Don't Expect Any September Call-Ups For A Little While

Sure enough:

In other news Daren Brown today said that they would most likely hold off on September callups until Tacoma season and post season is over. If there were a specific need at the big league level I have no doubt someone would be called up but as it is now they would like the Rainiers to stay together and win as many games possible.

The Rainiers have seven games remaining in their regular season, and given that they hold a 3.5-game lead over second place Salt Lake, they're looking good to make the playoffs, too. So those of you hoping to see some Justin Smoak, Dustin Ackley, Mike Carp, Rob Johnson for some reason, Greg Halman, Josh Lueke, Mauricio Robles, Matt Mangini, and/or Dan Cortes will have to wait.

It's worth noting that none of Robles, Lueke, or Mangini are on the 40-man roster, although spaces are available and more bits could be trimmed. For example, Chris Woodward is on the team.

There are two components to this. For one, no team wants to piss off an affiliate. The Rainiers are important to the Mariners, so the Mariners would like to see to it that the Rainiers stay happy, and a sure-fire way to make the Rainiers unhappy is to take away a bunch of their best players during the playoffs. The second component is the team-building aspect. You and I don't really care about the minor league playoffs, but the players do. For many of them, AAA is the highest level they've ever seen, and they'd like to win it all. So the experience of going to the playoffs and the bonding that comes along with it are absolutely positive. It kind of helps lay the groundwork for a good clubhouse environment in Seattle a year or three down the road.

It should come as little surprise that Daren Brown has the Rainiers' best interests at heart.