According to a report in the Boston Globe, the Red Sox are at least mildly interested in bringing Lou Marson up to New England, where he would become the catcher-in-waiting for the Red Sox. Veteran Jason Varitek will probably only play another year or two, and the Sox are looking to bring in a young catcher. Marson fits the bill.

However, the Phillies have asked for Clay Buchholz, who has already thrown a big league no-hitter, or Daniel Bard, who had a sub-2 ERA in Double-A in 2008. Boston is not interested at that asking price.

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Meanwhile, Marson was sent last week down to minor league camp. The move was expected, though Marson thought he had a shot to make the big league roster in the offseason. That was before the Phillies brought in Ronny Paulino to compete with Chris Coste. Despite not making the big league club, Marson is happy to head to Lehigh Valley, where he will catch six days a week.

“I’m moving up a level,” Marson said. “I know I got called up in September, but I was in Double-A the whole year. I’m moving up a level. That’s all I can ask for. There are a lot of guys that would like to be in my situation, playing every day. I can’t complain at all. I’m happy about it.”

Sigh of relief for Phillies fans as Cole Hamels (BlueClaws 03) reported no pain in his elbow after a rehab start in the Lo-A minor league game. He threw four shutout innings, allowing a hit and a walk in throwing to Tuffy Gosewisch (07).

“That was the big thing, how I was going to feel between innings,” Hamels said. “I felt great. . . . Nothing stiffened up.”

Ready for Opening Day?

“I haven’t officially ruled him out, but I don’t think he’ll be ready,” Phillies pitching coach Rich Dubee said. “He won’t be stretched out. It would be a real long shot. From what I got today, it was a positive step. It was pain-free, or tightness-free, I should say. The velocity was a little better, so those were good things.”

Fifteen days to go until April 9th, that’s the BlueClaws opener at 6:35 against Delmarva (the World Series trophy will be there by the way). There are also 15 tickets in a partial ticket plan that the BlueClaws offer. Let’s take a look.

• Value pricing + flexible exchange policy (Can’t make a game? Get us your tickets, we’ll get you new ones)
• Early entrance + coupon book
• On-field batting practice
• BlueClaws Day at Monmouth Park
• Referral Rewards Program

15 great games, value pricing, other goodies. There you have it, a partial plan. You can order one here, or just call 732-901-7000, option 2.

Finally, check out our promotional schedule here.

Take a break from all the baseball news and think about watching baseball, at FirstEnergy Park, in an exclusive party deck, just by winning an eBay auction.

We’ve posted this special opportunity on eBay. The auction runs through Satuday night. Here’s the info…

• 30 tickets
• 90-minute all-you-can-eat buffet
• Welcome message on scoreboard
• Access to Upstairs Club

It’s perfect for business, perfect for leisure. An $1,100 value, the bidding opens at $350!

Good luck!

Update: This auction applies to the April 23rd game only.

Last week, at this post, we updated you on the Minor League Spring Training games down in Florida. It’s time for another update…

From Saturday’s games…

• Michael Stutes (2008) was up with the AAA team, and gave up two runs over three innings
• Sergio Escalona (07-08) threw three shutout innings in the AA game
• Dominic Brown (08) and Michael Taylor (08) both added hits in the AA game
• Cody Overbeck, with Williamsport last year, went 1-2 in the AA game, with Tim Kennelly (07) hitting a home run
• Kyle Drabek (07) and Yohan Flande each threw three shutout innings in the Hi-A game
• D’Arby Myers (08) had a double and triple with the Hi-A team
• Yonderman Rodriguez homered with the Lo-A team with Anthony Hewitt going 2-4

From Sunday…

• Taylor had a 2-run double, Tuffy Gosewisch (07) a triple, and Fidel Hernandez (06-07) two hits with the AA-team
• Drew Naylor (08) and Chance Chapman (08) combined to give up seven runs in five innings in a loss for the Hi-A team
• Derrick Mitchell (08) went 3-4 and Travis Mattair went 2-4
• Justin De Fratus, likely BlueClaw, threw three shutout innings for Lo-A
• Sebastian Valle added his first home run of the spring, with Yonderman Rodriguez going 2-4

Finally, from a rainy Monday…

• Gosewisch added a triple in three ABs while Fidel Hernandez went 2-3 for Double-A
• In the Lo-A game, Tyler Cloyd threw three shutout innings with four strikeouts
• Arlon Quiroz hit his fourth home run of the spring (he didn’t hit any last year)

Tracking Travis…Today, just 16 days away from Opening Day, 70 in 70 takes a look at 2008 BlueClaws catcher Travis D’Arnaud, who after being drafted in 2007, was ranked 16th by Baseball America in their Phillies prospect rankings. This year, D’Arnaud has moved up to seventh on the list.

He’s from Lakewood (Lakewood, California) and hit .309 with four home runs with Williamsport last year, playing for 2009 BlueClaws manager Dusty Wathan. After Joel Naughton broke his toe in August, D’Arnaud was promoted to Lakewood, where he hit .297 over 16 games.

From the 2009 Prospect Handbook: He’s athletic with premium catch-and-throw tools, such as soft hands, quick feet, and plenty of arm strength…Some club officials now believe his offense will be as good or better than his defense. He has a line drive swing with a willingness to use the opposite field.

D’Arnaud is an interesting case for several reasons…

1) Where will he go this year? He might be ready for Clearwater, but if he goes there, he would likely split time with Joel Naughton. That said, the Phillies have several young catchers, such as Sebastian Valle, who could also be in Lakewood. For what it’s worth, D’Arnaud has been playing spring games with the Hi-A team.

2) Long-term. Lou Marson is the catcher of the future. Will D’Arnaud hit with enough power to be able to move from behind the plate? That remains to be seen, though power is not considered one of his top tools. He’s still a few years away from the big leagues, and so much can happen so quickly, but he’ll be interesting to keep an eye on.

Other Baseball America movers, from 2008-2009: Michael Taylor (not ranked to 6), Drew Naylor (29 to 13), Jason Donald (from 15 to 4), Dominic Brown (6 to 1)

[Photos: www.crosscutterboosters.org & www.crosscutters.com]

As noted in the previous post, Kyle Kendrick was sent to minor league camp earlier today. Sent down with Kendrick were catcher Lou Marson (BlueClaws 06) and shortstop Brad Harman (2005).

Later this afternoon, Jason Donald (07) was sent over to minor league camp as the Phillies trim their roster. He’ll be the everyday shortstop, one would think, with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The Arizona product hit .296 in Grapefruit League play, and with Jimmy Rollins playing in the World Baseball Classic, he received extensive playing time. But with Rollins back, that playing time was going to be curtailed.

Donald’s best hope of making the team was if Chase Utley was going to miss the beginning of the year. That does not appear likely now. Marson had hoped to be the team’s backup catcher in 2009, but that went out the window when Ronny Paulino was acquired from the Pirates in the offseason.

Both Donald and Marson are well regarded both inside and outside of the organization, and while both wanted to make the team out of camp, but both will be better off playing everyday in the International League rather than once every 10 days in the National League.

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Cole Hamels starts Tuesday in a minor league game. Pitching coach Rich Dubee: Can Hamels be ready for Opening Day (April 5th)?

“It’s a very, very, very small shot, if at all,” Dubee said. “But saying that isn’t saying he can’t pitch the fourth game of the season and not miss a start.”

The fourth game means he would get one extra outing in before his season debut.

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Tomorrow we’ll get you an update on the recent minor league spring training games.

After four spring starts in which he had a 9.20 ERA, Kyle Kendrick (BlueClaws 04-06) has been sent down to minor league camp, where he’ll finish out the spring before opening the season with AAA-Lehigh Valley. He said the right things when speaking to reporters afterwards.

“At first, I’m not going to lie, it was surprising,” he said. ”But at the same time, those guys have been pitching good and they had to make a move, so like I said, I’m going to go work on what I ened to work on, get better and I’ll be back.

“I didn’t show my offspeed stuff early enough and it was a little erratic at times. It just needs to get better and I know I need to get better.. .I’m going to go down there with a clear mind and get better, and I’ll be back.”

One problem for Kendrick…now that we are deeper into Spring Training, the starters are going deeper into games. There just aren’t enough innings to go around and have everyone still get a significant amount of work in.

Still in the mix for the Phillies fifth-starter’s job: JA Happ (05), Chan Ho Park, and Carlos Carrasco (06). It’s a minor upset that Kendrick goes down before Carrasco, but the organization’s top pitching prospect is expected to join Kendrick with the IronPigs.

Because of off days on April 6th, 9th and 14th, the Phillies do not need a fifth-starter until April 19th. So while Cole Hamels is unlikely to be ready on Opening Day, if he is ready by April 19th, the Phillies will only need one of Park, Happ or Carrasco.

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Another strong outing today for JA Happ, who allowed just one run over five innings of work.

Ever wonder about the ins and outs of running a Minor League Baseball team? What goes into the day-to-day operations? How about the host family program, or a team history from the perspective of the man in charge of the BlueClaws from day one?

BlueClaws General Manager Geoff Brown was interviewed by the great website “Jimmy Scott’s High and Tight” and the wide-ranging interview was published today. Click here to listen.

“We’ve seen the people in this area who are Mets or Yankees fans, but now their kids are starting to be Phillies fans. They’re watching Howard, they’re watching Hamels. And they’re going to Citizens Bank Park,” said Brown. “Mom and Dad might be Mets or Yankees fans but we got that next generation. It’s pretty neat.”

It’s a great interview by a great website. Check it out today. (Note, if you are a fan of Hall and Oates, you should definately listen)

The Cameron Crazies, the Dawg Pound, the Monster Seats, the BluePen Party Zone. That’s it, pretty much. Today’s 70 in 70 entry looks at the BluePen Party Zone, back for its third season, with a timely amount of 17 seats in the front row.

Relevant BluePen Party Zone facts:

• Seat in sect. 101, just behind the BlueClaws bullpen (BluePen, bullpen, get it?)
• A $10 gift card for use anywhere in FirstEnergy Park
• An exclusive BluePen Party Zone rally towel
• Special BluePen recognition throughout the game
• Contests and opportunities exclusive to BluePen members

So there you go. The BluePen Party Zone. Click here for more information on the BluePen Party Zone. A $30 value, tickets are available for just $19.95. Call our friends in the tickets department at 732-901-7000, option 3, for more information.

The US was ousted from the WBC last night, losing 9-4 to Japan. Roy Oswalt of the Astros gave up six runs and couldn’t get out of the fourth inning, while Daisuke Matsuzaka of the Red Sox  gave up two in 4 2/3.

“Some of our pitchers aren’t as far along as some of the Japanese pitchers,” said US manager Davey Johnson, who played in Japan in the mid-1970s. “When I was in Japan, spring training started January 1. It’s a lot of practice. It does give them a head start when you play them in March, but I thought our guys played well.”

The Japanese lineup featured for big leaguers (Ichiro, Seattle; Kosuke Fukodome, Cubs; Kenji Johjima, Seattle; and Akinori Iwamura, Tampa Bay).

“Can you believe this? Look at the score. I feel so bad about this,” Tom Lasorda, Hall of Fame manager and WBC global ambassador, said from his seat behind home plate.

“I’m very, very disappointed. We had high hopes. This is the second time we were supposed to win. We taught these people the game.”

BlueClaws Blog had a chance to speak with Quintin Berry before Spring Training began. You can find part one here, and part two is below.

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Question: Have you ever felt that if you bulked up too much you would lose your speed?

Quintin Berry: If you bulk up, as long as you keep working on your speed you’ll be fine. NFL athletes, as they get bigger and stronger they still get faster. I have trainers who specifically work on my running. I’m constantly doing sprints and things to make sure I stay fast. I want to get stronger to hit with a little bit more power, too.

Q: Goals for 2009?

QB: I just want to let the organization know I’m ready for everything they have coming. I know who I am as a player, I can do my job, get on base, steal bases, score runs and play great defense. I have to focus on the things I can control.

Q: Do you have date in mind when you want to reach the big leagues?

QB: I’d like to reach the big leagues today, but in reality, I want to be ready when they’re ready for me. It’s nothing I can control. It could be this year, or it could be four or five years from now. I can do whatever I can do to be ready when they need me.

Q: You’ll probably reunite with Steve Roadcap in Reading. Is that a plus?

QB: Definately. We’ve built a relationship, I understand him, and he understands me. There’s no confrontation or clash of personalities. We work together and I think it’s going to be a good thing. He’ll be there to help me and let me play the way I want to play and I know how he wants me to play.

Q: What did you enjoy about your time in Lakewood?

(more…)

In anticipation of tonight’s WBC semi between the US and Japan (Oswalt v Matsuzaka), here’s how the US even got to this point…

Just 18 days to go until the BlueClaws opener. Just 14 days to go until the Phillies opener. So  we’re winding down 70 in 70, but still a few more to go. And this one focuses on a #18 on the New York Mets, Darryl Strawberry.

Strawberry will be at FirstEnergy Park for an autograph signing on August 1st, which is also Autism Awareness Night. The tie-in was done purposefully, as Strawberry and his wife Tracy founded a charitable organization, The Darryl Strawberry Foundation, specifically to bring awareness to autism and other developmental disorders on a global level.

An eight-time All-Star, Strawberry was a member of four World Series winners, the 1986 Mets and three with the Yankees, 1996, 1998 and 1999. He also won the 1983 NL Rookie of the Year Award with the Mets. In fact, he hit at least 26 home runs in each of his first nine seasons in baseball.

Strawberry will be in Lakewood on August 1st. Hopefully you will too.