Tacoma’s Ashley Schutt Wins PCL Woman Executive Of The Year Award

It is with great pride that today’s post focuses on a prestigious award won by one of the Tacoma Rainiers front office members.

Ashley Schutt – the Tacoma Rainiers Director of Baseball Operations and Merchandise – has been named the Pacific Coast League’s Woman Executive of the Year. That puts her in the running for the Rawlings Woman Executive of the Year award which covers all of Minor League Baseball, and will be announced at the Baseball Winter Meetings in December.

Ashley is part of the glue of the organization, a behind-the-scenes person who works extremely hard to make the Tacoma Rainiers a smooth operation.

She oversees and operates the entirety of the Rainiers day-to-day dealing with the Seattle Mariners, including player transfers and all baseball-related expenses. She is in charge of the Rainiers employees who work in baseball operations, all the way down to the bat boys.

Schutt takes full responsibility of the Tacoma Rainiers team travel throughout the expansive and sometimes difficult-to-navigate PCL, which is a major project in itself. This role became even larger when Tacoma hosted the Triple-A All-Star Game in 2017, and she coordinated the arrival and departure of over 100 All-Stars and Triple-A executives.

Ashley has greeted Mariners prospects coming up from Double-A for their first time, helping them get assimilated in a new city. On the flip side, she has stood by as a released player cleans out his locker, and then driven him to the airport.

She is a one-woman welcoming committee for the Rainiers opponents when they arrive in Tacoma – and the umpires, too. Ashley makes sure the visiting team gets from the airport to the hotel, gets checked in, is able to make their flight out of town after the series, and she handles any difficulties along the way.

Ashley coordinates the Rainiers player appearances in the community, lining up guys to visit the children’s hospital, or the Boy and Girls Club, or one of the many other community outreach programs the Rainiers and Mariners participate in.

A Tacoma native and lifelong Mariners fan, Ashley gets some fun perks with her job. She knows who is going up to the big leagues (and who is coming down) before any of us do – and often before the player himself knows. She is really, really good at keeping a secret.

The majority of front office jobs in baseball are revenue-producing roles, and Ashley excels there too. She oversees the Rainiers merchandise operations, including the Cheney Stadium Team store. Tacoma has ranked in the Top 25 of MiLB merchandise sales for each of the last three years.

The entire Tacoma Rainiers organization is proud of Ashley today. In her honor, here are five Ashley Schutt Fun Facts:

1. Ashley started her Rainiers career on summer break as a student, working on the Fun Squad. A former Stadium High School softball player, she first gained attention for her strong arm throwing softy balls and t-shirts into the crowd.
2. A University of Oregon graduate, Ashley is only mildly annoying during College Football season.
3. Her ability to construct and devour enormous breakfast burritos from the clubhouse spread prior to Sunday day games has earned the respect and awe of Rainiers players and coaches alike.
4. It is likely that there is nobody in the Puget Sound region happier than Ashley Schutt to hear that Alaska Airlines announced a nonstop SeaTac-to-El Paso flight earlier this week*.
5. Just this morning, Ashley and her husband Ryan welcomed their first child into the world.

Congratulations, Ashley!

Links:

• Marco Gonzales had a strong start, but the M’s lost to Texas on Thursday night and will head into the final weekend with 86 wins. The development of Gonzales has been one of the highlights of the 2018 season.
• The Mariners announced their organizational minor league awards.
• Interesting story from Fangraphs on Rainiers and Mariners reliever Justin Grimm, and the changes he has made this season.

*I am a close second.

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New Baseballs, Copa To Tacoma, More…

We’ve got some news items to pass along as the major league regular season is in its final week, so let’s get to them.

Baseball America has reported that the Triple-A leagues are going to be using Major League baseballs in games starting in 2019. The new PCL baseballs will come from the same factory as the major league baseballs, and will be made to the same specifications as the big league baseballs.

Up until this year, baseballs used in minor league games were made by a different company. This caused quite a difference. The minor league baseball was more of a “pitchers baseball” and didn’t fly as far when hit as a major league baseball.

Now we will be using the same baseball as the big leagues, although it will be stamped Pacific Coast League and have the signature of league president Branch B. Rickey on it.

Baseball America’s story suggests that we will have substantially higher scoring games in the PCL as a result of this change. We’ll see about that.

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Minor League Baseball announced new teams which will participate in the Copa de la Diversion in 2019, and we are pleased to say that the Tacoma Rainiers will be one of them.

The Copa is Minor League Baseball’s latino community outreach program, and it was a big hit in many cities in 2017. Part of the program involves changing the team name during the season for a couple of single games, which brought us some great monikers last year such as the Mariachis de Nueva Mexico, the San Antonio Flying Chanclas, and the Brooklyn Jefes.

We’ll get a lot more information on this as we draw nearer to the season – including the Tacoma Rainiers Copa alter-ego, and the dates we’ll be using it.

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The Mariners announced a new Player Development Contract at the Low-A level, linking up with the West Virginia Power of the South Atlantic League. This affiliate will replace the M’s former Low-A team, the Clinton LumberKings.

The Power play in Charleston West Virginia in the historic “Sally League.” The Mariners have never had an affiliate in that league before.

It’s a two-year deal, lasting through the 2020 season. The Power had previously been affiliated for the last ten seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

This was the only affiliation change in the Mariners farm system. Here’s how it looks now:

• Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers
• Double-A Arkansas Travelers
• Advanced-A Modesto Nuts
• Low-A West Virginia Power
• Short-Season Everett Aqua Sox
• Rookie Level Peoria-AZL Mariners
• Dominican Summer League Mariners

Links:

• Here’s the Minor League Baseball press release on the Copa de la Diversion, including how it fared last year and which new teams are involved. Sports Illustrated ranks the 30 Copa name changes around minor league baseball from last year.
• We have a news story from the Seattle Times on the Mariners new affiliate in the South Atlantic League.
• Yesterday the Mariners opened the season-ending seven-game homestand on a disappointing note: they watched the Oakland A’s celebrate clinching the last AL Wild Card spot… on Sunday Seattle lost its final road game of the season, a 6-1 decision at Texas. Seattle finished the year with a 44-37 record in away games, which is quite good.
• Nelson Cruz told the Seattle Times that while he wants to stay with the team, the Mariners have not offered him a contract extension.
• Cruz wants to re-sign with Seattle, according to his agent, and the Mariners want to re-sign Cruz, according to Jerry Dipoto. Bob Dutton wonders why this hasn’t happened yet.
• Ryan Divish had his weekly Mariners Q&A.
• Felix Hernandez became a U.S. citizen. Congratulations, Felix!

Surprise! New PCL Affiliations Don’t Go As Expected

The affiliation news came fast and furious in the late afternoon on Tuesday, as major league teams quickly forged new agreements with Triple-A clubs to solidify their farm systems.

We knew that there were going to be some affiliate changes in the PCL, but what we got in the end was quite surprising.

To review before we begin, every Triple-A team is guaranteed a major league affiliate. The MLB teams try to secure an affiliate that has a) modern baseball facilities, b) a good location, and c) an easy front office to work with.

Tacoma’s affiliation with the Seattle Mariners has been constant since 1995, and was extended four more years through the 2022 season.

Other teams aren’t as fortunate – take Fresno, for example. After a long association with the nearby San Francisco Giants that began in 1998, the Giants jumped to Sacramento in 2015. Other MLB clubs in California either had solid Triple-A agreements already in place (Angels, Dodgers, Padres) or weren’t interested in going to Fresno (A’s). Ultimately, Fresno ended up with an unlikely four-year affiliate with the Houston Astros.

That type of thing can happen, and it isn’t always a disaster. Fresno won a Triple-A National Championship with the Astros in 2015, and had two playoff teams in four years with Houston. But it can be a tough sell from a marketing standpoint: “Come see the future stars of the Houston Astros!” doesn’t generate a lot of excitement in Fresno, CA.

By rule, all agreements are either for two years or four years. That way adjustments can be made if a team is not happy with its affiliate, or a minor league team relocates.

Which brings us to the Affiliation Dance of September, 2018.

HOW WE GOT HERE

Two big pieces of news from over a year ago let us know early that we were going to have changes as soon as the 2018 season ended.

The New York Mets purchased the Syracuse franchise in the International League. The Mets were affiliated with Las Vegas, but they would link up with Syracuse at the first opportunity: the 2019 season.

Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan left his executive position with the Texas Rangers and took one with the Houston Astros. Nolan and his family own the Round Rock Express, which had been the Texas Rangers affiliate. They were going to switch to the Houston Astros as soon as the contract with the Rangers expired after the 2018 season.

The Astros were out of Fresno, going to a much closer home in Round Rock, Texas. And Las Vegas needed a new team – just as it was opening up a brand new state-of-the-art ballpark, making a very lucrative affiliate for MLB teams.

We had another moving part in the PCL, quite literally in this case: the Colorado Springs franchise is relocating to San Antonio for the 2019 season. The Milwaukee Brewers agreement with the franchise was up for renewal, and it seemed to all observers that the suddenly homeless Texas Rangers would be a perfect match in San Antonio.

WHAT HAPPENED

Facing an expired agreement and a geographically unnatural association with the Nashville Sounds, the Oakland A’s called the Las Vegas 51s president Don Logan first thing in the morning when the negotiation period opened on Monday and struck a deal. The A’s will move into the brand new ballpark in Las Vegas this year.

Round Rock and the Houston Astros inked their deal, as everyone expected.

On the other side of the country, all of the International League teams re-upped with their existing affiliate… except for Syracuse, which brought in the Mets as planned. That left their previous affiliate the Washington Nationals needing a new Triple-A home. There were no IL openings, so the Nats were coming to the PCL.

Nashville, San Antonio and Fresno were the open PCL teams. The Nationals, Rangers, and Milwaukee Brewers were looking for a partner – and everyone thought the Rangers were going to San Antonio.

At this point the Nashville Sounds were by far the most attractive Triple-A team. They have a terrific four-year-old ballpark in a great city with a major airport for easy player movement. The person who runs the baseball side of the organization just won a minor league baseball executive of the year award, which should satisfy the easy-to-work with front office requirement. They are at or near the top of the PCL in attendance annually.

The Texas Rangers looked at the 25-year-old Double-A ballpark in San Antonio that the league is moving into, the current plan to build a new park in San Antonio (or lack thereof – there is no publicly revealed plan), and said “nope.” Read more about this in the first link down below.

The Colorado Springs/San Antonio management has had a good relationship with the Brewers, so they re-signed with them. It will be the Milwaukee Brewers in San Antonio in 2019.

That left Nashville to decide between the Texas Rangers and the Washington Nationals, with the un-chosen team going to a more difficult location and older ballpark in Fresno.

Again, the trend was bucked. It would appear on the surface that the Nationals would be a much better fit in Nashville, but… the Sounds took the Texas Rangers.

So that left the Washington Nationals in a bizarre forced marriage with the Fresno Grizzlies.

WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE NOW

Here are your new PCL divisions for 2019. New affiliates in italics.

Pacific North

• Fresno (Washington Nationals)
• Reno (Arizona Diamondbacks)
• Sacramento (San Francisco Giants)
• Tacoma (Seattle Mariners)

Pacific South

• Albuquerque (Colorado Rockies)
• El Paso (San Diego Padres)
• Las Vegas (Oakland A’s)
• Salt Lake (Los Angeles Angels)

American North

• Iowa (Chicago Cubs)
• Memphis (St. Louis Cardinals)
• Nashville (Texas Rangers)
• Omaha (Kansas City Royals)

American South

• New Orleans (Miami Marlins)
• Oklahoma City (Los Angeles Dodgers)
• Round Rock (Houston Astros)
• San Antonio (Milwaukee Brewers)

A few thoughts on it all:

Tacoma plays its Pacific Conference foes 16 times each season, and only one series (three or four games) against each American Conference team. From a Mariners perspective, the Rainiers will see M’s AL West rivals affiliate 40 times in 2019: 16 games against the A’s and Angels, and four against Astros and Rangers.

Getting the Astros out of the Rainiers division can only be seen as a positive right now. The Astros have had really good Triple-A teams the past few seasons, and it looks like that will continue into the immediate future. The Washington Nationals Triple-A teams in the International League have finished well under .500 in each of the last four years.

It will be fun seeing a new organization, the Washington Nationals. I know close to nothing about their farm system and prospects, so it will be something to read up on during the offseason. We haven’t had a new major league team affiliate in the PCL since the Mets came to Vegas in 2013.

Fresno-to-Washington DC is going to be a tough travel obstacle for quick call-ups. Even more difficult is their Double-A to Triple-A transfer, from Harrisburg (PA) to Fresno. Look for the Nats to alleviate these concerns by carrying two or three extra Triple-A players in Fresno all season, shuffling them on and off the active roster. Several PCL teams were doing this already in 2018 – it costs more in terms of Triple-A salaries, but the team saves money by not flying in players from other affiliates every time a need arises (these costs all fall on the major league budget). It also eliminates a lot of headaches and midnight phone calls.

Given the choice between a two- and four-year deal, the Las Vegas – Oakland agreement was for only two years. This is interesting. There is no doubt that the ideal affiliate of the Las Vegas ball club is the Dodgers. But the Dodgers currently share ownership of the Oklahoma City franchise, locking them in. I can’t help but wonder if Las Vegas wants to take it slow with Oakland, in case the ownership situation changes down the road in Oklahoma City.

All told, this offseason featured one franchise relocation, a realignment of the American Conference divisions, and 25% of the league affiliates changing. That’s a lot of stuff!

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The Mariners extended their affiliation with Short-Season Everett two more years, through 2022. It’s the longest running affiliate in the Northwest League, at 24 seasons.

Seattle has renewed its affiliation with all minor league teams except for Low-A Clinton in the Midwest League. There are a few other openings at that level, so if there is going to be any change in the Mariners farm system it will be at Low-A.

Links:

• Story from the San Antonio newspaper on the Texas Rangers turning down the affiliate due to ballpark concerns.
• The Washington Post has an article on the Nationals new affiliate, which includes the fact that there are no direct flights to Washington, DC from Fresno-Yosemite Airport.
• Round Rock and the Houston Astros make perfect sense, according to the Austin Statesman.
• From The Tennessean, some facts about the Nashville Sounds – Texas Rangers partnership.
• The Mariners wiped out the Astros on Wednesday night, 9-0. Seattle won the season series against Houston, 10-9. I think that is both a sign of progress and an indicator of how frustrating this season has been.
• Bob Dutton has a post on sunk costs and the final year of Felix Hernandez‘s contract.
• Baseball America’s Top 20 PCL Prospects appears today. Here’s a link to the introduction, and you’ll need a subscription to advance from there.

Memphis Wins It All

Congratulations, again, to the Memphis Redbirds – this time for winning the Triple-A National Championship.

Memphis took down the Durham Bulls on Tuesday night in Columbus, Ohio. They won the Triple-A National Championship Game in a blowout, 14-4.

Redbirds infielder Alex Mejia took home the MVP award, going 5-for-5 with five RBI and three runs scored. Just a few days ago he had a walkoff squeeze bunt in the 11th inning of Game Three of the PCL Championship Series against Fresno.

Outfielder Lane Thomas provided the power, going 3-for-5 with a triple, a homer, and five RBI. Tommy Edman and Rangel Ravelo each scored three runs for the Redbirds.

Reliever Giovanny Gallegos pitched a scoreless ninth inning to end the game, and was promoted to the big leagues during the post game celebration.

Thus ends the 2018 Triple-A season.

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The final affiliation switches revealed themselves yesterday, and there were some surprises. I’ll have a longer post about it later this week – probably Thursday afternoon. Until then, here are the final results:

• Las Vegas – Oakland A’s
• Round Rock – Houston Astros
• Nashville – Texas Rangers
• Fresno – Washington Nationals (!!!)
• San Antonio – Milwaukee Brewers

More on this later.

Links:

• Story (with videos and photos) on the Triple-A National Championship Game from MiLB.com.
• Baseball America’s JJ Cooper was at the game and filed this story.
• Here’s a story from the Memphis paper on the Redbirds championship season.
• The Mariners were shut out by Josh James and the Houston Astros on Tuesday night, eliminating the M’s from AL West contention. They are still mathematically in the Wild Card hunt, for now.
• The Houston Astros fired Triple-A Fresno manager Rodney Linares, which is somewhat shocking. Fresno had a great season, and Linares was an Astros lifer with 22 years in the organization.
• I didn’t know this streak existed: the National League won interleague play this year – something it had not done since 2003. The AL had won 14 straight seasons. Story from Jeff Sullivan.

 

Triple-A Championship Game Televised Nationally Tonight

The final game in all of Minor League Baseball gets played tonight in Columbus, Ohio: it’s the Triple-A National Championship Game, between the champions of the International and Pacific Coast Leagues.

The Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay affiliate) face the Memphis Redbirds (St. Louis Cardinals). Amazingly, it’s a repeat of last year’s game, because each league has a back-to-back champion.

The game will be televised nationally on the NBC Sports Network, starting at 4:00 (Pacific). George Grande, Jim Kaat, and Jim Callis are the announcers. On my DirecTV it is channel 220. The internet says that it is 408 on Xfinity, and 40/540 on Click.

Memphis starts RHP Kevin Herget, while Durham is apparently going with RHP Chih-Wei Hu.

Durham won this game last year. I’ll have some PCL pride and pull for Memphis this time around.

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The Triple-A season hasn’t even ended yet (barely!) and we are already into the affiliation shuffle.

On Monday, the Las Vegas 51s announced a new affiliation with the Oakland A’s lasting through the 2020 season. Oakland once again moves into the newest ballpark in the PCL – just like they did four years ago in Nashville.

This will be fun for the Rainiers/Mariners. Now we’ll get to see the A’s Triple-A team 16 times each season, instead of just four when they were in Nashville. It’s always good to keep tabs on your rivals.

In a surprise today, the ownership of the new-to-Triple-A San Antonio Missions (moved from Colorado Springs) decided to stay with the Milwaukee Brewers, whom they have had a relationship with for the past four years in the Springs.

That leaves three teams left.

Houston (from Fresno) is expected to link with Round Rock. It’s not official at blog post time, but apparently an announcement is imminent.

That leaves the Washington Nationals (from Syracuse of the IL, which is now with the NY Mets) and the Texas Rangers looking for a match, with Nashville and Fresno the remaining partners.

The Nashville Sounds will ultimately decide who they want – they are in a better ballpark with a better geographic location for both of the remaining major league teams. Fresno will get the team that is left standing.

I’ll share my thoughts on the final results of all of this when it is over.

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Hey, Vogelbach is heating up! Let’s get to the links.

Links:

• Here’s a preview of the Triple-A National Championship Game, with a focus on some of the key players.
• Here’s the story from Las Vegas on how the affiliation with the Oakland A’s came to be.
• The Mariners beat the Astros on Monday night in Houston, 4-1. Dan Vogelbach‘s pinch-hit grand slam was the key blow. The linked story includes some insight on Vogelbach’s future in the organization.
• On Sunday, the Mariners missed their chance to sweep the Angels in what might be their last game ever against Mike Scioscia, dropping a 4-3 decision to the Angels despite a two-run homer by Vogelbach.
• On Bob Dutton’s blog, the veteran baseball scribe explains why he was startled by some sharp comments Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto recently made.

Memphis Repeats As PCL Champions

The Memphis Redbirds shut out Fresno last night at Autozone Park, 5-0, and clinched its second straight Pacific Coast League championship. Memphis won the best-of-five series, three games to one.

The Redbirds became the first back-to-back PCL champions since Omaha did it in 2013-2014. The office produced a cute “Beak-2-Beak” logo.

The Memphis Redbirds won their second straight league title Saturday and released a Beak 2 Beak Champions logo. pic.twitter.com/KlWZW75EJU

— Minor League Stories (@MinorsTeamNames) September 16, 2018

Congratulations to the Redbirds, who had the best record in the PCL pretty much all season long after winning a whopping 91 games in 2017. The upper level of the St. Louis Cardinals farm system is loaded right now, and they have had excellent teams in Memphis these past two seasons.

On top of that, Redbirds manager Stubby Clapp is gaining some traction among national baseball media as a potential major league manager. We’ll see if he scores a big league job during the offseason. The back-to-back PCL titles will certainly help his cause.

In Game Four on Saturday, starting pitcher Jake Woodford was masterful. The 21-year-old Triple-A rookie tossed 7.1 shutout innings, giving up just three hits (all singles) and one walk while striking out six. Reliever Giovanny Gallegos – the hitting star in Game Four of the American Conference finals – recorded the final five outs to nail down the save.

Offensively, outfielder Randy Arozarena hit two home runs and drove in all five for Memphis. He hit a three-run homer off Cy Sneed in the first inning, and a two-run blast off Matt Ramsey in the eighth.

There is one game left for Memphis: the Triple-A Baseball National Championship Game, against the International League champion the Durham Bulls. This game will be played on Tuesday in Columbus, Ohio.

It’s a rematch, since both Durham and Memphis are back-to-back league champions. Last year Durham won the Triple-A National Championship Game, 5-3.

Links:

• Here’s the story on Memphis winning the PCL title, from MiLB.com.
• The Mariners won again in Anaheim on Saturday evening, and they will try to get a rare four-game road series sweep today.
• Seattle Times writer Ryan Divish did his weekly Mariners Q&A, this time with a lot of focus on the status of Nelson Cruz.
• The M’s are taking a look at Kristopher Negron as the possible utility infielder/outfielder for 2019, Divish reports.
• The Oakland A’s have been told they will not be affiliated with Triple-A Nashville in 2019, according to reports. Nashville ownership gave ’em the boot – it was an odd alignment to begin with.
• MLB teams get to decide on these things, too: the Houston Astros have informed the Fresno Grizzlies that they will not be renewing their affiliate. Look for the Astros to affiliate with a PCL team closer to home.

Redbirds Squeeze Out Win In 11th, Take Lead In PCL Finals

Checking in on a Saturday morning to give you a quick update on the PCL Championship Series.

Game Three was a fun one: Memphis won in the bottom of the 11th inning, 2-1, on a game-ending squeeze bunt.

It was tied 1-1 after ten. Keep in mind, there are no weird rules in extra innings during the playoffs. The games are played the traditional way.

Memphis’s Tommy Edman hit a leadoff single, and managed to go all the way to third base on a wild pickoff throw. With one out, Alex Mejia put down a perfect “safety squeeze” bunt and brought in the winning run.

Memphis leads the series, two games to one. The Redbirds can win back-to-back PCL Championships with a victory tonight or tomorrow.

Game Four is tonight at 4:35 (Pacific). Up against the wall, Fresno starts RHP Cy Sneed against Memphis RHP Jake Woodford. You can follow along live right here.

Links:

• Story on the PCL Finals from MiLB.com.
• Apparently a trip to Orange County is exactly what the Mariners needed. Yesterday the M’s pitched a shutout on bullpen day, and on Thursday, Nelson Cruz hit a three-run homer as the Mariners won the opener at Anaheim.
• The Mariners are limping toward the finish line, physically. James Paxton has pneumonia?
• The Las Vegas newspaper has a clean, easy-to-read story on what affiliation changes we may see in the PCL over the next two weeks.

Rainiers & Mariners Extend Agreement Through 2022

Today the Seattle Mariners and Tacoma Rainiers announced a four-year extension of their Player Development Contract, lasting through the 2022 season.

The Rainiers first affiliated with the Mariners in 1995, and the agreement has become one of the longest in Minor League Baseball. The 2019 season will be the 25th year of the union.

Thanks to the Seattle Mariners scouting and development programs, we’ve seen some great players come through Cheney Stadium. From Alex Rodriguez to Freddy Garcia to Joel Pineiro to Felix Hernandez to Adam Jones to Shin-Soo Choo to Kyle Seager to James Paxton to… you get the picture. We’ve seen a lot of players who have gone on to have long major league careers.

The Player Development Contract means that the Mariners will continue to supply the Tacoma Rainiers players, manager, and coaches, along with assorted team training and medical personnel. The Rainiers operate the business side of Cheney Stadium, including the playing field and team travel. There is a long and tremendously boring list of shared expenses, such as bats and balls and uniforms and umpires. Rainiers pay for this, Mariners pay for that, this one gets split 50/50, etc.

We’re happy to be locked in with the Mariners for another four years.

There will be teams in the PCL that do not renew their current major league affiliations, and agreements will switch around a bit. News on changes in this area will start to develop over the next four weeks.

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The PCL Championship Series continued on Wednesday night in Fresno.

Game Two: Fresno 10, Memphis 1. The best-of-five series is tied, 1-1.

Fresno scored six runs in the second inning and coasted to the win. Each team has won a game by blowout so far in this series. Last night Drew Ferguson and Kyle Tucker each had two hits, a homer, and three RBI to lead the Grizzlies. Nick Tanielu went 3-for-5 and scored twice.

Thursday is an off day for travel. The series resumes with Game Three on Friday night in Memphis, at 5:05 (Pacific). Fresno starts RHP Rogelio Armenteros against Memphis RHP Chris Ellis.

Your landing page for all live coverage of the PCL Playoffs is right here.

Links:

• Here’s the MiLB.com story on Game Two of the PCL Championship Series.
• I went to the Mariners-Padres game on Wednesday afternoon. I got to see the M’s fall behind 5-0, strike out a franchise record nine times in a row, battle back, and fall just short, 5-4. They got swept by the Padres.
• Larry Stone writes that the Mariners are stuck in an unsatisfying limbo. This is an excellent look at the big picture – if you can stomach it.
• Bob Dutton takes a look at how the Mariners fare in “control the zone” stats, and baserunning numbers. They do fine in walks drawn versus walks issued, because the pitching staff doesn’t walk many. But the hitters rank last in all of major league baseball in walks drawn.
• Earlier this week, Dutton posted his Mariners minor league awards.

No blog on Friday. We’ll be back on Saturday to catch up on the PCL Championship Series.

Pat Listach Era Comes To An End In Tacoma

We received some big news on Monday, when the Seattle Mariners confirmed that they will not be renewing the contract of Tacoma Rainiers manager Pat Listach for the 2019 season.

Listach managed the Rainiers for four years, reaching the PCL playoffs once. Here are the Rainiers record under his guidance:

• 2015: 68-76
• 2016: 81-62 (won division title)
• 2017: 66-76
• 2018: 66-73

His 281 total career wins ranks fourth among Tacoma managers in franchise history, which dates back to 1960.

A native of Natchitoches, Louisiana, Listach became Tacoma’s first African-American manager when he took the job in 2015. He had spent five of the previous six seasons on major league coaching staffs, with the Washington Nationals, Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros.

From my perspective, Pat’s biggest strength at the Triple-A level is his ability to communicate and relate with his players amid an extremely high-stress environment. These players are on the cusp of the major leagues, and the lifestyle changes that come with it, and everyone feels like they belong in Seattle and not in Triple-A. Listach is terrific at handling the clubhouse in these conditions.

He’s also great with fans and the media. If you are a regular at Cheney Stadium and bumped into Pat at some point, he probably stopped to chat with you for a bit. He’s a “people person.”

We’ll definitely miss him in Tacoma. Pat has been a joy to work with the past four seasons, and he’s a good friend. I’m sure he’ll find a job with another organization quickly.

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So who is next in line? Good question.

Daren Brown is the Double-A Arkansas manager. He has already managed Tacoma for seven years, and working in the Texas League keeps him much closer to his family home in Amarillo. It’s possible that he may not be interested in leaving his current post – I’m not sure. We would love to have him back, of course.

Class-A Modesto manager Mitch Canham had a lot of success in 2017, but his team fell back this year. His youth (33 years old) and lack of high-level playing experience (a total of 41 games played in Triple-A) are very large hurdles to clear when it comes to relating to players at this level.

Denny Hocking managed at Low-A Clinton this season, and he seems like a candidate. Hocking was a Rainiers coach in 2017, and he has plenty of PCL and Major League experience.

Tacoma Rainiers hitting coach David Berg is also a candidate. Prior to joining the Rainiers in 2017, Berg managed six seasons in the Marlins system including two at the Double-A level. As a hitting coach, it seems that his players like him.

The Mariners may make a hire from outside of the organization. Whoever lands this job is going to need to be able to handle the challenges of dealing with an unsettled Triple-A roster while working in a somewhat experimental Player Development Department that emphasizes mental and psychological growth over traditional baseball instruction. An open mind will be required. It’s not for everybody!

—

The Pacific Coast League Championship Series began last night, and defending champion Memphis ran away with a 10-4 victory over Fresno. It was Game One of the best-of-five series.

The Redbirds were up 5-0 in the fifth inning, and 7-2 in the sixth. Leadoff man Tommy Edman went 4-for-5 with a double, a homer, and three RBI. Wilfredo Tovar added three hits and drove in two.

Game Two is today at 7:05. Memphis starts left-hander Tyler Lyons against Fresno RHP Trent Thornton.

Your landing page for all live coverage of the PCL Playoffs is right here.

Links:

• Pat Listach told the Seattle Times he was stunned by the news. The article mentions some other recent changes in the organization.
• The News Tribune also has a story on the end of the Pat Listach era in Tacoma, with additional reaction.
• Here’s the game story on Memphis’s series opening win in the PCL Championships.
• The Mariners lost to the Padres last night, 2-1, and are in danger of being swept in the season series by their spring training buddies.
• Hisashi Iwakuma‘s time as a Mariners player has come to an end.
• We have a story from Wichita on the politics involving the building of a new ballpark, and the New Orleans franchise moving there for the 2020 season.
• Wildness in the short-season Northwest League, where the worst team in the regular season won the championship on a walk-off balk.
• If you are a subscriber to The Athletic, here’s a link to an excellent and somewhat sad story on ex-Rainier Dustin Ackley.

PCL Championship Series Set

The PCL Conference Finals ended on Sunday, and we have two teams ready to duke it out in the PCL Championship Series. Both are recent winners.

Memphis won the American Conference title, and is bidding to become a repeat league champion. Fresno won the Pacific Conference finals, and the Grizzlies last won the league title just three years ago.

PACIFIC CONFERENCE

Fresno 10, El Paso 1. Fresno wins the series, three games to two.

Lots of drama in the series, but not much in the final game. Fresno won two road games at El Paso, returned home and lost games three and four to El Paso… and then wiped them out in Game Five.

The Grizzlies had 13 hits, with five different players notching multiple hits. Starting pitcher Brock Dykxhoorn went five innings allowing one run, and four Fresno relievers followed by tossing one scoreless inning each. Fresno had a healthy lead (5-1) by the fourth inning, and broke it wide open with three more runs in the sixth.

AMERICAN CONFERENCE

Memphis 4, Oklahoma City 3 (10). Memphis wins the series, three games to one.

Oklahoma City went into Sunday’s action needing to sweep a doubleheader – something it did on back-to-back days to end the regular season and reach the playoffs.

These were nine inning games (playoff rules, apparently), and the second game would only be played if necessary.

In the opening game they were tied after nine innings, 1-1. Oklahoma City’s Henry Ramos hit a two-run homer in the top of the tenth to give the Dodgers a 3-1 lead.

Memphis started to rally in the bottom of the tenth, scoring a run and advancing the tying runner at third with two outs. Alex Mejia came through with an RBI single, tying the game. A walk put two men on, and the Dodgers intentionally walked the next hitter to load the bases, since the pitcher was up next and Memphis was out of pinch hitters.

The pitcher scheduled to bat was reliever Giovvany Gallegos, who had one professional at-bat. He got behind in the count 0-2, then singled in the winning run and sent Memphis to the Championship Series.

PCL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

Memphis is looking to become the first back-to-back champions since the Omaha Storm Chasers took the title in both 2013 and 2014. Fresno last won the league title in 2015.

Best-of-five series, with an off day for travel. All times Pacific.

• Tuesday: Memphis at Fresno, 7:05.
• Wednesday: Memphis at Fresno, 7:05.
• Thursday: off.
• Friday: Fresno at Memphis, 5:05.
• Saturday: Fresno at Memphis, 4:35 (if necessary).
• Sunday: Fresno at Memphis, 3:05 (if necessary).

Your landing page for all live coverage of the PCL Playoffs is right here.

Links:

• MiLB.com has a story on the PCL playoffs, including the wild finish in Memphis.
• The Mariners beat the Yankees for the first time this season on Sunday afternoon.
• Tacoma Rainiers all-star reliever Shawn Armstrong has been pitching well since being called up by the Mariners.
• The Mariners Double-A Arkansas affiliate lost in Game Five of the Texas League semifinals, and their season is done.