Link Report for Sun. 4/27 -- Latest: Post-Game Analysis by Zach Braddock

[twobrewers]

The bandwagon is starting to fill up!

[And That]

The bandwagon is starting to fill up!

The day they were both drafted, I believe I said that Mat Gamel would be a better major league third baseman than Ryan Braun. Mat's defense, don't fail me now!

 

[twobrewers]

In all seriousness, it's really going to be interesting to see what the Brewers do with Gamel.

He probably needs all of this year in AA and then next year in AAA to work on his defense before he makes it to MLB. But, since his bat will likely be ready before that - are they really going to keep a bat in the minor leagues just to work on his defense?

(The Brewers didn't keep Braun in AAA to work on his defense - but our outfield is so set for the future, we can't really slot Gamel as an outfielder.)

[And That]

I don't know how much of a difference there is between working on defense in AA vs working on defense in AAA. If Gamel earns a promotion with his bat, he'll go to AAA. His bat, however, will not get him to Milwaukee. He has no place to play but 3B right now for the Brewers.

[igor67]

His bat could earn him a trade. Defense or not there has got to be some team out there who would like that bat enough as a prospect to trade for it.

[battlekow]

Yeah, maybe we could trade him to the Blue Jays for Travis Snider and get another guy who's defensively challenged in a corner outfield spot.

[pogokat]

nah toby, you said he'd be higher than braun on the power 50 by the end of the season http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

i'm going to a couple of the huntsville games in montgomery this weeekend...i'm stoked to see gamel play...i haven't seen him since 2006...the way he's hitting now, he just seems like a different guy...lorenzo cain was clearly the superior hitter 2 years ago...that in itself just seems like a ridiculous statement in hindsight..

[colbyjack]

I don't think it is any secret that I have always been a huge fan of Gamel, but he really got my attention when he drastically reduced his Ks between his debut season in 2005 to his first-full season at WV in 2006. Guys that can hit, and get better as they move up should always garner a lot of attention (like Corey Hart), and to me his start this year isn't that huge of a surprise, just icing on an already tasty cake.

[DHonks]

What amazes me so far this year is that Brantley, Gamel, and LaPorta (among others, including Salome) are outperforming the AA seasons of Prince, JJ, Corey, and Rickie.

[jjfanec]

I said it a little while back but it is surprising to me how many guys on that team who seem to have the talent (and are backing it up with the numbers) to be solid starters in the big leagues. LaPorta and Escobar were getting love before the season. Gamel is looking great. Salome is starting to heat up, and Brantley is really intriguing. Add a guy like Cole Gillispie who look to me like he could be a reserve guy, this lineup is solid. The fact that they are outperforming the likes of Prince and Hart in their day is really encouraging.

[battlekow]

Well, let's not forget that Fielder was a year ahead of even Brantley's pace.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

Sounds still hopeful after dismal start

By MAURICE PATTON

Tennessean Staff Writer

It could be worse.

Sure, the Nashville Sounds have lost more games before the end of April than they have to open any season in the last 10 years, going just 5-17 following Sunday's 3-2 loss in the series finale at Omaha.

"You look at Tucson and they're 3-19," said Gord Ash, assistant general manager of the Milwaukee Brewers, Nashville's parent club. "We're not the worst team in the league."

 

But for a team that has won at least 75 games in each of its first three years as the Brewers' top affiliate -- including 89 wins last season and a Pacific Coast League championship in 2005 -- the slow start is cause for concern.

 

The Sounds, winless in nine games decided by two runs or less, open an eight-game homestand at Greer Stadium Monday against Colorado Springs.

 

"Obviously, we've had some very successful years there as an affiliate," Ash said prior to Sunday's defeat. "I think you want to continue that level of success. I didn't think the team was to the same level it has been in the past, but neither did I think it was as bad as it is. I think we've got some younger guys there, probably fewer veteran-type players."

 

Some of the losses early in the month came despite solid pitching performances. But the Sounds went into Sunday's game having lost four of their last six games, despite averaging 10 runs in that span.

 

That facet of the team's game could get a lift in the next few days, as some transactions at the major league level are expected to result in an extra arm or two joining the roster.

 

"We're not pitching -- lately, especially," said Nashville Manager Frank Kremblas, whose staff has a composite earned run average of 5.99 -- the fourth-worst mark in the 16-team PCL.

 

"They're probably going to send somebody down that's a starter. It's still a couple of days away, and that can change, so we'll see how that goes. But we could have a little better starter coming in that could put a little more pressure on the pitching staff (so) they realize, 'we'd better pick it up or we're not going to have a job.'"

 

Nashville's relief corps, meanwhile, is last in the league with one save -- not that there have been an abundance of opportunities.

 

"I expected our bullpen to be a little bit better than it has been," Kremblas said. "But you know bullpens go through bad spells. But I think our starters have got to get much better. We got a good start out of (Mark) DiFelice in Albuquerque, and (Chris) Narveson was OK there. He wasn't too bad. Our other guys have got to pick it up some."

 

Offensively, Nashville is hitting a respectable .281, a middle-of-the-pack mark in the PCL. Same goes for the team's 24 home runs and 110 runs scored.

 

"They've had some poor pitching, some poor defense, but they've had some better offensive days lately and I think it's kind of rounding into shape," Ash said. "I think the team's coming together. I don't think it's too late to get back into contention.

 

"We've prided ourselves over the last several years on being at or near the top of the league and in the playoffs each year. To look down and see a 5-16 record is not something you like to look at. I think obviously we're disappointed but we see some light at the end of the tunnel in the way the team has played the last five or six days."

 

[wvpowerblkwel]

Angel has the average up to .310...and now come the HR's....I still think this guy is the #1 catcher of the near future!

[Hammer]

Don't laugh, but here is my scenario:

Gamel learns to play a passable 3rd base and gets the bump to AAA at mid-season.

Weeks struggles this entire year.

Hall remains Bill Hall. Carries 3 gloves to the ballpark again starting next year.

 

2009

Gamel at 3rd for the big club. Hall at 2nd (and super sub), Weeks to the bench as a pinch hitter w/ pop and a pinch runner.

 

Of course, this hinges on Gamel learing to play a passable 3rd base. Also, I know that Weeks still has a chance to shine this year w/ the bat but will his defense ever stop the Crew from moving on? I really doubt it. I realize that this is hard for a lot of guys to grasp because we have never really had "good" players at all 8 spots but this is what happens when you have a good team. There are fan favorites/3-4 year starters that will get replaced by a better player. It's good to be a Brewers fan...

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

Braddock shines in Power victory

by Jacob Messer

Charleston Daily Mail sportswriter

 

West Virginia Power southpaw Zach Braddock and his pitching coach hope his stay in Charleston is a brief one.

 

South Atlantic League teams undoubtedly are wishing for the same thing. If not, they probably will be after his most recent performance.

 

Braddock struck out 10 batters in four innings in a 7-4 victory Sunday afternoon to help West Virginia earn a series split with Delmarva.

 

"He was brilliant today," West Virginia pitching coach John Curtis said of Braddock, 20, whom Baseball America ranks as the No. 13 overall prospect -- and second-ranked left-handed pitcher -- in the Milwaukee Brewers' farm system.

 

The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Braddock had a 3-1 record and 1.15 earned run average in 10 games in 2007, when he was an SAL All-Star selection. He threw 47 innings, allowing six runs on 28 hits and 15 walks. Opponents hit .168 and struck out 68 times against him.

 

However, he didn't pitch after June 15 because of a shoulder strain.

 

"We saw the Braddock we saw last year for two months of the season," Curtis said. "He was out for a month before the (SAL) All-Star Game and he was still the unanimous choice to be the starter. That tells you what kind of respect he commanded for those innings he was in."

 

An Appalachian Power Park crowd of 2,753 watched the home team win for the sixth time in nine games. West Virginia had endured a seven-game losing streak prior to this stretch.

 

The Power improved to 9-15 and remains in seventh place in the eight-team SAL Northern Division. The Shorebirds dropped to 12-12 and fell to third place.

 

Braddock fanned eight of the first 10 batters he faced, striking out the side in the first and third innings.

 

"I felt great, much like last year," said Braddock, who allowed two hits in four innings. "I was commanding the fastball to both sides of the plate.

 

"I was kind of sitting comfortably at 85 percent most of the time throwing strikes. Then, when I needed to, I would reach back and pump up a little bit and elevate the ball and make them swing through it."

 

Braddock struck out two more in the fourth, when the Shorebirds scored their only run against him on a passed ball. He also issued a walk and committed an error in that frame.

 

"When we had that last inning," Braddock said, "it was like, 'Oh, I'm back to pitching.' The first three innings, it was almost like I was sleepwalking. I was throwing strikes, but they weren't hitting it.

 

"For instance, I had the ball come back to me. It wasn't hit too hard, but I was just finishing my delivery and I was still up in the air. I kind of caught it, then jumbled it and booted it with my feet.

 

"I'm still shaking off the rust from last year. It has been a while since I have seen some ground balls in a live game in pressure situations."

 

Sunday marked Braddock's second start this season. He pitched two innings April 22 in West Virginia's 8-2 win over host Lexington, Ky. He allowed no runs and no hits. He walked two and fanned three in a no-decision effort.

 

"We're gradually getting him back to full-start mode," Curtis said of Braddock, a Burlington (N.J.) Community College product who was a draft-and-follow selection in the 18th round of the 2005 Major League Baseball Draft. "By that, I mean five or more innings.

 

"He has been in Arizona rehabbing. This is basically what we hope will be a brief stopover before he goes on to high Class A Brevard County, Fla.

 

Braddock said his arm is "pretty much back to 100 percent."

 

"They think a lot of scar tissue had built up and irritated the nerve last year," said Braddock, who had Tommy John surgery in high school.

"Also, the nerve was getting caught on a certain place in the arm.

 

"So, they have been working some muscle exercises and some massages to loosen up that area. Ever since, it has been great. It's really nothing detrimental like a surgery or a tear."

 

POWER POINTS: Right-handed pitcher Jared Sutton was released Sunday to make room for left-handed pitcher Dan Merklinger, who was removed from the disabled list that morning. ... West Virginia is off today but will begin an eight-game Maryland road trip Tuesday with a pair of four-game series against Hagerstown and Delmarva, respectively.

 

Charleston Daily Mail Photo of Zach Braddock by Tom Hindman

 

http://www.dailymail.com/images/thumbs275/Zach_Braddock_0013_D0804273dvpzu.jpg

[igor67]

I Gamel learns to play a passable third base, that line-up would be beyond sick (assuming Hart slides to CF). That would pretty much be a lead-off guy and 6 clean-up hitters. Realistically I just don't see it happening, and my guess is that after last year Melvin is only going to be so willing to hang his pitchers out there with a bad defense.

[Mass Haas]

For the www.starsboxscore.com archive:

That's the way this game is...... It's never over till it's over. And when a run is all that separates victory from defeat, it comes down to just one pitch. That's what makes this game really so exciting, and like this afternoon, so exasperating.

This one isn't over till it's over, and that won't be until Monday, when they pick up this game at 11 in the morning, but for awhile, it looked like an Angel had come down to spare the fans the torrent they knew would come from the dark clouds that were looming in the distance as you looked out from left-center field........ Angel Salome was already having a good day -- a 5th inning single to right-center and a 7th inning double to the track in left-center that scored a pair of runs..... Sensing destiny perhaps, Salome got a 3-2 pitch to his liking and drove it deep over the 2nd wall in center, to the right of the 405' marker, breaking an 8-8 tie...... I'm sure it didn't surprise Buck (Rogers) too much. The Stars' GM told me, Friday, that he had seen this team comeback time and time again from big deficits to win at Brevard County last year....... The Stars came back from an 8-4 deficit to take the 9-8 lead with his homer.

The game was now in the hands of Joe Bateman, who got Bobby Malek to pop out in back of second base on the first pitch. Then Ivan DeJesus, 3-for-16 in the series, struck out on four pitches as the rain began...... At this point, Bateman started to unravel...... Juan Gonzalez fouled off three 2-0 pitches, then was hit -- painfully -- by a 3-0 pitch. Shane Justis came out of the dugout to run for Gonzalez...... Now the skies opened up -- really pouring...... Bateman served up a here-it-is-and-hit-it pitch to James Tomlin and that's exactly what he did, pinch-hitting for Adam LaRoche....... A hard grounder to Alcides Escobar's right side. A difficult play under normal circumstances, Escobar lost his grip on the ball. Tomlin was given the hit, moving Gonzalez to second....... Then Bateman hit Lukas May in the back with his first pitch and the bases were loaded....... Rene Rivera, who was coaching at first base for the Suns, was called up to hit for Zack Hammes, who gave up all five of the Stars' runs in the 7th and 8th innings. On an 0-1 pitch, Bateman flung one to the backstop. A wild pitch with true finesse. Angel Salome made an effort to throw Justis out at home, but no miracle how small would have gotten Justis, who was barreling down third base...... What once looked to be in the bag, now was a tie game...... Two pitches later, rain forced the umpires to call the game....... At 6:40 CT, after a 37-minute delay, the game was officially suspended........ When it's picked up tomorrow, there will be a 2-2 count on Rivera with Tomlin on third and May on 2nd..... Following that game, the Stars will send lefty Sam Narron, who pitched a complete game 2-hitter vs. the Braves last Wednesday. That game, and this, will be good candidates for my Top Ten list at the end of the season...... Mario Alvarez (0-2, 7.64) will oppose him. After four starts, he has given up 9 earned runs in 9 2/3 innings to teams with winning records (Carolina and West Tennessee). Alvarez is also ranked 21st among the Dodgers' top Minor League prospects according to Baseball America and is on LA's 40-man roster.

The Stars are a win away from their 5th straight victory and their 4th straight against Jacksonville going back to last year, something they haven't done since the 2001 season, a season in which they wound up sharing the Southern League title with them....... Mat Gamel stretched his hitting streak to 13 games, which stands for the time being as the longest current streak in the SL. B.J. Szymanski's 12-game streak is on hold because Chattanooga's game with Carolina was also suspended after four innings with Carolina in front, 2-0. Szymanski is 0-for-1....... Gamel put the Stars on the scoreboard in the 3rd inning with an opposite-field HR over the Star Pharmacy sign in left-centerfield....... Gamel is hitting a healthy .436 in this streak which started on April 15 vs. Chattanooga. Last year at Brevard County, he went on a 33-game hitting streak, which was the longest in high A in 56 years....... Gamel tied a club record by hitting two triples, but he did it in consecutive innings. I can't say for sure if he is the first. He shares the record with seven other players, including Hernan Iribarren who did it twice last year (the only one who has)...... Mat tripled down the right field line in the 6th and scored on Matt LaPorta's double that hit the back edge of the warning track in left field and one-hopped the fence. That broke a 2-2 tie...... In the 7th with the Stars behind 4-3, Gamel's shot to right-center went all the way to the back of the warning track in right-center scoring Angel Salome and Michael Brantley to give the Stars a 5-4 lead. Freddy Parejo drove in two more that inning to give the Stars an 8-4 lead with his first hit of the game -- a triple that bounced all the way to center. There was some question at first whether scorer Don Rizzardi would score it a double with an advance to third on the throw from right fielder Jamie Hoffman to relayman Juan Gonzalez to catcher Lukas May, but Parejo got the triple. So for the first time since June 18, 1990, the Stars had three triples in one game. (They did that in an 11-1 win at the Joe vs. Columbus.)

Parejo should have had two triples in this game!...... In the 4th inning, Parejo hit Jose Castillo's 2nd pitch into the deepest part of the right field corner, landing just inside the line. It might even have kicked up a little chalk dust. But from my bird's-eye advantage in Double-K, I clearly saw where it landed. First base umpire Chris Bakke called it foul. Parejo struck out on the next pitch....... It would have created Stars history twofold -- four triples in one game and two players hitting two each!

And that brings us up to the 8th and Salome's home run and the fateful 9th when Bateman fell apart. Perhaps a much better case can be made for the weather conditions. The rains fell after Bateman hit Gonzalez with that pitch........ It's hard to grip a wet ball, and that's what Bateman had to contend with.

Alcides Escobar's 9-game hitting streak is riding on the line when play resumes. His average has fallen to .265 after flying out twice, grounding out to second, popping out, and striking out....... Robert Hinton, who came into the game with a 2.64 ERA in six appearances, walked 4 and gave up 2 hits in his 2 innings of work. Hinton had previously walked only 2 in 10 2/3 innings this year....... Control has been a now-and-then problem. Last year, Hinton in his first game after returning from Brevard County, walked five Chattanooga hitters in 2 2/3 innings, July 28 in an 8-3 loss that snapped a 7-game home winning streak for the Stars...... One of the two hits Hinton gave up was a grand-slam HR to Lukas May, which clanged off the bare aluminum billboard thingy on the light standard beyond left-centerfield that gave the Suns their 8-4 lead.

As you await tomorrow's finish, remember what Buck told me -- don't count these guys out.

J.R. Hopf, who started the season with the Stars while they were awaiting the return of Salome, is hitting .417 up in Nashville....... The Stars broke a club record this afternoon by collecting 12 hits in this ballgame. That gives them 11 games with 10+ hits this month -- a record for April........ A win today, their 16th, would have tied the record for April....... Brevard County, from which we get our guys more directly, lost in 13 innings to Vero Beach (11-13), Sunday, 2-1. Mike Jones, on the recovery trail, pitched three scoreless innings, giving up just one hit......... The Manatees (14-10) are in 2nd place in the Florida State League's Eastern Division, 2 games in back of Palm Beach....... Third baseman Taylor Green is leading the Manatees with a .330 average -- 9th best in the league.