Tale of the Sharpie: Southern League Coaching Staffs

     All of the Southern League teams have announced their 2012 Player Development Staffs with the exception of the Wahoo's. We are still waiting to know the names of the hitting coach and pitching coaching. However, its never to early to start preparing for autographing at Wahoo Park ( that is what I call it ). Chances are if you have a box of baseball cards from early 1990's, you have cards of several coaches that will be visiting Pensacola several times this season. You can even go search your late 80's boxes. I recently purchased two 1987 Topps vending boxes with the hope of getting some of the cards signed TTM and in-person this year.
     A typical minor league coaching staff will  feature a manager, a pitching coach, and a hitting coach. All three during the season will assume the roles of the first and third base coach and bullpen coach. Also, teams have Coordinators who might visit each of the affiliates during the season to give additional instruction on the side and to make sure that the overall development philosophy of the organization is being implemented daily. The main goal of the Minor League Staff regardless of level, is to develop players for the majors. How are these staffs selected ?  Some teams choose players that had a lengthy coaching career while other teams implement the "Those Who Can't Do, Teach" mentality. Overall,  the majority of the coaches are hoping for a coaching stint in the big leagues. I mainly get excited about a coaching staff because it features players that I remember watching on TBS & WGN from my youth.

 I listed out the 2012 Minor League Coaching Staffs for easy reference:

Chattanooga Lookouts- Manager: Carlos Subero PC:Chuck Crim HC: Franklin Stubbs
Pensacola Blue Wahoo's- Manager: Jim Riggleman, PC: Tom Brown,  HC-Tony Jaramillo
Montgomery Biscuits: Manager Billy Gardner Jr. PC: R.C. Lichtenstein HC: Ozzie Timmons

Birmingham Barons- Manager: Bobby Magallanes, PC: Bobby Thigpen HC: Brandon Moore
Mobile Baybears-  Manager: Turner Ward, PC: Dan Carlson HC: Jay Bell
Jackson Generals-  Manager: Jim Pankovits, PC: Lance Painter HC: Cory Snyder
Jacksonville Suns- Manager: Andy Barkett, PC: John Duffy HC: Kevin Randel
Tennessee Smokies- Manager: Buddy Bailey, PC: Jeff Fassero HC: Mariano Duncan
Huntsville Stars- Manager: Darnell Coles, PC-John Curtis HC: Dwayne Hosey
Mississippi Braves- Manager: Aaron Holbert, PC- Mike Alvarez HC: Garey Ingram

I seen several of these coaches in the past but I am very excited about having the opportunity to get Cory Snyder to sign my Starting Lineup figurine.

Meet the Skipper: Jim Riggleman

 
Various news sources have reported that the Cincinnati Reds have offered Jim Riggleman the Blue Wahoo's managerial job. You might have heard of Mr. Riggleman after he resigned as the Washington Nationals manager this June immediately after a win due to his contract not being extended. In his defense, it's not that hard to go back in see that he was one of the lowest paid managers when he quit. He was quickly offered a job employed as a scout with the San Fransisco Giants and was re-offered the same position once the season concluded. I imagine the Wahoo's job is his way of paying his dues with some long Southern League bus trips with the hope he replaces Dusty Baker in Cincinnati or offered a MLB managerial job elsewhere. For those wanting to get his autograph on something, he has several Topps baseball cards from his earlier managerial stints and was very accommodating the one time I met at Turner Field in Atlanta.

The Wahoo's Logo is a mix of good and bad.....

A Minor league Baseball's logo's main purpose is to promote a brand of entertainment and the Wahoo's did a great job in choosing a regional animal with their team name.  It would seem natural to just use the letter "P" with that animal twisted around the "P".  Next, add any baseball equipment item somewhere around the animal. Finally, use some colors that make sense. For those that do not know what a Wahoo looks like:

The logo below looks menacing.  However, I don't like the already overused colors that we are suppose to call Neon Red, Gulf Coast Royal, Blue Angel Navy, and Tin Roof Tin. I do not understand how these colors represent the Emerald Coast and I give this logo a C. Its a Blue Wahoo circling a baseball bat forming the shape of a 'P' for Pensacola.

The team's alternate cap below features a fishing hook also in the shape of a "P". This in my opinion should be the primary cap logo and color scheme. I like the colors and this will be the hat that I will be purchasing. Nice simple yet creative design. I give it an A.

The overall brand logo below reminds me a lot of the old Birmingham Barracudas logo which I remember got a lot of bad press upon its released. I'm not entirely sure what they were going for here with the font and the coloring, but whatever it was they were going for, they failed. The Wahoo is drawn well. I don't think of baseball when I look at it. It gets a D. I hope this isn't pasted across the chest of home jerseys. If so, doubt I buy one.

Overall, can't wait to get my cap and to see what the uniforms look like.......

Section 111 Row H Seat 1

is where I plan on spending the majority of my time next summer. In-laws did a good job picking a seat. Below is the view from my seat. Looking forward to the logo now.....

Future Wahoo's: Yorman Rodriguez

I first got to see Yorman play in October of 2008 during am Instructs game vs the Baltimore Orioles in Sarasota. He was pretty skinny and that looked did not change almost two years later when I saw him in Ogden, Utah when he was playing for the Billing Mustangs in 2010 The Reds signed Yorman at the age of 16 with a $2.5 million out of Ocumare de la Costa, a small coastal town in Aragua, Venezuela. During the two games that I watched in 2008, he was a mess at the plate but when he did make contact the bat made a sound that got your attention. In 2010 with Billings, his only flaw was swinging and missing at breaking balls in the dirt.
 Yorman might arrive in Pensacola sometime late during the 2nd half of the 2012 season if he tears up the Califoria league at High A Bakersfield.  If that doesn't happen, he will more then likely open the 2013 season in Pensacola. The Reds are pretty high on him not based on what he has done so far but rather on what he might be able to do in the future. Yorman completed his first year of full season ball this year at Dayton in the Midwest League at the age of 18 and batted .254/.318/.393 with 10 2B, 4 3B, 7 HR, 84/25 K/BB, and 20-for-28 SB in 79 games. Not terrible for a player that should should still be in high school. Scouts were impressed with how Yorman still continued to use the entire field with power this season.  In a perfect world, Yorman becomes a athletic right fielder for the Reds roaming Great American Ball Park at the age of 22 with modest power and a high batting average. 

Predicting the 2012 Wahoo's Opening Day Roster

 
Lot can change from now until Opening Day 2012. You have the Rule V draft were its possible the Reds could lose a player or two listed below or add a couple of Minor League Free Agents that will change the 2012 Opening Day designation for a lot of Reds Minor League Players. Trades could also change my guesses.  What we do know for sure is Billy Hamilton and Yorman Rodriguez should start out in High A Bakersfield while other players like Yasmani Grandal move on to AAA Louisville. So with all that said, here is my guess on the 2012 Opening Day Roster:

OF-  Ryan LaMarre, Bill Rhinehart, Josh Fellhauer, and Andrew Means

IF-  Henry Rodriguez, Chris Richburg, Didi Gregorius, Brodie Greene, Stephen Hunt, and Alex Bucholtz

C-   Mark Fluery, Kevin Coddington

SP- J.C Sulbaran,  Pedro Villarreal, Josh Ravin, Tim Crabbe, Matt Fairel, and Mark Serrano

Bullpen- Justin Freeman, Mace Thurman, Curt Partch, Clay Shunick, and Jordan Hotchkiss

Henry Rodriguez- The most interesting player to me. Overall ,he stole 30 bases and hit 13 homers with a nice .320/.372/.469 line split between Bakersfield and Carolina. His nickname is Pollo.

Didi Gregorius - features a nice arm at SS that could really turn into something with a little more work. Didi has no problem making contact and has good base-running instincts. 

JC Sulbaran-  Did pretty well considering he had to pitch in the California League.  His 119/42 K/BB ratio is impressive.

Ryan LaMarre.batted a combined .278 with 18 Doubles, 3 Triples, 6 Home Runs and 47 RBI’s in 117 Games with High-A Bakersfield and 5 Games with Double-A Carolina. He stole 55 bases on the season. Very impressive speed.
 
Roster is short a couple of players for the Southern league roster limit, I will play around with this roster later on down the road.

Minor League Baseball means: Roadtrips

Eventually after you watch some Blue Wahoo games, you will wonder how other stadiums look and want to experience baseball in different cities.  It may be a small addition to a all ready planned family vacation or a small detour on a business trip. Every year in the winter, I take all the new schedules and try to compose a road trip for a couple of days that allows me to see numerous games in so many days. Half the time the realities of life like work quickly make my trips a weekend getaway. For 2012, I was planning on seeing all teams at home in the East division of the Midwest League along with a Chicago Cubs game. The trip would cover four states and depending on the league's schedule, take anywhere from seven to ten days. Then I realized that with a move back to Pensacola, Florida, there are a ton of stadiums I haven't experienced within a reasonable driving distance. I might just plan to see all the Minor league teams in Georgia along with a Jacksonville Suns game when the Wahoo's are on a road trip. I always get asked what influences me on what stadiums I want to visit outside of the realities of life. Here are some:

Minor League Level:

I prefer the lower levels of Minor League Baseball over the higher levels. The main reason is that I also collect autographs and the players are excited to finally escape Extended Spring Training. Plus, they haven't been burnt out on the player-fan experience and are more then willing to sign multiple autographs. Its fun to try to pinpoint the future stars considering less then 10% of the players in Rookie League will make it to Double A.

Day Games:

Sometimes the road trip calls you to be in a city that doesn't offer that much other then a museum and baseball stadium. Waiting around all day for game time can get boring very quickly unless its Las Vegas your visiting. Day games are mostly schedule to easy the traveling schedule on the players and are rare. Most are marketed as Kids Days or Camp days by Minor League teams.  I always plan around day games that would allow me to watch a day game in one city and a night game in another city on the same day.

Promotions:

I also plan around promotions. Willie Nelson is playing in Missoula, Montana at Missoula Osprey game. That alone would be worth the trip and adding baseball game the same day would make it even better. I also plan around Free Baseball Card Night and Guest Celebrity Nights especially if its a Baseball Hall Of Famer. 

Endangered Ballparks:

One of the main reasons I want to do the Georgia trip is that it would allow me to see Lake Olmstead Stadium. The park seems like a interesting park and a rumor is going around the Augusta wants to replace it with a new one. I have also been to Grayson Stadium in Savannah, Georgia a couple of years ago but forgot to bring my camera. I wouldn't mind visiting it again. The park was built in 1926 and Savannah Sand Gnats have had a hard time getting people into the stands for the past couple of years. Time to see this stadium again may be running out.

Trust me. Eventually you will go see the Wahoo's play in Mobile or Montgomery against the Baybears and Biscuits. To some that would be considered a road trip. I am just trying to encourage you to take it a step further.....