L.I. Ducks ~ Championship Series Shifts To York Tied 1-1

From the desk of:  THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE

ATLANTIC LEAGUE

Championship Series

FRIDAY

GAME THREE

LONG ISLAND DUCKS (1-1)

vs.

York Revolution (1-1)

From

Some Park out in Pennsylvania

LONG ISLAND DUCKS:  Things to Ponder on the Bus Ride to Game Three.


There's a tired overly used phrase that has probably never been more appropriate in describing the Ducks' post-season thus far.  They are following a similar script they followed in clinching round one.  With the Ducks hoping it's more a sign of good fortune ahead instead of an omen...,  there's an overwhelming sense of -  Here we go again.


With Mike Loree pitching a successful opening game victory in the divisional round, Josh Banks followed up with a disappointing start as the Ducks lost Game Two.  Long Island then went on the road after splitting the first two games at home and eliminated the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs in four games.


After Mike Loree's successful opening game victory in the Atlantic League Championship Series Wednesday night against the York Revolution, Josh Banks followed up with another abysmal start in Game Two.  The Ducks split the first two games at home, and by choice will take the now best two out of three series on the road to York, Pennsylvania where a League Champion will be crowned.


The start to both rounds almost mirror each other, but are all together unsettling for Duck Fans.  Long Island will send Bob Zimmermann to the mound looking to avoid getting put into an elimination situation on Saturday.  The strategy worked for them in the first round as the Ducks won the first two games on the road to clinch the Liberty Division pennant.  So, here's to hoping the plan works out for them again over the weekend.  Game Three is Friday night in a place the Ducks won four games and lost five during the regular season.


After Mike Loree halted the Revolution in Long Island Wednesday, York mounted a successful counter-attack Thursday evening with a 9-0 sacking of the Ducks.  Josh Banks lasted a mere 2.1 innings and faced only thirteen batters.  After a five hit power surge that netted York six earned runs, Ruddy Lugo was forced into long relief by the third inning.  But one run or nine runs would have sufficed for York.  The Long Island Ducks were held to zero in Game Two.


It may not happen often in a Championship Series; I don't know; but it's seems natural the League's best two teams could trade shut-outs over the first two games; that is, without knowing the particulars of this series.  But the Ducks have now officially been outscored 9-1 over two games.  So what gives?  The potent Long Island Nine have been effectively shut-down over the first two games by Nick Schumacher and Lorenzo Barcelo; not exactly Spahn and Saine.  Neither pitcher was York's best.  He's still coming.  The fact remains, Game Two's shut-out loss comes on the heals of getting held to one run on four hits in Game One.  The League's top offensive team has been held to ten hits in the series so far.


Mike Loree was able to make his lone run of Ducks' support hold up.  That's what aces do.  But Josh Banks had no such luck in Game Two.  Three home runs in the first three innings by the Revolution were more than enough to quiet the Ducks and their crowd who waved good-bye to their team knowing they face an uncertain trip to Pennsylvania with the series tied at a game apiece.


The Ducks haven't suffered through many offensive droughts this season; if any. And I'm sure the Long Island Nine would strongly concur this is the worst time for a sudden short circuit in production. But then again, offensive outages never happen at convenient times.  Do they?


The York Revolution still have their Ace; Corey Thurman; in reserve and maybe ready for Game Three or Four.  Then perhaps Shaun Garceau pitches a game.  As mentioned, the Ducks will pitch Bob Zimmermann tonight, who proved himself very capable when faced with this same situation in Round One.  It worked out that Long Island will only face Thurman once.  And apparently, they will not be seeing York's strikeout specialist, Matt DeSalvo this series either.   He last pitched on September 25th in a loss against Lancaster during the divisional round.


The Ducks will no doubt pitch Mike Loree again on short rest.  The question is do you pitch him in Game Four on two days' rest should the Ducks lose tonight and go down 2-1 in the series?  Ruddy Lugo and Mark Diapoules were pressed into relief duty last night.  After Banks and Loree, they are the only two pitchers left on the staff who have made regular starts this season.  Perhaps now, Valerio De Los Santos or Chris McCoy stand to make a start if the series should go the full five games.  Ruddy pitched 3.1 innings in relief of Josh Banks yesterday.  Diapoules pitched an inning, so he may be an option or be held back for long relief.  However, if the Ducks win Game Three behind Bob Zimmermann, do you give De Los Santos; McCoy; or Diapoules a start and the Ducks' bullpen a chance to close out the series with another win?  You would be saving Mike Loree, who will then be pitching on three days rest, for a possible Game Five scenario should the Ducks need it due to a loss over the next two games.


As the wheels on the bus go round and round on their way to York, Pennsylvania, so too do the thoughts of a one; Kevin Baez.







MIke.BTB

L.I. Ducks ~ Your Liberty Division Champions!

From the desk of:  THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE

Liberty Division Champions!

LONG ISLAND DUCKS:

Eliminate Wild Card Team.

Next Stop; Atlantic League Championship Series.

Related Posts:

Season Ends With Dual Division Titles ~ BTB

It's Playoff Time ~ BTB

Ducks Take Game One ~ BTB

Game Two Final; Off to Southern Maryland ~ BTB

Aiming to Clinch Sunday ~ BTB




Ducks defeat Blue Crabs in Game Four; Win Series 3-1.


The Ducks' offense scratched and clawed as best as their little Webbed Spikes could after their bullpen was rushed into near immediate action Sunday.  The Ducks were pressed for a response to Southern Maryland's alarmingly early onslaught against starter; Valerio De Los Santos; in Game Four of the Liberty Division Championship Series.




The day was looking promising when Kinard Jones led off the game with a triple and scored, giving the Ducks a 1-0 first inning lead.  But in their first turn at bat, Southern Maryland sent De Los Santos to the showers before he was able to complete a full inning of work.  After just 0.2 inning(s); four hits; a walk; and allowing four runs, Coach Baez was forced to remove his starter because this is not June when you can just let your starter correct himself on the fly.  At this time of year, time is of the essence and getting outs from your pitcher is paramount.  So deservedly, give Coach Baez heaps of credit for managing Sunday's outcome and maneuvering six pitchers throughout the game.


Four consecutive singles by Freddy Thon; Danny Lyons; Kinard Jones; and Ray Navarrete plated two more runs for Long Island in the top of the second.  That made it a 4-3 game.  However, just removing Valerio De Los Santos from the game didn't alleviate Long Island's problems.  The Blue Crabs continued their offensive against the next Ducks' pitcher; Chris McCoy.  The Crabs matched Long Island with another two runs in their half of the second making it a 6-3 game.


The Ducked remained quiet over the next three innings.  But in the bottom of the fifth, Southern Maryland tacked on another run against Chris McCoy to make the game 7-3; Crabs.


In the sixth, Blue Crabs' starter; Nick Green; prepared his exit from the game.  He faced four batters.  Matt Padgett singled; Matt Esquivel walked; and Freddie Thon singled to load the bases.  Dan Lyons worked out a walk to force in a run, and Nick Green was outta there.  Another run scored when Kinard Jones drew yet another walk with the bases loaded.   And Ray Navarrete then bounced into a double play with the third run of the inning scoring on the play.


The Ducks were within one run again in a 7-6 game after six completed innings.  In the next frame, the teams traded runs again.  J.R. House hit a solo home run for the Ducks.  But the Crabs still maintained an 8-7 lead after scoring against Tyler Walker.


But that's all they'd get; the Crabs that is.  The Ducks bullpen combined on a marvelous job keeping Southern Maryland sedated after their opening outburst.  Jason Monti; Tyler Walker; Bubbie Buzachero; and Jon Hunton combined on 4.1 innings pitched; one run; one hit; four walks; and six strikeouts.  Tyler Walker allowed the last run Southern Maryland would score.  Bubbie Buzachero was responsible for three of those walks allowed and which directly leads to the reason why it was up to the newly anointed Long Island closer; Jon Hunton; to ultimately shut the door on the Blue Crabs.  He struck out the last two batters of the game to end the night in grand style for the visiting Long Islanders.


Bubbie Buzachero, amusingly gets credited with Sunday's win.  Jon Hunton earned the save.


Indeed, it was the bullpen that kept the Ducks around long enough; enabling a comeback Long Island persistently mounted throughout this game.  They were still down 8-7 after seven.  But in the eighth inning, Mr. Long Island Duck himself; Ray Navarrete; continued his Swan Song of sorts, by launching a home run to tie the baseball game at eight runs apiece.  The All-Time Ducks' Home Run King may have never hit one bigger than this.  That remains to be discussed.  But coming when it did, where it did, there's nothing quite like making another team's crowd go silent.  It's the golden silence of rounding second base in the course of the home run trot, and the only audible noises are coming from your team mates in the dugout.  That's sweet.


And like a dominoes display falling perfectly as designed, the latest in a long line of Duck heroes this season; Freddie Thon; stepped in and finished off Southern Maryland with a two-out RBI double to score Erick Monzon (singled) with the go ahead; the game winning; and the Liberty Division Championship winning run.


Many team members have stated this Ducks team is a very tightly-knit group with a genuine affinity for one another.  And so it was, together as a team, they just didn't save themselves from having to play a decisive Game Five on the road by winning Sunday afternoon.  The Long Island Ducks mounted a comeback that laid to rest some second guessing; like deciding to potentially play three games on the road with just two games at home.  And choosing to do so when the Ducks have gone 0-7 since their last playoff win on the road; not to mention not playing very well in Southern Maryland this season either.  I questioned that.  The Long Island Ducks answered by winning two straight in Southern Maryland after splitting the first two games in Long Island.


They are moving on because offensively, the Ducks are relentless.  Sunday's win is a classic example of that.  But pitching was everything for Long Island in their three wins this series.  Mike Loree did his part by winning Game One.  And no, Josh Banks didn't have the success all parties concerned were looking for.  But it presented another moment to be seized upon.  That came in Game Three via Bob Zimmermann who pitched six, really superb innings Saturday night.  He allowed the Blue Crabs only one unearned run off three hits, while striking out six.  And then of course, Long Island's bullpen work in Game Four Sunday was, as it has been all season long; solid as a rock.


And now the Ducks get what the Ducks' players want; a chance to win a title..., Together.

Mike.BTB

L.I. Ducks ~ Caught in a Maelstrom

From the desk of:  THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE




LONG ISLAND DUCKS:  The First Eleven Days of the Post Mike Loree Era Have Been Worrisome...At Best.

Long Island's pitching dilemma has now taken a very visible toll on the Ducks.  The Ducks no longer enjoy the lofty perch they've held for quite some time up in the .700 winning percentile.   Two other teams (Bridgeport and York) have joined them in the sixty win bracket, where for so long this season, the Ducks remained far ahead of the pack.


Hoping now, Mother Nature could have interceded a little longer and delayed this tail-spin the Ducks find themselves in, they couldn't avoid getting swept by the Somerset Patriots.  Before tonight, those last three losses in a row complimented a stretch where they lost eight of their last eleven games since losing Mike Loree to the Pirates organization.


Then came tonight.  On this Wednesday night, The Ducks started a road series against the York Revolution.  Ruddy Lugo took another turn on the mound, and promptly suffered his worst outing of the season; and perhaps the worst start to a game for the Ducks all year long.  It most probably ranks up there in all-time bad starts in Long Island history.  Before inducing the Revs into three outs, he walked two batters; gave up nine hits; and surrendered nine earned runs in the first inning of play.  The Ducks pitching gave up 21 hits in all.


The offense stepped in to make a game of it.  But the night ended in a 14-9 final.


In Tuesday's double-header, Mark Diapoules only lasted 4.1 innings, in a decent effort at best; as the Ducks lost 2-0 to Somerset in game one.  The Ducks failed new spot starter Bob Zimmermann who pitched a very good game.  But they dropped game two, 3-2, on their second offensive disappearance for the day.  On Monday, Valerio De Los Santos pitched five innings and gave up three earned runs in a 7-2 loss.  These are pedestrian numbers.  But they represent the absolute best the Ducks can do right now.


So just to update the worsening news, the Ducks are now losers of nine of their last twelve games.  It's official..;  The Ducks are now caught in a maelstrom.




Mike.BTB

L.I. Ducks - Sign Pitcher; Lose to Somerset

From the desk of:  THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE



LONG ISLAND DUCKS:  Mighty Offense Shut-Down by Somerset Patriots.

Long Island Ducks GM; Michael Phaff; addressed his depleted starting rotation with a savvy signing;  acquiring MLB veteran; Josh Banks; to provide sorely needed reinforcement for his compromised pitching staff.  Joselo Diaz, who struggled mightily this season as a starter, was released to make room for Banks.


In the first game since Hurricane Irene pummeled Long Island over the weekend, the Somerset Patriots visited Bethpage Park to begin a three game series. 


Valerio De Los Santos made the start for Long Island.  And even though he put the Ducks behind early, pitching wasn't the Ducks' problem this evening.  For the first six innings of this game, the offense was.  No runs and just over a handful of hits were all the Ducks managed against Somerset's starter; Luke Sommer.


It wasn't until they got into Somerset's bullpen that the Ducks started coming back from a 4-0 six inning deficit.  But the closest they got was within 4-2.  In the top of the ninth, Somerset broke out for another three runs and finished off Long Island 7-2.


...And well, you can't can't out-slug teams every night.  So, the starting pitching will continue to be a huge concern moving forward.


Nineteen games remain in the regular season.




Mike.BTB

L.I. Ducks ~ Ace; Mike Loree Sold To PITT Pirates

From the desk of:  THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE



LONG ISLAND DUCKS:  Mission Statement of the Atlantic League May Turn Out to be Long Island's Downfall.

Their Ace Pitcher; The Atlantic League's Triple Crown Leader; Gets Sold to Pirates.

Add MIKE LOREE to the List of Ducks Pitchers Gone-Bye...  The Contracts of the Ducks' Three Best Pitchers - Mike Loree; Mike Parisi; Shane Youman; all sold leaving the Ducks' Rotation Bare.



Duck Pond; We have a Problem.


On August 22nd, the Ducks' Ace; Long Island's new single season record holder for wins; All-Star Game starting pitcher; and the Atlantic League leader in all three pitching Triple Crown categories; Mike Loree; had his contract sold by the Long Island Ducks and purchased by the Pittsburgh Pirates.  He will be assigned to AA-Altoona Curve.


There-in lies the mission statement of the Atlantic League; ...to get guys back into the Major Leagues.  And I think we all knew it was just a matter of time before he got picked-up.  But, oh what a blow to the Ducks' championship hopes this is.


Matt Padgett saved Monday night's game with a big double in the eighth inning to give the Ducks their first lead of the game and a 5-4 final score over the Blue Crabs.  It was a statement game of sorts.  They seemed flat for most of the night upon learning their ace pitcher had been sold away earlier that day.  And they were fresh from getting swept in Camden over the weekend.  But they did what they've done for most of this season regardless of who is on the mound.  They pounded out three late runs in the eighth inning while their strong bullpen made the lead stand.


Yesterday, Valerio De Los Santos made the fill-in start in place of the departed Mike Loree.  And Valerio's performance echoed some things I said about the Ducks' Staff moving forward; and their outlook for the upcoming playoffs.  The loss of pitchers Mike Parisi and Shane Youman were huge blows to take.  Now, losing Mike Loree is crippling.


In Tuesday night's game against the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs; the last pitcher to win a game for the Long Island Ducks; Mark Diapoules took his regular turn in the rotation and promptly got hammered.  In two+ innings, he allowed four hits; eight runs; and walked three.  He left the game with his team behind 8-2 at the time.


As of right now, the Ducks are still clearly the best team in the League with an overall 67-33 record.  But their season just got very, very interesting.  I already expressed my concerns for this team in Monday's post.  Check that out.  But today, concerns just got upgraded to a really big problem.




Mike.BTB

L.I. DUCKS ~ Stop Two Game Skid In Camden

From the desk of:  The Brooklyn Quacker

LONG ISLAND DUCKS:  The Quack Attack Erupted For Five Runs In First.  Even Series Against River Sharks.


The Ducks jumped out to a five run lead in the first inning by sending ten men to the plate and the pitching made it hold up.  Tonight's final score in Camden N.J. was Ducks 5; - River Sharks 2.


Mike Parisi picked up the win in his Ducks' debut; pitching six innings while giving up six hits; allowing one run; three walks and striking out three.  Ehren Wasserman came on to pitch in the seventh inning.  He promptly pitched himself into a second and third base situation but escaped with only one run scored.  Valerio De Los Santos and Bubbie Buzachero finished things out for Long Island.  For Buzachero, it was his first save in three appearances this season.

1B-Freddie Thon drove in two runs for Long Island tonight and was 2 for 4 in the game.  LF-Kraig Binick was 3 for 5 (three singles) on the night.  Ray Naverret had his second consecutive three-hit night (3 for 5) with a run scored.  John Rodriguez, Matt Padget, and Dan Lyons had an RBI each for Long Island.

The Ducks avoided losing their third game in a row while gaining their third victory of the season.  They are now 3-2 for the season.  Tomorrow they'll play the rubber game of the series against the Camden River Sharks before going home for the first time this season and having their Season Opener on Friday against Bridgeport.

The Von Hayse managed Camden River Sharks are now 1-4 to start the season.




Mike.BTB