Link Report for Games of Thursday, May 1st

[MassBrew]

Indianapolis Media Notes:

No news on any roster moves, Indians playing four men short...

 

TONIGHT: The Indians open an eight-game road trip with the first game of a four-game set with Richmond. This is the first meeting between the two clubs this season. Last year the Tribe went 7-5 against the R-Braves with the teams splitting the six contests at The Diamond.

 

The Indians come into tonight's game having dropped three straight and 13 of their last 15.

 

YESTERDAY: The Indians suffered their second shutout defeat of the season, 6-0 at the hands of Louisville. Jimmy Anderson worked seven innings for the Bats. Mark Smith had two of the Tribe's six hits.

 

ON THE MOUND: Righthander Francisco Campos makes his team-leading sixth start. He is coming off his best start of the season. On April 26, he held Columbus to one run on four hits over five innings to earn his first win. Campos has surrendered at least one home run in each of his starts and ranks second in the IL having given up six total.

 

HOT AT THE PLATE: Two Indians boast batting averages above .300. Mark Budzinski tops the team with a .333 mark. He leads the team with three multi-RBI games. Over his last seven games, Budzinski is hitting .350 (7-for-20). Mark Smith is hitting .328. Smith has hit safely in 15 of his last 17 games (.361, 22-for-61) and leads the team with 11 RBI and six multi-hit games.

 

SHORTHANDED: The Indians have just 19 players on the roster. RHP Mark Guerra and INF Lee Stevens came off the roster today. Both have retired. RHP Brooks Kieschnick was recalled by Milwaukee following yesterday's game. RHP Leo Estrella was recalled Tuesday and RHP Jamey Wright asked for his release on Monday.

 

LEAGUE LEADER: Ruben Quevedo's five shutout innings Sunday improved his ERA to 2.10. He ranks ninth in the IL.

 

PITCHERS AT THE PLATE: The Indians are two games into a stretch of 10 straight games where pitchers bat for themselves. Tribe hurlers are 0-for-10 with eight strikeouts and one sacrifice so far this season.

 

LONG BALL PROBLEMS: The Indians have hit just 13 home runs which ranks 12th in the IL while the pitching staff has surrendered a league-high 32 long balls. Opponents have homered in six of the last seven games (11 HR total). Six of those homers have come off the bullpen.

 

A ROUGH 'ROAD' TO HOE: The Tribe opens the season with 22 of its first 32 games on the road. The Indians are 3-11 away from Victory Field. The Indians are hitting .195 on the road and have scored just 41 runs (2.9 rpg). Six of the Tribe's 12 position players are hitting below .200 on the road.

 

TROUBLE IN THE FIELD: The Indians have committed 24 errors which is fourth-most in the IL. Nineteen of those have come on the road leading to 26 unearned runs.

 

UPCOMING PROBABLES:

Friday at Richmond - RHP David Manning (0-0, 3.27) vs. RHP John Ennis (1-1, 4.76)

Saturday at Richmond - RHP Mike Buddie (0-2, 3.78) vs. RHP Jason Marquis (1-0, 2.00)

Sunday at Richmond - RHP Pascual Coco (1-4, 5.76) vs. RHP Ryan Glynn (1-2, 4.63)

[MassBrew]

Really nice gesture by Huntsville management here:

 

www.al.com/stars/huntsvil...310190.xml

[MassBrew]

Richmond (Braves) 4, Indianapolis 1

 

Indy Site Game Summary:

 

RICHMOND, VA. -- Mike Hessman's three-run double led the Richmond Braves to a 4-1 win over a depleted Indianapolis Indians squad Thursday night.

 

The Indians (8-17) came into the game with just 18 players. A series of roster moves this week left the team six players short of the limit.

 

With only two relievers available in the bullpen, the Indians got seven quality innings out of starter Francisco Campos (1-3). The righthander turned in the longest outing by a Tribe pitcher this season. He struck out five and walked one while giving up seven hits.

 

Campos worked out of jams in each of the first three innings, but couldn't get out of the fifth unscathed. With one out, Braves pitcher Chris Fussell singled. After getting the next batter to ground out, Campos walked Wilson Betemit and hit Bo Porter with a pitch to load the bases.

 

Hessman then delivered the second hit of the inning, a double down the left field line that cleared the bases and gave Richmond (14-12) a 3-1 lead.

 

"Campos gave us exactly what we needed," Indians manager Cecil Cooper said. "Unfortunately he made one mistake, and the way things are going for us right now, every mistake really seems to bite us."

 

Fussell (3-1) held the Indians in check all night. He retired the first nine batters of the game before issuing a lead-off walk to Jason Conti in the fourth. A single and another walk loaded the bases for the Indians with nobody out. Scott Seabol grounded into a double play allowing Conti to come in from third, but effectively ending a potentially big inning.

 

Fussell, who came into the game ranked 10th in the International League with a 2.13 ERA, allowed just two hits in 6.2 innings.

 

Travis Phelps, Bobby Jones and Joe Dawley pitched 2.1 innings of hitless relief as the Indians dropped their fourth straight.

 

The teams play game two of the four-game set Friday night.

 

Indianapolis Box Score:

Tribe manages but two hits, now hitting ,209 as a team...

 GAME DATE: 5/01/03 INDIANAPOLIS 1 AT RICHMOND 4 YTD YTD INDIANAPOLIS AB R H BI AVG RICHMOND AB R H BI AVG J.Conti CF 3 1 0 0 .197 D.McDonald CF 3 0 2 0 .329 M.Budzinski RF 3 0 1 0 .333 W.Betemit 3B 0 0 0 0 .227 P.Zoccolillo LF 3 0 0 0 .250 W.Betemit SS 3 1 1 0 .227 S.Seabol 1B 4 0 0 0 .203 B.Porter LF 3 1 0 0 .250 C.McKay CAT 3 0 0 0 .132 M.Hessman 1B 0 0 0 0 .253 W.Veras 3B 4 0 0 0 .172 M.Hessman 3B 4 1 2 3 .253 B.Hall 2B 4 0 1 0 .167 T.Wilson 1B 3 0 1 0 .271 S.Scarboroug SS 2 0 0 0 .104 J.Dawley PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 F.Campos PIT 2 0 0 0 .000 D.Hollins RF 4 0 1 1 .256 J.Lawrence PH 1 0 0 0 .215 M.Hubbard CAT 4 0 1 0 .175 R.Giron PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 R.Castro 2B 1 0 0 0 .154 N.Green 2B 2 0 0 0 .257 T.Phelps PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 B.Jones PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 S.Clapp 2B 0 0 0 0 .260 C.Fussell PIT 2 1 1 0 .750 J.Garcia 2B 1 0 0 0 .277 J.Garcia SS 0 0 0 0 .277 TOTALS 29 1 2 0 TOTALS 30 4 9 4 INDIANAPOLIS 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0- 1 2 1 RICHMOND 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 X- 4 9 1 E--S.Seabol, S.Clapp. DP--INDIANAPOLIS 1, RICHMOND 1. LOB--INDIANAPOLIS 6, RICHMOND 6. 2B--B.Hall (3), D.McDonald (4), M.Hessman (5). CS-- D.McDonald. HBP--D.McDonald, B.Porter, T.Wilson. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA INDIANAPOLIS F.Campos (L,1-3) 7.0 7 3 3 1 5 0 6.59 R.Giron 1.0 2 1 1 0 1 0 7.71 RICHMOND C.Fussell (W,3-1) 6.2 2 1 1 4 1 0 1.97 T.Phelps 0.2 0 0 0 0 2 0 3.07 B.Jones 0.2 0 0 0 1 1 0 1.59 J.Dawley (S,4) 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.86 HB--F.Campos 2, R.Giron. SO--P.Zoccolillo, S.Seabol, B.Hall, S.Scarboroug, J.Lawrence, B.Porter 2, M.Hessman 2, N.Green 2. BB--J.Conti, M.Budzinski, P.Zoccolillo, C.McKay, S.Scarboroug, W.Betemit. T--2:19. A--3020

[MassBrew]

Beloit 1, West Michigan (Tigers) 0

There's a new ace in town, and his name is Tom Wilhelmsen (1.54 ERA after his first five professional games); the entire staff is dealing right now...

 

Beloit Site Game Summary and Linescore:

 

www.snappersbaseball.com/...d307b17b86

 

I was wrong when I indicated that this was a road series in today's Daily Menu -- the teams are at Pohlman Field in Beloit...

[DHonks]

Chattanooga (Reds) 8, Huntsville 3

 

Huntsville Site Game Summary:

Reliever Mike Adams dinked and dunked in a critical eighth inning...

 

www.huntsvillestars.com/n...?newsid=51

 

Huntsville Box Score:

Luis Martinez' numbers work for me, what a start to the season...

 GAME DATE: 5/01/03 CHATTANOOGA 8 AT HUNTSVILLE 3 YTD YTD CHATTANOOGA AB R H BI AVG HUNTSVILLE AB R H BI AVG A.Beattie 2B 3 1 3 2 .287 R.Knox LF 4 0 0 0 .240 A.Diaz CF 5 0 2 0 .269 D.Krynzel CF 4 0 1 0 .273 G.Senjem RF 4 2 1 0 .389 C.Hart 3B 4 0 1 0 .300 S.Smitherman LF 4 2 2 3 .302 B.Gemoll 1B 4 1 0 0 .239 E.Encrnacion 3B 5 1 1 1 .239 C.Guerrero RF 4 0 0 0 .212 R.Owens 1B 4 1 2 0 .200 R.Paz 2B 3 1 2 1 .290 C.Gubanich CAT 5 0 3 0 .230 M.Kremblas CAT 2 1 1 0 .163 R.Olmedo SS 5 1 1 1 .247 C.Barnwell SS 4 0 1 0 .194 J.Hall PIT 2 0 0 0 .100 L.Martinez PIT 2 0 0 0 .000 W.Caceres PH 1 0 0 0 .000 C.Cosbey PH 1 0 0 1 .281 J.Cortes PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 M.Adams PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 C.Haas PH 1 0 0 0 .246 R.Miller PIT 0 0 0 0 .333 P.Darnell PIT 1 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 40 8 15 7 TOTALS 32 3 6 2 CHATTANOOGA 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 3- 8 15 2 HUNTSVILLE 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0- 3 6 2 E--G.Senjem, E.Encrnacion, B.Gemoll, M.Kremblas. DP--CHATTANOOGA 0, HUNTSVILLE 1. LOB--CHATTANOOGA 10, HUNTSVILLE 5. 2B--A.Beattie 2 (9), R.Owens (3), D.Krynzel (2), C.Hart (7). HR--S.Smitherman (5). SB-- S.Smitherman (3), E.Encrnacion (3), R.Paz (3), C.Cosbey (5). CS-- A.Beattie, A.Diaz, M.Kremblas. HBP--M.Kremblas. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA CHATTANOOGA J.Hall 6.0 4 2 0 1 5 0 2.83 J.Cortes (W,1-2) 1.0 2 1 1 0 0 0 7.11 P.Darnell (S,1) 2.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 5.06 HUNTSVILLE L.Martinez 7.0 7 2 2 3 6 0 0.75 M.Adams (L,1-2) 1.2 7 6 6 2 1 1 5.50 R.Miller 0.1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.54 HB--J.Hall. WP--M.Adams. SO--G.Senjem 2, S.Smitherman, R.Owens 2, C.Gubanich, R.Olmedo, P.Darnell, R.Knox 2, C.Guerrero, L.Martinez 2. BB--A.Beattie 2, G.Senjem, S.Smitherman, R.Owens, R.Paz, M.Kremblas. T--2:45. A--2104

High Desert 11, Lancaster (Diamondbacks) 9

Let me be the first to express some concern about Kade Johnson. He starts, goes 0-1, and leaves the game. I'm keeping my fingers crossed - DHonks

 

Mavs announcer Mike Lindskog provides details below, DHonks. Thanks for getting all the late box scores online - Massbrew

 

High Desert Site Game Summary:

 

Mavs Finally End Road Skid, Win 11-9

LANCASTER, CA ? April couldn't be farther away. After capping a horrible April with eight straight losses, the High Desert Mavericks opened the month of May on a positive note.

 

Brian Foster knocked in a season-best five RBIs as the Mavs rallied for an exciting 11-9 victory over the Lancaster JetHawks on Thursday night from the Hangar in Lancaster.

 

The win by the Mavs not only ended a season-worst eight game losing streak, it ended a road losing streak of 11 games, and gave the Mavs their first win away from Friendly Mavericks Stadium since a 5-1 win on Opening Night in Lake Elsinore.

 

Mavs catcher Kade Johnson left Thursday's game with what first appeared to be a right knee injury in the bottom of the first inning. After having an x-ray taken, it was discovered Johnson has only a high ankle sprain and will be further evaluated on Friday.

 

Foster, who took over for Johnson in the bottom of the first inning defensively, stepped to the plate with the bases loaded in the third inning, trailing 3-2. Foster sent a ground ball down the third base line that scored three runs and gave the Mavs the lead for good at 5-3. Foster later added a two-run shot, his first since April 20th, officially breaking out of an offensive slump.

 

Mavs starter Chris Saenz was streaky throughout, allowing three in the first, then striking out the side in the second. He allowed a run in the third as the JetHawks pulled to within 6-4, then struck out two more in a perfect fourth inning.

 

The Mavs piled on five more in the fifth, with Foster's seventh home run of the year, and run-scoring hits from Dan Boyd and Ralph Santana. Lance Cormier (3-3) took the loss, allowing the brunt of the damage from the Maverick offense, which scored more than five runs for the first time on the seven-game road trip.

 

Saenz (2-2) struggled in the sixth, allowing three runs as the JetHawks pulled to within two at 11-9. Justin Gordon came on and held off the JetHawks but did allow an unearned run in 2.2 innings. Tony Stavros and Bobby Bystrowski worked the final inning in innings of scoreless relief.

 

Bystrowski threw just one pitch, as Sergio Santos grounded out to first with two men on in the ninth. The save is Bystrowski's team-leading fifth of the year.

 

The Mavs return home on Friday, May 2nd to battle Rancho Cucamonga at 7:05 (9:05 Central) in. RHP Dan Hall (3-1) faces off against Steve Shell of the Quakes.

 

High Desert Box Score:

RHP Chris Saenz will take the win, but can't be overly pleased with his pitching line...

 GAME DATE: 5/01/03 HIGH DESERT 11 AT LANCASTER 9 YTD YTD HIGH DESERT AB R H BI AVG LANCASTER AB R H BI AVG J.Raburn DH 3 1 2 0 .329 M.Williams CF 4 4 3 2 .304 F.Villanueva 1B 5 1 1 1 .352 D.Uggla 3B 4 1 3 3 .313 D.Clark LF 3 2 1 1 .374 J.Kroeger RF 5 1 2 2 .371 K.Johnson CAT 1 0 0 0 .348 C.Snyder CAT 3 0 0 0 .259 B.Foster CAT 3 2 2 5 .264 J.Jones LF 5 1 3 1 .321 J.Belcher RF 4 1 1 0 .329 S.Santos SS 5 1 1 0 .275 M.Ernster 3B 1 0 0 0 .389 K.Nichols 1B 4 0 0 0 .258 S.Candelaria PH 1 0 0 1 .247 M.Thiessen DH 3 1 0 0 .167 S.Candelaria 3B 3 1 1 0 .247 D.Richar 2B 4 0 0 0 .309 D.Boyd CF 5 1 1 0 .263 L.Cormier PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 R.Santana 2B 4 1 2 1 .278 F.Trejo PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 T.West SS 4 1 1 1 .230 B.Biggs PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 C.Saenz PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Gordon PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 T.Stavros PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 B.Bystrowski PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 37 11 12 10 TOTALS 37 9 12 8 HIGH DESERT 0 0 6 0 5 0 0 0 0-11 12 2 LANCASTER 3 0 1 0 1 4 0 0 0- 9 12 1 E--B.Foster, T.West, C.Snyder. DP--HIGH DESERT 0, LANCASTER 1. LOB--HIGH DESERT 7, LANCASTER 6. 2B--B.Foster (5), D.Uggla (7), J.Jones (4). HR--B.Foster (7). SB--J.Raburn (6), R.Santana (7), M.Williams (15), J.Kroeger (4). HBP--B.Foster, M.Williams, C.Snyder. SF--T.West, D.Uggla. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA HIGH DESERT C.Saenz (W,2-2) 5.1 9 8 8 1 9 0 8.20 J.Gordon 2.2 2 1 0 1 1 0 5.89 T.Stavros 0.2 1 0 0 0 1 0 4.87 B.Bystrowski 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.68 LANCASTER L.Cormier (L,3-3) 4.1 9 10 8 3 1 1 3.38 F.Trejo 3.0 3 1 1 2 4 0 1.29 B.Biggs 1.2 0 0 0 1 2 0 3.86 HB--C.Saenz, T.Stavros, F.Trejo. WP--J.Gordon, F.Trejo. SO--D.Clark 2, S.Candelaria, D.Boyd 2, T.West 2, M.Williams, D.Uggla, C.Snyder 2, S.Santos, K.Nichols 3, M.Thiessen 2, D.Richar. BB--J.Raburn 2, D.Clark 2, J.Belcher, R.Santana, C.Snyder, M.Thiessen. T--3:09. A--1193

More on Kade Johnson from Mike Lindskog -- thanks, Mike!:

 

Marland Williams slid into home in the first inning, a clean play but slid right into Kade. He had to be helped off the field and it looked like he was in bigtime pain. Greg Schaub did color with me and we were both convinced that it was the right knee. They rushed him to the doctor and got an xray and discovered only a high ankle sprain on the right foot which is great news!!! He will probably sit a few days. He is is walking on it, but very gingerly. It had torn ACL and out for the year written all over it!!!

 

Beloit Box Score:

While praising the pitching as of late, we haven't pointed out until now that batting averages are dropping quickly; a school night, yes, but only 394 at the game?

 GAME DATE: 5/01/03 WEST MICHIGAN 0 AT BELOIT 1 YTD YTD WEST MICHIGAN AB R H BI AVG BELOIT AB R H BI AVG J.Gonzalez SS 4 0 0 0 .241 K.Bibbs CF 4 0 0 0 .219 G.Mejia 2B 4 0 0 0 .194 C.Crabbe 2B 3 1 0 0 .241 V.Mendez CF 4 0 0 0 .234 J.VandenBrg DH 1 0 0 0 .274 W.Reynolds LF 4 0 1 0 .344 P.Fielder 1B 3 0 1 1 .341 S.Moore 3B 2 0 0 0 .308 J.Eure 3B 3 0 0 0 .220 J.Francia PR 0 0 0 0 .218 T.Hinton LF 2 0 1 0 .176 B.Clevlen RF 4 0 0 0 .229 S.Moss RF 0 0 0 0 .316 J.Roughton 1B 4 0 1 0 .273 N.Carter LF 0 0 0 0 .141 M.Rabelo CAT 2 0 0 0 .315 N.Carter RF 3 0 0 0 .141 D.Heath DH 2 0 0 0 .214 P.Esparragz CAT 2 0 1 0 .310 T.Pickford PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 K.Bohanan SS 2 0 0 0 .077 T.Wilhelmsen PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Gabriel PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 30 0 2 0 TOTALS 23 1 3 1 WEST MICHIGAN 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0- 0 2 1 BELOIT 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 X- 1 3 4 E--J.Roughton, P.Fielder, J.Eure, P.Esparragz, K.Bohanan. DP--WEST MICHIGAN 2, BELOIT 1. LOB--WEST MICHIGAN 7, BELOIT 4. SB--D.Heath (1), C.Crabbe (4), J.VandenBrg (1). HBP--M.Rabelo. SH--J.VandenBrg, P.Esparragz, K.Bohanan. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA WEST MICHIGAN T.Pickford (L,1-2) 8.0 3 1 1 3 5 0 2.60 BELOIT T.Wilhelmsen (W,3-0) 6.1 2 0 0 2 4 0 1.52 J.Gabriel (S,1) 2.2 0 0 0 1 1 0 5.21 HB--J.Gabriel. SO--G.Mejia, V.Mendez, W.Reynolds, B.Clevlen, M.Rabelo, J.Eure, T.Hinton, N.Carter, K.Bohanan 2. BB--S.Moore 2, D.Heath, C.Crabbe, J.VandenBrg, T.Hinton. T--1:54. A--394

[MassBrew]

From the SportsTicker / BA Daily Highlights:

 

HIGH DESERT (CAL) C BRIAN FOSTER drove in a season high five runs to help the Mavericks edge the Lancaster JetHawks, 11-9. Foster, who was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 1999 draft, finished 2-for-3 with six total bases. Having managed just one hit in his last 25 at-bats, the 21-year-old North Carolina native ripped a bases-loaded double to cap a six-run third inning and followed with a two-run homer to start a five-run outburst in the fifth inning. Despite the recent slump, Foster is currently third on High Desert in homers and RBI with seven and 18 respectively.

 

Daryl Clark in the lead -- looking for the award (and the cash that goes with it http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif :

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/?id=967

[MassBrew]

David Weiser's Huntsville Report:

David's in fine form today, working in references to two very different TV icons, Andy Griffith and Anna Nicole Smith...

 

A few people showed up at the gates early to either take part in or watch the very stale and tired "Mayberry Days" promotion activities --- the whistling contest and Opie look-alikes. The promotion has been a staple of every Huntsville Stars season since 1995. I'm sure it was cooked up by the station I work for, who year after year after year has included not one, but two, and in some years even three afternoon episodes of The Andy Griffith Show........ It was fun and entertaining. When I was 8 years old, that is. But I'm much older now, and much smarter, and much more desiring to see something a lot more sophisticated...... I think TV fare like this insults a station's audience, but its lowbrow popularity is targeted at our crude, lowbrow audience........ Well, I'm way off the track........ While the fans were watching about a dozen different Opies, they were watching the skies as huge thunderclouds started moving in from the west........ The torrent delayed the game by an hour and fifteen minutes, and I have no idea how many were in the stands, as the game didn't start until around 8:19 CDT.

 

Luis Martinez (3-1, 0.31) came in hoping to improve his record against the division doormats, but Chattanooga has a long history of supporting lousy pitching with strong bats. They've finished among the top 5 leaders in batting, most of the time top 3, for the past 9 years and they could make it 10 this year, but again, Luis looked like he would have a fairly easy day....... He pitched through his usual jams, tonight in the 1st and 4th innings.

 

After 6 innings, he had a 2-0 lead and it looked to be all Luis needed. He ventured into uncharted territory pitching into the 7th and paid the price....... After Eric Owens hit a ball off the Purity sign, Ray Olmedo hit into a 5-4 force play, thanks to a nice throw by Corey Hart, who has been working on his footwork, which he says is giving him more consistency with his throws........ With runners on the corners and one out away from another scoreless inning, Andy Beattie doubled deep to left to tie the game......... Ryan Knox made a leaping catch to rob Alejandro Diaz to end the inning. It was the second time in the game that Diaz had been robbed. Cristian Guerrero stole an extra-base hit from him with a 2-out catch in the 4th.

 

The Stars took back the lead in the bottom of the 7th on a fielder's choice ground out by Chris Cosbey, leaving the rest of the game to a bullpen that's been consistently solid and reliable.

 

But the Lookouts have left behind this strange blood trail against the Stars pen....... Follow along........ The six runs in relief given up by Mike Adams is the most since Jacob Shumate, who gave up 7 on April 26, 2001 --- in a 12-0 loss to the Chattanooga Lookouts....... Before him, the last time a Stars reliever had given up 6 or more runs in a game was on August 8, 2000, when Scott Huntsman was shelled in a 12-2 loss ---- to Chattanooga........ And before Huntsman, the last time a reliever was victimized for 6 runs in an outing was on August 26, 1999, when Robert Theodile gave up 8 runs on 10 hits in 2 2/3 innings ----- to Chattanooga. (The Stars won that one, though, 14-11).......

 

The Lookouts broke the game open on a Steve Smitherman HR that made the score, 8-3....... Though Mike Kremblas was able to reach base in the 9th, Paul Darnell had an easy time of it, to pick up the cheap save........ Friday, Mike Jones (3-1, 3.86) will try to spot his pitches a little better against Lookouts righty Ryan Mottl (0-1, 3.68).

 

Thursday night marked the return of Creighton Gubanich to Joe Davis Stadium. Wish I was there. Goobie donned the mask for the Stars in 1995 and 1996, until he was promoted to Edmonton in the last week of June 1996. A year later on June 19, he was traded by the A's to the Milwaukee Brewers for pitcher Tony Phillips, and since then, has been played like a ping-pong ball through several different major league organizations........

 

Mike Adams' ERA went on the Anna Nicole diet in one sitting, ballooning from 2.70 to 5.40........Ryan Knox is in a 2-for-20 slump........ Richard Paz is 7-for-15 in his last 5 games......... Too bad Milwaukee's still not in the A.L. Be warned Brewer fans! Luis Martinez at the plate will remind you of Bob Buhl....... In fact, he makes Buhl look like Joe Adcock at the plate. Luis is 0-for-7 with 6 Ks this season........ Add up two previous seasons, and Luis is 0-for-30 with 21 Ks....... When he's up there, his swings look like backyard swipes at a wiffle ball thrown on a gusty day with a plastic bat. His attempts are truly half-hearted and it's a rare day he connects. He's even a bad bunter. What can I say?

 

Bad news for Stars fans looking hungrily past Joel Alvarado and Mike Kremblas....... Kade Johnson was injured in the 1st inning of High Desert's game, Thursday night against Lancaster........ With Kade guarding the plate, Jethawk outfielder Marland Williams took out the right knee. It was feared that Kade, with an unenviable history of injuries and making a unexpected comeback behind the plate, had torn his ACL, but after having an x-ray taken, it was discovered he has only a high ankle sprain and Johnson will be re-evaluated on Friday........ Brian Foster, who took over, drove in 5 runs to lead the Mavs over the Jethawks, snapping an 8-game string of futility for High Desert. A return of Foster return to the Stars this season, though, should be tempered by the fact that he doesn't have the arm strength that Brian Moon had. Gosh, we've been spoiled.

 

Matt Parker's and Derek Lee's 1st appearance against Chattanooga this season, will be their first since that marathon 18-inning game, August 6 of last year.

[MassBrew]

Daily Press High Desert Game Story:

Plenty of quotes and stuff to go around here...

 

www.vvdailypress.com/cgi-...050,65110,

 

Also from the Press:

 

RHP Greg Schaub went on the disabled list Wednesday and Thursday explained his injury.

 

Schaub said the injury to his elbow is an ongoing problem for the past couple years, but figures to be throwing again in a few days.

 

"When my velocity dropped from 90 to 78 in two games, I started to think about checking it out," Schaub said. "I dealt with it my whole career and it creeps up now and again."

 

In the meantime, Schaub traded his glove for a microphone Thursday, spending the series finale in the radio booth with Mavericks radio man Mike Lindskog as his color commentary man. It was the first time Schaub became a broadcaster.

[bork]

Interesting note about Hart's footwork and defense. It seems like has hasn't had an error in at least a week. And with his bat coming around, hopefully, it's a sign that he's starting to feel comfortable at third.

[MassBrew]

Beloit Daily News Game Story:

Quotes from Tom Wilhemsen, Prince Fielder, and new pitching coach Rich Sauveur, who seems to be pushing all the right buttons at this time; interesting insights here, about all you can ask from those post-game Q&A sessions with the local beat guys...

 

www.beloitdailynews.com/503/snap2.htm

[MassBrew]

Today's Menu : features three doses of "home" cookin', so enjoy!

 

All times Central; pitchers subject to change; pre-game audio available at each team's web site (except Beloit) approx. 15 minutes prior to first pitch...

 

INDIANAPOLIS: RHP David Manning looks to eat innings for an Indy staff apparently still in need of fresh arms at Richmond (Braves), 6:00 PM

 

HUNTSVILLE: RHP Mike Jones and the Stars host Chattanooga (Reds) in front of a big Fireworks Night crowd at 7:15 PM

 

HIGH DESERT: RHP Dan Hall gets another shot at win #4 in front of the home crowd vs. Rancho Cucamonga (Angels), 9:05 PM

 

BELOIT: RHP Dennis Sarfate has been super thus far; the Snappers again host West Michigan (Tigers), 6:30 PM

[Al the Thinking Man]

Isn't the "cutdown" day in AAA any day now? Shouldn't be a problem finding decent arms as soon as 30 teams cut a player, about half of which should be pitchers.

[colbyjack]

Nice to see Steve Moss made it back into a game, and nice to hear he had a game-saving catch. Since he was hampered by a leg injury, it would seem as though he has healed quite nicely with some rest to be able to make such a play. Our '03 draft with Fielder, Moss & Wilhelmsen could be special similar to the '01 tandem of Jones, Hardy & Nelson with Parra falling in the middle of the 2.

 

And did anyone else notice the "S. Moore" in the boxscore for West Michigan http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif ?

[MassBrew]

Colby, you did read the tail end of the Link Report for Wednesday's games regarding you and Mr. Moore, right?

[colbyjack]

Sorry MB, I must have missed that. The little baseball dealy didn't show up on the left & I thought I had read the entire report.

 

However, I'd argue that Kotchman was a fetish, Moore was simply a strong, stubborn preference http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif .

[MassBrew]

Unique Huntsville Times Game Story:

Catching up with a former Brewer farmhand...

 

www.al.com/stars/huntsvil...186040.xml