Sorry, last post for today. I’m still trying to get the Talk Ottawa stuff up. The problem is the size of the file - Youtube restricts uploads to 100MB - the file, even at a reduced quality is 286MB. I’ve been trying to split it into thirds and then upload, but this requires the one commodity I don’t have - time.

Sooooo, if anybody absolutely needs to have it before the weekend, I’ve got the program burned to DVD, just drop me an email.

The other option I’ve looked at is Google’s video service - they say they allow files in excess of 100 megs, but I can’t get the freakin’ thing to work (i.e. first turn off your firewall, then disable popup blockers, then reload software, confirm password,….). If anyone’s got suggestions, or alternative video hosting websites, please let me know.

Sorry, last post for today. I’m still trying to get the Talk Ottawa stuff up. The problem is the size of the file - Youtube restricts uploads to 100MB - the file, even at a reduced quality is 286MB. I’ve been trying to split it into thirds and then upload, but this requires the one commodity I don’t have - time.

Sooooo, if anybody absolutely needs to have it before the weekend, I’ve got the program burned to DVD, just drop me an email.

The other option I’ve looked at is Google’s video service - they say they allow files in excess of 100 megs, but I can’t get the freakin’ thing to work (i.e. first turn off your firewall, then disable popup blockers, then reload software, confirm password,….). If anyone’s got suggestions, or alternative video hosting websites, please let me know.

In light of this article in today’s Ottawa Citizen, somehow I don’t think I’ll be getting a copy of the lease agreement before Election Day. Granted, when it comes to the LRT deal, the stakes are somewhat higher for taxpayers, but it seems like document release may be a little slow over at City Hall – the Citizen’s been asking for the LRT information since August.

And then there’s this in this week’s Ottawa Business Journal . First off, let me be clear: I’m not a conspiracy theorist. I don’t think the mob assassinated JFK. On the other hand, I do believe the Americans landed on the moon. Sometimes, the facts are what they are, and things are just as they appear. The Christmas presents under the tree? Santa Claus. Don’t even go there….

But back to the matter at hand, and I think its worth some thought - it appears that some people believe that the land where the stadium sits on Coventry Road could be quite valuable. So, I’m presuming someone down at City Hall has done the math:

Annual rent from the Lynx …………………….. $X
Annual parking revenue…………………………. $Y
Total $X+Y

vs.

Sale of lands at Coventry Road………………….$Z

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not arguing that this is some long, well thought out City scheme to destroy the Lynx – mostly because it’s an oxymoron; the council as it’s currently constituted and the bureaucracy are incapable of a well thought out anything – but also because I just don’t believe it. And as the article notes, another “factor that makes it difficult to predict the facility’s fate is its ownership by the city. “The city might not necessarily do things for best use,” Mr. Wolfgram said. “Maybe it will sit empty, like Lansdowne Park.” I think that’s a very diplomatic way of saying, “sometimes the City does things which defy common sense”.

What do I know? Sweet diddly.

I’m just sayin’.

A few familiar faces won’t be back when Norfolk comes to town.

“According to The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Orioles coach Rick Dempsey will be moved from first base to the Orioles’ bullpen and Tom Trebelhorn will take over Lee Elia’s bench-coach duties for 2007. Dave Trembley, who managed the organization’s Triple-A team last year, will also be named to the Orioles’ staff as major-league field coordinator. Both batting-practice pitcher Orlando Gomez and bullpen coach Larry McCall will be reassigned, with McCall likely becoming Triple-A Norfolk’s pitching coach. The Orioles also have promoted minor-league strength and conditioning coordinator Jay Shiner to replace Tim Bishop, who resigned after 16 seasons with the club.” (Link to story is here.)

In light of this article in today’s Ottawa Citizen, somehow I don’t think I’ll be getting a copy of the lease agreement before Election Day. Granted, when it comes to the LRT deal, the stakes are somewhat higher for taxpayers, but it seems like document release may be a little slow over at City Hall – the Citizen’s been asking for the LRT information since August.

And then there’s this in this week’s Ottawa Business Journal . First off, let me be clear: I’m not a conspiracy theorist. I don’t think the mob assassinated JFK. On the other hand, I do believe the Americans landed on the moon. Sometimes, the facts are what they are, and things are just as they appear. The Christmas presents under the tree? Santa Claus. Don’t even go there….

But back to the matter at hand, and I think its worth some thought - it appears that some people believe that the land where the stadium sits on Coventry Road could be quite valuable. So, I’m presuming someone down at City Hall has done the math:

Annual rent from the Lynx …………………….. $X
Annual parking revenue…………………………. $Y
Total $X+Y

vs.

Sale of lands at Coventry Road………………….$Z

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not arguing that this is some long, well thought out City scheme to destroy the Lynx – mostly because it’s an oxymoron; the council as it’s currently constituted and the bureaucracy are incapable of a well thought out anything – but also because I just don’t believe it. And as the article notes, another “factor that makes it difficult to predict the facility’s fate is its ownership by the city. “The city might not necessarily do things for best use,” Mr. Wolfgram said. “Maybe it will sit empty, like Lansdowne Park.” I think that’s a very diplomatic way of saying, “sometimes the City does things which defy common sense”.

What do I know? Sweet diddly.

I’m just sayin’.

A few familiar faces won’t be back when Norfolk comes to town.

“According to The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Orioles coach Rick Dempsey will be moved from first base to the Orioles’ bullpen and Tom Trebelhorn will take over Lee Elia’s bench-coach duties for 2007. Dave Trembley, who managed the organization’s Triple-A team last year, will also be named to the Orioles’ staff as major-league field coordinator. Both batting-practice pitcher Orlando Gomez and bullpen coach Larry McCall will be reassigned, with McCall likely becoming Triple-A Norfolk’s pitching coach. The Orioles also have promoted minor-league strength and conditioning coordinator Jay Shiner to replace Tim Bishop, who resigned after 16 seasons with the club.” (Link to story is here.)

Here’s the list of Lynx players who were declared free agents following the ‘06 season:

C Raul Chavez
C Sandy Madera
C Brandon Marsters
C Franklin Tua
1B Leo Daigle
1B Mario Delgado
1B Andy Tracy
2B Brooks Badeaux
2B Bobby Scales
3B Napoleon Calzado
3B Tripper Johnson
3B Pete Maestrales
SS Ryner Bautista
SS Angel Chavez
SS Eddy Garabito
SS Pete Shier
OF Quincy Ascencion
OF Todd Donovan
OF Noah Hall
OF Keith Reed
RHP Brian Bowles
RHP Matt Bruback
RHP Tim Kester
RHP Julio Manon
RHP Chris Piersoll
RHP Luis Ramirez
RHP Eddy Rodriguez
LHP Tim Byrdak
LHP Brian Forystek
LHP Franklyn Gracesqui
LHP Jason Pearson
LHP Scott Rice

Full disclosure: Just in case people are just joining us - I love baseball, but I’m about as far as you can get from being an authority on the subject. Translation: I don’t know whether I shouldn’t be surprised by any of the names on that list or not. Having said that, I’m surprised that Baltimore wouldn’t work to prevent a guy like Keith Reed from becoming an FA - speed, good glove, decent arm. He hit .279 and was second only to Terrero in slugging (.441). And again, as a layperson, I would hope that they at least struggled with the decision to let Eddy Rodriguez go. I know the miniscule ERA didn’t hold at the big league level, but man, a 1.71 ERA with hitters averaging only .191 against him.

(Stats source can be found here.)

The Phillies list is even longer:

C John Castellano
C Dusty Wathan
C Jeff Winchester
1B Gary Burnham
1B Brandon Gemoll
1B Randall Simon
2B Carlos Leon
3B Brennan King
SS Avelino Asprilla
SS Jonathan Johnson
SS Jesus Merchan
SS Juan Sosa
OF Peter Bergeron
OF Ryan Fleming
OF Gary Harris
OF Josh Kroeger
OF Matt Padgett
OF Brian Sellier
OF Pedro Swann
RHP Ryan Cameron
RHP Jeremy Cummings
RHP Daniel Giese
RHP Talley Haines
RHP Nick Mattioni
RHP Tim McClaskey
RHP Travis Minix
RHP Brian Reed
RHP Ben Shaffar
RHP John Stephens
LHP Jim Crowell
LHP Allen Davis
LHP Luke Lockwood
LHP Matt White

And I’m even less qualified to talk about these guys. Minix was one of the few names I did recognize - Scout.com had him at #50 in the top 50 prospects in the Phillies organization and had this to say:

There’s a lot to like about Minix’ numbers from 2006. He was tough on both right-handers and left-handers (lefties hit .246, righties .231 against him), but he didn’t get a lot of innings pitched for the amount of games that he was in. He pitched more than one inning in just 12 of his 40 games and pitched less than a full inning in 10 games.

The bad news in his numbers comes when runners are in scoring position, which is a fatal flaw. With runners in scoring position, opponents hit .309 against Minix and with runners in scoring position and two outs, they hit .292 against him. Those are numbers that could be a bit scary for a right-handed reliever.

Analysis: When Minix joined the organization just prior to the 2005 season, he was happy to be out of the Devil Rays’ organization where it seemed he was constantly being overlooked. Now, having posted a two-season mark of 3-4, 2.21 with 11 saves with the Phillies, Minix again appears to have been somewhat overlooked. His future could be elsewhere if he hits minor league free agency.