Back to the lab again. With just a few short days until Spring Training begins, the blog returns to player profiling. Ed Nottle and the Rapz have signed what looks to be their starting catcher, Kyle Geiger. Geiger will be 26 next week ( May 8 ) and comes to Ottawa via the New Britain Rock Cats - Minnesota’s AA team in the Eastern League.
A career .240 hitter, Kyle appeared in 85 games for the Rock Cats last season and according to our friends at Scout.com, his stock fell a bit from his 2006 season:
Geiger was supposed to have a breakout season for New Britain this season, but after a standout season for the Fort Myers Miracle last season, he struggled with the bat in the Eastern League. Still, he is regarded as one of the better catching prospects in the Twins organization, but could be back in New Britain next season. Overall, he batted only .250, and if he can learn to work the count better, should be a .275 or better hitter.
Still, he made enough of an impact in New Britain that he won the 10th Player Award, which was determined by fan voting. And as a relative late-comer to the catching position, Kyle offers Ed some much needed versatility.
Kyle Geiger:In high school, my junior year, I played some outfield and DHed a little, but didn’t really catch full time until my senior year. My senior year, the last home game of the season, I played every position in 1 game. My coach always wanted to do that, but never had that versatile of a player to do it with, so he started me pitching that game, and then I moved all around the diamond in the order of positions every inning. And since we only played 7 innings in H.S., I played the outfield in the last inning and just moved to the three outfield positions for every out(1 our for left, center, and right).
I also wrestled for 1 year, and played football all 4 years.
Readers of the UOLB will know that our clan has a real soft spot for catchers (e.g. Brandon Marsters, Eli Whiteside, Jason Jaramillo) so we’ll be following Kyle’s Ottawa career closely.
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:
Just a quick note for this afternoon/evening - from the Can-AM League’s official website, Ottawa’s claimed infielder Abner Arroyo from the Sioux Falls Canaries of the American Association (Indy). More on Arroyo to come. And speaking of “filling out” - Sussex has acquired FLP, Walter Young. Walter reportedly tips the Toledos at 320+ lbs and is quite possibly the heaviest player in all of professional baseball. Atlantic City was rumored to be in the running for Young’s services, until Surf stadium and league officials became concerned about the structural integrity of a clubhouse that also included Cecil Fielder.
80s pop culture influences run deep in this household (blogger: It explains some of the embarrassing CDs in the collection).
Ahem.
Picked up the Raps latest signing off the Can AM League website - Angelo “Jello” Burrows. Burrows, an RHP, spent last season in Nashua and went 4-2 as a reliever in 32 appearances, picking up two saves along the way. Jello held the opposition to a 2.51 ERA, striking out 47 in 52 1/3 innings, while walking 22.
Angelo is one of those baseball oddities - he started his career with the Atlanta Braves organization as an outfielder, before being moved to pitcher in 2004. Traded to the Cubs in 2005 as part of the deal that sent Todd Hollandsworth to the Braves, Burrows made it as high as AA with the Braves and A+ ball with the Cubs, before signing with Nashua in 2007.
Quick interview from 2005:
Inside The Ivy: What are some of the things the Cubs have you working on in “Instructs?”
Angelo Burrows: They’re stressing me working on pickoff moves, being quick to the plate and just being a better overall pitcher really. I’m working on the basics right now.
Inside The Ivy: How did the process of changing organizations late into the season go for you?
Angelo Burrows: Well it was unexpected, you know? I didn’t expect it because of the fact that it didn’t happen until the end of the year. I didn’t even know I could be traded after the July 31 deadline. It was shocking, but it was in my best interest as a pitcher to be a part of the Cubs’ organization. Once it registered with me, I was happy about it afterward.
Inside The Ivy: You seem to have answered the next question, which was—was it a surprise?
Angelo Burrows: It was, man. I was with Myrtle Beach (Advanced-A affiliate) and we were on the road. It was a late game, about 10:30 p.m., maybe 11 o’clock. As soon as he came into the clubhouse, my manager (Randy Ingle) said he had some news for me. He’d been ejected in the game, so he was already in the clubhouse. He told me that I’d been traded. It was just unexpected, man. Words couldn’t express how I really felt.Inside The Ivy: You also have a nickname, correct?
Angelo Burrows: Yeah, “Jell-o.” It’s short for my first name.
Inside The Ivy: Tell us about your repertoire for those who are unfamiliar with you.
Angelo Burrows: I feature a fastball and a changeup. My fastball is typically low-90’s. I had been working on a slider when I was with the Braves, but the Cubs took me aside and told me they wanted me to work on a curveball. They didn’t say why really. Since I come over the top, they tell me I have a chance at having a good curveball with my arm angle the way it is.
Inside The Ivy: What do you consider your out-pitch?
Angelo Burrows: I usually try to use my changeup a lot, but if I have good command of my fastball, I’ll go with either one. I’d still probably say my changeup.
Inside The Ivy: There are a lot of pitching instructors in Mesa at the moment. Which ones have you been working with the closest?
Angelo Burrows: David Rosario and Tom Pratt.
Inside The Ivy: You began your career with the Braves as an outfielder before making the switch to pitching in 2004. How did the transition go?
Angelo Burrows: It wasn’t easy, man. It was something I’d never done before. The Braves just felt that they could see me making it in the big leagues more as a pitcher than as a position player. They told me they had some guys ahead of me, and that they just felt pitching would be my best and quickest way to the big leagues.
Inside The Ivy: What was the hardest thing about it all?
Angelo Burrows: The hardest thing was just learning how to pitch. It was something that I wasn’t sure about and didn’t have much confidence in at first. I had to learn about mechanics and about dealing with the aches and pains of a pitcher. I learned control and balance. It was mind boggling to have to start over from scratch and start at the bottom. It took a lot out of me, but my goal was to be a big leaguer. I guess pitching was just my calling.
That according to Mike Kusiewicz, the Raps first signing. Follow the link to the article in today’s Centretown News Online - it’s a good piece, complete with opinion from Howard Darwin.
The arrival of a new baseball team is bittersweet for Howard Darwin, former co-owner of the Ottawa 67’s, and the man who brought professional baseball to Ottawa in 1993.
Darwin led the effort to bring the Lynx to Ottawa and convinced city council to approve the construction of Ottawa Stadium.
“I was very, very disappointed when the Lynx left,” Darwin said. “We worked hard to bring the team here and build that stadium.”
Darwin said despite the Lynx’s attendance problems, there is still a market for baseball in Ottawa.He also points to the Rapids later start date as something that will help the team.
“I hope they succeed, and they might, because they’re starting around the end of May,” said Darwin. “At one point they had to shovel the stands before a game. People won’t watch baseball in the snow.
Darwin also said he will head over to Ottawa Stadium to see a few home games.
While he says the quality of baseball won’t be the same as the Lynx, he’s just glad to see the stadium in use.
He hopes the Rapids do what it takes to ensure Ottawa residents can enjoy professional baseball.
“Whatever the hell they can do to keep baseball here,” said Darwin, “I wish them the best.”
In other news, the Raps signed infielder Jose De Los Santos a couple of days back. Jose De Los Santos, 23, hails from the Dominican Republic and in his three professional seasons has played every infield position, save pitcher. It was difficult to pin down his whereabouts in 2007,
According to Baseball America’s 2007 stats, it looks like Jose played for the Hickory Crawdads of the South Atlantic League. The Crawdads are the Single A affiliate for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Proper Name: Jose Luis De Los Santos (De Leon) Born: Feb. 17, 1985 in Santo Domingo, D.R.
Not to throw any fuel on the fire here, but see if you can spot what’s missing on The Team 1200’s revamped website…
Old:
New:
I guess for the new Team 1200, the only sports teams and leagues which exist are those that they have broadcast rights for (i.e. the Senators and the 67’s). The images aren’t the greatest, but on the old webpage, the upper banner included Sens, 67s, Lynx, CFL, etc. logos. The updated version only carries the Sens and the 67’s.
Tip of the hat to Tricia and Pete for the heads up on Canada’s result yesterday in Taiwan:
With Canada’s 4-3 victory over South Korea and Taiwan’s 4-0 win over South Africa, the final three teams for the 2008 Olympics are set.
Canada and Taiwan will join South Korea, which qualified earlier in the tournament for the Olympics, along with the United States, Cuba, China, Japan and the Netherlands at the 2008 Beijing Games in August. This year will mark the first time since baseball was introduced as a medal sport in 1992 that four Asian countries will be competing…South Korea entered the top of the ninth inning trailing 4-1 and was able to
