Sorry about the recent lack of posting; one of the kids is sick and quite frankly, there hasn’t been a whole lot to blog on.

Having said that, you’ve got just a few more days to enter the blog contest - winners will be notified next Friday (January 5, 2007).

Speaking of the independent leagues (Doh!!!) over at Beerleaguer there’s this brief note:

No shortage of independent league graduates

“Where would the Phillies’ farm system be without the indie leagues?” asks Beerleaguer senior correspondent Martin Smith. “I’m sure I’m missing some, but here are the guys looking for Ottawa playing time who spent time in indie ball: Victor Hall; Brian Mazone; Jim Crowell; Kane Davis; Jeff Farnsworth; Jim Rushford; Pedro Swann; Gary Burnham; Evan Tartagia; Charlie Weatherby; Greg
Jacobs; Allen Davis; Tim McClaskey; Nick Mattioni. That’s a large number.”

In completely unrelated news, I hit a patch of bare pavement while skiing this morning (just a dusting of snow beneath the underpass near Mackenzie King Estate), and did a little pavement surfing before falling. Felt like I broke every bone in my body.

Must.
Lie.
Down.

This brand new blog brings some very Phillies minor league analysis to the table - analysis far beyond yours truly. I hope he keeps up with his blog.

Definitely worth watching….

Good thing we got the XBox for Christmas. I’d have been upset if I destroyed my son’s baseball career before it even took flight.

Suffice it to say, I survived the XBox 360 “issue” - I actually did quite a bit better than I expected; she was very supportive of the deal! (which shows you how much I know about women).

Here’s a belated Christmas gift: a Youtube video showcasing Curtis Pride. I remember the buzz surrounding Curtis back in 1993 (check out the crowds BTW) - he was the “feel good” story of the team in their inaugural season. To his great credit, people soon forgot about his deafness; the man could play ball. I remember not being able to remember if it was Cliff Floyd or Curtis Pride who was deaf - they were both just so good, and the hearing impairment became a footnote.

Curtis Pride runs a foundation, Together With Pride “who’s mission is to support and create programs for hearing impaired children that focus on the importance of education and the learning of life skills along with promoting a positive self esteem. “

1993 Curtis Pride

It’s just shy of 7 a.m. and the kids and Doris are still sleeping. I should have the chance to finish my coffee, hop on the bike for two hours and take a shower before they even make signs of waking - clearly my children are not normal. My older brother and I used to be up before dawn - literally. We both delivered the Globe and Mail, and it didn’t stop for Christmas day. I remember getting back to the house and everyone was still asleep; my parents would usually get up around 7 and then we’d get to open gifts before going to church.

With my limited blogging time today, I thought I’d use this window of opportunity to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! (Next week I’ll be able to say that pitchers and catchers report NEXT month!)

Don’t forget to enter the blog contest - you’ve got about 11 entries left! (email to lynxblogcontest@hotmail.com - winners names will NOT be published without prior consent).

I uncovered a few more Lynx related signings yesterday. Fan favorite Ed Rogers signed a minor league deal with Boston. As many of you now know, I’m certainly no baseball analyst - what I can say about Ed Rogers though is that defensively, the man is a vacuum. Any ball hit anywhere near him had little chance of making it to the outfield. Former SWB Red Baron, Bobby Scales (who I “profiled” here also signed with Pawtucket.

The last transaction I could find yesterday involved Todd Donovan - he was signed to a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers.

Because it was there!

(and it was marginally “Lynx related”).

The big news/moves this week at the parent club level were the signing of yet another catcher, Rod Barajas and the trade of Jeff Conine.

What does this mean for the Lynx? How the heck should I know? But seriously - how the heck should I know? What they say is that it looks like Carlos Ruiz will stick with the Phillies and Barajas will back him up. If they carry a third catcher, it’s likely to be Chris Coste - which means we’ll likely see Jason Jaramillo.

As far as the Conine trade, that may open up a spot for Michael Bourn (rats!) in the outfield.

More discussion of the Conine deal can be found here, the Barajas signing with all the catcher implications is being discussed here.

Just a quick reminder: you’ve got just under two weeks to enter the blog contest. Since you’re allowed to enter once a day, you’ve got about 14 possible entries left. Just send an email to lynxblogcontest@hotmail.com - winners will be notified on January 5, 2007.

Complete details can be found here.

Last reminder - today is the last chance in 2006 to visit the Skratching Post!

About 1/2 way down the page.

For what it’s worth, the City’s promised me a decision on whether or not they’ll release the operating agreement by December 27. That only took the better part of two months. (Shakes head, sharp exhale).