Canada Day is Tuesday, and the Rox will be north of the border taking on the Quebec Capitales to start a three-game series. A national holiday for all provinces of Canada, it is most simply described as "Canada's Birthday."  It is a celebration of the joining of former British colonies Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and the old province of Canada (which consisted of modern-day provinces of Ottawa and Quebec) in 1867.  Ottawa has been a tremendous experience around this time, and people are ready to celebrate on Tuesday.

I spent some time on Parliament Hill today, touring the history of the Canadian Parliament buildings.  Ottawa is a city with a rich history, and you can see some of the architecture in some photos I have posted from today.  They are below.

Before that though...the Rox have a ballgame to play tonight (weather permitting).  Speaking of history, the Rapidz will be trying to make some with a win tonight.

The Rox certainly don't want to hand Ottawa its first series victory in franchise history or first win streak (2 games), but they face a tough challenge tonight.  Ottawa is scheduled to start LHP Fraser Robinson (2-2, 3.83 ERA).   The Rox have lost to Robinson once already this season (June 11th), and have had an awful time hitting left-handed starters this year:
June 4th vs. Sussex Skyhawks
LHP Craig Snipp
Result: Loss
Snipp: 7 IP, 0 R, 5 H, 4 K
June 7th vs. Atlantic City
LHP Brian Rodaway
Result: Loss
Rodaway: 7 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 9 K
June 11th vs. Ottawa Rapidz
LHP Fraser Robinson
Result: Loss
Robinson: 6 IP, 4 R, 8 H, 1 K
June 12th vs. Ottawa Rapidz
LHP Mike Kusiewicz
Result: Win
Kusiewicz: 4.2 IP, 5 R, 9 H, 4 K
June 13th vs. Atlantic City
LHP Brian Rodaway
Result: Loss
Rodaway: 7 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 3 K
June 15th vs. Atlantic City
LHP Adam Cox
Result: Win
Cox: 5 IP, 2 R, 6 H, 3 K
June 17th vs. Worcester
LHP Tom Cochran
Result: Loss
Cochran: 8 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 9 K
June 21st vs. New Jersey
LHP Issac Pavlik
Result: Loss
Pavlik: 7 IP, 2 R, 6 H, 2 K
June 24th vs. Quebec
LHP Kevin Beavers
Result: Loss
Beavers: 7 IP, 1 R, 6 H, 2 K
June 26th vs. Quebec
LHP Eric Cyr
Result: Loss
Cyr: 8 IP, 0 R, 6 H, 11 K

Totals
2-8 record, 1.89 ERA for those starters.  Hits allowed: 55  Strikeouts: 48

Needless to say, tonight's game will be a challenge for this team.  On the road (7-10 record this year) and against LHP (2-8).

Moving forward, RHP John Kelly is scheduled to start in Wednesday's game against the Quebec Capitales.  Within this comparison by the Boston Daily Magazine's Dan Morrell, you get to choose between the Rox John Kelly or the Red Sox Josh Beckett.

Here are the photos from Parliament Hill.

Rox fans often wonder aloud, "Do these players ever get picked up by Major League Baseball Organizations?"  And, "Are there any guys in the big leagues right now?"

Everyone remembers when "Oil Can" Boyd pitched for the Rox in the summer of 2005.  However Boyd joined a long list of former Major Leaguers who stick around in the independent ranks primarily for the love of playing the game, but also on the slight chance that a big league club will come calling one day.  That dream is what the independent leagues are all about.

The Can-Am League recently released its latest Alumni Report.  The first name on the list is former Rox LHP Craig Anderson.  Anderson spent the final weeks of the 2005 season in a Brockton uniform and made six starts. 
His numbers:  4-2, 3.67 ERA, 41.2 IP, 7 BB, 22 K

A native of Australia (like current Rox RHP Wayne Lundgren - tonight's starter against Worcester), Anderson has been in the Baltimore Orioles organization ever since.  He is now just one step from realizing the dreams of so many who have played at Campanelli Stadium; suiting up in a Major League uniform.

Bob Wirz is the foremost expert on the Independent circuit and its endless list of alumni.  As he writes in this piece, there are a good number of players you will recognize currently contributing for Major League teams. 

Tonight's Game:
RHP Wayne Lundgren (1-2, 5.34 ERA) gets the ball for tonight's start against the Worcester Tornadoes.  Worcester has taken the first two games of a three-game set from the Rox, and Brockton will try to salvage the series tonight with a win.  Lundgren has made five starts this season, three have been great and two have been forgettable.  In his three good starts, he has allowed a grand total of three earned runs...combined.  You can see by the breakdown below, the other two were not as good.  For more on Lundgren, read the May 30 entry below.

DATE     G#  OPP  H/R DEC GS GF CG    IP   H   AB  TBF   R   ER HR  BB  SO WP BK
05/24/08     NAS   H   W   1         7.0   5   24   27   2           1   3  1     0.00
05/29/08     NAS   R   L   1     1   8.0   7   29   30   2    2          7        1.20
06/03/08     SSX   R   L   1         3.1  11   21   22   8    8      1   2        4.91
06/08/08     ACY   R       1         4.0   9   21   24   9    7  1   1   4  1     6.85
06/13/08     ACY   H       1         8.0   3   26   28   1    1      2   8        5.34


Jim Wilson of the Worcester Telegram covered last night's loss at Hanover Insurance Park.  Brockton had a great shot to put the game away early, but Worcester is in second place right now for a reason, and they showed it last night.  They are really hitting the ball well right now.

Othe League News:
Anthony Santos was about to start looking for a real job, when a former Gold Glove winner called and offered him a roster spot.  The former Gold Glove winner of course is Nashua Pride Manager Rick Miller.  This is Miller's first season as a Manager...anywhere, and his squad has been hurt by injuries.  Recently, he did get good news though, as another former Red Sox fan favorite, finally arrived.

Ottawa is as close as they have been to winning a series this season.  The Rapidz are 6-19 on the season and won the first game of a three-game series against the first-place Quebec Capitales on Monday.  Unfortunately they'll have to wait until July 4th to finish the series.

---

Blogging from the press box at Hanover Insurance Park today.  It really is a nice park.  I've included some photos today.  Have patience, the afternoon is always a bad time to be uploading pictures to our website service provider's server. 

Anyway, here's the field.  Well manicured, and just off beyond the right field wall is the football stadium for the Holy Cross Crusaders' football team.  Just to the right of the scoreboard there at the very right edge of the picture is the deepest part of the park.  It's a very unique place for the deepest part, but it's basically just a mirror image of CampanellI Stadium.  Campanelli Stadium's deepest part of the park is in left-centerfield (more in the gap than it is here).

Here's an establishing shot that gives you a good look at I-290 running out beyond the left-field wall.  Yes, that is a highway, and that traffic is moving fast.  This is the place where Francisco Lebron once hit a home run...in a game...on to the highway.  True story.  I was not here for that particular event.  I did see him hit one off of the railing there, very, very close to getting into traffic.  That was in batting practice before the exhibtion game this spring.

The Worcester Telegram does a great job covering the Tornadoes.  Here is a piece on the "Old Man" who plays for the Rox.  Let me reiterate that is a direct quote from the article.

Worcester's Tom Cochran was very, very good last night.  Unfortunately for the Rox, it doesn't get any easier against Worcester in this series.  RHP Matt Weagle will start tonight.  He has historically been either really good, or not really very good.  In 2006 with the Tornadoes, he was 3-2, with a 2.51 ERA.  He walked 18 batters in 89 innings.  In 2007, he was 2-7, with a 4.70 ERA.  In 2008, he is off to a very promising start:  4-1, 2.89 ERA.  He was 4-0 in his first four starts.

Tomorrow, RHP Junior Guerrero will take the ball for Tornadoes Manager Rich Gedman.  Guerrero is arguably one of the best pitchers in the league.  In 2006, he posted a 1.89 ERA in 104.1 innings.  He is 23-12 in three seasons with the Tornadoes.

After a grueling 10-game road trip that included a brief stop at home, the Rox have now had three days off in the last 12.  The team has won five of its last seven games and sits 3.5 games back of first-place Quebec.  The Rox play seven of the next ten games at home, including three games against second-place Worcester, and four against Quebec. A quick look at the standings:
                                              LAST               
                      W   L   PCT GB   STREAK  10               
 QUEBEC              16   8  .667       L 2   6- 4               
 WORCESTER           14   8  .636  1.0  W 1   6- 4               
 BROCKTON            12  11  .522  3.5  W 2   5- 5               
 ATLANTIC CITY       12  11  .522  3.5  L 2   4- 6               
 NASHUA              11  11  .500  4.0  W 1   6- 4               
 NEW JERSEY          11  12  .478  4.5  W 3   4- 6               
 SUSSEX              10  13  .435  5.5  L 3   5- 5               
 OTTAWA               6  18  .250 10.0  W 1   4- 6               
               
Brockton opens up a three-game series with Worcester today at Hanover Insurance Park.  Here is a summary of the series.  On paper, both teams appear to be an even match...on paper.  Worcester's pitching staff has an ERA of 4.06 (3rd best in the league), while the Rox post a 4.49 (4th).  Brockton, batting .303 as a team, is leading the league offensively by leaps and bounds, however some of those numbers are inflated by the tremendous opening week the team had.  Worcester has hit a steady .277 this year as a team (T-3rd).

Three of the top four batters in the league will be featured in this series.  Worcester's OF Scott Grimes is hitting a league-high .426.  The Rox middle infield combination of 2B Melvin Falu (.410) and SS Dominic Ramos (.367) are ranked second and fourth respectively.  Ramos played for Worcester last season, and hit .311 with 5 HR and 43 RBI. 

He put together the longest hitting streak in Tornadoes' history from August 9th - 26th.  During the streak he hit .443, and finished with a .354 average for the entire month.  He appears to have carried over some of that momentum into this season.  He hit .465 in 10 games in May, and currently leads the Can-Am League with 36 total hits. 

Jim Wilson is the Tornadoes' beat writer for the Worcester Telegram.  In this piece, he writes about how Worcester narrowly escaped becoming the first team to lose a series to the Ottawa Rapidz.  Worcester has lost four of its last seven.

Around the League
Tom King of the Nashua Telegraph writes about a former Cleveland Indians' farmhand who is finding several roles for Rick Miller's Nashua Pride.  King makes an interesting observation about the prevalence of at least one player who can play several different positions on each team's roster.  The roster rules for the league are the biggest hurdle for any Manager to overcome.  Look at the Rox roster and you find a couple of guys who fit this role:
INF/OF Eugene Julien
 - Has played 3B, SS, 2B, LF, RF, and DH this year
INF Melvin Falu
 - Played all nine positions in a game last year
INF/OF Mike Torres
 - Has only played nine games this year but has already been in the lineup at: C, 3B, LF, and DH

The Can-Am League announced the Players of the Week.
First pitch tonight is at 6:05 PM.  The pre-game show starts at 5:45 PM.  Tune in to WXBR 1460 AM or click on the Rox Radio button on the home page.  Also, don't hesitate to come out and join us this weekend if you can.  Friday night fireworks, a diamond giveaway thanks to Romm Diamonds on Saturday and another post-game concert, and a Sunday Family FUNday.  This past weekend was a tremendous atmosphere at Campanelli Stadium.  5,600 fans on Friday night, over 4,000 on Saturday night, and over 2,000 on Sunday despite some pre-game showers.  Hope to see yout this weekend!

The Ottawa Rapidz appear for the first time at Campanelli Stadium today, and Ed Nottle returns as a manager for the first time since 2005.  The Rapidz are off to a rough start at just 3-14, and this series is a good chance for the Rox to get back on its feet.

I spoke with Rox Manager Chris Miyake prior to Sunday's series finale with the Atlantic City Surf.  The goal remains very clear: a first half title.  Winning the first half of the season would give the Rox the #1 seed come playoff time in September. 

It was a tough road trip for Brockton, but the Rox managed to spin a little positivity at the end.  It seems like a month ago, Brockton was pulling out of Holman Stadium in Nashua, NH with a dead aim on first place.  The 10-game, 12-day road trip was underway and Brockton had just taken three out of four from the Nashua Pride.  Two stops (well three if you count home again the middle of Sussex and Atlantic City), and almost 1,300 miles later, the Rox finished the trip 4-6. 

The Rox are just one game below the .500 mark at 8-9 on the season.  Two of the best pitchers in the league are scheduled to start against the Rapidz (John Kelly - Today, and Rolando Viera - Thursday).  Meanwhile, the top two teams in the league will be beating up on each other as the Quebec Capitales (First place) host the Worcester Tornadoes (Second Place) beginning today. 

The Can-Am League released its Players of the Week, as determined by the official statistician of the league, PA Sportsticker.  Atlantic City OF Clyde Williams helped his bid, with two home runs in the final game of the series against the Rox.