It’s the eighth inning of a 1-1 tie. You have runners at first and second, nobody out. The batter chases a 2-1 pitch at the ankles on a bunt attempt. You don’t score. You proceed to give up two solo shots in the top of the ninth and then go down without so much as a whimper in the bottom half.
That is terrible baseball. What’s to analyze?
If your avatar is missing from the comments, it’s because I’m testing a theory. Let me know if you notice a difference in the site’s performance.
Triple-A — Tacoma 4, Portland 2
Matt Antonelli: 0-for-5
Luis Rodriguez: 1-for-4
Chip Ambres: 0-for-4
Brian Myrow: 1-for-2, 2 BB
Will Venable: 1-for-4
Nick Hundley: 0-for-3, BB
Vince Sinisi (DH): 0-for-3
Justin Huber: 1-for-3, HBP
Justin Germano: 5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 SO
Enrique Gonzalez: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 HR, 2 BB, 1 SO
Sean Henn and Wil Ledezma also worked in this one. Balance and all that…
Double-A
No games scheduled in the Texas League.
High-A — Carolina League 3, California League 1
The Storm had three representatives: Sam Carter, Cedric Hunter, and Eric Sogard. Each went 1-for-2 in the loss, combining for half of their team’s hits.
Low-A — West Michigan 7, Fort Wayne 6
Luis Durango (DH): 1-for-4
Drew Cumberland (SS): 1-for-4
Justin Baum: 1-for-3, BB, E (20)
Lance Zawadzki (2B): 3-for-4, 2B, E (13)
Yefri Carvajal: 1-for-4
Brad Chalk: 2-for-4, 2B
Felix Carrasco (PH): 0-for-1
Jeremy McBryde: 4 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 1 HR, 0 BB, 2 SO (7 GO)
Short-Season-A — Spokane 6, Eugene 2
Sawyer Carroll: 0-for-3, BB
Logan Gelbrich: 1-for-3, BB, PB
Rob Musgrave: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 HR, 0 BB, 1 SO
Anthony Bass: 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 HR, 0 BB, 2 SO
Gelbrich knocks his first pro hit. Go Toreros!
Rookie — AZL Padres 3, AZL Mariners 1
Keisy Marte: 2-for-3, 2B, BB, SB
Jaff Decker: 1-for-3, BB, SB
Danny Payne: 0-for-3, BB
Edgar Garzon: 1-for-3
Supplemental first-round pick Decker made his pro debut, batting third and playing left field.
Padres (32-45) vs Twins (40-36)
Jake Peavy vs Kevin Slowey
7:05 p.m. PT
Channel 4SD
AM 1090, FM 105.7, XM 185
MLB, B-R
Triple-A — Portland 8, Tacoma 5
Matt Antonelli: 0-for-3, BB, SF
Chip Ambres: 1-for-5, HR
Brian Myrow: 0-for-4, BB
Will Venable: 1-for-3, BB, SB
Nick Hundley: 1-for-3, 2B, BB
Justin Huber (DH): 1-for-4, 2B
Luis Rodriguez: 3-for-4, 2B
Josh Geer: 6 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 3 HR, 1 BB, 2 SO, WP
Dirk Hayhurst: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 HR, 1 BB, 1 SO
Joe Thatcher: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 HR, 0 BB, 2 SO
The Beavers scored five runs over the final four innings to pull out the victory. A sac fly off the bat of Antonelli pushed Portland ahead in the ninth, with a two-run Ambres homer giving the visitors a little insurance… Three hits for Rodriguez — I need to talk crap about him more often… Thatcher continues to pitch brilliantly at Portland; I still think he can contribute at the big-league level if he just gains some consistency with his release point.
Double-A — San Antonio 5, Midland 2
Drew Macias: 2-for-4, SF
Chad Huffman: 2-for-4, 2 2B, HBP
Kyle Blanks: 2-for-5
Craig Cooper: 0-for-4
Jose Lobaton: 0-for-4
Will Inman: 7 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 HR, 1 BB, 11 SO, 2 WP (93 pitches, 64 strikes)
Jonathan Ellis: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 HR, 1 BB, 1 SO
Inman is making it extremely difficult for the skeptics to maintain their position. He’s got that K/9 up to 9.74.
High-A
No games scheduled in the Cal League.
Low-A — Fort Wayne 7, West Michigan 0
Drew Cumberland (SS): 3-for-4, BB, SB
Lance Zawadzki (2B): 0-for-2, BB
Justin Baum: 2-for-4, 2B, 3B, BB
Felix Carrasco: 0-for-2, 3 BB
Yefri Carvajal: 1-for-5
Brad Chalk: 2-for-4, BB
Shane Buschini: 1-for-3, BB
Matt Teague: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 HR, 1 BB, 2 SO (11 GO)
Cumberland has collected three hits in five of his last nine games… He’s raised his batting average from .248 to .285 during that stretch.
Short-Season-A — Spokane 7, Eugene 4
Sawyer Carroll: 2-for-5
Emmanuel Quiles: 0-for-3, BB, PB
Jeudy Valdez: 3-for-4, E
Pablo Menchaca: 4 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 HR, 2 BB, 2 SO (7 GO)
Nice day at the plate for Valdez; unfortunately his error in the fifth led to four unearned runs.
I’m a little late on this, but long-time reader LynchMob made it out to the Emeralds home opener on Sunday and was kind enough to share photos of the event as well as a video of Carroll. Sweet!
Rookie
No games in the Arizona League on Monday.
Triple-A — Tacoma 1, Portland 0
Matt Antonelli: 1-for-4
Will Venable (CF): 0-for-2, 2 BB
Justin Huber: 0-for-4
Brian Myrow: 0-for-3, BB
Chip Ambres (RF): 0-for-3, BB
Nick Hundley (DH): 0-for-4
Luis Rodriguez: 0-for-3
Wade LeBlanc: 7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 HR, 0 BB, 9 SO, HBP
The Beavers and Rainiers combined for a total of five hits — not your typical PCL game… Rodriguez is hitting .100/.217/.200 in eight games since returning from the disabled list. Part of that may be due to rust, part due to the fact that — strong start notwithstanding — he’s just not a very good hitter… Beautiful outing from LeBlanc. His season ERA is 6.15, but check out these June numbers: 29 IP, 3.41 ERA, 12.10 K/9, .192 BAA. Something appears to have clicked… Jared Wells picks up the save against his old team.
Double-A — San Antonio 9, Midland 0
Drew Macias: 2-for-5, 2B
Kyle Blanks: 3-for-4, 2 2B, HR, BB
Chad Huffman: 2-for-5, 2B
Craig Cooper: 1-for-5, 2B
Colt Morton: 0-for-5
Manny Ayala: 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 HR, 2 BB, 7 SO, 2 WP (82 pitches, 54 strikes)
Mauro Zarate: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 HR, 0 BB, 1 SO
Mike Ekstrom: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 HR, 0 BB, 1 SO
Paul Abraham: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 HR, 2 BB, 1 SO
San Antonio got some unbelievable pitching over the weekend in an unforgiving environment… The hitting wasn’t too shabby on Sunday, either: five Missions batters enjoyed multi-hit games; 10 of the team’s 15 hits went for extra bases… Manager Bill Masse, outfielder Josh Alley, and hitting coach Terry Kennedy all got tossed out of this one by the plate umpire at different points during the game. Alley wasn’t even in the lineup.
Paul DePodesta praises the entire San Antonio rotation, which really has been outstanding. At least one reader here will be pleased to see him mention Stephen Faris along with the more highly touted prospects. 
High-A
No games scheduled in the Cal League. Good thing, too, because it was really friggin’ hot…
Low-A — Lansing 5, Fort Wayne 3
Luis Durango (DH): 1-for-4
Drew Cumberland (SS): 2-for-4, 2B
Lance Zawadzki (2B): 0-for-4
Felix Carrasco: 1-for-3, BB
Brad Chalk: 1-for-2, BB
Shane Buschini: 0-for-4
Jeremy Hefner: 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 HR, 1 BB, 10 SO (8 GO)
Another terrific start wasted… Cumberland keeps hitting.
Short-Season-A — Spokane 5, Eugene 2
Sawyer Carroll: 0-for-3, BB
Logan Gelbrich: 0-for-3
Cooper Brannan: 1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 0 HR, 1 BB, 1 SO
Rookie — AZL Padres 5, AZL Mariners 2
Keisy Marte (SS): 1-for-3, HR, BB, E
Danny Payne: 2-for-4, BB
Edgar Garzon (3B): 0-for-5, E
I assume Payne is rehabbing… Bear in mind that playing conditions in the Arizona League render these stats virtually meaningless.
Padres (32-44) vs Tigers (35-39)
Randy Wolf vs Justin Verlander
1:05 p.m. PT
Channel 4SD
AM 1090, FM 105.7, XM 189
MLB, B-R
The Padres have signed supplemental first-round pick Jaff Decker [h/t Jonathan S.].
Triple-A — Portland 4, Tacoma 2
Matt Antonelli: 1-for-4, 2B, SB
Chip Ambres (RF): 1-for-4, 2B
Brian Myrow: 2-for-4
Will Venable (CF): 4-for-4, 2B
Nick Hundley: 0-for-4
Justin Huber: 1-for-3, BB
Luis Rodriguez (DH): 0-for-4
Cesar Ramos: 7 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 HR, 2 BB, 5 SO
Adam Bass: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 HR, 0 BB, 1 SO
Venable is doing everything possible to stay on the radar as a 25-year-old getting his first taste of Triple-A. I remain skeptical of his ability to develop into an everyday player, but he could end up as a fourth or fifth outfielder at some point. No shame in that… Ramos had one of those starts that fools you into thinking he’s a prospect. If he throws three consecutive shutouts, he’ll get his ERA down to 4.70 for the season.
Double-A — San Antonio 3, Midland 1
Drew Macias: 1-for-3, BB
Kyle Blanks: 1-for-4
Craig Cooper (LF): 1-for-3, BB
Colt Morton: 0-for-4
Steve Garrison: 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 BB, 11 SO (7 GO; 92 pitches, 66 strikes)
I don’t understand all these low-scoring games at Midland, which is usually a hitters’ haven… Garrison dominated, striking out 11 batters while averaging 13 pitches per inning; that’s pretty hard to do.
High-A — Lake Elsinore 9, Lancaster 5
Eric Sogard: 0-for-3, 2 BB
Rayner Contreras: 2-for-4, HBP, SB
Cedric Hunter: 1-for-5, SB
Kellen Kulbacki (DH): 1-for-3, BB
Mitch Canham: 1-for-2, HR, 2 BB
Nathan Culp: 5.1 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 0 HR, 2 BB, 4 SO
I find it amusing that Canham (8) has stolen more bases this year than Hunter (5).
Low-A — Lansing 5, Fort Wayne 3
Luis Durango: 1-for-3, 2B, 2 BB
Lance Zawadzki (SS): 2-for-4, 2B, BB
Justin Baum: 0-for-3, HBP
Felix Carrasco (DH): 0-for-4
Yefri Carvajal: 1-for-4
Aaron Breit: 5 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 HR, 0 BB, 2 SO
Matt Teague: 1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 HR, 0 BB, 0 SO
Carrasco by month:
Apr: 16 H, 5 BB, 35 SO
May: 23 H, 10 BB, 25 SO
Jun: 17 H, 5 BB, 32 SO
He also owns some of the most severe home/road splits I’ve ever seen: .340/.398/.679 at home, .175/.236/.289 on the road. That’s freakish.
Short-Season-A — Eugene 2, Boise 0
Jeudy Valdez: 1-for-5
Sawyer Carroll: 3-for-3, 2B, BB
Emmanuel Quiles: 2-for-4, E, PB
Anthony Bass: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 HR, 1 BB, 3 SO
Rob Musgrave: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 HR, 1 BB, 2 SO
This was Carroll’s fifth professional game. He’s knocked three hits in three of those.
Padres (32-43) vs Tigers (34-39)
Cha Seung Baek vs Nate Robertson
7:05 p.m. PT
Channel 4SD
AM 1090, FM 105.7, XM 189
MLB, B-R
Padres at Petco Park since the start of the 2007 season:
W-L: 68-52
RS: 471
RA: 426
HR: 109
Opp HR: 75
Clearly the data show that the Padres need to move the fences in a bit. Oh, wait; no they don’t.
Fun win Friday night. A buddy of mine scored us some sweet seats in the Toyota Terrace for the excellent price of free. Among other things we got to see Greg Maddux pitch a gem and Chase Headley knock his first homer in San Diego.
My wife and I particularly enjoyed watching Headley and Khalil Greene homer, as well as watching Paul McAnulty battle in the eighth to work a walk against Detroit’s Joel Zumaya and then fall over the fence along the right-field foul line to make a game-ending catch. We saw all three of those players when they were at Lake Elsinore (not at the same time), and it’s cool to see them now contributing at the big-league level.
The only irritating aspect of the game is that Heath Bell was credited with the victory despite being the least effective pitcher the Padres ran out there. No disrespect to Bell, who usually does a terrific job, but nobody was less deserving of the win on Friday…
Triple-A — Portland 4, Tucson 3
Matt Antonelli: 0-for-4 (.190/.314/.278, 43 BB, 45 SO)
Vince Sinisi (LF): 1-for-4, E (.266/.296/.344, 4 BB, 13 SO)
Chip Ambres (RF): 1-for-4, HR (.305/.391/.587, 35 BB, 58 SO, 7 SB)
Brian Myrow: 0-for-4 (.343/.473/.548, 60 BB, 55 SO)
Will Venable (CF): 1-for-3 (.314/.359/.474, 11 BB, 41 SO)
Peter Ciofrone (PH): 1-for-1 (.292/.372/.443, 24 BB, 33 SO)
Clay Hensley: 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 0 HR, 1 BB, 1 SO (2.90 ERA, 5.81 K/9, .229 BAA)
Dirk Hayhurst: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 HR, 0 BB, 0 SO (4.94 ERA, 11.29 K/9, .267 BAA)
Enrique Gonzalez: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 HR, 0 BB, 1 SO (4.34 ERA, 7.71 K/9, .275 BAA)
Joe Thatcher: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 HR, 0 BB, 2 SO (1.26 ERA, 9.42 K/9, .192 BAA)
Hensley threw 81 pitches in his longest outing of the season.
Double-A — Midland 2, San Antonio 1
Drew Macias: 0-for-2, BB (.275/.388/.427, 46 BB, 44 SO, 12 SB)
Chad Huffman: 0-for-3, HBP (.287/.380/.419, 38 BB, 45 SO)
Kyle Blanks: 1-for-4 (.308/.401/.425, 34 BB, 34 SO)
Craig Cooper: 0-for-3 (.282/.340/.410, 17 BB, 50 SO)
Seth Johnston: 0-for-3, BB (.240/.303/.404, 24 BB, 39 SO)
Jose Lobaton: 0-for-3, BB (.255/.313/.382, 15 BB, 39 SO)
Matt Buschmann: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 HR, 4 BB, 5 SO, WP (3.48 ERA, 8.69 K/9, .271 BAA)
Someone suggested I track Johnston a while back, but a 25-year-old third baseman should dominate Double-A. I’m not sure he’s really worth following.
High-A — Lancaster 9, Lake Elsinore 8
Eric Sogard: 2-for-5, 2B (.321/.424/.419, 49 BB, 31 SO, 6 SB)
Rayner Contreras: 2-for-4, 2B, BB, SB (.319/.417/.431, 21 BB, 30 SO, 9 SB)
Cedric Hunter: 2-for-5 (.306/.368/.405, 31 BB, 25 SO)
Kellen Kulbacki (DH): 2-for-4, BB (.238/.357/.420, 36 BB, 45 SO)
Mitch Canham: 2-for-5, 2B (.297/.414/.420, 46 BB, 39 SO, 7 SB)
Cesar Carrillo: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 HR, 0 BB, 1 SO (4 GO)
Drew Miller: 4 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 2 HR, 1 BB, 3 SO, WP (6.08 ERA, 7.30 K/9, .307 BAA)
I don’t have a pitch count for Carrillo, but he faced six batters so I’m guessing in the 20-25 range. Of course, with all the time he’s missed, anything is good at this point… Contreras and Kulbacki stay hot… Kulbacki is hitting .328/.443/.656 in June… Canham’s line calls to mind Scott Hatteberg circa 2004.
Low-A — Lansing 6, Fort Wayne 5
Luis Durango: 0-for-2, 2 BB (.271/.379/.325, 36 BB, 33 SO, 9 SB)
Drew Cumberland (SS): 0-for-4 (.271/.335/.333, 16 BB, 22 SO, 14 SB)
Justin Baum: 1-for-4 (.259/.345/.448, 29 BB, 58 SO)
Felix Carrasco: 1-for-3, BB (.259/.321/.486, 20 BB, 88 SO)
Yefri Carvajal: 1-for-3, HR, BB (.269/.299/.379, 12 BB, 54 SO)
Brad Chalk: 0-for-4 (.239/.344/.291, 21 BB, 22 SO, 7 SB)
Wynn Pelzer: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 HR, 0 BB, 1 SO
Robert Woodard: 4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 HR, 0 BB, 5 SO, HBP
Short-Season-A — Boise 7, Eugene 6
Jeudy Valdez: 1-for-5, 2 E
Sawyer Carroll (RF/3B): 1-for-4, HR, BB
Logan Forsythe: 0-for-1, BB
Logan Gelbrich: 0-for-2, 2 BB, E
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