TheCrew07

Stuff like that is why I will never pay to read him.

Yes but again, there's more to pitching than just pure stuff as well, I probably should have worked on that point a bit more than I did. I'm alright with anyone who's dominating getting bumped at the halfway point as even though I'm thrilled with the initial results, I'm more interested in what happens once hitters and teams can start to put a book a together on a pitcher. Let's see how they perform the 2nd and 3rd time against each team... if the success continues and everything else checks out(they make their improvements holding runners for example), move 'em on up. I guess I just don't see AAA time as a prerequisite for MLB success, I'm alright jumping players directly from AA if we have a need. As it stands Merklinger (pending whatever he's on the DL for) and Thornburg to AAA at the break makes sense, it opens up 2 slots in AA, and there is probably room for 3. I don't think Bucci and Scarpetta coming back would have that great an impact on the current rotations, Seidel moves to the pen and Williamson back to A. The only difference would be from a promotion standpoint as Anundsen and Heckathorn, plus if Bucci and Scarpetta return then all belong in AA so then which of Jungmann, Bradley, and Nelson would you promote? I'm not sure Bucci and/or Scarpetta coming back is going to be an issue though, I hope so, but I not going to hold my breath.

And Thornburg to Nashville I wouldn't mind that at all. If the reports on his velocity & stuff are accurate, he can work on refining his pitches at AAA just as easily as at AA. Again I say let the pitchers work their way through the progression, do so and they'll end up promoting themselves at the proper time. We're only 10 days into the season, things were quite different for Austin Ross last year when everyone saw him once and could adjust. Anyone who can control their fastball is going to have success in A ball, AA and beyond is about being able to locate your 2nd and 3rd pitches and mix those pitches effectively. I'll use Gagnon as an example as someone who pitches very heavily off his FB having and is having success in WI, I think that success will repeat itself in A+, however I don't think FB command is enough when you get to AA. I wish I would have charted his pitches because the first time through the order he was over 90% FBs, can you be successful with those ratios as you move up the ladder? It's basically the same argument i made about Jungmann, you know his FB is going to play well in A ball, but is his secondary stuff good enough to play at AA and above? I'd rather these guys work on pitches in an environment where they can dominate off one pitch, than struggle against better competition while trying to refine said pitches so they can be successful. If Gagnon keeps pitching like he has he'll be in A+ by the break which is perfectly fine with me, that sets him up to be in AA next season. Without seeing any of the pitchers throw any secondary pitch it's incredibly difficult to say definitively if they should be pushed to the next level or not. It's not even only about pitching, they need to learn how to control the running game better and so on as they move. It's extremely premature to be discussing promotions in the 2nd week of the season, a couple of years ago Peter Fatse had an incredible April and finished the year hitting .236. Let the progression work it's magic and let the young men earn their promotions, especially since we don't have an immediate need to push these guys. Thornbug would be okay jumping directly from AA, it's not that he couldn't benefit from facing the more advanced/refined approach of the average AAA hitter who's likely played some in MLB, but it's only April and there is still plenty of time to get him some AAA experience this season. Even without it he'd be okay, I have a hard time believing the limited time Yo spent in AAA was worth more than his season in AA. The only rotation that is kind of "meh" in the entire organization was Nashville's but with the addition of Rogers we have 3 pitchers who most of us are interested in as well. That's without Bucci (what's his injury? I remember someone saying he hurt his arm in ST?), Scarpetta (biceps tendonitis sounds like code for TJ surgery to me), and Lasker (no idea) whom we followed closely in the past.

I think it is likely 2-3 ticks fast. TC07 may have more insight. It's been a couple of years since I charted pitches at a T-Rats game but from what I recall there was 1-3 MPH difference on most pitches between the stadium game and the stalker guns that the pitchers sitting in the row in front of me were using. Very rarely did the guns agree and I noticed the biggest difference for young men working in that 88-92 range between the 2 guns, the stadium gun was usually 2-3 MPH high. I was reading up on the different guns (Stalker, JUGS, various cheapo alternatives) because I was searching for a used gun for my home town's baseball program and I wonder if the problem at TWCF is that gun just hasn't been tuned in a couple of years? I had no idea that tuning forks are used to calibrate them, in fact the need to calibrate in general never crossed my mind until I was seeing "tuning forks included" in advertisements.

Final: Huntsville 5, Tennessee (Cubs) 4 Stars Rally Late for Victory Against Smokies Eighth inning blast by Andy Gonzalez wins it for Huntsville in home opener. HUNTSVILLE, Ala-- As a special treat for the 6,103 fans in attendance for the home opener at Joe Davis Stadium, the Huntsville Stars scored three unanswered runs late to beat the Tennessee Smokies by a score of 5-4 on Sunday afternoon. Huntsville began their comeback in the fourth inning facing a 3-0 deficit. Right fielder Brock Kjeldgaard and first baseman Hunter Morris each walked to start the inning and then scored on a sacrifice fly by third baseman Andy Gonzalez and a RBI groundout by catcher Jason Jaramillo respectively to cut the Tennessee lead to 3-2. After the Smokies tacked on a run in the seventh inning, the Stars scored two runs on a sacrifice fly by Kjeldgaard and a RBI single by left fielder Khris Davis to tie up the game at four apiece. However, that tie would not last long. In the bottom of the eighth inning, it was Andy Gonzalez who struck again with leadoff solo homerun off of Tennessee RHP Marcus Hatley that would prove to be the game-winning run for the Stars. For Huntsville, RHP Eric Marzec earned his first Double-A win in two innings of relief duty. Once the Stars took the lead in the eighth, newly-appointed closer Robert Wooten shut down the Smokies in order in the ninth to secure the victory for Huntsville. The save for Wooten was his third of the season, and fifth consecutive appearance to start off the without giving up a run. On offense, aside from Gonzalez (1-3, solo homerun, 2 RBI), both Hunter Morris and Khris Davis extended their own personal hitting streaks to six games with two hits apiece. Shortstop Jeff Bianchi also added two hits with a run scored. The Stars will try to continue their winning ways at Joe Davis Stadium on Monday by sending RHP Tyler Thornburg (0-0, 0.82 ERA) to the mound to square off against Smokies RHP Trey Mcnutt (0-0, 0.00 ERA in two starts). First pitch is at 6:43 PM. Huntsville Box Score Beat the Cubs! Brandon Williamson allowed 3 runs, 2 earned over his 4 innings. He gave up 4 hits, walked 2, and struck out 3. Jesus Sanchez wasn't mentioned the game summary but had a fine outing, he went 2IP giving up a hit and a walk against 2 strike outs. Despite allowing a run Eric Marzec did strike out 4 in his 2 innings. Huntsville Play By Play Williamson's run in the first was unearned and he cruised until the 4th. Rebel Ridling is a pretty sweet name. Tennessee Top of the 4th Rebel Ridling doubles (2) on a ground ball to left fielder Khris Davis. Michael Burgess grounds out, second baseman Scooter Gennett to first baseman Hunter Morris. Rebel Ridling to 3rd. Jonathan Mota doubles (1) on a fly ball to right fielder Brock Kjeldgaard. Rebel Ridling scores. Michael Brenly singles on a soft line drive to left fielder Khris Davis. Jonathan Mota scores. Nicholas Struck grounds into double play, pitcher Brandon Williamson to shortstop Jeff Bianchi to first baseman Hunter Morris. Michael Brenly out at 2nd. Sanchez had an interesting 5th Tennessee Top of the 5th Pitcher Change: Jesus Sanchez replaces Brandon Williamson, batting 9th. Elliot Soto doubles (2) on a fly ball to left fielder Khris Davis. Logan Watkins walks. Jae-Hoon Ha grounds into double play, pitcher Jesus Sanchez to shortstop Jeff Bianchi to first baseman Hunter Morris. Elliot Soto to 3rd. Logan Watkins out at 2nd. Justin Bour lines out to pitcher Jesus Sanchez. This must have been one heck of a WP Tennessee Top of the 7th Pitcher Change: Eric Marzec replaces Jesus Sanchez, batting 9th. Michael Brenly called out on strikes. Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter James Adduci replaces Daniel Berlind. James Adduci doubles (2) on a ground ball to right fielder Brock Kjeldgaard. With Elliot Soto batting, wild pitch by Eric Marzec, James Adduci scores. Elliot Soto walks. With Logan Watkins batting, Elliot Soto caught stealing 2nd base, catcher Jason Jaramillo to shortstop Jeff Bianchi. Logan Watkins singles on a pop up to shortstop Jeff Bianchi. Jae-Hoon Ha flies out to center fielder Josh Prince.

Chalk me up in the "Could care less about LOOGY" category. Relievers that only provide value 1/3 of an inning at a time when the opposing players get themselves out over 60% of the time seems like a waste of a roster spot. I'd prefer lefties who can go an entire inning but outside of Parra we're kind of thin on those with Braddock leaving the Sounds. He was placed on the restricted list which isn't a good thing at all given everything that transpired with him last season, his mental health issues, and his loss of velocity. With that in mind I'm not opposed to the idea of LOOGY for this season but I don't like the concept in general.

Final: Peoria (Cubs) 5, Wisconsin 3 (11 Innings) Chiefs tax Rattlers in extra innings By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Peoria Chiefs denied the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers a sweep of the four game series between the teams with a 5-3 win in 11 innings Sunday afternoon on Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Zeke DeVoss tied the game with a two-out, two-run single in the top of the ninth inning and Oliver Zapata homered in the eleventh to put Peoria in front. DeVoss put the Chiefs (4-6) in a position to go in front in the top of the first. He tripled to start the game. Pin-Chieh Chen drove in DeVoss with an infield grounder. The Rattlers (5-5) answered in the bottom of the first with a run of their own. Brandon Macias singled with one out. A walk to Chadwin Stang and a wild pitch moved both runners to scoring position. Jason Rogers knocked in Macias with a grounder to tie the game 1-1. Wisconsin has scored in the first inning in five straight games. Rogers would score in the fourth inning on an RBI grounder by Yadiel Rivera to put the Rattlers up 2-1. An RBI double by Carlos George in the fifth inning made the score 3-1. Wisconsin carried that 3-1 lead to the ninth inning. Tommy Toledo came on to face the Chiefs for the ninth. Marco Hernandez, who singled with one out, went to second on defensive indifference with two outs. Then, Toledo walked Zapata. That brought DeVoss to the plate in a familiar situation. He was at the plate on Saturday afternoon with two outs and the tying run at second base and knocked in the tying run with a single. On Sunday, Toledo got ahead of DeVoss with two quick strikes, but the third pitch of the at bat got away from catcher Tyler Roberts. The wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position. DeVoss lined the very next pitch to the outfield for a two-run single that tied the game 3-3. The Rattlers had the winning run aboard in the ninth and tenth innings, but they could not repeat their walkoff feat from April 14. Zapata, a 5'-9" switch hitter who is just 180 pounds had just joined the Chiefs during Saturday's game, shocked just about everyone in the ballpark with his homer in the eleventh inning. He jumped on a 2-0 pitch from Tyler Cravy and cleared the wall 405' from home plate in right-center field. Later in the eleventh, Chen was at first with two outs and Ryan Cuneo sent a popup to shallow left field. The ball dropped in amidst three Rattlers defenders and Chen, who was running on contact with two outs, scored all the way from first on the single by Cuneo for a 5-3 lead. Yadiel Rivera did single with two outs in the bottom of the eleventh inning, but Wisconsin could not comeback against Yao-Lin Wang. The Rattlers continue their homestand on Monday night with the first game of a three-game series against the Burlington Bees. Matt Miller (0-2, 6.30) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Rattlers. Burlington has Drew Granier (0-0, 3.00) set to start. Game time is 6:35pm. Monday is a Q'Doba Q'Monday. Purchase a lunch entrée at the Fox River Mall Q'Doba and receive a free ticket to any Rattlers home game played on a Monday this season. Also, fans can purchase a half price ticket when they bring in a non-perishable food item to donate to St. Joe's Food Program. If you can't make it to the stadium, tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 12:45pm. Saturday's game is also available on MiLB.TV. HOME RUN: PEO: Oliver Zapata (1st, 0 on in 11th, off Tyler Cravy, 1 out) WP: Yao-Lin Wang (1-0) LP: Tyler Cravy (0-1) TIME: 3:41 ATTN: 2,450 Wisconsin Box Score I'm not sure I understand what the point of only pitching Andrew Moye 3 innings in each of his first two starts is? He pitched 78 1/3 innings over 15 outings in Helena last season. His efficiency was decent as he threw 60 pitches, 39 for strikes, giving up 2H, 1ER, 2BB, and 4SO over his 3 innings. He should at least throw 4 if not 5IP as the starting half of the tandem, or at the very least his pitch count should be climbing. The April 10th game was in Burlington so there isn't an accurate pitch count available but I'm pretty sure he was around 60 pitches in that game as well. He's being piggy backed by Jacob Barnes who was a 2 inning reliever between Helena and Wisconsin last year. Jacob went 4 clean innings today allowing 3H an 2BB against 1SO. Seth Lintz put a scoreless frame as well giving up only a BB during his inning, he doesn't have a strike out yet in only 3 IP through the first half of April. As Chris mentioned above Tommy Toledo didn't have it today giving up 2H, 2BB, and 2ER while striking out 1 in his only inning of work. Speaking of Tommy, Mass linked his feature article here and it's a story worth reading. My breakout pick for 2011 was Tyler Cravy who just hasn't been able to harness his raw talent to this point in his career. On the position player side of things Brandon Macias, Jason Rogers, and Greg Hopkins each had 2 hits a piece. Macias, Hopkins, and Carlos George each had a double. Yadiel Rivera committed his 2nd error on the season, Adrian Williams had 2 stolen bases, and Hopkins was caught stealing to end the WI 6th. Wisconsin Play by Play Dishon helped out Barnes in the 6th. Peoria Top of the 6th Ryan Cuneo flies out to center fielder Adrian Williams. Paul Hoilman doubles (2) on a line drive to left fielder John Dishon. Taylor Davis pops out to first baseman Gregory Hopkins in foul territory. Eduardo Gonzalez singles on a ground ball to left fielder John Dishon. Paul Hoilman out at home on the throw, left fielder John Dishon to catcher Tyler Roberts. Tyler Robers has had a rough start to the season and missed an opportunity to win the game in the 9th Wisconsin Bottom of the 9th Pitcher Change: Andrew McKirahan replaces Luis Liria. Jason Rogers singles on a line drive to center fielder Pin-Chieh Chen. Gregory Hopkins lines out to right fielder Eduardo Gonzalez. Yadiel Rivera grounds into a force out, shortstop Marco Hernandez to second baseman Zeke DeVoss. Jason Rogers out at 2nd. Yadiel Rivera to 1st. John Dishon singles on a ground ball to right fielder Eduardo Gonzalez. Yadiel Rivera to 3rd. With Tyler Roberts batting, John Dishon advances to 2nd on defensive indifference. Tyler Roberts strikes out swinging. Wisconsin didn't go quietly with runners on in each of the last 3 innings but failed to any across, Chadwin Stand couldn't bring home Macias here. Wisconsin Bottom of the 10th Adrian Williams grounds out, second baseman Zeke DeVoss to first baseman Ryan Cuneo. Carlos George called out on strikes. Brandon Macias doubles (2) on a line drive to left fielder Oliver Zapata. Pitcher Change: Yao-Lin Wang replaces Andrew McKirahan. Chadwin Stang grounds out, second baseman Zeke DeVoss to first baseman Ryan Cuneo.

YG great job and thanks for giving me a night off!

The idea isn't that Tyler fill Zack's shoes in the same way no one should expect Gamel to fill Fielder's shoes. I expect Tyler to be Tyler and Mat to be Mat, that's it. Whatever each player grows into is fine, they don't have be hall of fame talents to be extremely valuable.

One of these days someone is going to have a summary out before I'm done posting, I even slacked tonight. Stars Slip By Barons 4-3 Jared Mitchell's stellar defense and a 3-for-4 night at the plate weren't enough as the Birmingham Barons dropped their second-straight game to the Huntsville Stars 4-3 Friday night in front of 3,067 fans at Regions Park. The Barons struck for an early run in the first. Following a leadoff hit by pitch to Tyler Saladino, Drew Garcia extended his hitting streak to seven games with a double down the right field line, sending Saladino to third. Corey smith plated Saladino with a groundout to third, giving the Barons a 1-0 lead. The Stars loaded the bases in the second, scoring a run on a ground ball to second but failed to take full advantage of the scoring opportunity further. The Barons took a 3-1 lead in the fourth as Andy Wilkins led off the inning with a triple and scored on a Corey Smith double. Mitchell plated Smith with a line drive single up the middle for what proved to be the Barons final run of the game. Huntsville tacked on a run in the fifth on a bases loaded infield single by Khris Davis, and took the lead in the seventh on a wild pitch from Barons reliever Brandon Kloess and an RBI single Khris Davis. The Barons were unable to mount a rally over the final two innings, falling to 3-6 on the season. Kyle Heckathorn (1-0, 4.63) picked up the win for the Stars, allowing three runs on six hits in 6.0 innings. Kloess (0-1, 3.18) took the loss allowing two runs on two hits in 2.0 innings in relief of starter Cameron Bayne. Robert Wooten picked up his second save of the season, recording the final four outs of the game. Mitchell enjoyed his first three-hit game with the Barons, finishing 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI. The Barons will look to take the series against Huntsville tomorrow night as LHP Pedro Hernandez (0-1, 5.79) takes the hill against Huntsville starter RHP RJ Seidel (0-1, 10.12). First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 PM.

The ball carried just over the OF's head and then the ball bounced back to the OF off the wall on one hop. He was stuck near 2nd waiting to see if the ball would be caught and then with the perfect bounce he just held at 3rd. Roberts was running the entire way as he should. edit. Chris talked about that play in the later stages of the contest or during his post game which is how I know. It must have been the post game because I wasn't paying close enough attention to catch where the balls were hit as I was typing my post and he was talking about George's night.

Final: Huntsville 4, Birmingham (White Sox) 3 Huntsville Box Score Well if the big league club doesn't win then I'll take beating up on the city of Chicago with affiliate victories against both the north and south sides again tonight. Kyle Heckathorn threw 81 pitches in his 6 innings tonight and 58 (72% for those keeping score at home) of them were for strikes, based on that alone I thought he would have had a better outing than he did. He didn't pitch bad giving up 6 hits without a walk while strike out 4, the problem was that he gave up 3 XBH and a hit batter which produced all 3 runs against him. Bradley Banks pitched well in relief of Heckathorn but after he walked a batter with 2 out and no one on in the 8th he was pulled in favor of Rob Wooten. Wooten did as a Wooten does and got the final 4 outs giving up a hit and striking out 2. Hunter Morris and Khris Davis are just raking right now, each had 3 hits with Morris adding a double and a BB. Scooter Gennett also had a good game going 2-4 plus a BB. Finally, Brock Kjeldgaard went 0-2 but he did walk 3 times. Defensively Josh Prince gunned a runner at home to end the Baron's 3rd which ended up being the difference in the game. Huntsville Play By Play Heckathorn only pitched 2 clean innings, the 2nd and the 6th, always end on a high note! Birmingham Bottom of the 1st Tyler Saladino hit by pitch. Drew Garcia doubles (3) on a line drive to right fielder Brock Kjeldgaard. Tyler Saladino to 3rd. Andy Wilkins grounds out, pitcher Kyle Heckathorn to first baseman Hunter Morris. Corey Smith grounds out, third baseman Matt Cline to first baseman Hunter Morris. Tyler Saladino scores. Seth Loman grounds out, second baseman Scooter Gennett to first baseman Hunter Morris. Birmingham Bottom of the 3rd Justin Greene singles on a ground ball to shortstop Jeff Bianchi, deflected by pitcher Kyle Heckathorn. With Tyler Saladino batting, Justin Greene steals (3) 2nd base. Tyler Saladino grounds out, second baseman Scooter Gennett to first baseman Hunter Morris. Justin Greene to 3rd. Drew Garcia flies into double play, center fielder Josh Prince to catcher Jason Jaramillo. Justin Greene out at home on the throw. Birmingham Bottom of the 4th Andy Wilkins triples (1) on a ground ball to right fielder Brock Kjeldgaard. Corey Smith doubles (3) on a fly ball to left fielder Lee Haydel. Andy Wilkins scores. Seth Loman grounds out, second baseman Scooter Gennett to first baseman Hunter Morris. Corey Smith to 3rd. Jared Mitchell singles on a ground ball to center fielder Josh Prince. Corey Smith scores. With Jon Gilmore batting, Jared Mitchell caught stealing 2nd base, catcher Jason Jaramillo to second baseman Scooter Gennett. Jon Gilmore flies out to right fielder Brock Kjeldgaard.

Wisconsin wins By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - Carlos George had three hits and three stolen bases to pace the offense while Mark Williams, Kevin Shackelford, and Stephen Peterson scattered eight hits to lead the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers to a 5-2 win over the Peoria Chiefs Friday night on Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. The win was the second straight for the Rattlers. Wisconsin (4-4) continued its recent stretch of scoring in the first inning with a run in their first at bat on Friday. Chadwin Stang moved his hitting streak to six games with a leadoff double. Brandon Macias dropped a sacrifice bunt to get Stang to third. Then, Jason Rogers drove in his sixth run of the season with a grounder to short. The Rattlers have scored in the first inning in three straight games and in six of their first eight games this season. Peoria (3-5) tied the game in the top of the fourth. Eduardo Gonzalez singled with two outs on an 0-2 pitch. Marco Hernandez doubled to deep center to send Gonzalez home with the tying run. But, that was the only run off Williams, who worked four innings with a walk and three strikeouts. Wisconsin answered right away in the bottom of the fourth. Ben McMahan and Tyler Roberts had back-to-back doubles to put runners on second and third with no outs. George singled to get McMahan home to get the Rattlers back in front. George stole second base to get into scoring position. John Dishon followed with a two-run double inside the third base bag and the Rattlers went up 4-1. Hernandez struck again in the top of the sixth inning. His solo homer off Rattlers reliever Shackelford pulled the Chiefs to within two runs, but that was all Shackelford gave up on the night. McMahan gave the Rattlers a three run cushion with a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning. Peterson walked three and struck out two, but did not allow a run over the final two innings to close out the Chiefs. Peterson picked up his first professional save by getting the final six outs. Game three of the four game series is Saturday afternoon at 1:05pm. David Goforth (1-0, 1.80) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Peoria sends Ben Wells (0-0, 2.25) to the hill. Fond du Lac native and former University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee pitcher Chad Pierce is supposed to appear in relief during Saturday's game for Wisconsin. There is a lot going on Saturday at the ballpark. The first 1,000 fans aged 21 and older will receive a Timber Rattlers baseball cap from Miller Lite. During the game, one lucky fan will win a pair of airline tickets from Funjet Vacations and Fox World Travel. Plus, fans can purchase a half price ticket when the bring in a non-perishable food item to donate to St. Joe's Food Program. If you can't make it to the stadium, tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 12:45pm. Saturday's game is also available on MiLB.TV. WP: Kevin Shackelford (1-0) LP: Jose Rosario (0-1) SAVE: Stephen Peterson (1) TIME: 2:42 ATTN: 3,012

Final: Wisconsin 5, Peoria (Cubs) 2 Wisconsin Box Score Beat the Cubs! Another solid collective pitching performance evens the Wisconsin record at 4-4 on the season. Mark Williams was your starter going 4IP, with 4H, 1ER, 1BB, 1WP, and 3SO. I tuned in the game just in time to hear Kevin Schackleford give up his HR, he went 3IP, 4H, 1ER, 1HR, 0BB, and 1SO. Stephen Peterson pitched the final 2 innings for his first save going 2IP, 0H, 0R, 3BB, and 2SOs. Carlos George went 3-4 upping his AVE to .296 here in the early going and he also made what sounded to be a very nice backhanded play in the hole to take away in single. Many of you will recall George committing an error at an every other game pace for most of his MiLB career but this could be a sign of better things to come. He also stole 3 of the 4 Rattler bases on the evening. No other Rattlers had a multi-hit game though Chadwin Stang, Benjamin McMahan, and Tyler Roberts all added a double a piece. Wisconsin Play By Play The T-Rats have played quite a bit of small ball under Erickson Wisconsin Bottom of the 1st Chadwin Stang doubles (4) on a line drive to center fielder Taiwan Easterling. Brandon Macias out on a sacrifice bunt, pitcher Jose Rosario to first baseman Paul Hoilman. Chadwin Stang to 3rd. Jason Rogers grounds out, shortstop Marco Hernandez to first baseman Paul Hoilman. Chadwin Stang scores. Parker Berberet singles on a ground ball to second baseman Zeke DeVoss. Benjamin McMahan grounds into a force out, shortstop Marco Hernandez to second baseman Zeke DeVoss. Parker Berberet out at 2nd.

While I understand your point of view, what pitcher do we have that consistently pitches into the 7th? So from that point of view does it matter what starting pitcher we put out there from a bullpen standpoint? Fiers isn't exactly young, he's 27, he's reached physical maturity. Peralta and Thornburg are right at that point where they are physically peaking, both are 23 this year. It is impossible for a minor league to season to completely prepare pitchers for the rigors of a 200+ inning season, but all 3 pitchers should be on track for an easy 185-190 innings next year. Peralta will put up his 3rd consecutive 1501P+ season, Fiers and Thornburg will reach that plateau this year. It just extremely difficult to get more than 160 innings in a minor league season.

That he should just focus on his 3 best pitches and get after it.

Barons Fall to Stars 6-1 The Birmingham Barons dropped game three of their five game set with the Huntsville Stars 6-1 Thursday night in front of 2,905 fans at Regions Park. The Stars scored all of their runs in the first two innings, jumping on Barons starter Simon Castro (0-1, 8.00) three runs in the first and second frames. Hunter Morris started the scoring with a two-run double in the first. Morris would double again in the second driving in another run to help the Stars to a 6-0 lead. Morris would finish the night 4-for-4 with three RBI. Andy Wilkins accounted for the Barons only run with a solo home run in the fourth. Wilkins' blast was his second of the year. So far he has accounted for all of the Barons home runs. Castro took the loss allowing six runs (four earned) on eight hits in 4.0 innings. Huntsville reliever Josh Stinson (2-0, 2.25) picked up the win with 4.0 scoreless innings in relief of starter Evan Anundsen. With the loss the Barons fall to 3-5 on the year while Huntsville improves to 3-5. The Barons will look to return to their winning ways Friday as Cameron Bayne (0-0, 3.86) takes the hill against Huntsville starter Kyle Heckathorn (0-0, 4.76). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM.

Final: Huntsville 6, Birmingham (White Sox) 1 Huntsville Box Score A very good pitching performance pushed the Stars past the Barons this evening as Huntsville pitchers struck out 11 batters on the evening. Evan Anundsen continued his fine start to the season by going 4IP, with 4H, 1ER, 1HR, 1BB, and 3SO. Josh Stinson went the next 4 innings give up 3 hits and 3 walks while striking out 6. Newly promoted Eric Marzec went the final inning allowing 1 BB but he did strike out 2. Hunter Morris was the offensive story of the night, he went 4-4 with 2 doubles. Josh Prince also had his best night on the young season going 2-4 with a double. Huntsville Play By Play Great way to start the game... Huntsville Top of the 1st Lee Haydel singles on a ground ball to shortstop Tyler Saladino. Jeff Bianchi bunt pops out to pitcher Simon Castro. Scooter Gennett singles on a line drive to center fielder Jared Mitchell. Lee Haydel to 2nd. Brock Kjeldgaard walks. Lee Haydel to 3rd. Scooter Gennett to 2nd. Hunter Morris doubles (5) on a ground ball to right fielder Jose Martinez. Lee Haydel scores. Scooter Gennett scores. Brock Kjeldgaard to 3rd. Khris Davis grounds out, second baseman Drew Garcia to first baseman Andy Wilkins. Brock Kjeldgaard scores. Hunter Morris to 3rd. Andy Gonzalez walks. Jason Jaramillo strikes out swinging. The final 3 runs, all the Stars would need Huntsville Top of the 2nd Josh Prince singles on a ground ball to left fielder Kenneth Williams. Lee Haydel walks. Josh Prince to 2nd. Jeff Bianchi hits a sacrifice bunt. Throwing error by pitcher Simon Castro. Josh Prince scores. Lee Haydel to 3rd. Jeff Bianchi to 2nd. Scooter Gennett grounds out, second baseman Drew Garcia to first baseman Andy Wilkins. Lee Haydel scores. Jeff Bianchi to 3rd. Brock Kjeldgaard grounds out to first baseman Andy Wilkins. Hunter Morris doubles (6) on a fly ball to center fielder Jared Mitchell. Jeff Bianchi scores. Khris Davis walks. Andy Gonzalez pops out to second baseman Drew Garcia. Anundsen wiggled out of a Jam in the 2nd. Birmingham Bottom of the 2nd Corey Smith singles on a ground ball to left fielder Lee Haydel. Seth Loman lines out to third baseman Andy Gonzalez. Jared Mitchell walks. Corey Smith to 2nd. Jose Martinez grounds into a force out, shortstop Jeff Bianchi to second baseman Scooter Gennett. Corey Smith to 3rd. Jared Mitchell out at 2nd. Jose Martinez to 1st. Luis Sierra grounds out to first baseman Hunter Morris.

Rattlers homestand starts with a win By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers started their seven game homestand with a nice 4-2 victory over the Peoria Chiefs Thursday night on Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Jason Rogers and Chadwin Stang homered in support of solid pitching by three Wisconsin Timber Rattlers hurlers in the win. Rogers started the scoring early with a two-out solo homer in the first inning. Rogers second blast of the season gave him at least one hit in six of the seven games Wisconsin (3-4) has played this season. Drew Gagnon, Wisconsin's starting pitcher, worked five innings and struck out seven while allowing four hits. But, the Chiefs (3-4) got to him with a run in the fifth inning. Brad Zapenas singled with two outs and stole second. A single by Pin-Chieh Chen drove in Zapenas for the tying run. Stang put Wisconsin in front with a leadoff homer in the bottom of the fifth. Stang's second home run of the season moved his hitting streak to five games and gave the Rattlers a 2-1 lead. Later in the inning, Parker Berberet singled in a run to make it 3-1. The Chiefs cut into the lead in the eighth inning against reliever Tommy Toledo. The right hander had retired the first six batters he faced, but allowed a walk to Zapenas in to start the eighth. Toledo struck out the next two batters, but Rafael Lopez knocked in Zapenas with his third hit of the night. Seth Harvey got the final out of the eighth inning and the Rattlers offense got a little insurance in the bottom of the frame. Stang walked and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. He took off for third on a wild pitch with Rogers at the plate and a throwing error on the play allowed him to score. Harvey worked around a one out single in the ninth for his first Midwest League save. Wisconsin and Peoria play game two of the series on Friday night at 6:35pm. Mark Williams (0-1, 4.50) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Rattlers. The Chiefs send Jose Rosario (0-0, 1.93) to the hill. Friday night is at North Shore Bank Family Night. Children 12 and under eat free. Plus, after the game, Jernegan's Health Mart hosts Kids Run the Bases for children 14 and under. If you can't make it out to the ballpark, tune in for the broadcast on 1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:15pm Friday's game is also available on MiLB.tv. HOME RUNS: WIS: Jason Rogers (2nd, 0 on in 1st inning, off PJ Francescon, 2 out) Chadwin Stang (2nd, 0 on in 6th inning, off PJ Francescon, 0 out) WP: Tommy Toledo (1-0) LP: PJ Francescon (0-1) SAVE: Seth Harvey (1) TIME: 2:34 ATTN: 740

Final: Wisconsin 4, Peoria (Cubs) 2 Wisconsin Box Score Always, Always, Always beat the Cubs! Well I DVR'd the WI game and boy am I ever glad I did, I REALLY like Drew Gagnon. He pitched almost exclusively off his FB which featured good run and topped out at 96 on the stadium gun which is probably +1-2 MPH in my experience looking over the shoulder of the Rattler pitchers on their Stalker gun. Two things about his FB really impressed me: The first was simply that the Peoria hitters couldn't square it up, the only hard hit ball was a line out to CF, and they swung through a ton of FBs. The second was that he climbed the ladder for strike outs with his FB, something that I've been harping on Gallardo to do for years. When Gagnon missed, for the most part he missed low, though he did groove a couple that Peoria hitters simply swung through or watched go bye. The angle of the camera made it hard to distinguish breaking stuff at times, especially without the benefit any of kind of velocity reading, but no Peoria hitter got more than just a piece of either pitch. 3 of the hits were on the IF... a bunt, a chopper up the middle that Rivera bobbled, and a ground ball through the midde of the shift. In the first inning he gave up a little looping liner to LF. He has work to do in the running game and with repeating his delivery, but as Tunnell has mentioned numerous times the work on the running game comes later in the pitching progression, after the delivery and FB command are set. Gagnon's final line 5IP, 4H, 1ER, 1BB, and 7 strike outs. Tommy Toledo followed and I liked his FB movement as well, he went 2.2 IP, 1H, 1ER, 1BB, and 3SO. Seth Harvey closed it out going the final 1.1 and allowing a single hit. Jason Rogers and Chadwin Stang smacked HRs and Yadiel Rivera went 2-3 boosting his season AVE to .375 as he's now 6-16 with 2 doubles and a HR on the year to boot. Peoria C prospect Rafael Lopez went 3-4 in the game including a bunt single, not something you see very often from a catcher and I was impressed even though Hopkins didn't field ball with his feet in good position and then didn't get much on the throw. Wisconsin Play By Play I'm always torn on this stuff in the minors as players need to learn how to bunt but I hate giving outs away. Wisconsin Bottom of the 3rd Yadiel Rivera singles on a ground ball to second baseman Wes Darvill. With John Dishon batting, wild pitch by Patrick Francescon, Yadiel Rivera to 2nd. John Dishon hit by pitch. Chadwin Stang out on a sacrifice bunt, third baseman Brad Zapenas to first baseman Paul Hoilman. Yadiel Rivera to 3rd. John Dishon to 2nd. Brandon Macias grounds out, third baseman Brad Zapenas to first baseman Paul Hoilman. Jason Rogers grounds out, shortstop Marco Hernandez to first baseman Paul Hoilman. The only run Gagnon allowed. Peoria Top of the 5th Wes Darvill called out on strikes. Eduardo Gonzalez flies out to left fielder Jason Rogers. Brad Zapenas singles on a ground ball to shortstop Yadiel Rivera, deflected by pitcher Drew Gagnon. With Pin-Chieh Chen batting, Brad Zapenas steals (1) 2nd base. Pin-Chieh Chen singles on a ground ball to right fielder John Dishon. Brad Zapenas scores. With Marco Hernandez batting, Pin-Chieh Chen steals (1) 2nd base. Marco Hernandez strikes out swinging. Toledo's Run Peoria Top of the 8th Brad Zapenas walks. Pin-Chieh Chen strikes out swinging. With Marco Hernandez batting, wild pitch by Tommy Toledo, Brad Zapenas to 2nd. Marco Hernandez strikes out swinging. Rafael Lopez singles on a line drive to right fielder John Dishon. Brad Zapenas scores. Pitcher Change: Seth Harvey replaces Tommy Toledo. Paul Hoilman pops out to shortstop Yadiel Rivera.

Gagnon hit 96 on the stadium gun tonight according to the TWC32 broadcast. edit. It was the 4th inning in case anyone was curious.

Parra is without a doubt the most frustrating pitcher I've ever rooted for. How can you be a LHP with a legit 93-95 MPH FB when you come up to the bigs, have more than 2 plus secondary pitches, and still stink? He appears to have every tool any pitcher of either hand would ever want except for the one that counts. I'm not sure what goes on in his head, but it sure isn't right. Sabathia was definitely right about Parra, he should have whittled his repertoire down to 3-4 pitches and just gotten after hitters. I keep holding out hope that he'll figure it out and be the dominant pitcher he can be. Of course as I'm typing this he gets strike outs for 3 of 4 outs.

That's because the new system is forgiving and doesn't list how many times I go back an edit a post I dropped onto the boards. It's amazing how often I read what it should say or what I intended the post to say rather than what I actually typed. Then I look at it a minute or two later and notice more mistakes in disbelief, "I actually typed that?", and quickly edit the post hoping no one notices...

Final: Burlington (A's) 3, Wisconsin 2 Bees edge Rattlers in Burlington By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers BURLINGTON, IA - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers grabbed an early lead and Matt Miller battled through six innings, but the Burlington Bees edged the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 3-2 Wednesday night at Community Field. Chad Oberacker, who was a triple shy of the cycle, did most of the damage for Burlington. But, it was the Rattlers who pounced first. Chadwin Stang gave the Rattlers (2-4) a great opportunity in the first inning. Wisconsin's leadoff hitter lined a triple to the gap in left-center. Greg Hopkins drove in Stang with a sacrifice fly and Wisconsin was up 1-0. The Bees (4-2) answered in the bottom of the first against Miller. Oberacker started the inning with a double. He stole third with one out. A two-out single by Dusty Robinson tied the game. Then, Oberacker cracked a leadoff homer in the bottom of the third inning and the Bees were up 2-1. The Bees extended their lead in the fourth inning on a two-out RBI double by Royce Consigli. Yadiel Rivera got that run back in the top of the fifth. The Rattlers shortstop worked the count to 3-1 and jumped on the next pitch from Bees starting pitcher Drew Granier. The ball landed well beyond the 375' marker for Rivera's first homer of the season. The Rattlers could not get any closer. Granier turned the game over to the Bees bullpen after the fifth inning. Seth Frankoff and Drew Tyson each worked two scoreless innings with neither allowing a runner past second base. Miller worked six innings, scattered nine hits, walked one, and struck out seven, but was tagged with the loss. Wisconsin returns home to start a seven game home stand on Thursday night. The Rattlers open the stretch of home games against the Peoria Chiefs, the Midwest League affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. Drew Gagnon (0-0, 2.25) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. PJ Francescon (0-0, 1.93) is set to start for the Chiefs. It's a Slugger's Sports Bar Thirsty Thursday presented by 95.9 KISS FM and College Night on Thursday. Fans can enjoy 16oz soda and beer for just $2! Fans can take their ticket stub from this game to Sluggers Sports Bar located in Super Bowl on Northland Avenue to win Miller Lite drinks and prizes. College students can purchase reserved bleacher tickets for just $1 when presenting college ID at time of ticket purchase. If you can't make it to the game, tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:15pm. Thursday's game is also available on milb.tv. Time Warner Cable subscribers can watch the game on Sports32 starting at 6:30pm. HOME RUNS: WIS: Yadiel Rivera (1st, 0 on in 5th inning, off Drew Granier, 1 out) BUR: Chad Oberacker (1st, 0 on in 3rd inning, off Matt Miller, 0 out) WP: Drew Granier (1-0) LP: Matt Miller (0-2) SAVE: Drew Tyson (2) TIME: 2:09 ATTN: 445 Wisconsin Box Score The only thing I can see that Chris didn't cover was Kevin Schackelford's 2 clean innings of relief work. He didn't have the shiny peripherals as he walked 2 and struck out 1, but he was effective. Wisconsin Play By Play There is literally nothing in the game log that Chris didn't cover which makes sense given a game time of 2:09.

You're doing fantastic my man, hell I find myself skipping as many as 3 words in a sentence sometimes when I'm typing. I have to proof read every post 3-4 times and sometimes that's not enough. You've done very well.