MAJOR CHANGES IN THE MINOR LEAGUES

The tough life of a minor league baseball player is getting a little tougher this year...for certain teams, anyway. Some minor league veterans are going through the same procedures they would have to go through if they had been traded - but they're still property of the same major league club they were part of last year. Confused? So are minor league veterans of the Yankees, Phillies, Orioles, Mets, and Nationals. They will have to go through a major transition, reporting to different teams this year in different cities, without ever having been part of a transaction.

The merry-go-round started with the New York Yankees, who switched their Triple-A affiliate last year from the Columbus Clippers to Scranton Wilkes-Barre (formerly the Red Barons). The Red Barons' contract with the Philadelphia Phillies was up as well, and the Phillies had come to terms with the Ottawa Lynx. That team had been vacated by the Baltimore Orioles, who took over the Norfolk Tides, made available when the Mets made the New Orleans Zephyrs their Triple-A affiliate. The Nationals, who had been with New Orleans, took the team made available when the Yankees started the mess, moving their operation to Columbus.

So the teammates haven't changed, but the uniforms, stadiums, and cities have. Minor leaguers are used to change - they jump from Single-A to Double-A to Triple-A sometimes in a matter of months, and some go from Triple-A to the majors so often they are compared to yo-yo's. But it must be a weird sensation for many to have to relocate without having been part of any personnel changes.

Then there's the business end. "You don't realize how much stuff you have with the Mets logo on it until you have to switch to the Orioles," says Ian Locke, director of media relations for the Norfolk Tides, the new Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Locke mentions letterheads, envelopes, websites, group info brochures, and schedules as among the items that now need updating. It also changes the off-the-field personnel. "I have to get acclimated with the new people in Baltimore, as opposed to who to call in New York. I'm not sure who to call in spring training - I used to know who to talk to. The little things are different, but it's been a positive switch overall."

The Orioles and Nationals are taking advantage of their new affiliation, and taking their relatively new geographic rivalry on the road. Both Norfolk and Columbus will host an exhbition game at the end of spring training featuring the major league clubs in the minor league stadiums. There are other benefits for Baltimore - all of its minor league clubs are now within driving distance of the major league city - a benefit that Philadelphia now loses, moving from in-state Scranton (125 miles away) to out-of-country Ottawa (447 miles away).

For the Mets, they lose a long-time affiliate, but get to establish a new relationship with a city still recovering from Hurricane Katrina. They've already started the goodwill, donating money to the city and its playgrounds. And Mr. Met seems happy about his new friend as well:

For the Mets, their affiliate did not just switch cities - they are now in another league. The Zephyrs are in the Pacific Coast League, where they play in the same division as teams in Texas, Oklahoma, Albuquerque....and a schedule which will take them further west. The Tides are in the International League, playing teams like Buffalo, Pawtucket, and Richmond. Whether all that extra travel will have an affect on the players who are called up remains to be seen...but one thing seems sure - a minor league affiliation switch rarely affects just one baseball team.

NOTE ON THE ARTICLE: I started to write the above over February break (oh, how long ago that seems, when I had such great intentions, and wrote a blog entry every day), and actually made some phone calls to try to put together a really good article for some magazine. A few non-returned calls later and back to school, and I lost all momentum. But I didn't want to waste the idea, and the one interview I did, so there it is. I got the idea when I bought my baseball preview, and there was no mention of all the affiliate changes, which I thought was one of the bigger deals of the off-season. It's an article I would have wanted to read.

NEW FEATURE: I think I'm going to add a "Player of the Game" feature this year. Just a thought that popped into my head tonight.

PROGRAMMING NOTE: With the NCAA tournament coming up this week, I'm glad I got a chance to post tonight - because I can't make any promises that I'll be updating during the basketball games. I will get my season picks up before the season starts - that's about the only promise I can make. Mets-Cardinals is just 23 days away to open the season!

CHALK THIS ONE UP TO THE JOHNNYMETS MERCHANDISE JINX

The Norfolk Tides have ended their affiliation with the New York Mets, and the Mets will now have the New Orleans Zephyrs as their Triple-A affiliate. There's only one reasonable conclusion as to why this happened:

From johnnyjets.blogspot.com, September 16, 2005
I'm going to let you in on one of my dirty little secrets: I owned an Anthony Becht jersey. I know, I know, it was a stupid purchase. But I really thought he was going to be the next Mickey Schuler (I know, I know, that's not even a whole heck of a lot, but for a Jets fan, that's the comparison). But really, I thought he was going to be great. I still do think it was the wrong system at the wrong time - and if he was still around, it might have been him having a 100-yard receiving day last Sunday. Instead, he caught one pass for 7 yards in his Tampa Bay debut. But I digress. The point is, I had an Anthony Becht jersey (still do, as a matter of fact). It's my fault he didn't succeed as a Jet.

This is a curse. It's a curse I must live with. It dates back to about 1994. I read a great article in Sports Illustrated about Boomer Esiason and his son Gunnar, and I said, "I want a Boomer Esiason jersey. He will be my favorite Jet." (I was at a crossroads at this point about who my favorite Jet would be - among the candidates was Aaron Glenn.) Well, I buy the Boomer jersey - I remember it like it was yesterday - I went to Modell's on Steinway Street in Astoria, bought the jersey, wore the heck out of it, and was wearing it the night of Dan Marino's fake spike at the Meadowlands, when the Jets blew their big halftime lead, and their chance at first place, and lost every game the rest of the way to finish 6-10 and oh by the way who got burned on that fake spike - oh yes the other candidate for my jersey purchasing Aaron Glenn.

I didn't buy another jersey after Boomer for a little while. But then 1998 came. The Jets had a steal in the draft, I was convinced, when they took Boston College's Glenn Foley in the sixth round. He earned the starting job, and went 0-2, losing to San Francisco in Week One on Garrison Hearst's 96-yard touchdown run in overtime (remember that?). Anyway, after he lost in Week Two, he also hurt his ribs. Of course, we all know Vinny Testaverde took over, played for about 4 more years, and Glenn Foley took about 8 snaps with Seattle before retiring to a bar somewhere...being seen only on the free agent lists in John Madden football games (where I would sometimes sign him as a backup for old time's sake.)

So along comes the 2000 draft, and I say no to Shaun Ellis, no to John Abraham, no to Chad Pennington, I want the tight end's jersey. So I custom ordered from NFL.com an Anthony Becht #88 jersey. He's going to be a star! I convince myself. Well, it looks good for a while. When the Jets make their playoff run in 2001 he's a key part - catching touchdown passes and two-point conversions late in games versus Cincinnati and Indianapolis. Testaverde found him a reliable target. But he never matched those numbers (not even very impressive numbers, anyway) again. He even developed a big case of the dropsies. I think the one that sealed it was an October Monday Night Football game where he dropped a pass that would have given the Jets big yardage, and incurred the wrath of the home fans. Well, sorry, Anthony - little did you know it was probably my fault.

Anyway, after Becht was gone, I said I'm never going to get another Jets jersey. Why put anyone through what I put poor Glenn Foley and Anthony Becht through? Then, I had a better idea. Why not get a sure thing? What's more of a sure thing than Chad Pennington? And I had a string of bad luck with green jerseys - how about a white Chad Pennington jersey!? Foolproof. So for my birthday, good old mom got me a Pennington jersey. Well, we're 0-1. Sorry Chad.

Chad Pennington, of course, went on to win the next game, then in the third game of the season went down with a career-threatening injury and nearly lost his job as starting quarterback of the New York Jets.

As you may or may not know, for my birthday this past summer, The Wife bought me a Norfolk Tides hat. So the aforementioned jersey jinx has apparently now extended to all sports merchandise.

ON THE SUBJECT OF SPORTS MERCHANDISE: My mom, bless her, sent me a package in the mail today. I opened it up, and inside was my New York Mets Division Champions shirt. What a lady.

But the shirt isn't a t-shirt - it's got three-quarters sleeves. I know it's been a long time since the Mets won a division...but how long have they been going with these? They're not the most comfortable shirts in the world. I hope the World Series shirts are more wearable. And I hope the fact that I now own one of these shirts doesn't put an end to the possibility of me owning a World Series champions shirt. I keep tempting fate.

There IS a game tonight - the Mets are trailing Washington 3-1 in the seventh. But the loss by St. Louis on Thursday night clinched home-field advantage for the Mets through the playoffs, so there's not much left to play for but 100 wins.

Still no baby, by the way.

METS FINALLY SEO UP WIN NUMBER 70

Mets 7, Marlins 1 (NYM: 70-66; FLA: 72-64) NL East: 7.5 GB, Wild Card: 2.5 GB

It occurred to me during the Mets' run in Arizona that the Diamondbacks were (are) not a very good team. It occurred to me after the Mets' 1-0 win in San Francisco (their fifth straight) that the offensive explosion a week and a half ago could have been some very bad pitching, as opposed to really good hitting by the Mets. But that all went away with the onset of the important divisional games, and the Mets' dramatic win over the Phillies on Tuesday night. I haven't written since then (and with school starting Tuesday and the football season being right around the corner, I need to take this opportunity to say the postings have the potential to be fewer and farther between...depending on my workload), and since then the Mets have dropped four straight - including an ugly one on Saturday night in Florida.

But all that said, after a big win on Sunday (they're all big wins from here on out), and with all the right teams losing, the Mets are still just two-and-a-half games out of the Wild Card. There are three teams in between the Mets and the Phillies (as well as the division-leading Braves - which is now a seven-and-a-half game deficit), but it's still just two-and-a-half games.

The Mets have to go through Atlanta now, and then they have to go to Saint Louis. Saint Louis is not playing the best ball right now, but they're still a good measuring stick - and Atlanta has been hot. So it's make-or-break time. If the Mets come away with a winning record, we're talking some exciting September baseball. If not, then it's a good thing the Jets start up on Sunday.

Let's talk about Sunday's game. Jae Seo again pitched brilliantly - 1 run, 6 K's in seven innings - and he continues to make me wonder "what if...." about the time Kaz Ishii spent in the majors while Seo was in Norfolk. Cliff Floyd homered - and it was a rifle. He's been hitting the ball hard lately - this homer (his 29th of the season) was a line drive that carried all the way over the center field wall. It makes you wonder what he has in store for the stretch run. David Wright and Carlos Beltran* also contributed - and I just wonder if Beltran* can take this team on his back the way he did the Astros a year ago, to make up for the struggles all season.

It's pretender or contender time. The Mets spend Labor Day in Atlanta to open up their series against the Braves. And the number one contender or pretender, Steve Trachsel, is on the mound for the opener. He wants to start the big games? There's nothing bigger right now. I want to see how he does when there's something on the line - he can show all Mets fans if he can handle it on Monday afternoon.

I never had the chance to give an August roundup - remember, the Mets had lost 13 games a month until August - 11-13 in April, 15-13 in May (to be .500), then 13-13 in June (staying at .500), then 14-13 in July (a game over), then they got hot, going 16-11 in August - the second best record in the National League in the month. They are off to a 1-3 start in September - not good, but they need the hot finish to be able to play more than their two scheduled games in October.

One other note - I mentioned an ugly game on Saturday. I only heard bits of the last inning and post-game show on the radio late Saturday, but it seems Willie Randolph opened himself up to second-guessing by putting in Shingo Takatsu (released by the White Sox, picked up by the Mets) with the bases loaded instead of sticking with Juan Padilla. The Mets also stunk it up in the field though - Ramon Castro apparently made a bad decision, and Victor Diaz lost a fly ball in the lights, leading to a 2-run homer. It seems like it was a disheartening loss...but the fact that the Mets came back with a 7-1 win should be encouraging.

ELTRAN*'S: Beltran* contributed on Sunday with a 2-for-5 day, with 2 RBI. Hopefully a sign of better things to come. For the second half:

44-for-164 (.268 AVG.), 4 HR, 20 RBI, 31 Runs, 12 SB

WRIGHT WATCH: David Wright was also 2-for-5, with 2 RBI - and a double.

SECOND HALF: 14 SEASON TOTAL: 36 TEAM RECORD: 44

WRIGHT NEEDS 9 IN THE TEAM'S FINAL 26 GAMES TO BREAK THE RECORD!!

Minor League Note: The Norfolk Tides won their division - the regular season ends Sunday....but there will be some post-season. I don't know how this affects end-of-season call-ups. I know, for example, that Royce Ring is still playing with the Tides.