all about reality -- really. How much caffeine do you drink a day? You're really flying when you right the newsletters, aren't you? Guilty. Sentenced to a lifetime drinking caffeine free drinks, right? Wrong. Ah, yes, the squelcher of yawns, the defeater of sleep, the liquid of all things baseball. Diet Coke with Lime. Yeah, I'm a caffeine junkie. I don't do coffee or tea. Hate the taste. The sugar and caffeine combo would put me over the top if I drank the high octane Coke Classic, and energy drinks would probably stop my heart and set me off like a Roman Candle, so I settle for Diet Coke with Lime; usually a 2-liter a day on game days. Low sodium, no sugar and just the right amount of caffeine. Check the label. Wish I was lying about that 2-liter part but it's true. And when we find a few minutes between rain drops and tarp pulls to crank out newsletters, it's usually under the influence of caffeine. My greatest horror is having the Wicked Witch of the West standing over me at my desk saying in that nasty, soothing voice, "Sleep.sleep, my pretty." Sleep is over-rated. So is the Wicked With of the West. Think Beavis on Cappuccino at the poetry reading. Yeah, that's us on game days. If the season ended right now who would you want to face in the FSL playoffs? Wow. That's like a Frosted Mini-Wheats commercial. OK, the kid in me says Vero Beach because one of their co-GM's Shawn Marrette is a Minnesota Vikings fan like a few of us on staff here and we'd have playoff games around the opening of the NFL season and it'd be like Christmas, New Year's, Birthday and 4th of July rolled into one with FSL playoffs and Vikings football in a span of a few days. That would be a good thing. And the fact that we're 5-0 against the Devil Rays at home this year and two of the three game of the playoff series would be here at Miller Lite Park would be a great thing. And their coaching staff and players are OK guys. In fact, former Brewers outfielder Ben Oglivie is on their coaching staff. Then they have Suzanne Felten, their superfan who makes games interesting for our fans. Then, they're the closest team to us geographically so we could expect a mega-Manatees crowd down at Dodgertown when we're playing there. But on the flipside the baseball business guy side of me says that we want to put the smackdown on the Daytona Cubs just because they're the Cubs. Anytime you can get the Cubs and Brewers teeing off on each other, it's like my ol' Army First Sergeant used to say, "This is just darn good training." Their fan base will come down here and buy more beer and hot dogs than any other team's fan base, bar none. So, for business sake, the Cubs. The rivalry is legendary, even the Minor League side of it in the FSL. In the west I'm glad it's Sarasota because the Manatees and Reds are teams that don't normally make the playoffs, so it's an underdog thing and Milwaukee and Cincinnati are small market teams. Our coaching staff and their coaching staff go back a few years. The kid in me is rooting for Ft Myers in the 2nd half because the Miracle is another underdog team, but the baseball business non-frosting side guy wants Lakeland because they're the closest team and we'd see more of their fans in-house here if we made it to the League Championship Series. That's it for today. Like Kyle Smith says, "This is going to be another one of your epic newsletters that's four-pages long without the benefit of spell-check, full of typos, isn't it?" What do you think? Pass the 2-liter and Rock On!

Can we do a poll on whether or not we do this? You cool with that Jim? I just linked to this thread on the Minor League Forum, as many folks won't see it here. Perhaps we'll get some additional insights.

Link while active, text follows: www.wvgazette.com/section...2007071021 Power returns home tonight to start three-game series with Hickory Crawdads Charleston Gazette The West Virginia Power will return home for a three-game series with the Hickory Crawdads, beginning at 7:05 tonight (6:05 Central). After dropping its last two games on the road at Lexington, the Power will turn to right-handed pitcher Chris Toneguzzi to try to get the team back in the win column. Toneguzzi is 2-1 with a 4.26 ERA. In the back-to-back losses at Lexington, the Power stranded 25 runners and scored just three runs. The team?s defensive woes also continued, as the Power has committed at least one error in four consecutive games. The Power has had Hickory?s number so far this season, winning six of seven meetings. West Virginia swept the Crawdads in a four-game series at Appalachian Power Park in April, part of the Power?s 14-game win streak in the first half of the season. When the teams met in Hickory in June, the Power ripped off 25 hits in a 24-13 victory. Stephen Chapman has been a bright spot for the team in the second half. The outfielder is on a 15-game hitting streak and is batting .268 on the year with 12 home runs and 54 RBIs. Outfielder Andrew Lefave leads the South Atlantic League in batting with a .341 average. Power third baseman Taylor Green is 10th with a .318 average. The Power is 10-9 in the second half of the season, and 2 1/2 games behind division-leading Lakewood in the South Atlantic?s Northern Division. Hickory is 11-8 and a game ahead of the Power in the North. The Power is 58-29 overall on the year.

Final: Arizona A's 11, Arizona Brewers 2 Arizona Box Score: Five errors contribute to seven unearned runs; catcher Brett Whiteside continue to play like team MVP, although he DH'd again today as Matt Czimskey, also hitting well, was behind the dish... web.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_athrok_1 Arizona Game Log: Just more general yuckiness from this squad... web.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_athrok_1

Standings as of 5:00 PM Central Wednesday: There was some earlier action elsewhere, including an Arizona Brewers loss, discussed below... Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nashville 55 35 .611 - 29-13 26-22 W4 Iowa 50 40 .556 5.0 29-19 21-21 W4 Omaha 42 49 .462 13.5 27-16 15-33 W2 Memphis 39 52 .429 16.5 21-27 18-25 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chattanooga 12 8 .600 - 6-4 6-4 L1 Tennessee 10 10 .500 2.0 7-3 3-7 L2 Huntsville 9 11 .450 3.0 5-5 4-6 W2 Carolina 8 12 .400 4.0 5-5 3-7 L2 West Tenn 7 13 .350 5.0 5-5 2-8 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brevard County 12 7 .632 - 5-3 7-4 W2 Palm Beach 10 8 .556 1.5 4-5 6-3 L2 Jupiter 9 9 .500 2.5 5-4 4-5 W1 St. Lucie 8 10 .444 3.5 3-6 5-4 L1 Daytona 8 11 .421 4.0 5-6 3-5 W2 Vero Beach 4 14 .222 7.5 2-7 2-7 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - SAL Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lakewood 12 6 .667 - 7-2 5-4 W2 Hickory 11 8 .579 1.5 8-5 3-3 W3 Lake County 10 8 .556 2.0 5-4 5-4 L5 West Virginia 10 9 .526 2.5 5-3 5-6 L2 Delmarva 8 10 .444 4.0 3-6 5-4 L2 Lexington 8 11 .421 4.5 7-4 1-7 W2 Hagerstown 6 12 .333 6.0 3-6 3-6 W3 Greensboro 5 14 .263 7.5 4-4 1-10 L3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pioneer League (R+) - PIO North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Great Falls 13 8 .619 - 7-3 6-5 W2 Helena 13 8 .619 - 5-6 8-2 W2 Billings 8 13 .381 5.0 4-5 4-8 L2 Missoula 8 13 .381 5.0 5-7 3-6 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arizona League (R) - Arizona League Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AZL Mariners 13 3 .813 - 7-1 6-2 W4 AZL Angels 12 4 .750 1.0 10-2 2-2 W1 AZL Padres 10 6 .625 3.0 5-2 5-4 L1 AZL Cubs 8 8 .500 5.0 5-3 3-5 W2 AZL Giants 7 9 .438 6.0 4-4 3-5 L1 AZL Royals 7 9 .438 6.0 3-4 4-5 W1 AZL Rangers 6 10 .375 7.0 2-5 4-5 L5 AZL Athletics 5 11 .313 8.0 3-4 2-7 W1 AZL Brewers 4 12 .250 9.0 1-7 3-5 L4

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". 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. Huntsville: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_cngaax_1 Brevard County: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_sarafa_1 West Virginia: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1 Helena: web.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_idarok_1 Arizona: web.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_athrok_1

These links will be included in each daily report when the Nashville Sounds and/or Huntsville Stars are scheduled to play. Normally they are updated an hour or two prior to gametime, with Nashville's usually earlier: Huntsville Media Notes (Adobe .pdf format): www.huntsvillestars.com/i...eNotes.pdf

Wednesday's Daily Menu: All times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: Please use this linked thread to follow and discuss tonight's AAA All-Star Game -- p092.ezboard.com/fbrewers...mp;stop=25 Huntsville: RHP Will Inman at Chattanooga (Reds), 6:00 PM pre-game; 6:15 gametime Audio link: www.huntsvillestars.com/ Brevard County: LHP Chris Cody at Sarasota (Reds), 5:50 PM pre-game, 6:00 gametime NOTE: Sorry, no audio for this Brevard County series West Virginia: RHP Chris Toneguzzi at home vs. Hickory (Pirates), 5:55 PM pre-game, 6:05 gametime Audio link (game will also archive at this link): www.minorleaguebaseball.c.../audio.jsp Helena: TBD at Idaho Falls (Royals), 8:00 PM pre-game, 8:15 gametime Audio link (game will also archive at this link): www.minorleaguebaseball.c.../audio.jsp Arizona: 18-year-old LHP Kristian Bueno makes his 4th appearance and 2nd start, at the A's complex in Phoenix, 10:30 AM local time in Arizona, 12:30 Central; never any audio for Arizona Rookie League games

Link for full AAA All-Star Game preview article: web.minorleaguebaseball.c...;fext=.jsp Nashville Site: www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=2443 Listen to the game via this link at 6:35 PM Central: www.minorleaguebaseball.c.../audio.jsp Game is on ESPN2. Also an available video feed here -- a small charge likely involved, but check it just in case it's free tonight, someone let us know at gametime: web.minorleaguebaseball.c.../video.jsp Gameday, box score and game log here: web.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_pcaaaa_1

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

Here's my take, and I'm certainly not going to vote to block if this goes forward. When sites like SOSH began this, it was actually several years ago. Back then, minorleaguebaseball.com's website and statistical availablity was beyond pathetic. But now, MiLB.com's coverage is anything but. Within the Daily Link Report linked box scores, you can click on any name you see, and in two seconds, get their season-to-date, last ten games, and every key breakdown and split, including their monthly stats, which if I read correctly here, is the general timeframe summaries will be requested. So after the first brief biographical post, what will most users be posting? "Steve Garrison made five starts in June for Brevard. Against Palm Beach on the 2nd, he went six innings, allowing three runs, etc...." Now, if it went beyond that, and I mean interactive, that would be interesting. "Owners" of players could contact the respective team's front offce to make an email contact with a player. Most of the team's websites make it easy to do this. Try to arrange for a contact with the player in which you ask him if he'll answer some of the questions you'll ask, then post the responses. But some players will decline, which is their right, and do we want to have an owner post, "Hey, I tried, but _______ didn't want to answer my questions." I would also suggest that player owners look for past and present articles in the hometown newspapers if possible. For at least half of the players, there really is no hometown coverage to speak of, if they're from L.A., Phoenix, etc. The metro area is just too large. But I've even emailed local sports editors who have written stories in the past on their local kids, but haven't in a while, whether they plan a follow-up story any time soon. It's always nice to see new stories that include quotes, instead of just a stats re-hash. And we'll continue to act as a central feed for newspaper and media updates. To be honest, we'll be maintaining the team feature article threads, as I don't think we as staff should necessarily post in the "Adopt" threads for each individual player whenever we turn up a new feature article. So I'm sure there will be some initial excitement as readers "claim" their guys, but overall, I'm not so sure we'll learn that much in this forum if you're already a reader of our daily updates, unless folks are ready to really work to make some interactive connections. Sorry to dampen the enthusiam a bit, prove me wrong.

Link while active, text follows: www.dailymail.com/story/S...heir+turn/ Power vets waiting for their turn Jacob Messer Charleston Daily Mail Sportswriter A plain piece of printer paper is taped to the back wall of Kenny Holmberg's locker inside the West Virginia Power's clubhouse. Written on the paper in big, bold, black letters with a Sharpie is a quotation. He often hears it from his father, Auburn Doubledays Manager Dennis Holmberg, a veteran skipper who has 1,106 wins and 1,007 losses in his baseball career. "Yesterday is history," it reads. "Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That is why they call it the present." Holmberg sees that piece of paper before each game at Appalachian Power Park. "That's a good reminder," he said. "You're at where you're at. So, just do what you can do." That quotation never has been more applicable than it is now for Holmberg and teammates Chuckie Caufield, Andrew Lefave and Travis Wendte. Those four have been among West Virginia's most consistent and most productive players this season. They also are among its oldest. That is why a lot of people are scratching their heads, wondering when the Milwaukee Brewers will promote the deserving quartet. "It's always in the back of your mind, I'm not going to lie," Wendte said. "But if I worried about things I can't control, I think that would negatively affect (my approach and performance). "If you start thinking, 'I have to do this to move up or I have to do that to move up,' then you might put too much pressure on yourself. "Just try to be successful. When you let things slip into your mind like, 'I shouldn't be here or I should be there,' you're not going to be able to be successful." Lefave leads the South Atlantic League in hitting with a .341 batting average. The first baseman/outfielder also has nine home runs, 15 doubles, 38 walks, 49 RBI and 58 runs in 68 games. Caufield ranks first in the low Class A circuit in two categories: RBI (69) and hits (109). The SAL All-Star outfielder also has a .310 batting average, four triples, six homers, 21 doubles and 68 runs in 87 games. Holmberg has solid numbers across the board: .300 batting average, 10 homers, 19 doubles, 49 walks, 53 runs and 55 RBI in 73 games for the second baseman. Wendte owns a 6-0 record and 2.44 earned run average. The SAL All-Star reliever has allowed 16 runs (14 earned) and 39 hits in 51 2/3 innings in 22 games with 47 strikeouts and 15 walks. Caufield, Holmberg and Wendte are 24, but Wendte will turn 25 in November. LeFave is 23. Of the 27 Power players, only five others are in the same age bracket. That means they are on a shorter timetable than their younger teammates and competitors. "It's out of my control," Holmberg said. "I'm at a point in my life where all I can do is play and just be happy and satisfied that I can still play. I just go out every day and play as hard as I can and do what I can do to help the team win." Logjams at their positions don't help. According to Baseball America's preseason rankings, eight of the Brewers' top 30 minor-league prospects are outfielders -- No. 6 Lorenzo Cain, No. 8 Cole Gillespie, No. 12 Charlie Fermaint, No. 13 Darren Ford, No. 17 Tony Gwynn Jr., No. 20 Chris Errecart, No. 26 Brendan Katin and No. 28 Steve Chapman. Chapman and Fermaint are here. Cain, Gillespie, Errecart and Ford are at high Class A Brevard County. Katin is at Class AA Huntsville. Gwynn is in Milwaukee. And that list doesn't even include 20-year-old Michael Brantley, whom the Brewers double-promoted from West Virginia to Huntsville last month. With that in mind, Caufield sees the benefit in the situation. "In some circumstances, you might move up but sit the bench behind somebody," he said. "It's better to be at a lower level where you can play in a lot of games. It's easier to learn and improve when you're on the field than it is when you're on the bench." Holmberg is the fourth-ranked second baseman, three spots behind top-ranked Hernan Iribarren, the Brewers' No. 21 overall prospect. A position switch wouldn't be wise. Five of the Brewers' top 30 minor-league prospects are shortstops (No. 9 Alcides Escobar, No. 14 Yohannis Perez and No. 19 Brent Brewer) or third basemen (No. 10 Mat Gamel and No. 29 Vinny Rottino). Rottino is at Class AAA Nashville. Escobar and Iribarren are at Huntsville. Gamel and Perez are at Brevard County. Brewer is here. Caufield, LeFave and Wendte aren't even listed in the rankings for their positions. "Obviously, I care about moving up as soon as I can," Lefave said. "But I know the Brewers will make the right decision for me. All I can do is go out and play the game to the best of my ability everyday. I'm just trying to make it harder for them to not move me up." Also keep in mind that those rankings don't factor in the Brewers' Major League players, many of whom are very young and very talented. Six of Milwaukee's everyday starters are younger than or the same age as Caufield, Holmberg and Wendte. In addition to the 24-year-old Gwynn, there is 23-year-old first baseman Prince Fielder, 24-year-old second baseman Rickie Weeks, 24-year-old shortstop J.J. Hardy, 23-year-old third baseman Ryan Braun and 25-year-old right fielder Corey Hart. "It's just bad timing for some of us," Holmberg said. "But what are you going to do about it? Are you going to pout? Are you going to cry? Are you going to tell other people where you should be? I don't think you should do that. I think you should go out and do your job and be happy." The veterans are making the most of their situation, trying to help their team win and their younger teammates grow. "That's why we play and work like we do," Holmberg said. "We can show them the right way to do things, and we can answer their questions and give them the advice they're seeking."

Link while active, text follows: www.al.com/stars/huntsvil...f?/base/[b]

When you pitch through your senior year of college before joining pro ball, you are simply going to be older across most levels. Just because a player is older when joining an organization, that doesn't mean you skip him ahead at an advanced pace to catch up. There is still a progression the player must go through.

OK, next up -- open spot at Brevard...

Huntsville Site: Link, text follows -- www.huntsvillestars.com/n...ewsId=1263 DiFelice Departs for Nashville The Milwaukee Brewers have promoted right-hand pitcher Mark DiFelice to triple-A Nashville and promoted right-hander Vince Perkins to Huntsville from high class-A Brevard County. Perkins is expected to be in uniform for the Stars when they resume play after the Southern League All-Star break on Wednesday in Chattanooga, while DiFelice is expected to be with the Sounds when they resume play Thursday in Memphis after the triple-A All-Star break. DiFelice went 6-1 with a 1.62 earned run average for the Stars and was the starting pitcher for the North Division in the All-Star Game Monday night in Pearl, Mississippi. He gave up singles to the first two batters he faced before retiring the next three batters in his lone inning of work. He established a franchise record 36 consecutive scoreless inning streak from May 27 at Mobile through July 4, when Issmael Salas of Tennessee singled in two runs in the seventh inning. Perkins made 23 appearances for the Manatees, including two starts, and compiled a record of one win, two losses, one save and a 7.32 ERA in 39 1/3 innings. He was originally drafted in the 18th round by Toronto in 2000 and pitched in the Blue Jays organization through 2005. He was injured and did not pitch in 2006.

Who is at # 6 this week?

Photo direct from the Manatees home page -- gotta love Buck Rogers, their association with Hooters is fun and has been going on since Opening Day. Their broadcasts are fun because every other commerical is for Hooters, and I love that theme song: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...p?sid=t503 http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/2007/07/10/tKOjxsi5.jpg MLB All-Star Game Party Tonight! Make sure you're at Hooters Merritt Island (across the road from Merritt Square Mall) tonight at 7:30 as the Brevard County Manatees host the inaugural MLB All-Star Game Party. Manatees players. coaches and staff will be on hand as hosts for the MLB mid-summer classic. Fans in attendance will be entered in free raffles and trivia contests for prizes! The party kicks off at 7:30 pm, the game at 8:00 pm and will continue thru the final out of the game. As always, the drinks will be cold, the wings will be hot and the Hooters Girls will be slinging both all night long. There will be one grand prize winner that will score big, so make sure you don't miss tonight's party at Hooters Merritt Island!

Link while active, text follows: www.thecitizen.com/node/18421 Creek grad growing in Brewer's farm system By: Michael Boylan, The Citizen.com (Georgia) Sandy Creek graduate Brent Brewer is just past the middle of his first full season with the West Virginia Power, a Class A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. He is the starting shortstop for the Power, which won the South Atlantic League Northern division for the first half of the season, and is playing well while adjusting to the game at the minor league level. ?I have seen an elevation in my game, in both my hitting and defense,? Brewer said. ?Even when I struggle, I just keep pushing hard. Brewer struggled a bit in the game that this reporter attended, going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and committing several errors, but he rebounded after that game, getting nine hits in his next seven games, driving in two RBIs from the second spot in the lineup and stealing five bases. So far, Brewer has a .275 batting average, 94 hits, 62 runs scored, 15 doubles, four triples, four home runs, 30 RBIs and 31 stolen bases. He also has 31 errors, but it hasn?t gotten him down. The Power will be in the playoffs and Brewer is hoping to get some at bats with Brevard County at the end of the season. While the baseball season keeps him on the road for long periods of time, he was back in Fayette County during the minor league?s all star break, visiting with family and friends. His brother, Blake, may have a future in baseball as well, although he is still interested in several sports including basketball. Reflecting on his days at Sandy Creek, Brewer talked about playing with Calvin Johnson in both football and baseball. ?He just taught me a lot about playing the game hard,? Brewer said. The two are still close friends, but haven?t talked in a few weeks as both have been rather busy this summer. It is obvious to any casual observer that Brewer and his teammates love the game and are enjoing the season. If you?d like to catch the Power and can?t make it to West Virginia this summer, they will be playing on the road at the Columbus Catfish, July 30-Aug. 2 and the Rome Braves, Aug. 3-6.

Rehabbing LHP Mitch Stetter's ready to head somewhere from Maryvale soon, too.

Final: Arizona Padres 9, Arizona Brewers 4 Attendance: 10; amazingly, someone is there from MiLB.com making note of each play and updating the game log... Arizona Box Score: Padres score in six different innings; Brewer pitchers walk ten -- that's now 110 walks in 15 games, coming into today the second-most walks in the league was 63; rehabbing LHP Mitch Stetter's ready, he comes in to strike out two, stranding two, working on a second consecutive day; breakout players screaming "make note of my performance" are few and far between in Maryvale this year... web.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_brrrok_1 Arizona Game Log: web.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_brrrok_1

Well, now we know whose roster spot RHP Mark DiFelice is taking in Nashville (see Transaction thread), as was noted elsewhere in this forum: Chris Oxspring Headed To Korea There's an open roster spot, most likely for a pitcher, in Huntsville now. With their All-Star Break, we won't know for a day or two on that fill.

Well, now we know whose roster spot RHP Mark DiFelice is taking in Nashville (see Transaction thread).