Kernels believe they can take down mighty Quad Cities

CEDAR RAPIDS - There was just something in the way he talked.

Jake Mauer was quick to point out how good a baseball club the Quad Cities River Bandits are. Despite lots of roster turnover, they finished with the Midwest League's best overall record (88-50).

Their win percentage of .638 was the best in all of full-season minor-league baseball, and they had an absurdly low team earned run average of 2.65.

'Quad Cities is a good club, no doubt about it,” Mauer said.

But he believes his Cedar Rapids Kernels are a good club, too, one that can beat Quad Cities in their best-of-3, first-round playoff series. Game 1 is Wednesday night at 6:35, with Game 2 Thursday night at Davenport (7 p.m.).

A deciding Game 3 would be Friday night at Davenport.

'They don't beat themselves,” Mauer said. 'The've got a couple of guys in the middle of their order ... guys who will drive in runs. I expect it to be a real low-scoring series. It's going to be who executes bunts, who executes getting outs on bunts, who can get the runner in from third or move a guy over. Those sort of things. I don't anticipate any blowouts. I think we're pretty evenly matched, and if we play our game, I think we're going to be OK.”

Quad Cities and the Kernels played 13 times in the regular season, with QC winning nine. They haven't played since July 20, however, and the teams are a lot different from a player standpoint.

The Game 1 pitching matchup is right-hander Felix Jorge (6-7, 2.79) for Cedar Rapids and righty Joshua James (7-4, 2.83) for QC. Jorge threw twice against the River Bandits in the regular season, allowing two earned runs in 12 1/3 innings.

James allowed five earned runs in 14 innings over three appearances against the Kernels. Sam Gibbons (7-4, 2.89) gets the ball for Cedar Rapids in Game 2, opposed by Brock Dykxhoorn (9-5, 3.88).

'They are a solid team,” Kernels third baseman T.J. White said. 'I know they've had some guys go up (get promoted), but their other guys have still handled business. So we'll see. It's going to be a fun series.”

Half the battle when it gets to the postseason is who really wants to win. Most of these players have never gone through a 140-game season and are dog tired physically and mentally.

They want to go home. Do they also want to win a championship ring?

'Everyone definitely wants to win,” White said. 'Yes, you want to go home, but it's still baseball. You've got to play your hardest every day. If we happen to come out on top, that's great.”

'This is part of their development,” Mauer said. '(Farm director) Brad (Steil) left a lot of these guys here so they could play in the playoffs and get that experience. In pro ball, you never know when your last time in the playoffs is going to be. I played in a championship game in Rookie ball and haven't been in one since. We lost on a balk, believe it or not.”

Peoria and Kane County are paired in the Western Division's other semifinal series. In the Eastern Division, it's Fort Wayne against West Michigan and Great Lakes versus Lansing.

'Luck is involved a lot, and sometimes the best team doesn't win,” Mauer said. 'You can't explain it.”

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