8/31/2009

Rattler rotation for remainder of '09 (UPDATED)

UPDATE: Nice job, Kyle in the comments. I was on the phone with Chris Hook when your comment popped on the blog. Were you listening?

Peralta will take Scarpetta's place in the rotation for Thursday.

WED: LHP Evan Frederickson

THU: RHP Wily Peralta
FRI: RHP Trey Watten

SAT: RHP Maverick Lasker
SUN: LHP Daniel Meadows
MON: Evan Frederickson

August 31, 2009: Starting lineup (UPDATED)

Josh Prince.........SS
Mike Brownstein.....2B
Brock Kjeldgaard....RF
Kyle Dhanani........3B
Jose Duran..........1B
Pete Fatse..........LF
Derrick Alfonso......C
Michael Vass........DH
Derrick McPhearson..CF

Maverick Lasker.....SP

Alfonso in for McCraw

August 31, 2009: Opposition Research

From the Game notes of the Kane County Cougars...


KC Pitchers in August
Allowed 290 hits in 263 innings
Allowed 10+ hits 15 times in 29 games
Allowed minimum of 7 hits in 24 of 29 games

August 31, 2009: Starting Pitcher

RHP MAVERICK LASKER: Selected by Milwaukee in the 5th round of the 2008 draft out of Sandra Day O’Connor High School in Phoenix, Arizona

LAST SEASON: Lasker did not pitch professionally in 2008. He was placed on the disabled list of the Arizona League affiliate of the Brewers in July and was not activated until September.

WHERE EAGLES DARE: Lasker’s team made it to the Arizona State Baseball Championship Game for Class 4A-I High Schools.

PRO DEBUT: Lasker made his first appearance as a professional as a reliever for the Arizona League Brewers on June 27, 2009 against the Angels. He pitched two innings, allowed two runs on two hits, walked two and struck out one in his relief appearance.

IN THE DESERT: Lasker went 5-1 with a 3.26ERA with Milwaukee’s Arizona League affiliate this season. He appeared in 13 games (one start) and struck out 39 while walking nine over 47 innings.

LAST START: Lasker made his first and only professional start on July 12 against the Arizona League affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. He allowed one run on five hits over six innings and got the victory. Lasker did not walk a batter and struck out four in that game.

VS. KANE COUNTY: Lasker is making his first ever appearance against the Cougars in his Midwest League debut.

VS. OAKLAND: Lasker made one relief appearance against the Arizona League affiliate of the Oakland Athletics this season. On August 11, he got the win with seven innings of shutout pitching. He did not walk a batter and struck out 10. Both were career highs for Lasker.

PROFESSIONAL BESTS:
INNINGS PITCHED: 7.0 (8/11 @AZL Athletics)
STRIKEOUTS: 10 (8/11 @AZL Athletics)

August 31, 2009: Game Notes

ABOUT SUNDAY: The Kane County Cougars beat the Timber Rattlers 6-5 in 10 innings. The Rattlers had a 5-1 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth inning, but the Cougars tied the game with four in the ninth and won on a bases loaded hit batsman in the tenth.

EARLY SUCCESS: The Rattlers erased an early 1-0 deficit with a run in the fourth inning on a bases loaded 6-4-3 double play. Wisconsin grabbed a 4-1 lead with three runs in the top of the sixth. Jose Duran’s RBI single was followed by an RBI triple from Kyle Dhanani. A throwing error on the play allowed Dhanani to score.

LOST GEM: Efrain Nieves pitched 5-2/3 innings and allowed one run on four hits in his first start since July 13. He walked one and struck out five.

INSURANCE: Derrick McPhearson’s RBI single in the top of the ninth gave Wisconsin at 5-1 lead.

NOT SO FAST: The first four Cougars reached in the bottom of the ninth against reliever Nick Tyson. Tyson, who had relieved Nieves in the sixth inning, allowed a leadoff single and three straight walks. Liam Ohlmann relieved Tyson and let three runs in on a pair of sacrifice flies and an error.

OUCH: The Cougars loaded the bases in the bottom of the tenth. A leadoff double, a sacrifice bunt, and two straight intentional walks put a Kane County runner on every base. Rigoberto Almonte relieved Ohlmann at this point and hit Conner Crumbliss with a 1-2 pitch to force in the winning run.

SEEMS LIKE OLD TIMES: The Cougars have beaten the Timber Rattlers three times in extra innings – twice at Elfstrom Stadium. The Cougars have three “walk-off” wins against the Rattlers in Geneva this season.

RUN, BROCK, RUN: Rattlers right fielder Brock Kjeldgaard had a single, a double, a pair of walks, two runs scored, and two stolen bases. Kjeldgaard has 12 steals this season.

ONE STREAK: The Rattlers have lost six straight games and are now a season low 15 games under the .500 mark.

ANOTHER STREAK: Wisconsin has lost their last nine games against the Cougars. The Timber Rattlers lost their final two games at Kane County in the first half of the season. The Cougars swept a four game series from the Rattlers at Time Warner Cable Field in early August. Kane County has won the first three game of this series.

A NEW ENTRY: The four run lead lost by the Rattlers yesterday was the largest lead they have lost in a game this season.

ONE MORE TIME: Yesterday was the third time on this road trip the Rattlers have been “walked off”. The Burlington Bees scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning on August 26 on an error. The Cougars scored the winning in the bottom of the tenth inning on a dropped infield fly on August 28.

IT’S OFFICIAL: Yesterday’s loss officially knocked the Rattlers out of the playoff picture. Wisconsin trails Wild Card leading Burlington by eight games with seven games to play. This marks the fourth straight season in which the Rattlers have missed the Midwest League post season.

PLAYER MOVES: Nieves was placed on the temporarily inactive list in preparation for his participation for Puerto Rico in the World Cup. Pitcher Maverick Lasker has joined the Timber Rattlers roster from the Arizona League.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Kane County Cougars are the Midwest League affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. Kane County is in the Midwest League playoffs as the first half champions of the Midwest League’s Western Division. The Cougars won the first half with a record of 41-29, one game ahead of Cedar Rapids and Clinton. They are 31-32 in the second half to give them an overall record of 72-61. Kane County is coming into this series after winning three of four from the Beloit Snappers in a home series.

SEASON SERIES: The Timber Rattlers are 6-12 against Kane County in 2009. Wisconsin is 3-7 against the Cougars at Elfstrom Stadium.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .237 as a team. They have scored 525 runs (4.0/game) and hit 59 home runs. The Cougars are hitting .243 as a team. They have scored 571 runs (4.3/game) and hit 78 homers. Wisconsin pitchers have a team ERA of 4.28 while allowing a total of 650 runs (4.9/game). Kane County pitchers have a team ERA of 3.66 while allowing 563 runs (4.2/game). The Timber Rattler defense has committed 155 errors. The Cougars defense has committed 167 errors. Wisconsin is 20-44 on the road this season. Kane County is 39-27 at home this season.

KANE COUNTY STARTING PITCHER: LHP Trey Barham was the 25th round pick of the Oakland Athletics in the 2008 MLB entry draft out of Virginia Military Institute. In 2008, he was 4-4 with a 3.46 ERA in 20 appearances (seven starts) for the Vancouver Canadians, Oakland’s affiliate in the Northwest League. Prior to this evening, Barham has pitched exclusively out of the bullpen in 2009. He is 4-0 with a save and a 1.47ERA in 25 relief appearances since joining the Cougars in late May. In his appearance prior to tonight, Barham tossed 1-1/3 scoreless and hitless innings against the Rattlers at Elfstrom Stadium on August 28. This is Barham’s sixth appearance against the Timber Rattlers this season. He has no record and a save with a 2.25ERA. In 7-2/3 innings against Wisconsin, Barham has allowed two runs on six hits with three walks and seven strikeouts. His longest outing of 2009 was on June 16 against Cedar Rapids. In that game, Barham went 3-1/3 shutout innings without allowing a hit. He walked one Kernel and struck out five in that game.

August 31, 2009: Transactions

The latest.

LHP Efrain Nieves has been placed on the Temporary Inactive list as of (8/31). Nieves will be joining team Puerto Rico for the IBF (International Baseball Federation) tournament.

RHP Maverick Lasker has been transferred from Arizona to Wisconsin and will be active for tonight’s game (8/31) vs Kane County.

Also, Lasker is getting the start tonight in Kane County. There are more changes to the Timber Rattlers rotation that will be handled in a different post later today.

Also, this isn't a Timber Rattlers transaction, but I just received word that Trey Barham is getting the start for Kane County instead of Murphy Smith.

Rattler Alumni Report: AAA and AA Games of August 30, 2009

AAA:

PCL:

Tacoma:
Matt Tuiasosopo ('05): 1-for-4
Mike Wilson ('05): 2-for-4, RBI
Oswaldo Navarro ('05): 1-for-4, RBI

AA:

Eastern League:

Akron:
BOBBY! Livingston ('03): 7.2IP, 9H, 5R, 2K, Loss

Southern League:

West Tennessee:
Greg Halman ('07): 0-for-3
Marshall Hubbard ('05): 0-for-4
Johan Limonta ('06): 0-for-4

Rattler Alumni Report: MLB Games of August 30, 2009

New York (AL):
Alex Rodriguez (Foxes, '94): 1-for-2
Damaso Marte ('96): .1IP, 0H, 0R

Cleveland:
Asdrubal Cabrera ('05): 1-for-3
Shin-soo Choo ('02): 2-for-4, RBI
Luis Valbuena ('06): 0-for-4

Boston:
David Ortiz ('96): 1-for-3

Seattle:
Michael Saunders ('06): 0-for-3
Ryan Rowland-Smith ('03): 8IP, 5H, 3R, BB, 7K, Loss
Shawn Kelley ('08): IP, 0H, 0R, K

Cincinnati:
Wladimir Balentien ('04): 0-for-3

Pittsburgh:
Ramon Vazquez ('97): 0-for-1

St. Louis:
Ryan Franklin (Foxes, '94): 1.1IP, H, 0R, BB, K, SAVE #35

Atlanta:
Rafael Soriano ('00): IP, H, 0R, BB, 2K

Philadelphia:
Raul Ibanez (Foxes, '94): 0-for-1, RUN, 3 BBs.

Midwest League Action: Games of August 30, 2009

Complete scoreboard

@Kane County 6, Wisconsin 5 (10 innings): Cougars version | Rattlers version

@Dayton 8, Lansing 2: ...one day after the Dragons experimented with using one bat in a game against Lansing, they went back to their usual practice of every man using his own bat.

@Great Lakes 4, South Bend 2: Looooons version | Silver Hawks version

Fort Wayne 3, @West Michigan 1;
@West Michigan 4, Fort Wayne 0:
West Michigan Whitecaps pitcher Luke Putkonen was scheduled to start the first game of a doubleheader Sunday against the Fort Wayne TinCaps.

But the right-hander lasted just one pitch before the umpires mistakenly removed him from the game because of a lineup snafu, beginning what would prove to be an eventful day for the Whitecaps, who dropped the opening game 3-1 before taking the nightcap 4-0.
Bonus Excerpt
The umpires removed Putkonen just one pitch into the game because DePastino mistakenly used the lineup card intended for Saturday's rainout, which listed listed Robert Waite as the starting pitcher.

But DePastino forgot to change cards when he decided to start Pukonen on Sunday, and the umpires ordered Putkonen off the mound.

However, that ruling apparently was a mistake. Rule 3.05 (c) of the baseball rulebook states:

"Improper pitcher becomes the proper pitcher as soon as he makes his first pitch to the batter."

According to that rule, umpires Brett Taylor and Shaylor Smith should not have forced Putkonen to leave.
@Clinton 5, Quad Cities 0;
@Quad Cities 2, Clinton 1: LumberKings version | River Bandits version

Burlington 8 @Beloit 5;
@Beloit 2, Burlington 1: Snappers version | Bees Version

Milwaukee Brewers Report: Games of August 30, 2009

MILWAUKEE (MAJ: 64-66; 3rd National League Central): The Brewers beat Pittsburgh 4-1. Milwaukee broke a 1-1 tie with three runs in the fifth inning. Jeff Suppan allowed eight hits and one run for the win.

NASHVILLE (AAA: 71-65; T-2nd Pacific Coast League American North Division): The Sounds beat Round Rock 7-3. Nashville scored six runs in the fourth inning to rally from an early 2-0 deficit.

HUNTSVILLE (AA: 63-67 overall, 25-36 second half; 4th Southern League North Division): The Stars were rained out in Birmingham. The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader tonight.

BREVARD COUNTY (High-A: 76-46 overall, 36-22 second half; 2nd Florida State League North Division): The Manatees lost 7-2 at Tampa.

HELENA (SHORT SEASON ROOKIE: 27-36; 7-18 second half; T-3rd Pioneer League North Division): The Brewers lost 9-2 at Great Falls.

BREWERS SYSTEM SCHEDULE TODAY
Milwaukee – OFF DAY
Memphis (PJ Walters 7-10) at Nashville (Mike Jones 1-1) 6:00pm CDT
Huntsville at Birmingham 5:05pm CDT
Huntsville at Birmingham – Game two
Brevard County – OFF DAY
Helena (Del Howell 0-0) at Great Falls (Jimmy Ballinger 1-0) 8:00pm CDT
AZL Brewers – Season over 25-31

8/30/2009

August 30, 2009: Starting lineup

Josh Prince.........SS
Mike Brownstein.....2B
Brock Kjeldgaard....RF
John Delaney........3B
Jose Duran..........DH
Kyle Dhanani........1B
Sean McCraw..........C
Erik Miller.........CF
Derrick McPhearson..LF

Efrain Nieves.......SP*

*-RJ Seidel is now scheduled to pitch against Cedar Rapids on Wednesday.

August 30, 2009: Opposition Research

From the game notes of the Kane County Cougars...

The Cougars haven't been at .500 [in the second half] since August 6 hgen they were 20-20.

Paul Smyth (0.00); Trey Barham (1.38), and A.J. Huttenlocker (1.04) are the only Kane County pitchers with a sub-3.00 ERA in August.

August 30, 2009: Today's starting pitcher

*LHP EFRAIN NIEVES: Selected by Milwaukee in the 7th round of the 2007 draft out of Puerto Rico Baseball Academy.

LAST SEASON: Nieves went 6-3 with a 4.48 ERA in 16 games (11 starts) at Helena. He walked 10 and struck out 66 over 76-1/3 innings.

AMONG THE LEADERS: Nieves was fifth in the Pioneer League in innings pitched and fifth in the Pioneer League in wins.

STREAKING: Nieves won four consecutive decisions between June 22 and July 13, 2008.

AWARD WINNING: Nieves was the Pioneer League Pitcher of the Week for his performances July 7-13.

WHAT A GAME! Nieves tossed eight innings without allowing a run and striking out nine at Great Falls on August 25. He retired the side in order in the first inning. The Voyagers picked up a leadoff double in the second inning. Then, Nieves retired the next 21 batters in a row.

WORKING VACATION: Nieves pitched for Arecibo in the Puerto Rican Winter League during the off season.

RATED: Baseball America ranked Nieves as the #23 prospect in the Milwaukee Brewer organization before the 2009 season.

LAST APPEARANCE: Nieves pitched in relief on August 25 at Burlinton to conclude the suspended game from July 7. He pitched three innings and allowed one run on four hits. Nieves was charged with the loss in the 2-1 Burlington victory.

LAST START: Nieves beat the South Bend Silver Hawks at Time Warner Cable Field on July 13. He allowed one run on four hits over five innings with three walks and seven strikeouts.

VS. KANE COUNTY: Nieves has faced the Cougars three times this season – all as a reliever. He has tossed a total of 6-2/3 innings, allowed three runs on nine hits, walked three, and struck out nine. Nieves has not been involved in a decision in his three appearances against the Cougars.

PROFESSIONAL BESTS:
INNINGS PITCHED: 8.0 (8/25/08 at Great Falls)
STRIKEOUTS: 9 (8/25/08 at Great Falls)

*-RJ Seidel, Sunday's originally scheduled starting pitcher, will start on Wednesday at home against Cedar Rapids.

August 30, 2009: Game Notes

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Kane County Cougars beat the Timber Rattlers 5-1. Mathieu Leblanc-Poirier allowed an unearned run on one hit over six innings for the win.

TAKING ADVANTAGE: The Rattlers scored a run in the first inning on three errors and a wild pitch. Brock Kjeldgaard reached on a two out error, went to second on a wild pitch and made third on a throwing error. An error on a John Delaney grounder allowed Kjeldgaard to score for a 1-0 lead.

EVEN: Kane County tied the game in the bottom of the first. Conner Crumbliss tripled to start the inning. He scored on a wild pitch.

BACK-TO-BACK: The Cougars grabbed a 2-1 lead with back-to-back doubles by Jeremy Barfield and Petey Paramore in the bottom of the fourth.

PAIN IN THE NECK: Paramore is 16-for-47 (.340) with seven RBI against the Timber Rattlers. He is hitting .235 with 35 RBI versus the entire Midwest League.

ONE STREAK: The Rattlers have lost five straight games and are now a season low 14 games under the .500 mark.

ANOTHER STREAK: Wisconsin has lost their last eight games to the Cougars. The Timber Rattlers lost their final two games against Kane County in the first half of the season. The Cougars swept a four game series from the Rattlers at Time Warner Cable Field in early August. Kane County has won the first two games of this series.

ADD ONE MORE: Last night was the 24th time this season the Rattlers have been held to one run. Wisconsin is 3-21 in those games.

REALLY? Cody Scarpetta was the losing pitcher last night as he allowed two runs on five hits over four innings. It was his eleventh loss of the season. In six of those 11 losses, the Timber Rattlers offense has scored one run (four times) or been shutout (twice).

IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING: In other Midwest League Western Division action last night: Burlington lost at Beloit; Clinton beat Quad Cities; and Cedar Rapids beat Peoria. The current Western Division Wild Card standings after last night:

CLUB..W..L..PCT..GB
BUR..30.30..500..--
CLN..26.32..448..3.0
BEL..26.35..426..4.5
QC...25.35..417..5.0
WIS..23.38..377..7.5

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Kane County Cougars are the Midwest League affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. Kane County is in the Midwest League playoffs as the first half champions of the Midwest League’s Western Division. The Cougars won the first half with a record of 41-29, one game ahead of Cedar Rapids and Clinton. They are 30-32 in the second half to give them an overall record of 71-61. Kane County is coming into this series after winning three of four from the Beloit Snappers in a home series.

SEASON SERIES: The Timber Rattlers are 6-11 against Kane County in 2009. Wisconsin is 3-6 against the Cougars at Elfstrom Stadium.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .237 as a team. They have scored 520 runs (4.0/game) and hit 59 home runs. The Cougars are hitting .243 as a team. They have scored 565 runs (4.3/game) and hit 78 homers. Wisconsin pitchers have a team ERA of 4.29 while allowing a total of 644 runs (4.9/game). Kane County pitchers have a team ERA of 3.67 while allowing 558 runs (4.2/game). The Timber Rattler defense has committed 154 errors. The Cougars defense has committed 166 errors. Wisconsin is 20-43 on the road this season. Kane County is 38-27 at home this season.

KANE COUNTY STARTING PITCHER: RHP Shawn Haviland was selected by Oakland in the 33rd round of the 2008 draft out of Harvard. He went 2-6 with two saves and an ERA of 5.46 in 13 games (8 starts) in his final year with the Crimson. Haviland was 2-3 with a 3.48ERA and 61 strikeouts in 54-1/3 innings over 18 innings (9 starts) for Vancouver in the Northwest League in 2008. Haviland is 6-10 with a 4.43ERA with the Cougars in 26 starts this season. In his start prior to this afternoon, Haviland got a no decision against Beloit on August 25. He gave up four runs on seven hits over 5-2/3 innings. Haviland has faced the Timber Rattlers four times and is 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA against Wisconsin this season. In 24 innings, he has allowed seven runs (six earned) on 21 hits and seven walks. Haviland has struck out 19 Timber Rattlers batters this season. In his last start against Wisconsin, Haviland got a no decision on August 4 at Time Warner Cable Field. He gave up one run on eight hits over six innings.

Rattler Alumni report: AAA and AA Games of August 29, 2009

AAA:

PCL:

Tacoma:
Matt Tuiasosopo ('05): 1-for-4, 2RBI
Mike Wilson ('05): 0-for-3
Bryan LaHair ('04): 0-for-4
Adam Moore ('06): 1-for-4
Oswaldo Navarro ('05): 3-for-3, 2 RUNS
Denny Stark ('97): 2IP, 2H, R, 2BBs
Justin Thomas ('06): IP, 0H, 0R, BB, 2K

AA:

Southern League:

West Tennessee:
Greg Halman ('07): 0-for-5
Marshall Hubbard ('05): 2-for-4, 2RBI
Johan Limonta ('06): 1-for-5

Birmingham:
Robbie Hudson('06): 0-for-2, 2 RUNS, RBI

Huntsville:
Brett Lawrie ('09): 0-for-5
Taylor Green ('09): 2-for-5, RUN, RBI
Lorenzo Cain ('09): 1-for-3
Michael Garciaparra ('03): 1-for-3, RBI

Rattler Alumni Report: MLB Games of August 29, 2009

Kansas City:
Gil Meche ('98): 4IP, 8H, 7R, K, Loss

Seattle:
Rob Johnson ('05): 1-for-3, RUN, 2RBI, HR #2

New York (AL):
Alex Rodriguez (Foxes, '94): 2-for-5, 2 RUNS, 2RBI, HR #23

Boston:
David Oriz ('96): 0-for-4

Cleveland:
Asdrubal Cabrera ('05): 2-for-5
Shin-soo Choo ('02): 0-for-5
Luis Valbuena ('06): 1-for-3, 2 RUNS

Baltimore:
Adam Jones ('04): 0-for-3, RUN
Chris Tillman ('07): 5IP, 6H, R, 2K

Washington:
Jorge Sosa ('01): IP, 3H, 2R, K

Philadelphia:
Raul Ibanez (Foxes, '94): 0-for-4

Cincinnati:
Wladimir Balentien ('04): 1-for-4

Pittsburgh:
Ramon Vazquez ('97): 0-for-1

Midwest League Action: Games of August 29, 2009

Complete scoreboard

@Kane County 5, Wisconsin 1: Cougars version | Rattlers version

@Dayton 10, Lansing 6: For six straight games, they went to the plate as if lugging the entire bat rack with them. On Saturday, Aug. 29, for the most part, the Dragons used just one bat, batter after batter after batter.

@Great Lakes 6, South Bend 0:
Rain may have driven away some of the 5,000-plus fans at Dow Diamond on Saturday, but nothing could dampen the Great Lakes Loons’ spirits after their milestone win.

Behind yet another brilliant outing by Loons’ pitchers, Great Lakes shut out the South Bend SilverHawks 6-0 to clinch the first playoff berth in franchise history.

Following the final out in the top of the ninth, the Loons celebrated in style — with a victory lap around the infield, playoff T-shirts, plenty of champagne, and even a new hair style for their skipper.
@Clinton 10, Quad Cities 3: LumberKings version | River Bandits version

Peoria 11 @Cedar Rapids 1: “I don’t really know what’s going on,” said Chaffee, who has given up 19 runs, 18 earned, in 10 innings over his last three starts, ballooning his ERA from 3.14 to 4.32. “I’ve never gone through this before. I’ve never given up 10 runs in a game before. I’m working. All you can do is try to work through it and, hopefully, stuff will work out.”

@Beloit 5, Burlington 2: Snappers version | Bees version

Fort Wayne @ West Michigan: PPD...But, if you really need a Whitecaps fix for today, go to this story about "The Flag Guy" at Fifth Third Ballpark.

Milwaukee Brewers Report: Games of August 29, 2009

MILWAUKEE (MAJ: 63-66; 3rd National League Central): The Brewers beat Pittsburgh 7-3. Milwaukee broke a 3-3 tie with two runs in the sixth inning.

NASHVILLE (AAA: 70-65; T-2nd Pacific Coast League American North Division): The Sounds beat Round Rock 5-4. Nashville scored five runs in the fourth inning, four of the runs scored on a grand slam by Hernan Iribarren.

HUNTSVILLE (AA: 63-67 overall, 25-36 second half; 4th Southern League North Division): The Stars lost 7-6 at Birmingham. Huntsville rallied from a 6-0 deficit to tie the game. But, the Barons scored a run in the bottom of the ninth inning for the win.

BREVARD COUNTY (High-A: 76-45 overall, 36-21 second half; 2nd Florida State League North Division): The Manatees beat Tampa 9-2. Alex Periard (’09): allowed two runs over five innings and gave up four hits for the win.

HELENA (SHORT SEASON ROOKIE: 27-35; 7-17 second half; T-3rd Pioneer League North Division): The Brewers lost 6-0 to Great Falls. Helena had three hits in the game.

AZL BREWERS (ROOKIE: 25-31; 13-15 second half; T-3rd Arizona League East Division): The Brewers lost 3-2 to the Athletics in the final game of the season.

BREWERS SYSTEM SCHEDULE TODAY
Pittsburgh (Ross Ohlendorf 11-8) at Milwaukee (Jeff Suppan 5-8) 1:05pm CDT
Nashville at Round Rock 7:05pm CDT
Huntsville at Birmingham 6:05pm CDT
Brevard County at Tampa 12:00pm CDT
Helena (Eric Arnett 0-3) at Great Falls (Terry Doyle 4-1) 5:00pm CDT
AZL Brewers – Season over

8/29/2009

August 29, 2009: Starting Lineup

Josh Prince.......SS
Mike Brownstein...2B
Brock Kjeldgaard..RF
John Delaney......3B
Pete Fatse........LF
Jose Duran........1B
Derrick Alfonso....C
Michael Vass......DH
Erik Miller.......CF

Cody Scarpetta....SP

August 29, 2009: Opposition Research

From the game notes of the Kane County Cougars...

Kane County's record in series in 2009:

............W..L Split
1st half:..13..4...3
2nd half:...5.11...3

Kane County hasn't homered in a season-high nine games. Their last homer was by Steve Parker on August 18 in Burlington in a 14-1 loss.

The Cougars, at 10-6, have clinched the season series from the Timber Rattlers for the fourth season in a row.

August 29, 2009: Tonight's pitcher

RHP CODY SCARPETTA: Selected by Milwaukee in the 11th round of the 2007 draft out of Guilford (IL) High School.

LAST SEASON: Scarpetta started his first pro season with the Arizona League affiliate of the Brewers. He went 1-0 in six games (five starts) with a 0.57ERA and struck out 27 with eight walks over 15-2/3 innings. He did not allow a run over his final 15 innings in the Arizona League. Scarpetta was 1-0 with a 3.48 ERA in six games (three starts) after being promoted to Helena. Struck out 31 and walked eight in 20-2/3 innings for the Brewers.

FAMILY AFFAIR: Scarpetta’s father Dan was drafted by Milwaukee in the 3rd round of the 1982 draft and pitched in the Brewer organization from 1982-1983 and 1985-1988.

ONE OF 40: Scarpetta is on Milwaukee’s 40-Man Roster

BASEBALL IN PARADISE: Scarpetta pitched for the West Oahu CaneFires in Hawaii Winter Baseball after the 2008 regular season.

RATED: Baseball America ranked Scarpetta as the #15 prospect in the Milwaukee Brewer organization before the 2009 season.

SECOND HALF: Scarpetta is 3-4 in 11 games (eight starts) with a 2.85 ERA in the second half of the season.

SPLIT: Scarpetta is 3-5 with a 1.63 ERA in 16 games (11 starts) at Time Warner Cable Field this season. He is 1-5 in nine games (six starts) with an 7.76 ERA on the road.

LAST START: Scarpetta lost at Burlington on August 24. he allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits over six innings with three walks and six strikeouts.

VS. KANE COUNTY: Scarpetta is 0-3 in three starts against the Cougars this season. In 14-1/3 innings, he has allowed nine runs (eight earned) on 17 hits and 10 walks. Scarpetta has struck out 12 Cougars batters. He lost at Kane County on May 22. His other two starts against the Cougars have been at Time Warner Cable Field.

PROFESSIONAL BESTS:
INNINGS PITCHED: 6.0 IP (6x: Last vs. Beloit 8/18/09)
STRIKEOUTS: 10 (2x - 8/2/08 vs. AZL Athletics & 4/22/09 vs. Peoria)

August 29, 2009: Game Notes

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Kane County Cougars beat the Timber Rattlers 4-3 in 10 innings. The Cougars scored the winning run after a dropped pop up on an infield fly rule.

EARLY OFFENSE: Wisconsin scored single runs in the first, third, and fourth innings. An error in the first inning allowed Mike Brownstein to score in the first. Kyle Dhanani’s RBI single in the third and Derrick McPhearson’s RBI single in the fourth accounted for the runs for Wisconsin. The Cougars scored all three of their runs in the third inning. Three one-out walks loaded the bases and a two-out hit batsman forced in a run. An infield single and a throwing error put the other two runs across the plate in the inning.

DOING THE JOB: Rattlers reliever Rigoberto Almonte got the final out of the bottom of the third inning and tossed a scoreless fourth. Then, Wily Peralta pitched three scoreless and hitless innings. Brandon Ritchie also worked a scoreless and hitless seventh and eighth innings.

OTHER SIDE: Trey Barham, Justin Murray, and Paul Smyth combined to pitch 5-1/3 hitless and scoreless innings out of the Kane County bullpen.

ANATOMY OF A RALLY: Nino Leyja and Leonardo Gil had back-to-back singles off Ritchie to start the bottom of the ninth. A sacrifice bunt moved both runners up. Ritchie walked Mike Spina intentionally to load the bases with one out to face Franklin Hernandez with the Rattlers infield in on the grass and the outfield playing shallow.

THE PLAY: Hernandez swung at the first pitch and popped the ball up to just behind where the second baseman usually would play. The infield fly was called as Pete Fatse charged in from right and Hernandez as automatically out. But, Fatse could not make the catch and Leyja raced home with the winning run.

AFTER ACTION REPORT: There was a scoring change to the play earlier today. Fatse has been charged with an error and the run scored against Ritchie is now unearned


WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN: In the top of the first inning, the Rattlers had a runner picked off first for the first out and a runner thrown out at the plate for the third out.

EXTRA! EXTRA! Wisconsin is 3-3 in extra innings. They are 0-2 against the Cougars in extra innings this season.

FIVE: Last night was the fifth time Wisconsin has been “walked-off” this season. The other games were: April 25 at Quad Cities; May 21 at Kane County; August 7 at Peoria; and August 26 at Burlington.

IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING: In other Midwest League Western Division action last night, Clinton’s game with Quad Cities and Burlington’s game at Beloit were postponed due to wet grounds. Cedar Rapids beat Peoria. The current Western Division Wild Card standings after last night:

CLUB..W...L...PCT..GB
BUR..30..29...508..--
CLN..25..32...439..4.0
QC...25..34...424..5.0
BEL..25..35...417..5.5
WIS..23..37...383..7.5

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Kane County Cougars are the Midwest League affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. Kane County is in the Midwest League playoffs as the first half champions of the Midwest League’s Western Division. The Cougars won the first half with a record of 41-29, one game ahead of Cedar Rapids and Clinton. They are 29-32 in the second half to give them an overall record of 70-61. Kane County is coming into this series after winning three of four from the Beloit Snappers in a home series.

SEASON SERIES: The Timber Rattlers are 6-10 against Kane County in 2009. Wisconsin is 3-5 against the Cougars at Elfstrom Stadium.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .238 as a team. They have scored 519 runs (4.0/game) and hit 59 home runs. The Cougars are hitting .242 as a team. They have scored 560 runs (4.3/game) and hit 78 homers. Wisconsin pitchers have a team ERA of 4.29 while allowing a total of 639 runs (4.9/game). Kane County pitchers have a team ERA of 3.69 while allowing 557 runs (4.3/game). The Timber Rattler defense has committed 153 errors. The Cougars defense has committed 162 errors. Wisconsin is 20-42 on the road this season. Kane County is 37-27 at home this season.

KANE COUNTY STARTING PITCHER: RHP Mathieu Leblanc-Poirier was the 21st round pick of the Athletics in the 2008 draft out of College Ahuntsic in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Leblanc-Poirier made his professional debut with the Arizona League affiliate of the Athletics in 2008 and was 0-1 with a 7.89ERA in 11 games (two starts) covering 21-2/3 innings. Leblanc-Poirier also appeared in six games – all in relief – for the Vancouver Canadians of the Northwest League in 2009. He went 1-0 and had an ERA of 0.93 over 9-2/3 innings for the Canadians. Leblanc-Poirier started his 2009 campaign with the Stockton Ports of the California League in May and made 10 appearances (nine starts) for the Ports. He was 0-3 with a 5.88 ERA and had 28 strikeouts and 24 walks in 46-1/3 innings. Leblanc-Poirier joined the Cougars in the second half of the season and is 3-7 in 12 games (11 starts). In his start prior to tonight, Leblanc-Poirier allowed one unearned run in five innings at Beloit on August 24 and received a no decision. He beat the Rattlers on August 3 at Time Warner Cable Field. Leblanc-Poirier allowed one run on six hits over 5-2/3 innings with a walk and five strikeouts.

Rattler Alumni report: AAA and AA Games of August 28, 2009

AAA:

PCL:

Tacoma:
Matt Tuiasosopo ('05): 2-for-5, 2 RUNS, 2 RBI, HR #9 & #10
Bryan LaHair ('04): 0-for-3
Mike Wilson ('05): 1-for-4, RUN, RBI, HR #5
Adam Moore ('06): 1-for-4
Oswaldo Navarro ('05): 1-for-2, RUN

AA:

Southern League:

West Tennessee:
Greg Halman ('07): 2-for-4, RUN, 2 RBI, HR #25
Marshall Hubard ('05): 0-for-5
Johan Limonta ('06): 0-for-2
Robert Rohrbaugh ('05): 4IP, 6H, 4R, 3BB, 4K
Mumba Rivera ('05): 2IP, 0H, 0R
Kyle Parker ('07): 2IP, 2H, R, K
Anthony Varvaro ('07): .1IP, H, R, BB, Loss

Birmingham:
Robbie Hudson ('06): 1-for-4

Huntsville:
Brett Lawrie ('09): 1-for-5, RUN
Taylor Green ('09): 2-for-4, 2 RUNS, RBI
Lorenzo Cain ('09): 2-for-4
Jim Henderson ('09): IP, 3H, 0R

Rattler Alumni Report: MLB Games of August 28, 2009

Cleveland:
Asdrubal Cabrera ('05): 2-for-4, RUN
Shin-soo Choo ('02): 2-for-4
Luis Valbuena ('06): 1-for-5, RUN

Los Angeles (AL):
Brian Fuentes ('97): .2IP, 0H, 0R, SAVE #37

Seattle:
Michael Saunders ('06): 0-for-1
Rob Johnson ('05): 0-for-4
Felix Hernandez ('03): 7IP, 5H, 3R, 6K, WIN #13

Boston:
David Ortiz ('96): 1-for-3, 2 RUNS

New York (AL):
Alex Rodriguez (Foxes, '94): 1-for-4

Chicago (AL):
Matt Thornton ('00): 2IP, 0H, 0R, 3K

Philadelphia:
Raul Ibanez (Foxes, '94): 1-for-4, RUN

Atlanta:
Eric O'Flaherty ('05): 2IP, H, 0R, BB, 2K

Midwest League Action: Games of August 28, 2009

Complete scoreboard

@Kane County 4, Wisconsin 3 (10 innings): Timber Rattlers version | Cougars version

Lansing 5 @Dayton 1: “Considering that we’re winding down the games here, I thought we would have come out more inspired,” Dragons manager Todd Benzinger said, “but we didn’t.”

@Great Lakes 8, South Bend 0: Following an 8-0 win over South Bend at Dow Diamond on Friday — and Dayton’s 5-1 loss to Lansing — the Loons’ magic number is down to one. Either a Loons’ win or a Dayton loss tonight will seal a postseason bid for Great Lakes.

@West Michigan 8, Fort Wayne 5: "We came out swinging, and it was good to see, especially early," Whitecaps manager Joe DePastino said. "Guys in the top of the lineup got pitches they could handle, pitches they were looking for, and we put good at-bats together early on. That was the key tonight."

@Cedar Rapids 8, Peoria 3: Kernels version | Chiefs version

Quad Cities @ Clinton: PPD

Burlington @ Beloit: PPD

Milwaukee Brewers Report: Games of August 28, 2009

MILWAUKEE (MAJ: 62-66; T-3rd National League Central): The Brewers beat Pittsburgh 8-6. Prince Fielder homered in a five run first inning and Milwaukee held on for the win.

NASHVILLE (AAA: 69-65; T-2nd Pacific Coast League American North Division): The Sounds won 8-2 at Round Rock. Tim Dillard pitched eight innings for his eleventh win of the season. JJ Hardy drove in two runs.

HUNTSVILLE (AA: 63-66 overall, 25-35 second half; 4th Southern League North Division): The Stars won 8-6 at Birmingham. The Stars scored five runs in the fifth inning to break a 3-3 tie.

BREVARD COUNTY (High-A: 75-45 overall, 35-21 second half; 2nd Florida State League North Division): The Manatees won their suspended game against Tampa from July 7 3-2. Brevard County lost the regularly scheduled game 5-1.

HELENA (SHORT SEASON ROOKIE: 27-34; 7-16 second half; T-3rd Pioneer League North Division): The Brewers lost 9-8 to Great Falls. The Voyagers scored four runs in the fourth inning to erase a 5-3 Helena lead.

AZL BREWERS (ROOKIE: 25-30; 13-14 second half; 3rd Arizona League East Division): The Brewers lost 3-0 to the Cubs.

BREWERS SYSTEM SCHEDULE TODAY
Pittsburgh (Kevin Hart 4-3) at Milwaukee (Yovani Gallardo 12-10) 6:05pm CDT
Nashville at Round Rock 7:05pm CDT
Huntsville at Birmingham 6:05pm CDT
Brevard County at Tampa 6:05pm CDT
Great Falls (Matt Wickswat 1-1) at Helena (Jake Odorizzi 1-2) 8:05pm CDT
AZL Brewers at AZL Athletics 9:00pm CDT

8/28/2009

August 28, 2009: Starting Linueup

Josh Prince.........SS
Mike Brownstein.....2B
Brock Kjeldgaard....1B
Kyle Dhanani........DH
Pete Fatse..........RF
John Delaney........3B
Sean McCraw..........C
Erik Miller.........CF
Derrick McPhearson..LF

Evan Frederickson...SP

August 28, 2009: Opposition research

From the game notes of the Kane County Cougars...

The Cougars hit 57 homers in the first half but have hit just 21 in 60 games in the 2nd half.

Franklin Hernandez (11-for-28, 3.93) owns a seven-game hitting streak, one shy of his longest of the season (April 19-27).

Cougars' record vs. opponent: 115-111
Cougars' record [vs. opponent] as an A's affiliate: 56-42

August 28, 2009: Tonight's pitchers

SCHEDULED STARTER

LHP EVAN FREDERICKSON: Selected by Milwaukee as a supplemental first round pick (35th overall) in the 2008 draft out of the University of San Francisco.

THE DON: Frederickson transferred to the University of San Francisco for his junior season. He was 5-3 with a 4.54 ERA in 15 games (14 starts) for the Diamond Dons. Frederickson walked 61 batters and struck out 109 over 75-1/3 innings for USF.

THE HOKIE: Frederickson began his college career at Virginia Tech. He compiled a 2-4 record and struck out 68 batters in 56-2/3 innings for the Hokies.

MY OLD SCHOOL: Frederickson was a two-time First Team All-Region and All-District selection as a high school player for Oakton (VA) High.

NOT A TWIN: The Minnesota Twins drafted Frederickson with a selection in the 27th round of the 2005 draft. He did not sign.

RATED: Baseball America ranked Frederickson as the #24 prospect in the Milwaukee Brewer organization before the 2009 season.

LAST SEASON: Frederickson began his pro career with three starts for Helena, the Pioneer League affiliate of the Brewers. He had no record, walked five and struck out 16 over 11-2/3 innings. Frederickson was promoted to West Virginia and wrapped up his season with the Power in the South Atlantic League by going 0-1 over nine games (four starts) with a 6.20 ERA. He struck out 18 and walked 26 in 20-1/3 innings for the Power

LAST APPEARANCE: Frederickson earned his second save with three scoreless innings against the Cedar Rapids Kernels on August 23 at Time Warner Cable Field. He allowed two hits, walked, two, and struck out three.

LAST START: On August 2, Frederickson took the loss against Quad Cities at Time Warner Cable Field. He allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits with five walks and five strikeouts over 4-1/3 innings.

VS. KANE COUNTY: Frederickson made one start against the Cougars this season. On August 20 at Elfstrom Stadium in the second game of a doubleheader, the Cougars scored two runs (one earned) on three hits and four walks over five innings to hand Fredrickson a loss.

PROFESSIONAL BESTS:
INNINGS PITCHED: 6.0 IP (6/9/09 vs. Beloit)
STRIKEOUTS: 7 (3x – Last: 4/10/09 vs. Quad Cities)

SCHEDULED RELIEVER

RHP WILY PERALTA: Signed by Milwaukee as a non-drafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic on November 26, 2005.

DEBUT SEASON: Peralta was 2-5 with a 6.63 ERA for the Arizona League affiliate of the Brewers in 2006. He made 14 appearances (six starts) in that season.

MISSING TIME: Peralta did not pitch in 2007 due to Tommy John surgery.

BACK ON THE HILL: Peralta started the 2008 season with Helena in the Pioneer League. He was 1-1 in 15 games (two starts) with a 3.07 ERA and 36 strikeouts over 29-1/3 innings pitched. Peralta also walked just eight batters in those games for Helena.

PROMOTED: Peralta made a pair of starts for West Virginia at the tail end of the 2008 season. He was 0-1 with a 10.80ERA for the power.

RANKING: Baseball America ranked Peralta as the #16 prospect in the Pioneer League after the 2008 season. Baseball America rates Peralta as the # 22 prospect in the Milwaukee Brewer system heading into the 2009 season.

IT’S AN HONOR: Peralta was named the Midwest League Pitcher of the Week on May 25. He made two appearances that totaled nine innings for the week ending May 24. Peralta did not allow a run, gave up just five hits, and struck out 17 in those two games.

ALL-STAR SEASON: Peralta was selected to participate in the Midwest League All-Star Game in Clinton. He pitched 1/3 of an inning in the game and struck out the only batter he faced.

LAST APPEARNANCE: Peralta made the start against the Cedar Rapids Kernels on August 23. He gave up three runs on five hits over 3-2/3 innings in a no decision at Time Warner Cable Field. He walked four and struck out three in the game.

VS. KANE COUNTY: Peralta pitched in relief against the Cougars at Elfstrom Stadium on June 20 in the second game of a doubleheader. He allowed one run on four hits over three innings with a walk and four strikeouts and picked up the victory.

PROFESSIONAL BESTS:
INNINGS PITCHED: 6.0 (4x – Last: vs. Peoria 6/26/09)
STRIKEOUTS: 10 (2x – Last: vs. Peoria 6/26/09)

August 28, 2009: Game Notes

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Timber Rattlers were trailing the Burlington Bees 4-0 in the top of the fourth inning. That’s when it began raining too hard for the game to continue. There was a one hour delay before the game was called. There will not be a make up date because last night was the final scheduled meeting of the season between the Rattlers and the Bees.

WHEW: Daniel Meadows was the starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers and he allowed four runs on seven hits with a pair of walks. Because of the rainout, those stats are wiped out.

WHEW #2: Burlington’s starting pitcher, Ivor Hodgson, had faced the minimum through 3-2/3 innings without allowing a hit. He had walked a batter to start the second inning, but an inning-ending double play ended the frame.

FIRST ONE: Last night was the first time the Rattlers have lost a game to the weather this season. Wisconsin had been on pace to play all 140 games on the schedule this season.

THAT’S A WRAP: The Bees won the season series from the Timber Rattlers. Wisconsin was 5-9 against Burlington this season, including 4-7 at Community Field.

IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING: In other Midwest League Western Division action last night, Clinton’s doubleheader at Cedar Rapids was rained out; Peoria beat Quad Cities; and Beloit beat Kane County. Peoria’s win combined with Clinton’s rain out clinched a playoff spot for the Chiefs. The current Western Division Wild Card standings after last night:

CLUB..W...L...PCT..GB
BUR..30..29...508..--
CLN..25..32...439..4.0
QC...25..34...424..5.0
BEL..25..35...417..5.5
WIS..23..36...390..7.0

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Kane County Cougars are the Midwest League affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. Kane County is in the Midwest League playoffs as the first half champions of the Midwest League’s Western Division. The Cougars won the first half with a record of 41-29, one game ahead of Cedar Rapids and Clinton. They are 28-32 in the second half to give them an overall record of 69-61. Kane County is coming into this series after winning three of four from the Beloit Snappers in a home series.

SEASON SERIES: The Timber Rattlers are 6-9 against Kane County in 2009. Wisconsin is 3-4 against the Cougars at Elfstrom Stadium.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .238 as a team. They have scored 516 runs (4.0/game) and hit 59 home runs. The Cougars are hitting .243 as a team. They have scored 556 runs (4.3/game) and hit 78 homers. Wisconsin pitchers have a team ERA of 4.30 while allowing a total of 635 runs (4.9/game). Kane County pitchers have a team ERA of 3.71 while allowing 554 runs (4.3/game). The Timber Rattler defense has committed 152 errors. The Cougars defense has committed 161 errors. Wisconsin is 20-41 on the road this season. Kane County is 36-27 at home this season.

PROSPECTING: Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook listed no current members of the Kane County roster on its list of top 30 prospects in the Oakland organization before the 2009 season.

OUT OF THE DRAFT 2009: The Cougars have six members of the 2009 Oakland draft class on their current roster. Infielder Steve Parker (5th) is the highest pick with Kane County. Others include: infielders Mike Spina (11th) and Connor Crumbliss (28th) and pitchers Murphy Smith (13th), Paul Smyth (35th), and AJ Huttenlocker (44th).

ALL-STARS: Kane County had seven players make the Western Division squad for the 2009 Midwest League All-Star game and five of those players were in the starting lineup. Steve Kleen (1B), Jason Christian (3B), Dusty Coleman (SS), Jeremy Barfield (DH), and Kenny Smalley (SP) made up a half of the starters for the West. Pitchers Shawn Haviland and Jamie Richmond were also 2009 MWL All-Stars. Of those seven players, only Barfield, Haviland, and Smalley are still on the active Kane County roster.

KANE COUNTY STARTING PITCHER: LHP Anvioris Ramirez was signed as a non-drafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic by the Athletics in 2005. Before joining the Cougars this season, Ramirez pitched in six games (three starts) for the Arizona League affiliate of the Athletics. He was 1-1 with a 4.56ERA. Since joining Kane County in late July, Ramirez has gone 4-2 with a 2.98ERA in six starts, including wins in his last three starts. In his outing before tonight, Ramirez tossed six scoreless innings and allowed six hits at Beloit on August 23. He walked one and struck out three in that game. Tonight is the first time Ramirez will face the Timber Rattlers. It is also the first time he will face an affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers.
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