L.I. Ducks: On Not So Golden Pond

From the desk of:  THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE

The enemy of my enemy is my enemy, and my friend..?

Long Island Ducks: The road leading to a 2nd half Liberty Division crown goes through York and Lancaster.

They say timing is everything....  

The Flock did well by taking 2 of 3 games from the Bluefish earlier this week, considering all the mistreatment Bridgeport imposed upon the Ducks this season.

Bridgeport is now in the midst of a 5-game losing streak, giving them 8 losses in their last 10 games, and dropping them 4.5 games behind the division lead (...and 3 full games behind the Ducks).

On Friday, host Long Island dropped their series opener against Southern Maryland, but rebounded to win the next two.  Game Four against the Blue Crabs is scheduled for Labor Day.

With 14 games remaining in the regular season, the Ducks (30-26) trail first place Somerset by 1.5 games.  The Patriots, not incidentally, are in the midst of a 3-game winning streak.

Since the season series between the Ducks and Patriots is complete, they won't be facing each other down the stretch, meaning their respective opponents will greatly influence whom emerges as 2nd half Liberty Division champion.

Somerset will close out their 5-game series against Sugar Land on Monday.  Next on their schedule:

• YORK
• LANCASTER
• @ Bridgeport
• @ York

After claiming the 1st half Liberty Division title, the Patriots continue charging towards a division sweep.  They posted a record setting 50-20 (.714) first half, but have "cooled" to a .564 winning percentage in the 2nd half.  Overall, they're an impressive 81-44 on the season, and the only Atlantic League team to surpass 80 victories.

The Ducks remain a close second.  They own a 76-50 overall mark, making them and Somerset the only teams surpassing 70 victories this season.

The Long Island Ducks remaining schedule beginning Tuesday:

• @ Camden
• SUGAR LAND
• @ York
• @ Lancaster

You say you want a Revolution, well, you know...

The York Revolution will play the Patriots 7 times, and will face the Ducks 3 times, potentially putting York in position of providing Long Island with a small, yet much needed assist - assuming the Ducks take care of their own business.

That said.. there's a storm brewing.

Don't look now, but here come the Lancaster Barnstormers hell bent on ruining the day!

In case you haven't noticed, the Lancaster Barnstormers are suddenly red hot - good for them, but bad for the Liberty race.

The defending league champions stumbled mightily in the 1st half, posting a disappointing 28-42 record, while Southern Maryland captured the 1st half Freedom Division crown.

But all that has changed.  The Barnstormers regrouped to post a 36-20 2nd half record thus far. They have won 8 of their last 10 games, and presently lead the Freedom Division by 6 games over Sugar Land.

Did I mention they were the defending Atlantic League champions?

It now seems in the Ducks' and Patriots' best interests to proceed with caution.  They're both poised to face the Barnstormers at a seemingly very inopportune time.  But, whereas the Patriots get to host the Barnstormers for 3 games, the Ducks must end their season on the road with 4 games in Lancaster.

Timing is indeed everything...

Wild Kingdom:

In the Long Island Ducks alternate reality, they own a firm 12.5 game lead over the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, and will shortly clinch, at least, the Atlantic League Wild Card.

L.I. Ducks: Reliever Bruce Kern Working Overtime

From the desk of:  THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE

Ducks @ Barnstormers tied 1-1

I - LAN 5; LID 4

II - LID 5; LAN 0

III - Wednesday

IV - Thursday

Long Island Ducks: Reliever Bruce Kern gives his bullpen mates the night off.

The Ducks evened their series in Lancaster, as newcomer Darin Downs and reliever Bruce Kern combined on a 2-hit whitewashing of the Barnstormers.

Downs, who started just 1/3 of his 296 career minor league starts, faced 11 batters over 3 scoreless innings in his Ducks debut.  He threw 51 pitches with 29 (57%) going for strikes.  He allowed just one hit, walked a pair, and fanned 3 batters before exiting on the winning side of a 1-0 game.

Reliever Bruce Kern then delivered 6 brilliant innings for the victory.  He faced 19 batters, and threw 68 pitches with 49 (72%) going for strikes.  He allowed just one hit, issued one walk, and fanned 3 batters.

• This was Kern's 27th appearance of the season, and his second 6-inning performance in his last 3 games.  He gained a victory on July 5th with 6 innings, and 8 strikeouts.  He also put in a 5 inning effort back on June 8th.  Kern is now 5-1 this season with a 2.67 ERA, down from a 3.11 mark.  He has 40 strikeouts with an 0.960 WHiP in 43.2 innings pitched, while hitters are batting a mere .194 against Kern.

• Bruce Kern, 27, is a Stony Brook, L.I. native, whom attended St. John's University.  He came to the Ducks after 5 seasons in the Colorado Rockies lower system.

Randy Ruiz' RBI single in the 1st inning was all the Ducks needed.

A lead-off single by Jon Griffin, and doubles by Mike Blanke and Dan Lyons gave Long Island a 3-0 lead in the 7th.  Bryan Sabatella's base hit in the 9th then plated a pair of unearned runs to give the Ducks their 5-0 margin of victory.

Long Island improved to 49-26 overall, and trail Bridgeport by 0.5 games in the second half standings.  They remain 10.5 games ahead of the Sugar Land Skeeters for the Wild Card.



Mike

L.I. Ducks: Barnstormers and Mother Nature Stymie Flock

from the desk of:  THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE

LONG ISLAND DUCKS: Muddy Waters..

Mother Nature doused Long Island's attempt at a series split with the Barnstormers.

After rain delayed the start of the game in excess of two hours, the umpires finally made the call to play Monday night baseball in Lancaster.

With the Ducks holding on to a 3-2 lead, heavy rain began falling again in the top of the 5th, and threatened the game's official status.  They would get through it, managing to fit in 5 complete innings with the Ducks ahead.

However, the umpires ponderously made them continue playing through deteriorating conditions into the 6th inning.  After the Ducks went scoreless, they began barking from the dugout at the home plate ump.   With heavy rain continuing to fall, and loud protestations emanating from Long Island's dugout, and with 1-out in the bottom of the frame, Blake Gailen homered off Ian Marshall to tie the game at three.

After starter Ian Marshall walked the next batter, umpires incredulously called for the field tarps again.  The Ducks dugout was livid, maintaining the game should have been stopped after the 5th.

Just before midnight, the game was suspended with the score tied at three.  The game will be made up on a day to be determined.  This game needs to count towards the first half standings.

• Lancaster won Friday's series opener by a 6-2 score over Ducks starter Mark Rogers.  He allowed all six runs (all earned), on 6 hits and 5 walks.  He fanned 4 batters, and saw his ERA grow to a 4.82 mark.  His record fell to 1-2 after 4 starts.  Lew Ford was 4 for 4 with an RBI.

• On Saturday, the Ducks jumped out to a 4-0 lead after 5 innings, but then allowed Lancaster to post 7 unanswered runs.  Mickey Jannis started, and lasted 5 innings.  He allowed 4 runs 9 (only 1 earned), on 6 hits and no walks.  He fanned 6 batters, but took a no-decision.  Bruce Kern allowed 3 earned runs in relief of Jannis to earn the loss.  Reggie Corona was 3 for 4, and hit his first home run of the season.  It was Long Island's only extra base hit of the game.

• In Sunday's game, Lancaster's pitching fell apart late in the game, and helped push 5 runs across the plate in the 8th.  The Barnstormers issued a pair of bases loaded walks, and a wild pitch plated a third run.  Lew Ford's 2-out single then scored two more en route to an 8-6 Ducks victory.  Lew Ford and Reggie Corona both drove in 3 runs apiece.  Bruce Kern rebounded from Saturday's loss to earn the win in relief of starter John Brownell.  The Long Island ace exited the game after 6.2 innings pitched.  In earning a no-decision, he allowed 4 runs (3 ER) on 5 hits and 3 walks, with 7 strikeouts.

With an 11-12 record the Ducks remain in last place, and trail the Somerset Patriots by 4.5 games in the Liberty Division standings.  They are now headed to York, Pennsylvania, to take on the Revolution.

NEXT

Long Island Ducks

@

York Revolution

FROM

Santander Headquarters

PA

Mike

L.I. Ducks: Brownell And Blevins Provide One-Two Punch Over Lancaster

From the desk of:  THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE

LONG ISLAND DUCKS: Realignment Has Turned The Somerset Patriots Into This Year's Problem.

Only a sweep over the Patriots would have truly made a difference, nonetheless this past weekend's series against Somerset was an opportunity lost.  By dropping two of three games, the Ducks fell a fourth game behind the Liberty Division leading Patriots.

If you remember, Somerset took two of three from Long Island in the season's opening series.  The Ducks are now 2-4 versus the newly transplanted Patriots this season.

For now, Long Island seems to be going with Plan B - beat up on the rest of the competition.

Ducks hurler John Brownell set about initiating that plan Monday night.  John last pitched against Lancaster on May 28th, earning his 3rd victory of the season in 6 modest innings of work.  As a result, Brownell missed the series against Somerset.

In Monday night's series opener against the visiting Barnstormers, John Brownell turned in his finest performance of the season, needing a mere 2:42 to complete his gem.  Making his 8th start, John pitched his first complete game of the season, allowing 2 earned runs on just 4 hits and one walk.  He fanned 9 batters, and now leads the circuit with 43 strikeouts.  He improved his record to 4-3, and lowered his ERA from 4.81 to a 4.33 mark.

The Ducks provided Brownell with 9 runs of support, led by 3 RBI from Brandon Lyons.  Cody Puckett went 3 for 5, as did Joash Brodin, which included a double, triple and 2 RBI.

The Patriots also won their Monday night game over York, and so Long Island entered Tuesday's action 4 games out of first.

Bobby Blevins then climbed the hill Tuesday at Bethpage Park, and was opposed by Lancaster's Chris Schwinden.

After spotting the Barnstormers a 2-0 lead in the 2nd, Blevins kept Lancaster scoreless long enough for the Ducks to comeback with 6 runs in the 6th inning and put him on the winning side.  Blevins pitched 7 innings in all, allowed 2 earned runs on 7 hits and just one walk.  He struck out 7 batters to bring his season total up to 41, which ranks 2nd in the circuit behind team mate John Brownell.

Lew Ford, who has struggled of late, broke out with a 4 for 4 night, while the Ducks cranked out 17 hits in 40 at-bats en route to an 8-4 final.

This evening Long Island hosts the Lancaster Barnstormers for the third of their four game series.  The Ducks Shaun Garceau will climb the hill at Bethpage Park, and will be opposed by Cody Scarpetta for the Barnstormers.

The York Revolution romped over Somerset on Tuesday.  However, the Patriots won their matinee game Wednesday to reestablish a 3.5 game over the Ducks.

Realignment has certainly put a new twist into this season's (1st half) division race.  So far, Somerset's 4 victories over the Ducks are the difference.  In ten more days, the Ducks and Patriots will square off again in a four game weekend series.  Till then, the Ducks need to keep pace with Plan B.





Mike.BTB

L.I. Ducks: Flock Opts For Difficult Road To Victory

From the desk of:  THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE

LONG ISLAND DUCKS: Flock Avoids Friday Night Collapse

Looking to turn their recent fortunes around with an old fashioned, rut altering, road trip, the migrating Long Island Ducks arrived in Lancaster for the back end of their home-and-home against the Barnstormers.

But, considering how the Ducks got swept on their field by the Barnstormers, Friday's series opener in Lancaster would have been an even harder pill to swallow.  That's because the Ducks jumped ahead 7-0 after 2 innings, then watched their lead erode to 7-3 after the 3rd, 7-6 after the 5th, and then ultimately an 8-7 deficit after the 8th.

Shaun Garceau made his 3rd start of the season, and in 5 innings, allowed 6 earned Lancaster runs on 7 hits, and 2 walks, with 2 strikeouts, yet managed to leave on the winning side of what was still a 7-6 game, while the bullpen work of Josh Lansford and Brett Lorin kept the Barnstormers quiet for another 2 innings.

In the top of the 8th, Jeremy Accardo broke a cardinal rule, and issued a lead-off walk to Blake Gailen that came back to haunt him.  A stolen base, a double, and a single later, and the Barnstormers were owners of an 8-7 lead.

In the top of the 9th, Adam Bailey pushed back with a one out solo home run to tie the game.  Then with 2 outs, Fehlandt Lentini's single plated two more runs, to give Long Island a 10-8 lead.

Coach Baez then turned to his closer Leo Rosales,who pitched a scoreless 9th inning to earn his fifth save of the season.

The Ducks will try an ensurer at least a series victory when the play the Barnstormers again this evening.



Mike.BTB

L.I. Ducks: Look What The Barnstormers Did To The Flock...Again

From the desk of:  THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE

Lancaster Leads Series 2-0

GM1 - LAN 5; LID 4

GM 2 - LAN 6; LID 5

GM 3 - THURSDAY

LONG ISLAND DUCKS: Lew Ford Is Hot; John Brownell Is Not.  Starter Still In Search Of First Victory.

On Sunday, the Ducks salvaged a split in their four game series against the York Revolution.  But, after a day off on Monday, they've spent the last two nights dropping a pair of one run games to the Lancaster Barnstormers.

In the series opener, Lancaster jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, only to have the Ducks scramble back, and tie the game at four.  However, the Ducks unfortunately fell in ten innings by a 5-4 final.  Lew Ford was 4 for 5 in the game, homered, and recorded 3 RBI.

Still in search of his first victory, John Brownell climbed the hill for Long Island Wednesday night, and was opposed by Lancaster's Chad Beck.

While Beck kept the Ducks silent over his 5 innings of work, Lancaster was busy chipping away at Brownell over his 6 innings.  The Barnstormers took an immediate 1-0 lead in the 1st, and by the 6th inning, owned a 5-0 lead.  All five runs were earned, and charged to Brownell, who exited after allowing 9 hits, one walk, and fanning 4 batters.

Long Island jumped back into the game in the bottom of the 6th with a 2-run home run by Adam Bailey, with Lew Ford on base.

With Brad Holt pitching in relief of Brownell in the 7th, Lancaster drew a one out walk, and singled, instigating Coach Baez to make another change.  Steve Garrison entered, and promptly surrendered a single to Fred Lewis to make it a 6-2 game.

That's important, because the Ducks rallied, but fell short by a run.  In the home 8th, Fehlandt Lentini led off with a double, and scored on Lew Ford's base hit.  Adam Bailey then doubled.  After a pitching change by Lancaster, Cody Puckett greeted reliever Brodie Downs with a single to center, delivering Ford, and making it a 6-5 game.  But, the rally ended there.  With 2 outs, catcher Brian Peacock struck out to end the game.

John Brownell took the loss.  His ERA inflated to a 5.50 mark, while his record fell to 0-2 in 3 starts.

Long Island fell one game below .500 with a 5-6 mark.

Lew Ford raised his batting average to a .341 mark, on the strength of 10 hits in his last 17 at-bats.

After Thursday's series finale, both teams will travel to Lancaster and play three more.




Mike.BTB

Long Island Ducks: Webbed Nine Facing Elimination

From the desk of:   THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE

Bethpage Ballpark, Long Island

 

 

 

2012

ATLANTIC LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

 

Lancaster leads Series 2-1

I - Lancaster 5; Long Island 1

II - Long Island 9; Lancaster 4

III - Lancaster 12; Long Island 5

IV - TONIGHT

V - if necessary*

 

 

Finals Preview

Game One

Game Two

 

 

 

LONG ISLAND DUCKS: Barnstormers Lay Siege To The Pond; Take 2-1 Series Lead.  Ducks Must Win To Extend Series.


In the first Finals game played at The Pond, the Barnstormers took a 2-1 series lead with a 12-5 thumping of the Ducks.  Game Three started out well enough.   But from the fourth inning on, Lancaster kept the home team under duress.


After the first two innings, all seemed well for Long Island.  To Lancaster's dismay, the Ducks led 2-0 after Barnstormer starter, J.D. Durbin, issued three walks in the first, forcing Long Island's first run home.  Lee Cruz bounced into a fielder's choice which delivered the Ducks second run.  In the second inning, the Ducks upped their lead to three when Dan Lyons scored on Joash Brodin's fielder's choice.


Ducks starter, Bob Zimmermann, cruised through the first three innings.  He struck out the side to open the game.  A walk, a 6-4-3 double play, and his fourth strikeout retired the Barnstormers in the second.  In the third, he hit a batter.  Otherwise, his first time through the line-up went very well.  After Zimm struck out his sixth batter to open the fourth, the bottom fell out from underneath the Ducks starter.  Six consecutive hits, starting with a double and ending with a triple, transformed Long Island's 3-0 lead into a 5-3 deficit.  Chris Hayes was summoned to stop the bleeding.  Before he could, Hayes allowed Lancaster's sixth run of the inning.


In the fifth inning, Lancaster continued to increase their lead against Chris Hayes.  Four hits and three runs later, the Barnstormers were up by a 9-3 margin.  The Ducks chipped back with one run on Ray Navarrete's sac-fly in the bottom of the frame.


The teams traded runs again in the seventh inning.  Lancaster scored their tenth run, this time against Connor Graham.  In the bottom of the frame, Kraig Binick tripled, and Joash Brodin drove him home with a single.


Nick DeBarr was the seventh Ducks pitcher of the game.  Picked up in September, he surrendered Lancaster's eleventh and twelfth runs of the evening.  And so, Game Three of the Atlantic League Championship series ends disappointingly for Long Island in a 12-5 final.


Very simply, the Ducks must win Game Four in order to extend the series.  Should Lancaster defeat Long Island this evening, the Barnstormers would win their second ever Atlantic League championship.  If the Ducks win tonight, the decisive Game Five will be played at The Pond on Sunday.

 

Tonight

 

GAME FOUR

 

Lancaster Barnstormers

vs.

LONG ISLAND DUCKS

From

THE POND

Long Island, N.Y.

Mike.BTB

Long Island Ducks: Lancaster Wins Game One

From the desk of:   THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE

LONG ISLAND DUCKS - Strong Pitching Hurls Lancaster Barnstormers Past Ducks In Game One.

GAME ONE FINAL:

Long Island    1

Lancaster       5

In Wednesday's opening game of the 2012 Atlantic League championship series, the league's regular season ERA King did what he does best - win games and make opposing runs a scarce commodity.  Lancaster's Dwayne Pollok, who not incidentally also tied for the circuit lead in wins this season, pitched six innings of shutout ball against the Long Island Ducks.  Pollok surrendered four hits, walked two, and struck out five for the win.


The Ducks finally broke through for a run in the seventh inning against Lancaster's bullpen.  Dan Lyons connected on a double.  Kraig Binick drove him home with a single.  But that's all Long Island would get.  The Barnstormer bullpen combined on three innings pitched, allowing the Ducks their lone run.  Five Lancaster relievers surrendered five hits, walked no batters and struck out four.


Randy Kiesler made the start for Long Island and pitched almost equally as well.  He managed through the first six innings, allowing a run in the second inning, and another in the sixth.  Kiesler surrendered five hits and walked two to that point, while striking out four.  Then after retiring the first two batters in the seventh, Coach Baez made a move to the bullpen.  Jeremy Hill was given the ball.  The first batter he faced singled.  Hill then issued a walk to the second batter, setting up runners at first and second.  In was what still a 2-1 game in Lancaster's favor, the next batter Jeremy Hill faced was Lancaster's DH, Ryan Harvey, who promptly connected on a three run home run, making the game a 5-1 affair.
 

After Game Two, the series will shift back to Long Island for all remaining games.




Mike.BTB

Long Island Ducks: Atlantic League Championship Series

From the desk of:   THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE

2012

ATLANTIC LEAGUE

CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

 

 

 

 

GAME ONE

 

 

LONG ISLAND DUCKS

vs.

Lancaster Barnstormers

 

FROM

Clipper Magazine Stadium

Pennsylvania

 

 

 

 

 

LONG ISLAND DUCKS: Team Looking To Reverse Last Season's Championship Series Results.


The strategy Coach Baez employed last year will be the course he takes this season.  The Long Island Ducks decided to open the Division and Championship Series on the road last season.  While it worked out for them in Round One, the Ducks wound up losing the Atlantic League Championship to the York Revolution.

This season, the Ducks decided to open the first round of playoffs in Maryland against the Blue Crabs.  Lancaster had the superior record this past regular season.  But it works out the same.  The Ducks will open the series in Lancaster.  Games Three through Five (if necessary) will be hosted by Long Island.

The Ducks resurgent starting pitching will face the Atlantic League's top three hitters.  Barnstormers outfielder Blake Gailen won the circuit batting title with a .338 mark.  Adam Godwin finished second with a .327 batting average.  Fehldandt Lentini finished third behind his team mates and fellow outfielders, posting a .319 season average.  Long Island's Ray Navarrete finished tied for fourth place with a .309 mark.

Lancaster's Ryan Harvey led the Barnstormers with twenty seven home runs.  Brandon Sing led the Ducks with twenty six.  Fehldant Lentini led his team with ninety two RBI.  Ray Navarrete led the Ducks with ninety.

Along with the League's top hitters, Lancaster sports four of the five top winning starting pitchers.  Alan Johnson, Dwayne Pollock, and J.D. Durbin all tied for the Atlantic League lead with fourteen wins each.  Fellow staff member John Halama punched in with another thirteen victories.  Dwayne Pollock also won the League ERA title with a 2.30 earned run average.  Long Island's Bob Zimmermann leads all series pitchers with 126 strikeouts.  While reliever Jason Monti led the Ducks in wins this past season, Bob Zimmermann leads all Ducks starters with six victories.

The Lancaster Barnstormers won both half Freedom Division titles.  They finished with the overall best record in the league, posting eighty eight wins against fifty two losses.  Lancaster swept the two-time reigning champions; York Revolution.

The Ducks were the first half Liberty Division champs, and defeated the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs to become the season's overall division champ in round one.  After a 39-30 first half record, the Ducks struggled mightily in the second half, and ended the season with an overall 63-74 mark.

The Lancaster Barnstormers won their first and only Atlantic League title back in the 2006 season.  Two season's before that, the Long Island Ducks won their only Atlantic League championship.

 

 

Mike.BTB

L.I. Ducks ~ Barnstormers End Ducks' Home Win Streak

From the desk of:   THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE

LONG ISLAND DUCKS:  Lancaster Barnstormers Put An End To Nine Game Win Streak At The Pond.

Friday night's series opener against the Somerset Patriots required an eighth inning three run comeback.  Saturday's game turned into a 15-3 drubbing of the Patriots.  And Sunday's victory came in dramatic 9th inning walk-off fashion.  In sweeping the Somerset Patriots over the weekend, the Long Island Ducks extended their home winning streak beginning the season to nine consecutive games.

The series sweep upped the Ducks' record to 15-7, which gave them a 2.5 game lead over the Bridgeport Bluefish for first place in the Liberty Division.  On the other side of the ledger, in getting swept, the Patriots dropped out of their tie with Lancaster, and are now a full game behind the Freedom Division first place Barnstormers.

Slugger Brandon Sing finally returned to the line-up after being absent since May 12th due to a neck injury.  The Ducks also signed some bullpen help.  Jared Lansford, the son of Carney Lansford, is a twenty-five year old right-hander who comes to the Ducks after spending the 2011 season in the Oakland A's organization.

The Lancaster Barnstormers came to Bethpage Ballpark Monday night, and ruined everything.  Long Island's streak stops at nine.  After a scoreless first inning, the Barnstormers scored a run in each of the next six innings against the very reliable Bob Zimmermann, who seemed to be battle himself more than anything.  Lancaster peppered him for eleven hits over his 6.1 innings pitched.  Bob walked two and struck out three before giving way to Eric Niesen.

Wynn Pelzer was next out of the Ducks' bullpen, and allowed Lancaster two more runs in the top of the eighth.

The lone Ducks' run came in the home sixth, on an RBI single by Ray Navarrete, who by the way, just recently celebrated his 34th birthday over the weekend.  Ray was 3 for 4 in the game.  But an error by Navarrete at second base allowed a run to score off Bob Zimmermann.

The Bridgeport Bluefish were 8-4 losers to the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs.  The Ducks lose no ground in the standings.




Mike.BTB

L.I. Ducks ~ Gearing Up For Another Run at Title

From the desk of:   THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE

LONG ISLAND DUCKS:  Refortifying The Pond - Calling In Reinforcements After Succumbing to Last Season's Revolution.

REMAINING SPRING TRAINING SCHEDULE:
April 23, 2012  -  Game Three ~ L.I. Black Sox (semi-pro) vs. Long Island
April 24, 2012  -  Game Four ~ NYPD vs. Long Island

FINALS:
April 21, 2012  -  Game Two ~ Long Island 7; Bridgeport 2
April 20, 2012  -  Game One ~ Long Island 7; Bridgeport 0

The Ducks encountered problems with pitching depth as the 2011 regular season wound down.  Their formidable one-two punch of Mike Parisi and Mike Loree were out of the fold after a near season-long dominance of the league.  Mike Parisi earned an affiliated promotion for his 2011 efforts and did not return.  However, Mike Loree did.  His fine season was rewarded in the form a contract from the Pirates organization.  But he was able to return to the Ducks in time for the post season run.  And with the League's 2011 Pitcher of the Year returning back atop the rotation, the Ducks seemingly still had enough starting pitching to get through two rounds of playoffs.


The Long Island Ducks' regular season was a virtual wire to wire party at The Pond.  They ended the 2011 campaign with the League's most potent line-up.  Many seemed sure the Ducks had more than enough offense to power them towards their first championship since the 2004 season.


Whether hitting lead-off, or lower in the order, Craig Binick had a tremendous season with the bat, winning the League's batting championship with a .343 mark.  Long time Duck favorite Ray Navarette set a few more all-time Ducks records last season as well.  After an early season slump, Ray finished strong and ranked second in the circuit with twenty-seven home runs.  The Long Island line-up featured four of the top six RBI producers last season.


Then, a Revolution ignited in Pennsylvania, picked up momentum, and spread from the streets of York.  The Road Warriors, Somerset, and eventually Lancaster, all fell to the Freedom Division winning Revolution.


After first round victories over Lancaster and Southern Maryland respectively, York and Long Island met in the championship round.  For York, they set out to defend their 2010 A.L. title.  While the Ducks were returning to the playoffs after missing the 2010 post season.


In the final series, the Ducks' bats ran into a buzz saw as the Revolution pitchers all but shut-down the Ducks' mighty offense.  And Long Island never even wound up facing York's ace hurler either.  With Long Island's season long hit parade stopped cold and muted, the Ducks watched York celebrate their second consecutive Atlantic League championship.


Say what you will however, last year's was still a tremendously successful regular season and a very entertaining one to boot.  Their seventy-eight wins topped the League.  Upon winning both halves of the division titles, they were resounding favorites to win their second ever Atlantic League championship.  But as we saw, Revolution was in the air.


Over the off-season, many changes have given the line-up that short-circuited in last year's playoffs a very different look.  Returning will be Ray Navarette and Craig Binick.  Lew Ford and Dan Lyons also return.  But gone from last season's Atlantic League leading line-up is catcher J.R. House.  Matt Padgett will be playing for the Blue Crabs this season.  The oft-injured John Rodriguez is off to the American Association.  Kennard Jones is off to Bridgeport.  And Matt Esquivel has been playing in Mexico.  Absent from this year's line-up will also be sweet hitting Javier Colina.  The Ducks will have to replace 252 RBI in the middle of the order with Colina, House, and Rodriguez, gone.


In the top story of the off-season, the ace of the staff; Mike Loree; will indeed be returning for another season with the Ducks.  He was last season's pitching triple crown winner with fourteen wins; 131 strikeouts; and a superlative 1.98 ERA.   Jason Monti returns looking to earn a starting spot.  Shane Youman, a youngster who showed up last season to give the Ducks big wins down the stretch, will not.


Bob Zimmerman and Jeremy Hill return to man the bullpen again.  Ehren Wasserman retired, and the heart-attack kid; Bubbie Buzachero; also will not be returning.


I'll take a closer look at the new Ducks' members in my next post.  The new look Long Island Ducks 2012 roster is linked:  HERE


The 2012 Long Island Ducks' season opens with a four game series, beginning on Thursday, April 26th, on the road against the Somerset Patriots.  This marks the Ducks' thirteenth season as an Atlantic League member.  The Somerset Patriots, after a rather disappointing 2011 season by their standards, begin their fifteenth season in the League.  Long Island's home Opener will eventually come on May 4th against the Camden River Sharks, after the Ducks follow up their opening series against Somerset, with three games in Bridgeport.




ATLANTIC LEAGUE:


The Road Warriors ball club can finally pull over and rest.  Their work is done.  The expansion Sugar Land Skeeters; from Texas; have arrived to restore the traditional feel of an eight team league again.  They will be managed by Gary Gaetti, the former Minnesota Twin favorite.  Former Chicago White Sox hurler; Britt Burns; will be their pitching coach.


The Atlantic League's expansion into Texas is an interesting move to say the least.  What comes first and foremost to my mind is how this will drive up club expenses.  I asked Corey at LIDucksBlog what he thought Sugar Land's impact on the League's economics might be?  And in the short term he agreed with me in that it will be a tough going, and maybe even a near fail.  But in the long run, he believes there is something to this and that the move west will pan out well for the League.


Keep an eye on Bridgeport.  They're in trouble.  Unless something changes at the gate, the future of the Bluefish is uncertain.  Minus the Newark Bears who took their leave from the circuit last season, over the last two seasons, the Bluefish are the only Atlantic League club not to draw over 200,000 fans, nor average above 3,000 per game.  Last season, more rumors started to circulate regarding the team's demise.


This will be the fifteenth season of Atlantic League Baseball.  Of the original circuit which started play in 1998, only two member clubs remain; the Somerset Patriots, and the Bridgeport Bluefish.  The Camden River Sharks, with beautiful Campbell's Field, and the Ducks, whom routinely lead the circuit in attendance, have given the Atlantic League great stability since joining in 2001 and 2000, respectively.


The newer teams in Pennsylvania are backed by strong fan bases as well.  The Lancaster Barnstormers and York Revolution are seven and five year members.  Recently, South Maryland has been suffering a dip in attendance since joining the league during the 2008 season.  And as mentioned, the Sugar Land Skeeters, this season's expansion team in Texas, rounds out the 2012 circuit.  There are still plans on the table for future expansion into Virginia for the 2013 season.


Camden's Campbell Field will host this season's Atlantic League All-Star Game.



ATLANTIC LEAGUE

LONG ISLAND DUCKS
Bridgeport Bluefish
Somerset Patriots
York Revolution
Lancaster Barnstormers
Southern Maryland Blue Crabs
Sugar Land Skeeters
Camden River Sharks






Mike.BTB

L.I. Ducks ~ Off to Southern Maryland for Game Three

From the desk of:  THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE

Update:  Sept. 24, 2011

Game Three scheduled for Friday evening was rained-out.

Game Three now scheduled for Saturday evening.

LONG ISLAND DUCKS:  After splitting two games at home; Ducks must now win 2 of 3 on the road.


Their Playoff History on the Road Says They Won't.


Signed back on August 29th; nine days after Mike Loree's contract was sold and shipped off to Altoona; MLB veteran, Josh Banks was brought in to stabilize and lead a pitching staff that had gotten picked apart like turkey scraps off the bone after a Thanksgiving dinner.  For a little while there, it looked like the Ducks' starting pitching was having to survive on just that; scraps. 


For all the Ducks' hard work this season; including their first and second half pennants; it seemed as if they were falling victim to one of the mission statements of the Atlantic League; which is to help players get back into affiliated baseball.


Then, with the fortuitous return of Mike Loree, he and Josh Banks were supposed to give Long Island that one-two punch needed to win a playoff short series.  Last night however, the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs had other ideas as they just stole a game on the road.  Sorry; they didn't steal it.  They pounded away at the Ducks early and made the lead last.  Let's be fair.  They slugged four doubles and two home runs.


In the second game of the Liberty Division Championship, the Blue Crabs tagged-up Josh Banks early and often to tie the series at one game apiece.  Long Island's #2 starter only lasted 2.2 innings Thursday night, and was charged with giving up six runs; five earned.  He allowed seven hits; walked two; and struck out two, before giving way to Ruddy Lugo with the Ducks behind 7-0 at the time.


The resilient Ducks started to mount a response in the bottom of the third inning with four runs; one of them unearned.  They picked up another pair of runs in the seventh inning.  And suddenly, it was a game again as the Ducks closed the gap to within a run.


Southern Maryland scored an insurance run in the eighth.  The Ducks were not without their chances this game.  And the ninth inning presented them with another.  They had the tying runs on first and second base with two outs.  But John Rodriguez ended Long Island's night with a weak tapper.


The Game Two final score was Blue Crabs 8; Ducks 6. 


This series is now tied.


Both teams will now battle it out in Southern Maryland where this series will conclude with a Liberty Division Champion.  As regular season champs, the Long Island Ducks had the option of playing the series' first two games in Long Island, or, play the first two games in Southern Maryland and have the series return to Long Island for the potential final three games.  The Ducks opted to play the first two games at home then take the series on the road.


That strategy just may have backfired on them last night.  The hope was to win two at home, then go to Southern Maryland with three chances to win one game.  With last night's Ducks loss, the Wild Card Blue Crabs now truly own home field advantage and will try and take two of the next three on their own turf.  And unfortunately for Long Islanders, the Ducks' two big starters, have already had their turn.


The Long Island Ducks' playoff history on the road is....; well..; bad.  In their twelve year history, they are 1-8 in playoff road games.  Their lone road win came during their 2004 Championship season.  Since then, it's been seven consecutive road losses.


You like those apples?  Check these out.  In three visits to Southern Maryland this season, the Ducks were swept once; lost 2 of 3 games; and won 2 of 3 games.  Want some good news now?  The Ducks were an above .500 road team during the regular season.


Let's hope the weather in Southern Maryland is better than it was in the Metro area today.  There's baseball to be played this evening.

TONIGHT

Atlantic League

LIBERTY DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

GAME THREE

Series Tied 1-1

LONG ISLAND DUCKS

vs.

Southern Maryland Blue Crabs

From

A Ballpark in Waldorf

Maryland

* * * FREEDOM DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES * * *

York Revolution leads series over Lancaster Barnstormers

2-0

Game Three ~ Rained Out

Game Three to be played Saturday

 

York can complete a sweep tonight in Lancaster, PA.

Mike.BTB

L.I. DUCKS ~ Mike Loree Emerges As Atlantic League's Best Hurler

From the desk of:  THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE

Long Island Ducks:  Mike Loree Continues His Domination of the Atlantic League.  Ducks Add A Full Game To Their First Place Lead.



In Lancaster, Ducks' hurler Mike Loree added another sparkling start to his 2011 resume as Long Island won the first game of a three game series against the Barnstormers by a final score of 5-3.


J.R. House homered for Long Island in the 5th inning for the first run of the game.  Kennard Jones and Ray Navarrete starting things off for the Ducks in the 6th with back-to-back lead-off singles.  Javier Colina and John Rodriguez drove them in with another pair of consecutive singles to put Long Island ahead 3-0 after six full innings.


Tying his longest start of the season, Mike Loree came out to pitch the seventh and faced three batters.  After a lead-off single and a fly out to center field, Mike Loree hit the next batter.  That prompted a visit from Coach Baez who made a move to the bullpen calling on Jeremy Hill for relief.  The Barnstormers loaded the bases against Hill, and brought a run home with a sac fly to break the shut-out.  That run was charged to Loree.  Jeremy Hill kept the Ducks out of further trouble by striking out the next batter for out number three.


Long Island picked up two insurance runs in the top of the eighth with a two out rally.  John Rodriguez drew a walk.  He scored on Matt Esquivel's double.  The next Ducks' batter, Matt Padget drove Esquivel home with a single upping Long Island's lead; 5-1.



Jeremy Hill pitched himself into trouble in the bottom of the eighth inning by allowing the first two batters to reach base with no outs.  After getting one out, Jeremy surrendered a single allowing Lancaster to plate their second run.  Lancaster's park helped the Ducks when it held a Terry Tiffee (DH-Lancaster) blast from leaving the park.  The Barnstormers were held to one run scoring on that blast off the wall but the spread on the scoreboard was closing.


Coach Baez made his way to the mound again and gave Jeremy Hill the hook with the score at 5-3.
Ehren Wasserman was called in by Coach to get the Ducks out of this jam.  Wasserman got the second out of the inning by striking out his first batter.  Wasserman completed the job by inducing the next batter into a ground out to short.


Ducks' closer, Bubbie Buzachero, was called upon to close the ninth inning.


Give the bullpen credit tonight even though they made things very interesting.  Jeremy Hill pitched the Ducks out of Mike Loree's jam in the seventh.  Ehren Wasserman got them out of Jeremy Hill's jam in the eighth.  And Buzachero made things most interesting of all.  After getting the first two outs, he allowed the next two batters to get on base.  That brought the potential winning run to the plate.  Javier Colina had trouble handling a blast to short, but composed himself to record the last out of the game and preserving a well pitched game by Mike Loree.  Mr. Excitement; Bubbie Buzachero; managed his 8th save of the season.



MIKE LOREE's LINE:
6.1 ~ innings pitched
3 ~ hits.
1 ~ run.
2 ~ walks.
9 ~ strikeouts.

SEASON RECORD: 
6 wins;  1 loss



Tonight's effort by Mike Loree now ties him for the CanAm League lead in wins with six while also lowering his already League leading ERA from 2.25 down to 2.18.  After nine strikeouts tonight, he now has 48 for the season which also now places him first in the Atlantic League.  A tremendous start to a season for a guy cashing in on a second chance continues.


Long Island and South Maryland started Tuesday evening with the Ducks in front by a mere half game.  Tonight's win coupled with the South Maryland Blue Crabs' loss to Camden increases Long Island's first place lead in the Liberty Division to 1.5 games. 



This was Long Island's third consecutive win.  They are 8-2 in their last ten games.



Bridgeport fell to 4 games back in the standings and are losing a rain delayed game 4-2 to the Road Warriors in the sixth inning as of this post time.







Mike.BTB

L.I. DUCKS ~ Keep Their Slim Lead Over Hot Crabs

From the desk of:  WADDLING AROUND BROOKLYN


Long Island Ducks:  Win Rubber Game Against Bluefish.  But Blue Crabs Won't Go Away.

Long Island took the rubber game in their series against Bridgeport.  The problem is, South Maryland hasn't gone away yet.  They stayed in second place behind the Ducks by a mere half game even after losing their two top hitters to the Mexican League last week.  But that hasn't stopped the Blue Crabs from winning their last six games in a row to keep pressure on first place Long Island.  Sunday, they shut-out the York Revolution 3-0.


In the rubber game against Bridgeport, Ray Navarrete hit his seventh home run of the season in the third inning to give the Ducks a 2-0 lead.  The Bluefish got one back in the bottom half.  Then in the seventh, Ray skied a sacrifice fly to right scoring Dan Lyons from third base for his third RBI of the game.  The Ducks won by a final score of 4-2. 

Shane Youman picked up his first win of the season in relief of Heath Phillips, who left the game after five innings with the score tied at two.  Youman pitched two innings, allowing only a walk while striking out two.  Bubbie Buzachero pitched the ninth inning for his seventh save.


No games are scheduled for Monday.  Tuesday the Ducks start a three game series in Lancaster.





Mike.BTB

L.I. DUCKS ~ Team Explodes for 25 Runs Versus Lancaster

From the desk of:  Waddling Through Brooklyn

Long Island Ducks:  Line-up sets fire to Barnstormers.

As it turns out, Kraig Binick suffered a fractured orbital bone during Wednesday night's game in Lancaster and required a few stitches.  He will be missing a few games after all.

Thursday was the rubber game between Long Island and the Barnstormers.  Lancaster took the first game of the series Tuesday night.  Long Island responded Wednesday with a 14-1 victory.

The Ducks jumped out to an early 2-0 first inning lead before the Barnstormers got a turn at-bat.  Kennard Jones led off the game with a walk and quickly stole second.  He then advanced to third on a wild pitch.  And why not....he scored on a passed ball for the first Ducks' run.  John Rodriguez drew a two out walk.  Then Lew Ford was hit by a pitch.  Finally, something a little more conventional, Matt Esquivel singled to drive in Rodriguez from second base.

Lancaster got one of those runs back in the bottom of the inning to make it a 2-1 game after one full inning.

But Lancaster was suffering battery problems last tonight.  As I mentioned, an earlier wild pitch, a HBP, and a second passed ball in the third inning were just small indications of Lancaster's bigger problems trying to contain Long Island Thursday.  The Ducks were up 9-0 in the third inning third and were still threatening with bases loaded....


Then the game just got plain 'ol out of hand.  The final score was a ridiculous 25-10.  The score was 15-1 after three. 


Sifting through this game is like going into that closet you've been meaning to clean-out for years but are afraid to open the door because of the avalanche of junk you know will surely bury you up to your knees in stuff.  So, besides the Ducks taking the rubber game of their three game series against Lancaster,  I'll limit myself to say this about last night's game.  The middle of long Island's order; the number four and five hitters; John Rodriguez and Lew Ford; we a two man wrecking crew.

John Rodriguez:
3 for 5 ~ 2 home runs; 8 RBI; 6 runs scored; 2 walks.

Lew Ford:
3 for 5 ~ 2 home runs; 7 RBI; 3 runs scored; walk

TONIGHT

LONG ISLAND DUCKS

vs.

Bridgeport Bluefish

At the Ballpark at Harbor Yard

The Ducks and Blue Crabs have spent the front portion of the season's first half divisional race either in first place or drafting the lead team from second.  Today however, circumstances are different.  The South Maryland Blue Crabs just had the contracts of their two best hitters purchased by the Mexican League.

Following suit for now, the Ducks start tonight's series against Bridgeport in first place with South Maryland a close second.  But I expect them to be falling out of the way soon.  I can't see them sustaining this winning percentage after losing two such important players in their early season success.

Enter Bridgeport;  they have come on like gang-busters after a very poor start to their season.  And in the Bridgeport Bluefish, I believe the Long Island Ducks have what will be their new competition for the top spot in the division.  The Bluefish flirted with second place recently.  And even though they are losers of their last three games, they only trail Long Island by 2.5 games.

This should be a very interesting series.

Mike.BTB

L.I. DUCKS ~ Recapture First Place Over Weekend

From the desk of:  WADDLING THROUGH BROOKLYN




ATLANTIC LEAGUE WEEKEND RECAP;  LIBERTY DIVISION RACE:
South Maryland and Lancaster needed extra innings Saturday.

The Ducks had everything under control out in Bethpage Park Saturday making Lancaster versus the Blue Crabs as the game to keep tabs on.

In Lancaster, the Crabs put together three hits back in the second to build a 2-0 lead.   Lancaster tied it up at two each in the fourth.   In the top of the fifth, the Crabs scored on a passed ball.   And in the eighth, the Blue Crabs scored their fourth run on a sacrifice fly to give the Crabs a 4-2 lead.


South Maryland starter Virgil Vasquez was making strides towards a possible complete game.  He made it through seven innings, staying out of trouble after allowing Matt Watson of Lancaster to touch him for a two-run home run in the fourth.  But Vasquez kept the Barnstormers quiet otherwise.  It was decided he'd gone far enough while still owning a 4-2 lead in the eighth.  Blue Crab relief pitcher, Steve Palazzolo entered the game in relief of Virgil Vasquez.


And it was Crab's Steve Palazzolo who was the charitable one in relief.  He promptly relinquished the Blue Crabs' lead in the eighth inning by allowing Lancaster two runs on two hits; throw in an error by the catcher, and a walk.

They went into the ninth inning tied at four apiece.  The Blue Crabs did not score in their top half.  Charlie Manning came in to pitch for S. Maryland to end Lancaster's last licks.  Manning pitched a scoreless ninth walking one and striking out another.

While the fans in Lancaster were getting treated to extra inning free baseball, the Long Island Ducks were pounding the Somerset Partiots mercilessly in Bethpage Park Saturday night.  A Ducks win and a Crab loss would give Long Island sole possession of first place again.  But in Lancaster, the tenth inning came and went without incident as did South Maryland's top half of the eleventh inning. 

Then finally, in the bottom of  Lancaster's home eleventh inning, came the big news the Long Island Ducks wanted to hear.  Lancaster scored and defeated the South Maryland Blue Crabs 5-4 Saturday night in eleven innings.




Sunday, South Maryland Kept the Game Close, But Faired No Better.

The final score in Lancaster Sunday evening was Lancaster Barnstormers 3; South Maryland Blue Crabs 2.


But the damage was done the night prior.  The Ducks had their taste of first place; liked it; and pounced all over Somerset two nights running.  South Maryland meanwhile is realing right now while the Duck have gone full blown Mighty.  South Maryland had now dropped down to third place.




LONG ISLAND DUCKS:  Webbed Feet Gone Wild!

DUCKS SWEEP PATRIOTS
RAY NAVARRETE TOUCHES ANOTHER MILESTONE

The Long Island Ducks went hog-wild on the Somerset Patriots all weekend long.  Between Saturday and Sunday, the Ducks defeated the Patriots twice by a combined score of 31-11.


On Saturday, the Ducks went airborne.  In wave after wave, they made it rain runs all game long to the tune of a 20-8 Long Island carpet bombing of the Patriots.  Keeping score of the game would have made anyone's scorecard look like the bottom of a bird cage; in other words, a complete mess.


The Ducks smashed five home runs Saturday on their way to scoring twenty runs.  Scoring seven runs alone in the first inning should have served as a bad omen for the Somerset Patriots.   And as it played out, as suspected, it got quite ugly for the Patriots.

The Ducks enjoyed a very prosperous beginning in Saturday's game against Somerset.  There was the seven run first and after two innings of play, the Ducks had an 8-0 lead.  The Patriots scored four runs in their half of the fourth, but the Ducks came back with a pair in their half to put them up 10-4.  In the seventh inning, both teams exchanged a pair of runs again updating the score to 12-6.


Then the scorecard goes kaplooey.  The final was 20-8.  But more importantly it gave the Long Island Ducks a firmer hold on first place in the Liberty Division.


Sunday, while South Maryland was losing a close one to Lancaster, the Ducks just picked up where they left off.  They completed a three game sweep of Somerset and won their fifth game in a row all at home.


Ducks starter Ruddy Lugo got touched for 10 hits in five innings pitched.  But he limited Somerset to 3 earned runs.  Down 3-0 early, the Ducks' offense picked up their pitcher Lugo's tough start, tied the score, and gave him four more runs before handing the game over to the bullpen for the final four innings.  Somerset's Bill Pulsipher got roughed up for Long Island's seven run answer within his four innings pitched.


Ray Navarrete hit his 6th home run of the season as the Ducks continued their drubbing of the Patriots on their way to another double-digit scoring day.  This time they defeated the Patriots 11-3 in front of another packed house in Bethpage Park.  Also, Ray Nabarrete just put another dent in the Ducks' record books.  After becoming the Long Island Ducks all-time hits leader earlier this season, he ties the same player; Justin Davies; on the Ducks' all-time runs scored list with 426.


Kraig Binick crept up and away from the .400 mark and has his batting average back up to .409 again.


The Ducks indeed got healthy at home after a dismal road trip.  They've recaptured first place and are hotter than tube sox in a Fireman's boots right now.  They've managed to shake off the South Maryland Blue Crabs for the moment after running neck and neck with them for a week or so.  But with them out of the way, the Bridgeport Bluefish have now appeared to occupy second place.  They trail Long Island by only half a game as of Monday morning.


The Ducks are heading back on the road now.  Hopefully they will have a better go of it this time around.






Mike.BTB

L.I. DUCKS ~ Barnstormers Take First Game of Weekend Series

From the desk of:  Waddling Through Brooklyn


LONG ISLAND DUCKS:  Lose wild 7-6 game to Lancaster.  Will try and even series tonight.



Hoping to turn things around after a bad road trip, the Ducks took both games from the Camden River Sharks this past Wednesday and Thursday upon returning to Bethpage Park.  Last night was a different story in the opening game of a Memorial Day Weekend series against the visiting Lancaster Barnstormers. 



There Was Something In The Air Last Night...FERNANDO!

If you don't get that reference..., don't ask. 


But there was something in the air last night out in Long Island; a Fernando Seguignol blast high and far into the Long Island dusk.


Falling behind early kept the Long Islanders just out of reach all night.  After jumping out to a quick
4-0 lead in the first inning with three of those runs coming on Fernando's home run, a three run inside-the park home run by Lancaster's Gilberto Mejia in the seventh inning proved too much for the Ducks to overcome.  As a result, last night's 7-6 loss kept the Ducks a full game behind South Maryland in the Liberty Division first half standings.  Ruddy Lugo took the loss.  Javier Colina upped his batting average to .375.


Both Ray Navarrete and Javier Colina were hit by pitches.

South Maryland defeated Camden last night to stay a game ahead of Long Island.  The Ducks' quick taste of first place again was fleeting.  Camden and S. Maryland will square off again tonight as will the Ducks and Lancaster.

TONIGHT

Lancaster Barnstormers

(SP - Matt Wright)

vs.

LONG ISLAND DUCKS

(SP - Mike Loree)

From ~ The Bethpage Pond

Lancaster Barnstormers

Long Island Ducks

ATLANTIC LEAGUE

 

Mike.BTB

Mets pick-up Catcher; AA-Mets

The Mets re-acquired the contract of their one time catching prospect Salomon Manriquez from the Lancaster Barnstormers of the Independent Atlantic League and assigned him to Double-A Binghampton.

I read about this transaction on the Atlantic League's website.  http://www.atlanticleague.com/
There's a nice big picture of Manriquez for you Met fans out there.

At the time of the trade he was batting .328; good for 6th best in the League.  In 2009 catching for the Newark Bears, he also finished 6th in the League in batting for the season.

At face value, what's not to like Met fans?  Sometimes trades like this don't even make a blip on the radar but somewhere down the line everyone gets taken by surprise and asks, "where'd this kid come from?"

Only time will tell.  Additionally, after some restructuring following Tony Bernazard's release from his position with the Mets, the Binghampton Mets are still bobbing above and below the .500 level under Tim Teufel.  Maybe Manriquez can bring something that will help the B's be more competitive as a reciever for the pitching staff and with a supposed quality bat at the plate.

Mike  BTB

http://thebrooklyntrolleyblogger.blogspot.com/

Opening Day.....Again? the Atlantic League

That's right.  It's Opening Day....Again!

Kinda.

The ATLANTIC LEAGUE

of Professional Baseball
Independent
(rated comparative to AAA ball)

These guys are entering the League's 14th year. 
The Atlantic League was established in 1996 here in the NorthEast bringing baseball to areas under-served by Major and Minor League Baseball.  One of the main of many forces behind it's establishment was former Met Bud Harrelson.  Buddy has been with one of the league's most successful franchises, the Long Island Ducks, who play roughly 50 miles outside the city limits.

It's an eight team league:

Newark (N.J.) Bears 

Long Island (N.Y.) Ducks

Somerset (N.J.) Patriots 

Camden (N.J.) RiverSharks

Bridgeport (Conn.) BlueFish 

South Maryland BlueCrabs

York (Penn.) Revolution

Lancaster (Penn.) Barnstormers

Opening Day is Thursday April 22.

This league is a great opportunity to see former major leaguers manage and coach.  Sparky Lyle is the manager of Somerset.  Von Hayse was the manager of Lancaster when I visited last year.  HOF'r Gary Carter managed the Long Island Ducks last year.  Tommy John was managing Bridgeport.  HOF'r  Ricky Henderson was probably the biggest name to come through the league lately.  He managed the Newark Bears a couple of years ago. 

Many players who find themselves out of MLB for various reasons come here to work on their game or to gain some exposure in front of scouts for last chances to sign on with a big club.  Some sign on for just pure love of the game.  Carl Everette and Edgardo Alfonzo both former Mets spent time playing
for Long Island recently.  If you remember pitcher John Halama, he just signed with Southern Maryland's Blue Crabs.  Sidney Ponson?  He's here too.  That are a many more players with MLB experience here.

Then there are the kids. 

Pete Rose Jr., Charlie Hustle's son, was a perennial batting champ

playing most of his career in the A.L. with Long Island. 

The son of Craig Nettles plays as a big fan favorite in Somerset for the Patriots.

I root for the Newark Bears. 
They do a great job of keeping the old Newark Eagles Negro League team's memory alive.

The Somerset Patriots are the consummate winners of the league winning five titles.  In 2009 they captured their second consecutive championship.

I've driven to see all the teams and their parks with the exception of York and South Maryland.  I plan on tacking on those stops to a couple of road trips I have planned for this season.

I average about ten A.L. games a year not including the playoffs..  Between going to see the Mets, going to Coney Island and seeing my Cyclones (A), Yankee games, road trippin' and my own softball season,  I like to fill in the gaps in my season with Atlantic League games.  Newark and Somerset are too easy for me to get to.  It's just that much more baseball I have to keep me occupied all summer long.  The price, intimacy, relative closeness and over all relaxation I get at these games is worth every cent.  The every-so-often Big Name comes through and the opportunity to just be real and talk to these guys is one of the biggest unknown secrets of this league.  If you just take things at face value and keep sensible expectations; and if you like getting a litter closer to the game on a humanistic level, this is a very cool way to do it.

This league's rosters are manned by players with  minimum 6 years major and/or minor league experience.  They operate in full compliance with the National Agreement and are mandated to provide fields of no less than AAA requirements.

Here's a list of prior Champions:
2009  Somerset
2008  Somerset
2007    Newark
 2006  Lancaster
2005  Somerset
    2004  Long Island
2003  Somerset
2002    Newark
2001  Somerset

        2000  Nashua Pride (currently play in Can/Am League)

  1999  Bridgeport
             1998  Atlantic City Surf (switched to Can/Am league, then folded)

I went downstairs to "the Vault" (my basement)!  I pulled down a redFile marked Atlantic League and the date on the front was 2007.  So here goes folks; a couple of things I have from the 2007 season
and some other stuff.

The above trophy is what they play for.

The parks are very nice also.

I happen to think Camden's park is pretty darn nice indeed. 

It sits right at the base of the Ben Franklin Bridge.  During night games Philadelphia's skyline lights reflect off the river over the left field fence and the Bridge dominates the center to left field view.

When I figure out what box those pictures are in I'll be sure to post them.

I have more shoe boxes than FootLocker with pictures in them and each box is numbered.  Now that I want some pics I can't find the notebook I use to keep note of the contents there-in.

...hate when that happens.

While I dig those out, these pics of the Newark Bears' digs were in with the programs above.

Newark, N.J. folks. 

After the game with zero traffic, I'm home in 25 minutes.

That's Manhattan in the background.

Newark's Baseball History

And that's all she wrote.

Consider yourself updated on the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball...(for now).

BTB

http://thebrooklyntrolleyblogger.blogspot.com/

http://thebrooklyntrolleyblogger.mlblogs.com/