History lesson

For those of you who’ve not seen it, Friend of the Blog Todd Devlin has written what has to be the definitive word on baseball in Ottawa over at the Canadian Baseball Network.  It really doesn’t get any better than this; clearly this exhaustive piece involved a considerable amount of research and a significant investment of Todd’s time.  No stone has been left unturned as Todd chronicles the entire history of Lynx Stadium, all the way from 1989 when it was just a gleam in the late Howard Darwin’s eye, to its present day vacancy. 

The article should serve as a good history lesson for members of City Council who may have forgotten some of the facts surrounding the demise of the Lynx, their shoddy treatment of the team’s second owner (Ray Pecor) and their collective culpability in driving AAA baseball out of Ottawa -

Following the 2000 season, in which the Lynx drew a franchise-worst 2,339 fans per game, Darwin sold the team for $7 million — and handed over his field of dreams — to Vermont businessman Ray Pecor, who also owned the class-A Vermont Expos.
 
Pecor put his young Vermont general manager, Kyle Bostwick, in charge of the triple-A franchise, and provided him with a full front-office team. In a lot of ways, it was a fresh start for an organization that had, in just five years, become a shadow of its former self.
 
“We were very, very excited to take over and to do some great things,” said Bostwick, who remained the team’s GM until the end. “And (JetForm) was just a beautiful facility. It was a wonderful representation of baseball in Canada.”
 
The new ownership ramped up marketing efforts and got the message out that, indeed, Ottawa’s baseball stadium was not only still open for business, but it was still showcasing some of the best baseball in the country on a nightly basis. The new front-office team also provided Lynx fans with an enhanced experience at the ballpark, including in-game promotions and activities throughout the stadium, something that had been lacking in the past.
 
“We were asking people to give us a second chance,” Bostwick said. “For the most part, the fans responded.”
 
They certainly did in the beginning. For the first time in franchise history, attendance increased at Lynx games in 2001, up nearly 26%.
 
“There was new excitement and buzz,” Bostwick said. “The trend was definitely there.”

Quite honestly, this was a chapter that I’d forgotten as well, and I suspect that I’m not alone.  Ever since the Lynx left, the commonly preached story was that the decline in attendance (and interest in baseball in general) began after the first baseball strike and was steady.  Clearly, not so.  Unfortunately, we’ve heard this account so often that it has been accepted as dogma and, in my view, continues to cloud the reasoning of decision makers with respect to the legal issues surrounding the Lynx.

This is but one chapter in Todd’s comprehensive telling of the story.  I commend all of it to you.

A link to Todd’s ongoing work – The 500 Level, appears on this blog’s Friends of the Lynx blogroll.  Thanks to Todd Devlin for sending along the article.

Blog neglect

And not for lack of information – in fact, there’s so much FLP type news it’s been impossible for me to keep up with.

First off – it doesn’t appear that Jason Jaramillo will be cracking the lineup for the Pittsburgh Pirates.  With an average in Spring Training well below the Mendoza line (around .148 last time I checked), he may have lost the back-up role to Robinson Diaz.

 

Former Lynx manager, John Russell has some tough decisions to make.

Meanwhile, FLP J.A. Happ is locked in a duel with Chan Ho Park for the fifth spot in Philadelphia’s rotation.  J.A.’s ERA in ST is hovering just above 3 (3.15), while Park is just below at 2.87.  Philly GM, Ruben Amaro Jr. has indicated that either could be used in relief as well.  One wonders if the fact that J.A.’s a southpaw will tip the scales in his favor.

J.A. in Philly red.

Interesting find over on Bobby Valentine’s blog * (Valentine is the manager of the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Japanese Pacific League) -

I’m looking forward to getting to know Gary, who is a very talented artist, as well as a very talented baseball player. He’s from Connecticut yet I had never met him before last year. Gary was a player for the La New Bears last year, a team that we had a working agreement with in Taiwan. He did a fabulous job for them, hitting .323 and slugging .500 and with an almost .400 OBP. Gary can play first base, in the outfield, and of course DH. I’m looking forward to his contributions.

Obviously he’s not the highest-paid player on our team ― he may be the lowest-paid player, or one of them ― but I think his contributions will be very, very large.

He’s the type of player who just wants an opportunity; he’s always fought for everything he’s gotten. He reminds me truly of our fans; who never give up. When they believe in something, they give their all, every minute of the day, and fight to the bitter end. Gary seems to have that same kind of spirit.

As a token of his gratitude to Valentine, Gary arrived in camp with a gift for his new manager -

In his debut with the Marines, Gary hit two doubles in a 9-1 win over the Tohoku Rakuten Eagles.

* unfortunately, Valentine has elected to discontinue his blog.

September numbers

Thought I’d take a quick look at how the three former Lynx affiliates (including Washington) were doing in the run-up to the post-season.

Tied with San Diego for the worst winning percentage in all of MLB (.386), the Washington Nationals are going nowhere in 2008.   The Baltimore Orioles under FLC, Dave Trembley haven’t fared much better; they currently sit last in the AL East, 15 games below .500 (64-79).  One bright note: Trembley will return as manager in 2009, with a club option for 2010.

The Phillies on the other hand, are in the thick of a division and Wild Card race.  As of this morning they trail the NL East leading Mets by 2.5 games and the Brewers by 3 in the Wild Card.  With 17 games left (and remembering the Mets’ 2007 collapse) anything can happen.  FLP, J.A. Happ appeared in last night’s loss to the Marlins, and got tagged for three runs (including a homer), but not the loss after 3 1/3 innings of middle relief.   For the season, he’s appeared in five games (17.1 innings total) and has an ERA over 5.  His best appearance was on July 9 when he went 6 1/3 innings, giving up two runs (although these were runners left on, charged to J.A.) – he probably should have picked up the win, which eventually went to another FLP, Clay Condrey.

Another FLP added to Philadelphia when the rosters expanded was Andy Tracy.  In very limited use, (i.e. 4 at bats), Andy’s gone o’fer, with a walk, a K and a lone RBI.  His season in AAA was impressive – .288 (20 pts. higher than his MiLB lifetime average) with 22 HRs and 85 RBI.

More to come.

Signs of the apocalypse

Blog posts on consecutive days…  this should happen more frequently now that the season’s over.  Getting back to the stats game from yesterday:

Team batting average:

2007:  .267

2008:  .256

ERA:

2007: 4.77

2008: 4.41

Again, almost a wash.  You will recall of course, that the media liked to have it both ways with Ottawa: We were told that hitters couldn’t excel because it was too cold,  and yet pitchers also struggled?  Statistically speaking, how exactly is a pitcher not the direct beneficiary of a hitter who doesn’t excel?   Does the catcher get the credit for pop-flys, groundouts and the occasional K?   It’s really pretty simple:  When a hitter squares off against the pitcher, one guy wins and one guy loses.  Unfortunately, with no one taking any of this accepted Lynx related “wisdom” to task, perception became reality .

Nope.  I’m going to guess that the stats the teams pile up has a whole lot less to do with the venue than it does with the quality of the team constructed by the parent club.

By the numbers

With the full knowledge that “stats are for losers”, this may be the only one that matters:

2007:  55-89

2008:  55-89

All the advantages of large crowds, a modern facility, and most importantly, better weather, had absolutely no affect in the “win-loss” column.  At least not for this year.

More stats to follow…

Men of honor

Our baseball home away from home.

Long, long overdue.  We spent a week south of the border last month, indulging “the boy’s” fascination (bordering upon obsession) with all things baseball.  Cooperstown was certainly all that it was billed as: a charming, baseball lover’s paradise, nestled in upstate New York.  My recommendation?  If you have anything more than a passing interest in baseball, you’ll need more than a day to take in the Hall of Fame.  For a kid who’s a stats freak par excellence, Zak was in heaven.  He successfully stumped more than one adult in the “So you think you know baseball?” interactive game, the HOF version of “Who wants to be a millionaire”.  (Question:  Who holds the highest lifetime average?  Answer: Ty Cobb.  But to the amazement of the moderator, the freak, errr, my son also knew that Cobb’s average was .366.  Now if we could just get him to remember to pick his clothes up off the floor…)  The boy was visibly moved in the Hall of Fame plaque gallery, reflexively removing his hat out of respect for baseball’s greatest men.

Two of Zak’s heroes, Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson.

The second leg of our trip brought us to Burlington, Vermont to take in a Lake Monsters game.  We timed the trip to coincide with the arrival of Dusty Wathan’s Williamsport Crosscutters.   Unfortunately - depending on who you were cheering for of course, Dusty’s team beat up on Vermont pretty badly that night. 

We caught up with Dusty briefly following the game and congratulated him on being named manager of the Crosscutters.  Earlier in the evening, Dusty had spotted Zak in the crowd and tossed him a baseball (Dusty later took the time to kid Zak about dropping the toss.  The boy elected to hang on to my camera and drop the ball instead.  Wise choice).

Dusty, putting down the signals.

I had the great pleasure and genuine honor of meeting Lynx owner Ray Pecor.  Blog regulars will know that I have always maintained a great deal of respect for Mr. Pecor (who insisted on being addressed as “Ray”), though I’d never met the man.  I’m exceedingly pleased to report that the man lives up to his reputation as a true gentlemen.   In a day when things such as loyalty and decency are increasingly rare, it is noteworthy that Kyle Bostwick is still standing by his side - a testament to the true character of both men.  It was a complete privilege to spend an evening with them, and to have the opportunity to express my very real regret for how things had turned out in Ottawa.  As Miles Wolff, Commissioner of the Can-Am League pointed out months ago, we here in Ottawa were lucky to have them.  That baseball is still being played on Coventry Road is largely due to them; no one person brought baseball back to Ottawa, but more than anyone, they made it possible.

 

(left to right) Kyle Bostwick, Ray Pecor, unofficial Lynx blogger.

This just in…

The Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting that FLP, J.A. Happ will make his first start for Philly in ’08 tonight against the New York Mets and (gulp) one Johan Santana. There’d been a great deal of speculation about who would fill the open roster spot in Philadelphia after Brett Myers was optioned to the Triple-A city that shall remain nameless.

The Phillies won’t really need a fifth starter until Saturday when they face the Mets. The problem with that though is that Cole Hamels and Jamie Moyer were set to pitch the first two games against New York and the Phillies might want to keep it that way. The option would be to find someone to make a start against the Braves Thursday night in Atlanta.

J.A. Happ ( 5-6, 3.54 ) has been pitching well at Lehigh Valley (ed: Triple A city that shall remain nameless) and it’s long been whispered that he might be the next one to get the call. One issue with bringing Happ into the rotation is that he would add another left-hander, giving them three left-handers in the rotation. Happ was 3-1, 2.51 in five starts in June and last pitched on Saturday, putting him on a schedule that would have him pitch next on Thursday.

It’s not likely that Happ’s new teammate, Kris Benson, who made a rehab start with the IronPigs on Monday is ready to pitch in the big leagues just yet. Benson needs to keep picking up some velocity, which will come as he adds arm strength, but for now, he’s not likely to be a candidate. The only other Triple-A pitcher who would really warrant any consideration would be lefty Brian Mazone ( 8-6, 3.28 ) who has been steady all season, even through the early season struggles that the IronPigs (ed: team formerly known as the Ottawa Lynx) faced when they lost 23 of their first 25 games.

The pitching staff is pretty well loaded at Double-A Reading if the Phillies want to dig deeper into the minor league system. With Antonio Bastardo on the DL, Carlos Carrasco ( 5-7, 4.18 ) would seemingly be the best pick out of the Double-A ranks. The bad news is that Carrasco is coming off his worst month of the season and has seen his ERA jump over a full run in the past month. Carrasco last pitched on Friday night, putting him on schedule to pitch again Wednesday night, but pushing him to Thursday would be no problem at all.

The Phillies could put together a “bullpen game” and just run a bunch of relievers out to the mound for a game either against Atlanta or New York, but that’s not exactly a great situation. If they do, Steve Green ( 4-0, 3.08 ) could be a nice addition to the bullpen and he did make one spot start for Lehigh Valley and gave them four very strong innings.

Finally, the Phillies could go outside the organization. A phone call to Shawn Chacon? Not likely, although it’s not out of the question. Maybe the Phillies will finally pull the trigger to get one of the starters out there – Randy Wolf, Dan Haren, Ian Snell, Ben Sheets or a list of others – who have been floated on the trade market early on.

You will recall of course, that initially the thinking was that guys like J.A., Zack Segovia and Joe Bisenius (among others) had poor seasons in Ottawa because of the weather.  Turns out all three were playing with fairly significant injuries.

Nice to see J.A. get his shot on the 4th of July.

“This could be your golden opportunity…”

Noticed.

Oh ye of little faith:

The Lynx diaspora: It’s quite likely the 2007 Lynx’s contribution to the IL squad for the Triple-A All-Star Game will go completely unnoticed — Ottawa’s erstwhile boys of summer will have four representatives (really; OK, not really) in the July 16 game in Louisville.

Joe Thurston, the second baseman and 2-hole hitter through most of last season’s Long Goodbye, has been spanking the ball for Pawtucket (.324 average, tops in the circuit) and will make an IL record-tying fourth all-star appearance. Catcher Jason Jaramillo, the Lynx rep in last season’s game, is headed back along with his Lehigh Valley IronPigs batterymate, left-hander Brian Mazone . Closer Brian Sanches is the Columbus Clippers representative. Crazy. Maybe they just needed to stay one more season?

That’s a “quick hit” for tonight (blogger: The house is being torn up err… reno’d starting tomorrow).  Coming soon: FLP update on Val Majewski.

Long distance blogging

Nice to see FOTL, the Vermont Lake Monsters, open up the season with a win on a cool breezy night in Burlington.  Perusing their website, I was surprised at some of the Lake Monsters/Expos alumni who’ve made it all the way to the Majors – Orlando Cabrera (1995), Jamey Carroll (1996), Andy Tracy (1996),  Jason Bay (2000) and Kory Casto (2003), among others.

Interesting to note that Darnell Coles is not returning as manager in Vermont – that honor now goes to Ramon Aviles.  Trivia type Montreal connection?  Aviles went 0-1in his only NLDS at bat (Game 4) against the Expos in 1981 as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies.  Montreal won that series 3-2.  Darnell has moved up to the Washington Nationals Single A full season affiliate in the South Atlantic League, the Hagerstown Suns.

In related, FLP news, congrats to Howie Clark.  Like Brian Sanches earlier last week in Washington, Howie’s been added to Minnesota’s 40 man roster.  Howie, as you may recall has been playing in Rochester, the Twins AAA affiliate.   One of Zak’s favorites, Fernando Tatis has also been added to a 40 man – this time for the Mets.  The last bit of FLP news for today involves shortstop Gookie Dawkins – he’s been traded by the Phillies to White Sox for Mike Rouse.  This season saw Gookie in AA Reading.

As always, more later.

More FLP updates – (links repaired)

Several FLPs caught our eye this weekend as they continued to place the seemingly endless hurt on the Former Lynx Team (you remember, AAA Philadelphia?).  Howie Clark went 1-3 with a walk and run scored, Randy Ruiz 1-4 with a walk and a run, Heath Totten 3 IP scatttering 3 hits, 0 ER and 2Ks.  Most surprisingly, Eli Whiteside (Eli Whiteside?!) went 1-4 with a home run and threw out a base-runner for good measure.  Eli now calls Rochester, New York “home” and is backing up starting catcher Jose Morales for the Red Wings.

Eli was one of those players that we decided was a “good guy”.  Good guys, by definition, were players who played the game hard and who did that little extra for the fans/kids.  In August of 2006, Eli came out for the Junior Lynx clinic and spent the afternoon teaching kids the finer points of baserunning.  Howie Clark, Brian Burres and Brooks Badeaux all took time that memorable afternoon.  It’s noteworthy that Howie, Brooks and Eli were also playing that evening, so the Junior Lynx Clinic cut into their personal time.

FLC, John Russell is another one of the good guys.  The manager encouraged his players to come out to the post-game functions, and last year most of them took the advice.  Here’s a quick bit of audio from pre-season.