battlekow

Salome was pinch-hit for in the 5th inning. Was it related to the play at the plate in the 2nd on which he was thrown out?

Alcides Escobar, Brendan Katin, and R.J. Swindle were named to the PCL All-Star team.

Timber Rattlers 4, LumberKings 3 Brett Christopherson Brock Kjeldgaard's one-out triple to right in the seventh scored what proved to be the game-winner as the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers rallied to earn a 4-3 victory over the Clinton LumberKings on Wednesday in a Midwest League game at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute. Four Clinton hurlers combined to surrender 10 walks, two of which led to the final runs Wisconsin pushed across as it claimed the first two games of the four-game set. Kjeldgaard's triple was his third of the season and scored John Delaney from first. Delaney drew a one-out walk to set up the key hit. The Rattlers opened quickly with a pair of runs - sparked by successive two-out triples from Brett Lawrie, Corey Kemp and Delaney - in the first to grab a 2-0 lead. They evened the game at 3-3 in the sixth when Peter Fatse's grounder trickled past a diving second baseman and into right field to score Derrick McPhearson from third. McPhearson reached safely on a two-out walk. Wily Peralta entered the game to open the seventh and tossed three hitless innings to earn the win and improve to 3-1. Turning point Clinton had runners on second and third with one out in the eighth, but Peralta worked out of the jam with a strikeout and a groundout. The right-hander then retired the side in order in the ninth, finishing with another strikeout - his sixth of the game. Stat pack 2: Consecutive winning months for the Rattlers, the first time they've accomplished that feat since July and August of 2005. Wisconsin followed up a 16-15 May record with a 13-12 June mark. 13: Combined hits collected by both clubs - seven for Wisconsin and six for Clinton. 15: Combined walks issued by both clubs. Peralta walked three, while starter Evan Frederickson walked two. 22: Combined strikeouts recorded by both clubs - 12 for Wisconsin and 10 for Clinton. 83: Season strikeouts for Peralta, which leads the league. Wanted man One of the stranger scenes from Wednesday's game didn't take place on the field but inside a stadium suite. Rattlers infielder Steve Braun, on the disabled list after fracturing an ankle in Saturday's extra-inning win against Peoria, signed autographs for about an hour as a stream of fans formed a long line in front of the window of the suite in which he was watching the game. Braun is the younger brother of Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun and was signed by the Crew as a non-drafted free agent in July 2008.

Rattlers outlast LumberKings Chris Mehring GRAND CHUTE, WI - It was a test of nerves and patience at Time Warner Cable Field on Wednesday afternoon. In the end it was the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers defeated the Clinton LumberKings 4-3 in a game that featured 15 walks, 22 stranded runners, four errors, three wild pitches, and lasted three hours and thirty-seven minutes. Brock Kjeldgaard broke a 3-3 tie with a triple in the bottom of the seventh inning and Wily Peralta closed out the LumberKings in style. Wisconsin (38-38 overall, 4-2 second half) took a first inning lead with three straight two-out doubles. Brett Lawrie started the rally with a double to left. Corey Kemp drove in Lawrie with a double down the third base line. John Delaney made the score 2-0 by doubling to the gap in right-center. But, the LumberKings (43-33, 3-3) chipped away with single runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings to take the lead. Kris Sanchez lined a homer to right with two outs in the third inning. In the fourth, Clinton had a runner at second and two outs against Wisconsin starting pitcher Evan Frederickson. Ogui Diaz sent a slow grounder wide of first and the ball was fielded by Kemp at first. Diaz beat Frederickson to the bag and the runner from second scored without a play as no one was covering home. Clinton took a 3-2 lead in the top of the fifth as Sanchez tripled in the go ahead run against reliever Daniel Meadows. The Rattlers fought back to tie the game with a two-out rally in the bottom of the sixth. Derrick McPhearson drew a two-out walk and stole second base. Juan Sanchez hit a grounder to third that was booted for an error to put runners at the corners. Pete Fatse drove in the tying run with a seeing-eye single to right. Brock Kjeldgaard gave the Rattlers a lead in the bottom of the seventh. Delaney drew a walk -- the sixth of the game by Clinton pitchers -- with one out. Kjeldgaard lined a triple off the wall in right and Delaney scored easily for the 4-3 lead. Wisconsin would load the bases later in their half of the seventh, but could not push across an insurance run. Peralta, who had entered the game in the top of the seventh inning, walked a pair of runners in the top of the eighth inning. An error put runners at second and third with one out and Wisconsin hanging on to that one run lead. Peralta struck out pinch hitter Jake Shaffer for the second out and got Diaz to ground out weakly to second to keep the Rattlers in front. In the ninth, Peralta retired the side in order, including a pair of strikeouts to finish off Clinton. The Wisconsin hurler struck out six over three innings of relief to get his third win of the season. Peralta now has 83 K's on the season and is the new Midwest League leader in that category. Game three of the series is Thursday night. Dan Merklinger (1-2, 3.18) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Clinton counters with Bobby LaFromboise (5-2, 3.38). Game time is 7:05pm. Wisconsin box score As we talked about above, nice games for Wily Peralta and Brett Lawrie, who put together one of the double-and-triple combos he seemed to manage about every week or so in April. No other Rattlers had more than one hit, but Corey Kemp did double and walk twice; Sean McCraw also had a hit and two walks. Derrick McPhearson still looking for his first A-ball hit after two strikeouts today, though he did walk once and stole a base. Drafted as a 2B, Pete Fatse played CF, which we saw him do down in Helena too--if he can hack it out there, that adds a lot to his value. Wisconsin play-by-play I pointed out a couple PBP events that caught my above.http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t572&t=g_log&gid=2009_07_01_cliafx_wisafx_1

According to McCalvy, the Brewers have signed another NDFA, RHP Andrew Sauter from the University of Texas-Arlington.

MLB is vetting all of these guys pretty thoroughly this year. I would be confident in his age.

According to ESPN's Jorge Arangure, Jose Pena will be a Brewer tomorrow! Lots of scouting reports and rumors about Pena and other int'l prospects in my thread in the draft forum.

Sorry, forgot to post it here instead. UNCW's baseball coach on McKelvie:

My interview with Evan Anundsen; yes, we talked about his velocity.

Peralta's been unusually wild today. Two scoreless, hitless innings and four strikeouts, but three walks. EDIT: Lawrie walked again. Great day for him. EDIT 2: Peralta finished strong to get the win: Clinton Top 9th Terry Serrano strikes out swinging. Luis Nunez flies out to center fielder Peter Fatse. Scott Savastano called out on strikes. Final line for him: 3 IP, 6 K, 3 BB, 0 H. Very nice. He's going to get quite famous this offseason in prospect circles.

Interesting 7th inning for Peralta: Clinton Top 7th Pitcher Change: Wily Peralta replaces Daniel Meadows. Terry Serrano called out on strikes. Luis Nunez strikes out swinging. Wild pitch by pitcher Wily Peralta. Luis Nunez to 1st. With Scott Savastano batting, Luis Nunez steals (9) 2nd base. Scott Savastano walks. Luis Nunez caught stealing 3rd base, catcher Sean McCraw to third baseman John Delaney. With Kris Sanchez batting, Scott Savastano steals (9) 2nd base. Kris Sanchez strikes out swinging. I love the guy reaching on a dropped third strike and then getting throw out stealing on ball four to the next guy. Anyway, just more ho-hum dominance from Wily P. The T-Rats have scored in the bottom of the 7th, so they're leading now, 4-3. They had a chance to get more, but lots of missed opportunities: Wisconsin Bottom 7th Corey Kemp grounds out, shortstop Ogui Diaz to first baseman Scott Savastano. John Delaney walks. Brock Kjeldgaard triples (3) on a fly ball to right fielder Denny Almonte. John Delaney scores. Jose Duran reaches on a fielder's choice out, first baseman Scott Savastano to catcher Fleming Baez. Brock Kjeldgaard out at home. Pitcher Change: Greg Moviel replaces Blake Nation. With Sean McCraw batting, Jose Duran steals (4) 2nd base. Sean McCraw walks. Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Michael Vass replaces Derrick McPhearson. With Michael Vass batting, wild pitch by Greg Moviel, Jose Duran to 3rd. Sean McCraw to 2nd. Michael Vass walks. Juan Sanchez pops out to second baseman Luis Nunez.

Patience, grasshopper. Have to wait until the Brewers game is over to put it up at BCB.

Baseball America indicates that Taylor Green is back from the DL:

Lawrie's off to a nice start, 1-1 with a double and a walk; the T-Rats had three consecutive doubles to score two runs in the 1st, with Kemp and Delaney doubling after Lawrie's. Frederickson had a so-so day, two runs, both earned, in four innings and a 3/2/4 K/BB/H. He also allowed a solo homer, just the third HR he's allowed all year, and threw a wild pitch. EDIT: Lawrie's added a triple; 2-3 now, and he has a SB. T-Rats have tied it up, 3-3.

Haudricourt: Center-field prospect Lorenzo Cain, who suffered a serious knee injury in April at Class AA Huntsville, has begun a rehabilitation stint in Arizona and soon will join Class A Wisconsin, where the Brewers have sent players coming off injuries. Once Cain gets his feet on the ground there, he'll return to Huntsville, according to assistant general manager Gord Ash. "Hopefully, he'll go to the (Arizona) Fall League after that," Ash said. "He should be able to get an extra 100 at-bats or so there. "He has been good every step of the way (in physical therapy). He just needs to get in game shape." Wisconsin infielder Steve Braun, brother of Brewers leftfielder Ryan Braun, suffered a broken ankle in a recent game and probably will miss the rest of the season. In that same game, outfielder Chris Dennis suffered a significant ankle injury and could miss six weeks. "The club we've been using as our rehab club has become the cause of our rehab," Ash said.

Currie grows into role Kevin Druley Rob Currie went to the Northwoods League last summer because he wanted to pitch deliberately. Before you get that minimalist Thoreau picture going, remember that he played his home games in Wausau, Wis., a town of some 40,000 people with its own ski resort. Currie logged 52 innings for the Woodchucks and was a league-best 8-0 in relief, all with one of his Tusculum University assistants there supporting him. A St. Charles North product, Currie felt comfort in the Northwoods for other reasons, too, and they all lead into why he now feels comfortable everywhere. "You didn't have a lot of pressure there. None," Currie said. "It's just going out and playing the game every day. It's the closest thing you can get to minor league baseball without the paycheck." Currie's checks come from the Milwaukee Brewers organization these days. The club drafted him in the 12th round (376th overall) of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft last month and assigned him to advanced rookie league affiliate Helena, Mont., soon after. Kindrick Field, his home park in what he hopes to be the first of many stops toward an eventual big league career, lies in the Rocky Mountains, another serene surrounding. "That's all it takes is time and confidence," Currie said, "and that's the way I've continued to go." Currie grew into a reliever's role after earning All-America honors as a starter in his sophomore season at Elgin Community College. The 6-foot-6, 230-pound right-hander moved on to NCAA Divison I Tusculum College in Greeneville, Tenn., but lost his spot in the rotation after a pair of shaky outings late in spring camp. For what it was worth, his only start of the season was a good one: two runs and eight hits in a complete-game victory against powerful rival Catawba in the All-South Atlantic Conference Tournament championship. "The stars kind of aligned on that one," Currie said. "No one expected me to do as well as I did, not even myself." He took that spark and drove with it to Wausau, where Tusculum assistant Brandon Steele was assisting the Woodchucks. On one hand, Steele ensured Currie would not be overused in the 68-game short season. On the other, he offered a familiar face during a summer away from home. He needed it in the Northwoods, a collegiate wood bat league sibling of the prestigious Cape Cod League. Currie, who throws in the low 90s, tinkered with a few grips while improving his curveball and changeup. Tusculum coach Doug Jones noted that sense of accomplishment in Currie the first time he saw him that fall in Greeneville. "He had grown up quite a bit and developed," Jones said. "I had not doubt he'd have a great chance to be a draftee." A handful of other major league teams remained in touch with Jones throughout the season. Currie kept them curious as he captained the Pioneers' bullpen with a 1.21 ERA, six saves and 57 strikeouts in 52 innings. A Brewers scout called Jones early in the second day of the draft to ask about the probability Currie would sign with the club - his allegiance to the Cubs notwithstanding. Jones told the scout there wouldn't be a problem, and he was right. Currie debuted with Helena last week and has continued to impress, spacing four strikeouts and three hits in 3 2/3 innings over two appearances. Jones believes Currie can join the ranks of other Tusculum prospects to ascend through the minor leagues, including current Double-A pitchers Brandon Dickson (Cardinals) and Ben Swaggerty (Royals). "With me being a 12th-round draft pick, the Brewers are already into me for a reason," Currie said. I want to build on what I've done and get better. I feel like if I do that, I have a real good shot." http://www.kcchronicle.com/_internal/cimg%210/7qqcj434wahzjw0cqilxtaycjqfruhh

I wonder if he got the $800K he was looking for: McKelvie signs with Brewers Whiteville (North Carolina) News Reporter East Columbus High School athletic standout Demetrius McKelvie signed a professional baseball contract with the Milwaukee Brewers organization Wednesday and traveled to Arizona Sunday to receive an assignment with a Rookie League team. McKelvie, who graduated from ECHS earlier this month, was selected by the Brewers in the 25th round of the recent 2009 Major League Baseball Draft . ECHS baseball coach Karl Bracey said that McKelvie signed at his home Wednesday an undisclosed amount. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound McKelvie is a left-handed hitter with home run power and exceptional speed on the bases. He was a three-time All-Waccamaw Conference and All -Columbus County performer in both baseball and football at ECHS. During his senior season with the Gator squad, he carried a .476 batting average. Many observers during the spring had the Gator standout pegged a possible selection in the top 10 rounds. McKelvie, who last summer played in the Area Code Games in California, had last fall signed a baseball grant-in-aid to play baseball at Marshall University with an option to try out for the football team. "Demetrius has plenty of potential as a baseball player," Coach Bracey said. "The Brewers are not only getting a great athlete, but also a great individual, who loves to work hard and compete hard. He should do well." http://www.whiteville.com/content/articles/2009/07/01/sports/doc4a48bfdd21d0e923951304.jpg

I'm here to claim my magnet. I'll have an interview with him up tomorrow.

Arnett's stuff is much better than Bush's.

Salome also apparently hasn't mastered the art of pitch-calling yet.

Krestalude following Nick Bucci's lead, blowing up in his second start after a solid first one.

They got a run. Mike Brownstein continued his walking-man ways in his first Helena PA, went to second on a balk, stole third, and scored on an error. Josh Prince led off the game with a single but was picked off first.

28/74 (38%) coming into today. You can find it on baseballreference.com

Brevard postponed.

McDaniel now says he expects Pena to sign with someone other than San Diego, and about a week after the deadline. McDaniel says no teams expect Beltre to stick at catcher, but Arangure says they might be content to sign him as one and let him move off it later. McDaniel upped his bonus prediction for Beltre slightly to $400K-$700K. The Brewers are now also interested in ("all over") shortstop Damian Arredondo. Ben Badler's mini-scouting report: "Plus-plus runner, plus hands, plus arm. Bat needs a little work, but has tools." Both Arangure and McDaniel say the Yankees are heavily into Arredondo, and McDaniel thinks he'll fetch upwards of $500K.