Another Season In The Books

The Rattlers wrapped up their season on a high note on Monday, knocking off the Beloit Snappers in Beloit. Wisconsin finished the season five games under .500 at 67-72. They did however finish with a better overall record than both the Kane County Cougars and Clinton LumberKings, two teams that advanced to the Midwest League playoffs. Maybe one of these years we can get some playoff baseball in Appleton. Until then, here's a look back at the Timber Rattlers statistical leaders for 2011.

Hitting Leaders

Batting Average: Cody Hawn (.294)

Hits: Nick Shaw (121)

Doubles: Cody Hawn (24)

Triples: Reggie Keen / Franklin Romero Jr. (7)

Home Runs: Mike Walker (15)

RBI: Mike Walker (72)

Stolen Bases: Reggie Keen (41)

Runs Scored: Nick Shaw (80)

Games Played: Nick Shaw (126)

Pitching Leaders

ERA: Adrian Rosario (1.34)

Whip: Casey Medlen (0.93)

Wins: Jimmy Nelson (8)

Saves: Greg Holle (19)

Strikeouts: Jimmy Nelson (120)

Appearances: Brian Garman / Greg Holle (41)

It's hard to believe the season is already over. If you are like me and can't fathom the thought of no Rattlers baseball until next April, you might wanna check out the Peoria Javelinas of the Arizona Fall League. They have six former T-Rats on their current roster including Kentrail Davis, Adam Moore, Cody Scarpetta, Scooter Gennett, Daniel Meadows and Santo Manzanillo. Thanks once again to the Rattlers staff for another great season. I'll probably make some changes to the blog over the off-season. In the meantime if you want to take one last look back at my Timber Rattler photos from 2011, you can find them all here. And if you'd like to keep up with some of my other work, feel free to check out my photography blog, which can be found here. I'll post pictures from the Packers (hopefully another Super Bowl), Brewers (hopefully a World Series), Bucks (hopefully a season) and more. Thanks for reading and see you all for Opening Day 2012.

Rattlers Roll Over Cedar Rapids.

Well if that was the last Timber Rattlers game I get to see this season I sure picked a good one. In front of 6,500+ fans the Rattlers cruised to an 11-1 victory. I didn't even think Fox Cities Stadium held that many people, but they packed em in for the last Sunday home game of the season. Jimmy Nelson started for Wisconsin and went seven innings, allowing just one unearned run to get his eighth win of the season.

Carlos Gomez was in town for the second of a four game rehab stint, and he contributed to the offensive outburst with a pair of hits before being lifted after the fifth inning. Cody Hawn and Jason Rogers both came up big for the Rattlers offense as well with three hits each. Nick Ramirez and Greg Hopkins also had multi-hit games and seven different players contributed RBIs.

Notes

- Former Brewers catcher Damian Miller was on hand to throw out the first pitch and sign some autographs. I had a chance to meet him quickly. Very nice guy. I love that the Rattlers bring some of the former big leaguers to town from time to time for Brewers Sundays.

- Gomez went five innings today after playing three last night. The plan is to ease him in to things. He is scheduled to play seven tomorrow night and then nine on Tuesday before heading to Milwaukee.

- Catcher Rafael Neda was the only Rattler starter without a hit. They racked up fifteen hits and avoided playoff elimination for another day. The six run outburst in the first was no fluke either, the whole team hit Cedar Rapids starting pitcher pretty hard.

- Fitting that in my last game of the year I got one of my favorite shots of the year. This is the definition of Nick Ramirez "wearing one" in the numbers.

This was likely my last game of the year. I had hoped to get down there tomorrow for Khris Davis bobblehead night but the "real job" is going to get in the way of that. So if today was my last time at Fox Cities Stadium for the year I'd like to thank the players, coaches and the amazing staff at Fox Cities Stadium for another great season. See you all next April!

Here are the rest of my photos from Sunday's game.

P.S. - I say likely my last game because I know Rickie Weeks is close to making his way back. I also know the Rattlers close out the season next weekend in Beloit. Not saying it's gonna happen, but a rehab appearance could tempt me to take a trip down to Beloit over the long Labor Day weekend.

Rattlers Bat Come Alive

After being shut out on Saturday night, the Timber Rattlers bounced back in a big way on Sunday afternoon, topping the Quad Cities River Bandits 12-3. Brooks Hall (pictured below) started for the Rattlers and pitched his way in and out of trouble, allowing just one run in five innings of work. He escaped a bases loaded jam in the second, allowing only one run. Hall walked three and gave up five hits, but just the one run to earn his sixth win of the season.
Wisconsin took a brief lead in the first inning when T.J. Mittelstaedt cracked his tenth home run of the season to right field. Quad Cities tied it up in the top of the second, but the Rattlers would then pile on with four runs in the fifth, five in the sixth and two more in the seventh to cruise to a victory. Mittelstaedt would finish the day 3 for 5 with 4 RBI. Nick Ramirez (pictured below) also added 4 RBI, going 2 for 5 with a double.

Jason Rogers also chipped in three hits, including a double off River Bandits reliever Angel De Jesus that just missed leaving the yard. Mike Brownstein (pictured below) stayed hot with two more hits and Greg Hopkins and Brandon Macias both had multi hit games as well. Casey Medlen and Seth Lintz came on in relief of Hall to work the final four innings and preserve the victory for the Rattlers.

Wisconsin finishes up their series with Quad Cities tomorrow afternoon before hitting the road for a 7 game trip. The T-Rats return home on the 24th for the final home stand of the season. Here are my photos from Sunday's game.

Miller Dominates Snappers; Rattlers Win 3-1

A great pitching performance from Rattlers starting pitcher Matt Miller (pictured below) led Wisconsin to a 3-1 victory over the Beloit Snappers on Wednesday night. Miller looked shaky in the first inning, walking the first two batters and allowing the lone run of the game. He quickly settled down though and pitched 7 2/3 innings to earn his fifth victory of the season. Miller struck out six and was still hitting 92-94 on the stadium gun in the eighth inning.
After falling behind 1-0 in the top of the first, the T-Rats offense fought right back for two runs in the bottom half of the inning. Nick Shaw walked to lead off the inning, and went station to station for the team's first run. He took second on a wild pitch. Moved to third on a Mike Brownstein ground out, and scored on a T.J. Mittelstaedt ground out to short. Chad Stang (pictured below) then followed by blasting his second home run of the year to give Wisconsin the 2-1 lead. The Rattlers tacked on one more insurance run in the fifth. Greg Hopkins reached on a fielder's choice, stole second, and then scored on Brownstein's second single of the game. Recently promoted Brandon Macias also had a pair of hits to pace the Wisconsin attack.
The three runs would prove to be plenty as Alan Williams came on in relief of Miller in the eighth to get the final out of the inning, and Adrian Rosario (pictured below) worked a 1-2-3 ninth, striking out the side for the save.
Sadly, there are only twelve Rattler home games left in 2011, I hope to get out to Sunday's game to finally get to see Brooks Hall in action. Here are the rest of my images from Wednesday night.

Bees Top Rattlers 5-3

The Timber Rattlers dropped their fifth straight game on Sunday, falling to the Burlington Bees 5-3. Burlington got out to an early lead, scoring five runs off Rattlers starting pitcher Charly Bashara. The Rattlers fought back for three runs late in the game and got the tying run to the plate in the ninth, but a routine ground ball to short by Mike Brownstein ended the T-Rats rally.

Brownstein and Chad Stang led the way offensively for the Rattlers, each with a pair of hits. Recently promoted first baseman Nick Ramirez (pictured) belted his first home run of the season, and Franklin Romero Jr. added an RBI.

Notes

- The Rattlers bullpen did a phenomenal job, pitching 4 2/3 innings and allowing just one hit and zero runs to keep the team in the game. Greg Holle went 2 2/3 innings, Dan Britt cruised through the eighth and Alan Williams struck out the side in the ninth.

- The home run that Ramirez hit was a pretty good poke. I think once he gets comfortable here he will hit just fine.

- Stang got a lot of action early in the game and made a real nice running catch going back on a ball at the center field wall.

- The Timber Rattlers were just 1 for 15 with runners in scoring position. That seems to be the story of their season. They fall behind, and to their credit they never stop fighting and always seem to rally their way back in to games, but just seem unable to come up with the clutch hits with the game on the line.

Hopefully the team can turn things around quick as I know there are lots of fans out there hungry for some playoff baseball in Appleton. Wisconsin is home for 11 of their next 15 and still have time to turn things around but we are getting down to the last month plus of the season. Here are my photos from today's game. I hope to get out to at least one of the games against Clinton so should have some more shots up later in the week.

Road Trip

I'm back from my recent tour of some Minor League stadiums throughout the Midwest, and the first thing I have to say is how good we really do have it in Appleton with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. From the knowledge and friendliness of the staff to the Disneyland-like cleanliness of Fox Cities Stadium to the amazing condition the playing field is kept in, the Rattlers staff and their facilities stand head and shoulders above the other stadiums I visited. Most of the other Midwest League stadiums I saw were old and run down, and even the Triple-A stadium of the Iowa Cubs seemed a step down from Time Warner Cable Field. So I just want to take this time to acknowledge the Timber Rattlers and their staff for the outstanding job they do each and every day!


That being said, I did get to see some cool things and got some nice images of some of my favorite current and former baseball players such as Mat Gamel (pictured), Billy Hamilton, Michael Fiers and Delino DeShields Sr. (that makes me feel really old throwing that senior behind his name). I saw seven games in six days at five different parks so here's a little breakdown of each park I visited along with my photos from the trip.

Friday July 15th, Pohlman Field in Beloit, WI. South Bend Silver Hawks @ Beloit Snappers


Pohlman Field is always fun for me to visit as I got to play there some in my younger days and have some fond memories of that stadium. I've been there plenty of times so I knew what to expect going in. The stadium is on it's last legs and I don't know how much longer there will be baseball in Beloit without a new facility but for now it's home to the Minnesota Twins Low-A affiliate. You hear a lot of bad things about Beloit, but the area around the stadium is fine and you can go pretty much anywhere you want around the stadium without much hassle. The two players that impressed me the most in the game I saw were Ender Inciarte and Zach Walters of South Bend. Inciarte was on base four times, with a single and three walks. He showed good patience from the leadoff spot and played a fine center field. Walters was only 1 for 4 with a walk but he was awesome with the glove, making several nice plays, ranging once deep in to the hole and then a few batters later coming all the way across the second base bag to field a ball, throw off balance, and get the Beloit runner.


PHOTOS

Saturday July 16th, Alliant Energy Field in Clinton, IA. Lansing Lugnuts @ Clinton LumberKings



From the moment I rolled in to Clinton I knew it was going to be bad news. The entire city smells like an Arby's. And I used to like a little good mood food from time to time, but the smell is seriously worse than driving through Kaukauna. Apparently there are a couple of meat packing plants in town and with the temps in the high 90's it was just brutal. Then I got to my hotel, where it took the geniuses behind the desk over an hour to find my reservation. While I was waiting, a couple of players from the visiting Lansing Lugnuts came down to the lobby complaining of no a/c and a distinct smell of urine in their room. Needless to say I didn't spend much time in my hotel and got over to the stadium as quickly as I could. Things weren't much better there. Their field is what I imagine Goodland Field would look like if the Rattlers (Foxes) were still playing there. It's old, dirty and run down. There were cobwebs on the cupholders and if you look closely at the photo of the field, yes that is a wooden fence in the outfield. The chain link fences on the softball diamonds I play at are safer than that! They must be waiting for another Rodney McCray moment or something. To top it all off I got stuck by the fans from hell. I'm pretty sure most of the people in my section were related (as in married to their sisters). It was the perfect storm of being surrounded by Napoleon Dynamite, Randy Quaid in Major League 2 and the Truffle Shuffle kid from the Goonies. As for the game itself, Lansing pulled out the win in 11 innings. Carlos Perez is one of the Blue Jays top prospects for a reason, he was 4 for 6 and gunned down a runner trying to steal. Michael Crouse also impressed me, going 2 for 5 with a stolen base and an outfield assist (What can I say, I'm a sucker for speed and defense).

PHOTOS


Sunday July 17th, Modern Woodmen Park in Davenport, IA. Bowling Green Hot Rods @ Quad Cities River Bandits



Anything would have been a step up from Clinton, but this was actually a pretty cool park to see. It wasn't the cleanest (again with the cobwebs) but the Mississippi River running beyond the right field wall makes for some nice scenery. The corn field down the left field line that the Quad Cities players enter from is a bit cheesy, but I liked Field of Dreams so I liked this bit of cheesy. It was super hot on the day I was there and there wasn't much shade, but I did like how the park was laid out so you could make an entire lap around the field. Also I like their online ticket ordering as it lets you view a whole section and change which seats you buy. I wish the Rattlers would look into this as I prefer buying online and trying to find an aisle seat can be a real pain sometime with their current setup. I was a little bummed I didn't get to see Cardinals first round pick Kolten Wong play as he had the day off, but there were still prospects galore with Oscar Taveras of Quad Cities and Braulio Lara, Luke Bailey, Derek Dietrich, Kevin Kiermaier and Hector Guevara of Bowling Green. Taveras had a nice two run bomb for the River Bandits and Boone Whiting pitched a really nice game to lead Quad Cities to the 8-4 win.


PHOTOS


Monday July 18th, Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids, IA. Dayton Dragons @ Cedar Rapids Kernels

This was probably my favorite stop along the way. The stadium is kind of tucked away from everything else, but the parking lot sits on the corner of Veterans Memorial Drive and Kurt Warner Way. The staff was extremely friendly and the fans were pretty knowledgeable. It was scorching hot that day and the noon start time didn't help matters but the Cedar Rapids staff did a fantastic job. The stadium was nothing special but it was by no means a dump like Clinton either. Delino DeShields was managing for Dayton so getting a chance to meet and talk to him was neat for me as he was always one of my favorite players growing up. As for the action on the field, prospects Travis Witherspoon of Cedar Rapids and Juan Duran of Dayton each hit home runs. Ronald Torreyes also had a big game for Dayton going 3 for 5 with a double. But my favorite player to watch was Billy Hamilton. As I've said before I like watching players who can run and he can flat out fly. He stole his 70th base of the season (also committed his 28th error though) and I think he could be a problem for the Brewers in the NL Central in a few years.

PHOTOS

Monday July 18th - Wednesday July 20th Principal Park in Des Moines, IA. Nashville Sounds @ Iowa Cubs

I caught the first three games of a four game series the Sounds played in Des Moines. I left the camera at the hotel for game three but still managed to get a bunch of shots of some past, present and future Brewers. I got to see prospects such as Mat Gamel, Caleb Gindl and Eric Farris as well as ex Rattlers Taylor Green, Daniel Meadows, Jim Henderson and Michael Fiers. Principal Park was nothing all that special, though the walk-in beer cooler was pretty sweet (and nice and cool with those high 90 temperatures). They had an announced crowd of 4,736 on Monday night but I would be surprised if the actual number of people in the stands was even half of that. Brewer fans like me will love to hear that Cubs prospect Brett Jackson looked awful in the games I saw. I think he was on base one time (and got thrown out trying to steal second) and did not look good in center field either. On the other hand, Mat Gamel looked awesome! He just keeps hitting and hitting at Triple A and had several great defensive plays at first base, including a diving stab of a ball ticketed for the right field corner. I also got to see Brett Carroll's last few games before he got called up to Milwaukee and saw him show off that throwing arm, teaming with a great relay throw from Edwin Maysonet to nail a runner at the plate.


PHOTOS Game 1

PHOTOS Game 2


All in all it was a pretty good trip. It's amazing how much less stressful traveling is now that the GPS is part of our everyday lives. I know I won't be going back to Clinton anytime soon, but I can still say I really enjoyed the road trip. I think I'll do it again next year, but maybe head south and see if I can get to both Nashville and Huntsville along the way.

WhiteCaps Need 12 To Take Down Rattlers

The Timber Rattlers pitching staff pitched a pretty nice game on Wednesday night, but a 12th inning grand slam proved to be the difference, as the Rattlers fell 7-5 to the West Michigan WhiteCaps.

Matt Miller starter for the Rattlers and worked the first seven innings, allowing just three runs. Brian Garman and Eric Marzec combined to work the next four scoreless. Stosh Wawrzasek then got himself in to some trouble to start the 12th. He nearly worked his way out of a bases loaded, no out jam, but Clay Jones hammered a 3-2, two out pitch for a grand slam home run and a 7-3 lead.

The Rattlers kept pace most of the game thanks to a pair of home runs from Cody Hawn (pictured) and T.J. Mittelstaedt. Mittelstaedt finished the game 3-6 with 2 RBI and was just a triple short of the cycle. Hawn and Nick Shaw each chipped in with two hits. The Rattlers tried to rally in the bottom of the 12th, but could push just two runs across for the final 7-5 score.

Notes:

- Cody Hawn's second inning home run was a pretty good poke to the opposite field. Must have been watching Prince in the All-Star game. It was only his 6th of the season but you can see he's got a little bit of power.

- I haven't seen a good T-Rats brawl since Chad Sheffer destroyed a Beloit catcher in 1996 and the benches cleared and an all out melee ensued, but I almost thought we were gonna get one in the eighth inning when Mike Walker got drilled with a pitch. Not really sure what prompted the reaction from Walker, perhaps there is some back story there, but this is the first time the team's have played this year and it happened on a 2-0 count and the pitch wasn't thrown high or anything. Regardless, he fired his bat and barked at the West Michigan pitcher and was visibly still steaming as the WhiteCaps changed pitchers.

- The Rattlers then missed a golden opportunity to score in that inning when an apparent suicide squeeze backfired with runners on the corners and only one out. Don't know if Hawn just missed the sign or what, but Romero was a sitting duck.

- The highlight of the night for me personally was getting a chance to meet one of my childhood favorites, former Brewers legend Ben Oglivie prior to the game. However I was a little disappointed to hear him say that he had first contacted the Brewers about interviewing for a coaching job and they never even returned his call. He seemed genuinely hurt by it and made a couple comments about loyalty and baseball being a business now. I don't know all the details so it wouldn't be fair for me to say much on the matter, but you would think just with what he did as a player for the Brewers they would grant him an interview as a common courtesy. Then you factor in that he has coaching experience, even at the Major League level, and you look at the success he seems to be having with his current team, and it seems as though the Brewers might have dropped the ball on this one.

- Anyway, here are my photos from Wednesday's game. I'm off to Iowa for a week. I'll post some of my shots from the trip when I get back next Friday. Hopefully the Rattlers will have things turned around by then and we can look forward to an exciting August playoff chase.

Rattlers Bounce Back From Rough First Inning To Thump Kane County

The Rattlers climbed to within a game of the first place Kane County Cougars on Thursday afternoon with an 11-5 victory over the Kansas City Royals affiliate at Fox Cities Stadium.

Matt Miller started for Wisconsin and looked like he was going to have some trouble early on, giving up four runs in the first inning. But he settled down from there and wound up going six innings and allowing just those first inning runs. Stosh Wawrzasek and Brian Garman pitched the final three innings in relief, with Wawrzasek giving up just a single eighth inning run to nail down the game.

The T-Rats offense had another big day, with those eleven runs coming on seventeen hits. Mike Walker (pictured) led the way with a 4 for 4 day and scored four runs. Joey Paciorek had three hits and 4 RBI, including a big three run home run. Chad Stang also chipped in three hits and Cody Hawn, Franklin Romero Jr. and T.J. Mittelstaedt each tallied two hits.

Notes:

- I was afraid it was going to be another rough day for Matt Miller, but he really did a great job of bouncing back from that first inning. His fastball was sitting around 90 mph on the stadium gun but it must have had some good movement because I don't think I've ever seen so many broken bats in one game. The Rattlers broke their share too, but the scariest was one that flew over the heads of Walker and Nick Shaw with the barrel landing on the outfield grass.

- Mike Walker also continues to shine. He seems to put together a good at bat each time up and his 4 for 4 day pushed his average back up to .294. The results on defense were mixed. He did commit an error but also had a nice diving grab of a line drive.

- I've been impressed with Chad Stang so far also. He looks smooth in the outfield and his three hits on Wednesday bumped him up to .344 since joining the Rattlers.

- This was the first game I saw Joey Paciorek play since his stint here last year, and based on the small sample of one game, he looks much more comfortable at the plate this year. His third inning home run was a rocket. I thought it might go foul for a second, but like Chris Mehring noted, he hit it so hard it didn't have time to go foul

- Maybe I just missed the announcement of the last name, but I'm pretty sure that Stosh Wawrzasek was introduced simply as Stosh. That's pretty awesome!

- And speaking of awesome, check out the Mittelstaedt Mohawk!

Here are my photos from yesterday's game. I'll be back out at Fox Cities Stadium next Wednesday. I'm not missing a chance to see West Michigan hitting coach and one of my favorite former Brewers, Ben Oglivie! After that I'm heading out on a nice little week long road trip to check out some other Midwest League teams and stadiums including Beloit, Clinton, Quad Cities and Cedar Rapids. Then three games in Des Moines as ex Rattlers Michael Fiers, Daniel Meadows, Taylor Green and the Nashville Sounds take on the Iowa Cubs. If anyone's interested in seeing pics from the trip let me know and maybe I'll put a post up on here when I get back.

Nelson Pitches Rattlers To Victory

The Timber Rattlers stayed in the thick of the first half wild card race on Sunday with a 4-1 win over the Fort Wayne TinCaps leaving Wisconsin just two games back.

Jimmy Nelson started for the Rattlers and went seven strong innings, allowing just one run on five hits while striking out eight.

Offensively the T-Rats were led by Greg Hopkins who went 3 for 3 with an RBI. Reggie Keen was 1 for 3 with a triple and a walk and scored two runs, while Nick Shaw was also on base twice and scored the team's other two runs.

The game was close throughout and the TinCaps threatened a couple times late in the ballgame. But great relief work by Greg Holle kept Fort Wayne off the board and Holle got the final six outs to record his fourteenth save of the season.

Notes

- This was the best game I have seen Nelson pitch this year. It seemed like he was throwing a lot of strikes and not much was hit very hard. He also had a very athletic lunging grab at first base to complete a 3-6-1 double play to end the sixth.

- Despite allowing four stolen bases and an 0-4 day at the plate, I thought Tyler Roberts played a great game. In a couple of key situations late in the game he was a brick wall, not letting anything by him. He blocked pitch after pitch in the dirt and made a great pick of a short hop throw from third baseman Greg Hopkins to record a force out at home with the bases loaded in the eighth. And he did all of this after having a finger nail torn off on his throwing hand by a foul tip. He showed me the finger after the game, bandaged and still bleeding and just laughed it off and said "I'll be okay". He's a catcher, of course he will.

- Greg Hopkins continued his hot hitting with his three hit performance and made several good plays in the field. His throw home in the eighth looked like maybe he tried to aim it too much causing the short hop, but he had several other nice diving stops at third earlier in the game.

- Stosh Wawrzasek was not the same Stosh I had become used to seeing this year. He didn't seem to have great control, but I guess everyone is entitled to a bad day. Every other time I had seen him this year he had been fantastic and his bullpen buddy Greg Holle bailed him out with a great two inning save.

- This might have been the last chance to see some of the current Rattlers this season. With the All-Star break coming up it's likely some like Austin Ross, Mike Walker and Tyler Thornburg will earn a promotion. And with short season leagues starting up, players like Yadiel Rivera may head out to Helena. Whatever happens, it's been a very enjoyable first half of the season and I'd like to wish the best of luck to all the players as they move through the organization.

- After the Rattlers game I checked out a MSBL game between the Neenah Brauers and East River Knights and was pleasantly surprised to see former Timber Rattlers Juan Ramos and Juan Alcala playing for the Neenah squad. Both spent part of the 2000 season with the Rattlers.

- Here are my photos from Sunday's game. The Rattlers are now gone for nearly another two weeks. I will be back out at the game on the 25th, but that is our annual softball game and tailgate so I doubt I will be in any shape to operate a camera that night so it might be a bit longer wait for more photos.

Rattlers Explode For 14 Runs

After an extended road trip the Timber Rattlers finally came back home this week. Seems like I hadn't seen a game in forever but Wednesday afternoon's performance was well worth the wait. The T-Rats exploded for fourteen runs on twenty hits. They had no problem against Lake County knuckleballer Steven Wright. The Rattlers put up a couple of crooked numbers with six runs in the first and four in the second.

The Rattlers were led by lead off man T.J. Mittelstaedt, who went 4 for 5 with a walk. Greg Hopkins and Tony Pechek each chipped in three hits and Nick Shaw and Cody Hawn knocked in three runs each. Wisconsin also added four home runs. One each by Hawn, Shaw, Mittelstaedt and Chris Dennis.

Jameson Dunn started for the T-Rats and went five innings, allowing just two runs on a two run home run by Indians prospect LeVon Washington to pick up the win. Brian Garman came on in relief and worked three scoreless innings before Stosh Wawrzasek closed out the ninth.


Notes:
- The Rattlers could have had a fifth home run as Yadiel Rivera smoked one that from my point of view clearly looked like it left the yard in fair territory, but the umpire ruled it foul. Matt Erickson argued the call but to no avail. When you hear the term good defender thrown around for Yadiel, Rattler fans might be tempted to think Mike Marseco. Good glove, no bat so it was good to see a little pop in Rivera's bat. The average isn't there yet, but the glove sure is. He is very young but had a ton of room to get better and with steady improvement he could be exciting to watch.

- Rivera wasn't the only one playing solid defense on Wednesday. Rattlers pitchers were helped by a couple of big plays in the outfield. Chris Dennis had a really nice running catch going in to the left-center field gap, and Robbie Garvey made a leaping grab on the warning track.

- Everybody in the Rattlers lineup had at least one hit, and seven players had multiple hits. Wisconsin also pounded out seven extra base hits.

- Garman looked like a totally different pitcher than I saw earlier in the year. Now whether that was a matter of him just struggling earlier, or being healthy, or Lake County giving away at bats with such a big deficit I don't know, but nice to see him back on track and throwing strikes.

- Good to see former Brewer farmhand Rob Bryson throw an inning for Lake County. One of the players included in the CC Sabathia trade, Bryson is working his way back from injury and pitched a scoreless seventh inning for the Captains.

- Here are my photos from Wednesday's game. I should make it back out there on Sunday for the last game against the Fort Wayne Tin Caps before the Rattlers are gone again for almost another two weeks with a seven game road trip followed by the All-Star break.

T-Rats Take Game One, Fall In Game Two

All the rain and bad weather over the past few weeks force the Timber Rattlers into yet another doubleheader on Friday. They won game one 5-0 over Clinton thanks to an outstanding pitching performance by starter Matt Miller (pictured). Miller threw a complete game shutout, allowing only three hits, while striking out six. He had good command and did an excellent job of mixing up his pitches, keeping Clinton hitters off balance all game. Offensively the Rattlers were led by Cody Hawn, who went 2 for 3, and Carlos George, who knocked in a pair of runs.
Game two was a different story, Del Howell again struggled with his control. He walked two batters and was hit pretty hard, allowing five runs, three earned in just three innings of work. Hawn had an opposite field home run in game two to account for the Rattlers only run. Catcher Cameron Garfield suffered what appeared to be a rather serious knee injury in game two as he tried to make a lunging tag on a play at the plate. He was down on the ground in noticeable pain for a while before being helped off the field. Hopefully it's nothing serious, but it didn't look good at all. Here's hoping for a quick recovery for the exciting young catching prospect. The Timber Rattlers and LumberKings wrap up their three game series tomorrow at 1:05 before the T-Rats head out on the road. Here are my photos from Friday's action.
PHOTOS

Rattlers Split Doubleheader With Walk-Off

Got a chance to watch two pretty good games on Sunday thanks to this weekend's rain outs. The T-Rats blew game one but salvaged the day with an awesome game ending, walk-off home run by Mike Walker in game two. Here are some of my observations from the two games.

Del Howell: Howell's command was a lot better than the last time I saw him. Still was only between 84-86 on the stadium gun, but only walked two while striking out four.
Brian Garman: Garman really struggled, giving up five runs in just an inning and two-thirds.
Eric Marzec: Marzec came in to pitch to the last three Peoria batters in game one. He gave up two hits and struck out a batter.
Tyler Thornburg: I'm on the Tyler Thornburg bandwagon. He was dominant, striking out eight and giving up only three hits. His fastball was sitting around 90-91 most of the game but seemed to get stronger later in the game when I saw him hit 92 a couple of times in the sixth inning.
Stosh Wawrzasek: Came on in relief to get Thornburg out of the sixth inning and struck out the only batter he faced.
Dan Britt: Pitched the seventh in game two and got the win. Walked one and struck out one.
Nick Shaw: Played only in game one. Was 1 for 4 with a double but struck out twice.
Reggie Keen: Went 2 for 6 with a double and stole his team leading fifth base of the season. Could have had a third hit on the day but the Peoria third baseman made a great play on a really hard hit line drive in game one.
Cody Hawn: Hawn was 2 for 5 and drew a walk. He looked much better at the plate than the first two times I saw him this year.
Jason Rogers: Rogers started game one in left field before being replaced with a lead for defense. Not sure what his position will be in the future but he keeps hitting. 2 for 5 with a double on Sunday. Also stole his fourth base of the young season. (Eventually I'm going to stop being suprised when I see him steal a base.)
Robbie Garvey: Garvey came in for Rogers in game one and went 0 for 1. He pinch ran for Hawn in game two and scored on Walker's walk-off home run.
Greg Hopkins: Hopkins finished the day 1 for 4 with a walk and had a nice sacrifice bunt in game two to get the tying run in scoring position.
Mike Walker: The star of the day, Walker went 4 for 6 with a double and two home runs. His walk-off in game two included a big league bat flip, which as a fan was pretty sweet, though I'm sure the Peoria squad didn't really care for it (but they are a Cubs affiliate so who really cares).
Tyler Roberts: Roberts was 1 for 4 with a double while catching game one.
Carlos George: George was 2 for 6 at the plate, but again it was his glove that really impressed me. He made a really nice pick of a short hopped throw to second to tag out a base stealer.
Franklin Romero Jr.: Romero was 0 for 5 in the two games, but again was solid in the field. He really seems to take control in the outfield, though there was one pop up the wind got to where he maybe could have called off Shaw and made a play on. But in his defense, that wind was brutal. I'm still thawing out a couple days later.
T.J. Mittelstaedt: Went 0 for 2 in game two. Smoked one down the third base line in the fifth, but again the third baseman (Greg Rowan, he had a great day so I should probably learn his name) made a fantastic diving catch and tagged the bag to double Walker off third base.
Tony Pechek: Caught game two and went 0 for 2 at the plate.

Here are my photos from both of Sunday's games against Peoria. Game 1 Game 2

Rattlers Fall to Kane County

The Timber Rattlers held off Mother Nature long enough on Sunday to get their game in, but fell to the Kane County Cougars 9-5 to split their season opening series. Del Howell started for the Rattlers and got the loss. Tyler Roberts (pictured) and Robbie Garvey led the way offensively, each collecting a pair of hits. My observations from Sunday's game:

Nick Shaw: Shaw was 1 for 4 out of the lead off spot. He hit the ball hard in the third, but lined out to the third baseman. He also had a pitch that he appeared the foul off his foot, but the umpire ruled it didn't touch him and he was thrown out.

Reggie Keen: Keen went 0-4, he grounded out three times and struck out in the sixth.

Cody Hawn: Hawn had a double to lead off the ninth innings and came around to score on Mike Walker's single. He finished the day with one hit in four at bats.

Mike Walker: Walker DH'd and went 1 for 3 with a walk. His RBI single in the ninth kept the Rattlers comeback hopes alive.

Greg Hopkins: Hopkins also had a 1 for 4 game while playing third base for the Rattlers. He doubled in the second inning and scored on a base hit by Robbie Garvey.

Robbie Garvey: Garvey had two hits, scored two runs and knocked in another. He singled in the second and again in the ninth.

Tyler Roberts: Roberts was the offensive star of the game, going 2 for 4 with 3 RBI. He also had a solid game behind the plate, throwing out a base stealer and also executing a nice 3-2-3 double play with Cody Hawn to get the Rattlers out of sixth inning jam.

Carlos George: George had a rough game, going 0 for 4 at the plate and also committing a pair of errors in the field. His error in the eight was in the midst of a rain storm so that may have played a role in his wild throw.

Franklin Romero Jr. : Romero was 0 for 4 at the plate but showed off his great arm again, gunning down a runner at third base.

Del Howell : Howell's command was off on Sunday as he walked six batters. The stadium gun was on but I didn't see very many legit readings, seemed like most of the time they were getting the catcher's throws back to the pitcher. The highest I saw Howell register was 86.

Stosh Wawrzasek: The big Canadian gave up six hits and two runs in his two innings of work. He seemed to be throwing the hardest of the three Rattler pitchers but also seemed to get hit the hardest.

Thomas Keeling: Keeling finished up the final 2 1/3 innings for Wisconsin, giving up three runs, two earned on three hits and also walked three.

The Rattlers finished up their series with Kane County with a .500 record. They now head out on the road for a few days to take on Cedar Rapids in a four game set. They return home on Friday night to hose the Peoria Chiefs. Here are my photos from today's game.

PHOTOS

Opening Day 2011

Hey Rattlers fans, guess who is undefeated and in first place? What a great way to start the season. Led by a great pitching performance by starter Austin Ross (pictured), the Timber Rattlers defeated Kane County 9-3 on Thursday evening. I'm going to try a bit different format this year and break things down player by player. . Please keep in mind I am by no means a scout or any type of expert so take my comments for what they are, the opinions and observations of a fan with a camera.

Austin Ross: Ross looked outstanding in his first start of the year, going six strong innings, allowing only two hits. The stadium gun did not appear to be working as I didn't see any pitch speed readings, but the one run came on a first inning home run to Brett Eibner on a fly ball to left that kept carrying and just cleared the left field wall. Ross struck out six in his six innings of work and didn't walk a single batter.

Tyler Cravy: Cravy came on to pitch the seventh inning and struggled a bit. He allowed two earned runs on four hits. The Kane County batters hit Cravy pretty hard. He walked one and struck out one.

Greg Holle: Holle was solid in his two innings to close out the game. He walked one batter and struck out two without allowing a hit.

Nick Shaw: The game MVP (and my personal favorite since his walkup song is On to the Next One by Jay-Z), Shaw went 3 for 4 with a home run to right field in the fifth inning. He also looked solid in the field and scored three of the team's nine runs.

Reggie Keen: Keen also had three hits for the T-Rats, including a double and stole a base. The team as a whole seemed very aggressive in taking extra bases all game long. Keen appeared to suffer an injury late in the game. In the bottom of the eighth I notice him stretching his lower leg. It looked like maybe just a tight calf muscle or something, which is very possible in these early cold weather games. The trainer came out and looked at him but it couldn't have been too serious as they left him in to run. He was replaced in the ninth when T.J. Mittelstaedt came in to play left field with Robbie Garvey going to center.

Cody Hawn: Looked very comfortable in the field. I've seen many a Rattler struggle with high pop ups in April, but the couple chances Hawn had he made easily. He also had one hit and an RBI.

Jason Rogers: Rogers had one hit and two RBI. He also drew a walk and more impressively, the big man stole a base. Looks like this whole team is going to run this season.

Mike Walker: Walker was on base three times. He had an RBI double in the fifth to score Hawn and also drew a pair of walks. I don't recall him having a ball hit to him defensively.

Robbie Garvey: Garvey was also on base three time for the Rattlers. He doubled and walked twice. Played left field for most of the game before moving to center in the ninth.

Tyler Roberts: Roberts was the only T-Rats starter not to record a hit. He grounded in to a pair of double plays and also had a throwing error when a strikeout got away from him and his throw to first sailed in to right field. I was kind of surprised he got the start over Cameron Garfield, but I would assume that will be a platoon we will see all season until there is some roster shuffling.

Carlos George: George looked like a totally different player than the one we saw in Wisconsin last April. He was an error machine last year, but looked incredibly smooth in the field on Thursday night. He also was 1 for 3 at the plate and scored a run.

Franklin Romero Jr.: Romero was 3 for 4 with a run scored. I don't recall him hitting anything real hard but he found the holes in the defense. He also has an absolute cannon in the outfield. I don't remember that from last year. Maybe I just never got to see him show it off in his short stint here in 2010 but the Cougars weren't even thinking about running on him.

T.J. Mittelstaedt: Not much to say here, he came on as a defensive replacement in left field for the ninth inning but didn't have a ball hit to him. It would appear he will be the team's fourth outfielder.

So far, so good. Through one game the Timber Rattlers are undefeated, in first place, and fun to watch. I don't know how many updates I will have early in the season as work always seems to get in the way, but once May rolls around and things slow down I will have plenty more. For now, here are my photos from last night's home opener, and a bonus photo gallery from last Saturday's Rising Stars game at Miller Park.

Home Opener

Rising Stars

Top 10 Timber Rattler Prospects

Better late than never, here are your Top 10 Prospects from the 2010 Timber Rattlers as ranked by a panel of fans. We had five fans who cast their votes. A first place vote was worth ten points, a second place vote worth nine, and so on down the line with a tenth place vote receiving one point. Five players appeared on every ballot, and sixteen players overall received at least one vote. We had a three way tie for second place with each player receiving 36 total points. Nobody here claims to be an expert, so go easy on us. These are just the opinions of a few hardcore Rattler fans who saw quite a few games in person in 2010. So without further ado, here is your Top Ten:

1. Jake Odorizzi (49 points) - The near unanimous number one, Jake received four of five first place votes and finished second on the other ballot. Brewer fans everywhere are high on Odorizzi's potential and hopefully we will see him pitching at Miller Park in the next few years.

2. (tie) Jeremy Jeffress (36 points) - Jeffress received the other first place vote, but he was also left off of one list. It could have been that Jeffress was overlooked by one voter because of the short time he stayed in Appleton, or maybe they were concerned with the off the field things, but based on Jeremy's showing in Milwaukee in September and in the Arizona Fall League the future once again looks promising for this former first round pick.

2. (tie) Scooter Gennett (36 points) - Scooter appeared on every ballot, going as high as second on one as low as fifth on another. His size will always make people question him and he will need to prove himself at each level, but yesterday's trade of Brett Lawrie shows the Brewers have high hopes for some of their other second base prospects including Gennett.

2. (tie) Kentrail Davis (36 points) - Kentrail also appeared on all five ballots, ranking anywhere from second to fifth as well. He will need to show more power as he develops if he is going to play one of the corner spots, though he has the tools to play anywhere in the outfield. He certainly raised the hopes of Brewer fans with a fine 2010 season.

5. Kyle Heckathorn (32 points) - Kyle was promoted to Brevard County midway through the 2010 season, but was arguably one of the T-Rats best pitchers while in Appleton. He ranked third on one ballot, with his lowest spot being seventh. Heckathorn could start 2011 at AA and may be on the fast track to Milwaukee.

6. Khris Davis (25 points) - Khris Davis put his name on the prospect radar with a record setting 22 home run season for the Rattlers in 2010. He was ranked as high as third and as low as eight. He will need to prove himself against more advanced pitching and probably doesn't have much chance of taking Ryan Braun's job, but as long as he keeps hitting he will certainly have a place to play.

7. D'Vontrey Richardson (17 points) - D'Vo is maybe the most talented athlete on the team and if he is able to use that athleticism on the field he could be a special player. He ranked as the #4 prospect on one ballot, but was also left off of one ballot. If he reaches his full potential, Richardson could be a legit five tool player.

8. Cutter Dykstra (14 points) - Cutter shocked a lot of people with his bounce back season in 2010. Perhaps even more shocking though, is that the biggest Cutter Dykstra fan I know, left him completely off his ballot. Dykstra ranked as high as seventh and though he has bounced around from position to position, his eye at the plate and high on base percentage make for a perfect lead off hitter.

9. Andre Lamontagne (7 points) - Andre was only a Rattler for a brief time last year, but he did a great job closing out games for the Timber Rattlers before being promoted to Brevard and then promoted again to AA Huntsville. Lamontagne ranked as high as sixth on one ballot and is another player the Brewers appear to have on the fast track towards Miller Park.

10. Chris Dennis (6 points) - Dennis quietly had a great season and tends to get overlooked, but he did appear on three of five ballots, ranking as high as eighth. He will need to cut down on the strikeouts, but he already has good power with even more room to improve and could be the eventual long term replacement for Prince Fielder.

Other receiving votes: Nick Bucci (5), Hunter Morris (2), Hiram Burgos (2), Cameron Garfield (1), Maverick Lasker (1), Eric Arnett (1)

Unsung Hero: Cameron Garfield

Continuing with our seven part series looking back on the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 2010 season. Today's award is for the Unsung Hero. From Matt Costello to Chris Dennis to Nick Bucci, there were plenty of names tossed around, but in the end it came down to two. Ultimately Cutter Dykstra was edged out by catcher Cameron Garfield (pictured) for the award.

Garfield played in 102 games, a pretty high number for a catcher, in his first full season of pro ball. He was in charge of handling Timber Rattlers pitchers all season and still managed to hit .245 with three home runs and 46 RBI.

Chris: "I don't think Chris Dennis gets the credit he deserves for the season he put together, but I think catchers tend to be more overlooked and Cameron Garfield was pretty solid all season so my vote is for him. Nick Bucci also had a great season and wasn't talked about as much as others on the staff"

Adam: "Cameron Garfield deserves this one. It's not easy to do what he did as an 18-19 year old. Matt Costello also flew under the radar for the numbers he put up, but Garfield was out there a ton and usually did a nice job."

Brad: "Garfield is sometimes the forgotten man, his numbers offensively weren't great, but for a catcher in his first full season they are pretty solid. He will only get better and we might get to watch him again in Appleton in 2011. Chris Dennis also deserves serious consideration. For someone who led the team with 87 RBI, he really didn't get the attention some of the other players did."

Mike: "Cutter Dykstra for all the position stuff, putting all the crap with his father and a bad 2010 behind him and just hitting the ball and getting on base."

Erik: "Cutter is one of those guys that seems somewhat unspectacular from game to game, but is on base two times per game with a stolen base and a run. Still needs some work on defense, but he was rock-solid in the lineup."

Previous award winners and schedule of the ones we will be featuring in the coming weeks:
10/4 - Offensive Player of the Year - Khris Davis
10/11 - Defensive Player of the Year - Michael Marseco
10/18 - Pitcher of the Year - Jake Odorizzi
10/25 - Relief Pitcher of the Year - Andre Lamontagne
11/01 - Biggest Surprise - Cutter Dykstra
11/15 - Unsung Hero - Cameron Garfield
11/22 - Top 10 Prospects