TheCrew07

Smokies take series opener over Shuckers on Thursday night Jacob Nottingham hit his second homer in three games in the loss Biloxi Shuckers http://www.milb.com/assets/images/5/3/0/179134530/cuts/26372582673_52637890f6_o_99qt6opr_5so2e5xk.jpg Chris McFarland delivered an RBI double in the seventh inning on Thursday night. (Jason Clark) Biloxi Boxscore Brandon Woodruff's debut did not go as planned and Jed Bradley faltered as well, it just wasn't a good day on the mound. Tyrone Taylor has a 3 game hit streak going and pushed his AVE back to .212, so that was positive. Jacob Nottingham had a particularly rough day behind the plate with a catchers interference and a passed ball. Biloxi Recap

Wisconsin drops series finale to Bees Rattlers take two of three in set, but lose 7-3 on Thursday By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattler http://www.milb.com/assets/images/4/6/8/179066468/cuts/5_19_PlayerOftheGame_TrentClark_lk1z6t30_ifwatytw.jpg Trent Clark went 2-for-5 with a triple, a double, and an RBI for the Rattlers on Thursday afternoon. Wisconsin Boxscore Well shame on me, I completely forgot the T-Rats were playing early this afternoon. Drake Owenby had been stellar until this start, an error didn't help, but it's hard to excuse away 2 HRs, though both solo shots. Trent Clark's day was highlighted above, though only triple the made the highlights, boo. When he swings he hits the ball hard, in that there's no doubt. David Denson (2-4,2B) is now hitting .302 on the season, this is what I was expecting from him last year, I just need to quit picking a break out player so I don't set anyone else's career back. Alan Sharkey (2-4) is starting to hit a little bit, he's hit in 4 of his last 7 games. It would be awesome if his bat got going because he's a stellar 1B defensively. Wisconsin Recap ***** Rattler Radio Postgame *****

Please don't over react to my comments about Trent Clark, he's very young for the league and picking his way, he's just being more defensive than aggressive right now. Worry if he doesn't explode at some point.

Rattlers Beat Bees 9-1 to Win Third Straight Gatewood hits sixth homer of season for Wisconsin By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers http://www.milb.com/assets/images/9/9/6/178957996/cuts/PlayerOftheGame5_18_dm62m1fq_n8coxil4.jpg Jake Gatewood went 2-for-4 with a homer, two runs scored, and two RBI for the Timber Rattlers on Wednesday night. (Wisconsin Timber Rattlers/Ann Mollica) Wisconsin Boxscore Devin Williams did a better job locating in his 2nd outing, though he did groove a HR to the first batter of the game. Have I discussed Jordan Yamamoto yet? I'm not sure so I'll just get into it. Jordan pitches from a true 3/4 arm slot with an abrupt finish and slight fall off towards 1st base. He was locating well today, his CB is a tad loopy but he can locate it for a strike. His FB looked to be in that upper 80/low 90 range, I think the TV crew said he hit 91 on one occasion but I was watching on the TV without a DVR so couldn't rewind it. Like all pitchers his ceiling will mostly be determined by how far his secondary stuff comes, I'd peg him as a backend/reliever type today. Quintin Torres-Costa had just the outing he needed with a perfect 9th via 3 SOs, the 35th rounder had some recent brutal outings before capping off today's victory. This was a fun offensive performance as every Rattler except for Carlos Belonis collected a hit and 5 T-Rats collected 2 hits a piece: Monte Harrison, David Denson, Jake Gatewood, Max McDowell, and Luis Aviles. Harrison's double was a misplayed gift and Gatewood's 6 HRs have all come this month. Trent Clark looks pretty average at the moment, I don't mean to suggest that's his ceiling, he's just not attacking pitches yet. He strikes me as very conservative to this point, he's looked pretty much the same in every game. He takes a ton of pitches, occasionally puts a good a swing on one, moves well, and covers decent ground in the OF. Wisconsin Recap Lots to take in if you are so inclined. ***** Rattler Radio Postgame fun! *****

Based on what exactly? The success we had with Braun and because Weeks had a high floor?

You answered your own question, he doesn't hit for enough power, or last doesn't project to in MLB. He's not a guy you're going to dream on developing more power since he's 25 and has never hit more than 8 HRs in any season. He'd basically have to double that HR total to maintain his current .870 OPS since he's not going to carry a .400 OBP or AVE north of .300 at MLB. He might have some seasons where he eclipses 15 HRs, but I'd be shocked if he's perennially above that number. I don't recall being taken aback by any horrible flaws in his swing when he was in WI, but he wasn't there very long either, somewhere around 25-30 games at the end of the season. Basically, I only saw him play 1 or 2 times in person before the season was over and he moved up, not anywhere near enough to dissect his swing. Who knows though, all it takes is a little work in the weight room every off season and you go from the Brewer's version of Michael Brantley to Cleveland's version who peaked at 20 HRs. It's very difficult to judge how much work of that type baseball players are going to put in, it's not like the NFL or NBA where there's a culture of maximizing athletic potential, historically baseball hasn't had that approach though more and more teams are heading that direction now.

Shuckers hang on for 5-4 win in series finale at Chattanooga Kyle Wren extended his hitting streak to six with the game winning hit in the seventh Biloxi Shuckers http://www.milb.com/assets/images/6/7/0/178851670/cuts/26975883495_0628ebef70_o_tk2uta87_krsrm0qi.jpg Kyle Wren is batting .340 during the month of May (Jason Clark) Biloxi Boxscore Wei-Chung Wang has leveled off in that middle ground of not terrible and not great again like he did at the start of last year. When he's forced to come back over the plate he gives up too many hits, and when he's playing on the edges he gives up too many walks. It will be interesting to see if he can make the counter adjustments to teams being more patient against him. Hobbs Johnson got the win despite giving up a run in his 1.1 innings, it would have been worse but Tristan Archer got out of Johnson's jam with a fortunate line out double play. Hobbs was never a stuff guy, but I'm still surprised that he's not flourishing in a reduced role given the relative ease he had reaching AA. Javier Betancourt who was scorching hot to start the season and Jacob Nottingham who's early season struggles were well chronicled have been going in different directions for a while now. If things continue as they have their averages will meet in the next couple of games around .230. Meanwhile Garrett Cooper continues to be extremely productive at the plate. Biloxi Recap Hobbs Johnson's wounds are so often self inflicted. Chattanooga Bottom of the 6th Pitching Change: Hobbs Johnson replaces Wei-Chung Wang. Ryan Walker hit by pitch. Leonardo Reginatto strikes out swinging. Stuart Turner walks. Ryan Walker to 2nd. T. J. White strikes out swinging. Shannon Wilkerson flies out to right fielder Victor Roache. Chattanooga Bottom of the 7th Zach Granite flies out to left fielder Kyle Wren. Travis Harrison walks. D. J. Hicks singles on a ground ball to left fielder Kyle Wren. Travis Harrison to 2nd. Joe Maloney walks. Travis Harrison to 3rd. D. Hicks to 2nd. Ryan Walker singles on a line drive to left fielder Kyle Wren. Travis Harrison scores. D. J. Hicks to 3rd. Joe Maloney to 2nd. Pitching Change: Tristan Archer replaces Hobbs Johnson. Leonardo Reginatto lines into a double play, pitcher Tristan Archer to first baseman Garrett Cooper. Ryan Walker out at 1st.

Burkhalter and Greip shutout Burlington 1-0 Aviles knocks in only run of game with triple By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers http://www.milb.com/assets/images/2/7/6/178733276/cuts/5_17_PlayerOftheGameDavidBurkhalter_p6wlii1o_wbhxs0eu.jpg David Burkhalter pitched eight scoreless innings, allowed three hits, and struck out six to pick up the win against the Burlington Bees on Tuesday night. (Wisconsin Timber Rattlers/Ann Mollica) Wisconsin Boxscore David Burkhalter... well his delivery is essentially the same to the naked eye, I haven't done any slow mo comparisons or anything, but on the surface not much has changed. That's always something easier to see from behind home plate so maybe I'll notice improvement or changes when comparing notes after seeing him in person. He's still throwing that eephus curveball, Chris was laughing at one in the low 60s near the end of the game tonight. The biggest difference is he added a so/so change up this season which he mixes in well. He now has 3 distinct speeds, with nearly a 30 MPH spread. No one is going to project him anywhere near the top of the rotation at this time, but he's definitely making it work against this level of competition. It's pretty obvious Mehring absolutely loves Nate Griep's twitter handle @GrimGrieper, he was talking about it again tonight and every time Nate has pitched for the last couple of weeks. It is creative and suits his role as a pitcher perfectly. Luis Aviles (2-3, 2 3B) was the difference in this game, he's filling the super utility role for this club very well, he's been all over the IF and OF this season. Wisconsin Recap

Shuckers snap three-game losing streak with 9-7 win over Lookouts Chris McFarland and Jacob Nottingham homer in the win on Tuesday night Biloxi Shuckers http://www.milb.com/assets/images/9/2/6/178739926/cuts/26371900833_4565a80858_o_yk7q7c00_ph02wp7q.jpg Chris McFarland smacked his second homer of the season in the third inning on Tuesday night (Jason Clark) Biloxi Boxscore Well the pitching wasn't great in this one, but the hitting was outstanding. I was listening to the T-Rats so I don't have any information regarding Brett Phillips' exit, he left after a ground out which suggests something leg or back related. The game story always covers the multi hit games so I probably won't do that for Biloxi anymore as it's redundant, it's just always been part of my process. Anyway, poor Brandon Macias was the only Shucker who came up empty in the hit department. Biloxi Recap

I do make an effort not to be juvenile, though sometimes I fail miserably.

I can see where many people were attracted to Gomez' personality, as I've said many times he just wasn't my kind of player as generally I'm not into "look at me" types. Packer fans will remember Nick Barnett and it drove me nuts every time he did his samurai deal after making a tackle 6 yards downfield. Hooray for giving them 2nd and 4? I'm not into players who continually make mental mistakes either, and I'm not talking about the rare occasional mistake every professional player will make, I'm talking about the simple fundamental stuff that we were all taught in little league about which base to throw to, when to take the extra base, and so on. I wouldn't take Gomez back under literally any circumstance since he's at the point his physical skills will start declining, he's expensive, and there's no reasonable expectation of him remaining healthy given his play style. Way too often in these veteran discussions the health aspect is glossed over, but that's maybe the single most important factor given the cost.

Lookouts walk-off with 1-0 win in 10 innings over Shuckers Josh Hader strikes out eight over six innings, lowering ERA to 0.89 Biloxi Shuckers http://www.milb.com/assets/images/7/9/6/178547796/cuts/22540450969_fa3dbeda1b_o_Jason_Clark_wk7emu54_0h2az3np.jpg Josh Hader matched a season-high with eight strikeouts and leads the league with 54 punchouts. Biloxi Boxscore Well Josh Hader has made enough improvement to get through 6 in 3 of his last 4 outings, now it's time to work on pushing that up to 6+. I'll weigh in on the AAA thing, there's very little developmental advantage to skipping past Colorado. The strike zone tightens up a little bit again in AAA, plus there are far more professional hitters with MLB experience playing there. Hader's next stop should be AAA, maybe MLB hitters would chase his stuff they way they did Jungmann last year, but sooner or later teams are going to adjust if you aren't able to pound the zone. I would equate 6 innings in 85 pitches at AA to 5 innings in 100 pitches at MLB. Hader's 5 innings might be better than what we have, but what exactly is there to gain by pushing him to MLB this season? Promote him to AAA, and call him in up in Sept if he performs well, save his service time and force him to work on his efficiency all year, developing pitching is about patience. If you aren't able to go 7 complete on a somewhat regular basis then you really aren't a #2, 1s and 2s should save the bullpen an inning or two most times out, not compound the problem. The Shuckers had just 2 hits, but they were both doubles. I don't talk much about Garrett Cooper, but he's hitting .308 with an .858 OPS in 91 ABs, he's having a very nice start to the season. Bilxoi Recap

Lookouts win pitchers' duel on Sunday afternoon in Chattanooga Jorge Ortega suffered his fourth loss despite a quality start Biloxi Shuckers http://www.milb.com/assets/images/2/5/0/178335250/cuts/2Q5A6176_uzwgd8jv_8aekoql1.JPG Jorge Ortega tossed his second quality start of the season on Sunday afternoon in Chattanooga (Michael Krebs) Biloxi Boxscore Jorge Ortega bounced back after a couple of rough starts with 6.1 decent innings, but the triple he have up just before leaving the game turned out to be the difference. His line was typical, 1 walk, 1 hit by pitch, and just 3 strike outs with the 2 ER and 4 hits, unfortunately 3 of the 4 hits were XBHs. I mentioned Jacob Nottingham's (2-4) last 10 games late last week, his upswing continues now hitting .231. Brandon Macias (2-3,2 2B) and Renee Garcia (3-3) also had excellent days at the plate. Biloxi Recap

Rattlers Hold Kernels to One Hit and Get The Split Wisconsin beats Cedar Rapids 7-1 By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers http://www.milb.com/assets/images/1/6/0/178350160/cuts/5_15_PlayerOftheGameDavidDenson_dnxba5xk_nccxtxb4.jpg David Denson hit a homer and drove in three runs for the Timber Rattlers on Sunday afternoon. (Wisconsin Timber Rattlers/Ann Mollica) Wisconsin Boxscore Finally a fun one! Although it wasn't as easy a victory and the score and hits would suggest. Freddy Peralta was awesome in his 3.2 innings, I missed why he came out of the game since I wasn't able to listen to the 4th and 5th innings as some family came over, it could have been pitch count related. However even though Marcos Diplan didn't allow a hit he was all over the place, he topped out at 92, and managed to walk 5 batters while striking out 6. There were plenty of runners on base but the strike outs got Diplan out of trouble all afternoon. Diplan only threw 38 strikes in his 66 pitches, but once again he gets the job done being effectively wild. Chris chose David Denson (2-4) as the Rattler player of the game, I would have gone Peralta, but I understood his reasoning as David homered for the second consecutive day and had 3 RBI.. it's just that I don't really about about RBI all that much. Regardless Denson has hits in 7 of his last 10 games and his AVE is at .292, if his SLG was were it belonged he would be OPSing over .800. His OBP is a very respectable .377 at this point. Jake Gatewood (2-4,2B) and Luis Aviles (2-4) had the other multi hit games for the Rattles. Mehring mentioned during the broadcast that Gatewood has the most multi hit games (10) of any Rattler this season/ Wisconsin Recap ***** Postgame Post – May 15, 2016 *****

Shuckers win streak snapped in 5-2 loss to Lookouts Jacob Nottingham and Nick Shaw extend hitting streaks on Saturday Biloxi Shuckers http://www.milb.com/assets/images/3/1/8/178210318/cuts/26882328422_a00597568d_o_woe3qkek_swntze6p.jpg Garrett Cooper was 2-for-4 with a double and RBI on Saturday night (Jason Clark) Biloxi Boxscore Biloxi outhit Chattanooga 12-9 but just couldn't string together enough hits after the first 2 innings. Unfortunately in hind sight the game was over after the first when Adrian Houser gave up single, double, and a HR to the first 3 batters. It actually could have been worse because he walked the 4th hitter and the 5th lined into a double play, it wasn't a good start. All told Houser went 6.1 innings and gave up 5 runs, his ERA still sits at 7+ and the sample size isn't so small anymore. Garrett Cooper (2-4,2B), Jacob Nottingham (2-4), and Nick Shaw (2-4) had the multi-hit games. Nottingham has creeped his AVE up to .221, he's hitting .283 over his last 10 game. Shucker batters did strike out 14 times to opposing pitcher D.J. Baxendale who isn't a top 30 prospect in the Twins organization but is showing some promise. Biloxi Recap

Rattler Radio Postgame with the usual worthwhile interviews.

Cedar Rapids Beats Wisconsin 14-6 By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers http://www.milb.com/assets/images/9/0/8/178137908/cuts/5_14PlayerOfTheGame_David_Denson_ssdu6gd5_391tpv1i.jpg David Denson went 1-for-3 with a walk, a homer, two RBI, and two runs scored for the Rattlers on Saturday afternoonl (Wisconsin Timber Rattlers/Ann Mollica) Wisconsin Boxscore Bah! A second consecutive game I turned off early. The good: David Lucroy pitched 3.1 scoreless innings, David Denson went yard as noted above, and Alan Sharkey had a big (at the time) double. As I really like Alan I hope he finds some springboard to sustained success. The bad: 4 of the 5 pitchers gave up runs and no Rattler managed more than 1 hit, in a game with this kind of pitching it had better be a slug fest or there's no hope. Wisconsin Recap At least the 4th inning provided some temporary relief. Wisconsin Bottom of the 4th Blake Allemand pops out to shortstop Sean Miller. Isan Diaz walks. Mitch Ghelfi singles on a line drive to left fielder LaMonte Wade. Isan Diaz to 2nd. Jake Gatewood singles on a line drive to center fielder Christian Cavaness. Isan Diaz to 3rd. Mitch Ghelfi to 2nd. David Denson walks. Isan Diaz scores. Mitch Ghelfi to 3rd. Jake Gatewood to 2nd. Monte Harrison singles on a line drive to center fielder Christian Cavaness. Mitch Ghelfi scores. Jake Gatewood scores. David Denson to 2nd. Alan Sharkey doubles (1) on a line drive to center fielder Christian Cavaness. David Denson scores. Monte Harrison scores. Carlos Belonis called out on strikes. Trent Clark grounds out, pitcher Dereck Rodriguez to first baseman J. Fernandez.

Kernels crush Wisconsin 13-2 Murray goes 5-for-5 with two homers and 5RBI to pace Cedar Rapids By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers http://www.milb.com/assets/images/0/6/8/178064068/cuts/Trent_Clark_May_13_GAME_IMAGE_w2upk6cd_rfenv731.jpg Trent Clark went 1-for-3 with a double, two walks, and two runs scored for the Timber Rattlers on Friday night. (Wisconsin Timber Rattlers/Ann Mollica) Wisconsin Boxscore Well this game was a stinker, I actually quit watching in the 4th, though I did let the DVR finish. I do have a ton of observations from the televised games earlier this week that I didn't share because I was just wiped out. I'll share the pitching observations the next time those pitchers come around. Jake Gatewood peaked .283 earlier this week after the first game of the double header but is starting to slide back, he's hitless in his last 12 ABs (Cedar Rapids is currently batting in the 8th) which would be 3 straight games if he doesn't collect a hit in the 8th or 9th. Super utility player Luis Aviles is having a nice game and is currently the only Rattler with a multi hit game. The T-Rats opened the defensive flood gates tonight with 5(!) errors; 2 each from Isan Diaz and Gatewood, 1 from Trent Clark, and to top it off Max McDowell had his 4th PB, which is about the only negative thus far in McDowell's 2016 campaign. Wisconsin Recap ***** Rattler Radio Postgame with an interview. *****

Betancourt extends Shuckers winning streak with walk-off The Shuckers complete their homestand with another comeback win By Thaddeus Krzus / Biloxi Shuckers http://www.milb.com/assets/images/5/9/6/178053596/cuts/2Q5A6636_778abekt_vhou5zab.JPG Javier Betancourt delivered Biloxi's walk-off double in a 6-5 victory over Jacksonville (Michael Krebs) Biloxi Boxscore Wei-Chung Wang's strike outs per 9 continues to drop, which isn't a good sign as the season progresses, since it likely means that teams are figuring out that if you make him throw strikes he's not able to consistently locate his off speed in the zone. Brett Phillips (2-3,HR,2B,BB) is only hitting .265 as I type this (Biloxi is batting in the 9th), but I'm not disappointed yet, he's doing enough good that I'm still excited. It would be nice if we had any top prospects hitting enough to be .300+, but most of our prospects are reasonably young for their leagues. They are playing at the correct level of competition, but they aren't as experienced and will need to make adjustments more quickly than their peers which is always interesting to watch from afar. Super prospects hit every where they go, like Braun and Trout in the minors, everyone else is going to have some ups and downs. As I finish typing Biloxi completes an awesome come from behind victory, man this team is fun. Biloxi Recap

The T-Rats are under a delay, it's fairly cold and was raining in the late afternoon but is clearing to the west.

Noted Here

I talked about Ray in my original post, I like him, I just like the idea of impact pitching more. I know I say that every year, but the truth is that the no player has more control over the game than the pitcher. Therefore nothing is more important in baseball than cost controlled impact pitching. If you want to build a foundation that will last and provide more than just a single playoff series win it has to be based on pitching. That's why I highlight pitchers every year for that #1 pick, that's why my list is much narrower than others including the Brewers, and that's why I will continue to look for pitchers. We need a steady stream of impact pitching, not 1 legit pitcher every 5 or 6 years.

Rattlers Crack Kernels in Ten Innings Ghelfi homers in ninth to tie; Diaz knocks in game-winner in tenth By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers http://www.milb.com/assets/images/2/9/0/177815290/cuts/PlayerOftheGame5_12_pi94tytk_ny0jlnu0.jpg Mitch Ghelfi was 1-for-2 with two walks, a sacrifice fly, and a game-tying home run in the bottom of the ninth for the Timber Rattlers on Thursday night. (Wisconsin Timber Rattlers/Ann Mollica) Wisconsin Boxscore Somehow the MyNew32 broadcast was at least 15 minutes behind the game so my phone was updating me long before I saw what happened on TV. Devin Williams in his first start of 2016 didn't look appreciably different than last year from a mechanics and stuff standpoint. Isan Diaz continues to impress as a SS, he's got range not to mention being athletic and smooth. Wisconsin Recap

Shuckers complete four-run comeback in 8-6 win over Suns Victor Roache and Javier Betancourt homered, while Nick Shaw tallied four hits Biloxi Shuckers http://www.milb.com/assets/images/3/2/0/177807320/cuts/Roache_Crop_lqemp9ma_olm0jcj5.jpg Victor Roache smashed his second homer of the season in the second inning on Thursday night (Michael Krebs) Biloxi Boxscore Biloxi Recap

That makes me sad as i always liked the good Martin who was just filthy, but given his performance isn't unexpected.