Odds and ends...

There is an Arizona Instructional League Notebook at milb.com. Nothing about former Rattlers, future Rattlers, or various Mariner farmhands participating. If there is anything in the future, I'll have a link.

Here is the official release from the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx site about the new affiliation with the Mariners.

“The Diamond Jaxx are excited to become a part of the Seattle Mariners family and look forward to seeing first-hand their commitment to developing future Major Leaguers from around the world right here in Jackson,” said Diamond Jaxx general manager Jeff Parker. “The leadership of the Mariners organization comes from a rich tradition of Major League Baseball and we look forward to having them as part of our community. One of the commitments the Mariners have made is to involve their players in our community. They guaranteed us that the future Mariners will be a strong presence in the West Tennessee community and we look forward to reaching out to our communities with them.”

“We are very excited to bring our players to West Tennessee,” said Frank Mattox, the Director of Player Development for the Mariners. “We look forward to bringing a championship back to Pringles Park in the near future.”

No. Really. The name of their stadium is Pringles Park. Look at the logo on the right of the picture below.

I've got a Fever. The Fever for the Flavor of a Pringles!

Ever wonder what Tommy LaSorda would look like wearing a Great.Lakes.Loons. hat? Wonder no more.

From loons.com

Their release announcing the partnership with the Dodgers is HERE. The newspaper story is HERE. A sample of what the writing is going to be like out of Midland next season:

Mid-Michigan and Los Angeles. The Great Lakes and Hollywood. The Tridge and Disneyland. Not things you normally would group together – until today.

Tridge? What's a tridge? This is a tridge.

"The Tridge" is the formal name of a three-way footbridge located above the joining of Chippewa and Titabawassee rivers in downtown Midland.

Back to the article. Ever wonder what Tommy LaSorda would say at a press conference announcing a partnership between the Dodgers and the Great.Lakes.Loons.? Wonder no more.

"I’ve spent little time in middle America. You are the heartbeat of the country. I bring words from our owner, Frank McCourt. He is very proud to put his team here," said ex-Dodgers manager and Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda, who was on hand at the press conference.

Did he say "little time"? Did he mean (or did he actually say) "I've spent a little time in middle America."? one letter kind of makes a big difference, eh?