Jim Goulart

Link while active, text follows: www.al.com/sports/huntsvi...amp;coll=1 Stars notebook Mark McCarter, Huntsville Times Huntsville has suffered the third-worst drop in attendance in all of minor league baseball from 2005 to 2006. That in mind, rainy weather this weekend is the last thing the Stars needed at the box office, considering Fridays and Saturdays lure the largest crowds. Baseball America reported in its latest edition that minor league attendance overall is on a record pace, but listed the biggest losers. Its figures, through July 11, noted the Stars were fifth-worst. Updating those through Friday, though, Huntsville trailed only Ottawa in the International League and Dunedin in the Florida State League for biggest per-game drop. The Stars drew 3,216 last year, compared to 2,483 this season - a 22.8 percent decrease. Team owner Miles Prentice was unavailable for comment on the matter. ... Overall, the Stars are ninth in the 10-team Southern League, with West Tenn again bringing up the rear, averaging 1,521 per game. ... The Stars have something of an unbalanced roster, with only 10 pitchers and 13 position players. There was a luxury with Jorge de la Rosa here on a big-league rehab assignment that didn't count against the roster numbers, but with his departure it leaves the staff a bit thin. ... Outfielder Drew Anderson and catcher Lou Palmisano were sidelined much of the week with minor injuries, but with a deeper bench of position players little impact was felt. ... Milwaukee's major trade with Texas, sending Carlos Lee to the Rangers for Kevin Mench and others, has a slight Huntsville touch to it. Lee's brother, also named Carlos, is currently a Stars catcher. Nelson Cruz, part of the package Milwaukee sent to Texas, was sensational in Huntsville last year. ... Trading Lee, with whom the Brewers couldn't agree on a contract, was less of a surprise than including Cruz, who has the best outfield arm in the organization and, despite the occasional weakness for the curveball, was batting .302 with 20 homers and 73 RBIs at Nashville. ... Stars pitcher Yovani Gallardo is in line for an inaugural award for minor league pitchers, the Most Spectacular Pitcher Award, to be presented to the pitcher with the lowest ERA in the minors. He has a 1.64 ERA for the season, which places him among the top half-dozen candidates for the trophy and $7,500 prize. Around the league If the Lookouts' Joey Votto doesn't win the Southern League Triple Crown, it could be his team's pitchers who share the blame, points out David Paschal of the Chattanooga Times-Free Press. Going into Saturday's play, Votto led the league in homers (19) and average (.321) but trailed Jacksonville's Craig Brazell 66-61 in RBIs, with Brazell having hit a pair of grand slams off Chattanooga pitching recently. ... Ex-Star Noochie Varner, in Huntsville now for a five-game set against the Stars, was No. 3 in RBIs with 59, and is hitting .290. ... Atlanta starter John Thomson pitched a rehab start for Mississippi Friday night at Mobile, but left after 28 pitches because of a stiff shoulder. ... Are the frayed tempers between Birmingham and Huntsville on Thursday and a benches-clearing episode in Mobile on Friday in the fifth game of the Mobile-Mississippi series familiarity-breeds-contempt arguments against the five-game series scheduling system installed this year? ... Jacksonville's Jimmy Rohan hit four doubles Thursday at Mobile, tying a league record set by Carolina's Mike Brown in 1994. ... The Tennessee Smokies took a seven-game winning streak into Saturday's play, a hot streak that enabled them to vault the Lookouts in the SL North race. Brewings (through Friday) Triple-A Nashville Sounds (58-49 before Saturday's play, first place in Pacific Coast League American Division): 3B Vinny Rottino .288, six HRs, 37 RBIs. The Sounds have extended their working agreement with Milwaukee through 2010. Single-A Brevard County Manatees (14-20, fourth in Florida State East Division this half): P Manny Parra 2.96 ERA, 1-3, 61 Ks in 15 starts. Single-A West Virginia Power (15-19, fifth in South Atlantic League Northern Division this half): OF Lorenzo Cain 24 SBs, .302, 43 RBIs. Single-A Helena Brewers (15-23, fourth as Pioneer League North first half ends ) OF Chris Errecart 6 HRs, 28 RBIs, .288. On deck The Stars continue their home stand with Chattanooga today, ending the series Wednesday. Watch out for P Homer Bailey, the Reds' No. 1 prospect, 4-0, 0.74 ERA in six Southern League starts for Chattanooga.

Link while active, text follows: www.al.com/stars/huntsvil...amp;coll=1 Looking like a playoff team Stars defeat Lookouts 5-4 for sixth straight win By BRAD SHEPARD For The Huntsville Times As if it wasn't confusing enough for Stars fans to distinguish between two Drew Andersons Saturday night - one in each lineup - they had to figure out which team was which as well. Not only were the Stars and first-half North Division champion Chattanooga Lookouts both confusingly wearing red uniforms, they apparently switched roles, too. After two Huntsville comebacks resulted in a 5-4 win, the 2,120 Joe Davis Stadium patrons probably had a hard time telling which team was already playoff-bound and which was the league's first-half cellar-dweller. The win was the season-high sixth straight for the surprising Stars (17-18) who are getting timely hits, scoring runs and playing better than they have all season. They're also still very much alive in the second-half playoff chase, climbing to 3 1/2 games back of Tennessee after the Smokies fell to West Tenn on Saturday. "I'd like to think so," said third baseman Ryan Braun, who was 3-for-3 with a towering home run and two RBIs. "We're trying to go about every game the same way, but obviously, if you keep playing well against a team of this caliber, it may be a statement to the rest of the league." Lately, the Stars certainly appear to be in the second-half race to stay despite still being 22 games under .500 overall. They came up with two crucial, two-out hits that essentially won the game for hard-luck pitcher Corey Thurman. Despite not having his best game statistically, Thurman earned his first win since June 2 and just his third overall. "Every year, it seems like one guy on the staff has things not go his way," Thurman said. "It's good to win. The way I've been pitching, it doesn't bother me." A pair of two-run deficits didn't bother his teammates, either. Immediately after the Lookouts broke through for a pair of runs in the top of the first, Huntsville's Brad Nelson answered in the bottom half with a two-out double to left. Again, Chattanooga (64-42, 20-16) took the lead in the third, but the Stars fought back again in the fourth. Braun led off with a no-doubt solo shot to close the gap to 4-3. Then, after a single by Ron Acuna and an Ozzie Chavez walk, Thurman successfully sacrificed them into scoring position for Steve Moss. The Stars center fielder promptly smacked a double off the center field wall to put Huntsville ahead to stay. It doesn't seem out of the question anymore with the way Huntsville is playing. From pitching to fielding to hitting, the Stars have at least temporarily turned their fortunes. "We've got different faces on the team than we had earlier," Stars manager Don Money said. "We're starting to do the small things right and coming out with W's. "Playoff run? We need to come out tomorrow and get it to 18-18." And put that cellar-dweller status even further behind them.

Nashville Pre-Game Audio Chat with Brewers Broadcaster Jim Powell (Part 2): Nice "beer in the fridge" analogy by Chuck Valenches to start... www.nashvillesounds.com/a...207-29.mp3

From the Tennessean: Two added: The Sounds called up Milko Jaramillo on Saturday from Huntsville. The infielder from Venezuela was signed from the Independent League at the start of the season and was with the Sounds for seven games. He played second and third base, batted .214 (3-for-14) with three RBIs and three stolen bases. Jaramillo, 25, has been with Huntsville since leaving Nashville on May 30. He batted .154 (8-for-52) with one RBI in 20 games there. Jaramillo, who originally signed as a non-drafted free agent, was selected in 1996 in the minor league draft by the Cardinals organization. With Jaramillo being added and former Rangers outfielder Laynce Nix coming today after a trade, the Sounds will have to drop a player from the roster. Not sure how Jaramillo can go from the Huntsville DL to Nashville in a matter of days, or the better question, why. That Nashville roster is really oddly crafted now. 13 pitchers, and a ton of slap hitters -- Dave Krynzel, Nix and Kennard Bibbs are the only true outfielders on the roster. Graham Koonce is really going to have to shoulder the run production role night in and night out for this team -- he did last night, but to no avail.

From the Tennessean: Two added: The Sounds called up Milko Jaramillo on Saturday from Huntsville. The infielder from Venezuela was signed from the Independent League at the start of the season and was with the Sounds for seven games. He played second and third base, batted .214 (3-for-14) with three RBIs and three stolen bases. Jaramillo, 25, has been with Huntsville since leaving Nashville on May 30. He batted .154 (8-for-52) with one RBI in 20 games there. Jaramillo, who originally signed as a non-drafted free agent, was selected in 1996 in the minor league draft by the Cardinals organization. With Jaramillo being added and former Rangers outfielder Laynce Nix coming today after a trade, the Sounds will have to drop a player from the roster. Not sure how Jaramillo can go from the Huntsville DL to Nashville in a matter of days, or the better question, why. That Nashville roster is really oddly crafted now. 13 pitchers, and a ton of slap hitters -- Dave Krynzel, Nix and Kennard Bibbs are the only true outfielders on the roster. Graham Koonce is really going to have to shoulder the run production role night in and night out for this team -- he did last night, but to no avail.

Link for Brent Abernathy photo, text follows: tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....328/SPORTS Bees end drought against Sounds Salt Lake rallies to send Nashville to third loss in a row By MIKE ORGAN Tennessean Staff Writer The Sounds' domination of Salt Lake came to an end Saturday night when the Bees came to life in the fifth inning. A near-capacity Greer Stadium crowd of 10,014 watched Salt Lake start a rally after falling behind by four runs after four innings, then hold on for a 7-4 victory. The Bees, who had just four hits before the fifth inning, collected eight over the next two innings, along with six unanswered runs. Nashville had won its last seven games against the Bees dating to the 2004 season. Saturday night marked Salt Lake's first win over Nashville since a 2-1 victory at Greer Stadium on July 27, 2004. Graham Koonce had given Nashville a 3-0 lead in the third inning with a two-run homer over the center-field wall. "It was still early in the game at that point, we still had a long way to go,'' said Koonce, who has 10 home runs. "I don't think any of us settled at that point. They battled back and took the lead. They got on a roll a little bit, they got some momentum and rode it as long as they could.'' It was Nashville's third consecutive loss and sixth in the last eight games. Franklin, Ky., native Matt Wilhite, who played at Western Kentucky, picked up the win for Salt Lake. He pitched three innings, allowed two hits, no runs and struck out two on 38 pitches. Salt Lake's rally came with Jared Fernandez on the mound for Nashville. Fernandez picked up the loss, and the 12 hits he gave up matched the most this season allowed by a Sounds pitcher. Fernandez allowed the same number of hits on May 12 in an 8-7 loss to Iowa. Salt Lake's six runs matched the most Fernandez has allowed this season. He also gave up six runs in the loss to Iowa. Fernandez was pulled after Salt Lake took a 6-4 lead on an RBI single by Darren Blakely. While Salt Lake got hot at the plate Nashville went cold. The Sounds were retired in order in both the fifth and sixth innings. Nashville got two hits and two men on base in the seventh when Chris Barnwell reached on a single to leftfield and Zach Sorensen on a bunt. Sorensen got to third, but the inning was blown when Dave Krynzel popped up for the final out. The Bees padded their lead in the eighth when Blakely, the leadoff batter, hit a homer off Dennis Sarfate, who made his first appearance as a reliever.

Link while active, text follows: www.helenair.com/articles...006_01.txt Brewers shut out White Sox By TOM COTTON - Independent Record Sports Editor The Sooner Schooner rolled through the Great Falls White Sox Saturday night. University of Oklahoma product Chuckie Caufield, was a double short of the cycle, scored two runs and drove in three as he paced the Helena Brewers to a 10-0 rout of Great Falls, in the first game of the second-half of the Pioneer League regular season. ?Johnny (hitting coach Johnny Narron) talked about getting deep,? Caufield said. ?I have been getting ahead of pitches and the plan has helped me.? Caufield, who hit in the leadoff spot for Helena, started the game with a triple, a rope that went off the left field wall. He would score one batter later on a fielders? choice by Taylor Green. ?I got the ball up in the zone and happened to hit it well,? Caufield said about the three bagger. Caufield?s biggest hit, however, came in the fifth inning when he cracked a change up by Great Falls starter Ramon Sanchez over the left-field wall for a three-run home run. It was his first of the season. The blow was part of an eight-run eruption in the fifth that turned a pitcher?s duel into an easy win. The Brewers sent 12 men to the plate in the frame. Bill Rowe, Fredy De La Cruz each had RBI doubles and Chris Errecart also had an RBI single in the inning. Rowe had three hits on the night and drove in two runs. Up to that point, both Sanchez and Brewers starter Brandon Parillo had been in control of the contest. Sanchez allowed only one run through the first four innings. He wriggled out of trouble in the third. The Brewers loaded the bases, but Sanchez induced two ground balls to end the inning. Parillo mixed his fast ball and off speed pitches well and kept Great Falls off balance all night long. The biggest Great Falls threat came in the third. With two outs and runners on second and third, he fanned Michael Grace to keep the White Sox from scoring. Parillo struck out three in five innings of work. Parillo notched the win, moving his record to 3-2. Roque Mercedes and Brian Logan worked well in relief, not allowing a run. The win continued the Brewers recent mastery of the Electric City club. Helena has claimed six straight wins against the White Sox. The Brewers also have won four games in a row. The Brewers remain at home tonight when they begin a three-game set with the Billings Mustangs. First pitch will be at 4 PM (5:00 PM Central).

Final: Arizona Giants 6, Arizona Brewers 3 Arizona Brewer Box Score and Game Log Link: Credit due -- Brent Brewer hitless, but started three double plays in the field; catcher Bernie Dennis had been nursing some sort of injury -- he makes his 2006 debut in this one... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_brrrok_1

Final: Brevard County 3, Dunedin (Blue Jays) 1 Brevard County Box Score and Game Log Link: Shout out for Dave Johnson, retires all 13 men he faces in his relief stint -- we've said it before, but those Manatee middle relievers have succeeded for the most part in piggy-backing all the short-inning rehabbing starters; multi-hit games for the Hurricane, Brendan Katin, and Ryan Phillips... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_dunafa_1

Suspended by rain: West Virginia 4, Savannah (Nationals) 0, after 2 1/2 innings in Savannah The two teams will play a double header on Sunday at 12:05 PM (11:05 AM Central). The first game will be a continuation of Saturday's contest. The teams will pick up the action in the bottom of the third inning with the Power ahead 4-0, and they will play nine innings. The second game will be a seven inning contest. Mike Bell, Ned Yost, and Michael Brantley with doubles; actually, only nine of Brantley's 72 base hits have gone for extra bases; another "Yost", Gene, pitching for the Sand Gnats -- and yes, it is fun typing "Sand Gnats"...

RHP Luis Pena your Manatee TBD tonight.

Only ten pitchers in Huntsville since the JDLR trade -- something to watch...

J.J. Hardy, another 2nd round high school shortstop -- note the great K rate in his rookie season: www.thebaseballcube.com/p...ardy.shtml Josh Murray, 2nd round high school shortstop -- Murray was foolishly started in the Pioneer League when we was still 17 years old: www.thebaseballcube.com/p...rray.shtml There's raw "rare" and raw "uncooked" -- which is Brent Brewer as of today? And yes, goodness it's so early.

Standings through Friday's action: Pacific Coast League (AAA) - American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Nashville 58 49 .542 - 34-22 24-27 L2[/b] Iowa 54 52 .509 3.5 30-24 24-28 L1 Omaha 43 64 .402 15.0 26-26 17-38 L1 Memphis 42 64 .396 15.5 24-31 18-33 W2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tennessee 21 14 .600 - 13-7 8-7 W7 Chattanooga 20 15 .571 1.0 13-7 7-8 W1 West Tenn 18 17 .514 3.0 11-4 7-13 L1 [b]Huntsville 16 18 .471 4.5 9-10 7-8 W5[/b] Carolina 12 23 .343 9.0 8-7 4-16 L6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Daytona 22 12 .647 - 15-8 7-4 W2 St. Lucie 19 15 .559 3.0 10-9 9-6 W1 Vero Beach 15 20 .429 7.5 9-11 6-9 W4 Palm Beach 15 21 .417 8.0 7-8 8-13 L2 [b]Brevard County 14 20 .412 8.0 6-5 8-15 W1[/b] Jupiter 12 21 .364 9.5 8-12 4-9 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lakewood 23 12 .657 - 11-5 12-7 W1 Lake County 19 14 .576 3.0 11-7 8-7 W2 Hickory 18 17 .514 5.0 8-12 10-5 L1 Greensboro 16 17 .485 6.0 8-9 8-8 W2 Hagerstown 15 19 .441 7.5 8-14 7-5 L2 [b]West Virginia 15 19 .441 7.5 7-6 8-13 L1[/b] Lexington 13 22 .371 10.0 7-9 6-13 L1 Delmarva 12 21 .364 10.0 7-10 5-11 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pioneer League (R+) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Billings 0 0 - - 0-0 0-0 - Great Falls 0 0 - - 0-0 0-0 - [b]Helena 0 0 - - 0-0 0-0 -[/b] Missoula 0 0 - - 0-0 0-0 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arizona League (R) - Arizona League Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AZL Royals 2 0 1.000 - 1-0 1-0 W2 AZL Padres 1 0 1.000 0.5 1-0 0-0 W1 AZL Angels 1 1 .500 1.0 1-0 0-1 W1 AZL Cubs 1 1 .500 1.0 0-0 1-1 W1 AZL Giants 1 1 .500 1.0 1-1 0-0 L1 AZL Mariners 1 1 .500 1.0 1-1 0-0 L1 AZL Rangers 1 1 .500 1.0 1-0 0-1 W1 [b]AZL Brewers 0 1 .000 1.5 0-0 0-1 L1[/b] AZL Athletics 0 2 .000 2.0 0-0 0-2 L2

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

Follow Saturday'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: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1 Brevard County: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_dunafa_1 West Virginia: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_savafx_1 Helena: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_helrok_1 Arizona Rookie: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_brrrok_1

Saturday's Daily Menu: All times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: RHP Jared Fernandez at home vs. Salt Lake (Angels), 5:40 PM pre-game, 6:00 gametime Audio link: www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/ Huntsville: RHP Corey Thurman at home vs. Chattanooga (Reds), 6:50 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime; by the way, it appears RHP Gerrit Simpson is going to get first crack at the 5th starter spot vacated by Jorge de la Rosa Audio link: www.espn1450radio.com/ Brevard County: TBD at Dunedin (Blue Jays), 6:00 gametime; sorry, no audio for this series West Virginia: LHP Dave Welch at Savannah (Nationals), 5:55 PM pre-game, 6:05 gametime Audio link: www.sportsjuice.com/provi...e=wvpower. Helena: LHP Brandon Parillo at home vs. Great Falls (White Sox), 7:45 PM pre-game; 8:00 gametime; let the second half begin! Audio (click on "Listen Live"): www.helenabrewers.net/html2/index.php Arizona: TBD at home in Maryvale vs. the rookie Giants' kids, 9:00 PM Central time, never any web audio for the Arizona League -- night play begins in the AZL League

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

7,462 unique visitors to the site Friday, an all-time record.

Brevard County Site Game Two Game Summary: Katin, Manatees maul Blue Jays Brendan Katin went 4-for-4 with two home runs and five RBIs as Brevard County pounded host Dunedin, 9-3, to split Friday's doubleheader. Katin slugged two-run homers in the first and sixth, then delivered an RBI double in the seventh. It was the first multi-homer game of the season for the 22-year-old right fielder, who raised his average to .294 with 12 roundtrippers. Ryan Crew collected three hits, including a leadoff homer in the fourth for the Manatees (57-49). Steven Sollmann added two hits and Adam Heether knocked in a run. Brevard County starter Manny Parra gave up two runs on two hits with four strikeouts and a walk in four-plus innings. Joe Thatcher (1-1) entered in the fifth with runners on first and second and surrendered a home run to Juan Peralta. He struck out three and walked two over two innings for the win. The Blue Jays (19-17) were limited to four hits and had their two-game winning streak snapped. Starter Orlando Trias (10-6) took the loss after surrendering four runs on six hits and four walks with three strikeouts in three innings. -- Louice Thomas/MLB.com

Link while active, text follows: tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....328/SPORTS Clark shakes slump, but Sounds' deficit too deep Homer can't counter pitching and errors By MIKE ORGAN Tennessean Staff Writer Jermaine Clark snapped out of a hitting slump in a big way Friday night, knocking a three-run home run over the left-field wall in the eighth inning for the Sounds against Colorado Springs. It was Clark's first hit in 30 at-bats. But it was not enough to overcome the six-run cushion Colorado Springs had built when the Sky Sox bats heated up in the fourth inning. The Sky Sox held on for a 6-3 victory in the final game of the series. "We got a couple of guys on and got a big hit from Clark,'' Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas said. "Unfortunately we had a little bit bigger deficit to overcome than usual and we just didn't do much after that.'' The start of the game was delayed an hour and five minutes by rain and then stopped in the bottom of the eighth when nearly half the lights at Greer Stadium went out after a transformer near the stadium was blown. That's when many in the crowd of 6,762 headed for exits. Power was restored 21 minutes later. The game did not end until 11:06 p.m. After going hitless in the first three innings, the Sky Sox got four hits in the fourth. They added two runs in the fifth inning on a two-run double by Ryan Spilborghs. With just three hits, Nashville matched its fewest in a nine-inning game this season. The Sounds had three hits at Round Rock on June 25. The Sounds committed more errors (three) than hits (two) through the first seven innings. In the previous 21 games, Nashville had just seven errors. It also was an uncharacteristically poor individual performance for Nashville pitcher Ben Hendrickson. He took the loss by allowing six runs - three earned - on eight hits. He struck out four on 99 pitches. The six runs were a season-high allowed by Hendrickson, who had allowed more than four runs only twice in his previous 15 starts. What they said: "We made three errors and they have 11 hits and we still hold them to six runs, which isn't bad. But we could have been better. If we make some plays that three-run home run makes the game a lot closer.'' ? Kremblas. ***Link for Ben Hendrickson / Mark Johnson photo from Friday's game, text follows: tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....328/SPORTS Brewers? trade leaves hole in Sounds? offense Cruz had 20 homers, now in Texas outfield By MIKE ORGAN Tennessean Staff Writer The Sounds traded Pacific Coast League All-Star outfielder Nelson Cruz on Friday as part of Milwaukee's six-player trade with the Texas Rangers. Cruz, 26, played in 104 games this season and led Nashville with 20 home runs. He batted .302 (112-for-371) with 22 doubles and 73 RBIs to go along with 17 steals. For Cruz and Carlos Lee the Brewers acquired pitchers Francisco Cordero and Julian Cordero, and outfielders Kevin Mench and Laynce Nix. Nix is the only player involved in the trade who will join the Sounds. He is expected to be in the lineup for the first time Sunday. His brother Jayson Nix is a second baseman for the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, the team Nashville played Friday night. On what turned out to be his final at-bat for the Sounds, Cruz, the Brewers Minor League Player of the Year last season, hit a home run in Thursday's 2-1 loss to Colorado Springs. Cruz struck out on three pitches as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning for the Rangers on Friday. Texas Manager Buck Showalter told the Associated Press that Cruz would start in right field tonight. Nix has spent most of the season at Triple A Oklahoma after recovering from right shoulder surgery. He is hitting .269 with 10 home runs and 55 RBIs in 77 games. Nix, 25, was the starting centerfielder for the Rangers in 2005 before the shoulder injury forced him to the disabled list for the second half of the season. He hit .094 (3-for-32) in nine games with the Rangers in April. "Laynce is known for his hardnosed style of play,'' Brewers General Manager Doug Melvin said. "He has good defensive skills, and although he is just 25, he already has 42 doubles and 28 homers in 231 games in the major leagues.'' The Sounds play Salt Lake City on Sunday and Nix will likely make his debut in that game.

Nashville Site Game Summary: Link for Jermaine Clark photo, text follows -- www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=2083 Sounds Drop Series Finale To Sky Sox, 6-3 NASHVILLE, Tenn. ? A three-run rally in the bottom of the eighth would not be enough as the Nashville Sounds lost to the Colorado Spring Sky Sox, 6-3, in the finale of the four-game series on Friday night in front of 6,762 fans at Greer Stadium. The contest between the two teams was delayed an hour and five minutes due to scattered showers but that didn?t seem to effect the Sky Sox starter Ubaldo Jimenez (1-1). The right-hander was able to hold the Sounds to just two hits over seven scoreless innings of work, en route to picking up his first career Triple-A victory. Sounds starter Ben Hendrickson (8-5) allowed a season-high six runs over his six innings as he picked up his fifth loss of the year. He was only charged with only three earned runs, however; his ERA on the season now stands at 2.26. The Sky Sox broke the scoreless tie in the top half of the fourth with a four-run inning. Ryan Spilborghs started the visitors off with a single to center and advanced to second on a wild pitch by Hendrickson. Spilborghs scored the Sky Sox first run of the game on a slow-rolling single to right field off the bat of Jeff Baker. Chris Iannetta followed Baker?s single with a double to left, putting runners at second and third. The Sox lead increased to three runs when a Josh Wilson single rolled through the legs of center fielder Dave Krynzel, allowing Iannetta to score from second on the error. Wilson advanced to second on the play and Krynzel was charged with an error. With Wilson on second, catcher Mark Johnson let a Hendrickson pitch get away from him for a passed ball, allowing Wilson to advance to third. Wilson scored just a few pitches later when Hendrickson threw a ball in the dirt for his second wild pitch of the frame, increasing the Colorado Springs lead to 4-0. The Sky Sox etched two more runs in the visiting half of the fifth on another untimely error by the Sounds. With one out, Kaz Matsui hit a ground ball that bounced off the tip of the glove of first baseman Graham Koonce and allowed Matsui to reach base safely. Spilborghs followed Matsui with his second single of the night, putting runners on the corners. With two outs, Baker hit a bases-clearing double into the corner in left field to give the Sky Sox a six run lead. He tried to stretch his double into a triple but was thrown out at third for the final out of the inning. The Sounds posted a late-inning rally to get back into the contest, etching three runs in the home half of the eight on Jermaine Clark?s three-run homer to left off reliever Steve Colyer. The Sky Sox reliever had walked the first two batters of the inning prior to Clark?s third round tripper of the year. AUDIO: Jermaine Clark Three-Run HR -- www.nashvillesounds.com/a...207-28.mp3 Immediately after Clark?s blast, the game was delayed a second time, for 21 minutes due to the loss of the lights resulting from a blown transform a block away from Greer Stadium. The Sounds were unable to keep their momentum going when play resumed, however, as the next three batters all recorded outs. The Sky Sox brought in David Cortes to close out the game and, with his one inning of shutout baseball, he earned his second save of the year. The Sounds continue their homestand on Saturday at Greer when they welcome the Salt Lake Bees (AAA-Angels) for the 6 p.m. opener of a four-game series. Nashville will send knuckleballer Jared Fernandez (6-3, 2.41) to the bump and the Bees will counter with southpaw Jonathon Rouwenhorst (5-5, 4.57).

Nashville Pre-Game Audio Chat with Brewers Broadcaster Jim Powell (Part 1): www.nashvillesounds.com/a...207-28.mp3

Final: Arizona Angels 9, Arizona Brewers 8 Arizona Brewer Box Score and Game Log Link: Left fielder Andrew Lefave reaches five times -- he's at .488/.542/.732 after 41 AB's with only three K's (1.274 OPS) -- there's your Carlos Lee replacement; first baseman John Alonso drives in four; Brewers commit six errors, four by 2006 2nd round pick Brent Brewer at shortstop, now with 18 errors in limited action -- this kid seems overmatched in Maryvale, that doesn't bode well; mound efforts not as ugly as you'd think -- limited the bases on balls and victimized by defense... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_angrok_1

Link while active, text follows: www.helenair.com/articles...906_02.txt Brewers end half with win By TOM COTTON - Independent Record Sports Editor The Helena Brewers had a nice ending to a disappointing first half Friday night. The Brewers picked up a 5-3 win over Great Falls at Kindrick Legion Field to conclude the first-half of their Pioneer League campaign. The good news for Helena is that they go into the second half with a three-game winning streak. The bad news is they finished the first-half in last-place with a 15-23 mark. ?More than anything, the last three years, the team that has won the first-half has also won the second half so it is good to get some wins against the team that is in second place,? said Helena manager Ed Sedar. Sedar said the starting pitching for Helena has been outstanding during the three-game winning streak and Helena right-hander Amaury Rivas was on top of his game Friday. He settled down nicely after giving up two unearned runs in the first inning. White Sox shortstop Scotty Madsen reached thanks to an error to lead off the game and Santo Garcia followed that up with a single. Chris Carter picked up an RBI later in the frame and Missoula native Kris Welker drove in a run with a single. That would be all the damage that the White Sox offense could do, however, as Rivas settled down and worked six strong innings. ?He kept hammering the strike zone,? Brewer pitching coach Mark Littell said. Helena reliever Travis Wendte finished off the job, striking out four in three innings of work. He relied on a nasty slider to retire the White Sox in order in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings. ?When he throws it at different speeds, it is his best pitch,? Littell said. Offensively the Brewers were paced by the heart of their order as clean-up hitter Cole Gillespie scored twice and reached base four times. No. 5 hitter Chris Errecart drove in three runs, two of which came on a home run in the fourth inning, giving Helena a 3-2 win. He drove a Logan Williamson offering over the left-field wall for his sixth round-tripper of the season. He leads the team in that category. ?(Hitting coach) Johnny Narron gets them prepared to hit each and every night,? Sedar said. After Great Falls pushed across a run in the sixth, Helena took the lead for good in the seventh when Stephen Chapman came home on a wild pitch by Great Falls reliever Michael Rocco. Jordan Swaydan also had two hits for Helena in the contest. The two teams will meet again tonight to start the second half. Ramon Sanchez is scheduled to start for Great Falls, while Brandon Parillo is slated to start for Helena.