Timberrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A few weeks ago, Maccabee, Epherika, and I attended our first ever Wisconsin Timber Rattlers game. The Timber Rattlers are a single-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, and they play in nearby Appleton at a relatively new little field.

I must say, minor league baseball is quite fantastic. Aside from the great seats [see below-- we were right behind home plate], the intimate setting, and the extremely frugal prices, there are countless fun things going on to Keep the People Entertained. Chief among these is The Bratzooka, pictured above-- as promised by other profs on my campus visit, they do, indeed, shoot bratwust [wrapped in foil] out of an air gun at the waiting crowd. My, oh my, Toto, we're really in Wisconsin.

There are also lots of family friendly things, like everyone singing "Happy Birthday" to the birthday kids standing on the home team's dugout, and the kid "inning card holder," a little girl who got to walk around the infield track [with an employee], holding a card that said what inning it was. There was also an [adult] go card race around the track, and various players were designated for various items to be thrown at the crowd if they got a hit; this included, yes, more sausages [mini-ones this time].

It was all very Bull Durham, only Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins did not make appearances.

Speaking of baseball movies, I really want to drive to Iowa because of the following well-known line from Field of Dreams :

Is this heaven?
No ... it's Iowa.

Anyway, I highly recommend minor league baseball, and I highly recommend the Timber Rattlers and their mascot, Fang. Of course I'm still a Red Sox fan at heart, but it's nice to have a local team that I can root for without any conflicts, since it is SINGLE-A, for crying out loud. [Also: the Timber Rattlers have an important Red Sox connection, David Ortiz once played for them. There are Ortiz bobble-head dolls in the gift shop]

It's a cool summer night here in Wisconsin [apparently going down to the 50s], all the windows are open, and Phoebe has been sitting on my arms, refusing to budge, while I write this entry.