More from last night’s Phillies Winter Tour stop in Lakewood…We sat down with Phillies Director of Player Development Joe Jordan for an interview.

You can listen to the interview by clicking here or by listening below.

Or, take a look at some article snippets…

How spring training and his off-season are different now that he has a year in the system (Jordan came to the Phillies from the Orioles following the 2011 season)…I talk about it all the time. It’s going to be a lot different and more enjoyable. I don’t have 170 players or a complete staff to get to know. I want to go down and concentrate on the job and the players. It’s going to make all the difference in the world for me. I can give my staff more of what they need and not trying to learn everyone’s name.

On Jesse Biddle - No one had a better year, developmentally, than him. At the end of the year he’s throwing four pitches at Hi-A as a young pitcher. His command was good and no one had a better year. But when you get to know him and see him work, there are reasons why he’s successful. He has as much pride as anyone. It’s very important for him to one day pitch for the Philadelphia Phillies, we all know that. As far as this year is concerned, he’s scheduled to go to Reading and I’m excited to see how he handles the challenge.

Do you agree that the jump from Hi-A to AA, which Biddle will make this year, is the biggest in Minor League Baseball? I do agree with that. The strike zone is smaller and the hitters are more patient. For me it’s definitely the first real separator they run into.

On Jonathan Pettibone (2010 BlueClaw) and the strides he made in 2012 – Last winter at this time, he was the player that was as accurately described to me by the staff as anyone. He was a pitcher. He doesn’t throw the ball 95 mph but he was going to throw it where he wanted to and use his change-up. He was exactly as they said. I love his consistency, and that’s going to allow him to be a good major league pitcher. His year was phenomenal. When he went to AAA he didn’t miss a step.

There’s a lot more below the fold, including on some potential 2013 BlueClaws.

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This was sent to us by Dave Schofield, BlueClaws team photographer, who has been up in Bufflao for the past couple of days.

Last night was the Buffalo Bisons Hot Stove Dinner. The Bisons are the new AAA affiliate of the Blue Jays. You may recognize the two in the photo. On the left, is 2009 BlueClaws OF Anthony Gose, and on the right is former BlueClaws broadcaster Ben Wagner.

This off-season was a special one for 2012 BlueClaws outfielder Kelly Dugan – he got to enjoy his first “white Christmas.”

“Our family went up to Yosemite with my girlfriend and best friend. They had never seen snow before,” said Dugan. “You don’t get a white Christmas in LA.”

Now that the holidays have passed, however, the only white Dugan will be seeing is a baseball. He’s spent the last few months, and will spend the next month, diligently preparing for the baseball season that will begin when he reports to Clearwater for Spring Training next month.

“Being able to spend time with family is great, but one of the best parts of the off-season is being able to spend so much time in the gym and working on my craft,” he said. “That part makes you feel confident heading into a long year.”

Dugan took about a month off but beginning in October, got back in the weight room and has been hitting with former Dodger Reggie Smith at his facility five minutes from the Dugan residence.

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Who is that? Richardson was on the first BlueClaws team, back in 2001 managed by Greg Legg.

That year, he had one of the best full seasons ever by a BlueClaw (Michael Taylor’s 2008 first-half is the best half). Richardson hit 22 home runs and drove in 83 runs as the team’s regular third baseman.

Those numbers are still part of the BlueClaws single-season record books. His 83 RBIs rank 4th, trailing Randy Ruiz’s 91, Jake Blalock’s 90, and Ryan Howard’s 87.

Jim Murphy made an assault of Richardson’s 22 home runs but could only tie the mark.

Richardson made it to Reading with the Phillies and played in AA with both Texas and Kansas City. He’s spent the last few years in independent leagues, playing last year with Wichita in the American Association and for two teams in the Mexican League.

We wish him a Happy 34th birthday.

A couple of weeks ago, Baseball America released their annual Phillies Top Ten prospect rankings. As we’ve done in years past, we went deeper into those rankings by talking to Matt Forman, the Baseball America writer who compiled them.

As a refresher, 2011 BlueClaws LHP Jesse Biddle topped the list, and likely 2013 BlueClaws SS Roman Quinn was second on the list.

You can follow Matt on Twitter here. Onto the Q&A:

Q: What were the biggest strides Jesse Biddle made over the past season?

Jesse Biddle, the Phillies’ No. 1 prospect entering 2013, has had an incremental climb throughout his young professional career. Really, and the Phillies’ brass has said this multiple times, he has done everything — and more — that’s been asked of him since his signed as their first-round pick in 2010. Last year, Biddle took significant strides in a number of areas. In terms of stuff, Biddle better pitched to both sides of the plate with his fastball. His changeup developed into a swing-and-miss offering. He gained consistency with his curveball, especially in controlling its knee-buckling depth. He also added a slider and a two-seam fastball to his arsenal. All the while, in terms of statistics, Biddle cut his walk rate, improved his whiff rate and bettered his groundball-to-flyball ratio — all positive indicators. When the stats and stuff align, that’s a good sign for any pitching prospect. If Biddle continues progressing the way he has, he could out-perform his projected mid-rotation starter upside.

Q: Roman Quinn ranked #2 on the list and in the write-up you said he was a legit 80-speed on the 20-80 scouting scale. In general, how rare is that 80 designation?

Extremely rare — 80-grade tools are not offered liberally. The 20-80 scouting scale is based on the mathematical normal distribution curve, where 50 is Major League average and every 10-point differential falls one standard deviation from the mean. By literal definition, then, Roman Quinn’s speed should roughly rate among the top 0.1 percent of players — but the system isn’t quite that scientific. That is, probably between 15 and 20 percent of big leaguers have “average” or 50-grade speed, because players slow down (age, size) and speed isn’t as big a part of the game as it once was, though that’s changing. Regardless, Quinn is on the short list of the fastest players in the minor leagues — arguably the fastest player not named Billy Hamilton, of Cincinnati’s system. Quinn’s speed is game-changing, impacting play in the field, at the plate and on the bases.

Q: Quinn was listed in the middle of the pack in the 2012 ratings. What stood out about his 2012 performance and were you surprised about his jump?

I’d say I was somewhat surprised by Quinn’s jump, but not totally shocked. Quinn barely missed the Top 10 last year, coming in at No. 11 on the pre-2012 list after being selected in the second round of the draft, and that ranking was at least partially influenced by the fact that he signed late and made his professional debut in instructional league, so we were largely relying on his amateur reports. In instructs, he impressed observers with his first-step quickness, but he had just committed to switch-hitting and playing shortstop full-time. Really, that’s what stood out about his 2012 performance — his development on the infield dirt, where scouts seem encouraged he’ll be able to stay, and his improvement hitting left-handed. He’s got a plus arm and good actions at short, and he could be a solid-average hitter from both sides.

To your original question: Quinn was the New York-Penn League’s No. 3 prospect, and when I started the reporting/researching process for this list, I expected him to fall somewhere in the middle of Top 10. But quickly, Quinn received consideration for the list’s No. 1 spot, and it wasn’t necessarily an easy decision to go with Biddle over Quinn. Ultimately, Quinn has a higher ceiling, but Biddle is the safer bet to reach his ceiling after spending his age-20 season pitching for high Class A Clearwater.

Q: Jonathan Pettibone was here in Lakewood in 2010 on a staff that had Brody Colvin, Jarred Cosart, Trevor May, and Julio Rodriguez and he always seemed to get lost in the shuffle. Obviously he had a tremendous season and beat all of those guys to Triple-A (save Cosart who was an injury fill-in there with Houston). Did his move and year surprise people and what’s his projection going forward?

You’re right about Jonathan Pettibone being overlooked among the “Baby Aces” rotation that pitched in Lakewood in 2010 and Clearwater for half of 2011. That’s likely because Pettibone doesn’t have (and didn’t have) the pure stuff of Colvin, Cosart and May, and he hasn’t posted (and didn’t post) the outrageous strikeout totals of Rodriguez. But Pettibone has the best pitchability among that group, and that’s why he has progressed more quickly through the minor leagues.

I’d say Pettibone’s 2012 was marginally unexpected, at least in the sense that I didn’t anticipate he’d make seven starts for Triple-A Lehigh Valley last year, and I don’t think many others would’ve made that prediction. But Pettibone entered the year as the system’s No. 4 prospect, and he’ll enter next year occupying the same spot. So the more surprising jump happened two seasons ago, but it was encouraging to see him have another strong season.

Pettibone’s projection: a mid-rotation, innings-eater, probably as a No. 3 or No. 4 starter. Some scouts still worry about his lack of a swing-and-miss pitch. For his solid stuff and advanced command/control, Pettibone has never missed many bats, though his strikeout rate bumped up at Lehigh Valley. That said, Pettibone likely will be given a chance to compete for the Phillies’ fifth starter spot in spring training, and either way he could see time in Philadelphia at some point in 2013.

There’s a lot more below the fold…

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This is one of our favorite posts of the year – the Definitive BlueClaws Bowl Guide. Who should you root for in all of the college football bowl games this year (I think there are only 451 left to be played)? We go through the list with the BlueClaws connections!

If we missed one, which is possible, leave in the comments or email radio@blueclaws.com.

Poinsettia Bowl - San Diego State/BYU – Quintin Berry (2007) and Troy Hanzawa (2009) went to San Diego State.

Beef O’Brady’s Bowl - Ball State/Central Florida - Chris Duffy (2012) starred at Central Florida before being drafted by the Phillies. Perci Garner, drafted in 2010, who skipped Lakewood, went to Ball State.

New Orleans Bowl - East Carolina/UL-Lafayette – Stephen Batts (2010/11) played at ECU.

Las Vegas Bowl – Washington/Boise State - I know you remembered 2003 BlueClaw Andre Marshall, who played at Washington. Trevor May (2009-10) committed there but signed with the Phillies out of high school. Travis Mattair (2008-09, 11) never played baseball at Boise State but he did spend a year there as a walk-on on the basketball team, so that counts.

Hawaii Bowl – SMU/Fresno State - Phillies broadcaster Scott Franzke went to SMU and Steve Susdorf (2009 BlueClaw) went to Fresno State.

Little Caesars Bowl - Central Michigan/Western Kentucky - We found a draft pick from WKU – Ryan Hutchison, a Phillies pick in 2001, played that year with Batavia but skipped Lakewood, going straight to Clearwater in 2002. Matt Payton was with Lakewood very briefly in 2011, playing three games, but he too went to Western Kentucky.

Holiday Bowl – UCLA/Baylor – Tyson Brummett (2008) and Garrett Claypool (2011) went to UCLA. Anthony Hensley (2001), Josh Scott (2002) as well as Josh Ludy (2012) went to Baylor.

Independence Bowl – Ohio/UL-Monroe - 2012 BlueClaws OF Gauntlett Eldemire went to Ohio.

Armed Forces Bowl – Air Force/Rice - Karl Bolt (2008) went to Air Force. Former Phillies first round pick Joe Savery went to Rice.

Pinstripe Bowl – Syracuse/West Virginia - Zac Cline (2004) went to WVU.

Fight Hunger Bowl – Navy/Arizona State - Tuffy Gosewisch (2007) is a Sun Devil, as is 2012 RHP Jake Borup.

Alamo Bowl – Texas/Oregon State – 2011 BlueClaws C Cameron Rupp and 2012 LHP Hoby Milner both went to Texas. Mike Stutes (2008) and Andrew Baldwin (2005) both went to Oregon State while 2012 BlueClaw Kyrell Hudson committed there before signing with the Phillies.

Music City Bowl - NC State/Vanderbilt - Josh Zeid (2010) went to Vanderbilt.

Sun Bowl – Georgia Tech/USC - Jeremy Slayden (2006) went to Georgia Tech.

Chick-Fil-A Bowl – Clemson/LSU – Herm Demmink (2007) went to Clemson while on the LSU side, we have 2010 BlueClaw Brody Colvin, who committed here but didn’t sign. 2006 BlueClaw Clay Harris played at LSU.

Gator Bowl – Northwestern/Mississippi State - 2005 LHP JA Happ and 2006 RHP Dan Brauer both went to Northwestern. We couldn’t find anyone from Mississippi State except Travis Chapman, a 2000 Phillies draft pick who played in Batavia and skipped Lakewood.

Heart of Dallas Bowl – Purdue/Oklahoma State - 2012 BlueClaws LHP Blake Mascarello pitched at Purdue along with 2012 Williamsport 3B Cameron Perkins, who could be a BlueClaw this year. Three alums went to Oklahoma State: John Urick (2006), Michael Dabbs (2010), and Jason Jaramillo (2005).

Outback Bowl – Michigan/South Carolina - Michael Floyd (2002), Andrew Cruse (2007), Mike Cisco (2008) and Aaron Rawl (2006-06) all went to South Carolina.

Capital One Bowl – Nebraska/Georgia - Mike Nesseth (2012), Luke Wertz (2009-10) and Trevor Bullock (2001) played here. Jacob Diekman (2008-10) committed here as did Tyler Cloyd (2009), though both signed with the Phillies. Cody Asche, who skipped Lakewood, was drafted out of Nebraska in 2011.

Rose Bowl – Wisconsin/Stanford - We have one from Wisconsin. From the first ever BlueClaws team in 2001, Chad Sidowsky, while 2008 BlueClaw Michael Taylor went to Stanford.

Orange Bowl – Northern Illinois/Florida State - 2007 LHP Matt German went to Northern Illinois while Aaron Cheesman (2006) and Robby Read (2003) went to Florida State. Potential 2013 BlueClaw Roman Quinn committed to Florida State before signing with the Phillies.

Sugar Bowl – Louisville/Florida - 2009 BlueClaw BJ Rosenberg is a proud Louisville Cardinal. 2012 BlueClaw Matt Campbell is the lone Gator, though 2007 BlueClaw Adrian Cardenas committed here before signing with the Phillies.

Fiesta Bowl – Oregon/Kansas State - No Oregon alums though Jesse Biddle (2011) committed here before signing with the Phillies, and nothing from Kansas State.

Cotton Bowl - Oklahoma/Texas A&M – Will Savage (2006) and Ryan Duke (2011-12) went to Oklahoma while Ryan Wardinsky (2003) went to Texas A&M.

BBVA Compass Bowl – Pittsburgh/Ole Miss - Evangelista (2004) went to Pittsburgh. 2006 teammates Cooper Osteen and Matt Maloney both went to Ole Miss, as did 2011 BlueClaw Austin Wright.

BCS Championship Game – Notre Dame/Alabama - 2010 BlueClaw Jeremy Barnes went to Notre Dame while Austin Hyatt (2009) went to Alabama (as did Phillies draftee Adam Morgan who skipped Lakewood and finished last year with Reading).

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Obviously you knew this already but we just wanted to share our best wishes and congratulations to Travis d’Arnaud, 2009 BlueClaws catcher, who was traded from Toronto to the Mets, a deal completed on Monday which sent RA Dickey to the Blue Jays.

d’Arnaud has now been a centerpiece of two trades for Cy Young winners (he was sent to Toronto in the Roy Halladay trade in December, 2009) and he hasn’t even played a Major League game, though that will surely change quickly.

In this Daily News article, Andy Martino talks with d’Arnaud’s Lakewood manager, Dusty Wathan.

“He didn’t take his offense to his defense,” Wathan recalls. “That is when you can tell when a guy is young that he is going to be a good catcher.”

That’s similar to what he told us in this podcast from way back in August of 2009. Remember, he hit just .207 in the first half but d’Arnaud then hit .302 in the second half and led the BlueClaws to the SAL title.

d’Arnaud becomes the 5th former BlueClaw to be traded this off-season (Trevor May and Vance Worley from Philadelphia to Minnesota; Lisalverto Bonilla from Philadelphia to Texas; and Jason Donald from Cleveland to Cincinnati).

49 BlueClaws have gone “From The Shore, To The Show,” and d’Arnaud would be the first player to make his big league debut with the Mets.

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