TheCrew07

Jorge Soler is the only divisional prospect winner this week. Offensive Players of the Week

I don't really think Gomez should be considered untouchable, off the top of my head a couple of organizations with WS aspirations jump out at me. If someone like Nationals would want to make a WS run and give us Anthony Rendon (who's blocked at 3B and can play 2B) + whatever for Gomez I would seriously consider that deal. San Fran needs a CF and has a ton of young pitching that's a bit farther away than I would like but if they offered some combination of Crick/Stratton/Kickham/Hembree Melvin should at least have to consider it. I would highly doubt that Melvin would trade Gomez after extending him, in fact I would put the chances arond 5%, but he's just hitting his peak both in terms of age and production, he would bring in a very good return. I guess my bottom line would be without the pitching what does the rest matter? We've been going down the same road since 2006, we know where it leads, time to find a different approach. edit. I agree logan, could always move one of the players to 2B.

I'm always open to trade anyone, my untouchable list is pretty small... Braun, Segura, and maybe Gallardo. Yo used to be firmly on that list but with his velocity slipping and his control waning over the last 2 years I'd be okay letting him go for the proper package. As a general rule I'm not into quantity deals, I'd rather get back one 1 legit prospect than 2 or 3 so-so guys. As always I'd be looking for impact pitching less than 2 years away from MLB but if the organizations don't match-up from a pitching standpoint I'd certainly take the best positional prospect available. On the IF SS is the only position we have locked up with any longevity and in the OF Braun is the only player under team control more than 3 seasons. Well technically Aoki is as well, but he's already 31 and I'm not sure he'll ever be an .800+ OPS type guy. He's certainly productive, but replaceable. I've posted many times that I'm not a huge Gomez fan and don't trust him, but the longer this streak goes, the easier it is to believe that he's finally arrived. If someone was going to give us a Shields' type package for him I'd seriously considering moving him as well. The farm system has Adequate OF depth after last year's draft, and I really like Tyrone Taylor as a CF while Mitch Haniger has the positional flexibility to play any OF position. We're short on impact pitching and the corner IF so if it was possible I would prioritize by said positions. There's no need to trade players just to trade players but if the right package is out there, why not? The organization can say what they want about another hot streak but if the ship doesn't right itself immediately this road trip could be disastrous coupled with the 4 game sweep at home by the Cards. If we lose the next 2 series I'm just not sure the ship is rightable, a 2-12 stretch vs division opponents might a hole dug too deep and it's only mid May. I hate to say it but the 4 games against the Pirates might well be the season. If we win the next 2 series we'd at least be 5-9 over that 14 game stretch which is still terrible but the door would still be open. The 9 game winning streak came largely at the expense of the 2 of the worst teams in the NL, sweeping the Giants was an accomplishment but we don't have another stretch against that kind of competition until immediately following the All-Star game. I just don't see the Brewers ripping off another long winning streak. For example who knows what we'll get from the Marlins with all those young players, especially if they call-up Yelich, the speculation of which only keeps gaining steam. Ozuna is already up and hitting well if they add Yelich all of a sudden Miami's OF would be pretty stellar. Their IF would still be underwhelming, but their pitching has been surprisingly decent, at any rate with Ozuna and Yelich they certainly wouldn't be as bad as they were a month ago from a talent standpoint. Getting Hart back will help, but Yuni B and Gomez have essentially covered what we thought we'd be missing from him while he was gone anyway. Yuni is showing signs of finally returning to the Yuni we know and love to hate, so Hart would be a slight upgrade from Yuni's current season stat line. If Gomez keeps hitting the offense will be potent but the pitching is still the wild card. I think Peralta will be up and down all year, he hasn't necessarily pitched bad, but the results have been poor, I believe he will continue to progress. I have a hard time believing Lohse is a low 3 ERA pitcher and I was never high on Estrada or Narveson, I'm just not sure our starting pitching is going to be good enough unless some of the younger pitchers in AA and AAA come up and solidify the rotation like Thornburg, Hellweg, or Nelson... but I'm not sure any of that trio will be advanced enough to come up and permanently stick, we might be a year away on those guys yet. I allowed myself a sliver of hope for Rogers after last season but I'm no longer holding out any hope for him as a starter. He was going to have to get by being effectively wild but he can't stay healthy and lost 5 MPH on his FB over the winter, and I'm sure the 2 issues are related. If we could land a couple more advanced high ceiling pitching prospects plus an impact IF type I'd feel pretty good about any possible trades made. Melvin surprised me by making the Greinke trade last year, I've been in rare territory with him supporting that trade, but I'd like to see a couple more moves along that same line to solidify our future. Again, I'm not suggesting trades just to dump salary, I'd be looking to acquire meaningful talent at positions of need or I'd want Melvin to walk away from the deal. If a team is only offering OF prospects why would we want to make that trade given that's a MLB and organizational strength for the Brewers? That would be a trade Melvin should walk away from as we have organizational needs at 3B, 2B, and 1B in the near future (arguably now in the case of 2B), for me to take an OF prospect it would have to be someone like Taveras and there's no way STL is trading him within the division or at all.

Tyler Glasnow RHP of the Pirates mentioned whom as the article states tends to be overlooked (I'm certainly guilty) and Billy Hamilton of Red discussed. Monday Prospect Notebook: Rafael DePaula Delivers For Yankees

The players picked around Jungmann and Bradley continue to shine. The top of the 2011 draft may haunt us with "what ifs" for quite some time. Rays' Guerrieri whiffs 10 for Hot Rods

Altoona's Taillon makes mother proud

Redbirds' Taveras injures right ankle

How exactly do the Brewers extend Hart? Another back loaded deal like Ramirez and Lohse have signed? More deferred money? Hart is gone after this season regardless, the way the payroll is structured the Brewers couldn't afford him if they wanted to. Furthermore how would trading a player who's gone after this year, and another who's gone after next year make the Brewers a AAA team? The bottom line is that we need young impact pitching and if 2 of Peralta, Hellweg, Thornburg, and Nelson aren't those guys then what? This continual parade of averagish, aging, and declining FA pitchers continues? The possibility of finishing in 3rd place even with Lohse was the primary argument many had against signing him in the first place. What good does it do to give up a first round pick to miss the playoffs regardless, contract years and deferred money aside for the player being signed? The pitching thing isn't RR's fault nor was in the fault of Macha or Yost before him. There are maybe 2 really good pitching coaches in MLB and the Brewers' best teacher of pitching mechanics is wasting away as the bullpen coach in Milwaukee, what a horrible waste of resources. Is RR the best manager in baseball? No, but he's not the worst either, and I'll say I think he's a better manager than Melvin is a GM. As much as I hate defined bullpen roles, closers, and pretty much everything that goes on with the bullpen, our managers have been working with a razor thin margin for error most years because our pitching has been so bad. Either the starters stink and they have to use the bullpen too much or the pen stinks and as soon as the starters leave the adventure begins. If they try to run the starters too long and they blow up it was a bad call because that what relievers are there for and if the relievers give up the game the starter should have pitched longer. Most the managers have been damned if they do and damned if they don't, it's been a constant no win scenario. The biggest problem has been that outside of Sheets and Sabathia what starters have we had who were efficient enough with their pitches to actually ride into the 7th or 8th in less than 115 pitches? Yo and Greinke mess around too much out of the zone which is why Greinke struggles against more patient line-ups, they aren't attacking in the strike zone throughout the AB. The rest of the guys weren't super talented to begin but pretty all of our pitchers have been right around 6 inning guys. Therefore even when the starting pitching has been good from an ERA standpoint far too many innings over the course of the season were left to the bullpen, and typically your worst pitchers are in the bullpen. If they were "that" good they'd still be starters... We can complain about the manager all we want but the simple truth is the Brewers haven't maintained a pipeline of impact talent coming up to the MLB team nor have the Brewers moved to acquire said talent outside of 1 trade last season, which may have been too little/too late. How many MLB managers are going to make chicken salad from chicken.... you know? Personally I think the managers draw far too much criticism when the true culprit is placed much higher up the chain.

Bees deny Rattlers chance to get above .500 Burlington topped Wisconsin 8-3 on Sunday afternoon By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Burlington Bees and Wisconsin Timber Rattlers threw a lot of opportunities at each other on Sunday afternoon at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. The Bees would be the team that cashed in the most chances as they beat the Rattlers 8-3. The loss denied Wisconsin a chance to get above the .500 mark for the first time since they were 2-1 on April 6. The Bees (12-19) did not score early on a two-out rally. Wisconsin's starting pitcher Jorge Lopez struck out the first two Burlington batters he faced. He walked the next two and allowed an infield single to load the bases. Lopez would get a strike out to end the inning and keep the Bees off the scoreboard. It did not take long for the Rattlers (16-17) to take the lead. Tyrone Taylor doubled to left to start the bottom of the first. Michael Reed followed with another double to plate Taylor for a 1-0 lead. Adam Giacalone made it 2-0 with a single to drive in Reed later in the inning. But, that was the last run Burlington starter Jake Boyd would allow. Boyd pitched a total of five innings, allowed one more hit, and let his offense get back into the game. The Bees scored in the top of the second inning. Jonathan Walsh drew a leadoff walk and Sandy Martinez singled. Pedro Toribio would bloop in a single to center, his first of four singles in the game, to drive in Walsh. Burlington took the lead in the top of the fourth inning. Martinez reached on an infield single and took second on a throwing error. Toribio dropped a bunt single to put runners on the corners. Wendell Soto was at the plate and Toribio took off for second. Catcher Clint Coulter bluffed a throw to second and fired to third. The throw glanced off Martinez and bounced into left field. By the time the play was over, Martinez had scored the tying run and Toribio was on third base. Wendell Soto put Burlington in front with a triple to score Toribio. Then, Lopez had a 3-2 pitch on Kyle Johnson and threw a wild pitch on ball for to let Soto score. Taylor Mangum took over for Lopez after that wild pitch and would give up a one out RBI double by Wade Hinkle to make the score 5-2. The Bees added three more runs in the top of the sixth. A two-out, two-run triple by Michael Bolaski put Burlington up by five. A Wisconsin error, their third of the game, allowed Bolaski to score for an 8-2 lead. Wisconsin patched together a rally in the bottom of the eighth against Burlington reliever Reid Scoggins. They had runners on first and second with two outs and Mike Garza's single to right scored Alfredo Rodriguez. A walk to Orlando Arcia, the sixth of the game issued by Scoggins, loaded the bases. But, Scoggins got the final out. The Rattlers would draw a walk off Joseph Krehbiel, their eleventh of the game against Burlington pitching, in the ninth inning. But, Wisconsin did not threaten to score and went down quietly in the ninth. The pitchers for both teams combined to walk twenty in the game. Wisconsin's defense committed four errors. The final game of the series is Monday night at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Preston Gainey (1-3, 8.82) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Burlington has Aaron Newcomb (1-1, 4.02) as their scheduled starter. Game time is 6:35pm. Monday is a Qdoba Q*Monday. Purchase a lunch entrée at the Qdoba off Calumet on the east side or at the Qdoba by the Fox River Mall on the west side and you will receive a free ticket to any Monday home game during the 2013 regular season. If you can't make it out to the game, My NEW32's Sports Showdown will televise the pregame show starting with the pregame show at 6:00pm. The radio call can be heard on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame at 6:15pm. Monday's game is also available to subscribers of MiLB.TV. WP: Jake Boyd (2-3) LP: Jorge Lopez (0-3) TIME: 3:03 ATTN: 3,327 It could have been that other game – Postgame post for May 12, 2013 Wisconsin Boxscore I only listened to this game through Orlando Arcia's error on the routine grounder. Remember yesterday when I posted that Burlington has the worst offense in the MWL? Well even though every team rises up here and there I still found this performance extremely demoralizing in conjunction with the MLB game. The only positives from this game were Michael Reed's 2 hits plus an OF assist and Mitch Haniger's 2 walks and 2 OF assists. Arcia also walked twice but also committed 2 errors after Chris talked at length about how Orlando has continually made "heady" plays beyond his years. Unfortunately Clint Coulter committed his 6th error and 10th PB during the contest, based on what I've watched on TV and in person, he's miles away from being a MLB catcher today and his defensive play hasn't ascended at all yet. I know we're just a month into the season and there is still plenty of time but combined with his hitting woes maybe WI was just too aggressive a placement for him, he's got so much to work on facing the best competition he's ever played against. It would be a tall order for anyone in a similar position. Clint did nab 1 would be base stealer in the game. Kyle Johnson a 25th round pick of the Angels in 2012 is now 22 for 22 in SB attempts. Wisconsin Recap *sigh* wildly inconsistent even during the same innings... Burlington Top of the 4th Sandy Martinez singles on a ground ball to third baseman Mike Garza. Sandy Martinez advances to 2nd, on a throwing error by third baseman Mike Garza. Pedro Toribio singles on a bunt ground ball to third baseman Mike Garza. Sandy Martinez to 3rd. With Wendell Soto batting, throwing error by Clint Coulter on the pickoff attempt, Sandy Martinez scores. Pedro Toribio to 2nd. Wendell Soto triples (2) on a fly ball to center fielder Tyrone Taylor. Pedro Toribio scores. With Kyle Johnson batting, wild pitch by Jorge Lopez, Wendell Soto scores. Kyle Johnson walks. Pitching Change: Taylor Mangum replaces Jorge Lopez. With Sherman Johnson batting, Kyle Johnson steals (22) 2nd base. Sherman Johnson grounds out, second baseman Alfredo Rodriguez to first baseman Adam Giacalone. Kyle Johnson to 3rd. Wade Hinkle doubles (6) on a line drive to right fielder Mitch Haniger. Kyle Johnson scores. Michael Bolaski grounds out, second baseman Alfredo Rodriguez to first baseman Adam Giacalone. Wade Hinkle to 3rd. Chevy Clarke strikes out swinging. Burlington Top of the 6th Pitching Change: Ryan Gibbard replaces Taylor Mangum. Wendell Soto walks. With Kyle Johnson batting, Wendell Soto steals (3) 2nd base. Kyle Johnson singles on a ground ball to right fielder Mitch Haniger. Wendell Soto out at home on the throw, right fielder Mitch Haniger to catcher Clint Coulter. Kyle Johnson to 2nd on the throw. Sherman Johnson walks. With Wade Hinkle batting, Ryan Gibbard picks off Kyle Johnson at 2nd on throw to Orlando Arcia. Wade Hinkle walks. Sherman Johnson to 2nd. With Michael Bolaski batting, wild pitch by Ryan Gibbard, Sherman Johnson to 3rd. Wade Hinkle to 2nd. Michael Bolaski triples (1) on a fly ball to right fielder Mitch Haniger. Sherman Johnson scores. Wade Hinkle scores. Chevy Clarke reaches on a throwing error by shortstop Orlando Arcia. Michael Bolaski scores. With Jonathan Walsh batting, Chevy Clarke caught stealing 2nd base, catcher Clint Coulter to shortstop Orlando Arcia. Wisconsin Gameday

Chris knocks another post game out of the park. Be Opportunistic – Postgame post for May 11, 2013

Well at least Thornburg's 10 strike outs were encouraging.

Final: Wisconsin 4, Burlington (Angels) 2 Blaski and the Rattlers beat the Bees Rattlers starter strikes out 7 in victory over Burlington By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers moved back to the .500 mark with a 4-2 win over the Burlington Bees Saturday night at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Austin Blaski tossed another solid start, the Rattlers offense was opportunistic to grab a 4-0 lead, and the bullpen held on for the win. Wisconsin (16-16) was not opportunistic early as they loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the first inning, but did not score. The Rattlers loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the third inning and cashed in on a sacrifice fly by Adam Giacalone for a 1-0 lead. Tyrone Taylor reached first on a two out error in the bottom of the fourth inning. Alfredo Rodriguez doubled into the corner in left and Taylor raced home to make it 2-0. Cameron Bedrosian entered the game for the Bees in the bottom of the sixth inning just as a steady rain began to fall. Clint Coulter singled and would wind up on third base after an errant pickoff attempt by Bedrosian. One out later Orlando Arcia drew a walk. Arcia would steal second with Tyrone Taylor at the plate. The ball got by Burlington catcher Anthony Bemboom for a passed ball to allow Coulter to score and Arcia to wind up at third base. Later in the at bat Taylor would strike out on a pitch in the dirt. Bemboom had to throw down to first to retire Taylor for the second out and Arcia timed his break from third perfectly to beat the return throw to the plate to score the run that made it 4-0. Blaski left the game with Jonathan Walsh at first and two outs in the top of the seventh inning with that 4-0 lead intact and the rain still falling on the stadium. Reliever Jono Armold entered the game and balked when he tried to make his first pitch to Chevy Clarke and he nearly tripped. Armold threw a wild pitch on his next offering and Walsh took third base. Then, Clarke walked and the Bees (11-19) were in business. Another wild pitch by Armold let Walsh score and move Clarke into scoring position. Clarke would steal third and score on a throwing error to cut the lead to 4-2. Armold would get out of the inning and pitch a scoreless eighth. Taylor Wall worked a scoreless ninth inning to close out the game and pick up his fourth save of the season. Blaski allowed a run on two hits over 6-2/3 innings. He struck out seven and earned his second win of the season. Game two of the series is Sunday afternoon. Jorge Lopez (0-2, 12.15) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Burlington has Jake Boyd (1-3, 2.61) as their scheduled starter. Game time is 1:05pm. The Timber Rattlers will wear special pink jerseys on Mother's Day. There will be a silent auction for the jerseys during the game with proceeds going to the Susan G. Komen Foundation of Central Wisconsin. Fans may catch on the field before the game and there is a postgame autograph session scheduled, too. During the game on Sunday, the first Survivor Games from Affinity Health Systems will be held. Breast cancer survivor Kathy Buelen will be presented with a pink jersey after the third inning to celebrate her survival. If you can't make it out to the stadium, tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 12:45pm. Sunday's game is also available to subscribers of MiLB.TV. WP: Austin Blaski (2-0) LP: Pat Lowery (0-1) SAVE: Taylor Wall (4) TIME: 2:31 ATTN: 3,733 Wisconsin Boxscore The 4 runs on only 4 hits is pretty sweet but only 6 hits in the last 16 innings isn't so hot. This team is at .500 again despite being 13th in the 16 team MWL in AVE, only Great Lakes, Dayton, and today's opponent Burlington are worse. If you are curious about the OPS rank, the Rattlers are 12th... 11th in SLG, 13th in OBP... you get the idea. On the positive side they have 5th best strike out total and have the 7th most stolen bases. This team is so young you just have to believe there are better days ahead offensively. Austin Blaski is off to a nice start here in 2013, he's faced the whole gambit of offenses within the league, it's not like he's feasting on the bottom feeders. He's faced the top 3 offenses, the bottom 2 offenses, and 2 teams who are middle of the road. Clint Coulter's error was his 4th on the season. Wisconsin Recap Not so clutch in the first and 3rd. Wisconsin Bottom of the 1st Tyrone Taylor doubles (5) on a line drive to left fielder Jonathan Walsh. Alfredo Rodriguez grounds out, third baseman Michael Bolaski to first baseman Wade Hinkle. Mitch Haniger walks. With Victor Roache batting, wild pitch by Pat Lowery, Tyrone Taylor to 3rd. Mitch Haniger to 2nd. Victor Roache hit by pitch. Adam Giacalone strikes out swinging. Mike Garza grounds into a force out, third baseman Michael Bolaski to second baseman Kevin Moesquit. Victor Roache out at 2nd. Wisconsin Bottom of the 3rd Alfredo Rodriguez walks. Mitch Haniger reaches on a fielding error by third baseman Michael Bolaski. Alfredo Rodriguez to 2nd. Victor Roache walks. Alfredo Rodriguez to 3rd. Mitch Haniger to 2nd. Adam Giacalone out on a sacrifice fly to left fielder Jonathan Walsh. Alfredo Rodriguez scores. Mike Garza grounds out, first baseman Wade Hinkle to pitcher Pat Lowery. Mitch Haniger to 3rd. Victor Roache to 2nd. Clint Coulter grounds out, second baseman Kevin Moesquit to first baseman Wade Hinkle. This was sloppy, sloppy, sloppy. Burlington Top of the 7th Kyle Johnson grounds out, second baseman Alfredo Rodriguez to first baseman Adam Giacalone. Wade Hinkle walks. Jonathan Walsh grounds into a force out, first baseman Adam Giacalone to shortstop Orlando Arcia. Wade Hinkle out at 2nd. Jonathan Walsh to 1st. Pitching Change: Jonathan Armold replaces Austin Blaski. With Chevy Clarke batting, Jonathan Walsh advances to 2nd on a balk. With Chevy Clarke batting, wild pitch by Jonathan Armold, Jonathan Walsh to 3rd. Chevy Clarke walks. With Michael Bolaski batting, wild pitch by Jonathan Armold, Jonathan Walsh scores. Chevy Clarke to 2nd. With Michael Bolaski batting, Chevy Clarke steals (3) 3rd base, Chevy Clarke scores. Throwing error by catcher Clint Coulter. Michael Bolaski walks. Andrew Ray grounds out, first baseman Adam Giacalone to pitcher Jonathan Armold. Wisconsin Gameday

Well no catcher in the major leagues has ever called for a belt high FB right down the middle, those are mistakes.

I didn't listen to this yet because I have to get out the door and go help build a deck for my sister's pool but apparently Carlos Martinez of the Cards is discussed. Prospect Handbook Podcast Talks Jose Fernandez, Carlos Martinez And More

2013 Top 100 Draft Prospects (May 10): Jonathan Gray Takes Top Spot The 4 scouting report articles are subscriber content. 2013 Draft Top 100 Scouting Reports: 1-25 2013 Draft Top 100 Scouting Reports: 26-50 2013 Draft Top 100 Scouting Reports: 51-75 2013 Draft Top 100 Scouting Reports: 76-100 edit. A couple of HS LHP in that 50-70 range, I like me a projectable lefty. Garrett Williams looks to be someone I'd be interested in.

I wish Taveras wasn't going to be in our division, it's unusual to have the kind of injury insurance that both he and Profar are providing this year their respective clubs. Taveras, Wacha take flight for Redbirds

Blah, blah, another Cards' prospect performing well, blah. Piscotty breaks out, homers twice

Well that didn't take long after the the hot sheet chat questions about him yesterday... Hamilton takes novel path to scoring

A bunch of divisional mentions today. Prospect Hot Sheet Chat With J.J. Cooper

Unsworth stops Rattlers in game two Clinton starter K's five in five scoreless innings to get split By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - Dylan Unsworth didn't allow the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers to stage a comeback in game two of doubleheader Saturday night at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Unsworth was handed an early 1-0 lead and never let it go as Clinton earned the split with a 7-0 shutout in the nightcap. Clinton (15-17) grabbed the lead two batters into the game. Tim Lopes singled and stole second. Dario Pizzano doubled to left to drive in Lopes for a 1-0 advantage. The LumberKings padded their lead with three runs in the top of the fourth. Gaby Guerrero singled to lead off the inning. An errant pickoff throw by Leonard Lorenzo allowed Guerrero to race around to third base. Wisconsin brought the infield in to try and get the run at the plate. Lorenzo got Jordy Lara to send a slow grounder to short, but the throw home was a little off and Lorenzo scored for a 2-0 lead. One out later, Ketel Marte tripled into the corner in right to drive in Lara. A wild pitch let Marte score for a 4-0 lead. Clinton tacked on two runs in the fifth with two-out solo home run by Tyler Marlette and an RBI single by Lara. An RBI double by Pizzano in the sixth wrapped up the scoring for the LumberKings. Wisconsin (15-16) trailed game one 3-0 and were being no-hit heading to the bottom of the sixth inning in game one of the twinbill, but rallied for a 4-3 win. They managed two hits against Unsworth and could not put together a rally in game two. Michael Reed singled with one out in the first inning. Tyrone Taylor's popup behind short dropped in for a double with two outs in the third. Those hits and a Taylor walk with one out in the sixth inning against reliever Blake Holovach would be it for the Wisconsin offense in game two. Unsworth struck out five and didn't walk a batter over five innings. He extended his scoreless streak to 14-1/3 innings and picked up the win to move his record to 3-0. The Timber Rattlers continue their homestand on Saturday night when they welcome the Burlington Bees to Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Wisconsin has Austin Blaski (1-0, 1.47) as their scheduled starting pitcher. Burlington has named Pat Lowery as their starting pitcher. Lowery will be making his Midwest League debut on Saturday. First pitch is 6:35pm. Tomorrow is a Fly Away Saturday. One lucky fan will win charter airfare for two from Funjet Vacations and Fox World Travel. Local band Autopilot will perform before after the game. If you can't make it out to the stadium, tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:15pm. Saturday's game is also available to subscribers of MiLB.tv. WP: Dylan Unsworth (3-0) LP: Leonard Lorenzo (1-2) TIME: 1:54 ATTN: 4,365 Chris' double header thoughts. Another split – Postgame post May 10, 2013 Wisconsin Game 2 Boxscore This was an awful performance, that's about it. The Tyrone Taylor "double" was another play I hadn't witnessed in professional baseball before, literally 4 different Clinton players could have caught the ball and all of them stood there watching waiting for someone else to catch it. When the ball landed no one was within 10 feet, just strange... I've seen plenty of players collide, but I've never been at a game where literally no one made an attempt to catch the ball. Unfortunately neither Rodolfo Fernandez or Leonard Lorenzo looked like anything special, both worked 89-91 with the FB and everything was up in the zone, and I do mean every FB. The only pitches around the knees from either guy were breaking balls. It got pretty cold once the sun went down, I had to put the hoodie up and steal a rain jacket from my pops for an extra layer, but that's not really an excuse. Clinton's pitchers continued to take advantage of the low strike zone in game 2 but neither Fernandez or Lorenzo could do the same. In an earlier Link Report I had mentioned Chris McFarland's mysterious spike in strike outs over his last 10 games, it's not a mystery anymore, he likes the high ones. Wisconsin Game 2 Recap Please move along there's nothing to see here. Wisconsin Game 2 Gameday

Late homers lead Rattlers past LumberKings Taylor, Roache go deep in sixth inning for 4-3 victory By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers were being no-hit through five innings in game one of a doubleheader on Friday night at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. The Rattlers collected four hits, including home runs by Tyrone Taylor and Victor Roache, to rally from a 3-0 deficit to defeat the Clinton LumberKings 4-3. Clinton (14-17) got on the board in the top of the third inning. David Villasuso singled to start the inning, but was still there with two outs. Dario Pizzano doubled into the left field corner and Villasuso headed for home. The relay throw from shortstop Orlando Arcia beat VIllasuso to the plate by ten feet. But, plate umpire Jeremie Rehak ruled that Villasuso eluded the tag and ruled the Clinton base runner safe. Timber Rattlers catcher Parker Berberet argued the call briefly before being ejected as manager Matt Erickson raced out to prevent his backstop getting the thumb. After a few more moments, Erickson was ejected from the game, too. The LumberKings scored their second run in a less controversial fashion. Jordy Lara hit a 3-1 pitch from Damien Magnifico over the wall in left field for a solo homer and a 2-0 lead. Wisconsin (15-15) got their first runner of the game when Adam Giacalone drew a one out walk in the bottom of the fifth inning. Clinton starting pitcher Matt Anderson set down the first thirteen batters of the game before the walk to Giacalone. Then, Alfredo Rodriguez coaxed a two out walk and Clint Coulter was hit by an 0-2 pitch to load the bases. But, Anderson got out of the inning when Orlando Arcia lined out to first. Clinton added a run in the top of the sixth. Gaby Guerrero doubled off the third base bag with two outs to drive in Pizzano for a 3-0 advantage. But, it wasn't enough. Taylor broke up Anderson's no-hit bid with a home run to lead off the bottom of the sixth. Michael Reed and Mitch Haniger followed with consecutive singles to bring Roache to the plate as the go ahead run. Roache lined a long home run to left on a 1-0 pitch and the Rattlers were suddenly up 4-3. Taylor Mangum took over for Magnifico in the top of the seventh. Mangum struck out two to nail down his second save of the season and the Rattlers win in the opening game of the doubleheader. Magnifico picked up the win to move to 4-0 on the season. He allowed three runs on six hits and struck out five over a professional career high of six innings pitched. HOME RUNS: CLN: Jordy Lara (3rd, 0 on in 4th inning off Damien Magnifico, 1 out) WIS: Tyrone Taylor (3rd, 0 on in 6th inning off Matt Anderson, 0 out) Victor Roache (3rd, 2 on in 6th inning off Matt Anderson, 0 out) WP: Damien Magnifico (4-0) LP: Matt Anderson (1-3) SAVE: Taylor Mangum (2) TIME: 1:51 Wisconsin Game 1 Boxscore I was down the firstbase line and I couldn't tell why Matt Anderson was causing the T-Rats so much trouble, he wasn't throwing all that hard, just 90-91, which is average, but both pitchers were getting the low strike in game 1 and he was taking full advantage. No Rattler squared up a ball until the Orlando Arcia line out to 1st to end the 5th. As far as Parker Berberet and Matt Erickson getting ejected... Only having the the opportunity to watch it live and from that side angle it looked like Parker short armed the tag initially (first time I have seen that) but then get got him on attempt #2. He earned his ejection getting right in the umpire's face, Erickson on the other hand didn't really earn his, I heard him use "hell" once but the parts of the conversation I could make out were pretty benign by professional baseball standards. The part that made me laugh was Clint Coulter comes into catch after the ejection and it looks like he tells Magnifico to put a couple in the dirt. Well the first ball catches his glove hand wrist pretty square, the the next one catches Clint in the right thigh, and the 3rd goes to the screen... that was the end of that. Later that inning Clint took 1 in the left thigh, 1 in the left bicep, and then got hit by a pitch in the middle of the back later in the game. In game 2 he took one square in the nards... the poor kid just got beat up tonight, but he's sloppy mannerisms caused most of his pain, he reaches for most everything instead of trying to block it. Have I mentioned that I really like Tyrone Taylor? Damien Magnifico worked 94-96 in the first 2 innings and by the end of the game he was working 92-93, I couldn't tell if he was tiring or pulling back some. His FB must not move much because every FB he left up in the zone was tattooed. He did do a good job mixing in his off speed stuff, he had a bunch of hitters taking awkward hacks expecting first pitch FBs. As TLB mentioned Victor Roache's HR was absolutely crushed, a no doubter off the bat, it got out of the park like those Rickie Weeks screamers to Friday's in MP. Wisconsin Game 1 Recap The futility... Wisconsin Bottom of the 5th Victor Roache grounds out, third baseman Patrick Kivlehan to first baseman Jordy Lara. Adam Giacalone walks. Mike Garza called out on strikes. Alfredo Rodriguez walks. Adam Giacalone to 2nd. Clint Coulter hit by pitch. Adam Giacalone to 3rd. Alfredo Rodriguez to 2nd. Orlando Arcia lines out to first baseman Jordy Lara. The euphoria... 4 hits, 4 runs, ballgame! Wisconsin Bottom of the 6th Tyrone Taylor homers (3) on a fly ball to left field. Michael Reed singles on a ground ball to right fielder Gabriel Guerrero. Mitch Haniger singles on a ground ball to left fielder Dario Pizzano. Michael Reed to 2nd. Victor Roache homers (3) on a fly ball to left field. Michael Reed scores. Mitch Haniger scores. Pitching Change: Jochi Ogando replaces Matt Anderson. Adam Giacalone lines out to center fielder Guillermo Pimentel. Mike Garza strikes out swinging. Alfredo Rodriguez strikes out swinging. What a momentum swing! Wisconsin Game 1 Gameday

If you feel like slummin I'm section 112, row C, wearing a badger pullover and t-rat hat. I'll buy you a beer!

When I posted that nice story about Burgos I had no intention to get drawn into another circular debate to nowhere with you. I'm honestly ticked off at myself for allowing it to happen again. Apparently you want to be different and use Baseball Prospectus... okay, that's fine to each his own. Coming into 2007 Braun and Gallardo were still prospects... and you realize that 13 and 15 are middle of the road and not "top rated" correct? i'm not going to defend the P50 rankings, the 4 people that were participating in the rankings at that time have adequately defended their position with every release and the accompanying thread. At that time the ranking were more on potential than projected MLB impact. We already went over most of the P50 prospects yesterday but we currently have no one playing as well with similar ceilings to Escobar, LaPorta, Gamel, or Salome. Gillespie is/was a 4th OF type, when those guys are in your top 10 then your talent level is sinking... I would say that Gindl is roughly comparable to Gillespie in terms of prospect status. In 2009 Peralta was a two pitch pitcher in WI with erratic command, most scouts viewed him as a reliever. Odorizzi would spend the year in short season rookie ball and Lawrie held his own but didn't dominate the MWL in the manner that super prospects do. While certainly talented none of those players performed to the same level as the players they were replacing from 2007 and 2008. Once again prospect rankings aren't so much about your depth, but the potential impact players at the top which is the point you continually miss, you seem to want depth to count for something regardless of how many times the contrary points are made. I agree that prospect rankings are not exact science, nothing in baseball is, not even from a sabermetric point of view. As a fan of the minor leagues since I found this site in 2003 I don't think our system is remotely comparable to the system pre Sabathia trade. This linear thinking regarding the trades is the main disconnect between Melvin supporters and the posters that would rather go in a different direction. Some of the trades stand on their own, like trading Wayne Franklin for Carlos Villanueva because when you are trading garbage you're hoping to get any kind of return on the player. However, all of the big trades from Overbay through Greinke are linked, there's a domino effect. The issue on a macro level has nothing to do with how well the players traded have or haven't done or who we'd rather have. The on a macro level the issue is plugging holes long-term and permanently solving problems. I absolutely will trade prospects, but I despise trading them for rentals or short term solutions. I don't believe in the "one player away" philosophy and history has proven that even after making those short term deals the Brewers were still 2 players away (if not more) come playoff time. In the case of the Greinke trade even trying to evaluate the trade on it's own I don't think it's proper to just compare prospects for prospects, Lohse and his backloaded contract and the loss of a 1st round pick are also part of the ultimate cost. Would I rather have Escobar than Segura? Well that depends how the argument is framed... are we talking in 2011 or in 2013? Segura is definitely a better player than his scouting reports would have suggested, especially defensively, and he has vastly superior upside offensively. However Escobar would kept us from 2 years of craptastic SS play. I would rather have Odorizzi than Hellweg, and I would take Pena over Jeffress. Was 1.5 years of Greinke worth Cain, a draft pick, Lohse, Gomez in 2011, and the poor SS play for 2 years? As I've stated many times we arrived at this point not because it was preordained but because Melvin made choices about the type players he was going to trade for. Looking at the Lee trade what positive did Mench or Nix bring back? Why did we need 2 4th OFs and a closer from the Lee trade? Making different choices along the way could have meant that neither Marcum or Greinke trades would have been necessary. Every trade Melvin has made has been built on the moves which came before it, when all you do is rent players for a short duration, continually making the same kind of trade, in the end your options are vastly limited. That's what happened to us, it wasn't trading prospects, that's fine, I have no problem trading prospects here and there, it was continually making 1 type of trade to patch the MLB roster instead of looking for more long-term options. Every big trade with the exception of the latest Greinke deal were solely about patching a specific hole on the major league roster, they weren't about building the organizational depth which will allow us to compete long-term. We lost payroll and roster flexibility with each successive move... the payroll went up and the talent options went down. I don't hate Melvin, I was a huge fan until 2008, then I realized the path we were on as an organization and my opinion changed drastically. I've been beating the exact same drum since 2008, I wanted to get younger and more dynamic everywhere, but specifically I wanted to build around young pitching. My current problem is that with every season the Brewers are over .500 the likely hood that Melvin gets extended again becomes more real. I don't want the Brewers to ever lose a game, yet I don't think retaining Melvin is in the best interests of the organization. Therefore I've essentially quit watching games, I only watch them when I'm around my family and I've chosen to focus the overwhelming majority of my time on the minor leagues. I'm done derailing this thread, hopefully Hiram continues to pitch well, he's an easy young man to root for, as are many of our fringe type prospects like Khris Davis.

I thought the Sheets' report was pretty interesting, especially the change up ratings considering he never really mastered the pitch. I never thought Sheets was much of an athlete either, he ran so awkwardly.

Jorge Soler of the Cubs, the enigmatic Tyrell Jenkins of the Cards, last year's break out prospect Gregory Polanco of the Pirates, and Reds RHP prospect Robert Stephenson are discussed today. Odorizzi also gets some run. Starling Peralta of the Cubs and Yorman Rodriguez of the Reds haven't been so great... Prospect Hot Sheet (May 10): Christian Yelich Keeps Lining Lasers Team Photo Not Hot