The blog’s starting to come full circle - right around this time last year, I was gearing up for the 1000th hit contest and posting free agency moves.   The weather yesterday reminded me that the last time we got that much snow, I was ready to jump off a window ledge.  Ahhh - good times.

Pete Toms has leant some blog assistance and pointed out a few roster moves I missed while I was busy following the municipal beat - notably, one Andy Tracy who will be playing for the Phillies AAA team.  FLP Matt Childers was also re-signed and OF Brandon Watson (who broke the IL hitting streak record here in Ottawa this summer) was the other name that caught my eye.   A closer look at all the transactions also shows FLP, Eli Whiteside, landing in Minnesota.

Finally, an article I missed about two FLPs and a Canadian with a Philly connection (cut me a little slack, I was on vacation):

Chuck Hixson
PhillyBaseballNews.com Oct 28, 2007

The Phillies haven’t been particularly strong in the 2007 version of the Arizona Fall League. Most have weak numbers, but at least there are a couple of pitchers with some decent stats. PBN takes a look at the numbers and gives an analysis of each of the Phillies players.

Phillies players have not distinguished themselves in this year’s edition of the Arizona Fall League. The Peoria Saguaros, the team that the Phillies players call home, are 5-11 this fall. Phillies pitchers have gone a combined 2-5 with a 5.23 ERA, while the position players have managed just a .196 average.

Here’s a recap of the Phillies players in Arizona.

Jason Anderson: His chance came when Josh Outman left to play for Team USA. At 28 years old, Anderson isn’t your typical AFL player, but he is a guy who interests the Phillies at least as insurance for the bullpen. He’s pitched pretty well in three outings for the Saguaros, going 0-1, 2.70 with just his first outing going badly.

Joe Bisenius: His high ERA comes from one outing when he gave up four earned runs over two innings of work. Outside of that outing, Bisenius has been pretty steady and has a 1.34 ERA for Peoria. The right-hander could be battling for a spot in the Phillies bullpen next spring. His strikeouts (10 in 8.2 innings) are nice to see and the only game where he had any sort of control issue was when he got hit around. Again, outside of that one game, Bisenius has walked just one hitter in 6.2 innings of work, which is what the Phillies are looking to see out of him.

Scott Mathieson: The Phillies initially thought that he would be able to join the big league club in September, but that was pushed back. Then, the thought was that he would pitch in the AFL, but a setback in his rehab nixed that plan. Mathieson is now likely just going to come into Spring Training and look to get himself back on track there, but the odds of him starting the season with the Phillies now don’t appear to be that great.

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And that’ll do it for tonight.  Check back this weekend for more updates.