Pop goes the achilles; how about this Whittlesey baseball lineup?

Well that was some kind of New York minute Monday, huh?

Quite honestly, I’d been trying my best to just ignore the New York Jets since they acquired Aaron Rodgers in late April. It wasn’t really out of spite or hatred or wishing bad luck on the guy, though it’s not like I’m pulling for the Jets either this year. I don’t root for or waste my sports attention on New York teams like major media outlets think every sports fan in America does.

I wasn’t watching when it happened, instead preferring to enjoy the Milwaukee Brewers’ 12-0 win over Miami at the time.

The time for fan/player/hero separation was just real for me, and I’ve stated that in this column before. Rodgers’ performance last season in Green Bay in times when it counted, his increasinglygrating persona and the fact that Jordan Love showed in one game last year –– yes it was just one game –– that we might have something turned the page for me. Actually the performance frustration part started with the 2021 divisional playoff game against San Francisco.

No matter how this NFL season turns out in Green Bay and beyond, I was ready for the clean slate in Titletown. And I’m a Rodgers guy over Brett Favre. I’ll argue Rodgers was better all day.

I’m all-in on what the Green Bay Packers are right now and what they are trying to become.

But no matter what fans think of Rodgers, the Packers, the Jets, the NFL, artificial turf, you name it, no one could’ve imagined a torn achilles tendon suffered just four snaps into Rodgers’ regular season.

I’m not sure I can recall in 40-some years of my sports fandom a more dramatic injury in terms of timing and magnitude. Maybe the Damar Hamlin heart stoppage last December because of its sudden life or death nature. Rodgers’ injury certainly isn’t life or death. But has there ever been a bigger balloon that got popped by an injury than this one?

Not likely. You know what though? The Jets could be just fine. From the portions of the game I saw, their defense could be all it’s cracked up to be and more. They have offensive weapons at receiver and running back. They drafted quarterback Zach Wilson number two in 2021 for a reason. And, Rodgers could rehab/ recover and have his massive crowning season next year with them.

In a weird way, the injury was the capper to what you might call a vindication weekend for Packers fans, who heard from every angle this off-season how their team is going to sink to the NFC North basement for years to come and how dumb general manager Brian Gutekunst is for letting Aaron Rodgers go in favor of a guy who’d started one NFL game and thrown three touchdowns in three years.

Well, the Chicago Bears found out they still, um, aren’t good, and the Minnesota Vikings were upset at home too. The Jets found out Rodgers isn’t leading them to a Super Bowl title this year, just as he didn’t in Green Bay the last 12 seasons, the NFL is seeing more of what the Packers like about Love and the young talent being assembled by Gutekunst has showed some promising signs that the Packers won’t be down long, if they’ll be down at all.

Can’t get too excited about beating the Bears though and how one week of the season turned out. Things change in the NFL pretty quickly. Most times it’s week to week. Sometimes it’s in as little as four snaps. *** You may have noticed an item in these sports pages a couple of weeks ago celebrating the Whittlesey Reds’ championship in the Wisconsin Baseball Association’s 35 and older state tournament. It was Whittlesey’s first state title since 2002 and, for a couple of the guys, it came on the heels of a strong performance during regional weekend of the WBA’s regular post-season tournament when the Reds were one out away from being among the 12 teams playing in the state finals.

As most locals know, baseball has been, still is and always will be a big deal in that small spot on the Wisconsin state map.

But did you know Whittlesey has another veteran baseball team that is probably among the most unique in the state?

Team member Jim Zuleger made me aware of this group a few weeks ago. It’s the 80-and-over Whittlesey Reds, who have a spring training 2024 lineup ready to go and are searching for a league to play in.

They’ll be led from above by the coaching staff of Oliver Lamberty and Mike Roiger. As for the roster –– would you believe there are more than a dozen Whittlesey baseball alums from the 1950s who are still alive today and still live within six miles of the ball park? Amazing!

With some direction from Zuleger, we have the lineup card for opening day set. It features an all-star infield of Gene “Sticky” Krug, Delbert “Dellie” Brandner, Allyn “Red” Loertscher, Vern “Swabe” Neumueller, Jim “Nibber” Nehiba, Lanny “Zim” Zimmerlee and Gerald “Willie” Willner.

The outfield includes sluggers and speedsters like Robert “Bobby” Werner, Neil “Dude” Reimann and Zoo himself.

Flamethrowers on the pitching staff include Lee Jensen, Reimann, Loertscher and Joe “Butch” Roiger. Calling the signals for the staff and blocking their breaking balls in the dirt is catcher Wayne “Hog Grease” Krug.

I don’t know where their longevity comes from, but Zuleger did mention these guys’ five-hour energy drinks were packaged in brown bottles that made Milwaukee famous.

Matt Frey is the Sports Editor at The Star News.

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