Did we miss anything? The trip, the wedding, everything went smoothly. The blog suffered of course, but sometimes real life is more important than baseball. Not very often, but it does happen. We shall recap the rather tumultuous events of the past week later on.
But tonight, we're heading to the game. Omaha at Tacoma, 6:05 first pitch. The Royals will throw Matt Wright (2-3, 3.35) against the Rainier debut of Juan Done. Done was 2-3 with a 4.19 ERA down at Double-A West Tenn. Beautiful day for baseball!
Have the Schlegel Sports Group cleaned house? Exit133 says yep, it looks like they have. Nothing is official anywhere, so we shall see what comes of this. Dave Lewis - though we've never actually met the man - has always seemed like a decent fellow.
Now does this effect any potential moves? I'd say no, I still think we won't start to hear rumblings until the end of this year and beginning of next. Even if they are planning a move, they can't do much of anything until a new ballpark is built, whether it's in Reno or Dallas or wherever.
Greetings from lovely San Diego! Thanks to the miracle of my in-laws fancy satellite internet (they live in a rather rural area) No Rhubarb! is on the air. Well, sorta… and not very often, but we’re here.
Rough day for the hometown nine yesterday, as Brad Thomas pitched his best game of the year, throwing six scoreless innings – and not getting anything to show for it. The bullpen – culprit this time was Jamie Cerda, who gave up five runs – failed the squad. Not that the offense and defense helped much either. The Rainiers ended up with a total of 5 hits and 3 errors. Not a pretty day all around.
This series stumbles on tonight at 6:05. The TNT lists Jorge Campillo (2-4, 4.07) as the starter, which would make sense, as it is his turn in the rotation. TacomaRainiers.com doesn’t list a starter for the Rainiers. What does that mean? Maybe something, maybe nothing, but we do know that DJ Houlton (5-2, 3.28) starts for the 51s.
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For an interesting take on the Our Favorite Rainier Conundrum, check out this USS Mariner post from yesterday. Dave makes the very valid point that Adam Jones is done with Triple-A, and at this point is one of the "5-6" best hitters in the organization. It’s not difficult to argue, nor is it obvious what the Mariners should do with Jones right now. There isn't a place on the major league team for him - thanks to some hopeless decisions by the Seattle front office - and he needs no further time with Tacoma.
Hey, time to slap myself on the back. I did get one right yesterday, as A.C. Milan rode two Inzaghi goals to a 2-1 win over Liverpool in the Champions League finale. Give the Reds credit though; when Peter Crouch was on the pitch Liverpool threw a scare into the Rossoneri. Honestly, was there any Milan fan in the world who wasn’t terrified the last two minutes and into stoppage time? Memories of 2005 die hard.
This is a hectic day for the Frinklin family. We are leaving to night for the sun-drenched lands of San Diego (no Whale's Vagina jokes please) for my lovely sister-in-law's massive wedding. All we need to do today is take the dogs to the kennel, finish the laundry, pick up my new glasses (thank you Downtown Vision), get the house ready for the cat-sitter, head out to Comic Book Ink to pick up comics for the flight (Comic Book Ink rocks, any and all South Sound Geeks should go there), and (oh yeah) pack for the trip.
Whew...
Now, what this means for the No Rhubarb! reader is that blogging will be rather erratic, definitely light and quite-possibly non-existent. Yes, you may – for the next week anyway – fall back into the dark days where there was no blog solely for the Tacoma Rainiers, and for that we apologize. If you need Rainier-based content,the TNT has a fine article on Our Favorite Rainier we recommend highly.
Also, for non-baseball fun, we recommend – nay, we command – that you flip your televisions to ESPN2 for the finale of the UEFA Champions League, A.C. Milan v. Liverpool. While we are by no means the expert that this fellow is, we just don't see the Reds being able to keep up with Milan, and very much doubt a repeat of 2005.
A beautiful day for an ugly game. The Rainiers tied the game up at six, only fall behind again in the seventh when Mitch Jones' doubled home Matt Kemp. Tacoma dropped this game despite homers from Our Favorite Rainiers (his sixth in 10 games), Goooooooookie Dawkins and Rob Johnson. After a nice outing his last time on the hill, Jake Woods scuffled again, giving up six runs in four innings. The Jim Parque Experiment came in relief and pitched two scoreless innings.
Same two teams tomorrow at 6:05.
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The modern-day Pacific Coast League is a massive enterprise consisting of 16 teams stretching from Tacoma and Portland in the Pacific Northwest to New Orleans of the Deep South. These are the teams our hometown nine will face throughout the long season. You must know the enemy!
The Team: Iowa Cubs
The Location: Des Moines, Iowa
The Affiliation: Chicago Cubs
The Website: IowaCubs.com
The Ballpark: Principle Park. The second park placed by the confluence of the Raccoon and Des Moines River, Principle Park sits on the bones of Pioneer Park, built in 1947. Pioneer Park was renamed Sec Taylor Stadium in honor of the longtime sports editor of the Des Moines Register. The new field – also named Sec Taylor Stadium – opened in 1992. In 2004, the city sold the naming rights to Principle Financial Group and now goes by the rather unwieldy moniker of Sec Taylor Field at Principle Park.
The History: Des Moines has been a hotbed of professional baseball since the 1880s. A longtime member of the Western League, Iowa’s capital city was the host of the first night game held under permanent lights in 1930. The current club joined the now-defunct American Association in 1969 as the Iowa Oaks, and then switched to the Iowa Cubs in 1982. They have remained the Chicago Cubs Triple-A affiliate ever since. Despite being the smallest market in the current PCL, the I-Cubs have been a phenomenal success, including selling out 47 luxury boxes every season.
The Name: Hawkeyes, Prohibitionists, Midgets, Undertakers, Champs, Boosters, All-Nations, Demons… These are all past names for Des Moines-based baseball teams.
Any one of these would be vastly superior the “I-Cubs.” Can you imagine how well “Des Moines Undertakers” paraphernalia would do? The utterly amazing Ebbets Field Flannels used to offer a Des Moines Undertakers t-shirt, but not anymore apparently.
The Prospects: Felix Pie is one of the best prospects in minor league baseball. Imagine Our Favorite Rainier, only better.
Over at our other blog – one that we've been shamefully ignoring since starting up No Rhubarb! - our blogpartner, the misnamed Mediocre Fred, has revealed his deep, dark secret.
He is a Mascot American. Apparently, he appeared as the monstrosity known as “Uncle Slam” for the Class A Potomac Nationals in a recent parade. Uncle Slam, an oversize blue-skinned approximation of Uncle Sam (one that, judging by the bright red nose, sure likes to hit the sauce), is – like all mascots – an abomination before all. As it is written in the Baseball Testament, Book of DiMaggio, chapter 3, verse 7: And the mascot shall come unto you, inflated of feature and furred of complexion, and yea they shall not be of baseball, but of shameless hucksterism, and you shall stone them until the mascot head collapses in. And you shall be not afraid, for the Louisville Slugger of the Gods of Baseball is at thy command.
It is written that we must “Love the sinner, hate the sin.” and we shall do so for our blogpartner.
But if we ever see that creepy blue thing coming at us, we shall show no mercy.
Been awhile since it was this easy. The Rainiers jumped on Las Vegas for a run in the first, two in the third, and a four-spot in the fourth, and coasted for the first time since a 7-1 laugher against the Sidewinders last week. Our Favorite Rainier led the charge, going 3-5 with a homer and three runs scored. Ryan Feierabend picks up the win after a solid efforts, giving up three over 5 1/3.
A day game tomorrow at 11:35. Jake Woods (1-3, 5.23), coming off his best performance of the year, takes on Miguel Pinago (2-0, 0.82), who has been dominant since coming up from Jacksonville.
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When times are bad, you take wins where you can get them. In this case, that would mean a rain-shortened eight inning affair. Justin Lehr threw seven strong innings, and picked up the win after the game was called due to the downpour that hit Tacoma just in time for the ninth inning.
Considering how shaky the bullpen has been lately, it might have worked out for the best.
The Las Vegas 51s make their first appearance in Tacoma for a four-game series that starts tomorrow night. First pitch is at 6:05, Ryan Feierabend (1-2, 3.61) starts for the Rainiers, former big leaguer Joe Mays (1-2, 5.16) takes the hill for Vegas.
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Update: As per the comment left here, No Rhubarb! messed up. Joe Mays was released this week. William Juarez (NR) will replace him in the rotation tonight. Juarez was4-2, 4.79 with Jacksonville of the Southern League.
There is a truism in sport that says it is better to lose big than to lose small. We shall see how the Rainiers handle things, because they’ve now done both in the past 48 hours. After the 12-0 shellacking on Friday, the Rainiers - thanks to fine pitching by Jorge Campillo - went to the ninth inning with a 2-0 lead.
And promptly imploded.
Eerily reminiscent of the home opener, the Rainier defense cost them this game, with three errors in the ninth. The Sidewinders scored five runs to win in the ninth on only two hits. Tacoma is now officially in a tailspin, going 4-10 over their last 14 games.
Finale of the series is today at 1:35. Rainier ace Justin Lehr (4-2, 2.42) against Edgar Gonzalez (2-3, 4.81). Let’s see if the Rainiers can salvage a split.
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After yesterday's 12-0 demolition by Tucson, we wrote that "You could watch this game for a hundred years and not see a bigger beat down than this".
Except that the very same night the Lake Elsinore Storm managed to beat Lancaster 30-0.
30-0.
If you reach a score that would be a blowout in football, you've accomplished something.
You could watch this game for a hundred years and not see a bigger beat down than this. It is one thing to give up 23 hits. It's another to be the victim of a five hit shutout. Both of 'em together? Well, batten down the hatches kiddies, it's gonna get ugly. Brad Thomas was killed in his second start this year, giving up seven runs in three innings. In desperation the Rainiers turned back to The Jim Parque Experiment, but he was wracked for 12 hits (12 hits? Seriously?) in 3 1/3. Sean Green, Jamie Cerda and Jon Huber eventually stopped the bleeding, but really. You know the old line about closing the barn door after various animals escape? Well, on Friday night the damned barn burned down.
More fun tomorrow at 1:35. Yusmeiro Petit (3-3, 6.97) against Jorge Campillo (2-4, 4.72).
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Update: Turns out this was the Chickadee's first visit to Cheney. Unfortunately baseball is a very superstitious sport, so if the Rainiers get obliterated the next time she visits, it probably means it's her fault. Just warning you Chick.
We really aren't sure if anything can top the past two weeks. Zooperstars and BirdZerk are such lunatic creations that we actually considered retiring this feature. But then we though, what would we do on a Thursday night? And we must admit, finding bizarre mascots is an awful lot of fun. And unending, we've yet to find a minor league team without one.
This week we touch on a team that we confess an irrational affection for, the Southern League Montgomery Biscuits. The Double A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, the Biscuits... well, they're called the Biscuits, what more do you need? We believe that a giant walking biscuit would be great, but we don't get it. Make no mistake, the club's identity revolves around the biscuit, the logo looking like a buttermilk biscuit with a pat of butter for a tongue and giant googley eyes. But they don't use that as a mascot. Frankly, we here at No Rhubarb! are flabbergasted.
Instead, the folks in Montgomery are treated to – as stated on the team website - “seven feet of biscuit lovin' beast”. Big Mo is a large orange creature that looks like what might happen if an armadillo and an elephant mated during a nuclear test. It's hideous really, and again make us wonder why the good people of Montgomery don't just have a giant walking biscuit.
Photo courtesy of biscuitsbaseball.com
A Slight Sidebar We realize that we have a lead on what could be the crowning glory of this little feature. Mike Curto – Voice of Your Tacoma Rainiers – advised us via USS Mariner of the Long Beach Barracudas mascot, which Mike described as “Satan wrapped in tinfoil". Unfortunately, despite the vast resources of this site (Me and Google) we are unable to locate much info about said Barracudas. If a picture of this creature exists, we must find it.
We should start this out with a cliché about home-cooking. Let's not and say we did. In the first of a four-game set against Tucson, the Rainiers put a four-spot up in the second inning and never looked back. Our Favorite Rainier hit his fifth home and drove in four. Bryan LaHair and Wladimir Balentien picked up Ribbies as did a very unexpected source. Ronnie Prettyman – hitting an even .200 with West Tenn before being called up – drove in a run and improved his average to .364. Jake Woods pitched his best game of the year, going seven scoreless to pick up the win.
Same two teams tomorrow at 6:05 for Fireworks Night. Brad Thomas (1-2, 6.30) gets the start for Tacoma, and Dustin Nippert (0-1, 11.57) takes the hill for Tucson.
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The modern-day Pacific Coast League is a massive enterprise consisting of 16 teams stretching from Tacoma and Portland in the Pacific Northwest to New Orleans of the Deep South. These are the teams our hometown nine will face throughout the long season. You must know the enemy!
The Team: Omaha Royals
The Location: Omaha, Nebraska
The MLB Affiliation: Kansas City Royals
The Website: Oroyals.com
The Ballpark: Rosenblatt Stadium. Longtime home of the College World Series, this aging ballpark is simply too big for minor league club. At 24,000 capacity, Rosenblatt works well for the CWS, but not for the Royals, who are pushing for a new ballpark.
The History: The Omaha Royals were a Triple-A expansion team in 1969, affiliated with the major league expansion Kansas City Royals. They have been affiliated ever since. Nice and easy, especially when considering some of the longtime franchises.
The Name: Using the same name as the team's MLB affiliate is seriously irritating. Why not make a choice that reflects the local area of the team? Apparently the good people of Omaha would disagree. In 1999 the team changed to the “Golden Spikes” referencing the Golden Spike that finished the Transcontinental Railroad (of which Omaha has always been a hub) and the Golden Spikes Award, given to the top amateur baseball player in America. The idea lasted only until 2002. They like the name Royals apparently.
The Prospects: The O-Royals sport one of baseballs' best hitting prospects (fielding, not so much) in outfielder Billy Butler. Except that Butler has recently been called up to Kansas City.
Special Added Bonus: They don't use recorded music at Rosenblatt Stadium. We love them for this.
Starters for tomorrow's game against Tucson - the first of an eight-game homestand - have been announced. Jake Woods (0-3, 6.75) for the Rainiers against the Sidewinders' Evan McLane (3-2, 4.58) Help for the bullpen has arrived as well. Byron Embry's suspension is up and Ryan Rowland-Smith and Sean Green have arrived from Seattle.
The weather has been perfect for baseball the past few days; hope we can continue that.
Perhaps the bullpen needs a little work? On Sunday, the Rainiers were up 16-0... and gave up nine runs. They held on to win 19-9. Monday, the Rainiers were up 12-7 in the eighth, only to see rookie reliever Drew Fiorenza give up six runs on eight consecutive hits. Tacoma lost that one 13-12. On Tuesday the Rainiers led 4-3 before giving up six and losing 9-5.
The off-day Wednesday cannot come at a better time.
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The modern-day Pacific Coast League is a massive enterprise consisting of 16 teams stretching from Tacoma and Portland in the Pacific Northwest to New Orleans of the Deep South. These are the teams our hometown nine will face throughout the long season. You must know the enemy!
The Team: Tucson Sidewinders
The Location: Tucson, Arizona
The MLB Affiliation: Arizona Diamondbacks
The Website: TucsonSidewinders.com
The Ballpark: Tucson Electric Park. The springtime home of both the Diamondbacks and Chicago White Sox, the “Pride of Prima County” is a spring training ballpark first, and a PCL park second.
The History: Tuscon was the home of a team in the Arizona State League – which itself spent time as the Arizona-Texas League, Arizona-Mexico League and the Southwestern International League – off and on from 1915 to 1958. During the '58 season that league went out of business for good. The PCL moved to Tucson when the Seattle Angels were pushed out by the Major League Pilots in 1969. The Toros were the affiliate of several teams, but when the expansion Diamondbacks brought the major leagues to Arizona, the Toros were replaced – in a weirdly arcane way – by the Sidewinders. The Tucson Toros moved to Fresno and became the Grizzlies. The Phoenix Firebirds – pushed out by the D-Backs – moved and became the Tucson Toros for one season. However, the owner of the Firebirds (and most of the front office staff) moved to Fresno with the Toros-turned-Grizzlies. The owner of the former Toros stuck with the former Firebirds franchise, but renamed that team the Sidewinders.
There will be a quiz later.
The Prospects: The Sidewinders are the defending PCL Champions and Triple A Champions. Much of the young talent from the squad – Carlos Quentin, Stephen Drew and the like – are with Arizona now.
The third of a four-game series tonight with the Isotopes. After the off-the-field concerns of the past couple posts, lets just revel in an evening in the rare air Albuquerque, where the first team to 20 wins. USS Mariner is running a Rainier game thread and Rainier voice Mike Curto made an early appearance. Follow along, won't you?
The wrap-up will be late, probably posted tomorrow morning. We are heading to Tacoma General tonight for what is called a Sleep Study. The wife apparently has a problem with the fact that I don't always breathe at night. Wish me luck.
Commenter “Ben Cheney” - back from the dead, apparently- has some disquieting thoughts about the Reno situation:
Rainier fans can all but help pack up the gear, as the team won't be here in 2009 if funding is not found for a complete overhaul of Cheney Stadium.Now, I don’t entirely agree with everything here. I still say that Nashville - thanks to their ongoing stadium debacle - is the more likely team to be moved, but multiple moves are certainly possible. This Reno thing has pushed a issue onto the table - that of Cheney Stadium and it’s drawbacks - much earlier in the season than I had hoped. Ben Cheney’s ultimate point is correct: Cheney Stadium requires a full-on makeover, and if that doesn’t happen, the Rainiers certainly could move and do so sooner than later.
2.5M additional funding from the state is not going to get this done. Cheney overhaul is a 30 million dollar endeavor, 15 hard must be public money, with 15 more in private investment. Private money could pose a problem without a valid plan of profitablility, unless the money comes from entities that simply donate for the good of the overall community.
There have been several articles and stories involving this development, and here is a glance of what the said, and who the players are.
Schlegel Group - Quietly meeting with Dallas city officials regarding a new ballpark being built there and scheduled to open in 2009.
The Texas Rangers have final say in that market, and normally would not consider a AAA team so close to Arlington. However, a deal with Schlegel would involve Real Estate development projects in or around the stadium site, and current Schlegel group VP Bob McCall was the president/GM of the Frisco AA team of the Rangers. The format there would be one of multiple investment opportunities, cross marketing, and proximity for call up to the parent club from AAA.
Reno/Sparks - Lead group has secured a initial agreement to purchase an undisclosed AAA team. Most consider the club to be the Tucson Sidewinders, as they have been quietly marketed for sale the past 2-3 years prior to winning the PCL crown in 2006.
1. Schlegel group moves the Rainiers after the 2008 season, sign Player Development contract with Texas Rangers.
The Padres sign Player Development contract with Reno/Sparks.
The Mariners sign Player Development contract with Portland, (great cross marketing opportunity, short call up traval to Safeco).
The Diamondbacks sign Player Development contract with Oklahoma (Rangers former AAA club). Or, there could be multiple affilation changes after these moves.
2. Schlegel sells the Rainiers. Purchases the Tucson Sidewinders. Moves the Sidewinders to Dallas. Sign Player Development contract with Texas Rangers.
Reno/Sparks group purchases the Rainiers, moves franchise to Reno/Sparks. Sign Player Development contract with the Padres.
Mariners sign Player Development contract with Portland, Oregon ownership.
Diamondbacks sign Player Development contract with Oklahoma or other city based on potential affiliation changes.
Bottom line is simple. Cheney Stadium goes through a complete renovation, or Tacoma's 47 year run in the PCL is history.
If that happens, the best we can all hope for is short season A ball in the Northwest League.
In the meantime, Cheney is a great place to watch a ballgame and spend the summer. Let's all enjoy it while it's still here!
So, how exactly do we come up with the $30-50 million a new or renovated park would require?
