Chris “Mad Dog” Russo was at the ballpark on Monday night and joined us in the booth. Russo, the host of Mad Dog Unleashed on Sirius/XM, is of course a big Giants fan, and the Phils and Giants are tied for the wild card lead and open a series tonight at Citizens Bank Park.

We asked Russo about the two teams:

“I didn’t like Sunday’s loss. Lincecum has not pitched well. The Giants cannot make thep layoffs unless Lincecum pitches like Lincecum and he has not pitched well. From what I heard he wasn’t terrible but they scored five runs against him. They can’t win without him, bottom line. The offense is better, I’ll give you that. And Posey is going to be great.

“Now, the one negative about the Giants. Their record in a lot of ways is a product of beating Arizona, Milwaukee, the Cubs, the Mets and the Nationals. They are 21-5 against those teams since July 1st. And they have a road trip, Philadelphia and St Louis this week. They have San Diego and Colorado later on. The Padres are going to win the division. They’ve been the best team since day one.

On the Phillies acquiring Roy Oswalt: “Good for the Phillies. it was the right move. I think he’s hittable. He’s a good number two man, a great wing man for Halladay. Their bullpen is the problem. They could have won one last year with Lidge. I don’t think they’re going to win one last year with Lidge.”

Several BlueClaws were honored by the league’s managers in a Baseball America survey for the league’s Best Tools.

Most Exciting Prospect: Jonathan Singleton
Best Defensive 1B: Jonathan Singleton
Best Fastball: Jarred Cosart
Best Outfield Arm: Lendro Castro
Best Infield Arm: Jonathan Villar

Elsewhere…

Domonic Brown won Best Batting Prospect and Most Exciting Player in the Eastern League, while Tuffy Gosewisch was named Best Defensive Catcher…Former BlueClaws pitcher Kyle Drabek was named Best Pitching Prospect and Best Breaking Pitch (he’s with AA New Hampshire)…In the Florida State League, Anthony Gose, since traded to Toronto, was named Most Exciting Prospect, Fastest Baserunner and Best Defensive Outfielder, all three of which he received last year while with the BlueClaws.

Here are the results from last year.

A very good article in today’s Asbury Park Press about MiLB’s new drug testing policy. Click here to read Tony Graham’s article.

“I think it’ll be easier now for everyone not to not take it (HGH) because it won’t be in the back of their mind, “Is that guy taking it?,’ ” Colvin said. “The more they clean up the game, the more level the playing field will be.”

“It really doesn’t matter to me because I don’t take any supplements,” said Lakewood centerfielder Jiwan James, 21.

James recently set a team record by hitting safely 24 games in a row.

“I’m too afraid to (take anything illegal),” James said. “Missing 50 games is way too much.”

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Here are some more details on the new blood testing policy, through which baseball becomes the first to test for HGH. This only applies to minor league players since the major league players fall under the collective bargaining agreement and the players association.

Anthony Gose and Jonathan Villar, each traded by the Phillies in the Roy Oswalt deal, went a combined 7-9 last night with their  new clubs.

Gose went 3-5 while playing for Dunedin (in Toronto’s system-he was flipped for Brett Wallace of Houston shortly after the Oswalt trade went through). From the Toronto Sun:

“I feel I’ve made tremendous progress from last year to this year,” he said via a conference call. “Defensively I feel I’ve gotten better, (taking) better routes to the ball, I’m making better throws to bases. Base-running I feel that the adjustments I’ve made have just made myself better. I get better reads on the pitcher to help me get better jumps. Everything has been baby steps. I’m 19 and I have a lot to learn. I have a long way to go before I’m a complete player. Mentally at the plate I’ve progressed and physically and mechanically I feel I’ve progressed to some degree.”

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Villar, 19, was bumped up a level by the Astros, and he is now the shortstop at Hi-A Lancaster in the California League. He went 4-4 last night.

A couple of things…

• If you missed it, OF Anthony Gose was traded by Houston to Toronto for IF Brett Wallace.
• Wallace was acquired for Michael Taylor, but apparently the Jays wanted Gose at the time and the Phillies balked…
• “He’s someone who we’ve been after for a long time,” Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos said in a radio interview on the FAN 590 in Toronto. “We tried very strongly in the winter to make him part of the [Roy] Halladay trade and we could not do it. We tried to acquire him again during the spring and could not do it. We continued to try to have talks to try to acquire him in a trade.
• Wallace has now been a part of deals for Matt Holliday, Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt in a 12-month span.
• Think of the Phillies system. In the last 366 days, they have traded 10 players (nine prospects and Happ, who was already in the big leagues), and still have Domonic Brown, Jarred Cosart, Brody Colvin, and Jonathan Singleton in their system. All are probably among the top 100 prospects in the game, though Brown will lose prospect status soon.
• Players who have been traded as BlueClaws: Jason Knapp in 09 as part of a deal for Cliff Lee, Andy Barb in 06 as part of a deal for Jamie Moyer, Michael Dubee in 07 for Tad Iguchi, Javon Moran and Joe Wilson in 04 for Cory Lidle.
• Gose is re-united with his buddy, 2009 BlueClaws C Travis d’Arnaud, who is in the Jays system after being a part of the Halladay deal. Presumably, they’ll be teammates again with Dunedin.
• Villar was told of the deal by manager Mark Parent at about 3:00 after Parent received a call from Chuck LaMar, Phillies assistant GM. Villar sprinted up the steps and into the clubhouse before awaiting a call from the Astros.
• He was replaced in the lineup by Keoni DeRenne.

If I think of more I’ll post below.

Three BlueClaws, including current Lakewood shortstop Jonathan Villar, have been traded by the Phillies to the Houston Astros as part of a deal to land coveted starting pitcher Roy Oswalt.

The Phillies announced the deal on Thursday afternoon.

Villar, 19, was hitting .272 with Lakewood and was fourth in the South Atlantic League with 38 stolen bases. He entered the season as the 20th ranked prospect in the system per Baseball America.

He is the sixth active BlueClaw to be traded (2004, Javon Moran and Joe Wilson for Cory Lidle; 2006, Andy Barb in a package for Jamie Moyer; 2007, Michael Dubee for Tadahito Iguchi; 2009, Jason Knapp in a package for Cliff Lee).

(more…)

Today marks the one year anniversary of the Phillies acquiring Cliff Lee for four prospects, including then-BlueClaws RHP Jason Knapp (the others were Lou Marson, Jason Donald and Carlos Carrasco).

Here is a running log of the day last year when Knapp was traded.

About 2:00: Knapp, walking around the mall with BlueClaws relief pitcher Rob Roth, hears first from his agent that a deal went through.

2:45: On the bus to the ballpark with SportsCenter on the tv, Jayson Stark notes that Knapp was the centerpiece of the deal from the Indians perspective, leading to ooohs, aaahs, and nagging from Knapp’s soon-to-be former teammates.

3:00: At the ballpark, Knapp waits to hear something official, while the BlueClaws head out onto the field to begin stretching, or head to the cages to start hitting, without him. Everyone shook his hand and wished him well in case he was gone before they came back inside.

Seems fitting to bring this up with a bunch of rumors swirling around today about a possible Phillies trade for Roy Oswalt.

• We’ve seen Jonathan Singleton in the deal, we’ve seen Singleton not in the deal.
• We’ve seen Vance Worley in the deal, we’ve seen Vance Worley not in the deal.
• We’ve seen Matt Rizzotti in the deal, we’ve seen Matt Rizzotti not in the deal.

Who knows? Just pay attention.

UPDATE: Today’s BlueClaws lineup: James CF, Villar SS, Castro LF, Singleton 1B, Valle C, Dabbs RF, Batts 3B, Barnes DH, Schoenberger 2B, Shreve P

Players who have been traded as BlueClaws:

• Jason Knapp in 09 as part of a deal for Cliff Lee
• Michael Dubee in 07 for Tad Iguchi
• Andy Barb in 06 as part of a deal for Jamie Moyer
• Javon Moran and Joe Wilson in 04 for Cory Lidle

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Knapp is rehabbing in Arizona and should join Hi-A Kinston next month.

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Here are tonight’s game notes.

As we approach July 31st, baseball annual non-waivers trade deadline, the rumors begin to circulate. They’re buzzing a bit louder around the Phillies for two reasons.

• They’re seven games out of first place and sixth in the wild card standings, so it’s go time.
• Ruben Amaro’s smile (what?)

From today’s Philadelphia Daily News:

The situation changed slightly when starter Jamie Moyer had to leave last night’s 7-1 loss to the Cardinals with a left elbow strain. J.A. Happ is a lock to be called up to replace him, but they still have to fill Kendrick’s slot.

If there’s no trade, one possibility would be Nelson Figueroa , who was designated for assignment a week ago when Chad Durbin came off the disabled list. Amaro said Figueroa is “in baseball limbo.” The Phillies have until Friday to decided what to do with him. Because of Moyer’s injury, they could also do an about-face on Kendrick.

Amaro’s grin, though, left the impression that something bigger might be in the works.

“I think we know exactly what we’re going to do. I just choose not to tell you,” he said.

Adding to the intrigue is the fact that a trade wouldn’t make sense unless it provided a definite upgrade. Assuming the Phillies won’t move top prospect Domonic Brown, that would probably mean trading somebody on the major league roster. And Amaro wouldn’t rule that out.

Here is a rundown from NBCSports.com yesterday. One potential theory is trading Jayson Werth (to free up salary and RF for Domonic Brown) and bringing in Roy Oswalt to shore up the rotation. Oswalt, however, is owed $16 million for next year, which could be a potential hiccup if the Astros (and old friend Ed Wade) don’t eat some of that money.

A great story from Sunday’s Asbury Park Press (click here to read) on the history of professional baseball in New Jersey, including comments from BlueClaws President Joe Finley.

More than 160 years after Hoboken played host to the first officially recorded organized baseball game, New Jersey fields more minor- and independent-league baseball teams per square mile than any state in the country.

(snip)

With the exception of two separate two-year stints in Jersey City, the sport was absent from the state from 1950 until the Thunder and the New Jersey Cardinals began play in 1994.

There’s a lot in there, quotes from owners, possible future sites, and more. Worth the read.

BlueClaws CF Jiwan James has hit safely in 21 straight games, tying Ambiorix Reyes’ (here are his career stats) franchise record. James has taken out the drama with first inning singles each of the last two games, though he has been subsequently caught stealing and picked off.

In the streak, James is batting .316.

If you’re wondering, the league record is 38, set by Mitch Hilligoss of Charleston in 2007.

Joe DiMaggio had a 61 game hitting streak with the San Francisco Seals in 1933 but the Minor League record is 69, set in 1919 by Joe Wilhoit with the Western League’s Wichita Witches.

Wilhoit hit .512 during his streak and he joined the Red Sox after it ended, sharing the OF with a young man named George Herman Ruth.

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Here are tonight’s game notes.

Long Ball Drought…The BlueClaws have not homered since Stephen Batts and Alan Schoenberger went back-to-back on July 4th (a span of nine games without a home run)…This is now the longest such stretch of the season; previous long was eight (4/15 – 4/22)…Of Lakewood’s leading HR hitters, Jonathan Singleton hasn’t homered since June 27th, Sebastian Valle since June 17th, Anthony Hewitt since June 14th and Leandro Castro since June 4th…The BlueClaws hit 19 home runs in June and 17 in May but have only hit three in the first 11 games of July.

That’s Joe Nathan talking about his training program. The Twins closer is staying in shape in Knoxville at the University of Tennessee with the help of his trainer, former BlueClaw Herman Demmink.

He goes up the 70-yard ramp four times, 30 lunges each. The exercise builds shoulder stability and abdominals and helps with lower-body mechanics. Afterward, Nathan’s T-shirt is drenched. He takes a drink of water and catches his breath.

“I feel like I’m ready to kill him,” Nathan says of his trainer, Herman Demmink, who trains Volunteers athletes. “You don’t do lunges here. This (slope) is for sleigh rides.”

Demmink, who went to Clemson, was with the BlueClaws in 2007 and was always going into that field after his baseball career came to an end.

Here is the full article. And here is another, from the University of Tennessee’s official site.

“His approach and his philosophy to strength training and conditioning is kind of unique,” Hochevar said. “It’s a lot different than the everyday baseball workouts that you see. Changing it up in that type of variety is exciting. He’s very knowledgeable and is obviously passionate about it.”

Good luck to Herm.

Former BlueClaws centerfielder Quintin Berry, who was with Lakewood in 2007, was claimed off waivers by the Padres earlier today. Berry, who is from San Diego and went to San Diego State, was on the 40-man roster but was designated for assignment to make room for Ryan Madson, activated off the 60-day disabled list.

Berry was hitting .211 with Reading before he was designated and will head to Double-A San Diego.

2007 BlueClaws pitcher Brian Schlitter, who the Phillies traded for Scott Eyre at the trade deadline in 2008, became the 33rd former BlueClaw to make the big leagues when he pitched for the Cubs last night.

Always cool are the stories about how guys learn they’re going up…

Ryne Sandberg called Brian Schlitter into his office Friday, and asked the big right-hander if he ever eats hot dogs in the bullpen.

Schlitter didn’t know what to say. The 2004 Maine South graduate finally told the Iowa Cubs skipper he doesn’t.

Sandberg revealed that was good news, because Wrigley Field has cameras.

Schlitter can thank none other than Carlos Zambrano for his promotion.

He’s the 33rd former BlueClaw to reach the big leagues (and 3rd this year, following Jason Donald and Carlos Monasterios).

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Here is how Steve Roadcap told Sergio Escalona that he got called up to the Phillies last year.

Current BlueClaws pitcher Jarred Cosart and 2008 BlueClaws OF Domonic Brown will represent the United States in MLB’s annual Futures Game, this year held July 11th in Anaheim, site of the MLB All-Star game two days later. Congrats to both, it’s a very prestigious honor to be selected.

Cosart, who just turned 20 on May 25th, was a 38th round pick from League City, Texas in 2008. He went 7-2, 3.44 for the BlueClaws in the first half and entered the year as the 8th ranked prospect in the system per Baseball America. He went 4-1, 3.12 over his final seven starts, helping the BlueClaws win the first-half championship.

He was profiled in the Philadelphia Daily News today (click here).

Brown hit .291 with nine home runs with the BlueClaws in 2008 after being drafted in the 20th round of the 2006 draft. This year, he is batting .317-13-43 with Double-A Reading and has been the top ranked prospect in the system for the last two seasons.

Like Cosart, who had committed to Missouri to play both the outfield and pitch, Brown had committed to Miami, where he could have been a running back on the football team. Those collegiate commitments were the reason for each player slipping, much to the delight of the Phillies.

Below, find the list of players who have played for both the BlueClaws and in the Futures Game (year in Futures Game).

• 2003-04: Gavin Floyd
• 2003: Ryan Howard
• 2005: Scott Mathieson
• 2006-08: Carlos Carrasco
• 2007: Adrian Cardenas
• 2008: Jason Donald
• 2008: Greg Golson
• 2008: Lou Marson
• 2009: Kyle Drabek

Cosart joins Carlos Carrasco and Adrian Cardenas as players who have made the Futures Game while still in Lo-A, which is very rare.

There are seven players on the US roster (Cosart, Shelby Miller [P, St. Louis] and Mike Trout [OF, Angels]) and World Roster (Chun-Hsiu Chen [C, Cleveland], Hak-Ju Lee [IF, Cubs], Francisco Peguero [OF, Giants] and Eury Perez [OF, Nationals]) who are in Lo-A and have been selected.