The Newark Bears ~ A Resilient Brick City Species

From the desk of:  THE BRICK CITY NINE

The Urban Grizzlies Endured Another Troublesome Summer in an Unfamiliar Environment.   Encroachment, Scarcity, and Long Cold Winters are All Part of Being a Newark Bear.


Offensively speaking, the Quebec Capitales had nary a player rank within the top ten in any of the big three categories; Avg.; HR; RBI.  One Cap player placed eighth in batting.  And one Cap placed tenth in RBI.  That's it.


But when it came to pitching; pitching; pitching; -  Quebec had an abundance.  That said, the Quebec Capitales rode the strength of their hurlers all the way to a championship over the New Jersey Jackals in the 2011 Canadian/American League Finals which concluded back on September 16th.   The title was Quebec's fourth in the seven year history of the CanAm League; and their third consecutive championship.

There have only been three other teams to win a CanAm Title.  Two of those clubs are no longer in the league. The Worcester Tornados remain as the only other club still in the circuit to claim a title.  Two former champs, the Sussex SkyHawks and the Nashua Pride, have folded since celebrating their titles. 
The Nashua Pride once played in the Atlantic League too; like another team; the Atlantic City Surf.  They both won Atlantic League Championships before switching over to the CanAm League; and inevitably folding operations.


And there-in lies our segway intended for the Newark Bears Baseball Club.


So how did the two time Atlantic League Champions do in their first year playing in the CanAm League? 


Well..., they finished 41-52 overall; good for 6th place.  Their finish was only one win better than the 7th place expansion Rockland Boulders' record.  And the last place New York Federals shouldn't be entered into this conversation as they were pretty much drafted into service.


Offensively, the Bears wound up being a light hitting group after Daryle Ward's contract was purchased and Tim Raines Jr.'s season tailed off.  Daryle Ward was a key slugger right up until his departure.  And after a furious start, fans as well as his team mates; not to mention his Pop; watched Tim Raines Jr.'s production fizzle in the second half of the season. 


If anyone, you'd have to declare Danny Santiesteban the team's offensive MVP.  His .328 batting average was tops on the team and ranked eighth in the league.  His team leading 74 RBI were only six off the top spot.  But 13 home runs; while good enough to lead the Bears; was a distant ten knocks from the CanAm leader.  Danny also finished first on the Bears in games; doubles; and triples.


Brandon Watson still qualifies as a Most Valuable Bear.  He led the Newark Bears in runs scored; at-bats; and hits.  His .323 batting avg. ranked second on the team only a few percentage points behind Santiesteban's mark as well as being second to him in games played.


But Quebec's championship proved you didn't need to slug your way towards a title.  What you needed was pitching; pitching; and more pitching.  Unlike Quebec, that's something the Bears didn't have in abundance.  No; in this department, the Bears were hungry for help.


Twenty-seven year old starting pitcher; Alex Smith was the only berry they really had.  Alex Smith pitched to a 10-3 record for the Newark Bears which ranked him sixth in the circuit.  The CanAm leader had fourteen wins.  His 3.39 ERA was quite remarkable considering he walked more batters that he struck out; fifty-six versus fifty-two.  In 111.2 inning pitched, he allowed 103 hits.  After Alex Smith, pitching was the Bears' Achilles heel all season long.  And many times; too many times; Coach Raines was forced into very unconventional methods of handling his pitchers.


But how did they do?


They joined the CanAm League for a reason; primarily because of their struggles at the gate.  The title goes back to Quebec again; the league attendance champs.  They pulled in three times more fans than the Bears did.  And what of Newark's nearest neighbors?  The expansion Rockland Bouders led the contingent of American based teams.  They along with Quebec were the only clubs to break the 100,000 mark.  New Jersey pulled in 85,000 fans which ranked them 5th in the league and 35,000 fans ahead of Newark.  New Jersey averaged 1,700 fans per game.  Newark was the only team beside Pittsfield, not to average better than 1,000 fans per game.  And in Pittsfield's case, their attendance situation is understandable.


The plan was to switch Independent leagues so as to cut operating costs due to the club's falling on hard times.  The Atlantic League became too costly for them to operate in while faced with an increasingly absent fan base.  And so the CanAm League provided a financially friendlier alternative in which to continue operations.  Did it help?  I have no idea.  I'm not privy to that information.  Do I hope it helped?  Absolutely.


With the conclusion of this past season, the book keepers may have truly realized a tangible and welcome reduction in costs.  But did it put the Bears and Newark Baseball on a safer river bank of survivability; even if just by a few salmon?  Again, I wouldn't know that.  But I still sense the Bears live a precarious existence.



With the recent maelstrom resulting from Fred Wilpon's blocking the N.Y. Yankees from placing their AAA-Scranton club in Newark's Riverfront Stadium for one season now subsided, I for one didn't see how that would have been a good situation for the Newark Bears, outside of some cosmetic upgrades to the park and a token infusion of petty cash. 


And here's why.


Newark baseball needs a permanent solution.   And it needs to be untethered from affiliated baseball. They need an incredibly original thought that does not take Gotham City into account.   That’s every-one’s problem.   They are Newark; not NYC.   They need something done independently with the concentration focused wholly on Newark and where the fan base should be coming from.  Their base gate must come from the nearby neighborhoods in order for any team to survive there.   They are surrounded by organizations respectively pulling in healthy gate receipts.; including a once gate challenged S.I. Yankees club just few years ago, who are now coming off their three best years attendance wise.


A one year stop in Brick City by a prospecting travelling road show would have done more harm to Newark than good.   The more I think about it, the worse I think the idea of having upper-level minor league ball around here is.   It’s akin to allowing Wal-Mart into the city and effectively putting Mom-and-Pops out of business.  Why snub noses at the Law of Diminished Returns?   Minor League Baseball teams are very important pieces of local economies outside the NY metro area.   It’s best if they remain on the outskirts of town.   We need to stop being so centric about where we live and how much clout we think it brings.


So with the Scranton Yankees planned invasion safely behind them now, the Bears need minds who can make Baseball work in Brick City and get them standing on their own four paws again.  Carpet Baggers need not apply.  Newark needs a Newark inspired solution.


Perhaps, until then, hibernation will go well for the resilient urban Bears, and a season of plenty finally comes their way next Spring.





Mike.BTB

Newark Bears ~ Losing Streak Hits Six

From the desk of:  THE BRICK CITY NINE




NEWARK BEARS: With Bear Claws Losing Their Grip, Newark Is Losing Ground.

An early 1-0 Bears' lead turned into a four run deficit in the fifth inning.  Newark's starting pitcher; Casey Gaynor made his second start of the season and kept Pittsfield honest over his first four innings pitched.  But in the fifth, the Colonials hit him hard and often; capping off a big inning with the long ball.


Coach Raines stuck it out with Gaynor throughout the fifth inning though.  He's trying to squeeze at least that much out of his starting rotation.  He hasn't had a choice but to let a starter go too long on occasion.  Coach is having to utilize his bullpen for three and four innings per game because his starting pitching can't give him length.  As a staff, they are running into Brick walls entering the fifth innings of games.


But the bullpen has held up under the necessary work load.  They've done a great job keeping Newark in just about every game they've played.  And three innings into their nightly routine, it seemed like all systems were a go again.  But Wednesday's ninth inning is probably one they'd want to forget.  It's just a game you can't lay blame with the bullpen for blowing.  Their heavy usage almost warranted it.


The Bears clawed back with two runs in the bottom of the fifth and another pair in the sixth to tie the game at five.  Leading the offense, the bottom of the line-up came through with three RBI tonight.


Then, the Bears went into the top of the ninth inning and crumbled like a house of cards.  Chris Rollins and Mike Pontius combined to yield four runs to the Pittsfield Colonials.  And in failing to score any runs in the bottom of the inning, the Bears lost their sixth game in a row.


At 16-16, they have fallen down to the .500 level.  After tasting second place when they were still cruising with a 16-10 record, they found themselves precariously in fifth place even before Wednesday's game started.  The Bears are now looking up at Quebec; New Jersey; Pittsfield; and Brockton in that order.


There's two games left in this series.




Mike.BTB

NEWARK BEARS ~ Give The Coach His DEW!!

From the desk of:  GROWLINGS FROM BROOKLYN

NEWARK BEARS:  Feeling Like Part of the Family.

Perhaps saying, "feeling like part of the family" is a bit presumptuous of me.  So why don't I just tell you what my day at Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium was like.  I had a day off from work and the Bears were playing an 11:00am game; a perfect fit for me.  So off I went to my first game in Brick City this season.

I finally settled into a seat behind the home team's dugout after my obligatory stroll and picture taking.  For an inning, Bears' pitcher Eric Eden leaned on the railing pondering his team's' two run deficit before I impulsively asked him for a ball; politely of course.  He kindly obliged and I was happy to have a game used, official CanAm League ball; my first.

Manager Tim Raines

Being right behind the dugout obviously lent itself to get a good, close-up photo of Newark Bears' manager, Tim Raines.  I met him once before at Yankee Stadium when he was with the White Sox.  But I'd never expect him to remember the occasion.  And I never did get his autograph back then.  So there I was, within 15 feet of him, a newly gifted CanAm baseball in hand, and nothing but air and opportunity between us.


Yea; I did it.  In between innings I asked him for an autograph.  I know -  How immature of me.  I'm forty-four years old.  But baseball does that to me!  I'm just a kid when I get to the game; any game.


But I had a hook!  I asked him for his autograph, and by the way, I only want an autograph if I can have it out of the goodness and graciousness of an individual's heart.  I don't pay for them!  But I digress.  I asked and Tim Raines was more than happy to oblige.  He tossed the ball back after signing and as I thanked him, it was then I related to him we had a common acquaintance; my cousin, whom he spent many years together with on the White Sox.  So, we had our little connection; shared a respectful hand-shake and short conversation, and for me, had a nice baseball moment with a great former player.


Now prepare yourselves, because I'm going to let you in on a little secret.  Gee I hope Tim Raines doesn't get offended by me sharing this, but here it goes.  He likes Mountain Dew!  I know; scandalous!  And he asked me to go get him one!


Pffft!  Coming right up Sir!  Or so I thought.


I went to the concession stand and to my bewilderment, they didn't have any Mountain Dew; not yet anyway.  They were out and hadn't restocked yet.  Trust me, I tried all the open stands, and even told one guy it was for Tim.  The Coach needed a Dew I told him.  But not even he could find one for me.  There were two available soda machines on the premise.  Each of them was sold out also.


I looked at my son and we both laughed.  I said to him, we have to get coach a freakin' Dew, even if we have to drive all the way back to Brooklyn to find one.  We went to the front gate and told the Security Person we were going across the street to get Coach Raines a Mountain Dew.  I showed her my autographed ball and told her Coach was thirsty and that concessions were all out his beverage of choice.  She found it very amusing and said getting back in wouldn't be a problem.


Junior and I crossed Orange Street to a deli across the way.  And guess what.... No Dew!  Pepsi?  Yes.  other stuff?  Yes.  Dew?  No!  We then peeked around the corner and spotted another sandwich shop.  And yes!...they had Mountain Dew!  I didn't get into what it took to get Tim Raines his Mountain Dew.  I was just happy to get it done.  The pleasure was all mine Tim.


Before I made my own break to the lemonade stand, Bears' coach and former MLB catcher, Ron Karkovice was kind enough to also autograph my baseball.  Thank you Sir.


My lemonade was refreshing.  And now I got to thinking.... There is a room in Riverfront Stadium not usually open to the public.  I'll call it the Event Room.  Inside are two team pictures I always wanted to photograph; one of the old Newark Bears and another of the Negro League Newark Eagles.  Trying to photograph them through the window simply didn't work for me.

N.Y. Yankees farm team; Newark Bears

Negro National League ~ Newark Eagles

Little Leagues

In search of security, I bumped into the right person; the Head of Security.  He thought about my request for a second and understandably had to consider the persons currently in the room I was asking for access to.  My good Man took me through the back halls and into the room, and as you can see, allowed me to take my pictures (above).  Inside, I politely introduced myself to Tim Raines' wife and young children.  There-in lies the reason why careful consideration was needed to satisfy my request.  I related to her my Mountain Dew anecdote, and she smilingly responded by saying, "Yes, that's him." - etc.  I was grateful for having had the moment and respectful of their time and looked to exit quickly and appreciatively.

But wait.  There's more.  By now I got to thinking, because of the time I spend blogging about this team, I wondered how far "into the Bears" the organization would allow me to get?  Before long I had the pleasure of meeting Sakinah Abdul-Hakeem; Vice VP of Operations and Samantha Cetnar; Asst. General Manager of the Bears'.  I told them about my blog and about the time I spend covering the team.  I was asking for anything they might be willing to offer me in the way of Behind The Scenes access.  I was hoping to maybe get in the press box for a picture or two or something along those lines.

They introduced me to Pat Quinn; VP of Ticket Operations.  And back we went into the restricted hallways of Riverfront Stadium again.  He took us downstairs leading to the players' locker room; the Coach's room; and trainer's room.  There we ran into Brandon Watson; a pitcher for the Bears.  Shortly thereafter, we were being escorted down the corridor leading to the area behind home plate where it's organization personnel only and took in an inning from there.  Jesse Estrada, today's starting pitcher for the Bears was there watching the rest of the game and getting his arm iced up after pitching six innings of three hit baseball.

That's Pat Quinn, who was kind enough to take my son and me on a sneak peek through

the inner realms of Bears and Eagles Riverfront  Stadium

Pat Quinn and I agreed that I could e-mail him and set up an opportunity to meet and greet players and gain some more inside access.  Of course those things will have to be prearranged.  But I look forward to communicating with Pat, and hopefully one day, the Newark Bears organization will be kind and accommodating enough to allow me, nothing more than a fan of the team, to cover this team like I never thought possible before.


My utmost thanks and appreciation goes out to the Newark Bears organization who provided me with one heck of a day-off from work.  I went to Newark earlier today with the simple intention of taking in a baseball game.  But I left there with so much more.  To Samantha, Sakinah, and Pat, I thank you so much for your tremendous hospitality and for being so receptive to my baseball whims.  I was in search of a simple day today, and you provided a rather spectacular one.

I wish the new ownership group all luck in turning around the Bears' fortunes.  Baseball belongs in Newark.  And please know this blog will be a rooting supporter.




LINK:  See my game post and pictures HERE.






Sincerely,
Mike - the Brooklyn Trolley Blogger
...and Newark Bears Fan.

NEWARK BEARS ~ Monday Morning Baseball. See You There!

From the desk of:  Growlings from Brooklyn



NEWARK BEARS:  Brick City Nine Looking To Sweep Five Game Set Today Versus N.Y. Federals.

THE TROLLEY.... IS HEADED TO NEWARK TODAY!!!


Tim Raines Jr. sat out Saturday after getting hit by a pitch in Friday's second game of the series against the N.Y. Federals.  He returned to action to the delight of Newark fans for yesterday's game. 


But with and without Tim, the Newark Bears still went on to win the first four games of this five game set being played in Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium.  They'll conclude the series early in this afternoon today with an 11:00am start.


Saturday Final:
N.Y. Federals....2
NWK Bears.......5


Sunday Final:
N.Y. Federals....3
NWK Bears.......5


After this weekend's action, the Bears now find themselves in third place behind second place Quebec, and the League leading Brockton Rox club.  Leading up to this series with the Feds, the Bears found themselves precipitously close to the League's basement where the Feds currently reside.  From a 2-4 record then, they've gotten healthy playing New York and now sport a 6-4 mark and stand a mere two games out of first place.


Sunday, Newark's Kyle LaMotta took his turn at a big day in the lead-off spot for Newark.  He doubled and homered in the course of his 3 for 4 day; with an RBI and three runs scored. 


Tim Raines Jr. quietly returned Sunday with a 1 for 4 day batting in the third spot this time.  He did however pick up his league leading 12th RBI of the season.  Coach Raines has mostly penciled Jr. into the second slot.  But he's tried batting him clean-up and now took a try at batting him third.  Tim Jr. has been most effective out of the two slot.  ...Just some food for thought there.


Bears' starting pitcher Alex Smith kept things nice and easy for himself and the Bears over his seven innings pitched.  He only allowed the Feds three hits, walked two, and had four strikeouts.  He threw 86 pitches with 52 of them going for strikes.  It was Alex's first win of the season in two starts.


One first deserves another.  Victor Gonzalez pitched the ninth inning recording his first save of the season.

Game five of this series starts in about one and a half hours.  I plan on being there today to root for the Bears and take in some sun; rest; and relaxation a on a weekday off day for me.  Maybe I'll see you there.  TWEET me up.






Mike.BTB

NEWARK BEARS ~ Brick City Nine Claw the N.Y. Feds

From the desk of:  The BRICK CITY NINE - (GROWLINGS FROM BROOKLYN)



Link:  Newark Bears

Newark Bears:  N.Y. Federals Get Clawed in Brick City.


I don't have the heart to kick a team when they're down; not when they are the New York Federals.  They are a team largely comprised of players from the New York State League; D-League of the CanAm League; formed to provide a schedule comprised of eight teams.


However, Eddie Lantigua; first baseman of the Federals, is proving to be an early season slugger.  Eddie jumped out to the season lead in home runs with 3 and has driven in a league's second best 9 RBI.  Lantigua lost his lead position for RBI this afternoon when Newark Bear's outfielder Tim Raines Jr. passed him with a now league leading tenth RBI.


Unfortunately for both teams, after the first week of the season, they both came into tonight's game holding up the rest of the League.  The Feds sat in last place sporting a 1-5 record while the Bears fared little better in seventh place with a 2-4 record.


In describing what happened between these two teams in their first ever meeting, is when this story becomes all Bears folks.  They pounded the Federals this evening 12-3 on the strength of fifteen hits.


Starting pitcher for Newark; Jacob Wild, pretty much determined what kind of day the Feds would have.  And their outlook wasn't good.  Wild kept the Feds out the the Bears hair over the 6 innings he pitched.


Jacob Wild's Line:
6 ~ innings pitched.
3 ~ hits.
0 ~ runs.
1 ~ walk.
6 ~ strikeouts.


The bullpen and defense suffered a late game brain cramp.  But otherwise, the Bears were in complete control of this contest. 


Coach Raines returned his son, Tim Raines Jr. to his more traditional two-spot in the order after batting him clean-up the game prior.  As mentioned above, Tim responded tonight by overtaking the CanAm League's lead in RBI with ten when he connected on his third home run of the season during a five run Newark fifth inning which made the score 8-0.  Four more runs in the eighth inning and the Feds were a beaten bunch. 


Raines' batting average remains above .400 (.414) after week one, which is good enough for fourth in the League.  On that note, amazingly, Newark's number nine batter and catcher; Billy Alvino, is batting .478 - good for second in the league.


Right fielder Danny Santiesteban blasted a three run home run of his own.  As a matter of fact, the Bears cracked five home runs in all Thursday.  As mentioned, Danny and Tim Raines - but Billy Alvino, Brian Nichols, and Daryle Ward all homered for the Bears tonight.


1B- Daryle Ward had himself a rather big day also, going 3 for 4; 3 RBI; and two runs scored.  He's batting .385 so far this season.


However, someone I suggested we all keep an eye on; Todd Gossage is still struggling mightily.  He suffered through an 0 for 4 tonight while lugging a .160 batting average around.  He was also the only Bear not to get a hit tonight.  He's currently hitting eighth in the order ahead of Billy Alvino.  Billy had himself another productive night going 2 for 3 with 2 RBI and a walk.  And you'd think with a little scouting after a week in the books, teams will seek to pitch to Gossage more as opposed to facing Alvino.  Let's hope.  If Coach Raines keeps the bottom of the order as is, perhaps Todd starts seeing better pitches so as to break out of this funk he's in.


By game's end, the Bear's starting nine batters left the field with a collective .333 batting average.  They might have padded their stats somewhat against the Federals tonight.  But more importantly, they skipped over Worcester in the standings to get another position away from last.  The Bears record is now 3-4 after week one; in sixth place and three games out of first.


Link:  New York State Baseball League




Mike.BTB