Link Report for Sun. 9/14 - Stars Go For The Trophy

[MassBrew]

Sunday's Daily Menu :

 

While Huntsville friends and family will be tuned in today, it's just a tough time for most of the general Brewerfan readership, most likely. Mainly, the NFL has arrived, and if you're like me, a family man, it's just impossible to say "Honey, let's not enjoy this beautiful early September Sunday outside so I can tie myself to Robert Portnoy's voice for three hours."

 

So, since it's my post, let me just thank the Stars for a fine season regardless of today's outcome, while admitting that, I had better be reading about a Huntsville championship when I check out the board tonight http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif .

 

Please, fans, feel free to update everyone here as the game progresses -- it's the last Link Report of the year -- make it a good one!

 

HUNTSVILLE: RHP Greg Bruso at Carolina (Marlins), 1:00 PM Central Time - pre-game at 12:45 PM; best-of-five tied at two apiece

 

Audio link:

espn1450.com/

[futurefan]

I miss the link report already. thanks for all who have made this a great year.

[colbyjack]

While this may be the last official Link Report for the '03 season, I know that MassBrew is going to keep us entertained with all kinds of information over the long winter, whether it be local stories on our players or updates on the Arizona Fall & Winters Leagues. I want to congratulate & tip my cap to Jim for another fine season covering our minor leaguers. Thanks Jim, your tireless efforts are greatly appreciated!!!

 

I think it's time you used up some of that well-deserved brewerfan.net vacation time http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif .

[squarepusher]

http://www.publicrelations.nu/images/pat.jpg

 

I agree... The Link Reports along with the Power 50 and our draft coverage are three of the most crucial elements of the site... I can honestly say that link reports have created minor league fans who otherwise wouldn't have cared, and that's huge.

[gregmag]

I'm one of those non-instinctive Web users who always forgets to look for the discussion boards . . . . First I discovered the power 50. Then I started following the minor league affiliates through the team stats. Finally I wised up and found the link reports. That was great for three reasons: it increased my knowledge of the system about tenfold, it gave me some competitive teams to root for, and it got me involved in the fan forum. This site is a labor of love, and the link reports are the day-in, day-out highlight. Sincere thanks to one and all.

 

Greg.

[brewersdad]

HUNSVILLE GAME SCORELESS IN THE 5TH

[Katuluu]

Huntsville down 3-1 thru 6 and a half innings.

[Katuluu]

Huntsville down 4-1 thru 8 innings.

[Katuluu]

2 straight 2 out errors by Carolina puts runners on second and third. But Barnwell flies out to end it.

 

Final score Carolina 4, Huntsville 1.

[SenatorShriv]

An interesting ending... but the stars go down.

 

 

Thanks for the great season guys.

[brewmann04]

well it was nice for 3 teams to make the Playoffs.

but it was frustrating watching all 3 get knocked out.

 

especially with our best team losing the last 2 games in the championship series

[colbyjack]

Congrats to the Stars on a very successful season!

 

On the bright side, Jim Powell just gave Jim Goulart, the Link Report & Brewerfan.net a very nice plug. If you didn't catch it, it either happened late in the 3rd or early in the 4th.

[MassBrew]

Huntsville Game Story from SportsTicker:

The one thing the Stars did all year was hit with men in scoring position (around .270, 30 points higher than their overall average, so it was ironic that today's final loss came down to stranding too many baserunners...

 

ZEBULON, North Carolina (Ticker) -- Matt Padgett drove in all four runs to lead the Carolina Mudcats to a 4-1 victory over the Huntsville Stars in the decisive game of the Southern League Championship Series. Padgett, who led Carolina with 76 RBI during the regular season, snapped a scoreless tie with a bases-clearing triple in the bottom of the fifth inning and added an RBI single in the seventh to account for the final margin. Jesus Medrano finished with three singles and a walk in four trips to the plate, scoring twice for the Mudcats, who rallied from a two games to one deficit to take home their first league title since 1995.

 

Trevor Hutchinson (1-0) retired the first nine men he faced and finished with five innings pitched, allowing one run and just three hits to grab the win. Mike Flannery worked a scoreless ninth, recording the final out with two men on base, to earn his second save of the postseason.

 

Corey Hart singled in the only run of the game for Huntsville, which left nine men on base, including three at third. Greg Bruso (1-1) surrendered three runs and six hits in five innings to suffer the loss.

 

Huntsville Box Score:

Pretty ugly post-season batting averages...

 GAME DATE: 9/14/03 HUNTSVILLE 1 AT CAROLINA 4 YTD YTD HUNTSVILLE AB R H BI AVG CAROLINA AB R H BI AVG C.Barnwell 2B 4 1 1 0 .259 J.Medrano 2B 3 2 3 0 .263 D.Krynzel CF 4 0 1 0 .179 C.Ambres CF 2 1 0 0 .231 J.Hardy SS 4 0 0 0 .256 M.Padgett RF 4 0 2 4 .267 C.Hart 3B 3 0 1 1 .171 J.Willingham 3B 4 0 0 0 .387 B.Gemoll 1B 4 0 1 0 .216 C.Aguila LF 4 0 0 0 .216 N.Varner RF 3 0 0 0 .200 C.Ashby 1B 4 0 1 0 .421 B.Nelson LF 4 0 0 0 .114 D.Niles SS 4 0 0 0 .125 K.Johnson CAT 3 0 0 0 .087 R.Jorgensen CAT 3 0 0 0 .261 G.Bruso PIT 2 0 0 0 .000 T.Hutchinson PIT 2 1 2 0 .333 C.Saenz PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 S.Fesh PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 A.Machado PH 1 0 0 0 .176 P.Magness PH 1 0 0 0 .200 M.Adams PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 F.Gracesqui PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 D.Clark PH 1 0 0 0 .000 M.Flannery PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 33 1 4 1 TOTALS 31 4 8 4 HUNTSVILLE 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0- 1 4 0 CAROLINA 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 X- 4 8 2 E--J.Medrano, M.Flannery. DP--HUNTSVILLE 0, CAROLINA 0. LOB--HUNTSVILLE 9, CAROLINA 6. 2B--C.Ashby (2). 3B--M.Padgett (1). CS--J.Medrano. HBP--C.Barnwell. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA HUNTSVILLE G.Bruso (L,1-1) 5.0 6 3 3 2 3 0 3.00 C.Saenz 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 M.Adams 2.0 2 1 1 1 1 0 0.96 CAROLINA T.Hutchinson (W,1-0) 5.0 3 1 1 1 1 0 2.87 S.Fesh 2.0 1 0 0 1 3 0 2.13 F.Gracesqui 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0.00 M.Flannery (S,2) 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.86 HB--T.Hutchinson. WP--S.Fesh. SO--J.Hardy, B.Gemoll 2, G.Bruso, A.Machado, M.Padgett, C.Ashby 2, D.Niles, R.Jorgensen. BB--C.Hart, N.Varner, K.Johnson, J.Medrano, C.Ambres 2. T--2:25. A--1108

[hsvstarsfan]

Not enough thanks can be handed out to Jim Goulart and everyone involved in making brewerfan the successful and highly informative, interesting, and entertaining site that it is. I wish every major league club had a site as good as this. Mass Brew, you are simply terrific.

[MassBrew]

Huntsville Site Game Summary:

We'll have the Huntsville Times coverage when it's available by mid-afternoon...

 

www.huntsvillestars.com/s...newsId=334

[MassBrew]

Well, now we're just getting too mushy here with all the verbal bouquets, but let me say this:

 

David Weiser was doing his Huntsville thing long before Brewerfan came around, but man, are we glad to have him. Whether breaking stories, confirming rumors, providing countless first-hand accounts, or pulling statistical analysis of milestones and oddities out of his hat in a "How did he know that?" matter, what an asset he is. I'm sure in turn he's thrilled that his readership can be increased many times over and his work archived thanks to Brewerfan.

 

It appears that the Milwaukee / Huntsville relationship is strong, and it seems their player development contract will likely be renewed in 2005 for at least two more years, with the only possible point of contention being the condition of Joe Davis Stadium. We know we'll have David for at least one more year -- here's to hoping it's many more!

 

Have a great offseason, David! We know you'll be reading, and you know how to reach us with any updates. Here's David's season-ending report. We'll cut and paste it here, but since it will be online for many weeks, we suggest you view David's site directly here as well:

 

www.starsboxscore.com/

[MassBrew]

Archiving David Weiser's season-ending report via cut-and-paste:

 

THE LAST TOMORROW

I'm sure it was a long ride back home for season-ticket holder and former Stars catcher Jimmy Jones and his family, Coach Funk, who drove down from Milwaukee, the few intrepid ones who drove over 550 miles to Five County Stadium, General Manager Bryan Dingo and Office Manager Earl Grilliot. I'm sure they were disappointed and I was, too....... But as far as I'm concerned this season was a total success.......

 

I told Stars radio voice Robert Portnoy when I met him back in January that this team had the talent to go all the way. Anything less than a Division Title would be disappointing, given Dean Taylor's effort to produce a farm system that would turn the Brewers around in due time.......... Taylor was never given the chance to see his hard work through. It takes time to build a winning team, but I felt going back to 2K, that when Taylor's most acclaimed players ---players like Dave Krynzel, J.J. Hardy, Corey Hart, Ben Hendrickson, and Mike Jones were ready to come here, the Stars would have a Championship-caliber club........

 

2003 was supposed to be the year, with seven of the top 12 players in the Milwaukee organization at our park, and it was. And even though the Stars didn't win the Championship, they came as close as they could. For me, the 2003 team will be no less a success than the 1986 team --- whose .289 average led the league and the virulent run-producing team of 1997........

 

The work of the first wave is done. They'll go on to Indianapolis next year, perhaps managed by Frank Kremblas, who is being interviewed in Milwaukee, and who will probably be rewarded for his success. Next year, or in 2005, the second wave will arrive at Joe Davis Stadium --- Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, Anthony Gwynn, Manny Parra, Dennis Sarfate, Jason Belcher, Tom Wilhelmsen and others........ The Stars have never gone more than two seasons without a playoff appearance since 1985 --- its first season of existence. The legacy of former G.M. Dean Taylor, as well as scouting director Jack Zduriencik, and present Brewer G.M. Doug Melvin will continue next season --- the 20th season for the Huntsville Stars --- when they open at the Joe, April 8, against the Montgomery Biscuits.

 

The Stars had first crack to take the offensive in this game....... In the top of the 5th inning, Brandon Gemoll hit a 2-2 pitch high over Matt Padgett's head in right field and high off the wall. He might have been able to leg out a double, but Padgett played the carom perfectly, so all he got was a loud single........ Two outs later, he was on third........ Kade Johnson was intentionally walked to put runners on the corners. That brought up Greg Bruso....... With such a deep bullpen in a do-or-die game, however, manager Frank Kremblas made the fateful (and dumb) decision to allow Bruso to hit for himself, instead of sending up a left-hander --- either Alejandro Machado or Daryl Clark --- to hit. Apparently his rationale was to save his bench if this game got close........ As a result, Bruso popped out to short to kill the threat.

 

Instead of going with Chris Saenz, who has been effective during the playoffs, and ready, the Mudcats rally against Bruso....... With two out in the bottom of the fifth, Trevor Hutchinson singles through the right side, his 2nd hit of the game........ Jesus Medrano, who wound up hitting .333 in the series, singled up the middle on the first pitch he saw........ The bullpen remained quiet....... Chip Ambres walked on four pitches, then Padgett, with the bases loaded, and ahead 2-and-1 on the count, hit a ball off the 30-foot wall in right over Noochie Varner's head. It cleared the bases and the Mudcats had all they needed in this game to win their first Southern League Championship since 1995.

 

The Stars died hard....... After two quick outs in the bottom of the 9th, the Mudcats almost came apart at the seams, failing to execute two simply plays in the infield....... Johnson hit a ball to Jesus Medrano that should have been the third out, but it went right through his legs into right field. A little too anxious, apparently. He didn't stay down long enough with the glove ...... Pinch-hitting for Mike Adams, Clark chops a ball to Medrano, who tosses to reliever Mike Flannery covering, but the ball gets away and dribbles into the dugout....... Kade crosses home plate, but the umpires refuse to award the run, even though he was already at third before the ball went into the dugout. Frank Kremblas goes over to talk to the crew chief, third base ump Cameron Keller and Keller confers with Scott Kennedy, the plate ump, but it does no good...... It came down to Chris Barnwell, one of only three Huntsville hitters to hit over .200 during the post-season. With a 1-2 count, Barney hit a line drive into left-center field. Chip Ambres chased it down and recorded the final out of the season for the Stars.

 

Huntsville's pitching was outstanding during the post-season. The bullpen, especially. They logged a 1.60 ERA and none of the runs they gave up lost the Stars the game. Huntsville's rotation finished with a 3.36 ERA, decent enough, but not enough to compensate for their timely, but arid performance at the plate........ The Stars hit .178 in the post-season, .161 vs. Carolina....... They played ten straight games without getting more than nine hits in a game, longer than any stretch during the regular season...... Krynzel, who got off on an 0-for-15 start, recovered nicely and hit .292 in the last six games of the post-season.

 

It's been work, but it's been a pleasure for me to keep this web site updated throughout the season........ Nearly 9,000 of you have visited since the season began to see how my team, and maybe yours did during the season, and I thank you all, for it wouldn't be much motivation for me to work hard into the night to work on this site without the appreciation of many you who have told ------ parents and relations of the players, former players, Jim Goulart and the gang at brewerfan.net, my friend Robert Portnoy and the staff of the Huntsville Stars, former voice of the Stars, Steve Kornya, my friends the Boosters, my friends at the stadium, SABR member Jim Sandoval, my cousin Steve and Stevie Jr. in New Jersey, and everyone else I couldn't mention. Thank you, again. I'll be back next year, but for now I'm going to get a break from this........ I'll continue to update this site during the off-season with stats and the latest news on the Huntsville Stars and the Southern League, so check back from time to time. You never know what you'll find here.......... Until then, I leave you with this last treat. My choice of the ten best games of the season. In reverse order. See ya later.

 

10) Jeff Housman's debut. Date: July 20

For the first time since August 5, 2001, two pitchers were brought out to make their Double-A debut with the Stars. Game one belonged to Housman, a lefty sinker-baller jumping up from Beloit. All Housman did was throw 62 pitches, recording 12 groundouts in mowing down Diamond Jaxx hitters. Although he did not record a single strikeout, he didn't have to. He went to a three-ball count only three times in this game to defeat Jackson, 10-0.

 

9) Jason Shelley's debut. Date: July 20

I thought Housman's debut was good, but in game two, right-hander Shelley, a former strikeout ace in the independent Frontier League, struck out 10 while walking no one in dominating the Diamond Jaxx for a double-shutout on the day. Shelley threw 87 pitches in recording a three-hit, 1-0 shutout, only the 2nd complete game of the season, joining Luis Martinez.

 

8) Luis Martinez' complete game over Mobile. Date: June 2

With a pennant push on, the Stars maintained a 3½ game lead over Birmingham, thanks to Luis Martinez, who was dazzling. Luis threw five no-hit innings, then carried a 3-hitter into the 9th against Mobile. An error led to three unearned runs in the final frame, but thanks to a lot of help at the plate, Luis was able to register the Stars' first complete 9-inning game since David Pember's on July 23, 2002.

 

7) Stars rally for 2-1 Series lead over Carolina. Date: Sept. 12

Another night, another comeback as the Stars came within one game of winning the league championship. Down 3-0, Carolina's ace pitcher Donnie Bridges was working on a no-hitter when the walls came crumbling down for him in the 6th inning. A hit batter was followed by doubles by Alejandro Machado, Dave Krynzel, and J.J. Hardy. All of a sudden, the game was tied, 3-3. Mike Kremblas, 1-for-12, opting to stay with the club rather than to attend a family wedding, ripped a pitch to center for the decisive 2-run single that won the game for the Stars.

 

6) Dave Krynzel's game-saving catch. Date: May 2

Now that might cause you to say which one, without knowing the date. Krynzel has drawn comparisons to Jim Edmonds, Johnny Damon, and Tim Salmon for their spectacular diving catches, but this caused Stars GM Bryan Dingo to exclaim that this one "was the best I've ever seen at Joe Davis Stadium." Krinkles preserved a 1-0 victory for Mike Jones, who allowed only three runners on two singles and a walk over seven innings, while fanning eight. Kryznel's sac bunt set up the only run of this game on Corey Hart's grounder, but it was the 9th inning that people remember. With Chris Haas on first and no one out, Steve Smitherman launched a searing drive to right-center. Krynzel, racing deep into the alley, leapt at the wall, reached over it, and robbed Smitherman of the potential game-winning HR. But that wasn't all. Krynzel threw a dart to first base to double-up Haas, who had already rounded second. Out of the many brilliant catches Krynzel made this year, this was the topper.

 

5) Mike Kremblas' 4-hit, 4-RBI day. Date: May 31

Mike Kremblas arrived in Huntsville, April 11, with the burden of replacing popular catcher Brian Moon and fending off charges of nepotism. For this moment, fans forgot all that. On a Saturday night at the Joe, with the Stars trailing Mobile, 4-1 in the bottom of the 7th, Kremblas stepped up to the plate with two out and the bases loaded. Hitting just .145 going into the game, Kremblas hit a fast ball by Alan Webb up the middle for a clutch single driving in two runs to bring the Stars within one. In the 9th, Kremblas came up again with two out and Chris Barnwell representing the tying run on second. Kremblas came up only after Jake Gautreau had booted a double-play grounder that would have ended the game. He seized the opportunity and hit a breaking ball from Mike Bumstead up the middle for another hit, scoring Barnwell and sending the game into extra innings. Finally in the 11th, Brad Baker walked Daryl Clark and Richard Paz to set the stage again for Kremblas. On a 1-1 pitch and the runners going, Kremblas smacked a sharp single to right, scoring Clark with the winning run, a 5-4 victory for the Stars.

 

4) Luis Martinez' first start of the season. Date: April 5

Even though the season had barely got underway, I knew this was going to be one for the book. It took 13 innings and had more twists than a Robert Ludlum novel, but the Stars prevailed over Jacksonville, 2-1. In the 6th with a runner on third and one out, Brennan King hit a sharp bouncer to Corey Hart. Nick Alvarez broke for the plate on contact, but Corey's throw was rifled on target to Joel Alvarado. Alvarado took a ferocious hit, but held onto the ball, preserving the scoreless tie. With the Stars up 1-0 in the 8th, King hit a smash to right-center with Derek Michaelis on first. Dave Krynzel sped into the alley and made a spectacular diving catch to rob King of an extra-base hit to possibly tie the game. Finally in the 13th, with runners on first and second, Corey Hart hit a double play ball to short. Dave Detienne's feed to 2nd baseman Victor Diaz was perfect, but the relay to first was way off line. Ryan Knox had broken for third on contact and he never hesitated going around the base. He slid home ahead of the throw for a 2-1 win. But lost in all this excitement was the plain fact that Luis, who had been very inconsistent during the 2002 season, did what no one at the Joe thought he could do --- he struck out 11 Jacksonville hitters in just 5 innings, falling two short of the club record, while pitching a somewhat messy no-hitter. (He also walked 4, hit two batters, and exited after 84 pitches). Five Stars pitchers combined for 18 strikeouts in that game.

 

3) The catch by Noochie in Game 4. Date: September 6.

I struggled with the decision to put this one at the top of the heap, but in the end, decided not. No rivalry in the league can match the Stars and Barons. Here they were again in the playoffs for the 4th time in their history and they were trading shutouts when they weren't trading barbs and insinuations at each other. Facing one of the most outstanding pitchers in the league, and Birmingham always seems to get more than their share, Neal Cotts struck out 10 in 6 innings, and was trying to hammer nails in Huntsville's coffin, but the Stars would come to life in the 5th, scoring twice, the first run scoring on a moment of hesitation by 1st baseman Gabe Alvarez. Alvarez finally threw home, but too late to get Brandon Gemoll at the plate. Alejandro Machado's RBI single, his first of the playoffs, capped the inning. From there, it was up to the Stars defense. With runners on 2nd and 3rd and two out, Danny Sandoval sent a drive to the warning track in right field. Noochie Varner looked straight back over his head on the dead run and made a catch reminiscent of the one Willie Mays made in the 1954 World Series off the bat of Cleveland's Vic Wertz. About a dozen fans drove from Huntsville to Birmingham to witness it, and I wish I had been one of them. To stamp a proper coda on the game, J.J. Hardy made an incredible diving catch in the grass beyond the infield to end the game.

 

2) Kade Johnson's "walkoff" HR to win Game 2. Date: Sept. 10

Only three other times in history had a Stars hitter come up to the plate and win a playoff game in the 9th with a home run, but only one other time, had it been done at the Joe. That was in 1997. Strangely enough, there were a couple of similarites between Mike Neill's dramatic home run and Kade Johnson's. Both came in extra innings --- Neill's in the 10th and Kade's in the 12th --- and both were the leadoff hitters for the Stars in their respective innings. Kade Johnson came up to the plate a 1-for-16 hitter during the playoffs when he hit Jose Cueto's first pitch, a 1-0 offering, deep to left. If you were there that Wednesday night, you heard the crack and knew it was going to go. And like the Game 4 thriller at the Joe vs. Mobile in 1997, the Stars had to come from behind to win. The Stars were down 4-1 when their speed led to a couple of big 7th inning runs, J.J. Hardy knocking them in on a double inside the first base bag to cut Carolina's lead to 4-3. Still down by a run in the 9th, Dave Krynzel tied the game after reaching third on one of Carolina's six errors on a diving stop by Josh Willingham at first base. Brandon Gemoll had hit a bullet on the ground toward first, but the ball popped out of Willingham's glove and his only choice was to first. Carolina used seven pitchers in a vain effort and Huntsville, after losing Game One, avoided a two-game deficit --- certain death --- in the Championship Series.

 

1) The Stars win the West. Date: Sept. 7

Having fought back twice to tie the Western Division Series, the Stars closed the deal with pitching and defense, the two ingredients that got them there since April. It was tense, as you would expect a Game Five to be, from beginning to end. Wally Backman had brought back Enemencio Pacheco on three days rest. Pacheco, who had chained the Stars in Game One with a complete game 2-hitter, was matched against Greg Bruso, one of the last acquisitions the Stars made during the regular season, hence nearly no one in the league had seen him. Birmingham had though, and maybe that worked to Bruso's advantage, rather than the other way around since the Barons gave him an early exit on Bruso's debut on August 25. The Stars opened the 5th on a one-out single by Dave Krynzel, who had finally broken out of an 0-for-15 slump in the series. J.J. Hardy followed with a double down the right field line to score Krynzel with the game's first run. With two out, Brandon Gemoll brought Hardy home with a single to right. The Stars staved off a few threats. In the 4th, the Barons with two out, put runners on first and second, but got Carlos Maldonaldo to pop out. Then in the 7th, the Barons led off with a single by Gabe Alvarez and a double into the right field corner by Scott Bikowski, the only Barons hitter who had any success during the series against Huntsville. Bikowksi reached third on a ground ball by Hardy, but the potential tying run was stranded by Guillermo Reyes, who popped out harmlessly to Chris Barnwell. The Barons left a runner on third in the 8th inning and the final knock came in the 9th, when with one out and Juan Piniella on first, Maldonado hit a deep fly ball to right field, but Noochie Varner caught the ball in front of the track to position the Stars just one out away from a Western Division Crown.

[MassBrew]

This will complete our thank you's, we believe!

 

Awesome job by Mark McCarter and his co-workers covering the Stars for the Huntsville Times, surpassed only by the High Desert coverage, which included nearly all road games as well.

 

Huntsville Times Game Story:

Quotes, of course..

 

www.al.com/stars/huntsvil...136480.xml

 

Mark McCarter's Season-Ending Column on the Stars:

Love the "J.J. Hardy, the world's oldest 21-year-old" comment; there's a reason you've read McCarter in the Sporting News and other national publications -- he's damn good, and tosses some love to the "non-sexy" Milwaukee affiliation in this piece...

 

www.al.com/sports/huntsvi...136480.xml

[lend d money]

I hope Frank Kremblas and any other available Brewer brass made it clear to the guys on the Stars team that this season was NOT a failure. I had fears when the season began that perhaps our expectations were too high. They certainly COULD have won the championship. But, then again, given injuries and promotions within their pitching ranks, I was happy to see them get past the first round and to the last game of the championship series. I just printed a copy of the Mudcats roster. Their average age is 26.28, assuming it is current(for instance, I had to remove Denny Bautista). I saw it mentioned in another thread where the average age of our infield is 21.5. I would gladly have a bunch of underage kids with upside a game short of the championship as opposed to the Mudcats, who have eleven players at or above 26 years old and probably a limited number with any major league hopes. I think we should be careful to judge our minor league teams on the basis of championships. If the Stars don't promote Martinez, Childers and Lee, the outcome may have been different. If the Snappers don't promote Housman and maybe bring up some of the better newly-drafted pitchers, perhaps they win, as well. However, none of this would have been in the best interest of player development. As fans of minor league teams, that is just a reality we face on an annual basis. A team that looks good today, might not be tomorrow due to promotions. In our cases, the teams continued to thrive. They deserve a ton of credit for that!

[homer]

This is my first season of Brewerfan and I've really enjoyed it - especially the link reports. I read them religiously every morning. I can put myself in the category of someone who didn't know too much about the minor leagues until I came here.