Jim Goulart

Brevard County Site Game Summary: Gallardo tames Cubs Yovani Gallardo struck out 10 over 7 2/3 innings as Brevard County blanked visiting Daytona, 4-0, on Sunday. Gallardo (5-3) allowed six hits and walked one, lowering his ERA to 2.18. Robert Hinton got the final five outs to wrap up the Manatees' second straight win and first shutout of the year. Charlie Fermaint homered and Steven Sollman went 3-for-4 with an RBI for Brevard County (25-23), which opened the scoring on Josh Murray's sacrifice fly in the fourth inning. Sam Fuld had two hits for the Cubs (25-24), who have lost four of five. Daytona was shut out for the first time this season. Daytona starter Carlos Perez (0-2) remained winless after yielding three runs on 10 hits over five innings. -- Jeannine Rippa/MLB.com ***Gallardo Silences Cubs Bats Jenny Rennie Yovani Gallardo tossed 7.2 scoreless innings against the Daytona Cubs on Sunday to earn his fifth win of the season. The Manatees continued dominance of the Cubs as they moved to 6-0 against their rivals and pushed to an overall record of 26-23. Brevard County's bats supported Gallardo's efforts by putting up four runs and 12 hits for the day. Several Manatees brought out their boomsticks Sunday afternoon. Charlie Fermaint was 2-4 with a home run and Steve Sollmann finished the afternoon 3-4 with an RBI. Freddy Parejo had another strong day at the plate going 2-3 with a run scored. Daytona's Carlos Perez gave up his second loss on the season. The Cubs return to Space Coast Stadium on Tuesday evening at 7:00 PM (6:00 Central) for game three. RHP Josh Wahpepah (3-1, 2.27) will take the hill for Brevard County against Dayton's RHP Justin Berg (2-4, 4.24).

As mentioned in Nashville broadcaster Chuck Valenches' blog, apparently 2005 Nashville utility infielder Corey D. Hart was assigned to be the Brevard County hitting coach this year, replacing Willie Aviles, who was featured earlier in this thread.

Final: Iowa (Cubs) 8, Nashville 7 Nashville Site Game Summary: Link for Brad Nelson photo, text follows -- www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=1973 Sounds Drop Third Straight In Iowa, 8-7 DES MOINES ? The Nashville Sounds dropped their third straight game at Principal Park on Sunday afternoon, failing to protect a pair of leads in an 8-7 loss to the division-rival Iowa Cubs. Sounds first baseman Brad Nelson ? a native of nearby Algona, Iowa ? made his first appearance at the cleanup spot this season and took full advantage of the opportunity, belting a pair of home runs and driving in a team-best three runs during a 2-for-5 afternoon. The roundtrippers were his second and third of the year and gave Nelson the Sounds? third multiple-homer game this season. Nashville (27-23) fell to 1-10 in one-run decisions on the road and have lost the first three games of this series by a combined four runs. The Sounds? lead in the PCL American Conference North Division has shrunk to four games over Iowa, its smallest margin since May 3. Nashville grabbed a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning on Nelson?s two-run blast off Iowa spot starter Federico Baez and upped the advantage to 5-0 with a three-run fourth that included Nelson?s second shot and a two-run blast by catcher Mark Johnson, the backstop?s first tater of the campaign. Iowa pulled within a run at 5-4 in the bottom of the fourth with a four-spot against Sounds starter Jared Fernandez. The Cubs opened the frame with five consecutive hits off the knuckleballer, including a two-run double by former Brewer farmhand Jeff Deardorff, who led Iowa with a 4-for-4 afternoon. Cubs outfielder Michael Restovich tied the contest an inning later with his third homer in the last two games, a two-out solo shot to left off Fernandez ? his seventh longball of the year. Deardorff struck again later in the frame, ripping a go-ahead RBI single to bring in Geovany Soto (4-for-5) for a 6-5 Iowa lead. The Sounds re-took a 7-6 lead in the seventh with a pair of unearned runs against the Cubs bullpen. Chris Barnwell opened the frame by reaching on an error then scored when Soto?s pickoff attempt from behind the plate went awry. Tony Gwynn staked Nashville to a one-run lead with an RBI single later in the frame. Iowa closed out the game?s scoring in the bottom of the seventh with two runs off Nashville reliever Jason Kershner, who blew a save en route to his first loss of the season. Deardorff was once again part of the rally, tying the contest with a one-out RBI single to left. Augie Ojeda pushed the eventual game-winning run across the plate in the person of Casey McGehee with a sacrifice fly to center. Cubs reliever Mark Watson (3-0) was the beneficiary of the late comeback and picked up the win after tossing 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Kerry Ligtenberg earned his second save in two days by closing out the contest with 1 1/3 scoreless frames of his own. Kershner (3-1) absorbed the loss after surrendering two runs on three hits in his lone inning of work. Outfielder Kennard Bibbs went 2-for-5 on the afternoon for the Sounds and became Nashville?s 14th different player to steal a base with a swipe of second in the contest. The Sounds look to avoid a sweep when the teams wrap up the four-game set in a 1:05 p.m. finale on Monday afternoon. Left-hander Zach Jackson (2-2, 2.50) mans the bump for Nashville to face Iowa right-hander Angel Guzman (2-3, 5.28). Nashville Box Score: Tony Gwynn on base three times; Jared Fernandez picks two runners off first base -- really? Dave Krynzel with four errors in 34 games; 15 baseruners against Jared Fernandez in 4.2 innings... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_iowaaa_1 Nashville Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_iowaaa_1

Sounds Broadcaster Chuck Valenches' latest blog entry -- Click on the link for a nice Memorial Day tribute from Chuck: nashvillesounds.blogspot....ember.html Last season the Nashville Sounds did not have their 32nd roster move until July 17th, something this years Nashville Sounds accomplished in a month and a half less time. Usually, this is not a good thing. Stability in a roster usually means the guys are getting the job done and there is a much better opportunity to gel and bond as a team than if you have a constant shuttle between farm clubs. Despite the increase in transactions from last year, the Sounds still have a comparitively stable roster compared with many teams. The Brewers made some moves to try and shore up their pen, calling up Joe Winklesas from AA as well as sending down Ben Hendrickson, Justin Lehr and Chris Demaria. While these moves are great for Joe and bad for Justin, Ben and Chris, they do help the Sounds out quite a bit. Lehr was designated for assignment by Milwaukee and upon his return to Nashville, was put in the starting rotation and threw five solid innings. Many of you may remember that last season Lehr was in the Nashville pen and Jose Capellan was in the Sounds rotation. When those two switched roles, they both took off and Lehr became one of the best starters on the team. As for Ben Hendrickson, his demotion was unfortunate. Anytime a team tells you that you are going down your confidence takes a hit. In this case it was the second time for Ben but the Brewers were very adamant in telling everyone that Ben figures into their future. Ben had three bad starts, but did show promise in relief and showed he has the stuff to be in the bigs. Down here his stuff is electric and he has been much more effective because his confidence at AAA is much higher. After his one-hit outing last week, there were some grumblings that Ben was a Four-A player. PFFFFTTT!!! is all I have to say to that. A Four-A player has good enough stuff to get AAA guys out but not big leaguers. Ben has big league stuff. His problem is apparently mental. He even admitted that he has trouble with the first inning. Once he conquers that he will be back in Milwaukee. I apologize for not writing a blog about Tucson and Vegas, but what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Though I think I might be married now, I can't remember. Suffice it to say that Vegas was hot. Pitchfork-and-horned-upper-management hot. As for the games, while the saying goes, "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" the same can not be applied to Cashman Field. "What is thrown in Cashman Field does NOT stay in Cashman Field". As for Tucson, it was also mind-numbingly hot. Nelson Cruz did apparently find a really good Cuban restaurant, but it was so hot the memory of the restaurant name melted on the asphalt. I did manage to find a Mexican restaurant nearby for a Sunday (okay, Thursday) brunch and it was not Taco Bell. My server kept reccomending I try a Mexican Chardonnay Mimosa. White wine and OJ, hmmmmmm.....No. I know a little about wine and I am pretty sure that unless its champagne, mixing wine and juice is pretty awful. If you have to mix Tropicana in your chardonnay that's a bad sign. I asked the server about the white wine from the Chihuahua, Mexico "The orange juice is good." I'll pass. I'm writing this blog from the press box of Principal Park in Des Moines, IA. The Sounds are leading the Cubs 3-0 in the top of the fourth. Brad Nelson has already homered twice and it's nice to see Brad get some good whacks at the ball. Not to mention he is doing it in front of his family from nearby Algona, IA.....Mark Johnson just hit a two-run shot woohooo! The game is not being aired due to the Vandy SEC game on WNSR and a technical glitch with the Iowa network server that won't allow us to webcast the game either. This despite the best efforts of the Sounds own computer guru, Alex Short, and the Iowa Cubs technical network experts as well. I guess my laptop is the Ozzie Smith (old, no power) to the Iowa Cubs Tony LaRussa. They just can't work together. Some listener email: from Matthew Bond: "On a different subject, what was the curfew rule that halted the Cinco de Mayo marathon at 18 innings?" Thanks for the email Matt. Minor League Baseball does not allow any inning to start after 12:50 AM. It's a little known rule and was not really applied until about 1:15 AM. The Sounds were still tied with New Orleans 4-4 after 18 innings. The game was completed the next day after 24 innings, the Sounds lost 5-4. The game was the third longest in professional history at eight hours and seven minutes total. Oh, and the Sounds and the Zephyrs had to play another game right after that the same night they completed the 24 inning game. Mike Valentine wrote: "I was looking over the Brewers website and noticed that Corey Hart is a coach for the Brewers A ball team in Brevard County. Is that Corey D. Hart?" Yep. Thats right Mike. Corey D. Hart was released in spring training and at the same time offered a coaching position as the hitting coach for the Brewers Single A club in the Florida State League. It's been a good year for Corey, he got a championship ring, a new career, he met and married a good friend of mine, Stacey Peterson (now Stacey Hart) and they are expecting a baby. Thanks for the hellos to snmartin@chorus.net, as well as Molly, Ryan, Jesse Eichorn and Gator Jay. Have a happy and safe Memorial Day weekend.

Final: West Virginia 7, Lakewood (Phillies) 6 West Virginia Site Game Summary: Power score six unanswered to beat Lakewood The West Virginia Power trailed the Lakewood BlueClaws 6-1 after seven and a half innings of Sunday afternoon?s ballgame at Appalachian Power Park. The Power then scored six unanswered runs and won the game on Angel Salome?s three-run double to top the BlueClaws 7-6. Clay Harris hit a solo shot in the top of the second inning to give Lakewood an early lead. The Power answered the call on Ned Yost?s RBI double down the left field line in the bottom of the second. Lakewood scored four times in the fourth inning on an RBI single from Fidel Hernandez and a three-run homer from Greg Golson. Lakewood took a 6-1 lead in the eighth on John Urick?s solo shot. The comeback began in the bottom of the eighth inning. Darren Ford doubled in Brad Willcutt, and Michael Brantley and Ryan Crew contributed with RBI singles to pull the Power within two. Nate Yoho began the ninth inning on a single, Ford reached on a Welinson Baez fielding error at third base, and then Brantley walked to load the bases. With the go ahead run on first base, Salome belted the game-winning three-run double off the wall in center field. The win marks the third for the Power in their final at-bat, the game winning hit for Salome was his second of the season and it marked the second ninth inning come from behind victory of the season. Wil Laureano (2-1) earned the win, and Pat Overholt (3-1) obtained the loss. The Power are 25-23 after the win and the BlueClaws fell to 26-23 with the loss. The Power will continue the four game series against Lakewood Monday night. Lakewood will start left hander Josh Outman (1-4, 3.67) and the Power will counter with right hander Kevin Roberts (2-6, 4.66). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM (6:05 Central). West Virginia Box Score: Six doubles among the Power's 11 hits; the Brewers have imported countless Latin arms in recent seasons -- nice to see some fruits of that labor, continue to keep an eye on lefty Rafael Lluberes... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1 West Virginia Game Log: Looks like the Lakewood manager outwitted himself with a final pitching move in the 8th after two consecutive strikeouts... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1

Before we get to the Brevard game notes I gleaned, let me just say that it's fortunate for the Brewers that the Florida State League, and the Manatees in particular, are a black hole in terms of media coverage. Hernan Iribarren is a 40-man roster player, and has appeared in the Futures Game. Someone will have to explain how you can be kicked out of a game for, ahem, allegedly corking a bat. Did he have a Sammy Sosa bat explosion moment? Is his bat being x-ray'd, like Albert Belle's? If there had been at least one accurate media account of the incident, it would have been picked up by AP, and been widely reported by many outlets. Certainly Iribarren is facing a suspension of some sort, so we'll learn more eventually, but just another example of the frustrating of coverage in the FSL. Final: Brevard County 4, Daytona (Cubs) 0 Brevard County Box Score: SS Alcides Escobar off the disabled list -- that bad finger finally allows him to play the field as well; Ryan Braun an on-base machine as of late, three times today; Steve Sollman three hits, Freddy Parejo stays hot; oh yeah, Charlie Fermaint's good; Yo Gallardo with an insane 77-to-15 K/BB ratio in 57.2 innings... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_breafa_1 Brevard County Game Log: Game started ominously, with wasted Manatee chances in the first two innings; the Brevard 5th ended oddly... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_breafa_1

The Stars are underway just now, and I've flipped on Brett Pollock and the Huntsville audio. The Stars will win, the Stars will win...

Link while active, text follows: www.al.com/stars/huntsvil...amp;coll=1 Covering the bases (Through Friday's games) Mark McCarter, Huntsville Times A couple of well-wishers in Don Money's office were offering some "hang in there" messages, that things would turn around for his team. "When?" said Money, looking up from his desk. "We're a third of the way through the season. At some point, you have to say when are you going to do it, not that you will." ... A good many of the complaints about the replacement umpires have centered on mechanics and positioning as much as missed calls. In retrospect, baseball might have been more proactive in training the replacements in across-the-board fundamentals. ... It's not inaccurate when one Milwaukee organization insider says "we're trying everything hoping something works" regarding pitching. The Brewers have pulled up three pitchers from Huntsville this week, sent Ben Hendrickson back to the minors - where he pitched one-hit shutout ball for seven innings after allowing the first six batters he faced to score in a loss to Minnesota - and Friday traded former Star Mike Adams to the Mets organization for Jeremi Gonzalez. ... There was a transaction involving Huntsville's pitching staff on four of five days from Monday through Friday. Carlos Villanueva and Joe Winklesas both went up to bolster the Brewers bullpen, and Chris Mabeus went up after a one-game stint here necessitated by waiver complications. Then Brett Evert was sent down Friday from Nashville. ... Villanueva will rejoin the Stars today. ... That's not a freeloader out there beyond the center field fence at Joe Davis Stadium. It's a Huntsville pitcher. Pitching coach Rich Sauveur has one of his pitchers on "an off day" videotaping at-bats from that angle. ... Corey Thurman starts today after two games with Nashville, in which he went 1-1. He is a tough-luck 1-4 with the Stars, with a 2.56 ERA. The Stars scored six runs in his only win -- and only six runs total in his other six starts. Around the league Jacksonville outfielder Matt Kemp won't get to catch Lancaster's Chris Rahl in the race for most hits in the minor leagues - and that's OK. Rahl had 66 hits and Kemp 65 through Friday. But moments before Saturday's game here, the injury-riddled Dodgers called Kemp up to the majors. ... Jacksonville leaves Huntsville and heads to Montgomery today riding an incredible streak. The Suns have won 29 of their last 43 - and 10 of those 14 losses were by only one run. ... Chattanooga won seven in a row before losing Friday, including a 16-inning duel Tuesday. ... Atlanta's highly touted catching prospect Jarron Saltalamacchia is struggling, hitting .204 with four homers and 18 RBIs. ... West Tenn outfielder Luis Montanez, a career .272 hitter who became the SL's top hitter with a .369 average, was promoted to Class AAA last weekend. ... Mississippi's Barbaro Canizares (.480 with three doubles, three home runs, seven RBIs) and Tennessee's Ross Ohlendorf (1-0 with a 2.51 ERA in two starts) are the most recent BC Powder Southern League Hitter and Pitcher of the Week. ... On Friday, Ohlendorf's bat was as important as his arm, hitting a grand slam that ended the Chattanooga win streak. Brewings Triple-A Nashville Sounds (27-21 before Saturday, first place in Pacific Coast League American Division): OF Nelson Cruz .302, 12 HRs, league-leading 39 RBIs). Single-A Brevard County Manatees (24-23, third in Florida State East Division): P Josh Wahpepah 3-1, 2.27 ERA in nine starts. Single-A West Virginia Power (24-22 third in South Atlantic League Northern Division): P Derek Miller 5-1, 2.70 ERA in 10 starts. On deck West Tenn, the Cubs' Double-A affiliate, begins a five-game visit to Huntsville today. Game time is 6:05. Monday's game is at 2:05, Tuesday and Thursday are at 7:05 and Wednesday is a 12:05 start. Any active duty or retired military personnel who show their military ID will get a free general admission or upper level reserve ticket on Mondays and Saturdays. Military also get a 1/2 price ticket to any Sunday or Thursday game. Watch for West Tenn 3B Eric Patterson, ranked No. 10 among Cubs prospects by Baseball America, and younger brother of major leaguer Corey Patterson.

Standings through Saturday's action: Pacific Coast League (AAA) - American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Nashville 27 22 .551 - 16-8 11-14 L2[/b] Iowa 21 26 .447 5.0 11-12 10-14 W2 Omaha 19 30 .388 8.0 12-13 7-17 L2 Memphis 17 31 .354 9.5 11-13 6-18 W2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chattanooga 32 18 .640 - 19-6 13-12 L2 West Tenn 28 22 .560 4.0 12-13 16-9 L2 Carolina 25 25 .500 7.0 15-10 10-15 W2 Tennessee 23 27 .460 9.0 14-11 9-16 W2 [b]Huntsville 20 29 .408 11.5 9-15 11-14 L9[/b] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- St. Lucie 27 21 .563 - 13-13 14-8 W2 [b]Brevard County 25 23 .521 2.0 11-10 14-13 W1[/b] Daytona 25 24 .510 2.5 15-10 10-14 L1 Palm Beach 24 24 .500 3.0 11-12 13-12 W1 Jupiter 20 28 .417 7.0 10-15 10-13 L1 Vero Beach 19 30 .388 8.5 11-14 8-16 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Delmarva 30 17 .638 - 16-9 14-8 W9 Lexington 29 19 .604 1.5 17-9 12-10 L1 Greensboro 26 22 .542 4.5 18-8 8-14 L2 Lakewood 26 22 .542 4.5 14-9 12-13 W4 [b]West Virginia 24 23 .511 6.0 13-11 11-12 L2[/b] Lake County 23 26 .469 8.0 12-13 11-13 W1 Hickory 19 27 .413 10.5 9-11 10-16 W1 Hagerstown 18 30 .375 12.5 9-11 9-19 L5

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 Sunday's action as it happens: Here's what you do, right click on each of the links below and choose "Open in New Window". Activate the Nashville Gameday. For the other links, 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. It's sweet! Nashville: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_iowaaa_1 Huntsville: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1 Brevard County: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_breafa_1 West Virginia: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1

A lot of folks are excited to see LHP Steve Garrison's debut for the Power -- keep in mind last year's 10th rounder only pitched in Arizona Rookie League ball, never at Helena. He's 19 years old, a year out of a New Jersey prep high school. Of course, we wish his promotion wouldn't have come at the expense of Will Inman's sore shoulder, but Garrison must have been impressing in extended spring training at Maryvale.

Sunday's Daily Menu: All times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: RHP Jared Fernandez at Iowa (Cubs), 12:45 PM pre-game, 1:05 gametime Audio link: www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/ Huntsville: RHP Corey Thurman at home vs. West Tenn (Cubs), 5:50 PM pre-game, 6:05 gametime Audio link: www.espn1450.com/ Brevard County: RHP Yo Gallardo at home vs. Daytona (Cubs), 3:00 PM Audio link (opponent's): voiceoftherepublic.com/live.asx West Virginia: LHP Steve Garrison at home vs. Lakewood (Phillies), 12:55 PM pre-game, 1:05 gametime Audio link: www.sportsjuice.com/provi...e=wvpower.

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Link while active, text follows: www.al.com/sports/huntsvi...amp;coll=1 Stymied Stars still hoping someone will save them Suns complete sweep at Joe Davis with 1-0 win By MARK McCARTER Huntsville Times Sports Staff markcolumn@aol.com Fifteen minutes after the Stars' record-tying ninth-straight loss, Don Money's cell phone bleated in the adjacent room, with "The 1812 Overture" as its ring tone. It's music more closely associated with a certain silver-bullet-leaving, black-mask-wearing Western hero. "We need the Lone Ranger,'' pitching coach Rich Sauveur proclaimed, handing Money the phone. Not a bad idea, since for the fifth consecutive day the Huntsville Stars were unable to head the Jacksonville Suns off at the pass. This time, on a searing Saturday afternoon in front of an announced crowd of 1,285, Jacksonville notched a 1-0 victory. It was the seventh time Huntsville has been shut out in 49 games. The Stars bid farewell to Jacksonville and now bring in West Tenn, the Cubs' Double-A farm, against whom they are 2-3 this year. Game time today is 6:05. The loss marked the first series sweep in the Southern League since its five-game series system was established this season. It also matched droughts that previous Huntsville teams had endured in 1987, 1995 and 1996. "We're finding new ways to lose every day,'' bemoaned Money, the Stars' manager. This time, they lost because they had only three hits and because the Suns pushed across a run in the second when Tony Abreu singled, stole second and then scored on A.J. Ellis' single. When left fielder Drew Anderson bobbled the hit, it erased any potential bang-bang play at the plate. Spike Lundberg pitched seven innings of three-hit ball for the Suns, then relievers Casey Hoorelbeke and Mark Alexander sewed up the shutout. Huntsville scored just 11 runs in the series, and Jacksonville pitching deserves much credit. Still, said Money, "we're making all of them look like Cy Young.'' Feeling somewhat like a lone stranger was Huntsville starter Jeff Housman, who, Money said, "pitched well enough to win" but got no offensive support. Making his second start since a three-week disabled list stint, he scattered seven hits in seven innings, striking out five. Both Money and Sauveur believed Housman wasn't as sharp as normal, a diagnosis with which the pitcher agreed. Housman praised catching kemosabe Lou Palmisano for his pitch selection, saying, "Lou got me through the day. I didn't have very good stuff. I had decent command but I didn't have a very good fastball or a very good slider. Lou mixed it up good back there.'' Both Sauveur and Housman were asked about any extra pressure on the starting pitchers, knowing they have little room for error with a struggling offense behind them. "They can't go out there with that mind-set,'' Sauveur said. "They've got to pitch their own game.'' For his part, Housman even tried a bit of a pep talk to his teammates on Friday. "I told the guys it doesn't matter if we lose nine in a row. Years from now you're not going to remember that. Go out there and have fun, and see what happens.'' Not exactly like leaving a silver bullet behind, but maybe the message will take hold.

Will Inman's shoulder hurts, the Hurricane (allegedly) corks his bat, the Stars are playing like anything but Stars at a franchise-record pace for futility -- what the heck is going on around here? Sheesh...

Brevard County Site Game Summary: Manatees outlast Cubs Carlos De La Cruz's RBI single in the 12th inning lifted Brevard County over visiting Daytona, 10-9, on Saturday. De La Cruz was pinch-hitting for shortstop Scott McKnight, who had replaced Steven Sollmann in the seventh. Sollmann took over at second base for Hernan Iribarren, who was ejected in the sixth for allegedly using a corked bat. The Manatees (25-23) battled back from a 9-3 deficit, plating the tying run in the eighth when reliever Jon Hunton hit Ryan Bruan with a pitch with the bases loaded. Carlos Corporan and C.J. Medlin (pictured below)both had two hits and combined for five RBIs for the Manatees. Freddy Parejo drove in two runs and collected three of Brevard County's 13 hits. Sam Fuld, Jemel Spearman, Jeff Culpepper, Daniel Gonzalez and Olin Wick each plated a run for the Cubs (25-24). Jake Fox, who slugged a leadoff homer in the third, and Matt Craig recorded two RBIs apiece. Reliever Dave Johnson (5-3) allowed one hit and a walk with two strikeouts over two frames for the win. Reliever Jerry Blevins (0-1) retired just one of the four batters he faced and was saddled with the loss. -- Marissa Rega/MLB.com http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/2006/05/27/CUNWHlJA.jpg ***Manatees Cruz to 12th Inning Victoryby Jenny Rennie In front of 3,513 fans at Space Coast Stadium, the Brevard County Manatees battled back to pull out a 10-9 victory over the Daytona Cubs. Five Manatees pitchers and six Daytona Cubs tossed twelve innings. At the end of the fourth inning, the Manatees were down 7-1 before striking back with two runs in the fifth, a three-run sixth inning and added two in the seventh before tying the score in the eighth inning. After three scoreless innings from both teams, pinch hitter Carlos De La Cruz hit a shot to right field to score the winning run for the Manatees. Freddy Parejo went 3-4 on the night with two RBI and C.J. Medlin knocked in three runs with a double to left field. Six Manatees had multiple hits for the night. On the mound, Bo Hall threw 4.2 innings of relief allowing only two hits and one run. The Manatees pitchers combined for ten strikeouts while the Cubs staff rang up twelve. Dave Johnson (5-3) earned the win for Brevard County while Jerry Blevins (0-1) gave up the loss for Daytona. The Manatees continue their series against the Cubs with a 4:00 PM matinee (3:00 Central) on Sunday afternoon.

Link while active, text follows: www.wvgazette.com/section...2006052736 Power tumbles to BlueClaws, 7-4 By Tommy R. Atkinson Charleston Gazette Staff writer West Virginia?s Michael Brantley broke out of his slump in a big way Saturday night while the Power continued its slide. Brantley went 3-for-4 and drove in a run but the Power fell behind early and couldn?t recover in a 7-4 loss to the Lakewood (N.J.) BlueClaws in a South Atlantic League Northern Division matchup. A paid crowd of 4,314 attended at Appalachian Power Park. Brantley, a 19-year-old left fielder, entered Saturday?s play with one hit in his last 11 at-bats for a .091 batting average. He quickly got on track against Lakewood, laying down a near-perfect bunt in the third inning that the third baseman let roll down the line all the way to the bag for a single. Brantley then followed that up with another infield single in the fifth on a shot deep in the hole near second base. Brantley came through in the seventh with a run-scoring single to left field that helped the Power slice its deficit to 7-3. The only time Lakewood retired him was in the ninth on a hard shot that almost went over the center fielder?s head. ?I?m just trying to battle and work hard,?? said Brantley, who is only a few weeks removed from the disabled list for inflammation in his right throwing shoulder. ?He?s improving in all the areas,?? said Power manager Mike Guerrero. ?I think he?s going to be a pretty good hitter. The ball he hit to center field in the last inning was a really nice swing.?? Brantley, a seventh-round selection by the Milwaukee Brewers in last June?s amateur draft out of Fort Pierce (Fla.) High School, has a luxury most minor leaguers would cherish. Brantley?s father Mitch played in the major leagues for five years and is currently a hitting coach for the Toronto Blue Jays. ?I talk to him every night over the phone,?? said Michael Brantley. ?[He just tells me] to break down my swing and see what I need to change. It?s a big lift to have.?? Lakewood plated four runs in the third to grab a 4-0 lead it never relinquished. The BlueClaws scored their first run on the first of three Power errors before Sean Gamble smacked a two-out two-run home run on the first pitch down the right field line for a 3-0 advantage. After Power pitching coach John Curtis conferred with starter Matt Kretzschmar (0-2), Avelino Asprilla followed with a solo shot on the first offering he saw, depositing the pitch between the U.S. and West Virginia state flags in left for a 4-0 edge. Lakewood built the lead to 5-0 in the fourth before West Virginia put two runs on the board in the bottom half on Angel Salome?s leadoff solo homer to left that hit off the taller Kyle Furniture building and another came home on an error. The Power scored twice more, but also surrendered a pair to offset any gains. ?We keep battling,?? Guerrero said. ?That?s the good thing about this team ? don?t count us out.?? Power points Salome, who is hitting .342 in his last 10 games, finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI . . . Will Inman, a right-handed starter who was the Milwaukee Brewers? third-round selection in last June?s amateur draft, was placed on the disabled list prior to Saturday night?s game against Lakewood. Left-hander Steve Garrison will take Inman?s spot on the roster. Inman, who owned a 3-1 record with a 1.80 earned run average, was placed on the DL because of soreness in his pitching shoulder . . . West Virginia will play host to Lakewood today in the second game of the four-game series.

Final: Lakewood (Phillies) 7, West Virginia 4 West Virginia Site Game Summary: Blueclaws use four-run third to beat Power The Lakewood BlueClaws scored all four of their runs in the third inning of Saturday night?s game against the Power with two outs, and eventually took a 5-0 lead en route to a 7-4 victory at Appalachian Power Park. Greg Golson doubled into center field with two outs in the fourth, Darren Ford bobbled the ball in center allowing Fidel Hernandez to score the first run of the inning. Sean Gamble followed with a two-run homer and Avelino Aprilla followed with his first homer of the season to complete the four-run frame. Hernandez drove in the fifth run of the game on a sacrifice fly in the top of the fourth inning. Angel Salome ripped a solo shot to begin the fourth inning, his sixth of the year to put the Power on the board. Mat Gamel scored later in the fourth on Matt Maloney?s throwing error. In the fifth John Urick drove in a run on an RBI double to give Lakewood a 6-2 lead. Doug Morales drove in John Urick on a sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh inning to give Lakewood a 7-2 lead. Michael Brantley singled into left field scoring Ned Yost to bring the Power within four and Yost contributed in the bottom of the eighth inning on an RBI single to bring the Power within three. Maloney (5-4) earned the win, Brett Harker earned the save (6) and Matt Kretzschmar (0-2) obtained the loss. The Power are 24-23 after the loss and the BlueClaws improved to 26-22 with the win. The Power will continue the four game series against Lakewood Sunday afternoon. Lakewood will start right hander Carlos Carrasco (3-3, 2.05) and the Power will counter with left hander Steve Garrison (0-0, 0.00). The first pitch is scheduled for 2:05 PM (1:05 Central). West Virginia Box Score: Young Michael Brantley settling in; the outfielders are making their share of Power errors as well... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1 West Virginia Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1

Final: Iowa (Cubs) 3, Nashville 2 Nashville Site Game Summary: Link for Vinny Rottino photo, text follows -- www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=1972 Cubs Homer Their Way Past Sounds, 3-2 DES MOINES ? Iowa outfielder Michael Restovich belted a pair of homers to lead the Cubs to a 3-2 victory over the Nashville Sounds on Saturday evening at Principal Park. Nashville (27-22) left 11 men on base in the contest in taking its second straight loss. The Sounds fell to 1-9 in one-run decisions on the road. Sounds starter Justin Lehr put the visitors on the board in the top of the second, helping his own cause with an RBI double that scored Chris Barnwell for a 1-0 lead. Iowa struck right back in the bottom of the frame as Restovich and Micah Hoffpauir belted back-to-back solo homers, their fifth and fourth longballs of the year respectively. Restovich, who finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored, upped the Cubs? lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the fourth when he slugged his second homer of the evening, a leadoff solo shot off Lehr. Nashville pulled within a run in the fifth when third baseman Vinny Rottino, who paced the club with a 2-for-4 night, ripped a one-out solo homer to left off Iowa starter Les Walrond. AUDIO: Vinny Rottino Solo HR -- www.nashvillesounds.com/a...205-27.wma Walrond (5-1) picked up the victory after holding the Sounds to two runs on five hits over five innings. He struck out nine and walked six batters during his outing. Kerry Ligtenberg worked a scoreless ninth inning to notch his first save of the year. Lehr (0-1) took a loss in his first Triple-A outing of the season after giving up three runs, all on homers, in his five frames. Jermaine Clark picked up his Pacific Coast League-leading 16th stolen base for Nashville in the loss. The teams meet again for a 1:05 p.m. matinee on Sunday afternoon. Nashville sends knuckleballer Jared Fernandez (1-1, 2.03) to the hill to face an undetermined Iowa starter. Nashville Box Score: Dave Krynzel on base all five plate appearances -- nice, but Brent Abernathy and Nelson Cruz never picked him up; Mark Johnson is no Mike Rivera... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_iowaaa_1 Nashville Game Log: Check out the top of the first -- yikes! Tough luck double-play lineout for Tony Gwynn in the 8th... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_iowaaa_1

Final: Brevard County 10, Daytona (Cubs) 9, 12 innings 'Tees overcome an 8-1 5th-inning deficit; rarely-used pinch-hitter Carlos de la Cruz wins it with a walk-off one-out single... Brevard County Box Score: Ten Manatee base hits from the 5-through-9 spots in the order -- Ryan Braun and Freddy Parejo each reaches base four times; 8 2/3 innings of one-run relief pick up an ineffective Mark Rogers; the Hurricane ejected by the home plate umpire in the 7th... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_breafa_1 Brevard County Game Log: There's a lot to digest here, but you can do it... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_breafa_1

Final: Jacksonville (Dodgers) 1, Huntsville 0 Huntsville Site Game Summary: Link, text follows -- www.huntsvillestars.com/n...newsId=852 Stars Shut Down in Loss to Suns Spike Lundberg, Casey Hoorelbeke and Mark Alexander combined on a three-hit shutout to pitch Jacksonville past Huntsville 1-0 Saturday afternoon to complete a five-game series sweep at Joe Davis Stadium. The Suns won their sixth in a row to improve to 31-19 and maintained their lead in the Southern League South Division over Montgomery, which plays later tonight at Mobile, while the Stars suffered a franchise-record tying ninth straight defeat and fell to 20-29 on the season. Huntsville has lost its last eight games at home and has been limited to 14 runs in those defeats, including two shutouts. Tony Abreu singled to left field to open the second inning, stole second base and scored on a one-out single by catcher A.J. Ellis. Stars? starter Jeff Housman allowed only four other runners to reach second base and one runner to advance as far as third base, Lundberg in the seventh inning, over the rest of his outing. The Stars? southpaw went seven innings for a second time this season, allowing seven hits, walking a pair and fanning five. He suffered the hard-luck loss to fall to 1-2. Lundberg allowed a leadoff single to Steve Moss in the first inning and then retired 14 of the next 15 before Guilder Rodriguez led off the sixth inning with a single. Housman dropped down a bunt that Lundberg fielded and threw to second base to try to cut down Rodgriguez but the throw pulled shortstop Chin-Lung Hu off the bag, putting runners at first and second base and nobody out. Moss advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt and Drew Anderson was walked intentionally to load the bases. Ron Acuna struck out for the second out, and for the second time in the series with the sacks full, and Adam Heether grounded out to end the threat. Lundberg matched his season-high with seven innings of shutout work during which he allowed three singles, walked two and fanned three. Casey Hoorelbeke issued back-to-back two-out walks to Moss and Anderson in the eighth but Acuna went down swinging. Alexander retired the side in order to record his third save of the series and tenth of the year. Jacksonville registered a save in all five games in the set and became the first team to sweep a five-game series in the new Southern League schedule format. The Stars also lost nine games in a row in 1988, 1995 and 1996 and are one game shy of matching the franchise record for most consecutive home losses, established in 1988. The Stars were shutout for the seventh time this season and for the sixth time at home. The Stars begin a five-game series with West Tenn on Sunday evening, as right-hander Corey Thurman gets the starting assignment against Diamond Jaxx southpaw J.R. Mathes. Coverage of the game begins at 5:50 p.m. central time and can be heard locally on ESPN Radio 1450 AM and via the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com. Huntsville Box Score: Apparently there is no depth this "offense" can reach -- you know these guys must be pressing big time, especially with runners in scoring position... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1 Huntsville Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1

Link while active, text follows: www.al.com/sports/huntsvi...amp;coll=1 Stars' frustration finds way to grow Early 4-0 lead can't ward off eighth straight loss By BRAD SHEPARD For The Huntsville Times As the old cliche goes, "When it rains, it pours." In the Huntsville Stars' case, the misery just keeps gushing over the floodgates. How unlucky are things for the still-falling Stars, who dropped a 6-4 decision to Jacksonville on Friday night? The Suns' game-winning run came on a 120-foot pop-up single by a relief pitcher in the sixth inning. Huntsville (20-28) also wasted a 4-0 lead built by a pair of struggling hitters - Greg Sain and Adam Heether. What could have been a jubilant jump-start for a slumping team instead became a temporary tease on the way to Huntsville's eighth-straight loss in front of 4,920 fans at Joe Davis Stadium. Immediately after Sain and Heether smashed back-to-back home runs in the third inning, Matt Yeatman gave the runs right back. A rare offensive outburst from a pair who was hitting .188 in 277 at-bats was wasted. "With the funk we're in, that's when everything seems to go bad," Sain said. "It's just frustrating. Everybody wants to get going." Two innings later, the Stars fell behind on even more frustrating terms. That's when Jacksonville reliever Adam Thomas knocked in Justin Ruggiano with the go-ahead run. With runners on second and third and one out in a tie game, Stars manager Don Money elected to bring in his infielders. What would have been a harmless popup by Thomas instead fell between Callix Crabbe and Ron Acuna. Both hesitated to pick up the ball, and an alert Ruggiano scored from third without a throw. Brett Evert, just sent down from Triple-A Nashville, took the loss. "I still think he (Crabbe) should've caught it, in my opinion," Money said. "That's the plays you've got to make. But we still had a chance to knock in runs." To cap a frustrating Friday, Huntsville botched prime scoring opportunities in the seventh and eighth innings, going 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position. Pinch-hitter Jeff Eure got to second with one out in the seventh, but instead of knocking in the tying run, Travis Ezi struck out looking and Drew Anderson popped out in foul ground to the third baseman. Acuna and Sain stood on second and third with one out in the eighth, but Lou Palmisano grounded into a fielder's choice to the pitcher, and Ozzie Chavez flew out to end the threat. Jacksonville (30-19) added an insurance run in the top of the ninth on an error by Sain. Though there wasn't a drop of rain in sight, it seemed dreary in Huntsville's locker room afterward. "This losing streak is no fun," said Sain, who sat across the locker room from Yeatman but wore the same frown looking at the floor. "Guys are playing hard, but things aren't going our way. If we keep doing it, they'll start going our way."

List of the Canadian names we may see: slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Baseba..._2006.html

West Virginia Power notebook By Mike Whiteford Charleston Gazette Staff writer Bats heating up Helped by some solid offensive numbers in May, the Power has moved into second place in hitting in the 16-team South Atlantic League. Through Thursday?s games, the Power was hitting .293 in May ? following a .254 mark in April ? and is hitting .273 overall. It trails only Lexington at .281. Last year, the Power batted .251 for the season, and the Alley Cats hit just .256 in 2004, the final season of Watt Powell Park. Appalachian Power Park?s hitter-friendly conditions explain part of the increase, but a better explanation is the team?s current balance. Three hitters, Angel Salome, Lorenzo Cain and Mat Gamel, are hitting over .300, and seven others, Kenny Holmberg, Tony Festa, Darren Ford, Brad Willcutt, Mike Bell, Ryan Crew and Ned Yost, are hitting between .293 and .248. With its fast-rising average of .273, as well as 32 home runs in 45 games, the Power may finish as one of the best-hitting Class A Charleston teams ever. Watt Powell served as the city?s South Atlantic League home from 1987 through 2004 and was famous as a pitcher?s park. And because of its choppy and uneven playing surface, the suspicion arose that major-league organizations were reluctant to assign their best position-player prospects to Charleston. (One exception was Alex Rios, Toronto?s first-round draft pick in 1999, who played for the 2001 Alley Cats and is now hitting .357 with 35 RBIs with the Blue Jays.) Appalachian Power Park has been especially good to the Power. The team is hitting .311 with 20 home runs in 23 home games and only .235 and 12 homers in 22 road games. ?Wear and tear? In several places, the grass has thinned out on the Appalachian Power Park playing surface. The bare spots are partly attributable to 59 games, including those played by the University of Charleston and Marshall. But part of the problem, said Milovich, is poor irrigation and sod trouble, things that can be corrected. ?It?s showing a lot of wear and tear,?? the general manager admitted. ?We?ve had some issues with irrigation. We?re trying to adjust some irrigation heads because we?re not getting adequate field coverage with the water. And there were some areas that we resodded late last year, and they didn?t take as well as they should have. So we?ve resodded those areas. I think the number of games is a factor, but there are other factors.?? Briefly The Power will open a four-game homestand against Lakewood beginning Saturday night. Sunday?s game will be an afternoon contest, and Monday?s and Tuesday?s games at 7:05 PM (6:05 Central). Starting in June, all Sunday games will begin at 5:05 PM (4:05 Central) to avoid the afternoon heat. Saturday night, the Power is expected to face one of the league?s best pitchers, left-hander Matt Maloney, who ranks third in the SAL with a 2.01 ERA and has allowed just 35 hits in 53 2/3 innings. He?s also struck out 67. The Power is also scheduled to face BlueClaw right-hander Carlos Carasco, who has similar numbers ? 2.05 ERA, 40 hits in 57 innings and 64 strikeouts. ... Despite more rain than last year, Power attendance average is slightly ahead of last year?s. Through 23 home games, the team is averaging 3,574 to rank seventh in the league, after averaging 3,532 last year. This year?s number is encouraging, considering the weather, said Milovich. ?Seventeen of our 23 games have been weather affected, and I think we?ve had three rainouts,?? he said. ?Whereas last year, I think we had only one rainout and four or five games with poor weather. We?re about even with what we were last year. I think we?d be well ahead of last year if the weather had been better.??