More Snow / 2007 Sea Dogs Roster

It's official, game four of the opening series vs. the Connecticut Defenders was wiped out by Thursday's storm and the stubborn refusal of the temperatures to rise high enough to adequately clear the field - much to the chagrin of Sea Dogs and Defenders fans alike. The Dogs will try again Monday against the New Britain Rock Cats.

Meanwhile, we have yet to cover the 2007 Sea Dogs. 11 players return from last year's championship team, including top prospect Jacoby Ellsbury, who will patrol center field for at least the first part of the season. Ellsbury's return was necessitated by a crowded outfield in Pawtucket, which includes Portland graduates David Murphy and Brandon Moss, as well as a couple of major league veterans being stored in AAA in case of emergency. Also on the roster are top pitching prospects Clay Bucholtz and Bryce Cox, who will anchor the rotation. With returning lefties Andrew Dobies and Tommy Hottovy, Portland looks to have a strong rotation entering the season.

Infielder Jed Lowrie is another good prospect making his Portland debut. Among the surprise returnees are two pitchers who moved up to AAA last season: Chris Smith and knuckleballer Charlie Zink. Both have been here for several years before, but like Ellsbury found themselves caught up in a numbers game. As a knuckleballer, Zink still has time to develop, whereas Smith is being converted to a reliever, a role in which he may be able to throw harder than he can in pacing himself for a 100-pitch outing.

A quick review of the roster leads me to think that this year's team has the chance to be very good once again. This is a testament to the strong development system that the Red Sox have implemented in recent years.

And while there was no baseball in Portland this weekend, the Pawtucket Red Sox have begun their season, with strong contributions from Sea Dogs alums Devern Hansack and Craig Hansen.