Jim Goulart

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I am hoping that they will get a taste of Huntsville this year...just to see if their A+ numbers were influenced environmentally...like a reverse High Desert. Keep in mind Ty Taubenheim is now in Huntsville...

Final: Helena 9, Great Falls (White Sox) 0 Link while active, text follows: www.helenair.com/articles...805_01.txt Brewers blast five homers to topple White Sox By KEVIN SHIVELY - IR Sports Writer You might feel left out if you're one of the Helena Brewers who didn't hit a home run Thursday night. If you do, its because you saw base-wraps from five of your teammates on the way to a 9-0 shutout of Great Falls. The win ended a six game series between the Helena club and the White Sox, with the Brewers winning four of six. "We're been without a few of our starters this last week," said Helena skipper Ed Sedar, who had three players move up recently. "So we've been looking at a lot of movement in the field. Today we had several players make it known that they want to be starters." Catcher Brad Wilcutt made that assertion in more ways than one. Willcutt was 2-for-3 in the game with a double and a three-run homer to jump start Helena's scoring. "Willcutt looked good at the plate and behind it," said Sedar. "He called the shutout. Anytime a pitching staff does that well, the catcher has something to do with it." The Helena pitching had a worth-mentioning day as well. Derek Miller started the game and retired the first fifteen batters he faced. Miller didn't allow a single baserunner in the first five innings, and when he finally gave up a hit in the sixth, the Helena defense turned a double play to sit him down. The Helena ace collected his first win and definitely drew some attention, throwing only 55 pitches through five. Miller struck out six in his six-inning stint on the mound. "Our pitching was outstanding tonight," said Sedar. "All three guys looked great." Wilfrido Laureano and Luis Bernal joined Miller on the mound, and the trio only allowed a combined five hits. After Willcutt's three-run job in the third, leadoff batter Darren Ford hit an inside-the-park home run off the centerfield wall. Centerfielder Evan Tartaglia just missed the catch at the wall, and by the time he could recover the ball, the speedy Ford was almost to third. Kenny Holmberg hit a solo shot in the fourth, and Charlie Fermaint and Angel Salome had back-to-back knocks in the sixth. The Brewers, who lead the Pioneer League with a 13-3 record will face off against the Billings Mustangs (10-6) in Billings tonight at 7:05 p.m (8:05 Central). Helena Box Score: Six more walks drawn in addition to all the slugging; Charlie Fermaint on base three of four plate appearances; nearly all of the position players with OPS above .900 and showing little sign of slowing down -- even in the Big Sky air, that's impressive; draft-and-follow LHP Derek Miller could be bumped to West Virginia or even Brevard County soon -- the University of Vermont and Tommy John surgery grad will be 24 in November... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_helrok_1 Helena Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_helrok_1

Final: Hagerstown (Mets) 7, West Virginia 1, 6.5 innings, rain-shortened Put it this way -- Ryan Braun and the Helena reinforcements didn't arrive in time to save the Power, at least lineup-wise, anyway... West Virginia Site Game Summary: POWER LOSE TO SUNS IN RAIN-SHORTENED GAMEHagerstown, MD ? The Hagerstown Suns scored in every inning except for two on Thursday night in a rain-shortened contest and went on to beat the Power in seven innings by the final of 7-1. The rain came after the top of the seventh inning making the field unplayable which prevented the teams from completing the game. Grant Psomas started the scoring in the bottom of the first inning when he hit a two-run homer to give the Suns an early lead. Hagerstown added to that lead in the bottom of the third inning when Carlos Gomez hit a solo shot to put the Suns on top 3-0. Russ Triplett hit a run scoring single in the bottom of the fourth inning and two batters later Carlos Gomez drove in two runs on a single to give the Suns a 6-0 lead. In the bottom of the fifth inning Jim Burt added to the Hagerstown lead with an RBI base hit making it 7-0 Suns. The Power scored their only run of the game on Josh Brady?s sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh inning. Mike Devaney (5-1) earned the victory, and Greg Kloosterman (3-12) obtained the loss. The Power are 5-9 in the second half after the loss and the Suns move to 4-10 with the win. The Power will continue the four game series with the Suns in Hagerstown on Friday night. The Power will throw one of their newcomers, RHP Eric Thomas (0-0, 0.00) and the Suns will throw RHP Gabriel Hernandez (6-1, 2.57). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM (6:05 Central). West Virginia Box Score: The Power squeezed three errors and a passed ball into six innings of defense; outfielder Adam Mannon was prepared to pitch had the game not been called by rain, apparently... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hagafx_1 West Virginia Game Log: Even when he earned an out, LHP Greg Kloosterman allowed a hit -- one of those baserunners hit by batted ball plays... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hagafx_1

Final: Brevard County 5, Clearwater (Phillies) 1 This game took place in a black hole -- the Threshers' coverage between audio, team site, and newspaper, is weaker than that of the Manatees, if you can believe that... Brevard County Box Score: Tim Dillard -- what can you say, wow; four more Manatees with multiple-hit efforts -- on paper, the lineup is underwhelming, but let's face it, it's not just pitching and defense that's got them in first place this second half... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_clrafx_1 Brevard County Game Log: With one run in, Brevard had the bases loaded and none out in the first and failed to add on; Dillard worked his way out of a one-out, bases loaded jam in the 6th; two Brian Wolfe walks made things mildly interesting in the 9th... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_clrafx_1 RHP Tim Dillard season-to-date statistics: The lack of strikeouts may catch up to him outside of Florida's humid air, but we can't remember the last time the kid had a non-quality start -- check out the other ratios... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...pid=457422

From Mark McCarter at the Huntsville Times: Stars RHP Jerome Gamble, at times overpowering in 12 relief appearances, will come off the disabled list this weekend at some point. Manny Parra (shoulder) and Dennis Sarfate (blister) are going onto the disabled list to make room for Ty Taubenheim and Gamble. We'll probably see Dennis back in a week or two -- considering his workhorse background, this may be a nice opportunity to rest up a bit...

Final: Birmingham (White Sox) 19, Huntsville 15 Huntsville Site Game Summary: A Wild, Memorable Night Ends in Barons VictoryCasey Rogowski hit a home run, singled three times and drove in six runs and Josh Fields? two-run home run capped off a six-run eighth-inning rally that carried Birmingham to a wild 19-15 win over Huntsville Thursday night in the final game of a four-game set at Joe Davis Stadium. The Barons took three out of four to improve to 11-4 in the second half, while the Stars dropped to 8-8 and into third place, one game behind Carolina, which defeated Chattanooga earlier in the night. The three previous games in the set had been decided by a total of four runs and the two teams had combined to score only 16 times. Khalid Ballouli opened the eighth inning on the hill for the Stars and was taken out with one out and the bases loaded and replaced by Andy Pratt, who was making his first appearance with Huntsville after being optioned from triple-A Nashville. The veteran left-hander walked pinch-hitter Andy Gonzalez to force in Darren Blakely to tie the game at 14. Chris Young drew another bases loaded walk to push pinch-runner Cipriano Garcia across with the go-ahead run. Rogowski followed with a two-run single to finish off his night and Fields then blasted a two-run shot to straight away center field to make it 19-14 Barons. It was the 11th home run of the season for Fields, the reigning Southern League Player of the Week. Ballouli suffered the loss to fall to 3-7 on the season and 1-3 as a reliever, while Ryan Meaux picked up the win to improve to 4-1 by recording five outs and not allowing a run. Enrique Cruz hit the first pitch of the bottom of the ninth from Dwayne Pollok for a home run, his second in as many nights and 12th of the season, to trim the lead to 19-15. Brandon Gemoll followed with a single for the 41st hit of the game to establish a single game Stars and opponent record for combined hits in a game, breaking the previous mark of 40 set by Huntsville at Charlotte on August 4, 1989. Kennard Bibbs walked with two outs but the game ended when Darren Blakely made a fine running catch on a drive to left field by Tony Gwynn, Jr. Huntsville tallied seven runs in the third inning to move out to an 11-6 lead and the home team led 13-9 before Rogowski and Ryan Sweeney delivered two-run singles in the seventh to tie the game. Nelson Castro doubled with one out in the home seventh, stole second and scored on a base hit by Jeff Winchester to put the Stars back on top 14-13. Winchester and Gemoll each finished with four hits to join Nelson Cruz and Tony Zuniga as the only Stars hitters to total four hits in a game this season. Gemoll knocked in five runs with a two-run first inning single and a three-run triple in the seven-run third inning rally. Callix Crabbe singled three times, scored twice, walked twice and knocked in two runs, while Bibbs collected two hits and scored twice. The Stars set season standards for runs and hits in a game and played in the second highest scoring game in league history, falling one run short of the 35 scored in an 18-17 win by Orlando over Huntsville on April 17, 1988. Blakely totaled three hits, three runs and three runs batted in and Chris Stewart finished a triple shy of hitting for the cycle, knocking in three runs and scoring twice. Every starting position player for the Barons had at least one hit and scored at least one run. The Stars open a four-game series at Mississippi Friday night with southpaw Dana Eveland taking the mound against Braves left-hander Matt Coenen. 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. Huntsville Box Score: If LHP Ryan Costello is hurting, he needs to speak up -- in his last three starts, he's managed one scoreless inning; the only error of the game hurt -- Enrique Cruz's 25th (!) let to three unearned runs in the Birmingham 7th... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1 Huntsville Game Log: Here's your manwich-sized game log -- digest carefully... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1

Link while active, text follows: www.nashvillecitypaper.co...s_id=42723 Branyan enjoys brief trip home By Terry McCormick, tmccormick@nashvillecitypaper.com When the Milwaukee Brewers sent third baseman Russell Branyan to Nashville two weeks ago for a rehab assignment from a broken left middle finger, they sent him to a familiar spot. Branyan had never been a Sound before, but last August he, his wife Jill and their young daughter Kylie relocated to Franklin. Other than being a Southern boy who likes to hunt and fish and enjoying country music enough to visit the Grand Ole Opry, Branyan has no real ties to the Nashville area, other than it was a good fit for him and his family. ?I?m originally from Georgia, and my wife is from Cleveland, Ohio,? Branyan explained. ?She lived in Atlanta before we got married. She liked the South, and we just talked about moving to a nice neutral area between Georgia and Ohio. I?ve got family in the area in Chattanooga and Asheville, N.C., and for her family, it?s an easy flight to Nashville, so they come down to visit a lot.? After joining the Sounds on June 27, Branyan played in six games before being called back up by the Brewers Monday. But coming back to Nashville wasn?t quite the homecoming one might have expected for Branyan, whose wife and family are currently in Cleveland to be near his in-laws. So much for getting the chance to sleep in his own bed for a few nights. ?We bought a place in Ohio, and we leased our house out before we went to spring training,? Branyan said. ?We?re either going to either look for another place down in Nashville, or keep what we?ve got in Cleveland for this upcoming offseason.? That might not be the only decision the 29-year-old Branyan will have to make this offseason. He is scheduled to be a free agent at the end of the 2005 season. Branyan, currently hitting .262 with six homers and 19 RBI for the Brewers in 103 at-bats, has always been a big left-handed hitter who has put up good power numbers in a limited amount of plate appearances over the years. He had 16 homers for Cleveland in just 193 at-bats in 2000, while hitting .238 and had 20 home runs the following year in 315 at-bats for the Indians. He followed that with a career-high 24 homers in 378 at-bats in 2003, splitting the year between the Tribe and the Cincinnati Reds. Last season, after opening the year back in Triple-A with the Atlanta Braves organization, the Brewers offered Branyan a return trip to the majors. And while he longs for the chance to play every day, he realizes too that simply being a big leaguer is plenty rewarding. ?I wish I could have gotten [a chance to play regularly] when I was 22 or 23,? Branyan said. ?I wish it would happen. It hasn?t happened yet. I get in there against the righties for three or four games a week and get 300 at-bats or so. There is a big plus in facing lefties as well as righties. They keep you locked in. They keep you seeing the ball good. They kind of work me out of slumps. If I could face a lefty here and there, it would keep me in line to go after righties. I haven?t been given that opportunity yet. ?You can?t argue when you?re in the big leagues and getting the opportunity to help out a ballclub, whether it?s one game a week or seven.? And though he hopes his in-season address will stay in Milwaukee, his off-season locale of whether to stay in Franklin or endure the winters in Cleveland to be closer to his wife?s family remains a bit undecided. ?I?ve spent my whole life in the South. ?We?re either going to stay here or go to Cleveland a little bit,? Branyan said.

Final: New Orleans (Nationals) 3, Nashville 2 Nashville out of Louisiana just in time -- the Zephyrs have had to postpone their entire upcoming weekend series against Iowa because of the threat of Hurricane Dennis... Nashville Site Game Summary: Zephyrs Avoid Sweep, Defeat Sounds In Last ABMETAIRIE, La. ? Former Sounds outfielder J.J. Davis belted a game-tying homer to key a two-run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning as the New Orleans Zephyrs scored a 3-2, last at-bat victory over the Nashville Sounds on Thursday evening in the finale of a four-game series at Zephyr Field. With the loss, Nashville (49-39) failed at its attempt to become the Pacific Coast League?s first 50-game winner and saw its lead over Memphis in the PCL American Conference Northern Division reduced to 3 ½ games. Nashville starter Jeff Housman turned in his best outing of the season, allowing only one run on three hits with no walks and three strikeouts in a season-high seven innings, but took a hard-luck no-decision following Davis? ninth-inning heroics. Trailing 2-1 in the last of the ninth, Davis tied the contest with a leadoff solo homer to left off Nashville reliever Jose Capellan, the first run allowed by the fireballer in 14.0 relief innings. The blast was Davis? 12th of the year. Zephyrs leadoff hitter Brandon Watson followed with a double to right-center and Brendan Harris was intentionally walked before Melo sacrificed both runners up a base. After issuing an intentional walk to Short to load the bases, Capellan hit shortstop J.J. Labandeira with a pitch to force home the winning run. The Z's late rally gave Nashville, which has posted 17 wins in the final inning this season, a taste of its own medicine. It was the seventh last AB loss for the Sounds. Chris Barnwell belted his first home run of the year to spot the Sounds a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. His one-out solo shot to left off New Orleans starter Matt White ended Nashville?s longest home run drought (142 at-bats). The Zephyrs quickly tied the contest with a two-out rally in the bottom of the frame. With two down, Juan Melo doubled to right then scored on Rick Short?s RBI single to make it a 1-1 game. Both offenses remained dormant over the next five innings until Nashville took a 2-1 lead in the top of the seventh. Prince Fielder led off the frame with a double to left, his first hit in 10 at-bats since rejoining the Sounds. Nelson Cruz followed with an RBI double to right-center to extend his hitting streak to eight games and give the visitors the lead. Cruz appeared to reach third safely on the play but was ruled out by umpire Jason Kiser, a highly-disputed call that cost Nashville a valuable run when Tony Zuniga produced a fly ball to right that would have scored Cruz. All-Star outfielder Corey Hart had his career-best 14-game hitting streak come to an end with an 0-for-3 evening that included a walk and three strikeouts. Zephyrs reliever Bill Bray (1-0) picked up his first victory with a scoreless inning of relief. Capellan (5-3) was saddled with the loss after allowing two runs while retiring only one batter in the decisive ninth. The Sounds continue their road trip on Friday when they travel to Round Rock, Texas for their first-ever visit to The Dell Diamond, home of the Round Rock Express (AAA-Astros). The franchise joined the PCL in 2005 after moving from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Right-hander Rick Helling (6-3, 4.58) takes the hill for Nashville in the 7:05 p.m. CT series opener on Friday. Round Rock will counter with right-hander Brandon Duckworth (3-2, 4.38). Nashville Box Score: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nozaaa_1 Nashville Game Log: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nozaaa_1

Instructors like Skaalen essential to team's prospects Contact Mark McCarter at markcolumn@aol.com Huntsville Times Callix Crabbe is in the batting cage. The noise you hear is the humming-clicking of the hard-drive inside Jim Skaalen's head. Something about the stance doesn't look right. Skaalen excuses himself from a conversation and walks to a perch closer to the cage. Quietly, unassumingly, he has a few words for Crabbe, the Stars' second baseman. "There's not a lot of things I do well in life,'' says Skaalen, the Milwaukee Brewers' minor league hitting coordinator. "But one of the things is I have a memory for players' names - only players' names, I'll forget anybody else's name in a second - and I can remember their stance. "I can't balance a checkbook. Most of the things that life entails,'' he says, "I stink at.'' Remember a name. Remember a stance. Be a genius about the subtle mechanics of a swing or a pitch or other intricacies of the game. Read an airport departure sign. Pack efficiently. You, too, can be a roving instructor in minor league baseball. Well, with all that - and an inordinate amount of patience, communication skills, experience, a body immune to time-zone changes and no symptoms of claustrophobia, considering you wind up sharing dressing quarters with three or four others in tiny minor league clubhouses. Skaalen, the old hand in the bunch in terms of Milwaukee tenure, is joined here this week by Jim Rooney, Milwaukee's pitching coordinator, and Noberto "Paco'' Martin, the roving infield instructor. At various times, Ed Sedar, the field coordinator and catching instructor Charlie Greene have visited town, along with Tim Hewes, the employee assistance program coordinator. Sedar, an affable sort who goes through baseball like Norm walking into "Cheers,'' is currently managing the Helena team, in the short-season Pioneer League. "The best of both worlds,'' he says. Advise and go Theirs is a job with a simple goal, and a tough realization as they visit each team on Milwaukee's minor league ladder throughout the course of a summer. "They (players) all have a need, and you try to make them get better. But,'' says Martin, "you know it's not going to happen for everybody.'' Roving instructors are baseball's version of the consultant. "Part scout, part administrator, part coach,'' Rooney says. They travel. They assist. They add their expertise. And they're gone. "The value of a rover is you get a guy in his field of expertise,'' says Reid Nichols, the Brewers' director of player development. "Your coaches and managers are good, but he comes in and gives you an outside view. Somebody's not there every day that can see changes happening, and addresses that.'' For each of the players, either filed away in notebooks or crannies of their brains, the rovers have a blueprint of sorts to build these young prospects into major leaguers. "We have a game plan and a direction of what we want to accomplish with each individual, and we work on it,'' Rooney says. "It's a 'how's-it-going?' each step of the way.'' "I'm not here for the quick-fix,'' Skaalen says. "I'm just here to help out, make some suggestions.'' Half the time, the rovers are more shrinks than anything. There is almost a sense of obligation in these men, to hand things down like some next-generation Yoda what they had been taught. "I was talking to (Stars pitcher Alec) Zumwalt, and telling him I had been around baseball a long time,'' Rooney says, "and learned from Hall of Famers like Sandy Koufax and Robin Roberts, around (pitchers) like Jim Palmer and Mike Flanagan and Scott Flanagan and Sparky Lyle. This gives me an opportunity to pass along knowledge. I've been pretty lucky. I've been blessed.'' Road rules The rovers endure a screwy lifestyle. Typically, they're on the road two to three weeks, then get to head back to their homes for a week of normalcy. Then, back on the road. Charleston, W. Va. for four days. Down to Brevard County for another four. The early flight out of Orlando to Huntsville. "The 4 a.m. wakeup calls on getaway days, it's easy to complain,'' Skaalen says. "But I try not to. I've got one of the best jobs in baseball.'' Skaalen - he answers to the nickname "Ski'' - was once a player in this league, a semi-prospect in the Orioles system in the late 1970s, before he decided to try a different path. In college, he had worked baseball clinics and "really enjoyed the feedback and watching the little kids get better.'' He landed a job in the Houston system, then has since had a quarter-century a typical baseball life, fluttering along on a career path as unpredictable and maddening and up-and-down as a knuckleball. The San Diego system, then the Rangers, then back to San Diego, his hometown, and where he served as the director of the Padres' player development. He came to the Brewers' in 2000. "This,'' Skaalen says, "is the most enjoyable thing that I've done. "I've enjoyed aspects of everything I've done, but (this is the best) to have the opportunity to hopefully have an impact on all the players, and to get to travel and see them.'' A chance, sort of, to still watch the little kids get better. "But,'' he says, throwing a glance of mock complaint at Stars manager Don Money, "I still have to dress in the bathroom here.''

Link while active, text follows: www.al.com/stars/huntsvil...amp;coll=1 Nelson's shot gives Stars boost By MARK McCARTER Times Sports Staff markcolumn@aol.com 0-for-37, turned around. Then turned into "oh, no." Then turned, on one quick swing of the bat by Brad Nelson, into "oh, wow!'' Nelson, a Southern League All-Star last season who was demoted last week from Triple-A, hit a one-out, opposite-field walk-off homer in the ninth, giving the Stars a dramatic 6-5 win over Birmingham on an otherwise dreary, drizzly evening. When Nelson made contact, he looked up to follow the ball for an instant as he began to trot to first. "I saw the left fielder going back, and I thought 'No way,' '' Nelson said. It was a no way kind of night for the Stars. No way they could come back from an early deficit, according to history. No way they could lose a lead. No way they could come back. No way, the stats say, Nelson is a mere Double-A hitter. He has hit safely in six of his seven games and reached base on 19 of 29 plate appearances. Nelson is batting .500, with two homers and seven RBIs. "If I'm going to get back (to Triple-A), I've got to do the job here,'' Nelson said, standing in the ramp leading to the Stars' clubhouse, still receiving congratulations from his teammates. The Stars, who had mustered only one run in the two previous games against Birmingham in this series, were 0-for-37 this year when trailing after seven innings. But they erased a 3-1 Birmingham edge in the eighth on homers by Vinny Rottino and Enrique Cruz, and a clutch two-out Nelson Castro single, doubling in a hustling Brandon Gemoll, who had stretched a single into a double. Enter All-Star reliever Mitch Stetter, normally as safe as Fort Knox. He gave up two mild singles, then got two outs. Enter Birmingham's Ryan Sweeney, who had previously struck out three times. He slammed a two-run, two-out ninth-inning double off the fence in right field for the 5-4 lead. No matter. The Stars had one rally remaining, started when Guilder Rodriguez singled with one out in the ninth, then ended with Nelson's exclamation point. David Bradley, the Swiss army knife of the Huntsville pitching staff, had seemingly toiled in anonymity until two days ago, when somebody noticed enough to add him to the Southern League all-star team. Alas, this, his fourth start, was the most troublesome. He gave away a run in the first with a walk and error, then gave up a third-inning homer to Chris Young. He got out of further damage when right fielder Kennard Bibbs threw out Darren Blakely at home, where there was a nifty, clean, old-school, runner-maim-the-catcher collision. John Vanden Berg may have lost the collision, but won the battle when he held onto the throw for the out.

Not to be lost among this flurry of activity is the release of Ryan Miller, 9th rounder, 2000. Sixth year in the system, as high as # 35 in the Power 50 -- our best to him as injuries derailed his hopes late in his Brewer career. Ryan Miller Power 50 History: www.brewerfan.net/ViewPow...layerId=21

Keep in mind that you can click on the word "Transactions" from the Home Page section or the Menu Bar above and be brought to a summary screen from which you can sort by Transaction type, go back as far as you wish, etc. All the recent activity has been logged for your review.

Nashville Media Notes for Thursday: www.nashvillesounds.com/pdf/notes.pdf

Nashville Press Release (Andy Pratt to Huntsville): The Milwaukee Brewers have swapped out left-handed relievers at their top two minor league affiliates, promoting Southern League All-Star southpaw Mitch Stetter to Nashville and reassigning Sounds hurler Andy Pratt to Double-A Huntsville. Stetter, 24, leads the Stars with eight saves this season in his team-best 32 appearances, all in relief. The left-hander has compiled a 2-3 record and 2.61 ERA (15er/51.2ip) on the season, his first above the Class A level. He held the opposition to a .241 batting average and struck out at least one batter in 27 of his 32 outings while with Huntsville. The Brewers? 16th-round selection in the 2003 draft, Stetter participated in the 2004 Arizona Fall League, where he posted a 3-0 record and 5.06 ERA in 12 relief outings for Scottsdale. Stetter, who was named to the Southern League mid-season All-Star team last week, will join the Sounds in New Orleans and will be in uniform for their 7:05 p.m. CT series finale with the Zephyrs this evening. He will make his career Triple-A debut with his first appearance. Pratt, 25, has spent the entire 2005 campaign with the Sounds and posted a 4-4 record and 8.35 ERA (47er/50.2ip) in 23 appearances (eight starts). He opened the season as a member of the Nashville starting rotation and went 1-4 with an 8.81 ERA (31er/31.2ip) over his eight starts before being transferred to the bullpen in mid-May. Pratt was tagged for eight earned runs over his final four outings for the Sounds (21.60 ERA in 3.1 IP) after surrendering no earned runs in his previous six relief appearances (7.2 IP). The southpaw is slated to join Huntsville on Friday.

Injury Updates on the Two West Virginia DL Assignments: Dave Johnson, a reliable option out of the bullpen before being placed on the DL with a sore right lat, was 3-2 with a save and a 3.71 ERA in 15 appearances. Tony Festa, the third baseman, was hitting .129 with 5 RBIs over 19 games with the Power before he was sent to the DL with a right wrist contusion.

Link while active, text follows: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...;fext=.jsp Send Mark an email: mrogersmlb@yahoo.com Hey everyone, The first half is over with. It's kind of weird, looking back, thinking I've completed the first half of my first full year of professional ball. It's gone by real quick. Last year, I was one of those new guys just starting out. Now there's a whole other group of new draftees coming in. It just shows how quickly things change, that there's always someone coming in to push you for your spot. You don't realize how important the All-Star break is until you get to it. I was ready for it. Last year, I had just been drafted, played a couple of months then went to instructs, so it wasn't a big deal. This year, I'll have the whole season, then go to instructs, so that's a long year. I never could've fathomed it until I experienced it, in terms of the time you put in. You get three days of an All-Star break -- it doesn't seem like much -- but when it's mixed in the middle of 70 straight, it sure does feel great. Being able to reset your record for the second half bodes well for a team like ours. We've been playing a lot better. We know we have a good chance in the second half. At 0-0, you have the chance to re-prove yourself and start out fresh. We dug such a big hole for ourselves at the start, we just couldn't get out of it. Personally, my first half progressively got better, but I still didn't get a win. As much as you're told not to worry about wins and losses, you want your team to win when you're on the mound. Hopefully, I'll be able to take care of that soon. Work ethic wise, I just want to keep going out and giving 100 percent effort every time, and not have that change as the season progresses. There are some days, if you've had a couple of extra-inning games, when you show up to the park the next day, you feel like you never went home. It's hard to re-motivate yoyurself, but you have to remind yourself that this is a job, that someone above you is paying you to play and you owe it to them and yourself to go out there and give a full effort. Speaking of effort, thanks for yours in sending all the great emails. I know breaks for you are few and far between, so I was just wondering what were your plans were for the All-Star break? -- Jaime, Charleston, WV Jaime, as short as it was, I went to Arizona. I was looking at a new housing development there. I'm going to be purchasing a house out there, since that's where our Spring Training is every year. I spent Monday in Arizona and I flew back Tuesday. It gave me the chance to get some stuff done and not think about baseball. My intention was to separate myself from the game and refocus for the second half. I am a college pitcher at Saint Joseph's University and I am playing in the Valley League this summer. I have been struggling my last few outings. What do you do when you have a bad outing or two where you just dont feel like you have good stuff? What do you do to get that feeling back again? -- Jason Jason, what I've done recently -- everyone has those times when you feel uncomfortable -- if you can look at film from when you did feel good, that helps. If you have a catcher who knows how you pitch, it helps if he can point something out. But most importantly, throwing in between starts can be very helpful, especially right before your next start. It reinforces everything I'm trying to do out there. I throw the day before I start, just to get a feel for your mechanics so you feel more comfortable. I may throw 15 pitches at 50 percent, but it's more for mechanical purposes. I was just wondering who your boyhood hero was growing up in Maine. Was it Roger Clemens? You have been compared to Clemens by some of the media. -- Micah, Texas Micah, I grew up watching Clemens a lot, not only because of his success on the field and his career with the Red Sox, but because of the work ethic you've read about so much. He also seemed comfortable with the media, dealing with that aspect of things. And his work ethic, it's guys like that you can respect and you want to model yourself after.

Pacific Coast League (AAA) - American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Nashville 49 38 .563 - 25-19 24-19 W4[/b] Memphis 44 42 .512 4.5 23-19 21-23 W3 Iowa 40 47 .460 9.0 25-22 15-25 L1 Omaha 39 48 .448 10.0 14-22 25-26 L3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Carolina 7 6 .538 - 5-5 2-1 L1 [b]Huntsville 8 7 .533 - 3-4 5-3 W1[/b] West Tenn 8 7 .533 - 4-4 4-3 L1 Chattanooga 7 8 .467 1.0 3-5 4-3 W1 Tennessee 6 9 .400 2.0 2-5 4-4 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Brevard County 10 4 .714 - 3-1 7-3 W1[/b] Palm Beach 9 6 .600 1.5 5-3 4-3 W2 St. Lucie 8 6 .571 2.0 3-4 5-2 W2 Vero Beach 8 6 .571 2.0 3-4 5-2 W1 Jupiter 6 8 .429 4.0 5-2 1-6 W1 Daytona 4 11 .267 6.5 3-6 1-5 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Delmarva 10 3 .769 - 7-0 3-3 W8 Hickory 9 4 .692 1.0 4-2 5-2 W1 Lakewood 8 5 .615 2.0 5-3 3-2 L2 Lake County 7 6 .538 3.0 4-3 3-3 W2 Greensboro 6 7 .462 4.0 1-2 5-5 W1 Lexington 6 7 .462 4.0 4-4 2-3 W1 [b]West Virginia 5 8 .385 5.0 4-1 1-7 L1[/b] Hagerstown 3 10 .231 7.0 1-3 2-7 L6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pioneer League (R+) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Helena 12 3 .800 - 4-1 8-2 W1[/b] Billings 9 6 .600 3.0 2-4 7-2 L2 Great Falls 5 10 .333 7.0 4-6 1-4 L1 Missoula 4 11 .267 8.0 1-8 3-3 W2Arizona League Standings: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...mp;lid=121 Stats and League Leaders, USA Today (or go to MILB.com): www.usatoday.com/sports/b.../index.htm

Nashville Site Doubleheader Summary: Cruz Stars As Sounds Sweep Twinbill From Z'sMETAIRIE, La. ? The first-place Nashville Sounds recorded their first doubleheader sweep in nearly two years on Wednesday evening, defeating the New Orleans Zephyrs, 5-3 and 9-6, in a pair of seven-inning contests at Zephyr Field. With the wins, Nashville (49-38) maintained its 4½ game lead in the PCL American Conference Northern Division and improved to a season-best 11 games over .500. The twinbill sweep was the Sounds? first since taking two from Albuquerque on July 31, 2003 at Greer Stadium. The never-say-die Sounds capped off the evening with their 17th last at-bat victory of the season, recovering from a 6-1 deficit to post a 9-6 win over the Zephyrs with three seventh-inning runs in the nightcap. Sounds outfielder Nelson Cruz was the star of the evening, finishing a combined 4-for-6 with four runs scored, two stolen bases, one RBI, and a homer over the course of the two contests to extend his hitting streak to seven games (each of his contests played with Nashville). All-Star outfielder Corey Hart extended his career-best hitting streak to 14 games with a 1-for-3 effort in the opener that included his team-leading 27th double of the season. He did not play in the nightcap. Cruz put the Sounds on the board in the opener by belting his third home run for Nashville and 19th overall tater of the season, a second-inning solo shot off New Orleans starter Brian Powell. Sounds shortstop Steve Scarborough, who finished 2-for-3 in the opener, added his ninth home run of the year later in the frame, a two-run shot to up the advantage to 3-0. The recently-improved Nashville defense made only one error in the opener but it was a costly mistake. Third baseman Tony Zuniga committed a two-out throwing error in the fourth that allowed the Zephyrs to plate a pair of runs and pull within 4-2. New Orleans made it a one-run game in the fifth when Brandon Watson scored on a Tyrell Godwin groundout. Corey D. Hart recorded his first Nashville hit in the sixth, slapping a pinch-hit single, before scoring the final run of the contest on Warren Morris? RBI single, which snapped a season-high 18 at-bat hitless funk for the second baseman. Gary Glover (2-0) continued his string of solid performances for the Sounds, picking up the victory after allowing three runs (only one earned) over five innings of work. Kane Davis matched his season high with five strikeouts during his 1 2/3 scoreless frames of relief before Jeff Bennett came on to record the final out to earn his team-leading tenth save of the year. Things got off to a sloppy start in the nightcap for Nashville as Sounds fielders committed a trio of errors in the bottom of the first inning, resulting in two unearned runs for New Orleans. Nashville got an unearned run of their own in the second when Cruz, who had singled, scored on Mike Rivera?s sacrifice fly to make the score 2-1. Cruz continued his solid evening with an outstanding diving catch of a Josh Labandeira liner in right in the bottom of the second, robbing the Zephyrs shortstop of a base hit. New Orleans infielder Rick Short increased the home club?s advantage to 3-1 with an RBI single in the third before ex-Sound Kevin Orie padded the cushion with a three-run homer off Sounds starter Ben Hendrickson. The blast, which put the Z?s ahead by a 6-1 count, was the veteran?s 13th home run of the season and first in a New Orleans uniform. The Sounds rallied to make a game of it in the top of the fourth, plating four runs in the frame to reduce the lead to one. Morris cut the lead to 6-3 with a pinch-hit, two-run single. With the knock, the infielder improved his average to .500 (10-for-20) with runners in scoring position this season. New Orleans starter Chad Durbin followed with a wild pitch that allowed Zuniga to score and pulled the Sounds within a pair. Dave Krynzel greeted Zephyrs reliever Travis Hughes with an RBI single through the right side to plate Morris. Cruz was a one-man show in tying the contest in the fifth. After leading off by drawing a walk from Hughes, he stole second then stole third and came home on a Hughes throwing error to tie the score and make it a new ballgame at 6-6. Cruz opened the seventh with a single off Zephyrs reliever C.J. Nitkowski and moved to third on a Zuniga single to right. Rivera gave the Sounds their first lead of the nightcap when his RBI single up the middle scored Cruz to put Nashville ahead, 7-6. The Sounds plated a pair of runs later in the frame on a throwing error by Labandeira to up the lead to 9-6. Reliever Mike Adams (3-1) earned the nightcap victory with two scoreless innings of work for Nashville. Nitkowski (1-2) was tagged with the loss after allowing three runs in his lone inning of work. The southpaw has struggled against the Sounds in his career, falling to 1-5 in 13 appearances against Nashville with the defeat. The teams wrap up the four-game set with a 7:05 p.m. finale on Thursday evening at Zephyr Field. It will be a battle of southpaws as Nashville?s Jeff Housman (3-7, 5.62) takes the hill to face Matt White (3-3, 3.34) of the Zephyrs. It will be the teams? last of 16 meetings during the 2005 season.

Link while active, text follows: www.wvgazette.com/section.../200507071 Legends defeat Power 7-4 By Jay Srinivasan For the Charleston Gazette West Virginia Power shortstop Alcides Escobar casually ambled across the infield and watched the ground ball pop out of his glove. From that point on, the match popped out of the Power?s hands. Quelling a sixth-inning rally by the Power, the Lexington Legends registered a 7-4 victory in front of 3,725 fans Wednesday night at the Appalachian Power Park. Power manager Ramon Aviles blamed his bullpen for the defeat. ?We are having trouble in the bullpen,?? said Aviles. ?They are not doing a good job. I thought the pitching overall wasn?t good tonight. We are swinging the bat. We got 12 hits. We are just not hitting with men in scoring position.?? The Legends took the lead in the top of the third. Beau Torbert reached on Escobar?s error, stole second and scored on Bryan Triplett?s double. A two-run double by J.R. Towles made it 3-0. An Ole Sheldon home run to left-center field off Mark Rogers in the fourth increased the Legends? lead to 4-0. The Power cut it to 4-1 in the sixth on a Josh Brady RBI single after Grant Richardson walked and Hasan Rasheed singled to left field. With runners on first and second base, Josh Murray crushed a three-run homer to tie the score at 4. Brian Montalbo replaced an ineffective Rogers after 4 2/3 innings. But he fared no better. After throwing a wild pitch to Towles in the seventh, almost starting a fight, Montalbo gave up two more hits, allowing the Legends to go ahead 5-4. In the eighth, second baseman Clint McGill hit a two-out triple to right field to make it a 6-4 Legends lead, chasing Montalbo in the process. A triple by Towles and a sacrifice fly by Kevin Vital off reliever Justin Barnes in the ninth put the Legends on top 7-4. The Power responded with three more hits in the seventh and eighth innings, but failed to capitalize. Legends reliever Ryan Thompson then pitched a perfect ninth for the save. Lexington?s Andrew Alvarado (2-0) threw 1 2/3 innings of relief, allowing one earned run for the victory, while Thompson pitched 2 1/3 innings, striking out three and allowing just one hit. For the Power, Montalbo (1-5) took the loss, permitting three hits and two earned runs while fanning one. The Power next plays a two-game road series against Hagerstown (Md.) starting at 7:05 tonight (6:05 Central). Notes: The Power made a few changes to its roster Wednesday. Third baseman Ryan Braun, the Brewers? first-round draft pick in June, was added along with pitchers Eric Thomas and Steve Hammond. All three players moved up from Helena (Mont.) of the rookie Pioneer League. Braun, a standout from the University of Miami (Fla.), was hitting .324 with two homers and 10 RBIs in nine games. The right-hander Hammond posted a 1-0 record with a 1.06 ERA and struck out 23 in 17 innings and southpaw Thomas had an 0-1 mark with a 2.53 ERA while holding opponents to a .167 batting average. Right-hander Forrest Martin was promoted to high Class A Brevard County (Fla.) while righty Dave Johnson and third baseman Tony Festa headed to the disabled list. Power shortstop Alcides Escobar comes down with a high throw as Lexington?s Beau Torbert slides in safely at second base. Charleston Gazette Photographer: Kenny Kemp http://www.wvgazettemail.com/images/stories/p1.jpg

As is being discussed elsewhere on the forum, this from the Helena Independent Record: Ryan Braun's stay in the Capital City was a short one. The first-round pick by the Milwaukee Brewers this season was promoted to Class A West Virginia Wednesday night. He was hitting .372 in nine games with Helena. RHP Eric Thomas (2002, 3rd round) and LHP Steve Hammond (2005, 6th round) were also promoted to West Virginia. To compensate for the promotions, shortstop Scott McKnight (2005, 28th round) and right-hand pitcher Will Inman (2005, 3rd round) were moved to Helena from the Arizona League. The Charleston Gazette explains how the Power roster will make room for the three Helena reinforcements: RHP Forrest Martin was promoted to high Class A Brevard County (Fla.) while RHP Dave Johnson and third baseman Tony Festa headed to the disabled list. As is often the case, no specifics released regarding injury specifics for minor league players at this time -- Mass Haas

Link while active, text follows: www.helenair.com/articles...705_09.txt Katin's slam lifts Brewers over Sox By TOM COTTON - IR Sports Editor It wasn't the hardest hit ball Brendan Katin has ever smacked, but it was certainly good enough for the Helena Brewers and their right fielder. Katin launched a grand-slam in the seventh inning to lift the Brewers (12-3) to a 10-8 win over Great Falls (5-10) in a Pioneer League contest. The win ended Helena's two-game losing streak and was Katin's first hit in his last six at bats. "I didn't think I got it good, but I did, thank God," the University of Miami graduate said. Katin's hit came after the Brewers had tied the game at six and he had worked the count to 3-1 against Jay Marshall. His shot hugged the leftfield line and hit the foul pole for a home run. "I had been struggling all night long and I just wanted to stay back and hit the ball up the middle," Katin said. Katin's blast was one of three home runs on the night in an offensively-charged ball game. The two teams combined for 29 hits and nine pitchers took to the mound combined. The Brewers were paced by leadoff hitter Darren Ford and No. 2 hitter Charlie Fermaint. The pair combined to go 4-for-7 in the contest. Fermaint drove in three runs. Fermaint, who played for Helena last season, drove in Ford in the first inning with a triple and came home one batter later when Angel Salome hit a ground ball to second base. The duo would both score again in the third when Fermaint launched a home run over left-center field at Kindrick Legion Field. "Ford and Fermaint have done a great job getting on base and creating things all year," said Brewers batting coach Bobby Randall. Great Falls pulled within a run, 4-3, in the third inning on a mammoth blast by Manny Rodriguez that traveled approximately 450 feet and landed on Lyndale Ave. The White Sox broke through in the sixth with a little help from the Brewers defense. Matt Sharp reached on an error and would come home one-batter later when Helena committed two errors on one play. Great Falls second baseman Rolando Acosta hit a single and Fermaint and Salome each uncorked wild throws. Acosta, Sharp and Javier Castillo each came around to score and Great Falls was up 6-4. That score held until the bottom of the seventh when Ford and Salome drove in runs to tie the game before Katin hit his home run. Randall said that the home run gave the Brewers a lift and they showed patience at the plate for the entire frame. "What we did that inning was do a great job laying off pitches," he said. Ryan Marion got his second win of the season for Helena and Matt Nachreiner got the loss for Great Falls. "I think we were well prepared for the first 12 or 13 games," Helena pitching coach Mark Littell said about his staff. "Now I think the other teams are coming up and doing their thing." The win, combined with a Missoula victory over Billings gives Helena a three-game lead in the North Division standings. The two teams will meet tonight at Kindrick-Legion field with Noe Rodriguez pitching for Great Falls and Derek Miller throwing for Helena.

There was no energy from the stands over it. About half the sparse crowd had left in the 7th with the Barons commanding a 3-1 lead. Play-by-play voice Brett Pollock made up for it though at the mike....... Yes, David Weiser, I agree -- awesome call; it was a chill-up-your-spine moment, and Brett did it justice nicely. Memo to Stars management -- contact the Sounds front office and work with them on duplicating their audio archiving of play-of-the-game calls and pre-game interviews.

Final, Game Two: Nashville 9, New Orleans (Nationals) 6 Home, road, just doesn't matter for this very successful group -- huge comeback tonight... Nashville Game Two Box Score: Nice work for Clint Weibl and Mike Adams spelling Ben Hendrickson; Nelson Cruz with a monster doubleheader... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nozaaa_2 Nashville Game Two Game Log: Sounds now 11 games over .500 -- look for the always detailed Nashville site summary in the AM... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nozaaa_2

Adam McCalvy at MLB.com: Double-A Huntsville pitchers Manny Parra and Dennis Sarfate have spent more time than they'd like of late in the training room. Parra missed a start on Tuesday because of lingering discomfort in his left shoulder, a problem that dates to last season. Parra was in Milwaukee for an MRI earlier this season but, according to player development director Reid Nichols, doctors saw only normal wear. "Every pitcher has a little wear and tear in there. We'll know more once the doctors have a chance to look at it and we can all sit down," Nichols said. "There's something minor in there. He's been able to pitch with it so far and it doesn't appear to be serious." Parra is 5-6 with a 3.96 ERA this season. He is one of the Brewers' top left-handed pitching prospects. Sarfate, who is 7-5 with a 3.62 ERA in 17 starts, left his last start after walking a hitter to open the seventh inning. "It's a first-time thing," Nichols said. "It's not serious." We've since learned that Sarfate is battling a bit of a blister issue -- Mass Haas