Mariner Minors: 04/23/2006

Mariner Minors

Saturday, April 29, 2006

Game Recaps (4/29/06)

The Rainiers game was suspended today due to rain. Hey, look outside!…

Arkansas 7 (ANA - 5), San Antonio 9
LHP Jason Mackintosh (6.28) went the first four innings, giving up six runs (five earned) on three hits (HR), two hit batters, and four walks against four Ks. Five hit batters in the game tonight, but no ejections… RHP Chad Fillinger (2.55, W) jumped on after that, going the next four and giving up three hits and three walks against four Ks. RHP Mike Flannery (8.00) gave up a run on a hit and a walk in two-thirds of an inning before RHP Craig James (4.26, S) struck out the final batter of the game.
For the offense, 1B Bryan Lahair (2 HR, 3 RBI, .338) led the charge with three hits, including his fourth and fifth home runs. Coming in to the game, he was batting a solid .316/.409/.539, and this game’s power show will push that OPS above one thousand. DH Jeff Clement (HR, 2 R, .220) and C Justin Ruchti (HR, 3 RBI, .229) both had home runs as well, the second for each, and LF Jon Nelson (R, RBI, .275) had two hits. RF Wladimir Balentien (RBI, .256) was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts again, but he did take a walk. Speaking of walks, 2B Michael Garciaparra (R, .265) had two of those and was hit, so he reached base three times on the night.

Visalia 3 (TB - 5), Inland Empire 9
Perhaps I should’ve left it as a “mystery starter”, but this is a decently pleasant surprise. RHP Ivan Blanco (3.63, W) got the start and pitched five frames, giving up two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out three. RHP Jon Lockwood (4.76) went the next two, giving up a run on two hits and a walk, and then LHP Eric O’Flaherty (1.93) and RHP Jose de la Cruz (3.96) split the last two innings, with a hit and a strikeout on the record for each.
SS Matt Tuiasosopo (2 R, RBI, SB, .316) and DH Ron Prettyman (R, .321) both had three hits, and 2B Yung-chi Chen (3B, 2 R, RBI, .333) and C Luis Oliveros (RBI, CS, .281) both had two. I hadn’t really taken notice of it, but Chen’s slugging .500+. The walks aren’t great, but he is hitting. 1B Marshall Hubbard (2B, R, 3 RBI, .231) had a double, 3B Erick Monzon (R, 2 RBI, .286) had a hit and two walks.

West Michigan 2 (DET ), Wisconsin 0 (five innings)
Rain postponed most of the games in the league today, but they managed to make this one official. LHP Paul Fagan (5.62, L) gave up two runs on eight hits and struck out four. Eight hits in five innings isn’t good, but hey, he didn’t walk anyone this time out.
RF Mike Saunders (A, E, .267) had the lone hit for the T-Rats, and C Brian Schweiger (.000) had a walk and a strikeout in two plate appearances, having been called up to replace the injured Nick Prosise.

Tomorrow’s Starters:
Tacoma: Doubleheader, finishing up today’s game, in Tacoma, @ 1:35 pm PDT
Second game: LHP Cesar Jimenez (?)
San Antonio: RHP Brandon Moorhead (?), in San Antonio, @ 2:05 pm PDT
Inland Empire: LHP Shawn Nottingham, in San Bernardino, @ 2:11 pm PDT
Wisconsin: RHP Marwin Vega (!), in Appleton, @ 11:05 am PDT

Tacoma Rainiers: 12-8, .600, 0.5 GB in PCL Pacific North
San Antonio Missions: 9-13, .409, 4.5 GB in TL South
Inland Empire 66ers: 13-9, .591, 1st in CAL South
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers: 11-12, .478, 1.5 GB in MWL Western
Organizational Record: 43-40, .518

posted by Jay Y. @ 10:27 PM

Lincecum

With the draft a little over a month away, one of the guys generating quite a bit of buzz has been Huskies RHP Tim Lincecum, as much for what he throws (up to 100 mph, unholy curveball) as how he throws it. Teams have traditionally shied away from pitchers under six feet tall, and Lincecum falls into that category, but to make matters worse, he has an unorthodox motion, supposedly designed by his father (a Boeing engineer) that no one quite knows what to make of. He walks quite a few guys, but no one seems to be able to hit him and he's already taken the UW career strikeout title from Jeff Heaverlo and shows no signs of stopping.

For my own part, I've wondered what will happen with him in the draft and following it. He's been rumored to go as high as number one, but a number of teams are thinking of him as a reliever who could be in the big leagues almost immediately. The other question I have is how teams will deal with his motion, either choosing to "fix" it, or leave it be, and how they'll react if he does happen to get injured after having it "fixed". There seems to be a pretty established mindset of how pitchers should look when they're throwing, but even the pitchers with mechanics that appear ideal have been going under the knife for years now. Lincecum might just be the case study that the rest of baseball needs.

Anyway, enough of the ramblings, which have already been written before elsewhere, I assume. That's just a segway to bring it around to a couple of articles written about him recently, one at GoHuskies.cstv.com, one in the Times, and one at Buster Olney's blog, which make for some decent reading.

More college stuff tomorrow, in the form of a check in on the 2005 DFEs.

posted by Jay Y. @ 12:34 PM

Game Recaps (4/28/06)

For me, even though three of the affiliates won tonight, the big story has to be the end of the minor league umpire strike. Glad to see this whole thing finally resolved. No more bad calls… well, a lot fewer bad calls, at least.

Salt Lake 0 (ANA + 5), Tacoma 1
Rainiers pitchers combined on a one-hitter tonight, and RHP Kevin Appier (2.25) started things out, going six innings and giving up the lone hit and four walks while striking out four. RHP Emiliano Fruto (2.84) went then ext two, walking one and striking out two, and then RHP Sean Green (1.38, W) struck out two and got the win as the Rainiers rallied in the ninth.
Having been three-hit, there wasn’t much offense, and it really only came together in the ninth.

Tacoma Bottom 9th
· Pitcher Change: Jason Bulger replaces Steven Shell.
· Hunter Brown walks.
· Coaching visit to mound.
· With Shin-Soo Choo batting, wild pitch by Jason Bulger, Hunter Brown to 2nd.
· Shin-Soo Choo singles on a line drive to right fielder Nick Gorneault. Hunter Brown scores.

RF Shin-soo Choo (RBI, .365) had two of the three Rainiers hits, and SS Asdrubal Cabrera (.409) walked all three times he was at the plate. In nine games, he now has eight walks and only five strikeouts.

Arkansas 2 (ANA - 4), San Antonio 3
RHP Yorman Bazardo (3.64) had his best start of the season, going six and two-thirds innings and giving up two runs on six hits, a hit batter, and a walk against seven Ks. He also ran ten groundouts to just three flyouts. RHP Nate Mateo (4.35, W) went the next inning and a third and gave up two hits while striking out one, and then RHP Jon Huber (4.70, S) nailed the save with a hit and a strikeout in the ninth. That’s Huber’s fifth save of the season.
2B Michael Garciaparra (2 RBI, SB, .273), 1B Bryan Lahair (2B, .316), and 3B Jesus Guzman (2B, 3B, RBI, .234) all had two hits in the game, and LF Jason Bourgeois (R, 2 SB, .250) was 1-for-3 with a walk out of the leadoff spot. RF Wladimir Balentien (.269) wore his first Golden Sombrero of the season. Where’d the walks go, Wlad?

Visalia 8 (TB - 4), Inland Empire 4
RHP Justin Jordan (8.18, L) went four innings and gave up six runs in that span, though only one of them was earned. Jordan gave up seven hits and two walks, while striking out three. RHP Aaron Trolia (2.08) picked up the two innings after that, giving up one run on a hit, two walks, and three strikeouts, and then RHP Mark Lowe (0.81) got the last three, giving up a run on three hits and striking out three.
The three through six spots in the lineup, 2B Yung-chi Chen (R, SB, .322), 1B Reed Eastley (2B, R, RBI, E, .279), SS Matt Tuiasosopo (HR, 2 RBI, .293), and 3B Ron Prettyman (3B, E, .300), all had two hits, and DH Marshall Hubbard (HR, .230) hit his fourth home run of the season. I’m just glad that Tui got his first, but any rebound on Hubbard’s part would be nice as well.

Wisconsin 6, Fort Wayne 3 (SD + 1)
LHP Justin Thomas (1.78, W) was solid through seven innings, giving up one run on seven hits and striking out five, while inducing eleven groundouts to five flyouts. LHP Harold Williams (0.71) went the next inning and gave up his first run of the season, well, two runs really, though one of them was earned. An odd line if there ever was one, as he had four walks and a wild pitch, but also struck out the side. Not wanting to bring in Guar on consecutive days, RHP Joe Woerman (3.86, S) got the save in the ninth, giving up one hit and striking out the side as well.
Some interesting lines for the offense, which kind of lead you to wonder how they didn’t get more runs. Probably the complete and utter lack of extra-base hits. 3B Ron Garth (R, RBI, .286) went 4-for-5, and C J.B. Tucker (R, RBI, .259) and DH Robby Hudson (R, .323) both had two each. 2B Luis Valbuena (R, CS, .230) was 1-for-3 with two walks, and CF Casey Craig (.274) was 1-for-2 with three walks. LF Jairo Hernandez (E, .200), called up to replace Alex Gary, was 1-for-5 with a strikeout and a throwing error in his MWL debut.

Back on the topic of Williams (and his crazy strikeout totals), MiLB.com has a feature on him that’s worth a read.

Today’s Starters:
Tacoma: RHP Clint Nageotte, in Tacoma, @ 1:35 pm PDT
San Antonio: LHP Jason Mackintosh, in San Antonio, @ 5:05 pm PDT
Inland Empire: LHP Shawn Nottingham, in San Bernardino, @ 7:11 pm PDT
Wisconsin: LHP Paul Fagan, in Appleton, @ 4:25 pm PDT

Tacoma Rainiers: 12-8, .600, 0.5 GB in PCL Pacific North
San Antonio Missions: 8-13, .381, 4.5 GB in TL South
Inland Empire 66ers: 12-9, .571, 0.5 GB in CAL South
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers: 11-11, .500, 1 GB in MWL Western
Organizational Record: 41-39, .513

posted by Jay Y. @ 1:20 AM

Friday, April 28, 2006

Game Recaps (4/27/06)

Salt Lake 3 (ANA + 6), Tacoma 0
RHP Francisco Cruceta (1.56, L) probably didn’t deserve to lose this one, as he went five innings and gave up just one run on four hits, three wild pitches, and four walks against ten Ks. Unfortunately, three walks and two wild pitches happened to come in the fifth, when the Stingers scored their run against him. Doc was at the game, so if you’re looking for the first-hand, he’s the guy to check in with. RHP Renee Cortez (2.63) went the next inning and two-thirds, allowingtwo runs on two hits (HR) and two walks against one K, then RHP Aaron Looper (4.40) took the final two and a third, giving up two hits and a walk while striking out one.
Offense… offense… cripes, the Rainiers were two-hit, and drew only two walks. So four runners reaching and that was it. Even though they threatened with a fielding error to put DH T.J. Bohn (.268) on in the ninth, followed by a walk to 3B Hunter Brown (.224), I can’t really come up with any highlights here.

Arkansas 3 (ANA - 3), San Antonio 4
LHP Travis Blackley (4.39, W) earned his second win by going six innings and giving up two runs on five hits (HR), a hit batter, and a walk against three Ks. Not bad, not bad… RHP Craig James (4.28) gave up another run in the next inning and two-thirds on two hits and a walk while he struck out four, and then RHP Jon Huber (5.40, S) took it the rest of the way without incident.
It was the one, seven, and eight spots in the lineup that provided most of the hits in this one, as DH Jason Bougeois (3B, R, CS, .244), CF Gary Harris (2 2B, R, RBI, .273), and 3B Jesus Guzman (R, RBI, .217) were all 2-for. Bourgeois reached third, despite tripping near first, as the Arkansas outfielders were having trouble getting to the ball. I was considering singling out Guzman as a guy who needs to get it together, but really, the whole of the Missions offense has been disappointing thus far, coming up last in the league in average, OPS, and slugging, and second to last in OBP prior to the game. But hey, a win’s a win, I guess.

Baseball America is comparing Arizona catching prospect Miguel Montero to M’s ‘spect Jeff Clement in an online subscription article. There’s also a transaction update that mentions C William Plaza and 2B Corby Heckman retiring. Plaza, I guess was sick of spending so much time in extended ST, but Heckman is kind of a surprise considering he was drafted last year.

Bakersfield 2 (TEX - 7), Inland Empire 8
LHP Julio Santiago (2.76, W) was on his game again, going five innings and giving up two runs, one earned, on five hits and two walks while collecting seven more strikeouts. The WHIP isn’t good at all, but he is striking out eleven per nine. RHP Mumba Rivera (3.52) went the next three, giving up one hit and hitting a batter while striking out four, and LHP Eric O’Flaherty (2.16) had a hit and a strikeout to his credit in the ninth. The Inland staff is leading the league in strikeouts currently. Are we surprised?
I want to say that SS Matt Tuiasosopo (RBI, 2 CS, .282) was the star of this game because he went 4-for-4, but he was picked off a couple of times and his total lack of power is becoming a concern, so I think I’ll go with DH Marshall Hubbard (2 HR, 3 RBI, .228), who hit his second and third home runs. 2B Erick Monzon (HR, 2 RBI, E, .279) also had a home run, his second, and RF Chris Colton (2 R, RBI, .258) logged two hits.

Wisconsin 11, Fort Wayne 6 (SD + 2)
RHP Jason Snyder (3.60, W) went five and a third innings to open things up, allowing four runs (two earned) on five hits, three wild pitches, two hit batters, and three walks against four Ks. LHP Rollie Gibson (2.53) gave up one of those runs, and one of his own after a hit and three walks against a K in the next inning, and then RHP Ruben Flores (6.75, E) came in for a two-inning stint, giving up another run on a hit, a wild pitch, and two walks with one strikeout. RHP Edgar Guaramato (0.00) ran into the same weird control issues that all the other pitchers suffered from, giving up two walks and throwing two wild pitches before finishing off the game with a groundout and a K.
The offense was much better off, as all but two hitters reached safely and most who did managed it multiple times. 2B Luis Valbuena (2 2B, 2 R, E, .225) went 3-for-5, and C J.B. Tucker (HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, .245), RF Eddy Hernandez (CS, .225), and LF Casey Craig (HR, 2 RBI, .268) all had two hits apiece. Craig and Tucker also walked. CF Michael Saunders (2B, 2 R, 3 RBI, .260) had a bases-clearing double in the fifth and walked and scored in the second.

According to the Post-Crescent, C Nick Prosise and OF Alex Gary have both moved to the DL with undisclosed injuries. Edit around gametime: Looks like OF Jairo Hernandez is one of those called up, batting sixth in front of Eddy Hernandez.

Today’s Starters:
Tacoma: RHP Kevin Appier (…), in Tacoma, @ 6:05 pm PDT
San Antonio: RHP Yorman Bazardo, in San Antonio, @ 5:05 pm PDT
Inland Empire: RHP Justin Jordan or Mystery Starter!, in San Bernardino, @ 7:11 pm PDT
Wisconsin: LHP Justin Thomas, at Fort Wayne, @ 3:00 pm PDT

Tacoma Rainiers: 11-8, .579, 1.5 GB in PCL Pacific North
San Antonio Missions: 7-13, .350, 4.5 GB in TL South
Inland Empire 66ers: 12-8, .600, 0.5 GB in CAL South
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers: 10-11, .476, 2 GB in MWL Western
Organizational Record: 38-38, .500

posted by Jay Y. @ 1:15 AM

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Game Recaps (4/26/05)

Arkansas 2 (ANA - 2), San Antonio 1
Unearned two-run home run aside, LHP Ryan Feierabend (4.22, PO, L) pitched rather well, going six innings and allowing just three and a walk while punching out six. He also picked off a batter for the first time in a while. And that home run was by Brandon Wood too, so there’s really not much to complain about there. LHP Adam Pettyjohn (0.69) pitched the final three, giving up two hits, tossing a wild pitch, and striking out one.
2B Jason Bourgeois (3B, .220) had a triple out of the leadoff spot, and RF Wladimir Balentien (R, .284) and 1B Bryan Lahair (2B, .324) were both 1-for-3 with a walk. 3B Jesus Guzman (2B, E, .190) hit his third double of the season, but also made his third error to prolong the inning when Wood hit his blast.

Bakersfield 5 (TEX - 6), Inland Empire 6
RHP Cibney Bello (6.06) started and… yeah… you guys know how I feel about that. Bello went three and two-thirds innings this time, giving up five runs, four of them earned, on six hits, a wild pitch, a hit batter, and four walks against two strikeouts. He also had twice as many flyouts and groundouts. RHP Aaron Trolia (1.35) came in with the bases loaded and prevented any further damage, going the next two and one-third innings and giving up just a hit, a hit batter, and a walk while striking out one. RHP Jon Lockwood (4.80, W) pitched two and two-thirds innings after that, allowing two hits, throwing a wild pitch, and striking out one, and then RHP Jose de la Cruz (4.35) came in and walked one before getting the final batter to fly out to center.
I guess my day just isn’t complete anymore unless I get to blockquote a late offensive performance…

Inland Empire Bottom 8th
· Chris Colton strikes out swinging.
· Yung Chi Chen singles on a ground ball to center fielder Jayce Tingler.
· With Marshall Hubbard batting, Yung Chi Chen steals (3) 2nd base.
· Marshall Hubbard walks.
· Matt Tuiasosopo strikes out swinging.
· Ronald Prettyman singles on a sharp ground ball to pitcher Marc Lamacchia. Yung Chi Chen to 3rd. Marshall Hubbard to 2nd.
· Erick Monzon reaches on force attempt, fielding error by third baseman Mauro Gomez. Yung Chi Chen scores. Marshall Hubbard to 3rd. Ronald Prettyman to 2nd.
· Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Reed Eastley replaces Omar Falcon.
· Reed Eastley walks. Marshall Hubbard scores. Ronald Prettyman to 3rd. Erick Monzon to 2nd.
· Brent Johnson walks. Ronald Prettyman scores. Erick Monzon to 3rd. Reed Eastley to 2nd.
· Josh Womack called out on strikes.

2B Yung-chi Chen (R, SB, .309), 3B Ron Prettyman (R, .292), and CF Brent Johnson (R, 2 RBI, .167) all had two hits in the game. Johnson also walked, as did SS Erick Monzon (R, .281), who was 1-for-3.

Wisconsin 7, Fort Wayne 3 (SD + 3)
While Vega struggled, LHP Jose Escalona (2.75) managed to allow one run over five innings, no-hitting the Wizards for the duration and striking out four. Wait, one run, while running a no-hitter? Indeed, Escalona walked five, threw a wild pitch, and hit a batter, so perhaps it wasn’t so stellar. Again, Escalona tired in the later innings, retiring twelve of the first fourteen batters he faced only to give up three of his walks and hit a batter before striking out the final hitter of the fifth. RHP Jeff Gilmore (4.05) took over after that, pitching for an inning and two-thirds and giving up the other two runs on three hits, two walks, and one K. RHP Joe Woerman (4.22) fared well over the next inning and a third, striking out three of the four batters he faced, and then RHP Edgar Guaramato (0.00) pitched in a non-save ninth, allowing a single up the middle and inducing two groundballs against one flyout.
2B Jeff Dominguez (R, .369), CF Michael Saunders (R, RBI, .261), and 1B Bryan Sabatella (2B, 2 RBI, .196) all had two hits, 3B Ron Garth (R, RBI, .259) was 1-for-3 with two walks, and RF Eddy Hernandez (R, RBI, .212) was 1-for-3 with a walk.

Tomorrow’s Starters:
Tacoma: RHP Francisco Cruceta, in Tacoma, @ 6:05 pm PDT
San Antonio: LHP Travis Blackley, in San Antonio, @ 5:05 pm PDT
Inland Empire: LHP Julio Santiago or Mystery Starter!, in San Bernardino, @ 7:11 pm PDT
Wisconsin: RHP Jason Snyder, at Fort Wayne, @ 3:00 pm PDT

Tacoma Rainiers: 11-7, .611, 0.5 GB in PCL Pacific North
San Antonio Missions: 6-13, .316, 5.5 GB in TL South
Inland Empire 66ers: 11-8, .578, 0.5 GB in CAL South
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers: 9-11, .450, 3 GB in MWL Western
Organizational Record: 35-37, .486

posted by Jay Y. @ 9:42 PM

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Game Recaps (4/25/06)

Fresno 4 (SF - 5), Tacoma 5
RHP Cha Seung Baek (3.32, PO) rebounded from his bad outing to go six innings and give up two runs on six hits (HR), a hit batter, and four Ks. Not bad at all. RHP Emiliano Fruto (3.38) went the next two, walking one batter and striking out another, but RHP Sean Green (1.50, BS, W) blew a one-run lead in the ninth, giving up two runs on three hits and a walk while striking out one. Of course, he would pick up the win when the Rainiers came back in the ninth, which of course brings us to the offense…
Let me just be the first to say, “Welcome Back, Drubie.” SS Asdrubal Cabrera (3 2B, R, 3 RBI, .421) was 3-for-4, and all three of his hits were doubles. The ninth inning isn’t nearly as interesting without him…

Tacoma Bottom 9th
· Pitcher Change: Matt Anderson replaces Erick Threets.
· Adam Jones singles on a line drive to center fielder Dan Ortmeier.
· With Asdrubal Cabrera batting, wild pitch by Matt Anderson, Adam Jones to 2nd.
· Asdrubal Cabrera doubles (3) on a line drive to right fielder Adam Shabala. Adam Jones scores.
· Rob Johnson out on a sacrifice bunt, pitcher Matt Anderson to second baseman Anthony Labarbera. Asdrubal Cabrera to 3rd.
· Scott Youngbauer singles on a line drive to right fielder Adam Shabala. Asdrubal Cabrera scores.

RF Adam Jones (2 R, .284) and 3B Greg Dobbs (3B, CS, .286) added two hits apiece, and LF Shin-soo Choo (HR, .364) hit his fifth home run of the season to right-center.

San Antonio 8, Midland 9 (OAK + 3)
I hate to be right in an instance like this, but the Missions teed off against the Rockhounds’ pen, so I guess it’s all right. RHP Brandon Moorhead (6.48) also exceeded expectations, going five innings and giving up just two runs on three hits, a wild pitch, a hit batter, and a walk against four Ks. RHP Mike Flannery (7.56) got into some trouble in the next two innings, giving up six runs (three earned) on six hits (HR) and a hit batter with three Ks. Bad D coming back to haunt the Missions there. RHP Craig James (4.22) went the final inning and two-thirds before giving up the walk-off run on three hits, a wild pitch, and two walks against one K.
The offense saw a few late rallies and two-hit nights from DH Jason Bourgeois (R, RBI, .216), RF Wladimir Balentien (2B, HR, 3 RBI, .284), LF-1B Jon Nelson (3B, RBI, E, .279), and SS Oswaldo Navarro (R, RBI, .298). Wlad had another two Ks tonight… 2B Michael Garciaparra (R, 2 RBI, .267) was ejected in the top of the ninth for arguing balls and strikes. That led to Gregorio in LF, and perhaps some of the odd events resulting in the run in the Midland half of the ninth.

Bakersfield 4 (TEX - 5), Inland Empire 5 (twelve innings)
LHP Shawn Nottingham (6.50) started out this marathon, going five innings and giving up three runs on four hits, a wild pitch, and four walks against seven strikeouts. LHP Eric O’Flaherty (2.35) followed him with an inning and two-thirds in which he walked one and struck out three, before passing the torch to RHP Mark Lowe (0.47), who went three and a third and allowed an unearned run to score on a hit and a walk while he recorded six more strikeouts. RHP Stephen Kahn (0.69, W) pitched two frames after that, picking up the win with the rally in the twelfth. He didn’t strike out anyone, but he did have five grounders to one flyout, and that’s not bad at all.
Interesting rally down there in SB, as four batters reached without an out…

Inland Empire Bottom 12th
· Chris Colton doubles (3) on a fly ball to center fielder Jayce Tingler.
· Yung Chi Chen singles on a line drive to right fielder Steve Murphy. Chris Colton to 3rd.
· Marshall Hubbard singles on a ground ball to pitcher Mike Padgett. Yung Chi Chen to 2nd.
· Matt Tuiasosopo reaches on force attempt, fielding error by shortstop German Duran. Chris Colton scores. Yung Chi Chen to 3rd. Marshall Hubbard to 2nd.

RF Chris Colton (2B, 2 R, .259) had three hits in the game, while CF Josh Womack (2 R, .333) and 2B Yung-chi Chen (R, .294) had two hits apiece, with Chen walking twice. SS Matt Tuiasosopo (3 RBI, .254) drove in three, and 3B Erick Monzon (3B, .279) tripled.

Wisconsin 4, Fort Wayne 13 (SD + 4)
I was waiting for RHP Marwin Vega (4.84, L) to struggle a bit, just to see what happened, and I guess I got my “wish”. Despite giving up nine runs, he was left in for five innings, allowing eight hits (HR), three wild pitches, a hit batter, and three walks against one K. He got out of the first throwing less than ten pitches, but after that he seemed afraid to attack the zone and his flyball tendencies throughout lead me to think something might not have been right. RHP Ruben Flores (7.20) got into trouble as well, going one-third and giving up four runs on one hit and four walks before being pulled in favor of RHP Nick Allen (3.86), who let two of those score and had five hits, one walk, and one strikeout to his credit going the rest of the way, though surprisingly, he did not give up a run of his own.
SS Jeff Dominguez (.367), 3B Ron Garth (2B, RBI, .255), and LF Casey Craig (RBI, .266) all had two hits, and 2B Luis Valbuena (2B, R, .197) and 1B Bryan Sabatella (2B, .167) both doubled.

Tomorrow’s Starters:
Tacoma: Off day
San Antonio: LHP Ryan Feierbend, in San Antonio, @ 5:05 pm PDT
Inland Empire: Mystery Pitcher!, in San Bernardino, @ 11:00 am PDT
Wisconsin: LHP Jose Escalona, at Fort Wayne, @ 8:00 am PDT

Tacoma Rainiers: 11-7, .611, 0.5 GB in PCL Pacific North
San Antonio Missions: 6-12, .333, 4.5 GB in TL South
Inland Empire 66ers: 10-8, .556, 1 GB in CAL South
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers: 8-11, .421, 3 GB in MWL Western
Organizational Record: 35-38, .479

posted by Jay Y. @ 11:40 PM

Monday, April 24, 2006

Game Recaps (4/24/06)

Fresno 10 (SF - 4), Tacoma 8
My prediction was right, LHP Cesar Jimenez (11.57, E, L) did get the start, but he managed to give up seven runs (six earned) on four hits (HR), a wild pitch, and six walks against three strikeouts in the span of four and two-thirds innings. That one home run that Jimenez gave up was a grand slam. RHP Juan Zapata (2.70) didn’t let any of those runs score by himself, but he did let three more (one earned) score on two hits, two walks, and two Ks in the next two and a third. He’s been doing rather well considering how badly he was thrown into the fire. RHP Renee Cortez (1.50) pitched the final two and allowed two hits and a walk while K’ing two.
The multi-hit club on the night had three members, LF Shin-soo Choo (2B, HR, 2 R, .371) with three, and DH Todd Sears (HR, .333) and 1B Hunter Brown (HR, .234) with two each. SS Mike Morse (HR, 2 RBI, E, .194) and RF Adam Jones (2B, R, A, .270) both flashed some additional power, but it’s kind of disappointing when your team hits four home runs and you still can’t win. Yes, Jones was playing RF, with Bohn in center, as the M’s were planning on trying him in all the OF spots this season.

Speaking of Jones, new journal entry up, and with more positive things to talk about this time.

San Antonio 7, Midland 5 (OAK + 2)
The Missions managed to keep the losing streak from reaching double digits on bullpen day. Who would’ve guessed? LHP Jason Mackintosh (4.35) opened with three innings, giving up ten hits (HR) and a walk against two Ks, but somehow, he only let four runs score. RHP Chad Fillinger (4.50, W) pitched the next three frames, giving up two hits and a walk, plunking a batter, and punching out two. RHP Nate Mateo (5.00) went the next two and a third, and ended up allowing a run to score on four hits while he struck out four, but RHP Jon Huber (6.75, S) was able to cap the game with a strikeout, while Midland had a runner on second.
C Jeff Clement (HR, 2 RBI, .281) and CF Gary Harris (R, 2 SB, .262) both contributed hits in the winning effort. That was Clement’s first home run of the season, and he walked as well. There were also some extra-base knocks via the bats of DH Michael Garciaparra (3B, R, 3 RBI, .273), RF Wladimir Balentien (2B, CS, .274), and SS Oswaldo Navarro (2B, 2 R, .278). Wlad and Oz both walked, but Wlad also struck out three times. Let’s hope we don’t see too much more of that.

Wisconsin 8, South Bend 4 (ARI - 4)
Not a pretty win, but it does stop the skid and gets LHP Paul Fagan (6.16, W) his first win of the season. Fagan went five innings and gave up three runs on eight hits, a wild pitch and three walks against just two Ks. His ground/fly ratio was about even. LHP Harold Williams (0.00) followed him up and continued to kick butt, going two and two-thirds with a hit, a walk, and five strikeouts. I keep warning you guys about sample size and whatnot, but Williams’ 23 Ks in 11.2 IP is right up there with the Lowe/Kahn insanity in Inland. He is, however, letting quite a few more men on base than the aforementioned two, so I guess he’s the strongest candidate to drop off soon. RHP Jeff Gilmore (3.19) pitched the last inning and a third and gave up a run on two hits and a walk against a lone K.
The offense saw SS Jeff Dominguez (2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, SB, .364) lead the team by going 3-for-3 out of the leadoff spot, and no, I didn’t see myself saying that eight months or so ago. C Nick Prosise (R, .250) added two more hits, but the other six were scattered through the lineup and none of them went for extra bases. One mysterious occurrence to note would be LF Alex Gary (R, .214) pulled after going 1-for-1 with a walk, and I’ve yet to see any sort of explanation for that.

Tomorrow’s Starters:
Tacoma: RHP Cha Seung Baek, in Tacoma, @ 6:05 pm PDT
San Antonio: RHP Brandon Moorhead (vs a pitcher with a 0.96 ERA), at Midland, @ 4:30 pm PDT
Inland Empire: Mystery Pitcher!, in San Bernardino, @ 7:11 pm PDT
Wisconsin: RHP Marwin Vega (!!), at Fort Wayne, @ 3:00 pm PDT

Tacoma Rainiers: 10-7, .578, 0.5 GB in PCL Pacific North
San Antonio Missions: 6-11, .353, 4.5 GB in TL South
Inland Empire 66ers: 9-8, .529, 1 GB in CAL South
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers: 8-10, .444, 3 GB in MWL Western
Organizational Record: 33-36, .478

posted by Jay Y. @ 11:33 PM

Sunday, April 23, 2006

Game Recaps (4/23/06)

Swept, in large part due to awful bullpen work.

Fresno 7 (SF - 5), Tacoma 2
With Nageotte being called up prior to the game, it was bullpen day in Tacoma, as RHP Rich Dorman (6.75) took the hill for the first four innings, giving up one run on three hits and three walks. RHP Aaron Looper (5.25, L) took over for the next three and got tagged, giving up five runs on nine hits (2 HR!) and relying entirely on his defense for the outs, seven grounders and one fly. RHP Jeff Harris (4.91) gave up a run on two hits, one of them a solo home run, in the eighth, and in the ninth we were treated to our first wacky pitching change of the season, with RHP Juan Zapata (0.00) being called up to take Nageotte’s place. Zapata, a 21-year-old who spent the whole of last season with Peoria in the Arizona League, ran a perfect frame of work, inducing one groundout and two flyouts.
The offense struck early in this one, just not often. DH Guillermo Quiroz (2B, .533) collected three of the Rainiers five hits, though he didn’t score or drive in any. Both the runs scored after a fielding error by centerfielder on a ball hit by CF Adam Jones (SB, .271), who was 0-for-2 with two Ks. RF T.J. Bohn (R, SB, .317) and 1B Greg Dobbs (R, SB, .273) were the runners scoring on that play. SS Mike Morse (.194) ended the game wearing the Golden Sombrero.

San Antonio 2, Midland 7 (OAK + 2)
Nine games? Nine games. RHP Yorman Bazardo (3.91) was okay, going six and one-third innings and giving up one run on four hits and four walks against one K. I say “okay” because the four walks and one K kind of spook me, but then again, Midland did lead the Texas League in walks by a good eighteen point margin coming into the game, so feel free to bump his status up to “good”, if you’re so inclined. LHP Adam Pettyjohn (0.90, BS, L) let one of those runs score, and would take the loss after giving up one more on a solo homerun. Pettyjohn would also record a walk in his inning and two-thirds of work, though it was intentional.
1B Bryan Lahair (HR, PO, .328) had the big hit for the Missions, a solo home run in the fourth, and went 1-for-3 with a walk overall, but with four hits by our guys and five hits by their guys, this game was really all about the pitching. LF Gary Harris (2B, .237) also doubled.

Inland Empire 2, Bakersfield 9 (TEX – 4)
This was the completion of the earlier game suspended by lightning, so to recap, RHP Cibney Bello (4.97, L) gave up three runs in the three innings on four hits, a hit batter, and three walks against one K while recording four more flyouts than groundouts. RHP Ivan Blanco (3.63) went the next three and gave up four more runs on five hits (2 HR!), a balk, a hit batter, and two walks against three Ks. RHP Jose de la Cruz (5.00) would also balk, oddly enough, and give up two runs (one earned) on two hits (HR) and a walk against a K in the final two innings. You can skip over the next game’s pitching if you don’t like this sort of thing.
LF Trevor Heid (HR, 2 RBI, A, .250) managed three hits in the game, including a home run in the seventh, and got a runner at home on his assist. 3B Ron Prettyman (R, .291) had two hits in the game.

Inland Empire 4, Bakersfield 15 (TEX - 3)
The pain, the pain… Unfortunately, I can’t leave these recaps at four words in good conscience, so to expand that a bit, RHP Justin Jordan (11.57, L) gave up nine runs, eight of them earned, on ten hits (2 HR!) and three walks, and also relied solely on his defense for outs. Now you can see why I didn’t want to say much more. RHP Jon Lockwood (5.84) followed him up for two and a third and also got roughed up, giving up four hits (HR) and three walks with just one K. The lone bright spots were probably the last two guys, as LHP Eric O’Flaherty (3.18) gave up two hits, but no runs in his inning and RHP Stephen Kahn (0.82) gave up just one run on a hit and a wild pitch in the eighth. For those of you who didn’t bother to wade through all that, yes, the Sixers pitchers gave up seventeen hits and six walks while recording just one strikeout.
The offense wasn’t entirely without positives, as 2B Yung-chi Chen (HR, 2 R, E, .277) and DH Reed Eastley (HR, 3 RBI, .260) both had their second home runs, and 1B Marshall Hubbard (2B, .204) had a double. The bad news is that Hubbard dropped off the face of the earth when we weren’t looking, RF Chris Colton (.231) pulled a hat trick, and there were only three other hits in the whole lineup.

Wisconsin 4, South Bend 5 (ARI - 3)
LHP Justin Thomas (1.93) didn’t have a great outing, going five and one-third innings and giving up three runs on six hits and three walks against five Ks, but it was enough to keep him in line for the win. It could’ve been better, however, as LHP Rollie Gibson (1.86) scored two of those on a hit, a walk, and a K in the next inning of work. RHP Joe Woerman (4.82, L) got through the rest of the seventh only allowing one hit, but opened the eighth by walking one batter and hitting another before giving way to RHP Edgar Guaramato (0.00, BS). Guar struck out two and induced a bunt pop out to the first baseman, but he also gave up a triple to score both of Woerman’s runners. I won’t hold it against him too much as usually something’s gone wrong if you’re giving up a triple, but this was not a good day for the bullpen.
With the top five in the batting order collectively going 2-for-18 with a couple of walks, it was up to the bottom half to do most of the damage and they performed admirably. 3B Robby Hudson (R, RBI, .340) had three hits in the game, SS Jeff Dominguez (2B, RBI, .327) added two, and 1B Chao Kuan Wu (2B, R, .240) and CF Alex Gary (2B, R, RBI, .195) both doubled.

I don’t want to go into a full “news around the minors” post today, but I do want to point out the comments section of a post at Taiwan Baseball a while back that suggests the old rumors about RHP Chia-an Huang skipping town were false, and that he was just resting his shoulder at home for a while and should be back in the states shortly. Good news, if true (well, except for that part about the shoulder).

Edit: It seems that Nags was sent down again and rumors are LHP Bobby Livingston and LHP Cesar Jimenez both moved up a level. Both would've been starting, so I'm leaving them out of the pitching matchups as a precaution.
Tomorrow’s Starters:
Tacoma: TBA, in Tacoma, @ 6:05 pm PDT
San Antonio: TBA, at Midland, @ 4:30 pm PDT
Inland Empire: Off day
Wisconsin: LHP Paul Fagan, at South Bend, @ 3:30 pm PDT

Tacoma Rainiers: 10-6, .625, 1st in PCL Pacific North
San Antonio Missions: 5-11, .313, 4.5 GB in TL South
Inland Empire 66ers: 9-8, .529, 1 GB in CAL South
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers: 7-10, .412, 4 GB in MWL Western
Organizational Record: 31-35, .470

posted by Jay Y. @ 5:37 PM