Jim Goulart

Charleston Daily Mail: Power pitching coach remains in N.C. hospital West Virginia Power pitching coach John Curtis remained hospitalized Wednesday at Moses Cone Hospital in Greensboro, N.C., and faces outpatient physical therapy after he's released. Alan Diamond, the trainer for the South Atlantic League baseball team, said Curtis has been experiencing "some of the same symptoms of some stroke victims. His left hand, wrist and lower arm are paralyzed. He will need to go through stroke rehabilitation." Dr. Randy Kritzer, a Greensboro specialist who treated Curtis after he was hit by a batting practice line drive Saturday night, told the (Greensboro) News & Record that Curtis suffered a bruise to the brain, with a hemorrhage on the right side. That controls the motor skills of the left side of the body. Curtis, 57, was hit in the back of the head during Power batting practice before Saturday night's game at First Horizon Park. Diamond said the West Virginia coach was hit by a liner off the bat of Alcides Escobar as Curtis was standing about 10 feet behind the protective "shag screen" at the edge of the outfield grass behind second base, hitting fly balls to outfielders. "John had some bleeding and swelling of the brain," Diamond said. "He underwent a CAT scan and an EEG (electroencephalogram), which tests brain waves. He's been awake and alert, and he's no longer having headaches." The parent Milwaukee Brewers named Jim Rooney, the club's roving minor league pitching instructor, to finish the season as the Power pitching coach on Wednesday. Diamond said Curtis isn't expected to return to Charleston, and could have the outpatient therapy in Greensboro before going home to Long Beach, Calif. Curtis never lost consciousness after he was hit. About his left-arm paralysis, the 15-year Major League southpaw told the Greensboro newspaper, "I feel like I'm without my best friend." Curtis, in his third season with the Brewers, knows his future as a coach is up in the air. "I hope it's just a matter of the swelling going down," Curtis said. "But the longer it waits, the chances of regeneration are reduced." Curtis was scheduled to spend the 2005 summer as the pitching coach at short-season Helena, until former Major Leaguer Mark Littell had bypass surgery before spring training, and couldn't work his Brewers' assignment in West Virginia. The Power also changed hitting coaches this season. In early May, Johnny Narron came to West Virginia as the hitting coach, trading places with Tony Diggs, who moved to high Class A Brevard County in the Florida State League.

No updates on the Arizona Brewers' last two games...

Final: Helena 7, Casper (Rockies) 3 Link while active, text follows: www.helenair.com/articles...105_03.txt Brewers remain unbeaten By TOM COTTON - IR Sports Editor It was a very close to a perfect 10 for the Helena Brewers Wednesday. The Pioneer League ball club won its 10th straight contest Wednesday night, downing Casper 7-3 at Kindrick Legion Field. Helena was good in all facets of the game, getting solid pitching, good hitting and steady defense en route to the victory. The win maintained Helena's lead in the second-half North Division standings at six games over Great Falls. Casper sits atop the Southern Division with a 7-4 mark. "It's unbelievable," said Brewers third baseman Mat Gamel about the winning streak. Gamel had a big hand in the victory, registering a 3-for-4 night at the plate and blasting a 430-foot solo home run in the fifth that cleared the scoreboard. Gamel was looking for a fastball from Rockies pitcher Robinson Fabian and the right-hander obliged. The homer was Gamel's fifth of the season, two behind teammate Kenny Holmberg who hit one the fourth inning. The two have a running contest to see who have the most round trippers this season. "He hit one the inning before and I saw him standing on the top step of the dugout and I gave him a big grin," Gamel said. The Brewers should all be smiling after Wednesday's performance where they outhit the Rockies 14-4. "We put the bat on the ball," said Helena manager Ed Sedar. "We struck out 10 times, but we got some good at bats." Gamel's home run capped a three run fifth inning which broke open a 2-2 ball game. Ryan Crew smacked a home run in the inning and Michael Bell registered a triple. Bell later came home on a sacrifice fly by Holmberg. The potent Brewers' offense was combined with good pitching as three pitchers combined to strike out eight Rockies. Mathew Kretzschmar was particularly dominant, striking out five in just 2 2/3 innings of work. He lowered his ERA this season to 2.70. Kretzschmar was able to wriggle out of a jam in the seventh. Casper threatened to get back in the game in the frame and put runners on second and third. However Kretzschmar relied on an overpowering fastball and struck out Armando Polanco and Dexter Fowler to get out of the inning. Dane Renkert picked up his first save of the season going 1 2/3 innings and he struck out two over that span. The duo finished off a game started by Rafael Lluberes, who got the win pitching five innings, striking out two and walking two. Fabian got the loss and saw his ERA balloon to 14.44 this season. He gave up four earned runs in one inning of work. Thursday night's game continued the trend of outstanding pitching for the Brewers who have allowed nine runs in the last five games. They have a Pioneer League best team ERA of 4.08. "For the most part the staff has been making headway, getting quicker outs and not taking the count too deep," said Helena pitching coach Mark Littell. The two teams will meet again tonight to continue a three-game set at 7:05 p.m. (8:05 Central). David Welch is set to start for Helena and Chaz Roe will get the nod for Casper. Helena Box Score: Freddy Parejo 18-for-35 since joining Helena from West Virginia, 16 of the hits singles... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_helrok_1 Helena Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_helrok_1 Jon Ebelt, Independent Record Staff Photographer - A close play at the plate does not go in favor of Helena's Mat Gamel, left, who is tagged out by Casper pitcher Xavier Cedeno in an exchange that ended the first inning Wednesday at Kindrick Legion Field. http://www.helenair.com/content/articles/2005/08/11/sports_top/b01081105_03.jpg

Charleston Gazette: Power returns home for key series vs. Legends The season?s final weeks hold promise for the West Virginia Power. After taking three of four games at Greensboro and winning 18 of its last 29, the Power has positioned itself to pursue a second-half title in the South Atlantic League?s Northern Division. The Power, which is tied for third place with the Lexington Legends, returns to Appalachian Power Park tonight to begin a four-game series with the Legends. Both teams are 24-20 in the second half and trail first-place Delmarva by 5 1/2 games. Tonight?s game begins at 7:05 (6:05 Central). In the four games at Greensboro, third baseman Ryan Braun went 10-for-17, hit two two-run homers and collected eight RBIs. First baseman Grant Richardson extended his on-base streak to 28 games. The Power?s current 18-11 stretch began with a 4-3 victory at Hagerstown July 8 and coincided with the arrival of Braun, who was taken by the Milwaukee Brewers in the first round of the June draft. Braun, who was drafted out of the University of Miami, picked up two hits in his South Atlantic League debut at Hagerstown and, in 29 games with the Power, is hitting .358 with seven home runs and 26 RBIs. He?s committed 10 errors, however. Another key to the surge is Charlie Fermaint, a 19-year-old outfielder from Puerto Rico. Since his promotion from Helena on July 30, Fermaint is hitting .354 with three home runs and 12 RBIs in 10 games. The Power announced Wednesday that pitching coach John Curtis will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a fractured skull Saturday in Greensboro. While standing in the outfield during batting practice, Curtis was hit in the head by a fly ball and was taken to a Greensboro hospital. He was expected to make a full recovery. Taking his place is Jim Rooney, the Brewers? minor-league pitching instructor. The Power also announced that utility player Josh Brady has been promoted to Brevard County of the Class A Florida State League. In 80 games with the Power, he batted .272 with six home runs and 48 RBIs.

Final: Nashville 8, Salt Lake (Angels) 3 Road demons! And holy cow, catcher Mike Rivera now with 13 jacks and a .900-ish OPS! Tennessean: Prince Fielder's first-inning double drives in Corey Hart to get Sounds off to fast start. Nashville follows with three runs in the second. Mike Rivera's one-out solo shot is followed up with an RBI triple by Steve Scarborough (scoring Chris Barnwell, who reached on an infield single) and a Dave Krynzel sacrifice fly that scores Scarborough. The Sounds plate single runs in the third and fourth innings before adding two more on Rivera's seventh-inning homer that also scored Nelson Cruz. Glover works five scoreless innings before giving up two runs in his final inning of work. Nashville Box Score: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_slcaaa_1 Nashville Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_slcaaa_1

Final: Huntsville 5, Mobile (Padres) 4 Huntsville Site Game Summary: Link for Vinny Rottino photo, text follows -- www.huntsvillestars.com/s...newsId=694 Rottino Rallies Stars to Win to End SlideVinny Rottino singled home the game-winning run with two outs in the bottom of the 11th inning to lift Huntsville to a 5-4 win over Mobile in the final game of a three-game set at Joe Davis Stadium. The Stars ended a five-game losing streak to the BayBears and a five-game overall losing streak and improved to 20-25 in the second half of the season, while the visitors dropped to 17-25 in the second half. Callix Crabbe opened the home 11th with a leadoff walk as a pinch-hitter, moved to second on a Tony Gwynn, Jr. sacrifice bunt and advanced to third on a Kennard Bibbs ground out. Brandon Gemoll was then intentionally walked and was on the go on a 1-0 pitch that Rottino grounded to second base. The ball took a late, bad hop and bounced off the chest of Casey Baker and allowed Crabbe to score the decisive run. Rottino finished the night reaching base five times with three hits and a pair of walks and put together his tenth three-hit game of the second half. Wilmer Villatoro suffered the loss after taking over on the hill in the 11th to become the BayBears sixth pitcher of the night. Jeff Winchester led off the sixth inning with a double and scored when Guilder Rodriguez followed with a double to drive in his third run of the year and slice the Mobile lead to 4-3. Pitcher Alec Zumwalt reached first base, and pushed Rodriguez to third, after catcher George Kottaras couldn?t field his sacrifice bunt attempt cleanly. Rodriguez then seemingly scored the tying run when Gwynn bounced into a force out at second base for the first out of the inning. However, Zumwalt was ruled out on interference and, because Gwynn had yet to reach first base, Rodriguez was sent back to third and Gwynn was ruled out at first base. Bibbs walked and stole second base but Gemoll was called out on strikes to end the inning. Rottino led off the home seventh with a walk against Rusty Tucker, moved to third base on a Brad Nelson single and scored the tying run on a sacrifice fly by Nelson Castro. Tucker, Ryan Meaux and Geoff Jones then retired the next 11 hitters before the home team scored in the eleventh. Zumwalt worked three scoreless innings in relief for a second time in the series and Gerrit Simpson tossed another three frames of scoreless relief to earn his first win since joining the Stars. The Stars begin a 10-game road trip with a four-game series in Birmingham that opens on Thursday night with right-hander David Bradley taking the mound against Barons? right-hander Sean Tracey. Coverage of the game gets underway at 6:45 p.m. central time on ESPN 1450 AM and via the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com. ***Link while active, text follows: www.al.com/stars/huntsvil...amp;coll=1 Zumwalt's zeroes Reliever's three scoreless innings give Stars chance By MARK McCARTER Times Sports Staff markcolumn@aol.com A pitcher with a dirty uniform? Might as well look for a Ferrari with spinner wheels, an anchorman with mussed hair, a big-city corner without a Starbucks. Huntsville's Alec Zumwalt had a pair of pants that looked borrowed from Pigpen. He is, after all, a converted outfielder. Who, in turn, runs bases like a linebacker. All in all, it was a pretty symbolic look for a pitcher with as much grit as talent, who has bounced back from an elbow injury and is now surfing atop a hot streak. Zumwalt pitched three innings of scoreless relief, keeping the Stars in Wednesday's game against the Mobile BayBears before a bad-hop Vinny Rottino base hit in the 11th gave the Stars a 5-4 victory, ending a five-game losing streak. Pinch-hitter Callix Crabbe walked to lead off the 11th, moved to second on a Tony Gwynn Jr. sacrifice bunt and took third on a Kennard Bibbs grounder. After Brandon Gemoll was intentionally walked by Wilmer Villatoro, Rottino slapped a routine bouncer to second. It took a crazy hop off the shoulder of Peeter Ramos to produce the game-winner. Reliever Gerrit Simpson picked up the win, his first as a Star. Zumwalt's nifty work came on the heels of three perfect innings of relief against Mobile on Monday, giving him a stretch of 8 1/3 scoreless innings in his last five appearances. While his relief pitching helped the Stars stubbornly hang on, his aggressive base running hurt Huntsville's chances to win in regulation. It was a screwy play with an illogical - but properly applied - rule involved. After consecutive doubles by Jeff Winchester and Guilder Rodriguez produced a run in the sixth, Zumwalt reached on a bunt bobbled by catcher George Kotttaras, putting Rodriguez on third. Gwynn followed with grounder to second base. Much to his credit, Zumwalt slid hard into second to break up the double play. However, umpire Pete Pederson ruled he went out of the baseline and interfered with shortstop Ronnie Merrill. That meant Gwynn was automatically out at first and Rodriguez was frozen at third, even if he could have crawled home on hands and knees. An odd rule - "In the event the batter-runner has not reached first base (on an interference play), all runners shall return to the base last occupied at the time of the pitch,'' quoth the rule book - but perhaps written without much walking-around sense applied to it. Following the frequent Huntsville plot, the Stars fell behind 2-0 in the first as starter Glenn Woolard walked the first two batters, then yielded an RBI double to Kottaras and a sacrifice fly by Corey Smith. The Stars answered with a run in the first on Rottino's worm-burning RBI single up the middle, driving home Gwynn. They tied it in the third when they loaded the bases against Cesar Carillo, making his third Southern League start. Brad Nelson drew a walk on a 3-0 pitch to score Gwynn, but Nelson Castro was then called out on strikes to end the inning. An RBI single by Ramos in the fourth and an sacrifice fly by Kottaras in the fifth regained the two-run lead, and also ended Woolard's evening after 95 pitches in five innings. After the screwy sixth, a Castro sac fly tied the game at 4-all in the seventh, and Simpson skunked the BayBears for three innings to earn the win. Huntsville Box Score: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1 Huntsville Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1

In progress: Mobile (Padres) 4, Huntsville 3, seventh inning stretch in Huntsville Must admit I'm giving the Stars and broadcasters Brett Pollock and Bryan Neece some audio love tonight, having tuned in to nearly all of this one after calling the club "insignificant" or some such word earlier today. On a related note, the folks at Baseball America have contacted us to see if we might be able to assist them with a scouting report on RHP Ty Taubenheim (not pitching tonight), as they haven't been able to have their own people see Ty pitch this season as of yet. So if any of our Brevard County readers, or our Huntsville faithful, can chime in with your best first-hand scouting report analysis, let us have it. You'll have the pleasure of knowing you influenced next year's BA handbook http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif . Feel free to post it here. Thanks.

Final: Jupiter (Marlins) 3, Brevard County 2 Brevard County Box Score: Add eight more innings to RHP Tim Dillard's tally -- his WHIP is still UNDER 1.00 after 164.1 IP; fifteen ground outs -- y'know, Dillard could project to be Derek Lowe (minus the womanizing), which would be very nice; Adam Heether on base three times; Ozzie Chavez a home run... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_breafx_1 Brevard County Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_breafx_1

Nashville Media Notes for Wednesday (PDF format): www.nashvillesounds.com/pdf/notes.pdf

Pacific Coast League (AAA) - American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Nashville 65 52 .556 - 31-29 34-23 W2[/b] Memphis 57 60 .487 8.0 30-30 27-30 L2 Omaha 56 61 .479 9.0 24-29 32-32 W4 Iowa 54 60 .474 9.5 35-27 19-33 W3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Carolina 27 15 .643 - 16-10 11-5 W1 West Tenn 26 18 .591 2.0 12-10 14-8 L1 Tennessee 20 24 .455 8.0 10-9 10-15 W2 [b]Huntsville 19 25 .432 9.0 7-15 12-10 L5[/b] Chattanooga 15 29 .341 13.0 8-16 7-13 L3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vero Beach 28 15 .651 - 14-7 14-8 L1 [b]Brevard County 26 18 .591 2.5 10-10 16-8 W1[/b] Palm Beach 26 19 .578 3.0 12-11 14-8 W1 St. Lucie 24 19 .558 4.0 11-11 13-8 W1 Daytona 20 23 .465 8.0 13-12 7-11 W3 Jupiter 14 29 .326 14.0 11-11 3-18 L7 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Delmarva 29 14 .674 - 17-3 12-11 L1 Hickory 26 18 .591 3.5 15-10 11-8 W1 Lexington 24 20 .545 5.5 16-11 8-9 W3 [b]West Virginia 24 20 .545 5.5 12-9 12-11 W3[/b] Lake County 19 23 .452 9.5 8-11 11-12 L1 Lakewood 20 25 .444 10.0 12-11 8-14 L3 Greensboro 18 26 .409 11.5 6-12 12-14 L3 Hagerstown 13 27 .325 14.5 5-12 8-15 L3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pioneer League (R+) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Helena 9 0 1.000 - 3-0 6-0 W9[/b] Billings 3 6 .333 6.0 1-3 2-3 L6 Great Falls 3 6 .333 6.0 2-4 1-2 W1 Missoula 3 6 .333 6.0 2-3 1-3 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arizona League (R) - Arizona League Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AZL Giants 8 3 .727 - 3-3 5-0 L1 AZL Athletics 7 4 .636 1.0 5-1 2-3 W5 AZL Mariners 7 4 .636 1.0 4-2 3-2 L2 [b]AZL Brewers 5 4 .556 2.0 1-3 4-1 W1[/b] AZL Rangers 5 6 .455 3.0 4-3 1-3 L3 AZL Royals 4 5 .444 3.0 2-2 2-3 W2 AZL Angels 4 6 .400 3.5 1-1 3-5 W1 AZL Padres 4 6 .400 3.5 1-4 3-2 W1 AZL Cubs 2 8 .200 5.5 1-5 1-3 L1Stats and League Leaders, USA Today (or go to MILB.com): www.usatoday.com/sports/b.../index.htm

Links to follow Wednesday's action as it happens: Nashville: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_slcaaa_1 Huntsville: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1 Brevard County: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_breafx_1 Helena: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_helrok_1 Arizona: Not updated live, but usually later during the overnight... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_brrrok_1

Wednesday's Daily Menu: All times Central except for Arizona Rookie; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: RHP Gary Glover at Salt Lake (Angels), 7:40 PM pre-game, 8:00 gametime Audio link: www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/ Huntsville: RHP Glenn Woolard at home vs. Mobile (Padres), 6:50 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime Audio link: www.espn1450.com/ If that link is down for bandwidth, use: specs.eyecentric.com/pres...opup.shtml Brevard County: RHP Tim Dillard at home vs. Jupiter (Marlins), 6:00 PM Audio link (opponent's): www.jupiterhammerheads.com/ West Virginia: Idle Helena: LHP Rafael Lluberes at home vs. Casper (Rockies), 8:05 PM Audio link (opponent's): www.casperrockies.com/ Arizona: TBD at home in Maryvale vs. the rookie Rangers, 7:00 PM local time; never any web audio for Arizona Rookie ball...

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Charleston Daily Mail: Power pitching coach remains in hospital The West Virginia Power finished its road trip Tuesday without pitching coach John Curtis, and is likely to complete the South Atlantic League baseball season without the 15-year Major Leaguer. Curtis, 57, remained in a Greensboro, N.C., hospital on Tuesday night, after being injured by a batted line drive during the Power's batting practice Saturday at First Horizon Park. Team spokesman and radio broadcaster Andy Barch said Curtis suffered a fractured skull and was diagnosed with some internal bleeding after being hit in the back of the head. The coach had been standing behind a screen at the edge of the outfield grass when hit. Barch said Curtis isn't likely to rejoin the team. Jim Rooney, the roving pitching instructor for the Power's parent Milwaukee Brewers, has joined the Class A club as a fill-in. Curtis had an 89-97 career Major League record with Boston, St. Louis, San Francisco, San Diego and California from 1970-84.

Huntsville Site Game Summary: Two Big Frames Propel Mobile to WinCorey Smith collected four hits and knocked in two runs and Steve Baker totaled three hits and three runs batted to pace a 16-hit attack in Mobile?s 14-3 win over Huntsville Tuesday night at Joe Davis Stadium. The BayBears improved to 17-24 in the second half of the season and won their fifth straight game over the Stars, who lost their fifth straight game to drop to 19-20 in the second half and 25-33 at home. Huntsville suffered an 11-run loss for the second time this year, having lost 11-0 to West Tenn on July 2. The Stars got on the board in the home first on a run-scoring single by Brad Nelson and a run-scoring ground out by Vinny Rottino. The BayBears tied the game in the top of the second inning on a Joe Gerber double that knocked in a run and a wild pitch by Huntsville starter Dennis Sarfate that plated Gerber. It was Sarfate?s staff-high 11th errant pitch of the season. Brian Burgamy singled home Peeter Ramos with two outs in the fourth to put Mobile ahead to stay at 3-2 before George Kottaras doubled home a pair of runs to extend the lead to 5-2. Smith followed with a single that scored Kottaras and spelled the end of the night for Sarfate, who suffered his eighth loss of the year and second against Mobile. Steve Baker greeted Brian Wolfe with a triple to chase home Smith and came around to score on a double by Ronnie Merrill that capped off the fourth six-run inning allowed by Huntsville this season. Smith doubled in a run and Baker doubled home a pair to highlight a six-run eighth inning that also saw two runs score on wild pitches and another on a passed ball. Baker finished a home run shy of hitting for the cycle and scored twice. Five of the seven Mobile starters who finished the game collected at least two hits and every starter except Kennard Jones, who was thrown out of the game for arguing balls and strikes after striking out to begin the game, scored at least one run. Brian Whitaker earned his first win over Huntsville in five starts this season. The right-hander, who had appeared in one start and one game in relief for triple-A Portland before being sent back to start Tuesday?s game, allowed three runs on six hits over 5 1/3 innings. Geoff Jones retired all four hitters he faced and Wilmer Villatoro tossed two scoreless frames to finish off the night. The series concludes Wednesday night with Stars right-hander Glenn Woolard taking the mound against Mobile right-hander Cesar Carillo. Coverage of the game gets underway at 6:50 p.m. central time on ESPN 1450 AM and through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com. ***Link while active, text follows: www.al.com/sports/huntsvi...amp;coll=1 Stars stumble in loss to Mobile Bibbs' two runs only highlight for Huntsville By SKIP VAUGHN For The Times skipv@htimes.com Mobile leadoff batter Kennard Jones got Tuesday night's game off to an explosive start against the Huntsville Stars without putting the ball in play. He was ejected by home plate umpire Pete Pederson for protesting a called third strike from Stars pitcher Dennis Sarfate. He argued for a few minutes and kicked at the dirt at home plate before finally leaving. Mobile also had all the fireworks the rest of the way in a 14-3 win over the Stars before an announced crowd of 1,117 at Joe Davis Stadium. The BayBears beat Huntsville for the second straight night while the Stars lost their fifth straight. Sarfate (9-8) went 3 2/3 innings with seven earned runs, eight hits, three walks and three strikeouts. Mobile out-hit Huntsville 16-6; and the Stars committed two errors. "We got bad pitching, bad defense," Stars manager Don Money said. "We take a 2-0 lead and then the pitching falls apart. We make two errors. Pitching was just flatout sour from first guy on. Every day it's something. Today it was just ugly, ugly and ugly." The only bright spot for the Stars was Kennard Bibbs, who tripled and scored twice. "The two six-run innings, that was the difference in the game," BayBears manager Gary Jones said. "I thought the guys swung the bats well. We know Sarfate's got good stuff. We were just fortunate tonight he was a little off with his command. I thought the guys did a good job of being patient and making him work a little bit, getting him to go into some deep counts." The Stars (19-25 in the second half) jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first on an RBI single by Brad Nelson and a run-scoring groundout by Vinny Rottino. Tony Gwynn Jr. and Bibbs scored. The BayBears (17-24) tied the game 2-all in the second when Joe Gerber had an RBI double, advanced to third on Peeter Ramos' bunt single and scored on a wild pitch. Mobile took a 8-2 lead with a six-run fourth. The six hits that inning included a triple by Steve Baker, doubles by George Kottaras and Ronnie Merrill and singles by Gerber, Brian Burgamy and Corey Smith. Bibbs tripled and scored on Brandon Gemoll's groundout for the Stars in the fifth.

Link while active, text follows: www.news-record.com/apps/...EWSREC0205 Surging Power upends Hoppers By Bill Hass Greensboro News-Record Staff Writer GREENSBORO -- One of the quirky things about the low minor leagues is the split season. Fortunes can turn for better or worse from one half to another, and a prime example is the West Virginia Power. In the first half of the South Atlantic League season, the Power suffered through a 25-45 record. But in the second half, infused with some new blood, West Virginia has turned things around. Following a 5-3 win over the Greensboro Grasshoppers on Tuesday afternoon at First Horizon Park, the Power improved to 24-20 in the second half. They took the final three games of the series after dropping the opener Saturday. "Even though we had a tough first half, we always stayed positive with the players," said manager Ramon Aviles. "We had a meeting after every game. We'd mention the things to correct and tell them what they were doing good, and if they kept doing good things they would win some games." Hoppers manager Brandon Hyde, whose club is 18-26 in the second half, agreed the current Power bears little resemblance to the first-half club. "They swing the bats well, they're aggressive, they run well and have some guys in the middle of the order who can hurt you," Hyde said. One of those is Ryan Braun, drafted in the first round by the Milwaukee Brewers in June, the fifth player selected overall. The University of Miami alumnus had a pair of doubles and drove in two runs Tuesday to finish the series 10-for-17 with eight RBIs. Another new player who wasn't around for the first half is catcher Angel Salome, a fifth-round choice from 2004. He made an excellent play on a popped foul bunt by Steve Gendron, diving to make a full-extension catch in the bottom of the eighth. "That was an outstanding play," said Hyde, a former catcher. "He's very athletic." Pitcher Kevin Roberts, appearing in only his third game, contributed by throwing five excellent innings in relief Tuesday. Jai Miller greeted him with a long home run, the second of his three hits, but that was all Roberts allowed. Roberts got out of a jam in the bottom of the ninth, freezing J.T. Restko on a 3-and-2 breaking ball for a called third strike to end the game, leaving runners on second and third. It was the second straight game in which the Hoppers took a called third strike to end it. "We want the hitters to be aggressive with runners in scoring position," Hyde said, "especially early in the count. Hopefully, they'll be able to make that adjustment, if not this year, then down the road."

Final: Nashville 8, Salt Lake (Angels) 5 Nashville Site Game Summary: SALT LAKE CITY ? Prince Fielder and Corey Hart each homered to lead the first-place Nashville Sounds to an 8-5 victory over the Salt Lake Stingers on Tuesday evening at Franklin Covey Field. With the win, Nashville (65-52) extended its division lead to a season-best eight games over Memphis. Every Sounds batter except Corey D. Hart recorded a hit, led by three-hit evenings from Julio Mosquera and Steve Scarborough. The Sounds took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning on Scarborough?s two-out, two-run single that plated Fielder and Mosquera. Nashville doubled the lead to 4-0 with another two-out knock in the third ? Tony Zuniga?s two-run double that scored both of the Sounds? Corey Harts. Salt Lake pulled within a run at 4-3 with a three-run fifth against Sounds starter Wes Obermueller. Chris Prieto?s two-out, two-run single highlighted the scoring. The Sounds scored a single run in each of the final four frames to pull comfortably ahead. Chris Barnwell produced an RBI single in the sixth before reigning PCL Batter-of-the-Week Corey Hart belted his 17th home run of the year, a solo blast to left off Stingers reliever Jake Woods in the seventh. Ryan Knox plated Mosquera with an eighth-inning RBI single, then Fielder capped off the evening with his team-leading 25th home run of the year in the ninth, a leadoff solo shot to right off Greg Jones. The 25 dingers are tied for 10th-best in a single season in Sounds history. Salt Lake rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth against Sounds reliever Jeff Bennett to bring the score to its final 8-5. Obermueller (3-0) picked up a win in his third consecutive start after holding Salt Lake to three runs on five hits over his five innings of action. Stingers starter Clayton Andrews (6-7) absorbed the loss after allowing five runs on nine hits over five frames. The teams meet in the third game of the series at 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday evening. Right-hander Gary Glover (4-2, 2.79) toes the rubber for Nashville to square off against Stingers right-hander Evan Thomas (5-2, 7.69). AUDIO: Bennett Strikes Out The Final Batter www.nashvillesounds.com/a...%208-9.mp3 Nashville Box Score: Steve Scarborough red-hot -- if not for a 40-man roster crunch, he'd be a fine September bench choice for the Crew, and some organization will scoop up the minor league free agent quickly this fall... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_slcaaa_1 Nashville Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_slcaaa_1

Final: Mobile (Padres) 14, Huntsville 3, 7 1/2 innings, rain They say the rain stopped it, but it was more likely the mercy rule... Huntsville Box Score: Dennis Sarfate rocked; this team has officially reached the level of fan indifference, hard to do with the diehards here... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1 Huntsville Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1

The Brewers announced their minor league organizational pitcher and players of the month today . . . Brevard County?s Tim Dillard was named pitcher of the month and Angel Salome earned player of the month honors . . . Salome hit .419 (65-155) while with Helena from June 21-July 29, he has been with West Virginia since the 29th of July . . . Dillard stands 11-7 with a 2.45 ERA this season.

Final: Brevard County 4, Jupiter (Marlins) 2 Brevard County Box Score: Steve Moss, Adam Heether, and Nestor Corredor all reach twice; quality start for Forrest Martin... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_breafx_1 Brevard County Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_breafx_1

The Brewers have signed a new catcher to join Angel Salome and Carlos Corporan at West Virginia. Richie Cormier, like Corporan, is a switch-hitter. 5'10", 190 lbs., he turned 22 in March. Cormier played with Helena RHP Patrick Ryan (2005, 19th round) and Helena infielder Kenny Holmberg (2005, 22nd round) at Embry-Riddle University in Florida this spring. He had signed earlier this year with the Lincoln Saltdogs in the independent Northern League, but it's unclear if he saw action there. Cormier, who caught for the Eagles in 2005 after playing in the middle infield as a junior, ended his senior campaign batting .333, including .424 in the super regional and national tournaments combined. Cormier led the club in walks (45), was third in stolen bases, with 19 steals in 22 attempts, and was among the Eagles? top five in hits (68) and doubles (11). This was his pre-season Embry-Riddle profile: daytona.embryriddlesports...mp;sport=2

IF / OF Josh Brady will be 25 years old in October, so placing him at high-A in April made sense, but as you can see linked just below, his early-season struggles were horrific. He's been transferred back to Brevard County from West Virginia, so we'll start to see his name in the Manatee box scores again. Josh Brady 2005 statistics: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...pid=448795

Standings do reflect today's West Virginia victory! Pacific Coast League (AAA) - American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Nashville 64 52 .552 - 31-29 33-23 W1[/b] Memphis 57 59 .491 7.0 30-30 27-29 L1 Omaha 55 61 .474 9.0 23-29 32-32 W3 Iowa 54 60 .474 9.0 35-27 19-33 W3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Carolina 26 15 .634 - 15-10 11-5 L1 West Tenn 26 17 .605 1.0 12-10 14-7 W2 [b]Huntsville 19 24 .442 8.0 7-14 12-10 L4[/b] Tennessee 19 24 .442 8.0 9-9 10-15 W1 Chattanooga 15 28 .349 12.0 8-16 7-12 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vero Beach 28 15 .651 - 14-7 14-8 L1 [b]Brevard County 25 18 .581 3.0 9-10 16-8 L1[/b] Palm Beach 26 19 .578 3.0 12-11 14-8 W1 St. Lucie 24 19 .558 4.0 11-11 13-8 W1 Daytona 20 23 .465 8.0 13-12 7-11 W3 Jupiter 14 28 .333 13.5 11-11 3-17 L6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Delmarva 29 13 .690 - 17-3 12-10 W2 Hickory 25 18 .581 4.5 14-10 11-8 L2 [b]West Virginia 24 20 .545 6.0 12-9 12-11 W3[/b] Lexington 23 20 .535 6.5 15-11 8-9 W2 Lakewood 20 24 .455 10.0 12-11 8-13 L2 Lake County 19 23 .452 10.0 8-11 11-12 L1 Greensboro 18 26 .409 12.0 6-12 12-14 L3 Hagerstown 13 26 .333 14.5 5-12 8-14 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pioneer League (R+) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Helena 9 0 1.000 - 3-0 6-0 W9[/b] Billings 3 6 .333 6.0 1-3 2-3 L6 Great Falls 3 6 .333 6.0 2-4 1-2 W1 Missoula 3 6 .333 6.0 2-3 1-3 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arizona League (R) - Arizona League Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AZL Giants 8 2 .800 - 3-2 5-0 W1 AZL Mariners 7 3 .700 1.0 4-1 3-2 L1 AZL Athletics 7 4 .636 1.5 5-1 2-3 W5 [b]AZL Brewers 5 4 .556 2.5 1-3 4-1 W1[/b] AZL Rangers 5 6 .455 3.5 4-3 1-3 L3 AZL Royals 4 5 .444 3.5 2-2 2-3 W2 AZL Angels 3 6 .333 4.5 1-1 2-5 L4 AZL Padres 3 6 .333 4.5 1-4 2-2 L1 AZL Cubs 2 8 .200 6.0 1-5 1-3 L1Stats and League Leaders, USA Today (or go to MILB.com): www.usatoday.com/sports/b.../index.htm

Links to follow Tuesday's action as it happens: Nashville: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_slcaaa_1 Huntsville: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1 Brevard County: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_breafx_1 Arizona: Not updated live, but usually later during the overnight... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_royrok_1

Tuesday's Daily Menu: OK, The Power served a delicious appetizer, here's the main course -- All times Central except for Arizona Rookie; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: RHP Wes Obermueller on three days' rest at Salt Lake (Angels), 7:40 PM pre-game, 8:00 gametime Audio link: www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/ Huntsville: RHP Dennis Sarfate at home vs. Mobile (Padres), 6:50 PM pre-game, 7:05 gametime Audio link: www.espn1450.com/ If that link is down for bandwidth, use: specs.eyecentric.com/pres...opup.shtml Brevard County: TBD at home vs. Jupiter (Marlins), 6:00 PM Audio link (opponent's): www.jupiterhammerheads.com/ Helena: Idle Arizona: TBD at the rookie Royals' complex, 7:00 PM local time; never any web audio for Arizona Rookie ball...