5/27 Minor League Wrap-Up

Quick recap thanks to the lowest two teams not playing today for differing circumstances, the Mavs taking a wash well into the 10 pm hour, Rich Dorman owning yet another Southern League lineup and the Rainiers getting a surprisingly useful pitching performance from a guy whose career has looked close to done all season long.

On to the wrap-up!

VENEZUE- oh.  The VSLMs game with the VSL Tigers was postponed by rain.

A:  Oh, look at that, the T-Rats had today off too.  They are en route to Kane County to play a series with the Cougars.  The T-Rats have the worst offense in the MWL with a lame 3.23 runs per game.  4.16 is the average and Kane County hovers right around there with 4.18.  With a .340 OBP, the Cougars have one of the more patient lineups in the MWL, second only to Clinton's Lumberkings.  You can probably guess where the Mariners affiliate stands relative to the league (... okay, it's only 4th to last, but .301 in a league with an average .318 OBP isn't good).

It could get ugly, as Kane County's 3.56 runs allowed per game is the best in the league.  The T-Rats are 4th with 3.85, but still.  Their 134 walks are 3rd fewest in the league, while their 422 K's are 2nd best.  Both teams have identical defensive efficiency numbers (KC:  .658... WIS:  .657)

Kane County lineup threats include CF Corey Brown (272/360/497) and 2B Larry Cobb (360/400/512).  Their pitching rotation is pretty tough: Jamie Richmond (10 GS, 3.21 ERA, 56 IP, 4 HR, 7/41 BB/K), Craig Italiano (10 GS, 0.72 IP, 50 IP, 1 HR, 23/63 BB/K), Scott Michinson (8 GS, 1.71 ERA, 47.1 IP, 1 HR, 7/48 BB/K), Scott Hodsdon (9 GS, 3.80 ERA, 42.2 IP, 3 HR, 8/31 BB/K) and Travis Banwart (7 GS, 2.38 ERA, 41.2 IP, 11/41 BB/K) make up one of the best A ball rotations I've ever seen.  And then the bullpen has Scott Deal (11 app, 2.81 ERA, 32 IP, 4 HR, 7/24 BB/K), Brad Hertzler (9 app, 2.78 ERA, 22.2 IP, 1 HR, 6/17 BB/K) and... yeah the T-Rats are screwed.

Oh hey, an actual game!

A+:  Rancho Cucamonga 7, High Desert 3
Mavs:  24-28... Quakes:  23-29

Anderson Garcia:  2.1 IP, 2 H, (2 R) 1 ER (HR), 2 walks, 5 K
Alfredo Venegas:  3.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER (HR), 2 walks, 3 K
Aaron Cotter:  1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 K
Michael Wagner:  two outs, 3 H, 2 ER, K
Steve Uhlmansiek:  1 IP, 2 walks
Travis Scott:  2-4, double, R, K
Jose Yepez:  2-4, 2 RBI, K
rest of Mavs lineup:  2-27, 2 R, 3 walks, 3 K

No lines, because this game finished so late that stats haven't been updated yet.  But even though the poor hitting dictated the Mavs had little chance, kudos to Anderson Garcia for reviving the corpse of his career and actually pitching into the 3rd inning, let alone striking out 5 of the 11 batters he faced before ceding to Afredo Venegas, who was actually the one to bring the suck today.  He thankfully didn't get too many innings, though it really didn't matter since the offense was fortunate to score 3 runs given how they were hitting.  And to cap it off, Mavs manager Jim Horner got himself tossed in the 9th for finally blowing up on the home plate umpire.

AA:  West Tenn 4, Mississippi 1
WTN:  33-19 (leading North division!)... MIS:  20-32

Rich Dorman:  7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 6 K (11 GS, 2.13 ERA, 71.2 IP, 4 HR, 20/60 BB/K)
Marwin Vega:  1 IP, 1 H, K (14 app, 6.11 ERA, 28 IP, 2 HR, 23/16 BB/K)
Mumba Rivera:  1 IP, 2 K (19 app, 2.14 ERA, 21 IP, 1 HR, 6/24 BB/K)
Mike Wilson:  1-4, double, R, K (262/347/532)
Johan Limonta:  1-2, double, 2 R, 2 walks (283/380/483)
Adam Moore:  3-4, double, R, RBI, K (301/380/442)
Ronnie Prettyman:  1-3, double, 2 RBI, K (215/253/393)
Luis Oliveros:  1-4, RBI, K (386/434/457)

It's gotten to the point where, if Rich Dorman is on the hill, the DIAMOND JAXX just have to know it's only a matter of time before they've got the game in the bag.

Groundballs:  11
Flyballs:  4
Line Drives:  4
Pop Ups:  1
Walks:  0
Strikeouts:  6

AAA:  Tacoma 3, Fresno 2
TAC:  25-26... 25-26

Joe Woerman:  4.2 IP, 4 H, 4 walks (14 app, 5 GS, 10.87 ERA, 25.2 IP, 3 HR, 28/15 BB/K)
Jake Woods:  2.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, walk, 2 K, hit batter (15 app, 4.23 ERA, 27.2 IP, 5 HR, 10/19 BB/K)
Jon Huber:  one out, 1 H (18 app, 6.43 ERA, 21 IP, 9/16 BB/K)
Potatoes:  1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 walks, K (13 app, 3.60 ERA, 15 IP, 1 HR, 8/17 BB/K)
Tug Hulett:  2-5, solo HR, K (243/320/369)
Matt Tuiasosopo:  2-4, 2 R (248/325/352)
Jeff Clement:  Hitless.  HITLESS!! (382/507/755)
Bryan LaHair:  3-3, 2 doubles, 2 RBI, walk (263/337/475)
Rob Johnson (RF!, then C):  1-4, double, K (235/294/295)

Joe Woerman pitched his best AAA game of the season, making me believe there may be hope yet for the alien despite every out being in play, 4 walks in 4.2 IP and Mystic Tan having to bail him out before he reached the minimum- okay, there is no hope.

Still, the Rainiers had a 3-0 lead after 5, and it took a 1 run rally in the 8th off Jon Huber, and a cheap run off Potatoes in the 9th to give the Not Good Enough For The Giants any sort of false hope.