Opportunity knocks

News about another pitcher is leaking out.  It looks as though the Raps have made their second acquisition from the Intercounty Baseball League in Ontario with the “signing” of Canadian Jason Pilkington.

“Guelph was a way for me to work my way back into an independent contract and that’s hopefully going to get me back into (Major League) affiliated ball,” Pilkington said.

Pilkington came to Guelph after being released from the Edmonton Cracker Cats of the Northern League. He hoped to put up numbers good enough to turn him pro once again.

He went 5-1 with a 3.96 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 52 1/3 innings pitched. In the playoffs, he was 3-2 with 2.59 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 31 1/3 innings of work.

“I was actually expecting to go back to Guelph (this year),” Pilkington said. “But two weeks ago I contacted (CanAm commissioner) Miles Wolff.

“This seems like a perfect fit because they expanded so close to home. It’s always been a dream to pro ball in Ontario.”

Pilkington also played Indy ball with the Winnipeg Goldeyes when Hal Lanier was at the helm in 2005.  One wonders if the bad blood between the two will surface when Sussex and Ottawa match up.

Like Fraser Robinson, Pilkington is a tall (6′6) left handed pitcher -however, Robinson probably came by his left-handed status naturally. Not so for Jason - when he was a kid, his father taped his glove to his right hand to “encourage” him to throw with his left.

Rapids sign a reliever - minor UPDATE

There’s plenty of back story with righty-throwing reliever Greg Bunn, the Rapids’ newest acquisition.

The 25-year-old began his pro career in 2004 with none other than the short-season Class A Vermont Expos — owned by none other than Ray Pecor, the owner of the late and lamented Ottawa Lynx. Bunn also, believe it or not, operated a hot-dog stand — Bunbun’s — during his freshman season at East Carolina in 2002, so his mother could keep up with the bills while his dad recovered from a heart attack.

East Carolina is in Greenville, N.C., in Miles Wolff’s home state, so it’s possible that Bunn has been on Miles’ radar screen since his college days as a good pitcher and character guy (either that, or Miles just really knows how to work the Google on his Internet machine; that reference makes no sense unless you’ve seen that Will Ferrell movie Blades of Glory a dozen times).Bunn had a good career there and gave back to the fans, as evidenced by the open letter he sent to fans after signing with the Expos following, where he regretted not being able to lead the Pirates into the College World Series and that he was going to miss playing his senior season since he’d signed with the Expos.

Bunn’s career stats show he’s averaged more than a strikeout per inning as a reliever last season in the Washington Nationals chain, posting a 4.01 ERA in about 60 innings at Class A. His walk rates have occasionally been high, but he still comes off as a pretty good signing for the team.

The Rapids are wise to build around pitching. Their stadium is not exactly a launching pad for home-run hitters.

*** UPDATE ***

Carl adds: Thanks for posting this Neate.  I spoke to Miles Wolff about this signing yesterday; he heard of Bunn through a mutual acquaintance.  He was impressed with the story from Bunn’s freshman year as he’d not heard it previously.

Getting there

HT: Pete Toms for picking up on Ottawa’s most recent signing, RHP Matt Varner.  The Raps claimed Varner off waivers from the Lincoln Saltdogs of the Independent American Association.   Looks to be a fairly solid acquisition for Ottawa as Varner went 2-3, with 20 saves - the latter being second only to Jerrod Fuell who racked up 23.  Opponents batting average was a little high at .254, but his 45 appearances tied him for third spot in the entire league.

The 5′11, 27 year old was drafted by St. Louis in 2002.  His MiLB career was spent in the San Diego Padres organization and he got to the high A level in 2006 (with the Lake Elsinore Storm).  Last year in Lincoln was his first year in Indy ball.

Pitching Statistics

Year	Team	Lg	Age	Org	Level		W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SH	GF	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	WP	BK	H9	HR9	BB9	K9	WHIP	GB%
2003	LA Tech	WAC	21		NCAA		3	7	4.83	18	8	0	0		2	59.2	66	47	32	4	30	43	4		9.96	0.60	4.53	6.49	1.61	–
2004	Houston	ConfUSA	22		NCAA		7	4	4.03	19	13	0	0		0	89.1	99	48	40	8	35	69	6		9.97	0.81	3.53	6.95	1.50	–
	Eugene	Nwest	22	Sd	A-		1	2	4.50	10	1	0	0	3	0	16.0	16	10	8	2	9	14	3		9.00	1.13	5.06	7.88	1.56	–
	Fort Wayne	Midw	22	Sd	A		2	2	1.61	19	0	0	0	3	1	22.1	18	6	4	2	7	16	1		7.25	0.81	2.82	6.45	1.12	–
2005	Fort Wayne	Midw	23	Sd	A		4	5	4.00	54	0	0	0		34	54.0	47	24	24	5	18	62	1	0	7.83	0.83	3.00	10.33	1.20	–
2006	Lk Elsin	Calif	24	Sd	A+		1	4	2.13	42	0	0	0	21	6	42.1	51	23	10	3	11	35	0	0	10.84	0.64	2.34	7.44	1.46	–
2007	Lincoln	amer	25		ind		2	3	3.80	45	0	0	0	43	20	45.0	45	21	19	2	15	37	1	0	9.00	0.40	3.00	7.40	1.33	–
Minor League Totals - 4 Season(s)							10	16	3.26	170	1	0	0		61	179.2	177	84	65	14	60	164	6		8.89	0.70	3.01	8.24	1.32	-

Things continue to take shape…

Who is Jeremy Ware?

Right around this time last year, I’d moved past the player profiles over on the UOLB and speculation was beginning as to whom would make the 25 man minor league roster.  With the late start that the Rapids have been forced to deal with, the roster signings are just now rolling out.

First up, Jeremy Ware.  Ware played last year in southern Ontario for the Guelph Royals of the Intercounty Baseball League (IBL for my purposes).  The IBL’s an amateur, independent league made up of nine teams - some going as far back as 1911 (the Brantford Red Sox). 

“It was a fun experience. We had a great bunch of guys and that made it fun,” Ware said of the Royals, who were ousted last week from the semifinals in seven games by the Toronto Maple Leafs. “Baseball’s in my blood. I enjoy playing, but the break from professional ball is good.”

Ware hit .277 and led the Royals in homers (nine) and RBIs (31) in the regular season. In 13 post-season games, he hit .292 with two homers and eight RBIs.

                                                              [Guelphmercury.com, August 21, 2007]

Over his 12 year professional career, the left-fielder is a .264 hitter with 86 HR and 526 RBI.

Batting Statistics

Year	Team	Lg	Age	Org.	Level		Pos	Ln	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	HBP	IBB	SH	SF	DP	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	GB%
1995	GCL Expos	GCL	19	Mtl	Rk		of		38	116	18	28	4	2	2	15	5	4	18	28	3	0	0	1	2	.241	.355	.362	717	–
1996	GCL Expos	GCL	20	Mtl	Rk		of		15	44	10	16	3	3	0	17	6	1	9	4	0	0	2	0	0	.364	.472	.568	1040	–
	Vermont	NYPL	20	Mtl	A-		of		32	94	12	18	2	0	0	6	5	3	15	25	0	0	1	0	1	.191	.303	.213	516	–
1997	Cape Fear	SAL	21	Mtl	A		of		138	529	84	139	32	5	16	77	32	7	43	114	6	2	0	6	8	.263	.322	.433	755	–
1998	Jupiter	FSL	22	Mtl	A+		of		127	492	51	121	35	3	10	64	21	5	23	102	7	1	4	7	16	.246	.285	.390	675	–
1999	Jupiter	FSL	23	Mtl	A+		of		7	25	5	8	2	0	2	11	3	0	2	5	0	0	0	0	0	.320	.370	.640	1010	–
	Harrisburg	East	23	Mtl	AA		of		111	381	57	100	23	2	9	56	12	5	41	79	2	2	2	5	19	.262	.333	.404	737	–
2000	Harrisburg	East	24	Mtl	AA		of		123	442	62	123	23	2	10	63	12	11	39	87	2	2	0	5	10	.278	.336	.407	743	–
2001	Harrisburg	East	25	Mtl	AA		of		27	87	12	25	6	0	3	16	1	1	7	14	0	1	0	0	0	.287	.340	.460	800	–
	Ottawa	IL	25	Mtl	AAA		of		53	147	13	39	13	0	2	13	2	0	6	24	0	0	3	0	4	.265	.294	.395	689	–
2002	Harrisburg	East	26	Mtl	AA		of		24	95	13	25	6	1	6	18	0	0	7	17	1	0	0	0	6	.263	.320	.537	857	–
	Buffalo	IL	26	Cle	AAA		of		42	135	18	40	10	0	1	17	2	1	6	23	0	0	0	0	4	.296	.326	.393	719	–
2003	Harrisburg	East	27	Mtl	AA		of		68	254	33	71	10	1	12	52	1	0	16	41	2	1	0	6	6	.280	.320	.469	789	–
	Edmonton	PCL	27	Mtl	AAA		of		12	20	3	6	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	4	0	0	0	0	1	.300	.333	.450	783	–
2004	Harrisburg	East	28	Mtl	AA		of		54	192	24	43	10	0	2	14	2	3	15	38	2	1	1	2	7	.224	.284	.307	591	–
	Edmonton	PCL	28	Mtl	AAA		of		26	64	5	16	2	0	0	5	0	0	5	6	1	2	0	1	2	.250	.310	.281	591	–
2005	Edmonton	Northern	29		Ind		of		79	322	36	84	21	5	4	41	5	3	22	36	1	1	1	10	10	.261	.301	.394	695	–
2006	Edmonton	Northern	30		Ind				79	314	50	89	23	2	7	40	9	2	28	45	1	0	2	2	5	.283	.342	.436	778	–
Minor League Totals - 12 Season(s)									1055	3753	506	991	225	26	87	526	118	46	303	692	28	13	16	45	101	.264	.320	.407	727	–

.

As was noted a couple of posts back, Jeremy was part of the 2004 Olympic team (both in the qualifying rounds and games in Athens) which eventually finished fourth.  He indicated to Guelphmercury.com that if he didn’t land a job with a pro-team, he’d gladly don the National team uni for the games in Beijing this summer.

“I’ve been told to stay prepared… (h)onestly, that’s my greatest pride, playing for the country,” Ware said.

Ware spoke to young ballplayers at Dino Roumel’s baseball camp earlier this summer and referenced his time with Team Canada.

“I almost teared up telling the kids what I’ve done,” Ware said. “I’m a little bitter I didn’t get the opportunity to play in the big leagues, but I’m grateful for what I’ve had.

“Who’d have thought I’d get drafted right out of high school and then play every level of baseball other than the majors?”

                                                 [Guelphymercury.com, August 21, 2007] 

We’re happy to have him here in Ottawa - although we’re now concerned about the proximity of our Canadian players to Baseball Canada and Jim Baba’s watchful eye.

Pitching in.

Thanks to Bob down in Rochester (who we had the pleasure of having lunch with a couple of weeks ago) for the link with the photo of new Rapids acquisition and local boy, Fraser Robinson.   Things are made a lot easier around the blog when everyone helps out with the “Googling”.   More blog material from Wayne Sollows of the “Keeping the baseball stadium” petition fame, with the following letter published in yesterday’s Ottawa Citizen.

Ushering in new era

The Ottawa Citizen

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

 

Re: And now the hard work begins, Feb. 15.The introduction of the Ottawa Rapids was a welcome breath of fresh spring air in an already too long winter.

As my wife and I had collected the almost 3,000 names on a petition asking the City of Ottawa to keep the park for baseball, I was pleased to attend the Can-Am Baseball League’s news conference to capture the sense of excitement and enthusiasm for our new team.

The front office is well organized; our field coach is independent baseball’s “winningest” manager. I have no doubt the team will fill out the roster in short order with players of top calibre.

But this is only going to succeed if we have the fans — the reason all this hard work is being done. So people of Ottawa-Gatineau, let’s step up and break out of the myopia that doesn’t allow us to see beyond hockey. Let’s usher in a new era for Ottawa sports in general and baseball in particular. See you opening day on May 22.

Wayne K. Sollows,

Ottawa