Joseph Zarr

Dinges being back in the line-up is just awesome. Dodged a bullet there. Let's hope he rips some bullets off that bat! Let's get some of that vintage Dinges 100 mph + rocket launch.

IF we eliminate RHP Daniel Corniel's silly 7-run blow-up inning back on August 7th @ Fredericksburg - if any of you recall, he took a comebacker off his arm and remained in the game. Entered that fourth frame up 7-1. Finished that frame but left with zero outs and the Muddies trailed 8-7. It was such a weird inning and a total meltdown after that come-backer. ANYWHO, that's really not the point here. IF we eliminate that outing, since the calendar flipped to August Corniel has actually been quite good: 5 GS, 24 1/3 IP, 18 H, 10 BB, 21 K, 4 ER. That's really solid especially considering he became the #1 after RHP Manuel Rodriguez suffered an IL stint. I imagine manager Nick Stanley is hoping he can get a solid 4 IP tonight and then he'd hope to have all options at his disposal - leave a humming Corniel in for an inning or two more or tap into his better bullpen arms. Either way, the outing back on the 7th was truly more an anomaly than anything else. We can only hope there's no lingering psychological cobwebs given Corniel is returning to that same park and that same mound.

Who could forget? I believe we saw the best hybrid Alvarez work of any ball club:

The scheduled starter for the Quad Cities River Bandits is talented RHP Ryan Ramsey. Ramsey has faced the T-Rats offense four times this season before today - all as a River Bandit. How has he fared? Game 1: 4.0 IP, 1 H, 2 HB, 1 BB, 3 K, 0 R Game 2: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 4 BB, 4 K, 1 ER Game 3: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 HB, 1 BB, 6 K Game 4: 2 2/3 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 4 K, 5 ER - the only runs scroed vs. Ramsey over the past 6 starts 😬 Needless to say, RHP Alexander Cornielle and the T-Rats offense will need to bring their 'A-Game' to Quad Cities tonight. The River Bandits have played the Rattlers extremely tough of late. This is going to be a very challenging series for manager Victor Estevez and his squad.

The scheduled starter for the Fredericksburg Nats is LHP Alex Clemmey (acquired at the trade deadline). Clemmey has faced the Mudcats offense four times this season before today - 3 as a Hillcat and 1 as a Fred Nat. How has he fared? Game 1: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 6 K, 0 R Game 2: 3.0 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 3 K, 2 ER - same series on 5 day's rest Game 3: 4.0 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 6 K, 1 HR, 3 ER - Pratt long ball Game 4: 4.0 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 ER Game 4 was his sole start as a National. @ Fredericksburg's Home Park back on August 10th. Clemmey is extremely talented with strikeout stuff and tools for days but at this stage of his very young career he is prone to the free pass. Mudcats bats will need to temper their aggression and make him work.

The David Stearns Mets---Brewers axis continues on! Gamel gave way to Reyes. Reyes is DFA'd and gives way to a stalwart for a significant portion of last year's Sounds season in INF Eddy Alvarez. The Mets had just acquired Alvarez (for cash) from the Red Sox. SO, this is a Stearns/Brewers/Mets/Red Sox carousel. Alvarez had spent his seen at the Sox's Triple-A Worcester club of the International League where he had slashed .247/.348/.463 in 114 games - 18 HR while going 18-for-25 in stolen base attempts.

Wishing manager Joe Ayrault renewed health and vitality. Bigger things are going on in that Shuckers clubhouse beyond the play on the field.

AND, he has yet to discover what opposite field power looks and feels like. Sky is the limit here. Miles to go but the baseline is capital Solid.

The slopfest continues! Wilken opens the 8th with a fielding error. Runner advances on a sac bunt. Scores on a single. 5-2 Pandas. Oh these Shuckers pulling out their tattered old bag of Fundamentals - falling apart at the seams. Incredibly weak defense these past two games after an absolute fantastic display in game 4. Tis the Shuckers in a proverbial nutshell.

Trash Pandas open their 7th with a groundout but then greet Chirino with a ground-rule double. And, just like that, he K's the next batter but C Darrien Miller throws the ball away in a pick off attempt and the runner scores. 4-2 Pandas. The catching outfit in Biloxi continues to struggle.

RHP Chad Patrick grabbed a Triple-A leading 18 whiffs today. 6.0 IP, 1 H, 8 K, 0 R. Just fantastic stuff. Got up to 94.3 mph on his four-seamer and 94.2 mph on his sinker. Electric outing today. He moves to a whopping 13-1 overall record. What. A. Season. I think it's quite fair to say: he's getting on the MLB roster before Rule 5. That type of season can't go untethered. RHP Jacob Misiorowski bounced back in a massive way with a 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K outing. 8 swings. 6 misses. Whewww. That'll play. LHP Bryan Hudson. How was the velo? He maxed out at 91.1 mph. His peripherals also show there wasn't much difference (by my eyes) from his recent stint with Milwaukee. With Milner giving up runs in consecutive relief outings since his return, this is a peripheral bullpen development we are keeping an eye on and, as of today, not much has changed unfortunately. He did manage a clean 1.0 IP, 1 K outing. BUT, the Brewers are likely looking for more here. RHP Kevin Herget worked around an opening walk in the ninth to shut the door. Sounds win 1-0. Big win as Columbus lost in a big way to Durham. Sounds remain 4.5 GB with 12 games to play. Mathematically possible but still highly unlikely.

How bad is the scene in Biloxi's positional group? Nick Kahle is in LF today. They have little to no depth at present. With Scott and Boeve shelved, how bad has it gotten for Ben Metzinger as a professional? Is there something going on here outside of simply not earning or deserving PT? He is Active. And, yet, his claim to fame in 2024 is the 'Development List' and bullpen catcher. Extremely thin pickings in the Shuckers clubhouse at present. This season has clearly taken its toll.

I think it's quite fair to say RHP Chad Patrick discovered the minor tweaks he needed to bounce back from his uncharacteristic two game 'skid'. Heck of a first four frames!

LET'S GO!!! YES SIR!

How great is it to see this again? When will Pratt hit his first oppo taco? The fanbase is jonesing for that development. T-Rats lead 3-1 early. 3B Eduardo Garcia also went yard - his 4th long ball of his season.

Welcome to Low-A ball Mr. Prado. These promotions certainly aren't always smooth: 3 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 1 K, 2 HR, 4 ER Muddies trail 5-0 late. Nice debut from Welch, however after he opened with 1 2/3 IP of 2 H, 0 BB, 3 K ball. 32 pitches and 21 strikes.

They are already warming up in Zebulon. Sheeeesh. 😂 2024 6th Rd pick (Tulane) RHP Chandler Welch just assigned from the ACL Brewers is already on the hill as today's starter. Let's hope for good things as the Mudcats look to build upon last night's 18-run outburst. CF Braylon Payne is swapping into CF and batting lead-off. Love it. Yophery drops down to 3rd and is today's DH. Mudcats lead the series 3-2 and are looking to take it today.

As you know, I watched that live and I certainly didn't handle it well 😂 There truly are few words. AND, what I missed in the original viewings was that unbelievably lazy and indifferent swipe tag attempt from C Nick Kahle. What is that? Show some urgency for crying out loud. I mean. Whewwwwww.😅 Only way to move on from that type of failure to execute is make a statement today. With this Shuckers team? I have absolutely zero expectations.

Do ensure to watch that Braylon Payne 'My Draft Day' video linked by Jim above. It. Is. Awesome. I said it in the game threads the past couple nights: this young man has something. He has that 'It' factor. He carries himself differently on that field than pretty much anyone else on it. He knows. We absolutely have something here I was, frankly, entirely unaware of. Obviously, the sample size is ridiculously small and inconsequential in a vacuum. However, he is already smashing 100 mph + line drives to the OF grass. He is already causing massive havoc on the base paths. It certainly seems his swing set up and easy follow-through can build up toward higher loft. I think we might have an unknown amount of untapped power here. He already has the frame to get stronger - a true specimen. Anyhow, extremely exciting young prospect. We should all be waving a finger at the Draft Industrial Complex that yet again wasn't ready to celebrate this moment. Shoutout to my guy LF Yoshwar Garcia for picking up his 65th SB last night - continues to be entirely overlooked by the Minor League fan base. A true lead-off guy the Muddies continue to bat in the lower part of the order like a second lead-off type of deal within their line-up. I continue to root for this young man. He continues to be an afterthought, somehow. Very good player. Final shoutout to my guy INF/OF Miguel Briceno. Just continues to have a truly fantastic season as the every man for manager Nick Stanley and the Mudcats line-up. He just always seems to step up and perform when called upon. You can not underestimate what that type of thing does for a team. He is nearly always popping with solid play and line drives and really plus AB's every opportunity he gets. What's more? He can step to the mound as well and give you a relief inning. Incredible. And, I would be remiss if I didn't share 1B Reece Walling's absolute bomb from last night. This puppy left in a hurry.:

Words truly can not describe how happy this makes me. Collins is definitively a 'my guy' kind of thang for this ol' codger. I've been touting his wares in my reports since last May. He's only gotten better, more consistent, more versatile. He hits anyone - both sides of the dish he is in the mid 0.800's OPS. Switch-hit versatility. Can play 3B, 2B, CF, LF and play acceptable defense. His bat and his offensive prowess, however, are what set him apart. He did have an OF assist to 3B this year that absolutely caught me by surprise (from LF) - he has a better arm than I gave him credit for. It's not 'Wow' but it won't kill you from the outfield grass and it is more than fine at 3B. Line drive gap power. Has developed HR pop. Has a very very good eye at the dish and knows how to fight off pitches. I've been calling for the need, organizationally, to ensure he doesn't get nabbed in the Rule 5 draft. He just offers so much as a Utility guy. Today is a GOOD day!!!

Going to share this here too because it is pandemonium at my Brewers Minor League viewing Man Cave station! Words can not describe how absolutely PUMPED I am about this move. Brewers see what I see: a must add roster addition. He can avoid Rule 5. He can become the master utility wizard that he already is at his next stop. This young man has so many skills with that bat in his hand.