The dream of a Can-Am League baseball team in the capital seems to have died a quiet death. But did anyone see that Chris Neil wore a funny hat at Senators practice yesterday? Get that on the front page. No one cares about any other sport right?

As noted by the commenters, the Can-Am League sent out a press release today saying it plans to go ahead with eight teams for the 2008 season: Atlantic City Surf, Brockton Rox, Grays (traveling team), Nashua Pride, New Jersey Jackals, Les Capitales de Québec, Sussex Skyhawks and Worcester Tornadoes. 

There’s so much inchoate rage bottled up here that it’s best to just leave it at that. Miles Wolff came to down with a damn good idea, a damn good plan for Ottawa’s small-but-loyal core of baseball followers, one that would also help our national program.

Whatever the reason, our civic leaders showed him the back of their hands for reasons that are impossible for a layperson to understand. They had a choice of baseball or litigation, and chose litigation, AKA Lawyerball. How is Carl going to explain it to his 10-year-old son who lives and breathes baseball that the politicians in this city only care about sports when it’s a good photo-op for them? Our mayor has no problem sporting a goofy grin and throwing a football around at Lansdowne Park, but someone with an established baseball track record comes in saying he can make a Can-Am League team work here, and it’s like, oh no, his opinions can’t be valid because he’s not from Ottawa.

This is a great city in many ways, but it’s so blinkered, myopic and provincial that it’s not even funny. For the 1,002nd time, we have enough baseball fans here to make it work. Bringing in the Can-Am League was the most cost-effective, pain-free thing for the city to do… love to hear the spin-doctoring on this!

And a very primitive keyboard here at DisneyQuest means that this will be very brief. I’m keeping very limited tabs on the news from home, but I understand that the worst of what transpired has not been made public yet.  Expect that to change in the near future.

Suffice it to say that once again, Ottawa has not disappointed in its capacity to never miss an opportunity to miss an oopportunity.  Two empty stadiums in 08 AND a lawsuit.  BRILLIANT. 

Carl’s “not promising” comment in re: just made me heartsick — and no baseball fan outside of Ohio should be feeling heartsick when Game 1 of the World Series is going on.

In all honesty, it was hope-against-hope during the whole process of trying to talk some sense to Ottawa city councillors and staffers about why pro baseball deserves to keep going. It’s not you, Miles Wolff, it’s Ottawa, where there is a certain element that takes almost sadistic, self-justifying pride in trashing anything that people might enjoy.

By the way, here’s a funny take from south of the border on the state of the game in our country. It totally gets it wrong, but if you’ve followed the inaction from the city, you’d understand why:

“It left me wondering, while the pro ranks have diminished, what is the state of the game itself up in Canada? Do they even still play it up there? Or is the country so hockey mad that they a) haven’t really noticed that all the pro baseball teams have gone south and b) don’t play much baseball on the youth level any more?”
– Foster’s (N.H.) Daily Democrat, Oct. 24

It’s too funny by half if that’s the impression that’s been left south of the border by this politicians in this city and this country and their refusal to stand by a game, which a record number of Canadians are playing professionally. (More Canadians play baseball in the NCAA than in hockey.) Meantime, Baseball Canada would have had desperately needed new bigs at Lynx Stadium, but apparently that’s not a priority, even though we actually did better in baseball at the last Olympics than we did in men’s ice hockey. (You could look it up.)

So thanks, everyone at City Hall, for letting down everyone.

Mr. Kiiffner is off on vacay with the wife and kiddies, so he’s asked for a guest blogger for the next couple days.

The basic message today for Ottawa ball fans is to hang in there. True, the clamouring and the push to get a Can-Am League franchise in our town has been in the 11th hour for more than a month, but believe it or not, there is still time.

The league has given Nashua, N.H., through the end of this week to firm up its plans to remain in the league for the 2008 season. By that logic, there is still plenty of time for Ottawa city council to come around and see that, as has been said, many times, many ways, baseball is the best use of the ballpark off the Queensway. 

This will all become clearer in the next few days, but by then I’ll be so far gone in Disney World that I won’t have or want internet access.

Suffice it to say that preliminary news was not promising.  Hopefully others will be able to update the blog in my absence - at the very least, Neate (follow the link to his blog over on the right column) should have updates/commentary.

Every trip south of the Mason-Dixon Line strengthens my resolve to move to the southeastern US.  Yes, there are hurricanes and health care is different -  there’s just something about this part of the world.  Certainly the proximity to Walt Disney World is helpful and the weather is (for the most part) favorable, but there really is more to it than that.   There’s a real vibrance in cities like Savannah, an energy that I find lacking back home.  It’s  most starkly brought into relief during trips away from Ottawa.  Is Ottawa, as Ken Gray posited in yesterday’s Citizen, a City without a soul?  It’s probably not as vanilla as he paints it, but it is missing something.

Clearly, this post is useless without photos - I brought the camera but not a USB cable.  In any event, we went by Grayson Stadium today, the home of the Savannah Sand Gnats, the single A affiliate of the New York Mets in the South Atlantic League.  I’ll have to add the photos, but like Centennial Field in Burlington, this place is amazing.  We weren’t able to get in, but through a gap in the fence we were able to see they’re in the process of putting in new sod.  The stadium itself seats about 5,000 and was constructed in 1927.  What I had not known until just recently was that Miles Wolff was a GM here when the team was the AA affiliate of the Atlanta Braves  (the Savannah Senators?).

It’s a beautiful baseball venue, in a beautiful city.   That much at least, reminded me of home.

And I’m not writing it.  Just a quick hit (for you and me - seems I have to get my blogging fix in).  Long drive down to Richmond yesterday, punctuated by several bathroom stops and food breaks.  If the team took the bus to Richmond my sympathies go out to them, and it’s small wonder they were tired out after a roadie - that is one long drive.  Scenic (when you’re not the driver), but long.

The “knowledgeable Lynx fan” returns and is credited with the following find concerning the fair city of Ottawa.  I haven’t had time to read it all, but the title speaks volumes - as does the closing sentence.

On to Savannah!

Once the hated Yankees were out of the picture, “the boy” was extremely pleased - if not relieved.  I’m sure there are people out there who detest the Bronx Bombers more than my son - I just haven’t met them yet.  Now, from the glass is “half-full” perspective, I’m quite certain that one “knowledgeable Lynx fan” is likely beside himself with the Tribe one win away from taking out Boston (although, if I recall correctly the locals in nis neck of the woods were decidedly in the Boston camp…. hmmm….. he’s probably not watching the games at any of the local watering holes…).

Before I forget - TaoofStieb, you’re off the Christmas card list.  Like I had time to waste on this stuff.  Thanks.

For those of you not addicted to computer/video games, PhuturePhillies has their eye on the Winter Leagues (i.e. Hawaii and Arizona).  I’ve taken a look at the Mexican League but unfortunately my Spanish isn’t as good as it used to be - OK, I don’t know any Spanish beyond “Por favor mantenganse alejado de las puertas…” (from Disney World - “Please stand clear of the doors…”).  Yes.  I am a loser.  But a loser who’ll be lying on a beach in a few days….

Tough loss for FLP, Joe Bisenius today.  He went two innings and surrendered six runs, four of them earned.  Oh well - it’s gonna happen every once in a while.

Thanks for stopping by - I realize that it hasn’t exactly been quality bloggin’ of late, but, well - you’ll see.

Let’s face it, things get pretty thin this time of year, at least as far as MiLB is concerned;  there’s just not much goin’ on right now.  When Beerleaguer takes notice of the Arizona Fall League and Joe Bisenius, you know it’s pretty quiet - someone should remind him that J.A. Happ was pulled due to injury.  Joe, by the way, didn’t figure into the Peoria Saguaros win yesterday.  Live blog: Saguaros up 1-0 over Phoenix in the 4th.

The countdown is officially “on” for me - two more days, and maybe three more blog posts before I hit the road.  I’m hopeful I’ll be able to line up some guest bloggers, but for what you may ask?  There are some rumors out there, some of them more positive (from my perspective) than others.  Friend of the Lynx, The Universal Cynic, adopted an interesting format for dealing with items she wasn’t yet ready to take public, she called the last one “Foreshadowing: A pictorial essay” (which I never did figure out, BTW).

Here’s my somewhat lame attempt:

First one to figure it out wins an all expenses paid trip to Walt Disney World - unfortunately it means you’ll be tagging along with my family, one of whom now appears prone to motion sickness.

Sorry, but that’s all that time will allow for today (courtesy of scout.com)

Some Familiar Faces Likely To Exit
Bye-bye, Jose. (photo: Drew Hallowell/Getty)		By Chuck Hixson Publisher Posted Oct 8, 2007 After every season there are players who exit and this fall and winter will be no different in Philadelphia. With a number of free agents and some tough decisions to make, there could be a number of exits from the 2007 Phillies.
Over the course of a 162-game regular season, the Phillies scored more runs than any team in the National League. But in getting swept in their best-of-five Division Series by the Colorado Rockies, their vaunted offense produced only eight in three games and batted just .172 (16-for-93) in the series.”Nobody wants to go home right now,” free agent-to-be center fielder Aaron Rowand said. “We ran into a team that was extremely hot. We didn’t hold up our end of it. We didn’t hit.”In the knockout game, the Phils were held to three hits by hard-throwing Rockies rookie right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez. Shane Victorino’s game-tying solo homer in the seventh inning was their only big hit as the Phillies dropped their third straight game for the first time since September third. The Phillies’ offense failure was profound. Utley went 2-for-11 (.182) with five strikeouts. Ryan Howard went 3-for-12 (.250) with seven strikeouts. Jimmy Rollins went 2-for-11 (.182). Rowand went 1-for-12 (.083). “We were chasing balls out of the strike zone, and we were getting overanxious,” manager Charlie Manuel said. “That’s the sign of a time that’s … I wouldn’t call it pressing, I would say we were anxious, like we wanted it too bad or tried too hard or whatever.” So, which of the 2007 Phillies are likely to be back and who are the ones likely to exit? Free Agents: Antonio Alfonseca, Freddy Garcia, Tadahito Iguchi, Jon Lieber, Kyle Lohse, Jose Mesa, J.C. Romero, Aaron Rowand. Alfonseca, Garcia, Lieber and Mesa are goners. The Phillies would be interested in re-signing Iguchi, Lohse and Romero unless they out-price themselves. Iguchi and Werth could also look to find starting jobs elsewhere. Rowand is the big question mark, but with Ryan Howard eligible for free agency and liable to get a big chunk of change either through an arbitrator or a long-term deal with the Phillies, there may not be enough money to keep Rowand. Arbitration Eligible: Geoff Geary, Ryan Howard, Ryan Madson and Jayson Werth. Howard is going to get big bucks. Madson’s late season injury could hurt him, but he won’t be needing to borrow money from anyone. Geary will likely avoid arbitration and take what the Phillies offer him. Options: Rod Barajas ($5 million or [BODY].5 million buyout), Julio Mateo ($1.5 million or [BODY].1 million buyout), Abraham Nunez ($2 million or [BODY].355 million buyout). Barajas isn’t going to get $5 million from the Phillies and Mateo isn’t going to get $1.5 million, although he may need it to pay his lawyers to defend him from domestic abuse charges that he’s facing. Nunez is up in the air; the Phillies need an upgrade at third base, but Nunez is a nice option to bring off the bench. To find out the contract status of your favorite Phillie, just check out our Player Contracts page.

Now we know that shortly after this article went to press, Barajas and Nunez had their contracts bought out by the team.  Kane Davis was also DFA’d - presumably if he clears waivers, he’ll be back with the Lynx.  Does the loss of Barajas open up a spot for Jason Jaramillo?  Doubtful.  Most of the experts think he needs another season at the AAA level.  And speaking of the Lynx catcher, did you know:

Jaramillo has a solid background in baseball. His father has been a well respected hitting coach both in the minors and the major leagues. That didn’t help Jaramillo’s two older brothers too much though. Both played minor league ball and both sputtered when they reached the AA level. There are also a couple of interesting Phillies connections. Jaramillo was originally drafted out of high school by the Phillies. They took him in the 39th round of the 2001 Draft. Instead of signing with the Phillies, he opted to play for Oklahoma State, where he was coached by Robbie Wine, the son of former Phillie player, coach and scout Bobby Wine. If you need more of a Phillies connection; Jaramillo played in the Cape Cod League for the league champion Orleans Cardinals. Also on that team were Phillie farmhands Anthony Buffone, who was drafted in the 22nd round of the 2004 draft, and Myron Leslie, who the Phillies drafted in the 11th round of the 2003 Draft.

                                                                                                          [scout.com]