STATEN ISLAND, NY- The Tigers turned on the power switch late to blast past the Baby Bombers 4-2 in 11 innings before 2,302 at Richmond County Bank Ballpark Wednesday night. The game took three hours and 39-minutes.
It prevented Staten Island (23-18) from getting a sweep against one of the two teams they're battling with for the wildcard, falling half a game behind Oneonta (24-18) and dropping a full game behind Lowell who defeated Cyclones last night.
"For some reason, we can't get a sweep in. It would be nice to get one but it was just one of those games. Just baseball," said middle reliever Phil Bartleski.
All tied at two in extras, the Tigers' bats swung into action against losing Staten Island reliever Jeff Livek (1-2) who was predictably a little rusty after having not worked in 14 days.
"It's tough to do in that situation. A lot of this bullpen is starters. That's tough to do. I haven't been in that situation a lot," Bartleski noted.
Casper Wells greeted him rudely by driving a pitch a few feet over the left field wall to put Oneonta in front to stay. Kody Kaiser then stepped up to the plate and made it back-to-back dingers when he lined one out to right which doubled their lead.
"I don't know if that was the plan to go up there and take big swings. I think we were just trying to put good swings on the ball and get some runners on base. But sometimes good swings turn into home runs," a pleased Kaiser noted afterwards in the winning dugout.
"Mine wasn't as impressive as Casper's. Casper's got a little pressure on him in a tie game going to extra innings. So his home run took a little pressure off of me. But my drive right there I felt was something in play and just kind of ran into one."
The biggest reason though which allowed the Tigers to comeback and tie the game on a two out seventh inning RBI single from Ron Bourquin was splendid relief work from the combination of Jacob Ramos, Rudy Darrow, Erik Crichton and closer Noah Krohl who worked the final five-plus without allowing another run.
"Our pitchers have done a great job all week and we didn't really pick them up the first two games. But we did tonight and it's important that they know that we got the ability to really help them out in a jam and vice versa. But yeah. we complemented each other well this game," Kaiser added after his team was able to salvage the final game of the series.
After Staten Island reliever Kyle Hollander worked a 1-2-3 eighth, they had a possible opportunity to go ahead when centerfielder Taylor Holiday lined a sharp single down the right field line. But he was nailed at second by a perfect throw by Kaiser to shortstop Jorge Patino which ended the inning.
Neither team was able to threaten in the ninth which pushed it to extras.
"Losing that in the bottom of the ninth inning is pretty tough," third baseman Brian Chavez pointed out after failing to score with a chance to win it. "We just got to bounce back tomorrow and keep playing."
"They had a little momentum going in there after the ninth. You just got to tip your hats off to them and we'll be back tomorrow."
Kind of overlooked in the tough defeat was some stellar infield defense turned in by the Bombers which included a few sparkling double plays to get out of trouble including a nice 5-4-3 twin killing in the fifth by Ryan Wehrle and Damon Sublett who later left with an injury.
"Defensively, we're really solid right now but tonight like I said wasn't our night. So we're back tomorrow."
Notes: Unable to get anything against Oneonta starter Alfredo Figaro who worked the first five scoreless while striking out five, the Bombers rallied for two runs in the home sixth off reliever Jose Fracaso. Catcher Jose Gil went yard to left to leadoff the frame and tie it for his fourth homer of the season (third at home). Austin Krum followed with a triple and then came into score from third when Fracaso balked him in. ... Though he didn't have his best stuff, SP Zach McAllister allowed just a run in four innings of work despite giving up five hits while walking one and fanning four.
Leadoff man Justin Snyder finally cooled off going hitless in five at bats to drop his average to .367. ... Before leaving the game with an injury, Sublett continued to stay hot with two more hits making it nine out of 10 with at least one hit. The versatile Snyder who started the game at short replaced him at second while Ryan Wehrle moved from third to short and Chavez took over at the hot corner. ... Corner infielder Braedyn Pruitt remained sizzling with another multi-hit night. ... Baby Bombers host Lowell in the start of a three-game set tonight with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 PM.
Bombers to honor Robinson Cano Saturday Night: Staten Island will honor current Yankee second baseman Robinson Cano this Saturday night on the final game of the homestand during Robby Cano Night where they will retire his number.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Bombers take second straight from Tigers
STATEN ISLAND, NY- Make it two for two.
The Staten Island Yankees made it two straight over the Oneonta Tigers by posting a 4-2 victory before 2,343 at Richmond County Bank Ballpark Tuesday night. The win was their fourth in five, putting them a season high six games over .500 (23-17) and into a tie with Lowell for the wildcard.
It also vaulted them half a game ahead of Oneonta (23-18) in what should be an exciting race for the final playoff berth in the Penn League.
"A good win for us. I think that kind of puts us back in the chase a little bit," said second baseman Damon Sublett after continuing to swing a hot bat with an RBI double in the seventh which scored Taylor Holiday for a key insurance run. "Hopefully we get on a roll from that from playing hard. Hopefully we'll keep winning."
The Baby Bombers got a solid pitching effort from the tandem of starter Chris Farley and middle reliever Craig Heyer, who each split the first eight innings allowing just one unearned run before handing the baton over to Jonathan Ortiz. After permitting a 400-plus foot leadoff home run to Oneonta's Chris Carlson to dead center off the black, the closer settled down to retire the final three batters for his sixth save.
Carlson was also involved in the Tigers' only other run which got them the lead in the fourth. The first baseman ledoff the frame with a single before advancing to second with one out on a passed ball. He then came around to score on Jorge Patino's RBI single to right to give his ballclub their only lead of the night.
Farley finished his final inning strong by getting the last two swinging. His teammates picked him up in the bottom half to tie it thanks to a clutch two out runscoring single from right fielder Matt Morris which scored backstop Jose Gil after he started things off with a single of his own before D.J. Hollingsworth sacrificed him over.
"[Morris] hadn't played last couple of games. And for him to come through like that in a big situation, that's a big deal. It's good to get contributions throughout the lineup," Sublett pointed out.
Staten Island threatened to go ahead when centerfielder Justin Snyder's infield hit put runners on the corners. However, Holiday fanned to end it.
The game wouldn't stay knotted for long though as third baseman Braedyn Pruitt connected for a two-run dinger to right off losing Oneonta starter Guillermo Moscoso (4-1) in the fifth to put the Bombers ahead for good.
"He's just been hitting all year. If he keeps doing what he's doing, he's going to make a name for himself," added Sublett whose RBI double two innings later made it eight of his last nine games with a hit.
"I'm just trying to be consistent and put some better swings on some balls and good things happen."
Notes: Despite banging out 10 hits, Staten Island stranded 16 runners while their opponents weren't much better leaving 12 on base. ... With another multi-hit game, Pruitt is now hitting .458 (27-for-59) this summer. The corner infielder hit in eight of his last nine, finishing the month of July a sizzling 15-for-33 (.455). Since returning from the DL, he's hit in eight of 10 and only was hitless once in nine starts. ... Snyder continued his hot hitting with a three hit night to lift his average to .381 (51-for-134) which places him second just four points behind Penn League leading hitter Mahoning Valley's Todd Martin. ... Heyer worked four scoreless in relief to pickup his second win. ... Bombers go for the sweep tonight before Lowell comes in for three starting tomorrow.
The Staten Island Yankees made it two straight over the Oneonta Tigers by posting a 4-2 victory before 2,343 at Richmond County Bank Ballpark Tuesday night. The win was their fourth in five, putting them a season high six games over .500 (23-17) and into a tie with Lowell for the wildcard.
It also vaulted them half a game ahead of Oneonta (23-18) in what should be an exciting race for the final playoff berth in the Penn League.
"A good win for us. I think that kind of puts us back in the chase a little bit," said second baseman Damon Sublett after continuing to swing a hot bat with an RBI double in the seventh which scored Taylor Holiday for a key insurance run. "Hopefully we get on a roll from that from playing hard. Hopefully we'll keep winning."
The Baby Bombers got a solid pitching effort from the tandem of starter Chris Farley and middle reliever Craig Heyer, who each split the first eight innings allowing just one unearned run before handing the baton over to Jonathan Ortiz. After permitting a 400-plus foot leadoff home run to Oneonta's Chris Carlson to dead center off the black, the closer settled down to retire the final three batters for his sixth save.
Carlson was also involved in the Tigers' only other run which got them the lead in the fourth. The first baseman ledoff the frame with a single before advancing to second with one out on a passed ball. He then came around to score on Jorge Patino's RBI single to right to give his ballclub their only lead of the night.
Farley finished his final inning strong by getting the last two swinging. His teammates picked him up in the bottom half to tie it thanks to a clutch two out runscoring single from right fielder Matt Morris which scored backstop Jose Gil after he started things off with a single of his own before D.J. Hollingsworth sacrificed him over.
"[Morris] hadn't played last couple of games. And for him to come through like that in a big situation, that's a big deal. It's good to get contributions throughout the lineup," Sublett pointed out.
Staten Island threatened to go ahead when centerfielder Justin Snyder's infield hit put runners on the corners. However, Holiday fanned to end it.
The game wouldn't stay knotted for long though as third baseman Braedyn Pruitt connected for a two-run dinger to right off losing Oneonta starter Guillermo Moscoso (4-1) in the fifth to put the Bombers ahead for good.
"He's just been hitting all year. If he keeps doing what he's doing, he's going to make a name for himself," added Sublett whose RBI double two innings later made it eight of his last nine games with a hit.
"I'm just trying to be consistent and put some better swings on some balls and good things happen."
Notes: Despite banging out 10 hits, Staten Island stranded 16 runners while their opponents weren't much better leaving 12 on base. ... With another multi-hit game, Pruitt is now hitting .458 (27-for-59) this summer. The corner infielder hit in eight of his last nine, finishing the month of July a sizzling 15-for-33 (.455). Since returning from the DL, he's hit in eight of 10 and only was hitless once in nine starts. ... Snyder continued his hot hitting with a three hit night to lift his average to .381 (51-for-134) which places him second just four points behind Penn League leading hitter Mahoning Valley's Todd Martin. ... Heyer worked four scoreless in relief to pickup his second win. ... Bombers go for the sweep tonight before Lowell comes in for three starting tomorrow.
Bombers rally for two in the eighth to push past Tigers
STATEN ISLAND, NY- A two-run eighth inning rally was enough to get their six-game homestand started on the right foot.
Jose Gil's two out RBI single to right center scored Braedyn Pruitt for the winning run in a 3-2 comeback victory over Oneonta before 2,749 on an overcast night at Richmond County Bank Ballpark Monday night.
The win was Staten Island's third in four and improved the club to 22-17, allowing them to remain five behind first place Brooklyn. More importantly, they gained a game on Oneonta in the wildcard race to pull within half a game of the Tigers and a game behind Vermont and Lowell who are tied for first in the Stedler Division.
"That was huge. That's a big game. We needed that. These guys are one game ahead of us for the wildcard. So it's a good win," centerfielder Taylor Holiday pointed out after leading off the eighth with a bunt single down the third base line before coming around to score the tying run on a one out Pruitt RBI single to right.
"I looked horrible on the pitch earlier in that at bat. He gave me a curveball. Just stayed with it. Luckily, I managed to get one hand on it and get it out there," Pruitt said after digging out of an 0-2 hole to deliver the tying hit off losing Oneonta reliever Jacob Ramos (1-1).
As it turned out, the first baseman's only hit of the night proved to be a big one. Ramos was replaced by Erik Crichton. The reliever just got David Williams on a comebacker which he knocked down before rifling a strike to first which put Pruitt in scoring position setting the stage for Gil. The catcher went with a pitch to right serving it to the opposite field to plate Pruitt for the winning run.
The two run rally helped pickup comebacking reliever Jason Stephens and closer Jonathan Ortiz after they gave up two runs in the top half of the frame on a hit batsman (Jorge Patino) and a four pitch walk to Kody Kaiser.
"Both of those guys have been doing great for us. They're coming in and really really closing the door," added Pruitt.
For much of the game, pitching dominated the night. Bomber starter Ryan Pope turned in his best outing in his third start by working the first four scoreless on just one hit while walking two and striking out six.
The 22 year-old Savannah Georgia native was staked to a one-run lead thanks to a D.J. Hollingsworth fly ball bloop which just dropped in front of Oneonta centerfielder Mike Sullivan to score Williams for the game's first run.
Jason Kiley and Stephens tossed three consecutive scoreless innings in relief of Pope before Oneonta rallied for two to go ahead in the eighth with two outs. Fortunately, the S.I. bats awakened in time to pull out the victory.
After walking in the lead run, Ortiz settled down to strike out three (all swinging) of the last four he faced including Cory Middleton to end it, picking up his first win in the process.
Notes: Former Baby Bomber shortstop Luis Nunez was promoted to Single-A Charleston Monday night to take the place of one-time S.I. Yankee Eduardo Nunez who got moved up to Tampa. Utility man Justin Snyder played short in his place and finished 1-for-4. ... With a hit in three plate appearances, second baseman Damon Sublett has hit in eight of his last nine games. ... Despite a walk and run scored, Williams had an eight-game hitting streak snapped. ... Even though it was a lowscoring game, it still took three hours and 13 minutes to complete. ... SP Chris Farley takes the hill in the second game of the series later tonight with first pitch scheduled for 7:10.
Jose Gil's two out RBI single to right center scored Braedyn Pruitt for the winning run in a 3-2 comeback victory over Oneonta before 2,749 on an overcast night at Richmond County Bank Ballpark Monday night.
The win was Staten Island's third in four and improved the club to 22-17, allowing them to remain five behind first place Brooklyn. More importantly, they gained a game on Oneonta in the wildcard race to pull within half a game of the Tigers and a game behind Vermont and Lowell who are tied for first in the Stedler Division.
"That was huge. That's a big game. We needed that. These guys are one game ahead of us for the wildcard. So it's a good win," centerfielder Taylor Holiday pointed out after leading off the eighth with a bunt single down the third base line before coming around to score the tying run on a one out Pruitt RBI single to right.
"I looked horrible on the pitch earlier in that at bat. He gave me a curveball. Just stayed with it. Luckily, I managed to get one hand on it and get it out there," Pruitt said after digging out of an 0-2 hole to deliver the tying hit off losing Oneonta reliever Jacob Ramos (1-1).
As it turned out, the first baseman's only hit of the night proved to be a big one. Ramos was replaced by Erik Crichton. The reliever just got David Williams on a comebacker which he knocked down before rifling a strike to first which put Pruitt in scoring position setting the stage for Gil. The catcher went with a pitch to right serving it to the opposite field to plate Pruitt for the winning run.
The two run rally helped pickup comebacking reliever Jason Stephens and closer Jonathan Ortiz after they gave up two runs in the top half of the frame on a hit batsman (Jorge Patino) and a four pitch walk to Kody Kaiser.
"Both of those guys have been doing great for us. They're coming in and really really closing the door," added Pruitt.
For much of the game, pitching dominated the night. Bomber starter Ryan Pope turned in his best outing in his third start by working the first four scoreless on just one hit while walking two and striking out six.
The 22 year-old Savannah Georgia native was staked to a one-run lead thanks to a D.J. Hollingsworth fly ball bloop which just dropped in front of Oneonta centerfielder Mike Sullivan to score Williams for the game's first run.
Jason Kiley and Stephens tossed three consecutive scoreless innings in relief of Pope before Oneonta rallied for two to go ahead in the eighth with two outs. Fortunately, the S.I. bats awakened in time to pull out the victory.
After walking in the lead run, Ortiz settled down to strike out three (all swinging) of the last four he faced including Cory Middleton to end it, picking up his first win in the process.
Notes: Former Baby Bomber shortstop Luis Nunez was promoted to Single-A Charleston Monday night to take the place of one-time S.I. Yankee Eduardo Nunez who got moved up to Tampa. Utility man Justin Snyder played short in his place and finished 1-for-4. ... With a hit in three plate appearances, second baseman Damon Sublett has hit in eight of his last nine games. ... Despite a walk and run scored, Williams had an eight-game hitting streak snapped. ... Even though it was a lowscoring game, it still took three hours and 13 minutes to complete. ... SP Chris Farley takes the hill in the second game of the series later tonight with first pitch scheduled for 7:10.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Bomber bats silenced by Spikes
STATEN ISLAND, NY- The Baby Bomber bats were cooled off by State College as three pitchers held them to just one run on four hits as Staten Island (17-14) dropped the second game of the series 7-1 before 4,917 at Richmond County Bank Ballpark Saturday night.
The loss dropped the Bombers back to five and a half behind first place Brooklyn, who snapped a two-game skid with an 11-2 win over Tri-City to pickup a game in the standings.
Despite a solid effort from losing starter Zach McAllister (2-2), the Bombers couldn't provide enough support to take the righty off the hook. He got off to a rough start by allowing the first four Spikes to reach base. After loading them up on a walk, he gave up an RBI single to Andrew Walker for the game's first run.
But facing serious trouble, McAllister pitched his way out of it by striking out the next two batters and then got Erik Huber to bounce out to second baseman Damon Sublett.
Staten Island would threaten in the bottom half by putting runners on the corners with one out but Duke Welker (1-1) induced a tailor made 4-6-3 double play from S.I. third baseman Braedyn Pruitt to get out of it. It summed up the night as the Bombers left 10 runners on.
Consecutive two out hits by Smelin Perez (double) and Keanon Simon (RBI single) in the fifth increased State College's lead to 2-0.
The Bombers responded quickly in the bottom of the frame to slice it back to one. After shortstop Luis Nunez singled and stole second, designated hitter Chris Raber drove him in with a runscoring single to left. But that was all they could muster as Austin Krum bounced into a fielder's choice and Dave Williams followed by striking out swinging.
Staten Island had one chance to tie it up in the seventh off State College reliever Michael Felix. After Felix fanned the first two batters, he issued back-to-back walks to Nunez and pinch hitter Isaiah Howes to get the crowd's hope up. But pinch hitter Matt Morris harmlessly popped out to short which ended the inning.
The Spikes finally put the contest away by batting around for a five-run eighth. S.I. reliever Jason Kiley was done in partially by the defense. After allowing a run to come in on a Justin Ryler RBI double to left center, he gave up a single to Andrew Walker which put runners on the corners with nobody out. That's when it got ugly.
First, catcher's interference by Jose Gil allowed Daniel Rios to reach base safely which loaded the bases. Trailing by two with the infield in, Kiley got Matt Cavagnaro to ground to short but Nunez' throw was dropped by Gil going all the way to the backstop allowing two runs to score which suddenly made it 5-1.
Kyle Hollander replaced Kiley and permitted two more runs on a 4-6-3 twin killing and an RBI single by Austin McClune to make the deficit six. It could've been worse two batters later when Simon laced the third straight hit off the reliever but centerfielder Justin Snyder threw out McClune at home to mercifully end the inning.
State College reliever Brandon Williams worked around a two out ninth inning walk by getting Howes to line out to right which ended it.
Notes: Despite taking the loss, McAllister went the first six giving up two earned runs on four hits while walking two and fanning five. ... In three innings of work, relievers Kiley and Hollander allowed five runs (2 ER) on seven hits. ... Simon finished with a game high four hits in five plate appearances for State College while driving in and scoring a run. ... Welker tossed six strong for the Spikes allowing just a run on three hits while walking one and striking out five to notch the win. ... The game was live webcast on the official Staten Island Yankee site siyanks.com by their team official scorer. ... SP Ryan Zink will go for the Bombers in the rubber game Sunday afternoon at 2 PM.
The loss dropped the Bombers back to five and a half behind first place Brooklyn, who snapped a two-game skid with an 11-2 win over Tri-City to pickup a game in the standings.
Despite a solid effort from losing starter Zach McAllister (2-2), the Bombers couldn't provide enough support to take the righty off the hook. He got off to a rough start by allowing the first four Spikes to reach base. After loading them up on a walk, he gave up an RBI single to Andrew Walker for the game's first run.
But facing serious trouble, McAllister pitched his way out of it by striking out the next two batters and then got Erik Huber to bounce out to second baseman Damon Sublett.
Staten Island would threaten in the bottom half by putting runners on the corners with one out but Duke Welker (1-1) induced a tailor made 4-6-3 double play from S.I. third baseman Braedyn Pruitt to get out of it. It summed up the night as the Bombers left 10 runners on.
Consecutive two out hits by Smelin Perez (double) and Keanon Simon (RBI single) in the fifth increased State College's lead to 2-0.
The Bombers responded quickly in the bottom of the frame to slice it back to one. After shortstop Luis Nunez singled and stole second, designated hitter Chris Raber drove him in with a runscoring single to left. But that was all they could muster as Austin Krum bounced into a fielder's choice and Dave Williams followed by striking out swinging.
Staten Island had one chance to tie it up in the seventh off State College reliever Michael Felix. After Felix fanned the first two batters, he issued back-to-back walks to Nunez and pinch hitter Isaiah Howes to get the crowd's hope up. But pinch hitter Matt Morris harmlessly popped out to short which ended the inning.
The Spikes finally put the contest away by batting around for a five-run eighth. S.I. reliever Jason Kiley was done in partially by the defense. After allowing a run to come in on a Justin Ryler RBI double to left center, he gave up a single to Andrew Walker which put runners on the corners with nobody out. That's when it got ugly.
First, catcher's interference by Jose Gil allowed Daniel Rios to reach base safely which loaded the bases. Trailing by two with the infield in, Kiley got Matt Cavagnaro to ground to short but Nunez' throw was dropped by Gil going all the way to the backstop allowing two runs to score which suddenly made it 5-1.
Kyle Hollander replaced Kiley and permitted two more runs on a 4-6-3 twin killing and an RBI single by Austin McClune to make the deficit six. It could've been worse two batters later when Simon laced the third straight hit off the reliever but centerfielder Justin Snyder threw out McClune at home to mercifully end the inning.
State College reliever Brandon Williams worked around a two out ninth inning walk by getting Howes to line out to right which ended it.
Notes: Despite taking the loss, McAllister went the first six giving up two earned runs on four hits while walking two and fanning five. ... In three innings of work, relievers Kiley and Hollander allowed five runs (2 ER) on seven hits. ... Simon finished with a game high four hits in five plate appearances for State College while driving in and scoring a run. ... Welker tossed six strong for the Spikes allowing just a run on three hits while walking one and striking out five to notch the win. ... The game was live webcast on the official Staten Island Yankee site siyanks.com by their team official scorer. ... SP Ryan Zink will go for the Bombers in the rubber game Sunday afternoon at 2 PM.
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Cyclones Shutdown Bombers To Take Series
STATEN ISLAND, NY- The Cyclones used two big innings along with solid pitching to shutdown the Bombers en route to a 9-3 win before a near capacity crowd of 7,171 at Richmond County Bank Ballpark on Friday Fireworks Night.
Their second straight win allowed them to comeback and take the series after dropping the opener on Independence Day. It raised first place Brooklyn's record to 13-5 and pushed their lead over Staten Island to four games. It was the Baby Bombers' second consecutive loss dropping them back to .500 (9-9).
"You're going to have tough games. The good teams are the ones that take the tough games and they figure out what they can do better and they come out and they bounce back the next day," Staten Island outfielder Isiah Howes explained after coming in as a defensive replacement and singling in his only at bat to leadoff the home ninth.
"It was a good win. It's good to take the series after that first loss in the first game. We just kind of swung the bats. A lot of close games lately. So it was good to win by a big shot," Brooklyn shortstop Jake Eigsti pointed out after finishing with a double and run scored in a three-run fourth which knocked out losing Bomber starter Ryan Zink, who fell to 2-1 after allowing five earned runs on eight hits in just three-plus.
Staked to a one-run lead after his teammates picked him up with three in the first off Brooklyn starter Dylan Owen, Zink tossed two consecutive scoreless but ran out of gas in the fourth. The first four Cyclones reached base on hits including a tying single by catcher Jordan Abruzzo followed by a Joaquin Rodriguez go-ahead single to left which plated Eigsti and knocked out Zink, who was replaced by reliever Phil Bartleski.
They tacked on a run when Micah Schilling grounded into a twin killing to put them up 5-3.
"Big innings are always nice and the pitching did a good job. Besides that first inning, it was great and it's been great. Hopefully, we can keep it up," added Eigsti.
Meanwhile, Owen settled down after a shaky first in which he permitted all three runs on a Damon Sublett RBI double, Jose Gil sac fly and a Taylor Holiday runscoring single.
"It kind of got away from us after that first inning. We did a good job bouncing back in the first but we just couldn't get anything going after that. It wasn't our night I guess," Holiday said after finishing two-for-four with an RBI in a losing effort.
Instead, Owen was in control the next four frames keeping Staten Island hitters off balance with a nasty slider which froze some batters as he piled up nine strikeouts in five to boost his record to 3-0. In fact, after permitting a single to Holiday to start the fourth, he struckout the final six hitters he faced.
"[Owen] definitely made an adjustment after that first inning and he dealt. He was getting that curveball over and did a great job," noted Eigsti.
"I didn't face him but it looked like he had some pretty good offspeed stuff," Howes viewed. "He was throwing a decent fastball in there. He was a quality starter. No doubt. We did well to get three runs in the first inning and I guess he just got it together. You got to hand it to him."
The Cyclones put the game out of reach with a four-run sixth against Bartleski, who lost the plate by beaning two batters to get into trouble with an out. He paid the price as Brooklyn tagged him. A Rodriguez single to left scored Will Vogl which made it 6-3. Micah Schilling then followed with a two-run double and came into score on J.R. Voyles' basehit to right giving them a six-run cushion.
They would never look back.
Steve Cheney came on to toss three and two thirds scoreless before giving way to lefty Grady Hinchman, who pitched around a two out walk to Austin Krum by getting shortstop Chris Carrara to pop out to first in foul territory which ended it.
Notes: Staten Island immediately boarded a bus for Batavia with a three-game series starting later tonight.
"We don't know anything about them or about their field. We're just going to go there and we're going to play our game and look to bring back at least two out of three," Howes said of the upcoming series.
"Now we got to go on the road for three at Batavia and hopefully right the ship a little bit and get back in the winning column," Holiday added.
"I sure hope so," skipper Mike Gillespie remarked. "It's interesting that with 75 percent of the season to go that we find ourselves having to make the realization to win every game is critical. We're four games behind in the loss column or whatever it is. They call this a short season for a reason."
After the three-game series on the road, the Baby Bombers get a rare off day on Tuesday before returning home the following night when they'll play host to Auburn.
Their second straight win allowed them to comeback and take the series after dropping the opener on Independence Day. It raised first place Brooklyn's record to 13-5 and pushed their lead over Staten Island to four games. It was the Baby Bombers' second consecutive loss dropping them back to .500 (9-9).
"You're going to have tough games. The good teams are the ones that take the tough games and they figure out what they can do better and they come out and they bounce back the next day," Staten Island outfielder Isiah Howes explained after coming in as a defensive replacement and singling in his only at bat to leadoff the home ninth.
"It was a good win. It's good to take the series after that first loss in the first game. We just kind of swung the bats. A lot of close games lately. So it was good to win by a big shot," Brooklyn shortstop Jake Eigsti pointed out after finishing with a double and run scored in a three-run fourth which knocked out losing Bomber starter Ryan Zink, who fell to 2-1 after allowing five earned runs on eight hits in just three-plus.
Staked to a one-run lead after his teammates picked him up with three in the first off Brooklyn starter Dylan Owen, Zink tossed two consecutive scoreless but ran out of gas in the fourth. The first four Cyclones reached base on hits including a tying single by catcher Jordan Abruzzo followed by a Joaquin Rodriguez go-ahead single to left which plated Eigsti and knocked out Zink, who was replaced by reliever Phil Bartleski.
They tacked on a run when Micah Schilling grounded into a twin killing to put them up 5-3.
"Big innings are always nice and the pitching did a good job. Besides that first inning, it was great and it's been great. Hopefully, we can keep it up," added Eigsti.
Meanwhile, Owen settled down after a shaky first in which he permitted all three runs on a Damon Sublett RBI double, Jose Gil sac fly and a Taylor Holiday runscoring single.
"It kind of got away from us after that first inning. We did a good job bouncing back in the first but we just couldn't get anything going after that. It wasn't our night I guess," Holiday said after finishing two-for-four with an RBI in a losing effort.
Instead, Owen was in control the next four frames keeping Staten Island hitters off balance with a nasty slider which froze some batters as he piled up nine strikeouts in five to boost his record to 3-0. In fact, after permitting a single to Holiday to start the fourth, he struckout the final six hitters he faced.
"[Owen] definitely made an adjustment after that first inning and he dealt. He was getting that curveball over and did a great job," noted Eigsti.
"I didn't face him but it looked like he had some pretty good offspeed stuff," Howes viewed. "He was throwing a decent fastball in there. He was a quality starter. No doubt. We did well to get three runs in the first inning and I guess he just got it together. You got to hand it to him."
The Cyclones put the game out of reach with a four-run sixth against Bartleski, who lost the plate by beaning two batters to get into trouble with an out. He paid the price as Brooklyn tagged him. A Rodriguez single to left scored Will Vogl which made it 6-3. Micah Schilling then followed with a two-run double and came into score on J.R. Voyles' basehit to right giving them a six-run cushion.
They would never look back.
Steve Cheney came on to toss three and two thirds scoreless before giving way to lefty Grady Hinchman, who pitched around a two out walk to Austin Krum by getting shortstop Chris Carrara to pop out to first in foul territory which ended it.
Notes: Staten Island immediately boarded a bus for Batavia with a three-game series starting later tonight.
"We don't know anything about them or about their field. We're just going to go there and we're going to play our game and look to bring back at least two out of three," Howes said of the upcoming series.
"Now we got to go on the road for three at Batavia and hopefully right the ship a little bit and get back in the winning column," Holiday added.
"I sure hope so," skipper Mike Gillespie remarked. "It's interesting that with 75 percent of the season to go that we find ourselves having to make the realization to win every game is critical. We're four games behind in the loss column or whatever it is. They call this a short season for a reason."
After the three-game series on the road, the Baby Bombers get a rare off day on Tuesday before returning home the following night when they'll play host to Auburn.
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Betances Shows Poise and Promise
STATEN ISLAND, NY - It's one thing to not allow a run when you have your best stuff but quite another when you're working your way through batters without it.
That's what Dellin Betances was able to do well enough in his fourth Penn League start against the Cyclones last night before a near packed house of 6,011 who celebrated part of their Independence Day by taking in an exciting 4-3 eleven inning Baby Bomber victory over the Cyclones at St. George.
Despite creating a couple of jams with a loss of control (six walks), Betances was able to pitch his way out of trouble by showing tremendous poise. One particular instance in the third inning saw the young 19 year-old hurler load the bases on three walks with two outs. He then went to a full count on Brooklyn first baseman Jason Jacobs before freezing him with an unhittable pitch which painted the outside corner to get out of it.
“I was glad to get that pitch cause I was kind of [upset] that I walked the bases loaded. So I was glad I got that last strike to strike [Jacobs] out,” Betances said after getting a no decision.
That kind of ability is what excites first-year skipper Mike Gillespie about his 19 year-old pupil who starred for Grand Street High School before being selected by the Yankees in last year's draft in the eighth round. Blessed with a fastball which can reach the mid-90's, he also possesses a wicked knuckle curve and changeup in his arsenal, giving Bronx Bomber fans plenty to get excited about. In 18 innings thus far, he had a 1-1 record with a 3.00 ERA and has whiffed 22.
“I liked the way he kept his poise and sort of pushed his way through it. I think he is a mature kid. I personally have been very impressed with his maturity beyond his years. I haven’t seen him be rattled," the manager noted as his team prepared for the second game of a three-game set scheduled for Thursday night at Keyspan Park.
That's what Dellin Betances was able to do well enough in his fourth Penn League start against the Cyclones last night before a near packed house of 6,011 who celebrated part of their Independence Day by taking in an exciting 4-3 eleven inning Baby Bomber victory over the Cyclones at St. George.
Despite creating a couple of jams with a loss of control (six walks), Betances was able to pitch his way out of trouble by showing tremendous poise. One particular instance in the third inning saw the young 19 year-old hurler load the bases on three walks with two outs. He then went to a full count on Brooklyn first baseman Jason Jacobs before freezing him with an unhittable pitch which painted the outside corner to get out of it.
“I was glad to get that pitch cause I was kind of [upset] that I walked the bases loaded. So I was glad I got that last strike to strike [Jacobs] out,” Betances said after getting a no decision.
That kind of ability is what excites first-year skipper Mike Gillespie about his 19 year-old pupil who starred for Grand Street High School before being selected by the Yankees in last year's draft in the eighth round. Blessed with a fastball which can reach the mid-90's, he also possesses a wicked knuckle curve and changeup in his arsenal, giving Bronx Bomber fans plenty to get excited about. In 18 innings thus far, he had a 1-1 record with a 3.00 ERA and has whiffed 22.
“I liked the way he kept his poise and sort of pushed his way through it. I think he is a mature kid. I personally have been very impressed with his maturity beyond his years. I haven’t seen him be rattled," the manager noted as his team prepared for the second game of a three-game set scheduled for Thursday night at Keyspan Park.
Betances was pleased that he was able to get through four and two thirds without allowing a run despite unusual conditions on the Fourth of July.
"It was pretty hard just being that the rain and stuff but I managed through it and we actually got a win. So that was good," he pointed out.
If the weather wasn't ideal, then the plate umpire who passed on a couple of borderline strikes which led to walks probably didn't help in that regard either. However, Betances didn't seem to mind how it was called.
"It's alright. You just can't think about it too much cause you got more pitches to worry about. He was alright. The rain probably had an affect."
The lanky righty who's listed at 6-9 230 in the Staten Island Yankee program never buckled despite some gritty at bats by the Cyclones. He also got Jacob Eigsti to line out to short for a 6-5 inning ending double play in the fourth stranding two more runners at the corners.
Most encouraging for Betances was that he finished strong by getting Micah Schilling looking and Ender Chavez swinging before departing to a nice ovation after reaching his pitch count (89 pitches). He finished the night striking out six Cyclones.
"I was glad after that I was able to bounce back and get those two guys out but I reached my pitch count. So I had to come out. There was no way I could've thrown to that last guy."
"He can finish a hitter if he's at 85 and that's what happened with the previous hitter. But he couldn't start another new hitter," informed Gillespie who also lamented having to take his starter out.
"I dreaded that trip to the mound with one out to go and he did not want to come out. He wasn't thrilled. There was no issue over it but he wanted to stay in the game."
For the New York resident, he was excited to be able to pitch for the home club in such a great environment against their Verrazano rival.
"It's a great feeling. We had a lot of fans today. I was glad we got the win. So it's a great feeling just being here in front of the home fans. And there's nothing better than Yankee fans. I loved it."
He also talked about the importance of getting that first game against the Cyclones. Staten Island sliced Brooklyn's lead to two games.
"It's always good to get the first one. So get that out of the way. If we could win [Thursday] that would be great."
Despite pitching in the Gulf Coast League last Fall, he has noticed a difference in his first year in the Penn League and also knew he could improve on last night's outing.
"I did pitch Gulf Coast. It's different because there's more college hitters. Patient. Very good hitters. So you just got to throw strikes.I didn't really do that today but hopefully next time I come back.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Baby Bombers celebrate The Fourth in style with wild win , Walk off over archrival Cyclones
STATEN ISLAND, NY - Sometimes, baseball can be a funny game. That was the case in the Baby Bombers' exciting 4-3 comeback victory in 11 innings against their Verrazano rival before an energized 6,011 at Richmond County Bank Ballpark who were treated to special Fourth of July fireworks immediately following the unpredictable game which lasted three hours and 39 minutes in spite a start an hour earlier.
The win improved second place Staten Island to 9-7, pulling them within two games of first place Brooklyn (11-5) in the McNamara Division.
"Our offense found a way to get it done," pumped up third baseman Justin Snyder said after leading the 11th off with a walk before coming around to score the tying run when Brooklyn first baseman Jason Jacobs was unable to get his glove on second baseman Damon Sublett's sharp grounder.
"To score the winning run and getting the win and seeing the fireworks is pretty awesome. That's what it's all about," as he and teammates then gathered around edge of the dugout to watch the beautiful display which seemed symbolic on such a special day.
Trailing by a run thanks to a titanic 400-plus foot blast off the bat of Jake Eigsti to left center, Staten Island rallied in their final at bat. After Snyder worked a walk off Brooklyn reliever Stephen Clyne (1-1), center fielder Matt Morris dragged a perfect sac bunt which Clyne had trouble fielding to put the first two on. Sublett then followed with a hard hit grounder which went underneath Jacobs' glove for the second error of the inning, allowing Snyder to score from second to tie it.
With runners on the corners and nobody out, slugging catcher Jose Gil who earlier accounted for the club's prior two runs with a two-run home run in the fourth couldn't drive home the winner. Instead, he flew out to short right.
Just when it looked like the Cyclones might somehow escape, they messed up a chance to get the second out. With Morris running on contact from third, left fielder Austin Krum grounded to second baseman Micah Schilling who was playing in at the edge of the grass and immediately came home. Morris was a dead duck. So he backpedaled and got himself in a rundown. But third baseman J.R. Voyles was unable to apply the tag instead dropping the ball which allowed everyone to be safe loading the bases with an out.
It got even wackier when Clyne predictably uncorked a wild pitch which allowed Morris to cross the plate with the winning run to give his ballclub an unlikely win before a raucous atmosphere as fireworks went off.
"It was exciting. It's always against top rivals like Brooklyn. So it was a pretty big win for us," reliever Phil Bartleski pointed out after failing to pickup the save when he permitted a one out opposite field double to Ender Chavez which forced extras.
"Everybody played till the last out. That's all we can ask for out of everybody. We got two more games. Take these next two or at least one going into the All Star break. These are big games right here," eluding to the big three-game set with Game 2 later tonight at Keyspan Park before they return to the Ferry terminal tomorrow.
"It was good to comeback and get that win in front of the home fans. Especially against Brooklyn and take a game back when we're trying to catch them," explained reliever Craig Heyer after tossing three innings of one-run ball in relief of starter Dellin Betances and Jason Kiley.
"It just came down to the end and we were able to squeeze it out right there. There were some weird plays but we got the win. So that's all that matters."
The night started off with Betances working in and out of trouble. Despite not having his best stuff and walking the same amount of batters (six) he fanned, the 19 year-old Brooklyn native who was drafted by the Yankees last year showed plenty of resolve in tossing 89 pitches over four and two thirds scoreless.
"I liked the way he kept his poise and sort of pushed his way through it," praised skipper Mike Gillespie about the former Grand Street High School star. "I think he is a mature kid. I personally have been very impressed with his maturity beyond his years. I haven't seen him be rattled."
Most impressive was that when the young hurler needed to dial up a big pitch to squeeze out of a bases loaded jam he created, Betances painted the outside corner on a full count to catch Jacobs looking which ended the third.
"It was pretty hard," the 6-9 righthander explained of rainy conditions which made the mound slippery. "I was glad to get that pitch cause I was kind of [upset] that I walked the bases loaded. So I was glad I got that last strike to strike [Jacobs] out."
He finished strong by striking out the last two batters reaching his pitch count before giving way to the bullpen. Given a two-run lead on Gil's blast to left for his second dinger in two days, they pitched well but couldn't hold it which setup the crazy finish.
Gillespie knew how important it was to get this first one:
"We haven't talked to our players about the fact that it is a big series but I certainly think all the coaches think it's a big series. Even though it's early, it's getting to be less early. ... To have them get out there with too big a gap is not a little thing. I certainly don't like the idea of falling further and further behind.
They've been hot and I think they're good.
Notes: Despite allowing a homer to Eigsti in the eleventh, Staten Island reliever Kyle Hollander cameback to retire the side and pickup his first win. He also came on for Bartleski in the 10th with runners in scoring position with just an out and got out of a tight situation when Will Vogl's suicide squeeze backfired. Gil quickly grabbed the ball before just getting back to the plate in time to tag out Matt Bouchard. Hollander would then get Jordan Abruzzo on a comebacker to end the threat.
"I'm sure glad it came out like it did because I think the surprising thing would be that at some point I didn't ask for a pitchout," an unsurprised Gillespie said. "Julio Mascara, our third base coach pointed out the squeeze as a possibility and I was just guessing for a count. ... They have shown in the few games that we've played that there's a lot in their bag."
Summing up the game, 31 different players were used including 17 Baby Bombers. That included three pinch hitters and nine total pitchers (Bkln- 4 S.I.- 5). ... Since a 1-4 start, the S.I. Yanks have won seven of 10.
The win improved second place Staten Island to 9-7, pulling them within two games of first place Brooklyn (11-5) in the McNamara Division.
"Our offense found a way to get it done," pumped up third baseman Justin Snyder said after leading the 11th off with a walk before coming around to score the tying run when Brooklyn first baseman Jason Jacobs was unable to get his glove on second baseman Damon Sublett's sharp grounder.
"To score the winning run and getting the win and seeing the fireworks is pretty awesome. That's what it's all about," as he and teammates then gathered around edge of the dugout to watch the beautiful display which seemed symbolic on such a special day.
Trailing by a run thanks to a titanic 400-plus foot blast off the bat of Jake Eigsti to left center, Staten Island rallied in their final at bat. After Snyder worked a walk off Brooklyn reliever Stephen Clyne (1-1), center fielder Matt Morris dragged a perfect sac bunt which Clyne had trouble fielding to put the first two on. Sublett then followed with a hard hit grounder which went underneath Jacobs' glove for the second error of the inning, allowing Snyder to score from second to tie it.
With runners on the corners and nobody out, slugging catcher Jose Gil who earlier accounted for the club's prior two runs with a two-run home run in the fourth couldn't drive home the winner. Instead, he flew out to short right.
Just when it looked like the Cyclones might somehow escape, they messed up a chance to get the second out. With Morris running on contact from third, left fielder Austin Krum grounded to second baseman Micah Schilling who was playing in at the edge of the grass and immediately came home. Morris was a dead duck. So he backpedaled and got himself in a rundown. But third baseman J.R. Voyles was unable to apply the tag instead dropping the ball which allowed everyone to be safe loading the bases with an out.
It got even wackier when Clyne predictably uncorked a wild pitch which allowed Morris to cross the plate with the winning run to give his ballclub an unlikely win before a raucous atmosphere as fireworks went off.
"It was exciting. It's always against top rivals like Brooklyn. So it was a pretty big win for us," reliever Phil Bartleski pointed out after failing to pickup the save when he permitted a one out opposite field double to Ender Chavez which forced extras.
"Everybody played till the last out. That's all we can ask for out of everybody. We got two more games. Take these next two or at least one going into the All Star break. These are big games right here," eluding to the big three-game set with Game 2 later tonight at Keyspan Park before they return to the Ferry terminal tomorrow.
"It was good to comeback and get that win in front of the home fans. Especially against Brooklyn and take a game back when we're trying to catch them," explained reliever Craig Heyer after tossing three innings of one-run ball in relief of starter Dellin Betances and Jason Kiley.
"It just came down to the end and we were able to squeeze it out right there. There were some weird plays but we got the win. So that's all that matters."
The night started off with Betances working in and out of trouble. Despite not having his best stuff and walking the same amount of batters (six) he fanned, the 19 year-old Brooklyn native who was drafted by the Yankees last year showed plenty of resolve in tossing 89 pitches over four and two thirds scoreless.
"I liked the way he kept his poise and sort of pushed his way through it," praised skipper Mike Gillespie about the former Grand Street High School star. "I think he is a mature kid. I personally have been very impressed with his maturity beyond his years. I haven't seen him be rattled."
Most impressive was that when the young hurler needed to dial up a big pitch to squeeze out of a bases loaded jam he created, Betances painted the outside corner on a full count to catch Jacobs looking which ended the third.
"It was pretty hard," the 6-9 righthander explained of rainy conditions which made the mound slippery. "I was glad to get that pitch cause I was kind of [upset] that I walked the bases loaded. So I was glad I got that last strike to strike [Jacobs] out."
He finished strong by striking out the last two batters reaching his pitch count before giving way to the bullpen. Given a two-run lead on Gil's blast to left for his second dinger in two days, they pitched well but couldn't hold it which setup the crazy finish.
Gillespie knew how important it was to get this first one:
"We haven't talked to our players about the fact that it is a big series but I certainly think all the coaches think it's a big series. Even though it's early, it's getting to be less early. ... To have them get out there with too big a gap is not a little thing. I certainly don't like the idea of falling further and further behind.
They've been hot and I think they're good.
Notes: Despite allowing a homer to Eigsti in the eleventh, Staten Island reliever Kyle Hollander cameback to retire the side and pickup his first win. He also came on for Bartleski in the 10th with runners in scoring position with just an out and got out of a tight situation when Will Vogl's suicide squeeze backfired. Gil quickly grabbed the ball before just getting back to the plate in time to tag out Matt Bouchard. Hollander would then get Jordan Abruzzo on a comebacker to end the threat.
"I'm sure glad it came out like it did because I think the surprising thing would be that at some point I didn't ask for a pitchout," an unsurprised Gillespie said. "Julio Mascara, our third base coach pointed out the squeeze as a possibility and I was just guessing for a count. ... They have shown in the few games that we've played that there's a lot in their bag."
Summing up the game, 31 different players were used including 17 Baby Bombers. That included three pinch hitters and nine total pitchers (Bkln- 4 S.I.- 5). ... Since a 1-4 start, the S.I. Yanks have won seven of 10.
Sunday, July 01, 2007
Baby Bombers rally past Renegades
STATEN ISLAND, NY- Sometimes, a comeback win can build character. For Mike Gillespie's ballclub, maybe this is the start of something big.
"I think so," the skipper said. "We have played better. We have these new players which has helped. I think we have just about everybody we're going to have. I understand that the Yankees have signed the Pope guy. The pitcher taken in the third round. ... These guys that have come have made a difference."
Trailing 4-0, the Baby Bombers scored seven straight in the fifth and sixth to rally past the Renegades 7-5 before an energized 4,307 at Richmond County Bank Ballpark Sunday. It was their second win in a row and sixth in their last eight to push them over .500 (7-6), remaining just two behind first place Brooklyn who also won.
"Baseball's a funny game. You never know what's going to happen. A hit here. A hit there. A little momentum is all we needed," explained DH Isaiah Howes after coming around to score one of his team's runs. "In this organization, we don't accept losing. We're out there to win. It's fun when you win. That's what we try to do."
It didn't start well. Starter Angel Reyes didn't make it through two innings to put Staten Island in an early 3-0 hole. Hudson Valley struck for two in the first on back-to-back one out hits from Cody Cipriano (double) and Stephen Vogt. The southpaw got into more trouble in the second. After getting the first out, he allowed three consecutive hits including a Maiko Loyola run-scoring single which made it a three-run deficit.
After walking his third batter in one and a third to load the bases, he was pulled in favor of reliever Phillip Bartleski. The righty was able to limit the damage by getting Vogt to bounce into a 4-6-3 double play.
"I knew I had to throw strikes and I got a great defense behind me," the cool middle reliever pointed out after tossing two and two thirds scoreless to keep his team afloat. "I just had to hit some spots and let the defense do the work."
Before the comeback got started in the home fifth, reliever Ryan Zink allowed a Henry Wrigley RBI double which made it four zip. But Zink later settled down to toss five solid innings allowing two runs (1 ER) while whiffing four to improve to 2-0.
"We got some good arms on the staff and really, pitching can carry a ballclub and today, from the fifth inning on, they were lights out," noted Howes. "We got the momentum in the fourth or fifth inning and we built on that throughout the game. And our pitching shut them down."
After failing to capitalize early on against knuckleballer Diego Echeverria (0-3) with even one inning ending on a bizarre 1-5-2-6-6-2 twin killing, the Bombers finally got it going by pushing across three in the fifth. Left fielder D.J. Hollingsworth was hit by a pitch and came around to score when catcher James LaSala's single to right was booted by Epifanio De Leon allowing the speedy runner to score all the way from first.
The big blow came off the bat of second baseman Damon Sublett, who drilled his second home run of the week for a two-run blast to right with two outs which sliced the deficit to one.
"I was just looking for a ball up. My other at bats, [Echeverria] threw me a couple of pitches that were up and out and I was just looking for one in and he gave me one," Sublett pointed out.
The game seemed to turnaround after that.
"We definitely started having better at bats after that. Early in the game, we kind of were up there swinging at first pitches. Not having good at bats. But after that, we locked in and did some things."
After Zink got the Renegades in order, the Bombers nearly batted around for four more in the sixth. They loaded the bases with one out before Claudio Rodriguez replaced Echeverria. In a recent home win, Sublett tagged him with a long dinger. This time, a walk to pinch hitter Austin Krum knotted it before center fielder Taylor Holliday delivered a tiebreaking two-run single to center for S.I.'s first lead. Shortstop Luis Nunez followed with a sac fly which scored Krum to put them ahead 7-4.
"In the beginning, we'd get down and kind of give in. But we had a pretty good game. Some good at bats. If our pitching's on, I don't think we're beatable," third baseman Justin Snyder said after being on base twice and scoring a run. "It seems like everyone's getting knocks."
It was enough to hold up. After giving one run back on an eighth inning Greg Sexton single, Zink got the final three outs on a 6-6-4 DP and a groundout to Nunez.
Notes: Staten Island used all three backstops with LaSala finishing 1-for-2 before Frank Lonigro replaced him after Krum pinch hit. Jose Gil then came on in the final inning to catch Zink. ... Baby Bombers travel to Hudson Valley for Game 2 of the series before concluding it tomorrow night back at St. George.
"I think so," the skipper said. "We have played better. We have these new players which has helped. I think we have just about everybody we're going to have. I understand that the Yankees have signed the Pope guy. The pitcher taken in the third round. ... These guys that have come have made a difference."
Trailing 4-0, the Baby Bombers scored seven straight in the fifth and sixth to rally past the Renegades 7-5 before an energized 4,307 at Richmond County Bank Ballpark Sunday. It was their second win in a row and sixth in their last eight to push them over .500 (7-6), remaining just two behind first place Brooklyn who also won.
"Baseball's a funny game. You never know what's going to happen. A hit here. A hit there. A little momentum is all we needed," explained DH Isaiah Howes after coming around to score one of his team's runs. "In this organization, we don't accept losing. We're out there to win. It's fun when you win. That's what we try to do."
It didn't start well. Starter Angel Reyes didn't make it through two innings to put Staten Island in an early 3-0 hole. Hudson Valley struck for two in the first on back-to-back one out hits from Cody Cipriano (double) and Stephen Vogt. The southpaw got into more trouble in the second. After getting the first out, he allowed three consecutive hits including a Maiko Loyola run-scoring single which made it a three-run deficit.
After walking his third batter in one and a third to load the bases, he was pulled in favor of reliever Phillip Bartleski. The righty was able to limit the damage by getting Vogt to bounce into a 4-6-3 double play.
"I knew I had to throw strikes and I got a great defense behind me," the cool middle reliever pointed out after tossing two and two thirds scoreless to keep his team afloat. "I just had to hit some spots and let the defense do the work."
Before the comeback got started in the home fifth, reliever Ryan Zink allowed a Henry Wrigley RBI double which made it four zip. But Zink later settled down to toss five solid innings allowing two runs (1 ER) while whiffing four to improve to 2-0.
"We got some good arms on the staff and really, pitching can carry a ballclub and today, from the fifth inning on, they were lights out," noted Howes. "We got the momentum in the fourth or fifth inning and we built on that throughout the game. And our pitching shut them down."
After failing to capitalize early on against knuckleballer Diego Echeverria (0-3) with even one inning ending on a bizarre 1-5-2-6-6-2 twin killing, the Bombers finally got it going by pushing across three in the fifth. Left fielder D.J. Hollingsworth was hit by a pitch and came around to score when catcher James LaSala's single to right was booted by Epifanio De Leon allowing the speedy runner to score all the way from first.
The big blow came off the bat of second baseman Damon Sublett, who drilled his second home run of the week for a two-run blast to right with two outs which sliced the deficit to one.
"I was just looking for a ball up. My other at bats, [Echeverria] threw me a couple of pitches that were up and out and I was just looking for one in and he gave me one," Sublett pointed out.
The game seemed to turnaround after that.
"We definitely started having better at bats after that. Early in the game, we kind of were up there swinging at first pitches. Not having good at bats. But after that, we locked in and did some things."
After Zink got the Renegades in order, the Bombers nearly batted around for four more in the sixth. They loaded the bases with one out before Claudio Rodriguez replaced Echeverria. In a recent home win, Sublett tagged him with a long dinger. This time, a walk to pinch hitter Austin Krum knotted it before center fielder Taylor Holliday delivered a tiebreaking two-run single to center for S.I.'s first lead. Shortstop Luis Nunez followed with a sac fly which scored Krum to put them ahead 7-4.
"In the beginning, we'd get down and kind of give in. But we had a pretty good game. Some good at bats. If our pitching's on, I don't think we're beatable," third baseman Justin Snyder said after being on base twice and scoring a run. "It seems like everyone's getting knocks."
It was enough to hold up. After giving one run back on an eighth inning Greg Sexton single, Zink got the final three outs on a 6-6-4 DP and a groundout to Nunez.
Notes: Staten Island used all three backstops with LaSala finishing 1-for-2 before Frank Lonigro replaced him after Krum pinch hit. Jose Gil then came on in the final inning to catch Zink. ... Baby Bombers travel to Hudson Valley for Game 2 of the series before concluding it tomorrow night back at St. George.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Bomber bats spring to life during win streak
STATEN ISLAND, NY- The offense is here. It had to happen eventually.
After a slow start in which they produced only four total runs in three straight losses to fall to 1-4, the Baby Bombers have finally got it going during a current three-game win streak in which they've outscored opponents 24-13.
That included an 8-5 victory at home last night over Hudson Valley to get back to .500. In the win, Staten Island produced its first two home runs of the season with second baseman Damon Sublett smacking a two-run line drive to right in the fifth and first baseman Chase Odenreider two innings later going deep to left with his own two-run shot which gave the ballclub some much needed insurance.
Especially when the Renegades' Henry Wrigley cameback with a two-run shot of his own an inning later which proved to be the final margin.
“It’s always big to keep adding runs. It gets them down and then if you look back, the kid hits a two-run homer, it’s a different game,” right fielder David Williams pointed out.
“I finally connected with one but I got to give it to our defense played well and our pitchers threw really well also," Odenreider added.
The offensive production was a welcome sight.
“We’re starting to come around a little bit. It’s a lot more fun winning and looking forward to the next few games,” the first baseman also said as his team got ready to leave for Hudson Valley. They'll attempt to complete a sweep later tonight before playing three at Aberdeen starting Thursday.
One of the things most agreed on was that getting adjusted at this level would take a little time because you had a lot of college players who used metal bats as compared to wood.
"I think with all the college kids coming from the aluminum bats over to the wood, it takes a little time adjusting," left fielder D.J. Hollingsworth eluded to. "They're really good players. So I think it's starting to click for them."
"Yeah. I think everybody is getting pretty comfortable now and we're getting lofty a little bit. This is going to be a good team. So hopefully, we can keep swinging it," Sublett noted after his first professional homer.
"I think it's just time to come around," Williams added after a two hit night. "A lot of us are coming out of college. We're using metal bats. Obviously, pitching is a step up and using the metal bat, there's always an adjustment. So I think probably a week, two weeks in, we're starting to get the hang of it. We're getting good pitches to hit."
The recent turnaround couldn't have come at a better time for first-year skipper Mike Gillespie.
“It’s giant. Giant," he explained. "I think guys are getting to know each other a little more. Getting a feel for what this level is all about. I’m very encouraged by what we’ve seen. Not just the wins. But by the way they’ve looked and the way they’ve handled themselves.”
One aspect the former USC manager has been encouraged by is that it's not just a couple of guys.
"It's the best nights we've had with the bats. And down through the lineup. Several guys. Guys that don't get to play all the time who haven't done a whole lot when they have played. The homerun by Odenreider was giant. Hollingsworth had a good night. Did a couple of things real well. Sublett has done a lot of good things for us. [Austin] Krum has come to life a little bit."
He also singled out one of his key role players who could be vital this summer to the team's success.
"[Justin] Snyder's a good player. He's a versatile player. He's a real valuable player. This summer, I wouldn't be surprised if he'll play six different positions," about the leadoff man who manned the hot corner Tuesday night and was on-base four different times (2 hits, 2 walks) with a run scored.
"He's got a good chance to be a real good professional utility player."
With three more players coming who Gillespie hinted should all see playing time, things are looking up for the Bombers.
After a slow start in which they produced only four total runs in three straight losses to fall to 1-4, the Baby Bombers have finally got it going during a current three-game win streak in which they've outscored opponents 24-13.
That included an 8-5 victory at home last night over Hudson Valley to get back to .500. In the win, Staten Island produced its first two home runs of the season with second baseman Damon Sublett smacking a two-run line drive to right in the fifth and first baseman Chase Odenreider two innings later going deep to left with his own two-run shot which gave the ballclub some much needed insurance.
Especially when the Renegades' Henry Wrigley cameback with a two-run shot of his own an inning later which proved to be the final margin.
“It’s always big to keep adding runs. It gets them down and then if you look back, the kid hits a two-run homer, it’s a different game,” right fielder David Williams pointed out.
“I finally connected with one but I got to give it to our defense played well and our pitchers threw really well also," Odenreider added.
The offensive production was a welcome sight.
“We’re starting to come around a little bit. It’s a lot more fun winning and looking forward to the next few games,” the first baseman also said as his team got ready to leave for Hudson Valley. They'll attempt to complete a sweep later tonight before playing three at Aberdeen starting Thursday.
One of the things most agreed on was that getting adjusted at this level would take a little time because you had a lot of college players who used metal bats as compared to wood.
"I think with all the college kids coming from the aluminum bats over to the wood, it takes a little time adjusting," left fielder D.J. Hollingsworth eluded to. "They're really good players. So I think it's starting to click for them."
"Yeah. I think everybody is getting pretty comfortable now and we're getting lofty a little bit. This is going to be a good team. So hopefully, we can keep swinging it," Sublett noted after his first professional homer.
"I think it's just time to come around," Williams added after a two hit night. "A lot of us are coming out of college. We're using metal bats. Obviously, pitching is a step up and using the metal bat, there's always an adjustment. So I think probably a week, two weeks in, we're starting to get the hang of it. We're getting good pitches to hit."
The recent turnaround couldn't have come at a better time for first-year skipper Mike Gillespie.
“It’s giant. Giant," he explained. "I think guys are getting to know each other a little more. Getting a feel for what this level is all about. I’m very encouraged by what we’ve seen. Not just the wins. But by the way they’ve looked and the way they’ve handled themselves.”
One aspect the former USC manager has been encouraged by is that it's not just a couple of guys.
"It's the best nights we've had with the bats. And down through the lineup. Several guys. Guys that don't get to play all the time who haven't done a whole lot when they have played. The homerun by Odenreider was giant. Hollingsworth had a good night. Did a couple of things real well. Sublett has done a lot of good things for us. [Austin] Krum has come to life a little bit."
He also singled out one of his key role players who could be vital this summer to the team's success.
"[Justin] Snyder's a good player. He's a versatile player. He's a real valuable player. This summer, I wouldn't be surprised if he'll play six different positions," about the leadoff man who manned the hot corner Tuesday night and was on-base four different times (2 hits, 2 walks) with a run scored.
"He's got a good chance to be a real good professional utility player."
With three more players coming who Gillespie hinted should all see playing time, things are looking up for the Bombers.
Baby Bombers use long ball to power past Renegades
Baby Bombers use long ball to power past Renegades
Posted by Derek Felix under Staten Island Yanks(edit this)No Comments
STATEN ISLAND, NY- The long ball helped the Baby Bombers win their third consecutive game. Behind two-run home runs by second baseman Damon Sublett and first baseman Chase Odenreider, the Staten Island Yankees got back to .500 (4-4) by posting an 8-5 win before 5,094 at Richmond County Bank Ballpark Tuesday night.
The homers were the team’s first of the season in the eighth game.
“It was big. We’ve kind of been up and down with how we’ve been playing and stuff like that. We’ve been trying to put it together. So these first two victories in this series have been pretty good for us,” expressed left fielder D.J. Hollingsworth after a productive two-for-four night which included an RBI single in the third to give his ballclub an early two-run lead.
Leading by two, the Bombers knocked knuckleballer Diego Echeverria (0-2) out of the game in the fifth. With third baseman Justin Snyder having led off the inning with a walk and a swipe of second, it set the stage for Sublett who came up against reliever Claudio Rodriguez after Echeverria got Luis Nunez to line out to left.
Rodriguez fell behind Sublett 3-1 and paid the price when the second baseman lined his first professional homer over the right field fence to double the Bombers’ lead.
“I got some pitches to hit today and I was actually able to do something with it instead of fouling it off like I’ve been doing the last week,” he said after two hits, two walks and a couple of runs scored to go with his first dinger. “[Rodriguez] threw the same pitch earlier in the at bat and so he came back with the same one and this time, I didn’t miss it this time.”
Of the long ball, he remarked, “Hopefully there will be a whole bunch more of those to come.”
Before the inning was out, they would add a run on a two out single by DH Chris Raber. In the sixth, a Nunez sacrifice fly scored Hollingsworth to put them up six after the speedy outfielder ledoff with a bunt single.
Trailing 6-0, the Renegades made things interesting against reliever Angel Reyes by batting around for three runs in the seventh.
Angel Fermin’s double to left was just out of a diving Hollingsworth’s reach to score a couple and break up the shutout. After Reyes got the second out, he didn’t retire another batter. The southpaw loaded the bases on a walk and single. He walked in the third run when he lost Shawn O’Malley to suddenly make it 6-3. But Jason Kiley came in to put out the fire by getting Greg Sexton swinging.
With their lead sliced in half, they responded thanks to Odenreider, who drove a Noah Booth pitch over the left field wall to score center fielder Austin Krum after he ledoff the seventh with a ground rule double. It put them back up five.
“We needed this boost. Our pitching is doing great,” a pleased Odenreider explained. “I finally connected with one but I got to give it to our defense played well and our pitchers threw really well also.”
“Definitely a big home run,” pointed out right fielder David Williams who was right in the middle of things with two hits of his own plus an RBI and run scored.
“It’s always big to keep adding runs. It gets them down and then if you look back, the kid hits a two-run homer, it’s a different game.”
Hudson Valley didn’t go away. The very next inning, Henry Wrigley went yard off Kiley to cut it to 8-5. But that was as close as they got.
Closer Nick Peterson worked around a one out double, fanning Sexton to end it for his second save.
“We’re starting to come around a little bit. It’s a lot more fun winning and looking forward to the next few games,” added Odenreider as his team gets ready for one more at Hudson Valley before a three-game trip to Aberdeen.
Notes: Somewhat lost in the shuffle of all the offense was a solid performance from victorious starter Ryan Zink, who permitted just one hit while walking two and striking out one over the first five to notch his first win.
“He’s awesome. Just like all our pitchers who are throwing strikes, getting people out and we’re starting to put runs up on the board. So they get wins,” Williams added. “They deserve it.”
“Tremendous,” skipper Mike Gillespie said. “I don’t know if we were all in the room the other day but we were talking about the program of number of innings and or number of pitches. I think after four, he threw 41 pitches. So he could’ve gone more. That’s the deal. We know it.”
The former USC manager was equally as impressed with how his players have responded to a tough start by stringing together the last three to get out of the basement in the McNamara Division:
“It’s giant. Giant. I think guys are getting to know each other a little more. Getting a feel for what this level is all about. I’m very encouraged by what we’ve seen. Not just the wins. But by the way they’ve looked and the way they’ve handled themselves.”
According to him, the club will be getting another catcher later today when Brian Baisley returns from Charleston. It’s expected that Brandon Ketron will move up. Baisley was on last year’s championship team and should provide some much needed experience.
Four S.I. Yanks had multi-hit games including Sublett, Hollingsworth, Williams and Snyder (2-for-3, 1 run).
The Baby Bombers don’t return home until Sunday for a matinee against Hudson Valley in another three-game set.
Friday, March 16, 2007
Powerless in Atlanta
If there was a charger, it would be on empty. That's how dreadful the Ranger power play continued to be in another crushing defeat to Atlanta, 2-1 in overtime at Philips Arena Friday night.
Once again, the Blueshirts failed miserably on six power plays- making it 0 for their last four games (0-for-19). The trouble is time much like their too predictable man-advantage is running out on them. Instead of getting two points, they settled for one in a game they controlled a vast majority of outshooting the Thrashers 39-20 in regulation (28-10 final two frames).
"We have to stay the course," coach Tom Renney said. "One thing we do not want to do is get frustrated. Bottom line is we have to keep working here and start getting two points instead of one."
With a golden opportunity to gain ground on the idle Islanders and Hurricanes where a win would've put them in a three-way tie for seventh, the Rangers just wouldn't alter the strategy. One in which Renney continued to send out his all-Euro unit of Michael Nylander, Jaromir Jagr, Petr Prucha, Michal Rozsival and Martin Straka. Content to just skate on the perimeter and pass the puck around instead of registering shots, they helped Atlanta kill off valuable time. The dilemma for the coaching staff was that their more aggressive second unit which gets shots through hardly saw the ice.
Unable to take advantage, the Rangers let a point slip when ex-Islander Alexei Zhitnik one-timed a point shot past Henrik Lundqvist at 2:18 of OT. Cashing in on an undisciplined Matt Cullen hook in the offensive zone, Zhitnik took a feed from Slava Kozlov and bombed his sixth in for the winner. It ended another frustrating game in which the Blueshirts only managed to beat backup goalie Johan Hedberg once. Moose finished with 38 saves earning First Star honors.
"That's a game we should win," Lundqvist pointed out after failing to pickup his 30th win. "Still a good point. We had our chance to get two...I have to stay sharp and not allow any mistakes. Hopefully our power play can step up and get some goals."
The lost point was particularly damaging because instead of guaranteeing themselves of at least a share for seventh with 11 games remaining, New York made the task even more difficult. And while the Leafs were somehow losing in Washington 5-1 making one wonder if there was a Lunar Eclipse, so too were the Canadiens, who fell at Pittsburgh 6-3. Gone was a chance to pull ahead of the Leafs and move two points ahead of the Habs.
Instead, when the Rangers take on Boston tonight on St. Patty's Day, they'll find themselves tied with the Leafs for ninth with each having 77 points and the same 11 left with one pivotal Garden match-up on April Fool's Day. Maybe by that time, Renney's club will fool a lot of people and actually shoot the puck on the power play.
Without Karel Rachunek on the blueline, the Rangers recalled rookie David Liffiton from Hartford. He saw the ice only sparingly though getting 7:26 of ice-time with two shots while taking a questionable holding penalty. What that meant for the rest of the D were major minutes for Rozsival and (30:47), Marek Malik (24:08). Renney doubleshifted both a lot splitting them most of the night with Rozsival working with Thomas Pock (16:25) and Malik teaming with Daniel Girardi (17:53). Paul Mara, who struggled in his end taking two minors also received 19:51.
Despite the heavy workload, they would get the game's first goal late in the first when Sean Avery took a Michael Nylander feed in the slot and wristed one past Hedberg with 53 seconds left. During a change, Jagr fed the puck to Mara down low, who got it to Nylander behind the net. He then found a wide open Avery for his 13th (3rd as a Ranger).
It gave them momentum after a wide open first where each team registered 10 shots. In particular, Lundqvist was sharp in stoning a couple of Thrashers from in close, including a tough pad stop on Marian Hossa.
But the Thrashers would draw even early in the second thanks to some sloppy play by the Rangers. After getting nothing accomplished during a four-on-four, Nylander returned from the box as did Ilya Kovalchuk 13 seconds later to put the clubs at even strength. But with Atlanta pressing on the forecheck, they forced Nylander into a bad turnover. After intercepting his mistimed feed through the middle of the ice, Kozlov fed Kovalchuk, who fired a shot which was redirected home by Hossa for his Thrasher-leading 41st which tied it at 2:51.
Afterwards, the Rangers would dominate play by generating plenty of chances off an aggressive attack. Rookie recall Ryan Callahan nearly had his first but Hedberg got a piece of his backhand from in close. The Hartford leading scorer played very well, getting four shots on goal in 15:06. The Rochester native replaced flu-ridden Ryan Hollweg and made a strong case to stay, also finishing with a team high three hits.
Unfortunately, his inspired play wasn't enough to get the Rangers that second goal. Nor was it enough to merit power play time. There's always that reliable top Euro unit.
Notes: Rookie center Brandon Dubinsky had a solid showing. Despite only receiving 7:40 of ice-time, he was very effective on the forecheck and registered three shots, nearly converting on one. ... Club enforcer Colton Orr (4:14) got into a first period scrap with Eric Boulton, dropping a decision. ... Making his 33rd start in the last 34, Lundqvist finished with 20 saves. ... Despite scoring only 12 goals in their last seven, the Rangers somehow are 4-1-2- managing to get 10 of a possible 14 points. They have scored two-or-less in seven straight.
Once again, the Blueshirts failed miserably on six power plays- making it 0 for their last four games (0-for-19). The trouble is time much like their too predictable man-advantage is running out on them. Instead of getting two points, they settled for one in a game they controlled a vast majority of outshooting the Thrashers 39-20 in regulation (28-10 final two frames).
"We have to stay the course," coach Tom Renney said. "One thing we do not want to do is get frustrated. Bottom line is we have to keep working here and start getting two points instead of one."
With a golden opportunity to gain ground on the idle Islanders and Hurricanes where a win would've put them in a three-way tie for seventh, the Rangers just wouldn't alter the strategy. One in which Renney continued to send out his all-Euro unit of Michael Nylander, Jaromir Jagr, Petr Prucha, Michal Rozsival and Martin Straka. Content to just skate on the perimeter and pass the puck around instead of registering shots, they helped Atlanta kill off valuable time. The dilemma for the coaching staff was that their more aggressive second unit which gets shots through hardly saw the ice.
Unable to take advantage, the Rangers let a point slip when ex-Islander Alexei Zhitnik one-timed a point shot past Henrik Lundqvist at 2:18 of OT. Cashing in on an undisciplined Matt Cullen hook in the offensive zone, Zhitnik took a feed from Slava Kozlov and bombed his sixth in for the winner. It ended another frustrating game in which the Blueshirts only managed to beat backup goalie Johan Hedberg once. Moose finished with 38 saves earning First Star honors.
"That's a game we should win," Lundqvist pointed out after failing to pickup his 30th win. "Still a good point. We had our chance to get two...I have to stay sharp and not allow any mistakes. Hopefully our power play can step up and get some goals."
The lost point was particularly damaging because instead of guaranteeing themselves of at least a share for seventh with 11 games remaining, New York made the task even more difficult. And while the Leafs were somehow losing in Washington 5-1 making one wonder if there was a Lunar Eclipse, so too were the Canadiens, who fell at Pittsburgh 6-3. Gone was a chance to pull ahead of the Leafs and move two points ahead of the Habs.
Instead, when the Rangers take on Boston tonight on St. Patty's Day, they'll find themselves tied with the Leafs for ninth with each having 77 points and the same 11 left with one pivotal Garden match-up on April Fool's Day. Maybe by that time, Renney's club will fool a lot of people and actually shoot the puck on the power play.
Without Karel Rachunek on the blueline, the Rangers recalled rookie David Liffiton from Hartford. He saw the ice only sparingly though getting 7:26 of ice-time with two shots while taking a questionable holding penalty. What that meant for the rest of the D were major minutes for Rozsival and (30:47), Marek Malik (24:08). Renney doubleshifted both a lot splitting them most of the night with Rozsival working with Thomas Pock (16:25) and Malik teaming with Daniel Girardi (17:53). Paul Mara, who struggled in his end taking two minors also received 19:51.
Despite the heavy workload, they would get the game's first goal late in the first when Sean Avery took a Michael Nylander feed in the slot and wristed one past Hedberg with 53 seconds left. During a change, Jagr fed the puck to Mara down low, who got it to Nylander behind the net. He then found a wide open Avery for his 13th (3rd as a Ranger).
It gave them momentum after a wide open first where each team registered 10 shots. In particular, Lundqvist was sharp in stoning a couple of Thrashers from in close, including a tough pad stop on Marian Hossa.
But the Thrashers would draw even early in the second thanks to some sloppy play by the Rangers. After getting nothing accomplished during a four-on-four, Nylander returned from the box as did Ilya Kovalchuk 13 seconds later to put the clubs at even strength. But with Atlanta pressing on the forecheck, they forced Nylander into a bad turnover. After intercepting his mistimed feed through the middle of the ice, Kozlov fed Kovalchuk, who fired a shot which was redirected home by Hossa for his Thrasher-leading 41st which tied it at 2:51.
Afterwards, the Rangers would dominate play by generating plenty of chances off an aggressive attack. Rookie recall Ryan Callahan nearly had his first but Hedberg got a piece of his backhand from in close. The Hartford leading scorer played very well, getting four shots on goal in 15:06. The Rochester native replaced flu-ridden Ryan Hollweg and made a strong case to stay, also finishing with a team high three hits.
Unfortunately, his inspired play wasn't enough to get the Rangers that second goal. Nor was it enough to merit power play time. There's always that reliable top Euro unit.
Notes: Rookie center Brandon Dubinsky had a solid showing. Despite only receiving 7:40 of ice-time, he was very effective on the forecheck and registered three shots, nearly converting on one. ... Club enforcer Colton Orr (4:14) got into a first period scrap with Eric Boulton, dropping a decision. ... Making his 33rd start in the last 34, Lundqvist finished with 20 saves. ... Despite scoring only 12 goals in their last seven, the Rangers somehow are 4-1-2- managing to get 10 of a possible 14 points. They have scored two-or-less in seven straight.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Roger King Of Court Down Under Again, Sweeps Past Gonzalez Into History
After Andy Roddick was eliminated in embarrassing fashion by Roger Federer, he was asked to assess remaining semifinalists Fernando Gonzalez or Tommy Haas' chances of getting the better of the Swiss world No.1 in the final. He answered in one word: "Slim."
Ultimately, the American was proven right. Even a solid performance by red hot No.10 seeded Chilean Gonzalez couldn't threaten Federer in Sunday night's epic final in which the incomparable top seed swept past his worthy opponent in a competitive straight sets, 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-4 before a capacity audience at Rod Laver Arena to repeat as champion, claiming his third Australian Open in four years.
Not surprisingly, the 25 year-old Federer made history by becoming the first Grand Slam champion on the men's side to not drop a set since the legendary Bjorn Borg accomplished the feat back in 1980 when he won the French Open. He became only the fourth player in the Open Era to pull it off and just the second to ever win down under without losing a set since legend Ken Rosewall in 1971. Fittingly, he was in attendance and was acknowledged by a jovial Federer during the trophy presentation.
"Equalling records, doing something that hasn't been done for a long time, it's really nice, there's no doubt," the very pleased winner said afterwards to the AP. "It wasn't ever a goal for me up to win a Slam without dropping a set."
"All I care in the end is to hopefully hold that trophy, even though it might be 20-18 in the fifth set. I don't mind, as long as I win. Of course, now that it's all over, it's great to think, 'Wow', you know, not having dropped a set. It's quite amazing."
Amazing is just one of the many adjectives which can be used to describe Federer's dominant play over the past few years which has now seen him win 10 career slams since claiming his first one back in 2003 at Wimbledon. By doing so, he joined exclusive company which includes Bill Tilden (10), Rod Laver and Borg (11), Roy Emerson (12) and Pete Sampras (14).
"All these Grand Slams since 2003, that's what, for me, is really scary, how many I've won," the very modest champ admitted. "I was thinking about it this morning actually when I woke up."
"Like if somebody would have told me I'd win 10 Grand Slams from mid '03 till today, I never would have thought there was any chance of doing something like that. I would have signed up for just one, you know."
Entering his record-tying seventh consecutive final, the Swiss maestro was the overwhelming favorite against a hot player who had dismissed Lleyton Hewitt, James Blake, Rafael Nadal and Haas en route to his first career slam final. Certainly, in playing his best tennis of his career, the 26 year-old Gonzalez was no slouch. It was in the first set that the very talented Chilean gave Federer all he could handle.
With both players looking to take control of points early in rallies with their lethal groundstrokes and use of every part of the court, each committed more unforced errors than usual. Taking big swings at the ball in an attempt to attack each other's serves, they produced a topsy turvy set which took almost as long for either to get through their semis. The one hour 10-minute set could've easily gone to Gonzalez. It was his resilient play during the eighth game which kept it on serve. Digging out of a hole, he fought off break points to hold and square the match at four all. Continuing to play aggressively, he cameback from 30-0 down to break Federer thanks to drawing a few wild misses. It gave him a golden opportunity to serve out the set. One point from it, he blew the chance as Federer saved two set points before bouncing right back to break. If only he had nailed that open forehand down the line on the second set point instead of hitting the net. But it wasn't to be.
After Federer held for 6-5, he applied heavy pressure on Gonzalez in the 11th game. But to Gonzalez' credit, he saved four set points before ripping a clean backhand winner up the line to force a tiebreaker. So many instances during his brilliant career, Federer has raised his level in these breaking the will of opponents. He did it to recently retired American icon Andre Agassi two years ago during the U.S. Open final. Once again, Federer saved his best for the breaker by getting into a zone taking the first five points before closing out the set on his serve thanks to a crosscourt forehand winner.
"It's just a different game, especially the first set. I was missing a few of them to give him the upper hand. He should have won the first, but I came back and won. That might have been crucial," he said.
"The match may have been different if I had won the first set," Gonzalez admitted after falling to 0-10 against Federer. "Every time I have played Roger, I've never won the first set, so that really may be the key."
But if Federer thought it would be easy, his opponent had other ideas. After having his right shoulder treated by a trainer during a break, Gonzalez never went away holding serve the first three times thanks to some outstanding shotmaking which produced 31 winners. The problem was that his opponent was having an even easier time holding. In fact, Federer only dropped two points on his serve the entire set. When he finally broke Gonzalez in the seventh game for a 4-3 lead, the writing was on the wall. After each exchanged holds, he easily served out the set finishing it off with a sliced ace down the middle to pull within one set of his ultimate destiny.
The third set proved to be eerily similar as Gonzalez did everything he could to stay with Federer. But the world No.1's uncanny ability to find ridiculous angles like a short crosscourt forehand which setup a couple of break points in a pivotal seventh game during the competitive 43-minute set proved to be too much. Along with some impressive net play which saw Federer convert 34-of-43 (79 percent) and not allowing Gonzalez another look at his serve, the repeat winner held twice more closing it out in style by striking a backhand winner down the line on the full run. After the crowd pleasing shot which produced his 45th winner, he dropped his racket and fell to the court rolling around in celebration before getting a warm reception at the net from Gonzalez.
"I have to congratulate again Roger," Gonzalez told the crowd after being presented with the runner's up crown. "He's on the way to be maybe the best player ever. He is a great champion who played a really good match today, all week-- almost all his life. So I can take a lot out of this tournament."
" He makes tennis very simple, and when he gets a chance he takes it."
Ultimately, the American was proven right. Even a solid performance by red hot No.10 seeded Chilean Gonzalez couldn't threaten Federer in Sunday night's epic final in which the incomparable top seed swept past his worthy opponent in a competitive straight sets, 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-4 before a capacity audience at Rod Laver Arena to repeat as champion, claiming his third Australian Open in four years.
Not surprisingly, the 25 year-old Federer made history by becoming the first Grand Slam champion on the men's side to not drop a set since the legendary Bjorn Borg accomplished the feat back in 1980 when he won the French Open. He became only the fourth player in the Open Era to pull it off and just the second to ever win down under without losing a set since legend Ken Rosewall in 1971. Fittingly, he was in attendance and was acknowledged by a jovial Federer during the trophy presentation.
"Equalling records, doing something that hasn't been done for a long time, it's really nice, there's no doubt," the very pleased winner said afterwards to the AP. "It wasn't ever a goal for me up to win a Slam without dropping a set."
"All I care in the end is to hopefully hold that trophy, even though it might be 20-18 in the fifth set. I don't mind, as long as I win. Of course, now that it's all over, it's great to think, 'Wow', you know, not having dropped a set. It's quite amazing."
Amazing is just one of the many adjectives which can be used to describe Federer's dominant play over the past few years which has now seen him win 10 career slams since claiming his first one back in 2003 at Wimbledon. By doing so, he joined exclusive company which includes Bill Tilden (10), Rod Laver and Borg (11), Roy Emerson (12) and Pete Sampras (14).
"All these Grand Slams since 2003, that's what, for me, is really scary, how many I've won," the very modest champ admitted. "I was thinking about it this morning actually when I woke up."
"Like if somebody would have told me I'd win 10 Grand Slams from mid '03 till today, I never would have thought there was any chance of doing something like that. I would have signed up for just one, you know."
Entering his record-tying seventh consecutive final, the Swiss maestro was the overwhelming favorite against a hot player who had dismissed Lleyton Hewitt, James Blake, Rafael Nadal and Haas en route to his first career slam final. Certainly, in playing his best tennis of his career, the 26 year-old Gonzalez was no slouch. It was in the first set that the very talented Chilean gave Federer all he could handle.
With both players looking to take control of points early in rallies with their lethal groundstrokes and use of every part of the court, each committed more unforced errors than usual. Taking big swings at the ball in an attempt to attack each other's serves, they produced a topsy turvy set which took almost as long for either to get through their semis. The one hour 10-minute set could've easily gone to Gonzalez. It was his resilient play during the eighth game which kept it on serve. Digging out of a hole, he fought off break points to hold and square the match at four all. Continuing to play aggressively, he cameback from 30-0 down to break Federer thanks to drawing a few wild misses. It gave him a golden opportunity to serve out the set. One point from it, he blew the chance as Federer saved two set points before bouncing right back to break. If only he had nailed that open forehand down the line on the second set point instead of hitting the net. But it wasn't to be.
After Federer held for 6-5, he applied heavy pressure on Gonzalez in the 11th game. But to Gonzalez' credit, he saved four set points before ripping a clean backhand winner up the line to force a tiebreaker. So many instances during his brilliant career, Federer has raised his level in these breaking the will of opponents. He did it to recently retired American icon Andre Agassi two years ago during the U.S. Open final. Once again, Federer saved his best for the breaker by getting into a zone taking the first five points before closing out the set on his serve thanks to a crosscourt forehand winner.
"It's just a different game, especially the first set. I was missing a few of them to give him the upper hand. He should have won the first, but I came back and won. That might have been crucial," he said.
"The match may have been different if I had won the first set," Gonzalez admitted after falling to 0-10 against Federer. "Every time I have played Roger, I've never won the first set, so that really may be the key."
But if Federer thought it would be easy, his opponent had other ideas. After having his right shoulder treated by a trainer during a break, Gonzalez never went away holding serve the first three times thanks to some outstanding shotmaking which produced 31 winners. The problem was that his opponent was having an even easier time holding. In fact, Federer only dropped two points on his serve the entire set. When he finally broke Gonzalez in the seventh game for a 4-3 lead, the writing was on the wall. After each exchanged holds, he easily served out the set finishing it off with a sliced ace down the middle to pull within one set of his ultimate destiny.
The third set proved to be eerily similar as Gonzalez did everything he could to stay with Federer. But the world No.1's uncanny ability to find ridiculous angles like a short crosscourt forehand which setup a couple of break points in a pivotal seventh game during the competitive 43-minute set proved to be too much. Along with some impressive net play which saw Federer convert 34-of-43 (79 percent) and not allowing Gonzalez another look at his serve, the repeat winner held twice more closing it out in style by striking a backhand winner down the line on the full run. After the crowd pleasing shot which produced his 45th winner, he dropped his racket and fell to the court rolling around in celebration before getting a warm reception at the net from Gonzalez.
"I have to congratulate again Roger," Gonzalez told the crowd after being presented with the runner's up crown. "He's on the way to be maybe the best player ever. He is a great champion who played a really good match today, all week-- almost all his life. So I can take a lot out of this tournament."
" He makes tennis very simple, and when he gets a chance he takes it."
Federer has often been referred to as a genius.
"I mean, look, I guess I'm the best tennis player in the world," he said.
"You can call me a genius because I'm outplaying many of my opponents, kind of maybe playing a bit different, you know, winning when I'm not playing my best. All of that maybe means a little bit of that. So it's nice."
Nice would be one way to describe his tennis along with how well he handles himself off the court. After winning his third straight major and sixth in the last seven with the exception of last year's French falling to repeat winner Rafael Nadal, is a Grand Slam on the horizon this year? First he'll attempt to complete the career Grand Slam this May.
Stay tuned.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Unseeded Serena Simply The Best, Pummels Sharapova For Third Australian Open Title
Just call her the Queen down under. When it comes to winning big matches in Australia, Serena Williams is much like rock star Tina Turner's hit: Simply The Best.
Doubted by many entering the tournament as an unseeded 81st ranked player in the world, Williams finished off her improbable run by taking apart top seeded Russian Maria Sharapova in a lopsided final, 6-1, 6-2 in front of a capacity Rod Laver Arena Saturday in Melbourne Park. Needing only an hour and three minutes, she became only the second unseeded woman to ever win the title joining Chris O'Neill, who accomplished it back in 1978 as a No.111.
It was the 25 year-old American's third Australian Open and eighth career slam. Her last one came two years ago in the same setting when she fought off match points against Sharapova in an epic semifinal before saving championship points against Lindsay Davenport before coming back to take the trophy.
This time, it came much easier for Williams as she played arguably her best match of a storied career. With the spotlight on, she came out extremely focused with an intense look in her eyes staring across at her accomplished 19 year-old opponent who the last time they met for a Grand Slam beat her soundly to win Wimbledon three years ago. Maybe that was on her mind as she then went out and executed a gameplan to perfection.
Dictating rallies from the very first toss of the ball, Williams was in a zone. Keeping Sharapova way behind the baseline and stepping in to take full advantage of a weak second serve, the popular American champion struck winners from both sides, finishing with 16 more (28-12) in dealing her opponent the worst slam defeat of the Russian's career.
After holding easily in the opening game, Williams battled back from 40-15 down to break the No.1 seed. Following another routine service hold, she broke Sharapova for a second straight time at love in impressive fashion. Having taken 10 straight points to get within two of another break, Serena emphatically won those points via a sizzling backhand winner down the line and then a forehand return winner to go ahead 4-0. She saved a break point in the fifth game before holding.
After Sharapova had a rare easy service game to get on the board for 1-5, Williams closed out the set without a problem. When she drew a long Sharapova backhand, the American yelled, "Come on!"
Not even a new set could revitalize the resilient Sharapova. Broken for the third time in the match in the opening game, it was an uphill battle just to get into the match. With Serena serving to consolidate the break, the Russian was given a big chance to get back on serve thanks to two consecutive double faults which produced only her second break opportunity. But it was quickly erased by an ace before Sharapova committed two unforced errors to give Williams a 2-0 lead.
It would become a double break cushion for Serena thanks to a Sharapova double and netted forehand. On cruise control, Williams easily held for 4-0. At that point, she had a shot to produce the most lopsided women's final in Aussie Open history.
But to Sharapova's credit, she had her two strongest holds and forced Williams to serve for the title. After winning the longest point of the match on a Sharapova forehand error, she nailed two aces to setup three championship points. When a big serve up the tee produced a short reply from her overmatched foe, Serena put the exclamation point on the huge victory with a backhand winner down the line before falling to the court in jubilation.
Congratulated at the net by Sharapova, an excited Williams then walked over to her corner to slap hands with her Mom Oracene Price and other supporters. It was a special moment for a player written off by skeptics after only playing in four tournaments last year due to a knee injury. But as her runner-up pointed out during the trophy ceremony, she shouldn't have been overlooked.
"You can never underestimate her as a performer...I know what she's capable of and she showed that today," a gracious Sharapova admitted to the audience. "She has showed it many, many times."
For the three-time Australian Open winner who seems to like odd years as evidenced by her victories in '03, '05 and now '07, it was clearly very emotional.
"I'm really enjoying this!" she boasted after lifting her ranking to No. 14 in the world.
"I'd like to thank my mom. I was a bad student this fortnight," she joked to the crowd's amusement. "I yelled at her, said some things under my breath. But she just kept coming. I really appreciate it."
As she thanked her family, coach and trainer, Serena made it a point to remember her late half-sister Yetunde Price, who died tragically of gunshot wounds in 2003.
"Most of all I would like to dedicate this win to my sister, who's not here. Her name is Yetunde. I just love her so much," she said getting emotional. "I'll try not to get teary-eyed but I said a couple of days ago, if I win this it's going to be for her. So thanks Tunde."
If that's what inspired her, it was truly a memorable tribute which won't soon be forgotten.
Gonzalez Routs Haas To Reach First Grand Slam Final, Faces Federer: The easy part is over for Fernando Gonzalez. That's if you consider the No.10 seeded Chilean's impressive wins over No. 19 Lleyton Hewitt, No. 5 James Blake, No.2 Rafael Nadal and No.12 Tommy Haas easy. All would probably conclude the same thing about the rejuvenated Gonzalez. That the 26 year-old is playing the best tennis of his career.
With a new coach, he's playing terrific and continued his run Friday night by dominating Haas in straight sets 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 to reach his first career Grand Slam final. So dominant was Gonzalez that he took the first 11 points of the match to set the tone. Moving freely from the baseline and using an effective slice backhand to setup a monster forehand which produced a ridiculous 18 of his 44 winners, he controlled the match from start to finish never allowing Haas to get untracked.
Serving flawlessly and attacking the German's serve, Gonzalez was never threatened in a match which took only an hour and 31 minutes to complete. Remarkably, the Chilean made only three unforced errors with them all coming in the second set. The only one which was marginally close. Striking an array of winners which featured backhands up the line and crosscourt, forehands every which way including one on the dead run which spun in, Gonzalez kept his opponent off balance even mixing in some deft touch on drop shots. He even finished it off with a running backhand crosscourt winner.
So overwhelming was his performance that invoked memories of defending champion Roger Federer's destruction of Andy Roddick the previous night. In that match, Federer allowed just six games and struck an eerily similar 45 winners as Roddick searched for answers. So can the man known as "Speedy" keep up this wonderful display against the best player in the world?
"He's the No. 1 player in the world by far...I lost many times with him," he admitted afterwards. "But now I'm playing much better than the last time we played. And it's only one match. I'm going to give everything that I have to try to win my first Slam."
For his career, he's never beaten Federer losing all nine times they've played. But he's also never played this well. In past years Gonzalez would go for broke too much and usually compile a large amount of errors to go with his winners making for a risky proposition when it came to just advancing. Now he's cleaned that up and will enter with a lot of confidence as he attempts to stop Federer from claiming his 10th career slam.
"I'm going to try to do the same thing that I've been doing: playing good tennis, don't do it too much, because my forehand side I feel I can do whatever I want. Is going to be a tough, but I'm playing a great level."
If he can maintain his high level, it could make for a compelling final. The action will take place live on ESPN2 Sunday morning at 3:30 Eastern time, 7:30 PM Australian time. If you can't catch it live, it will be replayed Sunday at noon. The way Gonzalez has played, there could be a surprise in store. We'll soon find out late tomorrow night.
Doubted by many entering the tournament as an unseeded 81st ranked player in the world, Williams finished off her improbable run by taking apart top seeded Russian Maria Sharapova in a lopsided final, 6-1, 6-2 in front of a capacity Rod Laver Arena Saturday in Melbourne Park. Needing only an hour and three minutes, she became only the second unseeded woman to ever win the title joining Chris O'Neill, who accomplished it back in 1978 as a No.111.
It was the 25 year-old American's third Australian Open and eighth career slam. Her last one came two years ago in the same setting when she fought off match points against Sharapova in an epic semifinal before saving championship points against Lindsay Davenport before coming back to take the trophy.
This time, it came much easier for Williams as she played arguably her best match of a storied career. With the spotlight on, she came out extremely focused with an intense look in her eyes staring across at her accomplished 19 year-old opponent who the last time they met for a Grand Slam beat her soundly to win Wimbledon three years ago. Maybe that was on her mind as she then went out and executed a gameplan to perfection.
Dictating rallies from the very first toss of the ball, Williams was in a zone. Keeping Sharapova way behind the baseline and stepping in to take full advantage of a weak second serve, the popular American champion struck winners from both sides, finishing with 16 more (28-12) in dealing her opponent the worst slam defeat of the Russian's career.
After holding easily in the opening game, Williams battled back from 40-15 down to break the No.1 seed. Following another routine service hold, she broke Sharapova for a second straight time at love in impressive fashion. Having taken 10 straight points to get within two of another break, Serena emphatically won those points via a sizzling backhand winner down the line and then a forehand return winner to go ahead 4-0. She saved a break point in the fifth game before holding.
After Sharapova had a rare easy service game to get on the board for 1-5, Williams closed out the set without a problem. When she drew a long Sharapova backhand, the American yelled, "Come on!"
Not even a new set could revitalize the resilient Sharapova. Broken for the third time in the match in the opening game, it was an uphill battle just to get into the match. With Serena serving to consolidate the break, the Russian was given a big chance to get back on serve thanks to two consecutive double faults which produced only her second break opportunity. But it was quickly erased by an ace before Sharapova committed two unforced errors to give Williams a 2-0 lead.
It would become a double break cushion for Serena thanks to a Sharapova double and netted forehand. On cruise control, Williams easily held for 4-0. At that point, she had a shot to produce the most lopsided women's final in Aussie Open history.
But to Sharapova's credit, she had her two strongest holds and forced Williams to serve for the title. After winning the longest point of the match on a Sharapova forehand error, she nailed two aces to setup three championship points. When a big serve up the tee produced a short reply from her overmatched foe, Serena put the exclamation point on the huge victory with a backhand winner down the line before falling to the court in jubilation.
Congratulated at the net by Sharapova, an excited Williams then walked over to her corner to slap hands with her Mom Oracene Price and other supporters. It was a special moment for a player written off by skeptics after only playing in four tournaments last year due to a knee injury. But as her runner-up pointed out during the trophy ceremony, she shouldn't have been overlooked.
"You can never underestimate her as a performer...I know what she's capable of and she showed that today," a gracious Sharapova admitted to the audience. "She has showed it many, many times."
For the three-time Australian Open winner who seems to like odd years as evidenced by her victories in '03, '05 and now '07, it was clearly very emotional.
"I'm really enjoying this!" she boasted after lifting her ranking to No. 14 in the world.
"I'd like to thank my mom. I was a bad student this fortnight," she joked to the crowd's amusement. "I yelled at her, said some things under my breath. But she just kept coming. I really appreciate it."
As she thanked her family, coach and trainer, Serena made it a point to remember her late half-sister Yetunde Price, who died tragically of gunshot wounds in 2003.
"Most of all I would like to dedicate this win to my sister, who's not here. Her name is Yetunde. I just love her so much," she said getting emotional. "I'll try not to get teary-eyed but I said a couple of days ago, if I win this it's going to be for her. So thanks Tunde."
If that's what inspired her, it was truly a memorable tribute which won't soon be forgotten.
Gonzalez Routs Haas To Reach First Grand Slam Final, Faces Federer: The easy part is over for Fernando Gonzalez. That's if you consider the No.10 seeded Chilean's impressive wins over No. 19 Lleyton Hewitt, No. 5 James Blake, No.2 Rafael Nadal and No.12 Tommy Haas easy. All would probably conclude the same thing about the rejuvenated Gonzalez. That the 26 year-old is playing the best tennis of his career.
With a new coach, he's playing terrific and continued his run Friday night by dominating Haas in straight sets 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 to reach his first career Grand Slam final. So dominant was Gonzalez that he took the first 11 points of the match to set the tone. Moving freely from the baseline and using an effective slice backhand to setup a monster forehand which produced a ridiculous 18 of his 44 winners, he controlled the match from start to finish never allowing Haas to get untracked.
Serving flawlessly and attacking the German's serve, Gonzalez was never threatened in a match which took only an hour and 31 minutes to complete. Remarkably, the Chilean made only three unforced errors with them all coming in the second set. The only one which was marginally close. Striking an array of winners which featured backhands up the line and crosscourt, forehands every which way including one on the dead run which spun in, Gonzalez kept his opponent off balance even mixing in some deft touch on drop shots. He even finished it off with a running backhand crosscourt winner.
So overwhelming was his performance that invoked memories of defending champion Roger Federer's destruction of Andy Roddick the previous night. In that match, Federer allowed just six games and struck an eerily similar 45 winners as Roddick searched for answers. So can the man known as "Speedy" keep up this wonderful display against the best player in the world?
"He's the No. 1 player in the world by far...I lost many times with him," he admitted afterwards. "But now I'm playing much better than the last time we played. And it's only one match. I'm going to give everything that I have to try to win my first Slam."
For his career, he's never beaten Federer losing all nine times they've played. But he's also never played this well. In past years Gonzalez would go for broke too much and usually compile a large amount of errors to go with his winners making for a risky proposition when it came to just advancing. Now he's cleaned that up and will enter with a lot of confidence as he attempts to stop Federer from claiming his 10th career slam.
"I'm going to try to do the same thing that I've been doing: playing good tennis, don't do it too much, because my forehand side I feel I can do whatever I want. Is going to be a tough, but I'm playing a great level."
If he can maintain his high level, it could make for a compelling final. The action will take place live on ESPN2 Sunday morning at 3:30 Eastern time, 7:30 PM Australian time. If you can't catch it live, it will be replayed Sunday at noon. The way Gonzalez has played, there could be a surprise in store. We'll soon find out late tomorrow night.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Federer Shows Roddick Who's In Charge
Just cue up the theme from Charles 'N Charge and change the theme song to "Roger In Charge."
Throughout the 2007 Australian Open, there was plenty of build up for a semifinal clash between top seeded Roger Federer and sixth seeded Andy Roddick. After how well the 24 year-old American finished up last year under the guidance of tennis legend Jimmy Connors, it was clear that more was expected of the former 2003 U.S. Open champion. Especially after falling in four hard fought sets to Federer for the U.S. Open and then even having match points at the Masters Cup before the Swiss sensation rallied to defeat him.
A couple of weeks ago at the warm-up exhibition, he beat the world No.1 in three sets at the AAMI Classic to give him even more confidence that the gap was finally closing. Though the match didn't count on the ATP Tour, it had to be considered a huge step.
Clearly, Roddick came into this year's first slam believing he could finally exorcise the demons against Federer and finally snap the eight match losing streak if they met in the Final Four and reach his first Aussie Open final. After posting impressive well earned victories over '05 winner Marat Safin and ninth seeded Croatian Mario Ancic, he blitzed former high school pal Mardy Fish in straight sets to setup the much talked about rematch with the defending champion down under.
Maybe it was because of all the talk from Roddick and even some media who really believed the affable American had a real chance to finally reverse his luck against Federer. Or maybe it was just the nine-time slam winner's immense talent which was on full display in a 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 dismantling of his biggest threat at Rod Laver Arena Thursday night in Melbourne. Or maybe it was Roddick's nerves getting the best of him knowing what was at stake.
Whatever the reason, the out of this world Swiss maestro was in a different stratosphere than his opponent to improve his career head-to-head record to 13-1 against Roddick, advancing to his seventh consecutive final at a major which matched a record established by Jack Crawford in 1934.
Hitting 45 winners from every conceivable angle, the 25 year-old took apart Roddick in the first men's semifinal, which lasted only an hour and 23 minutes. So stunning was the performance that it even left his part-time coach Tony Roche and 68 year-old Aussie legend Rod Laver who made the trip from California in shock. One point in particular early in the second set told the story. Taking it to Federer, Roddick moved him from corner to corner and was in a winning position at the net but somehow, the two-time Australian Open champ ran down a deep approach and then in one motion knifed a backhand crosscourt winner off the frame which drew quite a reaction from the audience even leaving Roche to smile.
Amazingly, a match which had started so competitively turned into a tennis clinic by maybe arguably the best to ever play the sport. Though Federer broke Roddick in the opening game to start, the fiery American fought back to get on serve with a break of his own in the fourth game, taking advantage of a rare gift game from the Swede in which he commited four unforced errors. Defying logic, he made only eight the rest of the match.
After each held serve twice more for four apiece in the first set, Federer took control by breaking Roddick a second time. He would then serve out the set, finishing it off in style with an ace. As fate would have it, that would be the end of the match. From the point he trailed 3-4 in the opening set, Federer ran off the next 11 games en route to what amounted to a routine victory. Something that even left him at a loss for words.
"I had one of these days when everything worked," he admitted to the AP. "I was unbeatable. I was playing out of my mind. I am shocked myself."
So dominant was Federer on one of the biggest servers that he converted all seven break points. An unlikely scenario which probably won't be repeated.
Not surprisingly, the extraordinary level of his play was something he wasn't used to in Melbourne even though he was accustomed to it at the other three slams.
"I've played good matches here, but never really almost destroyed somebody. I've done it at the US Open, Wimbledon, French Open. Maybe not so much here because I didn't get so many chances yet," he noted.
"Here at the Australian Open I've won good matches, but never outright dominated another top player in the big stage in the semis or the final. For me, that's a highlight of my career to do it right here tonight, so I'm very, very happy about it."
Federer awaits Friday night's winner in the second semifinal between 10th seeded Chilean Fernando Gonzalez and 12th seeded German Tommy Haas. Neither has ever reached a slam final. Whoever prevails will try to do what Roddick couldn't. Make Federer sweat.
For Roddick, though he tried to stick to Connors' strategy of being more aggressive coming into net and applying pressure to Federer, he had little success only winning nine of 31 points there as too often he watched winner after winner sail out of reach. Never before had he been so outplayed at a major.
"It was frustrating. You know, it was miserable. It sucked. It was terrible. Besides that, it was fine," Roddick sarcastically remarked during an entertaining postmatch conference.
"I was playing well coming in. There's no reason to think...if you would have told me this beforehand, I probably didn't foresee it."
For the down to earth American who was clearly frustrated last night, it's back to work.
"You do your best not to get discouraged. I caught an absolute beating tonight, no two ways about it. You deal with it and you go back to the drawing board."
"I thought it was a good tournament. But I've proven to myself that I can get to the semifinals of Grand Slams," he added. "I'd love more than anything to get past that, to get over that hurdle for sure."
In order for that to happen, he'll still have to find a way to climb the ladder against the best the game has to offer and forget about this one. It just wasn't his night. There should be plenty of opportunities to gain revenge the rest of the year. Hopefully for tennis, he'll finally breakthrough.
Comebacking Serena To Take On Sharapova For Title: Before Roddick was dismissed by Federer, the women took center stage in the semis.
Serena Williams continued her successful comeback down under by posting a straight sets 7-6 (5), 6-4 victory over 10th seeded Czech Nicole Vaidisova. Ranked No.81 entering the tournament due to injuries, the two-time Australian Open champion once again was tougher during the most crucial points in her hard fought win to go from longshot to making the final. It's her first final in two years since winning down under over Lindsay Davenport.
In a seesaw first set, the 25 year-old seven-time slam winner traded breaks with Vaidisova before fighting off a set point to force a tiebreaker. In it, she built a 5-1 lead but couldn't hang on as her 17 year-old opponent valiantly fought back to square it at five all. But then as she usually does in the biggest moments, Williams stepped up by smacking a backhand winner to get a minibreak before closing out the set by drawing an error.
It looked like she would cruise to victory in the second set as she jumped out to a 5-1 double break lead. But one game away from the final, Williams couldn't put away her fiesty opponent. After Vaidisova held, she got one break back with a backhand winner to cut the lead to 5-3. Then the match got even more intense as Vaidisova fought off four match points before holding for 4-5. With Williams serving for the match, she even saved a fifth match point. But when Serena emphatically slammed an overhead, she had finally secured a spot in the final leaving the intense American thrilled with the result.
"I can't believe it," she expressed. "That's awesome. If I play well, which I don't think I've even reached yet at all in this tournament...it's really hard for anyone on the women's tour to beat me."
That kind of confidence will be huge against her opponent, Maria Sharapova. The top seeded 19 year-old Russian advanced into her first Aussie Open final by posting a straight sets 6-4, 6-2 win over fourth seeded Belgian Kim Clijsters.
It was last year that the same two met in the quarterfinals and Clijsters proved to have too much in three grueling sets over Sharapova. But a year older with a U.S. Open fresh in her repertoire, the two-time slam champion outslugged her opponent from the baseline, finishing with 16 more winners- 27-11.
Though she got off to a slow start, Sharapova fought back twice from a break down in the opening set before going on to claim the up and down frame. After Clijsters broke her to go ahead 4-3, she raised her level to break consecutive times, taking the final three games of the set.
When she broke Clijsters for 2-0 in the second set, the Russian was in control. But the triumph wouldn't come without a challenge. In the fifth game, she overcame four double faults and fought off three break points to hold for 4-1. After each held serve, Sharapova broke for the fifth time in eight chances ripping a clean forehand winner down the line to clinch the match and end the retiring Clijsters' Australian Open career.
The 23 year-old former 2005 U.S. Open champ is planning to retire at the end of the season and start a family with fiancee Brian Lynch. It was an emotional sendoff for the popular player who once dated Australia's own Lleyton Hewitt.
"There are a lot of people I want to talk to face to face, people that work here and people I want to keep in touch with," she pointed out. "I have so many great memories from my times in Australia, not just tennis wise but also all the friends I have made."
The good news for Aussie fans is she hinted that she still planned to comeback as a spectator in future years and enjoy the event.
For Sharapova, she'll try to avenge her crushing three set semifinal defeat two years ago against Williams. It was an epic battle in which eventual champion Serena fought off match points before coming out on top. It won't be easy.
"I think she has nothing to lose," said Sharapova, who already has secured the No.1 spot in the world no matter the result Saturday. "Those are always dangerous opponents."
Throughout the 2007 Australian Open, there was plenty of build up for a semifinal clash between top seeded Roger Federer and sixth seeded Andy Roddick. After how well the 24 year-old American finished up last year under the guidance of tennis legend Jimmy Connors, it was clear that more was expected of the former 2003 U.S. Open champion. Especially after falling in four hard fought sets to Federer for the U.S. Open and then even having match points at the Masters Cup before the Swiss sensation rallied to defeat him.
A couple of weeks ago at the warm-up exhibition, he beat the world No.1 in three sets at the AAMI Classic to give him even more confidence that the gap was finally closing. Though the match didn't count on the ATP Tour, it had to be considered a huge step.
Clearly, Roddick came into this year's first slam believing he could finally exorcise the demons against Federer and finally snap the eight match losing streak if they met in the Final Four and reach his first Aussie Open final. After posting impressive well earned victories over '05 winner Marat Safin and ninth seeded Croatian Mario Ancic, he blitzed former high school pal Mardy Fish in straight sets to setup the much talked about rematch with the defending champion down under.
Maybe it was because of all the talk from Roddick and even some media who really believed the affable American had a real chance to finally reverse his luck against Federer. Or maybe it was just the nine-time slam winner's immense talent which was on full display in a 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 dismantling of his biggest threat at Rod Laver Arena Thursday night in Melbourne. Or maybe it was Roddick's nerves getting the best of him knowing what was at stake.
Whatever the reason, the out of this world Swiss maestro was in a different stratosphere than his opponent to improve his career head-to-head record to 13-1 against Roddick, advancing to his seventh consecutive final at a major which matched a record established by Jack Crawford in 1934.
Hitting 45 winners from every conceivable angle, the 25 year-old took apart Roddick in the first men's semifinal, which lasted only an hour and 23 minutes. So stunning was the performance that it even left his part-time coach Tony Roche and 68 year-old Aussie legend Rod Laver who made the trip from California in shock. One point in particular early in the second set told the story. Taking it to Federer, Roddick moved him from corner to corner and was in a winning position at the net but somehow, the two-time Australian Open champ ran down a deep approach and then in one motion knifed a backhand crosscourt winner off the frame which drew quite a reaction from the audience even leaving Roche to smile.
Amazingly, a match which had started so competitively turned into a tennis clinic by maybe arguably the best to ever play the sport. Though Federer broke Roddick in the opening game to start, the fiery American fought back to get on serve with a break of his own in the fourth game, taking advantage of a rare gift game from the Swede in which he commited four unforced errors. Defying logic, he made only eight the rest of the match.
After each held serve twice more for four apiece in the first set, Federer took control by breaking Roddick a second time. He would then serve out the set, finishing it off in style with an ace. As fate would have it, that would be the end of the match. From the point he trailed 3-4 in the opening set, Federer ran off the next 11 games en route to what amounted to a routine victory. Something that even left him at a loss for words.
"I had one of these days when everything worked," he admitted to the AP. "I was unbeatable. I was playing out of my mind. I am shocked myself."
So dominant was Federer on one of the biggest servers that he converted all seven break points. An unlikely scenario which probably won't be repeated.
Not surprisingly, the extraordinary level of his play was something he wasn't used to in Melbourne even though he was accustomed to it at the other three slams.
"I've played good matches here, but never really almost destroyed somebody. I've done it at the US Open, Wimbledon, French Open. Maybe not so much here because I didn't get so many chances yet," he noted.
"Here at the Australian Open I've won good matches, but never outright dominated another top player in the big stage in the semis or the final. For me, that's a highlight of my career to do it right here tonight, so I'm very, very happy about it."
Federer awaits Friday night's winner in the second semifinal between 10th seeded Chilean Fernando Gonzalez and 12th seeded German Tommy Haas. Neither has ever reached a slam final. Whoever prevails will try to do what Roddick couldn't. Make Federer sweat.
For Roddick, though he tried to stick to Connors' strategy of being more aggressive coming into net and applying pressure to Federer, he had little success only winning nine of 31 points there as too often he watched winner after winner sail out of reach. Never before had he been so outplayed at a major.
"It was frustrating. You know, it was miserable. It sucked. It was terrible. Besides that, it was fine," Roddick sarcastically remarked during an entertaining postmatch conference.
"I was playing well coming in. There's no reason to think...if you would have told me this beforehand, I probably didn't foresee it."
For the down to earth American who was clearly frustrated last night, it's back to work.
"You do your best not to get discouraged. I caught an absolute beating tonight, no two ways about it. You deal with it and you go back to the drawing board."
"I thought it was a good tournament. But I've proven to myself that I can get to the semifinals of Grand Slams," he added. "I'd love more than anything to get past that, to get over that hurdle for sure."
In order for that to happen, he'll still have to find a way to climb the ladder against the best the game has to offer and forget about this one. It just wasn't his night. There should be plenty of opportunities to gain revenge the rest of the year. Hopefully for tennis, he'll finally breakthrough.
Comebacking Serena To Take On Sharapova For Title: Before Roddick was dismissed by Federer, the women took center stage in the semis.
Serena Williams continued her successful comeback down under by posting a straight sets 7-6 (5), 6-4 victory over 10th seeded Czech Nicole Vaidisova. Ranked No.81 entering the tournament due to injuries, the two-time Australian Open champion once again was tougher during the most crucial points in her hard fought win to go from longshot to making the final. It's her first final in two years since winning down under over Lindsay Davenport.
In a seesaw first set, the 25 year-old seven-time slam winner traded breaks with Vaidisova before fighting off a set point to force a tiebreaker. In it, she built a 5-1 lead but couldn't hang on as her 17 year-old opponent valiantly fought back to square it at five all. But then as she usually does in the biggest moments, Williams stepped up by smacking a backhand winner to get a minibreak before closing out the set by drawing an error.
It looked like she would cruise to victory in the second set as she jumped out to a 5-1 double break lead. But one game away from the final, Williams couldn't put away her fiesty opponent. After Vaidisova held, she got one break back with a backhand winner to cut the lead to 5-3. Then the match got even more intense as Vaidisova fought off four match points before holding for 4-5. With Williams serving for the match, she even saved a fifth match point. But when Serena emphatically slammed an overhead, she had finally secured a spot in the final leaving the intense American thrilled with the result.
"I can't believe it," she expressed. "That's awesome. If I play well, which I don't think I've even reached yet at all in this tournament...it's really hard for anyone on the women's tour to beat me."
That kind of confidence will be huge against her opponent, Maria Sharapova. The top seeded 19 year-old Russian advanced into her first Aussie Open final by posting a straight sets 6-4, 6-2 win over fourth seeded Belgian Kim Clijsters.
It was last year that the same two met in the quarterfinals and Clijsters proved to have too much in three grueling sets over Sharapova. But a year older with a U.S. Open fresh in her repertoire, the two-time slam champion outslugged her opponent from the baseline, finishing with 16 more winners- 27-11.
Though she got off to a slow start, Sharapova fought back twice from a break down in the opening set before going on to claim the up and down frame. After Clijsters broke her to go ahead 4-3, she raised her level to break consecutive times, taking the final three games of the set.
When she broke Clijsters for 2-0 in the second set, the Russian was in control. But the triumph wouldn't come without a challenge. In the fifth game, she overcame four double faults and fought off three break points to hold for 4-1. After each held serve, Sharapova broke for the fifth time in eight chances ripping a clean forehand winner down the line to clinch the match and end the retiring Clijsters' Australian Open career.
The 23 year-old former 2005 U.S. Open champ is planning to retire at the end of the season and start a family with fiancee Brian Lynch. It was an emotional sendoff for the popular player who once dated Australia's own Lleyton Hewitt.
"There are a lot of people I want to talk to face to face, people that work here and people I want to keep in touch with," she pointed out. "I have so many great memories from my times in Australia, not just tennis wise but also all the friends I have made."
The good news for Aussie fans is she hinted that she still planned to comeback as a spectator in future years and enjoy the event.
For Sharapova, she'll try to avenge her crushing three set semifinal defeat two years ago against Williams. It was an epic battle in which eventual champion Serena fought off match points before coming out on top. It won't be easy.
"I think she has nothing to lose," said Sharapova, who already has secured the No.1 spot in the world no matter the result Saturday. "Those are always dangerous opponents."
Monday, January 15, 2007
Islanders Blowing Golden Opportunity
They lost a tough one to the Lightning on home ice 4-3 before a near capacity crowd in a rare noon start on Martin Luther King Day. For Ted Nolan's Islanders, it was a missed opportunity against a club they've had little success against recently. The latest defeat dropped them to 0-2-1 this season with a final meeting set for March 20 in St. Petersburg.
Their last win against John Tortorella's club came almost three years ago via a 3-0 shutout at Nassau Coliseum back on March 21, 2004. A month later that same year, they were eliminated during the first round in five games by the eventual Stanley Cup winners.
"It was a tough loss," losing netminder Rick DiPietro told the AP after finishing with 20 saves to drop his club four points behind eighth in the East Tampa Bay and the seventh ranked Rangers. "That was a big two points we let get away."
Had they gotten them, they would've tied the Bolts in the standings and had a couple of games at hand in what continues to be a tight playoff race in the Eastern Conference. Seven total points separate the seventh seeded Rangers from 14th ranked Florida. So there isn't much margin for error in what should be an exciting race the final three months.
Truth be told, there isn't much difference between these clubs which is why when a potential four point swing game takes place, you must take advantage. But against a team they're battling, DiPietro's club wasn't disciplined enough in dropping their fourth straight at home. Ironically, their last victory there came against the archrival Rangers three weeks ago, a 2-0 blanking by the former 2000 first overall pick. If only they could play the Blueshirts more. They've dominated the series so far taking the first four with four crucial contests left.
"You have to expect a team like that to do well on the power play," the frustrated goalie pointed out after his team gave up two power play goals in five chances against. "We've got to stay out of the (penalty) box."
Instead, they once again allowed Islander killer Martin St. Louis to strike for his league-leading 29th goal. The former 2004 Hart recipient has made a living of destroying the Isles. His dominance began during that first round three years ago in which he torched them for four goals including the series clincher against DiPietro in overtime from a sharp angle. Since then, he's made life miserable for the Islanders by finding the back of the net six times in the last seven Lightning wins totaling nine points (6-3-9) including a goal and assist Monday.
The 31 year-old Vermont product helped put his club up 3-1 after two periods. After Viktor Kozlov cut it to one with a power play goal 1:10 into the final stanza, the Bolts' waterbug notched a helper on Vincent Lecavalier's eventual winner just over six minutes later to increase his point total to 62. It tied him with Caps' sniper Alexander Ovechkin for second, trailing just Sidney Crosby (21-45-66) for the Art Ross.
To their credit, the Isles didn't quit. Trailing by two, Trent Hunter scored his ninth of the season to cut it to one with 9:20 left. But in a period they controlled outshooting Tampa 16-5, they couldn't come up with the equalizer to at least get a point. With DiPietro pulled in the final minute-plus, Miroslav Satan came close but Johan Holmqvist held the post. The one-time Ranger stopped 33 Islander shots en route to his third consecutive victory over them. Maybe it's the logo.
Even though they probably deserved a better fate, the Isles were left with nothing and fell to just 2-7-1 in their last 10. Clearly not good enough if Nolan's team wants to make the postseason and silence many critics. Something they're capable of accomplishing. Most nights, the effort has been there. But it's all about getting more W's.
Right now, they're a mediocre 21-20-4 with 46 points, which puts them in a three-way tie for ninth in the East with Boston and Toronto. Both Pittsburgh and Washington are one point behind while Florida trails by three. There's plenty of time for the Islanders to separate themselves from the pack and challenge both the Rangers and Lightning for the final two spots.
They have 37 games remaining and will need to get back to the formula which worked over a month ago and had them challenging for the Atlantic lead. Now 12 points behind the red hot first place Devils, they've got a lot of work to do. The good news is that struggling team captain Alexei Yashin finally scored breaking a 12-game drought. Maybe it will get him going. Since returning from a knee sprain last month, he's only had points in seven of 15 games. That must change.
They'll also need lone All Star representative Jason Blake to start finishing again. The gritty 33 year-old Minnesota native is without a goal in his last six. He leads the club with 23 for the season including a team best 11 on the man-advantage. If Blake can rediscover his scoring touch, it should provide a lift.
In the mean time, Nolan's bunch will look to bounceback Tuesday night against one of those teams they're competing with in Pittsburgh before traveling to Philadelphia Thursday for the final game before the All Star break. The Pennsylvania trip is a chance to reestablish momentum in what's been a nice season.
It's time for their best players to step up.
Their last win against John Tortorella's club came almost three years ago via a 3-0 shutout at Nassau Coliseum back on March 21, 2004. A month later that same year, they were eliminated during the first round in five games by the eventual Stanley Cup winners.
"It was a tough loss," losing netminder Rick DiPietro told the AP after finishing with 20 saves to drop his club four points behind eighth in the East Tampa Bay and the seventh ranked Rangers. "That was a big two points we let get away."
Had they gotten them, they would've tied the Bolts in the standings and had a couple of games at hand in what continues to be a tight playoff race in the Eastern Conference. Seven total points separate the seventh seeded Rangers from 14th ranked Florida. So there isn't much margin for error in what should be an exciting race the final three months.
Truth be told, there isn't much difference between these clubs which is why when a potential four point swing game takes place, you must take advantage. But against a team they're battling, DiPietro's club wasn't disciplined enough in dropping their fourth straight at home. Ironically, their last victory there came against the archrival Rangers three weeks ago, a 2-0 blanking by the former 2000 first overall pick. If only they could play the Blueshirts more. They've dominated the series so far taking the first four with four crucial contests left.
"You have to expect a team like that to do well on the power play," the frustrated goalie pointed out after his team gave up two power play goals in five chances against. "We've got to stay out of the (penalty) box."
Instead, they once again allowed Islander killer Martin St. Louis to strike for his league-leading 29th goal. The former 2004 Hart recipient has made a living of destroying the Isles. His dominance began during that first round three years ago in which he torched them for four goals including the series clincher against DiPietro in overtime from a sharp angle. Since then, he's made life miserable for the Islanders by finding the back of the net six times in the last seven Lightning wins totaling nine points (6-3-9) including a goal and assist Monday.
The 31 year-old Vermont product helped put his club up 3-1 after two periods. After Viktor Kozlov cut it to one with a power play goal 1:10 into the final stanza, the Bolts' waterbug notched a helper on Vincent Lecavalier's eventual winner just over six minutes later to increase his point total to 62. It tied him with Caps' sniper Alexander Ovechkin for second, trailing just Sidney Crosby (21-45-66) for the Art Ross.
To their credit, the Isles didn't quit. Trailing by two, Trent Hunter scored his ninth of the season to cut it to one with 9:20 left. But in a period they controlled outshooting Tampa 16-5, they couldn't come up with the equalizer to at least get a point. With DiPietro pulled in the final minute-plus, Miroslav Satan came close but Johan Holmqvist held the post. The one-time Ranger stopped 33 Islander shots en route to his third consecutive victory over them. Maybe it's the logo.
Even though they probably deserved a better fate, the Isles were left with nothing and fell to just 2-7-1 in their last 10. Clearly not good enough if Nolan's team wants to make the postseason and silence many critics. Something they're capable of accomplishing. Most nights, the effort has been there. But it's all about getting more W's.
Right now, they're a mediocre 21-20-4 with 46 points, which puts them in a three-way tie for ninth in the East with Boston and Toronto. Both Pittsburgh and Washington are one point behind while Florida trails by three. There's plenty of time for the Islanders to separate themselves from the pack and challenge both the Rangers and Lightning for the final two spots.
They have 37 games remaining and will need to get back to the formula which worked over a month ago and had them challenging for the Atlantic lead. Now 12 points behind the red hot first place Devils, they've got a lot of work to do. The good news is that struggling team captain Alexei Yashin finally scored breaking a 12-game drought. Maybe it will get him going. Since returning from a knee sprain last month, he's only had points in seven of 15 games. That must change.
They'll also need lone All Star representative Jason Blake to start finishing again. The gritty 33 year-old Minnesota native is without a goal in his last six. He leads the club with 23 for the season including a team best 11 on the man-advantage. If Blake can rediscover his scoring touch, it should provide a lift.
In the mean time, Nolan's bunch will look to bounceback Tuesday night against one of those teams they're competing with in Pittsburgh before traveling to Philadelphia Thursday for the final game before the All Star break. The Pennsylvania trip is a chance to reestablish momentum in what's been a nice season.
It's time for their best players to step up.
Friday, January 05, 2007
Calling Out Mr. Lupica
It's way past time someone called out this little hypocritical weasel who writes for the Daily News. I can only be referring to the overly biased Mike Lupica. This is only one of the most accomplished writers out there. But I have had enough of this clown!
This guy is a first rate nerd who shows off his disgusting biases at every turn in his columns. According to Lupica, the Mets have never overpaid for an aging pitcher or two while the BIG BAD Yankees have done it repeatedly breaking some sort of unwritten rule.
Oh really? Didn't Mets GM Omar Minaya give two years to 50 year-old El Duque? We kid. Nobody really knows the real age of the Cuban pitcher who's done quite well for himself in the majors, helping the Yankees three-peat from '98-00 and of course playing a pivotal role in the White Sox World title a couple of years ago. But let's be honest. Why would any GM give him two years? At any minute he could breakdown. How come Lupica never mentioned how the same pitcher injured himself in warmups and was done for last postseason? Because that would've required this Mets phony to take his own team to task. He would never do it because he has no backbone.
Only an angry Lupica would make his column today solely on bashing the Yankees when they finally came to their collective senses and unloaded the Old Unit back to Arizona for reliever Luis Vizcaino and three prospects. And only this idiot would make some off the wall comment like if Randy Johnson had performed better in October and led the Bronx Bombers to that elusive 27th World championship, then they would've treated him differently. Duh!
Are the Yanks going to go after the biggest money grabber in baseball Roger Clemens? They could. But should it take away from what Yankee GM Brian Cashman was able to get for a 43 year-old washed up pitcher coming off back surgery? Of course not. But in Lupica's warped world, he would never recognize the fact that for the third time this offseason, Cashman has gotten rid of dead weight for younger players cutting payroll in the process and pissing off Mets fans. He has done so much more than Minaya to improve his club this winter. Though Doug Mientkiewicz doesn't count.
Lupica contended in his column that because Johnson pitched in the AL, he had as good a season as returning 34 year-old Yankee Andy Pettite. Johnson won 17 games and had a 5.00 ERA while Pettite won 14 games with a 4.20 ERA in the Senior Circuit. Considering that the AL has much better lineups, it looks like he has a point. But Lupica didn't do his homework. While Johnson continued to be up and down all season, Pettite turned it up finishing 7-4 with a 2.80 ERA after the All Star Break. Even more impressive was his 86 strikeouts in 93.1 innings. The best news for Yankee fans was that the southpaw got stronger down the stretch posting a 5-2 record with a 2.40 ERA the final two months to almost vault the Astros over the Cardinals for the NL Central. More than you can say for Johnson, who limped to the finish line with a 5.47 ERA in September before another disappointing October outing in the Yanks' first round loss to Detroit.
Here's a question to New York baseball fans. Who would you rather have? Thirty-eight year-old Mike Mussina or 41 year-old Tom Glavine? Who's more durable? Pettite or El Duque? You decide which staff is older and has more question marks. Oh btw...26 year-old real Yankee ace Chien-Ming Wang won 19 games with a 3.63 ERA in his second year and finished second to Johan Santana for the Cy Young. Is that young enough for Lupica?
Was it my imagination that while Lupica's Amazins added another 40+ year-old outfielder in Moises Alou who won't play more than 100 games, the Yanks got rid of 38 year-old knucklehead Gary Sheffield and somehow managed to get three prospects including highly rated pitcher Humberto Sanchez?
So who's had the more productive offseason? You decide.
This guy is a first rate nerd who shows off his disgusting biases at every turn in his columns. According to Lupica, the Mets have never overpaid for an aging pitcher or two while the BIG BAD Yankees have done it repeatedly breaking some sort of unwritten rule.
Oh really? Didn't Mets GM Omar Minaya give two years to 50 year-old El Duque? We kid. Nobody really knows the real age of the Cuban pitcher who's done quite well for himself in the majors, helping the Yankees three-peat from '98-00 and of course playing a pivotal role in the White Sox World title a couple of years ago. But let's be honest. Why would any GM give him two years? At any minute he could breakdown. How come Lupica never mentioned how the same pitcher injured himself in warmups and was done for last postseason? Because that would've required this Mets phony to take his own team to task. He would never do it because he has no backbone.
Only an angry Lupica would make his column today solely on bashing the Yankees when they finally came to their collective senses and unloaded the Old Unit back to Arizona for reliever Luis Vizcaino and three prospects. And only this idiot would make some off the wall comment like if Randy Johnson had performed better in October and led the Bronx Bombers to that elusive 27th World championship, then they would've treated him differently. Duh!
Are the Yanks going to go after the biggest money grabber in baseball Roger Clemens? They could. But should it take away from what Yankee GM Brian Cashman was able to get for a 43 year-old washed up pitcher coming off back surgery? Of course not. But in Lupica's warped world, he would never recognize the fact that for the third time this offseason, Cashman has gotten rid of dead weight for younger players cutting payroll in the process and pissing off Mets fans. He has done so much more than Minaya to improve his club this winter. Though Doug Mientkiewicz doesn't count.
Lupica contended in his column that because Johnson pitched in the AL, he had as good a season as returning 34 year-old Yankee Andy Pettite. Johnson won 17 games and had a 5.00 ERA while Pettite won 14 games with a 4.20 ERA in the Senior Circuit. Considering that the AL has much better lineups, it looks like he has a point. But Lupica didn't do his homework. While Johnson continued to be up and down all season, Pettite turned it up finishing 7-4 with a 2.80 ERA after the All Star Break. Even more impressive was his 86 strikeouts in 93.1 innings. The best news for Yankee fans was that the southpaw got stronger down the stretch posting a 5-2 record with a 2.40 ERA the final two months to almost vault the Astros over the Cardinals for the NL Central. More than you can say for Johnson, who limped to the finish line with a 5.47 ERA in September before another disappointing October outing in the Yanks' first round loss to Detroit.
Here's a question to New York baseball fans. Who would you rather have? Thirty-eight year-old Mike Mussina or 41 year-old Tom Glavine? Who's more durable? Pettite or El Duque? You decide which staff is older and has more question marks. Oh btw...26 year-old real Yankee ace Chien-Ming Wang won 19 games with a 3.63 ERA in his second year and finished second to Johan Santana for the Cy Young. Is that young enough for Lupica?
Was it my imagination that while Lupica's Amazins added another 40+ year-old outfielder in Moises Alou who won't play more than 100 games, the Yanks got rid of 38 year-old knucklehead Gary Sheffield and somehow managed to get three prospects including highly rated pitcher Humberto Sanchez?
So who's had the more productive offseason? You decide.
Monday, January 01, 2007
League's Hypocrisy Unbelievable
A month ago, Caps' sophomore star forward Alexander Ovechkin caught Buffalo's Daniel Briere with a blatant cheapshot during a line change. The 2005-06 Calder winner's check from behind knocked the Sabres' offensive leader into the boards. For all parties involved during that December 2 incident at Verizon Center in the nation's capital, they were fortunate that the Buffalo captain wasn't seriously injured. Especially on a dangerous blindside hit which could've resulted in a concussion.
If you give Ovechkin the benefit of the doubt, maybe he didn't realize his strength. The fiery 21 year-old Russian plays the game like a bull giving everything he has every shift. It's resulted so far in another great season with the former 2004 first overall pick tied for the league lead with Tampa Bay's Martin St. Louis in goalscoring with 25 goals. With an assist in Monday afternoon's 3-2 loss to Phoenix, the Washington sniper moved into fifth in scoring with 51 points.
There's little doubt that he is a special player who gets the most of his talent. And that is a good thing for not only his team but for the NHL. He is a superstar who the league should promote at every turn. However, they shouldn't turn the other cheek when he makes a mistake and nearly injures another player. Unfortunately, that's essentially what happened. Instead of facing suspension, the affable Russian got a slap on the wrist, instead being fined $1,000.
Fast forward to the rematch between the teams last week in Buffalo. The Sabres made a statement by scoring the game's first six goals in a dominant first before cruising to a 6-3 win at HSBC Arena on December 26. In the same game, Briere took a cheapshot of his own spearing Ovechkin to the ice while officials were screened out by Buffalo teammate Brian Campbell, causing it to be undetected. To Ovechkin's credit, he got up and challenged Briere to a fight. But Briere's teammates prevented it.
According to the rulebook, a deliberate spear attempt is cause for a five minute major, automatic game misconduct and a league review. A few days ago, this incident was reviewed by the league before the Sabres took on Carolina. Predictably, nothing happened allowing Briere to dress and notch an assist in a 4-1 win over the Hurricanes on December 28.
So, in two instances where a star player was involved in a cheap play, they didn't miss a game and only one was fined.
Now let's examine what took place this past Saturday night at the Garden during the Rangers' 4-1 victory over the Caps. Throughout the relatively chippy contest, Washington goon and NHL bad boy Donald Brashear ran several Rangers including star captain Jaromir Jagr. This wasn't any surprise as playing the moody Czech physical has seemed to get him off his game. However, during a faceoff in the third period, the ex-Flyer enforcer elbowed Jagr. On the same shift, No.68 retaliated by taking down the big man drawing an interference penalty. When Brashear returned to the bench, he was called out by Ranger star Brendan Shanahan. During their next shift, Shanahan challenged Brashear to a fight, sticking up for Jagr and gaining a ton of respect from teammates and the home crowd who ate it up chanting, "Shanny, Shanny, Shanny."
It was quite a statement made by the 37 year-old leading goalscorer for the Blueshirts. Never one to back away from a challenge he issues, the 600 goal member took his lumps and did relatively well even landing a couple of uppercuts. When the scrap concluded, Brashear's theatrics weren't over. Apparently Ranger defenseman Aaron Ward uttered something to him which he didn't like. He reacted by suckerpunching Ward in the face, drawing a match penalty and automatic ejection ending his night.
Not to be outdone was Ranger enforcer Colton Orr, who late in the second stuck up for Ryan Hollweg and took on Brashear. With under five minutes remaining in the contest, the 24 year-old Manitoban cheapshotted Ovechkin with a high hit to the head knocking down the star and drawing a charging minor before accepting Washington defenseman Shaone Morrisonn's challenge.
There's little doubt that Orr's move was dangerous and could've resulted in serious injury to Ovechkin. So when NHL Senior Executive VP of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell ruled on it yesterday, it was no surprise that the former Bruin faced serious suspension. As a first time offender, he was given five games and lost $13,235.29.
Now consider that 34 year-old Brashear has been in the league much longer and was a repeat offender who had already been suspended three games this season. Somehow, he only got one game for his suckerpunch.
Here was Mr. Campbell's statement on why Orr received four extra games:
"The Rangers player’s actions with his stick were reckless and dangerous. Although no injury resulted, the action is unacceptable."
This seems like a fair assessment. For the record, I don't have a problem with why Orr got five games. However, how does Brashear get only a game? Was that not dangerous? He could've fractured Ward's cheekbone. Was it as bad as what Orr did? Probably not. But it should have been worth at least three games.
Punches like that can do damage. Just ask former Ranger Jeff Beukeboom, who suffered a career ending concussion after a Matt Johnson cheapshot to the back of the head.
But what's the sense trying to make sense of a league which has gone soft? This is the new corporate NHL. Where they protect superstars even when those stars are in the wrong committing violent acts like the ones Ovechkin and Briere got away with on each other. Do you think for one second if it was a little known fourth liner, they wouldn't have been severely punished?
And that is what's wrong with this newer softer product which is full of hypocrisy. Why should one set of players be held to a higher standard? Shouldn't there be some consistency? Not anymore.
All commish Gary Bettman's game is doing is turning off diehard supporters. If you don't believe me, just look at the responses this got on TSN:
http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=190421&hubname=nhl
The real hockey fans know the deal with what they're seeing. But they no longer matter in Bettman's NHL. An NHL which has turned its back on the diehards.
Is it worth it? But hey. As long as they have enough corporate sponsors telling them what to do, it's not going to change anytime soon. That's who they're selling the game to.
If you give Ovechkin the benefit of the doubt, maybe he didn't realize his strength. The fiery 21 year-old Russian plays the game like a bull giving everything he has every shift. It's resulted so far in another great season with the former 2004 first overall pick tied for the league lead with Tampa Bay's Martin St. Louis in goalscoring with 25 goals. With an assist in Monday afternoon's 3-2 loss to Phoenix, the Washington sniper moved into fifth in scoring with 51 points.
There's little doubt that he is a special player who gets the most of his talent. And that is a good thing for not only his team but for the NHL. He is a superstar who the league should promote at every turn. However, they shouldn't turn the other cheek when he makes a mistake and nearly injures another player. Unfortunately, that's essentially what happened. Instead of facing suspension, the affable Russian got a slap on the wrist, instead being fined $1,000.
Fast forward to the rematch between the teams last week in Buffalo. The Sabres made a statement by scoring the game's first six goals in a dominant first before cruising to a 6-3 win at HSBC Arena on December 26. In the same game, Briere took a cheapshot of his own spearing Ovechkin to the ice while officials were screened out by Buffalo teammate Brian Campbell, causing it to be undetected. To Ovechkin's credit, he got up and challenged Briere to a fight. But Briere's teammates prevented it.
According to the rulebook, a deliberate spear attempt is cause for a five minute major, automatic game misconduct and a league review. A few days ago, this incident was reviewed by the league before the Sabres took on Carolina. Predictably, nothing happened allowing Briere to dress and notch an assist in a 4-1 win over the Hurricanes on December 28.
So, in two instances where a star player was involved in a cheap play, they didn't miss a game and only one was fined.
Now let's examine what took place this past Saturday night at the Garden during the Rangers' 4-1 victory over the Caps. Throughout the relatively chippy contest, Washington goon and NHL bad boy Donald Brashear ran several Rangers including star captain Jaromir Jagr. This wasn't any surprise as playing the moody Czech physical has seemed to get him off his game. However, during a faceoff in the third period, the ex-Flyer enforcer elbowed Jagr. On the same shift, No.68 retaliated by taking down the big man drawing an interference penalty. When Brashear returned to the bench, he was called out by Ranger star Brendan Shanahan. During their next shift, Shanahan challenged Brashear to a fight, sticking up for Jagr and gaining a ton of respect from teammates and the home crowd who ate it up chanting, "Shanny, Shanny, Shanny."
It was quite a statement made by the 37 year-old leading goalscorer for the Blueshirts. Never one to back away from a challenge he issues, the 600 goal member took his lumps and did relatively well even landing a couple of uppercuts. When the scrap concluded, Brashear's theatrics weren't over. Apparently Ranger defenseman Aaron Ward uttered something to him which he didn't like. He reacted by suckerpunching Ward in the face, drawing a match penalty and automatic ejection ending his night.
Not to be outdone was Ranger enforcer Colton Orr, who late in the second stuck up for Ryan Hollweg and took on Brashear. With under five minutes remaining in the contest, the 24 year-old Manitoban cheapshotted Ovechkin with a high hit to the head knocking down the star and drawing a charging minor before accepting Washington defenseman Shaone Morrisonn's challenge.
There's little doubt that Orr's move was dangerous and could've resulted in serious injury to Ovechkin. So when NHL Senior Executive VP of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell ruled on it yesterday, it was no surprise that the former Bruin faced serious suspension. As a first time offender, he was given five games and lost $13,235.29.
Now consider that 34 year-old Brashear has been in the league much longer and was a repeat offender who had already been suspended three games this season. Somehow, he only got one game for his suckerpunch.
Here was Mr. Campbell's statement on why Orr received four extra games:
"The Rangers player’s actions with his stick were reckless and dangerous. Although no injury resulted, the action is unacceptable."
This seems like a fair assessment. For the record, I don't have a problem with why Orr got five games. However, how does Brashear get only a game? Was that not dangerous? He could've fractured Ward's cheekbone. Was it as bad as what Orr did? Probably not. But it should have been worth at least three games.
Punches like that can do damage. Just ask former Ranger Jeff Beukeboom, who suffered a career ending concussion after a Matt Johnson cheapshot to the back of the head.
But what's the sense trying to make sense of a league which has gone soft? This is the new corporate NHL. Where they protect superstars even when those stars are in the wrong committing violent acts like the ones Ovechkin and Briere got away with on each other. Do you think for one second if it was a little known fourth liner, they wouldn't have been severely punished?
And that is what's wrong with this newer softer product which is full of hypocrisy. Why should one set of players be held to a higher standard? Shouldn't there be some consistency? Not anymore.
All commish Gary Bettman's game is doing is turning off diehard supporters. If you don't believe me, just look at the responses this got on TSN:
http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=190421&hubname=nhl
The real hockey fans know the deal with what they're seeing. But they no longer matter in Bettman's NHL. An NHL which has turned its back on the diehards.
Is it worth it? But hey. As long as they have enough corporate sponsors telling them what to do, it's not going to change anytime soon. That's who they're selling the game to.
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