Link Report for Thursday 5/11 (Ballouli, Shoulder Tightness)

[Mass Haas]

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

[Mass Haas]

Thursday's Daily Menu:

 

All times Central; pitchers subject to change --

 

Nashville: RHP Mike Meyers at Tuscon (Diamondbacks), 8:10 PM pre-game, 8:30 gametime

 

Audio link:

www.nashvillesounds.com/listenlive/

 

Huntsville: RHP's Khalid Ballouli and Matt Yeatman at home in a doubleheader vs. Montgomery (Devil Rays), 9:50 AM pre-game, 10:05 AM gametime -- shorthanded staff for the moment for the Stars...

 

Audio link:

www.espn1450.com/

 

Brevard County: RHP Mark Rogers at home vs. Clearwater (Phillies), 10:00 AM; sorry, no audio for this series

 

West Virginia: RHP Matt Kretzschmar at Asheville (Rockies), 5:55 PM pre-game, 6:05 gametime

 

Audio link:

www.sportsjuice.com/provi...e=wvpower.

[Mass Haas]

Follow Thursday's action as it happens:

Here's what you do, right click on each of the links below and choose "Open in New Window". Activate the Nashville Gameday. For the other links, choose "Log". 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. It's sweet!

 

Nashville:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_tucaaa_1

 

Huntsville Game One:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1

 

Huntsville Game Two:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_2

 

Brevard County:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_breafa_1

 

West Virginia:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_ashafx_1

[Mass Haas]

This link will be included in each daily report when the Nashville Sounds and/or Huntsville Stars are scheduled to play. Normally it is updated an hour or two prior to gametime:

 

Nashville Media Notes (Adobe .pdf format):

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/pdf/notes.pdf

 

Following Nashville's lead, Huntsville now makes its media notes available as well, nice:

 

www.huntsvillestars.com/i...eNotes.pdf

[Mass Haas]

Standings through Wednesday's action:

 Pacific Coast League (AAA) - American North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [b]Nashville 21 12 .636 - 11-5 10-7 W1[/b] Omaha 15 17 .469 5.5 9-7 6-10 W1 Iowa 12 19 .387 8.0 6-9 6-10 L3 Memphis 11 20 .355 9.0 8-8 3-12 L1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern League (AA) - North Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chattanooga 24 10 .706 - 15-4 9-6 W5 West Tenn 20 14 .588 4.0 8-7 12-7 W2 [b]Huntsville 17 16 .515 6.5 9-9 8-7 L2[/b] Tennessee 15 19 .441 9.0 8-6 7-13 L1 Carolina 14 20 .412 10.0 8-7 6-13 L3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Florida State League (A+) - East Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- St. Lucie 21 11 .656 - 9-8 12-3 W2 Palm Beach 18 14 .563 3.0 7-7 11-7 W1 [b]Brevard County 17 15 .531 4.0 5-8 12-7 L1[/b] Daytona 14 19 .424 7.5 8-9 6-10 L2 Jupiter 14 19 .424 7.5 7-12 7-7 L1 Vero Beach 11 22 .333 10.5 7-11 4-11 L5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic League (A) - Northern Division Standings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team W L PCT GB HOME ROAD STREAK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lexington 18 14 .563 - 12-5 6-9 L1 Delmarva 17 14 .548 0.5 7-8 10-6 W1 Greensboro 16 15 .516 1.5 11-6 5-9 L2 Lake County 17 16 .515 1.5 8-9 9-7 L3 [b]West Virginia 15 16 .484 2.5 7-8 8-8 L1[/b] Hagerstown 15 17 .469 3.0 9-6 6-11 W3 Lakewood 15 17 .469 3.0 10-6 5-11 L1 Hickory 12 18 .400 5.0 5-8 7-10 L1

[homer]

Mark Rogers lasted 1/3 of an inning. Eek.

 

I'm not sure if it was pitch count, injury, or ineffectiveness.

[Team Canada]

4H 4R 1BB. 1 out.

 

Geez.

[Rob]

That's the #1 pick with an unlimited ceiling?

[Team Canada]

That's the #1 pick with an unlimited ceiling?

 

Well, ceiling has little relation to current execution.

[homer]

Quote:

---

That's the #1 pick with an unlimited ceiling?

---

 

Normally I'm in the "be patient, he's just raw" camp, but I'm having a really hard time finding good MLB pitchers who were this, well, bad in A and A+ ball. If anyone knows of someone that started out like this and made good, I'd like to hear about it. It will help keep me positive about Mark.

[DevilDog1775]

Quote:

---

I'm having a really hard time finding good MLB pitchers who were this, well, bad in A and A+ ball.

---

 

Bah, Rogers is just an original....he doesn't need a precedent to follow! He is forging his own path to greatness....

 

Someday we'll all look back at this and laugh.

 

(*cue the nervous chuckle*)

[brewmann04]

I am getting a bit Worried About Mark.

he not geeting much better and wonder how much it has to do with his new delivery style

[DHonks]

After 3 encouraging starts, Rogers gets hit hard. Although, the error by Katin might have played a big part in it. Also, is it really windy there? Seems like a lot of ground-rule doubles in the game log (3 or 4).

[Mass Haas]

Rogers must have left due to injury.

 

There's no way manager Ramon Aviles would have the pen warming up so quickly. A strikeout, then an error, so there should have been two outs off the top right away.

 

Single, double, walk, single, single -- hardly reason to have to spend the whole bullpen for a game unless necessary.

 

EDIT: Although the game log "usually" indicates when a player leaves due to injury....

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/128684

 

Comparisons to father part of game for Gwynn

By Charles Durrenberger

ARIZONA DAILY STAR

 

Anthony Gwynn showed up to the ballpark on Wednesday clean shaven.

 

Gwynn, the son of eight-time National League batting champion Tony Gwynn, was hoping the new look would translate to a fresh start.

 

"Gotta get something going," said the younger Gwynn, who snapped an 0-for-12 skid with a 2-for-5 night in Nashville's 3-2 10-inning win Wednesday over the Sidewinders at Tucson Electric Park.

 

The transition from Class AA to Class AAA has had its ups and downs for the fourth-year pro who was coached by his father for his last two years at San Diego State. And yes, he still hears the comparisons from the cheap seats on a nightly basis.

 

"I've gotten that since Little League," the 6-foot, 185-pounder said of the catcalls. "They'll be like, 'You'll never hit like your father' or 'Where's the weight at; you must be malnourished.' It just rolls off your back."

 

The bar is just a little higher for Anthony Gwynn. The elder Gwynn ended his career with a .338 career batting average, five Gold Gloves, 3,141 hits and 15 All-Star appearances in addition to his batting titles.

 

"There's always pressure, especially when you have a father like mine," Gwynn said. "That's something you learn to deal with and work through. At this point in my life, it's an everyday thing like putting on my pants. I don't really notice it any more."

 

Anthony Gwynn entered Wednesday's game hitting .281 with one homer and 20 RBIs in his first season at Triple-A. He hit .271 in 2005 and .243 in 2004, both seasons at Double-A.

"He has some of the same problems that all young hitters have," Nashville hitting coach Gary Pettis said. "Sometimes his timing gets out of sync. He's done fine. I think he's made the transition very well."

 

As the Sounds' everyday center fielder, Gwynn is seemingly at a logjam of outfielders trying to make it to the Milwaukee Brewers.

 

He is rated behind fellow Nashville outfielders Nelson Cruz, Corey Hart and David Krynzel and Milwaukee's Gabe Gross, according to Baseball America magazine.

 

"I have a long way to go as far as the mental aspect of the game," Gwynn added. "It's so completely different from Double-A to Triple-A. The pitchers up here can throw a strike when they want to. When they're throwing balls, there's a purpose behind it. That's one of the things I'm working on, trying to understand their game plan."

 

Gwynn admits that he spends hours on the phone, back to San Diego where his dad is head coach at San Diego State.

"I'll tell him what I'm seeing and what I feel, and he shoots it back at me," the younger Gwynn said. "He knows me well enough so we can go over what I'm doing without him actually seeing me swing."

 

Unlike his dad, who battled knee troubles late in his career, Anthony Gwynn has sprinter's speed and a knack for running the bases.

 

He was sixth last year in the Southern League with 34 steals and is 8 of 10 on stolen-base attempts this year.

 

"He's already gone from first to third on ground balls hit to the infield," Pettis said. "He's very aware on the bases."

 

Photo by Jeffrey Scott / Arizona Daily Star

 

http://www.azstarnet.com/ss/2006/05/11/128684-1.jpg

[Mass Haas]

Huntsville Site Update:

One game today only...

 

The first game of today's scheduled doubleheader between the Stars and Montgomery Biscuits will resume at 1:30 p.m. It will be a seven-inning game and the game originally scheduled for today will be postponed. The teams will wind up playing four of the five scheduled games in the series and will not play again during the regular season.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Clearwater (Phillies) 9, Brevard County 5

 

Brevard County Box Score:

Ryan Braun 3-for-3; Alcides Escobar really struggling at the plate and is yet to play the field since his return from a hand injury; over 6,100 on hand to view Mark Rogers' very bad day...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_breafa_1

 

Brevard County Game Log:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_breafa_1

[DHonks]

mass, I would think he reached his single inning pitch count. The Brewers have said in the past that they stress not only IP and pitch counts, but also how stressful those innings are.

[jschris]

Was there an injury reason for Ballouli getting pulled so quickly today, or was it just general badness?

[Mass Haas]

Was there an injury reason for Ballouli getting pulled so quickly today, or was it just general badness?

 

Ballouli was pulled after a two-and-one-half hour rain delay. The bases were loaded when he left. Steve Bray came in and surrendered a grand slam to the first batter after the delay, thus Khalid's awful line.

 

I hope the fans who stuck around were offered free game vouchers or something -- yuck, what an awful stretch of weather and games the Huntsville folks were subjected to this week.

 

Details on the Stars game later tonight...

[bullox]

Count me in as WAM.

 

Worried About Mark.

[Mass Haas]

Final: Montgomery (Devil Rays) 5, Huntsville 2

 

Huntsville Site Game Summary:

Link, text follows --

 

www.huntsvillestars.com/n...newsId=823

 

Biscuits Win After a Long Wait

 

Ryan Christianson?s grand slam capped a five-run first inning and powered Montgomery past Huntsville 5-2 Thursday afternoon in a game that was twice delayed by a total of two hours and 47 minutes due to wet field conditions at Joe Davis Stadium. The teams were slated to play a doubleheader but the second game was cancelled due to the condition of the field. The Biscuits grabbed the last three games of the four-game series to improve to 21-13 and take the season series five games to four, while the Stars dropped to 17-17 and suffered their second three-game losing streak at home.

 

Elliot Johnson led off the game with a double and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Matthew Maniscalco before play was halted for 15 minutes to give the grounds crew a chance to work on the area around third base. Jason Pridie singled off Stars' starter Khalid Ballouli on the first pitch when play resumed to pull off a near exact replica of how the first inning played out two nights before. Michael Coleman walked and Gabriel Martinez blooped a single into left field to load the bases. Huntsville third sacker Adam Heether lost his footing while trying to break back on the Martinez fly ball and play was halted again. The teams were taken off the field and play started again two and a half hours later.

 

Christianson slugged a 2-2 offering from Steve Bray, who took over for Ballouli, over the wall in left field for his league-leading ninth long ball of the year and first off of Bray since April 13. The Huntsville right-hander had thrown 12 2/3 scoreless innings and had allowed only one run in 17 2/3 innings in his last seven outings. Ballouli suffered the loss after yielding four runs on three hits and a walk in a third of an inning.

 

Mike Prochaska blanked the home side through the first three innings before allowing a run in the fourth on a Drew Anderson ground out that plated Greg Sain. The Montgomery southpaw lasted five innings, giving up a run on three hits and four walks to earn his first win of the season. Anderson doubled and scored in the seventh inning against Marcos Carvajal and collected two hits in a game for the fifth time this season.

 

Huntsville travels to Kodak, Tennessee Friday morning to open a five-game series against the Smokies, who took three of five from the Stars two weeks ago. Right-hander Matt Yeatman will start for the Stars and be opposed by Tennessee right-hander Micah Owings. Coverage of the game begins at 6:00 p.m. central time and can be heard locally on ESPN Radio 1450 AM and via the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com.

 

Huntsville Box Score:

LHP Andy Pratt with what is probably his best outing since his acquisition from the Cubs for Ben Grieve in Sept. '04; giving up the grand slam was not good, but our Steve Bray watch continues -- 24 K's, zero walks in 27.2 IP this season; impossible to find good things to highlight about this offense right now...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1

 

Huntsville Game Log:

Bad luck on a double play lineout in the 2nd; Ozzie Chavez a non-productive at-bat in the 3rd..

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_hunaax_1

[Mass Haas]

Final: West Virginia 5, Asheville (Rockies) 3

 

West Virginia Site Game Summary:

 

Festa shines in Power win

 

Tony Festa went 3-for-3 with an RBI single on Thursday night against the Asheville Tourists, knocking in a very important insurance run in the top of the eighth inning as the Power went on to win 5-3.

 

Asheville struck first in the bottom of the second inning on Kyle Blumenthal?s solo home run. Ryan Crew and Nate Yoho drew walks to lead off the top of the third inning. Steve Chapman laid down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners over and then Darren Ford hit a groundball to the shortstop Chris Nelson who threw out Yoho at third, but Crew scored in the process to tie the game.

 

Asheville took their second lead of the game in the bottom of the third inning. Eric Young Jr. got caught up in a rundown between second and third, Mike Bell?s wild throw went into the Power dugout and allowed Young to score. Mat Gamel tied the game in the top of the fourth on a solo home run, his fifth of the season. With one on and two out in the top of the fifth inning, Lorenzo Cain gave the Power the lead for good on a two-run homer, his third of the season.

 

Asheville came within a run in the bottom of the seventh after Travis Becktel?s solo home run, but the Power answered on Festa?s RBI base hit in the top of the eighth inning. Festa has gone 5 for 6 during the road trip.

 

Dave Welch (1-2) pitched two scoreless innings out of the bullpen to earn the victory, Joe Thatcher (5) earned the save and Zach Simons (3-2) obtained the loss. The Power are 16-16 after the win and the Tourists fell to 19-14 with the loss.

 

The Power will continue the four game series against the Tourists at McCormick Field in Asheville, North Carolina on Friday night. Asheville will start left hander Brandon Durden (1-0, 2.88) and West Virginia will counter with right hander Ronny Malave (2-0, 2.95). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM (6:05 Central).

 

West Virginia Box Score:

Darren Ford three stolen bases, now 11-for-14 on the season; amazingly, Asheville's Eric Young, Jr. has already attempted 32 steals (24 successfully)...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_ashafx_1

 

West Virginia Game Log:

Closer Joe Thatcher three ground balls in the 9th; Lorenzo Cain's big 5th inning two-run HR came with two outs...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...x_ashafx_1

[Mass Haas]

Brevard County Site Game Summary:

 

Threshers rock Rogers, Manatees

 

Derek Griffith allowed two runs on six hits over seven innings to lead visiting Clearwater past Brevard County, 9-5, on Thursday afternoon.

 

Griffith (3-2) struck out five and walked just one. The 23-year-old lefthander matched his season high in both innings pitched and strikeouts. Cory Dueitt allowed three eighth-inning runs, while Jacob Barrack tossed a scoreless ninth.

 

The Threshers (18-16) scored four times off Brevard County starter Mark Rogers in the first inning en route to their fifth straight victory. Braden Florence, Bryan Hansen, Matt Thayer and Jeff Winchester all drove in runs. Florence added a sacrifice fly in the second inning, while P.J. Antoniato hit a three-run homer in the fifth.

 

Ryan Braun went 3-for-3 with two doubles, two RBIs and a run scored in a losing cause for the Manatees (17-16). Carlos Corporan contributed a run-scoring single in the second inning and an RBI groundout in the eighth, and Josh Murray laced an RBI double in the seventh.

 

Rogers didn't even make it out of the first inning. The 2004 first-round draft pick allowed four runs -- three earned -- in just 1/3 of an inning. He's now 0-2 with an 8.22 ERA.

 

Robert Hinton surrendered one run over 3 2/3 innings, while Bo Hall yielded four runs over 2 1/3 frames. -- Benjamin Hill/MLB.com

[Mass Haas]

Final: Tuscon (Diamondbacks) 9, Nashville 2

 

Nashville Site Game Summary:

Link for Brent Abernathy photo, text follows --

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=1945

 

TUCSON, Ariz. ? The Nashville Sounds came up on the short end of a 9-2 loss to the Tucson Sidewinders on Thursday evening at Tucson Electric Park.

 

The loss was the fifth in the last seven games for Nashville (21-13) but the Sounds maintain their 5 ½ game lead in the PCL American Conference Northern Division.

 

The seven-run defeat was the largest losing deficit faced by the club this season.

 

The Sounds jumped on the board first in the top of the second inning, taking a 1-0 lead when Brad Nelson doubled and later scored on a two-out Enrique Cruz RBI single off Sidewinders starter Dustin Nippert.

 

AUDIO: Enrique Cruz RBI Single --

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/a...205-11.wma

 

Tucson answered quickly, plating three runs off Sounds starter Mike Meyers in the bottom of the frame to grab a 3-1 advantage. Nippert tied the contest when he drove in Chris Carter with an RBI single to center, then Alberto Callaspo delivered a go-ahead two-run double later in the frame to stake the home club to a two-run cushion.

 

Nashville pulled within a run in the sixth when Brent Abernathy, who paced the Sounds with a 3-for-4 evening that upped his hitting streak to a season-best four games, scored on a double play groundout to make it a 3-2 contest.

 

Once again, the home club had an immediate answer. Former Sound Matt Erickson, pinch-hitting for Nippert, delivered a one-out RBI single off Nashville reliever Brett Evert in the bottom of the inning to bring home Juan Brito who had doubled off Meyers earlier in the frame.

 

The Sidewinders broke the game open in the bottom of the seventh with five runs against Evert to increase the lead to 9-2, matching the biggest single-inning output by a Sounds opponent all season. Tucson right fielder Robby Hammock and Brito each had two-run knocks in the frame.

 

Nippert (5-0) picked up his fifth win of the year for the Sidewinders after holding the Sounds to two runs on seven hits while striking out five batters over six innings. Meyers (1-2) took a loss in his first start of the season. He allowed four runs (three earned) on nine hits and struck out five batters over 5 1/3 innings.

 

Reliever Alec Zumwalt, who joined the Sounds from Double-A Huntsville prior to the game, made his debut with two scoreless innings of work.

 

The teams wrap up their four-game series with an 8:30 p.m. CT finale on Friday evening. Sounds left-hander Justin Thompson (2-1, 6.45) mans the bump to face Tucson southpaw Neal Musser (0-3, 6.67).

 

Nashville Box Score:

96 degrees and cloudy...

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_tucaaa_1

 

Nashville Game Log:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...a_tucaaa_1