TheCrew07

The T-Rats with an epic fail this afternoon, I'll post the summary and what not later... my goodness.

This debate is going in circles and instead of posting the same ideas again in a slightly different manner I'll leave it at this: Just because a team get's "competitive" doesn't mean some magical switch flips and all of sudden the principles of roster and organization construction somehow get changed. That's the biggest fallacy in professional sports and why so many teams have cycles of extreme success and failure. I can certainly understand "face of franchise" and the nostalgia of "player for life" ideas/perspectives, when I was younger I felt the same way about the players on the teams I rooted for. I think those philosophies are relics of a bygone era, I saw Montana move on from the 49ers, Molitor from the Brewers and my perspective began to change, by the time Farve moved on from the Packers I was ready for him to go. For the most part those models don't work in modern professional sports anymore where athletes are just chasing the best contract possible in the vast majority of cases. Only a very small slice of professional franchises, all in baseball, can overpay aging and declining athletes and still manage to put a functional team around them. Staying relevant isn't about a continual cycle of FA acquisitions in most sports, and certainly hasn't kept the Brewers competitive year in and year out. The Brewers have been hot but there's no way they are going to win at better than a .666 clip all year, the fact that they are 20-9 shouldn't mean anything more than if they were 9-20, doing the right thing for the long-term health of the franchise is independent of the team's record. The only true difference would be fan perception of the season so far, but a 9-20 start wouldn't mean we are destined for failure anymore than the 20-9 start means we are WS bound.

Sounds Win Series Opener, 4-3 Nelson Works Seven Innings For 4th Win And 6th Quality Start Nashville Sounds http://www.milb.com/assets/images/2/2/6/74138226/cuts/NELSON502_3lnavu1v_pyokprdb.jpg NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Nashville Sounds won their series opener against the Iowa Cubs Friday night at Greer Stadium, edging the visitors by a 4-3 margin. The win is Nashville's fourth consecutive; the team's longest win streak of the season. Brewers top prospect Jimmy Nelson (4-1) guided the Sounds defensively from the hill, retiring his first 12 batters before running into a bases-loaded jam in the fifth inning. He surrendered his first hit to Lars Anderson, a single, and walked a pair to load the bases. The 24-year-old remained in control though and found three quick outs by way of an infield pop-up and an inning-ending 6-4-3 double-play. In the following inning, Nelson stranded another Iowa runner by striking out Cubs top-prospect Javy Baez to end his sixth scoreless frame. The Sounds broke the scoreless tie in the home half of the sixth inning with RBI-knocks from Hector Gomez and Hainley Statia off Iowa starter Chris Rusin (1-4). Gomez, 2-for-3 brought in two runs with a bases-loaded single to the left-field corner, which was followed by a double from Statia to make it 3-0. Nelson allowed Iowa two runs on four hits in the seventh inning. He finished the game after seven innings of work, picking up his fourth win and his sixth consecutive quality start. He fanned five batters and walked two. His 12 batters retired to start the game, combined with the five he finished with on April 27 at Oklahoma City, gives him the team's best for the season at 17 consecutive. Reliever Dustin Molleken worked a scoreless eighth inning before Donovan Hand entered in the ninth. With one out and a runner on first and second, Hand got Logan Watkins to ground to short, but the ball caught a bad bounce and caromed off Gomez for an RBI-double. Hand earned his sixth save though by striking out the side. Catcher Lucas May recorded his first hits of the season, rapping a pair of doubles for Nashville to help keep Nashville's streak of 28 consecutive games with an extra-bases knock intact. Pinch-hitter Jeremy Hermida doubled Nashville's lead with a infield RBI-groundout in the eighth inning to score the Sounds' final run, which proved to be the difference. Gomez, Statia, May, and Hermida, batting in spots six through nine, combined to go 6-for-10 for Nashville to produce all four of the team's RBIs. The win is Nashville's fourth consecutive one-run victory. The Sounds play game two of their four-game series against the I-Cubs on Saturday night at 6:35 p.m. Right-handed pitcher Johnnie Lowe (0-0, 2.95) will make the start for Nashville, opposite New Orleans's right-hander Kyle Hendricks (0-0, 0.00). Broadcaster Jeff Hem has the call on 102.5 The Game. A fireworks show presented by Nashville's NEWS 2 will follow the game. Nashville Boxscore Whomever came up with the quality start stat needs a kick in the pants, 6 innings with 3 earned runs is so very average why is it worth celebrating? Regardless Jimmy Nelson was better than that, his full line was 7 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO, and 1 WP while throwing 58 of 93 (62%) pitches for strikes. The prospects had a tough day at the plate and Logan Schafer was 0-5 in what was likely his last rehab start. Nashville Recap Nashville Gameday

Clinton clubs Rattlers LumberKings score early, Withstand Wisconsin rally By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Clinton LumberKings were up 4-0 early in Friday's game against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Wisconsin rallied back to within a run, but the LumberKings got a key hit late in the game and went on to an 8-4 victory. Clinton (13-13) scored three times in the first inning and once more in the second to build an early lead. The first run scored on a passed ball. Austin Wilson made it 2-0 with an RBI single. Joe DeCarlo singled in Wilson later in the inning and Clinton was up 3-0. Marcus Littlewood pushed the lead to 4-0 with a sacrifice fly in the second inning. Wisconsin (12-15) got on the board in the bottom of the second inning. David Denson doubled and Jose Pena reached on an infield single to third. Omar Garcia bunted the runners up a base. Angel Ortega grounded out to second and Denson scored. Clinton added an unearned run in the top of the seventh inning. They had a runner at second with two outs. Wisconsin reliever Taylor Williams got Tyler O'Neill to send a grounder to short, but the ball was misplayed and rolled into left field. That allowed the run to score and the LumberKings were up 5-1. Clinton starting pitcher Lars Huijer struck out six over six innings and allowed four hits. Wisconsin had better luck against reliever Thyago Vieira in the seventh. Garcia walked, Ortega singled, and Johnny Davis singled to load the bases with one out. Viera hit Michael Ratterree to force in Garcia from third. Clint Coulter followed with a single to left to drive in Ortega and Davis to cut the lead to 5-4. The throw to the plate missed the cutoff man to let Ratterree take third and Coulter to take second. Vieira stranded the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position with a strikeout and a flyout to right. The LumberKings had a runner at first with no outs in the top of the eighth when Williams walked consecutive Clinton batters to load the bases. Williams got a strikeout - his sixth of the game - for the second out. But, Marcus Littlewood, the leading hitter in the Midwest League, doubled down the line in left to drive in three runs and give the LumberKings an 8-4 lead. Wisconsin would get a pair of runners on base in the bottom of the eighth and one in the bottom of the ninth, but the Rattlers could not score as they dropped the first game of the series to the LumberKings. Friday was the fifth game of the homestand for the Timber Rattlers. The opponents have scored first in all five games. Game two of the series is Saturday afternoon at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Barrett Astin (3-2, 3.62) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Clinton will send Edwin Diaz (1-1, 2.78) to the mound. Game time is 1:05pm. The first 500 fans to enter the ballpark on Saturday will receive a Timber Rattlers baseball cap courtesy of North Shore Bank. State-wide sports talk show host Bill Michaels will be on hand to meet fans and throw out a first pitch. Plus, the Big Unit Cruiser will be in front of the stadium. If you can't make it out to the ballpark, the radio broadcast can be heard on AM1280, WNAM or IHeartRadio starting with the pregame show at 12:45pm. Saturday's game is also available to subscribers of MiLB.TV. WP: Lars Huijer (1-1) LP: Tyler Alexander (1-3) TIME: 2:46 ATTN: 2,674 Mehring's postgame includes the links to the Bill Michaels audio which MH already posted, The Big Mother, some game observations and awesome pics, postgame interviews with Coulter, Williams, and Erickson, and of course the video highlights. Postgame Post – May 2, 2014 Wisconsin Boxscore I've watched Tyler Alexander pitch 3 times thus far and he's done nothing to impress me. Today he was mostly thigh to waist high FBs on the left side (arm side) of the plate (away to a RH batter), but he wasn't locating the pitch at all. Even with my affinity for lefties I'm just not really seeing anything to hang my hat on, he didn't really challenge a single hitter he faced. Taylor Williams was alright but giving back that 3 spot in the top of the 8th by walking back to back hitters was self induced. He struggled with the strike zone once the rain started coming down. I finally got to see Clint Coulter catch! He's better than last year but I'm not sure I'd qualify him as league average for A ball yet and I do understand this might have been his worst defensive game of the season to this point. He dropped a couple of balls through out the course of the game and had a costly passed ball in the 1st. He's getting down better on balls in the dirt but still has work to do, however he remains extremely heady. He rarely makes a mental error with the ball in his hand and consistently makes the heads-up plays saving baserunners and possible runs like he did in the 2nd. Taylor Brennan couldn't barehand the ball but Coulter was backing up the play and saw the runner at 2nd take too big a turn, he immediately ran at him, bluffed a throw to 2nd, and got an easy tag out to get the lead runner. He made many of those same plays last year as he seems to have very good instincts, he's been a joy to watch at the plate all season. Johnny Davis (2-5,3B) and David Denson (2-4,2B) had the multi-hit game for the T-Rats. When Chris McFarland slumps, he really slumps, he's only had 2 hits since April 22nd, 2-28 over that stretch. Just like last year when he goes bad the strike outs start to pile up as well. It won't get any easier tomorrow when Edwin Diaz who is Seattle's #5 prospect toes the rubber: Wisconsin Recap Honestly the T-Rats should have had more here, Brennan swung through 3 95 MPH FBs that were waist high, 2 down the middle and 1 middle-in. McFarland's out was a routine FB to the RF, he had to move maybe 5 steps. Wisconsin Bottom of the 7th Pitching Change: Thyago Vieira replaces Lars Huijer. Jose Pena strikes out swinging. Omar Garcia walks. Angel Ortega singles on a ground ball to center fielder Burt Reynolds. Omar Garcia to 2nd. Johnny Davis singles on a bunt ground ball to first baseman Justin Seager. Omar Garcia to 3rd. Angel Ortega to 2nd. Michael Ratterree hit by pitch. Omar Garcia scores. Angel Ortega to 3rd. Johnny Davis to 2nd. Clint Coulter singles on a line drive to left fielder Corey Simpson. Angel Ortega scores. Johnny Davis scores. Michael Ratterree to 3rd. Clint Coulter to 2nd on the throw. Taylor Smith-Brennan strikes out swinging. Christopher McFarland flies out to right fielder Austin Wilson. Wisconsin Gameday

Give it up for Tyrone Taylor! Oscar Taveras and Ben Lively again on the positive side, I hadn't noticed Robert Stephenson's command didn't take a step forward yet, wow. Prospect Hot Sheet (May 2): Bet On Betts For Top Spot In The Team Photo Ben Lively, rhp, Reds: It’s hard to imagine a California League pitcher ever having a stretch where he goes 5-0, 0.33. Throw in Lively’s current 24-inning scoreless streak and his 40/1 SO/BB ratio and the 22-year-old Bakersfield righthander seems more the figment of an awful scriptwriter’s first draft of a baseball movie. But he’s real and these numbers are spectacular. Not-So Hot Robert Stephenson, rhp, Reds. The Reds’ top prospect began the season at Double-A Pensacola with a flourish, striking out 11 in five, one-hit innings. But he’s struggled in his past five starts, allowing 16 earned runs in 22 2/3 innings and walking 16 in that time. His command, average at best, has deserted him, especially in a seven-walk debacle on April 16.

Once again the Hot Sheet chat posted before the actual Hot Sheet. Ask some Clint Coulter defensive questions! Actually anything Brewer related would be a plus, I've never had a question answered, someone else break the jinx! Prospect Hot Sheet Chat With Josh Norris (May 2)

This is the more in depth companion piece to the earlier article and is subscriber content. Very insightful if you have a BA subscription. Prolific Area Scouts Bridges, Pena Take Similar Paths To Summit

Exactly... "we really like our pitching depth in the minor leagues but..." He's 30 years old, can we please move on from these veterans and give some of the prospects a chance to shine? I understand putting on a show to "win" and hopefully retain affiliations but come on, is a little upward mobility going to sink the ship in either case? Any of the AA relievers could bounce up to Nashville and do what Blazek has done. Free our legitimate prospects!

No Brewer affiliate games yet, but a couple of division games on tap for May, the first game was broadcast yesterday. MiLB, CBS ink 'Game of Week' TV deal

I always like reading this type of article, 2 Brewer scouts make the list, 1 who is new to the organization. Area Scouts With The Most Big League Debuts This Decade

Howard could definitely be interesting, I hadn't even considered him, I was leaning one of the HS arms at 41 hoping specifically for Griffin or Ortiz. It is disappointing that Ortiz' camp won't clarify the injury, no one wants to sign a guy only to discover a medical issue and have to void the initial contract like the Scarpetta situation. I hope if Trea Turner is there at 12 they pass, he's far and away my least favorite of the 1st round bats, for some reason I just don't think he'll hit enough. I have nothing to back that up other than my gut feeling... I feel similarly about inefficient college pitchers like Beede who barely make it through 6, I'd rather some team in front of Milwaukee grabs them so the Brewers don't make a mistake. I'm not a big Finnegan guy either, he looks like a 3 to me, though I admit there might be more than that in him since he learned a plus slider in one summer, maybe no one has really shown him how to pitch. I would be absolutely thrilled with Freeland or Newcomb as I mentioned before.

Nashville Outlasts Zephyrs, 6-5 In 11, In Series Finale First-Place Sounds Have Won Six Of Last Seven Nashville Sounds http://www.milb.com/assets/images/8/2/4/74026824/cuts/Brad_Mills_418_46_mecxnirg_pe7ifwof.jpg (Mike Strasinger / Nashville Sounds) NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The red-hot Nashville Sounds plated a run in the bottom of the eleventh inning to hang a 6-5 defeat on the New Orleans Zephyrs on Thursday evening at Greer Stadium in the finale of a four-game series. Nashville (15-12), which is tied for first place and has been victorious in six of the last seven games, took three of four from the Zephyrs. The Sounds lost a four-run lead in the late innings as New Orleans rallied against the Nashville bullpen to force extras before the home team triumphed in its longest game of the year. With the bases loaded and one out against New Orleans reliever Collin Cargill (0-1) in the bottom of the eleventh, Pete Orr grounded to second base and the Z's erased a runner at second but Orr beat the throw to first and pinch-runner Hector Gomez raced home to score the game-ending run on the play. Left-hander Brad Mills twirled an outstanding start for Nashville, working six hitless innings while allowing one unearned run. The southpaw walked three batters and struck out six during his 93-pitch effort, lowering his ERA to 2.22 to pull among the top 10 marks in the Pacific Coast League. He was left with a no-decision for his efforts. The Sounds got off to a quick start against New Orleans starter Bryan Evans, plating three runs in the first inning. Pete Orr reached on a one-out fielding error and moved to second when Caleb Gindl (2-for-5) extended his longest hitting streak of the year to eight games with a single. Hunter Morris followed with an opposite-field double to left-center to plate the first run of the evening. After Gindl scored on a wild pitch, Jeremy Hermida plated Morris with a sacrifice fly to make it a 3-0 contest. Gindl is batting .438 (14-for-32) during his eight-game streak, while Morris' two-bagger extended the slugger's own hit streak to five games, matching his season high. Nashville tacked on a run in the second when Robinzon Diaz (2-for-4) led off with a single and later scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Logan Schafer, who went 0-for-3 with a walk in his second rehab contest for the Sounds. The visitors jumped on the board in the third with an unearned run following a fielding error by Sounds shortstop Irving Falu, drawing within 4-1. The Sounds upped their advantage to 5-1 in the fifth against Z's reliever James Nygren. Hermida drew a one-out walk, moved to second on a wild pitch, and scored on a Diaz single to center. New Orleans got its first hit in the top of the seventh, a Mark Canha double off Sounds reliever Michael Blazek, and quickly pulled within a pair of runs at 5-3 when Jake Marisnick belted a two-run homer to left-center, his second big fly of the season. The Zephyrs drew even in the eighth with a pair of two-out runs off Blazek, who gave up four runs on five hits in his two frames of work. Canha and Marisnick did the damage again for New Orleans with consecutive two-out RBI singles. After Nygren's departure, the New Orleans bullpen shut down the Nashville offense for the next five frames behind dominant pitching of Chris Hatcher (1.0 IP), Henry Rodriguez (2.0 IP), and Chaz Roe (2.0 IP), who combined for five hitless innings. New Orleans threatened in the top of the tenth, putting runners on the corners with one out against Kyle Heckathorn before the right-hander induced an inning-ending double play from Kyle Skipworth to escape the jam unscathed. Heckathorn (2-1) picked up the win for the Sounds after working two innings of scoreless relief. The Sounds continue their homestand on Friday evening with the 7:05 p.m. opener of a four-game set against the Iowa Cubs. Right-hander Jimmy Nelson (3-1, 1.97) will make the start for Nashville to face Iowa southpaw Chris Rusin (1-3, 4.76). Nashville Boxscore I gotta give it up to Brad Mills going 6 hitless, I'm not excited about the continual shuffle of veteran arms into the AAA rotation but it is what it is and he was fantastic tonight. Jeremy Jeffress and Kyle Heckathorn made their time on the mound interesting but made it through unscathed. Nashville Recap Nashville Gameday

So after 14 innings of listening to Chris say Exicardo Cayones' name I had to share this. I couldn't help but think of this scene from Heartbreak Ridge every single time he said "Cayones". I couldn't find a video with just the "What's your name" part... NSFW.

Rattlers rebound for 3-2 walkoff win in nightcap Brennan does it again and Erickson claims team record for most wins by a manager By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers http://www.milb.com/assets/images/2/1/4/74000214/cuts/May_1_2014_Congrats_Matt_im6jmpfh_p90pte9j.jpg Congratulations on win #216, Matty. GRAND CHUTE, WI - Taylor Brennan is making a habit of walkoff hits. The Rattlers third baseman, who had the walkoff hit in game one of Wednesday's doubleheader, capped Wisconsin's 3-2 comeback victory with an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh in game two of Thursday's doubleheader at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. The victory was #216 for Matt Erickson as the manager of the Timber Rattlers. He now holds the franchise record for career wins by a manager. Burlington (15-10) would not make it easy. They scored first for the fourth time in the four game series. Kody Evans doubled with one out in the top of the third inning. Then, Mark Shannon cracked a home run to the beach beyond the wall in right-center field to give the Bees a 2-0 lead. Wisconsin starter Preston Gainey pitched five innings and struck out five, but was on the hook for the loss as the Rattlers offense struggled to get anything going against Burlington starter Victor Alcantara. Alcantara allowed two hits and pitched around three walks over five innings and left the game with his team up 2-0 and looking for a doubleheader sweep after winning game one 6-4. Wisconsin (12-14) roughly greeted reliever Eswarlin Jimenez in the bottom of the sixth inning. Clint Coulter started the frame by crushing a 2-0 pitch from Jimenez over the wall in left. Coulter's fifth home run of the season made the score 2-1. Brennan followed with a deep fly to right-center field and he cruised into third base with a triple. Chris McFarland drove in Brennan with the tying run on a sacrifice fly to deep center field. Harvey Martin, who pitched the top of the sixth inning in relief of Gainey, worked a scoreless top of the seventh with a pair of strikeouts and Coulter throwing out a base runner trying to steal second. Michael Ratterree started the game winning rally in the bottom of the seventh with a one-out single. Jimenez missed with his first three pitches to Coulter. Then, he threw wildly to first base in an attempt to pickoff Ratterree to let the Rattler runner to race around to third base. Jimenez decided to intentionally walk Coulter. That brought Brennan to the plate. The Bees brought their infield and outfield in to try and get the run at the plate, but Brennan foiled that strategy by lifting a deep fly to right-center that fell for a game winning single to drive in Ratterree. The Timber Rattlers and Bees split the four game series that was hampered by rainouts on Monday and Tuesday and forced doubleheaders to be played on Wednesday and Thursday. Erickson, who is in his fourth season as the manager of Midwest League affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers, entered the doubleheader tied with Gary Thurman on the managerial career wins list. Both had won 215 regular season games. Erickson is now alone at the top with 216 regular season victories. The Timber Rattlers will welcome the Clinton LumberKings to town to begin a three-game homestand on Friday night. Tyler Alexander (1-2, 4.98) is the scheduled starting pitcher for Wisconsin. Clinton will counter with Lars Huijer (0-1, 4.42) as their starter. Game time is 6:35pm. The first 1,000 fans to attend this game will receive a poster of Timber Rattlers pitcher Preston Gainey courtesy of Dunkin Donuts. It's also a North Shore Bank Family night. Children 12 and under receive a free hot dog and soda. Plus, kids 14 and under may participate in Kids Run the Bases thanks to Molina Healthcare after the game. If you can't make it out to the ballpark, there are many ways to catch the action. MyNEW32's Sports Showdown has the television broadcast beginning with their pregame show at 6:00pm. The radio broadcast can be heard on AM1280, WNAM or IHeartRadio starting with the pregame show at 6:15pm. Friday's game is also available to subscribers of MiLB.TV. HOME RUNS: BUR: Mark Shannon (3rd, 1 on in 3rd inning off Preston Gainey, 1 out) WIS: Clint Coulter (5th, 0 on in 6th inning off Eswarlin Jimenez, 0 out) WP: Harvey Martin (2-1) LP: Eswarlin Jimenez (1-2) TIME: 2:13 ATTN: 1,556 Mehring's Post Game includes the the Bob Miscik interview I mentioned earlier and postgame interviews with McFarland, Brennan, and Erickson. It also has some excellent photos of the walkoff and the video highlights for both games. Postgame Post – May 1, 2014 Wisconsin Game 2 Boxscore Wow was this game looking bleak for quite a while, but I love me a walk off victory! The pitching was fantastic, Preston Gainey made 2 really bad pitches in one inning which cost him both runs. Gainey's final line 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO, and 2 HBP throwing 57 of 87 pitches for strikes. The highest velocity Chris relayed during the broadcast was 92 and just a reminder those are stadium gun readings. Harvey Martin had a nice bounceback performance for the win allowing 1 hit while striking out 3 over his 2 innings of work. Taylor-Brennan (2-3,3B) playing hero for the 2nd victory in a row and Jose Pena (2-3) had the multi-hit games for the T-Rats. Wisconsin Game 2 Recap The Rattler runs one more time. Wisconsin Bottom of the 6th Pitching Change: Eswarlin Jimenez replaces Alfonso Alcantara. Clint Coulter homers (5) on a fly ball to left field. Taylor Smith-Brennan triples (2) on a fly ball to right fielder Exicardo Cayones. Christopher McFarland out on a sacrifice fly to center fielder Mark Shannon. Taylor Smith-Brennan scores. Jose Pena singles on a ground ball to shortstop Erick Salcedo. Jose Pena out at 2nd, second baseman Kody Eaves to shortstop Erick Salcedo. Steven Halcomb walks. Omar Garcia walks. Steven Halcomb to 2nd. Angel Ortega grounds out, shortstop Erick Salcedo to first baseman Ryan Dalton. Wisconsin Bottom of the 7th Johnny Davis grounds out, second baseman Kody Eaves to first baseman Ryan Dalton. Michael Ratterree singles on a line drive to left fielder Trevor Gretzky. With Clint Coulter batting, throwing error by Eswarlin Jimenez on the pickoff attempt, Michael Ratterree to 3rd. Eswarlin Jimenez intentionally walks Clint Coulter. Taylor Smith-Brennan singles on a fly ball to right fielder Exicardo Cayones. Michael Ratterree scores. Clint Coulter to 2nd. Wisconsin Game 2 Gameday

Bees beat Rattlers 6-4 in game one Burlington collects key hits to edge Wisconsin By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Burlington Bees defeated the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 6-4 in game one of Thursday's doubleheader at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium. The Bees are 5-2 in seven games against the Rattlers this season. Burlington (15-9) scored first for the third time in the first three games of this series. Ranyelmy Mendoza drove in the first run with a second inning single. Erick Salcedo made it 2-0 with a sacrifice fly in that same inning. Wisconsin (11-14) rallied for a run in the bottom of the second. Chris McFarland doubled to start the inning. A one out double by Rafael Neda drove in McFarland. The Bees plated two more runs off Rattler starting pitcher Zach Quintana in the third. Mark Shannon doubled to start the inning. Mike Fish sent a grounder to short and Shannon tried to go to third. Angel Ortega decided to go to third with the throw and would have had Shannon by plenty. But, the throw hit Shannon in the back and everyone was safe. Quintana hit the next batter to load the bases. Angel Rosa was next and he worked the count full before drawing a walk to force in Shannon for a 3-1. Exicardo Cayones stepped to the plate and line a deep drive to left field. The ball hit the top of the 16-foot high wall and just missed going out for a grand slam. But, the three runners on base held to see if the ball would be caught. They could all only move up one base and Fish was the only Bee to score on the play. Quintana regrouped and got out of the inning with a strikeout and a double play. Wisconsin chipped away at the Burlington lead with single runs in the third and fourth innings. Michael Ratterree doubled to start the Wisconsin third, moved to third on a grounder to the right side of the infield , and scored on a Clint Coulter sacrifice fly. In the fourth, Wisconsin had runners on second and third with two outs. Johnny Davis got the runner home from third with a perfect drag bunt and the Rattlers were within 4-3. But, the Bees added on their lead in the top of the fifth against reliever Rodolfo Fernandez. Stephen McGee doubled just fair inside the line in right to drive in two runs with two outs and Burlington was up 6-3. The Rattlers knocked Bees starting pitcher Garrett Nuss out of the game in the bottom of the sixth. McFarland singled and Jose Pena doubled to get runners on second and third with no outs. Burlington reliever Ben Carlson got the next two batters to strikeout. Davis kept the inning going with a line drive single to left that scored McFarland and got Pena to third base. Carlson would get the final out of the sixth to keep the Bees up 6-4. Steve Halcomb led off the bottom of the seventh with a single off Carlson, but the Rattlers were held scoreless in their final at bat and the Bees took game one. WP: Garrett Nuss (3-0) LP: Zach Quintana (0-2) SAVE: Ben Carlson (2) TIME: 2:40 Wisconsin Game 1 Boxscore I didn't go back and double check this but Chris said during the broadcast that Clint Coulter had been on base in every game thus far, but unfortunately that 22 game streak came to an end in Game 1. Coulter made some nice contact, including his line out to right-center in the 7th, but it wasn't meant to be. Johnny Davis (2-4), Chris McFarland (2-3,2B), and Rafael Neda (2-3,2B) had the multi-hit games. The bats actually collected 10 hits which is pretty darn good in only 7 innings, but the pitching and defense was suspect and the bats couldn't overcome and make up the difference. As MH noted a couple of posts up David Denson left the game after committing an error in the 4th, it was oddly timely as Denson's receiving was a topic of the between games interview (recorded prior to the games) which Chris will post later tonight. Denson did not appear to be injured and should have been on deck to end the Rattler 4th, but Chris missed if he was standing there or Halcomb was. Wisconsin Game 1 Recap Wisconsin Game 1 Gameday

Chris put Gainey's FB which ended the 4th at 91 MPH. He also mentioned and I'm paraphrasing some, "The ball pops out of Coulter's glove, which wasn't worth mentioning last year it happened so often, but he's come a long way."

You like Howard that much Colby? Obviously you think he's a SP long-term if you're taking him at 41?

So Chris said during the broadcast of the 1st game of the doubleheader that the Brewers feel Angel Ortega is a better defender than either Yadiel Rivera or Orlando Arcia despite already committing his 7th and 8th errors of the season during the game.

It sounds like an Avulsion Fracture? This is a new one for me. I shot my good friend who's an athletic trainer a note to ask, he's working with his orthopedics on their new concussion protocol so if he hasn't come across it the docs might have had some experience and will know. edit. He just responded that it sounds like what happens in the ankle and is mostly called an Os Trigonum or possibly Myositis Ossificans both commonly treated with Iontophoresis and there is a drug which breaks down the bone that he can be used as well, but he didn't remember the name.

I reserve the right to bookmark this post and quote it every time you push for a guy who's not an impact talent, old for his league, or some retread veteran you'd like to sign. I find your assignment of value to players and prospects to be completely arbitrary, there has to be some core value that I'm missing because I don't understand the basis of your philosophy. How can you continually push for guys like Halton, Rogers, Suter, and Fiers while ignoring their physical talent and age, yet beat up a legitimately talented player like Wang for his age knowing he lost development time because of where he came from and TJ surgery. How has Wang had remotely the same opportunities as the players you compared him to? I've been beating on the Brewer organization for years regarding their general lack of pursuit of young impact talent but claiming Wang was exactly the type of bold move this organization needed to start building a more robust talent base. I can certainly understand the roster situation Melvin has put the big league club in but at the same time I grow weary of the "competitive teams can't afford..." type statements. Why are those true? Where is there any proof? Sure teams don't generally do certain things, but baseball also generally does a crappy job developing talent. You can win now and make moves for the future at the same time, I'm not sure why people continue to post the opposite when so many teams have proven otherwise over the last 10 years. It doesn't have to be one or the other, now or the future, it can be both, and has to be both if the object is to remain competitive long-term. As far as whether Wang has impact potential or not, pitchfx is struggling to classify his pitches a bit but his average FB velocity is 91.4 even with a min of 84.8 which was more than likely a change and his max is 95.5. There aren't many LHP with that kind of velocity and his FB ave is better than Estrada, Lohse, and Gallardo. Sure he doesn't have an arm like Peralta but we don't have another pitcher in the organization right now with that kind of velocity.

Well first I'd like to point out that real Moneyball concept draft wise was to draft college players because they are more likely to be MLB players. Like all things statistical, that argument was largely dependent on how it was framed and in practical application what was overlooked was the ultimate ceiling of those players, every team that adopted the moneyball drafting philosophy tanked their farm system and by extension their MLB success. That's why no one follows that philosophy anymore, it was a completely superficial look at the drafting process, it lacked the context of the types of players and their ceilings which are available at different points in the draft. As to buying low, that's not what the Brewers did at all. Not only are they paying Lohse a decent wage, they did it in a completely lost season, which cost them not only a first round pick, but the bonus money associated with that pick which handcuffed the entire draft. It's not as simple as 3 years of production vs. a lost prospect, in fact the Brewers have never gotten full production out of a Free Agent pitching contract, Lohse may well be the first, but let's not count our chickens before they are hatched. Assuming the best case scenario it's 3 years of production vs a lost first round talent and multiple steps down in talent throughout draft, which is admittedly extremely difficult to quantify. The MLB draft is extremely unique and nuanced in comparison to other professional drafts, anyone who thinks that "all" signing Lohse cost was a 1st round pick doesn't really have a good grasp of the draft and the trickle down effect of losing that pool money. As to prospects being overvalued I highly disagree. I think many teams are coming around to the idea that the marginal difference in production between prospects and middling FAs isn't worth the cost, which is something a small core of posters on this site has been trying to convince people of for a long time. Is the extra win really worth the 8 million dollar difference in salary for a season? With the Brewers relative lack of success in Free Agency posters on this site should understand this concept better than most, but every year we have the same debates about an incredibly small marginal difference in production at a spot and how this new Free Agent will be better than the last ones, this one is "the guy".

Bees score four late to beat Rattlers 5-1 in game two Wisconsin and Burlington split doubleheader By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Burlington Bees broke open a close game with four runs in the sixth inning to defeat the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 5-1 in game two of a doubleheader at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium on Wednesday night. The teams split the doubleheader as Wisconsin won game one 7-6 in ten innings. Burlington (14-9) jumped to the lead in the first inning. Mark Shannon hit a leadoff double. Three batters later, Ryan Dalton singled to drive in Shannon for the 1-0 lead. Bees starter Mike Clevinger kept the Rattlers (11-13) in check through four innings. He pitched around a two out single by Francisco Castillo in the second and a leadoff double by Taylor Brennan in the third. He took the 1-0 lead to the bottom of the fifth when Brennan struck again for the Rattlers. Brennan, who had the game-winning hit in the bottom of the tenth in game on Wednesday, cracked a long drive to centerfield with one out. The ball cleared the 16-foot high wall 400 feet from home plate for a solo homer to tie the game at 1-1. The home run was the fourth of the season for Brennan. Brennan went 4-for-8 with a single, double, triple, homer, two RBI, and two runs scored in the two games of the twinbill. The tie did not last long. Mike Fish tripled to center to lead off the top of the sixth inning against Rattlers starting pitcher Anthony Banda. Angel Rosa smacked a 2-0 pitch through the drawn-in infield to drive in Fish and give the Bees a 2-1 lead. The hit also knocked Banda out of the game. Wisconsin reliever Tyler Spurlin took over and walked the next two batters to load the bases. His third consecutive walk - this one to Ranyelmy Mendoza forced in Rosa to make the score 3-1 in favor of the Bees. Spurlin struck out the next batter and got Stephen McGee to ground into a force play at second, but the throw to first to complete what would have been an inning ending double play was wild. By the time McGee was tagged out between first and second two more runs scored and the Bees were in control with a 5-1 lead. Clevinger came back out get the first out of the bottom of the sixth inning before turning the lead over to his bullpen. Clevinger allowed one run on four hits with no walks and six strikeouts over 5-1/3 innings to run his record to 3-0. A pair of Burlington relievers got the final five outs to close out the game and earn a split in the doubleheader. Timber Rattlers manager Matt Erickson remains tied with Gary Thurman for the most career wins by a manager. Both have 215 wins. The Rattlers and Bees will wrap up their series with another doubleheader on Thursday. Game one is scheduled to start at 12:05pm. Wisconsin has named Zach Quintana (0-1, 6.00) as their starting pitcher for game one and Preston Gainey (1-1, 1.26) as the starter for game two. Burlington sends Garrett Nuss (2-0, 2.42) to the hill for game one and Elliott Morris to the mound in the nightcap. Thursday is FOX 11 Weather Day. There will be a special pregame presentation from the FOX 11 weather team and an opportunity for fans to check out the Wisconsin Storm Chasers vehicles. Bring out a school group for a special ticket price. All fans can enjoy 16oz soda, beer, or Arty's Old Fashioned drinks for just $2 as part of Thirsty Thursday presented by Arty's Old Fashioned and 95.9 KISS FM. Since this is a day game, 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 for a bonus Business Person Special from Baker Tilly, WVBO, and AM1280 WNAM. The offer is also available to senior citizens (55 & older). If you can't make it out to the game, catch both games on AM1280, WNAM or IHeartRadio starting with the Pregame Show at 12:45pm. Both games are also available to subscribers of MiLB.TV. HOME RUN: WIS: Taylor Brennan (4th, 0 on in 5th inning off Mike Clevinger, 1 out) WP: Mike Clevinger (3-0) LP: Anthony Banda (1-2) TIME: 2:14 ATTN: 1,388 Wisconsin Game 2 Boxscore Well I was hoping for a sweep when I got home but it wasn't meant to be, I have the end of game 1 and most of game 2 on the DVR so if I see anything noteworthy when when I catch up I'll pass it along. Taylor Brennan (2-3,2B,HR) had the only multi-hit game, though of course this was a shortened contest. Brennan has a 5 game hit streak which has pushed his AVE back up to .246. Wisconsin Game 2 Recap This my friends was the game. Burlington Top of the 6th Mike Fish triples (2) on a fly ball to center fielder Johnny Davis. Angel Rosa singles on a line drive to center fielder Johnny Davis. Mike Fish scores. Pitching Change: Tyler Spurlin replaces Anthony Banda. Ryan Dalton walks. Angel Rosa to 2nd. Exicardo Cayones walks. Angel Rosa to 3rd. Ryan Dalton to 2nd. Ranyelmy Mendoza walks. Angel Rosa scores. Ryan Dalton to 3rd. Exicardo Cayones to 2nd. Ismael Dionicio called out on strikes. Stephen McGee grounds into a force out, third baseman Taylor Smith-Brennan to second baseman Francisco Castillo. Ryan Dalton scores. Exicardo Cayones scores. Stephen McGee advances to 2nd, on a throwing error by second baseman Francisco Castillo. Stephen McGee out at 2nd, first baseman David Denson to second baseman Francisco Castillo to first baseman David Denson. Wisconsin Game 2 Gameday

Sounds Hold On For 3-2 Nightcap Win Nashville's Sweeps Z's in Doubleheader; Moves Into 1st-Place Tie Nashville Sounds http://www.milb.com/assets/images/0/0/8/73915008/cuts/_MPS1513_Large_h1gjbwoa_qoathwty.jpg NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Nashville Sounds fought off a late rally by the New Orleans Zephyrs in game two of Wednesday's doubleheader to win 3-2 and sweep the twinbill In the game's final inning, the Zephyrs broke Nashville's streak of 17 consecutive scoreless innings pitched, which spanned three games, on Taylor Harbin solo home run to left field. The shot came off reliever Donovan Hand, who later allowed an RBI-double to Brian Bogusevic, cutting the Sounds' lead to one. Hand held on though, stranding the game-tying runner on third base with a fly-out to earn his 5th save of the season. The two victories on the day move Nashville (14-12) into a first-place tie with Round Rock in the Pacific Coast League's American Southern Division. The night also marks Nashville's first doubleheader sweep since July 14, 2011 against Albuquerque. Nashville established its game two lead with singles from Caleb Gindl, Hunter Morris, and Jeremy Hermida in the first inning. Hermida's RBI-single got behind New Orleans right-fielder Jake Marisnick, who was charged with a fielding error that scored Morris on the play, for a 2-0 lead. The Sounds picked up one additional run in the home half of the fifth inning, which proved to be the difference. Pete Orr tapped a sacrifice bunt, scoring pinch-hitter Eugenio Velez, who doubled to the gap in right-center to reach base. Spot starter Alfredo Figaro held the Zephyrs to two hits through four scoreless innings with three strikeouts and one walk, before Brent Leach (1-0) entered in the fifth. He picked up the win with a scoreless frame, twirling a strikeout with the bases loaded to end the inning. Rehabbing Brewers outfielder Logan Schafer went 1-for-3 on the night, batting from the lead-off spot. He picked up his lone hit by legging out an infield single in the fifth. The Sounds wrap the four-game series with a 7:05 p.m. finale on Thursday evening. Left-hander Brad Mills (2-0, 2.95) will toe the slab for the Sounds to face New Orleans right-hander Bryan Evans (3-1, 5.13). Broadcaster Jeff Hem has the call on 102.5 The Game. Nashville Game 2 Boxscore 10 days ago Caleb Gindl's season stat line was awful, it's amazing how quickly the season batting lines can turn this time of year. Nashville Game 2 recap Nashville Game 2 Gameday

Final Game 1: Nashville 1, New Orleans 0 (7 Innings) Fiers Tosses Two-Hit Shutout In Twinbill Opener Right-hander Lowers Season ERA To 0.80 With Fifth Straight Quality Start Nashville Sounds http://www.milb.com/assets/images/2/6/4/73876264/cuts/_MPS0615_t0wi1atc_b76j0j9g.jpg (Mike Strasinger / Nashville Sounds) NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Sounds right-hander Mike Fiers continued his outstanding start to the year, winning his fifth straight outing by tossing a seven-inning, two-hit shutout against New Orleans in Nashville's 1-0 victory in the opener of a doubleheader on Wednesday evening at Greer Stadium. Nashville (13-12), which pulled into a tie for the division lead with its second shutout win of the year, has been victorious in four of its last five games. Fiers (5-0), the PCL strikeouts leader, upped his circuit-leading total to 47 with 11 K's on the evening while lowering his ERA to 0.80 on the year (3er/33.2ip). He has hurled quality starts in each of his five victories this season. Fiers became the first Nashville hurler to post three consecutive double-digit strikeout totals since the club joined the PCL in 1998. The Sounds scored the contest's only run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Sean Halton doubled with one out against Zephyrs lefty Brian Flynn (2-2) and scored two batters later on catcher Robinzon Diaz's two-out RBI single to center. A pair of hot Nashville hitters continued to handle smoldering lumber in the opener: Irving Falu and Caleb Gindl each recorded two-hit efforts. Falu has hit safely in 10 of his last 11 contests at a .350 clip (14-for-40), while Gindl -- who is hitting .375 over his last 10 tilts (15-for-40) -- upped his longest hit streak of the year to six games. Nashville Game 1 Boxscore I'm running out of adjectives to describe each successive Mike Fiers start so I'm not even going to try, Mike threw 63 of 93 pitches for strikes. Nashville Game 1 Recap Nashville Game 1 Gameday

Rattlers rally to win in ten over the Bees in game one Brennan's tenth inning single drives in winning run By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers rallied for a 7-6 victory over the Burlington Bees in game one of a doubleheader at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium on Wednesday night. Taylor Brennan's broken-bat single in the bottom of the tenth drove in the winning run. Burlington (13-9) grabbed an early lead two batters into the game. Kody Eaves started the game with a double. Mark Shannon followed with an RBI double and the Bees were up 1-0. The Bees tacked on three more runs in the top of the third. Erick Salcedo and Kody Eaves had back-to-back singles to start the inning and put runners at the corners. Shannon drove in Salcedo with a sacrifice fly. Rattlers starting pitcher Victor Diaz walked the next batter. Anthony Bemboom drove in both runners on base with a double to push Burlington's lead out to 4-0. Wisconsin (11-12) rallied in the bottom of the third. Brennan started the inning with a triple. Omar Garcia drew a one out walk to give Wisconsin runners on first and third. Johnny Davis singled to drive in Brennan and put the Rattlers on the scoreboard. Ratterree fell behind Burlington starting pitcher Clint Sharp 0-2 and fouled off a pitch to hang in the at bat. Ratterree launched the next pitch over the wall in left for a three-run home run. His fourth homer of the season tied the game 4-4. Burlington went back in front in the top of the fifth against Wisconsin reliever Chris Razo. Eaves doubled to start the inning. A deep fly to center off the bat of Shannon moved Eaves to third base. The Rattlers infield was drawn in to get Eaves at the plate, but a high chopper over the mound for groundout by Mike Fish was enough to get the run home and the Bees a 5-4 lead. Omar Garcia put together a good at bat to start the bottom of the fifth by fouling off four two-strike pitches before he singled to center. Garcia stole second, but Sharp got a strikeout before he left in favor or Trevor Foss. Foss entered the game and Garcia stole third to be in prime scoring position as the tying run with one out. Foss got Ratterree on a popout to shallow center, walked David Denson, and struck out Clint Coulter to keep the Bees in front. Burlington added an insurance run in the top of the seventh. Eaves walked with one out and stole second. Fish doubled to left with two out and Eaves scored for a 6-4 lead. Bees closer Alan Busenitz recorded two quick outs in the bottom of the seventh and had an 0-2 count on Davis. But, Davis reached on an infield single. An error on the play moved him to second base. Ratterree fell behind 1-2 to Busenitz, but worked the count full before coaxing a walk. The first pitch to Denson was a wild pitch by Eaves and that moved Davis and Ratterree into scoring position. Denson grounded a 1-1 pitch through the right side of the infield to knock in both runners and tie the game 6-6. Rattlers reliever Trevor Seidenberger came on in the top of the eighth inning and worked three scoreless innings to keep the game tied. In the bottom of the tenth, Coulter and Jose Pena walked with one out against Burlington reliever Michael Smith. Smith got the second out of the inning. Then, Brennan's blooper to right dropped in off the glove of second baseman Kody Eaves for a hit. Coulter scored easily from second to give the Rattlers the win. The win allowed the Timber Rattlers to snap a four game losing streak. The win was also the 215th of Matt Erickson's managerial career with the Timber Rattlers. Erickson has tied Gary Thurman's franchise record for career wins by a manager. HOME RUN: Michael Ratterree (4th, 2 on in 3rd inning off Clint Sharp, 1 out) WP: Trevor Seidenberger (1-0) LP: Michael Smith (1-1) TIME: 3:24 Wisconsin Game 1 Boxscore What a wonderful comeback win in game 1 for the T-Rats. Johnny Davis (3-5) and Taylor Brennan (2-5,3B) had the multi hit games. Trevor Seidenberger's 3 scoreless innings were his best outing of the season. Wisconsin Game 1 Recap Wisconsin Game 1 Gameday