Around the Mariner System

The other teams in the Mariner minor league system open their seasons tonight:

Inland Empire at High Desert 9:05pm CDT
West Tennessee at Montgomery 7:05pm CDT
Tacoma at Sacramento 9:05pm CDT

And a preview article on High Desert and Tacoma.

Mavs look to continue their winning ways
Talking about winning last season’s California League title as part of the Inland Empire 66ers brought back fond memories and a smile to outfielder Josh Womack’s face. “It was the world to me,” Womack said Monday at the team’s first practice in Adelanto. “I had so much excitement. It was a blast. One of those things coming back to the same league, it would be great to repeat.” Those memories were re-lived during spring training last week when Womack and his teammates received their championship rings.

Rainiers ready to open season tonight
While Major League Baseball is four days into its season, minor league baseball teams across the country open the 2007 campaign today, including the Tacoma Rainiers, who will open Pacific Coast league play at 7:05 tonight in Sacramento against the River Cats.
New manager Daren Brown and the rest of the Rainiers made the trip from spring training in Peoria, Ariz., directly to Sacramento.
“We’re ready to get going,” Brown said last week.
Up until this week, Brown didn’t know who would be accompanying him on the first trip.
The Rainiers finalized their opening day, 24-man roster on Thursday. As expected, several players from last year’s 74-70 team return for another season in Triple-A.
Leading the list of returnees is today’s starter, Cha Seung Baek (12-4, 3.00 ERA with Tacoma in 2006), who will be the team’s No. 1 starter. Joining Baek in the rotation is Ryan Feierabend, who finished last season in Tacoma after spending most of the summer with Double-A San Antonio; he will start the second game on Friday.