Game Notes -- 4/13

There IS going to be a game tonight. So, here are the game notes:

LAST ACTION: The Rattlers were swept in a doubleheader by the Clinton LumberKings at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium on Tuesday, April 10. Clinton beat the Rattlers 8-1 in game one and 11-1 in game two.

THE SEASON SO FAR: Wisconsin has had more games lost to the weather than they have played this season. The final two games of their series with the Peoria Chiefs did not get played. One game will be made up as part of a doubleheader in Grand Chute on May 13. The other game will be made up as part of a doubleheader on May 27 at O’Brien Field. The games scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday against Clinton were lost to weather and will not be made up because the Rattlers and LumberKings do play again this half

FEEL THE BREEZE: In three games this season, the Rattler hitters have struck out 35 times.

EARLY DEFICITS: The Rattlers have fallen behind early and by large margins in the first three games of the year. In the opener on April 5, Peoria jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first inning. Clinton had a 6-0 lead after the top of the third inning of game one and a 5-0 after the top of the second in game two of the doubleheader on Tuesday.

QUICK STARTS: None of the three Wisconsin starting pitchers have made it past the third inning in the first three games of the season. Opening Night starter Ricky Orta pitched one inning. Anthony Varvaro and Rob Harmon each pitched 2-2/3 innings in their respective starts of the doubleheader on Tuesday.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Cedar Rapids Kernels are the Midwest League affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The Kernels went 65-74 in 2006 and missed the playoffs. Cedar Rapids – like the Timber Rattlers – has only played three games this season. They lost their first game of the season at Beloit and split a pair of games against the Swing of the Quad Cities at John O’Donnell Stadium. Tonight is their home opener. The manager of the Kernels is Ever Magallanes. He is the brother of Bobby Magallanes, the manager of the Kernels last season.

LAST YEAR: The Timber Rattlers and Kernels met eleven times in 2006; Cedar Rapids won the season series 8-3. The Rattlers were 3-5 at Veterans Memorial Stadium last season.

PROSPECTING CEDAR RAPIDS: BASEBALL AMERICA places ten members of the Kernel roster on their Top 30 list of Angel prospects. Catcher Hank Conger is the highest rated Kernel on the list at number 6. The others on the list are: Pitcher Sean Rodriguez (#9); pitcher David Herndon (#11); outfielder Peter Bourjos (#12); infielder PJ Philips (#14); infielder Matt Sweeney (#16); pitcher Jeremy Haynes (#17); infielder Ryan Mount (#20); pitcher Trevor Bell (#21); and infielder Mark Trumbo (#29).

FAMILIAR FACE: Kernel pitcher Warner Madrigal was an outfielder for the Kernels last season.

OPPOSING STARTER: RHP Tim Schoeninger was the 23rd round pick of the Angels in the 2006 draft out of Nevada. He went 5-6 with a 4.14ERA I his final season for Nevada. In his first professional action, Schoeninger went 6-2 with a 1.79ERA for the Angels affiliate in the Arizona League. He made 14 appearances (13 starts) before being promoted to Orem in the Pioneer League. Schoeninger made one scoreless two inning relief appearance for the Owlz.