Game 18: Patriots 5-2
May 14, 2008 by Jason Guarente
 |
Eric Ackerman 0-0, 2.80 ERA |
| Brian Reith 1-0, 7.62 ERA |
|---|
The numbers are well-known by now. The Barnstormers are 5-2 at home and 1-9 on the road. A discrepancy that great doesn’t make much sense. Sure, playing at the Clip is an advantage, but it shouldn’t turn a team from the ‘62 Mets into the ‘27 Yankees. There are theories about the Barnstormers’ extreme home-road splits.
First is the tough breaks theory. The team’s nine losses have come by a combined 19 runs.
“We’ve had a string of bad luck,” first baseman Ian Bladergroen said. “We feel like we could have won eight or nine of those games that we lost. That’s the good part. We were in every one of those games. We just have to keep grinding it out. Hopefully, we’ll be there in the end.”
Second is the bad weather/bad atmosphere theory. Almost all of the Barnstormers’ road games have been played in the cold or rain or in empty ballparks. Newark, for example, isn’t anyone’s favorite stop on the Atlantic League bus tour.
“It’s tough enough to win on the road and we’ve played under nasty conditions,” manager Von Hayes said. “No BP. No people in the stands. It’s just a different atmosphere and it’s just dead. We come home and there’s some life. Guys are excited to play, there are people in the stands and we’ve got nice weather. The field is beautiful. I’m excited. I feel like picking up a bat myself.”
The Barnstormers need to solve the mystery soon. They have a seven-game road trip against York and Somerset that starts Friday. It could determine the direction of the first half.
Bullpen shuffle: In case you missed it, the Barnstormers made three changes to their bullpen Tuesday night. Mark Alexander was signed. Nate Hoelscher and Rob Averette were released.
Here’s an updated look at the relief corps …
| Relievers |
| Ryan Cullen (L) |
| Pat Cassa (L) |
| Sendy Rleal |
| Jeff Muessig |
| Mark Alexander |
| Yamel Guevara |
| Judd Songster |
That looks pretty good. Alexander could be a big addition. He was a closer during most of his time in the Dodgers system and posted excellent strikeout numbers — which is something this pitching staff has lacked. If Jose Cabrera ever arrives, the team will have six solid options from the right side.
Of the seven listed above, only Cullen and Cassa were in spring training with the team. The roster has resembled a revolving door through the first two weeks plus, but most of the moves have centered on the bullpen — the team’s weak spot. Four of the six players released were relievers. Even if you don’t agree with all the moves, you have to acknowledge the effort to avoid a 2007 repeat.
Links:
*Standings: No one has a winning record in the Freedom Division.
*P Jeff Tam, the former Road Warrior who worked out for the Barnstormers in spring training, has found a home in the Atlantic League.
Lineups …
(9-9) |
(6-11) |
|---|---|
| David Housel, 2B | Mike Woods, RF |
| Gera Alvarez, RF | Juan Francia, 2B |
| Brandon Larson, 3B | Ian Bladergroen, 1B |
| Josh Pressley, DH | Brian Stavisky, DH |
| Vito Chiaravalloti, 1B | Manny Mejia, C |
| Jason Belcher, C | Danny Gonzalez, SS |
| Teuris Olivares, SS | Jarred Ball, LF |
| Matt Hagen, LF | Lloyd Turner, 3B |
| Elliott Ayala, CF | Jutt Hileman, CF |
Scoring summary …
| Patriots | 000 | 120 | 110 | 5 | 8 | 0 |
| Barnstormers | 000 | 100 | 010 | 2 | 8 | 2 |
-
WP: Brian Reith (2-0)
LP: Eric Ackerman (0-1)
SV: Bret Prinz (7)
FINAL: Patriots 5, Barnstormers 2
Patriots 4th: Larson’s double scores Alvarez.
Somerset leads 1-0.
Stormers 4th: Bladergroen hits solo home run.
Game tied at 1.
Patriots 5th: Hagen’s home run scores Olivares.
Somerset leads 3-1.
Patriots 7th: Alvarez’s sacrifice fly scores Housel.
Somerset leads 4-1.
Patriots 8th: Olivares’ double scores Belcher.
Somerset leads 5-1.
Stormers 8th: Hileman hits solo home run.
Somerset leads 5-2.
RECORD: 6-12
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Brian Reith
| 7.2 IP | 7 H | 2 R | 2 ER | 0 BB | 9 K |
One reason Somerset has never had a losing record is it always seems to have pitchers like Reith, who played parts of three seasons in the big leagues with the Reds. Reith cruised through the Barnstormers’ mix-and-match lineup and earned his second win.
The pitchers:
*Eric Ackerman came within one out of giving the Barnstormers the dictionary definition of a quality start …
| 5.2 IP | 5 H | 3 R | 3 ER | 3 BB | 3 K |
Although he’s still searching for his first win, Ackerman has been consistent. He has pitched into the sixth inning in three of his four starts and has yet to allow more than three earned runs.
Manager Von Hayes implied Ackerman’s spot in the rotation could be in jeopardy, despite his 3.32 ERA. Hayes was unhappy that Ackerman didn’t throw enough first-pitch strikes and surrendered a homer on an 0-2 count.
“You can’t give up an 0-2 home run and expect to be a starting pitcher,” Hayes said. “We’re going to seriously take a look at that and have some conversations about that. We’re experimenting there a little bit. (Ackerman) has the stuff to pitch very well. But you’re playing with fire when you’re working behind every hitter.”
*Mark Alexander debuted inauspiciously. Eight of the nine pitches he threw were balls, which resulted in two walks and some catcalls from the crowd. Alexander was then pulled.
*Judd Songster escaped the bases-loaded jam he inherited from Alexander. He allowed a run in the seventh, but it was the product of a cheap Clipper triple off the scoreboard in right.
*Sendy Rleal also debuted with one scoreless inning.
*Jose Cabrera’s new ETA is Monday in Somerset.
The hitters:
*First, the injury report:
Vasili Spanos and Matt LeCroy each underwent MRIs Wednesday. Spanos injured his right knee during batting practice Tuesday. LeCroy has been out since May 3 with a sore shoulder. Results are expected back Thursday.
Lance Burkhart didn’t start because of inflammation in his right elbow. Backup Manny Mejia has been the catcher for the past four games.
*Burkhart had the key at-bat in the ninth, pinch-hitting for Lloyd Turner. The catcher grounded into a double play with the bases loaded to end the game. It took a nice defensive play by Somerset SS Teuris Olivares to prevent a single.
“I thought right away it was through,” Burkhart said. “Then I saw him dive and I saw him catch it. I’m just trying to put the barrel on the ball there. I’m not trying to do anything out of the ordinary. He gave me a sinker and I beat it into the ground.”
*As a result, the Barnstormers went with an unconventional lineup: Ian Bladergroen-Brian Stavisky-Mejia-Danny Gonzalez in the 3-4-5-6 slots is not how they drew it up before the start of the season.
*Bladergroen continued his Clipper dominance. He went 2-for-4 with his fourth home run, which leads the team. His stats in Lancaster got a little better …
| .464 | 4 HR | 13 RBI | 5 2B | 6 R |
*Mike Woods waited until his final at-bat before extending his hitting streak to 16 games with a double in the eighth. He’s two short of the team record. Norm Hutchins’ place in Barnstormers’ lore is in danger.
*Mejia went 2-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to eight.
*Jutt Hileman went 1-for-3 with a solo shot to right. He’s sitting at .200 for the season, but maybe this will get him going.
*The Barnstormers can’t get a streak going. Their longest winning streak is two games. They’ll try to at least capture this series Thursday.
“I don’t think guys are getting too frustrated,” Burkhart said. “We were in that game tonight. You can’t think about needing a streak. We’re playing better baseball. We’ll just go off of that.”
I totally agree that this is not 2007 and that roster changes, good or bad, is a welcome site.
All it takes is the right combination and we will be in the championship game.
I feel another win tonight.
York should feel like home beacuse we’ll be there. The fans don’t mind driving 25-30 minutes across the river for a night of baseball.
Can’t wait for tonight
Let’s go Barnstormers !!!!!
Miss ya Ross
Hopefully Alexander is a strikout pitcher. That always bodes well in the hitter friendly Clip.
It is funny how there was a lot more Lancaster fans that came to the York games than York fans came to the Lancaster ones last year.
Now that York is completely open and a steady fan base, it will be interesting to see what happens when York comes to Lancaster.
We will be there for all 3 games behind the bull pen ready to make some noise. But first we need to take out Somerset. Then York.
Hey Rad, you can loose the Flyers Avatar. They are going down.
Hey Stormin’, where are you sitting in York?
I was just at their website and for the Sat game, anyway, things look dang near full up (except for lawn seating).
I’ve never been there, but I’m assuming similar to the Cipp, there aren’t any bad seats.
FYI….Nick Renault will be wearing #23.
Excellent pitching last night. Guevara did a good job. It seemed he threw alot of 2-2 or 3-2 counts last night. He was effective last night.
Gonzalez is looking good on the field. He is the best fielding shortstop in the league. Can anyone say other wise?
Go Eric!!! Lets make it two.
What? A Philly sports team choke in the playoffs? What are the odds?
I’m very pleased to see roster changes, especially that concerning Averette. And, if need be, I hope to see more until they find something that works. It’s a professional baseball team, not a charity.
Remember the only #23 was Michael Jordon!
C’mon, everyone knows MJ wore #45!
Wasn’t #23 a Jim Carey movie?
Mark…thats funny! ( but true) about Philly teams!! I am also with you on the roster changes. Whatever we need to do to start winning with regularity….we get the right mix of players and we are still in this thing! “Good guys” are fine but we need to win. Von (and Keith) should NOT be sitting on their hands not doing anything and letting us get deeper in the hole. Waiting around for something to happen won’t work…we saw that last year. They should not be happy with keeping the “good guys” around if they aren’t producing…there are always improvements to be made. Lke I said before..if some of you are happy with us losing (and we can see on here that people are NOT) then we should only have “good guys” on the team and not complain about losing. If you really want to be a competitive team in this league then releases are going to happen. Its a necessary evil in this game.
As of now, no one is running away with the division…we are still able to take it in the first half…its too close to call.
It was. It’s also an amusing web site http://www.236.com “23/6, Some of the News Most of the Time”. It’s also the square root of 529 and the number held by catcher Johnny Estrada.
It’s also the State Route Number for New Holland Pike.
Are there different rules for tonight’s game because it is NASCAR night?????
I heard they are giving NASCAR prizes away tonight. First prize is 2 tickets to a NASCAR race. Second prize is 4 tickets.
Mark, how many wins in a row until you remove the bag.
DJ, Section 25 and 26 angle more toward home than right field direction so if a ball is hit to deep left, it could be hard to see.
Other than that, anything on the third base side is ok. The sun sets behind the third base seats so it is never in your face. Hope that helps.
It is also my IQ.
I wish I was a headlight on a northbound train, I’d shine my light through the cool Colorado rain. (Sorry, I’m singing out loud).
Man I miss Jerry!
does anyone else on here host a player?
I dunno, when I gain a little confidence that the team can climb out of the league cellar. I’ll have to see how they do in these upcoming away games.
Mark - Even the Philly Boy thinks #9 is funny! After the long drought however, I will take making the playoffs and choking for the next few years, then we can get serious. As far as the changes I agree with whatever he have to do to win! We also need to remember that there are 2 halves to the season, so as long as we get the right mix for the 2nd half we will be OK!
Other #23 Info …..
Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain committed suicide in 1994 (1+9+9+4=23) and was born in 1967 (1+9+6+7=23).
The first Morse Code transmission - “What hath God wrought?” - was from the Bible passage Numbers 23:23.
The Salt March, initiated by Mohandas Gandhi to protest the salt tax, lasted 23 days.
William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564 and died on April 23, 1616.
Actor River Phoenix, was born on August 23, 1970. He died at the age of 23, on Halloween 1993.
Julius Caesar is alleged to have been stabbed twenty-three times when he was assassinated.
The plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper (The Day the Music Died) occurred on February 3 (2/3), 1959.
On September 6, 2006 Hannah Kersey, a woman with two wombs, gave birth to three girls (identical twins from one womb and a lone child from the other). She was aged 23 at the time.
Coincidence?
DJ, forgot an answer to your quesiton. We are sitting in Section 26 for all the York games.
Stormin’, I thought you were gonna tell me you were sitting in Section 23! That woulda been freaky!
Booster club is sitting in section 23 ( I think) on Sunday. Guess the Ross Peeples fan club will be as well!
Funny, but unfortunately predictable. I thought the Phils might have a chance last year since they didn’t earn that playoff spot, but it was the same as it ever was. I don’t gamble for a reason, but if I did, I’d be putting my money on anyone going up against the Flyers for the cup. Pitt, Tampa Bay, St Louis…whatever. You don’t beat a Philly team. You stay out of the way and let the Philly team beat itself.
Whoa….I sit in section 23. I get the dream date with Gene O’Brien! Woo hoo!!
Stormin - How long you think until Mike Woods is wisked off to AAA something or another?
stormers08
I hosted a player for two years ( taking a year off) but “Ultimate stormer Fan” is a host family.
oh and Stormin.. SHUT UP about my aviator………. # 16 forever baby !!!!!
I’d love to host a player.
But then I realized I have 4 kids under 11 yrs old, only 3 bedrooms, we’re 10 miles from the stadium and he’d have to ride RRTA cuz we don’t have an extra car.
Plus we don’t have cable so he’d probably think we’re Amish.
What kind of a host would THAT be??
Amish have cable, they don’t believe in gravity.
They don’t believe in gravity?
Whoa….that’s heavy…
I don’t get caught up in players and numbers. They come, they go, you make friends. You just wish them the best of luck. After all, we have no say in who goes and who comes. Can’t loose sleep over something out of our hands.
Mark, funny you ask. I was just talking last night with a fellow fan and we were discussing the same thing. If Michael kee[ps it up, he may get his shot. He can hit and he can run. If with his change to the outfield, it gives hime another dimension. Go #15.
# 23 is ROSS.. until further notice !!!!!!!
Mark don’t you know, Gravity doesn’t exist-the earth just sux.
As for the Pens. It doesn’t look too good for the Flyers. Last night game was VERY quiet playerwise. The ref’s really cracked down at the beginning of the game. A lot of hooking called in the first period. It really effected game play. The only thing the players could do was behave to avoid the penalty box.
Although the Pen’s won I felt I was watching “Ice Capades” with hockey sticks.
I’ll be at the game tonight. It kind of looks like rain but the weather channel says rain late tonight. And the weather channel is always right, LOL!
At least the game tomorrow will be an afternoon game (I will be able to watch the hockey game without bouncing from tv to sports juice). Although the WC says rain for the next 5 days. Is it me or does the extended forecasts the WC gives change hourly?
Yeah, I was thinking about that outfield change, too, as I was watching a Houston/SF game a couple nights ago that looked a lot like one of the unwatchable Barnstormers games last year. I could easily see him in Potomac or Hagarstown by June, Harrisburg by August and DC next spring. Woods not getting a shot would be as much an injustice as Patterson not getting to NYC this year, IMO.
The Weather Channel is probably right more often than the great “News 8 Storm Team”. Which reminds me, so far I haven’t heard “The Barnys” on Ch 8. Not that I pay much attention to it, but I haven’t heard it.
On another side note. It seemed last night that the Concourse Goonies were on a tight leash. Not one time did they talk to me or ask me if I wanted Pink Panther Insulation or Hershey something or other. Great job Mark.
There will only be one #23 and that is Ross… Rad we know what has to be done…
My radar shows rain at Altoona. Good luck.
Mike Woods should be the next one gone to affiliates…he’s got the right attitude along with speed and his hitting. Works really hard at his game and makes the most of everything he has.
What do you mean you know what needs to be done?
#31 DJ Spleen — I just want to say I think it’s awesome you have 4 kids and no TV.
If Woods leave, will Von Hayes pick up a bat to play or will we just trade for Murray from Bridgeport????
Hey now, I never said we didn’t have TV. Just no cable…
We’re not THAT Amish!
#41…he said he has no cable…not a TV.
Good news! I was wondering if there was anything noticable last night concerning the pushy salespeople.
ok, I take it back.
In your defense, some people thinking not having cable is not having TV.
I didn’t think they were even there last night..lol…no one approached me. Seemed a little less aggressive if they were..
Not to beat this to death, but Ross Peeples had the 4th lowest Opponent batting average against him on the roster. Only three pitchers lower.
I was not on the Von Hayes Hated Last Years Player Conspiracy Bandwagon, but that stat tends to support those folk.
Accu-weather out of state college says there’s only a 2% chance of rain 9-12 tonight and 8% chance 12 to 3 am. It just isn’t reaching the ground. Hope we can start a winning streak(a long one) tonight.
Latest forcast for tonight …… Dark
Followed by widely scattered light in the morning.
this is our inning…go stormers!
How many 1st Pitch strikes did we look at tonite Jason??
There were a lot of them. Reith is a good pitcher. He’s a former big leaguer who had great numbers in this league last season.
Recap is posted. The team is a little banged up right now.
Stormin:
Copied the CD of pitcures to my computer. Thank you for doing that.It was very much appreaciated!
Von Hayes sure isnt a people person. Ackerman looked good tonight. So he made a couple of mistakes. The rest of the starters are so good Ackerman can be pushed into the bullpen? I dont think so. If he is trying to motivate Ackerman, that isnt the way to do it.
I think Von Hayes needs to be re-evaluated. He needs to get Stone Hands Francia back on the bench, Mike Woods back to second and get someone who can hit and field a little better in right field than all of our options.
Whereas he keeps bringing in new pitchers, maybe he needs to find an outfielder or two to replace Perry.
Side light….Alexander did not throw any strikes. The called strike was the obligatory strike call that umpires give the pitcher on a 3-0 pitch that get close to being a strike.
Hey, the Flyers didn’t lose tonight !!!!
Radical,
Watch what you say. The day Mark said we wont lose today (since the Barnstormers didnt have a game,) we lost Parker to the Rangers.
Reith had a good night alright. It would have been nice to see him go all nine but it was still a good night. I wasn’t very impressed with Alexander, however. I was thinking maybe there was some kind of mixup and it was Jason Alexander but no such luck, I guess. But a friend who came with me was major league molested by Cylo using a bag of kettle corn so it was totally worthwhile.
I was bummed Spanos didnt play tonight. I think he and Ian are definitely worth price of admission this year.
I meant the game, not overall. Guess I could have been more specific.
We have to be happy for Zack… nobody here could spell his name correctly anyway!!! KKK ZACK with a KKK.
He was signed up, not released.
Alexander was consistent. He is SO much better than Peeples.
Yeah, I was looking for Spanos too. The 9th highlighted what I thought was the problem tonight…bases loaded and nothing happens. If those home runs had come at more opportune times, the game may have ended differently.
packmule… whats your address… I’m sure Kelley wants to pay you a visit
Our loss was Zach’s gain.
I was being TOTALLY sarcastic. I wasnt a big Peeples fan. but the more I read and think about his release the more I think it was a bad move to have an ex-Phillie managing the Stormers.
You would think a manager would have an answer to improve the situation before letting a player go.
Looks like Mejia might be our DH when Lance comes back. He had a nice night at the plate.
Well let’s hope the Texas Rangers can get the spelling of Zack’s name right. He doesn’t need any more baseball cards with his name spelled incorrectly.
Just want to send a hello out to “Barnstormin Beauty” if she is out there and reading the posts tonight
Ultimate.. sending a package out to TX. this morning overnight so he has a nice batch for his pitching tomorrow
I think Von is learning that indy ball is A LOT different than affiliated ball. The teaching that occurs in the minors doesn’t happen here. The postgame reports, which many affiliated minor league managers loathe, don’t happen and that leaves too much time for Von to think about the game.
Re:#64, you might want to go with either one more or one less K there, it is Texas.
Just sayin’
Sorry folks, I thought I had a feel for a win. Must be that 2007 ulcer coming back. Time to start poping pills.
My prediction for today. Barnstormers win, Flyers loose.
Is there a way we can get someone to replace Matt? He has been out for a while and I am surprised they did not put him on the day DL so at least we can at least get a batter that could hit.
Three K’s is a FAST inning…
I was sorry to see that Alexander wasn’t the advertised strikeout pitcher. Actually quite the opposite. Also not happy that Hayes keeps calling guys out in the paper. That will not indeer yourself with these guys. There is a time and place to address certain issues. Hayes has been venting in the paper since spring training. These guys deserve more respect than that.
Von Has alot to learn that in order for players to start to care he has to show he cares and by calling players out and treating them the way he treated Ross is not they way to show he cares… I know in my work place if my boss treated me the way Von treats these guys I would not want to come to work…
I was thinking the same about LeCroy last night…if he’s not able to go out and actually contribute by this weekend, he should be axed. It’s getting pretty old.
Rad:
That will be a nice surprise for him. As you already know, the fan support from Lancaster is very important to the players and very much appreciated by the players.
Everyone:
Zack is scheduled to pitch Friday night for his new team. You can listen to it through the team’s website http://www.ridersbaseball.com They play San Antonio.
I just wanted to mention one of the calls at first base. Not sure if anyone else noticed i or not. I found it quite interesting because the players were totally confused.
The runner was called safe by the first base umpire prior to hitting the bag. Blade was pulled off the bag and attempted a tag, but missed. The umpire yelled, “Safe!” The runner passed the bag to the outside and never touched it.
After being called safe, the runner assumed that he was. Ian checked his glove and looked at the umpire with a puzzled expression.
He than walked over to the runner and tug him with the glove. “Out!”, called the umpire.
Okay! Good job, Ian in knowing that you missed the tag and the runner also missed the bag.
However, I have a sneaking suspicion that the umpire made an error (”Not in this league,” you say.). He most likely should have made no call, safe or out, until an actual play occurred. But by making a “Safe!” call, he was indicating that the player had reached the bag safely. Thus, totally confusing both the first baseman and the runner. Their reactions leaned towards confusion.
It seemed that the umpire made a call on Ian’s missed tag rather than on the runner not safely reaching the bag… confusing to say the least.
Anyway, the runner eventually was called out and the game contiuned.
dadTB