TheCrew07

story popped as I finished my post, not editing my post so there may be repeat information Final: Fresno 4, Nashville 3 (11 Innings) Sounds Lose To Fresno In Extras, 4-3 Tyler Thornburg Tosses Five Shutout Frames In No-Decision FRESNO, Calif. - Ryan Lollis connected with an RBI double in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Fresno Grizzlies a 4-3 win over the Nashville Sounds on Thursday night at Chukchansi Park in the second game of a four-game series. With one out in the inning and Amaury Rivas (4-7) on the mound, Fresno pinch hitter Ydwin Villegas doubled to center field and scored the go-ahead run on the next play on Lollis' game-winning two-bagger. Snapping a three-game winning streak, it was Nashville's (51-62) second extra-inning game in a row and eleventh this season (5-6 in those contests). In his second Triple-A start and first since rejoining the Sounds after being optioned last week by the Brewers, Tyler Thonburg allowed three hits and two walks over five scoreless frames. The right-hander also struck out seven with 75 pitches (52 strikes) in a no-decision. Fresno starter Eric Hacker also tossed a no-decision, striking out four while giving up three hits in seven scoreless innings. The game was scoreless until the Grizzlies took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the sixth. Reliever Donovan Hand entered the game and allowed a one-out walk to Todd Linden, who moved to scoring position on a passed ball. Brock Bond then hit an RBI single to right field to score Linden. The Sounds struck back to take a 3-1 in the visiting half of the eighth. Grizzlies reliever Dan Runzler recorded the first two outs of the frame before allowing a couple of walks to outfielders Caleb Gindl and Khris Davis. Third baseman Taylor Green tied the game with an RBI single to left field, followed by a two-run base hit by first baseman Jordan Brown. · AUDIO: Green RBI Single · AUDIO: Brown Two-Run Single Nashville briefly led, as the Grizzlies came back to tie the game at 3-3 in the next frame, plating two runs against three Sounds relievers. Bond delivered another RBI single, followed by a run-scoring line drive hit by Tyler LaTorre, both with two outs. The Sounds and Grizzlies continue their series at 9:05 p.m. CT on Friday evening at Chukchansi Park. Nashville right-hander Hiram Burgos (0-0, 3.00) makes his second Triple-A start against Fresno righty Andrew Kown (4-6, 5.88). Nashville Box Score Tyler Thornburg was pretty solid, I love the 7 SOs in 75 pitches but in a continuing trend here since AA while he doesn't get hit much, the hits he gives up tend to be very loud. Tonight 2 of the 3 hits he gave up in this game were doubles off the wall... with better hitters and those are HRs, kind of reminiscent of Sheets early in his career. I really don't think his HR rate in the majors was as flukey as some do, I've been pointing out this XBH issue most of the season, I just think MLB hitters are more likely to hit those mistakes harder and hit them for HRs instead of doubles. Donovan Hand was saddled with an unearned run in his 2 innings. Mitch Stetter, Tim Dillard, and Rob Wooten gave up the 2 runs in the 8th, with each successive pitcher allowing the inherited runner from the pitcher before to score. Amuary Rivas gave up the game winning run on a sharp double after allowing a "hustle double" that probably could have been scored an error as it went off the heel of Maysonet's glove. No Sounds player had a multi-hit game though Eric Farris, Caleb Gindl, and Jeff Bianchi all had a double. Khrush Davis had his hit streak snapped as the Fresno pitchers walked him twice and hit him once in his 5 PAs. The Sounds have only gotten Fresno 2B Brock Bond out once in 2 games. If you're saying, "Who?", you aren't alone, I had to look him up as well. Nashville Play By Play The 8th inning both ways... Nashville Top of the 8th Pitching Change: Dan Runzler replaces Eric Hacker, batting 9th. Offensive Substitution: Pinch-hitter Sean Halton replaces Donovan Hand. Sean Halton strikes out swinging. Eric Farris flies out to right fielder Skyler Stromsmoe. Caleb Gindl walks. Khris Davis walks. Caleb Gindl to 2nd. Taylor Green singles on a line drive to left fielder Juan Ciriaco. Caleb Gindl scores. Khris Davis to 3rd. Taylor Green advances to 2nd, on a throwing error by left fielder Juan Ciriaco. Jordan Brown singles on a line drive to center fielder Ryan Lollis. Khris Davis scores. Taylor Green scores. Pitching Change: Dan Otero replaces Dan Runzler, batting 9th. Humberto Quintero grounds out, pitcher Dan Otero to first baseman Todd Linden. Fresno Bottom of the 8th Pitching Change: Mitch Stetter replaces Donovan Hand, batting 5th, replacing first baseman Jordan Brown. Sean Halton remains in the game as the first baseman. Nick Noonan strikes out swinging. Conor Gillaspie singles on a line drive to left fielder Khris Davis. Todd Linden flies out to right fielder Corey Patterson. Pitching Change: Tim Dillard replaces Mitch Stetter, batting 5th. Juan Ciriaco walks. Conor Gillaspie to 2nd. Brock Bond singles on a line drive to right fielder Corey Patterson. Conor Gillaspie scores. Juan Ciriaco to 3rd. Pitching Change: Robert Wooten replaces Tim Dillard, batting 5th. Tyler LaTorre singles on a line drive to right fielder Corey Patterson. Juan Ciriaco scores. Brock Bond to 3rd. Skyler Stromsmoe strikes out swinging. The Game. Fresno Bottom of the 11th Skyler Stromsmoe flies out to right fielder Corey Patterson. Offensive Substitution: Pinch-hitter Ydwin Villegas replaces Scott Munter. Ydwin Villegas doubles (2) on a ground ball to center fielder Caleb Gindl, deflected by shortstop Edwin Maysonet. Ryan Lollis doubles (5) on a line drive to center fielder Caleb Gindl. Ydwin Villegas scores.

After taking the lead the top of the 9th, 3 Nashville relievers give back 2 runs in the bottom, and the score is tied in the top of the ninth. This is a west coast conspiracy! If by chance I fall asleep waiting for this game to finish I'll get Nashville in the AM.

And I thought my never ending battle to watch something other than Nemo or Bambi was bad... haha.

Final: DSL Tigers 7, DSL Brewers 4 DSL Brewers Box Score Well the second half swoon continues... Pedro Peguero started again and didn't make it through his first inning, between his 3 outings this season he has exactly 2 IP and has been charged with 6 runs on 4 walks and only 1 hit. Eliezer Montano certainly didn't help him today coming and giving up a double to the first batter he saw allowing both inherited runners to score. Montano then gave up a run of his own in the 2nd on 2 singles and a wild pitch but he did manage to settle in and record 3 scoreless innings to end his day. After the Brewers tied it in the 6th Eliezer gave way to Miguel Diaz who gave up 2 in the 6th and then was charged with 1 in the 7th when Felix Paulino came on to get him out of a jam but let a run score on a wild pitch. Elvis Rubio (2-4,2B) had a nice day as did Raphachel Colatosti (2-3,BB) but that was it at the plate. The action on the basepaths was insane, I'll just copy below: BASERUNNING SB: Colatosti (12, 2nd base off Rosario, H/Oses), Castillo, F (25, 2nd base off Rosario, H/Rodriguez, S), Rubio (4, 2nd base off Guzman, Je/Rodriguez, S), Santana, Y (4, 2nd base off Falcon/Rodriguez, S), Ortiz, Ju (15, 2nd base off Burgos, C/Rodriguez, S). Check out the box, the Brewers only had 1 player hitting over .270 and 2 over .250 in the lineup today. DSL Brewers Play By Play Digging a hole early... DSL Tigers Bottom of the 1st Samuel Crafort strikes out swinging. Yerison Pena walks. With Manuel Joseph batting, wild pitch by Pedro Peguero, Yerison Pena to 2nd. Manuel Joseph walks. Lenny Pena walks. Yerison Pena to 3rd. Manuel Joseph to 2nd. Felix G. Santana out on a sacrifice fly to right fielder Elvis Rubio. Yerison Pena scores. Pitching Change: Eliezer Montano replaces Pedro Peguero. Sandy Acevedo doubles (4) on a line drive to right fielder Elvis Rubio. Manuel Joseph scores. Lenny Pena scores. Francisco Contreras grounds out, shortstop Raphachel Colatosti to first baseman Juan De Leon. A nice comeback to tie. DSL Brewers Top of the 6th Pitching Change: Emanuel Chavez replaces Harold Rosario. Alejandro Mendoza hit by pitch. Jose Dicent grounds out to first baseman Lenny Pena. Alejandro Mendoza to 2nd. Juan De Leon strikes out swinging. Wild pitch by pitcher Emanuel Chavez. Alejandro Mendoza to 3rd. Juan De Leon to 1st. With Elvis Rubio batting, wild pitch by Emanuel Chavez, Alejandro Mendoza scores. Juan De Leon to 2nd. Elvis Rubio singles on a ground ball to shortstop Manuel Joseph. Juan De Leon scores. Throwing error by shortstop Manuel Joseph. Pitching Change: Jesus Guzman replaces Emanuel Chavez. With Juan Ortiz batting, Elvis Rubio steals (4) 2nd base. Juan Ortiz grounds out, second baseman Yerison Pena to first baseman Lenny Pena. Elvis Rubio to 3rd. Pitching Change: Juan Falcon replaces Jesus Guzman. Yunior Santana reaches on a throwing error by shortstop Manuel Joseph. Elvis Rubio scores. With Raphachel Colatosti batting, Yunior Santana steals (4) 2nd base. Raphachel Colatosti walks. Kevin Martinez walks. Yunior Santana to 3rd. Raphachel Colatosti to 2nd. Francisco Castillo flies out to center fielder Sandy Acevedo. And the pen gives it all back... DSL Tigers Bottom of the 6th Pitching Change: Miguel Diaz replaces Eliezer Montano. Francisco Contreras strikes out swinging. Felix A. Santana hit by pitch. With Omar Oses batting, Felix A. Santana steals (13) 2nd base. With Omar Oses batting, wild pitch by Miguel Diaz, Felix A. Santana to 3rd. Omar Oses hit by pitch. With Sandy Rodriguez batting, Felix A. Santana steals (14) home. Omar Oses steals (5) 2nd base. Omar Oses advances to 3rd. Sandy Rodriguez singles on a ground ball to center fielder Francisco Castillo. Omar Oses scores. With Yerison Pena batting, Sandy Rodriguez caught stealing 2nd base, catcher Kevin Martinez to shortstop Raphachel Colatosti. Yerison Pena grounds out to first baseman Juan De Leon. DSL Tigers Bottom of the 7th Manuel Joseph hit by pitch. With Lenny Pena batting, Manuel Joseph steals (7) 2nd base. Lenny Pena walks. Pitching Change: Felix Paulino replaces Miguel Diaz. Felix G. Santana hits a sacrifice bunt. Manuel Joseph to 3rd. Lenny Pena to 2nd. Felix G. Santana to 1st. With Sandy Acevedo batting, wild pitch by Felix Paulino, Manuel Joseph scores. Lenny Pena to 3rd. Felix G. Santana to 2nd. Sandy Acevedo strikes out swinging. Francisco Contreras strikes out swinging. Felix A. Santana pops out to shortstop Raphachel Colatosti.

You know, that a grown man would go to the little mermaid for inspiration...

I generally check in on all of the guys I followed as prospects who were traded that I haven't stumbled across blog posts or write-ups on about once a month. I'm surprised by this as I just made the rounds on Sunday. He hasn't exactly been dominant as his K rate is the only peripheral I'd hang my hat on, he's still walking too many and getting hit too hard for his stuff which would suggest his control still isn't where it needs to be. Jeremy didn't exactly impress in his 2 outings for the big club in mid April, nor was his July split very impressive. He's got to be down to his last option year by now so maybe they are just giving him a make or break opportunity.

I'm finding it very difficult to resist being hateful.

Maybe 5IP or 75 pitches, but I honestly have no idea. Pitch counts have been all over place even for the same pitchers this season. Sometimes a pitcher in AA will go 100, then in his next outing 85... it's chaos! I'd say based on what they did with Rizzo that's a reasonable guess. There has to be some rhyme or reason to the low pitch counts especially in the upper levels, like if a pitcher hits 100 in one start he's capped at 85 his next 2, but I haven't figured out the pattern yet.

Ohh I'm certain Melvin and Mark A have a plan, but I don't think winning as many games as possible each season is much of a long-term plan.

I'm going to take credit for Rivera's HR, as his last HR also came in the last game I had listened to prior to this one, way back in mid July. Since I transitioned to Nashville I make it a point to listen to those games when I can. As I'm typing this Stang goes yard to extend his hitting streak. edit. Chris has been pretty entertaining today, "we strive for the most awkward sentence construction possible...", I can relate Chris.

Apparently you missed 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011? Without Sabathia there's no way the Brewers make the playoffs in 2008 even though it was 1 and done. This team has floundered around mediocre with the exception of 2011 and that had everything to do with the starting rotation. There is no such thing as "good enough" pitching, Melvin tried that theory for years until trading for Marcum and Greinke. In baseball pitching is king, and while anything can happen in a short series, in the longer 7 games series you'd better have starting pitching that matches up to the team you are facing or you're not going anywhere. Maybe if you have an incredible bullpen that you can trot out there for 6 innings like St. Louis did last year you can squeak by and win. But St. Louis is the only team I can recall off the top of my head that ever has won that way taking advantage of all the off days to keep those guys fresh. If you're building a team the bullpen is absolutely the last place you should address, not the first. We have plenty of in house bullpen options moving forward, the question is if we'll have enough impact pitching to compete.

Triple-A roundup: Davis hits key homer Zephyrs' Poveda strikes out eight; Blanco slugs walk-off blast http://www.milb.com/images/2012/08/02/dfbSahcr.jpg Khris Davis is hitting .383 across three levels this season. (Mike Strasinger/Nashville Sounds) Brewers No. 15 prospect Khris Davis capped a three-hit night with a go-ahead solo homer in the 11th inning as Nashville outlasted Fresno, 7-5. Eric Farris went 4-for-6 with a homer, three RBIs and two runs scored for the Sounds, while Brock Bond was 4-for-4 with a walk and a run scored for the Grizzlies.

Rohan makes Triple-A debut special Cubs prospect homers twice, plates three in Iowa defeat By Robert Emrich / Special to MLB.com http://www.milb.com/images/2012/08/01/2jfuTgLm.jpg Greg Rohan has 19 homers and 85 RBIs across three levels this season. (Iowa Cubs) Greg Rohan could not savor a victory in his Triple-A debut, but he made it one to remember anyway. Rohan homered twice and drove in three runs Wednesday night, but the Iowa Cubs were beaten by the visiting Colorado Springs Sky Sox, 11-6. Promoted from Double-A Tennessee before the game, Rohan capped an eight-pitch at-bat against Major League veteran Guillermo Moscoso by sending a 3-2 pitch over the left-field wall in the second inning at Principal Park. "I was just trying not to think too much and trying to get a pitch to hit," said Rohan, who also singled in the eighth. "My first at-bat, I got to see quite a few pitches and was able to put a swing on a pitch to hit." Rohan became the first Cub to homer in his first Triple-A at-bat since Eric Patterson -- who did it against R.A. Dickey -- on Aug. 19, 2006. After striking out in the fourth, the 2009 21st-round Draft pick wasted no time in his third at-bat. Right after Cubs' No. 11 prospect Josh Vitters hit his 16th homer, Rohan turned on Moscoso's next offering and deposited it over the left-field fence. "I'm really excited," the Kent State product said. "To homer twice in any game at any level, it's exciting." After going yard three times in a week-long Southern League stint, Rohan has totaled five homers in his last seven games. "I feel good. I've been working on stuff with Mariano Duncan in Tennessee and Dave Keller today on slowing things down and getting a good pitch to hit and not missing it," the 26-year-old first baseman said. Rohan has improved his numbers each year as a pro. This season, he's batting .285 with a career-high 19 homers and 85 RBIs in 104 games across three levels. "Working in the offseason, I got a chance to live in the training facility and work on baseball stuff the whole offseason," the Ohio native said. "I think that helped me a lot. I worked on everything, I tried to get stronger and better and talked a lot about approach. A lot of drills, really, and trying to find my swing." Brett Jackson, Chicago's top prospect was 3-for-5 with a run scored and fell a homer shy of the cycle. Chad Tracy drove in three runs and Tommy Field collected three hits and two RBIs for the Sky Sox.

video of Hellweg at the link Hellweg makes good first impression Right-hander tosses five one-hit frames in debut for Huntsville By Jonathan Raymond / Special to MLB.com http://www.milb.com/images/2012/08/02/JeuN863i.jpg Johnny Hellweg is 6-10 with a 3.25 ERA in 124 2/3 innings at Double-A this season. (Jason Clark) Milwaukee must have thought highly of Johnny Hellweg to get him included in a trade for Zack Greinke. His first start with the organization Wednesday did a lot to justify that opinion. Making his debut for Double-A Huntsville, Hellweg allowed just one unearned run on one hit and two walks while fanning seven over five innings to lead the Stars to a 5-1 win over the Chattanooga Lookouts. Hellweg (1-0), one of three players dealt from Los Angeles for Greinke, said he'd hoped to impress in his first start with the new club. "I knew there was going to be a little bit of jitters, but I just kind of visualized it before the game and knew I was going to go out there and do well," he said. "I started off a little rough, the fastball command wasn't there. But after the first few guys I faced I settled down, curveball started working, changeup was there when I needed it. It felt really good." Now Milwaukee's No. 6 prospect, Hellweg said getting traded surprised him, but he understood the reasoning behind it and appreciated that the Brewers had seen that value in him. "It was kind of crazy, I'd heard a few [rumors] from the guys on the team, they were joking around with me, playing cards. Then they called me into the manager's office and told me I was traded. I was kind of shocked," he said. "Look back on it, though, it's best for both sides. I'm happy to be with the new team and make the most of the opportunity." The 6-foot-9 right-hander posted a 3.38 ERA with 88 strikeouts and 60 walks in 119 2/3 innings for Double-A Arkansas before moving on to Huntsville. Last season with Class A Advanced Inland Empire, he fanned 113 in 89 1/3 innings and sported a 3.73 ERA. Hellweg said he's taken pride in the workload he's been able to manage, throwing at least six innings in eight of his previous nine starts before Wednesday. While pitching more efficiently has led to a slight dropoff in his strikeout numbers, he's begun working to set hitters down with more frequency again. "[striking batters out] hasn't been one of my main focuses. My goal is to keep the pitch count low and go deep into the game," he said, "but more recently I've focused on getting ahead in the count, getting into a good strikeout count and reaching for it if it's there." On Wednesday, Daniel Meadows and Kyle Heckathorn threw two no-hit innings apiece to preserve the one-hitter for the Stars. Hellweg said he was impressed by the job his new teammates performed. "They did a fantastic job," he said. "I saw only good things from these guys. I knew when I came out of the game it was in good hands." Shortstop Jean Segura, who also came over in the Greinke trade and now ranks as the Brewers' top prospect, went 2-for-3 with a double and a run. In four games with Huntsville, Segura is 7-for-16 with two doubles and two RBIs.

Cubs' Geiger off the charts, plates eight Designated hitter ties RBI record in Peoria's 11-10 slugfest win By Ashley Marshall / Special to MLB.com http://www.milb.com/images/2012/08/01/vhyY55EL.jpg Dustin Geiger has 46 RBIs in 47 Midwest League games this year. (Paul R. Gierhart/MiLB.com) Cubs prospect Dustin Geiger woke up Wednesday morning well aware that the calendar had flipped to August. After all, he batted .206 in 27 July contests for Peoria, and he had recorded just three hits in his previous 20 at-bats. Anxious to put those struggles behind him, he knew one good performance could set him up for a strong finish to the year. Geiger went 3-for-5 with two homers and eight RBIs as the Class A Chiefs rallied past the Quad Cities River Bandits, 11-10. "Everything was clicking and I saw the ball very well," he said. "I've never had a game like today. You could say it might have been a career day. "I had a good month in June. From a home run standpoint, July was decent, but from an average standpoint, it was not where I wanted it to be. I told myself this morning, 'It's August 1. It's a new month and I need to make the most of it. I want to finish strong.'" Batting fourth and serving as the Chiefs' designated hitter, the 20-year-old smacked a three-run homer to left field with one out in the first inning. "The first pitch was a ball outside and I fouled a fastball off down the third-base line," Geiger said of his first at-bat. "[Hector Hernandez] threw me a 1-1 changeup, and when I saw it was up in the zone, I wanted to swing at it. I was hoping to hit it deep to the outfield to get the run in, but it was a line drive over the left-center field fence." After grounding out to end the third, Geiger took Hernandez's 1-0 fastball and ripped a bases-clearing double to the left-center field gap in the fifth to give Peoria a 6-5 lead. He flew out for the second out of the seventh, but got the last laugh by delivering a go-ahead two-run homer -- his 13th longball of the year -- in the top of the ninth. "They brought in a sidearm guy," Geiger said. "Javier Baez just one-hopped the wall, so I was looking to get him home from second base. He hung a slider that stayed up in the zone. I wasn't sure I had got all of it, but it got over the wall and gave us the lead. "Everybody got on base for me today and gave me a chance to produce. It was an up-and-down game and I think the lead changed six times. To have a good performance like this in a three-and-a-half hour game, great emotions were running." Geiger's eight RBIs tied a team record set by Joe Jumonville at Kane County on April 14, 1995. It was later matched by Andy Bevins on May 15, 1998 against South Bend. The third baseman, who had two homers against Burlington on July 4, is the first Chief to have two multi-homer games in a season since Anthony Giansanti achieved the feat last year. "All the credit goes to the coaching staff. I've been working with the hitting coach [barbaro Garbey] and he has helped shorten my swing. "I went down to the instructional league last year and we cut down on my leg kick. This year we moved my hands; they were in a higher slot, but now they're lower. We wanted to make sure I stayed back and got my front foot down on time." The outing raised Geiger's average to .258, and he hopes, signals a change in fortunes at the plate. Selected by the Cubs in the 24th round of the 2010 Draft out of Merritt Island High School in Florida, Geiger spent the first two months of the year on the disabled list after breaking the hamate bone in his left hand. "It was the last day of Spring Training. I remember it well because it was the day before we shipped out," said Geiger, who stayed in Mesa, Ariz., to rehab the injury. "I was set to go to Peoria to start the season, but in my first at-bat that day, I fouled a pitch off and felt a pain shoot through my hand. I went out to play defense and when I realized I couldn't close my glove, I knew I had to call the trainer." Geiger is now in his third year of pro ball. He hit .244 in 35 games for Chicago's Arizona League affiliate in 2010, and he batted .264 with three homers and 33 RBIs across two levels last season. On Wednesday, right-hander Bryce Shafer (1-2) earned the win after striking out four batters over 1 2/3 innings. He allowed one hit and lowered his ERA to 5.48. Cubs starter Zach Cates allowed four runs on five hits and two walks while striking out four batters over 2 2/3 innings. Quad Cities' Dixon Llorens (0-1) surrendered three runs over an inning of work in the losing cause.

really? Umpire tosses music intern in Daytona

Final: Nashville 7, Fresno 5 (11 Innings) Davis Homer Propels Sounds To 11-Inning Win In Fresno Red-Hot Outfielder Extends Hit Streak To 16 With 3-for-6 Effort FRESNO, Calif. - Red-hot outfielder Khris Davis belted a homer in the top of the eleventh inning to propel the Nashville Sounds to a 7-5 victory over the Fresno Grizzlies on Wednesday evening at Chukchansi Park in the opener of a four-game series. The triumph was the Sounds' third consecutive last at-bat victory and was Nashville's tenth extra-inning game this season (5-5 in those contests). Davis' game-winning blast, an opposite-field solo blast to right-center on a 3-1 offering from Fresno reliever Wilmin Rodriguez (3-4), was the youngster's second roundtripper in two nights and broke a 5-5 tie. Davis (3-for-6) has hit safely in his last 16 consecutive games between Double-A Huntsville and Nashville, batting an outstanding .484 (31-for-64) with 17 RBIs over that stretch. Nashville tacked on an insurance run later in the frame against Rodriguez. Andy Gonzalez followed Davis' go-ahead blast with a double and scored on Sean Halton's subsequent RBI single for a 7-5 advantage. Prior to Davis' heroics, Eric Farris had led off the Nashville eleventh with a double off Rodriguez but was caught stealing third to leave the bases empty with two outs. Farris enjoyed a solid night at the plate for Nashville, going 4-for-6 with a homer, double, three RBIs, and two runs scored. Three of his four hits in the contest gave the Sounds a lead. Jesus Sanchez (2-0) recorded the final five outs for Nashville and picked up the victory. Fresno score the night's first run against Brian Baker in the bottom of the first inning. After Ryan Lollis drew a leadoff walk, he moved to second when Sounds catcher Jason Jaramillo misfired on a pickoff attempt and came plateward for a 1-0 Grizzlies lead on Conor Gillaspie's RBI single. The Grizzlies doubled their advantage to 2-0 in the second when Juan Ciriaco led off with a single and later scored on a groundout. Baker worked out of a jam to escape further damage, stranding runners on second and third in the frame. Farris put the Sounds on the board in the third when he belted his fifth home run of the year, a one-out solo homer to left-center off Fresno starter Clayton Tanner. Nashville rallied to take their first lead in the fourth, plating three runs against Tanner to grab a 4-2 advantage. After loading the bases with no outs on singles by Jordan Brown (2-for-6)and Jeff Bianchi (2-for-4) followed by a Jaramillo walk, Baker grounded into a double play with Brown racing home to score the tying run on the play. Farris followed with an RBI bunt single that brought in Bianchi with the go-ahead run, then scored when Davis smoked a double to right later in the frame. Fresno catcher Jackson Williams pulled the home team back within one at 4-3 in the bottom of the fourth when he slugged a one-out solo homer to left, his tenth big fly of the season. The Grizzlies rallied to tie the contest at 4-4 against the Sounds' bullpen in the seventh. Brock Bond (4-for-4) led off with a single against Amaury Rivas, moved to second on a throwing error by Bianchi on the play, and raced home to score the tying run later in the inning on Francisco Peguero's RBI single off Nashville left-hander Mitch Stetter. The teams traded single runs in the eighth as the back-and-forth affair continued. Both clubs left two runners in scoring position in the inning as the bullpens escaped jams with minimal damage. In the top of the frame, the Sounds loaded the bags with one out against Steve Edlefsen before Farris delivered his third go-ahead RBI of the night, plating Bianchi with a single to left for a 5-4 Nashville lead. With the bases still loaded and only one out, Edlefsen escaped further damage by popping up Caleb Gindl and fanning Davis. Fresno evened the game for the third time in the bottom of the eighth, manufacturing a run against Fautino De Los Santos. Nick Noonan led off with a single to center, was sacrificed to second, and scored the tying run on a Williams run-scoring single. Bond followed with a double to place Grizzlies runners on second and third with only one out. De Los Santos recovered to strike out pinch-hitter Tyler LaTorre before Sounds skipper Mike Guerrero summoned Juan Perez from the 'pen for a lefty-lefty matchup against Lollis. The Nashville southpaw won the battle, inducing an inning-ending comebacker from the Fresno center fielder to keep the game knotted at 5-5. The teams continue the series with another 9:05 p.m. CT matchup on Thursday night. Right-hander Tyler Thornburg (1-0, 3.60), who won his Triple-A debut for the Sounds in July, makes his second PCL start of the year when he mans the bump for Nashville. Fresno will counter with 11-game winner Eric Hacker (11-5, 4.48). Nashville Box Score Khrush Freaking Davis! His season OPS is now comfortably above 1.1, he's on some kind of tear. Plenty of good story lines out of this game, all thoroughly covered above. If you look at the box score, the first 4 pitchers for the Sounds all have an ERA over 5... yikes, granted Stetter's sample is extremely small at this point. Unfortunately I dozed off a couple of times waiting for the game to finish so I don't have anything to add. Nashville Play By Play

Suspended (8th Inning): DSL Angels 6, DSL Brewers 4 DSL Brewers Box Score The Brewers had just coughed up the lead in the 7th and then allowed the Angels to put 2 on the board in the 8th prior to the suspension. The Brewers currently have runners on 1st and 2nd with no out in the bottom of the 8th. Gian Rizzo was... well just like Gian Rizzo allowing 3 runs, 1 earned over 5 innings allowing 5 hits and no walks while striking out 6. Seriously, why is Gian still in the DSL? He dominated last year, has put up video game numbers this year, who's in AZ or Helena that's truly blocking him? His career numbers are just sick. I'm all about progression with pitchers, but even I'm coming up empty for any kind of justification for him sticking around the DSL. The only thing I can think of is that it's education related, in which case I'm okay with that. Joan De La Cruz and Joshua Torres didn't fare very well giving up 3 runs in 3 innings. So far Alejandro Mendoza (2-4) has the only multi-hit game but both Yunior De La Cruz and Juan Ortiz have doubled. Raphachel Colatosti, Kevin Martinez, and Ortiz have all stolen a base though Ortiz was also caught stealing home. Though Elvis Rubio has 2 errors in the game he did score an OF assist at home, the rest of the fielding below. FIELDING E: Rubio 2 (7, fielding, fielding), Colatosti (11, fielding). PB: De La Cruz, Y (4). Outfield assists: Rubio (Barreto at home). DSL Brewers Play By Play The Brewers had a big 5th to jump out in front before the pen gave it back and then some. DSL Brewers Bottom of the 5th Yunior De La Cruz doubles (4) on a line drive to left fielder Leudy Garcia. Yunior Santana grounds out, third baseman Gustavo Perinan to first baseman Cesar Barazarte. Juan Ortiz doubles (10) on a line drive to left fielder Leudy Garcia. Yunior De La Cruz scores. Kevin Martinez walks. Pitching Change: Miguel Castro replaces Alejandro Solarte. With Raphachel Colatosti batting, Juan Ortiz steals (14) 3rd base. Kevin Martinez steals (1) 2nd base. Raphachel Colatosti called out on strikes. Alejandro Mendoza singles on a line drive to left fielder Leudy Garcia. Juan Ortiz scores. Kevin Martinez scores. Jose Dicent singles on a line drive to right fielder Andres De Aza. Alejandro Mendoza to 2nd. Juan De Leon strikes out swinging.

I've been thinking about risk quite a bit lately and the whole notion that prospects are more risky than veterans, which is a pretty common theme around baseball. The way I see it, that's only true if we are talking about production on the field. As it's nearly impossible to project a young player's career path, see Harper, Trout, and Braun, I do understand the apprehension to rely on young players as very few will come up and dominate like Braun from the get go. However I'll take Trout's career path every time... he struggles for a 100ish ABs and then becomes a monster as he figures out the game. It should be a reasonable expectation for a young player to struggle and have some growing pains, that's why Macha had to go, he wasn't willing to let young players fail and keep trotting them out there. Obviously managers are under extreme pressure to win now, so a team like Milwaukee really has to find the right type of guy for that role. Production doesn't equal value nor does it negate risk, and I think that's where many muddle and confuse concepts. Players with a high level of production who come with a high yearly price tag also carry significant risk, especially pitchers. The older and more expensive players get, the greater the risk they carry because older players tend to get injured more. 1 injury and the guy may never be the same, a typical injury to the elbow or shoulder costs the team 1 full season of that player's production, that's just a sunk cost. Every different kind of player will have varying kinds of risk associated with him, there is no "riskless" player in professional sports. Unfortunately it appears that either risk or production are sometimes synonymous with value, when they are actually components of value. When we start talking budget and get into the realm of "value" we actually take all of those concepts: risk, production, contract, etc and rolling it into a single concept. More statistical orientated posters are going to take WAR, or WPA, or some other advanced value metric and divide that level production by the players' contract to give an "average cost per win" and then compare it to the league average. Problem of course is that the league average skewed by the teams who can spend the most, the Brewers are much closer in terms of payroll to the bottom team than they are the top team. I don't think that kind of analysis accurate portrays a player's given value to his franchise. I'll use Hart as an example. He'll be solid a 1B next season, but with or without him the season, like most, will come down to pitching. Will our young pitchers hit the ground running like Fiers, or will they experience some significant growing pains like Matt Moore in TB? If our pitching won't be good enough to compete then what does it matter if we have Ramirez or Hart on the roster? In the end every poor season since 2007 has been about the pitching, not the hitting, so if you aren't going to compete with Hart on the roster, what's his ultimate value? If he can be replaced by a younger and cheaper player who also needs to build into his role while the pitching situation stabilizes then Hart's greatest value to the organization would be what he could back in a trade, much like Greinke. I understand that Gamel, Morris, Halton, and Davis haven't proven anything from a production standpoint, but the very fact that we have 4 of those prospects who could potentially play 1B significantly mitigates the risk in that scenario. It's not like we have just 1 prospect and we need that 1 guy to make it or we're screwed, we have options. This is precisely why I've argued for organization building all these years instead of team building, the more options we have the less long-term risk the organization carries. I do understand that the only team that matters is the MLB team, but again I'm not trying to beat league in a particular year, I'm raging against the system. Perhaps you can take the money saved from moving a veteran player and roll it into different FA to plug a hole at 3B or some other spot in 2014 or 2015, position players are much better value than pitchers when it comes to FA. Just because a team is under budget doesn't mean they have to spend it on the MLB roster, there are many other ways to add value to the organization with that money beyond player salaries. Maybe instead of spending it on a FA they go over slot in the draft and spend more in Latin America, neither pays an instant dividend but it's difficult to argue against adding as much talent as possible. Maybe they purchase some MiLB affiliates and upgrade their facilities adding modern weight room and rehab facilities... there's any number of ways to ultimately effect the MLB team without spending money upfront on contracts. The idea should be to have a good mix of veterans and youth, not just one or other. A player's value isn't as easy as equating cost to production, it goes much deeper than that, and I think that some aren't fully grasping what Monty, TLB, I, and others are talking about when we're posting from a value perspective. I also don't feel that everyone fully appreciates the significant risk that players in their mid 30s carry because of injury and cost with sliding production. Many times the team ends up paying for what a player has done, not what they are going to do.

Surveying The Landscape After The Trade Deadline

If you're interested in trade deadline analysis BA has a ton of links on the main page here. MiLB/MLB also covers the trades here and here. BA's stuff has the better prospect analysis, but there is a ton of reading between the 3 sites.

Southern league notes and who else would they talk about? Khrush Davis gets a mention at the bottom. More video of Hamilton at the link, he's still very fast. Southern notes: Hamilton a quick hit Speedster pleasing fans, skipper since Pensacola promotion By Guy Curtright / Special to MLB.com http://www.milb.com/images/2012/07/30/HuTs2aGX.jpg Billy Hamilton is batting .321 with 11 steals in 16 Double-A games. (Pensacola Blue Wahoos) The piled-high sandwich, with nine pieces of ham and six pieces of cheese, would seem more fitting for a husky slugger than a skinny speedster. But Billy Hamilton may be the only one able to actually burn off all the calories. The Billy Ham and Cheese -- sold with sweet potato fries for $8 -- is flying out of the Port Side Grill at the new Pensacola ballpark, and Hamilton is speeding toward a challenge of the Minor League stolen base mark. The shortstop's pace has slowed a bit since he was promoted from the Class A Advanced California League to the Double-A Southern League, but the mark of 145 set by Vince Coleman in 1983 while with Macon of the Class A South Atlantic League remains within reach. "I'm not thinking about the record," the top-ranked Reds prospect said. "I'm just trying to get on base and then make something happen. But I know the record is out there, and it would be fun to go for if I got close." After stealing 104 bases in 82 games with Bakersfield, Hamilton had 11 in his first 16 games with the Blue Wahoos. He had been caught 25 times, four with Pensacola, and needed 30 steals over the final 34 games to tie Coleman's record. "This is a real good test for him," Pensacola manager Jim Riggleman said of the move to Double-A. "Teams are doing everything they can to stop him. Pitchers have been very quick to the plate, and catchers have made some good throws against him." Still, the 21-year-old is winning most of the battles. "He's a game changer every time he gets on," said Huntsville manager Darnell Coles, who saw Hamilton steal second and third before coming around to score in the first inning of a game Saturday. "You don't see someone with that kind of speed very often. He's special." "Some players are fast and some are quick," Riggleman said. "Billy is both. He gets in top speed in a step or two." Hamilton was a football recruit for Mississippi State as a wide receiver and remembers being timed in the 40-yard dash at 4.5 seconds as a high school sophomore at Taylorsville, Miss. But he says that he wasn't much of a base stealer. That quickly changed after the Reds took him in the second round of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft and wooed him away from football with a bonus of $623,600. In 2010, Billings manager Delino DeShields laid down a challenge to Hamilton. "He said I could be the greatest base stealer in baseball," the switch-hitter recalled. Hamilton swiped 48 bases in 69 games to lead the Rookie-level Pioneer League and, after moving to Class A Daytona of the Midwest League with DeShields for 2011, stole 103 in 135 games. Hamilton was the first Minor Leaguer to steal 100 bases since 2001, and his total was five more than the previous record for the Reds organization. Not completely comfortable yet as a switch-hitter, Hamilton was hitting just .195 in late May last season, but rebounded to hit .316 the rest of the way for Daytona and has hit over .300 this season. Hamilton, No. 26 on MLB.com's Top 100 Prospects list, batted .323 for Bakersfield and was hitting .321 for Pensacola through the weekend. He had also drawn 62 walks, giving him a combined .418 on-base percentage. The leadoff hitter has just two homers among is 31 extra-base hits, but his one homer with Pensacola was a crowd-pleaser. He scored standing up on the inside-the-park shot, circling the bases in 14 seconds. Hamilton's defense remains a work in progress. He had three errors for Pensacola after committing 25 with Bakersfield and may eventually be a candidate for a position switch. Riggleman, though, doesn't think that is necessary. "I haven't seen anything that tells me he can't play shortstop," the former Major League manager said. If Hamilton becomes an impact player in the Majors, though, it will be because of the way he can change games offensively. The stolen base has been a dying art -- Hamilton is reviving it. In brief Happy marriage: Cincinnati owner Bob Castellini visited Pensacola along with general manager Walt Jocketty and other team officials as the Reds and Blue Wahoos announced an extension of their affiliation agreement of four more years. The first-year franchise leads the Southern League in attendance, averaging 4,684 per game, and has sold out 34 of 54 games at its new bayfront ballpark. Red-hot hitter: Huntsville outfielder Khris Davis had his homer streak end at five games in the series finale at Pensacola on Saturday but was 3-for-3 with a walk and two RBIs. He had another three-hit game Sunday at home against Chattanooga and was batting .490 (25-for-51) during a 13-game hitting streak that pushed his season average with the Stars to .383 in 44 games. He won Southern League Offensive Player of the Week. Record setter: Hak-Ju Lee, who already had set two Montgomery records, tied Desmond Jennings for the Biscuits' season mark with his 37th stolen base. After earlier hitting safely in a record 21 straight games, the shortstop pushed his record on-base streak to 41 games Sunday against Mississippi. Evan Longoria had the old on-base mark at 37 games. Brawl ball: A hard slide at the plate by Mobile's Rossmel Perez touched off a benches-clearing brawl in the ninth inning as Mississippi completed a five-game series sweep with a 7-3 victory Saturday. Seven players had earlier been hit by pitches, with Mississippi's Cory Rasmus ejected for plunking Perez. Mobile manager Turner Ward was ejected along with Perez after the melee. Kicked out for Mississippi were Christian Bethancourt and Alden Carrithers.

Ha, and here's a feature on Toilet Paper Night. A salute to toilet paper in Wisconsin

some interesting quotes from Cole regarding those scary comebackers in June. Every athlete is different and I always wonder how they will handle coming back from that sort of thing Cole's blazing fastball thrown Curve Bucs' No. 2 prospect allows three hits, fans six in six frames By Sam Dykstra / Special to MLB.com http://www.milb.com/images/2012/07/31/SSMRtlsP.jpg Gerrit Cole owns a 3.19 ERA between Altoona and Bradenton this season. (Will Bentzel/MiLB.com) Unfortunately, the thing that stuck out the most about Gerrit Cole's first six starts for Double-A Altoona involved two scary comebackers. That was remedied Tuesday. MLB.com's No. 8 prospect allowed three hits and one walk while striking out six over six shutout innings, but the Curve lost to Trenton, 2-1. The outing was his first scoreless start and his first six-inning affair since being promoted from Class A Advanced Bradenton on June 19. That provided for the best outing of the 21-year-old right-hander's brief career in the Eastern League, after starting 2-4 with a 4.85 ERA. That wasn't lost upon the hurler. "I would say it's the best I've participated, but not necessarily the best I've felt," he said. "Establishing the fastball was the biggest part of it for me. It was better today than it perhaps has been before, and just having a pitch that I could go to when I needed it really helped. That was the biggest thing." Cole, who lowered his ERA to 3.94, only allowed one Thunder baserunner to reach scoring position -- Rob Segedin on a sixth-inning double -- before finishing his night after six innings and just 82 pitches (53 for strikes). The numbers in Cole's pitching line were tight, but the digits that left people in Waterfront Park buzzing came from the stadium radar gun. The 2011 first overall pick hit 100 mph five times Tuesday, including three times in the sixth inning. The increase in fastball velocity over time, reminiscent perhaps of the equally hard-throwing AL MVP and Cy Young winner Justin Verlander, is no mistake, according to Cole. "In the start of the game, I'm just looking to apply my mechanics and get a gameplan down," said the Pirates' No. 2 prospect. "But as I get deeper into the game, I can become more aggressive because I've faced these guys a few times and crank it up a little. I almost never get tired too, so I've usually got something left in the tank even late." Cole's hand was forced as he approached the later innings. No. 20 Yankees prospect Brett Marshall was equal to the task, allowing just one run on four hits in his six innings on the mound for the Thunder. Although he admitted he didn't pay much attention to Marshall's individual performance, Cole did acknowledge that he kept an eye on the scoreboard and tried to pitch accordingly. "When it's tight like that, you don't want to do anything to let them hit it out or put a runner in scoring position," he said. "It just makes you more cautious about what you're doing out there." The UCLA product was already being careful on the hill, ever since being plunked by two line drives June 26. A CT scan was negative, and the only resulting injury was a jaw contusion. He made his next start six days later on July 2. Although the physical effects were limited, the mental repercussions still linger a little. "It was definitely something I was thinking about when I stepped on the mound again [in my next start]," Cole said. "I'm still pretty flinchy when a ball comes back at me though. It was more apprehension than anything, but for the most part, I've calmed my nerves." Now that the scary event is officially behind him, the only thing Cole has on his mind is putting together more outings like Tuesday's and ending his first professional season on a high note. "My fastball command can still get better," he said. "I can recognize individual hitters better and how to face them in each at-bat. But it's not about getting better at this point. It's just trying to repeat the success." The Curve starter did not receive the win, though, after reliever Hunter Strickland allowed two runs (one earned) in the seventh. Zoilo Almonte's solo homer tied the ballgame, 1-1, and JR Murphy drove in the game-winner with a sacrifice fly.

Gotta love minor league promotions, toilet paper night!