Jim Goulart

Link while active, text follows: www.flatoday.com/apps/pbc...002/sports Manatees' GM sees bright future for Brevard County Ralph Routon, Florida Today Buck Rogers has an ambitious dream, and he fully expects it will start to come true next summer for Space Coast baseball fans to see and enjoy. Rogers, the Brevard County Manatees general manager, knows as well as anyone how popular minor-league baseball has become in small to mid-size markets across the country. From Lansing to Lynchburg, South Bend to Sacramento, fans flock by the thousands to enjoy their teams, the intimate ballpark atmosphere and affordable family entertainment. Using all kinds of unusual promotions, Rogers has tried to build interest in the Manatees, playing in the high Class A Florida State League. The bottom line actually looks reasonable: Brevard County's attendance ranks fourth in the league for the 2005 season, totaling 101,858 for an average of 1,591 per opening. Yet those numbers pale in comparison to many minor-league operations around the country. Sacramento leads the minors with 755,750, or 10,496 a game, but that area is big enough for an NBA team. Such places as South Bend (208,590), Lansing (354,855) and Durham (520,371) prove that smaller markets can be hugely successful. Part of the problem, at least for the Manatees franchise, has been living with absentee ownership. It's a long and involved story, but the simple truth is that Brevard County's owners don't live here and have no interest in making the necessary commitment to cultivate more fans. Rogers says that's about to change. Before next season, the Manatees will have a new ownership group and a new outlook on life. The deal hasn't been completed, but Rogers does say the owners are from Orlando and will be visible at Space Coast Stadium -- not just in the offices but in the stands with the fans. "They're baseball junkies," Rogers said, in a tone that can only be described as gleeful. "They'll be a lot more user-friendly. It'll be more laid-back. "Their feeling is more like, do what you've gotta do to make things better. And we will." Rogers and the ownership, present or future, have no direct influence on the team itself. The players come from Milwaukee, the Manatees' major-league parent club. This year the Brewers gave Brevard a solid group, which awakened after a disappointing first half and came within one victory of making the FSL playoffs. Just one more win, and the Manatees still might be playing. Instead, Palm Beach took that spot and now is facing Lakeland in the final round for the league title. Rogers obviously was hoping this team could make the playoffs and provide a springboard into 2006. No matter what the level of baseball, the excitement of playing for a championship brings a special euphoria. It means a lot to the players, even though they're hoping to make the real World Series someday. And it provides lasting memories for the fans. Obviously, some FSL franchises don't care so much. One example this year would be Lakeland, which had an 85-48 record this summer, the fewest losses of any full-season team in all of organized baseball, minors or majors. Yet, Lakeland drew only 35,778 for its regular season, just 627 a game. Rogers and the Manatees did come away with a national honor, ESPN the Magazine's minor-league Promotion of the Year award for the team's Belly Buster VII Night. Such honors are fine, but Rogers has grander visions. With good reason. With all the ongoing development in Viera and west of Interstate 95, Space Coast Stadium soon will no longer be a rural setting. It'll be surrounded by hot residential and commercial growth, bringing an influx of potential fans and corporate sponsors. Rogers is not taking that, or anything, for granted. He and his staff, with backing of that new ownership, plan to reach out to the market more than ever before. "Next year will be different. Big-time different. We're actually going to revamp a few things," Rogers said. "We're gonna be able to implement some things that fans here haven't experienced before." The details will have to wait until the ownership change becomes official. Rogers shared some, not yet for print, and they're impressive. Rogers has another noteworthy trait: He's not just a promoter. He wants to win. He realizes when owners and the front office care as much as his group does, that rubs off on the players and makes them care more about winning. The fans notice and respond, too. Obviously, many Brevardians live for spring training, flocking to those games in March and seeing so many major-league teams. Buck Rogers wants to build on that, and he's on the verge of having many more resources at his disposal. He knows the area is full of baseball fans. He'd like to turn all of them into Manatees fans.

There are also photos at the links below, that won't paste within our forums -- Link while active, text follows: tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....328/SPORTS Sounds beat Oklahoma to earn PCL title berth Nashville to face Tacoma in opener here tomorrow By MAURICE PATTON Tennessean Staff Writer After making a late push to reach the postseason, the Nashville Sounds came up with another clutch performance to advance into the PCL championship, defeating Oklahoma 7-3 in Game 5 of the American Conference playoffs. The Sounds won the series 3-2 and will make their second PCL championship series appearance in three seasons. Nashville will play Tacoma, a 5-2 winner in 11 innings over Sacramento late last night, beginning tomorrow at Greer Stadium. "Whoever we play has got a series on their hands," said Nashville reliever Jeff Bennett, who recorded two outs in the ninth inning before leaving due to elbow pain. Chris Barnwell led the charge offensively, going 3-for-4 with a double and a pair of RBIs. Seven Sounds contributed at least one hit. Meanwhile, Bennett and six other pitchers combined to hold the RedHawks ? the Rangers' top affiliate ? to four hits. "That's probably one of the top hitting teams in the league," said Gary Glover (2-0), who pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings. "You've got to hand it to every pitcher on this team, all the way through. We had timely hitting, but pitching and defense is how we won the series." In their first season as the Class AAA affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers, the Sounds will try to win their first league championship since the 1982 team won the Southern League (Class AA) crown. Nashville opened with a 5-4 win in Game 1 at Oklahoma before losing the second game there and Game 3 at Greer Stadium. Backed against the wall, the Sounds won 3-1 Saturday. The Sounds led the American North division most of the year and had a 9½-game lead on Aug. 12, but lost 16 of 19 games and saw the lead dwindle down to a single game before clinching the division championship on the next-to-last day of the regular season. "We struggled late in the year, kinda lost what we were trying to get done, offensively in particular," Manager Frank Kremblas said. "We got out of our area of comfort; some guys tried to do more than they could." Last night's game was the first of the series that was decided by more than two runs. What they said: "Tacoma and Sacramento are two decent teams, and whoever wins out of that, we're going to have our hands full. But from what I've seen of this team, I think everybody's up to the challenge." ? Glover, the third of seven Nashville pitchers, who worked 2 1/3 scoreless innings for the win. ***Link while active, text follows: tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....328/SPORTS Bennett's early exit caused by elbow pain Reliever expects to play in championship series By MAURICE PATTON Tennessean Staff Writer The excitement of reaching the Pacific Coast League championship series was tempered a bit for the Nashville Sounds last night ? at least temporarily. Two strikes short of the final out of the game, reliever Jeff Bennett walked off the field indicating pain in his right (throwing) elbow. Alec Zumwalt came on and finished off Keith McDonald to wrap up the Sounds' 7-3 win over Oklahoma in the American Conference playoffs, giving Nashville a 3-2 series win. "I've never had elbow problems before, and it scared me," said Bennett, who initially felt "a pop" on the slider he threw to Rashad Eldridge for his second strikeout in the ninth inning. "In a situation like that, you don't want to come out. I threw the first fastball (to McDonald), and it hurt, but I said, 'Keep throwing fastballs and get out of it'. I threw the next one and it hurt too much. "I didn't want to be dumb. I knew the bullpen could pick me up, and I didn't want to do anything and not be able to play (the next series)." Evaluated by the Sounds' medical staff, Bennett said he expected to be available in the PCL championship series that begins tomorrow. Bennett played on the 2003 Sounds team that advanced into the PCL finals before being swept by Sacramento in three games. Sizing up the opposition: The Sounds lost three of four games to Tacoma during the season. Nashville defeated Tacoma ? the Seattle Mariners' Triple-A affiliate ? 9-5 in 14 innings to open the road series on May 19, then lost 5-1, 6-3 and 7-3 over the next three days. "They've lost a lot of guys since we played them," Nashville Manager Frank Kremblas said. Getting ahead early: Nashville took an early 4-0 lead last night with a pair of two-out, two-run rallies in the second and third innings against Oklahoma starter Michael Tejera. Chris Barnwell's RBI double keyed the second-inning spurt, while Mike Rivera's run-scoring base hit sparked the third-inning uprising. "We've been playing with intensity," said Barnwell, who added a run-scoring single in the eighth for the final run of the game. "Our intensity had to go up, and it's definitely better now than it was. Sometimes it takes these situations to get you locked in." Group effort: Sounds starter Mike Meyers came within two outs of qualifying for the victory. However, Mitch Stetter and Gary Glover picked up the next two outs to preserve a one-run lead. Glover, who started and won Game 1 in Oklahoma City on Wednesday, allowed just one runner over 2 1/3 scoreless innings. Jeff Housman, Mike Adams, Bennett and Zumwalt held the RedHawks scoreless from there.

Nashville Site Game Summary: NASHVILLE ? The Nashville Sounds popped champagne and celebrated on the field at Greer Stadium for the second consecutive Sunday evening tonight after defeating the Oklahoma RedHawks, 7-3, in the final game of the best-of-five PCL American Conference Finals. The victory gave the Sounds a 3-2 series win. Nashville advances to the Pacific Coast League Championship Series for the second time in three seasons. They also become the first Sounds club to recover from a 2-1 series deficit and go on to win that series, accomplishing the feat in the franchise?s eighth try. The Sounds, who were swept by Sacramento 3-0 in the 2003 Finals, had locked up the American Conference Northern Division title exactly one week earlier, also at home. Oklahoma failed to reach the league finals for the second consecutive season after holding a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five conference round for the second campaign in a row. The Iowa Cubs rallied against them in 2004. The Sounds took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning with three consecutive two-out hits off Oklahoma starter Michael Tejera. With two down, Ryan Knox singled to left then scored on Chris Barnwell?s RBI double to right-center. Steve Scarborough followed with a single to right to bring in Barnwell. Nashville increased the lead to 4-0 in the third with another pair of two-out knocks. Catcher Mike Rivera drove in Corey Hart, who had doubled, with an RBI single to left, moved to third on a two-base fielding error by Oklahoma left fielder Jason Botts, then scored on Nelson Cruz?s run-scoring single to left-center, which chased Tejera. Chris Richard put the RedHawks on the board in the fourth when he slugged a two-out solo homer to right-center off Mike Meyers, bringing the score to 4-1. Former Sound Keith McDonald pulled Oklahoma within a run in the fifth with a two-run blast to center off Meyers, his second home run of the playoffs after hitting only two longballs during the entire regular season. Will Smith, who preceded McDonald and drew a walk, scored on the roundtripper. The Sounds added a pair of insurance runs in the sixth when Nelson Cruz scored on Oklahoma reliever Steven Rowe?s bases-loaded wild pitch and Trent Durrington followed with a sacrifice fly to score Knox. Barnwell ? who paced the Sounds offense with a 3-for-4 effort and produced five hits in 10 at-bats during the series ? capped off the evening?s scoring with an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning to increase Nashville?s lead to its final 7-3. Gary Glover (2-0), working on three days of rest after starting Game One on Wednesday, earned his second win of the series with 2 1/3 scoreless innings in relief of Meyers, who allowed three runs over 4 1/3 frames but did not last long enough for the decision. The Nashville relief corps as a whole tossed 4 2/3 shutout innings to close out the victory and have not allowed a run in their last 8 2/3 frames, dating back to the second game of the series on Thursday in Oklahoma City. Righthander Jeff Bennett, who threw 15 pitches over 1 2/3 innings on Saturday night, opened the ninth and faced four batters, striking out two, before pulling himself from the game with an apparent right elbow injury while throwing his second pitch to McDonald. Tejera (0-1) took the loss after allowing four runs (three earned) on eight hits in only 2 2/3 innings of work. The Sounds advance to the Pacific Coast League Championship Series, which opens at 7 p.m. on Tuesday evening at Greer Stadium. Following an off day on Monday, Nashville will take on the winner of this evening?s late Tacoma-Sacramento contest and host the first two games of the best-of-five series on Tuesday and Wednesday evening. AUDIO: The Final Out Of The Game www.nashvillesounds.com/a...209-11.mp3

Ironically, former AAA home Indianapolis (Pirates) stunned favored Buffalo (Indians) and advances to the International League final. There no longer is a PCL vs. IL AAA World Series, like the one a prospect-less veteran Brewer squad won back in 2000.

Nashville Pre-Game Coaches Chat with Pitching Coach Stan Kyles: www.nashvillesounds.com/a...209-11.mp3

Final: Nashville 7, Oklahoma (Rangers) 3 Sounds win the best-of-five series, 3-2, but Jeff Bennett's injury puts a damper on things; details shortly from the Sounds' site... Nashville Box Score: First time in eight tries that the Sounds win a series after being down 2-1; fantastic series win for this cast of "leftovers" after all the call-ups -- good for them and Manager Frank Kremblas; good-guy Chris Barnwell with three hits and two RBI... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1 Nashville Game Log: Mike Adams bailed out Jeff Housman with a huge eighth-inning double play ball... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1

Jeff Bennett walks off the mound holding his elbow just two strikes away from striking out the side in the 9th and ending the series -- darn shame... Alec Zumwalt coming in to finish things off, it's 7-3....

Update, in progress: Nashville 6, Oklahoma (Rangers) 3, 7th-inning stretch in Nashville Nashville audio feed now working; Gary Glover has done yeoman's work coming in on three day's rest as a long relief man...

Keep in mind the Nashville gamecast is for their home games only....

In progress: Nashville 4, Oklahoma (Rangers) 0, bottom of the 3rd in Nashville Is anybody listening to a non-muffled game feed from Nashville? Can't make out a word.... Here's the Oklahoma feed if you wish: www.sportsjuice.com/provi...=oredhawks

Follow Sunday's action as it happens: Keep in mind, the gamecast feature linked in the prior post is excellent for immediate updates... Nashville: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1

OK, once you've calculated your Fantasy Football score for the day, make sure you tune in to this webcast, it deserves our attention -- deciding game five, it'd be great to see posts regarding game comments and situations here. Sunday's Daily Menu: All starts Central Time -- Nashville: RHP Mike Meyers at home vs. Oklahoma (Rangers), 5:40 PM pre-game, 6:00 gametime -- best-of-five series tied, 2-2 Audio link: www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/ Nashville Site Gamecast Feed: www.nashvillesounds.com/live/xlive.htm

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Link (for photo as well) while active, text follows: tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....328/SPORTS Sounds keep playoff hopes alive Cruz's two-run homer in fourth ties series 2-2 By CHIP CIRILLO Tennessean Staff Writer Nelson Cruz isn't ready for the season to end. Neither are his teammates. The Sounds beat Oklahoma 3-1 last night to keep their season alive in the PCL American Conference playoffs. Nashville tied the best-of-five series 2-2 in front of a crowd of 3,775 at Greer Stadium. The final game is set for tonight at 6 at Greer. The winner advances to the PCL Championship Series against the winner of the Sacramento-Tacoma series. Cruz's two-run homer on a full count with two outs in the fourth inning rallied Nashville from a 1-0 deficit. "It's awesome. I don't want to go home yet," Cruz said. "I want to keep going. We never give up. We hit at the right moments." Oklahoma was the highest-scoring team in the PCL during the regular season, but four Nashville pitchers combined to strike out 11 and hold the RedHawks to five hits. Nashville's Dennis Sarfate allowed only one run and four hits in five innings in his second career Triple-A start. He has a 3-0 career record in the postseason, including two wins with Single-A Beloit in the 2003 Midwest League playoffs. Sarfate got out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning after Rashad Eldridge took a called third strike. "The guys battled a lot today," Sounds catcher Julio Mosquera said. "Sarfate started a little erratic in the beginning of the game, but he came back strong after he got focused. "All of the relievers came in and did their job." Sounds closer Jeff Bennett, a former Gordonsville High star, earned the save by retiring all three batters in the ninth. He struck out Keith McDonald for the final out. Things looked grim for Nashville after the Sounds lost the previous two games, putting the team on the brink of elimination. Oklahoma took a 1-0 lead in the fourth on a two-out RBI single by Ruddy Yan, the No. 9 hitter in the RedHawks' batting order. Nashville rallied for a 2-1 lead in its half of the inning when Cruz belted a two-run homer to right center. Cruz had only six hits in his final 48 at-bats of the regular season, but four were homers. Leadoff hitter Trent Durrington hit a leadoff homer in the fifth, increasing the Sounds' lead to 3-1. What they said: "Sarfate threw the ball pretty well. He pitched out of some trouble, which is normal for him. We played good defense, and got two big hits." ? Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas. Chip Cirillo is a staff writer for The Tennessean. He can be contacted at 259-8240 or ccirillo@tennessean.com.

Two playoff games, two stints as a designated hitter for Angel Salome. It'll be interesting to see if he is "trusted" as the backstop in any of the league championship games. With all due respect to a defensively polished college kid like Brad Willcutt, Angel at DH screams out a concession that there's a ton of work for him to do in instructionals.

Final: Helena 7, Billings (Reds) 4 H-Crew takes best-of-three series, 2-0... Link while active, text follows: www.helenair.com/articles...105_01.txt Brewers crowned division champs By KEVIN SHIVELY - IR Sports Writer The Helena Brewers are division champs, and are on their way to the league championship series. The Brewers wrapped up their best of three tournament early on Saturday, beating the Billings Mustangs 7-4 to win their second straight over the Billings club. Helena will now travel to Utah, where they will face either the Orem Owlz or Ogden Raptors Tuesday. Orem and Ogden are tied at one apiece and will play game three of the southern division championship today. "We don't know who we're playing yet so it could be hard to study them, but its going to be a good series," said Helena catcher Clay Blevins. "You really can't take anyone in this league lightly. We didn't take Billings lightly and it's a good thing. They were a tough team." The Mustangs outhit Helena 12-10, but stranded ten runners on base, where Helena only stranded seven. Helena's biggest scare was in the top of the seventh when Brandon Roberts led off with a stand-up triple, and Jarrett Reininger doubled to score Roberts. Reininger scored on the same play off a throwing error by Freddy Parejo, bringing the Mustangs within one. The Brewers squashed their own fears in the bottom half of the inning when Ryan Crew singled and scored on a single from Ned Yost and Mat Gamel scored when second baseman Michael De Jesus threw the ball away. "We were just trying to stay level and focused," said Blevins. "But you've got to give some credit to Billings. We were going back and forth. It seemed like anytime one of us scored, so did the other team." Simon Beresford started on the mound and pitched into the fourth, allowing two earned runs. Mathew Kretzschmar took over in the fourth, striking out seven and picking up the win. Brandon Parillo came in in the eighth and got the save. Orem and Ogden will square off today and then Helena and the winner in the south will get a one-day break before playing on Tuesday and coming back for game two in Helena Thursday night. Helena Box Score: Kretzschmar and Parillo strand all five of their inherited runners -- nice; only four of the Billings outs came on pop-ups or fly balls, again, nice; it doesn't matter how the lineup has been shuffled, the top of the order has been lethal all season... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_helrok_1 Helena Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_helrok_1

In progress: Helena 5, Billings (Reds) 4, 7th inning stretch in Helena Listen in!

Nashville Pre-Game Players Chat With Infielder Warren Morris: www.nashvillesounds.com/a...209-10.mp3

Nashville Site Game Summary: Link for Dennis Sarfate's Sounds photo, text follows -- www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=1800 Sounds, RedHawks To Decide Series SundayNASHVILLE ? The Nashville Sounds accomplished the task at hand on Saturday evening at Greer Stadium, staying alive in the PCL American Conference Finals by posting a 3-1 victory over the visiting Oklahoma RedHawks to extend the series to a fifth and final game. The teams will compete for a berth in the PCL Championship Series at 6 p.m. on Sunday evening at Greer. Nashville starter Dennis Sarfate (1-0) turned in his third consecutive solid effort for the Sounds, picking up the win by holding the RedHawks to one run on four hits while fanning seven over five innings. The victory was the righthander?s third in three career playoff starts. Four Sounds relievers combined to log four scoreless frames behind Sarfate, anchored by closer Jeff Bennett?s 1 2/3 shutout frames as the Middle Tennessee native picked up his second save of the postseason. Oklahoma center fielder Ruddy Yan, who hit the game-winning home run in Friday night?s game, spotted the RedHawks a 1-0 lead with an RBI single off Sarfate in the top of the fourth inning, driving in Rashad Eldridge. Nelson Cruz powered Nashville to a 2-1 lead when he crushed a two-out, 3-2 offering from Oklahoma starter Kelvin Jimenez the opposite way for a go-ahead two-run homer to right-center. The blast, which brought in Brad Nelson, was Cruz?s first of the postseason. AUDIO: Nelson Cruz's Two-Run Homer www.nashvillesounds.com/a...209-10.mp3 Trent Durrington upped the home team?s advantage to 3-1 with a leadoff solo shot off Jimenez in the bottom of the fifth. Jimenez (0-1) was saddled with the loss after giving up three runs on seven hits, including a pair of homers, over his 4 1/3 frames. Sounds third baseman Vinny Rottino was ejected from the game in the bottom of the seventh inning for arguing after he beat out an infield single but was called out by first base umpire Dave Aschwege. The teams wrap up the five-game series with a 6 p.m. rubber match on Sunday evening at Greer Stadium. Right-hander Mike Meyers (7-4, 5.31 in regular season) will take the hill for the Sounds to face Oklahoma southpaw Michael Tejera (3-2, 3.79 in regular season).

Final: Nashville 3, Oklahoma (Rangers) 1 Best-of-five series tied 2-2... Nashville Box Score: Jeff Bennett closes it out; all the details from the Sounds site shortly... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1 Nashville Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1

In progress: Helena 3, Billings (Reds) 2, after three innings Amazing 2B Kenny Holmberg 2-for-2, that's now 6-for-7 in the series; Simon Beresford has induced a GIDP in each of the first three innings...

In progress: Nashville 3, Oklahoma (Rangers) 1, bottom of the 5th in Nashville Nelson Cruz's two-out, two-run HR in the 4th gives the Sounds the lead; Trent Durrington's leadoff HR in the 5th pads the lead; Dennis Sarfate seven K's through five innings...

Brian Wolfe wrote this series of five journal entries back in 2003 for MLB.com during a prior Arizona Fall League stint (the year Ben Hendrickson did the same). You can find them at the bottom of this link: www.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/ml...ljournals#

The Brewers have announced they will be sending RHP Brian Wolfe (see more in Transaction thread) to this year's Arizona Fall League. Quite a job well done for a pitcher who the Twins gave up on in May of this season.

The Brewers have announced that RH reliever Brian Wolfe has agreed to a 2006 minor league contract. He was scheduled to become a free agent this November. Wolfe was signed as a minor league free agent after the Minnesota Twins released him in May. The 24-year-old was the Twins' 6th round pick in 1999. Wolfe shined with Brevard County and posted OK numbers after a call-up to Huntsville. He had struggled in the Twins' system at the AA level. Wolfe's 2005 statistics: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...pid=430582 Wolfe's career numbers (prior to 2005): www.thebaseballcube.com/p...olfe.shtml