BETTER KNOW A BALLCLUB: OTTAWA LYNX MANAGER JOHN RUSSELL

It won't be too long before the snow melts and they'll be back playing baseball -- although in Ottawa, it doesn't always necessarily happen in that order. In that spirit, here's present, "Better Know A Ballclub," looking at the members of your 2008 Ottawa Lynx.

The top Lynx major-league prospect might be the man in the dugout -- manager John Russell.

Russell, 45, was oh-so-close to winning a major-league managerial job last fall. Since guiding the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons to the International League North pennant last summer, he's interviewed with the Texas Rangers -- his home state's team -- and Washington Nationals for their manager's jobs. Both teams hired within their own divisions, respectively hiring Ron Washington and Manny Acta, coaches for the Oakland Athletics and New York Mets.

"It's just great to get your name out there for these jobs," Russell said last week when reached in Texas. "When it comes to who a club decides to hire, you don't have the crystal ball. Of course, when you get the phone call that you didn't get the job, it's tough, but once you get back out on the field, you don't worry about it.

"I look at it that I'm one of 30 Triple-A managers. There's a lot of a guys who would love to be in that position ... Baseball's still baseball. I'm looking forward to it."

Baseball's still baseball -- that could be a theme for Ottawa fans this summer. Minor league baseball's future here is cloudy at best with the Triple-A team likely to leave for Allentown, Pa. Still, nine innings, green grass, 90 feet from home to first -- what's not to like? Coming off a championship season in Scranton before the Philadelphia Phillies changed their affiliation to Ottawa, Russell is counting on fielding another competitive team. That means taking a unique tack with potential Lynx at spring training in Clearwater, Fla.

"Basically, I'm not going to talk to them," Russell says. "They don't need to hear from the Triple-A manager until it's time to.... Strange things happen at spring training. As soon as you think you're going to have a player, 10 minutes later you find out you don't have him."

Scranton played close to .600 ball (84-58) last season while using 50 players, which attests to Russell's ability to work in different players. The manager is understandably reticent about throwing names around, but poring over the stats of Phillies farmhands, one name that jumps out is lefty-hitting centre-fielder Michael Bourn (second picture), who put up leadoff hitter numbers (.356 on-base percentage, 45 steals, 96 runs scored) between Double-A Reading and Scranton last year.

Bourn, who's been called the fastest player ever to play for the Reading Phillies, also represented the United States at an Olympic qualifying tournament and earned a September callup to Philadelphia.

Other names circled are Scranton's best starter in '06, Brian Mazone (13-3, 2.03 earned-run average) and closer Brian Sanches, who had a team-high 19 saves and held IL hitters to a .164 batting average. Dominican lefty Fabio Castro (bottom picture) should be interesting to watch if he ends up in Triple A. Castro, 5-foot-8 and 160, somehow generates enough force to hit 94 mph on the radar gun. The 22-year-old spent all of last season in the majors as a Rule 5 draft pick and barely pitched, but could be sent the minors to try and develop a starter's repertoire.

Whoever he has, Russell, the former major-league catcher (best known as a player for catching Nolan Ryan's sixth no-hitter for Texas against Oakland on June 11, 1990), will emphasis pitching, fundamentals and defence. That's what worked for him in his previous minor-league tours, including Double-A New Britain (where he managed against Blue Jays skipper John Gibbons, a fellow Texan and former catcher) and the Pacific Coast League's old Edmonton Trappers, where he won championships in 1998 and 2002, respectively.

NATIONAL LEAGUE BALL

Russell says he hopes Lynx fans -- many of whom cheered for the late and lamented Montreal Expos once upon a time -- will enjoy the occasional return of National League style baseball. Under IL rules, there's no DH when two NL-affiliated teams play.

"It might make the game go faster since usually the pitcher is usually (sacrifice) bunting or there's a good chance he might make an out. You have to play some small ball, hit-and-run, it's a little bit different from the American League -- you're not waiting for the big rally. It can be tough in the minor leagues where you don't have a 25-man roster. You have to careful with how much you pinch-hit or double switch."

Along with a division title in Scranton, the Oklahoma City-born Russell is also coming off a successful run in winter ball, having guided the Zulia of the Venezuelan Winter League to a third-place finish and its first playoff appearance in five years. After the season ended in mid-January, he had barely a week to get packed and move his family from his home in Odessa, Texas to Florida for spring training, which begins Feb. 13.

CAUGHT NO-HITTER

Russell's had a charmed life in the game, most notably catching Ryan's no-hitter in '90. The ex-catcher calls it a "more of a conversation piece" in the shadow of what he's accomplished as a manager (three manager of the year awards), but graciously talks about it. Just a few weeks before that game, he was out of baseball and coaching high school baseball in suburban Philadelphia. The Rangers had two catchers go down with injuries and signed Russell -- who then caught a no-hitter in his first start working with the game's all-time strikeout king. Ryan, 43 at the time, struck out 14 Athletics, throwing fastballs on 93 of his 132 pitches.

"You talk about Nolan Ryan, he's one of the most well-known players in the history of the game," Russell says. "His name rings true like when you say 'Babe Ruth' or 'Mickey Mantle.' It was a great thrill, he was so intense. We were on the road and the fans in Oakland started cheering for him as he got closer and closer. I can't even really describe what it was like."

Lastly, it has to be asked -- what about the Ottawa weather, which is a fact of life with the Lynx? Russell notes he's managed in other places -- Scranton, Rochester, Edmonton -- which also have chilly weather well into May, so he's not worried. He does allow that "I was looking in the paper the other day and it was nine Fahrenheit in Ottawa... that's cold."

Told that's not too cold by the Canuck on the other end of the line, he laughs, "That's cold."

Related:
A Baseball Geek, Ottawa Lynx blog, Phuture Phillies, 2006 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre stats (Baseball America)

That's all for now. Send your thoughts to neatesager@yahoo.ca.