Friday's Links

Maryvale Baseball Park, spring home of the Brewers

• Will injuries prevent the Brewers from making a run to the playoffs this year?  I hope not but it is getting worrisome.  Corey Hart is worried he might not be ready for opening day now.  Shaun Marcum left Thursday's game with shoulder tightness.  
• Congratulations to Cody Hanke and the Marathon basketball team on making it to the state finals. 
• The snow is melting in Appleton and the Timber Rattlers open the season on April 7.  
• The Wisconsin Rapids Rafters and the Eau Claire Express will be playing an exhibition game in Marshfield on May 31.  Two dollars from every ticket will go to support the Gary Varsho Baseball League.  
• High school baseball teams can begin practicing on Monday in Wisconsin with games starting before the end of the month in some places. 

Tuesday's Things to Check Out

• Have you ever wished you had a job in baseball?  Then MLB's Dream Job may be for you.  Apply here for a chance to watch baseball and make a living at the same time.  
• Loud Mom in the Stands got a chance to interview Brendan Harris about playing youth baseball.  
• The Rivercats finished up 2-2 playing against elite competition in Cocoa Beach, Florida. The Rivercats winter teams finish the season with a 14-9-1 record against warm weather competition.  
• UW Milwaukee won the finale to finish the series with Tennessee with a 1-2 record.  CF Doug Dekoning earned player of the week honors for the Horizon League by batting .500 for the series.  
• Green Bay Packer Donald Driver will be bringing his charity softball game back to Time Warner Cable Field for a fourth year.  
• If you haven't checked out BrewCrewBall and their daily mug to find most of the Brewers' news you need in one spot, then do it now. 
• ABR has posted the recap from the WI Top 30 Showcase. 

Wanderings

• The 13U Rivercats are headed to Florida to play in the Cocoa Expo President's Day Challenge.  
• Three Brewers spring training games will be televised on the MLB Network.
• UW Milwaukee outhit Tennessee but still lost 0-4 on Friday.
• The Madison Mallards have signed two Wisconsin natives. Michael Handel is from Sun Prairie, and currently attends the University of Minnesota.  Justin Scanlon attends Michigan State and is originally from Verona.  
• Yahoo has an article discussing how well the Brewers pitchers can hit.

Minor League

Wisconsin has been home to numerous minor league teams over the years.  Fans in the state have gotten the opportunity to watch players such as Hank Aaron and Mark McGwire while they were first starting out.  Now all we have left in the state are two minor league teams. 

The Beloit Snappers are the low A level farm team of the Minnesota Twins.  There is hope they will soon get a new stadium.  They will be relying on donations and cashflow generated by Snappers operations.  I hope they are able to get this done. 

The Milwaukee Brewers also have an in-state low A level farm team in the Midwest League.  The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers have been around for a long time but this will be their third season affiliated with the Brewers.  You can become a shareholder and get lots of perks as an owner of the Timber Rattlers. 

I would love to see more minor league teams come back to Wisconsin.  The success of the Northwoods League has shown how popular baseball done right can be in the state.  The key to luring teams back is having a top notch stadium for them to play in.  Hopefully we get another inventive community to find ways to privately finance a new stadium. 

Pitchers and Catchers Report

• Pitchers and catchers have now reported for the Brewers, but none of them made the biggest news of the day.  Milwaukee signed Rickie Weeks to a contract extension.  I like the deal, but hope he can stay healthy and continue to improve defensively.  
• The Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association has released its preseason poll.  They have expanded their rankings this year to 20 teams in each division.
• UW Milwaukee is opening its season Friday at Tennessee .  Also don't forget to vote for their 20th anniversary team.  
• Here is a good editorial on why they should bring varsity baseball back to UW Eau Claire. 
• A newspaper in Tennessee says It may be the best time ever to be a Cheesehead.    I couldn't agree more.
• Appleton Native Trent Whitcomb has commited  to play at Division 1 Eastern Illinois next year.  
• The Timber Rattlers box office manager was one of the Super Bowl ticket holders that didn't get a seat in the game.  They are offering tickets to the  other displaced fans. 

Wanderings

• New Berlin West is hosting baseball clinics on March 20 and March 27 for grades K-8.
• Northwest Wisconsin Youth and HS baseball clinic  featuring Mark Hallberg will be in Barron on February 26th for grades 5-12.
• The Milwaukee Brewers have released their promotional schedule.  Im not sure what I would like more, the Axford or Greinke bobble. 
•  Have you always wanted to see the Klement's Racing Sausages in person?  Now you don't have to go all the way to Miller Park.  The La Crosse Loggers have signed a deal with Klements and the sausages will be making a couple appearances at Copeland Park.
• The Badger Herald ran an article last year about bringing varsity baseball back to UW Madison. 
• Shaun Marcum signed for $3.95 million  and avoids arbitration.

Todays Links

On Milwaukee has their all time team of Wisconsin born players.  JS Online did a similar list last winter.  Concordia University is trying to raise funds for a new ballpark.  I hope they get it done.  The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers are putting up new episodes of The Offseason every Thursday.  I love having an in-state farm team for the Brewers.  Amateur Baseball Report  is having their Top 30 showcase in Racine on February 12th.  If you want to find all your Brewers news in one place then check out the Daily Mug at BrewCrewBall. 

2010 MLB draft

Wisconsin ranks near the bottom most years when it comes to the number of players selected in the MLB draft.  Last year only 6 Wisconsin born players were selected.

Tyler Jones a RHP from Milwaukee was drafted by the White Sox in the 21st round, but instead chose to transfer to LSU after pitching for Madison College the last two years.  He also pitched for the Madison Mallards of the Northwoods League this past summer.  

Kurtis Muller  was taken in the 22nd round by the Reds. The Sun Prairie native decided to sign and forgo his senior season at Iowa.  He played CF for the rookie level Arizona League Reds last summer.

RHP Conor Fisk was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 34th round out of Grafton High School.  He didnt sign with the home state team and instead enrolled at Wabash Valley College in Illinois.  

Benjamin Versnik

West Allis native Benjamin Versnik was drafted in the 38th round by the Seattle Mariners after putting up a solid season working out of the pen for UW-Whitewater.  He made six appearances for the Mariners rookie league affiliate in Pulaski to end the summer. 

Kettle Moraine High alum Scott Matyas returned to the University of Minnesota after being selected in the 40th round by Milwaukee.  The RHP will likely be the closer for the Gophers again this season.

The Brewers also selected Billy Schroeder out of Grand Canyon University in the 47th round.  The Muskego native joined the military instead of following in his father's footsteps.  

Intro

Baseball players in Wisconsin have it tough.  The season is short and there is a major lack of indoor facilities to practice in over the winter.  And to top it off our biggest university doesn't offer it as a scholarship sport.  I think we still have a ton of good ball players in this state, but they might not get the attention they deserve.  I hope to change some of that and highlight talent from around the state.  I also plan on sharing resources and other helpful info I find along the way.  Maybe even share an opinion about the Brew Crew now and then.