TooLiveBrew

When are we allowed to start calling Lucroy a star? Probably after he's able to sustain star-caliber performance for more than one (or a partial) season. Don't get me wrong, he clearly has talent. But a star? No, not yet.

Sounds Drop Third In A Row In Omaha, 4-1 Nashville Leaves Five On Base Over Final Two Frames During Defeat Nashville Sounds http://i.imgur.com/sKXGNJN.jpg Tim Dillard, archive photo (Mike Strasinger / Nashville Sounds) AUDIO: Anderson De La Rosa Game-Tying RBI Single PAPILLION, Neb. - The Nashville Sounds suffered their third straight loss to division-leading Omaha, falling 4-1 to the Storm Chasers on Sunday afternoon at Werner Park. Nashville (38-71), which has dropped five of its last six after opening with four wins in their first five contests out of the All-Star break, is just 4-11 against Omaha this season. Left fielder Eugenio Velez went 3-for-4 to account for half of the Sounds' six hits on the afternoon. Omaha took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Ben Broussard lifted an opposite-field, two-out RBI double to left to plate catcher Max Ramirez, who had singled with two outs against Sounds starter R.J. Seidel. On the play, Velez made an unsuccessful dive for the ball to allow Ramirez, who broke for second on the pitch, to lumber all the way home from first. Neither starting pitcher factored in the decision despite a pair of solid outings. Omaha starter Danny Duffy stifled Nashville batters during his five-inning stint, striking out seven while allowing two hits over five shutout frames. He threw 87 pitches in his continued progression as he returns from "Tommy John" surgery. Seidel worked 5 2/3 innings for the third consecutive start, finishing one out shy of a quality start in each contest. He allowed one run on seven hits while striking out three batters during his outing. Anderson De La Rosa knotted the contest at 1-1 in the seventh with a two-out RBI single to right off Omaha reliever Francisley Bueno. Sean Halton, who ripped his 20th double of the year and moved to third on a groundout, scored on the knock. Omaha responded immediately, retaking the lead with three runs in the home half of the seventh against Tim Dillard. The Storm Chasers, who sent nine batters to the plate during the frame, loaded the bases with no outs on a pair of walks sandwiched around a fielder's choice sacrifice bunt by Paulo Orlando. Christian Colon and Max Ramirez followed by grounding back-to-back go-ahead RBI singles through the drawn-in left side of the infield to give the home team a 3-1 advantage. Travis Webb replaced Dillard on the Nashville hill and struck out Broussard before inducing a grounder from Pedro Ciriaco that erased Irving Falu on a forceout at the plate for the second out of the frame. However, the Nashville lefty then issued a walk to Manny Pina to force in the third run of the inning to widen the Sounds' deficit to 4-1. Dillard (1-2) was saddled with the loss for the Sounds after failing to retire any of his five batters faced in the contest, allowing three runs. Nashville didn't go down without a fight in the late innings, however. The Sounds put a pair of runners into scoring position against Donnie Joseph in the top of the eighth, but the Omaha southpaw recovered to strike out Stephen Parker and induce a deep inning-ending flyout to the warning track in right from Hunter Morris to escape the jam unscathed. Nashville got the potential tying run on base in the ninth against Joseph following walks drawn by Blake Lalli, Kentrail Davis, and Blake Davis, bringing Josh Prince to the plate with the bags full. The Omaha left-hander struck out Prince on three pitches, however, to once again quell the Sounds' threat and bring an end to the contest. Bueno (3-3) picked up the victory in relief for Omaha and Joseph nailed down his fifth save of the year by recording the final six outs, four via strikeout. The Sounds will look to avoid a sweep when the division rivals wrap up their four-game series as well as their 16-game season series with a 7:05 p.m. finale on Monday evening. Left-hander Aaron Laffey (4-5, 5.57) will toe the slab for the Sounds to face Omaha southpaw Justin Marks (4-10, 5.67). Nashville Box Nashville PbP Nashville Gameday

Nice work tonight, Eye Black at Night.

I didn't mention this in my post in the 'Fan Reports' thread, even though I should've: Berberet's HR was also a no-doubt shot. It flew over the taller section of the wall in left field.

Sounds Drop Game After Late Rally Nashville's Blake Lalli Homers Twice In 5-4 Loss Nashville Sounds http://i.imgur.com/0JyCvTP.jpg Hunter Morris, Josh Prince, & Blake Lalli -- archive photo (Mike Strasinger / Nashville Sounds) AUDIO: Hunter Morris' RBI-Single AUDIO: Blake Lalli's First Home Run AUDIO: Blake Lalli's Game-Tying HR PAPILLION, Neb. - Despite Blake Lalli's heroic two-homer effort Saturday night at Werner Park, the Nashville Sounds dropped the game Down 4-2 with two outs in the ninth inning, Sounds first baseman Lalli tied the game with his second home run of the night. The shot got just beyond the glove of a leaping Anthony Seratelli at the right-field wall and sent the game into extras. The game remained knotted at 4-4 until the bottom of the 11th, when a dropped fly ball in centerfield by newcomer Eugenio Velez gave Omaha the game-winning run. The error, Nashville's third of the game, was committed with two outs. Lalli, 2-for-4, was due up to lead off the 12th. Sounds reliever Jesus Sanchez (3-2) was charged the loss, his second, having allowed one run on three hits in 1 2/3 innings. Michael Mariot (3-5) picked up the win for Omaha. The Storm Chasers jumped out to an early lead, batting around in the third inning to score three runs off of lefty Chris Narveson. Christian Colon, 2-for-5, hit a single to right center field and moved to second on a walk, before Ben Broussard clubbed a home run to right field for the 3-0 lead. Sean Halton recorded Nashville's first hit, a double, with two outs in the fourth inning. Designated hitter Hunter Morris singled to pull the Sounds to within two runs. Omaha regained the three-run lead in the home half of the inning when Sounds shortstop Blake Davis committed his 16th error of the season. The fielding error, in which the ball jumped off the heel of Davis' glove, allowed Seratelli to score from second base. The Sounds cut into the Omaha lead in the seventh inning when Lalli lifted his first homer of the game off Omaha starter Everett Teaford. The solo shot pulled Nashville to within two runs again, where it remained until Lalli's next at-bat in the ninth. Lalli's effort marks the ninth time a Sounds batter has recorded two home runs in a game this season. It is the second occurrence for Lalli, having also belted two on May 23 at Tacoma. Narveson surrendered four runs, three earned, to Omaha on eight hits and five walks over 6 1/3 innings of work. Relievers Tim Dillard and Kyle Heckathorn also saw work on the hill for Nashville, combining for 2 2/3 innings with one strike out. Heckathorn walked the bases loaded with two outs in the ninth inning, but escaped with a groundout. The Sounds play game three of the series with Omaha Sunday at 2:05 p.m. Throwing for Nashville will be RHP R.J. Seidel (2-4, 5.18) opposite the Chasers' lefty Danny Duffy (2-0, 5.11). Baseball returns to Greer Stadium on Tuesday, July 30, when the Sounds take on the Las Vegas 51s (Mets affiliate). Nashville Box Nashville PbP Nashville Gameday

I went to the T-Rats game tonight, and recapped some thoughts in the 'Local Affiliate Fan Reports' thread. Nashville post coming shortly.

Went to the T-Rats game tonight. Jorge Lopez looked really good after the first inning. He was hit hard at least three times in the 1st... two of which went as outs... then another time in the 2nd, but after that he really settled in. The hard-hit ball in the 2nd was a shot deep to the left-center gap, and Tyrone Taylor ran it down & made a nice running catch right before the wall. Lopez was pounding the strike zone with his fastball, & was keeping it down & working it both inside & outside. He seemed really in command, and I was surprised to see him lifted after just 5 innings (& 80 pitches) -- maybe the cool temperature played a role in that decision. He also had some shaky defense behind him tonight, which wound up requiring him to get some extra outs (he had an error, too, though). He was also mixing in a curve & changeup, but predominantly was operating with the fastball. The fastball was routinely clocking in between 91-93 mph on the stadium gun. The double he allowed in the 3rd inning was more of a misplay by Roache (who also made a fine diving catch in the left-center gap to rob an extra-base hit later in the game)... definitely wasn't a double off the bat. I'm not anywhere close to an expert on pitching mechanics, but his delivery seems pretty free & easy. Definitely not a max-effort/'elbows & ankles' kind of delivery... pretty nice looking. At this point, Lopez looks every bit the part of a high-draft-pick pitcher -- big, projectable frame that he's already starting to fill out. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see him bumped to Brevard County later in the year. He's been pitching well for some time now. Victor Roache's HR in the 1st was a no-doubter -- he sent it out to straightaway CF, over the batter's eye. That's a deep poke at Fox Cities Stadium; there's no listed straightaway CF measurement, but the LC measurement just prior to the visiting bullpen is 385' or 390', and just to the RF side of the home bullpen (other side of CF), it's measured at 406' iirc. Dead center must be something like 410' from home plate. Roache's HR tonight probably flew somewhere around 415'-425'. He already has the MLB physique -- very impressively built. Hopefully his hit tool will progress enough to let his raw power shine. He can clearly hit the ball out to any part of basically any ballpark. Defensively, he still doesn't look very natural, but he looked better tonight than other times I'd watched him earlier this season. If the Brewers decide to let Aoki play out his time with the Brewers & let him walk after 2014, I could easily see Roache stepping right into that RF spot in the bigs come 2015. Whatever they decide with Aoki, I think Roache will man the opposite corner OF spot from Ryan Braun before too long. His power is just too good for me to believe he won't move up the organizational ladder pretty well. His pitch selection & patience at the plate tonight looked quite good... for example, he was definitely being selective & working the counts overall, but his HR in the 1st came on a 1-1 count iirc... when he was getting his pitch, he was ready for it. Orlando Arcia didn't have a great game, but this kid gives you a good plate appearance nearly every time. He looks like he can stick at SS, both in terms of physique & skillset. I'd put him a good step behind Yadiel Rivera, defensively, when Yadiel was with the T-Rats, but when he was in Appleton, Rivera was also a year or two older than Orlando is now. Arcia has every tool you want at short -- the arm, the range, the athleticism, the hands. If he keeps filling out his frame & improving his consistency, he could be a very special player. Tyrone Taylor didn't have a standout game. He wasn't bad, but definitely has cooled off of late. As I noted earlier in this post, he made a sweet running catch in the LC gap (just shy of the wall) in the 2nd inning. Garrett Cooper also turned in well-polished PAs. His build reminds me of Hunter Pence's -- almost awkwardly long & gangly legs; Cooper is a bit taller than Pence, of course. It'll be interesting to see how long he winds up spending with the T-Rats.

And it would be a security nightmare.

Sounds Lose Series Opener In Omaha, 6-1 Halton Homers But Storm Chasers' Dwyer Dominates Nashville Again Nashville Sounds http://i.imgur.com/TqzPmk6.jpg Sean Halton, archive photo (Mike Strasinger / Nashville Sounds) PAPILLION, Neb. - Omaha left-hander Chris Dwyer continued his dominance of the Sounds, leading the Storm Chasers to a 6-1 victory over Nashville on Friday evening at Werner Park in the opener of a four-game series. Dwyer (7-8) hurled his fourth quality start in four outings against the Sounds this season, allowing one run on three hits while striking out eight batters in seven strong inning of work. In his four outings against Nashville this year, he went 4-0 with a 1.63 ERA (5er/27.2ip). Dwyer is 3-8 with a 3.91 mark versus the remainder of the PCL (40er/92.0ip). The Sounds (38-69) were held to just three hits on the night by a pair of Storm Chasers hurlers. Omaha grabbed a 2-0 lead against Sounds starter Jimmy Nelson in the bottom of the second inning. After the right-hander labored through a scoreless 31-pitch first frame, he hit Brett Hayes with his first offering of the second inning then gave up back-to-back RBI knocks: a triple to left-center off the bat of Pedro Ciriaco followed by a run-scoring single to center by Paulo Orlando. The Storm Chasers extended their advantage to 5-0 in the third with three more scores against Nelson. Omaha opened the frame by loading the bases on a walk and pair of singles against the right-hander before each of the next three batters plated a run. Max Ramirez grounded a run-scoring knock up the middle before Hayes and Ciriaco each rapped RBI groundouts. Nelson (2-4) took the loss after allowing five runs on six hits over six innings of work. Outfielder Sean Halton, playing his first game back with the Sounds following a month-long stint in Milwaukee, put Nashville on the board with an opposite-field solo homer to right-center to lead off the fifth inning. The slugger's tenth roundtripper of the year, which came against Dwyer, made it a 5-1 contest. New Sounds reliever Brent Leach made his Nashville debut in the seventh inning and struck out his first batter before being touched for a solo homer by Christian Colon, marking the first run the left-hander has allowed in 10.2 total innings pitched this season. The longball was the infielder's tenth of the year. Maikel Cleto worked the final two innings in hitless fashion to close out the victory for Omaha. Infielder Eugenio Velez made his Sounds debut with a start at third base in the contest and went 0-for-3 at the plate. The teams continue the series with another 7:05 p.m. contest on Saturday night. Left-hander Chris Narveson (2-6, 6.37) will man the bump for the Sounds and face Omaha southpaw Everett Teaford (3-2, 2.80). Nashville Box Nashville PbP Nashville Gameday

Nice to see a well-deserved feature piece on Chris!

Well likewise, it's just so easy to dismiss the notion of being proactive about team-building to say that people calling for players like Lohse/Gallardo/Ramirez/Axford/K-Rod/Henderson/etc. to be traded, 'might as well just trade Segura, too.' It's disingenuous, as this is a very valid discussion. I certainly agree that a major problem has been the failings of the drafting & development of pitching. But another major part of the problem has been Melvin's inability to build for the long term. I would argue that neither the Greinke nor the K-Rod trades qualify as Melvin being very proactive, since both guys would've been lost to FA likely anway. However, I do think Melvin deserves a lot of credit in both cases for making savvy trades that do help begin the long-term building process. The way I see it is that someone who doesn't agree with the Brewers needing to focus on long-term building from within has two choices: engage in the discussion in a productive manner, or take potshots that are gross overgeneralizations & that don't facilitate good discussion. I don't mean to pick on you -- I'm simply tired of seeing the, 'Well, might as well trade everyone & run like the Marlins' types of responses.

Sounds Hold Off 'Topes In Finale To Split Series Nashville's Johnny Hellweg Nabs Ninth Win In 3-2 Victory Nashville Sounds http://i.imgur.com/qJDRSbp.jpg Johnny Hellweg (Mike Strasinger / Nashville Sounds) AUDIO: Robinzon Diaz RBI Single AUDIO: Cole Garner RBI Double AUDIO: Josh Prince Sac-Fly AUDIO: Sanchez Records Final Out NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Nashville Sounds held on to defeat the visiting Albuquerque Isotopes by a margin of 3-2 Thursday night at Greer Stadium to give Nashville the 2-2 series split. Tied 1-1 in the fourth inning, Cole Garner helped the Sounds pull ahead with a double to the gap in right-center field, plating Kentrail Davis, who reached base on balls. Starting pitcher Johnny Hellweg (9-4) pushed a sacrifice bunt, his second of the night, to advance Garner to third. Josh Prince hit a sac-fly to drive in Garner and give the Sounds a 3-1 lead. Hellweg limited Albuquerque to one run on four hits across six innings of work to pick up his ninth win of the year and seventh in a row. The 6-foot-9 hurler shaved his ERA from 2.61 to a league-leading 2.44 in his seventh consecutive quality start. He issued four walks and struck out four. The unearned run in the fourth inning ended Hellweg's consecutive scoreless innings streak at 16 1/3 innings, the longest by a Sounds starter this season. Hellweg has only allowed one earned run in his last 32 innings with Nashville. The Isotopes cut the Sounds lead to one run in the eighth inning off reliever Zach Kroenke, who pitched 1 2/3 innings for the team. Jesus Sanchez finished the game for Nashville to pick up his first save of the year. It is the first save recorded by a Sound other than Rob Wooten, who was called up to Milwaukee earlier in the day. Albuquerque pitcher Rob Rasmussen took the loss, his fifth, allowing three runs on four hits over six innings. Nashville took an initial 1-0 lead in the first inning when Robinzon Diaz, 1-for-3, hit a single to left field that scored Josh Prince from third. Prince singled to lead off the game and stole two bags. Isotopes outfielder Chili Buss leveled the game in the fourth inning with a sacrifice fly to center field. The fly scored Scott Van Slyke from third after stealing second and reaching the hot corner on a throwing error by catcher Anderson De La Rosa. The Sounds hit the road Friday and head to Papillion, Neb. to take on the Omaha Storm Chasers (Royals affiliate) in a four-game series. Throwing for Nashville will be RHP Jimmy Nelson (2-3, 3.29) opposite the Chasers' lefty Chris Dwyer (6-8, 3.63). Baseball returns to Greer Stadium on Tuesday, July 30, when the Sounds take on the Las Vegas 51s (Mets affiliate). Nashville Box Nashville PbP Nashville Gameday

Cole Garner, Josh Prince, & Robinzon Diaz each have one RBI, & the Sounds lead 3-1 in the 6th. So far, so good for Hellweg (albeit with 4 BBs).

Imo trading Lohse/Gallardo right now (for a good enough offer) isn't comparable to trading Segura right now.

I'd like to see them donate Braun's remaining 2013 salary to charity. I think that money could do a lot more good than a promotion or giveaway.

Important to keep in mind that Pleskoff very accurately predicted, prior to this season in a similar feature, that Jean Segura had a very real shot at being a star. It's very reassuring to see that Pleskoff sees Delmonico as a third baseman. Was thinking that too. Pleskoff writes about Delmonico so assuredly, and given Pleskoff's past pieces I tend to read them a little more weight. Same here -- when I first read Pleskoff's piece on Segura, I was skeptical that it was too sunshine-y. Ever since Segura has proved him correct, I also give Pleskoff's opinion a lot of weight.

reillymcshane posted this in post #127

There was plenty of gloating from posters here last season over Aramis, too. The concern isn't so much the talent as it is the age & cost.

Important to keep in mind that Pleskoff very accurately predicted, prior to this season in a similar feature, that Jean Segura had a very real shot at being a star. It's very reassuring to see that Pleskoff sees Delmonico as a third baseman.

"Not motivated" is clearly Doug Melvin's public version of, "I'm listening, other GMs." I don't think we can read anything one way or the other into comments like that. The only thing "not motivated" right now means is that he hasn't yet gotten an offer he likes. I'd expect interest in the Brewers' pitchers to really ramp up this week & up into the deadline. 5 or 6 days is practically an eternity when it comes to the trade deadline.

Sounds Fall To Isotopes, 9-1 Diaz Goes 3-for-4 To Continue Hot Hitting For Nashville Nashville Sounds http://i.imgur.com/3ouXZ3E.jpg Robinzon Diaz (Mike Strasinger / Nashville Sounds) AUDIO: Blake Davis RBI Triple NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Albuquerque Isotopes defeated the Nashville Sounds by a 9-1 margin on Wednesday evening at Greer Stadium. Albuquerque right-hander Matt Magill (3-0) struck out 10 batters, including six in a row at one point, while holding the Sounds to one run on three hits over 5 1/3 innings of work to earn the win. Eight different Isotopes batters drove in a run in the contest, the Sounds' eighth defeat in 10 games against Albuquerque on the year. Third baseman Robinzon Diaz (3-for-4) recorded half of Nashville's six hits in the contest. He has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games at a .441 clip (15-for-34). Albuquerque grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning against Sounds starter Aaron Laffey. Dee Gordon opened the contest by legging out an infield single, stole his league-leading 37th base of the year, advanced to third on a throwing error charged to catcher Blake Lalli, and scored the night's first run on an Elian Herrera groundout. Sounds left fielder Blake Davis knotted the contest in the second when his two-out triple to the right-center gap brought in Hunter Morris, who had opened the frame with a single. The visitors pulled back in front, 4-1, in the fourth with three runs against Laffey on a pair of RBI singles sandwiched around a bases-loaded walk issued to Magill. Laffey (4-5) took his second loss in three starts for Nashville after allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits over his four frames of action. Buss added to the Isotopes' advantage when he led off the fifth by greeting Sounds reliever Johnnie Lowe with his 14th home run of the year, a shot to deep right-center that made it a 5-1 contest. Albuquerque tacked on another run in the sixth against Lowe. Magill continued to help his own cause by doubling to open the inning and later scored on a Scott Van Slyke sacrifice fly. The Isotopes closed out the night's scoring in the ninth with three runs against the Nashville bullpen to bring the score to its final 9-1 standing. The teams wrap up the four-game series with a 7:05 p.m. finale on Thursday evening. Right-hander Johnny Hellweg (8-4, 2.61) will man the bump for the Sounds to face Albuquerque southpaw Rob Rasmussen (0-4, 5.74). Nashville Box Nashville PbP Nashville Gameday

I'd never heard this -- can you go into more detail? That sounds crazy... how would that even work? Can a team kick a player off like that in NCAA sports?

I think we're going to need you to be more specific. Otherwise, disqualified!

Guys, I'm already crashing-tired, & won't get to the Nashville game tonight. If anyone can pick me up tonight, I'll owe you one. Otherwise, I'll get to it tomorrow morning... unless Mass Haas beats me to it (likely). Sorry.

The problem is that, sadly, Gennett isn't an upgrade over Weeks even when Rickie is scuffling. Gennett's slash line in his time up with the big club this year is .214/.250/.357/.607. And he's also not a defensive upgrade.