April 4 Game Notes

ABOUT LAST SEASON: The Timber Rattlers were 53-85 and missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season in 2007. Wisconsin was 27-43 on the road. The Rattlers had a pair of four game winning streaks as their longest of the season. The team had their longest losing streak since becoming the Rattlers in 1995 when they lost fourteen straight games from July 5 through July 22.

MEET THE NEW BOSS: The new manager of the Timber Rattlers is Terry Pollreisz. He spent the last four seasons as the hitting coach of the Tacoma Rainiers, the Pacific Coast League affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. Pollreisz managed the Everett AquaSox, the Northwest League affiliate of the Mariners, from 1998 to 2001 and compiled a record of 148-157. Before joining the Mariner organization, he had been the head baseball coach at the University of Portland from 1987-1997. He is the eighth manager in Timber Rattler history.

ALSO ON STAFF: Hitting coach Rafael Santo Domingo and pitching coach Jamie Navarro are also new to the Timber Rattler staff in 2008. This is the first time since 2002 there is an all new coaching staff for the Timber Rattlers.

FAMILIAR FACES: There are twelve players on the Rattler roster who spent at least some time with the Timber Rattlers in 2007: Pitchers Nathan Adcock, Rob Harmon, Shawn Kelley, and Justin Souza; catcher Blake Ochoa; infielders Gerardo Avila, Juan Diaz, Ron Garth, Alex Liddi, and Alex Meneses; and outfielders Calvin Beamon and Gavin Dickey. Outfielder Eddy Hernandez played with the Timber Rattlers in 2006.

PROSPECTING: The Baseball America Prospect Handbook places four Timber Rattlers on their list of Top 30 Mariner prospects: Pitcher Phillippe Aumont (#2), outfielder Danny Carroll (#21), pitcher Edward Paredes (#22), and Liddi (#29) are all on the list.

’07 DRAFT: There are eight players on the Rattler opening day roster – all pitchers – selected by Seattle in the 2007 draft: Aumont (1^st), Bryan Harris (22^nd), Donnie Hume (8^th), Shawn Kelley (13^th), Keith Meyer (15^th), Ryan Moorer (12^th), Travis Mortimore (21^st), and Jake Wild (26^th).

THAT CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON: The Peoria Mariners, Seattle’s Arizona League affiliate, won the league with an 8-5 victory over the Giants in the championship game. Jake Wild was the winning pitcher and struck out 14 in the game. There are five current Timber Rattlers who played for the AZL M’s last season.

FIRST TIME SINCE 2002: This is the first time the Timber Rattlers have opened a season on the road since the 2002 season. Wisconsin opened their schedule that season in Beloit.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Quad Cities River Bandits are the Midwest League affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. In 2007, they were known as the Swing of the Quad Cities. This past off-season, they reverted back to River Bandits for the first time since the end of the 2003 season. The Swing went 78-61 in 2007 and made the playoffs as the second half wild card. Quad Cities lost in the first round of the playoffs. Steve Dillard is the new manager of the River Bandits. The name and the manager aren’t the only new things in Davenport, Iowa. The ballpark had been known as John O’Donnell Stadium. It is now Modern Woodmen Park.

2007 SEASON SERIES: The Timber Rattlers were 6-10 vs. the Swing last season. Wisconsin was 4-4 in eight games at John O’Donnell Stadium in 2007.

PROSPECTING: Baseball America’s Prospect handbook places three current River Bandits on their Top 30 Cardinal Prospect lists. Shortstop Pete Kozma, the 18^th overall pick in the 2007 draft, is the highest rated Bandit on the list at #7. Pitcher Blake King, a member of the Swing in 2007, checks in at #26. Catcher Luis De La Cruz is #30.

OUT OF THE DRAFT: Eleven members of the River Bandits were selected by St. Louis in the 2007 draft: Pitchers Brian Broderick (21^st), Thomas Eager (5^th), and JD Stambaugh (25^th); infielders Andrew Brown (18^th), Kozma (1^st), Charlie Pelt (29^th); and outfielders Matthew Arburr (17^th), Adron Chambers (38^th), Charlie Kingery (22^nd), and Beau Riportella (10^th)

VETERANS: There are three players on the 2008 opening day River Bandit roster that played in the Midwest League last season. Pitchers Shaun Garceau and King are joined by infielder Jose Garcia.

WHERE ELSE: The rest of the current River Bandit roster played at either Johnson City (Appalachian League), Batavia (New York-Penn League), or both. Johnson City finished 28-40 and missed the Appy League playoffs. Batavia also missed the playoffs and went 31-43.

QUAD CITIES STARTER: Shaun Garceau was a 20^th round pick of the Cardinals in the 2005 draft out of Royal Palm Beach (FL) High School. He did not pitch in 2006 due to an injury. Last year he was 8-11 with 4.86ERA. He made 30 appearances (21 starts) and struck out 110 batters with only 51 strikeouts in 111 innings pitched. He faced Wisconsin four times last season with one start. Garceau was 2-1 with a 1.32ERA. In 13-2/3 innings, he struck out 18 and walked just three.