Link Report for Monday, 7/19 -- Update on Parra's Shoulder

[PeaveyFury]

So has anyone else noticed Corey Hart's multi-week long slump?

[huntsvillefan]

I was just thinking that. Taking 2 walks tonight, what was he thinking of?

That 834 OPS really stinks for a 22 yr old in AAA. Maybe we should send him back to Huntsville (please please http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/happy.gif )

[950opsLHcatcher]

I smell a return to Huntsville for Sarfate in 2005. Why did he skip HD?

 

Why are Todd Erdos and Jeff Farnsworth still with the organization?

 

Ronny Malave of the Baby Brewers became famous for a brief time, pitching in between Ben Diggins and Mark Rogers. Jeff Garner probably wasn't so lucky when half of the 8 people in attendence left after Rogers was done.

 

Iribarren is the new Acosta.

[MassBrew]

 WEST DIVISION W L PCT GB COLUMBUS CLIPPERS (NEW YORK YANKEES) 52 42 .553 TOLEDO MUD HENS (DETROIT) 52 45 .536 1.5 LOUISVILLE BATS (CINCINNATI) 46 49 .484 6.5 [b]INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS (MILWAUKEE) 42 52 .447 10.0[/b]

 WEST DIVISION W L PCT GB [b]HUNTSVILLE STARS (MILWAUKEE) 14 9 .609[/b] BIRMINGHAM BARONS (CHICAGO WHITE SOX) 14 9 .609 WEST TENN DIAMOND JAXX (CHICAGO CUBS) 11 11 .500 2.5 *MOBILE BAY BEARS (SAN DIEGO) 9 14 .391 5.0 MONTGOMERY BISCUITS (TAMPA BAY) 8 15 .348 6.0

 SOUTH DIVISION W L PCT GB *LANCASTER JETHAWKS (ARIZONA) 14 9 .609 LAKE ELSINORE STORM (SAN DIEGO) 14 9 .609 RANCHO CUCAMONGA QUAKES (ANAHEIM) 14 10 .583 .5 INLAND EMPIRE 66ERS (SEATTLE) 11 13 .458 3.5 [b]HIGH DESERT MAVERICKS (MILWAUKEE) 9 15 .375 5.5[/b]

 WESTERN DIVISION W L PCT GB *KANE COUNTY COUGARS (OAKLAND) 16 8 .667 CLINTON LUMBER KINGS (TEXAS) 16 8 .667 QUAD CITY RIVER BANDITS (MINNESOTA) 13 11 .542 3.0 CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS (ANAHEIM) 13 11 .542 3.0 WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS (SEATTLE) 11 13 .458 5.0 BURLINGTON BEES (KANSAS CITY) 11 13 .458 5.0 PEORIA CHIEFS (ST.LOUIS) 10 14 .417 6.0 [b]BELOIT SNAPPERS (MILWAUKEE) 10 14 .417 6.0[/b]

 NORTH DIVISION W L PCT GB [b]HELENA BREWERS (MILWAUKEE) 18 12 .600[/b] BILLINGS MUSTANGS (CINCINNATI) 16 13 .552 1.5 GREAT FALLS WHITE SOX (CHICAGO WHITE SOX) 14 15 .483 3.5 MISSOULA OSPREY (ARIZONA) 12 17 .414 5.5

 W L PCT GB RANGERS (TEXAS) 15 8 .652 GIANTS (SAN FRANCISCO) 15 8 .652 ROYALS (KANSAS CITY) 13 9 .591 1.5 MARINERS (SEATTLE) 13 10 .565 2.0 [b]BREWERS (MILWAUKEE) 11 11 .500 3.5[/b] ATHLETICS (OAKLAND) 11 11 .500 3.5 PADRES (SAN DIEGO) 10 12 .455 4.5 CUBS (CHICAGO CUBS) 9 14 .391 6.0 ANGELS (ANAHEIM) 4 18 .182 10.5

[MassBrew]

Helena Independent Republic Game Summary:

 

Brewers take twin bill from Provo

By IR Staff

 

The Helena pitchers came to play on Monday, leading the Brewers to a double-header sweep over Provo.

 

Robert Hinton pitched 5 2/3 innings of shutout baseball in the Brewers 4-0 game-one win and Josh Baker did not allow a hit in four innings of work in Helena's 6-4 victory in game two.

 

Grant Richardson hit a three-run home run to give the Brewers a 3-0 lead in the first game. The advantage was more than enough for Hinton who allowed just three hits and struck out four to improve to 2-2 on the season.

 

Dallas Bates gave Helena a 1-0 lead with a solo shot in the third inning of the night cap. Richardson drove in his fourth run of the day with an RBI double as part of a four-run fifth.

 

Helena took a 6-2 lead into seventh and final inning and held off an Angels' rally that saw them score two runs and bring the winning run to the plate.

 

The Brewers improved their record to a Pioneer League best 18-12 and took a 2-1 lead in the four-game series. Helena can claim the series with a win in today's finale at 7:05 p.m. (8:05 Central).

[MassBrew]

More Helena details from the Provo Herald:

 

Jason Franchuk DAILY HERALD

 

Minor league baseball coaches continually warn their players to remain humble. Success at the rookie league level for players like those on the Angels can be fleeting.

 

Any momentum Provo (15-15) had fled from Miller Field in a hurry Monday in the first game of a doubleheader, which Helena won 4-0. The Brewers then captured the second game, 6-4.

 

So much for that three-game winning streak, when Provo batted as if it was smacking a ball off a tee. But Brewers righthander Robert Hinton put an end to that in the first game, surrendering only two hits in 5+ innings pitched.

 

Per Pioneer League rules, both games only went seven innings. In the first game, Provo finished with three hits; the second one, four.

 

Shortstop Sean Rodriguez, not surprisingly, had one of them in Game 1. Amazingly, though, he only went 1-for-3 then hitless in two official at-bats in the second game. The league's player of the week entered with a .473 batting average.

 

He even grounded into his first double play of the season, in the sixth -- the second consecutive inning the Angels turned that trick in the first game.

 

Helena carried a 1-0 lead into the fifth when Jake Serfass blasted his first home run as a professional, hitting a pitch that sailed to straight away center field 400 feet away that extended the Brewers' lead to 4-0.

 

The crowd was much larger for the second game (1,178), and voiced its opinion a little more. But that didn't help Provo win, or get base hits.

 

In the second game, Helena again carried a 1-0 lead into the fifth inning. Then it struck for more. After the first Brewer was retired, three consecutive singles were recorded. The third one, by Serfass, went through the Provo pitcher's legs and into center field to score another run. An intentional walk and an error by Provo first baseman Chris Walston followed and the four-run inning was capped by Agustin Septimo's RBI single.

 

Helena escaped harm in Provo's half of the fourth despite some questionable defensive strategy.

 

With one out and a runner on first, Provo's Ben Johnson hit a hard grounder to the second baseman. The Angels had a hit-and-run on, so the obvious out was at first base. But Septimo tried to get Cliff Remole at second base.

 

Both runners were safe, and it seemed like the crowd -- and the Angels bats -- had good reason to wake up.

 

But Helena euthanized them, inducing a fielder's choice and strikeout to keep the one-run lead intact.

 

Provo scored its first run of the night in the fifth. Michael Hughes led off with a double. Really, it was a one-base hit but his hustle earned him the extra 90 feet. He advanced to third base on a wild pitch then scored on a deep flyout by Nate Sutton.

 

For Hughes, an undrafted free agent from Illinois-Chicago, the base hit was welcome news. He entered the day hitting .116.

 

But the thrill of the hit wouldn't last long. In the sixth, the 6-foot-3, 225-pound rightfielder injured his left shoulder while diving for a ball. The extent of the injury and how much time he would miss -- if any -- was not immediately known.

 

The Angels threatened in the seventh by loading the bases with one out. A fielder's choice and single each scored a run, cutting Helena's lead to 6-4.

 

It would stay that way after another fielder's choice. A ground ball up the middle was recovered by the Brewers' shortstop and he barely beat Johnson to the base for the final out.

 

The second game was one marked by missed chances. Helena stranded 14 runners; Provo nine.

 

Rodriguez was named the league's player of the week after going 16-for-30 from July 11-17. He tallied 13 RBI, along with two doubles, a triple and a home run.

 

But not even he could carry his team. Success comes and goes.

[MassBrew]

Indianapolis Post-Game Notes:

 

Corey Hart dropped a routine fly ball from Wilson Valdez Monday night, allowing Charlotte's Kelly Dransfeldt to plate what proved to be the game winning run in the eighth inning, as the Knights held on to defeat Indianapolis, 4-3.

Indianapolis pitching gave up eight walks, but only one Charlotte batter converted the base on balls to a run scored.

 

Both teams scored three runs in the second inning. The Tribe plated three off IL All-Star Felix Diaz as Luis Figueroa, Matt Erickson and Dave Krynzel each contributed run producing singles in the frame.

 

The Tribe threatened to score in both the eighth and ninth innings. Peter Bergeron was picked off second base in the eighth and Luis Figueroa was stranded at second base to end the game.

 

Kelly Dransfeldt homered off Matt Childers in the second and doubled in the eighth off Todd Erdos to lead the Knights attack.

 

"I tell you what, Erdos got the first two guys out with some good pitches," said Dransfeldt. "He was throwing good stuff. It's good to get a win here and not have to go into extra innings. We needed a break and I hope that this will help get some momentum going."

 

Erdos (0-4) was tagged with the loss for Indianapolis, which has now lost a season-high seven games to fall to 42-52 and 10 games off the pace in the IL West Division. Charlotte improved to 46-51.

 

The two teams meet in the rubber game of the two-game set at Charlotte. The Tribe will send right-handed pitcher Wes Obermueller (0-1, 9.00) to the hill Tuesday night.

[batman]

So Manny Parra's shoulder is hurting again. That's just wonderful.

 

~Bill

[ja002h]

Ditto on Parra. Maybe we should just sit every pitching prospect we have for the next year.

 

Prince's avg. sure shot up to .270 real quick.

[igor67]

I think we purchased our current exceptional major league health at the expense of the minors. We are looking at what the end of July and having lost a grand total of 2 players months to injury? That's nothing. On the other hand it seems like fully half of our top pitching prospects have missed atleast some time this year, which is high even for pitchers.

[403137]

Where's Brad Nelson?

 

According to Robert Portnoy, Nelson suffered a minor shoulder injury in a diving catch Saturday. Sunday Portnoy said Nelson had been given his first day off all season, and Monday the shoulder injury was mentioned and Nelson was described as "day to day". Hopefully it's not anything serious. Portnoy made it sound as if Brad was likely to be in the line-up tonight.

[DHonks]

don't forget, Manny has the slightly torn shoulder that he supposedly suffered working out at Miller Park after signing. It appears rehab worked though

[homer]

This guy is a joke...in a good way. Check ou the league leaders from AZ. He's in the top five in nearly every offensive category:

 

www.baseballamerica.com/today/Stats/lead_Rarz.shtml

[Al the Thinking Man]

Peavey, I've been too polite to mention Hart. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

Last I checked, Hart's OBP was .330, exactly the major league average...but, of course, he's in AAA. His OPS must be pretty close to Grieve's...but he's a level lower. And it appears his defense is still "coming along", to be polite.

 

Leaving him in AAA may rank with the best non-moves of Melvin's brief tenure. 22 year-olds with obvious holes in their game do not belong in the majors, especially when you have decent production from that spot.

[MassBrew]

Daily Press High Desert Game Story:

 

Mavs hold on for victory

Tense moments between teams early in game

By KRIS REILLY/Staff Writer

 

ADELANTO ? It didn't take long for High Desert's series with Lancaster to get interesting.

 

Tempers flared between the JetHawks and Mavericks early in the game, and High Desert built a commanding lead that it nearly squandered. The Mavericks held on to beat the JetHawks 7-6 in the opener of a four-game set at Mavericks Stadium on Monday night.

 

Mavs catcher Froilan Villanueva was hit by a Sam Smith pitch in the first inning, which quickly drew several Mavericks onto the field from the bullpen. Villanueva glared at Smith, and both benches were warned by the umpires.

 

There's been bad blood between the two squads in the past, particularly in a May 9 game at Lancaster when a total of four batters were hit and the Mavericks accused the JetHawks of stealing signs. A total of 11 JetHawks have been hit by Mavericks pitchers this season, and Lancaster has hit nine High Desert batters.

 

"I don't think (Smith) was throwing at Villanueva, but they have thrown at us a lot," Mavericks manager Mel Queen said. "When you do that and then you hit someone and it's not intentional, everybody thinks it is. But I don't think this was intentional."

 

High Desert starter Jesse Harper hit Matt Morgan later in the game, but it was deemed unintentional by home plate umpire Jeffrey Macias.

 

Harper (3-2) went six innings, giving up three earned runs on seven hits, striking out five and walking one. He allowed just one hit in the first four innings as the Mavs built a 7-0 lead.

 

"I thought the team played outstanding tonight," Harper said. "They got me off to a great lead. I struggled a bit there in the sixth and didn't help them out, but that's baseball. All in all, I thought my teammates played great and that's why we won."

 

Lancaster got to Harper with a run on three hits in the fifth inning and two runs on three hits in the sixth. High Desert lost to Stockton on Friday and Saturday after holding leads of 4-0 and 3-0, and late in Monday's game it looked as though another lead would disintegrate.

 

Reliever Dan Kolb put runners at first and second with one out in the eighth before lefty Michael Kusiewicz entered the game for the Mavericks. Kusiewicz struck out one batter, then gave up a three-run homer to left by Steve Garrabrants, which closed the gap to 7-6.

 

High Desert's fourth pitcher, Homero Rivera, gave up a lead-off single to Jon Zeringue in the ninth and then pulled off an unusual double play when he grabbed a comebacker by Sean Luellwitz and threw out Zeringue at first. Rivera then got Jay Garthwaite to ground out and completed his fourth save of the season.

 

High Desert's Enrique Cruz and Callix Crabbe each hit home runs off Smith in the fourth, and outfielder Kennard Bibbs tripled in the same inning. Bibbs was 3-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored. Travis Hinton and Ben Van Iderstine had two hits apiece.

 

"It seems it's been happening a lot lately where we get some good pitching early and some good hitting early, then we kind of choke in the end," said Van Iderstine, who had two RBIs. "But we got the seven runs early which helped us glide along, and we were able to pull it out."

 

NOTES: High Desert ace Manny Parra will miss some time with a sore shoulder. The left-hander, rated by Baseball America as the top pitching prospect in the Milwaukee Brewers' farm system, is 5-2 this season with a 3.48 earned run average. Queen said Parra could pitch if he had to, but the Mavericks won't take any any chances with the left-hander. It's uncertain how many starts Parra will miss. ... Lancaster's run in the fifth inning ended the High Desert pitching staff's season-high streak of 13 consecutive innings without allowing a run. ... Villanueva extended his hitting streak to seven games. ... The Mavericks, who won the series finale at Stockton on Sunday, will try to win three in a row for the first time this season as they continue their series with Lancaster at 7:05 p.m. tonight (9:05 Central) at Mavericks Stadium. ... High Desert will be at home until July 25; the seven-game home stand is the Mavericks' longest of the season.

 

Scott Smeltzer/Victor Valley Daily Press Staff Photographer

Enrique Cruz high fives Kennard Bibbs after hitting a home run in the fourth inning against Lancaster.

 

http://www.vvdailypress.com/storypics2/072004_mavs.jpg

[huntsvillefan]

Quote:

---

His OPS must be pretty close to Grieve's

---

Grieve 784

Hart 833 while he's in a slump.(according to Al & Peavey)

These numbers are exactly 2 mouse clicks away.

Its always worth checking the numbers when Al uses words like 'around' or 'pretty close' (Weeks OBP recently). It seems to mean that they aren't as close as he'd like them to be to support his argument.http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

I happen to agree that Hart needs more seasoning before going to the majors, but sleight of hand with the numbers only discredits arguments rather than reinforces them.

[PeaveyFury]

Hart 833 while he's in a slump.(according to Al & Peavey)

 

On Thursday, July 8th, Hart was hitting .287. After Tuesday's game, he's hitting .274. I'd certainly classify a 13 point drop in BA over a bit less than two weeks as a slump..... but apparently you don't.....

[huntsvillefan]

Sorry that I was obscure. My point is that even when he is slumping Hart's OPS is still 49 points better than Grieve's.

That isn't 'pretty close' by anyone's standards.And certainly if 13 points of BA is significant, then 49 points of OPS is too.

Is Hart in a slump? I would think so, but I find it hard to take gleeful satisfaction from a young player struggling. I also remember a lot of posters getting jumped on, when they suggested that a similar dip in Weeks' BA was significant.

My feeling about Hart is that he'll either make it BIG or he won't make it at all. It depends how he copes with the flaws in his game. But I'd assume that everyone here is rooting for him to make it.

[hsvstarsfan]

My apologies to those looking for an update on my site. The gremlins have taken my site hostage (server problems manifesting itself in timeout errors). As soon as I can resolve this or by some chance it resolves itself, I'll let you know. So that being said here is what should have been up Monday cut and pasted:

 

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

 

Not your ordinary road trip....... Twelve games....... If the Stars do well enough to shake Birmingham, and they're tied again after destroying West Tennessee, 11-4, they could sitting pretty watching the rest of the league chase them in August........ Dennis Sarfate, with a 7.88 ERA in the 1st inning, survived that, and the two innings to follow, pitching no-hit ball, but struggling with his control. Still lighting up the radar gun in the mid 90s, he struck out Kennard Jones and Marcus Nettles In the 1st inning, then walked Ben Johnson and Greg Sain --- a hitter you're better off walking then trying to challenge at 2-and-0...... He walked the leadoff hitter in the 2nd, Josh Barfield, but picked him off. Sarfate probably has the best pickoff move on the staff........ He walked two more batters in the 3rd, but once again, Mobile failed to drive anyone in.

 

It took Mobile's favorite weapon to beat Sarfate........ After Rico Washington hit a ball off the handle, dumping it in front of Jamie Gann for a hit, Josh Barfield got a piece of a 3-1 pitch and drove it over the wall in right field, clearing two levels of billboards --- the 98th home run for the Bay Bears this season........ It was Barfield's 6th home run against the Stars this year, his 2nd off Sarfate. Two have come off Brian Adams and one off Paul Stewart, both of whom pitched in relief of Sarfate this night......... I don't know if that's a record for one batter, but it would come darn close if it's not........ Barfield is now hitting .279 vs. the Stars....... That was the 98th home run for the Bay Bears

 

Mike Thompson began to disintegrate in the 5th inning, walking Brian Adams and Rickie Weeks........ That would have loaded the bases, as hot-hitting Kade Johnson reached on a one-out single, the Stars' first hit since Sarfate's double in the 3rd, but Johnson was thrown out trying to steal --- the 4th straight unsuccessful attempt going back to the Montgomery series....... Tony Gwynn, Jr. flied out easily to center to end the inning.

 

The Stars actually had their best chance to take the lead in the 6th...... Prince Fielder led off with a loud single to right. After Jamie Gann walked, things started looking good, but Mobile manager Gary Jones decided he'd seen enough....... Thompson had walked more batters in a game than he had all season. In fact, in five appearances against the Stars this season, he had not walked a single Huntsville batter....... Jack Cassel (1-1, 1.50 in 7 appearances vs. the Stars) came in and struck out Chris Barnwell, who chased a pitch up and out of the zone. To make it worse, Prince Fielder was thrown out at third on the strike 'em out-throw 'em out double play. Make that the 5th straight unsuccessful stolen base attempt for the Stars........ The inning wasn't done, though.

 

Ryan Knox rifled a 1-2 pitch off the glove of Ronnie Merrill, advancing Gann to third....... Ozzie Chavez, now batting .224 this month, lined an 0-1 pitch to right-center field........ Chavez was held up between first and second and Merrill had a great chance to trap him in a rundown. They had no chance to get Knox, but the throw never got to Merrill. Gann scored making it a 2-1 game........ Kade Johnson walked to load the bases, but with the bases loaded, Johnny Raburn, a .250 hitter with 6 RBIs against Mobile, hit a grounder to Sain, who made the play at first unassisted.

 

The Stars left a total of nine men on base in this game....... They had their opportunities to win their 5th straight game, which would have matched their longest win streak of the season........ Other breaks didn't go their way. Prince Fielder was on first with two out in the 7th. Jamie Gann hit a pop up in foul territory and Nick Trzesniak circled under it and flat dropped it, giving Gann new life, but Gann in an 0-2 hole, struck out........ In the 2nd inning with Knox on second and two out, Kade Johnson, batting .302 over his last 15 games, hit a two-hop smash that appeared would go in the hole, but Merrill made a great backhand stab in the grass and threw à la Dave Concepcion to nip him at first.

 

Tuesday, the Stars will have a chance to make a little club history when the Bay Bears start Brian Whitaker........ Whitaker is one of six pitchers to lose four times in a single season to the Stars. No pitcher has ever had the ignominy of losing five...... Whitaker, in his four starts, has an 8.15 ERA vs. Huntsville, giving up 28 hits in 17 2/3 innings, striking out 10 and walking 7........ Opposing him will be Matt Ford (1-2, 3.72) is still looking for his first win since opening day after 12 starts. He's 0-1, 4.13 since coming off the disabled list in June........ The five other pitchers to lose four games to the Stars in a season:

 

Dustin Moseley- 2003 Chatta. Lookouts

7.43

 

Dennis Ulacia - 2002 Birmingham Barons

5.11

 

Ricardo Palma - 2001 WT Diamond Jaxx

7.20

 

Derrin Ebert - 1997 Greenville Braves

8.87

 

Steve Foster - 1990 Chattanooga Lookouts

10.29

 

Tough night for Ben Hendrickson at Cincinnati, Monday night...... First his flight was delayed, arriving in Cincinnati Sunday around 11 pm, then his start turned out to be a longer road, much worse in fact than his debut against the Dodgers........ He allowed six runs on seven hits in three innings...... An old Southern League foe, Wily Mo Pena, hit a low pitch home run 425 feet homered to give the Reds a 6-1 lead........ Wily Mo is a low ball hitter....... The funny thing is, Ben had been trying all night to get the ball down in the strike zone. When he wanted it up to Pena, it went down........Better luck next time, Ben.

[homer]

Whoa, Hunstville, you can't compare an 833 OPS in AAA to a 784 MLB OPS - it's apples and oranges. If anyone can apply Hart's numbers to the major league equivalent forumla then we'll have a good basis of comparison.

[huntsvillefan]

Read the whole chain of posts homer. I didn't make the original comparison - that was Al. All I did was point out that Al fudged the numbers as usual.

For the record - I have no thoughts that AAA OPS is equivalent to MLB OPS or that Corey is Major League ready. I just don't see that exaggerating about the numbers helps any useful discussion.

[Al the Thinking Man]

Wow, what a flair for the dramatic. Yawn. I'll leave the worrying about minor details to those who give a rat's a** who wins a AA game.

 

The truth is, Hart's AAA numbers are a tad better than Grieve's ML numbers...which is the whole point. Obviously, the ML translation is a lot lower, for one thing, it's hard to imagine Corey getting on much more than 30% of the time in the bigs, right now. He needs the AB's in AAA, which is the whole point. The "bring him up now" brigade jumped the gun, without even considering service time issues.

[huntsvillefan]

Talking about a flair for the dramatic - I love the 'Yawn'http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

But you've got to give details. Is it one of those bored intellectual yawns? Or is it more of Big Daddy type full blooded yawn? I tend to imagine it as one of those yawns where a bit of drool trickles out, which probably isn't the effect you had in mind. So be more precise next time - paint the full picture.

Which is really all I was saying about your statement on Hart. You knew darn well that his OPS was better than Grieve's, but it would have ruined the tone of your little diatribe to admit it. So you fudged it, just like you did when exaggerating Rickie's OBP. When people lie over such little trivial things its becomes hard to take the main thrust of what they are saying seriously.

I wasn't one of the 'bring Corey up now brigade' any more than I was one of the 'Rickie will be in Milwaukee to stay in September brigade.'

There isn't anyone here who hasn't got a prediction or two wrong Al.

Anyhow, I'm off to flog myself with a wet lettuce leaf , for being silly enough to care about the results of AA game. (You do know that some people think its silly to actually give a rats a** about who wins Milwaukee games - Silly them, thats completely different http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif )

[MassBrew]

Beloit Daily News Story on Monday's Game:

The BDN site was not updated yesterday, so this delayed report:

 

Lugnuts flex muscles to tip Snappers

By Ryan Frey

Daily News correspondent

 

Against a team with the power-hitting potential of the Lansing Lugnuts every mistake seems magnified.

 

The case in point came early in Beloit's 4-3 loss Monday night at Pohlman Field.

 

Carlos Villanueva (6-6) and the Snappers were on the right track when the starting pitcher got the first batter to ground out to start the game.

 

But an error by right fielder Robby Deevers gave the Lugnuts the opportunity to make the mistake one of demoralizing proportions.

 

Lugnut power-hitter Brian Dopriak jumped at the chance as he drove the next pitch over the fence for to secure a two-run lead on his 27th home run of the year.

 

``Every mistake you make is compounded,'' manager Don Money said. ``Instead of a solo home run and facing 1-0 deficit, we're down 2-0 from the mistake.''

 

Not to be outdone by his teammate, the Lugnuts' Francisco Salas followed suit with a solo home run to give the Lugnuts the early 3-0 lead.

 

As was the case in Sunday's loss to Lansing, the Snappers were able to outhit the Lugnuts, 8-7, but baserunning mistakes and the lack of timely hitting cost the Snappers.

 

``The Lugnuts swung the bats well. They have some guys that can hit the ball out of the ballpark,'' Money said of Lansing, the league leaders in slugging percentage. ``Hitting over 90 home runs up to this point in the season can change a team's approach.''

 

Villanueva began to show signs of settling down after he recorded a 1-2-3 second inning and the Beloit offense put together a string of hits to make it a 3-1 ballgame. Adam Heether and Steve Moss' consecutive doubles off Lugnuts starting pitcher Carlos Marmol (9-5), brought the Snappers within striking distance.

[LouisEly]

Last I checked, Hart's OBP was .330, exactly the major league average...but, of course, he's in AAA.

 

Considering that his coach has a career ML OBP of .337 (with a career BA of .292) I don't think that we can draw a lot of conclusions about that OBP given that his current coach is probably not the best teacher in that department.