Sounds Highlights

Cruz, De La Rosa, Olmedo and
Almonte chat before a game.

The Sounds are battling for first place in the very tight PCL North Division. All four teams, including Iowa, Omaha and Memphis, have winning records and are within a game or so of each other.

Several Sounds players are playing particularly well this season.

Of the regulars, DH Erick Almonte has the highest BA at .308 with 56 hits.

Centerfielder Trent Oeltjen has the second-highest BA at .294 with 77 hits. Oeltjen is often the leadoff man. He has both speed and power and exhibiting both this season. He leads the team in SB's with 13. He also leads the team in doubles with 24 and has seven homers. Oeltjen spent several years in the Twins organization and came up through the ranks with players such as Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau.

Trent Oeltjen warms up on deck.

Shortstop Luis Cruz is batting .292 and is tied for the RBI team lead at 43. He leads the team in hits with 78. This smooth-fielding shortstop has spent considerable time in the majors with the Pirates.

Katin signs an autograph for a fan.

Brendan Katin is batting .291 with 34 hits. He leads the team with 10 home runs in 34 games.

Matt Gamel has been the regular third baseman lately and is batting .286.

First baseman Joe Koshansky is second in home runs with nine and is batting .259.

Koshansky with teammates after
a three-run homer.

Venezuela's Ray Olmedo Talks Baseball

One of the Brewers organization's top infielders is second baseman Ray Olmedo, who has spent much of five previous seasons in the majors. Olmedo is a regular starter for the AAA Nashville Sounds, now battling for first place in the PCL North Division with Iowa, Memphis and Omaha.

Olmedo, nicknamed "Rainer", has played in almost 200 big league games with the Reds and Blue Jays. He carries on the very strong Venezuelan baseball tradition in the majors and counts several of the Venezuelan baseball legends as mentors and coaches, including Omar Vizquel, Luis Aparicio and Dave Concepcion. Olmedo is grateful for his family, friends and coaches.

"I've had a lot of guys help me," said Olmedo outside the Sounds' clubhouse. "I've had a lot of good experiences that have helped me." Olmedo mentions he is good friends with fellow Venezuelan player Alex Gonzalez (Blue Jays) and has learned a lot from such players and legends as Ken Griffey, Jr., and Barry Larkin with the Reds. He is also grateful for his family.

"I'm very appreciative to my dad," said Olmedo. "He did everything with me, especially when I was little. He threw to me and my brother a lot, helping us get better. Now I have my wife and baby who really support me. They are my main motivation now." Olmedo has a three-year-old daughter.

NFL Star Chris Hope's Motivation

The Titans' Chris Hope continues to be one of the top safeties in the NFL. His outstanding career continues as he leads the Titans into the 2010 season. What motivates him?

While from the outside his work may seem glamorous, in reality it is hard, grueling work in a very competitive and demanding environment, where he not only has to perform but lead. He has dealt with injuries as well, just one of the many challenges of playing at this level. Hope was nice to take a few minutes to speak with a reporter after a recent OTA.

"I try to continue to get better," he said. "If I could establish myself as one of the best safeties in the league, I don't take that lightly. I want to get the respect of teammates, coaches, players around the league. When they see tape of me, I want them to see a good football player."

Hope said he works out seven days a week in the off-season, spending time both in his hometown Rock Hill, SC, near Charlotte, NC, as well as in Nashville. "Sundays might be a light workout," he added.

This college and pro star gives credit to coaches as well as his family for helping him along the way to get to this level.

"I've always had some great coaches. My high school coaches were great," said Hope. He listed some of the coaches who have influenced him, including Bobby Bowden at Florida State, Mickey Andrews, Cowher and Darren Perry in Pittsburgh, Dick LeBeau, Marcus Robertson, Fisher, Schwartz and Cecil in Tennessee and others.

"My parents and my grandparents have motivated me my whole life. I was always taught, 'If you don't work, you don't eat,' so it's been instilled in me from when I was young."

VY and Finnegan To Host Charity Golf Scramble on July 26

The Titans' Vince Young and Cortland Finnegan are teaming together to host the 1031 Celebrity Scramble 4 Kids on July 26 at the Governor's Club.

All proceeds will benefit the two players' foundations. Young's foundation assists charitable organizations in Tennessee and Texas and is dedicated to serving underprivileged children.

Finnegan's the ARK Foundation is committed to serving children with special needs and disabilities throughout the middle TN area.

Both players and their charities do tremendous work helping those in need.

What Is It About this Game We Love?......Baseball

The beautiful, wide open field.....the green grass and broad dimensions......like a field out in the country.....quiet, peaceful, calm.....dirt and grass and sun and wind and rain.....

The classic, historic ball parks....the beautiful, modern ball parks....the little league ball field across town, kept up by parents and friends.....

A game played in a park.....on a diamond. A park and a diamond. Two of our favorite things. And the goal is to "go home." That's another good thing.

It's fast and slow. It's short and long. It's simple yet complex. It's both an individual and a team sport- both at the same time.

The game is determined by both minute fractions of a distance and long, expansive distances.....(examples: the distance on the impact of ball and bat- and the distance of a long home run.)

There is a game within the game- many times over. There are literally countless things every game that the casual observer does not see....There is constant, vital communication throughout the game with no words spoken......drama without words

Every inning, every at-bat, every pitch is like a game in and of itself.

Thousands upon thousands of games have been played throughout its history, yet every game, even every inning, and is different and unique.

There is no clock or time limit. A game could last forever. An inning could last forever. An at-bat could last forever.

It takes place in the spring turning to summer....sunshine and birds singing and hot summer days.....longer days and shorter nights....no school.....

What is the perfect number? Perhaps it is the number three. How long is a game? Three times three. Nine innings.

What is another number denoting perfection? Ten. So how long is the playing and running surface, the base path, of this game? Let's see.....the length of the game (nine innings) multiplied times a number denoting perfection (ten) is ninety. Yea, that's sounds right....

Longest Pro Tennis Match Ever Today....

The longest pro tennis match EVER is still going.......it's not over yet.

Isner and Mahut are tied 59-59 in the fifth and final set of their first-round match at Wimbledon. Yes- that is 59 GAMES, not points. You must win by two in the final set.

There have been over 400 winners in the match. It was suspended for darkness after 10 HOURS of play.

Stay tuned for the rest of the match........if it ever ends.

Cruz is Hotter than a Mexican Summer Salsa Dance

The weather is hot, but the Nashville Sounds' Luis Cruz is hotter.

In the last two games, both wins, Cruz was 6 for 8 with 4 RBI and 2 runs scored. In both games he was 3 for 4. In the first of the two games, his only out was a line drive shot barely snow-coned by the third baseman. In fact, only a snow cone could put this fire out.

This guy is hotter than a Mexican salsa dance in July. And yes he is from Mexico. Cruz hails from Navajoa, Sonora, a city of about 150,000 in the northern state below Texas. So he is used to hot summers.

Keep up the great work, Luis. I hope you stay hot longer than the weather does.

Nashville Sounds International........

The current roster of the Nashville Sounds certainly has some geographic variety. The 24 players hail from 6 countries, 1 territory and 12 states.

Going along with the current international flavor of major league and pro baseball, the Sounds have players from, in addition to the USA: Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Canada and Australia.

The two countries perhaps somewhat unique on the list are Canada and Australia. The players on the road less traveled are Adam Stern from London, Ontario, and Trent Oeltjen from Sydney, Australia.

They are both living their dream of playing pro baseball. Both are outfielders. Stern is 30 and Oeltjen is 27. Both played for their national teams in international competition, including the Olympics.

They took time out of their hectic schedule to speak to reporters before a Monday game recently.

"Coming up through the ranks, it has been a great experience," said Oeltjen, shirtless, in the clubhouse. "My goal has been to make to the major leagues." He realized that goal last season with the Diamondbacks. He is one of only 26 players from Australia in the history of the major leagues.

Oeltjen is 6-1, 190 with speed and power and bats and throws lefty. He often bats lead-off and can hit the long ball. On this particular night, he tagged a home run about 390 feet, helping the Sounds win.

Stern has played with four organizations in his career and has spent parts of four seasons in the majors.

Being from Ontario in Canada, Stern described how players there do not get as much playing time because of the weather and the heavy emphasis on hockey.

"Our season was shorter and we only usually played on weekends," said Stern. "Playing college ball here helped me a lot." Stern and a group of players from the London area all played for the Univ. of Nebraska in the Big 12, some of the top college baseball in the nation. He was 2nd team All-Big 12 one season and turned pro after three years. Stern has also made it to the majors, with the Red Sox, Orioles and Brewers.

"There are more players from Canada these days, like Morneau and Jason Bay, so people are more aware of baseball in Canada," said Stern. Currently, there are approximately 19 players in the majors from Canada.

Oeltjen said that baseball is about "eighth or ninth" on the list of most popular sports in Australia, behind the leaders like rugby, cricket, swimming, tennis, golf and others. His dad is from the states, Seattle, and introduced Trent to baseball at a young age.

He played seven years in the Twins organization before playing for Arizona and now Milwaukee. He came up through the Twins farm system with Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer and others.

By the way, he likes living in Nashville. After greeting a reporter with a friendly "Hi, mate," he was asked about his adopted city.

"It's a nice place here," he said. "It's neat to go downtown and see all the music playing in the restaurants and bars."

Cruz and Almedo: Ballet Without Music

Ballet without music. Drama without words. A carnival without kewpie dolls.

That's how some have described baseball.

And in Nashville, music city USA, that sounds right. It rings true- especially up the box, where shortstop Luis Cruz and second baseman Ray Olmedo orchestrate the middle of the Sounds' defense.

Their defense is almost an art form- gracefully taking shape amidst the hard-nosed reality of baseball at the highest levels. In a recent series against Oklahoma City, 26 of the 48 players on the two rosters spent time in the major leagues last season. This is not your everyday baseball game- these are the top players in the world.

Cruz, from Mexico, and Olmedo, from Venezuela, have both spent considerable time in the majors.

Olmedo has spent five years in the bigs, four with Cincy and one with Toronto.

Cruz has spent parts of two seasons in the show with the Pirates.

Both are high character guys who are well-spoken and courteous. They make a tough, fast-paced sport look easy. Running to balls all over the field, jumping high during double plays, turning double plays faster than a salsa move on the dance floor, these guys are the real deal.

Manager Don Money Orchestrates the Sounds

Manager Don Money does much more than coach baseball. As the leader of the Nashville Sounds, he orchestrates a mind-boggling array of difficult tasks that only a baseball expert could accomplish. He runs a ball club and all its complexities competing at the highest levels of baseball in the world. And that is just the beginning.

For starters, Money has coached and managed at all three main levels of the minors, from high-A ball to now AAA, and knows the nuances of every level, including the majors. He himself played in the majors for 15 years, for the Phillies and Brewers, and was a four-time All-Star.

"Our job here is to prepare these guys for the next level," said Money from his office in the Sounds clubhouse, in the midst of writing reports and sipping steaming hot coffee. "It's a 30-person family here. In AAA the guys are a little older."

The casual observer may think that Money and his two assistants, Rich Gale and Sandy Guerrero, just coach baseball and go home. Not even close.

It's a long season, with 140-plus games, long road trips, bus rides and plane flights and 3 AM departures and late night hotel stays. His typical day is 12 hours-plus, filled with game prep, BP, coaching, reports, planning, communication with Brewers' executives.

So far this year, the Sounds roster has already had over 70 roster moves (players going up or down). Money is the point man with the Brewers for all those moves. He and his staff basically decide who is next in line to fill spots with the Brewers.

And in the midst of it all, he has fun. During an interview, two players, starters Adam Stern and Brendan Katin, step into his office to post something on his wall, asking Money something about the game only an hour away.

"See what I have to put up with?" Money cracked loud enough for the players to hear. They apologized and began singing his praises. In a long season like theirs, camaraderie is key.

During games, in which Money not only manages but also coaches third base, he has fun with fans. They know he sometimes randomly tosses a ball to fans above the dugout. Sure enough, in the game that night, he followed through. About 30-40 sets of hands reached for it, with one fan getting a nice souvenir from the manager and former Major Leaguer.

All is all, what Money and his staff do is impressive.

Interviews with Cruz and Davis in Nashville

This past weekend, several Texas Ranger budding stars were in Nashville to face the Sounds as Okla. City faced Nashville. The Sounds won three of four from the Red Hawks.

Nelson Cruz, AL All-Star last season and former Sound, was on a rehab assignment. He hit 33 homers last year for the Rangers.

"It was a dream come true playing in the All-Star game," said Cruz before Sunday's game. "Playing with Pujols, Jeter, Howard and those guys, it was special." Cruz, from the Dominican Republic, speaks with the typical Latino accent. He is a fan favorite and was signing autographs for fans throughout his two-day stint in Nashville.

Chris Davis, only 24 years old, played most of last season with the Rangers and hit 21 home runs. He is 6-3, 230, and is hitting about .360 this year for the Red Hawks. He plays first base.

"I think one key I've learned in hitting is to stay within myself and don't do too much," said Davis after a Red Hawk win. "I've had some good hitting coaches here the last few years that have helped me a lot. Clint Hurdle this year has been a great hitting coach.'

In the last game of the series, Davis went 3-4 with a home run and a double.

Some of the Best Baseball in the World....

So, you might think that the Nashville Sounds club is just another minor league ball team. Re-think that.

In a recent home series against Okla. City, 26 of the 48 players on the two rosters spent time in the major leagues last year, with a total of 12 big league teams.

Both teams rosters in this series were filled with some of the best players in the world- from all over the world (six countries and one territory, Puerto Rico).

In addition, seven players who began the season with the Sounds have been called up and are currently with the Brewers. From last years Sounds team, shortstop Alcides Escobar, only 24 years old, now starts for the Brewers and is considered one of the rising superstars of the majors. Not to mention Brewers superstars Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun.

For any baseball fan, the names of major leaguers in this Nashville-Okla. City series were evident: Garko, Nelson Cruz (former Sound and AL All-Star last season), Chris Davis (21 HRs last year for the Rangers), and Jarrod Saltalamacchia- yes, he has the longest name in the history of the major leagues, unofficially.

Two coaches in the series are former major leaguers as well- Sounds manager Don Money and pitching coach Rich Gale.

Essentially, Sounds baseball is some of the best baseball in the world. Period.

The Sounds Help Local Baseball Recover From the Flood

The Nashville Sounds, the Sounds Foundation and Sponsors are helping local baseball organizations recover from the catastrophic flood in Nashville on May 1.

The Sounds and the "Play Ball!" Project sponsors have already donated more than $70,000 in cash and equipment to help leagues in five different cities in middle TN recover. The fields and leagues that were damaged and are receiving this much-needed help are: Mt. Juliet, Hendersonville, Ashland City, Bellevue and Shelby Park.

Five future Sounds home games will be dedicated to these five cities/neighborhoods, in late July and early August. The Sounds are donating a total of 12,000 tickets to those games- or the potential of $120,000. The Sounds ask people to come out and help the leagues recover.

The Project will assist up to 15,000 young ballplayers and 40 athletic fields in the area.

Chris Johnson Hosts Football Camp in Nashville

NFL and Titans' running back Chris Johnson will host his 2010 Old Spice Chris Johnson Football Camp tomorrow in Nashville from 9 to 2 PM. The camp will take place at Battle Ground Academy and costs $99.

Johnson is the media rage right now due to his contract dispute with the Titans. He is going into the third year of a five-year contract and feels he should make more than the approx. $550,000 he will make this year.

He was the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year last year, when he became only the sixth player ever to rush for over 2,000 yards. He also now holds the single-season record for yards from scrimmage, with 2,509 yards.

Johnson will turn 25 years old in September. Football experts say that Johnson will have about a four or five year window to perform at the level he performs now.

Baseball Coach in NYC Molds Youth

Baseball coach and mentor Carlos Macaco Ferreira teaches and leads young people using something they all have in common: baseball.

And actually, Ferreira serves people all the time- he is a full-time Nurse and medical aide at Columbia University Medical Center, where he has worked for many years. Away from work, he has coached youth baseball teams of all ages. Many in this tight-knit neighborhood in New York City consider him a pillar of influence on young people. Macaco, like many he has coached, is a native of the DR- the Dominican Republic.

While working full-time in the medical field in New York City, Macaco diligently coaches youth baseball teams- and more importantly mentors and molds the young people on his teams.

"It's a good feeling when you can help the kids out," said Ferreira from his apartment in the Big Apple. "I like to see them out of the streets."

He continues: "I tell the kids there are two opportunities to be a professional: in school and in baseball. If you go to the streets, you don't have an opportunity for anything."

While most of his players go on to typical New York City and American lives, some do end up in pro baseball. In fact, one of his players, who considers Macaco a father-figure, just happens to be one of the best baseball players ever- Manny Ramirez of the Dodgers.

Relevant Media is pursuing a story about Carlos, Manny and the many boys and young people Carlos has influenced and mentored. More on this soon.

Derek Jeter's Story

Derek Jeter is without a doubt one the most outstanding pro athletes today. Most sports fans know about his success with the Yankees, but what about his story- how did he get there? How does he do it?

Jeter’s career has an almost storybook feel. As a child, he talked about and dreamed of one day playing for the Yankees. He is now living that dream- and is one of the most successful and famous Yankees ever.

He presents 10 guiding principles, or lessons, in his book “The Life You Imagine” that helped get him to where he is today. The book contains success and self-help principles as well as his own personal story.

Jeter grew up in mainly in Kalamazoo, Michigan (western MI.) He spent summers until age 13 in New Jersey with his grandmother. He is candid about his childhood and training. He gives the credit for his success to his parents as well as to his grandparents.

He says his parents are the “two most incredible people I know”, and “I can’t recall ever witnessing a set of parents who have been more devoted and more supportive to their two children than my mom and dad…” (xxii.) He writes that “my parents are my world.” (64).

His father Charles “was my role model” (64). Jeter writes than his father has an “easy yet stern way about him…and was very competitive and never let me win unless I earned it.” (64).

Charles obviously is the most influential person in Jeter’s life. Tragically, Charles never knew his own father, a circumstance that made Jeter’s father “much more determined to be an active parent.” Charles realized that he needed more discipline and direction in his training years, something that a father could have provided. The elder Jeter made sure to give Derek these things.

Charles was himself a good athlete and received a baseball college scholarship- and wonders if he could have played pro baseball if he had had a father to “push him harder and in the right direction.” (63)

Throughout Jeter’s childhood, his father always won the games they would play (sports, board games, etc). Jeter tells the story of the first time the younger Jeter beat his father in a one-on-one hoops game. His father pushed him to compete and win.

The family of four (he has a younger sister) were middle class, his father a counselor and his mother an accountant. His parents were very involved in their children’s lives- encouraging, supportive, positive and strict. Jeter writes about the detailed contracts that his parents would write and make the children sign, with strict guidelines for the coming school year. Jeter was for all intents a model youth and teen and was well-behaved, a top student and of course a star athlete at a diverse high school.

The family faced adversity. The biracial parents (his father is black) were treated disrespectfully at times. Jeter and his sister were sometimes made fun of. People doubted Jeter’s dreams of playing pro ball.

Jeter was named national high school baseball player of the year in 1992. Scouts knew he was great- he was drafted sixth overall that year.

After struggling his first two years in the pros (he “cried a lot” and felt “overwhelmed”)

But throughout his story, from his childhood to his youth to today, he maintained strong belief and confidence that he would indeed be a successful major league baseball player one day. For example, Jeter says his father would say the young Jeter has “more inner arrogance than anyone he has ever met.”

Jeter writes passionately about how he achieved his dreams- and how he still strives for success today. Things began to click during his third year in the pros. Through practicing the book’s lessons and principles, he began to blossom into the superstar he is today.

Throughout his career, Jeter has been a model superstar and role model. Though one of the biggest celebrities in sports, he is grounded and maintains what seems like a normal, well-adjusted personal life. He continues to be one of the best baseball players in the world. The principles he teaches certainly seem to work.