Link Report for Sat. 7/23 -- Tough Words For Mark Rogers

[Mass Haas]

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

[Mass Haas]

Saturday's Daily Menu:

 

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

 

Nashville: LHP Jeff Housman at Omaha (Royals), 5:45 PM pre-game; 6:05 gametime

 

Audio link:

www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/

 

Huntsville: RHP David Bradley at Birmingham (White Sox), 6:45 PM pre-game, 7:00 gametime

 

Audio link:

www.espn1450.com/

 

If that link is down for bandwidth, use:

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

 

Brevard County: RHP Luis Pena at Daytona (Cubs), 6:05 PM

 

Audio link (opponent's, right-hand side of linked page):

www.daytonacubs.com/

 

West Virginia: RHP Mark Rogers at home vs. Lakewood (Phillies), 6:05 PM

 

Audio link:

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

 

Helena: TBD at Orem (Angels), 8:05 PM

 

Audio link (opponent's, scroll to bottom left-hand side of linked page):

www.oremowlz.com/

 

Arizona: TBD vs. the Angels kids at home in the Maryvale complex, 10:30 AM local time; never any web audio for Arizona Rookie ball...

[Mass Haas]

Links to follow Saturday's action as it happens:

 

Nashville:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_omaaaa_1

 

Huntsville:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_biraax_1

 

Brevard County:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_dbcafx_1

 

West Virginia:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1

 

Helena:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_orerok_1

 

Arizona:

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

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_brrrok_1

[Mass Haas]

 Pacific Coast League (AAA) - American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Nashville 56 44 .560 - 29-23 27-21 W1[/b] Memphis 50 50 .500 6.0 26-23 24-27 L1 Iowa 46 51 .474 8.5 31-25 15-26 L2 Omaha 44 56 .440 12.0 18-26 26-30 L3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Carolina 16 10 .615 - 9-7 7-3 W3 West Tenn 17 11 .607 - 10-6 7-5 W1 Tennessee 14 14 .500 3.0 6-6 8-8 W2 [b]Huntsville 13 15 .464 4.0 4-7 9-8 L4[/b] Chattanooga 10 18 .357 7.0 5-10 5-8 L3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Brevard County 17 10 .630 - 6-5 11-5 W1[/b] St. Lucie 16 11 .593 1.0 5-6 11-5 L1 Vero Beach 16 11 .593 1.0 10-6 6-5 W1 Palm Beach 17 12 .586 1.0 7-5 10-7 L1 Jupiter 11 15 .423 5.5 10-7 1-8 W1 Daytona 9 18 .333 8.0 4-9 5-9 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Delmarva 19 8 .704 - 14-1 5-7 L2 Hickory 18 9 .667 1.0 8-4 10-5 W5 Lexington 15 12 .556 4.0 10-4 5-8 W2 [b]West Virginia 14 13 .519 5.0 7-4 7-9 W1[/b] Lakewood 12 16 .429 7.5 8-8 4-8 L1 Lake County 11 16 .407 8.0 7-8 4-8 W1 Hagerstown 10 16 .385 8.5 3-7 7-9 L1 Greensboro 10 17 .370 9.0 2-7 8-10 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pioneer League (R+) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Helena 21 9 .700 - 9-4 12-5 L1[/b] Billings 19 11 .633 2.0 11-5 8-6 L1 Great Falls 11 19 .367 10.0 8-9 3-10 W2 Missoula 10 20 .333 11.0 4-12 6-8 W2

Arizona League Standings:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...mp;lid=121

 

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

 

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

[Kraft4a3]

It is suppose to be record highs in Omaha today. Tempature will probably be close to 100 at gametime. We'll see how the boys, and especially Housman, deal with it.

 

Hope to see Prince play some first, but I know he is still ailing a bit.

 

Does anyone have a link or information on the Royals top AAA prospects?

 

(if someone could tell me how to put up pictures from a digital camera on to the site I could try to get some good ones)

[Anders34]

Kraft, The best way for pictures is to create a profile at Photobucket and upload them to that site. Then you can just insert web links instead of the actual pictures.

[SheetsCyYoung04]

Can't wait to read Rogers journal on this one. Walks five in 1.2 innings pitched. On the plus side he k'd four of five outs.

[Wytlaf]

Salome 2 for 2 (what's new) but Helena is losing, and Nashville fell apart in the last hour and is getting crushed now.

 

Seth

[bork]

What's up with the position players pitching today? Is that West Virginia box score correct? Brady came in a got a K and a BB while Rogers played to OF? Then they switched back. Huh?

[SheetsCyYoung04]

As mentioned Salome 2-2 But passed Ball #

12 and two errors

[Mass Haas]

Nashville Pre-Game Media Notes (PDF format):

Wes Obermueller has been inserted into the rotation and will start on Tuesday?

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/pdf/notes.pdf

[Mass Haas]

Final: Omaha (Royals) 14, Nashville 6

 

Weather: 103 degrees, clear.

Wind: 17 mph, Out to LF.

T: 2:54.

Att: 5,214.

 

Nashville Box Score:

Jeff Housman?s recent string of impressive starts snapped; Clint Weibl struggled in relief, so SS Steve Scarborough?s emergency inning was required (and didn?t go well); Dave Krynzel back in action; Prince Fielder home run # 19; a designated-hitter series, so a chance to rest Corey Hart from outfield duty?

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_omaaaa_1

 

Nashville Game Log:

Yes, that?s Shane Nance with the cheap win; Justin Gemoll, brother of Huntsville?s Brandon, having a nice year in the Royals? system?

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_omaaaa_1

[Mass Haas]

Final: Daytona (Cubs) 3, Brevard County 2

 

Brevard County Box Score:

RHP Kenny Durost with the surprise start, but it was Jeff Eure?s 7th-inning defensive lapse that cost the Manatees a run and the game; RHP Darwin Soto bounces back from Friday's fiasco performance with a perfect 9th, striking out the side; Lou Palmisano (three hits), Drew Anderson and Adam Heether (two apiece) combine for seven of Brevard's nine hits -- Steve Sollman drew the team's only walk...

 YTD YTD BREVARD COUNTY AB R H BI AVG DAYTONA AB R H BI AVG T.Ezi RF 4 0 1 1 .268 J.Culpepper CF 0 0 0 0 .455 O.Chavez SS 4 0 0 0 .235 J.Culpepper LF 3 0 2 0 .455 D.Anderson LF 4 1 2 0 .292 C.Rojas SS 4 0 1 0 .241 A.Heether 3B 4 0 2 1 .313 S.Moore DH 4 0 0 0 .278 S.Moss CF 4 0 1 0 .272 B.Dopirak 1B 4 1 2 1 .244 L.Palmisano CAT 4 1 3 0 .247 K.Collins LF 3 0 1 0 .266 J.Eure 1B 4 0 0 0 .218 C.Walker CF 1 0 0 0 .279 W.Campana DH 4 0 0 0 .264 J.Johnson RF 3 1 1 1 .273 S.Sollmann 2B 2 0 0 0 .268 T.Richie CAT 1 0 0 0 .308 K.Durost PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 P.O'Toole PR 0 0 0 0 .200 L.Stockman PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 P.O'Toole CAT 0 1 0 0 .200 J.Lewis PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 F.Salas 3B 3 0 0 0 .237 D.Soto PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 R.Chirinos 2B 2 0 1 0 .261 J.Mateo PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 A.Polanco PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 N.Sevier PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 34 2 9 2 TOTALS 28 3 8 2 BREVARD COUNTY 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0- 2 9 2 DAYTONA 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 X- 3 8 0 E--J.Eure 2. DP--BREVARD COUNTY 2, DAYTONA 0. LOB--BREVARD COUNTY 6, DAYTONA 5. 2B--A.Heether (19), S.Moss (13), L.Palmisano (10). HR-- B.Dopirak (10), J.Johnson (7). SB--L.Palmisano (3). CS--J.Culpepper, K.Collins, R.Chirinos. HBP--J.Culpepper. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA BREVARD COUNTY K.Durost 4.0 5 2 2 2 3 2 7.21 L.Stockman 2.0 2 0 0 0 3 0 2.91 J.Lewis (L,5-6) 1.0 1 1 0 1 0 0 3.76 D.Soto 1.0 0 0 0 0 3 0 15.00 DAYTONA J.Mateo 6.0 6 1 1 0 5 0 4.11 A.Polanco (W,1-1) 1.2 2 1 1 1 0 0 6.00 N.Sevier (S,5) 1.1 1 0 0 0 2 0 4.30 HB--K.Durost. SO--T.Ezi, A.Heether, S.Moss, L.Palmisano, J.Eure 2, W.Campana, C.Rojas, S.Moore 3, B.Dopirak 2, K.Collins 2, C.Walker. BB--S.Sollmann, T.Richie 2, R.Chirinos. T--2:29. A--2933

Brevard County Game Log:

Steve Moss gets picked off second base in the 2nd, c'mon Steve; Travis Ezi needlessly gets thrown out trying to stretch a run-scoring single in the 7th -- costly...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_dbcafx_1

[Mass Haas]

Final: Lakewood (Phillies) 7, West Virginia 3

Just wait one more week, fans ? as soon as Helena clinches the first-half title in a tight Pioneer League race, you?ll see some movement to the Power?

 

West Virginia Site Game Summary:

 

LAKEWOOD WALKS PAST THE POWER

Charleston, WV ? The West Virginia Power walked nine Lakewood BlueClaws on Saturday night as the BlueClaws beat the Power 7-3, setting up a rubber match on Sunday afternoon at Appalachian Power Park.

 

The Power scored the first run of the game on Grant Richardson?s RBI double in the bottom of the first inning. Lakewood scored four times in the second inning to take the lead. Sean Gamble walked with the bases loaded to tie the game at 1-1. Lakewood took the lead later in the inning when Chris Klemm scored on a passed ball. Brad Harman and Sam Orr knocked in the final two runs of the inning on RBI singles to make it a 4-1 lead. In the top of the fifth inning Jason Jaramillo smacked a two-run homer to put the BlueClaws up 6-1.

 

The Power made it a 6-2 contest in the bottom of the fifth inning on Alcides Escobar?s RBI single. The BlueClaws scored their final run of the game in the top of the sixth inning on Harman?s solo home run. The Power plated the final run of the game on Josh Brady?s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth.

 

Nate Johnson (8-5) earned the victory, Cory Dueitt (2) earned the save and Mark Rogers (1-7) obtained the loss. The Power are 14-14 in the second half after the loss and the BlueClaws move to 13-16 with the win.

 

The Power will finish the five game series with Lakewood Sunday afternoon. The Power will throw LHP Greg Kloosterman (3-13, 4.60) and the BlueClaws will counter with RHP Maximo De La Cruz (5-8, 4.89). The first pitch is scheduled for 2:05 PM (1:05 Central).

 

West Virginia Box Score:

If the Brewers are smart, they?ll return Mark Rogers to West Virginia to at least begin 2006 ? no sugarcoating tonight?s effort; that is some bizarre juggling of the pitching staff in those box score lines tonight; RHP David Johnson must have been activated from the DL prior to this one; Ryan Braun with six errors already? Ugh?

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1

 

West Virginia Game Log:

Most likely the Brewers have an ?inning pitch count? as well as a ?game pitch count?, so Josh Brady and Mark Rogers flip-flopped in the second so that Rogers could return for additional work?

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_wvaafx_1

[Mass Haas]

Final: Huntsville 5, Birmingham (White Sox) 3, 11 innings

Boy, did the Stars need this one, just for their own sanity; four hours, five minutes of tension tonight...

 

Huntsville Box Score:

First time this season the Stars win a game they trailed entering the 9th -- compare that with Nashville's season-long run of success in that regard; RHP Brian Wolfe with the win, stranding three inherited runners...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_biraax_1

 

Huntsville Game Log:

Walks issued in relief by Jerome Gamble and Andy Pratt made for very anxious moments; Brad Nelson's bases-loaded third-inning GIDP was big at the time, but the Barons left the bases loaded in the bottom of the same inning...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_biraax_1

[Mass Haas]

Final: Helena 15, Orem (Angels) 3

When you mash like these guys, you can make five more errors than your opponent and still win by 12...

 

Helena Box Score:

Five innings of shutout relief from Josh Louis and Ryan Marion shouldn't be lost among all the offense; six of 17 H-Crew hits for extra-bases; an amazing 13 players had hits for the Brewers, and all 14 position players reached base...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_orerok_1

 

Helena Game Log:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_orerok_1

[Mass Haas]

Final: Arizona Brewers 6, Arizona Angels 3

 

Weather: 104 degrees, cloudy.

Wind: 1 mph, Varies.

T: 2:17.

Att: 10. -- Guaranteed foul balls for all...

 

Arizona Box Score:

Brewer kids were down 3-0 early, six innings of no-hit relief by a trio of pitchers, including top LHP Brandon Parillo; young starter Roque Mercedes with a better effort control-wise (now with 18 BB's in 17.2 IP), but still is struggling; Nate Yoho and 3B Jose Jimenez with HR's, and Jose continues to be the one position player who's making a real statement...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_brrrok_1

 

Arizona Game Log:

Always big when the rookie kids play errorless ball....

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...k_brrrok_1

[Nefaste]

Quote:

---

Jose continues to be the one position player who's making a real statement...

---

 

Are you kidding me? How about Isaac Palencia, whose rookie ball 1.055 OPS in the massive sample size of 34 AB's leads me to nominate him for the Brewerfan 2nd Annual Catching WHOA SOLVDD award.

[Mass Haas]

Batman, thanks so much for the heads-up on Craig Breslow in the Alumni thread, I'm going to re-post here:

 

LHP Craig Breslow had his contract purchased from Double-A Mobile by the Padres today and made his Major League debut. In an inning and two-thirds, the 24-year old allowed a hit and a walk and fanned three. Here's his play-by-play:

 

[Eighth Inning]

- Jason Michaels struck out swinging.

- Jimmy Rollins struck out swinging

- Kenny Lofton grounded out to shortstop.

 

[Ninth Inning]

- Chase Utley grounded out to second.

- Bobby Abreu walked.

- Pat Burrell singled to left, Abreu to second.

- Ryan Howard struck out looking.

(Linebrink relieved him and retired David Bell)

 

Not bad, eh? Not exactly an easy introduction to the big leagues... those are some pretty big name guys.

 

Congratulations, Craig!

 

~Bill

 

Padres site:

 

Lefty Craig Breslow, recalled from Double-A Mobile, struck out three in 1 2/3 innings in his Major League debut, allowing one hit and a walk.

 

After Friday?s game in Mississippi, Breslow learned he was flying to Philadelphia to join the San Diego Padres. ?Pitching Coach Mike Harkey asked me how far my home in Connecticut is from Philadelphia, but I didn?t really put it together,? said Breslow. ?Then I got called into the Manager?s office, and they told me I was going to the Major Leagues. It was quite a shock.?

 

Breslow was on his way back to Double-A to make room for newly-acquired Joe Randa, but he had a lot of memories to take back to his BayBears teammates. Padres general manager Kevin Towers, who gave the word to Breslow that he was going to Philadelphia on Friday night in Jackson, Miss., spent Saturday completing the Randa swap.

 

"You get a sense being around a club that you need to do something," Towers said, withholding comment on the Nevin-Ponson rumored deal. "I felt the last three or four days, we really need to do something. We recognized a deficiency and we needed to address it.

 

"It's twofold. It sends a message to our fans, and we're going to continue to be aggressive and hopefully spark this club."

 

Since forging a commanding lead in the National League East with a 24-6 run, the Padres have gone 17-29 since June 1. Adam Eaton has been sorely missed in the starting rotation since June 15 with his injured right middle finger, and the bullpen has taken a few hits lately with Rudy Seanez and Chris Hammond unavailable.

 

Like Clay Hensley, who has pitched four hitless innings of relief since being recalled from Triple-A Portland, Breslow arrived and provided relief for the bullpen with his strong showing.

 

"I'm glad I had a chance and things went pretty well," said Breslow, a Yale graduate in biochemistry who was released by the Brewers organization July 4, 2004, and signed with the Padres in February for $1, Towers said, after an impressive tryout in Arizona during Spring Training.

 

"Today made it all worth it," said Breslow, whose name is forever entered in the Baseball Encyclopedia. "I came and hopefully proved to the guys up here -- and myself -- I can succeed."

 

He left Mississippi at 4:30 a.m., caught a connection in Atlanta and came straight to Citizens Bank Park from the airport. The Padres gave Breslow the satisfaction of one night in a big league hotel room before he would be returning to the less stately quarters of Double-A ball.

 

"I've still never seen the guy pitch," said Towers. "It's a pretty cool story."

 

Cool story indeed, and not just beacuse he's a New England kid who I've kept in touch with since his Brewer days.

 

Only a one-day gig apparently, but a newly-earned 40-man roster spot and a likely second call-up in September (or earlier).

 

This story is really for every minor league kid who might be getting labeled a JAG (just another guy), for all those # 51's not on the Power 50.

 

Craig was released from High Desert last July, and worked hard just to get an independent league gig to finish out 2004. As noted above, he gets a new affiliated contract via a tryout camp this spring, gets assigned to AA, makes the Southern League All-Star squad, and made his big league debut Saturday.

 

I just watched the archive at MLB.com of his outing, and it was great to see the umpire toss him the ball as he came off the mound (nice gesture), and receive congrats from the entire dugout. A happy, "chill" moment for sure....

 

So in case we don't give due credit to all those "organizational soldiers" out there who truly believe they're capable of that 25-game hit streak or 25-inning shutout streak to get their name on the map, keep pluggng away.

 

Just ask Craig Breslow...

[Mass Haas]

Huntsville Site Game Summary:

 

Link for Tony Gwynn, Jr. photo, text follows --

 

www.huntsvillestars.com/s...newsId=675

 

Gwynn, Jr. Gets Stars Back in Win Column

Tony Gwynn's two-run triple in the 11th inning snapped a tie and sent Huntsville on its way to a 5-3 win over Birmingham Saturday night in the second game of a three-game set at the Hoover Met. The Stars snapped a four-game losing streak to improve to 14-15 in the second half, while the Barons lost for the fourth time in five games to drop to 16-9 and see their lead in the South Division trimmed to two games after Jacksonville?s win over Carolina.

 

Ben Van Iderstine opened the 11th with a walk against Javier Ortiz and advanced when catcher Chris Stewart fielded a sacrifice bunt attempt by Nelson Castro and overthrew shortstop Pedro Lopez covering at second base, allowing Castro to reach safely at first. Jeff Winchester then attempted a sacrifice bunt but Van Iderstine was thrown at third base by Josh Fields to Lopez covering at the bag for the first out of the frame. Gwynn then laced a 2-1 offering over the bag at first down the right field line into foul territory to chase home Castro and Winchester to give the Stars a 5-3 lead. Birmingham issued intentional passes to Callix Crabbe and Brad Nelson later in the inning to load the bases but Ortiz retired Enrique Cruz on a liner to right to end the inning.

 

Andy Gonzalez opened the home 11th against Brian Wolfe with a double and stayed there when Casey Rogowski and Josh Fields struck out. Wolfe was taken out and replaced by southpaw Andy Pratt, who walked left-handed hitting Ryan Sweeney before retiring Darren Blakely on a line out to shortstop Cruz for the final out of the game. Wolfe went two scoreless innings to earn the win in his second outing with the Stars and Pratt earned his first save by protecting the Stars' first win in 47 games when trailing after eight innings.

 

John Vanden Berg drew a leadoff walk against Paulino Reynoso in the ninth and was replaced by pinch-runner Guilder Rodriguez, who moved to second base on a Stewart passed ball and to third on a sacrifice bunt by Gwynn, his sixth of the season. Crabbe then dumped a fly ball over a drawn-in infield and in front of right fielder Sweeney for a single to chase home Rodriguez with the tying run. Vinny Rottino then grounded into an inning-ending double play. The Stars grounded into three inning-ending twin-killings and matched a season-high with 13 runners left on base.

 

Birmingham threatened in the ninth, loading the bases against Jerome Gamble on three walks and a fielder?s choice bunt attempt by Casey Rogowski, who reached and stole his 16th base of the season. Gamble had issued only one walk all season, on April 21, prior to putting three runners on in the ninth. Wolfe was brought on with two outs to face Stewart and got him to fly out for the final out of the inning to send the game into extra innings.

 

Fields and Sweeney knocked in runs with sacrifice flies to give the home team a 2-1 lead after five innings. The Stars tied the game in the sixth inning on a two-out single by Van Iderstine against Dwayne Pollock, who had entered the game to face the right-handed swinging right fielder. Birmingham reclaimed the lead in the home sixth when Antoin Gray belted a solo home run off of Brett Evert, who had opened the frame on the hill in relief of starter David Bradley. It was the fourth home run allowed by Evert in 15 appearances since joining the Stars, three of which have been solo shots.

 

The series concludes Sunday evening with right-hander Dennis Sarfate taking the hill against Barons right-hander Kris Honel. Coverage of the game gets underway at 5:45 p.m. central time on ESPN 1450 AM and through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com.

[Mass Haas]

Brevard County Game Summary (Cubs' Site):

 

CUBS SALVAGE SERIES SPLIT AT ?THE JACK?

Daytona Relied On The Long Ball And A Solid Pitching Performance From Juan Mateo To End The Four-Game Set On A High Note

by: Bo Fulginiti

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla?The Daytona Cubs needed a little boost on Saturday night to help salvage a series split against the first place Brevard County Manatees, and 2,933 screaming fans at Jackie Robinson Ballpark were happy to oblige.

 

In front of a rabid fireworks crowd at ?The Jack? the Cubs relied on a pair of solo bombs from right fielder J.J. Johnson and first baseman Brian Dopirak, as well as a rock solid performance from the Daytona pitching staff as they held on to win the series finale over the Manatees by a final of 3-2.

 

Righty Juan Mateo got the nod for Daytona and went six full innings as he gave up just one earned run on six hits for the no-decision. Cubs reliever Alfredo Polanco (1-1) was credited with his first victory in Daytona after logging 1.2 innings of work in the seventh and eighth as he held Brevard County to one run on two hits.

 

The Cubs were also led at the plate by newcomer Jeff Culpepper who went 2-for-3 with a pair of base hits and later added a sharp grounder in the seventh frame that caused Manatees first baseman Jeff Eure to commit two errors and allow pinch runner Paul O?Toole to score the go-ahead run for Daytona.

 

Manatees southpaw reliever Jeremy Lewis (5-6) was charged with the loss after giving up the unearned run on Eure?s blunder, just one night after the lefty was credited with the win in the back end of Friday?s double-header in Viera.

 

With the victory the Cubs salvaged a four-game split with the Manatees as they improved to 10-18 as Brevard County dropped to 17-11 on the second half.

[Past Member]

Why did we exactly get rid of Craig Breslow? Also, where is Tommy Phelps at?

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

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

 

Stars notebook (through Friday's games)

Paul Gattis

Huntsville Times

 

Covering the bases

 

It's been a fairly miserable road trip in recent days for the Huntsville Stars, and it mercifully ends tonight in Birmingham. The Stars lost four in a row through Friday to drop into fourth place in the Southern League's North division. As bad as the slump has been, the manner of defeat has been particularly painful. In the first loss 3-1 Tuesday at Mobile, pitchers Dennis Sarfate and Alec Zumwalt made their returns from the disabled list by not allowing an earned run in six innings. But the BayBears scored three unearned runs off of the pitchers for the win.

 

The 2-1 loss on Wednesday came in 19 innings in the longest game in BayBears history. Mobile pinned the loss on Jeff Winchester, the Stars' catcher who took over in the 19th inning. On Thursday, the Stars led 2-0 and then tied it 3-3 in the ninth before the BayBears won in their last at-bat for the second straight game. Then Friday, the Stars blew a 4-0 lead and lost 6-4 at Birmingham. ... Incidentally, the 19-inning game at Mobile was not the longest in Stars history. The Stars lost a 23-inning game at Greenville in 1998. ...

 

In the reconfigured Southern League this season, the Stars are making their first visit to Birmingham - their nearest neighbor. The Stars will also visit the Hoover Met next month while the Barons have already made their only trip to Joe Davis Stadium this year. ... Stars reliever Mike Meyers was promoted to Triple-A Nashville last week while pitcher Brian Wolfe arrived as Meyers' replacement from Single-A Brevard County. ...Ty Taubenheim has made a smooth adjustment since his promotion from Brevard County on July 7. In his first start, he allowed one run in six innings. He pitched six shutout innings last week against Mobile before giving up three runs in the seventh. Taubenheim was 10-2 at Brevard County. ...

 

Outfielder Kennard Bibbs has missed the last three games after leaving Tuesday's loss at Mobile with a leg injury. ... Outfielder Brad Nelson has finally started to cool off. After a sizzling start following his demotion from Nashville, he's hitless in his last 14 at-bats. But Nelson is still hitting .325 with 14 RBIs in 20 games. ... First baseman Brandon Gemoll has found a hot bat after struggling early in the season. Gemoll has a 10-game hitting streak (17-for-43) and is hitting .387 in the second half. ... As hot as Gemoll has been, that's about how cold outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr. has been. Gwynn is 11 for his last 70 (.157). ... From the Makes No Sense department, the Stars are 3-11 in games played on Tuesdays. Naturally, the Stars' best day of the week is Monday (8-5).

 

Around the league

 

The race in the second half in the North division is starting to look a lot like the race in the first half when West Tenn and Carolina buried the rest of the division. The DiamondJaxx won the division to clinch a playoff spot and the teams are tied for first place in the second half. ... It's not hard to see why Birmingham has grabbed a three-game lead over first-half champ Jacksonville in the South. The Barons lead the league in the second half with 11 road wins. ... In roster moves after acquiring Joe Randa from the Cincinnati Reds, the San Diego Padres on Saturday called up Mobile pitcher Craig Breslow, who had a 2.79 ERA and allowed 38 hits in 51 2/3 innings.

 

Brewings

 

Triple-A Nashville (56-44, first place in Pacific Coast League's American North): 1B Prince Fielder is hitting .250 with a team-leading 18 home runs and 56 RBIs.

 

Single-A Brevard County (17-10, first place in second half in Florida State League's East): 3B Adam Heether is hitting .310 with five homers.

 

Single-A West Virginia (14-13, fourth place in second half in South Atlantic League's North): LHP Greg Kloosterman is 3-13 with a 4.60 ERA.

 

On deck

 

The Stars start a six-game homestand Tuesday, playing West Tenn through Thursday and then Montgomery makes its only trip to town for a weekend series.

[Mass Haas]

Daytona's Jeff Culpepper slides into second as Brevard County's Steve Sollmann, right, turns a double play in the third inning Saturday at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.

Daytona News-Journal Photo By Jessica Webb

 

http://www.news-journalonline.com/downloads/0724spt.jpg

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.wvgazette.com/section...2005072334

 

Power falls as pitchers walk nine

By Jay Srinivasan

For the Charleston Gazette

 

The West Virginia Power pitchers issued one walk after another. And the Lakewood BlueClaws gleefully accepted, walking away with a 7-3 victory in front of 4,441 paid fans at the Appalachian Power Park Saturday night.

 

Power pitchers finished the night with nine walks.

 

The Power took the lead in the bottom of the first. Ryan Braun bunted, and Grant Richardson collected his second RBI in as many nights to score Braun.

 

Then the Power pitching troubles started.

 

In the top of the second, Power starter Mark Rogers issued walks to Doug Gredvig, Chris Klemm, Josh Mader and Sean Gamble, scoring Gredvig. Klemm scored again on a passed ball to make it 2-1. Brad Harman grounded to shortstop to score Mader and Sam Orr hit an RBI single to right to put BlueClaws on top 4-1.

 

Switching positions with Rogers, left fielder Josh Brady got the Power out of a bases-loaded jam by striking out Jason Jaramillo to finish the inning.

 

?An outfielder having to come and finish the inning is an embarrassment,? said John Curtis, the Power pitching coach. ?I wasn?t happy with the way Rogers pitched. I think the adrenaline is overtaking him and we are trying to get him to relax. He didn?t do that tonight.?

 

?In the four runs they scored in that inning, there were five walks,? added Power manager Ramon Aviles. ?That really hurt us.?

 

Rogers came back to pitch the next 2 2/3 innings, which forced designated hitter Nestor Corredor out of the game.

 

Jaramillo increased the BlueClaws? lead to 6-1 in the top of the fifth by blasting a two-run homer, chasing Rogers in the process. The Power narrowed the gap to 6-2 in the bottom of the fifth when Brady doubled and Alcides Escobar singled to right field to score Brady.

 

Harman greeted Power reliever Josh Baker by slamming his second pitch for a homer to left field in the top of the sixth to go up 7-2. West Virginia cut the deficit to 7-3 in the bottom of the sixth. Braun walked, Richardson and Hasan Rasheed singled, and Brady sacrificed to score Braun. With runners on second and third, Lakewood starter Nate Johnson fanned pinch-hitter Josh Murray to close out the inning.

 

?We had the bases loaded, but we came out with only one run,? said Aviles. ?We keep telling them if you?re going to strike out, strike out swinging. We struck out without swinging the bat.?

 

Lakewood reliever Cory Dueitt then shut out the Power, pitching three perfect innings for his second save.

 

BlueClaws shortstop Harman went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a home run while West Virginia?s Richardson was 2-for-4 with one RBI.

 

Johnson (8-5) worked six innings, striking out five, and allowed three earned runs to obtain the win. For the Power, Rogers (1-7) took the loss after giving away six runs, five walks and six hits in 41/3 innings.

 

The Power finishes the five-game series against Lakewood at Appalachian Power Park at 2:05 p.m. (1:05 Central) today. The Power will throw left-hander Greg Kloosterman (3-13, 4.60) and the BlueClaws will counter with right-hander Maximo De La Cruz (5-8, 4.89).