L.I. Ducks: Flock's Last Chance to Reel in Bluefish

From the desk of:  THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE

Liberty Division Showdown

GAME ONE

Bridgeport Bluefish

vs.

Long Island Ducks

FROM

THE POND

Long Island Ducks: Hook those Fish! Letting them linger will only cause trouble..

September's arrival still finds the Liberty Division in a tourniquet.

The first place Somerset Patriots own a tenuous 1-game lead over the Bridgeport Bluefish and Ducks - both presently tied for second.

The turning calendar also means Long Island has just 20 more games with which to gain a leg up on a potential second half title.  That's why the Flock can ill afford to let these next three games against the Bridgeport Bluefish become the proverbial big ones that got away.

Long Island had their chance to make the Liberty Division a 2-team race last week, but instead were swept by the Bluefish at Harbor Yard.  This time around, Long Island will host, and must reciprocate.

Meanwhile, Somerset is marching on Sugar Land this week.

Ferry Cup Series Highlights: Lotta Fight in them Fish..

With regards to the Ferry Cup Series, the Fish already clinched this year's victory with last week's aforementioned sweep over the Flock, improving their season record to 14-10 over their Long Island Sound rivals with just these final three, albeit very important games left to play.

• Bridgeport jumped out to an early lead in May, winning 5 of their first 6 games against the Ducks.

• The Ducks roster looked much different in June than it does today.  After a series opening loss in Bridgeport, those Ducks won 7 straight over the Fish which included a 4-game sweep at the Pond.

• Bridgeport, however, waited till the dog days of summer to inflict most of their damage.  Since July, the Fish have posted an 8-2 record against the Ducks, completing a pair of series sweeps and splitting another.

No Pain No Gain: Flex Those Wings..!

Sometimes all this talk of chasing down a division pennant makes Long Island's 13 game lead in the Wild Card standings over Lancaster easy to overlook.

Despite incurring major mid-season roster upheavals, the Ducks still remain one of only two teams playing above the .600 mark.

Somerset leads the circuit with a 77-43 overall season record, while Long Island boasts an impressive 72-48 record of their own.

The next closest team are the Freedom Division leading Southern Maryland Blue Crabs with a 61-58 mark.  I also always find this a good time for reminding how division realignment screwed the Ducks these last 2 seasons.

I digress.

The Flock nevertheless better take their vitamins and do some push-ups in order to strengthen their weary wings.  They have much flying to do en rout to the post-season.

Ten of Long Island's next 13 games are at home, but will then conclude the season with 7 games on the road.

Next: Bye-bye Liberty; Hello Freedom...

This series against Bridgeport is additionally Long Island's final three games against the division.

The balance of the Ducks' season will be played against Freedom Division teams: Blue Crabs, River Sharks, Skeeters, Revolution, and the defending champion Barnstormers in the season's finale at Lancaster.