950opsLHcatcher

Jon Rauch, 6'11, Chicago White Sox. Not to be confused with our own Brian Rauch.

How does one "battle" through diarrhea? Sheets, though, is appearing to become a solid mid-upper starter in the bigs. Now we just need to find a rotation around him.

I seem to remember some rule about the arby clock not counting against the same season if the player is brought up in August or later, but I could be wrong about that. Looie has been outstanding in AAA, and seems to have finally "gotten it," whatever that means. I, for one, would love to see him in the 5th spot in the rotation, be damned the arby cost later, if there is any. If you agree with the Bill James thought that there is no real gap between AAA and the majors (which I don't), there shouldn't be a problem anyway, right? And does this remind anyone else of Nick Neugebauer's 2001 season?

ESPN sez: "FLUSHING, New York (Ticker) -- The New York Mets hope to avoid a 16th loss in 20 games when they continue a four-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday on Gary Carter Night at Shea Stadium. New York, which has lost three games in a row, fell to 3-9 after the All-Star Break with a 4-2 loss in Monday's series opener. Brewers rookie Scott Podsednik snapped a 2-2 tie with a two-run single against John Franco with two outs in the top of the ninth. Carter, a former Mets captain who was inducted into the Hall of Fame on Sunday, was a member of their 1985-89 teams, winning the World Series in 1986. Mets lefthander Tom Glavine (6-11, 5.15 ERA) is 0-3 in his last four starts and 1-8 in his last 11. On Thursday, he gave up four runs and eight hits in six innings of a 5-1 loss at Montreal. Glavine is 1-1 in two games against Milwaukee this season and 5-2 with a 4.80 ERA in eight career games against them. Brewers righthander Ben Sheets (9-7, 3.87) has won his last two starts, yielding one earned run in 14 innings. On Thursday, he allowed one run and five hits in seven innings in a 2-1 win over Houston. Sheets beat the Mets on June 5 at Shea Stadium, 5-3, after allowing three runs and six hits in seven innings. He is 1-1 with a 5.82 ERA in three lifetime games against them."

With his frame, Alvaro Martinez could be a dominant late-innings guy. He must throw pretty hard, because he always has a good number of K's, but those K's are usually coupled by a lot of BB's, too. Obviously, still plenty of time for the kid. And Colby, how about Kotchman being in rookie ball and Jones being in AA? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

Battlers.

From ESPN: DENVER (Ticker) -- Jason Jennings can remain unbeaten at Coors Field this season when he takes the mound for the Colorado Rockies in the finale of a three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday. Jennings is 6-0 with a 3.91 ERA in eight starts at home this season. He is 15-5 despite a 5.51 ERA in 27 lifetime starts at Coors Field. The 25-year-old righthander has lost his last two starts, allowing 12 runs - nine earned - and 15 hits in 10 innings. Jennings (9-8, 4.84 ERA) lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday after allowing four runs - two earned - and six hits in six innings. Jennings is 1-0 with a 5.56 ERA in two career starts against the Brewers. Milwaukee's Wayne Franklin tries for his third straight win on Sunday. He has won his last two outings, allowing seven runs and 12 hits in 11 1/3 innings. Franklin (7-6, 4.8http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/glasses.gif defeated the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday. He gave up two runs and six hits in six innings. The 29-year-old lefthander is 3-1 with a 4.92 ERA in 12 career appearances against the Rockies, including 11 starts. Colorado has won four of its last six games after posting a 13-8 victory over Milwaukee on Saturday. Preston Wilson had three hits, including two home runs, and three RBI and Larry Walker had two hits, three walks and two runs scored for the Rockies, who have won six of their last seven home games. Wilson leads the National League with 100 RBI, reaching the century mark faster than any player in franchise history. Richie Sexson went 4-for-4 with four RBI, including a three-run homer, and Brady Clark had a career-high four hits for the Brewers, who have lost five of nine games since the All-Star break. Colorado is on the brink of its first sweep of Milwaukee since July 19-21, 2002.

Go Packers!

This Snapper team has almost no chance of not making the playoffs. With their starting pitching and offense being explosive right now, and with a guaranteed no-promotion-to-High Desert thing going for them, I don't see how they won't get in. It will be nice to have 3 of our affiliates in.

Good news for Housman! On another note, does Milwaukee even realize they have a team in High Desert anymore?

If popping out of the womb was a sport...

This time, it counts. Beware the gun shot holes in the upper deck seats, all.

I don't know whether to move this to Off-Topic, the Minor League Forum, or to another board altogether. I was trying to figure out who this Woah Solvdd guy was.

I imagine it was a combination of Helena not needing a guy other than Rottino catching behind Palmisano every 4th day (plus Manny Ramirez is a pinch) and Arizona needing catchers to keep Opdyke from having to start more than 3-4 times a week. Segura was awesome in his limited AB in Helena, but they were limited AB. If anyone remembers Mario Mendez's first few weeks in Ogden last season, you'll know what I'm talking about.

Seemed to work out pretty well, four 2-out runs for the Brewers. I don't think I would have removed Franklin, either, but sometimes the move you think is wrong works out for the guy who thought it was right.

Hey, who ever won those mock draft contests? Looking at mine, I'm thinking not me.

On a slightly happier note, how about that Tony Gwynn, Jr.? And people doubted his placement on the Power 50. Heck, send him to High Desert. Tony's hot start is seriously pressing Krynzel's long term role in center field. Gwynn is clearly the better defender, and my guess is is that he's going to catch up to Dave sooner than later. All the sudden, we might have a corner OF prospect. My Twins-loving friends keep making fun of me (or, the Brewers) for drafting sons of famous ballplayers' sons, but heck, if it works... here's to a 2006 lineup including a Gwynn and a Fielder. That should at least draw some fans. And doesn't Tony Jr. look a lot more like Tony Sr. without the mustache?

That High Desert club is just ridiculous. I like the excuse Nichols used in the paper about a lack of time for planning. Well, geez. It's not like the Mavs and their fans deserve the brunt of the lack of planning blow. I truly feel sorry for these players, as no one should have to go through a season like this. The offense isn't too bad, but it's not designed for the park. On the other hand, the pitching staff is flat out bad, inexcusably so. This may be a result of the prior regime's drafting scheme, but needing to sign half a dozen free agents to fill a A+ club, and then not having those guys suceed is uncalled for from a planning standpoint. It's not like Nichols, et al, weren't watching these kids all spring training. It couldn't have dawned on them at the last moment that, hmm, maybe that pitching staff wasn't going to have a 6.50 ERA, and that, hmm, maybe there is something that should be done about it. If the High Desert fans and front office aren't pissed off, they should be. And Huntsville's 2004 season isn't looking too bright at the moment, either. The High Desert team isn't a burb in an otherwise promising system, it's a travesty. The new regime has done what I think to be a generally good job with the players so far, but they've totally screwed up the High Desert situation, and it's going to be a mark on their record for quite some time, at least in my book. I'm done venting...

I'm not going to rag on Matt Ford here, i mean, my gosh, even with tonight's outing, he still has a 3.16 ERA. However, was I the only person who saw this type of thing coming? I watched the game he pitched against the Twins, and he barely got out of a jam in the first and was very fortunate to have an ump with a nearly bottomless strike zone. Ford will be a good pitcher down the road, no doubt. But, he doesn't have the stuff right now to beat major league hitters consistently. I'd leave him in the rotation until something else can be figurered out, but I don't think tossing him to the wolves every 5 days for the rest of the season is the best thing to do, either. Finding another starter might be a problem, especially with Burba not looking too hot himself, but as much as I wanted to see Matt start a few games, I don't know that starting more than a handful of games is what is best for him long-term.

Our AAA rotation currently has the new guy, Manning, Coco, ????? Keith Olberman? I think.

Without a promotion, Pena seems the likely choice to exit the rotation. However, both Caprenter and Ballouli are coming off injurires, so they will be on limited pitch counts early on. Since Ballouli didn't pitch in any rehab games, he might come out of the bullpen for a bit while they get things sorted out.

Well you do still have J.M. on the list. Have faith. Have faith.

And you all laughed at me! For serious, Carlos should be in Beloit.

Everytime I see Teut's name, I think of Goldmember. The Brewers minor league clubs are "up" to 16 game under .500 record, with Helena and Huntsville the only teams over .500 mark. The real drag on the group is, of course, High Desert, at a less-than-"teut" 28-51.

About every other day in the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the baseball writer comes up with some new way about how Jacque Jones is getting screwed out of an All-Star spot. I'm still trying to figure this one out. A .300 average is nice, 10 home runs are nice, but an OPS under 800 for a LF? No thank you. Even more silly is Torii Hunter being so high up in the All-Star balloting, thanks to one great catch that everyone saw last year. What has he done to deserve the nod this season? Drew Olson should write a notes on why Podzilla is getting the shaft in All-Star balloting.