Brief roundup on yesterday...

Here is Timber Rattler beat writer Brett Christopherson's story from the Post-Crescent:

"Wins are important in my life right now," said Brewers general manager Doug Melvin, on hand for the announcement along with three top Brewers executives.. "And this is a win for the Milwaukee Brewers organization. I'm really excited about it in more ways than one. Being a former farm director for a number of years, I know how important it is for the players to be in an environment and a community that supports them.

"Rob [Zerjav] has put a first-class operation together. I've been to a few games here in the past. I've enjoyed coming to the games. And what's important, we're not only going to develop our players in this kind of environment, we're developing fans, too."
...
For Wisconsin, it's an opportunity to increase an already solid fan base radius by tapping into the heightened interest of the Brewers, who remain in the hunt for a National League wild card berth.

The Rattlers drew a home attendance total of 190,263 — an average of 3,068 per game — this past season despite losing eight dates because of poor weather. They have surpassed the 200,000 mark 10 times since moving into the 5,500-seat Fox Cities Stadium in 1995.

"The Brewers are a statewide team," Zerjav said. "We're affordable family fun, and if you can't afford to go down to Miller Park or you can't afford to go multiple times, why not come to the ballpark and see the baby Brewers and get the autographs. Here, you'll be able to do that because everyone is accessible. We make it easy to get autographs, where it's not necessarily easy to get Prince Fielder's autograph down in Milwaukee."

Wisconsin also will join a minor league system that heading into 2008 had a cumulative ranking over the previous five seasons as being the fourth-best among Major League Baseball's 30 franchises, according to Baseball America.

Make sure you read the sidebar of Brett's story. There is a lot of good information, the entire press conference is there and there is this little bit:

Milwaukee Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said it's likely Brett Lawrie — the club's first-round selection in the June amateur draft — will play with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers at some point next season.

Lawrie, a third baseman/ catcher, was taken with the 16th overall pick and hails from Canada. According to Baseball America, the 18-year-old signed a deal that included a $1.7 million bonus. He didn't play in the Brewers system this season but did compete in the Summer Olympics in Beijing as part of Team Canada.

"I would say there's a high percentage chance of him coming here and going through here," Melvin said..."But you just never know. You hate to make those predictions.

"(Current Brewers slugger) Ryan Braun came through every level of our system. He played in rookie ball in Helena, he went to (low-A) West Virginia, to (Double-A Huntsville, to (Triple-A) Nashville. So we're pretty keen on letting our players go through each one of our systems. Brett, being a high school player versus a college player, more than likely … would come through here."

Mike Woods has a column. I think that he's in favor of the partnership:

Next to the construction of Fox Cities Stadium, it's the best thing ever to happen to this franchise and ensures its Q rating will head in the same direction as the space shuttle.

Let's be honest. The last time there was reason for this kind of enthusiasm for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers is when they were still the Appleton Foxes, and some kid named Alex Rodriguez stopped by for a couple of months.

...

This will create a buzz, an excitement and interest never before experienced.

We know this because we've seen it before. There are parallels here that can't be ignored. Back in the mid-1980s when the Brewers were affiliated with Beloit, the big-league club was wildly successful and wildly popular and the minor-league system was flush with talent.

People flocked to Telfer Park to catch a glimpse of the Brewers' stars of tomorrow and they were privileged to see plenty.

"That's the year Juan Nieves came in and the crowds were huge," said Chris Bosio, a member of that 1983 team who went on to play for the Brewers and Seattle Mariners and is now a Kimberly resident. "It was incredible. We ran away with both halves. We were a pretty good team. That was a fun year."

It created the perfect storm that every minor league team hopes for; providing an affordable and entertaining experience, while also fielding a team that fans care about and take an interest in.

Plus there's the added bonus. That year one half of the Brewers' starting infield, Paul Molitor and Jim Gantner, made their way to Beloit on rehab assignments.

Here is a brief Notes section. Briefly. There will be no overhaul of the nickname. We will still be the Timber Rattlers...for which I'm glad, because it would be a pain to change the name of this blog....and there is no word on manager or coaching staff yet.

Local Television was there, too.

Here is the link to Channel 5. Video at the link. Poll at the link, too.

Here is the link to Fox 11. Poll at the link. Video link HERE and HERE.

Here is the link to Channel 2 and here is the link to NBC 26.

Just to lighten up a bit

That post below needs to be evened out with something lighter. I can't think of anything lighter than this.....

Do you remember that one movie...

The Candidate with Robert Redford? I do vaguely. So, I may be getting this mixed up a bit.

Redford's character is a political novice running for the U.S. Senate. Somehow, he wins. On election night, after the victory speech he turns to someone and says, "What do we do now?"

That won't be us.

We do not expect to just have the stadium magically fill with people in 2009. I don't expect the wall signs, program ads, and radio spots to sell themselves.

Now, we go to work. We go to work on making Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium the place for Timber Rattler fans, Brewer fans, and baseball fans to attend a game and enjoy family friendly entertainment.

Time to go to work.

Official

Here is the release that is on the Timber Rattler website:

The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers are pleased to announce they have agreed to a Player Development Contract with the Milwaukee Brewers. The four-year contract will keep the Rattlers and Brewers together through the 2012 season.

"The Timber Rattlers are very excited to sign this agreement with the Milwaukee Brewers," said Timber Rattlers President Rob Zerjav. "We look forward to building a long term partnership and providing the great baseball fans of Wisconsin a first class venue to watch the Brewers stars of tomorrow."

This marks a return to the Midwest League for the Brewers. Milwaukee previously had affiliates in Danville (1971-74), Burlington (1975-81), and Beloit (1982-04). Current Brewers that played in the Midwest League include Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, Tony Gwynn, Jr., and Manny Parra.

"We are eager and looking for this to be a long term relationship with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers and are excited to have a minor league affiliate closer to home," said Brewers Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Melvin. "The premier facilities and Brewers fan base in Appleton combined with the proximity to Milwaukee provides a great opportunity for us and it gives our players an excellent and competitive environment to further their development."

Milwaukee's Low A affiliate had been located in Charleston, West Virginia for the last four seasons. The Power reached the South Atlantic League Championship Series each of the past two seasons.

This is the first National League affiliate in the Fox Cities since professional baseball returned to Appleton in 1958. Since then, the Appleton franchise has been affiliated with the Washington Senators (1958-59), Baltimore Orioles (1960-65), Chicago White Sox (1966-86), and the Kansas City Royals (1987-92) before signing with the Seattle Mariners prior to the 1993 season.

The Timber Rattlers partnership with the Mariners had been tied with Cedar Rapids - Angels agreement as the longest running affiliation in the Midwest League. The Timber Rattlers reached the Midwest League Championship Series in 1999 and 2005 and saw players such as Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz, and J.J. Putz come through Appleton during their time with Seattle.

"We would like to thank the Mariners for the 16 year relationship we have had and wish them well in all future endeavors," said Zerjav. "Our decision to change affiliations in no way says we were unhappy with the Mariners, it has more to do with the potential synergy we believe exists with the in-state Brewers and the fact our fan base is one in the same."

Wisconsin's first game as a Brewers affiliate is scheduled for April 9th, 2009 against the Quad Cities River Bandits at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium.

Press Conference (Updates as I can manage)

10:52am: Not much to report right now. The media is milling about and setting up their equipment.

But, Any minute now....

11:02am: Rob Zerjav: We're ecstatic.

Bob Melvin is now the proud owner of a Timber Rattler replica jersey with Melvin 09 on the back

11:08am: Melvin just mentioned '08 #1 pick Brett Lawrie as part of the fine young players that will be playing for the Timber Rattlers in the future.

11:11am: Rick Schelsinger just mentioned that this is an opportunity for Brewer fans to become Timber Rattler fans.

11:17am: Melvin just answered a question about player development philosophy. "Winning on the field develops a winning attitude." Is the main quote. Paraphrasing the rest. If a player masters this level he will move up. But,keeping a team together is important.

Also, clarification on Lawrie. He may not start the '09 season here, but he will make a stop here eventually.

11:22am. And the press conference is a wrap.

11:53am: Wanted to toss this one in here. A question came up about major leaguers doing rehab assignments with the Timber Rattlers in the future. Paraphrasing Doug Melvin: Because the Rattlers are so close to Milwaukee, that will be a very good possibility.

Now some pictures:

Preliminaries

A few minutes away from the press conference starting. Let's clear the decks with a few things first....

From the Mariner website:

Mariners change Class A affiliate
Midwest League representative is now Clinton, Iowa

Beginning in 2009, the Mariners will have a Class A club in Clinton, Iowa.

The new arrangement with Clinton was announced by the Mariners on Monday, along with the news that the organization has extended its working relationship with Class A High Desert of the California League through 2010.

"It was a good 16 years with Appleton, and we had a lot of good players go through there," said Greg Hunter, the Mariners' director of player development. "We wish them well and look forward to our association with the Clinton Baseball Club."

And we wish the Mariners well in Clinton.

Hunter said the new arrangement actually works better for the Mariners because Clinton is more centrally located in the Midwest League and the 71-year-old stadium recently underwent a $4.2 million face-lift. There are now two climate-controlled indoor batting cages and pitching mounds that can be utilized during inclement weather.

"It's an old facility, built in 1937," Hunter said, "but they did a good job of keeping an old-ballpark feel. The clubhouses were built two years ago, and it really is a good situation for us."

Reaction from Jay at Mariner Minors:

it’s the end of an era for the M’s. Having spent sixteen years in the Midwest League with Wisconsin, and entire generation of Mariners players have come through the system knowing where they’d play intermediate-A ball. Even when the triple-A affiliate was Calgary, the Bellingham Mariners represented us locally, and the double-A shifted from one year to the next with distant locales like New Haven, Port City, Memphis, and Orlando, the Timber Rattlers, or the Foxes even earlier, were always in Appleton representing the Mariners.

As long as I’ve been covering the M’s and even before, I’ve made a point of tuning into T-Rats broadcasts now and then to catch Chris Mehring’s blend of wit and insight, and when Clinton plays the T-Rats, I’ll be sure to mark it down on my calender. Mehring is one of the hardest working minor league broadcasters I’ve encountered, running the Rattler Radio blog, putting together updates for their site that go beyond simple summaries, and never failing to engage a listener over the airwaves. The Brewers will be lucky to have him in system, but knowing little about the Clinton team, I can’t help but remain a little jealous even though I know the deal is much better for them.

Check is in the mail, Jay.

I'll have more on the Mariners and the Timber Rattlers in a longer piece...an essay of some sort later this week.