Link Report for Tue. 6/2 -- Jeffress A Much-Needed Dominant Effort

[Mass Haas]

Final: Cedar Rapids (Angels) 1, Wisconsin 0

 

Wisconsin Site Game Summary:

KERNELS EDGE RATTLERS

GRAND CHUTE, WI - Wisconsin Timber Rattler starting pitcher Cody Scarpetta allowed one run on Tuesday against the Cedar Rapids Kernels. But, that one run was enough for a 1-0 Kernels win. The win pushed Cedar Rapids' winning streak to 11 games.

Roberto Lopez bashed a 2-2 pitch from Scarpetta over the left field wall to lead off the fourth inning with a homer. That broke the scoreless tie and that was it for the scoring.

Kernels starting pitcher Tyler Chatwood was effectively wild on the evening. He allowed two hits and struck out seven. But, he also walked six in 5-2/3 innings. A two-out double by Chris Dennis, who had both hits off Chatwood, knocked the Kernel starter out of the game. But, reliever Jeremy Thorne got out of the inning.

In the bottom of the ninth, John Delaney singled with two outs against Mike Kohn for the third and final hit of the night for the Rattlers (24-27). Delaney tried to advance on a pitch in the dirt to pinch-hitter Corey Kemp, but was thrown out at second to end the game. The win moved the Kernels to 31-20 on the season.

Game two of the four game series is Wednesday afternoon. Trey Watten (2-6, 5.36 ERA) is the scheduled starter for the Timber Rattlers. Manaurys Correa (1-3, 5.47) is the set to start for the Kernels. Game time on Wednesday is 12:05 PM.

 

Wisconsin Box Score

Hopefully LHP Efrain Nieves can build on his three scoreless relief innings here...

 

Wisconsin Game Log

[Mass Haas]

It's 10:15 PM Central and the Stars and Barons are 12-12 in the 10th. One quick click gives you the live audio with Brett.

 

EDIT: 10:16 PM, 13-12 Birmingham, action still going...

[Mass Haas]

Stars lose 13-12 -- Vinny Rottino could not bring in the tying run with one out and a man on third base in the 10th. Details in a bit...

[twobrewers]

And welcome to your Link Report, once and future home of Manny Parra.

Well played sir.

 

I have a question about Jeffress and developing pitching prospects in general. Do you really care about the results? Since the "development" process is largely based on working with a good coach, learning mechanics etc - shouldn't Jeffress just be placed with the Brewers best pitching coach, regardless of level?

 

Just seems foolish to take a multi-million dollar investment and give him a new coach to "tweak" with him every year.

[Mass Haas]

Jeffress was initially reunited with John Curtis in Huntsville to start this season, and they worked well together in West Virginia in 2007, so I don't see too much into the point you make above, although I can appreciate your thoughts on the subject.

[TheCrew07]

I was at the T-Rats game, observations and lots of video will be available in the morning. I will say though that 2 of the 3 pitchers from Cedar Rapids brought gas, Chatwood has an impressive fastball sitting 93-95. Kohn was similar with his fast ball, most of his that I noticed were 93-94 but I thought he did a better job mixing his pitches.

 

I REALLY like Chris Dennis.

 

More in the AM.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

Manatees' Jeffress finds green light

By Mason Kelley / Special to MLB.com

 

The more Jeremy Jeffress struggled with his fastball, the more the walks piled up. It created frustration for him, forming what he calls "red lights."

 

"When you think about stuff on the mound, that's a red light. That means stop," he said. "You can't pitch with a red light in your head."

 

Throughout the early part of the season, the former first-round pick failed to find the green light he was looking for. That is, until Tuesday.

 

The 21-year-old right-hander gave up two hits and struck out seven over seven innings to lead the Brevard County Manatees to a 5-0 victory over the Fort Myers Miracle.

 

"I felt good," Jeffress said. "I got enough sleep last night and I just came out firing."

 

He figured out how to control his fastball and mixed in a deceptive curve. If he ran into a red light, he simply stepped off the mound and took a deep breath before getting back to work.

 

"I would just think about the good things and what pitch I wanted to throw and my mechanics," he said.

 

Jeffress opened the season at Double-A Huntsville and went 1-3 with a 7.57 ERA in eight starts. He had 34 strikeouts over 27 1/3 innings, but he also walked 33.

 

He couldn't shake the red lights.

 

In his first two starts with the Manatees, walks continued to haunt him. But against the Miracle, he didn't walk a batter.

 

"Just take it one pitch at a time, one inning at a time and just go out there and play your game because, at the end of the day, it's all on you," he said.

 

Jeffress retired the first five batters before Deibinson Romero singled to center field. He also allowed a base hit in the fourth inning, but he was throwing strikes, so he kept the red lights at bay.

 

"The players here are fundamentally sound," Jeffress said. "The coaches here are awesome. There are a lot of great people around who make me feel comfortable. That's always a big key."

 

Not only was this performance good for his confidence, it also served as a sign he is putting his past behind him. Late in the 2007 season, the Virginia native was suspended 50 games for violating the Minor League substance abuse policy. The suspension carried over to the early portion of last season.

 

"Being addicted to anything, it's hard to break loose," he said. "But afterwards, I was hungry and trying to do what I had to do to stay hungry and stay focused. It was tough, but I've got a lot of good people around me.

 

"It's always a great thing to come out of something and succeed in anything you do."

 

His performance against Fort Myers proved what he's capable of. Now, he plans to use Tuesday's start as a building block.

 

"I'm just going to stay here, do what I have to do and take what I did tonight into my next start," he said.

 

Former No. 1 pick Jeremy Jeffress made his longest start of the season Tuesday. (Photo by Bill Mitchell/Four Seam Images)

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/2009/06/02/s9OPL6BQ.jpg

[Mass Haas]

Final: Birmingham (White Sox) 13, Huntsville 12, ten innings

 

Huntsville Site Game Summary

 

Barons Rally to Down Stars in Extras

Heart Breaking Loss for Huntsville Tightens Pennant Race

By Brett Pollock / Huntsville Stars

 

Stefan Gartrell singled in the game-winning run with two outs in the tenth inning to push Birmingham past Huntsville 13-12 Tuesday night at Joe Davis Stadium in a battle of division leaders. The Barons improved to 35-17 and pushed their lead to four and a half games over Mobile in the South, while the Stars slipped to 29-22 and saw their lead in the North trimmed to a game and a half after Carolina's win at home over Tennessee.

 

Casey Baron retired the first two hitters in the tenth before he hit Brandon Allen to keep the inning going. Dayan Viciedo reached on a bad hop single to left field that pushed Allen to third base and Gartrell followed with a hit past a diving shortstop Johnny Raburn into center field that chased home Allen with the decisive run. Fernando Hernandez took over on the hill for the Barons in the bottom of the inning and ran into immediate trouble when Viciedo dropped a Kevin Melillo pop up, allowing him to reach second base. Melillo advanced on a wild pitch, as Drew Anderson struck out, but stayed put when Vinny Rottino grounded out against a drawn-in infield and Taylor Green bounced out to end the game. Hernandez recorded his tenth save, while Baron suffered his first loss.

 

Huntsville took a 12-7 lead into the ninth inning and turned to Omar Aguilar to close out the game. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases for David Cook, who delivered an infield hit to plate Allen to cut the lead to four. John Shelby then blasted a grand slam, the second of the series for the Barons, on a 1-1 offering to tie the game. Aguilar got one more out and was replaced by Baron and charged with five runs on four hits over 2/3 of an inning after allowing his first home run of the season.

 

The Barons jumped on starter Bobby Bramhall for three runs in the first inning before the Stars rallied for six of their own in the bottom half of the inning, highlighted by back-to-back two-run doubles by J.R. Hopf and Freddy Parejo. The Stars tallied twice in the fourth on back-to-back two-out RBI doubles by Melillo and Anderson to push their lead to 8-4 before the Barons added two in the fifth and knocked Bramhall out of the game. He was charged with six runs on 11 hits over 4 2/3 innings and replaced by Donovan Hand, who tossed a scoreless inning and a third. Barons' starter Brian Omogrosso went four frames in his shortest start of the season and was charged with eight runs on six hits and six walks.

 

Mike McClendon took over for Hand in the seventh and gave up a two-out home run to Cook, his third of the series, that cut the home team's lead to 8-7. The Stars received run-scoring hits by Green and Parejo in the seventh and a Rottino run-scoring hit and Green scoring fly ball in the eighth to extend their lead to five. Huntsville lost for the fourth time in 21 games taking a lead into the ninth inning.

 

The series continues Wednesday night with right-hander Mark Holliman taking the hill for the Stars against Birmingham right-hander Kyle McCulloch. Coverage of the game begins at 6:45 PM central time and can be heard through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com.

 

Huntsville Box Score

Omar Aguilar had gone six consecutive one-inning scoreless appearances (five saves) before this disaster; Bobby Bramhall has one quality start among his ten efforts (the only time he's managed to go six innings) -- the soon-to-be 24-year-old is just not ready for AA, despite last year's high-A success, at least not as a starter; Taylor Green and Freddy Parejo each drive in three runs; Johnny Raburn is slugging .243 (yikes), but has drawn at least one walk in each of his last eight games...

 

Huntsville Game Log

You're a better person than I if you're going to take on a review of this beast, especially during the overnight -- have at it...

[Mass Haas]

Be sure to check out plenty of quotes and number analysis at the Post-Crescent TimberRattlers blog.

While we tend to paste in the content of newspaper articles (always linking to the source as well), we're hesitant to do the same for blog posts. Everybody monitors their own blog hits and such, so have at it and click away.

[LouisEly]

So when can we officially start calling him Rob w00ten?

 

http://images.yuku.com/image/gif/1ed15b9a8d3e15c8adce582459023e9a7997d6c.gif

[DHonks]

So when he gets a save, is it a Woot-off? like a walk-off?

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

Timber Rattlers put loss to Cedar Rapids behind them and keep their eyes on the big picture

By Brett Christopherson

Post-Crescent staff writer

 

GRAND CHUTE - It wasn't exactly Jim Mora-esque, but Wisconsin Timber Rattlers manager Jeff Isom isn't thinking playoffs just yet.

 

"Let's worry about tomorrow," he said with a chuckle following a 1-0 setback to the Cedar Rapids Kernels on Tuesday at Fox Cities Stadium.

 

Then again, those tomorrows are beginning to run dry as the first half of the Midwest League season inches closer to completion.

 

Tuesday's series opener marked the beginning of a key 12-game homestand for the Rattlers, who entered play seven games behind Western Division front-runner Kane County and six games in back of the Kernels, the current wild-card holder.

 

Win and Wisconsin can scratch its way back into playoff contention. But lose too many more and the focus will shift from the first half of the season - 19 games still remain - to the second half.

 

The Midwest League slate is divided into halves, with divisional champions and wild-card winners awarded from each to set up an eight-team playoff.

 

"We had a really good ending of our road trip. We swept West Michigan, which is one of the top division leaders," said pitcher Cody Scarpetta, referring to Wisconsin's recent three-game sweep of the Eastern Division-leading Whitecaps - the first at West Michigan by an Appleton Baseball Club Inc. franchise - to cap a 7-5 road trip. "So I think we're coming off a pretty good high, a good feeling about winning. I think this whole club thinks we'll be able to make a good push for the playoffs sometime.

 

"Our pitching's been there for the past couple of weeks. We've got some good arms here, and I think we'll be able to hold some teams down, and I think our hitters will come back this homestand and come through."

 

Scarpetta pitched well on Tuesday despite picking up the loss. The right-hander struck out six and scattered only three hits in five innings, his only blemish a 2-2 fastball to Kernels right fielder Roberto Lopez in the fourth that was hit over the left field fence.

 

Offensively, Wisconsin scratched out just three hits and whiffed 13 times against a trio of hard-throwing Cedar Rapids hurlers who consistently touched 90 mph-plus on the stadium speed gun.

 

Although the loss was a disappointing way to kick off a homestand that also includes a four-game set with Kane County (June 10-13), Isom said it wasn't necessarily discouraging to the club's playoff hopes because the overall approach is the continued focus on the details and not the larger picture.

 

"We just want to continue to get better every day, and that's what we're doing, and all of a sudden, we start sneaking up there," he said. "So we're going to kind of keep it on the down-low a little bit and just go about our business and try to win on a daily basis."

[TheCrew07]

Scarpetta's 4th Inning (Stadium Gun - Stalker Gun)

77

91

91

74

Was busy watching the HR and missed velocity (fastball)

 

86-91

85-90

71

86-92

85 K Swinging (Missed Stalker reading)

 

91

91

91

91

93 Line Out to 2B

 

87 Ground Out 1-2 (missed stalker reading)

Scarpetta's 5th Inning

89

90

90

75

90 PopOut 2B

 

91

91

76

73

75 K Swinging

 

86 - Missed Stalker

84 - 90

76

91

90 BB

 

89

88-92

90

77

91 Hit to RF

 

91

84 - Missed Stalker

76

85 - Missed Stalker

91 - 92 Ground Out 1-2

 

My seats are right behind the Rattler kids charting pitches so I didn't need to find a scout. Cody worked 90-93, mostly 91 with his FB. His curve has real nice break, sometimes sharper than others, but he doesn't consistently locate it yet as you'll see in the video. He only had 3 balls hit hard against him all night... An F7 right up against the wall, the HR, and a line drive single to RF.

 

I was surprised that Ritchie was topping out around 91 as I didn't know he threw that hard, he only pitched the one inning which I took video of.

 

Nieves seemed to throw his 2 seam fastball exclusively but the Cedar Rapids kids couldn't solve it as it moves real well. He was very slow off the mound on the first infield single against him, Trejo (playing 1B) actually fielded the ball near the pitcher's mound but the batter had Nieves by 3 or 4 steps getting to the bag so Trejo ate the ball. He pitched 3 innings, I took video of all 3, he worked mostly 84-85 on the stadium gun but did hit 87 on occasion. I haven't watched the video yet myself but I was left wondering if he had a second pitch, it's hard to be impressed by someone getting by on 1 pitch.

 

BK made a nice catch against the wall in LF to end the top of the first, I thought it was a HR off the bat.

 

Delaney's error was such a horrible throw had it not hit the back and then the side wall in the Cedar Rapids bullpen and came back towards Trejo the runner might have actually gotten to 3rd. It was high and wide by a good 7-8 feet. Trejo has nice size and is a nice looking athlete but he didn't come close to the ball.

 

The steal attempt early was bad... I forget who the runner was but they were out by 2 full steps, it was that bad. Same same for the play the game ended on, you'll see that in Kemp's video.

 

Lawrie did alright, everything was hit right to him or pop ups, tough to gage his defensive prowess on those kind of chances.

 

edit. I forgot to mention that Nieves made a real nice play on a bunt to get the lead runner at 3rd when everyone was telling to go to first. You'll see it in the video if you're paying attention to that part.

[BoKnowsBall]

That was Scarpetta's first home run allowed this year- I'd say that the downward movement on his fastball seems to be working

[TooLiveBrew]

"I felt good," Jeffress said. "I got enough sleep last night and I just came out firing."

 

Uhh... maybe I'm making too much of what could just be a conversational thing to say, but... is getting enough sleep really a problem Jeremy has? Seems like keeping your body & mind fresh with a good amount of rest should go without saying as a professional athlete.