L.I. Ducks: Trouble Ahead for First Place Flock

From the desk of:  THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE

First Quarter Season Check Point

LIBERTY DIVISION STANDINGS (First Half)

Long Island  23-12  (*)

High Point    21-15  2.5 GB

Somerset     20-15   3.0 GB

New Britain  19-15   3.5 GB

Fresh off taking two of three from the York Revolution, Long Island arrives at the season's first-half check point a first place team.  They close out the weekend tied for most wins in the circuit with the Sugar Land Skeeters.  

With 33 games left till the break the race to capture a first half Liberty Division pennant begins now. But the road ahead is rife with danger as all four Liberty Division teams are presently playing above .500, with only 3.5 games separating fourth place from first.  That said, the Ducks open a four game series at New Britain against the Bees on Monday.  We all know how quickly things can go awry - especially if MLB teams continue plundering the Ducks of their pitching talent.  Suffice to say an intriguing series lay ahead at Connecticut and beyond.

Over the first quarter season the Ducks strength was clearly their pitching.  But where would the Ducks be without Sean Nolin?  He is tied for league lead with five wins (against no losses), his 1.29 ERA ranks second, and his 38 strikeouts rank third (tied with team mate Darin Downs).  He has yielded just 26 hits and six walks over 35 innings for a stellar 0.91 WHiP.  Will he be the next Ducks pitcher picked off by MLB?

Ducks Pitchers Contracts Selected by MLB Organizations:

• Jon Niese (Mariners)
• Tim Melville (Rockies)
• Tim Adleman (Tigers)
• Jose Cuas (D'Backs)
• Bennett Parry (Mexico)
• George Kontos (Nationals)

Lets just say David Washington is carrying the Ducks on his back.  He leads the league with a .612 slugging average and a .980 OPS.  He is also tied for the league lead with ten home runs, while his 27 RBI rank fifth, just two behind the leader.  Steve Lombardozzi is sixth in the league in hitting, slashing .318/.399/.434, with nine extra base hits and 19 RBI through 34 games 129 at-bats.  Kirk Nieuwehhuis has 14 extra base hits with a .791 OPS and is second on the team with 22 RBI through 31 games and 117 at-bats.

Otherwise the Ducks seem to getting the most of their middle of the pack offensive production.  Here is how they stack up against the circuit:

• Runs: #5
• Home Runs: #3
• Total Bases: #5
• Team Average: #6
• Team OBP: #6
• Team Slugging: #5

The second place High Point Rockers continue standing their ground with a 21-15 record.  Long Island dropped their first ever series at North Carolina back in May two games to one.  They host the Rockers for the first time next weekend at Bethpage Park, then return to High Point in mid June for a four game weekend series.  The Ducks also still have all nine first half games yet to play against rival Somerset.