No Rhubarb!

The Week That Was: Another down week for the Rainiers. Tacoma went an ugly 2-4, and lost Our Favorite Rainier for the weekend after he injured his hand running into an outfield wall. After winning the final game over Tucson to finish a short homestand on an up note, the Rainiers ran into the buzzsaw that is the Sacramento River Cats. The Cats took three out of four as the Rainiers remained deep in the cellar, stuck at 10 games behind Pacific North co-leaders Salt Lake and Colorado Springs.

On Deck: Two more in Tucson to end the road trip and the Rainiers head back home to entertain the Portland Beavers and the aforementioned Bees. The Rainiers added a very interesting name to the bullpen over the weekend, 2007 Mariner draftee Brodie Downs. At 27, Downs is the oldest player Seattle drafted this year. He quit baseball after high school to work as a surveyor until returning to pitch one season with Modesto CC. Live the dream Brodie.

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Labels: Review/Preview, Tacoma Rainiers

The Week That Was: Pacific Coast League baseball fans got their money's worth this week, as the Rainiers managed four extra-inning games in a row. The highlight has to be Wladimir Balentien's walk-off homer on Friday. The lowlight? Thursday and Saturday's extra-inning losses. Overall a down week for the Rainiers, who finish 3-4 over the seven days.

On Deck: An off-day Monday, which is always a good thing. Tuesday starts a week-long road trip with four against Sacramento, then on to the desert for a weekend series against the Sidewinders in Tucson. Neither are an easy mark; the two teams are in a virtual tie in the Pacific South Division. The Rainiers are still last in the Pacific North, and still sport the worst record in the PCL.

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Labels: Review/Preview, Sacramento River Cats, Tacoma Rainiers, Tucson Sidewinders

The Week That Was: An uneven week for the Rainiers, going 3-4, but losers of three out of their last four. After splitting with Colorado Springs, the Rainiers have lost two in a row against Salt Lake, and they haven’t really been competitive in either game. If the Rainiers expect to contend, they have to better than a game under .500 at home. Currently Tacoma stands 14-17, good for third place in the Pacific North division.

On Deck: The series finale against Salt Lake is on Monday Night. The Rainiers will be glad to see the Bees in the rearview mirror. Tacoma and Salt Lake don’t meet again until the last game in June. Starting on Tuesday, the Rainiers hit the road and head for Texas for four games against the Round Rock Express. The Express find themselves with the same record as Tacoma, but they sit in last place of the PCL American South division.

In The Hole: After Round Rock, the Rainiers head to Albuquerque, for four games in gorgeous Isotopes Park. The Isotopes are at .500, just one game back of Oklahoma in the American South division.

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Labels: Albuquerque Isotopes, Review/Preview, Round Rock Express, Salt Lake Bees, Tacoma Rainiers

The Week That Was: The Rainiers saw their first off-day of the season and – more importantly – their first series win on the road. The week started ugly as Tacoma dropped back to back games in Salt Lake in ugly fashion, then salvaged the finale. Tacoma then moved on to Las Vegas, and took three out of four from the 51s. Tacoma stands at 11-13, all alone in second place of the Pacific North division, three games behind the Bees.

On Deck: The Rainiers head home for an eight game home stand, kicking off with a visit from the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. The Sky Sox – great name, ain't it? - find themselves at the bottom of the division with a 7-13 mark. Colorado Springs is one of the more veteran teams in the PCL.

In The Hole: Division-leading Salt Lake comes to Tacoma for the first time this season for a four-game series starting on Friday. The Bees star is a bit dimmed now, as star thirdbaseman Brandon Wood has been called up to the parent Angels. We have to admit a certain fondness for the Bees, partly because they are the Los Angeles – California – Anaheim – Los Angeles Angel farm club. We lived behind the Orange Curtain for some time and took in many games at Angel Stadium. Also – and the depth of our obsession with uniforms will come out soon – we love the Bees throwback look.

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Labels: Colorado Springs Sky Sox, Review/Preview, Salt Lake Bees, Tacoma Rainiers

The Week that Was: The Rainiers finished with another losing week, going 3-4 against Sacramento, Fresno and Salt Lake. After dropping Sunday's series finale against the River Cats, the Rainiers did manage to pick up three in a row against Fresno. Tacoma missed a chance at the sweep though, and have since lost consecutive games against the Bees. The Rainiers now find themselves at 7-11, four games back of the Salt Lake.

On Deck: The Rainiers have two more tough games in Salt Lake, a night game on Monday and an afternoon tilt on Tuesday. After that game it's on to Sin City (yes, we're deeply ashamed at using that nickname) for a four-game series against the Las Vegas 51s. The 51s stand at 10-6, a game back of Sacramento in the PCL Pacific South.

In The Hole:After the series in Las Vegas, the Rainiers have another only-in-the-minors travel situation; after a 12:05 game in Las Vegas, Tacoma heads to Colorado Springs for a series against the Sky Sox. They play on Saturday, travel Saturday night and play a 6:05 game against the Sox on Sunday. Colorado Springs is las in the Pacific North, currently at 5-10.

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Labels: Colorado Springs Sky Sox, Las Vegas 51s, Review/Preview, Salt Lake Bees, Tacoma Rainiers

The Week That Was: Not a great week for the hometown nine; the Rainiers started the week getting blasted 16-1 in Fresno, and ended it by dropping the first two games at home in excruciating fashion. Some measure of success was reached to end the week, as the Rainiers beat Sacramento 4-1. Overall Tacoma finished the week 2-5. The Rainiers are tied for second in the PCL Pacific North, three games behind Salt Lake.

On Deck: The Rainiers finish the four game series with Sacramento Monday evening, which is the last we shall see of the River Cats until mid-June. Fresno comes to town for a four-game series starting on Tuesday, with all games starting at 6:05. The can't miss game should be Wednesday. If the Grizzlies' rotation holds up, Tim Lincecum will take the mound at Cheney Stadium.


In The Hole: After the Grizzlies series Tacoma starts on another road trip with four against the very tough Salt Lake Bees. The Bees, at 7-4 sporting the best record in the PCL, are a strong team starring third baseman Brandon Wood. Named the 2005 Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year after clubbing 43 homers for Rancho Cucamonga of the California League, Wood followed that up with another 25 at Double-A Arkansas. A tall shortstop in the Cal Ripken mode, Wood is switching to third to avoid the glut of middle infielders controlled by parent club Los Angeles.

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Labels: Fresno Grizzlies, Review/Preview, Sacramento River Cats, Tacoma Rainiers

The Week That Was: The Rainiers opened the season with four in Sacramento, splitting the series. Tacoma dropped the first two games due to an imploding bullpen, but turned it around and took the last two games. At 2-2, the Rainiers are in second in the PCL Pacific North division, one game behind the Salt Lake Bees

The Week Upcoming: The Rainiers finish of the opening road trip with four in Fresno against the Grizzlies. Then it's home to Cheney Stadium for the home opener and four more against Sacramento.

The Opponent: The Fresno Grizzlies, Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. The Grizzlies play at the lovely (and damn near unpronounceable) Chukchansi Park. The Grizzlies are a veteran club with few real prospects and several recent Rainiers like Justin Leone and Scott Atchison. The Grizzlies do feature the best prospect in the Giants system and one of the better prospects in the minor leagues: pitcher Tim Lincecum. Lincecum, a former Washington Husky and winner of the Golden Spikes award, is a hard-throwing, undersized righthander with a funky delivery.

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Labels: Review/Preview, Sacramento River Cats, Tacoma Rainiers