Link Report for Games of Monday, June 7th

[MassBrew]

 WEST DIVISION W L PCT GB COLUMBUS CLIPPERS (NEW YORK YANKEES) 31 24 .564 [b]INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS (MILWAUKEE) 30 25 .545 1.0[/b] TOLEDO MUD HENS (DETROIT) 30 28 .517 2.5 LOUISVILLE BATS (CINCINNATI) 27 30 .474 5.0

 WEST DIVISION W L PCT GB WEST TENN DIAMOND JAXX (CHICAGO CUBS) 31 27 .534 MOBILE BAY BEARS (SAN DIEGO) 31 27 .534 [b]HUNTSVILLE STARS (MILWAUKEE) 29 29 .500 2.0[/b] BIRMINGHAM BARONS (CHICAGO WHITE SOX) 29 29 .500 2.0 MONTGOMERY BISCUITS (TAMPA BAY) 25 33 .431 6.0

 SOUTH DIVISION W L PCT GB LANCASTER JETHAWKS (ARIZONA) 35 22 .614 INLAND EMPIRE 66ERS (SEATTLE) 32 25 .561 3.0 LAKE ELSINORE STORM (SAN DIEGO) 30 27 .526 5.0 RANCHO CUCAMONGA QUAKES (ANAHEIM) 27 30 .474 8.0 [b]HIGH DESERT MAVERICKS (MILWAUKEE) 20 38 .345 15.5[/b]

 WESTERN DIVISION W L PCT GB KANE COUNTY COUGARS (OAKLAND) 35 22 .614 PEORIA CHIEFS (ST.LOUIS) 34 22 .607 .5 CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS (ANAHEIM) 34 23 .596 1.0 [b]BELOIT SNAPPERS (MILWAUKEE) 31 27 .534 4.5[/b] CLINTON LUMBER KINGS (TEXAS) 29 27 .518 5.5 QUAD CITY RIVER BANDITS (MINNESOTA) 26 27 .491 7.0 WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS (SEATTLE) 24 33 .421 11.0 BURLINGTON BEES (KANSAS CITY) 18 40 .310 17.5

[MassBrew]

Indianapolis Post-Game Notes:

 

Pablo Ozuna?s ninth inning home run helped Scranton-Wilkes Barre overcome a terrible first inning by right handed pitcher Shane Bowers and led the Red Barons to a 2-1 win over the Indianapolis Indians before 5,748 fans at Victory Field.

"Winning is all that matters," Ozuna said. "You have to do what it takes to win."

 

What Ozuna did was wait for a pitch down the middle. The Red Barons were one strike from losing before he hit a hanging curve ball over the left field fence that scored Jim Rushford, who had hit one-out single.

 

"I just wanted something that was down the plate," Ozuna said. "I was looking for something over the middle and when I saw it coming I just swung away."

 

Bowers got the Red Barons out to a shaky start despite not getting credit for any innings pitched. He faced three batters, hit two of them and gave up an RBI double to Indianapolis shortstop Matt Erickson that gave the Indians a 1-0 lead with no outs in the bottom of the first.

 

"Our pitchers have done a great job lately," Ozuna said. "We had a bad start, but the rest of the guys settled down and got the job done."

 

Bowers started the game by hitting left fielder Chris Magruder, who scored from first on Erickson?s double to the left field corner. Bowers then hit right fielder Corey Hart before being replaced by left hander Yoel Hernandez.

 

After Bowers, the Red Barons got decent pitching from Hernandez, left hander Greg Kubes, right hander Dan Giese and left hander Jim Crowell, who got the win while pitching the ninth inning. Those four spread out five hits over nine innings and combined for six strikeouts. It was Crowell?s eighth save of the year.

 

Ozuna?s home run ruined a spectacular pitching outing by Indianapolis right hander Ben Hendrickson, who went 7 1/3 innings, struck out five and allowed only five hits.

 

"Ben pitched an outstanding game tonight," Indianapolis manager Cecil Cooper said. "I would have loved to keep him out there, but he tired at the end."

 

The Indians managed one base runner in the bottom of the ninth when third baseman Luis Figueroa hit a two out single. Crowell then got shortstop Steve Scarborough to ground out to second to end the game. It was the Red Barons? fourth straight win.

 

"We?ll do whatever it takes to win," Ozuna said. "That?s what the game is all about."

 

The Red Barons play the second of four games in Indianapolis tonight.

[MassBrew]

"There was a little twinge there in his arm and he couldn't get extended," Marc Bombard said of Bowers. "I think he'll be alright. He might miss a start, but needless to say, what a job by our bullpen. They pitched nine shutout innings."

 

That's why the quick hook on the Red Barons' starter (three batters).

[MassBrew]

Huntsville Site Game Summary:

 

With a chance to pull within one game of first, Huntsville came out swinging Monday night. Just as they had the day before, the Stars erupted in the first for a 3-0 lead. This time Chattanooga?s potent bats proved too much to contain. Trailing 3-2, the Lookouts (33-25) scored four in the sixth and three in the seventh in a 9-5 victory at Joe Davis Stadium. Huntsville (29-29) now trails Southern League West co-leaders West Tenn and Mobile by two games with 12 to play.

 

In the Stars? first, Ryan Knox, just arrived from triple-A Indianapolis, singled in two runs and scored on Chris Barnwell?s single to center. A Travis Wilson homer and Ramon Moreta run-scoring triple brought Chattanooga within 3-2 in the second.

 

In the top of the sixth, the Lookouts batted eight and scored four, with Andrew Beattie, William Bergolla, Edwin Encarnacion and Jessie Gutierrez all driving in runs. Huntsville answered in the bottom of the frame, when Prince Fielder singled and Brad Nelson launched a monstrous two-run homer to right, his 11th of the season.

 

The Lookouts sealed the game with their seventh-inning rally. Moreta tripled for the second time in the game and scored on pinch-hitter Jason Hill?s single. Hill stole second and scored on Beattie?s double, then Beattie raced home from second when Encarncion hit a bouncer up the middle and shortstop Ozzie Chavez made a beautiful stop behind the bag but threw wildly to first.

 

Charlie Manning (4-3) picked up the win, allowing five runs on seven hits while fanning eight and walking none over six innings. Fernando Rijo (1-3) suffered the loss, permitting three runs on four hits and one walk with two strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings. Brad Salmon recorded his first save, tossing three scoreless frames, surrendering just one hit and one walk and striking out one.

 

Huntsville sends lefty Matt Ford (1-1, 3.20) to the mound against left-hander Ryan Meaux (2-5, 5.68) in the first of a four-game series against the Birmingham Barons on Tuesday night. Game time is 7:05 p.m. at Joe Davis Stadium.

[MassBrew]

David Weiser's www.starsboxscore.com Huntsville update:

 

STARS BLOW ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY

West Tennessee lost again. That's seven of their last nine games........ But it's just another lost opportunity for the Stars....... We may as well be chasing Mobile and in fact, we will be soon. The Bay Bears are tied for first place with the Diamond Jaxx after shutting them out this afternoon, 2-0....... The Stars at least came out swinging on a rather busy day off the diamond.

 

To get this out of the way, it's common knowledge now that Jason Belcher, who was out of Sunday's lineup, was held back for a reason....... He was dealt Monday with former Stars pitcher Jason Childers for outfielder Peter Bergeron and a player to be named later....... I hope the Brewers are getting a damn good PTBNL. Childers, who was part of the Stars bullpen in 2001-02, was the closer at Indianapolis and had a sparkling 1.26 ERA with 15 saves for Indianapolis this season. Belcher was one of the Stars two ventricles, together with Brad Nelson, taking up the slack for the batting failures for most of the first half of Rickie Weeks, Prince Fielder, and Tony Gwynn, Jr........

 

Belch was 2nd to Nelson in average, and had driven in 17 runs in right field duty that wasn't always full time....... Two very important cogs for two different teams........ For this Milwaukee gets an outfielder with modest speed who couldn't hit .250 in the majors in four tries. A Triple-A lifer that the Expos, who have been conducting their team like a yard sale, have decided to give up on and the Brewers, naturally with a $27or $28 million dollar payroll, take up on since all they would have to pay him is $300Gs........ Bergeron will be assigned to Indianapolis........ I don't know who the Expos will send, but Alejandro Machado, who was picked up by the Expos in March after hitting .226 for the Stars in 45 games last year, was the Florida State League's batting leader before he was called up to Double-A Harrisburg (which is where Belcher was assigned)....... I'd die crying if it turned out to be Machado.

 

The Stars struck in the first for three runs after Weeks struck out looking and Gwynn, trying to bunt his way on, popped up to pitcher Charlie Manning........ Fielder, however, stayed alive at 3-2, then kept the inning alive, stroking a one-hop single solidly hit to center....... Fielder had another two-hit day with a single through the right side in the 6th....... Prince is now 8-for-19 in his last five games, raising his average to .263....... Brad Nelson followed with a double to right-center, sending Prince to third. Nelson now has 19 doubles on the season, 2nd in the league to Richard Lewis of West Tennessee, who is one up........ Ryan Knox, returning from Indianapolis, on an 0-2 pitch, singled on one hop to left-center, driving in both runners, his first 2-RBI game since delivering a pair of sacrifice flies in an April 11 game against Montgomery..... On the throw home to get Nelson, Knox moved to second, then scored on Chris Barnwell's single up the middle -- his 28th RBI for the Stars, to give the Stars an early 3-0 lead....... Barney is now 9-for-30 this month w/4 RBIs. He's gone up there to swing the bat. He's struck out only three times this month and not drawn a single walk.

 

I had expected Reggie Rivard to get a spot start tonight, as I was told, but Dennis Sarfate, on three days rest, took the hill for the Stars....... His first inning was speedy, throwing 10 pitches and giving up just a leadoff single to Andy Beattie, who went nowhere........ But in the 2nd and 3rd innings, he tossed a combined 59 pitches, 30 for strikes, combining to walk four and give up three hits, one of them a home run on a 3-and-0, 98 mph fastball (that's right. I saw the gun on this) to left-fielder Travis Wilson, a former Greenville Brave, now doing mostly bench work for the Lookouts....... After a walk to Brian Peterson, Tony Gwynn tried to make a sliding catch on Ramon Moreta's bloop to right-center, but the ball glanced off his glove and wandered into the gap for a triple, the first of two for Moreta....... That scored Peterson and the Lookouts trailed, 3-2.

 

Sarfate escaped trouble in the 3rd inning, loading the bases with two out....... Jeff Bannon doubled off the Gibson's BBQ sign under the scoreboard, then Dennis walked the next two hitters........Ramon Moreta, on 2-2, fouled off pitch-after-pitch, before striking out looking at a 90-mph fastball....... Moreta, disputing home plate ump Rob Hansen's call, stood there at home plate, cursing while everyone left........ Finally, Moreta flung his bat toward the Chattanooga dugout and walked away.

 

Fernando Rijo kept the Lookouts quiet for the next two innings while Manning retired the Stars in order in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th innings....... Joel Alvarado nearly made the play-of-the-day in the 5th inning on a foul pop....... The dangerous Jesse Gutierrez sent a high pop on 3-1 in back of the 3rd base line. Chris Barnwell came over as the ball began to fall near the on-deck circle near the Stars dugout. Alvarado dove forward in the dirt, snaring the ball in his webbing, but the ball trickled out........ Gutierrez eventually walked, but did not score.

 

Rijo faced five batters in the 6th inning, giving up a single to right by Manning and a ground-rule double by Beattie that bounced into the seats from the left field corner. William Bergolla's sharply hit ground ball to Ozzie Chavez's left scored Manning, but Rijo could not get that third out........ Edwin Encarnacion's double to the wall put the Lookouts in front, 4-3, and Rijo was done........Reggie Rivard, perhaps depressed that his Calgary Flames lost the Stanley Cup, gave up two more runs to make it 6-3........ Rivard has given up an average of five runs per nine innings in each of his months with the Stars........ In a reversal from last year's success, the Stars have not had a very effective bullpen this year, Ryan Miller (who's on the DL), and John Novinsky notwithstanding. I'll come up with some figures soon that I hope will support my statement.

 

The Stars made one last stand in the bottom half of the 6th...... After Prince Fielder dribbled a single through the hole on the right side under Bergolla's glove, Nelson hit his 11th home run of the year --- a monster shot high over the 3rd tier of billboards in right over the 7-Up sign........ The Stars trailed 6-5, but never got closer than that.

 

Tomorrow, the Stars face a tough pitcher in Arnie Munoz as Birningham comes in to the Joe........ Munoz, who was 6-0 for the Barons in 2002, started out 6-0 this season before losing to Jacksonville, May 29, and is now 6-2 with the 3rd best ERA (2.19) in the league........ The Stars counter with Matt Ford, who was on a 35-pitch limit his last time out and used every bit of it in no time, then Wednesday for an afternoon game, Mike Jones will make his return, I'm told, for the first time since going on the DL with a sore elbow, April 30.

 

Ryan Knox painfully fouled a pitch off his ankle in the 7th inning, and after limping around for awhile, struck out swinging at the next one, as a follow-up to Brad Nelson's home run....... All of a sudden, you could hear some really loud banging........ It was coming from the dugout, Knox taking out the frustration of the day, being demoted, then this, on something metal down there......... In a nearly empty stadium tonight, it was clearly audible all over the park......... Tony Gwynn, Jr. snapped an 0-for-14 slump with a single in the 3rd........ Joel Alvarado, despite his shiny defense (he's thrown out 45% of the runners trying to steal), is in an 0-for-17 skid. With 70 at-bats this season, he has one less than he had his two previous seasons with the Stars....... Pete Zamora made his 3rd appearance on the mound in as many days for the Stars. That hadn't been seen since Mike Rossiter back on May 5-7, 2000. That's one short of hte record by Doug Scherer in 1986......... Catcher Elie Alfonzo was called up from Class A-Jupiter in the Florida State League to the Carolina Mudcats. Alfonzo, can you believe this, was 2nd among Florida State League leaders in home runs with 15 and 2nd in RBIs, while hitting .261 there. Elie hit .258 with 7 HRs in 69 games for the Stars in 2002.

 

Four of the Brewers' top five selections in this year's amateur draft were pitchers....... Milwaukee's #1 draft choice this year was RHP Mark Rogers, a high school player from Orr's Island, Maine........ Rogers was thought to go in the middle of the first round by Baseball America. He was considered to be top prospect from upper New England........ He's the first prep player from Maine to go in the first round in the baseball draft....... Ranked 10th among the top pitching prospects in the draft. It was no secret that the Brewers were going to go after a pitcher. Baseball America forecast Rice pitcher Philip Humber would be their # 1 choice, but the Mets got to him first. The Brewers had the fifth pick....... Two other Rice pitchers went in the top eight........ Rogers has been gunned at 96-97 mph, but he generally sits at 90-95. Baseball American ranked his fastball as 3rd best among all prep prospects....... He has a 3/4 delivery, an explosive arm, but a loose, flowing delivery. A solid 12-6 curve, sharp breaking ball, and good change-up....... He struck out 77 in his first 29 IP against weak competition, allowing just one hit in his most recent prep season........ I'll say more about the other picks tomorrow and show you their names on my link, but it's 4:30 a.m. right now and I'm pretty damn tired.

[MassBrew]

High Desert Game Summary (Lancaster Site):

Mavs are back home now -- need those game summaries, guys!

 

Sean Luellwitz had three hits and drove in two runs as the JetHawks downed the High Desert Mavericks 5-3 on Monday night at Maverick Stadium. With the win, Lancaster improved its record to 35-22, and increases its lead in the South Division to three games.

 

Clint Goocher (8-2) turned in his eighth straight quality start for the JetHawks, to win his eighth game of the year. Goocher allowed three runs on nine hits over seven innings to become the first eight game winner in the California League this year.

 

Lancaster got a two-run home run from Jarred Ball in the second inning to get off to an early lead, and extended the lead to 3-1 with a run in the fourth inning. Carlos Quentin reached on an error, and two outs later came home on a single by Luellwitz.

 

After the Mavericks tied the game 3-3 with a run in the seventh, the JetHawks would come right back to retake the lead. Quentin opened the inning with a double and Jamie D?Antona followed with a single to left. Dan Tasca drove home Quentin with a ball that hit off losing pitcher David Nolasco?s ankle. Luellwitz then drove home his second run of the game with a single to left to score D?Antona.

 

Jason Bulger pitched a scoreless ninth to record his seventh save of the year for the JetHawks

 

Conor Jackson missed his second straight game with a sore wrist. Jackson remains day-to-day, and may return to the line-up on Tuesday night.

 

Game two of the series against the Mavericks is Tuesday night at Maverick Stadium. Adam Bass will make the start for the JetHawks. Chris Capuano will be making a rehabilitation start for the Milwaukee Brewers, the Mavericks parent club, in the 7:05 (9:05 Central) game.

[Al the Thinking Man]

I think it's becoming obvious the Brewers don't feel the closer role is a spot to put a prospect. Adams was the best pitcher in the 'pen at Indy, and he was pitching 2-3 innings at a time, then moved into the rotation. Childers was just an arm to them, and they used him as the closer, maybe to give him a chance elsewhere. Phelps would appear to be in a similiar situation.

[MassBrew]

Daily Press High Desert Game Story:

 

Mavericks match last year's worst losing streak

High Desert drops its ninth game in a row

By KRIS REILLY/Staff Writer

 

ADELANTO ? The High Desert Mavericks feel like they're better than last year's team, but they're now neck-and-neck with that squad in one dubious category ? consecutive losses.

 

The Mavericks lost 5-3 to the Lancaster JetHawks at Mavericks Stadium on Monday, suffering their ninth-straight defeat.

 

Nine in a row was a season-worst for last year's Mavericks, who finished with a 42-98 record ? the worst in minor league baseball.

 

"I definitely think this is a better team," said pitching coach John Curtis, who was with the Mavericks for the latter part of last season. "For all I know, it's also a better league. It might be more competitive. We feel we haven't been beaten by better teams as much as we've been beating ourselves."

 

The Mavericks had a hand in their own demise Monday by committing four errors, their second most this season.

 

"We made some errors we shouldn't have made," Mavericks manager Mel Queen said. "They weren't tough balls to handle; we just didn't handle them. We may have been a little overaggressive. At least they were errors with effort, and even after they made the error they hustled and tried to do something about it."

 

High Desert got another solid start from right-hander Bo Hall, who went five innings and allowed two earned runs on five hits while striking out three. Hall, who didn't facter into the decision, hasn't allowed more than two earned runs in any of his last five starts.

 

High Desert reliever Nick Slack pitched two no-hit innings, but David Nolasco (2-4) gave up two runs on three hits in the eighth, which clinched the victory for Lancaster.

 

Allowing five runs on eight hits to the best batting and best power-hitting team in the California league was a was a bit of a moral victory for a High Desert pitching staff that allowed 72 runs in its previous eight losses.

 

"We're going to climb out of this rut, and I believe pitching's going to lead the way," Curtis said. "Hopefully it will be sooner than later."

 

The JetHawks' Clint Goocher (8-2) scattered nine hits over seven innings and got the victory.

 

Hall retired the first five batters he faced, but Lancaster got on the board in the second with a ground-rule double to center by first baseman Sean Luellwitz followed by a two-run homer to left by outfielder Jarred Ball.

 

High Desert designated hitter Pete Rasmusen responded in the bottom of the second with his first home run of the year, a solo shot to right.

 

Lancaster extended its lead to 3-1 with an unearned run in the fourth inning.

 

High Desert's Jeremy Frost, who was filling in at first base for Travis Hinton, mishandled a grounder by Carlos Quentin and then misfired on a throw intended for Hall at first. Quentin advanced to second, and Frost was charged with a double error. Luellwitz drove in Quentin with a single to center field.

 

High Desert made it 3-2 on a home run to right by Dan Boyd in the sixth, then tied it in the seventh on an RBI single by Callix Crabbe that scored Rasmusen.

 

Lancaster pulled away in the eighth on an RBI groundout by Daniel Tosca and an RBI base hit by Luellwitz.

 

It was the sixth time during the slump that High Desert lost by two runs or fewer and the third-straight day that the Mavericks lost by two runs.

 

"We're a good team; we've just had a nasty streak of bad luck," said Rasmusen, who was 3-for-4 at the plate with an RBI and two runs scored. "We've been in just about every game. We get close, then we lose it. It's snowballed a little bit, but we'll stay positive and turn it around really soon, hopefully."

 

NOTES: Left-handed pitcher Chris Capuano of the Milwaukee Brewers (High Desert's parent club) will make a one-time rehab start for the Mavericks tonight against Lancaster at Mavericks Stadium. Capuano, who is on the Brewers' 15-day disabled list with muscle cramps in his left arm, is 1-2 with a 3.18 ERA in four starts for Milwaukee this season. Capuano is slated to go three innings, after which left-hander Manny Parra will take over. ... Crabbe has reached base safely in 24 consecutive games and has hit safely in 23 of his last 25.

 

Kris Reilly can be reached at 951-6275 or via e-mail at kris_reilly@link.freedom.com.

 

Scott Smeltzer/Victor Valley Daily Press Staff Photographer

The Mavs' Enrique Cruz misses a throw from first baseman Jeremy Frost as Lancaster's Jarred Ball steals second during Monday night's game.

 

http://www.vvdailypress.com/storypics2/060804_mavs.jpg

[MassBrew]

Stars short on runs, experience

Huntsville shaken up on the field by Chattanooga, off field by transactions

By MARK McCARTER

Times Sports Staff markcolumn@aol.com

 

This was Hell's Angels vs. kids on tricycles. This was hairy-legged seniors snapping wet towels at the freshmen after gym class. This was a series of experience vs. youth, and the callow Huntsville Stars found themselves pretty much bullied.

 

Bullied ... and bombed. And left with their chances for a pennant fading away like Kathie Lee Gifford.

 

The Chattanooga Lookouts handed the Stars their sixth loss in seven games with a 9-5 pounding Monday night. The Lookouts came into the series as the best-hitting team in the league, and left with plenty of stats and evidence. Chattanooga racked up 32 runs and 48 hits in the series.

 

"They can hit,'' manager Frank Kremblas said of the Lookouts. "They're a Triple-A team. They've got guys who can play baseball. They swing the bat and they've got some pitching and they run the bases pretty well.''

 

Kremblas then went on to list a number of the Chattanooga players, noting their experience. Some, in fact, with considerable time in the majors.

 

His lineup, meanwhile, has been built around one player with a year's experience in the league (Chris Barnwell) and another with a half season (Brad Nelson). Two key figures (Tony Gwynn Jr. and Rickie Weeks) are in their first seasons of pro ball.

 

"Nothing's wrong with our team,'' Kremblas said. "We're young. I thought we swung the bats pretty good. We've been facing pretty good pitching.''

 

The experience factor for Huntsville did increase on Monday.

 

All outfielder Ryan Knox has done is earn two promotions to Triple-A Indianapolis in the past two seasons and hit .271 in 89 games. But there he was again Monday, dispatched back to Huntsville for another tour of duty. Knox even helped the Stars to a 3-0 lead with a two-run single in his first at-bat - a credit to him that he had his mind on the game instead of constructing voodoo dolls of Milwaukee front office personnel.

 

Milwaukee made a trade Monday morning that sent Stars outfielder Jason Belcher and ex-Stars pitcher Jason Childers to Montreal for outfielder Peter Bergeron. Bergeron was assigned to Triple-A, which led to Knox's demotion.

 

Off-the-field moves had other impacts on this game.

 

Dennis Sarfate was rushed into the starting pitching spot for the Stars after only three days' rest. Scheduled starter Tim Bausher, who had been removed from Milwaukee's 40-man roster last week and subjected to the waiver process, was snatched up by the Colorado Rockies late Monday morning just before the deadline. Bausher made the rounds of the Stars clubhouse after the game, saying his farewells before shipping out to the Rockies' Double-A club in Tulsa.

 

The Stars are still in limbo with one more player. Catcher Kade Johnson also was removed from the 40-man major league roster and could be scooped up by another major league club before the Wednesday deadline.

 

After Knox's two-out, two-run single in the first, Barnwell followed with an RBI single and Huntsville owned a 3-0 lead. A Travis Wilson homer - he went 2-for-4 and is batting .500 against the Stars for the season - and Ramon Moreta triple cut it to 3-2 in the second against Sarfate, then the Lookouts jumped reliever Fernando Rijo for four runs in the sixth, with doubles by Andrew Beattie, Edwin Encarnacion and Wilson.

 

The Stars did cut the lead to 6-5 on a Nelson homer in the sixth - it was last seen being tracked by NASA radar - before a second Moreta triple keyed a three-run seventh.

 

The Stars (29-29) will probably need to win eight of their remaining 12 games this half, eight of which are on the road, to capture the Southern League West first-half pennant. They are tied with Birmingham, two games behind Mobile and West Tenn, who are tied for first. The Stars open a four-game set here tonight against Birmingham.

 

"We've got to play better. We've got to be more consistent,'' said Kremblas.

 

And getting older quicker wouldn't hurt, either.

[batman]

I gotta say I'm pretty irked about Sarfate pitching on three days rest. What's up with that? Talk about gambling with a valuable young arm... not cool.

 

~Bill