Who likes puzzles?

Have you ever built a schedule for a league? To paraphrase a fellow member of the WCL scheduling committee, it is like doing a 5,000 piece jigsaw puzzle - except halfway through the process, the pieces are switched out with another puzzle and then it becomes a rubik's cube. But you still need it to look like the finished product of the original puzzle. And then your dog eats a few of the pieces.

That being said, we are close to finalizing the 2013 schedule - and I am excited for it to come out. One challenge this year that is a by-product of the success of the league - scheduling 11 teams versus 12 (the WCL went from 9 to 11 teams due to expansion markets Medford, OR and Victoria, BC) is a significant challenge. You will always have a team that isn't playing league games. You also want to make sure that, as close as possible, everyone has a fair number of weekend games to allow each club a fighting chance at financial success.

Another challenge this season was a consensus to start the season later than the first week of June. In addition to traditionally bad weather throughout much of the Pacific Northwest the first two weeks of June, many of the league's top players don't arrive until after June 15 (quarter schools). By starting so early, we have a massive upheaval of the roster as 10-day players leave and full-season signees are shuttled in. As a general manager, it is a bit of a cluster. That change, however, compacted an already compacted time frame in which we play our season.

Other factors that come into play include black-out dates (dates a team can't use their ballpark for various reasons). For instance, in Walla Walla, our great Legion programs have traditionally hosted (3) tournaments at Borleske Stadium and we try to make sure that we are on the road for those weekends so that they can successfully host these games (I enjoy that so many high school players from around the state and region are coming to see what a fantastic facility we have). Mileage and time on the road are major items to consider as well - you can't travel more than 10 hours at a time or exceed a certain amount of mileage (legally). To make it even more fantastically fun, (1) change always has a domino effect and creates (10) other problems.

SO - what does this mean? A lot of late-night phone calls, crumpled papers strewn about, and frantic calculations of miles to get to a schedule everyone can be happy (almost) with. And then the real fun begins (hotels, charters, meal money, etc). It's a good thing I have a great secretary. Oh wait, I don't.

Back to the spreadsheets!

League Owners Meetings - Fall 2013 - Fun for all!

Now that the off-season is here, and life settles into a little more normal routine (than versus the season, where "routine" is up at 7 AM and at the ballpark until almost midnight.), a priority returns to blogging. A lot of our franchise's development has been captured here - looking to continue that for the 2013 season.

It is hard to believe that about three years ago, I attended our first league owners meetings at the Hotel Monaco in Portland. It has become a trip that I look forward to, because for the most part I have become friends with the other owners and GMs in the league. It is a great opportunity to catch, learn what went well (and what didn't) in there market, and get a true vibe for the health of the league.

Proof I was there.

This year the fall meetings were held in the Mia Hamm building on the Nike campus in Beaverton, OR. So far, my favorite meeting place. Our conference room was the Buckeye conference room adjacent to Mr. Knight's offices. Wow. My 9-old boy dreams of seeing where Spike Lee and Michael Jordan made the magic happen came true. Apparently, Phil himself stopped in to say hi, but since the league was discussing a proposal that John (Stanton) and I had made, we were out of the room as they discussed it, so I missed that treat. The campus is phenomenal - Nike is the king of brand cohesion. What made the trip extra-special was that it was arranged that we could shop in the Nike Employee Store. I give my wife a hard time when she shops - she seems to ignore the budgets we prepare ahead of time. Well, I am just as bad when the store is the Nike Employee Store. A big thank you to the Corvallis Knights and Nike for arranging that. Check out the picture I snapped of the center of campus as we were walking around after the meetings.

We welcomed (3) new owners this fall to the league - Jerry Walker (who owns/operates the S-K Volcanoes of the NWL, a minor league affiliate of the SF Giants) and purchased the Klamath Falls Gems; CSH (represented by Gary Gelinas), which now owns Medford (soon to announce a new team name); and John McLean, who is the managing partner for the new Victoria HarbourCats. The new blood is refreshing and all three have experienced success in their respective fields - I look forward to working with them off the field to make the league even stronger than it has become in the past three years.

The divisions will be re-aligned again - with the addition of Victoria and Medford, it has created a more North/South tilt than East/West, and with future expansion likely to be more North/South, it makes sense to put in a structure now that will be able to support that expansion in the future. In the next week or so we should find out where Walla Walla, a border town, ends up.

The league is in good shape - the players are better, the stadiums and markets are better, and there are some really accomplished and intelligent business people in that room - more so than you find in most professional leagues. 2013 should be a great year.

ZF

Sweets rally for victory

Walla Walla scored four runs in the top of the seventh to rally past the Bells, 7-6, on Wednesday night at Joe Martin Field.

Now for some notes from around the ballpark:
- The Sweets improved to 23-30 with the victory. They finish their season today against the Bells.
- Doug Ashby earned his first win of the summer in his final appearance last night. He allowed one run on two hits in the sixth inning but benefited from the Sweets' seventh-inning rally.
- Arturo Reyes earned his first save of the summer, tossing a scoreless ninth inning.
- Luke West tossed a perfect seventh and Simon Anderson was perfect in the eighth.
- J.J. Robinson led the offense with two doubles, a run scored and two RBI. He hit a bases-loaded double off the top of the right field wall to drive in the final two runs in the four-run seventh.
- Robinson now has seven doubles on the season.
- Kalani Brackenridge and Spencer O'Neil each had two hits as well. Brackenridge drove in a run and scored a run.
- Kris Paulino scored his 26th run of the season to set a new single-season record for the Sweets, surpassing Alex Stanford's mark of 25 from last summer.
- Alex Bonczyk crossed the plate twice.
- Hunter Virant will start for the Sweets on Thursday. He has allowed two runs or less in every start this summer. The most hits he has allowed in a game this season is five. That came against Bellingham on June 29.

Sweets heartbroken again

Walla Walla lost a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the ninth inning and Bellingam eventually won the game with a walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th on Tuesday night.

Now for some notes from around the ballpark:
- The Sweets fell to 22-30 with the loss and are now 3-3 in extra-inning games this summer.
- Walla Walla made three errors in the game, with the final error playing a key role in the Bells 10th-inning rally.
- Tyler Roberts started for the Sweets and had his best start of the summer. He pitched 8.2 innings, allowing just two runs on five hits. He struck out a season-high seven batters.
- Roberts was one strike away from finishing the complete game but Michael Leach singled to center to tie the game.
- Connor Lawhead relieved Roberts and got out of the ninth but he threw away a bunt in the 10th that eventually led to a two-out walk-off single to left field.
- The Sweets have now lost seven games this season when they have held a lead after seven innings.
- Brett Jacobs extended his hitting streak to eight games with a single in the eighth.
- Kris Paulino had three hits for the Sweets and scored both runs. He has hits in each of his last four games and has three doubles in this series.
- On the season, Paulino has scored a team-high 25 runs. He has tied Alex Stanford ('11) for the most runs scored in a single season in franchise history.
- Spencer O'Neil recorded an RBI single in the first and now has 32 on the season.
- Joe Arlt will start on Wednesday for the Sweets. He allowed one run on eight hits over 7.1 innings last week against the Bells. He is 3-2 with a 2.44 ERA in 51.2 innings.

Tough start to final road trip

The Sweets found themselves down 6-0 after the first inning and 13-0 after four innings on Monday. They fell to Bellingham, 15-4, in the first game of a season-ending four-game series.

Now for some notes from around the ballpark:
- The Sweets are now 22-29 on the season. The 15 runs allowed are the most the Sweets have given up in a game this season.
- Bellingham has a 3-2 lead in the eight-game series.
- Brett Jacobs had two of the Sweets' 10 hits. He has a seven-game hit streak and has multi-hit games in four of his last five outings.
- Spencer O'Neil had two hits, including an RBI double. It was his second consecutive game with a double and increased his team-record RBI total to 31.
- Kris Paulino collected two doubles and drove in a run on Monday.
- Doug Ashby pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
- Kyle Kingsley pitched six innings of relief, allowing nine runs (two earned).
- Walla Walla made a season-high six errors on the night. They committed five errors in the second, third and fourth innings combined. Those five errors led to seven runs.
- Tyler Roberts will start on Tuesday night. Roberts is 2-4 with a 3.78 ERA on the year. He started against Bellingham last Tuesday, allowing four runs on five hits over five innings. He struck out a season-high six hitters. It was just the third time this summer that he allowed more than two runs in an outing.

Sweets win at home, finish season on road

The Sweets wrapped up the home portion of their 2012 schedule with a 7-3 victory over Kelowna on Sunday night. Walla Walla will now finish its season with four games in Bellingham.

Now for some notes from around the ballpark:

- The Sweets are now 22-28 thanks to the victory on Sunday.

- Walla Walla finished above .500 at home for the first time in team history, finishing 14-13.

- The Sweets now face Bellingham for four games. The Sweets and Bells split four games in Walla Walla.

- J.J. Robinson earned his first win of the summer, allowing just one run on five hits over seven innings. He walked five and struck out five. His start is the longest outing for a Sweets starting pitcher against Kelowna this summer.

- Ben Ruff went 4-for-4 with two runs scored batting ninth for the Sweets. It is his first four-hit game of the summer.

- Brett Jacobs extended his hitting streak to six games with a three-run home run in the seventh inning. The home run is the first of the summer for Jacobs. He now has 23 RBI on the season.

- Alex Bonczyk had two hits and drove in three runs. He now has 22 RBI and 21 runs scored on the season, becoming the first player in team history to accomplish that feat. 

- Both Simon Anderson and Joe Arlt were able to escape jams with double plays in the final two innings. A line drive to first turned into an inning-ending double play in the ninth.

- Matt Imhof will start on Monday after missing his start on Saturday. He will be in search of his first win of the summer.

- Bellingham has already clinched a playoff berth and will face Wenatchee in the East Division Championship Round. Wenatchee's magic number is 1 to clinch another East Division title.

Sweets blanked by Falcons

The Sweets were shutout for the sixth time this season on Saturday night, falling to Kelowna, 5-0.

Now for some notes from around the ballpark:

- The Sweets fell to 21-28 with the loss. They are 2-5 against Kelowna this year.

- Cale Coshow tossed eight scoreless innings, allowing six hits, to earn his third victory of the summer. In two starts against the Sweets this summer, Coshow has not allowed a run in 14 innings.

- Garrett Tygerson started for the Sweets and allowed four runs on six hits over five innings. He fell to 0-3.

- Connor Lawhead pitched the final four innings, allowing one run on just two hits. He struck out three and retired the side in order in three of his four innings.

- Brett Jacobs had two hits for the third-straight game. He has hits in each of his last five games and was named the Abajian Toyota/Scion Player of the Week.

- Jacobs is hitting .299 with a team-high 11 doubles. 

- The Sweets are now 13-13 at home this season. They have not finished above .500 at home in franchise history.

- J.J. Robinson will make his first start of the summer on Sunday. He has made two relief appearances this summer. 

- Ben Ruff has played each of the last two nights with Shane Zeile resting. It is Ruff's first two games at short this summer.