5/30/2007

Game Notes -- 5/30

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Rattlers dropped their third straight game as the Burlington Bees won 6-4. Burlington broke open a 3-3 game with solo home runs by Brady Everett, Matt Morizio, and Michael Thompson in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings.

FOLLOW THE LEADER: The Rattlers scored twice in the top of the second inning. Burlington scored two in the bottom of the second. Wisconsin scored a run in the top of the fourth. The Bees scored a run in the bottom of the fourth.

LEADING THE LEAGUE: Thompson’s home run in the seventh was his tenth of the season. He is tied with Brandon Buckman of Quad Cities and Juan Francisco of Dayton for the league lead in homers.

LEADING THE LEAGUE (PT II): Rattler starting pitcher Tony Butler walked one batter in five innings. He has walked 28 batters this season and is tied with three other pitchers for the lead in that category.

LEADING THE LEAGUE (PT III): The Rattlers committed three errors last night. They have committed 88 errors in 50 games this season. The Great Lakes Loons are second in the league in errors with 82.

IT’S BEEN A WHILE: The home runs by Morizio and Thompson came off Rattler reliever Brian Kappel. Those were the first two home runs allowed by a Wisconsin relief pitcher since May 19.

END OF A DROUGHT: Greg Halman’s double in the top of the eighth inning ended an 0-for-24 streak for him.

HOLD THOSE TIGERS: Today’s starting pitchers were teammates at Clemson before the 2006 draft. Burlington starter Josh Cribb was picked by the Kansas City Royals with the 227th pick of the ’06 draft. Seattle selected Steve Richard, the Rattler starter today, with the 231st pick of the ’06 draft.

OPPOSING STARTER: Cribb was an 8th round pick of the Royals in the 2006 draft out of Clemson. He was 9-0 with a 3.09ERA in 16 games (15 starts) in his final season with the Tigers. He went 2-6 in 13 games (six starts) with an ERA of 5.19 for Idaho Falls in the Pioneer League last season. In his last appearance for the Bees, Cribb allowed four runs on four hits with two walks and six strikeouts over 5-1/3 innings in a loss to Clinton on May 25. This is Cribb’s first appearance against the Timber Rattlers and his first appearance against an affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.

Wednesday Movie Quote (5/30)

Jane Aubrey: Do you lose very much?
Billy Chapel: I lose. I've lost 134 times.
Jane Aubrey: You count them?
Billy Chapel: We count everything

Wednesday postings

Good morning.

Game notes are finished. That post will be up shortly.

Wednesday's Baseball Movie quote will be up in a few minutes.

That is about all I have time for this morning. I'll try to get something posted when I get back to the trailer tonight...in between loads of laundry.

Short recap on the Mariner system:

M's lost, Rainiers won, Diamond Jaxx won, Mavericks lost. For more detail about last night head over to Jay at Mariner Minors.

One last thing, Rob Harmon will get the start tomorrow against the Bees at home. Then, it's back on rotation: Parker, Adcock, Varvaro, Butler, Richard.

5/29/2007

Roster move (5/29)

Andrew Barb has been re-activated by the Timber Rattlers. Kyle Parker has been transferred to the roster of the Everett Aqua Sox.

Parker is still scheduled to make his start against the Bees on Friday night.

Game Notes -- 5/29

ABOUT MONDAY: The Rattlers were swept in a double header by the Peoria Chiefs at O’Brien Field. Peoria shutout Wisconsin 7-0 in game one and topped the Rattlers 4-1 in game two.

GAME ONE RECAP: The Chiefs scored a pair of runs off starting pitcher Nathan Adcock on wild pitches (one in the third and one in the fifth). Jake Renshaw pitched five scoreless innings for the win and Jeremy Papelbon worked two innings for the save. The Chiefs put the game away with five runs in the bottom of the sixth.

GAME TWO RECAP: Marco Carrillo pitched five scoreless innings for the win. Rattler starter Anthony Varvaro allowed one run in five innings, but took the loss. Peoria scored three times in the bottom of the sixth.

MISSED OPPORTUNITIES: The Rattlers left seven runners on base in the first game. They also left seven runners on base in the second game. Wisconsin’s best chance in the second game came in the top of the sixth. Down 1-0, they had runners on second and third against reliever Oscar Bernard and no outs. Jayson Ruhlman came out of the bullpen and struck out Carlos Peguero. Ruhlman walked Kalian Sams intentionally to load the bases. Ruhlman struck out Gerado Avila and Greg Halman to end the threat.

AVOIDING THE SHUTOUT: Alex Liddi hit his third home run of the season to lead off the top of the seventh inning in game two.

GOOD STARTS: The Rattler starters in the Peoria series went a combined 26 innings in the five game series against the Chiefs. They gave up seven earned runs for an ERA of 2.42.

LESS OFFENSE: The Wisconsin offense scored eight runs in the five games at O’Brien Field. The Rattlers managed two wins in the series with the Chiefs.

NEMESIS: Rattler outfielder Greg Halman had had a tough time with the Chiefs this season. He went 0-for-25 with 18 strikeouts in nine games against Peoria.

IN THE LIGHT OF DAY: The Rattlers daytime record dropped to 4-14 with their two losses yesterday.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Burlington Bees at the Midwest League affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They are 20-28 and in sixth place in the Midwest League’s Western Division. They trail the first place Beloit Snappers by 11 games. Burlington beat Clinton on Monday to salvage a win in their series with the LumberKings. The Bees are 4-6 in their last ten games. They have a 13-14 record at Community Field.

LAST YEAR: The Rattlers went 4-8 in twelve games against the Bees in 2006. Wisconsin was 3-5 against Burlington at Community Field last season.

PROSPECTING: BASEBALL AMERICA has put placed six members of the active Burlington roster on their top 30 list of Kansas City prospects. There is also one pitcher (#10 Brent Fisher) on Burlington’s disabled list. Shortstop Jeff Bianchi, the 2nd round pick of the Royals in 2005, is the highest active player on the list at #11. Outfielder Derrick Robinson last year’s 4th rounder is next at #21. Prospects 26-29 are all members of the Bees. Infielders Kurt Mertins and Chris McConnell; outfielder Joe Dickerson; and pitcher Jason Godin are those prospects.

LOCAL BOY: Infielder Jeremy Jirschele, a 30th round pick of the Royals in 2005, played his high school baseball in Clintonville, Wisconsin. He also played for the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh before being drafted.

OPPOSING STARTER: Harold Mozingo was the 6th round pick of the Royals in the 2006 draft out of Virginia Commonwealth University. He led the Colonia Athletic Association in ERA with a 2.45. Mozingo was 7-1 in 14 games with 101 strikeouts and only 18 walks for the Rams. In his first professional season, Mozingo went 3-1 in 15 games (nine starts) for Idaho Falls, the Pioneer League affiliate of the Royals. This is his first appearance against the Timber Rattlers and his first against an affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. Mozingo snapped a personal four game losing streak with a win in his last start. He beat the Great Lakes Loons on May 24 with 5-2/3 scoreless innings. Mozingo allowed just four hits walked two and struck out five for the win.

Hotel Room Art (Burlington edition)

I think these paintings are supposed to be calming. But,


I look at this painting and see the Schrute Family Beet Farm. Nothing calm about that.


This seaside house? Real calming when it makes me think about a couple of scenes in Patriot Games.

1.) Patrick Bergin "waits" for his IRA commrades

2.) Harrison Ford and Anne Archer's house is under attack by Sean Bean, Bergin, and others.

Hotel Windows (Burlington 2007)

What do you notice about this picture?


Right click and pull your cursor across the white space below for the answer:

If you said no reflection from the glass and no interference from a screen, you would be correct. If I had to get out of this room other than via the door, there is an easy way out.

Feeling particularly evil right now

Was walking by the waterpark at the hotel this morning and this was playing over the PA System. It has been stuck in my head ever since.

I dare you to click on this video and not have the song in your head for the rest of the day.

Midwest League Action -- 5/28

Complete Monday scoreboard is HERE.

@Peoria 7, Rattlers 0
@Peoria 4, Rattlers 1: Chief sweep.

@Quad Cities 1, Beloit 0
Beloit 4, @Quad Cities 0: Splitsville...Oh, and two other losses for the SWING as there are two promotions.

@Dayton 6, South Bend 3
@Dayton 2, South Bend 1: Dragon sweep. Everyday Eddie sighting.

@West Michigan 11, Fort Wayne 5: Scott Sizemore cleans up for the Caps.

Burlington 3, @Clinton 0: Go Bees!

Cedar Rapids 10, @Kane County 6: Kernels go long in win.

@Great Lakes 8, Lansing 6: Looooooons.

Mariner System Report (Games of 5/28)

SEATTLE (MAJ: 25-22; 2nd AL West): The Mariners beat the Angels 12-5. Adrian Beltre hit a pair of home runs on a 4-for-4 night. Richie Sexson and drove in three runs. Jose Guillen also homered for the M’s. Miguel Batista got the win.

TACOMA (AAA: 22-30; 4th Pacific Coast League Pacific Northern Division): The Rainiers lost 1-0 at Tucson. Tacoma’s offense managed just two hits in the game. Brad Thomas pitched six scoreless innings for the Rainiers and got a no decision.

WEST TENNESSEE (AA: 23-28; 3rd Southern League North Division): The Diamond Jaxx lost 7-4 in ten innings to Tennessee. West Tennessee tied the game with two runs in the bottom of the ninth. Brent Johnson (WI ’05) drove in the tying run with a pinch-hit, two-out single. But, the Smokies scored three runs in the top of the tenth for the win.

HIGH DESERT (High-A: 23-28; 5th California League South Division): The Mavericks beat Bakersfield 5-2. Johan Limonta (WI ’06) had a pair of home runs and three RBI for High Desert. Marwin Vega (WI ’06) allowed one hit over six shutout innings and struck out six for the win.

Mariner system schedule 5/29:
Seattle (Ryan Feierabend 0-0) at Los Angeles (Ervin Santana 3-6) 9:05pm CDT
Omaha (Jason Shiell 0-1) at Tacoma (Jorge Campillo 2-4) 8:05pm CDT
Tennessee (Kevin Hart 2-5) at West Tennessee (Andy Baldwin 1-4) 7:05pm CDT
High Desert (Ruben Flores 0-1) at Bakersfield (Glenn Swanson 1-1) 9:35pm CDT

Braves: May 29, 1957

The Cubs came to County Stadium on May 29 and the '57 Braves were ready and beat them 6-2. Milwaukee was still trying to make up the ground they lost after dropping three of four games at Wrigley Field a few days earlier.

The game was scoreless until the bottom of the fourth. Billy Bruton singled in the first run. Del Rice hit a sacrifice fly to drive in a run, but Bruton was out trying to go to second.

Milwaukee scored two more in the bottom of the fifth. Bob Buhl and Dan O'Connell singled to start the inning. An error on the hit by O'Connell put both runners in scoring position. Felix Mantilla drove in Buhl and O'Connell with a single.

Ernie Banks homered and Cal Neeman had an RBI single in the seventh to get the Cubs to within 4-2. But, the Braves had the answer.

Mantilla doubled and Hank Aaron drove him in with a single in the bottom of the seventh. Bruton scored on a bunt by Buhl in the eighth for the final run.

Buhl closed out the game with a 1-2-3 ninth. Buhl struck out eight for his third win of the season.

Complete box score and play-by-play HERE.

The '57 Braves are now 22-14. They are still in third place in the National League and two games behind the Reds.

The Cubs are still at County Stadium and it is a double header day on May 30.

Scheduled starters 5/30/57:
CHI: Dick Drott; Tom Poholsky
MIL: Ray Crone; Taylor Phillips

Brewers: May 29, 1982

The '82 Brewers blew a lead and took a 5-4 ten inning loss to the Angels in California on May 29.

California scored a first inning run off Randy Lerch. Don Baylor's sac fly knocked in Brian Downing.

The Brewers came back to take a 4-1 lead. They scored a pair of runs in the fourth: Ben Oglivie singled in Robin Yount. Oglivie scored from third when Mark Brouhard grounded into a double play. Milwaukee scored two more in the seventh on back-to-back RBI singles by Cecil Cooper and Yount.

Lerch was solid up to this point, but he walked Fred Lynn to start the seventh. Rod Carew had a bunt single and Lerch committed an error to put Lynn at third and Carew at second. Time for Rollie Fingers.

But, Fingers gave up a one out single to Bob Boone and both runners scored to cut the lead to 4-3.

In the ninth, Fingers gave up a two-out RBI single to Bobby Grich and California tied the game.

After the Brewers went down quietly in the top of the tenth, Jamie Easterly replaced Fingers for the bottom of the tenth. Reggie Jackson hit a one out solo homer and the Angels won 5-4.

Complete box score and play-by-play are HERE.

The Brewers fell to 21-23 with this loss. They are tied with Toronto for fifth place in the AL East, 7-1/2 games behind AL East leading Boston. Buck Rodgers doesn't have much time to turn this around.

The series against the Angels continues on May 30.

Scheduled starters 5/30/82:
MIL: Jim Slaton
SEA: Bruce Kison

Mariners: May 29, 1997

The M's series with the first place Rangers ended on May 29 with an 8-2 loss at the Kingdome.

Jamie Moyer gave up a first inning homer to Ivan Rodriguez. Seattle scored a pair of unearned runs off Ken Hill in the bottom of the first. Ken Griffey reached on an error with two outs. The next two batters reached. Jay Buhner knocked in two with a single.

Texas tied the game on a fourth inning homer by Juan Gonzalez. Mike Devereaux put the Rangers in front with an RBI single in the sixth.

The Rangers put the game away with a five run seventh inning.

Complete box score and play-by-play HERE.

The loss drops the M's to 27-25 and into third place in the AL West. They are two games behind the Rangers.

Detroit rolls into the Kingdome to start a series on May 30.

Scheduled starters for 5/30/97:
DET: Felipe Lira
SEA: Jeff Fassero

Baseball History -- May 29

Complete entry for May 29 is at BaseballLibrary.com HERE.

Highlighted entries are both from 1952:
The Giants Willie Mays enters the army. Although Mays is hitting just .236‚ the Giants are 2 1/2 games in first place. They will lose 8 of their next 10 games.

Meanwhile‚ the Giants lose another young Birmingham player as Braves scout Dewey Griggs signs Henry Aaron to a contract. The Indianapolis Clowns receive telegram offers from both clubs‚ and Aaron‚ thinking he'll have a better chance to make the team‚ prefers the Braves.

Imagine Mays and Aaron in the same outfield for 20 years.

5/28/2007

Game Notes -- 5/28

ABOUT SUNDAY: The Rattlers and Chiefs split a double header at O’Brien Field. Peoria won game one 4-1. The Rattlers won game two 3-1.

GAME ONE RECAP: Wisconsin scored a run in the top of the third inning on a passed ball. The Chiefs scored four runs (three unearned) in the bottom of the third. Chris Shaver struck out six over five innings and gave up three hits for the win. Rocky Roquet pitched two innings for the save.

GAME TWO RECAP: The Chiefs scored a run on a first inning solo homer by Dylan Johnston. The Rattlers took the lead with a two-run single by Kuo Hui Lo in the fifth. A home run by Carlos Peguero in the sixth inning was the final run.

GOING THE ROUTE: Kyle Parker pitched the first complete game of the season for the Timber Rattlers in game one yesterday. He struck out a career high seven over the six inning outing.

EMERGENCY: Justin Souza was pressed into service as an emergency starter for the Rattlers in game two. Souza pitched a career high four innings and gave up one run on three hits with no walks and no strikeouts. Joe Kantakevich entered the game in the fifth inning and went two scoreless frames to pick up the victory.

SAVING THE DAY: Brian Kappel pitched a scoreless seventh for his first save this season. Kappel had eight saves last season for the Rattlers and just rejoined the team on Friday.

END ONE; START ANOTHER: Carlos Triunfel had his six game hitting streak end with an 0-for-3 in game one. He went 1-for-3 in game two.

IT’S BEEN A GOOD MONTH: Lo went 2-for-7 with two RBI yesterday. In May, he is 27-for-85 (.318) with 15 RBI. Triunfel is 30-for-89 (.337) in May. On the pitching side, Rattler relievers are 10-for-11 in save opportunities this month.


NEMESIS: Rattler outfielder Greg Halman has had a tough time with the Chiefs this season. He is 0-for-19 with 15 strikeouts in seven games against Peoria.

OPPOSING STARTER GAME ONE: Jake Renshaw was the 10th round pick of the Cubs in the 2006 draft out of Ventura (CA) Junior College. He beat the Timber Rattlers in game one of a double header on Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium on May 13. He allowed five runs on five hits over 6-1/3 innings with four walks and six strikeouts. In his last start, Renshaw lost to Lansing on May 23. The Lugnuts got to him for five runs on six hits over 5-1/3 innings.

OPPOSING STARTER GAME TWO: Marco Carrillo was signed as a non-drafted free agent out of Mexico in 2005. He has faced the Rattlers twice this season – once as a starter and once as a reliever. Carrillo started game two of the double header in Grand Chute on May 13 and went 3-2/3 innings and gave up three runs on four hits. That was his last start this season. In his last appearance, Carrillo went three scoreless, hitless innings against Lansing on May 24. He walked one and struck out three.

Probable Pitchers for Burlington Series

First, the game two starter against the Chiefs today is Anthony Varvaro

TUE: LHP Tony Butler (0-4, 5.18) vs. RHP Harold Mozingo (3-5, 4.18)
WED: RHP Steve Richard (1-1, 3.38) vs. RHP Jason Godin (1-1, 1.84)
THU: TBA vs. LHP Ryan DiPietro (1-2, 4.42)
FRI: RHP Kyle Parker (2-2, 1.65) vs. RHP Everett Teaford (1-5, 5.73)

The TBA on Thursday is probably a reliever to be determined.

Memorial Day

One day, I'll find a way to put together a post about Memorial Day that has everything that I want to say. But, I can't seem to find the right words this morning.

I did find this website yesterday while trying. Baseball in Wartime. The creator of that site has an In Memoriam section of all baseball players who died in World War II.

There were two major leaguers:

Elmer Gedeon

Elmer John Gedeon, nephew of former major league infielder Joe Gedeon, was born in Cleveland, Ohio on April 15, 1917. He and cousin Bob used to ice skate together at Brookside Park in Cleveland. On one occasion the ice gave way and Bob plunged through. Elmer slid across the ice on his stomach and reached into the icy water to pull his cousin to safety.
...
Gedeon played 67 games for Orlando and joined the Senators at the end of the season. His first major league appearance was on September 18, 1939 as a late-inning replacement in Dutch Leonard's 19th win of the season against the Tigers. The following day, Gedeon was the starting centerfielder, collecting three hits in a 10-9 win against the Indians. He would appear in five games before the year was out – four in centerfield and one in rightfield – and collected three hits in 15 at-bats.
...

On April 20, 1944, just five days after celebrating his 27th birthday, Gedeon piloted one of 30 B-26 Marauders that left Boreham to bomb German construction works at Bois d’Esquerdes. It was the group’s thirteenth mission. Gedeon’s bomber was severely hit by flak over France on the way to the target. “We got caught in searchlights and took a direct hit under the cockpit,” says Taaffe. “I watched Gedeon lean forward against the controls as the plane went into a nose dive and the cockpit filled with flames.”

Taaffe was the only crew member able to escape by parachute as the bomber plunged to earth carrying Gedeon and five others to their death.

Gedeon was reported missing in action, and it was not until May 1945 that his father, Andrew A Gedeon, received word from his son's commanding officer that Elmer's grave had been located in a small British army cemetery in St Pol, France.


Harry O'Neill

Harry M O'Neill was born in Philadelphia on May 8, 1917.

He attended high school in Darby, Pennsylvania and then progressed to Gettysburg College - a private four-year liberal arts institution. At Gettysburg he was a standout athlete playing center on the basketball and football teams and catcher with the baseball nine.

The 6-foot-3, 205-pound youngster was signed by the Athletics immediately after his graduation on June 5, 1939 for $200 a month. He spent the rest of the year with Philadelphia, making his only major league appearance on July 23, 1939 as a late-inning defensive replacement for Frankie Hayes against the Tigers.
...
Iwo Jima, 750 miles south of Tokyo, is the middle island of the three tiny specks of the Volcano Islands. Five miles long with Mount Suribachi at the southern tip, the island is honeycombed with excoriated volcanic vents. Hundreds of natural caves communicate with deep sulphur-exuding tunnels. Steep and broken gulleys cut across the surface, ragged sea cliffs surround it. Only to the south is there level sand, but it is fine, shifting, black pumice dust making the beaches like quicksand and rendering it impossible to dig a fox-hole when in need of cover.

The island was riddled with pillboxes, gun-pits, trenches and mortar sites and a three-day naval bombardment beginning on February 16 was intended to rid the island of much of its defense. But despite its enormity the bombardment had minimal effect.

On March 6, 1945, First Lieutenant Harry O'Neill was killed in action on Iwo Jima. Ten days later all resistance ended on the island.


All gave some. Some gave all.

Hey, Ernie, what do you say?

Let's play TWO more today!

Odds and Ends

PJStar.com has a story about ballplayer superstitons.

Peoria Chiefs first baseman Russ Canzler starts his day at Perkins Family Restaurant in Peoria with a Tremendous 12.

Outfielder Alfred Joseph doesn't step into the batter's box until he draws a cross in the dirt by home plate.

Left-handed reliever Jeremy Papelbon doesn't like other players touching his glove on days he might pitch.


What Chief story this year would be complete without a quote from the manager?
"If I'm out eating lunch I always look for pennies, a good luck penny, that I'll put in my pocket that night," Chiefs manager Ryne Sandberg said. "If we happen to win I'll put it on the shelf and then put it in my pocket the next night."

I've got a few. I don't know if they help or not. But, imagine how much worse the broadcasts would be if I didn't do them.

This story about the sale of the SWING was from May 26.

A “productive’’ meeting won’t necessarily lead to quick action involving the proposed sale of the Swing of the Quad-Cities.

Midwest League president George Spelius said the league’s transfer and expansion committee had many questions answered during its meeting earlier this week with Dave Heller and Bob Herrfeldt, who head the company that is attempting to purchase the Quad-Cities’ Midwest League franchise.

However, Spelius said a vote of the league’s board of directors might not take place until its regularly scheduled business meeting is held in conjunction with the Midwest League All-Star Game on June 18-19 at Kane County.

“It could go to that point before the board is asked to vote,’’ Spelius said. “We had a fine session, a productive session, and we went into a great deal of depth.’’The groups met Tuesday in suburban Chicago, and Spelius said the committee adjourned without making a final decision.


I haven't linked to the bartenders at The Wisconsin Sports Bar lately. Just head over there. Plenty of entertaining stuff especially their reaction to Braunmas.

Jason at Prospect Insider had this post from the other night that might be of interest: Night On the Farm: Tillman’s Desert Debut . Make sure to check out the comments.

All homecomings should be like this

Here's a neat story for Memorial Day from the Dayton Daily News: Rain delay doesn't dampen family's reunion

For every drop of rain there was a tear of joy for Capt. Jim Thigpen of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and his family.

Fresh off his second tour of duty in Iraq, Thigpen was reunited with his wife and two sons during an emotional ceremony after the second inning of Sunday night's rain-delayed Dayton Dragons-South Bend Silver Hawks game at Fifth Third Field.

Thigpen's wife, Kim, and sons Jacob, 11, and Caleb, 5, were guests of the Dayton Development Coalition, which sponsors the Dragons' "Hometown Heroes" program. They had no idea that Jim also was there.

Kim, Jacob and Caleb stood in front of the Dragons' third-base dugout, watching as the video board played a greeting from Jim. The screen went fuzzy and the announcer apologized for losing the satellite feed.

Suddenly, Jim emerged from the first base dugout and circled behind home plate. As cheers rose up from the fans, Kim spun around, saw her husband and they sprinted to each other.

Midwest League Action -- 5/27

Complete Sunday scoreboard is HERE.

@Peoria 4, Rattlers 1
Rattlers 3, @Peoria 1: Splitsville!

Cedar Rapids 3, @Kane County 1
@Kane County 2, Cedar Rapids 0: Splitsville!

@West Michigan 10, Fort Wayne 2: Slumbering bats awaken? Is Bill Shakespeare writing headlines in Grand Rapids?

@Clinton 6, Burlington 0: Omar Poveda paved Alliant Energy Field with Burlington hitters.

Lansing 10, @Great Lakes 5: It was movie night at Dow Diamond. The hometown fans may have enjoyed The Rookie more than the game.

@Quad Cities 3, Beloit 2: The QC stop the Snappers with a walk-off win.

South Bend 3, @Dayton 2 (F/10): A baseball game as a metaphor for a family vacation by car on Memorial day weekend as written by Chick Ludwig.

Mariner System Report (Games of 5/27)

SEATTLE (MAJ: 24-22; 2nd AL West): The Mariners beat the Royals 7-4. Former Wisconsin-Oshkosh Titan Jarrod Washburn got the win with seven solid innings. Raul Ibanez (Foxes ’94) drove in a pair of runs. JJ Putz (WI ’00) got the last three outs for the save.

TACOMA (AAA: 22-29; 4th Pacific Coast League Pacific Northern Division): The Rainiers beat Tucson 7-4. Jeff Clement (WI ’05) and Jon Nelson (WI ’03) each hit a home run for Tacoma in the win.

WEST TENNESSEE (AA: 23-27; 3rd Southern League North Division): The Diamond Jaxx lost 6-1 to Chattanooga. Prentice Redman homered in the first inning for the only West Tennessee run.

HIGH DESERT (High-A: 22-28; 5th California League South Division): The Mavericks beat Bakersfield 7-3 in sixteen innings. The Blaze tied the game 3-3 with two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning against Jose Escalona (WI ’06). The game remained tied until the High Desert scored four times in the top of the sixteenth. Roman Martinez (WI ’06) pitched two scoreless innings for the win.

Mariner system schedule 5/28:
Seattle (Miguel Batista 4-4) at Los Angeles (Bartolo Colon 5-1) 9:05pm CDT
Tacoma (Brad Thomas 1-3) at Tucson (Dustin Nippert 0-1) 8:30pm CDT
Tennessee (Justin Berg 2-2) at West Tennessee (Justin Thomas 1-2) 7:05pm CDT
High Desert (Marwin Vega 1-4) at Bakersfield (Andy Walker 2-5) 3:15pm CDT

Braves: May 28, 1957

The '57 Braves snapped their three game losing streak with a 1-0 win over the Reds at County Stadium on May 28.

Warren Spahn scattered eight hits over nine innings for the win. Don Gross pitched a much better game, but took the loss.

Gross walked Hank Aaron with two outs in the fourth inning. That was the only Milwaukee base runner until the bottom of the eighth. Bobby Thomson tripled to start the inning for the first Brave hit of the game. Frank Torre singled in Thomson for only run of the game.

Frank Robinson singled to start the top of the ninth. An error put another runner on base. Spahn got out of the game with a bad sacrifice bunt that forced Robinson at third and a double play ball.

Complete box score and play-by-play HERE.

The win moved the Braves to 21-14. They are still in third place in the National League. Milwaukee trails the first place Reds by 2-1/2 games.

The Cubs come to County Stadium on May 29.

Scheduled starters 5/29/57:
CHI: Don Kaiser
MIL: Bob Buhl

Brewers: May 28, 1982

The '82 Brewers let one get away in a 6-5 loss against the Angels on May 28.

The game was tied 2-2 in the top of the sixth inning. That was when the Brewers did something great. Cecil Cooper, Don Money, and Gorman Thomas hit back-to-back-to-back home runs for a 5-2 lead.

With Mike Caldwell on the hill, that should have been enough. But, California came back with three in the bottom of the seventh. Fred Lynn doubled in a run, Tim Foli singled in another. Bob Boone's sac fly against reliever Dwight Bernard tied the game.

Don Baylor hit a one out home run in the bottom of the eighth off Bernard to give the Angels the lead.

Doug Corbett, who pitched a scoreless eighth, worked a scoreless ninth for the win.

Complete box score and play-by-play HERE.

The loss dropped Milwaukee to 21-22. They are tied with Baltimore for fourth place in the AL East. Both teams trail Boston by 7-1/2 games.

The series against the Angels continues on May 29.

Scheduled starters 5/29/82:
MIL: Randy Lerch
CAL: Steve Renko

Mariners: May 28, 1997

The '97 Mariners did not just beat the first place Texas Rangers on May 28. They shut them out 5-0.

If you were thinking shutout on the '97 M's, you would be thinking Randy Johnson. In this case you would be correct. Johnson struck out 15 over eight innings. He gave up four hits and walked just one.

A pair of run scoring ground outs in the bottom of the second inning gave the M's the lead. Paul Sorrento's pinch-hi RBI single in the seventh padded the lead. Then, Edgar Martinez and Alex Rodriguez had back-to-back RBI doubles for a 5-0 lead.

Complete box score and play-by-play are HERE.

The M's are 27-24. They are tied with the Angels for second place. Both are one game behind the Rangers.

The series with the Rangers continues at the Kingdome on May 29.

Scheduled starters 5/29/97:
TEX: Ken Hill
SEA: Jamie Moyer

Baseball History -- May 28

Complete entry for May 28 is at BaseballLibrary.com HERE.

Highlighted entry:
1993
Robin Yount and the Brewers defeat George Brett and the Royals‚ 5-1‚ in the first meeting of two 3‚000-hit players since 1925.

Eyeballing the 3,000 hit club that would be Ty Cobb against Tris Speaker?

5/27/2007

Hey, Ernie, what do you say?

Let's play TWO today!

New material at RattlersReport.com

The Postcard that I wrote with a serious caffeine buzz after the Thursday game at Kane County has been posted. It collates even purple coherently than elephant thought hockey dishwater it was.

Brett Christopherson's column this week is all about the 'C'.
The home jersey worn by Wisconsin Timber Rattlers pitcher Anthony Varvaro nearly resembles those modeled by his teammates.

Team name on the front. Last name and number on the back.

But there is one striking difference: Varvaro's top has the letter C stitched onto it over the left chest area.

"Not too many people really know what it is," the right- hander said. "A lot of fans ask what the C is for."

That would be C as in team captain, a designation voted upon him by his peers earlier this season.

Varvaro is captain of the pitching staff, while catcher/infielder Leury Bonilla was recently named captain of the position players.

Both are sporting a new look implemented during spring training by the Seattle Mariners — Wisconsin's major league parent club — in which all of their affiliates were encouraged to choose captains.

"I think it's a good idea," Rattlers manager Jim Horner said. "We're trying to develop leaders, and I think that's a good step in the right direction."

Midwest League Action -- 5/26

Complete Saturday Scoreboard HERE.

Rain dominated the MWL, by the way:

Rattlers @ Peoria: PPD

Cedar Rapids @ Kane County: PPD

Quad Cities @ Beloit: PPD

Hey, look! Baseball!
Game one -- @South Bend 5, Dayton 1: Hawks claw their way to almost .500.
Game two -- Dayton @ South Bend: PPD...nevermind. Here is a picture from th South Bend Tribune that makes fans and players laugh and really makes groundskeepers angry:

@Lansing 10, Great Lakes 3: In a battle between the Lugnuts and the Loons, the only L that counts is the one that was hung on Great Lakes.

Clinton 3, @Burlington 2: The Bees scored twice in the ninth, but it wasn't enough.

@Fort Wayne 8, West Michigan 7: Apparently, a 7-3 lead wasn't enough for the Whitecaps.

Mariner System Report (Games of 5/26)

SEATTLE (MAJ: 23-22; 2nd AL West): The Mariners beat the Royals 9-1. Cha Seung Baek (WI ’00) allowed an unearned run and struck out seven over seven innings for the win. Kenji Johjima hit a grand slam and Richie Sexson hit a three-run homer in the game for Seattle.

TACOMA (AAA: 21-29; 4th Pacific Coast League Pacific Northern Division): The Rainiers lost 11-9 at Tucson. Tacoma was up 9-4 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning. But, the Sidewinders scored six runs in the seventh and one in the eighth. Bryan LaHair (WI ’04) had four hits for the Rainiers. Wladimir Balentien (WI ’04) had three hits, a home run, and three RBI. Ryan Feierabend (WI '04) was the starter for the Rainiers, but only worked one inning. Is it possible he could be headed to Seattle soon?

WEST TENNESSEE (AA: 23-26; 3rd Southern League North Division): The Diamond Jaxx shutout Chattanooga 2-0. Joe Woerman (WI ’06) allowed two hits and struck out seven over six innings, but got a no decision. Rene Rivera (WI ’03) drove in a pair of runs with a single in the bottom of the eighth. Mumba Rivera (WI ’05) got the win with two scoreless innings of relief. Craig James (WI ’05) struck out two in a scoreless ninth for his ninth save.

HIGH DESERT (High-A: 21-28; 5th California League South Division): The Mavericks lost 12-9 to Lake Elsinore. High Desert’s six-game winning streak came to an end. Johan Limonta (WI ’06) had three RBI to help the Mavericks to an early 6-2 lead. The Storm scored five runs in the top of the sixth inning to take a lead they never gave up.

Mariner system schedule 5/27:
Seattle (Jarrod Washburn 4-4) at Kansas City (Odalis Perez 2-4) 1:10pm CDT
Tacoma (Jake Woods 1-3) at Tucson (Evan MacLane 4-3) 8:00pm CDT
Chattanooga (Luke Lockwood 0-5) at West Tennessee (Doug Fister 2-4) 7:05pm CDT
High Desert (Jose Escalona 1-2) at Bakersfield (Bear Bay 3-3) 9:15pm CDT

Braves: May 27, 1957

The '57 Braves lost a tough one to first place Cincinnati on May 27. Milwaukee scored twice in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game, but the Reds scored five runs in the top of the tenth for an 11-6 win.

The Reds led 2-0 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning. That was when all offensive HECK broke loose.

The Braves got an RBI double from Bill Bruton to get to within 2-1.

Then, the Reds scored three in the top of the eighth. In the bottom of the eighth, Hank Aaron hit a two-run homer and Frank Torre scored on a wild pitch.

In the top of the ninth, the Reds got a run on a fielder's choice that should have been a double play.

Milwaukee sent the game to extra innings with a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth. Bruton walked to start the inning. Hersh Freeman replaced Raul Sanchez as the Red pitcher. Del Crandall greeted Freeman with a two-run homer.

But, the Reds greeted Ernie Johnson in the tenth with five runs on four hits and a walk. Smoky Burgess gave the Reds the lead with an RBI infield single. Then, there was this interesting exchange in the inning...
JEFFCOAT RAN FOR BURGESS; Temple reached on a fielder's choice [McMillan scored, Jeffcoat to third, Temple to second]; Mathews' throw to the plate was wide as McMillan scored. Jeffcoat rounded second and was safe at third when Crandall's throw was late and wide. Jeffcoat and Logan came up swinging and were both ejected
Baseball in the 50's.

Complete play-by-play and box score HERE.

The loss dropped Milwaukee to 20-14. They are in third place and 3-1/2 games behind Cincinnati in the NL race.

The series with the Reds continues at County Stadium on May 28.

Scheduled starters 5/28/57:
CIN: Don Gross
MIL: Warren Spahn

Brewers: May 27, 1982

The '82 Brewers started a west coast trip with a 4-3 win over the Angels.

Paul Molitor got the trip off to a fast start with a lead off home run off Ken Forsch in the first inning. A Charlie Moore RBI groundout in the second and a two-run home run by Cecil Cooper in the third gave Pete Vuckovich a 4-0 lead to work with for the night.

Vuke gave up a Reggie Jackson RBI single in the third and a Rod Carew RBI single in the fifth before calling it a day.

Jamie Easterly gave up a home run to Brian Downing in the eighth inning and the Angels were within a run. Rollie Fingers came into the game and closed it down.

Complete box score and play-by-play are HERE.

The Brewers 21-21 after the win. They are in fourth place, 6-1/2 games behind the Red Sox in the AL East.

The series against the Angels continues on May 28.

Scheduled starters 5/28/82:
MIL: Mike Caldwell
CAL: Geoff Zahn

Mariners: May 27, 1997

The '97 Mariners had a 10-4 lead, but lost to the Twins 11-10 at the Metrodome on May 27. Minnesota scored a run in the bottom of the eighth and six in the bottom of the ninth to post the comeback win.

Joey Cora was 4-for-6, Ken Griffey hit his 23rd home run of the season, and Jay Buhner homered and knocked in three runs to stake the M's to the big lead.

Derek Lowe got the start and went five innings with four runs allowed.

Mike Maddux was the third Seattle pitcher of the night and he was solid until the eighth. That's when he gave up a home run to Marty Cordova. Maddux came back out for the ninth...Retrosheet, take it away:
TWINS 9TH: Knoblauch singled to left; Becker doubled to right[Knoblauch scored]; AYALA REPLACED MADDUX (PITCHING); Ayala threw a wild pitch [Becker to third]; Molitor out on a sacrifice fly to right [Becker scored]; Steinbach doubled to left; KELLY BATTED FOR LAWTON; CHARLTON REPLACED AYALA (PITCHING); Kelly walked; Cordova homered [Steinbach scored, Kelly scored];Colbrunn walked; HOCKING RAN FOR COLBRUNN; Coomer singled to left [Hocking to second]; Meares walked [Hocking to third,Coomer to second]; Knoblauch walked [Hocking scored, Coomer to third, Meares to second]; 6 R, 5 H, 0 E, 3 LOB. Mariners 10,Twins 11.

When Marty Cordova hits two home runs in a game against you, it's not your day.

Complete box score and play-by-play HERE.

Seattle is at 26-24 and tied with the Angels for second place in the AL West. Both teams are two games behind the Rangers.

Speaking of the Rangers, they are at the Kingdome for a series that starts on May 28.

Scheduled starters 5/28/97:
TEX: Darren Oliver
SEA: Randy Johnson

Baseball History -- May 27

Complete entry for May 27 is at BaseballLibrary.com HERE.

Highlighted entry:

1991
In a game against the Portland Beavers at Civic Stadium‚ Portland‚ Vancouver OF
Rodney McCray runs through a plywood fence in right field while trying to catch a ball hit by Chip Hale. McCray was not hurt seriously‚ but becomes an instant celebrity as the play is shown repeatedly on newscasts across the country.

Here is the play, as part of a countdown with music




Here is the bobblehead based on the event:

5/26/2007

Tonight's Game PPD

That was fast. I was not expecting them to call tonight's game this early. But, they did.

Now, there is a double header on Sunday and on Monday.

Sunday's double header pitching matchups are:

GAME ONE: Kyle Parker vs. Chris Shaver
GAME TWO: Rob Harmon vs. Jose Pina

Monday's double header matchups are up in the air. The Rattlers could have Nathan Adcock and Anthony Varvaro pitch. I haven't had time to go through any of the other possibilities because it is time to get on the bus. Will post more tomorrow.

Rain Delay Theater

The tarp is off the field and the plan is to play tonight. But it is going to take some time to get the field ready to play.

While they are doing that, enjoy Ernie Harwell and Baseball is...

Can't let this date go past


Happy 100th Birthday, John Wayne. Any words?

I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a-hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them.

I was looking for something more along the lines of baseball, sir. But, it is your birthday. I mean you never really played a baseball player. You were a sportswriter in Rookie of the Year, an episode of Screen Directors Playhouse directed by John Ford, but that will be fine sir.

Plus, there are a few other quotes of yours that help get me through the day, but that works great on your day. Thank you.

*The picture is from the end of The Searchers. It is maybe my favorite ending shot from any movie. Very powerful. If you've seen it you know. If you haven't, it's worth the viewing.

It's kinda raining right now

There are severe thunderstorms in the area. But, with a sellout crowd and fireworks tonight, they will try to play this game tonight. Let's go over to Phill Connors for the forecast. Phil, what do you have?
You want a prediction about the weather, you're asking the wrong Phil. I'll give you a winter prediction: It's gonna be cold, it's gonna be grey, and it's gonna last you for the rest of your life.

Thank you, Phil. I already knew that. But, about tonight was more what I was going for. Tell you what, we'll just start the pre-game show at the regular time and just play it by ear from there. OK?

Game Notes -- 5/26

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Rattlers beat the Chiefs 3-2. Wisconsin trailed 1-0 heading into the top of the sixth inning. Kuo Hui Lo hit a two-run homer and Gerardo Avila drove in run with a two-out RBI single. Steve Richard allowed one run over 5-1/3 innings for the win. Drew Fiorenza got the final three outs of the game for the save.

HOME RUN BY LO: Lo’s homer was his first of the season. The last round tripper he hit was on August 6, 2006 against the Beloit Snappers.

CLEMSON CONNECTION: Both Richard and Fiorenza were teammates for the Clemson Tigers before being drafted by the Mariners in 2006.

SAVING THE DAY: Fiorenza is 2-for-2 in save situations. The Rattler bullpen is 9-for-10 in save situations in the month of May.

MERRY MONTH OF MAY: Rattler reliever Justin Souza allowed one run in his appearance last night. That was only the third earned run he has allowed this month. Souza’s ERA is 1.72 in nine May games.

DOUBLE GIBSON: Rollie Gibson retired all four batters he faced last night. He entered the game in the bottom of the seventh inning with the tying run at second base and two outs. Gibson got Matt Camp to ground out for the final out of the inning and proceeded to work a 1-2-3 eighth inning with two strikeouts.

TWIN KILLINGS: The Rattlers turned a pair of double plays in key situations last night. Souza got Alfred Joseph to hit into an inning ending 6-4-3 double play in the sixth. Fiorenza gave up a one out single in the ninth, but got Wellington Castillo to hit into a game-ending 6-4-3 double play. The Rattlers have turned 32 double plays this season.

SACRIFICE: Greg Halman dropped a sacrifice bunt in the sixth inning. It was the seventeenth sac bunt by the Rattlers in 45 games this season. Wisconsin batters had just 24 sac bunts in 140 games in 2006.

TRU BELIEVER: Carlos Triunfel went 1-for-4 to extend his current hitting streak to six games. He is 12-for-23 (.521) during the career high streak. Triunfel is hitting .322 on the season and is ninth in the Midwest League in hitting.


OPPOSING STARTER: Chris Shaver was the fourth round pick of the Cubs in the 2004 draft out of the College of William & Mary. He pitched for Peoria in 2005 and went 3-7 with a 4.31ERA. Last season, he made two relief appearances for Daytona of the Florida State League before being promoted to West Tennessee in the Southern League. Shaver was 7-10 with a 2.99ERA in 26 starts for West Tennessee. He has made two starts for the Chiefs this season. In his last outing, Shaver got a no decision against Lansing on May 21. He allowed two runs on seven hits over 4-2/3 innings. Shaver walked one and struck out three. Shaver faced the Timber Rattlers twice in 2005. He went 0-1 with an 8.44ERA. In 10-2/3 innings he gave up 12 runs (10 earned) on eighteen hits, walked two and struck out eight.

Hotel Room Art (Peoria edition)


When looking at this painting, I realize that I really like the frame.

Hotel Windows (Peoria 2007)


The screen makes the door directly across from my ground level hotel room a bit blurry. It reads: Sprinkler Control Valves
Some of the hotels we stay in on the road are vastly entertaining.
The Icehouse can in the empty parking space isn't mine. I stopped drinking Icehouse a long time ago. I should take a picture on Monday before we leave to see if it is still there.

Midwest League Action -- 5/25

Complete Friday night scoreboard HERE.

Rattlers 3, @Peoria 2: Lo homers, Rattlers win.

Dayton 2, @South Bend 0; @South Bend 7, Dayton 6: Rafael Gonzalez complete game win in game one; three run bottom of the seventh for the Hawks in game two. Who left the ballpark feeling better?

West Michigan 6, @Fort Wayne 0: Tough day for the Wizards to fall flat. Some San Diego bigwigs were in town.

Great Lakes 13, @Lansing 6: And a Mattingly shall lead them.

Cedar Rapids 7, @Kane County 3: Cougars got a bad Deal.

@Beloit 5, Quad Cities 2: Beloit is 17-4 at Pohlman Field now? Why would they want a new stadium with a record like that?

Clinton 4, @Burlington 2: It was either a bad inning or Chad Tracy. Wait, it was Chad Tracy giving a bad inning to the Bees. That's it!

Mariner System Report (Games of 5/25)

SEATTLE (MAJ: 22-22; 3rd AL West): The Mariners beat the Royals 10-2. Raul Ibanez (Foxes ’94) had a pair of doubles and an RBI as a part of the M’s 18 hit attack. Felix Hernandez (WI ’03) allowed two runs on seven hits over 5-1/3 innings for the win.

TACOMA (AAA: 21-28; 4th Pacific Coast League Pacific Northern Division): The Rainiers lost 6-5 at Tucson in ten innings. Tacoma had a 5-3 lead after scoring two runs in the top of the ninth inning. But, the Sidewinders scored twice in the ninth and once in the tenth to beat the Rainiers. Wladimir Balentien (WI ’04) had two RBI and Bryan LaHair (WI ’04) had three hits. Juan Sandoval (WI ’03) took the blown save by allowing the two runs in the ninth.

WEST TENNESSEE (AA: 22-26; 3rd Southern League North Division): The Diamond Jaxx beat Chattanooga 6-3. Robert Rohrbaugh (WI ’05) struck out eight over 6-1/3 innings and gave up just two runs for the win. Prentice Redman hit a three-run home run in a six run third inning for West Tennessee.

HIGH DESERT (High-A: 21-27; 5th California League South Division): The Mavericks beat Lake Elsinore 9-6. Chris Tillman (WI ’07) made his California League debut and allowed five runs on eight hits over five innings for a no decision. Chris Colton (WI ’05) and Johan Limonta (WI ’06) hit home runs for the Mavericks. Adam Moore (WI ’06) had three hits – two doubles and a triple – and scored a pair of runs for High Desert. The Mavericks have won six straight games.

Mariner system schedule 5/26:
Seattle (Cha Seung Baek 1-2) at Kansas City (Brian Bannister 0-2) 6:10pm CDT
Tacoma (Ryan Feierabend 2-2) at Tucson (DJ Carrasco 2-4) 8:30pm CDT
Chattanooga at West Tennessee 7:05pm CDT
Lake Elsinore (Richie Daigle 3-2) at High Desert (Cibney Bello 2-0) 9:05pm CDT

Braves: May 26, 1957

The '57 Braves were swept in a double header by the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on May 26.

Game one was a 7-5 loss. The Cubs scored three times in the bottom of the first inning off Gene Conley. Walt Moryn's three-run homer provided the runs.

Chuck Tanner homered in the top of the third inning for Milwaukee.

The score stayed 3-1 until the seventh inning. Ernie Banks hit a two-out, two-run home run for a 5-1 cushion. The Cubs scored two more runs in the inning.

Milwaukee rallied for two runs in the eighth. Del Crandall hit a two run homer in the top of the ninth. Then, Johnny Logan singled to bring the tying run to the plate. But, Dick Drott struck out Billy Bruton for a complete game victory.

Complete game one box score and play-by-play HERE.

In game two, the Cubs rallied for a 5-4 win and the sweep.

Eddie Matthews homered in the first inning for the Braves. Hank Aaron's RBI double in the top of the sixth inning gave Milwaukee a 2-0 lead.

But, the Cubs tied the game with a two-out, two-run homer by Cal Neeman off Juan Pizarro.

Del Rice gave Milwaukee the lead back with a home run in the seventh. The Braves went up 4-2 on a Johnny Logan RBI triple in the eighth.

But, back came the Cubs. Frank Ernaga homered in the eighth off Pizarro and the Cubs were down 4-3.

Pizarro got into trouble in the bottom of the ninth. He struck out the first batter (his eighth K of the game) to start the inning. But, he walked the next batter (his seventh walk of the game). Then, a single. Then, an RBI single Lee Walls tied the game. Ray Crone relieved Pizarro, but he was facing Ernie Banks. Banks hit an infield single and got the winning across the plate for a Cub sweep.

Game two box score and play-by-play are HERE.

The two losses for the Braves puts their record at 20-13. They are in third place in the National League. Milwaukee trails the Reds by 2-1/2 games.

Speaking of the first place Reds, they are in Milwaukee to start a series May 27.

Scheduled starters 5/27/57:
CIN: Johnny Klippstein
MIL: Lew Burdette

Brewers: May 26, 1982

The '82 Brewers wrapped up a home stand with a 7-2 loss to Oakland on May 26. The loss dropped the Crew below .500 for the first time since they were 5-6 on April 22.

Tom Underwood baffled Milwaukee hitters. He allowed two runs on three hits in a complete game victory. The two runs? A solo home run by Charlie Moore in the first inning and a solo home run by Don Money in the ninth inning.

Bob McClure balked in the tying run in the top of the second inning. The A's took the lead with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth. McClure threw away a pickoff attempt allowing one run to score. Ned Yost committed an error later in the inning that let in another Oakland run.

RBI doubles by Mike Heath and Joe Rudi in the seventh put the game out of reach. The two runs Oakland scored in the ninth were just rubbing it in.

Complete box score and play-by-play HERE.

The loss has the Brewers at 20-21. They are in fourth place, 7-1/2 games behind the AL East leading Boston Red Sox.

The Brewers start a west coast swing with a game against the California Angels on May 27.

Scheduled starters 5/27/82:
MIL: Pete Vuckovich
CAL: Ken Forsch

Mariners: May 26, 1997

The '97 M's broke out offensively with a 13-8 win over the Twins at the Metrodome on May 26.

Seattle knocked Minnesota starter Scott Aldred out of the game in the top of the first inning with four runs. The M's had six home runs in the game, two off Aldred in their first at bat.

Joey Cora started the game with a homer. Aldred walked the next two batters and Edgar Martinez hit his first of two home runs of the game.

Mariner starting pitcher Scott Sanders was not sharp, but it did not matter. Sanders went 5-1/3 innings and gave up five runs on eight hits and five walks before turning the game over to the bullpen with Seattle up 11-5.

Here were the home runs for the M's in the game:
HR: Cora (5,1st inning off Aldred 0 on 0 out); E. Martinez 2 (7,1st inning off Aldred 2 on 0 out, 6th inning off Ritchie 2 on 1 out); Buhner 2 (11,5th inning off Ritchie 0 on 2 out,9th inning off Trombley 0 on 1 out); R. Davis(6, 9th inning off Trombley 0 on 2 out).

Edgar had three hits and six RBI in the game. Complete box score and play-by-play are HERE.

The win put the M's at 26-23. They are tied with the Angels for second in the AL West. Both teams are one game behind the Rangers.

The two game series with the Twins ends on May 27.

Scheduled starters 5/27/97:
SEA: Derek Lowe
MIN: Kevin Jarvis

Baseball History -- May 26

Complete entry for May 26 is at BaseballLibrary.com HERE.

Highlighted entry:
1959
In a singular performance‚ Harvey Haddix of the Pirates pitches a perfect game against Milwaukee for 12 innings‚ only to lose in the 13th. Felix Mantilla opens the last inning by reaching base on an error. A sacrifice and an intentional walk to Hank Aaron brings up Joe Adcock‚ who hits one out of the park in right-CF for an apparent 3-0 victory. Aaron pulls a "Merkle‚" leaving the field‚ and Adcock passes him on the basepaths. Both are called out as Mantilla scores. Initially the score is 2-0 as Aaron returns and score; it is later called a 1-0 game. Lew Burdette goes all 13 innings for his 8th win‚ scattering 12 hits. As a consequence of the baserunning in the 13th‚ the Braves leave an NL-record one runner on base. Haddix's gem makes him the 9th pitcher to lose a no-hitter in extra innings; A combined effort of three Reds pitcher[s]‚ on May 26‚ 1956‚ was the last. Making Haddix's effort even more remarkable is the fact that the Braves hitters knew what was coming. In 1993‚ Bob Buhl admitted that the Braves pitchers were stealing the signs from Smoky Burgess‚ who could not crouch down all the way. They would place a towel on the bullpen fence in such a way to signal fastball or breaking ball.

And what was the response of Haddix after this unprecedented pitching performance?
"Just another loss, and that's no good," the Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher told the crowd of reporters surrounding him.

A man after my own heart...if I had one. No matter how hard you try, a loss is still "just another loss".

Sorry. That was pretty dark for a Saturday morning. Lighten up, Francis.

The link above the Haddix quote takes you to a story at jsonline.com. THIS link takes you to the Retrosheet.org box score of that game.

5/25/2007

Roster move (5/25)

Just got official confirmation.

Juan Beltran placed on the disabled list
Jair Fernandez activated from the disabled list

Game Notes -- 5/25

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Timber Rattlers lost 8-4 at Kane County. The Cougars were up 7-0 in the game before the Rattlers rallied to make it close. Tony Butler took the loss as he allowed five runs (two earned) on four walks in 3-1/3 innings. Four Cougar batters drove in a pair of runs each and Henry Rodriguez pitched five scoreless innings for the win.

A SMALL VILLAGE: The Rattlers left eleven runners on base last night.

ADVENTURES IN BASERUNNING: Two Timber Rattler base runners were caught stealing last night. Two others were picked off first base.

LONG NIGHT AT THE YARD: The 3:28 minute game was the longest game of the season for the Timber Rattlers. There were also two delays last night that totaled 1:15.

CRUCIAL ERROR: There were two outs and none on when Greg Dowling reached on a two-out error. That error was followed by a walk, an RBI double by Alex Valdez and a two-run single by Larry Cobb. All three runs in the inning were unearned.

LIGHTS OUT: There were two power outages last night at Elfstrom Stadium. Half the lights in the stadium went out right after a Timber Rattler pitching change in the bottom of the sixth. They went out again just before the third pitch of the bottom of the eighth. Just before the lights came back on at full power, the rain started falling harder and that led to a rain delay.

THREE DOORS DOWN: Kuo Hui Lo and Carlos Triunfel both had three hits in the game. In the two games at Kane County, Lo was 7-for-8. Triunfel has five three-hit games this season. Triunfel leads the Rattlers in multi-hit games with 13.

SWITCHING CATCHERS: Rattler catcher Juan Beltran left the game just before the bottom of the third inning after taking a warm up pitch from Butler off a thumb. Danny Santin relieved Beltran.

OPPOSING STARTER: Alex Maestri was signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Cubs in January of 2006. Maestri went 4-3 with a save and an ERA of 3.80 in 22 relief appearances for the Boise Hawks in 2006. Maestri is making his third start of the season tonight. He made ten relief appearances to start the season for the Chiefs. In his last start, Maestri lost to the Beloit Snappers on May 20. He allowed four runs (two earned) on three hits in 3-2/3 innings with a walk and three strikeouts. This is Maestri’s first appearance against the Timber Rattlers. He was 1-0 in two relief appearances against Everett, Seattle’s Northwest League affiliate, in 2006. He allowed one run on six hits over 6-1/3 innings.

Midwest League Action -- 5/24

Complete Thursday scoreboard HERE.

@Kane County 8, Rattlers 4: The very long night of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.

@Clinton 5, Fort Wayne 4: Here come the L-Kings.

@Cedar Rapids 5, Dayton 0: The Kernels take three of four from the Dragons.

@Peoria 5, Lansing 4: Never underestimate the power of a Lansford.

West Michigan 3, @Beloit 2: What ended? The Caps losing streak or Beloit's winning streak?

South Bend 3, @Quad Cities 1: Eddie Romero stops the QC at the JOD.

@Burlington 3, Great Lakes 2: A straight steal of home for the Bees stings the Loons.

Mariner System Report (Games of 5/25)

SEATTLE (MAJ: 21-22; 3rd AL West): The Mariners lost 13-12 at Tampa Bay. Seattle was down 12-4 after the bottom of the fourth. They rallied to within 12-10, but could not get back to even.

TACOMA (AAA: 21-27; T-3rd Pacific Coast League Pacific Northern Division): The Rainiers beat Las Vegas 5-3. Tacoma scored five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to rally for the win. Wladimir Balentien (WI ’04) and Bryan LaHair (WI ’04) each had an RBI in the decisive rally. Ryan Rowland-Smith (WI ’03) picked up the win in relief.

WEST TENNESSEE (AA: 21-26; 3rd Southern League North Division): The Diamond Jaxx beat Chattanooga 7-5. Matt Tuiasosopo (WI ’05) homered for West Tennessee. Craig James (WI ’05) pitched a scoreless ninth for his eighth save.

HIGH DESERT (High-A: 20-27; 5th California League South Division): The Mavericks beat Lake Elsinore 6-2. Michael Saunders (WI ’06) and Adam Moore (WI ’06) both homered for High Desert. Ruben Flores (WI ’06) struck out eleven over 5-1/3 innings for a no decision. Steve Uhlmansiek (WI ’07) got the win with 2-2/3 innings of relief work.

Mariner system schedule 5/25:
Seattle (Felix Hernandez 2-2) at Kansas City (Gil Meche 3-2) 7:10pm CDT
Tacoma (Justin Lehr 5-0) at Tucson (Enrique Gonzalez 2-4) 8:30pm CDT
Chattanooga at West Tennessee 7:05pm CDT
Lake Elsinore (Brent Carter 5-2) at High Desert (Chris Tillman) 9:05pm CDT

Braves: May 25, 1957

The '57 Braves rallied to beat the Cubs at Wrigley Field 7-6 on May 25. Joe Adcock led the way with a 3-for-3 day and a home run.

Bob Buhl and Taylor Phillips got knocked around in the first four innings as the Cubs went up 5-1. Milwaukee started their comeback in the fifth.

Johnny Logan singled in a run. Then, in the sixth, Chuck Tanner singled in a run and an RBI grounder by Carl Sawatski made the score 5-4.

Adcock homered in the seventh to tie the game. Milwaukee took a 7-5 lead with a pair of runs in the eighth inning. Billy Bruton tripled in the go ahead run. Hank Aaron's sac fly gave the Braves a little insurance.

The Cubs got a run in the bottom of the ninth on a Bob Speake home run, but Warren Spahn closed the game out. Spahn, who had pitched five innings in a start and a loss the day before, got the final out of this game for the save.

Complete box score and play-by-play are HERE.

Milwaukee is now 20-11. They are in second place, one game behind the Reds.

Up next is a doubleheader with the Cubs at Wrigley on May 25.

Scheduled starters 5/25/57:
MIL: Gene Conley; Juan Pizarro
CHI: Dick Drott; Elmer Singleton

Brewers: May 25, 1982

The '82 Brewers fell back to the .500 mark with a 10-5 loss to Oakland at County Stadium on May 25.

Matt Keough gave up five runs on nine hits over 7-2/3 innings for the win. The Brewer defense committed three errors. Offensively, Dan Meyer was 4-for-4 with three doubles, two RBI, and two runs scored.

Moose Haas took the loss. Milwaukee's offense did not get going until they were already down 9-2. Cecil Cooper singled in one run in the bottom of the eighth. Ben Oglivie hit a two-run homer later in the inning. But, the A's got one more in the ninth for the final score.

Complete box score and play-by-play HERE.

The loss put the Brewers at 20-20. They are now in fourth place in the AL East, seven games behind division leading Boston.

The '82 Brewers wrap up their series with Oakland on May 26.

Scheduled starters 5/26/82:
OAK: Tom Underwood
MIL: Bob McClure

Mariners: May 25, 2007

The '97 Mariners dropped a 4-3 decision in eleven innings at Kansas City.

Brent Gates pinch-hit home run in the top of the ninth sent the game to extra innings and saved Jeff Fassero a loss. Fassero went nine innings for a no decision.

Ken Griffey gave the M's a 1-0 lead with a first inning home run. That lead became 2-0 on a Joey Cora RBI single in the fourth. But, the Royals scored single runs in the fourth, fifth, and sixth.

KC won the game on a Chili Davis lead off homer in the bottom of the eleventh off Bobby Ayala.

Complete box score and play-by-play HERE.

The loss has Seattle at 25-23. They are in third place, two games behind the Rangers.

Next up for the '97 M's is a series at Minnesota against the Twins.

Scheduled starters 5/26/97:
SEA: Scott Sanders
MIN: Scott Aldred

Baseball History -- May 25

Complete entry for May 25 is at BaseballLibrary.com HERE.

Highlighted entry:
1941
Ted Williams raises his batting average over .400 for the first time during the season. His run to be the first since Bill Terry in 1930 to exceed the magic number will be marked in newspapers throughout the season‚ although it will often give way to the batting streak by Joe DiMaggio. DiMag singles today‚ off Boston's Lefty Grove. Grove thus joins two of baseball's most famous streaks-Joe's current hitting streak and Ruth's 60 homers in 1927. Lefty served up a gopher on September 27‚ 1927.

What time did we get into Peoria?

I'm glad you asked...Because a band that the kids like to call Matchbox 20 (or Matchbox Twenty, I'm not as hip as the kids are) has the answer...



Posting may continue in the morning.

5/24/2007

Rain Delay Theater (5/24)

Here's the Peanuts gang to take you through the next few minutes:







Game Notes -- 5/24

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Timber Rattlers beat the Cougars 4-2. Anthony Varvaro pitched six shutout innings and gave up just one hit. Kuo Hui Lo went 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles, an RBI, a run scored, and a stolen base.

SEASON HIGH: The win yesterday was the third straight victory for the Timber Rattlers. This is the longest winning streak of the season for Wisconsin.

FOUR OF A KIND: Rattlers starting pitchers have a streak of four consecutive quality starts. Chris Tillman (5/21), Kyle Parker (5/22), and Nathan Adcock (5/23) preceded Varvaro in the current string.

CAREER HIGH: Varvaro’s six inning outing was the longest of his professional career. He walked Mike Massaro three times, but that was it. Varvaro’s ERA dropped a full run to 6.12 with his performance last night.

LO DOWN: Lo had his first professional four hit game last night. He had three hits in a game twice with the Rattlers and once with the Everett AquaSox in 2006. His stolen base last night was his eleventh in twelve tries this season.

TURNING POINT: Kane County had a runner at first and two out when Michael Affronti hit a line drive off the top of the wall in left field in the bottom of the second inning. It was ruled a home run and the Cougars were up 2-1. After a conference between the umpires, the call was reversed and the Cougars had runners at second and third. Varvaro got out of the inning with the Ratters still holding a 1-0 lead.

OFFENSIVE SUPPORT: The Rattlers scored single runs in the first, third, seventh, and eighth innings. Carlos Peguero drove in a run with a groundout; Carlos Triunfel singled in Lo; and Lo singled in a run. A throwing error allowed the final Rattler run of the night to score.

ANOTHER SAVE: Drew Fiorenza entered the game in the bottom of the ninth inning with two runners on base, one out, and the Rattlers leading 4-0. He gave up an RBI single and a run scoring wild pitch, but got the final two outs for his first professional save. After not converting on five straight save opportunities in April, Wisconsin relievers are 8-for-9 in save situations in May.

OPPOSING STARTER: Henry Rodriguez was signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Athletics out of Venezuela in 2003. During the 2006 season, Rodriguez pitched for Oakland’s Arizona League affiliate. He was 5-2 with a 7.42ERA in fifteen games (four starts). In 43-2/3 innings, Rodriguez walked fifty and struck out 59. He made one appearance against Seattle’s Arizona League affiliate in 2006. He picked up the win with two innings of scoreless relief on August 8. Rodriguez allowed two hits, walked one, and struck out three. In his last appearance for the Cougars, allowed three runs on six hits and four walks and took the loss against the Great Lakes Loons on May 19 at Elfstrom Stadium. Today is the third appearance and first start of the 2007 season for Rodriguez.

Pitching probables for Peoria series

FRI: RHP Steve Richard vs. RHP Alex Maestri
SAT: RHP Kyle Parker vs. LHP Chris Shaver
SUN (GM 1): RHP Nathan Adcock vs. RHP Jose Pina
SUN (GM 2): RHP Rob Harmon vs. RHP Marco Carrillo
MON: RHP Anthony Varvaro vs. RHP Jake Renshaw

#14 -- Pedro Liriano

The countdown continues at the Rattler website and Pedro Liriano's 2001 season was voted as the 14th best in Timber Rattler history.

Whatever happened to Pedro Liriano?
The following season, Liriano had prolonged trouble getting back into the US due to Visa troubles stemming from the security crackdown after 9/11. The Mariners eventually would release him and Liriano never got much more of a chance to play in the United States.

Now, keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.

Hotel Room Art (Kane County edition)

Part of the excitment in me having the room that I did may have had something to do with the location. But, it probably had more to do with the fact that it doubles as an art gallery on the weekends.

Late 19th Century European town square:
Same period with that art staple ROWBOATS!
This would be the perspective I would have had from my shack in the Bavarian Alps.
Yes, that's a flower pot. Yes, that an artsy shot on my part. Yes, that is a painting in the bathroom. Yes, I found that weird.
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