With the storm raging outside and the rest of the family in balmy Toronto, it’s time to get back to the blogs.  Apart from the serious setback to my cycling plans for tomorrow, this snowstorm would normally have me very concerned about OD.  With the season start now pushed back to May 22, we should be safe - but you just never really know around here.

Caught a quick update from J.A. Happ over at the Philadelphia Phillies official website:

While this year’s newer, sexier pitching prospects Joe Savery, Josh Outman and Carlos Carrasco garner the attention, J.A. Happ, last year’s model, quietly walks in and out of the clubhouse.

Stationed in the back of the clubhouse, wearing No. 66, Happ realizes how close Triple-A is to the Major Leagues, but he understands it is also quite far away.

Maybe rushing things, like he did last season, isn’t the right idea.

“Last year, I put a lot of pressure on myself,” Happ said. “I thought it was the year I had to put up great numbers, because I wanted to get [to the Major Leagues]. I was focused on a week ahead instead of what I needed to do that day. I had to concentrate on Triple-A instead of worrying about getting to the big leagues.

“Obviously, that’s still what I’m aiming for, but day-by-day is the biggest thing.”

Here’s hoping that J.A. has a better 2008.  (I never really knew how to refer to him last season - was it J.A? James? Jim?)  Another former member of the Lynx, Tim Leiper was also making headlines this past week - this story c/o Benjamin Hill’s blog:

In recognition of their manager, Tim Leiper, the Altoona Curve have announced that they will be celebrating “Leip Year” all season long! The 2008 campaign is Leiper’s third as Curve manager, but the first that has occurred on an honest-to-God “Leip” Year. Accordingly, the club is pulling out all the stops in order to fully recognize this exquisite confluence of events.

Leiper is on board with this promotion, and has even agreed to change his uniform number to 29 (in order to honor February 29, of course).

“My only concern is that I hope the jersey fits because if not, I might be forced to go on an emergency diet before the start of the season,” remarked the fortuitously-named skipper in the Curve’s press release.

I regret that my interest in the Lynx came so late; I’m sure that I went to a few games during Leiper’s stint(s) here, but not enough to have any particular memory of Ottawa’s colorful former manager.  I’m sure that many Lynx faithful have stories to share - or not, as the case may be.

Ever reach into a suit pocket and find a $20 you’d forgotten about?  Had just such a moment today when I found a missing memory card for my camera - 252 never seen before photos.  Just a little bittersweet looking at them though.

Gary gets set.

Matt Childers winds.

Eude delivers.

More later…

*** UPDATE ***

Hey!  The blog just rolled by 20,000 hits!

And the livin’ is, well, busy.   I knew this would happen - last winter when I had time to post two and three times a day, in the back of my mind I knew that come baseball season I would have much less time to blog.  Thursdays are particularly difficult, especially when “the boy” has a Little League game scheduled; there just aren’t enough hours in the day (and I’m rolling at 3 a.m. - literally).

Tonight marks the first 7:05 start, which buys me a little more time than I anticipated; I happened to glance over at the ballpark when I was driving down the Queensway this afternoon and noted the move to the later start.  Columbus is in town for the first of four and the weather looks to be good - sunny and hot with the chance of “pop-up” thunderstorms.  As I noted yesterday, Matt Smith has been placed on the DL, but today we have the (good) news that J.A. Happ has come off the disabled list and will be called on immediately. Despite losing three in a row, Ottawa is only 6.5 back of Buffalo - with a record of 29-36, Columbus may be just what the doctor ordered.

See you at the game!

Yesterday I mentioned that I thought guys like Happ and Segovia would likely warrant a look by the braintrust in Philadelphia.  I spotted this article in the Philadelphia Inquirer today.

“If we don’t feel the internal solution is enough for the long term, then we’re going to have to go out there and find a starter,” Phillies assistant general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said yesterday from Clearwater, Fla. “That’s pretty simple math. There are starting pitchers that are out there, but whether or not they’re any good is something totally different. Whether they’re quality guys or serviceable guys, we’re not sure yet. We’re going to try to make a move that makes sense and makes our team better with the loss. We’re not just going to make a move just to make a move because it looks good.”

The Phillies also have no desire to move Ryan Madson into the rotation.

It’s clear the Phillies have few options at the moment at the minor-league level. The Phillies discussed triple-A Ottawa righthanders J.D. Durbin and Zack Segovia to replace Garcia, but their numbers weren’t impressive. Ottawa lefthander J.A. Happ would have been a candidate, but he is hurt.”

And still more bad news:  Matt Smith has been moved to the DL. After re-reading my interview with Gary Burnham, I would think there are a lot of agents for guys out of baseball and/or guys in the Independent Leagues calling teams right now with offers of help. It’s a shame that Happ’s season seems to have been affected by the injury which put him on the DL and that Brian Mazone couldn’t stick it out another month or so. I have to believe both would have had their shots at a big league start.

Finally, don’t forget to cast your votes for the AAA All Star game - let’s try to get as many Lynx players as we can to Albuquerque.

Okay. Now “finally”. Live blog: Howie Clark playing 1B for Toronto. 2-3 with a walk and three runs scored. Way to go Howie!

And his asking price will be “reasonable”.  Seriously though, Pat - he’s ready.  With the injury to Freddy Garcia (starting pitcher for the Phillies), certain organizational weaknesses are being exposed - namely, the lack of healthy bodies.  This whole debacle with Garcia is reminding me more and more of the Mike Sirotka nightmare. Man. You can’t sign a guy for that much money and not get a physical.

Getting back to the situation at hand though, given the Jose Mesa signing and the call up of Kyle Kendrick from Reading to take Garcia’s spot in the rotation, what are we to make of things here in Ottawa? It’s difficult to say whether injured pitchers J.A. Happ, Joe Bisenius or Matt Childers would have gotten a shot. For the moment, they’ve passed on the rest of the Ottawa rotation and bullpen, but I have to believe that guys like Zack Segovia and J.D. Durbin are still being considered - especially if the Zagurski and Kendrick experiments don’t work out. Since April, only four Lynx players have been called up to Philadelphia - Clay Condrey, Fabio Castro, Chris Coste and Yoel Hernandez, with Coste and Castro being subsequently sent back down below the AAA level.

This is where I find it tough to be a AAA fan - I’m cheering for all these guys here in Ottawa, but at the same time, I’d hate to see them leave. Having said that, if Gary Burnham got the call, I’d get down to Philly to see him play. In any event, there’s lots of movement in the organization right now, and if the Mesa deal has shown us anything, it’s that there isn’t much available on the market - Philadelphia may be forced to reach into their minor league system soon as the dog days of summer turn nagging injuries into bona fide DL moves.

It’ll be interesting.

Did I mention he could field too?

*** UPDATE ***

I had a quick exchange of email with Mike Drago, a good dude and reporter for the Reading Eagle.  The injury situation is worse in Reading - to the point that they’re currently playing a couple guys short.  Heath Totten is just coming back from an injury, Kendrick has been called up and Javon Moran, their starting CF, is on the DL.

There was also the news today that Clay Condrey is being returned to Ottawa following Kendrick’s call-up. Hopefully his addition will help shore-up the bullpen a little.

Just when things seemed to be settling down a bit, the de facto closer in Philly, Brett Myers, appears to have been injured in last night’s game.  According to this article in the Inky, they’re readying Michael Zagurski down in Reading to take his place.  I’m not sure if that’s an indication of their confidence in Anderson Garcia and Brian Sanches, or if they’re just that impressed with Zagurski’s ERA and miniscule opponent’s average (.083) - I’m guessing it’s the latter. They say he tips the Toledos at 225 lbs - having seen a few photos, I’m thinking they’re being conservative.

From scout.com:

With the Phillies having a decent amount of left-handed starters in the organization and a decent amount of starters, Mike Zagurski has had to switch roles as a professional pitcher. In college, Zagurski was a starter and did a pretty decent job of starting for the Kansas Jayhawks during his career there. The Phillies simply didn’t need him in that role and completed his conversion to working as a reliever last season at Lakewood.

If any player epitomized the 2006 Lakewood BlueClaws, Zagurski was likely to be the one. The first half of his season wasn’t anything to make anybody think that he would be where he was at the end of the season. The second half, however, was when Zagurski excelled and made believers of everybody. The same was true for the BlueClaws as they turned things around and wound up being the South Atlantic League champions.

Perhaps because of his youth, Zagurski showed some inconsistency last season with Batavia, but battled through every situation that he was given. Another issue is that for a pitcher who is being considered as a left-handed relief specialist, Zagurski was more effective against right-handed hitters during his stint with Lakewood. Right-handers hit .208 against him while lefties hit .268 against Zagurski.

The Phillies love how Zagurski can keep the ball down in the zone when he’s on, but are working to keep his mechanics consistent. When his mechanics are off, Zagurski sinks into bad habits and leaves the ball up or out over the plate. While he doesn’t have the greatest of “stuff”, Zagurski knows how to pitch and will only get better as he moves - probably very quickly - through the system. It’s very possible that he’ll start the season at Double-A Reading and if he doesn’t start there, it’s almost a lock that he’ll reach that level before the end of the season.

Speaking of Lakewood, it looks like they’ve lucked out in the Ryan Howard rehab sweepstakes - like buying a lottery ticket, it was fun to think about the possibilities of him coming to Ottawa. Hopefully we’ll get a look at Rheal Cormier next week when the Richmond Braves come to town.

Last week I posted about Fabio Castro, and his disappointing results with Philadelphia. The other shoe dropped a few days ago - he was sent all the way down to Reading on May 20. Hopefully we’ll get him back in the near term.

Finally, PhuturePhillies has a good interview with Brennan King which you can find here.

Like most Saturdays, it’s been busy (and I still haven’t mowed the lawn). The regular ride in the Gatineau Park was followed by Zak’s Little League Picture Day out at the Sportsplex, then a two hour practice at the Eagles Nest. I was surprised (pleasantly) to run into the dynamic duo that is “Bryan and Ryan” from the Lynx while we were out at the Sportsplex. Apparently, Skratch and Trash Monster were out at another baseball function in Orleans, but it didn’t matter - a more approachable, at ease pair of guys you won’t find anywhere.

As promised, some of the roster changes from March 31 to present.

Here’s how things looked on March 31, 2007:

CATCHERS:

Jason Jaramillo - still in Ottawa.

Dusty Wathan - still in Ottawa, but was sent to Reading temporarily before rejoining the Lynx last month.

INFIELDERS:

Brent Abernathy - traded to the Washington Nationals around April 9.

Gary Burnham - still playing here, but for how much longer?

Brennan King - still patrolling 3B.

Carlos Leon - still in Ottawa.

Danny Sandoval - still in Ottawa.

OUTFIELDERS:

Ron Calloway - still with the Lynx.

Lou Collier - still with the Lynx.

Chris Roberson - thankfully, still in Ottawa. Flyballs have no chance with Chris.

Jim Rushford - still local.

Pedro Swann - sent to AA Reading.

PITCHERS:

Joe Bisenius - still in Ottawa.

Eude Brito - local, but on the DL.

Fabio Castro - called up by Philadelphia.

Matt Childers - solid starter, still here.

Jim Crowell - released, now playing for Syracuse.

Kane Davis - in Ottawa.

John Ennis - playing for the Lynx, currently on the DL.

J.A. Happ - solid LHP, still in Ottawa.

Yoel Hernandez - called up by Philadelphia.

Brian Mazone - release granted, playing in Korea. This one hurts.

Justin Miller - released.

Brian Sanches - solid closer, still local.

NOW:

CATCHERS:

Chris Coste - sent down by Philadelphia. Solid, versatile (1B, catcher, 3B) player.

INFIELDERS:

Joe Thurston - as close to certain as you can get; every ground ball is a “routine” out with Joe.

OUTFIELDERS:

Since Pedro was sent down, there have been no other changes.

PITCHERS:

Zach Segovia - reliable SP, a little snake-bit on the run support.

J.D. Durbin - recent acquisition, assigned to Ottawa on May 4.

Rick Bauer - sent down from Philly on April 23.

Matt Smith - optioned to Ottawa by the Phillies on April 26.

Ryan Cameron - called up to Ottawa from Reading on May 6. I profiled Ryan back in March.

Heath Totten - called up from Reading.

Jason Anderson - sent down by Philadelphia a couple of days ago.

At some point this weekend I’m going to try (heavy emphasis on “try”) to post the changes in the Lynx lineup since Opening Day. Another change this week: reliever John Ennis has been moved to the DL with Heath Totten coming up from Reading to replace him. As Doug Bird notes in his report over on PhuturePhillies, from a scheduling/travel perspective the team is on an absolutely brutal road trip. Fortunately, they’ve not had to dip too deep into the bullpen on too many occasions. Tough loss last night against Louisville in a well pitched game all around - newcomer J.D. Durbin went five innings, giving up six hits and two earned runs.

When the team gets back to Ottawa, they’re likely going to note some changes to the local scenery; the leaves have come out, the flowers are in full bloom and the smell of lilac is in the air. This is definitely my favorite time of year - caught the scent of gasoline and a freshly mowed lawn last night on our way home from Zak’s Little League game… spring in Ottawa has truly arrived. “The boy” is having an absolute blast playing baseball this spring and I can see the effect of his studying various Blue Jays players; he’s adopted Paul Molitor’s batting stance and bat “waggle” (he’s still working on the swing part of it). During tryouts a couple of weeks ago, the coaches evaluated the kids skills in order to seed the teams evenly. In the hitting portion, a coach threw him ten wiffle balls - after the first five, Zak put up his hand to delay the next pitch, then turned to hit left handed in his best John Olerud stance. Bekah asked me what her older brother was doing.

“Showing off”, I replied. The coach turned and gave me a “is this kid for real?” look. I shrugged and acted as if I was someone else’s Dad…

Quick little video from last night - nice steal of home on a passed ball at the end. (Youtube should have it ready by 2.30 p.m. at the latest).

The Lynx website is out in front of all the action, faster than I can run it down from my own “sources”, so you’re best to head over there for the most up to date scores.

My roster predictions are going to take a beating - at least as far as the bullpen and starting pitching is concerned. The loss of Justin Germano creates a bit of a problem; I lose one SP, but there may also be a chain reaction as other players move up/down or out to accomodate the change. It does seem, however, that the Phillies aren’t going to “rush” anyone, and according to the Inky, they’re looking at moving either Adam Eaton or Jon Lieber to the pen (both are starters). Money quote:

But there are 13 days before the season opener. A trade could still happen.
If not . . .

“I don’t know,” he said. “You’ve got me.”

So the Phillies are down to 40 men. From my roster prediction, I’ve lost Justin Germano and have completely backtracked on Garcia. On the brighter side, a couple of roster spots I’d “predicted” came a step closer - Danny Sandoval (IF) and Randall Simon (1B) were optioned (Danny) and reassigned (Randall) to the minors. By my count, seven pitchers have now been optioned or reassigned to the minor leagues, including blog predictions Brian Mazone, Anderson Garcia, Jim Crowell, John Ennis and Jeff Farnsworth.

I first blogged about Joe Bisenius here - at the time he seemed like a lock to start the season in Ottawa. But with an invite to ST, an appearance in the Arizona Fall League and comments from Pat Gillick (which I noted here) it’s starting to look like he might have a legitimate shot at making the big club.

Mike Drago of the Reading Eagle blogged about Joe’s time in Reading, and PhuturePhillies offers his assessment:

“Since modifying his delivery, he’s added the extra life on his fastball, and it appears that he has a future as a 7th/8th inning setup kind of guy. That would sure be valuable to the Phillies, who in the past, have been ever so eager to give that role to the likes of Mike Williams, Arthur Rhodes, and Turk Wendell, based purely on reputation. If Bisenius has a strong spring, he’s likely to earn a bullpen spot. If he pitches well in April and May, he could find himself in higher leverage situations come the summer. 2007 will be his age 24 season, so he’s still “of prospect age”, but because his future (at this point) is as a middle reliever, you won’t find him on many prospect lists. That’s just fine, because teams need young guys like Bisenius, even if they aren’t heralded as the next Mariano Rivera or the next Miguel Cabrera. Bullpen parts are essential to winning teams, and the Phillies may have plucked a very useful bullpen part out of the 12th round of the draft.

ETA: With a good spring, he makes the team out of spring training. If he struggles, he will probably start at Ottawa, but should make it to Philly by June if he pitches well.“