L.I. Ducks ~ Clinch First Step Towards Redemption

From the desk of:   THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE

2012 First Half Liberty Division Champs

LONG ISLAND DUCKS:  The Webbed Ones Open July By Clinching First-Half Liberty Division Title.


The Ducks know something about division titles.  Last season, they clinched first and second half  regular season titles, only to fall in the championship series against York.  During the entire 2011 regular season, Long Island was by far the most offensively potent team in the circuit.  Then in the Finals, they shorted out.  At present, they have now taken the first step towards redeeming themselves, by securing a spot in the Atlantic League's post season.


On Sunday, the Long Island Ducks clinched the first half Liberty Division title rather handily, with an eight game lead as of July 1st, over the second place Camden RiverSharks.  And after Monday's win over Southern Maryland, the Ducks now sit 39-24, nine games ahead of Camden.  The Long Islanders are winners of their last seven in a row.  Only Lancaster, leading the Freedom Division with forty, have more wins than Long Island.


Sunday's clincher came in dramatic fashion.  After the Sugar Land Skeeters took a 1-0 lead after three innings off starter off Dan Meyer, the Ducks tied the game in the sixth on a Shawn Williams RBI.  Dan Meyer struggled with control, walking six batters in a short 2.2 inning appearance before rain delayed the game.  With the bullpen holding the RiverSharks in check, the game remained tied until the bottom of the ninth inning when Dan Lyons drove in Shawn Williams with the winning run and the first half clincher.  The Ducks completed a sweep of the Skeeters as well.


Then in Monday's series opener against Southern Maryland, Long Island watched their 4-0 lead after five innings almost disappear.  Bryant Nelson's two RBI double gave the Ducks a quick lead after one.  In the third inning, Ray Navarrete drove in Ducks' run number three with another double.  In the fifth, Ray Navarrete's sac-fly drove home Kraig Binick to give the Ducks a 4-0 lead.


In his first 2012 start as a Duck, Nick Singleton pitched five very effective innings.  He allowed a mere two hits and struck out seven.  In the sixth, the Blue Crabs touched up reliever Josh Lansford for two runs.  In the eighth, they picked up another off Jeremy Hill.  But in the ninth and making his return to the Ducks, John Hunton, retired the Blue Crabs in order, to preserve Long Island's victory.  The Long Islanders are now winners of eight of their last ten games.


The Lancaster Barnstormers have wrapped up the Freedom Division title, amassing a convincing lead over the York Revolution.


Seven games remain till the halfway mark of the season, and the Atlantic League All-Star Game.




Mike.BTB

L.I. Ducks ~ The Webbed Nine Take a Bite Out of Camden

From the desk of:   THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE

LONG ISLAND DUCKS:  Open Road Trip With 8-0 Blanking of River Sharks.


Mike Loree pitched like the Ducks' ace of old Monday evening in Camden.  He hand-cuffed the Sharks over seven innings, allowing a mere three hits and no runs.  He walked none and struck out five, before giving way to Dan Meyer and Conner Graham, who took care of the eighth and ninth innings to end Camden's night.  Long Island pitching held the River Sharks to five hits.

After a pair of rocky starts, and a few no decisions, Mike Loree pitched, by far, his best game of the season over five starts so far, and picked up his second win in the process.  Mike also lowered his ERA to a 3.18 mark.

Long Island got on the board right away against Camden starter, Mike McGuire.  Kraig Binick led off the game with a walk, and later came around to score for a 1-0 lead.  In the fourth, Long Island used power and took advantage of shoddy defense to score three more runs.  Ray Navarrete led off the inning with a home run.  Then two River Sharks' errors led to two more runs for the Ducks, and a 4-0 lead.

Bryant Nelson led off the fifth with a single, then scored on a Ray Navarrete sac-fly.  In the eighth, Ried Gorecki launched his first home run of the season; a solo shot, to give the Ducks a 6-0 lead.  Then in the ninth, Long Island tacked on two more for good measure.  Matt Esquivel and Ray Navarrete hit back to back doubles, for a 7-0 lead.  Shawn Williams' sac-fly to center scored Navarrete, and capping the Ducks scoring at eight.

That's the Ducks' third win in a row.  They are now the first team to reach twenty wins this season.  Long Island has also opened up a 4.5 game lead over the Bridgeport Bluefish, who lost at home to the Revolution.  Only the Sugar Land Skeeters are a hotter club than the Ducks over the last ten games of the season.

Armando Benitez, signed by the Ducks on May 24, is yet to appear in a game.





Mike.BTB

L.I. Ducks ~ Next Up; The Bluefish in a Battle for First

From the desk of:   THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE

LONG ISLAND DUCKS:   After Dropping Opening Game, Ducks Comeback to Take Series from Lancaster.  Next, the Bluefish Invade The Pond in a Clash For First Place.

The Ferry Cup Series Resumes.

What do you do when the Barnstormers ruin your home winning streak at nine?  You start a new streak by winning the next two.  And so, the Ducks came back to win the final two games in their series against Lancaster.


In Tuesday's game, Randy Keisler, Jeremy Hill, and Dan Meyer, all pitched brilliantly against former major leaguer, John Halama and company.  Randy Keisler tossed seven innings of seven hit, shut-out ball.  He walked one and struck out eight.  After 103 pitches, Randy gave way to Jeremy Hill staked to a 6-0 lead.


In the first inning, Kraig Binick led off the game with a double, and scored on Bryant Nelson's single, and an error by the third baseman.  Reid Gorecki later singled home Bryant Nelson for a 2-0 Ducks' lead.


It stayed that way until the bottom of the seventh inning.  For John Halama's part, he was snake bit by errors over 6.2 innings.  Of the six runs charged to him, only two were earned.  He did surrender nine hits however, and walked three.


After a good seventh inning stretch, the Ducks beefed up their lead with four more runs.  After an E-5, a wild pitch, a walk, and a single by Bryant Nelson to load the bases, John Halama was on the ropes.  After missing some time, Brandon Sing made his return to play in time for this series, and said hello to John Halama with a grand slam home run, for a 6-0 Ducks' lead.  It was Brandon's first home run since returning over the weekend, and his sixth of the season.


The Ducks tacked on one more run in the eighth on Wilberto Ortiz' second home run of the season.


Jeremy Hill pitched a scoreless eighth and struck out two.  And Dan Meyer pitched a scoreless ninth to finish off the win.




On Wednesday, the Ducks picked up where they left off.  Jason Monti hung in and pitched five innings of four hit ball.  He gave up one earned run and struck out three with no walks on the way to recording his third win of the season.  Jason trails Mike Loree by one strikeout (21/22) for the team lead.


By the fourth inning, the Ducks already posted their ten runs.  Brandon Sing seems to be getting his swing in order.  He was 3 for 5, with a double and a run scored.  Along with Sing.., Kraig Binick, Bryant Nelson, Ray Navarrete, and James McOwen, all had multiple hits.  Shawn Williams was the only Duck to homer Wednesday and had three RBI.  Bryant Nelson drove in his team leading 19th RBI.  And Ray Navarrete was 2 for 4 with four RBI and two runs scored.  In all, the Ducks had fifteen hits.


Once Jason Monti was out of the game, the bullpen had some trouble closing out.  Connor Graham, and Eric Niesen, combined to pitch four innings (two each), and surrendered four runs on six hits, and walked four.


So a flaky bullpen and two errors get covered up by ten runs for a day...  Winning can do that.


The Ducks are now 17-8, and remain the only team with single digit losses.  They maintain a 3.5 game lead over the Bridgeport Bluefish in the Liberty Division, who conveniently swim into The Pond Thursday night for a four game series in what is now a battle for first place.  But Bridgeport is 3-7 in their last ten, while the Ducks are just the opposite with a 7-3 record in their last ten games.  The Bluefish were 4-2 losers to Southern Maryland Wednesday.  The Ducks are now 11-1 at home.


The Ferry Cup Series continues.  In the last meeting between these teams, the Bluefish swept a three game series in Bridgeport.





Mike.BTB

L.I. Ducks ~ Off "Two" a Good Start

From the desk of:   THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE

Atlantic League

of Professional Baseball

Fifteenth Anniversary Season

LONG ISLAND DUCKS:  March of the Ducks Is On.

So far, two games, two wins.  That's how Duck fans like it.  The march towards another division title is on.

Long Island helped the Somerset Patriots open their 15th season of Atlantic League Baseball by handing their hosts a pair of defeats.  Game Three of their Opening Day four game series is tonight with the series concluding Sunday.

Last night, the big bat of Brandon Sing finally said hello with a double off the center field wall.  The knock was his first hit as a Long Island Duck.  And his RBI count is now up to three. Ryan Garko was the only Duck with multiple hits in the game, and Lew Ford hit his first home run for the visitors.

Coach Baez tabbed Dan Meyer as starter number two.  Last night he threw five innings of four hit ball.  Dan allowed one earned run, walked three, and struck out four to earn his first win of the season.  Making his second appearance, John Meloan pitched a shaky ninth inning, but still posted his first save in a 6-4 final.

On Thursday, Long Island opened the season with a resounding 9-4 win over the Patriots as Ray Navarrete started his 2012 campaign with a boom.  Long Island's long time second baseman went 5 for 5, with a double, two RBI, and a ninth inning home run to put the Ducks' first win of the season safely out of Somerset's reach.

Mike Loree resumed his role as staff ace, and pitched 5.1 innings in the opener.  He struck out six batters and only walked one, but got touched for six hits and three earned runs.  Loree was removed in the sixth inning with the score tied at three apiece.  He'd get a no decision for his efforts.  Jeff Lyman entered the game and kept Somerset where they were.  He earned his first win in doing so.  Jeremy Hill was touched for a run in the eighth, while Jon Meloan finished the game in a non-save situation.

TONIGHT

LONG ISLAND DUCKS

SP - Joe Esposito

vs.

Somerset Patriots

From

Somewhere in New Jersey

ATLANTIC LEAGUE:   Welcome to Texas Gentlemen.

Fans in Sugar Land didn't have to wait too long for their first taste of victory over Atlantic League competition.  The organization's first ever victory came Friday night via an overwhelming effort against the York Revolution.  The Sugar Land Skeeters inaugurated their season and new ballpark with a split of two games played so far.  But the tremendous fan turn out has made their weekend an outstanding success already.  On both Opening Night and Friday as well, 7,500 fans packed brand new Constellation Field each time.

In Texas fashion, the Skeeters went about their first victory in a big way.  The League's newest team corralled the visiting Revolution and gave the defending Atlantic League champs a good ol' 10-1 branding.

With a 3-0 lead, starting pitcher; Ryan McKeller was relieved after four innings.  He surrendered no runs, one hit, one walk, and struck out one.  For trivia sake, he is credited with the Skeeters' first win.  Will Startup and the bullpen took over, covering the remaining five innings.

The long-time Somerset Patriots' stand-out and crowd favorite; Josh Pressley; is now a member of the Sugar Land Skeeters.  Friday night, he said hello to his new home crowd with a two run home run in the first inning.  Josh then singled in the fourth, and scored on Colt Morton's home run.  Things went down hill fast for York after that.

Congratulations to Gary Gaetti and the Sugar Land Skeeters on their first every victory.

Mike.BTB

L.I. Ducks ~ The Pond Hurlers; 2012 Ducks Pitching

From the desk of:   THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE

Long Island Ducks

2012 Positional Players - Preview

Long Island Ducks; Gearing Up For Another Run at Title

LONG ISLAND DUCKS:  The Ducks' Ace Pitcher and 2011 Atlantic League Pitcher of the Year, Returns for a Second Season in the Pond.



Last season, if there were questions regarding the Ducks' pitching, it centered around Mike Parisi and Mike Loree.  And the question was - How long would they last?  With the fine seasons both were having, it was only a matter of time before affiliated baseball came seeking their services.  And sure enough, Mike Parisi was the first to go.  Mike Loree followed.  Only, Mike Loree came back for the playoffs, and pitched Long Island into the championship round against York.


After Mike and Mike, the Ducks were desperately thin at starting pitching last season.  But Long Island possessed a rather remarkable bullpen that over came many deficiencies in the starting rotation.  In the end, Long Island's pitching held up.  It was the offense that disappeared against the York Revolution in the Finals.


That's all behind us now.  The 2012 season is here.



Last season's Atlantic League Pitcher of the Season; Mike Loree; returns to the Long Island Ducks for his second season.  He won the League's pitching triple crown last season with 14 wins, 131 strikeouts, and sported a league low 1.98 era.  Mike will start the season off against the Somerset Patriots this evening.


Gustavo Chacin will most likely serve as the number two starter behind Loree.  In 2005, he went 13-9 with the Toronto Blue Jays.  Over 58 major league starts, the 31 year old owns a 27-17 overall record.  Last year, he split time between AAA-Buffalo, and Oklahoma City of the Pacific Coast League.


Jason Monti returns to the club after pitching in 20 games out of the bullpen for the Ducks last year. He did not start a game last season, but in his two previous seasons; one with Somerset, and one spent in the Frontier League, he made 36 starts in 45 appearances.


Eric Niesen is no stranger to me.  Drafted by the New York Mets, he played his first season in Brooklyn with the Cyclones; A-NYPL.  Raised through the Mets' system as a starter, in 2011, he appeared in 51 games, all in relief.




Randy Keisler is a 36 year old lefty.  He played for Long Island in 2010, and is a veteran of 13 seasons mostly in AAA.  Last season he played in the L.A. Dodgers organization.  He made 19 starts and posted a 7-7 win/loss record.


Joe Esposito started 14 games for Reading of the Eastern League last season.  But the 33 year old is most likely headed for the Ducks' bullpen.  In 375 career minor league innings pitched, he has amassed 405 strikeouts.


Connor Graham spent the last two seasons playing for the Cleveland Indians' affiliate in AA-Akron.  He appeared in 43 games last season; 39 came in relief.  In 79 innings, he struck out 65 batters, and posted a 3.43 era.



Jeff Lyman started the 2011 season playing Rookie Ball, and eventually made his way to AA-Springfield.  The 25 year old made 35 appearances, all in relief.  In 49 innings pitched, he struck out 39 batters, but also walked 32 batters as well.


Jon Meloan comes to the Ducks with loads of AAA experience.  This may be Long Island's closer this season.  Over 372 innings pitched in his 6 year minor league career, he has amassed 433 strikeouts, while issuing 180 base on balls.


Dan Meyer will be another potential high strikeout pitcher.  But he walks far too many batters.  He has 103 games, and 113 innings pitched worth of MLB experience.


Travis Minix appeared in 11 games for the Somerset Patriots last season.  He also pitched for Somerset's 2008 and 2009 championship teams.  He has 6 seasons of AAA experience.


Retuning from last season to bolster the bullpen once again, will be the dependable duo of Jeremy Hill and Bob Zimmerman.  Hill, the ten year baseball veteran posted an 8-2 record with a 2.91 era for the Ducks out of the pen last season.





Mike.BTB