Link Report for Games of Friday, April 11th

[Mass Haas]

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[Mass Haas]

Friday's Daily Menu: TGIF!!

 

All times Central; pitchers subject to change --

 

Nashville Site:

Tonight's game between the Nashville Sounds and Iowa Cubs, scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at Greer Stadium, has been postponed due to heavy rainfall in the Middle Tennessee area that resulted in unplayable field conditions.

 

The game will be made up as part of a 6 p.m. CT doubleheader on Saturday evening. Gates will open at 4:30 p.m. Both contests will be seven-inning affairs.

 

Right-hander Nic Ungs (1-0, 0.00) will start the newly-scheduled Sounds home opener and face Iowa righty Sean Gallagher (1-0, 1.80). Left-hander Lindsay Gulin (0-1, 2.45) will man the bump for Nashville in the evening's second contest, facing Cubs southpaw J.R. Mathes (0-0, 4.50).

 

Huntsville: LHP David Welch at West Tenn (Mariners), 6:50 PM pre-game; 7:05 gametime

 

Audio link via WUMP (game will also archive at this link):

http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/audio.jsp?sid=t559

 

Brevard County: RHP Mike Jones at Palm Beach (Cardinals), 6:05 PM gametime

 

Audio link via Palm Beach broadcast (game will also archive at this link):

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/audio.jsp?cid=503&sid=t503

 

West Virginia: RHP Nick Tyson at home vs. Greenville (Red Sox), 5:50 PM pre-game, 6:05 gametime

 

Audio link via WSWW, be sure to select the proper date (game will also archive at this link):

www.minorleaguebaseball.c.../audio.jsp

[Mass Haas]

Follow Friday's action as it happens:

Here's what you do, right click on each of the links below and choose "Open in New Window". Choose "Log" or "Recap". While you're listening to your minor league game of choice (or watching/listening to the big league Crew when they are playing), simply refresh your game log browsers every so often.

 

Huntsville:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_04_11_hunaax_wtdaax_1

 

Brevard County:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_04_11_breafa_pbcafa_1

 

West Virginia:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_04_11_capafx_wvaafx_1

[Mass Haas]

 Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Omaha 5 2 .714 - 5-2 0-0 W4 Memphis 4 4 .500 1.5 0-0 4-4 L1 Iowa 2 4 .333 2.5 2-4 0-0 L1 Nashville 1 7 .125 4.5 0-0 1-7 L4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Huntsville 5 2 .714 - 5-0 0-2 L2 Carolina 4 3 .571 1.0 1-1 3-2 L1 Tennessee 4 3 .571 1.0 1-1 3-2 W1 West Tenn 4 3 .571 1.0 2-0 2-3 W3 Chattanooga 4 4 .500 1.5 1-2 3-2 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 Florida State League (A+) - FSL East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jupiter 6 2 .750 - 6-0 0-2 W6 Palm Beach 6 2 .750 - 2-0 4-2 W1 Brevard County 4 4 .500 2.0 1-2 3-2 W1 Daytona 4 4 .500 2.0 2-3 2-1 L1 Vero Beach 3 5 .375 3.0 2-2 1-3 L5 St. Lucie 1 7 .125 5.0 1-3 0-4 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 South Atlantic League (A) - SAL Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lake County 5 2 .714 - 2-1 3-1 W1 Greensboro 5 3 .625 0.5 2-2 3-1 L1 Hickory 5 3 .625 0.5 3-1 2-2 W1 Hagerstown 3 3 .500 1.5 0-0 3-3 L2 Lakewood 3 4 .429 2.0 3-4 0-0 W2 West Virginia 3 5 .375 2.5 2-2 1-3 W1 Delmarva 2 4 .333 2.5 1-2 1-2 L1 Lexington 2 6 .250 3.5 1-3 1-3 L2 

[Mass Haas]

Written pre-rainout:

 

Link while active, text follows:

 

Sounds anxious to get home after bad start

By MAURICE PATTON

The Tennesseean

NASHVILLE - For all the talk that Greer Stadium is past its prime, the 31-year-old facility will likely be a welcome sight for the Nashville Sounds as they open the home portion of their Pacific Coast League schedule tonight against visiting Iowa. The Sounds, who have won the last three PCL American Conference Northern Division titles, lost six of their first seven outings in an eight-game road swing through New Orleans and Oklahoma to open the season. But while Manager Frank Kremblas admitted the team hasn't quite clicked on all cylinders in the first week, slumps are part of the game. "You're going to run into these kind of stretches during the year, no matter what," said Kremblas, now in his fourth season at the Nashville helm. "Everybody's going to go through what we're going through right now." Recent history has shown the Sounds to be slow starters. Both last year and in 2006, the team won just one of its first five games and was 3-4 through its first two series of the season - but won six of its next eight games. And while it's easier to recover from an early skid than a late one, Nashville has been able to overcome both under Kremblas. In 2005, the team lost 16-of-19 during an August stretch en route to the PCL championship, and put together a 3-8 slump the following August. Kremblas thinks he knows the reason behind his team's less-than-stellar break from the gate. "We're not pitching well and we're not playing defense well," he said. "We need to pitch better and play defense better." Through seven games, Nashville ranked in the middle of the 16-team PCL in earned run average (4.31, ninth) and runs allowed (29, eighth). The Sounds have also committed six errors - nearly one a game. Pitching and defense largely go hand-in-hand. Starter Lindsey Gulin left Monday's game at Oklahoma after allowing just one earned run in 3 1/3 innings, but three errors keyed an eventual 6-1 loss. The following night, Zach Jackson was victimized by a five-run first inning that included a throwing error by shortstop Ozzie Chavez in a 7-5 defeat. "We didn't help Gulin," Kremblas said. "We didn't make a play for him. Some balls were ruled hits that were errors. Jackson had one bad inning; other than that, he did fine. And all the games in New Orleans were close. "The pitching hasn't been bad, per se." And while hitting .259, with ranks the Sounds eighth in the league, Nashville scored a league-worst 18 runs. On the basis of that output, the Sounds are 0-4 in games decided by two runs or less. "We're hitting OK, average-wise," Kremblas said. "We're not driving runs in. We need to do better with two outs. We're not getting the hits with guys in scoring position in two outs - and then we're giving up runs with two outs." Coming home for the next eight games could be the lift the Sounds need. "It'll be nice to hit last (as the home team) and see what happens," Kremblas said. On the move: Hernan Iribarren, who made his Class AAA debut in the Nashville Sounds' season opener April 3 at New Orleans, is set to make his major league debut after the Milwaukee Brewers called up the 23-year-old outfielder late Wednesday night. Iribarren, who hit .348 through the Sounds' first seven games and reached base in six of those contests, will fill the roster opening that was created when Tony Gwynn Jr. was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring. Pitcher Richie Gardner, who was claimed off waivers from Cincinnati late in spring training and assigned to the Sounds, will be activated off the disabled list and take Iribarren's place on the Nashville roster. Iribarren has hit .300 or better in five of his six professional seasons - finishing at .290 for Class A West Virginia in 2005. He came through the system as a second baseman, but moved to the outfield during instructional league play last fall after hitting .307 at Double-A Huntsville.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

Sounds cover all the bases to ready ballpark for opener

Aged stadium needed major upgrade to be playable

By RACHEL STULTS

Tennessean Staff Writer

The paint was still drying in the stands.

And the sound of hammers and saws echoed through the ballpark Thursday as workers scrambled to get ready for the Sounds' home opener against the Iowa Cubs.

Groundskeepers put the finishing touches on the pitcher's mound in preparation for tonight's game. And in the stands, a painter methodically stenciled row numbers on the concrete.

It's show time for the aging Greer Stadium.

The Nashville Sounds have spent more than $1 million during the off-season upgrading the stadium. Those fixes - a new clubhouse for players, better lights in the field, improvements to restrooms, walkways and seats - will keep it going for another three to five years. By then, the Sounds will need to make major renovations, build a new ballpark or consider moving out of Nashville.

"If we had not spent the money we did over the last year it's safe to say baseball would not be played," said Sounds General Manager Glenn Yaeger. "We continue to express our need for a new ballpark, and how important that is for the future of baseball here in Nashville. We're hopeful we can identify a solution."

The 31-year-old stadium was not meant to last beyond 30 years, Yaeger said. It seats 10,000 fans, typically draws 400,000 fans per season and is one of the oldest Triple A stadiums in the nation.

"It was built as a Double A facility in 1977, and facility standards back then were much different," he said. "It was built on the cheap, and never would have been a facility that would have been approved today."

This year marks the beginning of the Sounds' 11th season as a member of the Pacific Coast League and its fourth year as a Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Nashville bucks trend

Branch B. Rickey, league president, said Nashville's continued use of Greer Stadium bucks the national trend of building new minor-league stadiums.

"There really has been a renaissance in minor-league facilities over the past 15 years," Rickey said. "Many municipalities have recognized (building new stadiums) is an opportunity to help local fans have access to outdoor recreation, access to live professional sports during the spring and summer."

Metro Finance Director Rich Riebeling said that while city leaders are glad to see the upgrades, a deal to build a new one must be struck under the right conditions, in which the burden is not on taxpayers.

"You can't neglect what you have," Riebeling said. "These were necessary improvements, and realistically speaking, we're more than a couple of years away from a (new) stadium under the best of scenarios, even if you started today."

The Sounds have campaigned for more than five years to build a baseball stadium south of Broadway, on the west bank of the Cumberland River. A deal for the riverfront ballpark fell through last year, leaving fans wondering about the future of baseball in Nashville.

But there are no immediate plans for relocating the stadium, and league officials say they must focus on working with what they have.

Rickey said investing the money for improvements wasn't the best option, but one that was needed. "In order to be fair with home team players, visiting team players and with the umpires, something had to be done," he said.

Clubhouse was too small

Most of the upgrade dollars have gone toward building a new $750,000 clubhouse after Sounds management learned their facility was "unacceptable" by league standards. The old clubhouse, located under the stands, was too small for the players and in constant need of maintenance, especially when it rained and the roof leaked.

The stadium's new 48,000-square-foot clubhouse is located behind the outfield and will be used by the home team, visitors and umpires.

That clubhouse is still under construction and is expected to be ready by the April 28 home game. In the meantime, the Sounds will use the player facilities at LP Field while visiting teams will continue to use the clubhouse at Greer Stadium.

Meanwhile, there are some improvements for the fans as well. Aged walkways and broken seats have been replaced. Lights in the infield and outfield have been upgraded. The scoreboard is fully functioning, and the restrooms have been improved with new fixtures and partitions.

But there's still a lot more to be done.

"It's a constant uphill battle," said Joe Hart, assistant general manager of operations. "We've been going at it hard since the first of January, but every time you walk through you see something else that needs to get fixed. We've got a things-to-do list about five pages long. But we're trying to be proactive."

[Mass Haas]

From the Power:

 

Friday night's game at Appalachian Power Park between the West Virginia Power and Greenville Drive has been postponed due to rain. The game will be made up as part of a double header on Saturday night. The first pitch for game one will be delivered at 6:05 PM. In game one, right hander Nick Tyson (0-1, 3.86) will get the start for the Power and the Drive will counter with left hander Felix Doubront (1-0, 0.00).

[Mass Haas]

Final: Brevard County 7, Palm Beach (Cardinals) 6

 

Brevard County Box Score

Three players in the lower half of the order (Charlie Fermaint, Matt Cline, and Andy Bouchie) with two hits apiece -- Charlie homered and doubled, Matt doubled; are the FSL official scorers especially tough on catchers? Sixth passed ball for Bouchie; Mike Jones struggled in his two innings, but John Axford was effective if not efficient following up; closer Omar Aguilar allowed one inherited runner to score in the 8th, but was otherwise fine for the save...

 

Brevard County Game Log

Axford stranded the bases loaded in the 5th, and Casey Baron earns unsung hero status for coming in and snuffing a one-out rally with men on 2nd and 3rd in the 7th; everything about that log and box score indicates that it was a very entertaining game...

[Mass Haas]

Final: Huntsville 10, West Tenn (Mariners) 1

Huntsville Press Release Game Summary later...

 

Huntsville Box Score

Stars exploit veteran Arthur Rhodes in the first (injury rehab start); Chris Errecart and Cole Gillespie go deep -- Errecart now batting 5th, Gillespie 6th; starter David Welch absolutely stellar, Patrick Ryan his usual impeccable self in relief; Alcides Escobar left his offense in spring training; Mat Gamel's errors simply are not going away; Errecart scored four runs...

 

Huntsville Game Log

[Mass Haas]

Huntsville Press Release:

RUNS EARLY AND LATE LEAD TO BIG WIN

 

David Welch tossed six strong innings and three players drove in a pair of runs to lead Huntsville to a 10-1 victory over West Tenn Friday night in the middle of a five-game set at Pringles Park. The Stars stopped a two-game slide to improve to 6-2 and maintain their one game lead in the North Division, while the Diamond Jaxx lost a three-game win streak and dropped to 4-4. Don Money gained his 208th victory as the Stars skipper, matching his predecessor Frank Kremblas for third most on the franchise's all-time list.

 

Veteran major league hurler Arthur Rhodes, who did not pitch last season due to Tommy John surgery, made a rehab start for West Tenn and was saddled with the loss after allowing three first inning runs. Michael Brantley opened the game with a single, stole second base and scored one out later on a base hit by Mat Gamel, who pushed his hitting streak to six games. Matt LaPorta walked and Rhodes was taken out of the game after facing only four batters and replaced by fellow southpaw Justin Thomas, who started against the Stars four times last season. Chris Errecart was the first batter he faced and his sharply hit grounder could not be fielded by first baseman Shawn Garrett, allowing Gamel to score, LaPorta to reach third base and Errecart to arrive at second base. Carlos Corporan then brought in both runners with a two-out double to make it 4-0 Huntsville. Errecart's first home run of the season, and the Stars first since Opening Night, in the third inning made it 5-0.

 

Welch retired the first eight hitters he faced before Jeffrey Dominguez reached on an infield single but was promptly picked off to end the home third. West Tenn's only run came in the sixth when Ronnie Prettyman, a former Brewer draft choice, reached on a Gamel fielding error to open the frame and scored with two outs on a Gamel throwing error. Welch allowed three hits and fanned three to win for the second time in as many double-A starts. Patrick Ryan tossed two scoreless, hitless innings and Rusty Tucker retired the side in order in the ninth to close

the game for Huntsville.

 

Michael Brantley's two-out, two-run bases loaded single capped a three-run eighth inning rally and Cole Gillespie's two-run home run in the ninth finished the scoring for the visitors, who tallied eight of their season-high 10 runs with two outs. Errecart wound up with only one hit but reached base four times and scored each time he was aboard.

 

The series against West Tenn continues Saturday night with left-hander Brae Wright taking the mound against Diamond Jaxx right-hander Chris Jakubauskas. Coverage of the game begins at 6:50 pm central time and can be heard locally on SportsRadio 730 WUMP and through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com.

[Mass Haas]

With two rainouts and two other teams on the road, it's unlikely there will be any media coverage of note Saturday AM. (If David Weiser has an update, then please copy here, David).

 

I'll kick off Saturday's Link Report early now -- as I'm going to New York Saturday...

 

I wish it was for the Brewers - Mets (and Sheets / Santana), but my (extended) family is doing a bus tour thing to Ellis Island / Statue of Liberty.

 

Needless to say, I'll have my Walkman (WFAN). http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif Go Crew!