Link Report Wed. 7/4 -- Late Additions: Power, Stars

[Mass Haas]

Link Report Special:

 

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.helenair.com/articles...507_01.txt

 

Former Brewer hammering AAA after playing in majors

By TOM COTTON, Helena Independent Record Sports Editor

 

When talking about Vinny Rottino, Wally Cox gives the former Helena Brewer the greatest complement a baseball player can receive.

 

"Out of everybody I have hosted, he was a ball player," said Cox, who hosted 15 Helena Brewers over five years. "If anybody was going to make it, it was going to be him."

 

Rottino, who played for Helena in 2003, has made it in a sense, getting a cup of coffee in the major leagues last season for Milwaukee. He, however, is making much more of an impact in Class AAA this season, playing well for Milwaukee's affiliate, the Nashville Sounds.

 

This season he has appeared in 69 games and is hitting .294 with seven home runs. That comes on the heels of a 2006 season in which he hit .314 and drove in 42.

 

"The game gets cleaner," he said comparing playing in rookie ball to playing in Class AAA. "The game gets better and is faster."

 

While playing in the Music City has been nice, the highlight of last season was the nine games he spent in his home state. Rottino is a native of Racine, Wis., so playing in the friendly confines of Miller Park was a fairy tale that came true.

 

"Growing up following the Brewers, it was incredibly special all the way around," Rottino said.

 

His first major-league at bat came in a key situation and it didn't have a Hollywood ending as veteran closer Joe Borowski struck out Rottino to end a game against the Florida Marlins.

 

"I was kind of numb at that point," Rottino said.

 

He stayed with the big club for 31 days last season and batted .214 in his stint there.

 

That was a long ways from 2003, when Rottino was an undrafted free agent. He played college baseball at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and is among the school's best in several categories. Despite a career batting average of .336 for the Eagles he went unnoticed in the First Year Player Draft. A year after finishing in college, he was glad to get the call to come to Montana.

 

"I was pretty excited to be in Helena," he said. "Helena was a smaller city, but it was a nice city. Playing in the ball park was nice. I was introduced to Eddie Sedar which was unbelievable."

 

Sedar, the manager of the Brewers in 2003, 2004 and 2006, was noted for his ability to teach the game and is now the first-base coach for Milwaukee.

 

"He really preached playing the game right," Rottino said. "One of the main things he taught players was 'you can't control a lot of things in the game, but you can control hustle and attitude.' "

 

That first season in Helena he batted .311, but he was most noted for his ability as a utility guy, playing both corner infield positions as well as catcher and the outfield.

 

He said he prefers playing catcher.

 

"It's kind of like being the quarterback out there," he said. "You get in the flow of the game, having an idea where to pitch certain hitters. I think that is my best position as well."

 

Cox said that Rottino would be able to play at whatever position he was asked.

 

"When I watched him play, he was just a natural," Cox said. "I just knew out of all the players he was a guy that was going to make it - his physique, the way he handled himself, the way he batted and the way he would run and catch. He was just a natural and made the hard plays look easy."

 

Cox added that Rottino was as good of a citizen off the field as he was a player on the field. Cox called him a gentleman whom he treated like a son.

 

"I always kept an extra used car (for the players)" Cox said. "Vinny was very respectful. He took care of the car and kept gas in it."

 

Despite his rapid rise in the Milwaukee organization, Rottino still has ties to Helena. He has maintained friendships with former Helena players like Drew Anderson, who he currently plays with in Nashville, and Dana Eveland, who is now in the Arizona organization.

 

He remembers fondly his time on the Capital City.

 

"It (Kindrick Legion Field) was sold out all the time and it was fun to play there," he said.

 

His goal however, is to turn last year's test run with Milwaukee into a more permanent position.

 

"I feel blessed to play the game and move up," he said. "The Brewers didn't have to give me the opportunity and I have made the most of it so far. Hopefully, I will continue to do that."

 

Photo contributed by Nashville Sounds - Former Helena Brewer Vinny Rottino waits for the pitch during a game with the AAA Nashville Sounds this season. Rottino played with the Milwaukee Brewers for 31 days last season and is now batting .294 with seven home runs.

 

http://images.townnews.com/helenair.com/content/articles/2007/07/05/sports_top/b01070507_01.jpg

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.billingsgazette.net/a...ponies.txt

 

Ponies shut out on four hits in loss to Helena

By MIKE SCHERTING

Of The Billings Gazette Staff

 

The Billings Mustangs were the victims of a four-hit, 2-0 shutout at the hands of the Helena Brewers in their return to Cobb Field Wednesday afternoon.

 

You could blame it on a lot of things, like the still-lingering effects of a six-game road trip that saw the Mustangs lose in just about every heartbreaking way possible, including Tuesday's night's walk-off grand slam setback to the Missoula Osprey.

 

You could blame it on the fact the Mustangs didn't return from Missoula until 5 a.m. Wednesday morning, then had to suit up for the 4 p.m. start just a few hours later in 95-degree heat.

 

Maybe you could even blame those special red, white and blue socks and jerseys the players were wearing as part of a July 4 promotion.

 

But the Mustangs didn't. Helena's Roque Mercedes and Robert Bryson combined on the shutout for a reason.

 

"We can't make excuses," said Mustangs shortstop Justin Tordi, who had one of the team's hits. "We have to be out here ready to play every day. They beat us today, hands down."

 

Even though the Mustangs were 1-5 on their road trip, their offense had been clicking. But they showed no signs of having been the team that scored double-digit runs four times on the trip, amassing 52 overall.

 

Instead, Mercedes (2-1) allowed three hits and struck out five over seven innings, while Bryson gave up one hit in two innings to pick up his second save. No Mustang reached second base and they sent just three batters to the plate in six of the nine innings. Helena catcher Eric Fryer threw out Kel Jones trying to steal second to end the third and the Brewers turned a double play to end the fifth.

 

"We've had some tough games the last six games and I think they were just flat-out trying too hard," Mustangs manager Joe Kruzel said of his team. "They were trying to create stuff that's not there."

 

There was a bit of positive news for the Mustangs. Enerio Del Rosario and Phil Valiquette turned in a pitching performance that stopped some of the bleeding from the tough road trip.

 

Mustangs pitchers have given up double-digit runs in four of the previous five games, but Del Rosario (1-2), who started and gave up both runs, and Valiquette kept the team in the game.

 

Valiquette, in particular was strong, giving up just one hit and no walks in 4 2/3 innings. He came on with runners on first and second with one out in the fifth and stranded the runners there.

 

The team's offense, however, provided no help as the Mustangs dropped their third straight.

 

"We always feel a little pressure because we always want to perform well no matter what," said Valiquette, who has probably been the Mustangs most consistent pitcher. "Obviously, we felt a little bit of pressure to keep the game close and that's what we did. It didn't turn out that we won the game, but the rest of the team did a good job making the plays behind me and Del Rosario and that was good for the team."

 

NOTES: The Mustangs dropped to a season-low 7-9. ... Angel Cabrera had two hits for the Mustangs. ... Catcher Frank Meade threw out two Helena would-be base stealers and had a diving catch of a foul ball behind home plate. Meade had to push batter Eric Newton out of the way to make the catch. ... Paid attendance was announced as 3,408, the highest of the season. ... The special red jerseys and multi-striped red socks, which featured a thick blue stripe sandwiched by two thin white stripes, were auctioned off to fans following the game.

 

Photo by CASEY RIFFE / Billings Gazette Staff

Mustangs shortstop Justin Tordi tags out Helena Brewers baserunner Lee Haydel on a steal attempt of second base to end the top of the third inning at Cobb Field on Wednesday. The Brewers beat the Mustangs 2-0.

 

http://images.townnews.com/billingsgazette.net/content/articles/2007/07/05/sports/local/20-ponies.jpg

[molitor fan]

I just want to note the excellent job done by the Manatee's coaching staff - holding out Gamel from the game that was rained out and suspended saved a weird situation from happening in regard to the hitting streak. Now Gamel can go for the league record 32 tonight. Personally, I do not think Gamel is getting enough attention for this...in my mind, Gamel breaking the record would have as much pull as Parra's perfect game in terms of accomplishments.

[pogokat]

I agree completely...Gamel's streak has been nothing short of phenomenal...actually, his whole season has been...he's a heckuva hitter

[Mass Haas]

Remember though, new information came out -- the record is 36, not 31.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.dailymail.com/story/S...for+Power/

 

No fireworks for Power

Asheville right-hander quiets West Virginia bats in eight sharp innings

Jacob Messer

Charleston Daily Mail Sportswriter

 

In honor of the Fourth of July holiday, West Virginia Power players wore camouflage jerseys.

 

The black, brown and green shirts worked.

 

That way the team Kanawha Valley baseball fans are used to watching was nowhere to be seen for the first eight innings Wednesday evening, as visiting Asheville cruised to a 10-4 win over West Virginia.

 

An Appalachian Power Park crowd of 6,028 watched Asheville starter Aneury Rodriguez baffle West Virginia hitters in an impressive eight-inning, 104-pitch performance.

 

The Power (55-27 overall and 7-7 in the second half) managed only four hits and one run off Rodriguez, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound right-hander who recorded eight strikeouts compared to two walks.

 

Center fielder Charlie Fermaint had two of those hits with a first-inning single and an eighth-inning homer. The others were sixth-inning singles by shortstop Brent Brewer and left fielder Steve Chapman.

 

"He kept the ball down and he hit his spots," West Virginia Manager Mike Guerrero said of Rodriguez, whom Baseball America ranks as the 21st overall prospect in the Colorado Rockies' farm system. "When you can pitch in and out, back and forth, it makes it tough."

 

Rodriguez entered the game with a 3-6 record and 5.57 earned run average.

 

"I had to forget about all of the bad outings," Rodriguez said through Asheville hitting coach Houston Jimenez, who translated for the Spanish-speaking pitcher from Higuey in the Dominican Republic. "I put it in the past and I started over again."

 

Asheville pitching coach Bryan Harvey said Wednesday's effort was Rodriguez's second-best outing this season.

 

"He had another one just like this down in Greenville (S.C.)," Harvey said of Rodriguez, who allowed no runs and one hit in seven innings with six strikeouts and two walks in that April 24 road game.

 

"He's a 19-year-old kid who is really inconsistent in his mechanics. Today, he was able to maintain the angle all day and he had a good day. When he does that, he throws the ball very well. When he loses his angle, they hit the ball around on him, as you can tell by his numbers."

 

Rodriguez, who improved his record to 4-6 and lowered his ERA to 5.18, mixed his 87 to 94 mph fastball with his 75 to 80 mph hard and soft curveballs to keep the Power hitters off balance. He also threw his 78 to 82 mph changeup a couple of times, but that pitch "is still a work in progress," Harvey said.

 

His performance is even more impressive considering West Virginia's reputation as the South Atlantic League's best hitting team and most explosive offense.

 

The Power has a .298 batting average and averages 6.6 runs per game. The low Class A club leads the 16-team circuit in both categories.

 

"They swing the bat very well," Harvey said. "But he kept the ball down. They went down and hit some balls hard, but luckily they were right at guys."

 

Rodriguez retired 11 hitters in a row at one point.

 

"The most important thing I was doing today was throwing strikes," Rodriguez said. "I was coming downhill (to take advantage of my height), and I kept the ball down. I located my pitches real well and I had a great command of the strike zone."

 

The Tourists (51-32, 9-5) wasted no time getting on the scoreboard.

 

Asheville second baseman Daniel Mayora hit a two-out home run off West Virginia starter Mike Ramlow in the top of the first inning.

 

Ramlow responded with a rare feat in the second, striking out four batters after one of them reached on a wild pitch. He finished with six strikeouts.

 

Ramlow (4-3) took the loss. The 6-foot-6, 185-pound left-hander allowed two runs on three hits and three walks in four innings.

 

Asheville added another run in the fourth on right fielder Victor Ferrante's sacrifice fly.

 

The Tourists torched reliever D.J. Lidyard for four runs in the fifth on first baseman Mike Paulk's run-scoring single and designated hitter Mike McKenry's three-run homer. Asheville added another run in the sixth on Mayora's two-out single.

 

The Tourists finished their scoring spree in the ninth, manufacturing three runs off reliever Jared Sutton via a walk, single, double, wild pitch and groundout.

 

The Power tagged reliever James Burok for three runs in the ninth on a wild pitch, walk, single, groundout, balk and another single, but it was too little too late.

 

The teams will continue their four-game series at 7:05 tonight (6:05 Central). The Power will start right-hander Chris Toneguzzi (1-1, 5.14). The Tourists will throw right-hander Simon Ferrer (5-5, 4.67).

 

Charleston Daily Mail Photos: Bob Wojcieszak

West Virginia Power shortstop Brent Brewer throws out Asheville Tourists Hector Gomez at first base during their game Wednesday at Appalachian Power Park.

 

http://www.dailymail.com/images/070507Power.jpg

 

West Virginia Power?s Andrew Lefave takes home plate from the Tourists catcher Jhaysson Agustin during the ninth inning of their game at Appalachian Power Park on Wednesday.

 

http://www.dailymail.com/images/070507Power2.jpg

[Mass Haas]

David Weiser's

 

www.starsboxscore.com/

 

DiFELICE DOES IT ALL

SCORELESS STREAK ENDS AT 36 IP IN FRONT OF TOP CROWD

Already named to be the starting pitcher in the Southern League All-Star game, and already the record-holder for consecutive shutout innings pitched, Mark DiFelice cemented his legacy as one of the greatest single-season wonders in Stars history tonight........ Engaging himself in a pitching duel with Tennessee's Justin Berg before the 5th-largest crowd at Joe Davis Stadium since becoming a Milwaukee affiliate, DiFelice socked a two-run double to break a scoreless tie in the 5th, then proceeded to extend his record streak to 36 innings as the Stars satisfied a crowd of 11,455 on the nation's birthday with a 6-3 victory....... On this 4th of July, the Stars had the 2nd largest attendance for a game behind Birmingham's 12,354, as they beat the Diamond Jaxx....... The turnout raised the average attendance for the year from 2,336 per game to 2,558 and it puts the Stars over the 100,000 mark this year.

 

It was good to see the park filled up from the furthest region of the metal bleachers way out in left to the other end of the field. Had there been metal bleachers in right, as they once were in the early years before the picnic tent came along, they would have been occupied, too. From my vantage point high up on the first base side, I could still see cars stream into the stadium as late as the 4th and 5th innings....... Knowing this city as I do, most of those who came out were there for the first time this year, and probably won't be back, but I hope I'm wrong. Because this is the way to spend a summer. The best way, as far as I'm concerned.

 

The Stars have gotten off to a slow start in the 2nd half (7-10 after winning two straight)........ They came in with a 2nd half batting average of .240 to support a rotation ERA of 4.22 and a bullpen ERA of 5.47, which must improve if the Stars are to capture the 2nd half as well, but even if they don't, the Stars won't get far in the playoffs without a reliable bullpen, and it's been overworked....... After giving up just two runs in 14 innings to start the 2nd half, they've given up 31 earned runs on 57 hits in those 43 2/3 -- all in the last ten games.

 

DiFelice, for the entire season, has been a model of consistency in the bullpen, and maybe it's crossed your mind that why take a guy out of a pen that has had to work 43 2/3 innings those ten games........ But DiFelice, who made his third start in as many straight appearances tonight, was once a starter with the Carolina Mudcats in 2000 and 2001 when they were the Rockies' farm club. He was a combined 11-9 with a 3.38 ERA in 42 appearances, only once from out of the pen....... Whether he'll remain in the rotation is something that remains to be seen. Or will he get a deserved bump to Nashville where the team is already 1st in ERA in the PCL at 3.71?...... I think the Stars' brain trust is counting on DiFelice to strengthen a rotation weakened by the loss of Manny Parra and the earlier loss of Adam Pettyjohn, and the failures of Sam Narron (1-3, 6.30 since June 1), Steve Hammond, who has been moved to the bullpen where he has, so far, been more successful, and Corey Thurman, who has given up 17 runs in 16 innings in his four starts, and served up 12 HRs, five coming in June....... Only Lindsay Gulin (5-1, 2.76 since June 1) has had any real consistent success.

 

The first four innings went by at lightning speed, with only one hit in the game -- a single up the middle by Matt Craig to lead off the 2nd....... Justin Berg, (4-6, 5.62), who gave up eight runs on 13 hits in 10 1/3 innings over two previous appearances against the Stars this year, including a frigid April 13 game at Smokies Park, was working on a no-hitter....... Alcides Escobar had been the only runner, reaching on a one-out walk in the 3rd, then moving to 2nd after a sac bunt by DiFelice.

 

With two out in the 5th and two runners on base, DiFelice came back from an 0-2 hole to break the scoreless deadlock....... DiFelice crushed a 2-2 fastball and drove it all the way to the alley in center to score Steve Moss and Escobar for a 2-0 lead...... DiFelice, meanwhile, continued his mastery on the mound, allowing just a two-out hit to right-center by Issmael Salas in the 5th, and a one-out grounder through the infield to left by Gary Cates in the 6th..... (Time to credit Escobar for stealing a couple of hits away from Cates in the 1st by snagging a liner and intercepting a grounder that nearly got through the middle in the 4th, and noteworthy snags by Michael Brantley in the 5th, Brendan Katin, who went to the wall to rob Jorge Cortes in the 7th, and Steve Sollmann, who plucked a liner that was stamped extra bases in the 7th.)

 

The Stars wore Berg down some more in the 6th as they extended their lead...... Brantley, who walked four times in Monday's game, led off the inning with a walk on a 3-2 pitch, giving him seven walks in four games. After striking out Sollmann, threatening a unique feat of never going hitless in consecutive games this season, it became someone's idea to intentionally walk Lou Palmisano, who was riding an 0-for-11 slump, to pitch to Adam Heether, who came in 10-for-20 in his last five games. Figure that one out........ As expected, Heether came through with an excuse-me swing that generated an RBI single, dropping in near the right field line, scoring the speedy Brantley from 2nd, and moving Palmisano to 3rd....... Katin and Moss followed with singles to left that ran the Stars lead up to 5-0, forcing Berg's exit from the game........ They were important runs as it turned out.

 

Going into the 7th inning, DiFelice had thrown an increditble 78.3% of his 74 pitches for strikes, including 18 of 21 first-pitch strikes. But all things must pass, as George Harrison once stated on a post-Beatle album. DiFelice's amazing streak of 36 consecutive scoreless innings came to an end after Casey McGehee doubled down the left field line, sending leadoff hitter Matt Craig to 3rd...... Issmael Salas followed it up by pulling a ball down the right field line for a two-run single. The Smokies, winners of four of their last five games, were on the board........ (Actually DiFelice passed up Glenn Woolard's record of 29 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings in his last start on June 29.)

 

Bo Hall, who finished with a June ERA of 3.86 and was lit for two runs on four hits in 1 2/3 IP in relief in Tuesday's first game, held the Smokies hitless for 2 1/3, but loaded the bases with one out in the 9th........ With the game on the line for the first time, Marino Salas faced Gary Cates with the bases loaded and two out, but Cates, 1-for-8 with the bases full this season, hit a deep fly to Katin in right to end the game, and give Salas his first save since June 8.

 

Will Inman, who held the Diamond Jaxx to just one hit in six innings last Saturday, will get the ball for the Stars, Thursday, facing right-hander Kevin Hart (6-5, 4.75)........Hart has not lost since May 24 and is 4-0 with a 2.72 ERA in his last seven starts.

 

Outfielder Ruben Mateo has been released....... The former major leaguer with four different teams leaves the Stars with five HRs, 15 RBIs, and a .240 average. Mateo joined the team on May 18. His biggest day was a two HR, five RBI game against the Diamond Jaxx the next day. But Mateo never fully recovered from a hamstring injury which he re-aggravated after a recent game against Chattanooga. Ryan Crew came off the disabled list, filling his spot on the roster........ Grandstand's new Huntsville set of minor league baseball cards is out and selling for $5 at the Stars' souvenir stand, as well as the 2007 Southern League minor league set........ Seven Stars were named to the All-Star team last June 26. Named along with DiFelice is Brendan Katin, Steve Sollmann, Lou Palmisano (an All-Star last year), Steve Moss, Lindsay Gulin, and Marino Salas...... Moss hit just .204 in June after a .240 May........ Palmisano has started off July with an 0-for-12 slump....... Sollmann got his hit in the 7th inning -- a clean single to center....... And Katin is riding a seven-game hitting streak (10-for-28), his longest of the season.

 

Alcides Escobar is complementing his fine defense with a four-game hitting streak, in which he has gone 6-for-14.......Despite his consistent hitting, Steve Sollmann has driven in only three runs in his last 19 games.