Jim Goulart

Sounds Site Game Summary -- link, then text: www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=1499 Late Comeback Nets Sounds 5-3 Victory Over Z'sThe Nashville Sounds continued their early-season success in recovering from deficits, scoring three unanswered runs in the bottom of the seventh inning en route to a 5-3 victory over the visiting New Orleans Zephyrs in the finale of the teams? season-opening four-game series. With the win, the Sounds improved to 3-1 on the young season. All three victories came in games in which they trailed at some point. New Orleans grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning on back-to-back one-out doubles by Jeffrey Hammonds and Matt Cepicky. The Sounds responded quickly. With one down in the bottom of the frame, Prince Fielder and Corey Hart reached on consecutive one-out singles before coming around to score on Brad Nelson?s two-run double, making it a 2-1 contest. The Zephyrs evened things with timely two-out hitting against Sounds starter Rick Helling in the top of the fifth. With Jason Bowers on first after drawing a walk, New Orleans starting pitcher Brian Powell chopped an opposite-field two-out single to right to keep the inning alive for leadoff hitter Tyrell Godwin, who ripped an RBI double into the left field corner to square the game at 2-2. The two-out timely hitting continued for the Zephyrs in the sixth, when the visitors took a 3-2 lead. Rick Short, who batted .462 (6-for-13) in the four-game set, plated Cepicky with a two-out double that landed on the right field line. Nashville took control in the bottom of the seventh with a two-out rally of its own. After Trent Durrington (2-for-2) singled between a pair of groundouts, he advanced to third on a Dan Smith wild pitch and scored on Steve Scarborough?s infield RBI single to knot the affair at 3-3. Matt Erickson followed with a pinch-hit single, his first knock of the season, to put runners on the corners for Dave Krynzel, who produced a two-run triple to right-center to put the home club ahead by a 5-3 count. Reliever Chad Paronto (2-0) earned his second victory of the year with 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief behind Helling. Jeff Bennett closed out the contest with two hitless innings to earn his first career Triple-A save and second career save overall. Smith (0-1) was tagged with the loss after allowing three runs in his lone inning of work. The Sounds continue their opening homestand on Monday evening when they welcome the Oklahoma RedHawks (AAA-Rangers) to town for the 7 p.m. opener of a four-game series. Southpaw Andy Pratt makes his season debut for Nashville and will face local fan favorite John Wasdin (0-0, 108.00). Rick Helling was the first Sounds starter to make it into the sixth inning, but he did not pick up the win. JAE S. LEE / TENNESSEAN STAFF http://tennessean.com/sports/baseball/archives/05/03/68079787.jpg

Brady's talking to himself: http://home.earthlink.net/~lureynolds/animgoat.gif

Final: Nashville 5, New Orleans (Nationals) 3 Nashville Box Score: Nice to see Jeff Bennett close it out... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1

Final: Carolina (Marlins) 3, Huntsville 0 This team is one Nelson Cruz home run from being shut out in the first four games of the season... Huntsville Box Score: If it's not the bats, the Marlins are going to have a heck of a pitching influx from the farm in about two years... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_cmcaax_1 This is depressing...

Final: Hagerstown (Mets) 6, West Virginia 0 When do the "Power-less" puns begins? For you folks who went to spring training, you did see batting practice, didn't you? Will Lewis in CF in an effort to jump-start anything with this squad... West Virginia Box Score: If it's not the bats, the Mets are going to have a heck of a pitching influx from the farm in about three years... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hagafx_1

We'll be linking as follows each day -- by clicking on the link, you'll be able to check in on the partial box scores as they build through the course of each game -- as of this post, Huntsville and West Virgina are underway: New Orleans at Nashville (2:05 Central): www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1 Huntsville at Carolina: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_cmcaax_1 Brevard County at Daytona Beach (5:05 Central): www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_dbcafx_1 West Virginia at Hagerstown: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hagafx_1

New home page article: www.brewerfan.net/ViewArt...icleId=206

At least the new stat system has this -- most easily accessed via Baseball America, click on the "Individual Stats" for any team, in nice sortable columns. So at least we can get pitcher's innings from here, if not the box scores, for now... www.baseballamerica.com/t...index.html

Sunday's Daily Menu: The offensive drought has us starving for runs -- so far, the menu is only one-star (Nashville)! For most fans, an early-evening option with the Manatees will be your main course, as the other games are up against Brewers-Cubs... All times Central; pitchers subject to change Nashville: RHP Rick Helling at home vs. New Orleans (Nationals), 1:45 PM pre-game, 2:05 gametime Audio link: www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/ Huntsville: RHP Glenn Woolard at Carolina (Marlins), 12:45 PM pre-game, 1:00 gametime Audio link: www.espn1450.com/ Brevard County: TBD at Daytona Beach (Cubs), 5:05 PM Audio link (opponent's feed): stream.netro.ca/wele West Virginia: RHP Forrest Martin at Hagerstown (Mets), 12:35 PM Audio link (opponent's feed): streaming0.ctinetworks.co...uns-wa.pls

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What a pathetic, woeful offensive performance by the Stars, Manatees, and Power in their combined 0-8 start thus far! Stars: one run, three games (a Nelson Cruz HR) -- (11-for-76, .145 average, .211 slugging) Manatees: one run, two games (a Jeff Heether HR) -- (8-for-59, .136 average, .271 slugging) Power: four runs, three games -- (12-for-90, .133 average, .211 slugging) It just can't continue, can't even come close to continuing, can it? Yikes!

Final: Hagerstown (Mets) 2, West Virginia 1 Suns' Site Game Summary: After three games of the 2005 season, the Hagerstown Suns are undefeated. For the 2nd straight night the Suns eeked out a win over the West Virginia Power by one run, 2-1. The Suns starting pitching has been the key to every game so far. This time it was RHP Jeff Landing shutting down the Power (0-3) over five scoreless innings, earing his first victory of the year. Landing, like Friday's winner Blake Eager, gave up only one hit during his start. The Suns starters have pitched 14 1/3 scoreless innings so far this year, earing them two wins and a no-decision. RHP Chuck Smith went three scoreless in relief, and RHP Carlos Muniz earned his first save by pitching a one run ninth. The Suns have given up only 12 hits and four runs through the first three games of the season. The hero at the plate once again was 3B Grant Psomas who went 3-4 with two doubles, an RBI, and a run scored. As well as playing a sparkling third base so far through three games, Psomas is 6 for 11 with two homers, two doubles, and four RBI's so far this year. Ambiorix Concepcion added two hits and scored a run in the seventh to give the Suns a 2-0 lead at the time. The Suns go for the sweep on Sunday @ 1:35 Pm (12:35 Central) at Municipal Stadium, and send RHP Jose Sanchez to the hill against West Viginia's RHP Forrest Martin. Charleston Gazette: Power still winless HAGERSTOWN, Md. ? The West Virginia Power is still seeking its first victory on the season after losing 2-1 to the Hagerstown Suns Saturday despite five gallant innings from starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo. Gallardo, a Fort Worth, Texas, native and a second-round draft pick in 2004, gave up four hits and just one run, yet received the loss. He yielded an RBI double to Derran Watts in the second inning. The Suns (3-0) took a 2-0 lead off in the seventh when Grant Psomas hit an RBI single. The Power was on the verge of being shut out, then on the verge of a rally in the ninth inning. With two outs, Grant Richardson smacked an RBI single, scoring Hernan Iribarren to make it 2-1. But Guilder Rodriguez, pinch running for Richardson, was picked off at first base to end the game. The Power (0-3) tries to avert a sweep by the Suns today. After that, West Virginia travels to Lexington, Ky., for a three-game series before coming home Thursday for the grand opening at Appalachian Power Park, also against Hagerstown. West Virginia Box Score: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hagafx_1

Scott Brown of Florida Today: 'Tees manager a good fit. He may not have the playing credentials as the man who preceded him (Tim Raines) as manager of the Brevard County Manatees. But John Tamargo does have his share of big-league experience. He played parts of five seasons in the major leagues from 1976-80 and spent the previous six years as a coach for the Houston Astros, including three as the team's bench coach. Tamargo stayed with the Astros after manager Jimy Williams got fired during the 2004 season. But the Tampa resident found himself looking for work when Phil Garner, who took over for Williams, decided to go with another bench coach. Tamargo is back in the Florida State League for the fourth time as a manager, and the chance to stay close to home played a significant factor in his taking the job. Ultimately, he would like to get back to the big leagues. "I think everybody that puts the uniform on and manages in the minor leagues and coaches in the big leagues aspires to manage in the big leagues," the 53-year-old Tamargo said. "There's only 30 of those jobs in the world." He is happy in his newest job in baseball and has been pleasantly surprised with his players' approach the game. "It's going to be a very good, competitive club," Tamargo said Friday before the Manatees dropped their season opener, 2-1, to the Daytona Cubs at Space Coast Stadium. "I was very impressed during spring training as far as guys getting after it and going about their business as professionals." One player to watch is 6-foot-7 starting pitcher Ben Diggins, who started five games for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2002. A first-round pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2000 -- the Brewers acquired him in a trade -- Diggins missed most of last season after having reconstructive elbow surgery in 2003. Still considered a good prospect in an organization loaded with them, Diggins doesn't figure to stay in Brevard County long if he is healthy. "He's got a powerful arm," Tamargo said. "If he can put it together, he can be dominant, not just at this level but higher."

Final: Daytona Beach (Cubs) 2, Brevard County 0 Link while active, text follows: www.news-journalonline.co...041005.htm Cubs enforce Manatee zone By SEAN KERNAN Daytona Breach News-Journal Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH -- Long before a fireworks display concluded the home opener at Jackie Robinson Ballpark on Saturday night, Daytona Cubs pitcher Carlos Marmol and catcher Jake Fox put on their own brand of pyrotechnics that left the Brevard County Manatees seeing stars. Marmol hurled six innings of no-hit ball, and when a Manatees baserunner tried to break up Daytona's shutout bid he got the losing end of a collision with Fox at the plate. Those home opening night heroics from the Cubs battery helped Daytona take a 2-0 win in front of a sellout crowd at refurbished Jackie Robinson Ballpark. A crowd of 4,869 gave Marmol (1-0) a standing ovation when he was pulled following a leadoff walk in the seventh. The crowd had every reason to stand and cheer because Marmol didn't allow a hit before reaching his 70-pitch limit. Manager Richie Zisk didn't hesitate to pull the right-hander, and there even was one shout of "good job, skip" from the crowd. "In player development there are certain rules you have to adhere to and we're not going to injure anybody by going over his pitch count," Zisk said. "I think back to '97 when Kerry Wood was here and he got pulled twice from no-hitters. Marmol was limited to 70 pitches and he was outstanding." Cubs reliever Jordan Gerk gave up the first hit to Brevard County (0-2). Adam Heether, the second batter Gerk faced in the seventh, doubled. Lou Palmisano's two-out single to center set up the most dramatic moment of the game, as Heether raced for home only to be beaten by center fielder Chris Walker's throw. Heether tried to bowl over Fox, but the catcher held onto the ball and delivered a blow to the baserunner that put him out at the plate and to the clubhouse with an injury. Some Cubs heard that Heether sustained a broken nose. "That was a tough one right there," Fox said. "Nothing you can practice will ever prepare you for something like that. It's more of a mentality than it is anything. Some guys are afraid to take a hit. Some guys are ready to dish one out. I'm a guy who played football. I love that kind of stuff." "Anytime I can take a collision, I'll take it. Those guys come in expecting to put a lick on you. First and foremost you just have to make sure you get the out, but then from there you try to put a hurtin' on them." The Cubs scored both of their runs on groundouts by shortstop Carlos Rojas. Daytona (2-0) took a 1-0 lead in the first when Walker got an infield hit and went to second on a throwing error, advanced to third on a wild pitch and came home Rojas' bouncer to third. The game's only other run came in the eighth after Issmael Salas drew a leadoff walk, went to second on a free pass to Walker, stole third and scored on Rojas' grounder to short. Ormond Beach resident Bo Hall made his return to The Jack a successful one as the Manatees reliever struck out four of the seven batters he faced in two scoreless innings. OF NOTE: The Cubs' No. 1 fan, "Front Row Joe" Rowe, had a seizure on the field during pregame ceremonies. Daytona trainer Steve Melendez and Brevard County trainer Masa Koyanagi attended to Rowe until emergency medical personnel arrived. Rowe was treated at the scene, taken to Halifax Medical Center for evaluation and released in satisfactory condition. Saturday night's game was to be Rowe's 650th consecutively attended home game. Cubs owner Andy Rayburn assured Rowe that he would get credit. "Anyone who has a seizure on the field before the game is going to get credit for being here," Rayburn said. Brevard County Box Score: RHP Tim Dillard your starter last night... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_dbcafx_1 Daytona Cubs catcher Jake Fox takes a hit at home plate from Brevard's Adam Heether during the top of the seventh inning Saturday at Jackie Robinson Field. Heether was called out. Photo by the News-Journal's Craig Litten http://www.news-journalonline.com/downloads/0410cub.jpg

Huntsville Box Score: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_cmcaax_1 Link while active, text follows: www.al.com/sports/huntsvi...294540.xml Wacky uncle, stale stadium and optimism about Stars Contact Mark McCarter at markcolumn@aol.com Huntsville Times All summer, we'll have questions. From players to owner, bat boys to fans, each Sunday we'll be presenting "Nine Questions'' concerning the Huntsville Stars. We'll even ask 'em for you, if you want to contact the e-mail address listed above. For now, I'll do some mind-reading - and try to answer nine questions you might have. 1. What do you think of Don Money? He's going to be great to work with. He's like your favorite wacky uncle. And he's Old-School Baseball. I like that. 2. How is the health of this franchise? Frankly, it's the ninth-best franchise out of 10 in the Southern League. The Stars drew only 238,848 last year, eighth in the league. Off-season transition has the club running behind. If former general manager Bryan Dingo hadn't been so unselfish with his time to make sure all the proverbial ducks were in a row before he departed for the sanity of 9-to-5, it'd be disastrous. The Stars' front office staff is the smallest in the league. Owner Miles Prentice is in a Catch-22. He can't hire a big staff and promotional genius without better attendance. But without more staff, the overall stadium experience is lacking and attendance suffers. With absentee ownership, with few familiar faces remaining and no link to the "good ol' days'' when Don Mincher and Co. owned and ran the team, I fear a lot of loyal fans will be more scarce. 3. How is the relationship with the Brewers? The Brewers may not be a good major league club yet, but they have sent in boatloads of great prospects and the Stars have won more than they've lost in these six years. Funny how so many fans cling to the "I saw Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire play for the Stars'' business. They missed a chance to see a new generation - without steroids, mind you - of major league stars in Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, Ben Sheets, et al. 4. How do I get an autograph? Oh, just stop me one night at the stadium. But why? 5. Not your autograph, you fool. How do I get a player's signature? Well, that makes sense. Three words: Timing, patience, politeness. Remember, they're working when they're on the field. But catch them after batting practice. A few guys will sign around 6:30 as they filter back to the dugout. Many will stop to sign right after a game - more likely after a win than a loss. And you can wait outside the clubhouse door, but that can be 20-30 minutes for them to shower and have a postgame meal. 6. What about a new stadium? Hey, great idea. What about one! Honestly, I don't see a new baseball stadium for Huntsville unless Prentice and his group build it, as Frank Burke did in Chattanooga and is doing in Greenville. But Burke is a hands-on owner who seldom misses a game (and comes from a family richer than a sultan). As neat as it would be for players, staff and reporters to go to work at a nicer place, the waning fan interest doesn't merit a huge investment from the city. So what is spent should go to improving the facilities for players, staff offices and skyboxes so the Stars can increase revenue there. And, please Santa Claus, windows in the press box that can open. 7. Who are your favorite Stars? The ones who are most quotable, naturally. Or those with whom you can actually discuss more than baseball. A quick top lineup - not counting current players - would include Derek Lee, Bucky Jacobsen, Jared Mathis, Brian Moon, Paul Stewart, Jose Ortiz, Allen "Meat'' Leverault, Jeff Pickler and Ryan Knox, and I'm sure I'm leaving out several others. 8. Are there any rules in the press box? First of all, it's The John Pruett Press Box, honoring my esteemed colleague. Which leads to rule one: Make sure, when John visits, there are peanuts. Other rules: If it's the sixth inning and the game is only 1 1/2 hours old, don't say, "This is moving along quickly.'' That assures it will go extra innings. Also, no cheering. But complaining about umpiring or loudly second-guessing managers is OK. Most importantly, if you want to eat, show up by 6:25, before the TV people swarm over the buffet like locusts. 9. After seeing them in spring training, how good will the Stars be? A little above average. Much better defensively than last year -but they'd have to be. The 2004 Stars were the worst defensive team I had seen in 20 years. There are young pitchers who will make mistakes. There are enough hitters experienced at this level to be reasonably productive, but some will struggle. They need to fall into a cycle when the hitters are cold, the pitchers are producing. And vice versa. Over the course of a long season, that's the determining factor for success at every level.

Final: Carolina (Marlins) 2, Huntsville 1 Huntsville Site Game Summary link, text follows: www.huntsvillestars.com/s...newsId=558 Eric Reed singled home the game-winning run in the seventh inning to lift the Carolina Mudcats to a 2-1 comeback win over the Stars Saturday night at Five County Stadium in Zebulon, NC. The Mudcats have taken the first three games of the season-opening four-game series and have started 3-0 for the second time in three years as a Florida Marlins affiliate. The Stars missed an opportunity to score in the first inning after Kennard Bibbs led off the game with a double in his first at-bat of the season. Chris Barnwell tried to bunt Bibbs to third and his bunt popped up in the air, landed in front of the mound and was fielded by Carolina starter Nic Ungs, who threw Barnwell out at first. However, Bibbs did not advance and that would turn out to be costly as Ben Van Iderstine, the next hitter, flied out to center field on a ball that would have been deep enough to score the speedy Bibbs. Nelson Cruz led off the fourth inning by slamming Ungs? first pitch for a monstrous home run to left field to give the Stars a 1-0 lead and end a 17 inning drought without a run. Cruz belted 26 home runs playing for Modesto, Midland and Sacramento last season in the Oakland Athletics organization. Huntsville starting pitcher Manny Parra worked out of jams in the fourth and fifth innings to keep the visitors in the lead. He struck out James Shanks and retired Jason Hill on a fielder?s choice grounder with runners at the corners and one out in the fourth and induced pinch-hitter Chris Bass to bounce into a double play with runners at the corners in the fifth. Reed opened the sixth with a single, stole second base and scored when Robert Andino followed with a double to right field to knot the game at one. Parra was lifted after fanning Jeremy Hermida and Matt DeWitt came on to retire the next two hitters to keep the game tied. Chris Ashby opened the home seventh with a single and moved to second base one out later on a base hit by Rex Rundgren that chased DeWitt from the game. Matt Ford took over and walked pinch-hitter Todd Sears on a 3-2 pitch to load the bases. Reed followed with a sharp single to right field to deliver Ashby with the go-ahead run before Cruz cut down Rundgren at the plate trying to score an insurance run. Chris Resop took over on the hill for Carolina in the ninth and gave up three hard hit balls but managed to escape any damage and earn his second save in as many chances. Drew Niles made a diving catch at third base on a line drive off the bat of Cruz before Tony Zuniga singled sharply to right field to collect his first hit of the season. Brandon Gemoll then smoked a ground ball to shortstop that Andino turned into a game-ending double play. The Stars tallied six hits in the game, three for extra bases, after being held to five singles in the first two games, their lowest two-game output to start a season in franchise history. Bibbs finished with two hits in four tries and Vinny Rottino also picked up his first hit of the year. The series concludes Sunday afternoon with right-hander Glenn Woolard taking the mound for Huntsville against right-hander Logan Kensing, rated as one of the Marlins? top 20 prospects by Baseball America. Coverage of the game gets underway at 12:45 p.m. central time on ESPN 1450 AM, the home of Huntsville Stars baseball. *** David Weiser's www.starsboxscore.com update: Are we that bad? The folks at minorleaguebaseball.com really need to get their act together if they're going to exclusively provide the box scores. No other web site, not Sports Network, USA Today, not Baseball America can give us any other version other than milb's. And still night after night, they exclude innings pitched from the individual pitching lines, exclude at-bat totals for the teams, indiscriminately decide some players deserve to have their first names in the boxes (I'd rather not see them at all to make scanning easier), and fail to archive boxes..... Tonight was just one more straw........ I listened to the game and Brett Pollock announced that Matt Ford had come in relief of Matt DeWitt, yet in milb's box, I see Alec Zumwalt instead. The skies were clear for tonight's game, but still a cool 65° at Five County Stadium...... After coming up with only five singles in their first two games, the Stars had their first extra-base hit two pitches into the game. Kennard Bibbs, in his debut for the Stars, hit Nic Ungs' 0-1 pitch for a double off the wall in the 1st inning. Chris Barnwell tried to bunt him over, but popped it up in from of Ungs and Bibbs was unable to move over to third. Barnwell's failure to sacrifice, a general weakness of last year's team, possibly kept the Stars from a win....... Ben Van Iderstine, the next batter, hit a ball deep enough to Eric Reed in center that Bibbs would have easily scored on. Bibbs was able to get to third, but after Nelson Cruz walked on a 3-2 pitch, Tony Zuniga flied to center to end the inning. Manny Parra had good command of his curve tonight and allowed only one hit through the first three innings -- a single by James Shanks, who was picked off while on an early count to the next batter, Jason Hill. That gave the Stars time to come up with a lead, courtesy of Nelson Cruz, who provided the Stars with their first home run of the season, a titanic shot to left field, ending a 16 1/3 inning scoring drought --- establishing an easy record for the start of a season........ Unfortunately, it was the only run the Stars had on the night...... Vinny Rottino singled two outs later and was stranded by Enrique Cruz and Bibbs singled with one out in the 5th and was caught stealing. That was it for the Stars. After putting the leadoff hitter aboard in the 4th and 5th innings, the Mudcats finally made it pay off in the 6th........ Eric Reed singled up the middle and scored the tying run on Robert Andino's double off the 2nd tier of signs in center field and drove in the winning in the 7th, scoring Chris Ashby who led off the inning with a single....... Ashby moved to second on Rex Rundgren's single, chasing DeWitt from the game, setting up the game-winner for Reed. For the Stars, it's their first 0-3 start since 1992 and only their third 0-3 start in their 21-year history. The 1987 Stars started off 0-5, but went on to the playoffs, so don't lose hope, Stars fans........ The Stars will try to prevent a sweep, Sunday, at 12:45 CDT with Glenn Woolard going for Huntsville against Logan Kensing, a right-hander, ranked 18th among the Marlins' top 30 prospects.

Tennessean Game Story -- link while active, text follows: tennessean.com/sports/bas...D=68051521 Sounds get first loss as rally fails in ninth By MAURICE PATTON Tennessean Staff Writer Fans at Greer Stadium finally got their full allotment of baseball last night, as the Nashville Sounds batted in the bottom of the ninth inning for the first time in three games. That meant the Sounds weren't ahead, and after Trent Durrington was thrown out at the plate on an infield grounder with one out, they went on to drop a 5-4 decision to New Orleans for their first loss of the season. ''If the ball's not hit right at (shortstop Jason Bowers), he's probably going to get in,'' Nashville Manager Frank Kremblas said. ''You take more risks when you're down in the ninth.'' The Zephyrs broke a 4-4 deadlock in the eighth inning on a Rick Short double to deep center field against reliever Justin Lehr, a sacrifice bunt and an RBI groundout by Hector Ortiz. For the third consecutive game, a Nashville starting pitcher failed to make it through the fifth inning. Jeff Housman threw 86 pitches in 4-2/3 innings and was in line to take the loss before Steve Scarborough's two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth tied the game at 3-3. ''It's not a concern this early,'' Kremblas said. ''You'd like to get them through five, but it's not that bad this early because everybody else needs to get innings, too.'' While the Sounds offense has been productive ? scoring 25 runs in three games ? there's still some work to be done in terms of situational hitting. With the score tied at 4-4, Scarborough led off the seventh inning with a bunt single and went to third base on a two-base throwing error by third baseman Brendan Harris. But Scarborough was stranded there as pinch-hitter Ryan Knox grounded out to shortstop, Dave Krynzel bunted foul on a third strike and Rickie Weeks grounded out to third. ''That's what you're going to get with younger guys,'' Kremblas said. ''It's part of the learning process.'' Perfect pair: The only two pitchers to throw perfect games in a Sounds game are set to start in consecutive contests at Greer Stadium. Rick Helling achieved the feat when pitching for the Oklahoma City 89ers against visiting Nashville on Aug. 13, 1986. He will start for the Sounds in the series finale today against New Orleans. John Wasdin has the only Sounds perfect game ? on April 7, 2003. He starts for the Oklahoma RedHawks in the first of a four-game series here tomorrow. Back on track: Nashville pitcher Jose Capellan, who left Thursday night's game after 4-1/3 innings with a blister on the middle finger of his right (pitching) hand, is expected to make his next scheduled start Tuesday against visiting Oklahoma. What they said: ''Any time your pitchers keep you in the game and give you a chance to win, you're fine. We made some errors and gave them some extra chances.'' ? Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas. Maurice Patton covers the Nashville Sounds for The Tennessean. He can be reached at 259-8018 or mopatton@tennessean.com.

Note to Nashville Front Office: The audio links you're providing here aren't the Brewer archives, but are those from 2004 with the Pirates: www.nashvillesounds.com/l...rviews.asp

Final: New Orleans (Nationals) 5, Nashville 4 Nashville Site Game Summary -- link, text, follows: www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=1498 Sounds Suffer First Loss, 5-4 To ZephyrsThe Nashville Sounds suffered their initial loss of the young 2005 season on Saturday evening in front of 9,204 fans at Greer Stadium, falling 5-4 to the New Orleans Zephyrs. Trailing by a run in the bottom of the ninth, the home club didn?t go down without a fight. Trent Durrington led off with a double, moved to third on a groundout, but was gunned down at the plate on a bang-bang play on Steve Scarborough?s grounder to shortstop Jason Bowers to end the threat. The Zephyrs scored the game-winning run off Justin Lehr in the top of the eighth. Short continued his big night with a leadoff double, was sacrificed to third, and scored on a Hector Ortiz RBI groundout. New Orleans took a 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning with a pair of runs resulting from a fielding error by Durrington, the Sounds? third baseman, who threw wildly to first on a bunt single by Endy Chavez. Zephyrs starting pitcher Jon Rauch and leftfielder Tyrell Godwin both scored on the error after leading off the innings with consecutive singles. Z?s second baseman Rick Short extended the lead to 3-0 in the top of the fourth when he pulled a 3-1 Jeff Housman pitch down the left field line for a leadoff home run, his first roundtripper of the season. The Sounds got on the board in the bottom of the inning when Rickie Weeks led off with a single, stole second, then scored on a two-out RBI single to center by Brad Nelson. Scarborough evened the game in the home half of the fifth when he belted his second homer of the young campaign, driving a one-out, 1-1 Rauch offering over the wall in left to make it 3-3. Catcher Julio Mosquera, who singled earlier in the inning, also scored on the tater. Nashville grabbed a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the sixth when Prince Fielder was hit by a pitch, moved up a base on a Roy Corcoran wild pitch, then scored an unearned run on a Short throwing error. New Orleans answered right back and re-tied the contest in the top of the seventh on Matt Cepicky?s mammoth RBI double off the top tier of the 24-foot wall in dead center, plating Godwin. The Sounds missed an opportunity to retake the lead in the bottom of the seventh after Scarborough led off with an infield single and advanced to third on a two-base throwing error but was stranded. The teams wrap up the four-game set with a Sunday afternoon matinee at Greer Stadium. Right-hander Rick Helling makes his Sounds debut and will face New Orleans right-hander Brian Powell. Audio of Steve Scarborough's 2nd HR of the young season: www.nashvillesounds.com/a...%204-9.mp3 Nashville Box Score (still no cut-and-paste version, still doesn't show innings pitched properly): www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1 Nashville Game Log (this link will be obsolete once next game begins): www.nashvillesounds.com/live/xlive.htm Steve Scarborough at the plate: http://www.nashvillesounds.com/images/news/scarborough.jpg

Link while active, text follows: www.news-journalonline.co...040905.htm Hall, Slack return to Daytona By SEAN KERNAN Daytona News-Journal Staff Writer As packed as Jackie Robinson Ballpark will be for tonight's Daytona Cubs home opener, not every local in attendance will be rooting for the Cubs. That's because former area high school standouts Bo Hall and Nick Slack are on the Brevard County Manatees, and both relief pitchers expect to have family and friends at The Jack. For Hall, it will be the completion of an unusual trifecta. The former Seabreeze pitcher and shortstop played at the historic ballpark for the Sandcrabs, returned to the City Island park as a UCF Knights hurler and tonight makes an appearance as a professional pitcher with the Milwaukee Brewers farm club. "It's gonna be neat going back to Jackie Robinson. It's kind of cool," Hall said. "This is the first time I'll be playing in front of a lot of family and friends since I was with UCF. I've got to get at least 20 tickets." Hopefully I can get some free tickets. (The Cubs) will make their money back in concessions." Hall, 24, was a 19th-round draft selection by Milwaukee in 2002. His best pro season was two years ago when he went 8-4 with a 2.59 ERA for Beloit in the Midwest League as a reliever. The 6-foot, 180-pound right-hander struggled last season mostly as a starter, going 5-9 with a 6.55 ERA for High Desert in the California League. Slack, 22, also returns to the high-A level after going 2-6 with a 4.98 ERA and nine saves for High Desert. Hall and Slack have more in common than being pitchers from Volusia County. Both want to be promoted as quickly as possible and earn spots on the Brewers' Double-A team in Huntsville, Ala. "My hopes here are to get out of here as soon as possible," said Slack, who lives in Deltona. "I know I'm close to home. I'm excited about that, but I'm just trying to move up as soon as possible because I was at high-A last year." Both players expect to see their parents often early in the season. John and Sandy Hall will make a lot of commutes down from their Ormond Beach home to Space Coast Stadium. Todd and Cindy Slack have a less direct route, but their Deltona home is closer to Viera. "We play a lot between Daytona and here (Viera) so pretty much they'll be at every game in both places, and my brothers (Rob and Joe) will go to a lot, too," Slack said. Both players expect to see former high school classmates and coaches. "It will be fun playing in front of all the high school coaches who helped me out - Anthony Campanella and Norm Yelverton - all those guys," Hall said. Slack, the first Pine Ridge product to play in the minors, also went to Deltona and Father Lopez before his senior year with the Panthers. He was a walk-on at Lake City Community College and led the Mid-Florida Conference in saves before getting drafted by Milwaukee in the 20th round in 2003. (By the way, the broadcast last night indicated Slack's high leg kick and all-out thrust reminds folks of a Troy Percival delivery...Mass Haas)

Link while active, text follows: tennessean.com/sports/bas...D=68027511 Sounds hit Zephyrs early By MAURICE PATTON Tennessean Staff Writer Judging by early results, offense doesn't appear to be a problem for the Nashville Sounds. The Sounds hammered three more homers last night en route to a 14-5 victory over New Orleans and have five after two games. Seven of the eight position players scored at least one run ? by the end of the third inning. On the night, Nashville had 10 extra-base hits among its 13 total. ''We came out and swung the bats pretty well,'' said second baseman Rickie Weeks, who lacked only a single to hit for the cycle. ''When the hitters swing the bats the way we are, it takes a lot of pressure off the pitchers and they can come out and throw like they have.'' Weeks, who was in the on-deck circle when Dave Krynzel struck out to end the eighth inning, turned in the defensive gem of the night in the ninth. He ranged to his right to pick up a grounder and flipped with his glove hand to shortstop Steve Scarborough to force Endy Chavez at second. ''That was a pretty good pickup; the ball was in the hole, and the only thing I was thinking was to get an out. My only option was to flip it.'' The Sounds didn't need a lot of defense as New Orleans managed just eight hits against five Nashville pitchers. The late-inning combination of Julio Santana, Justin Lehr and Jeff Bennett limited the Zephyrs to just two hits and one unearned run in three innings. Guitar man: Scarborough was presented a Copley Guitar prior to last night's game for hitting a solo home run off the guitar-shaped scoreboard in Thursday night's win. It's the second guitar Copley has presented to a Nashville player since beginning the promotion midway through last season. Weeks will receive one tonight after drilling a two-run shot off the scoreboard last night. Former Sounds catcher Keith McDonald ? who will be in town for the upcoming series with Oklahoma ?accomplished the feat on July 10. Back on track: Nashville pitcher Jose Capellan, who left Thursday night's game after 4 1/3 innings with a blister on the middle finger of his right (pitching) hand, is expected to make his next scheduled start Tuesday against visiting Oklahoma. ''It's not that you're going to get those kind of pitches to hit every night, but if you have those kind of at-bats every night, you make it tough to get you out. That's what you want to do, be a tough out.'' ? Sounds Manager Frank Kremblas.

Final: Hagerstown (Mets) 3, West Virginia 2 Hagerstown Site Game Summary: After winning their season opener with an offensive explosion, the Suns made it back-to-back wins, and showed they are more than just a collection of big bats turning away the West Virginia Power 3-2, despite only notching three hits. The Suns scored first off a solo homerun by Dante Brinkley in the first inning and starting pitcher Blake Eager made the slim lead stand up through the first five innings. Eager picked up the win, hurling five innings allowing just one hit and striking out two. The Suns would widen their lead in the 6th inning, thanks to costly errors by the Power defense. Brinkley reached on an infield single, when pitcher Brian Montalbo dropped the ball on a force play at first. The next batter, Carlos Gomez, pushed a bunt to the left side of the mound, but first baseman Grant Richardson couldn't handle the throw and both Brinkley and Richardson took another base. They would both later score thanks to consecutive RBI sacrifice flies by Mike Carp and Ambiorix Concepcion. The Power tried to claw back in the game cutting the lead to just one run before their final at-bat. But closer Marcelo Perez secured the win and picked up his first save of the young season. Although he is credited with the loss, Greg Kloosterman pitched a fabulous game for West Virginia, fanning four Suns batters and giving up just one run off of two hits in five innings. The Suns will try and make it three in a row when they take on the Power again Saturday night at 5:35 Central at Municipal Stadium. Charleston Gazette: HAGERSTOWN, Md. ? The West Virginia Power?s rally fell short Friday night as the Hagerstown Suns held on for a 3-2 victory in South Atlantic League play. Dante Brinkley staked the Suns (2-0) to a 1-0 lead with a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning. Back-to-back sacrifice flies from Ambiorix Concepcion and Mike Carp gave Hagerstown a 3-0 edge in the bottom of the sixth. Freddy Parejo began the Power?s comeback with a run-scoring groundout in the top of the seventh. Hernan Iribarren added an RBI double in the eighth to close the deficit to the final margin as West Virginia, which lost its second straight to open the season, left the tying runs in scoring position in the eighth and ninth. The Power?s Greg Kloosterman (0-1) took the loss despite tossing five strong innings. He surrendered just a run on two hits and struck out four. The Power and Suns face off at 7 PM today (6 PM Central) in the third game of the four-game series. Power right-hander Yovani Gallardo will take the mound while the Suns will counter with right-hander Jeff Landing. West Virginia Box Score: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hagafx_1

Final: Daytona Beach (Cubs) 2, Brevard County 1 Link while active, text follows: www.floridatoday.com/apps...90328/1002 Manatees fall, but spring's sights thrill fans Daytona rallies for two in ninth to spoil opener BY SCOTT BROWN FLORIDA TODAY VIERA - A few gray clouds loitered overhead and a spirited wind caused fans to break out the light jackets as darkness fell. The weather, as uncompromising as it has since been late last summer, did permit the return of minor league baseball to the area Friday night. The Brevard County Manatees got an early home run by Adam Heether as well as four double plays behind Luis Pena, but they lost 2-1 to the Daytona Cubs after the visiting team scored twice in the top of the ninth inning. "We got to have a baseball game without rain," said Buck Rogers, the general manager at Space Coast Stadium. Amen, indeed. Thursday's season opener for each team had been rained out, but Friday brought good weather as well as the equally pleasant sights and sounds of minor league baseball. There were kids hoping to get a hug from the mascot -- in this case the ever-popular Manny the Manatee -- as much as they wanted a foul ball to land in their oversized gloves. There were fans filling out scorecards with names they had never heard. Most of all there was an intimacy that big-league baseball cannot provide once the regular season starts. Bert Brown found that out as he settled into seat behind the first-base line. A Toronto resident who is in the area visiting friends, Brown said he sometimes attends Blue Jays games. When asked if his seats to those games compare to where he sat Friday, Brown laughed and said, "No, it's not this close." Brevard County's defense helped Pena overcome some early control problems in front of an announced crowd of 1,345, who were treated to a fireworks show afterward. Daytona tied the game in the ninth on a wild pitch and Brian Dopirak accounted for the winning run when he blasted a mammoth home run. Brevard County Box Score: These milb.com boxes aren't including innings pitched tonight... www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_breafx_1

Final: Carolina (Marlins) 5, Huntsville 0, five innings, rain Huntsville Site Game Summary -- link, text follows: www.huntsvillestars.com/s...newsId=557 Stars Stymied by Olsen and the Weather Scott Olsen tossed five shutout frames and Jeremy Hermida hit his first home run of the season in Carolina?s 5-0 rain-shortened win over the Stars Friday night in the second game of a four-game series at Five County Stadium in Zebulon, NC. The Mudcats have won the first two games of the season and have not allowed a run in the first 14 innings of play. Olsen retired the first 10 hitters he faced before allowing an infield single to Callix Crabbe with one out in the fourth. The base hit was promptly erased when Vinny Rottino bounced into an inning ending double play. The Mudcats southpaw allowed a one-out single to Ben Van Iderstine in the fifth inning before striking out Brandon Gemoll and inducing Tony Zuniga to bounce into a force out at second base to end the frame. Olsen, ranked by Baseball America as the Marlins? second best prospect, fanned eight, including five in a row from the last out of the first inning through the first out of the third, and did not walk a batter in his first outing at the double-A level. Six Carolina pitchers have held Huntsville to five singles in the first two games. Huntsville starting pitcher Dennis Sarfate hit Eric Reed to open the home half of the first inning and yielded a bunt base hit by Robert Andino before Hermida launched his long ball to right field. Hermida is ranked by Baseball America as the Marlins? top prospect and is also playing at the double-A level for the first time. Carolina catcher Chris Ashby doubled with two outs and scored when Chris Bass followed with a base hit to center field to push the home side?s lead to 4-0. Sarfate retired the Mudcats in order in the second and third innings before allowing a two-out, run-scoring single by Eric Reed in the fourth. Andino followed with another single and it looked like the lead would grow to 6-0 but Reed was thrown out at third base by Tony Gwynn, Jr. before Rex Rundgren could cross the plate. Hermida grounded out to Enrique Cruz for the first out of the fifth inning before the teams were taken off the field. The umpiring crew waited the mandatory 30 minutes and with no let up in the rain called off the remainder of the contest. The series continues Saturday night with left-hander Manny Parra taking the hill for Huntsville against Mudcats? right-hander Nic Ungs. Coverage on ESPN 1450 AM begins at 6:00 p.m. central time. David Weiser's starsboxscore.com site -- link, then text: www.starsboxscore.com/ If you missed it, you blinked. Two records were broken in this rain delay interrupted by a baseball game....... In a record one hour, 10 minutes, the Stars went to the plate 16 times, erasing the June 2, 1987 records of 17 Huntsville at-bats in a seven-inning, 2-0 shutout against Chattanooga that took one hour and 21 minutes....... In innings, it was also the shortest. Enrique Cruz had just wowed a small crowd that had expected to see post-game fireworks by backhanding a smash off the ground by Jeremy Hermida, and firing to Brandon Gemoll for the first out of the bottom of the 5th inning....... Then the driving rain forced the umps to call the players in........ After a 34-minute delay, this game was called and closed in the books as official........ The good news is that the weather is expected to clear up this weekend and warm up gradually from tonight's 65°....... The bad news is that this kind of start isn't going to win the Stars many games. I don't have to dig into the record books to tell you that no Stars team in history has ever failed to score in their first two games of the season, nor collect fewer than six hits in the process...... But I did anyway....... The fewest number of hits in the first two games of the season had been nine in 1988. The Stars were knocked out not just by the unexpected rain (it had only started as a drizzle in the top of the 4th, and escalated into a sideways storm in the 5th), but also by the Marlins' top two prospects in their organization....... Jeremy Hermida, the Marlins' top prospect for the 2nd year in a row, launched a first pitch from Dennis Sarfate over the Mudcats scoreboard with Eric Reed and Robert Andino aboard, giving the Mudcats a quick 3-0 lead...... Sarfate retired the next two hitters, Todd Sears and James Shanks, but returning catcher Chris Ashby doubled and 3rd baseman Chris Bass singled him in to make it 4-0. Sarfate then settled down and retired the next six hitters, striking out three, but Bass returned in the 4th to force a walk on a 3-2 pitch, then reach second on a bobbled ground ball by Enrique Cruz. After another strikeout, Eric Reed singled to center, scoring Bass. Pitcher Scott Olsen, the Marlins' #2 prospect, retired the first 10 Stars to come to the plate, striking out six, including five straight. Olsen chucks that flamethrower at 92-94 mph and can top out at 98 as late as the 8th inning. He has a plus change, good action on his sinker, and a developing slider that he used to strike out Nelson Cruz swinging twice. He's been learning to use that slider as an out pitch over the spring........ Callix Crabbe broke up Olsen's no-hitter in the 4th with an infield single, beating out Scott Olsen's throw from the third base side of the infield...... In the 5th, Ben Van Iderstine singled for the second night in a row, but Brandon Gemoll struck out for the 5th time in six at-bats this season and Tony Zuniga hit into a force to end the side for the Stars. Tomorrow, the Stars will try again to cross the plate, and if they're really, really good --- maybe even win a game........ Manny Parra will take the mound for Huntsville against Nic Ungs. Ungs led the Mudcats with 11 wins and in innings pitched last year. In 2003, he beat the Stars in Game 4 of the Southern League Championship, 7-1, with a 3-hitter. Indianapolis pitcher and former Stars closer Brian Mallette joins six former Southern Leaguers who were among 38 who are being suspended for 15 days by Minor League Baseball for violating "Major League Baseball's Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program" against performance-enhancing substances (steroids and steroid precursors)..... Mallette, because of a double-violation, has been suspended for 30 days. The remaining: David Cash (Diamond Jaxx, '03), Clay Hensley (11-10 last year for Mobile), Robert Machado (Barons '96), Jesus Medrano (Mudcats '03), Damian Moss (G'Braves '96, '97, '99, '01), and Kevin Reinking (Bay Bears "02, '03)........ Random unannounced testing will continue to be conducted throughout the Minor League season. Huntsville Box Score: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_cmcaax_1

Final: Nashville 14, New Orleans (Nationals) 5 Sounds' Site Game Summary -- link, text follows: www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=1497 Sounds Improve To 2-0, Pound Zephyrs 14-5 The Nashville Sounds put in ?extra? effort in the batter?s box on Friday evening, compiling 10 extra-base hits including three home runs to defeat the visiting New Orleans Zephyrs, 14-5, in front of 6,814 fans in the second game of a four-game series at Greer Stadium. Brewer top prospect Rickie Weeks led the offensive charge, finishing a single short of the cycle with a 3-for-5 effort that included four RBIs and two runs scored. The second baseman started his night by drilling a two-run blast off the guitar-shaped scoreboard in the bottom of the first inning for his first career Triple-A hit. New Orleans rightfielder Matt Cepicky had spotted the visitors a 3-0 lead with one swing of the bat in the top of the inning, belting a three-run homer off Sounds starter Ben Hendrickson, who had walked Endy Chavez and Tyrell Godwin to open the inning. Nashville third baseman Kevin Orie tied the contest at 3-3 when he led off the bottom of the second with a solo shot before the Sounds busted the game wide open with a six-run third. Prince Fielder opened the frame by crushing Zephyrs starter Chad Durbin?s first offering 425 feet in the air onto Chestnut Street beyond the right field fence at Greer Stadium. The onslaught continued when the Sounds quickly loaded the bases and erupted for five more runs, capped off by Dave Krynzel?s two-run double to right, his second two-bagger in two innings, making it 10-3. After New Orleans netted an unearned run in the fifth, a leadoff Brad Nelson double in the sixth led to an additional Nashville run, courtesy of Steve Scarborough?s two-out RBI single. The Sounds pushed the lead to 14-4 on RBIs by Weeks (triple) and Fielder (groundout). The Zephyrs plated the game?s final run in unearned fashion in the eighth. Reliever Mike Meyers (1-0) earned the victory for Nashville, allowing one run in two innings after replacing starter Hendrickson. Durbin (0-1) took the loss after allowing eight runs on five hits, including all three Nashville homers, in 2 1/3 innings. The teams meet in the third game of the four-game set on Saturday evening at Greer Stadium. Left-hander Jeff Housman makes his 2005 debut for the Sounds and will face 6-foot-11 New Orleans right-hander Jon Rauch. Nashville Box Score: www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_nasaaa_1 Audio of Rickie Weeks' HR: www.nashvillesounds.com/a...%204-8.mp3