Diamond Jaxx Notes

West Tennessee, Seattle's new Double-A affiliate, lost 5-0 in eight innings to Memphis, the Triple-A affiliate of the Cardinals last night at Pringles Park. The boxscore is out there somewhere. If I find it, I'll put it at the tail of this post later today.

The focus of this story isn't on the game, though.

Debut of new era for Jaxx in exhibition game

In the big picture, Tuesday's exhibition game meant little. No playoff spots were won or lost. Sure, the 5-0 loss was frustrating for the Jaxx - whose owners have two years remaining on their lease with the city. But this season is about more than just wins and losses, especially after all the talk in Jackson over the past few years about leases and possible moves.

This season is an opportunity to breathe some much-needed life into a franchise that has suffered from lagging attendance - and for the most part, lagging interest in West Tennessee - for the past few years. Attendance for Jaxx games exceeded 300,000 each of the first three seasons, but has declined from 197,226 in 2003 to 95,486 last season.

David Lozinak, vice president of administration for the Jaxx, said the turnout for Tuesday's exhibition game was a positive sign. No official attendance numbers were announced Tuesday, but there were at least 2,000 people in the stands at Pringles Park before heavy rain ended the game in the eighth inning.

"For a Tuesday it was great," Lozinak said. "It tripled what we usually have on Tuesdays."

Can you say, "Bang for your Buck?"

Before the game, there was the luncheon.

Jaxx sign for a crowd

"We planned for 300 and had to put out 100 more seats and cook more hot dogs," Jaxx General Manager Jeff Parker said. The franchise is looking to improve its performance at the gate with a bigger civic push this season. "That's a great turnout, and if we can run into that situation 70 more times this season, great," Parker said.

The crowd was introduced to the new Diamond Jaxx, now the Double-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. The past nine seasons they were the Chicago Cubs' Double-A affiliate.
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Pitcher Justin Thomas, an Ohio native, said, "I like it. This feels more like home after six weeks of spring training in the Arizona desert. I'm used to green grass and trees.

"The people have been nice so far,'' he said. "I like the ballpark, and I'm looking to get started."

Here is the preview article with information about the new manager and some of the players on this year's Diamond Jaxx:
New-look team has manager with an array of experience

[Eddie] Rodriguez, 47, will be expected to use his past experience this season to help guide the Diamond Jaxx, now the Double-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners in the Southern League after spending the previous nine years with the Chicago Cubs. The Mariners' Double-A team had previously been affiliated with the San Antonio Missions of the Texas League since 2001.
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Plagued by high-player turnover last season, the offensive-starved Missions were 60-78. Among the prospects opening the season with the Jaxx are catcher Rene Rivera, outfielders Michael Wilson and Sebastien Boucher, third baseman Matt Tuiasosopo and left-handed starter Justin Thomas.

Rivera saw limited action with the parent Mariners each of the last three seasons, while Thomas (No. 12), Wilson (No. 14) and Tuiasosopo (No. 17) are all ranked among the Mariners' top prospects by Baseball America.