Baseball America has...

a comprehensive story on the latest round of the Affiliation Shuffle. There is plenty of Timber Rattler stuff in the article titled:

No Place Like Home

Shuffle leads affiliates to land home-state teams

The minor league affiliation shuffle wound to a close in late September, and the big winners all seemed to have one thing in common: They affiliated with the hometown big league team.

Or the home-state team. Or even a team considered a regional draw.

Regardless, the golden rule of player-development contracts still holds true: The best affiliation is a local one.

That's the golden rule? It must be a Baseball America one, because, I've never heard it before. Then again, I'm not very bright and I don't get out much.

There is a lot in there about the Indians partnering up with Columbus in Ohio and the Mets joining with Buffalo. Then, the Rattler stuff...

The deals were not limited to the big boys, as low Class A Wisconsin tossed aside 16 years with the Mariners to ink a four-year affiliation contract with the Brewers. "This is the time of year the Packers are supposed to be in the news, not the Timber Rattlers," Wisconsin president Rob Zerjav said. "But we've been on the front page."

That's it? No, they get back to us after some more Triple-A stuff.

Rumors began to swirl in Appleton with a month remaining in the season that the reason the Timber Rattlers had not renewed their affiliation with the Mariners could have something to do with the Brewers' contract expiring in West Virginia. Zerjav couldn't escape the speculation. Fans asked him about it daily at the ballpark. The local paper wrote stories on why the deal should be done.

"It cemented it in my head. The public wants the Brewers, the fans want the Brewers. I need to take a look at that," said Zerjav, noting that it creates another reason for a broader base of fans to come to the ballpark. "We're going to draw from a bigger radius. Fans are excited to follow the draft and since we are a Single-A team, they will be able to see who the Brewers draft (play) here right away.

"In the past, (our motto) was come for the fun, stay for the game. In the past people were coming out for the fun, but I think we will now see more baseball fans coming out. We'll keep it fun, but I think we will see more of a focus on the game."

Back to Triple-A......Back to us:

Local ties are not only a benefit for the minor league affiliates. Keeping farm teams near the big league ballparks provides easier opportunities for team officials to get out to see prospects and makes rehab assignments for players a much simpler process.

The new contract in Appleton, however, goes beyond just traditional cliches for the Timber Rattlers and Brewers.

"It's a win-win-win," Zerjav said. "It's a win for us, a win for the Brewers and a win for our fans."

And that's all the Rattler stuff in the article.