Minor League Shakeup and You can't contain Mike Cameron!

Mike Cameron went five for five off Pittsburgh pitching and J.J. Hardy's single ended the game in the 12th inning as the Milwaukee Brewers polished off the Pirates for the 12th game in a row at Miller Park with a 4-3 win.
Jason Davis was the loser (1-4) and was able to only retire one Milwaukee batter in the defeat.
I feel really bad for Paul Maholm,who pitched very well against arguably the NL's best pitcher in C.C. Sabathia and deserved a win.
Maholm allowed a very high 12 hits,but on three occasions worked his way out of tough spots and showed a veterans poise.
In the third,the lefty was able to escape a bases loaded,no out situation without allowing a run.
Pittsburgh scored the first run of the game in the fifth on a Ryan Doumit single and after falling behind 2-1 tied the game in the seventh.
Nyjer Morgan's bloop single plated Freddy Sanchez to even the score before Cameron's homer in the eighth gave the Brewers the lead back.
Nate McLouth came off the bench in the ninth to swat a pinch hit single off our old friend Gas Can Torres to complete the Pittsburgh scoring and the games total until the 12th.
John Russell and Adam LaRoche were ejected in the sixth for arguing an absolutely awful strike three call on LaRoche.
Nice to see a bit of fire from the usually sober Russell.
The Pirates return home tonight for a series against the powerful Chicago Cubs.

The Pirates also received their PTBNL from the Blue Jays for Jose Bautista.
He is catcher Robinson Diaz from Toronto's AAA affiliate in Syracuse.
Diaz was once thought to be a hot prospect and the catcher of the future in Canada,but has suffered through an injury plagued season and had fallen behind in the catcher laden Toronto system that includes J.P. Arenicbia,Brian Jeroloman and Curtis Thigpen.

Pitching Matchup
Chicago:Ted Lilly (12-7 4.25 ERA) at Pittsburgh:Jeff Karstens (2-2 2.25 ERA) 7:05

Minor League Bullpen Notes

Ballpark Digest is reporting a MAJOR shakeup in the local minors today.
The Bowie Baysox (Baltimore AA) will be moving to the vacancy in Richmond,while the Connecticut Defenders will then move to Bowie to replace the Baysox.
This keeps AA baseball in Bowie,but will cost them the valued local affiliation with the Baltimore Orioles.
I can hear the next question now,"But Shawn,why doesn't Connecticut just move to Richmond"?
Well,here is where the Carolina League comes into the scenario.
The rumored two team move from the California League looks to be coming true and one of the teams will play temporarily in Newport News Va.
Newport News is in the territory of Norfolk,so the Tides (AAA) have to agree to sign a waiver.
The owner of the Tides owns the Baysox,so in order for him to sign the waiver,he was to be pacified and given the Richmond market.
Confused?Thought so.

The big loser in this maneuvering is Connecticut losing their team,but Bowie does not exactly win either as their attendance could drop as their affiliation moves from the Orioles to another team.

The big winners are the two cities that will enter the Carolina League,the two MLB teams that will be able to do the same (the Carolina League is the Cadillac of High A ball) and the autograph chasers that will get to have two extra teams come to town each season!

Talked to an anonymous source that told us that the head of Mandalay Baseball operations was at Friday's game at the Muni and has rumored as saying that the new GM for the Hagerstown Suns will likely be coming from outside the current organization.
Don't run with that one just yet,this source has been about 50/50 in their success rate in the past.

And finally a great article on the history of Ernie Shore Field in Winston-Salem as it approaches its end in minor league baseball/
The Warthogs will be moving into a brand new park in Winston-Salem and will be changing their name as well.

Photo Credits
Cameron:Darren Hauck-AP Photo
Ernie Shore Field-Lauren Carroll-Winston-Salem Journal