Roster Chaos!

As you undoubtedly know by now (hat tip USSM), the M's have purchased the contract of lefty reliever Eric O'Flaherty from Tacoma. The Walla Walla native takes the last open 40 man spot, and Greg Dobbs has been sent back to Tacoma to make room on the 25 man roster. Another move will be needed in a few days when Richie Sexson comes back from bereavement leave - sorry Mr. Morse, but you're quite used to this by now.

That means the M's have a 13 man pitching staff for a day. Tomorrow, the M's are expected to welcome Chris Snelling back to the team, a move which will necessitate dropping one of the pitchers. What do you think? Pineiro DFAd- which is probably the correct call, but it takes some balls, esp. when Hargrove and Chaves may want to tinker with Pineiro a bit more - or Sean Green demoted? I've been a big Sean Green guy, and he's done yeoman's work as the righty long reliever, and he hasn't really done anything to deserve heading south, but I can see Bavasi making this low-risk, 'safe' move.

All the moves at the MLB level of late have played havoc with the Rainiers roster too. They had a 13 man staff for a while a week or so ago when Emiliano Fruto returned to the team in Omaha. At present, their new left fielder is Kevin Reynolds, a guy they drafted in the 42nd round last year. Reynolds seems to be a designated roster filler for just these situations, as he has played in AA, high A, low A and short season leagues this year. You may remember him from his 2/5 night for Everett versus Boise on Monday. With this move, he's played at every level except rookie league and the majors. He's 1 for 1, incidentally... He got off the bench when 1B Roberto Petagine (remember him?) was taken out, leading to even more speculation at USSM.

The Rainiers split a double-header this afternoon, winning the first game 4-2 thanks to a nice start from Bobby Livingston who went 6IP giving up 2R (1 earned, on a HR to lead off the 7th). The hitting star was either Jon Nelson, who continued his hot streak by going 2/3 with a HR, or Jose Morban who was 3/3 with a 2B and 3B. Sadly, Nelson went 0-3 and left 5 runners stranded (and hit into a killer DP) in the nightcap, and the Rainiers lost 6-3. Morban kept going, though, hitting a HR and going 2/3. Jose's been hot since returning from rehab, which helps the offense, as Jeff Clement is still cold.
The Rainiers were undone by a 4 run sixth, which featured the 'relief' efforts of Justin Huisman and Mike Flannery. Huisman gave up three hits and a walk in the inning, and was replaced by Flannery who promptly walked the first three batters he saw, allowing 2 inherited runners to score. One of his few strikes was a foul ball that hit Rob Johnson's wrist, forcing him to leave the game. Good times.

Anyway, we now have a reason to watch tonight's M's game besides morbid amusement.