ABOUT MONDAY: The Rattlers were swept by the Dayton Dragons in a doubleheader at Fox Cities Stadium. Dayton won game one 7-2 and game two 6-0.
SWEPT AWAY: The last time the Rattlers were swept in a doubleheader was when the Southwest Michigan Devil Rays won both ends of a day-night doubleheader on June 6, 2005. The Devil Rays won game one 12-2 and game two 17-4. The last time the Rattlers lost a pair of seven inning games on the same day was May 2, 2004 at Fort Wayne. The Wizards beat the Rattlers 6-4 and 7-1.
ABOUT THAT SERIES: The Rattlers dropped three of the four games in the series with the Dragons. Dayton scored first in all four games.
ABOUT THAT HOMESTAND: The Rattlers dropped five of the seven games in their just concluded homestand. Wisconsin went 1-2 against the Swing of the Quad Cities before the Dragons came into town. The Rattlers have fallen to 7-15 at Fox Cities Stadium this season.
NOT HOT: Rattler first baseman Bryan Sabatella is hitless in his last fifteen at bats. In his last nine games, he is 1-for-26. Rattler third baseman Ron Garth was 2-for-19 during the recent home stand.
ROSTER MOVE: Catcher Julian Henson has been sent to extended spring training by the Seattle Mariners. Henson was 0-for-5 in three games with the Timber Rattlers. Replacing him on the roster is catcher Curtis Ledbetter.
MEET THE NEW GUY: Ledbetter joins the Timber Rattlers today. The 18th round pick of the Mariners from the 2005 draft was selected out of the University of Nebraska. He hit .319 with 13 homers and 55 RBI for the Cornhuskers and made it to the College World Series last season. In his professional debut, Ledbetter hit .311 with four home runs and 21 RBI for the AZL Mariners. He also appeared in four games for the Inland Empire 66ers and went 1-for-16.
ROAD WARRIORS: The Rattlers are 9-6 away from Fox Cities Stadium this season.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Kane County Cougars are the Midwest League affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. They are 20-17 and in second place in the Western Division. In their most recent series, the Cougars split a four game series with the Beloit Snappers at Pohlman Field. Last season, the Cougars finished the season 67-75 and missed the MWL playoffs.
VS. KANE COUNTY IN ’05: The Timber Rattlers were 9-3 in twelve games against the Cougars. Wisconsin was 6-2 at Elfstrom Stadium, including a four game sweep of Kane County May 23-26.
PROSPECTING: BASEBALL AMERICA’S Top 30 List of Oakland prospects includes five members of the current Cougar roster. Pitchers Vince Mazzaro (#10), Jared Lansford (#12), and Jason Ray (#22) are joined on the list by infielders Justin Sellers (#17) and Jeff Baisley (#30). Craig Italiano, number eight on Oakland’s Top 30 list, is currently on the disabled list. The Cougars have fourteen members of the Oakland 2005 draft class on their current roster, not including Italiano. Lansford (2nd) and Mazzaro (3rd) are the highest of the ’05 draftees. Also from last year’s class are: Sellers (6th), Ray (8th), Trey Shields (9th), John Herrera (10th), Steve Kleen (11th), Baisley (12th), Mike Massaro (13th), Jeff Bieker (15th), Isaac Omura (17th), Anthony Recker (18th), Ron Madej (26th), and TJ Franco (30th).
OPPOSING STARTING PITCHER: Jeff Gray was a 32nd round pick of the Athletics in 2004 out of Southwest Missouri State University. Last season Gray was 4-2 with a 2.51ERA for the Vancouver Canadians in the Northwest League. This is his first appearance against the Timber Rattlers, but he has faced the Mariners Northwest League affiliate twice and was 0-1 with an ERA of 7.59. In those two appearances, both starts, Gray pitched a total of 5-2/3 innings allowing five runs on seven hits. In his last start for the Cougars, Gray gave up six runs on six hits in 2-2/3 innings at Lansing on May 10. He walked three, struck out three, and got stuck with the loss.
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