Link Report for Games of Tuesday, April 22nd

[MassBrew]

Louisville (Reds) 13, Indianapolis 4

We find out Jamey Wright can't relieve, either...

 

Indy Site Game Summary:

 

LOUISVILLE, KY. -- The Louisville Bats broke open a scoreless game with a five-run fifth inning and went on to cruise to a 13-4 win over the Indianapolis Indians Tuesday afternoon.

 

Tribe starter Pascual Coco (1-3) cruised through the first three innings and got a strikeout with the bases loaded in the fourth as it looked as if a pitcher's duel would unfold. Coco ran into trouble in the fifth, however. After striking out Bats' pitcher Scott Randall for his sixth strikeout, Wilton Guerrero doubled and Emil Brown homered to give Louisville a 2-0 lead.

 

After getting the second out of the inning, a walk and a single put runners on first and second and sent Coco to the showers. Tribe manager Cecil Cooper called in righthander Jamey Wright from the bullpen. For Wright, the opening day starter, it was only his sixth relief appearance in 284 career games. Jim Chamblee promptly greeted him with a three-run homer to make it 5-0.

 

The Indians (7-11) fought right back with three runs in the top of the sixth. Jason Conti and Joe Lawrence started the inning with singles and came home on Mark Budzinski's first triple of the season. Budzinski, who went 3-for-4 with a single, double and a triple, scored the Tribe's third run on a ground out by Keith Luuloa.

 

The game got out of hand in the seventh. The Bats (10-8) scored four times on three hits, an error and a walk. Former Brewer farmhand Bobby Darula delivered a two-run, pinch-hit single in the inning.

 

Louisville scored four more times in the eighth inning. Three walks and another error by the Indians contributed to the outburst.

 

Randall (2-0) earned his 16th straight win. The righthander was 14-0 in two stops last season, and has not lost a decision since August 24, 2001. Randall allowed three runs in 5.1 innings. He struck out six without issuing a walk.

 

The Indians final run came in the ninth when Steve Scarborough doubled home Wilton Veras.

 

The Tribe wraps up the road trip Wednesday at Louisville and returns to Victory Field for a six-game homestand beginning Thursday at 7 p.m. against Toledo.

 

Indianapolis Box Score:

Zocco gets plunked twice; OF Mark Budzinski is 29 and could provide a bat off the bench should the current Brewer backups get hurt; unfortunately for Mark, he's a LH bat -- ideally, he'd be the next Brady Clark-type if RH...

 GAME DATE: 4/22/03 INDIANAPOLIS 4 AT LOUISVILLE 13 YTD YTD INDIANAPOLIS AB R H BI AVG LOUISVILLE AB R H BI AVG J.Conti CF 5 1 1 0 .227 W.Guerrero LF 4 2 2 0 .328 J.Lawrence CAT 4 1 1 0 .191 E.Brown CF 5 2 2 2 .261 M.Budzinski RF 4 1 3 2 .354 B.Larson 3B 3 2 1 1 .333 K.Luuloa 1B 4 0 0 1 .111 J.Cruz RF 4 3 3 1 .375 P.Zoccolillo LF 2 0 1 0 .295 F.Crespo 1B 2 2 2 0 .254 W.Veras 3B 4 1 1 0 .191 J.Chamblee 2B 4 2 1 4 .286 B.Hall SS 4 0 0 0 .167 M.Stefanski CAT 3 0 0 0 .250 S.Scarboroug 2B 4 0 1 0 .091 J.Acevedo PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 P.Coco PIT 2 0 0 0 .000 B.Darula PH 1 0 1 2 .250 J.Wright PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 M.Watson PIT 0 0 0 1 .000 C.McKay PH 1 0 0 0 .137 W.Caceres SS 5 0 0 2 .000 J.Childers PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 S.Randall PIT 2 0 0 0 .000 R.Giron PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 C.Miller CAT 3 0 0 0 .246 B.Kieschnick PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 S.Seabol PH 0 0 0 1 .171 TOTALS 34 4 8 4 TOTALS 36 13 12 13 INDIANAPOLIS 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 1- 4 8 2 LOUISVILLE 0 0 0 0 5 0 4 4 X-13 12 1 E--J.Conti, B.Hall, W.Caceres. DP--INDIANAPOLIS 0, LOUISVILLE 1. LOB--INDIANAPOLIS 6, LOUISVILLE 8. 2B--M.Budzinski (3), S.Scarboroug (2), W.Guerrero (5), E.Brown (4), B.Larson (1). 3B--M.Budzinski (1). HR--E.Brown (3), J.Chamblee (2). SB--F.Crespo (4). HBP--P.Zoccolillo 2. SF--S.Seabol, B.Larson. SH--F.Crespo. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA INDIANAPOLIS P.Coco (L,1-3) 4.2 6 4 4 3 6 1 5.30 J.Wright 1.1 1 1 1 0 1 1 8.05 J.Childers 0.2 3 4 2 1 0 0 2.57 R.Giron 0.1 2 4 2 2 0 0 3.38 B.Kieschnick 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 7.59 LOUISVILLE S.Randall (W,2-0) 5.1 5 3 3 0 6 0 1.84 J.Acevedo 1.2 0 0 0 0 2 0 3.86 M.Watson 2.0 3 1 1 0 1 0 3.00 HB--S.Randall 2. WP--J.Wright, S.Randall 2. BALKS--R.Giron. SO-- J.Conti, M.Budzinski, K.Luuloa, B.Hall 2, S.Scarboroug 2, P.Coco 2, W.Guerrero, E.Brown, J.Chamblee 2, M.Stefanski 2, W.Caceres, S.Randall. BB--W.Guerrero, B.Larson, J.Cruz, F.Crespo 2, J.Chamblee, M.Watson. T--2:51. A--11257

[MassBrew]

Fort Wayne (Padres) 2, Beloit 1

 

Game Summary from the Wizards' Site:

RHP Khalid Ballouli with a decent start, it seems; C Pedro Esparragoza is finding some offense in the early going this year...

 

www.wizardsbaseball.com/n...?newsId=38

 

Linescore:

 4/22/2003 11:00AM R H E Beloit 1 5 0 Fort Wayne Wizards 2 5 0 Winning Pitcher: David Pauley 2-1 Losing Pitcher: Khalid Ballouli 1-2 Save: Dale Thayer 1 Attendance: 5744

[SquirrelMaster]

Huntsville 6, Mobile (Padres) 3

 

Hart hits slam in Stars win...

 

www.huntsvillestars.com/n...?newsid=43

 

Sorry, may not be complete, but Ive been sick as hell the past couple of days and Im a little out of it.

 

Least I tried!

[DHonks]

Thought I'd add the boxscores.

 

Beloit Box Score:

OF Travis Hinton has been scuffling, but anyone who walks three times will get mentioned...

 GAME DATE: 4/22/03 BELOIT 1 AT FORT WAYNE 2 YTD YTD BELOIT AB R H BI AVG FORT WAYNE AB R H BI AVG K.Bibbs CF 4 0 0 0 .289 K.Jones CF 4 1 2 0 .303 C.Crabbe 2B 4 0 1 0 .276 B.Burgamy 3B 4 0 1 1 .224 J.VandenBrg DH 4 0 0 0 .316 L.Biernbaum LF 4 1 1 0 .275 P.Fielder 1B 4 0 1 0 .339 J.Tranum DH 4 0 1 0 .212 T.Hinton LF 1 1 0 0 .171 S.Baker RF 2 0 0 0 .283 N.Carter RF 4 0 0 0 .151 P.McAnulty 1B 1 0 0 1 .177 P.Esparragz CAT 3 0 2 1 .385 L.Cruz 2B 2 0 0 0 .268 K.Bohanan 3B 3 0 0 0 .000 O.Falcon CAT 3 0 0 0 .313 C.Terni SS 3 0 1 0 .148 A.Garcia SS 3 0 0 0 .194 K.Ballouli PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 D.Pauley PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 R.Trytten PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 D.Soto PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 B.Hall PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 D.Thayer PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 30 1 5 1 TOTALS 27 2 5 2 BELOIT 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0- 1 5 0 FORT WAYNE 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 X- 2 5 0 DP--BELOIT 0, FORT WAYNE 1. LOB--BELOIT 5, FORT WAYNE 5. 2B--P.Esparragz (2), B.Burgamy (4). CS--P.Esparragz, K.Jones. HBP--S.Baker. SF--P.McAnulty. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA BELOIT K.Ballouli (L,1-2) 5.0 5 2 2 2 5 0 6.00 R.Trytten 2.0 0 0 0 0 3 0 9.64 B.Hall 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.00 FORT WAYNE D.Pauley (W,2-1) 6.2 5 1 1 2 5 0 3.20 D.Soto 1.1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.70 D.Thayer (S,1) 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0.93 HB--K.Ballouli. WP--D.Pauley. SO--C.Crabbe, J.VandenBrg, P.Fielder 2, N.Carter, K.Bohanan 2, K.Jones, J.Tranum, S.Baker 2, L.Cruz, O.Falcon 2, A.Garcia. BB--T.Hinton 3, P.McAnulty, L.Cruz. T--2:08. A--5744

Huntsville Box Score:

Stars six-for-six on basepaths; Krynzel and Hardy each walk twice...

 GAME DATE: 4/22/03 HUNTSVILLE 6 AT MOBILE 3 YTD YTD HUNTSVILLE AB R H BI AVG MOBILE AB R H BI AVG R.Knox LF 4 1 1 0 .264 T.Donovan CF 5 1 1 1 .219 D.Krynzel CF 3 2 1 0 .286 V.Faison LF 5 0 0 0 .206 J.Hardy SS 3 1 0 0 .329 K.Greene SS 4 0 2 0 .261 C.Hart 3B 5 1 3 5 .289 J.Knott 1B 3 0 1 0 .214 B.Gemoll 1B 3 0 1 1 .250 A.Fernandez RF 3 2 1 0 .317 R.Paz 2B 5 0 1 0 .244 B.Scales 2B 3 0 2 0 .324 C.Guerrero RF 4 0 0 0 .171 R.Washington 3B 2 0 2 1 .294 M.Kremblas CAT 3 0 0 0 .143 A.Webb PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 M.Jones PIT 2 0 1 0 .200 H.Quintero CAT 4 0 0 0 .241 R.Gripp PH 1 0 0 0 .200 C.Rojas PIT 1 0 0 0 .250 M.Childers PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 R.Gomez PH 1 0 0 0 .333 C.Cosbey PH 0 1 0 0 .409 D.McAdoo PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 M.Adams PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 B.Johnson PH 1 0 0 0 .109 M.Nicolas PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 D.Bravo 3B 1 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 33 6 8 6 TOTALS 33 3 9 2 HUNTSVILLE 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2- 6 8 0 MOBILE 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1- 3 9 1 E--A.Webb. DP--HUNTSVILLE 2, MOBILE 1. LOB--HUNTSVILLE 9, MOBILE 9. HR--C.Hart (2), T.Donovan (2). SB--R.Knox (8), D.Krynzel 2 (6), B.Gemoll (2), C.Cosbey (3). HBP--C.Cosbey. SF--B.Gemoll. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA HUNTSVILLE M.Jones (W,2-1) 5.0 5 1 1 4 5 0 4.58 M.Childers 3.0 3 1 1 1 3 0 1.06 M.Adams 0.2 1 1 1 0 1 1 2.70 MOBILE C.Rojas (L,1-1) 4.0 5 4 4 3 6 1 4.12 D.McAdoo 2.0 1 0 0 1 2 0 0.00 M.Nicolas 2.0 1 0 0 1 2 0 8.10 A.Webb 1.0 1 2 2 2 0 0 2.92 HB--A.Webb. SO--R.Knox 2, J.Hardy, C.Hart 2, B.Gemoll, R.Paz, C.Guerrero 2, M.Kremblas, T.Donovan, V.Faison 2, K.Greene, A.Fernandez, H.Quintero, R.Gomez, B.Johnson, D.Bravo. BB--R.Knox, D.Krynzel 2, J.Hardy 2, B.Gemoll, M.Kremblas, J.Knott, A.Fernandez, B.Scales, R.Washington 2. T--2:51. A--1425

High Desert 17, Inland Empire (Mariners) 6High Desert wins 17-6 with 17 hits...no boxscore posted yet. I'll go out on a limb and say that Kade Johnson extended his hitting streak. So far so good for this team loaded with former prospects.

 

Edit...here's the box score

 

High Desert Box Score:

Wow, so many highlights! If you have to pick one, let's just say that Daryl Clark is now hitting a sick .440 with a 1.420 OPS after 75 AB's in an ever-growing sample size. That's insane, even for the Cal League, where not every road game is an offensive feast...

 GAME DATE: 4/22/03 INLAND EMPIRE 6 AT HIGH DESERT 17 YTD YTD INLAND EMPIRE AB R H BI AVG HIGH DESERT AB R H BI AVG E.BstdaMrtnz 3B 5 1 1 0 .256 C.Morris CF 5 0 2 4 .260 I.Castro 2B 5 0 1 0 .193 T.West SS 6 0 2 1 .286 G.Jacobs CF 4 1 1 2 .340 D.Clark DH 5 5 4 1 .440 H.Brown 1B 4 0 0 0 .314 K.Johnson CAT 5 3 2 2 .359 J.VanMeetren 1B 1 0 0 0 .255 J.Belcher RF 5 1 3 2 .373 R.Pohle DH 4 1 2 1 .341 M.Ernster 3B 5 3 2 0 .500 C.Pagan CAT 5 2 2 1 .333 F.Villanueva 1B 3 1 1 2 .370 S.Choo LF 4 0 2 1 .200 R.Santana 2B 3 2 0 0 .304 J.Williamson RF 4 0 0 0 .095 D.Boyd LF 4 2 1 2 .172 E.Menchaca SS 3 1 2 1 .245 D.Hall PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Done PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Backsmeyer PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Perez PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 A.Dean PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Blood PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 B.Bystrowski PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 M.Steele PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 39 6 11 6 TOTALS 41 17 17 14 INLAND EMPIRE 0 0 0 2 3 0 0 1 0- 6 11 3 HIGH DESERT 2 0 5 5 3 1 0 1 X-17 17 2 E--E.BstdaMrtnz 2, H.Brown, M.Ernster 2. DP--INLAND EMPIRE 0, HIGH DESERT 0. LOB--INLAND EMPIRE 9, HIGH DESERT 11. 2B--C.Pagan (1), C.Morris 2 (5), K.Johnson (6), J.Belcher (4), M.Ernster (2), F.Villanueva (2), D.Boyd (2). 3B--D.Clark (3). HR--D.Clark (9), K.Johnson (7). CS-- C.Morris, J.Belcher. HBP--K.Johnson, J.Belcher. SF--R.Pohle, F.Villanueva. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA INLAND EMPIRE J.Done (L,0-1) 3.1 9 10 4 5 3 1 4.00 J.Perez 1.2 4 5 5 2 1 0 7.30 J.Blood 2.0 2 1 1 1 2 0 4.50 M.Steele 1.0 2 1 1 0 1 1 1.23 HIGH DESERT D.Hall (W,3-0) 5.0 6 5 4 1 2 0 4.26 J.Backsmeyer 2.0 2 0 0 0 3 0 0.00 A.Dean 1.0 2 1 1 0 2 0 18.00 B.Bystrowski 1.0 1 0 0 1 2 0 3.97 HB--J.Done, J.Perez. WP--J.Perez 3, J.Blood, D.Hall, A.Dean. PB-- K.Johnson. SO--I.Castro, H.Brown, J.VanMeetren, R.Pohle 2, S.Choo 2, J.Williamson, E.Menchaca, C.Morris 2, T.West, K.Johnson, J.Belcher, R.Santana, D.Boyd. BB--G.Jacobs, E.Menchaca, C.Morris, D.Clark, M.Ernster, F.Villanueva 2, R.Santana 2, D.Boyd. T--3:06. A--935

[pogokat]

is that right??? does Daryl Clark have 9 Hr's??? Holy Crap!

 

another nice outing by Mike Jones...Too Many walks..but didnt let it hurt him too much

 

Boy, Prince Fielder has cooled off

 

and finally, Looks like Corey Hart is returnig to his normal levels

[H0FFY]

I see the last few games Prince was going 1 for 2 with 2 walks. I wonder if Prince is 'expanding' his strike zone. I would prefer to see him take his two walks each game. Tonight he k'd twice. And the other team did not throw a lot of strike outs... 7 for the entire game.

 

Anyway, it is good for Prince to learn. Barry Bonds knows how to carry is .500+ obp. So, if it is good enough for Barry...

[MassBrew]

Before we go on, thanks to SquirrelMaster and DHonks for the overnight updates -- always appreciated! I simply pasted in the more detailed BA box scores Wed. AM with a comment or two...

 

Special thank you, however, to Brewer announcer and Brewerfan.net Chat Guest Jim Powell, who gave the Link Reports, the Minor League Forum, and Brewerfan.net in general many kind words during last night's broadcast (bottom of the third inning)!

[MassBrew]

David Weiser's Huntsville Report:

 

THE TENTH MAN

For the 2nd straight night, the Stars loaded the bases in the 1st inning........ This time they scored........ Corey Hart hoisted the ball for the Stars' first grand-slam of the season, but you can thank the umpire for a gift tonight, Stars fans.

 

After Mobile starter Chris Rojas walked the bases full in the inning, Hart hooked a 3-2 pitch that towered over the foul pole in left field. When 3rd base ump Jeff Spisak made a circular motion signifying a home run, several Mobile players converged on him......... Mobile manager Craig Colbert wasted no time in charging out of the dugout to scream in the face of Spisak........ To make a long story short, and I wasn't there to see it anyway, not an out had been recorded, and Colbert was thrown out of the game........ A replay in the media booth showed without a doubt that the ball had indeed hooked foul, but there is no crying in baseball, Craig. The Stars had a 10th man on the field tonight and it looks like you'll have to take it like a man......... "When the ump signaled fair on Corey's ball," said pitching coach Stan Kyles, "I was ecstatic."

 

The Bay Bears chipped away at the lead, but then you have to look back at how this scenario....... Rojas had walked the bases loaded, ironically the only three hitters he walked in his four innings of work........ The wildness cost him more than the bad call. Rojas threw 37 pitches in the 1st, so he wasn't long for this ballgame. He did settle down after that inning, but the damage was done..........

 

And it's not like Mobile didn't have their chances........ The Bay Bears had the bases loaded in the 4th and failed to score........ Humberto Quintero, one of the best defensive catchers in the league, came to the plate twice with the bases loaded and each time, hit into a double play --- once in the 2nd and again in the 8th....... Richard Paz made a rather nice play on the 1st DP, charging hard on Quintero's slow ground ball, then doing a backhand lollipop flip to J.J. Hardy, who completed the twin killing.

 

The Stars sealed the victory in the 9th inning with a pair of insurance runs........ After reliever Alan Webb hit Chris Cosbey with a pitch, he threw wildly in an attempt to pick him off first........ Ryan Knox's bunt died in front of home plate and catcher Quintero picked it up and ran toward Cosbey, who was racing toward third. Cosbey danced around then retreated back to 2nd, only to find Knox standing there........ Knox was, of course ruled out......... Dave Krynzel walked. Krynzel extended his hit streak to 8 games with an infield single early on in the ballgame......... Cosbey and Krynzel then pulled off the second double steal in as many days, typical of the aggressive baserunning we've seen all season. Sometimes it works. Hardy was walked intentionally to fill the bases......... Up stepped Hart, with a chance to become the first Huntsville player since Demond Smith in 1996, to hit two grand-slams in a game......... Well, Corey didn't launch one, fair or foul, but he delivered a line-single to left that scored Cosbey....... Brandon Gemoll's sacrifice fly to left easily scored Krynzel and the score was 6-2......... Paz grounded out to end the 9th.........

 

Todd Donovan crushed a tape-measure bomb to leadoff the bottom of the inning for the Bay Bears, or as Robert Portnoy simply calls them --- the Bears. It was the first home run served up by Adams since last July, but he retired the rest of the side for the Stars' 6th win in their last 8 games, and put the Stars once again back on top of the Diamond Jaxx by a half-game.

 

Knox extended his hit streaks to a club-high 10 games, shared by Hardy........ Knox is hitting only .277 on his streak, just slightly above his season average of .264, but Corey Hart is HART! (Read with a Southern inflection)....... Hart has driven in 15 runs in his last 10 games and is 16-for-44 (.364), raising his average to .289 The Stars play a day game tomorrow, starting at 11:35 CDT........ Pedro Liriano (1-2, 4.20) takes the mound against the Bay Bears' Roger Daego (1-0, 1.76).

[MassBrew]

High Desert Site Game Summary:

 

ADELANTO, CA ? The High Desert Mavericks finally put together two consecutive wins, as they pounded out a season-high 17 runs and 17 hits, on their way to an impressive 17-6 route of the Inland Empire 66ers on Tuesday night at Mavericks Stadium.

 

Daryl Clark and Kade Johnson again paced a 17-hit attack, as Clark went 4-5 with a home run, and Johnson extended his hitting streak to a league-best 17 straight games. Johnson finished the night 2-5 with his seventh home run of the year.

 

The Mavs took a 2-0 lead in the first with a pair of unearned runs off 66ers starter Juan Done (0-1). The Mavs made it 7-0 after three innings, as Chris Morris? two-run double highlighted a five run third. The 66ers scored a pair of runs off Mavs starter Dan Hall (3-0) in the fourth, as Carlos Pagan and Shin-Soo Choo picked up RBI hits. The Mavs got those runs back and then some, scoring five more in the fourth inning. Johnson?s two-run homer made it 9-2, before Morris and Todd West each had run-scoring hits.

 

After a long half-inning, Hall gave up three runs in the fifth as the 66ers cut the lead to 12-5. The Mavs continued the onslaught with three more in the fifth, one in the sixth and a final run in the eighth. Clark rounded out the scoring with an eighth-inning home run, his league-leading ninth of the year.

 

Justin Backsmeyer, Aaron Dean and Bobby Bystrowski finished the final four innings, allowing just one run. Jason Belcher had a three-hit night and drove in two runs for the Mavs.

 

The Mavs have now won two straight and are just two games under .500 and two and a half games behind first place Lancaster, who lost on Tuesday night to Rancho Cucamonga.

 

The same two teams meet again on Wednesday as LHP Brian Mazone (0-1) takes on Jared Thomas (1-1) at 7:05 (9:05 Central) at Mavericks Stadium.

[MassBrew]

Another set of public service announcements: http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

This week's Brewer pre-game radio shows include interviews with Farm Director Reid Nichols. Jim Powell and Nichols discussed AAA on Tuesday night, including Jamey Wright's permanent move to the pen (so he can avoid having to work through a line-up twice).

 

On Wednesday, Nichols will discuss AA Huntsville, and High Desert and Beloit will be covered Thursday evening. All the interviews are (or will be) available via mlb.com archive -- I likely won't get a chance to listen live the next two nights, but will try to catch up later on and fill folks in with a separate report. Others are free to chime in as well should they catch the discussions, please.

 

Of course, check out the thread here about Toby's radio interview scheduled for Thursday evening! It would be great to catch it live, but it also sounds like squarepusher (Brian) might be able to make the taped audio available here at the site soon as well.

[MassBrew]

Daily Menu :

 

All times Central, pitchers subject to change, check out the pre-game audio approx. 15 minutes prior to game-time...

 

INDIANAPOLIS: RHP David Manning enters the rotation at Louisville (Reds), 6:15 PM

 

HUNTSVILLE: I'll expect lunch-time office updates here as RHP Pedro Liriano throws at Mobile (Padres), 11:35 AM

 

HIGH DESERT: LHP Brian Mazone vs. Inland Empire (Mariners) at home, 9:05 PM -- flip over to the Mavs for some post-Brewer game fireworks from Mavericks Stadium!

 

BELOIT: Idle

[igor67]

Holy cow they moved Wright to the pen permanently. That should have happened what 2 years ago? Still it's nice to see, and I'd think Jamey has a pretty good shot at becoming a better than average reliever. Maybe even a straight closer type in the Dejean Wickman mold of getting the Ks and groundballs but walking a few more men than you'd like.

[clancyphile]

igor67:

 

That is an interesting thought. Maybe Wright will stick around after May 1.

[bork]

So how long before Johnson and Clark get called up to Hunstville and Guerrero and Alvarado get sent down to High Desert to find their bats?

 

Huntsville could have an amazing lineup soon:

1B Gemol

2B Paz

SS Hardy

RF Knox

CF Krynzel

LF Clark

C Johnson

[colbyjack]

First off, congrats to both MassBrew & Toby. Nice to see/hear their hard work being rewarded last night.

 

I was very happy to hear the reasoning behind moving Jamey Wright to the pen. Another instance that proves that at least Doug Melvin & the rest of the organization are thinking about how to makes things better, and trying to work the best with what you have. In the past, Wright probably would have stayed in the rotation for 2 reasons: 1. He's a starter & always has been. 2. The Brewers are so thin at starter at the AAA level.

 

So how long before Johnson and Clark get called up to Hunstville and Guerrero and Alvarado get sent down to High Desert to find their bats?

 

I personally think this is one of the most interesting developments to watch this season. Over & over we have heard that the Brewers are going to be very slow to bump up their prospects. Jim Powell has repeated this time & time again on the broadcasts. However, Kade Johnson, DJ Clark & even Brandon Gemoll are interesting cases because all 3 of them are older and to be realistically be considered prospects will need to move up quickly. Given the way all 4 of those guys are hitting the ball, it may be hard not to bump them up, but it's going to be tough to gauge until it actually happens. Maybe Reid Nichols will shed some light on this tomorrow during the pre-game show.

 

And even if they are bumped up, who takes their places? I'm sure a certain someone will come up with all sorts of scenarios, but given the organization's newfound patience, don't expect them to start promoting people like crazy. I doubt Fielder would be bumped up to replace Gemoll, or any of them for that matter. The Beloit team for the most part seems as though it needs to stay put, and the Brewers have been rather patient moving players at least from Beloit even in the past.

[igor67]

Well Nelson's injury maybe threw a bit of a wrench into the works. With Brad around not only did you have more firepower to help offset any losses of other guys but it was really almost a situation where someone needed to go so all of these guys could get ABs in. Gemoll really hasn't done anything all that great so far, he's been serviceable. In another era he might have been comparable to Kevin Barker. It's hard to think Clark is going to learn anything hiting .440 in the best hitters park on the planet at his age. Johnson also could move up and the advantage there is that it frees up more catcher time for Foster. I think both players warrant promotion before the All-star break, which if they can hit at all close to what they have been after park and level adjustments would just be sick and wrong for the Stars.

[cooper9]

you could throw belcher in the mix also being a 2000 draft ,no injuries this year and hitting very well.

[colbyjack]

I didn't include Belcher or Brian Foster because both of them have youth on their side. Belcher & Foster could each advance one level one year at a time & still make the majors before they're 25. Clark, Johnson & Gemoll do not have that luxury.

 

EDIT: For some reason I was spacing out thinking Gemoll was at High Desert. Since he's at AA, he's fine where he's at.

[BrewCrewKid]

I'm kinda surprised that some of you guys like the idea of Wright coming out of the pen. Could you give me some reasons as to why you think he might succeed out there. I think when he's "on" and he's got that sinking fastball working he gets the groundballs which is what you want coming out of the pen. but when he's off ( which is more often then not) he gives up gopher balls. I don't know if I'd want to take that chance when the games on the line.

[colbyjack]

I think the main reason we like the idea is because it shows the organization is thinking beyond traditional scouting while analyzing the numbers. Statistically, Wright is better the first time through the lineup, therefore, theoretically he should fare better as a reliever since he probably will only have to face a batter once.

 

And who knows if they plan to make him a reliever that would be in a game when it's on the line. They may just be looking for a way to maximize his value even in a mop-up role.

 

With Wright, they should be willing to try anything, as he seems awfully close to being out of baseball altogether if he's not willing to stick around as a career 4A guy. Plus, it's not like he's mowing down AAA hitters.

[igor67]

I like the idea because by and large good relievers are failed starters with good stuff. Not everyone can make the transition, but it's better than seeing if he can magically workout as a starter after so many failed attempts in the big leagues. And as long as we can cheaply generate quality relievers we have something of an edge on other teams.

[MassBrew]

Daily Press High Desert Game Story:

Plenty of very insightful quotes, including the Clark / Johnson relationship, and more importantly, the organization's new focus on patience and OBP...

 

www.vvdailypress.com/cgi-...207,10585,

 

More Baseball America Brewer Highlights:

Honestly, not sure if any organization has had more of their prospects' individual efforts highlighted thus far this season...

 

With nine hits and 10 RBIs in his last four games for Double-A Huntsville, Brewers prospect Corey Hart is officially on fire. The 21-year-old is spending his first full season at third base, where he's committed seven errors in 16 games. After a slow start at the plate, Hart has raised his numbers to .289-2-20 with a 3-for-5 performance Tuesday night.

 

HIGH DESERT (CAL) C Kade Johnson extended his hitting streak to 17 games on a 2-for-5 performance with two RBI and three runs scored in a 17-6 victory over the Inland Empire 66ers. Johnson reached on a fielder?s choice and scored in the first inning and was hit by a pitch and reached home in the third before connecting on a two-run homer in a five-run fourth inning. He also doubled in the sixth. The Texas native is batting .439 (18-41) with five homers, 14 RBI and 11 runs scored over his last nine contests.

 

OF Daryl Clark went 4-for-5 with a triple, a home run, his third in as many games, and five runs scored for the Mavericks. The lefthander leads the California League in batting average (.440), homers (9), slugging percentage (.920) and sits just one RBI behind Johnson?s circuit-leading 19.

 

Beloit Daily News Game Story:

A few more details on this road game than the Fort Wayne site provided...

 

www.beloitdailynews.com/403/snap23.htm