Actor James Denton, known best for his role on ABC's Desperate Housewives, has become part owner in the minor league Fullerton Flyers Professional Baseball Club in California. As reported by METRO in the United Kingdom:

He admits to People magazine: "I have an acting job to support my baseball habit. It's been a childhood dream of mine to own my own ball club and when presented with the chance, I couldn't say no."

James is only part owner of the team and it is not known how much input he will have in the daily life of the players and staff.

In his first year at Baseball Prospectus, Kevin Goldstein combined his eye for talent, his broad network of sources and his unique blend of skill analysis and performance analysis to bring minor-league coverage to BP. Now, he synthesizes that information into a complete ranking of the top 100 prospects in the game.

Consider...In the top 25:

• The Devil Rays have four players.
• The Yankees have two players,
• The Royals have two players, as well.

Which club has the best prospect in the game? Read Top 100 Prospects on Baseball Prospectus and find out.

Maury Brown's interview with Branch Rickey III is now online at Baseball Prospectus. Rickey is the grandson of Branch Rickey, Sr. and now serves as the president of the Pacific Coast League.

Topics include his earliest baseball memories, his time as Business Manager of Kingsport Pirates of the Appalachian League, his time in the Peace Corps, the successes and challenges during his tenure as Pacific Coast League president; the plans for the future for the PCL, and much more. Here is an excerpt:

BP: What do you see as some near-term goals for the PCL?

Rickey: The near-term and the far-term are married, and they're both the same thing, which is successful, stable operation. We've seen such a renaissance in recent years of breaking attendance, almost every year, our attendances are going higher and higher and that's due to some wonderful new facilities, and some wonderful improvements in operation. The thing that you want more than anything else is to be able to successfully provide this magnificent product--live, professional, Triple-A baseball--to the marketplace that your team is in, and the fact that fans are coming out to this as never before is I think a very positive reflection of how well we are reading what the fans enjoy, and how well we’re doing that.
 

Monday, I will be publishing my interview with Pacific Coast League president, Branch Rickey III.

If the name looks familiar, it should, Rickey III is the grandson of the great Branch Rickey who signed Jackie Robinson which broke the color barrier.

Look for the interview Monday on Baseball Prospectus.

Texas Rangers General Manager Jon Daniels announced today that they have set the 2007 coaching staffs for the all minor league affiliates of the organization. The coaching assignments for the Texas affiliates in 2007 are as follows:

Oklahoma (AAA):

Bobby Jones, Manager
Andy Hawkins, Pitching Coach 
Randy Whisler, Coach
Lee Slagle, Trainer 
   
Frisco (AA):

Dave Anderson, Manager

Terry Clark, Pitching Coach
Scott Coolbaugh, Coach
Jason Roberts, Trainer
   
Bakersfield (A):

Carlos Subero, Manager
Mike Anderson, Pitching Coach 
Brant Brown, Coach 
Eddie Tamez, Trainer 
  
Clinton (A):

Mike Micucci, Manager 
Danny Clark, Pitching Coach 
Brian Dayette, Coach  
Jeff Bodenhammer, Trainer 
  
Spokane (Short-Season A):

Andy Fox, Manager

TBA, Pitching Coach
Hector Ortiz, Coach
Jacob Newburn, Trainer
     
Arizona (Rookie):

Pedro Lopez, Manager
Keith Comstock, Pitching Coach
Paul Herfurth, Coach

TBA, Trainer

The Bowie Baysox, Class AA Affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, will be featured on an upcoming episode of the hit Discovery Channel Show “Dirty Jobs".  The show has been scheduled to air on The Discovery Channel on Tuesday, January 30th at 9:00 pm.

"Dirty Jobs" host and Baltimore native Mike Rowe was put to the test by the Baysox on Friday, August 25, 2006 as the Bowie Baysox hosted the New Hampshire Fisher Cats in a double header. Discovery Channel's #1 rated show, "Dirty Jobs," cast and crew spent nearly 14 hours at Prince George’s Stadium capturing all of the action for this episode.

Show host Mike Rowe will be seen doing a variety of different jobs including; mowing the outfield grass, assisting the Grounds Crew in preparing the infield dirt and warning track for play, washing players uniforms and cleaning their shoes, learning the basics of stealing bases, learning the art of hitting a baseball in the batting cages from Baysox Hitting Coach Moe Hill and even singing the National Anthem.  Rowe’s 14-hour day with the Baysox was capped off with a well earned and relaxing dip in the clubhouse whirlpool.  All of Rowe’s grueling tasks will come to fruition in an episode titled "Well Digger" on Tuesday, January 30th. 

The Baysox segment will run for approximately two-thirds of the all-new hour long episode, with the other parts consisting of Rowe drilling a water well in Tennessee and a short mailbag segment.

"This type of national exposure is certainly a big deal for the Baysox and the city of Bowie" said Brian Shallcross, Baysox General Manager.  "We want to thank the Discovery Channel and the crew for featuring us on their show, and we are excited to see what the episode will consist of.  We are counting down the days until the 30th." 

This is the second time the Baysox have been featured on a cable television show.  In May 2004, the Baysox were featured by NBC Today's weatherman Al Roker for his show on the Food Network show, "Roker on the Road."

The Bowie Baysox will begin their 15th season as the Class AA Affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday, April 12th at 7:05 pm versus the Akron Aeros at Prince George’s Stadium in Bowie, MD.  Season and Partial Season Ticket Packages are now available for the 2007 season and start at just $66.  Fans can log on to the Baysox official website at www.baysox.com or call (301) 805-6000 for all Baysox news and ticket information. 

George Sisler Jr., a former president of the International League and executive of three minor league baseball teams, has died. He was 89.

Sisler Jr. was the son of George Sisler, the Hall of Famer.

As the AP reports :

Sisler was general manager of the Columbus Red Birds, Rochester Red Wings and Columbus Clippers. He was president of the International League from 1966-76 and served as vice president after he retired from the Clippers in 1989.

While with the Clippers, the team won league championships in 1979, 1980, 1981 and 1987 and Western Division titles in 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983 and 1984. He was a four-time winner of the IL Executive of the Year.

The Paul "Dizzy" Trout Award is an ambassador award for excellence and commitment to the game of baseball. Past winners have included White Sox executive Roland Hemond, pitcher/broadcaster Steve Stone and White Sox organist Nancy Faust.

Vonachen was nominated for the Trout Award by Roland Hemond and selected by the entire Pitch and Hit Club which consists of more than 150 members. The main requirement for the award is a long and outstanding contribution to the game of baseball. Pete joins his son, Rocky, as Pitch and Hit Club Award recipients. Rocky, the Chiefs president, was named Minor League Executive of the Year in 2002 after the Chiefs moved downtown to O'Brien Field and won their first Midwest League title.

Former Mariners infielder becomes third Portland manager as Padres affiliate

For immediate release: Dec. 1, 2006

PORTLAND, Ore. — The San Diego Padres today announced that Rick Renteria has been named manager of the Portland Beavers for the 2007 season. Padres Vice President/Scouting and Player Development Grady Fuson made the announcement.

Renteria, 44, joins the Beavers after managing Class A Lake Elsinore in the Padres system for the past three seasons and will mark his fifth year in the organization in 2007.

“It’s great to have this opportunity to manage in Portland,” Renteria said. “I’ve had a lot of these players at the lower level, where they’re trying to find out who they are. No matter what level, though, it’s still a game, and I’m looking forward to working with the players in Portland.”

Renteria joined the Padres organization as the hitting coach at Lake Elsinore in 2003. After taking over as the team’s manager for the 2004 season, he compiled a 212-206 (.507) record over three seasons (2004-06) with the Storm. Under Renteria, the Storm claimed the second-half title in the California League’s South Division in 2006 and advanced to the division finals.

In seven seasons as a minor league manager, Renteria has compiled a 481-497 (.492) record. He becomes the third manager in the Beavers’ seven seasons (including 2007) as the Triple-A affiliate of the Padres, following Rick Sweet, who managed the club from 2001-03, and Craig Colbert, who led the team from 2004-06 before accepting a position as San Diego’s major league bench coach recently.

Prior to joining the Padres, Renteria spent four seasons as a manager in the Florida Marlins system. He managed the 2000-01 seasons with Florida’s Class AA Portland (Maine) affiliate, guiding the Sea Dogs to a 148-135 (.523) record over the two campaigns. In 1999, he was named the Midwest League Manager of the Year with the Marlins’ Class A Kane County affiliate, leading the club to a league-best 78-59 record. He began his managerial career in 1998 with Class A Brevard County, where he became the first former Marlins player to join the organization as a manager.

A first-round selection (20th overall) of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1980 draft, Renteria batted .237 with 20 doubles, four home runs and 41 RBIs in 184 career major leagues games played with Pittsburgh (1986), Seattle (1987-88) and Florida (1993-94). He also played two seasons for Jalisco of the Mexican League, where he won the league batting title (.442) in 1991 and was named the league’s Player of the Year. Renteria also spent time in the Detroit Tigers and Montreal Expos organizations.

Renteria resides in Temecula, Calif., with his wife, Ilene. The couple has three sons and one daughter.

As previously announced, hitting coach Jose Castro, pitching coach Gary Lance and athletic trainer Will Sinon will return to Portland to round out Renteria’s 2007 field staff.

We're not making this up...

Nick Lachey, the oft seen tabloid magazine cover boy, and former husband of Jessica Simpson will become part owner of the AAA Tacoma Rainers. Lachey is part of a new ownership group for the Seattle Mariners affiliate and was introduced today in Tacoma. As reported in the News Tribune:

Nick Lachey, who appeared with ex-wife Jessica Simpson in the couple’s “Newlyweds” reality show on MTV, will be a part of the Rainiers’ ownership group, Schlegel Sports Group, spearheaded by Kirby Schlegel of Dallas.

Principal figures of the new ownership group, including Lachey, will be introduced to a group of 100 civic leaders, local business people and holdover season-ticket holders of the Triple-A baseball team today at the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center.

It will be ownership’s first public appearance since the agreement to purchase the Rainiers from George and Sue Foster in July. The sale has since been approved by various sanctioning bodies, including the Pacific Coast League, late last month.

Lachey, a native of Harlan, Ky., was a member of the pop-music boy band 98 Degrees in the mid-1990s and has since flourished as a solo artist. He was nominated in the favorite pop/rock male artist category at the 2006 American Music Awards.