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Season Summary
- Second Half: 42-26, .618, 1st place, 2.0 ahead (playoff qualifier)
- First Half: 42-26, .618, 2nd place tie, 5.0 behind
- Pitching: 84-52, 2.96, 34 saves, 1225 strikeouts
- Hitting: .271, 688 runs, 74 HR, 245 steals (71% success)
- Errors: 169 (1.24 per game)
- April: 13-11 (.542)
- May: 17-10 (.630)
- June: 20-7 (.741)
- July: 16-12 (.571)
- August: 17-11 (.607)
- September: 1-2 (.333)
- Best Player on the Team: Starting Pitcher Jared Hoerman
- Best Starting Pitcher: Jared Hoerman (1.49, 9-2, 101 strikeouts)
- Bullpen Stopper: Aaron Taylor (2.45, 9 saves, 3-1)
- Strikeout Pitchers: Jared Hoerman, Derrick VanDusen, Kevin Olore, Rett Johnson, Clint Nageotte, Chad Wiles, Roy Wells
- Control Pitchers: Jared Hoerman, Derrick VanDusen, Kevin Olore, Rett Johnson, Clint Nageotte, Chad Wiles, Roy Wells, John Butler
- Best Hitter: John Castellano (.334, 14 HR, 81 RBI)
- Home Run Leader: John Castellano (14)
- High Batting Average: John Castellano (.334), Jaime Bubela (.304), Pedro Liriano (.326), Jamal Strong (.353)
- High On Base Percentage: Jamal Strong (.478)
- High Slugging Percentage: Chuck Lopez (.469), John Castellano (.536)
- Notable Baserunners: Jaime Bubela, Pedro Liriano, Ariel Durango, John Castellano, Jamal Strong, Blake BoneSheldon Fulse
- Notable Batting Eye: Jamal Strong
July Profile
The T'Rats are your basic pitching-and-defense team; the offense is built mainly around a bunch of speedsters, with very little power. As usual, the Mariners have sent a strong pitching staff to Appleton.
Wisconsin's pitching rotation is exceptionally strong; they throw strikes, and get hitters out. The bullpen is generally strong, though Chad Wiles is not really a closer. This team's pitching staff makes few mistakes.
Although there's no power in the Wisconsin lineup, there are a bunch of high-average hitters with excellent speed. Jaime Bubela is the team's star, an excellent hitter who should add power to his arsenal as he matures. Most of the other regulars are speedsters; catcher John Castellano is the closest thing to a power hitter, with 8 HRs.
Also worth watching: Spot Starter Jared Hoerman.
June Profile
Although the T'Rats' best talent was harvested at mid-season, an able core of strong players remain with the Appleton squad. This team has Wisconsin's usual strong pitching; they'll have to develop some new hitters for the second season. The Timber Rattler defense is excellent.
Outfielder Jaime Bubela and second baseman Pedro Liriano--valuable hitters, and exceptional baserunners--are still with the team, but will need some help from the rest of the team to put up runs in the second half.
Manager Gary Thurman's been working with a four-man rotation this summer: Eric Grunwald, Kevin Olore, Everrett Johnson, and Clint Nageotte all keep the games close. The fifth slot's been filled by committee; if anything, they've been more effective than the regulars. That committee doubles as a very strong bullpen. Closer Chad Wiles has racked up 14 saves....
Notable mid-season losses: Chuck Lopez, Jamal Strong, & Russ Morgan.
May Profile
Make no mistake: The Timber Rattlers are running a very strong nine out there every night. Most years they'd be the team to beat. This is not "most years," though, and the T'Rats are going to be a little disappointing.
This team's hitting is fine, but a bit weaker than it looks at first glance because they haven't shown a lot of power. Jamal Strong has great speed, and the best batting eye in the MWL. The rest of the lineup is adequate; all are speedsters. These guys play excellent defense, too.
The pitching is strong. The starters have no weak links, though Everrett Johnson has had some bad luck losses to counter two terrific outings. The bullpen is by committee, but it's an excellent committee, with Chad Wiles, Jason Ayala, and John Butler sharing the closer role to very good effect.
April Profile
The Timber Rattlers have their usual fine pitching staff, and some very good hitting to complement that. If the defense improves, they should be able to run with the strong teams at KC and QC.
Pre-Season Profile
Manager
This is Gary Thurman's third season as a minor league skipper, and his second at Wisconsin. Thurman's a very conventional manager.
First Round Draft Selection
Team Age Information
- Average Team Age: 22.0
- Pitchers: 22.4
- Hitters: 21.5
- Oldest Player on the Team: Chuck Lopez (born 11/28/76)
- Youngest Player on the Team: Daniel Floyd (born 1/17/83)
The average player in the Midwest League is 21.6 years old. Average ages were calculated from the opening day roster; age as of July 1, 2001.
This website has more information about team ages.
Where they played last season
This is a brief portrait of how the team was put together. These summaries are based on the team's opening day roster and will not be revised to reflect roster changes.
The Rattlers are essentially last summer's Everett AquaSox, leavened a bit from the other farm teams.
Team League W/L Place Hitters Pitchers
(Teams)
Lancaster California (A+) 89/51 1(10) 3 1
Wisconsin Midwest (A) 78/60 3(14) 0 4
Everett Northwest (A-) 37/39 6(8) 9 9
Mariners Arizona (R) 39/16 1(9) 3 5
The Mariners moved the pitchers around a lot last summer; most of the new Rattler pitchers appeared for two or three teams. The position players were moved less; only two or three are counted more than once. One player was in another organization in 2000, while another played in an independent league. Two of the new Rattlers had brief appearances in Triple-A last season, and one played briefly at the Double-A level.
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