7/31/2007

Game Notes -- 7/31

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Timber Rattlers beat the Dragons 6-1. Kyle Parker allowed one run on four hits with seven strikeouts over six innings for the win. Ron Garth knocked in three runs for the Rattlers.

OUT OF THE BLOCKS: The Rattlers scored two first inning runs to take a lead they would never relinquish. Calvin Beamon singled to start the game, Kuo Hui Lo followed with a walk. Reed Eastley singled in Beamon. Carlos Peguero’s sacrifice fly capped the scoring in the frame.

END OF THE STREAK: The Rattlers ended a ten-game road losing streak with the win last night.

END OF THE STREAK (PT II): Parker ended a personal five game losing streak with the victory last night.

TOP TEN LIST: Parker lowered his ERA from 3.01 to 2.91 after his performance last night. Parker is currently eighth in the Midwest League in the ERA race.

SCORELESS STREAK: Rattler reliever Mike Wagner pitched two scoreless innings last night. He has not allowed a run in 7-2/3 innings over his last five innings.

ANOTHER STREAK: Since June 12, Eastley has reached base in 36 consecutive games. Eastley extended the streak with an RBI single in the top of the first inning last night. This is the longest streak of its kind in the Midwest League this season.

SWITCHING UP ON THE DEFENSE: Last night, Eastley made his second start at third base this season. Also last night, Leury Bonilla made his second start at shortstop in 2007.

2007 vs. THE PAST: Lo stole two bases last night to give him 23 stolen bases on the season. In 2006, Michael Saunders was the Timber Rattler leader in stolen bases with 22. In 2005, Brent Johnson and Josh Womack also led the Rattlers with 22 stolen bases. Womack led the Rattlers in steals with 24 in 2004.


ROSTER MOVES: Carlos Peguero has been placed on the disabled list. Pitcher Ricky Orta has been transferred back to the Timber Rattler roster from the Everett AquaSox roster.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Dayton Dragons are the Midwest League affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They won the first half Eastern Division title with a record of 44-26 to qualify for the playoffs. The Dragons are 18-18 in the second half. In their most recent series, the Dragons split a four game series at Peoria. Dayton is managed by Donnie Scott.

THE SEASON SERIES: Dayton swept a four game series from the Rattlers at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium April 30-May 3. The Dragons won 3-1, 10-4, 10-1, and 5-2.

LOOK OUT FOR: Dayton outfielder Juan Francisco went 5-for-17 with two homers and nine RBI against the Rattlers in that series in the first half. Francisco is fourth in the Midwest League in homers (15) and tied for fifth in the league in RBI (63).

COMPARE & CONTRAST: The Dragons have a team batting average of .263 (T-2nd in the MWL) while the Rattlers have a team average of .241 (13th). Dayton has scored 510 runs (2nd) compared to 389 (14th) scored by Wisconsin. Dayton hitters have slugged 76 homers (2nd), while the Rattlers have 45 (14th). The Dragons are Dayton’s pitching staff has an ERA of 3.33 (4th). Wisconsin’s hurlers have an ERA of 4.10 (10th).

A DIFFERENT WORLD: The Dragons lead the all-time series with the Timber Rattlers 31-28. But, the Rattlers are 19-9 at Fifth Third Field. That includes a split here in 2006.

PROSPECTING: BASEBALL AMERICA has four members of the active Dayton roster on their list of top 30 Red prospects. Outfielder Drew Stubbs is the highest rated player at #5. Pitcher Jordan Smith is ranked at number 23. Third baseman Juan Francisco is number 26 on the list. Rafael Gonzalez, who just came off the disabled list today, is rated number 28.

OPPOSING STARTER: Rafael Gonzalez was a fourth round pick of the Reds in the 2004 draft out of George Washington High School in Bronx, New York. Gonzalez made his last start for the Dragons on July 21. He allowed six runs on six hits with five walks and a strikeout over 4-2/3 innings against the Kane County Cougars. Gonzalez got a no decision in the game. He faced the Timber Rattlers in the 2006 season. On August 19 at Fifth Third Field, Gonzalez allowed one run on two hits and five walks over five innings and three strikeouts for a win.

Pitching probables for rest of the Dayton Series

TUE: LHP Tony Butler (0-6, 5.79) @ RHP Rafael Gonzalez (10-4, 3.24)
WED: RHP Anthony Varvaro (4-8, 4.23) @ LHP Alexander Smit (0-2, 2.45)
THU: RHP Ricky Orta (3-4, 5.65) @ LHP Jamie Arneson (1-2, 3.82)

Hotel Room Art (Dayton 2007)

After many hours of thought, this is either an ibis or a heron.

In ancient Egyptian Mythology, the Ibis is closely associated with the god Thoth, which makes sense since Thoth has the head of an Ibis...from the entry:

Thoth was believed to have filled many roles in the world of the gods. It was believed that he invented writing and was the vizier and official scribe of the afterworld. The Book of the Dead was written by him.

Thoth is shown attending all major scenes involving the gods, but most especially at the judgement of the deceased.


No wonder I'm sleeping so well....No, wait that's wrong, what is the opposite of sleeping so well?

Maybe it's a heron.

The Bennu bird was a large imaginary bird resembling a heron. The bird may be modeled on the gray heron (Ardea cinera) or the larger Goliath heron (Ardea goliath) that lives on the coast of the Red Sea.

The Bennu was the sacred bird of Heliopolis. Bennu probably derives from the word weben, meaning "rise" or "shine." The Bennu was associated with the sun and represented the ba or soul of the sun god, Re. In the Late Period, the hieroglyph of the bird was used to represent this deity directly. As a symbol of the rising and setting sun, the Bennu was also the lord of the royal jubilee.

The Bennu was also associated with the inundation of the Nile and of the creation. Standing alone on isolated rocks of islands of high ground during the floods the heron represented the first life to appear on the primeval mound which rose from the watery chaos at the first creation. This mound was called the ben-ben. It was the Bennu bird's cry at the creation of the world that marked the beginning of time. The bennu thus was the got of time and its divisions -- hours, day, night, weeks and years.


Okay, a little less creepy. I'll go with that. But, who knew that Dayton, Ohio hotels were filled with references to ancient Egyptian mythology?

Hotel Windows (Dayton Edition)

There is unrest in the forest,
There is trouble with the trees,
For the maples want more sunlight
And the oaks ignore their pleas.

RUSH is right! Never trust a tree outside a ground floor hotel window...

Roster Move (7/31)

This move gives the Rattlers 13 active pitchers

Outfielder Carlos Peguero was placed on the disabled list
Pitcher Ricky Orta was transferred back to the Rattler roster from Everett

Catching up...

Brett had a good story on the return of Harold Williams at RattlersReport.com earlier this week:

Rattlers' Williams happy to return from hiatus

It's an article that deserves to be read all the way through, so no excerpting here. Just the first two paragraphs
The one scoreless inning Harold Williams pitched on Saturday in his return to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers may seem insignificant.

But consider what the 22-year-old left-hander has gone through in the past year.

Now go read it all.

Also from RattlersReport.com there was this about the newest member of the Appleton Baseball Hall of Fame...

Cangelosi surprised, grateful to be inducted into Hall oF Fame
A strange message greeted John Cangelosi when he picked up the phone.

But the voice was familiar.

On the other end was former Appleton Baseball Club president Milt Drier, who before stating his identity told Cangelosi he had stolen 87 bases in 1983 as a member of the Appleton Foxes and he wanted those bases back.

Meanwhile, there are some stories about other Rattler alums out there that I found on the Tacoma Rainier website.

Oklahoman Brown finding success as Tacoma manager

Daren Brown didn't become the major league player his father and uncle were, but he might do something even more rare.

He might become only the fifth native Oklahoman to become a major league manager, following Bobby Cox, Alvin Dark, Les Moss and Roy Johnson. (Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire grew up in Okmulgee but was born in Germany).


Healthy Clement living up to his power pedigree

It's no surprise that Tacoma Rainiers catcher Jeff Clement is one of the team leaders in home runs with 16.

After all, Clement set the national high-school home-run record with 75 in Marshalltown, Iowa, then continued to show great power at USC and was taken with the No. 3 pick overall in the 2005 draft.

The surprise was that, until this season, Clement had just 12 homers in 1-½ pro seasons.


Last on this post...Look who was named Batter of the Week in the Northwest League:
Gregory Halman, Everett .455 (10-22), 5 R, 6 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 5 BB, 5 SO, 3 SB, .864 SLG

Midwest League Action -- 7/30

Complete 7/30 box score is HERE.

Going with subheadlines or ledes from online stories today:

Rattlers 6, @Dayton 1: Dragons played like they were coming off an eight-game, nine-day road trip and hadn't unpacked

Beloit 5, @Fort Wayne 2: A win would have been nice for Brandon Gomes’ stats, considering he hasn’t had one since he came to Fort Wayne from Eugene, Ore., a month ago.

Clinton 8, @Great Lakes 3: If only the Great Lakes Loons had hit the ball as well as they hit batters on Monday night.

Peoria 3, @West Michigan 2: It wasn't that the West Michigan Whitecaps couldn't execute the simplest play in baseball; the Peoria Chiefs were just better at defending it.

Quad Cities 6, @South Bend 2: A failure to execute the fundamentals was costly to the South Bend Silver Hawks Monday night at Coveleski Stadium.

Cedar Rapids 9, @Lansing 1: The Cedar Rapids Kernels hit five home runs en route to a 9-1 win over the Lansing Lugnuts on Monday at Oldsmobile Park.

@Burlington 4, Kane County 1: Strong pitching helps Burlington down Kane County

Mariner System Report (Games of 7/31)

SEATTLE (MAJ: 58-46; 2nd AL West): The Mariners beat the Angels 2-0. Ichiro had three hits and an RBI. Miguel Batista pitched seven innings and gave up just four hits. JJ Putz (’00) pitched a scoreless ninth for his 31st save of the season.

TACOMA (AAA: 48-62; 3rd Pacific Coast League Pacific Northern Division): The Rainiers beat Oklahoma 6-5. Ryan Feierabend (’04) allowed four runs (two earned) over seven innings for the win. Gookie Dawkins drove in three runs for Tacoma.

WEST TENNESSEE (AA: 47-61 overall; 16-22 second half; 5th second half Southern League North Division): The Diamond Jaxx beat Tennessee 11-6. Luis Oliveros (’00), Chris Minaker (’06), and Mike Wilson (’05) all homered for West Tennessee. Luis Valbuena (’06) drove in four runs for the Diamond Jaxx.

HIGH DESERT (High-A: 41-67 overall; 10-28 second half; 5th second half California League South Division): The Mavericks beat Inland Empire 20-7. Carlos Triunfel (’07) went 6-for-6 with two RBI and three runs scored to lead High Desert. Travis Scott (’06) hit a grand slam for the Mavs.

EVERETT (Short Season-A: 15-25; 4th Northwest League West Division): The AquaSox were off on Monday.

AZL Mariners (Rookie: 23-9 overall; 3-1 second half T-1st Arizona League): The AZL M’s beat the Giants 9-4.

Mariner system schedule 7/31:
Los Angeles Angels (John Lackey 12-6) at Seattle (Jeff Weaver 2-9) 9:05pm CDT
Tacoma (Jorge Campillo 6-6) at Oklahoma (Eric Hurley 2-3) 7:05pm CDT
Tennessee (Ryan O’Malley 1-0) at West Tennessee (Joe Woerman 5-5) 7:05pm CDT
San Jose (Ronnie Ray 8-7) at High Desert (Nathan Adcock 0-2) 9:05pm CDT
Everett at Vancouver 9:05pm CDT
AZL Mariners – OFF DAY

Baseball History -- July 31

Complete entry for July 31 is at BaseballLibrary.com HERE.

Highlighted entry:
1995
White Sox OF-1B John Kruk singles in the 1st inning of Chicago's game against the Orioles. He immediately announces his retirement and is teplaced in the 3rd inning. The hit gives Kruk a lifetime BA of exactly .300. The Orioles win‚ 8-3.

July 31 should be known as John Kruk Day throughout the baseball world.

It feels like 3am

But, then again it always feels like 3am to me. Some posts are on the way shortly...

7/30/2007

8 hours...

Left at 6:30pm CDT

Arrived hotel 3:30pm EDT

Adjust for the hour and that's 8 hours of travel. Tack on the five minutes it took to put this post together so that it seemed somewhat coherent and that means it's time to grab a soda and get some work done!

On the other hand...about three hours of "sleep" would go over really good right now...

7/29/2007

Quick Sunday post

Just a quick Sunday morning placeholder post. Trying to get things done and I'm not sure if I'll get to the regular posting today. The bus leaves for Dayton around 6:30 tonight. May get to it then. Who knows?

7/28/2007

7/28 games as a song lyric

Loooons 4
Rattlers 3
box score HERE

Loooons 3
Rattlers 4

Box score HERE

Jimi, this one is alllllllllll yours, my man.

Manic depression is searching my soul
I know what I want
But I just don't know
How to go about getting it

Well, the title of the song fits at least.

Game Note -- 7/28

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Rattlers beat the Loons 5-2. Timber Rattler pitchers struck out 15 Loon batters in the game. Wisconsin hitters broke a scoreless tie with four runs in the bottom of the seventh. Reed Eastley and Juan Beltran each drove in two runs for the Rattlers. Anthony Varvaro, Wisconsin’s starting pitcher, struck out a professional career high 11 batters over five scoreless innings for a no decision.

OUT OF THE JAM: Mike Wagner relieved Varvaro to start the sixth inning and retired the Loons in order. But, in the top of the seventh, Eduardo Perez tripled to leadoff the inning. Wagner struck out the next hitter for the first out. The next batter sent a grounder to third and Perez was tagged out after a rundown. Wagner got the final out of the inning on another grounder to keep the game scoreless.

INTO THE RUN COLUMN: The Rattlers got their second hit of the game when Carlos Peguero singled to start the bottom of the seventh. Ron Garth followed with a sacrifice bunt and reached on a dropped throw to first. A wild pickoff throw moved the runners along. Eastley followed with an RBI single. An off-target throw to the plate later in the inning allowed Garth to score. Beltran doubled in the final two runs of the inning.

SEASON HIGH: Last night’s 15 strikeouts by the Rattler pitching staff is a new season high. The previous high had been 14 in game two of the double header against Peoria on May 13. Varvaro’s 11 is also a new high this season for a Rattler pitcher in a game.

ABOUT TODAY: The Rattlers and Loons are picking up a suspended game from Thursday night in the bottom of the third inning. When the game was halted, Wisconsin had a 3-1 lead, one out, and Carlos Peguero on second base. Tony Butler and Josh Wall were the starting pitchers in the game on Thursday. Wall is expected to be replaced by Chris Malone in the restart. Either Steve Richard or Keith Renaud will relieve Butler in the top of the fourth. The completion of the suspended game is scheduled for nine innings. After the suspended game is over, there will be a thirty minute break and a seven inning game will follow.

ROSTER MOVES: Rattler reliever Shawn Kelley was placed on the disabled list. Reliever Drew Fiorenza has been activated from the disabled list.


OPPOSING STARTER (Game Two): Paul Coleman was the 12th round pick of the Dodgers in the 2006 draft out of Pepperdine University after being named the West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year. Coleman was 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA in 13 games (two starts) for Ogden in the Pioneer League in 2006. Coleman started 2007 with Ogden and went 4-0 with a 1.50ERA in four starts with 25 strikeouts in 24 innings. Since joining the Loons in early July, Coleman is 1-1 with a 6.17 ERA. In his last start for Great Lakes, he allowed four runs (three earned) on ten hits over four innings at Beloit on July 22. He got a no decision. This will be Coleman’s first appearance against the Rattlers and against an affiliate of the Mariners.

Roster Move (7/28)

RHP Shawn Kelley placed on disabled list
RHP Drew Fiorenza activated from the disabled list

You did what now to the where when?

I saw this headline and did a quick triple check...

Swing intern fills in as second umpire

A Swing of the Quad-Cities intern ended up with a game ball and an experience he will never forget Friday, working as a replacement for an umpire who was forced off the field because of an illness during the Swing’s 6-5 Midwest League win over Burlington.

I was in the ticket window selling tickets and a call came over the radio, saying I was needed,” said James Davis, who worked the bases for the final five innings. “I was pretty nervous at first, but it worked out fine. I just worked the game and the guys were good about it.”

Davis, who is a registered high school umpire in Ohio where he attends Bowling Green, was called into action after home plate umpire Roberto Medina became ill.


Baseball internships are fun.

Midwest League Action -- 7/27

Scoreboard for 7/27 HERE.

@Wisconsin 5, Great Lakes 2: Beltran!

Dayton 6, @Peoria 2: Gressick!

@Kane County 7, Fort Wayne 4: Mitchell!

@Quad Cities 6, Burlington 5: Hill!

South Bend 1, @Beloit 0: Valdez!

@Clinton 7, Lansing 2: Gomez!

@Cedar Rapids 3, West Michigan 2: Bourjos!

Mariner System Report (Games of 7/27)

SEATTLE (MAJ: 55-46; 2nd AL West): The Mariners beat Oakland 7-1. Felix Hernandez (’03) allowed one run on seven hits with seven strikeouts over seven innings for the win and to end Seattle's seven game losing streak.

TACOMA (AAA: 46-61; 3rd Pacific Coast League Pacific Northern Division): The Rainiers lost 3-1 at New Orleans. Jeff Clement (’05) scored the only Tacoma run of the game.

WEST TENNESSEE (AA: 46-59 overall; 15-20 second half; 5th second half Southern League North Division): The Diamond Jaxx beat Birmingham 6-1. Matt Tuiasosopo (’05) hit a grand slam in the sixth inning to break a scoreless tie. Chris Minaker (’06) hit a two run homer later in the game for West Tennessee.

HIGH DESERT (High-A: 39-66 overall; 8-27 second half; 5th second half California League South Division): The Mavericks lost 10-9 to Inland Empire. The 66ers scored twice in the top of the ninth inning for the winning margin. The Mavericks took a 9-7 lead with six runs in the bottom of the seventh, but could not hang on to the lead.

EVERETT (Short Season-A: 14-24; 4th Northwest League West Division): The AquaSox lost 11-5 at Spokane. Greg Halman (’07) had three hits, including a home run, for Everett. But, former Clinton LumberKing Ian Gac had a grand slam for the Indians.

AZL Mariners (Rookie: 21-8 overall; 1-0 second half 1st Arizona League): The AZL M’s beat the Athletics 5-4 in ten innings. Eddy Fernandez (’07) got the win.

Mariner system schedule 7/28:
Oakland (Chad Gaudin 8-5) at Seattle (Horacio Ramirez 5-3) 3:05pm CDT
Tacoma (Robert Rohrbaugh 3-1) at Oklahoma (Robinson Tejada 0-0) 7:05pm CDT
Tennessee (Donny Veal 5-8) at West Tennessee (Travis Chick 4-2) 7:05pm CDT
Inland Empire (Jesus Castillo 3-7) at High Desert (Chris Tillman 2-6) 9:05pm CDT
Everett at Spokane 8:30pm CDT
AZL Mariners vs. AZL Cubs 9:00pm CDT

Baseball History -- July 28

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

Highlighted entry:
1943
The Phillies threaten to strike‚ rather than take the field for a game with the Cardinals‚ the proceeds of which are earmarked for the War effort. The players are upset because they learn about Harris's firing by reading of it in the newspaper. Cox averts the strike by telling the players in the locker room that the firing had "nothing to do with Bucky's abilities." The Phils then agree to play‚ and snap the Cardinals' 11-game win streak. A few days later‚ Cox and Harris get into a public name-calling fight‚ and Harris deals the final blow by telling reporters that Cox bet on games‚ a charge that will culminate in Cox being forced to sell the team.
For background on this check out the July 27, 1943 entry. If the firing had nothing to do with ability, why was he fired?

7/27/2007

Game Notes -- 7/27

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The game was suspended with the Timber Rattlers leading the Great Lakes Loons 3-1 in the bottom of the third inning. Carlos Peguero’s one out fly ball to left was lost in the rain and lights and dropped in for his second double of the game. The umpires called for the tarp after a conference with each manager and suspended the game about thirty minutes later.

TWO OUT RALLIES: The Rattlers scored all three of their runs after there were two out and none on base. Alex Liddi singled with two outs in the first inning and scored on Peguero’s double off the centerfield wall. Juan Beltran reached on a two-out error in the third. Gavin Dickey followed with a walk. Calvin Beamon drove in both runners with a single.

SHORT START: Rattler starting pitcher Tony Butler went three innings and gave up one run on four hits with two walks and a pair of strikeouts.

RESTART: The game will be picked up at the point where it was suspended on Saturday, July 28 at 4:35pm. The game will be played to its completion. A seven-inning game will follow the end of the suspended game.

AROUND THE DIAMOND: Leury Bonilla had three hits on Tuesday night and played right field. Bonilla played in three games of the series at three different positions against the Silver Hawks. He played short on Sunday and went 2-for-3. Bonilla was the third baseman for the Rattlers on Monday and he was 2-for-3. In Thursday’s game, Bonilla started at second base.

OPPOSING STARTER: James Adkins was the 39th player taken in the 2007 draft. The Dodgers picked him after his junior season at the University of Tennessee. Adkins was 7-7 in 17 starts with a 2.80 ERA and 134 strikeouts over 122 innings pitched in that final year with Tennessee. Adkins holds the career strikeout record for the Volunteers with 380 in 355-1/3 innings pitched. He made his pro debut with a scoreless inning against Burlington on July 13. His last start was a two inning stint at Beloit on July 21. He allowed two runs on two hits and took the loss. This is the first time Adkins will face the Rattlers or an affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.

Meanwhile at the Rattler website....

Appleton Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony tonight...John Cangelosi - 2007 Appleton Baseball Hall of Fame Inductee

Food drive tomorrow...Rattlers & Oneida to hold food drive on July 28th

Bid on a jersey today....Click here to bid on Liddi & Lo camo jerseys

Alumni Report....Rattler Alumni Report 7/27

One bit of bad news. The Lunch with the Rattlers at the Arby's in Kaukauna that was scheduled for Saturday from 12:30pm until 1:30pm had to be cancelled. This is due to the suspended game being picked up at 4:35pm on Saturday. Darn it.

Midwest League Action -- 7/26

Complete 7/26 scoreboard HERE.

Great Lakes @ Rattlers: Suspended.

@Kane County 6, Fort Wayne 3: Doubled.

@Quad Cities 14, Burlington 6: Stinged?

@Peoria 4, Dayton 1: Rehabbed.

Lansing 8, Clinton 3: Toppled.

@Beloit 4, South Bend 2: Powered.

West Michigan 4, @Cedar Rapids 0: Shuttered.

Mariner System Report (Games of 7/26)

SEATTLE (MAJ: 54-46; 2nd AL West): The Mariners lost 6-2 to Oakland. Jeff Weaver allowed three runs over 7-1/3 innings and took the loss. The loss was the seventh straight for Seattle.

TACOMA (AAA: 46-60; 3rd Pacific Coast League Pacific Northern Division): The Rainiers lost 5-4 at New Orleans. Wladimir Balentien (’04) homered and drove in a pair of runs for Tacoma. A reversed home run call against Jeff Clement ('05) was big in the game.

WEST TENNESSEE (AA: 45-59 overall; 14-20 second half; 5th second half Southern League North Division): The Diamond Jaxx lost 6-3 in eleven innings to Birmingham. West Tennessee tied the game with two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning. But, the Barons scored three in the eleventh on a Michael Myers home run.

HIGH DESERT (High-A: 39-65 overall; 8-26 second half; 5th second half California League South Division): The Mavericks lost 12-3 at Lancaster. Nathan Adcock (’07) gave up six runs (four earned) on three hits and six walks with six strikeouts over 3-2/3 innings for the loss, the eighth straight for High Desert. Johan Limonta ('06) homered and drove in a pair for High Desert.

EVERETT (Short Season-A: 14-23; 4th Northwest League West Division): The AquaSox lost 8-4 at Spokane. Greg Halman (’07) went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles for Everett in the loss.

AZL Mariners (Rookie: 20-8; 1st Arizona League): The AZL M’s were off on Thursday.

Mariner system schedule 7/27:
Oakland (Dallas Braden 1-5) at Seattle (Felix Hernandez 6-6) 9:05pm CDT
Tacoma (Tomo Ohka 0-4) at New Orleans (Jose Santiago 3-7) 7:00pm CDT
Birmingham (Corwin Malone 0-5) at West Tennessee (Andy Baldwin 2-9) 7:05pm CDT
Inland Empire at High Desert 9:05pm CDT
Everett at Spokane 8:30pm CDT
AZL Athletics at AZL Mariners 9:00pm CDT

Baseball History -- July 27

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

Highlighted entry:
1977
The
Cubs Rick Reuschel tosses his 2nd shutout in a row‚ beating the Reds‚ 3-0 on a 5-hitter.
No such thing as too many pictures of Rick Reuschel on a blog:

Thursday Motivation (7/26)

I was going to post this one yesterday, but I kept putting it off for some reason...

7/26/2007

Suspended Game

A legit news release for once on this site.

GRAND CHUTE, WI -- Thursday's game between the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers and the Great Lakes Loons was suspended by rain in the bottom of the third inning. The Rattlers were leading the Loons 3-1.

The game will be restarted on Saturday night on Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium at 4:35pm and played to its conclusion. A seven inning game will follow the completion of that game.

The Rattlers and Loons will play a single game on Friday night. Anthony Varvaro (4-8, 4.50) is scheduled to start for Wisconsin. James Adkins (0-1, 4.50) is set to be the starting pitcher for the Loons. Game time is 7:05pm.

Revised Pitching matchups for Great Lakes series

Nolan Gallahger has been pushed back to either Sunday or Monday. Rattler starters move up a day.

THU: LHP Tony Butler (0-6, 6.00) vs. RHP Josh Wall (5-9, 4.19)
FRI: RHP Anthony Varvaro (4-8, 4.50) vs. LHP James Adkins (0-1, 4.50)
SAT: RHP Ricky Orta (3-4, 5.81) vs. LHP Paul Coleman (1-1, 6.17)
SUN: TBA vs. RHP Steven Johnson (1-5, 6.69) 1:05pm

Game Notes -- 7/26

LAST ACTION: The Timber Rattlers lost 7-5 to the South Bend Silver Hawks on Tuesday. A 5-run third inning gave South Bend a 5-1 lead. Wisconsin scored twice in the bottom of the fourth to get to within 5-3. The Hawks scored single runs in the sixth and eighth. Wisconsin got a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth and had the tying run at the plate with one out. But, the Silver Hawks held on for the win.

BIG CROWD: Tuesday's attendance of 6,711 was the largest of the 2007 season for the Timber Rattlers. The previous high this season was 5,425 on Tuesday, May 22 against Kane County.

DRY SPELL: Rattler shortstop Juan Diaz is on an 0-for-28 streak. Diaz was 0-for-12 in three games against the Silver Hawks.

AROUND THE DIAMOND: Leury Bonilla had three hits on Tuesday night and played right field. Bonilla played in three games of the series at three different positions against the Silver Hawks. He played short on Sunday and went 2-for-3. Bonilla was the third baseman for the Rattlers on Tuesday and he was 2-for-3.

STILL TOP TEN: Kyle Parker, the Rattler starting pitcher on Tuesday allowed five earned runs in the third inning. He had not allowed five earned runs in any of his prior 15 appearances in 2007. Parker saw his ERA move from 2.64 to 3.01, but he is still ranked in the top 10 (9th) in the Midwest League ERA race.

SERIES RECORD: The Rattlers went 1-3 against the Hawks in the four game series. In fourteen home series this season, Wisconsin has won two, split four, and lost eight.

HOME RECORD: The Rattlers are 13-32 at home this season.

ROSTER MOVES: Rattler reliever Brian Kappel retired after Tuesday’s game. Joining the team today will be 2006 Midwest League All-Star reliever Harold Williams.

D-FENCE: The Rattlers are hosting the Great Lakes Loons in a four game series that starts tonight. Wisconsin is ranked 14th in the Midwest League in defense. Great Lakes is ranked 13th. The Rattlers have been charged with 170 errors and have a fielding percentage of .954 in 2007. The Loons have committed 159 errors and have a fielding percentage of .957 this season. Opponents have scored 121 earned runs against the Rattlers this season. The Loons have allowed 99 unearned runs in 2007.


ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Great Lakes Loons are the Midwest League affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are currently 43-57 overall and 9-21 in the second half. They did not qualify for the playoffs in the first half. The Loons are currently sixth in the Midwest League’s Eastern Division. Great Lakes is managed by former major league catcher Lance Parrish.

THE SEASON SERIES: The Rattlers and Loons split a four game set at Dow Diamond May 8-11. Great Lakes won game one of the series 5-3. Wisconsin took games two and three by scores of 6-4 and 4-2. The Loons won the final game of the series 6-5 by scoring two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning.

HEY, WEREN’T THEY?: The Loons are the Midwest League franchise that used to be based in Battle Creek, Michigan. The Southwest Michigan Devil Rays moved to Midland, Michigan at the end of the 2006 season.

WELCOME BACK: The Dodgers are the parent club of the Loons. This is the first time the Dodgers have had an affiliate in the Midwest League since 1979 when they were affiliated with Clinton.

BLOODLINES: Loon infielder Preston Mattingly is the son of former major leaguer Don Mattingly. Loon outfielder Scott Van Slyke is the son of former major leaguer Andy Van Slyke.

PROSPECTING: BASEBALL AMERICA has put seven members of the current Great Lakes roster on their list of top 30 prospects in the Dodger organization. Starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw is the highest rated prospect at #2. Infielders Josh Bell (#9) and Preston Mattingly (#10) are also in the top ten. Starting pitcher Steven Johnson (#16), catcher Carlos Santana (#23), relief pitcher Miguel Sanfler (#28) and starting pitcher Josh Wall (#29) also made the list.

OPPOSING STARTER: Josh Wall was the second round pick of the Dodgers in the 2005 draft out of Walker (LA) High School. He was 3-5 with a 5.86 ERA for the Ogden Raptors of the Pioneer League in 2006. In his last start for the Loons, Wall allowed two runs on three hits over seven innings against the Swing of the Quad Cities. He walked three and struck out five for a no decision. Wall faced the Timber Rattlers on May 10 at Dow Diamond. The Rattlers got two runs (one earned) on five hits over 5-2/3 innings against him. Wall struck out eight, but got a no decision. He left with the game tied 2-2 and the Rattlers went on to a 4-2 win.

Roster Move (7/26)

These caught me completely by surprise...

RHP Brian Kappel retired
LHP Harold Williams promoted from AZL Mariners

Mariner System Report (Games of 7/25)

SEATTLE (MAJ: 54-45; 2nd AL West): The Mariners lost 7-6 at Texas. Ramon Vazquez (’97) hit a two-run homer for the Rangers in the bottom of the eighth inning off JJ Putz (’00) to put the Rangers in front.

TACOMA (AAA: 46-59; 3rd Pacific Coast League Pacific Northern Division): The Rainiers lost 4-2 at New Orleans. Juan Doñe (’02) and Jason Mackintosh (’04) combined for three innings of scoreless relief, but the Zephyrs scored four runs in the fifth inning off Jorge Campillo for the win.

WEST TENNESSEE (AA: 45-58 overall; 14-19 second half; 5th second half Southern League North Division): The Diamond Jaxx lost 13-8 to Birmingham. The Diamond Jaxx trailed 13-1 before scoring seven runs in the bottom of the ninth. Birmingham scored six runs in the first inning off Justin Thomas (’06).

HIGH DESERT (High-A: 39-64 overall; 8-25 second half; 5th second half California League South Division): The Mavericks lost 16-7 to Lancaster. Adam Moore (’06) went 2-for-5 with a homer and three RBI for High Desert. Marwin Vega (’06) allowed eight runs on ten hits over six innings for the loss.

EVERETT (Short Season-A: 14-22; 4th Northwest League West Division): The AquaSox lost 4-1 at Spokane. Everett avoided the shutout with an unearned run in the top of the ninth.

AZL Mariners (Rookie: 20-8; 1st Arizona League): The AZL M’s lost 7-3 to the Padres.

Mariner system schedule 7/26:
Oakland (Dan Haren 11-3) at Seattle (Jeff Weaver 2-8) 9:05pm CDT
Tacoma (Jake Woods 3-6) at New Orleans (Brian Lawrence 7-2) 7:00pm CDT
Birmingham (Gio Gonzalez 7-5) at West Tennessee (Joe Woerman 5-5) 7:05pm CDT
High Desert (Nathan Adcock 0-1) at Lancaster (Travis Beazley 1-1) 9:00pm CDT
Everett at Spokane 8:30pm CDT
AZL Mariners – OFF DAY

Baseball History -- July 26

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

Highlighted entry:

1946

In a move that foreshadows Bill Veeck's use of Eddie Gaedel‚ the Indians try and use a midget at third base. With Ted Williams about to step in the batters box at Fenway‚ the Indians move into the Williams shift. Three-foot tall Marco Songini runs onto the field and takes over the empty third base spot. The umps then wave him off. The Red Sox win‚ 5-1.


Never heard about this one before.

7/25/2007

Baseball Movie Quote (7/25)


Harriet: Have you ever read Homer?
Roy: Homer? Well, only homer I know has four bases in it.
Harriet: Homer lived ages ago and wrote about heroes and gods. And he would've written about baseball had he seen you out there today.

Probable pitchers for Great Lakes Series

THU: LHP Tony Butler (0-6, 6.00) vs. RHP Josh Wall (5-9, 4.19)
FRI: RHP Nolan Gallagher (Rattler debut) vs. LHP James Adkins (0-1, 4.50)
SAT: RHP Anthony Varvaro (4-8, 4.50) vs. LHP Paul Coleman (1-1, 6.17)
SUN: RHP Ricky Orta (3-4, 5.81) vs.RHP Steven Johnson (1-5, 6.69)

#6 Clint Nageotte

The countdown of best individual seasons in Rattler history has reached #6 and Clint Nageotte and his 2001 season.

11-8, 3.13 ERA, 26 games started, 152.1 innings pitched, 141 hits alowed, 53 earned runs allowed, 50 walks, 187 strikeouts

The number that jumps out of Nageotte's stats is his Midwest League leading strikeout total of 187. It is the most in team history, surpassing Gil Meche's 168 in 1998. No Rattler pitcher has come within 20 strikeouts of his total since. He avreaged over 11 strikeouts per nine innings. His ERA and win total are also in the top ten in Rattler history.


He may have had the single best pitched game by a Timber Rattler that I have ever seen. That includes two no-hitters. In fact, Nageotte got a loss at Kane County on July 3, 2001.

Over his first seven innings, he had allowed one hit, a one-out double to Josh Willingham in the bottom of the fifth.

The Rattlers had a 1-0 lead on a solo homer by John Castellano in the fourth and Nageotte was cruising. The righty got around a lead off walk, the only one he issued, in the bottom of the seventh by striking out two and getting a flyout. The strikeouts were his 11th and 12th of the game.

But, in the eighth, things went wrong. Francisco Ferrand singled. Josh Wilson popped out. Nageotte went to 3-2 on Will Smith. Smith reached on a catcher's interference call and that was it for Nageotte.

Tim Burton came into the game in relief of Nageotte and got ahead of Adrian Gonzalez 0-2. Gonzalez blasted the next pitch over the picnic deck in right for a 3-run homer. Rattlers lost 3-1. Ouch. But, still a great game by Nageotte.

Still here

It was a busy day yesterday. Lots of things going on at the stadium as you might expect with 6,711 guests showing up for a game.

Unfortunately, I never got over here...or, is that fortunately? Never sure about that.

I have the day off today and I really need to take care of some things areound the trailer today.

A couple of brief posts are next. If I'm back on-line later, I'll try to play catch up so that I'm only two or three days behind instead of a week.

7/23/2007

7/23 game as a song lyric

South Bend 4
Rattlers 7

Box score! Losing streak over!

Today's song is from Triumph....somewhat appropriately, I think.

Don't get discouraged, don't be afraid,
we canMake it through another day
Make it worth the price we pay

The Good Book says it's better to give than to receive
I do my best to do my part
Nothin' in my pockets I got nothin' up my sleeve
I keep my magic in my heart

Keep up your spirit, keep up your faith, baby
I am counting on you
You know what you've got to do

Fight the good fight every moment
Every minute every day
Fight the good fight every moment
It's your only way

Oh, heck...here's the whole song...enjoy!

Over at the Rattler website...

Mehring Monday is available.

If you want more information, just go to Midwest League Guide and dig around. I'm through with looking up information on losing streaks.

Mike Coolbaugh

I read this earlier this morning and I still can't believe it

Drillers coach struck by foul ball, killed

Tulsa Drillers hitting coach Mike Coolbaugh died Sunday night, less than an hour after he was struck in the head by a line drive. He was 35.
Coolbaugh was pronounced dead at 10:47 p.m. ET at Baptist Health Medical Center, according to Sgt. Terry Kuykendall of the North Little Rock (Ark.) Police Department.

The incident occurred in the top of the ninth inning of the Drillers' Texas League game against the Arkansas Travelers. Coolbaugh was coaching first base when he was hit in foul territory by a liner off the bat of Tulsa designated hitter Tino Sanchez.


That story is from MILB.com. HERE is the Tulsa World article
"It's a tragedy for all of baseball," Drillers president Chuck Lamson said. "He just joined the staff and was a former Driller player. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family. "
...
He played in seven games for the Drillers in 1996 and spent 17 seasons in professional baseball, appearing in a combined 44 games with the Milwaukee Brewers and the St. Louis Cardinals.
...
The game was suspended in the ninth inning after the accident with Little Rock leading, 7-3. Lamson said he believed that the Drillers' series with Wichita, which was to begin Monday, would be postponed.


If you can spare a thought and a prayer today, do it.

Game Notes -- 7/23

ABOUT SUNDAY: The South Bend Silver Hawks beat the Timber Rattlers 11-3. Both Gerardo Parra and Brad Miller had two homers and five RBI to lead the Hawks to the win. Tony Barnette pitched seven innings and allowed three runs (two earned) for the win. The loss was the fourteenth straight loss for the Rattlers.

ANOTHER EARLY LEAD: Wisconsin scored single runs in the second and third innings to go in front 2-0. Gavin Dickey knocked in a run with a grounder in the second. Reed Eastley drove in a run with a double in the third. During the current losing streak, the Rattlers have had a lead in nine games.

EVAPORATED: The Silver Hawks scored twice in the top of the fourth to tie the game. Parra hit a three-run homer in the fifth. Miller homered on the next pitch after Parra’s long ball and the Hawks were up 6-2.

ONE LAST CHANCE: Wisconsin loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the sixth. Jamie McOwen hit a sacrifice fly to get the Rattlers to within 6-3. But, Barnette got a double play ball to end the inning. The Rattler would not get a base runner in the final three innings.

PARRA & MILLER: Parra is 11-for-22 (.500) in six games against the Timber Rattlers this season. Parra is hitting .330 on the season and is the leading active Midwest Leaguers in batting average. Christopher Pettit of Cedar Rapids and Brandon Buckman of Quad Cities have higher averages, but both have been promoted. Miller’s two homers yesterday gave him 16 for the season. He is tied with Michael Thompson of Burlington for the Midwest League lead in that category. Miller’s five RBI in Sunday’s game gives him 66 on the season and he is tied with Brennan Boesch of the league lead in ribbies.

THE EAST IS A BEAST: Wisconsin is 2-12 against Eastern Division teams at home this season. They are 7-23 against the other division overall in 2007.

RECORD AT HOME: The Rattlers are 12-31 on Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium this season. Wisconsin was 29-40 at home last season. Including today, the Rattlers have 25 home games remaining this season.

THE RECORD: The Midwest League record for consecutive losses is 15. Three teams are co-holders of the record. The 1958 Clinton Pirates, the 1975 Cedar Rapids Giants, and the 1986 Kenosha Twins are in the record book with 15 straight losses.

OPPOSING STARTER: Jordan Norberto was signed by the Diamondbacks as a non-drafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic. Last season, he was 3-2 with a 3.09 ERA in 16 starts for the Missoula Osprey. He struck out 64 batters in 75-2/3 innings for the Osprey. In his last start, Norberto lost to Peoria on July 18 at home. Norberto allowed eight runs on ten hits in three innings. He did not walk a batter and struck out one. Norberto is making his first appearance against the Timber Rattlers and against an affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.

Midwest League Action -- 7/22

Complete 7/22 scoreboard is HERE.

South Bend 11, @Rattlers 3: Dang it.

@Quad Cities 6, Lansing 1: Schellinger gives relief.

@Clinton 4, Cedar Rapids 1: Poveda pops Kernels.

Dayton 3, @Kane County 2: Cougars stay upbeat in defeat

Great Lakes 6, @Beloit 4: In the battle of pond life, the Loons won this round.

West Michigan 5, @Burlington 3: The Caps are 6-0 against the Bees this season.

@Peoria 6, Fort Wayne 1: Chiefs keep winning. And look who they are getting on a rehab assignment: Cubs charging up Chiefs' battery; Wood to pitch Tuesday night at O'Brien; Blanco may catch.

Mariner System Report (Games of 7/22)

SEATTLE (MAJ: 54-41; 2nd AL West): The Mariners lost 8-0 at Toronto. Felix Hernandez (’03) allowed six runs on seven hits over six innings and took the loss. Seattle managed just three hits in the game.

TACOMA (AAA: 44-57; 3rd Pacific Coast League Pacific Northern Division): The Rainiers split a pair of games with Las Vegas. They won the completion of a suspended game 4-3, but lost 6-2 in the other game. Bryan LaHair (’04) homered in the first game for the Rainiers. The 51s scored five runs in the top of the third inning off Tomo Ohka in the second game.

WEST TENNESSEE (AA: 44-56 overall; 13-17 second half; T-4th second half Southern League North Division): The Diamond Jaxx were off on Sunday.

HIGH DESERT (High-A: 39-62 overall; 8-23 second half; 5th second half California League South Division): The Mavericks lost 7-3 at Lake Elsinore. Chris Tillman (’07) allowed five runs (three earned) on five hits over five innings and took the loss. Johan Limonta (’06) had a pair of hits and an RBI for High Desert.

EVERETT (Short Season-A: 13-20; 4th Northwest League West Division): The AquaSox lost 6-2 to Vancouver. Rob Harmon (’07) allowed three runs (one earned) on four hits with five walks and five strikeouts over four innings. Ogui Diaz (’07) homered for the Sox.

AZL Mariners (Rookie: 18-7; 1st Arizona League): The AZL M’s beat the Cubs 6-0.

Mariner system schedule 7/23:
Seattle (Horacio Ramirez 5-2) at Texas (Kevin Millwood 6-8) 7:35pm CDT
Las Vegas at Tacoma 1:35pm CDT – Double header
Birmingham at West Tennessee 7:05pm CDT
High Desert -- OFF DAY
Vancouver (Inoel Deaza 1-2) at Everett (Doug Salinas 1-4) 9:05pm CDT
AZL Mariners at AZL Giants 12:30pm CDT

Baseball History -- July 23

Complete entry for July 23 is at BaseballLibrary.com HERE.

Highlighted entry:
1979
At Wrigley‚ the Reds and Cubs complete a game suspended on May 10th because the Cubs had to catch a plane. That contest was tied 7-7 after 9 innings. Both teams score in the 11th and the Cubs win in the 18th on a run scoring single by Steve Ontiveros. The Cubs then win the regularly scheduled game‚ 2-1‚ with Willie Hernandez getting the victory. Dave Kingman hits a 2-run homer in the bottom of the 9th for the win.

Life before the lights were put in at Wrigley sure was fun.

7/22/2007

Game Notes -- 7/22

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The South Bend Silver Hawks beat the Timber Rattlers 5-1. Cesar Valdez allowed an unearned run on two hits over seven innings for the win. South Bend broke a 1-1 tie with four runs (three unearned) in the top of the seventh inning. The loss was Wisconsin’s thirteenth in a row.

EARLY LEAD: The Rattlers manufactured an unearned run, with a little help from the Silver Hawks, in the bottom of the fourth. Kuo Hui Lo walked and stole second. With one out, Carlos Peguero struck out, but he reached and Lo took third on a passed ball. Alex Liddi’s sacrifice fly drove in Lo with the run.

BACK TO EVEN: The Silver Hawks scored the tying run in their next at bat. In the top of the fifth, Steve Mena was on third with one out. Rattler starting pitcher Anthony Varvaro fielded a grounder back to him and got Mena trapped in a rundown. However, Liddi’s throw to the plate was wild and Mena scored the tying run.

TOUGH BREAK: Rattler catcher Juan Beltran was at second with two outs in the bottom of the fifth. Calvin Beamon lined a pitch that looked like it was headed for right field. South Bend first baseman Brad Miller leapt and got a glove on the ball to deflect the ball into shallow right-center. Then, second baseman Matt Oxendine retrieved the ball and threw a strike to the plate and Beltran was out. The Rattlers managed just three hits in the game

AND THAT WAS PRETTY MUCH IT: Valdez and South Bend reliever Chad Beck retired twelve of the final thirteen Rattler hitters they faced to close out the game.

QUALITY START: Varvaro allowed one unearned run over six innings on six hits with a walk and five strikeouts for a quality start, but a no decision.

BREAKING THE TIE: Tyler Jones drove in the go ahead run with an infield single in the top of the seventh. Another botched rundown and a wild pitch later in the inning allowed three more runs to score.

THIRTEEN: The Rattlers have lost thirteen straight games. Wisconsin has not won since the second game of a double header on July 11. This is a new franchise record for consecutive losses.


OPPOSING STARTER: Tony Barnette was the 10th round pick of the Diamondbacks in the 2006 draft out of Arizona State University. He went 6-4 with a 3.89ERA in 15 starts for the Missoula Osprey of the Pioneer League in his first taste of pro ball. Barnette was third in the Pioneer League in strikeouts with 74 in 76-1/3 innings. In his last start for the Hawks, Barnette lost to Peoria on July 17. He allowed six runs on six hits over 6-1/3 innings with two walks and a strikeout. Barnette beat the Rattlers on May 4 in South Bend. He pitched eight innings and allowed one run on four hits and struck out six.

Midwest League Action -- 7/21

Complete 7/21 box score HERE.

South Bend 5, @Rattlers 1: 13.

Dayton 12, @Kane County 6: 13,530.

West Michigan 11, @Burlington 2: 4.

@Peoria 9, Fort Wayne 0: 6.

@Beloit 8, Great Lakes 3: 8.

Cedar Rapids 6, @Clinton 4 (F/12): 12.

Lansing 6, @Quad Cities 0: 9.

Mariner System Report (Games of 7/21)

SEATTLE (MAJ: 54-40; 2nd AL West): The Mariners lost 1-0 at Toronto. Jeff Weaver allowed one run on four hits over eight innings and took the loss. Seattle’s offense managed three hits.

TACOMA (AAA: 43-56; 3rd Pacific Coast League Pacific Northern Division): The Rainiers were tied 3-3 in the eighth inning of the first game of a double header with Las Vegas when rain suspended play.

WEST TENNESSEE (AA: 44-56 overall; 13-17 second half; T-4th second half Southern League North Division): The Diamond Jaxx beat Mobile 9-4. Mike Wilson (’05) had three hits and drove in a pair of runs for West Tennessee.

HIGH DESERT (High-A: 39-61 overall; 8-22 second half; 5th second half California League South Division): The Mavericks lost 6-5 at Lake Elsinore. High Desert was down 6-0 heading into the seventh inning, rallied, but fell short. Travis Scott (’06) had three hits and scored a pair of runs for the Mavs.

EVERETT (Short Season-A: 13-19; 4th Northwest League West Division): The AquaSox were swept in a double header with Boise. The Hawks won game one 6-3 and the nightcap 4-1.

AZL Mariners (Rookie: 17-7; 1st Arizona League): The AZL M’s were off on Saturday.

Mariner system schedule 7/22:
Seattle (Felix Hernandez 6-5) at Toronto (Roy Halladay 10-4) 12:07pm CDT
Las Vegas at Tacoma 3:35pm CDT (completion of suspended game)
Las Vegas (Spike Lundberg 5-4) at Tacoma (Tomo Ohka 0-1) – Game Two
West Tennessee – OFF DAY
High Desert (Chris Tillman 2-5) at Lake Elsinore (Matt Buschmann 9-4) 8:07pm CDT
Vancouver at Everett 4:05pm CDT
AZL Mariners at AZL Cubs 12:30pm CDT

Baseball History -- July 22

Complete entry for July 22 is at BaseballLibrary.com HERE.

Highlighted entry:
1923
Washington's Walter Johnson notches his 3‚000th strikeout on the way to 3‚508. He fans 5 in beating Cleveland 3-1. The Tribe has to pack‚ ending their extended 31 game home stand which began on June 23. Their record for the stay was 16-15.

Without checking, I think the next pitcher to 3,000 K's was Bob Gibson in 1971? Also, 31 home games in a row? That is a long home stand.

7/21/2007

Game Notes -- 7/21

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Beloit Snappers defeated the Timber Rattlers 2-0. Wilson Ramos singled in a run with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning to break a scoreless tie. Tyler Robertson struck out a career high ten batters over seven shutout innings. Three Wisconsin pitchers allowed just two hits, but that could not keep the Rattlers from losing their twelfth straight.

BACK IN THE SADDLE: Last night, Tony Butler made his first start for the Rattlers since June 5. He walked one and struck out five over 3-2/3 scoreless innings.

FORCED ERRORS: Wisconsin added to their league leading error total with three more last night. Two of the three errors led to both Beloit runs being unearned. The Rattlers have committed 163 errors and opponents have scored 117 unearned runs this season.

END OF THE LINE: Alex Liddi and Reed Eastley both saw their hitting streaks come to an end last night. Liddi’s eight-game streak ended after an 0-for-4 night. Eastley’s ten-game streak was stopped after an 0-for-3.

CHANCES WERE: The Rattlers stranded eight runners last night. They had runners at second and third with two outs in the third. They also had the lead off man aboard in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings. But, the Rattlers were shutout for the seventh time this season.

TWELVE: The Rattlers have lost twelve straight games. Wisconsin has not won since the second game of a double header on July 11.

BUT: The Rattlers have had leads in seven of those twelve games. Opponents have won in their last at bat five times during this current streak.

ANATOMY OF A STREAK: During this streak, the Rattlers have lost by one run four times, two runs three times and three runs once. Only two of the losses have been by more than four runs. Wisconsin has held opponents to four or fewer runs in six of the games.

LONG AND WINDING ROAD: The Rattlers went 0-10 on the just completed road trip.

THE RECORD: The team record for consecutive losses is 12. The 2002 Wisconsin squad lost twelve in a row twice. The Rattlers lost 12 straight from June 13-June 28 – the last four games of the first half and the first eight of the second half. That team lost a dozen more in a row from July 1-July 14.

HOUSE OF HORRORS: The Timber Rattlers have lost ten straight games at Pohlman Field. The Rattlers won here on April 12, 2006. Then, the Snappers swept a four game series from July 28 through July 31 of 2006. Beloit won all six games played at Pohlman Field this season.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The South Bend Silver Hawks are the Midwest League affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They did not qualify for the playoffs in the first half of the season. They are 47-50 overall and 13-14 in the second half of the season. The Silver Hawks are currently in fourth place in the Eastern Division of the Midwest League. South Bend has lost four straight games after being swept in a four-game series by the Peoria Chiefs at Coveleski Stadium.

THE SEASON SERIES: The Rattlers and Silver Hawks split a four game set at South Bend May 4-7. South Bend won the first game of the series by a score of 9-1. The Rattlers took the middle two games of the series by scores of 3-2 and 7-4. South Bend got the split with a 9-3 win in the final game of the set.

HERE LAST YEAR: The Rattlers and Hawks split a second half series in Grand Chute last season.

PROSPECTING: BASEBALL AMERICA has one member of the current Silver Hawk roster on their list of top thirty prospects in the Arizona organization. Outfielder Gerardo Parra is rated 14th.

OPPOSING STARTER: Cesar Valdez was signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Diamondbacks in 2005. He went 7-5 with a 3.15ERA in 16 starts for Yakima in 2006. In his last start for the Hawks, Valdez beat Kane County on July 16. He allowed two runs on five hits over seven innings with a pair of walks and four strikeouts. Valdez got a no decision against the Rattlers on May 6 in South Bend. He gave up nine hits and five runs (three earned) over 5-2/3 innings with three walks, two hit batters, and four strikeouts.

Midwest League Action -- 7/20

Complete 7/20 box score HERE.

@Beloit 2, Rattlers 0: Snappers tip Rattlers

Cedar Rapids 2, @Dayton 1: Hit parade ends for Dayton

Clinton 1, @Fort Wayne 0: Wizards' big bat falls short

Kane County 5, @West Michigan 2: Caps can't capitalize in loss

Quad Cities 6, @Great Lakes 2: Mistakes cost Loons

@Lansing 6, Burlington 1: Lugnut pitchers strike out 17 in 6-1 win over Bees

Peoria 3, @South Bend 0: Chiefs sweep Hawks

Mariner System Report (Games of 7/20)

SEATTLE (MAJ: 54-39; 2nd AL West): The Mariners won 4-2 at Toronto. Adrian Beltre hit a two-run homer for Seattle. JJ Putz (’00) pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his 29th save.

TACOMA (AAA: 43-56; 3rd Pacific Coast League Pacific Northern Division): The Rainiers game with Las Vegas was rained out. The game will be made up as part of a double header tonight.

WEST TENNESSEE (AA: 43-56 overall; 12-17 second half; 5th second half Southern League North Division): The Diamond Jaxx beat Mobile 8-2. Joe Woerman (’06) struck out eight over six shutout innings for the win. Brent Johnson (’05) homered and drove in a pair of runs for West Tennessee. Charlton Jimerson had two homers and four RBI for the Diamond Jaxx.

HIGH DESERT (High-A: 39-60 overall; 8-21 second half; 5th second half California League South Division): The Mavericks lost 11-0 at Lake Elsinore. Nathan Adcock (’07) allowed eight runs (seven earned) on four hits and five walks over four innings in his California League debut and took the loss. Shawn Estes ('95) pitched four scoreless innings in a major league rehab.

EVERETT (Short Season-A: 13-17; 4th Northwest League West Division): The AquaSox game with Boise was rained out. They will play a double header tonight.

AZL Mariners (Rookie: 17-7; 1st Arizona League): The AZL M’s beat the Angels 3-2. The Mariners scored a run in the bottom of the ninth inning for the win.

Mariner system schedule 7/21:
Seattle (Jeff Weaver 2-7) at Toronto (Josh Towers 4-6) 12:07pm CDT
Las Vegas (Eric Cyr 1-1) at Tacoma (Jake Woods 3-6) 8:00pm CDT
Las Vegas (Spike Lundberg 5-4) at Tacoma (Tomo Ohka 0-1) – Game Two
West Tennessee (Andy Baldwin 1-9) at Mobile (Brooks Brown 1-0) 7:05pm CDT
High Desert (Cibney Bello 4-6) at Lake Elsinore (Richie Daigle 4-6) 9:07pm CDT
Boise (Dustin Sasser 2-1) at Everett (Edward Paredes 3-1) 8:05pm CDT
Boise (Arik Hempy 1-1) at Everett (Juan Ramirez 1-2) – Game Two)
AZL Mariners – OFF DAY

Baseball History -- July 21

Complete entry for July 21 is at BaseballLibrary.com HERE.

Highlighted entry:
1988
Where's Seinfeld. In a pair of trades‚ Seattle sends DH Ken Phelps to the Yankees for OF Jay Buhner and 1B-DH Steve Balboni‚ and deals OF Glenn Wilson to the Pirates for IF-OF Darnell Coles.

I know, I probably did this last year...But, it's gold, Jerry. Gold!

Estelle (crying): I can't believe it, he was so young. How could this have happened?

Steinbrenner: Well, he'd been logging some pretty heavy hours, first one in in the morning, last one to leave at night. That kid was a human dynamo.

Estelle: Are you sure you're talking about George?

Steinbrenner: You are Mr. and Mrs. Costanza?

Frank (yelling): What the hell did you trade Jay Buhner for?!? He had 30 home runs, over 100 RBIs last year, he's got a rocket for an arm, you don't know what the hell you're doin'!!

Steinbrenner: Well, Buener was a good prospect, no question about it. But my baseball people love Ken Phelps' bat. They kept saying 'Ken Phelps , Ken Phelps'.

7/20/2007

Pitching probables for South Bend series (7/21-7/24)

SAT: RHP Anthony Varvaro (4-8, 4.88) vs. RHP Cesar Valdez (4-7, 3.57)
SUN: RHP Ricky Orta (3-3, 5.64) vs. RHP Tony Barnette (5-7, 3.76)
MON: TBA vs. LHP Jordan Noberto (5-5, 6.21)
TUE: RHP Kyle Parker (3-76, 2.64) vs. RHP Derik Nippert (4-2, 2.20)

That TBA should be filled in tomorrow or Sunday...at the latest on Monday.

Roster Move (7/20)

This is just making yesterday's promotion official and filling that spot.

Pitcher Nathan Adcock promoted to High Desert (California League)
Pitcher Anthony Varvaro transfered to Wisconsin from Peoria (Arizona League)

The varvaro move was just a paper move. He did not go down to Arizona a few days ago only to fly back to be with the Rattlers.

Game Notes -- 7/20

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Snappers took a pair of games from the Timber Rattlers. In the completion of the suspended game from Wednesday, Beloit topped the Rattlers 3-1. Eli Tintor hit a game-ending homer in the bottom of the ninth to give the Snappers a 4-2 win in the regularly scheduled game.

GAME ONE RECAP: The Rattlers and Snappers were tied 1-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning. Joe Benson doubled to start the inning, but Rattler pitcher Kyle Parker got the next two batters. Reliever Joe Kantakevich entered and gave up an RBI double to Chris Parmelee. Danny Berg was next and he doubled in Parmelee for the winning margin. Parker allowed two runs over 7-2/3 innings but took the loss. Parmelee drove in two runs and scored the other run in the 3-1 Beloit win.

GAME TWO RECAP: Wisconsin had a 2-1 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh. Beloit loaded the bases with no outs and Steve Singleton drove in the tying run. In the bottom of the ninth, Matt Betsill doubled with two outs. Tintor lined a homer over the left field wall for the game-winner.

LOTS OF HITS: Wisconsin had 12 hits in the second game. The Snappers turned a pair of double plays. Beloit’s outfielders also threw out three Rattler base runners – one at home and two at second base.

THE INCIDENT: Beloit had the bases loaded with no outs in the bottom of the seventh. Steve Singleton singled to right driving in the tying run. Parmelee tried to score on the play. Leury Bonilla’s throw to the plate was in time and catcher Juan Beltran held on to the ball after Parmelee crashed into him. Beltran took a swing at Parmelee and the benches cleared. No suspensions or fines have been announced.

FIRST TIME: The second game was scheduled for seven innings. So, the loss in the bottom of the ninth was the first extra-inning loss for the Rattlers. They are now 5-1 in extra innings.

SCORING DECISION: After the game, it was decided that Kyle Parker would be credited as the starting pitcher of game one. Richard had been on the mound, but had not thrown a pitch in the game when Wednesday’s game was suspended. The 7-2/3 innings by Parker as a starting pitcher gives him the longest outing by a Wisconsin starter this season.

ELEVEN: The Rattlers have lost eleven straight games. Wisconsin has not won since the second game of a double header on July 11.

BUT: The Rattlers have had leads in seven of those eleven losses. Opponents have won in their last at bat five times during this current streak.


THE RECORD: The team record for consecutive losses is 12. The 2002 Wisconsin squad lost twelve in a row twice. The Rattlers lost 12 straight from June 13-June 28 – the last four games of the first half and the first eight of the second half. That team lost a dozen more in a row from July 1-July 14.

HOUSE OF HORRORS: The Timber Rattlers have lost nine straight games at Pohlman Field. The Rattlers won here on April 12, 2006. Then, the Snappers swept a four game series from July 28 through July 31 of 2006. Beloit has won the first five games played at Pohlman Field this season.

OPPOSING STARTER: Tyler Robertson was the third round pick of the Twins in the 2007 draft out of Bella Vista (CA) High School. Robertson spent 2006 with the Gulf Coast League Twins and went 4-2 with a 4.25ERA in 11 games (10 starts). He was fourth in the GCL in strikeouts with 54 in 48.2IP. Robertson joined the Snappers in late May of 2007. Tonight is his first appearance against the Timber Rattlers. In his last start for the Snappers, Robertson pitched 7-2/3 innings of shutout ball at West Michigan on July 14. He walked three, allowed four hits, and struck out five, but got a no decision. Robertson is ranked as the 24th best prospect in the Minnesota Twins organization by Baseball America.

MWL News and notes (7/20)

Wehofer gets movie role

Be careful what you say, it just might come back to haunt you. Or, as in Randy Wehofer's case, it could turn into a great, and surprising, opportunity.

Last summer, after a meeting with filmmakers looking to write a baseball movie based in Iowa, Wehofer made an off–the–cuff remark as the filmmakers as they were leaving.

"I said, 'Hey, if you need a PA guy or a radio guy for the movie, let me know,'" said Wehofer, the Burlington Bees assistant general manager and radio broadcaster. "It was just something to say. We had already said goodbye three times so I just threw that out there."


Guess who is going to be playing 'Jack Jeffries' in that movie...

Small adjustments lead to results for Dragons' Stubbs

Suddenly, center fielder Drew Stubbs looks like the player the Reds thought they drafted with the eighth pick in the first round last summer.

Even though he continues to strike out too much, Stubbs has begun to hit, raising his batting average from the low .240s two weeks ago to .257 entering Thursday night's game against Cedar Rapids. He hadn't hit a homer in a month before clubbing two this week.


Great. Just what the Dragons need. Another guy who is playing well.

Two from Loooooooooonsville

Parrish explains Perez's suspension; Kershaw reacts to trade rumors

A breakdown in communication is to blame for the recent suspension of Great Lakes Loons' infielder Eduardo Perez, Loons' manager Lance Parrish said Thursday.

Perez, who took three days of personal leave last weekend to visit his wife and newborn daughter in Ogden, Utah, was suspended by the Los Angeles Dodgers for seven games earlier this week, beginning with Tuesday's game against Quad Cities.
...
With the Major League Baseball trade deadline fast approaching, the rumor mill has already kicked into full swing. And Loons' ace Clayton Kershaw finds himself right in the middle of it.

But, according to the hard-throwing lefty pitcher, he wouldn't be going anywhere if he had any say in it.

In a story reported by the Dallas Morning News recently, the Texas Rangers are interested in dealing slugger Mark Teixeira to the Dodgers for Kershaw and Dodgers' first baseman James Loney.


Wizards pitcher feels fortunate to be playing ball

Brandon Gomes was a member of Tulane’s baseball team at the time Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans.

So the right-handed pitcher has a different perspective on life and the game he loves.

“You really respect any opportunity you get. Especially getting to come play baseball, it’s terrific,” Gomes said Thursday. “You step back and look at the big picture and realize how fortunate you are.”

Midwest League Action -- 7/19

Complete 7/19 Scoreboard HERE.

@Beloit 3, Rattlers 1; @Beloit 4, Rattlers 2 (F/9): Swept.

Peoria 1, @South Bend 0: Handcuffed.

@Dayton 5, Cedar Rapids 3: Gem.

Clinton 4, @Fort Wayne 3: Edge.

@West Michigan 4, Kane County 1: Gem?

Quad Cities 4, @ Great Lakes 3: Amounts.

@Lansing 9, Burlington 2: Pulls.

Mariner System Report (Games of 7/19)

SEATTLE (MAJ: 53-39; 2nd AL West): The Mariners were off on Thursday.

TACOMA (AAA: 43-56; 3rd Pacific Coast League Pacific Northern Division): The Rainiers lost 9-8 at Salt Lake. Oswaldo Navarro (’05) homered and drove in a pair of runs for Tacoma. The Rainiers had an 8-4 lead after scoring five times in the top of the sixth inning. But, the Bees scored one run in the sixth and four in the seventh for the win.

WEST TENNESSEE (AA: 42-56 overall; 11-17 second half; 5th second half Southern League North Division): The Diamond Jaxx beat Mobile 4-2. Matt Tuiasosopo (’05) drove in a pair of runs. Mark Lowe (’05) pitched a scoreless inning of relief. Craig James (’05) got the win and Mumba Rivera (’05) got the save.

HIGH DESERT (High-A: 39-59 overall; 8-20 second half; 5th second half California League South Division): The Mavericks lost 11-2 to Modesto. Jeffrey Dominguez (’06) homered in the first inning to give High Desert a 2-1 lead. But, Marwin Vega (’06) gave up four runs on ten hits over six innings for the loss.

EVERETT (Short Season-A: 13-17; 4th Northwest League West Division): The AquaSox beat Boise 5-4 in thirteen innings. Craig Hurba went 3-for-3 with a homer and two RBI for the Sox. The Hawks took a 4-3 lead with a run in the top of the thirteenth, but Everett scored twice in the bottom of the inning for the win.

AZL Mariners (Rookie: 16-7; 1st Arizona League): The AZL M’s lost 13-9 to the Athletics.

Mariner system schedule 7/20:
Seattle (Miguel Batista 9-7) at Toronto (Jesse Litsch 2-3) 6:07pm CDT
Las Vegas (Eric Cyr 1-1) at Tacoma (Jake Woods 3-6) 9:05pm CDT
West Tennessee (Joe Woerman 4-5) at Mobile (Max Scherzer 1-2) 7:05pm CDT
High Desert (Nathan Adcock) at Lake Elsinore (Nate Culp 2-0) 9:07pm CDT
Boise at Everett 9:05pm CDT
AZL Angels at AZL Mariners 12:30pm CDT
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