colbyjack

Nice job by the Stars tonight coming back from an early 3-0 deficit against one of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball (RHP Wade Davis), driving him out of the game in the 5th, and then piling on late in the game to take the first game of the series. Sam Narron with a strong game after giving up 3 runs in the 1st and thankfully Robert Hinton has been tossing the ball a lot better as of late. Plus, it's nice to see the Stars not dig themselves in the same early hole the Manatees and Power did in their championship series. Also, thanks for the video link hsvstarsfan!

I knew I should have started a new thread on this... I shared those same results, as well as a few thoughts of my own on this thread: http://forum.brewerfan.net/viewtopic.php?t=7019?page=3 Of note, Salome did throw out 37% of would-be base-stealers a year ago, about 5% above average, so I'm more interested in the dramatic drop-off.

I'm sure the Brewers will budget appropriately. They're not going to over-spend for anyone, that much is clear, but at the same time I wouldn't count on them going the budget route either, particularly since the DFE process will be long gone, meaning the draft budget should be pretty straight forward by the time the new year rolls around since most of the FA activity should be determined. If you asked the Brewers about 1A-1C, they would tell you BPA for all three picks. I've mentioned before that I would take a hitter 10 times out of 10 if all things are even, but I can really see the Brewers going after arms early and often next June.

Zach Jackson? I'm not so sure he sweetens any deal unfortunately. Murton is another good option.

Normally I absolutely I agree with you Brian, but the team did address their two biggest needs with their first two picks this past year: Power, and catching, and I don't think that was an accident. Braun was an obvious pick for need, as the team was looking at a few infielders that could be groomed as a 3B (like Tulowitzki). But usually it's more loosely bats vs. arms, and the team right now has more promising bats than arms.

The D-Backs have two OFs named Carlos that I would like to see the Brewers pursue, as both Quentin and Carlos Gonzalez couldn't be any more blocked by Eric Byrnes, Chris Young and Justin Upton. Quentin bats right-handed and is the more disciplined of the two hitters and really has nothing left to prove at AAA, while Gonzalez bats left-handed, is a better overall athlete and has the higher ceiling for being a potential star. I'm guessing either one would like take some kind of quality and proven big-league arm, as the teams are in such an incredibly similar situation that I don't see them matching up very well, although they have obviously made a few big deals in the past few years.

Thanks lexi, the Stars are definitely going to need Mat's bat in the series with Montgomery, as they're facing one of the toughest pitching staffs in the minor leagues (just like last year).

That double-play by Cain was tough, although he responded fairly well by being in the leadoff spot, of course in a small sample, but 10 walks in 23 plate appearances (13 AB), along with 5 hits, is rather impressive. He did seem to try to do too much however, getting thrown out 4 times in those 5 games, but if he does get bumped up to Huntsville next year and separated from Ford I do wonder if he'll get a chance to play CF (as opposed to Gillespie like I guessed).

I was working, trying to put together Arab World Fest of all things. Shortly after the first WTC tower burnt down, that festival was cancelled. Interesting to read so many posters here with accounts from grade school, middle school, high school and even college. I remember distinctly my mom talking about the day Kennedy was shot, way before my time, and she told me that the attack on 9-11 was the only other event, including her wedding day, that stood out so vividly. Other than watching the footage of the planes crashing, the thing that has always stood out the most to me was watching the fighter jets circle the Milwaukee/Mitchell area for most of the night. All air travel was shut down, yet you could see the flashing lights and hear the distant sound of the jets whipping around the city all night long.

Pitching, and lots of it. You can go about three deep at nearly every position and find a legitimate prospect.

Gindl does seem to sit once every four games or so (I'm assuming to give his hammy a break), so you could be right.

Doesn't Helena finish their regular season tonight?

Merklinger continues to deal, and given his short outing last night, I'm curious if the Brewers are saving his arm for the playoffs. No one on the staff has been pitching better lately. Plus, I'm pretty excited about such a talented lefty that misses bats as well as Merklinger has. The walks and hits have started to drop, and hopefully that continues for him.

I've had "Bad Time" by Grand Funk Railroad in my head for over two weeks now. At first I kind of liked it...

Congrats indeed! The Manatees sporting a rather different lineup to put a thumping on St. Lucie. Nashville managed a few miracles last postseason IIRC with a picked over squad, hopefully they have a few more left in them as they return home for the rest of this series. Go Sounds!

I'm sure this will rile up a few people, but according to a subscriber-only based feature on Baseball America's homepage, the Brewers were 25th among the 30 big-league teams in regards to how much money was spent to sign their selections in the top 10 rounds. And one of those teams below the Brewers were the Astros, who only spent $536,000 since they didn't pick until the 3rd round and even then managed to not sign their 3rd, 4th and 8th round picks (that's miserable). And of course the teams on the top are the ones that dropped a huge chunk of change in one or two players (D-Rays, Orioles, Tigers) and/or those with a lot of extra early picks (Giants, Padres, Blue Jays, Rangers). The Brewers spent $3,177,700 on their first nine picks (they forfeited their 2nd rounder), and $2M of that was on LaPorta. David Price, Mike Moustakas, Josh Vitters Matt Wieters, Rick Porcello and Andrew Brackman all received signing bonuses greater than what the Brewers dropped on their top nine picks. Now, of course a few things make this happen. Had the Brewers had their 2nd round pick, they would have dropped another $460,000 or so based on slot value on that player, which would have jumped them up six spots. The Brewers also seemed to have signed a few of their later rounds picks to greater than slot value, particularly Cody Scarpetta. The Brewers also had one of the pricier DFE classes, and signed a Dominican OF for nearly half a million. I know that sounds like excuses, but the money is being spent. I do wish the Brewers would make a bigger splash on draft day one of these years given some of the players that fall annually, but if nothing else this only backs up what I say each and every year about forgeting the notion that the team will actually do so.

Gillespie could play any of the 3 OF spots even if he is best suited for LF (he did play CF quite a bit last summer at Helena), and I have no doubt that the Brewers will place LaPorta wherever they feel is best first, and then figure out everyone else. My point was just that the organization will once again have another glut of OFs to figure out where and how to place next spring, certainly a good problem to have. LaPorta, Gillespie and Cain left to right in Huntsville next year would be pretty fun to follow should it shake out that way (with Brantley in the mix as well).

I think LaPorta is making a strong case so far this summer to be aggressively pushed next year. I wouldn't be surprised to see him open at AA, and even if he does start the year at A+, I'm guessing it will only be for a month or so. He should be making a case for the big leagues at some point in 2009 when he's 24 years old, and if he tears up AA next year and the team is in need of a bat, I wouldn't be surprised to see him called up sooner. As for his defense, I think its unfair to say that he can't play a lick of defense. I don't think he will ever be a Gold Glover (in LF or 1B should he eventually be moved back to first), but that isn't to say that he won't at least hold his own. And his glove is not going to slow down his progression. One interesting thing to watch between now and next spring is to see how the Brewers handle his placement. I know the team likes Cole Gillespie quite a bit in LF, and he deserves to play at AA Huntsville. Given the OF glut from top to bottom, we may see some movement similar to heading into this past season when we weren't sure how and where guys like Gillespie, Errecart (who moved to 1B), Brantley, Ford, Cain, Fermaint, etc. would all be placed.

R.J. Seidel has quietly had a very nice season, particularly after he returned to the field after being shut down for most of July. His 3.07 ERA would place him third in the Pioneer League if he had enough innings to qualify. WV looks as though it is going to have a pretty solid starting staff next year with Seidel, Bryson, Anundsen, Mercedes, Garcia, Merklinger (who also has been pitching very well as of late) and a few others sprinkled in.

The biggest thing I always warn about prospect evaluation is solely looking at a player's stats to determine how good he could become. That said, as SoCal and pogo have pointed out, it would be nice to hear a professional scouting report on Green to determine if his numbers can somewhat justify the excitement one may feel when looking at his impressive numbers. From the videos pogo provided of the Power earlier this year, I really liked Green's bat speed and overall swing. Of course, I'm not a scout, although pogo has continued to make me a believer in his ablities. For what it's worth, here's his scouting profile for his appearances in Perfect Game showcases in high school. He originally committed to Stetson, which is a solid baseball program: http://www.perfectgame.org/players/playerprofile.aspx?ID=30618 Green's a left handed hitting middle infielder from Canada with a strong left handed bat. He'll probably end up at second base or third base at the next level but his bat is going to produce enough to carry him there. Green's stroke is short and quick to the ball and he has good present strength in his hands and hips to generate raw bat speed. His first two at bats were against Matt Walker and Eric Cordier, the two top prospects at the Showcase, and he hit the ball hard both times. Green tells us that he ran 6.88 at a Major League Scouting Bureau camp the previous week, so we'll take his 60 time from Cedar Rapids with a grain of salt. He's signed to play college ball at Stetson. And here's his scouting report from the 2005-06 DFE resource thread, which only supports the recent reports we've heard of him this past year: Green's best tool is his bat, as he uses quick, strong hands that allow him to employ a smooth, line-drive swing from the left side of the plate. Right now he has more doubles power than home run power, and he exhibits a strong eye at the plate. Green will slide over to either second or third base at the professional level, as he doesn't have the ideal range to stick at shortstop. He is accustomed to using a wood bat growing up in British Columbia, Canada, where, as noted above, high school players use wood bats.

I was a dishwasher for a fried chicken joint in the Dells for my first job, a place called Kalkas, starting the day I turned 14. My first several jobs were food service; dishwasher, bus boy, etc., and I hated every minute of it, but at the time I didn't realize I had other options (my mom was all about food service). I think the only thing I took from my first job is that you can remove gum off of just about anything with peanut butter. My dirtiest job was cleaning the dorms at UWM as a member of Project Crew, which did everything from cleaning bathrooms and residence areas to fulfilling work orders (replacing broken chairs, burnt curtains, etc.) and collecting trash and recyclables. You would be amazed what some people would do, and leave behind. The best job I had (including the job I have today) was working at a liquor store, Gilbert's on Oakland on UWM's campus. No one goes into, or leaves, a liquor store unhappy.

First of all, read this thread (the summer talent thread as mentioned above) and follow the links that are added if you haven't already: http://forum.brewerfan.net/viewtopic.php?t=3338 Here are the notes I took down for Melville and Meyer, two of the pitchers that I was particularly impressed with at the Aflac All-American Classic: Tim Melville My comments from my Aflac impressions column as linked in the link provided above: Melville reminded me of Nick Adenhart from the 2003 Aflac All-American Classic in that he made it pretty clear pretty early that he knew what he was doing on the mound. A very sound baseball player who didn't showcase any one absolutely unhittable pitch, but offered one of the better overall packages of anyone in attendance. He carved up the East lineup in order in his only inning of work, the first inning, and then impressed me with the way he handled the bat, ripping an RBI single through the hole on the right side of the infield in the sixth and driving a ball to deep left-center field in the eighth that allowed a runner to advance to third. Melville is one of those guys that just seems to get it, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him fly through the minor leagues when that opportunity is presented to him. My notes of watching Melville in the game: As a pitcher: Tall, high waist, angular delivery, slow wind, fast arm. Good curveball, mid-70s, 92-93 fastball. Keeps ball down. Clean delivery, impressive, worked 1-2-3 inning. As a hitter: Ripped RBI single through hole on right side of the infield. Great situational hitting with a man on base going the other way to take advantage of infielder covering second with runner on. Flyout to LCF to advance baserunner from second base to third in his second AB, another good situational AB. Scouting report from PG National: http://www.perfectgame.org/players/playerprofile.aspx?ID=31058 Alex Meyer My comments from my Aflac impressions column as linked in the link provided above: A very big boy, Meyer has the stuff to match his intimidating presence on the mound. He has a dominating fastball that should be able to sit in the low to mid-90s that shows pretty good late life deep in the strike zone. His slider is an equally dominant and powerful pitch, as he uncorked a few unhittable ones, and they got significantly better the more he threw them. He started a little on the wild side, similar to Jungmann, but looked very impressive after he settled down. He also did a nice job keeping the ball down in the zone, and in my opinion, offered the best fastball-breaking ball combo outside of Aaron Hicks. My notes of watching Meyer in the game: Very tall, projectable frame. Athletic, great body. Fastball shows good life. Great slider vs. Beckham. Very good curveball, good life, knows how to use it, should get better. Slider keeps getting better each times he throws it. Looked very good after settling down. Scouting report from PG National: http://www.perfectgame.org/players/playerprofile.aspx?ID=95899

Final: Billings 7, Helena 3 Helena Site Game Summary: Brewers Lose 7-3 The Helena Brewers lost Thursday evening 7-3, to the Billings Mustangs. The Mustangs started off the scoring in the 2nd inning with one run, and then tacked on another in the fourth. Helena responded with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the sixth, thanks to the hot bat of Caleb Rindl. The tie ball game would not last for long however, as the Mustangs came back the next inning with three runs. Brandon Waring, the league leader in home runs showed off his power with a three run bomb, to put his total to 19 on the season. Helena could only muster one more run the rest of the game, and Billings put up two more for good measure in the ninth inning, putting the game at its final score of 7-3. Kyle Lotzkar made a fine first impression for the Billings Mustangs going four hitless innings, with two walks and four strikeouts. It was the first appearance for Lotzkar after being promoted a couple of days earlier. Adam Pointer ended up with the win for the Stangs, coming on in relief in the fifth, going two innings with two earned runs. Jose Garcia was saddled with the loss for Helena, pitching the final three innings giving up five in the process. Helena will face Billings again Friday night at 7:05, at Kindrick Field. Not to poke fun at the Helena staff that wrote this, but it seems as though Caleb Gindl and Curt Rindal have been merged into one player. Helena Box Score: Brandon Waring, the hottest hitter in the Pioneer League, really had the H-Crew's number in this series, as did the entire Mustangs team. Lee Haydel adds a couple of more knocks, his 7th multi-hit game in his last 9 games. No extra-base hits leads to a pretty meager offensive output. Jose Garcia with 3 pretty ugly innings in late piggy-back relief. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_08_30_bilrok_helrok_1 Helena Game Log: Some rather quick innings for the H-Crew's offense, who squandered a huge opportunity in the 8th. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_log&gid=2007_08_30_bilrok_helrok_1

Final: Huntsville 1, Birmingham 4 Huntsville Site Game Summary Link, text follows http://www.huntsvillestars.com/news/news.asp?newsId=1343 Gonzalez Gets It Done Against Stars Gio Gonzalez worked seven strong innings and another timely home run doomed Huntsville in a 4-1 loss to Birmingham Thursday night through steady rain at Regions Park in the opener of a five-game series to close the regular season. The Barons improved to 29-37 in the second half and squared the season series at eight games apiece, while the Stars lost for an 11th time in their last 15 games to fall to 35-30 in the second half and saw their lead over Tennessee in the North Division trimmed to a half game after the Smokies win at Carolina. Alcides Escobar led off the fourth inning with a double, moved to third base on a Steve Sollmann sacrifice bunt and scored on a base hit to right field by Adam Heether. Gonzalez did not allow another hit and finished his performance walking one and fanning eight, the tenth time in 27 turns he fanned at least eight opposing hitters. Josh Fields worked a perfect eighth inning and Fernando Hernandez worked around a one-out triple by Escobar in the ninth to earn his ninth save. The Stars have now been held to fewer than four runs in seven of their last 10 games. Stars' starter Sam Narron blanked the Barons on three singles through five innings before Sean Smith legged out a two-out infield single and scored when Victor Mercedes followed with a two-run home run to left field, his sixth of the season, to put the home team on top 2-1. Narron was lifted after six innings, giving up two runs on five hits and striking out three. He lasted at least six innings for an eighth time in his last nine turns but suffered the loss to fall to 7-9, with three of the losses to the Barons. David Cook doubled in a one-out run against Jeff Housman in the seventh and Smith capped a four-hit night with a home run against Luis Pena in the eighth to finish the scoring. It was the first long ball for Smith and the first allowed by Pena. The Stars have allowed a home run in 12 of their last 15 games and 19 during that stretch. The series continues Friday night with right-hander Corey Thurman taking the hill for the Stars against Barons' left-hander Wes Whisler. Coverage begins at 6:50 pm central time and can be heard on 770 AM WVNN and via the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com. Huntsville Box Score: Four hits, two of which were a rare showing of extra-base power by Alcides Escobar (a double and a triple) pretty much shows how much the Stars, Manatees and Power have been struggling at the plate recently, wasting a strong start by Sam Narron. In the Stars defense, they were facing one of the minor leagues top pitchers all season, Gio Gonzalez, who now has 185 strikeouts (which leads the minor leagues) in 150 innings pitched. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_08_30_hunaax_biraax_1 Huntsville Game Log: The games that I have filled in with the link reports, it seems as though there is an oddly high number of caught stealings in games that Don Money manages (which according to some first-hand reports is nothing new). For any team struggling to score runs, base-running mistakes are especially costly. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_log&gid=2007_08_30_hunaax_biraax_1

Final: Omaha 2, Nashville 6 Nashville Site Game Summary Link, text follows http://www.nashvillesounds.com/news/news.asp?newsId=2540 Sounds Defeat Royals In Home Finale, 6-2 NASHVILLE - The Nashville Sounds wrapped up their regular season home schedule on a high note on Thursday evening at Greer Stadium, defeating the division-rival Omaha Royals, 6-2, in the finale of a four-game set. Nashville (86-54) recorded its ninth consecutive winning homestand (6-4) and finished the year with 48 victories at Greer Stadium, their most home wins since joining the Pacific Coast League in 1998. With a crowd of 3,983 fans on hand for the regular season home finale, the Sounds finished with a seasonal attendance of 411,959, the team's second-highest total in the last 14 years. Sounds starter Adam Pettyjohn (12-4) pulled into a tie for the PCL lead with his 12th Nashville victory and earned his 16th overall win of the year, one shy of the minor league lead, which is currently held by two hurlers The southpaw allowed two runs on five hits while striking out seven batters over seven-plus innings before leaving the game in the top of the eighth after being struck on the right shin by a Derek Wathan single. Pettyjohn's 16 wins this season are one shy of the minor league lead, which is currently held by two hurlers. The visitors took an early 1-0 lead when Mitch Maier drilled a leadoff solo homer to right off Pettyjohn. The blast was his third of the series and his 14th of the year. Nashville tied it in the bottom of the third when Chris Barnwell single to open the inning and later scored unearned on an errant throw by Royals catcher Paul Phillips following a Tyler Lumsden wild pitch. Omaha used the longball again in the fourth, taking a 2-1 lead on Justin Huber's third home run of the series - a two-out solo shot to center off Pettyjohn. The Sounds grabbed their first lead of the evening in the bottom of the frame, pulling ahead 3-2 with a pair of runs off Lumsden. With one out, Charles Thomas singled and scored when Andy Abad followed with an RBI double. After Mike Rivera singled to put runners on the corners, Chris Barnwell (3-for-3) plated Abad with the go-ahead run on a single to left. The Nashville pitching staff toppled a franchise record in the seventh inning when Pettyjohn struck out Chris Lubanski to end the frame. The punchout was the club's 1,118th of the season, one better than the previous record of 1,117 set by the 2005 staff. Vinny Rottino (2-for-3) gave the home team some breathing room in the bottom of the seventh inning with a three-run home run off Omaha reliever Jarod Plummer, who made his career Triple-A debut in the contest. The four-bagger, which scored Ozzie Chavez and Crabbe, was Rottino's 12th big fly of the season and gave the Sounds a 6-2 cushion. Chavez extended his longest hitting streak of the year to 10 games with a seventh-inning single. Lumsden (9-6) took the loss for Omaha after surrendering three runs (two earned) on eight hits in his six frames of action. The Sounds travel to Memphis on Friday to complete the 2007 regular season with a four-game series at Auto Zone Park against the cross-state rival Redbirds. Nashville has won eight of the 12 games between the clubs in 2007. Right-hander Mark DiFelice (4-1, 2.73) will start Friday's 7:10 p.m. series opener and face rehabbing Memphis left-hander Mark Mulder, who will make his first Triple-A appearance of the year. Baseball will return to Greer Stadium on the weekend of September 7-9, when the Sounds will participate in postseason action for the fourth time in the last five years. Nashville will host the final three games, as necessary, of the best-of-five American Conference Finals against a yet-to-be-determined opponent. Three teams are still alive in the four-team American Southern Division with four games to play. Nashville Audio: Rottino's 3-run home run: http://www.nashvillesounds.com/audio/2007/Highlight%208-30.mp3 Nashville Box Score: Rottino with a 3-run jack in the 7th to break the game open, while also adding a double and a walk, and Chris Barnwell goes 3 for 3 with a walk as the Sounds faced one of the harder throwing lefties in the minors in Tyler Lumsden. Adam Pettyjohn goes 7 strong as Steve Bray tosses 2 scoreless innings in relief. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_08_30_omaaaa_nasaaa_1 Nashville Game Log: Pettyjohn's 2 ER were both on solo shots, one to leadoff the game. Otherwise a fairly clean game by Pettyjohn facing a prospect-laden team despite this note in the 8th: Derek Wathan singles on a ground ball to pitcher Adam Pettyjohn. Injury Delay. With pitching as thin as it is, we certainly hope Pettyjohn's shin is ok. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_log&gid=2007_08_30_omaaaa_nasaaa_1