Jim Goulart

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Link while active, text follows: tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....328/SPORTS Sounds play around, end season with loss Position players take on reliever roles for finale By MAURICE PATTON Tennessean Staff Writer Despite some impressive pitching performances, the Nashville Sounds head into postseason play on a bit of a downturn, losing their regular-season finale to visiting Round Rock 4-0. Starting pitcher Brett Evert struck out 11 in six innings ? matching Jeff Housman for the most strikeouts by a Nashville starter this season ? but allowed a pair of home runs and all four runs. Relieving Evert were position players Ryan Knox, Corey Hart and Steve Scarborough, who combined for three scoreless innings. "They all threw well," Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas said. With the efforts of the relievers, Nashville position players have made 10 relief appearances this season and allowed runs in only one of those. "I was a little worried about Knox," Kremblas said. "We'd seen Scarborough before, and we knew he and Hart were going to throw enough around the plate to get some strikes. But I'd caught with Ryan before. I'd seen him throw enough on flat ground to be concerned." Knox issued a leadoff walk before getting a pair of outs on running catches by Scarborough ? who moved from shortstop to center field ? and flagging down a comebacker for the final out. "I think I had the element of surprise with my velocity," said Knox, who didn't think he threw more than 80 mph in his professional pitching debut. Even with the scoreless inning, Knox doesn't plan a return to the mound. "I've had trouble throughout my career just playing catch," he said. "To be able to hit a target, throw strikes and get people out with people watching was a huge obstacle. But I'm absolutely done. I even told (pitching coach) Stan Kyles, if I ask, don't let me." The motley crew of relievers allowed the Sounds offense to make a game of it in the ninth. Nashville loaded the bases against Taylor Buchholz, who relieved Spring Hill resident Peter Bauer an inning earlier. Hart and Vinny Rottino singled to open the inning, and after a Brad Nelson strikeout, Alec Zumwalt ? a reliever who played right field most of the game ? drew a walk to load the bases. However, Housman, who entered the game in left field, struck out and Chris Barnwell lined out to end the game. "We were a little short on the bench," acting manager and infielder Trent Durrington said in explaining why Housman was not lifted for a pinch-hitter. The Sounds had a four-game winning streak snapped. With the shutout ? their seventh of the year ? the Sounds fell a run short of setting a franchise record. This year's team matched the 1980 club with 738 runs scored. "We finished strong, and it gives us some confidence winning four of our last five," Hart said. Final numbers: Yesterday's announced attendance of 5,054 gives the Sounds a season total of 419,412 ? the highest since the 1993 team drew 438,745 and surpassing last year's 405,536. For the year, the Sounds averaged 6,080 per game. Helping hand: Donating 50 percent of individual ticket sales from the last two games and conducting collections throughout the series, the Sounds will donate $9,344.24 to Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. In a hurry: Played in an hour, 58 minutes, yesterday's game was the quickest nine-inning contest of the season for the Sounds. What they said: "I'd like to have scored at least one run. I tried to get (third base coach Durrington) to let me steal home, but he wouldn't let me." ? Hart, who reached third base in the ninth inning. Maurice Patton covers the Nashville Sounds for The Tennessean. He can be reached at mopatton@tennessean.com. ***Link while active, text follows: www.nashvillecitypaper.co...s_id=44148 Sounds have some fun in final loss By Nate Rau, nrau@nashvillecitypaper.com It took the Nashville Sounds 143 games to clinch the PCL American Northern Division title. When they finally did Sunday night, the team was intent on making No. 144 as enjoyable as possible. So, the Sounds had some fun Monday afternoon against the visiting Round Rock Express at Greer Stadium. There were pitchers playing in the outfield. There were infielders taking turns pitching. A third baseman was managing. In the end, the players got through the game quickly and injury-free. On a remotely relevant side note, the Express won the game 4-0 in front of 5,054 fans. The game was played in one hour and fifty-eight minutes. The Sounds now turn their attention to the Oklahoma RedHawks, the team?s opponent in the playoffs, which begin Wednesday. ?After the huge skid we had when we lost some key players, it?s been miserable trying to clinch this thing,? center fielder Ryan Knox said. Knox also got to pitch an inning for the Sounds. ?It was a big sigh of relief.? Knox wasn?t the only position player who got to pitch. Infielders Corey D. Hart and Steve Scarborough also got to throw in relief of Brett Evert and none of the three allowed a run. ?I think I stunned them with my lack of velocity,? Knox said. ?I?ve been begging to pitch for a long time. Since we clinched last night, [manager Frank Kremblas] promised me an inning. I could tell [Kremblas and pitching coach Stan Kyles] were pretty reluctant to give it to me, but they couldn?t go back on their word. It?s all good, I have a better ERA than Scarborough.? Third baseman Trent Durrington filled in for Kremblas as the pseudo-manager. In addition to his pitching changes, Durrington inserted pitchers Jeff Housman and Alec Zumwalt into the outfield. ?I wasn?t the manager, I got to just sit back and watch,? Kremblas said.

Link while active, text follows: www.al.com/sports/huntsvi...amp;coll=1 These Stars don't leave a twinkle in our eyes Money expresses disappointment with season Contact Mark McCarter at markcolumn@aol.com Huntsville Times It wasn't enough that Stars manager Don Money had to provide insight for this column. The other night, sitting in his office, I asked him to write the headline for it. Or at least the headline for the Huntsville Stars' 2005 season: "Oh, boy,'' he hesitated. Then, he said: "Didn't Live Up To Expectations" Not so catchy. But plenty accurate for the season, which ended with the whimper of a 13-5 loss Monday in Chattanooga. "There are some guys who did very well," Money said, "but when we left spring training I thought we'd play much better baseball. We didn't live up to expectations.'' The Stars finished 60-79, their worst record since 1988. If indeed the '88 Stars were the most miserable, it's evidence of the cyclical nature of minor league ball and player development. The 1985-87 seasons provided a boatload of prospects to the Oakland A's - Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, Walt Weiss, Terry Steinbach & Co. In much the same way, the previous two seasons in Huntsville were abundant in prospects like Rickie Weeks, Prince Fielder, Corey Hart and J.J. Hardy. This year, pitcher Dana Eveland went directly to the Brewers and some good players were boosted to Triple-A. The player development aspect worked, even if the W's and L's don't reflect much success. A quick report card: The Good: Brandon Gemoll batted .303 and Enrique Cruz .300. Tony Gwynn Jr. improved his average 22 points, but you have to figure he'll be back for a third season. Adam Heether got his feet wet in Double-A and third base looks solid for next season. David Bradley did yeoman's work for the pitching staff that was otherwise inconsistent. The Bad: A power outage. The Stars hit only 63 homers, and 37 of those came from players who didn't finish the season in Huntsville. They were last among 10 teams in homers, ninth in slugging percentage, seventh in runs scored. Cruz, who led the team in homers and RBIs (14 and 60), committed an average of an error every four games at shortstop. The Ugly: Did we mention 60-79? It is worth noting this was the fourth losing season in seven years of affiliation with the Brewers after the divorce from Oakland. And that the Midland RockHounds, Oakland's Double-A team wrapped up their sixth winning season out of seven. Both the Stars and RockHounds, coincidentally, are owned by Miles Prentice, the New York attorney who is now trying to add the Cincinnati Reds to his ownership portfolio. Memo to Mr. Prentice: Those who own the Huntsville Stars - the loyal fans who have so much more emotional equity and time invested in this team than you'll ever have and the casual fans who find minor league baseball an occasional but appealing entertaining option - would like you to fit in a visit to Huntsville soon, to negotiate a new lease, champion much-needed improvements at the stadium and ensure baseball's future here. So far, the same headline for the '05 team fits you and your ownership: "Didn't Live Up To Expectations''

Final: Helena 4, Missoula (Diamondbacks) 2 Link while active, text follows: www.helenair.com/articles...605_03.txt Brewers back on top By KIM BRIGGEMAN of the Missoulian It was a message from the Michaels: No, the Helena Brewers won't go quietly. Michael Brantley and Michael Bell delivered the key hits in a three-run eighth inning Monday night, and the Brewers beat Missoula 4-2 to disappoint a hefty Labor Day crowd of 2,116 at Play Ball Park. The Brewers salvaged one win in their four-game trip to Missoula, and continued to gear up for the Pioneer League playoffs later this week. Four Helena pitchers cooled off the O's and snapped Missoula's four-game winning streak, offsetting a sparkling start by Anthony Cupps and another error-free night for the home team. Now the chase is on. The Osprey, 20-15 in the second half, climb on the bus Tuesday morning for Billings one game out of the Northern Division lead. They'll play their last three games in the Magic City - unless they win one more than Helena (21-14) does in its home series with Great Falls. The Brewers, first-half champions and winners of their first 10 games in the second half, will open the best-of-three Northern Division playoffs Friday night at Missoula if the Osprey can catch them, or in Billings if they can't. "We're not out of this thing. We're hopefully going to go get two from Billings and see what happens," said Missoula pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. Brantley, Helena's left-handed left fielder and the second hitter in the lineup, was one of three Brewers with two hits. He doubled in the only run the Brewers got off Cupps in the top of the first inning. Brantley is the son of former Mariners outfielder Mickey Brantley, currently the Toronto hitting coach. He started the eighth-inning rally with an impressive at-bat. With the count full against Osprey set-up man Eddie Baeza, Brantley fouled two pitches back, then hit a slow bouncer to the right side. Osprey first baseman Bryan Byrne started for it, then changed his mind. Second baseman Ricardo Cruz, perhaps confused about Byrne's intentions, waited on the ball and was too late to even venture a throw against the speedy Brantley. "Speed put pressure on the defense. Those kids can run. When they put the ball in play anything can happen," Missoula manager Hector De La Cruz said. What might have been the second out for a team that played almost flawless defense all series long led to the O's undoing. With two outs, Ned Yost and Bell hit back-to-back doubles. Bell's, a screamer up the middle, drove in the third and fourth runs. Stottlemyre's concerns over his pitchers' tired arms were allayed by Cupps, but borne out later by Baeza. After a shaky first inning, Cupps found his rhythm and finished strong in a stint of 6 2-3 innings, his second-longest of the season. In his longest he pitched seven scoreless innings at Helena on July 29. The 6-foot-5 Cupps gave up five hits, walked one and struck out a season-high seven. "Cupps was outstanding tonight," said Stottlemyre. "He got better each inning, his breaking ball got better. He reached down, dug deep and pitched a heck of game for us." But Cupps was well over his pitch count when the O's went to their bullpen with two outs and one on in the seventh inning. Baeza, who owns the best ERA on the squad, came in to try to hold the one-run lead. He struck out Scotty McKnight to end the seventh, but ran into fatal problems in the eighth. "The league's hitting .193 off Eddie. He's been great for us all year," Stottlemyre said. "You saw tonight, he's down to 87-88 (mph). He's been 91-93 in the past." Helena starter Matt Kretzschmar gave up both Missoula runs but kept the Osprey from exploding in the first five innings. Relievers Brandon Parillo, Rafael Lluberes and Patrick Ryan permitted just two hits in the final four innings to blank the O's the rest of the way. Lluberes (4-4) got the win. Ryan earned his first save with a 1-2-3 ninth. Missoula scored single runs in the second inning on Mike DeCarlo's RBI double, and in the fifth when Pedro Ciriaco led off with a stand-up triple. Rusty Ryal's slow hopper to third scored Ciriaco. Unlike the past several games, the home team missed out on crucial opportunities. Cruz, on first when DeCarlo doubled in the second inning, tried to score and seemed to have it made. But catcher Brad Willcutt had his foot in the way and Cruz never touched the plate. In the bottom of the seventh, just before Helena's breakthrough inning, Missoula loaded the bases. But Will Crouch fouled out to end the threat. DeCarlo added a single in the seventh to finish with a two-hit night. The Brewers will take the field tonight at 7:05 p.m. (8:05 Central) vs. Great Falls. Helena Box Score: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_misrok_1 Helena Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_misrok_1

Who's 24-year-old LHP Joe Thatcher? Sweet numbers in 13 appearances with Helena and especially Brevard County since his signing -- www.minorleaguebaseball.c...pid=491159 -- catching up on older articles when we can -- this from July 19th: Link while active, text follows: www.kokomotribune.com/story.asp?id=8643 Opportunity knocks By PEDRO VELAZCO Kokomo Tribune sportswriter Most dreams evaporate when people wake up, receding quickly as reality crashes in. Joe Thatcher's dream is different, it's about to start unfolding in living color, with his eyes wide open. Thatcher hops on a plane at 9 a.m. this morning to start living his dream. He'll fly out to Salt Lake City to join his new baseball team, the Helena Brewers, a high rookie-league affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. Joining the Brewers' organization happened in a whirlwind week which saw the club pluck Thatcher from the River City Rascals, an unaffiliated minor-league baseball team which plays in the independent Frontier League. "It hasn't really sunk in all the way I don't think," said Thatcher, a Kokomo native. "I'm definitely excited to get out there." Joining a major league organization is a thrill. "I'm really looking forward to it," Thatcher said. "Obviously, it's been a life-long dream, and to have it come true, to get a shot, is something I've been waiting for for a long time. It'll be neat going up to Montana." A former baseball and basketball star at Kokomo High School, Thatcher was a four-year player at Indiana State University but was not drafted when he finished his tenure at ISU in 2004. He played with River City, in O'Fallon, Mo., near St. Louis, last season and this season was hoping to get noticed. That happened last Wednesday in the Frontier League All-Star game in Washington, Pa., Thatcher got his chance in the fifth inning, and made a strong impression. "I pitched in the Frontier League All-Star game last week and there were a dozen major league scouts there," Thatcher explained. "I threw well. I struck out the side in my only inning. The next day my coach got calls from three teams. The next day the coach got a call from the Brewers saying they want to sign me." The Brewers were the fastest to clear space and pull the trigger on the deal. Thatcher and the Rascals got back to Missouri Sunday night. He packed up his gear and drove home to Kokomo to get ready to fly out west today. Thatcher's strong pitching with River City has given him a chance at bigger things. Working as a closer, he's pitched in 18 games -- the last coming Friday -- posting 27 strikeouts in 21 innings. He had a record of 4-2 with an ERA of 1.27. Helping generate those strong numbers is a new dimension he's added to his pitching over the last season and a half. Thatcher said one thing that made him an attractive prospect was "just being a left-handed pitcher. Every organization needs left-handed pitching. My strength throughout college and high school, has been locating the ball well and keeping guys off balance." Throughout his time at Kokomo and Indiana State, speed was not in his corner. He's not sure how, but that changed. "The last summer-and-a-half I've managed to find some velocity along the way," Thatcher said. "Now, I'm throwing high 80s [mph] and low 90s. That's a big plus, but I still have the ability to locate, keep guys off balance with a good curveball, and now [with] a hard fastball." For an independent-league player, getting a shot in a major-league organization is especially sweet. "[independent teams] do have some guys that have played Triple A, Double A, and they got released and are trying to hang on, but the majority of the guys are straight out of college, like myself," he said. "I didn't want to give up, even though I didn't get drafted. I still wanted to pitch at a high level. "After all the hard work, I owed it to myself to give it another season or two [in the Frontier League] and I'm glad I did because it's worked out well." It also meant a quick end to his relationship with a River City team which nurtured his dream. "It was exciting because that's what everybody's there for is to get signed with an affiliated [club]," he said. "It's kind of bittersweet because I've played with those guys for a year-and-a-half now, and all of the sudden, I'm here one day and gone the next and I'll probably never see some of those guys the rest of my life." Thatcher will have to forge new friendships with Helena, but has an instant in as he joins fellow local product Robbie Wooley. The Taylor graduate was sent back to Helena on June 21. He has a 1-2 record with a 6.75 ERA in 22.2 innings with the Helena Brewers. Thatcher said he and Wooley don't know each other, but it will be good for Thatcher to see someone from home. "I didn't realize [Wooley was there] until I saw an article in the paper [Monday] morning," Thatcher said. "That's going to be neat too, two guys from the same town. It'll be neat having someone to talk to, someone from back home." Thatcher will need all the support he can get as he drops into an unfamiliar situation mid-season. He doesn't know what's ahead, but he's eager to get there. "I don't know what to expect," Thatcher said. "I'm just going out there with the frame of mind that I'm going to work hard. If I work hard and do my best, I can walk away feeling good about myself."

Final: Lake County (Indians) 2, West Virginia 1 West Virgina Site Game Summary: Power fall in season finaleEastlake, OH ? The West Virginia Power had a four game winning streak snapped in Monday afternoon?s ball game on a twelfth inning RBI single from Fernando Pacheco as they fell 2-1 to the Lake County Captains at Classic Park in Eastlake, Ohio. The Power plated their only run of the game on Angel Salome?s RBI single in the top of the third inning. Salome reached base in five of his six trips to the plate. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, Matt Whitney hit a solo homer for the Lake County Captains to push the game into extra innings. In the bottom of the twelfth inning, Chris Jimenez hit a leadoff triple and he scored later in the inning when Fernando Pacheco hit the game winning single. Brandon Rickert (7-1) earned the victory and Ben Stanczyk (5-4) obtained the loss. The Power finish the second half with a record of 35-33 after the loss and the Captains finish the second half at 32-36 with the win. The Power finish the season with an overall record of 60-78. West Virginia Box Score: Don't be surprised if Angel Salome or others suddenly re-appear on the Helena roster; that one-out away HR allowed by Robert Hinton spoiled an otherwise fine effort by him, Derek Miller and Dane Renkert -- Renkert only allowed one unearned run in 14.1 IP during his West Virginia stay... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_lcoafx_1 West Virginia Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_lcoafx_1

Final: Chattanooga (Reds) 13, Huntsville 5 Huntsville Site Game Summary: Rick Bell clubbed two home runs, including a grand slam to cap a six-run sixth inning, as Chattanooga pounded out a 13-5 win over Huntsville in the final game of the 2005 season Monday afternoon at BellSouth Park. The Lookouts won the final two games of the campaign to finish the second half at 25-41 and the season at 53-83, while the Stars completed the second half at 31-39 and wound up 60-79 overall. The Stars finished with their fewest amount of wins since a 59 victory season in 1988 and dropped the season series to the Lookouts nine games to eight. The Lookouts jumped on Stars? starting pitcher Carlos Villanueva for three runs in the first inning and another trio in the third to move out to a 6-0 lead. The Stars trimmed the lead to 6-2 in the fourth on a two-run double by John Vanden Berg that scored Nelson Castro and Callix Crabbe, who had both been walked by Chattanooga starter Travis Chick. Villanueva was taken out after five innings of work during which he gave up seven runs on 11 hits, including Bell?s first home run of the season, a solo shot in the fifth inning. Josh Habel took over in the sixth and yielded a run-scoring single to D?Angelo Jimenez and a sacrifice fly by Kevin Howard that pushed the home team?s lead to 9-2. Bell then launched his grand slam two batters later over all three tiers of signage in left field, just to the left of the scoreboard, to extend the advantage to 13-2. Bell had collected just one hit in 20 at-bats against Huntsville pitching before his two long balls, his first two of the season with Chattanooga. Chick lasted six innings and allowed two runs on six hits and three walks to pick up his fourth win of the year and second in as many starts. The right-hander fanned five and wound up with two wins, two losses and two no-decisions in six starts against Huntsville. Chick had gone winless from May 16 until his last outing on August 28. The Stars managed two runs in the eighth inning on a bases loaded walk to John Vanden Berg by pitcher Jeff Bruksch and a run-scoring single by pitcher Jerome Gamble, who collected his first hit and first run batted in of the season. The right-hander tossed two scoreless frames and finished the year going 16 2/3 straight innings, over eight outings, without giving up a run. Huntsville Box Score: Tony Gwynn on base three times and steals three as well; Kennard Bibbs ejected in the 5th... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_cngaax_1 Huntsville Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_cngaax_1

Final: Round Rock (Astros) 4, Nashville 0 Sounds to face longtime Brewer farmhand Derek Lee in opening playoff game... Nashville Site Game Summary: NASHVILLE ? The Nashville Sounds closed out their 2005 regular season on the short end of a 4-0 loss to the Round Rock Express on Monday afternoon at Greer Stadium in a game that featured several Music City players turning in solid performances in non-traditional positions. With the loss, Nashville (75-69) missed a chance at a series sweep of the Express but wrapped up their regular season with four victories in their final five contests. Nashville pitchers Jeff Housman and Alec Zumwalt played six innings in the outfield, while position players Ryan Knox, Corey D. Hart, and Steve Scarborough combined for three scoreless innings from the mound. Scarborough, the Sounds' everyday shortstop, also played an inning in center field and made two difficult running catches while Knox was on the hill. Express catcher Humberto Quintero belted a two-run homer to left-center off Nashville starter Brett Evert to give the visitors a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. The tater was his eighth of the season. Round Rock second baseman Brooks Conrad increased the lead to 3-0 in the third when he homered for the second straight night. His solo shot to right-center off Evert was his 21st longball of the year. Wilton Reynolds singled home Charlton Jimerson with two outs in the top of the fourth to extend the Round Rock advantage to 4-0. Express starter Peter Bauer (1-0) earned the victory in his first outing for the club, holding the Sounds scoreless on six hits over seven innings. Evert (2-2) matched his career high with 11 strikeouts over his six innings but took the loss after allowing four runs on six hits. The Sounds begin the 2005 Pacific Coast League playoffs on Wednesday evening in Oklahoma City, when they?ll take on the Oklahoma RedHawks in the 7:05 p.m. CT opener of a best-of-five American Conference Finals. Right-hander Gary Glover (6-4, 3.03) starts Wednesday?s opener for Nashville and will face Oklahoma southpaw Derek Lee (5-2, 3.86). Nashville Box Score: Vinny Rottino once again handled catching chores cleanly... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1 Nashville Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1

From Sunday's Huntsville Game: In what may have been the most unusual play of the entire season, Chattanooga's Norris Hopper was thrown out at the plate in the fifth while attempting to steal home during an intentional walk. It wasn't close.

Pacific Coast League (AAA) - American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Nashville 75 68 .524 - 36-35 39-33 W4[/b] Omaha 72 71 .503 3.0 35-37 37-34 L2 Memphis 70 72 .493 4.5 38-33 32-39 L1 Iowa 64 74 .464 8.5 39-31 25-43 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- West Tenn 38 31 .551 - 22-13 16-18 W2 Carolina 36 30 .545 0.5 21-13 15-17 L4 [b]Huntsville 31 38 .449 7.0 14-18 17-20 L1[/b] Tennessee 30 39 .435 8.0 17-17 13-22 L1 Chattanooga 25 41 .379 11.5 16-20 9-21 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Palm Beach 39 31 .557 - 18-16 21-15 L2 Vero Beach 37 30 .552 0.5 21-14 16-16 W2 [b]Brevard County 37 31 .544 1.0 16-17 21-14 W1[/b] St. Lucie 36 33 .522 2.5 17-16 19-17 L2 Daytona 34 34 .500 4.0 22-15 12-19 L1 Jupiter 29 38 .433 8.5 19-16 10-22 W2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Delmarva 42 26 .618 - 22-9 20-17 W2 Lexington 39 29 .574 3.0 20-15 19-14 L1 [b]West Virginia 35 32 .522 6.5 18-15 17-17 W4[/b] Hickory 32 35 .478 9.5 18-14 14-21 W1 Lake County 31 36 .463 10.5 14-20 17-16 L8 Greensboro 31 37 .456 11.0 14-19 17-18 L2 Lakewood 30 38 .441 12.0 19-21 11-17 L2 Hagerstown 28 38 .424 13.0 15-17 13-21 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pioneer League (R+) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Helena 20 14 .588 - 9-7 11-7 L3[/b] Missoula 20 14 .588 - 12-6 8-8 W4 Billings 17 17 .500 3.0 9-7 8-10 L1 Great Falls 15 19 .441 5.0 9-9 6-10 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arizona League (R) - Arizona League Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AZL Giants 18 10 .643 - 8-6 10-4 L1 AZL Athletics 17 11 .607 1.0 10-5 7-6 L1 AZL Mariners 17 11 .607 1.0 10-5 7-6 L3 AZL Rangers 15 13 .536 3.0 8-7 7-6 W1 AZL Royals 15 13 .536 3.0 9-6 6-7 W3 AZL Padres 14 14 .500 4.0 6-9 8-5 W7 [b]AZL Brewers 11 17 .393 7.0 4-10 7-7 L4[/b] AZL Angels 10 18 .357 8.0 3-6 7-12 L1 AZL Cubs 9 19 .321 9.0 4-10 5-9 W1Stats and League Leaders, USA Today (or go to MILB.com): www.usatoday.com/sports/b.../index.htm

Follow Monday's action as it happens: Nashville: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1 Huntsville: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_cngaax_1 West Virginia: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_lcoafx_1 Helena: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_misrok_1

Our thanks to Brett Pollock and Bryan Neece in Huntsville and Andy "Bull" Barch in West Virginia, and their technical staffs, for the coverage they provided in 2005. It was a great and welcome surprise to have the Power add web broadcasts to our Daily Menu's.

Monday's Daily Menu: Will the managers have some fun with today's lineups? We'll see. Helena's regular season ends Thursday... All starts Central Time; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: RHP Brett Evert at home vs. Round Rock (Astros), 1:40 PM pre-game, 2:00 gametime Audio link: www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/ Nashville Site Gamecast Feed: www.nashvillesounds.com/live/xlive.htm Huntsville: RHP Carlos Villanueva at Chattanooga (Reds), 1:00 PM pre-game, 1:15 gametime Audio link: www.espn1450.com/ Brevard County: Season complete West Virginia: LHP Derek Miller at Lake County (Indians), 1:05 PM Audio link: www.sportsjuice.com/provi...e=wvpower. Helena: RHP Matt Kretzschmar at Missoula (Diamondbacks), 8:05 PM Audio link: www.missoulaosprey.com/

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Gotta love Don's final response... Link while active, text follows: www.al.com/stars/huntsvil...amp;coll=1 Nine Questions for a Star Mark McCarter, Huntsville Times Don Money, a former major league all-star, is wrapping up his first season as Huntsville's manager. On Friday, two hours before game time, he was at his desk, signing baseball cards that collectors had sent to him. That seemed like a good start for the first of Nine Questions with Don Money. 1. You're signing autographs for all these people who have mailed in requests. Whose autographs do you have? When I went to games (as a kid), you didn't get down to the field the way they do today. And it wasn't that big a deal. When I was a player, I got Mrs. Babe Ruth on a ball when she was at Milwaukee one year. I got some Hall of Famers I played with and against, Rollie Fingers, Robin (Yount) and (Paul) Molitor. But not a lot of them. 2. What do you think fans most misunderstand about your job? The pitching side of it. Because you can see guys hit. You look at the board and see their averages. We know who is available to pitch, and for how long, that night. They come to the park aned see five or six guys sitting down there in the bullpen, they're thinking they can pitch. A guy walks two in a row and gives up a base hit, they're saying, "Let's get somebody else up." "Take this guy out. He can't get the ball over the plate." I wish I could. In the majors, they can. They carry two more pitchers and don't have guys on a pitch count. But I don't have that (luxury). 3. What about away from the field? How much time we spend at the ballpark. I come here every day at 12:30. I know that's a lot earlier than if we have to be on the field. But I have to be ready for early work at 2:30 or 3 o'clock. I sit here and get my lineups made out. People say how long can that take, but sometimes I have to find out who's healthy, who's pitching for the other team, things like that. It's not just showing up at 5 for a 7 o'clock game. When the game's over, I have the computer work I have to put in (filing game reports on each player to Milwaukee) and if I rush to get it done, I can probably get out in an hour, but not usually. 4. What are you going to do this winter? Nothing. Get away from ball. That's what you usually do. I get home, I'm a homebody. We don't go a lot of places. I'm not a guy who says let's take a week's vacation here or there. My vacation is to go down to Maryland for a weekend and go crabbing. My brother and his family are down there. My wife's (Sharon) family is down there. We make a weekend of it, three or four days. Go crabbing on a Friday morning and eat 'em on Saturday. 5. You're a big TV guy. In the off-season, what teams will you follow? When I go home, I don't watch a lot of baseball. I'll watch golf. If the Brewers are on I'll watch. I'm a Redskins fan, because I grew up in Washington. I followed them when they were good and bad. I followed them back when they had that big white feather down the middle of their helmets. I couldn't name anybody on the team right now, but I could when the Hawgs were there. But I still follow them. 6. When you think back on the season, what are the good things you'll reflect on? We had guys move up, guys who played well enough to move up. Hopefully we had some part of that. (Dana) Eveland moved up. (Mitch) Stetter moved up. We had both of those guys last year in low-A and one guy is in the big leagues and one's in Triple-A. That's our job, to get guys to the next level. Hopefully we've done a decent job in that respect. 7. What about the negative side? Not winning more games. It's a combination. Sometimes pitching was good, hitting wasn't. Sometimes the hitting was good and pitching wasn't. 8. We know nothing is set yet, but would you be OK with a return to Huntsville next season? Yep. 9. So, what will the 2006 Stars be like? We don't know if some of those guys (at Class A ball) are ready to come here. Some of these guys here will definitely be back. They might need two years, three years in Double-A. Next year, I know I'm going to change some things. This year, you live and learn. The young men down in the other end of the clubhouse say "Treat us like men and we'll get our work done." I tried that. Next year, we're going to do it my way. You always have guys that want to push the rules right to the end. You tell them "Don't walk to within a foot of the edge,'' and they're 12 and a quarter inches away. Sometimes, you overlook that. We're going to drop the hammer on them, be a little tougher.

Congratulations to the 2005 "Rocky" Award winner, Jeff Winchester, history and past winners viewed here: www.geocities.com/starsbo.../rocky.htm Congratulations to the 2005 "Eagle" Award winner, Dennis Sarfate, history and past winners viewed here: www.geocities.com/starsbo.../eagle.htm What a great job Johnny Phillips does with the Stars booster site. Great place to just browse and click away for hidden treasures. Golfing with the Stars: www.geocities.com/starsbo...golf01.htm Tailgate Breakfast: www.geocities.com/starsbo.../05tgb.htm

Those two runs allowed snapped a string of 28 scoreless innings pitched by Will Inman, the 18-year-old right-hander from Danville, Va. The streak dated back to July.

Final: Missoula (Diamondbacks) 9, Helena 7 Six-run Helena 9th made it close... Helena Box Score: Leadoff man Darren Ford matches Vinny Rottino on this night -- reaches base five times; RHP Ronny Malave's fine season continues, although his secondary numbers aren't that strong; Will Inman is human after all, two runs in two innings of relief... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_misrok_1 Helena Game Log: Check out the Helena 9th -- one-time big-name prospect Jason Neighborgall's horrendous struggles continue... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_misrok_1

Final: West Virginia 4, Lake County (Indians) 3 West Virginia Site Game Summary: POWER SURGE IN THE NINTHEastlake, OH ? The West Virginia Power used ninth inning heroics to fight off a late surge by Lake County to win their third game in a row 4-3. The Power also secured at least a series split with the second victory over the Captains in the final four game series of the season Saturday night at Classic Park. The Power came out of the gates strong when Charlie Fermaint and Hernan Iribarren both reached base in the first after walking and hit by a pitch respectively. With one out, Grant Richardson drilled a long home run over the left field wall to put West Virginia up 3-0 early on. In the bottom of the second, the Captains? LF Chris Gimenez led off with a double, moving to third on a Marshall Szabo single. Gimenez then scored when Ricardo Rojas grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. Bats on both sides were relatively quiet until the bottom of the sixth inning when Lake County DH Josh Noviskey singled and then scored from first on a double into the left field corner by Gimenez. When RHP Dave Johnson came on in relief for the Power in the seventh, he walked three of the only four batters he faced, including a walk to Chris De La Cruz, which brought Marshall Szabo home and tied the game at 3-3. But in the ninth, with the score still tied, Nate Yoho reached base for the Power on a fielder?s choice and eventually scored from second on an RBI double by Alcides Escobar. That put the Power up for good as Ben Stanczyk put away the Captains in the bottom of the ninth to save the 4-3 victory. Dane Renkert (2-0) earned the win, coming on in relief of Johnson, and Stanczyk (11) picked up the save. Julio Pinto (0-1) got tagged with the loss for Lake County. West Virginia starter Justin Barnes also went six strong innings surrendering just two runs on five hits. The Power are 34-32 in the second half after the win and the Captains move to 31-35 with the loss. The Power will continue the final four game series of the season against Lake County on Sunday night. The Power will throw RHP Mark Rogers (1-9, 5.32) and the Captains will counter with right-handed pitcher Jorge Riera (0-0, 0.00). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM (6:05 Central). West Virginia Box Score: Nearly 7,000 fans in the Cleveland suburb for this one; Grant Richardson's transformation from early season misery perhaps rivals that of Milwaukee's Corey Hart; nice year for Justin Barnes; nobody ran on Angel Salome, one more passed ball... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_lcoafx_1 West Virginia Game Log: Huge 5-2-3 double play turned by the Power in the 7th... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_lcoafx_1

Final: Nashville 5, Round Rock (Astros) 4 Nashville Site Game Summary: Link for Mike Meyers photo, text follows -- Sounds Reduce Magic Number To One, Win 5-4NASHVILLE ? The first-place Nashville Sounds picked up their third straight win on Saturday evening at Greer Stadium, holding off the Round Rock Express by a 5-4 count in the second game of a four-game series. The Sounds (74-68) reduced their magic number to clinch a playoff spot to just one with two games to play when the second-place Omaha Royals lost to Oklahoma, 3-2, in the bottom of ninth inning. One Nashville win or one Omaha loss in the remaining two days of the regular season will clinch the PCL American Conference Northern Division title for the Sounds. If the teams end the regular season tied, Omaha will advance to the playoffs by virtue of winning the season series between the clubs, 9-7. With the crowd of 7,406 fans, Nashville surpassed last season?s attendance total to register the club?s largest single-season showing in the last 12 years (408,184 and counting). Former Sound Carlos Rivera spotted the visitors a 2-0 advantage with a two-out, two-run homer to right off Nashville starter Mike Meyers in the top of the third inning. Alex Eckelman, who had reached on a bunt single, scored on the blast, Rivera?s 17th of the season. Tony Zuniga, making his first appearance in six games due to an elbow injury, pulled the Sounds within a run in the bottom of the frame with a one-out RBI single off ex-Sound Jimmy Anderson. Nashville grabbed a 3-2 lead two batters later when Julio Mosquera grounded to third with the bases loaded and Royce Huffman uncorked a wild throw to first, allowing Vinny Rottino (3-for-3) and Zuniga to score. AUDIO: Sounds Score A Pair On Error: www.nashvillesounds.com/a...%209-3.mp3 Steve Scarborough increased the Nashville advantage to 5-2 in the fifth with a two-run double to right that scored Mosquera and Chris Barnwell. Round Rock center fielder Charlton Jimerson made it a 5-3 game in the sixth with a sacrifice fly that plated Humberto Quintero. Pinch-hitter Tommy Whiteman pulled the Express within a run an inning later with a leadoff solo homer to left off Sounds reliever Alec Zumwalt, the infielder?s fifth of the year. It was the second pinch-hit tater in two nights against Nashville pitching. Mike Adams and Jeff Bennett, who picked up his team-leading 13th save, each tossed a scoreless frame to secure the win for Nashville. Meyers (7-4) earned the victory after allowing two runs and striking out six in his five innings of work. Anderson (2-2) was tagged with the loss after surrendering five runs (three earned) in six frames. The teams engage in the third game of the series at 6 p.m. on Sunday evening. Right-hander Dennis Sarfate (0-1, 1.80) will make his first career Triple-A start (second AAA appearance) when he takes the hill for Nashville to face Round Rock right-hander Roberto Giron (4-3, 4.27). Nashville Box Score: How about that Vinny Rottino -- on base all five plate appearances... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1 Nashville Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1

Nashville Media Notes (PDF format): Chuck-full as always... www.nashvillesounds.com/pdf/notes.pdf Nashville Pre-Game Audio Players Chat With Outfielder Brad Nelson: www.nashvillesounds.com/a...%209-3.mp3

That second loss on the night by the Manatees allowed the Palm Beach Cardinals to back in to a division title as they lost to Jupiter, 4-3.

Final, Game Two: Daytona (Cubs) 2, Brevard County 1 As if by rule, every Florida State League game comes down to one run; Manatees gave us anice second half to the season, but there won't be playoffs for the Brevard boys... Brevard County Game Two Box Score: Cubs win on a wild pitch; Drew Anderson flied out in a two-out, first-and-third situation in the 5th, but there wasn't much in real opportunities beyond that... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_dbcafx_2 Brevard County Game Two Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_dbcafx_2

Nice to have you back around, David, and thanks for the news on Jeff Winchester, probably not the only farmhand affected directly and in such a devastating way by Katrina. As for the game summary, felt as if we were there -- nice job as always. Final: Huntsville 2, Chattanooga (Reds) 1 Huntsville Box Score: I believe Ben Van Iderstine received permission to begin play with Canada's World Cup team, thus the Stars' bench is reduced to whichever second baseman is not in action (Callix Crabbe or Guilder Rodriguez) and catcher Jimmy Stanfield. Thus you get veteran Nelson Castro as your everyday right fielder -- yet, the Stars have played well during this stretch against two struggling clubs in Tennessee and Chattanooga... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1 Huntsville Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1

In progress, Game Two: Brevard County 1, Daytona 1, bottom of the 4th in Daytona (scheduled for seven) LHP Steve Hammond gets the start; Jeff Eure a home run... In progress: Palm Beach (Cardinals) 2, Jupiter (Marlins) 1, bottom of the 6th in Palm Beach Uh-oh -- Palm Beach's magic number at one as of this post...