Lynx line of defense

Anyone who knows us knows that we’re always late. Always. Both Saturday and Sunday we showed up in the bottom of the second inning, but we didn’t miss anything on either occasion. It’s funny that the person most infuriated by our lack of “timeliness” is Zak – he hates being late for anything he cares about.

Sal Rende, working third base.

Another nice win yesterday in even nicer weather conditions giving me the chance to continue working on my sunburn from Kids Opening Day. I’m getting more and more
impressed with John Russell’s managerial philosophy – leaving pitchers in to work out of a jam rather than bailing for the bullpen, as well as having players rotate as first base coaches on their off-days.

Coach of the future?

It was also great to see the return of the kids running the basepaths – both Zak and Bekah love getting out on the field. Bekah, still a bit of a neophyte, got a little confused at home plate and made a left turn before we could grab her. I watched as DJ, who was directing traffic at first base, stopped to talk with her (DJ’s Bekah’s all time favorite). As she prepared to run off to second, he reached over and grabbed the back of her sweater; confused, she came to a sudden stop. From my vantage point, I could see DJ feigning ignorance; she tried to run off again. Sudden stop. At this point I was laughing and fumbling for my camera. It went on for a while at first, but not long enough for me to capture the moment.

Bekah, making the rounds.

Memo to me: There are a lot of great, unscripted moments at the park. Don’t put your camera down.

Gary Burnham, taking time…

Still loving that rail….

That’s more like it. The Lynx put together a solid win against the Indians today under mostly sunny skies. Matt Childers was strong out of the gate, allowing no runs on only five hits. Ottawa’s bats were hefty enough to win the contest four runs to two. This is probably the strongest team Ottawa has fielded in several years. I always enjoy myself at Lynx Stadium but this season, well, there seems to be some extra bang for my baseball buck. Our boys in the red socks and helmets seem to never say die. They pitch well and perform all the right moves where it is needed offensively. Clutch situations are nothing to fret over, it seems, which adds to the drama and the overall excitement at the yard. I hope that the rest of the city will pay attention and come out to watch a really cool sporting event. These fellows are certainly top notch athletes. The 2007 Ottawa Lynx are off to a fine start. Let’s keep cheering them on. This team looks fine and dandy to me. I’ll surely be spending a lot of time at Lynx Stadium this year, hoping for the best. Why not?

I was joined today, over on the first base side, by my pals Michael and Jessica Crammit and their friends Jamie and Justin. Good ol’ regulars Bruce, Ryan and Tatiana showed up as well. My row was full of baseball fanciers and it felt pretty sweet. We cheered and heckled and joked and snacked. The Crammits are the ultimate champions of the ‘Obscure Heckle’. Try and follow this one: Brian Bixler plays shortstop for Indianapolis. His name kind of sounds like 1980’s Incredible Hulk alter-ego actor Bill Bixby, which sounds similar to the name of actor Bill Paxton, who Jessica often confuses with actor Bill Pullman. Therefore, whenever Mr. Bixler appeared at the plate, the bewildered fans in our section would hear the unlikely and confusing cheer: “BILL PUUULLMAN!!” Yeah, yeah. I told you it was obscure. Read on.

Gary Burnham worked as first base coach today. In his baseball uniform some say he looks a little bit like Ray Liotta’s Shoeless Joe character from the film Field of Dreams. The Crammits often confuse Ray Liotta with Cuban born actor Andy Garcia. (Huh? Okay, whatever…) So Mr. Burnham probably paid no mind to the taunts of “ANDY! Whoo! Let’s go ANDY!” as he jogged out to first. Eventually, Jessica got Gary’s attention by hollering his proper name. Mr. Burnham, a good sport, smiled and waved and hurled bubble gum in our direction. Cool! Way to go Andy! Um… I mean, Gary!

These kinds of capers tend to happen when the local Mechanicsville bohemians attend the ball game. We filled almost an entire row of the stands today with hilarious unlikely people performing hilarious unlikely shenanigans all while the Lynx performed some serious and brilliant baseball plays. What more do you want, eh?

I have rambled enough here. Please enjoy these photographs from todays victorious game:

Joe Thurston makes a sweet twin killing.

Chris Roberson gets gunned.

Lou Collier swings.

Is Dusty Wathan out? Probably…

Gary Burnham, he’s forever blowing bubbles…

Carlos Leon makes great play.

The Lynx finish their series versus the Indianapolis Indians on Monday, a getaway day matinee at 1:05 PM. Tuesday through Friday will find the Louisville Bats in town. We’ll see you there.

Click an image for a larger view. The rest of the game photos can be found here.

The weather and some tough Indians pitching rained on the Lynx parade Saturday afternoon. Indianapolis handcuffed Ottawa, allowing only three runs on their way to a 10-0 shutout. Here’s some of the soggy action:

Rajai Davis went 4 for 4. Stellar!

Action on the hot corner.

Chris Coste.

Damp but dedicated Lynx fans.

Joe Thurston.

Carlos Leon turns two.

The Lynx play the Indians Sunday and Monday, both 1:05 PM starts.

Click an image for a larger view. The rest of the game photos can be found here.

Rough day yesterday. Triple whammy for Zak - the Lynx, Blue Jays and Senators all falling to the competition. Not goin’ to dwell on that…

Doug Bird has posted his weekly Ottawa Lynx report over on PhuturePhillies; it’s certainly worth taking a look at.

Looks like we’re in for more rain today - at least it’ll be reasonably warm with a high in the mid 60s. Yesterday’s game wasn’t too bad from a fan’s perspective, but I’d certainly prefer a repeat of last week’s weather.

Finally (for now), I took great pride in the blog’s 1000th hit which took place back in November of 2006. It took the better part of three months to get to 1000. By contrast, this month alone we’ll exceed 2000 hits! An encouraging sign to be sure. Thanks for dropping by - I hope that you’re enjoying your visit to the blog.

I was going to write that this team had “swagger”, but to most people I think that implies a level of arrogance. Certainly this team has confidence, and that showed last night. I commented to Patrick last night, and with no disrespect to the 2006 iteration of the Lynx, this was a game that likely would not have been won last season. These 2007 Lynx look like the real deal. Having said that (and in fairness to the 2006 team), with the addition of the rail in front of the dugout we’re getting a much better look at the chemistry of this year’s team; being able to see the players during the entire game gives a much better sense of who this team is and what they’re about. Last night, Brian Mazone, Dusty Wathan, Gary Burnham and a few others spent almost the entire game on the top step of the dugout, occasionally shouting encouragement to John Ennis, Yoel Hernandez and Joe Bisenius. Gary in particular, seems to enjoy attempting Flying Walenda type moves, leaving his feet as he flips over the rail diving for foul balls. And how cool was it to see the bench reaction when the winning run was pushed across by Jim Rushford’s bloop single to left?

I’m digging that rail.

Not from last night, but you get the idea.

I’m no meteorologist

Clearly, my meteorological prognostications must be called into question. Like Opening Day, I didn’t think that they would get that one in last night. Word to the wise: Basically, take whatever I think is going to happen, and expect the exact opposite. And it really wasn’t that bad last night - we’ve sat through much worse (I also had the benefit of a sleeping Bekah in my lap - she kicks out enough warmth to heat the dugout). Don’t be a “girly man” - come out to the game even if it’s raining a little!

Here are today’s Environment Canada and The Weather Network forecasts - who ya’ got?

By the numbers

With the win last night, Ottawa moves to 6-1 at home - tops in the IL. Their record over the last ten games, 8-2, is also a league best. Other bits of good news: The Phillies are also picking it up, winning six of their last seven, and beating Florida last night in a similar fashion as the Lynx win over Indy. What happens in Philadelphia only interests me insofar as it’s impact on Ottawa. My hope is that as long as the Phillies keep winning, they’ll be less inclined to start picking apart the Lynx.

“A multimedia machine”

Internet radio broadcaster Dan Carle, invited me up to sit in with him during the third inning. I’m no Tony Kubek or Jerry Howarth, but man, that’s a lot of fun. It’s a lot less intimidating than I expected. Here’s a shot of Dan “Hey, wait till I fix my hair!” Carle from last night:

All of the internet broadcasts are archived here. Last night’s game is here.

Here’s Dan’s call of the winning run (edit: Dan, you’re really going to have to be a little more enthusiastic, ‘kay?)

In the spirit of “being a man”, I’m going to gut it out and go for a long pre-game ride. Catch you at 1.05!!!

A damp evening at Lynx stadium but a sunshine and lollipops kind of finish. The visiting Indianapolis Indians held the Lynx at bay for most of the game. Indianapolis kept on top 1-0 for the bulk of the contest. Some excellent pitching performances all around moved the game along quickly. It was great to have National League rules back at the park, for the first time in 5 years we watched pitchers swinging away at the plate. Indians starter John Van Benshoten threw a very solid game and notched two hits, but, unfortunately for him, didn’t get the win as the Lynx, in dramatic style, rallied against the bullpen in the bottom of the 9th. Final score Lynx 2 Indians 1.

These are somewhat blurry but please enjoy them anyway.

Starter Rick Bauer.

Brian Bixler fires to first, nails the runner.

Joe Thurston gets his man.

Joe Thurston makes another fine play.

Run down! Yurendell DeCaster gets tagged.

John Ennis - Flingin’ in the rain?

Okay, enough with the old Gene Kelly movie references. See you this weekend for a pair of afternoon games against the Indianapolis Indians.

Click on a photo for a larger view. The rest of the games images can be found here.

A quick glance at the Environment Canada radar shows the heaviest showers moving out of the area. With 2.5 hours to game time, will we get a long enough break to get the game in? I’m guessing that it won’t happen tonight, but I’m still hesitant enough that I’ll load up the kids and head out to Lynx Stadium - just in case.

Fans hoping to catch a glimpse of Eddy Garabito tonight will be disappointed - he was released by the Pittsburgh organization some time ago. I haven’t been able to find out if he was picked up by another team afterward. Lynx fans will get their first glimpse of the returning Rick Bauer, who’s slated to start tonight for the good guys. Rick last appeared in an Ottawa Lynx uniform in 2005 - making 30 appearances, 10 of those as a starter. Rick’s stats are here. Hopefully he can hit - the Indians are a National League affiliate, there’ll be no DH tonight. It will be interesting to see whether Gary Burnham will get the start at 1B over Chris Coste.

Hope to see you at the park this evening!

I’ve been far too preoccupied with potential blog format changes (and possible hosting moves) today - I was really hoping to get this done before the next homestand begins, but that doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. Hopefully, I won’t accidentally delete the 374 posts that make up the blog (and a good chunk of the last eight months of my life!) in the process…

First, the good news: It looks like they’ll get tonight’s game in. While the weather will be chilly by Ottawa standards (only 55F at game time), at least it won’t be raining. It’ll be nice for the fellas to get back to Canada for some warm weather. Second - the Sens won’t be playing tomorrow night for the first game of the homestand.

Unfortunately, it looks like it will be raining here tomorrow and on Saturday - although Saturday seems to be a bit more promising. By Monday, we’ll be back in the sunshine and the low 70s for the afternoon start. Ottawa’s next victims are the Indianapolis Indians who are in town for four games (including three consecutive 1:05 starts). Indy’s currently in first in the IL West with a record of 11-7. With an off-day today, they’ll be in town waiting for the Lynx’s return from SWB.

Roster moves

Philadelphia, who have been on a bit of a roll of late (although they fell to the Nationals this afternoon), have recalled Fabio Castro and sent down Matt Smith. Smith, 27, apparently was struggling with control and had posted an 11.25 ERA over nine innings of work. Ouch. Fabio will take his place in the bullpen - in six games with the Lynx, Fabio held opponents to a .194 average and picked up a couple of wins.

Who cares if chicks dig the long ball.

Tuesday, Brennan King hit one out as part of the 9-2 rout over SWB. The Lynx were the last team in the IL to pick up a home-run. I’ve said it before - I absolutely couldn’t care less. With a 5-1 home record, Ottawa has the best home winning percentage of all the teams in the league.

Just win baby.

Just a quick note to welcome readers from PhuturePhillies. In an effort to make things easier to find, I’ll be adding a link in the “Links” section to all of Patrick’s photos, and moving videos over to the “Instant Replay” section of the blog.

I’m also mulling over some possible design changes to the blog including a move to a web page.

You know the rest. What is it with the people in this city? I was, I believe, justifiably encouraged by the week’s results - both on the field and in the stands. Sunday was a banner day. Or was it? Most people I talked with grudgingly admitted that the crowds were good, but then attributed it to (a) the fact that the Senators weren’t playing or (b) the perfect April weather or (c) the fact that it was Kids Day or (d) a combination of any or all of the above.

Here’s my take on each point:

(a) The Sens weren’t playing. Fair enough. Perhaps this helped, and maybe not just a little. Maybe a lot. But if history has shown us anything, the Sens might only be playing for another couple of weeks. These “only if the Sens aren’t playing” fans were treated to a great game. They should be back.

(b) Perfect April summer-like weather. Again, fair enough. But it’s not like the weather gets worse after April, is it? It gets pretty “summer-like” around Ottawa in the summer!

(c) The fact that it was “Kids Day”. Reasonable conclusion. Credit the promotions people then - obviously people are buying what they’re selling.

(d) A combination of the above. A valid position and probably one that I subscribe to. But all of these “conditions” are readily duplicated; what was a “perfect storm” by April standards, is a cake walk in July. The Sens will finish the season sooner or later. Better weather is here/coming. The promotions people continue to do solid work.

It all begs the question, though. Why should this year be any different than the last few? My answer: The team itself and improved media coverage. The team has a different dynamic to it; they have both a winning personality and a winning record. And in the spirit of giving credit where it’s due, Darren Desaulniers of The Citizen and Erin Nicks and (to a certain extent) Don Brennan from The Ottawa Sun, have been doing yeoman’s work when the team is in town.

I remain, I believe, justifiably optimistic.