The Long Island Ducks and their 13 ex-big-leaguers are coming to town Tuesday. Among the big names on Long Island’s roster are All-Stars Carl Everett, Edgardo Alfonzo and Danny Graves.
These are the pitching matchups …
Tuesday: Randy Leek vs. Brett Evert
Wednesday: Pat Ahearne vs. Rob Henkel
Thursday: John Halama vs. Josh Stevens
Here are Lancaster’s stats and Long Island’s stats through the first series.
This is the beginning of a scheduling quirk in which the Barnstormers and Ducks square off six times in five days. Leek and Halama are lefties, so we’ll see how the Barnstormers fare. On the surface, it appears they might be vulnerable to lefties because their best power hitters are left-handed. The Barnstormers are going with a four-man rotation until Saturday’s day-night doubleheader in Central Islip. Gustavo Martinez will make his first start that day.
One thing I’ve wondered: Are Barnstormers fans interested in the marquee players from other teams? Or are you only focused on the local guys?
Jason,
This is great. It gets us ready for upcoming games and what to expect.
About your question. I think a mix is good. Some local boys, like Eric and Jutt and some players with that major league experience like Reggie and now Bo. I enjoy seeing these guys play together and seems to work out real well. Look at last year how we did compared to a loaded Long Island team. I think the Barnstormers have done a great job of mixing the local and pro players.
My basic opinion on having the bigger names is this…those guys are less likley to be part of a team > Looking over the guys who have played major league ball and then sign in this league , usually they are way more focused on getting back to the majors. That ends up hurting the team in the process. Take last year…Juan Gonzalez gets signed by Long Island to try and get enough exposure to get back to the majors…only thing is he was hurt most of the time in this league or just didnt feel like playing. John Rocker didnt last either 2 years ago. Long Island is always great with signing the big names…but I would think that in most of those cases they end up being more distraction than help to the team.
Do you guys find the big leaguers from other teams interesting to read about?
i always find it interesting to read about the likes of guys like everett, spivey etc being in an independent league. i wonder why they chose the AL and not attempting to go overseas or down South to play.
I like reading about any of the players that have an interesting story whether local guys, major league players, players on other teams…whatever! It’s fun to learn a little more about these guys and what brought them to ALPB. ALPB is a little too small, I think, to think of people and teams the way one would with MLB and I’ll never jeer a player or team simply because they’re not a Barnstormer. Who knows who is going to wind up where later this season or next year?
I really like the above Long Island brief, too. As was mentioned by Stormin’, it’s really good information and gives the games that extra dimension. Along the same lines, I take an AM radio with me and listen to Dave’s broadcast for the additional information and his insights into the players and game.
I’m a Mets fan and didn’t know Fonzie was w/the Quackers. He was huge at second base in the late 90’s. A bad back did him in. Regardless, he was a fan favorite and I’ll probably try to get to the park just to see him. Carl Everett? World class cretin.
That’s the long way of saying “yes, ex-big leaguers on other AL teams are of interest to me”. Except Carl Everett.
As you were.
I like reading the stories. Like Mark said, you never know who is going to be a Barnstormer one day. Heck, I don’t even read the paper anymore. With this sight and the Lancaster Online Paper, that is where I get my Barnstormer information. This sight aslo looks sweet on my Windows Mobile PDA.
I went on vacation last week and was still able to find out what was going on about the team before opening night. I did not realize you were doing the live game reports. I will be reading them between innings just in case I missed something.
Curious would be a better description than interested in the marquee players. Guys like Tom Goodwin, John Rocker, Juan Gonzalez haven’t performed very well here. Henry Rodriquez was awesome in 2005 but disappeared in 2006. Maybe Gonzalez rubbed off.
More interested in the calibre of managers/coaches the league attracts. Butch Hobson, Jose Lind, Wayne Krenchicki, Dave Lapoint, Sparky Lyle, John Montefusco, Tommy Herr, Rick Wise. Now the league has Tommy John, Joe Ferguson, Chris Hoiles, Bumbry, and Martinez. Maybe that’s why the baseball is fun to watch here.
Also interested in the guys that have been in the Detroit organization. Ahearne is fun to talk to. And players like Devi Cruz, Demetrius Heath, Van Hekken, Krenchicki, and Foucault to name a few.
If I could only make one game this week it would be Thursday for Stevens/Halama. It has all your story lines wrapped up in one!
I’m looking forward to Stevens-Halama as well. Halama is the kind of control lefty that dominates this league. On Dave Collins’ pre-game show, Rick Wise said Stevens has one of the best curves he’s ever seen. Wise doesn’t throw compliments like that out there lightly, so that raised my eyebrows.
Pat,
As a Cardinals fan, my lasting memory of Alfonzo is the 2000 NLCS. The stats say he batted .444 in that series, but it felt more like .900. He hurt his back, like you said, and was never the same again.