The Memphis Redbirds are a bad team this year — possibly on a historic scale. Also in the article, it discusses the fact that the contract St. Louis has with Memphis is up after 2008. I expect them to re-up on that deal. The relationship has been good for both sides in my estimation. Last tidbit, and I hate to stir this pot, but I’m surprised that Jeff Luhnow was not with the Jocketty, Mozielak and Manno troika evaluating who was ready for the September call-up since that’s kind of his . . . you know . . . job.
Human interest piece on Nick Derba. He sounds like a really hardworking kid.
Is there anything more we can say about how amazing Colby Rasmus is? He’s rated behind Jay Bruce as the #2 CF prospect in the minors by Kevin Goldstein. (Upton and Maybin are not included as they are in the majors currently. Rasmus would rank behind both of them.) I don’t disagree that Bruce is the better prospect at the moment but I’d take Rasmus over him in the long term. That’s mainly due to my opinion that Rasmus is going to be a plus defender in CF and a good base-stealer while Bruce will end up in RF.
Jon Mikrut generates a lot of fly balls.
Memphis takes a step closer to history. Allen Craig is the man. Math lesson: Divide 1 by 0 — what do you get? Making you smarter about baseball while simultaneously improving your seventh grade math skills, it’s your Daily Prospect Report.
- Skip Schumaker goes 3-for-5 with a double. Skip is out of options after this year which means that he either has to be on the active roster or they risk losing him on waivers. Given the lefty-heavy outfield that the Cardinals have and TLR’s seeming obsession with So Taguchi (whose defense has had a precipitous decline), I just don’t see Skip making the cut.
- Edgar Gonzales went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles.
- Mike Parisi went 6 innings allowing 4 hits and 4 BBs while striking out 3.
- Troy Cate has been terrible ever since being send back down to the minors so that the Cardinals could call up a fresh arm. I continue to think he’s injured as he fails to record an out tonight.
- Colby Rasmus went 1-for-4 with 3 Ks.
- Jose Martinez went 2-for-4.
- Cody Haerther went deep.
- Allen Craig is a beast. He went 2-for-4 with a double and a HR. He also committed his first error at AA.
- Adam Daniels was torched for 6 runs in 1.2 innings. He walked 2, allowed 4 hits and struck out 1.
Palm Beach 10, Brevard County 7
- Shane Robinson went 2-for-4 with a BB.
- Mark Shorey went 2-for-5.
- Brandon Yarbrough went 3-for-5 with a triple.
- Luke Gorsett went 2-for-5.
- Donovan Solano went 3-for-5.
- Eddie Degerman allowed 5 runs (4 earned) in 5 innings. Control, as usual, was the issue as he walked 2, hit a batter and allowed a wild pitch.
- Luke Gregerson closed it out for the 28th save striking out 1 in the 9th.
Quad Cities 0, Burlington 1 (10 innings)
- Arnoldi Cruz went 1-for-3 with a BB and 2 SB.
- Oliver Marmol went 2-for-3.
- Elvis Hernandes threw 3.1 innings allowing 1 BB, 1 hit and 1 K.
- Chuckie Fick followed him up with 3.2 innings allowing 2 hits and 4 K.
- Kyle Saldowski allowed 2 hit, 2BBs and 3K in 2 innings.
- Matthew Spade (who was added for the playoff run) screwed the pooch and currently sports an infinte ERA. Look before it’s gone. . . . .
Batavia 7, State College 6 (11 innings)
- Dognnt Bolivar went 4-for-7.
- Andrew Brown went 2-for-5 with a BB.
- Jonathan Edwards went 4-for-5 with a double and HR.
- Blake King allowed 6 hits, 2 BBs and 4 K for 5 ER.
- Justin Fiske was perfect for 2.1 innings striking out 2.
- The Mountain picked up save number 14.
Johnson City 1, Princeton 0 (Game 1: 7 innings)
- Jose Mateo threw 6.1 innings of 5-hit ball striking out 1. He had an 11-4 GO-AO ratio.
- Eduardo Sanchez closed out the game striking out both batters he faced.
- JC recorded 2 hits (Adron Chambers, Robert Sanzillo) and 1 BB (Matthew Arburr).
Johnson City 1, Princeton 4 (Game 2: 7 innings)
- Osvaldo Morales went 1-for-2 with a HR and a BB.
- Peter Kozma went 1-for-3 and ends JC with a .264/.350/.396/.746 line.
- Nothing noteworthy in the pitchers lines.
Filed under: Daily Farm Reports
erik
azruavatar
fewgoodcards
roarke49
theredbaaron
Huh, coulda swore Bruce was listed as a Right Fielder in pretty much every ranking of minor leaguers ever. He will definately end up there in the long term.
Rasmus is behind Upton, but I would take him over Maybin any day. I also agree that he is probably the better long term 5 tool prospect than Bruce.
Kozma and a couple others are going to Batavia.
I’m glad to hear the Memphis ownership is stalling before they re-sign the contract.
Aside from the Ankiel show this year and the John Rodriguez show a couple of years ago, there hasn’t been a thing worth watching on the field here since 2000. Their records, year-by-year, beginning in 2000: 83-61, 62-81, 71-71, 64-79, 73-71, 71-72, 58-86, and they’re 54-85 this year.
I know the point of a AAA team isn’t really to win, but there’s really no excuse for sending more teams that finish 15 below .500 than teams that finish .500. This team is *31* games behind the Brewers’ first-place team and they have a *16* game cushion for sole possession of last place.
Also, this is two years in a row that we’ve had the worst team in AAA.
Sorry to vent…it’s just absolutely miserable to watch this disaster of a team lately.
Why does Jose Ramirez continue to play ahead of DeJesus at QC?
As someone who negotiates for a living, I don’t see how the Memphis AAA contract doesn’t get done. Both sides have offsetting weaknesses that really prevents them from ending the deal. The Cardinals need a team within a reasonable commuting distance from St. Louis, so they can shuffle players up and down in short notice. Additionally, the Cardinals need franchises in locations that build interest in the parent ball club. Therefore, it doesn’t make sense for them to shuffle off to Buffalo or Las Vegas, or wherever. Plus, another southern team would swoop in and take Memphis, thus changing their sphere of influence. If the timing was right, I could see them jumping back to Louisville which would offer the same amenities as Memphis. The Braves, who are unhappy with their AAA affiliate, would quickly sign with Memphis.
As the article describes though, Memphis has its own problems. Namely, the Cardinals are a draw for the park. I love Autozone Park, and frankly I think it is the best baseball stadium going right now. We make it the linchpin of our annual minor league road trip. But, the vast majority of people who are coming attend because it is a Cardinal affiliated team. The Memphis group doesn’t want to end that.
The Cardinals minor leagues, as we all know, have sucked for a great many years. If I’m the Cardinals, I walk into the room with a presentation on the developments we’ve made in the minors. Or, if the plan is to put Colby at AAA next year, I just wait and let the attendance spike happen. Either way, they ownership group is falling over themselves to renegotiate. I would include an annual appearance, at the Civil Rights Game probably, to give the appearance that they scored a win from us. When in actuality, we want to do that to increase our marketing presence in the Western-Southern states.
No more Lambert he was announced as PTBNL in Detroit deal.
no tears shed over that one.
@ alec: i was just coming to post that. hard to believe the kid was a 1st round pick in ‘04.
It’s kind of funny that Lambert’s last stand in our system was successful. I’m going to be watching him, and I won’t be surprised if he’s the worst pitcher they have, but I also won’t be surprised if he dominates.
i would be suprised if he dominates. very, very very surprised. it would have to be one of the greatest turnarounds in the history of baseball for him to one day wake up and be dominant.
You’re right Erik, but history wouldn’t surprise me either. The Cardinals are alive(!) with contributions from Rick Ankiel’s bat and Troy Percival’s arm. Maybe a little carried away, but it would figure he’d turn out to be a good pitcher for them.
Bad news coming out of the QC this morning. Elvis Hernandez left the game last night with a shoulder strain and was placed on the DL this afternoon. Marco Gonzalez comes off the DL.
And Batavia is getting some reinforcements for their last week of the season. Called up from Johnson City today were P Nick Addition, SS Pete Kozma and 2B Mike Folli.
On Lambert, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him pitching back in AA next year for the Tigers. My gut says the Cards rushed him up the ladder in the system too quickly and didn’t allow him to learn how to pitch at the lower levels. The guy has talent, but had very little experience when he was drafted.