No Rhubarb!

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: Memphis Redbirds

The City: Memphis, Tennessee

The Affiliation: St. Louis Cardinals

The Website: MemphisRedbirds.com

The Ballpark: AutoZone Park. Commonly described as “one-third a major league park”, AutoZone Park was the most expensive minor-league baseball park ever built when it opened in 2000. Rainier voice Mike Curto has stated on the air that this is his favorite PCL park.

The History: Like New Orleans, Memphis was a longtime member of the Southern Association. The Memphis Chickasaws (or Chicks usually) were members up until the circuit's collapse in the early sixties. Later the Memphis Blues competed in both the Texas League and the Southern League. Triple-A baseball came to Memphis for the first time in 1998 with the arrival of the Redbirds.

The Name: Chickasaws? C'mon...

The Prospects: Memphis is all about Rick Ankiel. If it weren't for the amazing story of Josh Hamilton playing for the Reds after years lost to substance abuse, Ankiel would be the comeback story of 2007. Once heralded as the second coming of Steve Carlton, Ankiel made his major league debut at 20 and pitched the entire 2000 season in the Cardinal rotation. A surprise choice to start the first game of the NLCS against Atlanta, his start was a disaster, as Ankiel became the first pitcher since 1890 to throw five wild pitches in one inning. After that, his career fell of a cliff. An apparent victim of Steve Blass Disease, he would eventually bottom out a Johnson City, the lowest rung on the Cardinal minor league ladder. In 54 innings he threw 10 wild pitches and walked 49 batters. Following Tommy John surgery, Ankiel made a comeback. As an outfielder. Always a tremendous athlete and fine hitting pitcher, Ankiel has worked his way back up through the Cardinal system at center, and he currently leads the PCL in homers.

The Ownership: There is none, actually. The Redbirds are actually considered a charitable organization, and any profits the team makes go toward baseball's very worthy RBI and STRIPE programs.

The Schedule Quirk: The Redbirds are a skip team for Tacoma this season. Memphis comes to Tacoma this year, but the Rainiers won't see AutoZone Park until 2008.

Posted by frinklin at 11:27 AM | 0 comments Links to this post    
Labels: Know The Enemy, Memphis Redbirds, Tacoma Rainiers

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: Oklahoma RedHawks

The City: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

The Affiliation: Texas Rangers

The Website: OklahomaRedHawks.com

The Ballpark: AT&T Bricktown Ballpark. Awkward name, gorgeous park. Built in 1999, the Bricktown is considered one of the best Triple-A ballparks. Home to the Big 12 baseball championship and the yearly “Bricktown Showdown” match-up between the PCL and International League champs, this park is part of the revitalization of it's namesake district.

The History: Oklahoma City was home to the Indians, an on-again, off-again member of the Texas League until the Oklahoma City 89ers were born in 1962 to coincide with major league expansion. In 1999, the team moved to the Bricktown, changed names and became affiliated with nearby Texas Rangers.

The Name: Yeah, 89ers is much better than RedHawks (yes, that is the correct capitalization), one of those nouveau 90's names that colleges made up to replace “Indians” and “Redmen.”

The Prospects: Not much. The Rangers are an awful team and the RedHawks have become a haven for nearly-were prospects like Ramon Vasquez and Desi Relaford, both former Rainiers and Mariners.

The Scheduling Quirk: Due to the PCL's scheduling plans – some teams don't play home and homes – the Rainiers will be playing in OKC, but the RedHawks will not be seen in Tacoma until 2008

Posted by frinklin at 12:35 AM | 0 comments Links to this post    
Labels: Know The Enemy, Oklahoma RedHawks, Tacoma Rainiers

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: New Orleans Zephyrs

The City: Metairie, Louisiana

The Affiliation: New York Mets

The Website: Zephyrsbaseball.com

The Ballpark: Zephyr Field. Built in 1997, the “Shrine on Airline” (yes, the dumbest nickname for a stadium we can recall), appears to be the minor league equivalent of New Comiskey in Chicago: new, shiny and pretty close to soulless. As with most newer minor league stadiums, Zephyr Field features outfield berm seating, the unfortunately named “Da Levee”. In 2005, Zephyr Field was used as FEMA staging area following Hurricane Katrina. Thankfully for New Orleans baseball fans, FEMA managed not to burn the stadium down.

The History: The New Orleans Pelicans were a longtime member of the old Southern Association; one of the crown jewels of Deep South baseball along with such franchises as the Atlanta Crackers, Little Rock Travelers and Nashville Volunteers. The SA collapsed in 1961, either unwilling or simply unable to integrate. In 1977 a new version of the Pelicans played one season in the Superdome, but a lousy stadium lease forced the team to relocate to Springfield, Missouri. In 1993, baseball returned to the Crescent City after the Denver Zephyrs were forced out by the expansion Colorado Rockies.

The Name: After decades as the Bears, the Denver franchise switched to Zephyrs in 1985. The name went with them to New Orleans, missing an opportunity to reclaim a great baseball name and look.

The Prospects: The Zephyrs feature two of the parent Mets' best pitching prospects in Phillip Humber and Mike Pelfrey. In addition, the talented-but-somewhat flakey Lastings Milledge and former Rainier and Mariner Clint Nagoette are on the New Orleans disabled list.

Did You Know? The Zephyrs are the only team in organized baseball with a "Z" on the cap?

Did You Care? Us neither.

Posted by frinklin at 1:05 PM | 0 comments Links to this post    
Labels: Know The Enemy, New Orleans Zephyrs, Tacoma Rainiers

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: Portland Beavers

The Location: Portland, Oregon

The Affiliation: San Diego Padres

The Website: PortlandBeavers.com

The Ballpark: PGE Park. Originally a football stadium opened in 1926 as Multnomah Stadium, this multi-use park was completely renovated in 2001. The Portland Beavers added baseball in 1956, after their home, Vaughn Street Park, was condemned. Even after the renovation, this is still very much a multi-use stadium, home to the Portland State Vikings football team, the Portland Timbers soccer club as well as the PCL Beavers.

The History: Portland has hosted a Pacific Coast League franchise longer than any other city. Like Tacoma, Portland was an original member of the Pacific Northwest League, and went through the war between the Pacific National League and the PCL. Where Tacoma stuck with the PNL, the Beavers’ predecessor Portland Webfeets made the move to the Pacific Coast League. Eventually rechristened the Beavers (or Lucky Beavers), the team remained in the PCL – with the exception of WWI – through the 1973 season. That team headed to Spokane, but the Beavers returned in ’78. This version stuck around until 1993, become the Salt Lake franchise. When the Beavers left again, the movement for a new ballpark caught fire, culminating in the opening of PGE Park and the return of the Beavers in 2001.

The Name: Yes, Lucky Beavers would be the perfect name for a strip club.

Miscellaneous Note #1: There would seem to be the chance for a nice Pacific Northwest rivalry with Tacoma, but that isn’t helped by the fact that the two teams don’t meet until mid-June.

Miscellaneous Note #2 We love the Beavers’ home uni.

The Prospects: Not much. The Padres’ system is very thin. The name to know might be Ryan Ketchner. He’s a minor prospect, but former Mariner property. The Beavs were supposed to feature Cesar Carrillo, San Diego’s best pitching prospect, but he went out with an injury.

Posted by frinklin at 1:30 PM | 0 comments Links to this post    
Labels: Know The Enemy, Portland Beavers, Tacoma Rainiers

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.

Posted by frinklin at 12:22 PM | 0 comments Links to this post    
Labels: Iowa Cubs, Know The Enemy, Tacoma Rainiers

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.

Posted by frinklin at 1:05 PM | 0 comments Links to this post    
Labels: Know The Enemy, Omaha Royals, Tacoma Rainiers

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.

Posted by frinklin at 12:30 PM | 0 comments Links to this post    
Labels: Know The Enemy, Tacoma Rainiers, Tucson Sidewinders

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: Albuquerque Isotopes

The Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico

The MLB Affiliation: Florida Marlins

The Website: AlbuquerqueBaseball.com

The Ballpark: Isotopes Park. As we make our way through the PCL, we are impressed with many ballparks. The newer parks, like Franklin Covey in Salt Lake and Raley Field in Sacramento are jewels, smaller versions of the “retro” ballpark made famous by Camden Yards in Baltimore. Isotopes Park though, is the one PCL park we will have to see someday. Instead of aping the the early twentieth century look like Safeco Field in Seattle or PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Isotopes Park draws on the 1930's and 40's Art Deco style found in downtown Albuquerque, mixing it with some southwestern flair. The result is simply spectacular. Even more amazing, Isotopes Field is not an entirely new ballpark. The new park was built on the bones of the existing Albuquerque Sports Stadium, though very little of that old park still stands

The History: The Albuquerque Dukes were a longtime franchise that moved up and down the minor league ladder between 1915 and 1972. In 1972, the Los Angeles Dodger farm team in Spokane moved to New Mexico and became the first Triple A version of the Dukes. Albuquerque would remain LA's top farm club until 2000. That year the Dukes were moved to Portland, becoming the newest incarnation of the Beavers. Albuquerque quickly took steps to regain PCL baseball, and in 2003 the Calgary Cannons left Canada and moved into the newly completed Isotopes Park.

The Name: The Isotopes are named after a Simpsons episode. How cool is that? In the classic episode “Hungry, Hungry Homer” the Springfield Isotopes are in the process of moving to Albuquerque before Homer and his hunger strike stop them. When the Cannon franchise moved, fans overwhelmingly chose the “Isotopes” name.

The Prospects: Zilch. The Marlins field the youngest team in the majors, and their Triple-A team is strictly spare parts at this point.

Posted by frinklin at 12:00 PM | 0 comments Links to this post    
Labels: Albuquerque Isotopes, Know The Enemy, Tacoma Rainiers

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: Round Rock Express

The Location: Round Rock, Texas

Wait... Yeah, we're heading into the not-quite Pacific Coast teams. Round Rock is a suburb of Austin.

The MLB Affiliation: Houston Astros

The Website: RoundRockExpress.com

The Ballpark: Dell Diamond. Initially built in 2000 to house the Double-A version of the Express, expanded when the Edmonton Trappers moved south. Sitting in what used to be a cow pasture, Dell Diamond has all the bells and whistles, including a game room and climbing rock.

The History: At one point, the PCL had three teams in Canada. This one used to be based in Edmonton, before the Ryan-Sanders group (that would be Nolan Ryan and son Reid) moved the team to Texas. That replaced the Texas League version of the Express, which itself used to be the Jackson Generals as recently as 1999.The Double-A club moved to Corpus Christi, and is home to the unspeakable Rusty the Hook.

The Name: Nolan Ryan's fastball was called the Express. Pretty cool actually.

The Prospects: Hunter Pence, Juan Gutierez and not much else.

Posted by frinklin at 1:00 PM | 0 comments Links to this post    
Labels: Know The Enemy, Round Rock Express, Tacoma Rainiers

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.

The Team: Colorado Springs Sky Sox

The Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado

The MLB Affiliation: Colorado Rockies

The Website: SkySox.com

The Ballpark: Security Service Field. Built in 1988, this is charmingly-named field has the highest elevation of any stadium in professional baseball. One of the smaller venues in the PCL, this field does not have a view of the Rocky Mountains, instead a housing development is seen over the outfield walls.

The History: A member of the Class-A Western League until it folded in 1958, the Sky Sox are the former Hawaii Islanders, which were one of the 1,237 different teams that once played in Sacramento. Colorado Springs has been the AAA affiliate for the Colorado Rockies since that teams inception in 1993.

The Prospects: Ian Stewart, Ubaldo Jimenez. The Sky Sox feature one of – if not the – most veteran clubs in the PCL.

Posted by frinklin at 12:32 PM | 0 comments Links to this post    
Labels: Colorado Springs Sky Sox, Know The Enemy, Tacoma Rainiers

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.

The Team: Las Vegas 51s

The Location: Las Vegas, Nevada

The Affiliation: Los Angeles Dodgers

The Website: LV51.com

The Ballpark: Cashman Field. Built in 1983 for the then Las Vegas Stars, Cashman Field is actually closer to downtown than the more famous Strip. This is close to old-school, Sinatra-style Vegas: the Golden Nugget, the El Cortez. The park itself is pretty anti-Vegas though. It's rather plain and glitz-free. Looks like Cheney Stadium to us in fact.

The History: Up until 1983, this franchise was the cross-state rival Spokane Indians. Known as the Stars until 2001, the Vegas franchise has always been affiliated with a Southern California team; the Padres from 83-01, then the Dodgers to current.

Just not one of your more interesting PCL franchises.

The Logo: The name references Area 51, the logo the fabled "Grey" aliens. Area 51 is about 80 miles north of Las Vegas; the Greys are rumored to have lived, died, been interrogated and/or autopsied there.

The Prospects: Andy LaRoche, James Loney, Greg Miller

Posted by frinklin at 12:59 AM | 0 comments Links to this post    
Labels: Know The Enemy, Las Vegas 51s, Tacoma Rainiers

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.

The Team: Salt Lake Bees

The Location: Salt Lake City, Utah

The Affiliation: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (ridiculous, I know)

The Website: SLBees.com

The Ballpark: Franklin Covey Field. Opened in 1994, Franklin Covey was one of the first double-decker minor league fields. Set in a commercial area of Salt Lake, the stadium features a view of the Wasatch Mountains

The History: Salt Lake City first hosted a PCL franchise in 1915, hosting the former Sacramento Solons, a team that had already found itself in Tacoma and Fresno in addition to three separate stays in Sacramento. The Salt Lake Bees lasted until 1925, when other PCL owners tired of the long travel, moved the team to Southern California. That team – the first version of the PCL Tacoma Tigers – spent the majority of the century as the San Diego Padres. The PCL would return to Utah in 1958, with the Hollywood Stars move. That lasted until 1965, when that version of the Bees moved to Tacoma, replacing the departing Giants. The PCL would return again in 1970 as the Salt Lake Angels, then as the Salt Lake Gulls. That team left in 1985 and moved to Calgary. Finally, the current team arrived in 1994, when the former Portland Beavers were moved into the brand-new Franklin Covey Field.

The Name: This PCL team was originally named the Buzz (which is awful), then changed to the Stingers (which is a tiny bit better) in 2002 to avoid a lawsuit from Georgia Tech. In 2005, the team revived the Bees moniker and brought back these gorgeous throwback uniforms.

Whew….That was far more complicated than it needed to be.

The Prospects: Brandon Wood, Jeff Mathis, Terry Evans

Posted by frinklin at 5:06 AM | 0 comments Links to this post    
Labels: Know The Enemy, Salt Lake Bees, Tacoma Rainiers

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: Fresno Grizzlies

The Location: Fresno, California

The MLB Affiliation: San Fransisco Giants

The Website: FresnoGrizzlies.com

The Stadium: Chukchansi Park. Designed by the legendary architecture firm HOK, this jewel of a ballpark was built in 2002, anchoring the rehabilitation of downtown Fresno.

The History: Fresno fielded a team in 1907, the Raisin Eaters (why, oh why didn't they bring back that name?), but that team moved to Sacramento the following season. Between 1908 and 1998, the city supported a variety of California League teams. The PCL returned when the expansion Arizona Diamondbacks forced the Giants' AAA team from Phoenix. The Phoenix Firebirds dropped their affiliation with San Francisco, and moved to Tucson to become the Sidewinders. The existing Tuscon Toros moved to Fresno to become the Grizzlies.

The Prospects: Tim Lincecum, Brian Wilson

Posted by frinklin at 12:03 AM | 0 comments Links to this post    
Labels: Fresno Grizzlies, Know The Enemy, Tacoma Rainiers

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: Sacramento River Cats

The Location: Sacramento, California

The MLB Affiliation: Oakland Athletics

The Website: Rivercats.com

The Stadium: Raley Field. Built in 2000, just minutes away from Old Sacramento and the Sacramento River. Considered a lovely, thoroughly modern ballpark that generates huge crowds during the long, hot California summer.

The History: The city of Sacramento was one of the original PCL teams in 1903, but lost the Solons and Senators several times. This most recent incarnation was the Vancouver Canadians, but moved to California's capital in 2000, starting an exodus of Canadian teams.

The Prospects: Daric Barton, Kurt Suzuki

Posted by frinklin at 11:28 PM | 0 comments Links to this post    
Labels: Know The Enemy, Tacoma Rainiers