September 3, 2010: Midwest League Playoff Picture

Well. The Rattlers are officially out of the Midwest League playoffs for 2010.  Wisconsin's last playoff appearance was 2005.

Oh, and Peoria is out, too.

Just out of my own obsessive need for completeness.  Here are the up-to-date standings for the Western Division with four days left in the season:

SECOND HALF WEST DIVISION PLAYOFF RACES

CLUB.........W-L..DIV GB WC GB

Clinton.....36-29... - ....-
Kane County 36-29... - ...-

Beloit......33-29...1.5...1.0

Peoria......31-33...4.5...4.5
Wisconsin...31-35...5.5...5.5

REMAINING GAMES:
Wisconsin (4): 1 v. QC; 3 @KC
Kane County (4): 1 v. PEO; 3 v. WI
Clinton (5): 2 v. BEL; 3 @BUR
Beloit (5): 2 @CLN; 3 v. CR
Peoria (4): 1 @KC; 3 @QC

September 3, 2010: Starting lineup

Cutter Dykstra........3B

Khris Davis...........DH

Hunter Morris.........LF

Chris Dennis..........1B

D’Vontrey Richardson..CF

Joey Paciorek.........2B

Austin Stockfisch......C

Erik Miller...........RF

Michael Marseco.......SS

Damon Krestalude......SP

September 3, 2010: Tonight's Starting Pitcher

RHP DAMON KRESTALUDE: Selected by Milwaukee in the 17th round of the 2008 draft out of Port St. Lucie (FL) High School.

LAST SEASON: Krestalude made two appearances with the Brevard County Manatees (Florida State League) in early June. He was transferred to Helena once the Pioneer League started. Krestalude was 3-4 with a 5.35ERA in 15 games (nine starts) for the Helena Brewers.

A SEASON IN THE DESERT: In 2008 - his first season as a Brewers’ farmhand - Krestalude went 1-4 with a 3.15ERA for Milwaukee’s Arizona League affiliate.

DOWN IN FLORIDA: Krestalude worked two innings of relief against Sarasota on June 6, 2009 and allowed a run on a hit. On June 13, Krestalude got the start at Palm Beach. He pitched 4-2/3 scoreless innings and gave up three hits. Krestalude also hit a batter, walked four and struck out three in his start for the Manatees.

O, PIONEER LEAGUE: Krestalude was the first Pioneer League Pitcher of the Week in 2009. In his first appearance for the Helena Brewers, Krestalude pitched six shutout innings and gave up just one hit against Missoula on June 25. Krestalude picked up the win, walked one, and struck out three.

BREWERS CAREER: Krestalude was 4-8 with a 4.42 ERA in his first two seasons as a pitcher in the Milwaukee minor league system. He has made 31 appearances (15 starts) since 2008.

SAVING THE DAY: Krestalude earned his first professional save on April 16 at Burlington. He tossed four scoreless innings, allowed one hit, and struck out three.

LAST START: Krestalude allowed four runs on seven hits over five innings against Kane County on August 29. He walked one and struck out one in the game. Krestalude left the game with Wisconsin leading 6-4. But, he got a no decision when the Cougars came back to tie the game. Wisconsin would go on to win 11-10 in 11 innings.

VS.QUAD CITIES: Krestalude made one start against the River Bandits this season. On August 13 at Modern Woodmen Park, he allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits over 4-1/3 innings. Krestalude struck out six and did not walk a batter in a no decision. The went on to win the game 6-5.

PROFESSIONAL BESTS:

INNINGS PITCHED: 8.0 (8/2/09 v. Billings)

STRIKEOUTS: 7 (8/2/09 v. Billings)

..........2010 GAME-BY-GAME

DATE OPP...DEC..IP..H R ER BB SO ERA

4/11 CLN*..Win..5.0 5 2..2.0..2..3.60

4/16 @BUR..Save 4.0 1 0..0 0..2..2.00

4/20 CR*........5.0 3 2..2 2..4..2.57

4/27 @PEO*.,....5.0 6 4..4 1..5..3.79

5/2..@BEL*......5.0 2 2..2 4..3..3.75

5/7..CR*...Loss 5.1 3 2..2 1..5..3.68

5/19 PEO*..Loss 2.0 7 6..6 3..1..5.11

5/24 BUR*..Win..6.0 5 2..2 2..1..4.81

6/3..@FW........1.2 2 1..1 2..3..4.84

7/5..@CR*..Loss 2.1 6 5..5 4..0..5.55

7/10 BUR*.......4.0 3 1..1 1..4..5.29

7/16 LAN*..Loss 6.0 9 5..5 2..6..5.53

7/23 @WM*..Loss 2.0 6 9..9 3..3..6.71
7/30 @PEO* Loss 5.0 7 3..0 2..2..6.19
8/7..@CLN* Loss 4.0 7 6..6 3..1..6.62
8/13 @QC*.......4.1 5 2..2 5..2..6.47
8/18 BEL*..Loss 2.1 9 9..9 2..2..7.35
8/23 @CR*.......4.1 7 4..3 0..6..7.29
8/29.KC*........5.0 7 4..4 1..1..7.29

*-Start

September 3, 2010: Game Notes

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The River Bandits beat the Timber Rattlers 7-4 in 11 innings. Ross Smith broke a 4-4 tie with an RBI double in the top of the eleventh and Michael Swinson followed with a two-run single. Wisconsin sent the game to extra innings on a two-out, two-run double by pinch hitter Joey Paciorek. Four of the seven runs scored by the River Bandits last night were unearned.

ON THE WRONG FOOT: The Timber Rattlers committed errors on the first two balls put into play last night and the River Bandits scored a run. Later in the first a passed ball let another run in for the River Bandits. In the second inning, Wisconsin committed another error to let in a third unearned run.

D’VO! Rattlers outfielder D’Vontrey Richardson homered in the bottom of the third inning. It was his seventh homer and fiftieth RBI of the season. In his last 31 games (29 in August and two in September), Richardson is 36-for-113 (.319) and has raised his season batting average from .224 to .245.

HALF CENTURY: Richardson became the fourth Rattlers to reach 50 RBI for this season. Wisconsin had four players reach 50 RBI in a season in 2008 and five players make the 50 RBI mark in 2005.

NEW LEADER: Cutter Dykstra went 2-for-5 to move his season batting average to .316 to take over the team lead in batting average. Scooter Gennett saw his batting average drop to .309. Dykstra is third in the Midwest League batting race. Gennett has dropped to a tie for eighth in the category.

BIG HIT! Paciorek’s pinch hit double in the eighth inning was the first for the Timber Rattlers this season. Wisconsin pinch hitters are 1-for-7 with a sacrifice bunt, a sacrifice fly, and three RBI in 2010.

QUALITY START: The definition of a quality start is six or more innings with three or fewer earned runs by a starting pitcher. Rattlers starting pitcher Del Howell pitched six innings and allowed three unearned runs on three hits with five strikeouts. But, Howell walked six in the game, too.

ON THE CUSP: Khris Davis has 21 home runs this season. He is tied for the Timber Rattlers franchise record with Juan Silvestre (1999) and Matt Hagen (2003). Davis has three homers in 15 games against the River Bandits this season. He has hit homers off Eric Fornataro, Michael Blazek, and Dan Calhoun. Two of the three homers against the Bandits have been at Time Warner Cable Field.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Quad Cities River Bandits are the Midwest League affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They qualified for the Midwest League playoffs as the Western Division Wild Card in the first half. They are 81-53 overall and 41-24 in the second half. The River Bandits are coming into this series against the Rattlers after winning three out of four games in a series with Cedar Rapids.

2010 SEASON SERIES: The Rattlers and River Bandits have met 16 times this season. Wisconsin is 6-10 against Quad Cities this season. The Rattlers are 2-6 in eight games against the Bandits at Time Warner Cable Field in 2010. Quad Cities took two of three from the Rattlers in Grand Chute during a series May 4-6. The River Bandits also took two of three from the Rattlers June 28-30. Three of the six Quad Cities wins over the Timber Rattlers in Grand Chute have been in extra innings.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .256 as a team. They have scored 650 runs (4.9/game) and hit 77 home runs. The River Bandits are hitting .257 as a team. They have scored 718 runs (5.4/game) and hit 112 homers. Wisconsin pitchers have a team ERA of 4.79 while allowing a total of 717 runs (5.4/game) this season. Quad Cities pitchers have a team ERA of 3.93 while allowing a total of 625 runs (4.7/game). The Timber Rattler defense has committed 180 errors. The Bandits defense has committed 174 errors. Wisconsin is 30-39 at home this season. Quad Cities is 44-27 on the road in 2010.

QUAD CITIES STARTING PITCHER: RHP Michael Blazek was selected by the Cardinals in the 35th round of the 2007 draft out of Arbor View High School in Las Vegas, Nevada. Blazek has pitched at every level below the Midwest League in the Cardinals system since 2007. He has pitched for the Gulf Coast League Cardinals (’07); Johnson City in the Appalachian League (’08), and Batavia in the New York-Penn League (’09) prior to this season and has compiled a record of 8-16 with a 4.22ERA in 38 games (24 starts) with 151 strikeouts and 53 walks in 145 innings. In his start prior to this evening, Blazek lost at Cedar Rapids on August 29. He allowed an unearned run on four hits with four strikeouts over five innings. Blazek is 0-1 with a save in four appearances (one start) against the Rattlers in 2010. He has allowed 11 runs (seven earned) on 11 hits over 11-2/3 innings with six walks and 12 strikeouts.

September 3, 1960 & September 3, 1985

Sponsored by Rasmussen College

50 Years Ago Today:

GAME ONE (7 INNINGS)

FOX CITIES FOXES..3

GREEN BAY DODGERS 6

GAME TWO (9 INNINGS)

FOXES....8

DODGERS 11

Tough day for the Three-I League Champions in Green Bay. Dick McLaughlin hit a grand slam in the second inning for the Dodgers in their game one win.

In game two, the Foxes were up 8-1 after they scored seven runs in the fourth inning. Boog Powell hit a three-run homer in that inning, but the Dodgers came all the way back...and then some.

The Foxes are 80-54 after being swept in this doubleheader.

25 Years Ago Today:

GAME ONE MWL FIRST ROUND

..............................R..H E

APPLETON FOXES 000 000 141 -..6 12 4

KENOSHA TWINS..203 032 40x - 14 16 1

The headline from the Post-Crescent on 9/4/85 says it best after Appleton lost game one of a best-of-three series: Foxes' backs pinned to wall

Edwin Correa, who won 13 games during the regular season for Appleton, took the loss. He allowed eight runs on seven hits and five walks in 4-2/3 innings.

The offense was handcuffed by 15-game winner Alan Sontag. Well, not completely handcuffed, the Foxes had 10 hits off Sontag in 7-1/3 innings, but they did not have a big breakthrough until the eighth inning when they were already down 14-1.

The article does point out a positive factoid: The Foxes were 7-2 in nine games at Goodland Field against the Twins.

Midwest League Action: Games of September 2, 2010

Complete scoreboard

Quad Cities 7 @Wisconsin 4 (11): Fall.

@Cedar Rapids 4, Burlington 1: Win.

@Kane County 5, Peoria 3 (7): Eliminated.

Beloit @ Clinton: Suspended

Fort Wayne @South Bend: PPD

Bowling Green 5 @Dayton 1: Lobstein.

@Great Lakes 5, Lake County 2: closer.

@Lansing 6, West Michigan 2: Again.

Brewers System Report: Games of September 2, 2010

Sponsored by Jockey.com

MILWAUKEE (MAJ: 62-71; National League Central): The Brewers were off on Thursday.

NASHVILLE (AAA: 75-65; Pacific Coast League American Northern Division): The Sounds swept a doubleheader at Oklahoma City. Nashville won game one 3-2 behind a complete game 11-hitter by Marty McLeary. In game two, Dan Merklinger (’09) made his AAA debut and picked up the win. He allowed four runs over five innings and picked up the win.

HUNTSVILLE (AA: 65-70 overall; 32-33 second half; Southern League North Division): The Stars lost 6-3 at Montgomery. The Biscuits scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to snap a 3-3 tie.

BREVARD COUNTY (Advanced-A: 62-74; 35-32 second half; Florida State League North Division): The Manatees lost 13-6 at Tampa. The Yankees scored seven runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to break a 6-6 tie.

HELENA (Rookie: 38-31 overall; 19-12 second half; Pioneer League North Division): The Brewers lost 2-1 to Great Falls. Helena had five hits in the game.

BREWERS SYSTEM SCHEDULE TODAY:

MILWAUKEE (Chris Capuano 2-2) at Philadelphia (Cole Hamels 8-10) 6:05pm CDT

NASHVILLE (Josh Butler 5-1) at New Orleans (Nic Ungs 1-2) 7:00pm CDT

Mobile at HUNTSVILLE 7:00pm CDT

BREVARD COUNTY at Clearwater 6:00pm CDT

Great Falls at HELENA 8:05pm CDT

AZL BREWERS: Season over; AZL Champions

Rattlers Alumni Report: MLB Games of September 2, 2010

Indians 6 @Mariners 3

CLE:
Asdrubal Cabrera ('05): 3-for-5, 2 RUNS
Shin-Soo Choo ('02): 2-for-5, 2 RUNS, 5RBI, HR #16
Luis Valbuena ('06): 2-for-4, RUN

SEA:
Adam Moore ('06): 0-for-3

Red Sox 6 @Orioles 4

BOS:
David Ortiz ('96): David Ortiz ('96): 1-for-4, RUN, 2RBI
Scott Atchison ('99): 2IP, 0H, 0R, 3K

Mets 4 @Braves 2

ATL:
Eric O'Flaherty ('05): .1IP, 0H, 0R, K

Phillies 12 @Rockies 11

PHI:
Raul Ibanez (Foxes, '94): 2-for-5, RBI

Jersey Auction

There are six jerseys left from the Brewers Sunday's this season.

Follow this link to bid on:

A Team signed jersey
Kyle Heckathorn's Game Worn (Not Autographed)
#16
#35
#38
#39

The auction is running now through next Thursday evening. Proceeds go to Children's Hospital of Wisconsin.

Click that link for full details.

Nothing can be greater than playing baseball for a living

Go ahead and make your snide comments and your unoriginal jokes.  They weren't funny when you were 12.

I am pulling for Jeremy Jeffress.  The title of this post (taken from a quote in this article in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) is a big reason why.

The Milwaukee Brewers' 2006 first-round draft pick missed the first two months while finishing a 100-game suspension for testing positive a third time for marijuana. He then was assigned to low Class A Wisconsin, moving up to high Class A Brevard County and eventually Class AA Huntsville.

Then the big leagues.

"I'm on cloud nine right now," Jeffress said Wednesday after reporting to the Brewers as a September call-up. "It was a hope and prayer (to come up). It's a great opportunity. I couldn't even stand up when I first heard it.

"It was big steps, back on the mound, coming off the suspension. A great learning experience. I've been to the bottom and I worked my way back to the top. I thank everybody that stuck behind me."

The Brewers put Jeffress, 22, on their 40-man roster June 29, some two months before necessary. They called it a reward for good behavior coming off the suspension, but it also protected him from a lifetime ban should he test positive for marijuana again.

Jeffress knew there would be skeptics who expected him to lapse back into marijuana use.

"I've been doing great, staying clean," he said. "The temptation was there, but nothing can be greater than playing baseball for a living. This is what I love to do. The only way I can (stop speculation) is to prove them wrong."

Emphasis added.  Congratulations on your MLB debut last night, Jeremy Jeffress.  Here is to many more scoreless innings for you.

"Like a shark at feeding time"

The Post-Crescent has this story on Rattlers pitcher Nick Bucci.

Nick Bucci's on-the-mound mentality is like a shark at feeding time.

It's a go-right-after-them type of game plan.

Bucci's aggressiveness has made him one of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers' best starting pitchers and a legitimate major league prospect. It's also an area he has to learn to channel to continue climbing in the Milwaukee Brewers' organization.

The 20-year-old right-hander kept the Timber Rattlers in Wednesday's game with Quad Cities by allowing just two hits and one earned run with four strikeouts in six solid innings of work. His only negative was five walks, which pushed his season total to 65 — the highest on the staff.

"Nick is super-aggressive and that's a positive and a negative," said Wisconsin pitching coach Chris Hook after the Rattlers' bullpen crumbled in the late innings leading to a 6-1 loss to Quad Cities. "He's in an attack mode at all times. Sometimes that attack mode gets him off-kilter in terms of his delivery and his command suffers. But you have to like that aggressiveness. If he can learn to control his intensity, he's going to be fine. He's had a good year."

Click through to read it all.

September 2, 2010: Tonight's Lineup

Cutter Dykstra........3B

Scooter Gennett.......2B

Kentrail Davis........RF

Hunter Morris.........LF

Khris Davis...........DH

D’Vontrey Richardson..CF

Chris Dennis..........1B

Cameron Garfield.......C

Michael Marseco.......SS

Del Howell............SP

September 2, 2010: Tonight's Starting Pitcher

LHP DEL HOWELL: Selected by Milwaukee in the 15th round of the 2009 draft out of the University of Alabama.

LAST SEASON: Howell appeared in five games (three starts) between the Arizona League Brewers and the Helena Brewers in his first pro season. He was a combined 1-0 with a 0.77ERA. Over 11-2/3 innings pitched, Howell allowed one run, with three walks and nine strikeouts.

LAST START: Howell lost to Kane County on August 28. He allowed three runs on six hits and six walks over 4-1/3 innings. Kane County won the game 8-4.

GO, BAMA! Howell went 5-3 with a 6.33ERA in 11 starts in his final season at Alabama. He struck out 68 opposing hitters in 58-1/3 innings pitched.

ROLL TIDE! Howell also was a position player during his three seasons with the Crimson Tide. He hit a home run against Arkansas as a freshman.

GLORY DAYS: Howell was Mr. Baseball in Alabama in 2006. As a senior at American Christian Academy, Howell went 13-1 with a 0.18ERA. He pitched back-to-back perfect games in his first two starts of the Class 1A state playoffs during the 2006 season.

RANKING: Baseball America rated Howell as the #22 prospect in the Milwaukee Brewer organization in their 2010 Prospect Handbook.

SPLITS: Howell has made 15 starts and eight relief appearances in 2010. In his starts, Howell is 3-6 with a 4.78ERA. In his relief appearances, Howell is 0-1 with a save and a 5.79ERA. He has made 11 appearances (six starts) at Time Warner Cable Field this season and is 2-2 with a save and a 3.65ERA. In his 12 appearances (nine starts) on the road, Howell is 1-5 with a 6.16ERA.

VS. QUAD CITIES: Howell has made three appearances (two starts) against the River Bandits this season. He is 1-0 against Quad Cities. Howell has allowed eight runs (six earned) on 13 hits and eight walks over 12-1/3 innings. Howell has struck out nine River Bandits this season.

PROFESSIONAL BESTS:

INNINGS PITCHED: 6.2IP (7/3/10 @Burlington)

STRIKEOUTS: 6 (6/10/10 v. Bowling Green)

..........2010 DAY-BY-DAY

DATE OPP....DEC..IP..H R ER BB K ERA

4/10 KC..........3.0 5 3..3..0 0 9.00

4/14 @BUR*..Loss 1.2 8 7..7..3 1 19.29

4/19 @QC.........2.0 3 4..4..2 1 18.90

4/24 BEL*........4.0 6 2..2..4 4 13.50

5/1+ @BEL........1.0 1 0..0..0 0 12.34

5/6..QC*.........5.1 2 2..2..2 3 9.53

5/13 BEL.........2.0 1 0..0..2 2 8.53

5/18 PEO....Save 3.0 0 1..0..2 2 7.36

5/23 BUR.........2.0 1 0..0..1 4 6.75

5/30 @CR....Loss 2.0 1 3..3..3 0 7.27

6/4..@LC*........4.0 5 2..2..2 4 6.90

6/10 BG..........3.2 3 2..2..2 6 6.68

6/17 @CLN*.......6.1 4 2..2..2 2 6.08

6/27 BUR*...Win..6.0 5 2..2..3 4 5.67

7/2 @BUR*...Loss 6.2 6 4..1..2 3 5.13

7/7 @BEL*...Loss 6.0 6 5..5..2 4 5.37

7/15 LAN*...Win..5.0 5 1..1..3 2 5.07

7/22 @WMI*.......4.0 3 1..1..4 1 4.92
7/29 @PEO*.......6.0 8 2..2..3 4 4.76
8/6..PEO*...Loss 6.0 7 3..3..2 2 4.74
8/12 @QC....Win..5.0 5 2..0..4 5 4.46
8/21 @CR....Loss 5.0 9 7..7..1 4 4.92
8/28 KC*....Loss 4.1 6 3..3..6 3 4.98

+-Game two of a doubleheader

*-Start

September 2, 2010: Game Notes

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The River Bandits beat the Timber Rattlers 6-1. Frederick Parejo drove in three runs for Quad Cities. Khris Davis and Chris Dennis both had two hits for Wisconsin. Kentrail Davis drove in the only run for the Rattlers.

TRADING RUNS: Quad Cities scored a run in the top of the second inning on a two-out RBI single by Colin Walsh. Kentrail Davis tied the game by driving in a run with a two-out double in the bottom of the third.

UNEARNED: Rainel Rosario reached on a one-out error in the top of the fifth inning. After a walk to Alan Ahmady, a wild pitch put two runners in scoring position. Edgar Lara drove in Rosario with a infield ground out and the Bandits went in front 2-1.

STEALING BASES: Wisconsin stole four bases last night. Cutter Dykstra and Scooter Gennett each had one steal. Khris Davis had two steals. Wisconsin is 21-for-34 in stolen bases against the River Bandits this season.

RUNNING OUT OF AN INNING: The Rattlers had four runners thrown out on the bases last night: One in the second, one in the fifth and two in the sixth.

ARMED: Hunter Morris threw out a Bandit at the plate in the top of the seventh. It was his third outfield assist of the season.

PULLING AWAY: Parejo doubled in a pair of runs in the top of the eighth and scored on a single by Ivan Castro. Parejo drove in the final run of the night with a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning.

ON THE CUSP: Khris Davis has 21 home runs this season. He is tied for the Timber Rattlers franchise record with Juan Silvestre (1999) and Matt Hagen (2003). Davis has three homers in 15 games against the River Bandits this season. He has hit homers off Eric Fornataro, Michael Blazek, and Dan Calhoun. Two of the three homers against the Bandits have been at Time Warner Cable Field.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Quad Cities River Bandits are the Midwest League affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They qualified for the Midwest League playoffs as the Western Division Wild Card in the first half. They are 80-53 overall and 40-24 in the second half. The River Bandits are coming into this series against the Rattlers after winning three out of four games in a series with Cedar Rapids.

2010 SEASON SERIES: The Rattlers and River Bandits have met 15 times this season. Wisconsin is 6-9 against Quad Cities this season. The Rattlers are 2-5 in seven games against the Bandits at Time Warner Cable Field in 2010. Quad Cities took two of three from the Rattlers in Grand Chute during a series May 4-6. The River Bandits also took two of three from the Rattlers June 28-30.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .256 as a team. They have scored 646 runs (4.9/game) and hit 77 home runs. The River Bandits are hitting .257 as a team. They have scored 711 runs (5.3/game) and hit 111 homers. Wisconsin pitchers have a team ERA of 4.81 while allowing a total of 710 runs (5.3/game) this season. Quad Cities pitchers have a team ERA of 3.94 while allowing a total of 621 runs (4.7/game). The Timber Rattler defense has committed 176 errors. The Bandits defense has committed 172 errors. Wisconsin is 30-38 at home this season. Quad Cities is 43-27 on the road in 2010.

QUAD CITIES STARTING PITCHER: RHP Shelby Miller was selected by the Cardinals with the 19th overall selection in the 2009 draft. St. Louis picked him out of Brownwood (TX) High School and Baseball America has rated him as the #1 prospect in the Cardinals’ organization. He had committed to play college baseball at Texas A&M, but signed with St. Louis at the August 17 deadline. In his start prior to tonight, Miller allowed two runs on four hits over four innings in a no decision against Cedar Rapids on August 28. He walked one and struck out five. Miller has made one start against the Timber Rattlers this season and beat them at Modern Woodmen Park on August 11. In that game, Miller allowed two runs on five hits with a walk and seven strikeouts over five innings.

See a game, Win $10,000

It was just that simple in Cedar Rapids last night.

There are grand slams, then there’s what Terrell Alliman hit Wednesday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Call it a 10-grand slam.

The Cedar Rapids Kernels outfielder capped off an 11-run fifth inning with a granny that helped his team to a 15-3 win over the Burlington Bees. This just happened to be the final Winning Wednesday of the season, and, yes, it was a winner.

The two-year-old promotion pays off $10,000 to a lucky fan if the Kernels achieve a particular feat in an inning. Last night’s fifth-inning feat was a grand slam.

That’s where Alliman comes in. Mike Schweitzer of Cedar Rapids was watching the game with a bunch of buddies and had his name randomly drawn by Kernels General Manager Jack Roeder as the grand winner of this 10-grand slam.

“Holy (cow!),” Schweitzer said, moments after learning of his payday. “Did I know I could (win)? Yeah. But you never think you will. What are the odds of this? Pretty cool.”

Nice editing with the Holy (cow)!, Jeff Johnson.  I can't guess what that word (cow) replaced would be.  And...Pretty cool? That's all you can come up with, really? Dude.

“Heck, I don’t care,” Schweitzer said, when asked if he was going to buy a celebratory round for the house of 1,713. “Set ‘em up.”

Now THAT'S more like it!

September 2, 2010: Midwest League Playoff Picture

Here are the updated playoff standings heading into action on Thursday with the schedule of remaining games for the teams in the second half Western Division Playoff Race.

I can only come up with a really, convoluted and complicated and complex scenario in which the Rattlers make the playoffs.  I will not share it.  It makes one of Michael Westen's plans seem simple.

SECOND HALF WEST DIVISION PLAYOFF RACES

CLUB.........W-L..DIV GB WC GB

Clinton.....36-29... - ....-
Kane County 35-29...0.5 ...-

Beloit......33-29...1.5...1.0

Peoria......31-32...4.0...3.5
Wisconsin...31-34...5.0...4.5

REMAINING GAMES:
Wisconsin (5): 2 v. QC; 3 @KC
Kane County (5): 2 v. PEO; 3 v. WI
Clinton (5): 2 v. BEL; 3 @BUR
Beloit (5): 2 @CLN; 3 v. CR
Peoria (5): 2 @KC; 3 @QC

September 2, 1960 & September 2, 1985

Sponsored by Rasmussen College

50 Years Ago Today:

GREEN BAY DODGERS 5

FOX CITIES FOXES..2

The Foxes had two hits in the game.

It was Player Appreciation Night at Goodland Field. Trophies went to the following players in the following categories.

Team MVP: Pete Ward

Top Pitcher: Chuck Symeon

Top Rookie: Boog Powell

Most Popular: Charley Johnson

Best Team Player: Cal Ripken

Plaques and rings were presented to the players for the Three-I League championship.

The Three-I League Post-Season All-Star Team and awards were announced. The Foxes on the list were:

3B: Pete Ward

C: Cal Ripken

LHP: Pat Gillick

Pete Ward won the Michael H. Sexton Cup as the MVP of the Three-I League.
Boog Powell was the Three-I League Rookie of the Year.

25 Years Ago Today:

..............................R H E

APPLETON FOXES..000 001 010 - 2 8 0

MADISON MUSKIES 000 021 00x - 3 9 0

The Foxes ended the 1985 season with a loss at Madison on Labor Day. Pete Venturini hit his second home run of the season to get Appleton on the scoreboard in the top of the sixth inning.

Appleton ended the season with the best record in the Midwest League at 85-54. They will open the Midwest League Playoffs at Kenosha on September 3.

Midwest League Action: Games of September 1, 2010

Complete scoreboard

Quad Cities 6, Wisconsin 1: Cash in.

Beloit 4 @Clinton 3 (11): Shrinks.

@Kane County 7, Peoria 0: Roughs up Silva.

@Cedar Rapids 15, Burlington 3: 10-grand slam

@South Bend 12, Fort Wayne 5: Snap skid.

Bowling Green 5 @Dayton 3: Despite loss.

@Lansing 3, West Michigan 1: Stave.

@Great Lakes 4, Lake County 3 (10): Songco's double.

Brewers System Report: Games of September 1, 2010

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MILWAUKEE (MAJ: 62-71; National League Central): The Brewers lost 6-1 to the Reds in Cincinnati. The Reds scored six runs in the bottom of the seventh inning.

NASHVILLE (AAA: 73-65; Pacific Coast League American Northern Division): The Sounds split a doubleheader at Oklahoma City. Nashville won game one 9-5 on the strength of a seven run fifth inning. In game two, the Sounds tied the game 2-2 with a run in the top of the seventh inning. But, Oklahoma City scored a run in the bottom of the tenth for a 3-2 win.

HUNTSVILLE (AA: 65-69 overall; 32-32 second half; Southern League North Division): The Stars won 10-4 at Montgomery. Brett Lawrie (’09) went 3-for-5 with a pair of RBI for Huntsville.

BREVARD COUNTY (Advanced-A: 62-73; 35-31 second half; Florida State League North Division): The Manatees beat Tampa 5-1. RJ Seidel (’09) pitched five no-hit innings and got the win.

HELENA (Rookie: 38-30 overall; 19-11 second half; Pioneer League North Division): The Brewers lost 2-0 to Great Falls. Helena had four hits in the game.

BREWERS SYSTEM SCHEDULE TODAY:

MILWAUKEE: OFF DAY

NASHVILLE at Oklahoma City: Doubleheader; Game one starts at 2:05pm CDT

HUNTSVILLE (Amaury Rivas 11-6) at Montgomery (Paul Phillips 5-2) 7:05pm CDT

BREVARD COUNTY (Mike Ramlow 4-2) at Tampa (Craig Heyer 8-4) 6:00pm CDT

Great Falls (Steven Upchurch 3-2) at HELENA (Stosh Wawrzasek 2-3) 8:05pm CDT

AZL BREWERS: Season over; AZL Champions

Rattlers Alumni Report: MLB Games of September 1, 2010

@Rays 2, Blue Jays 1

TB:

Rafael Soriano ('00: IP, H, 0R, K, SAVE #40

Red Sox 9 @Orioles 6

BOS:

David Ortiz ('96): 1-for-4, RUN, RBI, HR #30

BAL:

Adam Jones ('04): 1-for-3, RUN, 2RBI

White Sox 6 @Indians 4

CLE:

Asdrubal Cabrera ('05): 1-for-5, RBI

Shin-Soo Choo ('02): 3-for-5, RUN

Angels 4 @Mariners 2

SEA:

Michael Saunders ('06): 1-for-4

Adam Moore ('06): 1-for-4

@Reds 6, Brewers 1

MIL:

Lorenzo Cain ('09): 1-for-4, RUN

Jeremy Jeffress ('10): IP, H, 0R (MLB Debut!)

@Houston 5, Cardinals 2

STL:

Ryan Franklin (Foxes, '94): IP, H, 0R

Phillies 5 @Dodgers 1

PHI:

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