TooLiveBrew

Antonelli's hardly a 2B

Final: AZL Padres 10, @AZL Brewers 7 AZL Box Score The Brewers scored six runs in the first inning, but were let down by their pitching and some brutal defense. Five errors by five different Brewers, along with ten runs (seven earned) & sixteen hits allowed after Brae Wright's dominant 1st inning, were more than the offense could overcome. Wright made his professional return from his 2009 Tommy John surgery -- he spent '10 rehabbing -- and he couldn't have done better: three batters faced, three strikeouts. As for the rest of the pitching performances, how 'bout that Brae Wright! Michael Schaub, new proud papa Mitch Stetter, & Joel Pierce combined to allow all of the offense from the Padres. Mitchell Connor pitched a scoreless 9th inning. Leadoff man Malcolm Dowell went 2-5 with one RBI. Shortstop Renaldo Jenkins was 1-3 with two walks, two stolen bases, & two runs scored. DH Cameron Garfield was 1-5 with one RBI. Steve Felix had two singles & two RBI; Jose Garcia also had two hits, one of which was a triple. Third baseman Jalen Harris had a single, one RBI, & one stolen base. Brandon Macias & Matthew Franco each had a single & a walk. Now for the list of shame -- E: Harris (5, fielding), Dowell (1, fielding), Macias (7, missed catch), Felix (1, fielding), Conner (1, pickoff). Pretty rough, even for Arizona League play. AZL Play-by-Play The Brewers' 1st inning; I'm sure it seemed like they were easily on their way to a win after singling & walking their way to a 6-spot: AZL Brewers Bottom of the 1st Malcolm Dowell singles on a ground ball to right fielder Yoan Alcantara. Renaldo Jenkins walks. Malcolm Dowell to 2nd. Cameron Garfield singles on a ground ball to center fielder Alberth Martinez. Malcolm Dowell scores. Renaldo Jenkins to 3rd. Steve Felix singles on a ground ball to right fielder Yoan Alcantara. Renaldo Jenkins scores. Cameron Garfield to 2nd. Adam Weisenburger grounds into a force out, shortstop Felipe Blanco to second baseman Felix Cabrera. Cameron Garfield to 3rd. Steve Felix out at 2nd. Adam Weisenburger to 1st. Jalen Harris grounds into a force out, shortstop Felipe Blanco to second baseman Felix Cabrera. Cameron Garfield scores. Adam Weisenburger out at 2nd. Jalen Harris to 1st. With Brandon Macias batting, Jalen Harris steals (1) 2nd base. Brandon Macias walks. Matthew Franco singles on a ground ball to shortstop Felipe Blanco. Jalen Harris scores. Brandon Macias to 3rd. Throwing error by shortstop Felipe Blanco. Jose R. Garcia reaches on fielding error by shortstop Felipe Blanco. Brandon Macias scores. Matthew Franco to 2nd. Malcolm Dowell singles on a fly ball to right fielder Yoan Alcantara. Matthew Franco scores. Jose R. Garcia out at home on the throw, right fielder Yoan Alcantara to catcher Jairo Gomez.

Final: Idaho Falls 5, @Helena 4 Chukars Reverse Fortune, Win 5-4 Idaho Falls erases 4-0 deficit to snap 5-game losing streak By Aaron Cox / Idaho Falls Chukars The Idaho Falls Chukars entered Wednesday night's game at Melaleuca Field having lost their last five games, including several excruciating blown leads, but for once it was the Chukars who came from behind as the birds erased a 4-0 deficit to beat the Helena Brewers 5-4. Through the first four innings of the game the Chukars defense proved to be counter productive, as the unit committed four errors leading to three unearned runs for the Brewers. Helena jumped out to an early lead scoring an unearned run in the first inning to go up 1-0. First baseman Nick Ramirez reached with two outs on an error from Chukars shortstop Adrian Martinez. Ramirez would come in to score three batters later on an infield RBI single from right fielder Max Walla. The Brewers would push their lead to 3-0 in the third inning with two runs, one unearned thanks to another Chukars miscue. Second baseman Adrian Williams reached on a single to start the inning followed by an RBI double from Ramirez. Two outs and an error later, Ramirez scored on an infield single from shortstop Yadiel Rivera. Helena would cap off their scoring with one more unearned run in the fourth, as left fielder Robbie Garvey doubled to lead of the inning and, after moving up on an error from first baseman Dean Espy, would later score on an RBI fielder's choice by Williams to make the score 4-0. The Chukars finally got on the board in the sixth, as Espy continued his recent power surge with a 2-run home run to left-center field to make the score 4-2. Espy, who leads the team with four homers and 13 RBI on the season, has now hit three blasts in his last five games. Idaho Falls finished the comeback in the seventh as they took advantage of a Brewers error to score three runs and go up 5-4. Catcher Edul Escobar started the frame with a base knock to right and one out later right fielder Runey Davis doubled to right to put two men in scoring position with just one out. Left fielder Tyler Chism would drive in the first run with a ground ball that turned into a error by Rivera, Davis would then score on a balk by Helena reliever David Goforth, and Chism would come in on an RBI single from second baseman Daniel Mateo. The Chukars would actually finish the night with only eight hits to the Brewers nine, but timely hitting led by Espy's 1-3 night with his 2-run homer and Mateo's 2-4 evening with an RBI led the Chukars to victory. On the mound, Idaho Falls starter Aaron Brooks received a no-decision after allowing four runs, only one earned, over his five innings. Instead it was reliever Jose Sanchez (2-1) who earned the victory, as the left-hander tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings, giving up just one hit and striking out three. Goforth (0-2) was saddled with the loss after allowing three runs, one earned, on three hits over just 2/3 of an inning. Chukars closer Edwin Carl earned his second save of the year by getting the final five outs of the game, giving up two hits and striking out three. With the win, the Chukars (10-13) snap their five game losing streak while the Brewers (10-13) fall into a last place tie in the North Division. The two teams will meet up again Thursday for game two of their 3-game series, with first pitch scheduled for 7:15 p.m. Helena Box Score Alright, first things first -- what the hell is a Chukar? Now that we've got that out of the way, back to the game. Leadoff man Ruben Ozuna went 0-3, & as Jim noted, was replaced with John Dishon at the start of the bottom of the 4th inning. Hopefully Ozuna won't have any lingering problems. Dishon was 2-2 with a pair of singles in relief of Ozuna. Yadiel Rivera was the only other Brewers hitter with a multi-hit game, adding a double in the 8th inning. Rivera, Ramirez, Walla, & Williams had one RBI apiece. Williams also stole his eighth base of the season. Catcher Tyler Roberts was 1-4 with a single. Starter Mike Strong went six... strong... innings, allowing two runs on five hits; he walked three & struck out four. As Cox's game story related, Goforth had a rough game. Alex Jones came on in relief of Goforth; he retired four consecutive batters, striking out one, & pitched Helena's final 1.1 innings tonight. Helena Play-by-Play After the Chukars scored three in the 7th, Helena had shots at tying the game in both the 8th & 9th innings, but couldn't find one more RBI hit: Helena Top of the 8th Max Walla strikes out swinging, catcher Edul Escobar to first baseman Richard Espy. Pitcher Change: Edwin Carl replaces Jose Sanchez. Yadiel Rivera doubles (4) on a line drive to left fielder Tyler Chism. Michael Nemeth called out on strikes. Robert Garvey strikes out swinging, catcher Edul Escobar to first baseman Richard Espy. Helena Top of the 9th John Dishon singles on a line drive to left fielder Tyler Chism. Adrian Williams out on a sacrifice bunt to pitcher Edwin Carl. John Dishon to 2nd. Nick Ramirez strikes out swinging, catcher Edul Escobar to first baseman Richard Espy. Parker Berberet flies out to center fielder Darian Sandford.

FanGraphs Q&A: Ryan Braun & Rickie Weeks Really cool, in-depth interview on their approaches to hitting. Certainly worth the time to read for any baseball fan, & especially Brewers fans.

FanGraphs post by Jack Moore I don't think information on the club options has been released yet.

Nicely done, good read & you got way more than the stock answers.

Met fan here, weighing in. Not trolling, I swear. Welcome, and awesome username.

Then it shouldn't have gone up much to begin with from this season when he hit .714 and .659 the previous years. I didn't argue it had gone up. Forget it.

I meant no offense, just that I don't think Hardy's price has gone down.

Yeah, I know TLR hasn't exactly embraced Rasmus, but if the Pads got him for Bell that would be a steal for SD*. He had a fine year as a hitter last season, & has plenty of time this year to improve his production... and he's still only 24. * Hence, I would love to see it happen. Although, after last night's sprinting & sliding entrance to the ASG, I wonder if Bell can be deemed classy enough to play under the Arch.

No way would the Cards have to pay Rasmus for a 1/2-season rental of Bell. The price for Bell has probably gone up, though.

The asking price for Hardy has to be declining after his recent cool stretch. I just find it hard to believe that GMs operate this way; I don't think their valuations of players change so frequently, like fans' do. I think as a GM you have to be evaluating players based on where you see their true talent, & not what they've done the past two or four weeks. I'd love to see Hardy back in Milwaukee, but I just see that as a real longshot (& hope I wind up being wrong). Furcal is a decent option if he's healthy... which, with him, is a big 'if'. I really have no idea who the Brewers should bring in for short at this point. But I have to agree with WTP that it wouldn't surprise me if the move winds up being a bit of a surprise.

Wrong USC! http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

And honestly what well-informed Mets fan would be upset with the team just dumping such an albatross of a contract, even if they don't get middling to decent prospects in return?

Call me a crazy optimist, but I just don't see the PsTBNL being close to impact guys. I'll guess Hunter Morris + Jimmy Nelson. My second guess is that the Mets & Brewers will wind up making a cash deal... and that actually might be my first guess.

I wanted to go back to this post. I haven't always agreed with bobskube, but I've never gotten the impression that his Brewers connection wasn't legit. Maybe your info winds up being right, maybe it winds up being wrong, but seeing you post this makes me stop worrying about who was given up (if anyone, ultimately).

It looked like he just wasn't paying attention and then tried to reach back after he walked past him. So he lines up for the high-five line, and isn't paying attention to give the first guy, the pitcher who closed out the game, a high five? I could easily be reading way too much into this, but it just stood out as really odd to me. EDIT: Also, two things. 1) Heath Bell had a sweet Yoda backpack. Heath Bell rules for this. 2) I need to get myself one of those Yoda backpacks.

not certain i'm ready to conclude that the Brewers got K-Rod for "peanuts" until I know what we gave up. Gamel and a decent prospect?--that seems fair. That doesn't seem fair at all. This is a guy the Mets needed to dump. If the Brewers gave up any prospect(s) of real value, this deal will have been a bad one.

Did anyone else catch Scott Rolen (I think that's who it was) not high-fiving Brian Wilson in the high-five line tonight after the end of the ASG? Anyone know what that's about (if anything)?

http://i.imgur.com/mzi99.png Oh, you Cards & Mets fans. Go on, you!

My thoughts exactly. Nicely played by Melvin, getting solid talent on the (prospect) cheap. IF the Mets actually are even going to get any players (MLB rules allow for deals like this to be converted into just a cash return instead of players, iirc), my guess is they'd be picking from guys like Farris, McClendon, Amaury Rivas, Zelous Wheeler, etc.

Winning ASG MVP was the best revenge!

Height/weight/frame was not part of the question. Touché, sir. I was including that on my own. His numbers are eerily similar to Giles's if my memory serves (from looking at both of them earlier today).

Up would be my pick, fwiw. I just thought I.B. was better than The Hurt Locker too.

Well the title certainly isn't backed up by anything included in the article. Nowhere in that or any of the links is it indicated that the Brewers already have a deal in place.