Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning. – Winston Churchill

Not pictured: Third baseman Jeimar Candelario snaring the line drive off the bat of Mike Garza.

Timber Rattlers 2
Kane County 4
Boxscore | Game Story

The home run by Rock Shoulders in the fourth inning was ridiculous. At first it looked like a routine fly ball. Then, it looked like Tyrone Taylor would make the catch on the warning track. Then, it looked like Taylor might have a chance to rob Shoulders of a home run with a leaping catch at the wall.   Then, the ball banged off the message board above that BRANCH OUT sign in left-center. Ridiculous.

The next three batters had hits and the triple by Reggie Golden appeared to be a catchable ball on a high pop fly to shallow right. But, it dropped between three fielders and scored the final run of the inning for a 4-0 lead.

You want to see a shift?  Here’s Sunday’s Rademacher Shift:

Find the second baseman.

Martin Viramontes with a pair of scoreless innings. That would run his scoreless streak to 7-1/3 innings over his last three outings.

Good to see Rodolfo Fernandez back on the hill. He pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning in his first appearance since May 31.

The usuals:

Tyrone Taylor had a 2-for-4 day with a double and a walk.  In the ninth, he looked like he thought the 2-2 pitch was outside, but got rung up for strike three to end the game with the tying runs on base.  Still…his June numbers: 27-for-56 (.482). 6 doubles, triple, homer, seven RBI, 15 runs.  Taylor played 15 games in June.  His OPS: 1.237.  Do we still consider 15 games a small sample size?

Michael Reed singled twice and walked once.  His on base streak as we head into the All-Star Break is at 36 games.  That is now the second longest on-base streak in all of minor league baseball this season.  Jordan Lennerton of Toledo (International League) moved his on base streak to 47 games with a walk and a run scored on Sunday at Syracuse.

The first half ends with the Timber Rattlers at 29-36 and in seventh place in the Western Division.  Beloit won the division and Cedar Rapids won the wild card.  There will be three days to rest and relax for most of the team.  Austin Blaski, Ryan Gibbard, and Damien Magnifico will be at the All-Star Game in Dayton along with Matt Erickson and his staff. 

Then, the Rattlers will be fighting for a playoff spot with Peoria, Quad Cities, Clinton, Kane County, and Burlington.

DaytonDragons.com should have all the details on the All-Star Game.  The game should be available on their audio channel and through MiLB.TV.  I’ll link to it when I know more.

Two things to remember:

Monday is the new deadline to register for the Timber Rattlers Charity Golf Outing for the Miracle League of the Fox Valley.  The event will be held on June 24 at Shamrock Heights Golf Course in New London.  Details here.

The auction for the 2013 Star Wars Jerseys of Jono Armold, Alfredo Rodriguez, and Tyler Wagner is still running until Thursday.  Click here to bid.

Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one. – Dr. Seuss

The Rattlers watch the Jesse White Tumblers after Saturday’s win at Kane County.

Timber Rattlers 11
Kane County 5
Boxscore | Game Story

Getting up 7-0 after two innings was nice. The innings had a different feel. In the first inning, the Timber Rattlers were patient and drew four walks. They were opportunistic. Victor Roache jumped on a first pitch after the second walk of the inning loaded the bases and cracked a sharp single to left to score two runs. In the second, there were four hits with Michael Reed and Adam Giacalone providing the run scoring hits.

Speaking of Reed, that’s a 35 game on-base streak. Two hits, two walks, two stolen bases, three RBI. Updated slashline for him is .297/.378/.416

Stay HOT, Tyrone Taylor! He went 3-for-6 with his 18th double of the season on Saturday.  Slashline for the season: .294/.350/.480.  Slashline for June: .481/.556/.673.

The Rattlers got into the Kane County bullpen in the first inning as they knocked Dillon Maples out of the game with 2 outs. Maples faced nine batters. The two outs were a caught stealing and a force out at second.

The bonus of getting into the bullpen early was seeing Felix Pena and his Blue Suede Shoes out there for three innings:

You can steal a base; hit my deuce; Make me pitch before I’m loose. But stay off of my blue suede shoes.

Here is the shift the Rattlers had on Dan Vogelbach in the fifth inning.

The Vogelbach Shift.

In the third inning, Vogelbach was up with runners at second and third with one out.   He scalded a ball to the left of second (as you look at it from behind home plate).  Arcia, the shortstop playing to the right (as you look at it from behind home plate) of second, ranged over, made a diving stab, got to his feet, and threw out Vogelbach at first base.  The runner from third scored.  The runner from second eventually scored later in the inning.  But defensive play by Arcia got the second out of the inning.  Imagine the momentum that the Cougars would have had with a 2-run single by Vogelbachand instead of an RBI grounder.

Here’s the puzzler:  If the defense is playing straight up (aka without the shift), does Arcia make that play?

Preston Gainey went five innings, his longest outing of the season, and picked up the win.  He pitched well with the lead.  He didn’t try to be too fine with his pitches.  As a result he only walked two in five innings to earn his first win as a starting pitcher.  His fast ball was sitting 91-92 and there was some movement.

The errorless streak ended at 29-2/3 innings.  Bijan Rademacher had a bunt single in the seventh and Mike Garza tried to make a throw that he shouldn’t have and it wound up sailing to right to let Rademacher take second.  The new errorless streak ended at one inning.  Marco Hernandez had a bunt single and Brent Dean tried to make a throw that he shouldn’t have and it wound up sailing into right to let Hernandez take second base.

BUT, each time the Cougars had that runner at second with one out, Eric Semmelhack retired the next two batters to keep the Rattlers up 8-4.  The only mistake Semmelhack made in the four innings he pitched on the way to his first professional save was a ball that Rademacher lost with two outs in the ninth inning…lost as in…that ball cleared the roof of the picnic deck in right field.  The only ball that way I have seen hit farther was a ball that Adrian Gonzalez hit off Tim Burton in 2001.

Three wins in a row for the Timber Rattlers.  I almost wish that the end of the first half wasn’t after Sunday.  The team is playing very good baseball right now.  But, three days off will probably help everyone  rest, relax, and re-focus.

Oh…did I mention the Zooperstars! were at the game?

Tim Tebull.

Dick Flytale & Yao Flamingo

YAAAAAH! HIS HEAD! WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS HEAD???!??!

One more from the Jesse White Tumblers!

I would stick around after a game to watch this.

It’s not about where you were born. Or what powers you have. Or what you wear on your chest…. It’s about what you do… It’s about action. – Superman, Infinite Crisis

Jorge Lopez strikes out Oliver Zapata in the third inning of Saturday’s game.

Timber Rattlers 5
Kane County 1
Boxscore | Game Story

I thought Jorge Lopez pitched better in this game than he did in the game with six no-hit innings earlier this season. The difference. He walked one batter on Friday at Kane County. He walked five on May 23 at Quad Cities. He remained confident in his pitches. He kept going back to the same spot – just a little off the outside corner at the knees to both lefties and righties – and proved the plate umpire that he was going to hit that spot. He did with a low 90′s fastball and there wasn’t much the Kane County hitters could do with that pitch except get more and more frustrated. It was another well-pitched game by Lopez and that guy we saw earlier in the season is quickly receding in the rearview mirror.

Look at the first inning. A walk and a single by the first two batters of the inning.  Then, a deep flyout to center allows the runner at second to tag and go to third.  In April, this inning gets out of hand.  On June 14, Lopez strikes out Jeimer Candelario on a 3-2 pitch and Brent Dean throws out the runner trying to steal second.  Lopez retired the next ten batters he faced.

Victor Roache’s hitless streak SHOULD have come to an end in his on of his first two at bats of the night. He tattooed a ball that was headed for the corner in left. But, a leaping, backhanded grab by Jeimer Candelario turned that double into an out. Then, in the fourth, Roache hit another hard shot to third, but the ball went right at Candelario, who turned it into an inning ending force out at third. The hitless streak ended at 0-for-27 when Roache lined a single to center. The ball was hit so hard, Tyrone Taylor couldn’t score from second on the single. Roache was hit by a breaking ball in the eighth inning. That’s three hard hit balls and a hit batsman with 0 strikeouts by Roache on Friday night. You can choose to look at the 0-for-27 or you can choose to look at the contact and the approach.  I know what I am looking at and when he heats up…well, I’m happy to have the opportunity to watch every Midwest League at bat by Victor Roache .

Speaking of happy to watch, Tyrone Taylor is no longer one-hit, one-hit, one-hit. He finished Friday at 4-for-5 and he is hitting .292 on the season. Taylor was hitting .240 before the game on June 1. Slashline for the month of June: .478/.561/.674.

Michael Reed now with a 34-game on base streak. He walked twice and scored once. That’s the longest streak in the Midwest League this season.  In case you were wondering…

LONGEST ON-BASE STREAKS IN MiLB FOR 2013:
Jordan Lennerton (Toledo, International League) – 45*
Jamal Austin (High Desert, California League) – 38
Mookie Betts (Greenville, South Atlantic League) – 35
Kevin Plaweck (Savanah, South Atlantic League) – 35
Reymond Fuentes (San Antonio, Texas League) – 34*
Michael Reed (Wisconsin, Midwest League) – 34*

*-Active Streak

Alfredo Rodriguez had two hits.  the double to right-center was a rope and split the outfielders.  Plus, it came with two outs and it scored two runs.  Big hit.

The Rattlers ran themselves out of the first inning.  Arcia gambled on going to third after Candelario missed the barehand pick on Taylor’s bunt single.  But, a heads-up play by the pitcher turned into an out at third base.  Michael Heesch saw Arcia running for third, picked up the ball, and just got to Arcia before Arcia could get to the base.  Then, Taylor took off early before Heesch threw to the plate and it turned into a 1-3-6 caught stealing.

Before I forget…The Shift Lives!

Rock Shoulders at the plate. Three infielders to the right of second base.

Of course, Shoulders reached on a weak grounder to where Mike Garza would normally play.  But, if Rock Shoulders (12 homers, 39RBI) wants to reach that way…go right ahead!

Brent Dean! Double caps the three-run rally and called a great game for both Lopez and Ryan Gibbard.

Errorless game!  That’s 23-1/3 innings of error-free ball by the Timber Rattlers.

Handshakes all around!

A game well played!

Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It’s perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we’ve learned something from yesterday. – John Wayne

What a great place for a speaker….and a post, too. Blaski v. Wooten

Game 1
Rattlers 1
Snappers 3
Boxscore | Game Story

Game 2
Rattlers 3
Snappers 2
Boxscore | Game Story

The Timber Rattlers committed no errors in this doubleheader and just one error in 23 innings during the series. Good sign.

Game 1:

There was an opportunity in the first inning. Orlando Arcia doubled and Tyrone Taylor walked with one out. But, Michael Ynoa got a pair of strikeouts to end the chance. Wisconsin wouldn’t get another chance until the top of the seventh.

Hiram Burgos with two innings. He threw some breaking balls that Beloit hitters had no chance of hitting. The single that John Wooten hit off him in the second inning was a grounder back through the middle. Had Delgado hit the ball about three feet to the right, he would have had a home run. Instead the ball hit off the 16′ wall instead of going over the 8′ wall.

Mike Strong had better control. He struck out seven over four innings and walked one.

Unfortunately, Christopher Bostick has been kryptonite to Rattlers pitching this season. He hit a 2-run double in the fourth to make it 3-0. Bostick, who also drove in Beloit’s run in game two, is 10-for-24 with 12RBI in seven games against Wisconsin. Dude knocked in six runs in the series.

Victor Roache went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in game one. He is hitless in his last 25 at bats with eleven strikeouts. He did not play in game two. Matt likes Roache’s work ethic and toughness and expects him to bust out soon. When that happens….look the heck out!

Max Walla helped the Rattlers avoid the shutout with a two-out single to left. Always nice to see Max got to the opposite field

Game 2:

It probably wasn’t a surprise that Tyrone Taylor and Michael Reed got the Rattlers in front. Taylor ripped a double to left. Reed cracked a triple to right. Both with two outs.

Funny moment on the triple by Wooten on the triple. The ball got to the wall in the Rattlers bullpen. It looked like – and I can’t be completely sure because my sightline to that part of the field is horrible – the ball got to the wall and stopped there under the part of the bench that goes out over the leg. Wooten threw up his hands to say it was unplayable. Then, he made a move for the ball. Then, he held up his hands. Then, he realized he better -pick the ball up before it turns into an inside-the-park home run. Reed was going to have a triple the whole way, but it might have been a closer play.

Reed’s on-base streak is at 33 games. He’s tied for the longest on-base streak in the league this season. To give numbers to gauge the streak: AVG: .311 (41-for-132); OBP: .389; Runs: 19; Walks: 17; Doubles: 7; Triples: 5; Strikeouts: 33

If you heard the interview with Matt Erickson as we talked about Austin Blaski, Matt brought up that word…Pitchability. Yes. It’s a made up word, but it describes Blaski. He’s not a high velocity guy, but he can make the pitch to the location he wants to get the hitter out. Let’s look at the fifth inning when Beloit had pulled to within 2-1 and had runners on first and second and had only one out. First he went 3-2 on Wooten and got him to chase a pitch off the outside corner for strike three. Then, he got Renato Nunez to think that he hit a home run to put the Snappers up 4-2. Michael Reed caught the ball on the warning track to end the inning.

I gave Nunez a little ribbing because he did a quick little bat flip towards his dugout after he hit the ball because he really thought it was gone. It sounded good off the bat, but the ball was not carrying on Thursday. I though it was trouble, but Reed got back and made it look fairly routine to catch. Still…the bat flip was a little much.

Taylor Mangum got after it in the final two innings. He threw strikes. He let his defense do the work when he needed it and he got a couple of big strike outs (Roberts to end the sixth with two runners on base & Vertigan to start the seventh). His mustache is starting to become impressive.

A couple of well-played games for the Timber Rattlers. Now to carry it forward to the last three games of the half and finish strong.