battlekow

Joe Sheehan on Will Inman:

Hitaniel Arias got his first pro home run. Congrats. Anyone have a picture of him? Another great start for Efrain Nieves, and another awesome stat line from Erik Komatsu. It seems logical to promote Eric Fryer to BC to take Scott Houin's place in the starting lineup and bump Komatsu up to WV in Fryer's stead.

Just a heads up, because it's early. It's on tomorrow at 11:30 AM CT, with a pregame show on an hour beforehand. It will be on TV on ESPN and webcast on MLB.tv (costs $2.95, and you get all the other ASG stuff too).

Lookouts Win Marred By Brawl July 13, 2008 - 12:08AM Heather Williams The Lookouts bats exploded for 13 runs on Saturday night, but their tempers exploded as well. A bench clearing brawl in the 5th lead to 9 ejections, but the Chattanooga had already put the game away at that point and won easily 13-3. The whole thing started in the bottom 4th when after a Danny Dorn home run, Tonys Gutierrez was promptly plunked by the next Patrick Ryan pitch. Sam Lecure returned the favor in the top of the 5th when he hit Michael Brantley, that emptied the benches. Brantly and Lecure were both ejected as were Craig Tatam, Justin Turner, Sean Henry and Manager Mike Goff for the Lookouts. For the Stars Angel Salome, Michael Bell and David Welch were also tossed. With the win Chattanooga breaks a 5 game losing streak. The Lookouts are off the next three games for the Southern League All Star game. Pithcers Ben Jukich, Robert Manuel and third baseman Eric Eymann will represent Chattanooga on the North Division Squad in Tuesday's game.

Well, maybe the Indians won't want Brantley after this.

Wow, there must have been a big brawl in the Huntsville game:

Taylor Green had a good game, 2-3 with a walk. He had been 3-24 with one walk since the trade.

And Donovan Hand ensures that Braddock's won't be the worst start in the system tonight...

Brewer is hitting .370/.414/.481 over the last week with only one error (thought he had two in the previous game). Best week this year?

Yeah, he's starting tomorrow.

He was scheduled to debut yesterday, but the game got rained out, so hopefully he'll make his bow tomorrow.

Haha, that picture looks like Corporan just dropped him.

LaPorta hit a go-ahead two-out two-run homer in the ninth inning to beat Reading. His first HR since the trade.

We've always known he has good tools. Unfortunately, he's still 20/93 at throwing out runners and has 9 passed balls. Thanks for the first-hand report though; I'm glad had and Gamel look as fearsome at the plate in real life as they do in the box scores.

Ain't it always the case...

Baby Brewers got postponed.

Lawrie joins sis in Beijing Terry Bell, The ProvincePublished: Friday, July 11, 2008 The Beijing Games will be a family affair for Langley phenom Brett Lawrie, 18, who was named to Canada's Olympic baseball team Thursday. Lawrie, picked 16th overall in the June draft by Milwaukee, joins his sister Danielle, a star on the Canadian softball team going to the Games. He also joins a mix of youth and veterans on the baseball squad which will be managed by former major leaguer Terry Puhl. "This is a significant jump for him, but this is a unique player that we feel can make the jump," Puhl said. Other B.C. natives named: pitchers Brooks McNiven, Vancouver; Scott Richmond of Langley, and R.J. Swindle, Vancouver, and infielders Matt Rogelstad, New Westminster, and Jimmy Van Ostrand, Richmond. The team includes former major leaguers Rheal Cormier, Chris Reitsma, David Davidson, Adam Stern, Pete Orr and Scott Thurman.

Langley's Brett Lawrie a hit with Olympic team Lyndon Little, Vancouver SunPublished: Friday, July 11, 2008 Brett Lawrie's summer just got even better. After setting a record for being the highest drafted position player in the history of Canadian baseball (No. 16 overall by the Milwaukee Brewers), the young Langley slugger Thursday was named to the Canadian Olympic team heading to Beijing. At 18 Lawrie will be the youngest player on the squad and one of a total of seven B.C. players on the 24-man roster. The others B.C. products are pitchers Brooks McNiven, R.J. Swindle and Scott Richmond, infielder Matt Rogelstad, plus outfielders Mike Saunders and Jimmy VanOstrand. McNiven is an ex-UBC hurler playing in the minors for San Francisco, Richmond is from Langley and plays in the Toronto Blue Jays' system, Rogelstad is from New Westminster and plays in the minors for Washington, Saunders is from Victoria and is with the Seattle Mariners' Triple-A club in Tacoma while VanOstrand is from Richmond and plays in the Houston Astros' chain. Swindle is a left-handed pitcher who was born in Vancouver but raised in South Carolina. "I'm pretty excited. It's going to be a lot of fun," said Lawrie. "I always felt like I had a chance to be on the team. I guess they [baseball Canada] decided to believe in me." Canada finished just off the podium in fourth place at the last Games in Athens. "This is a tremendous time for Baseball Canada and we are very excited about our Olympic team," said Baseball Canada president Ray Carter in a statement. "Selecting this team has been a challenging process, but we're anxious to get going and have high hopes for our team in Beijing," added Greg Hamilton, Baseball Canada's director of national teams. Lawrie has not yet come to an agreement with the Brewers, but the Langley teen says that did not factor into his being named to the squad. "I'm not upset I haven't signed yet," he said. "We're getting pretty close. I'm going to the Olympics regardless." Major league teams have until Aug. 1 to recall any of their players from the Canadian Olympic squad. That will likely only happen if the big league club felt it necessary to add any of them to its 25-man major league roster. The Olympic team plans to gather in Toronto on July 28 and has four exhibition games scheduled against Team U.S.A. before leaving for Beijing.

The Next Big Thing: Decker's an athlete with no limits COLD SPRING - Achieving success at the Division I level in a given sport puts an athlete in select company. Achieving success in two sports is rarer still. But that's just what Rocori graduate Eric Decker accomplished at the University of Minnesota this past school year. Decker, who was recruited by the Gophers out of high school as a football player, had a breakout sophomore season. The wide receiver started all 12 games and caught a team-best 67 passes for 909 yards and nine touchdowns, averaging 75.8 receiving yards per game. Then - after repeated inquiries from the Gophers baseball coaching staff - Decker elected to give that sport a shot this past spring as well. "Coming in my freshman year, (assistant) coach (Rob) Fornasiere asked me if I wanted the chance to try out," said Decker, a standout in football, basketball and baseball at Rocori. "But at that point, I wanted to concentrate on football and becoming the best player I could be. Then last year, the same question arose. They asked me again, and I felt like I had everything to gain and nothing to lose." Decker ended up excelling on the diamond for the Gophers, appearing in 54 games and starting 42. He finished fourth on the team with a .329 average, recording 28 RBI and 53 hits, including seven doubles, four triples and three home runs. "I was a little surprised by how well he played simply because he hadn't played at the Division I level before and he was three years removed from playing in high school," Gophers baseball coach John Anderson said. "He dabbled a little bit in amateur baseball last summer, and I think that helped. But it was definitely a surprise. His speed impacted the game offensively and defensively and he brought a toughness and grittiness to our team as a result of his football background." Pro prospect His efforts also caught the eye of pro scouts, including those of the Milwaukee Brewers who chose him in the 39th round of last month's Major League Baseball draft. "That was a little bit of a surprise," said Decker, who is again playing amateur baseball this summer with his hometown Cold Spring Springers. "I was telling teams that I wasn't going to sign because I wanted another chance to play football in the fall and baseball in the spring and to see how that goes. But it was definitely a really big honor." It's an honor that may very well be repeated in football where the 6-foot-2, 215-pounder also has legitimate professional aspirations. Despite a frustrating 1-11 finish under first-year head coach Tim Brewster last season, Decker stood out as a bright spot. After making three starts as a redshirt freshman in 2006, he took over a full-time spot in the lineup last fall. His 909 yards receiving was the fifth-best single-season total in school history and his nine touchdown catches tied for third-most on the all-time list. Decker earned the Bruce Smith Award as the team's outstanding offensive player. "He exemplifies everything that a student-athlete should exemplify," Brewster said. "He has tremendous pride and outstanding athletic skills. He just has what Darrell Royal at Texas used to call that 'It.' He has the 'It' factor. I just love everything about the kid. "He's tough and he's smart. He's one of those guys who when he gets up and goes to lunch, 10 other guys follow." Team captain Because of those leadership skills, Decker was named one of the team's captains for this coming season despite the fact that he will only be a junior. He and quarterback Adam Weber are scheduled to be two of the team's three player representatives at the upcoming Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon July 25 in Chicago. Decker and Weber - who took over the team's starting job last season - have been friends since high school and are now roommates. "I was excited to see him get his chance last year," Decker said of the Mounds View graduate. "Now that he has that experience, it will be great to see what he can do. We're roommates now, so we have a lot of chances to go over film together. "We've really built up some chemistry and that's a big part of any relationship on the football field." Brewster said he is pleased with the rapport that has developed between the two players. "They're both outstanding kids - Minnesota kids born and bred," Brewster said. "They think alike. They're both very prideful men. You can see why those two would be roommates because they get along so well together. "They both have similar goals. They both want to be part of a championship team. I think they have the potential to be one of the top passing tandems in the country over the next two seasons." Brewster said he was not surprised to see Decker excel at baseball this spring. "He was a great baseball player up there in Cold Spring, and he's just an outstanding athlete," Brewster said. "We would have loved to have had him in spring practice because last year was really his first full year and he still has things to learn. "But I'm of the belief that you only get one chance to play high school sports, and one chance to play college sports. If you can be successful at multiple sports, and you're good enough to do it, you should take that opportunity." Bright future Brewster, who spent five years as an NFL assistant in both San Diego and Denver before arriving in Minnesota, said Decker has the ability to play at the next level. "Without question," Brewster said. "Eric has the tools to play in the NFL and to have tremendous success there. He understands how to pay the price to be great. He has tremendous athletic ability. He's a strong and fast wide receiver who catches the ball very naturally." Anderson also feels he has the skills to play professionally in baseball. "He has two tools that would really help him in the professional ranks," Anderson said. "The first is his speed and the second is that he's a left-handed hitter. "Those left-left guys always draw a little more attention, especially when they can run like he can." For now, though, Decker is spending his summer getting ready for the football season while keeping his hand in baseball with the Springers. But he said getting a shot to play professionally in either sport would be a dream come true. "That's been my goal since I was six years old," Decker said. "I've wanted to be an NFL player or a major league baseball player. "That's a mind-set I've always had and I just plan to keep working hard at trying to make it happen." http://cmsimg.sctimes.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=DR&Date=20080711&Category=SPORTS&ArtNo=107110003&Ref=AR&Profile=1002&MaxW=550&MaxH=650&title=0Times photo by Paul Middlestaedt, pmiddlestaedt@stcloudtimes.com Rocori graduate Eric Decker was recruited to play football at Minnesota, only to find success in baseball, too.

The only two juniors to make BA's High School All-America Team were RHPs Zack Von Rosenberg (LA) and Dylan Floro (CA). What do you guys know about them?

Nope, you're thinking of optioning (thanks Mass); when Rivera was sent to the minors, he was removed from the 40-man, and will have to be next time he is demoted, as well.

Apparently he broke his hamate bone. That's the same bone Brad Nelson broke way back when.

"BK having it his way"--I like that.

Ah, thanks for the heads up. I was kind of wondering if that was the case, but I should have gone into the game log and checked. I agree, their current method doesn't make any sense.

Not to be negative, but he's got a 22/68 BB/K in 334 ABs and he's only slugging .341. He's going to have to hit well over .300 to be valuable with those kind of secondary skills.