Bush struggles as Brewers are snake bitten

Brewers fans enjoyed the Dave Bush affectionately known as “Cy Bush” the past couple starts.  His fine performances did not carry over to Monday night, however.

Dave Bush returned to form, giving up multiple runs in the first and fifth innings.  That is vintage Dave Bush if I ever saw it.

He gave up a double and a triple in the first, which ended up costing the Crew two runs.  It sacrificed all of the momentum gained in the top of the first.  J.J. Hardy looked very comfortable at the plate again tonight.  He plated Rickie Weeks with a double to start the game, and later scored on a Prince Fielder single to right.  All seemed right in the world in the top of the first.

The Brewers right-hander must have decided that Milwaukee’s 2-0 lead was just too good to be true.  After giving back those 2 runs, things calmed down until the fifth.  Both Bush and Doug Davis appeared to have found a groove.

That groove ended for Milwaukee in the fifth, however.  Dave Bush strikes again.  He gives up three more runs to the slumping D’Backs order, and Milwaukee was never able to recover.  Doug Davis consistently kept the Brewers hitters off-balance after the first inning, and Milwaukee struck out a lot against the Diamondback relievers.

The offense could not bail out Dave Bush, but I cannot help but think the Crew could have pulled out the win had Dave been able to quiet the D’Backs in the first inning.  Should have, would have, could have, though.  That doesn’t put any tallies in the win column.  I do wish, however, that Dave Bush could do that more consistently.

Records: Brewers (44-38 ); Diamondbacks (42-41)

Hero of the Game: J.J. Hardy

J.J. started off the game right with a double that scored Rickie Weeks.  The Brewers shortstop has looked much more comfortable at the plate in the past week or so, and he showed that tonight.  He followed up that first inning double with a 3-5 night, adding another double to his stat line.  If J.J. can heat up in the second spot with Rickie getting on base ahead of him, this Brewers offense would be downright scary.

Goat of the Game: Dave Bush

You need to figure out those first inning woes.  That’s all that needs to be said.  Figure it out, or you’ll be on the outside looking in after the trade deadline.

The second Goat of the Game goes to Ryan Braun.  He has looked downright awful at the plate the past couple games, and it continued tonight.  Striking out twice and grounding into a double play, Ryan seemed to kill any momentum the offense tried to get going.

On Tap

Jeff Suppan has scuffled a bit in his past couple outings.  He will look to turn that around Tuesday night against the future hall-of-famer, Randy Johnson.  Randy shut down the Crew pretty easily until the late innings in his last start in Milwaukee.  The game starts at 8:40pm CT.  This is a big game for Milwaukee.  The squad needs a big win.

Starting pitching possibilities

UPDATE 06-30-08 1:39 pm – Here are a couple more names you can add to the possible starting pitchers. Jonathan Sanchez and Matt Cain are just a couple of rumors that are coming out of San Fran.

RHP Derek Lowe (Los Angeles Dodgers) – 08: $10M

RHP Matt Cain (San Francisco Giants) – 08: $0.7M, 09: $2.65M, 10: $4.25M, 11: $6.25M (club option)

LHP Jonathan Sanchez (San Francisco Giants) – 08: $0.395M – Under team control through 2012

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With all the trade rumors flying around concerning the Milwaukee Brewers and a starting pitcher, I thought it would be a good opportunity to take a look at some options connected with the Crew. Sorry about the lack of a game-wrap last night. The game sucked, and I’ve been working on this.

LHP C.C. Sabathia (Cleveland Indians) – 08: $9M

The Milwaukee Brewers have been most closely linked to the big left-hander out of Cleveland. The 2008 season has not gone as planned for the Indians, and they are almost certainly sellers at this point in the game.

C.C. scuffled out of the gate in 2008. Last year’s Cy Young leader sported a 7.88 ERA after April, and the baseball world wondered what was going on. Was he hurt? Did he get complacent?

Turns out nothing was wrong whatsoever. Sabathia may have even taken it personally. In May, C.C. dominated with a 2.44 ERA. He’s gotten even better in June. The biggest name on the trade market in 2008 has a 1.89 ERA this month. That is enough to make any team salivate nearing the trade deadline.

Okay, we’ve established that C.C. is the most dominate pitcher available come July, but how does he fit in Milwaukee? C.C. would certainly be only a rental player, as Milwaukee does not have the payroll to give him the Johan Santana-like contract he desires after the season is done. With that said, a Ben Sheets – C.C. Sabathia top of the rotation would be the best in baseball. That is not a hyperbole by any stretch of the imagination, either.

It would take a talented group of prospects to get Sabathia to Milwaukee, and Mat Gamel or Matt LaPorta would almost certainly have to be included in the package. Cleveland’s farm system lacks power in the outfield and at third base. Either prospect would make a lot of sense for the Indians. I would suspect Cleveland would also demand either Jonathan Lucroy or Angel Salome in the deal. Perhaps Milwaukee could throw in Cole Gillespie/Chris Errecart into the mix and get Sabathia to Milwaukee.

When it comes down to it, it will cost three or four of Milwaukee’s best prospects to get C.C. Sabathia. Is it worth it for two and a half months of service? Unfortunately, the answer is not that simple. If Sabathia could get Milwaukee to the post-season, it would definitely be worth it. If Milwaukee is not playing in October after making the move, however, Doug Melvin just gave away its future core and got nothing in return. Sure, they would get two draft picks, but replacing Mat Gamel or Matt LaPorta with either of those is highly unlikely.

If Doug pulls the trigger, it would mean 2008 is an all-or-nothing campaign. That’s dangerous for a small market team. I think Brewers fans would much rather go after someone with multiple years left on his contract. This would help ease the pain of losing Ben Sheets after the season is over. There are plenty of others that could greatly help the Milwaukee Brewers in 2008 and beyond.

RHP Zack Greinke (Kansas City Royals) – 08: $1.4M – Under team control through 2010

One of the biggest surprises in 2008 has been the play of Zack Greinke for the Kansas City Royals. The 24-year old has a sparkling 3.40 ERA thus far this season, and many Brewers fans (especially those at Brwe Crew Ball) are calling for a Greinke acquisition over Sabathia because he would be under the team’s control for longer.

Greinke would certainly cost just as much, if not more, as far as prospects are concerned. His value has skyrocketed over the past three months, and Milwaukee would have to pay dearly to get him. Gamel/LaPorta, Salome/Lucroy, plus a major league ready player like J.J. Hardy or perhaps a pitcher. If not a major league caliber player, two more prospects would be needed. Needless to say, it would be quite the haul for Kansas City.

Greinke is the en vogue pitcher of 2008, and he is a fine young pitcher. His success in 2008, however, has been bloated because of a fantastic March/April. Since those two months when he put up 1.25 ERA, he has posted a pedestrian 4.38 and 4.65 ERA respectively in the past two months. The young right-hander has been susceptible to the long ball lately, giving up eight home runs this month alone. That would not bode well for pitching in Miller Park.

It would be a nice addition for the Brewers, and it very well may put them over the top in 2008. Greinke is not a staff ace at this point, however. He is not on the same level as C.C. Sabathia, and Doug Melvin would have to put more on the table to get the Kansas City Royal. If Doug made the move, I could get behind it. The price is too high, however, in my opinion. Giving up four elite prospects for someone who has gotten worse as the year has gone on is not my first choice.

RHP Rich Harden (Oakland Athletics) – 08: $4.5M, 09: $7M (club option)

Rich is not definitely on the market, but Billy Beane is always willing to listen to offers. When healthy, Harden is one of the top 10 pitchers in the league, as is evidenced by his 2.15 ERA this season. The obvious problem is that the right-hander is rarely healthy. He has the Ben Sheets problem, that is. When on the mound, he is dominate, but that seems to rarely happen.

The Brewers could conceivably get Harden for a little less than Greinke because of his history of injuries. That is, if Rich Harden was on any other team, Doug Melvin may have a chance to get a steal. That doesn’t happen with Billy Beane, however. He waits and waits until he gets what he wants. Beane is one of the best GMs in the game for a reason. Other teams will not cheat him.

One thing Milwaukee does have going for them with Oakland is that Beane seems to go after quantity rather than pure quality of prospects. He gets as many as he can get and hopes to hit on a couple of players. That’s the philosophy he used when moving Dan Haren to Arizona during the off-season. Milwaukee would not have to touch their major league team to get Harden in a Brewers uniform.

The real question mark remains Harden’s health. Does Doug Melvin feel Harden’s arm troubles are behind him, and he can be a productive member of the Brewers starting rotation for the next year and a half? If the answer is yes, Melvin will not be afraid to post an offer like Mat Gamel/Matt LaPorta, Angel Salome, and Zach Braddock. Those three should be enough to get Harden to Milwaukee. If not, the risk is not worth it the price.

LHP Erik Bedard (Seattle Mariners) – 08: $7M – Under team control through 2009

Seattle gave up the farm to get Bedard to the West Coast during the off-season, but the results have not been what they had hoped. With a new man at the helm of the team, Bedard is almost certainly on the trading block. He should also not cost as much as Seattle paid to get him in January.

I think Mat Gamel/Matt LaPorta, Cole Gillespie, and Tony Gwynn Jr. should be enough to get Bedard to Milwaukee. If not, a player like Caleb Gindl or Amaury Rivas would need to be thrown in the mix. I don’t think Jeremy Jeffress is going anywhere this summer. Zach Braddock would be too much, as well. Seattle lacks offense in general in their farm system, so a package like this could get the deal done.

Is Bedard worth it though? Bedard has never pitched over 200 innings in his big league career, and he has already experienced back spasms this year. The left-hander is not a sure thing to take the mound like Rich Harden, and not as dominate when on the mound. Before this year, however, Erik had consistently improved on his previous year’s stats. That is always a trend a GM likes to see when making a move.

Another interesting aspect of Bedards stats in 2008 is that left-handed hitters have had more success than right-handers – .254 BA to .226 BA, respectively. He has also struggled away from the pitcher-friendly park in Seattle. Bedard could be had without costing Milwaukee too much, certainly less than the above mentioned pitchers. He also has a chance to be just as dominate as any of them. Melvin would be buying low at this point, which is always a positive aspect in a trade. It gives him some leverage when designing a package.

That is the main difference between Bedard and the rest of the pitchers on this list. Doug Melvin would be buying low, banking that a change of scenery will get Bedard back on track. It is interesting though that a 3.97 ERA is a disappointing season for the left-hander. He could be a nice pick-up for the Milwaukee Brewers. The problem is that Bedard only has 70.1 innings pitched in 2008. Compare that to Sheets’ 104.3, and you can see the durability concerns.

LHP Cliff Lee (Cleveland Indians) – 08: $3.75M, 09: $5.75M, 10: $8M (club option)

Cliff Lee has been a big surprise for the Cleveland Indians in 2008, and he is the cheapest option for the Milwaukee Brewers other than Zack Greinke. I believe that Doug Melvin would be wise to go after the overlooked pitcher in Cleveland. Lee has bounced back nicely from a below-average 2007, and his stats are great.

After an absolutely sensational 0.96 ERA in March/April, Cliff has regressed a bit in May and June. Emphasize a bit. He has a 2.88 and 3.41 ERA, respectively, but his control has remained fantastic. The lefty has a 16:90 BB:K ratio. That would be a relief for a Milwaukee Brewers pitching staff that has walked its fair share of opposing batters in 2008. The 29-year old also keeps the ball in the ballpark. Only five long balls have been hit off Lee in 2008, which would be very important in Miller Park. Zack Greinke has had surrendered more home runs in June alone.

I would think it would cost about the same to get Lee as Sabathia, just because of the fact that Lee is under contract through 2010. It would again be the likes of Mat Gamel/Matt LaPorta, Angel Salome/Jonathan Lucroy, and perhaps Zach Braddock. I would like to stress that Lee is most likely not the pitcher who has a 2.34 ERA in 2008. He is most likely someone that will fall between his 3.79 ERA he had in 2005 and his 4.40 ERA he had in 2006. With that said, the Brewers would be getting a #2/#3 pitcher for the next two and a half years. Melvin would be wise to give Lee a look.

LHP Jarrod Washburn (Seattle Mariners) – 08: $9.85M, 09: $10.35M

In one of the more interesting developments this June, Jarrod Washburn has reemerged as a viable option in the trade market. After posting a horrendous 9.30 ERA in May, the veteran left-hander has rebounded with a 2.93 ERA in June. He is making a serious push to up his market value as the trade deadline approaches. The price tag may be a hindrance to Milwaukee, however.

Cole Gillespie, Lorenzo Cain, and Brad Nelson should be more than enough to get him to Milwaukee. There is no elite talent in that package, but let’s be serious, Jarrod Washburn is not an elite talent. He is more in the mold of a left-handed Jeff Suppan. I realize how unappealing that sounds at the trade deadline. This is the most unlikely option, but his name has been connected with the Brewers, so it does warrant a look.

Overall

Milwaukee has plenty of options. If the price is right, any of these options would be a good pickup for the Brewers – minus Jarrod Washburn. Out of all of these pitchers, Zack Greinke and Rich Harden look to be the most unlikely. The Kansas City Royals have developed more of a “win now” mentality, and the are reportedly trying to sign Greinke to a contract extension. Harden is unlikely because of his injury history. Milwaukee does not want Sheets and Harden atop their rotation. Both are apt to be injured within the next couple of months. That would certainly be a negative for the Crew.

Doug Melvin has the best chance with Erik Bedard and C.C. Sabathia. Erik Bedard has a reportedly surly attitude in the clubhouse, which may speed up his ticket out of Seattle. The Brewers have the offensive prospects Seattle so desperately needs in their depleted farm system. The chances that C.C. comes to Milwaukee is augmented simply because of the big name attractiveness of him. He is far and away the best option on the market, and he has the best chance of pushing Milwaukee to the post-season. That alone will make him the number one target for Doug Melvin. Last year’s Scott Linebrink trade also shows that the front office is willing to mortgage a bit of the future away for a shot at the playoffs. I may not be a fan of it, but it does make some sense. If the Crew is still in the thick of the NL Central battle come mid-July, Doug may pull the trigger on Sabathia.

Cliff Lee is a long shot, but he would be a very intriguing pick-up for the Brewers. His control and his ability to keep the ball in the ballpark is very attractive at this point in the season, and Milwaukee would have him under contract through the 2010 season. The big downside is that they would be buying high, as he’s not as good as he’s showing right now. With that said, he could be very effective for the next two and a half years in the front end of the rotation.

Round ’em Up: Monday

I think all Brewers fans are relieved that Interleague play is over.  More specifically, I think we’re all happy to get out of Minnesota.  They are playing some very, very good baseball right now.  They made the Milwaukee Brewers – who are playing good ball in their own right – look very pedestrian.

The Crew now moves on to Arizona to take on the D’Backs tonight.  Let’s see what’s in the news.

• I hope you all have some medicine handy.  The Milwaukee Brewers activated Eric Gagne from the 15-day DL and sent down Mark DiFelice.  Gagne has been analyzed every way possible, so I’ll leave that alone.

  DiFelice, on the other hand, has been a pleasant surprise this season.  He has struggled against left-handers in the big leagues, but still posted a 3.95 ERA in 10 appearances.  The word is that he’s going to start in Triple-A.  That should bring some relief to a horrid starting rotation in Nashville.

• Jayson Stark from ESPN.com says that one GM that has talked to Doug Melvin reported that Milwaukee will not be afraid to ship its prospects to Cleveland to get C.C. Sabathia in a Brewers uniform.  It will be interesting to see if this is true.  Will Doug be willing to ship the likes of Jeremy Jeffress, Matt LaPorta, or Mat Gamel to Cleveland?  I’m not so sure he is.

  This is not a very reliable source, but a post in the Brewerfan.net forum gives a recap of a radio show in which Doug Melvin appeared.  He said that the Brewers are interested in adding a #2 or #3-type starter to the rotation.  There are some untouchables in the farm system.  He says he will not trade someone he can control for six years for someone he only has for a couple months.  It would be a “quantity trade.”

  To me that “quantity trade” sounds like something right up Billy Beane’s alley in Oakland.  Rich Harden anyone?

• Right Field Bleachers gives a little review of the past week.  I didn’t realize that Ryan Braun was tied for third in the NL in outfield assists.  He does have a great arm out there, that’s for sure.
• The Brew Town Beat wonders if Ned Yost is setting up the Milwaukee Brewers for another Summerfest Swoon.  I still think it is crazy how their post after winning Saturday’s game is all about how 08 is totally different than 07, yet after a single loss, the whole season is going down the drain.  It’s a long season.  There are going to be ups and downs throughout the whole season.  I enjoy their writing at The Brew Town Beat, but their outlook on the season changes game-by-game.  Look at the bigger picture boys.
• Our friend Aaron has a Brewers-Diamondbacks preview for you all.  Give it a look, as he spends a lot of time writing those previews.  It’s good stuff.
• The Yost Infection is back after a long hiatus, and his target is Michael Hunt from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.  The hilarity of his name aside, Mike Hunt is apparently a little slow in figuring out that Ben Sheets was going to test free agency all along.
• The newly drafted Evan Frederickson has performed so well in Helena in the couple weeks he’s been there, that he has been promoted to West Virginia.  (Hat tip to battlekow at Brew Crew Ball.  He certainly knows how to get it done.)
• There has been a lot of movement in the Brewers farm system in the past week or so.  Let me give you a run down of some of the promotions, demotions, etc.

  RHP Jason Shiell – Transferred from Nashville to Huntsville
  RHP Jake Orodizzi – Sent to AZL Brewers
  RHP Josh Wahpepah – Transferred from Huntsville to Brevard County
  LHP Troy Cate – Acquired from Orange County and sent to Huntsville
  RHP Joe Bateman – Transferred from Huntsville to Nashville
  LHP Steve Bray – Transferred from Nashville to Huntsville
  RHP Nic Ungs – Transferred from Nashville to Huntsville
  LHP Evan Frederickson – Transferred from Helena to West Virginia
  C Martin Maldonado – Transferred from Brevard County to Huntsville
  C Chris Corporan – Transferred from Huntsville to Nashville

Minor League Boxscores: Monday

Nashville Sounds (32-51), 16.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Nashville	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0		2	6	0
Round Rock	0	0	1	1	4	1	0	0	X		7	10	0

LHP Chris Narveson – (L, 2-10) 5.0 IP, 8 hits, 6 ER, 2 BB, 6 K – 5.84 ERA
RHP Joe Bateman – 1.0 IP, 0 hits, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K – 3.00 ERA
RF Laynce Nix – 3-4, 2 HR (15), 2 RBI – .284 BA

Huntsville Stars (6-6), 3.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Huntsville	0	1	2	1	0	2	0	0	0		6	17	1
Carolina	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	0		5	10	1

LHP Troy Cate – (W, 1-0) 5.0 IP, 6 hits, 3 runs (2 ER), 1 BB, 6 K – 3.60 ERA
RHP Juan Sandoval – (S, 8 ) 1.0 IP, 0 hits, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K – 3.33 ERA
3B Mat Gamel – 5-5, 2B, RBI, 2 runs – .379 BA
RF Matt LaPorta – 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI, run – .294 BA
1B Chris Errecart – 4-5, 2 2B, RBI, run – .289 BA

Brevard County Manatees (3-8), 5.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10		R	H	E
Brevard County	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0		2	8	3
Fort Myers	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	1		3	8	0

RHP Jeremy Jeffress – ND, 6.0 IP, 3 hits, 1 ER, 3 BB, 9 K – 4.34 ERA
RHP Mike McClendon – (BS, 2)(L, 2-3) 1.1 IP, 4 hits, 2 runs (1 ER), 1 BB, 1 K – 5.03 ERA
RF Lorenzo Cain – 2-4, 2B, HR, 6), RBI, BB – .279 BA
DH Jonathan Lucroy – 2-5, 2B – .317 BA

West Virginia Power (7-4), 1.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10		R	H	E
Lexington	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		2	9	0
West Virginia	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1		3	13	0

RHP Evan Anundsen – ND, 2.2 IP, 5 hits, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K – 3.38 ERA
RHP Roque Mercedes – ND, 5.1 IP, 2 hits, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K – 5.98 ERA
LHP Curtis Pasma – (W, 3-2) 2.0 IP, 2 hits, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K – 4.30 ERA
RF Caleb Gindl – 3-5, 2 2B, RBI, run – .284 BA
CF Lee Haydel – 2-5, 2 1B, SB (27) – .290 BA

AZL Brewers (1-5), 3.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
AZL Brewers	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	0	0		3	7	2
AZL Rangers	3	0	1	1	0	0	0	4	X		9	9	2

RHP Joel Morales – (L, 0-1) 5.0 IP, 6 hits, 5 runs (3 ER), 0 BB, 1 K – 3.38 ERA
LF Jose Garcia – 1-4, HR (1), RBI – .292 BA
RF Hitaniel Arias – 2-4, 2 1B, RBI – .217 BA

Helena Brewers (6-7), 4.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Missoula	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	3	5		10	11	1
Helena	1	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	3		8	11	2

RHP Michael Bowman – ND, 6.0 IP, 5 hits, 2 runs (1 ER), 2 BB, 6 K – 1.80 ERA
RHP Garrett Sherrill – (BS, 3)(L, 0-3) 1.2 IP, 5 hits, 5 ER, 3 BB, 2 K – 14.21 ERA
CF Erik Komatsu – 2-4, 2 HR (3), 4 RBI, BB – .405 BA
LF Christopher Dennis – 1-4, HR (1), RBI, BB – .245 BA
2B Jose Duran – 1-5, HR (1), 3 RBI – .256 BA
1B Brock Kjeldgaard – 2-5, 2 2B, run – .235 BA

Round ’em Up: Sunday

UPDATE 06-29-08 1:08pm – Guillermo Mota successfully lowered his ERA after appealing a scoring decision that occurred against the Houston Astros.

It’s good to know Mota is far more concerned with his personal stat line than whether or not his team wins the game. Ned Yost didn’t seem too pleased about Mota’s stunt either.

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Ben Sheets will lead the Milwaukee Brewers against the hottest team in baseball right now. If the Crew can win this afternoon, it will be an excellent series win and a successful road trip. Who would have thought I would be saying that right now?

• Eric Gagne expects to be back with the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday. I’m not so sure he’s ready for game action though. Normally, Ned Yost is one for hyperbole when talking about his injured players. He always says something like, “[Insert name here] is throwing the ball great in the bullpen” or “[Insert name here] is absolutely mashing the ball in BP.” Not with Gage though. Concerning Gagne’s bullpen session, Yost says that Gagne’s fastball control was “decent.” Oh good…
• Jim Powell has a new post up, and he echoes my concern about Gagne. In fact, he says Gagne’s bullpen session was “just okay.” He had control issues. Why bring him off the DL if he’s not ready?
• The Junkball Blues has a very interesting look at the Brewers offense. He hypothesizes that a team that walks a lot, hits lots of home runs, and strikes out a lot will have a more consistent offense because they do not rely on luck very much. How so? All three of those categories do not involve the opposing defense at all. It’s an interesting way to look at it, but the result is that Milwaukee needs to walk more. That’s what BN reader Aaron has been saying allllll along.
• The post of the day goes to Between the Green Pillars. He talks about what the Brewers need to do concerning acquiring another starting pitcher. The article says that Milwaukee would be much better off trading for someone like Rich Harden, Zach Greinke, or Eric Bedard at this point, as all would be under team control beyond this season. I completely agree when BTGP says making a move for C.C. Sabathia would make 2008 an all-or-nothing season. If the Brewers make the playoffs with C.C., it would be a huge success. If they don’t, however, Milwaukee has nothing to show for their troubles. I would much rather have the likes of a Bedard/Harden/Greinke than Sabathia at this point.
• Ken Rosenthal has a new Full Count video up, and he reports that Seattle’s Jarrod Washburn is becoming much more attractive given his recent success. That wouldn’t be a bad move if the price was right.
• The Brew Town Beat notes that one year ago, the Brewers lost to the Chicago Cubs on that Aramis Ramirez walk-off home run. That marked the downfall of the Milwaukee Brewers last season. This year, however, the Crew started off slow, but has caught fire in June. My how things change.
• The Huntsville Times has a nice article on OF Michael Brantley and how his father impacted his life in the game of baseball. An interesting part of the article says that Michael is the best player on the Stars ballclub. That’s a bold claim, but he has the entire package.
• If you haven’t seen the recap of the Dodgers-Angels game from last night, check it out. Jerod Weaver for the Angels combined with Jose Arredondo to no-hit the Dodgers, but still lost the game 1-0. Two errors and a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning spelled doom for the Angels. Crazy game.

The Sunday Harvest

Player of the Week: C/OF Eric Fryer

Last 10 Games:  .389 BA, 3 2B, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 2 SB

Eric has been flying under the radar a bit in West Virginia, but with Jonathan Lucroy now up in Brevard County, the spotlight is shining firmly on Eric.  He has been playing both catcher and outfield for the Power.  That kind of versatility for a catcher is a big plus.  It reminds me very much of Vinny Rottino.  The kid can hit though, make no doubt about that.  He’s hitting for power, while still showing patience at the plate.  In his last ten games, Eric has drawn five walks and only struck out four times.  Having that type of BB:K ratio will help any team.

Honorable Mention

C Jonathan Lucroy – (Last 10: .344 BA, 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 10 RBI) – Jonathan may have been promoted to Brevard County recently, but it has not slowed his bat down one bit.  The young catcher continues to prove that his bat is no fluke.  Solid catchers who can hit are difficult to find, and the Milwaukee Brewers may have found an absolute gem in Mr. Lucroy.

RF Caleb Gindl – (Last 10: .357 BA, 4 2B, HR, 10 RBI, SB) – Even though he is only 19-years old, Caleb is showing why he is one of the brightest prospects in Milwaukee’s system.  The free-swinging outfielder has found his stroke in June, and West Virginia’s team has benefited greatly because of it.  Caleb is upping his average right now, which is a great sign, but the power numbers should continue to come.  If he can polish up his defensive abilities in right just a bit, a promotion to Brevard is not out of the question.

OF Erik Komatsu – (Last 8 Games: .400 BA, 4 2B, HR, 6 RBI, 2 SB) – The season may have just started for the Helena Brewers, but Komatsu is already in mid-season form.  The transition from college ball to the pros seems relatively seamless in Erik’s case.  He is still hitting for power with a wooden bat.  That is not something to be taken lightly.  We’ll continue to keep an eye on Erik.

Pitcher of the Week: RHP Evan Anundsen

Evan has been the model of consistency for West Virginia throughout the season, but his start this week was fantastic.  The young right-hander threw eight innings of shutout ball.  He struck out six batters, walking none, and giving up four hits along the way.  Dominate stuff right there.  Match that with his astounding 2.41 ground-out/fly-out ratio, and you can see why Evan is a 20-year old to watch.

Honorable Mention

LHP Randy Choate – The veteran southpaw sought to make the big league squad out of Spring Training, but a broken hand stifled those dreams.  Randy is now healthy, however, and dominating in his rehab outings.  In 7.1 innings of work, Choate has given up only two hits, while allowing zero runs to cross the plate.  Mitch Stetter may be looking at a trip back to Nashville once Randy is finished with his rehab assignment.

RHP Alexandre Periard – This 21-year old Canadian had a fine outing last week.  He pitched eight shutout innings, scattering two walks and seven hits.  Alexandre is a ground ball pitcher who relies on his defense behind him, rather than the strikeout.  In an interesting split, Periard has been better on the road thus far in 2008.  A 21-year old who is unfazed by pitching on the road.  He should teach Dave Bush something about that.

RHP Liam Ohlmann – Before the season started for the AZL Brewers, Liam Ohlmann could hardly contain his excitement.  He had just been drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers, and he could simply not wait to pitch in his first professional game.  That over-the-top enthusiasm led be to believe Liam would struggle in his first couple outings until he regained his composure.  Turns out I was wrong.  Liam has pitched four scoreless innings for the AZL Brewers thus far in his professional career.  He has only given up one hit, while striking out three.  The young man has yet to walk anyone.  Not a bad start at all.

Parra stops Minnesota’s win streak at 10

The winning formula this evening was early offense and Manny Parra on the mound.

The top of the order got it going early for the Crew against right-hander Livan Hernandez.  Rickie Weeks walked to start the game, J.J. Hardy drove a single up the middle, and Ryan Braun delivered an opposite field single to score Rickie for the first run of the game.

Livan Hernandez doesn’t throw hard, but he nibbles around the strike zone and understands how to pitch.  After Bill Hall smoked a double to the right-center gap off Livan – yes, a right-hander – the veteran pitcher shut down the Brewers.  His off-speed repertoire is immense, and he will throw any of those pitches on any count.  After giving up five runs in the first three innings, Livan settled down nicely.

The damage was done, however.

Manny Parra held the red-hot Minnesota Twins to zero runs on two hits in seven innings of solid work.  The rookie struggled with his command again today – see the four walks.  He did keep the Twins off-balance though.  He began to pound the zone much more after the third innings, and his pitch count benefited because of it.

While Manny couldn’t find the strike zone early in the game, his stuff impressed everyone.  His fastball came in at about 94-95 mph this evening, and his curveball had a pretty big bite to it.  Did I even see a slider/cut fastball too?  Perhaps he’s been working on that with Mike Maddux during his throwing sessions.

The play-by-play announcers for the Crew did hammer home an aspect of Manny’s wildness.  He always misses low in the zone, which limits his vulnerability to the long ball.  While that is a good point, walks do not benefit a pitcher.  Neither does a high pitch count.  His lack of control…even if it is down in the zone…has given Manny some fits this season.  I will admit that he has limited the damage though.  A guy with great stuff can do that.  If he can combine that great arsenal of pitches with the confidence to pound the strike zone, he and Yovani Gallardo could make a stellar top of the rotation.  That is too premature to think about that though.

I may simply be reading too much into one performance, but I’m a little concerned about David Riske.  Yes, he pitched a one-two-three inning this evening.  Part of that can be attributed to Mike Cameron’s fine sliding catch in the outfield, however.

What I am concerned with is that Riske’s unwillingness to throw anything but fastballs.  In the 12 pitches he threw against the Twins tonight, 11 of them were fastballs.  He did throw one change-up to Carlos Gomez, but that is it.  Why is this?  Isn’t his split finger pitch supposed to be his best pitch?  In fact, he has two split finger fastballs that he throws.  Where are they?  Is he saving them for a closer situation?

There are two possibilities.  One, tonight is a small sample size and David simply chose to throw fastballs tonight against the patient Twins lineup.  He was able to get ahead of the hitters this evening because most of the Twins will take a pitch or two before swing.  That, of course, excludes Delmon Young.  He swings at everything.  He actually makes Ryan Braun look patient at the plate.  A statistical anomaly could be the answer.

The other possibility is that Riske’s elbow is not 100%.  The split finger fastball would put the most strain on his elbow, which is why he could be avoiding the pitch.  Most pitchers are a little gun shy when coming back from an injury.  This could be something more, however.  Wait until David throws again, but keep an eye on his pitch selection.  If it is mostly fastballs again, something could be up.

Records: Brewers (44-36); Twins (44-37)

Hero of the Game: Manny Parra

Any time a Brewers pitcher goes seven innings of shutout ball, he will get the hero of the game.  Even though he fought his command a bit in the early going, Milwaukee’s rookie pitcher showed his plus stuff again and again.  He handcuffed Twins hitters all game, striking out six and only giving up two hits before leaving because of a high pitch count.  Ned Yost and Mike Maddux stuck with Manny through the growing pains early in the season, and Manny is making their patience well worth it.  The young left-hander is proving himself to be a bona fide major league pitcher.

Goat of the Game: Russell Branyan

Sorry Russell.  You went 0-3.  No other Brewers hitter did that today.  The walk doesn’t count either, as it was an intentional walk early in the game.  Shrug it off, big man.  Come back tomorrow and hit a bomb.

On Tap

Ben Sheets looks to secure a series victory tomorrow against RHP Kevin Slowey for the Minnesota Twins.  The Brewers ace has pitched brilliantly all season thus far.  Slowey will not make it easy for Milwaukee, however.  In their last meeting, the right-hander confused Brewers hitters all day.  Let’s hope the Crew can figure him out tomorrow.  The game starts at 1:10pm CT.

Round ’em Up: Saturday

The Crew lost a wild one last night in Minnesota, but they will lace ’em up and take the field again tonight. Let’s hope young Manny Parra can lead Milwaukee to a much-needed win against the scorching hot Twins.

Not to sound cryptic, but I wanted to let you know that there is some big news coming up about BrewersNation. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you the specifics, but you will hear the exciting news as soon as I am able to relay that information to you. Stay tuned!

• All signs pointed towards the Brewers activating Eric Gagne today, but the plans have changed. Gagne will now throw another bullpen session to determine whether or not he is ready to come off the DL and rejoin the Brewers. It is obviously not a coincidence that the plans changed after Gagne struggled mightily in his final rehab outing. Perhaps Milwaukee will leave him on the shelf for a little while longer…just to be sure.
• FOX Sports has a video where they talk about the Milwaukee Brewers and their chances going forward. There isn’t much for substance, but I thought I would switch it up and include a video in the Round ’em Up today.
• The Brew Town Beat laments over last night’s loss and Guillermo Mota’s struggles. I know I said it last night, but I will say it again. The pitch Joe Mauer took out of the park was a good pitch. It was a 96 mph fastball above the letters. What else do you want Mota to do? He can’t throw his slider to left-handed hitters, and his change-up is perfect for Mauer to hit to the opposite field like he does so much. The only real option was to take Mauer up the ladder. Unfortunately, Mauer made a great swing. You just have to tip your cap to the young catcher at that point. You cannot blame Mota.
• Two Fisted Slopper has a list of what’s gone wrong this season. Fortunately, it’s not too much. I think I would include the injuries to Yovani Gallardo and Chris Capuano to that list. If Yo was still in the rotation, the Brewers would not be looking to land C.C. Sabathia right now.
• Peter Gammons notes that Rickie Weeks has been one of the biggest disappointments of the year in the MLB. Yet, Peter still predicts that Rickie will turn it around and be one of the biggest contributors of the second half. That would be absolutely fantastic if that is true.
• LHP Mark Mulder is now back in the big leagues for the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cards activated Mulder for the 15-day DL and placed him in the bullpen to get some work. It will be interesting to see if Mulder still has it after being injured for so long.

That’s about it, folks. As usual, there is not too much going on in the blogosphere over the weekends.

I also got an email last night asking if BrewersNation got rid of the Sunday Harvest feature. The answer is no. I was just out of town last weekend. It will be up and running tomorrow once again. I’m glad to hear people like that feature, as it is one of my favorites.

UPDATE 06-27-08 1:00 pm – Assistant GM Gord Ash says that the Milwaukee Brewers are actively scouring the trade market in search of starting pitching.  I’m not sure if we are to understand that as the team is in the C.C. Sabathia sweepstakes, or they are on the trail of someone like Cliff Lee.

Minor League Boxscores: Saturday

Nashville Sounds (32-49), 14.5 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Nashville	0	0	0	1	0	4	0	0	0		5	8	0
Round Rock	0	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0		3	6	2

LHP Lindsay Gulin – (W, 4-4) 5.0 IP, 5 hits, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K – 3.15 ERA
LHP Randy Choate – 1.0 IP, 0 hits, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K – 0.00 ERA
RHP Derrick Turnbow – (H, 3) 0.1 IP, 1 hit, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K – 9.88 ERA
RHP Luis Pena – (S, 12) 1.0 IP, 0 hits, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K – 3.41 ERA
RF Laynce Nix – 2-4, HR (11), 3 RBI – .272 BA
1B Brad Nelson – 1-4, HR (12), RBI – .315 BA

Huntsville Stars (5-5), 3.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Huntsville	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0		2	3	0
Carolina	0	0	0	3	0	0	2	0	X		5	10	1

RHP Donovan Hand – (L, 0-2) 6.1 IP, 9 hits, 5 ER, 3 BB, 2 K – 5.03 ERA
RHP Omar Aguilar – 1.2 IP, 1 hit, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K – 4.26 ERA
3B Mat Gamel – 1-4, 3B, run – .371 BA
RF Matt LaPorta – 1-2, BB, SB (2), run – .297 BA

Brevard County Manatees (3-6), 4.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Brevard County	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0		1	5	0
Fort Myers	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	X		2	4	0

LHP Chris Cody – (L, 0-3) 5.0 IP, 4 hits, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K – 6.57 ERA
C Jonathan Lucroy – 2-3, 2 1B, run – .344 BA
3B Taylor Green – 1-2, 1B, 2 BB – .299 BA

West Virginia Power (5-4), 1.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Lexington	0	0	2	0	0	2	0	1	0		5	5	2
West Virginia	0	2	0	3	0	1	1	1	X		8	9	2

LHP Daniel Merklinger – (W, 2-5) 5.0 IP, 4 hits, 4 ER, 3 BB, 7 K – 7.46 ERA
RHP Rob Bryson – (H, 1) 3.0 IP, 1 hit, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K – 4.59 ERA
RF Caleb Gindl – 3-5, 3 1B, 2 RBI – .278 BA
1B Curt Rindal – 1-3, HR (6), 2 RBI, BB, 2 runs – .255 BA
DH David Fonseca – 1-4, HR (2), 3 RBI – .207 BA

AZL Brewers (1-3), 1.5 GB

Did not play

Helena Brewers (5-6), 4.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Billings	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0		2	8	1
Helena	1	0	0	0	6	0	1	0	X		8	11	0

LHP Efrain Nieves – (W, 2-1) 6.0 IP, 7 hits, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K – 4.30 ERA
RHP Santo Manzanillo – (S, 1) 3.0 IP, 3.0 IP, 1 hit, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K – 3.48 ERA
RF Mike Vass – 2-3, HR (1), 3 RBI, BB – .205 BA
3B John Delaney – 2-4, HR (1), RBI, 2 runs – .162 BA
CF Erik Komatsu – 3-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI, run – .400 BA

Home runs cannot push Crew past Twins

The offense did it’s part, but it wasn’t enough.

Corey Hart’s two homers were not enough to overcome Minnesota’s seven runs.  J.J. Hardy confused everyone watching by socking a two-run home run to the opposite field.  A monster blast by Russell Branyan was not enough.  The 12 hits pounded out by the Crew were not enough to pull out the ‘W’ tonight.

A long story short…one cannot blame Milwaukee’s offense for losing tonight’s game against the Twins.  Even Rickie Weeks continues to swing a pretty good bat since coming off the DL this week.  It may just be me, but Rickie always seems to rake after coming off an injury.  Just an observation.

The infallible Seth McClung came down to earth a bit this evening, struggling through 4.2 innings and giving up five runs.  Minnesota managed nine hits off the big right-hander.  Seth simply didn’t have his ‘A’ stuff tonight.  Heck, he didn’t even have his ‘C’ stuff.  After the bunch of fine performances in the past couple weeks, however, I am more than willing to look past this start.

Seth’s control was spotty at best today, as he found far too much of the plate far too often.  He seemed a little reluctant to throw the curveball this evening, and the Twins hitters jumped on his fastball.  The big man put together a poor outing in every sense, and he will look to rebound next week.  Let’s hope he does in a big way.  The rotation has begun to rely on Seth at the back-end.  If he begins to lose his command, the Brewers may seriously begin to push the C.C. Sabathia envelope.

With a tie game, Ned Yost turned to Guillermo Mota to preserve the 6-6 tie.  Mota has been struggling over the past month, but he looked to be throwing the ball quite well tonight.  Even Joe Mauer’s go-ahead solo shot was a 96 mph fastball at his shoulders.  That is not a location mistake.  A pitcher cannot do anything but tip his cap to the hitter at that point.  It was a good pitch.  Mota couldn’t go to the slider on an 0-2 count to a lefty.  If he hung it, it was gone.  He and Kendall made the right decision, and Mota threw it where Kendall wanted it.  Joe Mauer simply connected.  Ballgame.

The Brewers made it interesting in the top of the ninth against closer Joe Nathan, but were unable to capitalize.  Prince Fielder was up at the plate with runners and first and second.  A grounder to first base ended the threat, however.  Fielder is still over-aggressive when he has the chance to win the game in the ninth.  He needs to relax more at the plate.  Maturity will help alleviate that tension though.  It will come.

Records: Brewers (43-36); Twins (44-36)

Hero of the Game: J.J. Hardy

I know Corey Hart hit two home runs today, but J.J. did something I never thought I would see again.  He drove the ball with authority to the opposite field and hit a home run.  The Brewers shortstop went 2-5 in the two-hole in the lineup.  He has continued to look pretty good since being moved to the two spot.  If Hardy can consistently drive the ball to right field with authority, pitchers will have to pitch him inside again.  Brewers fans should know what Hardy can do with an inside fastball.  His scorching start to the 2007 season should be an indicator of that.  He mashes the inside fastball.

Goat of the Game: Seth McClung

This award cannot go to Guillermo Mota tonight.  He did not throw a bad 0-2 pitch to Joe Mauer.  It was shoulder-high and at 96 mph.  What more can you ask for from Guillermo?  The all-star catcher simply deposited his strikeout pitch over center field.

Seth McClung, on the other hand, had a terrible outing.  The big right-hander was unable to preserve any lead Milwaukee had over Minnesota, and it eventually came back to bite the Crew.  I look forward to next week when fans can see how he responds to this start.  He’s done nothing but impress thus far, so I suspect that will continue next week.

On Tap

Rookie left-hander Manny Parra will battle veteran right-hander Livan Hernandez tomorrow night in Minneapolis.  The game will start at 6:10pm CT.  Manny looks to rebound from a below-average start, but it will not be an easy task against the surging Twins.  Control will be key for Manny tomorrow evening.

Round ’em Up: Friday

Hi everyone!  After a week-plus off, I’m back in the saddle.  Dan did a great job while I was gone, and I very much appreciate it.  Kudos to you, sir!

Anyway, I have quite a bit of news for you today.  Here we go:

• As you can all tell by the Minor League Boxscores from yesterday, Eric Gagne struggled quite a bit in his second rehab outing in Nashville.  That’s obviously not something you want to see.  Between the Green Pillars wonders what Ned Yost is going to do with Gagne.  Most likely, Gagne will be a seventh inning guy until he can prove himself capable of pitching in close games.  Either that, or Ned Yost will be stubborn and throw him out in a one-run game in the eighth inning just to prove something to the fans.  I hope its the former.
• Tom Haudricourt also writes about Gagne’s struggles, but brings up a good point.  Randy Choate has been lights-out in his rehab outings thus far.  The Brewers have a decision to make.  They can put him on waivers and hope he can clear.  Choate would then be sent to Triple-A Nashville.  It seems unlikely that a veteran left-hander would make it through waivers, so the Crew may simply have to promote him to the bigs.  That would mean Mitch Stetter may be saying goodbye to Milwaukee once again.
• Brew Crew Ball has a poll up about C.C. Sabathia.  Should the Brewers offer up stud prospects for a rental?  37% say the Brewers should trade for Sabathia, but only if no big name prospects were given up.  That’s obviously not going to be possible.  That leaves the 35% who say the Crew should trade for a lesser big name pitcher.  Like who?  Randy Wolf?  Please…
• Bugs and Cranks lets Brewers fans see how C.C. would look as a Milwaukee Brewer.  I don’t even know what to say about that.  It’s quite hideous, in fact.
• I wouldn’t be so quick to be so excited about a pending C.C. Sabathia acquisition.  NJ.com is reporting that the Cleveland Indians are attempting to sign the big left-hander to an extension.  This is most likely a token offer, however, as Sabathia has repeatedly stated that he does not wish to talk about his contract mid-season.

  Plus, MLB Trade Rumors is reporting that the Brewers most likely will not make a major acquisition before the trade deadline.  Starting pitching has been a major strength for the Brewers in the past month or so.  Why fix it if it ain’t broken?  If only it were that simple, right?

• The Milwaukee JS has a piece up about Salomon Torres.  Where would the Brewers be without their veteran closer?  He’s been one of the most pleasant surprises this season.  I think we all knew Doug Melvin had a steal when he acquired Torres for two no-name prospects during the winter.
• Here’s a Brewers-Twins series preview from SportsBubbler.com.  I wonder if a young man wrote the article.  I wouldn’t have guessed by the picture atop the article.
• SportsBubbler also recognizes LHP Zach Braddock as the player of the week.  He must have that “invisi-ball” working once again.  It will be extremely interesting to see how he fairs the rest of the season.  His arm is fragile, so his pitch count will most likely be quite strict throughout the year.  There is also a Vinny Rottino sighting in the Three Up section.
• Mat Gamel and Matt LaPorta have both been invited to play in the the U.S. Futures game.  Congratulations to both of them.  It is much deserved.
• Battlekow from Brew Crew Ball has been been quite proficient on the Minor League side of the game.  Today, he maps out the performances of some of the top prospects in the Brewers system.  Sure, the ranking is quite arbitrary, but it is still quite interesting to read.
• Get to know Tim Dillard from the Nashville Sounds.  I now know that if Tim is approached with the option A or B, he will choose C.  Interesting.
• Recently drafted RHP Trey Watten has been quite impressive in Helena thus far.  He only has two outings, but Trey has managed his nerves quite well in the beginning of his big league career.
• The Charleston Daily Mail has a nice article on 1B Curt Rindal from the West Virginia Power.  He has struggled with consistency for most of the year, but the young man has heated up quite nicely in June.  Let’s hope he can sustain this production for more than just one month.
• The Baseball Analysts have a list of the Best Players of Each Decade.  Both Hank Aaron and Robin Yount make the list.  Both very deserving.  Does anyone else from Milwaukee deserve to be mentioned?

Minor League Boxscores: Friday

Nashville Sounds (31-49), 14.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Nashville	0	0	0	3	3	0	2	0	0		8	14	0
Round Rock	2	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	1		5	9	0

LHP Sam Narron – (W, 4-3) 4.0 IP, 5 hits, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K – 4.66 ERA
RHP Eric Gagne – 0.2 IP, 2 hits, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K – 10.80 ERA
LHP Randy Choate – 2.1 IP, 0 hits, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K – 0.00 ERA
RF Brendan Katin – 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, SB (3), 2 runs – .255 BA
CF Tony Gwynn Jr. – 2-5, 2B, run – .336 BA

Huntsville Stars (5-4), 2.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Huntsville	2	2	0	1	2	0	1	0	0		8	15	1
Carolina	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0		1	7	1

LHP Brae Wright – (W, 6-6) 8.0 IP, 6 hits, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K – 3.56 ERA
SS Alcides Escobar – 3-6, 2B, HR (7), 3 RBI, 3 runs – .329 BA
3B Mat Gamel – 1-3, 2B, RBI, 3 BB – .373 BA
RF Matt LaPorta – 2-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI, BB – .295 BA

Brevard County Manatees (3-5), 3.5 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Brevard County	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	0		3	6	2
Fort Myers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1		1	7	1

RHP Alexandre Periard – (W, 6-6) 8.0 IP, 7 hits, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K – 3.75 ERA
RHP Mike McClendon – (S, 6) 1.0 IP, 0 hits, 1 run (0 ER), 1 BB, 1 K – 4.99 ERA
CF Darren Ford – 2-3, 2B, RBI, BB, SB (40), run – .239 BA
RF Lorenzo Cain – 1-4, 2B, RBI, run – .276 BA

West Virginia Power (4-4), 1.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Lexington	2	0	0	0	0	2	2	2	0		8	12	0
West Virginia	0	2	1	0	0	3	0	1	0		7	14	1

RHP Amaury Rivas – ND, 5.2 IP, 7 hits, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 K – 3.70 ERA
RHP Pedro Lambertus – (L, 0-2) 1.0 IP, 2 hits, 2 ER, 2 BB, 0 K – 6.91 ERA
LF Eric Fryer – 3-4, 3 1B, RBI, run – .320 BA
DH Curt Rindal – 2-4, 2B, HR (5), 3 RBI, 2 runs – .253 BA

AZL Brewers (1-3), 2.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
AZL Cubs	4	0	0	0	2	0	0	1	0		7	8	2
AZL Brewers	2	0	0	0	0	1	2	6	X		11	14	5

RHP Greg Miller – ND, 1.0 IP, 4 hits, 4 runs (2 ER), 0 BB, 1 K – 13.50 ERA
RHP Edwin Linares – (W, 1-0) 3.0 IP, 0 hits, 1 run (0 ER), 0 BB, 1 K – 0.00 ERA
LF Jose Garcia – 3-5, 2B, 3B, RBI, 2 runs – .375 BA
3B Miguel Vasquez – 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, run – .273 BA

Helena Brewers (4-6), 4.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Billings	0	0	0	2	0	2	0	0	0		4	9	1
Helena	0	1	3	0	0	1	0	0	X		5	10	0

RHP Trey Watten – ND, 5.0 IP, 5 hits, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K – 1.64 ERA
RHP Cody Adams – (BS, 1)(W, 1-1) 3.0 IP, 4 hits, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K – 4.05 ERA
RHP Garrett Sherrill – (S, 1) 1.0 IP, 0 hits, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K – 9.64 ERA
DH Mike Vass – 2-4, 3B, RBI – .167 BA
2B Jose Duran – 2-3, 2 1B, RBI – .269 BA

Round ‘Em Up Thursday

The Atlanta Braves avoided the sweep last night (BN game wrap or scroll down) and have a travel day today before facing off against regional rival, the Minnesota Twins.

Let’s see what the ol’ blogosphere has for us:

* Ryan Braun has an ouchie – Apparently Braun has been getting treatment for soreness in the meaty part of his right hand between his thumb and forefinger for about a week. He’s hitting .240 with two RBIs and 10 strikeouts in his previous seven games.

* Brewers “fact or fiction” from the Fanatics.

* Junkball Blues looks at power/speed numbers.

* Two Fisted Slopper (found a new Brewers blog) looks at what has gone right for the Brewers so far this year.

* Jake Ordozzi, the Crew’s second pick of the draft, was named “Player of the Year” by USA Today.

* Matt Gamel was named “Player of the Month” by AA Southern League managers.

* Remember Claudio Vargas? Me neither. And the Mets are trying to forget him too. They released him today. Maybe we could get him back since Melvin is looking for starting pitching….

By: Dan Wiersema

Minor League Box Scores – Thursday

Nashville Sounds (30-49), 15.0 GB

Did Not Play

Huntsville Stars (4-4), 2.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Huntsville	0	4	0	0	0	2	0	0	1		7	13	2
Carolina	1	0	3	0	0	2	0	0	0		6	9	0

P David Welch – 5.2 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 2 K – 3.62 ERA
1B Christopher Errecart – 2-4, HR (12), 2 R, 2 RBI, BB – .282 BA
CF Michael Brantley – 2-4, 2B, 2 R, RBI, BB, SB – .320 BA
3B Mat Gamel – 2-4, R, RBI, BB, 2 E (21) – .373 BA

Brevard County Mantees (2-5), 4.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Dunedin	2	0	0	0	0	0	4	1	0		7	10	1
Brevard County	1	0	1	0	2	0	1	1	0		6	11	3

P Joshua Butler – 5.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 8 K – 5.86 ERA
1B Stephen Chapman – 2-4, HR (9), R, RBI – .202 BA
SS Brent Brewer – 2-4, 3B, 3 R, K, 2 SB, 2 E – .210 BA
RF Lorenzo Cain – 2-4, R, BB, K – .277 BA

West Virginia Power (4-3), 1.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
West Virginia	0	1	0	2	2	1	1	0	0		7	13	1
Greensboro	1	0	0	0	3	0	0	4	X		8	8	0

P Michael Ramlow – 4.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 4 K – 3.07 ERA
LF Eric Fryer – 2-4, HR (5), R, 2 RBI – .308 BA
DH Steffan Wilson – 1-4, HR (14), R, 2 RBI, K, 2 GIDP – .266 BA
2B Eric Farris – 3-5, RBI, K – .233 BA

Helena Brewers (3-6), 4.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Helena	0	0	4	0	1	1	0	0	0		6	4	3
Great Falls	0	0	2	2	0	0	7	1	X		12	7	1

P Brandon Ritchie – 3.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 4 K – 5.40 ERA
CF Logan Schafer – 1-4, HR (2), R, 3 RBI, 2 K – .238 BA
1B Brock Kjeldgaard – 1-4, HR (1), R, RBI, 3 K – .194 BA
LF Erik Komatsu – 1-3, 2 R, BB – .429 BA

AZL Brewers (0-3), 2.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
AZL Brewers	1	0	0	1	0	1	2	0	0		5	10	4
AZL Mariners	0	0	0	0	0	4	2	1	X		7	9	1

P Adrian Rosario – 5.1 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K – 5.06 ERA
C Shawn Zarraga – 2-2, 2 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB, SF, SB – .600 BA
SS Carlos George – 2-4, 2B, R, SB, 2 E – .571 BA
2B Luis Sanchez – 2-5, 3B, 2 R, 2 K, E- .500 BA

Sup, Offense Off in Finale Loss

Following his disastrous 1 2/3 inning performance in his last outing, Brewers pitcher Jeff Suppan was hoping for a solid outing in his side’s finale against the Atlanta Braves. Suppan was actually very good through four innings allowing only two runs, but ran into trouble in the fifth, giving up two more. All in all it was the bats that failed to back up Sup in his pitching this afternoon, putting up two runs in the third. Final score: Braves 4, Brewers 2.

Suppan had never won at Atlanta and this afternoon would not be his day either. Braves starter Jorge Campillo was a Brewers killer on both sides of the game. Through seven innings he allowed only four hits and two runs alongside six strikeouts. With the bat Campillo stroked two hits and came around to score both times.

In the end, the Crew walked away from Turner Field with two of three and a solid start to their road trip. Rickie Weeks was solid again (I didn’t give him props for his 3-for-4 night earlier) going 2-for-4 in the leadoff spot. Watch out NL if Weeks continues this tear.

The bats have been a little off in Atlanta, but super pitching from Dave Bush and Ben Sheets kept the Braves at bay. Suppan was decent (not a “quality start,” but decent), but the bats couldn’t support the guy.

Records: Brewers (43-35); Braves (38-41)

Hero of the Game: Rickie Weeks

About the only guy who came to play. Since Sheet’s effort overshadowed Weeks’ 3-4 outing before I’ve got to give him credit today. When he came back off the DL I thought maybe Yost wouldn’t put him back up top (who else would go up.. I don’t know) and see if he could earn the spot back, but he has hit exactly how a leadoff guy should. Runner-up credit goes to Mike Rivera who grabbed another spot start and made it look like Jason Kendall was still behind the plate and at bat (and that’s a good thing).

Goat of the Game: Prince Fielder

After roasting the Orioles at home, Fielder was down right bad in the “ATL.” No hits, no walks, a few defensive blunders, and 2 Ks for the fat man. Here’s to hoping he puts another fly ball of the speakers in the Metrodome.

On Tap:

Travel day tomorrow, but the I-94 series continues in Minneapolis on Friday. Scott McNasty (5-3, 3.79 ERA) hits the hill against Nick Blackburn (6-4, 3.68 ERA). The Twinkies lead the season series 2-1.

By: Dan Wiersema

Round ‘Em Up Tuesday

I missed the game last night, but from what I can gather from reports from the field David Bush turned in another gem, the Atlanta Braves can’t field and have a nasty habit of hitting into catch and tag double plays, and Salomon Torres can struggle and still lock down a save (Torres said, “I was able to be the Salomon you know and love.”).

Here’s what the web is saying today:

* Eric Gagne and Randy Choate on the mend

* Brevard County mixing it up – The Manatees are “starting” relievers and bringing “starters” in during the third or fourth innings. They want their pitchers to develop a “nine inning mentality.”  Great program I hope it works.

* Ryan Braun… man of the people.

* Freddy Krueger says no way to AAA – Apparently Julian Tavarez was going to accept his assignment to Nashville to stretch out his arm, but now he’s looking a free agency.

* Speaking about free agency… Ben Sheets is looking that way too.  He said it would be “pretty tough” to not test the markets after his “big” year this year. I like Sheets, but I feel really uncomfortable about comments like this.  Its pretty obvious that we’re all thinking about what’s happening off-season, he’s thinking about what’s happening this off-season, and Doug Melvin is thinking about what’s happening this off-season, but do we have to put it into words.  I’d rather our ace just get to the mound and not use questions from the media as maneuvering in negotiations.  I know that’s apart of the game, but still….

* Our buddy Aaron at Brew Crew Pub asks if the Brewers “are really that good?”

* Graff is in Cleveland –  The Indians sign former Brewer Tony Graffanino after his return from an ACL and knee injuries

* Brew Crew Ball keeps cranking out the draftee interviews – Today its Jake Odorizzi.

* Sports Bubbler Prospect of the Week: Zach Braddock

* Dugout Central’s Joe Delgrippo wants the Yankees to sign Prince Fielder.

* Bat breaking makes the union and owners’ talks.  If anything the weakness of the maple bats should raise awareness of the Emerald Ash Borer, which is destroying the Ash trees baseball normally uses for bats.

* Braun and Kapler have made the All-Jewish Team. Mazel Tov!

On Tap

Jeff Suppan (4-5, 3.92 ERA) is coming off one of his roughest starts of the year and will face Jorge Campillo (2-2, 2.54 ERA) in the series finale. Game time 12:05 CT on FSN.

By: Dan Wiersema

Minor League Box Scores – Tuesday

Nashville Sounds (30-49), 15.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Memphis	0	1	0	2	2	0	2	1	0		8	11	1
Nashville	0	1	0	2	3	0	0	0	0		6	14	0

P Eric Gagne – 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K – 0.00 ERA
P Richie Gardner – 3.1 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 2 K – 4.26 ERA
1B Brad Nelson – 2-5, HR (11), R, RBI, 2 K – .311 BA
3B Adam Heether – 2-4, 2 2B, R, BB, K – .243 BA
CF Tony Gwynn – 3-5, K, SB – .333 BA

Huntsville Stars (3-4), 2.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Huntsville	0	1	0	0	2	1	1	3	0		8	13	2
Carolina	0	0	0	1	0	5	0	3	X		9	13	1

P Derek Miller – 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K – 4.66 ERA
1B Christopher Errecart – 3-3, R, RBI, BB – .278 BA
3B Mat Gamel – 2-5, 2B, R, RBI, 2 K – .371 BA
C Angel Salome – 2-5, 2B, R, RBI, K – .351 BA

Brevard County Mantees (2-4), 3.0 GB

Game 1

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Dunedin	0	0	0	0	0	0	0				0	3	1
Brevard County	1	0	0	0	0	1	X				2	4	1

P Jeremy Jeffress – (W, 3-3), 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K – 4.75 ERA
DH Jonathan Lucroy – 1-3, HR (2), R, 2 RBI – .353 BA
C Martin Maldonado – 1-2, 2B, K – .273 BA
RF Lorenzo Cain – 1-3, R, K, SB – .274 BA

Game 2

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Dunedin	4	1	0	1	0	0	0				6	9	1
Brevard County	0	1	0	0	0	0	0				1	7	2

P Zach Braddock – (L, 3-4), 3 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K – 4.33 ERA
RF Chuckie Caufield – 3-3 – .219 BA
3B Taylor Green – 1-3, HR (9), R, RBI – .299 BA
CF Darren Ford – 1-4, 2 K – .235 BA

West Virgina Power (4-2), 0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
West Virginia	2	0	3	1	4	0	1	0	0		11	16	1
Greensboro	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	5	3

P Evan Anundsen – (W, 7-4), 8 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K – 3.38 ERA
RF Caleb Gindl – 2-5, HR (7), 2 R, 2 RBI, BB – .268 BA
CF Lee Haydel – 3-6, 2 R, RBI, 2 K, SB – .291 BA
SS Matthew Cline – 2-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI, E – .264 BA

Helena Brewers (3-5), 3.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Helena	0	0	0	0	1	3	0	1	0		5	7	2
Great Falls	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	0		3	7	5

P Michael Bowman – (W, 1-0), 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K – 2.00 ERA
LF Erik Komatsu – 2-4, R – .444 BA
DH Christopher Dennis – 1-4, R, BB – .300 BA
SS Michael Marseco – 1-3, R, RBI – .172 BA

AZL Brewers (0-2), 2.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
AZL Brewers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1		1	6	4
AZL Padres	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	X		3	7	1

P Kristian Bueno – (L, 0-1), 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K – 0.00 ERA
SS Carlos George – 2-3, 3B, CS, E – .667 BA
DH Jose Garcia – 1-4, 2B, R, K – .250 BA
3B Joseph Paciorek – 1-4, E – .250 BA

Round ‘Em Up Monday

I’ve got to run to Madison this morning so the “Round ‘Em Up” is going to be just tossed up  here.  I did want to mention how awesome is was to see 18 comments on yesterday’s “Round ‘Em.”  I know like 5 were me, but I love when we get discussions going here.. great dialog is what makes this (Brewers)Nation a great place to live in.

* I wrote it in the Minor League Box Scores this morning, but what the hell was Layne Nix doing in the line up last night after his DUI.

* Speaking of the Sounds, Eric Gagne is set to join them for a rehab stint.

* Weird factoid – Russell Branyan was brought up on the same date, to the same position, as Ryan Braun last year.

* Mark DiFelice has gotten something special going for him.

* Brew Crew Ball has another draft pick interview: Mike Roberts.

* Another great Braves-Brewers game wrap. There’s your link today, Aaron!

* The Junkball Blues looks at Ben Sheets (who?) and quality starts this season.

Anything else out there, feel free to leave a link in the comments section.  Thanks.

By: Dan Wiersema

Complete Game Sheets Saves the Day Again

I’m stunned, absolutely stunned. If you told me in April that Ben Sheets would be as dominate as he has been this season I would have laughed you out of the refrigerator box I live in. Sheets has great stuff (which is an understatement) and has proven to be durable when he’s healthy. But that’s the key phrase: “healthy.”

We’ve all come to getting used to Big Ben getting hurt. Even the local NBC affiliate began this season updating us with a new Brewers stat, DOR, or “days on roster” for Sheets. The feeling was that is was nice to have Sheets around, but an injury was inevitable.

I can’t say for certain that something won’t happen to Sheets, but so far this season he is pitching like a mid-season CY Young candidate. There have been games where he has struggled with his command at times or his single terrible outing against the Dodgers, but when its all said and done Sheets has been unbelievable.

Last night was no different. Sheets went nine innings, allowing only four hits, one run, while striking out seven. The two most impressive parts of his performance were that: 1) he didn’t register a K until the last out of the fourth inning, so all seven took place in less than five innings ; and 2) he is also a workhorse. Going into the pre-bottom of the ninth inning commercial break the Crew was in a save situation. Was Salomon Torres going to have to come out again? Nope, Sheets to the rescue. He had retired the last 13 batters in order, so wasting the last three in order was nothing new to the staff ace.

Mike Cameron was great in his return from a toe injury, putting the Brewers on the board in the second with a two run home run to left. The first runs against Jo-Jo Reyes spelled trouble for the young pitcher. By the third inning, Reyes was pulled by Braves manager Bobby Cox, after giving up two more runs and loading the bases. Unfortunately, the Braves wiggled off that hook and held Milwaukee scoreless for the rest of the game. Buddy Carlyle three 4 1/3 innings of scoreless ball allowing only two hits and stranding Brewer runners at third in three separate innings.

But, the Brewers had Sheets on the mound and as the Braves tightened their part of the game, he only got better.

Records: Brewers (42-34), Braves (38-40)

Hero of the Game: Ben Sheets

If I didn’t give the “hero” award to Sheets he’d be as mad as if Ned Yost didn’t let him finish last nights game (remember when Yost took him out with one out left a few weeks ago?). Everything about how Sheets went through last night’s game was a testament to what a great pitcher he is. All his strikeouts came in the fourth inning or later. He faced only one, ONE, three ball count during the whole game. SIXTEEN batters in a row. Seventh consecutive win. 6-0 on the road. 9-1 record. The achievements are astounding. Punch his ticket to Yankee Stadium this All-Star break.

Goat of the Game: Bill Hall

Poor guy can never catch a break. A rare start and he goes 0-for-4, with a strikeout, and leaves three on base. Everyone of his at-bats he put hard hit balls into play. If Russell Branyan wasn’t so dominate right now I’d really be feeling for this guy.

On Tap:

The Braves march Charlie Morton (1-0, 4.91 ERA) to the mound to stop the bleeding. Dave Bush (3-7, 5.26), coming off his best start of the season, will try to secure the road series win for the Crew. Game time 6:05 CT on FSN.

By: Dan Wiersema

Minor League Box Scores – Tuesday

Nashville Sounds (30-48), 15.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Memphis	0	0	0	1	0	5	0	1	1		8	8	0
Nashville	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0		1	7	2

P Derrick Turnbow – 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K – 10.13 ERA
P Randy Choate – 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K – 0.00 ERA
P Chris Narveson – (L, 2-9), 4 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 7 K – 5.50 ERA
3B Adam Heether – 0-1, 3 BB – .238 BA
1B Brad Nelson – 2-4 – .309 BA
RF Laynce Nix – 2-4 – .271 BA

HOW WAS NIX PLAYING LAST NIGHT?!?!?!? He was arrested the night before on a DUI!

Huntsville Stars (3-3), 1.0 GB

Did Not Play

Brevard Country Manatees (1-3), 1.5 GB

Game postponed due to wet grounds.  Will be made up as part of a doubleheader today.

West Virginia Power (3-2), 1.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
West Virginia	0	0	4	0	4	0	0	0	0		8	13	0
Kannapolis	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0		2	7	1

P Richard Seidel – (W, 4-4), 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K – 5.25 ERA
RF Eric Fryer – 3-4, 2B, R, BB, SB – .309 BA
1B Steffan Wilson – 1-4, HR (13), R, 2 RBI, BB, K – .266 BA
SS Matthew Cline – 2-5, 2B, R, RBI, BB – .254 BA

Helena Brewers (2-5), 4.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10		R	H	E
Helena	1	1	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	1		6	11	2
Great Falls	0	0	0	2	0	1	2	0	0	4		9	13	1

P Evan Frederickson – 5.2 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 K – 3.72 ERA
CF Logan Schafer – 2-3, HR (1), 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, SB – .231 BA
LF Erik Komatsu – 2-5, HR (1), R, RBI – .429 BA
DH Christopher Dennis – 2-4, 2B, R, RBI, BB, K – .308 BA

Round ‘Em Up – Monday

After picking up another win last night, the Milwaukee Brewers hit the road to take on the Atlanta Braves. Since the crushing road sweep against Boston on May 20th, the Crew is the hottest team in baseball, going 21-10. Also, no MLB team has hit more home runs that the Brewers’ 39.

Here’s what’s on the front burner today:

* Other NL Central teams: Cubs 7-1 over the White Sox, Cards fall to BoSox in 13. Zambrano to the DL, but “avoids major injury.”

* Brew Crew Ball works overtime to snag interviews. Option 1: Brevard County’s Stephan Chapman and/or Option 2: Draft pick Daniel Medows.

* The JS’s Tom Hardicourt weighs in on a Brewers-for-Sabathia-trade. I still think that this is a no-way-Jose trade. McClung has emerged as a good contributor in the rotation, Bush seems to be holding his own, and as long as Parra and Suppan’s performances were just temporary slips we’re fine on the starting pitching front. This all makes even more sense when you know that the Brewers org isn’t going to toss out prospects for a one-year fix. Melvin and Attanasio have repeatedly talked about building for the future AND the now so with the Crew still competitive with their current set up, the org is not going to sell on the future.

* Support for the Crew at home and away continues to rise. Note: the second story uses the headline “Brewers Nation.” I know that I’m not all up in arms that they “stole” our site name (I’m talking to you South Side Rub).

* Russell “the muscle” Branyan by-the-numbers.

* From the “obvious news department” (aka Fox Sports): McClung continues to impress.

* Viva Cerveceros is glad we had Craig Counsell to cover our butts while Weeks was gone. Me too. I thought Counsell did well in the lead off spot while Rickie was gone. Now that we doesn’t have to come down from the ozone with the batting stance he’s a better hitter. Defense isn’t all that bad either.

* Laynce Nix arrested for DUI in Nashville last night. Oops

Dan Out.

By: Dan Wiersema

Minor League Box Scores – Monday

Nashville Sounds (30-47), 14.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Memphis	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	1	0		4	12	1
Nashville	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0		1	7	1

P Steven Hammond – (L, 0-1), 6 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K – 1.50 ERA
CF Tony Gwynn – 3-5, R – .327 BA
SS Chris Woodward – 1-3, 2B, BB, K – .292 BA
1B Brad Nelson –1-4, 2B, RBI, BB – .306 BA

Huntsville Stars (3-3), 1.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
West Tenn	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	0		3	10	2
Huntsville	0	1	2	0	0	4	0	0	X		7	11	1

P Mike Jones – 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 1 K – 6.48 ERA
3B Mat Gamel – 3-4, 2B, HR (15), R, 2 RBI – .371 BA
C Carlos Corporan – 2-4, HR (3), R, 3 RBI, K – .229 BA
LF Cole Gillespie – 1-3, 2B, 2 R, BB, K – .276 BA

Brevard County Manatees (1-3), 1.5 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Dunedin	0	0	2	2	0	0	0	0	0		4	7	2
Brevard County	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0		1	11	0

P Christopher Cody – (L, 0-2), 6.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K – 8.59 ERA
SS Jimmy Mojica – 3-3, BB – .246 BA
2B Yohannis Perez – 2-4, 2B, K – .253 BA
3B Taylor Green – 0-3, 2 BB – .302 BA

West Virgina Power (2-2), 1.0 GB

Cmpl. Early: Rain	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
West Virginia	3	3	0	0	0	2	0				8	9	1
Kannapolis	4	1	0	0	0	2	X				7	11	2

P Daniel Merklinger – 1 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 1 K – 7.50 ERA
RF Caleb Gindl – 2-4, 2B, R, 2 RBI, K – .271 BA
3B Steffan Wilson – 1-4, 3B, R, 2 RBI, E – .267 BA
CF Lee Haydel – 1-3, 2B, R, RBI, BB – .287 BA

Helena Brewers (2-4), 3.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Missoula	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0		2	9	0
Helena	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2		3	7	1

P Santo Manzanillo – 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K – 4.91 ERA
LF Erik Komatsu – 2-3, 2B, R, 2 RBI, K – .444 BA
1B Brock Kjeldgaard – 2-4, 2B – .174 BA
DH Christopher Dennis – 1-3, R, BB – .273 BA

Prince’s Power Hour Propels

The big boys came out to play in the Milwaukee Brewers’ final game against American League opposition, the Baltimore Orioles. Home runs from Corey Hart, Bill Hall, and a pair from Prince Fielder bailed out an out-of-sorts Manny Parra. Sprinkle in some nice defensive plays and a season-tying high for double plays and the result was good 7-3 victory finishing off a 6-3 homestand for the Crew.

From the get-go it looked like Parra might set up Milwaukee for a long afternoon. His pitch locations were off and a tight zone from the home plate umpire wasn’t helping his cause. Parra walked six guys including four in the first three innings. Two of Baltimore’s three runs were walks that came around to score.

Rickie Weeks was back in the lineup today (and in the lead off spot in the order) and looked shaky early on. Jason Kendall caught Jay Payton off of first, but Weeks, attempting to get Payton out, dropped Kendall’s throw.

Fielder has also looked shoddy on defense recently (something that he had looked to improve this season. He misplayed a bunt single in the second inning failing to pick up the ball and get it to Parra at first base. Earlier in the season is looked as though Fielder was making big strides in his defensive play, but in the last few series he has made several mistakes on plays that should be outs.

If the defense has fallen, the offensive game of Fielder has shown brightly. Prince belted a double and two home runs today. Fielder was 3-for-4 with three RBIs and three runs scored. His monster, two run blast in the seventh gave the Crew some breathing room heading into the closing frames.

The secondary storyline of the game is the positive defensive plays that the Brewers made to back up the struggling Parra. Ryan Braun made two outstanding sliding catches (the one in the sixth was ESPN’s #5 “Web Gem” today) to rob Baltimore of base hits. The infield also turned five double plays on an Oriole team that has the grounded into the least amount of double plays in the American League (45). Weeks was strong on his DP turns (something that has been troubling… low throws to first) and made a fantastic play to end the seventh inning.

Guillermo Mota and David Riske both continue to struggle in relief appearances this afternoon issuing two walks apiece. A strikeout for Riske and two nice defensive plays by JJ Hardy and the already mentioned Weeks grab bailed out David. It took an appearance by Salomon Torres and a double play to get Mota off the hook in the ninth. Mark DiFelice had a good outing, going 1-2-3 in the sixth, but otherwise this bullpen is starting to worry. There are a bunch of bright spots (DiFelice, Torres, Shouse), but they can’t pitch everyday and allow the inconsistent guys to shake down games.

Records: Brewers (41-34), Orioles (38-36)

Hero of the Game: Prince Fielder

The Prince has been going on a power binge of late. He’s got five home runs in the last six games. For June all of his vitals are skyrocketing. Take a look at his May/June comparisons:

Stat May June

On Base Percentage .358 .432

Average .294 .343

Slugging: .450 .757

Promising stuff from the kid.

Goat of the Game: Davillermo RiskMota

What’s up with these guys? I know the zone was tight, Parra struggle with his stuff all night, but Riske and Mota’s inability to find a strike lately is looking Gagnesqe. I guess I’m particularly worried about Riske because I never was that high up on him since the beginning of the season. For the money we paid for him I feel like the Brewers haven’t gotten a lot of relief security.

A few good outings early in the season was marred by several rough outings before going on the DL. Since being activated from the DL two days ago, Riske has participated in the almost-loss on Thursday against Toronto and stunk it up today. These sorts of trouble should be worked out with a player before he comes back from his rehab stint in the minors. I know he blew threw the opposition in his one inning of work in Nashville, but there’s nothing wrong with playing it safe and seeing he’s all there.

On Tap:

The Crew hits the road to take on the Atlanta Braves. Jo-Jo Reyes (3-4, 4.05 ERA) is on the mound versus Ben Sheets (8-1, 2.74 ERA). Game time: 6:05 CT.

By: Dan Wiersema

Minor League Box Scores – Sunday

Nashville Sounds (30-46), 13.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Memphis	0	0	2	0	0	1	1	0	1		5	10	2
Nashville	0	2	1	0	1	0	4	0	X		8	9	1

P Lindsay Gulin – 5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 5 K – 2.99 ERA
C Vinny Rottino – 2-3, 2B, 2 R, 2 BB – .282 BA
3B Adam Heether – 1-2, 2B, 3 RBI, SF, HBP – .241 BA
RF Brendan Katin – 1-3, 2B, 2 R, BB – .246 BA

Huntsville Stars (2-3), 1.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
West Tenn	0	0	4	1	0	0	0	1	0		6	13	2
Huntsville	1	0	0	0	0	4	1	1	X		7	13	0

P Donovan Hand – 6 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 5 K – 4.64 ERA
CF Michael Brantley – 2-2, 2 R, BB, S, 2 SB – .321 BA
1B Guilder Rodriguez – 3-4, 2B, R – .231 BA
DH Angel Salome – DH, 2-4, 2 R, RBI, GIDP – .357 BA

Brevard County Manatees  (1-2), 1.5 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Brevard County	0	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	0		3	6	1
Daytona	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	X		4	8	1

P Alexandre Periard – 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K – 4.14 ERA

CF Darren Ford – 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, K – .238 BA
1B Stephen Chapman – 1B, 2-4, 3B, R, RBI, K, E – .203 BA
C Jonathan Lucroy – 1-3, 3B, BB, K – .400 BA
LF Charlie Fermaint – 1-2, 2 BB, CS – .242 BA

West Virgina Power (1-2), 1.5 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
West Virginia	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	1		3	11	0
Kannapolis	1	4	8	1	0	0	0	0	X		14	16	2

P Amaury Rivas – (L, 6-3), 2 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 2 K – 3.48 ERA
DH David Fonseca – 2-4, HR (1), R, 2 RBI, K – .197 BA
C Ulrich Snijders – 1-4, HR (2), R, RBI, K – .211 BA
1B Curt Rindal – 2-4, 2B, R, K, GIDP, CS – .245 BA

Helena Brewers (1-4), 3.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Missoula	4	0	0	2	0	0	1	2	4		13	15	1
Helena	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1		1	5	3

P Cody Adams – (L, 0-1), 3.2 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K – 2.45 ERA
C Corey Kemp – 1-4, HR (1), R, RBI, K – . 263 BA
RF Erik Komatsu – 1-3, 2B, BB – .333 BA
CF Logan Schafer – 1-3, BB – .143 BA

Round ‘Em Saturday

The unbelievable pitching performances of your Milwaukee Brewers continued last night with Jeff Suppan turning in an uncharacteristically poor night. Six runs (three earned) in 1 2/3 innings set up the Crew for the loss last night to the visiting Baltimore Orioles.  Milwaukee tried to climb out of the hole with impressive early inning responses.  Baltimore kept piling it on before ending on top, 8-5.

Here’s some quick hits on the Brewers news front:

* Mike Cameron’s toe is still bothering him so Gabe Kapler has centerfield for the weekend.

* Rickie Weeks could be back in the lineup as soon as Sunday.

* Matt LaPorta is “day-to-day” after a outfield wall collision.

* Ned Yost is “wait and see” in terms of the risk of him losing his job (that was really wordy.. sorry)

* After both getting swept this weekend, the Cubs and Cards got back to their winning ways.

* Apologies on the wrap and Round Em Up… its my bachelor party weekend and I just got done drinking 64 different types of beer last night.

By: Dan Wiersema

Minor League Box Scores – Saturday

Nashville Sounds (29-46), 14.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Oklahoma	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	4		7	11	0
Nashville	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0		2	6	0

Randy Choate – 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K – 0.00 ERA
3B Adam Heether – 1-2, 2B, R, HBP – .239 BA

DH Brendan Katin –1-4, 2B, K – .245 BA

LF Mel Stocker – 1-4, 2B, R, RBI, K, SB – .286 BA

Huntsville Stars (1-3), 2.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13		R	H	E
West Tenn	1	0	0	4	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	1		8	12	3
Huntsville	0	0	0	2	2	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	0		7	15	4

Brae Wright – 5 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K – 3.67 ERA
2B Michael Bell – 3-5, 2B, 3 R, RBI, BB, K, HBP – .266 BA
DH Angel Salome – 3-6, 2B, R, 3 RBI, BB – .354 BA
LF Cole Gillespie – 2-5, 2B, R, RBI, 2 BB, E – .275 BA

Brevard County Manatees (1-1), 1.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Daytona	0	0	3	0	3	3	2	0	0		11	12	1
Brevard County	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	0	0		3	9	0

Joshua Butler – (L, 2-8), 5.1 IP, 5 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 6 BB, 6 K – 6.09 ERA
C Jonathan Lucroy – 3-4, HR (1), R, 3 RBI – .429 BA
RF Lorenzo Cain – 2-5, 2B, R, K – .279 BA
3B Taylor Green – 2-3, BB – .311 BA
SS Brent Brewer – 2-4, 2B, R – .204 BA

West Virgina Power (1-1), 1.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
West Virginia	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0		2	5	1
Kannapolis	4	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	X		5	7	2

Michael Ramlow – (L, 2-3), 5.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 5 K – 2.82 ERA
DH Steffan Wilson – 2-4, HR (12), R, RBI – .266 BA
LF Eric Fryer – 1-3, BB – .296 BA
RF Caleb Gindl – 1-4, R, K – .270 BA

Helena Brewers (1-3), 3.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Missoula	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	6	3
Helena	0	3	1	1	4	1	0	0	X		10	9	0

Trey Watten – (W, 1-0), 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K – 0.00 ERA
DH Christopher Dennis – 2-4, 2 HR (3), 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 K – .250 BA
C Corey Kemp – 2-4, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, K – .267 BA
CF Cutter Dykstra – 1-2, 3 R, 3 BB, GIDP, SB, CS – .235 BA

Dillard pays price for implosion and sent down

UPDATE 06-20-08 – I’ve also updated the signed prospect list.  Be sure to check that out.

——————————————————————–

Hi all! This is Jim. I’m in Boston, MA right now, but my hotel room has internet connection! Just stopping by to see what’s going on with the site.

I’m glad to see Dan is keeping up so well with the site. It’s a lot of work too keep up with it, but he’s passing the call with flying colors.

Anyway, here’s some news. After imploding last night in the ninth inning, Tim Dillard has been sent down to Triple-A. To replace him, Milwaukee called up left-hander Mitch Stetter. Doug Melvin hasn’t played around with the bullpen in the last week or so.

This move may have happened more because Melvin wanted another lefty in the ‘pen, and Mitch has regained his control in the minors. I wouldn’t be so quick to blame Dillard for this demotion. He’s looked good on the mound, throwing a 95-96 mph fastball with ease. The control has been a bit of a problem in his past couple starts, but it should come around nicely.

Tim Dillard will be back in Milwaukee sometime this season. You can count on that.

Round ‘Em Up Friday

Trying to rush out the Wrap for everyone today.  I’m having a beer tournament tonight at my house and I’ve got to keep 384 beers at my house cold. What am I doing you ask? Oh.. you didn’t ask? Well, I’ll tell you anyways.  Friends and I are having an NCAA tournament of beers.  64 different beers and one champion. I’d go into more detail, but you’d have to see the bracket to believe it.  Gonna be awesome!

* The Rays swept the Cubbies and St. Louis was broomed by the Royals.  The Crew has picked up three games on both teams.  Milwaukee is just two back from the Cardinals and 5 1/2 from the Cubs.  Sweet!

* Carlos Zambrano is going to miss his next schedule start with shoulder “trouble.” Jim Edmonds is expected to return for the weekend series against the White Sox.

* Minor League Ball calls Mat Gamel “controversial.” It might be because he spells his first name with only one ‘T.” Edgy!

* Between the Green Pillars looks at how the bullpen is holding up. Conclusion: OK

* Brewers-Canadian Relations on the mend?

* From the “You Have to See This” Department.  Switch hitter versus a switch pitcher. Probably one of the most amazing baseball things I’ve ever seen.

* The Business of Baseball: Then and Now

By: Dan Wiersema

What the Hell Happened?: Or How Dave Bush’s Magical Night Almost Became a Distaster

I wanted to write a game wrap immediately after yesterday afternoon, honestly I did.  I was all prepared to praise the heck out of one Mr. Dave Bush who turned in a fabulous performance.  A lot of people get down on Bush (I’m one of them), but in the end I truly DO want to see him succeed because in the end he’s our pitcher and if he does well, so do the Brewers.

So when he goes seven full innings on a no-hit bid… that’s exciting.  Also exciting was that he did it issuing only one walk and only two strikeouts.  Obviously he was doing his best Jeff Suppan impression getting all the groundball and flyouts he needed.

I was at the car mechanic yesterday watching the game (yes, I was there that long) and like I said just wanted to get home to write nice things about Bush.

Then the ninth inning happened.

After barely escaping yesterday with a win, my desire to write was nearly gone.  What happened?  Oh yeah.. I haven’t even mentioned all the good times yesterday. The end result a shockingly narrow 8-7 win.

Dave Bush flirted with a no-no.  He threw seven innings that tied the Toronto Blue Jays in knots.  Guys like Corey Hart (2-3, 2 RBI), Prince Fielder (inside the park homer!), Russell Branyan (10th homer of the year, 3 RBI),  and  Jason Kendall (2-4, 2 RBI) provided the offensive support to allow Bush to relax and pursue perfection.

Finally in the eight Bush gave up a triple to Lyle Overbay.  I felt bad for Dave.  Ryan Braun busted his butt to try and get that ball, but it was just slicing too far away from him to get a glove on it.  Bush gave an “aw shucks” punch into his glove and before you know it tag a single that brings in Overbay from third.  Bush finished the night with just two hits and one run to his final line.

What should amount to clean up for a guy (who should be counting his lucky stars that Yost got some sense and sent Tavarez) Tim Dillard became a course in adventure and unbelievable incompetence (combined with David Riske). Overbay struck again with a two run home run that cut the lead to five.  Yost did the right thing and pulled Dillard to stretch out the returning Riske.

Riske proceeded to look less like the seasoned reliever just coming up from a rehab stint in the minors and more like a kid that just got promoted straight from Brevard County. Riske threw almost all fastballs and the last of them sailed over the centerfield wall for a grand slam that would destroy a very safe lead.

Salomen Torres, who probably was making plans to take the kids to the zoo Thursday afternoon, was called in to record a save that never should have been.  He cleaned up the mess in the eight, getting the last out, then came out for the ninth and did his business locking up a win that was a win so many lost minutes earlier.

Records: Brewers (39-33), Blue Jays (35-39)

Hero of the Game: Dave Bush

Almost a no-no.  I am happy to write Bushie in here.

Goat(s) of the Game: Tim Dillard and David Riske

Yost: “Here boys.. have a seven run lead and finish off the game won’t ya?”

Dillard and Riske: “Hee hee… let’s see how close we can make it!”

Torres: “No more playing around boys… I’m late for the zoo.”

On Tap:

Radhames Liz (1-0, 4.32 ERA) opens up the series for the Baltimore Orioles against Jeff Suppan (4-4, 3.68 ERA).

By: Dan Wiersema

Minor League Box Scores – Friday

Nashville Sounds (29-45), 14.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Oklahoma	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0		3	6	1
Nashville	1	0	2	0	1	1	1	0	X		6	13	1

Derrick Turnbow – 1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 WP – 10.95 ERA
Richie Gardner (W, 6-2) – 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 7 K – 3.80 ERA
1B Brad Nelson – 3-3, HR (10), 3 RBI, SF – .312 BA
3B Adam Heether – 3-4, 2B, R, E – .236 BA
LF Mel Stocker – 3-5, 2 R – .287 BA

Hunstville Stars (1-2), 2.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11		R	H	E
West Tenn	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1		4	11	1
Huntsville	0	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0		3	9	1

David Welch – 5 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K – 3.34 ERA
SS Alcides Escobar – 3-5, 2B, RBI – .333 BA
1B Matt LaPorta – 2-5, 2B, 2 K – .297 BA
2B Michael Bell – 1-3, R, BB, 2 K – .259 BA

Brevard Country Manatees (1-0), 0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Brevard County	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	0		3	6	1
Daytona	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0		2	10	1

Zach Braddock – 5.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K – 3.54 ERA
DH Taylor Green – 1-3, HR (8), R, RBI, BB, K – .306 BA
3B/1B Kenneth Holmberg – 1-2, 2 BB, SB – .239 BA
LF Charlie Fermaint – 1-3, R, BB, GIDP – .244 BA

West Virginia Power (1-0), 0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
West Virginia	1	0	0	3	4	0	0	0	2		10	13	0
Kannapolis	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		2	10	2

Evan Anundsen – (W, 6-4), 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 3 K – 3.75 ERA
DH Curt Rindal – 3-5, 2 2B, R, 3 RBI – .242 BA
RF Caleb Gindl – 3-5, 2 2B, R, RBI, 2 K – .271 BA
1B Steffan Wilson – 2-4, 2B, 3 R, RBI, BB, K – .262 BA

Helena Brewers (0-3), 3.0 GB

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Great Falls	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	3	2		6	9	3
Helena	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	3		5	9	1

Michael Bowman – 4 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K – 2.25 ERA
LF Christopher Dennis – 1-3, R, BB – .167 BA
CF Cutter Dykstra – 2B, 2-5, K, CS – .200 BA
3B Edgar Trejo –1-3, R, K – .364 BA