MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL COVERAGE AS DRUNK AS YOU ARE >>>

"We've got a whole new game, folks."

We've all heard this expression said in tie games. Not just games, either.  The whole "new game" idea has transcended into popular life - politics and such. The idea that all past discretions are put behind is a popular one. 

This ‘getting  to start fresh' sentiment also helps when a single team struggles up from the gutter to reach even. A  .500 record, is an important mile mark for any struggling organization. It signifies winning just as many games as losing (obvious, we know).  At that point, the team can imagine they've started over; started fresh. And where the season goes from there, it's up to the team.

This past Sunday, the Tacoma Rainiers (48-49) hit the .500 mark, beating the Salt Lake Bees by a score of 4-1. It marked the first time the Rainiers were playing .500 ball since the fourth game of the 2011 season.

Sunday was a big day. Who cares that the Rainiers dropped their very next game to the Bees? Who cares that the Rainiers are a full twelve games behind the division leading Reno Aces? The Rainiers were, for a brief moment, back at zero. Starting fresh. After that win on Sunday, it almost felt like a new season.

Almost.

-Last night, the Rainiers once again dropped below .500 after losing to the Tuscon Padres 15-14 in eleven innings. The game was a whacky one, with the Rainiers leading by as much as eight runs heading into the bottom of the seventh. Both the Rainiers and the Padres had over twenty hits and the teams combined to score twenty-nine runs.  Third baseman Alex Liddi was a standout for the Rainiers, hitting two triples and a home run.

Listening to the game, here at the Volcano we agreed that Minor League baseball can often times resemble college football more than Major League Baseball. As Rainiers fans, this is both exciting and very, very frustrating.

- Volcano object of lust and on-again off-again Rainier outfielder Mike Carp has taken leave to the Mariniers for the second time this season. In return the Mariners sent down big man outfielder Carlos Peguero. Peguero struggled at the plate during his time with the Mariners. Luckily, those struggles don't seem to have followed him down to T-town. In last night's slugfest, Peguero went 3-for-6.

- After a strong outing, Rainiers' RHP Luke French was named the Rainiers' Pitcher of the Week in the USS Mariner's Minor League Wrap. French obviously heard he was named as one of the negatives in the Weekly Volcano's mid-season review. Devastated after being called out by his favorite alternative weekly, French did everything he could to turn his game around. Nice work, French. But you still have more making up to do.

-We don't know for sure if Luke French has ever read the Weekly Volcano.  We just assume he has. In fact, we assume every player on the Rainiers reads the rag religiously.

-In more pitcher news, knuckleballer Charlie Haeger was released from the Rainiers last week. This saddens us, but we look forward to a drastic shift in the team's overall strike-to-ball ratio.

The Rainiers try to reach .500 again tonight when they face the Tucson Padres at 7 p.m.. With a victory the team can, once again, start fresh.

LINK: The "Rainiers Minute" collection