From the desk of: GROWLINGS FROM BROOKLYN
NEWARK BEARS: Open Three Game Series Versus 2nd Half Leader Brockton Rox.
I'm looking forward to listening to this series, because my new favorite broadcaster from Brockton will most likely say something disparaging about the Bears again. Tonight I'm putting the over/under at two innings. By the top of the third, I'm betting he will have said something inane; which has been his custom since I started listening to the Bears upon their joining the CanAm League this season.
He (who shall remain nameless...I'm not looking to out anyone...) has usually done his best critiquing in the first game of each series between these two teams. And we learned from the first time Brockton came to Newark, Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium isn't exactly his favorite place either. One of his hang-ups is with the Bears' bullpen.
It should be another fun listen tonight.
Check in after the game.
Mike.BTB
Showing posts with label Brockton Rox. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brockton Rox. Show all posts
Friday, July 29, 2011
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Newark Bears ~ Ninth Inning Win On Father's Day
From the desk of: The Brick City Sluggers
NEWARK BEARS: Paddy Matera Delivers A Ninth Inning Single To Salvage Game Three In Series Against Brockton Rox.
On Riverfront Stadium -
He didn't start in on the bullpen pitchers till the eighth when he began questioning how long Tim Raines Sr. was leaving Anthony Pluta in the game during a 6-6 game (at the time).
But he got a few things right today. Tim Raines Sr. allowed Brockton to retake the lead at 7-6; and Newark killed themselves with sloppy fielding.
Newark got on the board right away. Tim Raines Jr. doubled in the first inning with two outs and Daryle Ward drove him home with a single. But Brockton scored a run in the second to tie things at one.
In the third inning, Daryle Ward doubled with the bases loaded, delivering two more Bears across the plate for a 3-1 lead.
Paddy Matera homered in the fourth for his seventh of the season. In the fifth, with Burt Reynolds at-bat and Tim Raines Jr. on third base, Brockton's Freddy Flores unleashed a wild pitch allowing Raines to score and giving the Bears a 5-1 lead.
They were cruising and in seemingly in control through five innings. Then Brockton knotted this game in the top of the sixth with a two run home run followed by Todd Gossage's error which led to two more unearned Brockton runs.
The Bears' implosion continued in the seventh. An overthrown ball by Bears' catcher; Eric McGee; led to another unearned run and a 6-5 Brockton lead. But the Bears showed resiliency when they tied the game again at six apiece. Tim Raines Jr. hit one of his many doubles on the day and was driven home by a Danny Santiesteban single.
The two teams traded runs again in the eighth to make it a 7-7 game. Juan Martinez drove home Paddy Matera with the Bears' eighth inning run.
In the home ninth, Newark got a runner in scoring position after Burt Reynolds was hit by a pitch and advanced to second. Todd Gossage drew an intentional walk with two outs. Paddy Matera worked his way to a 3-1 count then delivered a game winning single for an 8-7 Bears' win.
The two team are now tied again for second place overall in the CanAm League behind Quebec.
Can you see the bullpen now?
Somehow, Coach Raines found his way to gut it out with Anthony Pluta during a rocky 2.1 innings of patience testing and lead blowing while his counter-part; Brockton manager Bill Buckner; went through five pitchers trying to stop Tim Raines Jr. and Daryle Ward from going 6 for 8 this afternoon, with three runs scored and three RBI between them.
But Anthony Pluta's team mates; Kyle Morrison working the ninth inning with 2 strikeouts; and Paddy Matera; 2 for 2, HR, 3 runs scored, 2 RBI; were there to pick up Coach Raines; starter Victor Gonzalez; and all the Bears from what could have been a dreadful loss to their Massachusetts rival.
NEXT UP FOR THE BEARS:
Four Game Series vs. Worcester Tornadoes @ Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium.
Mike.BTB
NEWARK BEARS: Paddy Matera Delivers A Ninth Inning Single To Salvage Game Three In Series Against Brockton Rox.
On Riverfront Stadium -
"Just about any ball hit in the air can leave the park at any time!" - in 7th inning.That quip came later in the game. Earlier, my new favorite announcer took exception with the Bears' bullpen. Not their pitchers; he had a problem with not knowing who was warming up for the Bears at any given time because in Riverfront Stadium, the bullpen is "completely obscured" from view.
He didn't start in on the bullpen pitchers till the eighth when he began questioning how long Tim Raines Sr. was leaving Anthony Pluta in the game during a 6-6 game (at the time).
"He's known to do anything at anytime...."
"No sign of Tim Raines from the Newark dugout."
But he got a few things right today. Tim Raines Sr. allowed Brockton to retake the lead at 7-6; and Newark killed themselves with sloppy fielding.
Newark got on the board right away. Tim Raines Jr. doubled in the first inning with two outs and Daryle Ward drove him home with a single. But Brockton scored a run in the second to tie things at one.
In the third inning, Daryle Ward doubled with the bases loaded, delivering two more Bears across the plate for a 3-1 lead.
Paddy Matera homered in the fourth for his seventh of the season. In the fifth, with Burt Reynolds at-bat and Tim Raines Jr. on third base, Brockton's Freddy Flores unleashed a wild pitch allowing Raines to score and giving the Bears a 5-1 lead.
They were cruising and in seemingly in control through five innings. Then Brockton knotted this game in the top of the sixth with a two run home run followed by Todd Gossage's error which led to two more unearned Brockton runs.
The Bears' implosion continued in the seventh. An overthrown ball by Bears' catcher; Eric McGee; led to another unearned run and a 6-5 Brockton lead. But the Bears showed resiliency when they tied the game again at six apiece. Tim Raines Jr. hit one of his many doubles on the day and was driven home by a Danny Santiesteban single.
The two teams traded runs again in the eighth to make it a 7-7 game. Juan Martinez drove home Paddy Matera with the Bears' eighth inning run.
In the home ninth, Newark got a runner in scoring position after Burt Reynolds was hit by a pitch and advanced to second. Todd Gossage drew an intentional walk with two outs. Paddy Matera worked his way to a 3-1 count then delivered a game winning single for an 8-7 Bears' win.
The two team are now tied again for second place overall in the CanAm League behind Quebec.
Can you see the bullpen now?
Somehow, Coach Raines found his way to gut it out with Anthony Pluta during a rocky 2.1 innings of patience testing and lead blowing while his counter-part; Brockton manager Bill Buckner; went through five pitchers trying to stop Tim Raines Jr. and Daryle Ward from going 6 for 8 this afternoon, with three runs scored and three RBI between them.
But Anthony Pluta's team mates; Kyle Morrison working the ninth inning with 2 strikeouts; and Paddy Matera; 2 for 2, HR, 3 runs scored, 2 RBI; were there to pick up Coach Raines; starter Victor Gonzalez; and all the Bears from what could have been a dreadful loss to their Massachusetts rival.
NEXT UP FOR THE BEARS:
Four Game Series vs. Worcester Tornadoes @ Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium.
Mike.BTB
Newark Bears ~ Pelted Again By Brockton Rox
From the desk of: GROWLING IN BROOKLYN
NEWARK BEARS: It's Raining ROX in Brick City.
OK; - These Rox from Brockton are starting to become a real problem. After giving them a good clawing in their place a week ago, Brockton packed their nail files for this follow-up series in Newark. And after two games in The Den, Brockton remains scratch free.
In two games since returning from Massachusetts, the Bears have suffered two losses thanks to Brockton. Although in Friday night's slug fest, it wasn't for a lack of trying. In something more akin to a softball game in the school yard, the Bears fell three runs short in a 17-14 game. But then allowing Brockton to score another eleven runs in Saturday's affair...? Twenty-eight runs in two games? Yea, that's a problem.
Newark starting pitcher; Jacob Wild; and his follow-up; Kyle Morrison; quite simply, got wrecked by the Rox. Brockton pelted Jacob with eight hits on their way to seven runs in five innings. Jacob Wild helped them along with four walks. Done with him for the day, Brockton then stoned Kyle Morrison for another four runs on three hits over one and a third innings in relief.
Pitching; Pitching; Pitching......in Newarks' case is like salmon. As it goes, so will the Bears. Good pitching equals fat Bears. A scarcity in pitching and these Bears will go hungry.
Scoring twenty runs in two games should be worth something. Newark's Saturday night line-up sported a combined .299 batting average. That ain't just berries. However that number has been in decline lately. Tim Raines Jr.'s batting average has dropped from the lofty altitudes of .400 down to below .350 (.348). Early season hot hitters, Billy Alvino and Danny Santiesteban, have cooled off also. But even in decline, there has been enough offense for Newark's pitchers to work with.
Brockton now overtakes Newark for the second best record in the League. Last night's Rox win gives Brockton a record of 14-8. Newark drops to 13-9; good for third best overall. But everyone is looking up at the Quebec Capitales. Winners of their last ten in a row, the overall season leaders sport a sparkling 18-4 record on the young season.
The Bears will try and salvage the last game of this series against Brockton today and hopefully start getting their recent pitching woes turned around. Newark's Jersey local; Aaron Kalb; will start for the Bears.
Mike.BTB
NEWARK BEARS: It's Raining ROX in Brick City.
OK; - These Rox from Brockton are starting to become a real problem. After giving them a good clawing in their place a week ago, Brockton packed their nail files for this follow-up series in Newark. And after two games in The Den, Brockton remains scratch free.
In two games since returning from Massachusetts, the Bears have suffered two losses thanks to Brockton. Although in Friday night's slug fest, it wasn't for a lack of trying. In something more akin to a softball game in the school yard, the Bears fell three runs short in a 17-14 game. But then allowing Brockton to score another eleven runs in Saturday's affair...? Twenty-eight runs in two games? Yea, that's a problem.
Newark starting pitcher; Jacob Wild; and his follow-up; Kyle Morrison; quite simply, got wrecked by the Rox. Brockton pelted Jacob with eight hits on their way to seven runs in five innings. Jacob Wild helped them along with four walks. Done with him for the day, Brockton then stoned Kyle Morrison for another four runs on three hits over one and a third innings in relief.
Pitching; Pitching; Pitching......in Newarks' case is like salmon. As it goes, so will the Bears. Good pitching equals fat Bears. A scarcity in pitching and these Bears will go hungry.
Scoring twenty runs in two games should be worth something. Newark's Saturday night line-up sported a combined .299 batting average. That ain't just berries. However that number has been in decline lately. Tim Raines Jr.'s batting average has dropped from the lofty altitudes of .400 down to below .350 (.348). Early season hot hitters, Billy Alvino and Danny Santiesteban, have cooled off also. But even in decline, there has been enough offense for Newark's pitchers to work with.
Brockton now overtakes Newark for the second best record in the League. Last night's Rox win gives Brockton a record of 14-8. Newark drops to 13-9; good for third best overall. But everyone is looking up at the Quebec Capitales. Winners of their last ten in a row, the overall season leaders sport a sparkling 18-4 record on the young season.
The Bears will try and salvage the last game of this series against Brockton today and hopefully start getting their recent pitching woes turned around. Newark's Jersey local; Aaron Kalb; will start for the Bears.
Mike.BTB
Friday, June 17, 2011
Newark Bears ~ Brockton Rocks In Return To The Den
From the desk of: GROWLING IN BROOKLYN
NEWARK BEARS: Brockton Provides A Rude Return To Riverfront Stadium For Bears.
After a rather successful road trip to Massachusetts and an off day Thursday, the Bears' return home to The Den wasn't quite what Newark had in mind. There were no jars of honey waiting on the dinner table; nor puppy-like creatures happy to see master again. Instead, Brockton showed up at Riverfront Stadium's door armed with bats and a complete lack of respect for being in some one's else's house. You know how Friday night party crashers can be.
The Newark fans were supposed to greet their team with cheers upon them returning from their first ever CanAm visit to Massachusetts in triumph, having been victorious in two consecutive series wins. And after a 2-1 first inning lead, they did just that; cheer. But jeers quickly found their seats and settled in to watch as Brockton pounded the Bears early; often; and late; once they began play after a two and half hour rain delay.
Brockton scored one in the first and three more in the third inning. Then, The Den's roof just caved in under the weight of eleven more Brockton runs. That seven run fifth inning seemed like too much for Newark to recover from.
With the score 15-5 by the seventh inning, hibernation would have been an acceptable option at this point. More torrential rain would have been OK too.
Now, either the Bears are starting to face better pitching with most teams having played 20 games or so, or the Newark hitters, like Raines Jr; Alvino; and even Santiesteban are starting to come down to earth a bit. Tim Raines Jr. has cooled off considerably in his last three games or so after maintaining a torrid streak that kept his batting average above .400 for a spell.
Then while I was putting this together, other Bears stepped up and started to radically change the complexion of this game. They scored six runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Daryle Ward smashed his ninth home run of the season; a solo shot. With one out, Burt Reynolds jacked another solo home run; his seventh. Gossage was hit by a pitch and Matera singled setting up Brandon Watson's single for another Bears' run. Then, shortstop Juan Martinez tripled, scoring Watson and Matera making it a 15-11 game with two more innings to go in the game.
Continuing to claw back, the Bears gamely picked up one more run in the eighth inning making it a
15-12 game now.
But in the top of the ninth and final frame, Brockton had about a much as they cared to put up with tonight. They came to Newark intent on busting up the Bears and retaliated for Newark's little show of resiliency by scoring two more runs in their top half for good measure. And it's a good thing for them they did. Because the Bears showed still yet a little more fight in them by taking those two runs back. But they still ended up three runs short by the time this 17-14 contest was finally over.
Newark's starter; Jesse Estrada, suffered and allowed the brunt of the damage incurred by the Bears tonight. In 4.2 innings pitched, he relinquished twelve hits and eleven runs.
Tonight's result aside, so far, this is shaping up into a marvelous rivalry.
Quebec has won 9 out of their last ten games and continue to sport the Leagues best record. Newark's record after Friday night's loss drops to 13-8, which is still second best in the League, but four games behind the Capitales.
Game two of this three game series with Brockton is tomorrow; Saturday - 6:35pm.
Mike.BTB
NEWARK BEARS: Brockton Provides A Rude Return To Riverfront Stadium For Bears.
After a rather successful road trip to Massachusetts and an off day Thursday, the Bears' return home to The Den wasn't quite what Newark had in mind. There were no jars of honey waiting on the dinner table; nor puppy-like creatures happy to see master again. Instead, Brockton showed up at Riverfront Stadium's door armed with bats and a complete lack of respect for being in some one's else's house. You know how Friday night party crashers can be.
The Newark fans were supposed to greet their team with cheers upon them returning from their first ever CanAm visit to Massachusetts in triumph, having been victorious in two consecutive series wins. And after a 2-1 first inning lead, they did just that; cheer. But jeers quickly found their seats and settled in to watch as Brockton pounded the Bears early; often; and late; once they began play after a two and half hour rain delay.
Brockton scored one in the first and three more in the third inning. Then, The Den's roof just caved in under the weight of eleven more Brockton runs. That seven run fifth inning seemed like too much for Newark to recover from.
With the score 15-5 by the seventh inning, hibernation would have been an acceptable option at this point. More torrential rain would have been OK too.
Now, either the Bears are starting to face better pitching with most teams having played 20 games or so, or the Newark hitters, like Raines Jr; Alvino; and even Santiesteban are starting to come down to earth a bit. Tim Raines Jr. has cooled off considerably in his last three games or so after maintaining a torrid streak that kept his batting average above .400 for a spell.
Then while I was putting this together, other Bears stepped up and started to radically change the complexion of this game. They scored six runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Daryle Ward smashed his ninth home run of the season; a solo shot. With one out, Burt Reynolds jacked another solo home run; his seventh. Gossage was hit by a pitch and Matera singled setting up Brandon Watson's single for another Bears' run. Then, shortstop Juan Martinez tripled, scoring Watson and Matera making it a 15-11 game with two more innings to go in the game.
Continuing to claw back, the Bears gamely picked up one more run in the eighth inning making it a
15-12 game now.
But in the top of the ninth and final frame, Brockton had about a much as they cared to put up with tonight. They came to Newark intent on busting up the Bears and retaliated for Newark's little show of resiliency by scoring two more runs in their top half for good measure. And it's a good thing for them they did. Because the Bears showed still yet a little more fight in them by taking those two runs back. But they still ended up three runs short by the time this 17-14 contest was finally over.
Newark's starter; Jesse Estrada, suffered and allowed the brunt of the damage incurred by the Bears tonight. In 4.2 innings pitched, he relinquished twelve hits and eleven runs.
Tonight's result aside, so far, this is shaping up into a marvelous rivalry.
Quebec has won 9 out of their last ten games and continue to sport the Leagues best record. Newark's record after Friday night's loss drops to 13-8, which is still second best in the League, but four games behind the Capitales.
Game two of this three game series with Brockton is tomorrow; Saturday - 6:35pm.
Mike.BTB
Saturday, June 11, 2011
NEWARK BEARS ~ Making Most of First Trip To Brockton
From the desk of: GROWLINGS FROM BROOKLYN
NEWARK BEARS: Brick City ROX Brockton...Again!
Jesse Estrada and Brockton's Robert Bono engaged in an old fashioned pitcher's duel. Through five innings, the Brockton Rox only managed three hits off Jesse Estrada. But against Brockton's Robert Bono, the Bears mustered none.
Robert Bono retired the first fifteen Bears to take a turn at-bat before the perfect game was ruined in the sixth inning as the Rox committed a two base error. That led to Newark's first run of the evening when Paddy Matera not only broke up the no-hitter, but he singled home somebody (Watson?) to break up the scoreless deadlock. I'll be honest, I lost track of the Bears in the field also.
What happened?
Tim Raines made a multitude of changes throughout the course of this game which drove the Brockton announcer up a wall. I guess his score sheet was getting a little messy as a result. On manager Tim Raines' many moves during the game, the Brockton announcer had this to say, ".....He's trying to prove some ludicrous point that I don't even know what it is." "Very odd..(and).. More than anything, frustrating."
Admittedly, there was confusion over Todd Gossage, Raines Jr, Jeff Toth, Brandon Watson, and Burt Reynolds, as to whether they were in the game or what position they were playing. So yes, there was a small point to be made.
I'm not dropping names. That's not what I want to do. But I'm sorry, this man still needs to get over himself. This is the third time I've had the privilege of listening to this announcer call a game; twice during this series, and initially when he wasn't even calling a game between Brockton and Newark. But in the case I mentioned above, he had nary a good word to say while killing time between games of a double header between Brockton and Quebec. And over all three occasions, he's done nothing but criticize the Bears in my limited samplings of his work.
In the home seventh, Brockton's Ryan Royster homered off Jesse Estrada to tie the score at one apiece. Brockton's Robert Bono's day was finished after pitching seven innings. Bono only gave up two hits and one unearned run. He walked one and struck out six. The Rox brought in Jake Hale to relieve Bono.
Newark's Jesse Estrada's day was also done after pitching seven full innings.
Jesse Estrada's Line:
7 ~ innings pitched.
6 ~ hits.
1 ~ runs/earned.
2 ~ walks.
5 ~ strikeouts.
1 ~ home run allowed.
no decision tonight.
TJ Hose came on in relief for Newark.
Both teams traded zeroes in the eighth inning with their respective bullpens. For the ninth inning, Brockton summoned Travis Hughes in to pitch. Raines singled; Ward drew a walk. Raines advanced to third base when Santiesteban bounced into a FC. Then Ward advanced to second base on a passed ball. Alvino was intentionally walked to load the bases. But the threat went for not. Brockton escaped without Newark scoring.
In the home ninth inning, Brockton faced TJ Hose in his second inning in relief. With one out, The Rox' Ryan Royster launched a ball deep to left center...that was caught short of the wall for long out number two. After surrendering a walk, TJ Hose got the next batter to pop up to send the game into extra innings.
With Brockton summoning their fourth pitcher, the Bears got the lead-off batter on base in the tenth. A Sac/FC advanced Paddy Matera to second. With two outs now, the Rox intentionally walked the switch-hitting Raines Jr. to face Daryle Ward. But Ward never had a chance to swing. Raines got picked off first base to end the inning. Their second consecutive chance with a runner in scoring position had past.
Coach Raines took out TJ Hose after two innings and inserted Chris Rollins for the bottom of the tenth. He took care of Brockton's first two batters before Chris Valencia doubled. The Bears elected to intentionally walk the next batter. With two outs and runners on first and second, Chris Grossman was hit by a pitch on a 3-0 pitch to load the bases. Shawn Williams came up for Brockton after a Tim Raines visit to the mound. Williams grounded to Raines Jr. at second who stepped on the bag for the force play.
Brockton manager Bill Buckner called upon his fifth pitcher for the eleventh. Tim Raines stuck with Rollins to finish the Brockton half of the inning. They traded another pair of zeroes and on to the twelfth frame we'd go.
Todd Gossage; the still struggling Todd Gossage; son of Rich "Goose" Gossage, with one out in the twelfth frame launched a home run off Brockton's Colin Lynch to put the Bears ahead.
(What? What? Did I hear my favorite announcer complimenting the Bears bullpen tonight? Yes I did! How about that.)
The top of Brockton's batting order was due up in the bottom of the twelfth inning. They'd take their last licks against Newark's Mikey Mehlich. Brockton's Mike Torres hit a one out triple. With the infield in, Tim Raines Jr. fielded a grounder, held the runner at third and threw to first for the out. The Bears elected to intentionally walk the next batter. And up came Chris Grossman who made the final out of the game.
Tonight's Bears winning pitcher is Chris Rollins. Mikey Mehlich is credited with his fourth save of the season. The Bears bullpen was indeed stellar tonight.
Newark Bullpen Line:
5 ~ innings pitched.
2 ~ hits.
0 ~ runs.
2 ~ walks.
3 ~ strikeouts.
And so, the Bears ensured themselves they'd win this series against the Brockton Rox. Tomorrow will be the third and final game of the series before the Bears move on to Worcester.
And to my new favorite Brockton Rox web caster, keep it up! I never realized how much fun beating up on the rest of you rambunctious CanAm Leaguers can be until listening to you. How ya like the Bears now?
NEWARK BEARS: Brick City ROX Brockton...Again!
Jesse Estrada and Brockton's Robert Bono engaged in an old fashioned pitcher's duel. Through five innings, the Brockton Rox only managed three hits off Jesse Estrada. But against Brockton's Robert Bono, the Bears mustered none.
Robert Bono retired the first fifteen Bears to take a turn at-bat before the perfect game was ruined in the sixth inning as the Rox committed a two base error. That led to Newark's first run of the evening when Paddy Matera not only broke up the no-hitter, but he singled home somebody (Watson?) to break up the scoreless deadlock. I'll be honest, I lost track of the Bears in the field also.
What happened?
Tim Raines made a multitude of changes throughout the course of this game which drove the Brockton announcer up a wall. I guess his score sheet was getting a little messy as a result. On manager Tim Raines' many moves during the game, the Brockton announcer had this to say, ".....He's trying to prove some ludicrous point that I don't even know what it is." "Very odd..(and).. More than anything, frustrating."
Admittedly, there was confusion over Todd Gossage, Raines Jr, Jeff Toth, Brandon Watson, and Burt Reynolds, as to whether they were in the game or what position they were playing. So yes, there was a small point to be made.
I'm not dropping names. That's not what I want to do. But I'm sorry, this man still needs to get over himself. This is the third time I've had the privilege of listening to this announcer call a game; twice during this series, and initially when he wasn't even calling a game between Brockton and Newark. But in the case I mentioned above, he had nary a good word to say while killing time between games of a double header between Brockton and Quebec. And over all three occasions, he's done nothing but criticize the Bears in my limited samplings of his work.
In the home seventh, Brockton's Ryan Royster homered off Jesse Estrada to tie the score at one apiece. Brockton's Robert Bono's day was finished after pitching seven innings. Bono only gave up two hits and one unearned run. He walked one and struck out six. The Rox brought in Jake Hale to relieve Bono.
Newark's Jesse Estrada's day was also done after pitching seven full innings.
Jesse Estrada's Line:
7 ~ innings pitched.
6 ~ hits.
1 ~ runs/earned.
2 ~ walks.
5 ~ strikeouts.
1 ~ home run allowed.
no decision tonight.
TJ Hose came on in relief for Newark.
Both teams traded zeroes in the eighth inning with their respective bullpens. For the ninth inning, Brockton summoned Travis Hughes in to pitch. Raines singled; Ward drew a walk. Raines advanced to third base when Santiesteban bounced into a FC. Then Ward advanced to second base on a passed ball. Alvino was intentionally walked to load the bases. But the threat went for not. Brockton escaped without Newark scoring.
In the home ninth inning, Brockton faced TJ Hose in his second inning in relief. With one out, The Rox' Ryan Royster launched a ball deep to left center...that was caught short of the wall for long out number two. After surrendering a walk, TJ Hose got the next batter to pop up to send the game into extra innings.
With Brockton summoning their fourth pitcher, the Bears got the lead-off batter on base in the tenth. A Sac/FC advanced Paddy Matera to second. With two outs now, the Rox intentionally walked the switch-hitting Raines Jr. to face Daryle Ward. But Ward never had a chance to swing. Raines got picked off first base to end the inning. Their second consecutive chance with a runner in scoring position had past.
Coach Raines took out TJ Hose after two innings and inserted Chris Rollins for the bottom of the tenth. He took care of Brockton's first two batters before Chris Valencia doubled. The Bears elected to intentionally walk the next batter. With two outs and runners on first and second, Chris Grossman was hit by a pitch on a 3-0 pitch to load the bases. Shawn Williams came up for Brockton after a Tim Raines visit to the mound. Williams grounded to Raines Jr. at second who stepped on the bag for the force play.
Brockton manager Bill Buckner called upon his fifth pitcher for the eleventh. Tim Raines stuck with Rollins to finish the Brockton half of the inning. They traded another pair of zeroes and on to the twelfth frame we'd go.
Todd Gossage; the still struggling Todd Gossage; son of Rich "Goose" Gossage, with one out in the twelfth frame launched a home run off Brockton's Colin Lynch to put the Bears ahead.
(What? What? Did I hear my favorite announcer complimenting the Bears bullpen tonight? Yes I did! How about that.)
The top of Brockton's batting order was due up in the bottom of the twelfth inning. They'd take their last licks against Newark's Mikey Mehlich. Brockton's Mike Torres hit a one out triple. With the infield in, Tim Raines Jr. fielded a grounder, held the runner at third and threw to first for the out. The Bears elected to intentionally walk the next batter. And up came Chris Grossman who made the final out of the game.
Tonight's Bears winning pitcher is Chris Rollins. Mikey Mehlich is credited with his fourth save of the season. The Bears bullpen was indeed stellar tonight.
Newark Bullpen Line:
5 ~ innings pitched.
2 ~ hits.
0 ~ runs.
2 ~ walks.
3 ~ strikeouts.
And so, the Bears ensured themselves they'd win this series against the Brockton Rox. Tomorrow will be the third and final game of the series before the Bears move on to Worcester.
And to my new favorite Brockton Rox web caster, keep it up! I never realized how much fun beating up on the rest of you rambunctious CanAm Leaguers can be until listening to you. How ya like the Bears now?
Newark Bears lead series 2-1
GAME THREE vs. BROCKTON ROX
TOMORROW
Sunday, June 12, 2011
From Brockton
Mike.BTB
NEWARK BEARS ~ Brick City ROX Brockton
From the desk of: GROWLINGS FROM BROOKLYN
NEWARK BEARS: Team's First Trip To Brockton Starts Off With Win Over Rox.
Last week against Quebec, I caught a listen of the Brockton Rox web caster in between games of a double header, who had nary a good thing to say about the Bears. During last night's web cast, it seemed he picked up where I left him off last.
So when 3,012 Brockton fans watched their home town team lose to the Bears by a score of 6-4 last night in the opening game of a three game series, I was pleased. Payback is a real stitch in the baseballs sometimes. The Bears might not have even realized their honor was at stake last night.
In rehashing what happened to the Rox in his post-game wrap, my new favorite announcer was in a quandary as whether to credit the Bears for hitting three home runs, or rationalize that his starting pitcher was just missing pitches. He reminded his audience countless times the Bears' Ward, Raines, and Watson, who all homered in this game, all had Major League experience. ...And his point was?
But to his credit, he called them pesky. Gee Wally! Thanks. However, he did say they'd be a problem for the Rox this season and would give them trouble for sure. And that's the fairest thing I heard him say about the Bears in two opportunities I had to listen-in on his call.
So, Brockton's starting pitcher; Mike Smith; was just missing pitches. Riiight. The Newark Bears place four hitters within the top ten batters in the league. Tim Raines Jr., who fell below .400 last night is second in the League with a .397 batting average. Daryle Ward is fourth sporting a .372 average. Billy Alvino is fifth with a .370 average and Danny Santiesteban is seventh with a .350 average. Not enough for ya? At number eleven in the League? Newark's DH, Brandon Watson is batting .338 also. So yea...I can see where Mike Smith was just missing pitches last night.
In addition to his fifth home run of the season, Tim Raines Jr. upped his League leading RBI total to twenty.
The Bears' starter; Alex Smith; walked four batters and as such, didn't have as neat a line as Mike Smith did. But Alex Smith made sure the five runs his offense scored for him held up and in the process earned himself his second win of the season.
NEWARK BEARS: Team's First Trip To Brockton Starts Off With Win Over Rox.
Last week against Quebec, I caught a listen of the Brockton Rox web caster in between games of a double header, who had nary a good thing to say about the Bears. During last night's web cast, it seemed he picked up where I left him off last.
So when 3,012 Brockton fans watched their home town team lose to the Bears by a score of 6-4 last night in the opening game of a three game series, I was pleased. Payback is a real stitch in the baseballs sometimes. The Bears might not have even realized their honor was at stake last night. But I did. *wink!
In rehashing what happened to the Rox in his post-game wrap, my new favorite announcer was in a quandary as whether to credit the Bears for hitting three home runs, or rationalize that his starting pitcher was just missing pitches. He reminded his audience countless times the Bears' Ward, Raines, and Watson, who all homered in this game, all had Major League experience. ...And his point was?
But to his credit, he called them pesky. Gee Wally! Thanks. However, he did say they'd be a problem for the Rox this season and would give them trouble for sure. And that's the fairest thing I heard him say about the Bears in two opportunities I had to listen-in on his call.
So, Brockton's starting pitcher; Mike Smith; was just missing pitches. Riiight. The Newark Bears place four hitters within the top ten batters in the league. Tim Raines Jr., who fell below .400 last night is second in the League with a .397 batting average. Daryle Ward is fourth sporting a .372 average. Billy Alvino is fifth with a .370 average and Danny Santiesteban is seventh with a .350 average. Not enough for ya? At number eleven in the League? Newark's DH, Brandon Watson is batting .338 also. So yea...I can see where Mike Smith was just missing pitches last night.
In addition to his fifth home run of the season, Tim Raines Jr. upped his League leading RBI total to twenty.
The Bears' starter; Alex Smith; walked four batters and as such, didn't have as neat a line as Mike Smith did. But Alex Smith made sure the five runs his offense scored for him held up and in the process earned himself his second win of the season.
TONIGHT
(Bears lead series 1-0)
NEWARK BEARS
vs.
Brockton Rox
GAME TWO
From somewhere up in Massachusetts
Mike.BTB
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