MassBrew

Indianapolis Media Notes: TONIGHT: The Indians return to Victory Field where they are 4-1. The Tribe is coming off the longest road trip of the season. The nine-game journey took the Tribe to Durham for two games, Charlotte for four and Louisville for three. The Tribe went 1-8 on the trip losing the first six games before taking the series opener against Louisville. The Tribe then dropped the next two. The Indians welcome Toledo to Victory Field for the first time in 2003. The teams met at Fifth Third Field for one game earlier this month. The Hens won 9-1. The Indians went 9-7 against Toledo last year winning six of the eight meetings at Victory Field. YESTERDAY: Louisville defeated the Indians 3-2 on Felipe Crespo's sixth-inning homer. Jason Conti was 2-for-5 for the Tribe. David Manning made his first start of the season. He needed 41 pitches to get through the first inning, but allowed just one run in the frame. ON THE MOUND: Righthander Mark Guerra makes his third start and fourth appearance tonight. Guerra's relief appearance came against Toledo on April 8 in a 9-1 loss. Guerra tossed three shutout innings allowing just one baserunner on a walk. Guerra took the loss in his most recent start on April 19 at Charlotte. He sailed through the first five innings allowing just two runs, but ran into trouble in the sixth allowing three more runs in two-thirds of an inning. HOT AT THE PLATE: Three Indians boast batting averages above .300. Lee Stevens tops the team with a .356 mark. Mark Smith is hitting .326. Smith has hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games (.357, 15-for-42) and leads the team with nine RBI. Mark Budzinski is batting .344. He leads the team with five multi-hit games and three multi-RBI games. Over his last five games, Budzinski is hitting .600 (9-for-15). EXTRA HITTING: The Indians .219 team batting average ranks last in the IL. Cecil Cooper has scheduled extra hitting sessions for Thursday and Friday afternoons before the regular batting practice and infield. ON THE BOARD EARLY: The Indians have scored a team-best 16 runs in the first inning. The Tribe has plated a first-inning run in eight games this season, including four of the last five. The Indians are 4-5 when they score the game's first run. The Tribe's struggles have come in the third, fourth and fifth innings when they've been outscored 52-13. NOW THAT'S RELIEF: The Indians bullpen continues to slam the door on the opposition. In 69.1 innings, the relief corps has recorded a 3.25 ERA. A ROUGH 'ROAD' TO HOE: The Tribe opened the season with 14 of its first 19 games on the road. The Indians went 7-12 in that stretch including a 3-11 mark away from Victory Field. The Indians are hit .195 in the 14 road games and scored just 41 runs (2.9 rpg). Six of the Tribe's 12 position players are hitting below .200 on the road. TROUBLE IN THE FIELD: The Indians have committed 21 errors which is third-most in the IL. Nineteen of those have come on the road leading to 26 unearned runs. UPCOMING PROBABLES: Friday vs. Toledo - RHP Shane Loux (2-0, 0.51) vs. RHP Francisco Campos (0-2, 9.18) Saturday vs. Columbus - LHP Danny Borrell (1-1, 2.65) vs. RHP Ruben Quevedo (2-1, 2.61) Sunday vs. Columbus - RHP Adrian Hernandez (1-2, 4.24) vs. RHP Pascual Coco (1-3, 5.30) Monday - Off Day

Nicolas to Boston for PTBNL and cash Please limit discussion to the Nicolas thread on the Major League forum, thanks. Huntsville once again with an open roster spot.

Baseball America's Daily Tribute to Daryl & Kade: HIGH DESERT (CAL) OF DARYL CLARK continued his offensive tear, driving in six runs for the Mavericks, who lost a 13-9 slugfest against the Inland Empire 66ers. Clark laced a two-run single to right field during a three-run first inning, lifted a sacrifice fly in the second and crushed his fourth homer in a many days, a three-run blast, to cap a four-run eighth frame. The 23-year-old, who was born in Germany, has now hit safely in seven straight games and, through 19 games, leads the high level Class A California League in several offensive categories, including batting average (.443), home runs (10) and RBI with 24. During his current hitting streak, the University of North Carolina-Charlotte product has scored 15 runs, notched 16 hits, crushed six homers and racked up 15 RBI. C KADE JOHNSON, who is currently second in the league with 21 RBI, went 2-for-5 with two RBI to extend his hitting streak to 18 straight games. The second-round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers in the 1999 draft was held hitless over his first three plate appearances before ripping an RBI double in the sixth inning and added an run-scoring single in the eighth to notch his third straight multi-RBI game.

Daily Press High Desert Game Story: Before we lavish any more praise on Daryl Clark, check out some of the home/road splits mentioned here and wait for the next road trip -- still impressive however, don't get me wrong; also, here's the tale of a near-disastrous in-game fan promotion... www.vvdailypress.com/cgi-...533,51331,

Daily Menu: Central times listed... INDIANAPOLIS: RHP Mark Guerra at home vs. Toledo (Tigers), 7:00 PM HUNTSVILLE: RHP Ben Diggins (1.46 ERA) at Mobile (Padres), 7:05 PM HIGH DESERT: RHP Dan Kolb at home vs. Inland Empire (Mariners), 9:05 PM BELOIT: TBA (probably RHP Calvin Carpenter) at Lansing (Cubs), 5:05 PM; don't see an online audio link via the Lugnuts' site -- pursue for yourself if you must...

David Weiser's Huntsville Analysis: OH, THOSE ERRORSThe Stars have played 20 games so far, so I thought it's worth a peek at the numbers and see how they compare to past seasons. The going concern has been, of course, the glaring number of errors the Stars have piled up in their first 10 games....... After 10, they committed a record 22 errors. Another look after 20 shouldn't be taken as an indication on what course they're on, at least in the field. Baseball, after all, is such a streaky game......... To offer an example, the rate of errors has slowed considerably. The Stars have committed just 9 errors in their last 10 games. Quite an improvement for now...... And maybe it signifies that everyone is just settling down in their positions. Getting the shakes out. The errors are spread pretty evenly, except at 3rd base, as you might guess........ The combination of Corey Hart (mostly Hart) and Ryan Gripp have committed 9 errors --- the most on any team after 20 games since 1991....... The Stars are 1-3 in games in which Corey makes an error (he made two, three times). Of those losses, he committed a rare 3-base error which resulted in 2 unearned runs in a 7-6 loss to Jacksonville. In another, his error broke Luis Martinez's scoreless inning streak in a 2-0 loss........ Another error did not result in an unearned run........ There was at least one, maybe two games that I did see that I think Corey should have been charged an error, or at the very least, was sloppy in making a play, but I can't recall whether it cost the Stars the game........ I'll tell you this, though, I've seen worse. Corey, at least, isn't consistently bad as a few 3rd basemen I've seen......... The combination of Bob Bafia and Joel Chimelis didn't work in 1991 and Mark McGwire in 1986 ---- forget it! There are some regulars at the park who still remember how bad he was........ The Stars have been errorless in only three games through the first 20. That's a much bigger cause of concern. You can't keep playing this kind of defense and expect to win. The Stars, by the way, won all three of the games they played flawlessly in the field......... Don't want to finish without mentioning J.J. Hardy. He's been responsible for the fewest errors at shortstop in the first 20 games since 1995, when the forgotten pair of Lauro Felix and Jimmy Waggoner patroled that position in the first month.......... A detailed table of how the Stars have done after 20 games, sans any fielding comparison, is on the complementary page, where you'll discover how well our pitching has shaped up. www.starsboxscore.com/standing.html Danny Bravo made his first start for the Mobile Bay Bears, celebrating his promotion from Class A - Lake Elsinore (Cal.) with a big 2-for-4 day, a double and a 3-run HR in the 6th inning off Pedro Liriano, that gave the Bay Bears a permanent lead........ The line of Liriano belies his effectiveness and his efficiency. He did not even go to three balls in the count until the 5th inning, when a passed ball and an error resulted in Mobile's first run....... Bravo was promoted after driving in 17 runs in 15 games for Lake Elsinore, returning to very familiar Southern League parks, where he played as a member of the Birmingham Barons for all or parts of four seasons....... "Liriano lost his concentration when he got the two quick outs in the 6th," said pitching coach Stan Kyles. "He found out you can't relax....... He was already thinking about the 7th inning, and he never got to see it." The Stars continue to hit well in the clutch, getting a 2-out RBI double from Cristian Guerrero in the 2nd and a 2-out RBI single by Brandon Gemoll in the 4th, but the Stars still failed to take advantage of some opportunities....... In the 9th, after Chris Barnwell singled in a run with 2 out, Ryan Knox struck out with runners in scoring position to end the game. In the 8th, R.D. Smith hit a 2-out HR on a 1-1 pitch from Matt Parker, who has given up 4 runs in 4 innings over two relief appearances after a stunning streak of effectiveness going back to last year....... Smith had just one hit previously over his first five games. I think we can put up with Hart's learning experience at 3rd base as long as he puts up numbers like these: In his last 5 games, he is 11-for-23 with 10 RBIs. So long as he puts out like this, I can ignore that he has drawn only 2 walks in his last 15 games........ Knox extended his hit streak to a season-high 12 games.

Inland Empire (Mariners) 13, High Desert 9 Daryl Clark 2-for-4, HR, six RBI, sac fly; Kade Johnson's hitting streak reaches 18... High Desert Site Game Summary: RHP Ryan Miller was the only 2002 full-season Maverick pitcher to "graduate" to AA for 2003; RHP David Nolasco, 24, was the Brewers' 23rd round pick in 2001. With only 79 K in 116 IP in Ogden and Beloit the past two seasons, it'll be tough for Nolasco to avoid the fate of so many High Desert hurlers who stall at the High-A level; the trick is to overcome and hope for a quick promotion (Ben Hendrickson, Mike Adams). Huntsville's Miller and Matt Parker are among the few pitchers to survive recent full seasons with the Mavs -- MassBrew ADELANTO, CA ? After a rough couple of starts to the series, the 66ers finally got a lead and held on for their first victory over the High Desert Mavericks this year. The Mavs were unable to win their third straight game, as the 66ers won by a final score of 13-9 at Mavericks Stadium on Wednesday night. The 66ers took their first lead of the entire series in the fourth inning, when Greg Jacobs? infield single knocked in Shin-Soo Choo for a 5-4 lead. It was a lead they would not relinquish, as they piled on eight more runs on the Maverick pen. David Nolasco (0-1) allowed seven runs in just three innings to take the loss. Justin Gordon allowed two runs, only one earned in his three innings of work. The Mavs took the early lead in the first inning, as Daryl Clark, who finished the night with a season-high six RBIs, knocked in two men with a single for a 2-0 lead. Mark Ernster also picked up a run-scoring hit, as the Mavs took a 3-0 lead after one inning off 66ers starter Jared Thomas (2-1). Mavs starter Brian Mazone couldn?t hold the lead as the 66ers rallied for three runs in the top of the second, keyed by a two-run single from Eddie Menchaca. The 66ers took the lead in the fourth and never looked back, adding two in the fifth and four more in the sixth. The Mavs threatened in the ninth, but closer Mike Steele came on to get the final two outs for his fourth save of the year for the 66ers. They were led offensively by John Williamson, who had three hits on the night, including his first home run of the year, and a season-best four RBIs. The 66ers hit a season-high three home runs on the night, all off Nolasco. The Mavs and 66ers meet for the final time in the series as Danny Kolb (0-0) takes on Cha Seung Baek (1-1) at 7:05 at Mavericks Stadium. High Desert Box Score: RF Dan Boyd reaches base four times in a 3-for-4 night... GAME DATE: 4/23/03 INLAND EMPIRE 13 AT HIGH DESERT 9 YTD YTD INLAND EMPIRE AB R H BI AVG HIGH DESERT AB R H BI AVG S.Choo LF 4 2 2 1 .222 C.Morris CF 5 1 2 0 .269 I.Castro 2B 5 0 1 0 .194 J.Raburn SS 5 2 2 0 .261 G.Jacobs CF 5 1 2 2 .345 K.Johnson DH 5 1 2 2 .361 H.Brown 3B 5 0 0 0 .275 D.Clark LF 4 2 2 6 .443 C.Pagan DH 5 3 2 2 .364 B.Foster CAT 4 0 0 0 .296 J.VanMeetren 1B 4 3 2 0 .271 M.Ernster 3B 2 0 1 1 .500 J.Williamson RF 3 1 3 4 .208 R.Santana 2B 3 0 0 0 .286 L.Oliveros CAT 5 1 2 1 .347 F.Villanueva 1B 4 0 0 0 .340 E.Menchaca SS 3 2 1 2 .250 S.Candelaria 2B 2 0 1 0 .286 J.Thomas PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 S.Candelaria 3B 3 0 1 0 .286 E.Ulloa PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 D.Boyd RF 4 3 3 0 .242 B.Strelitz PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 B.Mazone PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 M.Steele PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 D.Nolasco PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 J.Gordon PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 TOTALS 39 13 15 12 TOTALS 41 9 14 9 INLAND EMPIRE 0 3 1 1 2 4 1 0 1-13 15 3 HIGH DESERT 3 1 0 0 0 1 0 4 0- 9 14 1 E--I.Castro, H.Brown, J.Thomas, B.Mazone. DP--INLAND EMPIRE 0, HIGH DESERT 3. LOB--INLAND EMPIRE 10, HIGH DESERT 12. 2B--S.Choo (2), C.Pagan (2), C.Morris (6), K.Johnson (7). 3B--J.Williamson (1). HR--S.Choo (3), C.Pagan (1), J.Williamson (1), D.Clark (10). SB-- J.VanMeetren 2 (3), L.Oliveros (1), C.Morris (10). HBP--D.Boyd. SF--J.Williamson, D.Clark. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA INLAND EMPIRE J.Thomas (W,2-1) 5.0 6 4 4 5 5 0 4.34 E.Ulloa 2.1 6 5 5 0 3 1 19.29 B.Strelitz 1.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2.38 M.Steele (S,4) 0.2 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.13 HIGH DESERT B.Mazone 3.0 5 4 4 4 2 0 9.19 D.Nolasco (L,0-1) 3.0 7 7 7 2 3 3 9.82 J.Gordon 3.0 3 2 1 4 3 0 7.62 HB--J.Thomas. WP--E.Ulloa 2, B.Mazone, J.Gordon. BALKS--E.Ulloa. SO--G.Jacobs 2, H.Brown 2, C.Pagan, J.VanMeetren 2, L.Oliveros, C.Morris, J.Raburn 3, D.Clark 2, B.Foster, R.Santana, S.Candelaria. BB--S.Choo 2, I.Castro, G.Jacobs, H.Brown, C.Pagan, J.VanMeetren, J.Williamson, E.Menchaca 2, C.Morris, J.Raburn, K.Johnson, B.Foster, F.Villanueva. T--3:23. A--1044

Not a lot of groundbreaking news that Jim Powell can unearth in a 3-to-4 minute pregame conversation with Farm Director Reid Nichols, but in the "Huntsville" portion of the interview Nichols indicates that he definitely sees Ben Diggins as a closer when "he is in the prime of his career". Acknowledging the constant need for starting candidates, Nichols simply felt that Diggins' consistent 94-95 MPH fastball and sharp breaking slider meet the natural prerequisites you're looking for in a closer. Powell asked about current Huntsville closer Mike Adams, and while Nichols felt he's worthy of prospect status, admitted that his stuff isn't overpowering.

Mobile (Padres) 6, Huntsville 3 Huntsville Site Game Summary: Can't begin to tell you how many times Danny Bravo terrorized High Desert pitching this year and last -- now he burns the Stars. Wasn't Danny Bravo Greg Brady's alter-ego? No, wait, that was Johnny Bravo http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif . An insightful comment by pitching coach Stan Kyles on Pedro Liriano included here... www.huntsvillestars.com/n...?newsid=44 Huntsville Box Score: Nothing especially impressive nor ugly here... GAME DATE: 4/23/03 HUNTSVILLE 3 AT MOBILE 6 YTD YTD HUNTSVILLE AB R H BI AVG MOBILE AB R H BI AVG R.Knox LF 4 0 1 0 .263 T.Donovan CF 3 0 0 0 .200 D.Krynzel CF 4 0 1 0 .284 R.Washington 3B 4 0 1 0 .291 J.Hardy SS 3 0 0 0 .315 K.Greene SS 4 0 0 0 .247 C.Hart 3B 4 1 2 0 .300 R.Gomez LF 3 1 0 0 .300 R.Paz 2B 2 2 0 0 .234 R.Tucker PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 B.Gemoll 1B 3 0 1 1 .254 J.Knott 1B 3 1 0 0 .205 C.Guerrero RF 4 0 1 1 .175 D.Bravo 2B 4 3 2 3 .400 M.Kremblas CAT 4 0 0 0 .125 B.Johnson RF 4 0 1 0 .119 P.Liriano PIT 2 0 0 0 .000 R.Smith CAT 4 1 3 3 .267 R.Gripp PH 1 0 0 0 .194 R.Deago PIT 2 0 1 0 .167 M.Parker PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 C.Oxspring PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 C.Barnwell PH 1 0 1 1 .170 A.Fernandez LF 1 0 0 0 .313 TOTALS 32 3 7 3 TOTALS 32 6 8 6 HUNTSVILLE 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1- 3 7 1 MOBILE 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 2 X- 6 8 2 E--B.Gemoll, J.Knott 2. DP--HUNTSVILLE 0, MOBILE 1. LOB--HUNTSVILLE 7, MOBILE 6. 2B--C.Hart (5), C.Guerrero (2), D.Bravo (1). HR--D.Bravo (1), R.Smith (1). SB--R.Knox (9), C.Hart (4), R.Gomez (5). CS--R.Knox, D.Krynzel. SH--C.Oxspring. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA HUNTSVILLE P.Liriano (L,1-3) 6.0 4 4 3 2 6 1 4.29 M.Parker 2.0 4 2 2 1 2 1 3.00 MOBILE R.Deago (W,2-0) 6.0 5 2 2 2 3 0 2.11 C.Oxspring 1.2 1 0 0 1 0 0 2.13 R.Tucker (S,5) 1.1 1 1 1 2 2 0 1.54 WP--P.Liriano, R.Deago. PB--M.Kremblas. SO--R.Knox, D.Krynzel, C.Hart 2, P.Liriano, K.Greene 2, J.Knott, D.Bravo, B.Johnson 3, R.Deago. BB--R.Knox, J.Hardy, R.Paz 2, B.Gemoll, T.Donovan, R.Gomez, J.Knott. T--2:30. A--3067

Louisville (Reds) 3, Indianapolis 2 Indy Site Game Summary: LOUISVILLE, Kentucky -- The Indianapolis Indians (7-12) finished up the longest road trip off the season on Wednesday night with a hard-luck 3-2 loss to the Louisville Bats (11-8 ). The Indians out-hit the Bats 7-6, but stranded eight runners and were unable to come away with the victory. The loss was the eighth suffered by the Tribe on the now completed nine-game road trip. Felipe Crespo's two-out solo home run in the bottom of the sixth inning off of Tribe reliever Mike Buddie (0-2) proved to be the deciding factor for Louisville. The homer was Crespo's first of the season, one less than he hit all of last year. Joey Hamilton (1-0) picked up the win for the Bats throwing 1.2 innings of hitless relief while walking one and striking out two. David Manning made his first start of the season for Indianapolis, after six appearances out of the bullpen, lasting only 3.1 innings. Manning, who threw 41 pitches in the first inning alone, allowed only two hits and two runs, one earned, but accumulated a hefty pitch count which included four walks and six strikeouts. Jason Conti led off the game with a single and later scored on Mark Smith's RBI groundout to open the scoring for the Tribe. Smith, who has hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games, finished 1-for-4 with one RBI. Conti, meanwhile, increased his team-leading total of stolen bases to five with two in Wednesday night's game. Louisville tied the game at one in the bottom of the first thanks to an error by Steve Scarborough at second base and three walks issued by Manning, including a bases loaded walk to Crespo that forced Emil Brown home from third. Brandon Larson, optioned to Louisville from Cincinnati earlier in the week, singled and stole second with one out in the third inning before giving the Bats a 2-1 lead on a Jacob Cruz two-out double. Larson, playing third base, was 1-for-4 in the game. The Tribe's final run came in the top of the sixth inning when Pete Zoccolillo's pinch-hit sacrifice fly plated Joe Lawrence. Lawrence had previously reached base on a single while pinch-hitting for Scarborough. The Indians will return home for a six-game homestand starting Thursday night when they face the Toledo Mud Hens. Also appearing at Victory Field on Thursday night will be Al Unser, Jr., and Kelley Racing teammate Tony Renna, the two drivers will be on hand to sign autographs for fans prior to the 7:00 p.m. game. Indianapolis Boxscore: GAME DATE: 4/23/03 INDIANAPOLIS 2 AT LOUISVILLE 3 YTD YTD INDIANAPOLIS AB R H BI AVG LOUISVILLE AB R H BI AVG J.Conti CF 5 1 2 0 .245 W.Guerrero 2B 4 0 1 0 .324 S.Scarboroug 2B 2 0 1 0 .109 E.Brown CF 3 1 1 0 .264 J.Lawrence PH 1 1 1 0 .208 B.Larson 3B 4 1 1 0 .286 J.Lawrence 2B 0 0 0 0 .208 R.Branyan 1B 3 0 1 0 .381 M.Smith RF 4 0 1 1 .326 J.Cruz RF 4 0 1 1 .365 L.Estrella PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 F.Crespo LF 3 1 1 2 .257 L.Stevens 1B 3 0 0 0 .356 J.Maxwell SS 3 0 0 0 .327 S.Seabol 3B 1 0 1 0 .184 C.Miller CAT 2 0 0 0 .237 S.Seabol LF 2 0 0 0 .184 L.Davis PIT 2 0 0 0 .000 W.Veras 3B 2 0 0 0 .184 J.Hamilton PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 P.Zoccolillo PH 0 0 0 1 .289 W.Caceres PH 1 0 0 0 .000 P.Zoccolillo LF 1 0 0 0 .289 C.Almanzar PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 C.McKay CAT 4 0 0 0 .127 M.Watson PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 B.Hall SS 4 0 1 0 .172 D.Manning PIT 1 0 0 0 .000 M.Buddie PIT 1 0 0 0 .000 M.Budzinski PH 1 0 0 0 .347 M.Budzinski RF 0 0 0 0 .347 K.Luuloa PH 1 0 0 0 .105 TOTALS 33 2 7 2 TOTALS 29 3 6 3 INDIANAPOLIS 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0- 2 7 1 LOUISVILLE 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 X- 3 6 1 E--S.Scarboroug, R.Branyan. DP--INDIANAPOLIS 1, LOUISVILLE 0. LOB-- INDIANAPOLIS 8, LOUISVILLE 7. 2B--J.Conti (2), S.Seabol (1), R.Branyan (3), J.Cruz (3). HR--F.Crespo (1). SB--J.Conti 2 (5), B.Hall (1), B.Larson (1). SF--P.Zoccolillo. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA INDIANAPOLIS D.Manning 3.1 2 2 1 4 6 0 3.27 M.Buddie (L,0-2) 2.2 2 1 1 1 1 1 3.86 L.Estrella 2.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1.38 LOUISVILLE L.Davis 5.1 6 2 2 2 4 0 3.80 J.Hamilton (W,1-0) 1.2 0 0 0 1 2 0 3.52 C.Almanzar 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 15.00 M.Watson (S,3) 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2.70 SO--J.Conti, L.Stevens, C.McKay, B.Hall 2, D.Manning, M.Buddie, M.Budzinski, E.Brown, B.Larson, R.Branyan, J.Cruz, J.Maxwell 2, L.Davis. BB--J.Lawrence, L.Stevens, S.Seabol, E.Brown, R.Branyan, F.Crespo, J.Maxwell, C.Miller. T--2:43. A--6822

42 BB vs. 121 K in 77.1 Cal League innings last season -- that's a sweet trade for Huntsville; Tim Crabtree for this kid... Mike Nicolas Brewerfan Player Profile Page: www.brewerfan.net/ViewPla...ayerId=529

Daily Press High Desert Game Story: Plenty of very insightful quotes, including the Clark / Johnson relationship, and more importantly, the organization's new focus on patience and OBP... www.vvdailypress.com/cgi-...207,10585, More Baseball America Brewer Highlights: Honestly, not sure if any organization has had more of their prospects' individual efforts highlighted thus far this season... With nine hits and 10 RBIs in his last four games for Double-A Huntsville, Brewers prospect Corey Hart is officially on fire. The 21-year-old is spending his first full season at third base, where he's committed seven errors in 16 games. After a slow start at the plate, Hart has raised his numbers to .289-2-20 with a 3-for-5 performance Tuesday night. HIGH DESERT (CAL) C Kade Johnson extended his hitting streak to 17 games on a 2-for-5 performance with two RBI and three runs scored in a 17-6 victory over the Inland Empire 66ers. Johnson reached on a fielder?s choice and scored in the first inning and was hit by a pitch and reached home in the third before connecting on a two-run homer in a five-run fourth inning. He also doubled in the sixth. The Texas native is batting .439 (18-41) with five homers, 14 RBI and 11 runs scored over his last nine contests. OF Daryl Clark went 4-for-5 with a triple, a home run, his third in as many games, and five runs scored for the Mavericks. The lefthander leads the California League in batting average (.440), homers (9), slugging percentage (.920) and sits just one RBI behind Johnson?s circuit-leading 19. Beloit Daily News Game Story: A few more details on this road game than the Fort Wayne site provided... www.beloitdailynews.com/403/snap23.htm

Daily Menu : All times Central, pitchers subject to change, check out the pre-game audio approx. 15 minutes prior to game-time... INDIANAPOLIS: RHP David Manning enters the rotation at Louisville (Reds), 6:15 PM HUNTSVILLE: I'll expect lunch-time office updates here as RHP Pedro Liriano throws at Mobile (Padres), 11:35 AM HIGH DESERT: LHP Brian Mazone vs. Inland Empire (Mariners) at home, 9:05 PM -- flip over to the Mavs for some post-Brewer game fireworks from Mavericks Stadium! BELOIT: Idle

Another set of public service announcements: http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif This week's Brewer pre-game radio shows include interviews with Farm Director Reid Nichols. Jim Powell and Nichols discussed AAA on Tuesday night, including Jamey Wright's permanent move to the pen (so he can avoid having to work through a line-up twice). On Wednesday, Nichols will discuss AA Huntsville, and High Desert and Beloit will be covered Thursday evening. All the interviews are (or will be) available via mlb.com archive -- I likely won't get a chance to listen live the next two nights, but will try to catch up later on and fill folks in with a separate report. Others are free to chime in as well should they catch the discussions, please. Of course, check out the thread here about Toby's radio interview scheduled for Thursday evening! It would be great to catch it live, but it also sounds like squarepusher (Brian) might be able to make the taped audio available here at the site soon as well.

High Desert Site Game Summary: ADELANTO, CA ? The High Desert Mavericks finally put together two consecutive wins, as they pounded out a season-high 17 runs and 17 hits, on their way to an impressive 17-6 route of the Inland Empire 66ers on Tuesday night at Mavericks Stadium. Daryl Clark and Kade Johnson again paced a 17-hit attack, as Clark went 4-5 with a home run, and Johnson extended his hitting streak to a league-best 17 straight games. Johnson finished the night 2-5 with his seventh home run of the year. The Mavs took a 2-0 lead in the first with a pair of unearned runs off 66ers starter Juan Done (0-1). The Mavs made it 7-0 after three innings, as Chris Morris? two-run double highlighted a five run third. The 66ers scored a pair of runs off Mavs starter Dan Hall (3-0) in the fourth, as Carlos Pagan and Shin-Soo Choo picked up RBI hits. The Mavs got those runs back and then some, scoring five more in the fourth inning. Johnson?s two-run homer made it 9-2, before Morris and Todd West each had run-scoring hits. After a long half-inning, Hall gave up three runs in the fifth as the 66ers cut the lead to 12-5. The Mavs continued the onslaught with three more in the fifth, one in the sixth and a final run in the eighth. Clark rounded out the scoring with an eighth-inning home run, his league-leading ninth of the year. Justin Backsmeyer, Aaron Dean and Bobby Bystrowski finished the final four innings, allowing just one run. Jason Belcher had a three-hit night and drove in two runs for the Mavs. The Mavs have now won two straight and are just two games under .500 and two and a half games behind first place Lancaster, who lost on Tuesday night to Rancho Cucamonga. The same two teams meet again on Wednesday as LHP Brian Mazone (0-1) takes on Jared Thomas (1-1) at 7:05 (9:05 Central) at Mavericks Stadium.

David Weiser's Huntsville Report: THE TENTH MANFor the 2nd straight night, the Stars loaded the bases in the 1st inning........ This time they scored........ Corey Hart hoisted the ball for the Stars' first grand-slam of the season, but you can thank the umpire for a gift tonight, Stars fans. After Mobile starter Chris Rojas walked the bases full in the inning, Hart hooked a 3-2 pitch that towered over the foul pole in left field. When 3rd base ump Jeff Spisak made a circular motion signifying a home run, several Mobile players converged on him......... Mobile manager Craig Colbert wasted no time in charging out of the dugout to scream in the face of Spisak........ To make a long story short, and I wasn't there to see it anyway, not an out had been recorded, and Colbert was thrown out of the game........ A replay in the media booth showed without a doubt that the ball had indeed hooked foul, but there is no crying in baseball, Craig. The Stars had a 10th man on the field tonight and it looks like you'll have to take it like a man......... "When the ump signaled fair on Corey's ball," said pitching coach Stan Kyles, "I was ecstatic." The Bay Bears chipped away at the lead, but then you have to look back at how this scenario....... Rojas had walked the bases loaded, ironically the only three hitters he walked in his four innings of work........ The wildness cost him more than the bad call. Rojas threw 37 pitches in the 1st, so he wasn't long for this ballgame. He did settle down after that inning, but the damage was done.......... And it's not like Mobile didn't have their chances........ The Bay Bears had the bases loaded in the 4th and failed to score........ Humberto Quintero, one of the best defensive catchers in the league, came to the plate twice with the bases loaded and each time, hit into a double play --- once in the 2nd and again in the 8th....... Richard Paz made a rather nice play on the 1st DP, charging hard on Quintero's slow ground ball, then doing a backhand lollipop flip to J.J. Hardy, who completed the twin killing. The Stars sealed the victory in the 9th inning with a pair of insurance runs........ After reliever Alan Webb hit Chris Cosbey with a pitch, he threw wildly in an attempt to pick him off first........ Ryan Knox's bunt died in front of home plate and catcher Quintero picked it up and ran toward Cosbey, who was racing toward third. Cosbey danced around then retreated back to 2nd, only to find Knox standing there........ Knox was, of course ruled out......... Dave Krynzel walked. Krynzel extended his hit streak to 8 games with an infield single early on in the ballgame......... Cosbey and Krynzel then pulled off the second double steal in as many days, typical of the aggressive baserunning we've seen all season. Sometimes it works. Hardy was walked intentionally to fill the bases......... Up stepped Hart, with a chance to become the first Huntsville player since Demond Smith in 1996, to hit two grand-slams in a game......... Well, Corey didn't launch one, fair or foul, but he delivered a line-single to left that scored Cosbey....... Brandon Gemoll's sacrifice fly to left easily scored Krynzel and the score was 6-2......... Paz grounded out to end the 9th......... Todd Donovan crushed a tape-measure bomb to leadoff the bottom of the inning for the Bay Bears, or as Robert Portnoy simply calls them --- the Bears. It was the first home run served up by Adams since last July, but he retired the rest of the side for the Stars' 6th win in their last 8 games, and put the Stars once again back on top of the Diamond Jaxx by a half-game. Knox extended his hit streaks to a club-high 10 games, shared by Hardy........ Knox is hitting only .277 on his streak, just slightly above his season average of .264, but Corey Hart is HART! (Read with a Southern inflection)....... Hart has driven in 15 runs in his last 10 games and is 16-for-44 (.364), raising his average to .289 The Stars play a day game tomorrow, starting at 11:35 CDT........ Pedro Liriano (1-2, 4.20) takes the mound against the Bay Bears' Roger Daego (1-0, 1.76).

Before we go on, thanks to SquirrelMaster and DHonks for the overnight updates -- always appreciated! I simply pasted in the more detailed BA box scores Wed. AM with a comment or two... Special thank you, however, to Brewer announcer and Brewerfan.net Chat Guest Jim Powell, who gave the Link Reports, the Minor League Forum, and Brewerfan.net in general many kind words during last night's broadcast (bottom of the third inning)!

Huntsville Times Game Story: Includes quotes; nice to see Manager Frank Kremblas take the blame for a late baserunning mistake... www.al.com/stars/huntsvil...222500.xml

Fort Wayne (Padres) 2, Beloit 1 Game Summary from the Wizards' Site: RHP Khalid Ballouli with a decent start, it seems; C Pedro Esparragoza is finding some offense in the early going this year... www.wizardsbaseball.com/n...?newsId=38 Linescore: 4/22/2003 11:00AM R H E Beloit 1 5 0 Fort Wayne Wizards 2 5 0 Winning Pitcher: David Pauley 2-1 Losing Pitcher: Khalid Ballouli 1-2 Save: Dale Thayer 1 Attendance: 5744

Louisville (Reds) 13, Indianapolis 4 We find out Jamey Wright can't relieve, either... Indy Site Game Summary: LOUISVILLE, KY. -- The Louisville Bats broke open a scoreless game with a five-run fifth inning and went on to cruise to a 13-4 win over the Indianapolis Indians Tuesday afternoon. Tribe starter Pascual Coco (1-3) cruised through the first three innings and got a strikeout with the bases loaded in the fourth as it looked as if a pitcher's duel would unfold. Coco ran into trouble in the fifth, however. After striking out Bats' pitcher Scott Randall for his sixth strikeout, Wilton Guerrero doubled and Emil Brown homered to give Louisville a 2-0 lead. After getting the second out of the inning, a walk and a single put runners on first and second and sent Coco to the showers. Tribe manager Cecil Cooper called in righthander Jamey Wright from the bullpen. For Wright, the opening day starter, it was only his sixth relief appearance in 284 career games. Jim Chamblee promptly greeted him with a three-run homer to make it 5-0. The Indians (7-11) fought right back with three runs in the top of the sixth. Jason Conti and Joe Lawrence started the inning with singles and came home on Mark Budzinski's first triple of the season. Budzinski, who went 3-for-4 with a single, double and a triple, scored the Tribe's third run on a ground out by Keith Luuloa. The game got out of hand in the seventh. The Bats (10-8) scored four times on three hits, an error and a walk. Former Brewer farmhand Bobby Darula delivered a two-run, pinch-hit single in the inning. Louisville scored four more times in the eighth inning. Three walks and another error by the Indians contributed to the outburst. Randall (2-0) earned his 16th straight win. The righthander was 14-0 in two stops last season, and has not lost a decision since August 24, 2001. Randall allowed three runs in 5.1 innings. He struck out six without issuing a walk. The Indians final run came in the ninth when Steve Scarborough doubled home Wilton Veras. The Tribe wraps up the road trip Wednesday at Louisville and returns to Victory Field for a six-game homestand beginning Thursday at 7 p.m. against Toledo. Indianapolis Box Score: Zocco gets plunked twice; OF Mark Budzinski is 29 and could provide a bat off the bench should the current Brewer backups get hurt; unfortunately for Mark, he's a LH bat -- ideally, he'd be the next Brady Clark-type if RH... GAME DATE: 4/22/03 INDIANAPOLIS 4 AT LOUISVILLE 13 YTD YTD INDIANAPOLIS AB R H BI AVG LOUISVILLE AB R H BI AVG J.Conti CF 5 1 1 0 .227 W.Guerrero LF 4 2 2 0 .328 J.Lawrence CAT 4 1 1 0 .191 E.Brown CF 5 2 2 2 .261 M.Budzinski RF 4 1 3 2 .354 B.Larson 3B 3 2 1 1 .333 K.Luuloa 1B 4 0 0 1 .111 J.Cruz RF 4 3 3 1 .375 P.Zoccolillo LF 2 0 1 0 .295 F.Crespo 1B 2 2 2 0 .254 W.Veras 3B 4 1 1 0 .191 J.Chamblee 2B 4 2 1 4 .286 B.Hall SS 4 0 0 0 .167 M.Stefanski CAT 3 0 0 0 .250 S.Scarboroug 2B 4 0 1 0 .091 J.Acevedo PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 P.Coco PIT 2 0 0 0 .000 B.Darula PH 1 0 1 2 .250 J.Wright PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 M.Watson PIT 0 0 0 1 .000 C.McKay PH 1 0 0 0 .137 W.Caceres SS 5 0 0 2 .000 J.Childers PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 S.Randall PIT 2 0 0 0 .000 R.Giron PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 C.Miller CAT 3 0 0 0 .246 B.Kieschnick PIT 0 0 0 0 .000 S.Seabol PH 0 0 0 1 .171 TOTALS 34 4 8 4 TOTALS 36 13 12 13 INDIANAPOLIS 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 1- 4 8 2 LOUISVILLE 0 0 0 0 5 0 4 4 X-13 12 1 E--J.Conti, B.Hall, W.Caceres. DP--INDIANAPOLIS 0, LOUISVILLE 1. LOB--INDIANAPOLIS 6, LOUISVILLE 8. 2B--M.Budzinski (3), S.Scarboroug (2), W.Guerrero (5), E.Brown (4), B.Larson (1). 3B--M.Budzinski (1). HR--E.Brown (3), J.Chamblee (2). SB--F.Crespo (4). HBP--P.Zoccolillo 2. SF--S.Seabol, B.Larson. SH--F.Crespo. YTD IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA INDIANAPOLIS P.Coco (L,1-3) 4.2 6 4 4 3 6 1 5.30 J.Wright 1.1 1 1 1 0 1 1 8.05 J.Childers 0.2 3 4 2 1 0 0 2.57 R.Giron 0.1 2 4 2 2 0 0 3.38 B.Kieschnick 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 7.59 LOUISVILLE S.Randall (W,2-0) 5.1 5 3 3 0 6 0 1.84 J.Acevedo 1.2 0 0 0 0 2 0 3.86 M.Watson 2.0 3 1 1 0 1 0 3.00 HB--S.Randall 2. WP--J.Wright, S.Randall 2. BALKS--R.Giron. SO-- J.Conti, M.Budzinski, K.Luuloa, B.Hall 2, S.Scarboroug 2, P.Coco 2, W.Guerrero, E.Brown, J.Chamblee 2, M.Stefanski 2, W.Caceres, S.Randall. BB--W.Guerrero, B.Larson, J.Cruz, F.Crespo 2, J.Chamblee, M.Watson. T--2:51. A--11257

By the way, the SportsTicker blurb that MassBrew posted (as well as the Huntsville web site) list Martinez at 6'6", while his player profile page here lists him at 6'1". Which is it? Yikes. He's 6'6"; I'll update that. Nice catch.

Beloit Daily News Game Story: A few more Snapper details here than we got from the Fort Wayne site... www.beloitdailynews.com/403/snap22.htm

Sportsticker / BA Minor League Monday Highlights: On the Southern League pitchers' duel and the rampaging Kade Johnson... BIRMINGHAM (SOU) LHP NEAL COTTS combined with two relievers on a five-hitter as the Barons blanked the Huntsville Stars, 2-0. Cotts, who was traded to the Chicago White Sox from the Oakland Athletics on December 3, 2002 as part of the Billy Koch-Keith Foulke deal, hurled six strong innings, scattering four hits and striking out five batters en route to his fourth straight win. The 23-year-old southpaw retired 12 straight batters between the second and six innings and, with his third scoreless start, has now allowed just two runs over his first 21 innings in the Class AA Southern League. Cotts, who finished second in the high level Class A California league with 178 strikeouts in 2002, has fanned 30 batters this season, good for third in the league. Reigning Southern League Pitcher-of-the-Week LHP LUIS MARTINEZ struck out eight batters, allowed two hits and was charged for an unearned run to suffer his first loss of the season for Huntsville. The 6-6, 200-pounder, who has not yielded an earned run over his first 23 innings and ranks second in the league with 33 strikeouts, struck out four of the final six batters he faced and allowed his first run of the season on an error by 3B COREY HART. HIGH DESERT (CAL) C KADE JOHNSON extended his hitting streak to a minor-league best 16 games in the Mavericks' 11-7 triumph over the Inland Empire 66ers. Johnson, who entered the contest hitting .368 after going 0-for-3 on the opening day of the season, drilled a two-run homer in the fourth inning and finished 1-for-5. The 24-year-old, who is tied for the league lead with 17 RBI, has now homered in four of his last eight games.

Daily Press High Desert Game Story: www.vvdailypress.com/cgi-...930,44599,

The Daily Menu includes dual opportunities for audio action while in the office today: All times Central, pitchers subject to change, tune in approx. 15 minutes early for pre-game audio... INDIANAPOLIS: RHP Pascual Coco at Louisville (Reds), 10:15 AM HUNTSVILLE: RHP Mike Jones at Mobile (Padres), 7:05 PM HIGH DESERT: RHP Dan Hall home vs. Inland Empire (Mariners), 9:05 PM BELOIT: RHP Khalid Ballouli at Fort Wayne (Padres), 11:00 AM; Wizards' audio with former Ogden announcer Terry Byrom available at: www.wizardsbaseball.com/