The Friday Recap: Mets win wild game in Tampa over Rays

Here's my weekly Friday Recap for 

RisingApple.com

Mets Friday Recap: 

Amazins Extend Winning Streak to 7 Games With Wild 4-3 Victory In Tampa

ICYMI

This one was actually 4 days ago, after Game One against the Marlins.
Sam and I kept it simple - just me and him.
*
The newest Mets, we rejoiced after a sweep of the Nationals,
and actually gave the Wilpons some credit.
Did the Mets ever have a better week (in my lifetime) than that?
Talked about 2013, and players who've worn #13 in Mets history.
Rick Cerone, the Newark Bears, Lee Mazzilli,
Casey Stengel, Babe Herman, the 1916 Brooklyn Dodgers.
Beer!
Gary Cohen, ESPN production,
Wilmer Flores, Jeurys Familia, Michael Conforto, Ruben Tejada,
and more....

da link:

Rising Apple Report, Episode #113: Keep on Pushin Mets, Keeeep on Pushing!

Mike

senior staff writer/Rising Apple

Newark Bears: Village Voice Open Letter to Chris Rock

From the desk of: THE DEFUNCT BRICK CITY NINE

LINK:

Chris Rock, Please Buy The Bears - 

Dear Chris Rock, here's how you can get more black people to watch baseball.

Includes Chris Rock's take on blacks in baseball: HBO's Real Sports/YouTube

Newark Bears: Sounds like a perfect fit.  I'd like to think it actually makes $en$e, but, economic reality says otherwise.

I would only add this, stated several times in this blog...

In light of Newark's rich baseball history, part of any renewed effort to field a Newark Bears baseball club again should involve a conversation to erect the finest Negro League museum this side of the Mississippi River.

Newark should, before another city does.




Mike

Newark Bears: The Sixteen Year Run Is Over

From the desk of: A Bears Fan Shaking His Head In Disappointment

N.Y. Post, Thursday, April 10, 2014 - page 26

article by Josh Kosman

NEWARK BEARS: Show Me An Empty Ballpark, I'll Show You Bad Ownership.

Blaming the city, and the surrounding areas of Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium for the team's poor situation, or Hurricane Sandy for that matter, is not only easy, but a crutch.  For argument sake, let's eliminate a few situations MLB and affiliated teams face.  If (former) fellow independent Camden can sustain a vibrant fan base, then so should Newark.  Period.

I'll add a personal anecdote nonetheless.  As a young single-digit child in the 1970's, I routinely traveled either by subway or car, from Brooklyn to Bronx, with pop so he could get his New York Yankees fix.  Newark is Disney compared to Bronx and Coney Island back then - so stop.  I continue the tradition till this day with my own son, unfortunately, also a Yankees fan.

Several times a season, he'd even accompany me to Bears games.  There's the rub.  My son arrived at Broad Street through me.  That's partly how the game of baseball gets transcended through generations.  I, in turn, was drawn to Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium through listening to Bears games on the radio in Brooklyn!

Bears fans have been unable to listen to games on the radio for years now.  Outside of their website, marketing became nonexistent.  The whole process fell apart.  Having no radio outlet is ponderous.  So, in blaming anemic attendance figures, one needs only look in the mirror.  Show me an empty ballpark, and I'll show you bad ownership.

It's unfair to point fingers at one, or two persons alone.  Present ownership should not be blamed for....EVERYTHING.  But, make no mistake, a fish rots from the head down.  After Rick Cerone founded, and eventually sold the team, many people came, saw, and failed this organization.

The sad reality is that New Jersey's largest city will be without the national pastime this summer. This was the inevitable end to a long running dilemma.  The 16 year run of independent baseball in Newark is officially over.  The long endangered Broad Street Bears are out of business.




Mike.BTB

Newark Bears: There Will Be No Baseball On Broad Street This Season

From the desk of:  THE BROAD STREET NINE

NEWARK BEARS: Game Called.

Winter appears over.  The last remnants of snow have finally melted from the front of my house. Clocks have been set forward again.  The calender says it's Spring.  One cycle ends, and a new one begins.  The time for renewal, growth, and BASEBALL, are near.

In the matter of our national pastime being played in New Jersey's largest city, I wish it were that easy, ordered, and neat.

While groundskeepers around the nation are manicuring baseball fields in preparation of Opening Day, there is little activity in Newark.  The gates to The Den will remain chained up this season. The endangered Brick City Bear will stay in extended hibernation until further notice.

This organization has been plagued by ineffective ownership well before Dr, Doug Spiel and Danielle Dronet separated themselves from the previous structure.  That's already been well chronicled.  The couple has also been resoundingly criticized, but I feel they at least entered this endeavor with good intentions, unlike the more scrupulous scuttlebutt involving a previous partner.

I believe the Bears' problems were already greater than this ownership's ability to change things around any time soon.  Years of depressed attendance figures, and mounting debt became too much to overcome.  The last domino appears to have unfortunately fallen on their watch.

Sometimes, it is easy to read writing on a wall.  In my opinion, things really started taking a turn for the worse after the Bears second Atlantic League title in 2007.  The gift shop is usually a good indication of team health.  In 2007, the shop was still packed with everything a fan could want - yearbooks, pins, scorecards, jerseys and t-shirts, name it.  The next season, it was bare.  Sure enough, the team filed for bankruptcy by the end of 2008.

Their situation hastily deteriorated from then on, and by 2011, the Bears found themselves playing in the more economically feasible CanAm League.  But that remedy lasted exactly three seasons. The Newark Bears are now idle.  Future seasons remain equally in doubt.

Jose Herrera's three home runs in the clinching game of the 2007 Atlantic League Championship Series was very literally the Newark Bears last hurrah.  I'm glad I was there.

Founded in 1998 by then owner, and former Yankee catcher, Rick Cerone, the Newark Bears were a charter member of the independent Atlantic League.  The construction of Bears and Eagles Riverside Stadium was completed soon thereafter.

Former major leaguers Tim Raines and Garry Templeton were the Bears two most recent field managers.  They were among the many well known big leaguers who came to play or coach in Newark over the years.

The city of Newark has such a rich baseball legacy.  The current situation is a shame.  I still feel Brick City can draw off that history, and make baseball a successful endeavor today.  Obviously, several things need to change first.  I do know, an easily accessible downtown ballpark lying dormant this summer, is a ponderous development.  Baseball needs to continue in Newark.

Truth be told, the Canadian/American League is in no better shape.  That circuit has been reduced to four members this season, and will participate in the American Association as a division.  Over the last five years alone, the Atlantic City Surf and Nashua Lions, two other charter members of the Atlantic League who also switched over to the CanAm League, have folded, along with the Brockton Rox, Pittsfield Colonials, Sussex SkyHawks and Worcester Tornadoes.

Only the Quebec Capitales and the New Jersey Jackals remain from recent Can Am League history.  The Rockland Boulders and Trois-Rivieres Aigles are newer expansion teams added over the last three years.




Mike.BTB

Newark Bears Complete Sweep Of Rockland Boulders

From the desk of:   THE BROAD STREET NINE

NEWARK BEARS - Not In This Den!  Templeton's Club Sweeps The Formerly First Place Rockland Boulders.

Newark Bears Sweep Saturday Double Header From Rockland
 

After pitching a scoreless seventh inning in relief of Newark starter Leondy Perez, reliever Ryan Carr returned to the hill for the eighth, still trying to hold down a 5-2 Bears lead against Rockland.  Instead, he encountered immediate trouble.  Carr surrendered a lead-off single, a pair of walks, and unleashed a series of wild pitches to plate a run.  That caused manager Garry Templeton to bring in senior Bear Kyle Morrison.


In six previous appearances this season, Kyle hadn't allowed a run in nine innings pitched, while striking out sixteen batters along the way.  On Sunday, if he didn't enjoy he best day of the season, it certainly was the most imperative for Newark.  Morrison walked the first batter he faced to load the bases with Boulders, then composed himself, and struck out the side, essentially saving a 5-3 victory.  However, Jorge Vasquez recieved official credit for the save with his scoreless work in the ninth.  I guess that relegates Kyle Morrision to game hero then.


The victory improved the Bears record to 10-9, as they completed their first ever sweep of the first place Rockland Boulders.  The win also extends Newarks current win streak to four, and puts them 3.5 games back of first place.


Center fielder Steve Malcom drove in his first run, in just his second game as a member of the Bears.  He was 4 for 7 at the plate in the series.  Bridger Hunt also drove in one run.  First baseman Ernie Banks Jr. led the way, going 2 for 4, with two runs batted in.  Starter Leondy Perez pitched six innings, allowed two runs, one earned, on four hits.  He walked two batters and struck out seven, in earning his third win in four appearances.


After a well deserved day off tomorrow, the Bears will roam into their neighbor's back yard on Tuesday and take on the New Jersey Jackals.




Mike.BTB

Newark Bears Sweep Saturday Double Header From Rockland

From the desk of:   THE BRICK CITY NINE

NEWARK BEARS - Hear The Urban Grizzly Roar!


The urban grizzlies are alive and well.  Newark swept a double-header Saturday at the Den from the first place Rockland Boulders, and are now winners of three in a row.  Saturday's victories also got the Bears to the .500 mark as well, with a 9-9 record.  They leapfrogged the New Jersey Jackals (9-12) into third place, and presently trail the Boulders (13-8) by a mere three games.

Jim Schult and Jorge Vasquez out-pitched Bobby Blevins and the Boulders in Game One to gain a 5-3 victory.  Ryan Fennell took the mound in Game Two, and pitched 4.1 innings (seven inning for  double headers) for the win.  He allowed four runs on eight hits, but only two earned.  He walked one and struck out six to gain his first victory of the season.  Bridger Hunt and Jamar Walton drove in all six runs for the Bears with three RBI apiece.  Rockland scored one time in the top of the seventh, reliever but Jorge Vasquez was able to close of the Boulders to preserve a 6-5 final, and gain his third save of the season.

The end of a career appears at hand.  On June 7th, the Newark Bears released thirty-five year old D'Angelo Jimenez.  After fourteen games and fifty-seven trips to the plate, Jimenez was batting .281 while sporting a quality .349 OBP.  He hit six doubles, one home run and had ten runs batted in.

D'Angelo was an eight year major league veteran, playing for seven different clubs, while his last at bat at the big league level came during the 2007 season.  Last year, Jimenez split playing time between Newark, the independent American Association, and played in Mexico as part of a long seventeen year minor league career.



Mike.BTB

Newark Bears Claw Back For Series Split Versus Trois-Riviere Aigles

From the desk of:   THE BROAD STREET NINE

 

CanAm League

NEWARK BEARS

TROISE-RIVIERE AIGLES

The Newark Nine Gain A Four Game Split In Their First Ever Series Against The Trois-Riviere Aigles.


Late this morning through early afternoon, the Newark Bears completed their first ever series against the CanAm expansion Trois-Rivieres Aigles.  Their initial series scheduled in May was wiped out due to inclement weather.


On Monday, Jim Schult started the first ever contest between these teams, and was also making his first start for the Bears since coming over from Rockland.  He pitched five innings, allowed two earned runs on five hits, walked two and struck out five before departing the game with the score tied at two.  Ryan Carr entered the game in the sixth, but two Newark errors opened the door for five unearned runs, as Carr invariably suffered the loss.  At the plate, Bridger Hunt and Carlos Guzman combined on 4 for 8, with an RBI each.


Tuesday in game two, the Bears exploded for sixteen runs to knot the series at a game apiece. DAngelo Jimenez was big man on campus with a 3 for 5 game, a grand slam, and five total RBI. Jamar Walton was also 3 for 5, with a home run and four RBI.  Kyle Lafrenz was additionally 3 for 4, with Newark's third home run of the game.  And Bridger Hunt was 4 for 5 at the plate, with a pair of runs batted in.  Leondy Perez made the start for Newark, and pitched seven innings for his second win of the season.  Following a similar scenario as game one, Leondy was charged with four unearned runs.  Otherwise, he allowed five hits, walked two, and struck out eight batters.  His ERA is now 4.77 after three appearances.


The Aigles white washed the Bears in game three Wednesday by a 5-0 score.  Bryan Banes suffered his second loss of the season.  In six innings, he allowed three earned runs on five hits.  He walked three and struck out six before being relieved.  The Bears only mustered five hits all game.


With a 9-1 win today, the Bears gained a 2-2 split of their four game series.  Brian Parker took the mound and earned his first victory of the season.  He pitched 6.2 innings, allowed just one earned run on four hits, walked two batters and struck out four.  Carlos Guzman and Jamar Walton led the offensive charge with three RBI each.  First baseman Ernie Banks Jr. returned to the line-up and added a pair or runs batted in.


Coach Garry Templeton's Bears are still representing themselves with a 7-9 record.  They trail the first place Rockland Boulders by five games.  Bridger Hunt is leading the CanAm League with a .492 batting average.  Carlos Guzman ranks fifth with a .359 average.  On the mound, Brian Banes is fifth in league ERA with a 3.38 mark.


The Bears and Rockland Boulders will rejoin their rivalry with a three game weekend series at the Broad Street Den commencing Friday evening.  The Boulders' Chris Edmondson ranks second in the league with six home runs, while leading the circuit with twenty-three runs batted in.  On the hill, starters Bobby Blevins and Nick Serino are tied for the league lead in wins with three, while Pat Moran leads the circuit in strikeouts with twenty-one.  Rockland leads the CanAm League with a 13-5 record.  The defending champions, Quebec Capitales are just a game back in second place.




Mike.BTB

Newark Bears Looking To Bounce Back Versus Rockland Boulders

From the desk of:   THE BRICK CITY NINE

NEWARK BEARS - Despite Club Record, There's Good Things Happening In The Den.


The Bears started a three game series Friday morning against the red-hot CanAm League leading Rockland Boulders.  The New York team is off to a 10-3 start this season, while the Bears are  foraging around with a 4-6 record.  Newark suffered through a 10-3 early day thumping in game one yesterday at the Den.  They'll try and even the series this evening as the series shifts to Rockland.


Early on, Rockland and Newark sport five of the league's top six hitters, led overall by the Bears Bridger Hunt with a .500 mark after ten games.  Bridger also leads the Bears with three home runs.  Rockland's Chris Edmondson is tied for the circuit lead with five home runs, but owns the undisputed early lead with fourteen runs batted in.


On the hill, the Boulders' Pat Moran leads the league with twenty strikeouts, while Newark's Ryan Carr tops all pitchers with a 1.86 ERA.  Team mate Bryan Banes is second with a 2.70 mark.  Then Rockland posts the next three starting pitchers with the top ERA.


Entering today's game, the Boulders are winners of three in a row, while the Bears have dropped two straight.  Entering the series, the Bears were fresh off taking two of three at the Den against the defending champs, Quebec Capitales.

 

Weekend Series Tied 1-1

I - RKL 10; NWK 3

 

GAME TWO FINAL

BEARS    6
Boulders   5

* 13 innings

Garry Templeton's group proved themselves a little more resilient than the average Bear.  After Newark center fielder JJ Sherrill led off the game with his first home run of the season, the Bears fell behind 4-1 in the third inning, on the strength of two Rockland home runs off Bears starter Brian Parker, struck by Chris Edmondson and former Bear, Billy Alvino.

The Bears clawed back in the fifth with an RBI from Bridger Hunt, which knocked Rockland starting pitcher Cameron Bayne out of the box after four innings and facing three batters in the fifth.  Evan Stermer entered in relief to face Carlos Guzman.  Brandon Newton scored when Guzman bounced into a fielder's choice, to make it a 4-3 game.

In the top of the eighth, left fielder Jamar Walton scored the game tying run on a passed ball committed by Rockland catcher Scott Knazek.  With no scoring in the ninth, into extra innings they went.

The Bears took a 5-4 lead in the top of the eleventh inning on Bridger Hunt's RBI single.  However, the Boulders tied the game again off Bears reliever Sergio Espinosa on a single by Jerod Edmondson, and a triple by Chris Edmondson.

In the top of the thirteenth inning, appropriately, Bridger Hunt crossed the plate with the Bears sixth run on yet another Boulders passed ball.  Newark pitcher David Dinelli then put the Boulders to bed with a scoreless effort in the bottom of the inning, to earn the win in relief.

The Bears halted Rockland's win streak, and improved their own mark to 5-5 in their last ten games.  The rubber game of this three game set is scheduled for 2pm Sunday in Provident Bank Park.




Mike.BTB

Bryan Banes Pitches Eight Strong But Loses Duel - Newark Bears Fall 1-0 To Quebec

From the desk of:   THE BROAD STREET NINE

 

CanAm League

NEWARK BEARS - Offense Falls Flat Wasting Stellar Effort By Starting Pitcher Bryan Banes.


The Bears did well in coming back over the weekend to win the final two games against the Rockland Boulders, and gain a split of their season opening four game series.  Newark took their 2-2 record to the Great White North this evening, to challenge the four time defending CanAm champs, Quebec Capitales.  Bryan Banes took the hill for the Bears, opposed by Quebec's Dustin Crenshaw.


The two hurlers engaged in an old fashioned pitching duel, white-washing each other's line-up through the first five innings.  Banes retired the first six batters he faced, and nine of his first ten. Quebec finally broke the scoreless stalemate with a run in the bottom of the sixth.  Center fielder Sebastien Boucher drew a walk off Banes, then came around to score on DH Rene Leveret's double.  And that's the way the game ended folks, in a 1-0 final.


The Bears out-hit the Capitales seven to three, yet came up short.  Bryan Banes pitched very well over eight full innings.  He allowed the one run on three hits, walked two and struck out four in what amounted to a complete game - a hard luck loss in his first start of the season.  He walks away from tonight's game with a nifty 1.12 ERA and a 0.630 WHiP.


For the Capitales, three pitchers combined to secure Quebec's shutout.  Dustin Crenshaw pitched seven full innings, allowing no runs on five hits.  He walked one and struck out three before departing on the winning side.  In relief, Casey Harman pitched the eighth, while Chris Cox pitched a scoreless ninth for the save.


Only Bears' center fielder Brandon Newton and right fielder Carlos Guzman failed to hit safely.  Otherwise, seven Newark batters each had one hit apiece.  Third baseman DAngelo Jimenez' double was the Bears only extra base hit.


The now 2-3 Newark Bears have two more games in Quebec before moving on to face the expansion Trois-Rivieres Aigles.



Mike.BTB

Newark Bears Drop Home Opener; Rockland's Pat Moran Fans Nine - Boulders Win 3-1

From the desk of:   THE BROAD STREET NINE

NEWARK BEARS - I'm Sure Someone Advised Coach Garry Templeton That Life In The Den Is Never Easy.


The Newark Bears kicked off their sixteenth season Thursday night in Rockland, New York, dropping a 6-4 decision to the Boulders.  This evening, the Bears opened the gates on their fifteenth campaign at Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium, this time hosting the Rockland Boulders for the next three games.


Bears starter Brian Parker had the distinction of making this year's Opening Day start, opposed by Rockland's Pat Moran.  The Boulders wasted no time, scoring a pair off Parker in the first on a two run home run struck by Chris Edmondson.  Brian Parker also needed to pitch his way out of big trouble in the third inning.  After allowing Rockland a third run, he worked out of a one out bases loaded situation by striking out the last two batters.  In the bottom of the third, the Bears got a run back on Brandon Mims' first home run of the season, to make it a 3-1 game.


Brian Parker lasted six full innings, allowing three runs on eight hits.  He walked one batter and struck out three before exiting the game.  Reliever Sergio Espinosa was summoned from the bullpen to take over in the seventh and pitched a scoreless frame.  Rockland's Pat Moran pitched 6.1 very effective innings, allowing the Bears one run on just three hits.  He walked no batters and struck out nine before departing.


Bears reliever Ryan Fennell turned in a scoreless inning for Newark in the top of the eighth, in what was still a 3-1 game.  In the bottom of the eighth, the Bears faced Rockland's Alex Kreis, pitching his second inning of relief, and went down quietly.  Ryan Fennell again turned the Boulders back in the top of the ninth, setting up last licks for Newark with their numbers three, four and five hitters due up against Rockland's closer, Kevin Fuqua.  Center fielder JJ Sherrill led off for the Bears and struck out swinging.  Next up, left fielder Jamar Walton reached safely with a single.  With right fielder Carlos Guzman up, Walton advanced to second base on a passed ball.  That mattered little as  Guzman worked out a base on balls.  Kyle Lafrenz was next in the order, and struck out on five pitches for out number two.  First baseman Matt Huggins then stepped in, and worked a 3-0 count before Kevin Fuqua ran the count full.  After fouling off a pitch, Huggins grounded to second base for the last out of the game.


Rockland defeated the Newark Bears for the second night in a row, this evening by a 3-1 final.  Newark's Brian Parker suffered his first loss of the season.  Rockland's Kevin Fuqua earned his second save in consecutive nights.  Starter Pat Moran rightfully gets credit for his first victory after a fine performance over the Bears.


The teams will meet again Saturday evening in the third match of a four game set.





Mike.BTB

Newark Bears Rally Comes Up Short In Rockland; Drop CanAm Season Opener To Boulders 6-4

From the desk of:   THE BROAD STREET NINE

NEWARK BEARS - The Resilient Urban Species Begins Another Season In A Wild Yet Dwindling Environment.

Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball

The 2013 Canadian-American League regular season is open for business.  Welcome to year nine for the old circuit, reorganized in 2005.  Many teams have come in and out of the league, and this year is no different.  The Can-Am League will try to make a full season of it with five teams.  Returning from last season are the Rockland Boulders, New Jersey Jackals, Quebec Capitales, and the Newark Bears.  The league welcomed a new expansion team this season - the Trois Rivieres Aigles, which gives the Quebec Capitales a local Canadian rival.  Missing from last year's group are the Worcester Tornadoes.  They similarly went the way of the Pittsfield Colonials and the Brockton Rox  respectively, after the 2011 season.  The Can-Am League will once again play inter-league games against the independent American Association to facilitate a one-hundred game schedule.

The Quebec Capitales have won the last four CanAm championships consecutively.

 

2013 NEWARK BEARS ROSTER


Garry Templeton - a veteran of sixteen Major League seasons, is famously known as the shortstop traded from St. Louis to the San Diego Padres for Ozzie Smith.  He was the first switch hitter to achieve one hundred hits from each side of the plate in the same season.  He led the National League in triples for three consecutive seasons, and led the circuit in hits once.  This season, Gary Templeton is the new manager of the 2013 Newark Bears.
 

The Newark Bears opened their season this evening at Provident Bank Park against the Rockland Boulders.  Returning for another season to bolster the Bears rotation, Mike Ness took the mound opposed by Rockland's own veteran hurler, Bobby Blevins.  The visitors gave Mike Ness an early 1-0 lead in the first, when Bears right fielder Carlos Guzman doubled off Blevins, to deliver DAngelo Jimenz with the game's first run.  In the bottom of the frame however, Rockland struck back for a pair.  With two outs, Jerod Edmondson drew a four pitch walk.  The following batter, Chris Edmondson then connected off Ness for a two run home run.


Rockland center fielder Donnie Webb led off the bottom of the third inning with the Boulder's second home run off Ness.  In the fourth, Boulder's DH Johnny Welch led off with yet another home run off Mike Ness, giving Rockland a 4-1 lead.  The Boulders continued with another run in the fifth, on Jerod Edmondson's sac-fly, giving the Boulders a 5-1 lead through five complete.


After allowing Newark's first inning run, Bobby Blevins tamed the Bears over the next four.  Through five innings, he allowed Newark six hits, walked none, and struck out five.  His counter-part, Ness allowed five earned runs on six hits, walked one and struck out four.  Both pitchers continued through the sixth.  The Bears finally mustered another run off Blevins in the top of the seventh.  Designated hitter Brandon Mims and second baseman Brandon Newton struck consecutive one out singles.  Third baseman  DAngelo Jimenez then doubled to deliver Mims from second, to make it a 5-3 game.  In relief of Mike Ness, Coach Templeton tasked Ryan Carr with pitching the bottom of the seventh.


With one out, the Bears put a runner in scoring position in the eighth.  Jamar Walton drew a walk off Rockland reliever Nick Serino, then promptly stole second.  Kyle Lafrenz came through with a clutch base hit to score Walton, making it a 5-4 game.  In the bottom of the frame however, Rockland picked up an unearned run off Newark's veteran pitcher Kyle Morrison.


Newark put the tying runs in scoring position in the top of the ninth after Brandon Mims drew a walk and Brandon Newton doubled.  But that's where they stayed, stranded.  Reliever Kevin Fuqua recovered to retire the next three in order, picking up his first save of the regular season.


Bobby Blevins picked up his first victory.  He pitched 6.2 innings, allowed three earned runs, nine hits, and struck out five Bears batters before exiting.  Mike Ness suffered his first loss.  In six innings of work, he surrendered five runs on six hits, three of which were home runs.  He walked one and fanned five.


Newark's Opening Day is tomorrow, Friday, at Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium, where the Rockland Boulders will visit for the next three games of the series.





Mike.BTB

Newark Bears: 2012 Regular Season Finale

From the desk of:   THE BRICK CITY NINE

NEWARK BEARS:

The 2012 Regular Season Draws To A Close This Afternoon.  What Happens Next Is Any Body's Guess.

Autumn is almost upon us, and the Bears are still looking a little thin around the ribs.  Labor Day signals the end to yet another summer of scarcity in Newark.  Beyond the Fall, a hard, cold winter awaits.  And hibernating on a half filled tummy is not the ideal situation.


You know the old adage - Baseball mirrors Life, and Life mirrors Baseball.  There are hard cold realities in both.  Where real life is concerned, there are only two types of Bears on the planet that matter - the living, and the dead.  With regards to the realities of baseball business, that means being operational, or defunct.  In either case, it is one thing to live, and something wholly other to survive.


To live is to play, and forage on opposing pitchers.  The dead quietly and too often anonymously just fade from memory.  With any luck, someone might recall them in a school book or something as a long lost species who similarly bit the dust like 99% of all life on the planet before them.  That's being rough.  I know.  But such is the life of the resilient urban Brick City Bear.


Around this time last year, by their own word the owners were hopeful of turning a profit this season.  I wonder how that went for them.  Upon completion of their second season in full control, and considering the state in which their former partner/owner allegedly left the team, it's still not right to dump a fan's perspective regarding years of negligence on their laps.  There's been too much negative news emanating out of Bear and Eagles Riverfront Stadium over the last three years (plus) already.  On the outside, it is hard to tell how much, if any, progress the club made this season.  I just hope the new couple in charge made at least some strides, however large or small, towards turning the club's fortunes and image around.


I'll say this much for those in attendance against the Worcester Tornadoes.  The six-hundred or so cubs per game they've gotten over the last two days, are probably the same six-hundred die hard fans who've been there since Opening Day.  Chalk one up for consistency.  To you, that hardcore group of fans - nice job!  I sincerely hope to see you again next season.  For now however, another season is done.  Monday, September 3rd, the 2012 CanAm season comes to a close.


On Labor Day, the Newark Bears will play their one hundredth, and last game of the regular season.  Do not underestimate the significance of that last line.  Quite obviously, teams that can not financially afford to complete their schedules negatively impact the entire league.  In a five team circuit already downsized from years past, compromising the integrity of the schedule, and the  possible domino effect is very troublesome to other organizations of the CanAm League.  In the past, this league has been unfairly tagged as a circuit where teams go to die.  The Nashua Pride and Atlantic City Surf are two of the more commonly known teams which have gone extinct.  The Newark Bears are A) - eerily, and B) - perilously, walking in the same base paths their former Atlantic League brethren once did.


Relative to today's CanAm dilemma, the long struggling Pittsfield Colonials prematurely ended operations last season.  And lest we forget, the Brockton Rox did not participate this season.  Although, they claim they will be back.


The situation involving the Worcester Tornadoes just took everything a step further; and I do mean a drastic step further.  It was only a short time ago this summer when everything from the players equipment to the club's office furniture was in threat of being trucked-off into the night if someone didn't satisfy a court order, and immediately pay some grossly overdue bills before the umpire called Play Ball!  I do not believe the Bears' situation is as dire.  So here's to waking up next Spring in relatively good shape.


After today's game, join me for one last game recap.

Mike.BTB

Newark Bears: New Jersey Jackals Suffer Late Game Clawing

From the desk of:   THE BRICK CITY NINE

NEWARK BEARS:  The Final Five Games Are At Hand


The Quebec Capitales have clinched the CanAm League's division title.  The New Jersey Jackals have locked up the second playoff spot.  For the Newark Bears, the final five games of their regular season are at hand.


Wednesday night was an off day for the club.  Tuesday evening, Newark made a very short trip up the road for what is effectively their last road trip of the season against the New Jersey Jackals.  The series resumes Thursday.  After concluding this series Friday evening, the Bears will host the Worcester Tornadoes to finish out the season.


The Bears are currently 33-62, and have opened up a six game lead over Worcester.  Therefore Newark is assured of not finishing in last place.  That distinction will fall on the Tornadoes; as if they didn't have enough troubles already.


Tuesday's game was a great back and forth battle.  Both starting pitchers got bombed.  Newark's Julian Sampson faced off against Jackal's starter, Dustin Birosak.  Sampson only lasted 4.1 innings.  He surrendered nine runs; eight earned; and allowed eleven hits.  He also walked three.  Sampson  managed to strikeout two batters before getting yanked.  Birosak line was equally ugly.  In 5.1 innings, he allowed ten hits, and eight earned runs.  He walked two and struck out five.


New Jersey scored three times in the first, and picked up another run in the second, putting Newark down 4-0 early.  D'Angelo Jimenez' RBI single got Newark on the board in the third.  In the fourth, Juan Martinez crushed his seventh home run of the season to make it a 4-2 game.  New Jersey then lowered the hammer in the fifth inning.  Four hits, two errors, and five runs later, the Jackals held a 9-2 lead.


In their very next at-bat, the Newark Bears clawed back and plated seven runs to achieve a 9-9 tie.  Five Newark hits and an error later, and there was a brand new ball game to play with three more innings to go.  It was the Bears who would pull ahead.  They scored a run in the eighth and another in the ninth to complete an 11-9 win.


Pitching in the seventh and eighth inning, Anthony Pluta gets credit for his fourth relief win this season.  And winding up a rather stellar season, closer Jorge Vasquez notched his twenty-first save of the season.  He has seventy strikeouts in 42.1 innings pitched.

TONIGHT

 

NEWARK BEARS

vs.

New Jersey Jackals

FROM

Yogi Berra Stadium

New Jersey

Mike.BTB

Newark Bears: Brick City Season Winding Down; Defeat Worcester

From the desk of:   THE BRICK CITY NINE

NEWARK BEARS:  The Brick City Nine Are Down to Their Last Ten Games of the Regular Season.  After That, No One Is Sure What Happens Next.


The Newark Bears baseball club is down to their last ten games of the 2012 regular season.  There will be no playoffs for them this year.  Newark has a 3.5 game lead over the last place Worcester Tornadoes.  And over the final stretch of games, that's exactly where the Bears want to keep them.  I guess symbolically, it might mean something; if not cosmetically then; not finishing last.  But no.., there will be no post-season for Newark this Fall; only great uncertainty.


The beginning of the end of the season was played in the now traditional Wednesday matinee game.  Game one of ten left on the schedule, was won by Newark by a 4-2 score today.  This was also the end of a three game series between the Bears and Tornadoes, in which Worcester won the first two.  So the Bears needed this game to keep from getting swept.  They will now host a series against the Lincoln Saltdogs of the American Association.


Pedro Rivera pitched impressively for Newark over 7.1 innings to earn his fourth win of the season against ten losses.  He surrendered seven hits and allowed only two earned runs.  He walked three and struck out six.  Jorge Vasquez pitched the final 2.1 innings to earn his nineteenth save of the season.  He allowed but one hit, and struck out two batters.


Worcester jumped ahead with two runs in the second inning.  But the Bears caught up to Tornado's starter, Michael Gedman, in the third inning with four runs.  After an RBI single by Juan Martinez, D'Angelo Jiminez unloaded with a three run home run to give the Bears a 4-2 lead; and final.  That was D'Angelo's fourth home run of the season.  Worcester's Michael Gedman, stayed in the game and pitched all eight innings against Newark.


The Bears are now 31-60 this season.  The Quebec Capitales and New Jersey Jackals have pretty much wrapped up the top two playoffs spots.  The only race left is for first place overall of the CanAm League.  The Capitales hold a 5.5 game lead over New Jersey with ten games left in their respective schedules.


As an operating club, Worcester is still holding on to at least finish out the season.  Once Labor Day rolls around, their future is uncertain, if not doomed.  For the Bears, their future is a little less doubtful.  Or is it?  Until word comes down from ownership, or we see U-Haul trucks pulling up to Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium, we'll just have to wait and see.  For now, nine games remain.


Let's Go Bears.




Mike.BTB

Newark Bears: Brick City and Worcester In A Battle For Survival

From the desk of:   THE BRICK CITY NINE

NEWARK BEARS: Bears Beware ~ The Winds of Extinction Are Blowing In From Worcester.

The Newark Bears are currently in Worcester, wrapping-up a four game series against the Tornadoes.  But in truth, both teams are gripped in a fight for survival.  The Brick City Nine certainly have their problems.  Locally, we are well aware of them.  But the Tornadoes are literally up to their batting helmets in debt and face a grim, uncertain future as well.  And that future may very well fall upon them no later than tonight.



At least on the outside, their situation appears even more dire than that of Newark's.  In a Wednesday article posted on WorcesterTelegram.com, we are told, Tuesday's game between the Tornadoes and Bears was held up by an hour when a service company hired by the Tornadoes showed up to the park demanding owed payments with a court order in hand, that attached, among other items, the team's equipment as assets.  Office furniture was even attached to the court order.  The matter was supposedly settled when the CanAm League Office stepped in and promised to satisfy Worcester's bill payment.  And we thought the Bears had it bad?



For Worcester, that was only the most recent financially induced dilemma.  Jose Canseco signed to play with the team earlier this season.  He left Worcester when the team allegedly started short-changing him on wages.  Canseco was reported as claiming the team was bouncing checks and that other players were also not getting paid.  Canseco basically called ownership a joke.  Of course we must take what he says with a grain of salt.  Just look at the messenger.  Never-the-less, Jose Canseco sicked his lawyer on the Tornadoes for less than $8,000 dollars he feels he's owed in back wages.



Since I started putting this post together last night, WorcesterTelegram.com published a follow-up article today, August 16, 2010, stating the Worcester Tornadoes have quite possibly played their last game.  Again, the matter is over money, and who the team owes it to.  If need be, the League will intercede and assume control of the team.  In that case, the club will be stripped of their name, and play the remainder of the season on the road.



They say misery loves company.  And with the Tornadoes and Bears in similar situations, at least they have each other.  The end of the road may be at hand in Worcester.  But the Newark Bears at least do not have bill collectors holding up starts of games as took place in Worcester during this series.   Well, not yet.  Right?  The unfortunate reality for both teams however, is they may soon switch leagues yet again, and join the Atlantic City Surf, Nashua Pride; and Sussex Skyhawks in the defunct circuit.  In no revelation, the Worcester Tornadoes, and the Newark Bears are both suffering continued, anemic gate receipts. The Tornadoes and Bears currently only pull in 600, and 700, fans per game, respectively.

According to this report written last season, the Bears owed nearly $800,000 in back rent to the Essex County Improvement Authority.  The team was; and I assume still is; making yearly payments that continue to escalate until 2022, when the debt is scheduled to be paid off, according to Jim Paganelli, the executive director of the ECIA.  Bill collectors from PSE&G, seed companies and clothiers were asking for their money, and payroll was delayed for some employees last season, according to court papers and interviews with current and past employees.  Jim Hague, the team’s former public relations director, who also served as the stadium announcer, resigned in late June, calling the team a "circus".

This season, only the team's unconventional owners know how much the debits and credits ledger has fluctuated since.  Ms. Dronett's idea for a TV reality show never made to our living rooms sets.  But they, Danielle Dronett and co-owner Doug Spiel, did release a reality video.  How much revenue her endeavour generated for the Bears is unknown.  I just hope that wasn't their only plan.



As far as the team being a circus, I imagine Mr. Jim Hague was speaking in response to the period after Frank Boulton declared the Bears unfit for the Atlantic League, and about the era under controversial former owner; Tommy Cetnar; then again, through the effective coup orchestrated by the present ownership; which perhaps was for the best.  But only time will tell.



On the field, Ken Oberkfell is now the former manager of the Bears.  In two short seasons, Ken Oberkfell went from managing AAA-Buffalo in the Mets organization, to managing the Bears this season, to the unemployment line at the present.  Officially, he left the team for personal reasons.  In his place and making his managerial debut, the Bears named Chuck Stewart as their new field boss.



But even then, things haven't changed much on the field.  Both the Bears and the Tornadoes are battling each other to stay out of the league's cellar.  After tonight, fifteen games remain in the CanAm League regular season.  At the moment, Newark holds the edge after taking two of three games from Worcester heading into Thursday night.  Three and one half games separate the Bears from last place Worcester.  But that is no consolation when you're facing extinction.



THURSDAY GAME NOTE:  As of 8:00pm Thursday evening, the fourth game between visiting  Newark and host Worcester Tornadoes was tied up at two apiece, in the third inning.  So quite obviously, something or someone stepped in on Worcester's behalf, and payed whatever bills needed to be paid, and thus prevented the U-Haul trucks from taking all their stuff away.




References used for this post, and credit:

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/07/how_court_battles_unpaid_bills.html
http://www.telegram.com/article/20120816/NEWS/108169831/1009/SPORTS
http://www.telegram.com/article/20120814/NEWS/108149940/0/News02
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/22/sports/baseball/did-newark-bet-on-the-wrong-sport.html?pagewanted=all
http://www.ctpost.com/baseball/article/Q-and-A-with-Frank-Boulton-Atlantic-League-695958.php






Mike.BTB

NWK Bears ~ Sixty Games Down; Forty To Go

From the desk of:   THE BRICK CITY NINE

NEWARK BEARS:  Brick City's Ace Starter; Mike Ness.


Sixty games are in the books.  Forty remain.  The Bears are currently playing a series against the circuit leading Quebec Capitales, in which they have dropped the first two games so far by a combined 26-8 score.  Two weekend games remain for the Bears to try and gain a split in the series.


The Bears and Worcester Tornadoes have been taking turns holding up the pack, as both have fallen on very rough times this season.  The Bears are currently taking their turn in last place with a 17-43 record.  The former cellar dwelling Worcester club is a fraction better with a 17-42 record.  Both teams are losers of their last eight games, and nine of their last ten.


On a better note, Bears' starter Mike Ness, is coming off being named Pitcher of the Week ending July 15th.  The soon to be twenty-five year old became the second Bears' pitcher to be recognized as such.  Earlier in the season, closer Jorge Vasquez was awarded the distinction.


Mike Ness is indeed enjoying a good campaign.  In twelve starts this season he has logged eighty-two innings, for a 6.2 innings per game average.  He has forty-nine strikeouts, while walking twenty-one.  His 3.73 ERA goes along with a 6-2 record.  His six wins are just three off the league leader pitching for Quebec.  Mike has earned four wins in his last six starts.


But on July 11th in a Wednesday matinee game, he no doubt pitched the game of his career.  In front of a robust home crowd at Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium, that exceeded four figure attendance, Mike Ness faced thirty-one Quebec Capitales.  In pitching nine full innings against the first place team from Canada, he allowed no runs, walked one batter, struck out eight, and most significantly,  surrendered no hits; not one.  Mike Ness did indeed pitch a nine inning no-hit victory over Quebec.  While he did allow one walk, six Newark errors in the field would ensure this would not be a perfect game.  He threw 123 pitches; 85 for strikes.  Eric McGee hit his fifth home run of the season to support the effort.


In his next and latest start against Rockland on July 17th, he earned a no-decision after tossing another seven innings of shut-out ball.  In that game, he limited the Boulders to three scattered hits.  So in his last sixteen innings pitched, he has allowed a stingy three hits and no runs.



Mike.BTB

NWK Bears ~ First Fifty Games Were Rough on Bears

From the desk of:   THE BRICK CITY NINE

NEWARK BEARS:  Brick City Reaches the Mid-Point of the Season After a First Half of Struggles.


Sunday's game against the New Jersey Jackals was number fifty of the Newark Bears' season.  There are now fifty games left.  And it saddens me to say, the outlook for the second half of the season isn't looking very promising.  The Bears are currently in last place with a 16-34 record, eighteen games out of first place, and twelve games out of second.  But don't get too lost in that, as only two teams, the Quebec Capitales and the New Jersey Jackals, have records above the .500 mark.


Monday was an off day for the Bears who are in the middle of a three game series against the Jackals.  So far they have split the first two games against second place New Jersey, with the rubber game scheduled for Tuesday.


After fifty games, my vote goes to Daryle Ward as the Bears' first half MVP.  In forty-seven games, he has 179 at-bats and is batting .291, with nine home runs, and thirty-six RBI.  For reference, the league leader in home runs has seventeen.  The league's RBI leader has forty-seven.


On the mound, Mike Ness has been the Bears' best starting pitcher.  In ten starts, he has a 5-2 record, with a 4.64 ERA.  In 66.0 innings pitched, he's surrendered seventy-six hits, issued eighteen walks, and struck out thirty-eight batters.  The league leader has seven wins.


My runner-up for team MVP is the Bears' closer, Jorge Vasquez.  He's made nineteen appearances, pitching in 22.1 innings, allowing only eight hits, and one earned run so far, which translates into a minuscule 0.40 ERA.  Vasquez has walked seven and struck out thirty-three batters en route to ten saves, one win, and one loss this season.


Off the field and in the seats, as has been the case for several years now, attendance is at critical levels.  I do not have facts to substantiate the teams' financial health, other than deducing an opionion based on the league's attendance figures, in addition to what I see with my own eyes whenever I attend a game.  But neither paint a pretty portrait.


Sporting the lowest attendance figures in the circuit over twenty-three dates, the Bears have averaged 750+/- fans per game.  Their grand total for the season stands at 17,000 fans.  The next lowest attendance figure is owned by the Worcester Tornadoes, who double Newark's head-count with 34,500 fans this season; good for an average of 1,700 fans per game.  These numbers are rounded off, but I think you get the point.


Last season's CanAm expansion club, the Rockland Boulders, have led the league in attendance since they joined the circuit, unseating perennial attendance champs, New Jersey, and Quebec.  The Boulders are averaging 3,100 fans per game this season, for a total of 76,000 over twenty-four dates.  That's four and a half times more than Newark.


And the bears in Yellowstone thought they had it rough.


To Ownership, Tim Raines, and the Newark Bears team - Here's to a better second half.


Let's Go Bears.




Mike.BTB

NWK Bears ~ No Pain, No Gain, For Ken Oberkfell's Starting Pitchers

From the desk of:   THE BRICK CITY NINE

NEWARK BEARS:  Caleb Cuevas Just the Latest of Ken Oberkfell's Sacrificial Lambs.


There's no mistaking it; the Bears have hit lean times.  But that's no reason to start sacrificing cubbies now.  More about that later.  But they remained resilient however, enough so to earn a four game split against the second place New Jersey Jackals this past weekend.  In the process, they also managed to squeeze by the Worcester Tornadoes, and out of last place heading into Tuesday night's game against the defending CanAm Champs.


In a much needed change of scenery, the Bears migrated up to Canada, to start a four game series against the first place Quebec Capitales.  Caleb Cuevas was making his sixth start still in search of his first win against three loses.  The Capitales promptly scored two runs against him in the first inning.  In the second, Newark struck back with two runs to tie.  Danny Santiestaban scored on a fielder's choice, and Burt Reynolds singled home Juan Martinez.  After the first inning, Cuevas faced the minimum over the next two frames.


Bryce Lane scored on a wild pitch in the top half of the fourth to give Newark a 3-2 lead.  But in the home half of the frame, Quebec pounced all over Cuevas for seven runs, off five hits, including a home run.  Four runs came unearned after an error by Tucker Nathans at third, and one scored off a wild pitch.


Newark picked up two in the fifth inning.  Danny Santiestaban singled home Billy Alvino, and Tucker Nathans singled home Daryle Ward to make it a 9-5 game.  But in the bottom of the fifth, the Renegades scored their tenth run off Caleb Cuevas.


Manager Ken Oberkfell sent out his starter for a sixth inning, and Hudson Valley promptly plated their eleventh run.  To that point, Caleb's line was not pretty.  In six full innings, he allowed eleven runs; seven earned; and surrendered eleven hits, while walking two, and striking out one.  Then incredulously, Coach Oberkfell sent out his starter for yet another inning of work.  Sure enough, Caleb Cuevas surrendered another two runs in the seventh before being mercifully lifted after recording just one out.


This sort of handling of his pitchers is now beyond odd.  Ken Oberkfell's handling of his starting pitchers now borders peculiar, if not irresponsible.  Look no further than Monday night's game against New Jersey.  Coach allowed Brian Parker to surrender nine runs in 4.2 innings.  It's understandable he might be demanding of a six inning start.  But this tough love is now starting to prove highly ineffective.  If you let teams tee-off, someone is going to get hurt.  Just sayin'...   And it's not like the season hasn't been dotted with such sacrificial offerings.  They freckle the season.  I know, what else is there for a manager to do?  I get that.  But can we at least start with a little more humane treatment, and reaching for a quicker hook once in a while?  Maybe not in Brian Parker's case, but in Caleb Cuevas' outing for sure.


Let's just say, the Capitales were leading 15-5 in the eighth inning.  And thankfully, this game did eventually end.  It wasn't what the Bears wanted, nor what they needed.  Instead they travelled to the great white north and encountered more scarcity of wins.  But they are Bears.  They'll get through this.  The Worcester Tornadoes were involved in an inter-league game against the Amarillo Sox and lost badly as well.  So that's another day the Bears won't spend in last place.  And right now, you'll just have to treat it like another day in paradise.





Mike.BTB

Newark Bears ~ New Jersey Jackals Put a Lickin' on Bears

From the desk of:   THE BRICK CITY NINE

NEWARK BEARS:   New Jersey Jackals' Push For First Place Coming at Bears' Expense.


When it rains, it pours.  The Bears dropped their second straight to the Jackals, and have now lost ten of their last twelve games, as well as their last five in a row.

Jorge Vasquez pitched a dandy ninth inning for the Bears.  But the same can't be said for the five Newark pitchers which preceded him in Tuesday's Game Two versus the New Jersey Jackals.  Because by that time, New Jersey was leading 16-4, and fresh off scoring seven runs in the eighth inning.

Starting pitcher, Pedro Rivera, by far suffered his worst outing of the season.  He only lasted 2.2 innings, walking one, surrendering seven hits, and allowing six runs; five coming in the third.  In the eighth inning, Anthony Pluta got roughed up pretty badly as well.  He failed to record an out, and allowed six runs on just one hit, and four walks.  An E-4 by Juan Martinez opened the door for four unearned runs to score.

Daryle Ward, Eric McGee, Bryce Lane, and Juan Martinez each drove in a run for Newark.

In the second inning, New Jersey's 3B-Nick Giarraputo, was hit by a pitch and left the game.  At the moment, he is the CanAm League's offensive Triple Crown Leader.  He leads the circuit in batting average with a .406 mark.  He is number one in home runs with eleven.  And tops the circuit in RBI with thirty-three.

New Jersey's starting pitcher, Steve Fox, leads in two of three pitching categories.  He leads the CanAm League in wins with five, and in ERA with a 1.91 mark.  He was recently named CanAm Pitcher of the Week.

Wednesday is matinee day.  The Bears and Jackals will go at it again in Game Three, then conclude this four game series Thursday.

The Jackals gained a game on Quebec, who lost to the Worcester Tornadoes Tuesday.  New Jersey now sits just a half game out of first place.  After tonight's loss, Newark owns last place to themselves, with Worcester only one game better.


Transactions:
INF-Courtney Billingslea was released.




Mike.BTB