I had the opportunity to attend a Tacoma Rainiers minor-league game August 3, 2010 and saw several of the Seattle Mariners’ top prospects play, as well as one well-honed veteran making what is likely his last appearance as a player in the Pacific Northwest.  The day after the game, Mike Sweeney was traded by Seattle to the Philadelphia Phillies, who needed a replacement for Ryan Howard, the injured first baseman who was put on the D.L.

The weather was perfect for a day game (11:30 start), and my dad, brother, and I had great seats three rows back from home plate.  We got to see and hear everything that happened near home plate.  The real treat for us was getting see three of the players acquired in the Cliff Lee trade: First baseman Justin Smoak, and pitchers Josh Lueke, and Blake Beavan.

The two pitchers performed well, but my attention was primarily on Smoak, who had just been sent down to AAA from Seattle.  Smoak went 3 and 1, with one walk.  Up close, it is clear why his major league batting average was hovering around the Mendoza Line; his swing has a huge hole in it.  He clearly has the power to smack a ball far if he connects with it, but for now, his swing is way too wild.  Hopefully his time in the minors will allow him to work on his swing and receive some good instruction on how to improve.

One unexpected treat was the play of veteran good guy Mike Sweeney, who was on an alleged rehab assignment in Tacoma.  Oddly enough, (or so it seemed to us at the time), Sweeney was playing 1^st base, rather than DH.  Most of his playing time with Seattle had been at the DH spot.  Sweeney hit two home runs, and it was clear that he was truly enjoying himself and enjoyed playing well.  As it turns out, his family was in attendance, sitting near the Rainiers dugout.  After each home run, Sweeney got a kiss from his young sons.  Very touching!  He is well-known as a good family man, and it shows.  As we now know, the next day Sweeney was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies, and he will now be on a playoff-contending team.  If this is truly the swan song of his career, he will have  a good opportunity to end it in the playoffs.

Starter Blake Beavan made his AAA debut, allowing seven hits, two runs and a walk in six innings. Beavan also struck out two and picked up the win. Reliever Josh Lueke pitched the ninth inning and gave up one run and ended the game with a strikeout.  Lueke’s fastball reached 97 miles per hour, and he showed good command of his pitches.

The Rainiers, who lead their division, won the game 9 to 3 over the Reno Aces, who are the AAA club for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Leading the Aces is Manager Brett Butler, who had a pretty good view of, but did not recognize at first.  Butler was one of baseball’s top lead-off hitters in the 80s and 90s, and I remember watching him (on television), playing for the Giants and the Dodgers.  He looks older than his 53 years, and is walking with a vicious-looking limp. 

Read more: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/08/04/1288755/sweeneys-send-off.html#ixzz0vlUJAqb7

Below is the Box Score from the Tacoma Rainiers web site at http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t529&gid=2010_08_03_renaaa_tacaaa_1&cid=529&t=g_box

August 03, 2010

Final

Recap | Box  
W: Beavan (1-0, 3.00) L: Collmenter (3-3, 6.31)

Tacoma Rainiers

WP: Septimo.
HBP: Carp (by Collmenter).
Pitches-strikes: Collmenter 109-61, Septimo 41-24, Beavan 101-69, Varvaro 37-21, Lueke 13-8.
Groundouts-flyouts: Collmenter 4-11, Septimo 1-2, Beavan 5-9, Varvaro 1-4, Lueke 2-0.
Batters faced: Collmenter 32, Septimo 9, Beavan 26, Varvaro 7, Lueke 4.
Inherited runners-scored: Septimo 3-0.
Umpires: HP: Brian Sinclair. 1B: Takeshi Hirabayashi. 2B: . 3B: Russ Ratliff.
Weather: 62 degrees, cloudy.
Wind: 3 mph, Out to CF.
T: 2:35.
Att: 6,384.