Here's a video of the play to end last night's game. I suggest letting it load all the way THEN watch it.
It's not the best video ever,and I decided to follow the batter while he ran around the bases for once (STUPID! x_x).....so this sin't as good as I thought it would be in helping us decide.....but it still does the trick ;]
PS: HAPPY 700TH POST! ^_^
Showing posts with label 2nd half 2007. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2nd half 2007. Show all posts
Friday, August 31, 2007
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
1 down...
I told you that this team was unstoppable with Vic..... and they just completed the first step of my undefeated prediction with a walkoff, 7-5 win tonight as Vic Davilla smashed a homer to end the game.
The Spirit were down 5-4 going into the home half of the 9th after more heroics by Sandy Madera - but Weed and Roche reached to set up Davilla's game winner.
There are now 5 games to go in the regular season and the magic # to finish ahead of NJ is 1.
The Spirit were down 5-4 going into the home half of the 9th after more heroics by Sandy Madera - but Weed and Roche reached to set up Davilla's game winner.
There are now 5 games to go in the regular season and the magic # to finish ahead of NJ is 1.
Vic coming Back today
According to Wooden,he said that Mr Leahy said Vic is gonna be back in the lineup today.
So there's something to look forward to....but the question is who will be released to make room for Vic?
It would have to be a veteran since he's a veteran......so I think Welch is out of the picture of getting cut,like Wooden also said,as we have an abundance of rookies. So...which vet will make way for Vic,or do we somehow have a vet spot open for just this occasion? Stay tuned.....
In other news....i tried looking up for a good spirit logo to use in a playoff ad and came across the following site:
http://www.fenwayfaithful.com/index.php/C7/
The entry of July 18 got my eye and made me chuckle a bit XD
So there's something to look forward to....but the question is who will be released to make room for Vic?
It would have to be a veteran since he's a veteran......so I think Welch is out of the picture of getting cut,like Wooden also said,as we have an abundance of rookies. So...which vet will make way for Vic,or do we somehow have a vet spot open for just this occasion? Stay tuned.....
In other news....i tried looking up for a good spirit logo to use in a playoff ad and came across the following site:
http://www.fenwayfaithful.com/index.php/C7/
The entry of July 18 got my eye and made me chuckle a bit XD
Spirit Lose Heartbreaker; More Nails Lost
The blog's regular conntributor Joe is having trouble getting home at the moment...but is on his way home after a heartbreaking 9-6 loss against the Jackals of the Sewer State. He asked me to write up the report tonight.....but I'd like to get some sleep so I'm gonna cheat and put up the recap from the official North Shore Spirit website and add a few side-thoughts:
By Reid Cargan,SPIRIT Baseball Writer
LYNN,MA (SV)
"Sandy Madera hit a grand slam off Derek Drage to cap off a seven run ninth inning as the Jackals storm back from four runs down to shock the Spirit 9-6 Tuesday night at Fraser field in game one of their series.
It was a battle of the lefties for the first four innings as Luis Arroyo and Josh Brey held their counterparts scoreless. Then with two outs in the top of the fifth, Joe Mihalics singles and promptly stole second. Clay Kuklick hit what appeared to be the final out, but the fly ball tipped of Mike Torres’ glove and dropped in allowing Mihalics to score. New Jersey took further advantage of the error by scoring another run in the frame on a Francisco Leandro base hit to up the score to 2-0.
The Spirit struck for five in the sixth inning to overtake the Jackals. Mike Torres and Luis Lopez both with 2 RBI’s in the frame on a single and double respectively. Jerson Perez chipped in an RBI single as well that scored Lopez from second. The Spirit bullpen cruised through the seventh and eighth innings before Donny Langdon and Jamie Baker imploded in the ninth inning, all culminating in the Madera slam. New Jersey banged out five hits with two walks in the frame. The Jackals gave the Spirit a taste of their own medicine after the Spirit had strung together a few come from behind victories as of late.
Kyle George (2-3) picks up the win in relief, with newcomer Tom Atlee picking up his first save as a member of the Jackals. Drage takes the loss, moving his record to 3-4 on the season.
The two teams lock up again Wednesday night at 7:05. Gary Galvez will oppose Kevin Ool."
NOW...for my mini-rant and thoughts (I know Joe would've loved to do this in the main post XD):
First off may I start by askign the following questions.....Why can;t we seem to win at home,especially latye in the season? AND Why do we always have closer problems late in the season? NOW-we move on....
**Luis Arroyo did phneominal in his outing. His pitching line was 6 innings pitched with 4 hits and 2 un-earned runs (an E7) while stiking out 1 and walking 2.
** I liked the idea of,after Arroyo left,trying to use one pitcher per inning.....worked to a point ;]
** Fraser Field is porbably the only place that can go from active in the 6th to being a carbon copy of Pine Grove Cemetary when sound is NEEDED!!!! UGH!
** I hate how an usher told us to quiet down and then said "It';s only the Spirit" when we were cheering in the 9th....LIKE REAL FANS DO!
** Carl Schaefer is sick!!! He has some VERY good stuff. Maybe we should've kept him in a little later...
** Derek Gange shouldn't have gone in THAT late in the game (the 9th inning).....he's been bad lately,and doing that was suicide. Next time put him in earlier......this isn't helping him or the team at this point.
** Walking Fransisco Leandro (who?) to get to Sandy Madera (top league hitter) was a HORRIBLE discission! ALL of us agreed.....cause then what happened? BOOM! Grand Salami....just like Joe predicted and everyone thought might happpen.
** Why leave in Drage after doign badly and then giving up a grand slam?! Vic....stop being like JK,it's giving us heart problems.
** Vic.......make Carl Schaefer the closer--NOW! ^_^
ALSO: The press box is amazing....thank you guys for the Can-Am updates (they're important now) and thanks Pat for the enthusiastic Josue Lopez intro,you sound remotely like a Spanish soccer announcer subsituting Josue for GOOOOOOAAAALLLL!!!!! XD Can we do that every night? ;-]
NOW.....comment away!
PS: The Utica region of "Who's Now" will be forthcoming (AKA: This week)
By Reid Cargan,SPIRIT Baseball Writer
LYNN,MA (SV)
"Sandy Madera hit a grand slam off Derek Drage to cap off a seven run ninth inning as the Jackals storm back from four runs down to shock the Spirit 9-6 Tuesday night at Fraser field in game one of their series.
It was a battle of the lefties for the first four innings as Luis Arroyo and Josh Brey held their counterparts scoreless. Then with two outs in the top of the fifth, Joe Mihalics singles and promptly stole second. Clay Kuklick hit what appeared to be the final out, but the fly ball tipped of Mike Torres’ glove and dropped in allowing Mihalics to score. New Jersey took further advantage of the error by scoring another run in the frame on a Francisco Leandro base hit to up the score to 2-0.
The Spirit struck for five in the sixth inning to overtake the Jackals. Mike Torres and Luis Lopez both with 2 RBI’s in the frame on a single and double respectively. Jerson Perez chipped in an RBI single as well that scored Lopez from second. The Spirit bullpen cruised through the seventh and eighth innings before Donny Langdon and Jamie Baker imploded in the ninth inning, all culminating in the Madera slam. New Jersey banged out five hits with two walks in the frame. The Jackals gave the Spirit a taste of their own medicine after the Spirit had strung together a few come from behind victories as of late.
Kyle George (2-3) picks up the win in relief, with newcomer Tom Atlee picking up his first save as a member of the Jackals. Drage takes the loss, moving his record to 3-4 on the season.
The two teams lock up again Wednesday night at 7:05. Gary Galvez will oppose Kevin Ool."
NOW...for my mini-rant and thoughts (I know Joe would've loved to do this in the main post XD):
First off may I start by askign the following questions.....Why can;t we seem to win at home,especially latye in the season? AND Why do we always have closer problems late in the season? NOW-we move on....
**Luis Arroyo did phneominal in his outing. His pitching line was 6 innings pitched with 4 hits and 2 un-earned runs (an E7) while stiking out 1 and walking 2.
** I liked the idea of,after Arroyo left,trying to use one pitcher per inning.....worked to a point ;]
** Fraser Field is porbably the only place that can go from active in the 6th to being a carbon copy of Pine Grove Cemetary when sound is NEEDED!!!! UGH!
** I hate how an usher told us to quiet down and then said "It';s only the Spirit" when we were cheering in the 9th....LIKE REAL FANS DO!
** Carl Schaefer is sick!!! He has some VERY good stuff. Maybe we should've kept him in a little later...
** Derek Gange shouldn't have gone in THAT late in the game (the 9th inning).....he's been bad lately,and doing that was suicide. Next time put him in earlier......this isn't helping him or the team at this point.
** Walking Fransisco Leandro (who?) to get to Sandy Madera (top league hitter) was a HORRIBLE discission! ALL of us agreed.....cause then what happened? BOOM! Grand Salami....just like Joe predicted and everyone thought might happpen.
** Why leave in Drage after doign badly and then giving up a grand slam?! Vic....stop being like JK,it's giving us heart problems.
** Vic.......make Carl Schaefer the closer--NOW! ^_^
ALSO: The press box is amazing....thank you guys for the Can-Am updates (they're important now) and thanks Pat for the enthusiastic Josue Lopez intro,you sound remotely like a Spanish soccer announcer subsituting Josue for GOOOOOOAAAALLLL!!!!! XD Can we do that every night? ;-]
NOW.....comment away!
PS: The Utica region of "Who's Now" will be forthcoming (AKA: This week)
Sunday, August 26, 2007
JOSUE LOPEZ
...just hit a walkoff home run to give the Spirit a 4-3 win in the bottom of the 13th!!!!
Newcomer Carl Schaeffer pitched a scoreless 13th to get the win. Where'd we get this guy and who did we cut?
Oh yeah -- WOO!
Newcomer Carl Schaeffer pitched a scoreless 13th to get the win. Where'd we get this guy and who did we cut?
Oh yeah -- WOO!
Saturday, August 25, 2007
The Spirit lose a thriller
The celebrations will have to wait for at least one more day.
The Spirit lost to Worcester tonight, 7-6, in what turned out to be a thrilling game in front of an involved crowd at Fraser Field.
Worcester controlled the game early on by putting up 6 runs against Matt Bishop and chasing him after just 3.1 innings.
Bishop wasn't too pleased with his own performance:
Brandon Martin came in and pitched very well from there, getting the Spirit through the 7th inning with some quality relief work. Jamie Baker yielded a run in the 8th to give Worcester a 7-5 advantage going into the bottom of the 9th.
Then, all heck broke loose. With 1 out, Josue Lopez hit an absolute bomb over the rightfield wall to cut the lead to 1. Joe Hough walked to put a man on. Then, BJ Weed legged out an infield hit to put two runners on for Gary Roche.
Roche blooped a single into shallow left just out of the reach of a diving Alex Pena, who recovered in time to gun down Hough, who broke for home on the play.
A big topic of conversation after the game was whether or not Tommy should have sent Hough, but I think that's too easy of an excuse. It was a really nice recovery and throw by Pena and the play wound up being really close. It was simply well-executed by Pena.
That put the tying run on 3rd and the winning run on 2nd for Mike Torres, who hit a hard line drive that Pena snagged at short to end the game. The Spirit were literally inches away from at least tying the game twice, but Worcester escaped.
From a selfish standpoint, I was sad that the Spirit didn't clinch it tonight because I won't be there tomorrow - but all in all, you have to be pretty pleased with the game, it just didn't turn out our way.
Also, I got myself a white #16 Jon de Vries jersey with his name on the back at the Spirit pro shop, so I am VERY HAPPY.
I actually caught Worcester scoring a run on tape, but needless to say I have crappy filming skills:
Question: can we play all of our playoff games on the road? :)
Also, don't despair - The next phase of "WHO'S NOW" is coming tomorrow morning. Well, it's coming when I wake up, so realistically, tomorrow afternoon. ;)
The Spirit lost to Worcester tonight, 7-6, in what turned out to be a thrilling game in front of an involved crowd at Fraser Field.
Worcester controlled the game early on by putting up 6 runs against Matt Bishop and chasing him after just 3.1 innings.
Bishop wasn't too pleased with his own performance:
Brandon Martin came in and pitched very well from there, getting the Spirit through the 7th inning with some quality relief work. Jamie Baker yielded a run in the 8th to give Worcester a 7-5 advantage going into the bottom of the 9th.
Then, all heck broke loose. With 1 out, Josue Lopez hit an absolute bomb over the rightfield wall to cut the lead to 1. Joe Hough walked to put a man on. Then, BJ Weed legged out an infield hit to put two runners on for Gary Roche.
Roche blooped a single into shallow left just out of the reach of a diving Alex Pena, who recovered in time to gun down Hough, who broke for home on the play.
A big topic of conversation after the game was whether or not Tommy should have sent Hough, but I think that's too easy of an excuse. It was a really nice recovery and throw by Pena and the play wound up being really close. It was simply well-executed by Pena.
That put the tying run on 3rd and the winning run on 2nd for Mike Torres, who hit a hard line drive that Pena snagged at short to end the game. The Spirit were literally inches away from at least tying the game twice, but Worcester escaped.
From a selfish standpoint, I was sad that the Spirit didn't clinch it tonight because I won't be there tomorrow - but all in all, you have to be pretty pleased with the game, it just didn't turn out our way.
Also, I got myself a white #16 Jon de Vries jersey with his name on the back at the Spirit pro shop, so I am VERY HAPPY.
I actually caught Worcester scoring a run on tape, but needless to say I have crappy filming skills:
Question: can we play all of our playoff games on the road? :)
Also, don't despair - The next phase of "WHO'S NOW" is coming tomorrow morning. Well, it's coming when I wake up, so realistically, tomorrow afternoon. ;)
Friday, August 24, 2007
It's clinching time....
With a win tonight over Worcester, the Spirit would clinch a berth in the 2007 playoffs. They would also win the Commonwealth Cup [whoopee]. Thus, I am coming to the ballpark fully prepared to celebrate for what I hope will be the first of five raucous celebrations at Fraser this year [playoff berth, 2nd half title, regular season title, semifinal victory, championship].
It could be a fun couple of weeks. :)
Matt Bishop is on the hill for the Spirit, squaring off against Alex Pena - so it ought to be a good pitcher's duel.
It could be a fun couple of weeks. :)
Matt Bishop is on the hill for the Spirit, squaring off against Alex Pena - so it ought to be a good pitcher's duel.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
All streaks come to an end
The Jackals downed the Spirit 6-2 tonight to salvage game 4 in Little Falls.
Gary Galvez actually did pretty well overall - he got roughed up for 3 in the 2nd and 3 in the 3rd, but he settled down after that to get through seven innings.
Wilton Veras had the key blow, a 3-run homer in the 3rd to really put it out of reach.
Jackals' starter Kevin Ool was a tough nut to crack tonight, giving up 2 runs on 8 innings. The Spirit didn't get to him until the 7th, when they put up 2 runs -- but a GIDP by Joe Hough with the bases loaded ended the rally.
Old friend Kevin Fitzgerald pitched a scoreless 9th to hold down the lead.
The Spirit end their road slate with a 28-13 record away from Fraser Field. They also wound up splitting the season series with New Jersey, 4-4.
Back to Fraser tomorrow to start the regular season-ending homestand.
Out of Town:
New Haven lost - meaning the magic # to finish ahead of them is 1.
Brockton and Quebec are locked up in an 8-8 tie in the top of the 7th - LET'S GO ROX!
If Brockton gets the victory, the Spirit can clinch a playoff spot with a win at home tomorrow.
UPDATE: BROCKTON TAKES THE LEAD!!! 11-8, a 3 run double for McGee. Brockton has 17 hits in the game.
UPDATE 2: Brockton wins! Magic# 1
Gary Galvez actually did pretty well overall - he got roughed up for 3 in the 2nd and 3 in the 3rd, but he settled down after that to get through seven innings.
Wilton Veras had the key blow, a 3-run homer in the 3rd to really put it out of reach.
Jackals' starter Kevin Ool was a tough nut to crack tonight, giving up 2 runs on 8 innings. The Spirit didn't get to him until the 7th, when they put up 2 runs -- but a GIDP by Joe Hough with the bases loaded ended the rally.
Old friend Kevin Fitzgerald pitched a scoreless 9th to hold down the lead.
The Spirit end their road slate with a 28-13 record away from Fraser Field. They also wound up splitting the season series with New Jersey, 4-4.
Back to Fraser tomorrow to start the regular season-ending homestand.
Out of Town:
New Haven lost - meaning the magic # to finish ahead of them is 1.
Brockton and Quebec are locked up in an 8-8 tie in the top of the 7th - LET'S GO ROX!
If Brockton gets the victory, the Spirit can clinch a playoff spot with a win at home tomorrow.
UPDATE: BROCKTON TAKES THE LEAD!!! 11-8, a 3 run double for McGee. Brockton has 17 hits in the game.
UPDATE 2: Brockton wins! Magic# 1
Time to sweep
Game 4 in New Jersey is under way.
It's Gary Galvez vs. Kevin Ool. Yes, "OOL."
It's conceivable that we clinch a playoff spot tonight: if we win, and Quebec AND New Haven both lose, then we're in.
I'll be around later in the game, but for now, follow along with all the scores here.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Doubleheader in NJ
12:59 AM - Sorry about disappearing...sometimes life beckons. The Spirit went on to romp at the end of game 2 and win 9-2.... hooray for doubleheader sweeps.
The Spirit got a pair of complete games tonight - one from Luis Arroyo and one from Bic - and the bullpen is now well-rested going into tomorrow night's game, when the Spirit will be looking to sweep.
North Shore has won 5 in a row and is now 2 wins away from clinching a playoff berth with 11 games to go.
The Spirit have also improved their record to a RIDICULOUS 28-12 on the road.
Scoreboard
GAME 1
FINAL - 4-3 Spirit
GAME 2
Live Out of Town Scores
Game Notes
6 PM - We've been delayed for about two hours, but it appears that game 1 will be starting in about 30-45 minutes.
6:05 PM -
Game 1 Lineups:
Spirit
Weed-cf
Roche-2b
Torres-lf
LLopez-1b
Teilon-3b
Perez-ss
Trezza-c
JLopez-dh
Welch-rf
Ryan Bicondoa-sp
Jackals
Smithlin-cf
Leandro-rf
Madera-c
Veras-3b
Rodriguez-1b
Reyes-ss
Thigpen-lf
Mihalics-2b
Kuklick-dh
John Kelly-sp (we meet again)
6:10 PM - The Spirit meet John Kelly again tonight... he is making his first start back with the Jackals. In game two, Luis Arroyo will pitch for the Spirit against Josh Brey. The Jackals are out on the field warming up and we should be playing soon. It's currently 64 and cloudy in Little Falls and it looks like the rain is gone.
6:37 PM - We're underway. This could be a long night.
-Game One-
6:44 PM - With 2 outs in the top of the 1st, Luis Lopez blasts a 2-run home run, scoring Mike Torres and giving North Shore an early 2-0 lead off of John Kelly.
7:09 PM - Guillermo Reyes drills a 2RBI double to tie the score at 2 in the bottom of the 2nd.
7:17 PM - Zach Smithlin lines an RBI single off of Bicondoa's leg; Bic is OK, but Reyes scores and the Jackals have taken a 3-2 lead here in what has been a big bottom of the 2nd. NJ has runners on 1st and 2nd with 2 out.
7:39 PM - TEILON!!! Nilson Teilon hits a solo home run in the top of the 4th to tie the ballgame at 3.
7:53 PM - Allen Mottram, who, for the record, is not even playing in this game, has been ejected for arguing a call. The Spirit bench is down to 2 for the remainder of game 1.
8:10 PM - We head to the 6th: it's a two-inning game now.
8:34 PM - They've DONE IT AGAIN - TREZZA with a solo homer in the top of the 7th off of Kelly makes it 4-3 Spirit!!!!!!
8:50 PM - Bic sets 'em down 1-2-3 --- a complete game, and an exciting win.
-Game Two-
9:26 PM - Luis Arroyo is taking his warmup tosses - it's just about time for game two.
9:47 PM - Another dinger for Teilon! One-nil in the top of the 2nd.
9:59 PM - Rodriguez doubles home Veras in the bottom of the 2nd to tie the ballgame at 1.
10:03 PM - Mihalics with a 'Baltimore chop' RBI single to make it 2-1, in what has been a long bottom of the 2nd.
12:59 AM - Sorry about disappearing...sometimes life beckons. The Spirit went on to romp at the end of game 2 and win 9-2.... hooray for doubleheader sweeps.
The Spirit got a pair of complete games tonight - one from Luis Arroyo and one from Bic - and the bullpen is now well-rested going into tomorrow night's game, when the Spirit will be looking to sweep.
North Shore has won 5 in a row and is now 2 wins away from clinching a playoff berth with 11 games to go.
The Spirit are also a RIDICULOUS 28-12 on the road.
The Spirit got a pair of complete games tonight - one from Luis Arroyo and one from Bic - and the bullpen is now well-rested going into tomorrow night's game, when the Spirit will be looking to sweep.
North Shore has won 5 in a row and is now 2 wins away from clinching a playoff berth with 11 games to go.
The Spirit have also improved their record to a RIDICULOUS 28-12 on the road.
Scoreboard
GAME 1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | ||
 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 0 | ||
| NJJ | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 0 |
GAME 2
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | ||
| 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 0 | ||
| NJJ | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 3 |
Live Out of Town Scores
Game Notes
6 PM - We've been delayed for about two hours, but it appears that game 1 will be starting in about 30-45 minutes.
6:05 PM -
Game 1 Lineups:
Spirit
Weed-cf
Roche-2b
Torres-lf
LLopez-1b
Teilon-3b
Perez-ss
Trezza-c
JLopez-dh
Welch-rf
Ryan Bicondoa-sp
Jackals
Smithlin-cf
Leandro-rf
Madera-c
Veras-3b
Rodriguez-1b
Reyes-ss
Thigpen-lf
Mihalics-2b
Kuklick-dh
John Kelly-sp (we meet again)
6:10 PM - The Spirit meet John Kelly again tonight... he is making his first start back with the Jackals. In game two, Luis Arroyo will pitch for the Spirit against Josh Brey. The Jackals are out on the field warming up and we should be playing soon. It's currently 64 and cloudy in Little Falls and it looks like the rain is gone.
6:37 PM - We're underway. This could be a long night.
-Game One-
6:44 PM - With 2 outs in the top of the 1st, Luis Lopez blasts a 2-run home run, scoring Mike Torres and giving North Shore an early 2-0 lead off of John Kelly.
7:09 PM - Guillermo Reyes drills a 2RBI double to tie the score at 2 in the bottom of the 2nd.
7:17 PM - Zach Smithlin lines an RBI single off of Bicondoa's leg; Bic is OK, but Reyes scores and the Jackals have taken a 3-2 lead here in what has been a big bottom of the 2nd. NJ has runners on 1st and 2nd with 2 out.
7:39 PM - TEILON!!! Nilson Teilon hits a solo home run in the top of the 4th to tie the ballgame at 3.
7:53 PM - Allen Mottram, who, for the record, is not even playing in this game, has been ejected for arguing a call. The Spirit bench is down to 2 for the remainder of game 1.
8:10 PM - We head to the 6th: it's a two-inning game now.
8:34 PM - They've DONE IT AGAIN - TREZZA with a solo homer in the top of the 7th off of Kelly makes it 4-3 Spirit!!!!!!
8:50 PM - Bic sets 'em down 1-2-3 --- a complete game, and an exciting win.
-Game Two-
9:26 PM - Luis Arroyo is taking his warmup tosses - it's just about time for game two.
9:47 PM - Another dinger for Teilon! One-nil in the top of the 2nd.
9:59 PM - Rodriguez doubles home Veras in the bottom of the 2nd to tie the ballgame at 1.
10:03 PM - Mihalics with a 'Baltimore chop' RBI single to make it 2-1, in what has been a long bottom of the 2nd.
12:59 AM - Sorry about disappearing...sometimes life beckons. The Spirit went on to romp at the end of game 2 and win 9-2.... hooray for doubleheader sweeps.
The Spirit got a pair of complete games tonight - one from Luis Arroyo and one from Bic - and the bullpen is now well-rested going into tomorrow night's game, when the Spirit will be looking to sweep.
North Shore has won 5 in a row and is now 2 wins away from clinching a playoff berth with 11 games to go.
The Spirit are also a RIDICULOUS 28-12 on the road.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
13 to go: Spirit @ Jackals, 8/21
Game 2!
Alert: GAME CALLED - RAIN. DOUBLEHEADER, 4:05 PM TOMORROW.
Scoreboard
OUT OF TOWN LIVE CAN-AM SCORES
Tonight's Pitching Matchups
Alert: GAME CALLED - RAIN. DOUBLEHEADER, 4:05 PM TOMORROW.
Scoreboard
| GAME POSTPONED DUE TO RAIN | ||||||||||||
| DOUBLEHEADER | 0 | |||||||||||
| 4:05 PM TOMORROW | 0 |
OUT OF TOWN LIVE CAN-AM SCORES
Tonight's Pitching Matchups
| TODAY'S GAMES | ||
|---|---|---|
| ATC @ WOR | MONTE MANSFIELD (6-7) VS JUNIOR GUERRERO (6-4) | |
| NHC @ SUS | ROLANDO VALLES (4-5) VS MATTHEW HIRSH (0-4) | |
| ROX @ QUE | CHRIS MARTIN (0-1) VS TJ STANTON (3-7) | |
| NSS @ NJJ | RYAN BICONDOA (9-2) VS TBA | |
| NSH @ GRY | AKIRA OKAMOTO (7-2) VS FONTELLA JONES (4-3) | |
| Standings - 2nd Half | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| Full SeasonN | W | L | PCT | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Shore Spirit | 49 | 31 | .613 | -- |
| *New Jersey Jackals | 46 | 34 | .575 | 3.0 |
| Nashua Pride | 44 | 36 | .550 | 5.0 |
| Atlantic City Surf | 43 | 36 | .544 | 5.5 |
| New Haven County Cutters | 40 | 40 | .500 | 9.0 |
| Quebec Capitales | 40 | 41 | .494 | 9.5 |
| Worcester Tornadoes | 38 | 43 | .469 | 11.5 |
| Brockton Rox | 37 | 43 | .463 | 12.0 |
| Grays | 37 | 44 | .457 | 12.5 |
| Sussex Skyhawks | 27 | 53 | .338 | 22.0 |
Monday, August 20, 2007
"Get this man his postgame spread!"
On a night when the man who hit the biggest home run in Spirit history returned to the fold, Josue Lopez picked up a big, clutch homer of his own, sending a two-run blast deep into the night in the 9th to give the Spirit a 6-4 victory over the New Jersey Jackals.
Derek Drage picked up another heart-attack save, putting on the first two men before escaping the jam with the help of a huge strike 'em out, throw 'em out double play when Dustin Yount whiffed. He got Joe Mihalics to pop out to (who else?) Nilson Teilon to end game 1 of a 4-game set that could very well be a preview of the championship series in a few weeks.
Joey Siak got the start for the Spirit. He pitched five decent innings, giving up three runs, and earned a no-decision.
The Spirit gave Joey an early lead off of Isaak Pavlik, putting up a 3-spot in the 2nd inning. Teilon (woo!) walked and came around to score on an RBI groundout by Josue Lopez. After Jerson Perez reached, John Welch hit his 3rd home run in the last 5 games, increasing the lead to 3-0.
With the score 3-1 in the 4th, Josue Lopez got another RBI on a fielder's choice - his 2nd RBI of the night.
From there, the Jackals began to claw back. They chased Joey Siak by putting a pair of runs up in the bottom of the 5th when Clay Kuklick got an RBI triple and Joe Mihalics brought him home with a single to center.
Brandon Martin came in to pitch the 6th and didn't get off to the best start, giving up an RBI double to Wilton Veras to tie the game. He was aided by some poor baserunning, though, as Veras ran into the second out of the inning trying to stretch his hit into a triple. The next man popped up to end the inning.
Martin settled down after that, keeping the Jackals quiet through the 7th and 8th and setting the stage for Josue Lopez's blast off of losing pitcher (and former Elmira legend) Kyle George in the 9th.
W) Martin
L) George
SV) Drage
...........
The Spirit have signed pitcher Luis Arroyo, who made the All-Star team in the United League this year pitching for the Laredo Broncos.
18 starts
8-4
3.55 ERA
4 CG
124.1 IP
126 H
58 R/49 ER
128 K/63 BB
.259 avg against
Not bad at all, but who knows how these numbers translate.
He has 3 years of experience in the Atlantic League from 2002-2004.
.........................
I'll be tracking the big 'magic numbers' on the left-hand side of the blog.
Derek Drage picked up another heart-attack save, putting on the first two men before escaping the jam with the help of a huge strike 'em out, throw 'em out double play when Dustin Yount whiffed. He got Joe Mihalics to pop out to (who else?) Nilson Teilon to end game 1 of a 4-game set that could very well be a preview of the championship series in a few weeks.
Joey Siak got the start for the Spirit. He pitched five decent innings, giving up three runs, and earned a no-decision.
The Spirit gave Joey an early lead off of Isaak Pavlik, putting up a 3-spot in the 2nd inning. Teilon (woo!) walked and came around to score on an RBI groundout by Josue Lopez. After Jerson Perez reached, John Welch hit his 3rd home run in the last 5 games, increasing the lead to 3-0.
With the score 3-1 in the 4th, Josue Lopez got another RBI on a fielder's choice - his 2nd RBI of the night.
From there, the Jackals began to claw back. They chased Joey Siak by putting a pair of runs up in the bottom of the 5th when Clay Kuklick got an RBI triple and Joe Mihalics brought him home with a single to center.
Brandon Martin came in to pitch the 6th and didn't get off to the best start, giving up an RBI double to Wilton Veras to tie the game. He was aided by some poor baserunning, though, as Veras ran into the second out of the inning trying to stretch his hit into a triple. The next man popped up to end the inning.
Martin settled down after that, keeping the Jackals quiet through the 7th and 8th and setting the stage for Josue Lopez's blast off of losing pitcher (and former Elmira legend) Kyle George in the 9th.
W) Martin
L) George
SV) Drage
...........
The Spirit have signed pitcher Luis Arroyo, who made the All-Star team in the United League this year pitching for the Laredo Broncos.
18 starts
8-4
3.55 ERA
4 CG
124.1 IP
126 H
58 R/49 ER
128 K/63 BB
.259 avg against
Not bad at all, but who knows how these numbers translate.
He has 3 years of experience in the Atlantic League from 2002-2004.
.........................
I'll be tracking the big 'magic numbers' on the left-hand side of the blog.
14 to go: Spirit @ Jackals, 8/20
For old time's sake, let's do a game thread, with all postings here in comments instead of going to the chat room.
Scoreboard
FINAL - Spirit 6, Jackals 4
Other games impacting the playoff race:
Brockton Rox 6 @ Quebec Capitales 3, 8th
Atlantic City Surf 6 @ Worcester Tornadoes 6, 8th
New Haven County Cutters 1 @ Sussex Skyhawks 2, 8th
Boston Red Sox 6 @ Tampa Bay Devil Rays 0, FINAL
New York Yankees @ Anaheim Angels, 10:05 PM
Game Notes:
6:30 PM>
According to the league site, the starters are: DENNIS ROBINSON (4-4) VS ISAAC PAVLIK (7-5).
But if D-Rob really is gone, someone else will be starting. Stay tuned.
OK, let's go.
7 PM>
AHH Nilson Teilon is in the lineup!!! And the Spirit have added a pitcher, Luis Arroyo, who has 3 years of Atlantic League experience and was a United League all star this year. He'll be pitching Wednesday.
Scoreboard
FINAL - Spirit 6, Jackals 4
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 0 |
| NJJ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 1 |
Other games impacting the playoff race:
Brockton Rox 6 @ Quebec Capitales 3, 8th
Atlantic City Surf 6 @ Worcester Tornadoes 6, 8th
New Haven County Cutters 1 @ Sussex Skyhawks 2, 8th
Boston Red Sox 6 @ Tampa Bay Devil Rays 0, FINAL
New York Yankees @ Anaheim Angels, 10:05 PM
Game Notes:
6:30 PM>
According to the league site, the starters are: DENNIS ROBINSON (4-4) VS ISAAC PAVLIK (7-5).
But if D-Rob really is gone, someone else will be starting. Stay tuned.
| Tonight's Pitching Matchups | ||
|---|---|---|
| ATLANTIC CITY AT WORCESTER | J.C. HUGUET (6-5) VS ALEX PENA (4-5) | |
| NEW HAVEN COUNTY AT SUSSEX | ROLANDO VALLES (4-5) VS JAMIE MERCHANT (2-1) | |
| BROCKTON AT QUEBEC | BRYAN MORSE (2-3) VS MICHEL SIMARD (8-7) | |
| NORTH SHORE AT NEW JERSEY | DENNIS ROBINSON (4-4) VS ISAAC PAVLIK (7-5) | |
| NASHUA AT GRAYS | HIDEKI NAGASAKA (8-1) VS ELLIOTT SHAW (6-7) | |
OK, let's go.
7 PM>
AHH Nilson Teilon is in the lineup!!! And the Spirit have added a pitcher, Luis Arroyo, who has 3 years of Atlantic League experience and was a United League all star this year. He'll be pitching Wednesday.
And so it goes...
It's crunch time. Two big ballgames tonight, one for the Spirit in Little Falls and another for that Boston team down in Tampa Bay.
I'm feeling pretty confident about both teams' chances to make the playoffs, but even the most optimistic fan has to at least have some doubt and fear at this point.
The Spirit have an easier road than the Red Sox do: a record of 7-7 in these last 14 games gets us in to the playoffs, regardless of what mayhem unfolds behind us. But the real prize here is the 2nd half title and getting those last 3 games at home, and the lead there is a tenuous 2.5 over Atlantic City. Also in play is the #1 overall record, for which the Spirit have a 2 game lead on the Jackals.
The Jackals are a sleeping giant, struggling in the 2nd half since dominating the first half, but I fully expect them to wake up before the postseason starts. That wakeup call seems to have already started, as the Jackals are 4-1 in their last 5 games. And with their acquisition of ace pitcher John Kelly, don't be surprised to see NJ in the championship series.
Not-so-breaking news:
from northshorespirit.com----
Saturday, August 18, 2007
I'm feeling pretty confident about both teams' chances to make the playoffs, but even the most optimistic fan has to at least have some doubt and fear at this point.
The Spirit have an easier road than the Red Sox do: a record of 7-7 in these last 14 games gets us in to the playoffs, regardless of what mayhem unfolds behind us. But the real prize here is the 2nd half title and getting those last 3 games at home, and the lead there is a tenuous 2.5 over Atlantic City. Also in play is the #1 overall record, for which the Spirit have a 2 game lead on the Jackals.
The Jackals are a sleeping giant, struggling in the 2nd half since dominating the first half, but I fully expect them to wake up before the postseason starts. That wakeup call seems to have already started, as the Jackals are 4-1 in their last 5 games. And with their acquisition of ace pitcher John Kelly, don't be surprised to see NJ in the championship series.
Not-so-breaking news:
from northshorespirit.com----
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Teilon has just finished an MVP season for
In his lone season with the Spirit in 2004, Teilon saw the majority of his playing time at third base, while hitting a very respectable .305 with 11 home runs and 55 RBI’s. His 111 hits that season ranked fifth on the Spirit’s all-time single season record list.
Teilon was signed by the Chicago White Sox as an undrafted free agent in 1998. He has also spent time in the Arizona Diamondbacks farm system.
I AM PUMPED!!!!!!!!! now we just need another pitcher.
Rumors And Tranactions And Pitchers......Oh My
An anonymous poster has left a comment saying that Dennis Robinson has left the team "in order to go to school". This makes sense since school starts up in Septemeber.....but this is just a rumor. still,if true this woud be a big blow to the Spirit as we would again be down a starter and have one of our better pitchers (save a few games) gone.
Out of curiousity I went to the Can-Am site & was looking at the transaction wire to check this out and didn't see him gone. However two pieces of activitity caught my eye.....
North Shore: Released OF Anton French.
This took them long enough to post up. He's been gone since Friday,according to reports. this realy only caught my eye cause it said "North Shore" in the front....the next one caught my eye for a few reasons.....
Brockton: Traded RHP John Kelly to New Jersey in exchange for future considerations and two players to be named later.
Why would brockton trade John Kelly,the best pitcher in the league (behind Chris Farley XD), to New Jersey for 2 players to be named later and future considerations? I can undertsand that New Jersey needs him to keep in the hunt for the overall best record,but Brockton REALLY needs good pitching to help keep them in the playoff race. Brockton may get a good deal out of this in the end,but right now I don't know if it was the right move.....at least if they want to get into the playoffs.
This trade really confuses me....any thoughts?
ALSO: Don't forget to vote in the new round of "Who's Now" which is right below this post! ^_^
Out of curiousity I went to the Can-Am site & was looking at the transaction wire to check this out and didn't see him gone. However two pieces of activitity caught my eye.....
North Shore: Released OF Anton French.
This took them long enough to post up. He's been gone since Friday,according to reports. this realy only caught my eye cause it said "North Shore" in the front....the next one caught my eye for a few reasons.....
Brockton: Traded RHP John Kelly to New Jersey in exchange for future considerations and two players to be named later.
Why would brockton trade John Kelly,the best pitcher in the league (behind Chris Farley XD), to New Jersey for 2 players to be named later and future considerations? I can undertsand that New Jersey needs him to keep in the hunt for the overall best record,but Brockton REALLY needs good pitching to help keep them in the playoff race. Brockton may get a good deal out of this in the end,but right now I don't know if it was the right move.....at least if they want to get into the playoffs.
This trade really confuses me....any thoughts?
ALSO: Don't forget to vote in the new round of "Who's Now" which is right below this post! ^_^
Spirit Take 3-out-of-4 From Can-Am Grays
In a day in which the Spirit once again played host to the home team,they were able to hold onto the 8 runs they compiled in the early innings for a 9-7 win over the home team,the Can-Am Grays.
Here's a few semi-non-game related notes before I being:
** It is funny to note that the first thing I heard today was Willy. As I walked over to him he was wearign something i never thought I'd see......a Red Sox t-shirt. I immediatly thought he bumped his head a little to hard,as he was finnaslly wearing a winnign team's apppearal,but then saw the Yankee cap in front of him....and he walked aroudn with both on as the most mis-matched person in the ballpark.
** It was also funny to note we had Cosmo Macero of Fox25 "Heavy Hitters" fame atthe ballpark today. I attemtped to get him to sign a ball ("You;re kidding,right kid") and failed,but DID get his buisness card. =]
** I signed upa nd did the Rent-all on-field trivia game and won a t-shirt and the afore-mentioned foam ball.
NOW,to the story:
Today Matt Bishop faced off against Richard Bartlett and the Grays. Bishop was outstanding today through 6 innings,giving up only 2 runs on 7 hits aginst a good-hitting traveling team.
Bartlett wishes he had even half-as-good an outing through the 5 innings he worked. He gave up 12 hits,at least one to every member of the Spirit but Josue. He also gave up 8 runs which included a two-run homer from Welch and two rbi-singles to Roche. With a 8-2 lead the Spirit seemed to finally be beating a team they SHOULD be beating.
Then came the bottom of the 7th. That inning saw the leave of Bishop who allowed the bases to get loaded on three consecutive singles then let up a double to 3B Ben Tinius that scored two to make it 8-4 Spirit. Out goes Bishop,In comes Jamie Baker. He automatically lets up a sac fly which scores another Gray run then allows back-to-back singles thast score one run and then induces a fly out to BJ. After 2/3 an inning it was time to say adios to Baker and hola to Donny "The Kid" Langdon who got the final out on the first batter he faced.
SO,after 1 inning,the leaving of the starter,and two relievers teaming up to get the 3 outs.....the Spirit held onto the lead,but it was close as it was now 8-6 Spirit after 7. After that the Spirit bullpen of Langdon and Derek Drage combined to hold down the Grays offense the final two innings. The Spirit would strike once more in the 8th inning as Luis Lopez came through with an rbi-double to give the Spirit a little bit of breathing room with a 9-6 lead.
The other run for the Grays came on a weird play. C JB Tucker and DH Sean ''Don't-call-me-a-convict'' Gamble lead off with singles. They then would go on to succedd in a double-steal. First Gamble went to second and was ruled safe. As Roche looekd doubtfully at second Tucker was able to make it safely home.
But it was then 9-7 Spirit at the end of 8,and the Grays would not score in the next inning,and the score stayed. Bishop would get his 9th win,Bartlett his 8th loss and Drage would pitch well to pick up his 11th save of the year. The Spirit would gain a half game on Atlantic City due to a cancelation and the Grays would remain in 4th.
One thing I should mention that i didn;t above was the fact that Jerson Perez started the game,and left in the third. According to Alan it appeared as though he may have hurt himself somehow in the 2nd on a routine ground-out and was replaced in the 3rd with Gilbert Gil. Gil immediately showed the hustle that Perez seemed to lack the past day or so.....and it seemed to me like Perez needs some time off,and Gil is an excellent replacment for Perez as he gets some time off that I believe he needs and earned.
If there's one thing I'm happy about after finishing this series, besides taking 3-out-of-4, is the fact that a few players have started to perform a little better.....most notably Gary Roche. He;s been an offensive jugarnaut the last couple games,going a total of 8-10 with one walk,3-rbi singles and a 2-run homer. He's also been fielding the ball pretty well. Another person who hjas impressed me is John Welch,who has been hitting the ball a little better and hustling pretty well lately.
SO....for the first time in a while i'd like to announce a player of the game: Gary Roche. He played well again today,drawing in 1/3 of our runs while playing good defense.
ALSO: I would like to add something in this post.
Mr Leahy thanked us for not doing updates until after the tape delay was done. If anyone deserves thanks it's actually the staff at 1510 The Zone.
I would like to personally comend him and the entire 1510 staff for doing outstanding work this season. For them to do these tape delayed broadcasts & live internet streaming (on tape delayed games) to catter both to the fan and the station's live shows is an act that deserves a standing o.
Keep up the good work 1510.
Here's a few semi-non-game related notes before I being:
** It is funny to note that the first thing I heard today was Willy. As I walked over to him he was wearign something i never thought I'd see......a Red Sox t-shirt. I immediatly thought he bumped his head a little to hard,as he was finnaslly wearing a winnign team's apppearal,but then saw the Yankee cap in front of him....and he walked aroudn with both on as the most mis-matched person in the ballpark.
** It was also funny to note we had Cosmo Macero of Fox25 "Heavy Hitters" fame atthe ballpark today. I attemtped to get him to sign a ball ("You;re kidding,right kid") and failed,but DID get his buisness card. =]
** I signed upa nd did the Rent-all on-field trivia game and won a t-shirt and the afore-mentioned foam ball.
NOW,to the story:
Today Matt Bishop faced off against Richard Bartlett and the Grays. Bishop was outstanding today through 6 innings,giving up only 2 runs on 7 hits aginst a good-hitting traveling team.
Bartlett wishes he had even half-as-good an outing through the 5 innings he worked. He gave up 12 hits,at least one to every member of the Spirit but Josue. He also gave up 8 runs which included a two-run homer from Welch and two rbi-singles to Roche. With a 8-2 lead the Spirit seemed to finally be beating a team they SHOULD be beating.
Then came the bottom of the 7th. That inning saw the leave of Bishop who allowed the bases to get loaded on three consecutive singles then let up a double to 3B Ben Tinius that scored two to make it 8-4 Spirit. Out goes Bishop,In comes Jamie Baker. He automatically lets up a sac fly which scores another Gray run then allows back-to-back singles thast score one run and then induces a fly out to BJ. After 2/3 an inning it was time to say adios to Baker and hola to Donny "The Kid" Langdon who got the final out on the first batter he faced.
SO,after 1 inning,the leaving of the starter,and two relievers teaming up to get the 3 outs.....the Spirit held onto the lead,but it was close as it was now 8-6 Spirit after 7. After that the Spirit bullpen of Langdon and Derek Drage combined to hold down the Grays offense the final two innings. The Spirit would strike once more in the 8th inning as Luis Lopez came through with an rbi-double to give the Spirit a little bit of breathing room with a 9-6 lead.
The other run for the Grays came on a weird play. C JB Tucker and DH Sean ''Don't-call-me-a-convict'' Gamble lead off with singles. They then would go on to succedd in a double-steal. First Gamble went to second and was ruled safe. As Roche looekd doubtfully at second Tucker was able to make it safely home.
But it was then 9-7 Spirit at the end of 8,and the Grays would not score in the next inning,and the score stayed. Bishop would get his 9th win,Bartlett his 8th loss and Drage would pitch well to pick up his 11th save of the year. The Spirit would gain a half game on Atlantic City due to a cancelation and the Grays would remain in 4th.
One thing I should mention that i didn;t above was the fact that Jerson Perez started the game,and left in the third. According to Alan it appeared as though he may have hurt himself somehow in the 2nd on a routine ground-out and was replaced in the 3rd with Gilbert Gil. Gil immediately showed the hustle that Perez seemed to lack the past day or so.....and it seemed to me like Perez needs some time off,and Gil is an excellent replacment for Perez as he gets some time off that I believe he needs and earned.
If there's one thing I'm happy about after finishing this series, besides taking 3-out-of-4, is the fact that a few players have started to perform a little better.....most notably Gary Roche. He;s been an offensive jugarnaut the last couple games,going a total of 8-10 with one walk,3-rbi singles and a 2-run homer. He's also been fielding the ball pretty well. Another person who hjas impressed me is John Welch,who has been hitting the ball a little better and hustling pretty well lately.
SO....for the first time in a while i'd like to announce a player of the game: Gary Roche. He played well again today,drawing in 1/3 of our runs while playing good defense.
ALSO: I would like to add something in this post.
Mr Leahy thanked us for not doing updates until after the tape delay was done. If anyone deserves thanks it's actually the staff at 1510 The Zone.
I would like to personally comend him and the entire 1510 staff for doing outstanding work this season. For them to do these tape delayed broadcasts & live internet streaming (on tape delayed games) to catter both to the fan and the station's live shows is an act that deserves a standing o.
Keep up the good work 1510.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Galvez, Spirit cruise
Since coming to the Spirit at the start of the 2nd half, Gary Galvez has been an entirely different pitcher than he was during his time with Brockton. That trend continued tonight as Galvez got his 4th win in dominating fashion, shutting out the Grays in 7 innings of work en route to a 6-0 Spirit victory.
Gary Roche hit a two-run homer as the Spirit jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning. The score stayed that way until the 6th, when BJ Weed and Mike Torres picked up RBIs to increase the cushion to 6-0. Roche went 4-for-4 on the night, his first solid game since changing his at bat music from 'Salio El Sol.'
Donny Langdon and Derek Drage teamed up to get through the last two innings, although Drage did put two men on in the 9th before ultimately closing the door.
The series wraps up tomorrow.
File under "Speak of the Devil": Rumor has it that Nilson Teilon will be on his way back to Lynn within the next few weeks. Maybe my postings have bizarre psychic powers? We could certainly use him - I could see an arrangement of Teilon at 3rd, Luis at 1st, Josue to DH, and Mottram strictly as a backup catcher. I'd be pretty darn happy with that setup.
Gary Roche hit a two-run homer as the Spirit jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning. The score stayed that way until the 6th, when BJ Weed and Mike Torres picked up RBIs to increase the cushion to 6-0. Roche went 4-for-4 on the night, his first solid game since changing his at bat music from 'Salio El Sol.'
Donny Langdon and Derek Drage teamed up to get through the last two innings, although Drage did put two men on in the 9th before ultimately closing the door.
The series wraps up tomorrow.
File under "Speak of the Devil": Rumor has it that Nilson Teilon will be on his way back to Lynn within the next few weeks. Maybe my postings have bizarre psychic powers? We could certainly use him - I could see an arrangement of Teilon at 3rd, Luis at 1st, Josue to DH, and Mottram strictly as a backup catcher. I'd be pretty darn happy with that setup.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Comfortable win
It was one of those comfortable nights at the ballyard - a night when the Spirit basically controlled the entire game. There were no intense nail-biting moments. This game was what it was - fairly boring, for the most part, but it got the job done.
There was only one really frustrating moment, and that came early on in, in the top of the 2nd. With the score tied 1-1, the Spirit managed to put together an inning where they got four hits and no runs. Jerson Perez led it off with a single but was caught stealing 2nd (don't they read the blog? Sheesh); the Spirit got three more singles in the inning, but couldn't bring anyone around to score.
But it wasn't really that troubling, because the game always felt like it was under control. Bicondoa was, as usual, solid, and gave up 2 runs on 7 strong innings to earn the victory.
The Spirit only needed one more inning after that aggravating 2nd to bust out. In the top half of the 3rd, Luiz Lopez ripped an RBI double to left field which scored Alex Trezza and gave North Shore a 2-1 lead. Later in the inning, Josue got his first 2 RBI on the night when he laced a double to right-center that made it 4-1 Spirit.
Things just kind of churned along with Bic in control and Fontella Jones, the Grays starter and loser, settling down, until the 6th, when John Welch smoked a solo homer to left to increase the lead to four.
In the bottom half of the 6th, Ben Tinius got one back for the Grays on a disputed inside the park home run. He hit a hard smash to deep center but BJ Weed appeared to have tracked it down and caught the ball in spectacular fashion, banging into the CF wall in the process. Evidently, he didn't have the ball long enough and it popped out of his glove, because while the Spirit sort of inched their way toward the dugout, Tinius busted around the bases and was ruled safe by the umps.
We booed, mainly out of obligation; but to be honest, it wasn't all that troubling.
The Spirit, as I figured they would, got the run right back on a Jerson Perez solo home run in the top of the 7th to make it 7-2.
Josue Lopez added one last blast of fun into the night, hammering a two-run homer in the 9th to give us our final score of 9-2.
3 home runs in one game has been an extreme rarity this season in the CanAm League, and especially for the Spirit - so this was a moment to enjoy.
Donny Langdon and Derek Drage tag-teamed to pitch a scoreless final two innings for North Shore, nailing down what proved to be an easy victory from start to finish.
There was only one really frustrating moment, and that came early on in, in the top of the 2nd. With the score tied 1-1, the Spirit managed to put together an inning where they got four hits and no runs. Jerson Perez led it off with a single but was caught stealing 2nd (don't they read the blog? Sheesh); the Spirit got three more singles in the inning, but couldn't bring anyone around to score.
But it wasn't really that troubling, because the game always felt like it was under control. Bicondoa was, as usual, solid, and gave up 2 runs on 7 strong innings to earn the victory.
The Spirit only needed one more inning after that aggravating 2nd to bust out. In the top half of the 3rd, Luiz Lopez ripped an RBI double to left field which scored Alex Trezza and gave North Shore a 2-1 lead. Later in the inning, Josue got his first 2 RBI on the night when he laced a double to right-center that made it 4-1 Spirit.
Things just kind of churned along with Bic in control and Fontella Jones, the Grays starter and loser, settling down, until the 6th, when John Welch smoked a solo homer to left to increase the lead to four.
In the bottom half of the 6th, Ben Tinius got one back for the Grays on a disputed inside the park home run. He hit a hard smash to deep center but BJ Weed appeared to have tracked it down and caught the ball in spectacular fashion, banging into the CF wall in the process. Evidently, he didn't have the ball long enough and it popped out of his glove, because while the Spirit sort of inched their way toward the dugout, Tinius busted around the bases and was ruled safe by the umps.
We booed, mainly out of obligation; but to be honest, it wasn't all that troubling.
The Spirit, as I figured they would, got the run right back on a Jerson Perez solo home run in the top of the 7th to make it 7-2.
Josue Lopez added one last blast of fun into the night, hammering a two-run homer in the 9th to give us our final score of 9-2.
3 home runs in one game has been an extreme rarity this season in the CanAm League, and especially for the Spirit - so this was a moment to enjoy.
Donny Langdon and Derek Drage tag-teamed to pitch a scoreless final two innings for North Shore, nailing down what proved to be an easy victory from start to finish.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
And that's why you stay 'til the end of the game
It's cliche, I know - but the reason why it's worth it to wait in line for 2 hours, or get ripped off by some lowlife scalper, is because you never know what you're going to see at the ballpark.
So, the Red Sox are now 2-41 when trailing after 8 innings. Thank you Mike Lowell, Jason Varitek and Coco Crisp! Oh, and don't forget Lester, Timlin and Gagne.
The ovation for Lester when he came out of the bullpen before the game gave me the chills, and being part of the crowd as we all stood for the ENTIRE 9th inning was amazing. Belief is back!
Video from Fenway as Timlin gets a big K with the bases loaded in the 8th, the crowd sings Sweet Caroline, and Lugo gets a big ovation to start the bottom of the 8th:
In Brockton we had another nailbiter:
(from the Spirit site)
By John Leahy Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Jerson Perez went 3-for-4 and Julio Soriano fanned Brockton's Lee Rubin with the tying run on in the bottom of the ninth as the North Shore Spirit held off the Brockton Rox for a 6-5 victory at Campanelli Stadium in game two of their three game series.
The Spirit broke on top 2-0 in the second against Rox lefthander Bryan Morse, who had one-hit the Spirit in his last start. Luis Lopez singled and and one out later moved to third on a Jersen Perez single. Josue Lopez delivered a clutch two-run single for the 2-0 Spirit advantage.
Brockton took the lead in the bottom of the fifth against Spirit starter Matt Bishop (8-4) with a four-run inning. Three straight hits opened the inning, with Jared Edmonson's infield hit scoring the first run. Lee Rubin blasted a three run homer later on in the inning for a 4-2 Rox lead.
The Spirit rallied right back in the top of the sixth. Mike Torres and Luis Lopez cracked back to back doubles to open the inning for a run to make it a 4-3 game. One out later, Jerson Perez singled and was doubled in by Allen Mottram to tie things up at 4-4.
North Shore then plated a pair of runs in the seventh, on an RBI double by Jerson Perez and a wild pitch by Rox reliever Jon Koch ( 0-3) for the sixth run.
The Rox were not done, as they rallied in the bottom of the ninth for the second straight evening. With one out, Melvin Falu doubled off of Spirit reliever Brandon Martin and then scored on a Jared Edmonson single to make it 6-5. Martin fanned Jorge Mejia for the second
out, and Soriano came out of the pen and struck out Rubin swinging.
Very nice.
So, back to Fraser tomorrow - time to finish off the sweep. Bring your brooms and hawaiian shirts!
Another Spirit Pitcher Wins PoTW Honors
I got bored so i made this really quick.....but here's the story that accompanies it (from northshorespirit.com):
"The North Shore Spirit are quietly stockpiling awards this season. Converted starter Dennis Robinson has earned pitcher of the week honors for the week ending August 12, PA-Sportsticker – official statistician of the CanAm League has reported. The right hander joins Chris Farley, Ryan Bicondoa (2), and Derek Drage as the other members of weekly honorees the Spirit have had this season.
The interesting tidbit regarding the award is that Robinson only started one game for North Shore over the week, but it was an impressive one. In a road start against the Sussex Skyhawks on August 10, Robinson tossed a complete game shut-out gem, scattering four hits while striking out five and walking none.
Robinson was made a starter for the ball club after Bryan Morse was traded to Brockton and Chris Farley’s contract was sold to the Yankees organization. Robinson made his first start on July 18, and picked up a win against the Worcester Tornadoes.
“D-Rob” as he is known around the ballpark garners a 4-3 record on the season (4-1 as a starter) with one save to his credit. His 2.97 earned run average overall is third among Spirit starters behind Matt Bishop (2.20) and Bicondoa (2.96)."
Congrats D-Rob.....you;ve earned it.
Nows here's something I threw together really quick....and shall for every PoTW the league selecets from the Spirit as I personally like this little thing. =]
"The North Shore Spirit are quietly stockpiling awards this season. Converted starter Dennis Robinson has earned pitcher of the week honors for the week ending August 12, PA-Sportsticker – official statistician of the CanAm League has reported. The right hander joins Chris Farley, Ryan Bicondoa (2), and Derek Drage as the other members of weekly honorees the Spirit have had this season.
The interesting tidbit regarding the award is that Robinson only started one game for North Shore over the week, but it was an impressive one. In a road start against the Sussex Skyhawks on August 10, Robinson tossed a complete game shut-out gem, scattering four hits while striking out five and walking none.
Robinson was made a starter for the ball club after Bryan Morse was traded to Brockton and Chris Farley’s contract was sold to the Yankees organization. Robinson made his first start on July 18, and picked up a win against the Worcester Tornadoes.
“D-Rob” as he is known around the ballpark garners a 4-3 record on the season (4-1 as a starter) with one save to his credit. His 2.97 earned run average overall is third among Spirit starters behind Matt Bishop (2.20) and Bicondoa (2.96)."
Congrats D-Rob.....you;ve earned it.
Nows here's something I threw together really quick....and shall for every PoTW the league selecets from the Spirit as I personally like this little thing. =]
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