Wed. 7/17: Another Trio of Rookie-Level Games

[Joseph Zarr]

9 minutes ago, Mass Haas said:

 

 

[Jim Goulart]

 

[Jim Goulart]

 

[Joseph Zarr]

ACL have plated two runs here in the third frame. They trail 3-2. Bases juiced. Two down for C Eric Martinez (who already has a free pass on his ledger).

[Joseph Zarr]

And, some Bitonti sweet lumber chatter:

 

[Joseph Zarr]

Boy did Baez cough up a beautiful throw from the deep OF - a bullseye to the cut-off - and a legit chance to catch the runner trying to take 3B. Ouch. This runner scored in the next AB. Crew trail 4-2.

 

[biedergb]

And then walk, strikeout, single, single and it's now 6-2.  Rough inning so far for Rivera. Cubbies still up and only 2 out.

 

[biedergb]

So the ACL Crew is the only minor league team with a losing record for the season I believe.

And they can't seem to get out of that hole. A few wins, but then losses pile up again.

[biedergb]

Baez with his second error lets another run in. Boy he can hit the ball, but he will need a lot help in fielding. The video of his drop is bad, and I can only imagine what the other errors looked like. 7-2 down

Brewers are up trying to get a rally. Barrios out, but single and walk, and now back to the top of the lineup.

[Joseph Zarr]

We truly are getting the Juan Baez special tonight. CS earlier. RBI poke in the next frame. Drops that relay throw leading to a 4 run outburst. Now is credited with his second fielding error. Is there a more talented player who makes this many routine errors on a nightly basis? IF he could polish his game up he'd be a bonafide blue chipper. BUT...there just truly is a BUT. I'd chalk this up to 'Rebhab' but we've seen him repeatedly make outs on the base paths in Carolina. Talented? Absolutely. Bat-to-ball prowess? Absolutely. Raw and unpolished (and you might say reckless)? Absolutely. 

[Joseph Zarr]

Adamczewski rbi single. Baez sac fly. 7-4 game. Adamczewski advances to 2B on a WP. Bitonti will try to extend the threat. 

[biedergb]

He is still ridiculously young. Remember he is only what 6 months older than Yophery Rodriguez. So he does  have time to mature. But if he did the fundamentals right he would be a high end prospect.

[biedergb]

Dangit. Bitonti has a lot of strikeouts in him. I love the offense he brings, unreal. But will need to cut down on the Ks as he advances.

[Jim Goulart]

9 minutes ago, Joseph Zarr said:

Adamczewski rbi single. Baez sac fly. 7-4 game. Adamczewski advances to 2B on a WP. Bitonti will try to extend the threat. 

 

[Joseph Zarr]

Holguin certainly hasn't followed up a fantastic June with anything of substance but he did just hit his 13th double of his ACL season. A quiet 13 two-baggers given his uber slow 4-for-33 July to date. Barrios stranded him with a swinging K. 7-4 deficit and they head to the sixth inning.

[Joseph Zarr]

Pretty sure CF Ramon Moreno threw this dart to Baez (who fumbled the bag):

Indeed that's Moreno. He has 3 BB tonight. 3 R. 2 SB (11 on the season). Consider my eye 'caught'. K:BB ratio now at 37-13 on the season. at 19 years old, if he can keep working that ratio, with a 0.274 BA and current 0.748 OPS in 84 official AB, he could start making a name for himself. 

In other news, Baez walked. Bitonti struck out for the 3rd time. Crew pulled within 7-5. Headed to the 7th. That is the 5th 3 K game in 45 GP for Bitonti. He has 2 K in 14 GP. In other words he has 2 or more punch outs in 42 % of his GP. There's a reason he is still working at the Complex. In my humble opinion, this is it. 

[Joseph Zarr]

RHP Caden Vire continues to struggle finding his footing in professional baseball. Lead off walk to start the 8th frame (came in with a 2.48 WHIP in 7 1/3 IP). Gets the DP. Then, a double. SB. A walk. A HB. Bases now juiced. Two down. Can he escape unscathed? In his return from injury (missed all of 2023) it most definitely hasn't been smooth sailing.

[Joseph Zarr]

Kudos to Caden for getting the groundout to 1B to end that threat. The struggle is very real but any positive turn of events is a boon to confidence and possibly turning a corner.

[Joseph Zarr]

Trailing 10-5 in the bottom of the ninth with one down (Bitonti pop up to 3B - rough game at the dish), the ACL Crew do have the bases juiced and Gery Holguin coming to the dish for a big opportunity. They trail 10-5.