TheCrew07

I take WI and Huntsville, working from home today on Visio stuff so I'll have time.

In 2003 we looked pretty loaded with pitchers up and down the minors and after the 2008 draft as well. The team really didn't have the draft focus turned towards pitching until recently so we've never had this many high draft picks in the minors from a pitching perspective in the past. Most people probably remember the state of the system in 2008 when Braddock and Rogers were still starters and there was still hope for Parra, but in 2003: At Beloit we had Parra, Pena, Sarfate, and Wilhelmsen all starting At Huntsville we had SPs Liriano, Martinez, Jones, Hendrickson, and RPs Adams, Diggins, Childers At High Desert Chris Saenz put up K rate over 9. At Indianapolis the only guy I remember being excited about was Ford, he didn't walk anyone. At Helena we had Eveland, Dillard, and Taubenheim At MLB there was still hope that Neugebauer would be able to return from injury and pitch effectively again. i didn't care much about the AZL so I have no idea who was playing there. It's crazy how fast that list got thinned out. Liriano and Martinez never repeated their success and were oldish for AA anyway, Saenz got one start in Mil out of AA in 2004 and his career was over due to injury. Wilhelmsen got the death penalty from the organization for smoking weed, Taubenheim was eventually traded in the Overbay deal. Eveland never realized his potential and was traded, Hendrickson didn't cut it in MLB and was released (who can forget that crazy parting shot at the board from his dad?), Jones suffered multiple injuries and never made it, Parra was injured and has performed poorly in MLB relegating himself to the bullpen. Pena ended up being converted to a closer but never mastered his command eventually being released, Sarfate was converted to the pen but also never mastered his command. Diggins topped out at AA, but I believe he got injured as well? Childers peaked at AAA for Milwaukee that same season but eventually pitched in the major leagues for the Rays making 5 appearances in 2006, I thought there was hope he was late bloomer. Finally Adams was in the majors by 2004 in Mil, was traded to the Mets for Gonzalez in 2006, was eventually put on waivers that same season by the Mets, claimed by Cleveland, and traded to San Diego where he put up very good numbers. He's now pitching for TX (traded yet again) and still doing a nice job. edit. I should add that I was very new to the board in 2003 and these were players that I was excited about for various reasons and not necessarily legit prospects (mostly the older guys). I learned some hard lessons rooting for these guys but I'm better for it now, or at least I like to think I am.

I didn't like the double switch of Gamel either, it seemed like a completely unnecessary move at the time. Was it really so critical a point in the game that having a pitcher bat would have adversely affected the outcome? After the way the game turned out, why not just let Mat get his ABs? The last thing I want to see is Gamel get the Escobar treatment where he sits every 5th game or is pulled purely so some veteran and prove his grittiness with some playing time, just let the players take their lumps. Yes I know it's only 1 switch in the 3rd game of a 162 game season, but I don't see any reason to maximize Ishakawa's PAs over the course of the season. Let him pinch hit and leave it at that.

Final: Jacksonville (Marlins) 6, Huntsville 5 Huntsville Box Score Huntsville fought back to take the lead in the top of the 8th only to have the Suns score 2 in the bottom of the frame and rip the game away. Unfortunately for Kyle Heckathorn we can't play the "IF" game, because he pitched really well after the first inning. His final line turned out to be 5.2IP, 5h, 3ER, 3BB, and 8 SO but 2 of the BBs came back to back to start the game. I believe the 8 strike outs in only 5 2/3 innings is one of the better efforts of his career but unfortunately I'm not sure where to find game logs for MiLB games anymore so I'm unable to look that up. Heckathorn was followed Roque Mercedes who barely got out of the 6th before walking 3 hitters in the 7th and giving up a run. Santo Manzanillo came on for the 8th and gave up the gopher ball which turned out to be the difference in the game. Kentrail Davis is starting the season just like I believe all of us hoped he would, he was 3-4 today but did get picked off in the first. The C through behind him at 1st so he broke for 2nd and was tagged out, is that technically a CS? At any rate Hunter Morris had his best game of the young season going 2-4 with 2 doubles and both Domnit Bolivar and Jason Jarmillo added a double a piece. Khris Davis socked his first HR of the season in the 2nd but was double switched out of LF when Heckthorn left the game in the 6th. Still no word on what happened to or the status of BK who left the game on Friday. I know others have commented on this in the past but I've had enough of the Josh Prince in CF experiment already, I don't see the upside in that move, and his only having 1 hit on the season really has nothing to do with my opinion. I'd rather they bump everyone up a level and play my boy Ozuna in WI than convert someone to cover an absence. D'Vo please come back soon. Huntsville Game Log Heckathorn's 1st Inning Jacksonville Bottom of the 1st Jake Smolinski walks. Ryan Patterson walks. Jake Smolinski to 2nd. Kyle Jensen strikes out swinging. Shawn Bowman singles on a fly ball to right fielder Kentrail Davis. Jake Smolinski scores. Ryan Patterson to 3rd. Curt Smith doubles (1) on a soft fly ball to right fielder Kentrail Davis. Ryan Patterson scores. Shawn Bowman to 3rd. Jake Jefferies grounds out, second baseman Scooter Gennett to first baseman Hunter Morris. Shawn Bowman scores. Curt Smith to 3rd. Paul Gran called out on strikes. The 8th Inning both ways. Huntsville Top of the 8th Pitcher Change: Wade Korpi replaces Bryan Evans, batting 9th. Scooter Gennett flies out to center fielder Ryan Patterson. Andy Gonzalez walks. Hunter Morris hits a ground-rule double (2) on a fly ball to right field. Andy Gonzalez to 3rd. Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Jeff Bianchi replaces Roque Mercedes. Pitcher Change: A. J. Ramos replaces Wade Korpi, batting 9th. Jeff Bianchi reaches on a fielder's choice, fielded by second baseman Paul Gran. Andy Gonzalez scores. Hunter Morris to 3rd on the throw. Missed catch error by catcher Jake Jefferies, assist to second baseman Paul Gran. Jason Jaramillo grounds out, second baseman Paul Gran to first baseman Curt Smith. Hunter Morris scores. Jeff Bianchi to 2nd. Josh Prince strikes out swinging. Jacksonville Bottom of the 8th Pitcher Change: Santo Manzanillo replaces Roque Mercedes, batting 6th, replacing Jeff Bianchi. Paul Gran reaches on fielding error by shortstop Domnit Bolivar. Chris Gutierrez out on a sacrifice bunt, first baseman Hunter Morris to second baseman Scooter Gennett. Paul Gran to 2nd. Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Jose Duarte replaces A. Ramos. Jose Duarte homers (1) on a line drive to left field. Paul Gran scores. Jake Smolinski walks. Ryan Patterson flies out to center fielder Josh Prince. Kyle Jensen lines out to second baseman Scooter Gennett.

Wisconsin is idle brother.

I have family commitments until mid evening but I'll get the AA game taken care of eventually. Happy Easter everyone.

Stars Down Suns 3-1 JACKSONVILLE, Fla.- After winning the first game of the season, the Jacksonville Suns have dropped two straight after a 3-1 loss to Huntsville on Saturday night. The Stars struck early when Suns starting pitcher Matt Montgomery walked Kentrail Davis on four pitches to begin the game. After stealing second base and then moving to third base on a ground out, Davis scored the first run of the night when Scooter Gennett grounded to short and the Stars led 1-0. Davis reached base again in the third inning, stole second, and scored on Gennett's single to left to make it 2-0 Huntsville. The Suns scored their only run of the night in the third inning. Donnie Webb bunted for a base hit, and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Kyle Jensen to cut the Stars lead in half at 2-1. That would be as close as the Suns would get. Huntsville added a run in the sixth inning on an RBI double by pinch hitter Lee Haydel to make the score 3-1. It marks the second straight game that a Stars pinch hitter has driven in a run. The Suns were 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position, while the Stars were 5-for-13. Through three games Jacksonville is 5-for-26 with runners in scoring position. Jake Smolinski had a big night at the plate, going 3-for-4 with three doubles. He fell just short of tying the Southern League record for most doubles in a game by a single player. The record is four, last accomplished by Jacksonville's Jimmy Rohan during the 2006 season. Huntsville catcher Jason Jaramillo collected three hits. Angel Gonzalez and Jeff Bianchi combined for four of the Stars 12 total hits. Second baseman Paul Gran had a pair of singles and finished 2-for-4. Jaime Ortiz, Shawn Bowman, and Donnie Webb each had a hit in the game. Gennett drove in two of the three Huntsville runs, Lee Haydel drove in the other. Kyle Jensen had the only run driven in for the Suns. Jacksonville starter Matt Montgomery suffers the loss. He pitched five and two thirds innings, allowing eight hits and three runs. Kyle Kaminska and Josh Schmidt combined to pitch three and a third shutout innings. Huntsville starting pitcher Evan Anundsen went three innings and allowed five hits and a run. Bradley Blanks, Jesus Sanchez, and Robert Wooten each pitched two innings for the Stars. Blanks picks up his first win, while Wooten earns the save. Right-hander Kyle Heckathorn takes the mound for Huntsville in game four of the series on Sunday afternoon. The Suns will give the ball to lefty Graham Taylor.

Final: Huntsville 3, Jacksonville (Marlins) 1 Huntsville Box Score As was previously mentioned in the thread, Evan Anundsen was the starter for the Stars today. He's obviously on a pitch count as he returns from injury only throwing 54 pitches over 3 innings. His final line was 3IP, 5H, 1ER, 1BB, and 0SO. It will be interesting to see how he progresses over the course of the season. Bradley Blanks followed pitching 2 scoreless with 4SO, Jesus Sanchez followed Blanks with 2 hitless and scoreless innings though he did walk 1. Rob Wooten pitched the final 2 innings to lock it down allowing 1 hit and striking out 2. Jason Jaramillo put up the only 3 hit effort, going 3-4 at the plate. Jeff Bianchi kept his torrid start to the season going with a 2-5 day at the plate though he did get thrown out trying to steal. Andy Gonzalez had a nice game going 2-4 and Khris Davis doubled to finally break through and tally his first hit on the season. Lee Haydel came through with a big pitch hit RBI and to cap it off Anundsen even got in the act getting a hit in his only AB. After his early exit yesterday BK did not play today. Huntsville Game Log The Stars scored a run without the benefit of a hit in the first to jump out to an early lead. Huntsville Top of the 1st Kentrail Davis walks. With Jeff Bianchi batting, Kentrail Davis steals (1) 2nd base. Jeff Bianchi grounds out, second baseman Paul Gran to first baseman Jaime Ortiz. Kentrail Davis to 3rd. Scooter Gennett grounds out, shortstop Jeff Dominguez to first baseman Jaime Ortiz. Kentrail Davis scores. Andy Gonzalez flies out to left fielder Jake Smolinski. Anundsen got himself into trouble early but a big double play got him out of the inning. Jacksonville Bottom of the 1st Donnie Webb grounds out, shortstop Jeff Bianchi to first baseman Hunter Morris. Jake Smolinski doubles (1) on a line drive to left fielder Khris Davis. Kyle Jensen hit by pitch. Shawn Bowman singles on a line drive to right fielder Kentrail Davis. Jake Smolinski to 3rd. Kyle Jensen to 2nd. Kyle Skipworth grounds into double play, second baseman Scooter Gennett to shortstop Jeff Bianchi to first baseman Hunter Morris. Shawn Bowman out at 2nd. The Stars could have had more in the 3rd... Huntsville Top of the 3rd Evan Anundsen singles on a line drive to center fielder Donnie Webb. Kentrail Davis grounds into a force out, third baseman Shawn Bowman to second baseman Paul Gran. Evan Anundsen out at 2nd. Kentrail Davis to 1st. With Jeff Bianchi batting, Kentrail Davis steals (2) 2nd base. Jeff Bianchi singles on a ground ball to left fielder Jake Smolinski. Kentrail Davis to 3rd. Scooter Gennett singles on a ground ball to left fielder Jake Smolinski. Kentrail Davis scores. Jeff Bianchi to 2nd. Andy Gonzalez singles on a fly ball to right fielder Kyle Jensen. Jeff Bianchi to 3rd. Scooter Gennett to 2nd. Hunter Morris pops out to catcher Kyle Skipworth in foul territory. Khris Davis strikes out swinging.

Wisconsin wins with a walkoff By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers stunned the Cedar Rapids Kernels with four runs in the bottom of the ninth inning for a 7-6 victory on Saturday afternoon at Time Warner Cable Field. Ben McMahan tied the game with a two-run single and Parker Berberet drove in the winning run to cap Wisconsin's final inning comeback. Chadwin Stang broke out of a slow start with two doubles, a homer, and four runs scored to pace the Rattlers to their first win of 2012. Jason Rogers continued his hot start and put the Rattlers (1-2) in front early. Stang doubled to start the Wisconsin first inning. One out later, Rogers lined a double down the third base line to send Stang in for a 1-0 lead. Rogers has at least one hit and one RBI in each of the first three games this season. He would continue his onslaught with two more hits and another RBI later in the game. But first, Kernels shortstop Trevor Hairgrove tied the game in the top of the third inning with a one out solo homer to left. The Kernels (2-1) took the lead in the top of the fifth inning. Chevy Clarke singled and stole second. He was on third base with two outs and an 0-2 count on Hairgrove. Clarke would score on a passed ball to make it 2-1. Stang answered the Cedar Rapids run with one swing in the bottom of the fifth. The Wisconsin centerfielder lined a homer to left with one out to tie the score 2-2. Cedar Rapids manufactured a run without a hit off Rattlers starting pitcher Brandon Williamson in the top of the sixth. Two walks and a force out at second had Kaleb Cowart at third and Gary Mitchell at first with two outs. Clarke was at the plate and Mitchell broke for second. The throw went through to second, Cowart broke for the plate, and beat the return throw to home for a 3-2 Cedar Rapids lead. In the bottom of the seventh, Rogers would deliver a two-out RBI single to score Stang from second to tie the game again. Wisconsin reliever Stephen Peterson looked like he would get out of the top of the ninth without a run being scored. Clarke started the inning with a double and stole third with one out. Peterson recorded a strike out for the second out and had a 2-2 count on Hairgrove. But, Hairgrove singled to score Clarke and the Kernels were up 3-2. Ryan Mosequit followed with a single and Ryan Jones drove in both Hairgrove and Mosequit with a double for a 6-3 advantage. Cedar Rapids reliever Logan Odom, who had worked a scoreless eighth, retired the first batter in the bottom of the ninth. John Dishon started the rally with a walk on four pitches. Stang was next and he lined a double off the wall in left to send Dishon home and cut the Kernels lead to two runs. Greg Hopkins drew a walk and - after a wild pitch moved both Stang and Hopkins up a base - Rogers coaxed a free pass to load the bases. That brought Stephen Tromblee out of the Kernels bullpen to face Ben McMahan. The Rattlers left fielder grounded a 2-2 pitch through the hole between short and third to send Stang and Hopkins home and tie the game 6-6. Berberet sent the fans home happy by drilling a 2-1 pitch to the gap in left-center and Rogers easily scored the winning run. The Timber Rattlers are off on Sunday and return to action on Monday against the Burlington Bees in Iowa. David Goforth is the scheduled starting pitcher for Wisconsin. Listen to the game on AM1280 or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:10. Game time is 6:30pm. HOME RUNS: CR: Trevor Hairgrove (1st, 0 on in 3rd, off Brandon Williamson, 1 out) WIS: Chadwin Stang (1st, 0 on in 5th, off Joe Melioris, 1 out) WP: Stephen Peterson (1-0) LP: Logan Odom (0-1) TIME: 3:05 ATTN: 1,192

Wisconsin 7, Cedar Rapids (Angles) 6 Wisconsin Box Score The T-Rats win a wild one here in their final AB. After entering the 9th tied at 3 Peterson came on to give up 3 runs but the Rattlers bats got them all back plus 1 in the bottom half of the inning to steal the game back. Brandon Williamson started and gave up single tallies in the 3rd, 5th, and 6th innings. His final line 6IP, 4H, 3ER, 2BB, 3SO and he did give up 1 HR. Seth Harvey pitched a clean 2 innings on the strength of a single hit allowed with 1SO. As I mentioned earlier Stephen Peterson had a very rough 9th but held them down just enough for the bats to pull through. Chad Stang was a monster in this game going 3-5 with 2 doubles and a HR... not too shabby when all your hits are of the XBH variety. They were also Chad's first hits of the season if I'm not mistaken. Jason Rogers also added 3 hits and a stolen base going 3-4 with a 2B and is having a fine start to his season. Both Parker Berberet and Tyler Roberts added 2 hits a piece as well. Wisconsin Game Log This is a pretty entertaining recap for those that missed the game. WI let some opportunities to pile on more runs get away but I'll limit my highlights to the 9th. Cedar Rapids Top of the 9th Pitcher Change: Stephen Peterson replaces Seth Harvey. Chevy Clarke doubles (1) on a line drive to left fielder Benjamin McMahan. Andy Workman bunt pops out to catcher Tyler Roberts. With Carlos Lugo batting, Chevy Clarke steals (4) 3rd base. Carlos Lugo strikes out swinging. Trevor Hairgrove singles on a ground ball to left fielder Benjamin McMahan. Chevy Clarke scores. Kevin Moesquit singles on a ground ball to shortstop Yadiel Rivera. Trevor Hairgrove to 2nd. Ryan Jones doubles (1) on a line drive to center fielder Chadwin Stang. Trevor Hairgrove scores. Kevin Moesquit scores. With Kaleb Cowart batting, wild pitch by Stephen Peterson, Ryan Jones to 3rd. Kaleb Cowart grounds out, second baseman Gregory Hopkins to first baseman Parker Berberet. Wisconsin Bottom of the 9th Yadiel Rivera flies out to center fielder Chevy Clarke. John Dishon walks. Chadwin Stang doubles (2) on a line drive to left fielder Ryan Jones. John Dishon scores. Gregory Hopkins walks. With Jason Rogers batting, wild pitch by Logan Odom, Chadwin Stang to 3rd. Gregory Hopkins to 2nd. Jason Rogers walks. Pitcher Change: Stephen Tromblee replaces Logan Odom. Benjamin McMahan singles on a ground ball to left fielder Ryan Jones. Chadwin Stang scores. Gregory Hopkins scores. Jason Rogers to 2nd. Parker Berberet singles on a line drive to left fielder Ryan Jones. Jason Rogers scores. Benjamin McMahan to 2nd.

MH FYI... Wisconsin also has Gameday available per Chris on Thursday's broadcast. I haven't used it yet, but there has indeed been a link for every game this season.

I'd recommend people go back to any 2011 LR post & just blatantly copy that formatting. MH has perfected this art form, and it's really, really easy to remember which links to post when all you're doing is copying his format I understand what the format was, I contributed for years, I just misunderstood MH when he said he'd just be posting links and not text anymore the following morning. I thought we were pulling the text out of everything and he was going to link the game stories. I'm on it.

I'll take my usual AA & A games as well.

I've been skeptical of Nelson since draft day, but Downhill Thunder is a nickname I could get behind, here's hoping for continued success. Maybe all he needed was me to go away and not follow the minors for half a season. I'd happily eat crow in this case as well.

Well I'd like to win every year and you don't do that by squandering opportunities to make your organization stronger. Why is K-Rod so irreplaceable? He's just an 8th inning guy... how do you know there isn't someone in the organization who pitch as well as he does this season? Relievers just don't carry much value and if there is someone out there who overvalues why not take advantage of the situation. I'll ask a different question, why is every Brewer player someone suggests trading irreplaceable in the current season? Is it not possible to trade someone away and actually become a better team? How does every single trade of someone currently on the roster somehow weaken the team enough that they won't win? It's been the same argument around here forever. We can never trade any established MLB player unless we are out of it, but it's okay to dump loads of prospects and continually thin out the organization year after year? We can't move a player in the off season because we need for the upcoming year, and then we can't trade them during the season because we need them too much for the current playoff run. So the only time many of you are willing to trade a player is in the 2 months before his contract is up if it looks like we don't have shot at the playoffs? Why is there is such fear of the unknown? What prospect has failed more than a Suppan, Davis, Looper, etc? That's such an incredibly narrow and limiting view of talent and roster management I just won't get behind it. Why limit yourself to such a finite set of criteria? Trading Hardy for a good young pitcher would have made the team better because Hardy + (whatever 0 WAR pitcher you choose) wasn't as valuable as Escobar + young starting pitcher... not even in the first season when both players would have been breaking in, and certainly not as valuable now. Maybe if you make that deal you don't have to acquire Greinke and we have Lo Cain roaming CF and Odorizzi in AA this year. Trading Hart for Matt Cain (rumored deal in 2007) would have made sense just like going after Niemann or Jackson when TB was shopping them (2008-2009) would have made sense. There is plenty of upside to trading established MLB talent, it's almost shocking how many posts are vehemently against the concept in any single thread. I don't buy that Melvin didn't have other opportunities to acquire talent and how people defend him with the "what else was he supposed to do?" card. The dominoes didn't have to fall the way they did, that's just how the decisions he's made happened to shake out. However, if you open your mind to other ideas and avenues to acquire talent and build an organization then the possibilities start to become rather limitless. Of the 3 ways to acquire talent; via trade, via free agency, and via the draft, I just don't see why it's a good idea to continue place limits on what you're willing to do and max out the payroll every single year. Doing so simply causes one to miss out on opportunities that could provide better value in the end. When you only make a certain type of trade, have limited financial resources, and aren't drafting extremely well then how are you going to sustain any kind of success? It really is that simple.

Huntsville 5, Jacksonville (Marlins) 4 Hunstville Box Score A feel good story here as the Stars rally with 2 runs in the 9th to win and Tyler Thornburg was very good, his final line 5IP, 3H, 1ER, 2BB, 7K, and 2WP. He scattered the hits pretty evenly, only getting burned on a solo HR in the 4th, but his BBs and WPs both came in the same innings. Darren Byrd pitched a scoreless but eventful 6th, Josh Stinson struggled mightily in the 7th and giving away the lead on a 3R HR. Manzanillo came in after the comeback to lock it down in the bottom of the 9th and promptly walked the first 2 hitters he faced, struck out the 3rd batter, then balked the runners to 2nd and 3rd before getting out of the inning unscathed with a line out and fly out to LF. The Stars pounded out 10 hits with the top of the order doing much of the damage. Kentrail Davis was 2-4, Jeff Bianchi was 2-5 with a 2B, and Scooter Gennett was 2-5, that's your 1-3 batters in the line-up. Brock Kjeldgaard doubled home 2 in the 3rd but replaced in the bottom of the inning by Khris Davis, a situation to keep an eye on. Domnit Bolivar was the late hero as he had a pitch hit 2B in the 9th to score Cline and then alertly took 3rd on the throw home, which allowed him to score on Kentrail Davis' sac fly for the winning run. Huntsville Game Log Lots to take to in here but I'll just highlight the winning rally. Huntsville Top of the 9th Pitcher Change: Evan Reed replaces Josh Schmidt, batting 9th. Jason Jaramillo walks. Offensive Substitution: Pinch runner Matt Cline replaces Jason Jaramillo. Josh Prince flies out to right fielder Kyle Jensen. Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Domnit Bolivar replaces Josh Stinson. Domnit Bolivar doubles (1) on a line drive to center fielder Donnie Webb. Matt Cline scores. Domnit Bolivar to 3rd on the throw. Kentrail Davis out on a sacrifice fly to left fielder Ryan Patterson. Domnit Bolivar scores. Jeff Bianchi doubles (2) on a ground ball to left fielder Ryan Patterson. Scooter Gennett strikes out swinging.

Cedar Rapids (Angels) 3, Wisconsin 2 Wisconsin Box Score Even though the T-Rats drop a heartbreaker in the 9th Gagnon was impressive in his A ball debut, his final line 4.0 IP, 2H, 1ER, 1BB, 6SO, and 2 WPs. I'm loving the fact that we've introduced some high K rate pitchers into the organization over the last couple of years, especially given the organization's defensive issues. Seth Lintz got himself into and out of trouble nicely in the 5th. Mark Williams took over from there and surrendered single runs in the 6th and 9th to take the loss. Mark's final line 4IP, 2H, 2ER, 1BB, and 1SO. On the hitting side Jason Rogers got things going in the 1st with a bang, his first HR of the season. No T-Rats had multiple hit games though Williams and Dishon doubled. Kaleb Cowart from CR was 2-4 with another 2B, he's looking to be a thorn in the T-Rats side until he gets promoted. The Rattlers missed good opportunities in the 6th and 7th to tack on some more runs. Wisconsin Game Log Gagnon struck out the side in order in the 3rd but still managed to give up a run. Cedar Rapids Top of the 3rd Matthew Scioscia strikes out swinging, catcher Parker Berberet to first baseman Jason Rogers. Wendell Soto strikes out swinging. Kevin Moesquit strikes out swinging. Wild pitch by pitcher Drew Gagnon. Kevin Moesquit to 1st. With Ryan Jones batting, Kevin Moesquit steals (2) 2nd base. Ryan Jones walks. Kaleb Cowart singles on a ground ball to second baseman Carlos George. Kevin Moesquit scores. Ryan Jones to 3rd. Frazier Hall grounds out, second baseman Carlos George to first baseman Jason Rogers. Crazy scoring play to end the CR 9th, the game winner Cedar Rapids Top of the 9th Abel Baker walks. Matthew Scioscia out on a sacrifice bunt, first baseman Jason Rogers to second baseman Carlos George. Abel Baker to 2nd. Offensive Substitution: Pinch runner Andy Workman replaces Abel Baker. Wendell Soto singles on a line drive to left fielder Benjamin McMahan. Andy Workman to 3rd. Kevin Moesquit flies into sacrifice double play, left fielder Benjamin McMahan to third baseman Brandon Macias to second baseman Carlos George. Andy Workman scores. Wendell Soto out at 2nd.

Cedar Rapids (Angels) 7, Wisconsin 2 Wisconsin Box Score I've never been a big Miller supporter but after watching him tonight he has pretty good movement on his pitches, and he a threw a couple of very nice curves. His control is pretty spotty though, as evidenced by the end result, but he's got some nice tools. He must have been a bit nervous as he walked first the batter of the game on 4 straight and they weren't that close. His final line: 4IP, 4ER, 6H, 3BB, 7SO. Shackleford and Toledo also gave up runs in relief, the only clean T-Rat pitcher for the evening was Peterson who pitched a scoreless 8th. I had Chris on the radio as well as watching the game on TW32, he had some interesting tidbits from the welcome banquet as well as recapping how the CR equipment manager broke his ankle during a game I was actually in attendance for. It was one of the few games my father and I went to together, and we still talk about it from time to time. The T-Rat offense didn't do much against Austin Wood, and rightfully so, I was pretty impressed with him. He brought legit gas and mixed in a nasty slider at times. No Rattlers had multi hit games though 3 players did hit 2 baggers including McMahon who Mass called his shot on. The others were Rafael Neda and Brandon Macias. Here's a name to remember from CR, Kaleb Cowart... watching him as 19 year old brought back memories of Mike Trout. Cowart doesn't run nearly as well Trout, but he made a real nice defensive play at 3B and went 4-5 with a 2B and a 3B. Friggen Angels... Wisconsin Game Log It could have gotten ugly out of the gate for Miller but Dishon gunned the runner at home and it wasn't close, the throw beat the runner by a good 20 feet. Cedar Rapids Top of the 1st Kevin Moesquit walks. With Ryan Jones batting, Kevin Moesquit steals (1) 2nd base. Ryan Jones called out on strikes. Kaleb Cowart singles on a line drive to right fielder John Dishon. Kevin Moesquit out at home on the throw, right fielder John Dishon to catcher Rafael Neda. Frazier Hall walks. Kaleb Cowart to 2nd. Andy Workman pops out to second baseman Carlos George. The Kernels busted through in a big way in the 3rd and never looked back. Cedar Rapids Top of the 3rd Kevin Moesquit singles on a ground ball to shortstop Yadiel Rivera. With Ryan Jones batting, missed catch error by Jason Rogers on the pickoff attempt, Kevin Moesquit to 2nd. Ryan Jones grounds out, third baseman Gregory Hopkins to first baseman Jason Rogers. Kaleb Cowart doubles (1) on a line drive to center fielder Chadwin Stang. Kevin Moesquit scores. Frazier Hall doubles (1) on a fly ball to left fielder Benjamin McMahan. Kaleb Cowart scores. Andy Workman flies out to right fielder John Dishon. Chevy Clarke hit by pitch. Abel Baker doubles (1) on a line drive to center fielder Chadwin Stang. Frazier Hall scores. Chevy Clarke scores. Matthew Scioscia singles on a ground ball to right fielder John Dishon. Abel Baker to 3rd. Wendell Soto strikes out swinging.

Jacksonville (Marlins) 2, Huntsville 0 Huntsville Box Score It's always tough to get shutout to start the season, especially when you outhit the opposition. Merklinger pitched well walking 3, striking out 8, giving up 2 ER on only 2 hits as 2 of Dan's walks came around to score. Newcomer Jeff Bianchi had 2 hits including a double as did Brock Kjeldgaard, those were the 4 hits the stars collected. Huntsville Game Log Merk gave away an easy 1 in the first. Jacksonville Bottom of the 1st Jose Duarte called out on strikes. Jake Smolinski walks. Kyle Jensen walks. Jake Smolinski to 2nd. Shawn Bowman singles on a ground ball to shortstop Jeff Bianchi. Jake Smolinski to 3rd. Kyle Jensen to 2nd. Kyle Skipworth out on a sacrifice fly to right fielder Kentrail Davis. Jake Smolinski scores. Curt Smith called out on strikes. Kentrail Davis helped Merk out in the 6th but Sanchez couldn't hold Duarte. Jacksonville Bottom of the 6th Jose Duarte walks. Jake Smolinski singles on a line drive to right fielder Kentrail Davis. Jose Duarte to 3rd. Jake Smolinski out at 2nd, right fielder Kentrail Davis to shortstop Jeff Bianchi. Pitcher Change: Jesus Sanchez replaces Dan Merklinger, batting 9th. Kyle Jensen singles on a line drive to center fielder Brock Kjeldgaard. Jose Duarte scores. Shawn Bowman strikes out swinging and Kyle Jensen caught stealing 2nd, catcher Jason Jaramillo to second baseman Scooter Gennett. The Stars had their best chances to score in the 7th and 8th. Huntsville Top of the 7th Jeff Bianchi singles on a ground ball to left fielder Jake Smolinski. Scooter Gennett flies out to center fielder Jose Duarte. Brock Kjeldgaard singles on a ground ball to left fielder Jake Smolinski. Jeff Bianchi to 2nd. Hunter Morris flies into a force out, left fielder Jake Smolinski to shortstop Jeff Dominguez. Jeff Bianchi out at 3rd. Brock Kjeldgaard to 2nd. Hunter Morris to 1st. Pitcher Change: Peter Andrelczyk replaces Joseph O'Gara, batting 9th. Khris Davis called out on strikes. Huntsville Top of the 8th Andy Gonzalez walks. Offensive Substitution: Pinch runner Matt Cline replaces Andy Gonzalez. Jason Jaramillo flies out to center fielder Jose Duarte. Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Lee Haydel replaces Jesus Sanchez. Lee Haydel called out on strikes. Pitcher Change: A. J. Ramos replaces Peter Andrelczyk, batting 9th. With Kentrail Davis batting, wild pitch by A. J. Ramos, Matt Cline to 2nd. Kentrail Davis walks. With Jeff Bianchi batting, wild pitch by A. Ramos, Matt Cline to 3rd. Kentrail Davis to 2nd. Jeff Bianchi grounds out, shortstop Jeff Dominguez to first baseman Curt Smith.

The joys that minor league audio brings with it, such as commercials I'm sure I'll hate within a month! Though I will say the advertising is effective, because I have a whole list of places that I'll check out if I'm ever in Huntsville, Helena, and so on just to satisfy my curiosity. I don't have that issue with the T-Rats for the most part, though there is no way I'm ever visiting this pet pampering place who's commercial is on right now. Chris might have talked me into an MiLB TV subscription this season, I'll have to mull that over.

This is the point that people keep glossing over. Sure you can ditch K-Rod, Wolf, and Marcum but you also have contracts already handed out to players that will be escalating. We'll move on without those regardless... I understand that many of us get attached to players but the problem here is that the team is already on the hook for too many largish contracts. It hurts but there is no way we can simply resign or retain every player that we develop who turns out to be valuable. We don't need Greinke to remain competitive anymore than Seattle needed Griffey, or ARod, or Randy Johnson to stay relevant. Every time one of their players walked that was supposed to be the end of the Mariners, but they managed to actually improve from a win/loss perspective after those guys moved on. The only thing the organizations needs to ensure the winning continues is fresh impact talent being cycled into Milwaukee. That's it. We don't need a name player, we don't need veterans, we just need talent. If we can't afford to buy it then we'd better trade for it and develop it, but these short term solutions need to cease as a primary means of upgrading the team. Short term deals have their place, but certainly not every season since 2007 like has been case here in Milwaukee. The problem with all of the trades that have been made and signings that have happened since 2007, which for the most part have been championed by the majority of fans on this site, is that eventually the well runs dry. There aren't enough prospects and there isn't enough money for the Brewers to operate the way they have and sustain it for any significant length of time. The potential situation for 2013 (letting maybe as many as 4 key contributors walk) is exactly where we end up with the payroll situation a couple of posters including Monty have laid out and the fact we essentially traded an entire wave of prospects away. I would rather not break in Fiers, Peralta, and Thornburg all in one season, but if all 3 dominate in the minors this season we just might have to. There's just no such thing as being in "win now" mode every year when you have limited resources, those resources need to be protected and maximized. Every year people seem find different reasons why this is the last year to go for it. When, if ever, is it going to be okay to break in a couple of young players every year like we should have been doing all along? When do stop being "all in" and start looking towards a plan which is sustainable? I wish Melvin would ride off into the sunset as someone mentioned earlier, but I think he's more likely to be extended than he is walking because Mark A doesn't have seem to have much patience and is just as culpable as Melvin is for many of the FA blunders. He's done very good things for the Brewers since his ownership group took over, but he's just as responsible as Melvin is for the state of the organization, and in some cases he may have actually been the catalyst for certain moves. I really wish the Brewers had to open their books like the Packers do. I'd like to know if the Brewers were in the black in '09. '10. and '11 and if there is any way they can possibly be in the black with a $100 million payroll.

Right. Let's limit the window to the trade deadline when the return is at it's lowest possible point... Team's no longer get compensation for letting rental players walk. K-Rod's value is at it's peak right now going into the season.

So if Scarpetta doesn't break out this year can he safely make it through waivers and be retained? I'm not sure he's shown enough to warrant a promotion out of AA, in fact I'd lean the other way based on his BB rate. He's essentially a flat line (4.0, 4.6, 4.7, 4.7) which means he's made minimal command improvement each season. He's just never reigned in his command, I wouldn't even want him as an MLB reliever with a BB rate that high, he's rapidly running out of time. I was just expecting him to be in Nashville because of the option situation.

No what I'm saying is just because someone was healthy to age whatever, doesn't mean he's going to continue to be healthy in the future. Past health is not indicative of future health, but it's certainly better than the alternative. His age 21 and 22 seasons have helped him some with wear and tear because he didn't pitch as much those seasons because of his mental issues, basically nothing as 21 year old. So it's fair to say that his arm is in better shape than the average 28 year phenom who's been in the majors since he was 20, but there is still risk. In some ways yes it is better if a player has something like TJ surgery before he hits FA because the team isn't eating a huge contract for a year or 2 if the worst case scenario happens. Many people just assume health and are willing to take the risk even through there is plenty of evidence to the contrary. For example going into the 2008 season did we expect that to be Sheets' last season in MLB? Did anyone really expect Peavy to get injured and become a shell of his former self? Some guys like Carpenter have made it through a double whammy of shoulder and elbow surgery, most guys just aren't that fortunate, and there's always a slight risk that any injury will be career ending. The entire problem here is that baseball contracts are guaranteed, there's no out. Players will rarely take an injury settlement and retire, look at the Koskie situation (and no that wasn't his first concussion)... if it were football he would have taken an injury settlement and retired, but the Brewers had to pay him to sit at home. Right now off the top of my head I can think of 3 pitchers pushing 30 that are in upper echelon and haven't had a major injury, Sabathia, Greinke, and Cain. Will any of those guys make it to 40 like Smoltz before suffering their first catastrophic injury? I have no idea, and neither do you, the question is how much risk are you willing to take on to find out? Is it worth having to eat a year or 2 of a contract, at 20 mil per, even 1 year is almost twice the dead money as the entire Lucroy extension and there were people that didn't like that contract. 2 years is more dead money than the entire Hall debacle... Injury prevention isn't a skill, it's mostly genetics and mechanics, though good mechanics do not prevent injury because there is nothing ergonomic about throwing a pitch overhand off of a mound. Someone pitching a softball windmill can pitch everyday, the same is not true of a baseball. A very select few pitchers win the genetic lottery, the rest are going to go under the knife at some point. There's plenty of information about the injury nexus available via a simple Google search. Sometimes I think the scope is a bit too broad, like including all players in MLB history when injury treatment and diagnosis was terrible almost through the 70s. However, there is plenty of interesting reading out there if people are so inclined.

In what sense is Wolf a bargain? Gallardo's contract would be the definition of a bargain while Wolf took the most money he could find when he came to Milwaukee. Wolf has been better than I expected him to be, in fact I'd qualify his success as everything I could have hoped when he signed. However he's still being paid exactly what his production is worth, we aren't getting him at a discount. Yes the cost of pitching continues to escalate but it's important to keep Wolf's contract in the context of the time when it was signed. He certainly hasn't imploded like Looper, Suppan, and Davis but again, that doesn't mean he's a bargain. He's a 4th starter on our team and my gut feeling would be that he's one of the highest paid 4th starters in baseball, I don't have time to go research rotations and prove my point, but last time I looked very few teams had a 4th starter making the money Wolf is. If Narvy falters this season there's a realistic chance one of the talented youngsters comes up and pushes Wolf to a 5th starter. Wolf has been very solid, but he's not a bargain by any measure. If it takes $100 million or more to lock up Greinke count me out. Physically he's been so been healthy that the odds are beginning to stack heavily against him making it through this next contract without a significant arm injury. With pitching it's not of a matter of "if" a pitcher is going to get hurt, it's "when".