Link Report for Thursday 5/22 - Heether Outpitches Turnbow; Brantley Leaves Game

[Mass Haas]

http://www.brewerfan.net/images/store/dailylinkreport.jpg

[Mass Haas]

Thursday's Daily Menu:

 

All times Central; pitchers subject to change --

 

Nashville: LHP Chris Narveson at home vs. Memphis (Cardinals), 6:45 PM pre-game; 7:00 gametime

 

Audio link:

www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/

 

Huntsville: LHP Derek Miller at home vs. Birmingham (White Sox), 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 Alex Periard at Dunedin (Blue Jays), 6:00 PM gametime

 

Sorry, no audio for this series...

West Virginia: RHP R.J. Seidel at Lake County (Indians), 9:50 AM pre-game, 10:05 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 Thursday's action as it happens:

Here's what you do, right click on each of the links below and choose "Open in New Window". Open the Nashville Gameday. For the others, 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.

 

Nashville:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_05_22_mrbaaa_nasaaa_1

 

Huntsville:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_05_22_biraax_hunaax_1

 

Brevard County:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_05_22_breafa_dunafa_1

 

West Virginia:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_05_22_wvaafx_lcoafx_1

[Mass Haas]

This link will be included in each daily report when the Nashville Sounds are scheduled to play. Normally it is updated several hours prior to gametime.

 

Nashville Media Notes (Adobe .pdf format):

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/pdf/notes.pdf

[Mass Haas]

 Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Memphis 24 23 .511 - 9-11 15-12 W2 Iowa 22 23 .489 1.0 13-9 9-14 L1 Omaha 20 24 .455 2.5 12-13 8-11 W1 Nashville 19 26 .422 4.0 11-11 8-15 L2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Huntsville 30 16 .652 - 18-8 12-8 L3 West Tenn 29 17 .630 1.0 16-5 13-12 W1 Carolina 27 19 .587 3.0 12-9 15-10 W3 Chattanooga 24 22 .522 6.0 14-11 10-11 L1 Tennessee 16 31 .340 14.5 6-16 10-15 L3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 Florida State League (A+) - FSL East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Palm Beach 28 18 .609 - 17-8 11-10 L1 Brevard County 25 21 .543 3.0 16-10 9-11 W5 Daytona 23 23 .500 5.0 9-11 14-12 L2 Jupiter 22 24 .478 6.0 13-8 9-16 L2 Vero Beach 22 24 .478 6.0 14-7 8-17 W1 St. Lucie 9 37 .196 19.0 5-20 4-17 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 South Atlantic League (A) - SAL Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lake County 30 16 .652 - 14-10 16-6 W2 Greensboro 25 21 .543 5.0 10-12 15-9 L1 Delmarva 24 21 .533 5.5 16-11 8-10 L1 Hagerstown 23 22 .511 6.5 10-12 13-10 L1 Hickory 24 23 .511 6.5 8-13 16-10 L1 Lakewood 22 24 .478 8.0 13-13 9-11 W1 West Virginia 17 28 .378 12.5 7-13 10-15 L2 Lexington 14 31 .311 15.5 5-16 9-15 W1 

[Mass Haas]

R.J. Seidel and Chris Cody are dealin' on the mound for the Power -- in fact, all six of Cody's outs have come via the strikeout in his season debut.

 

C'mon bats -- Power trails, 1-0, after six innings.

[JJHardy7]

Is Weaver starting for the Sounds tonight? That's what it looks like in the Sounds' notes.

[DHonks]

just wondering if Fryer is now a full-time OF?

[Mass Haas]

Is Weaver starting for the Sounds tonight? That's what it looks like in the Sounds' notes.

 

Those notes are still Wednesday's. Thursday's have not been posted yet.

[jjfanec]

Brevard County's rotation is going to fun going forth. Braddock, Jeffress, Hand, Periard, Butler, and now Cody in a little bit. One guy is going to have to get bumped up to AA and I assume it will be Hand. I could see Hammond being bumped to AAA.

[Mass Haas]

Final: West Virginia 5, Lake County (Indians) 1

Official game report in a bit...

 

West Virginia Box Score

R.J. Seidel and Chris Cody combine on a four-hitter, striking out 12; no worries about Cody's elbow, that's a heck of a five-inning stint for the win; missed ofensive opportunities early were quickly forgotten after some clutch hitting in the final three innings; Lee Haydel, Caleb Gindl, Brent Brewer and Eric Fryer with with two hits apiece -- Fryer homered as yes, his time behind the plate seems as though it will be minimal, at least for now, with Jonathan Lucroy and Uly Snijders on the roster; Zelous Wheeler reached twice on a walk and an HBP; Power baserunners 5-for-5 in SB attempts, two apiece for Haydel and Lucroy...

 

West Virginia Game Log

[Mass Haas]

As fans of West Virginia audio know, Andy Barch often takes listener email while on-air, particularly in the 4th and 5th inning "Fan Interaction Segment".

 

In today's game, Andy takes an offline conversation I had recently had with him about the players' knowledge and interest in Brewerfan.net or other fan sites that follow the Power (there are others? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif), and discusses it during the game for a few minutes --

Andy's comments can be heard at the beginning of the bottom of the 4th inning --

Go to the WSWW audio archive of May 22nd, then go the 1 hour, 28 minute mark (01:28:00)...

[Mass Haas]

Final: West Virginia 5, Lake County (Indians) 1

West Virginia Site Game Summary:

POWER FINISH STRONG IN 5-1 WIN

 

The Lake County Captains held West Virginia to just three hits through the first six innings of Thursday's game at Classic Park, but the Power scored five runs on six hits in the final three innings to take the fourth game of the series 5-1.

 

The Captains plated the first run of the game in the bottom of the first. Adam White reached on an eight-pitch walk to begin the inning. He stole second base and moved to third on Lucas Montero's groundout before he scored on Karexon Sanchez's groundout. West Virginia left four runners in scoring position through the first six innings before they cashed in during the seventh.

 

Eric Fryer tied the game with a two-out single to right field that scored Zelous Wheeler. Brent Brewer, who was 0-19 on the road trip at that point, delivered a clutch two-out double down the right field line to score Fryer and give West Virginia the lead for good. In the eighth, Caleb Gindl's single scored Jonathan Lucroy before the Power pulled away with two in the ninth. Fryer hit a solo homer in the ninth, his second of the year, and Brewer scored the final run on Eric Farris's sacrifice fly.

 

Chris Cody (1-0) was outstanding in his Power debut. He delivered a masterful five-inning relief performance, holding the Captains to just three hits and he struck out eight to get the victory. Jonathan Holt (0-4) gave up three runs on three hits over two innings and was tagged with the loss. R.J. Seidel held the Captains to a run on a hit and struck out four batters through four innings. He ended each of his four frames with a strikeout.

 

The Power improved to 18-28 with the win and the Captains fell to 30-17 with the loss. West Virginia stole five bases in the game, tying their season high. Four Power players had multi-hit games. Lee Haydel, Gindl, Fryer and Brewer all hit safely twice. Seidel and Cody issued seven inning-ending strikeouts in the contest.

 

The Power will finish their five game series against Lake County in Eastlake, Ohio Friday night. Right hander Amaury Rivas (3-1, 2.61) will get the start for the Power and the Captains will counter with left hander Ryan Miller (7-0, 1.02). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM (6:05 Central).

[SoCalBrewfan]

Chris Cody's nickname should be 'commander' (or 'commando' if you are truly old school). I'd guess he'd be on the way to Brevard soon, especially given that the rust seems to be less than anyone could have expected?

[And That]

Then you'd pretty much have to nickname the bullpen "His Lost Planet Airmen."

[TheCrew07]

Nice game for the WV pitchers... Seidel has been finding way too many bats this season, this was an encouraging start for him to be sure. Cody blows people right off the bat, I would haven't guessed that either. It's been a good 2 days following the younger minor league arms.

[twobrewers]

I don't know if anyone noticed...

 

But Turnbow is really bad.

[Mass Haas]

Nashville Pre-Game Audio Chat with Milwaukee Brewers GM Doug Melvin (Part 2 of 2)

[Mass Haas]

Final: Memphis (Cardinals) 10, Nashville 2

 

Nashville Site Game Summary:

Link for Ozzie Chavez photo, text follows --

 

Redbirds Rout Sounds In Series Finale, 10-2

 

NASHVILLE - The Nashville Sounds dropped their third straight game to the first-place Memphis Redbirds, falling 10-2 on Thursday evening at Greer Stadium.

 

Nashville (19-27) finished its homestand with a 4-4 record but fell five games behind the Redbirds in the standings after losing three of four in the series.

 

Memphis shortstop Brian Barden led off the game with his third home run of the season, a solo shot to left off Sounds starter Chris Narveson, to give the visitors an early 1-0 lead. The visitors doubled the advantage in the second with an unearned run resulting from a Narveson throwing error. Former Sound Mark Johnson plated Nick Stavinoha with an RBI single.

 

Nashville made it a 2-1 contest with an unearned run of its own in the bottom of the frame before Memphis blew the game open with a four-run third against Narveson. Three of the runs scored when Colby Rasmus' two-out single with runners on first and second netted three runs as Nashville centerfielder Laynce Nix misplayed the ball.

 

Redbirds rightfielder Joe Mather made it a 7-1 ballgame in the fifth with a towering solo home run to left to lead off the frame. The blast, which came on a 2-2 Narveson offering, was the outfielder's team-leading tenth of the season.

 

Nashville got a run back in the bottom of the inning when Brendan Katin was hit by a Blake Hawksworth pitch to open the frame, moved to third on a wild pitch, and scored on shortstop Ozzie Chavez's infield RBI single.

 

Memphis added its final runs in the top of the eighth when Derrick Turnbow's struggles continued. The Sounds right-hander issued four consecutive two-out walks, the final two coming with the bases loaded, to force home a pair of runners. Turnbow threw only 12 of his 30 pitches for strikes in the outing.

 

Luis Pena took over for Turnbow and was greeted by a D'Angelo Jimenez RBI single to right that plated Gabe Johnson, increasing the Redbirds' lead to 10-2.

 

Hawksworth (2-5) picked up the victory after working a quality start. He allowed two runs (one ER) on four hits over 6 1/3 innings. He struck out four batters and walked two.

 

Narveson (2-6) took the loss after giving up a season-high seven runs (four earned) on nine hits in his five frames.

 

Nashville third baseman Adam Heether made his professional pitching debut when he moved to the mound for the ninth inning and worked a scoreless frame, retiring three of his four batters faced.

 

The Sounds travel to Memphis on Friday morning to begin an eight-game road trip that also includes a stop in Albuquerque. Nashville has performed well at Auto Zone Park over the years, posting a 36-27 record at the Redbirds' home field.

 

Right-hander Richie Gardner (3-1, 5.23) will start Friday's 7:05 p.m. series opener for the Sounds. Memphis will counter with right-hander Mitchell Boggs (4-1, 3.33).

 

Baseball returns to Music City on Saturday, May 31, when the Sounds open an eight-game homestand by hosting the division-rival Iowa Cubs.

 

Nashville Box Score

 

Nashville Game Log

[Mass Haas]

Another fine photo gallery from the Tennessean includes three photos of an embattled Derrick Turnbow

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

Turnbow's struggles continue in Sounds loss

By MAURICE PATTON

Tennessean Staff Writer

 

It was Thirsty Thursday at Greer Stadium, but the long, dry spell continued for Nashville Sounds reliever Derrick Turnbow.

 

Assigned to the Triple-A team by the Milwaukee Brewers earlier this month to work through some control problems, Turnbow has hardly turned things around since his May 12 arrival.

 

After a pair of eighth-inning strikeouts, Turnbow issued four straight walks - two with the bases loaded - and heard the disapproval of 8,104 in attendance before he was relieved in an eventual 10-2 loss to Memphis.

 

"It didn't affect me," Turnbow said of the crowd's reaction to his struggles. "I've been through a lot in Milwaukee. It wasn't a big deal. I've learned to handle it."

 

Turnbow was charged with three runs in two-thirds of an inning, raising his ERA from 9.82 to 14.54. He's allowed 15 walks with six strikeouts since joining the team.

 

"It looked like he started rushing a little," Nashville Manager Frank Kremblas said of Turnbow. "He got out of his delivery. He was trying to get the third out too quickly, probably."

 

The Sounds were headed for their third straight loss before Turnbow took the mound.

 

Starting pitcher Chris Narveson allowed a home run to Memphis leadoff hitter Brian Barden, and the Redbirds added a run in the second, then four in the third as a Laynce Nix error led to a pair of unearned runs. Joe Mather led off the fifth with a homer to push the margin to six runs.

 

Nashville took advantage of a passed ball and a balk to score Adam Heether in the second inning following his one-out single.

 

The Sounds scored again in the bottom of the fifth. Brendan Katin was hit by a pitch from Memphis starter Blake Hawksworth, advanced two bases on a Hawksworth wild pitch and crossed the plate on an Ozzie Chavez base hit.

 

After cutting the margin to five, though, the Sounds were unable to mount much more of a charge. In an effort to limit the damage to the bullpen, Kremblas turned to third baseman Heether in the ninth. Heether, the fifth Sounds pitcher of the night, retired three of the four hitters he faced.

 

"He asked me to go out there and throw some strikes," said Heether.

 

"It's a totally different perspective," he said. "The plate looks a lot smaller from the mound than it does when you're in the (batter's) box."

 

The loss marked the first time the Sounds have dropped three in a row since suffering four consecutive losses - one to Omaha and three at Albuquerque - April 17-21.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

Narveson makes first start against former team in defeat

By MAURICE PATTON

Tennessean Staff Writer

 

After three seasons with the Memphis Redbirds, Chris Narveson made his first career start against them Thursday.

 

Starting for the Nashville Sounds, Narveson didn't get off to a great beginning against his former team.

 

Narveson gave up a leadoff home run and committed a second-inning error that led to a run in an eventual 10-2 loss to the Redbirds.

 

Selected in the second round of the 2000 draft by the St. Louis Cardinals, Narveson spent the majority of his career in that organization - with the exception of four starts with Tulsa (Double-A Rockies) at the end of the 2004 season and 21 games with Pawtucket (Triple-A Red Sox) to start the '05 campaign.

 

The Cardinals claimed him off waivers on Aug. 8, 2005, and assigned him to Memphis, where he went 11-8 with a 4.28 earned run average from 2005-07.

 

Fan struck: A ball that Narveson fouled into the stands during his second-inning at-bat struck a fan in the left eye. She received medical treatment and was removed from the seating area on a stretcher, then transported to St. Thomas Hospital.

 

Crossed ties: Three current Redbirds have Sounds ties - some looser than others.

 

John Wasdin, who threw three scoreless innings of relief in the Redbirds' 4-1 win Tuesday, recorded the first perfect game in Sounds history on April 7, 2003. That was his only season with Nashville and he was traded later that year to the Blue Jays organization. Catcher Mark Johnson played 48 games with the Sounds in 2006.

 

A third Redbird, infielder Rico Washington, appeared in the Sounds' media guides for 2000, '01 and '02 but never actually played for Nashville while in the Pittsburgh farm system.

 

Timing is everything: Richie Gardner, the Sounds' scheduled starter today in Memphis, has won his last three decisions, but has posted only one quality start (six innings or more, three earned runs or less) on the season.

 

In his last five starts, Gardner is 3-1 with one no-decision and an ERA of 5.18. Nashville has scored more than eight runs in each of Gardner's three wins.

 

Alumni update: R.A. Dickey, who earned Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Year honors with the Sounds last season, was called up Thursday by the Seattle Mariners from Triple-A Tacoma. It was the second call-up of the year for the former Montgomery Bell Academy and University of Tennessee standout.

 

Also, former Nashville reliever Mike Adams (2005-06) was called up Thursday by San Diego from Triple-A Portland, swapping places on the Padres' roster with ex-Sounds reliever Joe Thatcher (2007).

 

Turnbow picks up tab: The Sounds' pregame meal before was a bit of an upgrade from the usual - courtesy of reliever Derrick Turnbow, who picked up the bill for the spread from P.F. Chang's.

 

"It's something I can do, and I like to do it," said Turnbow, who spent April with the Milwaukee Brewers before he was reassigned earlier this month. "I remember being here.

 

"You didn't have a lot, and you'd appreciate it when guys would come down and do something nice.

 

"I'm sure I'll do it again."

 

The meal followed veteran pitcher Jeff Weaver's springing for Wednesday's postgame gathering for players and their families at Judge Bean's atop Greer Stadium. Also, current Brewers outfielder Mike Cameron took care of a team spread while on a rehab assignment with the Sounds.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Birmingham (White Sox) 8, Huntsville 6

 

Huntsville Site Game Summary:

 

Huntsville Struggles at Home Continue

Stars Tumble into First Place Tie

By Brett Pollock / Huntsville Stars

Javier Castillo had four hits and knocked in two runs and the bullpen tossed three scoreless innings in Birmingham's 8-6 comeback win over Huntsville Thursday night in the second of a five-game set at Joe Davis Stadium. The Barons won their fifth straight to improve to 27-20 and maintain a five-game cushion over Jacksonville in the South, while the Stars lost a season-high fourth consecutive game to fall to 30-17 and into a first place tie with West Tenn in the North Division. Huntsville has dropped six of seven on the current home stand and has seen a five-game lead evaporate since completing a five-game sweep of Tennessee on May 14.

Robert Hinton opened the seventh inning on the hill for the Stars and gave up a base hit to Castillo that plated Miguel Negron to tie the game at six. Noah Hall followed with a walk to load the bases before pinch-hitter Ricardo Nanita fanned for the second out of the inning. Catcher Angel Salome could not corral Hinton's first offering to Cole Armstrong and the passed ball allowed Victor Mercedes to score the go-ahead run. Hinton suffered his second loss of the home stand after giving up two runs on two hits with two walks.

 

Negron singled with two outs in the eighth, stole second and scored on a base hit by Mercedes to give the Barons an 8-6 lead and snap Joe Bateman's scoreless string at 13 2/3 innings. The Stars bullpen has allowed 15 runs in 28 innings over the last seven games and suffered four of the six losses.

 

The Stars had their leadoff man reach second base in the seventh and eighth innings but could not advance him and put two runners on in the ninth against Jon Link, who then struck out Cole Gillespie and induced Chris Errecart to bounce into a force out at second base to end the game. Link nailed down his 12th save in 14 chances and followed Derek Rodriguez who threw 2/3rds of a scoreless inning and Joe Torres, who tossed an inning and a third of scoreless relief and fanned three.

 

Trailing 2-1 entering the home fifth, Angel Salome led off with an opposite field home run to right field, his third of the season and first allowed by Barons' starter Kyle McCulloch in 43 innings dating back to April 10. Alcides Escobar, Matt LaPorta and Gillespie added run-scoring hits to cap off the five-run rally that gave the Stars a 6-2 lead. However, the visitors answered right back with three in the sixth on a two-out, two-run double by Robert Hudson and an RBI hit by Robert Valido to draw within one.

 

Stars' starter Derek Miller matched a season-high with six innings of work during which he allowed a season-high five runs on nine hits. McCulloch also lasted six frames and gave up six runs on nine hits and earned his first win since April 15.

 

The series continues Friday night with southpaw David Welch taking the mound for the Stars against Barons' right-hander Justin Cassel. 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 and www.730ump.com.

 

Huntsville Box Score

Robert Hinton really needs to start showing more production than promise -- I get the sense that Power 50 readers are feeling the same way; Derek Miller's ERA of 3.42 is fine, but there's been nothing in the numbers otherwise to indicate a very strong 2008 campaign; Mat Gamel on base three times -- OPS still incredible at 1.078...

 

Huntsville Game Log

Odd sequence in the bottom of the 6th -- did Michael Brantley tweak something? We'll check out the audio...

 

Huntsville Bottom 6th

• - Angel Salome grounds out, shortstop Robert Valido to first baseman Javier Castillo.
• - Mike Bell grounds out, shortstop Robert Valido to first baseman Javier Castillo.
• - Michael Brantley reaches on fielding error by shortstop Robert Valido.
• - With Alcides Escobar batting, Michael Brantley steals (15) 2nd base.
• - Alcides Escobar singles on a ground ball to shortstop Robert Valido. Michael Brantley out at 3rd, shortstop Robert Valido.

Birmingham Top 7th

• - Defensive Substitution: Ryan Crew replaces center fielder Michael Brantley, batting 1st, playing left field.

[Mass Haas]

Michael Brantley Injury Audio Sequence

If you go to the 2:00:00 (two hour mark exactly) you'll hear Brantley reach on an error, steal his base, and then dive back into 2nd base as the ball thrown by the catcher hit the pitcher and then went into the outfield -- Brett Pollock speculated it's a right leg or right foot injury (possibly a roll of the ankle). Brantley remained in the game. Brantley then was hit by a line drive off the bat of Alcides Escobar, adding insult to injury, literally. The Huntsville Times is late with their game report today -- maybe we'll learn more later. On the surface, it appears to be a day-to-day situation.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Dunedin (Blue Jays) 10, Brevard County 2

Brevard County Box Score
It was 3-2 Blue Jays until the bottom of the 7th when RH reliever Shawn Ferguson was overwhelmed in a seven-run frame which included two walks, a triple, two home runs and a single; starter Alex Periard allowed three runs (only one earned) in his six innings; utility man Matt Cline has committed 11 errors in his 30 games; Darren Ford singled and walked twice -- he's 23-for-30 in SB attempts; Kenny Holmberg drew three free passes -- Holmberg's .302 slugging percentage still places him in the cleanup spot on this squad bereft of power...

Brevard County Game Log