TheCrew07

Brett Christopherson's take on the Dhanani promotion from his Post-Crescent blog.

Link while active, text follows: Brewers hope for brighter days after rain By AMBER KUEHN - Independent Record - 08/08/09Mother Nature may have just given the Helena Brewers the break they need. After rain washed out Friday night's game against the Billings Mustangs at Dehler Park, Helena manager Rene Gonzales said the postponement wasn't a wrench in the Brewers' game plan. Rather, it gave a struggling pitching staff some much-needed rest. "Obviously you can't (control the weather) but I like two shorter games," Gonzales said of the pair of seven-inning contests the Brewers are now slated to play today. Helena will face Billings in a doubleheader beginning at 5:05 p.m. It's the first time the Brewers have played back-to-back games in a day this season. Gonzales said his roster is full of plenty of legs and isn't concerned about having enough guys to get through two contests. His main concern is his club's arms. After blowing through the bullpen and using the majority of their rotation in Missoula to kick off the second half of the season (at one point utilizing four different pitchers in an inning), the Brewers hurlers were given a break. "We had to stretch out our pitching staff in Missoula," Gonzales said. "Hopefully our starters will be able to go longer." Tonight fans will see something a little different as each of the starters are expected to throw just one inning before giving way to the bullpen. Andre Lamontagne will start the first game, then Gonzales plans to put in righthander Damon Krestalude. The Brewers skipper hopes Krestalude, who is 2-2 on the year with a 4.09 ERA, can then hurl the majority of the innings. In the nightcap, Jake Odorizzi is scheduled to take the mound for the first time since July 16. Odorizzi had been sitting out with a sore arm. Adrian Rosario will likely relieve. It was a welcome day off Friday for the Mustangs as well. Billings struggled mightily in the season's first half, but sits at .500 following four games in the second. The Brewers find themselves in the Pioneer League North cellar with a 1-3 record. Helena has been hampered lately by the inability to hold a lead. Thursday night in the series opener against the Mustangs, the Brewers blew a 3-1 lead in the late innings. It was similar to the lead they relinquished a week ago against Billings, in a contest marred by miscues with seven total errors. "It's the same thing," Gonzales said. "We keep shooting ourselves in the foot, kind of beating ourselves. "At this point we're jelling a little bit better, we just can't seem to find the consistency." That ability to string together wins is what the Brewers are hoping starts to happen. This season, Helena's longest winning streak is three games. "Our bullpen has to be better," Gonzales said of what needs to be done. "Offensively we do enough, athough we left some runners out there yesterday. But the bullpen just hasn't responded." The Brewers lost a crucial member of their bullpen when their most consistent closer, Michael Fiers, was promoted to Single-A Wisconsin. Helena also lost some production at the plate with Josh Prince getting the call up. Still, Gonzales has faith in the arms he's got, and hope that this unplanned day off might get his crew started off on the right foot. "Krestalude and Rosario will be key tomorrow," Gonzales said. "I hope Rosario bounces back. He's got quality stuff, he just needs to put it together. Hopefully he'll do it." Amber Kuehn: 447-4079 or amber.kuehn@helenair.com

Assuming the Brewers ink Davis, even though I have mixed feelings about that, I still want Hall signed if at all possible. This already has the makings of an excellent draft, but one more projectable pitcher would please me greatly.

Final: DSL Mets 5, DSL O's/Brewers 4 DSL O's/Brewers Box Score A big 1st for the combined squad, not much else after. Abrue 1-4, Javier 1-4, Chirinos 1-3, and Martinez 1-2. Linares continues to dominate the DSL as he should. DSL O's/Brewers Game Log Did something happen to Martinez it was a tie game when he was pulled? DSL Mets Bottom 5th Defensive Substitution: Cristian Araujo replaces third baseman Andres Martinez, batting 7th, playing third base. Alexander Sanchez singles on a fly ball to left fielder Edwin Wilson. Edwin Barrera singles on a ground ball to right fielder Luis Chirinos. Alexander Sanchez to 3rd. Eudy Pina walks. Edwin Barrera to 2nd. Luis Cessa grounds into a force out, fielded by third baseman Cristian Araujo. Alexander Sanchez scores. Edwin Barrera out at 3rd. Eudy Pina to 2nd. Luis Cessa to 1st. With Humberto Mejia batting, wild pitch by Julio Perez, Eudy Pina to 3rd. Luis Cessa to 2nd. Humberto Mejia walks. Passed ball by catcher Eliecer Avila. Eudy Pina scores. Pitcher Change: Mike Rodriguez replaces Julio Perez. Daniel De Leon pops out to pitcher Mike Rodriguez in foul territory. Yucarybert De La Cruz grounds out, third baseman Cristian Araujo to first baseman Moises Arias.

Final: Peoria (Cubs) 6, Wisconsin 5 Wisconsin Site Summary Tough Loss Spoils Nice Comeback By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers PEORIA, IL -- The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers rallied from a 5-1 deficit to tie the Western Division leading Peoria Chiefs on Friday night at O'Brien Field. But, a wild pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning let the winning run score. The Rattlers have lost six straight. The teams traded solo homers early in the game. Peoria leadoff hitter Brett Jackson started the bottom of the first inning with a home run to right-center for a 1-0 lead. Brock Kjeldgaard tied the game with a solo homer to left in the top of the second. Kjeldgaard's homer was his seventeenth of the season. The Chiefs (61-48 overall, 23-17 second half) took advantage of several Timber Rattlers miscues to build a lead. In the third inning, Kyler Burke singled with two outs and moved up to second on a misplay in the outfield. DJ LeMahieu was next and he sent a grounder to first that went through the legs of Corey Kemp. Burke scored without a play and the Chiefs were up 2-1. Peoria tacked on three more runs on just one hit in the bottom of the fourth. Rattlers starting pitcher Evan Frederickson retired the first batter of the inning. But, a hit batsman, a walk, and another hit batsmen loaded the bases. Ryan Flaherty doubled off the right field wall to drive in two runs. Frederickson issued one more walk to reload the bases before being taken out of the game. Liam Ohlmann relieved Frederickson and got the second out, but hit LeMahieu with a pitch to force in another Peoria run to make the score 5-1. The Rattlers (48-62, 14-26) rallied with two outs an nobody on in the top of the fifth inning. Josh Prince and Pete Fatse drew walks against Peoria starter Jeff Antigua to knock him out of the game. Brett Lawrie and Corey Kemp followed with back-to-back-RBI singles off Peoria reliever Jeff Beliveau. Erik Miller tied the game with a two-run homer to left-center in the top of the sixth. But, that was it for the Rattlers offense. Ohlmann and Brandon Ritchie both worked out of jams in the sixth and eighth innings to keep the game tied. However, a leadoff walk haunted Nick Tyson in the bottom of the ninth. Tyson walked Mario Mercedes to start the bottom of the ninth. A sacrifice bunt moved Mercedes to second and an infield single by Junior Lake pushed the winning run to third. The Rattlers infield moved in and Lake took second on defensive indifference. So, Wisconsin walked Jackson intentionally to load the bases to get to Flaherty to set up the double play. But, Tyson missed low with a pitch that got by catcher Sean McCraw and Mercedes scored the winning run. The Timber Rattlers continue their series at O'Brien Field on Saturday night. RJ Seidel (0-1, 4.05) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Peoria will send Alberto Cabrera (2-5, 5.25) to the mound. Game time is 6:30pm. Wisconsin Box Score BK has some serious power, hitting his 17th HR on the season, but his .229 BA and 136 strike outs bring his entire line down. Fatse walked 3 times, Kemp with 2 hits, and the Miller HR noted above round out the noteworthy happenings at the plate. I don't really understand why McPhearson is in WI? Wouldn't Ellington or Kreiger be a better choice? He's struck out in a 3rd of his PAs thus far in his first professional season. I think he's been done a major disservice being stuck in WI. Duran with another CS, his 7th of the season, and Prince steals another base, only his 2nd in WI. T-Rat pitchers give up 8 free passes in the game, and have I mentioned that I haven't been impressed with McCraw and Kemp behind the plate when I've seen them in person? Chris Dennis please make it back before the end of the season. Wisconsin Game Log

Final: Brevard County 3, Daytona (Cubs) 0 Daytona Site Summary Matantees Shutout Cubs To Earn A Split The Daytona Cubs (18-21) could not find a way to slow down All-Star Eric Farris and the Brevard County Manatees(24-14) as the Manatees blanked the Cubs 3-0. The Manatees got on the board first in the bottom of the fourth inning. Eric Farris led off the inning with a single to right field off of Cubs starter Rafael Dolis (2-7). Farris then stole second base and advanced to third on a groundout off the bat of Lee Haydel. With two away Zealous Wheeler singled to left to bring home Farris and give the Manatees an early lead. Rafael Dolis lasted four innings and the Mantees bats were ready and waiting for Cubs reliever Dan McDaniel in the fifth. With a runner at third, Logan Schafer grounded into a fielders choice, as Jose Made gunned down Juan Sanchez at home plate. With two away, Eric Farris hit his sixth home run of the year over the left center field wall and gave the Manatees a 3-0 lead. Eric Farris not only helped give his team the lead but also kept the Cubs off the board with his play in the field. In the top of the sixth inning with two runners on and two away, Nathan Samson hit a line drive off of Manatees starter Amaury Rivas (10-6), but Farris made a diving catch to rob Samson of a hit. Rivas looked strong against Daytona once again as he pitched seven innings of three hit baseball and struck out seven Cubs. Omar Aguilar came in and shut the door on the Cubs as he earned his sixth save of the year. The Cubs will begin a three game series in Dunedin beginning Friday, August 8th at 7:00 p.m. You can catch all the action on AM 1340 WROD or on daytonacubs.com Brevard County Box Score Hurray for beating the Cubs at any level! Farris with 2 hits, a HR, and a stolen base. Schafer and Wilson with doubles. The Manatees steal 5 bases in the game. Rivas is blossoming, what else is there to say about him? Aguilar seems to be back on track, he's given up 2 runs in his 10 outings, half of which have been multi inning appearances. Brevard Country Game Log A potential WP or PB in the 1st? Brevard County Bottom 1st Logan Schafer doubles (27) on a line drive to left fielder Tony Campana. Eric Farris out on a sacrifice bunt, pitcher Rafael Dolis to first baseman Jake Opitz. Logan Schafer to 3rd. Logan Schafer out at home, catcher Mark Reed. Steffan Wilson walks. Sergio Miranda grounds out, second baseman Jose Made to first baseman Jake Opitz

Final: Mississippi (Braves) 8, Huntsville 4 Huntsville Site Summary Hunstville's Struggles at Home Continue By Brett Pollock / Huntsville Stars Willie Cabrera doubled twice and drove in three runs to power Mississippi to an 8-4 win over Huntsville Friday night at Joe Davis Stadium in the opener of a five-game set. The Braves improved to 20-21 in the second half and 51-60 overall, while the Stars dropped a fourth straight to fall to 15-26 in the second half and 53-57 overall. The Stars have fallen in nine of their last 11 games, while losing a lead in each of the last four defeats. Huntsville struck for three runs in the first inning on a run-scoring single by Drew Anderson, who drove in his first run in nine games, a run-scoring double by Jonathan Lucroy, who extended his hitting streak to nine games, and a Kevin Melillo sacrifice fly. The Braves loaded the bases with two outs in the third but Stars' starter Mike Jones got Freddie Freeman to ground out to end the threat. The right-hander wasn't as fortunate in the fifth inning, as Freeman came to the plate with the sacks full and one out and chased home the visitors' first run of the night with a sacrifice fly. Cabrera followed with a two-run double to tie the game, advanced to third base on an errant throw to the plate and scored the go-ahead run on a sinking line drive single by Eric Campbell that chased Jones from the game. Jones dropped to 3-4 on the season, and 0-3 at home, after allowing six hits, walking three and fanning five. Brandon Hicks and Jason Heyward, on a 3-0 Brandon Kintzler offering, launched back-to-back home runs with two outs in the sixth to expand the Braves' lead to 6-3. Braves' starter Scott Diamond was lifted after laboring through five innings, giving up one earned run on seven hits, while walking three and striking out six. He improved to 5-10 and beat the Stars for a first time in three starts against them. Jeff Lyman threw a scoreless sixth inning and was followed to the hill by Steve Marek, who allowed a Taylor Green scoring fly ball that cut the Braves' advantage to 6-4. Brett Butts took over with two runners on and two out in the seventh and saw Melillo reach on a fielding error to load the bases before Michael Garciaparra lined out to end the inning. Cabrera doubled in a run and scored in the eighth off of Wes Littleton to push the visitors' lead to 8-4. Butts worked a scoreless ninth and Huntsville native Craig Kimbrel tossed a scoreless ninth to close out the win. The Stars are now 20-26 at home. The series continues Saturday evening with right-hander Nick Green taking the hill for the Stars against Braves' right-hander Kyle Cofield. Coverage of the game begins at 5:45 pm central time and can be heard through the internet at www.huntsvillestars.com Huntsville Box Score Justis with 4 hits including a double, Lucroy and Cain both add doubles. Not much offense out of the Stars after the 2nd. Jones was just okay, Kintzler and Littleton both give up 2 runs a piece in relief. This pitching staff has struggled most of the season. As it is raining I'll probably profile the Southern League's leader boards later this morning. Mass was correct guessing that Green was coming back into the rotation... I say boo! Braddock hasn't appeared in over month, every time I get excited about him he ends up back on the DL... Huntsville Game Log A missed opportunity in the 2nd to pile on. They had another opportunity in the 7th with bases loaded and 2 outs to climb back into the game but didn't get it done. Huntsville Bottom 2nd Mike Jones strikes out swinging. Adam Stern singles on a ground ball to right fielder Jason Heyward. Shane Justis singles on a ground ball to left fielder Willie Cabrera. Adam Stern to 2nd. Drew T. Anderson walks. Adam Stern to 3rd. Shane Justis to 2nd. Jonathan Lucroy grounds into double play, shortstop Brandon Hicks to second baseman Travis Jones to first baseman Freddie Freeman. Drew T. Anderson out at 2nd. Huntsville Bottom 7th Pitcher Change: Stephen Marek replaces Jeff Lyman, batting 9th. Shane Justis doubles (23) on a fly ball to center fielder Matt Young. Drew T. Anderson grounds out to first baseman Freddie Freeman. Shane Justis to 3rd. Jonathan Lucroy walks. Taylor Green out on a sacrifice fly to right fielder Jason Heyward. Shane Justis scores. Lorenzo Cain walks. Jonathan Lucroy to 2nd. Pitcher Change: Brett Butts replaces Stephen Marek, batting 9th. Kevin Melillo reaches on fielding error by second baseman Travis Jones. Jonathan Lucroy to 3rd. Lorenzo Cain to 2nd. Michael Garciaparra flies out to right fielder Jason Heyward.

Final Game 2: Nashville 5, Colorado Springs (Rockies) 2 Nashville Site Summary Gulin, Sounds down Sox in 7-Inning Contest COLORADO SPRINGS -- Left-hander Lindsay Gulin worked a complete game to lead the Nashville Sounds to a 5-2, seven-inning victory over the Colorado Springs Sky Sox on Friday evening at Security Service Field. The contest was shortened to seven frames because the teams completed Wednesday's suspended game earlier in the evening. Gulin (6-7) allowed two runs on six hits over seven innings of work, tossing 105 pitches in the outing. The Sky Sox jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning against Gulin on a Mike McCoy sacrifice fly and a Christian Colonel two-out RBI single. Nashville rallied to take a 3-2 lead with a three-run third against Sky Sox starter Kurt Birkins. Catcher Carlos Corporan opened the frame by reaching on a throwing error by Colonel at third base. Jason Bourgeois followed with an RBI triple to center before scoring the tying run on Alcides Escobar's double. Erick Almonte pushed the Sounds in front when he knocked a run-scoring single to right. The Sounds finished off the contest's scoring in the fifth when Almonte plated his second run of the evening with another RBI single before Brendan Katin plated Escobar with a groundout to bring the score to its final 5-2 standing. Birkins (2-2) took the loss for Colorado Springs after allowing all five runs (four earned) in his 4 1/3 innings of work. The teams wrap up the four-game set with an 8:05 p.m. CT meeting on Saturday night. Left-hander Chris Narveson (4-4, 3.82) will man the bump for Nashville to face Colorado Springs right-hander Brandon Hynick (9-7, 3.57). Nashville Box Score Bourgeois and Almonte with 2 hits a piece, Escobar doubles, as Gamel gets the night cap off. Heether makes his 7th error of the season on a throw. Escobar has now tied last season's doubles total, surpassed the triples total, but it still 5 HR short... I think it's safe to say he will have more total XBH than last season, he just keeps making incremental improvements. Gulin pitches well and even gets a pick off at 1B in the game. Nashville Game Log Very quiet box score for most of the game

Final Game 1 (Completion of August 5th): Colorado 4, Nashville 3 Nashville Site Summary Sky Sox Rally Past Sounds COLORADO SPRINGS - The Colorado Springs Sky Sox rallied late to post a 4-3 victory over the Nashville Sounds on Friday evening at Security Service Field in the completion of Wednesday's series opener that had been suspended due to rain. Nashville grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning with an unearned run off Sky Sox starter Damian Moss. Johnny Raburn reached on a throwing error by shortstop Mike McCoy and later scored on Jason Bourgeois' two-out RBI single. The game was delayed due to lightning in the bottom of the second inning. on Wednesday and was suspended following a one hour and twenty-seven minute delay. The contest resumed on Friday evening. Down 1-0 in the third, the Sox tied it up after Eric Young Jr. led off the inning with a double and later scored on a sac fly by Matt Murton. Nashville scored twice in the fifth on a two-run single by Johnny Raburn to take a 3-1 lead but Colorado Springs answered with single tallies in the fifth, sac fly by Miller, and seventh, RBI single by Murton, to knot the game at three all and set up the ninth inning dramatics. In the bottom of the ninth, Miller led off with a single and one out later moved to third on a single by Dan Ortmeier. Kenny Perez came to the plate next and promptly knocked a solid single up the middle to score Miller and send the Sox home winners. Joel Peralta (5-0) worked a scoreless ninth to earn the victory and Sam Narron (1-5) took the loss after working 6.2 innings in relief and giving up four runs on 12 hits. Nashville Game 1 Box Score Raburn and Bourgeois with 2 hits a piece. Salome with his 9 error, this time for Catcher Interference. Narron just couldn't hold on for the win. Nashville Game 1 Game Log Exactly what you would expect, the Sounds didn't do much after the 5th.

I just wanted to comment on some games. Nasvhille with a walk off loss, Gamel 1 for 2 with a BB and a K. Jones gives up 4 in 4+ for Huntsville, Green 0-2 his average is all the way down to .258. Cain with a hit so BA climbs to .190, and Lucroy with another 2 bagger, Huntsville down late 6-3 Rivas was fantastic for BC, gets his ERA down under 3.00 on the season. 0R, 1BB, 7K and only 3H in 7IP... he has an even 100 Ks on the season against 36 BBs. Bandwagon time people! BC stole a ton of bases of in this game, Farris getting 2 hits and a SB. Schafer with another hit, he just keeps rolling. Helena and Billings the only PL game postponed tonight... boo! edit. Sounds down early in game 2 edit. WI is also losing late, Frederickson with another not so good line. This team is not anywhere near as bad as it's been playing, it's almost they've given up on the season and are tanking. There's just no way this team this bad talent wise.

Unfortunately I don't have an answer yet to either question... It was a move made out of desperation and my severe hatred of Vista. Since getting it up and running I've spent most of my time trying to find new programs to capture audio with as the old ones like Audacity and MP3MYMP3 don't like the vistawindows7 drivers for the sound card built into the motherboard (no separate sound card). The only thing I did tweak on it so far was the login screen, I have no idea why the default bothered me so much, but it did. Obviously I set myself up as an administrator as well, so I haven't played around with different user account settings. The only issue I've had so far with the system (other than the predictable driver issues) is that FF crashes a ton, I've actually been using IE8 more... I haven't downloaded Safari yet, but getting my computer back up to speed is on the agenda for the weekend as I'll need it for football. You are correct about the installations, there is a direct upgrade path from Vista, but anything else requires a fresh install. It actually moves everything in to a "Windows_Old" folder... and I do mean everything system related (program files, documents and settings). The RC is windows ultimate, I'll probably get serious about buying a production version in Jan, that should be enough time for techies to post their various opinions of all the different flavors and do my research at that time.

BABIP is not a cause, it's an effect.

Why would the 40 man spot have to come from someone currently on 25 man? Why not Koshansky, Green, or someone who doesn't appear to have a future with Mil in the minors?

Final: DSL O's/Brewers 17, DSL Pirates 4 DSL O's/Brewers Box Score I noticed Javier had a nice game and Arias BA has slipped below .300 now. No time to summarize this one before work. Both big innings detailed below. DSL O's/Brewers Game Log DSL O's/Brewers Bottom 7th Defensive Substitution: Chris Rodriguez replaces catcher Jhoanel Jimenez, batting 6th, playing catcher. Pitcher Change: Wilner Jean-Luis replaces Porfirio Lopez. Jhonatan Javier doubles (12) on a fly ball to right fielder Gregory Polanco. With Hitaniel Arias batting, passed ball by Chris Rodriguez, Jhonatan Javier to 3rd. Hitaniel Arias strikes out swinging. Edwin Wilson flies out to left fielder Jesus Vasquez. Deibisson Rozon walks. Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Wilmer Portes replaces Joan Abreu. Wilmer Portes walks. Deibisson Rozon to 2nd. Luis Chirinos doubles (4) on a line drive to left fielder Jesus Vasquez. Jhonatan Javier scores. Deibisson Rozon scores. Wilmer Portes scores. Fielding error by left fielder Jesus Vasquez. Juan Barrini doubles (4) on a fly ball to right fielder Gregory Polanco. Luis Chirinos scores. Pedro Rodriguez doubles (3) on a fly ball to right fielder Gregory Polanco. Juan Barrini scores. Pedro Rodriguez out at 3rd, right fielder Gregory Polanco to second baseman Eric Avila to third baseman Andury Acevedo. DSL O's/Brewers Bottom 8th Cristian Araujo walks. With Jhonatan Javier batting, Cristian Araujo steals (3) 2nd base, . Cristian Araujo advances to 3rd, on throwing error by catcher Chris Rodriguez. Jhonatan Javier doubles (13) on a line drive to center fielder Raul Fortunato. Cristian Araujo scores. Hitaniel Arias singles on a line drive to left fielder Jesus Vasquez. Jhonatan Javier to 3rd. Edwin Wilson hit by pitch. Hitaniel Arias to 2nd. Felix Bido strikes out swinging. Wilmer Portes walks. Jhonatan Javier scores. Hitaniel Arias to 3rd. Edwin Wilson to 2nd. Pitcher Change: Wilbin Garcia replaces Wilner Jean-Luis. Luis Chirinos singles on a line drive to right fielder Gregory Polanco. Hitaniel Arias scores. Edwin Wilson scores. Wilmer Portes to 3rd on the throw. Luis Chirinos to 2nd. Juan Barrini singles on a line drive to center fielder Raul Fortunato. Wilmer Portes scores. Luis Chirinos to 3rd. Pedro Rodriguez doubles (4) on a line drive to right fielder Gregory Polanco. Luis Chirinos scores. Juan Barrini scores. Cristian Araujo walks. Jhonatan Javier hit by pitch. Pedro Rodriguez to 3rd. Cristian Araujo to 2nd. Hitaniel Arias called out on strikes. Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Andres Martinez replaces Edwin Wilson. Andres Martinez triples (2) on a line drive to center fielder Raul Fortunato. Pedro Rodriguez scores. Cristian Araujo scores. Jhonatan Javier scores. Pitcher Change: Sadid Pontier replaces Wilbin Garcia. Felix Bido walks. With Wilmer Portes batting, wild pitch by Sadid Pontier, Andres Martinez scores. Felix Bido to 2nd. Wilmer Portes walks. Luis Chirinos singles on a line drive to left fielder Jesus Vasquez. Felix Bido scores. Wilmer Portes advances to 3rd, on fielding error by left fielder Jesus Vasquez. With Juan Barrini batting, Luis Chirinos picked off and caught stealing 2nd base, catcher Chris Rodriguez to first baseman Leandro Mejia.

Final: AZL Brewers 3, AZL Padres 1 AZL Brewers Box Score Excellent pitching in this game... Butler gives up the only run and Brewer pitchers strike out 12 while walking 3. Lasker is having a nice go round in first season, I'm excited to see him start in the future, or I hope he'll still be a starter. Romero and Dedrick lead the way offensively with 2 hits a piece while Garcia adds a double. AZL Brewers Game Log Brewers got all they would need in the 1st. AZL Brewers Top 1st Carlos George grounds out, second baseman Ryan Skube to first baseman Jonathan Alia. Franklin Romero singles on a fly ball to center fielder Corey Adamson. Wayne Dedrick singles on a fly ball to right fielder Wande Olabisi. Franklin Romero to 2nd. With Brandon Sizemore batting, Franklin Romero steals (7) 3rd base, . Wayne Dedrick advances to 2nd, on throwing error by catcher Jhonaldo Pozo. With Brandon Sizemore batting, wild pitch by Adys Portillo, Franklin Romero scores. Wayne Dedrick to 3rd. Brandon Sizemore grounds out, third baseman Jorge Minyeti to first baseman Jonathan Alia. Wayne Dedrick scores. Maxwell Walla strikes out swinging.

Final: Billings (Reds) 4, Helena 3 Link while active, text follows: Wild Pitch Costs Brewers By Independent Record - 8/7/2009 A day after a comeback victory over Missoula, the Helena Brewers ended up on the wrong side of a rally. The Billings Mustangs broke a three-run tie in the bottom of the ninth when Mark Fleury scored off a wild pitch by Morales. The run lifted Billings to a 4-3 win over Helena in the Magic City in the first contest of a three-game series. Helena staked an early lead, answering Billings' solo run in the first when Sean Halton came home on Kyle Dhanani's single to tie the game. The Brewers added two more insurance runs in the fourth thanks to doubles by Chris Ellington and Scott Krieger. But nothing is sure for Helena in this second half of the season. The Brewers have won just a single game in the second half, posting a 1-3 record to drop to the basement of the Pioneer League North, a spot they haven't occupied all year. Trouble came when the Brewers' top draft pick Eric Arnett entered to relieve starter Donald Brandt in the seventh. William Stramp reached on a throwing error by Dhanani, then Arnett walked what would end up being two crucial batters. With the bases loaded, D.D. Gregorius reached on a force attempt and two runs would go on to score. It was Arnett's third blown save of the season. The Mustangs' Daniel Corcino picked up the win, closing out the second two innings and giving up just hits, no runs and walking one. Corcino struck out three to earn his first victory of the season. Joel Morales took the loss for the Brewers, despite throwing just 2/3 of the ninth. Morales gave up one hit, an earned run and fanned one. The Brewers' newest member, shortstop Michael Marseco, stroked a triple. Marseco came down from Single-A Wisconsin when Josh Prince was called up. Mike Brownstein also had a triple to pace the Helena offense. Ellington was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Ty Stoval went 1-for-4 with an RBI for Billings. Helena Box Score Halton doing what older players should do in rookie ball, he's played well thus far in his career, with 2 hits here. Ellington also added a pair of hits. Brant with an awesome line 0ER, 1BB, 8K in 6 IP. Arnett's outings are getting very familiar, an error with some BBs mixed in leads to unearned runs. Morales started strong but hasn't done much to inspire confidence in his last 3 outings. Helena Game Log Arnett's 7th, Morales 9th... Billings Bottom 7th Pitcher Change: Eric Arnett replaces Donald Brandt. William Stramp reaches on throwing error by third baseman Kyle Dhanani. Joshua Garton strikes out swinging. With Mark Fleury batting, William Stramp steals (1) 2nd base. Mark Fleury walks. Mauricio Pimentel walks. William Stramp to 3rd. Mark Fleury to 2nd. Mariekson Gregorius reaches on force attempt, throwing error by third baseman Kyle Dhanani. William Stramp scores. Mark Fleury to 3rd. Mauricio Pimentel to 2nd. Tyler Stovall grounds into a force out, second baseman Mike Brownstein to shortstop Michael Marseco. Mark Fleury scores. Mauricio Pimentel to 3rd. Mariekson Gregorius out at 2nd. Tyler Stovall to 1st. Yorman Rodriguez strikes out swinging. Billings Bottom 9th Pitcher Change: Joel Morales replaces Eric Arnett. Mark Fleury doubles (3) on a fly ball to center fielder Chadwin Stang. Mauricio Pimentel out on a sacrifice bunt, catcher Cameron Garfield to second baseman Mike Brownstein. Mark Fleury to 3rd. Mariekson Gregorius strikes out swinging. With Tyler Stovall batting, wild pitch by Joel Morales, Mark Fleury scores.

The last I heard it mentioned on a broadcast it was going to be about 2 weeks, and that was about a week ago.

I might not have mentioned why he was shutdown but Steve said it was because he had some lingering shoulder discomfort, which of course doesn't give me a warm and fuzzy about his future.

Is it 2003 all over again? Wow, I'm actually pretty happy about this, surprisingly so.

Steve interviews prospect Chad Stang. They discuss the unfortunate delay to the start of Chad's professional career, the transition from JUCO to professional baseball, how he settled on baseball as his sport, playing on the junior national team, and a little bit about how he got to know some of the other Canadian players in the system.

My answer will be no surprise as I've posted it before. I think the best way to help even out an offense is to improve the pitching, the less the runs you give up on average, the less runs you need to score. It's the same argument I've been making since the start of last off-season. I think all of the talk about handedness and all that is trying to cure the symptom instead of the disease. I have no idea why we tend to focus so much on the offense when the offense isn't truly the problem. I could probably be sold that the Brewers have too many of the same types of hitters on the team, but I think the handedness and OBP issues will get addressed as the lineup turns over through natural attrition. Many of the Brewer hitters I'm excited about are LH... Gamel, Green, Gindl, Schafer, Dennis... I certainly don't believe moving assets for different position players is a wise decision given the state of the pitching. I know just about every post I've made in the last 16 months has either been offering an opinion on a prospect or hammering away on pitching, but I sincerely believe that pitching has been and will remain the core issue with this team until some top of the rotation talent is infused into the rotation itself or the upper part of the system. FA scrubs and rental players aren't solutions, they are band-aids, they are bailing water on a sinking ship. The team has nearly a quarter of it's payroll tied up in Hall and Suppan, and we will have that same issue next season. Spending more money isn't the answer to any problem we currently have with this team. At some point we're going to have give up some impact position talent to make the team better as a whole, by impact talent I mean anyone with a WAR greater than 4. People need to get past the 1 to 1 offensive comparisons and start seeing the total picture including a more long-term approach... it's entirely possible to downgrade an offensive position but become a better team in the process, because 2 players can be better than 1.

Helena comes back to win in the 9th... thank god I was ready to walk off a ledge during the peanut inning (obviously). I didn't realize Robinson had shoulder surgery, for some reason I thought it was TJ. I wonder where his velocity is these days?

hmm, mic attached to it? My guess is the sound is actually recording through the microphone instead of the output or the audio stream

Of course it's worse when they've alreaday given back most of a 6 run lead having given up 4 runs in the peanut inning thus far... and as i type this Dykstra screws up the turn with a horrible toss to Marseco.... the very next pitch goes to the screen, the H-Crew has given up 6 runs in the inning and are now tied... will this peanut hell ever end? I might have to turn off the game for awhile.

are you using a laptop?