Midwest League Action (Games of 6/25)

UPDATE: Added links to stories.

June 25 scoreboard.

Wisconsin 12, @Cedar Rapids 11: Suspended in 6th

South Bend 5, @Dayton 1: Poor fielding this time.

@Fort Wayne 8, West Michigan 0: Lede of the year candidate! Wynn Pelzer wasn’t going to let a little thing like a line drive off his face slow him down.

@Lansing 2, Great Lakes 1: What a day for Jaspe.

@Clinton 8, Beloit 5: Good for the L-Kings. They are back in the win column.

@Quad Cities 6, Kane County 1: Everything clicked for the Bandits.

Peoria 3, @Burlington 1: Bees falter.

Mariner System Report (Games of 6/26)

UPDATED: Links added

SEATTLE (MAJ: 28-50 4th American League West): The Mariners lost 8-2 to the Mets in New York. Miguel Bautista allowed eight runs over 2-2/3 innings for the loss.

TACOMA (AAA: 40-38, 3rd Pacific Coast League Pacific Northern Division): The Rainiers were off on Wednesday.

WEST TENNESSEE (AA: 42-34, 3-5 T-4th Southern League North Division): The Diamond Jaxx lost 6-3 to Tennessee. Mike Wilson (’05) hit two more homers and drove in all three runs for the Diamond Jaxx, West Tennessee could not make up the difference.

HIGH DESERT (High-A: 36-40, 4-2 second half T-1st California League South Division): The Mavericks were off on Wednesday.

EVERETT (Short Season-A: 4-5, T-1st Northwest League Western Division): The AquaSox lost 4-3 to Boise. The Hawks scored three times in the top of the eighth innings to rally for the win.

PULASKI (Rookie: 6-3, 2nd Appalachian League East Division): The M’s lost 3-1 at Burlington. Kalian Sams (’07) homered for the only Pulaski run.

PEORIA (Rookie: 2-2, T-5th Arizona League): The AZL M’s beat the Brewers 7-5.

MARINER SYSTEM SCHEDULE TODAY
Seattle – OFF DAY
Salt Lake (Shane Loux 9-3) at Tacoma (Robert Rohrbaugh 6-5) 9:00pm CDT
Tennessee (Mitch Atkins 6-6) at West Tennessee (Anderson Garcia 0-0) 7:05am CDT
High Desert at Rancho Cucamonga 9:05pm CDT
Boise at Everett 9:00pm CDT
Pulaski at Kingston 6:00pm CDT
AZL Mariners – OFF DAY

This may not be good today

I got a late start and need to check out of the hotel in the next 15 minutes.

The frames of a few posts are going up next. Then, I'll fill them in if there is some WiFi at the mall.

Sounds like fun.

Pick it up tomorrow

I'm looking for a you tube video of Dirty Harry getting suspended in The Enforcer, but I don't have time to find it.

Suspended. Get it?

Geez, it's late.

Here is what the plan is:

Wednesday's game will be picked up in the top of the sixth inning with the Rattlers leading 12-11, a runner at second, one out, and Alex Liddi at the plate. This game will be played to its conclusion.

Then, after a 30 minute break, the regularly scheduled game will be played. It is scheduled for nine innings.

Maybe more later. Right now, I have a bus to catch.

Hold on

I was just asked if I knew what the Midwest League curfew was.

A quick google search reveals this:

It was 12:47 a.m. when Fryer went down swinging. The Midwest League curfew is 12:50. No inning can start after that.

That is part of a much longer and more interesting story about a race against the clock in Burlington, Iowa.

The Bees and Wizards were locked in a scoreless battle in the second game, racing against time, knowing one run would probably win this thing, the Wizards knowing one hit erases their unwanted spot in history, both knowing that the clock that also burned in red numbers in right–center field was telling them the Midwest League curfew would soon end this night if they didn't.

Rain Delay Theater

or, in the case of the pitchers tonight, Standing Eight Count Theater.

Anyway, here's a Tex Avery baseball cartoon.

Tonight's Rattler Starting Pitcher (6/25)

RHP NATHAN ADCOCK: Selected by the Mariners in the fifth round of the 2006 draft out of North Hardin (KY) High School.

LAST SEASON: Adcock started 2007 with the Timber Rattlers. He was 2-8 with a 3.70 ERA in 17 appearances (16 starts). Opponents scored 60 runs in 87-2/3 innings pitched, but only 36 of those runs were earned. He was promoted to High Desert on July 20 and went 1-3 with an 8.84 ERA in five starts. In his two stops in the Mariner system, Adcock struck out 77 and walked 60 in 106 innings.

LAST START: Adcock lost to Burlington on June 20. He allowed three runs on six hits over 6-1/3 innings in a 3-2 loss. Adcock walked two, struck out seven, and allowed six hits in the loss.

SCORELESS SKEIN: Adcock went 17-2/3 innings without allowing a run from the second inning of his start at Lansing on May 1 through two outs in the first inning of his start against Kane County on May 17.

VS. CEDAR RAPIDS: Adcock lost to the Kernels in Cedar Rapids on May 22. He allowed four runs on four hits over two innings. The Kernels beat the Timber Rattlers 6-0. Adcock walked two and struck out four in the game. Adcock also made a start against the Kernels in Cedar Rapids on April 15, 2007. He took the loss in that game, too. The Kernels got to Adcock for six runs (three earned) on four hits over four innings.

PROFESSIONAL BESTS:
INNINGS PITCHED: 7.1 (6/2/07 vs. Quad Cities)
STRIKEOUTS: 9 {3x} (Last: 6/13/08 @ Clinton)

June 25 Game Notes

ABOUT TUESDAY: The Rattlers lost 5-2 to Cedar Rapids. Tyler Johnson homered twice and Trevor Bell tossed a complete game for the Kernels.

IT’S BEEN AWHILE: The Rattlers scored twice in the first inning yesterday. Edilio Colina and Ron Garth had back-to-back RBI doubles off Bell. That was the first time the Rattlers have scored a first inning run since June 4. In the 16 games between June 4 and June 24, the Rattlers were outscored in the first inning 30-0.

BUT, STILL: The Rattlers went 8-8 in those 16 games.

THE BELL TOLLS: Bell, who started the 2008 with Rancho Cucamonga, the California League affiliate of the Angels and had a pair of complete games there, pitched his first complete game as a member of the Kernels yesterday. After the Rattlers had two hits off him in the first inning, Bell allowed three hits the rest of the game. Two of those three hits were bunt singles.

MATCHING UP: Rattler starting pitcher Edward Paredes struck out five batters in the first three innings as he kept the Kernels off the board.

PICKET FENCES: The Kernels scored single runs in the fourth, fifth, seventh, and eighth innings. They scored twice in the sixth.

UNEARNED: A pair of errors committed by the Rattlers in the fourth inning led to an unearned run.

FIRST IN A SERIES: Johnson, who was 0-for-5 with four strikeouts on Monday night, hit a homer to left off Paredes in the fifth to tie the game.

THE SEQUEL: Johnson homered to center in the eighth inning off Keith Meyer that made the score 5-2.

ROSTER MOVE: Pitcher Robbie Dominguez joins the Timber Rattlers today. He takes the roster spot of Gavin Dickey, who was placed on the disabled list. Dominguez was a 46th round selection of the Mariners in the 2006 draft and signed right before the 2007 draft. Dominguez spent last season with Peoria, Seattle’s Arizona League affiliate, and was 3-1 with a 2.01ERA in 14 games (eight starts). Dominguez was named to the Arizona League post-season All-Star squad. He began the 2008 season with the Everett AquaSox of the Northwest League. In two relief appearances for Everett, Dominguez pitched 3-1/3 innings and allowed three runs on seven hits with a walk, a strikeout, and no decisions.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Cedar Rapids Kernels are the Midwest League affiliates of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. They finished the first half with a record of 32-36 and out of the playoffs in the Western Division. The Kernels are 4-2 to start the second half of the season. Cedar Rapids is 21-19 at home this season.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .235 as a team and have scored 251 runs (3.5/game). Wisconsin has hit 22 home runs this season. The Timber Rattler pitching staff has a combined ERA of 3.42. The Kernels are hitting .229 as a team. They have scored 309 runs (4.2/game). Cedar Rapids has hit 43 home runs this season. The Kernel pitching staff has a combined ERA of 3.45.

2008 SEASON SERIES: Wisconsin and Cedar Rapids have split the first ten games of the season series. In the first half, the Rattlers and Kernels split eight games this season. Wisconsin won three out of four games from the Kernels on Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium. Cedar Rapids won three out of four games from the Rattlers on Dale and Thomas Popcorn Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

CEDAR RAPIDS STARTING PITCHER: Michael Davitt was a 29th round pick of the Angels in the 2006 draft out of Oskaloosa Walton (FL) Community College. He signed with the Angles in May of 2007, before the draft. He pitched for Orem in the Pioneer League in his first pro stop and was 0-3 in 13 games (eight starts) for the Owlz. He walked 16 and struck out 30 in 33-1/3 innings pitched while racking up an ERA of 5.67. Davitt has faced the Rattlers twice this season. Wisconsin beat Davitt on May 8 in Grand Chute. The Rattlers got to him for five runs on five walks over three innings. Davitt did strikeout five, but the Rattlers cruised to a 7-1 win. On May 20 in Cedar Rapids, Davitt was the winning pitcher in an 11-6 Kernel win. Davitt allowed two unearned runs over five innings with four walks and four strikeouts. In his appearance prior to tonight, Davitt pitched one inning and allowed one run on three hits at Kane County on June 15.

Be aggressive

B! E! Aggressive!

Jason Churchill has a piece in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer about a certain philosophy in the Mariner minor league system.

The Mariners have become known for their aggressive approach to developing young talent. On numerous occasions over the past three summers, young, raw prospects have been challenged with promotions, perhaps before their time had come. Moves such as these, though, have drawn criticism around the league.

"You can be right and wrong at the same time in this game," said an assistant general manager of an American League Central club. "I don't know their system well, but maybe they saw some kids they thought could handle the pressure, the failure. But looking back, it does appear they took some unnecessary risks that weren't likely to do too much for them even had the player made a smooth transition."

Six key players have been pushed more noticeably than the rest, including Matt Tuiasosopo, Chris Tillman, Rob Johnson, Jeff Clement, Michael Saunders and Greg Halman. Saunders and Halman received their promotions this month.

Just go read the whole thing.

A Dulcet Millennium

Colleague Pat Dillon, whom I have had a chance to get to know, just passed a milestone.

For more than a decade the dulcet tones of Pat Dillon have described the AquaSox action on Everett's radio broadcasts.

And now Dillon can count himself among the members of the millennium club.

Dillon reached a milestone Monday night when he conducted his 1,000th Northwest League broadcast.

"It's tough to think it's been that long," Dillon said. "It just means I've been around a long time. It's been enjoyable and I really couldn't see myself doing anything else."

Neither can I, Pat. Congratulations.

Although every time I see the word Millennium, I think of the vastly underrated Chris Carter television show:

I've got all three seasons on DVD.

Monday on a Wednesday

Mehring Monday from, uh, Monday, kind of ties in with the post below.

The Timber Rattlers are up here. The rest of the league is out there. All the travel is on the motorcoach and the closest trip is Beloit which is a little over two hours. If there is one thing that I've become good at after my time with the team, it's how to kill time on a bus ride.

Another bus story

The Peoria Chiefs trip to Burlington was a little tougher yesterday.

The Peoria Chiefs bus broke down twice en route to Burlington, forcing them to arrive at Community Field at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday and missing infield and batting practice.

At least they won.

Here is a bit more about the trip at the Peoria Chief website.

Because of a breakdown in Peoria and again outside Farmington, the Chiefs used three different busses on a four-hour commuting journey, arriving at the stadium at 5:45 pm and missing batting and infield practice.

Can I just mention that I am glad there are no "commuters" for the Timber Rattlers? I am glad there are no "commuters" for the Timber Rattlers.

I'll explain what that means later.

The Feiners

Another Cap Times story, but this one is actually pretty positive.

Brotherly glove: Sun Prarie's Feiners plug away in the minors

On a cold Sunday afternoon in April, a batter with the visiting Dayton Dragons stepped to the plate at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute and was greeted by the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers catcher crouching a few feet away.

"Let's have a good at-bat," the catcher said.

It was a pinch-me moment for the brothers -- and for their parents, who were watching closely from their seats behind home plate along with about two dozen friends and family.

"That," said Scott Feiner, the boys' father, "was a real treat."

It was one of the sweetest moments of many over the years for the Feiners, who have never hesitated to refer to themselves as a family obsessed with baseball. Perhaps you've heard the story of how they transformed a weed-filled eyesore of a front yard into a baseball field -- it was named Feiner Field, of course -- at their home just off U.S. 151 in Sun Prairie.

Here is the season for Korey, so far...

The catcher spent his first four seasons in the Minnesota Twins organization but was waived just a few days before the start of the 2008 season. The Mariners scooped him up, and he has spent the last 2 months bouncing around the club's minor league affiliates, a roller-coaster ride that often leaves him waking up in hotels and wondering what city he is in.

Korey began the season in Grand Chute, where he played with the Timber Rattlers, Seattle's Single-A affiliate, for about three weeks. He spent the next two weeks at the Triple-A level with the Tacoma (Wash.) Rainiers, then was sent down to the Single-A High Desert (Calif.) Mavericks for three weeks. From there, he went to the team's extended spring training club in Arizona, then went back to High Desert for four days. Last week, he found out he was headed to the Double-A team based in Jackson, Tenn.

One night he was playing in a game in Lancaster, Calif. The next night he had joined his West Tennessee Jaxx teammates for a game in Huntsville, Ala., against the Milwaukee Brewers' Double-A affiliate.

There is more on Kevyn at the story.

The ninth inning nightmare

Sometimes, people try to hard to give a nickname. Mumba Rivera ('05) was a starter with the Timber Rattlers. He had a rough transition to the bullpen, but things have straightened out for him.

Mariano Rivera has Metallica's "Enter Sandman." The Padres' Trevor Hoffman has "Hell's Bells."

Mumba Rivera, closer for the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx of the Class AA Southern League, has yet to reach that rarefied theme music status.

But he's not the least bit concerned. After all, his main job is get outs and preserve wins, something Rivera (no relation to the Yanks' certain Hall of Famer) has done a great job of this season.

The former Bethune-Cookman standout has been terrific in his first full year as a ninth-inning relief specialist, going 5-1 with a 2.43 ERA.

His 11 saves are third-most in the Southern League, and at 27, he seems to have finally found his niche in the Seattle Mariners organization.

"I wish I had been doing this sooner, like a couple years ago," Rivera said with a chuckle. "At first, I didn't like it and I had trouble adjusting. Now, it feels so natural."

Bonus Scott Budner quote!

"a 27-year-old guy with a 17-year-old arm."

Check it out.

Rattler History...Since 2000

Here is how the Timber Rattlers have fared on June 25…since 2000

2000: The Rattlers split a doubleheader at Beloit.

GAME ONE: The Rattlers lost 4-3. Ryan Bordenick hit a three run homer in the bottom of the fourth inning to snap a 1-1 tie. Justin Leone was 3-for-3 and a homer shy of the cycle in the game.

GAME TWO: The Rattlers won 7-5 in eight innings. Juan Alcala, who hit a two-run homer early in the game, doubled to drive in the go ahead run and would score on a singe by Orlando Hernandez. The Snappers had sent the game to extra innings by scoring three runs off Aquilino Lopez in the bottom of the seventh. Rattler records after this game: 2-2, 40-32

2001: The Rattlers won 4-2 over Kane County at home. Wilfredo Quintana drove in a pair of runs with a double in the bottom of the eighth inning to break a 2-2 tie. Joe Dusan had a two run single in the fourth that gave the Rattlers a 2-1 lead. Including the end of the first half, this was the twelfth straight win for Wisconsin. Rattler records after this game: 5-0, 47-26

2002: The Rattlers lost 3-0 at Clinton. Don Levinski and Ben Washburn combined on the two-hit shutout for the LumberKings. Oscar Delgado allowed all three runs and pitched an eight inning complete game for the loss. Including the end of the first half this was the tenth straight loss for Wisconsin. Rattler records after this game: 0-6, 30-45

2003: The Rattlers lost 4-3 to Peoria at home. John Santor hit a solo homer off Miguel Martinez in the sixth inning to break a 3-3 tie. Blake Hawksworth and Josh Teekle combined on the win for the Chiefs. Rattler records after this game: 1-6, 39-34

2004: The Rattlers beat Peoria 7-2 at home. Adam Jones was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. Nibaldo Acosta allowed one run over six innings for the win. Rattler records after this game: 1-1, 32-39

2005: The Rattlers lost 13-0 to Quad Cities at home. Jake Mullinax and Chris Patrick had three RBI a piece. Matt Scherer pitched six shutout innings for the win as Julio Santiago allowed seven runs on 11 hits over 3-1/3 innings for the loss. Rattler records after this game: 0-3, 39-34

2006: The Rattlers lost 10-2 to Kane County at home. Jose Pineda and Steve Kleen drove in three runs a piece. The game was tied 2-2 heading into the fifth, then David Asher allowed seven runs in two innings and that was it. Rattler records after this game: 1-3, 28-46

2007: The Timber Rattlers beat Peoria 15-3 at Peoria. Gavin Dickey hit a lead-off homer and Jamie McOwen drove in four runs. Justin Souza made the start and went four innings. Shawn Kelley go the win in relief. Rattler records after this game: 3-2, 25-48

A 4-5 record with the winning streak of 2001 and the losing streak of 2002 continuing along with some blowouts make it an interesting day in Rattler history.

Midwest League Action (Games of 6/24)

June 24 scoreboard.

Wednesday lede day!

@Cedar Rapids 6, Wisconsin 2: It's a funny deal sometimes. A guy can look like the absolute worst player in professional baseball one night, then play like a surefire hall of famer the next.

Kane County 7, @Quad Cities 1: Adron Chambers arrived at Modern Woodmen Park on Tuesday thinking good thoughts.

South Bend 7, @Dayton 5: Maybe the Dayton Dragons should go in a different direction. Maybe they should use their newest reliever, Zach Stewart, as a starter.

West Michigan 7, @Fort Wayne 6: The Wizards had two baserunners thrown out on routine fly balls.

@Lansing 2, Great Lakes 1 (11 innings): A battle of terrific pitching performances between the Lansing Lugnuts and Great Lakes extended into extra-innings Tuesday night, before Lansing finally came away with a 2-1 win in 11-innings. The win gave the Lugnuts their 900th victory in franchise history, as Lansing has a 900-839 mark all-time.

Beloit 8, @Clinton 5: The Clinton LumberKings lost out on another good performance from their starting staff by committing six errors that led to six unearned runs in an 8-5 loss to the Beloit Snappers at Alliant Energy Field Tuesday night.

Peoria 5, @Burlington 4: The spark just was not there for the Burlington Bees Tuesday night and the Peoria Chiefs took advantage of the off night.

Mariner System Report (Games of 6/24)

SEATTLE (MAJ: 28-49 4th American League West): The Mariners beat the Mets 11-0 at New York. Raul Ibanez (Foxes, ’94) homered and drove in three runs for the Mariners. Mark Lowe (’05) pitched the final two innings in relief of RA Dickey, who got the win.

TACOMA (AAA: 40-38, 3rd Pacific Coast League Pacific Northern Division): The Rainiers beat Portland 4-2. Wladimir Balentien (’04) homered and Andy Baldwin allowed one run over eight innings.

WEST TENNESSEE (AA: 42-33, 3-4 T-3rd Southern League North Division): The Diamond Jaxx lost 12-5 to Tennessee. Mike Wilson (’05) and Greg Halman (’07) both homered and drove in two runs for the Diamond Jaxx. But, the Smokies pulled away for the win.

HIGH DESERT (High-A: 36-40, 4-2 second half T-1st California League South Division): The Mavericks were off on Tuesday.

EVERETT (Short Season-A: 4-4, T-1st Northwest League Western Division): The AquaSox beat Boise 5-4. Kevin Reynolds (’08) drove in the winning run with a two-out single in the bottom of the ninth. Eddy Fernandez (’07) got the win.

PULASKI (Rookie: 5-3, 2nd Appalachian League East Division): The M’s won 4-3 at Burlington.

PEORIA (Rookie: 1-2, T-5th Arizona League): The AZL M’s beat the Rangers 9-1. Danny Carroll (’08) was 0-for-5 for the M’s. Eddy Hernandez (’08) made his pitching debut and worked a scoreless inning, allowed one hit, and recorded one strikeout.

MARINER SYSTEM SCHEDULE TODAY
Seattle (Miguel Batista 3-9) at New York (John Maine 7-5) 6:10pm CDT
Tacoma – OFF DAY
Tennessee (James Russell 2-2) at West Tennessee (Travis Chick 2-2) 11:05am CDT
High Desert – OFF DAY
Boise at Everett 9:00pm CDT
Pulaski at Burlington 6:00pm CDT
AZL Brewers at AZL Mariners 11:30am CDT

Hotel Art (Cedar Rapids, 2008 Round 2)

You have no idea how crazy it has been at this hotel as they have tried to accommodate the team and all the other guests. I appreciate what they have done to help us. But, still, these made me laugh.



For background, go to this post right here.

Did you go there? You won't get it if you don't.

The View from my hotel window -- Cedar Rapids (different hotel)

The other team hotel in Cedar Rapids was hit by the flooding of the Cedar River last week. So we needed to switch to a different hotel about 20 minutes from the ballpark.

The front of this hotel is something else, but I haven't had time to get pictures of it. So, here is the view from the window of the new hotel.

The route we took to the ballpark yesterday took us through downtown Cedar Rapids and I may have a few words on what we saw that later in the week.

A helping claw

Or talon, or whatever a dragon has...

Group brings baseball to Dayton

[Billy] Thornton is the baseball commissioner and a coach for the Scout Reach All Stars, a league that sprouted three years ago to bring scouting and baseball into the city's urban core.

Thanks to various partnerships between the Boy Scouts of America's Miami Valley Council, the Mathile Family Foundation, the city, the Cincinnati Reds, Dayton Dragons and local businesses, the crack of the bat is once again heard at refurbished fields.