Link Report for Tue. 4/11 -- Sheets Dominates

[Blazer25]

5.2 IP 9K's

0BB

3 H

0 Runs

 

 

Welcome back Ben.

 

BTW...that hair is really ridiculous.

[bsglorydays]

Well, I guess 75 pitches turns out to be the magic number. Nice outing by Sheets today. Finishes up with 9 k's in 5.2 IP.

[DHonks]

BTW...that hair is really ridiculous.

 

I think he and Turnbow are auditioning for the movie version of "the hair bear bunch". What a goofy 70s tv show

[Cyanogen5]

Power lose 4-2...interesting 9th inning, similar to the Brewers yesterday, just not quite enough.

[bthurley19]

Yeah I think Sheets is ready. Seemed to have the filthy stuff working today. See ya on Sunday Ben.

[Brewer Fever]

How high will this Sheets guy rank on the next Power 50?

[pogokat]

I had to leave before the end of he game today, as i will on Thursday as well..

 

some notes:

 

Michael Brantley: I want to see it, but i don't think he's got much power at all...everything he hit was pretty soft to the opposite field. He made a really nice grab in Left Field, but he's not overly fast..in fact, he's looked kind of slow during the year...i hope he develops into something more, but right now he's behind Cain and Ford...and batting 9th kinda shows they think of brantley perhaps not as highly as the other two

 

Lorenzo Cain: He was the DH today...he hits the ball hard...that's all i got. Hopefully he will do something of substance on Thursday

 

Angel Salome: He was ahead of every pitch, and he hit it straight into the ground...which is pretty much what everyone did. His arm wasn't quite cannon esque toay, but he's got an extremely fast release...he just kind of snaps the ball. For a catcher he is extremely quick, and a fast runner...for comparison, he runs faster than brantley. Has got tree trunks for forearms...he looks more like a greco roman wrestler than a baseball player

 

Kevin Roberts: Utterly hittable...fastest pitch at 91, but worked in the 87-89 range for most of the game...All three Homers were very well hit...so no cheapies.

 

Will Inman: Talked to him before the game for awhile...they are making him chart the pitches on days he doesn't pitch, so he was in the stands with Derek Miller. Inman will be starting on Thursday. Seemed like a nice guy.

 

Ned Yost: Seemed a bit overwhelmed at the plate, but a pretty good defensive first baseman, which is nice to have.

 

Ryan Crew: Hit the Ball well today...1st double was a cheepie, but second was driven deep. i think he will develop some pretty good power.

 

Kenny Holmberg: Sat next to a friend of Kenny's dad and he told me the Brewers would have sent Kenny to brevard if not for the Hurricane...also said that the brewers plan to eventually give Kenny a crack at catcher...said they meant to this year in winter ball, but it never happened..

 

Well, that's all i can think of for now. Chris Volstad is gonna pitch in the majors...he looked like a 6 foot 7 brandon webb out there today. Also, Gabby Sanchez is like Mike Piazza if he can stick at catcher.

 

edit: got hammonds and Roberts mixed up

[And That]

Imagine what Sheeter's stat line would be like if he pitched an entire year in AAA, especially in the IL. Good to see him back.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Nashville 4, Iowa (Cubs) 1

 

Nashville Site Game Summary:

Link, then text --

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=1897

 

Sheets Dominates I-Cubs, Sounds Win 4-1

 

DES MOINES - Rehabbing right-hander Ben Sheets turned in a dominant performance, striking out nine batters while allowing only three singles over 5 2/3 scoreless innings, to lead the Nashville Sounds to a 4-1 victory over the Iowa Cubs on Tuesday afternoon at Principal Park.

 

The Brewers hurler made his second rehabilitation start, the first with Nashville, while recovering from a right posterior shoulder strain and threw 75 pitches, 52 for strikes, in likely his final tuneup before being activated by Milwaukee.

 

Outfielder Nelson Cruz was the offensive star, breaking out of an 0-for-12 slump with a 3-for-4 afternoon that included his first home run of the season.

 

The Sounds spotted Sheets a 3-0 lead before he even took the hill, scoring three first-inning runs off Cubs starter Jae-Kuk Ryu. Tony Gwynn opened the contest by drawing a walk, was sacrificed to second, and later scored on Cruz's two-out longball to center. Brad Nelson followed that shot with a double and scored on a passed ball/throwing error combo by Iowa catcher Geovany Soto to increase the Sounds' lead to 3-0.

 

AUDIO: Nelson Cruz's First HR Of 2006 --

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/a...204-11.wma

 

Cruz doubled with one out in the third off Ryu and scored later in the frame on a two-out two-bagger by Jermaine Clark to finish off the Nashville scoring.

 

The Cubs broke up the shutout bid in the seventh with a two-out run against Sounds reliever Chris Demaria. With two down in the frame, Casey McGehee singled then scored on Augie Ojeda's double to right.

 

Sheets (1-0) earned the victory, his first at the Triple-A level since 2001, while Ryu (0-1) took a loss after surrendering four runs (three earned) on six hits in five innings of work. Mike Adams worked a scoreless ninth, allowing a pair of Iowa hits before escaping a jam, to earn his first save of the season.

 

The Sounds and I-Cubs continue their series with a 7:05 p.m. meeting on Wednesday evening at Principal Park. Right-hander Ben Hendrickson (0-0, 0.00), who tossed five hitless innings in his 2006 debut last week at Omaha, will make the start for Nashville. Iowa counters with veteran southpaw Les Walrond (1-0, 1.50).

 

Nashville Box Score:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_iowaaa_1

 

Nashville Game Log:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_iowaaa_1

[Mass Haas]

Final: Greensboro (Marlins) 4, West Virginia 2

 

West Virginia Site Game Summary:

 

POWER RALLY FALLS SHORT

The Greensboro Grasshoppers hit three home runs in Tuesday afternoon?s game at First Horizon Park in Greensboro, and held off a late Power rally to beat the West Virginia Power 4-2.

 

Greensboro?s first home run came from Jeff Van Houten in the bottom of the first inning to make it a 1-0 contest. Jonathan Fulton hit a solo shot to begin the bottom of the second, and former West Virginia Power member Agustin Septimo smacked a two-run homer later in the inning to give the Grasshoppers a 4-0 lead.

 

Darren Ford kicked off the top of the ninth inning with a single, and he scored later in the inning on Lorenzo Cain?s RBI double. After Cain?s double, Angel Salome grounded out to second base, scoring Kenny Holmberg in the process to cut the lead to 4-2. The next two batters, Mat Gamel and Ryan Crew, struck out to end the game. Despite the strikeout, Crew went 3 for 4 with two doubles.

 

Chris Volstad (1-0) earned the victory, Blake Jones (2) earned the save and Kevin Roberts (1-1) obtained the loss. The Power are 2-4 after the loss and the Grasshoppers improved to 5-1 with the win.

 

The Power will continue the series against the Grasshoppers on Wednesday night. Left hander Derek Miller (0-0, 1.80) will start for the Power and Greensboro will counter with left hander Aaron Thompson (0-0, 13.50). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:00 PM (6:00 Central).

 

West Virginia Box Score:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_gboafx_1

 

West Virginia Game Log:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_gboafx_1

[pogokat]

forgot one...

 

Talked to Ned Yost last night, and noticed he was using a glove that had "Wes Helms" sewed onto it...I asked if the brewers just had a box or two of those left over...He said "nah, it was gift from a friend"

 

Thought that was kinda funny

[Mass Haas]

Palm Beach (Cardinals) at Brevard County, suspended

 

Tuesday's Florida State League game between the Cardinals and Manatees was suspended due to rain at Space Coast Stadium.

 

It will be resumed at 6 p.m. ET on Wednesday, followed by the regularly scheduled game.

 

Looks like the first two Cardinals reached in the top of the 2nd when the rain halted things. Manatees stranded runners at 2nd and 3rd in the first, if you peek at the box score thus far.

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_breafa_1

 

It's unlikley that Steve Hammond would come back to pitch Wednesday, so there could be some scrambling to fill the innings. It's likely that the suspended game remains nine innings, with a seven-inning nightcap.

[Mass Haas]

In progress: Birmingham (White Sox) 7, Huntsville 0, after five innings

The Barons had only scored seven runs total in their opening series, yet rocked Carlos Villanueva for seven tonight (four in the 3rd, three in the 4th). Carlos was pulled after four, although the current box score doesn't reflect that Mike Meyers entered the game in the 5th.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Birmingham (White Sox) 8, Huntsville 0

Zero runs in one of the relatively few games the Stars get to use a DH, with so few American League teams in the Southern League...

 

Huntsville Box Score:

Not the actor from Field of Dreams, this Ray Liotta could have been a Brewer (12th round, 2001). White Sox grabbed him in the 2nd round out of Tulane in '04. Think the left-handed equivalent of Matt Morris (Brewers 26th round in '92, Cardinals 1st round in '95)...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1

 

Huntsville Game Log:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1

 

Michael Myers grounds out, pitcher Mike Meyers to first baseman Jeffrey Eure.

 

Priceless. And yes, they played the theme from the Halloween movies as the pinch-hitter Myers came to the plate.

[Mass Haas]

Huntsville Site Game Summary:

Link, then text --

 

www.huntsvillestars.com/n...newsId=780

 

Liotta Leads Barons Over Stars

 

Ray Liotta spun six shutout innings and combined with three other relievers to blank the Stars 8-0, as Birmingham spoiled Opening Night at Joe Davis Stadium. The Barons improved to 2-4 with both of their wins coming by shutout, while the Stars dipped to 3-3 in front of 1,829 fans. Birmingham has taken 10 of the last 12 games played between the two teams since the start of last season.

 

Carlos Villanueva, who tossed 5 1/3 shutout innings of relief following Ben Sheets on Opening Day in Mississippi on Thursday, blanked the Barons for two innings before the visitors erupted in the third. Chris Amador led off the frame with a home run, his first of the season and his first run batted in. Robert Valido delivered a two-run triple and scored on a ground ball out by Mark Quinn to complete the rally. Birmingham had been held to seven runs in the first five games of the year and had not tallied more than three runs in any contest before the four-run uprising in the third.

 

Chris Getz bounced into a bases loaded double play to push across a run in the fourth and Valido followed with a two-run home run to left field, his first of the year and first long ball for the Barons that was not a solo shot. Birmingham tallied 11 hits after collecting only 26 in their first five games and compiling a .167 team batting average.

 

Liotta retired the first 11 hitters he faced before Steve Moss singled with two outs in the fourth. The southpaw allowed two singles, walked two and struck out two in his six innings of work to pick up the win. He retired the side in order in four of his six frames. B.J. LaMura, Dwayne Pollok and Ehren Wasserman blanked the Stars on four singles over the next three innings to complete the shutout.

 

The Stars will send right-hander Tim Dillard to the mound in the second game of the series on Wednesday night and he will opposed Birmingham right-hander Lance Broadway. Coverage of the game begins at 6:50 p.m. central time and can be heard on ESPN Radio 1450 AM locally and via the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.al.com/stars/huntsvil...amp;coll=1

 

Huntsville's home opener hits big snag in 8-0 defeat

By BRUCE McLELLAN

Huntsville Times Associate Sports Editor brucem@htimes.com

 

First the Huntsville Stars team bus hit a log on I-65 early Tuesday morning, with the collision cracking a side window and bending an axle.

 

Then the team hit several bumps almost as jarring in its home opener Tuesday night.

 

Starting pitcher Carlos Villanueva allowed the bottom two hitters in the Birmingham lineup to go 4-for-4 and score three runs, Huntsville managed only six scattered hits and fewer than 2,000 fans paid to watch the Stars lose 8-0 to the Barons at Joe Davis Stadium.

 

At least the weather was pleasant.

 

"It was a perfect night except for the final score," Stars manager Don Money said of the mild spring night.

 

In the other dugout, things were almost perfect for Barons starting pitcher Ray Liotta and shortstop Robert Valido.

 

Liotta enjoyed his own "Field of Dreams" - a movie that included the actor of the same name, who is a distant relative. The Barons' Liotta (1-0) allowed only two hits - the longer fell 10 feet into the outfield grass - struck out four and walked only one in six innings.

 

"I just tried to hit my spots with my fastballs and my changeups," he said.

 

"We didn't get enough pressure on him," Money said. "We fell behind early, and that takes some of the wind out of your sails."

 

Valido, the Barons' No. 2 hitter, was the beneficiary of the bottom of the order getting on base.

 

He drove in four runs with a two-run triple in the third and two-run homer in the fourth that gave Birmingham a 7-0 lead.

 

Villanueva (1-1) threw Valido an off-speed pitch while striking him out in the first, but that had the Baron looking for it two innings later.

 

"I was just looking off-speed there, and he threw it and I hit it," Valido said of his triple. In the fourth, he got two changeups in a row and drove the second one over the left-field fence.

 

Christopher Amador, the Barons' No. 8 batter, hit a solo homer to start the scoring in the third and singled and scored on Valido's blast in the fourth.

 

Money said Villanueva didn't rely on his fastball enough, throwing four consecutive changeups to one hitter.

 

"He went to his off-speed pitches probably a little too early and often," Money said.

 

The announced attendance was 1,829, and Stars general manager Tom Van Schaack said his reaction to the crowd size was "not satisfied." The Stars drew 5,350 for the opener a year ago, but it was on a Friday night.

 

"We obviously didn't prepare for a huge crowd because it's a Tuesday night; it's a school night for kids," Van Schaack said. "But I thought we'd have a little bit more."

 

Center fielder Steve Moss got the Stars' first hit of the game in the fourth inning, beating a throw from Valido at shortstop. The Stars didn't get two hits in the same inning until the seventh, but maybe the long bus trip back from Pearl, Miss., was partly to blame for the lethargic offense.

 

After beating the Mississippi Braves 12-5 in a 3 hour, 20-minute game on Monday, the Stars left Pearl around midnight. Shortly after going through Birmingham, the team bus hit a log that apparently fell off a logging truck onto I-65. After a delay of about 30 minutes, the bus continued toward Huntsville, getting the players to Joe Davis Stadium about 5:30 Tuesday morning.

 

"We had to be back at 3:30 (p.m.) to stretch," Money said.

 

Several players asked if they could come in a little bit later.

 

Money declined and explained, "It's only six games into the season."

 

Which means there's plenty of time for things to get better.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.al.com/printer/printe...amp;coll=1

 

Stars do get some things right at start

Mark McCarter, Huntsville Times

 

Welcome to Opening Night by K-Tel. It was baseball, with a soundtrack.

 

To introduce the Huntsville Stars was an apropos announcement:

 

"The Boys Are Back In Town.''

 

And, indeed, they were.

 

Their bats are expected to arrive in town soon.

 

The Stars got skunked by Birmingham, 8-0. So much for making magical memories on Opening Night.

 

The Stars managed only six hits, only two through the first six innings. The Barons hit for the cycle in the third - homer, single, double and triple - and pounded Carlos Villanueva, so impressive in his first start last week.

 

Good news, bad news.

 

Only 1,829 were on hand to watch. That's the good and the bad.

 

Good, that there were so few witnesses.

 

Bad, that last year's opener drew 5,350, albeit on a Friday night.

 

There was, at one musical interlude, a snippet about

 

"... the Big Boss Man ..."

 

The Stars' Big Boss Man, Miles Prentice, was plenty visible on Tuesday night, schmoozing with the politicos and the fans. His signature is freshly dry on a new lease with the city of Huntsville that was only two years late in the making.

 

Fitting music for the absentee owner's presence would have been "Blue Moon," as in his visits to Huntsville have come "once in a..."

 

Naturally, there was the seventh-inning tradition.

 

Why, only a few days ago, Mississippi manager Jeff Blauser was asking about Joe W. Davis Stadium, where he made some appearances while in a Greenville uniform, coming up through the Braves' system.

 

"I remember they played 'Sweet Home Alabama' in the seventh-inning stretch,'' Blauser said.

 

Some things never change. Including the park, since Blauser last played here, in the 1980s.

 

In the eighth inning, Birmingham's Michael Myers came in as a pinch-hitter and faced Huntsville's reliever Michael Meyers.

 

Quick on the trigger was Jamie Gilliam, handling the music in the press box.

 

He cued up the "Halloween" theme, a tribute to the creepy movie guy. Cool.

 

Before the game, the first-pitch ceremony was a most poignant one.

 

For years, Shawn Bulman was a fixture at Joe W. Davis Stadium. He was a clubhouse attendant. He sold group tickets. He sold ads. He eventually became marketing director. Far cry from washing socks and jocks - but he did both with equal joy.

 

Mostly, what "Bull" did was spread cheer all over the place.

 

Last Dec. 19, he died in a car crash. He was 34.

 

His young sons, Jack and Sam, accompanied their mom, Sharon, to the mound before the game.

 

They went into their windups, and threw out the ceremonial first pitches. A classy move on the part of the Stars.

 

The P.A. soundtrack was in the middle of a Rolling Stones standard.

 

At the very moment of the pitches came the words

 

"... make a grown man cry..."

 

And, you know, it did.

 

Contact Mark McCarter at markcolumn@aol.com

[Mass Haas]

David Weiser's

 

www.starsboxscore.com/

 

THE FISH THAT GOT AWAY

The boys are back in town. And they were even greeting the fans at the turnstiles. The Stars management pulled out all the stops for the opener........ Andy Pratt and Alec Zumwalt greeted fans as they came in on the first base side of the entrance while Stephen Bray and Mike Meyers greeted patrons and likewise handed out magnetic schedules........ Owner Miles Prentice was here as well as Southern League President Don Mincher and Mayor Loretta Spencer (who wished the Huntsville Stars good luck in winning the "tournament" at the end of the year. You can see how "support" for this team sure starts at the top). A marine color guard who had just come back from Iraq presented the colors and afterward, a barbershop quartet sung the National Anthem........

 

The weather was perfect, clear and 74° at gametime, yet by 6:30 there were empty seats everywhere. Pitcher Joe Winkelsas was astonished. "Is this all that's coming?" Our sports director at WHNT reminisced about the days before he left for a job in Milwaukee, that he remembered opening day crowds of 6,000 and more, and he was right.......... They've come late before, but the announced crowd of 1,829 was really disgraceful. It was the 2nd smallest crowd for a home opener in our 22-year history and it beat the lowest by just 468 on a night, April 7, 1990 when the gametime temperature was in the 40s......... A spike last year (5,350 for the opener vs. Carolina) brought the average attendance for the home opener the last five years to 2,975. The five-year average before that --- 6,113......... I've been to Rome (Georgia) couple of times, where the low Class A Braves, out in the middle of nowhere, play before responsive crowds and fill the seats...... I want to know one thing, because I haven't a clue. What is wrong with you Huntsville?

 

Well, so much for that........ New names, new numbers........ It's peculiar that some Stars are dressing in single-digit uniform numbers other than # 5........ I've looked back in my scoresheets as far back as I could go, other than a coach here, a manager there, beginning with Scott Shockey in 1991, no one has ever worn a uniform number other that # 5........ Now there's Steve Moss: # 1, Kennard Bibbs going from # 14 to # 3, and Callix Crabbe going from # 15 to # 2. Just a meaningless curiousity.

 

I asked Birmingham's radio voice, Curt Bloom, who's been there for years, how he compared this pitching staff with others he's seen in the past, and every year by my observation, the Barons always seem to have a formidable staff........ He didn't hesitate to compare it to the 2000 staff that featured Mark Buehrle, Rocky Biddle, and Matt Ginter, a staff that finished with a 3.15 ERA, 2nd in the Southern League........

 

Ray Liotta, the White Sox' top left-handed prospect (# 8 overall), and distantly related to the eponymously-named actor, backed his words up with a dominating performance tonight, catching the Stars off guard with off-speed pitches and then busting them inside with fastballs or knocking them like flies with his 12-to-6 curveball....... The former Brewer draft pick consistently threw everything in his repertoire for strikes and seldom went deep on anyone. Of course, the Stars are such free swingers anyway.........

 

Moss went full before getting ahold off an 88 mph fastball and flying out to center to end the 1st. Adam Heether also went full in the 2nd and ended the inning hitting an 87 mph fastball to 2nd baseman Chris Getz........ Only when Birmingham pitchers got behind on the count, were Stars hitters generally successful........ Moss singled on a 3-1 pitch in the 4th, but Greg Sain got fooled on Liotta's off-speed pitch to end the inning......... Ron Acuna drew the only walk, giving him seven in his last four games, on a 3-1 pitch in the 5th....... Crabbe and Moss also got base hits when they were ahead in the count........ Lou Palmisano had a 1-1 count when he singled in the 5th, but it was a pop up that fell in front of right fielder Tony Collaro after some miscommunication with Getz going back over who would get it........... Heether was the lone exception, lining an 0-2 pitch to right-center for a one-hop hit.......... But all of Huntsville's hits were really scattered and only once did the Stars get two runners on with less than two outs.

 

Carlos Villanueva looked good for two innings, throwing nine pitches, six for strikes in the 1st and 15 pitches, 11 for strikes in the 2nd, but he threw a total of 46 pitches in the next two innings as Birmingham hitters found the holes and lined pitches left and right.......... Chris Amador started a cycle with a leadoff home run that was lined over the WDRM sign on the first level, next to the scoreboard....... Then came in succession, a single by Gustavo Molina (no relation to the major league Molinas), a double by Chris Getz, a triple by Robert Valido, the Sox' # 7 prospect, and a single by Mark Quinn, who hit .294 for the Kansas City Royals in 135 games in 2000........ In the 4th, the Barons managed to get production from four of the first five hitters at the plate, capped by a no-doubter over the 2nd fence in left by Valido to make it 6-0......... Villanueva left after 70 pitches, 46 which were thrown for strikes (64.5%)........ Mike Meyers came on for the next four innings and retired five in a row before Getz picked up a single past Sain into the outfield.

 

Wednesday, the Barons send Larry Broadway, the White Sox' # 9 prospect, and # 2 right-hander to Bobby Jenks in the organization, against Tim Dillard, who allowed just two hits in 6 1/3 innings in his debut last Friday.

 

The Barons have now won 10 of the last 12 games between these two teams........ Tonight was the largest margin of defeat thus far this young season......... The Stars are now hitting .230 after six games. The slow start at the plate isn't anything new......... After the first ten games of the year for the last three years, the Stars have hit .219, .226, and .219.

 

Ben Sheets, in his 2nd and final rehab appearance, went 5 2/3 scoreless innings against Iowa, striking out nine, getting the 4-1 win for the Nashville Sounds. Slumping Brad Nelson (.118) hit his first home run of the year. Nelson Cruz singled, doubled, homered, and drove in a pair of runs. Jeff Deardorff, starting in left field for Iowa, went 1-for-4, but singled in his last at-bat in the 9th.

[Mass Haas]

Link for Ben Sheets photo while active, text follows:

 

desmoinesregister.com/app...4/SPORTS03

 

Cubs whiff Sheets' smoke

ROB GRAY

DES MOINES REGISTER STAFF WRITER

 

Strong, precise and pain-free.

 

That's how Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Ben Sheets pronounced himself Tuesday after striking out nine batters in 5 2/3 shutout innings as Nashville beat Iowa 4-1 in a Pacific Coast League game before an announced crowd of 3,957 at Principal Park.

 

"I finally located some balls, which helps you get outs," said Sheets, who threw 75 pitches, 52 for strikes, and allowed three singles.

 

The two-time all-star who strained an upper right back muscle in a March 8 spring training game against Oakland hopes the impressive outing will get him back into the big leagues soon.

 

How soon?

 

"I'd like to pitch Sunday in New York," he said. "I don't make the rules, but it's a good possibility."

 

Sheets, who tore a back muscle behind his right shoulder last August, blended a lively fastball consistently in the low- to mid-90s with a spot-on curveball.

 

He allowed one runner beyond first base, walked none, and the Sounds staked him to a 3-0 first-inning lead.

 

"He mixed it up well; he showed good command, and that's what we're looking for is performance," said Milwaukee pitching coach Mike Maddux, in town to observe Sheets' progress. "His stuff's there, and now it's just a matter of getting game-ready. (Tuesday) was a step in the right direction."

 

The Sounds (4-2) snapped a four-game win streak for Iowa (4-2).

 

"Obviously, you don't look forward to a guy like that beating you, but it's a great experience, whether people have come to see Kerry Wood or Mark Prior pitch here, and it's fun to play behind them, or the challenge of facing a guy like that," Cubs manager Mike Quade said.

 

"To me, he's not a guy just starting his rehab. That was pretty damn good. My sense is, he's on the verge of going back there."

 

Iowa's Ryan Theriot went 2-for-4 and Augie Ojeda smacked a run-scoring double in the seventh inning after Sheets (1-0) exited the game. Jae-Kuk Ryu (0-1) took the loss.

 

"I'd be really happy if we didn't see (Sheets) pitching against us in Nashville again," Quade said.

 

Maddux said "it wasn't his place" to confirm whether Sheets may be back in a Brewers uniform by Sunday's 12:10 p.m. game against the Mets.

 

"Today was very encouraging and he seems to be on target for the master plan," he said. "So we'll see what goes on from here, how he feels (this week)."

 

Sheets, cut from colorful Louisiana cloth, spoke in a jocular tone with reporters in the visiting clubhouse after he left the game.

 

Reporter: "You probably felt pretty good?"

 

Sheets: "I'm a good-looking kid."

 

Reporter, smiling: "Not that . Pitching."

 

Sheets: "Oh, oh. No, it felt good."

 

Also good are the Brewers, who enter today's game at St. Louis with a 5-2 record.

 

"I don't want to ruin anything at all," Sheets said in reference to his eventual return. "But I want to contribute, no doubt about it. It would be nice to be back out there. You're so not part of the team when you're hurt."

 

The latter arrangement, judging by Tuesday's performance, soon should cease to be a concern for Sheets.

 

"If that's not close to being ready, I'd hate to see him when he's ready," Quade said.

[Mass Haas]

Link for another Ben Sheets photo while active, text follows:

 

desmoinesregister.com/app...4/SPORTS03

 

Brewer pitching coach keeps an eye on Sheets

Mike Maddux in Des Moines to follow Milwaukee all-star's injury rehab

Rob Gray, Des Moines Register

 

Milwaukee pitching coach Mike Maddux strode to the Principal Park visitor's clubhouse incognito ? decked out in Nashville red, black and white instead of Brewers blue and yellow.

 

"I'm flying under the radar," said Maddux, whose brother, Greg Maddux, pitched at Iowa in 1986 and 1987 before starring in the major leagues for the Cubs, Braves and Cubs again.

 

Maddux eyed the radar gun as well as rehabbing pitcher Ben Sheets' mechanics during Tuesday's Sounds win, and liked what he saw.

 

"A step in the right direction," he said.

 

And when asked about Greg and his time at Iowa, Maddux stepped back, turned, and glanced at the spot he'd been watching all day.

 

"That's the mound right there he excelled on in triple-A," said Maddux, who pitched 15 seasons in the big leagues and faced his brother when both were rookies in 1986.

 

"There's good memories for everyone at this ballpark."

 

Ben on Felix: Facing Ben Sheets finally cooled off Cubs center fielder Felix Pie .

 

Chicago's top prospect entered Tuesday's game batting .478, but went 0-for-4 with a strikeout, with three of the at-bats coming against Sheets.

 

"He looks like he has a good swing; aggressive at the plate," Sheets said of the 6-foot-2, 170-pound Pie. "A big kid."

 

Where'd Sheets eat? After arriving in Des Moines Monday night, Sheets dined at Johnny's Italian Steakhouse.

 

His entree?

 

"I had the filet. Pretty solid."

 

His hurried impression of Des Moines?

 

"Nice to see this ballpark. A quiet town."

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.news-record.com/apps/.../604120307

 

Hoppers off to a 5-1 start

By Rob Daniels

Greensboro News-Record Staff Writer

 

GREENSBORO -- You're not supposed to affix nicknames to baseball teams after six games, but then, minor-league clubs aren't supposed to start hitting the long ball until the weather heats up.

 

So without further ado, please welcome the Bellemeade Bombers.

 

Formally known as the Greensboro Grasshoppers, the tenants of First Horizon Park are off to a 5-1 start and became the first affiliated American minor-league team with 11 home runs this season Tuesday afternoon in dispatching West Virginia, 4-2, before a crowd of 4,898 fans.

 

And the visitors were known as the Power.

 

"People talk about the park, but you still have to hit it," hitting coach Joe Espada said. "We've got some pretty good hitters here."

 

Jeff Van Houten, Jonathan Fulton and Agustin Septimo hit balls that cleared the fence in the first two innings, and none of the three was cheap or wind-aided, as they say in track.

 

Septimo's shot gave Greensboro at least temporary supremacy in team homers over three Triple-A clubs that played later Tuesday. (The Indianapolis Indians of the International League and the Portland Beavers and the Sacramento River Cats of the Pacific Coast League entered Tuesday's play with 10.)

 

Gaby Sanchez didn't go deep, but he still went 2-for-4 and is hitting .522 in six games.

 

"It's one of the nicest parks to hit in because of the layout," Van Houten said. "Field's kind of short and there's wind. But the wind was light today."

 

After the long balls had staked the Hoppers to the lead, the preservation job fell to starter Chris Volstad, who struggled in his 2006 debut.

 

Tuesday, that seemed like something out of Ancient History class, which Volstad probably attended not long ago.

 

The 19-year-old right-hander out of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., kept Septimo, his shortstop, perpetually busy. Only six of the 23 West Virginians faced by Volstad hit the ball in the air.

 

"That's when you know the sinker is on," pitching coach Steve Foster said. "It was good to see Volstad with that command."

 

Volstad gave up three hits in seven innings and didn't walk anybody. The Hoppers' past three starters have allowed one earned run and nine hits in more than 16 innings.

 

"I just went at the hitters today," Volstad said. "And it helps when you have an infield like we have."

[pogokat]

Oh one more..

 

When Salome tagged the guy out at hom late in the game, he got elbowed in the chops...but he didn't drop the ball...in fact, he looked like a car getting hit by a train, but he took the blow with ease and stood right back up and walked off the field...I'm pretty sure he could pick up a mountain and drink the ocean...stuff like that...the guy may actually be he-man