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…

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.“

We’re just about closing out the pitchers, which is good; even though it’s only March 5, I’m running out of time. Ryan spent last season in SWB and saved 19 games - his first season as a true “closer”. It’s not at all clear where he’ll end up in 2007 - Ottawa as a closer, or in the Phillies bullpen. My bet is that it’ll be a combination of the two, with his season beginning here in Ottawa. Having said that, the Phillies are getting a look at him in ST as one of the non-roster invitees.

From scout.com:

After working his way through the Rockies and Red Sox organizations, Ryan Cameron has now spent two seasons in the Phillies organization. Both have been a success and he could be a surprise candidate for a job in the bullpen.

Projection: There are plenty of relievers who get away with not having a blazing fastball. Cameron has control and movement and those are two keys to getting hitters out. There is no reason to believe that he couldn’t help a major league team out as part of their bullpen ensemble, at least against right-handers, since lefties hit .259 against him last season. Cameron would likely be the kind of pitcher who would come in to get an out or two to get out of an inning and then hand it over to someone else.

Sorry for the delayed blogging today, but things just never got off the mark this morning and I’m playing “catch-up”. Moving up through the pitching ranks, we find Jim Crowell next on our list of prospects. A little history on his journey through baseball, c/o the baseballcube.com:

Signed - Signed as an undrafted free agent by the Cleveland Indians in 1995 Jun 17,1995 - Signed as undrafted amateur Free Agent by Indians. Jul 31,1997 - Traded by Indians with Scott Winchester, Damian Jackson and Danny Graves to Reds for John Smiley and Jeff Branson. Jul 11,2000 - Released by Reds. Jul 22,2000 - Signed as Free Agent by Cardinals. Oct 12,2000 - Released by Cardinals. Nov 16,2000 - Signed as Free Agent by Cardinals. Mar 30,2001 - Released by Cardinals. Apr 23,2001 - Signed as Free Agent by Padres. Jul 2,2001 - Released by Padres. May 1,2002 - Signed by independent Atlantic City (Atlantic) Aug 18,2002 - Purchased by Phillies from Atlantic City (Atlantic). Oct 4,2004 - Granted Free Agency. Nov 23,2004 - Signed as Free Agent by Marlins. Feb 9,2006 - Signed by Nationals (minor)

Somewhere in there they missed the deal that brought him back to the Phillies; he pitched in SWB last season. Here are his stats. Unfortunately, Jim is a player about whom I could find precious little on the ‘net. MiLB reports:

“Crowell has spent four of the past five seasons in the Phillies organization, including 2006, going 2-3 with a 3.67 ERA in 40 appearances — seven starts — for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The 32-year-old appeared in four games for the Phillies in 2004 and two games for the Reds in 1997. “

We also know that he’s one of the non-roster invitees to ST, so I’ll try to update his profile with stats and recaps of his performances. The thing is, there’s always a “story” out there - I just haven’t found his yet.

See what I mean? -8C overcast and snowing yesterday. Today, about +2C, sunny and all that snow is starting to melt. But some things never change - I still suck at cross-country skiing.

Today’s profile is of Kane Davis who is, apparently, no relation to our next profiled pitcher, Allen Davis. You can find his stats at the baseball cube. Surprisingly, the Canadian Sportsnet website has a nice profile of him, including:

“For someone with so little major-league experience, he has remarkable poise with runners aboard. He shows no fear against righties, who are growing to fear him. Unfortunately, his poise with runners aboard abandons him when the game is on the line in the late innings. Also, while right-handed hitters may fear him, lefties love him.”

Beerleaguer gives a nice chronology of his career -

“Originally a 13th-round pick of the Pirates, Davis has pitched in 96 major league games, most recently with Milwaukee in 2005. The signing was first reported by Jayson Stark of ESPN.com.

The 6-3 right-hander saw most of his action with Colorado in 2001, going 2-4 with a 4.35 ERA in 57 appearances, all in relief. In addition, he’s pitched with Cleveland, Milwaukee and the Mets, most recently with the Brewers in 2005, where he went 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA in 16 2-3 innings.

Following the season, the Brewers re-signed him to a one-year, $375,000 non-guaranteed deal. However, he never made it past spring training due to shoulder tendinitus and was placed on waivers. He finished the season pitching for Somerset of the independent Atlantic League.”

Finally, a bit of video from yesterday’s action c/o ESPN (only recommended if you’ve got broadband.

See what I mean? -8C overcast and snowing yesterday. Today, about +2C, sunny and all that snow is starting to melt. But some things never change - I still suck at cross-country skiing.

Today’s profile is of Kane Davis who is, apparently, no relation to our next profiled pitcher, Allen Davis. You can find his stats at the baseball cube. Surprisingly, the Canadian Sportsnet website has a nice profile of him, including:

“For someone with so little major-league experience, he has remarkable poise with runners aboard. He shows no fear against righties, who are growing to fear him. Unfortunately, his poise with runners aboard abandons him when the game is on the line in the late innings. Also, while right-handed hitters may fear him, lefties love him.”

Beerleaguer gives a nice chronology of his career -

“Originally a 13th-round pick of the Pirates, Davis has pitched in 96 major league games, most recently with Milwaukee in 2005. The signing was first reported by Jayson Stark of ESPN.com.

The 6-3 right-hander saw most of his action with Colorado in 2001, going 2-4 with a 4.35 ERA in 57 appearances, all in relief. In addition, he’s pitched with Cleveland, Milwaukee and the Mets, most recently with the Brewers in 2005, where he went 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA in 16 2-3 innings.

Following the season, the Brewers re-signed him to a one-year, $375,000 non-guaranteed deal. However, he never made it past spring training due to shoulder tendinitus and was placed on waivers. He finished the season pitching for Somerset of the independent Atlantic League.”

Finally, a bit of video from yesterday’s action c/o ESPN (only recommended if you’ve got broadband.