Minor league notes for June 24

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Bailey hardly a secret; Pitcher's first Double-A start productive: 6 scoreless innings
BY JOHN FAY | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

CLEVELAND - The way it's going, general manager Wayne Krivsky might make the club's minor-league report a classified document on the days Homer Bailey pitches.

Bailey, a 20-year-old right- hander, made his Double-A debut Thursday night. He threw six shutout innings in Chattanooga's 7-0 victory over Carolina.

He struck out seven, walked none and allowed five hits.

The question was put to Krivsky: Could we see Bailey with the Reds this year?

"You've got to slow down," Krivsky said. "Let's let him settle in at Chattanooga. I can't predict the future. He had a good first outing."

Bailey threw consistently in the mid-90s. His last pitch of the night was clocked at 98 mph.

"He was rested," Krivsky said. "That was by design. He only pitched one inning his last time out."

That was in the Florida State League All-Star Game. Bailey struck out the side on 12 pitches in that one inning.

Word of Bailey's outing got back to Reds manager Jerry Narron Thursday night.

Narron is convinced Bailey's stuff is good enough to compete on the big-league level. Narron kids that Krivsky blots out Bailey's line before sending the report to Narron.

"I don't need a report," Narron said. "I saw him in spring training."

FARM REPORT:

Former No. 1 pick Chris Gruler made his season debut for the Gulf Coast Reds. Gruler, who's been battling shoulder problems for three years, pitched two scoreless innings. He walked two and struck out three in the GCL Reds' 4-2 win over the GCL Red Sox.

This year's second-round pick, Sean Watson, pitched 3 2/3 innings of perfect relief in Rookie League Billings' 5-3 loss to Great Falls.

Logan Parker, a 12th-round pick out of UC this year, had two more hits.

He has started his pro career 7-for-10.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.d...606240398/1071

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The White-Out report

As a reader who saw Homer Bailey's Class AA debut for Chattanooga on Thursday pointed out, "Manager Jerry Narron is going to get a white-out report on what Bailey did."

Bailey pitched six shutout innings and walked nobody during a 7-0 victory over the Carolina Mudcats. The most impressive thing, though, was that he threw 98 pitches in those six innings and the 98th pitch was 98 miles an hour.

"The guy I had there said it was only 97," said Narron, who quickly added, "I'm kidding. I didn't have anybody there. And I don't have to see any reports, I saw him this spring."

http://www.daytondailynews.com/sport...snotesweb.html

Notes: Double-A no problem for Bailey
Reds' top pitching prospect goes six scoreless in debut
By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com

CLEVELAND --- Adjustments, what adjustments?

Top Reds prospect Homer Bailey, the team's first-round pick in the 2004 First-Year Player Draft, made it look rather easy during his debut for Double-A Chattanooga on Thursday night. His line was six scoreless innings on five hits without a walk and seven strikeouts. Bailey and the Lookouts cruised to a 7-0 victory over Carolina.

"He was composed, according to our reports," Reds player development director Johnny Almaraz said by phone from Texas. "He took the bull by the horns and pitched outstanding."

Bailey threw 96 pitches during the outing. His final pitch was clocked at 98 mph.

"I've always been the type of pitcher that feels better in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings or even the seventh if I get that chance," Bailey told the Chattanooga Times Free Press. "I can't explain it. It's just how I've always done it."

The Reds decided earlier this week to challenge the 20-year-old Bailey at a higher level after he went 3-5 with a 3.31 ERA in 13 starts at Class A Sarasota. While he's with Chattanooga, the organization instructed Bailey to set goals of not trying to be too overpowering with his fastball and to avoid getting the ball up in the strike zone.

Many pitchers that move up often need a few starts before they get comfortable. At least in one start, Bailey was not one of those pitchers.

"Last night, he worked ahead in the counts and pitched well," Almaraz said. "Our expectations are that he works on some details. There's a plan for him. Let him go there and make it happen."

An unlikely part of the plan is to promote Bailey to the Major Leagues this season. Reds general manager Wayne Krivsky has resisted the notion of accelerating Bailey's development through the system.

"We're going to leave him in Chattanooga and see how he does," Krivsky said from a scouting trip at Class A Dayton. "He's pitched one game there."

Reds manager Jerry Narron has made little secret of his desire to have Bailey in his rotation and has jokingly needled Krivsky to keep from him the results of each of the pitcher's starts. What did Narron think when he saw Thursday's report on the right-hander?

"I don't have to see a report on him. I saw him this spring," Narron said.

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/a...=.jsp&c_id=mlb

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Dragons batters object to strike zone in 1-0 loss
Mosby was called out to end the game on a pitch that should have been ball four.
By Marc Katz

Staff Writer

DAYTON | None of the Dayton Dragons would say so, but it was apparent most of them would rather see the Class A Midwest League umpires back picketing outside Fifth Third Field rather than working inside, especially behind home plate.

With special wide-angle vision by home-plate umpire Jason Alper, Bobby Mosby was called out on strikes on a low-and-away pitch to end the game with the tying run on third base, a game the Dragons lost to South Bend 1-0 Friday night.

It was the second time in two weeks Mosby was called out on a pitch he wouldn't have been able to reach had he swung, and he slammed his helmet to the ground, earning the Dragons' second ejection of the game — even though the game was over.

In the seventh inning, third baseman Eric Eymann also was ejected after a way-outside third-strike call.

"You're terrible," Eymann said he told Alper, who apparently didn't want anybody in the game who felt that way.

"The best thing to say is it was a good game," said Dragons manager Billy Gardner Jr., who was very pleased with Zach Ward's eight innings of two-hit pitching. "We had some pitches go against us. It happens sometimes."

All minor-league umpires went on strike over wages and benefits at the beginning of the season and didn't ratify a new contract and report back to work until June 12. Up until that time, teams had to hire local amateur umpires.

While the amateurs lacked consistency, the pro umpires have been drawing the wrath of players nearly every game, especially at home plate.

Bad calls or not, the Dragons could not muster a run.

Double plays in the second and fourth innings wiped out opportunities, and Adam Rosales' triple to begin the ninth — after South Bend scored in the top of the inning — went wasted. Jay Bruce and B.J. Szymanski both struck out swinging on 3-2 pitches before Mosby, also on a 3-2 count, was wide-angled.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/sport...06dragons.html

[OnBaseMachine]

Interesting. It appears Chick dominates at home but struggles on the road. I wonder why?

Travis Chick performed like he always does at BellSouth Park. His teammates didn’t follow his cue.

Chick allowed just one earned run over six innings — lowering his home ERA to 1.90 — but Chattanooga squandered scoring opportunities in three different innings during a 2-1 loss to Carolina tonight.

http://www.tfponline.com/absolutenm/...=710&zoneid=62

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Ponies rally, win on walk-off error
Rojo scores winning run from first on infield error
By MIKE SCHERTING
Of The Gazette Staff

Billy Rojo took a big hit, then delivered a big hit. Then to top his evening off, Rojo scored the game-winning run from first base on a Great Falls throwing error to help the Billings Mustangs to a 7-6, come-from-behind victory over the White Sox at Cobb Field.

Looking at the possibility of their third straight loss, the Mustangs scored twice in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game and then won it in the ninth when Chris Valaika's bunt snuck perfectly between the pitcher's mound and first base. Great Falls reliever Andrew Urena eventually snagged the ball, but when he spun around on his knees and threw, the ball eluded first baseman Chris Carter, banked off the first-base grandstands and went into right field.

The speedy Rojo, who had singled to lead off the ninth, rounded second, picked up manger Rick Burleson waving him home in the third-base coaches box, rounded third and raced for the plate. By the time he reach home plate Rojo was nearly going stride-for-stride with Burleson, who was also going down the third-base line as he continued to urge Rojo on.

Rojo slid, but he scored easily. He popped out of his slide and held up his arms to the glee of the 2,771 in attendance as the rest of the Mustangs came out to congratulate the team's leadoff hitter. "We had hoped he would be a spark, and he definitely has been the first four games of the season," Burleson said of Rojo, who is hitting .467 (7-for-15). "He's done what you want a leadoff guy to do. He's taking pitches, he's worked the count, he's gotten a lot of hits."

He was at the receiving end, though, of a different kind of hit.

After Chris Carter had been intentionally walked with one out in the top of the ninth to load the bases, Great Falls' next batter, Tyler Reves, hit a grounder to Mustangs third baseman Jason Louwsma. Louwsma hesitated briefly on his throw to Rojo at second, and although the 6-foot-4, 210-pound Carter was barreling in on him, the 5-8 Rojo stood his ground, stepped on the bag for the force and threw to first to nip Reves and complete the double play to end the inning. Carter and Rojo both tumbled to the ground in what Burleson labeled a "good, clean take-out."

Rojo was just glad to survive the dust-up.

"(Carter) was really close, he's a big guy," said a smiling Rojo with the help of a translator. "I just tried to make a good throw. I was just happy I was able to finish the play."

Luis Moya (1-0), who induced Reves' ground ball that led to the double play, picked up the win with a scoreless ninth inning. Kyle Huddy also threw two innings of scoreless relief to allow the Mustangs to battle back from a 6-3 deficit and even their record at 2-2.

"They had us down, but our guys continued to battle," Burleson said. "I've always tried to teach these kids that you have to play until the very last out is made and they definitely did that. By us being able to execute, getting the bunt down in the ninth inning, we put pressure on the defense and they made a mistake."

NOTES: Rojo, Logan Parker, Drew Stubbs and Louwsma all had two hits for the Mustangs. Parker has nine hits in 14 at-bats this season and is hitting .643. ... Joseph Hunter and John Shelby both hit solo home runs in the top of the fifth to give Great Falls its 6-3 lead. ... The game saw four passed balls and five wild pitches, and three batters were hit by pitches.

http://www.billingsgazette.net/artic...al/25-game.txt

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Mustangs report: Ponies' roster of high draft picks just worked out that way
By MIKE SCHERTING

There's a No. 1, a No. 2, a No. 3, a No. 6, a No. 8 and soon to be a No. 7. Those are good numbers to have on the Billings Mustangs roster.

Those aren't uniform numbers; they're draft picks. And with all those high draft picks roaming around at Cobb Field, chances are a pretty good season is in store for the Mustangs, although the standings don't show it yet (Billings was 1-2 heading into Friday's game against the Great Falls White Sox.)

The Cincinnati Reds, who are the parent club of the Mustangs, have been known to ship a No. 1 pick here now and then. Most recently, pitcher Chris Gruler (No. 1 in 2002) and outfielder Jay Bruce (No. 1 in 2005) called Billings home, even if it was for a short time.

But this year the Mustangs received six of the Reds' top 10 picks, including the first three in outfielder Drew Stubbs (University of Texas), pitcher Sean Watson (University of Tennessee) and shortstop Chris Valaika (UC-Santa Barbara). Are the Reds loading up the Mustangs for some reason? Not necessarily, said Grant Griesser, the Reds assistant director of player development. "We try to take the polished college kids and bring them here, that's been traditional for us," said Griesser, who was in Billings to see the season's first three games before leaving Friday morning to go back to Cincinnati and then on to the Dominican Republic. "I think looking back at it I think it just fell that way. It wasn't like (the scouting department) really targeted, like, 'Let's go all college.' They mixed in a couple high school kids up there in the top 10 and the rest of the guys just happened to be the best player available type of a deal."


See 'em now?
How long can Mustangs fans expect to see all these high draft picks stay in Billings?

"I would just as soon these guys play here the whole year, you know," Griesser said. "I don't think there's any reason that during their first pro summer you're sending a lot of guys to (Single-A) Dayton. That just doesn't make a lot of sense. They get comfortable here, it's a great place to play with all the fans, getting in with a host family, that sort of stuff ... I think it's great.

"What happens sometimes is you have a guy that performs so well that, hey, this guy's outclassed this league and it's time for him to move on. I think that's rare to be honest with you. We've had guys put up big numbers here and stay here, and I think that makes sense for them. They get confidence and they end their summer on a high note."

That being said, promotions are always possible.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you see one or two of these guys move to Dayton at some point," Griesser said. "And it might not be a first-year guy, it might be a second-year guy."

http://www.billingsgazette.net/artic...0-mustangs.txt