Jim Goulart

Final: Brevard County 4, Tampa (Yankees) 2 Brevard County Box Score: Ryan Braun the lone Manatee to reach twice, now 9-for-11 in SB attempts; typical nice Josh Wahpepah line... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_tbyafa_1 Brevard County Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_tbyafa_1

Manatees facing rehabbing Yankee Carl Pavano today...

Link while active, text follows: www.al.com/stars/huntsvil...amp;coll=1 Covering the bases Mark McCarter, Huntsville Times Delmon Young, whose former Montgomery team arrives today in Huntsville, should serve as a cautionary tale for top prospects. One of the most incredibly talented -- and arrogant and immature -- players to ever hit the Southern League, Young's refusal to grow up and control his actions may sidetrack a promising major league career. Young, a Durham outfielder, has been suspended indefinitely by the Triple-A International League for throwing a bat and striking an umpire in the chest. See the video, and you think "indefinitely" should translate to "sometime around July 2007." While in Montgomery last season, he was equally petulant, bumping an umpire and receiving a three-game suspension and once throwing a bat at a pitcher. He also reportedly requested payment for local TV interviews. The ESPN show "Outside The Lines" aired an episode on Young's actions, and made comparisons between him and Barry Bonds, partly for their sense of entitlement. To compare Young to Bonds now almost begs for an apology to Bonds. ... There's a "whew!" moment to all the Young business, as Tom Haudricourt of The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel notes. The Devils Rays had the No. 1 draft pick in 2003 and the Brewers had No. 2. Had Tampa Bay selected college player of the year Rickie Weeks instead of Young with the No. 1, Milwaukee would have taken Young. So while Young is under suspension, Weeks, a quiet kid and class act, is starring for the Brewers. ... Weeks' running buddy, former Star Prince Fielder was named the National League's Rookie of the Month for April, batting .344 with five homers. ... Ben Hendrickson is back in the majors with Milwaukee and started Saturday night's game at Los Angeles. ... Stars reliever Joe Winkelsas was called up to Triple-A Nashville Saturday, with the Sounds' bullpen depleted by an 18-inning game Friday that was suspended as a 4-4 tie. Mid-day Saturday, the Stars were scrambling for transportation for Winkelsas to go from Jackson, Tenn., to Nashville. ... Stars manager Don Money was thrown out of Thursday's game, his first ejection of the year and second in two seasons, arguing over a foul-fair call but already angered by an inconsistent strike zone. Around the league Last week, a 350-pound mannequin was swiped from BellSouth Park in Chattanooga. "Bob," who perched on a bank billboard 24 feet above the ground, was discovered missing and investigators discovered a forklift parked nearby in which keys had been left overnight. However, he was discovered the next day several miles from the park. ... Scott Boras has a reputation as one of baseball's more reptilian agents, something he is enhancing now. A complaint has been filed against him by the agent of Mississippi catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, claiming a Boras associate is "stalking" the Braves' highly regarded prospect. ... Jacksonville's Matt Kemp had a hit streak end at 16 games on Wednesday. Brewings (through Friday's games) Triple-A Nashville Sounds (19-8, before Saturday's play, first place in Pacific Coast League American Division): Friday's game with New Orleans was suspended after 18 innings - and 6:23 of playing time - with 4-4 tie. P Dana Eveland 3-0, 0.87 ERA in five starts. Single-A Brevard County Manatees (15-13, third in Florida State East Division): 3-10 record over the past two weeks; P Manny Parra four hits, four walks, four strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings in first start off disabled list Single-A West Virginia Power (14-13, fifth in South Atlantic League Northern Division this half): On Thursday, the Power hit six homers in a 12-run first - two by Mat Gamel - in a 17-2 win over Lexington that was mercifully called by rain after five innings. On deck Montgomery arrives for a five-game series, the only visit of the season by the Biscuits, who are in an opposite division. Today's game is at 6:05, with 7:05 starts Monday and Tuesday, 12:05 on Wednesday and 10:05 a.m. Thursday. On Tuesday, the Stars will be looking for "Huntsville's Nuttiest Fan," in a promotion sponsored by Hershey's Really Nuts! snacks. The winner receives a trip for two to the Texas League All-Star Game. Seems a little nutty it's not the Southern League All-Star Game, but, oh well ... Watch for Montgomery first baseman Wes Bankston, the No. 7 prospect in the Devil Rays' chain.

Standings through Saturday's action: Pacific Coast League (AAA) - American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Nashville 20 9 .690 - 11-3 9-6 W1[/b] Omaha 14 14 .500 5.5 8-6 6-8 L3 Iowa 11 16 .407 8.0 6-7 5-9 W2 Memphis 9 18 .333 10.0 7-7 2-11 L3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chattanooga 20 10 .667 - 11-4 9-6 W1 West Tenn 17 13 .567 3.0 8-7 9-6 L1 [b]Huntsville 16 14 .533 4.0 8-7 8-7 W1[/b] Carolina 13 17 .433 7.0 8-7 5-10 W2 Tennessee 13 17 .433 7.0 6-4 7-13 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- St. Lucie 18 10 .643 - 7-7 11-3 L1 Palm Beach 17 11 .607 1.0 7-7 10-4 W1 [b]Brevard County 15 14 .517 3.5 5-7 10-7 L6[/b] Daytona 12 17 .414 6.5 8-9 4-8 L3 Jupiter 11 18 .379 7.5 4-11 7-7 L1 Vero Beach 11 18 .379 7.5 7-7 4-11 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Delmarva 15 12 .556 - 6-7 9-5 W1 Greensboro 16 13 .552 - 11-6 5-7 W3 Lake County 16 13 .552 - 7-8 9-5 L2 Lexington 16 13 .552 - 10-5 6-8 W1 [b]West Virginia 14 14 .500 1.5 7-8 7-6 L1[/b] Hagerstown 12 15 .444 3.0 7-6 5-9 L1 Lakewood 12 15 .444 3.0 8-5 4-10 W3 Hickory 11 17 .393 4.5 4-7 7-10 L3

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_nasaaa_1 Huntsville: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1 Brevard County: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_tbyafa_1 West Virginia: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_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

Sunday's Daily Menu: All times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: LHP Justin Thompson at home vs. New Orleans (Nationals), 1:40 PM pre-game, 2:00 gametime Audio link: www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/ Huntsville: RHP Carlos Villanueva at home vs. Montgomery (Devil Rays), 5:50 PM pre-game, 6:05 gametime; given the Southern League's all five-game series format, an unusual event in that the series begins on a Sunday -- also a rare designated-hitter series for the Stars... Audio link: www.espn1450.com/ Brevard County: RHP Josh Wahpepah at Tampa (Yankees), 12:00 PM; sorry, no audio for this series West Virginia: RHP Ronny Malave at home vs. Lexington (Astros) 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: tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....328/SPORTS Sounds lose a 24-inning marathon New Orleans captures 8-hour, 7-minute victory By MAURICE PATTON Tennessean Staff Writer Wiki Gonzalez's 24th-inning one-out single scored Chris Schroder from second base with the winning run Saturday night as New Orleans defeated Nashville 5-4 in the conclusion of a game that was suspended after 18 innings Friday night. In the regularly scheduled game, which was shortened to seven innings, the Sounds rebounded with a vengeance. Scoring a season-high six runs in the fifth inning, the Sounds rallied for a 7-5 victory ? avoiding back-to-back losses as they have since dropping three straight to open the season. "Once we lost the first game, it was important to try to come out and just win a game," said Nashville outfielder Tony Gwynn, who had a pinch-hit single in the Friday portion of the early game and keyed the comeback with a two-out, two-run double in the victory. "They'd lost 11 straight games; they were hungry." The 24-inning contest, which took 8 hours, 7 minutes to play, tied a Pacific Coast League record for longest game. San Francisco and Oakland played a 24-inning contest on June 8, 1909, as did Portland and Sacramento on Sept. 10, 1911. For the Sounds, the game set franchise records for most innings played and longest time played. Previously, Nashville had lost a 20-inning contest to Omaha in the 1990 American Association playoffs and had lost a 5-hour, 7-minute, 15-inning game to Colorado Springs in its 1998 home opener. "I'm sure everybody was tired, playing 31 innings in less than 24 hours," Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas said following the two contests. Nashville set a PCL record for most strikeouts by a team with 29, surpassing Spokane's previous mark of 20 set on June 20, 1974 against Hawaii. Nashville and New Orleans combined for 48 strikeouts; the previous record was 29, set by Spokane and Hawaii. Sounds first baseman Brad Nelson's seven strikeouts established a new league mark, also. Salt Lake's Dallas McPherson set the previous record with six in an 11-inning game against Las Vegas on July 9, 2004. Nashville and New Orleans used a total of 17 pitchers; the previous league record was 14, set three times ? with the Sounds involved in two of the prior games. Hawaii and Salt Lake City originally set the record on April 19, 1964; the Sounds and Colorado Springs matched it on April 11, 1998, and again on June 24, 2003. Both the Sounds and Zephyrs used 20 players, falling two short of the record set by Portland in 1947 and matched by Vancouver in 1958. Nashville led 4-2 through seven innings, aided by Dave Krynzel's leadoff homer in the first and RBI base hits by Corey Hart, Vinny Rottino and Brent Abernathy. However, the Zephyrs ? who had lost 11 of 12 games entering the series ? scored in the eighth and ninth to force extra innings. New Orleans had its leadoff hitter reach base six times in extra innings before finally scoring the go-ahead run off Sounds reliever Mike Meyers, who came on when the game resumed in the 19th inning. Nashville catcher Mike Rivera saw his 16-game hitting streak stopped as he went 0-for-7. For the Sounds, the loss was just their third in their last 15 games. Five straight two-out base hits turned the second game for Nashville, which trailed 5-1 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning. Gwynn's two-run double sparked the rally, with Jermaine Clark, Hart, Nelson Cruz and Abernathy each following with RBI hits. "Once we get started scoring, we're a tough team to get out," Gwynn said. Roster moves: To aid a depleted bullpen, Joe Winkelsas was added to the Nashville active roster Saturday, filling the spot vacated when pitcher Jared Fernandez was called up Friday by Milwaukee. Winkelsas was 1-1 with a 2.13 earned run average and three saves in 10 relief appearances at Class AA Huntsville. The 32-year-old has 55 minor league saves over his 10-year career. It didn't take long for Winkelsas to see action, as he relieved starter Wilton Chavez in the third inning of Saturday's regularly scheduled game against New Orleans. Winkelsas, who had thrown in three of the past four days before Saturday's appearance, worked the final five innings for his first Class AAA win since pitching for Richmond (Braves) in 2002. They call it 'the streak': Tony Gwynn's infield single in the fourth inning gave him hits in seven straight games, following his pinch-hit single in Friday's portion of the 24-inning contest. Gwynn is also the only Sounds player to hit safely in every home game. Chris Barnwell and Corey Hart also extended streaks, with base hits in the decisive fifth inning. Barnwell has now hit in nine straight games, Hart in 11. Home sweet home: With the late win Saturday, Nashville is 11-3 at Greer Stadium. What they said: ?Tony had a big hit to get us a couple of runs, and every hit after that was just as big if not bigger.? ? Kremblas, regarding Gwynn?s two-out, two-run double to spark the six-run fifth.

Final, Game Two: Nashville 7, New Orleans (Nationals) 5, regularly scheduled game, seven innings Nashville Site Game Two Game Summary: Link for Nelson Cruz photo, text follows -- www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=1937 Sounds Use Six-Run Inning To Down Z's, 7-5 NASHVILLE, Tenn. ? After dropping their 24-inning game earlier in the evening, the Nashville Sounds bounced back to defeat the New Orleans Zephyrs, 7-5, in the seven-inning nightcap on Saturday night in front of a season-best crowd of 10,016 fans at Greer Stadium. The victory improved Nashville's record to 20-9 on the year as the Sounds came back from an early deficit to avoid dropping back-to-back games for the first time since the opening weekend of the season. New Orleans opened a big lead when it recorded four runs in the second inning on five straight hits, which included a home run and two doubles. Tyrell Godwin gave the Zephyrs an early lead when he homered in the top of the second inning, his second longball of the year. The four runs were not enough for the Zephyrs to record their third win in a row, however, as the dormant Nashville offense emerged later in the contest. The Sounds struck in the bottom of the fourth on a Jermaine Clark ground ball. Tony Gwynn, who opened the frame with a single, scored from first on the play to make it a 4-1 game after New Orleans first baseman Larry Broadway threw the ball away attempting to gun down the speedy outfielder at third. New Orleans got that run back in the top of the fifth on a Mike Vento RBI groundout. The Nashville bats awoke in the bottom of the fifth. After not scoring a run in 20 consecutive innings from the ninth inning of the 24-inning marathon until the fourth inning of this contest, the Sounds were able to score six in one inning to provide them a lead they would not give up. Mark Johnson and Chris Barnwell led off the inning with consecutive singles then both scored later on a double by Gwynn to pull the home club within a run at 4-3. The bats continued to fly as Corey Hart hit an RBI triple to tie the game up at 5-5. Hart would score off a Nelson Cruz double hit to the center field wall to give the Sounds their first lead of the night. Cruz, who paced the Nashville offense with a 3-for-3 evening, then scored an insurance run off a Brent Abernathy single. Sounds reliever Joe Winkelsas, who joined the club earlier in the day from Double-A Huntsville, came on in relief of spot starter Wilton Chavez in the top of the third. Winkelsas filled the Nashville roster spot left open after knuckleballer Jared Fernandez was called up to Milwaukee on Friday. Winkelsas (1-0) allowed one run over five innings, marking the deepest he has gone into a game this season, and struck out a season-high six batters to record the win in his first Nashville appearance. Z?s reliever Kevin Gryboski (1-4) was credited with the loss after surrendering two runs in his 1 1/3 innings of work. Barnwell?s single extended his on-base streak to 22 games in a row and bumped his hitting streak to nine games. Hart?s RBI triple extended his hitting streak to 11 games, which is currently the longest active streak on the team. The Sounds will face off against the Zephyrs on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. for game three of the four-game series. Veteran left-hander Justin Thompson (2-0, 4.43) will take the hill for the Sounds to face a yet-to-be-determined New Orleans hurler. Nashville Game Two Box Score: Surely Frank Kremblas considers veteran reliever Joe Winkelsas' five-inning, 57-pitch stint heroic -- nine ground ball outs, six K's, no walks -- completely saved the rest of the pen, nice story... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1 Nashville Game Two Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1

Final, Game One: New Orleans (Nationals) 5, Nashville 4, 24 innings, completion of suspended game Nashville Site Game Summary: Link for nice Dennis Sarfate photo, text follows -- www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=1936 Sounds Fall To Zephyrs In 24-Inning Marathon NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Nashville Sounds were on the short end of a 5-4 loss to the New Orleans Zephyrs as the teams completed their Pacific Coast League record-tying 24-inning marathon on Saturday evening at Greer Stadium. Zephyrs catcher Wiki Gonzalez provided the game-winner when he drove in pitcher-turned-rightfielder Chris Schroder with a one-out RBI single up the middle off Mike Meyers that glanced off the glove of Sounds second baseman Jermaine Clark. Schroder had drawn a one-out walk and moved to second on a Josh Labandeira single. The game-deciding run was the first scored by either team in 15 innings as both teams remained scoreless from the 10th through the 23rd innings. The Sounds and Zephyrs completed the final six innings of the contest on Saturday after playing to a 4-4 tie through 18 innings on Friday night before the game was halted due to a curfew rule. The 24-inning marathon, which finished with a game time of eight hours and seven minutes, was the longest in both teams' histories and matched the existing PCL mark originally set on June 8, 1909 in a game between San Francisco and Oakland then matched on September 10, 1911 in a game between Sacramento and Portland. Several Pacific Coast League records were tied or broken in the contest. Records set in the game include most at-bats by one team (Nashville with 81; previous mark was 64) and by both teams (166; previous mark was 109) as well as most pitchers used by both teams in a single game (17; old record was 14). The Sounds and Zephyrs used 40 combined players in the game, matching the existing PCL mark (set in 1947). Nashville used nine different pitchers in the game (including shortstop Chris Barnwell) to match the single-game mark for one club (set in 1964). The Sounds? 29 batting strikeouts were a new Pacific Coast League record (previous record was 20). The previous league mark for most combined strikeouts in a PCL game by both teams was 29. Nashville and New Orleans obliterated that mark with 48 combined K?s in the marathon. One additional single-game record broken by the Sounds was hits allowed (22). Nashville first baseman Brad Nelson struck out seven times to establish a new Sounds single-game and Pacific Coast League single-game record. Barnwell's 11 at-bats in the contest set a new Sounds single-game record. Dennis Sarfate made his sixth start of the season and went deeper into the game then he has gone all season, but did not factor into the decision ? his fifth no-decision of the year. He pitched six innings, surrendered two unearned runs, and struck out a season-high six batters. The Sounds got on the board only two pitches into the game with a leadoff homer courtesy of Dave Krynzel. It was Krynzel?s first hit since April 17 when he collided with the center field wall while making a spectacular catch against Oklahoma. Krynzel?s home run, his second of the campaign, marked the 19th time this year the Sounds have reached home before their opponents, which is the best among all PCL teams. The Sounds? one run would not be enough as the teams would exchange the lead four times throughout the game. The first exchange would occur in the top of the third inning. The Zephyrs scored two unearned runs off two singles and an error by Barnwell. Barnwell bounced right back with a leadoff double in the bottom of the fourth, marking his 21st game in a row that he has reached base safely by hit or walk and also extending his hitting streak to eight games. Barnwell would later score from third on a squeeze bunt by Sarfate, who went 2-for-2 with an RBI to bring his average to .750 (3-for-4) and give him two runs batted in on the year. Nashville scored another run in the seventh on a Brent Abernathy RBI single to extend the lead to 3-1. The visitors came back with one run in the eighth when Tyrell Godwin was hit by an Allan Simpson pitch with the bases loaded to force home Brendan Harris. With the Zephyrs down to their final strike in the top of the ninth, Henry Mateo scored from second on a two-out, two-strike single into left field by Harris off Simpson to tie the game up at four runs apiece. Neither team would not strike again until the top of the 24th inning when Gonzalez delivered his game-winning single. Before Friday night was over, the Sounds would have seven pitchers grace the mound with their presence. Every Sound in the bullpen except Meyers had a chance to visit the mound. On Saturday night when the game resumed, Meyers (1-1) threw 5 1/3 innings and surrendered one run, giving him the loss. After Meyers surrendered the run, shortstop Barnwell was brought into the game marking his second mound appearance of the year. New Orleans reliever Santiago Ramirez (2-1) earned the victory after tossing three scoreless frames and striking out four batters. Mike Rivera?s 16 game-hit streak came to an end following an 0-for-7 effort. The 16 game-hit streak marked the longest by a Sounds player this year and is the second-longest by a PCL batter. Corey Hart extended his hit streak to 10 games in the bottom of the first with a line drive over the head of the second baseman. Hart?s double-digit hitting streak gives the Sounds four current players with double-digit hitting streak this season, joining Barnwell (10 games, 4/23-4/28), Tony Gwynn (12 games, 4/14-4/25) and Rivera (16 games, 4/9-5/4). AUDIO: Final Out Of The 24th Inning -- www.nashvillesounds.com/a...%205-5.wma Nashville Game One Box Score: Fine effort by Mike Meyers despite the loss... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1 Nashville Game One Game Log: Reads like War and Peace -- actually, it only runs through the 18th; for whatever reason, MILB.com hasn't provided any game log updates on suspended games in the two years the logs have been in effect... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1

Final: Huntsville 5, West Tenn (Cubs) 4 Huntsville Site Game Summary: Link, text follows -- www.huntsvillestars.com/n...newsId=814 Ballouli and Bullpen Beat Diamond Jaxx Khalid Ballouli worked five innings and chipped in with a huge two-out, run-scoring single in a four-run fourth inning rally, as Huntsville held on to defeat West Tenn 5-4 Saturday night in the final game of a five-game set at Pringles Park. The Stars improved to 16-14 overall and 8-7 away from home by ending a three-game slide, while the Diamond Jaxx dropped to 17-13 and three games behind victorious Chattanooga in the Southern League North Division. Adam Heether walked, Ron Acuna singled and Lou Palmisano walked to load the bases in the fourth inning with one out. Callix Crabbe struck out for the second out of the frame before Ballouli lined a single to right field to score Heether and Acuna to give the Stars a 2-0 lead, move Palmisano to third and advance to second base on a throwing error by right fielder Luis Montanez, his second of the season. Kennard Bibbs then knocked in the two runners with a line drive single off the glove of a diving third baseman Scott Moore. The Stars added another run in the fifth when Heether grounded into a double play to score Drew Anderson. Ballouli blanked the home team through the first 4 1/3 innings before pinch-hitter Jon-Mark Sprowl singled home Tony Richie, who reached on a fielding error by first baseman Greg Sain. The Diamond Jaxx added another run in the inning and tacked on two more in the sixth on a run-scoring double by Moore and a run-producing ground out by Carlos Rojas to trim the lead to 5-4. Ballouli lasted five innings plus three batters and was charged with four runs, two earned, on six hits and four walks. He picked up his first win since April 15 and improved to 2-1 despite a season-low one strikeout. He had gone 14 1/3 straight innings without allowing a run and had retired 21 batters in a row before issuing a leadoff walk to Richie in the third. Russ Rohlicek struck out Nic Jackson and got Montanez to ground into a double play with runners at first and second base to end the seventh inning. Steve Bray took over with one out and a runner aboard in the eighth and fanned Richie and retired Rojas on a fly ball. The right-hander then retired Eric Patterson on a fly ball and Jackson on a ground out to end the game with Chris Walker at second base in the ninth inning to earn his first save of the season. Jackson went hitless in five at-bats and lost an eight-game hitting streak with the Jaxx and a 21-gamer, dating back to his last 13 games at high-A Daytona. Bray has allowed one run in his last 14.2 innings over his last six appearances. The Stars return home Sunday to open a five-game set with Montgomery, the only time they will face the Southern Division leaders at home this season. Huntsville will send right-hander Carlos Villanueva to the mound against Biscuits? right-hander Andrew Sonnenstine. Coverage of the game begins at 5:50 p.m. central time and can be heard on ESPN Radio 1450 AM locally and via the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com. Huntsville Box Score: Don Money placing Kennard Bibbs in the leadoff spot pays off dividnds in this one; Ozzie Chavez and Callix Crabbe involved directly in two of the three big double plays the Stars turned -- they've been a fine middle infield combo; Stars bullpen has shone most of the season thus far -- we continue to watch RHP Steve Bray, now with 21 K's and zero BB's in 22 IP; Bobby Brownlie was awful for the Cubs in eight games at AAA -- his AA 2006 debut awful as well... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wtdaax_1 Huntsville Game Log: Late innings were scoreless, but not without drama -- looks like a good game from a fan perspective, although the road team won... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wtdaax_1

Link while active, text follows: www.wvgazette.com/section...2006050636 Lexington turns tables on Power By Jim Workman For Sunday Charleston Gazette-Mail The West Virginia Power owned the South Atlantic League?s top team batting average going into Saturday?s game and had scored 26 runs in its last two contests. The bats cooled off considerably Saturday, though, as Lexington defeated the Power 15-2 at Appalachian Power Park. An announced crowd of 3,582 attended on a chilly night. ?They had their bats going,? Power manager Mike Guerrero said of the Legends hitters. ?You have to give them credit. That?s the other side of the coin.? The Power fell to 14-14 while Lexington improved to 16-13. ?My feelings are still pretty high with our guys,? Guerrero added. ?We?ll try to get back on a winning streak. The great thing about life is that the sun will always come up in the morning. This game is like that. One day it will go your way and go the other way the next. But you try to keep a consistency and the right frame of mind and attitude.? Eli Iorg sliced a bases-loaded double down the right-field line in the top of the first to give the Legends an early 3-0 advantage. The Power got a run back in the bottom of the first. Darren Ford walked, advanced to third on a errant pickoff attempt and crossed the dish on an Angel Salome grounder to cut the Lexington lead to 3-1. Lexington added a run in the third to increase its advantage to 4-1 when Ole Sheldon banged in Tommy Manzella with a RBI single. Pedro Espinoza slapped a single to score another Legends run in the fourth to give Lexington a 5-1 lead. The score was stretched to 7-1 when Mark Ori swatted a line-drive two-run homer that sailed over the right-field wall in the fifth. The Legends piled it on in the seventh, plating six more runs. J.R. Towles knocked in a run with an infield single, Sheldon followed with an RBI single while Iorg and Ryan Reed each added two-run singles, increasing the Legend lead to 13-1. Mitch Einertson slugged a two-run double in the eighth to finish the Legends scoring binge. The Power plated a run in the bottom of the ninth when Ryan Crew knocked in Mike Bell with an RBI single to center. ?A credit to our kids is that they will never give up,? said Guerrero. ?We come out and do our best.? POWER POINTS: Mat Gamel saw his hitting streak end at 10 games. The Power will play host to the Legends Sunday afternoon, the final game of the six-game homestand. An eight-game road trip to Hickory and Asheville follows with the Power returning home on May 15. Charleston Gazette Photographer: Chip Ellis Power shortstop Mike Bell turns a double play, avoiding the slide be Lexington?s Ole Sheldon. http://www.wvgazettemail.com/images/stories/Power1.jpg

Final: Lexington (Astros) 15, West Virginia 2 Payback from the Legends for the past two games... West Virginia Site Game Summary: Actually, looks like the Power's site is down this morning, so we go to the Lexington site... Legends Rout West Virginia 15-2 CHARLESTON, WV. ? After struggling for runs the last two nights, the Legends offense came alive on Saturday. Eli Iorg had a three run double and Mark Ori smacked a two-run home run in the Legends 15-2 win over the Power. The win stops a brief but ugly two losing skid. The victory also elevates the struggling Legends back into first place of the South Atlantic League?s Northern Division. The Legends roughed up West Virginia starter Dave Welch early. Lexington loaded the bases on singles by Erick King and Tommy Manzella and a walk to Ole Sheldon. Eli Iorg unloaded them on a double down the right field line. West Virginia chipped in a run in the bottom half of the first inning. Darren Ford walked, advanced two bases on Doug Arguello?s errant pick-off attempt and scored on a grounder by Angel Salome. The Legends added single runs in the third and fourth innings. Ole Sheldon produced the first run on an RBI single. Pedro Espinoza?s single scored Mitch Einertson. Mark Ori?s two-run shot in the fifth inning gave the Legends a six run lead at 7-1. The Legends broke the game open with six runs in the seventh inning. Sheldon and J.R. Towles each had RBI singles. Iorg and Ryan Reed each connected on two-run singles to make it 13-1. Lexington assumed a 15-1 lead on Einertson?s two-run double in the eighth inning. West Virginia closed out the scoring with an RBI single by Ryan Crew in the ninth inning. Three Lexington pitchers combined to silence the red-hot West Virginia offense. Doug Arguello started and tossed three hitless innings allowing just an unearned run. Raymar Diaz (2-1) pitched three scoreless innings allowing just an infield single. Garrett Murdy (S,2) pitched the final third of the game giving up a run on four hits. Tommy Manzella extended his hit streak to nine games with three hits. Eli Iorg had five RBI giving him a team high 21. Ole Sheldon?s four hit night improved hi average to a SAL best .412. The series finale is set for Sunday at 2:05 PM (1:05 Central). Sean Walker (2-2) will get his second start of the series. The Power will send Ronny Malave (2-0) to the mound for his first start of the season. West Virginia Box Score: Darren Ford on base three times, that's about it offensively worth noting; all five combined inherited runners scored off Brandon Parillo and Patrick Ryan; Matt Kretzschmar's introduction to full-season ball has been rough; Mat Gamel now with ten errors at third base... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1 West Virginia Game Log: Ugly as you might imagine; two-out three-run double in the first an omen of things to come... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1

SS Alcides Escobar's sore finger is better, and he's been activated from the Brevard County DL. No word on a corresponding move at this time, although it appears one is required with 26 active players. It's possible RHP Mike Jones is now on the DL. Just a shame there's no hint of media presence or web site value for the Manatees. We shouldn't have to track these moves down arbitrarily. Hopefully an audio deal next year if the affiliation continues -- they're working on it...

Final: Tampa (Yankees) 3, Brevard County 1 Brevard County Site Game Summary: Coke, Yanks down Manatees Phil Coke and a pair of relievers combined for a two-hitter as Tampa dropped Brevard County, 3-1, on Saturday at Legends Field. Coke allowed one run on one hit and one walk while striking out five over 5 2/3 innings. Jeff Kennard (2-0) yielded a hit in 2 1/3 innings to pick up the win. Gerardo Casadiego fanned one and walked one in the ninth to notch his sixth save. On Friday night, Alan Horne combined with two relievers on a one-hitter as the Yankees defeated the Clearwater Threshers, 4-1. Cody Ehlers doubled and scored the tying run on a single by Marcos Vechionacci in the seventh for the Yankees (13-16). Eduardo Nunez snapped the tie in the following inning with an RBI single and crossed home on a base hit by Matt Carson. Manatees starter Yovani Gallardo surrendered one run on four hits in 6 1/3 innings. He struck out 10 and did not allow a walk. Dave Johnson (3-2) suffered the loss after yielding two runs on three hits in 1 2/3 innings. Alcides Escobar (activated from the disabled list) had a run-scoring groundout in the third for Brevard County (15-14). Charlie Fermaint and Josh Murray recorded the hits for the Manatees, who have lost six straight. -- Marc Jimenez/MLB.com Brevard County Box Score: It's all about Yo, now with 48 K's and 7 BB's in 33 innings; Alcides Escobar the DH; remember when this team was like, 14-3? www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_tbyafa_1 Brevard County Game Log: 'Tees only score once in a bases-loaded, no out third inning; check out Gallardo's 3rd and 6th innings; trouble started for Dave Johnson after the first two were out in the 8th... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_tbyafa_1

Developments from the "game that wouldn't die", as Voice of the Sounds Chuck Valenches just said: Game underway, now in the bottom of the 20th RHP Mike Meyers has pitched two scoreless innings; seems like good strategy to let him go as long as he can here, rather than start Game Two Sounds now hold the PCL record for strikeouts (batting) in a game, 24 and counting (old record was 20); several other records being set every inning it seems -- all will be detailed by Sunday by Sounds staff. Brent Abernathy quote: "So let me understand. There's a curfew for how late we can play, but there's no curfew for how late they can shoot off fireworks?" (The firework display went on as promised at approx. 1:45 Saturday AM in front of approx. 100 fans.)

Huntsville Site: Winkelsas Wings Way to Nashville The Milwaukee Brewers have promoted right-hand pitcher Joe Winkelsas to triple-A Nashville, filling the roster spot vacated upon Jared Fernandez?s promotion to Milwaukee yesterday.. He will join the Sounds in time for their regular scheduled game Saturday against New Orleans. Winkelsas worked in 10 games for the Stars, posting a record of 1-1 with three saves and a 2.13 earned run average in 12 2/3 innings pitched. He suffered the loss in Saturday's game at West Tenn, and was scored on for the first time in eight outings, covering ten innings of scoreless work. No corresponding roster move for the Stars has been announced. Joe Winkelsas Brewerfan Player Index Page: Pro stats date back to 1996... www.brewerfan.net/ViewPla...ayerId=886

Link, text follows: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...;fext=.jsp Thurman working hard as ever By Lisa Winston / MLB.com A week or two ago, my Around the Minors co-host Jonathan Mayo and I decided, on the spur of the moment, to add a segment to that day's show that we called, "Wow, look who's still playing!" We each cyber-scooted off to scour the box scores and league-leader boards to find our favorite name that had dropped below the radar. It didn't take me long to find my candidate. There, atop the Southern League ERA leaders it read: Corey Thurman, Huntsville Stars. I remember well when Corey Thurman was an up-and-coming prospect in the Kansas City Royals system: a big, strong, athletic kid who brimmed with enthusiasm and off-the-wall charm. His interests off the field ranged from bowling to opera to reading poetry to "surfing the Internet" well before that was as commonplace as it is now. At the 2001 Winter Meetings, the Toronto Blue Jays took a chance on him in the Major League Rule 5 Draft, and he was one of the fortunate few who not only "stuck" on the roster all year but actually made a positive contribution to the big-league team, posting a 4.37 ERA in 43 games. After that, though, he seemed to fall off the radar in a hurry. So, seeing his name and his stellar stats gave me the opportunity to find out what had happened to "L'il Corey." It included the dreaded words: rotator cuff surgery. For most pitchers, attempting to make a comeback from rotator cuff surgery at age 27, more than a year removed from competing in the Minor Leagues, it would be considered a success just to make a rotation, stay healthy and get batters out on a regular basis. But Thurman has done the "comeback" concept one better. Through his first six starts for his Double-A Southern League team, he ranked among the league leaders with a 2.20 ERA, having walked 10 while striking out 26 in 32 2/3 innings and allowing just one homer. Thurman is not just "coming back." He appears to be on the way to being better than ever. "I'm normally a slow, slow starter, so this was the best April I've had coming out of the gate," said Thurman, whose ERA that month was 0.98. "But you know, people say it's not how you start, it's how you finish." For Thurman, to finish a healthy 2006 campaign, starting every fifth day and pitching without pain, would be the ultimate achievement. It's been 10 years since Thurman was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the fourth round in 1996 out of high school in Texas. After posting a 4.48 ERA over his first four pro seasons, he enjoyed a huge breakout year in 2000, as he won the Carolina League ERA crown with Wilmington, posting a 2.26, before moving up to Double-A Wichita. The next summer he went 13-5 with a 3.37 ERA at Wichita, enough to prompt the Blue Jays to call his name during the Rule 5 Draft. He had a reputation as a big, strong, innings-eater, with a decent fastball in the low 90s and a devastating changeup, as well as a curveball and slider. In Toronto, in 2002, he worked exclusively in relief, something new for him. But as with everything in his life, he found the positives in that role. "It gave me flexibility," said Thurman. "And it helped me see how the game worked without all the pressure of being a starter." The next year, when he no longer had to be kept on the Major League roster, he pitched 86 innings at Triple-A Syracuse, posting a 4.27 ERA as a starter again, as well as enjoying another brief stint in Toronto. But through the whole season he quietly suffered from a sore shoulder. That fall he was released by the Blue Jays and signed with Cincinnati, but when an MRI on the shoulder showed a torn labrum, that contract was voided. He opted to try to heal through rehab rather than surgery, and a few months later the Reds signed him again. He posted a 1.65 ERA in five games at their Class A Advanced Potomac club in 2004 before exercising an out clause and signing with the Expos, who sent him to Double-A Harrisburg. There, however, his arm trouble returned with a vengeance. His velocity dropped and his ERA skyrocketed. "It didn't feel right. There was no life on the ball, nothing," he recalled. "I knew I needed surgery." Thurman went to the famed Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, who operated, discovering that the problem was not his labrum but rather his rotator cuff. After the operation in November 2004, Thurman's former Blue Jays trainer hooked him up with rehab specialist David Wright, who runs Mind 2 Muscle, a weight-training facility in suburban Mississauga, Ontario. Living near Toronto since his playing days there, Thurman has been working out with a single-minded passion, as well as attending junior college in the city. Last summer, he pitched in a handful of games for the Florence (Ky.) Freedom of the independent Frontier League, to get some innings in a competitive situation. While there, he caught the eye of a Brewers scout and signed with the organization this past offseason. Brewers Minor League Pitching Coordinator Jim Rooney was already familiar with Thurman from his own days with the Toronto system. "I knew from what I'd seen of him that he was a very good athlete who competed his butt off," said Rooney. "He has an outstanding changeup -- an out-pitch changeup -- and he's a competitor who takes great care of himself in his preparation and conditioning." Rooney knows, as does Thurman, that his rehab is not yet finished. Thurman's fastball isn't completely back to where it was before the surgery, and he'll need that to raise it a few more ticks. "I think that will come with the rehab," Rooney said. "We'll wait for a little more fastball to come back, and in the meantime, he needs to work on getting a little more consistent out front with his slider so he can go at hitters with three or four pitches." The loss of the fastball velocity is something that Thurman is trying to use to his advantage, mentally as well as physically. "When I was younger and my arm was stronger, I would try to 'outstuff' people," he said. "Now it's about trying to outsmart them. Having seen how Major League pitchers go about their business, I've learned it's not necessarily about what kind of stuff you have, but how to use your mind to get people out." That year in the big leagues taught Thurman a lot about not taking anything for granted, he said. And that goes for the friendships he made there, as well as the game itself. "The camaraderie of a team is what I missed most," he said. "They're your second family." Thurman knows that until he is proven to be totally healthy, that family reunion will have to wait. "If I can go out there every fifth day for a whole season, everything else will take care of itself," he said. "I have no goals as far as ERA or wins, none of that. Those are nice, but when you're coming off an injury, every month is a new start." And while he may not have the fastball of his youth, Thurman believes that what he's learned in the meantime has offset the missing miles per hour. "Until I get a chance to get back up to the Majors and see myself against those guys, I won't really know," he admitted, "but inside my head I feel like I am a better pitcher than I was before." I wondered, when I spoke to him, about all those interests he'd had back in the day. The interest in poetry has evolved into a love of rap. And obviously, coming off shoulder surgery, bowling is on the no-no list. His favorite new hobby? "Getting as much sleep as I can," he laughed. And I don't have to ask him what he dreams about. Through six starts, Corey Thurman is among the Southern League leaders with a 2.20 ERA, having walked 10 and fanned 26 over 32 2/3 innings. http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/2006/05/02/xYXhazbv.jpg

Standings through Friday's action: Pacific Coast League (AAA) - American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Nashville 19 8 .704 - 10-2 9-6 W3[/b] Omaha 14 13 .519 5.0 8-6 6-7 L2 Iowa 10 16 .385 8.5 6-7 4-9 W1 Memphis 9 17 .346 9.5 7-6 2-11 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chattanooga 19 10 .655 - 10-4 9-6 L1 West Tenn 17 12 .586 2.0 8-6 9-6 W3 [b]Huntsville 15 14 .517 4.0 8-7 7-7 L3[/b] Tennessee 13 16 .448 6.0 6-4 7-12 W1 Carolina 12 17 .414 7.0 7-7 5-10 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- St. Lucie 18 9 .667 - 7-6 11-3 W5 Palm Beach 16 11 .593 2.0 7-7 9-4 L4 [b]Brevard County 15 13 .536 3.5 5-7 10-6 L5[/b] Daytona 12 16 .429 6.5 8-9 4-7 L2 Jupiter 11 17 .393 7.5 4-10 7-7 W3 Vero Beach 11 17 .393 7.5 7-6 4-11 W2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lake County 16 12 .571 - 7-7 9-5 L1 Delmarva 14 12 .538 1.0 6-7 8-5 L2 Greensboro 15 13 .536 1.0 10-6 5-7 W2 Lexington 15 13 .536 1.0 10-5 5-8 L2 [b]West Virginia 14 13 .519 1.5 7-7 7-6 W2[/b] Hagerstown 12 14 .462 3.0 7-6 5-8 W1 Lakewood 11 15 .423 4.0 7-5 4-10 W2 Hickory 11 16 .407 4.5 4-7 7-9 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". 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 (Completion of Suspended Game): www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1 Nashville Regularly Scheduled Game: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1 Huntsville: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wtdaax_1 Brevard County: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_tbyafa_1 West Virginia: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1

Saturday's Daily Menu: All times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: First, it's TBD to begin the 19th inning of Friday's suspended game at home vs. New Orleans (Nationals), 5:40 PM pre-game, 6:00 gametime, then RHP Mike Meyers will need to be economical with his pitches in the seven-inning nightcap -- it's not like Meyers has been stretched out for a long effort, this is his first start of 2006... Audio link: www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/ Huntsville: RHP Khalid Ballouli at West Tenn (Cubs), 6:50 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime Audio link: www.espn1450.com/ Brevard County: RHP Yo Gallardo at Tampa (Yankees), 6:00 PM; sorry, no audio for this series West Virginia: LHP David Welch at home vs. Lexington (Astros) 5:55 PM pre-game, 6:05 gametime Audio link: www.sportsjuice.com/provi...e=wvpower.

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Link while active, text follows: www.wvgazette.com/section...2006050556 Power stays hot, shuts out Lexington 9-0 By Jim Workman For Saturday Charleston Gazette-Mail Here is another way to describe the West Virginia Power bats of late: muy caliente! The home team celebrated Cinco de Mayo by displaying very hot bats for the second night in a row and defeated Lexington 9-0 in a South Atlantic League contest at Appalachian Power Park on Friday before a crowd of 4,301. The Power raises its record to 14-13 while the Legends fall to 15-13. ?Our pitching, fielding and offense all came around,? said Power manager Mike Guerrero. ?We had clutch hitting and aggressive baserunning ? we put it all together and had a good night. We were fundamentally sound in all areas.? It was the second impressive victory and offensive output in a row for the Power. On Thursday, the Power hit a league-record seven home runs in a 17-2 win. That game was stopped due to rain in the bottom of the fifth. Guerrero didn?t appear surprised at all by his team?s sudden display of power hitting. ?I know we?ve got pop,? he said. ?The guys are hitting the ball well. We?re starting to get comfortable at the plate and hitting their pitch. But I don?t think we?ve seen the best out of our team. We have a pretty good team. The best is yet to come.? The scoring began in the second when Nate Yoho smacked a grounder that bounced through the legs of Legends pitcher Levi Romero and into center field, scoring Ryan Crew to give the Power a 1-0 advantage. Mike Bell slammed a home run over the right-field wall in the fourth to extend the Power lead to 2-0. The Power plated four more runs in the fifth. Mat Gamel blooped a ball just over the third baseman?s glove and into left field for a double, scoring Lorenzo Cain to make it 3-0. Gamel extended his hitting streak to 10 consecutive games. Bell stole home to lift the Power lead to 5-0, taking advantage of a throw down to second on another runner?s steal attempt. The lead was extended to 6-0 when Ned Yost singled in Crew. Angel Salome clobbered a three-run homer in the sixth to stretch the Power advantage to 9-0. Starting pitcher Will Inman (3-0) pitched five innings and allowed just two hits and struck out five in garnering the win for the Power. Lexington starter Levi Romero (4-1) was tagged with his first loss of the season. He allowed four earned runs in 4 1/3 innings. Crew went 3-for-5 for the Power while Salome, Gamel and Yoho added two hits apiece. The teams play the fifth game of their sixth game series Saturday night. The finale is set for Sunday afternoon.