Link Report for Games of Saturday, July 5th

[MassBrew]

Saturday's Daily Menu :

 

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

 

INDIANAPOLIS: RHP David Manning at home vs. Louisville (Reds), 6:00 PM

 

Audio link:

www.newstalk1430.com/

 

HUNTSVILE: RHP Pedro Liriano at home vs. Mobile (Padres), 7:05 PM

 

Audio link:

espn1450.com/

 

HIGH DESERT: RHP David Nolasco at Lake Elsinore (Padres), 9:05 PM

 

Audio link:

www.hdmavs.com/listen_live.htm

 

BELOIT: LHP Jeff Housman at home vs. Quad City (Twins), 7:00 PM -- fireworks for the locals tonight

 

Audio link (opponent's):

www.riverbandits.com/live/?args=1

 

HELENA: RHP Judd Richardson at Idaho Falls (Padres), 8:15 PM; while there will be opportunities for Helena opponents' audio this season, very few in the early going -- none for this series

 

ARIZONA: Venezuelan RHP Miguel Garcia, just turned 18 years old, makes his third appearance and second start as the Brewers host one of the two Royals' entries at Maryvale this morning

[MassBrew]

Indianapolis Media Notes for Saturday:

 

TONIGHT: The Indians continue an eight-game homestand with the second game of a four-game set against Louisville. The Indians have lost five in a row for the first time since a six-game skid May 15-22. The Tribe has been outhit 61-43 in those five losses. Over the last six games, Indians pitchers have given up 73 hits (12.2 hpg).

 

The Tribe meets first-place Louisville for the first time since April. The Indians won the first meeting of the season on April 21, but have dropped the next five contests. Last year, the Indians were 7-9 against Dave Miley's Bats. Since 1993, the Indians are 119-86 against Louisville.

 

YESTERDAY: The Indians took a 1-0 lead, but after a one-hour, forty-minute rain delay did not get another hit. Louisville came from behind for a 3-1 win in front of 15,852 fans. Mark Watson earned the win with three shutout innings. He also singled and scored the winning run. Tribe starter Nate Teut allowed just two runs over five innings.

 

ON THE MOUND: Righthander David Manning will make his 18th appearance and 12th start tonight. Manning started the season in the bullpen and was 0-0 with a 3.52 ERA in six games before moving into the rotation on April 23. His first start came against Louisville. He allowed two runs (one earned) in 3.1 innings. Manning went 3-1 with a 1.53 ERA in his first six starts, and 3-2 with a 2.70 ERA in six starts in May as he earned Indians Player of the Month honors. Manning missed two weeks in June due to a sore elbow. He came back on June 25 at Scranton and tossed five innings of shutout baseball. Manning was hit hard in his most recent start, however. He gave up seven runs on nine hits in 3.2 innings against Richmond on Monday. Manning is 1-for-8 at the plate.

 

ALL-STAR SELECTION: Tribe outfielder Mark Smith has been selected to the IL All-Star team. Since seeing his average dip to .295 on June 8, Smith has gone 30-for-89 (.337) in his last 24 games with six doubles and four home runs. Smith was also an IL All-Star with Rochester in 1993 and 1995.

 

PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Outfielder Pete Zoccolillo has been named the Indians Player of the Month for June. Zoccolillo hit .313 with four home runs and a team-high 21 RBI. He also paced the squad with 11 walks and a .545 slugging percentage. He follows OF Mark Smith, who won the award in April, and RHP David Manning, who won the award in May.

 

ON THE LEADER BOARD: Pasqual Coco is tied for third in the IL with eight wins. Keith Luuloa is third in the circuit with a .536 slugging percentage.

 

TOP OF THE ORDER: Bill Hall was moved into the lead-off spot in the lineup June 7 and has gone 26-for-82 (.317) with 17 runs scored, eight doubles, two home runs, eight walks and four stolen bases in 20 games since. Hall has hit safely in 27 of his last 33 games. In that period, he's batting .302 (42-for-139). Hall had back-to-back eight-game hitting streaks in June (June 7-16 and 18-26).

 

HOT AT THE PLATE: Over the last 44 games Jim Rushford is hitting .343 (57-for-166). Steve Scarborough has swung a hot bat lately too. In 31 games since May 30, Scarborough is hitting .304 (34-for-112).

 

HOME CROWD HEROES: Since moving into Victory Field on July 11, 1996, the Indians are 97-74 (.567) when 10,000 or more fans visit the ballpark.

 

UPCOMING PROBABLES:

Sunday vs. Louisville - RHP Seth Etherton (5-5, 4.02) vs. LHP Derek Lee (NR)

Monday vs. Louisville - RHP Scott Randall (6-1, 3.74) vs. LHP Glendon Rusch (1-1, 4.05)

[MassBrew]

Arizona Brewers 8, Arizona Royals - Team One 7

Three wins in a row for the Maryvale kids, although at first glance this one was sloppy; Brewers now 4-7; box score Sunday AM...

 ARI FINAL R H E - - - ARIZ ROYALS1 7 12 0 ARIZONA BREWERS 8 13 4

Here are the Arizona League team batting and pitching numbers not including Saturday's action. I only post this so that you can get a sense of the statistical nature of this league, where the Brewer kids fit in during the early going, and so you can monitor future progress in BB / K ratios, etc.

 

Arizona League Team Batting:

 

 TEAM BATTING AVG AB R H HR BB SO SB CS ROYALS-1 .345 426 114 147 4 43 79 12 6 ATHLETICS .316 405 78 128 11 43 90 4 8 CUBS .297 401 80 119 2 36 74 12 8 RANGERS .296 372 77 110 6 56 85 19 9 ANGELS .295 346 69 102 3 31 81 6 9 ROYALS-2 .295 373 64 110 6 41 91 10 3 MARINERS .288 368 79 106 6 60 81 18 11 BREWERS .279 365 54 102 1 27 88 14 5 GIANTS .276 388 57 107 3 25 80 18 2 

Arizona League Team Pitching:

 TEAM PITCHING W-L ERA H CG SHO SV HR BB SO ROYALS-1 9- 2 4.41 118 0 0 0 5 25 80 RANGERS 6- 5 4.59 112 0 0 2 3 22 66 MARINERS 7- 4 5.10 114 0 0 5 5 46 70 ANGELS 5- 5 5.13 87 0 0 0 3 60 88 GIANTS 7- 4 5.29 114 0 1 6 4 51 104 BREWERS 3- 7 5.42 99 0 0 1 2 36 75 CUBS 5- 6 7.11 126 0 0 2 6 44 90 ATHLETICS 3- 8 7.17 144 0 0 2 7 31 96 ROYALS-2 3- 7 7.74 117 0 0 1 7 47 80

Just one HR thus far for our guys (Ricky Pijuan). Toby or others, how does Maryvale play -- dimensions, conditions, etc.?

 

Maryvale Image:

 

www.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mi...train.jsp?

[PeaveyFury]

Beloit defeats Quad City 7-6 in extra innings.

 

Outstanding game which I had the pleasure of attending. Some notes/highlights:

 

Prince hit a monster 2-run HR early on, and was robbed of extra bases in his first AB. He really hit the ball hard tonight.

 

Gwynn can absolutely rake. He had (IIRC) 3 doubles tonight and made a few great plays in CF.

 

Other than Adam Heether and the afforementioned Gwynn, the Beloit defense was horrific tonight, most notably poor was Crabbe at 2nd. He missed two tags on what would have been CS, made an error, and knocked a two balls down on hotshots only to lose the handle on both and not make a play. Esparragoza threw out a runner, but launched a few throws over the heads of fielders, one of which was saved by a spectacular jumping stab by Prince. Quad City made several great defensive plays to take away 2-3 base hits.

 

Heether flashed the leather 2-3 times at 3rd.

 

An outstanding comeback win- Bibbs with a great BB to tie it up and Crabbe followed with a clutch hit to win in it.

 

The pitchers gave up 6 runs combined, but none of them pitched particularly poorly or anything like that.

 

A great fire works show followed the game, and fans were given free issues of the latest issue of Baseball America on the way into the stadium- very cool. Fans were promised coupons for free ice cream on the way out since the Snappers scored 7 runs.... but they ran out only 1/3 of the way through the exiting crowd. That seems like poor planning to me, but it's not that big of a deal.

 

I believe I saw Michael and Chris (madbad and Blazinwings) pass below our seats when they were on their way out of the stadium before the fireworks, but I didn't get the chance to talk to either. At least I assume it was them since one (Chris, I believe) was wearing a brewerfan.com T-Shirt and old-school Brewer hat. So even if you're unaware of it, someone might actually be watching you http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[MassBrew]

Louisville (Reds) at Indianapolis, postponed, rain

 

Indy Site Re-Scheduling Note:

 

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indianapolis Indians game against the Louisville Bats scheduled for Saturday night has been postponed due to rain. The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader Sunday at 1:00 p.m.

 

The fireworks show scheduled for Saturday has been rescheduled for Friday, July 11 after the 7 p.m. game. The Indians also have a fireworks show scheduled for Friday, August 8. Fans with tickets for Saturday's game can exchange their rain checks for tickets of equal value to either of these games or any other Indians home game in 2003, subject to availability.

 

Righthander David Manning (4-4, 3.88) will start game one for the Indians Sunday. He will be followed by lefthander Derek Lee (NR) in game two.

 

First-place Louisville will counter with righthanders Jose Acevedo (6-2, 3.51) and Seth Etherton (5-5, 4.02).

 

Plenty of good seats remain for Sunday. Gates open at 12:30 and the first 4,000 fans will receive an Indians sports bag.

 

Saturday's postponement marks the ninth time this season that the Indians have been washed out. Only two of the prior postponements have come at home (April 25 and May 28).

[MassBrew]

Mobile (Padres) 6, Huntsville 4

 

Huntsville Site Game Summary:

Pedro Liriano in the accompanying photo...

 

www.huntsvillestars.com/s...newsId=197

 

Huntsville Box Score:

Alejandro Machado walks as a pinch-hitter in his Stars' debut; Pedro Liriano's 5-9 record defies belief with numerous incredibly tough losses like this; this roster simply can't go with just ten pitchers for more than another day or two -- guys like Ryan Miller and Kenny Ray will wear down quickly, like tonight; Chris Barnwell in LF? (with a big error) -- I suppose, with Daryl Clark not starting and David Krynzel apparently suffering the effects of a foul tip at the plate from the night before...

 GAME DATE: 7/05/03 MOBILE 6 AT HUNTSVILLE 4 YTD YTD MOBILE AB R H BI AVG HUNTSVILLE AB R H BI AVG F.Guzman CF 5 0 2 1 .400 R.Knox CF 4 0 0 0 .255 J.Furmaniak SS 5 0 1 0 .286 R.Paz 2B 3 0 0 0 .262 R.Washington 3B 3 0 1 0 .257 J.Hardy SS 4 0 0 0 .305 J.Knott RF 3 2 0 0 .247 C.Hart 3B 4 0 0 0 .290 J.Gautreau 2B 4 2 2 2 .240 R.Gripp 1B 2 2 0 0 .263 D.Bravo 1B 3 1 0 1 .239 N.Varner RF 4 2 3 2 .304 V.Faison LF 4 0 1 0 .212 K.Johnson CAT 3 0 1 1 .174 H.Quintero CAT 3 1 0 0 .296 C.Barnwell LF 4 0 1 0 .249 C.Stewart PIT 2 0 0 0 .143 P.Liriano PIT 1 0 0 0 .048 J.Trujillo PIT 0 0 0 0 .500 A.Machado PH 0 0 0 0 .000 B.Scales PH 1 0 1 2 .259 R.Miller PIT 0 0 0 0 .300 A.Webb PIT 0 0 0 0 .222 D.Clark PH 1 0 0 0 .261 B.Gaal PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 K.Ray PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Benick PH 1 0 0 0 .247 M.Kremblas PH 1 0 0 0 .192 R.Tucker PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 34 6 8 6 TOTALS 31 4 5 3 MOBILE 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 2 0- 6 8 1 HUNTSVILLE 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2- 4 5 2 E--J.Trujillo, K.Johnson, C.Barnwell. DP--MOBILE 1, HUNTSVILLE 1. LOB--MOBILE 7, HUNTSVILLE 7. 2B--F.Guzman (1), J.Gautreau (10), N.Varner (8). HR--J.Gautreau (8), N.Varner (3). SB--J.Knott (3), R.Knox (27), K.Johnson (4). CS--F.Guzman, A.Machado. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA MOBILE C.Stewart (W,8-5) 5.0 1 0 0 2 3 0 3.13 J.Trujillo 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 3.00 A.Webb 1.0 2 2 2 1 1 1 3.53 B.Gaal 1.0 0 0 0 1 2 0 3.16 R.Tucker 1.0 2 2 2 2 2 0 3.80 HUNTSVILLE P.Liriano (L,5-9) 6.0 3 1 0 2 7 0 2.96 R.Miller 1.0 2 3 2 2 2 0 3.21 K.Ray 2.0 3 2 2 2 1 1 3.04 WP--R.Tucker. PB--K.Johnson. SO--F.Guzman, J.Furmaniak 3, R.Washington, J.Knott 2, J.Gautreau, V.Faison 2, R.Knox 2, R.Paz, J.Hardy 2, R.Gripp, K.Johnson 2, M.Kremblas. BB--R.Washington 2, J.Knott 2, D.Bravo, H.Quintero, R.Knox, R.Paz 2, R.Gripp 2, K.Johnson, A.Machado. T--3:19. A--4418

[MassBrew]

Lake Elsinore (Padres) 10, High Desert 2

Enjoying your visit, Reid Nichols?

 

High Desert Line Score:

 CAL FINAL R H E - - - HIGH DESERT 2 7 3 LAKE ELSINORE 10 17 1

[MassBrew]

Thanks for the Beloit update, Peavey!

 

Beloit 7, Quad City (Twins) 6, 11 innings

What a homestand!

 

Beloit Site Game Summary and Player of the Game Info:

Our first look at Tony Gwynn's "mug shot"; oops, gave away the Player of the Game http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

www.snappersbaseball.com/...me_id=1138

 

Beloit Box Score:

Callix Crabbe's defense continues to be a concern; wow, Jeff Housman's dream season on the mound continues -- you wonder if his first pro season with extended innings (now 82.2) will become a factor...

 QUAD CITY AB R H BI AVG BELOIT AB R H BI AVG T.Oeltjen RF 4 1 0 0 .263 K.Bibbs LF 5 2 2 1 .274 K.Kuhaulua 2B 6 1 2 0 .239 C.Crabbe 2B 4 1 2 1 .247 S.Davidson SS 6 1 2 0 .298 T.Gwynn CF 5 1 4 3 .421 D.MATIENZO DH 4 1 2 1 .242 P.Fielder 1B 5 1 1 2 .306 J.Liz PR 0 0 0 0 .189 T.Hinton DH 5 0 0 0 .205 J.Liz DH 1 0 0 0 .189 M.Mendez RF 5 0 3 0 .267 J.Morales CAT 6 1 2 3 .337 A.Heether 3B 3 0 0 0 .231 A.Romero CF 6 1 2 1 .286 J.Eure PH 0 1 0 0 .247 O.Burgos 3B 4 0 1 0 .225 P.Esparragz CAT 5 1 0 0 .253 S.Whitrock LF 4 0 1 1 .263 C.Terni SS 4 0 0 0 .230 J.Huether 1B 5 0 2 0 .158 J.Housman PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 N.Blackburn PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Alliston PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 S.Murray PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Baker PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Olson PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 P.Tautor PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 46 6 14 6 TOTALS 41 7 12 7 QUAD CITY 0 0 1 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 1- 6 14 0 BELOIT 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 2 0 0 2- 7 12 2 E--K.Bibbs, C.Crabbe. DP--QUAD CITY 2, BELOIT 0. LOB--QUAD CITY 13, BELOIT 8. 2B--K.Kuhaulua (12), J.Morales (7), T.Gwynn 3 (3), M.Mendez (6). HR--J.Morales (2), A.Romero (2), P.Fielder (15). SB--T.Oeltjen (16), O.Burgos 2 (3). HBP--T.Oeltjen, D.MATIENZO, A.Heether. SF--S.Whitrock. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA QUAD CITY N.Blackburn 7.0 5 3 3 1 0 1 3.98 S.Murray 1.0 3 2 2 0 0 0 4.58 J.Olson 2.0 2 0 0 1 3 0 0.00 P.Tautor (L,3-1) 0.2 2 2 2 3 0 0 3.05 BELOIT J.Housman 6.0 8 2 1 1 2 1 1.63 J.Alliston 2.0 3 3 3 1 2 0 2.93 J.Baker (W,3-2) 3.0 3 1 1 1 4 1 2.43 HB--N.Blackburn, J.Housman, J.Alliston. WP--S.Murray. SO--T.Oeltjen, K.Kuhaulua 2, J.Morales 2, A.Romero, O.Burgos 2, K.Bibbs, A.Heether, C.Terni. BB--T.Oeltjen, O.Burgos 2, K.Bibbs, C.Crabbe 2, J.Eure, C.Terni. T--3:23. A--2304

[950opsLHcatcher]

That High Desert club is just ridiculous. I like the excuse Nichols used in the paper about a lack of time for planning. Well, geez. It's not like the Mavs and their fans deserve the brunt of the lack of planning blow. I truly feel sorry for these players, as no one should have to go through a season like this. The offense isn't too bad, but it's not designed for the park. On the other hand, the pitching staff is flat out bad, inexcusably so. This may be a result of the prior regime's drafting scheme, but needing to sign half a dozen free agents to fill a A+ club, and then not having those guys suceed is uncalled for from a planning standpoint. It's not like Nichols, et al, weren't watching these kids all spring training. It couldn't have dawned on them at the last moment that, hmm, maybe that pitching staff wasn't going to have a 6.50 ERA, and that, hmm, maybe there is something that should be done about it. If the High Desert fans and front office aren't pissed off, they should be. And Huntsville's 2004 season isn't looking too bright at the moment, either. The High Desert team isn't a burb in an otherwise promising system, it's a travesty. The new regime has done what I think to be a generally good job with the players so far, but they've totally screwed up the High Desert situation, and it's going to be a mark on their record for quite some time, at least in my book.

 

I'm done venting...

[950opsLHcatcher]

On a slightly happier note, how about that Tony Gwynn, Jr.? And people doubted his placement on the Power 50. Heck, send him to High Desert. Tony's hot start is seriously pressing Krynzel's long term role in center field. Gwynn is clearly the better defender, and my guess is is that he's going to catch up to Dave sooner than later. All the sudden, we might have a corner OF prospect. My Twins-loving friends keep making fun of me (or, the Brewers) for drafting sons of famous ballplayers' sons, but heck, if it works... here's to a 2006 lineup including a Gwynn and a Fielder. That should at least draw some fans. And doesn't Tony Jr. look a lot more like Tony Sr. without the mustache?

[MassBrew]

Helena 13, Idaho Falls 3

Rollin', rollin', rollin'....

 

Helena Box Score:

Six Brewer doubles among their 13 base hits; 19-year-old Dominican catcher Alberto Segura really bears watching, and not just because of his one big night here; OF Terry Trofholz proves that a walk (or two) can be terribly productive; RHP Dan McKenna unscored upon in four relief appearances: 3.2 IP, 1 H, 5 BB, 8 K's among those 11 outs; looks like this group of kids is really having some fun...

 YTD YTD HELENA AB R H BI AVG IDAHO FALLS AB R H BI AVG G.Rodriguez 2B 5 2 1 0 .241 J.Cruceta 2B 5 0 0 0 .258 T.Trofholz CF 3 3 0 0 .277 D.Macias CF 5 1 3 0 .250 D.Anderson LF 4 0 1 0 .254 J.Lobaton DH 4 0 0 0 .333 N.Carter LF 1 0 0 0 .353 W.Hogan 3B 5 2 3 0 .400 R.Deevers RF 3 3 2 3 .326 R.Johnson LF 5 0 1 0 .263 J.Barnes 3B 1 0 0 0 .294 Y.Ramirez RF 3 0 1 2 .333 B.Whitney DH 4 1 1 3 .342 B.Kaye 1B 3 0 1 0 .277 V.Rottino 3B 4 2 2 1 .300 T.Martinez CAT 1 0 0 0 .182 V.Rottino RF 1 0 0 0 .300 M.Lauderdale CAT 3 0 1 0 .222 M.Ramirez 1B 3 2 1 2 .407 B.Figueroa SS 2 0 1 0 .167 A.SegurCornr CAT 5 0 4 4 .450 W.Ponce PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 A.Gomez SS 5 0 1 0 .238 H.Pence PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Richardson PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 B.Larson PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 N.Slack PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 R.Klatt PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 M.Stetter PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 D.McKenna PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 R.Stover PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 39 13 13 13 TOTALS 36 3 11 2 HELENA 3 0 4 4 0 2 0 0 0-13 13 1 IDAHO FALLS 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1- 3 11 2 E--A.SegurCornr, M.Lauderdale, B.Figueroa. DP--HELENA 3, IDAHO FALLS 2. LOB--HELENA 6, IDAHO FALLS 11. 2B--R.Deevers (2), B.Whitney (5), V.Rottino (2), M.Ramirez (5), A.SegurCornr (1), A.Gomez (2), W.Hogan 2 (9). SB--G.Rodriguez (5), T.Trofholz (3), Y.Ramirez (4). HBP--M.Ramirez. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA HELENA J.Richardson 4.0 7 1 1 0 0 0 4.91 N.Slack 1.2 2 1 1 2 2 0 3.38 M.Stetter (W,2-1) 1.1 1 0 0 0 3 0 7.11 D.McKenna 1.0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0.00 R.Stover 1.0 1 1 1 1 1 0 9.53 IDAHO FALLS W.Ponce (L,1-3) 3.0 9 11 8 4 1 0 6.16 H.Pence 3.0 2 2 2 2 1 0 6.00 B.Larson 2.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4.50 R.Klatt 1.0 2 0 0 0 1 0 1.69 HB--H.Pence. WP--N.Slack, M.Stetter, R.Stover, W.Ponce. SO--D.Anderson, J.Barnes, M.Ramirez, A.Gomez, J.Cruceta, J.Lobaton 2, W.Hogan, R.Johnson, B.Kaye, M.Lauderdale, B.Figueroa. BB--G.Rodriguez, T.Trofholz 2, R.Deevers, B.Whitney, M.Ramirez, J.Lobaton, Y.Ramirez, B.Kaye, B.Figueroa 2. T--3:07. A--1087

[MassBrew]

High Desert Site Game Summary:

 

LAKE ELSINORE, CA - The High Desert Mavericks dropped their sixth straight game on Saturday night, losing to the Lake Elsinore Storm by a final score of 10-2 at the Diamond in Lake Elsinore.

 

Brad Baker (3-0) was dominant for the second straight game against High Desert. Six days after striking out 12 men in six innings, Baker fanned nine, while allowing one run on three hits in six innings of work. Baker has now allowed one earned run with 21 strikeouts and one walk in 12 innings against the Mavs this week alone.

 

The Storm took the lead against Mavs starter David Nolasco in the first inning on Josh Barfield's RBI single to make it 1-0. Nolasco (2-4) pitched well but gave up two more in the fourth as the Storm went up 3-0.

 

Jason Belcher tripled and scored on a Baker wild pitch to cut the Storm lead to 3-1 in the fifth.

 

The Storm got that run back as Joe Gerber picked up his third hit of the game, driving in Barfield for a 4-1 lead after five innings.

 

Lake Elsinore blew it open scoring five runs in the sixth against Mavs reliever Tommy Marx.

 

High Desert's only other run came in the eighth, when Chris Morris singled and later scored on an error by the Storm defense.

 

Scott Candelaria went 2-4 for the Mavs and was the only player to record a multi-hit game.

 

Lake Elsinore has been dominant this year at home, winning 11 of 13 meetings against the Mavs at the Diamond this year. The Mavs are now just 3-12 in the second half and 28-57 overall this year.

 

High Desert sends Dan Hall (6-7) to the mound on Sunday against the Storm's Jon Huber (2-4) in the final game of the three-game set. Game time from Lake Elsinore is at 6:05 (8:05 Central).

 

High Desert Box Score:

Aren't we past the point of worry that Brad Nelson now has 97 AB's and exactly five extra base hits, and zero HR's? In Cal League ballparks?! Echoing some of Toby's comments, with slap-hitting middle infielders Johnny Raburn and Ralph Santana seeing plenty of time as of late in the corner OF spots, what is Manager Tim Blackwell trying to tell Reid Nichols? Well, at least Jeremy Frost was moved up to help out in that regard a bit. As for OF defense, it seems that Jason Belcher might make some American League team a heck of a DH some day. Heck, couldn't a college catcher like Beloit's John Vanden Berg be providing some much needed pop to the Mavericks' catching situation? We hear LHP Tommy Marx is a nice kid, but how many times can you trot out the former Tiger farmhand castoff before it becomes just ridiculous? If we can see all these things, why can't Brewer management? Oh, and did I mention Brad Nelson's troubles? Oh yeah...there you go, Toby, matched your rant pretty well...

 HIGH DESERT AB R H BI AVG LAKE ELSINORE AB R H BI AVG C.Morris CF 4 1 1 0 .250 M.Nettles LF 4 2 2 0 .231 F.Villanueva 3B 4 0 0 0 .294 R.Vazquez SS 4 1 0 2 .188 B.Nelson 1B 4 0 1 0 .320 J.Barfield 2B 5 2 3 2 .343 S.Candelaria 2B 4 0 2 0 .291 J.Gerber 1B 4 1 3 2 .284 J.Belcher DH 4 1 1 0 .324 B.Johnson RF 5 1 3 3 .375 J.Frost RF 3 0 1 0 .421 J.Hastings DH 5 0 1 0 .247 J.Raburn RF 1 0 0 0 .269 J.Carter CF 4 2 3 1 .305 R.Santana LF 4 0 0 0 .272 N.Trzesniak CAT 3 0 2 0 .277 J.Alvarado CAT 3 0 0 0 .133 M.Richardson PH 1 0 0 0 .237 O.Chavez SS 3 0 1 0 .225 M.Richardson CAT 0 0 0 0 .237 D.Nolasco PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Clements 3B 3 1 0 0 .247 T.Marx PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 B.Baker PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 T.Stavros PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Craker PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 R.Ramsay PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 R.Garvin PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 34 2 7 0 TOTALS 38 10 17 10 HIGH DESERT 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0- 2 7 3 LAKE ELSINORE 1 0 0 2 1 5 1 0 X-10 17 1 E--B.Nelson, J.Frost, J.Alvarado, J.Clements. DP--HIGH DESERT 2, LAKE ELSINORE 0. LOB--HIGH DESERT 5, LAKE ELSINORE 10. 2B--J.Barfield (28), J.Gerber 2 (14), J.Carter (10). 3B--J.Belcher (3). SB--M.Nettles (19). CS--J.Frost, J.Barfield. SF--J.Carter. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA HIGH DESERT D.Nolasco (L,2-4) 5.0 11 4 3 0 3 0 6.34 T.Marx 0.1 4 5 3 2 0 0 24.30 T.Stavros 2.2 2 1 1 3 4 0 5.23 LAKE ELSINORE B.Baker (W,3-0) 6.0 3 1 1 0 9 0 1.29 J.Craker 1.0 2 0 0 0 1 0 4.22 R.Ramsay 1.0 1 1 0 0 0 0 3.27 R.Garvin 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4.32 WP--B.Baker. SO--C.Morris 3, F.Villanueva, B.Nelson 2, S.Candelaria, J.Belcher, R.Santana, J.Alvarado, M.Nettles, R.Vazquez, J.Gerber, J.Carter, M.Richardson, J.Clements 2. BB--M.Nettles, R.Vazquez, J.Gerber, N.Trzesniak, J.Clements. T--3:08. A--4587

[MassBrew]

Arizona Box Score:

Brooks Kieschnick, 2007? Tim Dillard being groomed to fit that bill, as you can see below; we're guessing the name "Media", which has shown up twice now, is Fausto Mejia...

 GAME DATE: 7/05/03 ROYALS-1 7 AT BREWERS 8 YTD YTD ROYALS-1 AB R H BI AVG BREWERS AB R H BI AVG B.Powell 2B 4 1 1 1 .377 D.Bates LF 5 1 2 0 .306 C.Lubanski CF 5 0 1 0 .327 G.Acosta SS 3 1 2 1 .394 M.Aviles SS 4 3 3 0 .352 B.Opdyke CAT 3 1 1 0 .087 A.Batista 3B 5 1 1 1 .382 A.Mannon RF 3 1 1 2 .308 C.McDonald DH 5 0 1 1 .222 F.Plasencia CF 3 2 2 1 .233 M.Maier CAT 5 1 3 2 .400 T.McCormack 3B 4 1 1 0 .333 R.Oriental RF 5 0 0 0 .235 R.Pijuan 1B 4 1 2 2 .290 B.Mc Fall 1B 4 0 1 1 .298 C.Lozada DH 2 0 1 2 .400 K.Springer LF 4 1 1 0 .351 Media PH 1 0 0 0 .000 J.Sherman PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 T.Dillard 2B 4 0 1 0 .250 B.McCleland PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 M.Garcia PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Guzman PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 T.Dillard PIT 0 0 0 0 .250 R.Braun PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 F.Martin PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 41 7 12 6 TOTALS 32 8 13 8 ROYALS-1 2 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 2- 7 12 0 BREWERS 0 1 1 1 0 2 3 0 X- 8 13 4 E--G.Acosta, B.Opdyke, T.Dillard 2. DP--ROYALS-1 1, BREWERS 0. LOB--ROYALS-1 9, BREWERS 6. 2B--B.Powell (5), M.Aviles (4), M.Maier (5), F.Plasencia (2), T.McCormack (3), R.Pijuan (2). 3B--G.Acosta (1), B.Opdyke (1), A.Mannon (1), R.Pijuan (1). SB--B.Powell (5), M.Aviles (2), A.Batista 2 (4), K.Springer (1), G.Acosta (4), F.Plasencia 2 (3). CS--T.Dillard. SF--A.Mannon, C.Lozada. SH--M.Aviles, G.Acosta. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA ROYALS-1 J.Sherman 4.0 7 3 3 1 2 0 3.97 B.McCleland 2.0 3 2 2 0 1 0 4.70 J.Guzman (L,0-1) 1.0 3 3 3 1 0 0 9.53 R.Braun 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 16.20 BREWERS M.Garcia 4.0 6 4 2 1 1 0 12.38 T.Dillard (W,1-1) 3.0 3 1 1 0 2 0 2.89 F.Martin (S,1) 2.0 3 2 0 0 2 0 0.00 WP--M.Garcia. BALKS--M.Garcia. SO--B.Powell, A.Batista, C.McDonald 2, B.Mc Fall, D.Bates, T.McCormack, T.Dillard 2. BB--B.Powell, B.Opdyke, F.Plasencia, C.Lozada. T--3:14.

[MassBrew]

Huntsville Times Weekly Notes Columns:

Several interesting tidbits...

 

www.al.com/stars/huntsvil...228280.xml

 

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

Chock full as always! Rotation news from David -- Mike Jones to pitch next week, so the elbow must be getting better; Mike Adams now a starter...

 

CHICKEN SCHTIK

For the first time since he was in instructional league following his first professional season, Chris Barnwell was playing left field --- not just for a couple of innings as he had then, but the entire game. He hadn't even played left in high school or at Flagler College........ And if that wasn't difficult enough, the wind was blowing briskly out to left tonight...... With a left-hander starting and Dave Krynzel day-to-day after taking a foul ball off his leg Friday, manager Frank Kremblas chose to put Barney in left, rather than 3rd, moving Corey Hart to left, an idea they had tried out once this season. The results were predictable.

 

Fortunately for Barney, I guess, and the fans wanting win #50 on this 83° night, nothing came his way until the 6th inning....... With two out and one on, Jon Knott hit a 3-2 pitch into the wind to Barnwell, carrying him to the track, where he made an unnecessary leap to bring down the ball. I can imagine he took some ribbing in the dugout as he came in.......

 

His inexperience was costly though in the 7th......... With the bases loaded and one out, pinch-hitter Bobby Scales lined a hard hit 1-1 pitch deep to left. A more experienced left fielder like Ryan Knox or Daryl Clark would have had a better chance timing the chase and the catch, but Barnwell, with no prior judgment to serve him, was late going back. The ball sailed over his leap and it hit the wall for a long single. Barney had trouble picking up the ball, for which he was charged his third error in as many games. The extra time allowed Scales to reach second and two runs scored, giving the Bay Bears a 3-1 lead......

 

The Bay Bears capped the scoring one at-bat later, despite a terrific defensive effort by J.J. Hardy........ Freddy Guzman grounded Pedro Liriano's 3-2 pitch up the middle. J.J. ranged over right in front of the bag at second base, scooped the ball on the short hop, he pirouetted and fired a perfect strike to Kade Johnson, who made the tag, but Humberto Quintero kicked or jostled the ball loose from Kade's glove and the ball fell in front of him........ The Bay Bears took a 4-1 lead into the dugout, that might have been preventable.......

 

With Hart in left, you not only have the height advantage, as Corey has not only several inches over Barney, but Corey can stride like an antelope, and you have at least marginally more experience out there. I mean marginally, too, because Corey played out there only once this season on June 22 in an extra-inning game vs. Carolina and handled only a double off the wall in that game.

 

Jake Gautreau provided the insurance in the 8th inning for Mobile, hitting Ken Ray's change-up high and far over the third wall in right field for a 2-run HR.......

 

Mobile's All-Star closer Rusty Tucker came on in the 9th, but Tucker hasn't been as sharp the past two months as he was in April when his ERA was in the neighborhood of 1.30........ The Stars pounced on an angry and frustrated Tucker, who walked leadoff hitter Ryan Gripp and got behind Noochie Varner, before he blooped a 2-1 pitch down the right field line for a double. A wild pitch on the first pitch to Kade Johnson scored Gripp and moved Varner to third......... Kade, who had struck out twice in three trips to the plate, came through in the clutch and delivered a single to left to score the Nooch........ Two outs later, the Stars would have runners on second and third, but Richard Paz, who has struck out only 31 times in 207 at-bats this season (15%), looked at a called strike three on the outside part of the plate to end the game........ Woulda, coulda, shoulda --- if only he had reached out and poked that ball foul........ The Stars are now 1-29 when trailing after 8 innings.

 

A modest crowd, less than half that showed up for Friday's big holiday game, came out to see a traditionally big draw......... At least, he once was........ This was the lowest turnout in Stars history to see "The Chicken". And that may not have as much to do with the Chicken as it does in trying to draw people to a stadium that's nearly 20 years old (second oldest in the league) and outdated.......

 

Joe D. has been passed up by all the architecturally modern, throwback, state-of-the-art minor league baseball parks......... I recently visited the new Class A park in Rome, Ga., and except for the naturally smaller seating capacity, it has so much Joe Davis Stadium doesn't have --- a dressy, landscaped entrance dotted with small trees, old-fashioned lamp posts and benches, skyboxes where patrons can sit outside as well as inside air-conditioned booths, a crisp and clear sound system, and an honest-to-goodness functional scoreboard with mini-style diamond-vision that shows not only player stats, but a picture of the player himself. That's just for openers. The clubhouse has more amenites than Joe Davis Stadium, even after this past year's renovation, which had to be done just to keep it up to minimum standards.........

 

The Chicken is entertaining, yes, but it's the same ol' Chicken Schtick. He did forego the bullpen cart this time, for a segway, the first time I've seen those gyro-propelled gizmos. Surprised how fast they can really go........ There was also a little act with the water balloons in which the usual on-field contest is introduced with two pint-sized fans trying to hit a water balloon thrown by the big clucker, himself........ The Chicken's aim would get worse and worse, as his real target proved to be someone imitating the third base coach, let's be honest about this........ With each underhand toss to the bats of the small fry, the water balloons would get closer and closer to his intended target, until the faux coach got tired of getting wet, and would start chasing the chicken........... The coach lures him to the opposing dugout, where the Bay Bears hit the Chicken the way Sonny Corleone was hit at the toll booth.......... He's still entertaining, but I'll take the Zooperstars...... The skydivers who were supposed to drop down from the sky to land at or near the mound to throw out the first pitch, never made it....... Oh, two of them came out of the plane OK, but they landed on the other side of the outfield fence, beyond the trees.

 

Noochie Varner stood out for the Stars tonight. Nooch hit for 3/4 of the cycle....... He's the first Huntsville Star this season to get that close. No Huntsville Star has ever hit for the cycle in its 18-year history.......

 

Ben Hendrickson (3-1, 2.77) will try to win this series for the Stars Sunday, and for his father, who's in town........ Steve Watkins (3-4, 4.26) gets the start for Mobile. Watkins was poison last year, beating the Stars twice, holding the '02 Stars to just a run in 13 2/3 innings in 4 appearances, but this year, he's given up 10 runs in 10 1/3 innings over two starts.........

 

Alejandro Machado made his Stars debut tonight, pinch-hitting for Pedro Liriano in the 6th inning. Machado went full, then walked. On a pick-off attempt, pitcher J.J. Trujillo lost his grip on the ball, allowing him to take second........

 

Ryan Knox, who is a very good bunter, failed twice to move him over, then struck out swinging. After success after success in dropping down the bunt earlier this season, Ryan is at wit's end.........

 

Machado was assigned Derek Lee's uniform #43, which to me, is sacrilege. It should be retired.........

 

Ken Ray will get more opportunities to close games, according to pitching coach Stan Kyles, because Mike Adams is going to the rotation for the first time in his career. When the All-Star break is over, Pedro Liriano will start on Thursday, followed by Ben Hendrickson, then Adams, Mike Jones, and Luis Martinez.........

 

With Saturday's rainout in Indianapolis, Derek Lee will start the second game of Sunday's double-header against Louisville's Seth Etherton. The General had been scheduled to start Monday night. If you have a computer, you can listen in on www.newstalk1430.com

[MassBrew]

Helena Independent Record Game Story:

 

www.helenair.com/articles...603_02.txt

[MassBrew]

The harsh truth from Adelanto in the Daily Press:

 

Loss leaves Mavs with second-worst record in minors

By MICHAEL ROTHSTEIN/Staff Writer

 

LAKE ELSINORE ? The anti-pennant race is officially on.

 

With High Desert's 10-2 loss to Lake Elsinore at the Diamond, the Mavericks dropped below Round Rock (Texas) to become the second-worst team in full-season minor league baseball.

 

High Desert can now set on a new losing figurehead ? the Augusta (Ga.) GreenJackets of the South Atlantic League.

 

The Boston Red Sox low Class A affiliate lost on Saturday, dropping the GreenJackets to 26-56 ? certainly not Masters material.

 

High Desert sits at a paltry 28-57 after losing its sixth consecutive game to drop to 119th out of a possible 120 full-season teams.

 

The defeat marked the third time High Desert has lost at least six in a row and the fifth time the team went on a five game skid.

 

Saturday, three errors by the Mavericks led to runs for the Storm.

 

In the first, catcher Joel Alvarado committed a throwing error trying to nab Lake Elsinore left fielder Marcus Nettles trying to steal second. The ball bounded into the outfield and Nettles took third. He would later score on a Josh Barfield single.

 

High Desert right fielder Jeremy Frost misplayed a Ben Johnson single in the fourth inning, allowing Johnson to advance from first base to second. He would score on a Josh Carter sacrifice fly.

 

On the sac fly, Frost almost redeemed himself. After making a sliding catch in the outfield on Carter, he quickly got up and fired the ball to catcher Alvarado. The throw narrowly missed catching Johnson at the plate.

 

Frost would later leave the game and be replaced by Johnny Raburn.

 

Down 4-1 in the bottom of the sixth, the Storm crashed down on High Desert, scoring five runs in the inning.

 

Tommy Marx relieved starter David Nolasco and the Storm batted around the order on the left-hander.

 

With the bases loaded, Brad Nelson booted a Javier Vazquez ground ball. The miscue was a rarity ? as Nelson committed one error in the previous 23 games. Josh Barfield came up next and hit an infield single.

 

Although it wouldn't be marked an error, the ball ricocheted off of Marx's left leg and toward Nelson. By the time any Mavericks got to the ball, no play could be made.

 

So it goes for High Desert. With seven earned runs Saturday, the Mavericks' team ERA slowly climbed two-hundredths of a point from 6.43 to 6.45.

 

The worst ERA in California League history is held by Bakersfield ? 6.77 in the 1996 season.

 

This and that

 

Starting pitcher Chris Saenz will miss at least his next start, High Desert pitching coach John Curtis said Saturday. Saenz left Friday's game during the first inning with a pulled right groin. Curtis said no decision has been made on Saenz's replacement in the Mavericks rotation.

[colbyjack]

Thanks for sharing your observations from Beloit Peavey!

 

And doesn't Tony Jr. look a lot more like Tony Sr. without the mustache?

 

And he sounds exactly like him too. I've never seen nor heard a son that looks & sounds so much like their father. Hopefully he's just as good at the plate for just as long!

 

Aren't we past the point of worry that Brad Nelson now has 97 AB's and exactly five extra base hits, and zero HR's? In Cal League ballparks?

 

Brad Nelson needs to get hot. His batting average looks good, and while he could handle to draw a few more walks, the guy really needs to find his power stroke, especially at High Desert. That .371 SLG is looking pretty weak. You have to wonder if his hand/wrist is still giving him a little bit of trouble.

 

As for the rest of the High Desert team, there does have to be some disappointment in the players beyond Nelson, especially in the pitching staff. Look at the 4 guys that were pleasant surprises in Beloit last year: Dan Hall, Dan Kolb, Chris Saenz & Tony Stavros. All 4 of them have seen their ERAs jump dramatically this year: Hall, 2.93 last year to 6.50 this year, Kolb 4.01 to .6.03, Saenz 3.52 to 7.19, Stavros 1.69 to 5.23. I refuse to believe the park affects are that wild. How highly is pitching coach John Curtis thought of? I do have to wonder if there are some mechanical issues with these players, and I'm sure their confidence has been battered.

 

So, while I do believe the Brewers need to do something to address that club, the Mavericks are suffering from some pretty sub-standard performances from their players.

[SoCalBrewfan]

On a slightly happier note, how about that Tony Gwynn, Jr.? And people doubted his placement on the Power 50. Heck, send him to High Desert. Tony's hot start is seriously pressing Krynzel's long term role in center field. Gwynn is clearly the better defender, and my guess is is that he's going to catch up to Dave sooner than later. All the sudden, we might have a corner OF prospect.

 

I think skepticism about Gwynn was and still is legit, based on his college performance. He's off to a nice start, but I'd like to see a couple of months of performance before I get all clancyphile about him. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif As for catching Krynzel...well, Dave is probably ready for AAA, so Gwynn still has some catching up to do. And Gwynn is less than a year younger than Dave...so it remains to be seen who has a brighter future...Krynzel still should be several spots higher on the p50, imo.

 

Why do you say that Gwynn is clearly the better defender? I thought we didn't draft him for his defense? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Member]

I believe I saw Michael and Chris (madbad and Blazinwings) pass below our seats when they were on their way out of the stadium before the fireworks, but I didn't get the chance to talk to either. At least I assume it was them since one (Chris, I believe) was wearing a brewerfan.com T-Shirt and old-school Brewer hat. So even if you're unaware of it, someone might actually be watching you.

 

That was us. We were sitting at the picnic tables along the LF line so that Jessica could flirt with Dennis Sarfte. Because we had a three hour drive that night, we didn't stay for the fireworks, but did watch them from our car.

 

We went to both the Friday and Saturday games, and Gwynn and Fielder really stood out. They seem to have a lot in common at the plate in that they are very patient and they have a good idea of exactly what they want to do at the plate.

 

Gwynn really hits the ball a lot harder than I thought he would. The doubles that he hit on Friday and Saturday were all hard hit balls to ever part of the field. I commented to Michael that we might not get a chance to see Gwynn again when we go back in August. I guess we'll see.

 

Fielder hit the ball hard all weekend and he continues to impress me with his defense. He had three or four plays over the weekend in the field that were really impressive. I am more and more convinced that he's not going to be a liability in the field.

 

All in all, I had a blast this weekend. We'll be back on August 3.