Link Report for Friday 7/31 -- Dramatic Win in Nashville

[Mass Haas]

http://www.brewerfan.net/images/store/dailylinkreport.jpg

[Mass Haas]

Friday's Menu: TGIF!

Times Central; pitchers subject to change --

 

Nashville: TBD at home vs. New Orleans (Marlins), 6:35 PM pre-game; 7:00 gametime; it was to be RHP Mike Burns' turn

Live Audio Link

 

Huntsville: LHP David Welch at Montgomery (Rays), 6:50 PM pre-game; 7:05 gametime

Live Audio Link

 

Brevard County: LHP Dan Merklinger at home vs. Sarasota (Reds), 6:05 PM gametime

Sorry, no audio for this series...

Wisconsin: RHP Cody Scarpetta at home vs. Quad Cities (Cardinals), 6:50 PM pre-game; 7:05 gametime

Live Audio Link

 

Helena: RHP Nick Bucci at home vs. Billings (Reds), 7:50 PM pre-game; 8:05 gametime

Live Audio Link

 

Arizona Summer League: at home in Maryvale vs. the Dodgers' kids; no more day games -- all games begin at 7:00 local time in the desert; no audio, naturally...

 

Dominican Summer League Brewers / Orioles: at the DSL Giants (see this thread for some roster background) -- all games are 10:30 local time in the Dominican, and no need to ask about web audio; we usually won't see updated box scores until the overnight...

[Mass Haas]

Follow Friday's action as it happens:

Here's what you do, right click on each of the links below and choose "Open in New Tab or New Window". Choose "Recap". While you're listening to your minor league game of choice (or watching/listening to the big league Crew when they are playing), simply refresh your game log browsers every so often.

 

MiLB.com now has Gameday available for AA as well as AAA this season.

 

Nashville:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2009_07_31_nozaaa_nasaaa_1

 

Huntsville:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t559&t=g_box&gid=2009_07_31_hunaax_monaax_1

 

Brevard County:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&t=g_box&gid=2009_07_31_sarafa_breafa_1

 

Wisconsin:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=g_box&gid=2009_07_31_qcsafx_wisafx_1&did=t572&sid=t572

 

Helena:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=g_box&gid=2009_07_31_bilrok_helrok_1&did=t433&sid=t433

 

Arizona Rookie (Maryvale):

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2009_07_31_dodrok_brrrok_1

 

Dominican Summer League Brewers / Orioles:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2009_07_31_dobrok_dgirok_1

[Mass Haas]

This link will be included in each daily report when the Nashville Sounds are scheduled to play. Normally it is updated a few hours prior to gametime.

Nashville Media Notes (Adobe .pdf format):



***

We're going to include the link to Kraig McNutt's Nashville blog in the same post as the Nashville media notes link going forward.

***

"Voice of the Rattlers" Chris Mehring's informative and entertaining Rattlers Radio Blog includes game notes an hour or two before gametime.

[Mass Haas]

Midwest League Standings

 

Arizona League Standings

 

Dominican Summer League Standings

[Mass Haas]

[Mass Haas]

RHP Nick Green was named the Nashville starter for tonight.

[wibadgers23]

Bill Hall is batting 3rd and playing shortstop tonight. Gamel is dropped down to 6th in the order.

[brewmann04]

Nick Green next spot starter for the brew crew if all goes well tonight?

[homer]

I've been out of the loop the last couple of days. Where's Escobar?

[wibadgers23]

I've been out of the loop the last couple of days. Where's Escobar?

Left the team for the birth of his child.

[TheCrew07]

Schafer with another multiple hit game, he's on FIRE! (for those of you that watched Beavis in your college years) Gindl with the night off. Ferris with 3 hits and Alfonso adds a couple of hits as well. Merk was pretty studly, 2H, 0R, 0BB, 6K in 5IP.

 

Nick Green, bah... but Colome wow... strikes out the side in his inning of work, he might get another. Hall goes 2 for 4 so far... keep hitting and bump and that trade value Billy. Gamel 0-3 with 2K, these strike outs are coming out of nowhere.. what the heck Mat? Heether has been on a slide lately, average down under .300.

 

Huntsville tied 3-3 late. Lucroy 2 for 3 with a bomb, Green 2-4 hopefully snapping out of his slump, Cain 0-2 with an RBI.

 

WI... no offense here again other than Komatsu who's 3-3. Scarpetta with a QS if you're into that sort of thing, 3ER, 3BB, 3K, 1HR, in 6IP.

 

The baby faced assassin is tearing up Helena again tonight. 6IP, 0ER, 0BB, 6K

[homer]

I've been out of the loop the last couple of days. Where's Escobar?

Left the team for the birth of his child.

Thanks!

[wibadgers23]

Sheesh. Fiers now has 35 strikeouts and 1 walk. Time for a promotion maybe? Bucci continues to impress and Logan Schafer stays hot.

[wibadgers23]

Sorry if this has already been covered, but why hasn't Odorizzi pitched since July 16th? Thanks

[twobrewers]

I don't appreciate Merklinger enough...

 

He may not be a high ceiling pitcher, but 5 innings with 2H 6K and 0BB is a mighty fine night.

[Hammer]

The T-Rats were anemic again this evening. There is absolutely NO offense on this team. They just plain out can't hit with or without runners on. Scarpetta seemed to tire after the 2nd inning when his velocity seemed to drop. Also, has anyone else noticed that Lawrie has Weeks disease at 2nd base? Everything he throws to 1st, even routine groundouts, is sidearm. He was accurate with it this evening but I found that strange. Nothing else stood out on the night...just a blah game.

[YoungGeezy]

McKelvie is 1-3 tonight and finally started to heat up after a 1-28 start. Over the last 10 he is hitting .290 but has 12 k's. Man Bucci has been great over his last 5 starts he is 4-0 32 IP 1.41 era 6 bb 35k. Not bad at all.

 

Very excited to see what Colome did tonight 2IP O hits 1 bb 4 K's.

 

Anyone see Wooten getting bumped up again? He has been awesome in AA and I hope they want to move him up quickly. We could use him.

[ELCABALLO45]

Hall went 2-4 with 2 RBI's and a error.

 

Gamel went 0-3 with 2k's. He is struggling.

[Mass Haas]

Final: DSL Giants 6, DSL Brewers / Orioles 4

 

DSL Brewers / Orioles Box Score

6'7" 17-year-old LHP Eliezer Montano (is he 6'8" yet?) allowed two runs (only one earned) in the final three innings; Hitaniel Arias has been an error-machine in his conversion to first base; catcher Jhonatan Javier's OPS continues to rise, even at its lofty heights (1.032) -- he homered, doubled, and walked here; 17-year-old SS Andres Martinez is 2-for-his-last-27 and has K'd 55 times in 128 AB's, now hitting .164...

 

DSL Brewers / Orioles Game Log

[Mass Haas]

Final: Arizona Brewers 5, Arizona Dodgers 3

 

Arizona Box Score

Brewers take a 4-0 lead after three innings, and hold on despite allowing two 9th inning runs; RHP Kris Dabrowiecki has found a niche as the A-Crew's sometimes-closer, and stranded two of RHP Andrew Dunn's baserunners for the save; among the three earlier RH pitchers, none of whom allowed an earned run, Blake Billings' line was the most impressive, as Tyler Cravy and Seth Lintz combined for six walks; Brandon Sizemore still the most advanced hitter in Maryvale, reaching three times; five different Brewers drove in runs, including 19-year-old Dominican catcher Orton Rodriguez, who was 2-for-4 with a triple; shortstop Carlos George definitely has offensive skills (.790 OPS), but committed as many throwing errors (two) as he had stolen bases here -- his error pace is down from '08, however...

 

Arizona Game Log

The three-run inning --

 

AZL Brewers Bottom 3rd

• Carlos George walks.
• With Demetrius McKelvie batting, Carlos George steals (9) 2nd base.
• With Demetrius McKelvie batting, wild pitch by Brandon Martinez, Carlos George to 3rd.
• Demetrius McKelvie doubles (2) on a fly ball to left fielder Nick Akins. Carlos George scores.
• Wayne Dedrick flies out to center fielder Stetson Banks.
• Brandon Sizemore singles on a ground ball to left fielder Nick Akins. Demetrius McKelvie to 3rd. Brandon Sizemore to 2nd on the throw.
• Maxwell Walla grounds out, second baseman Ramon Jean to first baseman Michael Pericht. Demetrius McKelvie scores. Brandon Sizemore to 3rd.
• Allixon Cequea singles on a line drive to right fielder Jonathan Garcia. Brandon Sizemore scores.
• Orton Rodriguez singles on a line drive to left fielder Nick Akins. Allixon Cequea to 2nd.
• Pitcher Change: Roberto Feliciano replaces Brandon Martinez.
• Jonathan Requena called out on strikes.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Helena 4, Billings (Reds) 2

 

Link while active, text follows:

 

Bucci superb in Brewers win

By AMBER KUEHN - Helena Independent Record

 

In need of a win to stay in the hunt for the first-half season North Division title, the Helena Brewers turned to their two strongest arms.

 

Nick Bucci was superb at the start, as he has been all season, and Michael Fiers closed the game without forfeiting a run to help Helena to a 4-2 win over the Billings Mustangs Friday at Kindrick Legion Field.

 

It was the first game of the series with the Mustangs, who at 11-25 are in the Pioneer League North basement.

 

The right-handed Bucci remains undefeated at 6-0, the best record in the league. Bucci's ERA of 3.06 ranks him fourth, but the sparkling marks are of little importance to the 19-year-old.

 

"I tend not to look at that at all," he said. "We got the win tonight and that's all I'm happy about."

 

Bucci had faced just one over the minimum number of batters through five innings, at one point retiring 10 straight. The fast worker kept batters out of their comfort zone, wasting little time between pitches. At times the Mustangs players would step out of the batters box just to try to buy time and slow Bucci down.

 

"When I go out there, I try to be aggressive," he said. "I throw a lot of fastballs, I've got a curveball and a changeup. I like to work quick to keep our defense on our toes."

 

And work quick he did, helping move along a game that lasted just a minute over the 2-hour mark.

 

The Ontario, Can., native finished the game with seven strikeouts, no walks, three hits and two runs in seven innings of work.

 

"Bucci's outstanding," Brewers manager Rene Gonzales said. "He made one mistake and that was it."

 

Gonzales said he puts confidence in all his pitchers, but admitted that Bucci has been the most consistent.

 

"You always know the losing skid's going to stop with him, he's such a bulldog out there," Gonzales said. "It's fun to know he's gonna be out there on the mound."

 

While Bucci continued to put up goose eggs for the Brewers, his teammates backed him up by getting hot on offense.

 

Josh Prince started things off in the fourth, blooping a single that fell just in front of Billings' 16-year-old center fielder Yorman Rodriguez.

Prince was caught trying to steal second base for the second straight night, a rarity for the league leader in thefts.

 

After Billings starter Leonardo Astorga walked Mike Brownstein, Scott Krieger belted a two-run homer to put the Brewers on the board. His 10th long ball of the year was a straight shot to dead center off the first pitch he saw.

 

The Mustangs crawled back in the sixth. Frank Pfister reached on a base hit, but after an ill-advised throw by Brewers catcher Cameron Garfield (Helena's lone error of the contest), Pfister advanced to third. Mauricio Pimentel then had a sacrifice RBI to bring in Billings' first score. Despite the unearned run, Bucci continued to work quickly.

 

While the ace remained on the mound in the seventh, Fiers began warming up in the bullpen. Bucci said Fiers is a guy he likes to see coming in behind him.

 

"You just gain confidence," he said. "He's been lights out the whole year."

 

Shortly after Bucci struck out Rodriguez for his seventh K, Billings right fielder Sean Conner cracked a home run to tie up the game after falling behind in the count.

 

"I know Bucci's kicking himself for giving up that home run," Gonzales said.

 

Cutter Dykstra would answer in the bottom of the seventh. Although Dykstra was caught on second trying to extend a base hit, he still managed to bring in Garfield and Sean Halton for what would be the winning runs.

 

"I have total confidence in our offense for putting up runs," Bucci said. "So I just try to go out there and put up zeros."

 

The Brewers had a chance to tack on more late in the inning. After Chad Stang, Prince and Brownstein all got on by walks, Helena failed to produce points as Krieger struck out. Billings reliever Daniel Corcino hadn't thrown in a bases-loaded situation all season but managed to dodge the bullet. Fiers managed to escape a jam of his own in the eighth, getting a crucial out with two Mustangs in scoring position.

 

"He throws strikes," Gonzales said of his clutch closer, who fanned five in two innings. "Everything's at the knees and that's why he's successful. I hope that the rest of the bullpen follows his lead and watches why he's successful."

 

Fiers came in to close in the eighth and struck out five en route to his eighth save in nine tries this season, a Pioneer League best.

 

Astorga, despite being tagged with the loss, had his longest outing for the Mustangs this season, a solid performance in 6 2/3 innings. Astorga fanned four, walked three and gave up seven hits and four runs.

 

"Their starter didn't do bad either," Gonzales said. "Their pitchers pitch really well and we were just able to get a clutch hit by Dykstra to separate us by two."

 

Although the opponents own the North's worst record, Bucci said they have to prepare for Billings just like any other team.

 

"You can't take anyone for granted at all in this league," he said.

 

Gonzales said any team can show up to win on any given night.

 

"I didn't think Missoula was going to be very strong the first time we played them and now they're at the top of our division," he said. "So you never can tell.

 

"I think we're way better than our record, so that's not a measure of a team."

 

The Brewers' victory, coupled with a Great Falls loss, moves Helena (19-17) into a tie for second place. Missoula still has a two-game lead on the Brewers, and Helena must win out to have a shot in the second half.

 

Helena Box Score

Michael Fiers' 35-to-1 K / BB ratio in just 21 innings was noted above, Nick Bucci's 43-to-9 in 47 innings pales in comparison, but is still outstanding -- of course, Bucci is over five years younger; as for Fiers, has anyone ever been called to the big leagues direct from rookie ball? I know pitchers have avoided the minor leagues altogether in rare cases. Only DH Edgar Trejo failed to reach base for the H-Crew...

 

Helena Game Log

[Mass Haas]

Final: Quad Cities (Cardinals) 7, Wisconsin 0

Wisconsin Site Game Summary

Shutout runs losing streak to seven
By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Quad Cities River Bandits beat the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 7-0 Friday night at Time Warner Cable Field. The loss was the seventh straight for the Timber Rattlers and Quad Cities starting pitcher Arquimedes Nieto had a lot to do with it. The righty pitched six scoreless innings, walked one, and struck out a career-high eight batters.

Osvaldo Morales put the River Bandits (45-58 overall, 15-18 second half) up 1-0 in the top of the second inning. He lifted a high fly to left that carried over the wall for a lead off homer, his fourteenth of the season.

Quad Cities added to their lead with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth. Frederick Parejo doubled and Jack Cawley walked to start the inning. Rattlers starting pitcher Cody Scarpetta got the next two outs. But he walked Jose Garcia to load the bases. Jason Stidham followed with a line drive single to center that drove in two runs for a 3-0 Quad Cities lead.

Wisconsin (47-56, 13-20) put two runners on with no outs in the bottom of the fifth and two on with one out in the bottom of the sixth, but Nieto got out of both jams to keep the shutout alive.

The River Bandits padded their lead in the ninth with four more runs. Pedro Lambertus loaded the bases on a single, a walk, and a hit batsman. He would give up an RBI single to Jarred Bogany and be replaced by Liam Ohlmann.

Ohlmann entered with the bases loaded and one out. The first run scored on a passed ball. Jose Garcia's single to right drove in the final two runs of the night.

Wisconsin would get two hits to start the bottom of the ninth inning against Dave Carpenter, but he got a 6-4-3 double play and a strikeout to end the game.

This was the eighth time the Rattlers have been shutout this season.

Game two of the series is Saturday night. Daniel Meadows (11-3, 3.83) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Quad Cities sends Scott McGregor (4-7, 6.98) to the hill.

Saturday is also It's Easy Being Green Night! The Timber Rattlers have an eco-friendly night planned with local environmentally friendly companies in attendance. There will be displays and information along with a flurry of "green" game enhancements. Plus, enter to win a host of great and eco-friendly prizes. There is also a scheduled post-game fireworks display sponsored by Fox 11.

Game time is 7:05 PM.

More details at Brett Christopherson's Post-Crescent Blog

Wisconsin Box Score
Tough game when the most upbeat part of the summary is the Eco-Green Night preview; all seven Rattler hits were singles -- Erik Komatsu had three and Peter Fatse two; bottom four in the order 0-for-12 with six K's; RHP Cody Scarpetta technically with a quality start -- two of his three walks were in a two-run River Bandit fifth, which ended on a play at the plate...

Wisconsin Game Log

The Timber Rattlers' Corey Kemp takes a pitch as River Bandits catcher Jack Cawley sets the target at Fox Cities Stadium on Friday. Post-Crescent photo by Kirk Wagner

http://cmsimg.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=U0&Date=20090801&Category=APC021102&ArtNo=908010632&Ref=AR&Profile=1019&MaxW=550&MaxH=650&title=0

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

Rattlers' struggles test the players' mental make-up
Brett Christopherson, Appleton Post-Crescent

GRAND CHUTE - August has emerged from hiding, and if you're among the privileged to list "professional baseball player" on your 1040s, you know what that means.

"The dog days," Wisconsin Timber Rattlers catcher Corey Kemp said.

When combined with a recent batch of rough losses, that doesn't do much in the way of injecting optimism into a club that's trying to focus on the final 36 games of a Midwest League season that has come to an ugly skid.

The economy isn't the only thing in a funk, folks. Check out the Rattlers, who have dropped 14 of their past 16 games, following a 7-0 setback to Quad Cities on Friday in a series opener at Fox Cities Stadium.

That's what you call scuffling, with a capital S. Throw in an exclamation point for good measure.

"You want to win every time, and when that doesn't happen, you try to find ways to see why you didn't win," said second baseman Brett Lawrie, who finished with a single in four trips to the plate. "Right now, we haven't been doing that. We just keep making the same mistakes. Sometimes, we don't hit. Sometimes, we don't pitch. We've just got to combine those two right now."

The good news is this is low A ball and not the bigs, where a steady dose of losing draws unwanted attention, not to mention the ire of a peeved fan base.

At this level, player development - like it or not - takes priority over victories.

But learning how to win is a key part to this development thing. And even though this isn't the majors, the stakes are still incredibly high.

Maybe the public isn't combing through the box scores and keeping close tabs on what's going down on a daily basis, but there are plenty of eyes within an organization whose job it is to pour through the scouting reports and help make tough decisions on topics like player movement - and a player's future.

"Some guys, when things are going well, they go out there and do their thing," Rattlers manager Jeff Isom said. "But when things are going bad, they bury their heads in the sand and can't get themselves out. And that's kind of what we're seeing right now. They've got to find out what they're made of. You've got to be mentally strong. It's not a game for the weak, that's for sure."

Isom has told his club as much during team meetings in which some tough questions have been raised.

"What do you have to do to compete?"

"And if you're not competing at this level, how do you expect to move up through the organization?"

"That's just reality," Isom said. "We're still trying to make these players better, and we're not going to quit by any means. But it's a little bit in their hands. They have to hold themselves accountable."

They also have to share in accepting the blame.

Entering Friday's contest, the Rattlers had hit a mere .201 and scored just 25 runs over their previous 10 games. The pitching staff, meanwhile, was roughed up for a 6.14 ERA during that same stretch.

"It's going to take a group effort to turn this thing around," said Kemp, held hitless in three at-bats. "We've had individual guys step up, but that hasn't seemed to be good enough. It takes a team. Everybody's tired of losing."

And yet, there was another loss to digest on Friday - a season-high seventh straight.

The key inning was the fifth, a frame that encapsulated all that has gone wrong for a group that still has playoffs on its mind. Wisconsin, amazingly, trails the second-half wild-card spot by only two games.

Second baseman Jason Stidham delivered in the clutch when he sent a soft liner over a leaping Lawrie with two down and the bags full to drive in a pair and give the River Bandits a 3-0 advantage.

The Rattlers then took their turns, opening with a walk and a single but failing to convert.

It was a frustrating extension of their just-completed road trip, a dismal 0-6 showing against Peoria and Fort Wayne in which the Rattlers were outscored by a combined 40-14 margin.

"I don't know if it's the mental part of the game that weighs on them a little bit, thinking, 'Geez, we're three runs down, this seems like an insurmountable lead for us. I don't know if we can get it done,' " Isom said. "When you're losing games and you're failing at times, that's not a bad thing. You can learn about what the guy's make-up is and how a guy's going to respond."

So, how will these guys respond to adversity? Rise or wilt? Check back in about a month to find out the answer.

"Obviously, people that watch know who's competing and who's not competing," Lawrie said. "They know who's out there to play and who's out there grinding. You've just got to keep competing. You can't give anything in."

[Mass Haas]

Final: Brevard County 3, Sarasota (Reds) 2

 

Brevard County Box Score

Lefty Dan Merklinger continues to impress, five shutout innings, no walks, six K's; RHP Omar Aguilar with the save despite allowing a 9th inning home run -- only the 2nd run allowed in 18.2 Brevard innings -- of course, these were supposed to be Nashville innings when off-season projections were made last winter; Eric Farris caught stealing for only the 4th time in 50 tries -- Farris was 3-for-4 with a double; still just 22, lefty bat Logan Schafer (.804 OPS) doubled and homered; Schafer's walk rate remains weak, but shines compared to Lee Haydel's -- Haydel has just 14 walks in 369 AB's -- given his speed, that's just a sin and borderline ridiculous, actually; the Brent Brewer batting third-for-no-apparent-reason experiment has been over for a few games now...

 

Brevard County Game Log

The go-ahead and decisive rally --

 

Brevard County Bottom 7th

• Brent Brewer flies out to right fielder Denis Phipps.
• Anderson De La Rosa singles on a fly ball to left fielder Justin Reed.
• Derrick Alfonso triples (1) on a fly ball to right fielder Denis Phipps. Anderson De La Rosa scores.
• Logan Schafer doubles (24) on a ground ball to left fielder Justin Reed. Derrick Alfonso scores.
• Eric Farris flies out to center fielder Dave Sappelt.
• Steffan Wilson called out on strikes.