Link Report for Games of Saturday, June 12th

[MassBrew]

It's the Willie Nelson version of the Link Report -- "on the road again" (and again, and again, and again)...

 

Saturday's Daily Menu -- no "home" fries...

 

All times Central; pitchers subject to change; pre-game audio begins approx. 15 minutes prior to game time listed...

 

INDIANAPOLIS: RHP Ben Hendrickson at Charlotte (White Sox), 6:15 PM

 

Audio link:

www.newstalk1430.com/

 

Alternate audio link (Knights' feed):

www.charlotteknights.com/.../index.htm

 

HUNTSVILLE: RHP Dennis Sarfate at Tennessee (Cardinals), 6:15 PM

 

Audio link:

www.espn1450.com/

 

HIGH DESERT: RHP Bo Hall at Inland Empire (Mariners), 9:11 PM

 

Audio link:

www.hdmavs.com/listen_live.htm

 

BELOIT: LHP Dana Eveland at Cedar Rapids (Angels), 7:00 PM

 

Audio link (Kernels' feed):

www.kernels.com/radio.html

[MassBrew]

Final: Indianapolis 1, Charlotte (White Sox) 0

Details on Mr. Hendrickson's excellent adventure shortly...

[MassBrew]

In progress after a rain delay --

 

Tennessee (Cardinals) 6, Huntsville 2, after three innings

Smokies only have two hits thus far -- control issues for Sarfate this evening?

[MassBrew]

In progress: Cedar Rapids (Angels) 5, Beloit 0, after four innings

Snappers are going to have to rally if they're to blow another lead in this series -- yeah, I know, that was unnecessary http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[H0FFY]

We must be getting really close to a straight swap of Hendrickson for Obermueller.

[MassBrew]

Indianapolis Box Score:

This is how this Indy team, as currently constructed, needs to win...

 GAME DATE: 6/12/04 IND at CHR INDIANAPOLIS 1 AT CHARLOTTE 0 YTD YTD INDIANAPOLIS AB R H BI AVG CHARLOTTE AB R H BI AVG P.Bergeron CF 4 0 1 0 .227 A.Torres LF 4 0 3 0 .299 C.Magruder LF 4 0 0 0 .266 J.Reed CF 4 0 0 0 .268 C.Hart RF 3 1 1 0 .285 B.Nelson 2B 4 0 0 0 .313 J.Nunnally DH 4 0 1 1 .247 B.Smith SS 3 0 0 0 .261 C.Coste 3B 3 0 0 0 .300 J.Borchard RF 3 0 0 0 .274 M.Johnson CAT 4 0 1 0 .283 M.Bell 1B 3 0 0 0 .210 L.Figueroa SS 3 0 0 0 .269 M.Valenzuela DH 3 0 1 0 .234 B.Gemoll 1B 3 0 0 0 .229 R.Hankins 3B 3 0 0 0 .224 M.Erickson 2B 3 0 1 0 .230 J.Aceves CAT 3 0 1 0 .289 B.Hendrckson PIT 0 0 0 0 .200 F.Diaz PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 T.Phelps PIT 0 0 0 0 .333 V.Darnsbourg PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 M.Childers PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 31 1 5 1 TOTALS 30 0 5 0 INDIANAPOLIS 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0- 1 5 0 CHARLOTTE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0- 0 5 0 DP--INDIANAPOLIS 1, CHARLOTTE 1. LOB--INDIANAPOLIS 5, CHARLOTTE 3. 2B--C.Hart (13), M.Erickson (13), J.Aceves (5). SB--A.Torres (14). CS--C.Coste. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA INDIANAPOLIS B.Hendrckson (W,5-2) 6.0 3 0 0 0 3 0 2.35 T.Phelps 2.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 5.40 M.Childers (S,1) 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 4.86 CHARLOTTE F.Diaz (L,8-2) 7.0 4 1 1 1 7 0 3.13 V.Darnsbourg 2.0 1 0 0 1 1 0 2.86 SO--C.Magruder 2, J.Nunnally 2, C.Coste 2, M.Johnson, B.Gemoll, B.Nelson, J.Borchard 2, M.Bell, M.Valenzuela, J.Aceves. BB--C.Hart, C.Coste. T--2:24. A--8347

Indianapolis Game Log:

Hart doubles, Nunnally singles -- all you need to know...

 

www.sportsnetwork.com/mer...MEID=14165

[MassBrew]

Final: Cedar Rapids (Angels) 6, Beloit 3

Snappers outhit the Kernels 12-9, but fall; two Beloit runs in the ninth made the final score closer but that's all; details soon...

[MassBrew]

Beloit Box Score:

The Snappers continue to make use of the piggyback shared starting rotation duties, but it only seems to affect Dana Eveland, as starters Luis Pena, Brian Montalbo, and Carlos Villanueva have only one relief appearance bewteen them. Tonight, young Tommy Hawk started (and struggled) prior to Eveland's innings. Hawk filled a lot of statistical columns -- HBP, balk, WP (2)...

 GAME DATE: 6/12/04 BLT at CR BELOIT 3 AT CEDAR RAPIDS 6 YTD YTD BELOIT AB R H BI AVG CEDAR RAPIDS AB R H BI AVG T.Trofholz CF 5 0 1 0 .310 Q.Cosby CF 4 1 0 1 .246 D.Anderson LF 5 0 1 0 .260 M.Pali LF 4 0 2 0 .298 L.Palmisano DH 5 1 2 0 .305 B.Wilson CAT 3 1 1 1 .310 V.Rottino 2B 4 0 1 0 .298 M.Brown 3B 4 1 1 1 .255 A.Heether 3B 4 0 3 1 .265 B.Wood SS 4 1 2 3 .278 R.Deevers RF 3 0 0 0 .229 M.Abram 1B 4 0 1 0 .192 C.Corporan 1B 4 1 2 0 .256 C.Maher DH 4 0 0 0 .204 T.Marks CAT 3 1 1 0 .213 S.Rodriguez 2B 2 1 0 0 .262 G.Acosta SS 4 0 1 1 .168 N.Kimpton RF 2 1 2 0 .288 T.Hawk PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 M.Simard PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 D.Eveland PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 A.Buckley PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 A.Pullin PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 37 3 12 2 TOTALS 31 6 9 6 BELOIT 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2- 3 12 0 CEDAR RAPIDS 0 0 4 1 1 0 0 0 X- 6 9 1 E--S.Rodriguez. DP--BELOIT 2, CEDAR RAPIDS 2. LOB--BELOIT 9, CEDAR RAPIDS 7. 2B--L.Palmisano (11), A.Heether (16), T.Marks (2), B.Wood (14). HR--B.Wood (8). HBP--Q.Cosby. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA BELOIT T.Hawk (L,0-2) 3.2 6 5 5 4 1 0 15.88 D.Eveland 4.1 3 1 1 1 7 1 3.25 CEDAR RAPIDS M.Simard (W,5-3) 7.0 8 1 1 2 3 0 3.04 A.Buckley 1.0 2 0 0 0 1 0 5.52 A.Pullin 1.0 2 2 2 0 2 0 4.91 HB--T.Hawk. WP--T.Hawk 2. BALKS--T.Hawk. SO--T.Trofholz, D.Anderson 2, L.Palmisano 2, R.Deevers, Q.Cosby 2, M.Brown 2, M.Abram, C.Maher, S.Rodriguez 2. BB--R.Deevers, T.Marks, B.Wilson, S.Rodriguez 2, N.Kimpton 2. T--2:28. A--4019

Beloit Game Log:

 

www.sportsnetwork.com/mer...MEID=12634

[pogokat]

Final: Tennessee (Cardinals) 10, Huntsville 5

Prince and Weeks good in this one...Sarfate not so good...Woolard walks to many people. I dont think anyone would disagree with this statement: Huntsville has been the single most disapointing aspect of the 2004 season - pogokat

 

Huntsville Box Score:

 GAME DATE: 6/12/04 HVL at TEN HUNTSVILLE 5 AT TENNESSEE 10 YTD YTD HUNTSVILLE AB R H BI AVG TENNESSEE AB R H BI AVG R.Weeks 2B 3 3 2 0 .248 S.Schumaker CF 3 3 2 1 .279 J.Raburn RF 5 0 1 0 .250 P.Bolivar LF 5 0 1 1 .287 P.Fielder 1B 4 0 2 2 .270 D.Moylan CAT 3 2 0 0 .283 B.Nelson LF 4 0 0 0 .287 D.Haynes RF 3 1 0 1 .208 R.Knox CF 4 1 1 0 .275 C.Duncan 1B 2 1 1 2 .280 C.Barnwell 3B 4 1 2 1 .248 C.Erickson 2B 5 0 1 0 .205 O.Chavez SS 4 0 0 0 .208 G.Johnson 3B 4 2 2 5 .274 J.Alvarado CAT 3 0 0 1 .143 M.Jaramillo SS 4 0 0 0 .194 D.Sarfate PIT 1 0 0 0 .133 T.Blair PIT 2 0 1 0 .500 G.Woolard PIT 1 0 0 0 .000 J.Axelson PIT 1 0 0 0 .211 B.Adams PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 W.Ciprian PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 A.Gwynn PH 1 0 0 0 .243 T.Johnson PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Novinsky PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 N.Espy PH 1 1 1 0 .267 K.Johnson PH 1 0 0 0 .224 J.Kinney PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 M.Parker PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 35 5 8 4 TOTALS 33 10 9 10 HUNTSVILLE 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0- 5 8 2 TENNESSEE 5 1 0 1 1 0 2 0 X-10 9 1 E--R.Weeks, G.Woolard, M.Jaramillo. DP--HUNTSVILLE 0, TENNESSEE 0. LOB--HUNTSVILLE 6, TENNESSEE 9. 2B--R.Weeks (10), P.Fielder (11), R.Knox (7), C.Barnwell (11), S.Schumaker (14), P.Bolivar (9). 3B-- N.Espy (4). HR--G.Johnson 2 (11). SB--R.Weeks (5), P.Fielder (3). CS--P.Bolivar. HBP--D.Haynes, C.Duncan, G.Johnson. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA HUNTSVILLE D.Sarfate (L,3-6) 1.0 1 5 5 3 0 1 5.14 G.Woolard 3.0 2 2 1 4 1 0 3.97 B.Adams 2.0 3 1 1 0 2 1 4.62 J.Novinsky 2.0 3 2 2 0 3 0 3.64 TENNESSEE T.Blair 4.1 6 4 4 2 2 0 8.31 J.Axelson (W,4-4) 1.2 0 0 0 0 1 0 6.44 W.Ciprian 0.2 2 1 1 0 0 0 13.50 T.Johnson 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 0 9.33 J.Kinney 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10.13 M.Parker 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 4.45 HB--D.Sarfate, G.Woolard, B.Adams. WP--J.Novinsky. PB--J.Alvarado. SO--J.Raburn, P.Fielder, B.Nelson, O.Chavez, G.Woolard, S.Schumaker, D.Moylan, C.Duncan, C.Erickson, M.Jaramillo, J.Axelson. BB--R.Weeks 2, J.Alvarado, S.Schumaker 2, D.Moylan 2, D.Haynes, C.Duncan 2. T--3:16. A--4263

Huntsville Game Log:

 

www.sportsnetwork.com/mer...MEID=16476

 

Final: Inland Empire (Mariners) 3, High Desert 1

Callix and Kennard...two increasingly more common names in the link report...Enrique Cruz sucks -- pogokat

 

High Desert Box Score:

 GAME DATE: 6/12/04 HD at INL HIGH DESERT 1 AT INLAND EMPIRE 3 YTD YTD HIGH DESERT AB R H BI AVG INLAND EMPIRE AB R H BI AVG K.Bibbs CF 4 1 2 0 .307 J.Gonzalez SS 3 0 0 0 .313 C.Crabbe 2B 4 0 2 0 .308 J.Guzman 3B 3 1 1 1 .297 D.Boyd LF 4 0 1 1 .305 G.Harris CF 3 0 0 1 .267 T.Hinton 1B 4 0 0 0 .315 J.Nelson LF 4 1 2 0 .307 F.Villanueva CAT 4 0 1 0 .237 M.Rogelstad 2B 4 0 0 0 .251 J.Frost RF 4 0 0 0 .255 T.Bohn RF 2 0 1 0 .289 T.Farnsworth 3B 3 0 0 0 .183 C.Arroyo DH 3 0 1 1 .333 P.Rasmusen DH 2 0 0 0 .214 M.Hagen 1B 3 0 1 0 .224 E.Cruz SS 3 0 0 0 .195 R.Rivera CAT 3 1 1 0 .267 B.Hall PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 T.Watson PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 D.Nolasco PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 M.Pizarro PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 M.Martinez PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 32 1 6 1 TOTALS 28 3 7 3 HIGH DESERT 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0- 1 6 0 INLAND EMPIRE 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 X- 3 7 1 E--M.Hagen. DP--HIGH DESERT 0, INLAND EMPIRE 0. LOB--HIGH DESERT 5, INLAND EMPIRE 8. 2B--J.Nelson (9), M.Hagen (10), R.Rivera (16). HR--J.Guzman (3). SB--T.Bohn (6). CS--E.Cruz, J.Nelson. HBP--T.Bohn, M.Hagen. SF--G.Harris. SH--J.Guzman. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA HIGH DESERT B.Hall (L,3-4) 6.0 7 3 3 2 2 1 5.53 D.Nolasco 2.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 7.53 INLAND EMPIRE T.Watson (W,1-0) 5.0 1 0 0 1 4 0 4.22 M.Pizarro 3.0 4 1 1 0 3 0 4.65 M.Martinez (S,5) 1.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 4.09 HB--B.Hall, D.Nolasco. WP--B.Hall. SO--K.Bibbs, D.Boyd 2, T.Hinton 2, F.Villanueva, J.Frost, T.Farnsworth, E.Cruz, G.Harris, J.Nelson, T.Bohn. BB--P.Rasmusen, J.Gonzalez, T.Bohn, C.Arroyo. T--2:15. A--4063

High Desert Game Log:

 

www.sportsnetwork.com/mer...MEID=18054

[MassBrew]

Indianapolis Star Post-Game Notes:

 

Three Indianapolis Indians pitchers combined on a five-hitter Saturday night in a 1-0 International League victory over the Charlotte Knights.

 

Right-hander Ben Hendrickson (5-2) allowed three hits over the first six innings. Travis Phelps followed with two innings of one-hit relief and Matt Childers closed out the ninth for his first save.

 

"I had mentioned to the (team) trainers early in the game that my shoulder was getting tight," Hendrickson, who has not allowed an earned run in his past 13 1/3 innings, said in a statement released by the team. "They didn't want to take any chances, so I came out after the sixth inning."

 

Indianapolis scored in the first inning on a two-out double by Corey Hart and an RBI single by Jon Nunnally.

 

Charlotte starter Felix Diaz (8-2) allowed just one run on four hits with seven strikeouts in seven innings.

 

The win, combined with the Columbus Clippers' 7-2 loss to the Richmond Braves, pulled Indianapolis (32-28) into a tie for first with the Clippers in the West Division.

 

Etc.

 

The Milwaukee Brewers' tryout camp scheduled at Victory Field on Monday has been postponed. No makeup date has been set. . . . The Brewers optioned INF Trent Durrington to Indianapolis.

[MassBrew]

Huntsville Site Game Summary:

 

Gabe Johnson ripped a first-inning grand slam and a fifth-inning solo homer to pace the Smokies? attack, and six Tennessee pitchers combined to hold off Huntsville, 10-5, on Saturday night at Smokies Park. Huntsville (30-33) dropped its fourth straight and 10th in its last 12 games to fall five games out of first in the Southern League West with just seven to go in the first half. The Smokies (33-30) jumped with Carolina into a second-place tie, three games back of Chattanooga?s lead in the East.

 

The game began ominously for Huntsville, as two walks and a hit batter loaded the bases with one out in the first. Chris Duncan drew another walk to force in a run, and Corey Erickson popped out to third. On a 1-1 pitch from Dennis Sarfate, Johnson launched a drive deep to right-center for a grand slam homerun, his 10th homer this season, for a 5-0 Smokies lead. Johnson added a solo blast on reliever Brian Adams? first pitch to lead off the fifth.

 

After falling behind early, Huntsville pecked away at Tennessee?s lead. Each time the Smokies would answer with a score of their own, and Tennessee?s two-run eighth provided the final cushion. Nate Espy tripled off the rightfield wall and Skip Schumaker singled him home. Papo Bolivar lashed a double to right, plating Schumaker for a 10-5 lead.

 

Rickie Weeks led Huntsville?s offense, doubling, singling, walking twice, scoring three runs and stealing a base. Chris Barnwell finished 2-for-4 with a double, single, one run scored and one driven in. Prince Fielder doubled and singled, drove in two runs and stole a bag.

 

Josh Axelson (4-4) picked up the win in relief, tossing 1 2/3 perfect innings, fanning one. Sarfate suffered the loss after struggling through the first inning, his only frame. Sarfate (3-6) surrendered five runs on three walks, one hit batter and the Johnson grand slam, the lone hit Sarfate allowed.

 

Huntsville sends lefty Matt Ford (1-1, 3.27) to the mound against Smokies lefty Chris Narveson (1-6, 4.33) in game two of the series Sunday afternoon at Smokies Park. Game time is 4:00 p.m. CT. The FPH Financial Services Pre-game Show starts at 3:45 p.m. CT. Stars baseball can be heard on ESPN 1450 or at www.huntsvillestars.com.

[MassBrew]

David Weiser's www.starsboxscore.com Huntsville update:

 

WAVE BYE-BYE

The Stars are waiting for the dirt to be thrown over them........ Tennessee, tonight, threw its first shovelful. The Barons, who for all intents and purposes, eliminated the Stars from the first half race by taking three of four at Joe Davis Stadium, outscoring them 27-10 in the final home series of the first half, will bury them for this half later this week, starting Thursday at Rickwood Field........ For all intents and purposes, the Stars are done for the first half.

 

I know quite a few angry fans at Joe Davis Stadium who blame Rickie Weeks, Tony Gwynn, and Prince Fielder for the lack of return on all the promises that this season was going to be bring. It was going to be greater than last year, they said, and the poor results in relation to the bonuses they were given, have upset a lot of fans........ Well, it's so easy to blame the Stars' losing record right now just on Weeks, Fielder, and Gwynn, but it's not as cut and dried as that........ There are other reasons and I sought to flesh them out.

 

First of all, this is a young, inexperienced team. They average 23.8 years --- 3rd youngest in the league and they've been playing against the teams, like Birmingham and Chattanooga, that load up with six-year free agents every year and concentrate on developing in specific areas (in Birmingham's case for many years, pitching)........ But to me, it's almost a weak excuse. Carolina and West Tennessee, the two teams with the youngest average rosters, are not doing badly at all.

 

Their fielding hasn't been as reliable as it had been in the past........ The Stars, with the fewest errors after a record best 30, 40, and 50 games, have made 22 so far this June, seven during the series with Birmingham....... They haven't had an errorless game since the first game of a doubleheader on June 1........ That's resulted in 18 unearned runs in 13 games, but to be honest, the errors made a difference in only one game and an indirect difference in three others (read effect on the momentum of the game)....... The Stars' rate of errors have gone up, certainly, but the real problems are elsewhere.

 

In a month when everyone is around the far turn and trying to reach the finish line in front, the Stars are now 3-11 in June, the worst start for that month in their history, after being trounced by the Smokies, 10-5....... They've been outscored 79-34 this month, and have been battling Mobile on the bottom of the league batting ladder, hitting .240, four points more than they've hit this month....... In all fairness, though, the bats have come around recently....... The Stars hit .287 in the Birmingham series and .266 in their last six games, but the hits haven't been evenly dispersed, and there you can blame Weeks, Gwynn, and Fielder, and I'll show you the figures later.

 

Stars' announcer Robert Portnoy and I discussed after Friday's game, why the Stars weren't going to win this first half....... There's a principal reason why the Stars had lost (at the time I talked to him) nine of 11 games........ It was his observation, opposed to mine, that the rotation had let them down. While I contended that the bullpen was wholly unreliable and was more to blame, he turned out to be right, and I spent the better half of Friday night after the ballgame coming up with the numbers to prove it....... The results are in tabular form on my link, but here it is in writing.

 

After three innings in each game, the Stars had five leads to their opponents nine...... The Stars lost three of their leads, while their opponents lost only one........ Gotta believe his story so far, don't you? There's more........ There's a dramatic difference in ERAs by the rotation when you divide the season into four periods: April, the first half of May, the last half of May, and June. The rotation in the first half of May was 3.95, 3.19 the latter half when the Stars were 8-7........ The rotation so far in June has an ERA of 7.06! That's a difference of almost four runs from their best period, the latter part of May....... The bullpen went from a 3.10 ERA in the first half of May, their best period, to 4.81 in June, a difference of 1.71 runs/9 IP......... Now control isn't the issue, even though Dennis Sarfate walked three and hit a batter tonight. I'll get into that later...... It's been up and down, but there's no correlation between the walks and the overall record......... To be sure, this isn't the pitching we had last year, with a bullpen that contributed to the best ERA in Stars history, but it's been partially to blame, with the rotation taking the lumps.

 

I've got to get back to this Weeks-Gwynn-Fielder thing that the fans love to pick on, and it's easy for them to do this....... There are no numbers for them to look at. It's all observation to them when ask me why they can't even hit the ball out of the infield........ I've got the numbers and they've already shown that they've recorded many more ground outs than fly outs, but what they haven't seen is the difference in their perfomance when the Stars win and when they lose......... This, again, is on the link, and to make it short, the glamorous three have hit .364 in the Stars' three wins in June, and just .202 in the ten losses, and that's after a good game tonight, still a considerable difference, and one, especially since they bat at the top of the order. That's extremely significant, and it's extended into May as well........ Weeks, Gwynn, and Fielder hit a combined .250 in the Stars' eight victories in the last part of May, while hitting just .178 in their seven losses........ Unusually, they hit a combined .250 in Stars wins and losses in the first half of May......... A lack of power needs to be mentioned as well. They were out-homered by Birmingham recently, 6-2 and 17-8 for the month of June.

 

Link:

http://www.starsboxscore.com/standing.html

 

WIll things change in the second half?........ They'll certainly be more experienced hitters at this level in the second half. Stars' hitting coach Sandy Guerrero has been working with Weeks, changing his stance at the plate, getting him to back off the plate and take a more even stance and getting him to drop his hands down.

 

Things are so dismal here, I don't want to spend a lot of time on how they lost another one........ A ceremony for Tennessee pitcher Brad Thompson, who disputedly broke a minor league record for consecutive shutout innings, was to have been held before this game because he's going up to Class AAA-Memphis (PCL), but it poured 15-20 minutes before gametime, delaying the start of the game by 47 minutes......... Dennis Sarfate, who threw 70 pitches in his last outing which lasted only three innings, granted on three days rest, threw 37 tonight, struggling with his fastball, his favorite pitch........ To make things worse, he had a substitute ump at the plate who called such a tight strike zone, it got pitching coach Fred Dabney riled enough to be thrown out later in the game........ John Woods is another ump in this league with a tight strike zone, but this one was in a whole other dimension........The sum total effect was seven walks given up by Stars pitchers, the most this season....... At one point, after hitting right fielder Dee Haynes in the 1st inning with a pitch, Sarfate threw six straight balls, then walked Chris Duncan with the bases loaded, driving in the first run........ Pitching to a fastball hitter hitting only .071 over his last nine games, Sarfate got Corey Erickson to pop it up on the infield to Chris Barnwell for the second out, but on a 1-1 pitch to Gabe Johnson, Sarfate wound up on the losing end of a 5-0 score. Johnson's grand-slam home run flying convincingly to deep right-center field.

 

There is some good news in Starstown...... Barnwell is hot on a nine-game hitting streak, going 15-for-33 (.455) with six RBIs, and hitting .383 for June....... Rickie Weeks is 9-for-26 (.346) in his last seven games (I guess the new advice is paying off)....... Ryan Knox is 8-for-24 in his last seven games with seven runs scored. If he is upset at his demotion, he isn't letting it show. He's discarded his J.J. Hardy model bat, which is heavier than the one he normally uses, and announced his goal for the season is to hit .300. He's at .275 right now..... And Joel Alvarado, while he's still not hitting the ball, has thrown out 11 of 23 would-be base-stealers (an excellent 47.8% rate)....... Kade Johnson is improving in that category, throwing out 36.3%.

 

The Stars fell just 408 fans short of finishing the 1st half of the season with a home attendance mark of 100,000........ For you homies wondering about the scoreboard situation, someone from Canada will arrive this coming week to get pitch speed thingy working. At least that's what I've been told...... The Rickwood Classic is next Thursday, the bus is filled, and I'll be there to give you my insights and thoughts on one of baseball's oldest parks. I haven't seen it since I saw my first Stars game in 1985.

[MassBrew]

Thanks David!

 

Incredible report and analysis as always.

 

While your site was successful long before Brewerfan came to be, we're glad we can widen your appreciative audience.

[MassBrew]

Beloit Game Summary (Cedar Rapids' Site):

 

Brandon Wood homered and drove in three runs to power the Kernels past the Beloit Snappers, 6-3, Saturday night in a Midwest League baseball game played before a season-high crowd of 4,019 at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

 

The win was the Kernels? fourth straight and ninth in their last 10 games. The Kernels (38-23) took a one-game lead over Kane County in the Western Division. The Cougars were beaten by Quad Cities, 4-0, Saturday night at Davenport. The Kernels moved two games in front of third-place Peoria, which lost its third straight one-run game to Clinton, 4-3.

 

Wood?s two-run double highlighted the Kernels? four-run third inning. His opposite-field home run over the right-field wall in the fifth inning pushed the Kernels? lead to 6-0. The home run was Wood?s eighth of the season and second in three nights.

 

Matt Brown and Bobby Wilson also had RBI singles for the Kernels. Brown, who hit three home runs in Friday night?s 12-11 win over the Snappers, has collected 12 of his team-high 47 RBI against Beloit. Ten of Wilson?s 34 RBI have come against the Snappers.

 

Michel Simard (5-3) scattered eight hits and one run over seven innings and picked up the win for the Kernels. It was the fourth time in his last five starts he allowed only one earned run and the eighth time in 12 games that he held an opponent to two runs or less.

 

Wood, Matt Pali and Nick Kimpton had two hits apiece for the Kernels, who were out-hit by Beloit, 12-9.

 

The Kernels, who staged ninth-inning comebacks in beating Beloit the previous two nights, held a 6-1 lead heading into the ninth inning. Carlos Corporan singled and Tim Marks doubled leading off the Beloit ninth, and both runners scored when second baseman Sean Rodriguez misplayed Gilberto Acosta?s grounder. Rodriguez redeemed himself two outs later, making a diving stab of Lou Palmisano?s blooper down the right-field line to end the game.

 

NIBLETS ? The Kernels conclude their four-game series against Beloit on Sunday afternoon at 2. It is McDonalds Baseball Glove Day. The first 1,000 children 12-under will receive a free Louisville Slugger glove.

[MassBrew]

 WEST DIVISION W L PCT GB [b]INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS (MILWAUKEE) 32 28 .533[/b] COLUMBUS CLIPPERS (NEW YORK YANKEES) 32 28 .533 TOLEDO MUD HENS (DETROIT) 33 30 .524 .5 LOUISVILLE BATS (CINCINNATI) 30 32 .484 3.0

 WEST DIVISION W L PCT GB WEST TENN DIAMOND JAXX (CHICAGO CUBS) 35 28 .556 MOBILE BAY BEARS (SAN DIEGO) 35 28 .556 BIRMINGHAM BARONS (CHICAGO WHITE SOX) 32 31 .508 3.0 [b]HUNTSVILLE STARS (MILWAUKEE) 30 33 .476 5.0[/b] MONTGOMERY BISCUITS (TAMPA BAY) 26 36 .419 8.5

 SOUTH DIVISION W L PCT GB LANCASTER JETHAWKS (ARIZONA) 39 23 .629 INLAND EMPIRE 66ERS (SEATTLE) 36 26 .581 3.0 LAKE ELSINORE STORM (SAN DIEGO) 31 31 .500 8.0 RANCHO CUCAMONGA QUAKES (ANAHEIM) 29 33 .468 10.0 [b]HIGH DESERT MAVERICKS (MILWAUKEE) 21 42 .333 18.5[/b]

 WESTERN DIVISION W L PCT GB CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS (ANAHEIM) 38 23 .623 KANE COUNTY COUGARS (OAKLAND) 37 24 .607 1.0 PEORIA CHIEFS (ST.LOUIS) 36 25 .590 2.0 CLINTON LUMBER KINGS (TEXAS) 33 27 .550 4.5 [b]BELOIT SNAPPERS (MILWAUKEE) 32 30 .516 6.5[/b] QUAD CITY RIVER BANDITS (MINNESOTA) 28 30 .483 8.5 WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS (SEATTLE) 26 35 .426 12.0 BURLINGTON BEES (KANSAS CITY) 20 42 .323 18.5

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