Minor League Discussion & Boxes 5-21-2007

[YearofDaCubs]

Miller is getting rocked early. 3-1 Round Rock top 3rd.

NO surprise there. Time to DFA him.

[Flames24Rulz]

Daytona goes down 11-3. Norwood and Muyco were each 3/4 but Colvin was 0/4.

 

Peoria down 3-2 in the 8th. Shaver: 4.2 IP, 7 hits, 2 runs, 3 K's/1 BB. Canzler is 3/4 with an RBI.

 

Tennessee up 4-2 in the 8th. Solid start for Gallagher tonight: 5 IP, 4 hits, 2 runs, 1 K/3 BB's. Salas had a 3-run HR and Kroeger had a solo shot to account for the Smokies' runs.

 

Iowa down 5-1 in the 9th. Miller: 6 IP, 6 hits, 4 runs, 3 K's/3 BB's. Soto and Hoffpauir have doubles and Cedeno and Pie have singles. That's been all of the offense for the I-Cubs tonight.

[Flames24Rulz]

Iowa loses 5-1.

 

Peoria has come back to tie the game at 3 on an RBI single by Lansford. Peoria is now batting in the bottom of the 9th.

 

Tennessee still leads 4-2, now in the 9th.

[Laura]

Tennessee up 4-2 in the 8th. Solid start for Gallagher tonight: 5 IP, 4 hits, 2 runs, 1 K/3 BB's. Salas had a 3-run HR and Kroeger had a solo shot to account for the Smokies' runs.

 

He had a wild 5th inning.

 

Mississippi Bottom 5th

 

*Van Pope walks.

*With Clint Sammons batting, Van Pope steals (5) 2nd base.

*Clint Sammons lines out to first baseman Jake Fox.

*With Kelvin Villa batting, passed ball by Casey McGehee, Van Pope to 3rd.

*Kelvin Villa walks.

*With Carl Loadenthal batting, wild pitch by Sean Gallagher, Van Pope scores. Kelvin Villa to 2nd.

*Carl Loadenthal walks.

*Brent Lillibridge singles on a ground ball to right fielder Josh Kroeger. Kelvin Villa to 3rd. Carl Loadenthal to 2nd.

*Brandon Jones flies out to right fielder Josh Kroeger.

*Matt Esquivel flies out to center fielder Sam Fuld.

[Soriano12]

Will Hendry finally stick a fork in Miller already?

[Flames24Rulz]

Tennessee holds on to win 4-3. Mississippi scored a run in the 9th, Geoffrey Jones first allowed ER this season, but that was it.

 

Peoria lost in 11, 5-3. Lansing scored twice in the top of the 11th off of Oscar Bernard.

[NCCubFan]

Will Hendry finally stick a fork in Miller already?

I'd like to stick a fork in Hendry.

[cubs121]

Will Hendry finally stick a fork in Miller already?

I'd like to stick a fork in Hendry.

:shock:

[NCCubFan]

Will Hendry finally stick a fork in Miller already?

I'd like to stick a fork in Hendry.

:shock:

It's a saying, not something to be taken literally. It means that I'd like for Hendry to be done as Cubs' GM.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Someone asked me to keep tabs on Sean.

 

His fastball topped out at 94. He used it pretty consistently between 91-92.

 

 

Also, he had several pitches throughout the game which registered 88-89 mph. I wasn't sure if this was a variation of his fastball or if he was throwing his change-up too hard. It could be the difference between his two-seamer or his four seamer. I didn't get to stay around to ask him after the game, or I would have.

 

Also, my seat was a little to the right of home, so at times I had trouble determining if he were throwing a curve or a change-up. I could see a good break sometimes, but other times, I wasn't always sure. Either way his offspeed pitches were in the 73-78 mph range.

 

It was also obvious the Braves were sitting on the fastball. The hardest hit balls off of Sean tonight were outs off his fastball. He narrowly escaped disaster in the fifth when the final out was a nice running catch at the wall by Fuld.

 

When he was locating his pitches for strikes, he looked phenomenal. The second inning is a good example of this. When he struggled with his control, he labored somewhat. I definitely saw what has made him a good pitcher in regards to mixing his pitches. While his end result was good, which seems to always be the case with Sean, I don't think he was at his best tonight.

 

This was one of those nights where his line could have been much worse if some of those hard hit balls had found holes in the outfield, but at the same time, the single that scored a run in the third could have very easily have been a groundball out had it been six inches more to the left and he might have only allowed a run.

 

He definitely lost some of his control and labored in the fifth, but to Sean's credit he worked out of it and kept his composure.

 

Also, the umpire seemed to have a pretty tight zone. Pitchers on both sides appeared to get squeezed a bit, except on a strike three call on Kroeger which led to Listach getting an early exit.

 

I have a more detailed pitch record that I jotted down on the back of a roster if someone wants to know more. It has a few gaps, but I tried to socialize when the Smokies batted and then watch carefully as Sean pitched.

 

Overall, I was impressed. It was clear that Sean had a plan that he sought out to execute. His control was his biggest issue in the innings in which he struggled. He was facing a good fastball hitting team and at times he struggled to throw strikes so he had to let them swing away at the fastball. I can see where when the control is working, he's going to be a great pitcher. He's a bulldog on the mound and that is going to bode well for him. I wish I could watch him much more.

[Guest]

All boxes posted!

 

IowaCubs.com[/url]"]Barzilla contains Cubs

 

Philip Barzilla tossed seven strong innings as Round Rock defeated visiting Iowa, 5-1, on Monday.

 

Barzilla (5-1) allowed one run on three hits while striking out three and retired the final 13 batters he faced. Scott Sauerbeck struck out the side in the eighth before allowing two walks and a single in the ninth. Stephen Randolph recorded three outs to notch his second save.

 

Brooks Conrad and Danny Klassen had RBI doubles in the first inning and Eric Munson hit a solo homer, his sixth, in the eighth for the Express (22-23).

 

Wade Miller (0-1), in his second rehab start, surrendered four runs on six hits while striking out three and walking three in six innings. The 30-year-old right-hander has been on Chicago's disabled list since April 23 with back spasms.

 

Micah Hoffpauir drove in the lone run for the Cubs (24-20) with a double in the second. Mike Fontenot went 0-for-4 to snap a 13-game hit streak. --Marc Jimenez/MLB.com

 

SmokiesBaseball.com[/url]"]Salas Homerun and Smokies Bullpen Stop Braves 4-3 Monday Night

 

Pearl, MS- Issmael Salas crushed a three-run homerun to left in the second inning to knock in the games first runs.

 

The Braves Brent Lillibridge knocked in one in the bottom of the third to make the score 3-1.

 

Josh Kroeger then slammed a solo homerun to right field leading off the fourth giving Tennessee a 4-1 advantage.

 

The Braves scored one back in the bottom of the fifth when Sean Gallagher wild pitched in Van Pope who walked to reach base. The Braves then loaded the bases with one out but Gallagher retired the next two batters to end the threat.

 

The Smokies bullpen using three different arms kept Mississippi at bay in the 6th, 7th and 8th. Then Geoffrey Jones pitched the ninth to record his sixth save.

 

DaytonaCubs.com[/url]"]Daytona Drops Second Straight to Reds

Sarasota Scores Seven in Second

 

By: Matt Martinez

 

[sARASOTA, FL] It was a gloomy night for Daytona Cubs fans; it was a gloomier night for Jeff Samardzija. The Cubs (21-22) lost in a big way to the Sarasota Reds (30-14) by a score of 11-3.

 

Samardzija only lasted one and a third. He gave up seven earned runs, and surrendered nine base hits.

 

When Samardzija was relieved in the second inning by fellow former Irishman, Grant Johnson, the Cubs were behind by an astonishing seven runs. Johnson threw an impressive three and a third, allowing one unearned run on two base hits while striking out four. Mike Phelps came in next and allowed one run in two innings of work on three hits. John Mueller threw an arduous eighth where he allowed two runs on three hits to round out Sarasota's scoring parade of 11 total runs.

 

The three runs scored by Daytona were manufactured. The Cubs fought back in the third after the seven run outburst as they scored two runs on three base hits. They added one in the fifth on an RBI single off the bat of Chris Amador to score Ryan Norwood.

 

Both Norwood and Jake Muyco (batting towards the bottom of the lineup) were three-for-four. Muyco scored once as Norwood scored twice in efforts to close the wide gap.

 

PeoriaChiefs.com[/url]"]Chiefs Fall In 11 To Lansing

 

Peoria, IL- The Peoria Chiefs dropped their sixth game in a row at the hands of the Lansing Lugnuts 5-3 at O’Brien Field on Monday night in eleven innings. The loss drops the Chiefs to 20-22 on the season.

 

The Lugnuts jumped on Chiefs starter Chris Shaver in the top of the first inning. Shaver allowed a lead off ground rule double to Yuber Rodriguez into the gap in left center between Matt Camp and Alfred Joseph. He came around to score two batters later on a sacrifice fly by Travis Snider.

 

The Chiefs answered right back in the bottom of the inning after Matt Camp reached on a throwing error by the starter Ray Gonzalez. Josh Lansford moved Camp over with a ground out to second and with two outs Russ Canzler reached on an infield single on a ball that took a bad hop on third basemen Raul Barron to score Camp to tie the game 1-1.

 

Lansing rallied with two outs when Scott Campbell blooped a single to right field followed by a single up the middle by Jonathan Diaz to put runners on first and second. Rodriguez then doubled down the third base line, his second of the night to give Lansing the lead at 2-1.

 

The Chiefs recorded three consecutive one out singles from Alfred Joseph, Jim Adduci and Yusuf Carter in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game as Carter tallied his 21st RBI of the year to score Joseph. Gonzalez left the game and could not factor into the decision after the Chiefs tied the game. Edward Rodriguez came on in relief and proceeded to induce a double-play ball to third to end the Chiefs rally.

 

The back and forth game continued after Sean Shoffit and Matt Liuzza both singled off Roquet and moved over on a bunt by Brian Pettway. Campbell walked to load the bases with just one out and Matt Lane reached on a fielder’s choice to give Lansing the lead back at 3-2. The run was the first allowed by Roquet this season in 20 2/3 innings pitched.

 

Dylan Johnston walked to start the 8th inning and was moved over on a bunt by Matt Camp. With two outs Lansford tied the game 3-3 with an RBI single to left field. Lansford now is second on the team in RBI with 17. The next batter Canzler got his third hit of the game on a single to center to give the Chiefs runners on second and third for Joseph who flied out to the inning.

 

The Chiefs had a golden opportunity in the bottom of the 10th but failed to score. Camp led off with a bunt single and moved to third on a hit-and-run single by Ryne Malone. Lansing intentionally walked Lansford to load the bases and the move paid off. Canzler bounced into a 1-2-3 double play and Joseph grounded out to end the inning.

 

Oscar Bernard entered the game to start extra innings and in the top of the eleventh after a questionable call at first on a wild Malone throw with two outs. The next batter Josh Bell hit a towering two-run homerun to left-centerfield to put the Lugnuts up 5-3 and eventually decided the game.

 

Gorman’s Pub Player of the game: Russ Canzler (1B)- The Chiefs first baseman held the hot bat for the Chiefs in the ballgame going 3-5 and recording a RBI.

 

Notes… Roquet was the last pitcher in the Midwest League on an opening day roster to allow a run…The Chiefs streak of games played in under 2.5 hours was stopped at eight with tonight’s games lasting…Chiefs has bases loaded in the bottom of the tenth with no outs and could not score…Chiefs are now 1-3 in extra inning games…The 3 hour and 36 minute game was the longest game at O’Brien Field this season…

[jersey cubs fan]

Awful outing for Samardzija tonight: 1.2 IP, 9 hits, 7 runs, 0 K's/1 BB, 1 HR allowed. His ERA is now up to 5.18 on the season. Daytona down 8-3 in the 5th.

 

Yikes! That really surprises me because he was great in spring.

 

His season stats are awful. The ERA is finally catching up to the extremely weak peripherals. I wonder if there is any regret for putting him in high A this soon into his development. He doesn't appear to be ready for it.

[Laura]

Scout.com article on Gallagher's start last night (subscription not required).

 

 

“Lucky,” “frustrating” and “out of whack” were just a few words that Cubs pitching prospect Sean Gallagher used to describe his start Monday night at Trustmark Park.

 

“I’m lucky I only gave up two runs,” opined Gallagher (6-2), who went five innings, surrendered four hits, walked three and hit a batter in his ninth start of the season for Double-A Tennessee. ...

 

“My mechanics were way out of whack. I was flying open and I had no balance point,” he said. “I was pretty much fighting myself the whole game.”

 

Mechanics have been at the center of Gallagher’s work this season.

 

This spring in big league camp, he worked with Chicago pitching coach Larry Rothschild to repeat his mechanics by finding a consistent release point.

 

“I’m getting more consistent with throwing my fastball and locating it where I want,” said Gallagher, who has a 3.51 ERA in 48 2/3 innings. “My changeup, last year I’d have it every few starts and it was more of a show-me pitch. This year, it’s a pitch I feel I can throw at any point in the game.”

 

Gallagher’s coaches were also pleased.

 

“His curveball is the best ratio he’s had. He’s located his fastball pretty well and has thrown some good changeups,” Tennessee pitching coach Dennis Lewallyn said.

 

Said Smokies manager Pat Listach, “He’s getting to the point where he’s getting pitches across earlier in the count so he can go deeper.”

 

Gallagher had gone six innings or more in his three previous starts.

 

But on Monday, “I had no control, no curveball, and no changeup. That’s just the way it was,” Gallagher said after the game. “It was one of those games you had to fight through. I started getting really frustrated. It wasn’t me.”

[Athletics36]

Vance..... thanks for the report and you were "dead-on" in your report. I spoke with Sean after the game and he was "struggling" last night. In time he will figure this all out and will make him a better pitcher, He is really tough on himself.