About the Team
-Our Favorite Rainier was 2-3 with two walks. Adam Jones' biggest issue was his plate discipline. So far this year he leads the Rainiers with six walks and his line so far this year is a sparkling .389/.477/1.088. He leads this team in all three categories.
-Wladimir Balentien has some serious fan-favorite potential. He plays the game with flair, never gets cheated at the plate, and his homer on Friday night was a cannon shot.
-Mike Morse is an adventure on defense, no matter where he plays. Last night we saw him break the wrong direction on a line drive and shot-put a couple throws to first.
-Bryan Lahair looks helpless against lefties. His line (0-7, 4K) sure seems to prove that. He did seem a bit more nimble around the bag though.
-Jeff Clement has an odd stance. He hold his bat low and close to his chest, and pinches his knees together before he takes a step. Looks odd, and seems to have too many moving parts. He did hit the ball hard, so it seems to work.
-Before his epic three-run error in the tenth, I was really impressed with Rob Johnson's defense. He blocks the plate well and has a quick release. I don't know if he'll hit though. Reminds me a bit of Dan Wilson, but with a more standard catcher size.
-Again, before the train wreck 10th inning, Oswaldo Navarro can really pick it. He'll never be more than your average good-hit, no-field backup middle infielder.
-Odd to see Gookie Dawkins playing for the Rainiers. When Ken Griffey Jr. was traded to the Reds, the Mariners demanded a middle infield prospect back from Cincinnati. The options were Pokey Reese (on the M's DL all season two years ago), Dawkins and Antonio Perez (traded for Randy Winn). Funny how that worked out.
-We really like Jeremy Reed, but... We dunno, it just isn't working.
About the Experience
-Cheney Stadium does look better. The paint was really needed, and the new wrought-iron fence (which I neglected to mention after the Preseason Party) improves the look of the outside of the stadium. Reading the Tribune's story on the new ownership group, one gets the feeling that the former owners neglected the team while it was up for sale.
-Rained all day, up until just about scheduled first pitch. We were not expecting the game to be played, quite frankly. The rains stopped and it went off just a few minutes late.
-Great Odin's Raven did it get cold though. Really cold. Like the Official Wife was shivering and slowly turning blue cold.
-Despite all that, it wasn't a bad crowd. About 2/3 full and about half of those stayed through the 10th.
-We skipped the fireworks. Again, REALLY cold.
-Not all the kinks were worked out. We were denied a superdog due to shortages at the main concession stand. Ordered the special fries and were given the regular ones. Wife's popcorn was cold and soggy. Not at all a good experience.
-Bought my first piece of Rainiers junk – the awesome road cap – and that transaction went pretty smoothly, despite the guy in front of me who did three separate transactions so his little ones could pay with their own money. Dude... do that at the grocery store or something, not at a ball game.
-The Rainiers staff – all with matching red jackets – were uniformly friendly and helpful. The security guys in yellow, not so much.
-Rhubarb is unspeakably horrible up close. But much more so when dressed in drag. Nightmares for life.
