Jim Goulart

Hi everyone -- I'll be taking my first Link Report season break this weekend with a little Cape Cod getaway. Too bad Cape Cod League college-ball season isn't underway yet, right colbyjack? You'll see my moniker on the initial posts for Saturday and Sunday, which have been pre-staged for other Brewerfan staff members. While staff members will fill in more than capably, moderators or others are invited to post updates as they become available as well. Don't worry about fancy formatting or such, let's just get the info out there. Here's to a fun and productive weekend for all, thanks.

Standings through Thursday's action: Pacific Coast League (AAA) - American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Nashville 9 6 .600 - 6-1 3-5 W2[/b] Omaha 9 6 .600 - 5-3 4-3 L2 Iowa 7 8 .467 2.0 5-3 2-5 L3 Memphis 3 12 .200 6.0 3-4 0-8 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chattanooga 10 5 .667 - 4-1 6-4 L1 West Tenn 10 5 .667 - 3-2 7-3 L1 [b]Huntsville 8 7 .533 2.0 2-3 6-4 L1[/b] Carolina 6 9 .400 4.0 2-3 4-6 L2 Tennessee 5 10 .333 5.0 2-3 3-7 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Brevard County 11 3 .786 - 5-1 6-2 W1[/b] Palm Beach 9 5 .643 2.0 3-2 6-3 W3 St. Lucie 9 5 .643 2.0 4-2 5-3 L3 Daytona 5 9 .357 6.0 3-7 2-2 W3 Jupiter 5 9 .357 6.0 3-6 2-3 L2 Vero Beach 3 11 .214 8.0 3-3 0-8 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lexington 10 4 .714 - 6-2 4-2 L1 Delmarva 8 5 .615 1.5 3-3 5-2 L1 Greensboro 7 7 .500 3.0 5-3 2-4 L3 Hagerstown 7 7 .500 3.0 5-1 2-6 W1 Lake County 7 7 .500 3.0 3-4 4-3 W1 Hickory 6 8 .429 4.0 2-5 4-3 W1 [b]West Virginia 6 8 .429 4.0 2-5 4-3 L1[/b] Lakewood 4 9 .308 5.5 4-2 0-7 W4

We read the report from the Nashville City Paper that LHP Zach Jackson, not LHP Justin Thompson, will pitch Friday night for the Sounds, so keep that in mind.

Link while active, text follows: www.nashvillecitypaper.co...s_id=49332 Team effort leads Sounds to win By Nate Rau, Sports Correspondent The Nashville Sounds are beginning to resemble a broken record. Night after night the team wins by doing the little things right and Thursday against Omaha was no different. Behind steady defense, timely hitting and good-enough starting pitching, the Sounds notched a ho-hum 7-2 victory over the Royals in front of 5,185 Greer Stadium fans. The first-place Sounds are now 6-1 at home this season. ?More than anything we?ve had great defense and great pitching,? center fielder Tony Gwynn said. ?This past home stand, our bats started to come alive. ?Those are the three things you need. You need defense, pitching and timely hitting.? Nashville got all the runs it needed in the first two innings off hapless Omaha starter Brian Bass. The Sounds chased Bass after the second inning, having scored all seven runs off six hits. ?That tends to be the remedy to winning games,? Gwynn said. ?We got [our] runs off the starter. Their bullpen came in and did a great job, but those seven runs early were pretty much all we needed.? Dennis Sarfate (1-0) got the start for Nashville and threw his best game of the young season. Sarfate surrendered just two runs through five innings. The blemish on Sarfate?s line in the box score is in the walks column. The hard-throwing righty surrendered six of them to Royals batters. It was still his best start of the season, as he went further into the game than he had in his first two starts. ?It would be so much easier for me if I didn?t try to overthrow so much,? Sarfate said. ?It?s a learning process and you?ve just got to take baby steps. I got deeper, but it?s still not good enough. I need to go six, seven innings.? Wilton Chavez (three innings, no runs) and Allan Simpson (one inning, no runs) came out of the Nashville bullpen and held Omaha in check. True to form, there wasn?t one standout star for Nashville offensively. Nelson Cruz collected two hits and two RBIs and Chris Barnwell pushed his team-best hitting streak to eight games. Sounds third baseman Vinny Rottino also had a pair of hits, including a double. Nashville collected five doubles to push their Pacific Coast League-leading total 36 on the young season. Zach Jackson, who missed his last start because of a bruised ring finger on his pitching hand, was bumped up in the rotation and will take the mound for the Sounds tonight.

Link while active, text follows: tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....328/SPORTS Hart passes his Brewers total at-bats in one Sounds game By MAURICE PATTON Tennessean Staff Writer It may be hard to enjoy a 1-for-4 day more than Corey Hart did Wednesday. In his first game with the Nashville Sounds after making the Milwaukee Brewers' opening-day roster, Hart ? a Pacific Coast League all-star last season ? had more at-bats than he did through the Brewers' first 14 games. "That was the most fun game I've had all year," said Hart, who had three at-bats in four games with Milwaukee before he was optioned out Tuesday. "I was caught in a spot where I wasn't needed at all, pretty much. I was just kinda sitting there." With Milwaukee's starting outfield of Carlos Lee, Brady Clark and Geoff Jenkins and with Gabe Gross getting the primary reserve action, Hart was virtually the odd man out. He hit .308 with 17 home runs and 69 RBIs for the Sounds last season. In two seasons at the Class AAA level, Hart batted .295 with 32 homers and 136 RBIs. "I'm more disappointed in not getting the chance to be involved more," said Hart, who also was 1 for 4 Thursday night. "It's great to be in the major leagues, but you want to be able to contribute. I would like to have contributed more than I did. "I'd go back and sit on the bench in the majors in a heartbeat. But you feel better about yourself when you're playing, when you're doing something. Everybody wants to go somewhere and play, be a part of it." Now that he's back in Nashville, Hart is concentrating on shaking off the rust from three at-bats in two weeks. "It's tough; I got a little out of synch," he said. "Hopefully it won't take me long to get comfortable. "I need to just go out and play. There's nothing I can do about it. I'm going to go out and get to swinging. All I can do is help myself." Streakin': Chris Barnwell's second-inning single extended his hitting streak to eight games, a season high for the Sounds. The previous high of seven was initially set by Jermaine Clark, then matched by Mike Rivera on Tuesday. Rivera, who hasn't played in the last couple of games, and Tony Gwynn each have active seven-game hitting streaks. Runnin' wild: Though they did not steal a base last night, the Sounds entered play as the Pacific Coast League leader with 30, with 11 different team members accounting for at least one steal. Dave Krynzel's six continues to lead the club and rank second in the PCL, with Clark and Gwynn adding five each. I'm gloving it: The Sounds have committed eight errors, the best defensive performance in the league. Their 21 double plays lead the PCL as well.

Link while active, text follows: tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....328/SPORTS Balk aids Sounds in victory Omaha can't handle Nashville's speed By MAURICE PATTON Tennessean Staff Writer "Speed kills" may be an overused sports cliché, but the Nashville Sounds' threat of a running game certainly played a role in their 7-2 win last night over visiting Omaha. Already leading 2-0, Nashville had runners at first and third with an out in the second inning. Chris Barnwell, who came into the game with four stolen bases, broke for second as Omaha starter Brian Bass went into his windup to Tony Gwynn. Bass, a right-hander, faked to third and threw to first in a pickoff attempt, but was ruled to have balked, killing the play and sending Barnwell to second and scoring Mark Johnson from third. "If they don't call the balk, the whole inning stops in its tracks," Barnwell said. "I'm glad the umpire was watching for it ? for my sake." Royals Manager Mike Jirschele argued the call and was ejected, and the Sounds added another four runs by the end of the inning. "It was pretty close," Nashville Manager Frank Kremblas said of Bass's move. "He had a lot of weight toward the plate. "I couldn't tell where his foot landed. You might think they'd put that (play) on if they think we're running in a situation, if there's a tendency to run. You want to do something to keep them close, to try to get an out out of the situation." Johnson's run, and the four ensuing runs, provided enough of a cushion for Sounds starter Dennis Sarfate, who took a shutout into the sixth inning in his longest outing of the season. Omaha finally broke through against Sarfate and reliever Wilton Chavez in the sixth, scoring twice on a pair of base hits and a Chavez fielding error. Chavez retired the visitors in order in the seventh and worked through the eighth before Allan Simpson got the last three outs. "We've still got to eliminate the little mistakes that were big," Kremblas said. "Chavez pitched around his error, but we've got to get an out there." With their eighth win in the last 10 games, the Sounds moved into a tie with Omaha atop the PCL American Northern Division. ³What they said: ?There were a couple of hits, a couple of groundballs we couldn?t get to. But a lot of things are going our way. The guys are in position.? ? Kremblas, regarding his team?s play during the current 8-2 run after a 1-4 start.

Final: Nashville 7, Omaha (Royals) 2 Nashville Site Game Summary: Link for new Dennis Sarfate photo, text follows -- www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=1912 Sounds Pull Into Tie For First Place With 7-2 Win NASHVILLE, Tenn. ? The Nashville Sounds pulled into a tie for first place for the first time this season with a 7-2 victory over the Omaha Royals in front of 5,185 fans on Thursday evening at Greer Stadium. The victory was the eighth in the last 10 games for Nashville (9-6), which improved to 6-1 during its current homestand and pulled into a tie for the PCL American Conference Northern Division lead with the Royals. Nashville starter Dennis Sarfate (1-0) picked up his first victory of the season after allowing one unearned run over five-plus innings of four-hit ball, lowering his ERA to 3.38 on the year. The right-hander walked six batters and struck out five in his outing. The Sounds legged out five doubles in the contest to up their league-leading total to 36 in their 15 games this season. Nashville bolted out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Tony Gwynn opened the game with a double to left and scored the game?s first run one batter later on Jermaine Clark?s RBI two-bagger to left-center. The two-bagger for Gwynn extended the Nashville leadoff hitter?s hitting streak to seven games. The Sounds tacked on an unearned run later in the frame when Omaha third baseman Mike Aviles mishandled Vinny Rottino?s two-out grounder, allowing Clark to score. The Sounds stretched the lead to 7-0 with a five-run second inning against Omaha starter Brian Bass. With one out, Mark Johnson singled and moved to third on a well-executed hit-and-run single by Chris Barnwell, which extended the infielder?s hitting streak to eight games ? the longest by a Sound this season. Bass committed a balk to advance each runner a base as Johnson scored the contest?s third run. After a Gwynn groundout and Clark walk, Omaha shortstop Andres Blanco let a Corey Hart grounder go between his legs into left for an error that allowed Barnwell to score. Nelson Cruz followed with his PCL-leading seventh double of the year, a two-run knock to right-center that brought in Clark and Hart. AUDIO: Nelson Cruz Two-Run Double -- www.nashvillesounds.com/a...204-20.wma Rottino capped off the frame?s scoring with an RBI single to left that barely missed striking Cruz on the basepaths. Omaha broke up the shutout bid in the sixth when they plated a pair of unearned runs resulting from a fielding error by Sounds reliever Wilton Chavez, making the score 7-2. Bass (0-2) took the loss after surrendering seven runs, two of which were earned, on six hits in only two innings of work. Both teams received solid evenings from their bullpens, which combined for 10.0 scoreless innings. Wilton Chavez hurled three scoreless frames for the Sounds and now boasts a 1.46 ERA on the year. Allan Simpson worked a scoreless ninth for Nashville. Royals reliever Danny Tamayo turned in a solid outing behind Bass, tossing five innings of three-hit shutout ball while striking out four batters. Former Sound Frank Brooks finished up with one scoreless inning. The clubs are scheduled to wrap up the four-game set with a 7 p.m. meeting on Friday evening. Left-hander Justin Thompson (0-0, 7.94) takes the hill for the Sounds to make his third start of the year. Omaha will counter with right-hander Kyle Snyder (0-0, 0.73). Nashville Box Score: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1 Nashville Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1

Nashville Pre-Game Audio Chat with Infielder Chris Barnwell: www.nashvillesounds.com/a...204-20.wma

Isenia's hitting, Martinez's baserunning key Biscuits By A. Stacy Long Montgomery Advertiser There was no pause and nothing to ponder. Gabriel Martinez jumped out of the starter's gate at contact and never slowed down. The snap baserunning decision provided the go-ahead run in the Montgomery Biscuits' 3-2 win over the Huntsville Stars on Thursday at Riverwalk Stadium. On a ball that dropped barely in front of the center fielder, Martinez galloped home to put the Biscuits ahead in the seventh inning. "That was good baserunning," Montgomery's Chairon Isenia said. "That was a great read by Gabriel Martinez." Isenia snapped out of a season-opening slump and knocked in all three runs, while he and Martinez both had rare stolen bases in the seventh. Martinez stole second to get in scoring position on a missed hit-and-run play. A batter later, Martinez was off and running again. "Gaby went hard the whole way on the hit-and-run. That's why he was safe at second base," Montgomery manager Charlie Montoyo said. "Then, on the ball Isenia hit, he knew where the outfielder was and started running immediately. He gave me a chance to send him." Center fielder Steve Moss' throw was cut off, allowing Martinez to score standing up. "You have to know where the outfielders are playing," Martinez said. "I knew that ball was a blooper and none of the outfielders were going to catch it." Nice throw Huntsville catcher J.C. Boscan showed some arm about two hours before Thursday's series finale. Just before the Stars started batting practice, Boscan uncorked a throw from foul territory just behind first base at Riverwalk Stadium. Boscan hit the scoreboard. The throw covered at least 320 feet and ended at a point at least 25 feet off the ground.

Huntsville Game Photo -- Greg Sain: www.montgomeryadvertiser....s=Itemnr=2 Huntsville Game Photo -- Khalid Ballouli: www.montgomeryadvertiser....s=Itemnr=4 Huntsville Game Photos -- Guilder Rodriguez: www.montgomeryadvertiser....s=Itemnr=5 www.montgomeryadvertiser....s=Itemnr=6 Huntsville Game Photo -- Steve Moss: www.montgomeryadvertiser....s=Itemnr=7

David Weiser's www.starsboxscore.com/ BALLOULI GETS THE BALONEY FROM ISENIAChiaron Isenia broke out of a 3-for-25 slump to deliver all the runs for Montgomery off Khalid Ballouli, who pitched a better ballgame than appears on paper....... Ballouli struck out eight, which is not only a high this season for a Stars pitcher, but also a personal high as a Huntsville Star.... Ballouli faced Montgomery last year, getting a 12-6 win at Riverwalk Stadium, May 13th......... Ballouli now has 17 Ks in 15 2/3 innings on the season The Stars, beset as usual by a lack of key hits, traded runs and lost opportunities with Montgomery....... Huntsville got the carousel going first on a breezeless 81° night, after a one-out double on a 2-1 pitch down the left field line into the corner by Drew Anderson, who had his first two-hit night as a Star........ Steve Moss on a 2-1 pitch followed with a gapper off the wall in right-center field for two easy bases, but was thrown out trying to stretch it to a triple...... Moss, who didn't have an RBI in his first 12 games, now has four in his last two. But it was Isenia's night........ The catcher from Curacao who had the Stars' number last year, hitting .368 off Stars pitching in 19 ABs, tied the game in the 3rd, driving Ballouli's 1-0 pitch deep toward the scoreboard in left field....... Matthew Maniscalco, 2-for-13 in the first four games of the series, got on board with one out in the 5th to set Isenia up again........ Isenia lined Ballouli's 1-0 pitch past Guilder Rodriguez into right field, scoring Maniscalco easily. Isenia was tagged out by Ozzie Chavez trying to stretch the hit into a double, but the Biscuits had a 2-1 lead. Montgomery in the 6th replaced pitcher Chris Flinn, who made up for his last start against Huntsville on July 31st of last year -- eight runs on ten hits in just 1 2/3 innings en route to an 11-3 win for the Stars' Glenn Woolard. In came Jean Mechi, who appeared in just one game for the Biscuits last year....... Chavez and Adam Heether greeted him with consecutive singles. A throwing error by Wes Bankston put Chavez on third and the runners were on the corners for Greg Sain. Sain hit a 3-2 pitch to Maniscalco who turned the broken-bat grounder into a double play, but it scored Chavez and tied the game, but just like the 2nd inning, the Stars had the chance for more. The Biscuits got the last say in the 7th........ After Gabby Martinez was hit by a Ballouli pitch, Maniscalco came up with the hit-and-run play on and one out, but Ballouli hit him with a pitch as well, after Martinez successfully stole 2nd, barely avoiding a sweeping tag........ Up came Isenia again........ Isenia lofted a short fly ball to left that fell in front of a charging Steve Moss........ Despite a later double steal that inning, Montgomery did not score another run......... Machi, Jeff Ridgway, and Juan Salas held the Stars, setting down their final 11 batters to preserve the victory. The Stars have not yet been able to rally from behind in the late stages of the game. Friday, the Stars come home to host Mobile....... And as you might surmise with the predictability of every series being five games this year, Carlos Villanueva (2-1) will take the mound for the Stars....... Going for Mobile will be Cesar Carillo (0-0, 4.20), not just the Padres' top pitching prospect, but their # 1 prospect according to Baseball America....... Carillo was shelled for four runs on six hits in four innings in his last start, which came against the Lookouts last Sunday, and so far, he's not been very impressive with runners on, with the league hitting .360 against him in those situations...... Nevertheless, the finesse pitcher can ratchet it up to 96 mph in the late innings if he has to, and he has the ability to keep his stuff down low consistently...... The Padres see him as a # 2 starter in the future........Villanueva has thrown goose eggs in two of his three starts this season -- a total of 11 2/3 innings with a bad outing against Birmingham sandwiched in between. Russ Rohlicek made his debut for the Stars in this game....... The former Diamond Jaxx lefthander's first game was successful in his 2/3 of an inning, giving up a hit and striking out Jason Pridie in the 8th. The Washington Nationals bought the contract of Saul Rivera from Triple-A New Orleans and brought him up to the majors last Saturday, but after five days and no action, he was sent back down to New Orleans, Thursday....... The former Twins prospect was 2-1 with a 1.62 ERA for the Stars in 2004, after making his debut against the Smokies, June 23rd.

Final: Montgomery (Devil Rays) 3, Huntsville 2 Huntsville Site Game Summary: Link, text follows -- www.huntsvillestars.com/n...newsId=792 Isenia Comes Through in Clutch For Biscuits Charion Isenia homered and knocked in all three runs to lead Montgomery to a 3-2 win over Huntsville Thursday night in the final game of a five-game set at Riverwalk Stadium. The Biscuits won two of the last three games in the set to improve to 8-7 and maintain at least a share of the lead in the South Division, while the Stars dropped to 8-7. Huntsville has won three of five in each of its? first two road series of the season. Drew Anderson doubled with one out in the second inning and scored to give the visitors the early lead when Steve Moss followed with a double. However, Moss was thrown out trying to stretch his gapper into a triple. Isenia led off the third inning with his first long ball of the year off of Stars? starter Khalid Ballouli to tie the game. Matthew Maniscalco doubled with one out in the fifth and scored when Isenia followed with a base hit to right field to give the home team a 2-1 lead. Biscuits? starter Chris Flinn was lifted after five innings during which he allowed a run on four hits and threw 78 pitches. Jean Machi took over in the sixth and gave up the tying run when Greg Sain grounded into a double play to score Ozzie Chavez from third. Sain went hitless in four tries and lost a six-game hitting streak, the longest for a Huntsville hitter this season. Gabriel Martinez was hit by a Ballouli pitch with one out in the seventh inning, stole second base, stayed there when Maniscalco was also hit by a pitch and scored the winning run on a bloop base hit to center field by Isenia, who had knocked in one run in his first 25 at-bats before the game. Jeff Ridgway retired the Stars in order in the eighth inning and Juan Salas set the side down in order, fanning the last two hitters, in the ninth to earn his fourth save of the season. The Montgomery bullpen retired the last 11 Huntsville hitters of the game. The Stars return home Friday night to open a five-game set with Mobile and will send right-hander Carlos Villanueva to the mound against BayBears? right-hander Cesar Carrillo. Coverage of the game begins at 6:50 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: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_monaax_1 Huntsville Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_monaax_1

Final: Brevard County 3, Jupiter (Marlins) 2 Brevard County Site Game Summary: Manatees rally past Jupiter Ryan Braun's RBI single in the seventh inning lifted visiting Brevard County to a 3-2 victory over Jupiter on Thursday. Trailing 2-0 after four innings, the Manatees (11-3) rallied for runs in three straight frames to end their first two-game skid of the season. Braun, who finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs, had a sacrifice fly in the fifth and snapped a 2-2 tie with his run-scoring single to right in the seventh. Steve Sollman's RBI double in the sixth tied the score for Brevard County, which held on thanks to three scoreless innings from reliever Robert Hinton (2-0). Josh Alliston worked the ninth for his third save. Brett Carroll hit a two-run homer in the fourth for the Hammerheads (5-9), who have dropped six of their last seven. Jesus Delgado (1-1) took the loss, yielding a run and four hits in two innings. The teams continue their three-game set at 7:05 p.m. (6:05 Central) on Friday. -- Marc Jimenez/MLB.com Brevard County Box Score: Robert Hinton with 11 near-flawless innings thus far (one unearned run previously); Travis Ezi 4-for-5... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_jupafa_1 Brevard County Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_jupafa_1

Final: Hagerstown (Mets) 6, West Virginia 5 The Power rally for two in the top of the 9th to take the lead, and then give the game away after the first two Suns batters are retired in the bottom of the 9th -- ugh... West Virginia Site Game Summary: Link, then text -- www.wvpower.com/news/deta...?newsID=63 Suns Beat Power in Final At Bat The West Virginia Power took a 5-4 lead over the Hagerstown Suns after scoring twice in the top of the ninth inning of Thursday night?s game at Municipal Stadium in Hagerstown, Maryland. The Suns answered the call, and scored two times in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat the Power 6-5. The Suns jumped out to an early 4-0 lead after two innings. They plated three runs in the bottom of the first inning, on Leivi Ventura?s sacrifice fly, Jonel Pacheco?s RBI single, and Drew Butera walked with the bases loaded to bring in the final run of the inning. In the second, Hagerstown scored again on an RBI double from Nick Evans to go up 4-0. The Power started their comeback in the top of the sixth inning when Mat Gamel reached on shortstop Jose Castro?s error which allowed Angel Salome and Lorenzo Cain to score. In the seventh inning Cain delivered a run-scoring single to bring the Power within a run. The Power entered the top of the ninth inning down 4-3, and they plated two runs to take their only lead of the game. Cain struck again with an RBI single to tie the game and Ryan Crew reached on a fielder?s choice three batters later, knocking in Cain in the process. In the bottom of the ninth inning, with two outs Elvis Cruz hit a solo homer to tie the game at 4-4. With Jose Castro on first base, Hector Pellot singled into center field. Darren Ford bobbled the ball in center field, and Castro broke for home plate as the throw was coming in to Gamel at third base. Gamel threw the ball by catcher Salome and Castro scored the winning run. Marcelo Perez (1-0) earned the victory, and Joe Thatcher (0-1) obtained the loss. The Power are 6-8 after the loss and the Suns improved to 7-7 with the win. The Power will conclude the four game series against the Suns on Friday night. Right hander Robbie Wooley (0-1, 5.00) will start for the Power and the Suns will counter with right hander Jacobo Neguilis (0-0, 2.89). The first pitch is scheduled for 6:35 PM (5:35 Central). West Virginia Box Score: LHP David Welch, sparkling with just one hit allowed in four innings, but perhaps some luck (nine fly outs, zero K's); young RF Lorenzo Cain carrying over nicely from 2005... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hagafx_1 West Virginia Game Log: The only Power error of the game was the crucial mistake by CF Darren Ford in the 9th... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hagafx_1

Standings through Wednesday's action: Pacific Coast League (AAA) - American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Omaha 9 5 .643 - 5-3 4-2 L1 [b]Nashville 8 6 .571 1.0 5-1 3-5 W1[/b] Iowa 7 7 .500 2.0 5-3 2-4 L2 Memphis 2 12 .143 7.0 2-4 0-8 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chattanooga 10 4 .714 - 4-1 6-3 W3 West Tenn 10 4 .714 - 3-1 7-3 W1 [b]Huntsville 8 6 .571 2.0 2-3 6-3 W1[/b] Carolina 6 8 .429 4.0 2-2 4-6 L1 Tennessee 4 10 .286 6.0 2-3 2-7 L3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Brevard County 10 3 .769 - 5-1 5-2 L2[/b] St. Lucie 9 4 .692 1.0 4-1 5-3 L2 Palm Beach 8 5 .615 2.0 3-2 5-3 W2 Jupiter 5 8 .385 5.0 3-5 2-3 L1 Daytona 4 9 .308 6.0 3-7 1-2 W2 Vero Beach 3 10 .231 7.0 3-2 0-8 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lexington 10 3 .769 - 6-2 4-1 W2 Delmarva 8 4 .667 1.5 3-2 5-2 W1 Greensboro 7 6 .538 3.0 5-3 2-3 L2 Hagerstown 6 7 .462 4.0 4-1 2-6 L1 Lake County 6 7 .462 4.0 2-4 4-3 L4 [b]West Virginia 6 7 .462 4.0 2-5 4-2 W1[/b] Hickory 5 8 .385 5.0 2-5 3-3 L1 Lakewood 3 9 .250 6.5 3-2 0-7 W3

Link while active, text follows: www.montgomeryadvertiser....00351/1002 Huntsville handcuffs Biscuits at the plate By A. Stacy Long Montgomery Advertiser The Montgomery Biscuits aggressively took their cuts Wednesday against Huntsville's Jeff Housman. The Biscuits also quickly returned to the dugout. Housman gave up a first-inning run, then faced the minimum for the next six innings in the Stars' 7-1 win at Riverwalk Stadium. Montgomery totaled eight hits against Housman and reliever Stephen Bray. The Biscuits erased four with double plays. "I didn't think we swung at bad pitches. We swung at strikes and didn't get many hits," Montgomery manager Charlie Montoyo said. The Biscuits have reversed themselves from a quick start to the season. Montgomery was 6-1 -- and has gone 1-6 since with an offense that has rung up 17 runs in that span. "I expect us to start swinging the bats pretty good," Montoyo said. "I'm confident we're going to start swinging the bats better." On Wednesday, the Biscuits just swung. Housman (1-1) threw 79 pitches in his seven innings and barely reached the mound twice before leaving it. The left-hander followed Huntsville's five-run top of the fourth with a five-pitch bottom of the inning. Right after the Stars added two runs in the seventh, Housman needed seven pitches to retire the Biscuits. He also had two 10-pitch innings. "I got lucky and they were aggressive," Housman said. "With our defense, it can be kind of easy. You want to get the ball to them as quickly as possible." Housman allowed five hits and walked none over seven innings. He threw 58 strikes. "He went right after the hitters," Huntsville manager Don Money said. In the fourth, things went right with the Stars holding bats. Montgomery starter Chuck Tiffany (0-1) gave up two hits, one on a bunt, in the first three innings, then mightily struggled. After a leadoff out, Huntsville had five straight hits off Tiffany, including home runs on back-to-back pitches. Steve Moss' three-run homer and Jeff Eure's blast made it 4-1. Kennard Bibbs followed with a single and came around on a steal, an error and a passed ball. Eure added a two-run single in the seventh. "One second you can seem awesome and, the next, everything goes away," Tiffany said. "I didn't really have my best stuff, but I did everything I could to compete. "I was up in the zone a little today and it hurt me in the fourth. They got a hold of them."

David Weiser's www.starsboxscore.com/ A TWO-PITCH VICTORYJeff Housman was the old Jeff Housman from 2004 (at least May and July when he was 4-3 with a 1.74 ERA)...... Housman was sparkling, throwing 40 pitches in the first three innings, going seven innings on his way to his first win. Housman had support from everywhere........ After trailing 1-0 in a shaky 1st, the Stars came up with their largest rally of the year -- five runs in the 4th inning, highlighted by Steve Moss's three-run HR to left, snapping an 0-for-13 slump at the plate on the first pitch he saw, and a follow-up HR by Jeff Eure on the next pitch...... That made the score 4-1....... The Stars now have hit eight HRs -- 5th best in the league....... The Stars last year didn't have that many until 21 games into the season........ The Stars are now 8-6 and have won five of their last six. A passed ball by Chiaron Isenia with the bases loaded scored Kennard Bibbs with the 5th run...... Isenia made eight errors in 57 games behind the plate last year. The three catchers in the Southern League who had as many or more errors last year, played in more games........ Eure's two-out, two-run single off Yorkin Ferreras in the 7th completed the scoring for the Stars. The Stars and Housman benefited also from four DPs, the most since June 26 of last year in a 12-5 loss to Jacksonville........ The first stopped a rally with runners on first and second when Isenia hit into a 6-4-3. He hit into another one in a rather harmless 7th inning. With the bases loaded, Michael Coleman hit into the one that ended the game........ To all the help Housman and Stephen Bray got, let's add the eight walks the Stars received, giving them a season-total of 62, most in the league. Nearly 7,000, mostly youngsters, filled the park on another School Kids day for Montgomery, so it was another 10 AM start that I missed while I was still in bed....... Got up just in time to hear Greg Sain fly out to center to end that big rally. Housman was in total control, retiring the Biscuits in order in the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th innings, in fact 14 straight batters until Coleman's infield single in the 7th....... The rare muscle flexing of 12 hits is only the 2nd time in 14 games the Stars have collected 10 or more hits in a game. That raises their team batting average from .217 to .225........ For the 2nd time in five appearances this year, Bray pitched scoreless relief........ The only one who didn't have a good day was Callix Crabbe, who wore the golden sombrero and then some, going 0-for-6. Everyone else who went to the plate for the Stars had a hit....... Bibbs got his average at the Mendoza line (.200) for the first time. Ozzie Chavez had his 5th two-hit game of the season, raising his average to .280. Sain hit safely in his 6th straight game with a leadoff single in the 2nd inning....... But no one had gone 0-for-6 since four players against Mobile in a marathon 19-inning game last year -- Jeff Winchester, Ben Van Iderstine, Vinny Rottino, and Brad Nelson. Rottino went hitless in seven trips and Nelson in eight. The finale at Riverwalk Stadium takes place at 7:05 Thursday night with Khalid Ballouli (1-0) facing Chris Flinn (0-1)....... The Stars shelled Flinn in his only start against them, July 31st of last year -- eight runs on ten hits in just 1 2/3 innings en route to an 11-3 win for Glenn Woolard. Pitcher Mike Meyers has been promoted to Nashville in the first transaction of the season. Meyers was 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA in four appearances in relief for the Stars, but unscored upon in his last two covering 2 1/3 innings...... Filling the roster spot will be southpaw pitcher Russ Rohlicek, who was signed by the Brewers on April 5th. Rohlicek was originally signed by the Astros. He was traded to the Cubs with Mike Nannini and Travis Anderson for Tom Gordon, August 2002 and if the name sounds familiar, it's because he spent time with the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx in 2003 and 2004. He appeared in 60 games in 2004 with a 5-5 record and impressive 2.09 ERA. He gave up a few too many walks for my taste (5.48 per 9 IP), but held Southern League batters to a .175 average........ Meyers got the win in relief for Nashville in his first game since his promotion, Wednesday night against Omaha. The Sounds beat Omaha, 9-7, with Tony Gwynn, Jr. going 3-for-5 with a double and three RBIs. Junior is hitting .291 for the Sounds so far....... Elsewhere on the farm, Yovani Gallardo struck out 12 in five innings for Brevard County in a 4-0 loss to Palm Beach, Wednesday. Gallardo (1-1, 2.30), who we may see before the season is done, is the Brewers' 4th-ranked prospect in the organization according to Baseball America. The New Jersey Jackals of the independent Can-Am League have signed Jason Belcher. Jason hit .289 for the Stars in 47 games in 2004, then was traded with Jason Childers to the Montreal Expos for outfielder Pete Bergeron on June 6. He was released by the Washington Nationals before the season started. Belcher was dropped to Class A-Potomac (Carolina) last year after going 5-for-41 at Class AA-Harrisburg (East.) With Potomac in 55 games, he hit .250..... Thanks to brewerfan.net for some interesting updates on some former players.

Double steal helps Sounds nab victory Swipe a total of five off Omaha pitchers to lead PCL with 30 By MIKE ORGAN Tennessean Staff Writer The Sounds stole one from Omaha last night. Nashville pulled off a double steal in the seventh inning and had a total of five steals in a 9-7 victory. A Greer Stadium crowd of 2,737 watched the Sounds rally after falling behind 5-4 in the sixth inning with a gutsy play by Tony Gwynn and Jermaine Clark. Nashville knotted it at 5-5 when Chris Barnwell's double scored Brad Nelson. Gwynn's double scored Mark Johnson and Barnwell, making it 7-5. Clark walked, giving the Sounds two men on base. With just one out and Corey Hart at the plate, Gwynn and Clark both started to run. Second baseman Kerry Robinson let the throw sail past him and Clark headed for third. Third baseman Mike Aviles then mishandled another throw, allowing Clark and Gwynn to both score. Suddenly Nashville, which led 4-0 after three innings, was in front 9-5. It was part of the aggressive style of play Manager Frank Kremblas has stamped on the Sounds. After last night, Nashville now has more steals (30, in 38 attempts) than any team in the Pacific Coast League. "If the guys pay attention a little bit they can get some good jumps on some guys and take advantage of some breaking ball pitches that are in the dirt like (Chris) Barnwell did,'' Kremblas said. "I wouldn't necessarily call our style gambling, I mean we're paying attention to what the other team is doing and trying to take advantage of it.'' Last night's five steals was one shy of a season-high for Nashville. Kremblas said his players quickly bought into his style and that's why they have a green light to steal so often. "You can't have any hesitation, if you're going to steal you can't have any worried about pickoffs or getting thrown out or things like that,'' Kremblas said. "These guys aren't like that at all.'' Omaha got back-to-back homers from their first two batters in the eighth. Justin Huber smashed one over the right field wall, then Paul Phillips cleared the left field wall cutting Nashville's lead to 9-7. ***Outfielder Corey Hart, the Sounds 2005 MVP, wasted no time returning to Nashville after being sent down by Milwaukee Tuesday. Hart joined right-handed pitcher Jared Fernandez yesterday from the Brewers and right-hander Mike Meyers from Huntsville as newcomers for the Sounds. Hart batted third last night, going 1-for-4 after a marathon trek to get here. He was in Houston with the Brewers Tuesday, flew back to Milwaukee that night, hit the road soon thereafter and made the 10-hour drive to Nashville. Hart was at Greer yesterday in time for batting practice. With his second at-bat Hart hit a single to left field to score Tony Gwynn, giving the Sounds a 3-0 lead. Streaks alive: Chris Barnwell extended his hitting streak to seven with a double in the third. Tony Gwynn extended his hitting streak to six with an RBI single to right field in the same inning. Another double: Barnwell's double was the Sounds' 28th of the season, which ranks second among PCL clubs. What they said: "We've got a little more power, another guy that can steal some bases and plays aggressive. He runs the bases aggressively and is a smart base runner, which is always nice to have." ? Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas said of leftfielder Corey Hart, who rejoined the team.

Jason Belcher has signed with the independent Can-Am League's New Jersey Jackals (as a catcher). Jason's still only 24 -- he could work his way back to affiliated ball.

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

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

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

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_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

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: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_orhaaa_1 Huntsville: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1 Brevard County: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_jupafa_1 West Virginia: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_lexafx_1