TheCrew07

Sounds Deal Two-Hit Shutout In Iowa Nashville's Brad Mills Tosses Six Scoreless; Gomez Homers Nashville Sounds http://www.milb.com/assets/images/0/7/6/75328076/cuts/Brad_Mills_418_46_Large_21w08mik_zro0lh7h.jpg (MIKE STRASINGER ) DES MOINES, Iowa - The Nashville Sounds shut out the Iowa Cubs Tuesday afternoon at Principal Park, picking up the 8-0 victory behind a quality start from Brad Mills and a three-inning save by Michael Blazek. Mills (3-0) held the I-Cubs to one hit through six scoreless innings to pick up the win and his third consecutive quality start. The outing extends his scoreless streak to 16 1/3 innings, the longest such streak by a Sounds pitcher this season, and trims his season ERA to 1.45. He fanned a season-high eight batters and walked one before Blazek took over in the seventh. The two combined for the team's third shutout victory of the season, with Blazek netting his first save for three scoreless frames. At the plate, Pete Orr, Hector Gomez, and Taylor Green each had three-hit, two-RBI outings to power the Sounds offense. Nashville broke out of the 0-0 tie with four runs in the fourth inning off of Iowa starting pitcher Chris Rusin, ending his scoreless streak at 12 1/3 innings. Sean Halton, 1-for-4, doubled to lead-off the fourth and moved to third on Gomez's infield single. Green followed with a double off the right-field wall to score Halton and give the Sounds a 1-0 lead with two on and no outs. Outfielder Kevin Mattison hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Nashville's second run, before Orr hit a two-run two-out single into shallow left field. The Sounds extended their lead to five runs in the sixth inning courtesy of a Rusin throwing error. Mills laid down his second sacrifice bunt on the play, moving both runners into scoring position, and reached safely on Rusin's errant run-scoring throw. Gomez added a pair of runs to the Sounds total with a home run in the seventh inning. The Sounds have eight homers over the last five games, after recording only two homers in their previous 11 contests. Green scored the team's final run in the ninth inning with his second RBI-double of the game, which scored Gomez. After a league-wide off day Wednesday, the Sounds will begin an eight-game homestand at Greer Stadium on Thursday night as they take on the Oklahoma City RedHawks (Astros affiliate). Right-handed pitcher Ariel Pena (2-2, 4.66) will make the start for Nashville, opposite the RedHawks RHP Nick Tropeano (1-3, 2.94). Broadcaster Jeff Hem has the call on 102.5 The Game. Nashville Boxscore So I'm not happy about the "veteraness" in AAA because I'm more interested in player development than winning games, but these old Nashville pitchers have certainly been getting the job done. Brad Mills hasn't had a season like this since he was 23 years old. He's been fantastic since joining the rotation. Michael Blazek gave the bullpen a much needed lift with his 3 scoreless innings allowing Nashville to salvage a split out of what very well could have been a 4 game sweep. Nashville Recap Nashville Gameday

Nashville just jumped out to 4-0 lead in the 4th, bets on how far Mills is pushed to minimize the BP's struggles?

Three Strikes: Week 13 May 13, 2014 by Aaron Fitt

Why Is Cuban Outfielder Alfredo Despaigne Playing In Mexico Using A Dominican Passport? May 13, 2014 by Ben Badler

Pipeline Perspectives: Gordon fits for Cubs at No. 4 Chicago would be wise to consider high school shortstop in First-Year Player Draft

Grichuk could be power source for Cardinals Outfield prospect an aggressive hitter who has potential as run producer

Pipeline Perspectives: Cubs need Jackson in Draft High school catcher/outfielder should be Chicago's top target with No. 4 pick

Anything is possible, albeit highly unlikely... if it was so easy to have 3 or more plus pitches, plus command, and plus pitchability then everyone would have the potential to be an Ace. Pitchers that can do it on 2 pitches like Ben Sheets are even more rare.

Thanks for stepping up, that sounds like a solid plan to me.

The Brewers are not linked to any of the 5 pitchers mentioned, though no team is linked to Franklin Perez. If Lara is in fact in play it would make sense that we won't see the Brewers listed as favorites for many if any other players since the Crew will have to go somewhat cheap on the rest of their signings. July 2 Preview: Projecting The Top International Pitching Prospects May 13, 2014 by Ben Badler

Sounds Slip Late, Lose 2-1 In Extras Nashville's Nelson Throws 9 K's in Quality Start; Hermida Homers Nashville Sounds http://www.milb.com/assets/images/6/2/2/75265622/cuts/Jimmy_Nelson_416_57_Large_hymun6pz_l6pu6so5.jpg (MIKE STRASINGER ) DES MOINES, Iowa - The Nashville Sounds blew a one-run lead late Monday night at Principal Park, before losing in the 10th inning to the Iowa Cubs by a 2-1 final margin. Down 1-0 in the ninth inning, the I-Cubs leveled the game on Lars Anderson's solo home run off Sounds closer Donovan Hand (0-2), which forced extras. In the 10th, Hand allowed running singles to the top of Iowa's order with Javier Baez hitting the game-winning single through the hole at second base. Hand was charged the loss and his third blown save. Earlier in the game, right-handed pitcher Jimmy Nelson helped guide the Sounds defensively, rendering the Cubs scoreless through six innings of two-hit baseball to log his eighth consecutive quality start of the season. Nelson faced a jam in the fourth inning, with two runners in scoring position and no outs. The 24-year-old top prospect escaped without any damage by firing two strikeouts and getting catcher Eli Whiteside to groundout to end the inning. He twirled nine strikeouts in the contest, matching a season-high and finishing one shy of a career single-game high. He walked three, uncorked one wild pitch and hit one batter. Nashville starting pitchers have now allowed only 17 runs in the last 75.2 innings over a 14-game stretch for a 2.02 ERA. Offensively, Sounds outfielder Jeremy Hermida gave Nashville its 1-0 advantage with a solo home run to dead centerfield off of the league's ERA-leader Tsuyoshi Wada. The home run marks Hermida's third of the season and the team's seventh over the last four games, after recording only two homers in their previous 11 contests. Outfielder Eugenio Velez led the team with three hits for his 11th multi-hit game of the season. Infielder Irving Falu, 0-for-5, failed to record a base knock, closing his team- and season-best hit streak at 11 games, during which he batted .342 (13-for-38). Wada kept the Cubs in the game by holding Nashville to one run on six hits over seven innings of work. Eduardo Figueroa (1-0) was awarded the win for pitching a spotless 10th inning. Sounds relievers Dustin Molleken and Brent Leach combined to work two solid innings for Nashville before Hand stepped to the hill in the ninth. The Sounds play the final game of their eight-game road trip Tuesday at 12:05 p.m. against the Iowa Cubs. Left-handed pitcher Brad Mills (2-0, 1.72) will make the start for Nashville, opposite Iowa's RHP Chris Rusin (2-4, 3.58). Broadcaster Jeff Hem has the call on 102.5 The Game. Nashville Boxscore Geez another heartbreaking loss... to the Cubs no less. Jimmy Nelson fantastic once again, just 6 baserunners in his 6 innings on 2 hits, 3 walks, and 1 HBP. The walks obviously aren't good, but in this case since he only gave 2 hits they didn't hurt anything other than his pitch count. Unfortunately Donovan Hand coughed up the lead again and the Sounds were walked off. He's not the guy I would have looked to for multiple innings tonight after he blew the save in the 9th, he's been cold since April 30th. Nashville Recap Nashville Gameday

Bandits beat Rattlers 4-3 Quad Cities wins sixth straight By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Quad Cities River Bandits and the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers met on a foggy Monday night at Neuroscience Group Field and it was the River Bandits who came out on top with a 4-3 win. Conrad Gregor drove in three runs, including the tie-breaking run in the seventh, for Quad Cities. The River Bandits (18-18) got a pair of two-out doubles in the top of the third inning to take the lead. Jack Mayfield drove in the first run of the game with a double. Gregor followed with another double to give the Bandits a 2-0 lead. Wisconsin (16-20) got a run in the bottom of the third inning. Taylor Brennan's two-out infield single drove Jose Pena in from third base to cut into deficit. The River Bandits got their lead back to two runs in the top of the fifth inning. James Ramsay walked to start the inning, He stole second and went to third on a single by Mayfield. Gregor sent Ramsay home with a single. Chris McFarland, who was named the Midwest League Player of the Week earlier in the day on Monday, tied the game in the bottom of the fifth. Steve Halcomb reached second on an error to start the inning. Johnny Davis singled with one out to put runners on the corners. Davis stole second with McFarland at the plate to get two runners in scoring position. McFarland singled back through the middle of the diamond to drive in both Halcomb and Davis to tie the game 3-3. McFarland's single extended his hitting streak to nine games, the longest hitting streak by a Timber Rattlers player this season. Wisconsin had an opportunity to take the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning against Jandel Gustave, the third River Bandit pitcher of the game. Michael Ratterree doubled with one out and moved to third on a wild pitch. Gustave got out of the inning with the game still tied after a popout and a strikeout. An error helped the Rattlers in the fifth. An error would hurt them in the seventh. Chan-Jong Moon reached on an error to start the frame. He went from first to third on a hit-and-run single by Mayfield. Gregor's fly ball to center was deep enough to drive in Moon with the go-ahead run. Gustave retired ten in a row after the double by Ratterree in the sixth. Omar Garcia gave the Rattlers a little hope with a two-out single in the ninth, but Gustave got a strikeout - his fourth in four scoreless innings - to close out Wisconsin. The River Bandits have won six straight games and are back at the .500 mark for the first time since they were 7-7 on April 17. Game two of the series is Tuesday night at 6:35pm. Tyler Alexander (2-3, 5.24) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Quad Cities has named Edison Frias (1-1, 5,14) as their starter. Ticket prices will be thrown back to 1995 prices of $5 for a box seat, $4 for a reserved seat, and $3 for grass seating as part of this Throwback Game presented by Appvion on Tuesday night. Timber Rattlers players will wear jerseys based on those worn by the team in its inaugural season, too. The Rattlers continue to celebrate their 20th anniversary season presented by Bergstrom Automotive with the fourth anniversary team bobblehead in the series of nine that will be given away this season. The first 1,000 fans to attend this game will receive a bobblehead of David Ortiz, a Timber Rattler in 1996 and a three-time World Series Champion with the Boston Red Sox, courtesy of Fox Communities Credit Union. Show your business card when you purchase a ticket and for $13.50 you will receive a box seat ticket, a beverage and your choice of brat or hot dog. The offer is also available to senior citizens (55 & older) courtesy of Baker Tilly, WVBO, and AM1280 WNAM. If you can't make it out to the game, there are many ways to catch the action. MyNEW32's Sports Showdown will have the game on television starting with their pregame show at 6:00pm. The radio broadcast can be heard on AM1280, WNAM or IHeartRadio starting at 6:15pm. Subscribers of MiLB.TV can watch the game on the internet. WP: Jandel Gustave (2-2) LP: Trevor Seidenberger (2-1) TIME: 2:55 ATTN: 423 Wisconsin Boxscore First off major props to the ground crew, the Appleton area got 2.15" of rain today and yet they somehow managed to get this game in. It was 14-15 degrees warmer in Grand Chute than it was Green Bay this afternoon which probably helped and there was standing water on the warning track and in some spots in the outfield, by the end of the game the stadium was fogged in as bad it was here in Green Bay, but they still managed to play a game. As far as the game went, Preston Gainey started out locating relatively well, missing up on occasion. As the game progressed his command continued to deteriorate and he didn't even make through 5. Most of the balls put in play against him were up and over the heart of the plate. If not for Taylor Brennan single handedly saving hits in the 2nd the damage could have been worse, I hope both of his plays make the highlights; the first a pick on a looping grounder with very strong throw to 1st and the second a diving stop on a grounder to get out of the inning. Brennan is really growing on me. We've guessed quite a bit at Clint Coulter's defense based on his stats but as far as I can tell the only thing that's really changed is he no longer just misses balls which is significant improvement from last year, but doesn't mean much for his long-term future at the position. He still doesn't get down to block balls in the dirt, he tries to pick them with his glove and while Rattler pitchers had 3 WPs in the game, all them could have been prevented by getting down and blocking the ball properly. In fact the 3rd WP I thought should have been a Passed Ball, it was about 4 inches off the deck and Clint just reached down for it but went too far and the ball caromed of his glove through the left handed batter's box. There was also a ball in the dirt on a ball 4 that got through him to screen which didn't advance a runner. The bottom line is that I've yet to see him get down and block a ball in his Brewer career. If he's not able to get down and block, he's just not a big league catcher. Michael Ratterree has his first multi-hit game since 4-25 and his 3rd multi-hit game of the season. The story at least early in the game was Michael Feliz of Quad Cities, he was absolutely filthy through his 52 pitches, Coulter landed the only true hit against him. On Angel Ortega's triple the CF slipped in the wet grass and ball landed 10 feet away from him before he could get up. I was impressed with Feliz and he looked to be throwing mid 90s but the TV crew didn't mention anything so I went and checked his BA scouting report: Somehow Quad Cities only has 13 HRs as a team but they are only 4th worst team in that category, West Michigan only has 9 through 37 games and is at the bottom of the standings in that regard. Wisconsin Recap Wisconsin Gameday

I don't even know what to say to this as it is so absurd, what a completely biased opinion based on nothing more than a hot start. Objectively we don't even have the best talent in our division, much less top in 3 MLB. The Brewers have been fun follow, we couldn't have asked for a better start, but that doesn't represent the true talent of this team. Unless of course you really think we have 3 sub 3 ERA pitchers on the staff, a closer who's only going to give up a run every 20 appearances, Reynolds is going to hit 46 HRs at age 30, and so on down the line. If so that brings me back to my initial statement.

Sweet! I missed this over the weekend. 2014 MLB Draft: Top Tools Staff Report Friday, May 09, 2014

Exactly what you would think, check it out! 2014 MLB Draft: Prospects 1-100 Allan Simpson Monday, May 12, 2014

Chris McFarland's award was also noted in the LR by MH! Offensive Players of the Week For the week ending May 11

As MH noted in today's LR congrats to Tyler Cravy and Jed Bradley! Pitchers of the Week For the week ending May 11 Rusin is technically not a prospect anymore as he has too much MLB time.

T-Rat game still on, that would be an epic job by the grounds crew considering the periodic heavy rain fall in the area until around noon.

As far as the return... well I know I'm repeating myself here but personally I'm not really all that concerned with "immediate help", I'd rather get better talent. I'd go down to A ball to get a prospect if I thought he had a decent shot to be something special. With a fairly large stable of back of the rotation types available we don't have a pressing need for pitching. Marco won't be worth a potential impact pitcher in AA, not unless some best case bidding war opened up for him and a team was desperate, so I'd be okay having to wait 2-3 years on the player to develop. I say "player" because while a pitcher would be ideal, we need impact potential wherever we can find it... 3B, 2B, 1B, SS (depending on how Segura develops), CF, and LF. I'd even lump RF into the mix as who knows where Braun will be playing in 2017. I'm not saying that Segura, Davis, or Gennett won't be average starters, but to me that's replaceable and I'm not going to turn away someone with the chance to be special just because we already have a player at that position. I was hoping Segura would be special and even if he is another impact SS could be converted to 2B. The point here is that I'm not looking for another Gabe Gross, I'm looking for players who have the potential to be 4 WAR or so in their best years.

Subscriber content. July 2 Notebook: Possible $1 Million Targets For Astros, Yankees May 12, 2014 by Ben Badler

I'd be shocked if the T-Rats play considering how much rain we've been getting.

2014 Draft Preview: Kolek Sets New Bar For Texas Heat May 12, 2014 by John Manuel

Stephenson delivers best outing of season Without his fastball, Reds' top prospect keeps Pensacola off board

Subscriber content. Cooper focuses on the downside of specialization, which is somewhat validating for anyone involved in HS sports fighting the specialization trend, it's not just a baseball thing. 2014 Draft Preview: Young Pitchers Bring Heat, But At What Cost? May 12, 2014 by J.J. Cooper

and Fires. "Fiers", and he no longer qualifies as a prospect given his previous MLB experience, and even without that experience he'd be too old.