L.I. Ducks ~ Continue to Roll in Lancaster

From the desk of:  THE WEBBED FEET NINE





LONG ISLAND DUCKS:  Win Again, But the Ducks Officially Have Problems Now.  Shane Youman is Headed to the Far East!

Ducks' pitcher Shane Youman's contract was purchased by a pro team from Taiwan back on August 10th...  Forgive me for being coy, but......., Really?


Really?


That makes Ducks' starting pitcher number three to have their contract purchased this season.  Lenny DiNardo was first at the very beginning of the season.  After the All-Star break, Mike Parisi was the next to go.  Even though the Ducks continued to roll along without Parisi, make no mistake, losing him was a huge blow.  And now losing Shane Youman, who had stepped up so marvelously, has to be considered a devastating blow.


In Mike Parisi's absence, veteran pitcher Shane Youman stepped in and established himself as the Ducks' most reliable and best starter behind Mike Loree.  In thirteen games pitched and seven starts for the Ducks this season, he dazzled opponents with a minuscule 0.66 ERA on his way to a 7-1 record.  In 54.1 innings pitched, he gave up thirty-nine hits and only walked nine batters while striking out forty-six.  Four earned runs were all he allowed during his time pitching for Long Island this season.  He did an incredible job.


So how do the Ducks manage the loss of two very key pitchers having very good seasons?  Their starting staff is paper thin now.  And as of this moment, I can only think a short series in the playoffs now presents one hell of a problem for Long Island.  If the bullpen has been masterful so far, now they will be called upon to be damn-near perfect the rest of the way.


As for Friday night's game against the Barnstormers in Lancaster, it opened a three game series in which the Ducks won game one.  Ray Navarrete hit his team leading 19th home run in the third inning (2-run shot) to knot the game at two.  Lancaster opened the scoring in the first inning with two runs.


Matt Esquivel doubled home Javier Colina and John Rodriguez in the sixth inning for a 4-2 lead.  Lancaster got one back in the seventh.  But the Ducks' lead held up.


If the Ducks' suddenly have pitching problems, Friday's starter; Mark Diapoulis; didn't seem to be listening.  He kept the Ducks swimming along with 6.2 strong innings pitched.  Lancaster got six hits and three earned runs off him.  He walked two and struck out four en route to winning his sixth game of the season against just one loss.


Jeremy Hill and Ehrin Wassermann combined to close out the game against the Barnstormers.  Wassermann earned his ninth save of the season.




Mike.BTB