Minor League Discussion & Boxes 8-10-2007

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Box Scores:

 

Iowa won 8-4, box:

 

RF S. Fuld 2/4, 2 R, 2 2B (2), BB, OF assist at home

CF B. Coats 1/5, 2 R, K, SB (15)

C G. Soto 2/4, 4 RBI, 2 K

LF J. Fox 1/5, R, K

3B M. Craig 3/4, 2 R, 2B (2), 3B (1), HR (2), 2 RBI

SP K. Hart 5.1 IP, 4 ER, 9 H, 2 K/3 BB, HR, 5 GO-8 FO, 95 pitches (58 strikes)

RP C. Pignatiello 0.2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 K/1 BB, WP, 2 GO-0 FO, 14 pitches (7 strikes)

RP C. Rapada 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 K/1 BB, 2 GO-0 FO, 17 pitches (11 strikes)

 

Tennessee scored 3 in the bottom of the 9th to win 10-9, box:

 

RF J. Spearman 2/6, R, HR (6), 2 RBI, K, SB (6)

3B C. McGehee 3/5, R, HR (7), RBI

CF T. Colvin 4/5, 2 R, HR (5), 2 RBI, OF assist at home - 153 AA AB: .294/.312/.464/.786; 4 BB : 36 K

DH K. Reynolds 1/4, R, 2B (3), BB

SS R. Chirinos 1/3, RBI, BB, 2 K, 2 E (5, throw, throw)

SP D. Veal 2 IP, 6 ER, 7 H, 1 K/0 BB, HBP, HR, 3 GO-1 FO

RP R. O'Malley 4 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 1 K/1 BB, 7 GO-3 FO

RP R. Roquet 1 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 K/0 BB, HR, 1 GO-2 FO

 

Daytona won 10-7, box:

 

2B J. Rea 2/4, 3 R, 2B (2), RBI, 2 BB, K, SB (2)

1B S. Clevenger 4/5, 2B (2), 4 RBI, BB - 87 Daytona AB: .356/.396/.414/.810; 7 BB : 2 K

DH B. Dopirak 1/6

RF R. Harvey 0/5, R, K

LF A. Joseph 2/3, 2 R, 2 BB, SB (1), E (2, fielding)

C M. Reed 2/4, R, 2 2B (6), BB, K

SP P. Schappert 6 IP, 4 R, 3 ER, 7 H, 2 K/2 BB, HBP, HR, 5 GO-11 FO

RP C. Platt 3 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 H, 0 K/2 BB, 5 GO-4 FO

 

Peoria won 14-3, box:

 

CF L. Johnson 1/4, 3 R, RBI, 2 BB, SB (5)

SS D. Barney 2/5, 2 R, 2B (5), 3 RBI, HBP, SB (3) - 83 AB: .265/.333/.410/.743, 7 BB : 10 K

RF J. Adduci 4/4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 SB (11)

RF B. Leclerc 2/2, R, 3B (2)

1B R. Canzler 2/4, 2 R, RBI, K

2B N. Samson 1/5, R, 2 RBI

SP J. Renshaw 6 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 8 K/1 BB, WP, HR, 7 GO-3 FO

RP A. Alburquerque 1 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 K/0 BB, HR, 0 GO-1 FO

 

Boise lost 8-3, box:

 

2B T. Thomas 1/4, R, 2 K, SB (16)

CF J. Wyatt 2/3, 2 BB, SB (10)

DH T. Wright 1/3, R, HR (6), RBI, BB - 108 AB: .310/.405/.494/.899; 22 BB : 21 K

RF K. Burke 0/4, K

C M. Mercedes 1/4, K

LF D. Rundle 1/3, BB

SP A. Cabrera 1 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 0 K/3 BB, 3 GO-0 FO

RP B. Taylor 4 IP, 7 ER, 9 H, 0 K/2 BB, 2 WP, 8 GO-4 FO

RP M. Pawelek 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 K/0 BB, 3 GO-0 FO

 

Mesa won 6-2, box:

 

CF B. Guyer 2/5, R, 3B (1), RBI

2B-3B M. Gonzalez 1/2, 2 R, 3 BB, SB (1), E (1, fielding) - 6 AB: .500/.667/.833/1.500; 3 BB : 1 K

1B-RF L. Sommer 1/4, R, 2B (10), 2 RBI, BB, K

C C. Perez 1/4, R, 3B (3), 2 RBI, BB

2B C. Valentin 1/3, 2B (4), RBI, K

LF C. Andersen 0/5, K

RF-CF Nelson Perez 1/4, K

SP H. Tolentino 5 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 8 K/1 BB, 4 GO-3 FO

RP K. Kreier 2 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 2 K/0 BB, HR, 3 GO-1 FO

RP C. Redmonds 2 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 5 K/0 BB, 0 GO-1 FO

 

DSL Cubs lost 5-3, box:

 

SS S. Castro 1/4, RBI, BB, K, E (6, fielding)

2B J. Lake 0/5, 2 K

CF A. Quezada 1/4, 2 K

C A. Sosa 1/4, R, 3B (4), K

LF A. Hernandez 0/3, R, BB

SP J. Pena 4.2 IP, 5 R, 3 ER, 8 H, 3 K/1 BB, WP, 2 GO-8 FO

RP A. de la Cruz 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 K/0 BB, 2 GO-1 FO

 

Overall: 5-2

Edited August 11, 2007 by CaliforniaRaisin

[Guest]

Probable Starters:

 

Iowa: RHP Kevin Hart (at Iowa: 2-1, 3.03 ERA, 32.2 IP, 26 K/11 BB, .237 BAA)*

Tennessee: LHP Donnie Veal (6-9, 5.23 ERA, 105 IP, 104 K/63 BB, .260 BAA)

Daytona: LHP Paul Schappert (at Daytona: 0-0, 5.40 ERA, 5 IP, 5 K/1 BB, .286 BAA)*

Peoria: RHP Jake Renshaw (11-7, 4.24 ERA, 104 IP, 88 K/39 BB, .254 BAA)

Boise: RHP Brandon Taylor (at Boise: 1-0, 6.55 ERA, 11 IP, 5 K/6 BB, .289 BAA)*

Mesa: RHP Harol Tolentino (at Mesa: 0-1, 8.56 ERA, 13.2 IP, 15 K/7 BB, .291 BAA)*

DSL Cubs: RHP Julio Pena (1-4, 3.52 ERA, 53.2 IP, 26 K/11 BB, .255 BAA)

 

Hart (overall at Iowa & Tenn): 9-6, 4.10 ERA, 129.2 IP, 115 K/36 BB, .257 BAA

Schappert (overall at Daytona, Tenn & Iowa): 3-7, 7.03 ERA, 37 K/32 BB, .314 BAA

Taylor (overall at Boise & Mesa): 2-0, 4.64 ERA, 21.1 IP, 10 K/13 BB, .253 BAA

Tolentino (overall at Mesa & Boise): 1-1, 8.78 ERA, 26.2 IP, 25 K/20 BB, .288 BAA)

[Guest]

Kevin Hart with 3 scoreless innings so far. He's turning into an interesting prospect.

 

Veal roughed up again (2 IP, 6 ER, 7 H, 1 K/0 BB). At least he didn't walk anyone today. I'm beginning to think he'd be best off repeating at AA next season. Colvin is 2/3 and has his BA up to .285. That might be enough to get his OBP over .300.

 

Jake Renshaw has tallied up 7 K in 4 innings - he gave up one run on a solo HR. Darwin Barney and Leon Johnson might be warming up in Peoria.

[Guest]

Woo...Alberto Cabrera - not Brandon Taylor - is starting for Boise. Guess his shoulder soreness has gone away.

[Guest]

Hope it's only a pitch count/ineffectiveness deal (and not an injury) but Cabrera only went 1 inning - 1 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 0 K/3 BB.

 

Looking at AZL stats, Jovan Rosa leads the AZL in BA and Carlos Perez is third. Perez is second in OPS and Rosa fifth.

 

Renshaw was great - 6 IP with just that solo HR and he had 8 strikeouts.

[rabidawg900]

Iowa Report

 

C Soto is only the most clutch player ever: 2 for 4, 4 RBIs!

 

3B Matt Craig absolutely owns AAA, was a single short of the cycle, avg now off the charts

 

RF Sam Fuld was 2 for 4, with a walk and 2 doubles

[Bruno7481]

Colvin finished 4/5 with a HR.

[rabidawg900]

Smokies come back and win 10-9 on a WP to end the game!

[Guest]

Colvin finished 4/5 with a HR.

 

That's 5 with Tennessee and 12 overall on the season. Not bad for playing in a couple pitcher-friendly leagues.

[Guest]

By the way, Harol Tolentino had a perfect game for 4 innings (leadoff walk to start the 5th) and a no-hitter for 4.1. His final line: 5 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 8 K/1 BB. Mesa is up 4-0 after 6.

[CubColtPacer]

Colvin finished 4/5 with a HR.

 

That's 5 with Tennessee and 12 overall on the season. Not bad for playing in a couple pitcher-friendly leagues.

 

Also the fact that he appears to have figured out Tennessee (except still for the walking thing). He was hanging at just over .600 OPS for quite a while, and now he's getting close to .800 for the season. If he continues hitting this well over the next couple weeks, do people think they will start him at Iowa to start the season next year?

[Guest]

Colvin finished 4/5 with a HR.

 

That's 5 with Tennessee and 12 overall on the season. Not bad for playing in a couple pitcher-friendly leagues.

 

Also the fact that he appears to have figured out Tennessee (except still for the walking thing). He was hanging at just over .600 OPS for quite a while, and now he's getting close to .800 for the season. If he continues hitting this well over the next couple weeks, do people think they will start him at Iowa to start the season next year?

 

I think (hope?) he's going to Tennessee no matter what to start next season, mainly because he hasn't been at AA for too long...he should finish with a little over 200-225 AA at bats (245 at Daytona).

[CubColtPacer]

Colvin finished 4/5 with a HR.

 

That's 5 with Tennessee and 12 overall on the season. Not bad for playing in a couple pitcher-friendly leagues.

 

Also the fact that he appears to have figured out Tennessee (except still for the walking thing). He was hanging at just over .600 OPS for quite a while, and now he's getting close to .800 for the season. If he continues hitting this well over the next couple weeks, do people think they will start him at Iowa to start the season next year?

 

I think he's going to Tennessee no matter what to start next season, mainly because he hasn't been at AA for too long.

 

Yeah, that's probably true.

 

I finally found the splits

 

Pre All-Star Break (70 AB's): .243/.254/.386

Post All Star Break (83 AB's): .337/.360/.554

[E.J.]

Still no Kroeger?

[FloridaCubbie]

Soto has to have a crazy high BABIP, it seems like he's always 2 for 4 with 2Ks.

[Guest]

Soto has to have a crazy high BABIP, it seems like he's always 2 for 4 with 2Ks.

 

BABIP of .397 but that was from about 15 AB ago.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Rundle can take a walk, that's for sure.

[snoodmonger]

Rundle can take a walk, that's for sure.

 

And Colvin can't. 4 in 153 ABs? Jeebus.

[Brian]

yawn another multi hit night for Soto, at least he isn't grossly out performing both catchers at the major league level anymore.

[Guest]

All boxes posted!

 

IowaCubs.com[/url]"]Iowa Beats Oklahoma 8-4 Friday

http://www.iowacubs.com

 

Matt Craig finished a single shy of the cycle as Iowa defeated Oklahoma 8-4 Friday night at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark. Craig hit a two run homer in the fourth, doubled leading off the sixth and tripled in the 8th.

With the game tied 4-4, Craig scored the game's winning run on a Derek Lee wild pitch. Craig was on deck in the ninth inning as Jake Fox grounded out to end the inning. The Cubs added three unearned runs in the ninth as Ben Howard claimed his sixth win against five losses. Craig drove in two runs with his three hits while Geovany Soto had a four RBI game. Craig has a six game hitting streak and is hitting .462 in eight games since being called up from AA. Manager Buddy Bailey praised Craig's ability as a hitter, "He has an idea of the strike zone," the skipper said, "he has a game plan, pays attention and watches what the pitcher is throwing and what their tendencies are."

 

With the win, the Cubs picked up a game on Nashville as the Sounds lost to Albuquerque. Iowa trails the Sounds by 5 1/2 games in the American North.

 

SmokiesBaseball.com[/url]"]THRILLING COMEBACK HIGHLIGHTS 10-9 SMOKIES VICTORY

 

Sevierville, TN – A thrilling comeback by the never say die Tennessee Smokies resulted in an exciting 10-9 victory over the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx at Smokies Park tonight. A boisterous crowd of 4,920 jumped to their feet when the winning run scored on a wild pitch to win the game for Tennessee. The key win improved the Smokies to 25-23 on the second half of the season, and kept Tennessee in line for a playoff spot.

 

At the beginning of the night, the situation did not look good for the Smokies. Starting pitcher Donnie Veal struggled through the first two innings of the game, giving up six runs on seven hits and throwing a total of 59 pitches. Veal never seemed to gain control, and was replaced by reliever Ryan O’Malley, but not before the Smokies were down 6-0.

 

Tennessee stayed in the game all night long without letting the Diamond Jaxx increase their six run lead. The Smokies plated two runs in the bottom of the second inning, thanks to an RBI single by Robinson Chirinos and a sacrifice fly by Matt Camp. Tennessee closed to within 6-3 in the third on an Alberto Garcia RBI single. The Smokies could have done more damage in the third but left the bases loaded after plating the lone run.

 

Just when Tennessee looked to get back into the game, the Diamond Jaxx came up with the big hit to extend their lead. In the fifth, it was two RBI singles to plate a couple of runs and give West Tennessee an 8-4 advantage. The Smokies found a way to crawl back into the contest however, scoring another run in the bottom of the sixth to pull to within 8-5 of the Diamond Jaxx.

 

Things got really interesting in the Smokies half of the eighth inning. Down 8-5, the Smokies benefited from back to back home runs by Casey McGehee and Tyler Colvin, his fifth as a Tennessee Smokies outfielder, and the lead was cut to just 8-7.

 

Within just one run of tying the game, West Tennessee appeared to put the nail in the coffin in the top of the ninth on a solo home run by Prentice Redman to give the Diamond Jaxx a seemingly insurmountable 9-7 lead.

 

But the Smokies were not going to let this game slip away tonight. With the bases loaded and nobody out in the ninth inning, Jemel Spearman hit an RBI infield single to score Jorge Cortes and pull the Smokies to within one run. Issmael Salas followed with an RBI sacrifice fly to score Nate Spears and tie the game. With Alan Rick on third base and McGehee at the plate, Diamond Jaxx pitcher Mumba Rivera (4-6) threw a wild pitch to the backstop. Rick easily trotted home with the winning run, with the entire Smokies dugout emptying for a celebration at home plate.

 

Rocky Roquet (4-0) picked up the win for the Smokies despite giving up the home run in the ninth. Colvin was the offensive giant for Tennessee tonight, going 4-5 with his fifth home run of the season and two RBI. McGehee and Spearman both also had multiple hit nights for the Smokies offense.

 

DaytonaCubs.com[/url]"]Cubs Harpoon Threshers, 10-7

Daytona Score in 6 of 9 Innings; Schappert Proves Effective

 

By: Matt Martinez

 

(CLEARWATER, FL) Daytona is firing on all cylinders. After dropping five out of seven at "The Jack" this past home stand, the Cubs have now taken the first two games away from a formidable Clearwater team in their own ballpark. Daytona outslugged the Threshers 10-7, in a game that lasted over three hours.

 

Like Thursday night, the Cubbies got on the board early. In the top of the second, Ryan Harvey reached on an error, Alfred Joseph singled, and Billy Mottram singled in Harvey to give Daytona an early advatage. Yusuf Carter hit a deep fly ball to center field to bring in Joseph and the Cubs took an early 2-0 lead.

 

Daytona would add another run in the third on an RBI single by Steve Clenger to plate Jeffrey Rea to make the score, 3-0.

 

After hurling a scoreless first and second inning, Paul Schappert ran into a little bit of trouble. Two consecutive one-out singles lead to a three-run bomb by Luke Donald to knot the game at 3-3.

 

Clearwater continued to put pressure on the Cubs in the fourth inning as they plated one run on one base hit to swing the advantage in their favor, 4-3.

 

But the Cubs would come roaring back in the fifth as Rea and Matt Matulia would come into score to give the lead back to the good guys, 5-4.

 

Daytona wasn't comfortable with their one-run lead so they put two more on the board in the sixth on a two-run single off the bat of Clevenger to score Mark Reed and Rea.

 

With the score at 7-4 in the seventh, Reed doubled home Joseph to make it a four-run advantage.

 

The Threshers scored one in the seventh as well to swing the lead back to three runs, 8-5.

 

Daytona put two more on the board in the ninth to pad their lead and they relinquished two in the bottom half to end the game, 10-7 Daytona.

 

Schappert lasted six innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on seven hits, walked two and struck out two to record his first win with the Cubs in 2007. Chucky Platt came on in relief and worked three innings and gave up three runs (two earned) on three hits and walked two.

 

Alfred Joseph extended his hitting streak to six games as he finished two-for-three with three runs. Steve Clevenger had a huge game, finishing four-for-five with four RBIs.

 

PeoriaChiefs.com[/url]"]Chiefs Win 14-3 Friday Night

 

Peoria, IL- The Peoria Chiefs finally got the explosion they were waiting for from the offense on Friday night in a 14-3 win over visiting Great Lakes Loons at O’Brien Field. With the win, the Chiefs improve to 27-20 on the half and 58-58 overall and keeps them in the Wild Card spot and they also pick up a game on first place Quad Cities.

 

Trailing 1-0 after a half inning, the Chiefs offense went to work quickly in the bottom of first against Loons starter Kyle Smit. Leon Johnson worked a lead off walk and scored on a double to the gap in left center by Darwin Barney to tie the game 1-1. Jim Adduci followed with a ball in the same left field gap to score Barney and give the Chiefs a 2-1 lead.

 

Peoria extended their lead in the second inning against Smit. Ryne Malone got the inning started after reaching on an error by the first basemen. After moving to second on a ground out by Matt Canepa, Malone scored on a base hit up the middle by Johnson to make it a 3-1 game.

 

The Chiefs tacked on another run, this time with two outs, in the third inning to push their lead to 4-1. Adduci lined the first pitch of the inning into center field and later stole second to get into scoring position. After Clark Hardman grounded out to move Adduci to third, Russ Canzler dropped a broken bat single into left field to score Adduci. Peoria produced another run without hitting a ball out of the infield. Malone and Canepa both reached on infield hits and Nate Samson reached on a throwing error by the shortstop that allowed Canzler to score to make it 5-1.

 

Peoria’s offense continued the scoring attack against the Loons bullpen in the fourth inning. Barney was hit by a pitch from Great Lakes reliever Arismendy Castillo to start the inning and Adduci followed with his third hit of the game. Adduci and Barney then pulled off a double steal and Barney scored when the catchers throw got past the third basemen to make it 6-1. Hardman reached first base on a fielders’ choice after he hit a grounder in which the Loons tried unsuccessfully to throw Addcui out at the plate. Canzler reached on an error by second baseman Preston Mattingly that allowed the inning to continue. With the bases loaded, Samson dropped a two-run single in front of the left fielder to score Hardman and Canzler to make it 9-1. The Chiefs batted around in the inning and Barney picked up another two out hit with a two run single to make it 11-1. Adduci again hit the first pitch he saw into center field for his fourth hit of the game to make it 12-1 before Loons reliever Joe Jones finally got out of the inning.

 

The offense took advantage of the sixth error of the night by the Loons defense in the sixth inning. Johnson reached on an error by the pitcher to start the inning and Brian Leclerc singled to put runners on the corners with one out. Lalli then singled through the right side to score Johnson and push the lead to 13-1 Chiefs lead.

 

Great Lakes got on the board against Chiefs reliever Al Alburquerque in the seventh inning. After Preston Mattingly singled with one out, Juan Rivera hit a two run homer out to left field to make it a 13-3 game.

 

Brian Leclerc got the eighth inning started with his second triple of the season. After back-to-back strike outs to Lalli and Hardman, Great Lakes committed their eighth error of the night, a throwing error by the shortstop that allowed Leclerc to score to give the Chiefs a 14-3 lead.

 

Renshaw tossed a solid six innings despite having to sit and wait while the offense did their damage. He allowed just one run on six hits while tying a season high in strike outs with eight. Jake issued just one walk while picking up his league leading 12th win. Alburquerque pitched one inning and allowed two runs in his first game with the Chiefs since June 3rd. Matt Maradeo pitched two shut out innings to finish out the night.

 

Gorman’s Pub Player of the Game: Jim Adduci (RF) - Jim Adduci finished the night with a season high four hits despite leaving the game in the sixth inning. All four hits were singles as Adduci scored twice, drove in two runs and stole two bases. The Chiefs rightfielder finished the night 4-for-4.

 

Playoff Watch: The top two teams in the division excluding Beloit and Clinton will make the playoffs. With 23 games remaining, the Chiefs are in the Wild Card spot, 1 ½ games behind Quad Cities who lost 6-2 to Dayton on Friday night. The Chiefs remain 1 ½ games up on Kane County who also won Friday night 16-3 over Lansing. The Chiefs have six games (four at home) left against Kane County and two at Quad Cities. The Wild Card team will play Beloit in the first round while the Second Half Champion will play Clinton.

 

BoiseHawks.com[/url]"]Hawks 8-10-07

 

KEIZER, OR -- The Salem-Keizer Volcanoes beat the Boise Hawks Friday night, 8-3. Alberto Cabrera made his first start since July 23rd and pitched one inning, giving up one run while walking three batters. Chad Rothford drove in the lone run with a single and the Volcanoes never looked back, out-hitting the Hawks 10-7.

 

Ty Wright hit his sixth home run of the season for Boise in the sixth inning. Wright's 39 RBI's are the third most in the Northwest League.

 

Jonathan Wyatt had a pair of hits and extended his hitting streak to 18 games, the second longest hitting streak in the league this season.

 

Tony Thomas extended his hitting streak to ten games with a base hit and stole his 16th base of the season, third most in the league.

 

Despite the loss, the Hawks remain in first place in the Northwest League's Eastern Division.

[cuubs4life]

I am starting to like Pawelek as a reliever more and more.

[Guest]

Here's an interesting comparison if we take Colvin's overall numbers:

 

AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
.302	103	398	52	120	32	5	12	67	198	14	83	13	5	.327	.497	.824

AB	R	H	1B	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	KO	SB	CS	BA	OBP	SLG
312	42	103	60	25	6	12	45	11	60	8	4	0.3301	0.3549	0.5641

 

I don't know about anyone else, but I'd love to have Hunter Pence on the Cubs.

 

 

 

The difference, of course, is that Pence walked much more in the minors.

[Guest]

I am starting to like Pawelek as a reliever more and more.

 

I don't like it. He needs the innings so he can get the repetition with proper mechanics.

Edited August 11, 2007 by CaliforniaRaisin

[RammyFanny]

With the game tied 4-4, Craig scored the game's winning run on a Derek Lee wild pitch.

DLee should probably just stick to hitting.

[Guest]

Knoxville News-Sentinel[/url]"]Veal’s 59-pitch saga: two innings, seven hits, six runs and one strikeout.

 

“He’s got to figure out a way to throw more than one pitch (fastball) for a strike,” Listach said. “Sometimes he does and sometimes he doesn’t. They sat on his fastball. This is probably the hardest he’s been hit all year.”

 

Seems like it's been the same problem for Veal all season and the reason his BAA and BB numbers have both gone up. The curve is way too inconsistent and when it's not in the zone, AA hitters zero in on the FB or take the walks.