Three links for a Thursday

The Great Dayton Brawl story comes to an end.

A judge has waived a 30-day jail sentence for a minor league pitcher convicted of throwing a baseball into the stands that injured a fan during an on-field brawl at Fifth Third Field in Dayton two years ago.

Julio Castillo was released from probation Wednesday on the condition that he leave the United States and not return for a minimum of three years.

Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Connie Price also ordered Castillo, who is from the Dominican Republic, to pay court costs.

That ends the criminal side of the story. I haven't seen anything about the civil pursuits that have been going on as part of the story.

Stadium news from a Brewers affiliate:

Stars opt to extend lease with Huntsville for five years

Despite dwindling attendance and playing in the oldest stadium in the Southern League, the ownership of the Huntsville Stars has exercised the option to extend its lease with the city of Huntsville for five years, through the 2015 season

Miles Prentice, the team's majority owner, made the announcement prior to the Stars' home season opener Wednesday night.

Prentice said that in reassuring the city he would not move the club he hoped for "a recognition that baseball is important (to Huntsville) and they want to keep it."

Ex-Star Jimmy Jones wants team to stay

Jones was a Huntsville Stars catcher in 1987 and 1988 before his career was ended by a near-crippling ankle injury.

Lured by love and geography, he stayed in town.

Now, Jimmy Jones wants to keep the Stars in town.

"I want 'em to stay," Jones says. "Me and other people have a real passion for the game. Some of the citizens of Huntsville and Madison and other towns close by don't realize what they're missing."

Looking in obvious places

Here are where ex-Rattlers are in the Seattle and Milwaukee minor league systems.

This is more difficult than it would appear. Tacoma's online roster is not completely, um, completed.

The best I can tell is that Caesar Jimenez, Greg Halman, and Michael Saunders are there.

West Tennessee is would be best described as who on the team is not an ex-Rattler.

Only two of the 12 position players never played for Wisconsin. Half of the 12 pitchers are ex-Rattlers.

High Desert...I don't know...According to the roster, Ryan Feierabend is there...Marwin Vega is there...Here is the release, you can figure it out.

Clinton has Danny Carroll and Kalian Sams.

Also from the Mariner side of things (Welcome back to the internet, Mariners Minors!) comes this piece of bad news from one of the exhibition games in Albuquerque last weekend.

James McOwen, famous for last year’s hit streak, separated his right shoulder yesterday in an exhibition game after he ran into a wall. Funny thing about that, he’s already done it twice before. So, in essence, a player rewarded by the organization for his hard work by being brought along with the big club has gone and injured himself in a way that will likely put him out for the entire season. Ouch.

Ouch indeed.

Over on the Brewers side of the ledger:

No ex-Rattlers in Nashville...yet.

Huntsville has Jim Henderson, Alex Periard, Taylor Green, and Brett Lawrie.

Brevard County w/ a lot of former Rattlers: Mike Fiers, Ruben Flores ('06), Evan Frederickson, Corey Frerichs, Daniel Meadows, Dan Merklinger, Wily Peralta, Brandon Ritchie, Cody Scarpetta, Nick Tyson, Martin Maldonado, Brock Kjeldgaard, Juan Sanchez, Erik Komatsu, Erik Miller.

Scraps

Want a Football Coin? See the Huntsville Stars.

It may seem like a strange match, but the Huntsville Stars are offering Alabama - and Texas - fans a chance to buy an official coin of the Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game.

Buck Rogers, the general manager of the local minor league baseball team, is admittedly "not even a college football fan," but he didn't want to see local football fans miss out on this opportunity.

A short history of sports in Dubuque, Iowa

Gartner's plan represented the most realistic plan for the Midwest League to return to Dubuque since the Packers left dilapidated Petrakis Park following the 1976 season. Burlington Bees general manager Chuck Brockett called Gartner's plan "probably a once-in-a-lifetime deal."

New stadium for Nashville?

Mayor Karl Dean said his administration is talking with the Sounds' ownership, which recently finished its first season in control of the Triple-A baseball team. The preliminary talks have focused on the old Nashville Thermal Transfer Plant site, where the previous owners had a deal with the city that fell apart in the spring of 2007, before Dean was elected.

Dean, a big baseball fan and Massachusetts native whose heart lies with the Boston Red Sox, said he's eager to build a new ballpark.

"I think it's a huge opportunity for downtown," he said Friday.

Elsewhere in the system

Huntsville Stars GM Buck Rogers sat down for a Q&A with Huntsville Times columnist Mark McCarter, these aren't softballs either. Click the link and get the whole thing, but here are some of the questions.

Q: The Stars contract with the Brewers comes up for renewal next year. Will that be part of this weekend's agenda and what does the future hold?

Q: The Brewers' assistant general manager Gord Ash called Huntsville "an apathetic baseball town" during a visit this season. Your reaction?

Q: This franchise has drawn a lot of criticism lately, and you know I'm one of the louder critics. So how do you respond whey people say some promotions are more appropriate to Single-A ball and not a conservative fan base like Huntsville?

Q: Another criticism is the staff, which is one of the smallest in Double-A and half the size of Midland (Texas), which is also owned by Miles Prentice.

Q: You have defended having an absentee owner, but doesn't that impact the team?

Q: What is the future of this franchise? Are we in danger of losing baseball in Huntsville?

Whoa.

Huntsville's season ends

I know I had this last night, but hey...

Smokies win North Division, 3-1
Tennessee finishes off Huntsville, await Suns

SEVIERVILLE - The tasty buffet in the locker room is usually the Tennessee Smokies' destination after a game. The pasta was cold and the bread hard by the time the Chicago Cubs' Class AA farmhands picked up their plates Sunday.

First things first.

The jubilant Smokies grabbed icy bottles of champagne after clinching the Southern League's North Division championship with a 3-1 victory over the Huntsville Stars at Smokies Park and sprayed each other in a rousing celebration.

"Wet and wild," a soaked Tennessee manager Ryne Sandberg said of the revelry with emphasis on wild.

The Hall of Famer got a congratulatory kiss from his wife Margaret on the field. Players high-fived and the 1,539 in the grandstand stood and applauded.

Congratulations to the Stars on a great season.

And another thank you

There was a nice little fax from the Huntsville Stars that arrived at the Rattler front office the other day. Just a little Welcome to the Brewer Family message from the folks in Alabama.

Thanks, Stars. Happy to be a part of it.