The Post Dispatch ran an interview with Bill DeWitt that had a lot of juicy comments about his feelings on the minor leagues, player development and player retention. This quote discusses the focus on building up the minor league system:

P-D: You’ve publicly made player development a priority. We’ve seen sweeping changes in staffing, greater commitment in the Caribbean and more outside recognition for a number of your prospects. Are you satisfied?

BDJ: We’re having a good year in the minor leagues. We’re winning at Triple-A (Memphis) and pretty much up and down the line. The nice thing is we’re winning as we’ve developed our players, by and large, as opposed to bringing in from other organizations as minor-league free agents. I think you see various people and publications outside this organization recognizing the progress we’re making. It’s something we plan to sustain.

He was also asked about the upcoming trade deadline and his response gives me some comfort that we won’t be trading our top prospects for a rental:

P-D: It can be argued the club has legitimate prospects at every level now. As you amass talent, what is your philosophy regarding keeping them for yourself or using them to address immediate needs on the major-league club?

BDJ: I believe the best way to use value in your system is either to bring it up and play it if there is need or, if you’ve got a surplus in certain areas, try to be in position to help you improve yourself through other means, such as trades. As far as winning the division, you look at whatever means you can to help yourself. When you look at the current race, we’re interested if it’s something that helps us now and in the future.

And finally, this answer to a direct question makes me happy:

P-D: Is there a chance that Rasmus could play his first major-league game in another uniform?

BDJ: I don’t anticipate that. No.

Quick injury rehab note: Chris Carpenter will be pitching in Springfield this weekend.

Memphis is still off for the AAA All Star break, but all five of the other teams were in action. Contrary to rumors, Brett Wallace is still at Quad Cities. All the details of his night and the rest of the system are after the jump.

Springfield 7, Tulsa 2

• Springfield had a parade of homers with Allen Craig, Tyler Greene, Andrew Brown and Jose Martinez all going deep. Craig, Greene and Brown were all 1-4 and Martinez was 2-4.
• Jon Jay was 2-3 with a walk.
• Mark Shorey was 2-4 with a double.
• Tyler Herron had a nice outing (except for a little wildness), going six innings and allowing two runs, one earned, on five hits, three walks and a hit batter, while striking out three.
• Josh Dew threw two scoreless innings, allowing only one hit.
• Justin Fiske pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a walk and throwing a wild pitch.

Palm Beach 2, Sarasota 10

• Charles Kingrey was 1-3 with a pair of walks.
• Daryl “Tools” Jones was 2-4 with a triple.
• Brad Furnish had a lousy start, giving up five runs in three innings on five hits and four walks.
• Blake King did not fare much better, giving up four runs in only two thirds of an inning on two hits and three walks.
• Eddie Degerman gave up a run on two hits in 2.1 innings.
• Kenny Maiques pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout.
• Casey Mulligan pitched a scoreless inning with a hit and a walk.

Burlington 2, Quad Cities 5

• Ross Oeder is pissed that I said he has the upside of a career minor league utility player. He hit another two homers tonight (that’s four in the last three games for him). He was 2-3 on the evening.
• Brett Wallace was 3-3 with a double, triple and a walk. The rumors were wrong about him going to Palm Beach, but I think it probably was a good idea. I can’t imagine that he’ll be with Quad Cities for very long.
• Francisco Rivera and Nicholas Peoples were each 1-4 with a double.
• Adron Chambers was 2-4 with a double.
• Chuckie Fick is having a nice season. Tonight he gave up a pair of runs over six innings, allowing six hits and striking out four.
• Wayne Daman pitched a couple of scoreless innings of middle relief, allowing two hits and a walk and striking out a pair.
• Pete Parise finished the game off, giving up only one hit and striking out two in the ninth.

Batavia 4, Staten Island 2

• Colt Sedbrook is on a little bit of a hot streak lately. He was 3-4 today with a double, a walk, and a stolen base, which makes him 8 for his last 15 including a double, triple and home run. After a semi-slow start, his numbers are up to .293/.407/.404.
• Beau Riportella was 1-3 with a double.
• Domnit Bolivar was 2-4.
• Scott Gorgen got the start and he gave up two runs on three hits and a walk over four innings. He struck out a pair, hit a batter and threw a wild pitch.
• Miguel Tapia got the win for going 3.1 scoreless innings. He allowed three hits and two walks and struck out three.
• Adam Reifer pitched a perfect inning, including a strikeout, for the save.

Johnson City 3, Bristol 4

• Nico Vasquez was 2-3 with a walk.
• Curt Smith has been providing some extra-base pop from the cleanup spot – tonight he was 3-5 with two doubles.
• Center fielder Jarred Bogany was 2-4 with a double and a stolen base.
• Randy Santos took the loss, giving up four runs on four hits and a walk over five innings. He struck out four.
• Adam Veres pitched nicely in relief, pitching three shutout innings, allowing two hits and striking out two.

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