I’ve had a number of email questions looking for a response to the article that appeared over the weekend in the Morning Call.  I’m in agreement with Neate on this one: Let ‘em have their moment.  As far as J.J.’ s seemingly flippant response (” ‘Try seven or eight,’ quipped catcher Jason Jaramillo when talking about the size of last year’s crowds in Ottawa.”), well that’s just something we’ll have to live with.  The fact of the matter is, people in this city didn’t come out for these guys in numbers that they deserved, nor large enough to sustain the franchise.  And you could forgive Jaramillo for thinking he was insulated from any backlash; his experience here would lead him to believe that no one in Ottawa, and certainly not the local media were paying attention.

Unfortunately, people like you and I are still paying attention and it stings a little when guys we’d thought were classy take a gratuitous shot at Ottawa - deserved or not.  But of course, he’s just responding to the question:  Tell us J.J.  Just how awful was it to play in AAA last year?  (blogger: Of course, we just refer to it as “AAA”.  MiLB will no longer permit the use of the word “Ottawa”.)  No discussion of the fact that his season here in AAA got him to the All-Star game, or that he hit .271 here in AAA.  And certainly, no MSM report would be complete without a complete investigation oversight of the actual facts - nope, that’s left for the blogs.  Post June 2007 attendance of 2,172 wouldn’t support Jaramillo’s <cough> point, and it’s certainly not as catchy as that zinger, “try seven or eight”, is it?

Too bad.  At the end of the day, the Lynx had to leave.  They had to.  Expecting Ray Pecor to continually absorb seven figure losses wasn’t realistic, no matter how decent a person he was.  And they had to go somewhere, and that somewhere is the Lehigh Valley. 

Hopefully going forward they won’t need to rely on tearing the Ottawa experience down to build up their franchise.

First up, housekeeping.  Gotta apologize - WordPress has an anti-spam filter on “comments” and it’s been catching a few legitimate reader submissions.  If you don’t see one of your comments after a few hours, please send me an email and I’ll find it. 

Next up, Phillybaseballnews catches us up with J.J. 

		By Chuck Hixson Publisher Posted Mar 28, 2008 Jason Jaramillo might be ready for the majors, but having Carlos Ruiz ahead of him means another season at Triple-A for the 25 year old prospect.
Acquired: Drafted by the Phillies in the 2nd round of the 2004 Draft.B: S T: R / Height: 6′ 0″ / Weight: 200 lbs. Birth Date:  October 9, 1982 2007 Team: Ottawa (118 g) Positions Played in 2007:  C (109 g) School: Oklahoma State Last Year’s Ranking: 15 Why Jaramillo moved from #15 to #10: Jason Jaramillo put up very respectable offensive numbers at Triple-A Ottawa last season and offense has always been the question mark when it comes to judging the 25 year old catching prospect. Too often, he gets a bum rap for his offense, which isn’t of an MVP type caliber, but also isn’t as bad as some make it out to be. He struggled offensively early in his career and when he was moved to Double-A Reading in 2006, but that’s not uncommon for even the best of prospects, because those are the two toughest parts for most young players. It was especially tough for Jaramillo, who skipped from Lakewood in 2005 to Reading the following season, bypassing Clearwater. That move was made so he could be the catcher for some of the top pitching prospects who were all headed to Reading in 2006. Too many people are quick to overlook Jaramillo and the type of catcher that he could be at the Major League level. Batting and Power:  There is a fine line between having good plate discipline and being aggressive at the plate. Jaramillo showed better plate discipline in 2006 when he was at Reading and cut down on his strikeout numbers, but hit just .248 on the season. The years before and after that, his strikeout numbers were higher (72 in 2005 and 79 in 2007) but his overall numbers were better. In other words, Jaramillo is straddling that line, but needs to be aggressive at the plate in order to be successful. His power isn’t great, but he’ll occasionally turn on a pitch and go deep. He certainly has enough offensive ability to make him a very viable Major League prospect. Baserunning and Speed: Two stolen bases in eight attempts in four minor league seasons; ’nuff said? Jason Jaramillo doesn’t always get the respect he deserves for his offensive skills, especially considering that when he struggled in 2006, he was making a double-jump to the Double-A level. (AP Photo) Defense: There was a reason why Jaramillo jumped over Clearwater and headed to Reading in 2006 and it was to handle the young, but talented pitching staff that the Phillies were sending to Double-A. Pitchers like Gio Gonzalez and Daniel Haigwood were headed for Reading and the Phillies needed a top-notch defensive catcher who knew how to work well with pitchers. This is a guy who will put his body in front of pitches in the dirt and doesn’t mind getting a few bruises to help out his pitchers and most pitchers who have worked with Jaramillo have come to respect him and rely on him to help get them through rough spots in games. They also appreciate Jaramillo’s arm, which is an accurate and highly powered gun that routinely tosses out runners looking to steal. When it all comes down to it, it’s Jaramillo’s defense that people will remember. Projection: The Phillies catching situation is unique. They’ve got a young, up and coming Carlos Ruiz in the majors and two catching prospects in Jaramillo and Lou Marson who are inching closer to Philadelphia. For years, people have talked about what’s going to have to happen to clear the logjam among the three catchers and that time is now here. In all honesty, the Phillies would likely be best off either trading Ruiz after this season or keeping him in the majors for a couple more seasons and trading Jaramillo, which would give Lou Marson the time to develop and reach Philly. It appears that they can’t go wrong with any of the three catchers and all are young, making for a nice position to be in, considering that catching is at a premium these days. For his part, Jaramillo is likely to be catching on an everyday basis for some Major League team before too long. ETA: Jaramillo could likely play in the majors now, but because of skipping Clearwater, he doesn’t have quite as much minor league experience as he might have had. Having him at Double-A for insurance is not at all a bad situation. The question will come next season when he will clearly be ready to move to the majors and he’ll still be blocked by Carlos Ruiz. Comparison: Some scouts compare him to the current Phillies catcher. Both are good, solid catchers who know how to work with a pitching staff. Ruiz is likely going to be the better offensive catcher of the two, especially since he seems to be settling in well at the big league level, but there is no denying that while Ruiz has good defensive skills, Jaramillo’s defense is the better of the two. What else you should know about Jason Jaramillo:  The Phillies were following Jaramillo for some time, and originally took him in the 39th round of the 2001 Draft, but he decided to head to Oklahoma State. Jason Jaramillo’s career stats YEAR / TEAM HR RBI AVG G AB R H 2B 3B SB BB KO OBP SLG 2004 GCL 0 1 .667 1 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 .667 .667 2004 Batavia 1 14 .223 31 112 11 25 5 0 0 12 27 .299 .295 2005 Lakewood 8 63 .304 119 448 46 136 28 4 2 44 72 .368 .438 2006 Reading 6 39 .248 246 322 35 80 25 1 0 32 55 .320 .388 2006 Scranton 0 1 .167 2 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 .143 .167 2007 Ottawa 6 56 .271 118 435 52 118 13 4 0 50 79 .350 .361 TOTALS 21 174 .273 364 1326 145 362 71 9 2 138 234 .344 .388

Of course, it’s noteworthy that he didn’t seem to struggle offensively after making the jump from the semi-tropics of Reading to the frozen tundra that is Ottawa.  Quite the opposite; his average jumped a full 25 points with the move from AA to AAA (AAA Ottawa, that is).

Sorry.  It’s been a long week….

Oh. Dear. God.

From Phillybaseballnews.com:

(Emphasis mine)

I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that when Hixson refers to the “bad playing conditions” here in Ottawa, he means the weather and not the field or the facilities. And no, this will not be strictly a(nother) weather rant. First off, Joe Bisenius was injured for a good part of last season - that tends to affect your stats. Second, “many of the Phillies pitchers who were stationed in Ottawa had bad seasons” - but once again, many of them were injured (Zack Segovia, J.A. Happ, Matt Smith) or sidelined (Matt Childers) or moved on (Brian Mazone). So you had some guys being brought in who might have been better served playing in Reading. Third - was the weather really all that bad? Sitting in Philadelphia, you’d probably assume that it must have been bad in Ottawa, because, well, it’s in Canada so it must be cold. And in 2007, you’d be wrong.

April 17 - 6.6 C                     May 1 - 13C
April 18 - 12.5                      May 2 - 14.2
April 19 - 16.3                      May 3 - 14.8
April 20 - 21.1                   May 4 - 16.3
April 21 - 20.2                   May 15 - 12.2
April 22 - 23.7                   May 16 - 7.7
April 27 - 10.7                      May 17 - 10
April 28 - 10.6                      May 18 - 15
April 29 - 13                         May 19 - 22
April 30 - 11.1                      May 20 - 10.4
                                           May 21 - 16
                                           May 22 - 17.4

Grand total: 22 games. 10 games at >15C. 4 games at >20C.

Average game time temperature for April and May: 14.3C.

Only two games below 10C, and one of those was Opening Day.  And note: these were game time temperatures, not the highs for the day.

There are some that argue that cooler temperatures are actually a pitcher’s friend, since it reduces some of the muscular fatigue produced by the heat, typically found in the summer months.  Additionally,

Pitchers generally have worse control but higher strikeout rates and better luck with balls in play in cold weather. I’m not sure if this favors a certain type of pitcher in the postseason. It might be the case that a pitcher’s “stuff” is an important factor in how the weather interacts with their performance. For example, a pitcher who relies on breaking balls or changeups and are susceptible to control problems might be at a particular disadvantage in cold weather conditions.

From an offensive perspective, this evidence suggests patient lineups will fare well in cold weather when compared to free swinging lineups. Pitchers appear to throw fewer strikes in cold weather and a patient lineup may be more likely to take advantage of this result. Additionally, a batted ball is less valuable in cold weather than warm weather because a batted ball is less likely to fall for a hit or clear the outfield fences in below-55 degrees conditions.

There is still a lot of work to do in understanding how weather conditions affect baseball performances. I think this summary provides some insights into how the game can change in October.

And finally, it seems that our friend Chuck (whose work I generally like) wants to have it both ways.  Previously, he attributed the hitters’ poor stats to the weather.  Now how can everyone suck in the cold?  By definition, if a pitcher is struggling (in this case because of the cold) the implication is that the hitters are doing well - and vice versa.  A hitter who can’t hit in the cold, isn’t beating up on opposing pitching - because he can’t hit in the cold.

Tough day yesterday as many FLPs were either sent down, or given their outright release.  Ryan Cameron was one that fell in the latter category - hopefully someone else will pick him up.  In more positive news, FLP from the Baltimore affiliation era, LHP Scott Rice was signed by the LA Dodgers last week.  Can’t find the link right now, but I’m fairly certain I saw that FLP Chad Mottola had been signed by the Blue Jays (again).

While these photos from Lynx Stadium are truly depressing, there is hope in the long range forecast as it appears winter is finally letting it’s death grip loose.

Yesterday over on the UCOB we played “guess the missing logo”.  The fun and games continue here on the UOLB today - an Easter egg hunt of sorts this weekend.  This one comes care of our friends in Reading - wanna play?  Good.  Let’s play “Find the missing city”!

Baseball’s hottest commodityPitching. It is the hottest commodity in baseball. Like precious stones, good pitching is dazzling, hard to find, difficult to replace and if you’re faking it like cubic zirconium, you’re not going to get away with it for very long. Last year we split up our pitching preview into two sections – starters and relievers. Then we told you that Julio De La Cruz and Patrick Overholt were promising starter and reliever prospects, respectively. Then De La Cruz spent all of 2007 pitching out of the bullpen and Overholt became a starter. So this year we’ll lump everyone that pitches together and try to paint a decently accurate picture as we go along. We’re going to go through over two dozen names this year. Six of them were invited to big league spring training and at least six of the remaining arms have been there at some point in there careers. Again, this is not set in stone. The R-Phils are likely to start the season with 11 or 12 pitchers on the roster. In 2007, 28 pitchers made at least one appearance for the R-Phils. Fourteen of them made at least one start. Those figures do not include rehab assignments. Righty Jason Anderson came to the Phillies as a Minor League free agent last year and appeared in 37 games between Reading (14) and Triple-A (23). He’s a hard thrower that has appeared in 32 career Major League games for the Yankees (26) and Mets (6). In almost 400 career games he made 51 starts and boasts a 3.39 ERA in the Minors. He’s a candidate to pitch at Reading, Lehigh Valley and Philadelphia. Righty Gary Knotts is a great story, a big league veteran and in big league camp. He was out of baseball in 2005-2006 due to injuries. His comeback in affiliated ball began in Reading last year. He showed he was healthy in three starts here, including a 9-inning one-hitter vs. Erie. He ended up in Triple-A and probably starts there this year. But we can’t rule him out to make the big league club or get caught up in numbers and pitch here again. Last year was a roller coaster ride for Zack Segovia. He made the big league club after a strong spring following a super 2006 in Reading and Clearwater. Once the big Phils got some arms back healthy, as expected, he was sent to Triple-A to continue his development. Things didn’t go well in Triple-A and he would up back in Reading. An offseason check up showed he needed surgery. He’s back and looking to prove he’s healthy and that last year’s struggles at Triple-A were a fluke due to the injury. We’re listing him here just to play it safe. This story was posted on February 28, 2008

(edited for length)

And it continues in their analysis of the catchers, infielders and outfielders.  The part of me that isn’t completely irritated by this wonders why they went through such trouble to avoid mentioning “Ottawa“.  Reading’s baseball following is pretty knowledgeable - it’s not like people would be confused with the new affiliation in Allentown.  Have we become like the embarassing “ex” that no one wants to mention? 

What is pretty clear though is that this isn’t a conspiracy theory on my part; every other city is mentioned - Clearwater, Lakewood, Philadelphia.  Maybe it’s just a bit of revisionist history on Reading’s part - excise any mention of Ottawa from Phillies minor league history and maybe they can convince people it never happened.

I still don’t get why they went through the trouble.  Or did I just miss it when our fair city was re-named “Triple-A, Ontario”?

Meh.  Move on  Carl.

Former Lynx Coach (FLC) John Russell probably didn’t hesitate when the call came from Pittsburgh last fall, but one wonders if he isn’t just a little uncertain now, some six months later.  The Pirates have had fifteen consecutive losing seasons.  Fifteen.  Presumably no one is looking at John as the entire “answer”, and expectations that this team will make the playoffs are probably quite low, but the new skipper will still face a great deal of scrutiny.

“The difference I need to make is in the clubhouse and on the field,” Russell said. “Accountability is the backbone of what we’re going to do. There is going to be accountability.

“There’s going to be attention to detail. We’re going to try to win, and we’re going to try to win today. I’m going to be accountable for what happens — myself and my coaching staff and the players. That’s one of the things I’m going to instill in them. If we do it right, we’re going to win more games. It’s worked for me in the past.”

So far this spring, they’re 9-15 - but as they say, it’s just Spring Training.  And it’s reassuring to know that players, and not all of them his, have a great deal of confidence in his abilities.

(David) Ortiz, now an All-Star with the Boston Red Sox, became one of several former Miracle players under Russell in 1996-97 to reach the majors. Others include Torii Hunter, A.J. Pierzynski, Jacque Jones, Corey Koskie, Mark Redman and Doug Mientkiewicz, who’s with the Pirates, trying to make the team as a utility player.

“He hasn’t changed,” Mientkiewicz said of his manager’s demeanor and style. “He’s exactly the same. He’s in the perfect spot.”

“He has that quiet confidence that a manager needs to have,” said Twins right fielder Michael Cuddyer, who played for Russell in 2002 at Triple-A Edmonton. “He never blew up at people. There’s different styles. Not one way is right, not one way is wrong.”

Count Cuddyer and Ortiz as players who like Russell’s style.

“Russell is my man,” Ortiz said. “He’s my man. He was one of the best managers I’ve ever had. He makes it fun.

“He’s a guy who doesn’t talk too much. But he makes you feel comfortable. I knew that he was going to be at the major league level as a manager one day. He doesn’t talk too much, but he says everything that needs to be said. I was happy for him. He knows what’s going on.”

(emphasis mine).

Nice to see that they’re bunking Coste and Clay Condrey together down in Spring Training. Maybe one of them will learn something from the other about how to handle a setback:

Clay Condrey can appreciate Chris Coste’s story more than anybody.
He knows the struggle. The righthander did not spend 11 years in the minor leagues before he made the majors like Coste, but his baseball travails are similarly impressive.

Condrey made his big-league debut with the San Diego Padres in 2002 after four-plus seasons in the minors. He pitched well enough to earn a spot on San Diego’s opening-day roster in 2003. But Condrey struggled, got sent back to the minors, and did not see the majors again until 2006 with the Phillies. He made the opening-day roster last year but spent so much time going back and forth between the Phillies and triple-A Ottawa that he joked he had enough frequent flier points to go to the moon.

I had dubbed Clay “Air Miles” last season given the number of round trips he was making between and Ottawa and Philly - I suspect only Ryan Cameron (and maybe Joey Hammond) spent more time at an airport terminal last season.  Rather than being surly with the press, and posting ill advised criticism of the big league club on his web page, Clay’s masking his disappointment with humor:

“I call it the sexy ballplayer,” Coste said. “There’s nothing that stands out. He doesn’t have that 96 m.p.h. fastball. He doesn’t have a knuckleball. He’s like me. You have to see him over the course of a month to appreciate what he does. He pitched well in ‘06 [with the Phillies], but he had to fight to make the team. But that’s the life of the non-sexy ballplayer.”

“I agree with him,” Condrey said, “but I think I’m a good-looking ballplayer in my mind. In fact, I think I’d look real good in a hunting magazine. A little camo, a little paint on the face, I think I could make it work.”

Condrey, who hails from Texas, is an avid outdoorsman.

He also has a good sense of humor. He said he would love to be a pro fisherman in the future, though that would mean finding fishing sponsors.

He joked that he’s going to start naming his pitches. Fastball: Nitro 929, after the boat. Slider: Abu Garcia, after the reels.

“That’s really it,” he said. “I can go buy my own hooks.”

Warm wishes to Clay from Ottawa on a cold Easter weekend.

Thanks to Ronnie for the link to the excerpt from Chris Coste’s new book - I’d read an article/interview in the Philadelphia Inquirer, touting its release this week.  I’ve said this before, but after seeing how Coste conducted himself after being sent down to the minors at the beginning of 2007, I lost a lot of respect for him.  I get it - he had a great season with the Phils in 2006.  But with no disrespect intended, at the start of last year he had a whopping 198 plate appearances in the bigs.  198.  I’m sorry, but it wasn’t like they were sending down A-Rod.  Unfortunately, (from my perspective) that’s how he chose to conduct himself; as if he was above all of this. 

At one point last season, Kyle mentioned to me that it has been said that AAA is the “angriest level of baseball - because none of them think they should be playing here.  They all think they should be in the Majors”.  Thankfully, most of the guys don’t let that anger bleed through, and instead conduct themselves with a great deal of class - think Pedro Swann, Ron Calloway, Lou Collier.

Filed under “better late than never”:

Classy guy, Jim Rushford (pictured right) has been signed to a minor league contract by the Chicago White Sox.  Tough deal for Fabio Castro - he was sent down to Reading to start the 08 season.

No sooner than I mention it, and J.J. is reassigned (along with Pete Laforest and Brennan King).  I was kinda hoping that they would send Coste down - for reasons we won’t get into again.

As in, “I’m lagging” way behind.  There’s more FLP news than I have time to keep up with right now.  First off, HT to Tricia for alerting me to the fact that FLP, Alejandro Friere was playing for Spain in the recent Olympic qualifier.  Neate wrote here about former Lynx internet broadcaster, Shawn McCart’s return to Ottawa - nice to see that the Sun also gave him some column space for the story.

“It’s great to be back in Ottawa,” McCart said.

“I loved every minute of it,” McCart added of his time with the late and lamented Triple-A ballclub in 2006. “I called over 120 games and got to make some very good friends. I missed it so much last year that when my fiancee had vacation time, we went to (Triple-A cities) Buffalo, Rochester and Toledo … it ended up being my vacation more than hers.”

McCart is now co-ordinator of athletic sponsorship and marketing for the St. Catharines based university, his alma mater.

Nice work Neate.

In other FLP news, catcher Jason Jaramillo continues to impress down in ST and has survived yet another round of cuts to the minor league camp.  From the Phillies website:

Jaramillo has survived three rounds of cuts this spring, as he soaks up knowledge from Major Leaguers. He spent all last season at Triple-A Ottawa, batting .271 in 118 games and learning from then-manager John Russell, a former Major League catcher.

The strides he made with the Lynx last season convinced general manager Pat Gillick that the Phillies are covered should something happen to Carlos Ruiz or Chris Coste and Jaramillo’s services are needed at the big league level.

The switch-hitter, selected in the second round of the 2004 First-Year Player Draft, knows he’s close.

“It’s an awesome feeling, and frustrating at the same time, because you can see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Jaramillo said. “The biggest thing for me is knowing I can compete at this level. It’s nice to know that I’m still around here learning and getting at-bats. I’m just taking it all in.”

In describing his joy in calling a good game to earn a win for a pitcher, Jaramillo revealed his true thrill, which is likely shared by many catchers.

“Throwing out runners,” said Jaramillo, who grew up watching Benito Santiago and Ivan Rodriguez. “I really enjoy that.”

J.J. was one of Zack’s favorite players last year and someone he’ll always remember from his time in the clubhouse.  J.J. was the last player we saw after the final game last year as he loaded his gear out in the parking lot.  A smile and a wave, and then he was gone.