2009 Photos

We are less than 2 weeks away from hearing those four glorious words: PITCHER AND CATCHERS REPORT!

I for one can't wait. I've been trying to contain my excitement, but I'm really itching for the baseball season to get underway. Perhaps it's the fact that the NFL season is winding down, and the NBA and NHL just don't provide me with the same level of excitement, but I'm really anxious for some baseball. More specifically, some Wisconsin Timber Rattlers baseball!

Seeing Martin Maldonado and Efrain Nieves play for Puerto Rico the past couple days in the Caribbean World Series brought me back to some great moments from the 2009 Timber Rattlers season. So I thought, as a way to help pass the time until the 2010 season begins I would share with you some of my favorite shots from the '09 season.

They can be found here. Enjoy!

Catching Up

It's old, old news, I know, but I thought it deserved a mention here on the blog. After the season concluded, four players who were on the Rattlers '09 squad were given their release by the Brewers.

Outfielders Derrick McPhearson and Michael Vass, along with Pitchers Liam Ohlmann (pictured) and Kris Dabrowiecki were let go by the Brewers.

Vass hit .240 with seven home runs in 91 games. McPhearson managed only a .160 batting average in 45 games with the team. Ohlmann pitched in 40 games, going 3-4 with a 6.09 ERA and Dabrowiecki recorded a 15.95 ERA in six appearances.

It's always sad to see guys let go but it's a part of the business I guess. Personally I was a bit suprised to see D-Mac's name on that list. I thought the Brewers might have a longer leash with him given the transfer from football. The rest weren't really a suprise, but all four players seemed to be great guys and I wish them the best in their future baseball careers and whatever they decide to do after baseball.

Welcome Back

So much for those grand plans we had for the website during the offseason huh? You might be wondering where we have gone, or if we are even still alive. Well, I assure you we are all doing just fine but things have been very hectic. So here is our post-Christmas, Christmas letter of sorts to let our 3 or 4 loyal readers know what's been going on.

First of all Chris, our resident computer geek, and his wife Amy welcomed their first child into the world. A baby boy named Aden Michael. (Not sure why he wasn't named Brad, but I digress). Chris, Amy and Aden are all doing well and Chris promises to get the little guy out to a game this summer.

Then Ty, our Arizona connection, accepted a promotion with his company that included a transfer to Southern California. Though he will still be traveling to Arizona from time to time, his access will not be what it once was.

So without our computer guy and without our main access to the players, that left me, a one man wolfpack, to handle the site. I thought about just shutting the website down. I too had just recently taken on a new job that was eating up a bit of my time. But I thought again of our 3 or 4 loyal followers who use the forum and wanted to find a way to leave that up for them.

The Timber Rattlers and Mehring do a great job with their sites and provide all the info and news you could ever ask for and being that I am no computer whiz I decided to just go back to the blog format and use the blog to post about what I know best. Photography and the Rattlers.

Photography has always been a hobby of mine and I've just recently gotten more serious about it. I've had the opportunity to shoot everything from Green Bay Packers games down to Little League, but my favorite subject to shoot is Minor League Baseball.

So that's what you'll see from the blog for the 2010 season. I will post my photos from the games for you to enjoy as well as some comments/opinions as the season goes along. But most importantly I will keep the message board up for folks to chat about your 2010 Wisconsin Timmmmbbbbberrrrr Rattlers!