I agree with J:  I admit I probably gave the org's hitters a little too much credit in laying blame on the pitching for the org's W-L woes yesterday and today.  Oh, the pitching has struggled at each level above rookie ball, certainly, but the hitters deserve plenty of blame as well.  The DIAMOND JAXX have been pretty flat at the plate, the T-Rats are still the league's worst at the plate despite an influx of college level talent and draft picks, Everett's been real weak at the plate, the Mavs have recently struggled to score despite being in the most offense-friendly league in all of minor league baseball, and Adam Jones, WLAD, Jeremy Reed and Nick Green are all disguising the fact that the Rainiers are a bit offensively flat as well.  I haven't the time to go into the specific current numbers (probably should've done that instead of watching the M's loss tonight :(  ), but I will in the near future, to see what's going right and what's going wrong.

Also, as some of you noticed, I had internet access at work today and was able to access LL.  This is not a green light to write wrap-ups at work, as I still have a project to do (I did catch on quick to the client's database, so there's no learning curve) and I'm not quite settled to the point where I can just rattle off 55 words a minute on Northwest League baseball and not attract anyone's attention, so for now I'm going to continue working on them the night before, and see if I can get work in on them the morning of.  In the meantime, like the last one, this wrap-up will be a bit short. Once again, no line scores, but I'm gonna see if I can sneak them in tomorrow.

VENEZUELA~!  VSL Phillies 12, VSL Mariners 6
VSLM's:  40-20.. VSL Phils:  30-28

Jose Rios:  5 IP, 8 H, (6 R) 5 ER. 2 walks, 2 K
Manuel Campos:  one out, 4 H, 2 ER, K
Mayckol Guaipe:  3 IP, 6 H, 3 ER (HR), 2 K
Jose Jimenez:  two outs, 1 H, 1 ER (HR)
Jorge Agudelo:  2-6, 2 RBI, K
Humberto Espinoza:  2-3, R, 2 walks
Eduardo Garcia:  1-2, double, R, walk

The VSLM's were a lot more punchless than the score made it seem: all six runs came in the 8th, and before that bottom 8th, it was 10-0 Phils.

Dominican:  Another day off for the DSLM's.  They will be back in action tomorrow against the DSL Phillies.

Arizona:  Mariners 2, Giants 1
AZLM's:  19-7... AZL Gigantes:  14-12

Richard Ortiz:  5 IP, 4 H, (1 R) 0 ER, 3 walks, 3 K
Tom Ellis:  1 IP, K
Jacob Wild:  2 IP, 3 K
Travis Mortimore:  1 IP
Juan Fuentes:  2-4, K
MIKE MORSE!!!:  1-4, R, RBI
Mario Martinez:  1-4, RBI

No, I'm not sure what has ailed Mike Morse for all this time, but he has returned and got a hit for the AZLers, who got both their runs in the 1st inning and held it up for the win thanks to the Giants inabilities at the plate, four hit against an unimposing pitching performance.

a:  Vancouver 9, Everett 3
EVE:  13-20... VAN:  17-15

Doug Salinas:  5 IP, 9 H, (6 R) 5 ER (2 HR), walk, 3 K, hit batter
Kyle Moorer:  2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, walk, 2 K
Nick Hill:  2 IP, 4 K
Roberto Mena:  2-5
Craig Hurba:  2-4, 2 K
Kalian Sams:  2-4, double, 2 R
Deybis Benitez:  1-3, RBI, walk, K

Okay, so Doug Salinas didn't do much better than Robert Harmon.  I'm just surprised that Kalian Sams got two hits and DID NOT STRIKE OUT!

A:  WIsconsin 7, South Bend 4
WIS:  9-20... SBD:  15-15
THE 14 GAME LOSING STREAK IS OVER!

Steven Richard:  5.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER (2 HR), 4 K
Michael Wagner:  1.2 IP, K
Keith Renaud:  two outs, 1 H, 1 ER (HR), K, wild pitch
Rollie Gibson:  no outs recorded, walk
Joe Kantakevich:  1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER (HR), K
Calvin Beamon:  3-3, double, triple, R, 2 RBI, 2 walks
Ronald Garth:  1-5, double, R, RBI, 3 K
Carlos Peguero:  2-4, double, 2 run HR, K
Leury Bonilla:  2-3, R, walk

You know what?  Despite Richard pitching into the 6th and doing okay, this was looking like consecutive loss #15 after Richard surrendered 2 solo HRs in the 1st frame, the T-Rats trailing 2-1 after 6.

But then they exploded for 3 in the 7th, and 3 in the 8th to make it 7-3, and suddenly what looked like another loss turned into a good chance at finding the end of the skid, and Joe Kantakevich, who got Keith Renaud and Rollie Gibson out of the 8th alive, allowed only one run in the 9th to seal the 7-4 win.

A+:  The High Desert Mavs were off today.  They are on their way to the depths of hell, aka Lancaster, to play Satan aka the Jethawks.  Expect this to get ugly before it gets pretty... or something to that effect.

AA:  West Tenn 4, Birmingham 3
WTN:  14-17... BIR:  11-20

Travis Chick:  6 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 3 walks (1 intentional), 5 K, 2 hit batters
Michael Hrynio:  3 IP, 2 walks (1 intentional), 3 K
Erick Monzon:  2-4, double, R, SB
Charlton Jimerson:  2-4, R, RBI
Rene Rivera:  1-4, double, RBI, 2 K

The Barons built a quick 3-0 lead, and it took forever for the DIAMOND JAXX to chip away.  They added a run in the 4th and one more in the 5th, but still, they went into the bottom of the 9th down 3-2.  Charlto Jimerson led off with a single and Tui followed with a single of his own that moved the speedy hacker Jimerson over to 3rd.  Michael Wilson went hitless but his groundout did not produce a DP, the only out coming at 2nd, as Jimerson came in and tied the ballgame.

And then Rene Rivera roasted a liner into a gap in center, allowing Wilson to come around at warp speed, turn the corner and score the winning run on a double.  By Rene Rivera.  I have no comment.

AAA: They played two in Tacoma!

Game 1:  Tacoma 3, Las Vegas 2, 7 innings

Robert Rohrbaugh:  6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 walks, 3 K, balk
Wife Vulture:  1 IP, K
Nick Green:  2-3, 2 run HR, K, SB
Adam Jones:  1-3, solo HR
Oswaldo Navarro:  2-2, R

Enough about Adam Jones and his game winning HR in the 6th.  What about the two run shot that got them to 3-2 in the first place from NICK GREEN?

Nick Green is ready for the majors.  He is a five tool player: AAAA power, excellent in AAA but not in the bigs... failed career with the Yankees... strikes out for average... autistically incapable of drawing walks... and is a white boy in the PNW.  I mean, Adam Jones is almost there, but Nick Green is ready.  That Nick Green is not in a Mariners uniform today... is a tragedy.

::single tear::

Big ups to anyone who knows what movie I just paraphrased there.

Game 2:  Tacoma 6, Las Vegas 2, 7 innings
TAC:  46-57... LVG:  48-54

Brad Thomas:  7 IP (CG!), 9 H, 2 ER (HR), walk, 4 K
Nick Green:  1-3, solo HR, walk
Adam Jones:  2-3, 2 R, RBI
Bryan LaHair:  1-3, 2 run HR, 3 RBI
Oswaldo Navarro:  2-3, R, K

After a tremendous game one, he turns right around and puts forth another splendid effort in game two, showing us that he has definitely elevated his game to the next level and is ready to take the big leagues by storm.

That's right, folks, Oswaldo Navarro had another two hit game to give himself four in the doubleheader, while scoring another run.  The five tools of Nick Green pale to the one tool that Oswaldo showed us today over 14 grueling innings... heart.  A heart of gold and a glove of lead.  It's only a matter of time, Yuniesky Betancourt, before Oswaldo Navarro ascends to take the throne at 6 that is rightfully his.  I hope you like Tampa Bay, Cubanito, because you're about to get flipped for a couple AA scrubs and a t-shirt.  Oswaldo Navarro is the future of Mariners baseball.