4/7 Minor League Scores and Notable Performances

Tacoma Rainiers

	Runs	Hits	Errors
Tacoma Rainiers	3	10	1
Sacramento River Cats	1	4	0

Dustin Ackley: 2-5, Run

Greg Halman: 1-4, 2B, Run, RBI

Matt Tuiasosopo: 1-4, 3B, Run, RBI

Alex Liddi: 1-4, Run, 2B

Carlos Peguero: 3-4, RBI

Blake Beavan: 4.0IP, 2H, 1ER, 3BB, 4K

Cesar Jimenez: 1.2IP, 0H, 0R, BB, 3K, Win

Justin Miller: 1.1IP, 1H, 2BB, 3K

Denny Bautista: 1.0IP, 0H, 0R, 1BB, 2K

Chris Smith: 1.0IP, 1H, 0R, K, Save

Jackson Generals

	Runs	Hits	Errors
Jackson Generals	3	8	1
Mississippi Braves	2	9	0

Kyle Seager: 3-5, 3RBI

Johermyn Chavez: 1-4

Jake Shaffer: 3-4, 3 Runs, 2(2B),

Steven Hensley: 5.0IP, 6H, 2R, 1ER, 5K

Brian Moran: 2.0IP, 2H, 0R, K

Josh Fields: 1.0IP, 1H, 0R, BB, K

Scott Patterson: 2.0IP, 0H, 0R, K, Win

High Desert Mavericks

	Runs	Hits	Errors
High Desert Mavericks	6	10	0
Lancaster Jethawks	4	9	1

Daniel Carroll: 3-5, 2 Runs, 2B

Denny Almonte: 3-5, Run, 2B, 3B, 2RBI

Dennis Raben: 1-4, Run, 2B, RBI

Vincent Catricala: 2-4, 2RBI

Taylor Stanton: 5.1IP, 3H, 0R, BB, 4K, Win

Jonathan Hesketh: 1.2IP, H, 0R, BB, 2K

Jose Jimenez: 1.0IP, 2H, 0R, 2K

Clinton Lumberkings: Game One

	Runs	Hits	Errors
Burlington Bees	9	11	2
Clinton Lumberkings	5	8	2

Steven Baron: 1-3, RBI, Run, BB

Tim Morris: 1-3, Run, BB

Julio Morbon: 2-4, RBI, Run

Marcus Littlewood: 3-4, RBI

Forrest Snow: 3.0IP, 4H, 4R, 3ER, 2BB, 4K

Willy Kesler: 2.1IP, 2H, 0R, 4K

Game 2

	Runs	Hits	Errors
Burlington Bees	2	6	2
Clinton Lumberkings	3	7	1

Matthew Cerione: 1-3

Marcus Littlewood: 2-3, RBI, Run

Ramon Morla: 1-3

Mickey Wiswall: 1-3, RBI

Julio Morbon: 1-3, Run

Anthony Fernandez: 4.0IP, 5H, 2ER, BB, K

Jason Markovitz: 2.0IP, 0H, 0R, 4K, Win

Tyler Burgoon: 1.0IP, H, 0R, K, Save

4/7 Minor League Scores and Notable Performances

4/7

	Runs	Hits	Errors
Tacoma Rainiers	2	3	2
Sacramento River Cats	6	13	1

Dustin Ackley: 0-2, 2BB

Matt Tuiasosopo: 1-4

Mike Wilson: 1-3, 2B

Josh Bard: 1-4, RBI

Mike Carp: 0-2, 2BB, RBI

Edward Paredes: 4.0IP, 0H, 0R, BB, 2K

Manny Delcarmen: 1.0IP, 0H, 0R, K

Dan Cortes: 1.0IP, 0H, 0R, BB, K

	Runs	Hits	Errors
Jackson Generals	6	10	2
Mississippi Braves	9	13	1

Johan Limonta: 1-4, HR (1), 2R, 2RBI, BB

Rich Poythress: 1-2, 2B, 2R, RBI, 3BB

Nate Tenbrink: 2-5, 2B, 3B, RBI

Johermyn Chavez: 2-5, 2RBI

Brandon Bantz: 1-3

Carlos Triunfel: 2-4

Bobby LaFromboise: 1.2IP, H, BB, 3K

	Runs	Hits	Errors
High Desert Mavericks	0	6	1
Lancaster Jethawks	5	11	0

Danierl Carroll: 2-4

Nick Franklin 0-3

Dennis Raben: 1-4

Ralph Henriquez: 1-4, 2B

Denny Almonte: 1-2, BB

Yoervis Medina: 5IP, 1ER, 2BB, 4K, Loss

Austin Hudson: 1.1IP, 0H, 0R

Ogui Diaz: 1IP, 1H, BB, K

	Runs	Hits	Errors
Burlington Bees	4	4	1
Clinton Lumberkings	4	6	1

Game Postponed Due To Rain: Currently in Top of the 4^th Inning

Matt Cerione: 1-2

Steven Baron: 1-2, RBI

Julio Morbon: 1-2, R, 3B, RBI

Marcus Littlewood: 2-2 RBI

Forrest Snow: 3IP, 4H, 4R, 3ER, 2BB, 4K

           

The Minor League Baseball Season Kicks off Tomorrow

The Mariners farm system had a terrific year last year, and it was actually the best year by the Mariners minor league affiliates in Franchise history. Only one affiliate did not make it to the postseason and two of the affiliates, the Tacoma Rainiers (AAA) and the Everett Aqua Sox (Short Season), each won their league’s title. This year’s minor league teams have some big shoes to fill but there is still a lot of great talent remaining and even more has been added to the system.

The reigning Pacific Coast League Champions kick of their season on the road against the Sacramento River Cats. Luke French will be pitching for the Rainiers as he goes up against Tyson Ross of the River Cats. The Rainiers don’t make their home opener until Friday, the 15^th in the brand new Cheney Stadium. The biggest name to watch for on this team is Dustin Ackley who shouldn’t stick around at AAA for long. Once June comes around, Mr. Ackley should be manning second base on the big league roster.

The Jackson Generals, formerly the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx, will be kicking off the season with a brand new name, logo, and everything else that comes with. Anthony Vasquez will be on the mound for the Generals as they start the season on the road against the Mississippi Braves. The Generals will be going up against one of the top pitching prospects in the league in Randall Delgado. Their first home game is on Wednesday, the 13^th.

As we head down to the desert, the High A Desert Mavericks kick their season off on the road against the Lancaster Jethawks. The opening day starter has yet to be announced but I’m making a guess and saying that it will be right-hander Yoervis Medina. This league is known for its huge offensive numbers and we often see a lot of players really break out while playing here. Watch for the toolsy outfielder James Jones to really take off this year.  The Mavericks first home game is Thursday, the 14^th.

The Clinton Lumberkings won the Midwest League West division title, but they fell short of bringing home the MWL Championship Title as they lost in the final series to the Lake County Captains. Forrest Snow will be on the mound for the Lumberkings as they kick off the season at home against Burlington Bees. I did an interview with Snow this offseason and he is a great guy. He spent last year as a reliever in which he was very dominant but he has been stretched out and will now be working as a starter. This is a talented group of players and they should compete again for the division and league championship.

Make sure you follow me on twitter @Mike­_Schwartze for updates on all of the Mariners Minor League Affiliates throughout the season.

Opening Day Tweet Up

It has been a while…

First off I would like to apologize to all of my regular readers for my lack of articles lately. I’ve been swamped with school, sports, and everything else that has been thrown my way. But opening day is almost here—the best day of the year!

This offseason, a few other Tweeps and I have been discussing the idea of an opening day tweet up. We want to have all the Mariners fans on twitter, well as many as possible, meet up during the game. After lots of discussing, we have decided on “The Pen” or formerly known as “The Bullpen Market". The following map gives you a brief overview of where it is and how to find it.

It is by sections 151 and 152 and it is right next to the bullpen. We will be meeting between the top and the bottom of the third inning. It will be a fun way to interact with other Tweeps and meet each other! For those of you with Four Square, it would be fun for everyone to check in at once. 

Another thing we want to do as a part of the Twitter filled opening day is have a list or chart of where everyone will be sitting. This way we can know who will be around us, and all the fun things like that.

I will be keeping a running tab on where everyone will be sitting on the page above titled “Opening Day Seating.” The people you should contact on where you will be sitting are:

•  Myself- You can contact me on Twitter @Mike_Schwartze on Facebook under Mikey Schwartze or email me at mikey6@comcast.net
• Peter Mag: Peter can be contacted on Twitter @realpetermag and on Facebook 
• Austin Williams: Austin can be contacted on Twitter @austin329 or on Facebook  

Another way to inform us of where you will be sitting is to simply comment on the “Opening Day Seating” page. I hope you all like the idea and will help us make it the best it can possibly be.

We will also be using the hash tag of #HOPEning during the event. (Watch for the #WeWantaWS to be thrown out there as well.) So let us get ready for opening day, as I know we have all been anxiously waiting! 

If you have any questions, ask away!

Mariners Make Their First Cuts

The Mariners made their first cuts of the spring today as it was announced earlier today. Six players have been sent down to minor league camp. Alex Liddi, Mauricio Robles, and Carlos Peguero were optioned to AAA Tacoma. Of that group, Robles is the only one that has played at the AAA level. Johermyn Chavez was optioned to AA Jackson. He finished the year at High A and he will really start to see some tougher pitching at the AA level. The players listed above are all on the 40 man roster.

The other two players are not on the 40 man roster and were re-assigned to minor league camp. The two players are James Paxton and Yusmeiro Petit.

Paxton, drafted in the 4^th round of the 2010 draft, was just recently signed after a very long holdout. He is a great addition to the farm system and its great news the Mariners we able to sign him. After he was signed, he was immediately sent to major league camp. The 6’4” 220lb left-handed pitcher should start the year at Low A. He has the potential to be a frontline starter but it will be interesting to see how he does after the long holdout.

Yusmeiro Petit spent all of 2010 at AAA Tacoma but has had some major league appearances with the Marlins and Diamondbacks prior to being signed by the Mariners in 2010. The 6’1” 255lb right-handed pitcher has served mostly as a reliever but has made some occasional starts.