colbyjack

I'm sure the legend title was thrown out there playfully, as I think everyone here has seen plenty of college hitters go into Helena and hit extremely well only to never see AA (Tony Festa is the first that comes to mind for me). But I wouldn't go out of my way to sing Logan Schafer's praise over Komatsu. They're both hitting extremely well, but Schafer has struck out a ton at WV without drawing too many walks. That ratio may even itself over time, but that ratio is one of the first things I look at when trying to get a read on a recently drafted college player. Some may say he has somewhat of an empty batting average right now, despite the fact that he is hitting well. And it's hard to compare the two because we don't know how well Komatsu would do if he would have been the one promoted to WV and not Schafer (and I'll admit, I was a little surprised he wasn't). For all we know Schafer's solid defense in CF was the bigger reason, as his skillset may be the perfect way for Lee Haydel to learn by following his lead. Gindl is a good comparison for Komatsu (a comparison I threw out in my scouting report following draft day) as a pure hitter with limited upside, while Schafer has drawn a few Steve Finley comps. Regardless of who you like better, igor makes a good point about how Jack Z. always seems to find good hitters. Hopefully via the gazillion pitchers he drafted this year the number of big-league hitters vs. big-league pitchers he drafted will start to even out in 3-5 years.

Nashville and Sacramento are currently tied 3-3 in the 10th. Scanning the River Cats roster, it seems as though you could replace the entire AAA lineup with the A's big-league lineup and not miss a beat given the number of familiar names. As a personal observation/opinion, that's a great sign of organizational depth, but not good for a team that has desparately lacked impact talent ever since Jason Giambi left town as a free agent.

Final: Arizona Athletics 2, Arizona Brewers 1 Arizona Box Score: As noted above, Cody Scarpetta pitches a dandy tonight, and would seem to be poised for a bump up to Helena as he's over-matching Arizona League hitters. Between he, Luis Guerrero and Ben Jeffers, the Baby Brewers strike out 19 Baby A's. Outside of 2 hits by both Shawn Zarraga and Pedro Ramos and an inside the park home run by Jose Garcia, there wasn't much offense on the night. SS Luis Sanchez has a forgetable game, committing 2 errors while striking out 3 times. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_02_athrok_brrrok_1 Arizona Game Log: Raise your hand if you thought Joey Paciorek would have a greater impact during his first full year of professional baseball. Scarpetta strikes out the side in both the 4th and 5th inning, finishing his outing incredibly strong. Jose Garcia's HR came in the 9th inning as the A's impressive pitching was that much better than the Brewers tonight. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_log&gid=2008_08_02_athrok_brrrok_1

Final: Billings 7, Helena 2 Helena Site Game Summary: Mustangs Remain Perfect, Down Brewers The Billings Mustangs improved their record to 6-0 in the second half of the Pioneer League season Saturday night at Kindrick Field. The Mustangs downed the Helena Brewers 7-2 in a game that saw 24 hits combined between the two teams. Billings led from the second inning on as the Mustangs scored two runs in the second, two more in the third and three runs in the fifth. Helena rapped out 11 hits on the night but could only push two across the plate as the home team stranded 12 runners on base. David Fonseca, Erik Komatsu, Michael Vass and Jose Duran all had multiple hits for the Brewers. Komatsu doubled and homered and Vass also doubled for Helena. Five different Mustangs had multiple hits and four of them doubled in the contest. Mace Thurman picks up his first win of the season as he went 3.0 innings, giving up just one run on two hits while striking out six Brewer hitters. Brandon Ritchie takes the loss for the Brewers as the left-hander surrendered seven runs on ten hits and only struck out three Mustangs. Liam Ohlmann had a solid performance for Helena, as he went 3.2 innings and did not allow a run. He gave up three hits and struck out four. The Brewers record is now 2-4 in the second half. Helena Box Score: Erik Komatsu continues to hit well in the Pioneer League, with 3 hits including a double and his 7th home run of the summer, a solo shot in the 7th. David Fonseca also continues to hit well with a 2 hit performance after a disappointing debut with the H-Crew last summer. Hopefully we can say the same thing about LHP Brandon Ritchie next summer, who got roughed up over 4 innings of work, a continuing trend over the last month+ for the young lefty. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_02_bilrok_helrok_1 Helena Game Log: The H-Crew missed out on a golden opportunity for a big inning in the 3rd. Komatsu seems to be the one guy that needs to be hitting for this team to score runs, as Helena, like the big-league Brewers, have a big problem leaving runners on base. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_log&gid=2008_08_02_bilrok_helrok_1

The biggest difference between Yo and Scarpetta is that Scarpetta is already one year behind Yo's progression since he signed a '08 contract as a '07 draftee coming out of high school. But yes, his success so far this year has been extremely impressive. At some point you would think both he and Odorizzi would get the bump up to Helena.

If anyone wants to check out Team Canada's Olympic Media Guide, check out this page (download the PDF): http://66.241.210.162/eng_cat.cfm?CatID=28&Related=29&OrigID=148

I know you're just bringing up that tidbit as a fact (and I did catch that in the aforementioned thread), but it doesn't really matter where Lawrie is playing in the Olympics relative to his impending pro career, although hopefully it does give us a chance to see him play, assuming some of the games are televised (Olympic baseball games in past years haven't been pimped/televised as much as you would like to see). On the Olympic roster, he's listed as an A-ball player for the Brewers, so hopefully that is where he debuts after Team USA boots Team Canada http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif.

Opening the year in the rotation has allowed Jones to get regular innings of work. The Brewers still obviously believe in his ability to keep giving him so many chances, as he's beyond the point of trying to get something out of their initial investment. I'm still skeptical, but Jones' story still is intriguing. DKM4Boston brought up Palmisano's long-awaited appearance in a '08 box score above.

It will be interesting to see how Lawrie is developed. His bat seems so advanced that I agree with most in that I would probably put him at 3B and just let his bat carry him as quickly as it can, which sounds as though he could very well follow a Prince Fielder type advancement as a prep hitter. While I usually don't take comfort at the talent level at any position, no matter who is there, Lucroy's rapid development and Salome's continued success also allows me to feel as though they don't need to take the extra time to try and get a potential impact player at the position in Lawrie. Yes, they could be patient with him, but if his bat is as good as it sounds like it is, why not try to get him up as quickly as possible?

A deeper look into the draft forum will get you this http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif: Odorizzi is a very athletic pitcher that also starred as a hitter at Highland High School in Illinois. He has a nice, projectable frame and an easy delivery and overall arm action that makes it look as though he's playing catch on the mound. His fastball explodes out of his hand, as the pitch sits in the 90-93 range and tops out around 95-96. He repeats his delivery well, and doesn't overthrow, which allows him to maintain his velocity deep into ballgames. He throws a slider and a curveball, the slider being a wicked breaking pitch that he can get batters fishing in the dirt, while he can drop his sharp curve in for strikes. He also throws a promising changeup, and works off of the strength of his fastball to set-up all of his offspeed offerings. He throws strikes, commands the strike zone well, and could move fairly quick for a high school pitcher. If you read the draft forum, you've probably heard me talk about how I got to see Odorizzi pitch last February on more than a few occasions. The guy just has an extremely quick and easy arm and overall delivery. He's an athletic guy, and he's also a guy that I predicted would go in the first round after seeing him in February (he wasn't ranked that high to open the year), and a guy I was surprised to see fall to the Brewers first pick in the sandwich round during the draft. He is also a pretty good hitter, and his overall profile and draft status relative to Gallardo (a player I thought could go as high as #10 overall in 2004) makes the comparison to Gallardo that much easier to make. It's unfair, since Yo cruised through the minors, but Odorizzi is an extremely exciting young pitcher to watch, and one that should have no problem handling low-A, wherever that may be, to open the '09 season. He's not a raw hurler like Jones/Rogers/Jeffress, that's for sure.

Cody Scarpetta is indeed tonight's starter for the Baby Brewers, and he and A's starter Julio Ramos are having one heck of a duel through five innings that you just don't see very often in the Arizona League. Scarpetta with 10 Ks through the first 5 frames...no jinx here, he has given up 2 hits, and nothing else (ok, he did hit a batter too).

Final: Mississippi 2, Huntsville 5 Huntsville Site Game Summary: Four-Run First Carries Huntsville Home By Brett Pollock / Huntsville Stars Chris Errecart slugged a first inning home run and Mike Jones worked five solid frames to lead Huntsville to a 5-2 win over Mississippi Saturday night in the second of a five-game set at Joe Davis Stadium. The Stars ended an eight-game losing streak and a seven game home skid to improve to 19-23 in the second half, while the Braves lost an eight-game win streak and fell to 28-14 in the second half. The Stars have won nine of the 12 games between the two teams by a combined scored of 62-19. Alcides Escobar singled with one out in the first, moved to second base on a walk to Mat Gamel and scored the game's first run on a single by Cole Gillespie, who knocked in his first run in nine games. Errecart then followed with a home run to left-center field off of Todd Redmond to give the Stars a 4-0 edge. It was his 14th home run of the season and first at home since June 6 vs. West Tenn. Jones blanked the visitors through 3 2/3 before Greg Creek belted a home run to get the visitors on the board. The Braves put runners at first and second with one out in the fifth before Redmond bunted into a double play to end the inning and close Jones' outing. He gave up two hits, walked one and struck out two to earn his first win of the season and his first since April 30 of last season at Birmingham. Redmond retired 13 batters in a row before Gamel led off the sixth with a walk and eventually came into score on a Mike Bell fielder's choice grounder that also knocked the right-hander out of the game. Redmond allowed five runs on five hits, walked two and struck out seven in dropping to 10-5 on the season. Paul Bush retired all five batters he faced and Kevin Gunderson threw a perfect eighth inning in relief. Mississippi's lead over Montgomery in the South Division was trimmed to three games and could be cut further, pending the outcome of the Biscuits game with West Tenn. Jason Shiell threw two innings behind Jones and gave up a Jordan Schafer's home run in the seventh that trimmed the lead to 5-2. Steve Bray worked a perfect eighth inning before Juan Sandoval walked the tight rope in the ninth and survived to earn his 14th save of the season. He issued a walk to Reid Gorecki to start the inning, struck out the next two hitters and then walked Van Pope and Brandon Hicks to load the bases. Former Stars' catcher JC Boscan then grounded out on a 3-2 pitch to end the game. The series continues Sunday evening with left-hander Brae Wright taking the mound for Huntsville against Braves' right-hander Kris Medlen. Coverage begins at 4:50 pm central time and can be heard locally on SportsRadio 730 WUMP and through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com and www.730ump.com. Huntsville Box Score: Mike Jones slowly but surely continues to stretch out his arm, going 5 solid innings and recording his first win in a long time. Mat Gamel doesn't get a hit, but draws a pair of walks and scores a pair of runs, Chris Errecart delivers an early blow with a 3-run jack in the 1st, while Cole Gillespie is the only Star to have a multi-hit game. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t559&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_02_msbaax_hunaax_1 Huntsville Game Log: After scoring 4 runs in the 1st, the Stars recorded six 1-2-3 innings out of eight in this contest, and fortunately those 4 runs (actually 5 since they scratched a run across in the 6th) were all they needed. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t559&t=g_log&gid=2008_08_02_msbaax_hunaax_1

Final: Delmarva 8, West Virginia 12 West Virginia site Game Summary: POWER USE NINE RUN SEVENTH TO BEAT DELMARVA The West Virginia Power trailed the Delmarva Shorebirds 8-0 after four and a half innings of Saturday night's game at Appalachian Power Park, but used a nine run seventh inning and came from behind to score 12 unanswered runs and defeated the Shorebirds 12-8. Ryan Adams hit a two-run homer in the top of the first to give the Shorebirds an early edge. Pedro Florimon ripped a two-run double in the second and scored on Matt Angle's two-bagger to make it a 5-0 Delmarva lead after two. Brian Valichka singled in Delmarva's next two runs in the third and Anthony Martinez's sacrifice fly in the fourth inning brought in Delmarva's final run. Logan Schafer recorded West Virginia's first hit of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning with a lead off single and he scored later in the fourth on a wild pitch. The Power offense exploded for nine runs on five hits in the seventh. Caleb Gindl began the rally with a lead off single and he scored on a double from Uly Snijders. Matt Cline's groundout scored Zelous Wheeler before Snijders scored on Lee Haydel's single. Schafer then singled and Eric Fryer walked to load the bases with two outs before Delmarva manager Ramon Sambo made a pitching change. Sambo called on John Mariotti who faced Steffan Wilson with two away. Wilson hit a ground ball to Tyler Henson at third and Henson's throwing error plated two more runs. Gindl ripped his second single of the inning to score Fryer at third before Zelous Wheeler capped the inning with a three-run homer, his tenth of the season. Haydel tripled in Matt Cline in the eighth inning and scored on Schafer's sacrifice fly. Rob Wooten (1-0) pitched a perfect seventh inning to get the victory. Mariotti (3-2) allowed five runs on three hits over an inning and a third. West Virginia used six pitchers on the night. The Power improved to 61-50 on the year and 29-13 in the second half with the win. The Shorebirds fell to 61-50 on the year and 23-19 in the second half with the loss. Schafer, Gindl and Haydel paced the Power with two hits a piece. Matt Cline reached once to extend his on base streak to 22 games and Gindl extended his to 25 games. Eric Fryer went 1-for-3 and extended his hitting streak to eight games. The Power will continue the four game series against the Delmarva Shorebirds at Appalachian Power Park on Sunday night. The Power will start right hander Michael Bowman (1-0, 3.55) and the Shorebirds will counter with right hander Sean Gleason (8-1, 2.68). The first pitch is scheduled for 6:05 PM. West Virginia Box Score: I was starting to develop a slight complex watching the first two games of the evening develop with our trusty and dedicated link report master taking a much-needed break this weekend. Fortunately the Power game through strong and late, scoring 9 runs in the bottom of the 7th inning, and adding 2 more runs for good measure the next inning to come from behind in more than dramatic fashion. The bullpen following R.J. Seidel and Evan Fredrickson, who didn't fare so well, did a great job tossing 5.2 innings while striking out 7 batters to give the Power batters the opportunity to make their amazing comeback. Zelous Wheeler, getting the start at second base, gets the big hit, a 3-run jack to end the scoring in the 7th, while Logan Schafer, Caleb Gindl and Lee Haydel (who continues to quietly have a very good year) all have a pair of hits. Really, everyone contributed in this one, and reward Rob Wooten with the W for his strong pitching since signing with the Brewers. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_02_delafx_wvaafx_1 West Virginia Game Log: Once Delmarva removed starter Zach Britton, one of the top prospects in the Orioles system, all Hades broke loose. The line score in the bottom of the 7th is fun to read: • Pitcher Change: Aubrey Miller replaces Zachary Britton. • Caleb Gindl singles on a fly ball to right fielder Joseph Nowicki. • Zelous Wheeler walks. Caleb Gindl to 2nd. • Ulrich Snijders doubles (6) on a fly ball to left fielder Kieron Pope. Caleb Gindl scores. Zelous Wheeler to 3rd. • Matt Cline grounds out, shortstop Pedro Florimon Jr. to first baseman Anthony Martinez. Zelous Wheeler scores. • Lee Haydel singles on a ground ball to center fielder Matthew Angle. Ulrich Snijders scores. • Eric Farris pops out to shortstop Pedro Florimon Jr. • Logan Schafer singles on a line drive to left fielder Kieron Pope. Lee Haydel to 2nd. • Eric Fryer walks. Lee Haydel to 3rd. Logan Schafer to 2nd. • Pitcher Change: John Mariotti replaces Aubrey Miller. • Steffan Wilson reaches on fielding error by third baseman Tyler Henson. Lee Haydel scores. Logan Schafer scores. Eric Fryer to 3rd. • Caleb Gindl singles on a fly ball to right fielder Joseph Nowicki. Eric Fryer scores. Steffan Wilson to 2nd. • Zelous Wheeler homers (10) on a fly ball to left field. Steffan Wilson scores. Caleb Gindl scores. • Ulrich Snijders pops out to shortstop Pedro Florimon Jr. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_log&gid=2008_08_02_delafx_wvaafx_1

Final: Palm Beach 2, Brevard County 0 Brevard County Box Score: After a pretty quiet night at the plate for all of the Brewers affiliates, the Manatees don't get the link report off very well this evening after being 3-hit, all of which were singles, and as a team they also drew only one walk. They were shut down by one of the Cardinals top prospects, RHP Tyler Herron, which spoiled a perfectly strong collaborative pitching effort with Chris Cody going the first 6 innings. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_02_pbcafa_breafa_1 Brevard County Game Log: Not much to say about this one, as the 'Tees go down 1-2-3 in five innings. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&t=g_log&gid=2008_08_02_pbcafa_breafa_1

According to the Aflac game site, the roster has been released for quite some time, but this is the first time I saw it up on their homepage. The game itself takes place next Saturday and will be nationally televised on FOX sports net. Hopefully some of the Dodgers fans that visit this board will be in attendance for the game and will be kind enough to stop by to share their thoughts. http://www.aflacallamerican2008.com/press_071108.asp

Sizemore had some power in the minors, as he's nowhere close to a fair comparison. He had 23 doubles, 8 triples and 8 HRs in 418 AAA ABs, 26 doubles, 11 triples and 13 HR in 496 AA ABs and 40 doubles, 11 triples and 5 home runs in 879 A-ball ABs. And while he wasn't hitting for as much power as he is now, everyone could see that it would come eventually. Here's what BA had to say about him when he was rated the Indians top prospect after his season at AA: His power is coming quicker than expected, as he stroked 13 homers last year after totaling six in his first three seasons. There's a lot more to come, as he was an EL all-star at the tender age of 20. You just don't hear the same kind of things in any of the scouting reports that talk about Brantley. And I don't bring this up to knock Brantley, not at all, because I still stress that being ranked 8th is pretty high praise, but I still can't think of a guy who had as little power as he does in the minors that developed enough to be at least a MLB average OF. I think his upside is somewhere in the Darryl Hamilton range, and while there's nothing wrong with that, I try to stress that is his upside, and that upside doesn't compare to what Gillespie's (or Green's) is, regardless of their age relative to level.

Saturday's Daily Menu: All times Central except Arizona League; pitchers subject to change -- Nashville: LHP Lindsay Gulin at Sacramento (Athletics), 8:50 PM pre-game; 9:05 gametime Audio link via WNSR, be sure to select the proper date (game will also archive at this link): http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/clubs/ip_index.jsp?sid=milb&cid=t556 Huntsville: RHP Mike Jones at home vs. Mississippi (Braves), 6:50 PM pre-game; 7:05 gametime Audio link via WUMP, be sure to select the proper date (game will also archive at this link): http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/audio.jsp?sid=t559 Brevard County: LHP Bobby Bramhall at home vs. Palm Beach (Cardinals), 6:00 gametime Sorry, no audio for this series... West Virginia: RHP R.J. Seidel at home vs. Delmarva (Orioles), 5:55 PM pre-game, 6:05 gametime Audio link via WTGM, be sure to select the proper date (game will also archive at this link): http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/clubs/ip_index.jsp?cid=t548&mc=info Helena: LHP Brandon Ritchie at home vs. Billings (Reds), 7:55 PM pre-game, 8:05 gametime Audio link via KCAP, be sure to select the proper date (game will also archive at this link): http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/clubs/ip_index.jsp?sid=milb&cid=t433 Arizona: TBD at home vs. AZL Athletics, 7:00 PM local Mountain Standard Time Never any audio for the Maryvale Crew

http://www.brewerfan.net/images/store/dailylinkreport.jpg

I appreciate anyone being a big fan of any prospect and going out of their way to profess their love for said prospect, and I look forward to the prospect you choose to take a shot at for being ahead of Brantley next month on the P50 (last month it was Taylor Green). Gillespie is older, and Brantley's success and overall polish throughout his minor league career is very, very impressive. However, to me, it's quite simple: Gillespie has 51 extra-base hits this year while Brantley has 20. I know Brantley only had 6 ABs during the month of July while Gillespie was just shy of 100, but I doubt that difference would be that much smaller had Brantley been healthy. Statistically speaking in the Southern League, Gillespie is currently tied for 1st in doubles (with Gamel), 5th in walks and total bases, tied for 8th in HR, and is 13th in both SLG and OPS. His OBP (and SLG, and OPS for that matter) obviously would be much higher if it weren't for his .273 BA, which is the biggest statistical category that separates him from Brantley. And for the record, Brantley's OPS is .828, but I don't bring that up to take a shot at him. I said the same thing last month, and I'm sure I'll say the same thing next month, but there's no shame for a player with almost zero power being the #8 prospect in a pretty strong system. And before someone chimes in pointing out that power is often the last tool to develop, how often do you see a player with no power in the minors developing some in the majors?

Final: Great Falls 7, Helena 6 Voyagers Down Brewers in Extra-Innings The Great Falls Voyagers defeated the Helena Brewers Friday night as Johnny Celis homered in the top of the tenth inning off of Adam Arnold. The Voyagers out-hit the Brewers 13-9 in the contest, as Tyler Kuhn, Kyle Shelton and Jordan Cheatham all had multi-hit games. Mike Grace had a homerun and three RBI's on the night for Great Falls. For Helena, Chris Dennis led the way going 3-for-4 with a triple and two homeruns. Dennis homered in the bottom of the first inning and again in the fourth, both off of Great Falls' Dexter Carter. Dennis was credited with four RBI's on the night and three runs scored. Steven Braun had an RBI double in the seventh inning for Helena. Adam Arnold suffers the loss for the Brewers, giving up two runs on two hits in three innings of work. Stephen Sauer picks up his third win of the season for Great Falls, as he threw two complete innings of shutout baseball. Ronnie Morales earned his third save of the season as he gave up just one hit in one inning of work and struck out one Brewer hitter. This was Helena's fifth extra-inning game in their last ten and they are 2-6 in extra's this season. The Brewers drop to 2-3 in the second half of the Pioneer League season as Great Falls improves to 2-3. Helena Box Score: Chris Dennis with a huge night at the plate for the H-Crew, with three hits (2 HR, 1 3B), 3 runs and 4 RBI. There are always those prospects that certain fans around these parts get behind, and Dennis is one of those guys that deserves some random love. It wasn't necessarily pretty, but Garrett Sherrill continues his success from the month of July into August by not allowing an earned run over 3 innings of relief while sporting a nifty 5-1 groundout to flyout ratio, something we always like to keep our eyes on. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_01_grfrok_helrok_1 Helena Game Log: Fortunately Helena responded quickly to Great Falls 3-run 1st to make sure they weren't out of this one early, thanks to Chris Dennis' 3-run bomb. A solo shot in the top of the 10th for Great Falls is the difference maker in this one. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_log&gid=2008_08_01_grfrok_helrok_1

Final: West Virginia 1, Lakewood 4 BLUECLAWS SHUT POWER DOWN Lakewood BlueClaws held the West Virginia Power to just a run on five hits at First Energy Park on Friday night and came away with a 4-1 victory to split the four game series. Tim Kennelly ripped a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the first inning to give Lakewood an early lead. The Power tied the game in the third inning when Eric Farris belted an RBI double. The BlueClaws plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the third to take the lead again. Dominic Brown ripped a run scoring triple and scored on Freddy Galvis's sacrifice fly. Tim Kennelly smacked a one-out triple in the sixth inning and scored the game's final run on a wild pitch. West Virginia was held without a hit since Farris's double in the third until Matt Cline ripped a one-out single in the top of the eighth inning. Farris's double was West Virginia's only extra base hit of the night. Mike Stutes (2-0) tossed six great innings, allowing just a run on two hits and fanned six to get the victory. Jared Simon (23) pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn the save and Lucas Luetge (0-1) was tagged with the loss after allowing four runs on seven hits over five and a third. Roque Mercedes pitched two and two-thirds scoreless innings of one hit ball in relief. The Power bullpen surrendered just two earned runs over 18 and a third innings in the series. The Power fell to 60-50 on the year and 28-13 in the second half with the loss. The BlueClaws improved to 64-47 on the year and 26-15 in the second half with the win. Farris and Wilson paced the Power with three hits a piece. Matt Cline reached twice to bring his on base streak to 21 games and Gindl reached once to extend his on base streak to 24 games. Steffan Wilson went 1-for-4 and extended his road hitting streak to 25 games while Lee Haydel went 0-for-3, bringing his ten game hitting streak to an end. The Power will begin a four game series against the Delmarva Shorebirds at Appalachian Power Park on Saturday night. The Power will start right hander R.J. Seidel (7-4, 5.21) and the Shorebirds will counter with right hander Zach Britton (10-5, 2.83). The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM. West Virginia Box Score: There appear to be some game errors in the game report courtesy of the Power's game recap from above, and while I'm sure everyone will take the refreshing win at the big-league level for the Brewers this evening, it wasn't a kind night to the affiliates. The Power had problems getting baserunners against that pesky Lakewood team. Lucas Luetge gets roughed up during his first start for WV, who was previously unscored upon in the Sally League since his promotion, although Roque Mercedes was incredibly sharp in relief, striking out 3 and giving up only 1 hit in 2.2 innings. No more comments asking about what Roque Mercedes this is; he's been capable of this all along and had games like this last summer for the H-Crew with much greater regularity. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_01_wvaafx_lwdafx_1 West Virginia Game Log: Not much in this game to talk about outside of Eric Farris' RBI double in the 3rd. Opposing pitcher Jared Simon struck out the Power side in the top of the 9th despite a leadoff single by Eric Fryer. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_log&gid=2008_08_01_wvaafx_lwdafx_1

Final: Palm Beach 6, Brevard County 4 Brevard County Box Score: Mel Stocker continues to hit well, with the usual small sample disclaimer, catcher Andy Bouchie with a 2-hit game and a 2-run home run, giving Jonathan Lucroy a break from behind the plate, who reaches base four times (1 hit, 2 BB, 1 HBP) as the team's DH. Tall, lanky lefty Rafael Lluberes tries to get back on track with 2 scoreless frames. 4 errors on the night for the Manatees, with Brewer committing two of those, who now has 15 with BC (matching his total with WV before getting the bump up). http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_01_pbcafa_breafa_1 Brevard County Game Log: Bouchie with some 2-out thunder in the bottom of the 8th that tied the game and forced extra innings, although the 'Tees wasted some golden opportunities for much bigger innings in the first and third, although Palm Beach wasted several opportunities of their own with 6 runs on 14 hits. The damage was already done, but Brent Brewer's second error of the night allowed the Cardinals to score their second run in the top of the 10th. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&t=g_log&gid=2008_08_01_pbcafa_breafa_1

Final: Mississippi 2, Huntsville 1 First Place Braves Keep Rolling Along Reid Gorecki's two-run home run was the decisive blow in Mississippi's 2-1 win over Huntsville Friday night in the opener of a five-game set at Joe Davis Stadium. The Braves claimed their eighth straight victory to improve to 28-13 in the second half, while the Stars lost a season-high eighth straight to drop to 18-23 in the half and 59-52 overall. Huntsville has lost the last three games by one run and each of the last five by either one or two runs. Braves' starter Carlos Sencion allowed a one-out single in the first inning to Guilder Rodriguez before he walked Mat Gamel and Cole Gillespie to load the bases. The left-hander then walked Chris Errecart to force in the game's first run but escaped further trouble by getting Mike Bell to ground into a double play to end the frame. Stars' starter Nic Ungs blanked the visitors through three innings until Matt Young led off with a single and Gorecki blasted his tenth long ball of the season just to the left of straightaway center field. Ungs went six innings, giving up six hits, walking one and striking out three but suffered the loss to drop to 3-1. Omar Aguilar worked three shutout frames in his longest outing of the year, giving up one hit, walking one and fanning one. Sencion muddled through five frames to earn the win, allowing only two hits but walking a season-high seven and striking out five. Michael Nix took over in the sixth and was able to strand Mike Bell at third base with one out by striking out Anderson De La Rosa and getting Ungs to fly out. Sung Ki Jung got Gillespie to ground into a double play with runners at first and second and one out to end the seventh and Steve Marek, acquired in the Mark Texeira trade, was able to leave Errecart at third in the eighth. Luis Valdez took over in the ninth and walked the lead off man Yohannis Perez before Lorenzo Cain grounded into a double play. Rodriguez walked to keep the inning going but Gamel struck out to end the game. Valdez recorded his 22nd save and helped the Braves push their lead in the Southern Division to four games, pending the outcome of the Biscuits game with West Tenn. The series continues Saturday night with right-hander Mike Jones taking the mound for Huntsville against Braves' right-hander Todd Redman. Coverage begins at 6:50 pm central time and can be heard locally on SportsRadio 730 WUMP and through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com and www.730ump.com. Huntsville Box Score: Starter Nic Ungs had 6 strong innings as the starter, and Omar Aguilar adds 3 scoreless frames in relief, as noted above, his longest outing of the year. The Huntsville bats, much like the ones for the Sounds this evening, were pretty much quiet, with only 5 hits, although they did draw 10 walks as a club. Tough to score only 1 run with that many baserunners, something the big-league Brewers know all too well. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t559&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_01_msbaax_hunaax_1 Huntsville Game Log The Stars only run comes on a bases-loaded walk in the first inning, an inning that they should have pushed a few more runs across. Several double plays also killed their chances throughout the game. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t559&t=g_log&gid=2008_08_01_msbaax_hunaax_1

Final: Nashville 0, Sacramento 6 Cats Silence Sounds With Three-Hit Shutout WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Two Sacramento pitchers combined on a three-hit shutout in the River Cats' 6-0 victory over the Nashville Sounds on Friday evening at Raley Field. Left-hander Gio Gonzalez (8-7) worked the first eight frames in scoreless fashion for Sacramento, allowing two hits, before Jay Marshall wrapped up the shutout by pitching the ninth for the River Cats. The shutout loss was the seventh suffered by Nashville (44-69) this season. The lone hits produced by the Sounds in the contest were a fifth-inning Adam Heether double, an eighth-inning Vinny Rottino single, and a ninth-inning Joe Dillon single. It was a pitcher's duel between the Sounds' Mark DiFelice and Gonzalez in the early going as the hurlers combined to open the game with 3 ½ hitless innings before Sacramento got on the board in the bottom of the fourth. The River Cats opened the home half of the fourth with seven straight hits off DiFelice to build a 6-0 lead. Eric Patterson and Chris Denorfia opened the frame with back-to-back singles before both scored on Casey Rogowski's two-run triple to right. Landon Powell followed with an RBI single before Matt Murton, Danny Putnam, and Donnie Murphy delivered three consecutive doubles to increase the advantage to six. Murphy's RBI two-bagger chased DiFelice from the contest. The seven straight River Cats hits off DiFelice were the club's only knocks of the evening. Troy Cate, who opened the 2008 season with Sacramento, followed with four hitless innings of work for Nashville, his best outing of the year. Mitch Stetter added a hitless eighth frame, walking one batter. DiFelice (4-1) took his first loss of the year after allowing a season-high six runs on seven hits in three-plus innings of work. The teams wrap up the series with a 9:05 p.m. CT finale on Saturday. Left-hander Lindsay Gulin (5-5, 3.58) will toe the rubber for the Sounds to face Sacramento right-hander Brad Knox (6-2, 5.06). Nashville Box Score: The Sounds get 3-hit by A's top prospect, lefty Gio Gonzalez. Not much good to find in this one, unless you get excited about Adam Heether playing SS. LHP Troy Cate did have 4 strong innings in relief. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_08_01_nasaaa_srcaaa_1 Nashville Game Log All 6 runs for Sacramento came in the bottom of the 4th against DiFelice. Far too many 1-2-3 innings for the Sounds. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_log&gid=2008_08_01_nasaaa_srcaaa_1

I agree with Brian Giles. The lineup doesn't have that one guy that consistently works counts and gets on base, and last I checked Giles had more BBs than Ks. I know Ks don't mean anything, and that's not the argument I'm trying to make, but again, the Brewers don't have a hitter like this in their lineup. Plus, he hits both RHPs and LHPs, so it's not like he had to be a strict platoon player. Finding regular playing time for him obviously would be difficult, but I think it's clear that Corey Hart could use a few days off here and there to get him back on track.