We’re blushing.

A few weeks back, I posted that Erin Nicks of “The Universal Cynic“, or TUC, had gone MIA. The blog reappeared a short while ago, and I had a nice exchange of email with her after asking to be an “invited reader”.

You’ll recall that this blog fell for Ms. Nicks, hook, line and sinker as a result of her article which appeared in the Sun in September of last year.

This quote from her blog - “No matter what anyone says, I will continue to support the Lynx for as long as they are here. Ray Pecor is a quality owner with the patience of a saint” - made me waive the customary two year waiting period; induction into the “Friends of the Lynx” section of the blog was immediately conferred.

Since her induction, I’ve followed TUC and developed a real appreciation for the content and her sense of humor and writing style - conveying sarcasm is extremely difficult to pull off, yet she manages time and time again. I’ve also stolen several links from her (the Jonathan Toews verbal indiscretion, cough, comes to mind). So you get the picture where we’re coming from here. We’re thoroughly impressed.

To say I’m “pleasantly surprised” to see this post about ottawalynx.blogspot on her blog, is a complete understatement. I’m floored.

From the post:

Anyone who’s been reading the columns for some time knows that the Ottawa Lynx are my pet cause. Their ticket prices are more than reasonable, they provide quality entertainment in a decent ballpark, they market like mad and their PR and front office are some of the best that I’ve dealt with in the city. In spite of that, the majority of Ottawa (and local media) treats them like something a politician scrapes off the bottom of their shoes.

Sigh.

Ahem… welcome TUC readers! It’s going to be a great season around here.

Only 47 more days until OD, and 21 more profiles (give or take a few).

Courtesy of beerleaguer:

The 27-year-old right-hander spent most of 2006 with Double-A Altoona (Pirates) and became a six-year minor league free agent after the season. The signing was reported in Baseball America’s transaction update.

Jacobsen, a 6-3, 220-pound former 50th round pick, went 14-9 with a 3.21 ERA, 80/55 K/BB in 26 games, earning the club’s Co-pitcher of the Year honor. His 14 wins were good enough for second in the in Eastern League, and his 30 career wins are the most in Curve franchise history. He also made two starts for Triple-A Indianapolis last season, going 0-1 with a 10.80 ERA.

Jacobsen figures to anchor the Phillies Double-A staff, and is pitching this winter with Caracas of the Venezuelan Winter League. In seven minor league seasons, he’s 60-48 with a 3.25 ERA.

Phuture Phillies has a little bit more information here.

My apologies. This “profile” is so thin it’s near non-existent.

Just a quick note about some recent acquisitions via the Independent leagues.

From scout.com:

The inaugural tryout camp for independent league players has brought two new pitchers to the Phillies. Plus, there could be more help from the independent ranks on the way.

Both pitchers will report to minor league camp beginning on Thursday and will be assigned out of camp. The Phillies didn’t speculate on where they would be assigned.

There’s an interesting history of independent league baseball over at the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball’s website.

“In the fall of 2005 the possibility of a revival of the American Association was discussed. Teams from two independent leagues, the Northern League and the Central League proposed coming together to form a “super” independent league. Two of the cities in the discussions, St. Paul and Ft. Worth, had been members of the old American Association, and the geography was similar to that of original league. With the history and precedent set by its namesake, the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball Leagues was formed on October 11, 2005. The expectations were strong for the new league, and the name “American Association” was again part of the great history of professional baseball.”

In their “News Releases” section, they headline recent players who’ve had their contracts purchased by an MLB organization and a list of the 47 players currently in MLB camps who have played in one of the Independent leagues. It’s not hard to pick up on their (justifiable) pride - it’s also noteworthy that for the most part, they capitalize the “I” in “Independent”, while most of the MLB literature uses the lower case when referring to Independent baseball.

Chris, I’ve failed you as a blogger. All I can find, beyond your stats, is that you were the winner of the “Charlie Wagner Unsung Hero award” in 2006 - the last man who will ever receive it personally from Mr. Wagner, and this short Q+A with Mike Drago of the Reading Phillies.

“The Phillies have been busy loading up on minor league veterans, and I see several of those guys spilling back to Reading this season.

“For the first time in a while, the Phillies have some depth in the upper minors. It’s older guys, not prospects who have come up through the system, but at least they won’t have to be trolling the indy leagues on a regular basis like in the last few seasons.”"

Carrying on now, we continue our look at prospective Lynx pitchers. Today’s profile is of Brian Mazone. My preference is to post information that is positive and more than just stats - you can find stats just about anywhere and I don’t think it gives you a true sense, or any sense of the person. Unfortunately, much of what’s “out there” is rotisserie league type analysis, which gives little insight but lots of dismissive, arrogant critique (e.g. “the guy’s a nothing”, “minor league fodder”). I promise you: You’ll never see that kind of stuff here. Ever. I see these Lynx players as professionals, with clear, laudable goals: bettering themselves and trying to fulfill their dreams. And these goals aren’t achieved without their share of sacrifice and self-doubt; clearly, for some guys, their dreams of playing in the big leagues are never realized. But for as long as they play, they’ve still got a chance. Which is why we cheer them on.

This is all we need to know about Brian Mazone:

Mazone spent most of his first seven years in the minors – he was injured and didn’t pitch in 2001 – in independent ball.

“If I told you how many times I thought about quitting you wouldn’t believe me,” he said, “but I always knew in my heart that I was good enough to get there (to the big leagues). I knew I had the stuff, I knew I worked hard, but the frustrating part of playing independent ball is that you can put up all the numbers you want, but somebody out there’s got to give you the opportunity.”

I commend the rest of the article to you. The author of the piece, Tony Zonca of the Reading Phillies, does great work. I know if I find something he’s written, my task is 99% complete - he pretty much “says it all”. I just wish the Lynx had a journalist covering the team with the same passion and skill; Mr. Zonca tells the stories that need to be told, from a very personal perspective which is all too often ignored.

Tomorrow’s pitching profile will be on Brian Mazone - providing I can find information in the meantime. In case anyone is wondering - I usually start my player/information searches on Google. If I haven’t found anything there after three or four pages, I move on to scout.com. After that, if I’m still empty handed, desperation sets in and I go back to Google and try to refine the searches.

For the last month and a half, I’ve always had high hopes for the weekends: they’re supposed to be my “high output” days where I have the opportunity to post stuff I haven’t got to during the week. Like these images from Spring Training, and articles from over at the Baron’s Corner:

**When Jamie Moyer threw BP yesterday, every pitch was from the stretch. “I always work from the stretch early in spring training. The most important pitches I have to make in a game are from the stretch.” Moyer is dynamite as an unofficial instructor. Young pitchers can learn a lot.

And then there’s this blog that I’d missed, which offered up this bit of speculation (a little more informed, but speculation nonetheless):

Later, the outfielders ran in a tandem formation that seemed to indicate a pecking order. The first two pairs were Pat Burrell/Aaron Rowand and Shane Victorino/Jayson Werth. Karim Garcia, vying for a spot with Dobbs, ran solo. Dobbs was paired with Michael Bourn, who probably will open the season with triple-A Ottawa. Behind them were minor leaguers Chris Roberson, Ron Calloway, Greg Golson and Lou Collier.

Of course, none of that may mean anything. But, for now, Dobbs may want to buy some warm clothes. Ottawa is still cold in April.

So, there’s a ton of stuff out there, just begging to be parsed and posted but the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. Weekends it seems, are every bit as busy as Monday through Friday. Not that I have it terribly rough - by contrast I’m betting that for the people at the Lynx front office, now through September is an absolutely crazy time, all day, every day. Travel arrangements, promotional arrangements/scheduling, new players coming in (which must be a logistical nightmare all on its own - uniforms, accomodations, orientation), players heading out, media requests, handling finances, ensuring no player or fan dies of exposure (okay, that’s unresolved biterness) and (shudder) dealing with the public. And that’s probably just the tip of the iceberg.

I’ll shut-up and get back to the blog.

I’ve not been able to find a great deal on Heath, beyond his statistics. Beerleeaguer’s got a report from early February:

The former fifth-round pick pitched with Double-A Jacksonville last season, going 8-5 with a 3.29 ERA. He became a free agent after spending seven years in the Dodgers’ organization.

The 6-3, 210-pound Texan spent the winter in Venezuela, going 6-2 with a 2.74 ERA over 62 1-3 innings, then struggled in the round robin. In seven minor league seasons, he’s 55-55 with a 4.26 ERA and 572/160 K/BB ratio, almost entirely as a starter.

With a mere 51 days until Opening Day, we begin our look at the prospective 2007 Lynx pitching staff. Unfortunately, we begin on a sour note - Yoel Hernandez was optioned to Ottawa a few days ago - likely due to tendinitis in his shoulder. From Scout.com:

Yoel Hernandez was waiting for a shot with the Phillies, but always seemed to be overlooked. Now, after a lost season at Triple-A, Hernandez is just trying to get healthy and back on track.

Projection: Hernandez seemed to have a bright future and would have been a lead candidate for a bullpen spot out of camp this spring had he not gotten hurt. Instead, he’s going to have to get himself healthy and then prove that he can stay that way and return to his successful form. Hernandez turns 27 in April, so he’s at a point where the clock is ticking pretty loudly on his career. He’ll start the season at Triple-A Ottawa and look for an opportunity late in the season or possibly before if there is an injury in the Phillies bullpen and he’s healthy and pitching well.

Looking back to 2005, Hernandez was the SWB pitcher of the year, after starting the year rehabbing a sore elbow in Clearwater. While he struggled in Clearwater, the elbow appeared to have healed so he was moved on to Reading for nine starts, and then to SWB for the remainder of the year. Hopefully he’ll have another successful rehab (this time in Ottawa) and then get his shot at the Phillies bullpen.

A couple people have emailed to suggest that I missed Jason. He’s actually been mentioned on the blog here, and here. But in fairness, it would probably be giving him short shrift to confine his profile to those posts.

Phuturephillies offers his assessment here, and from scout.com (May 06):

Jason Jaramillo was settling in to his surroundings at AA Reading until he suffered a right hand contusion and wound up on the DL. The injury has turned out to be much worse than originally thought, but the R-Phils are hoping that Jaramillo could return to action before too long. He suffered the injury on May 6th and hasn’t started a game behind the plate since then. The original MRI showed no structural damage, but the Phillies are continuing to monitor Jaramillo and brought him to Philly for another MRI this week, but haven’t released the results. The fear is that there is a fracture in either his hand or wrist that will certainly slow his season, which would be very unfortunate for both Jaramillo and the Phillies.

The key is for Jaramillo to get healthy and return to action as soon as possible. Since he skipped a level, the Phillies don’t want him to miss too much time and he’s missed almost a month of regular at bats already.