Link Report for Games of Wednesday, June 9th

[Member]

As his website shows, he cares a lot more about money than baseball at this point. Hopefully he can change that.

 

At least we know Weeks will have a career after baseball, since he's coding up his own web site.

[hardytheman]

If Khalid Balloui is in the Power 50 next go around, theres something about him Im missing.

[DHonks]

If Khalid Balloui is in the Power 50 next go around, theres something about him Im missing.

 

He's there solely to make Kade Johnson and Enrique Cruz seem like prospects

[H0FFY]

"No sense in dwelling on an error"

 

Strangely, standing around laughing about it for a few minutes actually IS DWELLING ON IT. But the dwell is sort of a pervese dwell. It tells me those guys are wanting to let everybody know just how much they dont care.

 

I would simply ask the two idiots this: "at what stage will you actually begin to care?; at what stage will you NOT show this disdain for the fans who paid for you?; will it be next month?; will it be in AAA next year?; will it be when you are rookies in Milwaukee?

 

Everybody knows if the gents in question behave like that now, it is just their modus opperandum. So we better get used to it.

 

How many millions did we pay these guys. And they take the money then laugh in our faces. Real class guys, real class.

[MassBrew]

Final: Lancaster (Diamondbacks) 9, High Desert 7

 

High Desert Site Game Summary:

 

JETHAWKS HAND MAVS 11TH LOSS IN A ROW

The High Desert Mavericks fell short in an attempted six run comeback, dropping their 11th straight loss in a 9-7 setback to the Lancaster JetHawks before 1,013 at Mavericks Stadium on Wednesday night.

 

Up 3-0, the Mavericks (20-40) yielded nine unanswered runs in the third and fourth innings, in what proved to be too big of a deficit to overcome. Jamie D?Antona followed a Conor Jackson RBI double and a Carlos Quentin RBI single with a two-run homer to center, putting Lancaster out front. The frustrating aspect of the JetHawks? rally is that all four runs came with two out.

 

Lancaster (37-22), inching closer to a California League first-half title which would give the JetHawks a first-round bye, poured on five more runs in the fourth, chasing Mavs starter Khalid Ballouli from the game. Quentin completed the damage in a nine-batter inning with a mammoth two-run homer just inside the left-field line.

 

The Mavs began their spirited comeback attempt with a two-run homer by Troy Farnsworth, his fourth in a High Desert uniform, to cut the lead to 9-5 in the fourth. A Dan Boyd solo homer and a sacrifice fly by Scott Candelaria chopped the deficit to two in the fifth, but the Mavs were quieted from that point on by the Lancaster bullpen trio of Greg Belson, Justin Wechsler, and Jason Bulger.

 

High Desert got on the board first with three runs in the second, on a solo-homer by Travis Hinton to the deepest part of the ballpark in right-center, followed by a two-run double off the bat of Enrique Cruz.

 

Belson (2-0) picks up the win in relief for Lancaster , while Ballouli (3-7) takes the loss for the Mavericks. Bulger collected his third save of the season by retiring the side in order in the ninth inning.

 

High Desert attemps to snap their season-long 11-game skid Wednesday night at Mavericks Stadium and avert a sweep by Lancaster, when Jesse Harper makes his first appearance in a Mavs uniform, taking on counterpart Jared Doyle (0-1) at 7:05 p.m. (9:05 Central). Good seats still remain and can be purchased at the Mavs ticket office or by calling (760) 246-MAVS, while the game?s broadcast can be heard live on radio at 910-AM and on the internet at www.hdmavs.com.

 

High Desert Box Score:

 GAME DATE: 6/09/04 LNC at HD LANCASTER 9 AT HIGH DESERT 7 YTD YTD LANCASTER AB R H BI AVG HIGH DESERT AB R H BI AVG D.Richar SS 4 1 1 2 .347 K.Bibbs CF 5 0 0 0 .299 N.Brown 2B 4 1 0 0 .299 C.Crabbe 2B 5 0 0 0 .301 C.Jackson LF 4 1 3 2 .346 D.Boyd LF 5 1 2 1 .302 C.Quentin RF 5 2 2 3 .293 T.Hinton 1B 4 2 3 1 .314 J.D'Antona 3B 5 1 2 2 .323 J.Vanden ber CAT 3 1 1 0 .315 D.Tosca DH 3 0 0 0 .265 S.Candelaria RF 2 1 0 1 .246 S.Luellwitz 1B 4 0 2 0 .247 P.Rasmusen DH 3 1 1 0 .222 M.Morgan CAT 4 1 1 0 .256 T.Farnsworth 3B 3 1 1 2 .173 J.Ball CF 3 2 1 0 .282 E.Cruz SS 4 0 1 2 .222 E.Gonzalez PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 K.Ballouli PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 G.Belson PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 D.Nolasco PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Wechsler PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 D.Kolb PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.BULGER PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 36 9 12 9 TOTALS 34 7 9 7 LANCASTER 0 0 4 5 0 0 0 0 0- 9 12 0 HIGH DESERT 0 3 0 2 2 0 0 0 0- 7 9 0 DP--LANCASTER 0, HIGH DESERT 0. LOB--LANCASTER 5, HIGH DESERT 5. 2B--C.Jackson (15), J.Vanden ber (9), E.Cruz (3). 3B--D.Richar (3). HR--C.Quentin (14), J.D'Antona (12), D.Boyd (8), T.Hinton (7), T.Farnsworth (4). CS--D.Tosca. HBP--N.Brown, S.Candelaria. SF-- C.Jackson, S.Candelaria. SH--D.Richar, P.Rasmusen. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA LANCASTER E.Gonzalez 4.1 7 7 7 1 2 3 5.84 G.Belson (W,2-0) 1.2 1 0 0 0 1 0 1.59 J.Wechsler 2.0 1 0 0 1 3 0 1.69 J.BULGER (S,8) 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.86 HIGH DESERT K.Ballouli (L,3-7) 4.0 10 9 9 2 5 2 8.71 D.Nolasco 3.0 2 0 0 0 4 0 7.90 D.Kolb 2.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5.50 HB--E.Gonzalez, K.Ballouli. WP--D.Nolasco. BALKS--K.Ballouli. SO-- N.Brown, C.Quentin 2, J.D'Antona, D.Tosca 2, S.Luellwitz 2, M.Morgan, C.Crabbe 2, D.Boyd, J.Vanden ber, P.Rasmusen, T.Farnsworth, E.Cruz. BB--D.Tosca, J.Ball, J.Vanden ber, T.Farnsworth. T--2:41. A--1013

High Desert Game Log:

 

www.sportsnetwork.com/mer...MEID=17913

[MassBrew]

Folks here said it last winter, and it makes sense. Not sure how a farm system can rank # 1 in all of baseball when one full level (one quarter of your organization above rookie level) is playing .333 or worse baseball.

 

The sad part about High Desert's 2004 performance is that the squad has had much less turnover and upheaval to deal with than Indy or Huntsville.

[MassBrew]

 WEST DIVISION W L PCT GB COLUMBUS CLIPPERS (NEW YORK YANKEES) 31 26 .544 [b]INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS (MILWAUKEE) 30 27 .526 1.0[/b] TOLEDO MUD HENS (DETROIT) 31 29 .517 1.5 LOUISVILLE BATS (CINCINNATI) 29 30 .492 3.0

 WEST DIVISION W L PCT GB WEST TENN DIAMOND JAXX (CHICAGO CUBS) 32 28 .533 MOBILE BAY BEARS (SAN DIEGO) 32 28 .533 [b]HUNTSVILLE STARS (MILWAUKEE) 30 30 .500 2.0[/b] BIRMINGHAM BARONS (CHICAGO WHITE SOX) 30 30 .500 2.0 MONTGOMERY BISCUITS (TAMPA BAY) 26 34 .433 6.0

 SOUTH DIVISION W L PCT GB LANCASTER JETHAWKS (ARIZONA) 37 22 .627 INLAND EMPIRE 66ERS (SEATTLE) 34 25 .576 3.0 LAKE ELSINORE STORM (SAN DIEGO) 31 28 .525 6.0 RANCHO CUCAMONGA QUAKES (ANAHEIM) 28 31 .475 9.0 [b]HIGH DESERT MAVERICKS (MILWAUKEE) 20 40 .333 17.[/b]5

 WESTERN DIVISION W L PCT GB PEORIA CHIEFS (ST.LOUIS) 36 22 .621 KANE COUNTY COUGARS (OAKLAND) 36 22 .621 CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS (ANAHEIM) 35 23 .603 1.0 [b]BELOIT SNAPPERS (MILWAUKEE) 32 27 .542 4.5[/b] CLINTON LUMBER KINGS (TEXAS) 30 27 .526 5.5 QUAD CITY RIVER BANDITS (MINNESOTA) 26 29 .473 8.5 WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS (SEATTLE) 25 33 .431 11.0 BURLINGTON BEES (KANSAS CITY) 18 41 .305 18.5

[MassBrew]

Indians third baseman Luis Figueroa makes the catch on a pop-up in the fourth inning of the Tribe's loss to the Red Barons. -- Matt Kryger / The Indianapolis Star

 

http://www.indystar.com/images/pics2/image-153710-1674.jpg

[tlpc4]

Folks here said it last winter, and it makes sense. Not sure how a farm system can rank # 1 in all of baseball when one full level (one quarter of your organization above rookie level) is playing .333 or worse baseball.

 

According to Jim Callis, the reason the Brewers are rated Number 1 is because in his opinion no other team has a trio of position prospects as good as Hardy, Weeks, and Fielder.

 

So while a bad High Desert team may go along way in explaining why the Brewers are not ranked as high by some other publications that take into account affiliate records, it really means little to BA.

 

When you consider the flameout rate of prospects, I tend to side with BA. Having 3 guys that most people feel are sure major leaguers (with all star upside) is very important.

 

In short, quality is more important than quantity and remember that the number one ranking is relative to the other teams.

 

My belief in this is probably why I don't get to upset by Luis Martinez, Tim Bausher, Jason Belcher, DJ Clark, Paul Stewart, Jeff Deardorff, or Marco Scutaro.

[behind the plate]

?http://www.indystar.com/images/pics2/image-153710-1674.jpg

 

Look the ball into the glove, grasshopper.

 

That's a funny picture. What the hell is he looking at

[igor67]

There have been some incredibly dumb stupid and down right hypocritical things said, but to take Prince and Rickie laughing as the sole evidence for their work ethic is all of those things. And why is that Igor? Because some people like myself find laughter to be very useful in dealing with a variety of stressful situations. And if they ain't caring about how they play how can it possibly be stressful???? Now I admit to being rather extreme in my use of laughter to diffuse tense situations, but everyone does. This is on par with looking at last night's box score and proclaiming that Brady Clark should start in LF because he is clearly superior. Remember some of the most useful words you will ever learn are "I don't Know" which is exactly what most of us know about the situation/motivations in question.

[MassBrew]

Daily Press High Desert Game Story:

 

Mavericks sink deeper

High Desert comes up short in home-run derby

By TIM HARAN/Staff Writer

 

ADELANTO ? The High Desert Mavericks out-homered the Lancaster JetHawks but couldn't overcome a six-run deficit against the South Division's top team.

 

Travis Hinton, Troy Farnsworth and Dan Boyd each hit a home run for the Mavs on Wednesday night, but the trio of round-trippers wasn't enough to halt High Desert's season-high losing streak.

 

The JetHawks, which hit two home runs of their own, topped the Mavs 9-7 in front of 1,013 at Mavericks Stadium.

 

Mavs' starter Khalid Ballouli hasn't won a game since May 20 and struggled again Wednesday against the JetHawks. He allowed nine runs on 10 hits in four innings of work.

 

The Mavs, which have yet to win a game in June, extended their losing streak to 11.

 

"It's tough when you lose that many in a row," said Mavericks pitcher Dan Kolb, who pitched two perfect innings of relief. "You've got to keep going and you can't give up."

 

High Desert jumped to a 3-0 lead in the second inning following a leadoff home run to deep right-center field by first baseman Hinton and a two-run double off the wall by shortstop Enrique Cruz.

 

But the lead evaporated in the top of the third as Lancaster scored four runs, including a two-run homer by third baseman Jamie D'Antona.

 

Conor Jackson started the JetHawks scoring in the third with an RBI double down the left-field line. He later scored after sliding past catcher John Vanden Berg's tag.

 

Lancaster sent nine batters to the plate in the fourth inning, scoring five runs on four hits and extending its lead to 9-3, and ending Ballouli's night on the mound.

 

"(The bullpen) did a real good job and Ballouli did a good job for a couple of innings but he got off track in the third and fourth," High Desert manager Mel Queen said. "He lost his curveball and couldn't throw it for strikes. They kind of figured that out and laid off any curveball he threw because he wasn't throwing it for strikes and just sat on his fastball."

 

Mavs' reliever David Nolasco pitched three innings of two-hit ball as High Desert rallied to narrow the deficit with a two-run homer by Farnsworth in the fourth inning.

 

The Mavs, behind a solo shot by Boyd that slipped just inside the right field foul pole, scored two more in the fifth. And Scott Candelaria just missed hitting one out, sending a rocket off the left field wall for a double. But it wasn't enough to outscore the league's most prolific offense.

 

"They had too big a mountain to climb," Queen said.

 

Lancaster added to its league-leading home run total with D'Antona's homer and a two-run monster shot over the left field wall in the fourth inning by right fielder Carlos Quentin.

 

The Mavs, meanwhile, are leading the California League in home runs allowed with 69. The team is ranked sixth in all of minor league baseball in that category.

 

Hinton went 3-for-4 on the night and Boyd went 2-for-5 to extend his hit streak to six games.

 

High Desert and Lancaster will wrap up their four-game series tonight. The Mavericks will start right-hander Jesse Harper, whom the Milwaukee Brewers claimed this week off waivers. Jared Doyle (0-1, 12.21) is scheduled to get the start for the JetHawks.

 

Tim Haran can be reached at 955-5303 or via e-mail at tim_haran@link.freedom.com

 

Photo by James Quigg/Victor Valley Daily Press Staff Photographer

Mavericks catcher John Vanden Berg holds on to the ball after another JetHawk run scored behind him Wednesday as Lancaster won 9-7.

 

http://www.vvdailypress.com/storypics2/061004_mavs.jpg

[huntsvillefan]

http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/eek.gif I really didn't mean to start all this!

What I described yesterday, was a relatively minor incident and really not worthy of this depth of analysis. Sure it made me mad, but mad within the context of the whole team's lacklustre performance.

Having said that - let me dispell the relieving tension stuff. Igor may use laughter, but I watch both these guys on a regular basis.Let me assure you that when they fail at the plate, there is no laughter. Muttering, head shaking occasional arguing and dug-out abuse -yes. Laughter no!

Of course batting statistics affect them and their esteem personally. Screwing up in the field, especially when an error isn't charged, only affects the team.

What they did yesterday was no big deal, but it was unprofessional and annoying.

And sadly it isn't the sole evidence, its another tiny thing in a string of tiny things. See Tuesday's Link report or the thread on the booster club.

BUT, we are talking about 21 yr old kids. We shouldn't expect perfect behavior. What we should expect is an organization and management, that stops the string of tiny things before they become serious.

I don't think things are even close to being serious yet, but neither do I think that the present management are getting the best out of the string of prospects that presently are at Huntsville. As Lend says elsewhere, there have been a lot of injuries, movement etc. and that certainly doesn't help. But its still a horribly poor team batting performance when you consider who is out there.

I'm no big fan of Frank Kremblas, but he does have a horrible job here. How on earth does he discipline guys who are more important to the organization than he is?

This is all very minor stuff, but it does need sorted before it becomes worse.

My own personal thought is, that having a team with only kids on it doesn't help. (I can hear the groans from a few of you already.) Read the Corey Hart interview on how, having older players at Indy is like having extra coaches. Sure a lot of these older A Ball pros are a waste of space from a prospect point of view. But if they have the right attitude and habits, they can do a lot to instil the same in their younger team mates.

[xisxisxis]

Because some people like myself find laughter to be very useful in dealing with a variety of stressful situations.

 

OK Igor, the last time you dropped a gel on the floor before you could take a picture of the results did you 1) laugh; 2) scream; 3) swear a blue streak; or 4) shrug your shoulders and make another one? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[igor67]

Well I usually swear when dropping gels, I laugh at stupid things like forgetting to add citrate to MD medium and the like. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/happy.gif

[MassBrew]

From huntsvillefan:

 

I walked out on todays game because of something similar. Losing 7-1, Weeks & Fielder messed up a routine pop up foul ball between them. They then stood for a couple of minutes and laughed it up in front of the fans. Apparently messing up a chance for an out is just the funniest thing ever and they don't mind the fans knowing they think that way!

 

Now granted, this is only one fan's version of an account he saw first-hand, but I am very surprised that several of you don't seem to have the least little concern for one incident. It is a total infinitesimal blip in the grand scheme of the likely wonderful careers of these two kids, but to write it off so casually without having it upset you gives me pause.

 

Linkages:

 

www.jsonline.com/sports/b.../68305.asp

 

www.jsonline.com/sports/b.../68687.asp

 

Again, it's nothing...but it is a little something at the same time.

[batman]

I'm irked, but as my mother always told me... if you don't have something nice to see, don't say anything at all. The little grumblings we hear certainly add up, and that's disconcerting. We can only look the other way and pretend we're not listening for so long before public opinion starts to turn.

 

I'm just saying.

 

~Bill