TooLiveBrew

@Huntsville 7, Pensacola 4 I'm going to keep tonight's recap brief... feeling tired Huntsville Box Another good game tonight in Huntsville, and the Stars took control of it by scoring in each of the 6th, 7th, and 8th (4 R total in that span). They were also able to capitalize on shaky command by the Pensacola pitching staff, which issued 10 BBs & 4 WPs in the game. Josh Stinson struggled in his second straight start, after posting a 1.93 ERA over his past seven... and basically getting good results all season. His final line tonight: 4.2 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, WP, 6:2 GO:AO, 97 TP. Dan Meadows, Brian Garman, and Brandon Kintzler combined to shut out Pensacola over the final 4.1 IP. Hunter "The Mayor" Morris went 1-2 with a 2B (37), two BB, and his second SB of the season. Is there anywhere that tracks things like single-season records for a MLB club's farm system teams? I'd have to guess Morris's 2012 2B & XBH production will at least be approaching record caliber. Scooter Gennett played tonight, and the short mental break certainly didn't hurt. He finished 2-5, although he did make a throwing error on the first batter of the game. Jean Segura had his second hitless game as Brewers property, going 0-2 with 2 BB, one RBI (via sac fly), and was 1/1 in SB attempts. Josh Prince finished 2-3 with a 2B, BB, and two RBI. Brock Kjeldgaard went 1-4 with a 2B. Adam Weisenburger was 1-3 with a 2B and two RBI. T.J. Mittelstaedt went 0-1 with three BB. Lee Haydel went 0-4 with a BB. Domnit Bolivar singled in his lone PA, a pinch-hit appearance to lead off the 8th; he stole second & advanced to third on a throwing error by the catcher on the play, and scored on Segura's SF -- not bad for a pinch hit cameo! Billy Hamilton stole three more bases after getting shut out yesterday. His tally is now up to 125! Huntsville PbP The Stars scored two runs in the 4th, and how can you not love any inning that starts 2B--BB--2B: Huntsville Bottom of the 4th -Brock Kjeldgaard doubles (5) on a line drive to left fielder Andrew Means. -Hunter Morris walks. -Josh Prince doubles (23) on a fly ball to center fielder Ryan LaMarre. Brock Kjeldgaard scores. Hunter Morris scores. -T. J. Mittelstaedt walks. -Adam Weisenburger grounds into a force out, pitcher Kyle Lotzkar to third baseman David Vidal. Josh Prince out at 3rd. T. Mittelstaedt to 2nd. Adam Weisenburger to 1st. -Josh Stinson out on a sacrifice bunt, pitcher Kyle Lotzkar to second baseman Brodie Greene. T. Mittelstaedt to 3rd. Adam Weisenburger to 2nd. -Lee Haydel grounds out, second baseman Brodie Greene to first baseman Beau Mills. The Huntsville 7th captures a bit just how wild the Blue Wahoos pitchers were tonight: Huntsville Bottom of the 7th -Pitching Change: Josh Ravin replaces Drew Hayes, batting 7th, replacing catcher Mark Fleury. -Defensive Substitution: Tucker Barnhart replaces pitcher Drew Hayes, batting 9th, playing catcher. -Jean Segura walks. -Scooter Gennett singles on a soft line drive to right fielder Josh Fellhauer. Jean Segura to 3rd. -Brock Kjeldgaard reaches on a fielder's choice out, shortstop Billy Hamilton to catcher Tucker Barnhart. Jean Segura out at home. Scooter Gennett to 2nd. -With Hunter Morris batting, passed ball by Tucker Barnhart, Scooter Gennett to 3rd. Brock Kjeldgaard to 2nd. -With Hunter Morris batting, wild pitch by Josh Ravin, Scooter Gennett scores. Brock Kjeldgaard to 3rd. -With Hunter Morris batting, wild pitch by Josh Ravin, Brock Kjeldgaard scores. -Hunter Morris walks. -Josh Prince strikes out swinging. -Pitching Change: Chris Manno replaces Josh Ravin, batting 7th. -With T. J. Mittelstaedt batting, Hunter Morris steals (2) 2nd base. -T. J. Mittelstaedt walks. Wild pitch by pitcher Chris Manno. Hunter Morris to 3rd. -Adam Weisenburger strikes out swinging. Huntsville Gameday

Oh no. I guess we can only hope it's nothing serious.

You have to let the video finish, then the YouTube 'end-video' screen offers links to the video of the HR, and another of a post-game interview with Morris.

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Big time hat-tip for you for posting that, RockCo. I am currently joining you in dining on some crow. I can't say I thought he'd fare this well even if I thought he would be ok, but the 2012 Pirates are a pretty awesome story. I'm definitely rooting for them at this point.

Great post on that jli27. Sheffield also said that Joe Torre (& "the organization"... aka NYY) were racist: ""I know when I was there, the couple of blacks that were there, every one of them had an issue with the organization. They had an issue with Joe Torre. They weren't treated like everybody else. I got called out in a couple of meetings that I thought were unfair." My read on that little quote? Poor widdle Gary gotted his feewings hurted. Very classic self-obsessed behavior... the guy could dish it out, but he couldn't take it.

I think Lawrie will be a very good hitter, but I don't recall seeing anyone call him a superstar right now or say that he's going to win the MVP. EDIT: Here is another player who made it to MLB at a very young age, mashed in his first year, struggled in his second year, and has bounced back just fine. In fact, this guy was another who many on BF.net dismissed as an overhyped young player who surely would never live up to the hype (iirc someone even started a thread on that topic). Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't, but you sure aren't seeing many people posting about how he was just overhyped anymore... though I do recall some I-told-you-so caliber posts during his second season.

I think the return for Greinke certainly indicates that 'teams are valuing prospects more than ever', while true, is still just a statement.

Wow, words cannot express enough how much I enjoyed this.

Tallion's making-strange-faces-when-he-pitches projectability is just off the charts. He's a gem in that aspect. And thank you Mass Haas for linking to the video of Hunter's bomb. I was really hoping there'd be video of it & the ensuing madness. And holy heck is it hard to find anything not to like about Hunter Morris in that short postgame interview. Also, you have to love the fan that reacts right as the ball jumps off Morris's bat with, "BOOOOOOM! ... GET OUTTA HERE!"

Wow, I always really enjoy reading Sickels's stuff. Thanks for linking that, Eye Black. Overall, I thought it was a reasonable assessment of the players he reviewed. That last paragraph is pretty good -- Magnifico's "772 MPH fastball" I'm really looking forward to the pre-2013 system assessments from the various prospect trackers. I don't think the Brewers will be regarded as being in the top tier (they still really lack any real mammoth bat), but I do think they'll be safely in the second tier of org.'s, or at least comfortably in the middle of the pack. It's kind of depressing that I'm hoping for 'middle of the pack', but the situation is what it is. Baby steps.

Ariel Pena with less question about his command would be one of the highest-regarded SP prospects in all of baseball, not a reliever. Nitpicking, I know, but still. Pena himself isn't yet regarded as just some guy who'll inevitably have to move to the 'pen (yes I know that has been said about him, but I've read it said just as much that he's a SP) Just wanted to say that it's really cool to see someone's first post on BF come in the MiLB forum. I doubt many, if any, MiLB forum regulars were saying the following, but heck -- some people were making the case that Hart wouldn't be able to play 1B. Some fans seem to think position switches are super tough. To be fair some are, but not flipping from one corner OF spot to the other, or moving to 1B.

@Huntsville 6, Pensacola 5 (11 innings) Huntsville Box TL;DR version: one run, long pause, then one run that tied it, then a bullpen implosion, then another bullpen implosion... then shaving cream pie to the face of Hunter "The Mayor" Morris. This was a game for the ages for Huntsville, and one I feel like I can't do justice in the Link Report. Ariel Pena started off looking like his struggles from his first Brewers outing might carry over into this one. He issued a BB to Billy Hamilton, but Anderson De La Rosa (0-3, 2 BB, 2/3 in throwing out basestealers) threw Hamilton out when he attempted a steal during the next PA. That wound up being a pretty huge CS, as it meant the two 2Bs Pena went on to allow in the 1st only resulted in one run (Hamilton finished the game 0/1 in SB attempts). That would also be the only run Pena allowed tonight. He allowed just six baserunners (4 singles and 2 BB) over the rest of his outing, which ran through the 7th. This was a very strong performance from "Ariel Speedwagon" tonight, and shouldn't be lost in the (well-deserved) attention paid to the phenomenal bottom of the 11th inning comeback. Final line for Pena: 7 IP, 6 H, 1 R/ER, 3 BB, 6 K, WP, 6:6 GO:AO, 94 TP. Although Blue Wahoos SP Tony Cingrani kept the Stars off the scoreboard through his 5 IP, the only frame in which he didn't allow multiple runners to reach was the 3rd. Huntsville finally got into the run column with a clutch pinch-hit HR from T.J. Mittelstaedt, who was brought on to hit for Pena to lead off the home half of the 7th. Mittelstaedt stayed in the game as part of a double-switch entering the top of the 8th, and added a single -- the first hit in the amazing 11th inning rally. He finished 2-3 with one RBI. Darren Byrd came on in relief of Pena, and promptly worked a 1-2-3 (K, groundout, K) 8th inning. Byrd was able to dance out of danger in the 9th, escaping a bases-loaded two-out jam by inducing a groundball for a force out. Phew! The Stars got a leadoff BB from pinch hitter Lee Haydel in the 9th, but weren't able to come up with the big hit to bring him home. In the 10th, Brandon Kintzler issued two one-out BBs, but then got a huge double play to get the Stars up for another chance to walk-off with the win. With one out, Hunter Morris (2-6, HR, 3 RBI) singled and was followed by a Brock Kjeldgaard (0-3, BB) BB... but once again the Stars didn't get the game-winning hit they needed. Kyle Heckathorn took over for the 11th, and... let's just say I feel bad even link-reporting how things went for him. He struck out the leadoff batter, then got an out on a sharp groundball (per the game log)... and then... just, wow. I kid you not, this is how it went from there: --1B, SB, RBI 1B, 2-R HR, 1B by Hamilton, throwing error on pickoff attempt sends Hamilton to 2B, throwing error on pickoff attempt sends Hamilton in to score, 2B, pop out-- Ouch. Hang with 'em, I guess, Kyle. That'll be a big mental hurdle to get past as Heckathorn continues to try to adjust to life as a RP. Once the dust had settled, that was a 4-run inning for Pensacola. Only 3 ER for Heckathorn since Hamilton's run scored on an error, but it's rare to see a relief appearance go that badly. Channeling Ned Yost: 'He was one pitch away...' - [unrelated side-note: Dire Straits' "Walk of Life" just started playing on my computer music mix as I get to describing the 11th. Hooray for life's small joys] So, down 5-1 after a demoralizing collapse in extra innings... Or maybe not. How does a team respond to playing through 10 innings of a tight 1-1 game, only to see the visitors score 4 runs in the top half of the 11th? Feel demoralized? Feel devastated? Feel crushed? How about 'feel like turning four straight hits into a freakin' win'! I'll obviously get this in the PbP segment of this post, but Kentrail Davis (2-4, BB) drew a walk to lead off the inning, and consecutive 1Bs by Mittelstaedt, Josh Prince (2-5, 2B, RBI, BB), & Jean Segura (3-6, RBI) set the stage for "The Mayor" to do some more serious campaigning for Southern League MVP. After Segura's single, the Stars trailed 5-3. Morris took the first pitch low for ball one. The very next pitch, shown on Gameday as roughly letter-high and outer-half, was mashed and deposited over the left-center fence for the walk-off 3-R blast! Shaving cream pie! Game over! WHAT a comeback -- this one seems to stand out as being particularly resilient and impressive. Well done, Huntsville Stars. No Scooter Gennett in this game. Never heard back from the Stars on Twitter as to whether or not Scooter getting lifted from last night's game was due to injury or not. I'll try asking again. Huntsville PbP There's really only one half-inning worth posting here. If you feel the need to see Heckathorn's disastrous top of the 11th, feel free to click through & check it out. But I'm going with the huge comeback & win: Huntsville Bottom of the 11th -Pitching Change: Mark Serrano replaces Brian Pearl, batting 9th, replacing Andrew Means. -Kentrail Davis walks. -Offensive Substitution: Pinch-hitter Adam Weisenburger replaces Kyle Heckathorn. -Adam Weisenburger strikes out swinging. -T. J. Mittelstaedt singles on a soft line drive to center fielder Ryan LaMarre. Kentrail Davis to 3rd. -Josh Prince singles on a ground ball to center fielder Ryan LaMarre. Kentrail Davis scores. T. Mittelstaedt to 3rd. -Jean Segura singles on a line drive to shortstop Billy Hamilton. T. Mittelstaedt scores. Josh Prince to 2nd. -Hunter Morris homers (21) on a fly ball to left center field. Josh Prince scores. Jean Segura scores. Huntsville Gameday

WOW!!!! I just yelled out loud watching gametracker. Wow. THIS right here... ? This right here is called being a fan, people!

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And then... MAGIC!

Yep, things have gotten pretty ugly in Huntsville. Shame.

7 IP, 6 H, 1 R/ER, 3 BB, 6 K, WP, 6:6 GO:AO, 94 TP ... for those like me that would be too lazy to want to click on the Huntsville link if they didn't have to!

I'd have to argue against this: Well... fine. So think up another one that would be more realistic. I guess my point is that even if you don't read H&T's full post, or don't agree with everything in there being plausible, it's a fun 'what if' type of thing to examine and there's no reason one simply has to adhere to what he took the time to lay out in the OP.

Like I said, this is nothing more than a kinda silly revisionist history, but it's all entirely realistic. What I appreciate about the time & effort you put into this post is that it's a tangible example for the questions that get asked like, 'What would the team had even looked like if Melvin didn't make the moves he did?' I honestly believe that the team had so much success in 2011 that some fans -- and frankly, I don't hold this against anyone -- genuinely just don't believe that a different approach could've led to similar results at any point in the near future. But it's fun to see at least one hypothetical (full of disclaimers about it only being hypothetical, an important touch imo) that shows things could very easily have worked out quite well for the Brewers in terms of organizational talent. EDIT: And even if the only 'what if' move you examine is the rumored (but widely rumored) offer of Matt Cain for Fielder back in 2010 (iirc), it's a fun exercise to play out imo. I was actually thinking about the Cain-Fielder 'what if' late last night & trying to piece together where I would've gone from there, in DM's shoes.

To be fair, I'm pretty sure that was only one guy ("ask for Trout or tell them to get bent" was his preference, i believe), although he was quite vocal about it. That's true, however earlier in the season there were some posters who were convinced the Brewers were going to do better simply by taking the comp. pick for Greinke, and not trading him for the 'crap' prospects that teams like the Angels & Rangers had to offer.

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Not as side-splittingly LOL funny, but more as one that really pops into my consciousness on a near-daily basis due to the pharmaceutically-friendly culture we live in... Happy Fun Ball The line that typically does get some form of lol from me is "Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball"

His second half has been absolutely miserable. I will still keep some faith, but he clearly has a lot of work to do. The good news is that his defense has reportedly improved significantly.

They could have waited 3 more weeks if that was the reason. Certainly true, but like others have pointed out, the Rangers clearly have a real reason for having him up now.