Minor League Recaps 9/6: Playoffs!! Don't talk
about playoffs!!!

post from Talking Chop: Front Page Posts on 06 September 2008 11:47:59 PM. © Talking Chop: Front Page Posts

So after the Mora flashback, I'm going to be in Vegas until Friday on a business trip (hehe, yeeeeeeaaaahhhh). So I won't be able to post on the championship round for Mississippi and Myrtle Beach.

Birmingham 0, Mississippi 3

V. Pope 2-3 2 2B, RBI
K. Medlen 9IP 5H 0R 0BB 12K

So yeah, the story here is Kris Medlen. Since converting to a starter he has just gotten better and better each week and this start, the most important of the season, is his best one. Even considering that Baseball America article that made it sound like the Braves just wanted Medlen to start to get him some innings, they almost have to keep him in this role until he fails at it. He has been almost as good as Tommy Hanson as a starter at AA, thought I don't think he has the upside that Hanson does, but he apparently has the same tenacity. Anyways, Mississippi completes the sweep and will meet the Carolina Mudcats for the championship series. Mississippi is 4-6 on the season vs. the Mudcats.

Myrtle Beach 11, Winston-Salem 5

G. Hernandez 2-5 3B, BB, K
T. Jones 2-4 2B, 2 RBI, K
E. Campbell 2-3 2BB, K
T. Flowers 2-4 2B, 2 RBI, BB
J. Heyward 2-4 2B, RBI, BB
R. Reynoso 7IP 7H 3R 2BB 3K

This team is a powerhouse and frankly I was surprised to see anyone beat them. Their starting pitching isn't incredibly deep but their offense is nearly unstoppable. Every starter had a hit in this game and half of them had XBH. I don't know if they give out playoff awards in the minors but Flowers would definitely be the MVP of the series, like I said last night. He finished with a .529 AVG with 3 doubles, 2 HR, and 5 RBI. Heyward was also pretty impressive with a couple of doubles and a slew of walks in the series. The Pelicans will meet the Potomac Nationals in the championship series. And surprise!!! The Pelicans actually had a losing record against Potomac duriing the regular season at 9-11. I would go on record as saying they are probably the only team in the league that Myrtle Beach had a losing record against. That adds a little bit of grudge to this matchup.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.talkingchop.com/2008/9/6/609033/minor-league-recaps-9-6-pl

Digg this

Long Sheets

post from Baseball Musings on 06 September 2008 11:02:00 PM. © Baseball Musings

It looks like Ben Sheets injury wasn't that serious as he pitches a shutout against the Padres. Sheets gives up five hits and one walk over his nine innings of work, striking out seven along the way. I do have...

Read The Full Article:
http://www.baseballmusings.com/archives/028820.php

Digg this

That's More Like It

post from Sliding Into Home: A Yankees Blog on 06 September 2008 10:07:00 PM. © Sliding Into Home: A Yankees Blog

(AP Photo/Jim Bryant)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
R H E N.Y. Yankees 1 0 0 0 0 1 5 0 0
7 12 1 Seattle 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0
4 8 0
After a disappointing loss the Yankees rebounded tonight with a nice 7-4 win over the Mariners. They got a very good start from Sidney Ponson. He had his sinker working, and got 14 ground ball outs. In six innings he allowed three runs on five hits, while walking one and striking out one. The only mistake he made came in the 6th when he allowed a three-run homer to Raul Ibanez.

The Yankees had a 2-0 lead before Ibanez's blast. Bobby Abreu hit a solo homer in the first, his 16th of the year. And Jason Giambi added another in 6th, his 29th.

After falling behind 3-2 the Yankees came right back with five runs of their own in the top of the 7th. The key hit in the inning was Abreu's two-run triple that gave the Yankees a 4-3 lead. After A-Rod was hit by a pitch, Jason Giambi hit a ground-rule double to extend the Yanks lead to 5-3. Nady added a RBI groundout and Matsui followed with a RBI single to cap off the scoring.

The bullpen did a good job tonight; Bruney pitched a scoreless 7th, with one strikeout. Joba came in for the 8th and wasn't sharp. He allowed a run on three hits and lasted just two thirds of an inning. Mariano Rivera came in and retired the last four batters in order to pick up his 33rd save.
Boston, Tampa Bay, and Minnesota all lost so the Yankees gained a game on each; 10 behind Tampa, 7.5 behind Boston, and 2 behind Minnesota?With 20 games to go.

ABRHRBIBBSOLOBAVG Damon, CF4100101.308 Jeter, SS3110201.295 Abreu, RF4233100.302 Rodriguez, A, 3B3100102.311 Giambi, 1B5232003.249 Ransom, 1B0000000.750 Nady, LF5011002.314 Matsui, DH5031011.306 Cano, 2B4000014.264 Rodriguez, I, C4010011.280 Totals3771275315

BATTING
2B: Matsui (16, Rowland-Smith), Nady (34, Rowland-Smith), Giambi (16, Corcoran).
3B: Abreu (4, Thomas, J).
HR: Abreu (16, 1st inning off Rowland-Smith, 0 on, 2 out), Giambi (29, 6th inning off Rowland-Smith, 0 on, 1 out).
TB: Jeter; Abreu 8; Giambi 7; Nady 2; Matsui 4; Rodriguez, I.
RBI: Abreu 3 (87), Giambi 2 (89), Nady (85), Matsui (45).
2-out RBI: Abreu; Matsui.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Cano 2; Giambi 2; Rodriguez, A.
GIDP: Jeter; Nady.
Team LOB: 9.

BASERUNNING
SB: Damon 2 (28, 2nd base off Green/Johnson, R, 3rd base off Green/Johnson, R).
MARINERS OFFENSE

IPHRERBBSOHRERA Ponson (W, 8-5)6.05331115.10 Bruney 1.00000102.25 Chamberlain 0.23110102.67 Rivera (S, 33)1.10000101.43
MARINERS PITCHING

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Bobby Abreu

HONORABLE MENTION: Sidney Ponson

Mike Mussina goes for win number 18 tomorrow in the rubber game of this three game set. He will be facing the Mariners' Carlos Silva. Game Time: 4:10 p.m. - TV: YES - Radio: WCBS 880

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/SlidingIntoHome/~3/385582012/thats-more-like-it.ht
ml

Digg this

Mariner Fans Are Apathetic Towards Brandon Morrow

post from Beyond the Box Score: Front Page Posts on 06 September 2008 09:36:03 PM. © Beyond the Box Score: Front Page Posts

Sheesh, you would think they would show some emotion for a near no-hitter, but nothing. Absolutely no reaction. I don't have much to add because LL and USSM covered every aspect of Morrow's performance and did so 10 times better than I could've.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2008/9/6/608972/mariner-fans-are-apathetic

Digg this

Faltering Bullpen

post from Baseball Musings on 06 September 2008 09:29:00 PM. © Baseball Musings

The Twins bullpen pitched poorly again today, blowing a lead and allowing Detroit a 6-4 victory. Starting on 8/23, the Twins pen has an ERA of 6.49 and the team's record stands at 4-10. The relievers owns a 3.91 ERA...

Read The Full Article:
http://www.baseballmusings.com/archives/028819.php

Digg this

Bronx Banter: Sun Setting for Yanks

post from Bronx Banter on 06 September 2008 09:16:00 PM. © Bronx Banter

Bonzone vs a Rookie tonight in Seattle. There was no sun in New York today, just rain and wind. Anyhow, here's a nice picture to look at...

Read The Full Article:
http://bronxbanter.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1121578.html

Digg this

Game 141, Yankees at Mariners

post from U.S.S. Mariner on 06 September 2008 09:10:00 PM. © U.S.S. Mariner

Ponson vs. Ryan Rowland-Smith.

In the spirit of Dave’s Graphing Weekend, and since a few of you guys liked the ones I did for Morrow’s start last night, here’s a graph of Rowland-Smith’s last start versus Cleveland. Velocity is still on the vertical axis and pitch count is on the horizontal axis.

There are basically three distinct areas where you’ll see mostly consistent values - his fastball in the upper 80s, his change-up around 80, and his breaking ball around 70. Despite the fact that he doesn’t throw very hard, as you can see, he throws a ton of change-ups to keep RH batters off balance. Against lefties, he threw 9 fastballs and 8 curveballs with no change-ups. Against righties, it was 48 fastballs, 33 changeups, and 9 curveballs.

The change-up is really the pitch that allows RR-S to get RH hitters off balance, and if he succeeds as a starter long term, that pitch will be the reason why.

--This post came from: U.S.S. Mariner, and is copyright by the authors. This RSS feed is intended for the personal use of readers and not, for instance, spam blogs.

Game 141, Yankees at Mariners

Read The Full Article:
http://ussmariner.com/2008/09/06/game-141-yankees-at-mariners/

Digg this

Hafner Helps Aeros Advance to EL Championship

Boy was Hafner swinging.

I was fortunate to sit right behind the Home on-deck circle so I watched Travis Hafner pretty much lurk around and wait for his at-bats.

To recap.

Matt LaPorta walked in the bottom of the first with two outs to bring up Pronk. After working the count and fouling some pitches off, Hafner blasted a line drive home run into the right field bleachers.

At that point, it was over.

Hafner would knock in another run later on a bases loaded hit by pitch. The reliever was coming in with one out and three on and basically said "hey go ahead, face Travis Freaking Hafner". He hit Travis on the first pitch.

His next two at-bats were both stung shots. One to left field in which he absolutely smashed and a hard grounder to second base. He looked real good swinging the bat.

Matt LaPorta is a players ladies and gentleman. He is a player! It was the eigth inning, he could have mailed it in with the Aeros up by four runs, but instead on a weak slow rolling grounder in the infield he ran hard and almost beat it out. He isn't mailing it at all even though he could.

Oh, he also hit a home run over the left field wall. I swear it left the park, but who knows.

Walk up Music.

The walk-up music was very interesting.. I don't know if you've ever watch Rob & Big on MTV, but the song "Dirty Girl" was LaPorta's walk up music. Hafner's was the theme song to WWE wrestler John Cena. Go figure.

The Aeros bat boy on the vistors side of the field was playing the air guitar to all the songs between innings. He was very entertaining cause when he'd pick up the bat, he'd pretend he was shooting a gun at random people in the crowd.

Reid Santos is a flithy little pitcher, I enjoyed watching him throw the ball. He was getting guys to wave at some really puzzling pitches.

I bought an Aeros hat, so I'm all set. The store was out of any XL shirt imaginable so I couldn't get a shirt. Restock!

Frank Herrmann was lights out tonight, just setting the Baysox down. Just three hits and no walks in his seven innings of work.

In just the two games with the Aeros, Hafner had 7 RBI.. Damn sir, I'm sure Bowie isn't pleased about that.

Anyway, I had a great time and might go to one of the Championship games next week, but I won't like, Hafner is the main reason I went. Congrats to the Aeros.

Here are a few pictures from where I was sitting, I was only on my phone so they are blurry, but it gives you an idea. That is Pronk walking around wearing number 50 with LaPorta at bat.

Great stuff.. Anyway the Tribe's 10 game road win streak is snapped. Oh well, Gil Meche had it on lockdown again and Zach Jackson looks like aside from one inning, was pretty damn good.

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheTribeTimeReport/~3/385436806/hafner-helps-aeros
-advance-to-el.html

Digg this

Dodgers on Top

For the second day in a row, the Dodgers score seven runs as they down the Diamondbacks 7-2. While Ethier starred Friday night, Manny Ramirez showed why the Dodgers traded for him as he homered and doubled, driving in five...

Read The Full Article:
http://www.baseballmusings.com/archives/028818.php