L.I. Ducks ~ Salvage Game Versus Bridgeport; At The Game

From the desk of:   THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE
*Corrected on Tuesday

LONG ISLAND DUCKS:  Another Fine Day in The Pond.

The Ducks salvaged a win versus the Bridgeport Bluefish Sunday afternoon in the second installment of this season's Ferry Cup Series.  The Bluefish now lead the benefit series four games to one.  Game Three will be Monday.

Play Ball!  First Pitch

Long Island's starter, Randy Keisler, labored through 102 pitches in six innings.  He was touched for six hits and three earned runs.  And struggled with control, walking four, and struck out three.


Bridgeport took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning on a two run home run by third baseman, Brock Peterson.  But Long Island struck back for three runs in their half of the inning.  Ray Navarrete led off the home half of the fourth with a walk.  Brandon Sing followed with a single.  Then Shawn Williams drove them both home with a one out triple.  Ried Gorecki lofted a fly ball to center for a sacrifice fly RBI, and a 3-1 Ducks lead.  Bridgeport tied the game however in their next at-bat off Randy Keisler.

By the sixth inning, Randy Keisler's day was through.  But not before the Ducks supplied him with four more runs in the bottom of the sixth, to put Keisler on the winning side of the game again.  This was Randy's third win of the season against just one loss.


After Shawn Williams led of with another extra-base hit; a double this time; Ried Gorecki drove him home with a single.  Josh Johnson followed with another single to score Gorecki who had previously advanced to second.  Yet another single by Bryant Nelson later delivered Josh Johnson.  A sac-fly by Brandon Sing drove home Kraig Binick, and the fourth Ducks' run of the frame.  An error led to one more Long Island run in the eighth, giving them an 8-3 lead, and eventual final.

Kraig Binick and Ray Navarrete

Brandon Sing

In the lead-off spot, Kraig Binick was 3 for 4 Sunday, with a walk, and two runs scored.  First baseman Shawn Williams, was 2 for 4, with a double, triple, and two RBI.  Ried Gorecki also had two RBI.


After Randy Keisler, Long Island's bullpen took care of the final three innings.  Jason Monti pitched two innings, allowed three hits and two walks, and struck out three.  Jeremy Hill closed out the ninth inning, surrendering a hit, and a walk


The Ducks begin a four set in Camden against the River Sharks Tuesday evening.

My Sixth Inning Foul Ball.

Mike.BTB

L.I. Ducks ~ Too Much Fight in the Bluefish

From the desk of:   THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE

LONG ISLAND DUCKS:  Bluefish Dominating The Pond.  Ducks Drop Fifth Straight to Bridgeport.  Ferry Cup Series Proving Half-Empty For Long Island.

Thursday's was a comeback that fell short.  After Brideport jumped ahead with four runs in the second inning, and another run in the third, the Ducks found themselves behind 5-0 early.

The Bluefish roughed up Joe Esposito during his abbreviated 2.1 innings of work.  He surrendered eight hits and allowed five of six earned runs.  Joe walked one and struck out one in suffering his third loss of the season.

Long Island's bullpen kept Bridgeport off the scoreboard for the rest of the night.  But the damage was already done.  Conner Graham and Dan Meyer took care of the next four innings.  Eric Niesen struggled in his appearance, as he walked three batters out of eight he faced.  Jeremy Hill finished out for the Ducks.

The home team started their comeback in the fifth inning with a lead off home run by Josh Johnson.  In the sixth, Long Island scored again on Josh Johnson's RBI single.  But two more runs in the seventh fell just a little short of a full comeback however.  Matt Esquivel and Ried Gorecki both drove in a run each with singles, but the Ducks couldn't manage another.

This game ended in a 5-4 final.

In Friday night's affair, the Bluefish continued to befuddle Long Island for a fifth consecutive game this season.  Bridgeport swept Long Island earlier in the season, and so far in this series, the Fish have shown no signs of letting up.

Gustavo Chacin took the hill for Long Island and immediately found himself in a 2-0 hole after the first inning of play.  Another run in the third, and three more in the sixth knocked Chacin out of the box after having allowed six earned runs over 6.2 innings.  The Bluefish tagged him for eight hits.  Recent pick-up, Jared Lansford, came in to relieve.

Through six, all the Ducks could manage off Bridgeport's starter, Paul Oseguera, were two hits.  But they finally broke through for a few runs in the eighth.  After Ried Gorecki and Dan Lyons reached safely, Wilberto Ortiz drove in Gorecki with a single.  Brandon Sing then stepped up and jacked a three run home run to cut Bridgeport's lead in half.  That was Brandon's seventh.  But by then, Bridgeport had already scored eight runs off Ducks' pitching.  Dan Meyer got touched for two of those, as the Ducks used five relievers to get through the game.


The Bluefish have now crept back to within 1.5 games of the Ducks for first in the Liberty Division.

Bridgeport Bluefish lead Ferry Cup Series 5-0

Mike.BTB

L.I. Ducks ~ 2012 Positional Players Preview

From the desk of:   THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE

Long Island Ducks

LONG ISLAND DUCKS:  Many New Faces Will Be Wielding a Bat for the Ducks This Season.  But Can the New Members be as Formidable as Last Year's Line-Up?


L.I. Ducks - Gearing Up for Another Run at Title




CATCHER  - J.R. House  .305 AVG  19 HR  81 RBI  ~  GONE.

 Replacements:

1) - The Ducks will primarily go with JOSH JOHNSON behind the dish.  He's 29 years old with AAA experience.  He played last season for the Road Warriors.  Last season, his nine home runs and forty-six rbi were career bests.

2) - SHAWN WILLIAMS is a twenty-eight year old switch hitter who played with the Brockton Rox last season where he batted .316 in 69 games.  He has A-level experience.

Analysis:  The Ducks will clearly not be getting the same production out of their backstop they received last season.





FIRST BASE/DH - John Rodriguez  .313 AVG  18 HR  81 RBI  ~  GONE.

Replacements:

1) - Freddie Thon returns from last season and will see action at first base.

2) - BRANDON SING has resoundingly been considered the American Association's top slugger over the last four seasons.  The 31 year old's best season came in A-ball when he batted .270, stroked 32 home runs, and drove in 94 runs.

Analysis:  John Rodriguez wielded a very productive bat last season.  But he was injured far too often.  What better we to replace him than with independent ball's top slugger.





SECOND BASE - Ray Navarrete will be back.  He has been a Long Island Duck for the majority of the last six seasons.  Ray will turn thirty-four years old in May.  Last year he tied his career best with twenty-seven home runs.  However, he posted his lowest career batting average as a Duck.  Last season Ray Navarrete continued to etch his name into Long Island's record books.  During the 2011 season, Ray became the Ducks' all-time hits leader as well as becoming the team's all-time runs scored leader.  He also lays claim to being the team's all-time home run leader and all-time rbi leader.  For a single season, he holds their record for doubles and games played.  And he also holds the Ducks' record for hits in a single game, and rbi in a single game.  The long time Ducks favorite will be a pleasant sight for Duck fans when this new look team takes the field.





SHORTSTOP - Javier Colina  .309 AVG  25 HR  90 RBI  ~  GONE.
THIRD BASE - Matt Padgett   .282 AVG  11 HR  67 RBI  ~  GONE.

Infield Replacements:

1) - BRYANT NELSON is 38 years old and will serve as a middle infielder off the bench.  This will be his third season with the Ducks.  He gained MLB experience with the Red Sox.  With eighteen years of minor league experience, he is a career .285 hitter.

2) - WILBERTO ORTIZ has six years as a pro with AAA experience.  He's 27 years old and comes to the Ducks from the L.A. Dodgers organization.  Signed more for his glove than his bat, he possesses no real power to speak of, and is a .265 career minor league hitter.

3) - RYAN GARKO has six years of MLB experience. He is 31 years old. His best seasons came in 2007 and 2008. He's a .275 career hitter, with 55 home runs, and 250 rbi on his pro resume.

Analysis:  Dan Lyons also will be back for another season.  But the new infielders will be hard pressed to replicate the kind of offense last season's Ducks generated.  Matt Garko may have something to say about that however.





CENTER FIELD - Kraig Binick returns for his second season in the Pond.  He was last season's Atlantic League's batting champion.  Kraig split time leading off, and hitting in the sixth and seventh spots in the order.  Prior to suffering a facial injury in a collision at second base, Kraig was off to a blazing start batting as high as .409 as of June 6th.





LEFT FIELD - Kennard Jones   .292 AVG  8 HR  54 RBI  ~  GONE.
RIGHT FIELD - Matt Esquivel   .328 AVG  15 HR  69 RBI  ~  GONE.

Outfield Replacements:

1) - REID GORECKI is a nine year AAA pro.  He is 32 years old with a career .267 average.  Doubles to the gap is his thing.  But he has no real power to speak of.

2) - PAUL KARMAS is a 22 year old who is fresh out of Rookie ball.  Prior to that, he was a .300 hitter for St. John's.

3) - JAMES McOWEN is 27 years old with AA experience.  If he can keep his strikeouts down, he'll be another doubles machine with occasional home run power.  In five seasons, he's a career .289 minor league hitter.

Analysis:  Most of the Ducks' power last season came from the infield.  But Matt Esquivel's numbers will be hard to make-up.  The spotlight seems to be on James McOwen.  Lew Ford will turn thirty-six in August.  This will be his third season in the Pond.

2012

ATLANTIC LEAGUE SEASON

GAME ONE

LONG ISLAND DUCKS

vs.

Somerset Patriots

From

TD Bank Ballpark

New Jersey

OPENING DAY

Somerset Patriots

Mike.BTB