TooLiveBrew

Major drama in Mobile! After Mitch Stetter set down the Bay Bears in order in the 8th, the Stars put a little something together in the visitors' half of the 9th, only to see it end in frustration: Huntsville Top of the 9th -Pitcher Change: Evan Marshall replaces Eury De La Rosa, batting 9th. -Josh Prince grounds out, shortstop Chris Owings to first baseman Marc Krauss. -Hainley Statia singles on a bunt ground ball to pitcher Evan Marshall. -Scooter Gennett grounds into a force out, third baseman Matt Davidson to second baseman David Nick. Hainley Statia out at 2nd. Scooter Gennett to 1st. -Hunter Morris doubles (29) on a line drive to left fielder Bobby Borchering. Scooter Gennett out at home on the throw, left fielder Bobby Borchering to shortstop Chris Owings to catcher Rossmel Perez.

Huntsville update: Baker is through 7 innings now, with 0 ER -- unfortunately, a pair of errors allowed two unearned runs to score for Mobile. The Stars are tied with the Bay Bears 2-2. Khris Davis knocked a solo HR in the 6th to put Huntsville ahead 2-1, but Mobile tied the game in their half of the inning.

The Stars have gotten off on the right foot so far, going ahead 1-0 in the top of the 1st, followed by starter Brian Baker putting down the Bay Bears 1-2-3. Huntsville Top of the 1st -Josh Prince doubles (15) on a fly ball to left fielder Bobby Borchering. -Hainley Statia reaches on fielding error by first baseman Marc Krauss. Josh Prince to 3rd. -Scooter Gennett grounds out softly, pitcher Michael Bolsinger to first baseman Marc Krauss. Josh Prince scores. Hainley Statia to 2nd. -Hunter Morris walks. -Khris Davis pops out to first baseman Marc Krauss in foul territory. -Kentrail Davis walks. Hainley Statia to 3rd. Hunter Morris to 2nd. -Tommy Manzella grounds out, first baseman Marc Krauss to pitcher Michael Bolsinger. Mobile Bottom of the 1st -Evan Frey grounds out, third baseman Hainley Statia to first baseman Hunter Morris. -Chris Owings flies out to right fielder Kentrail Davis. -Marc Krauss grounds out to first baseman Hunter Morris.

I'm really hoping the plan is indeed to plug Thornburg into the rotation after a trade of Greinke. For all the times I whine that the Brewers don't develop their young guys at the MLB level, I have to acknowledge this one. At least I hope the bullpen-->ZG trade-->rotation plan is the route they're going, and not just hoping TT will help shore up the bullpen and the Brewers will get right back in the postseason race. Either way, I'm really looking forward to watching Thornburg pitch in the bigs & continue his development.

Fwiw, I heard exactly the same type of report on Justin Upton in talking with a guy who worked for South Bend while Upton was playing there.

At this point, if I could pick the organization (out of discussed candidates) Greinke would be dealt to, it'd be Texas or Baltimore. Both appear to have numerous elite or top-level prospects. Just in reading through the Perfect Game top prospect reports, it seems like the Angels' system is a good step down -- at least in terms of the top prospects, as long as you don't count Trout -- from TEX & BAL. However, I'll guess the Angels are the most likely trade partner at this point... given their roster situation & ownership. It seems you keep hearing Texas linked to Hamels, and the O's might not want to sell young talent for a rental knowing they still have to outlast at least two of NYY, BOS, & TB. It's fun to think about some of the following names being realistic (or close to realistic) candidates to come back in exchange for Greinke -- Mike Olt, Martin Perez, Leonys Martin, Kaleb Cowart, C.J. Cron, Jonathan Schoop, Jean Segura... not to mention the pipe-dream guys like Machado, Profar, & Bundy. If anyone's interested, here are the Perfect Game top prospects articles for Baltimore and Texas.

Perfect Game Angels Top 10 article, definitely worth a read. 2. SS Jean Segura – Baseball-reference player profile Signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2007 as a 17 year old, Segura hit the ground running in his full season debut in 2010 in Low-A Cedar Rapids. His follow up in the hitter friendly California League was cut short by hamstring issues, though he did show promise after moving from second to shortstop in his 52 game 2011 season. Generously listed at 5-foot-11, Segura has a small strike zone, which he commands well. Combined with his compact swing and excellent hand acceleration allow him to make good contact with just about anything in the zone. Segura also shows surprising power, though his approach is geared toward driving the ball into the gaps. Segura’s defensive tools are equally as impressive, as he combines good range and lateral agility with an above average arm. However, he can be frustrating at times as well, as he has shown the ability to range far to either side, set his feet, and then mishandle a ball that he is position to field cleanly. He is also an above average runner with good instincts on the bases who can thrive on a team with an aggressive baserunning philosophy, not unlike the one managed by Mike Scoscia in Anaheim. Though he didn’t get a lot of time in at Inland Empire in 2011, Segura is likely to climb to AA Arkansas in 2012. With Erick Aybar set to hit the free agent market after the season, Segura will be auditioning for the 2013 starting shortstop job, though he will have a lot of things to prove in order to earn it. - The last sentence of the second paragraph instantly made me think of Roenicke.

Ugh, well I'm not happy that RR confirmed my fears so quickly. He just seems to be in love with Izturis, and I can't think of any justifiable reasons as to why.

Unrelated... Neil DeGrasse Tyson with an excellent tweet (via reddit): http://i.minus.com/i7ofHywFUdzsN.png Mind = blown. Why that never occurred to me before, I can't say.

Royals last playoff appearance was 1985, fwiw. Oh I could have sworn they won 100 games sometime in the early 2000's. Were you maybe confusing them with the Mariners? Also, my favorite (it's mean, I know) factoid on the Pirates is that their last postseason appearance was in 1992, when (former Pirate) Sid Bream somehow unhitched the plow long enough to score the game-winning run with two outs in the bottom of the 9th of Game 7 of the NLCS... after the Braves had entered the 9th trailing 2-0. Then they lost Barry Bonds in the offseason via FA to San Francisco, and their highest single-season win total since is 79. The Pirates had a lot of success from 1960 to the early '90s, but fans of this franchise know pain.

I actually think you could make a compelling argument for Beltran being a HoF candidate as well with strong CF defense (years ago, but still relevant) factored in as well. But yeah, Braun's well on his way to Cooperstown; really only injuries will keep him out imo.

I think his ceiling is something like Mike Fontenot+, and I have no problem with him getting labeled a utility IF. His LH bat and ability to play 3B/2B/1B can be valuable for the Brewers at a very small cost for the next 3+ seasons. If nothing else, that's a guy for whom you can easily find 300-ish PAs or more each season, and he could really prove to be a valuable player in that role (not to mention being a good PH option as well). And who knows, he could wind up becoming a viable starter at 3B or 2B.

Congrats to Jeff -- now best of luck on getting playing time ahead of Izturis, and to a lesser degree, Ransom. I want to believe RR will just turn over SS to Bianchi, but I can't bring myself to do so.

Woohoo is right... also, phew!

I'm sure Mass Haas will be all over this later today, but per Adam McCalvy's blog, Haniger is expected to miss 6 weeks: Mitch Haniger, the promising outfielder selected 38th overall by the Brewers in this year’s First-Year Player Draft, told his Twitter followers that he would miss about six weeks with a partially torn ligament in his right knee. Haniger tweeted a photo of his knee in a brace and said the injury was to his PCL. That’s a tough break for Haniger, who batted .286 with a home run and eight RBIs in his first 14 games at Class A Wisconsin. The Timber Rattlers’ regular season only runs through Sept. 3, so the Brewers may have to come up with some additional at-bats for Haniger in instructional ball or the Arizona Fall League.

I love this thread topic; I'm in the same boat as wibadgers23 ("I know a lot about the Brewers system, but not a whole lot about the other teams."). Thanks for these responses, TC07 & Tedaldtada... hoping we see a few more too. The Debbie-Downer thought I have to add is that it seems like everyone else in the NL Central has a pretty healthy farm system. Not good news for the Brewers heading forward. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8c/Debbie_Downer.PNG/215px-Debbie_Downer.PNG

In the time Weeks missed (Jul. 28 - Sept. 11 is the window I used), Prince had a .918 OPS... compared to his career .926. I get that protection isn't a complete myth -- you hear too many players & ex-players talk about it at length. But there's not much to support the notion that it has any kind of major impact.

So Braun's .994 OPS in April (with 0 IBB), with Ramirez's .645 OPS behind him, is explained by...

I remember several idyllic sunset shots from Helena last season. Seems like they all came from that exact spot, too. Can't beat that look at the sunsets... Montana really is a gorgeous state.

Jacksonville 3, @Huntsville 2 Huntsville Box This was another Hiram Burgos showcase: 7 IP, 2 H, 1 R/0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 9:4 GO:AO (82 total pitches... ?). Burgos put down the first twelve batters he faced before Suns 3B Curt Smith led off the top of the 5th with a single. A bunt single in the 6th was the only other hit surrendered by Burgos, and the run Jacksonville scored in the 6th came after a T.J. Mittelstaedt throwing error on said bunt hit. Pretty hard not to be excited about Burgos at this point. Hunter Morris *yawn* led the way offensively again, going 2-4 with yet another 2B. CF Josh Prince was 1-3 with a BB, and went 2-2 in SB attempts while generally being a pest on the basepaths. He singled in the 3rd, and advanced to 2B on a throwing error by the Jacksonville third baseman. With two outs in the frame, he stole third, followed by a throwing error charged to the pitcher... and Prince scoring the Stars' only run of the game. In the 8th, Prince walked with one out and stole second base, representing the potential tying run ahead of Scooter Gennett and Morris. Unfortunately, Huntsville stranded him and left the score at 2-1. Mittelstaedt, Gennett, Anderson De La Rosa, and Tommy Manzella each singled once. Relievers Darren Byrd and Brandon Kintzler each allowed a run in their single innings of work (Kintzler's was unearned, coming after 3B Mittelstaedt's second error of the game). Huntsville PbP If you want to click through to see the game log for the Suns' game clinching 8th & 9th, be my guest. Instead, here's Prince wreaking havoc on the bases: Huntsville Bottom of the 3rd -Lee Haydel grounds out to first baseman Ben Lasater. -Josh Prince singles on a ground ball to third baseman Curt Smith. Josh Prince advances to 2nd, on throwing error by third baseman Curt Smith. -Scooter Gennett strikes out swinging. -With Hunter Morris batting, Josh Prince steals (29) 3rd base, Josh Prince scores. Throwing error by pitcher Zach Neal. -Hunter Morris flies out to center fielder Donnie Webb. Huntsville Gameday

Aside from his latest HR binge, Morris hasn't shown much more raw power than Gamel yet. And the difference between their season BB totals will get smaller & smaller imo as Morris progresses more. I think they look like pretty similar players overall right now, especially when you factor in their defense at 1B. If Morris does indeed have more raw power than Gamel, then I think the Brewers are going to have a very good prospect on their hands.

What are you talking about? Look at how badly Braun has struggled now that Prince isn't hitting behind him!

Just wanted to post that I'm back home & will gladly take Huntsville tonight. Thanks to everyone for chipping in to cover them while I was gone!

- July so far: .292/.393/.583/.976 - Last 4 weeks: .267/.340/.422/.762 Come back to us, Rickie

I am really, really hoping for a league MVP acceptance speech at some point. Is there anyone that still doubts Morris will be an .825-.875 OPS 1B at this point? Mixing in solid defense as well will make him a 3-4 WAR kind of guy. Mat Gamel is basically going to have to ouplay himself the next few years. They're such similar players it's kind of eerie.