Link Report for Sat. April 17th -- Because You Need A Distraction from the Big League Debacle

[twobrewers]

I just think the organization was too aggressive with Arnett, I think it's pretty obvious they are trying to push him, he's the only draftee from last season not in a piggy back while pitchers that have been in the system longer like Odorizzi are piggy backing.

You really think the organization has been too aggressive with Arnett?

 

He is two years older than Odorizzi and pitching in the same league. Or are you referring to his innings? He threw a lot last year, but I believe one of his benefits was his "workhorse" ability. I would think after an offseason, he should be ready to go this year.

 

I was disappointed last year. I continue to be disappointed this year.

 

Chuck Lofgren made a pinch hitting appearance tonight. Interesting.

 

Lucroy has 1 strikeout in 33 at bats. He won't fit in very well with the Brewers.

 

Have we gotten any Logan Schafer updates? I originally thought he had a pretty minor injury, and that had to be 4 weeks ago already.

[TooLiveBrew]

and Odorizzi is/was of course "projected to add velocity as he fills out"™

 

Hah! I have nothing further to add aside from that I love your trademarked phrase.

 

I guess I can add that I'm looking forward to catching some Timber Rattlers games in person this season. Hard to find a bad game to attend with so many talented arms in the rotation.

[Mass Haas]

Odds and ends --

I too was going to comment on the Chuck Lofgren pinch-hitting appearance. Eric Farris didn't see action, as he was the last non-backup catcher on the bench -- let's see if Farris plays Sunday.

 

Michael Bowman for Huntsville -- 10-to-0 GB/FB ratio, that dude continues to fly under (most) people's collective radar.

 

There were reports that Logan Schafer had suffered a setback early in the rehab process, and that his groin injury may have involved a tear, and not just a strain.

 

Brevard County is 10th in the 12-team FSL with a .560 team OPS (.228 AVG / .278 OBP / .281 SLG), drawing just 18 walks in ten games.

[Mass Haas]

Brevard County drops series finale to Blue Jays

By Frank Longobardo / Brevard County Manatees

 

After taking the first two games of the series, the Brevard County Manatees were unable to complete the sweep of the Dunedin Blue Jays as they fell 10-1 on Saturday night at Space Coast Stadium in Viera.

 

After falling behind 1-0 in the first, Brevard County (4-6) tied the game up in the bottom of the inning with a two-out RBI single from Brock Kjeldgaard that scored Josh Prince.

 

Unfortunately that was the only time that the Manatees would plate a run in the game as Dunedin (5-5) held them to just four hits in the last eight innings. Right fielder Erik Miller had two of the Brevard County's six hits.

 

Trey Watten started on the hill for the Manatees and went just three innings and gave up five runs on six hits.

 

The combination of Daniel Meadows, Evan Frederickson and Nick Tyson did not fare much better for the Manatees as Dunedin pounded out five runs on 11 hits against the trio of relievers.

 

The Manatees will be on the road the next six games and will begin their road trip in Lakeland for a first game of a three-game set against the Flying Tigers (5-5) on Sunday at 1:00 PM (12:00 CT).

 

Brevard County starter Trey Watten allowed five runs on six hits in three innings of work in the Manatees 10-1 loss to the Dunedin Blue Jays on Saturday night in Viera. (Dennis Greenblatt/Hawk-Eye Sports Photography)

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/2010/04/17/SnsCCWiH.jpg

[Mass Haas]

We know Chad is doing a nice job on the mike for Huntsville, but we were spoiled by Brett Pollock's post-game detailed game summaries, both home and road, that were online shortly after gametime, similar to what Chris does for the Rattlers and what we see from Nashville. Hopefully that's something we can see again soon, as the Huntsville Times (for home games) tends to focus on player stories (which is also appreciated, but not the same).

 

***

 

Link while active, text follows:

 

Lucroy stays hot in Stars victory

By Skip Vaughn, For The Huntsville Times

 

Huntsville Stars catcher Jonathan Lucroy doesn't mind the demands of the position he's played since he was in youth ball as a 12-year-old.

 

"It's a lot of responsibility," he said before Saturday night's 5-2 win over the Jacksonville Suns. "You've got to be able to go out there, block, catch, throw, take care of the pitcher and you've got to hit at the same time. It's a lot of responsibility but I enjoy it."

 

Lucroy entered the game leading the Southern League in batting with a .433 average (13-for-30). He went 3-for-3, walked, scored and extended his hitting streak to eight games.

 

"I don't think too much of it, it's early," he said. "I'm not worried about my stats right now. I'm just worried about going out and getting better."

 

That's the mindset for the Umatilla, Fla., native: just go out there and give his all. "You've got to give 100 percent and be willing to compete every day," he said.

 

Even when you're 23 and a solid 6-foot, 195 pounds, the physical demands on an everyday catcher can take their toil.

 

"The toughest thing for me is probably just the everyday grind," Lucroy said. "As the everyday catcher you've got to go out there and be willing to squat 150 times a game. That's probably the toughest thing, but you enjoy it. You've got to understand it's a grind, you're going to be worn down. As an everyday catcher you know you're going to catch 150 games a year, so it's going to be tough."

 

His goal for this season is just to try to get better. If he moves up in the organization, that's fine. If he doesn't, he doesn't. It isn't something he can control.

 

"I'm just going to enjoy my time here," Lucroy said, "and try to get better in every aspect of the game."

 

Stars pitcher Michael Bowman (2-0) won before a crowd of 1,029 at Joe Davis Stadium. Brandon Kintzler got his third save.

 

Rottino returns

 

Vinny Rottino, who was with the Stars last year, was in uniform Friday and Saturday for the Jacksonville Suns. The catcher/outfielder was demoted to the Suns from Triple-A New Orleans. Rottino went 1-for-4 with a double Saturday.

 

The Stars also made a roster move with the arrival of right-handed reliever Mike McClendon from Triple-A Nashville. Huntsville put reliever Mark Willinsky on the seven-day disabled list. McClendon pitched a perfect eighth inning with one strikeout Saturday.

[Mass Haas]

Rattler Radio:

What Chris' gut tells him after last night's loss

[Mass Haas]

A nice post from the LetsGoRattlers blog on Friday's near no-hitter

[JohnBriggs12]

I have to believe the Gregg Zaun era won't last a full season. In fact, I think we'll see Lucroy in a Brewer uniform the first game back from the All Star break.

[homer]

As long as Arnett's K:BB ratio and K/9 stay positive I'm not going to be too worried.

[colbyjack]

Allow me to once again warn never to rely too much on the stadium gun. They are incredibly unreliable and there isn't really any rhyme or reason to how much they are consistently off by. Sometimes they're high, sometimes they're low.

 

That said, I'm still concerned about Arnett's reported velocity in the game before last night's. I know he was pitching in the 88-91 range early in the college season for Indiana last year before he started to throw more consistently in the 92-94 range hitting 96 when the weather started to warm up around this time of year.

 

I'm not sure if anyone else has tried to figure this out yet, but if the Wisconsin rotation holds (meaning no rain delays) fans should have the chance to see the Odorizzi/Krestalude tandem at Miller Park in a few weeks, and it would be Odorizzi's turn to start the game. I have my own Stalker these days, so if I'm able to make it to the game that day I will try to tote it along and see how hard the staff is throwing.

[TheCrew07]

You really think the organization has been too aggressive with Arnett?

 

He is two years older than Odorizzi and pitching in the same league. Or are you referring to his innings? He threw a lot last year, but I believe one of his benefits was his "workhorse" ability. I would think after an offseason, he should be ready to go this year.

Yea I do because Lee Tunnell earned quite a bit of respect from me last season, and his Odorizzi vs Arnett comments stuck with me. It's not really about age for me, it's about where a pitcher is in his progression. Arnett didn't have an even workload throughout his college career and of the 3 college pitchers he's certainly more advanced than Howell, but Howell hardly has pitched at all in his career. The young men we drafted out of high school have been in the system longer and progressed at a cautious pace building into full season ball. Arnett exploded onto to the scene jumping from 35, to 66, to 142 IP, based on comments from those in the know and his performance thus far as a professional I'm pretty comfortable with the idea that he's still pretty raw as a pitcher. For comparison sake Heckathorn went 68, 60, and 109 IP during his 3 college seasons, and I don't remember Kyle getting regularly pushed past 100 pitches like Arnett was. The Brewers drafted upside out of college, not polish, both guys at the top need a 3rd pitch/better control and Howell has the arm but hasn't pitched enough yet. So while those guys are older than your Odorizzis, Buccis, and Krestaludes, I'm not sold on the idea that they've progressed enough to actually be better pitchers, even though the college guys have better velocity all the way around. Yes I know that one of the prospect gurus picked Bucci as his "most disappointing for 2010", but that opinion doesn't mean much to me.

[Mass Haas]

David Weiser's starsboxscore.com

 

Double plays help Stars even series

Hockey championship across town & north wind keep fans away

 

It was jacket-weather at the Joe, the first bit of notice that the warm weather Stars fans were blessed with was only only for awhile. North winds blowing 15-20 mph were blowing in and it was 71° and falling at game-time, which was 6:00 PM......... But that wasn't the only reason barely over 1,000 came out........ Downtown, the local minor league professional hockey team, the Huntsville Havoc, was playing for their very first SPHL Championship (which they won, 3-2). They drew over 4,500.

 

The four errors committed by the Stars belie the fact that their defense helped with this one and even the series tonight......... They pulled off four double plays to kill Jacksonville's advances before they got bigger. The Suns put together ten hits, a pair of walks, and those four errors, but DPs erased three of those hits, a force play negated another, and the Suns got no further from those walks either. Even when Chris Errecart and Taylor Green committed back-to-back errors in the 5th, the Suns couldn't take advantage.

 

It took a Lorenzo Scott triple and Mike Stanton base hit to get the Suns on the scoreboard... Scott tripled into the gap in right-center on a 1-1 pitch from starter and eventual winner, Michael Bowman, to start the game. After a strikeout, Stanton (4-for-15 in the series) singled through the left side to bring him in...... In the 3rd, Stanton got a belt-high fastball inside and he blasted it hard, just barely inside the foul pole in left. The ball hit the aluminum seats in no-man's land with a resounding bang, causing some to believe the ball was foul, but umpire Jason Cooksey made a circling motion with his hand to indicate the contrary. Stanton had tied the game, 2-2.

 

The Stars answered the Suns in the bottom of the 1st on three hits, and a walk by Lorenzo Cain started it all. Brett Lawrie, struggling at the plate, but still productive with seven RBIs, broke an 0-for-9 series against the Suns with a triple in the gap in right-center, just a little further than Scott's, scoring Cain. Caleb Gindl's grounder scored him. Despite singles from Jonathan Lucroy, who extended his hit streak to eight games and Taylor Green, and a passed ball by former Star Vinny Rottino, who had just been sent down from Class AAA-New Orleans (PCL), the Stars could not break it open early.

 

They broke the 2-2 tie, however, in the 4th inning........ Lee Haydel hit a one-out double that bounced off the warning track and off the wall. Then Cain hit a soft two-out fly that dropped in front of Scott in shallow center and Haydel, who has good speed, scored without a throw to the plate.

 

The Stars added two more, partially thanks to some defensive mistakes by Jacksonville...... With one out, Scott dived but trapped a low liner to shallow center off the bat of Lucroy. Green was then hit with a 0-1 pitch. It then looked like Zelous Wheeler would get Jacksonville out of the inning when he hit a grounder to short near the 2nd base bag. Osvaldo Martinez flipped the ball to 2nd baseman Tim Torres for the force, but Torres' throw drew 1st baseman Lee Mitchell off the bag for an error, and Lucroy scored. Singles by Errecart and Haydel produced the Stars final run. Haydel got caught in an 8-6-3-6 rundown to end the inning....... The Suns were held to just two hits by the bullpen from the 6th inning on. The pen now has a stand alone ERA of 2.41.

 

Jonathan Lucroy went 3-for-3 to raise his average to a league-leading .485 and extend his hitting streak to eight games........ Going one better was Lorenzo Cain (.350), who extended his to nine........ Only four players in Stars history have had hitting streaks of ten games or more to start the season: Justin Bowles (14 in 1998), Mickey Lopez (13 in 1999), Tony DeRosso (11 in 2001), and J.J. Hardy (10 in 2003)....... Jim Henderson pitched two more scoreless innings, extending his streak to a league-leading 7 1/3.