Brooklyn Cyclones: Justin Dunn Has Entered the Building

From the desk of:  THE CONEY ISLAND NINE

Justin Dunn preparing for professional debut in Brooklyn

BROOKLYN CYCLONES: Mets Sign First Round Draft Pick, Justin Dunn; Next Stop, Coney Island.

The New York Mets and first round draft pick Justin Dunn agreed to a $2.38 million signing bonus Tuesday.  Dunn, 20, is now on his way to come ply his talents here at MCU Park.

A local talent hailing out of Freeport, Long Island, listed at 6'2" and 185 pounds, Dunn was selected #19 overall by the Mets as a junior out of Boston College.  In fact, he tied for the highest RHP pitcher selected in BC history.

He features a mid 90s fastball, a good off-speed curve, hard slider, and an effective change-up to boot.

Dunn was utilized in relief earlier this year, racking up 17 strikeouts with only 3 walks in 9 appearances.  By April, Justin was inserted into the starting rotation and finished out the season totaling eight starts.

Among them - in the days leading into the 2016 amateur draft - Dunn threw seven innings versus Tulane on June 3, in which he allowed 2 earned runs on 5 hits and one walk, and fanned 11 batters.   In his start previous to that, Dunn threw a complete game against Georgia Tech, allowing 2 earned runs on 7 hits, with 9 strikeouts.

In 17 overall appearances, Dunn posted a 4-2 record, with 2 saves and a 2.06 ERA this season, while allowing 52 hits and 18 walks, with 72 strikeouts over 65.2 innings pitched.

Overall, he posted a 9-6 record and 3.45 ERA during three year career at Boston College.  In 120+ innings pitched, Dunn allowed 110 hits but only 25 went for extra bases.  He otherwise allowed 46 earned runs, 48 walks, and fanned 124 batters, while limiting the opposition to a .247 average against.

The Cyclones are still waiting on fellow first round draft pick (#31 overall) LHP Anthony Kay, who has yet to reach an agreement with the Mets.

S.I. Yankees: Name Change Game Shame

From the desk of: The Team Formerly Known as the Staten Island Yankees

Rebranding?

Within the grand scheme of minor league baseball ... I get it.  The business of baseball is no different than other enterprises.  The trick, always, is gaining more market share, and generating new revenue streams.

Especially at this level, baseball is supposed to be fan, kid, and generally family friendly, and that they're not necessarily trying to hook old guys like me.  Teams might need our "old people" money, per se, but this level requires they go through our children's generation to get it.

I thought the Yankees organization was beyond all that?  I thought the Yankees brand was the selling point?  The Yankee name certainly put Staten Island on the baseball map, or, was that the old American Association Metropolitans of the 1880's?

But now that I've thought about it, a name change would serve them well, and perhaps give the outer most borough an uptick in identity.

In fact, I'd like to help out, by sharing some of my ideas for a new team name:

• The Staten Island City Secessionists...
• The Staten Island Former Brooklynites...
• The Staten Island of Misfit Friends (because you moved too far and can't hang, or do cool stuff in the city anymore)...
• The Staten Island Land Fillers...
• The Staten Island Dumpers...
• The Staten Island Odors...
• The Rotten Island Stankees...
• The Staten Island Soccer Moms...
• The Staten Island Horrific Drivers...
• The Staten Island Mall Rats...
• The Staten Island Lone Train Riders...
• The Staten Island Ferry Rats...
• The Staten Island Toll Collectors...
• The Staten Island Arthur Killers...
• The Staten Island New Dorpers...
• The Staten Island Mob Wives...
• The Staten Island Victorian Shmictorians...

And yes, the Yankees are presently in first place with a perfect 5-0 record.

Okay ... I had my fun and let that stand for three-plus hours.

Here are some more serious considerations @ 12:02am

• The Staten Island Narrows ... obviously.  After all, Norfolk calls themselves the Tides.
• The Staten Island Settlers
• The Staten Island Raging Dutchmen
• The Staten Island Villagers
• The Staten Island Harbor Guards
• The Staten Island Harbor Gulls
• The Staten Island Fightin' Gulls
• The Staten Island Wetlanders
• The Staten Island Greenbelt Creatures

• The Staten Island Scooters
• The Staten Island Cow Bells
• The Staten Island Iron Horsemen
• The Staten Island Laruppen' Lou's
• The Staten Island Bustin' Babes

• The Richmond County Babes
• The Richmond County Pinstripes
• The Richmond County Bombers

• The Richmond County Outlanders
• The Richmond County Dukes
• The Richmond County Stapletons ... old school NFL throwback.
• The Richmond County Ferry Crashers  I had to get one more jab in ... sorry.

My #1 choice to replace the name "Staten Island Yankees" is:

• The Richmond County Boogymen
• or, the Staten Island Wild Childs

It's a little bold, and a little ballsy ... considering it stems from the old Willowbrook crazy home.   Better Boogymen than the S. I. Cropsey Kids ... right?  But it's local, it's urban folklore, and just think of the potential merchandising.

Now batting for the Boogymen...

..and the score after three innings is Brooklyn 4, the Boogymen 6.

The Boogymen will embark on a six game road trip....

You get the idea.

L.I. Ducks: Faltering Flock Fall Two Back in Standings

From the desk of:  THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE

Revs lead series 2-0

I - YRK 7; LID 2

II - YRK 8; LID 3

III - WEDNESDAY

Long Island Ducks: Countdown commenced at T minus 20 ... that's twenty games remaining in the first half.

Something just doesn't jive...

You study team stats, compare them, sometimes even admire them, and reasonably conclude Long Island should be slightly ahead of Somerset in the standings.  Yet, by close of business Tuesday, the Ducks ponderously fell two games behind the Patriots in the Liberty Division.

You start thinking what went wrong in a season where seemingly every little taste of first place resulted in food poisoning.  Then a quick glance back over last two months reveals a season littered by squandered opportunities.

On June 14, the Ducks began a stretch of 24 games in 22 days.  Things got off well enough with a home sweep of the Bees.  Losing a double-header to the Lancaster Barnstormers this past Saturday, however, was absolutely brutal.  Somerset was victorious over the Blue Crabs that day, and so the Ducks needed to at least gain a split.

Long Island arrived in York Monday where their road woes continued with a pair of losses against the Freedom Division leaders, that A) - ensured Long Island's second straight series loss in York with Wednesday's game to go, and B) - dropped their road record to 11-17 this season.

LIBERTY DIVISION

Patriots   34-24

Ducks      32-26

Somerset owns the head-to-head match-up against the Ducks, and the two will not face each other again for the remainder of the first half.  Now time is beginning to run short, and the Patriots are heating up again with an 8-2 record over their last ten games.

And now time is beginning to run short on the first half.

Prepare for a photo finish ... but it didn't need to be this way.

Brooklyn Cyclones: Noise Complaints on Surf Avenue

From the desk of:  THE CONEY ISLAND NINE

Series Finale

Tri City Valley Cats

vs.

Brooklyn Cyclones

FROM

CONEY ISLAND

Brooklyn Cyclones: It's been a long season, and we're only four games in...

Look what happened to the Cyclones ... again!

The Baby Bums engaged in yet another late night Surf Avenue disturbance that lasted 17 innings this time, and didn't end until 1:10am into the night.  At least Friday's 20 inning violation concluded by 12:34am.

And once again, the Cyclones came up just short.

• Friday - 20 inning loss to Staten Island.
• Saturday - 10 inning, no-hit loss to Staten Island
• Sunday - First victory of season over Tri City
• Monday - 17 inning loss to Tri City

The innings are already exacting a heavy early season toll on the Cyclones staff, who've combined to pitch 56 innings in just four games, or, an average of 14 innings per game.

The situation has gotten to the point where Coach Gamboa resorted to handing infielder Santo Marte the ball in the 16th and 17th innings of Monday's game.

Marte has participated in a total of 15 games over the last two seasons, much less being practiced in the art of pitching.  Nevertheless, armed with a 77 mph pitch (for loss of a better word) he very interestingly negotiated a rather efficient 16th inning despite hitting a batter.  The uniqueness of his "stuff" wore off, however, as the Valley Cats turned the 17th inning into just another batting practice session with four runs.

The Cyclones damn near accomplished the improbable, after scoring three runs, and loading the bases with two outs.  Catcher Brandon Brosher, however, looked at strike three to end the game.

Brooklyn Cyclones Gain First Victory; 2016 Season Preview

From the desk of:  THE SURF AVENUE SLUGGERS

KNOW YOUR CYCLONES

BrooklynCyclones.com/Roster

BROOKLYN CYCLONES: Try, try, and try again; Jay Jabs' seventh inning stroke propels Coney Islanders to first victory of new season.

The first weekend of Cyclones baseball is in the books.  And perhaps Coney Island's annual Mermaid Parade best symbolized just how odd Brooklyn's two games against the Yankees, and series opener against the Valley Cats really were.

Opening Day featured an absurd 20-inning marathon at Coney Island, won by the Yankees.  The Cyclones were then no-hit through 10 innings during a 2-1 loss on Saturday in the Staten Island end of their home and home opening series.  The occasion marked the second time the Cyclones were no-hit in their sixteen year history.

On Sunday, Brooklyn hosted the Tri City Valley Cats, and again were limited to just a pair of hits through the first six innings.  Tri City finally broke a scoreless tie in the top of the seventh, taking a 1-0 lead off reliever Alejandro Castro.  The Brooks came right back in the bottom of the frame, taking a 2-1 lead on a 2-RBI single by third baseman Jay Jabs, making his Cyclones debut.  Reliever Taylor Henry made that lead stand with two scoreless innings for his first save of the season.

...and the Brooklyn Cyclones' first victory of the season..!

Know Your Cyclones

Manager Tom Gaboa, now in his third season as Cyclones manager, will have a pair of fresh faces on his staff.  Joining bench coach Edgardo Alfonzo, who has been with Gamboa since 2014, former Cyclone Sean Ratcliffe will serve as this year's hitting coach.  He coached with Kingsport last season. This will also be Billy Bryk Jr.'s first season as pitching coach, who previously padded his resume in the independent circuits.

Coach Gamboa's record:

• 2014) 42-34; third straight season no playoffs.
• 2015) 33-43; first losing record in Cyclones history.
• Overall Record: 75-77 (.493)

Per the 2016 Game Program (first edition) and Cyclones website/roster: Nine of this year's Mets top eleven amateur draft picks are due to report to Brooklyn - most of which remain unsigned at last check.  There's also Kingsport of the Appalachian League to consider, who open their season on June 23rd.  Many of this year's Cyclones are last year's Appalachian League Mets.

2015 Kingsport Mets Player Statistics

Cyclones players who've thus far seen action through the first three games of the season:

• 1st Update Monday 6/20
• 2nd Update Tuesday 6/21
• 3rd Update Wednesday 6/22

PITCHING

Starting Rotation:

• Friday - RHP Gabriel Llanes, 20, pitched one game for BK last season.  Made 11 combined starts in 2015 w/ GCL and Kingsport.
• Saturday - RHP Harol Gonzalez, 21, led Kingsport in innings pitched.
• Sunday - RHP Merandy Gonzalez, 20, 2.82 ERA in 44.2 innings at Kingsport.
• Monday - LHP Joel Huertas, 20, last two seasons with GCL Mets.
• Tuesday - RHP Erik Mahoah, 20, Kingsport

Relief Appearances:

• LHP Adrian Almeida, 21, 9.2 K/9 Kingsport; potential Loogy.
• RHP Dillon Becker, 22, Kingsport; potential bullpen stud.
• RHP Bryce Beeler, 23, missed all of 2015, last pitched at Kingsport in 2014.
• RHP Nicco Blank, 23, second year with Brooklyn; already made 11 appearances with Columbia Fireflies this season.
• RHP Alejandro Castro, 23, GCL.
• LHP Gabriel Feliz, 23, Kingsport.
• LHP Taylor Henry, 22, made one appearance for PSL this season; Kingsport.
• RHP Raul Jacobson, 24, pitched 5 combined games for Brooklyn and GCL last season.
• RHP Joseph Zanghi, 21, drafted last year by Reds; made his pro debut this season.
• RHP Nabil Crismatt, 21, Kingsport.

Still Pending:

• RHP Justin Dunn - 1st round pick/2016 - signed
• LHP Anthony Kay - 1st round pick/2016
• RHP Austin McGeorge - 7th round pick/2016
• RHP Chris Viall - 6th round pick/2016
• RHP Gary Cornish - 19th round/2016 
• RHP Adam Atkins - 18th round/2016

INFIELD

• C Brandon Brosher, 21, second season with Cyclones; played one game this season with PSL.
• C Ali Sanchez, 19, played mostly with GCL Mets.
• C Dan Rizzie - 13th round draft pick/2016; making his pro debut.
• C/1B Darryl Knight, 22, seven home runs in 110 at-bats with Kingsport.
• P/1B Dionis Paulino, 21, GCL.
• 2B Santo Marte, 22, only 15 games played last two seasons.
• 2B Nicholas Sergakis, 23, drafted in 23rd round/2016; making his pro debut.
• SS Dale Burdick, 20, played four games with Binghamton this season.
• SS/3B Yeffry De Aza, 19, batted .313 in 99 at-bats at Kingsport.
• SS Colby Woodmansee - 5th round draft pick/2016; making his pro debut.
• 3B Franklin Correra, 20, Kingsport.
• 3B Jay Jabs, 21, drafted 17th round/2016; making his pro debut.

Still Pending:

• 1B Peter Alonso - 2nd round pick/2016 
• SS Michael Paez - 4th round pick/2016
• 3B Blake Tiberi - 3rd round pick/2016   Signed

OUTFIELD

• LF Vincente Lupo, 22, already played 25 games with Columbia Fireflies this season; played 93 games with Savannah last season.
• LF Hengelbert Rojas, 22, second season with Cyclones.
• LF/CF Enmanuel Zabala, 21, second season with Cyclones; appeared in four games with Columbia Fireflies this season.
• CF Jacob Zanon, 20, drafted in 15th round/2016; making his pro debut.
• RF Arnaldo Berrios, 20, Kingsport.
• RF Gene Cone - 10th round pick/2016; making his pro debut.

N.Y. Mets: Taijeron and Nimmo making noise in Las Vegas

Here's my latest for 

RisingApple.com

Mets prospects Brandon Nimmo and Travis Taijeron 

Demanding Sandy Alderson's Attention

Mike

senior staff writer/Rising Apple

Staten Island Yankees complete sweep over Brooklyn Cyclones

From the desks of:

THE SURF AVENUE SLUGGERS  and THE RICHMOND COUNTY BOMBERS

The Staten Island Yankees completed a home-and-home opening series sweep 

Saturday over the Brooklyn Cyclones at the Ballpark at St. George.

Staten Island's Drew Finely and Josh Roeder combine on 10-inning no-hitter over Brooks; Mini Bombers complete 30-inning, two game opening series sweep of Cyclones.

Game One Final

Yankees    3

Cyclones   2

20 innings

Game Two Final

Cyclones   1

Yankees    2

10 innings

Historic?

Considering the Cyclones jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning after Enmanuel Zabala led-off the game with a HBP, advanced two bases on a walk and a fielder's choice, then scored on a Drew Finely wild pitch?

I guess...

What would Henry Chadwick say?

Yankees starter Drew Finely and reliever Josh Roeder combined to face 33 batters over ten innings.   Finely went six innings, allowed the one earned run on no hits and one walk, with five strikeouts for his first victory.  Reliever Josh Roeder followed, and was flat out dominating over his four innings of work, allowing no hits, no walks, and fanning 10 of the 12 batters he faced.

For his part, Cyclones starter Harol Gonzalez did not pitch badly.  The 21 year old right-hander allowed just one earned run on five hits and two walks, with six strikeouts.

With the score tied at one, Brooklyn's Adrian Almeida took the loss in relief.  In a case of what comes around goes around, Almeida put the eventual winning run on base with a 1-out HBP in the home 10th inning.  A walk and a wild pitch later, DH Dalton Blaser stood at third.  Sound familiar? 

Clean-up batter and first baseman, Kane Sweeney then singled Blaser home for the win, and the sweep.

Of the 34 Cyclones batters who stepped up to the plate Saturday, 15 of them struck out.  The Cyclones were outscored by a mere 5-3 margin, but were out-hit by a 19-7 margin over two games against Yankees pitching.

Back to back extra inning losses to the Staten Island Yankees?

Definitely not what I had in mind to start the season.

L.I. Ducks: No Place Like Home

From the desk of: THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE

Saturday Twin-Bill at Bethpage Ballpark

TODAY

Lancaster Barnstormers

vs.

Long Island Ducks

FROM

THE POND

LONG ISLAND DUCKS: A sweep of the Bees, and even a five game winning streak still barely enough to distance themselves from Somerset Patriots.

Heading into Saturday's double-header against the Lancaster Barnstormers, the Ducks are winners of five in a row, and remain undefeated during their current home stand.

By virtue of one more loss in the Liberty Division standings, the relentless second place Patriots are similarly 7-2 over their last nine games, and enter today's action against the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs a mere half game behind Long Island.

Including today's double-header, the Ducks have 14 games remaining in June, then 10 games to go in July before the first half expires.

Flock Rock

The indefatigable Lew Ford continues leading the Atlantic League with a .348 average, while Fehlandt Lentini is still third with a .345 mark, and is 7th in the league with 31 RBI.

Three Ducks starting pitchers rank among the league's top six in ERA.  Mark Blackmar leads all with a stellar 1.94 ERA; Jack Snodgrass is fourth with a 2.97 mark; John Brownell is heating up and now rates sixth with a 3.09 ERA.

Meanwhile, Jack Snodgrass leads the circuit with 67 strikeouts, with Darin Downs a close second with 62 strikeouts.

In his last three starts, John Brownell has only allowed five earned runs through 23 innings pitched, while fanning 24 batters and only walking four.  On June 11, he struck out double-digit batters for the second time this season.

M*A*S*H

Tyler Colvin and Sean Burroughs are in the midst of serving a 7-day stint on the disabled list, with shortstop Dan Lyons ailing from a strained hamstring as well.

New Kids in the Pond

General Michael Pfaff signed two players during the week that was.

• Pitcher Dustin Richardson, 32, gained 29 games of MLB experience between the 2009 and 2010 seasons with Boston.  Drafted by the Red Sox in the 5th round of the 2006 amateur draft, he additionally went on to serve in the respective systems of Florida, Atlanta, L.A./Anaheim, and the L.A. Dodgers.  Now an 11 year minor league and independent circuit veteran, he formerly pitched for the Sugar Land Skeeters during the 2012 and 2013 seasons.  At all levels, he boasts a career 46-36 record and 4.35 ERA through 776 innings pitched.  He owns a career 1.394 WHiP, and a 9.5 K/9 average covering 378 games, and 84 career starts.

• Second baseman Carlos Hughes, 27, was reacquired, after appearing in 35 games for the Ducks last season.  He previously played for the Sussex County Miners of the CanAm League, and for the Camden RiverSharks.  In 2014, he also played for the Las Vegas Train Robbers(!) of the independent Pecos League.

Last Licks

Revisiting a favorite pet peeve of mine  -  had the Atlantic League not realigned the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs and Somerset Patriots, the Ducks could presently be leading the Liberty Division by six games over second place New Britain.  In fact, we could even be speaking of a mini dynasty were it not for Somerset's division presence over the last few seasons... perchance to dream.

Just gotta play the game...

By The Way...

Nice appearance by Long Island closer, and eight year major league veteran Todd Coffey on MLB Network last week, giving the Atlantic League and the Ducks a lot of exposure.

Staten Island Yankees spoil Brooklyn season opener in 20-inning marathon

From the desk of:  THE CONEY ISLAND NINE

Opening Day Final

S.I. Yankees    2

BK Cyclones   1

Richmond County Bombers outlasted the Cyclones, a fireworks show, Dino's, the Scream Zone attractions, and most kids under 12 years old during a nearly 6 hour long Opening Day/Late Night marathon at MCU Park.

One batter and eight minutes into the Cyclones' regular season, center fielder Enmanuel Zabala connected on a high arching, lead-off home run off the scoreboard in left field against Yankees starter Adonis Rosa.

The Richmond Nine struck back, touching Brooklyn starter Gabriel Llanes for three hits and an RBI sac-fly in the top of the 4th inning to take a 2-1 lead.  Llanes otherwise pitched 6 innings, allowed just the two earned runs on six hits, a walk, and fanned one batter before departing to a no-decision.   Gabriel Llanes benefited from Brandon Brosher's a 2-out double, and a triple off the bat of Darryl Knight in the bottom of the frame, which knotted the game at two, and got him off the hook for a potential loss.

That's the way the game remained for the next 15 innings and through many more hours of play.

Brooklyn let a golden scoring opportunity escape them in the home eighth.  Staten Island reliever Justin Kamplain issued three walks to load the bases and was naturally yanked in favor of David Sosebee.  But with two outs, Sosebee whiffed Brandon Brosher swinging to end the threat.

Moreover, the Cyclones were kept hit-less between the 8th and 14th innings.

Staten Island utilized five relievers, two of which tallied three innings each, while Michael Schaub tossed four.  Cyclones manager Tom Gamboa was more reserved in his usage, limiting six relievers to a pair of innings each, and calling on nine relievers overall.

Coach Gamboa summoned Dionis Paulino to pitch the top of the 20th frame, who promptly walked the first three Yankees batters he faced.  A sac-fly to center later by center fielder Ricardo Ferreria plated the go-ahead run.

Brooklyn went down in order during last licks, while second baseman Santo Marte fanned to end the game.

In an eerie reminder of last season's all pitch/no hit team, the Cyclones went just 1 for 12 with RISP.

The Baby Brooks will venture into Richmond County Saturday to complete their home-and-home opening series against the Yankees.

Brooklyn Cyclones: Opening Day ... and Night

From the desk of:  THE CONEY ISLAND NINE

*  *   2016   *  *

Brooklyn Cyclones Baseball Club

ROSTER

OPENING DAY

Went to get my tickets earlier in the afternoon.

Made my way through the front gates,

quickly grabbed a game program, and checked out the starting line-ups.

But someone clearly dropped the ball here.

#66 Ferrera CF - was slated to lead-off for both teams.

After team introductions,

The Brooklyn Cyclones took the field.

Home plate umpire then made the call to

PLAY BALL!

First Pitch of the 2016 Season

Enmanuel Zabala actually batted lead-off for the Cyclones, 

and led-off the bottom of the first inning with a home run off the left field scoreboard.

The Brooklyn Cyclones opened their 16th regular season against chief rival Staten Island at Coney Island Friday evening, and wound up essentially playing a double-header, plus!  The Cyclones and Yankees played 20 innings on Opening Night before a winner was decided.  Unfortunately for Cyclones fans, Staten Island prevailed.

The Cyclones will travel to Staten Island today to complete their home-and-home opening series against the Baby Bombers.

N.Y. Mets Farm Edition: From Drought to Plenty

Here's my latest for 

RisingApple.com

From Minaya to Alderson: Minor League Edition

Today is also

OPENING DAY
for the Borough's
Boardwalk Nine

Staten Island Yankees

vs.

Brooklyn Cyclones

FROM

MCU PARK

Coney Island, USA

I'll be there!

Tweet me up.

Mike

senior staff writer/Rising Apple

L.I. Ducks: Monday Swim - 6/13

From the desk of:  THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE

Not your average mundane Monday.

Sporting identical 27-22 records, the L.I. Ducks and Somerset Patriots woke up Monday morning locked in a tie for the Liberty Division lead.

But that changed by sundown...

Long Island was idle Monday, while out in Pennsylvania visiting Somerset versus the Lancaster Barnstormers was the only scheduled game in town.

The Patriots were able to piecemeal four runs runs (three unearned), while starter Donovan Hand and a squad of five Somerset relievers limited Lancaster to just a pair.  Their 4-2 victory in turn nudged the Patriots a half game in the standings above the Ducks.

Long Island, meanwhile, was busy traveling home from Southern Maryland after taking a weekend series over the Blue Crabs.  They will now open a seven game home stand on Tuesday, starting with a three game series against the New Britain Bees, followed by a four game set against Lancaster.

Somerset will be hosting the York Revolution and the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. The combined record of the Ducks next two opponents is 49-48, while the Patriots next two opponents own a sub par 47-51 record.

The Ducks, however, so far haven't fared very well against their next two opponents:

• They dropped 2 of 3 games against the Bees back in April, then split four games at Bethpage Park in May.

• Long Island opened the month of May with a sweep over the Barnstorms, who then reciprocated with their own three game sweep over Ducks as the calendar flipped to June.

Splits: Long Island Ducks vs. Somerset Patriots

I. Pitching:

• ERA - LID second best; SOM third best.
• WHiP - LID #1; SOM second best.
• Average Against - LID #1; SOM fourth best.
• SLG Against - LID third best; SOM fifth best.
• HR Allowed - SOM fourth least; LID fifth least.
• ER Allowed - LID second least; SOM third least
• Hits Allowed - LID #1; SOM fifth least
• Walks - SOM #1; LID fifth least.
• Strikeouts - LID #1; SOM third most.

II. Batting:

• Average - LID #1; SOM sixth best.
• OBP - LID second best; SOM fourth best.
• SLG - LID second best; SOM fifth best.
• Runs - LID #1; SOM second most.
• Hits - LID #1; SOM fifth most.
• Home Runs - SOM fourth most; LID sixth most.
• Walks - SOM #1; LID sixth most.
• Total Bases - LID second most; SOM fifth most.

On the mound, Long Island hurlers lead the Atlantic League with the fewest hits allowed, as well as WHiP, average against, and strikeouts.  Yet, they've issued more walks and surrendered more home runs than have the Patriots.  While at the plate, Somerset has conversely drawn more walks and hit more home runs than have the Ducks.  The Patriots also lead the league in stolen bases, and have more than doubled Long Island's base thefts.  Otherwise, the Ducks hold an edge (albeit slim in many cases) in nearly all key pitching and batting categories.

So what's the hold up guys?

N.Y. Mets: Lacking Spring in Their Step

Here's my latest for 

RisingApple.com

So far, the first 62 games of the season have been a 2015 redux.

Read about it here...

Mets in midst of the Dog Days of ... Spring?

Mike

senior staff writer/Rising Apple

N.Y. Mets: RA Draft Overview Rounds 2-10

Here's my latest for 

RisingApple.com

Mets Amateur Draft Overview: Rounds 2-10 

 ICYMI: 

Mets June Amateur Draft Overview: Round One 

Mets: 2016 Amateur Draft Preview

Mike

senior staff writer/Rising Apple

L.I. Ducks: Flock Bow to Blue Crabs but Gain Share of First Place

From the desk of:  THE WEBBED SPIKES NINE

Series tied 1-1

I- LID 4; SMD 2

II - SMD 2; LID 1

III - SUNDAY

Long Island Ducks: Crabs get to John Brownell; Flock go limp against Sexton; backdoor way into first place tie with Somerset.

On Saturday, John Brownell set the franchise all-time record with his 92nd start,

but was denied a would be record breaking 41st victory for the Ducks.

One lucky claw back...

That's what Saturday's game must have felt like to John Brownell.

Damn Crabs.

After trading zeroes with opposing starter Tim Sexton through the first five innings, Long Island broke through with a run in the top of the seventh when Sexton himself unleashed a wild pitch allowing Anthony Vega to score from third.

That lead was short lived.  After issuing a 1-out walk to Zack Wilson in the bottom of the frame, Brownell surrendered a 2-out home run to Blue Claws right fielder Jamar Walton.

There's your ball game.

John Brownell completed eight innings of work, allowed two earned runs on six hits and one walk, and fanned ten batters in what devolved into a disappointing loss.

Outside of a gift wild pitch, Tim Sexton fended off the Ducks offense for seven innings, allowing just four hits and a walk, with six strikeouts.

After Sunday's series finale in Southern Maryland, the Ducks will return home on Tuesday to host the New Britain Bees and Lancaster Barnstormers.

Liberty Division Standings

Patriots   26-22

Ducks      26-22

Bees         24-24

Bluefish   19-30

Somerset has certainly done everything possible to hand Long Island the division lead, having posted a 13-22 record after their stellar 13-0 start to their season.  They entered Saturday's action with a precarious 1/2 game lead over the Ducks, then took yet another step backwards in their deteriorating season with their own 6-4 loss to the Barnstormers, and therefore dropped into a tie with the Ducks atop the Liberty Division with identical 26-22 records.

But after posting an 18-10 record in May, the Ducks are now 4-6 in the month of June, and clearly failing to seize the day.

Upon the conclusion of Sunday's rubber game/series finale against Southern Maryland, the Ducks will have 24 games remaining on their first half schedule.  Long Island and Somerset are effectively done with each other, and will not face each other again until the second half.  This division race is gearing up for a photo finish, and must ultimately be won based on how each runs against common opponents.