Link Report for Games of Thursday, May 8th

[squarepusher]

Norfolk 7 (Mets), Indianapolis 6 (11 innings)

 

- Dave Burba got hit a bit on the mound, but went 2-2 for 3 RBI.

- Jason Childers induces a game-saving double play with the bases juiced and 1 out in the bottom of the 9th.

- Game ends on an error by Pete Zoccolillo, allowing Esix Snead to score from 3rd. To be fair, Pete Z was put in the game as a pinch-hitter while having the flu.

 

Indy Site Game Summary:

 

The Norfolk Tides scored an unearned run in the bottom of the 11th inning Thursday afternoon to defeat the Indianapolis Indians 7-6. The Indians (12-20) finish the eight-game road trip with four wins, including a split of the four-game set with the Tides.

 

Esix Snead drew a one-out walk from Jason Childers (1-2) in the 11th. Snead got into scoring position by swiping his 11th base of the season. Marco Scutaro drove a single into left sending Snead to third, and Snead continued home with the winning run when Tribe left fielder Pete Zoccolillo bobbled the ball in the field.

 

The Tribe's longest game of the year, both in terms of innings and time (3:24), featured four lead changes and three ties. Both teams loaded the bases with one out in the ninth inning, but couldn't score.

 

After Norfolk took a 3-0 lead in the first, the Tribe roared back with four runs in the second to take their first lead in the contest. Mark Smith led off with a single extending his hitting streak to a team-high 10 games. After Scott Seabol singled and Joe Lawrence walked to load the bases, Steve Scarborough drew a walk to force in the first run.

 

Tribe pitcher Dave Burba delivered a bases-clearing double to give the Indians the lead. Burba, who was making his Indians debut, singled and scored in the fifth as the Indians took a 5-4 lead.

 

Indianapolis rallied to tie the game at 6 with a run in the eighth when Jason Conti drew a one-out walk and came around to score on a two-out single by Seabol.

 

Scutaro, the Indians MVP in 2001, paced the Tides with a 3-for-4 day and three runs scored offensively, and three spectacular plays defensively. The second base led off the first inning with a single and scored Norfolk's first run. He doubled and scored in the second as the Tides tied the score at 4. Scutaro gave Norfolk a 6-5 lead in the seventh when he was hit by a pitch leading off the inning, went to second on a sacrifice, stole third and scored on a single that got past a drawn-in infield.

 

In the field, Scutaro started two double plays including one on which he flipped the ball with his glove to the shortstop covering second in time to get Joe Lawrence who had been running on the pitch. Scutaro also made a diving stop of a ball off the bat of Jason Conti leading off the 10th inning.

 

Both teams had a chance to win the game in the ninth. The Indians got a one-out double by Wilton Veras before back-to-back walks loaded the bases. Keith Luuloa grounded into a force out, and Pedro Feliciano (3-1) struck out Bill Hall to end the inning.

 

In the bottom of the inning, Snead led off with a double and was sacrificed to third by Scutaro before the Indians opted to intentionally walk the next two men to set up a force out at every base. Childers enduced former Indian Lyle Mouton to ground into a double play to end the threat and force extra innings.

 

The Indians open an eight-game homestand against Buffalo Friday at Victory Field. The Bisons (19-11) bring the best record in the International League to Indianapolis.

 

Indianapolis Box Score:

If you're wondering, Marcos Scutaro's hitting .289 for Norfolk -- if he could play SS regularly, he might not be a AAAA player...

 GAME DATE: 5/08/03 INDIANAPOLIS 6 AT NORFOLK 7 (EXTRA INNINGS) YTD YTD INDIANAPOLIS AB R H BI AVG NORFOLK AB R H BI AVG M.Budzinski LF 3 0 0 0 .296 M.Scutaro 2B 4 3 3 0 .289 K.Luuloa PH 1 0 0 0 .238 J.Velandia SS 2 1 2 1 .197 K.Luuloa 2B 0 0 0 0 .238 R.Johnson 3B 3 1 2 2 .270 B.Hall SS 5 0 0 0 .212 L.Mouton RF 5 0 0 1 .258 J.Conti CF 4 1 1 1 .247 J.Toca 1B 1 0 0 0 .235 M.Smith RF 5 1 2 0 .337 J.Toca LF 4 0 1 1 .235 S.Seabol 1B 5 1 2 1 .237 P.Redman LF 1 0 0 0 .236 J.Lawrence CAT 3 1 0 0 .220 P.Redman CF 4 1 1 1 .236 W.Veras 3B 5 0 2 0 .231 J.Pressley 1B 4 0 0 0 .000 S.Scarboroug 2B 2 1 0 1 .098 P.Feliciano PIT 1 0 0 0 .000 S.Scarboroug SS 0 0 0 0 .098 V.Chevalier CAT 5 0 0 0 .128 J.Childers PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Griffiths PIT 2 0 0 0 .000 D.Burba PIT 2 1 2 3 1.000 J.Serrano PIT 1 0 0 0 .000 R.Marquez PIT 1 0 1 0 .500 P.Zamora PIT 0 0 0 0 .333 R.Giron PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 D.Wheeler PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 P.Zoccolillo PH 0 0 0 0 .275 E.Snead CF 1 1 1 0 .215 P.Zoccolillo LF 1 0 0 0 .275 TOTALS 37 6 10 6 TOTALS 38 7 10 6 INDIANAPOLIS 0 4 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0- 6 10 1 NORFOLK 3 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1- 7 10 1 E--P.Zoccolillo, J.Pressley. DP--INDIANAPOLIS 1, NORFOLK 3. LOB-- INDIANAPOLIS 6, NORFOLK 8. 2B--W.Veras (2), D.Burba (1), M.Scutaro (9), E.Snead (3). HR--P.Redman (4). SB--M.Scutaro (3), J.Toca (2), E.Snead (11). CS--J.Conti, S.Seabol. HBP--M.Scutaro. SH--M.Budzinski, S.Scarboroug, M.Scutaro, J.Velandia. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA INDIANAPOLIS D.Burba 5.0 6 4 4 2 2 0 7.20 R.Marquez 2.0 2 2 2 0 1 1 5.40 R.Giron 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 5.40 J.Childers (L,1-2) 2.1 2 1 0 3 1 0 2.51 NORFOLK J.Griffiths 4.0 3 4 4 3 3 0 2.78 J.Serrano 2.2 4 1 1 0 1 0 3.86 P.Zamora 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.95 D.Wheeler 1.1 2 1 1 2 1 0 1.42 P.Feliciano (W,3-1) 2.2 1 0 0 1 3 0 4.02 HB--R.Marquez. SO--M.Budzinski 2, B.Hall 3, S.Seabol, W.Veras, S.Scarboroug, P.Zoccolillo, L.Mouton, J.Toca, P.Redman, J.Pressley, P.Feliciano. BB--J.Conti, J.Lawrence 2, S.Scarboroug 2, P.Zoccolillo, J.Velandia 2, R.Johnson 2, E.Snead. T--3:24. A--7310

[brewmann04]

with his 2 hits and 3 rbi he be an instanst upgrade over oslik

[hardytheman]

is it me or does anyone else feel that sometimes our pitchers are better hitters than our hitters are? at AAA and big leagues.

 

I think there has been a couple of games this year that our pitchers have gotten a couple of hits and the rest of the lineup had only 1 or 2 hits.

 

Not saying this happens all the time, but there has been a few times this year that our regular line-up cant even touch the ball, and our SP gets a couple of hits.

 

Is this from poor technique coaching our farm system has had for the past decade?

[Al the Thinking Man]

Scooter may not be much of a defensive player, but he's played about 300-400 AAA games at SS, so he won't embarass you either.

 

Even at 2B, he should be at least mediocre offensively. It's criminal Scooter's sitting at Norfolk while Rey Sanchez has a 450 OPS, which isn't down that much from his career mark of 650.

[squarepusher]

Game One: Huntsville 5, Chattanooga (Reds) 0

Game Two: Huntsville 6, Chattanooga 2

Each minor league doubleheader game a 7-inning affair...

 

Huntsville Site Doubleheader Summary:

 

www.huntsvillestars.com/n...?newsid=57

 

Huntsville Game One Box Score:

 GAME DATE: 5/08/03 HUNTSVILLE 5 AT CHATTANOOGA 0 DH GAME #1 YTD YTD HUNTSVILLE AB R H BI AVG CHATTANOOGA AB R H BI AVG R.Knox LF 4 1 1 1 .241 W.Caceres CF 3 0 0 0 .000 D.Krynzel CF 2 2 1 1 .272 A.Beattie 2B 3 0 1 0 .280 R.Paz 2B 3 1 0 0 .269 G.Senjem RF 3 0 1 0 .375 C.Hart 3B 3 0 2 2 .308 S.Smitherman LF 3 0 0 0 .280 B.Gemoll 1B 3 0 0 0 .222 C.Haas 1B 3 0 1 0 .250 C.Cosbey RF 3 0 0 0 .257 E.Encrnacion 3B 3 0 0 0 .224 M.Kremblas CAT 2 0 0 0 .152 R.Secrist CAT 3 0 1 0 .225 C.Barnwell SS 3 0 1 0 .192 R.Olmedo SS 2 0 1 0 .250 P.Liriano PIT 1 1 0 0 .000 J.Hall PIT 1 0 0 0 .091 J.Hardy PH 1 0 0 0 .329 P.Darnell PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 M.Parker PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 S.Perez PH 1 0 0 0 .000 D.Therneau PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 25 5 5 4 TOTALS 25 0 5 0 HUNTSVILLE 1 0 1 0 3 0 0- 5 5 0 CHATTANOOGA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0- 0 5 1 E--J.Hall. DP--HUNTSVILLE 0, CHATTANOOGA 1. LOB--HUNTSVILLE 4, CHATTANOOGA 5. 2B--C.Hart (8), C.Haas (7), R.Secrist (3). HR--R.Knox (2). CS--D.Krynzel, R.Olmedo. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA HUNTSVILLE P.Liriano (W,2-3) 5.0 3 0 0 1 4 0 3.06 M.Parker 2.0 2 0 0 0 2 0 3.60 CHATTANOOGA J.Hall (L,1-4) 4.2 4 5 4 4 5 1 3.40 P.Darnell 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.91 D.Therneau 2.0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1.93 WP--J.Hall 3. SO--R.Knox, C.Hart, B.Gemoll, C.Barnwell, P.Liriano, G.Senjem, S.Smitherman, C.Haas, E.Encrnacion, R.Olmedo, S.Perez. BB--D.Krynzel 2, R.Paz, M.Kremblas, P.Liriano, R.Olmedo. T--2:05. A--2695

Huntsville Game Two Box Score:

 GAME DATE: 5/08/03 HUNTSVILLE 6 AT CHATTANOOGA 2 DH GAME #2 YTD YTD HUNTSVILLE AB R H BI AVG CHATTANOOGA AB R H BI AVG R.Knox LF 2 0 0 0 .237 W.Caceres SS 3 0 1 1 .188 C.Cosbey LF 2 1 0 0 .244 S.Perez 3B 4 0 0 0 .000 D.Krynzel CF 4 1 1 1 .290 D.Stenson 1B 3 0 0 0 .238 R.Paz 2B 3 0 1 1 .275 S.Smitherman LF 3 0 2 0 .278 C.Hart 3B 3 0 0 0 .300 A.Beattie RF 3 0 0 0 .265 R.Gripp 1B 3 1 1 0 .185 C.Gubanich CAT 2 0 1 0 .243 C.Guerrero RF 4 0 1 0 .195 A.Diaz CF 3 2 1 0 .246 J.Alvarado CAT 4 1 0 0 .162 R.Olmedo 2B 3 0 3 0 .295 C.Barnwell SS 2 1 2 1 .241 R.Mottl PIT 0 0 0 0 .333 D.Lee PIT 2 0 0 0 .250 E.Encrnacion PH 1 0 0 0 .225 B.Gemoll PH 1 1 1 1 .265 S.Dunn PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 R.Miller PIT 1 0 1 0 .400 D.Gil PIT 0 0 0 0 .200 G.Senjem PH 0 0 0 0 .347 TOTALS 31 6 8 4 TOTALS 25 2 8 1 HUNTSVILLE 0 0 0 0 0 6 0- 6 8 0 CHATTANOOGA 0 0 0 0 1 0 1- 2 8 2 E--W.Caceres, S.Perez. DP--HUNTSVILLE 0, CHATTANOOGA 0. LOB--HUNTSVILLE 11, CHATTANOOGA 6. 2B--C.Guerrero (6), B.Gemoll (8), C.Gubanich (5), R.Olmedo (8). SB--D.Krynzel (10). CS--S.Perez, R.Olmedo. SH--R.Mottl. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA HUNTSVILLE D.Lee (W,4-0) 5.0 5 1 1 2 4 0 2.33 R.Miller 2.0 3 1 1 1 3 0 2.08 CHATTANOOGA R.Mottl 5.0 3 0 0 4 5 0 2.73 S.Dunn (L,1-2) 0.1 3 6 3 3 1 0 4.96 D.Gil 1.2 2 0 0 0 2 0 2.66 WP--D.Lee, S.Dunn. SO--C.Cosbey, D.Krynzel 2, C.Hart, R.Gripp, C.Guerrero 2, D.Lee, S.Perez, D.Stenson, S.Smitherman, A.Beattie 2, C.Gubanich, A.Diaz. BB--C.Cosbey, D.Krynzel, R.Paz, C.Hart, R.Gripp, C.Barnwell 2, W.Caceres, C.Gubanich, G.Senjem. T--2:36.

[squarepusher]

West Michigan (Tigers) 5, Beloit 0

 

Game Summary from the West Michigan Site:

 

COMSTOCK PARK, MI - Jon Connolly was able to contain Prince Fielder and the Beloit Snappers Thursday night to get his team back to the .500 mark and give the West Michigan Whitecaps their first shutout victory of the season 5-0.

 

Connolly (5-0) became the second pitcher in the Midwest League to win five games and the first 'Caps pitcher to win his first five decisions since Calvin Chipperfield in 2000. The 19-year-old lefthander pitched seven shutout innings giving up just three hits and striking out eight batters.

 

The offense got rolling in the bottom of the second for the 'Caps when Victor Mendez lined a double for his team-leading 24th RBI. Wilton Reynolds just missed his fourth home run in the bottom of the fifth bouncing it off the left-centerfield wall for his fourth triple of the year and scoring the second run of the inning.

 

The 'Caps would get two more runs in the sixth inning and that would be all they needed as the 'Caps bullpen was able to hold the Snappers in the eighth and ninth inning. After losing the first two games of the series, the 'Caps were able to earn a split in the four-game series with Thursday evening's victory.

 

Beloit Box Score:

RHP Luis Pena walks six in four innings, kind of the opposite of his initial outing when he was hit hard with good control; OF Mario Mendez pitches for the second time this season...

 YTD YTD BELOIT AB R H BI AVG WEST MICHIGAN AB R H BI AVG C.Crabbe 2B 3 0 1 0 .234 J.Francia 2B 2 0 0 0 .265 C.Terni SS 3 0 1 0 .221 J.Gonzalez SS 4 1 1 1 .261 S.Moss CF 4 0 1 0 .262 S.Moore 3B 2 0 0 0 .255 S.Moss RF 0 0 0 0 .262 W.Reynolds LF 3 0 2 1 .331 P.Fielder 1B 4 0 0 0 .342 J.Roughton 1B 3 1 0 0 .271 J.Eure 3B 4 0 2 0 .216 B.Clevlen RF 4 1 1 0 .245 M.Mendez PIT 1 0 0 0 .253 V.Mendez CF 3 1 1 1 .217 M.Mendez RF 3 0 0 0 .253 M.Rabelo CAT 2 0 0 0 .293 J.VandenBrg DH 3 0 0 0 .242 D.Heath DH 2 1 1 1 .231 K.Bibbs CF 0 0 0 0 .255 J.Connolly PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 P.Esparragz CAT 3 0 0 0 .232 J.Gerk PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 N.Carter LF 3 0 1 0 .133 R.Koenig PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 L.Pena PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Gabriel PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 31 0 6 0 TOTALS 25 5 6 4 BELOIT 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0- 0 6 0 WEST MICHIGAN 0 1 0 0 2 2 0 0 X- 5 6 1 E--S.Moore. DP--BELOIT 1, WEST MICHIGAN 2. LOB--BELOIT 8, WEST MICHIGAN 6. 2B--C.Crabbe (9), N.Carter (1), V.Mendez (6). 3B--W.Reynolds (4). SB--D.Heath (2). CS--S.Moore. SF--D.Heath. SH--C.Terni, J.Francia, M.Rabelo. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA BELOIT L.Pena (L,0-1) 4.0 1 1 1 6 3 0 4.70 J.Gabriel 3.0 5 4 4 1 2 0 6.48 M.Mendez 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18.00 WEST MICHIGAN J.Connolly (W,5-0) 7.0 3 0 0 2 8 0 0.96 J.Gerk 1.0 2 0 0 0 1 0 2.33 R.Koenig 1.0 1 0 0 1 1 0 9.45 WP--J.Gabriel. SO--C.Crabbe, C.Terni, S.Moss, P.Fielder, J.Eure, M.Mendez, J.VandenBrg, P.Esparragz 2, N.Carter, J.Francia 2, J.Gonzalez, S.Moore, M.Rabelo. BB--C.Crabbe, K.Bibbs, P.Esparragz, J.Francia, S.Moore 2, W.Reynolds, J.Roughton, V.Mendez, M.Rabelo. T--2:21. A--3018

[DHonks]

Nice to see Krynzel wil 3 hits, a steal, and 3 walks. Unfortunately also a CS and 2 K's. Still that seems like a lot of walks lately.

 

DHonks -- thanks for box score links -- MB

[BrewCrewKid]

Also nice to see Hardy get an AB

[MassBrew]

Inland Empire (Mariners) 5, High Desert 2

 

High Desert Site Game Summary:

 

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- The High Desert Mavericks saw their season-best, three-game winning streak come to an end on Thursday night, as the Inland Empire 66ers salvaged the final game of the three-game set, winning by a score of 5-2 at Arrowhead Credit Union Park.

 

Dan Hall gave up two runs in the first and two in the sixth as he failed to become the California League's first five-game winner this season. Hall put forth six good innings, but received little offensive help, as the Mavs were held to a season-worst three hits on the night.

 

The 66ers took the early lead, scoring a pair of first inning runs, as John Castellano and Rich Pohle had run-scoring hits for a 2-0 lead.

 

The Mavs were subdued in the early going, as 66ers starting pitcher Ryan Ketchner (4-1) retired the first 13 batters, throwing a perfect 4.1 innings. The Mavs first base runner didn't come until a one-out single off the bat of Jason Belcher in the fifth.

 

The Mavs finally got their first run of the night, when Todd West doubled with one out in the sixth inning. After moving to third on a wild pitch by Ketchner, West scored on a ground ball to third by Johnny Raburn.

 

The 66ers would take a 4-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth, as Hall surrendered two more runs. Shin Soo Choo walked to lead off the inning, then scored on a Castellano single to make it 3-1. After Pohle was hit by a pitch, and Hunter Brown singled, Castellano scored on a sacrifice fly from Evel Bastida.

 

They added one more, getting a run off of Kenny Ray in the eighth, as Castellano doubled and scored on Brown's sacrifice fly.

 

The Mavs made things interesting in the ninth, as Raburn and Chris Morris walked to lead off the inning. After Daryl Clark lined out to left, Kade Johnson knocked in Raburn to pull to within three runs at 5-2. After reliever Russ Morgan was lifted in favor of closer Mike Steele with the tying run at the plate, Jason Belcher grounded into a game-ending double play. Steele earned his eighth save of the year by mopping up.

 

Johnson's RBI gives him 30, tying him with Clark for the team lead.

 

The Mavs return home on Friday to face Stockton. LHP Brian Mazone (0-2) takes on Jason Andrew of the Ports at 7:05 (9:05 Central).

 

High Desert Box Score:

 YTD YTD HIGH DESERT AB R H BI AVG INLAND EMPIRE AB R H BI AVG J.Raburn 2B 3 1 0 1 .309 S.Fulse CF 4 0 1 0 .260 C.Morris CF 3 0 0 0 .236 I.Castro SS 4 0 1 0 .235 D.Clark LF 3 0 0 0 .354 S.Choo LF 3 2 0 0 .238 K.Johnson CAT 4 0 1 1 .318 J.Castellano 1B 3 3 3 2 .319 J.Belcher RF 4 0 1 0 .312 R.Pohle DH 3 0 2 1 .321 M.Ernster 3B 3 0 0 0 .354 H.Brown 3B 3 0 1 1 .310 S.Candelaria 1B 3 0 0 0 .275 E.BstdaMrtnz 2B 3 0 0 1 .167 D.Boyd DH 3 0 0 0 .270 J.Williamson RF 4 0 0 0 .184 T.West SS 3 1 1 0 .258 C.Collins CAT 3 0 2 0 .176 D.Hall PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 R.Ketchner PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 K.Ray PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 E.Fruto PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 R.Morgan PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 M.Steele PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 29 2 3 2 TOTALS 30 5 10 5 HIGH DESERT 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1- 2 3 2 INLAND EMPIRE 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 X- 5 10 1 E--K.Johnson, K.Ray, H.Brown. DP--HIGH DESERT 2, INLAND EMPIRE 2. LOB--HIGH DESERT 3, INLAND EMPIRE 6. 2B--T.West (4), J.Castellano (3), R.Pohle (8). SB--S.Fulse (8), S.Choo 2 (7). CS--J.Castellano. HBP-- R.Pohle. SF--H.Brown, E.BstdaMrtnz. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA HIGH DESERT D.Hall (L,4-2) 6.0 7 4 4 2 2 0 4.85 K.Ray 2.0 3 1 1 0 1 0 10.13 INLAND EMPIRE R.Ketchner (W,4-1) 6.1 2 1 1 1 5 0 2.97 E.Fruto 1.2 0 0 0 0 2 0 3.91 R.Morgan 0.1 1 1 1 2 0 0 9.72 M.Steele (S,8) 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.15 HB--D.Hall. WP--R.Ketchner. SO--C.Morris, D.Clark 2, K.Johnson 2, M.Ernster, S.Candelaria, I.Castro, S.Choo, J.Williamson. BB--J.Raburn, C.Morris, D.Clark, S.Choo, J.Castellano. T--2:25. A--1581

[MassBrew]

Nice to see Krynzel wil 3 hits, a steal, and 3 walks. Unfortunately also a CS and 2 K's. Still that seems like a lot of walks lately.

 

.290 in the Southern League is very nice, and David's 2003 OBP sneaks over the always-desired .360 mark at .364. Strikeouts are down -- nice.

 

But 10 steals in 17 attempts against AA catchers leaves much to be desired. And only five extra-base hits (no HR's) among his first 31 hits doesn't invoke Steve Finley comparisons, which we've read in the past.

 

Ryan Knox has some nice tools, but it'd be interesting to find out why Knox has hit leadoff and Krynzel second all season. Does that somehow put less pressure on David, or force him to concentrate on other skills? Does Sanchez' future presence in Milwaukee influence that decision? Not sure...

 

We keep waiting for Krynzel to "wow us". He certainly isn't failing, and in fact, continues to improve in several key areas. I guess we're just looking for across-the-board improvements, and for that, we apparently need a bit more patience.

 

David Krynzel YTD numbers:

 

www.baseballamerica.com/c...er=krynzel

[MassBrew]

Daily Menu for Friday -- finally, a little bit of home cooking!

 

All listed times Central; pitchers subject to change; pre-game audio available approx. 15 minutes prior to game times listed here; no audio available for Beloit...

 

INDIANAPOLIS: RHP Pascual Coco at home vs. Buffalo (Indians), 7:00 PM

 

HUNTSVILLE: RHP Ben Diggins at Chattanooga (Reds), 6:15 PM, the final match-up in an eight-game home-and-home series

 

HIGH DESERT: LHP Brian Mazone at home vs. Stockton (now a Rangers' affiliate), 9:05 PM

 

BELOIT: LHP Jeff Housman looks to continue his stellar start to the season at South Bend (Diamondbacks), 6:30 PM

 

Friends and family of the Snappers:

These are the Midwest League teams which offer free online audio of their broadcasts...

 

Battle Creek Yankees

Burlington Bees

Cedar Rapids Kernels

Fort Wayne Wizards

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

Kane County Cougars

Quad City River Bandits

[igor67]

Well atleast Krynzel is doing better than Chad Green http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/happy.gif . I think David is going to spend the rest of the year at AA, and all of next year at AAA. He probably stands to benefit the most from having Melvin as GM instead of Dean. He got rushed at the beginning of his career and has been struggling to catch up ever since in my opinion. It was the catastrophic advancement that hit Hall, but I think it was close. Keeping in mind even with taking two more years he has made steady progress through the system. And it's possible that things could start clicking for him really well sometime this season and he could move things up a half season, but to this point Krynzel has needed time to make adjustments and refine his game at every level. No need to promote him and make him look like the second coming of Sanchez.

 

On the flip side if Hardy gets back to form in a week or so, it's hard to argue he's anything but ready for the show.

[MassBrew]

David Weiser's Huntsville Analysis:

 

Just when manager Frank Kremblas has everything going his way, in comes this pleasant dilemma........ J.J. Hardy made his first plate appearance since April 24. Perhaps a bit overanxious to swing that bat, he hit a sharp one-hopper to Ray Olmedo for a double play....... But as Hardy gets ready to retake his spot in the lineup, his understudy, Chris Barnwell, has turned into the Stars' hottest hitter in May........ Barnwell is hitting .375 this month --- 6-for-15 in his last 4 games and 8-for-17 in his last 5. That's with a pair of HRs and 5 RBIs. Coming into the month with a .190 average, it has jumped 50 points in a little over a week....... Will Kremblas go back to platooning Barnwell with .275-hitting Richard Paz, who's played excellent defense and has been a superb on-base threat?......... It'll be interesting to see how Kremblas handles this......... Barny, tonight, had two hits, including a squeeze bunt that died in the grass in front of home plate, the first successfully executed by the Stars this year, for a hit that scored Ryan Gripp with the tying run in the 2nd game....... Brandon Gemoll followed with a rip down the right field line for a double, scoring Joel Alvarado, putting the Stars ahead, 2-1........ With the bases full, Dave Krynzel hit a one-out single through the right side to give the Stars the run they needed to sweep the Lookouts, 5-0 and 6-2......... It was the first double-header sweep of the Lookouts since 1989.

 

Pedro Liriano, who pitching coach Stan Kyles described as "his smartest pitcher", dominated game one and has been nearly invincible over his last three starts, two of which he's won......... Liriano has given up just 2 earned runs in 17 1/3 innings for a 1.04 ERA in those three starts. That lowers his season ERA to 2.82....... The Stars gave him a 5-0 lead to work with, as Corey Hart, on the heels of a 7 RBI night, doubled and singled to drive in two runs, giving him 9 for the series........ Ryan Knox led off the game with his first home run since April 4, when he hit the first home run of the season for the Stars vs. Jacksonville's Eric Stutts.

 

The Stars are on the march toward a first half title, and at this point, are doing all the things first place teams do to win titles........ They can score with two out, they can take advantage of the other team's mistakes, they can count on their pitching and their bullpen, as well, and they're starting to minimize their mistakes.......... In the first ten games of the season, the Stars committed 22 errors........ In the Stars last 10 games, they have committed just 8.

 

They're able to win also because they're loaded with prospects, not suspects........ Dave Krynzel is hitting a healthy .290 and measuring his progress to the same stage last year with the Stars, we find Dave has cut down on his strikeouts (22 last year in 106 AB. 16 in 107 this year) and been more patient at the plate. He had all of 4 walks for the Stars last year, but so far, he has 13 in roughly the same number of plate appearances......... All the while, he is learning to slap more balls through the hole and use his speed more often, I've seen, to get more infield hits........ A solid lineup, a solid bench, a lot of solid reasons why the Stars will win the first half.

 

The Stars are now 9-3 in their last 12 games and 6-2 in their last 8....... Ben Diggins (2-2, 2.27, 7th among SL ERA leaders) will close out this series before they return home on Saturday to take their first look at the Tennessee Smokies........ The Smokies will be a tough opponent. They are the 2nd best hitting team in the SL (.282) and have the 2nd best ERA (2.87), led by Danny Haren (5-0, 0.94)........ Offensively, they are led by Caonabo Cosme, a former Oakland prospect, hitting .381, and it will be interesting to see the reaction to former favorite Bucky Jacobsen, who is tied for the Southern League lead in home runs (8) with Greenville's Adam LaRoche. Bucky is also hitting .314......... Another former Huntsville Star, Scott Krause, is on their roster, hitting .288.

 

Unfortunately, there won't be a report this weekend from me, and probably won't be one tomorrow night as I get ready to catch a plane to Chicago........ I'm going to catch my first trip to Wrigley Field and I am looking forward to it. I'll be back, Sunday.

 

Enjoy the time off, David. If you ever consider a trip to New England, let me know -- MB

[MassBrew]

Daily Press High Desert Game Story:

Mavs defeated by pitched featured here on the forum a few weeks back, read on...

 

www.vvdailypress.com/cgi-...710,62773,

 

More notes from the Press:

 

Shortstop Ozzie Chavez will take dead-ball batting practice this weekend and possibly live BP during the Lake Elsinore series. Manager Tim Blackwell said he was moving closer to a day-to-day situation. ? Froilan Villanueva will serve a three-game suspension this weekend from the California League for last weekend?s incident against Rancho Cucamonga. ? Roving hitting coordinator Jim Skaalen and infield instructor Ed Romero will be in Adelanto starting Saturday.

[clancyphile]

Krynzel's been compared to Steve Finley - I think there also was a comparison to Paul O'Neill.

 

Both of those hitters have pretty good power. One has to question whether there is a thought of Krynzel batting in the 2nd or 3rd slot in the majors. If his power numbers are along the lines of Finley and O'Neill, it might be a better to bat Krynzel third, and hope that Knox or Sanchez can handle leadoff.

 

Barring that, we may need to find a leadoff hitter.

[DHonks]

Krynzel's been compared to Steve Finley - I think there also was a comparison to Paul O'Neill.

 

He's also been compared to Johnny Damon. Steve Finley is interesting, because he didn't show much power till he was aging and got to Arizona, when his batting averages took a dive. I guess at this point, until Krynzel shows me something different, I'm looking at him as a potential left-handed Rickey Henderson. He should have 15+ homer potential, outstanding speed, and he is learning to walk. Is he there yet? no. But the key is that's the kind of impact player he has the potential to be (I can sense all the OPS fanatics on this board cringing as I'm basically saying he could be a basestealer).

[filthyfrog]

I guess at this point, until Krynzel shows me something different, I'm looking at him as a potential left-handed Rickey Henderson.

 

Allow me to interpret: "a potential left-handed Rickey Henderson" = "a potential left-handed Greatest Lead Off Hitter of All Time."

 

I know what you mean, but let's be careful with the comparisons. I'd be thrilled if he only turned out to be a left-handed Steve Finley or Paul O'Neil.

 

 

 

(It's sad that I'm afraid that if I don't add an emoticon, no one will understand that "left-handed" was meant to be a joke in this case. Is this the state of modern American letters? Will our greatest novelists start using http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/tongue.gif and http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/eyes.gif in their greatest works? Woe is me.)