Link Report for Games of Wed. 8/3 -- Arizona Box Now Up

[Mass Haas]

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

[Mass Haas]

Wednesday's Daily Menu:

 

All times Central except for Arizona Rookie; pitchers subject to change --

 

Nashville: Idle

 

Huntsville: LHP Josh Habel at West Tenn (Cubs), 11:50 AM pre-game, 12:05 PM gametime

 

Audio link:

www.espn1450.com/

 

If that link is down for bandwidth, use:

specs.eyecentric.com/pres...opup.shtml

 

Brevard County: TBD at Sarasota (Reds), 6:00 PM; no audio for this series

 

West Virginia: LHP Greg Kloosterman at home vs. Asheville (Rockies), 6:05 PM -- is it me, or does Greg's turn seem to come up like every two days?

 

Audio link:

www.sportsjuice.com/provi...e=wvpower.

 

Helena: TBD at Great Falls (White Sox), 8:00 PM; no audio for this series

 

Arizona: TBD at the baby Padres' complex, 7:00 PM local time; never any web audio for Arizona Rookie ball...

[Mass Haas]

Links to follow Wednesday's action as it happens:

 

Huntsville:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wtdaax_1

 

Brevard County:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_sarafx_1

 

West Virginia:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1

 

Helena:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_grfrok_1

 

Arizona:

Not updated live, but usually later during the overnight...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_pdrrok_1

[Mass Haas]

 Pacific Coast League (AAA) - American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Nashville 60 51 .541 - 31-29 29-22 L2[/b] Memphis 54 57 .486 6.0 30-30 24-27 L3 Iowa 50 58 .463 8.5 31-25 19-33 W2 Omaha 51 60 .459 9.0 19-28 32-32 W3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Carolina 22 13 .629 - 12-9 10-4 W1 West Tenn 22 15 .595 1.0 11-9 11-6 L1 [b]Huntsville 18 19 .486 5.0 7-10 11-9 W4[/b] Tennessee 18 19 .486 5.0 8-7 10-12 W2 Chattanooga 13 24 .351 10.0 6-13 7-11 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vero Beach 24 13 .649 - 14-7 10-6 W4 St. Lucie 22 15 .595 2.0 10-9 12-6 W1 Palm Beach 23 16 .590 2.0 11-9 12-7 W1 [b]Brevard County 21 16 .568 3.0 9-10 12-6 W1[/b] Daytona 15 22 .405 9.0 8-11 7-11 W2 Jupiter 14 22 .389 9.5 11-8 3-14 W1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Delmarva 26 10 .722 - 16-1 10-9 W4 Hickory 21 16 .568 5.5 10-8 11-8 L4 Lexington 20 17 .541 6.5 12-8 8-9 W1 [b]West Virginia 20 17 .541 6.5 11-7 9-10 W4[/b] Lakewood 19 19 .500 8.0 12-11 7-8 W1 Lake County 16 21 .432 10.5 8-11 8-10 W1 Greensboro 15 22 .405 11.5 5-9 10-13 L1 Hagerstown 11 22 .333 13.5 4-10 7-12 L4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pioneer League (R+) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Billings 3 0 1.000 - 1-0 2-0 W3 [b]Helena 3 0 1.000 - 1-0 2-0 W3[/b] Great Falls 0 3 .000 3.0 0-2 0-1 L3 Missoula 0 3 .000 3.0 0-2 0-1 L3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arizona League (R) - Arizona League Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AZL Giants 4 1 .800 - 2-1 2-0 W3 AZL Mariners 4 1 .800 - 3-0 1-1 L1 AZL Rangers 4 2 .667 0.5 3-0 1-2 L1 AZL Angels 3 2 .600 1.0 1-1 2-1 W3 [b]AZL Brewers 2 2 .500 1.5 1-1 1-1 W1[/b] AZL Royals 2 2 .500 1.5 1-1 1-1 L2 AZL Athletics 2 4 .333 2.5 2-1 0-3 L2 AZL Padres 1 3 .250 2.5 1-1 0-2 L3 AZL Cubs 0 5 .000 4.0 0-2 0-3 L5

Stats and League Leaders, USA Today (or go to MILB.com):

 

www.usatoday.com/sports/b.../index.htm

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.dailymail.com/news/Sp...005080310/

 

Power catcher finally gets the call

J.T. Simms

Charleston Daily Mail sportswriter

 

Tuesday night was a good one for West Virginia Power fans and players.

 

The weather was clear, the heat wave broke, Two-for-Tuesday beer flowed freely, and for the third time in its last four games, all wins, the Power drove in the game-winner in its final at-bat.

 

And, oh yeah, the team broke the all-time Charleston professional baseball season attendance record set by the 1991 Wheelers.

 

Josh Brady drove home Grant Richardson from second base with a one-out double to left over a drawn-in outfield in the bottom of the 13th inning to give the Power a 6-5 win over Asheville as the remainder of a crowd of 2,830 looked on at 11:08 p.m.

 

That pushed paid attendance at sparkling new Appalachian Power Park to 186,730 for the season, surpassing the '91 Wheelers' mark of 185,389 at Watt Powell Park.

 

All did not seem so rosy earlier in the season for Power fans and at least one current player.

 

Though they were thousands of miles apart when the baseball season began, catcher Angel Salome and Power fans had something in common.

 

Both were afraid that Major League Baseball parent Milwaukee had forgotten about them.

 

For Salome, it was because he thought he was going to open the season in Charleston, instead of remaining in extended spring training and then heading to Helena in the rookie Pioneer League.

 

Meanwhile, Power fans had hoped the club's new ballpark and association with the Brewers would bring wins instead of results reminiscent of their old park and partner.

 

"I was disappointed the first two weeks of the season because (the Brewers) told me I was going to be here," Salome said. "But I'm here now and I'm going to make the best of it."

 

The Brewers' fifth-round draft pick in 2004 from George Washington High School in the Bronx, N.Y., had a home run in each of his first two games in a Power uniform. He added a double Tuesday.

 

Salome is one of five players from Helena to join the Power in the past week.

 

He was joined in Tuesday's starting lineup by two others, center fielder Charlie Fermaint and right fielder Brendan Katin. Derek Miller and Kevin Roberts are pitchers. Miller tossed two and a third scoreless innings in the victory, his first action with the club.

 

"It's kind of comfortable," Salome said. "We've already been together for a couple of months."

 

Their arrival has made both Power fans and management more comfortable also.

 

While the team had begun to gel in recent weeks the arrival of the new players has provided four wins and a new air of confidence.

 

"We finished the first half playing good and started the second half playing good," Manager Ramon Aviles said. "With the new additions we have a balanced lineup and feel like we have a chance in every game."

 

The arrival of the reinforcements for the second half was not mere coincidence.

 

"We weren't making a move just to make a move," said Reid Nichols, the Brewers' director of player development. "We moved these guys because they were ready and we wanted to help this team."

 

So, he and the Milwaukee organization really had not forsaken Salome or the Power.

 

Nichols, who was in attendance for the entire marathon Tuesday, made it clear the organization believes in both.

 

"I think this team has a real chance to make a run," he said. "They're a good looking team now."

 

As for Salome, who at just 5 feet 7 is smaller than your prototypical Major League backstop, Nichols also had kind words.

 

"(Ivan) Pudge Rodriguez isn't much bigger than him," Nichols pointed out. "(And) you won't see many guys throw better than him."

 

Aviles sees a bright future for the 19-year-old.

 

"He was a little anxious tonight," Aviles said, of Salome's 1-for-6. "But he's got the arm and the pop in the bat."

 

Catcher Carlos Corporan also exhibited some pop in his bat with a two-run homer to right in the bottom of the second to stake the Power to a 2-0 lead. Alcides Escobar made it 4-0 when his double off the left field wall drove in Fermaint and Hernan Iribarren.

 

Robert Hinton (3-3) picked up the win

 

POWER PLUGS: Brady, who has seen his playing time decrease since the new group arrived, came in to pinch-hit in the ninth and led off the inning with a single to give him a 2-for-3 evening ... "That's something that when you put you on the bench you've got to be ready for," Brady said. "That's something you dream since you are a little kid -- to come in and win the game." ... Ryan Braun extended his hitting streak to 15 games with a fifth inning RBI single to right. He has only played in 23 games for the Power .... West Virginia is 8-2 in extra inning games ... Left-hander Greg Kloosterman (3-15) is scheduled to start tonight's meeting with the Tourists against right-hander Ching-Ling Lo (4-7).

 

Catcher Angel Salome is one of several late-season additions to the West Virginia Power roster who are making a difference for the Class A team.

Charleston Daily Mail Photo: Craig Cunningham

 

http://www.dailymail.com/images/Angel0803.jpg

[pogokat]

no one notices, but enrique cruz is hitting even better this week...

 

on the other hand, brad nelson has completely forgotten how...

he's got about a month left before the brewers cut him from the 40 man by my guess..

[ThePurpleStorm]

Holy cow. I didn't realize how much Brad was struggling lately. That's disappointing.

[Mass Haas]

Final: West Tenn (Cubs) 3, Huntsville 2

 

Huntsville Site Game Summary:

 

Seventh Inning Rally Sinks Stars

Ryan Theriot knocked in the game-winning run to cap a three-run seventh inning rally in West Tenn?s 3-2 come-from-behind win over Huntsville Wednesday afternoon at Pringles Park. The Diamond Jaxx improved to 23-15 in the second half but remain one game behind Carolina in the North Division race after the Mudcats rallied for nine runs in the ninth inning to down Chattanooga (Carolina trailed 8-6 entering the 9th and won 15-9), while the Stars lost a four-game win streak and dropped to 18-20 in the half. West Tenn has won 10 of the 15 games played between the teams this season.

 

Josh Habel had blanked the home team on four singles through the first six innings but was touched up for the decisive runs in the seventh. Luis Montanez led off the frame with a single and scored one out later when Matt Creighton launched a two-run home run to left field, his second with the Diamond Jaxx, to tie the game. Adam Greenberg, who had entered the game in the top half of the inning as part of a double switch and multiple position change, tripled with two outs and scored when Theriot followed with a single to left field. Theriot finished with two hits in four at-bats and has five hits in eight tries through the first two games of the series.

 

David Aardsma retired the Stars in order in the eighth inning and Andy Shipman set the visitors in turn in the ninth to protect the lead and earn his seventh save of the season.

 

The Stars scored twice in the fourth inning against Carlos Marmol on run-scoring hits by Ben Van Iderstine and Jeff Winchester. The West Tenn right-hander yielded two runs on five hits and three walks over six innings of work in his third start against Huntsville and second on his home soil. Habel suffered the loss and dropped to 1-4 after permitting three runs on eight hits and a walk. The southpaw lasted six scoreless frames for a second straight start against West Tenn before the game-changing runs were scored in the seventh.

 

The series continues Thursday night with Stars right-hander Dennis Sarfate taking the mound against West Tenn right-hander Jae-Kuk Ryu. Coverage of the game gets underway at 6:50 p.m. central time on ESPN 1450 AM and through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com.

 

Huntsville Box Score:

A tidy 2 hours, 19 minutes; Brad Nelson's Huntsville freefall seems even more extreme than from his hot Nashville start, if only because he was so smoking the ball after the re-assignment to AA; still a heck of an outing from LHP Josh Habel...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wtdaax_1

 

Huntsville Game Log:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wtdaax_1

[SheetsCyYoung04]

Did I miss something or has Derek Miller been absent from the Helana box score for a while?

[Brian the Automator]

[ Did I miss something or has Derek Miller been absent from the Helana box score for a while? ]

 

He was promoted to WV along with the other guys.

[SheetsCyYoung04]

He was promoted to WV along with the other guys.

I guess I did miss something. And there it was clear as day. For some reason I thought Mannon was the fifth player sent from Helana to Charlestown, oops.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Sarasota (Reds) 6, Brevard County 5

Walk-off loss...

 

SARASOTA -- Joey Votto's line-drive single to deep center field with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning allowed Phillip Gentry to score the winning run as the Sarasota Reds rallied for a dramatic 6-5 victory over the Brevard County Manatees on Wednesday night.

 

Sarasota's victory came in front of 264 spectators on Knothole Gang Night. The Reds scored three runs in the eighth and two in the ninth to make a winner out of relief pitcher Kyle Edens (6-3).

 

In evening the four-game series at one game apiece, Sarasota now has a 4-2 record this season against the Milwaukee Brewers affiliate and improved to 17-21 during the second half of the split season. The Reds are 51-52 overall.

 

Brevard County dropped to records of 21-17 and 47-59.

 

Sarasota took a 1-0 lead in the fifth when Luis Bolivar led off with double and Hector Tiburcio followed with a run-producing double two batters later.

 

Brevard scored four runs in the sixth and made it 5-1 in the top of the eighth.

 

Tiburcio led the Reds' 11-hit offense with two doubles and a single and teammates Miguel Perez, Votto and Bolivar each contributed two hits apiece.

 

Brevard County Box Score:

Normally solid Manatee defense allows four unearned runs, but LH closer Jeremy Lewis with an uncharacteristic effort (five hits, 2/3 of an inning); RHP Luis Pena was your starter, five-inning stint; to be honest, I've lost track as to whether Drew Anderson's hit streak is still intact -- little help, Manatees management?

 YTD YTD BREVARD COUNTY AB R H BI AVG SARASOTA AB R H BI AVG T.Ezi RF 3 0 0 1 .265 P.Gentry LF 5 1 0 0 .261 S.Moss CF 5 0 1 0 .261 M.Perez CAT 5 1 2 0 .260 D.Anderson LF 4 1 1 0 .292 C.Dickerson CF 3 0 0 0 .236 A.Heether 3B 5 1 2 0 .304 J.Votto 1B 5 1 2 2 .268 L.Palmisano CAT 5 1 1 0 .250 B.Himes RF 4 1 1 1 .333 J.Eure 1B 4 0 2 1 .230 J.Vavao DH 4 0 1 0 .256 O.Chavez SS 4 1 0 1 .241 L.Bolivar 2B 4 1 2 1 .245 W.Campana DH 4 1 2 2 .274 W.Hudson 3B 4 0 0 0 .167 S.Sollmann 2B 3 0 2 0 .273 H.Tiburcio SS 4 1 3 1 .254 L.Pena PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 E.Valdez PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 N.Slack PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 E.Lohse PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Lewis PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 K.Edens PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 37 5 11 5 TOTALS 38 6 11 5 BREVARD COUNTY 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 1 0- 5 11 3 SARASOTA 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 2- 6 11 1 E--O.Chavez 2, J.Lewis, W.Hudson. DP--BREVARD COUNTY 0, SARASOTA 2. LOB--BREVARD COUNTY 9, SARASOTA 9. 2B--J.Votto (19), L.Bolivar (16), H.Tiburcio 2 (7). 3B--J.Eure (2). HR--W.Campana (4). SB--A.Heether (3). CS--S.Sollmann, P.Gentry. HBP--T.Ezi, S.Sollmann. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA BREVARD COUNTY L.Pena 5.0 4 1 1 2 5 0 4.26 N.Slack 2.2 2 3 0 0 5 0 6.94 J.Lewis (L,5-7) 0.2 5 2 1 0 1 0 3.55 SARASOTA E.Valdez 5.1 10 4 4 2 5 0 2.83 E.Lohse 2.2 1 1 1 0 3 1 5.22 K.Edens (W,6-3) 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.95 HB--E.Valdez, E.Lohse. WP--L.Pena. SO--T.Ezi 2, S.Moss 3, J.Eure, O.Chavez, W.Campana, P.Gentry, C.Dickerson 3, J.Votto, B.Himes, J.Vavao, L.Bolivar, W.Hudson 2, H.Tiburcio. BB--T.Ezi, D.Anderson, C.Dickerson 2. T--3:14. A--264

Brevard County Game Log:

Six singles in the Manatee four-run sixth...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_sarafx_1

[Mass Haas]

Final: Asheville (Rockies) 10, West Virginia 4

Perhaps a seven-run first inning will mercifully end Greg Kloosterman's long run in the starting rotation, although he's pitched much better than 3-16...

 

West Virginia Site Game Summary:

 

ASHEVILLE SCORES EARLY AND OFTEN TO BEAT THE POWER

Charleston, WV ? On Wednesday night the Asheville Tourists sent eleven batters to the plate in the top of the first inning and scored seven runs on seven hits to beat the West Virginia Power 10-4 at Appalachian Power Park.

 

The scoring started with Joe Koshansky?s three-run homer, his 31st of the year. Later in the inning Chris Nelson and Dustin Hahn contributed with RBI singles and Jeff Dragicevich drove in two runs on a triple.

 

The Power scored three times in the bottom of the third inning on a two-run double from Hernan Iribarren and an RBI single from Alcides Escobar. The Power cut the deficit to three in the bottom of the fourth inning on Brendan Katin?s solo shot. It remained a 7-4 game until Matt Miller put the icing on the cake in the top of the seventh inning with a three-run homer for Asheville.

 

Ching-Lung Lo (5-7) earned the victory, and Greg Kloosterman (3-16) obtained the loss. The Power are 20-18 in the second half after the loss and the Tourists move to 17-22 with the win.

 

The Power will continue the four game series against Asheville at Appalachian Power Park on Thursday night. The Power will throw RHP Mark Rogers (1-7, 4.78) and the Tourists will counter with RHP Sam Deduno (6-6, 5.37). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM (6:05 Central).

 

***

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.wvgazette.com/section...2005080364

 

Asheville jumps on Power early

Kloosterman 3-16 after 10-4 loss

By Jay Srinivasan

For the Charleston Gazette

 

Greg Kloosterman?s nightmarish run of losses continued Wednesday night.

 

The Asheville Tourists roughed up Kloosterman, hitting him up for seven runs in the first inning en route to a 10-4 victory over the West Virginia Power in front of 2,977 paid fans at Appalachian Power Park.

 

Power manager Ramon Aviles said Kloosterman (3-16) didn?t adhere to the game plan and that hurt him.

 

?Before the game, he met with me and I told him, ?You have to establish the inside pitch in the first inning,? ? said Aviles. ?Everything was from the middle out. Then he started pitching in from the second inning on, and he did a lot better. But he didn?t follow the plan in the first inning.?

 

Kloosterman gave a hint of things to come when he started off with three balls to leadoff hitter Chris Nelson. After Nelson and Jose Valdez singled to right, Joe Koshansky blasted a homer into the bleachers to put Asheville up 3-0.

 

Then Matt Miller walked, advanced to third on a Neil Wilson double and scored when Dustin Hahn singled to left. Jeff Dragicevich followed with a two-run triple to make it 6-0. Nelson knocked in the seventh run when he laced a single to right.

 

?I tried a little too hard. I just didn?t execute my pitches,? said Kloosterman. ?I fell behind in some counts and paid the price for it.?

 

The West Virginia bullpen didn?t fare much better.

 

With the lead trimmed to 7-4, Asheville responded with three runs in the seventh. After Jose Valdez pounded a double to right, reliever Josh Baker intentionally walked Koshansky. Miller then swatted the ball over the left-center field fence to quell any chance of a Power comeback.

 

The Tourists piled up 15 hits compared to West Virginia?s eight. Koshansky and Miller went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and a homer each.

 

Despite the loss, Power pitching coach John Curtis found some positives.

 

?That was a staff-saving effort he [Kloosterman] and Bake put together tonight,? said Curtis. ?We got another reliever that we will be able to use [tonight] because he was saved from being used. So you try to salvage whatever you can from a game like this.

 

?Sure we are disappointed. But you hope out of every setback comes a lesson that will apply in the future.?

 

Kloosterman took the loss after giving away nine hits, seven earned runs and two walks in 5 1/3 innings. For the Tourists, Ching-Lung Lo (5-7) earned the victory after pitching seven innings, allowing four earned runs while striking out two.

 

West Virginia got on board in the bottom of the third. Josh Brady walked, Charlie Fermaint singled and Hernan Iribarren slammed a two-run double to left. Alcides Escobar followed with an RBI single to cut the deficit to 7-3. Brendan Katin?s round-tripper in the fourth made it 7-4.

 

West Virginia Box Score:

Angel Salome guns down the only basestealer and also picks a man off of first base; catcher Nestor Corredor a bit of an odd choice at DH; didn't realize just how down Hernan Iribarren's slugging was this year -- two doubles last night makes only 13 on the season, 23 of 123 base hits for extra bases (.390 SLG)...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1

 

West Virginia Game Log:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1

 

Hernan Iribarren scores for the West Virginia Power, sliding home ahead of the tag of Asheville Tourists catcher Neil Wilson Wednesday night at Appalachian Power Park.

Charleston Gazette Photographer: Chip Ellis

 

http://www.wvgazettemail.com/images/stories/Power1.jpg

[Mass Haas]

Final: Helena 7, Great Falls (White Sox) 4

 

Helena Independent Record:

 

Brewers continue hot streak, win fourth straight

 

GREAT FALLS ? The Helena Brewers hot start to the second half of the Pioneer League season continued with a 7-4 win over the Great Falls White Sox Tuesday night.

 

The Brewers (4-0) pushed across four runs in the third inning with the big hit being delivered by Ned Yost who had a two-out single that scored Mat Gamel and Kenny Holmberg.

 

The Helena offense was helped by sloppy defense by the White Sox (0-4) who were charged with five errors in the game. Great Falls has committed nine errors in the last two games between the two teams. Only three of Helena's seven runs were earned.

 

Yost and Michael Bell each had three hits to pace the Brewers offense. Adam Mannon hit his first home run for Helena. He was sent to the Brewers from Class A West Virginia last week.

 

Mannon's home run came in a two-run sixth which sealed the win for Helena. The other run in the frame came on a sacrifice fly by Ryan Crew.

 

Robbie Wooley pitched seven strong innings for the Brewers, yielding just two earned runs. He struck out nine over that span and lowered his ERA this season to 4.43.

 

The win gave the Brewers sole possession of first place in the North Division in the Pioneer League. Helena owns a one-game advantage over Billings which lost to Missoula 5-4 Tuesday night.

 

The Brewers will host Billings tonight at Kindrick Legion Field to start a two-game homestand before the teams play three in Billings. The first pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. (8:05 Central).

 

Helena Box Score:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_grfrok_1

 

Helena Game Log:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_grfrok_1

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.nashvillecitypaper.co...s_id=43399

 

Sounds could lose top players during playoff run

By Nate Rau, nrau@nashvillecitypaper.com

 

It may be too soon to start trotting out magic numbers, but the Nashville Sounds can clearly see the light at the end of the tunnel.

 

With 33 games remaining heading into tonight?s road tilt with Colorado Springs, Nashville sits a healthy six games atop the PCL American North Division. However, eight of those games will be road contests with second-place Memphis.

 

That means the Milwaukee Brewers could have a conflict on their hands. With the Sept. 1 call-up date approaching, the Sounds could be entrenched in a battle for a playoff spot.

 

Would the Brewers prefer for Nashville?s top players to participate in a pennant race, or get their licks in at the major league level?

 

?We really have to address that when we get there,? Milwaukee?s special assistant to the general manager for player development Reid Nichols said. ?We don?t want to put the cart before the horse.?

 

Some of the big names in the Sounds lineup figure to at least be under consideration for call-ups, like outfielder Corey Hart. The Sounds All-Star was dreadful to start the season, but has been slugging the ball since May.

 

?Clearly if [Hart] had gotten off to a better start we?d be sitting better than we are now,? Nichols said. ?He?s carried the team for a while now. It?s also a good sign of a player to make improvements as you go along.?

 

Other candidates for big league call-ups are first baseman Prince Fielder, who already had a cup of coffee with the Brewers in June, and outfielder Nelson Cruz. The slick-fielding Cruz has impressed so far in Nashville and Nichols said the team is just looking for consistency out of him.

 

?Nelson is a player who has a chance to be an All-Star major leaguer,? Nichols said. ?His plate discipline is getting better. If that improves, he has a chance to be a very, very good player.?

 

For the pitching staff, Nichols said one player who has been mentioned is veteran reliever Kane Davis. After a few difficult seasons plagued by elbow problems, Davis has been excellent for the Sounds this season. He?s maintained his velocity and posted a 2.64 ERA. However, Sounds starters Justin Lehr and Rick Helling were promoted to the Milwaukee bullpen ahead of Davis in the past few weeks.

 

?[Davis?] name has been discussed a lot recently,? Nichols said. ?Obviously he?s a power arm. He has all the tools, it?s just a matter of consistency.?

 

Sounds clip competition

 

The Nashville Sounds are keeping their fans well-groomed, thanks to the team?s affinity for the thrilling come-from-behind victory and a timely promotion.

 

The trademark of this year?s Sounds team has been the late-inning comeback. The Sounds have won 21 games in their final at-bat.

 

Sounds manager Frank Kremblas said his team?s ability to play hard for nine innings is something instilled in the players during spring training by Milwaukee manager Ned Yost.

 

?Ned told everybody in spring training to play hard for 27 outs and that?s what we do,? Kremblas said.

 

Earlier in the season, the team started a promotion with Sport Clips, a sports-themed hair salon targeted at men with two Nashville-area locations.

 

The promotion says if the Sounds are tied or trailing going into the ninth inning and end up notching the win, every fan in attendance receives a voucher for a free haircut.

 

Since the partnership with the Sport Clips, the Sounds have garnered four such victories and given away roughly 30,000 free haircut vouchers.

 

?It?s worked out very well for us, because we?re getting a lot of new clients coming in,? owner Anna Hill said. ?Our target customer is sports fans.?

 

Paging Mr. Phelps

 

Relief pitcher Tommy Phelps has still yet to throw for the Sounds since he was demoted to Nashville from Milwaukee July 17. Phelps has nursed a knee injury, but hasn?t been placed on disabled list.

 

Kremblas said July 21, before the team?s Omaha road trip, he expected Phelps to pitch soon, but that hasn?t happened yet.

[Mass Haas]

Huntsville first baseman Brandon Gemoll may want to save this link from the Jackson Sun for the photo of he and Nomar Garciaparra -- mention of a nice Tony Gwynn catch in this game story from the Diamond Jaxx perspective:

 

miva.jacksonsun.com/miva/...8047436866

 

Also a very nice story here on Nomar's rehab stay -- nice to see guys with attitudes like this still around:

 

miva.jacksonsun.com/miva/...8047436909

[Mass Haas]

As of early morning, nothing to report on the Arizona game -- we'll get you something by mid-day, most likely...

 

All your minor league action takes place this evening, nice considering the Brewers' early matinee. The Thursday Link Report will be online late this afternoon, but it would be nice (and suggested) if folks managed to tune in to Andy Barch's call of the Power at 6:00 PM Central. Mark Rogers pitches, and if folks could pass along any of Andy's insights during the broadcast as to what Mark's up to tonight, that'd be appreciated.

[molitor fan]

The Sounds have a decent lead in the standings, but they have to face the facts...come Sept. 1st Nelson Cruz, Corey Hart, Mike Rivera, Jeff Bennett, Jose Capellan, Dave Krynzel and perhaps a few others will be in Milwaukee.

 

Huntsville will not be in the playoffs, and will be the ones providing the supplements to the roster come playoff time. Gwynn, Enrique Cruz, Sarfate, and maybe even Taubenheim will be experiencing the triple A playoff run in all liklihood.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.dailymail.com/news/Sp...005080412/

 

Power's blues continue at the hands of Tourists

Christopher Wade

For the Daily Mail

 

The West Virginia Power front office staff couldn't have picked a better special promotion to describe the team Wednesday evening, especially in the first inning.

 

The Blues Brothers Act entertained the 2,977 in attendance at Appalachian Power Park all evening but it was the Power and starting pitcher Greg Kloosterman who was feeling blue in the opening inning.

 

Asheville made Kloosterman's long season much longer as the Tourists erupted for seven runs on seven hits -- sending 11 batters to the plate -- in the decisive first inning.

 

The Power cut the deficit to 7-4, but in the end the lead was too insurmountable as the Tourists claimed a 10-4 victory.

 

"We were down 7-0 before even coming to bat. That's tough to come back from," Power Manager Ramon Aviles said. "We cut it to 7-4 but it was too much to overcome."

 

Kloosterman settled down after the rough first inning but fell to 3-16 on the season while Ching-Lung Lo (5-7) earned the win for Asheville.

 

The Blues Brothers started performing in the bottom of the second inning and the Power responded after the slow start as second baseman Hernan Iribarren doubled in a pair of runs in the third inning and shortstop Alcides Escobar singled in a run to cut the lead to 7-3.

 

Brendan Katin added another run in the fourth inning on a solo home run and threatened in the fifth inning with a pair of runners on and two outs. But Power catcher Angel Salome lined out to right field to end the threat.

 

Two innings later, Asheville ended the Power rally as Jose Valdez doubled and Aviles intentionally walked first baseman Joe Koshansky, who had hit a three-run homer in the first inning.

 

However, Matt Miller delivered a three-run bomb of his own over the left field wall to make it 10-4.

 

"I tried to play the percentages and try and get a double play ball with a base open but Miller is a great hitter. It's a tough situation. He hit a huge home run," Aviles said.

 

"We got down seven runs and just tried to do whatever to get on base and cut away at the lead, inning by inning," Iribarren said. "We got a run here and a run there, but the three-run shot was a killer."

 

Iribarren, a South Atlantic League All-Star who is hitting .301 for the season, was going through a mini-slump, hitting just .217 over his last 10 games and .160 over his last five. He collected a pair of hits Wednesday.

 

"The last couple games, I guess I was trying to hit the ball too hard but I've just tried to get back to my game plan and hit line drives. Getting my average back up is my goal this month," Iribarren said.

 

Meanwhile, Escobar collected three hits for the Power (20-18) and has been on a tear lately, hitting .346 over his last five games.

 

"Alcides is my best friend in the field and outside of the game. I was talking to him and we decided this is our last month. So we need to finish hard and give it all we have and take advantage of our opportunities," Iribarren said.

 

West Virginia's Brendan Katin high-fives Manager Ramon Aviles (5) while rounding third after his fourth-inning home run during the Power's 10-4 loss to Asheville Wednesday.

Charleston Daily Mail Photo: Craig Cunningham

 

http://www.dailymail.com/images/Power0804.jpg

[SoCalBrewfan]

The Sounds have a decent lead in the standings, but they have to face the facts...come Sept. 1st Nelson Cruz, Corey Hart, Mike Rivera, Jeff Bennett, Jose Capellan, Dave Krynzel and perhaps a few others will be in Milwaukee.

 

Possible I suppose, but doubtful. With the starting OF in Milwaukee, it's unlikely that there would be enough ABs to justify calling up the entire Nashville OF Sept. 1. The same thinking applies to Prince. I'd rather have those guys in the AAA playoffs than gathering dust and spitting sunflower seeds with Durrington at the end of the bench. I could see one of the three coming up right away, with Gwynn bumped to AAA. I'd guess they'd add reliever or two Sept. 1, probably...I'd guess one or two from Adams, Bennett, Capellan, Hendrickson, Sarfate, Davis would come up.

 

Mike Rivera isn't on the 40 man roster and won't be added just to serve as a 3rd catcher.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Arizona Brewers 6, Arizona Padres 3

No linescore or game log, but box score is intact...

 

Weather: 98 degrees, clear.

Wind: 0 mph, None.

T: 2:52.

Att: 758. -- wow, the kids must have felt like real minor leaguers!

 

Arizona Box Score:

RHP Jose Beltre must throw hard, but he's catching too much of the plate -- 36 K's in 24.2 IP, though; six ground ball outs, none in the air for RHP Craig Langille; congratulations Harold Mejia -- first walk in 112 AB's!

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_pdrrok_1