Hometown treatment for Feierabend

Anyone who was affiliated with the Timber Rattlers in 2004 knows that Ryan Feierabend is from Ohio. The Rattler pitcher talked about the trip to Dayton for three weeks leading up to it. I still remember his reaction when the team bus crossed the border from Indiana into his home state.

The Chronicle-Telegram: Lorain County's leading news source has this on the ex-Rattler.

Chris Assenheimer: Midview grad Feierabend getting a real chance to show Mariners he belongs

“There are opportunities for guys up here,” Feierabend said. “There are a lot of guys vying for spots next year. Hopefully they see something they like. Next year in spring training I’m going to give them everything I’ve got and try to prove that I belong on this team.

“I try not to put too much pressure on myself, because I’ve found things usually don’t go well when you do that. I can’t control the decisions they make in the front office. I respect all the decisions they make and I try to focus on what I can control.”
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The milestones have already been many for Feierabend, who has made his big league debut, secured his first win in the majors and got to pitch against the team he grew up rooting on — the Indians — in a game last season at Seattle’s Safeco Field.

Feierabend didn’t fare well against the Tribe — six runs on eight hits in just 2 2/3 innings — but the experience of pitching against his hometown team is one he’ll cherish until he gets another chance.

“It wasn’t so much weird, because the (Indians) teams that I grew up watching had disassembled, (Manny) Ramirez and (Jim) Thome,” Feierabend said. “It was definitely cool, so to speak, to pitch against a team I grew up idolizing.”

Throughout a professional career that has taken him to Washington, Texas and Wisconsin, Feierabend has remained true to his Ohio roots.

He married his high school sweetheart from Midview, Sarah Maxwell, and, until recently purchasing a home in Peoria, Ariz., had returned to Lorain County each offseason, taking in a handful of Browns games. His parents recently moved from Grafton to Elyria, where Feierabend spent last winter.