Link Report for Saturday 9/6 - Three Big Road Playoff Games

[MassBrew]

Saturday's Daily Menu :

 

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

 

HUNTSVILLE: RHP Pedro Liriano at Birmingham (White Sox), 1:05 PM; Barons lead the best-of-five, 2-1; the one game that doesn't go up against part of Brewers / Cubs; for yours truly, some afternoon entertainment in the office as this will not be Stars' broadcaster Robert Portnoy's final call of the season! Well, we hope...

 

Audio link:

espn1450.com/

 

BELOIT: RHP Jason Baker at Clinton (Rangers), 7:00 PM, game one in the best-of-three league semi-finals. No Kane County? Sweet. Baker's made six starts in 21 appearances, but the offense might need to carry the load early on in this series. On the road for Game One, but home-field advantage in game three if needed; the bummer here, though -- no web audio, apparently, all series long http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/frown.gif

 

HELENA: LHP Greg Kloosterman at Billings (Reds), 8:00 PM, game one in the best-of-three league semi-finals. Billings struggled mightily in the second half of the season, although the Brewers get the Mustangs' ace tonight, so Kloosterman's a fine choice for Manager Ed Sedar on the road. Home games await to round out the series. Be sure to flip over to this one after the Milwaukee game this evening.

 

Audio link (opponent's):

www.billingsmustangs.com/

[MassBrew]

In Progress: Huntsville 0, Birmingham (White Sox) 0, after three innings

 

Stars still looking for their first baserunner the first time through the lineup, the Barons' lefty Neal Cotts has K'd five of the first nine, only Corey Hart has lifted the ball out of the infield. Cotts, not known for pinpoint control, seems to be up 0-2 on each batter. As we've seen all season, the Stars' lineup can take advantage of mediocre pitching, but is overmatched versus upper echelon AA hurlers.

 

Pedro Liriano has allowed a baserunner in each of the first three innings (two hits, one walk), but thanks to a nice Chris Barnwell double-play pivot and a Kade Johnson gundown of a would-be basestealer, Pedro's faced only one over the minimum. Stars' catchers are 4-for-4 in throwing out runners this series.

 

C'mon, Stars!

 

In-progress update : Huntsville 2, Birmingham 0, after five innings

 

Pedro Liriano pitched around a misplayed Brad Nelson OF attempt-turned double in the 4th.

 

In the top of the 5th, a Nelson fielder's choice grounder and an Alejandro Machado single plated the first runs of the game. Brandon Gemoll (walk) and Noochie Varner (single) scored the runs. The Stars stranded the bases loaded, however, in what could have been a huge inning, as David Krynzel and J.J. Hardy struck out for the final two outs of the inning. David just missed a bases-clearing triple (foul by a foot), and he's K'd in all three AB's thus far -- the way he's going, the top pitchers in the Arizona Fall League could squash whatever remaining confidence he has left from his 2003 season.

 

Pedro Liriano has yet to have a 1-2-3 inning, and is treading dangerously with Birmingham line drives finding Huntsville fielders on at least three occasions to get him out of trouble. In the bottom of the 5th, Liriano walked three and hit a batter (a line drive double play erased one baserunner), yet worked out of trouble. Scary amazing.

 

An interesting note -- other than backup catcher Mike Kremblas, your Huntsville bench consists only of Daryl Clark. Manager Frank Kremblas' decision to go with Machado, a switch-hitter against the lefty Cotts, as the DH, has proven thus far to be a wise choice. Should the Stars reach the finals, the DH won't be in place.

 

The baseball gods are shining on the Stars thus far in this one...

 

In-progress update : Huntsville 2, Birmingham 0, after seven innings

 

"One of the greatest catches you'll ever see!" "Reminiscient of Willie Mays!"

 

That's how Robert Portnoy described RF Noochie Varner's retreating, over-the-shoulder catch with runners on 2nd and 3rd, two outs in the bottom of the seventh. The catch kept Birmingham scoreless, used up another of Huntsville's seeming nine lives, and the Stars sneak closer to victory.

 

Closer Mike Adams was brought in for the sixth inning and has pitched two scoreless thus far, again thanks to Noochie's heroics.

[MassBrew]

STARS WIN, 3-0!

Mike Adams with a four-inning save, and there will be a deciding Game Five at 2:00 PM Sunday in Birmingham! J.J. Hardy with a spectacular diving catch to end things with two Barons on base! Four shutouts in this series thus far...

Defense won this one for the Stars, no doubt.

Kade Johnson doubled in Noochie Varner for an insurance run in the top of the 9th. Folks still buzzing about Noochie's 7th inning catch.

The Barons are bringing back the righthander Pacheco who dominated Game One so (two-hitter) on three days' rest on Sunday. As of "post time", newcomer Greg Bruso (from the Eric Young trade) is still scheduled to make his Stars' post-season debut.

Too bad it's an afternoon affair, going up against the NFL, Cubs/Brewers, family outings, etc. It'd be nice to have archived audio for Sunday night, but I'm sure someone here will fill us in Sunday afternoon, it just won't be me next time around http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/ohwell.gif

Nice to see these kids will be experiencing a deciding game, win or lose...what am I saying, win, of course!

[Al the Thinking Man]

The Barons are bringing back the righthander Pacheco who dominated Game One so (two-hitter) on three days' rest on Sunday.

 

Are you kidding me? If the Crew even thinks of doing anything like this, I'll scream for Nichols' resignation on the spot.

 

It's hard to believe short-sightedness like this exists in today's game, with the bonuses and injuries young pitchers come down with all the time.

[MassBrew]

Huntsville Box Score:

With Mike Adams unavailable Sunday, there's talk of hard-throwing Chris Saenz seeing late-inning action if needed in the series finale...

 HUNTSVILLE AB R H BI BIRMINGHAM AB R H BI C Barnwell 2B 5 0 1 0 D Sandoval 2B 3 0 1 0 D Krynzel CF 4 0 0 0 J Piniella LF 3 0 0 0 J HARDY SS 4 0 1 0 J Reed RF 4 0 1 0 C Hart 3B 4 0 2 0 G Alvarez 1B 4 0 0 0 B Gemoll 1B 3 1 0 0 S Bikowski DH 3 0 0 0 N Varner RF 4 2 2 0 C Maldonado C 2 0 0 0 B Nelson LF 4 0 0 1 T Nicholson 2B 4 0 1 0 K Johnson C 4 0 1 1 G Reyes SS 1 0 0 0 A Machado DH 4 0 2 1 J Hamilton PH 1 0 1 0 J Shaffer 3B 1 0 1 0 C Durham CF 2 0 1 0 S Morales PH 1 0 0 0 TOTALS 36 3 9 3 TOTALS 29 0 6 0 HUNTSVILLE 000 020 001 -- 3 BIRMINGHAM 000 000 000 -- 0 DP--HUNTSVILLE 2. LOB--HUNTSVILLE 7, BIRMINGHAM 9. 2B--J Hamilton, T Nicholson, J Reed, K Johnson, C Hart. SB--G Reyes 1 (1), A Machado 1 (1). CS--C Durham. S--J Piniella. IP H R ER BB SO HR HUNTSVILLE P Liriano (W,1-0) 5 3 0 0 4 4 0 M Adams (S,2) 4 3 0 0 1 2 0 BIRMINGHAM N Cotts (L,0-1) 6 5 2 2 1 10 0 J Bullard 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 M Smith 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 M Wylie 1 3 1 1 0 0 0 HBP--C Maldonado by P Liriano. SO--HUN: D Krynzel 3, K Johnson 2, B Nelson 2, J HARDY 2, C Barnwell. BIR: J Piniella 2, T Nicholson, G Alvarez, C Durham, J Reed. BB--HUN: B Gemoll. BIR: G Reyes, S Bikowski, C Maldonado, D Sandoval, C Durham. T--2:35. A--1,370.

[MassBrew]

In progress: Helena 3, Billings (Reds) 3, after four innings

Frustrated by six Miller Park losses in six games to the Cubs this year? Take your mind off of that and check out the Helena kids in this one -- link above...

[MassBrew]

Huntsville Site Game Summary:

Noochie Varner in the accompanying photo...

 

www.huntsvillestars.com/s...newsId=322

[huntsvillefan]

I find the Barons' decision to start Pacheco in the playoffs on 3 days rest somewhat less dubious than our own treatment of Jason Shelley earlier this year. He started the game, pitched a couple of innings and then there was more than an hours rain delay. We sent him back out to pitch 2 more innings after the delay in a meaningless mid season game.

Can I expect retrospective calls from Al for heads to roll?

Weirdly enough, some players, managers and organizations see the Minor Leagues as something more than glorified batting practice. Perhaps there is a tiny chance that these managers are actually fair judges of their own players recovery rates and abilities?

P.S. I saw that Noochie catch today - it wasn't quite Willie Mays, but it was magnificent and it broke the Barons hearts at a time when they looked set to come back into it. He really does deserve to be a bit higher in the power 50http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[MassBrew]

Clinton (Rangers) 5, Beloit 3

Clinton leads best-of-three, 1-0; series moves to Beloit on Sunday; the Clinton web site is the worst that we see all year -- virtually no coverage but the score for their home game; their local newspaper coverage should have something later Sunday morning -- here's the link, although as of my "post time" here it isn't quite updated yet...

 

www.zwire.com/site/news.c..._ID=463230

 

Beloit Box Score:

Snappers strand ten baserunners, so Prince Fielder's 0-for-5 was a killer; no doubt the infield defense was bad (three errors), as starter Jason Baker did not allow an earned run...

 GAME DATE: 9/06/03 BELOIT 3 AT CLINTON 5 YTD YTD BELOIT AB R H BI AVG CLINTON AB R H BI AVG K.Bibbs LF 4 1 2 0 .400 A.Webster LF 2 0 0 0 .143 C.Crabbe DH 3 0 2 1 .600 C.O'Riordan 2B 4 1 1 1 .313 T.Gwynn CF 4 0 1 1 .500 N.Gold 1B 4 1 2 2 .214 P.Fielder 1B 5 0 0 0 .231 H.Lebron RF 4 0 1 0 .250 R.Weeks 2B 3 1 0 0 .111 L.Grayson RF 0 0 0 0 .000 T.Hinton RF 4 0 1 0 .375 J.Senreiso CF 4 0 2 0 .250 J.Vanden Ber CAT 3 0 1 0 .286 P.Quero DH 4 0 0 0 .167 A.Heether 3B 4 0 1 1 .250 C.Coughlan PR 0 0 0 0 .333 C.Terni SS 3 1 0 0 .364 C.Jaile CAT 3 0 0 0 .143 J.Baker PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 C.Ringe 3B 3 1 0 0 .167 L.Pena PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Gonzalez SS 2 2 1 0 .500 J.Huizinga PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 G.Hogan PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 R.Truselo PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 F.Pezely PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 O.Beltre PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Cedeno PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 33 3 8 3 TOTALS 30 5 7 3 BELOIT 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0- 3 8 3 CLINTON 0 0 0 0 2 0 3 0 X- 5 7 0 E--P.Fielder, R.Weeks, A.Heether. DP--BELOIT 1, CLINTON 1. LOB-- BELOIT 10, CLINTON 8. 2B--C.Crabbe (1), N.Gold (1), J.Senreiso 2 (2). HBP--K.Bibbs, C.Jaile, C.Ringe. SH--C.Crabbe, A.Webster 2. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA BELOIT J.Baker 5.1 5 2 0 2 2 0 0.00 L.Pena (L,0-1) 1.2 2 3 3 1 0 0 16.20 J.Huizinga 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 CLINTON G.Hogan 5.0 5 1 1 2 1 0 1.80 R.Truselo 1.0 0 1 1 1 0 0 4.50 F.Pezely (W,1-0) 1.0 1 0 0 1 0 0 4.91 O.Beltre 1.0 1 1 1 1 0 0 13.50 J.Cedeno (S,1) 1.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 9.00 HB--J.Baker, J.Huizinga, G.Hogan. WP--L.Pena, G.Hogan. SO--T.Gwynn, P.Fielder, C.Terni, A.Webster, N.Gold, J.Senreiso. BB--C.Crabbe, T.Gwynn, R.Weeks, J.Vanden Ber, C.Terni, A.Webster, J.Gonzalez 2. T--2:55. A--830

[MassBrew]

Billings (Reds) 5, Helena 3

Mustangs lead best-of-three series, 1-0; series moves to Helena Sunday; wow, best-of-three series are so tough -- Ogden defeated Provo as well in the South. Provo set a league record for victories this season, so it's up to the two division champions, each by far the class of the league this season, to win four home games combined now...

 

Helena Game Story from the Billings Gazette:

 

www.billingsgazette.com/i...stangs.inc

 

Helena Box Score:

Unfortunately, that late error cost Helena as the early errors did Beloit...

 HELENA AB R H BI AVG BILLINGS AB R H BI AVG G.Rodriguez 2B 4 1 1 0 .250 C.Dickerson CF 4 1 1 0 .250 T.Trofholz CF 4 1 3 0 .750 L.Bolivar 2B 4 0 0 0 .000 D.Anderson LF 4 1 1 0 .250 J.Votto 1B 3 1 1 0 .333 M.Ramirez DH 4 0 1 2 .250 M.Perez CAT 3 0 1 0 .333 B.Whitney 1B 3 0 0 1 .000 P.Gentry PR 0 1 0 0 .000 V.Rottino 3B 4 0 0 0 .000 J.Urgelles CAT 0 0 0 0 .000 R.Deevers RF 4 0 2 0 .500 W.Olmstead LF 4 0 1 3 .250 C.Lozada CAT 3 0 0 0 .000 B.Himes RF 3 1 0 0 .000 A.Septimo SS 4 0 0 0 .000 R.Mosby DH 4 0 1 1 .250 G.Kloosterma PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Ronda PR 0 0 0 0 .000 D.Grybash PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 T.Cairns 3B 4 0 1 1 .250 P.Hendrix PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 W.Hudson SS 3 1 2 0 .667 J.Paduch PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 B.Till PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 D.Shafer PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 34 3 8 3 TOTALS 32 5 8 5 HELENA 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0- 3 8 1 BILLINGS 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 2 X- 5 8 2 E--V.Rottino, L.Bolivar, J.Paduch. DP--HELENA 1, BILLINGS 0. LOB-- HELENA 6, BILLINGS 8. 2B--W.Hudson (1). 3B--W.Olmstead (1). SB-- W.Hudson (1). HBP--M.Perez. SH--C.Lozada. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA HELENA G.Kloosterma 6.0 5 3 3 1 7 0 4.50 D.Grybash (L,0-1) 1.2 3 2 0 3 1 0 0.00 P.Hendrix 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 BILLINGS J.Paduch 7.0 7 3 3 0 4 0 3.86 B.Till (W,1-0) 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 D.Shafer (S,1) 1.0 1 0 0 1 2 0 0.00 HB--G.Kloosterma. SO--G.Rodriguez 2, D.Anderson, V.Rottino, C.Lozada, A.Septimo, C.Dickerson, L.Bolivar, J.Votto, M.Perez, W.Olmstead, R.Mosby, T.Cairns, W.Hudson. BB--B.Whitney, C.Dickerson, J.Votto, B.Himes, W.Hudson. T--2:59. A--3026

[MassBrew]

Huntsville Times Game Story:

"This was the most unbelievable catch since geeky Lyle Lovett married Julia Roberts."

 

www.al.com/stars/huntsvil...633100.xml

 

By the way, Carolina (Marlins) won their series, 3-1, to reach the finals.

[MassBrew]

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

 

NOOCHIE MAYS?

In this very memorable series, this may be the one that stands out. We'll see. I already believe it will stand the test of time, and land on the list of my Top 20 Stars games of all-time....... And it wasn't a game-winning hit or single pitching performance to make it one for the ages, it was two huge, game-saving catches turned by the Stars........ Just as people associate the 1954 World Series sweep of the Indians for Willie Mays' over-the-shoulder catch of Vic Wertz' long drive to center field, Noochie Varner should be remembered the same way in this one.

 

I'm sure some fans were questioning the decision to put 13-game loser Pedro Liriano out there against Neal Cotts today. Cotts was 3-0 in three starts against the Stars this year, holding the offense to a .164 batting average and a ridiculous 0.47 ERA....... But Liriano, even though he was 1-3 against the Barons this year, was the Stars most effective pitcher against Birmingham, holding them to a .229 average and a 1.21 ERA....... Something had to give. After Cotts retired 12 of the first 13 Stars to face him in this ballgame, six on strikeouts, it did.

 

After allowing a three-ball count only once in the game, Cotts walked Brandon Gemoll on a 3-1 pitch to start the 5th. That started the ball rolling........ Varner lined a 2-2 pitch into left for a base hit. Juan Piniella cut the throw off as Gemoll turned on the guns and made it into third. Varner, seeing the high throw draw Tom Nicholson way off the bag, took second, and the Stars had runners on second and third with nobody out, its biggest scoring opportunity of the series....... Brad Nelson then hit a chopper to first base, but Alvarez hesitated and his throw home to get Gemoll was ultimately off-line, and the Stars had a 1-0 lead......... Alejandro Machado was dropped into the nine hole today, which I thought was a good decision for this crucial game, since both he and Dave Krynzel, the Stars' 1-2 hitters in the lineup, were hitless in the series. Machado picked a great time to snap an 0-for-12 playoff slump, delivering a big single to right field, scoring Varner....... Chris Barnwell followed with an infield single up the middle, loading the bases. Only the fact that Reyes was defending the middle of the infield kept another run from scoring........ Krynzel came close to clearing the bases with a bullet over first, going just a foot or two foul, but he and J.J. Hardy struck out to get Cotts off the hook....... The Stars would not have another scoring opportunity until the 9th, when they made the most of Varner's leadoff single up the middle. Varner would score on Kade Johnson's one out double to left-center.

 

Liriano struggled frequently with his control. Nothing unusual there. He went to a lot of three-ball count to hitters and finished his five innings after 86 pitches, 53 for strikes........ The Barons put a pair of runners in scoring position through the first four innings. Danny Sandoval, after a single to right to leadoff the game, was sacrificed to second by the next hitter, but both Jeremy Reed and Gabe Alvarez, who have had a very frustrating time in this series, were retired in order....... In the 4th, Reed did hit a one-out double to left. Nelson, two steps shy of the warning track, misjudged the flight of the ball and watched it go over his head........ Liriano, though, struck out Alvarez on a slider and retired Scott Bikowski on a 2-2 grounder to Machado to end the inning.

 

The Stars had a few other close calls, none as close as in the 5th........ Liriano that inning walked three batters and hit one and wiggled out of it, leaving the bases loaded........ Carlos Maldondo was hit by a pitch, but he was doubled up on a Tom Nicholson liner right at Liriano's face. Pedro just stuck his glove up and retired a bewildered Maldonado. I'm sure Pedro was just as bewildered, because he walked the next three hitters to load the bases........ With this situation, Juan Piniella, 4-for-10 against Liriano, came to the plate, but Liriano saved his best, I guess, for last, for he struck him out on three pitches, the last on a checked swing.

 

Mike Adams took over for the Stars and turned in the best relief performance in a playoff game, I'd say since 1986 when Doug Scherer in Game One of the 1986 Division Playoffs pitched five scoreless of a 13-inning game that the Stars evenually won against Knoxville. But despite getting the four-inning save, the credit for saving this game really belongs to Noochie Varner and J.J. Hardy....... The Barons had runners on 2nd and 3rd after a leadoff walk to Maldonado and a double down the right field line to pinch-hitter Jon Hamilton....... Coming through huge in the clutch, Adams caught Chad Durham looking at a brutal strike three slider for the second out of the 7th inning. Then Danny Sandoval, 2-for-6 vs. Adams during the year, hit a 2-1 pitch deep to right field and carrying. Varner raced to the track and á la Willie Mays, made a spectacular over-the-shoulder catch on the run to end the inning, and perhaps the game as well....... Robert Portnoy, "Voice of the Stars," said "it was one of the greatest catches you'll ever see"........ Varner high fived Krynzel as they ran off the field, a bit of taunting, perhaps, but that's how emotions run.

 

Adams looked like he would have an easy 9th after an easy 1-2-3 8th, after Scott Bikowski flied to center and Carlos Maldonado fouled out, but this final inning was just as tension-packed....... Tom Nicholson legged out a double and Josh Shaffer, making his first playoff appearance, got credit for a single on a ball hit to Corey Hart that he was late making a throw on. That moved Nicholson to third........ Pinch-hitter Steve Morales stood in against Adams and swinging at his first offering, blooped the ball into shallow left. Just when it looked as if it would fall into no-man's land, Hardy laid out for an incredible diving catch to end the game........ Adams notched his 2nd save of the series, joining Steve Phoenix and Brian Mallette as the only pitchers in Stars history to record two or more saves in the post-season.

 

In contrast to the Carolina-Tennessee series, which has been a bit of a slugfest, pitching and defense have been the hallmarks of this playoff showdown between Birmingham and Huntsville, and it's both that have kept the Stars alive to this point. The Stars were holding Birmingham to a .182 average, while the Stars were being held to a .174 mark........ While Dave Krynzel and Alejandro Machado were being held to a combined 0-for-22 in the first three games, Jeremy Reed and Gabe Alvarez, the Barons' two most depended-on hitters, were held to a harmless 1-for-21....... Both teams traded shutouts back-and-forth and outstanding fielding by both sides has kept runners off the basepaths. The catching tandem of Mike Kremblas and Kade Johnson threw out four straight Baron baserunners trying to steal, until Guillermo Reyes was successful in the 5th --- and there were plenty of highlight-reel catches and throwouts.

 

Tomorrow, I plan to be at Hoover Met for Game 5....... It looks like the Barons will go with Enemencio Pacheco on three days rest, instead of Corwin Malone. The Stars will stick with Greg Bruso, although I wouldn't be surprised to see Chris Saenz share some of the pitching duties tomorrow....... The winner of this game will meet the Carolina Mudcats, who haven't gone to the Championship Series since 1995, when they won the SL title against Chattanooga....... Gotta mention this before I go. Pete Zoccolillo made his major league debut for the Milwaukee Brewers Friday night, flying out in a pinch-hit appearance. Saturday night, Zocco went 0-for-4, striking out once. He's the 141st Huntsville Star to make it to the top.