battlekow

Baseball America points out that at least someone is trying to save UW-La Crosse baseball.

Some additional security for anyone worried about Pena actually being 16, from Kiley McDaniel:

I don't know how significant they'll turn out to be, but the Brewers spent $225K each on SS Andres Martinez and RHP Heri Oliver. OF Juan Barrini also signed for a low six-figure bonus, but the forum search is down and I can't remember exactly what it was. Well, it's worth noting that the bonuses paid to Yorman Rodriguez and Juan Duran were both top 10-alltime. Combined, they probably exceed the international expenditures since 2005 of most teams.

Kimberly's Brad Schreiber selected as The Post-Crescent's all-area prep baseball athlete of the year Cory Jennerjohn Quick Hits Position: Pitcher/first base. Age: 18. Year: Finished senior year. Family: Parents, Jim and Maria; brothers, Eric, 23, Mitch, 16, and Scott, 13; sister, Alyssa, 21. Highlights: Was 10-2 on the mound, with 89 strikeouts and 25 walks and a 0.90 ERA. ... Maintained a .377 batting average, with seven doubles, seven home runs and 35 RBI. ... Was a unanimous first-team Fox Valley Association selection. ... Named the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association player of the year for the second straight season. ... Named 2009 Gatorade Wisconsin baseball player of the year. How much are you going to treasure your time at Kimberly? "I think everything has been great. Many high school baseball players don't even get to make it to state and I got to make it three years in a row." What kind of a coach is Ryan McGinnis? "I think the record tells you. We lost four games in conference the last two years. He'll always be on you to get better, no matter what you're doing." Who is your favorite major-leaguer? "Albert Pujols." Are you bummed about steroids rumors? "There are so many guys that have been getting caught. Albert Pujols didn't get caught, and I don't think he takes steroids." The Brewers drafted you in the 42nd round. Were you shocked? "I thought I had a chance of getting drafted, but it was pretty cool when (Brewers scout) Harvey Kuenn (Jr.) called. The Brewers were my favorite team growing up." You could have a chance at playing in Fox Cities Stadium four straight years. "That would be pretty awesome." You have a standing offer from Purdue University. Are you going to Boiler up? "Right now, I'm leaning towards Purdue, but I'm keeping my options open." What other schools were interested in you? "Northern Illinois, Jacksonville, Indiana State and Ohio." Did Kimberly shortstop Jamison Wells say anything about his going to Northern Illinois? "He was talking to me for a while, telling me I should get my butt down to Northern Illinois." If your next coach says you must choose between pitching and batting, what would it be? "I would have to go with pitching. I just like to be able to go out on the mound and control the game if you throw strikes. Ever since I was little, I always enjoyed pitching a lot." What do you need to work on at the next level? "I would definitely say, No. 1, is I have a changeup but I don't have good control of it. And then I need to get better control of my fastball." What the experts say McGinnis, Kimberly coach: "He truly understands that he needs to get better each day and that there are always things to work on. He has a lot of ability, but he would not have been as successful as he is without the drive to get better each day. He not only has gotten better, but he makes others around him better and his team better because of this. We will miss that even more than his pitching and hitting abilities."

As reported by Mr. Miller, Lorenzo Cain's rehab assignment sees him bumped to Wisconsin.

He actually pitched on 6/25, too.

Corey Kemp's hometown newspaper ("The Voice of America's Greatest County"--haha) interviewed him. Those sandwiches better be tuna!

Anundsen's been uncharacteristically wild with three walks in five innings, but he has a sick 12/1 GO/AO; including hits, it's a 14/2 G/F. EDIT: He had a nice 6th, striking out two and getting another grounder for the third out.

With that walk in the first game, Logan Schafer has walked in five straight games (seven walks total).

Derrick McPhearson finally got his first A-ball hit.

Didn't you hear? Second basemen and catchers make the best center fielders!

Three hits later and all of a sudden Caleb Gindl is hitting .294.

Was the first Brevard game delayed again by rain? They're in warmups now; Amaury Rivas is starting.

He's not in the class of Mateo and Sano, at least as it's perceived at the moment. The evaluations on all these guys are so uncertain that it's hard to say anything for sure, but Pena is in the second tier of guys as it stands now. That's not to say we shouldn't be very excited about the signing, especially for the price it came at. It's basically like getting another high-round draft pick, which is always fun (just ask Ben Sheets).

Adam McCalvy reports that the Brewers also inked 17-year-old Dominican RHP Jean Capellan (ha) for five figures: Seid on Pena: Best of all, the Brewers are still aggressively pursuing some other guys.

Brewers got Pena for only $400K, which is amazing:

Oddly, the Helena Independent Record website managed to post the Billings Gazette's recap before the Gazette's own website: Brewers pound Billings behind hot bats, pitching Mike Scherting The Billings Mustangs returned home to Dehler Park eager to put their disappointing road trip and recently ended losing streak behind them. Instead, the Helena Brewers sent the Mustangs back to their losing ways. As bad as the 10-0 final score seems, it doesn't really do justice to how dismal Wednesday night was for the Mustangs. They collected just five hits, had just two runners reach second base and made four errors. Four Billings pitchers combined to walk 10 batters, giving the team the unwanted top billing in the Pioneer League for most bases on balls allowed, with 45 in nine games. Simply put, if not for three outstanding defensive plays (one by third baseman Yen-Wen Kuo, one by shortstop Shane Carlson and a rare 9-6-3 flyout double play), there was little for the announced crowd of 3,143 to cheer. "It's a shame, because it was a nice night to play, seemed like there was a lot of fans out there," Mustangs manager Julio Garcia said. "It's just disappointing, to be honest with you. We weren't able to do anything." The Mustangs went 1-4 on their trip to Great Falls and Helena, and Tuesday's victory over the Brewers halted a six-game skid. But the winning was short-lived. Helena dominated from the start Wednesday when Josh Prince, the league's stolen-base leader, opened the game with a walk from Mustangs starter Tim Crabbe (0-1), who was making his pro debut. Prince promptly stole second and third - his 12th and and 13th thefts of the season - and scored on a sacrifice fly from Mike Brownstein, the next hitter. Crabbe, a 14th-round pick from Westmont College, settled in from there. He went three innings and gave up just that one run, but as it turned out, that would have been enough for the Brewers. "We play every day, and obviously you're not going to have your best stuff every day," said Crabbe, who joined the team while it was on the road. "We'll turn the page and come back out here tomorrow." The Mustangs couldn't touch any of the three Helena pitchers. Andre Lamontagne started and threw four innings, while Adrian Rosario (1-1) and Robert Currie combined on five shutout relief innings. Helena pitchers walked just one and retired the Mustangs in order five times. Helena had 11 hits, including Scott Krieger's three-run homer in the top of the ninth, his league-leading fifth. The Brewers are in action again in Billings today. "I wish I had an answer for you, but I don't," Garcia said of the blowout loss. After the 9-6 victory in Helena on Tuesday, "I thought they would get a little pressure off themselves. But, boy, as soon as something went wrong today, it seemed like everybody followed suit. "That's unfortunate, but it's part of the game, too. We've got to turn it around somehow."

AZL Mariners 8, AZL Brewers 4 AZL Brewers box score After leaving his first rehab game early and then not playing yesterday, nice to Lorenzo Cain back atop the Brewers' lineup, where he went 3-4. He should be movin' on up soon. Also rehabbing, Erik Komatsu was removed for a pinch runner after going from second to third on a single, which is a little ominous. Folk hero Max Walla continues to struggle, going 0-5 with two strikeouts and dropping his average to .216, but he's only played nine games, so don't freak out. After making four errors yesterday, shortstop Carlos George handled both of his chances cleanly today. AZL Brewers play-by-play Starter Blake Billings was perfect through three innings, striking out five and recording the other four outs via ground ball, but the 4th inning was not kind to him: AZL Mariners Top 4th Julio Morban singles on a bunt ground ball to pitcher Blakeney Billings. Mario Yepez out on a sacrifice bunt, catcher Jonathan Requena to first baseman Sean Halton. Julio Morban to 2nd. Jetsy Extrano singles on a line drive to left fielder Erik Komatsu. Julio Morban to 3rd. Evan Sharpley doubles (3) on a fly ball to center fielder Lorenzo Cain. Julio Morban scores. Jetsy Extrano scores. Kevin Mailloux flies out to left fielder Erik Komatsu. Hassiel Jimenez singles on a line drive to center fielder Lorenzo Cain. Evan Sharpley scores. Hassiel Jimenez to 2nd on the throw. Mark Angelo singles on a line drive to right fielder Franklin Romero. Hassiel Jimenez to 3rd. Mark Angelo to 2nd on the throw. With Rudy van Heydoorn batting, wild pitch by Blakeney Billings, Hassiel Jimenez scores. Mark Angelo to 3rd. Rudy van Heydoorn grounds out, third baseman Wayne Dedrick to first baseman Sean Halton.

Stars leave Smokies stranded, 3-1 Adam Greene SEVIERVILLE - The Tennessee Smokies may have taken the last two games over Huntsville, but the Stars still have a way of bringing out the worst in their Southern League rivals. The Smokies went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position and handed Huntsville control of the North Division with a 3-1 win at Smokies Park on Wednesday night. Tennessee finished the game with two deja vu innings that left manager Ryne Sandberg shaking his head. "We had good defense out there and had good pitching," Sandberg said. "We just couldn't come up with the hits with men in scoring position." In the bottom of the eighth and ninth innings, the Smokies (5-5) loaded the bases with two outs. With the tying run at third, pinch hitter Tony Thomas struck out looking in the eighth. In the ninth, catcher Wellington Castillo struck out looking after being ahead 3-0 in the count. "Just one hit and we'd still be out there playing," Sandberg said. "They (Huntsville) pitched well in those situations. We came up a little bit short." Tennessee took the early lead in the fifth. James Adduci singled to left, scoring Jonathon Mota. Tennessee left 14 men on base, unable to find the hits when they were needed. The Smokies led for just one inning as Huntsville (6-4) took over in the top of the sixth. After pinch hitting for starting pitcher Jeremy Papelbon the previous inning, Sandberg called on reliever Jake Muyco to protect the lead. Muyco put the first three batters he faced on base, giving up a single to Michael Garciaparra and walking Jonathan Lucroy and KevinMelillo. An RBI single from Vinny Rottino tied the game for Huntsville. A sacrifice fly from Chuck Caulfield to right field gave the Stars a 2-1 lead, scoring Lucroy. Adam Stern's RBI gave Huntsville a two-run lead going into the bottom of the ninth. Muyco (2-3) was saddled with the loss and blown save for Tennessee. He pitched two innings, gave up four hits, two runs and two walks. The Smokies recorded five double plays in the game, including three to end the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. Former Tennessee Smokies pitcher Mark Holliman (7-2) took the win. Holliman pitched 52<0x2044>3 innings giving up seven hits, one run and a walk with four strikeouts.

Helena Brewers 10, Billings Mustangs 0 Helena box score How about Mike Brownstein? 3-3 with two walks; he's walked in five of 11 plate appearances for Helena after doing so in nine of 32 at Arizona, and he's struck out just once as a pro so far. This is a very patient club: Josh Prince, Mike Roberts (in CF again), and Joey Paciorek all also walked twice. As TheCrew07 mentioned above, Prince also nabbed two more bases, making him 13/16 already. Scott Krieger, he of the three-homer game the other day, went deep again, and Hitaniel Arias was 2-5 with a double. Good to see Cameron Garfield back in the lineup and behind the plate after two days off, but still no Khris Davis, who rolled his ankle three days ago in his only pro plate appearance so far. Garfield committed his first passed ball of the year. Brewers pitchers allowed only five hits and a walk. Helena play-by-play

Indeed, though he did allow two unearned runs. DSL Dodgers 5, DSL Orioles/Brewers 0 DSL Orioles/Brewers box score Not a great night for the hitters: shortstop Andres Martinez was 0-4, catcher/DH Jhonatan Javier 0-2 with a walk, center fielder Juan Barrini 0-3, and second baseman Joan Abreu 0-3 with two strikeouts. Towering lefty Eliezer Montano threw one inning, walking one and striking out two.

Katin Powers Sounds Past Express, 6-3 NashvilleSounds.com ROUND ROCK, Texas - The first place Nashville Sounds dropped the Round Rock Express 6-2 at the Dell Diamond on Wednesday night. Round Rock struggled to get out the bottom of Nashville's lineup, as hitters 6-8 went a combined 8-for-12 with two home runs, three RBIs, and five runs scored. Sounds All-Star outfielder Brendan Katin lead the charge, going 4-for-4 with a home run and a double. Round Rock took a quick 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a Tommy Manzella solo home run to left field off Sounds starter Lindsay Gulin, his third of the year. Heether and Katin began the top of the fifth with singles off Round Rock starter Bud Norris. Outfielder Drew Anderson then drove home Heether with a single to center to tie the game at 1. Jason Bourgeois put the Sounds ahead at 2-1 with an RBI-groundout to second base that scored Katin, followed by Hernan Iribarren and Martin Maldonado RBI-base hits later in the inning that extended the Sounds' lead to 4-1. Heether then belted a solo home run to left field in the next inning that made the score 5-1 . Heether's long ball was his eighth of the season and third hit in his last five games. Katin's 18th homer off Tyler Lumsden gave the Sounds a 6-1 lead in the top of the eighth inning, moving him into third place in the PCL for home runs. Mark Saccomanno hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth to score Reggie Abercrombie to trim the Sounds lead to 6-2. Round Rock added a final run in the ninth on another sacrifice fly by Lou Santangelo, but failed to do further damage on the evening. Gulin (4-4) earned the win, surrendering only one run on five hits with five strikeouts in seven innings of work. Gulin has recorded quality starts in four of his last five outings. Norris (3-6) took the loss, allowing five runs on 10 hits over six innings. The Sounds and Express continue with the second game of a three-game series at 7:05 pm CT on Thursday night at the Dell Diamond. Left-hander Chase Wright (5-5, 3.70) takes the mound for Nashville against righty Yorman Bazardo (7-2, 2.79). Nashville box score Brendan Katin continues to mash at AAA, but it's that BB column that's the important one, though at least going 4-4 meant he didn't strike out. Similarly, any time Alcides Escobar and Angel Salome take a walk, as they both did today, it's a good sign. Salome was thrown out at the plate in the 2nd inning, grounded out in the 4th, and then was removed for a pinch hitter in the 5th; I hope he's okay. Escobar was picked off after singling in the 3rd. Great night for Adam Heether as well, who I hope to see called up if Mat Gamel does indeed get demoted. Cole Gillespie was a late defensive replacement and flew out in his only at-bat. Nashville play-by-play The Sounds' four-run 5th: Nashville Top 5th Adam Heether singles on a soft ground ball to third baseman Chris Johnson. Brendan Katin singles on a soft fly ball to right fielder Reggie Abercrombie. Adam Heether to 2nd. Drew T. Anderson singles on a ground ball to center fielder Yordany Ramirez. Adam Heether scores. Brendan Katin to 3rd on the throw. Lindsay Gulin out on a sacrifice bunt, third baseman Chris Johnson to second baseman Edwin Maysonet. Drew T. Anderson to 2nd. Jason Bourgeois grounds out, second baseman Edwin Maysonet to first baseman Mark Saccomanno. Brendan Katin scores. Drew T. Anderson to 3rd. Alcides Escobar walks. Hernan Iribarren singles on a line drive to right fielder Reggie Abercrombie. Drew T. Anderson scores. Alcides Escobar to 3rd. Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Martin Maldonado replaces Angel Salome. Martin Maldonado singles on a soft fly ball to center fielder Yordany Ramirez. Alcides Escobar scores. Hernan Iribarren to 2nd. Coaching visit to mound. Joe Koshansky grounds out, second baseman Edwin Maysonet to first baseman Mark Saccomanno.

Holliman and Bullpen Hold Off Smokies Brett Pollock Mark Holliman worked 5 2/3 innings and the bullpen survived some late scoring threats, as Huntsville held off Tennessee 3-1 Wednesday night in the fourth of a six-game set at Smokies Park. The Stars improved to 6-4 in the second half and regained sole possession of first place in the North Division, while the Smokies dropped to 5-5 in the second half and a game behind in the standings. Russ Canzler delivered a single as a pinch-hitter with one out in the fifth and advanced to third base on a Jonathan Mota double but was thrown out after rounding the bag too far. Jim Adduci followed with a base hit to knock in Mota with the game's first run. Smokies' starter Jeremy Papelbon was lifted after five scoreless frames, giving up three hits, walking three and fanning three. Jake Muyco took over in the sixth and allowed a leadoff hit to Michael Garciaparra and then walked the next two batters to load the bases. Vinny Rottino followed with a single to plate Garciaparra to get the game tied before Chuck Caufield flied out to bring in Jonathan Lucory with the go-ahead run and move Kevin Melillo to third base. However, the rally was squashed when Freddy Parejo grounded into a double play. Tennessee turned five ground ball double plays in the game, including three with a Stars' runner in scoring position. Stars' starter Mark Holliman lasted 5 2/3 innings, giving up a run on seven hits, while walking one and striking out four. The right-hander improved to 7-2 and has won each of his last six decisions. Zach Braddock took over and threw two scoreless innings, stranding the potential tying run at second base in the seventh and leaving with the bases loaded in the eighth after a single and two walks. Rob Wooten came on to strike out pinch-hitter Tony Thomas to end the rally and keep the Stars in the lead. Pinch-hitter Johnny Raburn singled with one out in the ninth and scored on a two-out single by Adam Stern that pushed the visitors lead to 3-1. Robert Hinton took the hill in the ninth for the Stars and walked Mota to begin the inning and then committed a fielding error on a Marquez Smith ground ball that put two runners on with one out. The runners advanced on a Doug Deeds ground out before the Stars elected to walk Tyler Colvin to load the bases and go after Wellington Castillo, who took a called third strike to end the game. Hinton recorded his tenth save of the season, as Tennessee stranded 14 runners in the game. The series continues Thursday evening with right-hander Josh Butler starting for the Stars against Tennessee right-hander Jay Jackson. Coverage of the game begins at 6:00 pm central time and can be heard through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com. Huntsville box score Four walks for Jonathan Lucroy and no mention in the recap--poor guy. He's now got a 43/38 BB/K on the year, which is outstanding. Baseball America reported Taylor Green coming off the DL, but he didn't play today. Zach Braddock has spoiled us so much that even though he didn't allow a run, the three hits and two walks in two innings seem like a disappointment; he did strike out three. Huntsville play-by-play Rob Wooten bailing out Braddock: Tennessee Bottom 8th Doug Deeds singles on a ground ball to third baseman Michael Garciaparra. Tyler Colvin out on a sacrifice bunt, second baseman Shane Justis to first baseman Kevin Melillo. Doug Deeds to 2nd. Welington Castillo strikes out swinging. Blake Lalli walks. Nate Samson walks. Doug Deeds to 3rd. Blake Lalli to 2nd. Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Tony Thomas replaces Jayson Ruhlman. Coaching visit to mound. Pitcher Change: Robert Wooten replaces Zach Braddock, batting 7th. Tony Thomas called out on strikes.

Not really. Katin can't play CF.

Blake Billings is starting for the Arizona Brewers. He struck out the side in a perfect first inning.