TheCrew07

some familiar names... Offensive Players of the Week For the week ending July 8

It's a recent trend and I find it extremely irritating at the upper levels... in WI, their first year in full season ball, I don't have a problem with 80-85 pitches, but in AA and above shouldn't they be preparing for a bigger workload?

Final: DSL Angels 2, DSL Brewers 1 DSL Brewers Box Score This was a tough loss, Joshua Torres gave up a solo HR in the top of the 9th and then the Brewers bowed out in order to end the game. Jorge Ortega was excellent once again going 7 innings allowing 7 hits, 1 earned run, and 2 walks against 6 strike outs posting a 10:1 ratio! He also pitched around some poor defense in the 5th to get out of a jam. Despite getting 7 hits and the Angels committing 3 errors the Brewers only managed 1 run. Raphachel Colatosti had the only multi-hit day going 2-5 with a stolen base, that was about it. No one had any XBHs, no one else had a steal, but Yunior De La Cruz struggled on defense again committing his 4th error on an errant pick off attempt and his 2nd PB. DSL Brewers Play By Play Jorge did a nice job to escape here. DSL Angels Top of the 5th Enyelber Vivas called out on strikes. Jose Herrera singles on a fly ball to center fielder Francisco Castillo. Angel Montilla singles on a ground ball to left fielder Juan Ortiz. Jose Herrera to 2nd. With Ayendy Perez batting, throwing error by Yunior De La Cruz on the pickoff attempt, Jose Herrera to 3rd. With Ayendy Perez batting, Angel Montilla steals (8) 2nd base. Ayendy Perez strikes out swinging. Erick Salcedo flies out to center fielder Francisco Castillo. The Brewers missed chances in the 1st and 3rd with runners in scoring position and less than 2 outs but broke through here with a ground out. DSL Brewers Bottom of the 5th Alejandro Mendoza singles on a fly ball to right fielder Jose Herrera. Francisco Castillo out on a sacrifice bunt, third baseman Ranyelmy Mendoza to first baseman Gabriel Villavicencio. Alejandro Mendoza to 2nd. Raphachel Colatosti singles on a fly ball to center fielder Ayendy Perez. Alejandro Mendoza to 3rd. Carlos Belonis grounds into a force out, third baseman Ranyelmy Mendoza to second baseman Ismael Dionicio. Alejandro Mendoza scores. Raphachel Colatosti out at 2nd. Carlos Belonis to 1st. Elvis Rubio strikes out swinging. The Angels came right back and tied it with small ball in the 6th. DSL Angels Top of the 6th Ismael Dionicio singles on a ground ball to center fielder Francisco Castillo. Gabriel Villavicencio out on a sacrifice bunt, first baseman Jose Dicent to second baseman Alejandro Mendoza. Ismael Dionicio to 2nd. Jesus Fernandez singles on a fly ball to right fielder Elvis Rubio. Ismael Dionicio scores. Ranyelmy Mendoza grounds into double play, third baseman Raphachel Colatosti to second baseman Alejandro Mendoza to first baseman Jose Dicent. Jesus Fernandez out at 2nd. The Brewers could have put the game away here... DSL Brewers Bottom of the 8th Luis Jolly remains in the game as the designated hitter. Carlos Belonis reaches on fielding error by shortstop Erick Salcedo. Elvis Rubio walks. Carlos Belonis to 2nd. Pitcher Change: Alexis Campos replaces Jose Reyes. Jose Dicent strikes out swinging. Juan Ortiz walks. Carlos Belonis to 3rd. Elvis Rubio to 2nd. Yunior Santana strikes out swinging. Yunior De La Cruz pops out to second baseman Ismael Dionicio.

Because he's already 25 and has no starting position... His first real shot would be his 28 year old season to be an everyday player. Obviously I'm not opposed to depth by any stretch, but Taylor doesn't seem to be anything more than a league average player at best which suggests he has a small window of opportunity to be in the big leagues. He's not a very good defender at 3B, he's below average at 2B, so to me he's not much of a utility guy. I think he's in a similar situation to Farris in that neither one really profiles as utility player so if they can't win a job outright they won't be in the majors. Green is far and away the better hitter between the 2, but he needs to be as a corner IF. It would probably be in Green's best interest be let go so he can latch on with another club, how good is going to get spending 4 straight seasons in AAA? Ramirez will likely go on the DL somewhere during his contract for an extended period but even Green outplayed Ramirez there's nothing to suggest that the Brewers would sit Ramirez with his contract.

Which was basically every thread... the good ole days!

I'll need some coverage Friday and Saturday night, I'll be at both of high school all-star games on Saturday. Normally I just volunteer to work the games and skip the other stuff but one my young men had a pretty fantastic year and is on the team so I'm going to do the banquet and associated activities as well.

That's sort of surprising, he was cold over over the last couple of weeks, best of luck Jay.

Stars' Morris finding the sweet spot Brewers prospect extends homer streak with pair of blasts By Jonathan Raymond / Special to MLB.com http://www.milb.com/images/2012/07/08/LGTCVzVz.jpg Hunter Morris is hitting .314 with a .551 slugging percentage in 85 games. (Huntsville Stars) When hitters get on a hot streak, they often talk about how much more relaxed they feel at the plate. If Hunter Morris' last few games are any indication, he must not have a care in the world. The Brewers' No. 9 prospect extend his home run streak to three games with a pair of longballs Sunday, adding a triple and driving in four in Double-A Huntsville's 10-5 victory over Jacksonville. In his last three games, Morris is 8-for-13 with four homers, two triples and eight RBIs. "When you're staying within yourself at the plate, not trying to force things, it tends to get a little easier," he said. "Right now, I've simplified things. I can pick out the right pitches, focus on finding solid contact. The rest takes care of itself." The 2010 fourth-round Draft pick added that, especially over the last week or so, his comfort level at the plate has allowed him to elevate his production. In eight games this month, he's hitting .469 while slugging 1.000. "It's a different confidence level. You're not as worried about getting behind in counts, don't tend to be as aggressive. You just kind of let the at-bat come to you," Morris said. "It sounds like it'd be easy to do that day in and day out, but every player puts more pressure on himself one at-bat to the next, tries to do more than they should." This season, Morris has also been able to redefine himself in a sense, batting .314 -- well beyond what he hit in 2011 with Class A Advanced Brevard County (.271) or in 2010 with Class A Wisconsin (.251). "That's something I expect from myself," he said. "There's been a lot of adjustments to make in my swing, to learn how to use the whole field, go deeper into counts. Sometimes you have to go for the base hit and not try to hit it out of the park. You can find holes you weren't finding before." It's also helped that he's drawn more walks and appears to be more selective. Last season, he had 4.72 strikeouts for every walk, a figure that's down to 3.36 this year. After posting .306 and .301 on-base percentages his first two seasons in the Minors, his OBP sits at .365. His slugging percentage also has spiked, with a 54-point rise since the Fourth of July to .551. Morris credited a lot of his improved production to that willingness to change his approach at the plate. "You kind of get set in your ways over time," he said. "I don't know if it's a pride thing, where it's, 'Oh, I've been doing this my whole life, why would I change?' But you realize you have to make adjustments as you move up. I don't want to ever be satisfied with numbers or accomplishments. There's always improvements I can make." T.J. Mittlestaedt also homered twice Sunday, while No. 9 Brewers prospect Kentrail Davis was 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs.

I was waiting for the audio to pop, but it hasn't yet, sorry MH Rogers Tosses Gem As Sounds Shut Out Memphis, 2-0 Nashville Enters Break With Ninth Win In Last 12 Contests MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Right-hander Mark Rogers worked seven outstanding innings and combined with three reliever on a four-hit, 2-0 shutout of the Memphis Redbirds on Sunday evening at AutoZone Park in the finale of a five-game series. With their league-leading 10th shutout victory, the red-hot Sounds (40-51) recorded a 4-1 series win against the cross-state rival Redbirds. Nashville enters the All-Star break with wins in nine of its last 12 contests. Rogers (4-6) faced just two batters over the minimum and struck out a season-high seven batters during his fourth quality start of the year, matching a personal and Sounds season best with his seven scoreless innings. Juan Perez and Amaury Rivas combined on a scoreless eighth frame. In the ninth, Rob Wooten surrendered a triple to Adron Chambers before ceding to All-Star closer Jim Henderson, who induced a game-ending flyout from Mark Hamilton to nail down his 11th save of the season. Rogers' gem continued a recent hot spell by Sounds starting pitchers, who have combined to post a stellar 2.44 ERA (18er/66.1ip) over Nashville's last 12 games. Over that stretch, Nashville starters have held the opposition scoreless on six occasions. Nashville broke a scoreless tie by plating a pair of runs in the top of the fifth inning, chasing Memphis starter Scott Gorgen (0-1) from the contest in the process. Jordan Brown (2-for-4) put the Sounds in front when he drove an opposite-field RBI double off the left field wall to plate Jeff Bianchi (2-for-4), who had opened the frame with a single. The go-ahead two-bagger marked Brown's seventh extra-base knock in his past 10 games. Two batters later, Dayton Buller (2-for-3) made it a 2-0 game with an RBI single to left and Rogers followed with a single of his own to knock the opposing hurler out of the game. Left-hander Nick Greenwood took over on the Memphis hill and retired the next two batters to escape the jam without further damage. The Sounds have the next three days off during the Triple-A All-Star break. Reliever Jim Henderson will represent Nashville on Wednesday in the 25th Annual Triple-A All-Star Game in Buffalo, New York. The 6:00 p.m. CT contest will be aired live on 102.5 FM "The Game" as well as on the MLB Network. Nashville returns to action on Thursday at Greer Stadium, where the Sounds will open a four-game series against the Albuquerque Isotopes (AAA-Dodgers). Right-hander Tyler Thornburg (1-0, 3.60), who was victorious in his Triple-A debut earlier this week in Memphis, will make his second start and face right-hander Fernando Nieve (4-6, 6.62). Nashville Box Score I love it when the Mark Rogers who doesn't walk anyone shows up, he's really fun to listen to when he's on. The stadium gun here is 4-5 MPH slow but it registered a 93 from Mark in the 6th inning, if he would just command the zone... well we don't have another SP with that kind of talent right now. I'm completely biased towards Mark, I still "hope" for him, he's already overcome so much... the flip side of course is the reality I posted after his last start regarding BB rates and BA against. I guess the simple truth is that I just want to believe in him until there's no chance left. Somehow this has gotten past me but Rob Wooten is sporting an ERA over 5 right now, and his last 10 games were a 4.73, he's been very average, hopefully he picks it up in the second half, I always had him pegged as a nice 1 inning middle relief candidate. Here's another tidbit, Eric Farris has a BA 20ish points higher than Caleb Gindl but an OPS 70ish points lower and we've talked about how poor Gindl has been all season... Eric did make a great play in the 5th to get Rogers out of the inning. Nashville Play By Play

I was listening to the game, Jeff threw out a couple of possible reasons, the most logical was the staff wanting to get other pitchers some work before the all-star break, I wouldn't read anything into it.

There's been quite a bit of discussion about this between the various forums. I agree with BA that Texas and KC are 1 and 2, doesn't matter to me which order. Texas They are active in the international market, draft well, trade well, are winning at MLB and have an incredibly strong farm system, take a different tact than most teams developing pitchers, and they just might be the strongest overall organization in baseball. They have a nice mix of impact pitching and hitting at the top including prospects like Jurickson Profar, Mike Olt, Martin Perez, Neil Ramirez, and Leonys Martin. BA ranked Yu Darvish as a prospect prior to the season, which I don't agree with on principle, but I do understand why they do that. Even without him I really liked this system, I've been following Texas' system since the Teixeira trade as Neftali Feliz piqued my curiosity because I was wondering who the heck he was and why Texas would trade for him. Between BA and MiLB there's a ton of articles and blog posts about these prospects. KC The Royals have been taking flak on the transaction forum for being in perpetual rebuilding mode, which isn't true at all my opinion. They've graduated a ton of nice young talent that should continue to ascend and they have another crop at AAA ready to get promoted for next year. Mike Montgomery, Jake Odorizzi, and Yordano Ventura and some pitchers I'm very interested in, as I've mentioned many time Odorizzi was my favorite Brewers pitching prospect prior to the trade. Position player wise they have Will Myers and Bubba Starling whom I would love to have. Cheslor Cuthbert is another big name international signing to keep an eye on according to the prospect gurus, though I just don't see it with him from a performance aspect. LHP John Lamb isn't pitching this year because of TJ surgery, but he was one of the better LH starting pitching prospects in the game prior, and of course I have a strong affinity for impact LHP. Just like with the Rangers most of the prospects here have had a ton of coverage on the prospecting sites that should be pretty easy to find. Arizona I love the top of this system so much... Trevor Bauer RHP, Archie Bradley RHP, and Tyler Skaggs LHP. Beyond those 3 it's a pretty much just personal preference... Seattle, San Diego (lopsided hitting), and even the A's after their big trades went from a horrible system to pretty loaded at the top. Personally I'm into Seattle's system more with their top 3 pitchers. Seattle I'm fairly certain that all 3 of Taijuan Walker RHP, Danny Hultzen LHP, and James Paxton LHP will be no worse than #3s I think 2 of the more underrated system by average fans are Toronto and Pittsburgh. Toronto This system is pretty even on pitching an hitting. The hitters would be Travis d'Arnaud, Anthony Gose (he touched 97 in HS as a pitcher), and Jake Marisnick is an extremely toolsy 21 year old in AA. Pitching wise they have Daniel Norris who's in short season ball right now but it was one of the better LHP pitching prospects in baseball, Toronto promotes pitchers very slowly, just like Milwaukee. I linked an article on the Lansing 3 in a recent link report, they've gotten a ton of press... Justin Nicolino, Noah Syndergaard, and Aaron Sanchez. Pittsburgh The Pirates have pretty even pitching and hitting even with some very notable flame-outs of high draft picks. Gerrit Cole and James Tallion concern me as a Brewer's fan, and if they manage to sign Mark Appel... look out. Hitting wise they have Starling Marte and Alen Hanson in BA's current top 50. Josh Bell is also a good hitting prospect though he's only played in 15 games because of injury. The system isn't extremely deep but I really like the talent at the top, much like the D-Backs.

That's what I figured, but I couldn't find an definitive answer on a quick google search. Rogers is pitching fantastic setting the Redbirds down in order in 4 of the 5 frames thus far. He also chased Gorgen with a single in the top of the 5th.

Do you know why he didn't pitch last year?

Geiger continues home run binge Cubs third base prospect goes deep in fourth straight game By Jonathan Raymond / Special to MLB.com http://www.milb.com/images/2012/07/08/cnIWonTm.jpg Dustin Geiger has raised his slugging percentage 139 points in four games. (Paul R. Gierhart/MiLB.com) Dustin Geiger can safely say the broken hamate bone in his left hand that kept him out of action until early June isn't sapping him of any power. The Cubs third base prospect homered for the fourth straight game Saturday, tying a club record and powering the Class A Peoria Chiefs to a 5-3 victory over the Cedar Rapids Kernels. "I don't think I've ever [played like this]. This is the first time, even in high school," said Geiger, who's gone deep five times during the streak. "I've done back-to-back days with a home run before but never anything like this. It feels great when everything clicks and you can help the team win ballgames." Jordan Robison (May 9-14, 2002) and Josh Vitters (May 16-19, 2009) also homered in four straight games for the Chiefs. Geiger didn't make his season debut until June 7 after breaking the bone in his hand during Minor League camp. After going 0-for-11 in his first three games, he's been on a tear, hitting safely in 20 of his last 22 games. The 2010 24th-round Draft pick chalked up his productive run to the work he put in at extended spring training and with Chiefs hitting coach Barbaro Garbey. "I'm seeing the ball well, working on my approach with [Garbey] and everything's clicking. Luckily, I've been able to hit this way," Geiger said. "Now I'm just hitting pitches that the pitchers make mistakes with." Geiger batted .342 in 19 games in the Rookie-level Arizona League last season before a promotion to the Midwest League, where he hit .227 in 43 games with Peoria. In 25 games with the Chiefs this season, though, the 20-year-old is batting .313 with eight homers, 21 RBIs, a .367 on-base percentage and .586 slugging percentage. He's raised that slugging number 139 points since Tuesday. Geiger stressed how well the Cubs' training staff in Arizona prepared him for his return. "Everyone took great care of me and I was able to make a pretty speedy recovery," he said. "Everything's doing fantastic." A native of Merritt Island, Fla., Geiger said he hopes he can continue to produce at this level and hopefully move up to Class A Advanced Daytona Beach, a 45-minute drive from his hometown. "You always want to take it one step at a time, not look too far in advance, but obviously the goal is to get to [Class A Advanced]," he said. "It'd be nice to get the parents and friends and family to come see me." On Saturday, Cubs No. 3 prospect Javier Baez also homered, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored. The ninth overall pick in last year's Draft is hitting .305 with five homers and 13 RBIs in 33 games. The 19-year-old shortstop also sports a .379 OBP and .492 slugging percentage. Geiger said Baez has been as impressive in person as his numbers suggest. "While I was rehabbing, he was playing in extended [spring training], demolishing the ball, hitting it out to every part of the field," he said. "The kid has incredible power. He has incredible range on defense, too, just a great player."

damn this guy, go back to the bullpen! Cingrani's run of zeros reaches 20 2/3 Reds prospect hurls six solid innings, extends shutout streak By Sam Dykstra / Special to MLB.com http://www.milb.com/images/2012/07/08/yCSDyako.jpg Tony Cingrani is 4-1 with a 1.50 ERA in seven starts since joining Pensacola last month. (Chris Nelson) The book on Tony Cingrani's season already was a great read, but he added another chapter Saturday night. The Reds' No. 10 prospect scattered two hits and three walks over six scoreless innings to lead the Double-A Pensacola Blue Wahoos past the Mobile BayBears, 8-2. The outing extended Cingrani's shutout streak to 20 2/3 innings and marks the second time this season he's gone three straight starts without allowing a run. He also achieved the feat from April 20-May 2 with Class A Advanced Bakersfield. "It's done a lot for my confidence," Cingrani said of his recent run. "I'm always going to be confident out there, no matter what, though. If they hit the ball, hopefully, I can keep from letting them hit it too hard. That's always been my job and it's something I'm always working on." The left-hander, who turned 23 on Thursday, ran into some trouble against Mobile. In the third, he walked Evan Frey with one out and gave up a single to Chris Owings. Owings was nailed on the back end of a double-steal, but Matt Davidson also walked to put runners on the corners. Blue Wahoos catcher Mark Fleury again came to Cingrani's aid, throwing out Davidson on another steal attempt. That sequence served as a wake-up call. "There was a little spark of excitement there in the third," Cingrani said. "So all I wanted to do from there on out was throw harder. I was rushing a little bit, too. So I tried sitting back on my leg a little longer, and that helped me stay back and throw more pitches in the zone." The strategy worked. The former closer at Rice University retired the final nine batters he faced, three on strikeouts after he failed to fan a single batter over the first three frames. However, Cingrani noted he still longs to twirl a game like the one on June 27 that started his shutout streak. "That 15-K game was the best one I've had here so far," he said. "My off-speed [stuff] was really working in that game, I think. I'm always trying to repeat things I did then, but all I can do is go out there and compete like I always do." Cingrani's 1.28 ERA between Bakersfield (10 starts) and Pensacola (seven) leads all full-season Minor Leaguers. He also ranks second in the Minors with 121 strikeouts, sixth with a 0.94 WHIP and seventh with a .186 opponents' batting average. As gaudy as those numbers may appear, Cingrani knows the streak will come to an end. And he acknowledges that he still has work to do on his changeup and slider. "If it happens, it happens," he said. "I've been happy with my performances. As long as I don't go out there and give up, say, seven runs or something, I'll be happy with where I'm at." Beau Mills homered, doubled and drove in four runs for the Blue Wahoos. Bryson Smith added two RBIs, while Reds No. 4 prospect Didi Gregorius was 2-for-5 with a triple and two runs scored. Ed Easley went 2-for-3 with a double, a walk and two RBIs for the BayBears.

Final: DSL Brewers 12, DSL Braves 10 (10 Innings) DSL Brewers Box Score I spent all day/night at my niece's birthday so forgive me for Addy speak but the pitching in this one was just "ucky". 21 year old Eduard Reyes gave up 10 hits, 6 runs, 4 earned, in only 4.1 innings pitched and his ballooned his ERA to only 1.95, he's been that good previously. Angel Ventura replaced Reyes in the 5th and wasn't much better, he was charged with 2 of his own runs in only .2 IP plus allowing Ventura's inherited runners to score. Junior Flores also struggled giving up 3 runs in his 2 innings. Melvin Tejada came up clutch though getting the win pitching a scoreless final 3 innings. He allowed just 1 hit and a walk while striking 3. Every starter but 1 recorded a hit and the Brewers also recorded a total of 7 walks. Elvis Rubio led the way going 2-4 with a double and a walk, slightly overshadowing Francisco Castillo's 2-4 with 2BB day. Though maybe I should lean towards the higher OBP, tough call either way, both were excellent but Rubio's double won the game. Carlos Belonis also posted a 2-6 effort which was the final multi-hit game of the day. Castillo and Belonis were caught stealing but Castillo did also steal a base as did Mendoza. Unfortunately the Brewers also had 3 more errors and another passed ball, so the defense was shakey for a 2nd day in a row. DSL Brewers Play By Player The Brewers put 6 runs on the board in the 2nd, this should have been laugher. DSL Brewers Top of the 2nd Yunior De La Cruz singles on a line drive to right fielder Miguel Rivero. Carlos Pena reaches on fielding error by third baseman Juruengelo Tielman. Yunior De La Cruz to 2nd. Pitcher Change: Ramon Sauceda replaces Victor Constanzo. Alejandro Mendoza singles on a line drive to left fielder Iosif Bernal. Yunior De La Cruz to 3rd. Carlos Pena to 2nd. Francisco Castillo singles on a fly ball to right fielder Miguel Rivero. Yunior De La Cruz scores. Carlos Pena out at home on the throw, right fielder Miguel Rivero to second baseman Luis Monasterio to catcher Eugenio Diaz. Alejandro Mendoza to 3rd on the throw. Raphachel Colatosti hit by pitch. Francisco Castillo to 2nd. Carlos Belonis singles on a line drive to center fielder Jose Morel. Alejandro Mendoza scores. Francisco Castillo to 3rd. Raphachel Colatosti to 2nd. Elvis Rubio hit by pitch. Francisco Castillo scores. Raphachel Colatosti to 3rd. Carlos Belonis to 2nd. Jose Dicent singles on a line drive to second baseman Luis Monasterio. Raphachel Colatosti scores. Carlos Belonis to 3rd. Elvis Rubio to 2nd. Yunior Santana singles on a line drive to first baseman Ibrahim McKenzie. Carlos Belonis scores. Elvis Rubio to 3rd. Jose Dicent to 2nd. Pitcher Change: Adrian Rivero replaces Ramon Sauceda. Yunior De La Cruz out on a sacrifice fly to left fielder Iosif Bernal. Elvis Rubio scores. Jose Dicent to 3rd. Carlos Pena pops out to shortstop Johan Camargo. The pitching gave up 2 in the 1st and all the rest back in the 5th. DSL Braves Bottom of the 5th Miguel Rivero singles on a line drive to right fielder Yunior Santana. Victor Reyes singles on a pop up to third baseman Jose Dicent. Miguel Rivero to 2nd. Juruengelo Tielman singles on a line drive to right fielder Yunior Santana. Miguel Rivero scores. Victor Reyes to 2nd. Fielding error by right fielder Yunior Santana. Jose Morel lines out to left fielder Elvis Rubio. Eugenio Diaz doubles (3) on a fly ball to right fielder Yunior Santana. Victor Reyes scores. Juruengelo Tielman to 3rd. Pitcher Change: Angel Ventura replaces Eduard Reyes. Ibrahim McKenzie strikes out swinging, catcher Carlos Pena to first baseman Yunior De La Cruz. Iosif Bernal doubles (6) on a fly ball to right fielder Yunior Santana. Juruengelo Tielman scores. Eugenio Diaz scores. Luis Monasterio singles on a line drive to right fielder Yunior Santana. Iosif Bernal scores. Luis Monasterio to 2nd on the throw. Johan Camargo grounds out, second baseman Alejandro Mendoza to first baseman Yunior De La Cruz. Rubio came through in a big way for the win, despite trying to stretch his double for another insurance run. DSL Brewers Top of the 10th Francisco Castillo singles on a ground ball to right fielder Jesus Heredia. Juan Ortiz walks. Francisco Castillo to 2nd. Carlos Belonis grounds into a force out, first baseman Ibrahim McKenzie to third baseman Johan Camargo. Francisco Castillo out at 3rd. Juan Ortiz to 2nd. Carlos Belonis to 1st. Elvis Rubio doubles (8) on a fly ball to center fielder Jose Morel. Juan Ortiz scores. Carlos Belonis scores. Elvis Rubio out at 3rd, center fielder Jose Morel to shortstop Omar Obregon to third baseman Johan Camargo. Jose Dicent grounds out, third baseman Johan Camargo to first baseman Ibrahim McKenzie.

Gindl, Peralta Lead Sounds To 5-2 Victory In Memphis Victory Nets Nashville Its Third Straight Series Win MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Outfielder Caleb Gindl homered and drove in three runs as the Nashville Sounds topped the cross-state rival Memphis Redbirds, 5-2, on Saturday night at AutoZone Park. Nashville (39-51) has won three of the first four games of the series. Nashville starter Wily Peralta(5-8) allowed one unearned run on six hits while fanning six in 5 2/3 innings for the win. While also scoring and driving in a run while reaching base in both of his at-bats, the 23-year old exited early as a precaution after being struck in the leg with a comebacker. Peralta now has four victories in his last five starts (4-0, 1.82 ERA, 5er/24.2ip) from the hill. Second baseman Eric Farris added three hits and scored a run. Outfielder Corey Patterson went hitless to snap a season-best seven-game hitting streak. The game remained scoreless until Memphis starter and Cardinals top prospect Shelby Miller began the fourth inning by walking Peralta and Patterson. After Farris loaded the bases with his first hit, Gindl smoked a two-run double to right field. Third baseman Andy Gonzalez then brought home the third run with a fly ball single to left field. · AUDIO: Gindl Two-Run Double The Redbirds got a run in fourth to snap Peralta's scoreless streak of 16/3 innings over his last three starts, a season-best for Sounds starters this season. Lou Montanez singled, moved to second on a throwing error, and scored on a Zach Cox RBI base hit. Peralta helped his own cause as Nashville added to its lead with another run in the top of the sixth. After shortstop Edwin Maysonet tripled, Peralta successfully got a bunt down to convert a safety squeeze while reaching first base. · AUDIO: Peralta Safety Squeeze Gindl led off the seventh frame with a solo homer to extend Nashville's lead to 5-1. The long ball was his sixth of the year and second game in a row with a dinger. · AUDIO: Gindl Solo Homer Memphis added their other run in the ninth after Eugenio Velez tripled and scored on a infield groundout. Donovan Hand tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings to extend his shutout streak of 20.1 IP over his last 12 outings. Jesus Sanchez struck out two in an inning. Mike McClendon gave up one run on two hits in one frame. Miller (4-8) lasted only 2 1/3 innings in the loss, giving up three runs on three hits with four walks. The Sounds and Redbirds conclude their five-game series at 6:05 pm CT on Sunday night at AutoZone Park. Nashville right-hander Mark Rogers (3-6, 5.66) will take the hill against Memphis righty Scott Gorgen (0-0, 6.43). Nashville Box Score Good for Wily! Well except getting smacked square in the leg by the line drive, hopefully he's alright. I'm not sure if I mentioned it from the radio broadcast a couple of starts ago but Jeff did mention that the Brewers were concerned enough that Lee Tunnell and Co. made a special trip just to work with him and see what was going on, apparently it helped because Peralta has been good since. Tunnell is just such an excellent pitching resource, to bad we can't clone him and have him be the pitching coach at every level. Wily wasn't exactly super efficient throwing 54 of 89 pitches for strikes but he did post a 6:2 ratio, and still leads the PCL in that category (he was a leader in some negative categories as well). I was concerned about Miller being able to step in right away this season for the Cards and make an impact, but it just hasn't happened for him, which on the surface would seem to be a good thing for us. However with the division still up for grabs it may ultimately be a bad thing if we finish 3rd and don't cycle any fresh talent back into our system because we still had a shot. Nashville Play By Play

Because there's a difference between playing a game, any game, being a fierce competitor on the field, court, whatever... hell my brother and I even go at it playing ping pong, that's just how we are wired... but that's a far cry from watching how an organization is operated from afar. I will say I haven't been to a game this year, I dropped my limited season package a couple of years ago, that's the only way I can really voice my opinion is to not buy tickets when I don't agree with the organization's direction. I think Melvin is completely the wrong type of GM for a small market like the Brewers and I won't renew until he's gone, most people in my own family don't agree me. Instead I go to T-Rat games and I still do watch Brewer games on TV though not as anywhere near as much as I did through 2010 so I still support the organization but I'm not going out of my way to do so like I did in the past. When it comes to the Brewers, I'm not playing, I don't feel any pressure or don't associate any need to win or win now, I'm much more patient, probably because I'm not directly in control. I'm almost entirely concerned with ultimate value and building an organization that can sustain it's success outside of FA. Why? Simply because the Brewers are never going to players for marquee free agents the way the larger markets can be, there's going to be no filling of holes with that kind of impact through FA. Essentially that means we're left with trades, the draft, and international signings. Escobar was the Brewers' only major success in this era from the international market though Aoki is looking to be pretty good, but neither player is really an impact player, the Brewers aren't spending the money that other teams are outside of the states to get a steady stream of Latin/international prospects to the big leagues. That whittles it down to basically trades and FA. Most of Melvin's trades have been for low ceiling proven MLB talent or short duration impact talent, not the kind of trades or cycling of talent that would sustain an organization long term. We basically traded an entire wave of prospects for 4.5 seasons of pitching from 3 players, that's not good value regardless of the names. Yes we played in a NLCS but it could have just easily been this season as well because there's just no depth. Since we aren't going to be able to sustain ourselves through trades either we're pretty much down to the draft which is how we actually acquired the vast majority of our meaningful talent under Z. I've rooted very hard for Seid, but his drafts haven't been all that inspiring to this point, Thornburg is probably his best draft pick thus far but Z was pulling in a couple of guys to be excited about every single draft. The Brewers scouting dept was literally raided 3 times, this isn't the same group of scouts that worked for Z, it's a different group that doesn't have any kind of proven track record drafting and developing players. So basically I don't have any of warm and fuzzy for the organization's future at this point in time. The Brewers are doing many things I really believe in, the Dominican Academy turning into a classroom as a baseball academy is a fantastic idea, focusing on developing pitching, working more diligently to better develop the young athletes, they have made gains with the medical and training staffs under Melvin's watch compared to how atrocious things were prior, so there are some positive things to point towards besides the 2 playoff appearances. I have a liked a small number of Melvin's moves, but overall I've pissed on every major deal he's made for pretty much the same reason, he's centered on the most expensive solution not just in terms of payroll but in cost to acquire as well in marquee named players. In his other trades he's been more concerned with ability to contribute at MLB than the actual level of the contribution, so all in all he's just an extremely conservative GM. My disdain for those trades comes from my perspective in regards to ultimate value, not from my competitive nature. If you read the LRs on the minor league forum it's pretty obvious how badly I want our squads to beat up on our divisional opponents. I actually try not to interject that stuff but sometimes I just can't help myself. I hope TLB won't mind me posting this but we've had many conversations via PM, he's offered some much needed constructive criticism to me in the past, but he'd verify that I didn't enjoy last season at all because I was waiting for it to all come crashing down like it has in 2012. It appears that I'm viewing things from a much different place than people on the forum, even those that share my disdain for Melvin, but we have an aging and expensive roster with nothing much holding it up, I just don't excited about that sort of thing, it doesn't fit my value model at all. Maybe as I'm thinking about my attitude here it's just that I've resigned myself to this averagishness with little spikes of success is the best we can hope for with Melvin at the helm. We aren't building or drafting to be great, we're aiming to be better than average at every position which Melvin himself has made clear on multiple occasions. I took quite a bit of flak regarding Jungmann in particular, but he just hasn't proven to be the impact player as the players drafted around him, nor has Bradley. I'm not a scout but I have been around sports my entire life, been fortunate to personally know some great coaches and professional athletes, I've literally spent 100s if not 1000s of hours reading about pitching and watching video and picking people's brains on various subjects. I've taken many of those concepts and modified them for developing QBs who actually tend to have cleaner mechanics than pitchers, and I do have a very good eye for talent, I'm just blunt and a pretty bad communicator, I do struggle to put my thoughts into words. I just have to being seeing players, value, and talent from an entirely different perspective than most. I desperately want to win a world series but I just don't see it happening with the way the organization is managed, so I've honestly become rather indifferent to what happens in Milwaukee. I used to live and die with every pitch and now the most I watched a game all season was when Thornburg pitched, I've become apathetic, it's not a good place to be as a fan, and I'm honestly not happy about it, but for whatever reason I still care about the Brewer organization.

That's true of just about every top pitcher that gets the injury bug though and I can understand the frustration from the public when he signed what was a pretty major contract for the Brewers at the time and then wasn't able to take the ball. You can really like a pitcher, root for him, and yet be frustrated when he couldn't be relied upon to take the ball every game. People tried any number of justifications regarding what was he paid and his past performance and so on, but none of that really mattered when he finally completely broke down in 2008, wasn't available for the playoffs, and didn't even net the Brewers any draft picks. It was just an extremely anti-climatic way to end a career with a team. He deserved better, he pitched on some terrible teams, but he didn't appear to be a bastion of fitness either, there's probably equal blame both ways. He didn't work terribly hard to keep himself in shape and the organization rode him too hard too early, and like many athletes one major injury led to another and the dominoes kept falling on him. Some pitchers can be out of shape and overweight and make it work, some can't, Benny never let himself get to a Bob Wickman type body for example, but he wasn't svelte either, nor was he was an especially great athlete to start with, he just had a great arm and 2 great pitches. I would have liked to see him take the ball in playoffs for many reasons, but it just wasn't meant to be. I wish him success in ATL as he tries to make it back and I'll be rooting for him, I've been a casual Braves fan most of my life anyway.

Best movie quote drop ever! I still watch that movie at least once a month.

Final: DSL Tigers 9, DSL Brewers 8 DSL Brewers Box Score Well this game was played in a manner more reminiscent of our more recent DSL teams with 5 errors and 5 unearned runs in a high scoring loss. Milton Gomez has gone 5 innings and given up 2 earned runs in each of his last 3 starts, he did strike 4 today which was highest total of the season. The 6th inning was maybe the most poorly played inning at any level so far this season and they only gave up 4 runs. At least Victor Diaz pitched 2 scoreless innings to close it out, he still hasn't allowed a run but hasn't pitched a full 9 innings on the season yet. Since pretty much everyone in the line-up had a defensive miscue they needed to make up for it with the bats and came up just a run short. Elvis Rubio led the way going 3-5 with a 2B but Juan Ortiz managed the only other multi-hit effort going 2-5 in the game. Raphachel Colatosti (man I have a hard time spelling that name for some reason) added a big 3 run double and Yunior Santana belted his second homer of the season. Belonis had 2 errors, Dicent, Colatosti, and Rubio each added an error of their own and finally Martinez piled on with a PB in the middle of that terrible 6th. DSL Brewers Play By Play The Brewers put crooked numbers in the 2nd and 6th... DSL Brewers Bottom of the 1st Francisco Castillo flies out to center fielder Samuel Crafort. Raphachel Colatosti strikes out swinging. Carlos Belonis singles on a line drive to right fielder Ignacio Valdez. With Elvis Rubio batting, wild pitch by Vijandrick Jacobs, Carlos Belonis to 2nd. Elvis Rubio doubles (7) on a line drive to right fielder Ignacio Valdez. Carlos Belonis scores. With Juan Ortiz batting, passed ball by Omar Oses, Elvis Rubio to 3rd. Juan Ortiz called out on strikes. DSL Brewers Bottom of the 6th Jose Dicent walks. Yunior Santana homers (2) on a fly ball to right center field. Jose Dicent scores. Pitcher Change: Juan Falcon replaces Jesus Guzman. Carlos Pena grounds out to first baseman Lenny Pena. Kevin Martinez singles on a line drive to right fielder Ignacio Valdez. Francisco Castillo grounds out, shortstop Manuel Joseph to first baseman Lenny Pena. Kevin Martinez to 2nd. Raphachel Colatosti grounds out, third baseman Francisco Contreras to first baseman Lenny Pena. ...but gave up these innings back to back for the loss. DSL Tigers Top of the 6th Pitcher Change: Miguel Diaz replaces Milton Gomez. Felix G. Santana walks. Manuel Joseph out on a sacrifice bunt, pitcher Miguel Diaz to second baseman Raphachel Colatosti. Felix G. Santana to 2nd. Omar Oses reaches on fielding error by shortstop Carlos Belonis. Felix G. Santana scores. Omar Oses to 2nd. Yerison Pena reaches on throwing error by second baseman Raphachel Colatosti. Omar Oses scores. Yerison Pena advances to 2nd, on throwing error by first baseman Elvis Rubio. Sandy Acevedo singles on a line drive to right fielder Yunior Santana. Yerison Pena to 3rd. Sandy Acevedo to 2nd on the throw. With Francisco Contreras batting, passed ball by Kevin Martinez, Yerison Pena scores. Sandy Acevedo to 3rd. Francisco Contreras walks. Pitcher Change: Felix Paulino replaces Miguel Diaz. Samuel Crafort singles on a line drive to right fielder Yunior Santana. Sandy Acevedo scores. Francisco Contreras to 3rd. Lenny Pena strikes out swinging. Ignacio Valdez lines out to third baseman Jose Dicent. DSL Tigers Top of the 7th Defensive Substitution: Natanael Mejia replaces catcher Kevin Martinez, batting 9th, playing catcher. Felix G. Santana pops out to third baseman Jose Dicent in foul territory. Manuel Joseph doubles (4) on a fly ball to center fielder Francisco Castillo. Omar Oses walks. Yerison Pena called out on strikes. Sandy Acevedo triples (1) on a line drive to right fielder Yunior Santana. Manuel Joseph scores. Omar Oses scores. Francisco Contreras flies out to center fielder Francisco Castillo.

Vargas, Sounds Blank Memphis, 2-0 Maysonet, Gindl Homer To Provide Nashville Runs In Win MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Claudio Vargas combined with three relievers on a six-hit shutout and Edwin Maysonet and Caleb Gindl homered to lead the Sounds to a 2-0 victory over Memphis on Friday evening at AutoZone Park. The win was Nashville's PCL-leading ninth shutout of the year, two better than any other club (New Orleans ranks second with seven). The Sounds (38-51) have won seven of their last 10 contests. Vargas (3-1) twirled six scoreless innings, scattering five hits and striking out three batters, to earn the victory. It marked the right-hander's second quality start among his 10 Nashville outings. After Mike McClendon followed Vargas with a 1-2-3 seventh, Juan Perez worked into and out of a jam in the eighth. The left-hander allowed runners to reach second and third with one out before striking out Mark Hamilton then inducing an inning-ending grounder from Eugenio Velez to escape with the 2-0 lead intact. All-Star closer Jim Henderson closed things out with a perfect ninth, striking out Pete Kozma to close out the shutout and notch his team-leading 10th save. Maysonet put the Sounds on the board when he led off the third inning with his first Triple-A homer of the season, a solo shot to left off Memphis starter Tyler Lyons. · AUDIO: Edwin Maysonet Go-Ahead HR Nashville center fielder Logan Schafer left the game early after injuring his right thumb during a headfirst slide into second on his team-leading 18th double to lead off the fourth. The Sounds' middle infield -- shortstop Jeff Bianchi and second baseman Eric Farris -- turned an outstanding double play on a Cedric Hunter grounder in the bottom of the fourth to help Vargas escape a one-out, first-and-third jam. · AUDIO: Bianchi & Farris Turn Two Gindl (2-for-2), who replaced Schafer mid-game, doubled the Nashville lead to 2-0 with a two-out solo homer to deep right-center off Lyons. The blast, which landed in the Sounds' bullpen, was the outfielder's fifth big fly of the year. · AUDIO: Caleb Gindl Solo HR Lyons (0-4) remained winless for Memphis as he was saddled with a tough-luck loss after allowing only two runs, both on homers, and striking out eight Sounds batters over his seven frames of work. The teams continue the series with a 6:05 p.m. meeting on Saturday. Right-hander Wily Peralta (4-8, 5.44) -- a winner in three of his last four outings -- looks to keep recent success going when he toes the rubber for Nashville to face right-hander Shelby Miller (4-7, 6.00), the St. Louis Cardinals' top prospect. Nashville Box Score Hopefully Logan Schafer is okay, he's had a ridiculous number of lame injuries that are probably the primary reason we have to endure Morgan on the MLB roster. Ya, ya, I know he provides all the flava...T-Plush... woowoo, and stuff, and that. Quite the pitching match-up tomorrow from many points of view. For some reason this Nashville team makes me long for Frank Kremblas, it's too bad the Pirates were smart enough to move him into the front office, we could use a colorful minor league coach who works hard in more ways than one. Claudio Vargas is on the short list of pitchers I will never watch in person again, for some reason I have this irrational hatred of how long it takes him to pitch. After screaming at the television incessantly every inning for an entire season I decided the problem must lie with me and not in his pitching style, as whatever he needs to do get outs... I wonder after a good start if some people on the other forums here will take notice and start beating the drum for his recall as well. In case you didn't notice from the game stories Caleb Gindl has been pretty hot lately, he's hitting .371 over his last 10 games. It's always good to beat the Cards and Cubs minor league teams, prepares them for the future. Nashville Play By Play

BA Hot Sheet Chat

BA Hot Sheet No. 1 ALEN HANSON, SS PIRATES Team: low Class A West Virginia (South Atlantic) Age: 19 Why He's Here: .324/.343/.735 (11-for-34), 8 R, 2 2B, 4 HR, 7 RBIs, 0 BB, 5 SO, 2-for-3 SB The Scoop: The Pirates made an aggressive push to try to sign Miguel Sano back in 2009, only to have the Twins enter the picture and put $3.15 million on the table to sign him. Yet a couple of weeks after July 2 that same summer, the Pirates signed Hanson, another Dominican shortstop, for far less fanfare or money. While Sano is still the better prospect, Hanson has narrowed the gap considerably and has a broader set of skills. Hanson has been the pop-up story of the 2012 season, showing the ability to hit for average with extra-base power and plenty of speed in the middle of the diamond. There's a reason Hanson is now the No. 40 prospect in baseball, and it's because this breakout is very, very real. No. 8 DANIEL CORCINO, RHP REDS Team: Double-A Pensacola (Southern) Age: 21 Why He's Here: 2-0, 1.93, 14 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 12 SO, 4 BB The Scoop: Last Sunday, Corcino threw one of his better games of the season, allowing no runs over eight innings for Pensacola while earning the win. He followed that performance with a start on Independence Day and earned his second victory in a row despite allowing two home runs in that outing. The Reds No. 6 prospect coming into this season, Corcino was a steal when the club signed him out of the Dominican for $25,000 in 2008. He made the jump from low Class A to Double-A this season and has adjusted well. His 83 strikeouts rank third among Southern League pitchers. No. 9 ZACK COX, 3B CARDINALS Team: Triple-A Memphis (Pacific Coast) Age: 23 Why He's Here: .424/.424/.636 (14-for-33), 1 HR, 4 2B, 4 R, 5 RBIs, 0 BB, 2 SO, 1-for-1 SB The Scoop: Cox was hitting a miserable .209/.257/.349 at the end of May, then missed almost two weeks with a concussion after getting beaned in the head. But it seems the time off did Cox some good. He's hit .369/.404/.560 in 84 at-bats since coming back from injury, returning to the form we've come to expect from the Cardinals' 2010 first-round pick who was rated the best pure hitter in that draft class. Cox has registered four three-hit games in his last seven outings, elevating his line for the season to a more respectable .262/.305/.418 through 256 at-bats for the Redbirds. Zack Cox Player Card No. 11 KOLTEN WONG, 2B CARDINALS Team: Double-A Springfield (Texas) Age: 21 Why He's Here: .520/.613/.600 (13-for-25), 2 2B, 2 RBIs, 5 R, 5 BB, 2-for-4 SB The Scoop: Wong will head to Kansas City for the Futures Game on a significant hot streak, as the diminutive second baseman continues to utilize his compact swing to spray base hits to all parts of the ballpark. The University of Hawaii product has been tearing it up in Double-A all season, as he ranks third in the Texas League in hits, trailing only Springfield teammate Oscar Taveras and Tulsa shortstop Josh Rutledge. Wong's his 3-for-3 effort on July 2 against Midland marked his 30th multi-hit performance of the season. In the Team Photo Tony Cingrani continues to work his way up the ranks in his first full season in the pros. The Reds third-round pick from 2011 started 10 games with high Class A Bakersfield before earning a promotion to Double-A Pensacola. The lefthander has gone 3-1 in his time at Pensacola, including a win on Monday at Jacksonville. There he threw 6 2/3 innings and didn't allow a run while giving up two hits in one of his best outings this season . . . Pirates LHP Jeff Locke turned in two of his finest starts for Triple-A Indianapolis this week, going 2-0, 0.69 and allowing one run on five hits over 13 innings. He struck out 12 and walked five. The 24-year-old Locke stymied Louisville on July 4, allowing one hit and one walk in seven innings, keeping with a season-long trend of dominance against Bats batters. To wit, he's allowed five runs on 12 hits over 26 1/3 innings (1.71 ERA) against Louisville, striking out 28. Locke's 2.92 ERA ranks seventh in the International League, and he's well on his way to a career as a mid-rotation starter for the Pirates . . .

I'm not sure even what to say about this, it's like something out of one of our in game threads... A's coach Steverson banned by Cal