Link Report for Games of Easter Sunday, April 12th

[Mass Haas]

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

[Mass Haas]

Link Report Bonus -- Kudos to Stars fans (text follows)

 

Stars fans go beyond merely buying ticket

Civic pride in evidence during stadium cleanup

By CHRIS WELCH

Huntsville Times Entertainment Writer, chris.welch@htimes.com

 

Huntsville Stars general manager Buck Rogers is a colorful promoter along the lines of P.T. Barnum and Charley Finley, but that doesn't mean he's always going to gush when something isn't gush-worthy, right?

 

Well, Rogers can't stop gushing about what he's seen so far in Huntsville. And it has nothing to do with whether Huntsvillians are filling his seats at Joe Davis Stadium to watch the Huntsville Stars, Double A affiliates of the Milwaukee Brewers.

 

Rogers was blown away last year when 144 volunteers showed up to participate in Clean Up Joe Davis Stadium Day and also pleased when about 75 showed up in real iffy weather on Saturday, March 28.

 

And, they didn't just show up. They showed up and worked.

 

They washed windows. They hammered nails into picnic tables and benches. They steamed carpets. They trimmed shrubs. There were even groups painting murals on walls promoting nonprofit organizations (something new this year).

 

Some got credits toward Stars tickets, but many were already season ticket holders or members of the Stars booster club and they did it because they truly loved helping the organization and city.

 

"I'll tell you this, in 13 years in minor league baseball and 14 years in the military, I've never seen this much civic pride in a long, long time, from the mayor to the community to the business leaders," Rogers said. "This place, Madison County, has a huge dose of community pride and we're fortunate fans come out and support this.

 

"And, I'm not just talking about attending the games. We'd be dying on the vine without the pride of the people in Huntsville."

 

The problem? Stars officials are dealing with a 25-year-old stadium that needs lots of repairs and has a small staff to get it all done. They also have a limited window to get it done in the spring. So, Rogers decided to initiate the work day last spring before his first season with the Stars.

 

"It's not only the old Huckleberry Finn, 'Let's whitewash the fence,' it's fans having pride to help the city," Stars marketing manager Brian Massey said. "To keep us here another 25 years, we need to upgrade the stadium, and to be honest, in the last five years we've let it slide.

 

"Buck Rogers kicked the change into motion. We've all bought into the philosophy and there's a complete night and day difference in the way we approach it. We're a small staff and it's a large undertaking, but we still want it as clean and pristine as possible for a 25-year-old stadium."

Larry Veeder and Allison Tofflemire were at the cleanup March 28. They were just two of the volunteers who truly love helping the Stars. In addition to the cleanup day, they've also shown up every Thursday night since last season ended in August to help with different projects.

 

Veeder, named the Stars 2008 Fan of the Year, said there are many others like them who share pride for the baseball team and city.

 

"There are 100 to 150 people I could send out an e-mail note or put something in the paper saying 'We need help,' and they'd show up," Veeder said.

[Mass Haas]

Sunday's Daily Menu:

 

All times Central; pitchers subject to change --

 

Link here for the live audio choices - audio will no longer archive.

 

Nashville: RHP Nick Green at home vs. New Orleans (Marlins), 1:45 PM pre-game; 2:00 gametime

 

Huntsville: LHP Bobby Bramhall at home vs. Mobile (Diamondbacks), 12:45 PM pre-game; 1:00 gametime

 

Brevard County: Idle

 

Wisconsin: Idle

[Mass Haas]

Follow Sunday's action as it happens:

Here's what you do, right click on each of the links below and choose "Open in New Tab or New Window". Choose "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.

 

UPDATE: MiLB.com now has Gameday available for AA as well as AAA this season.

Nashville:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2009_04_12_nozaaa_nasaaa_1

 

Huntsville:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t559&t=g_box&gid=2009_04_12_mobaax_hunaax_1

[Mass Haas]

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

 

Nashville Media Notes (Adobe .pdf format):

 

[Mass Haas]

Midwest League Standings

[Mass Haas]

 Pacific Coast League (AAA) - PCL American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Iowa 2 1 .667 - 0-0 2-1 W2 Memphis 2 1 .667 - 2-1 0-0 W1 Omaha 2 1 .667 - 0-0 2-1 W2 Nashville 1 2 .333 1.0 1-2 0-0 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 Southern League (AA) - SOU North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Carolina 2 1 .667 - 0-0 2-1 W2 Tennessee 2 1 .667 - 0-0 2-1 W2 West Tenn 2 1 .667 - 0-0 2-1 L1 Chattanooga 1 2 .333 1.0 0-0 1-2 W1 Huntsville 1 2 .333 1.0 1-2 0-0 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

 Florida State League (A+) - FSL North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Clearwater 2 1 .667 - 1-1 1-0 L1 Daytona 2 1 .667 - 2-0 0-1 W2 Lakeland 2 1 .667 - 2-0 0-1 W1 Brevard County 1 2 .333 1.0 1-0 0-2 L2 Dunedin 1 2 .333 1.0 0-1 1-1 W1 Tampa 1 2 .333 1.0 1-0 0-2 L1 

[Mass Haas]

Final: Mobile (Diamondbacks) 3, Huntsville 0

Mobile Stymies Stars Offense

 

Huntsville Site Game Summary:

IMPRESSIVE DOUBLE-A DEBUT FOR ANOTHER BAYBEARS STARTER

 

Bryan Augenstein, Clay Zavada and Jason Urquidez combined on a one-hit shutout in Mobile's 3-0 Easter Sunday blanking of Huntsville at Joe Davis Stadium. The BayBears have taken three of the four games in the series and matched their win total against the Stars from last season in ten games.

 

Bryan Byrne walked with two outs in the fourth inning, advanced to second base on a passed ball and scored on a base hit by Cyle Hankerd, who knocked in his second run of the series. Bobby Bramhall was saddled with the loss in his first double-A start, giving up a lone unearned run on two hits, while walking four and fanning three.

 

Derrick Ellison, who had retired the side in order in the seventh inning, gave up a leadoff double to Evan Frey in the eighth and walked the next two batters to load the bases. He was replaced by Mike McClendon, who gave up a two-run single to Ricardo Sosa, who knocked in his first two runs of the year, to extend the lead to 3-0. Four Huntsville hurlers combined to issue nine walks Sunday and the staff has issued 27 walks in the series with nine of those put on with a free pass coming into score.

 

Huntsville's only hit of the game was a leadoff double in the first inning by Adam Stern, who remained planted at second base after Augenstein retired the next three hitters. The right-hander closed his performance by setting down 12 of the next 13, save for a walk to Stern in the third, including the last seven he faced. Augenstein struck out six to earn the win in his first double-A start and was followed by Zavada, who retired all six hitters he encountered. Jason Urquidez took over in the eight and set down the side in order, making it 16 straight batters retired and the third time in the series at least 12 Huntsville hitters have been retired in succession. Freddy Parejo drew a leadoff walk in the ninth before Urquidez retired the next three hitters to end the game and earn his first save.

 

The series wraps up Monday afternoon with southpaw David Welch taking the hill for Huntsville against BayBears' right-hander Cody Evans. Coverage of the game begins at 12:45 PM central time and can be heard through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com.

 

Huntsville Box Score

Tiny performance for a tiny Easter crowd (503); other than Bobby Bramhall, not a lot of compelling names to review -- within this group of organizational soldiers (sorry, often an unfair term), there is opportunity for breakout stars to stand out, but nobody is seizing that opportunity yet...

 

Huntsville Game Log

One amazing stat -- Gerardo Parra of the BayBears was picked off base three times -- Stars pitchers picked off four in all...

[wibadgers23]

Gamel with a .500+ BA and 8 rbi's already. I realize we're only 4 games in, but how long until he gets the call if he keeps his BA around .300 and continues to play solid defense?

[Mass Haas]

Final: New Orleans (Marlins) 11, Huntsville 5, ten innings

Nashville Site Game Summary (link for latest Tony Gwynn photo)

 

NASHVILLE - The New Orleans Zephyrs sent 11 batters to the dish and plated six runs in the top of the tenth inning to record an 11-5 victory over the Nashville Sounds on Sunday afternoon at Greer Stadium in the finale of a four-game series.

 

With the win, New Orleans took three of the four games in the clubs' season-opening series.

 

Pinch-hitter Michael Ryan led off the tenth with a single to center off Sounds reliever Matt Ginter then moved to second when Jai Miller laid down a bunt and Ginter's throw to second was late. After Brett Hayes reached on a bunt single to load the bases, veteran infielder Dave Matranga ripped a two-run single off the glove of third baseman Mat Gamel to put the visitors in front by a 7-5 margin.

 

Later in the tenth, Manny Mayorson (3-for-6) doubled the visitors' advantage with a two-out, two-run single to center off Ginter. Gaby Sanchez (3-for-6) and Ryan each added RBI singles off the right-hander to bring the score to its final 11-5.

 

Zephyrs reliever Willie Collazo retired the Sounds in order in the bottom of the tenth to preserve the victory.

 

Tim Wood (1-0) was the beneficiary of the late Zephyrs rally and picked up the win after working two scoreless innings. Ginter (0-1) took the loss for Nashville after being touched for six runs on six hits in his lone inning of work.

 

New Orleans grabbed a 2-0 lead in the top of the second against Sounds starter Nick Green. Sanchez and John Lindsey opened the frame with consecutive singles. Later in the inning, Hayes plated Sanchez with an RBI groundout and Matranga doubled the advantage with a two-out RBI single to left. Sanchez extended the visitors' lead to 3-0 in the fourth with a leadoff solo homer to left, his first roundtripper of the season.

 

The Z's pulled ahead 5-0 in the fifth against Green with a two-out rally. Matranga opened the inning with a walk and later scored on Mayorson's RBI double into the right field corner. Chris Coghlan followed with a run-scoring single to left.

 

The Sounds missed a chance to put runs on the board in the bottom of the frame. After the home team loaded the bases with only one out, New Orleans starter Dallas Trahern coaxed an inning-ending double-play grounder from pinch-hitter Joe Koshanksy to escape unscathed.

 

Nashville broke through in the sixth, plating three runs to make it a 5-3 contest. Alcides Escobar and Mat Gamel reached on back-to-back one-out singles before Erick Almonte roped an RBI single to left to break up the shutout. Jason Bourgeois later added a two-out, two-run single to left off Z's reliever John Koronka.

 

With their knocks in the sixth, Escobar, Gamel, and Bourgeois became the lone Sounds to record a hit in each of the club's first four games this year.

 

The Sounds knotted the score at 5-5 in the seventh with a pair of unearned runs off Koronka stemming from an inning-opening dropped fly ball by Miller in right field. Tony Gwynn drove in Adam Heether with an RBI double before Gamel later brought him plateward with a game-tying sacrifice fly.

 

AUDIO: Tony Gwynn RBI Double

 

Green took a no-decision in his Brewers organization debut after surrendering five runs on six hits over his five innings of action.

 

The Sounds continue their season-opening homestand on Monday evening at Greer Stadium by welcoming the Oklahoma City RedHawks (AAA-Rangers) to town for the opener of a four-game series. Right-hander Tim Dillard will man the bump for the Sounds to face Oklahoma City right-hander Luis Mendoza. It will be each hurler's first start of the year.

 

Nashville Box Score

Tony Gwynn is already 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts after four games -- keep up that pace and another organization would surely notice; pinch-hitters were used as such that Don Money had to turn to pitcher Mike Burns to bat in the 9th, not wanting to use Carlos Corporan in a possible extra-inning game; Mat Gamel singled and was intentionally walked; Jason Bourgeois remains hot, as he was in winter ball all offseason; Erick Almonte starting at first base? If Joe Koshansky is going to hold a 40-man roster spot, he should not be starting only half the time...

 

Nashville Game Log

[Mass Haas]

Probable Pitching Matchups for this week's Wisconsin - Fort Wayne Series

[Never Outhustled]

I realize we're only 4 games in, but how long until he gets the call if he keeps his BA around .300 and continues to play solid defense?

If he ever starts to play solid defense, he'll get the call, because he is an absolutly tremendous hitter. Unfortunately, along with his unreal offensive numbers, he also has 2 errors already.

[twobrewers]

Huntsville isn't exactly an offensive force this year.

 

Gamel with a .500+ BA and 8 rbi's already. I realize we're only 4 games in, but how long until he gets the call if he keeps his BA around .300 and continues to play solid defense?

To be fair, he does have two errors this season.

[wibadgers23]

Oops, I didn't catch his error in the boxscore. It was nice to see him turn a couple double plays at least.

[NastyTwig]

To be fair, Escobar (the good fielder) also has two errors.

 

But Gamel does have to be atleast a decent MLB third baseman to get called up early. Doesn't look like it will ever happen.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

Huntsville can't overcome walks

Stars fall 3-0 to BayBears after walking nine

By PAUL GATTIS

Huntsville Times Sports Staff, paul.gattis@htimes.com

 

There is the good, which is a team ERA of 3.00 through the first four games of the season for the Huntsville Stars.

 

There is the bad, which is a record of 1-3 after Sunday's 3-0 loss to Mobile at Joe Davis Stadium.

 

And good as the pitching has been, the staff still has guilty fingerprints on the losses, too.

 

"I like the arms," Stars pitching coach John Curtis said. "I think the staff, the way they pitched in spring training, certainly led me to believe we could compete and win in this league.

 

"What I don't like is, obviously, the walks. Boy, oh, boy, we've had a lot of free passes."

 

Indeed, of the 17 runs the Stars have allowed in the first four games, nine reached base on walks.

 

Sunday was no different, with two of the three BayBear runs being scored by batters who reached on walks.

 

Four Stars pitchers combined for nine walks Sunday. By comparison, three Mobile pitchers combined for two walks.

 

"Clearly, there's a lot of room to tighten up," Curtis said. "But it's still very, very early."

 

Stars manager Bob Miscik must be hoping for the same from his offense. The Stars scored just one run in a 2-1 loss on Friday and put just three runners on base Sunday.

 

Adam Stern had the Stars' only hit, leading off the game with a double to left. After that, Stern walked in the third and pinch-hitter Freddy Parejo walked in the ninth. Along the way, Mobile pitchers retired 16 straight batters.

 

But reliever Josh Wahpepah has been a bright spot in the slow start. The 6-foot-4 righty has twice pitched two scoreless innings out of the bullpen - including two hitless innings Sunday.

 

"I feel pretty good," Wahpepah said. "I'm just trying to focus on throwing down in the zone and get people out. It doesn't matter how you get them out. I'm just trying to get them out."

 

Wahpepah, an Oklahoma native who now lives in Shawnee, Okla., is half-Native American. Wahpepah said he's one-quarter Shawnee and one-quarter Kickapoo.

 

"I'm a pretty standard guy," Wahpepah said with a smile when asked about his Native American background. "I try not to be too superstitious."

 

Mostly, he just gets batters out.

 

"He's locating very well, using both sides of the plate," Curtis said. "He's another one that's been there when we've needed him and he's done pretty well. I'm pleased for him."

[Mass Haas]

David Weiser's starsboxscore.com --

 

Stars Lay an Easter Egg

Leadoff double by Stern and two walks

 

Easter Sunday in Huntsville, Alabama -- the Bible Belt....... Despite mascot Homer the Polecat's offer of chocolate bunnies, only 503 (the smallest Sunday crowd in history) came out to the Joe, while the rest of Huntsville was celebrating the holiday at home, attending Easter egg hunts, or practicing another religion other than baseball.

 

It started out as a gorgeous sunny 68° day and the prospect of a Stars win looked good in the bottom half of the 1st as Adam Stern (.333) reached the left field wall on a bounce for a double and became the only Huntsville hitter to hit safely in all four games this series...... With the sudden chill and the clouds came the Stars' fortunes. Bryan Augenstein struck out two in the 1st, six strikeouts in five innings overall.

The Stars mounted just two attempts at a rally after that. Stern walks in the 3rd and steals 2nd, but with two out, Shane Justis flies to center to end the inning....... From the 3rd to the 9th, Augenstein, Clay Zavada and Justin Urquidez combined to retire 16 straight hitters....... Then Freddy Parejo walked on four straight pitches to lead off the 9th, and Stern took three straight balls, necessitating a mound conference....... Whatever was said did some good. Stern took three straight pitches for strikes, then after getting ahead 2-and-0, Justis looked at three strikes....... Kevin Melillo fell behind 0-and-2, took a couple of balls, then grounded hard to 2nd baseman Kevin Hallberg to end the game...... It's the first one-hitter the Stars have lost since August 30, 1990, when the Stars were eliminated from the playoff race by Greenville.

The Stars, last in the league in hitting, have been held to a .179 average in this series...... Chuck Caufield, Chris Errecart, J.R. Hopf, and Charlie Fermaint are still hitless -- a combined 0-for-25...... Still, the team ERA is a decent 3.25 -- 4th in the SL.

 

David Welch, an 11-game winner last year for the Stars, will face righthander Cody Evans, who was 4-8 last year, on Military Monday....... The Stars have a .192 average vs. righties so far...... Anyone presenting a military ID or an ID card if you're a dependent will get in for a dollar. It's a 1 PM game, but the forecast of late is iffy. Another storm system is set to arrive to give a 90% chance of rain to the forecast. There is a slight risk of damaging winds in the afternoon hours.

 

Bobby Bramhall did not make his first start of the season last year until June 9 after he had made 18 relief appearances. He wound up 4-1 with a 1.88 ERA in his nine starts....... The Stars were 9-8 on Sundays last year.

[JJHardy7]

But Gamel does have to be atleast a decent MLB third baseman to get called up early. Doesn't look like it will ever happen.

 

Have you seen him play? I'm just curious because everything I hear from those who have seen him play think he'll be fine. Most of his errors are mental.

[Never Outhustled]

Most of his errors are mental.

And those count less?

 

We have never heard a scout say he thinks Gamel is a 3B, and I doubt their all wrong, but that's not even the point. The question is, how long do you hold back a dominant big league bat before you just move it to another position.

 

We should really move this discussion to its own thread here