The following comment from Rob & Ella (snipped) appeared in the Championship Photos post a few down the line…

I am with the Quartet Evolution who sang the National Anthem for your 1st two games which you won, so not singing for your 3rd game and you lost. My wife Ella had me sing the National Anthem at 7PM. on Friday in my motel room and you WON. So I want to think that I helped.

Thanks Rob!

Anybody else have any superstitions they followed during the BlueClaws playoff games?

We’re going to have something of a trophy tour around the area. We’ll bring the South Atlantic League Championship Trophy on different appearances and the like, and we’ll be sure to get some pictures for you here. We’ve made a new category (Troph

y Tour) and everything we get will go into there, as well as Twitter and a special photo album on our Facebook page. So here goes:

#1 is Captain Jack of Thunder 98.5 with BlueClaws Special Events Manager Lisa Carone.

That would be the Philadelphia Inquirer. Jim Salisbury had a great article last week (click here) about the Phillies new and improved minor league system. The article mentions a number of former BlueClaws, highlighted by Michael Taylor.

“Even with as good a year as he had in A ball [in 2008], I don’t think anyone could have predicted what he did in the Eastern League this year,” assistant GM Chuck LaMar said. “He tore it up. We’ve always thought of him as a major-league prospect, but he sped his clock toward Philadelphia.”

Others mentioned include OF Domonic Brown, SS Freddy Galvis, C Travis d’Arnaud, C Sebastian Valle, RHP BJ Rosenberg, RHP Trevor May (“could emerge as a front-line starter), and RHP Jesus Sanchez.

Worth a full read.

One chance to see THUNDERFEST from a luxury suite. We’ve put a special suite for Sunday’s up on eBay (bid here). THUNDERFEST features Jason Aldean, Julia Burton, Ty Williams, Williams Riley, Brady Seals (formerly of Little Texas, and blog favorite), and more, and is an all-day country music festival this Sunday at FirstEnergy Park.

Your suite would include the following:

• $200 food credit
• Tickets for you and 19 friends
• A private room
• Climate control
• Cable television
• Indoor and outdoor seating

Good luck!

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Mentioned the other day that blog friend and BlueClaws Special Events Manager Lisa Carone will be hosting this week with Captain Jack on Thunder 98.5. Tuesday, 3 pm. Listen at 98.5 on the FM dial or at www.thunder985.com.

Michael Taylor and Kyle Drabek (click here) were recently interviewed on the Phillies television broadcasts after each was honored as a 2009 Paul Owens Award winner, for the Phillies minor league player and pitcher of the year. Some snippets from two interviews you should definately watch:

Taylor (on being talked about at deadline time): “It was exciting to be honest. It’s the first time you’re on a major network or being mentioned during Phillies games or on ESPN. For the first time you see your name on tv and creates excitement and lets you know that you’re getting close.”

Taylor (on moving up the ladder): “Anytime you move or change levels there’s always that question about making that adjustment. You have that confidence, but there’s nothing like doing it.”

Drabek (on his health and consistency): “The fastball was back to where it was last year, so I was real happy about that. I think all together my stuff got a little bit better after the Tommy John.”

Drabek (on his surgery): “A lot of people I talked to said they have gotten stronger and that helped me relax a little bit during the rehab.”

Win a championship. Go to Disney World. Well, not quite, but close. It’s off to Clearwater for several members of the 2009 BlueClaws SAL Championship team for the 2009 Florida Instructional League.

• OF Anthony Gose led all of Minor League Baseball in stolen bases this year with 76 and hit ..407 in the six playoff games. He was voted the league”s most exciting prospect, best baserunner, and best defensive outfielder by the league”s managers.
• 3B Travis Mattair completed his second season with the BlueClaws with an SAL title. Mattair”s Lakewood teams were 158-118 over two regular seasons and the former 2nd round pick has played more games with Laekwood than anyone in team history.
• 2B Harold Garcia was voted the league”s best defensive second baseman and added 42 stolen bases this year while forming a potent 1-2 duo with Gose at the top of Lakewood”s lineup.
• C Travis d”Arnaud hit 13 home runs on the season and .305 in the second half as Lakewood”s lead catcher. d”Arnaud was a former supplemental first-rounder of the Phillies in 2007 and hit .391 in the playoffs.
• C Sebastian Valle returned to hit 5th for the BlueClaws during the playoffs. He began the year with Lakewood and hit .306 with Williamsport before returning for the playoffs.
• RHP Trevor May went 4-1 with Lakewood during the regular season and won game two of the division series. He did not allow a run in his last 21 innings and gave up just three in his last 37 on the season.
• RHP Jesus Sanchez went 9-2 over his last 15 starts and won game two of the Championship Series. Sanchez is a former catcher who was in his first season as a pitcher this year.
• LHP Matthew Way joined Lakewood in early August and went 4-1 plus he won game one of the Division Series. Way was a 5th round pick this year (Washington State).
• RHP Heitor Correa joined the BlueClaws in early May and won seven games this year. He developed a back injury and did not appear in a playoff game.
• RHP Justin De Fratus was an all-star as a reliever in the first half and moved into the rotation in the second half. Overall, he won 5 games with a 3.19 ERA, though he was injured late in the season and did not play in the postseason.
• LHP Jacob Diekman had an ERA of over 7 in the first half, but after dropping to a sidearm delivery, Diekman pitched to a sub-2 ERA in the second half.
• RHP Austin Hyatt was drafted in the 15th round this year (Alabama) and threw six shutout innings for Lakewood in the postseason (including the final two). He had a 0.66 ERA with Williamsport before joining Lakewood.

Jason Aldean headlines, but Julia Burton, Ty Williams, Due West, Brady Seals (formerly of Little Texas) and more play. THUNDERFEST, an all-day country music festival is a week away, looking forward to it. Details in full here. Enjoy Jason Aldean.

PS. BlueClaws Special Events Manager and blog friend Lisa Carone co-hosts one day this week with Captain Jack on Thunder 98.5. Not sure what day yet, we’ll let you know.

Couple of things…

• Was traveling back all day today from Greenville so I just approved the massive amount of comments from the action last night. Thanks everybody for the comments.
• The players were all very appreciative of the great support from the fans down in Greenville this week, but also of the great support of the fans all year long in Lakewood. Very appreciative.
• Over the next few days we’ll do a few things…of course, review this season, take a look at the guys headed to the Fall Instructional League, go over some of our favorite moments of the season, give a quick look ahead to 2010, and much more.
• Just because this season is over doesn’t mean this blog is. We’re going full steam ahead.
• Opening Day 2010 is in 201 days.

In 2006, the Matt Thayer caught the final out, a fly ball to right field, and promptly threw the ball into the seats.

Tonight, second-baseman Harold Garcia caught a pop-up to shallow center. And kept the ball. Good job Harold.

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