Jim Goulart

Link while active, text follows: www.dailymail.com/news/Sp...006042425/ Power, Marshall have park conflict Jacob Messer Charleston Daily Mail sportswriter The West Virginia Power returns to Appalachian Power Park on Tuesday for nine of its next 12 games. Fortunately for the Milwaukee Brewers' South Atlantic League club, it won't have to share its field and forfeit its routine. That is what happened April 7-9 during a four-game set with the Delmarva Shorebirds. Conference USA foes Marshall and Memphis played before West Virginia and Delmarva in the second, third and fourth games of that series. Neither the Power nor the Shorebirds could conduct batting and fielding practice on the field on those days. "We haven't been able to work at (home at) all," Manager Mike Guerrero, whose team lost all three of those games, said after that series. "This game is about rhythm and momentum. The Milwaukee Brewers' organization has a set routine. We go through that everyday (to develop rhythm and momentum). "When the kids come to the park and they don't know whether they can get on the field, it's tough on them. When the game comes, we still have to get the job done. That's not an excuse. The other team is in the same situation. It's equal, but it's still tough." Marshall paid $15,000 for 12 dates at Appalachian Power Park, with $5,000 of that accounting for an outfield-fence billboard and $10,000 of that accounting for 2,500 tickets to be used at its discretion for those games. The tickets cost Marshall $4 apiece, but athletic department officials can sell them for $7 apiece (face value) and make $17,500, which not only would reimburse the school for its $15,000 payment, but also would give it a $2,5000 profit. The Herd, however, has generated crowds that at best can be called scarce. That isn't a concern to Milovich, who admits the arrangement is difficult on him and his staff because it entails double the work. "We never expected huge crowds from them," Milovich said. "Whether 100, 300 or 500 fans make it worthwhile, I don't think we ever looked at it in those terms. We just wanted to make sure Marshall was taken care of." Only three of the Power's remaining 63 home games will feature "preliminary" games. That is good news for the Power and its opponents. "Baseball players -- more than any other group of athletes, I think -- are creatures of habit," Power General Manager Andy Milovich said. "When you mess with their routine, you throw them off." The Herd-Power doubleheaders will occur on May 18-20, when Marshall will face Rice in a three-game series. With a home field, University Heights in Huntington, deemed unfit to host its conference games, Marshall needed a place to play C-USA foes. Enter the Power, which has Huntington-based and Marshall-supporting members among its local ownership group. "They asked us to help, and we did," Milovich said. "To be honest, this probably isn't a deal we would have made if it weren't for the strong ties of our local ownership. But we decided to do it because we looked at it as a good opportunity for (Marshall) and a good opportunity for (the Power)." It is undecided whether the Herd and the Power will continue their relationship next season and beyond. "That," Milovich said, "is something we will re-evaluate after this season."

Huntsville LHP Jeff Housman left today's game after only two innings, allowing one run. Should know more later this afternoon -- trying to tune in now, please update us if you had been listening earlier.

It wasn't the HBP that knocked Koby Clemens out of the West Virginia game in Lexington, but what happened right after: Designated hitter Koby Clemens suffered a dislocated left pinkie finger. Clemens was on base during the second inning when he was hurt, diving back to first on an attempted pickoff play. "The finger just popped out of the joint, probably tore some tendons and broke the skin," Legends Manager Jack Lind said. "He could be out awhile." After a trip to the hospital, Clemens was scheduled to fly last night to Houston for further evaluation. The Legends? Tommy Manzella chased down West Virginia?s Lorenzo Cain before Cain could make it back to first in the fifth inning. Photos by Joseph Rey Au - Kentucky.com http://www.kentucky.com/images/kentucky/kentucky/14413/207744671513.jpg Lexington?s Mike Thompson was picked off in the fourth by catcher Angel Salome (throw to Kenny Holmberg). Said Manager Jack Lind: ?It was kind of a Twilight Zone, beer league baseball game.? http://www.kentucky.com/images/kentucky/kentucky/14413/207744628274.jpg

Standings through Sunday's action: Pacific Coast League (AAA) - American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Nashville 11 7 .611 - 7-1 4-6 L1[/b] Omaha 10 8 .556 1.0 6-4 4-4 L1 Iowa 7 11 .389 4.0 5-5 2-6 L6 Memphis 5 13 .278 6.0 4-4 1-9 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chattanooga 12 6 .667 - 6-2 6-4 W2 West Tenn 11 7 .611 1.0 3-2 8-5 L2 [b]Huntsville 10 8 .556 2.0 4-4 6-4 W2[/b] Carolina 7 11 .389 5.0 2-3 5-8 L1 Tennessee 7 11 .389 5.0 4-4 3-7 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Brevard County 13 4 .765 - 5-2 8-2 L1[/b] Palm Beach 11 5 .688 1.5 4-2 7-3 W5 St. Lucie 10 6 .625 2.5 4-3 6-3 W1 Daytona 6 10 .375 6.5 4-7 2-3 W1 Jupiter 5 12 .294 8.0 3-8 2-4 L5 Vero Beach 4 12 .250 8.5 4-3 0-9 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lexington 11 6 .647 - 7-3 4-3 W1 Delmarva 9 5 .643 0.5 4-3 5-2 W1 Lake County 10 7 .588 1.0 4-4 6-3 W4 Greensboro 9 8 .529 2.0 7-3 2-5 W2 Hagerstown 7 9 .438 3.5 5-3 2-6 L2 [b]West Virginia 7 9 .438 3.5 2-5 5-4 L1[/b] Hickory 6 10 .375 4.5 2-5 4-5 L2 Lakewood 5 10 .333 5.0 5-2 0-8 L1

Link while active, text follows: www.al.com/stars/huntsvil...amp;coll=1 Stars back in swing of things Extra batting practice, strong pitching pays off By SKIP VAUGHN For The Huntsville Times skipv@htimes.com The Huntsville Stars have been struggling offensively so they had batting practice at 10 a.m. Sunday, unusual for a day game. That afternoon they responded by beating the Mobile BayBears 3-1 and 6-1 for a doubleheader sweep before an announced crowd of 1,458 at Joe Davis Stadium. "Both games started out the same way. We give up a couple of runs in the first," Stars manager Don Money said. "After that any jams they got into, the pitchers got out." Starting pitcher Corey Thurman benefited from the run production in game two. The former major leaguer went 5 2/3 innings and allowed six hits, one unearned run, one walk and struck out four. Thurman (1-1) notched his first Southern League win and dropped his earned run average to 0.42 after 21 2/3 innings with only one earned run. "When you come off of surgery, it's just a blessing to be able to go out there," said Thurman, who pitched for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2002. "I would give myself a 'B' (for Sunday's performance) because I really couldn't find my curveball today." "He didn't have his best stuff today," Stars pitching coach Rich Sauveur said. "But he's a battler and he got through it today by being aggressive with his fastball and changeup. His curveball and slider just didn't show up today." The Stars offense showed up, particularly in game two. Jeff Eure slammed a three-run homer and Greg Sain had a solo shot for Huntsville (10-8). Eure's third homer of the season came on a slider up in the strike zone from Mobile starter Bubba Nelson (1-2) during a four-run fourth inning. "We haven't been scoring a lot of runs," Eure said. "Our pitching staff's been doing a great job. Hopefully that's a sign of things to come, for us to score runs in bunches like that." Drew Anderson led off the fourth with a single and went 2-for-3 with two hits and scored two runs. "I think hitting's contagious," he said. In game one, Ozzie Chavez had two hits with a triple, an RBI, scored a run and stole a base. Andy Pratt (1-0) got the win with 1 1/3 innings in relief of starter Tim Dillard. Joe Winkelsas earned his third save. "Overall we've been playing pretty solid defense," Money said. His midmorning batting practice seemed to awaken the Stars' bats, too. They had five hits in the first game and seven in the second against Mobile (7-11). "It (the batting practice) just made sure you're not lackadaisical," Anderson said. "We were more ready to go, more prepared."

OKLAHOMA CITY ? A play at the plate helped the Oklahoma RedHawks beat the Nashville Sounds 6-5 yesterday at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark. Nashville catcher Mark Johnson was thrown out at the plate on a throw from right fielder Will Smith for the last out in the eighth inning to prevent the Sounds from tying the game. Earlier in the inning, Nashville's Nelson Cruz hit his second home run of the game to cut the deficit to one. Chris Barnwell's fly ball was dropped by Smith, but Smith then threw out Johnson trying to score from first base. The game had three ties and two lead changes. The last lead change came in the seventh inning when Oklahoma scored three runs on four consecutive singles off reliever Wilton Chavez (1-1). Sounds left fielder Corey Hart committed a fielding error on Laynce Nix's single, allowing two runs to score. Jason Burke singled Nix home on the next play to give the RedHawks a 6-4 lead. Reliever Erasmo Ramirez (1-0) picked up his first win of the season for Oklahoma and Scott Feldman pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn his first save. Nashville starter Ben Hendrickson pitched six innings, allowing three runs on eight hits. Sounds center fielder Tony Gwynn extended his hitting streak to 10 games with an RBI double. What they said: "Ben made quality pitches, but I also thought he had an opportunity to limit the damage and didn't. It was a quality start, but the game within a game he could have done better." ? Nashville pitching coach Stan Kyles on starter Ben Hendrickson. -- The Tennessean

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 Monday'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_orhaaa_1 Huntsville: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1 Brevard County: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_breafa_1 West Virginia: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_lexafx_1

Monday's Daily Menu: All times Central; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: LHP Dana Eveland at Oklahoma (Rangers), 6:45 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime; longtime Brewer farmhand LHP Derek Lee faces Eveland Audio link: www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/ Nashville Game Day Feature from MILB.com: Please note that GameDay links will not become active until approximately 1-2 hours before game time www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_orhaaa_1 Huntsville: LHP Jeff Housman at home vs. Mobile (Padres), 9:50 AM pre-game, 10:05 gametime Audio link: www.espn1450.com/ Brevard County: RHP Yo Gallardo at home vs. St. Lucie (Mets), 6:00 PM; sorry, no audio for this series West Virginia: RHP Will Inman at Lexington (Astros), 6:05 PM Audio link: www.sportsjuice.com/provi...e=wvpower.

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Sounds finally show their homer power Hit three in win over Omaha By MAURICE PATTON Tennessean Staff Writer After going three full games without a home run, the Nashville Sounds clubbed two in one inning last night. Brent Abernathy's two-run drive in the second inning was followed an out later by Enrique Cruz's solo shot off the guitar scoreboard in left field, and the Sounds powered their way to a 9-4 win over Omaha. "I just went up there with the mentality of swinging hard in case I hit it," said Abernathy, a 10-year veteran who spent part of the 2003 season with Omaha and played with Royals starter Kyle Snyder. "I'd been scuffling the last few days. Sometimes you have to throw the mechanics out and just see it and hit it." Mike Rivera added a solo homer in the seventh, capping the Sounds' first three-homer game of the season. "Enrique's got power; Rivera's got power," Nashville Manager Frank Kremblas said. "Abernathy's a good hitter. He has an idea what he's doing up there." The victory closed out a 7-1 homestand for Nashville, the best Greer Stadium performance since the team went 8-1against Iowa and Colorado Springs on June 17-24, 2003. Additionally, the win gave the Sounds a 3-1 series win over Omaha ? which took three of four from Nashville to open the season ? as they took a one-game lead over the Royals in the PCL's American Northern Division. "We played well on the road," Abernathy said. "To come away with just three (wins) was pretty difficult. We felt like we gave away most of those (losses)." Nashville won despite a season-high five errors. Snyder came into Friday's game with an 0.73 earned run average, having allowed just one earned run in 12 1/3 innings. The Sounds got to him for eight runs ? seven earned ? in 4 2/3 innings, ballooning his ERA to 4.24. "He's a good pitcher," Abernathy said. "But he usually works down in the (strike) zone, and I think he was a little up. We just happened to make him pay for some mistakes." Sounds keep stealing wins: With three stolen bases in the first two innings of their 9-4 win last night over visiting Omaha, the Nashville Sounds continued their dominance of that statistical category in the Pacific Coast League. Nashville has been successful on 34-of-42 attempts, and with Corey Hart's first-inning steal, every active non-pitcher on the Sounds roster has already recorded at least one theft. Last season, the Sounds stole 174 bases in 242 attempts. The team record for steals is 205, set by the 1981 team that featured Otis Nixon. The 17-year major league veteran set single-game (four) and single-season (74) franchise records that year that still stand. The Pacific Coast League single-season record for steals by a team is 422, set by the 1903 Sacramento team. Streakin': Chris Barnwell, Mike Rivera and Tony Gwynn each extended significant hitting streaks last night. Barnwell raised his to nine straight games ? a team high for the season ? with his fifth-inning RBI double, while Rivera and Gwynn have hit in eight consecutive games apiece following second-inning singles. Barnwell's season-high hit streak last year, between Nashville and Class AA Huntsville, was six straight games. Sweet music: Enrique Cruz became the first Sounds player of the season to earn a Copley guitar, with his second-inning solo home run off the guitar-shaped scoreboard beyond the left-field fence. Cruz is scheduled to receive his guitar during the May 1-8 homestand. Hitting shoes: For the eight-game homestand, the Sounds had 95 hits ? 56 in the four-game sweep of Oklahoma and 39 against Omaha. "It was a good homestand," Kremblas said. "Our offense was much better here at home than on the road. That gives you a little wiggle room, as far as your pitching and defense." The Sounds averaged 8.3 runs in the eight Greer Stadium games, outscoring the opposition by an average of 4.4 runs per game. Breaking through: Last night marked just the fourth time all year that the Sounds didn't score first. Nashville has split those four games. Web gem: Despite the loss last night, Omaha's keystone combination of second baseman Ruben Gotay and shortstop Andres Blanco teamed for a highlight play to retire Jermaine Clark. Gotay ranged to his right, going nearly behind the bag to get Clark's groundball, then flipped the ball out of his glove to Blanco. Moving toward first base, Blanco gunned Clark out. What they said: ?It?s frustrating to not be able to stay in, especially with a lead like that. But as long as I can keep them in the game ? I?m just trying to make quality pitches and keep them in the game as long as possible.? ? LHP Justin Thompson, who threw 63 pitches in 3 2/3 innings before yielding to Fernandez.

What they said: "I am sure his confidence level coming in was not good. The important thing is he got it done." ? Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas, on pitcher Allan Simpson who got the save after blowing his previous two chances. -- The Tennessean

Nashville Site Game Summary: Link, text follows -- www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=1916 Sounds Win Streak Ends At Four With 6-5 Loss OKLAHOMA CITY ? The Nashville Sounds had their four-game winning streak come to a close with a 6-5 loss to the Oklahoma RedHawks on Sunday afternoon at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark. Nelson Cruz went 3-for-4 and belted a pair of home runs to pace the Nashville offense in the losing effort. The outfielder scored three runs, picked up two RBIs, and now has a Pacific Coast League-leading 13 extra-base hits on the year. The loss was the first in six contests against Oklahoma for Nashville (11-7), which fell to 1-4 in one-run games on the year but retained a one-game lead in the PCL American Conference Northern Division. Oklahoma grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning on Jason Botts? two-out RBI single off Nashville starter Ben Hendrickson, which scored Jace Brewer. The Sounds knotted the score at 1-1 in the top of the fourth when Brent Abernathy (2-for-3) plated Nelson Cruz with a two-out RBI knock of his own before the RedHawks reclaimed a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the frame on a Brewer sacrifice fly. Nashville jumped ahead by a 3-2 margin in the fifth. Tony Gwynn (2-for-5) extended his hitting streak to 10 games with an RBI double, plating Chris Barnwell to tie the contest, then scored the go-ahead run later in the frame on a Corey Hart sacrifice fly. AUDIO: Tony Gwynn RBI Double -- www.nashvillesounds.com/a...204-23.wma Gwynn?s 10-game streak matches Barnwell for the longest by a Sound in 2006. Barnwell went 0-for-3 with a walk in his four trips to the plate to stop his active streak at 10. The RedHawks tied the score once again in the bottom of the fifth on a two-out RBI single by Jamie Burke, who led all Oklahoma batters with a 3-for-4 afternoon. Nelson Cruz led off the sixth inning with his first homer of the contest, a solo shot to left-center off Oklahoma starter Edinson Volquez. The blast was his team-leading fifth of the year and gave Nashville a 4-3 advantage. Oklahoma struck back against the Sounds? bullpen in the seventh. Wilton Chavez allowed four consecutive singles to open the inning, resulting in three runs and a 6-4 RedHawks lead. Joaquin Arias and Botts opened the frame with back-to-back knocks then both players scored when Laynce Nix followed with an RBI single to left that was coupled with a fielding error by Corey Hart, giving Oklahoma the lead. Burke recorded the final run-scoring single of the inning, plating Nix. Nelson Cruz struck again for the Sounds in the eighth when he belted a leadoff solo homer to left off RedHawks reliever Erasmo Ramirez to pull the visitors within a run at 6-5. The outfielder?s sixth homer of the campaign gave him Nashville?s first multiple-homer effort of the year. Ramirez (1-0) picked up the victory as the beneficiary of the Oklahoma comeback. Chavez (1-1) took the loss after suffering a blown save and giving up three runs in his two innings of work. Scott Feldman worked a scoreless ninth to earn his first save. The blown save was the fifth of the season in nine save opportunities for Nashville. Hendrickson, who departed with Nashville holding a 4-3 lead, drew a no-decision after allowing three runs on eight hits while striking out five batters in his six frames. The teams continue the series with a 7:05 p.m. meeting on Monday evening. Left-hander Dana Eveland (1-0, 1.06) mans the bump for the Sounds. Oklahoma will counter with southpaw and longtime Brewer farmhand Derek Lee (0-0, 0.93).

Sounds Broadcaster Chuck Valenches with his own blog -- drop him a line with any question you may have on the Sounds: nashvillesounds.blogspot.com/

Nashville Pre-Game Audio Coaches Chat with Manager Frank Kremblas (Friday): www.nashvillesounds.com/a...204-21.wma Nashville Pre-Game Audio Chat with Infielder Jermaine Clark (Saturday): www.nashvillesounds.com/a...204-22.wma Nashville Pre-Game Audio Chat with Starting Pitcher Dennis Sarfate: www.nashvillesounds.com/a...204-23.wma

1B / OF Brandon Gemoll has signed with the Coastal Bend Aviators (Robstown, Texas) of the independent American Association, joining former Brewer farmhands LHP Ricky Stover and 1B / DH Carlos Gallardo on that squad.

Local Huntsville media ran a series of commercials to kick off the season -- regarding the one entitled "Baseball is Back", did they ever hear of guys named Sheets, Fielder, or Weeks? Sheesh...they do know this is the Brewers' eighth season in Huntsville, right? www.huntsvillestars.com/n...?pageId=70

Huntsville Site Doubleheader Summary: Link, text follows -- www.huntsvillestars.com/n...newsId=796 Stars Sweep Sunday Twin Bill Jeff Eure?s three-run home run capped a four-run fourth inning that carried Huntsville to a 6-1 win in the nightcap of a doubleheader sweep at Joe Davis Stadium. The Stars tallied twice in the sixth inning to snap a tie en route to a 3-1 win in the opener. Huntsville improved to 10-8 overall and 4-4 at home, while the BayBears dropped to 7-11 overall and 3-5 away from home. Greg Sain?s leadoff long ball in the second inning got the second game tied at one. It was his fifth of the season, all coming in the last 12 games. Drew Anderson and Steve Moss opened the fourth inning with singles and Ron Acuna?s single with one out delivered Anderson with the go-ahead run. Eure followed by belting the next pitch from Bubba Nelson over the wall in left field for his third home run of the season and third game with three runs batted in. Moss doubled home a run in the fifth inning to complete the scoring. Corey Thurman went 5 2/3 innings in the nightcap, giving up one unearned run on six hits and walk. He struck out four to earn his first win of the season and was given twice the run support he had received in his first three starts combined. The veteran right-hander has allowed one earned run in 21 2/3 frames so far this season. Tim Dillard worked five innings in the opener, giving up one run on four hits and a pair of walks. He fanned a season-high five and left with the game tied at one. Andy Pratt tossed a scoreless sixth inning and picked up his first win of the year after the home team scored twice in the bottom of the inning. Ozzie Chavez led off with a triple and scored the tie-breaking run when Adam Heether singled to right field on the next pitch. Sain and Anderson walked to load the bases and Lou Palmisano delivered a sacrifice fly to chase home an insurance run. Pratt retired the first hitter of the seventh and was replaced by Joe Winkelsas, who yielded back-to-back two-out singles before retiring Drew Macias on a ground ball to end the game and earn his third save of the season. The series continues on Monday morning, as the BayBears will send right-hander Jose Oyervidez to the mound against Stars left-hander Jeff Housman. Coverage of the game begins at 9:50 a.m. central time and can be heard locally on ESPN Radio 1450 AM and via the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com.

Link while active, text follows: www.al.com/sports/huntsvi...amp;coll=1 Stars notebook Mark McCarter, Huntsville Times Covering the bases Everyone has been preaching patience while Minor League Baseball employs the replacement umpires. The Stars were lectured about it in spring training, then reminded once the season began. However, last Tuesday, Stars manager Don Money had his patience go down the drain. A Greg Sain homer was called foul. Money argued. And argued some more. Possibly the regular umps may have blown the call, too. "Some are better than others," Money said of the replacements. "The guys we've had here have done a good job." What he hopes for is consistency, and then his players can adjust if, say, the home plate ump is more generous with high pitches. "If they expand their strike zone, you've got to expand yours." It's apparently going to be a problem to contend with for still some time, and it hasn't always been so smooth. The Colorado Spring Gazette reported a strong quote from Tucson pitcher Kevin Jarvis that's now on the umps' Web site: "The integrity of the game is being compromised, all so minor league baseball can squeeze some nickels and dimes out of the umpires. Minor league baseball ought to be ashamed at the product they're putting on the field." ... One fear Money had about the new five-game series format would be catching another team that gets momentum behind it, as happened at times last year. However, it hasn't happened yet, the Stars going 3-2, 2-3 and 3-2 in their series. ... The Stars' 24-man roster will be trimmed to 23 on May 6, as dictated by league rules. Typically that decision takes care of itself, with players going on the disabled list. ... Brewers roving pitching instructor Jim Rooney is with the club until Wednesday. Hitting instructor Jim Skaalen was with them last week. ... Former Star Corey Hart was getting cobwebs on the Brewers' bench, especially with the emergence of ex-Auburn QB Gabe Gross as a pinch-hitter and sub outfielder, so Milwaukee sent Hart back to Triple-A last week. ... The Midland Rockhounds, also owned by Stars owner Miles Prentice, are averaging 3,554 per game in six dates compared to 2,165 for the Stars through five dates. Could it be that Midland has twice the staff as Huntsville to market the team? Around the league Yes, that's Fernando Valenzuela's son playing now for Mobile. All those feeling old right now, hold up your hand. ... Along with good pitching, West Tenn has gotten good production from veterans Richard Hoffpauir (five homers) and 2004 league MVP Richard Lewis, neither of whom is thrilled to be back in the SL. "Sometimes," West Tenn manager Pat Listach told The Jackson Sun, "guys play better when they're ticked off.'' ... Jacksonville drew 10,621 Friday night, the fifth-largest crowd in stadium history. ... The Suns bullpen has a 1.73 ERA. ... Tennessee catcher Miguel Montero and West Tenn pitcher Carlos Marmol are the most recent BC Powder Southern League players of the week. Brewings (through Friday's games): Triple-A Nashville Sounds (10-6, first place in Pacific Coast League American Division): Nine wins in last 11 games; OF Tony Gwynn Jr. on eight-game hitting streak going into Saturday night. Single-A Brevard County Manatees (12-3, first in Florida State East Division): P Mike Jones 0-0, 2.35 ERA in three starts in comeback from surgery. Single-A West Virginia Power (6-8, fifth in South Atlantic League Northern Division this half): 2B Kenny Holmberg .341, 2 HRs, 6 RBIs. On deck The Stars host Mobile in a 1:05 doubleheader today, then a 10:05 a.m. game Monday and 7:05 night game Tuesday. The Tennessee Smokies, with ex-Madison Academy and UAH pitcher Adam Bass (2-1, 3.43 ERA, 22 Ks in 21 innings), arrive for a five-game series starting Thursday. Watch for Tennessee catcher Miguel Montero, the No. 6 prospect in the Diamondbacks' system and fifth in the SL in batting.

More on what the Stars were up against Saturday night: Link while active, text follows: www.al.com/stars/huntsvil...amp;coll=1 Mobile's Carrillo leaves Huntsville starry-eyed By PAUL GATTIS Huntsville Times Sports Staff, pgattis@htimes.com For the record, a season-high crowd of 6,476 showed up at Joe Davis Stadium on Saturday night. But how many will claim to have been there in, say, five years when Cesar Carrillo is a star for the San Diego Padres? Yeah, I was there that night early in the season in '06 when Carrillo was pitching for Mobile and he so effortlessly shut down the Huntsville Stars that I'm not sure he even broke a sweat. Indeed, Carrillo is one of those guys with a future of dreams and you couldn't help but see it as he pitched the BayBears to a 4-0 victory. The top minor league prospect for the parent club Padres, Carrillo (1-0) is expected to perhaps be in the major leagues before the season is over. Carrillo pitched seven shutout innings, flashing a mid-90s fastball and throwing his breaking ball for strikes pretty much whenever he wanted. A week shy of his 22nd birthday, Carrillo allowed three hits while striking out five and walking just one. But if he had pitched seven hitless innings, it couldn't have been more impressive. He even knocked in a run with an infield single in the sixth inning. It was just the 16th game of Carrillo's professional career since being a first-round draft pick last year out of the University of Miami (Fla.). In five starts last year for Mobile, Carrillo was 4-0 with opposing hitters batting .204 against him. "He threw his fastball over and when he got behind, he threw his breaking ball over behind in the count," Stars manager Don Money said. "He went right after our guys. He threw his breaking ball when he was behind in the count. When he does that, he is usually successful." The Stars' best scoring opportunity was countered by Carrillo's best pitching. In the sixth inning, pinch-hitter Jeff Eure led off with a single and Kennard Bibbs followed with a walk. But then Carrillo struck out Callix Crabbe, got a fielder's choice from Adam Heether and struck out Greg Sain to end the inning. "He threw breaking balls on 3-2 counts," Money said. "Our guys stood there like they had never seen it before." Mobile took a 1-0 lead in the fourth when George Kottaras - rated the Padres' second-best prospect - homered to right off Stars starter Carlos Villanueva (2-2). The BayBears added another run later in the inning on a run-scoring single by Luis Cruz. In the sixth, Mobile made it 3-0 when Brett Bonvechio walked against reliever Alec Zumwalt and scored on a Steve Baker double. The BayBears made it 4-0 after a short fly ball to center field fell between three Stars. That put runners at first and third and Carrillo knocked in a run with a dribbler in front of the plate. "Any of the three could have caught the ball," an exasperated Money said. If there's any consolation, though, it wouldn't have mattered against Carrillo.

Just some text to note that RHP Robbie Wooley threw very well Friday night before the rains came: In the case of Eric Brown, his immediate future may have been decided by the width of a fingernail. The Hagerstown Suns relief pitcher stepped out of the bullpen and into an emergency start Friday when scheduled pitcher Jacobo Neguilis was scratched because of an ingrown nail. By the end of his four-inning stint, Brown had the West Virginia Power chewing their nails. Brown rolled through 13 hitters - one over the minimum - with a speedy, yet hitless performance before the game was suspended in a 0-0 tie after three innings by rain. Meanwhile, West Virginia's Robbie Wooley held the Suns hitless through three innings. Both pitchers allowed two walks. "Eric had good stuff and he kept the ball down in the zone," Hagerstown manager Frank Cacciatore said. "That's a good sign. Pitchers set the pace of the game. Their guy threw strikes and Eric did, too. That's a pretty good hitting team that we have had some close battles with, so he did a good job." The game opened with the threat of rain, maybe encouraging Brown and Wooley to work quickly to get the game in. Despite the late call, Brown looked fluid and kept West Virginia at bay with four strikeouts. He issued a walk to Tony Festa to start the third, but the Power runner was caught stealing, and Angel Salome drew a two-out walk in the fourth during the downpour. The game is scheduled to be completed June 7, when West Virginia returns to Municipal Stadium. The game will pick up in the bottom of the fourth and will be a nine-inning game, with the regularly scheduled game - now a seven-inning contest - to follow. -- Hagerstown Herald-Mail

Miscellaneous quotes on West Virginia RHP Kevin Roberts, who pitched well in the Power's win on Saturday: Roberts (2-1) held the Legends to a run ? Ryan Reed?s homer ? on three hits over five innings. He struck out seven and walked two. ?He threw well against us in West Virginia,? Legends Manager Jack Lind said. ?He did today. Kept his pitches down.? ?He?s mixing his pitches pretty good,? Power Manager Mike Guerrero said. ?The location, breaking ball and changeup. And the location on his fastball was pretty good.? Former Cincinnati Reds General Manager Dan O'Brien, who's now the Brewers' assistant general manager, is in attendance in Lexington for the Power series.

Thanks, colbyjack, for playing substitute teacher. Final: Lexington (Astros) 7, West Virginia 4 But no thanks, colbyjack, for jinxing my New Englander Derek Miller... West Virginia Site Game Summary: Festa reaches four times in Power loss Tony Festa reached base four times in Sunday afternoon?s game at Applebee?s Park in Lexington, Kentucky, but it was not enough for the Power as they fell to the Legends by the final of 7-4. Darren Ford began the third inning with a double and he scored later in the inning on Angel Salome?s sacrifice fly to give the Power their only lead of the game. Eli Iorg belted a two-out, two-run single with the bases loaded in the bottom of the third inning and Ryan Reed followed with an RBI single to give the Legends the lead 3-1. The Power scored their second run in the top of the fifth inning. With one out and runners on first and third, Lorenzo Cain got caught in a run down between first and second base. The Legends tagged Cain out but Darren Ford scored in the process. The Legends answered again in the bottom of the fifth inning on an RBI single from J.R. Towles and Tommy Manzella drove in the final run of the inning on a sacrifice fly. In the sixth inning Tony Festa delivered with his second base hit of the game, a two-run single that brought the Power within a run. Lexington added two more in the bottom of the inning. Mitch Einertson drove in the first run with an RBI double and Einertson scored later in the inning on Ryan Crew?s throwing error. Levi Romero (3-0) earned the victory, Sam Gervacio (1) earned the save and Derek Miller (0-1) obtained the loss. The Power are 7-9 after the loss and the Legends improved to 11-6 with the win. The Power will conclude the three game series against the Legends on Monday night. Right hander Will Inman (2-0, 1.64) will start for the Power and the Legends will counter with left hander Douglas Arguello (0-1, 5.25). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM (6:05 Central). West Virginia Box Score: Angel Salome picked a man off second base... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_lexafx_1 West Virginia Game Log: Roger Clemens' son Koby forced to leave the game after a HBP in the 2nd... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_lexafx_1

Ben Diggins released by Astros organization Thursday, never played in a game after being claimed in the minor league phase of Rule 5.

Press Release update on the subject of Brewerfan's very first player interview -- pretty obscure from December 2001, do you know who prior to clicking? You're a Brewerfan nut if you do: www.wiuathletics.com/rele...hp?id=2616 That first interview: www.brewerfan.net/ViewArt...ticleId=51