Link Report Tue. 8/21

[wvpowerblkwel]

I apologize for the sideways pictures....I was just trying to keep from using up more than a screen heighth in my post. I have a real nice Nikon digital with a 70-300 zoom, so I can put up pics pretty much in whatever size is acceptable, but have been keeping them around the pixel sizes allowed for avatars thinking that to be ok.....any suggestions on what size pics are proper for posting would be appreciated. I was the guy who jinxed the No-No earlier in the year, so I like to participate but am leery of violating forum regulations!

[colbyjack]

We'll take your high quality pictures of the Power any way we can get them. If you would like, I would be happy to take any picture you have and re-size them for posting. You could have your own gallery really, as I would love to see what else you have.

 

Jinxing no-no's and big pictures aren't in violation of any rules that I'm aware of http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif.

[BillScottCanRake]

I think as long as your picture is about the size of the one you posted, whatever you have to share would be fine. Especially since most of us living in Wisconsin don't get to WV as often as we went to Beloit several years ago, it's nice to see the guys early in their career.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

http://www.dailymail.com/story/Sports/2007082237/Periard-snaps-losing-streak-in-Powers-5-1-win-over-Legends/

 

Periard snaps losing streak in Power's 5-1 win over Legends

Michael Dailey

Charleston Daily Mail sportswriter

 

To say that West Virginia Power pitcher Alex Periard has had it tough in his last few outings is an understatement.

 

The 6-foot-1, 185 pound Quebec native has suffered his fair share of bad breaks -- some his own doing and some not -- while dropping six straight decisions on the mound.

 

But all of Periard's frustrations were erased, if only for a little while, in a 5-1 South Atlantic League baseball win over the Lexington Legends at Appalachian Power Park on Tuesday night.

 

A crowd of 2,398 looked on as Periard (6-7) won for the first time since July 14.

 

The right-handed Periard, a 16th-round selection by Milwaukee in the 2004 draft, lowered his ERA to a very respectable 3.59 in scattering six hits and allowing just one unearned run in six innings of work.

 

Periard credited his ability to mix pitches and to keep those pitches down in the strike zone for his success.

 

"I was just trying to mix my pitches up a little more tonight," said Periard, who allowed 11 hits and six earned runs in his last outing. "I tried a few first pitch curveballs tonight instead of always going fastball, fastball, fastball.

 

"The last game I was just throwing fastball after fastball and the hitters were just sitting on it. Tonight, I worked on changing speeds a little bit more and it seems to work better.

 

"Being down in the strike zone was a key also. I was trying to work down a little bit more and I got good results."

 

Periard, in his third season with the Brewers' organization, has learned not to dwell on past failures or to gloat over past successes.

 

"Everybody is going to have bad games," he said. "You've just got to work through them and become more consistent with your good games.

 

"You don't want to be thinking that you're all good either after a good start. You just want to get your game plan down every night, work hard to prepare, and then just go for it when it's your turn to pitch."

 

Power pitching coach John Curtis also was pleased with Periard's performance.

 

"The last four or five starts has been rough for him," Curtis said. "This is a nice win for him to stop that slide. But those things happen and you've just got to keep pounding away and pounding away.

 

"He showed some composure and maturity out there tonight and did a very nice job.

 

"Alex has exceptional movement on his fastball. It's not a hard sinker; it just has good movement. Sometimes it runs and sometimes it sinks. When it's moving, hitters have trouble putting the barrel on the ball.

 

"Overall, it was just a terrific outing."

 

Curtis also was pleased with three innings of scoreless relief by southpaw Mike Ramlow and right-hander Donovan Hand.

 

Ramlow tossed two scoreless innings, allowing just one hit, while striking out a pair.

 

"Mike Ramlow did a very nice job," said Curtis. "He's been coming out the pen and doing a good job for us. He kept the ball down very well and stayed tough. He did nice work tonight."

 

Hand allowed two hits, but wiggled out of trouble in pitching a scoreless ninth inning.

 

At the plate for the Power (27-29), 2007 first-round pick Matt LaPorta treated the home crowd to his best performance as a professional hitter.

 

LaPorta blasted a fourth inning pitch from Lexington starter Sergio Severino (5-7) off the video screen atop the scoreboard to knot the game 1-1.

 

An inning later, LaPorta belted a 3-run blast off of Nick Cavanaugh, giving the Power a 4-1 lead after five innings.

 

Jimmy Mojica, Chuckie Caufield and Charlie Fermaint also had two hits apiece for West Virginia. Lexington fell to 24-34.

 

The two teams will meet Wednesday night at 7:05 (6:05 Central) in the second game of a brief, three-game homestand.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

http://www.al.com/stars/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/sports/1187774413311980.xml&coll=1

 

Stars still out of sync

Mudcats hand Huntsville 7-2 setback at home

By BRAD SHEPARD

For the Huntsville Times

 

For much of the second half, the Stars have looked like the antithesis of a team that would back into the playoffs.

 

With 13 games remaining, however, they are reeling for the first time in a while. The downward dip went a little more southward Tuesday night with a 7-2 loss to Carolina in front of 1,058 fans at Joe Davis Stadium.

 

Though it's still more than two weeks before the playoffs start, manager Don Money wants to see improvement from a team that has lost five of six.

 

"I'd like to get out of this slump (before the playoffs)," Money said. "Like I said before, it's one game at a time. Right now, it's a combination of things."

 

That combination was fatal again against the Mudcats.

 

Stars starter Derek Miller struggled with his command, and his teammates couldn't do anything offensively, mustering only two hits. Also, an error opened the door for a big Carolina inning.

 

Overall, it was a forgettable night. But the last time the Stars lost five of six was July 23-28, and they bounced back to win 10 of 11.

 

"I wouldn't call it a bad streak," center fielder Steve Moss said. "We're running across some teams playing good baseball. We'll be back tomorrow."

 

Huntsville won the first half of the Southern League's North Division and has owned much of the second half, too. But it has only a one-game lead over Tennessee, which could have tied the race but lost 6-1 to Mobile on Tuesday.

 

Right now, the Stars are trying to focus on righting their own wrongs.

 

After winning five straight decisions since being called up, Miller has now dropped two consecutive starts. He was staked to a 2-0 lead early Tuesday but couldn't hang on.

 

Miller held them off until the fifth inning when he allowed a one-out infield single to Jonny Raburn before throwing errantly to first base on a bunt attempt by opposing pitcher Chris Seddon.

 

Following his own error, Miller spiraled. He hit leadoff hitter Dante Brinkley then made a bad pitch to first baseman Eric Riggs, who roped a bases-loaded, bases-clearing double to give Carolina a 3-2 lead.

 

"Any time you make an error that leads to runs, it's going to come back to haunt you," Miller said. "I should've been out of that inning earlier than that."

 

The Mudcats made certain there would be no comeback attempts the next inning when Rex Rundgren ripped a two-out, two-run single off reliever Bo Hall to make it 5-2. Those two runs belonged to Miller, who allowed five runs - but just two earned - in 5 2/3 innings.

 

"I didn't really have too much command with any of my pitches," Miller said.

 

"My curveball was working when I needed it to, but I was getting behind hitters, and it's going to come back on you."

 

Huntsville jumped out to a lead in the second when Lou Palmisano doubled and later came home when Moss reached on an error by the center fielder. Then, Adam Heether launched a long home run in the fourth to make it 2-0, but it wasn't enough.

 

Huntsville will try to regroup tonight when it sends ace Lindsay Gulin to the mound. More than anything, the Stars will try to get hot before the games really count.