BKN Cyclones ~ Call of the WILD

From the desk of:  THE SURF AVENUE SLUGGERS

BROOKLYN CYCLONES:  Playoffs or Bust!

A WILD Weekend in Coney Island Awaits.

Staten Island Yankees Clinch McNamara Division Title

 

With last night's home win over the Vermont Lake Monsters, the Staten Island Baby Bombers clinched this season's McNamara Division title.  Entering Wednesday night's action, the Yankees needed either a win, or a loss by Brooklyn, to clinch a pennant.  The Brooks trailed Staten Island by 4.5 games with only five left to play.  But for the second consecutive night, both teams won their respective games.

 

The Yankees got off to a great start this season which allowed them to outlast Brooklyn who struggled out of the gate; even falling below .500 for a brief time.  But as Staten Island struggled in early to mid-August, Brooklyn mounted a furious push to make it a race.  But the Coney Island Nine failed to take advantage of Staten Island's misfortunes; losing on key night's themselves.  And so, here we are.

 

Now, the Cyclones must set their sites on the Wild Card as the only venue left for making the playoffs.  As of this Thursday morning, Brooklyn and the Williamsport Crosscutters are tied.  Brooklyn sports a 41-29 record.  Williamsport; at 42-30; is a mere .003 percentage point behind the Cyclones.

This is where things get sticky.  The Cyclones have 70 games played due to postponements.  The Crosscutters have 72 games played.  Both teams; baring any more unforeseen hurricanes; have four games left to play.  It's too early in the morning for me to start dabbling in math, but I know there could be a problem with those numbers.


Up in Lowell , Mass., the Cyclones will try and complete a series sweep over the Spinners tonight.  The Crosscutters will finish up their series with Mahoning Valley.  Williamsport will close out the regular season hosting the State College Spikes.  Brooklyn will finish the regular season playing the Yankees Friday night and Sunday in Coney Island; while the middle game will be played in Rotten Staten Island.


I'll see you there.

Let's Go Cyclones!



Mike.BTB

N.Y. Yankees ~ A Lansdowne Street Letdown

From the desk of:  BLAME CARLOS MAY



new york YANKEES:  Another Lesson Learned on the Bronx Bombers.


GAME TWO FINAL:
Yankees ~ 5
Red Sox ~ 9
Series tied 1-1


Wednesday night, Jason Varitek did what two Yankee catchers have not gotten the grasp of yet this season. 


He doubled home a run and hit a two run homer giving Boston necessary insurance runs against the Yankees late in the game.  But more importantly, he showed how a player is to comport themselves (unlike others, to include David Ortiz) upon completing a trip around the bases.  Secondly, some time ago, he accepted and embraced his role as a back-up catcher for the betterment of the team.  If he's done so grudgingly, we don't know about it.  And yet, he remains a highly respected team Captain; the Red Sox Captain.  And Wednesday night, he was another lesson learned on the Yankees; or at least two Pinstripers anyway.  You know who they are.  One gets called out for Tuesday night's game.  The other gets called out for pouting over his reduced role and importance to the team.


Josh Beckett wasn't especially good Wednesday night.  But Phil Hughes was a little worse because his skipper suffered over-managing stress disorder again.  But, not to completely take him off the hook, on nights where Beckett struggles, you'd hope for better from the pitcher following C.C. Sabathia in the rotation.  That pitcher was Phil Hughes this time.  He didn't pitch that badly.  But that isn't the kind of adverb; or adjective; you want to be hearing about your rotation; or sum of its parts; heading into September.  Is it?  And especially when Big Papi punctuates the Yankees' problems with a booming home run to dead center; followed by a minor flick of the bat; then a slow trip around the bases; and paying respects to his creator upon touching home; kissing the sky; and finally clapping his fists together to finish the whole demonstration off. 


Yes, he did all that.  But then again, he has a cool nick-name and makes ESPN commercials; something lost on Senor Cervelli.


All the Red Sox did was tie this series at one game apiece.  That's what you want to believe; right Yankee fans?  So why does it feel like you're doing so much more worse?

THURSDAY

GAME THREE
new york YANKEES

SP - A.J. Burnett

vs.

BOSTON RED SOX

SP - Jon Lester

From

Lansdowne Street Grounds

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

N.Y. Yankees ~ Bombers Win Game; If Nothing Else

From the desk of:  BLAME CARLOS MAY

 

TONIGHT

new york YANKEES

SP - Phil Hughes

vs.

BOSTON RED SOX

SP - Josh Beckett

From

YAWKEY WAY

new york YANKEES:  Baseball; Head Games; and Cracker Jacks.

It wouldn't have been a Yankees/Red Sox game without a little drama; now would it?  And some-where in all that drama last night, there were lessons to be learned; messages to be sent; and realizations that need to be faced.


How many of last night's batters (4) were actually hit by pitches on purpose?  Here's the answer.  Who cares!  But let's talk about the one everyone is buzzing about today; Francisco Cervelli getting hit by John Lackey.


For his youthful; if not untamed; enthusiasm last night, Cervelli got a fastball in the back.  After he jacked a John Lackey pitch over the Green Monster; out of Fenway; and on to Lansdowne Street; ...to cap off his home run trot, Francisco emphatically stomped on home plate and then seemingly turned to Salty, and clapped his hands almost as if it were directed at the Boston catcher.  Or, that's the way it looked.  John Lackey viewed all that from the mound and when Cervelli took his next turn at-bat, Lackey drilled him with a shoulder high fastball.  Francisco had some words for Lackey, and by the time Cervelli took a few steps, the benches had emptied and congregated in the area between home plate and the mound.


STOP.


OK; we've been (exactly) here before with these two teams; except for maybe Francisco Cervelli.  He's been warned by his own team mates to tone down his act and to leave the pom-poms home.  Not heeding their advice, Francisco had some player-style justice exacted upon him.


The pitch was a fastball.  That's a message pitch.  You don't send messages with breaking balls.  And so we've now established the pitch was on purpose.  Everyone knows it.  But even as the players say, "That's Baseball".  And it is.  But if you watched it live, and over the numerous replays, John Lackey eased up on the pitch.  He took a couple miles-per-hour off that fastball he dotted Cervelli with.  I don't believe he gassed that pitch at him.  Lackey eased-up on the arm speed and deceptively followed through; disguising both his "compassion and disgust" well.  We know Lackey can bring it harder than that pitch.  Watch it again.  But make no mistake; it was a message pitch, and they are still intended to hurt.  Whether the pitch came in at 85mph or 90 mph, doesn't change the soreness of the memento Cervelli took back to the hotel with him.


Some players just need to learn where their spot in life is.  And some of those need to learn the hard way.  Francisco Cervelli got a lesson in both; he was warned.  He's a nice enough kid, but you need to do something in your career that (in this day and age) "entitles" one to that kind of  showmanship.   Then, ...the odds are you get the benefit of the doubt.  The fact is there were a ton of players on both sides at Fenway last night who own one or two championship rings each; to include John Lackey; and others who have even more.  Cervelli is not too far removed from getting excited about a ring from a Cracker-Jacks box.


Here's more reality about last night.  The Yankees may have won the game on the scoreboard.  But that one pitch was a shot across their bow.  If you think back on all the altercations the Sox and Yanks have engaged in since 2003, the Red Sox have gotten the better of the Yankees just about every time.  Things like that may or may not translate to the scoreboard.  But then again, things like that are meant to be attitude adjusters and mood managers.  And where John Lackey may pound his drum to a different beat, what he did was still well in-line with the Red Sox over-all modus operandi.  And the Red Sox, it seems, wanted to get an early jump on the October head game.


The book has been out for years on the Yankees; They can be thrown at; and the Red Sox always have.  That's the matter at hand here.  C.C. Sabathia is an island to himself in his willingness to protect his players.  For years, the Yankee pitchers have not done that...and still don't.  It took the Yankees damn near a decade to finally hit David Ortiz with a purposeful pitch.


C.C. pitched out of a lot of trouble last night.  That's a testament to his greatness.  But the Sox pounded ten hits off him and stranded a small island of base runners too.  That leaves the opposing line-up (Bos) salivating for another crack; not mesmerized about what Sabathia threw at them.


So if the Red Sox didn't beat the Yankees last night, they did the next best thing.

TONIGHT

new york YANKEES

SP - Phil Hughes

vs.

BOSTON RED SOX

SP - Josh Beckett

 

New York Yankees:  Hughes Clues.

 

Phil Hughes is no stranger to this series.  But he didn't make a start the last time these teams met, and the season is growing short.  Meanwhile, the Yankees rotation still has so many questions they need answered.  And so it's Phil Hughes' turn to audition for a spot in the rotation and help the Bombers fill in some of the blanks before the playoffs start.  With the unreliability of A.J. Burnett, it sucks, but Phil Hughes needs to give Joe Girardi a better clue as to who he will be able to rely on (after C.C.) once September is done.

 

But he's going to have to prove something to his manager tonight while opposing Josh Beckett.  IF, things should get out of hand tonight like they almost did yesterday, we know Josh Beckett wouldn't hesitate plunking a Pinstripe or two.  But will Phil Hughes?

 

Phil Hughes has two games to contend with tonight; the one against the Red Sox; and the head game that almost always ensues between these two teams right around this time of year.

 

Mike.BTB

N.Y. Yankees - Battle In Beantown

From the desk of:  BLAME CARLOS MAY

new york YANKEES:  Yet To Prove Their Mettle Against Sox.


The Yankees are one and one-half game behind the Red Sox in the American League East standings.  And if the Bombers intend to make a move on the Sawx, they had better do something other than what they have in their previous meetings with Boston; or, more preciclely, what they haven't done.


In twelve games so far this season, the Red Sox have won ten of those; the Yankees two.  If that doesn't grab your attention, maybe this will; Boston has beaten C.C. Sabathia this season like a dusty oriental throw rug.  In their last series, Bartolo Colon and Freddie Garcia proved up to the task, (I think I'm being kind).  But it was C.C. who wound up taking his lumps.  And not just last series; the Sawx have had C.C.'s number all season.  In four starts, the Red Sox have beaten C.C. four times this year.


While it's safe to say both teams will be making the playoffs, the Yankees still haven't proven they can hang with the Sox.  Both teams have been beating up on the rest of a rather mediocre League; which has gotten them to their present positions.  But in all likelihood this will be an October showdown the Yankees are still trying to prove (even to themselves) they should be a part of.  They still need to know if their pitching and aging players can play well against; for the moment; the best team in the American League.


Big name scratches in tonight's game will be Alex Rodriguez for the Yankees, and Kevin Youkilis for the Sox.

Final Score:

New York Yankees...5

Boston Red Sox.........2

C.C. SABATHIA - WIN

6 IP; 128 Pitches; 10 Hits; 2 ER; 2 BB; 10 K

MARIANO RIVERA - SAVE

Career Save #594

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

BKN Cyclones ~ The Wild Ones

From the desk of:  THE SURF AVENUE SLUGGERS



BROOKLYN CYCLONES:  Travis Taijeron Drives 'Em WILD in Game One With Three RBI.

GAME ONE:  Hudson Valley Renegades @ Brooklyn Cyclones:

BROOKLYN - 3
Hudson Valley - 1
7 innings

In the first game of a double-header tonight, the Cyclones won their fourth consecutive game; this time, over the Hudson Valley Renegades at the Surf Avenue Grounds.  Just when games are mattering most, the Seaside Sluggers seem to be reigniting the fire they showed during much of August.


In game one, Hudson Valley took an early 1-0 lead in the second.  Brooklyn tied the score in the fourth inning when Travis Taijeron doubled home Richard Lucas who reached on a walk.  With two outs in the sixth inning, Richard Lucas was hit by a pitch and Cole Frenzel walked.  That brought up Travis Taijeron again, who delivered a huge, clutch triple to drive home both runners, and give the Cyclones a 3-1 lead they would not relinquish.


Brooklyn's starting pitcher; Marcos Camanera; put in a fine effort against Hudson Valley.  He tossed 6.0 innings, giving up a lone home run in the second inning.  Otherwise, Marcos allowed five hits and struck out five as well for his third victory of the season against three losses.  Nicholas Carr pitched the seventh inning (double-header rules) for the first professional save of his career.



GAME TWO:  Hudson Valley Gains Split of Double-Header.

Hudson Valley - 7
BROOKLYN - 0
7 innings
   

There were no clutch Brooklyn hits this time.  More accurately, there were only three Brooklyn hits all game.  Hudson Valley's starting pitcher; Jacob Partridge; blanked the Cyclones over 6.1 innings pitched.  In addition to limiting the Cyclones to just two hits, the Hudson Valley lefty struck out nine Seaside Swingers tonight while walking only one.  Stayton Thomas relieved Partridge and allowed Brooklyn's third hit of the night; but nothing more.


The Cyclones only managed three hits in game one also; however, with different results.



Playoff Picture:

McNAMARA DIVISION:
Staten Island Yankees....43-24   *
Brooklyn Cyclones........ 39-29    4.5 GB


The Baby Bombers swept a double-header against the Aberdeen Iron Birds in Staten Island to increase their lead over Brooklyn by 4.5 games.  The Cyclones will have to take two of three games from the Spinners in their up-coming road trip to Lowell, in order to have a chance of over-taking Staten Island this coming weekend; as both teams will close out the regular season with a home-and-home series.



WILD CARD:
Brooklyn Cyclones..............39-29    *
Williamsport Crosscutters...40-30    *

In Williamsport, the Crosscutters defeated the Mahoning Valley Scrappers with a run in the bottom of the 14th inning.  The Cyclones maintain a percentage-points lead over the Crosscutters, but end the night tied for the Wild Card lead.




Mike.BTB

L.I. Ducks ~ No Pitching; No Problem?

From the desk of:  THE "IRENE" FLOODED DUCK POND



LONG ISLAND DUCKS:  Lack of Starting Pitchers Sending Ripples Through The Pond as Hurricane Irene Ruffled Their Feathers.


Webbed feet are supposed to be an advantage in flooded areas such as Hurricane Irene left behind.  But the truth is the Long Island Ducks have been tripping over themselves in the aftermath of losing their ace pitcher; and two more quality starters before him; who've all had their contracts purchased.

If they win their next game, they'll have won exactly twice as many games as they've lost this season.  In the second-half thus far, they are still playing .707% ball even after losing their three best pitchers.  But despite winning their last two games; and the most recent in dramatic fashion; make no mistake; the Ducks have struggled of late.


What Kraig Binick did for the Ducks in Long Island's last game played, was as much of a statement as any the Duck's needed to make so far this season.  Kraig Binick; who recently recaptured the Atlantic League's lead in batting average; (.365); delivered a dramatic tenth inning home run last Friday to beat the York Revolution 8-6.  The Ducks scored three runs in that tenth inning.

Long Island's 2-0 lead was wiped out in the seventh inning when the Revolution tied the game.  Then York went ahead 5-2 in the top half of the eighth.  Long Island got one run back in the bottom half to make it 5-3.


In the ninth, Kraig Binick scored on a wild pitch, and Javier Colina tripled home the tying run making it a 5-5 game.  But in their very next at-bat, York looked like they were going to pull out an extra-inning win with a run in the tenth and turn Long Island into hard-luck losers.  That's when Kraig Binick stepped up and saved the night with only his fourth home run of the year.


And in a season that seems to be moving along swimmingly for the Ducks, they do indeed have real problems which Kraig Binick's homer allowed them to forget for a day.  The Ducks are 5-5 in their last ten games, and the starting staff has struggled to win games since Mike Loree's departure from the team.


Without a doubt, the very capable Long Island bullpen must now defend the high ground the rest of the way as the offense seems well armed and committed to the fight.

Sunday's game starting a series versus the Somerset Patriots at Bethpage Park is postponed.  Long Island will rsume play Monday.



My two related posts:
The Duck's Soft Feathered Under-Belly
Mike Loree Sold to Pirates



Mike.BTB

BKN Cyclones ~ Back To The Pennant Chase

From the desk of:  THE CONEY ISLAND NINE

BROOKLYN CYCLONES:  In the Aftermath of Irene, The Cyclones Must Continue Twistin' the Nights Away.


Hey Florida, one of your hurricanes got loose.  Can you put a leash on them next time?  We have a pennant race going on over here!


.....We pick up this New York Penn League pennant chase with the Cyclones owning a full-one game lead over the Williamsport Crosscutters for the Wild Card.  I'm not sure exactly how many games the Cyclones will get in before the regular season expires, but I'll say there's eight remaining.


The Crosscutters are scheduled to play the State College Spikes later today, while the Cyclones game against Hudson Valley has already been postponed.  A double-header is scheduled for Monday at the Surf Avenue Grounds in Brooklyn.


When we last left the Cyclones before hunkering down for the storm, the Cyclones whipped-up their own gusts of wins by sweeping a double-header against the Renegades this past Friday.


In the McNamara Division race, the Staten Island Yankees hold a 3.5 game lead over Brooklyn.  The regular season ends on September 4th.  But all is not lost folks.  As long as the Seaside Sluggers take care of business up in Lowell this week, the Cyclones and Yankees will end the season with a home-and-home series that should finally decide the Division winner. 


The Cyclone's late season surge appeared to be sputtering out for a moment.  Over the last week of games played, they lost key games while Staten Island and Williamsport also struggled.   But the Brooks are now winners of their last three games and are masters of their own destiny.  They need no help from other teams in order to secure a playoff spot.  They just need to take care of their own business.


Let's Go Cyclones!




Mike.BTB

BKN Cyclones ~ Pennant Race Down to a Dozen

From the desk of:  THE CONEY ISLAND NINE



BROOKLYN CYCLONES:  Making it Hard on Themselves; Not Taking Advantage of Key Loses by Staten Island.


I erroneously sent the Cyclones on the road to Troy a day early in yesterday's post.  Sue me.  Regardless, Monday was another one of those good news; bad news type of nights.


Staten Island and Williamsport won their games.  And in Brooklyn's continuation portion of Sunday's game, the Cyclones failed to comeback from Sunday's deficit and lost to Tri-City 7-4.


But they weren't through.  In the second game of the make-up-game double-header, Javier Rodriguez erased a Valley Cat 2-0 lead in the fifth inning with a two RBI double.  Then in extra innings; because double-headers are seven inning games; a home run by Amauris Valdez in the bottom of the eighth won it for Brooklyn.  It was the first home run of the season for one of the newest Cyclones to sign. 


And as Warner Fusselle would go on to say, "Mercy!"


But that was yesterday.  This is a pennant race.  And tonight, the Cyclones got a bunch of help from their friends.  In Staten Island, the Lowell Spinners held off a near-successful comeback by the Yankees who scored three runs in the home ninth but fell one short; - 6-5 win Lowell.


Big props to the Batavia Muckdogs!  They took both games of a double-header against the Williamsport Crosscutters out in Western New York by identical 2-1 scores.  That was huge, as the Cyclones dropped their game against the Valley Cats by a score of 7-4.


So now, the Cyclones are just 0.5 games behind the Crosscutters for the Wild Card.  But they are 3.5 games behind the Yankees in the McNamara Division after recently closing in to within 1.5 games.


Twelve games remain in the regular season.  Tomorrow, Brooklyn and Troy go at it again.



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 ~ Sharks Feed on Ducks' One Weakness

From the desk of:  THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE





LONG ISLAND DUCKS:  The Webbed Nine Had Their Soft White Feathered Under Belly Exposed in Camden.


What's wrong with the Ducks?


Nothing.  They got swept by the Camden River Sharks; that's all.  When the team is going this well, you can't be taken aback by something like that.  It happens.  They lost a double-header Saturday and lost Sunday after getting rained out Friday evening down in Camden, N.J.


But what really happened to the Ducks besides meeting up with a Camden team playing well at the moment?  Camden is after all 22-12 in the second half, and in second place behind Long Island.


Last week, Mike Loree won his 14th game of the season.  That set the Long Island Ducks' single season record for victories; previously set by Troy Cate (13) in 2009.  He also struck out 10 batters in that game.  This season, Mike Loree is the Atlantic League's leader in wins; strikeouts; and ERA.  And he will be tonight's starter when the Ducks open up a series against Southern Maryland at Bethpage Park.


And now you can start talking about the Ducks' problems.  Between Loree starts, the Ducks are now officially thin.  And Camden caught Long Island within the void as Mike Loree pitched last  Wednesday and goes again tonight. 


Although seemingly moving right along, and continuing to win games at a 67% clip after the contracts of Mike Parisi and Shane Youman were sold, perhaps this is a glimpse into what kind of havoc lack of depth in the starting rotation can cause in a short series.  With the playoffs right around the corner, it's a scary glimpse I'm afraid.


In this most recent turn through the rotation, besides Mike Loree's victory last Wednesday, the only other Ducks' pitcher to record a win was Mark Diapoules; when he followed Loree last Thursday and completed a sweep of the Road Warriors.


With Long Island's need for starters, Diapoules stepped out of the bullpen and into a starting role.  As a relief pitcher through mid-June, he record was 1-1 and by then his ERA had grown to 3.96.  Since then, he's amazingly 6-0 as a starter, and his 4.06 ERA is not much higher than previous to starting his new role.


Then came a weekend series in Camden; a trio of loses; and three questions moving forward.


Regular starter; Joselo Diaz; pitched the first game of a double-header Saturday; ...well, technically anyway.  He lasted all of 1.1 innings and gave up seven runs; six earned.  It falls right in line with his overall struggles this season.  He's 5-7 as a starter this season with a 6.90 ERA.  He's walked almost as many as he's struck out in 19 starts for the Ducks.


In game two Saturday; staff regular; Ruddy Lugo took his turn and coughed-up 4.2 innings pitched.  He allowed 10 hits; 6 runs/4 earned.  In sixteen starts this season, Ruddy is 5-3 with a 5.91 ERA.  In 74 innings pitched, he too walks as many as he strikes out; 39/40.


Sunday, Dave Williams; like Diapoules who was summoned from the bullpen to start games; made his third start of the season, and eighteenth appearance over all.  Of the three weekend starting pitchers against Camden, Williams went the longest, but suffered the same fate as the others; he lost.  He pitched 6.0 innings, while surrendering five runs on eight hits.


Now tonight, Ducks' Ace Mike Loree; who is the League leader in all three Triple Crown categories for a pitcher; must also play stopper for Long Island.


But what could be wrong?  Southern Maryland can either expose the dilemma I spelled out, or put some of these anxieties to rest with this series opening up tonight.


We know how in the playoffs, what you have left to compete against is good pitching.  And the saying goes, good pitching stops good hitting.  The Ducks have basically been pounding opponents into submission with their offense; with League batting leaders, and League leaders in RBI.  They have the highest team batting and have scored the most team runs.


But their pitching is now depleted.  Will they be able to slug their way through the playoffs?  Ideally, Mike Loree only gets one start in a round of playoffs.  If he makes two starts, it's because the series went to a fifth and deciding game.


Are you comfortable with that?





Mike.BTB

BKN Cyclones ~ Off To Troy In Search of Victory

From the desk of:  THE SURF AVENUE SLUGGERS

McNAMARA DIVISION

Staten Island Yankees     38-23  .623    *

BROOKLYN CYCLONES         34-25  .576    3 GB

WILD CARD

Williamsport Crosscutters     *         

BROOKLYN CYCLONES      1 GB  

BROOKLYN CYCLONES:  As Mother Nature Continues to Demand a Say in the NY-PL Pennant Races, Brooklyn Heads North With Hopes of Sacking Troy.

****UPDATE/CORRECTION:  They Don't Leave Till Tomorrow.  I Got Ahead of Myself.


Mother Nature still continues to thumb her nose in our business.  She had Sunday's game in Coney Island suspended after 3 1/2 innings with the Cyclones trailing Tri-City 6-2.  Now they will pick-up that game where they left off yesterday up in Troy, N.Y.  As part of a home-and-home, tonight begins a three game series against the Tri-City Valley Cats on their turf, after having most of the series in Brooklyn rained on.


Staten Island managed to play their game up in Lowell against the Spinners.  And they hammered their hosts 16-1.  The Yankees' latest win widened their lead over Brooklyn to three games in the McNamara Division with thirteen games to play.  Brooklyn and Staten Island will play a three game series to close out the regular season.


Also last night, the Jamestown Jammers helped Brooklyn along in the Wild Card race by defeating the Williamsport Crosscutters.  Williamsport still holds a one game lead over the Cyclones.


Tonight, Williamsport resumes their series against Jamestown, and the Yanks continue along with the Lowell Spinners.  Hopefully the Cyclones can manage a come-back in their resumption of yesterday's game, and follow up the night-cap with another victory.  With some out of town breaks going our way, the night can prove quite profitable for our Seaside Sluggers.  The Brooklyn Cyclones have a League's best 16-13 road record.


Let's Go Cyclones!




Mike.BTB

N.Y. Mets ~ Brain Busters

From the desk of:  HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET




NEW YORK METS:  In the immortal words of Aretha Franklin -  "...you better, THINK!  ...'bout what you tryin' to do to me!  You better, THINK!"



His curve ball follows the curvature of the Earth.   His sinker rises like a weather balloon.   His fastball suffers more drag than Sky-Lab did falling down to Earth.   And the guys’ mind is in orbit.  This space cadet is in dire need of a lobotomy or learning how to sequence his pitches better.   But then again, he’d still need an effective out-pitch; which is his downfall.


Otherwise, he makes his case a tough call because we still like the guy and want to give him that one last chance.  But I assure you, sending Mike Pelfrey to the bullpen is not a remedy for his woes.  I don't know if time is on our (the Club's) side when it comes to options.  I may be off on the logistics, but I wish we could shuffle him off to Buffalo and keep him there until September 5th; ...that's right.....  The last game of Buffalo's regular season.


This man needs to have his psyche impacted and shaken up.  He's thinking way too much and I believe his brain is fried for having been thrust into the Ace's role and not coming through.  More and more, he's exhibiting poor mental make-up.  Additionally, there's a lot of work to be done with regard to an out-pitch; not to mention his whole unimpressive repertoire.


In the Mets' present situation, giving someone a mental make-over and diagnosing a pitcher's failed craftsmanship should not be done from the bullpen, nor on the Major League level.  Impact his brain a little and send him down for three starts where he'll have nothing to think about but throwing a damn ball.  Heck; we should have done this a week ago.  And we just might learn a little more about his make-up after putting him through a demeaning process like that and be better prepared to deal with his situation in the off-season.  Because after all, he is a Scott Boras client. 


Can we do that?




Jose; Jose; Jose;....Why Hurry Jose?

Funny; ...ever since Jose Reyes returned to the dugout to do sprints at Citi Field, the "Spotlight is on You" has returned.  There's a lot to be said about that, among which is his value to the club. 


So why rush back?  And for what?  There is nothing he can do between now and the end of the regular season that will change any one's perception of him; good or bad; on the part of the Mets; us fans; or any other team interested in the soon to be free agent.


At this point in his career, I believe he IS what he IS.  Jose Reyes is one of the most dynamic players in baseball; whether it be on the base paths; in the field; with a bat in his hands; or through his overall exuberance and it's effect on a club.


He is also proven to be injury prone; namely those legs.  And more and more, his lower appendages seem to be; if only slightly; permanently damaged....but hopefully manageable at the same time.  In an effort to keep his legs healthy, he might have to become a player who now plays 147 to 150 games a season by design.


When I play GM, I would have traded him.  That's a different post.  But I'm like you; a Fan.  And he's a Met today.  So why rush him back?  For what?  If we do in fact reach a deal with him this off-season, we still have to rethink the way we utilize him.  What we decide to do this very day, may still work in our benefit down the road.  And if I'm Jose Reyes, ...I get he may know no other way than to play as soon as possible, but it's in his best interest to take it slow also.  And if the Met Doctors are having a routinely bad day, they can potentially ruin him for life.


There is no evidence a divorce between the Mets and Jose Reyes is written in stone.  But to even the staunchest Reyes supporter, I know this latest setback has touched the pragmatist in you.


Ask yourself; -  from this moment forward, will you ever think about Jose Reyes, and not think about his hamstrings ever again?  The rethinking of Jose Reyes has already begun. 


Here's my proposal; $83 million over five years; no more.  Like I said, there is nothing he can do to change my perception of him now.  He is one of the most dynamic players in Baseball with mounting hamstring injuries.  And if his time in New York has proven one thing if we are to move forward with him, is that he will need ample, scheduled days off; ....in his prime years.  But I also say it's a risk.  I'd rather let DePodesta and Ricciardi utilize the compensatory pick(s) and continue their stock-piling  coming off this year's draft.


However, because it's more about what the Club does, than what I want, having Jose Reyes in a Met uniform could never rub me the wrong way.




Mike.BTB

N.Y. Mets ~ Flame Out

From the desk of:  HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET





NEW YORK METS:  Dark Smoke Joins The Storm Cloud Hovering Over Citi Field.


Thick black smoke could be seen billowing from the chop-shops across the street from Citi Field.  A fire might have been started by a stray shooting spark that jumped across the street while Prince Fielder and the Brewers were torching up the Mets 7-1, over the first six innings of Saturday's game.


But it was the Mets' offense that ignited to finally heat things up at home.  Amidst the rising smoke behind Citi Field, they staged a near-miraculous comeback against a new Fan nemesis; Francisco Rodriguez.  Boos rained down from the stands upon Frankie as furiously as the black curtain of smoldering soot rose beyond center field.  Then for the Mets, through the smoke rose an Angel from the outfield; - Pagan connected on a booming home run to right.  And from being down 7-1, they fought their way back and beyond, to take an 9-7 lead after eight innings.


Then in the ninth inning, Terry Collins let Izzy play with matches and well, ...he got burnt.  Izzy gave up a hit and walked three batters to force in a run; making the game 9-8, Mets.  Izzy got charged with arson three more runs he set up by leaving the bases loaded; and that Manny Acosta assisted getting across the plate by allowing two more hits after Coach Terry made a switch. 


Although seemingly heroic for a moment, seeing-eye base hits past an out of position Justin Turner just fanned the flames at Citi even more.  When the cross beams gave way below them, the Mets came crashing through the floors of their house to lay in the hot ashes of an 11-9 loss.  And so there's a lesson to be learned somewhere in Saturday's meltdown boys and girls; - where there's smoke, there's fire.   And, oh yeah; ...bases on balls kill.


Flame out.


All you can really do after an afternoon like that is get up and dust yourself off; ...take a body count making sure everyone is OK and accounted for.  But, why walk away from a game like this angry, when you can just walk away?  There's still jobs to be won.


They showed a lot of Chutzpah.  Give Terry's Kids that.






Mike.BTB