L.I. Ducks: Flock Off To Forge New Rivalry at High Point

From the desk of:  THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE

Welcome to North Carolina

LIBERTY DIVISION SHOWDOWN

LONG ISLAND DUCKS

vs.

HIGH POINT ROCKERS

FROM

The Tar Heel State

Long Islands Ducks: Flock Migrate to North Carolina For First Ever Series Against High Point Rockers.

They had better be careful, too.  The new age Rockers mean business.  Like the Sugar Land Skeeters of several years back, High Point enters the league straightaway prepared to compete.  A quick glance through the early standings say it all.  The expansion Rockers trail the Ducks by a mere half game in the Liberty Division standings.  Long Island meanwhile trails the Somerset Patriots by only fractions, but otherwise enter Tuesday's action tied for first place.  However, High Point enters the upcoming series at BB&T Point with a 15-8 record and riding a six game win streak while the Ducks enter with a 16-8 mark and winners of their last two.

The series presents an opportunity for Long Island manager Wally Backman and Frank Viola to get reacquainted.  Backman and Viola worked extensively both separately and together throughout all levels of the Mets minor league system.  Viola now serves as Rockers pitching coach.

High Point leads the circuit with a .286 team average and .456 slugging average.  Meanwhile the Ducks rate second to last with a .248 average, and sixth in team slugging with a .370 mark.  However, Long Island leads the league in runs scored with High Point a close second.  The Ducks also lead the circuit in strikeouts being the first team to break the 200 mark.

Pitching wise, the Rockers rank first with a 3.15 team ERA.  The Ducks are third with a 3.39 ERA, but easily lead in strikeouts and boast the league's second best WHiP.

• Atlantic League stats

BKN Cyclones ~ Bullpen Is An Early Season Force

From the desk of:  THE CONEY ISLAND NINE


BROOKLYN CYCLONES:  Young Bums Making Sweet Music.


This is Class-A Short Season, so let's give today's pitching some perspective.  If Tuesday's starting pitcher had pitched all nine innings, his line would look like this:


9 ~ innings; complete game.
5 ~ hits.
0 ~ runs; shut out.
1 ~ walk.
6 ~ strikeouts.


That's the kind of night Cyclone pitchers had against the Aberdeen Iron Birds in the rubber game of a three game trip to Maryland.  Brooklyn won the series two games to one.  They improved their record to 8-4 and remain in second place behind Staten Island by 1.5 games.


Carlos Vasquez pitched the first five innings against Aberdeen.  He allowed them only two hits and struck out two.  It was his first victory of the season.


The Brooklyn bullpen has established itself as an early season force.  Coach Frankie-V has em all making sweet music together. 


Tuesday they took care of the remaining four innings after Vasquez left the game.  Orlando Tovar pitched the sixth inning with one hit against him and two strikeouts.  Then, Hunter Carnevale was summoned to play Fireman in the old sense of the word.  He protected the Cyclones' 1-0 lead in the seventh; eighth; and for two outs into the ninth.  He was stellar allowing only a hit; one walk; and striking out one.  T.J. Chism chose the bumpy road but got the last out and his 3rd save of the season.


Brooklyn's lone run of the game came in the second inning off a pair of doubles by Richard Lucas and Charles Thurber. The Cyclones were 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position but Thurber delivered the all-important two out hit/RBI.   Brandon Brown and Brian Harrison managed the only other two hits for the Cyclones.


The Kids will be in Coney Island tomorrow for the start of a home-and-home series with Hudson Valley.



Mike.BTB

BKN CYCLONES ~ 2011 Roster Starting To Take Shape

From the desk of:  THE SURF AVENUE SLUGGERS


BROOKLYN CYCLONES:  Organization Goes Off Campus For Brooklyn's New Manager. 

Old Favorite Frankie-V Will Teach Brooklyn's Hurlers The Art Of Making SWEET MUSIC Together.


The 2011 Cyclones' manager will be Rich Donnelly.  He is new to the Mets organization but comes on board with over three decades of Baseball coaching experience.  He's a graduate of the Jim Leyland School of Thought having spent 14 years coaching under him with three different teams.


This year's Pitching Coach; Frank Viola; will try and see if he can get Brooklyn's young arms to make Sweet Music of their own.  The Long Island native returns to the organization he pitched with from 1989 through 1991.  He won twenty games for the Amazins in 1990.

Hitting Coach; former Cyclone player; Bobby Malek was a 2002 4th round Mets' draft pick.  He played 28 games for Brooklyn in 2002 and 3 more games for them in 2006.  He spent the last two seasons working for the Mets in Kingsport.  Therefore he will have a lot of familiarity with several of the up-coming Surf Avenue Sluggers expected to make the team.


With the First Year Amateur Draft out of the way.  The Cyclones' roster is finally taking form.  The Brooklyn Cyclones have issued a preliminary roster as/of June 14, 2011.


View that here:  Tentative Brooklyn Cyclones' Roster


We know who the starting pitchers will be for the first two games of the season against the Staten Island Yankees.  To open the season in Staten Island, Brooklyn will start with righty, Eduardo Aldama on the mound.  In Saturday's Coney Island Home Opener, the Cyclones will go with lefty, Carlos Vasquez.






Mike.BTB

BKN CYCLONES ~ Frank Viola Named Pitching Coach for 2011

Brooklyn Cyclones; -

The Brooklyn Cyclones have announced their coaching staff for the upcoming 2011 season.

Rich Donnelly has been named the new manager of the Coney Island Nine.  He has over 25 years experience being a Major League Coach.  In the 1980's he managed in the Texas Rangers farm system and coached on the big club as well.  The majority of his body of his work was spent coaching for Jim Leyland in Pittsburgh, Florida and Colorado.  He was a coach for the 1997 Champion Florida Marlins.  He also coached with Milwaukee and Los Angeles.

FRANKIE VIOLA; former 20 game winner for the Mets, Cy Young Winner, and Long Island native, will serve as the team's new Pitching Coach.  He'll be charged with teaching our Brooklyn hurlers how to make sweet music on the mound by the seashore.

The new Hitting Coaching for the Surf Avenue Sluggers will be Bobby Malek.  This 29 year old played 28 games for the Cyclones in 2002.  The Mets selected him in the 4th round in the 2002 Draft.  He comes back where it all started for him to teach the next generation of Lil Bums.

Frank Viola joins, Howard Johnson, Bobby Ojeda, Mookie Wilson, Tim Teufel and Wally Backman as former Mets who came back to coach in Brooklyn.




Mike.BTB