ABOUT SUNDAY: The Timber Rattlers were shutout by Kane County 4-0. The loss ended Wisconsin’s season-high five-game winning streak. Scott Mitchinson and Chad Kerfoot combined on the four hit shutout. Larry Cobb led the Cougar offense with three hits and two-runs scored.
AUMONT UPDATE: Phillippe Aumont, the first round pick of the Seattle Mariners in the 2007 draft, made his first start on Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. He allowed a pair of runs (one earned) on four hits with two walks, two wild pitches, and three strikeouts over 4-2/3 innings. Aumont took the loss.
*DIRTY DOZEN: Mitchinson struck out nine Timber Rattlers over seven innings in the win. Kerfoot got three punch outs over the final two innings in his save.
COBB: The Cougar second baseman went 8-for-13 with a pair of doubles and four runs scored in three games against the Rattlers in the series.
**WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE: Three of Kane County’s runs scored on wild pitches with a runner at third base. Cobb scored in the first and third innings on wild pitches from Aumont. A Rob Harmon wild pitch in the ninth let Matt Ray score from third.
ODD COINCIDENCE: The Timber Rattlers went 9-3 on their just concluded homestand. All three losses during the stretch were by shutout. Cedar Rapids beat the Rattlers 5-0 on May 9; Burlington beat Wisconsin 1-0 in ten innings on May 12; and Kane County won 4-0 yesterday.
A FEW THEORIES: During the 9-3 stretch at home, the Rattler offense scored 45 runs (3.8/game); the pitchers allowed 31 runs (2.6/game); and the defense committed nine errors (0.8/game).
END OF A STREAK: An error charged to right-fielder Calvin Beamon in the third inning of Sunday’s game stopped a streak of five straight errorless games for the Rattlers. To put it another way, the Rattlers did not commit an error during their five-game winning streak.
***I DON'T LIKE MONDAYS: The Rattlers are 0-6 on Mondays this season.
THE ROAD AHEAD: Wisconsin embarks on a 12-game, 13-day road trip to Cedar Rapids, Peoria, and Kane County today. They will return home for an eight-game homestand June 1-8 against Peoria and Quad Cities.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Cedar Rapids Kernels are the Midwest League affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The Kernels were 78-61 last season and made the Midwest League playoffs as the second half Western Division champions. They were knocked out in the first round of the playoffs by the Clinton LumberKings. Keith Johnson is in his first year as Kernel manager.
SAME PLACE; NEW NAME: The Kernels still play at Veterans Memorial Stadium. But, they sold the naming rights this past off-season. This series will take place on Dale & Thomas Popcorn Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
KERNELS IN 2008: Cedar Rapids is currently 18-24 and in sixth place in the Midwest League Western Division, 12.5 games behind division leading Clinton. The Kernels are 8-10 on Dale & Thomas Popcorn Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium. Cedar Rapids has lost five straight, including being swept by Clinton in a just completed three-game series in Cedar Rapids.
THEY MIGHT BE GOING: The Kernels lead the Midwest League in stolen bases with 73. They also lead the league in attempts with 104.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .239 as a team and have scored 134 runs (3.4/game). Wisconsin has hit 10 home runs this season. The Timber Rattler pitching staff has a combined ERA of 3.27. The Kernels are hitting .219 as a team and has scored 178 runs (4.2/game). Cedar Rapids has hit 21 homers. The Kernels have a combined ERA of 3.88.
2007 SEASON SERIES: Wisconsin went 6-7 in thirteen games against the Kernels. The Rattlers were 4-3 in Cedar Rapids last season.
2008 SEASON SERIES: The teams met on Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium My 8-11. The Rattlers went 3-1.
PROSPECTING: Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook lists five members of the current Kernel roster on their list of the top 30 prospects in the Angel organization. Pitcher Jordan Walden is the highest ranked at #3. Catcher Anel de los Santos is at #10. The other Kernels on the list are pitcher Trevor Reckling (#16), shortstop Andrew Romine (#28), and outfielder Clay Fuller (#30).
OUT OF THE DRAFT: The Kernels have nine players from the 2007 Angel draft class on their current roster. The pitchers from last year’s draft are: Michael Anton (12th), Ryan Brasier (6th), Eddie McKiernan (17th), Trevor Reckling (8th), Jordan Towns (25th), and Jordan Walden (12th). Infielders Jay Brossman (36th), Efren Navarro (50th), and Andrew Romine (5th) are were also drafted by the Angels last season.
VETERANS: There are only two players on the current roster who spent time with the Kernels last season. Catcher Cody Collet and outfielder Julio Perez played for Cedar Rapids in 2007.
CEDAR RAPIDS STARTING PITCHER: Michael Anton was the 12th round pick of the Angels in the 2007 draft out of Virginia Military Institute. Anton did not pitch at VMI in 2006 or 2007 after going 1-6 in 24 games (11 starts) over the 2004 and 2005 seasons. He signed right after the ’07 draft and started out in the Arizona League. He went 5-3 with a 3.21ERA in 13 games (12 starts) for the Angels affiliate before being promoted to Orem of the Pioneer League. Anton went 0-1 with a 3.86ERA in two starts for the Owlz. His last start for the Kernels was a loss to Kane County on May 14 at Elfstrom Stadium. Anton allowed one run on five hits over 6-1/3 innings with two walks and four strikeouts. Anton was the starting pitcher against the Timber Rattlers on May 9 on Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. He pitched a complete game four-hit shutout with eight strikeouts in a 5-0 Kernel win. Anton was named the Midwest League Pitcher of the Week on May 12 after that shutout against the Timber Rattlers.
*-I love this movie.
**-This book is not challenging for me anymore
***-A case of the Mondays was too obvious. Plus, you can't go wrong with the Boomtown Rats
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