Jim Goulart

Link while active, text follows: www.nashvillecitypaper.co...s_id=51737 Sounds manager credits late father for instilling coaching values By Nate Rau, Nashville City Paper Sports Correspondent If Frank Kremblas had listened to his dad, he might have become a concert pianist instead of one of the top managerial prospects in all of baseball. ?He made me take piano lessons and I hated it,? the current Nashville Sounds skipper said of his father, Frank Sr. ?Hell no, I wasn?t gonna take piano lessons.? Growing up in tiny Carroll, Ohio, Frank Sr. never pushed his son to play sports. This came despite the fact Frank Sr. was himself an accomplished athlete. He played quarterback for legendary coach Woody Hayes at Ohio State from 1956-58, helping the Buckeyes win the Rose Bowl in his senior season. Frank Sr. was selected by New York in the 1959 NFL Draft, but the Giants wanted him to play defensive back so he chose instead to remain in Columbus. There, he played semi-pro football and put himself through law school at OSU. He became a partner at the law firm of Kremblas, Foster and Phillips, where he remained for 36 years. Prior to Tuesday?s game against Albuquerque, Kremblas talked with The City Paper about his father. Hours later, after his team?s 6-2 victory over Albuquerque, Kremblas would learn his dad had died at the age of 69. According to a family friend, Frank Sr.?s death was ?somewhat unexpected? although the cause of death was not immediately made available. ***Instead of playing piano, Kremblas followed in the athletic footsteps of his father, playing baseball, basketball and football for Canal Winchester High. He went on to play baseball at Eastern Kentucky, then in the minors for eight years, before pursuing a coaching career. Managing the game is where Kremblas found his niche. He was named the top Double-A managerial prospect by Baseball America while with Huntsville in 2004. He led the Sounds to the Pacific Coast League championship in 2005 and has the team contending again this season. Kremblas obtained many of his coaching traits from his father. ?He was a good teacher,? Kremblas said. ?He made sure I was mentally tough without a problem. He had good mental discipline and good mental toughness. He worked hard and he played hard.? Kremblas said his dad passed onto him the lessons he learned playing for the legendary Hayes at OSU. ?He learned a lot and he had good coaches that always helped. It was a good athletic background in the family,? Kremblas said. ?When he was with Woody Hayes at Ohio State, he was a pretty smart guy and strategizer and discipliner and all the necessary attributes for winning teams and winning players.? While his sons pursued a career in baseball (younger brother Mike also became a minor league player and actually played for Frank?s Huntsville team in 2003), Frank Sr. earned his reputation in the Columbus area as an attorney. ?I?ll tell you one thing, everyone here loved him. He was one super guy,? said Frank Foster, Kremblas?s law partner for 36 years. ?In the core, he was just a good guy.? After learning of his father?s passing, Kremblas left the Sounds prior to their five-game road trip to Memphis to be with his family. He is expected to rejoin the team, which has a four-game lead in the PCL American Northern Division pennant race, next week in Albuquerque. Hitting coach Gary Pettis will manage the team in Kremblas?s stead. Frank Kremblas Sr. was the starting quarterback for Ohio State when the Buckeyes won the 1958 Rose Bowl. He passed away Tuesday night at the age of 69. Photo courtesy of Ohio State http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/frontpageimages/082406kremblas02.jpg ***Kremblas may be permanently absent from the Sounds bench after this season is complete. Many baseball insiders credit Kremblas for laying the groundwork of the youth movement currently leading the Brewers organization. Prior to joining the Sounds, Kremblas, who turns 40 in October, managed Double-A Huntsville, which featured current major leaguers Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, Jose Capellan and Corey Hart. When that group of prospects made the jump to Triple-A in 2005, Kremblas came with them, eventually ushering the group to the Brewers. This season, Kremblas has a new pool of prospects, including Tony Gwynn Jr, and has guided the Sounds to the cusp of another PCL playoff appearance. ?He?s done an excellent job for us,? Milwaukee assistant general manager Gord Ash said. ?In Triple-A, the most difficult job is keeping everybody happy because the guys who have been up want to get back up and the guys who haven?t been up want to get there. Frank does a good job of keeping everybody happy. We?ve been in first place pretty much the last two years.? Kremblas makes no bones about his top career goal of one day becoming a big-league manager or assistant coach. During his eight-year playing career he topped out at Triple A. ?I think in time he can,? Ash said. ?He?s well-rounded. He?s thorough in baseball knowledge and a thorough planner. He?s a great in-game strategist, an aggressive manager, all of the things you look for.? The Brewers keep their minor league coaches on one-year contracts, which they typically renew after the season. Last year at this time, Kremblas was asked if he?d be back in Nashville in 2006 and he said ?yes? without hesitating. But when asked that same question earlier this week, Kremblas did not give a firm answer. ?It would be nice to be on a team that makes the playoffs in the major leagues as a coach,? Kremblas said. ?When you play any sport, you?re always trying to win. Anyone who plays sports is a little bit of an adrenaline junkie and the adrenaline you get when you?re in a playoff game is incomparable to any other.? Photo by Mike Strasinger for The Nashville City Paper Frank Kremblas talking with catcher Chad Moeller http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/frontpageimages/082406kremblas01.jpg

Standings through Wednesday's action: Pacific Coast League (AAA) - American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Nashville 72 60 .545 - 41-27 31-33 W3[/b] Iowa 68 64 .515 4.0 40-27 28-37 W5 Memphis 52 80 .394 20.0 31-38 21-42 L1 Omaha 50 82 .379 22.0 31-37 19-45 W2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Huntsville 33 25 .569 - 17-12 16-13 W2[/b] Tennessee 33 26 .559 0.5 18-12 15-14 W1 Chattanooga 31 28 .525 2.5 17-13 14-15 W2 West Tenn 29 30 .492 4.5 19-10 10-20 L2 Carolina 25 34 .424 8.5 19-10 6-24 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- St. Lucie 33 24 .579 - 17-12 16-12 W2 Daytona 32 26 .552 1.5 21-12 11-14 L1 Palm Beach 31 26 .544 2.0 18-11 13-15 L1 [b]Brevard County 25 33 .431 8.5 13-13 12-20 W2[/b] Vero Beach 21 35 .375 11.5 13-16 8-19 L2 Jupiter 21 38 .356 13.0 11-18 10-20 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lakewood 40 18 .690 - 24-7 16-11 W3 Lake County 31 25 .554 8.0 16-13 15-12 W1 [b]West Virginia 30 28 .517 10.0 18-11 12-17 W1[/b] Greensboro 29 28 .509 10.5 14-16 15-12 L1 Hickory 30 29 .508 10.5 14-18 16-11 W1 Lexington 24 35 .407 16.5 15-14 9-21 L2 Delmarva 22 35 .386 17.5 12-13 10-22 W1 Hagerstown 22 36 .379 18.0 11-18 11-18 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pioneer League (R+) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Billings 18 6 .750 - 12-2 6-4 W10 Missoula 15 9 .625 3.0 8-2 7-7 W1 [b]Helena 13 11 .542 5.0 6-4 7-7 L2[/b] Great Falls 7 17 .292 11.0 6-8 1-9 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arizona League (R) - Arizona League Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AZL Angels 15 6 .714 - 5-1 10-5 W2 AZL Royals 16 7 .696 - 8-4 8-3 L1 AZL Giants 15 7 .682 0.5 7-4 8-3 W2 AZL Padres 13 8 .619 2.0 8-4 5-4 W1 AZL Athletics 11 11 .500 4.5 9-3 2-8 W3 AZL Mariners 10 12 .455 5.5 8-3 2-9 L2 AZL Cubs 9 13 .409 6.5 4-7 5-6 L2 AZL Rangers 7 16 .304 9.0 6-7 1-9 W1 [b]AZL Brewers 3 19 .136 12.5 3-8 0-11 L9[/b]

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_mrbaaa_1 Huntsville: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wtdaax_1 West Virginia: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_gboafx_1 Helena: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_helrok_1 Arizona Rookie: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_mrnrok_1

This link will be included in each daily report when the Nashville Sounds and/or Huntsville Stars are scheduled to play. Normally it is updated an hour or two prior to gametime: Nashville Media Notes (Adobe .pdf format): www.nashvillesounds.com/pdf/notes.pdf Following Nashville's lead, Huntsville now makes its media notes available as well, nice: www.huntsvillestars.com/i...eNotes.pdf

Thursday's Daily Menu: All times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: RHP Justin Lehr at Memphis (Cardinals), 6:50 PM pre-game; 7:10 gametime Audio link: www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/ Huntsville: LHP Manny Parra at West Tenn (Cubs), 6:50 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime Audio link: www.espn1450radio.com/ West Virginia: RHP Shawn Ferguson at Greensboro (Marlins), 5:50 PM pre-game, 6:00 gametime Audio link: www.sportsjuice.com/provi...e=wvpower. Helena: The impressive RHP Amaury Rivas at home vs. Idaho Falls (Royals), 7:50 PM pre-game; 8:05 gametime Audio (click on "Listen Live"): www.helenabrewers.net/html2/index.php Arizona: TBD at the Mariners' complex to face the Seattle kids, 9:00 PM Central time, never any web audio for the Arizona League

Buck Rogers, Brevard County General Manager: The Brevard County Manatees and Palm Beach Cardinals game tonight has been postponed until tomorrow night (Friday, 8/25) as part of a doubleheader. The field at Space Coast Stadium is almost completely underwater and because of the amount of rainfall this week, it is draining very slowly and hopefully will be gone before sunset tonight so the grounds crew can have enough time to make necessary repairs for Friday night's DH. The amount of rain received on the Space Coast this afternoon had equipment and garbage cans floating in the dugouts. We have one of the best grounds crews in the business and we're confident that if (or when) the rains stop that they'll have us playing baseball again. Anybody wanting a photo of the Ponds of Space Coast Stadium (i.e., the outfield) can email info@spacecoaststadium.com. Rock On!

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

Nice job, Toby, but... What worries me is that Chapman sure had the chance to make the WV club this spring, but didn't. He also didn't make an impression when he was assigned there into the season a bit. Nate Yoho beat him out for a roster spot. You can't believe that. With Ford, Cain, and Brantley set as West Virginia's starting outfield, and Angel Salome set to DH twice a week when he wasn't catching, there was no room for a prospect like Stephen Chapman in West Virginia. That's exactly why a Nate Yoho-type player was assigned to the Power to be the fifth player in the OF / DH rotation. Chapman will finish in the top three in MVP voting in the Pioneer League; he shouldn't be outside the P50, nor punished for his brief 3-for-17 Power stint. Thanks, however, as always.

Limited media coverage with all the road games last night, but we should have an update or two at lunch time, along with the kickoff of Thursday's Link Report.

Final: Arizona Padres 6, Arizona Brewers 5 Arizona Brewer Box Score and Game Log: Looking for bright spots, and maybe RHP Craig Langille is one; the 20-year-old 7th round pick out of Nova Scotia is having a good summer, but has now struck out only 34 rookie league batters in 81 pro innings, and he's not been given starting nods this year... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_pdrrok_1

The Stars have played six, the lights are back on, and so is Tim Dillard -- a game in which you definitely want to flip to Brett Pollock's call; heck, the Brewers game is over - nice job crew tonight, add Ben Sheets name to the pitching list in the prior post by molitor fan, even if it wasn't quite "scoreless"... Tennessee won tonight, the Stars need to win to stay in first place.

Currently delayed by a power failure -- Huntsville 1, West Tenn (Cubs) 0, after 5 1/2 innings in Jackson It'll be interesting to see how long this delay is going to be, to see if Tim Dillard returns to the mound. Box score readers might notice quite a few zeroes in his pitching line right now http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

Actually, our friend pogo missed tonight's contest, but will be there the next two nights, I believe... By the way, the Manatee game was not just rained out, but cancelled, as that's it for games vs. Vero Beach. West Virginia Site Game Summary: POWER PLEAD THE FIFTH The West Virginia Power had outscored their opponents 9-1 in the fifth inning of their last three games, and on Monday night at First Horizon Park in Greensboro, North Carolina, they used another big fifth inning to get them started as they scored three runs in the fifth, and plated at least one run in every frame thereafter to beat the Grasshoppers 8-0. After four scoreless innings the Power snapped the scoreless tie on Darren Ford?s two-run double in the top of the fifth. Lorenzo Cain knocked in the final run of the inning on a groundout. In the sixth Kenny Holmberg doubled and scored on a wild pitch and Mat Gamel chipped in with a two-out RBI single in the seventh. The Power scored two times in the eighth inning on Nestor Corredor?s RBI single and Ryan Barba knocked in a run on a groundout. The Power plated their final run in the ninth inning on Gamel?s solo home run, his 15th of the year which is a team high. Will Inman was fantastic as usual for the Power. Inman pitched out of trouble early on to keep the Power in the game. In the first two innings the Grasshoppers left a runner stranded at third base, and in the first three innings they left a runner stranded in scoring position. Inman finished his outing retiring 11 straight batters. The Grasshoppers were held hitless through the last six and two thirds. Inman (10-1) pitched six scoreless innings of four-hit ball with six strikeouts while David Humen (2-3) suffered the loss. The Power are 69-58 on the year and 30-28 in the second half after the win while the Grasshoppers fell to 65-62 overall and 29-28 in the second half after the loss. The Power will continue the three game series against the Grasshoppers Thursday night. Left hander Sean West (8-4, 3.20) will make the start for Greensboro and the Power will counter with right hander Shawn Ferguson (2-2, 6.35). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:00 PM (6:00 PM Central).

Final: West Virginia 8, Greensboro (Marlins) 0 West Virginia Box Score and Game Log: Will Inman just ridiculous, six scoreless innings, one walk, six K's; nearly 7,000 on hand in Greensboro to see it; Inman and Yovani Gallardo alone just about guarantee the Brewers a Top Ten, perhaps a Top Five, ranking, in next year's Baseball America organizational rankings; Patrick Ryan (an Unsung Hero Award candidate this year) and Kevin Roberts finish up for the shutout; former Brewer farmhand Agustin Septimo (minor league Rule 5) has slowed his early season pace for the Grasshoppers, but remains a solid player; Mat Gamel goes deep -- again; you know what? Shame on the Power management if they don't re-up with the Crew; the boys certainly didn't embarass themselves this year, and the individual performances West Virginia has seen this year, and to a lesser extent last, have been outstanding... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_gboafx_1

Brewerfan and I'm sure Brewer Nation extends its condolences to Frank Kremblas: Kremblas leaves Sounds after father passes away By Nate Rau, Nashville City Paper Sports Correspondent Nashville Sounds manager Frank Kremblas will not join the team on its five-game road trip to Memphis after learning late Tuesday his father, Frank Kremblas Sr., passed away. Kremblas will likely rejoin the team at some point during its trip to Albuquerque, which begins Monday. Kremblas Sr., who was a star quarterback at Ohio State from 1956-58, was 69 years old. Details on how he passed were not immediately available. The Sounds lose their manager while in the middle of a pennant race for the Pacific Coast League American Northern Division title. Nashville currently has a four-game lead over Iowa. Last year Kremblas led the Sounds to the PCL championship, the first Triple-A title in Nashville history.

Today's Daily Dish at Baseball America (not to be confused with Brewerfan's Daily Menu): www.baseballamerica.com/t...62257.html Getting Serious The Brewers Lorenzo Cain won MVP of the Rookie-level Arizona league in 2005 and entered 2006 as an intriguing outfield prospect with a lot of upside. He's done nothing to dissuade those projections this year, as he has put together another impressive campaign in 2006 for low Class A West Virginia and has placed himself among the best prospects in the South Atlantic League and the Brewers organization. With another hit last night, Cain, who leads the Sally League with 152 hits, has already broken the Bobby Perna's club record for hits (150) set in 1992. "It's great to see him accomplish that," Power hitting coach Mike Lum said. "He's worked hard. He's gaining confidence and more experience and you just never know where he's going to go. I think he's going to be a good one." The 20-year-old Cain signed in 2005 as a draft-and-follow out of Tallahassee (Fla.) Community College after the Brewers made him a 17th-round pick in 2004. He only started playing baseball seriously four years ago and the Brewers planned to bring him along slowly because though he possesses five tools that are at least average, his approach at the plate was raw. He has quieted his swing down this season and the results have been startling. The rightfielder is now hitting .313/.387/.432 to lead the league in batting. A plus runner, Cain has 30 stolen bases and has been caught 11 times.

Link while active, text follows: tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....328/SPORTS Offense powers Sounds to win By BRYAN MULLEN Tennessean Staff Writer Nashville generated power against the Isotopes. One day after the Sounds shut out Albuquerque, Nashville relied on extra-base hits and a workmanlike performance by its starting pitcher to defeat the Isotopes 6-2 in front of 5,317 at Greer Stadium. Nashville maintained its four-game lead over Iowa in the Pacific Coach League's American Conference Northern Division. The Sounds also finished the eight-game homestand with a 6-2 record and will begin a nine-game road trip today at Memphis. "It's important that we just try to take care of what we can take care of," Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas said. "We've had a much better approach at the plate lately. That's helping us get some runs." The Sounds' Tony Gwynn led off the first with a home run, and Graham Koonce had a double and three RBIs to lead the Nashville offense, which seems to have hit another gear in terms of power in August. Nashville (71-60) received another strong performance by a starting pitcher. Carlos Villanueva (7-0) had to battle out of a few jams against the Isotopes (63-66) but finished with the win and became the first Sounds pitcher to win seven consecutive decisions since Brian Meadows in 2003. The fourth inning was symbolic of Villanueva's grit. With two outs, Villanueva walked three consecutive batters to load the bases but got Isotopes starting pitcher Yusmeiro Petit to foul out to get out of the inning. ***Link while active, text follows: tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....328/SPORTS Gwynn's bat power tends to be streaky By BRYAN MULLEN Tennessean Staff Writer No one would go as far to say Nashville's Tony Gwynn is a streaky hitter. After all, he's hitting .298 and leads the Sounds with 116 hits. But the streaky tag does apply when it comes to Gwynn's power numbers. The centerfielder began Monday with only two home runs for the entire season. A couple of days later he had doubled his total. On Monday, Gwynn belted a solo home run against Albuquerque, marking his first home run in 225 at bats. Tuesday night Gwynn led off the bottom of the first inning with a deep home run to right to tie the score at 1-1. The go-to guy: With Nashville looking to win six of its last seven games last night, there was no one the Sounds wanted on the mound more than Carlos Villanueva. And despite working out of several jams, he didn't disappoint. The 22-year-old righty increased his record to 7-0 record and went six innings and allowed only two hits and one run. Villanueva's success with the Sounds began during his first start with the club. It came on July 15 against Memphis and resulted in a combined no-hitter. A hot August: Nashville's Jermaine Clark wasn't in the lineup last night and Isotopes pitchers must have been relieved. Clark has eight hits in his previous 15 at-bats (.533) and is hitting .395 in August, the ninth-best average in the Pacific Coast League this month. Quick pitches: Gwynn became the third Sounds player to lead off the game with a home run. Kennard Bibbs did it on July 23 and Dave Krynzel accomplished the feat on May 5. ? The Sounds have scored a combined seven runs in the first inning of the past two games. ? The Isotopes took a 1-0 lead in the first on a deep home run to left by Edgar Gonzalez. ? Brent Abernathy was inserted to pinch hit in the seventh, marking his first appearance for the Sounds since Aug. 12. He grounded out to short.

AUDIO: Tony Gwynn's Leadoff Homer -- www.nashvillesounds.com/a...208-22.mp3 Nashville Pre-Game Audio Chat with Starting Pitcher Zach Jackson: www.nashvillesounds.com/a...208-22.mp3

Link while active, text follows: Sounds leave town on high note By Nate Rau, Nashville City Paper Sports Correspondent Next time the Nashville Sounds play in Greer Stadium they very well could be a completely different-looking ballclub. Nashville wrapped up its eight-game homestand with a 6-2 victory over Albuquerque at Greer on Tuesday. The Sounds won six of eight over this homestand but don?t return to Music City until Sept. 1. Of course, that?s the day major league rosters expand to 40 men and the Milwaukee Brewers could promote some of Nashville?s best players like center fielder Tony Gwynn and starting pitcher Carlos Villanueva, among others. Gwynn and Villanueva made their case for a promotion against the Isotopes to help the first-place Sounds (71-60) maintain a four-game lead over Iowa in the American Northern Division. Gwynn hit a lead-off homer and Villanueva became the first Sounds pitcher to win seven straight decisions since Brian Meadows in 2003. Villanueva is 7-0 on the season. ?It?s good, you always want to win your home series,? Sounds shortstop Chris Barnwell said. ?You want to win your road series too, but you have to take care of business at home.? Last season Milwaukee only called up one player on Sept. 1, but a handful of Nashville?s best players had already been promoted a few weeks earlier. Gwynn said he hoped to get promoted but wouldn?t be disappointed if he stayed with the Sounds through the end of their season. ?Everyone would rather be up,? said Barnwell, who also could get promoted. ?But if we?re down here, we want to win.? The Isotopes drew first blood when Edgar Gonzalez hit a solo homer in the first inning. But the lead didn?t last long because the Sounds came back with a pair of runs of their own. Gwynn smacked his homer to start the inning ? his second in as many nights. Barnwell doubled and scored off the bat of Graham Koonce to give Nashville the lead. The Sounds added a run in the fourth inning and three more in the seventh to distance themselves. Koonce?s two-run double in the seventh was the straw that broke the Istopes? back. Villanueva stayed perfect, overcoming Gonzalez?s homer and his own lack of control in the process. After retiring seven batters in a row, Villaneuva walked the bases loaded with two outs in the fourth but the Isotopes couldn?t manage a run. He left after allowing two hits and four walks over six innings. In the ninth, reliever Dennis Sarfate walked the first three batters and was spelled by Alec Zumwalt. After allowing one run, Zumwalt recorded his 15th save.

Link while active, text follows: www.dailymail.com/news/Sp...006082316/ Hagerstown 'really wanted this win' Christopher Wade For the Charleston Daily Mail It was only fitting that home plate umpire Rory Hawkins got the last word. One night earlier, Hawkins was the first base umpire and saw the other member of the two-man crew, Chet Hortin, eject a Hagerstown pitcher and Manager Frank Cacciatore for arguing balls and strikes. Tuesday at Appalachian Power Park, it was Hawkins' turn to face the stares and hear the complaints from both Hagerstown and Power players all night long. And much like Hortin had done Monday, Hawkins eventually had heard enough before ejecting Hagerstown designated hitter Jonel Pacheco in the eighth inning for arguing balls and strikes. Hawkins also emphatically called out Power designated hitter Kenny Holmberg on a third strike to end the game, giving Hagerstown a 3-1 victory over the Power in front of a crowd of 2,915. "We're just glad to get a win after everything," said Cacciatore. "Everything seems to be hard with us. There are certainly no laughers." Cacciatore and his Suns were willing to do whatever it took to salvage the last game of the four-game series here and avoid a sweep. The Suns even attempted a suicide squeeze with one out in the seventh inning. They were leading 1-0 at the time. "We really wanted this win," Cacciatore said. "We had been playing pretty well but had been having one bad inning. We've been having to scratch our runs across and tonight were finally able to get some key hits." The Suns not only got timely hits, they also got some solid pitching. Three pitchers combined to limit the Power to just four hits. Only a ninth-inning sacrifice fly by Power first baseman Tony Festa stopped the shutout. However, a few more feet and Festa's drive, which was caught at the warning track by Suns' right fielder Jonathan Sanchez, would have tied the game at three. Brandon Wilson pitched the first three innings for Hagerstown, allowing just one hit. Ryan Meyers came on in relief and pitched the next five innings, allowing just two hits, and Kevin Tomasiewicz earned the save, pitching the ninth inning. Cacciatore was especially pleased with Meyers, who earned the win after entering the game with a 2-10 record and an earned run average of 5.44. "Ryan has actually pitched a heck of a lot better since he's been coming out of the bullpen," Cacciatore said. "He's been good in the long relief role and that might just be his ticket." Hagerstown led 1-0 on a first-inning RBI single by Nick Evans. After the attempted suicide squeeze was fouled off, Drew Butera doubled in the Suns' second run in the seventh inning. The Suns added an insurance run in the eighth inning. Michael Brantley led the Power offensive attack, getting two of the team's four hits. Starting pitcher Steve Garrison (6-6) suffered the loss despite pitching well, allowing one run on five hits in six innings. Despite the loss, the Power ended the eight-game homestand with a 6-2 record and Manager Mike Guerrero was hopeful the winning ways will carry over into a three-game series on the road starting tonight in Greensboro. "All you can do is tip your hat to them (Hagerstown) tonight," said Guerrero. "They did a nice job, pitched well, made the plays defensively and got some clutch hits. We had a good homestand but now we're looking forward to the road trip." POWER NOTES: The Power is now 68-58 overall and 29-28 in the second half. Hagerstown is 50-77, 22-35. ... Left-hander Aaron Thompson (8-8, 3.38) will make the start for Greensboro tonight and the Power will counter with right-hander Will Inman (9-1, 1.38). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM (6:05 Central) at Horizon Park in Greensboro. Charleston Gazette Photographer: Chip Ellis West Virginia Power shortstop Ryan Barba (left) tags Hagerstown's Sean Henry, who was picked off first base and tried to steal second Tuesday night at Appalachian Power Park. http://www.wvgazettemail.com/images/stories/Suns.jpg

Standings through Tuesday's action: Pacific Coast League (AAA) - American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Nashville 71 60 .542 - 41-27 30-33 W2[/b] Iowa 67 64 .511 4.0 39-27 28-37 W4 Memphis 52 79 .397 19.0 31-37 21-42 W1 Omaha 49 82 .374 22.0 31-37 18-45 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Huntsville 32 25 .561 - 17-12 15-13 W1[/b] Tennessee 32 26 .552 0.5 18-12 14-14 L5 Chattanooga 30 28 .517 2.5 17-13 13-15 W1 West Tenn 29 29 .500 3.5 19-9 10-20 L1 Carolina 25 33 .431 7.5 19-9 6-24 W3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- St. Lucie 33 24 .579 - 17-12 16-12 W2 Daytona 32 25 .561 1.0 21-11 11-14 W2 Palm Beach 31 26 .544 2.0 18-11 13-15 L1 [b]Brevard County 25 33 .431 8.5 13-13 12-20 W2[/b] Vero Beach 21 35 .375 11.5 13-16 8-19 L2 Jupiter 20 38 .345 13.5 11-18 9-20 L3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lakewood 40 18 .690 - 24-7 16-11 W3 Lake County 31 25 .554 8.0 16-13 15-12 W1 Greensboro 29 27 .518 10.0 14-15 15-12 W2 [b]West Virginia 29 28 .509 10.5 18-11 11-17 L1[/b] Hickory 29 29 .500 11.0 14-18 15-11 L2 Lexington 24 34 .414 16.0 15-13 9-21 L1 Hagerstown 22 35 .386 17.5 11-18 11-17 W1 Delmarva 21 35 .375 18.0 11-13 10-22 L3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pioneer League (R+) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Billings 18 6 .750 - 12-2 6-4 W10 Missoula 15 9 .625 3.0 8-2 7-7 W1 [b]Helena 13 11 .542 5.0 6-4 7-7 L2[/b] Great Falls 7 17 .292 11.0 6-8 1-9 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arizona League (R) - Arizona League Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AZL Royals 16 6 .727 - 8-4 8-2 W5 AZL Angels 15 6 .714 0.5 5-1 10-5 W2 AZL Giants 14 7 .667 1.5 7-4 7-3 W1 AZL Padres 12 8 .600 3.0 7-4 5-4 L1 AZL Athletics 10 11 .476 5.5 8-3 2-8 W2 AZL Mariners 10 11 .476 5.5 8-3 2-8 L1 AZL Cubs 9 12 .429 6.5 4-6 5-6 L1 AZL Rangers 6 16 .273 10.0 5-7 1-9 L4 [b]AZL Brewers 3 18 .143 12.5 3-8 0-10 L8[/b]

Media reports from last night at lunchtime today...

Final: Arizona A's 9, Arizona Brewers 8 Arizona Brewer Box Score and Game Log: Undrafted free agent signing Andrew Lefave continues his fine season for the 12 in attendance -- those must be family members or diehards, so they must be Brewerfan readers -- hello to you! www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_brrrok_1

On a similar note, the phenom Alex Periard has had a number of good appearances in a row. Almost wouldn't surprise me to see him in West Virginia next spring. Alex has a very, very good arm and has more pro pitching experience than 99.9% of other pro pitchers. Pretty sure you meant pro pitchers his age (19 last June). There's that Clemens guy you know, and oh yeah, Julio Franco, who could pitch if he wanted to. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

Vero Beach Site: Manatees 1-Hit Dodgers Derek Miller and Joe Thatcher combined to hold the Vero Beach Dodgers to one hit en route to a 2-0 victory. Russ Mitchell tallied the only hit for the Dodgers with a first-inning, line-drive double to right field. The series concludes Wednesday night at 7:00 PM (6:00 Central) at Space Coast Stadium. Brevard County squeaked out their first run in the second inning. Mike Megrew (2-2) walked the first two batters and a one-out single loaded the bases. Ned Yost then hit a slow grounder to second that bought him enough time to avoid a double play and score the game's first run. The Manatees' second run scored in an unusual fashion in the third. Alcides Escobar singled with one out and Kyle Phillips walked. Then Megrew struck out Adam Heether as both baserunners took off an a double steal. With Escobar nearing third, the throw went to second and Phillips got caught in a rundown. As that play developed, Escobar rounded third and avoided a tag at home plate give Brevard the 2-0 lead. Vero's offense was held in check by Miller (1-3). The left-hander pitched six innings and struck out 10. He allowed the one hit with one walk and a hit batter to pick up his first Florida State League win. Thatcher, who entered with a 0.33 ERA, then retired the last nine batters for his second save.