Unfortunately, other commitments (read: work) kept me from the Rapidz press conference yesterday - I would have liked to have been there. The good news is that both dailies and CTV attended and gave good coverage. Hopefully the solid coverage and reporting will continue through September. The final tally on the logo change came down on the Rapids/Rapides side of the ledger, but that might have been expected; fans often object to the tweaking of an original design. In any case, what’s done is done and as some commenters have noted, we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that it’s nice to be able to even have a logo to debate (if you follow my meaning).
The other positive news is that the Rapidz owners have recognized the value of the front office staff put in place by Miles Wolff. You will recall that Miles’ first hire was Lorraine Charrette, someone that was viewed as critical to the success of the fledgling franchise. Having been with the Lynx for thirteen years, she embodied all the front office knowledge gained by the AAA franchise - the “intellectual property” if you will. Recognizing her husband Don Charrette’s business sense and work ethic, Miles was quick to snap him up a month later. Sales and media relations rep. Francois Marchand, groundskeeper Josh Teuscher and Field Manager Ed Nottle followed.
It bears repeating: Mr. Wolff’s credentials speak for themselves when it comes to both baseball and the business of sport. But you could forgive a new ownership group if they elected to clean house and stamp their own identity on their new team - it’s certainly their prerogative. So it’s both reassuring and commendable that they have recognized the value of the solid nucleus of people that Miles put together by leaving them in place.
We had hoped Miles would be in Ottawa longer - how could you not? For all the accolades and achievements, the man is as humble and unpretentious as you will ever meet. Ask Ed Nottle about Miles’ contribution to baseball when you get the chance this season. Like Howard Darwin and Ray Pecor, the two owners that preceded him, Miles is a class act and an honorable man. Still, we recognize that there is intrinsic value in “local ownership” - both for Ottawa and the overall strength of the Can-AM League.
It’s a relief to be able to put the politics, legal wrangling and uncertainty behind us and to turn our attention where it belongs: May 22, 2008.
I’m genuinely surprised at the reaction to the name change and what it tells me is that in their brief existence, the Rapids have developed some brand loyalty. In short, it appears that people have become attached to the name and the original blue logo. All of this reaction comes on a weekend, when traditionally the blog traffic drops to a trickle, so things may even out in the morning - or the trend may continue. Neate’s done the heavy lifting as usual and has posted a virtual symposium of the comments left on the blogs, email and through Facebook contacts.
Unfortunately, yours truly will not be able to attend tomorrow’s press conference so the only coverage looks to be through the MSM (unless Neate or Pete Toms can make it).
Well, that didn’t take long did it? You’ll note that the blog has returned to it’s original “Lynx Red” format - hopefully the Raps didn’t order the bilingual blue unis yet. The team’s scheduled a press conference for Monday “regarding Ottawa’s new independent baseball team, the Ottawa Rapidz”. The speculation, as noted in the Ottawa Business Journal yesterday, is that the team will announce the sale of the Rapids to Zip.ca.
UPDATE: Zip.ca owner to buy Ottawa Rapids: source By Krystle Chow, Ottawa Business Journal Staff Thu, Apr 24, 2008 11:00 AM EST
Ottawa’s new professional baseball club, the Rapids, will be bought by Zip.ca’s CEO Rick Anderson and president Rob Hall, the OBJ has learned.
Sources intimate with the deal say the acquisition is close to being announced, with the purchase occurring before the Rapids play their first exhibition game against the New Jersey Jackals on May 22.
Online video rental company Zip.ca, along with Mr. Hall’s company Momentous.ca, is based in Ottawa.
Both Mr. Anderson and Mr. Hall have been prominent figures in the national high tech and political landscape. Mr. Anderson has worked with the Conservative Party and helped grow the Reform Party with Preston Manning, while Mr. Hall founded the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) which oversees the dot-ca domain, and is one of the principal founders of the Canadian Association of Internet providers, which represents all Internet service providers in the country.
The arrival of the Ottawa rapids franchise to the city was announced in February, when the Can-Am League said it would restore baseball to Ottawa after the departure of the Lynx due to poor attendance and parking disputes.
When contacted by the OBJ, a Zip.ca spokesperson said the company is an “enthusiastic supporter” of the new team, but neither confirmed nor denied the news of the acquisition.
“Whether Rick and Rob get involved with the team beyond being avid fans remains to be determined,” the spokesperson wrote in an e-mail.
And certainly a day that a number of us gave up on at various points along the way. Thanks to Bruce for the link to the video from last month’s presentation at City Hall. While it was a great day, Miles Wolff’s presentation came with this sobering reminder: the lease expires at the end of next season. Negotiations for a new lease will need to begin soon, probably at the end of the 2008 season. I’m hopeful that within that brief span of time the Raps will continue to forge ties with the people and business communities of Ottawa and Gatineau, in the process making the decision for Council a no-brainer.
Sorry, but due to the incredible run of weather, blogging has suffered. According to their website, the official Rapids roster stands at 14, but with the addition of catcher Max Bouchard, I believe it’s actually 15. All of these numbers of course are predicated on actual signings. Can-AM roster rules mandate a 22 man roster with an additional 2 permitted on the DL. The rules governing the make-up of the roster, are somewhat more complex.
Now if Ed Nottle is in need of another catcher, an interesting development has taken place in AAA - local player, Pete Laforest was let go by the Phillies over the weekend.
Speaking of nemesis, it turns out that Ed’s gone over to the “dark side”. For those of you that are interested, Ed will be attending a Pinecrest Little League training session at Ben Franklin Superdome tomorrow night. We, of course, play in the East Nepean Little League district.
I spoke briefly with manager Ed Nottle last week and he expressed some concern about one infield position in particular: “I’m still looking for a catcher.” According to the Can AM League website, he’s found one - Max Bouchard. Stats and vitals for Mr. Bouchard are pretty tough to come by, and I’m dealing with limited time this evening. What I did find was that he was playing for the Mets organization in the Gulf Coast League in 2007. The 22 year old, 6′2 catcher hails from Louiseville (sic?), Quebec. More later.
Speaking of Mr. Nottle, Ed was making the rounds this evening, speaking to members of the Orleans Little League out at the Kennedy Arena. Now that he’s back in town, look for more opportunities to see and hear the Raps skipper shortly.
And finally, several of you have noticed that the UOLB has gone dark. It’s temporary. Let’s just say I’ve got some housekeeping issues to deal with over there. Rest assured, it will be back - I’m hoping to have it firing on all cylinders by the weekend.
Senor Sager’s got the scoop on the Raps most recent acquisitions. It’s funny though - the local press is beating the Rapids to the news release because the players are telling reporters about the contracts directly. In some instances it appears that the team hasn’t even received the fax before the deal is revealed.
“Maranacook Community School graduate Jared Lemieux has another chance in professional baseball.
In a phone interview Saturday evening, Lemieux said he had signed a contract with Ottawa Rapids of Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball.
Lemieux, who graduated from Bowdoin College in 2006, said he will report May 9 to the team, an expansion franchise in the Can-Am League.
“It’s been a little stressful,” Lemieux said of waiting to sign a deal. “This was the No. 1 team I was trying to get with. It was just a matter of me waiting it out.”
Lemieux said he signed his deal and faxed it Friday to Ottawa. This is Lemieux third stop in the Can-Am League. He signed with the Worcester Tornados in 2006 but lasted just two weeks with the team. In the fall of 2006, he signed to play with Sussex for the 2007 season.”
The twenty four year old Lemieux has designs on being the Raps starting centrefielder. The other pickup is infielder Jabe Bergeron, and wouldn’t you know it, there’s a hockey connection:
Head Coach Dave Barnard on Jabe Bergeron:
“Jabe Bergeron is the best hitter we’ve had in my 11 seasons at Williams. He combines power with plate discipline and the ability to put the ball in play. In addition to being the all-time leader in every Williams College offensive category, he was also a three year starter in hockey, leading the team in scoring in his junior year……watched many hockey games over his career and never saw him take a penalty.”
Couldn’t find the hockey stats, but here are the relevant baseball numbers:
Or perhaps “vernacular” would be more appropriate. We continue to pick up on the baseball lingo, and the lesson this week has been the difference between “signed” and “acquired“. What we’ve learned: Don’t spend too much time blogging a player until he’s been signed. Sharp readers of the blog have been quick to notice that recent acquisition Abner Arroyo is already gone. On today’s transaction wire comes the news that Raps RHP, Matt Varner has been traded to Schaumburg of the Northern League for Orlando Trias - a former Toronto Blue Jays prospect.
Until Trias is actually signed, this will have to suffice:
