TheCrew07

Sounds Blow Eight-Run Lead, Suffer Heartbreaking Loss In Iowa Herrera Goes 4-for-5 With Four RBIs For Nashville In Losing Effort Nashville Sounds DES MOINES, Iowa - The Nashville Sounds squandered an early eight-run lead en route to suffering a heartbreaking 12-11 loss to the Iowa Cubs on Sunday afternoon at Principal Park. Nashville (20-17) -- which has led in eight of its 12 road losses this season -- held leads of 8-0 and 11-4 in the game but did most of its damage early, scoring just once in the final six innings against the Iowa bullpen as the I-Cubs mounted their rally. Iowa scored five runs in the sixth and three in the eighth to complete its improbable comeback. The Sounds plated a season-high run total for the third straight contest (nine on Friday, 10 on Saturday, 11 on Sunday). The club is batting a healthy .370 (44-for-119) over that three-game stretch. Sounds batters pounded out 14 hits on the afternoon, led by the top of the order. The first three batters in the Nashville lineup (Irving Falu, Pete Orr, Elian Herrera) combined to go 9-for-15 with seven runs scored on the day. Herrera finished a team-best 4-for-5 with four RBIs in the losing effort. With 10 runs on Saturday and 11 on Sunday, Nashville has scored a double-digit run total in consecutive games for the first time since August 2011. The Sounds got out to a fast start against right-hander Dallas Beeler, sending 10 batters to the plate and taking advantage of three Iowa errors in the top of the first inning to grab a 5-0 lead. Falu reached on an error and Orr singled to open the contest before Herrera dropped down a bunt single. Beeler misfired on the play to allow Falu to race home with the day's first run. After Hunter Morris was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Jeremy Hermida hit a comebacker and Beeler committed his second throwing error of the inning to allow Orr to score for a 2-0 lead. Eugenio Velez doubled the Sounds' advantage to 4-0 when he followed with a two-run double to center and Kevin Mattison plated the fifth Nashville run with an RBI single. With the bases loaded and still no outs, Beeler avoided further trouble by striking out Alfredo Figaro and inducing an inning-ending double play grounder from Falu to escape the jam. The Nashville offense continued its early success in the second frame, extending the lead to 8-0 against Beeler. Orr led off with a double and raced home on a Herrera single before Morris blasted a two-run homer to right, the slugger's fifth longball of the season. Iowa got onto the board in the home half of the second, halving the Nashville lead to 8-4. After loading the bases against Figaro with no outs on a pair of walks sandwiched around a single, Logan Watkins emptied the bags with a three-run double into the left field corner. Later in the frame, Beeler helped his own cause with an RBI single that cut the Sounds' lead to four. After setting a season high with 10 runs last night, Nashville reached that total in the top of the third frame today as Herrera delivered a two-run single to bring in Falu (bunt single) and Orr (double) to stretch the visitors' lead to 10-4. Following Beeler's departure in the fourth, Nashville scored only once in the final six frames, a fifth-inning unearned run following Iowa's fourth error of the afternoon. Herrera provided that score with a two-out RBI single against Cubs reliever Carlos Pimentel, his fourth hit of the day. Iowa made it a two-run ballgame by plating five runs in the sixth inning against a pair of Nashville relievers to draw within 11-9. Catcher Eli Whiteside smacked a two-run homer off Lowe to get the rally started. Later in the frame, Sounds right-hander Jeremy Jeffress gave up a two-out, two-run single to Lars Anderson. Chris Valaika followed with a run-scoring knock of his own to cut the lead to 11-9, but the Cubs left fielder was thrown out trying to stretch the hit to a double by a Jeremy Hermida/Sean Halton relay to bring the inning to a close. The I-Cubs completed their comeback in the eighth, when they scored three times without getting the ball out of the infield to pull in front for the first time all afternoon. After Iowa put runners on second and third with one out against Dustin Molleken, closer Donovan Hand was summoned from the bullpen and opened his outing by issuing two straight walks, the second of which, to Lars Anderson, forced home Jonathan Mota to reduce the Nashville lead to one. After Hand fanned Valaika for the second out, the right-hander uncorked a wild pitch that allowed both the tying and go-ahead runs to score when the hurler failed to cover home on the play. Iowa reliever Blake Parker worked around a Matt Pagnozzi single in the top of the ninth to close out the improbable I-Cubs victory, earning his sixth save of the year in the process. Hand (0-1) took the loss for the Sounds after suffering his second blown save in his last three trips to the hill. The team continue the series with a 6:35 p.m. matchup on Monday evening that will feature an excellent pitching matchup. Brewers top prospect Jimmy Nelson (4-1, 2.00), who ranks 5th in the PCL in ERA, will man the bump for the Sounds to face Iowa left-hander and PCL ERA leader Tsuyoshi Wada (2-1, 1.21). Nashville Boxscore I was following the game with the updated MiLB App (which now covers all levels down to Helena) and could not believe what I was seeing. The pitching was just awful with a huge cushion, Donovan Hand's rough stretch continues... Not much else to say. Nashville Recap Nashville Gameday

Nashville is still under rain delay, I really wanted to listen to the Sounds today but I'm rapidly running out of time. Regardless if they play I'll get the summary and story up late tonight when I get home.

Piscotty homers twice as Redbirds roll Cardinals' No. 3 prospect drives in five, continues scorching May

Fiers Deals Career-Best in Sounds 10-1 Win Nashville Batters Record Season Best 10 Runs and 18 Hits Nashville Sounds http://www.milb.com/assets/images/2/5/4/75069254/cuts/_MPS0571_Large_1u9tc5di_g0nsn4w3.jpg DES MOINES, Iowa. - Sounds starting pitcher Mike Fiers (6-1) racked up a career-best 13 strikeouts through 6 2/3 scoreless innings Saturday night at Principal Park in the Nashville Sounds series opening 10-1 win against the Iowa Cubs. Fiers earned his sixth win of the season, scattering five Iowa hits en route to his sixth quality start. The 28-year-old fired 117 pitches on the night and increased his league-leading strikeout total to 64 on the year. Fiers has now recorded double-digit strikeouts in four of his seven starts this season, which included his previous best 12 strikeouts that he recorded on April 19 at Omaha. Offensively, the Sounds worked a season-best 18 hits off of Iowa pitchers to score 10 runs, also a season-high. Each batter in the Sounds' line-up recorded a hit, including Fiers, who doubled in the sixth. Five batters recorded multiple hits. Hector Gomez put the Sounds on the board in the first inning with his solo home run over the left-field wall. In the following inning, Taylor Green drove in outfielder Sean Halton by slapping an RBI-double just inside of third base to make it a 2-0 ballgame. Sounds first baseman Hunter Morris, 2-for-5, added to the Sounds lead with a two-out RBI-single through the gap at second base to score Gomez, who doubled. Morris came around to score on Halton's home run. Nashville picked up an additional run in the fourth inning via Gomez's sacrifice-fly; one in the seventh from Halton's RBI-single; and another in the eighth courtesy of Gomez's infield single scoring Green. Hainley Statia joined the hit parade in the ninth inning with his two-run pinch-hit double. Both Gomez and Halton finished with three hits and three RBIs. Halton has logged 10 RBIs over his last six games and extends his hit-streak to a season-best six games. Iowa scored its lone run off of Sounds reliever Kyle Heckathorn with two hits in the eighth inning. Johnnie Lowe stepped in to log a scoreless ninth inning for Nashville. Cubs pitcher Eric Jokisch (2-3) was charged with the loss, his third, allowing six runs, five earned, on nine hits over four innings of work. I-Cubs first baseman Chris Valaika and Manager Marty Pevey were both ejected in the ninth inning by first base umpire Chris Gonzalez. The Sounds play game two of their four-game series against the I-Cubs on Sunday afternoon. Right-handed pitcher Alfredo Figaro (0-1, 4.34) will make the start for Nashville, opposite Iowa's RHP Dallas Beller (1-0, 1.50). Broadcaster Jeff Hem has the call on 102.5 The Game. Nashville Boxscore Nashville Recap Nashville Gameday

Wisconsin crack Kernels 6-3 McFarland extends hit streak with three hits, Diaz & Banda combine for 13 Ks By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers got a big day from Chris McFarland and their tandem of pitchers to defeat the Cedar Rapids Kernels 6-3 on Saturday afternoon at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Victor Diaz and Anthony Banda combined for thirteen strikeouts on the hill as McFarland finished the game a double shy of the cycle. Diaz, the Wisconsin starting pitcher, got the first two outs in the top of the first inning. Then, Chad Christensen doubled to right. Mitch Garver knocked the next pitch to left for a single to score Christensen and the Kernels (19-16) led 1-0. The Rattlers (16-19) tied the game on an odd play in the bottom of the second inning. They had loaded the bases with one out on a walk to Taylor Brennan and consecutive singles by Omar Garcia and Steve Halcomb. Angel Ortega's routine flyball to right was dropped. The Kernels got a force play at second, but Brennan scored to tie the game. Kernels starting pitcher Ryan Eades hit a wild streak in the bottom of the third inning. McFarland started the inning with a single to extend his hitting streak to eight games. Clint Coulter drew a walk and Jose Pena blooped in a single to load the bases. Eades would throw a wild pitch with Michael Ratterree at the plate to let McFarland score the go ahead run. Eades retired Ratterree, but threw another wild pitch with Taylor Brennan at the plate and Coulter scored for a 3-1 lead. Later in the inning, Steve Halcomb dropped in a single to right and Pena scored the final run of the inning. Diaz settled in after the first inning. He went five innings and would match his professional career high for strikeouts in a game with seven. Diaz hit a batter, walked none, and only gave up one run to put himself in position to pick up his first win of the season. The Kernels scored a run in the top of the sixth off Banda. Christensen walked and stole second to start the inning. Bryan Haar doubled to center to send Christensen home and cut the Wisconsin lead to a pair of runs. The red-hot McFarland, who had tripled in the fourth inning, put the Rattlers back up by three. He launched a solo home run off the scoreboard in left-center with one out in the bottom of the sixth. McFarland is 16-for-32 during his hitting streak. Omar Garcia made the score 6-2 in the bottom of the seventh with a triple off Derek Penilla to score Brennan. Wisconsin would load the bases in the inning and McFarland would get a shot at the first cycle in Timber Rattlers history, but Yorman Landa, the third Kernels pitcher of the afternoon, struck him out to end the inning. Banda walked the first two batters in the top of the eighth inning and the Kernels had runners at the corners with two outs. Haar cashed in one of the runs with a single. Then, Banda retired the potential tying run with his fifth strikeout to take a 6-3 lead into the ninth. The Kernels went down in order in the ninth inning and Banda, who struck out six over four innings, recorded his first professional save. The Timber Rattlers are off on Mother's Day and return to action with a home game against the Quad Cities River Bandits on Monday night. Preston Gainey (1-2, 2.59) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Quad Cities has named Michael Feliz (1-1, 5.52) as their starting pitcher for Monday. Game time is 6:35pm. Monday is a Qdoba Q*Monday. Purchase a lunch entrée at either Qdoba location in Appleton (3813 E. Calumet Street or 4343 W. Wisconsin Avenue) on Monday before the Rattlers host the River Bandits to receive a ticket to any Monday home game during the 2014 season. If you can't make it out to the game on Monday, there are several ways to catch the action. MyNEW 32's Sports Showdown will televise the game starting with their pregame show at 6:00pm. The radio broadcast will be on AM1280, WNAM and IHeartRadio starting with the pregame show at 6:15pm. Subscribers can watch the game on MiLB.TV. HOME RUN: WIS: Chris McFarland (6th, 0 on in 6th inning off Derrick Penilla, 1 out) WP: Victor Diaz (1-1) LP: Ryan Eades (3-4) SAVE: Anthony Banda (1) TIME: 2:49 ATTN: 4,418 Wisconsin Boxscore Victor Diaz had his best day as a professional, Chris was so enthusiastic talking about Diaz that I *almost* picked up MiLB TV to watch the game which I told myself I wasn't going to do this year. Once I buy it, all I do all summer is sit around and watch baseball because I feel obligated to get my money's worth. Diaz threw 45 of 69 pitches for strikes, just a fantastic outing. Anthony Banda did about what he's mostly done all year, but he also piled on the SOs with 6 in his 4 innings. His ERA is fairly representative of his talent as well, at least as a starter. Chris McFarland (3-5,3B,HR) is in the process of turning his career completely around, who of us would have guessed or even would have believed that he would have 6 HRs before June? He only had 3 HRs in 87 games last season. Baseball players just normally don't dedicate themselves to the weight room like he did, good for him. Outside of McFarland this game was about the bottom of the order as Taylor Brennan (2-3,BB), Omar Garcia (3-4,3B), and Steven Halcomb (2-3,BB) all had multi-hit games. Wisconsin Recap Wisconsin Gameday

While I worried the Brewers would draft him, I'm also not liking these injury guys dropping out of the top of the draft, it just means less talent available for the Brewers' pick. UNLV Ace Erick Fedde To Have Tommy John Surgery May 10, 2014 by Aaron Fitt

Someone could volunteer to put together a community P50, there haven't been formal discussions on the P50 in some time as far as I know.

Subscriber content. Lambo In Limbo After Trade For Davis May 10, 2014 by John Perrotto

Subscriber content. Staying Healthy A Challenge For Cubs’ Prospects May 10, 2014 by Gordon Wittenmyer

TH bringing it strong like always, nothing insightful or new. Subscriber content. Hellweg Another Victim Of TJ Epidemic May 10, 2014 by Tom Haudricourt

I said this exact same thing to you 2 weeks ago and you said the race would be basically wrapped up at the end of April. I was just going to post similar... so let's see, over the top fanboyism=being a true fan, sky is falling=completely unrealistic fan. Got it.

Pagnozzi, Velez Power Sounds Past Sky Sox Nashville Avoids Sweep, Reclaims First Place Nashville Sounds http://www.milb.com/assets/images/8/5/2/74956852/cuts/VelezRed_p4kztf1y_qp2kva0o.jpg (Mike Strasinger / Nashville Sounds) COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Catcher Matt Pagnozzi belted a pair of home runs and Eugenio Velez collected four RBIs to lead the Nashville Sounds to a 9-7 victory over the Colorado Springs Sky Sox on Friday evening at Security Service Field in the finale of a four-game series. The Sounds (19-16) -- who moved back into first place by a half-game over Round Rock -- plated seven unanswered runs at one point en route to the victory, which snapped the club's four-game losing streak. Nashville's nine runs marked a season high for the club. Pagnozzi, who was activated from the disabled list earlier in the day, produced Nashville's first multi-HR effort of the year during his 2-for-4 evening. Velez also went deep for the Sounds in the contest. Colorado Springs took 3-0 lead against Sounds starter Ariel Pena in the bottom of the first inning. Jason Pridie -- who belted two home runs of his own in the game -- put the home team on the board when he drilled a one-out solo shot, the outfielder's fourth of the year. Later in the frame, the Sky Sox tacked on a pair of two-out runs when Kyle Parker (3-for-4) doubled and Ben Paulsen walked before both scored on Angelys Nina's triple into the left field corner. In the top of the second inning, Pagnozzi homered in his first at-bat since late April to cut the Nashville deficit to 3-1. The backstop smacked a two-out solo homer to right-center off Sky Sox starter Christian Friedrich. The Sounds got another run back in the third when Pete Orr drew a one-out walk and later scored on Sean Halton's RBI single up the middle, making it a 3-2 contest. The Sky Sox extended their lead to 4-2 in the fourth when Nina legged out his second triple of the night then scored on a safety squeeze bunt laid down by Jackson Williams. Nashville tied the contest at 4-4 with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth, chasing Friedrich from the game in the process. Elian Herrera (2-for-4) singled and moved to second when Halton drew a walk before scoring on a single by Hunter Morris (3-for-5). After reliever Chad Bettis took over on the hill for Colorado Springs, Velez hit a run-scoring fielder's choice to plate Halton and knot the game. Velez, who tied the game in the fifth, gave Nashville its first lead of the night in the seventh when he slugged a three-run homer to right to greet new Sky Sox reliever Greg Burke. The two-out shot, which plated Halton and Morris to give the Sounds a 7-4 advantage, was Velez's fourth roundtripper of the year. After Hector Gomez singled off Burke to extend the inning, Pagnozzi continued his stellar night when he belted his second longball of the evening to stretch the lead to 9-4. Pena (2-2) picked up a win for Nashville for the second straight start. The right-hander allowed four runs on eight hits over six innings of work, striking out five batters along the way. Brent Leach worked two perfect relief innings behind Pena; the southpaw has now worked 10 1/3 straight scoreless frames over his last seven appearances. Dustin Molleken took over in the ninth and surrendered a two-out, three-run homer to Pridie to allow Colorado Springs to draw within a pair at 9-7. Closer Donovan Hand was summoned from the bullpen by Rick Sweet and retired Ryan Wheeler on a groundout to slam the door and earn his seventh save of the year. Irving Falu went 1-for-4 with a pair of walks in the contest to extend the Sounds' longest hitting streak of the year to 10 games. He has reached base safely in each of his last 20 games, hitting in 19 of them. The Sounds continue their road trip on Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa, where they will play the 7:05 p.m. opener of a four-game series against the Iowa Cubs at Principal Park. Right-hander Mike Fiers (5-1, 1.86) will toe the slab for Nashville to face I-Cubs left-hander Eric Jokisch (2-2, 3.65). Nashville Boxscore Quite the offensive outburst after yesterday's exercise in futility. Ariel Pena's up and down season continues, if you looked at the stats I posted earlier today you noticed he has one of the lowest strike percentages on the team. Not that it's ever a good thing, but you don't want to be pitching from behind in the extremely high elevation of Colorado Springs. Nashville Recap Nashville Gameday

Kernels double up Rattlers in 10-5 win Coulter homers in thrd straight game for Wisconsin By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers http://www.milb.com/assets/images/1/4/2/74956142/cuts/Ortega_Homer_May_9_c7xdunq1_dpt0yo0s.jpg Omar Garcia greets Angel Ortega at home plate after Ortega's home run in the bottom of the sixth inning on Friday night. (Ann Mollica/Wisconsin Timber Rattlers) GRAND CHUTE, WI - Clint Coulter and Chris McFarland stayed hot for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, but it wasn't enough on Friday night against the Cedar Rapids Kernels. The Kernels banged out eighteen hits in a 10-5 victory over the Rattlers at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Cedar Rapids (19-15) had four hits off Wisconsin starter Zach Quintana in the first inning, but managed just one run. Bryan Haar's infield single with the bases loaded scored the Kernels run. Wisconsin (15-19) answered immediately in the bottom of the first inning. Johnny Davis dragged a bunt single to start the frame. An errant pickoff throw let Davis move to second. McFarland sent a single to left and Davis scored on the play to tie the game. McFarland's single extended his current hitting streak to seven games. The Kernels took advantage of a pair of Wisconsin errors in the top of the third inning to score three runs. Engelb Vielma reached on an infield single and a throwing error moved him to second base at the start of the inning. Mitch Garver drew a one out walk after Vielma had moved on to third base. Vielma would score on a sacrifice fly by Zack Larson. Bryan Haar's single to left was misplayed and allowed Garver to come around to score another run. Haar wound up on third base and he scored on Jason Kanzler's single to give the Kernels a 4-1 lead. The Rattlers got a run back in the bottom of the third. McFarland doubled with one out. Coulter's sharp single to left sent McFarland to third. David Denson chopped a single through the right side of the infield to get McFarland home and the Rattlers were down 4-2. Tristan Archer came on to pitch for Wisconsin at the beginning of the top of the fourth. The Kernels had runners at first and second with two outs. Then, Garver doubled to left to drive in both runners and the Kernels were up 6-2. In the bottom of the fifth, Coulter blasted his eighth home run of the season. His leadoff, line drive homer was just to the right of the batter's eye in center and landed in the Wisconsin bullpen. Coulter has a home run in his last three games and he leads the Midwest League in homers. But, Cedar Rapids got that run back in the top of the sixth. Garver doubled to left to drive in Vielma who had singled to start the inning. Wisconsin used the home run to pull back within two runs in the bottom of the sixth. Omar Garcia singled with one out and stole second base. Angel Ortega crushed the next pitch to left for his second homer of the season. The Rattlers, who lead the league in homers as a team with 30, were down 7-5. The Kernels tacked on three runs in the top of the eighth inning to reach double digits in runs. Vielma tripled to left, his fourth hit of the night, to start the inning. Chad Christensen singled over the drawn-in infield and Vielma scored his fourth run of the game. Harvey Martin took over for Tristan Archer after the single by Christensen and allowed a single and issued a walk to force in a run. Kanzler drove in his second run of the game with another single and the Kernels were up 10-5. Slegers struck out seven over 5-2/3 innings while walking one to earn his fourth win of the season. Reliever Todd Van Steensel recorded six strikeouts in 2-1/3 innings. Christian Powell, the third Cedar Rapids pitcher of the night, issued three walks in the ninth, but ended the game with a strikeout, the fourteenth of the night for the Kernels. The final game of the series Saturday afternoon. Victor Diaz (0-1, 5.14) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Cedar Rapids will send Ryan Eades (3-3, 2.87) to the mound. Game time is 1:05pm. The Timber Rattlers host their sixth annual Bark in the Park event on Saturday afternoon. The left field berm will be set aside for pets and pet owners to enjoy the game. Tickets are $6 for humans and free for dogs. The first 150 pets to attend the game will receive a bag of gourmet pet food from Fromm Foods. There will also be a pet food drive to benefit the Pet Pantry of Wisconsin. Click this link for more details. If you can't make it out to the game, tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or IHeartRadio starting with the pregame show at 12:45pm. Saturday's game is also available to subscribers of MiLB.TV. HOME RUNS: WIS: Clint Coulter (8th, 0 on in 5th inning off Aaron Slegers, 0 out) Angel Ortega (2nd, 1 on in 6th inning off Aaron Slegers, 1 out) WP: Aaron Slegers (4-0) LP: Zach Quintana (0-3) TIME: 3:19 ATTN: 3,668 Wisconsin Boxscore So I've been thinking about something positive to say about Zach Quintana since he exited the game, but I just have nothing. Yes shoddy defense cost him in the 3rd, but if not for 2 great defensive plays on rockets to Michael Ratterree and Omar Garcia the damage would have been much worse, the errors allowed extra bases on what were already hits, everything was hit hard in the inning. He was all over the place and he doesn't have any kind of strike out pitch, at least that he displayed this evening. I think his ERA is an accurate reflection of where he's currently at as a pitcher. Tristan Archer showed a little bit, he didn't locate well either, but at least he can induce some swings and misses. I've been surprised by Harvey Martin's early struggles, I was expecting more. I thought this pitching staff might be a strength coming into the season but thus far they have allowed the 5th most runs in the league. Johnny Davis had a tough night. He bunted in his first 3 ABs; the first for a hit, the second should have been a hit but he was called out, the 3rd he popped up, in the next AB he struck out on a bad pitch, but he walked in the 9th. Unfortunately he also misplayed or bobbled every ground ball hit to him in LF during the game but was only charged with 1 error, and he turned a single into a triple to start the 8th by trying to make a diving catch and coming up completely empty. Omar Garcia (2-4, 2 SB), Chris McFarland (2-5,SB), and Clint Coulter (2-3,HR,2BB) had the multi-hit games. Coulter's HR came on a very easy swing to the deepest part of the ballpark in right center, it was wind aided, but still impressive. For a little dude Angel Ortega has some decent pull power, his HR was a no doubter to LF. Wisconsin Recap Wisconsin Gameday

AAA pitching for the year... Ariel Pena has 27 SOs in 23 IP but only has a SO:BB of 2.25 because of those 13 walks. [pre]Rk Age Tm G GS W L SV IP H R ER BB SO HR HBP ERA Str StL StS GB/FB LD PU WHIP BAbip SO9 SO/W 1 Jose De La Torre 28 Nashville 1 0 0.1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 27.00 75% 13% 38% --- 0% 0% 3.000 1.000 27.0 2 Rob Wooten 28 Nashville 5 0 4 5.0 2 2 0 0 5 0 0 0.00 70% 18% 18% 3.33 15% 8% 0.400 .154 9.0 3 Donovan Hand 28 Nashville 16 0 6 17.2 22 10 10 4 16 1 1 5.09 68% 18% 13% 1.27 20% 8% 1.472 .362 8.2 4.00 4 Mike Fiers 29 Nashville 6 6 5 1 38.2 25 8 8 5 51 3 1 1.86 67% 22% 10% 0.69 19% 9% 0.776 .259 11.9 10.20 5 Alfredo Figaro 29 Nashville 10 1 1 18.2 25 9 9 2 14 3 0 4.34 67% 21% 8% 0.80 29% 6% 1.446 .373 6.8 7.00 6 Jimmy Nelson 25 Nashville 7 7 4 1 45.0 31 12 10 13 44 1 0 2.00 67% 17% 12% 1.53 13% 10% 0.978 .256 8.8 3.38 7 Brad Mills 29 Nashville 7 5 2 31.1 24 7 6 6 23 2 2 1.72 65% 20% 8% 1.09 16% 9% 0.957 .244 6.6 3.83 8 Johnnie Lowe 29 Nashville 2 1 4.2 2 0 0 1 6 0 0 0.00 64% 15% 14% 0.50 22% 11% 0.643 .200 11.6 6.00 9 Eric Marzec 26 Nashville 1 0 1.0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0.00 64% 18% 0% 0.00 33% 33% 2.000 .333 9.0 1.00 10 Kyle Heckathorn 26 Nashville 10 0 2 1 13.0 21 16 15 10 11 3 1 10.38 61% 15% 9% 0.92 22% 6% 2.385 .400 7.6 1.10 11 Dustin Molleken 29 Nashville 14 0 2 1 20.1 20 12 8 10 17 2 2 3.54 61% 13% 15% 0.89 14% 8% 1.475 .300 7.5 1.70 12 Michael Blazek 25 Nashville 14 0 2 16.2 29 13 13 7 19 1 0 7.02 60% 14% 14% 1.07 13% 4% 2.160 .509 10.3 2.71 13 Jeremy Jeffress 26 Nashville 5 0 1 8.1 8 2 2 6 10 0 0 2.16 60% 13% 13% 0.92 30% 0% 1.680 .348 10.8 1.67 14 Ariel Pena 25 Nashville 5 5 1 2 23.0 18 13 11 12 27 2 1 4.30 60% 16% 16% 0.53 17% 16% 1.304 .286 10.6 2.25 15 Hiram Burgos 26 Nashville 4 4 1 3 18.0 22 16 13 10 20 2 4 6.50 58% 20% 11% 0.47 7% 9% 1.778 .377 10.0 2.00 16 Brent Leach 31 Nashville 11 1 2 13.1 8 4 4 7 14 1 1 2.70 57% 16% 14% 1.00 9% 9% 1.125 .233 9.5 2.00 17 Johnny Hellweg 25 Nashville 4 4 1 2 20.0 21 11 11 15 12 1 2 4.95 56% 18% 8% 1.41 17% 3% 1.800 .323 5.4 0.80[/pre] Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table Generated 5/9/2014.

Back to sorting by strike % for AA, once again there is quite a bit to like here as well. Just an FYI that I'm using the % because it doesn't remove any pitchers from the list. Dillard, Leach, Lowe in AA at various stages this season... *sigh*. Drew Gagnon's ultimate results have been good, but the peripherals aren't backing him up at all. [pre]Rk Age Tm G GS W L SV IP H R ER BB SO HR HBP ERA Str StL StS GB/FB LD PU WHIP BAbip SO9 SO/W 1 Andy Moye 26 Huntsville 1 1 1.2 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.00 76% 14% 10% 0.50 50% 0% 1.200 .333 0.0 2 Tim Dillard 30 Huntsville 3 0 5.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.00 70% 26% 11% 2.00 13% 0% 0.200 .067 1.8 3 Kevin Shackelford 25 Huntsville 13 0 1 1 1 18.2 23 9 7 6 7 1 1 3.38 69% 11% 8% 1.88 10% 0% 1.554 .324 3.4 1.17 4 Tyler Cravy 24 Huntsville 7 5 5 1 30.1 18 7 7 7 30 3 2 2.08 68% 18% 12% 0.85 13% 9% 0.824 .205 8.9 4.29 5 Johnnie Lowe 29 Huntsville 5 0 1 10.2 12 5 5 2 8 3 0 4.22 67% 18% 7% 1.00 16% 6% 1.313 .290 6.8 4.00 6 Eric Marzec 26 Huntsville 10 0 2 14.1 14 9 9 5 13 2 0 5.65 65% 19% 10% 0.65 16% 9% 1.326 .293 8.2 2.60 7 Casey Medlen 24 Huntsville 12 0 2 17.1 11 4 4 4 18 3 0 2.08 65% 18% 12% 1.05 13% 7% 0.865 .190 9.3 4.50 8 Brent Suter 24 Huntsville 7 7 5 1 42.0 22 8 8 12 38 1 2 1.71 65% 20% 8% 0.75 16% 10% 0.810 .206 8.1 3.17 9 Arcenio Leon 27 Huntsville 13 0 3 19.0 12 2 2 2 16 0 1 0.95 64% 16% 13% 2.57 10% 4% 0.737 .240 7.6 8.00 10 Brooks Hall 24 Huntsville 5 5 2 1 26.0 24 9 8 7 16 1 5 2.77 63% 18% 9% 0.70 16% 9% 1.192 .303 5.5 2.29 11 Taylor Jungmann 24 Huntsville 7 7 2 4 38.0 36 20 15 13 38 4 2 3.55 63% 18% 11% 1.10 11% 6% 1.289 .317 9.0 2.92 12 Brent Leach 31 Huntsville 4 0 4.0 1 1 1 1 4 1 0 2.25 63% 13% 14% 0.29 0% 11% 0.500 .000 9.0 4.00 13 Tommy Toledo 25 Huntsville 3 0 3.0 2 2 2 2 2 0 0 6.00 63% 15% 11% 0.67 0% 10% 1.333 .200 6.0 1.00 14 David Goforth 25 Huntsville 13 0 1 1 7 17.1 15 5 5 6 8 1 0 2.60 62% 16% 5% 1.15 13% 9% 1.212 .250 4.2 1.33 15 Drew Gagnon 24 Huntsville 7 7 3 1 40.2 27 12 12 20 19 6 2 2.66 61% 17% 7% 0.85 13% 8% 1.156 .184 4.2 0.95 16 Jacob Barnes 24 Huntsville 3 2 9.0 5 5 5 5 8 0 2 5.00 57% 21% 4% 0.64 17% 13% 1.111 .227 8.0 1.60[/pre] Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table Generated 5/9/2014.

Some gaudy ratios/rate stats in this group at BC, no pitch data is available for the FSL so the list is sorted by games. [pre]Rk Age Tm G GS W L SV IP H R ER BB SO HR HBP ERA GB/FB LD PU WHIP BAbip SO9 SO/W 1 Tanner Poppe 23 Brevard County 10 0 1 7 13.0 14 4 4 2 14 1 0 2.77 1.12 11% 14% 1.231 .371 9.7 7.00 2 Stephen Peterson 26 Brevard County 9 0 1 14.2 14 8 7 5 11 1 0 4.30 0.69 2% 18% 1.295 .283 6.8 2.20 3 Michael Strong 25 Brevard County 9 0 1 1 13.1 7 1 1 5 17 0 2 0.68 1.08 7% 15% 0.900 .259 11.5 3.40 4 Austin Ross 25 Brevard County 8 0 2 23.0 20 8 8 4 27 2 0 3.13 0.97 14% 3% 1.043 .310 10.6 6.75 5 Martin Viramontes 24 Brevard County 8 0 1 17.0 16 5 5 4 12 1 1 2.65 0.50 13% 11% 1.176 .294 6.4 3.00 6 Jed Bradley 24 Brevard County 7 7 4 1 39.0 32 12 12 7 42 2 0 2.77 1.76 7% 0% 1.000 .303 9.7 6.00 7 Damien Magnifico 23 Brevard County 7 7 2 2 35.0 32 13 11 10 20 0 3 2.83 1.25 12% 4% 1.200 .281 5.1 2.00 8 Tommy Toledo 25 Brevard County 7 0 2 4 9.0 9 2 1 4 9 0 0 1.00 0.67 0% 12% 1.444 .346 9.0 2.25 9 Tyler Wagner 23 Brevard County 7 7 3 1 40.0 34 12 9 15 26 2 1 2.03 0.95 9% 9% 1.225 .274 5.9 1.73 10 Hobbs Johnson 23 Brevard County 6 5 2 4 31.2 30 16 11 5 29 2 2 3.13 0.88 14% 9% 1.105 .304 8.2 5.80 11 Jorge Lopez 21 Brevard County 6 6 3 2 28.0 33 19 16 8 26 1 1 5.14 0.89 16% 7% 1.464 .386 8.4 3.25 12 Chad Pierce 26 Brevard County 6 1 1 14.1 14 9 6 6 14 3 0 3.77 0.75 10% 7% 1.395 .289 8.8 2.33 13 Jacob Barnes 24 Brevard County 3 0 7.1 3 1 1 0 8 1 0 1.23 1.29 0% 6% 0.409 .133 9.8 14 Greg Holle 25 Brevard County 3 0 4.1 3 2 2 1 4 1 0 4.15 0.83 18% 9% 0.923 .200 8.3 4.00[/pre] Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table Generated 5/9/2014.

Here's the Rattler pitching staff for the season, those that put a fair amount of stock in GO/FO (GB/FB in this case) ratios won't be impressed. [pre]Rk Age Tm G GS W L SV IP H R ER BB SO HR HBP ERA Str StL StS GB/FB LD PU WHIP BAbip SO9 SO/W 1 Harvey Martin 24 Wisconsin 7 0 2 2 1 12.0 13 8 8 2 18 2 0 6.00 69% 21% 13% 0.76 27% 7% 1.250 .393 13.5 9.00 2 Barrett Astin 22 Wisconsin 7 6 3 2 36.1 43 20 19 4 21 2 0 4.71 66% 13% 11% 0.95 27% 6% 1.294 .328 5.2 5.25 3 Victor Diaz 20 Wisconsin 6 2 1 21.0 18 12 12 9 18 2 0 5.14 66% 17% 8% 0.55 17% 8% 1.286 .276 7.7 2.00 4 Taylor Williams 22 Wisconsin 7 4 1 33.0 23 15 13 10 28 1 3 3.55 65% 17% 13% 0.88 13% 12% 1.000 .237 7.6 2.80 5 Trevor Seidenberger 22 Wisconsin 7 0 2 13.1 10 4 3 7 15 0 1 2.03 64% 17% 12% 0.43 30% 12% 1.275 .313 10.1 2.14 6 Rodolfo Fernandez 24 Wisconsin 4 0 1 11.0 10 6 5 3 8 0 0 4.09 64% 18% 9% 0.42 27% 22% 1.182 .278 6.5 2.67 7 Mark Williams 24 Wisconsin 1 0 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0.00 63% 31% 0% 1.00 50% 0% 1.000 .500 9.0 8 Chris Razo 24 Wisconsin 8 0 1 12.1 16 10 9 6 13 0 2 6.57 62% 18% 8% 0.73 18% 8% 1.784 .421 9.5 2.17 9 Anthony Banda 20 Wisconsin 6 5 1 4 27.0 32 15 13 10 18 1 0 4.33 62% 17% 12% 0.98 16% 9% 1.556 .348 6.0 1.80 10 Preston Gainey 23 Wisconsin 5 5 1 2 24.1 22 13 7 10 21 1 2 2.59 62% 15% 12% 0.90 22% 7% 1.315 .284 7.8 2.10 11 Tyler Alexander 22 Wisconsin 7 3 2 3 22.1 30 17 13 12 27 0 2 5.24 61% 16% 13% 0.67 28% 6% 1.881 .441 10.9 2.25 12 Tyler Spurlin 23 Wisconsin 6 0 10.0 8 5 4 6 4 1 0 3.60 58% 17% 9% 1.50 17% 3% 1.400 .259 3.6 0.67 13 Zach Quintana 20 Wisconsin 5 5 2 22.0 31 16 15 9 13 1 1 6.14 58% 16% 7% 0.60 24% 6% 1.818 .361 5.3 1.44 14 Tristan Archer 23 Wisconsin 5 3 1 1 2 19.0 16 8 6 13 12 1 1 2.84 57% 16% 9% 0.65 25% 11% 1.526 .259 5.7 0.92 15 Tyler Linehan 22 Wisconsin 5 0 1 1 11.2 18 16 13 9 8 0 0 10.03 54% 10% 7% 0.96 16% 4% 2.314 .400 6.2 0.89[/pre] Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table Generated 5/9/2014.

... and finally AAA. [pre]Rk Age Tm G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS 1 Caleb Gindl 25 Nashville 7 30 29 6 13 4 0 1 1 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .448 .467 .690 1.156 2 Sean Halton 27 Nashville 12 39 32 4 11 2 0 1 8 4 1 11 1 0 2 0 0 0 .344 .410 .500 .910 3 Irving Falu 31 Nashville 13 50 44 6 16 2 0 1 2 4 1 4 0 1 1 1 1 2 .364 .408 .477 .885 4 Jeremy Hermida 30 Nashville 12 47 40 3 12 2 0 1 8 6 0 7 0 0 1 0 0 0 .300 .383 .425 .808 5 Hunter Morris 25 Nashville 14 55 50 9 13 4 0 2 9 4 2 10 1 0 0 0 0 0 .260 .327 .460 .787 6 Hector Gomez 26 Nashville 13 36 33 4 9 3 0 1 5 2 0 8 0 0 1 1 0 0 .273 .306 .455 .760 7 Taylor Green 27 Nashville 9 33 29 2 8 1 0 1 4 2 0 4 0 1 1 2 0 0 .276 .313 .414 .726 8 Eugenio Velez 32 Nashville 12 40 37 5 8 2 0 1 4 3 0 7 0 0 0 3 1 1 .216 .275 .351 .626 9 Robinzon Diaz 30 Nashville 8 32 31 2 6 1 0 0 2 1 0 4 0 0 0 3 0 0 .194 .219 .226 .445 10 Pete Orr 35 Nashville 10 41 39 4 7 1 0 0 3 1 0 8 0 1 0 0 1 0 .179 .200 .205 .405[/pre] Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table Generated 5/9/2014.

AA... D'Vo! [pre]Rk Age Tm G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS 1 Adam Weisenburger 25 Huntsville 7 26 19 2 7 4 1 0 6 7 0 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 .368 .538 .684 1.223 2 Nick Ramirez 24 Huntsville 13 59 54 13 19 3 2 4 15 5 0 13 0 0 0 2 1 0 .352 .407 .704 1.110 3 Shawn Zarraga 25 Huntsville 10 42 33 11 15 3 0 0 5 5 0 4 2 0 2 2 0 0 .455 .524 .545 1.069 4 Josh Prince 26 Huntsville 10 43 35 8 10 3 0 0 3 8 0 5 0 0 0 0 8 2 .286 .419 .371 .790 5 Nick Shaw 25 Huntsville 11 44 35 7 10 1 0 0 2 8 0 6 1 0 0 0 1 0 .286 .432 .314 .746 6 Jason Rogers 26 Huntsville 12 52 49 7 12 5 0 1 8 2 0 8 1 0 0 3 0 0 .245 .288 .408 .697 7 Mitch Haniger 23 Huntsville 12 45 42 5 13 1 0 0 5 2 0 6 0 0 1 0 2 0 .310 .333 .333 .667 8 Greg Hopkins 25 Huntsville 9 37 33 6 6 1 1 0 2 3 0 5 1 0 0 1 1 0 .182 .270 .273 .543 9 Kentrail Davis 26 Huntsville 12 48 43 5 6 3 1 0 6 4 0 6 0 0 1 0 2 0 .140 .208 .256 .464 10 D Vontrey Richardson 25 Huntsville 12 56 51 7 8 1 0 0 3 4 0 7 1 0 0 5 1 1 .157 .232 .176 .409[/pre] Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table Generated 5/9/2014.

Here's the same for BC. [pre]Rk Age Tm G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS 1 Michael Reed 21 Brevard County 13 60 44 12 19 7 0 2 6 15 0 8 1 0 0 1 3 3 .432 .583 .727 1.311 2 Tyrone Taylor 20 Brevard County 12 59 52 16 19 8 1 2 12 6 1 3 0 0 1 1 1 1 .365 .424 .673 1.097 3 Mike Garza 24 Brevard County 9 36 34 3 11 0 2 1 4 2 0 5 0 0 0 0 1 1 .324 .361 .529 .891 4 Brandon Macias 25 Brevard County 12 51 45 4 15 5 0 0 5 2 0 6 2 0 1 1 1 1 .333 .380 .444 .824 5 Cameron Garfield 23 Brevard County 10 46 42 5 14 5 0 0 6 3 0 4 0 0 1 0 0 1 .333 .370 .452 .822 6 Victor Roache 22 Brevard County 12 54 50 6 11 1 1 4 12 3 1 13 1 0 0 2 1 0 .220 .278 .520 .798 7 Nathan Orf 24 Brevard County 10 47 32 7 8 3 0 0 4 9 0 3 3 1 2 1 2 0 .250 .435 .344 .779 8 Orlando Arcia 19 Brevard County 12 60 52 6 16 2 0 0 2 8 0 5 0 0 0 3 2 0 .308 .400 .346 .746 9 Yadiel Rivera 22 Brevard County 11 45 39 8 10 0 0 1 4 5 0 7 1 0 0 1 0 1 .256 .356 .333 .689[/pre] Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table Generated 5/9/2014.

So I was messing around looking at the last 14 days of hitting stats around the organization, the T-Rats list was slightly surprising: [pre]Rk Age Tm G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS BA OBP SLG OPS 1 Taylor Smith-Brennan 22 Wisconsin 13 55 44 8 14 1 3 1 8 11 0 9 0 0 0 0 1 1 .318 .455 .545 1.000 2 Clint Coulter 20 Wisconsin 13 57 46 7 13 2 1 3 11 7 1 12 3 0 1 1 1 1 .283 .404 .565 .969 3 David Denson 19 Wisconsin 13 55 48 10 15 1 1 2 12 7 0 17 0 0 0 1 0 0 .313 .400 .500 .900 4 Christopher McFarland 21 Wisconsin 12 53 44 10 13 2 1 2 7 5 0 14 1 1 2 0 3 1 .295 .365 .523 .888 5 Jose Pena 21 Wisconsin 11 46 43 6 12 4 0 1 7 3 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 .279 .326 .442 .768 6 Omar Garcia 20 Wisconsin 12 51 40 10 12 1 0 0 1 7 0 4 2 2 0 1 11 2 .300 .429 .325 .754 7 Michael Ratterree 23 Wisconsin 13 58 50 10 11 5 0 2 9 5 0 16 1 0 2 0 1 0 .220 .293 .440 .733 8 Steven Halcomb 23 Wisconsin 8 29 25 3 7 0 0 0 0 4 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 .280 .379 .280 .659 9 Rafael Neda 25 Wisconsin 7 27 26 1 7 2 0 0 4 1 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 .269 .296 .346 .642 10 Johnny Davis 24 Wisconsin 9 38 34 5 9 0 1 0 3 0 0 6 1 3 0 1 1 1 .265 .286 .324 .609 11 Angel Ortega 20 Wisconsin 12 47 43 3 8 1 0 0 6 3 0 11 0 1 0 0 0 0 .186 .239 .209 .448[/pre] Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table Generated 5/9/2014. Taylor Brennan had snuck past me in my enthusiasm for what Coulter and Denson have been doing.

Prospect Hot Sheet Chat (May 9)

A relatively quiet week. Prospect Hot Sheet (May 9): Big, Bad Bryant May 9, 2014 by Staff Report In The Team Photo

2014 Draft Preview: Astros Will Pick No. 1 Again, Sorting Through Pitching-Heavy Class May 9, 2014 by John Manuel

I'm saying that where you see something like a medical solution, or possibly different developmental practice based on some statistical data set, the root cause is actually something much simpler, it's the type of pitcher the Brewers are targeting. When Seid came in there was quite a bit of chatter out of the organization about targeting a certain body type, which is why I reference a "big bodied frame" when discussing the pitchers I think the Brewers might be into. They've said publicly that they believe those types of frames help prevent injuries. Believe me, if I got wind that the Brewers were doing anything different than the majority of organizations I would post it and offer some thoughts. For example the Astros are doing something different: Astros organization gives tandem rotation a test drive Every time I've come across an organization who's taking a different tact I'll post the article on the minor league forum because I don't believe that the development system MLB has had in place for 60 years is very effective at all. MLB is lagging behind the other major sports in almost every way imaginable when it comes to athletic and personal development. I tend to champion organizations whom are looking at the game in a different way or trying to problem solve from a different angle than what would be considered the standard methodology. The Brewers use a tandem at A ball, that means pitchers have their pitch counts and innings limited, they don't really start getting pushed until AA. If a pitcher flames out at A+, he never really got to the point where he could get hurt, as that's the first time he's a stand alone starter (some college pitchers get a stand alone slot in WI, typically 1 per season). They draft big bodied pitchers and put them in tandems early to minimize the risk of injury, they aren't overhauling mechanics or doing some significant to limit injuries on the coaching side. So to my point about Jungmann vs Guerrieri, no one is really changing what either pitcher is doing, one was pretty "safe", the other had a higher ceiling but came with much more risk (character questions as well). It's not shocking that HS pitcher with a big arm who specialized in baseball needed TJ surgery before the fully developed big bodied college pitcher. The Rays are just as "careful" with their pitching prospects as the Brewers are, Taylor Guerrieri has a similar frame to Jungmann, he just hasn't filled it out yet. The same can be said of Dylan Bundy, though the Orioles pushed him much harder, but he's a also a bit shorter than the Brewer prototype. We haven't had a starting pitcher make it out of Latin America and up to AA in some time, but last 2 who did both needed TJ surgery in the minors (Rivas and Peralta). Many of the pitchers needing arm surgeries haven't yet filled out their frames and have pretty big arms, because of the change in philosophy the Brewers just don't have many of those guys floating around. When they've drafted those guys they've been ineffective and gone like Lintz or did get hurt like Lasker for the most part. Thornburg has been the notable exception to this point so far, but Tyler is a pretty darn good athlete, better than most give him credit for, and that's one of the reasons I've been so high on him through the years. My only issue with him was his tendency to leave FBs up in the zone. I don't recall Gallardo being significantly tweaked or reading about it, pitching coaches usually do something minor like moving on the rubber, or changing foot placement, or a how a pitcher lands with his plant foot. If you have a link I would greatly appreciate it. I don't think the Brewers are incompetent, though I do think some of their training staff has been, thankfully those minor league trainers were fired and are long gone. I think the organization as a whole is very mediocre as I said, they aren't great at anything and they aren't awful at anything either. I've been around sports and athletic rehabilitation my whole life and where you see success with Rogers I see total failure, they even had him pitch when he couldn't feel ball in his hand. A player like Gamel needed a second surgery and now a 3rd on his knee, Mike Jones needed both shoulder and TJ surgery, Taylor Green was told to rest over the winter but when came back in the Spring he needed surgery anyway, the same for Alex Periard's shoulder, and the list goes on with Zach Braddock, Rickie Weeks, Aramis Ramirez, Corey Hart, and so on. I think many fans have a problem being objective about their team and I do understand why I get labeled a "hater" even though that's not who I am at all, or my intention. Baseball is the one sport that doesn't lend itself to playing hurt at all; there is too much end range motion involved in every aspect of the game, there's really no such thing as holding yourself back a little. Add in the violent stops and starts and the idea that most baseball players aren't the most well conditioned athletes on the planet to start with, it's no wonder that so may of these little injuries to players linger all season, they are never given time to properly heal. A muscle tweak that moves the barrel of a bat 1/4 of a inch on a swing is the difference between a HR and routine fly ball... with such small margins of error is it any wonder why injured baseball players tend to perform terribly? What other major sport has such small +/- tolerances? For most part I believe it's not a question of "if" a player will get injured, it's a question of "when". Part of your method ignores those players which the Brewers dumped and needed surgery that season or the following season, or haven't managed to pitch a full season in their Brewer career. The most recent examples are Wolf, Marcum, and Estrada, and as I said before pitchers like Axford had their surgeries prior to the Brewers, and some guys like Capuano had their 2nd with the Brewers. It's not just about TJ surgery, it's about the total injury picture. If the Brewers were doing something so significantly different then why all the DL time?