L.I. Ducks: The Monday Swim - 5/4/15

From the desk of:  THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE

The Ducks began the 2014 with a 5-5 record, 

en route to a 41-29 first half record.

Long Island Ducks: John Brownell, Cody Puckett, and Ryan Kussmaul, lead Flock out of the starting gate.

The Atlantic League was off Monday.

The Ducks have posted a 6-4 record in their first 10 games of the season.  They kicked off the year in York and took 2 of 3 games from the Revolution, then split four games in South Maryland against the Blue Crabs.

Long Island hosted their home opener on May 1st against the Sugar Land Skeeters.  The Ducks dropped the series finale on Sunday, but took 2 of 3 games in the series.

That's two series victories and a split to start the season.

However, by virtue of one less game played and one less loss, the Somerset Patriots have slipped into 1st place of the Liberty Division, a 1/2 game ahead of both the Camden Riversharks and Long Island Ducks.

Despite dropping 2 of 3 to the Ducks over the weekend, the Sugar Land Skeeters lead the Freedom Division by one game over last year's A.L. champions, the Lancaster Barnstormers.

Lew Ford and Cody Puckett lead the Ducks in hits and average.  At present, they are the team's two .300 hitters.  Cody Puckett also leads the team and the Atlantic League with four home runs.  Both Ford and Puckett are tied with 7 RBI.  The Ducks have hit 8 home runs as a team.

Newcomer Jon Griffin is off to a rough start, batting .152 with one home run and 6 RBI, and leading the team with 13 strikeouts.  As the lead-off man, Bryan Sabatella is only batting .244, but at least boasts a .333 OBP, with 3 doubles, 3 stolen bases, and 8 runs scored.

On the mound, starter John Brownell has been nothing short of excellent.  In 2 starts and 15.0 innings pitched, he is yet to surrender a run, allowed a mere 6 hits, walked 3 and fanned 9 batters.  Ian Marshall joins Brownell with a 2-0 record.  In 11 innings pitched, he also is yet to allow a run.   He has walked one thus far and fanned 5 batters.  In a change of roles, Eric Niesen has made 2 starts, and leads the team with 11 strikeouts in 11 innings pitched.

Closer Ryan Kussmaul has appeared in 5 games, and so far has posted 4 saves.  He has not given up a hit, or run to this point, has walked a pair, and struck out 6 batters.

NEXT

Long Island Ducks

vs.

Bridgeport Bluefish

from

HARBOR PARK

The Long Island Ducks will visit Bridgeport to begin a 3 game series against the Bluefish on Tuesday.  The Connecticut Nine strike me as a better team than their early record may indicate.

On May 1st, the Long Island Ducks acquired outfielder Prentice Redman from the Bridgeport Bluefish for a player to be named later.  He was originally drafted by the Mets in the 10th round of the 1999 June draft.  He made his MLB debut in 2003, and participated in 15 games.  

Redman is 4 for 10 in 2 games for the Ducks so far.  He will turn 37-years old in August.  He played the last four seasons with Bridgeport.  In 2012 at age 32, he played 131 games, and hit 39 doubles, 21 home runs with 82 RBI, and slashed .282/.366/.489 in 503 at-bats.  Last season, he batted .270, with 16 home runs and 65 RBI.

Marking the first Pond casualty of the 2015 season, starter Mark Rogers was placed on the inactive list on May 2nd.  He struggled in two starts for the Ducks, allowing 4 earned runs on 6 hits and 4 walks in 7.2 innings pitched, with 5 strikeouts and a 4.69 ERA.

The Ducks will get their first look at the defending champions, when they host the Lancaster Barnstormers next weekend.  The Bluefish will then visit the Pond.



Mike