Jim Goulart

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: Nashville Media Notes (Adobe .pdf format): www.nashvillesounds.com/pdf/notes.pdf Huntsville Media Notes (Adobe .pdf format): www.huntsvillestars.com/i...eNotes.pdf

Follow Thursday's action as it happens: Here's what you do, right click on each of the links below and choose "Open in New Window". Open the Nashville Gameday. For the others, choose "Log". While you're listening to your minor league game of choice (or watching/listening to the big league Crew when they are playing), simply refresh your game log browsers every so often. Nashville: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1 Huntsville Game One: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_tenaax_1 Huntsville Game Two: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_tenaax_2 Brevard County: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_dbcafa_1 West Virginia: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1 Helena: web.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_misrok_1

Link for Chris Barnwell photo while active, text follows: tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....328/SPORTS Shutout loss ends Sounds' winning streak Key hits ruin pitcher's debut By TYLER BLANK Tennessean Staff Writer Three opportune hits were the difference in Nashville's 3-0 loss to Iowa Wednesday at Greer Stadium that ended the Sounds' six-game winning streak. Iowa moved within one-half game of Nashville in the Pacific Coast League's American Conference Northern Division. Sounds starting pitcher Manny Parra, in his Triple-A debut, gave up a solo home run to Cubs first baseman Micah Hoffpauir in the third inning. "I just left it up and out over the middle of the plate," Parra said. "If I keep that ball on the outside corner, I don't think that (the home run) happens there." Parra gave up another run in the sixth inning on an RBI double by Josh Kroeger, which knocked in Cubs center fielder Buck Coats. Parra pitched six innings, and finished with six strikeouts and four walks. "I felt fine," said Parra, "I didn't command the ball like I wanted to and walked too many guys." "I think he did OK," Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas said of Parra. "He held him to two runs and kept us in the game." The Sounds fell to 7-11 in series openers. The loss is only Nashville's seventh in its past 31 home games. Nashville's bats never really got going. The Sounds managed only three hits all night. "(Cubs pitcher John) Webb did a good job," Kremblas said. "He threw the ball well and was able to throw a bunch of pitches for strikes." This marks the third occasion that the Sounds have been shut out this season. The Cubs got some insurance in the eighth inning when Kroeger knocked in his second run of the game, brining catcher Geovany Soto home with a one-out single. What they said: "I was supposed to get it outside and left it over the middle. I faced Micah back in 2004 and 2005 and he's a pretty good hitter." ? Parra, on giving up a third inning home run to Iowa's Micah Hoffpauir. ***Link while active, text follows: tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....328/SPORTS Dickey resumes role as starter By TYLER BLANK Tennessean Staff Writer Former MBA and UT pitcher R.A. Dickey will move into the starting rotation Friday against Iowa. The knuckleballer has been in the bullpen since May 13. Dickey made a spot start Sunday in Nashville's 5-2 win over Omaha, going seven innings, allowing four hits and one earned run while striking out six. Dickey started because Yovani Gallardo was called up to Milwaukee. Dickey will replace Tim Dillard, who is 3-4 with a 4.61 ERA. Since moving to the bullpen, Dickey is 3-0 with a 4.95 ERA in eight games. Dickey opened the season with a 1-4 record and 6.17 ERA in seven starts. The move is nothing new to Dillard. He was drafted out of college as a closer and spent his first two years in pro ball as a reliever. Dillard came into Wednesday's game in the seventh inning, going 2 2/3 innings, giving up three hits and one run. Back again: Center fielder Tony Gwynn made his first start of the year with Nashville. The former Sound was sent down to make room for another former Nashville player, Rickie Weeks, who was recently activated from the disabled list. Gwynn finished 0-for-3 with a walk. "It's going to take a few games for him to get back in the swing of things," Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas said. Gwynn played in 49 games for the Brewers this season, hitting .301 with eight RBIs after making the club in spring training. Gwynn played in 112 games with Nashville in the 2006 season. He hit .300 and led the Sounds in hits, runs, triples and at-bats. Sounds catcher J.R. Hopf will go to the disabled list to make room for Gwynn with a hand injury. Long ball: Nashville has hit 81 home runs, ranking second among PCL teams. The Sounds have hit a home run in 31 of their past 37 games. You're out: Nashville pitchers lead the PCL in strikeouts with 563. The Sounds have struck out 91 batters in the last eight games. Beginning and end: Nashville has outscored its opponent 51-28 in the first inning and has scored the game's first run on a PCL-leading 45 occasions. The Sounds have gone 30-15 in those games, while going 27-6 when scoring the game's final run.

Link while active, text follows: www.nashvillecitypaper.co...s_id=56795 Gwynn returns, Parra makes Sounds debut By Nate Rau, Nashville City Paper Sports Correspondent Before Tony Gwynn Sr. turned 25-years old, he had amassed 361 hits, a National League batting title and helped the San Diego Padres reach the World Series. It was the beginning of a Hall of Fame career by which, fairly or unfairly, his son will always be measured against. His son, Tony Gwynn Jr., was demoted, most assuredly unfairly, on Monday by the Milwaukee Brewers. Gwynn made his 2007 Sounds debut Wednesday evening against Iowa at Greer Stadium. While his resume might not feature as many accomplishments as his father?s did at the same age, Gwynn is every bit as kind and gracious as his dad was regarded to be. Following the Sounds 3-0 loss to the Cubs, Gwynn didn?t complain about the demotion by Milwaukee. This is despite the fact Gwynn was generally out-playing fellow outfielder Gabe Gross and outhitting him by over 100 batting average points (.301 to .191 at the time he was optioned). ?I started off so well up there,? Gwynn said. ?It?s a little disappointing. Although I can?t say I was happy about it, I was prepared for it.? Gwynn went 0-for-3 with a walk for the Sounds, who had their six-game winning streak snapped. Following the game, he talked openly about being sent down after spending all season in the big leagues. ?I was just trying to get my feet under me,? said Gwynn, who was sparsely used in Milwaukee. ?It felt a little awkward to be on a baseball field again.? The Brewers optioned down Gwynn not because he had earned a demotion, but because there simply wasn?t enough room on their roster for all the players who deserve to be there. Manager Ned Yost told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Gwynn would be best-served to get extra at-bats with Nashville than to be a substitute for the Brewers. ?I did understand the logic behind it,? Gwynn said. ?Do I agree with it? Not necessarily. But this is an opportunity for me to come down here and join another good team and hopefully help them win.? The other subplot was Manny Parra?s Triple A debut. Parra is the left-handed pitching prospect who has battled shoulder problems the last two-plus years. Finally advancing to the Sounds, he had a mixed first start. Parra went six innings and fanned six, but surrendered seven hits, four walks and two earned runs. ?I battled, but obviously it was not the game I was wanting because I fell behind too many guys,? Parra said. At the plate, the Sounds couldn?t figure out Iowa starter John Webb, who faced just one batter over the minimum through eight innings. Clay Rapada pitched the ninth to earn the save. ?The credit goes to their guy, he did a good job,? Sounds manager Frank Kremblas said of Webb.

Link while active, text follows: www.missoulian.com/articl...orts02.txt Coughlin's walk-off homer lifts O's over Brewers By NICK LOCKRIDGE of the Missoulian This time the ninth inning heroics belonged to the Missoula Osprey. Sean Coughlin belted a game-winning solo home run with the Osprey down to their final out in the bottom of the ninth to lift Missoula to a 6-5 victory over Helena on Wednesday. Coughlin, a catcher that hits from the left, sent the ball high and deep over the steadily-rising fence in right field, giving the 2,518 fans at Ogren-Allegiance Park something to cheer about after dropping Tuesday's season opener. ?My first professional home run and it's a walk-off,? said Coughlin, a 13th-round draft choice out of the University of Kentucky. ?It's kind of unbearable right now.? Coughlin was mobbed by his teammates at home plate. The first two batters of the inning grounded out before Coughlin's moonshot sent them into a frenzy. ?I just put a good swing on it,? Coughlin said, still catching his breath, ?and it stayed fair.? Coughlin finished 2-for-4 and was one of six Osprey players with multiple hits in the game. The team finished with 14 base knocks for a two-game total of 26 hits. Missoula (1-1) and Helena (1-1) wrap up their three-game season-opening series Thursday at 7:05 PM (8:05 Central). The two teams meet nine times in their first 12 games. Wednesday's game, which featured three ties through the first five innings, was reminiscent of Tuesday's close game, which the Brewers won 4-3 after scoring twice in the top of the ninth to steal the thunder of the Osprey's season and new stadium debut. In that game, Missoula loaded the bases with none out in the ninth, but came away empty-handed. ?That wears on you, you have a chance to win it in the bottom of the ninth,? Coughlin said. ?Everybody wants to perform in those situations, but that happens in baseball. I got my revenge (Wednesday).? It was a hitter's game and the O's were once again led by teenage shortstop Reynaldo Navarro, who went 2-for-4 with two runs batted in. The 17-year-old Puerto Rican star went 4-for-4 in his pro debut Tuesday night and didn't disappoint in his second start. Navarro tied the game at 3-3 in the fourth when he doubled down the left-field line to bring home Jimmy Principe, who tripled with two outs. Navarro was trailing 0-2 in the count when he connected on his sixth consecutive base hit of the season. ?I'm very happy, I'm hitting good for my first year in pro ball,? said Navarro through his teammate Gerardo Bustamante, who was interpreting. ?I just want to keep working.? Navarro's bloop single - his fifth in a row - landed just over the head of Helena shortstop David Fonseca to tie the game at 2-2 in the second. Connor Janes and Derrick Walker each singled in a run as Missoula knotted the score at 5-5 in the fifth. Janes had two hits, while Walker led all hitters with a 3-for-4, two-RBI effort. Principe also finished with two hits. Eric Newton, who hit the game-tying homer on Tuesday, was 3-for-5 with two RBIs to lead the Brewers. Newton and Caleb Gindl had RBI singles in the fifth as Helena went up 5-3. Gindl was 2-for-4 with two runs scored. The Brewers jumped out to a 2-0 lead on David Fonseca's two-RBI double in the second. Ty Davis pitched the final two innings to get the win for Missoula. Davis allowed just one hit and struck out two. He followed Yonata Ortega and starter Santo Baez, who gave up all five runs to Helena. Baez got off to a rough start. He committed an error on the first batter he faced, snapping the O's error-less streak from Tuesday. Navarro turned a double play to thwart the threat. Notes: The Silvertip Skydivers, known for landing in Washington-Grizzly Stadium among other things, made their first jump into Ogren-Allegiance Park. Janes' double in the second inning was the O's first extra-base hit of the season.

Thursday's Daily Menu: This audio feast will keep you entertained on a big league-free night... All times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: LHP Adam Pettyjohn at home vs. Iowa (Cubs), 6:45 PM pre-game; 7:00 gametime Audio link: www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/ Huntsville: RHP Corey Thurman and LHP Steve Hammond in a double-dip at Tennessee (Cubs), 4:25 PM pre-game; 4:35 gametime Audio link: www.huntsvillestars.com/ Brevard County: LHP Steve Garrison at Daytona (Cubs), 5:55 PM pre-game, 6:05 gametime -- first game of the second-half season Audio link (game will also archive at this link): web.minorleaguebaseball.c...p;sid=t503 West Virginia: RHP Jeremy Jeffress at home vs. Kannapolis (White Sox), 5:55 PM pre-game, 6:05 gametime -- first game of the second-half season Audio link (game will also archive at this link): www.minorleaguebaseball.c.../audio.jsp Helena: Just-turned 19-year-old RHP Jose Garcia at Missoula (Diamondbacks), 7:55 PM pre-game, 8:05 gametime Audio link (game will also archive at this link): www.minorleaguebaseball.c.../audio.jsp

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Final: Missoula (Diamondbacks) 6, Helena 5 Helena Box Score: LHP Casey Baron with a super relief effort spoiled by the walkoff; R.J. Seidel and Baron didn't walk a batter, and Seidel got nine ground ball outs vs. one fly ball out -- in between were 11 base hits in Seidel's five innings (five for extra bases); hey, let's throw the team's only 18-year-old high schooler into the cleanup spot -- Caleb Gindl gets on base three times (double, single, walk)... web.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_misrok_1 Helena Game Log: Sorry, "And That", the Zealous Wheeler era begins with three K's... web.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_misrok_1

This is a lengthy, detailed, quote-filled feature article with classic photos of Frank Kremblas and Stan Kyles. We're going to ask you to click the link below to visit the Nashville Scene's site. However, we will, as usual, paste the text below in order to maintain it for our archives, thanks. Link while active, text follows: www.nashvillescene.com/St...ndex.shtml A Whole New Ball Game Sounds manager Frank Kremblas is not your typical baseball man?and it?s making a difference by Kay West, nashvillescene.com On a recent sun-drenched afternoon, the faded blue seats of Greer Stadium are one shade lighter than the sky. There?s a game tonight, and the Nashville Sounds are taking batting practice, socking balls into the far green reaches of the outfield. Frank Kremblas? angular face is turned in their direction?you can even see the swings reflected in his mirrored shades. But it?s impossible to know exactly where he is looking, or what he is thinking. Kremblas, the Sounds? 21st manager in 30 years of baseball at Greer Stadium, gives nothing away. He?s not much for small talk, and extracting personal information is like squeezing granite for water. He does not suffer fools gladly, or at all. Without the glasses, his eyes can throw a piercing look that bores through steel, scaring the crap out of any player who dares to arrive late. He does not sit still easily, and he has neither the folksy charm nor the gruff but lovable manner of the stereotypical dugout denizen in Hollywood baseball movies. By the way, Frank Kremblas hates Hollywood baseball movies. In fact, don?t get Kremblas started on his beefs. For instance, the Reds organization that drafted him in the 23rd round in 1989?especially Jim Bowden, who?s ?a prick.? (Bowden, now the controversy-stirring GM of the Washington Nationals, once worked in player development for the Reds.) And politicians. The lights at Greer. Tardiness. Country music. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. O?Hare Airport. And United Airlines. Especially United Airlines. ?I had paid $400 to fly home early from an away series about a month ago,? Kremblas says, clearly still pissed. ?I had to change airlines to make the connection in O?Hare, the worst airport in the country.? The Sounds may be fielding flies in his sunglasses, summer days don?t get any brighter, but Kremblas is suddenly somewhere else?back at a check-in counter in Chicago, ticking off hassles ranging from delayed flights to an obstreperous clerk who wouldn?t let him check or carry on his luggage. ?I asked her what she would suggest I do about my suitcase,? Kremblas continues, spitting out words like the sunflower seeds he chews throughout a game, one leg pumping in place like a piston. ?She says, ?I don?t know. Throw it away?? I looked at her and said, ?Where?s the trash can?? She didn?t look like she believed me, but she pointed one out. I ripped the tags off the suitcase, left it beside the trashcan, and got on the plane. I had to go shopping for some new clothes when I got back because that was pretty much what I had. I hate United.? The harangue confirms what Sounds fans and visiting players have suspected for the past two years: don?t challenge Frank Kremblas unless you?re ready for the consequences. He looks like a human bullet: shaved head, not an ounce of body fat on his streamlined build. A relative whippersnapper among league managers, he is not somebody you?d call ?Pops.? Where his peers often sit nailed to their slice of wood in the dugout, Kremblas fidgets through every game. He?s up and down, up and down, up at the rail or down on the bench. When the Sounds are at bat, he assumes his place on the third-base line, his panoramic vision taking in the batter, the base-runners, the pitcher, the catcher, the officiating crew?and between batters, the women in the stands. He either stands ramrod straight or bent at the waist, hands on his knees, poised like a cat ready to spring. ?Other players are always asking us, ?What?s up with your skipper? Is he weird?? ? says Sounds infielder Brad Nelson. ?He is so intense, there?s no way he could get any more intense.? That intensity, though, has given a shot of excitement to a franchise in need of some juice. Since 2005?when Frank Kremblas assumed the helm of an all-new affiliation with the Milwaukee Brewers and an entirely new roster?the Sounds have turned into something more than a good team. They?ve given fans a show on the field. Sure, marketing has helped?the Bible-based bobbleheads, the Thirsty Thursdays. But under Kremblas? Zenlike instruction to play with passion, not emotion, the players have brought scrappy new energy to their games, coming from behind time after time when all looked lost. ?Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical.? ?Yogi Berra Last Thursday and Friday night against Omaha, for example, the games ended with walk-off home runs by Joe Dillon and Callix Crabbe, respectively?the first time for that feat in Nashville in 10 seasons. Then, on Sunday, Laynce Nix hit a two-run homer in the sixth to take a lead the team would not lose for their fifth win in a row. Those dingers and subsequent wins put Nashville back in first place in the PCL North Division, and in possession of the best record in the entire league. That kind of drama puts butts in bleachers?and as the team rallies support for its still-debated new stadium, it couldn?t come at a better time. ?Players take on the face, the personality of their manager,? says Stan Kyles, the Sounds? third-year pitching coach, who worked previously with Kremblas at AA Huntsville in 2002 and 2003. ?Frank has a lot of energy, so his team has a lot of energy. Frank has never, not even as a new guy, been afraid to take chances, but they are informed, educated chances. He instills that in his team. He encourages them to try something, as long as there is some thought behind it, a reason for what they did. And if it doesn?t work, he?s willing to take the heat for it.? ?You can always see Frank?s wheels turning, nonstop,? says Sounds first baseman/outfielder Andy Abad, who?s regarded as the locker room?s premier practical joker. ?He?s always thinking of something. This game is mental??here Abad laughs??and he?s about as mental as they come.? Frank Kremblas doesn?t have an iPod, a car (the Sounds lend him one to drive during the season) or a home. ?Basically, I?m homeless,? he says, only half-kidding. ?I live in one of those residential hotels.? Asked what part of town, he answers, ?The airport.? It?s a way of life perfectly suited for a single guy on the go, though not high on the domestic bliss. Good luck to the interviewer who presses him for more. Were you ever married? ?No.? Why not? ?I?ve never asked anybody.? Do you want to be? Grimace. Stony silence. Never mind. He has a girlfriend, though not the same one the ushers who work Greer?s comp ticket sections knew from last year. Quick as he is to list his dislikes, Kremblas has his preferences. He likes loud music with energy, crossword puzzles, sushi, FreeCell. He likes his steaks bloody and his martinis extra dirty. Mostly, he loves baseball, and he loves coaching. ?Why wouldn?t you want to do this?? is the rhetorical question Kremblas poses as he surveys his domain. ?I love this. I love helping guys, moving them along, teaching them things about the game. I love going against other managers, other teams, trying to fool them. I can?t imagine doing anything else. I always wanted to play professional ball, and if you are lucky enough to do that, you want to play at the highest level. I still want to play at the highest level.? Frank Kremblas was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. Asked to describe his youth, he shrugs: ?On a road with houses.? His father was a patent attorney, his mother a secretary for the firm. His only sibling is a younger brother, whom he ended up managing for one year in Huntsville. Like most kids of that time and place, he began playing sports for fun. Unlike most kids, he had a tough act to follow. Father Frank Sr., who passed away last year, quarterbacked the Ohio State Buckeyes to a share of the 1957 national championship. ?There was no pressure from him to play sports, though,? Kremblas says. ?But there were expectations from my parents to do your best whatever you did, behave properly and appropriately, and accept personal responsibility.? As a boy, he followed the Cincinnati Reds and began playing Little League baseball when he was about 7. Always, he says, he had a lot of energy. ?I?m sure I was a pain in the ass as a kid,? he says. He excelled academically in high school, earning a 3.8 GPA without much effort. ?School was easy for me,? he says. ?I never had to study.? He also played three sports, and was fondest of football, ?because you got to hit, and I loved to hit.? He played quarterback and safety, but while he spent a lot of time on the field, he didn?t receive any offers to play college football. He did, however, accept an offer from Eastern Kentucky to play baseball. He was All-Ohio Valley Conference in 1987 and 1988. He played second, but his goal was to get behind the plate and catch. ?I bugged the coach about it all the time,? Kremblas remembers. ?I felt like it was easier to get drafted as a catcher than an infielder. I knew I was a better catcher than the one we had, but the coach had never seen me catch. When he did, he saw I was right and I got to be catcher my senior year.? Sure enough, in the June 1989 draft, he was selected in the 23rd round by the team he?d cheered since childhood, the Cincinnati Reds. Playing for the Reds was a dream. The reality was eye-opening. ?You feel more insecure than you ever have in your life coming in to play minor league ball if you were not a high pick,? Kremblas says. ?At least that?s how it was in the Reds organization, and that?s all I knew. They treated the high picks better than all the other players, and that?s not right. We were not treated like human beings, we were treated like pieces of meat. But I didn?t know any better, and I just wanted to play ball.? His professional playing career began in the rookie league in 1989 and ended eight years later at Triple-A lndianapolis. In 1993, he spent the entire season in Indy, but began the next two in AA before moving back up to AAA. It was in 1994 that he first began to suspect he might not be in the Reds? plans for the future. ?There were lots of injuries on the Reds that year, and it seemed like I might get a chance to go up,? Kremblas says. ?But I didn?t.? In 1996, the writing was on the wall in spring training. He asked for his release. He was playing ball for the Independent League in Columbia, Tenn., when his manager got a call from the Reds. They wanted an infielder to play on their Triple-A team, and Kremblas was the obvious choice. He went for it, but his dream team burned him yet again. ?They are supposed to pay you a $3,000 bonus to sign on,? Kremblas recalls, ?but the bastards made me waive it in order to play. I did, so that?s my fault.? The next year, when the only offer he received to play ball was from the Reds, he turned it down. Instead, he signed on as hitting coach in the Montreal Expos system for their rookie level in Ottawa. ?The transition was hard at first,? he remembers. ?I felt like I was quitting, but then I realized I just wasn?t good enough to be a player anymore, so that was easier. I hadn?t given coaching a lot of thought while I was playing, but I liked it right away. And the Expos? organization showed me how bad the Reds? was then, and that there was another way. ? It was after he finished playing that he had the epiphany that has guided his coaching philosophy. ?As a player, you are so results-oriented?results were so important to me then,? Kremblas explains. ?It?s amazing how much easier it is to learn without results clouding your head. When you play, you are looking through a filter of stats and numbers. You can?t see clearly. Look at it as cause and effect. Stats are the effect. What is the cause? The results?the stats?will not change unless you can change the cause. I wish I had known that when I was playing. ?I want to take them out of their comfort zone of what they know they can do, and [make them] do some things they can?t,? Kremblas says of his players. ?Maybe they?ll find out they can. To do that, you have to clear your head of result-oriented thinking. Then the results will come.? When you ask ballplayers about Kremblas? method, you get a certain amount of head-scratching. ?I?ve had 11 different managers in my career, and Frank?s the most out-there manager I?ve ever had,? says Andy Abad, now in the 15th season of a professional baseball career that began in 1993 with the Red Sox?s Gulf Coast League. Abad has wound through levels from rookie league to big league and nearly a dozen teams, including a season for the Osaka Kintetsu in Japan. This ain?t his first rodeo: that much is clear one afternoon as he sits on a table in the training room, his left forearm hooked up to a machine, a laptop balanced on his thighs. Yet even the seasoned first baseman says he?s never encountered anyone quite like Kremblas. ?He?s weird, but in a good way,? says the prankish Abad, who spent the day before with a mattress-sized ice pack strapped to his back as he razzed his teammates at batting practice. ?When I came to spring training, other players said to me, ?You?ll see some stuff that you don?t see every day come out of a manager.? And they were right. He knows the game better than just about anybody. You just never know what to expect from him.? Stan Kyles says that?s the key to Kremblas? philosophy. ?You play every single day, and it can get stagnant and predictable,? Kyles says. ?But when Frank?s running a ball club, you have to be on your toes. At any given moment, he might ask them to do something they don?t expect.? Just ask infielder Chris Barnwell, who spent two full seasons under Kremblas in Huntsville before being reunited with him in Nashville early in the 2005 season. He hasn?t forgotten being caught off-guard by his teammate during a game in 2004 in Huntsville. ?I was at bat when Brad Nelson tried to steal home,? says Barnwell, ?and I didn?t even see it coming.? Nelson, who weighs in at 250, isn?t exactly a gazelle on the base paths. But he?d been given the go-ahead out of the blue by his third-base coach, Frank Kremblas. And if he lacked anything in speed, he was fueled by heart and one of the Kremblas Rules of Play: give it all you?ve got. ?Base running is a big thing with him,? says Nelson, a good-natured, easygoing 24-year-old raised on a working farm in north central Iowa. ?I got tagged out by the catcher, but at least I tried it. You fail a lot more than you succeed in baseball. If you try something and it doesn?t happen, Frank just says, ?Maybe next time.? ? ?Frank wants players to think quickly,? says Kyles. ?He allows them to try things without the pressure of being afraid of screwing up. If you try something and it doesn?t work, as long as you had a thought process behind it, then that?s OK. But have a reason for doing what you did. You have to find out what you can do and what you can?t do, but you can?t find out until you try. Frank gives his players the freedom to do that.? While Kremblas? way of thinking pulls players out of their comfort zone and can cause fans to throw up their hands in frustration?or get more vocally aggravated on beer-stoked Thirsty Thursdays?the man gets results, earns the devotion of his players and the respect of his peers. Kremblas began making a name for himself in his three years at the helm of the Milwaukee Brewers? AA team, the Huntsville Stars. In his first year, the Stars just missed the playoffs on the final day of the regular season. The next year, Kremblas led the Stars to the Southern League?s Western Division Championship. He was chosen as the league?s 2003 Manager of the Year. In 2004, his peers named him Best Managerial Prospect in a Baseball America poll. When the Brewers entered into an agreement with AmeriSports Companies (the Sounds? owners) to make Nashville the home of their Triple-A team beginning with the 2005 season, they promoted Kremblas from Huntsville to manage. Kyles, who had been at Huntsville with Kremblas before spending the 2004 season with the arms at the Brewers? AAA affiliate in Louisville, forwarded his address to Music City as well. If the Brewers wanted to see results in Nashville, they got ?em. In Kremblas? first year managing at the Triple-A level, he led the Sounds to the Pacific Coast League championship?the club?s first AAA title, and their first professional championship in the 23 years since the Double-A Sounds captured the Southern Coast League trophy in 1982. Last year, the Sounds captured the Northern Division title in the American Conference, losing the Conference championship to Round Rock in a five-game series. For someone who discourages obsessing over stats, Kremblas? numbers are nothing to sneeze at. Before the start of his 10th season, his overall managerial record read 499-477. On June 13 in Memphis, he ascended to third place on the Sounds? all-time managers? ranking with his 187th victory. The tie-breaking run was scored by Brad Nelson, on pure hustle from second base. But trophies, stats and the wins column only tell part of the story. The Milwaukee lineup tells another. When Brewers second baseman Rickie Weeks comes back from the disabled list to rejoin first baseman Prince Fielder, shortstop J.J. Hardy and third baseman Ryan Braun, the first-place Brewers will boast one of the youngest infields in the major leagues, none of them 25 years old. At the same time, the three No. 1 draft picks (Fielder 2002, Weeks 2003 and Braun 2005) and one No. 2 (Hardy, 2001) have another thing in common: all played under Frank Kremblas in Huntsville, Nashville or both. In spite of their youth, each player segued almost seamlessly from AAA into being an everyday player for the Brewers. The team has been picked by several baseball publications as World Series contenders this year. They?ve been in first place in the NL central division since the third week of the season. Before much-heralded 21-year-old right-hander Yovani Gallardo, who made his major-league debut on the mound Monday night, the newest arrival was Braun, who made his Triple-A debut in Nashville on April 5?and was called up to Milwaukee on May 25, just 49 games into the season. Less then a week later, on June 1, Braun homered, doubled and singled in an 8-5 win over the Marlins. Other former Kremblas players on the field that night were right fielder Corey Hart and pinch hitter Tony Gwynn Jr. ?The thing about being an affiliate for a small-market team like Milwaukee, as opposed to a major-market team like the Yankees who purchase stars, is the fans actually get to see the parent team?s players of the future play,? notes Kyles. ?All of these players?Fields, Weeks, Hardy, Hart, Gwynn, Braun, and now Gallardo?spent a good amount of time in Nashville, and now are playing every day for the Brewers.? By that measure, Frank Kremblas is doing exactly what Milwaukee wants him to do: get players ready for the big league. For Kremblas, that responsibility goes well beyond the can?t-miss phenom No. 1 draft picks. It burns perhaps fiercest for players working their way up the farm system. Players like Chris Barnwell, the Brewers 25th-round pick in the June 2001 draft; Brad Nelson, who was picked in the fourth round the same year and has bounced between Huntsville and Nashville the past two seasons; and Vinny Rottino, a Wisconsin native who was signed by Milwaukee as a non-drafted free agent in 2003, and was the last player cut by the Brewers at the conclusion of spring training this year. That goes also for solid, reliable players like catcher Mike Rivera, now in his 11th professional season, his third with Nashville. And for journeymen like Abad, and for former big leaguers like pitcher R.A. Dickey, who played high-school ball at MBA, college ball for UT and was a first-round pick of the Texas Rangers in the 1996 June draft, spending parts of five seasons with the Rangers. In January, Dickey was signed by the Brewers as a minor-league free agent. In seven starts, he was 1-4 with a 6.17 ERA. Since moving to the bullpen as reliever, he is 3-0 with a 4.95 ERA. On Sunday night, Dickey took the spot in the rotation freed by Gallardo?s promotion, and responded with a two-run win. Fans at Greer Stadium could definitely use a program?especially since the only part of the guitar-shaped scoreboard that is still (semi)working is the arm that shows the inning-by-inning score, strikes, balls and outs. Positions and batting lineup change on a daily basis, and though the fans may get confused, players understand why. The parent organization wants their top draft picks to play the position for which they were drafted and where they expect to play in the big leagues. Hence Weeks always played second, Fielder played first, Hardy played short and Braun played third. So far this year, though, Nelson has played first base and right and left field; Barnwell has covered short, second and third; and Rottino has been the Sounds catcher, first and third baseman, and left and right fielder. ?I always played shortstop, and I would prefer to play shortstop everyday,? says Barnwell. ?But it is in my best interest to learn the other positions. What Frank tries to teach us is that just because the situation in Milwaukee may not be good for your position, you?re playing for every team. There are 30 major-league teams, not one. You never know.? ?Winning is not necessarily the goal in minor league baseball, where you are developing players,? Stan Kyles says. ?But Frank and I think you can do both, develop players and win. If you develop players the right way, then you?ll win. We have been fortunate to have some very good ballplayers here. When some of them leave, get called up, other players step in to take their place, and we continue to win. That tells us we?re doing something right, and it?s working.? ?It?s my job to get as many guys to the big leagues as I can,? Kremblas says. ?If I can?t find out what they can and can?t do, I can?t help them. Baseball is such a hard game to play?there are so many things you can?t do. Players are aware of what they can?t do, but not everything they can do unless they try.? There is not a single player on the Sounds? roster who doesn?t dream of making it to the big leagues, of getting the call telling him he?s going to the show. Count Frank Kremblas in that club as well. His players and his colleagues believe it is just a matter of time. ?I have no doubt Frank will get a chance to coach in the big leagues,? says Chris Barnwell. ?Anyone who has a chance to play for Frank becomes a better player. He is just so smart. He is always showing you details. We?re always talking about stuff; he is right there with his team and he is a great teacher.? Kyles agrees. ?In the time I have worked with him, Frank has grown as a manager, he has matured in his thinking. He is one of the game?s innovators, plus he has accumulated a lot of knowledge and experience that will bode well for him when he gets the chance to run a major league team. I don?t see how he can be denied.? To paraphrase Tom Petty, it?s the way-yay-ting that?s the hardest part. Kremblas, who is just 40 years old, has ascended quickly up the coaching ladder. Several of his peers at the same level qualify for AARP discounts and have been managing since long before most of their players were even born. ?The really good players stand out like beacons, you know right away,? says Kyles. ?They?re obvious. It?s the other ones that are harder to find, that you have to look for, stay on them, push them to be the player they can be. Frank excels at that. Where is he of better service to the organization? Is it here, developing young players, getting them ready for the big leagues? Or up in Milwaukee, with the young players he has helped develop?? Only Milwaukee can answer that question. What Kremblas does know is that in the past couple of years, there have been five openings for coaching positions on the Brewers, and he was not invited to interview for any of them. ?If they don?t think I can coach at a major league level,? he says, ?then I am not as good yet as they want me to be.? ?The thing about Frank is that he is a player?s manager,? says Abad, just six years younger than his skipper. ?He is not that far removed from playing the game himself. Some of the other managers haven?t played in 30 or 40 years. Players have changed a lot and he understands them, he can communicate with them.? Kremblas has no aspirations to best former manager Trent Jewett?s record of 320 Sounds wins, or Rick Renick?s 309. He?s fond of Nashville and thinks it?s a nice place to live, for the time being. But if he gets that call, he?s ready to run.?I can fit everything I own here in one suitcase,? he says. With just the hint of a smile.

In progress: Helena 5, Missoula (Diamondbacks) 5, after seven innings It's 10:25 Central, listen in!

Final: Iowa (Cubs) 3, Nashville 0 Nashville Site Game Summary: Link, text follows -- www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=2397 Win Streak Snapped With Shutout Loss To Cubs NASHVILLE ? The Nashville Sounds had their six-game winning streak halted on Wednesday evening at Greer Stadium as two Iowa pitchers combined to post a three-hit, 3-0 shutout in the opener of a three-game series. Nashville (42-30) maintains the best record in the Pacific Coast League but had its division lead cut to just a half-game over the I-Cubs. The shutout loss was the Sounds? third of the year. Iowa starter John Webb (2-4) turned in an outstanding outing for the visitors, allowing three hits over eight-plus innings to notch his second win of the season. Clay Rapada worked the final inning in scoreless fashion to complete the shutout and notch his team-leading tenth save of the year. Micah Hoffpauir gave the visitors a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning with a two-out solo home run to right off Nashville starter Manny Parra. The blast was his team-leading 13th of the year. The Cubs doubled the lead in the sixth against Parra. With one out, Buck Coats singled then scored from first when Josh Kroeger followed with an RBI double to right-center. Kroeger went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs in his first contest with Iowa following a promotion from Double-A Tennessee. Parra (0-1) took a loss in his career Triple-A debut despite working his 11th quality start in 14 outings this season. The left-hander allowed two runs on seven hits while walking four batters and striking out six over six innings. Tim Dillard, who was shifted to the bullpen and replaced in the starting rotation by Nashville native R.A. Dickey, followed Parra to the hill and worked a perfect seventh frame before surrendering a run in the eighth as the I-Cubs stretched their lead to 3-0. Geovany Soto doubled to open the frame and scored on Kroeger?s one-out RBI single. Nashville threatened in the ninth, putting the first two runners on base before Rapada induced a double-play grounder from Callix Crabbe and fanned Laynce Nix to end the contest. Outfielder Tony Gwynn went 0-for-3 with a walk in his first game with the Sounds after being optioned from Milwaukee. The teams continue the series with another 7 p.m. meeting on Thursday evening, when it will be Thirsty Thursday at Greer Stadium. Left-hander Adam Pettyjohn (2-1, 3.60), a winner in each of his last two starts, will toe the rubber for Nashville to face Iowa southpaw Ryan O?Malley (3-6, 7.03). Nashville Box Score: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1 Nashville Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1

Final: Tennessee (Cubs) 4, Huntsville 2 Huntsville Site Game Summary: Link, text follows -- www.huntsvillestars.com/n...ewsId=1231 Smokies Slow Down Stars Carlos Rojas squeezed in what turned out to be the decisive run in Tennessee?s 4-2 win over Huntsville Wednesday afternoon in the second of a six-game series at Smokies Park to begin the second half of the season. The Smokies gained a split in the series and improved to 37-33 on the season, while the Stars dipped to 38-32. Mel Stocker started the game with a walk, stole second base, moved to third on an errant throw by catcher Chris Robinson and scored on a Michael Brantley sacrifice fly. The Stars lost for only a fifth time in 23 games when scoring first. Stars? starter Will Inman retired the first 10 batters he faced before Gary Cates singled with one out in the fourth and scored on a two-out home run by Matt Craig, his sixth of the season. The Stars tied the game in the top of the fifth on a Stocker sacrifice fly, his second of the season and first since the first game of the doubleheader here on April 12. Jorge Cortes led off the fifth with a double, moved to third on a one-out wild pitch and scored the go-ahead run on the bunt by Rojas, who knocked in his seventh run. Inman stranded Sam Fuld at second after a leadoff double in the sixth and was replaced in the seventh by Jeff Housman, who allowed a two-out run on a pinch-hit single by Issmael Salas. Inman dropped to 0-2 after yielding three runs on four hits, while striking out six, including five in a row in the first and second innings. Tennessee starter Kevin Hart went six innings, giving up two runs on five hits to earn his fifth win of the season and fourth at home. Billy Petrick struck out the side in a shutout seventh inning and Jerry Blevins fanned three in his two scoreless innings to earn his third save. The Stars have now been held to six hits or fewer in eight of their last 12 games. The series continues with a doubleheader on Thursday afternoon, as right-hander Corey Thurman and southpaw Steve Hammond will take the hill for Huntsville against Smokies? right-hander Mark Holliman and a pitcher to be determined. Coverage of the game begins at 4:25 p.m. central time and can be heard locally on SportsRadio 730 WUMP and through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com. Huntsville Box Score: Adam Heether on base three times... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_tenaax_1 Huntsville Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_tenaax_1

Nashville Media Notes: To make room for Tony Gwynn on the roster, Sounds catcher J.R. Hopf was placed on the disabled list, retroactive to Tuesday, with a right hand contusion. In a recent broadcast, Sounds announcer Chuck Valenches mentioned that Hopf was brought to Nashville to basically be a bullpen catcher, what with both Vinny Rottino and Mike Rivera virtually in the lineup every night. The fact that the inexperienced Hopf had provided some production in limited plate opportunities was a little bonus.

Buck Rogers, Manatees GM: Tonight's game has been rained out. The field has taken way too much water and is flooded at the moment and facing a few hours of drainage. In fact, even though the rain has stopped we're not even remvoing the tarp until morning to give the current ponds/puddles a chance to soak in and drain. Tonight's game will not be made up as it is the last game of the first half of the season. Tomorrow all FSL teams will have their records reset to 0-0 for the second half of the season. The Brevard County Manatees and Sarasota Reds have secured two of the four post-season playoff berths. The winners of the second half in each division will face the first half winners in the first round of the playoffs in September. The two winners will advance to the League Championship Series. The Manatees would like to thank Lauren Farrell for running our media department the past couple of months. Lauren is leaving us tonight to return home to Pennsylvania to start her senior year of school at Penn State. Lauren took on a complicated task that oversaw in-house closed circuit TV, radio and web-casting of games, and as a media intern performed impecabbly and professionally. We will certainly miss her. The Manatees travel to Daytona Beach tomorrow night to face the Cubs.

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: Nashville Media Notes (Adobe .pdf format): www.nashvillesounds.com/pdf/notes.pdf Huntsville Media Notes (Adobe .pdf format): www.huntsvillestars.com/i...eNotes.pdf

Follow Wednesday's action as it happens: Here's what you do, right click on each of the links below and choose "Open in New Window". Open the Nashville Gameday. For the others, choose "Log". While you're listening to your minor league game of choice (or watching/listening to the big league Crew when they are playing), simply refresh your game log browsers every so often. Nashville: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1 Brevard County: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_breafa_1 Helena: web.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_misrok_1

The rest of Wednesday's Daily Menu: All times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: LHP Manny Parra at home vs. Iowa (Cubs), 6:45 PM pre-game; 7:00 gametime Audio link: www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/ Brevard County: LHP Steve Garrison at home vs. Vero Beach (Devil Rays), 5:50 PM pre-game, 6:00 gametime -- this game wraps up the first-half season Audio link (game will also archive at this link): www.minorleaguebaseball.c.../audio.jsp West Virginia: Idle Helena: 19-year-old RHP R.J. Seidel, (from LaCrosse, Wisconsin) at Missoula (Diamondbacks), 7:55 PM pre-game, 8:05 gametime Audio link (game will also archive at this link): www.minorleaguebaseball.c.../audio.jsp

Hopefully the Brewers and Power will still be affiliated in 2009. Next summer, Brevard hosts the Florida State League All-Star Game.

Link while active, text follows: www.dailymail.com/story/S...All-Stars/ Power Park to host All-Stars Jacob Messer Charleston Daily Mail Sportswriter Charleston and Appalachian Power Park will serve as the host city and facility for the 2009 South Atlantic League All-Star Game. The low Class A baseball circuit's owners and directors made that decision in a unanimous vote Tuesday at their annual summer meeting. "We're excited," West Virginia Power General Manager Ryan Gates said Tuesday during a phone interview from Rome, Ga., where the Northern Division posted a 3-1 win over the Southern Division in the SAL All-Star Game later that night. "It's two years from now, but we have our work cut out for us. Rome has set the bar high. They have done a lot of great things during this year's festivities." The franchise has hosted an all-star game only one other time in its 20 years in the SAL. That was in 1989, when the Northern Division defeated the Southern Division, 14-4, at Watt Powell Park. Appalachian Power Park is a $23 million facility that opened in 2005, which made it an attractive option to the league. "That was one of the main selling points," Gates said. He and his front-office colleagues will begin searching for a sponsor for the 2009 game and its festivities. West Virginia ran unopposed for the 2009 game, but only because Greenville, S.C., chose to run unopposed for the 2010 game at West End Field. "The league likes to showcase its most recent stadiums," Gates said. "Greensboro (First Horizon Park) has the 2008 game. We're the newest stadium that hasn't had an all-star game. "Greenville, recognizing that and realizing the league's preference, decided to go for the 2010 game. There were other teams that were interested in bidding. But, in the interest of keeping with the policy of the league, they held off." The date of the 2009 game hasn't been determined, Gates said, because the league wants to move it away from the Father's Day weekend. "It will probably be the week before or the week after Father's Day," he said. Gates outlined the Power's tentative plans for its upcoming SAL All-Star Game: League officials and team members will start arriving Sunday, and the Power will have a hospitality room waiting for them. "We will utilize Power Alley Grill and The Clubhouse (a meeting/catering room in the 601 Morris St. team office building)," Gates said. The Power will have three entertainment options for the visitors Monday morning and afternoon. One is a golf outing. "That's the norm," Gates said. Another is a whitewater rafting excursion. "A lot of these people haven't had an opportunity to do that," Gates said. The other option is a John Amos Power Plant tour. "They can learn how energy is created from start to finish," Gates said. The Power also will organize an event, which likely will feature a concert at Tri-State Racetrack and Gaming Center, for the visitors Monday night. The Power will hold the SAL Hall of Fame Luncheon at the Clay Center, where a featured speaker will address the crowd Tuesday morning. Gates said among the possibilities are Jerry West and John Kruk, West Virginia natives who have excelled in their respective sports not only as players but also in other capacities. West is a former National Basketball Association star who also has made a name for himself as an executive. Kruk is a former Major League Baseball slugger and current ESPN telecast analyst. Some consider him one of the most entertaining and insightful analysts in the profession. "We're looking to go after someone of that stature," Gates said. There will be a skills competition, home run derby and autograph session before the All-Star Game on Tuesday night. A fireworks display will end the activities. "We'll continue to tweak these plans and make it the best experience we can," he said. * * *League officials also named Eric Krupa as the successor to retiring SAL President John Henry Moss, 88, who is in his 50th year in charge of the eight-state, 16-team circuit. Krupa is in his 10th year as the director of business and finance for the National Association of Professional Baseball, which is the organization that oversees the minor leagues. He also serves as the administrator of the umpire program. Krupa has a bachelor's degree in mathematics and economics from Lafayette (Pa.) College and a master's degree in sports administration and facility management from Ohio University. He is a native of Wyomissing, Pa. He previously worked in the front office for the Reading (Pa.) Phillies of the Class AA Eastern League. Charleston Daily Mail Photo: Tom Hindman Three-year old Appalachian Power Park will be host to the 2009 South Atlantic League All-Star Game. The Power?s average attendance has gone up its first two seasons and is currently 3,572 this season, about 200 fewer than the 2006 average. http://www.dailymail.com/images/0620app.jpg

Video from the All-Star Game: No particular Power highlights that I could see, but big outfield puddles... www1.romenews-tribune.com.../video/248 Rain cancels HR Derby: 209.41.184.21/partners/68...15451.html Article excerpt: Royster, Ferrante and Kannapolis? Chris Carter were to swing for the Southern Division while Lake County?s Matt Whitney, Greensboro?s Logan Morrison and West Virginia?s Taylor Green were up for the North. Whitney led the Northern Division and the league in the first half with 16 home runs while Carter led the Southern Division with 15. Green, who had amassed nine homers before the All-Star break, said that he wasn?t sure how putting in some extra swings in the derby would have made things different. ?I?ve just swung the bat pretty decently the entire first half,? he said. ?I?m not sure how that would have effected me in the home run derby.? Manager Mike Guerrero: http://www1.romenews-tribune.com/galTestImages/AllstarsO.jpg

Standings through Tuesday's action: Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nashville 42 29 .592 - 25-10 17-19 W6 Iowa 40 30 .571 1.5 22-14 18-16 W1 Omaha 33 38 .465 9.0 24-12 9-26 L4 Memphis 32 40 .444 10.5 18-18 14-22 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chattanooga 2 0 1.000 - 2-0 0-0 W2 Huntsville 1 0 1.000 0.5 0-0 1-0 W1 Carolina 0 1 .000 1.5 0-0 0-1 L1 Tennessee 0 1 .000 1.5 0-1 0-0 L1 West Tenn 0 2 .000 2.0 0-2 0-0 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - FSL East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brevard County 41 28 .594 - 24-11 17-17 W3 Palm Beach 34 34 .500 6.5 16-18 18-16 L2 Vero Beach 34 35 .493 7.0 24-12 10-23 L2 Daytona 32 35 .478 8.0 20-12 12-23 W1 St. Lucie 31 38 .449 10.0 17-17 14-21 L1 Jupiter 30 39 .435 11.0 15-20 15-19 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - SAL Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- West Virginia 48 20 .706 - 23-12 25-8 W1 Greensboro 38 32 .543 11.0 25-10 13-22 L2 Lakewood 33 32 .508 13.5 17-18 16-14 W3 Delmarva 34 33 .507 13.5 19-13 15-20 L3 Lake County 31 39 .443 18.0 17-18 14-21 L1 Lexington 31 39 .443 18.0 16-19 15-20 W1 Hagerstown 29 38 .433 18.5 17-16 12-22 L1 Hickory 27 40 .403 20.5 14-16 13-24 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pioneer League (R+) - PIO North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Billings 1 0 1.000 - 0-0 1-0 W1 Helena 1 0 1.000 - 0-0 1-0 W1 Great Falls 0 1 .000 1.0 0-1 0-0 L1 Missoula 0 1 .000 1.0 0-1 0-0 L1

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_tenaax_1

The rest later on: Wednesday's "early" Daily Menu: Time Central; pitchers subject to change -- Huntsville: RHP Will Inman at Tennessee (Cubs), 10:45 AM pre-game; 11:00 gametime Audio link: www.huntsvillestars.com/

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Link while active, text follows: www.al.com/stars/huntsvil...amp;coll=1 Stars spotlight: Corey Thurman Brad Shepard, Huntsville Times Position: Pitcher Age: 28 Hometown: Texarkana, Texas Stats: 2-3 with a 3.89 ERA Year with Stars: Second What is your hometown known for: "It's basically known because half the city is in Texas and half is in Arkansas, but one of the things I like about it is my high school teammate, Craig Monroe, plays for the Tigers. We went to the big leagues at kind of the same time, so that's special." Equipment: Nike glove and "whichever bat has hits in it. I try to see who's getting hits at that moment and use it, and I try to get some knocks out of it." If you could trade places with any athlete for a day, it would be: "Tom Brady because it seems like he has everything going for him. Even when the media is asking him questions about his personal life lately, it seems like a good problem to have. It'd be fun to see what goes on in a regular offseason day in his life in Hollywood or something." If he wasn't a baseball player, he'd: "Probably be a lawyer or a politician, which is sad because it seems both of those have to lie at some point. I don't see myself as that kind of person." Best baseball movie: "Bull Durham." "It was just so transcending. It let people know how baseball really is." Worst baseball movie: "I pretty much like all baseball movies." Favorite pet: "I have a miniature Pincer named Tyson." Being a dog owner, what's your reaction to the dog fighting drama going on involving Michael Vick? "I wouldn't have anything to do with fighting, but until Vick is charged, it's all alleged. Who am I to judge him?" Which had you rather do, pitch as a starter or out of the bullpen: "Whatever gets me to the big leagues fastest." Besides baseball, what are your other skills: "Shooting basketball, doing math and speaking in public places." What are your feelings about the dearth of African-American players in Major League Baseball? "I'm with (Florida's) Dontrelle (Willis) and (Cleveland's) C.C. (Sabathia) when they talk about needing more in the game. I take a lot of pride in it. I remember my grandfather and great-grandfather talking about the Negro Leagues, and we can't keep that great legacy going with no African- American players in baseball.