Postgame Thoughts (August 21, 2011)

The last out

Timber Rattlers 5, Bees 4
Boxscore | Game Story

• Shhhhhh.  Brooks Hall has very quietly won seven games.
• Today he had five strikeouts, no walks.  A couple of missteps, but allow me to use “Pitchability” and “Gumption”
• Gumption came into play for Hall in the third inning.  Wade Kirkland did not appreciate getting hit by a 2-2 pitch.  Hall did not appreciate the way that Kirkland showed that he did not appreciate getting hit.  Words were exchanged.
• Wiry Casey Medlen struck out five in 2-2/3 innings, including the first four batters he faced.
• Medlen throws hard, mixes in the soft stuff, and throws strikes.
• I know, I make it sound easier than it is, but sometimes it’s that simple.
• There is a discussion about an E-5 on a bunt by Chad Stang in the first inning possibly being changed to a hit.
• I seriously doubt there will be change, since if it is ruled a hit (as it probably should have been in the first place) that will make it three earned runs against Blake Hassebrock instead of one earned run against Hassebrock.
• Reggie Keen with four hits today.  He has two four hit games this season for the Rattlers.
• Cody Hawn with a couple of key RBI in the game on Sunday.  He drove in a run (the first run of the game) with a single through the drawn in infield in the first inning.  He drove in the go ahead run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning.
• Which leads me to my first question that I am going to ask because I don’t know.  Why are teams bringing the infield in with a runner at third in the FIRST inning?
• The Rattlers scored three runs in the first inning on Sunday.  Does that inning – and maybe the game – turn out differently if the infield is back and that is an RBI grounder instead of an RBI single?  Just a thought exercise.
• The Rattlers had the bases loaded and no outs in the fourth inning.  They did not score to add to their 3-2 lead.
• I only bring this up because of a discussion that Dusty Rhodes and I had on the bus to the ballpark in Peoria late last week and maybe I can hid this little stat in the midst of the post: The Rattlers are 19-for-111 (.171) with the bases loaded this season.
• Flash forward to the sixth Romero on second and Shaw on first with no outs.  Mittelstaedt sends a flyball to medium left-center.  Romero had started for third.  Rushed back to second to tag and took off for third when the center fielder took it easy on a throw in to second base.  Romero’s base running gets him on third and he scores the go ahead run on the sac fly by Hawn.
• A shaky ninth inning, but the Rosario pitched around an error and a walk…
• …You know what, that wasn’t that bad of a walk.  Josh Whitaker was on as a pinch-hitter representing the winning run…not a bad walk at all when you are facing a guy hitting .324 with 16 homers and 64 RBI.
• Save number four for Rosario and say good by to that three-game losing streak.
• Go get the Bees on Monday night.