Sure it's the middle of winter, but what better time to think baseball?

The Madison Mallards released their 2009 schedule today. Their season kicks off on May 28, when the Mallards travel to Alexandria and face the Beetles.

Mallards General Manager Vern Stenman likes the idea of opening on the road, and has asked the league for the opportunity the past couple of years.

“There's some value to that,” says Stenman. “It gives the players a chance to get to know each other.” Stenman points out that players are coming from colleges across the country and have little time together before the start of the season.

Hunting season. Thanksgiving. Holiday parties. Christmas. New Years.

Baseball!

It's only 87 days until pitchers and catchers report. A few more weeks until the start of the regular MLB season. Shortly after that the Mallards begin their season.

Opening day is practically here!

For those that realize there is an entire winter before baseball begins, the Madison Mallards have started "Maynard's Musings." Musings is a blog populated by the Mallards staff, including General Manager Vern Stenman and Director of Marketing Mike Then.

As the temperature rises both outside and in the political world, I am reminded that Mallards baseball season is upon us.

The battle in the political world and the battle on the diamond draw easy comparisons. Simply put, I believe that the baseball gods are in fact conservative. It is my goal not to throw a curveball but give you nothing but the hard stuff. So, we shall begin:

* There is no salary cap in baseball. No outside force, including MLB itself, can tell a team that they are making too much money or penalize a team for doing such. Ideally, the government should do the same.
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The rain hampered most plans this weekend, and continues to do so for the Waterloo Bucks baseball team. With Riverfront Stadium in Waterloo flooded, the Bucks are forced to play some home games on the road.

What this means for Mallards fans is additional chances to see their team at the Duck Pond, as they will play four additional games there over the next week. The games that were scheduled to be played in Waterloo on Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday and Monday have all been moved to Madison.

The weeknight games start at 7:05 p.m., with Sunday’s game scheduled to start at 3:05 p.m. General admission tickets are $7. Also, the Mallards are offering a special all-you-can-eat-and-drink option for all games that includes a general admission ticket, hot dogs, brats, popcorn, and soda through the fifth inning for $12.

Despite the gray skies, a dozen fans are already tailgating at Warner Park before the Madison Mallards first game of the 2008 season. Play opens at 7:05, but the Mallards’ biggest fans were here before 1:00. Stadium employees have dropped by to assure the stalwarts that the game is on, and a radio worker stopped in to enjoy a beer and a brat with the fans.

Even though I was in my cold, winter apartment when tasting Adam Tregre's Cajun food for the first time, my taste buds were telling me I was on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, dancing with the locals on the sunny streets while the trumpets blared and half-naked women wanted the beads around my neck. I know, a bit of a stretch, but what can I say? The guy knows how to cook up some tasty, authentic Cajun grub.

Every Thursday home game, Tregre will be cooking for The Mallards. So yes, hot dogs and hamburgers are great baseball food, but on Thursdays, why not try some Gumbo?

I asked Tregre a few questions via email about cooking for The Mallards.

What are you cooking opening day?

Chicken and andouille (a kind of cajun sausage) gumbo. Most likely, that will be what we make each time.

Not to give away too much away of your secret recipe, but what is in the dish you are preparing?

All the normal stuff, chicken, andouille, bell peppers, onions, celery, garlic, roux. Nothing weird.

Apparently Mallards fans do not migrate south for the winter.

Madison residents and baseball enthusiasts packed the Warner Park Community Center last night to discuss proposed renovations to Warner Park. The listening session was initiated by the Madison Common Council and attended by Mallards management. The meeting comes after the proposed cost for the project was revised from $4 million to $5.6 million.

Jonathan Parker, the architect for the project cited three reasons for the $1.6 million price increase to the renovations. A majority of the increase is due to poor soil conditions where the park will be built. The poor soil will need be removed and replaced before building commences. Parker states a seven percent increase in material costs and the addition of a contingency fund were also responsible for the higher total.

This is part of our "2007 Reflections" series looking back at 2007 and ahead to 2008 through the eyes of Madison bands, politicians, business owners, and more. To read them all click "2007 Reflections" above.

Team: Madison Mallards
Website: www.mallardsbaseball.com

1) So...2007...how was it?

In a word, memorable. The 16 game winning streak, Chewbacca, our millionth fan, Randy Molina, C.J. Thieleke, & so much more. We missed the playoffs for the first time since our second season (2002) which was devastating, however we had so many highlights to the season that it is hard to be disappointed by how things turned out. We had a shot to make the playoffs coming into the last two games of the season & with the league getting so competitive we feel good we had an opportunity & that every game meant something. I honestly feel like the team on the field was one of the best we ever had & really provided special memories for our fans. That said we really learned a lot about how to compete as the league continues to improve. We realized a simple lesson, that winning isn't about fielding the most talented team, it is about getting the right guys on the team that build chemistry & learn to understand how they can help the team win. We had several guys leave the team for strange reasons (that were extremely talented, that just didn't really fit in from a personality perspective & kind of created reasons to go home) up until the middle part of the summer & after that dead weight left was when the team really started to click.

The Mallards season effectively ended on Saturday night after a loss to the Eau Clare Express eliminated them from playoff contention. It was after that game that General Manager Vern Stenman and manager CJ Thieleke started discussing plans for next season.

With nothing on the line entering the season finale on Sunday, it was a Chinese fire drill for Mallards players; infielders pitched, pitchers hit and players managed the bases. Prizes rained down in the bleachers as Madison fans had one last chance to see Northwoods League veterans Randy Molina, Jordan Comadena, and Bobby Hubbard among others.

With roughly 293 days until the team takes the field again, it is time to hand out some “Best of the Madison Mallards” post-season awards.

The Madison Mallards have won sixteen straight games, a new record. At this point I would like to sit down with a member of the team but I think it would be like talking to a pitcher in the midst of a no-hitter. I'll hold back any urge to speak with any of the players, even given the fact that tonight Madison’s millionth fan entered the Duck Pond. A streak like this needs as little distraction as possible; sixteen games in a row is a new league record. I could write about how it only goes to show that baseball is alive and well in Madison but a million fans speak much more loudly.

I will admit that it required some convincing for me to take the trip to Warner Park. I grew up with the Appleton Foxes but never had an interest even when Alex Rodriguez was playing. But my housemate, Roger, would sit out on our porch and turn on the Mallards game and people seemed generally excited.

Although Wednesday night’s game against the outside-looking-in Battle Creek Bombers was delayed for nearly an hour due to rain, it didn’t stop the hot bats the Madison Mallards have been swinging from propelling them to a late inning comeback. They won 12-6.

The story here isn’t so much the game as it is the team. The first half of the season was less than stellar but the Mallards have proved themselves to be a force in the second. With only 29 games played in the second season the team has rattled off 15 straight wins, tying a record previously held by the Green Bay Bullfrogs. With the win over the Bombers last night the Mallards are now in control of their own destiny as they come down the final stretch to the playoffs.

August - the beginning of the end of summer. Back to school ads permeate the Sunday newspaper, the night starts to creep into the day, and thoughts of football race through our mind.

For the Madison Mallards, August brings the end of the season and a playoff race. The Mallards bring a twelve game win streak into the Duck Pond tonight when they face the Green Bay Bullfrogs. The Mallards are currently a game and a half up on the Bullfrogs in the South Division, and a half game behind the Eau Clare Express for the division lead. The Bullfrogs secured a playoff spot by having the best record the first half of the season. The Mallards, Express, and Wausau Woodchucks are still in contention or the second half playoff spot.

What happens when you combine Madison’s favorite local baseball team with one of the greatest television shows of all time?

If you said the UW Badgers performing a musical about the off-camera antics of the cast from Diff’rent Strokes, sit down.

But, if you said The Madison Mallards Simpson’s Night, featuring the Mallards in Springfield Isotopes jerseys, you are one of life’s winners.

As kids, anyone that plays sports dreams of performing on the “big stage.” They hope that someday they can play in front of a national audience and showcase the skills they worked so hard to master.

For the Madison Mallards, that day is tomorrow.

ESPNU will broadcast the game as the Madison Mallards take on the Green Bay Bullfrogs at Warner Park. This is the first of three Northwoods League games ESPNU will broadcast this year.