TheCrew07

Final: Huntsville 6, Birmingham 3 Huntsville Box Score Josh Stintson started tonight and went 7IP allowing 4h, 3R, 0ER, 2BB, and 1WP against 4 strike outs. Josh threw 102 pitches, 60 for strikes, his only blemish was the 3rd when a Scooter Gennett error and his own WP cost him 3 runs. Brandon Kintzler made his 2nd rehab appearance with the Stars and pitched a clean 8th. Darren Byrd pitched a 1 2 3 9th with 2 strike outs for the save. Playing a lame AL team meant that Stinson wasn't able to show off his bat, but Josh Prince, Jay Gibbons, and Kentrail Davis picked up the slack all had 2 hits with Davis and Jason Jaramillo adding doubles. Prince was caught stealing for the 6th time while Gennett committed his 6th error (throwing) and Matt Cline committed his 7th (fielding). The Stars did all the damage against Simon Castro who was once San Diego's #2 prospect and many of you will remember him being traded for Carlos Quentin this winter. He topped out as BA's #57 overall prospect in 2009. Huntsville Play By Play This inning got out of control in a hurry but was all the Barons would get. Birmingham Top of the 3rd Damaso Espino walks. Kenneth Williams strikes out swinging. Jose Castro reaches on force attempt, throwing error by second baseman Scooter Gennett. Damaso Espino to 3rd. Jose Castro to 2nd. Tyler Saladino grounds out, second baseman Scooter Gennett to first baseman Hunter Morris. Damaso Espino scores. Jose Castro to 3rd. Jose Martinez walks. With Seth Loman batting, wild pitch by Josh Stinson, Jose Castro scores. Jose Martinez to 2nd. Seth Loman singles on a fly ball to left fielder Lee Haydel. Jose Martinez scores. Corey Smith grounds into a force out, shortstop Tommy Manzella to second baseman Scooter Gennett. Seth Loman out at 2nd. The Stars went 1, 2, 3 scoring all their runs in the first 3 innings, the first 5 batters reached in the 3rd. Huntsville Bottom of the 1st Josh Prince singles on a line drive to center fielder Jared Mitchell. Tommy Manzella grounds out, first baseman Seth Loman to second baseman Jose Castro to pitcher Simon Castro. Josh Prince to 2nd. With Scooter Gennett batting, throwing error by Simon Castro on the pickoff attempt, Josh Prince to 3rd. Scooter Gennett hit by pitch. Hunter Morris grounds out, pitcher Simon Castro to shortstop Tyler Saladino. Josh Prince scores. Jason Jaramillo grounds out sharply, second baseman Jose Castro to first baseman Seth Loman. Huntsville Bottom of the 2nd Jay Gibbons singles on a ground ball to second baseman Jose Castro. Kentrail Davis doubles (8) on a fly ball to center fielder Jared Mitchell. Jay Gibbons scores. Matt Cline called out on strikes. Lee Haydel singles on a ground ball to shortstop Tyler Saladino. Kentrail Davis to 3rd. Josh Prince singles on a ground ball to right fielder Jose Martinez. Kentrail Davis scores. Lee Haydel to 3rd. With Tommy Manzella batting, Josh Prince caught stealing 2nd base, catcher Damaso Espino to shortstop Tyler Saladino. Tommy Manzella flies out to left fielder Kenneth Williams. Huntsville Bottom of the 3rd Scooter Gennett singles on a line drive to right fielder Jose Martinez. Hunter Morris singles on a line drive to right fielder Jose Martinez. Scooter Gennett to 3rd. Jason Jaramillo doubles (8) on a line drive to center fielder Jared Mitchell. Scooter Gennett scores. Hunter Morris to 3rd. With Jay Gibbons batting, wild pitch by Simon Castro, Hunter Morris scores. Jason Jaramillo to 3rd. Jay Gibbons walks. Kentrail Davis singles on a ground ball to center fielder Jared Mitchell. Jason Jaramillo scores. Jay Gibbons to 3rd. Kentrail Davis advances to 2nd, on fielding error by center fielder Jared Mitchell. Matt Cline strikes out swinging. Lee Haydel grounds out to first baseman Seth Loman. Josh Prince strikes out swinging.

First I would ask, "Why not?", and second I would say that depends on what pitching to contact means. The problem many pitchers including Gallardo have is that they waste too many pitches and Schroeder's "spike the next one in the dirt" line that he uses every time a batter has 2 strikes on the broadcasts drives me insane. My intention isn't to turn this into a pitch count debate but I am going to use the 100 pitch count limit for my example even though I personally have a ton of issues with the methodology or lack there of in which we've arrived at that number. I'm just going to guess here, because the criteria for what a "good 6 innings" would be is fairly subjective but there are 18 outs in 6 innings, so a pitcher would have to face at least 18 batters, then figure an extra 5 batters for hits, walks, hbp, errors, whatever. So for my pitcher pitching a good 6 innings he's going to see 23 batters, well at 100 pitches he isn't even able to average 5 pitches per batter and make that pitch limit. Which leads me to my second point about pitching to contact. In order to pitch deeper into games pitchers have to be more aggressive. In my opinion, way too often our pitchers have hitters 0-2 and 1-2 but end up in even or full counts. I've never understood the "waste a pitch" theory, if you waste 1 pitch to all 23 batters in my example you lose an entire inning of pitches. You exit the game in the 6th when you could have pitched through the 7th. Over the course of the season there is a huge difference between the bullpen picking up 2-3 innings each game vs 3-4 innings each game. Rock's, "waste one in the dirt" is only a quality pitch if it starts out looking like a strike, what hitter isn't expecting a 2 strike pitch in the dirt? Part of the problem of course is that many pitchers just don't work inside anymore, but other problem is that many pitchers also don't throw that high inside FB just out of the zone that's also a great strike out pitch. Putting the ball in the dirt is fine, but throwing a pitch that never looks like a strike provides incredibly little value, how many of those pitches that don't start out looking like a strike actually get swung at? 1-10? Maybe less? How many of those pitches do our pitchers throw in a game? 10-15? That's a whole inning right there... So from a minor league perspective when I see a guy like Gagnon change his approach and "pitch to contact" who's FB has nice movement but he doesn't command it exceedingly well, I'm okay with him pounding a spot working on his control plus his secondary stuff. Also, there is value in pitchers learning differences in hitting between aluminum/wood bats and the difference (hopefully) between the defenses they had behind them as amateurs and the defense playing behind them as professionals. Batters making contact is a good thing if the pitch is in the proper location and pitch type, let hitters swing at pitchers pitches all day long, I'll take weak grounders and pop ups for 27 outs. You want them to be thinking that if they fall behind in the count they are doomed and won't get anything good to hit. What you don't want to do is continually let hitters get out of the hole by being too cute off the corners or in the dirt. The bottom line here from my perspective is you want to force your young pitchers to continually challenge the hitters. So to me, pitching to contact means that I'm going to keep coming after you on every single pitch. As far as having it both ways, I think it's possible to be a high strike out and yet efficient pitcher, we had one, Ben Sheets, and he didn't even have a 3rd pitch to mix in. He just located his FB/hammer curve and you were done. Parra's nibbling on the corners literally infuriated me, just challenge a guy for goodness sake! Gallardo falls into that trap too, just missing with FBs off the corner, wasting a pitch in the dirt, etc, so he ends up getting into way too many full counts. If a pitch has zero chance of being a strike by location or by a batter swinging at it, it's a worthless, meaningless pitch. Essentially you've just thrown a pitch for the sake of upping your pitch count by 1. If you're ahead 0-2 or 1-2 there's no reason to ever end up 3-2 if the batter doesn't foul off a ton of pitches and there will be great ABs, but how many times do we see 1-2 become 3-2 because the next pitch is in the dirt and then then 2-2 just misses off the corner? In those pitcher counts you can literally put a pitch just about anywhere but the majority of the time we know our guys are going to go low or low and away, and the hitters know it too. I should say that I understand how important it is to stay away from the middle of the plate and the waist area, or a typical hitter's natural power zone but at the same time I think that getting strike outs has become synonymous with high pitch counts when that doesn't necessarily have to be the case. It has more to do with how individual pitchers approach the game more so than being a "strike out" or "contact" guy. Yes hitters have probably gotten better, but so have pitchers, the average pitcher throws much harder today than he did in the 80s. Pitching hasn't changed, it's still about location and pitch selection and too many pitchers aren't taking full advantage of the entire strike zone anymore.

fun little contest: T-Rats' Fang is in the Midwest bracket, BC's Manny the Manatee is the South Bracker, The Stars' homer didn't make the list, The Sounds' Ozzie is also in the south, it's a conspiracy! Fans to vote on Minors' best mascot 'Mascot Mania' has fuzzy creatures battling for the crown By Benjamin Hill / MLB.com http://www.milb.com/images/2012/05/17/QylJJ7Iz.jpg. Fans will vote in a 64-mascot bracket that offers facts and background on the unique creatures. The players may get to take center stage every night, but anyone who's been to a Minor League ballgame knows that the mascot is the true star of the show. But which mascot is the star of stars, that shining example against which all other costumed characters should be judged? Mascot Mania, a bracket-style tournament debuting today on MiLB.com, will, finally and definitively, answer this question once and for all. Voting for the first round of the tournament runs through May 29, and five more rounds will follow before the winner is declared on June 18. Mascot Maina: Vote Now! This winner (whomever he, she or it may be) will emerge from a talent-laden field of 64 contenders, one comprised of mascots representing all leagues, levels of play, regions of the country and Major League affiliations. This eminently furry squadron of three score and four have already gained elite status due to their mere presence in the tournament, and over the coming days and weeks they will engage in matchups without precedent in the annals of all recorded history. For where else will you see a spicy Japanese condiment (Vancouver's Chef Wasabi) battle a dog dressed like a train engineer (Round Rock's Spike), or a party-loving sea cow (Brevard County's Manny the Manatee) take on a bug-eyed freshwater crustacean (Hickory's Conrad the Crawdad)? Truly, we are in uncharted waters. The teams involved will no doubt campaign vociferously on behalf of their mascot, and most fans will probably go to the virtual voting booth with a few favorites already in mind. But MiLB.com, like Thomas Jefferson, believes that an informed electorate is the bulwark of democracy. Go to the bracket and simply click on each mascot's name to read an accompanying informational blurb, one that sheds light on his, her or its core beliefs and reasons for being. Ask the expert Any competitive event worth its salt needs a color commentator to shine some light on the action taking place, and in this case who better to provide an opinion than an actual mascot performer? Dave Deas, aka "Phinley" of the Clearwater Threshers, took the time to break down some of the best first-round matches and give his picks. In doing so, he'll provides plenty of debate fodder for mascot enthusiasts. Boomer (Trenton Thunder) vs. Boomer (Williamsport Crosscutters): "In this contest, you've got to go with the weird, but Boomer vs. Boomer is weird vs. weird. I'll go with the Crosscutters, because the team even made some fake leaves to put in his hair. He literally looks crazy ... someone who just stumbled in from the woods." Thunder (Lake Elsinore Storm) vs. Tipper (Visalia Rawhide): "Thunder, he's green like the [Phillie] Phanatic, and he's got that same attitude. He's really popular with the fans, and not afraid to create some havoc. He recently had his four-wheeler stolen, and people actually cared. I don't know if any other mascot would get media coverage for something like that, but Thunder is a real well-known personality. In Visalia, with Tipper, I'm not sure that there's the same buzz." Hornsby (Tulsa Drillers) vs. Fang (Wisconsin Timber Rattlers): "Hornsby, he's the kind of character who will create moments outside of the ballpark -- he'll even skydive! Fang, I think he might scare some kids. I thought I was scary as a shark [mascot], but a giant snake? It's like he's the devil's messenger, tempting you with the forbidden fruit." Chopper (Gwinnett Braves) vs. Marty Marauder (Bradenton Mauraders): Chopper's a lot of fun for everybody. He's got a giant tooth in front and a head that can spin 360 degrees. Marty's good, too, but mascots that look like people are tough. Kids don't understand why they can't talk." And, finally, Deas compares his Phinley character to opponent Bolt of the Winston-Salem Dash. A biased opinion, surely, but expressed diplomatically: "I really like how the Dash went outside the box with Bolt ... because what is a "Dash," and how do you embody speed? He looks like [superhero] the Flash and has lightning bolt ears -- he's really a cool character. But Phinley? He's the most well-known mascot in the Florida State League and is always out doing crazy stuff like para-sailing and jet-skiing. And the look! There aren't many sharks or fish out there that look cool, but Phinley pulls it off. Phinley will prevail."

BA covers Martin's start against the Stars on Monday.

Final: Chattanooga 3, Huntsville 2 (12 Innings) Huntsville Box Score Pardon my french but that was a pretty craptastic way to the end night with both the big club and the Stars losing in extras. After scoring in both the 8th and 9th innings to tie the game the Stars literally pissed it away in the 12th. Hiram Burgos pitched pretty well until the 6th when he gave up a double and single back to back, struck out the next batter, and was then lifted because he had already thrown 96 pitches with only 57 being strikes. Not his most efficient effort of the season, but solid none the less. He went the 5.1 innings allowing 6 hits and 3 walks but only 2 earned runs against 8 strike outs. Daniel Meadows went 1.2 with 2BB, 1WP, and 2SO. R.J. Seidel pitched a scoreless 8th and Jesus Sanchez pitched the next 3 scoreless innings allowing 3H, 1BB, but striking out 4. Sanchez has now extended his scoreless appearance streak to 13 or 14, I've actually lost count. Bradley Blanks gave up the run in the 12th without a base hit, I'll copy that inning later in the post. The Stars only had only had 3 hits through the first 7 innings for good reason, opposing pitcher Ethan Martin has legitimate gas. He's been steadily falling on the Dodgers' prospect list debuting at #3 after he was drafted but coming in at #17 this year, however it's not for a lack of talent, here's the scouting report from over the winter: Jay Gibbons led the way for the stars going 2-4 with 2 doubles and 2 walks. Scooter Gennett and Hunter Morris each added doubles and Kentrail Davis smacked the huge game tying triple with 2 outs in the top of the 9th. Burgos picked off a base runner, whatever the Brewers have done with pickoff moves is certainly paying dividends up and down the entire system this year. Gibbons and Gennett each stole a base, Josh Prince stole 2, and Anderson De La Rosa ended a threat picking off a runner at 3rd to end the 7th. Domnit Boliver committed his 6th error (throwing) and R.J. Seidel his 2nd (pickoff). Huntsville Play By Play The Lookouts got 1 in the 3rd on back to back doubles and 1 in the 6th but wouldn't score again until the 12th. Chattanooga Bottom of the 3rd Ethan Martin grounds out, second baseman Scooter Gennett to first baseman Hunter Morris. Nick Buss grounds out, second baseman Scooter Gennett to first baseman Hunter Morris. Luis Nunez doubles (7) on a line drive to left fielder Jay Gibbons. J. T. Wise doubles (15) on a fly ball to right fielder Kentrail Davis. Luis Nunez scores. Blake Smith strikes out swinging, catcher Anderson De La Rosa to first baseman Hunter Morris. Chattanooga Bottom of the 6th Blake Smith doubles (8) on a fly ball to left fielder Jay Gibbons. Pedro Baez singles on a ground ball to right fielder Kentrail Davis. Blake Smith scores. Pedro Baez to 2nd on the throw. Travis Denker strikes out swinging. Pitcher Change: Daniel Meadows replaces Hiram Burgos, batting 9th. With Jake Lemmerman batting, wild pitch by Daniel Meadows, Pedro Baez to 3rd. Jake Lemmerman strikes out swinging. Angelo Ponte grounds out softly, second baseman Scooter Gennett to first baseman Hunter Morris. The comeback! Huntsville Top of the 8th Pitcher Change: Luis Vasquez replaces Allen Webster, batting 9th. Kentrail Davis lines out sharply to third baseman Pedro Baez. Domnit Bolivar grounds out, second baseman Travis Denker to first baseman J. Wise. Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Lee Haydel replaces Daniel Meadows. Lee Haydel singles on a fly ball to left fielder Luis Nunez. Josh Prince walks. Lee Haydel to 2nd. Tommy Manzella singles on a sharp line drive to center fielder Nick Buss. Lee Haydel scores. Josh Prince advances to 3rd, on fielding error by center fielder Nick Buss. Scooter Gennett flies out sharply to center fielder Nick Buss. Huntsville Top of the 9th Pitcher Change: Logan Bawcom replaces Luis Vasquez, batting 9th. Hunter Morris doubles (19) on a fly ball to center fielder Nick Buss. Jay Gibbons strikes out swinging. Anderson De La Rosa grounds out softly, second baseman Travis Denker to first baseman J. Wise. Hunter Morris to 3rd. Kentrail Davis triples (1) on a sharp line drive to center fielder Nick Buss. Hunter Morris scores. Domnit Bolivar strikes out swinging. This is an extremely disappointing way to end. Chattanooga Bottom of the 12th Pitcher Change: Bradley Blanks replaces Jesus Sanchez, batting 8th. Blake Smith flies out to center fielder Josh Prince. Pedro Baez walks. Travis Denker hit by pitch. Pedro Baez to 2nd. Jake Lemmerman flies out to right fielder Kentrail Davis. Pedro Baez to 3rd. Angelo Ponte walks. Wild pitch by pitcher Bradley Blanks. Pedro Baez scores. Travis Denker to 2nd.

Another extra inning game tonight, the Stars and Lookouts going to the 10th tied at 2.

Nine after 9 for May 21, 2012

Thanks, I figured that was the deal given his size, he just needs to pickup a mph or 2 per year and he'll be fine.

Final: Wisconsin 7, Kane County 4 Rattlers win 7-4 to sweep three game set from Cougars McMahan homers and drives in three By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers did something on Monday afternoon that they had never done at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. The Rattlers beat the Kane County Cougars 7-4 to complete their first ever home series sweep of the Cougars. Ben McMahan led the way with a homer and three RBI. Wisconsin (28-17) started the game with three runs in the bottom of the first. Max Walla reached on an error with one out. Jason Rogers followed with an RBI triple. Nick Ramirez got Rogers home with a double. Later in the inning, McMahan drove in his first run with a sacrifice fly. Rattlers starting pitcher Will West made his Midwest League debut on Monday afternoon. He worked a scoreless first, but allowed a run in the second and an unearned run in the third to let the Cougars (23-22) get to within a run. Rogers and McMahan responded in the bottom of the third. Rogers doubled to start the inning. McMahan drove in Rogers with a two-out single to pad the Rattlers lead to a pair of runs. West looked like he would work clean through the fifth inning. But, a string of three straight two-out singles - with Daniel Mateo coming up with the final one - let Kane County get a run to cut Wisconsin's lead back to one. Rafael Neda drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the seventh inning and was at second base with two outs. Walla drove in Neda with a single for a 5-3 lead. McMahan provided a little more insurance with a long leadoff home run to left in the eighth inning. Brandon tacked on a run with an RBI single later in the eighth and the Rattlers had a 7-3 lead. West worked a total of five innings, walked one, and struck out three before turning over the game to Jacob Barnes. Barnes pitched three scoreless innings and allowed just one hit with three strikeouts. The Cougars would score a run off Stephen Peterson in the ninth on a sacrifice fly by Edul Escobar, but they would get no closer. Kane County has been coming to Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium since the ballpark opened for the 1995 season. But, this three game sweep marked the first time the Rattlers had swept any home series from the Cougars. The last time Wisconsin won every game in a series against Kane County was a four game set in Geneva, Illinois from May 23-26, 2005. The 2005 season also marks the last time Wisconsin was eleven games over the .500. The Rattlers reached eleven over .500 with their win on Monday. The Timber Rattlers are off on Tuesday. The team returns to action on Wednesday night to begin a 13-game road trip. The Rattlers road odyssey begins at Quad Cities against the defending Midwest League champion River Bandits. Wisconsin will send Matt Miller (2-4, 4.50) to the hill as their scheduled starting pitcher. Quad Cities counters with lefty Kyle Hald (0-2, 3.86). Game time is 7:00pm. Tune in for the action on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:40pm. WP: Will West (1-0) LP: Aaron Brooks (3-5) TIME: 2:48 ATTN: 4,778 Wisconsin Box Score I completely forgot about the game this morning so I didn't set my DVR, shame on me. On the bright side Break Out the Brooms! Good attendance, a nice pitching debut, a victory, and a sweep, quite the day. Will West wasn't eye poppingly good, but I'll take it from a 19 year old his first shot at full season ball. I wasn't around much last summer so I admittedly don't know anything about him, I'm not even able to find a scouting report. It looked like he had a pretty solid commitment to Georgia Tech, I wonder what happened with that which led him to the undrafted route? It's highly probably that Sessile or Mass posted his story last year and I just missed it because they don't miss anything. At 6'4" 170lbs it appears he'd have a ton of projection left, and one can never go wrong with a projectable LHP unless they are drafted in the supplemental round and have an established history of not throwing strikes, but I digress. Jacob Barnes pitched 3 very good innings and is looking like solid relief prospect, he allowed 1 hit against 3 strike outs during his time on the bump. This was only Stephen Peterson's 2nd appearance since may 8th and he hadn't pitched since the 16th. I hope he's made some good progress in the bullpen as his workload has be reduced. Jason Rogers and Ben McMahan had the only multi-hit days and also the only XBHs. Rogers went 2-3 with a double and a triple, McMahan 2-3 with the HR. Yadiel Rivera stole his 2nd base of the season while McMahan and Brandon Macias each committed errors. I described a pretty sloppy play from McMahan in Friday's LR, his fielding error today was already his 4th of the season as an OF, he has work to do out there. Rafael Neda also had a passed ball so the Rattlers played some poor defense today but these days have been few and far between this season, plus they got the win anyway so it's all good. On the positive side Chadwin Stang picked up another OF assist and no Cougars attempted to steal a base. Wisconsin Play By Play Go get em young man! Kane County Top of the 1st Justin Trapp walks. Daniel Mateo grounds into double play, shortstop Yadiel Rivera to second baseman Gregory Hopkins to first baseman Nick Ramirez. Justin Trapp out at 2nd. Jorge Bonifacio flies out to center fielder Chadwin Stang. Kane County Top of the 2nd Lane Adams strikes out swinging. Michael Antonio singles on a line drive to center fielder Chadwin Stang. Orlando Calixte doubles (8) on a line drive to left fielder Ben McMahan. Michael Antonio scores. Fielding error by left fielder Ben McMahan. Dean Espy grounds out, second baseman Gregory Hopkins to first baseman Nick Ramirez. Orlando Calixte to 3rd. Edul Escobar flies out to center fielder Chadwin Stang. Kane County Top of the 3rd Tim Ferguson strikes out swinging. Justin Trapp singles on a ground ball to third baseman Brandon Macias. With Daniel Mateo batting, Justin Trapp steals (7) 2nd base. With Daniel Mateo batting, passed ball by Rafael Neda, Justin Trapp to 3rd. Daniel Mateo grounds out, pitcher Will West to first baseman Nick Ramirez. Justin Trapp scores. Jorge Bonifacio flies out to center fielder Chadwin Stang. Kane County Top of the 4th Lane Adams singles on a ground ball to center fielder Chadwin Stang. Michael Antonio flies into double play, center fielder Chadwin Stang to first baseman Nick Ramirez. Lane Adams doubled off 1st. Orlando Calixte grounds out, third baseman Brandon Macias to first baseman Nick Ramirez. Kane County Top of the 5th Dean Espy grounds out, second baseman Gregory Hopkins to first baseman Nick Ramirez. Edul Escobar grounds out, third baseman Brandon Macias to first baseman Nick Ramirez. Tim Ferguson singles on a bunt ground ball to third baseman Brandon Macias. Justin Trapp singles on a ground ball to shortstop Yadiel Rivera. Tim Ferguson to 2nd. Daniel Mateo singles on a ground ball to left fielder Ben McMahan. Tim Ferguson scores. Justin Trapp to 2nd. Jorge Bonifacio called out on strikes.

Is it wrong that I laughed?

The new CBA changed the entire rental player trade structure. The only way to get draft pick compensation is to offer a qualified contract to a FA, but he has to have played for your team the entire season prior. Wolf doesn't fit in this category as he has a club option remaining ($1.5 million buyout) so technically the team he was traded to could have him in 2013 as well. Greinke has pitched like it's 2009 all over again, he's quickly pricing himself out of the Brewers' means.

Conrad clearly isn't as bad a player as he appeared to be in his brief call-up and he brings more positional versatility. He played horribly, but with a healthy Gamel on the roster Conrad definitely made more sense, just because he didn't get a hit in a mid season call-up doesn't mean he wouldn't have hit if had been up right away. I don't think it's fair to say that because he didn't hit now, he wouldn't have hit in the past or the future if he had been called up under different circumstances.

Final: Chattanooga 7, Huntsville 3 Huntsville Box Score I actually intended on switching my audio to Kyle Heckathorn's start this afternoon but by the time I looked at the box score he'd already given up 7 runs in 2 innings and Dan Merklinger was out for the start of the 3rd so I stuck with the T-Rats instead. However I probably should have listened to this game anyway because Dan had his finest outing of the season. He went 3 scoreless allowing a hit and a walk while striking out 5. R.J. Seidel pitched 2 scoreless and Brandon Kintzler closed it out with a clean 8th. The Stars squared off against Nathan Eovaldi today and he's a name you should remember. He's the #3 prospect in the Dodgers organization is in the 96th prospect in the top 100 according to BA. His peripherals don't do much for me but here's his scouting report from this off season: Hunter Morris had the only multi-hit effort for the Stars going 2-3 with a double and Josh Prince added a double to round out the offensive side of the coin here this evening. Lee Haydel got picked off but also added an OF assist. Huntsville Play By Play This is only for the morbidly curious out there... Chattanooga Bottom of the 1st Nick Buss grounds out, second baseman Scooter Gennett to first baseman Hunter Morris. Jake Lemmerman walks. J. T. Wise singles on a ground ball to left fielder Lee Haydel. Jake Lemmerman to 2nd. Blake Smith homers (6) on a fly ball to right field. Jake Lemmerman scores. T. Wise scores. Travis Denker doubles (7) on a line drive to left fielder Lee Haydel. Brahiam Maldonado grounds out softly, third baseman Matt Cline to first baseman Hunter Morris. Travis Denker to 3rd. Rafael Ynoa flies out to left fielder Lee Haydel. Chattanooga Bottom of the 2nd Gorman Erickson grounds out, first baseman Hunter Morris to pitcher Kyle Heckathorn. Nathan Eovaldi walks. Nick Buss singles on a line drive to right fielder Kentrail Davis. Nathan Eovaldi to 2nd. Jake Lemmerman singles on a sharp ground ball to third baseman Matt Cline. Nathan Eovaldi to 3rd. Nick Buss to 2nd. J. T. Wise singles on a ground ball to shortstop Juan Sanchez. Nathan Eovaldi scores. Nick Buss to 3rd. Jake Lemmerman to 2nd. Blake Smith out on a sacrifice fly to left fielder Lee Haydel. Nick Buss scores. Travis Denker doubles (8) on a fly ball to center fielder Josh Prince. Jake Lemmerman scores. Wise scores. Brahiam Maldonado flies out to center fielder Josh Prince.

Final: Wisconsin 7, Kane County 6 Wisconsin wins a wild one on a walkoff By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers http://www.milb.com/images/2012/05/20/WXAHJu2O.jpg The Timber Rattlers celebrate a two-run walkoff single by Nick Ramirez on May 20, 2012. (Ann Mollica/Wisconsin Timber Rattlers) GRAND CHUTE, WI - A windy Sunday afternoon at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities wasn't over until Nick Ramirez said that it was. The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers first baseman rescued the Rattlers be delivering a two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the ninth inning to send Wisconsin to a 7-6 win over the Kane County Cougars. The wind was howling out to left field at 25mph at the start of the game with gusts reaching over 30mph. But, the wind didn't come into play until much later in the game. Kane County (23-21) took advantage of a Wisconsin error in the top of the second inning. Lane Adams reached on a throwing error to start the frame. Michael Antonio doubled in Adams for a 1-0 lead. The inning could have spiraled out of control as Wisconsin starting pitcher David Goforth walked the next two batters to load the bases with one out. But, he escaped with a strikeout and a popup. Wisconsin (27-17) tied the game in the bottom of the fourth. Max Walla walked to start the inning and Jason Rogers followed with an infield single. An error on the play allowed Walla to take third base. Ramirez looped a single in just over the glove of the Cougars third baseman to send Walla home and make the score 1-1. The Cougars manufactured a run in the top of the fifth inning to take the lead. A single, a balk, and a fly ball moved a runner to third base. Adams made it 2-1 with a sacrifice fly. Kane County starting pitcher Brooks Pounders allowed the one run on four hits and struck out eight Timber Rattlers through six innings. The offense picked up when Pounders left the game. Robinson Yambati immediately got into trouble in the bottom of the seventh inning. Greg Hopkins started the inning with a single and a wild pitch moved him to second base. Ben McMahan reached on an error to put runners at the corners. Yadiel Rivera dumped a single into center and Hopkins scored the tying run. Tyler Roberts was next and the Rattlers catcher sent a high fly ball to left that the jet stream carried out of the ballpark for a three-run home run and a 5-2 Wisconsin lead. Chad Pierce, who came on in relief of Goforth for the sixth inning, gave up three straight singles - one a wind-blown infield popup - in the top of the eighth and the Cougars had the bases loaded with no outs. He limited the damage to a run scoring sacrifice fly by Murray Watts and an RBI groundout by Edul Escobar as Kane County cut the lead to a single run. Pierce went back out for the top of the ninth inning and retired the first two batters of the frame. But, he gave up a single to Jorge Bonifacio and was replaced by closer Seth Harvey, who would face Adams. Harvey missed with the first pitch and Adams hit his second pitch over the Kane County bullpen beyond the wall in left-center for a long, two-run home run and a 6-5 Cougars lead. Yambati went back out for the bottom of the ninth inning and had two outs with a runner at first base. Then, he walked Walla and Chadwin Stang on full counts to load the bases. Ramirez, who had a "walkoff" single in the tenth inning to beat Burlington on May 16, didn't waste time to send everyone home happy. He lined the first pitch of his at bat to right to score the tying and winning runs. The Timber Rattlers had four "walkoff" wins in 70 home games in 2011. This Sunday was the fifth of the 2012 season for the Rattlers and it came in their 28th home game of the year. As an added bonus for Wisconsin, the Beloit Snappers lost 12-0 at Burlington on Sunday. The Rattlers and Beloit entered Sunday tied for the lead in the Midwest League's Western Division. Wisconsin now has a one game lead on the Snappers and a four game advantage over Kane County. The final game of the series - and the homestand - is Monday afternoon. Left-hander Will West will make his Timber Rattlers debut as the starting pitcher. Kane County sends Aaron Brooks (3-4, 5.36) to the mound. Game time is 12:05pm. A day game means there is a Baker Tilly Business Persons Special. Show your business card when you purchase a ticket and for $11.50 you will receive a box seat ticket, a beverage and your choice of brat or hot dog. This ticket offer is also available to senior citizens. Monday is also a B104.7 Qdoba Q*Monday. Fans receive a free ticket to any Monday home game on the 2012 schedule when they purchase a lunch entrée at the Qdoba by the Fox River Mall. If you can't make it out to the game on Monday, tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 11:45am. Monday's game may also be viewed by subscribers of MiLB.TV or Sports32 on Time Warner Cable systems. HOME RUNS: KC: Lane Adams (3rd, 1 on in 9th inning off Seth Harvey, 2 out) WIS: Tyler Roberts (3rd, 2 on in 7th inning off Robinson Yambati, 0 outs) WP: Seth Harvey (3-0) LP: Robinson Yambati (1-1) TIME: 2:45 ATTN: 4,737 Nine after 9 for May 20, 2012 I might have to break down and start a twitter account *sigh* Wisconsin Box Score The end of this game was quite the emotional roller coaster, I'll spare you my internal monologue from the 7th on-wards and I'll just say this victory was one that had me hopping off the couch. With the Brewers finally running away with a game from the start I was able to focus exclusively on the T-Rats this afternoon. I'm always curious how much progress a pitcher like David Goforth will make with his delivery over the course of the season, it just seems like many guys take that jump between seasons. David threw 82 pitches but only 44 for strikes so it's not surprising that he had more walks than strike outs, 4:3. He also added in a WP and a Balk during the contest. Chad Pierce wasn't as effective as he'd been prior, obviously the HR Seth Harvey allowed in the 9th didn't help his line. Much like Friday night by the 3rd inning I was looking up the opposing pitcher thinking who is this guy? The Cougars' pitcher Brooks Pounders was a 2nd round draft pick of the A's in 2009. It's kind of sad how quickly I forgot about a guy when they drop out of an organization's top 10, much less their top 30. Fielder might have been too fat for Bean but apparently monstrous pitchers are still "money ball" baby! He had a very nice game and is having a heck of a season from peripherals standpoint. He's always been a big dude, here's his scouting report from the 2009 draft: No disrespect intended to Nick Ramirez' heroics (2-5) driving in runs on multiple occasions but the first thing that jumped out at me from the Rattler box score was Max Walla's day. He went 2-3 with 2 walks, he now has 21 BB against 27 SO, he's in his 4th season already, but I'm extremely happy with the progress he's made. Windblown or not, Tyler Roberts' HR had me pretty excited as well. Ben McMahan and Gregory Hopkins each had an error but McMahan also had an OF assist. Walla and Chadwin Stang collected a stolen base a piece. Wisconsin Play By Play Chris described it above but here's the WI 7th and on... Wisconsin Bottom of the 7th Pitcher Change: Robinson Yambati replaces Brooks Pounders. Gregory Hopkins singles on a ground ball to center fielder Lane Adams. With Ben McMahan batting, wild pitch by Robinson Yambati, Gregory Hopkins to 2nd. Ben McMahan reaches on fielding error by second baseman Justin Trapp. Gregory Hopkins to 3rd. Yadiel Rivera singles on a soft line drive to center fielder Lane Adams. Gregory Hopkins scores. Ben McMahan to 2nd. With Tyler Roberts batting, wild pitch by Robinson Yambati, Ben McMahan to 3rd. Yadiel Rivera to 2nd. Tyler Roberts homers (3) on a fly ball to left field. Ben McMahan scores. Yadiel Rivera scores. Carlos George grounds out, third baseman Michael Antonio to first baseman Murray Watts. Brandon Macias singles on a line drive to left fielder Runey Davis, deflected by third baseman Michael Antonio. Brandon Macias out at 2nd, left fielder Runey Davis to second baseman Justin Trapp. Max Walla lines out to center fielder Lane Adams. Kane County Top of the 8th Lane Adams singles on a line drive to center fielder Max Walla. Michael Antonio singles on a fly ball to right fielder Ben McMahan. Lane Adams to 2nd. Orlando Calixte singles on a bunt ground ball to third baseman Gregory Hopkins. Lane Adams to 3rd. Michael Antonio to 2nd. Murray Watts out on a sacrifice fly to right fielder Ben McMahan. Lane Adams scores. With Edul Escobar batting, wild pitch by Chad Pierce, Michael Antonio to 3rd. Orlando Calixte to 2nd. Edul Escobar grounds out, third baseman Gregory Hopkins to first baseman Nick Ramirez. Michael Antonio scores. Orlando Calixte to 3rd. Runey Davis strikes out swinging. Wisconsin Bottom of the 8th Jason Rogers hit by pitch. Offensive Substitution: Pinch runner Chadwin Stang replaces Jason Rogers. Nick Ramirez flies out to left fielder Runey Davis. With Gregory Hopkins batting, Chadwin Stang steals (9) 2nd base. Gregory Hopkins grounds out, second baseman Justin Trapp to first baseman Murray Watts. Ben McMahan walks. Yadiel Rivera grounds out, shortstop Orlando Calixte to first baseman Murray Watts. Kane County Top of the 9th Defensive switch from center field to right field for Max Walla. Chadwin Stang remains in the game as the center fielder. Defensive switch from right field to left field for Ben McMahan. Justin Trapp pops out to shortstop Yadiel Rivera. Daniel Mateo grounds out, second baseman Carlos George to pitcher Chad Pierce. Jorge Bonifacio singles on a line drive to left fielder Ben McMahan. Pitcher Change: Seth Harvey replaces Chad Pierce. Lane Adams homers (3) on a fly ball to center field. Jorge Bonifacio scores. Michael Antonio called out on strikes. Wisconsin Bottom of the 9th Tyler Roberts walks. Carlos George strikes out on foul bunt. Brandon Macias grounds into a force out, shortstop Orlando Calixte to second baseman Justin Trapp. Tyler Roberts out at 2nd. Brandon Macias to 1st. Max Walla walks. Brandon Macias to 2nd. Chadwin Stang walks. Brandon Macias to 3rd. Max Walla to 2nd. Nick Ramirez singles on a line drive to right fielder Jorge Bonifacio. Brandon Macias scores. Max Walla scores. Chadwin Stang to 2nd.

I want to like RR, generally I'm pretty supportive of Managers/Coaches because I know how difficult it can be to manage personalities. Macha was the first Brewer manager I absolutely despised and that was mostly because he was a horrible choice for an organization that will have to continually rely on young talent to remain competitive. You just cannot sit down a rookie every time they go 0-10 or 1-10 for poor performance and expect them to build confidence and progress, it doesn't work that way for the vast majority of athletes. RR has proven to be more of a veteran player manager as well but I was hoping we were getting a Maddon type who was good with young players and would be willing give them a long leash, I still wish Davey Johnson would have been in consideration as well. I'm with TLB on the contact play, I'm not sure whatever happened to educating the players so they could make the determination of whether or not to try to score from 3rd on their own, but the contact play on a ball hit to the left side has proven to be an out. Then again we're in the era of pitches being called from the dugout as well so apparently baseball players aren't able to make good decisions on their own anymore.

TH with some Brewer's Minor league coverage at the end of this article. BREWERS MINOR LEAGUE REPORT Class AAA Nashville RHP Wily Peralta (1-4, 5.36) needs to buckle down some to be ready for a big-league call-up. On Thursday, he was hammered for 10 hits and nine runs in only three innings in a 13-0 loss to Tucson. OF Caleb Gindlis still looking to get going at the plate. He is batting .174 with a .211 on-base percentage and .314 slugging percentage. Class AA Huntsville LHP Mitch Stetter, signed after being released by Texas, has posted a 4.91 ERA through 10 relief outings, with six hits, three walks and eight strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings. 1B Hunter Morris continues to swing the bat well, taking a .314 average, two homers and 18 RBI into play Friday. High Class A Brevard Co. RHP Taylor Jungmann, a first-round pick in 2011, is 2-3 with a 3.15 ERA through nine starts, with 49 hits and 16 walks allowed in 54 1/3 innings, and 36 strikeouts. The other No. 1 pick from last year, LHP Jed Bradley, is on the disabled list with a slight groin strain. RHP Andrew Moye earned a promotion to the Manatees after going 3-0 with a 1.45 ERA in eight games with Wisconsin. Low Class A Wisconsin OF Ben McMahan, a 23rd-round draft pick in 2011 out of Florida, is batting .315 with two homers and 16 RBI through 31 games. RHP Seth Harvey, a 37th-round pick in 2010, has performed well as the Timber Rattlers' closer, going 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA and seven saves in 14 games, with 23 strikeouts in 16 innings.

Adams homers twice, plates five Cardinals prospect raises PCL batting average to .338 By Andrew Pentis / Special to MLB.com http://www.milb.com/images/2012/05/18/krr567bU.jpg Matt Adams was the Cardinals' 23rd-round pick in the 2009 Draft. (Allison Rhoades/Memphis Redbirds) When you're batting well over .300, as Cardinals No. 8 prospect Matt Adams is, you seek out the little things that will keep you going in the right direction. Call it a proactive practice. For Adams, this meant sitting down with Memphis Redbirds batting coach Mark Budaska this week to discuss a flaw in his at-bat mechanics. "The last couple of games, I felt like I was rushing my load. We sat down, talked and saw that was the case," Adams said. "My feet were moving too quick [when] I load up in my swing. I just kind of slowed everything down." His bat appeared to speed up. Adams went 4-for-5 at the plate with two homers and five RBIs -- both season highs -- on Friday night in the Redbirds' 9-6 road win over the Las Vegas 51s. Adams won an 11-pitch battle by smacking a first-inning solo shot off Tim Redding. "I took the first pitch, swung through a changeup and I was down 0-2 and battled back saw the ball really good," Adams said. "I fouled off the pitches I couldn't drive and then got a slider." The burly left-handed-hitting slugger overcame another early 0-2 count to smack a fastball, discarding another ball over the right-center field fence. "It was a fastball down and in," said Adams, a first baseman. "He blew me away the first two pitches and I was just getting ready for the fastball." Wait. Getting ready for a fastball on an 0-2 count? "I always sit fastball and then I adjust," the 2009 23rd-round Draft pick said after his first multi-homer game at the Triple-A level. "I'm an aggressive hitter getting pitching out over the plate." Adams also singled in the third, flied out in the sixth and doubled to center in the eighth. As a result, he's batting .338 with 18 extra-base hits through his first 36 games in the Pacific Coast League. So what is left to work on? "Definitely letting the off-speed pitches, a backdoor slider or changeup, come in," Adams said. "I'm catching those out front and hitting lazy fly balls. Though I had a double on one tonight, so that was nice to see." Travis d'Arnaud and Anthony Gose, the Blue Jays' top two prospects, respectively, also enjoyed big games. A catcher and cleanup hitter, d'Arnaud cranked solo homers in the first and fifth off Memphis starter Brian Broderick. It also was d'Arnaud's first multi-homer game in the PCL. "He's a great hitter," Adams said. "A lot of great hitters on their team. With Travis, especially, even when he's taking pitches he's in a good position to hit." Batting leadoff, Gose doubled and tripled against Broderick, scoring twice. The strong-armed center fielder also collected an assist throwing out Zack Cox at the plate for the final out in the seventh inning. Broderick (2-5) was charged with six runs on eight hits over five frames. Redding gave up three runs on six hits over three innings before giving way to the 51s' bullpen.

Cingrani continues dominance, fans 12 Reds prospect leads Cal League with 0.78 ERA, 65 strikeouts By David Heck / Special to MLB.com http://www.milb.com/images/2012/05/19/tZ3eknLd.jpg Tony Cingrani ranks seventh in the Minor Leagues with a 0.83 WHIP. (Ricky Bassman/MiLB.com) Pitching in his first full professional season, Tony Cingrani believes he will be in Bakersfield for a while. That's bad news for the rest of the California League. The Reds' No. 12 prospect continued his run as the league's dominant hurler Friday, striking out 12 while giving up one run on five hits over six innings. That wasn't quite enough for the Class A Advanced Blaze, who dropped a 6-3 decision to the Lake Elsinore Storm. The 12 punchouts were a season high for Cingrani, who fanned 13 for short-season Billings last Aug. 27. "Tonight, after throwing something in the dirt, we'd usually go outside with a fastball," Cingrani said. "I threw a couple two-strike breaking balls in the dirt for strikeouts. The breaking ball and fastball were my two [pitches] tonight." Cingrani set the tone early, generating his first six outs via strikeouts. He ended his night nearly the same way, fanning five batters in the fifth and sixth innings. "The first two innings, there's a big white wall in center field and maybe I was throwing out of it," Cingrani said. "It didn't seem like they were seeing me too well. After that, I threw a lot of sliders and changeups for strikes. Pretty much everything was working." In between his strong start and finish, the 22-year-old left-hander encountered his lone trouble spot in the fourth. He surrendered a leadoff homer to Tommy Medica and a double to Padres' No. 2 prospect Rymer Liriano two batters later. But he worked out of further trouble by fanning Everett Williams and retiring Eddy Rodriguez on a ground ball. The five hits were the second-highest total Cingrani's given up this year. And while he pitches in the hitter-friendly Cal League, he has not allowed more than one earned run in any of his eight starts. He leads the circuit with a 0.78 ERA and 65 strikeouts over 46 innings. "Moving the fastball around, not leaving it over the middle and not leaving it up," Cingrani said of keys to success. "If you go low in the zone and go inside-outside, you're keeping them guessing. Usually, you're going to have a groundout or a popup, not very solid contact." Despite his success, Cingrani is not concerned about when he will move on to the next level. For now, he's content with the way things are going in Bakersfield. "They have said that I was staying until the All-Star break, so I'm just here to do what I need to do," he said. "I'm just going to keep going out every fifth day and try to do what I did today. I'm not too worried about that, it is my first year here. I'm more worried about getting those innings in and staying healthy. The rest of it is out of my control." Medica finished with two homers, a double and four RBIs, while Chris Bisson also plated a pair of runs for the Storm. Donn Roach (7-0) earned his league-leading seventh win by allowing two unearned runs on two hits over seven innings. He struck out four and walked two as he lowered his ERA to 1.69.

Mass linked the Hot Sheet in yesterday's LR, for those didn't read it Cubs 1B Anthony Rizzo was the #1 prospect. Below you will find the divisional mentions from the Hot Sheet Chat.

Final: Chattanooga 5, Huntsville 4 (10 Innings) Huntsville Box Score Dang, the Lookouts returned the favor getting the extra inning win today but the Stars missed chances in the 4th and 6th to bust the game wide open. I'm not sure what's up with Tyler Thornburg's recent walk totals, but he walked more (4) than he struck out (3) today. He went 6 innings, giving up 5 hits and 3ER. In his last 6 games Tyler has given up more than 1 run in 5 of the 6 games, twice in that span he gave up 3 unearned runs in a single game. Bradley Blanks went the next 2 runs allowing the game tying HR and was followed by a scoreless 9th from Darren Byrd. Dan Merklinger was undone by a Matt Cline error in the 10th giving up the game winning double immediately following the error. Dan has had a pretty forgettable season to this point. Josh Prince and Scooter Gennett had 2 hits and a walk a piece with Scooter adding a double. Hunter Morris tripled and Cline doubled to round the noteworthy accomplishments at the plate tonight. Prince stole 3 bases pushing his season total to 11 and executed a double steal with Gennett but was also caught stealing once which was his 5th (actually picked off 1st). Jarmillo went 0-1 cutting down would be base stealers but Thornburg erased that batter picking him off later in the inning. Huntsville Play By Play Thornburg's performance. Chattanooga Bottom of the 1st Nick Buss flies out to center fielder Josh Prince. Rafael Ynoa flies out to left fielder Jay Gibbons in foul territory. Luis Nunez strikes out swinging. Chattanooga Bottom of the 2nd Blake Smith singles on a line drive to center fielder Josh Prince. Pedro Baez grounds out, third baseman Matt Cline to first baseman Hunter Morris. Blake Smith to 2nd. Travis Denker walks. Jake Lemmerman flies out to center fielder Josh Prince. Blake Smith to 3rd. Gorman Erickson flies out to center fielder Josh Prince. Chattanooga Bottom of the 3rd Chris Withrow strikes out swinging. Nick Buss doubles (7) on a ground ball to right fielder Kentrail Davis. Rafael Ynoa walks. Luis Nunez flies out to center fielder Josh Prince. Nick Buss to 3rd. Blake Smith triples (1) on a ground ball to right fielder Kentrail Davis. Nick Buss scores. Rafael Ynoa scores. Pedro Baez strikes out swinging. Chattanooga Bottom of the 4th Travis Denker flies out softly to center fielder Josh Prince. Jake Lemmerman grounds out, third baseman Matt Cline to first baseman Hunter Morris. Gorman Erickson flies out to left fielder Jay Gibbons. Chattanooga Bottom of the 5th Chris Withrow walks. Nick Buss grounds into a force out, first baseman Hunter Morris to shortstop Tommy Manzella. Chris Withrow out at 2nd. Nick Buss to 1st. With Rafael Ynoa batting, Nick Buss steals (4) 2nd base. With Rafael Ynoa batting, Nick Buss caught stealing 3rd base, pitcher Tyler Thornburg to third baseman Matt Cline. Rafael Ynoa lines out to center fielder Josh Prince. Chattanooga Bottom of the 6th Luis Nunez doubles (6) on a ground ball to left fielder Jay Gibbons. Blake Smith doubles (6) on a sharp fly ball to left fielder Jay Gibbons. Luis Nunez scores. Pedro Baez pops out softly to second baseman Scooter Gennett. Travis Denker flies out to left fielder Jay Gibbons. Jake Lemmerman walks. Gorman Erickson grounds out, third baseman Matt Cline to first baseman Hunter Morris.

Final: Wisconsin 7, Kane County 3 Rattlers beat Kane County to grab a share of first place By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - Good things happen to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers when Jason Rogers mashes the baseball. Wisconsin's first baseman had three hits including a two-run homer, on Saturday night at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium and the Rattlers beat the Kane County Cougars 7-3. The win by the Rattlers and a loss by the Beloit Snappers allowed Wisconsin to move into a tie atop the Western Division of the Midwest League with 27 games remaining in the first half. But, Kane County (23-20) scored first on Saturday. A two-out double by Lane Adams scored Daniel Mateo from first base for a 1-0 Cougars lead. Wisconsin (26-17) answered with three straight runs. Yadiel Rivera doubled with one out in the second inning. Rafael Neda drove in Rivera with a double to tie the game. In the third inning, Rogers - with Max Walla aboard - crushed his fifth home run of the season. The tape-measure shot put the Rattlers up 3-1. Rattlers starting pitcher Chad Thompson retired the first two batters he faced in the top of the fourth inning. Then, Murray Watts doubled and Dean Espy homered to left-center and the score was tied 3-3. Thompson struck out seven and walked none over four innings. Rivera snatched the lead back in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Brewers shortstop prospect hit a leadoff home run off Kellen Moen to put Wisconsin up 4-3. Later in the inning, Walla singled to send in Carlos George for a 5-3 lead. Reliever Mark Williams entered the game and protected that lead. He went five innings and did not allow a hit. Williams walked two and struck out two while keeping the Cougars from mounting a rally. Wisconsin added a pair of insurance runs in the seventh inning. Greg Hopkins doubled in a run and Rivera knocked in his second run of the game with a sacrifice fly to account for the 7-3 score. The Rattlers outhit the Bees 14-6 in the game. Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Carlos Gomez completed his rehabilitation assignment on Saturday night. He went 1-for-3 with a walk and a nice running catch in deep right-center field. Beloit entered play their Saturday night game in Burlington against the Bees with a one game lead on the Timber Rattlers in the Western Division. Beloit had a 6-1 lead after a six run third inning. But, the Bees rallied with single runs in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings to make the score close. Burlington took the lead for good with a five run seventh inning and went on to a 9-6 victory. Wisconsin and Beloit each lead Kane County by three games for the first half Western Division Wild Card. But, there is still a long way to go in the half. The series between Wisconsin and Kane County continues on Sunday afternoon. David Goforth (3-3, 6.27) is the scheduled starting pitcher and Fond du Lac native Chad Pierce is set to come on in relief for the Timber Rattlers. Kane County sends Brooks Pounders (2-1, 3.38) to the mound. Game time is 1:05pm. The first 1,000 fans to attend Sunday's game will receive a special baseball cap from North Shore Bank. Before the game fans can play catch on-field courtesy of 77 KIDS. Timber Rattlers players will be available for an autograph session after the game. Time Warner Cable customers can receive up to four half-priced reserved bleacher tickets when showing their TWC bill at time of ticket purchase. Plus, as part of Brewers Sunday presented by 107.5, The Fan, Timber Rattlers players will be wearing Brewers-themed jerseys on-field during the game. If you can't make it out to the stadium, tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 12:45pm. Sunday's game is also available to subscribers of MiLB.TV. HOME RUNS: KC: Dean Espy (1st, 1 on in 4th inning off Chad Thompson, 2 out) WIS: Jason Rogers (5th, 1 on in 3rd inning off Kellen Moen, 0 out) Yadiel Rivera (4th, 0 on in 4th inning, off Kellen Moen, 0 out) WP: Mark Williams (2-3) LP: Kellen Moen (2-2) TIME: 2:46 ATTN: 4,983 Nine after 9 for May 19, 2012 I wrote my bit about about Rivera below before reading the 9 after 9... great minds and all that. Chris has Chadwin Stang getting 2 hits, but the box lists him with 1. Also, the bit about George's play... wow. Wisconsin Box Score Almost 5K at the game today, very nice to see my fellow Wisconsinites! Chad Thompson was better but nothing close to his hitless debut, still he's making progress. Mark Williams is an interesting guy to follow, he's only allowed 2 runs in his last 16.1 IP, and in his 5 hitless innings tonight he walked 2 and struck out 2. He is probably deserving of a promotion at the break, however there really isn't room at BC unless there is a whole chain of promotions throughout the organization. Between his stint in Helena last year and WI so far this year I'm liking what I see. As Chris discussed above Jason Rogers lead the way with his 3-4, 1BB, and 1HR effort slightly overshadowing Yadiel Rivera's 2-3, 12B, and 1HR night. Rivera now has a .709 OPS with only a .260 OBP (Chris in the 9 after 9 and MiLB.com have different slash lines, MiLB's might not have updated yet), if he can figure out a way to get on base more, look out. Parker Berberet collected the other multi hit effort going 2-4 for the game. The T-Rats busted out the whuppin sticks as Ben McMahan (forgot to mention how much I liked that he had Walla's back last night), Gregory Hopkins, Rafael Neda, and Carlos George all doubled during the contest. Speaking of George, after seeing him for the first time in person yesterday he's even more of a toothpick than his profile suggests, I believe he's every part of 6' 2", but I'd question the 185 LBs, that young man could definitely use the weight room. Wisconsin Play By Play A Mark Williams highlight package... Kane County Top of the 5th Pitcher Change: Mark Williams replaces Chad Thompson. Justin Trapp pops out to third baseman Gregory Hopkins. Daniel Mateo lines out to right fielder Max Walla. Jorge Bonifacio flies out to right fielder Max Walla. Kane County Top of the 6th Lane Adams flies out to right fielder Max Walla. Orlando Calixte flies out to left fielder Chadwin Stang. Murray Watts grounds out, second baseman Carlos George to first baseman Jason Rogers. Kane County Top of the 7th Dean Espy pops out to second baseman Carlos George. Jin-Ho Shin walks. Tim Ferguson strikes out swinging. Justin Trapp flies out to right fielder Max Walla in foul territory. Kane County Top of the 8th Defensive Substitution: Ben McMahan replaces center fielder Carlos Gomez, batting 1st, playing left field. Defensive switch from left field to center field for Chadwin Stang. Daniel Mateo walks. Jorge Bonifacio flies out to center fielder Chadwin Stang. Lane Adams grounds into double play, shortstop Yadiel Rivera to second baseman Carlos George to first baseman Jason Rogers. Daniel Mateo out at 2nd. Kane County Top of the 9th Orlando Calixte grounds out, shortstop Yadiel Rivera to first baseman Jason Rogers. Murray Watts flies out to right fielder Max Walla. Dean Espy called out on strikes.

Nine after 9 for May 18, 2012

I was at the T-Rats game so I didn't watch what Chulk did, but I'd love to see Henderson get a shot.

Final: Huntsville 4, Chattanooga 3 (11 Innings) Huntsville Box Score More late inning heroics! If only the pitchers in BC could get some of that love. Evan Anundsen started and while it appears he didn't have his best stuff only going 4.2 IP and giving up 3 runs, he did just enough. Dan Meadows came on to record the final out in the 5th and went 2 more scoreless innings, why exactly is he back in AA? I wonder who's decision that was? I've been looking for a reason to boot Nichols in the behind for about 6 years now so I'll place my blame there for convenience sake. Darren Byrd pitched the next 2 scoreless innings giving up 2 hits, and Jesus Sanchez closed it out pitching 2 scoreless innings of his own though he did make the bottom of the 11th a tad interesting. In fact Meadows, Byrd, and Sanchez all went 2ish IP and gave up 2 hits, a box score oddity that only happens a couple of times a season. The offensive hero was Jay Gibbons who provided the game winning RBI with a bases loaded walk. The Stars tried to play small ball to score a run but the Lookouts were determined to let them score by other means. Overall Gibbons went 2-3 with a double and 3 walks. Scooter Gennett went 3-4 with a double and 2 walks, he now has walked a total of 7 times on the season. He's made good progress with his defense, hopefully he can learn to be more selective and take what the pitcher gives him down the road. Anderson De La Rosa had the only Stars' error on an errant pickoff attempt. Gibbons scored an OF assist at 2B and Anundsen wiped out a baserunner with a PO at 1st base. Huntsville Play By Play The Stars jumped out to an early lead. Huntsville Top of the 1st Kentrail Davis walks. Josh Prince singles on a bunt ground ball to pitcher Matt Magill. Kentrail Davis to 2nd. With Scooter Gennett batting, wild pitch by Matt Magill, Kentrail Davis scores. Josh Prince to 2nd. Throwing error by catcher Gorman Erickson. Scooter Gennett walks. Hunter Morris strikes out swinging. Anderson De La Rosa called out on strikes. Jay Gibbons singles on a line drive to left fielder Brahiam Maldonado. Josh Prince scores. Scooter Gennett to 2nd. Tommy Manzella called out on strikes. Anundsen gave it back in the 2nd. Chattanooga Bottom of the 2nd Travis Denker singles on a line drive to right fielder Kentrail Davis. Pedro Baez triples (3) on a fly ball to center fielder Josh Prince. Travis Denker scores. Blake Smith grounds out, second baseman Scooter Gennett to first baseman Hunter Morris. Pedro Baez scores. Brahiam Maldonado strikes out swinging. Gorman Erickson strikes out swinging. The teams traded runs in the 5th. Huntsville Top of the 5th Scooter Gennett singles on a ground ball to right fielder Blake Smith. Hunter Morris strikes out on foul tip. Anderson De La Rosa singles on a line drive to center fielder Nick Buss. Scooter Gennett to 2nd. Jay Gibbons walks. Scooter Gennett to 3rd. Anderson De La Rosa to 2nd. Pitcher Change: Red Patterson replaces Matt Magill, batting 9th. Tommy Manzella out on a sacrifice fly to center fielder Nick Buss. Scooter Gennett scores. Matt Cline strikes out swinging. Chattanooga Bottom of the 5th Gorman Erickson pops out to third baseman Matt Cline in foul territory. Red Patterson called out on strikes. Nick Buss doubles (6) on a line drive to right fielder Kentrail Davis. With Jake Lemmerman batting, throwing error by Anderson De La Rosa on the pickoff attempt, Nick Buss to 3rd. Jake Lemmerman singles on a line drive to center fielder Josh Prince. Nick Buss scores. Pitcher Change: Daniel Meadows replaces Evan Anundsen, batting 8th. Defensive Substitution: Juan Sanchez replaces pitcher Evan Anundsen, batting 9th, playing third base. With Luis Nunez batting, Jake Lemmerman steals (4) 2nd base. Luis Nunez grounds out, pitcher Daniel Meadows to first baseman Hunter Morris. The game winning rally! Huntsville Top of the 11th Pitcher Change: Geison Aguasviva replaces Steve Ames, batting 5th. Kentrail Davis walks. Josh Prince out on a sacrifice bunt, first baseman J. T. Wise to second baseman Rafael Ynoa. Kentrail Davis to 2nd. Geison Aguasviva intentionally walks Scooter Gennett. Hunter Morris grounds into a force out, second baseman Rafael Ynoa to shortstop Jake Lemmerman. Kentrail Davis to 3rd. Scooter Gennett out at 2nd. Hunter Morris to 1st. Anderson De La Rosa walks. Hunter Morris to 2nd. Jay Gibbons walks. Kentrail Davis scores. Hunter Morris to 3rd. Anderson De La Rosa to 2nd. Tommy Manzella strikes out swinging.

This is going to be a long one, I was at the game and there's quite a bit to talk about so please bear with me. Final: Wisconsin 5, Burlington 3 Gomez goes deep to lead Rattlers past Bees By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - Carlos Gomez was 0-for-9 in the first nine at bats of his rehab assignment with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. He made the most of his tenth at bat. The Milwaukee Brewers outfield launched a three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning to propel the Rattlers to a 5-3 victory over the Burlington Bees Friday night at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Burlington (18-23) took the lead on the first pitch of the game. Sean Jamieson cracked Drew Gagnon's first offering over the wall in left for a home run and a 1-0 advantage for the Bees. Wisconsin (25-17) had trouble getting anything going against Burlington starter Sean Murphy. Wisconsin had two hit in the first three innings, but Murphy faced the minimum through the first 5-1/3 innings due to a caught stealing and a double play. Burlington extended their lead to 3-0 on a two-run homer by Nick Rickles in the top of the sixth. Gagnon allowed three runs on three hits with three walks and three strikeouts over 5-1/3 innings on the evening. Wisconsin's bats got on the board in the bottom of the sixth. Parker Berberet singled with one out and Carlos George followed with a line drive to left that just cleared the wall in left. The homer was the second of the season for George and got the Rattlers to within 3-2. Murphy got through the rest of the sixth without a run and pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning to hold the lead. But, the eighth was a different story with a very different ending. It appeared the Rattlers were set to tie the game early in the eighth. Yadiel Rivera singled with and - with one out and Berberet at the plate - went from first to third on a wild pitch. However, Rivera went home on a grounder to third and was easily thrown out at the plate for the second out. George extended the inning to the major leaguer and Gomez wasted no time putting the Rattlers in front. Gomez jumped on the first pitch from Murphy and hit a no-doubt home run to left field to give the Rattlers a 5-3 lead. The game took an interesting turn as Drew Tyson relieved Murphy after the home run and hit Max Walla with the first pitch of his appearance. Tyson was immediately ejected from the game by plate umpire Fernando Rodriguez. Rattlers reliever Tommy Toledo, who worked 2-2/3 innings of scoreless relief of Gagnon, turned the game over to closer Seth Harvey for the ninth. Harvey worked a perfect inning to close out the Bees. Toledo is now 6-0 on the season and Harvey earned his eighth save by finishing off Burlington. The Timber Rattlers welcome the Kane County Cougars to town on Saturday to start a three-game series. Chad Thompson (1-1, 6.39) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Rattlers. Kane County has Kellen Moen (2-1, 4.54) as the scheduled starter. Game time is 6:35pm. Saturday is a Fly Away Saturday from Funjet Vacations and Fox World Travel. One lucky fan will win airfare for two from at this game! If you can't make it out to the ballpark, tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:15pm. The game is also available to MiLB.TV subscribers. HOME RUNS: BUR: Sean Jamieson (2nd, 0 on in 1st inning off Drew Gagnon, 0 out) Nick Rickles (3rd, 1 on in 6th inning off Drew Gagnon, 1 out) WIS: Carlos George (2nd, 1 on in 6th inning off Sean Murphy, 1 out) Carlos Gomez (1st, 2 on in 8th inning off Sean Murphy, 2 out) WP: Tommy Toledo (6-0) LP: Sean Murphy (1-2) SAVE: Seth Harvey (8) TIME: 2:31 ATTN: 4,179 Wisconsin Box Score Drew Gagnon just didn't locate well at all, the first pitch was a belt high FB that looked to be right down the middle (I was sitting down the RF line) and it was absolutely crushed. Drew did a nice job of working himself out of trouble until he walked a batter and then gave up another no doubt homer which was also grooved for the batter. He only gave up 3 hits, but because of the 2 HRs he also gave up the 3 runs. It was kind of like a Doug Davis start where you aren't comfortable watching but the end result turned out to be pretty decent. Tommy Toledo looked pretty good and didn't get rattled in the 7th when there was some shoddy defense behind him. A ball was hit out to McMahan who booted it and the runner took off for second. Ben had plenty of time to gun him but threw so wide of 2B that George was barely able to corral the throw, he missed the bag by a good 10 feet which put the leadoff runner at 2B. Tommy just did his thing and worked out of the inning nicely with a soft liner, a ground out, and a pop up to strand the runner at 3rd. Seth Harvey throws about as hard as Gagnon, the stadium gun wasn't working only catching a pitch or 2 each inning, but he's had a very solid start to the season. A little bit about Gomez... he looked horrible until his HR. He struck out in his first AB, skyed a pop-up to shallow left field in his second, and nubbed a grounder to short in his 3rd AB. The pitch he hit for a homer was some kind of hanging off speed pitch that was belly button high on the outer half and he just crushed it, the announced distance was 412 ft. However, he cadillaced the home run trot (really, in A ball) horribly and didn't pick up the pace until he was halfway between 2nd and 3rd. Obviously Burlington was pissed about Gomez showing up an A ball pitcher so they actually threw at Max Walla, the ball rode up and behind Max's head skipping off his shoulders in the area where one would hold a squat bar when doing squats. Ben McMahan was on-deck absolutely livid and started jawing at the pitcher. The home plate umpire immediately tossed the pitcher, warned both benches, then he went for straight for McMahan to stop him before another Rattler came out of the dugout to calm him down. The base ump also raced in to settle things down and of course the Burlington manager came out for his token ejection. After the game Gomez ended up having words with one of the Burlington coaches over by the T-Rats dugout and then literally gave the guy the blow off good-bye wave and went down into the dugout. Horrible pitch, great hit, and a bonehead move, but that's kind of Carlos in a nutshell. The opposing pitcher was Sean Murphy a 33rd round pick for the A's in 2010. He certainly didn't look like the guy who put up 5.73 ERA last year and is repeating the level. He appeared to throw a tick slower than Gagnon, but he located and mixed his pitches very well, it's no accident the T-Rats only had 4 hits going into the 8th inning. The Yadiel play at the plate was the contact play, and the Brewers must have some data that they are using as an organization to justify it's use, but I absolutely hate it, it seems we run into more outs than runs we gain. Berberet didn't get around on a ball all night, everything he hit was to the right side and then he rolled over the ball right to the 3rd baseman for an easy out at the plate. Yadiel wouldn't cut it in football, he didn't seem to want to make contact with the catcher who blocked the plate very well and he just kind of batted at the catcher's glove as he fell down. It's okay Yaddy, just keep making plays in the field. Parker Berberet and Carlos George both had 2 hits a piece and George's HR looked like a Weeks tape measure job. I was coaching it to get up off the wall and we were all surprised when it carried over the fence, it was an absolute rocket. Wisconsin Play By Play edit. Clarified the part about McMahan, what lousy typing that was.