MassBrew

I will say that Matt Wise should be protected on the 40-man during the offseason. He'll be another year removed from Tommy John and could be the guy to jump in if/when Lil' Ben and/or JDLR falters.

Game would have been worth watching if this Hennessy had been involved: http://www.nbc.com/nbc/Crossing_Jordan/images/imgs_bio/jill_hennessy.jpg

From today's Journal-Sentinel: Hennessey will be making his sixth start since being summoned from the minors in August. In his previous five starts, he made it through five innings only twice. Opponents are batting .337 against him. What a pathetic performance in this series, capped by today's mess. I only caught glimpses of Gameday at work, but the boys seem to have lowered the bar once again for the season. Poo.

A bit late, obviously, but a nice article on Olympian LHP Jared Theodorakos here: Lefty on loan eyes history Ex-Baylor pitcher tries to give Greece its first Olympic baseball win By JEFF MILLER / The Dallas Morning News ATHENS, Greece ? Jared Theodorakos wasn't sure what to expect when he volunteered for what has become America's Team-On-Loan at the Athens Games. But today, the former Baylor Bear will pitch before a packed house, probably trying to keep what passes for the Greek national baseball team out of last place during its first Olympic tournament. "I'll remember this for the rest of my life," said the 6-3, 240-pound left-hander, who looks like Curt Schilling. Greece's baseball federation was only formed in 1997 in the wake of Athens being awarded the '04 Summer Games because the host country competes automatically in team sports. The federation asked Orioles owner Peter Angelos, a Greek-American, to help patch together a team of foreign players of Greek descent to give the country a representative team. The call went out mostly to current and former American minor leaguers. If that wasn't enough of an obstacle when facing some of the world's top amateurs, 44-year-old coach Rob Derksen died of a heart attack in mid-June. And then the team, training at Camden Yards, needed a last-minute financial infusion from Angelos just to pay travel expenses to Greece. Theodorakos was one of the invitees last year, when he was finishing his junior season with Baylor. He was drafted in 2003 by Milwaukee in the 25th round. As a senior at Baylor last season, he was 3-4 with a 4.85 ERA in 10 starts. Milwaukee saw enough promise to sign him June 2. He was promoted quickly from the Brewers' lowest rookie team to their Helena, Mont., advanced rookie club, then was given leave to play for Greece at the end of June. Theodorakos and the others weren't immediately embraced by their adopted country, which preferred home-grown talent, even if that risked embarrassment between the lines. But at least a short-term love affair began with the opening 11-0 loss to the Netherlands and mushroomed the next night when Theodorakos took the mound. His first start was arguably the high point in Greek baseball history ... given that it pretty much began last weekend. He pitched six strong innings as Greece stayed nose to nose with amateur power Cuba, losing 5-4 before a raucous capacity crowd of about 6,000 at the Olympics' main baseball stadium. "It was the most incredible baseball game I've ever been a part of," said Theodorakis, who is from St. Louis. "It was the most I've ever seen anybody get into it, more than a major league baseball game." Greeks are enthusiastic, if not knowledgeable, about the game. They have been most excited by foul balls (can't take home a soccer ball when it's kicked into the stands) and enjoy the song "YMCA," which is played after the fifth inning, even if they're not entirely familiar with that alphabet. "I was laying in bed that night thinking we very well should have won that game," Theodorakos said. "We made some mistakes. And if I'd thrown a better pitch on a certain pitch, we win that game. We could have taken down the world championship team or the world's best team." Close games have been the best that the Greeks have managed through five of seven first-round outings. They will play Italy today in what probably will be the matchup of the tournament's two weakest teams. And it will follow an 11-6 loss to Australia on Friday, when coach Dusty Rhodes had to drain his bullpen for 5 1/3 innings, trying to get a win that was within reach until the seventh inning. "He's got to give us some innings," Rhodes said of Theodorakos' start against Italy. "If he can come in there and do what he did before, don't try to over-pitch, keep his composure. He has a tendency to get a little emotional. We don't have a lot to back him up."

I'm kind of trapped in the den here at home, with others, including nieces and such, sleeping over and scattered throughout the house. So I stuck it out by default. But certainly Bob and Jim joked about the number of folks who might be listening in the late innings of this 9-0 debacle. So between weekend fun alternatives, college football, etc. -- any guesses? Across that Brewers radio network, how many folks do you think were tuned in to the very end? Anybody know how many listeners for a "normal" game, let's say in midseason? I'll guess 3,000 of us diehards for tonight's late innings...

See, without the graphics reminding you of the score every moment, this game doesn't look so bad. Anybody else nervous about penciling in Victor into next year's rotation?

Watching this one on MLB.com -- because no network in either Cincinnati or Milwaukee is doing the actual broadcast, MLB.com (and the Reds' cameramen and producers, I imagine) provide the video feed, including instant replay. The only difference is the video includes no graphics. It's actually nice to watch the game on a full screen without all the clutter, like it used to be. Imagine letting the announcers (Ueck and Powell, in my case) letting you know the count. And yes, there is life without pitch speed.

Having recently "crossed the border" for a visit, I will note that the U.S. dollar is buying $1.28 worth of Canadian goods. Most likely the stated bonus amounts are in U.S. dollars (Baseball America listed Langille's at the same $107,000 amount), in which case, even better for the young canucks doing some window-shopping with their bonus money in their own country.

So how badly did the Brewers want to ink Quebec's Alexandre Periard? The 16th round RHP inked for a signing bonus of $234,000 according to published reports out of Canada. The Milwaukee Brewers signed righty Alexandre Periard of St-Eustache, Que., a 16th-rounder, giving him a $234,000 bonus. Both pitched for Les Ailes Du Quebec, which recently won the Canada Cup in Thunder Bay. Righty Craig Langille of Bedford, N.S., the top high schooler selected, went in the seventh round and received a $107,000 bonus from the Brewers. Only the Brewers' top four of Rogers - Gallardo - Wahpepah - Baker signed for more. Talk about projecting into the future -- Periard turned all of 17 last June. A reminder of what Jim Callis of Baseball America said earlier: After the 10th round, I'll give you four names to watch. Canadian high school righthander Alexandre Periard (16th round), who shows three average pitches, would have gone higher if not for the U.S. restriction on work visas that will bar him from playing pro ball this summer. Texas Tech first baseman Josh Brady (18th) is just a masher who currently ranks second in NCAA Division I with 90 RBIs. Prep righty Drew Bowman (21st), Colorado's top prospect, may be tough to sign away from Arizona State but is very projectable (6-foot-4, 175 pounds) and already works at 90-92 mph. Similarly, Texas prep righty Sean Morgan (25th) will be difficult to lure away from Tulane, but his strong build, 88-91 mph fastball and nifty slider are very enticing. By the way, colby, I know you have something planned for season-end, but is Morgan in class? I imagine so... I loved Toby's comment on draft day: Periard could spent 9 years in the minors and still get to the big leagues at the same age Mike Adams arrived. I enjoy the translated web site fun. Earlier this year we learned translated Spanish when researching Hernan Iribarren. No new info here, but I love the terms used in translating French below: The left-handeds person Philippe-Alexandre Valiquette and Alexandre Périard were the only Inhabitants of Quebec which were claimed, Monday, at the time of the first day of the meeting of fishing out amateur of major baseball. Valiquette, of the St. Lawrence, was a choice of seventh turn (198e on the whole) of Reds of Cincinnati. Périard, of Two-Mountains, was chosen by Brewers of Milwaukee to the 466e row. The receiver Mike Nickeas was the first claimed Canadian, with the fifth turn (141e), by Rangers of Texas. Nickeas was born in Vancouver, but it grew in California. Two other Canadians were selected with the seventh turn: the launcher Craig Langille, of Bedford in News-Scotland, by Brewers (196e), and the acrobat Sebastien Butcher of Ottawa by the Mariners of Seattle (213e). The Mariners later claimed Mike Saunders of Victoria to the eleventh turn, Brewers called upon Andrew Albers de North Battleford, in Saskatchewan, with the twelfth tower and Red Sox of Boston misé on R.J. Swindle of Vancouver to the fourteenth tower. The Canadian hopes too were not affected apparently by the restriction as for the American visas, that the foreign players must obtain in order to evolve/move in the minor leagues in the United States. The quota of these visas was reached in March, which means that no selected Canadian this year can make his beginnings in the professional rows before 2005. New nickname for Craig Langille -- the Launcher! Perfect! By the way, squarepusher, we still need a Player Index page on Mr. Periard -- thanks.

colbyjack, based on what Roque Mercedes showed this summer, let's pretend that was known at the time of the draft last June and that the Dominican right-hander was draft-eligible. Is this the equivalent of a fifth-round signing? Higher? Lower? What's your guess? Thanks batman, for doing the legwork and digging up the info on the young man based on the initial signing report.

Nobody out, need baserunners, Krynzel pinch-hits, looks at two balls, then swings at ball three and dribbles a grounder -- has Dave got one out of the infield in his 14 AB's?

With all the upcoming games against "contenders", I'm sure we'll hear reasons for not seeing David Krynzel, and to a lesser extent, Chris Magruder, in the line-up very often. Scotty Po couldn't sit against the very ordinary Josh Hancock and the woebegone Reds? Ned's taking this "I don't want to finish last" stuff to heart. All season long, Friday night Brewerfan "viewership" has been down, down, down. You young 'uns must know how to have fun minus Wes Obermueller -- imagine that.

LHP Derek Miller's story is detailed in the post just above. He pitched in the New England Collegiate Baseball League this summer, making five starts and posting a 3-0 record and a 1.71 ERA. Only 21 hits allowed in 31.2 IP, walking ten and striking out 32. The NECBL is gaining a nice reputation for those not fortunate enough to be on Cape Cod for that league's action. Check out the box score from his seven-inning no-hit appearance here: www.necbl.com/2004webstats/714VMMC.HTM Reportedly, velocity is back up to the 90 MPH range and look for him to be one of the more intriguing draft-and-follow candidates in colbjack's DFE reports next spring.

Baseball America indicates that Milwaukee signed RHP Roque Mercedes-Lamesi. We can pretty much guarantee that all we'll have on him is a name until April's media guide comes out. It'll be interesting to see a trickle of Latin American free agents added each year, but not in the numbers we had seen in the past. Basically, the Brewers can promise an immediate start in the states (as opposed to a Latin Academy or action in the DSL / VSL), so they should still be able to entice some prospects to sign contracts as they identify those worthy. Now watch, this guy will turn out to be from Omaha or something http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/tongue.gif Earlier this year, Toby confirmed with Brewer staff that several player names that we see in the media guide (and on the Brewerfan Player Index for Arizona Rookie) were part of the organization, even if they didn't see action in the league. It'd be interesting to know if these unknown Latin kids were even in Maryvale all summer...

Helena Independent Republic: Brewers up and down in 2004 By TOM COTTON - IR Sports Editor There was plenty to like about the 2004 season if you were a fan of the Helena Brewers. The Capital City's Pioneer League franchise had a talented team that was in contention for a playoff berth from the outset of the season. According to Brewers general manager Paul Fetz the franchise is stable and financially sound. The Brew Crew also had a fan base that was both loyal and vocal throughout the entire season. Everything, however, wasn't peaches and cream for the Brewers. Despite having talent, the Brewers weren't able to catch Billings in the first half or Great Falls in the second half to earn a second-straight berth in the playoffs. Despite having a loyal fan base, the attendance wasn't comparable to other cities around the Pioneer League. Helena averaged 1,013 fans per game, which was worst in the league. Despite the good and the bad this season, the 2004 campaign can be considered a success for the Helena franchise, particularly on the field. "Overall I think we did a great job," said Brewers second baseman Steve Sollmann. "I'm sure that a lot of guys learned a lot this summer and I think that's the biggest part of playing your first year." The Brewers had a nice mix of young talent and experienced players from the college ranks. Eighteen-year-old Charlie Fermaint was a wizard on defense, many times making spectacular catches in centerfield. "He can play big-league centerfield right now," Brewers broadcaster Steve Wendt said. The only thing holding Fermaint back is offensive production. Despite hitting fastballs effectively, he hit just .233 this season. Alcides Escobar, who is just 17, was also a defensive stopper at shortstop and competent offensively, hitting .282 in 227 at bats. Escobar was part of an infield that Wendt feels was the strength of the team. "I saw a strong infield defensively and everybody in the infield was a key offensive contributor," Wendt said. Sollmann was outstanding offensively hitting .364. He ended the season by getting on base in 36 straight games and he had an 18-game hitting streak. "I think I played pretty good baseball this summer," Sollmann said. "There is always room for improvement." The Brewers also had a pair of talented first basemen this season. Grant Richardson hit .367 which earned him a promotion to Class A Beloit, Wisc. Richardson was one of five players to get promoted this season. Pitchers Justin Barnes and Ben Stancyzk went to Beloit. Outfielder Jake Serfass and pitcher Joel Needham went to High Desert. Josh Brady played first base after Richardson's promotion and the Texas Tech product hit .370 in 28 games. "The competition has been awesome," Brady said. "I came in thinking it wasn't going to be that way after playing in a pretty good conference (Big 12). The game gets faster at every level." Off the field, the Brewers are also doing well. "We finished in the black last year and I know we will do it again this year," Fetz said. He said that they will strive to improve attendance, but he isn't overly concerned about the Brewers fan base. He said that teams in the Pioneer League that are outdrawing the Brewers are not making money. He also said a chilly August could have kept fans from Kindrick-Legion Field. "I feel there is room for growth in terms of attendance and ticket sales," he said. "We are going into 2005 really looking to get more groups (into the stadium)." According to Wendt, 2005 and beyond should be prosperous years for the franchise. "I have worked for a few teams and I have seen baseball be sucessful," he said. "I think Helena has a great opportunity to be successful." IR sports reporter Tom Stuber contributed to this story. Photo by Jon Ebelt IR Staff - Ogden catcher Kengshill Pujols, left, drops the ball while diving forward attempting to tag out Helena Brewer Grant Richardson in third inning action at Kindrick Legion Field. Richardson was a top offensive player for Helena in 2004 and later was called up to Beloit. http://www.helenair.com/content/articles/2004/09/09/sports_top/b01090904_01.jpg

Beloit Daily News Game Story: A man for all positions Snappers' Rottino plays all nine in season finale By Jim Franz Sports Editor Their playoff hopes extinguished and facing a meaningless finale, the Beloit Snappers did their best to manufacture some excitement Sunday afternoon at Pohlman Field. Call it the Vinny Rottino show. While the Snapper slugger produced a highlight reel with his bat this season, Sunday it was his versatility that was showcased as he played all nine positions in nine innings. Never mind that the Snappers went on to lose, 7-6, in 11. They've done plenty of that lately. Rottino's overshadowed the outcome. He's the first Snapper to turn the trick. "(Pitching coach) Rich Sauveur was running the team Sunday and it was his idea," Rottino said. "He had mentioned to me earlier in the year that he wanted me to do it if the opportunity was ever there." Manager Don Money said the Snappers put in a call to Farm Director Reid Nichols, who signed off on the experiment. Rottino had played most of the positions already this season, although center field was new and the 24-year-old hadn't pitched since American Legion ball. "I think the umpire gave me a little bit of the corner," Rottino said with a chuckle. "I had to throw mostly fastballs. I really don't have a feel for a changeup. I just gripped it with all five fingers and threw it soft." Rottino had opened the game as the starting catcher and then switched every inning, going from right field to center, to left, to first base, third, shortstop, second and ending up on the pitcher's mound in the ninth inning. With the game tied at 6-6, fans were wondering if Rottino would still get the call, but they began cheering as he warmed up in the bullpen during the Snappers' at-bat in the eighth. They applauded even louder when he struck out leadoff man Sean Dobson on three pitches. Calvin Hayes and Daric Barton then grounded out with both shortstop Wandel Campana and second baseman Will Lewis turning in fine plays. That was the end of Rottino's mission and his day. He was a spectator as Hayes drove a one-out single to right off reliever Simon Beresford to score Christoper Patrick in the 11th inning. The Snappers tried to rally. Lou Palmisano singled and with one out, reliever Matthew Pagnozzi hit Terry Trofholz with a pitch. He then got Manuel Ramirez and Carlos Corporan to fly out to end the game. "We should have scored more runs," Money said. "We had 16 hits and left 14 guys on base. We had a lot of chances. We just couldn't get a hit at the right time." "For the past 10 days we haven't pitched very well and we haven't got timely hitting," Money said. "In the stretch playoff run we went 2-8. Usually when you go 2-8, you don't make the playoffs." After Peoria scored twice in the first off Carlos Villanueva, Beloit took the lead by scoring twice in the second inning and then two more in the third when Robby Deevers hit his eighth homer of the season with Rottino aboard. Villanueva walked the leadoff batter in the fifth and hit the next. A throwing error allowed one run to score and Matt Dryer's sacrifice fly tied it at 4-4. Beloit got the lead back in the bottom of the inning. Drew Anderson singled and scored on a one-out triple off the top of the right field wall by Deevers. Rottino, who had played well in each position through six innings, threw out Dobson leading off the seventh. But Hayes then hit a ball to Rottino's left and was able to beat his throw by a step. "Rottino did all right," Money said. "Playing shortstop he was a little late on that throw, but overall he did OK." The tardy throw proved costly because reliever Kevin Rival walked the next batter and gave up a two-run double by Dryer to make it 6-5. The Snappers tied it in the eighth. Campana had reached on a bunt single, but was still at first with two outs. Lewis then singled and Anderson followed with an RBI base hit. A wild pitch put runners on second and third, but Rottino couldn't check his swing on a breaking pitch and struck out. "I swung," Rottino said. "That's baseball. We just didn't seem to get any breaks lately. Overall it was a good season. It would have been really nice to go to the playoffs I think we were one of the more talented teams in the league, but we came up short." NOTES: The Snappers finished the second half 34-36. ...Beloit lost on Sunday, 8-6, with Justin Barnes (1-3) taking the defeat. Hernan Iribarren hit his first home run and Palmisano belted his seventh. ...Beloit outhit Peoria 9-8 on Saturday, but lost 13-7 on Saturday. Anderson was 3-for-3.

H.D. closes shop quickly By TIM HARAN/Staff Writer LANCASTER ? For a team that has lost twice as many games as it's won, the High Desert Mavericks season couldn't finish fast enough. So, facing Lancaster in the season finale, the Mavs appeared bent on bringing an end their dismal 2004 campaign in the quickest way possible by pitching rapidly and swinging early and often. High Desert couldn't connect frequently enough on Monday, falling 6-1 to the South Division-champion JetHawks in a speedy 2-hour, 2-minute contest at The Hangar. "There wasn't anything special (to quicken the game)," High Desert manager Mel Queen said. "If there was, you wouldn't have seen as many hits, you would have seen a lot of strikeouts." The teams combined for 19 hits while the pitchers struck out 15 and walked just one. High Desert's Travis Teeter made his first start in a Mavericks' uniform, giving up three runs in six innings of work. He surrendered a two-run homer to Jay Garthwaite in the first inning and gave up an RBI double to Danny Richar in the second. High Desert (49-91 overall, 24-46 second half) managed eight hits off six Lancaster pitchers. The team's sole run came in the fifth inning of JetHawks' reliever Adam Bass. Following a one-out double by Mario Mendez, left fielder Jake Serfass laced an RBI single to center. With the Mavericks' bats held in check, the California League's second-most prolific offense went to work. Lancaster (86-54, 43-27) added three runs in the seventh off Mavericks reliever Mitch Stetter. JetHawks' pinch-hitter Jon Zeringue hammered the first pitch he saw over the left-center field fence, to be followed by Doc Brooks' two-run single. "We wanted to give (Stetter) a little work because there was something we wanted to see if we could correct," Queen said of the left-hander's inning on the mound. "He had been tipping his pitches and we worked to correct it." The good news: Stetter didn't tip his pitches. The bad news: He made some poor ones. The Mavericks tinkered with their lineup slightly in the finale, though it wasn't anything as drastic as in the final game of 2003 when High Desert made history by having two players play at all nine positions. Mark Hamilton, a pitcher who's turned into a valuable utility player, played first base for the first time in two years and went 1-for-4 before moving to the mound to pitch the eighth inning. Travis Hinton, who this season missed just four games, was in the lineup on Monday as the Mavericks' designated hitter. The power-hitting first baseman entered the game having driven in 88 RBIs on the year, two shy of a goal he had set for himself. He went 0-for-2 before being lifted in the sixth inning for pinch hitter Pete Rasmusen. NOTES: The Dayton Dragons, despite winning in 11 innings on Monday, finished with the worst record in minor league baseball, according to "Blast For Last" calculations. The Low Class A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds ended the year 48-92. ... Hinton and second baseman Callix Crabbe were named to the Cal League postseason all-star team. ... This season the Mavericks posted 11-17 marks against Lancaster and Rancho Cucamonga. The only other team that High Desert garnered double-digit wins against was Lake Elsinore (10-17).

David Weiser's www.starsboxscore.com Huntsville update: HELLO, TOMORROWAs it commonly occurs during the last game of the season, when there is nothing at stake, managers will farkel with the lineup or acquiesce to some player's secret desire....... A few years ago, manager Carlos Lezcano announced his starting pitcher would be utilityman Jared Mathis, and proceeded to give him an inning at every position........ Well nothing like that happened with Johnny Raburn, but on the last day of the season, your starting left fielder was Prince Fielder. Raburn started at 1st base for the 6th time this season. Robert Portnoy's broadcast was entertaining....... After the Lookouts took a 6-2 lead after five innings, he had Lookout announcer Larry Ward and Stars beatwriter Mark McCarter, who started his career in Chattanooga, in the booth. Also there were soundbites from various Huntsville players and personnel, expressing their reflections on the season and their plans........ I attended my final Stars game of the season at BellSouth Park, Sunday........ It's a small, but very nice park that overlooks interstate-cloned Highway 27N, as it leaves the western end of Chattanooga toward the outskirts. The scoreboard in left field is big, the pitch speed meter reads out in huge matrix lights, and the dimensions, though smaller than Joe D., are as quirky as the walls which rise to 18-20 feet in dead center and 7 feet in others. The Budweiser pavilion in right field, the one Prince Fielder homered over (and that was quite a feat when I looked at it), is inviting for any picnicker or visitor with its overhang that provides the only shade I saw for any paying customer, and that's one of my gripes....... There is no escape from the setting sun there anywhere. I can only imagine what day games are like. My other gripe is the lack of variety at the concessions and a grill, like Billy Ray's and the famous $5 Kahuna burgers at the Joe. But BellSouth is easy to get to from 72 East. You just hit I-24 eastbound, get off at Exit 152, take the left lane at the exit that takes you on 27N for just a little bit, then Exit 1C and a right turn to the ballpark. Some former players had success on the field today. One didn't...... Glenn Woolard, in his first game for Indianapolis, pitched six scoreless innings, giving up just three hits. Louisville won, however, 7-6, as the Bats teed off on reliever Jeff Housman, who has been roughed up at Indy after his promotion, August 14. Housman gave up six runs on three hits and three walks in an inning in relief of Wooly....... At the Hangar in Lancaster, the High Desert Maverics were shutout for four innings in a 6-1 loss by none other than Pete Zamora, who was released by the Stars on June 17 after registering an 8.64 ERA for June. As far as Monday's game goes, who cares? It's over!........ No, just kidding........ The Stars took an early 1-0 lead after Tony Gwynn walked on a 3-2 pitch. He took second on a bad pickoff attempt by Bubba Nelson. The ball caromed off either the helmet of Gwynn or the tip of 1st baseman Jesse Gutierrez's glove...... Then Gwynn took third on a fly to right by Rickie Weeks....... Prince Fielder smoked a hanging breaking ball under the glove of a diving Gutierrez, scoring Gwynn........That double tied Brad Nelson for the club lead in RBIs, after Nelson had led all season.. The 1-0 lead was the last one the Stars would have in 2004........ Jammed with a pitch, leadoff hitter and former Star Bobby Darula blooped a single into right-centerfield, his 4th hit in six ABs this series. He stole second ahead of Nestor Corredor's throw........ Bryan Anderson followed with a line smash over the head of inexperienced left fielder Prince Fielder. Fielder played the carom off the wall and Anderson was on with an RBI double....... Next, Edwin Encarnacion walked on a 3-2 pitch, but Gutierrez hit into a 5-3 DP on a hot grounder that fortunately took Chris Barnwell's momentum to third base, where he retired Anderson....... With two out and Encarnacion on second, Tony Blanco hit a high drive over Fielder's head to put the Lookouts on top, 3-1. The Lookouts made it 4-1 in the 2nd....... Brian Peterson smashed a 1-1 pitch over Tony Gwynn's head and slid into third with a triple. Jeff Bannon followed with another smash, but right at Gwynn this time. It was deep enough to score Peterson, however. The Stars came back with a run in the top of the 3rd...... With two out, Rickie Weeks hit the first of his two doubles in the game into the left field corner........ Weeks finishes the season with a seven-game hit streak (9-for-25, .360) which includes five doubles. His last one in the 8th inning gave him a share of the Southern League lead with 35....... Fielder then reduced Chattanooga'a lead to 4-2 with a bullet through the box, buzzing Bubba Nelson, scoring Weeks. Brad Nelson, however, got under a 1-0 pitch, sending it deep, but not deep enough, to right-center for Chris Denorfia........ Nelson ended the 2004 season in a deep slump. He hit just .209 down the stretch, homerless since August 15, and 4-for-41 in his last 11 games and just four RBIs in his last 18......... The Lookouts put the season to rest in the 5th on a two-out RBI double by Ramon Moreta, who spoiled Sunday's shutout bid, and an RBI single up the middle that scored Moreta. MORE TOMORROW, INCLUDING THE TOP 10 GAMES OF THE YEAR, A REFLECTION ON THE SEASON.

Final: Lancaster (Diamondbacks) 6, High Desert 1 High Desert Box Score: The two LHP's that were promoted late this season kind of met the same struggles at the next level -- Mitch Stetter with the Mavs and Jeff Housman with Indy; Callix Crabbe's fine season ends with a big day and a final OPS of .786 -- 44 extra-base hits for the smallish 2B who won't even turn 22 until next February... GAME DATE: 9/06/04 HD at LNC HIGH DESERT 1 AT LANCASTER 6 YTD YTD HIGH DESERT AB R H BI AVG LANCASTER AB R H BI AVG K.Bibbs CF 4 0 0 0 .280 S.Garrabrant 3B 2 0 0 0 .270 C.Crabbe 2B 4 0 3 0 .291 M.Reynolds 3B 2 0 0 0 .083 M.Hamilton 1B 4 0 1 0 .300 J.Ball RF 4 1 1 0 .297 M.Hamilton PIT 0 0 0 0 .300 D.Uggla 2B 4 2 2 0 .336 T.Hinton DH 2 0 0 0 .302 J.Garthwaite LF 4 1 2 2 .311 P.Rasmusen DH 1 0 0 0 .177 S.Luellwitz 1B 2 0 1 0 .270 T.Farnsworth 1B 0 0 0 0 .259 D.Brooks LF 2 0 1 2 .332 E.Cruz SS 4 0 1 0 .283 R.Abercrombi CF 4 1 2 0 .342 J.Eure 3B 4 0 0 0 .240 P.Avlas CAT 3 0 1 0 .315 M.Mendez RF 4 1 1 0 .277 D.Tosca CAT 1 0 0 0 .252 J.Frost CAT 3 0 1 0 .268 D.Richar SS 4 0 1 1 .282 J.Serfass LF 3 0 1 1 .120 P.Zamora PIT 2 0 0 0 .000 T.Teeter PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Zeringue PH 1 1 1 1 .335 M.Stetter PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 M.Biguenet PH 1 0 0 0 .140 A.Bass PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 A.Shappi PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 S.Smith PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 C.Wells PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Wechsler PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 33 1 8 1 TOTALS 36 6 12 6 HIGH DESERT 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0- 1 8 0 LANCASTER 2 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 X- 6 12 0 DP--HIGH DESERT 0, LANCASTER 1. LOB--HIGH DESERT 6, LANCASTER 6. 2B--M.Mendez (14), S.Luellwitz (29), R.Abercrombi (10), D.Richar (13). HR--J.Garthwaite (12), J.Zeringue (10). CS--E.Cruz. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA HIGH DESERT T.Teeter (L,1-1) 6.0 8 3 3 0 7 1 7.71 M.Stetter 1.0 4 3 3 0 0 1 8.15 M.Hamilton 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 5.45 LANCASTER P.Zamora 4.0 3 0 0 0 2 0 6.15 A.Bass (W,10-8) 1.0 2 1 1 0 1 0 5.03 A.Shappi 1.0 1 0 0 0 2 0 3.00 S.Smith 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 5.40 C.Wells 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 4.68 J.Wechsler 1.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2.47 SO--K.Bibbs 2, M.Hamilton, P.Rasmusen, E.Cruz, J.Eure, J.Serfass, S.Garrabrant, J.Ball, J.Garthwaite, S.Luellwitz, D.Brooks, R.Abercrombi, P.Zamora, M.Biguenet. BB--T.Farnsworth. T--2:02. A--3058High Desert Game Log: www.sportsnetwork.com/mer...MEID=19074

Helena Independent Record Game Story: Brewers end season with a loss to Billings By TOM STUBER - IR Sports Writer The Helena Brewers wrapped up their 2004 Pioneer League campaign with a 7-4 loss to first-half Northern Division champ Billings Monday night at Kindrick Legion Field. The Brewers finished the season with a winning record at 38-36 overall, but came in with a losing mark at 18-20 in the second half. Helena had the second best record in the Northern Division in both the first and second halves, and overall, but fail to make the post-season because Billings won the first half title, and Great Falls the second. Billings will battle the Great Falls White Sox for the Northern Division crown this week. Trevor Lawhorn blasted a three-run shot in the fourth for Billings to give the Mustangs a 5-3 lead. Helena looked solid early as the Brewers scored twice in the first and again in the second. Hasan Rasheed led off with a single and scored one out later on a Josh Brady base-hit. Adam Mannon followed with another single to plate Brady. Charlie Fermaint led off the second with a walk and scored when Alcides Escobar hit into a double play. But the Mustangs would answer. Bradley Key hit a solo shot for Billings in the third to cut the Brewers' lead to one before Lawhorn's blast to deep left-center. Billings scored five times in the fourth and Helena didn't put another run on the board until the final inning. Rasheed led off the clubs' final at-bat with a triple, but Brad Cherry came in to pitch for Billings and squashed the Brewers' hopes of a comeback. Cherry retired all three of the Helena batters he faced. Rasheed scored on team MVP Steve Sollmann's RBI ground out. The Brewers made the final game a fun one for the fans. Fan Appreciation Night featured a drawing for Helena pitcher Robert Hinton's 1994 BMW sedan, much to Hinton's surprise. All in good fun a fan drew the lucky number and jumped into the car, which was driven in from right field. Another light note occured when Alberto Segura was given the 'whipped cream' treatment during an interview. Agustin Septimo pulled the trick as Segura was being interviewed by freelance documentarian Tom Morales. Sollmann was announced as team MVP before the game and reached base safely in his final 36 games. He finished the season batting .364 with 59 runs and 39 RBI. He had one hit against Billings and finished with 99.

Final: Billings (Reds) 7, Helena 4 Helena Box Score: RHP Robbie Wooley puts the wraps on his season -- he was the top pupil by far in this rookie league pitching class; Dallas Bates draws three walks; final OBP numbers include Steve Sollman (.487), Tony Festa (.463), Josh Brady (.433), Hasan Rasheed (.422), and Grant Richardson's earlier Pioneer League stay (.478)... GAME DATE: 9/06/04 BIL at HEL BILLINGS 7 AT HELENA 4 YTD YTD BILLINGS AB R H BI AVG HELENA AB R H BI AVG D.Anderson RF 3 0 0 0 .254 H.Rasheed LF 4 2 2 0 .299 T.Lawhorn 2B 5 1 2 3 .240 S.Sollmann 2B 3 0 1 1 .364 B.Key 3B 4 2 2 1 .242 J.Brady 3B 5 1 1 1 .363 R.Mosby 1B 5 1 1 0 .263 A.Mannon RF 5 0 1 1 .255 E.Beltre DH 5 0 2 2 .254 A.Segura Cor CAT 3 0 0 0 .278 J.Belcher LF 4 1 0 0 .182 D.Bates DH 1 0 0 0 .280 J.Ellis CAT 4 1 2 0 .250 C.Fermaint CF 3 1 0 0 .229 T.Kaats CF 3 0 1 1 .185 C.Lozada 1B 3 0 2 0 .224 P.Janish SS 3 1 2 0 .263 A.Escobar SS 4 0 1 0 .281 A.Farfan PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 R.Marion PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 C.Vazquez PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 A.Martinez S PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Dillard PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 R.Wooley PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 C.O'Neal PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 B.Hundt PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 T.Johnson PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 36 7 12 7 TOTALS 31 4 8 3 BILLINGS 0 1 1 5 0 0 0 0 0- 7 12 0 HELENA 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1- 4 8 0 DP--BILLINGS 2, HELENA 0. LOB--BILLINGS 9, HELENA 9. 2B--A.Escobar (8). 3B--H.Rasheed (2). HR--T.Lawhorn (7), B.Key (6). SB--R.Mosby (1), E.Beltre 2 (7), J.Ellis (2), S.Sollmann (23), J.Brady 2 (5). CS-- T.Lawhorn, D.Bates. HBP--S.Sollmann. SH--D.Anderson, T.Kaats. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA BILLINGS A.Farfan 3.0 4 3 3 2 0 0 6.30 C.Vazquez (W,1-0) 1.2 1 0 0 2 4 0 0.00 J.Dillard 1.1 0 0 0 2 1 0 7.17 C.O'Neal 1.0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0.00 T.Johnson 2.0 2 1 1 1 2 0 3.56 HELENA R.Marion 3.1 3 3 3 4 1 1 8.15 A.Martinez S (L,3-7) 0.2 4 4 4 1 0 1 6.02 R.Wooley 4.0 4 0 0 0 5 0 3.52 B.Hundt 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4.41 HB--A.Farfan. WP--J.Dillard, A.Martinez S. PB--J.Ellis. SO--D.Anderson, B.Key, E.Beltre 2, T.Kaats, P.Janish, H.Rasheed, J.Brady, A.Mannon 3, C.Fermaint 2, C.Lozada. BB--D.Anderson, B.Key, J.Belcher, J.Ellis, P.Janish, H.Rasheed, S.Sollmann, A.Segura Cor, D.Bates 3, C.Fermaint, C.Lozada. T--2:49. A--912Helena Game Log: www.sportsnetwork.com/mer...MEID=16594

Huntsville Site Game Summary: Huntsville lost a 6-2 decision to Chattanooga in its season finale on a Labor Day Monday afternoon at Bell South Park. The Stars split four games with the playoff-bound Lookouts to close out the 2004 campaign. Huntsville finished 33-37 in the second half and 65-75 overall. Prince Fielder's run-scoring single put Huntsville up, 1-0, in the first. Chattanooga scored three in the bottom of the frame on Bryan Anderson's RBI-double and Tony Blanco's two-run homer. In the second, Brian Peterson tripled and scored on Jeff Bannon's sacrifice fly for a 4-1 Lookouts lead. With two down in the third, Huntsville's Rickie Weeks ripped the first of his two doubles in the game, and Fielder scored him with a single up the middle to make it 4-2. In the fifth, Edwin Encarnacion drew a two-out walk and scored on Ramon Moreta's double, then Blanco plated Moreta with a single to give Chattanooga a 6-2 advantage. Four Lookouts relievers combined to shut out Huntsville over the final six innings. Matt Beech (3-0) worked two scoreless frames, fanning two and allowing one hit while recording his third win. Casey DeHart fanned two in the sixth, Brad Salmon tossed two shutout innings, fanning one, and Daylon Childress struck two and surrendered one hit in the ninth. Ryan Costello (8-8) suffered the loss for Huntsville, allowing six runs on eight hits and two walks with three strikeouts in six innings. Dennis Sarfate fanned two and gave up one hit over two scoreless stanzas for Huntsville.

In progress: Billings (Reds) 7, Helena 3, after four innings H-Crew pitchers are reminding us again tonight why the team didn't qualify for the post-season; Steve Sollman was named team MVP, by the way...

I've registered, I can see I'm among the visitors, but all I see is a thread, no poll to vote on...

Sons of Sam Horn? It's just an EZ board, nothing more. A humungous Red Sox E-Z board, but that's it.