Johnny Damon II.

Baseball Prospectus has an interview with Ryan Kalish.

He's an outfielder up in Portland, who might eventually settle into center field. He's an athletic lefty, who runs the bases well. He's a lead-off hitter type, who puts together nice at bats. The Johnny Damon comparison doesn't end there, though. Says Kalish:

"...they actually have a nickname for me. I'm like the caveman."

Clearly, he sees it too.

A Taste of Fame.

Pawtucket catcher Mark Wagner made his national television debut (probably) this morning on Good Morning America. One of the ABC correspondents had been tapped to deliver the ceremonial first pitch for a PawSox game and looking to not make an ass of himself, turned to Wags for advice. Says Wagner:

"Act like you really want to do it. And you're like: I want to do this 100% and I'm going to throw the best I've ever had."

Terrible grammar but video here.

What's in a Name?

The Sox have signed Rocky Cherry to a minor league deal.

Cherry was picked up in the Rule V draft by the Mets. He was put on waivers last week and after clearing those, offered back to the Orioles. The Orioles declined to take him back and the Mets released him, hoping to re-sign him on the cheap.

Cherry's got an upper nineties fastball, control problems, and a kick-ass name.

Clearing Camp.

Lars Anderson, Josh Reddick, Zach Daeges, Hunter Jones, Mark Wagner, and Felix Doubrant bid their fond farewells last Tuesday. Junichi Tazawa and Michael Bowden were sent down after yesterday's game. And today Daniel Bard and Paul McAnulty were shown the door to the minor league clubhouse.

With McAnulty gone (although I suppose he was never really in contention) the three players left vying for Mark Kotsay's spot are: Brad Wilkerson, Chris Carter, and Jeff Bailey. While neither is particularly good in the outfield, Bailey and Carter have been tearing it up at the plate. Carter does have the advantage of batting left-handed (part of the reason they wanted Kotsay) but cross your fingers and hope for Bailey--especially if it stops him from considering Japan again.

The Shoe Didn't Fit.

Team Netherlands unlikely story came to an end last night when they lost 9-3 to Team USA. But it's only the beginning for Red Sox baby pitcher Dennis Neuman.

Said Neuman about the experience:

“It’s pretty good. I feel like I’m a major league pitcher. That’s how it makes me feel, pitching against the major league players.”

Neuman also has a new fan in David Ortiz:

“That one kid (Neuman), he’s got a good arm. I didn’t get to face him. I just saw him pitching, and he’s got a good arm. He’s got explosion on his fastball."

That's got to be an exciting thing to hear and when told Neuman responded:

“Wow, he said that? That’s really nice to hear. That sounds good. It makes me feel good to hear something like that.”

The kid seemed to do well. Hopefully, he has a bright future.

Bard of Catawba.

Daniel Bard seems to leave a nice impression in his wake. He and his two younger brothers (Jared and Luke) have all pitched for Charlotte Christian School in Charlotte, NC. Says the baseball coach:

"They are great kids, great citizens who'll do well in life whether they're baseball players or not. They're extremely talented, but they're humble and they work hard. They'll give you 100 percent no matter who you're playing or what's the score.”

Also, he's apparently close with his brothers. Says his mother:

"What touches me the most is how they encourage and support each other. They're always calling or texting to see how the other one's doing. That's just a blessing to me. They're all humble and don't brag on themselves. They've been gifted, but work hard at it.”

Say it with me: Awww.

Aadios Aardsma.

David Aardsma, who was designated for assignment to make room for Mark Kotsay, has been traded to the Seattle Mariners for Fabian Williamson. I hope it works out for David. I've been in his corner since Amalie Benjamin used her prescience to declare that he would be DFA'd. Of course, she was off by ten months but no big deal.

Williamson is a baby pitcher (born 10/20/1988). He's a lefty with a solid curve ball, change-up and a well-located, deceptive high eighties fastball. He's also got good command for someone his age. In a few years he might prove to be an effective bullpen arm.

Pitching Change.

David Pauley, who was kicked off the forty man to make room for John Smoltz, has been traded to the Orioles for Randor Bierd. Bierd throws a low-nineties fastball, a low eighties slider, and a Pedro-inspired low-eighties change-up. He's also got above-average control.

Meanwhile, Pauley's roommate, Charlie Zink, has decided to hold off on becoming a full-time architect (or possibly architecture student) for at least another year. Zink, who was DFA'd to make room for Rocco Baldelli, has re-signed with the Red Sox.

Homeboy Honored.

Words Unlimited, an organization of Rhode Island sports writers, casters, and publicists, will hold their Sports Awards Banquet at the airport Radisson in Warwick on February 15. Their story of the year? Rhode Islanders who made it to the 2008 World Series: Rocco Baldelli, Dan Wheeler, and Davy Lopes (Phillies' first base coach.) Congratulations to him. Also being honored is Pawtucket Red Sox manager Ron Johnson as Men's Sports Coach of the Year. Congratulations to him too.

A Moveable Feast.

A heads up: The date of the Lowell Spinners dinner has been changed to January 12, 2009.

They also mentioned that the recipient of this year's Dick Bernandino Alumni Award will be Jed Lowrie. Jed was a decent shortstop but this part of the announcement:

"Overall, Lowrie hit .258 with two home runs and 46 RBI, playing stellar defense and filling the void created by Julio Lugo."

seems a little harsh on poor Julio.

Anyway, congratulations to Jed.

A Hot Ticket.

Tickets for the Lowell Spinners Alumni Dinner have gone on sale. The dinner will be at the Lowell Doubletree on December 5. Tickets are $55. No word yet on who the special guests will be but it will undoubtedly be a fun evening.

Hep Kitten.

I saw him the other day-watched him run backward. But after clearing some space on the camera by dumping scads of pictures onto the computer, I left the camera at home. So the standard first picture off Google will have to do.

The Front Office talks about hiring not only quality baseball players but quality people to fill their roster. And while one interview isn't enough to establish his good-person credentials, Lars Anderson seems like a fascinating person and could very well be a keeper. Or it might just be a standard twenty-year old male view of the world and I just don't know any of them anymore.

He's a thinker. He can be articulate. He's a reader. He's less self-absorbed than some. I suspect he's a bit of a dreamer. And he seems really grounded.

But this:

"I just like reading, man. It's totally a good way to stay centered."

made me laugh out loud.

Alright Daddy-o. Slide me some skin.

Road Trip.

While Lowell and Pawtucket were playing at Fenway on minor league Saturday, Portland was taking a road trip down to Norwich, CT to play the CT Defenders. Cheap tickets to Fenway to watch super excited kids play ball seemed like the obvious choice of weekend activity. But then, it was brought to my attention that CT was giving away Mike Lowell bobbleheads. Obviously, this piece of information necessitated a jaunt down I-395.

Although CT is a Giants affiliate, it isn't as random or as exploitative as it might seem. Back in the day, when CT was Norwich, the club was the AA affiliate of the Yankees. Mikey Lowell played there in 1997.

Plastic, nodding Mike Lowell was apparently a big draw. While there were some fans of the home team, the vast majority of the folks there had donned Red Sox apparel for the game. It sort of reminded me of the game I went to in Tampa- a thousand Red Sox fans for every Rays fan (I did see two Rays caps while I was there-although it may have the same hat twice. I was so shocked when I saw it the first time that I didn't note the face beneath it.) What was fun was that the Red Sox fans were cheering for the home team as much as they were cheering for Portland.

And even though Zach Daeges attempted to kill me with a foul ball (Seriously: I have never been that close to a foul ball in my life. Generally, I'm already cowering in fear if one comes within a thirty-foot radius of where I'm sitting-so you can imagine my abject terror when this one landed in the first of four empty seats directly to my right. --It's a good thing I didn't leave Mikey up there.--What's more, I was so shocked that I didn't even get the ball. I just sort of watched it roll of the seat and on to the floor. The guy on the other side of the empty seats ended up grabbing it.), it was a good time. Bob Stanley was there (he's the Defenders pitching coach) so that was neat. I had hoped that Bard might get into the game but it was kind of a blow out so that didn't happen and Argenis Diaz didn't play (I had picked a seat on the first base side so I could get a good look at the kid) so that was kind of a bummer. But it was a fun time all around. And I got home in time to see Daisuke finish off the sixth inning of the White Sox game.

So here he is: Mike Lowell in purple pinstripes. It's probably a good thing that you can't really see them-the uniform is hideous.

Meanwhile, Back on the Farm...

Bits and pieces from the farm:

1. Che-Hsuan Lin (a Taiwanese prospect currently playing in Greenville) was named the MVP of the All-Star Futures game at Yankee Stadium yesterday. He hit a two-run home run to put the World Team up 3-0.

2. Dave Pauley (who we last saw in April starting a game against LA) may be named to the US Olympic team. The final roster decisions come down Wednesday. If he made it, I might actually be induced to watch the Olympics.

3. Bobby Kielty has asked for and been granted his release from Pawtucket. It's too bad but I can't say I blame him. He's had a rough year and has got a young family across the country.