TheCrew07

Final: Wisconsin 9, Clinton 1 Rattlers sweep Clinton with 9-1 win Wisconsin has won seven straight games By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers CLINTON, IA - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers are staying on their roll heading into the final three games of the first half. Wisconsin defeated the Clinton LumberKings 9-1 Thursday night at Ashford University Field. Drew Gagnon pitched five shutout innings, Ben McMahan and Brandon Macias led the 13-hit attack with three runs each, and the Rattlers won their seventh straight game. The victory also gave the Midwest League affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers a three-game sweep of the LumberKings. Wisconsin (44-23) scored first with a pair of runs in the first inning. Cameron Garfield drove in the first run with a double. A couple of pitches later, Nick Ramirez came home from third on a passed ball to put the Rattlers up 2-0. Macias continued his hot hitting with a double to lead off the third inning. In thirteen games this month, Macias has 19 hits in 52 at bats. Max Walla drove him home with a single and took second on the throw home. Speaking of hot hitting, McMahan extended his current hitting streak to seven games with an RBI single to send Walla home for a 4-0 advantage. The Rattlers would tack on four more runs with a two out rally in the fourth inning with Macias, Walla, & McMahan all figuring into the outburst. Macias drove in John Dishon with a two-out RBI double. Walla drew a walk and a single by McMahan loaded the bases to chase Clinton starter Ambioris Hidalgo from the game. One of the first pitches from reliever Josh Corrales to Ramirez went to the backstop to let Macias score Wisconsin's sixth run of the game. A couple of pitches later, Ramirez singled to center to chase both Walla and McMahan home for an 8-0 lead. Gagnon cruised through five innings. He allowed three hits, walked three, and struck out three. The right-hander out of Long Beach State University allowed just one runner to reach third base. Gagnon would eventually pick up his sixth win of the season to move his record to 6-1. Kevin Shackelford took the mound for the bottom of the sixth inning. He would allow one run in the seventh on an RBI grounder by Mario Yepez, but the offense got that run back when McMahan's third single of the game knocked in Carlos George in the top of the eighth. Shackelford would earn his first professional save by tossing the final four innings of the game. Wisconsin closed out their first half series against Clinton at 8-1, including a 6-0 mark at Ashford University Field. The Timber Rattlers begin their final series of the first half on Friday night at Modern Woodmen Park in Davenport, Iowa with game one of a three game set against the Quad Cities River Bandits. Chad Thompson (2-1, 5.55) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Quad Cities counters with Hector Hernandez (4-4, 4.20) to take the hill. Game time is 7:00pm. Tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:40pm. WP: Drew Gagnon (6-1) LP: Ambioris Hidalgo (2-9) SAVE: Kevin Shackelford (1) TIME: 3:01 Wisconsin Box Score Gagnon left early so Shackelford could get some work, Chris correctly pointed out on the broadcast that the tandems have been so effective this year the relievers aren't getting enough work. I actually have nothing more to add as I'm sure Chris will cover the rest in the 9. Wisconsin Play By Play

Final: Montgomery 9, Huntsville 7 Huntsville Box Score This was an extremely disappointing loss as the Stars battled all the way back to tie the game at 7 in the bottom of the 8th only to give up 2 in the 9th and lose. Dan Merklinger was the spot starter going 3 IP allowing 2H and 3BB in his time on the bump. R.J. Seidel entered the game in the 4th and had his worst outing in a while giving up 5 ER in 2 IP. Darren Byrd replaced Seidel and also didn't pitch well giving up 2 ER in 2 IP. Brandon Kintzler got through the 8th fairly easily, picking off Rays #2 prospect Hak-Ju Lee in the process but couldn't get through the 9th giving up 2 runs, 1 earned. Mitch Stetter recorded the final out of the game with a strike out. Josh Prince was 1-3 with a HR and 2 BB, Tommy Manzella went 3-5, Scooter Gennett went 1-5 with a double, Kentrail Davis was 2-3 with a walk, and finally Anderson De La Rosa rounded out the noteworthy offensive accomplishments going 3-4 with a HR. I'm not sure what's gotten into Prince, but I like it, too bad he's not a middle IF, he also stole his 22nd base tonight. Seidel committed his 3rd error on a pick off attempt and Gennett committed his 9th throwing. Huntsville Play By Play The Biscuits broke the game open in the 5th... Montgomery Top of the 5th Brett Nommensen walks. With Mark Thomas batting, throwing error by R. J. Seidel on the pickoff attempt, Brett Nommensen to 3rd. Mark Thomas singles on a line drive to left fielder Scott Krieger. Brett Nommensen scores. Hak-Ju Lee walks. Mark Thomas to 2nd. Ty Morrison singles on a bunt ground ball to pitcher R. J. Seidel. Mark Thomas to 3rd. Hak-Ju Lee to 2nd. Omar Luna singles on a ground ball to right fielder Kentrail Davis, deflected by second baseman Scooter Gennett. Mark Thomas scores. Hak-Ju Lee scores. Ty Morrison to 3rd. Ryan Garko pops out to first baseman Hunter Morris in foul territory. Tyler Bortnick reaches on a fielder's choice, fielded by third baseman Matt Cline. Ty Morrison scores. Omar Luna to 2nd. With Michael Sheridan batting, Omar Luna steals (16) 3rd base. Tyler Bortnick steals (18) 2nd base. Michael Sheridan grounds out, second baseman Scooter Gennett to first baseman Hunter Morris. Omar Luna scores. Tyler Bortnick to 3rd. Greg Sexton grounds out, third baseman Matt Cline to first baseman Hunter Morris. Walks... Montgomery Top of the 7th Ryan Garko flies out to center fielder Josh Prince. Tyler Bortnick walks. With Michael Sheridan batting, Tyler Bortnick steals (19) 2nd base. Michael Sheridan walks. Greg Sexton flies out to center fielder Josh Prince. Tyler Bortnick to 3rd. Brett Nommensen doubles (2) on a fly ball to left fielder Scott Krieger. Tyler Bortnick scores. Michael Sheridan scores. Mark Thomas grounds out, shortstop Tommy Manzella to first baseman Hunter Morris. The Stars start the comeback... Huntsville Bottom of the 7th Scott Krieger grounds out, third baseman Greg Sexton to first baseman Michael Sheridan. Kentrail Davis singles on a ground ball to center fielder Ty Morrison. Anderson De La Rosa homers (4) on a fly ball to left field. Kentrail Davis scores. Domnit Bolivar strikes out swinging. Matt Cline walks. Josh Prince homers (4) on a fly ball to left center field. Matt Cline scores. Pitcher Change: Adam Liberatore replaces Neil Schenk. Tommy Manzella grounds out, shortstop Hak-Ju Lee to first baseman Michael Sheridan. and finish the comeback here. Huntsville Bottom of the 8th Scooter Gennett doubles (17) on a fly ball to left fielder Omar Luna. Hunter Morris singles on a ground ball to right fielder Brett Nommensen. Scooter Gennett scores. Scott Krieger bunt pops out to catcher Mark Thomas in foul territory. Kentrail Davis singles on a ground ball to right fielder Brett Nommensen. Hunter Morris to 2nd. Pitcher Change: Frank De Los Santos replaces Adam Liberatore. Anderson De La Rosa singles on a line drive to right fielder Brett Nommensen. Hunter Morris to 3rd. Kentrail Davis to 2nd. Domnit Bolivar out on a sacrifice fly to center fielder Ty Morrison. Hunter Morris scores. Kentrail Davis to 3rd. Anderson De La Rosa to 2nd. Matt Cline grounds out, second baseman Tyler Bortnick to first baseman Michael Sheridan. *sigh* the losing streak continues. Montgomery Top of the 9th Tyler Bortnick grounds out, third baseman Matt Cline to first baseman Hunter Morris. Michael Sheridan singles on a ground ball to second baseman Scooter Gennett, deflected by pitcher Brandon Kintzler. Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Kyeong Kang replaces Greg Sexton. Kyeong Kang singles on a ground ball to right fielder Kentrail Davis. Michael Sheridan to 2nd. Brett Nommensen walks. Michael Sheridan to 3rd. Kyeong Kang to 2nd. Mark Thomas grounds into a force out, shortstop Tommy Manzella to second baseman Scooter Gennett. Michael Sheridan scores. Kyeong Kang scores. Brett Nommensen out at 2nd. Mark Thomas advances to 1st, on throwing error by second baseman Scooter Gennett. Pitcher Change: Mitch Stetter replaces Brandon Kintzler. Hak-Ju Lee strikes out swinging.

Yep the future for one more season.

Rogers and Hopkins are repeating and don't have much left to prove in A ball and a case could be made for a McMahan promotion.

Well you gotta figure there will be promotions out of WI which could potentially open up a spot for Reed depending on who goes. I would be alright if he went back to Helena or WI, without media coverage it's tough to say exactly where's he at as a player. I have no idea if he's advanced enough to stay in BC or not.

Cubs’ Anthony Rizzo Keeps Rolling In Triple-A Posted Jun. 12, 2012 10:01 am by Jim Shonerd Filed under: Daily Dish We often talk about players needing to show they’ve mastered a level before they’re ready to move up. It’s not exactly going out on a limb to say that Anthony Rizzo has mastered Triple-A, but his last two games have further underscored the point. The Cubs prospect hit two home runs on Sunday for Triple-A Iowa then belted two more on Monday, part of a 3-for-4 night in which he also added a double and had four RBIs. The lefthanded-hitting Rizzo homered to center field in the second inning Monday—three of his last five homers have gone to center—and then hit a three-run shot to right in the fifth. The 22-year-old’s outburst has vaulted him to the top of the Pacific Coast League with 22 homers and put him in a tie with Wil Myers for second in the minors, trailing only Toledo slugger Brad Eldred’s 24. Rizzo hit .331/.404/.652 in Triple-A with Tucson last season and has been even better this year despite moving to the less hitter-happy American Conference of the PCL as a result his being traded from the Padres to the Cubs in the offseason. He’s up to .363/.422/.721 through 215 at-bats with Iowa and has nearly matched his 2011 Triple-A homer total of 26. He’s not walking as frequently (10.4 percent of PAs last year, 8.4 percent this year) but has improved his strikeout rate (17.7 percent of PAs, down from 21.5 percent of PAs last year), and he’s hitting a combined .343/.411/678 at the Triple-A level between the 2011-12 seasons combined.

Garcia, Cards turn unlikely triple play Springfield accomplishes feat for first time in team history By David Heck / Special to MLB.com http://www.milb.com/images/2012/06/13/8NKF7fO6.jpg Greg Garcia was a Midwest League midseason All-Star last season. (Tony Farlow/MiLB.com) The triple play is one of the rarest occurrences in baseball, so rare that the Double-A Springfield Cardinals had not completed one in their eight-year history. That was until Greg Garcia came along. The Cardinals shortstop prospect made a sliding grab to start a triple play in the fifth inning Wednesday before Springfield dropped a 6-1 decision to the Arkansas Travelers. With runners on first and second, Ryan Mount hit a humpback liner over Garcia's head. The 22-year-old shortstop went back to make a sliding catch, then threw to second base to double up Jean Segura. "I knew it was going to be tough for our outfielder, Kyle Conley, to get to it," Garcia said. "I knew I had to go for it. The center fielder [Adam Melker] let me know it's your ball or no one's ball. I was able to slide and make the play." Second baseman Kolten Wong fired to first but threw wildly. Backing up the play, catcher Travis Tartamella retrieved the ball and nailed Renny Osuna at second. "It was a tough read for those baserunners because they wanted to advance but didn't know if I would catch it," Garcia said. "When I caught it and turned to look, I saw both runners were far off and knew we had a chance. I tried to get the ball in as quickly as possible. Kolten had a tough throw -- a runner was in his throwing lane. It's pretty cool how it worked out." Garcia said the triple play was the first he'd been a part of or seen in person since he was a kid. "I think the last triple play I've ever been a part of was maybe in Little League," he added. "Nothing in real, competitive baseball. It was pretty exciting." It turned out to be the lone highlight for the Cardinals as Ariel Pena (4-4) pitched a seven-hitter for the Travelers' second straight complete game. Casey Haerther led Arkansas at the plate with a pair of homers and four RBIs. The Cardinals will finish the first half of the Texas League season with a four-game set against Northwest Arkansas. The teams are tied for second place in the North Division, three games behind Tulsa. "We've been going on a little run here, trying to win the first half," Garcia said. "Our whole clubhouse is trying to take it one game at a time and play as hard as we can. We'll see what happens with that. As long as we play as hard as we can, there's nothing else we can do. They're a good team, it should be a good series."

Yadiel Rivera love at the bottom. MWL notes: Cubs patient with Baez Chiefs shortstop adjusting to Midwest League, breaking balls By Curt Rallo / Special to MLB.com http://www.milb.com/images/2012/06/13/xvznWner.jpg Javier Baez is batting .315 in his first 15 Class A games. (Dennis Sievers/Peoria Chiefs) The numbers are astonishing. As a high school senior last year, Javier Baez hit .771 (64-for-83) with 22 homers, 20 doubles and six triples at Arlington Country Day School in Jacksonville, Fla. The shortstop also stole 28 bases. So it's no doubt that the Cubs -- who drafted Baez in the first round of the 2011 Draft, making him the No. 9 pick overall and second shortstop selected -- would treat the 19-year-old like a jeweler shining a precious stone. When Cubs players broke camp after Spring Training, Baez didn't head to Peoria and instead was sent to work out at the team's complex in Arizona. In fact, he didn't play his first game for the Chiefs until Memorial Day. "There's an old adage, it's a lot easier to move somebody up than to move them back," Cubs vice president of player personnel Oneri Fleita said. "You're talking about a young man from the state of Florida. It's real cold in Peoria. We wanted to make sure he had his feet on the ground. It's his first season. When you're dealing with your top prospect, you want to be on the conservative side." Fleita said that the Cubs explained the process to Baez, and that he understood and accepted it well. "Javier understood why he didn't go to Peoria right away," Fleita said of the 6-foot-2, 205-pound right-handed hitter. "He understands we have a process set up and that we'll follow it to the letter. Being in Arizona, in a controlled atmosphere, allowed him to get a good handle on what's expected every day from the organization, and it gave us a chance to get to know him. He also got a lot of extra work, and that allowed him to be prepared to join the Peoria Chiefs." So far, Baez has adjusted well -- through 15 games, Baez was batting .315 with two homers and eight RBIs "When you're in Arizona, and you don't have the long bus trips that they have in the Midwest League, you don't lose any travel time," Fleita added. "You can get extra time getting a whole lot more ground balls, swinging, working on double plays and working on the finer points of a game. He got a whole lot of extra attention from coaches in a lot of different areas of the game." Baez said that he made good use of his time in Arizona. "I was working hard in Arizona, so I could come to Peoria and kept working for the team," Baez said. "I just keep hitting the ball like I'm hitting and working on my swing. I realize there are more people before me. I was just relaxing and doing my job. I was working on hitting the ball to the right side." Now that he's in Peoria, he's still working on fine-tuning his swing and approach. "It's different here than what I faced in Arizona," Baez said. "Here, they throw more breaking balls and mix it up. It's not hard, but every time I sit on the fastball, but the pitchers mix it up a lot. I'm still learning the game. My goal is to keep learning and [to] try to do my best." In brief Walk-off, take two: The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers put a bite on the Beloit Snappers in their last at-bat -- twice -- and each time the hero was Yadiel Rivera. The 20-year-old shortstop belted a three-run homer in the bottom of the 10th inning for a 5-2 victory. The next night, he delivered an RBI single in the ninth for an 8-7 win as the Rattlers rallied from a 6-2 deficit. Simmons sizzles: South Bend reliever Seth Simmons had his scoreless streak snapped Tuesday when he gave up three runs against Lake County. Simmons, who hadn't allowed a run in his last 10 appearances (15 1/3 innings), does have a home scoreless streak still intact. He hasn't given up a run at Coveleski Stadium all season (14 1/3 innings), and has only yielded runs in two of the 19 games in which he's pitched. Simmons, a 5-foot-9 righty from Winston-Salem, N.C., was a 40th-round pick last summer. Diamond value: The Dayton's Dragons are the most valuable Class A franchise and the eighth-most valuable franchise in all of Minor League Baseball, according to Forbes. (The most valuable franchise is the Sacramento River Cats.) Valued at $23 million, the Dragons own the record for professional sports' longest consecutive sellout streak, having sold out every home game in its 13-season history at 7,230-seat Fifth Third Field.

Final: Montgomery 6, Huntsville 3 Huntsville Box Score Josh Stinson pitched a stinker here only going 3 innings allowing 11 hits, 6 earned runs, 3 walks, and a wild pitch against only a one strike out. The Stars' relief corpse shut down the Biscuits after Stinson exited the game but it wasn't enough for the bats to recover. Daniel Meadows pitched 3 strong innings followed by clean frames from Mitch Stetter, Darren Byrd, and Santo Manzanillo. Stetter is on quite the hot streak with 8 straight scoreless appearances. The top of the order for Huntsville was outstanding in this game. Josh Prince went 3-5 and his pushed his BA all the way to .261 which is quite remarkable given where he was just a month ago. Tommy Manzella had a perfect day at the plate going 4-4 with a BB, Scooter Gennett went 2-4 with a double while both Hunter Morris and Scott Krieger added doubles of their own. Adam Weisenburger committed his first error (throwing) but Kentrail Davis added an OF assist. Huntsville Play By Play Stinson was rocked hard by a pretty decent Rays line up for Montgomery. Montgomery Top of the 2nd Brett Nommensen singles on a ground ball to left fielder Scott Krieger. Brad Coon out on a sacrifice bunt, pitcher Josh Stinson to first baseman Hunter Morris. Brett Nommensen to 2nd. Mayo Acosta walks. Hak-Ju Lee singles on a ground ball to right fielder Kentrail Davis. Brett Nommensen scores. Mayo Acosta to 3rd. Hak-Ju Lee to 2nd on the throw. Ty Morrison called out on strikes. Omar Luna doubles (5) on a ground ball to left fielder Scott Krieger. Mayo Acosta scores. Hak-Ju Lee scores. Ryan Garko singles on a line drive to left fielder Scott Krieger. Omar Luna scores. Kyeong Kang walks. Ryan Garko to 2nd. Tyler Bortnick singles on a ground ball to left fielder Scott Krieger. Ryan Garko to 3rd. Kyeong Kang to 2nd. With Brett Nommensen batting, wild pitch by Josh Stinson, Ryan Garko scores. Kyeong Kang to 3rd. Tyler Bortnick to 2nd. Brett Nommensen grounds out, second baseman Scooter Gennett to first baseman Hunter Morris. Montgomery Top of the 4th Ty Morrison triples (4) on a line drive to right fielder Kentrail Davis. Omar Luna doubles (6) on a soft fly ball to right fielder Kentrail Davis. Ty Morrison scores. Ryan Garko singles on a line drive to left fielder Scott Krieger. Omar Luna to 3rd. Pitcher Change: Daniel Meadows replaces Josh Stinson. Kyeong Kang hit by pitch. Ryan Garko to 2nd. Tyler Bortnick flies into double play, right fielder Kentrail Davis to catcher Adam Weisenburger to first baseman Hunter Morris. Kyeong Kang out at 2nd on the throw. Brett Nommensen flies out to right fielder Kentrail Davis.

Final: Wisconsin 4, Clinton 2 Wisconsin beats Clinton 4-2 to win sixth straight By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers CLINTON, IA - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers pitchers Matt Miller and Tyler Cravy teamed up to strikeout thirteen Clinton LumberKings batters on Wednesday night. Four different Wisconsin hitters provided an RBI and the first half Western Division Champion Rattlers beat Clinton 4-2 at Ashford University Field. The win was the sixth in a row for the Timber Rattlers and pushed the team to twenty games over .500 for the first time since 2001. Miller, the starter for Wisconsin, got the first two outs of the bottom of the first inning, but a walk and an infield single extended the inning to Ramon Morlan. The LumberKings (23-42) took a 1-0 lead on a run scoring bloop single to center by Morlan. Wisconsin (43-23) came right back in the top of the second and Ben McMahan led the way. McMahan extended his hitting streak to six games with a leadoff homer in the second. McMahan's fourth home run of the season tied the game 1-1. Yadiel Rivera followed with a double. Tyler Roberts, playing his first game since May 23, celebrated his activation from the disabled list by sending a single to right-center to knock in Rivera with the go ahead run. Wisconsin tacked on single runs in the third and fourth innings. Jason Rogers doubled to start the third inning, took third on a passed ball, and scored on a Greg Hopkins sacrifice fly. In the fourth, Chadwin Stang reached on a two-out error. Brandon Macias doubled to left to send Stang home for a 4-1 lead. Miller preserved the three run lead as he kept the LumberKings off the scoreboard in his final five innings of work. Miller struck out eight to match his single game high as professional and walked just one over his six innings against Clinton. Cravy entered the game in the seventh inning and worked a 1-2-3 frame. But, he ran into trouble in the eighth. Jamal Austin reached second on an error to start the inning. McMahan kept the score at 4-1 for a moment when he threw Austin out at the plate after a single to left by Ji-Man Choi. But a two-out walk let Morla come to the plate again in an RBI spot. The LumberKings third baseman singled to get Choi home to cut Wisconsin's lead to two runs. Clinton would get no closer. Cravy got a strikeout to end the eighth, struck out two more in the ninth, and worked around a two-out single by getting the final out on a fly ball to right. Cravy earned his first professional save by working the final three innings. He also struck out five in the game. The Timber Rattlers conclude their series with the LumberKings Thursday night. Drew Gagnon (5-1, 2.66) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Ambioris Hidalgo (2-8, 5.04) is set to start for the LumberKings. Game time is 7:00pm. Tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:40pm. HOME RUN: WIS: Ben McMahan (4th, 2nd inning off Trevor Miller, 0 out) WP: Matt Miller (5-5) LP: Trevor Miller (3-5) SAVE: Tyler Cravy (1) TIME: 2:24 Wisconsin Box Score Jason Rogers was 2-4 with 2 doubles, Gregory Hopkins went 2-3, Ben McMahan went 2-4 with the HR, both Brandon Macias and Yadial Rivera added doubles. Unfortunately Max Walla's time off hasn't helped, he's 0 fer since returning and is batting .125 over his last 10. Macias was caught stealing and committed the error which was his 8th on a throw, but McMahan had the OF assist covered above. Wisconsin Play By Play A fairly uneventful game after the first 3 innings.

Yeah, sports franchises are very good at crying poor when they're making money. Hasn't the value of the franchise also pretty much doubled in the past 8 seasons as well? I've been wondering this a while, but why is there such a double standard in sports when it comes to money. It's okay for players, coaches, & GMs to make as much money as possible but for owners if they are making a profit then they are greedy and if they are losing money then they are lying or whining about it. Why is the perception of sports that it's a business for the employee but the owner has a responsibility to straddle the line and possibly lose money because he or she can just borrow against the value of the franchise to make up the difference? Why is it wrong for the people who actually take all the risk in any sport, the owners, to run a profitable business? If the team loses on the field but the owner makes money is seems to me that many fans will chastise the owner for not doing everything they can to win, it doesn't matter what sport. "What does he care as long as he makes his money?", we even heard that around Green Bay through late 80s and early 90s without an owner to greedily take "all the profit". How is it profiteering when your business makes a reasonable profit? Isn't that why businesses exist in the first place? To provide some sort of good or service for profit? The same businesses that provide many of us with a high enough standard of living (I don't own my own business and work for a major corporation) to support our families? The regardless what happens, the Brewers do provide entertainment win or lose, is it just because it's not our personal money that so many people advocate maxing the payroll from year to year regardless of sport? I don't understand the logic of spending money to spend money and it's difficult to argue that the Brewers have spent money wisely on the whole over the last 6-7 years. I'm all for investing in impact talent and extending those players out into their early 30s if you can, but there's just no way I'm interested to having any player locked into big money going into their mid 30s. Extending aging players for fear of the unknown or signing relief pitchers market deals just isn't good value on the dollar. The idea should be to extend or sign a player who is an extremely good bet to exceed or provide even value on the contract, not to hope a player performs to the level of his salary or stays healthy enough to perform in enough games to meet his value. The risk of injury rises dramatically with age, and if you don't have depth as organization a couple of key injuries can derail any particular season. Depth of talent is much more important that how much the organization is spending on the talent on the field, we made it through 2011 with worse depth in the minors than we have now and just because it worked out in the best way possible doesn't mean that the Brewers' front office strategy has been sound. We could have just as easily went through this same thing from an injury/depth standpoint last year as well... Carrying a $100 million payroll to play .500ish ball is a waste in Milwaukee when the budget is stretched so tight, many teams are doing more with less. It's not about how much the Brewers spend, it's about where they spend it.

Burgos can relate... Hernandez pitches one-hitter, loses

Never want to see anyone get hurt and this doesn't sound like it's serious but Rizzo can cool down any time now.. Cubs' Rizzo leaves with knee injury Epstein says top prospect all right after sliding into Iowa fence By Danny Wild / MLB.com http://www.milb.com/images/2012/06/12/Ys3bAYvI.jpg Anthony Rizzo walks off the field on Tuesday with a Cubs trainer. (Rinaldi Photos) Top Cubs prospect Anthony Rizzo left Tuesday's game early with an apparent knee injury, but team president Theo Epstein said the first baseman wasn't seriously hurt. Rizzo walked off the field in the sixth inning with a slight limp but under his own power after sliding into the fence in front of Triple-A Iowa's dugout while attempting to catch a foul ball hit by Omaha's Kurt Mertins. Epstein said Rizzo will be seen by an orthopedist, but that he checked out after seeing Iowa's training staff. "He bumped his knee. .. he'll be OK," Iowa Cubs manager Dave Bialas told the Des Moines Register. "I can't tell you any more than he'll be OK." Rizzo, in line for a promotion as he leads the Pacific Coast League with 22 home runs, has been particularly hot lately with consecutive two-homer, four-RBI games coming into Tuesday. Bialas said he wasn't sure if Rizzo would play on Wednesday. MLB.com' No. 31 top prospect is hitting .367 with 22 home runs and 57 RBIs and leads the Minors with a .753 slugging percentage and 1.182 OPS. Monday's multi-homer game was Rizzo's sixth such performance of the season. In his previous two contests, the 22-year-old first baseman was 6-for-9 with 19 total bases and eight RBIs. Rizzo went 0-for-2 in the 9-4 loss while facing Omaha starter Jake Odorizzi, the Royals' No. 4 prospect, who allowed two runs on four hits over 5 1/3 innings to pick up his fourth Triple-A win. Odorizzi struck out seven to improve to 4-0 since his promotion from Double-A Northwest Arkansas, where he was 4-2 with a 3.32 ERA in seven starts. Rehabbing Cubs catcher Geovany Soto went 1-for-4 with a double and a strikeout in his second Minor League game. Soto, 29, underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on May 17 and has been on Chicago's 15-day disabled list since. "It's just a matter of getting at-bats and getting my timing back," Soto told the newspaper. "Hopefully I'll get there soon."

Final: Wisconsin 3, Clinton 1 (10 Innings) Rattlers claim division crown with extra inning win in Clinton Macias drives in go ahead run; Barnes Ks nine in five scoreless innings of relief By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers http://www.milb.com/images/2012/06/12/YwXsgTBG.jpg The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers clinched the first half Western Division Title with a 3-1 win in ten innings over the Clinton LumberKings on Tuesday night. (Wisconsin Timber Rattlers) CLINTON, IA - If the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers division clinching victory over the Clinton LumberKings seemed very familiar, it should have been. Wisconsin defeated the Clinton LumberKings 3-1 in ten innings on Tuesday night to pick up their third straight victory in their final turn at the plate. Including Tuesday's game at Ashford University Field, the Midwest League affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers has won fourteen times in their last at bat in 2012. Brandon Macias dished out a little payback with the single that knocked in the go ahead run in the tenth and Jacob Barnes was stellar in relief with nine strikeouts over five scoreless innings. Nick Ramirez got the scoring started for Wisconsin (42-23). He hit a home run to center to lead off the second inning for the Timber Rattlers. But, Clinton starter Brett Shankin would only give up three more hits over his seven innings of work. The LumberKings (23-41) loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the second inning against Wisconsin starter Will West. But, they would only get one run off the left hander. Clinton tied the game on a sacrifice fly by Anthony Phillips. West would give up six hits over six innings, but kept the game tied. Barnes entered the game in the sixth inning and proceeded to strikeout six of the first seven batters he faced. However, Clinton mounted a rally with one out in the eighth inning. A walk to Dillon Hazlett and a single by Steve Baron put runners on first and second for the LumberKings. Barnes responded by striking out cleanup batter Dan Paolini and picking Hazlett off second to end the threat. The winning rally in the tenth was started by the Rattler who had ended the previous two Wisconsin games with walkoff hits at home. Yadiel Rivera singled to center to lead off the inning. Clinton reliever Kyle Hunter got the first out, but walked John Dishon to put Rattlers on first and second with one out. That brought Macias to the play with a little revenge on his mind. The Rattlers third baseman was 0-for-1 on the night coming to the plate in the tenth, but he had been on base three straight times. Clinton pitchers had hit Macias in the third, sixth, and eighth innings. He would be the one doing the hitting in the tenth as Macias grounded a single to through the infield and into right field. Rivera raced home and easily beat the throw for a 2-1 lead. Dishon, who took third on the throw to the plate when Rivera scored, came home with an insurance run as Max Walla hit a fly ball to center that was deep enough to get him home. Dishon's run made it 3-1. Not that Barnes needed any insurance. The right-hander retired the LumberKings in order in the bottom of the tenth to secure the win and the first half division title. Game two of the series is Wednesday night. Matt Miller (4-5, 4.41) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Trevor Miller (3-4, 4.14) is scheduled to start for Clinton. Game time is 7:00pm. Tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:40pm. WIS: Nick Ramirez (4th, 0 on in 2nd inning off Brett Shankin, 0 out) WP: Jacob Barnes (3-2) LP: Kyle Hunter (0-5) TIME: 2:52 ATTN: 954 Wisconsin Box Score This was an extremely satisfying game to listen to as Chris just sounds like he's having so much fun. Will West got hit around a little bit in the 2nd inning but that was it he went 5 innings allowing 6 hits, 1 earned run, and 1 walk against 3 strike outs. Jacob Barnes was lights out, at one point he had struck out 5 of the 6 batters he had faced. Jacob also went 5 innings allowing a walk and a hit against 9(!) strike outs. Just a fantastic effort from the young man. With the Nick Ramirez HR the Rattlers scored first again, I wonder how many times that has happened this season? Maybe Chris will cover it one of his 9s... Ben McMahan extended his streak with a 2-4 effort, he's had a hit in every game since returning from the DL. The Rattlers did make 3 outs at 2nd base, with McMahan and Brandon Macias both getting caught stealing and Gregory Hopkins tried to stretch a single into a double. However Barnes got one of those outs on the bases back with that huge pick off at 2B. I'm loving the emphasis on the running game this season. Wisconsin Play By Play This was a well pitched game, everything of note covered above.

The GB ratio is nice and all but look at the rest of his season line. Just tonight he walked 6... walks have nothing to do with the defense. This is the same defense that was playing behind Thornburg and Co. in AA most of the season.

Isn't being a good GM taking advantage of opportunities that present themselves? Theo did very nice job early in his tenure but like many people became too attached to aging veterans and it cost him in the end. Was it all his doing or was ownership dictating some of those decisions? As much as I bag on Melvin I honestly believe that Mark A. is also a driving force behind some of these bad moves. I started to wonder what was going on in Boston when they had Buchholz on the block for 2 straight years at the trade deadline, that's as silly as the Giants trying to move Cain for a big bat all those years ago. Did they not trust him? Why move a young pitcher with that kind of stuff? I brought up Jon Daniels name a couple of years ago as young guy who I thought was in the top tier baseball GMs and was blasted pretty hard for it on the forum here but I think the ultimate result doesn't require much analysis. He made some bad trades early, but he's been nothing short of brilliant lately, they have an incredibly talented MLB team and a loaded farm system, it's an extremely enviable position to be in from where I'm sitting, and it didn't happen by accident. He learned from his mistakes and kept moving forward, which is probably my biggest issue with Melvin's tenure as GM, it's been the same strategy repeating year after year. The Cubs are definitely a threat, they have a pretty decent GM who should learn from his mistakes and they have 1 of the top scouting directors in baseball if not the best scouting director in baseball, Tim Wilken. He's the guy who drafted Halladay and Carpenter in Toronto, moved on to Tampa and helped Andrew Friedman build one of the best farm systems in baseball, he's very good at what he does. The Cubs revamped their FO a bit so Wilken actually works under Jason McLeod who oversees all of scouting and player development, but McLeod is a pretty good talent evaluator himself. The central is pretty wide open now but I don't think it's a good idea to dismiss what's been going on in Pittsburgh and Chicago, the Pirates could easily have the best young pitching staff in the division within 2 years and Chicago has some legitimate hitting talent in Rizzo, Jackson, Baez (yes I know he's in A ball), and now Soler plus they will have the money to fill rotation holes with impact pitching from the FA market. What if the Cubs were to sign Greinke away from us this off season? 1 or 2 top of the rotation guys and suddenly they are a pretty formidable team again. I worry about everyone, there isn't a bad farm system in the division and there are plenty of solid front office people doing good things. They all certainly make mistakes, but no worse than Melvin, and some are much more flexible in their philosophies than he is. Outside of completely obvious trades like Sabathia and Greinke, what has Melvin done which has been so brilliant? Who can't identify CY talent after they've already won a CY? His record in FA is an overall negative and he decimated the farm system to get to where he did with players he couldn't retain longer than 2 years. Nor is he progressive in any way, he's behind the market trends playing follow the leader. He's just extremely average... he's certainly not horrible which makes him better than what he had, but he's certainly not special either. If you want to talk about being "gifted" a team, Melvin was provided with 2 HOF quality talents and 3 more all-stars for position players and has made the playoffs twice, and 2008 was pretty much an accident. He knew from the time he got here that the organization didn't have enough impact pitching and what did he really do to address the situation? Let's be objective here, why are so many so quick to point out flaws in others but unwilling to see those same flaws in our guys? When the market swung away from pitching Tampa exploited it to build their 2008 rotation through 3 trades, now that the market has swung towards pitching there's opportunity to grab hitters for pretty decent value like the Cubs did when they landed Rizzo. It's about knowing your talent and if Cashner can't stay healthy enough to be a starter that will be a fantastic trade for the Cubs. Cashner was just sent down to get stretched out to start again so we'll see but he has health concerns regardless of his role. There is a hell of a lot more value in signing players like Sole and Chapman for $30 million for 6+ years than there was signing Wolf at that same money for 3. Regardless of what I think of relievers' overall value, the market is set for the back of the bullpen types, so even if Chapman is nothing more than a closer he'll easily be worth more than his initial contract. The idea should be to buy wins below the market rate as often as possible, that's just good business, so before we run around bashing other GMs lets consider Melvin's record from that same perspective.

Rizzo hammers two more longballs Cubs prospect posts second straight two-homer, four-RBI day By David Heck / Special to MLB.com http://www.milb.com/images/2012/06/11/mQ7YDSXj.jpg Anthony Rizzo has accumulated six multi-homer games this season. (Jamie Harms/MiLB.com) Anthony Rizzo has clobbered right-handed pitchers for most of his career. But this year, lefties haven't been spared either. The Cubs' top prospect put together his second straight two-homer game Monday -- with both longballs coming against a southpaw -- though that wasn't quite enough as the Triple-A Iowa Cubs fell to the Omaha Storm Chasers, 9-7. The game represents Rizzo's sixth multi-homer performance of the season. In his last two contests, the 22-year-old first baseman has gone 6-for-9 with 19 total bases and eight RBIs. Rizzo got to work early, launching a 2-2 pitch from lefty starter Will Smith for a leadoff homer in the second inning. In the fifth, he did it again, clubbing a 1-0 offering over the right-field wall to plate three more against Smith. The Florida native added a double in the seventh and was hit by a pitch in the ninth to end his day. After putting up some of the best numbers in the Pacific Coast League with Tucson last year -- he hit .331 with 26 homers and 101 RBIs in 93 games -- Rizzo has done even more damage for Iowa. He is batting .370 with 22 longballs and 57 RBIs in 59 games. Rizzo's performance against left-handers has been a noticeable part of his improvement. He recorded just two homers off southpaws last year, but has already accumulated seven this season. Overall, he has increased his OPS against lefties from .802 in 2011 to 1.154 this season. Rehabbing catcher Salvador Perez led the Storm Chasers' offense by going 3-for-5 with a double and three RBIs. No. 2 Royals prospect Wil Myers put Omaha on top with a two-run homer in the ninth. In 25 games at Triple-A, the 22-year-old outfielder is batting .340 with nine longballs.

Final Game 2: Mobile 2, Huntsville 1 (8 Innings) Huntsville Game 2 Box Score Well the Stars were swept in the double header losing both games in walk off fashion and swept in the entire 5 game series, yikes. Hiram Burgos pitched a gem, the only problem was that he walked in a run in the 1st or he gets the win in regulation. Hiram topped out at 90 MPH tonight on the stadium gun so his velocity hasn't significantly improved. He went 6IP allowing 1H, 1R, 1WP, 2HBP, and 4BB against 4SO while throwing 47 of 82 pitches for strikes and posting an 8:3 ratio. Dan Merklinger took the loss pitching the final 1.2 allowing a run on 2H, 1HBP, and 3BB against a single strike out. No Star batter had a multi-hit game but resident singles hitter Scooter Gennett did double, his 3rd of the double header. Tommy Manzella committed his 6th error (throwing) and Anderson De La Rosa also had 2PB bringing his season total to 7. Burgos did pick off 1 runner at first and nearly had another. Huntsville Game 2 Play By Play Burgos 1st. Mobile Bottom of the 1st Evan Frey walks. With David Nick batting, Hiram Burgos picks off Evan Frey at 1st on throw to Hunter Morris. David Nick grounds out, shortstop Tommy Manzella to first baseman Hunter Morris. Matt Davidson singles on a line drive to center fielder Josh Prince. Marc Krauss hit by pitch. Matt Davidson to 2nd. With Alfredo Marte batting, passed ball by Anderson De La Rosa, Matt Davidson to 3rd. Marc Krauss to 2nd. Alfredo Marte walks. Ed Easley walks. Matt Davidson scores. Marc Krauss to 3rd. Alfredo Marte to 2nd. Daniel Kaczrowski grounds out, shortstop Tommy Manzella to first baseman Hunter Morris. Mobile's game winning rally, Easley actually did Merklinger a favor swinging at ball 4 twice including the pitch that struck him out, which actually hit him. Mobile Bottom of the 8th David Nick walks. With Matt Davidson batting, passed ball by Anderson De La Rosa, David Nick to 2nd. Matt Davidson hit by pitch. Marc Krauss ground bunts into a force out, third baseman Juan Sanchez to shortstop Tommy Manzella. David Nick out at 3rd. Matt Davidson to 3rd. Marc Krauss advances to 2nd, on throwing error by shortstop Tommy Manzella. Dan Merklinger intentionally walks Alfredo Marte. Ed Easley strikes out swinging. Daniel Kaczrowski singles on a ground ball to shortstop Tommy Manzella. Matt Davidson scores. Marc Krauss to 3rd. Alfredo Marte to 2nd.

Is it wrong that when I looked at the Nashville box and saw opposing pitcher Shelby Miller had given up 2 more HRs I laughed?

Nine after 9 for June 11, 2012 Chris does a great job with today's 9, love the A Team reference.

Final Game 1: Mobile 6, Huntsville 5 (7 Innings) Huntsville Game 1 Box Score Suspensions have been handed out for Saturday's night brawl though both teams are currently appealing so Alex wouldn't give any more details at this time. I would expect that all of the Stars players who were ejected will be getting some time off including Thornburg. Kyle Heckathorn was alright as he only went 4IP allowing 5H, 1BB, and 0R against 1SO. He only threw 77 pitches, 47 for strikes and exited with a 4-0 lead. Unfortunately Brandon Kintzler and Jesus Sanchez combined for a horrible 6th allowing 5 runs between them though all 5 were charged to Kintzler. Sanchez returned for the 7th, gave up a double, was replaced by Mitch Stetter who allowed the game winning to run score on 2 wild pitches. Scooter Gennett went 2-3 with a BB and 2 doubles, Kentrail Davis went 2-3 with a triple, Adam Weisenburger went 2-3 with a double in the contest, and Josh Prince added a HR. Gennett was caught stealing but Davis stole his 9th base and had a game saving OF assist. Domnit Bolivar committed 2 errors both fielding, he now has 11 on the season. Huntsville Game 1 Play By Play The Stars jumped out early with a big 2nd. Huntsville Top of the 2nd Scott Krieger strikes out swinging. Kentrail Davis singles on a line drive to center fielder Evan Frey. Domnit Bolivar flies out to right fielder Alfredo Marte. With Adam Weisenburger batting, Kentrail Davis steals (9) 2nd base. Adam Weisenburger doubles (2) on a line drive to right fielder Alfredo Marte. Kentrail Davis scores. Kyle Heckathorn singles on a line drive to center fielder Evan Frey. Adam Weisenburger scores. Josh Prince homers (3) on a fly ball to left field. Kyle Heckathorn scores. Tommy Manzella reaches on fielding error by shortstop Wladimir Sutil. Scooter Gennett walks. Tommy Manzella to 2nd. With Hunter Morris batting, wild pitch by David Holmberg, Tommy Manzella to 3rd. Scooter Gennett to 2nd. Hunter Morris walks. Scott Krieger grounds out, shortstop Wladimir Sutil to first baseman Kyle Greene. The Stars scored 1 of their own in the 6th then this happened. Mobile Bottom of the 6th Alfredo Marte doubles (15) on a line drive to left fielder Juan Sanchez. Rossmel Perez grounds out, shortstop Tommy Manzella to first baseman Hunter Morris. Alfredo Marte to 3rd. Kyle Greene out on a sacrifice fly to center fielder Josh Prince. Alfredo Marte scores. Wladimir Sutil singles on a line drive to left fielder Juan Sanchez. Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Daniel Kaczrowski replaces David Holmberg. Daniel Kaczrowski singles on a ground ball to second baseman Scooter Gennett. Wladimir Sutil to 2nd. Evan Frey triples (2) on a fly ball to center fielder Josh Prince. Wladimir Sutil scores. Daniel Kaczrowski scores. David Nick singles on a line drive to right fielder Kentrail Davis. Evan Frey scores. Pitcher Change: Jesus Sanchez replaces Brandon Kintzler, batting 5th. Matt Davidson walks. David Nick to 2nd. With Marc Krauss batting, wild pitch by Jesus Sanchez, David Nick to 3rd. Matt Davidson to 2nd. Marc Krauss singles on a line drive to right fielder Kentrail Davis. David Nick scores. Matt Davidson out at home on the throw, right fielder Kentrail Davis to catcher Adam Weisenburger. No way to sugar coat this, just lousy. Mobile Bottom of the 7th Alfredo Marte doubles (16) on a fly ball to right fielder Kentrail Davis. Pitcher Change: Mitch Stetter replaces Jesus Sanchez, batting 5th. With Rossmel Perez batting, wild pitch by Mitch Stetter, Alfredo Marte to 3rd. With Rossmel Perez batting, wild pitch by Mitch Stetter, Alfredo Marte scores.

The problem was the Pacific was the competing story lines, following different people from different units all over the Pacific campaign. I'm definitely happy the Marine's story was told, their campaigns have historically just been miserable, but I'm a total history nerd and even I was struggling at times to keep up with who was what unit and what part of what battle was unfolding. As I'm thinking about it maybe it was just that The Pacific tended to focus more on the hopelessness and despair of war than the espirit de corps that was basically front and center in BOB. The veterans talking about their experiences first hand really set the tone in BOB, that wasn't possible in The Pacific given the characters out of the books that they followed. Personally I've tended to focus more on the European theater so going into the series my knowledge which specific Marine units fought in which battles wasn't anywhere near as good which probably contributed to my preference for Band of Brothers as well, I already knew the entire history of the 101st and every part they played in every battle in which they fought. The Pacific was moving, it was candid, it was very well done, it just wasn't Band of Brothers and I think many of us whom expected a similarly styled production were disappointed.

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, Wily isn't the only AAA starter struggling, there's a whole slew of big name prospects struggling in AAA this season, weird year so far. Of course Peralta gets mentioned at the bottom. PCL notes: Miller victimized by homers League has found top Cards prospect's fastball to be hittable By Chris Jackson / Special to MLB.com http://www.milb.com/images/2012/06/10/KOxXwE2c.jpg Shelby Miller is 4-4 with a 5.18 ERA through 12 starts this year for the Redbirds. (Allison Rhoades) This was not how the season was supposed to go for Shelby Miller. Players who are ranked as the No. 3 prospect in all of the Minor Leagues are not supposed to get battered around. They are not supposed to take it on the chin in start after start. Miller, who also ranks as the Cardinals' top prospect, has gone 4-4 with a 5.18 ERA in 12 starts for the Memphis Redbirds. He was a combined 11-6 with a 2.77 ERA in 25 starts between Double-A Springfield and Class A Advanced Palm Beach last season. "It's simple, I'm giving up home runs. That's what it's been," Miller said. "That's the really the difference-maker. I've already given up 12 and last year I gave up four. "I was looking at it earlier, I've given up nine earned runs in my last two starts and eight of them are due to home runs." Miller said the majority of home runs have come off his fastball in hitters' counts. "My fastball doesn't really get swung and missed at as much as it was in the lower levels," Miller said. "It's more fouled off. I can throw four of them in a row and it gets fouled off. Eventually the pitch count is going to rise up and I'm going to throw five innings instead of six or seven." Miller struck out 170 batters in 139 2/3 innings last season and this year he has 63 in 57 1/3, but none of the strikeouts have come as easy in the PCL. He has completed six innings only twice in his last 10 outings. "That's obviously something we've addressed, (but) you don't really notice it until you keep consistently having short and bad starts," he said. Memphis manager Ron Warner said it has been tough for Miller to go away from wanting to strike everyone out and instead forcing hitters to put the ball in play. "We preach pitch-to-contact, so we're not so much concerned about strikeouts and him getting swings and misses," Warner said. "We want him to put it in a good spot, keep it down and get ground balls, keep his pitch count down so he can go deep into games." Despite the results, Miller has not allowed his struggles to devour all of his confidence. "Hopefully my next (start) will turn it around," he said. "I think all I need is one momentum changer for my year so far. I think if I get one good start, I've had a couple good ones, but if I have one really good start and I go deep, I think that will boost my confidence a bit more and get the ball rolling." Miller will get his chance today when he starts the Redbirds' series opener against the visiting Nashville Sounds. In brief Trouble brewing: Miller is hardly the only pitching prospect struggling in the PCL as Brewers No. 1 prospect Wily Peralta can attest to. The right-hander has gone 1-7 with a 6.60 ERA in 12 starts for Nashville, prompting Milwaukee to dispatch Minor League pitching instructor Lee Tunnel and player development director Reid Nichols to watch him. Peralta allowed three runs in six innings against Iowa on Thursday, not factoring into the decision after five straight losses. Gone streaking: The RedHawks set a team record Thursday when they defeated New Orleans, 9-5, for their 14th straight victory in Oklahoma City. The RedHawks had lost three of four in Albuquerque before coming home and reeling off nine consecutive wins starting May 29 to add on to the five straight home wins from May 10-15. Alas, both streaks ended Friday at the hands of the Zephyrs, who prevailed 6-1. Healthy Heath: Fresno closer Heath Hembree has had a rough year (5.06 ERA), but contracting strep throat, losing eight pounds and missing five days of action recently made things even worse. Hembree bounced back Friday night, retiring the side in order to earn his ninth save as the Grizzlies beat Las Vegas, 5-4. It was his first appearance since giving up three runs in one inning of a 7-1 loss to Salt Lake on June 2.

no way to format this one properly, all related coverage at the link. Hamilton, Roach among Cal All-Stars

I've been going back and forth in regards to posting this most of the day because it feels like piling on, but here it is. Top Pitching Performances Over The Weekend, June 8-10