A few on some ex-Rattlers

Jim Street has this on the current Mariner closer:

Putz's fate wasn't always clear

It's a tough thing, giving up what you really enjoy doing, and J.J. Putz was somewhat reluctant to relinquish what he thought would be his ticket to the Major Leagues.

His goal was to make it to the big leagues with the Mariners -- as a starting pitcher.

"If someone had told me in 2003 that I would make the All-Star team as a closer in '07, I would have told them they were crazy," Putz said. "I had no desire to be a closer."

His time in Wisconsin is briefly touched on here:

After putting together a solid, 12-6, 3.15 ERA season in 25 starts with Class A Wisconsin in 2000, his first full professional season, Putz went 7-9 with a 3.83 ERA for Double-A San Antonio in 2001, and he was a combined 5-14 with a 3.53 ERA for San Antonio and Tacoma in 2002.

Here's a story from the Hanover (PA) Sun about Robert Rohrbaugh (WI '05):

On the brink of the majors

This is the left-handed pitcher who ascended quickly through the Seattle Mariners farm system and now has spent nearly two weeks in major-league camp at spring training in Peoria, Arizona. He is expected to begin the season with the Class AAA Tacoma Rainiers in Washington.

He is one step away.

"I think Robert could get big league hitters out right now," said Brad Holman, who worked with Rohrbaugh in Class AA and now is the pitching coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates' affiliate in Altoona. "But it just depends on numbers and what the Seattle Mariners need at this time."

"He's knocking on the door of the big leagues," said Greg Hunter, the Mariners' director of player personnel. "He's adjusted to every level he's been at. He's gutsy, he's not intimidated."

Here is a Baltimore Sun column on Adam Jones (WI '04) getting settled into Oriole camp:

Orioles' Jones plays it cool

"I know the expectations are very high," Jones said, "but my expectations are a lot higher than their expectations. I want to play at a high level. I don't try to be cocky, really, but the numbers and projections are in my head."

It goes beyond that. Jones actually puts his own expectations down on paper before every season.

"I write them down every year," he said, "and I try to put them somewhere I won't see them all season. I hid them so well last year, I still haven't found them."

If you don't like this kind of kid, you don't like baseball. He has all the tools, has some style and has a clue about how to go about his business in a locker room that still has some crusty veterans waiting for the young guys to trip over their gloves.