TooLiveBrew

Birmingham 9, @Huntsville 5 Huntsville Box The Barons drubbed starter Evan Anundsen to the tune of 6 R/5 ER through 3.1 IP, and added three more runs off the bullpen. After Birmingham's three-run 4th extended their lead to 6-1, the Stars rallied back with three of their own in the home half of the inning -- Josh Prince's 3-R HR cut the lead to 6-4, but that's the closest Huntsville got. Southern League MVP candidate Hunter Morris saw his late-August WOAHs continue, with an 0-4 game. Morris sports a sub-.600 OPS over his last ten games, and has seen his season OPS drop under .900 (currently .883) during this slump. Hopefully Hunter can right the ship and not let a shot at the MVP slip away. Scooter Gennett went 1-4, but his lone hit was a solo HR on a letters-high pitch in the bottom of the 1st. Seven of the nine Stars in the lineup tonight tallied at least one hit, but they weren't able to string enough together to rally back tonight. Lee Haydel: 0-3, BB Hainley Statia: 1-4 Gennett: 1-4, HR, RBI Morris: 0-4 Brock Kjeldgaard: 1-4 Kentrail Davis: 1-3, 2B, BB Prince: 2-4, HR, 3 RBI, CS (17) T.J. Mittelstaedt: 1-2, 2B, 2 BB Anderson De La Rosa: 1-4, PB (14), PO Anundsen: 3.1 IP, 9 H, 6 R/5 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 4:3 GO:AO Brian Garman: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, BB, 2 K Tim Dillard: 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R/ER, 0 BB, 4 K Josh Butler: 1 IP, 3 H, 1 R/ER, 0 BB, 1 K Philippe Valiquette: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K Huntsville PbP Everything came after two in the 4th: Huntsville Bottom of the 4th -Scooter Gennett lines out to center fielder Brandon Short. -Hunter Morris grounds out, pitcher Jake Petricka to first baseman Andy Wilkins. -Brock Kjeldgaard singles on a line drive to right fielder Jose Martinez. -Kentrail Davis walks. Brock Kjeldgaard to 2nd. -Josh Prince homers (7) on a fly ball to left field. Brock Kjeldgaard scores. Kentrail Davis scores. -T. J. Mittelstaedt called out on strikes. After Birmingham plated two in the top half and stretched the lead out to 8-4, the Stars looked like they had a shot to come roaring back, but no joy: Huntsville Bottom of the 7th -Pitching Change: Salvador Sanchez replaces Jake Petricka. -T. J. Mittelstaedt doubles (7) on a line drive to right fielder Jose Martinez. -Anderson De La Rosa singles on a line drive to left fielder Brady Shoemaker. T. J. Mittelstaedt to 3rd. -Lee Haydel grounds into a double play, shortstop Tyler Saladino to second baseman Greg Paiml to first baseman Andy Wilkins. J. Mittelstaedt scores. Anderson De La Rosa out at 2nd. -Hainley Statia grounds out to first baseman Andy Wilkins. Huntsville Gameday

What does TC07 have to do with a post by monty?

Ethier was signed to a 5/$85M extension (2013-'17, club option for '18) this June. Did you mean you expect them to extend him to a 7/$100M deal after this current deal expires?

Thanks for the detailed response. I admit to feeling pretty cynical about the Brewers' approach to pitching development. I've started to wonder if perhaps Tunnell was only getting credit for successes & not getting criticized for the overall lack of success in developing young arms. As you highlighted in the sentence I quoted, obviously we just can't know the whole truth here. But it does sound like Tunnell has a strong ability to do just what you outline & help a pitcher break everything down. I, too, hope his assignment to the MLB bullpen is only temporary & just a big-time reaction to the disastrous results this season. I certainly hope the Brewers will retain him in his current position, even if it has to come with a sizeable pay increase.

Birmingham 1, @Huntsville 0 Huntsville Box A brilliant pitching performance from Huntsville was one-upped tonight by the Barons. Birmingham starter Nestor Molina allowed just five 1Bs and one BB over seven innings, and Brandon Kloess worked the final two frames to secure the shutout. Josh Stinson did what he's done all season, and turned in another good outing -- six innings with one run allowed. Johnny Hellweg was perfect over 2 IP in his fourth relief appearance... and fourth two-inning relief appearance. Kyle Heckathorn was also perfect in his lone inning of work, the 9th. Huntsville's hits were limited to six 1Bs, and they only managed one BB on top of that. Not much to talk about here, but they did have scoring opportunities in the 4th, 6th, & 8th (see the PbP section below). Lee Haydel: 2-4, SB Josh Prince: 1-4, OF assist Scooter Gennett: 1-4 Hunter Morris: 1-4 Brock Kjeldgaard: 0-4 Kentrail Davis: 0-3 Hainley Statia: 0-3 T.J. Mittelstaedt: 0-2, BB Adam Weisenburger: 1-3 Stinson: 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R/ER, 3 BB, 3 K, HBP, 8:5 GO:AO Hellweg: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K Heckathorn: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K Huntsville PbP After Birmingham scored their only run in the top half of the 4th, Hunstville had their first real scoring opportunity of the game: Huntsville Bottom of the 4th -Josh Prince singles on a line drive to left fielder Brandon Short. -Scooter Gennett singles on a bunt ground ball to pitcher Nestor Molina. Josh Prince to 2nd. -Hunter Morris lines out to right fielder Jose Martinez. -Brock Kjeldgaard grounds into a double play, shortstop Tyler Saladino to second baseman Greg Paiml to first baseman Seth Loman. Scooter Gennett out at 2nd. The Stars ended the top of the 6th thanks to a clutch double play on a flyout to Prince in CF: Birmingham Top of the 6th -Jose Martinez singles on a fly ball to right fielder Brock Kjeldgaard. -Erik Morrison grounds into a force out, third baseman T. J. Mittelstaedt to second baseman Scooter Gennett. Jose Martinez out at 2nd. Erik Morrison to 1st. -Luis Sierra lines into a double play, center fielder Josh Prince to second baseman Scooter Gennett to first baseman Hunter Morris. Erik Morrison doubled off 1st. In the bottom of the 6th, aggressive baserunning cost the Stars dearly. Morris's single must've plugged the left-center gap, and perhaps without the out at the plate, it would've been a double: Huntsville Bottom of the 6th -Lee Haydel singles on a ground ball to center fielder Trayce Thompson. -Josh Prince grounds into a force out, second baseman Greg Paiml to shortstop Tyler Saladino. Lee Haydel out at 2nd. Josh Prince to 1st. -Scooter Gennett grounds into a force out, second baseman Greg Paiml to shortstop Tyler Saladino. Josh Prince out at 2nd. Scooter Gennett to 1st. -Hunter Morris singles on a ground ball to center fielder Trayce Thompson. Scooter Gennett out at home on the throw, center fielder Trayce Thompson to shortstop Tyler Saladino to catcher Luis Sierra. The last scoring chance for the Stars came in the 8th, but they weren't able to get the big two-out hit they needed: Huntsville Bottom of the 8th -Pitching Change: Brandon Kloess replaces Nestor Molina. -T. J. Mittelstaedt lines out to right fielder Jose Martinez. -Adam Weisenburger strikes out swinging. -Lee Haydel singles on a ground ball to center fielder Trayce Thompson. -With Josh Prince batting, Lee Haydel steals (10) 2nd base, . Lee Haydel advances to 3rd, on a throwing error by catcher Luis Sierra. -Josh Prince grounds out, third baseman Erik Morrison to first baseman Seth Loman. Huntsville Gameday

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Birmingham 5, @Huntsville 4 Huntsville Box After Ariel "Stalled-wagon" Pena surrendered two runs in both the 2nd & 3rd innings, the Stars answered back to tie this one up with a four-run home half of the 3rd -- thanks largely in part to a crucial fielding error from the Barons' CF. Pena bounced back nicely in the 4th: after a leadoff BB, he got a backwards K, a weakly-hit groundout, and a swinging K. Naturally, he was replaced to start the 5th, because he'd reached 85 pitches. 'You're welcome' for me not typing out all the frustrated and/or angry thoughts I have flowing through my brain right now about the Brewers' MiLB pitching development. I sincerely doubt anyone wants to see how pessimistic I am at this moment. A pair of singles in the 6th got Birmingham the go-ahead run, and they kept Huntsville off the scoreboard the rest of the way for the win. The Stars had run-scoring chances in the 2nd & 7th, but really didn't mount any other serious threats. Lee Haydel: 0-5 Josh Prince: 0-5, OF assist Scooter Gennett: 3-5 Hunter Morris: 0-4, BB Brock Kjeldgaard: 0-1, 3 BB, SB T.J. Mittelstaedt: 0-4 Hainley Statia: 0-3, BB Kentrail Davis: 2-3, 3B, RBI, BB, PO/CS Adam Weisenburger: 1-3, BB, PB, 0/2 throwing out basestealers Pena: 4 IP, 6 H, 4 R/ER, 3 BB, 7 K, 2:1 GO:AO, 85 TP (50 strikes) Dan Meadows: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R/ER, 0 BB, 3 K R.J. Seidel: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K Brian Garman: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K Darren Byrd: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K Huntsville PbP The biggest missed opportunity for the Stars' offense was definitely in the 2nd: Huntsville Bottom of the 2nd -Brock Kjeldgaard walks. -T. J. Mittelstaedt strikes out swinging. -Hainley Statia pops out to shortstop Tyler Saladino in foul territory. -With Kentrail Davis batting, Brock Kjeldgaard steals (1) 2nd base. -Kentrail Davis walks. -Adam Weisenburger walks. Brock Kjeldgaard to 3rd. Kentrail Davis to 2nd. -Lee Haydel grounds out, second baseman Greg Paiml to first baseman Andy Wilkins. Pena escaped the 3rd without further damage thanks to a nice throw from Prince: Birmingham Top of the 3rd -Brandon Short flies out to center fielder Josh Prince. -Trayce Thompson homers (3) on a fly ball to left field. -Andy Wilkins grounds out to first baseman Hunter Morris. -Jose Martinez singles on a line drive to center fielder Josh Prince. -With Seth Loman batting, Jose Martinez steals (6) 2nd base. -Seth Loman walks. -Erik Morrison singles on a ground ball to center fielder Josh Prince. Jose Martinez scores. Seth Loman out at 3rd on the throw, center fielder Josh Prince to third baseman T. Mittelstaedt. Then came the Stars' rally, unfortunately their only scoring on the game: Huntsville Bottom of the 3rd -Pitching Change: Matt Wickswat replaces Simon Castro. -Josh Prince grounds out, third baseman Erik Morrison to first baseman Andy Wilkins. -Scooter Gennett singles on a ground ball to shortstop Tyler Saladino. -Hunter Morris walks. Scooter Gennett to 2nd. -Brock Kjeldgaard walks. Scooter Gennett to 3rd. Hunter Morris to 2nd. -T. J. Mittelstaedt strikes out swinging. -Hainley Statia reaches on a fielding error by center fielder Trayce Thompson. Scooter Gennett scores. Hunter Morris scores. Brock Kjeldgaard scores. Hainley Statia to 2nd. -Kentrail Davis triples (7) on a line drive to right fielder Jose Martinez. Hainley Statia scores. -Adam Weisenburger strikes out swinging. Huntsville Gameday

Honestly asking this (& a bit ashamed I have to ask), but who aside from Axford is Tunnell credited with turning around or helping along significantly?

I'm not suggesting they made any changes... more wondering if there's a shortcoming in ability to identify & correct mechanical issues.

Everton looks pretty legit. Fellaini is just so much fun to watch, and of course... Tim Howard! I definitely hope they can stay in the title hunt all season. I'm assuming it won't be, but just for fair play's sake, I hope Rooney's injury isn't serious.

Soo... Ariel Pena in the Angels organization this season takes a big step forward in command & has his best season as a pro. Pena then joins the Brewers organization and completely comes undone. Is this a coincidence? Or is Pena struggling to adjust after leaving the only org. he knew since he was signed as a 16-yo? Or is there an incredibly serious lack of ability to develop pitching in the Brewers' minor league system?

I read that the estimated payroll LAD will be taking on is around $260M

My starting rotation: Gallardo FA or trade addition (Edwin Jackson is one FA I wouldn't mind) Peralta Rogers Fiers Thornburg in AAA to work on stamina, and first man up in case of injury. What I think DM will do (unless Peralta comes up & looks great in his September starts): Gallardo FA/trade addition Estrada Fiers Rogers With Thornburg at AAA, and Peralta repeating AAA so his confidence is shot.

@Huntsville 10, Birmingham 2 Huntsville Box After losing four out of five in Mississippi (and nine of their last twelve), the Stars were apparently very happy to get back home. While Hunter Morris (2-4, 3B, HR, 3 RBI), Kentrail Davis (3-4, 2B, HR, 4 RBI), and the offense were busy tallying ten runs on eleven hits, starter Johnnie Lowe turned in another solid 6 IP performance... followed by Josh Butler dominating in 3 IP of relief. After going quietly in the home half of the 1st, the Stars scored two runs in both the 2nd and 3rd off of Barons starter Andre Rienzo. Rienzo was born in Sau Paolo, Brazil (signed as a FA at age 18), which raises two questions for me: 1) how many Brazilian-players are active in any level of MLB... or have ever been active? (Answer to the latter -- one)... and 2) people are allowed to play baseball instead of soccer in Brazil? If you click through to that link I included, you'll see that, like Rienzo, Yan Gomes was also born in Sau Paolo (& just less than one year earlier). It's a big city, but still -- what are the odds there? Interesting side story in this one. Rienzo kept Huntsville off the scoreboard in the 4th and 5th, and Birmingham pulled to 4-2 after the top half of the 6th. But Davis socked a two-out solo HR off Rienzo with two outs in the 6th to push the lead back to three runs. Rienzo finished the 6th, but that was it for him... and the Stars absolutely roasted his replacement, Jon Bachanov, to the tune of 5 ER in just 2 IP. Game over. Lee Haydel: 1-4 Josh Prince: 0-4, BB Scooter Gennett: 1-5 Morris: 2-4, 3B, HR, 3 RBI Brock Kjeldgaard: 0-2, RBI, BB T.J. Mittelstaedt: 1-3, BB Hainley Statia: 1-3, BB, E (throwing) Davis: 3-4, 2B, HR, 4 RBI Anderson De La Rosa: 2-4, 2 RBI Lowe: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R/ER, 5 BB, 3 K, 10:3 GO:AO Butler: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K Huntsville PbP The 7th & 8th were where the Stars broke this one wide open: Huntsville Bottom of the 7th -Pitching Change: Jon Bachanov replaces Andre Rienzo. -Lee Haydel singles on a ground ball to center fielder Trayce Thompson. -Josh Prince flies out to right fielder Brandon Short. -Scooter Gennett lines out softly to third baseman Erik Morrison. -With Hunter Morris batting, wild pitch by Jon Bachanov, Lee Haydel to 3rd. -Hunter Morris homers (24) on a fly ball to right field. Lee Haydel scores. -Brock Kjeldgaard pops out to first baseman Seth Loman. Huntsville Bottom of the 8th -T. J. Mittelstaedt walks. -Hainley Statia singles on a ground ball to center fielder Trayce Thompson. J. Mittelstaedt to 2nd. -Kentrail Davis doubles (19) on a fly ball to center fielder Trayce Thompson. J. Mittelstaedt scores. Hainley Statia to 3rd. -Anderson De La Rosa singles on a line drive to left fielder Brady Shoemaker. Hainley Statia scores. Kentrail Davis scores. -Lee Haydel flies out to left fielder Brady Shoemaker. -Josh Prince grounds into a force out, third baseman Erik Morrison to second baseman Tyler Saladino. Anderson De La Rosa out at 2nd. Josh Prince to 1st. -Scooter Gennett flies out to right fielder Brandon Short. Huntsville Gameday

Wow, no kidding. I think the Dodgers are going to be back in terrible shape in another two or three seasons, if it even takes that long. Ownership had to Make A Statement™... they're Committed To Winning™!

Whoa, I did not see the Red Sox dealing Gonzalez coming. Geez... is this legit & a done deal?

@Mississippi 3, Huntsville 2 Huntsville Box apoligies in advance, as I'm going to keep this very short since it's quite late... Josh Prince, Hunter Morris, and Hainley Statia each had two hits for the Stars, with Morris and Statia driving in the only two Huntsville runs on the game. Scooter Gennett, Brock Kjeldgaard, and Adam Weisenburger added one single apiece. Starter Jimmy Nelson finished with a line of: 5 IP, 6 H (all singles), 3 R/2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, WP, 6:2 GO:AO, 89 TP (51 strikes). Both BBs came in the 5th, and prior to that inning Nelson had allowed five singles, one WP, and one ER through four innings. Since he's coming off missed time due to injury, I'm not sure if I should feel underwhelmed or somewhat impressed by Nelson's past six starts. They certainly haven't been impressive in the cold statistical sense (4.65 ERA over 25.3 IP). Definitely not cause for concern, but not the progress most were hoping to see from Nelson at AA so far. Kyle Heckathorn (2 IP) and R.J. Seidel (1 IP) combined to shut out the Braves from the 6th inning on. Huntsville PbP Huntsville's only offense came in the 2nd & 3rd: Huntsville Top of the 2nd -Defensive Substitution: Jason Christian replaces first baseman Joey Terdoslavich, batting 3rd, playing first base. -Hunter Morris singles on a ground ball to right fielder Bobby Stevens. -Brock Kjeldgaard walks. Hunter Morris to 2nd. -Kentrail Davis flies out to left fielder Keenan Wiley. -Hainley Statia doubles (9) on a line drive to right fielder Bobby Stevens. Hunter Morris scores. Brock Kjeldgaard to 3rd. -Adam Weisenburger hit by pitch. -Jimmy Nelson called out on strikes. -T. J. Mittelstaedt flies out to center fielder Todd Cunningham. Huntsville Top of the 3rd -Josh Prince singles on a ground ball to shortstop Jaime Pedroza. -Scooter Gennett singles on a bunt ground ball to third baseman Joe Leonard. Josh Prince to 2nd. -Hunter Morris singles on a ground ball to right fielder Bobby Stevens. Josh Prince scores. Scooter Gennett out at 3rd on the throw, right fielder Bobby Stevens to third baseman Joe Leonard. -Brock Kjeldgaard grounds into a double play, shortstop Jaime Pedroza to second baseman Philip Gosselin to first baseman Jason Christian. Hunter Morris out at 2nd. Huntsville Gameday

Thanks for posting it, I always like to turn in a ballot for these when I actually remember them.

Command has been a big issue for Nelson since getting bumped to AA. Hopefully he can harness the Downhill Thunder tonight.

Definitely need to see some more ballots. The results are all kinds of funky looking right now.

@Mississippi 3, Huntsville 1 Huntsville Box *sigh* Another tough loss for the Stars tonight, and another night of getting dominated by Mississippi's pitchers (H'ville was a combined 6-42 on the game). The main culprit tonight was starter Gary Moran (get a brain, moran!), who allowed 1 unearned R on just three H over 7 IP (0 BB/8 K). The best scoring threat Huntsville amassed was in the 4th, when a SB & throwing E allowed Domnit Bolivar (3-5) to reach 3B. Bolivar was plated on a SF from Andy Gonzalez (0-3, RBI, BB). Aside from that, the Stars advanced a runner to 2B just three times. Starter Evan Anundsen went 4.2 IP and allowed just one run (earned), before appearing to lose command in the 5th somewhere around... you guessed it... 85 pitches. Perhaps the problem isn't that the Brewers are limiting their MiLB pitchers to 85-pitch outings, but instead that the system is full of guys who just don't project realistically as SPs due to endurance issues. Either way... sucks. Five Huntsville RPs combined to work 7.2 IP of scoreless relief. I don't really feel like posting each one's performance, but in such a tight game, each guy's contribution was pretty clutch. Since many of us love tracking prospects, Johnny Hellweg turned in his second consecutive 2 IP scoreless relief outing. Aside from Bolivar & Gonzalez, Josh Prince (1-6), Hunter Morris (1-5), Brock Kjeldgaard (1-5), and Kentrail Davis (0-4, BB) were the only other Stars to reach base. Huntsville PbP Darnell Coles took a page from the Ron Roenicke playbook in the 1st with his #3 hitter batting -- why?!: Huntsville Top of the 1st -Josh Prince called out on strikes. -Domnit Bolivar singles on a ground ball to left fielder Evan Gattis, deflected by third baseman Joe Leonard. -Scooter Gennett out on a sacrifice bunt, third baseman Joe Leonard to first baseman Joey Terdoslavich. Domnit Bolivar to 2nd. -Andy Gonzalez grounds out, pitcher Gary Moran to first baseman Joey Terdoslavich. And here's Anundsen's wild 5th inning: Mississippi Bottom of the 5th -Philip Gosselin walks. -Jason Christian strikes out swinging. -With Gary Moran batting, wild pitch by Evan Anundsen, Philip Gosselin to 2nd. -Gary Moran strikes out swinging. -Todd Cunningham singles on a ground ball to second baseman Scooter Gennett. Philip Gosselin to 3rd. -Keenan Wiley singles on a fly ball to left fielder Brock Kjeldgaard, deflected by center fielder Josh Prince. Philip Gosselin scores. Todd Cunningham to 3rd. -Pitching Change: Brian Garman replaces Evan Anundsen, batting 9th. -Joey Terdoslavich called out on strikes. The walk-off: Mississippi Bottom of the 13th -Pitching Change: Philippe Valiquette replaces Josh Butler, batting 9th. -Evan Gattis grounds out, shortstop Domnit Bolivar to first baseman Hunter Morris. -Joe Leonard reaches on a throwing error by shortstop Domnit Bolivar. -Offensive Substitution: Pinch-hitter Bobby Stevens replaces Billy Bullock. -Bobby Stevens homers (1) on a fly ball to left field. Joe Leonard scores. Huntsville Gameday

So a horse bars into a walk... no -- wait... a horse canters into a walk, and then... no, wait... hang on guys, this is funny, I promise!

He also showed me the hand signal that Italians sometimes use to describe being in a pressure situation, & explained the meaning behind it. Let's just say I can't post it here

I started to photoshop a picture of Colon with a Rolo for a belly. It wasn't as funny as I thought it would be, disappointingly.

To the 13th we go in Mississippi, and Kentrail Davis leads it off with a BB... come on bats!