The <a href="http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060917&c>milb.com recap</a> has this nice little story:

Not long after the celebration spilled from the field into the locker room, Sea Dogs manager Todd Claus called Hansack into his office where Epstein shared the news over the phone.

"To win a championship and get the call to the big leagues -- I'm very excited about that," Hansack said. "It's probably the happiest day of my life."

Hansack was picked up as a free agent, hadn't played ball in America since 2003. He's no prospect, really, but he seems like a good guy and I'm glad to see him get a cup of coffee. And I guess it's not a completely crazy idea that he could be an effective reliever of some sort.

There's still some discussion about Hansack's age, as well. A poster on Soxprospects.com's message board reports that he's been telling reporters that he's actually 26.

Hansack himself told Kevin Thomas of the Portland Press Herald that he is 26. Take that for what it's worth, but it seems fair to use that as his age until it's proven otherwise.

According to The Esteemed Oracle, Hansack's MLEs are: 5.25 ERA in 132 IP, with 149 hits allowed, 43 BBs, and 85 Ks.

I.e., better'n Snyder, Johnson, or Clement gave us this year!

Anyway, congrats to the Sea Dogs; the playoff run must've been a lot of fun for the fans.

Those who know the ml's well: is Portland's championship indicative of a decent collection of prospects, or a decent collection of 26-28 y.o.'s such as Hansack? Both? Neither?

Those who know the ml's well: is Portland's championship indicative of a decent collection of prospects, or a decent collection of 26-28 y.o.'s such as Hansack? Both? Neither?

Crapshoot! Crapshoot! It's aways a crapsoot!

The most recent BA has a little story on Hansack. According to that, he got age-gated in the Astro system from a DOB of 1982 to 1978. If that 1978 came from some unearthed real documentation, then he may be fudging again if he's claiming to be 26.

The Sea Dogs jumped on Bay early, scoring four runs in the second and third. 30-year old Brian Myrow put Portland on the board with a two-run homer in the second and 27-year old Keoni De Renne blew the game open the next inning with a three-run triple.

That's about all you need to know about this accomplishment. Did the Red Sox demote some players from Pawtucket to help them win the championship this year?

No. Nice try though. It's actually not something that is very hard to look up either.

I had never heard the name "Devern Hansack" until just now. So...good for him, I guess.

You'll hear it again. He's pitching for the Sox on Saturday.

Kottaras had a big impact on this series. Promising stuff but I hope his approach has matured beyond what Sam Geaney wrote about him last year on his calleaguers website:

Athletic, switch hitting C. Med. frame. Not overly phys. and there is not much room for him to put on much more weight but he needs to get stronger. Quiet setup @ plate. Slightly open, hands low with bat resting on shoulder. Solid avg BS. Centers ball ok. Approach is dead pull. Frustrating to watch a kid who has a good feel for the strike zone try and pull everything when he does swing. Casts hds out and gets around the ball hooking everything. Doesn't show any interest in working on it as he continues to jerk balls in BP while his coaches pepper the outside corner and chastise him. Can get enough mistakes to hit @ this level and doesn't miss them but @ ML level I have to believe he will be pounded away and forced to adjust. Pretty serious pop for a little guy. 50-55 raw power. Will play to 10-14 HR/yr @ MLlevel. Should run better given athleticism. Moves around smoothly and sets up quietly behind plate. Would like to see more looseness and flexibility as he sets up narrow with his feet which hurts his mobility. Soft confident hands. Active receiver. Cheats open a bit with runners on base. Strong avg arm with extra kick and carry as it gets towards the bag. Easy and fluid, albeit a bit long release. Gets underneath throws but moves thru them well which allows him to stay down. Should have no problem catching @ ML level. Approach will make it difficult for him to hit with any consis. Looks like a very solid backup catcher who's simple swing will serve him well as a late inning pinch hitter. If he learns to use whole field he can be an everyday guy.

Maybe his struggles at triple-a had to do with him not adjusting to pitchers pounding the outside corner.