The blog hasn’t been this slow since, well, last Christmas.  Seems like everyone has got better things to do with their time than spending it in front of a computer screen - I’m with ya’.  But just wait until mid-January rolls around…, good times. 

Gary’s recent visit to the blog highlighted for me the need to keep this blog visible - if I take it underground, it all disappears.  And at the risk of sounding too proud, I am pretty proud of the blog and the time I invested in it.  It would be a waste to take it into hiding, just to keep some posts away from the prying eyes of some very NOT “Friends of the Lynx”. 

So the UOLB stays visible, and the “full disclosure” stuff gets placed on yet another blog.

Quick Gary “sponsor mention”:

Over Christmas I had been meaning to update the whereabouts of a few FLP (that’s “Former Lynx Players”) - Chris Roberson, Danny Sandoval and a few others are playing in Winter Leagues in much warmer climes.  I was extremely surprised to find three comments “awaiting moderation” when I checked in today - two were from none other than blog favorite, Gary Burnham!

Anybody who follows the blog knows how impressed I was with Gary in 2007.  Anyone who went to the park this year could not have helped but notice how hard he played, and how great he was with the fans who showed up.  Back on December 5, I wrote that I felt a little stung by the comments he made about Ottawa and classy guy that he is, he’s taken the time and clarified them. 

Gary Burnham Says:
December 26, 2007 at 1:47 am e

Ottawa fans, Merry Christmas. Just wanted to say hello and a friend of mine emailed me this blog sight. Just to clear things up a bit, The main core of fans that were there for the whole season were awesome and I feel terrible if you guys thought that I was directing negative energy toward anyone. I actually loved the small group of fans that followed us around and I had a great time in the city. The challenging part of the season was the lack of attendance and the tough weather conditions at the beginning of the season. It was tough for us to put up power numbers. Carl made up for the lack of noise though..lol…..Happy new year! Gary

He also added this,

Gary Burnham Says:
December 26, 2007 at 1:53 am e

Guys I am down here in Mexico in the winter leagues. I havent signed yet for next season. My agent has informed me to sit tight. I will let you all know my where abouts as soon as I find out. Happy Holidays, GB.

Gary, you do know that we’re looking for a manager and an above average power hitter here in Ottawa, don’t you?

Just me this morning.  Not unlike last year, I was the only one awake until shortly after 9 a.m. when Bekah crawled out of bed.  My kids aren’t normal - but I’ve accepted it.

The calm before the storm that is Christmas Dinner, allowed me the time to consider what the future for the UOLB holds; there’s not much going on right now, and even less that I would consider blogworthy.  Having said that, there’s still a lot of unfinished business - and unfortunately, it’s not baseball related.  So until further notice, the UOLB is going underground - so to speak.  I’ll keep posting publicly here for a few more days, but afterwards it will be password protected.

Enjoy your Christmas! 

Merry Christmas and best wishes for the New Year, from our family to you and yours.

It’s just time for other things for a bit.  A long ski in the Gatineau hills, finally addressing various car issues - you get the picture.  As Neate and others will attest, blogging tends to eat up too much spare time - every once in a while, it’s nice to decide not to think about what to write next.  Particularly at this time of year - there just not much going on.  Having exhausted some of the usual sources, I’ve taken a look at some of the tried and true alternative methods for coming up with material - principally, Google.   Google “finds” will be discussed in the next few days.

It’s also interesting for me to use some of the WordPress functions to see what posts people coming to the blog are looking at, and how they got here.  Check out today’s top 10 Google searches that brought people here:

Made another entry in the Can-AM, “Name the Team” contest.  The Ottawa Evolution - from Howard “Darwin” AAA baseball all the way to the Independent League.  I’m sure there’s a clever graphic designer out there who can come up with a marketable logo….

As I mentioned just a moment ago over on the Can-AM blog, things are going to get a little bit quiet around here for the next week or so - every once in a while, real life has a way of intruding on things.

And why not?  Do we really need more snow today?  Hell, do we need any more snow this month?

In any event, the Phillies have released their list of Spring Training invitees, and some former Lynx players have made the cut:
PHILADELPHIA — Top pitching prospects Joe Savery, Carlos Carrasco and Josh Outman head a group of 18 players who received invitations to Spring Training as non-roster players with the Phillies.

The group also includes former first-round Draft pick Greg Golson, third-round pick Jason Donald and the following players with Major League experience: Vic Darensbourg, Gary Knotts, Valentino Pascucci, Andy Tracy and Brandon Watson.

Here is more information about the players who received invitations:

Savery, LHP: The organization’s first-round selection in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft will be attending his first Major League Spring Training. He made seven starts for low Class A Williamsport last season, going 2-3 with a 2.73 ERA while holding opposing hitters to a .214 average. In five starts for Peoria in the Arizona Fall League, the 22-year-old went 1-1 with a 0.64 ERA, allowing only four hits in 14 innings. Savery held opponents to an .091 batting average.

Golson, OF: The 22-year-old split the 2007 season between advanced Class A Clearwater and Double-A Reading, hitting a combined .273 with 32 doubles, 15 homers, 68 RBIs and 30 steals in 136 games. A first-round selection by the Phillies in the 2004 Draft, Golson played for Peoria in the Arizona Fall League following the season.

Donald, SS: A third-round choice by the Phillies in 2006, Donald hit a combined .304 with 31 doubles, eight triples, 12 homers and 71 RBIs between Class A Lakewood and Class A Clearwater. He finished with the third-best average among the organization’s Minor Leaguers.

Carrasco, RHP: At age 20, Carrasco went a combined 12-6 with a 3.86 ERA in 26 games (25 starts) for Class A Clearwater and Double-A Reading, including two shutouts and a six-inning no-hitter on Aug. 21 against Altoona. A native of Venezuela, Carrasco held Minor League hitters to a .224 average, allowing only 114 hits in 140 innings. In his previous two seasons, he went 24-12 with a 3.01 ERA and four complete games in 52 appearances (51 starts).

Mike Cervenak, 1B: Cervenak played for Triple-A Norfolk in 2007 and led the International League in hits (157), games (140) and at-bats (554). For the season, he batted .283 with 15 home runs and 78 RBIs. Cervenak, 31, has played in the Minor League systems of the Yankees (2000-02), Giants (2003-06) and Orioles (2007).

Ron Chiavacci, RHP: In 26 games (23 starts) for Triple-A Toledo in 2007, Chiavacci went 12-6 with a 3.39 ERA. He went 11-2 from May 25 through the end of the season and pitched at least six innings in 18 of 23 starts. A native of Scranton, Pa., Chiavacci originally was selected by the Expos in the 44th round of the 1998 Draft.

Darensbourg, LHP: Darensbourg, 37, spent the 2007 season with Triple-A Toledo and went 6-2 with a 1.72 ERA in 50 games. In 52 1/3 innings, he didn’t allow a home run. He pitched for Magnalles of the Venezuelan Winter League and went 1-0 with a 2.53 ERA in 17 appearances. Darensbourg has spent eight seasons in the Major Leagues with the Marlins (1998-2002), Rockies (2003), Expos (2003), White Sox (2004), Mets (2004) and Tigers (2005), going 8-17 with two saves and a 4.96 ERA in 309 appearances, all in relief.

Tuffy Gosewisch, C: An 11th-round selection by the Phillies in 2005, Gosewisch played for Class A Lakewood and hit .224 with five homers and 45 RBIs in 92 games. In the Arizona Fall League, he batted .250 with one home run and six RBIs in 14 games for Peoria.

Tim Gradoville, C: Gradoville, 27, appeared in a combined 54 games for Double-A Reading and Triple-A Ottawa in 2007.

Brennan King, 3B: King will be in camp with the Phillies for the second straight year. The 26-year-old spent 2007 with Triple-A Ottawa, where he hit .277 with 10 home runs and 59 RBIs in 122 games.

Gary Knotts, RHP: Knotts, 30, was signed by the Phillies as a Minor League free agent last August, and he pitched at Double-A and Triple-A for the organization. He went a combined 2-4 with a 3.20 ERA in six starts, including three complete games and two shutouts, one of which was a one-hitter. In 86 career Major League games (38 starts), Knotts is 13-16 with a 5.45 ERA for the Marlins (2001-02) and Tigers (2003-04).

Lou Marson, C: Marson spent the entire 2007 season with Class A Clearwater, batting .288 with 24 doubles, seven home runs and 63 RBIs in 111 games.

Brian Mazone, LHP: Mazone began the 2007 season in the Phillies organization at Triple-A Ottawa and made six starts (3-2, 2.21 ERA) before having his contract sold to the Samsung Lions of the Korean League. In 2006, he led the International League with a 2.03 ERA for the Phillies’ Triple-A affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Outman, LHP: Outman, 23, split the 2007 between Class A Clearwater and Double-A Reading. Overall, he went 12-7 with a 2.99 ERA in 27 games (25 starts), including a six-inning no-hitter for Clearwater on July 7. He led all Phillies Minor Leaguers with 151 strikeouts. After the season, Outman pitched for both Peoria in the Arizona Fall League and the World Cup-winning Team USA., going a combined 1-1 with a 3.95 ERA in five games (three starts). He had 13 strikeouts in 13 2/3 innings.

Valentino Pascucci, OF/1B: Pascucci finished third among all Minor Leaguers in 2007 with 34 home runs for Triple-A Albuquerque. He also hit .284 with 27 doubles and 98 RBIs in 132 games. Pascucci, 29, appeared in 32 Major League games for Montreal in 2004.

Casey Smith, INF: For Triple-A Salt Lake, the 28-year-old Smith hit .290 with two home runs, 53 RBIs and 13 stolen bases in 109 games. He batted .379 (36-95) in his final 25 games of the season.

Andy Tracy, 1B/3B: Tracy, 34, spent parts of three seasons in the Major Leagues with the Expos (2000-01) and Rockies (2004). In his rookie season of 2000, he hit .260 with 11 homers and 32 RBIs for Montreal. Last season, Tracy, a left-handed hitter, played for Triple-A New Orleans and hit .271 with 23 home runs and 87 RBIs in 135 games. He’s currently playing for Licey in the Dominican Winter League.

Brandon Watson, OF: Watson made news in 2007 with his 43-game hitting streak for Triple-A Columbus. For the season, he hit .313 with two home runs, 29 RBIs and 17 stolen bases in 103 games. The 26-year-old had a brief call-up with Washington in June, when he batted .278 in five games. Originally a ninth-round selection by Montreal in the 1999 Draft, Watson has appeared in 24 Major League games over parts of three seasons (2005-07) with Washington and Cincinnati.

Laforest agrees: Catcher Pete Laforest agreed to terms on a split contract for 2008. He’ll earn the minimum $390,000 at the Major League side.

Tim Gradoville, Brennan King, Gary Knotts, Brian Mazone and Andy Tracy all spent time here in the Nation’s Capital.  And then there was this other bit of news.

Nice.  Not to sound bitter or anything, but it’s a good thing that it’s absolutely tropical in the Lehigh Valley in March.  Wouldn’t want Michael Bourn to catch a cold…

Well, the non-controversy surrounding Lynx Stadium is over before it even began.   A knowledgeable Lynx fan has filled the blog in about the history of the name.  Seems that when Adobe* backed out (due to long standing corporate policy concerning naming of stadiums), there was an agreement to re-name Jetform Park - “Lynx Stadium”.

But let’s put this completely to rest, shall we?  Once the Can-AM team has a name, there will likely be a push to re-name the stadium.  As a pre-emptive move, I will hence and forevermore refer to the park as Pecor Stadium (I could be persuaded to accept Pecor Park but not Pecor Place).

In other, baseball news, former Lynx player and minor league free agent, Brian Sanches, has been picked up by the Washington Nationals.  I believe Eude Brito was also recently signed by Washington, but I’ll have to check.  (HT: Pete Toms).

* Here’s where my memory gets exceptionally fuzzy.  As I recall, the park was initially named JetForm Park.  When Adobe purchased JetForm (by then Accelio?) they cancelled the agreement.  IIRC, they paid the outstanding naming rights fees to local charities?

This comes as a bit of unwelcome news: Neate’s considering hanging ‘em up.

“In 2007, Neate Sager is declaring that sports blogging is dead.Out of Left Field could continue next year, next week, but I have to get this out.  The first break-up never takes. It feels like it’s game over with the blogging. Big Media has lost a lot of key battles and it has had to adapt. We (whoever we are) had a few victories, but we don’t have the manpower and money to win the war….The time has come to try and find another way to spend off-hours. The quality of the readers and commenters has been beyond anything that could have ever been expected, even though I failed you. As a writer, you owe everyone your head and heart, nothing less.  Neither has been in this for a while.”

Of course, I respectfully disagree that there’s been any failure - quite the contrary.  Blogging basketball, baseball, football, NCAA, CIS, etc. - the depth, quality and style have been amazing.  And you certainly couldn’t beat the price of a subscription.  Unlike many bloggers, Neate never put out the “tip jar”, although I’m quite certain it would have been filled if he had. 

Clearly, as a fan of some of the local sports, this recent development is not good and it comes at the same moment that The Universal Cynic appears to have pulled the plug too.  The whole blogging gig is demanding - particularly when you invest the amount of time and energy into it that Neate clearly does.  There’s a very real sense of pressure to post - but to post with quality and quantity.  A glance at the counter on the web page brings some satisfaction and yet, more pressure; the pressure to deliver for the readers, the pressure to “keep them coming back”.  And then of course, there’s the occasional pressure of a libel claim thrown in for good measure.  The pay’s not good, and in Neate’s case the hours are terrible.

I’m confident that if he wants it, space will be made in the media room at Pecor Stadium (formerly known as Lynx Stadium) for Mr. Sager, come Opening Day. 

He’s earned it.

(cross-posted to the unofficial Can-AM blog).