The Worcester Tornadoes home opener is Thursday, May 29, vs. Sussex at 7 PM.
Let's start planning this now. Who's in for a Fraser Faithful trip?
Showing posts with label worcester. Show all posts
Showing posts with label worcester. Show all posts
Monday, April 28, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Worcester: Will Vic Play?
As Victoria noted in the comments, there are several ex-Spirit on the Worcester roster:
We have to go see the Tornadoes, and I'd like to check them out before the Navs season starts.
They have exhibitions on the 16th @ Brockton, the 18th vs. Nashua, and 20th vs. Brockton, and their home opening series against Sussex from May 29-June 1.
- Alex Trezza
- Jerson Perez
- Vic Davilla
- Chris Colabello
- John Welch
- Ryan Bicondoa
- Joey Siak
- Shawn McNamara
We have to go see the Tornadoes, and I'd like to check them out before the Navs season starts.
They have exhibitions on the 16th @ Brockton, the 18th vs. Nashua, and 20th vs. Brockton, and their home opening series against Sussex from May 29-June 1.
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.
Monday, August 06, 2007
The good and the bad
Based on all published reports, there is no getting around the fact that Carlos Rodriguez's disgusting act of throwing a ball at Alex Pena set off yesterday's ugly brawl at Fraser Field. I will re-iterate what I said yesterday: he should be released today, before the league even gets the chance to suspend him. That is totally intolerable, especially from an owner who prides himself on doing things 'the right way' -- I don't like seeing stories like the one I read from today's Worcester Telegram & Gazzette, in which Worcester's GM rips the Spirit. Sadly, it seems pretty true.
Link:
"All of that is conduct that doesn’t sit right with R.C. Reuteman, the Tornadoes president and general manager.
“I think for the most part we do it right,” Reuteman said, “but there are teams in this league that don’t. “We’re professional baseball players,” he continued. “And if we can’t conduct ourselves professionally, we have no (bleeping) business being part of it. There is absolutely no room for it.”
Reuteman said he is very frustrated with the Can-Am League in general and planned to have a phone conversation with league commissioner Miles Wolff last night. “If this is how our league is going to sit back and let these things happen,” Reuteman explained, “that’s not what I’m all about.”
Pitching coach Bobby Ojeda echoed some of Reuteman’s sentiments: “There’s no place in the game for this type of thing, and the saddest part is when you allow individuals like this (on your team), and you look the other way. And you have to look to the owner because he signed them."”
*
Interestingly enough, the official recap on the Spirit website just says that 'a brawl took place' with no explanation as to how it happened; the CanAm recap ignores the incident entirely.
It's not good when you are getting slammed in the media without any sort of response.
The Item's recap is particularly bad. Not only does it not write why the brawl started, it also states that Worcester starter Alex Pena was tossed --- which is not the case. All the Item had to do in this case was look up ANY OTHER REPORT on the game --- or just ask someone who would know.
It's pretty embarassing how the Spirit media coverage of the game tried to ignore the ugly incident.
I do have one issue with the Worcester T & G coverage, however. Here are a few lines:
"The brawl was clearly initiated by the Spirit. "
"Rodriguez, who is 6-foot-2, 220 pounds, then charged and tackled Pena from behind."
"The brawl appears to be part of a trend for North Shore, which also was involved in a brawl with Quebec in June. Its manager, Vic Davilla, has been thrown out of seven games this season. Rodriguez, the instigator this time around, was released from the team earlier this season. He was reportedly arrested during his time away, and then re-signed prior to the series with Worcester. "
If you go over and ask Davilla or any of the Spirit players, they would tell you that there had been trouble brewing between the two teams all weekend - a fact that was totally ignored by the media in general, although briefly alluded to in a quote in the Item's piece.
Also, I don't think it's fair to call two fights for a baseball team a "trend." It's pretty common for teams to have a couple of bench clearing incidents over the course of a long season. I don't know where the Worcester T&G reporter went to school --- Holy Cross, maybe? --- but where I come from, they teach me that two occurences of something does not equal a "trend."
In addition to that, I don't think the number of ejections to Vic Davilla is relevant in any way to any trend of 'violent behavior' by the team. Bobby Cox has the most ejections of any manager in baseball history. Are his teams assumed to be wild and unruly?
John Kennedy consistently led the league in ejections and he was tossed (count 'em) 12 times last year, but all you read about was how he kept a tight ship and ran a professional clubhouse. When he got ejected, it was OK.
Could it be because Kennedy is a graying old white guy who used to play in the Majors? It's not a popular question to ask, but I think it's fair in this situation. That was a blatantly irrelevant fact to use in the article.
Finally, in regards to C-Rod's off the field 'issues,' I heard that he had a run-in with police while he was on the team the first time, which prompted his release; I find it highly doubtful that the team would
1) release him for no reason
2) see that he gets arrested
3) sign him back after that
It would be nice if someone from the Item, or other media affiliated with the Spirit would put out some information from the Spirit perspective here, because the only media reports out there that actually cover the fight and don't gloss over it give the entire organization a huge black eye.
For the most part, the black eye is well deserved - Rodriguez is a numbskull, a jerk, and a bully for what he did on the field yesterday.
I think there's one quote to remember in regards to C-Rod: "Once a Capitale, always a Capitale."
It'll be interesting to see how the Spirit front office -- and Uncle Miles -- responds to this one.
Link:
"All of that is conduct that doesn’t sit right with R.C. Reuteman, the Tornadoes president and general manager.
“I think for the most part we do it right,” Reuteman said, “but there are teams in this league that don’t. “We’re professional baseball players,” he continued. “And if we can’t conduct ourselves professionally, we have no (bleeping) business being part of it. There is absolutely no room for it.”
Reuteman said he is very frustrated with the Can-Am League in general and planned to have a phone conversation with league commissioner Miles Wolff last night. “If this is how our league is going to sit back and let these things happen,” Reuteman explained, “that’s not what I’m all about.”
Pitching coach Bobby Ojeda echoed some of Reuteman’s sentiments: “There’s no place in the game for this type of thing, and the saddest part is when you allow individuals like this (on your team), and you look the other way. And you have to look to the owner because he signed them."”
*
Interestingly enough, the official recap on the Spirit website just says that 'a brawl took place' with no explanation as to how it happened; the CanAm recap ignores the incident entirely.
It's not good when you are getting slammed in the media without any sort of response.
The Item's recap is particularly bad. Not only does it not write why the brawl started, it also states that Worcester starter Alex Pena was tossed --- which is not the case. All the Item had to do in this case was look up ANY OTHER REPORT on the game --- or just ask someone who would know.
It's pretty embarassing how the Spirit media coverage of the game tried to ignore the ugly incident.
I do have one issue with the Worcester T & G coverage, however. Here are a few lines:
"The brawl was clearly initiated by the Spirit. "
"Rodriguez, who is 6-foot-2, 220 pounds, then charged and tackled Pena from behind."
"The brawl appears to be part of a trend for North Shore, which also was involved in a brawl with Quebec in June. Its manager, Vic Davilla, has been thrown out of seven games this season. Rodriguez, the instigator this time around, was released from the team earlier this season. He was reportedly arrested during his time away, and then re-signed prior to the series with Worcester. "
If you go over and ask Davilla or any of the Spirit players, they would tell you that there had been trouble brewing between the two teams all weekend - a fact that was totally ignored by the media in general, although briefly alluded to in a quote in the Item's piece.
Also, I don't think it's fair to call two fights for a baseball team a "trend." It's pretty common for teams to have a couple of bench clearing incidents over the course of a long season. I don't know where the Worcester T&G reporter went to school --- Holy Cross, maybe? --- but where I come from, they teach me that two occurences of something does not equal a "trend."
In addition to that, I don't think the number of ejections to Vic Davilla is relevant in any way to any trend of 'violent behavior' by the team. Bobby Cox has the most ejections of any manager in baseball history. Are his teams assumed to be wild and unruly?
John Kennedy consistently led the league in ejections and he was tossed (count 'em) 12 times last year, but all you read about was how he kept a tight ship and ran a professional clubhouse. When he got ejected, it was OK.
Could it be because Kennedy is a graying old white guy who used to play in the Majors? It's not a popular question to ask, but I think it's fair in this situation. That was a blatantly irrelevant fact to use in the article.
Finally, in regards to C-Rod's off the field 'issues,' I heard that he had a run-in with police while he was on the team the first time, which prompted his release; I find it highly doubtful that the team would
1) release him for no reason
2) see that he gets arrested
3) sign him back after that
It would be nice if someone from the Item, or other media affiliated with the Spirit would put out some information from the Spirit perspective here, because the only media reports out there that actually cover the fight and don't gloss over it give the entire organization a huge black eye.
For the most part, the black eye is well deserved - Rodriguez is a numbskull, a jerk, and a bully for what he did on the field yesterday.
I think there's one quote to remember in regards to C-Rod: "Once a Capitale, always a Capitale."
It'll be interesting to see how the Spirit front office -- and Uncle Miles -- responds to this one.
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Fireworks disrupt a quiet Sunday at the ballyard
Today, the crowd at Fraser Field was treated to a breathtaking game which the Spirit won 3-2 to sweep their 3-game series against the Worcester Tornadoes. But an ugly bench-clearing incident in the fourth inning stole the headlines from Ryan Bicondoa's oustanding victory.
In the middle of the fourth inning, seemingly out of nowhere, a brawl broke out. There is still confusion as to what actually set off the fight, but by most accounts, Carlos Rodriguez tossed a baseball either at Worcester pitcher Alex Pena on his way out of the dugout, or into the Worcester dugout in general. If this is the case, Rodriguez should never play another game in a Spirit uniform again, no matter what his official punishment is from the league. Carlos Marley has already had some off the field issues, but personal issues are one thing, endangering people on the baseball field is another thing entirely.
Rodriguez had been plunked by an 89 mph fastball earlier in the game, but that is no excuse for what he evidently did today.
According to numerous sources after the game, including one player, Worcester's Keith Beauregard had been 'getting into it' verbally with several Spirit players, including Dennis Robinson, throughout the weekend, which set up today's tensions.
In the actual fracas, Josue Lopez bulldozed three Tornadoes players, Rodriguez charged like a bull at a few players but came empty, and Beauregard and Robinson squared off head to head at around the second base bag.
Beauregard got Robinson into somewhat of a headlock and grabbed his hair, and Andy Theriault came flying out of the bullpen to smash Beauregard off of D-Rob.
One has to wonder what Rich Gedman --- absent for the second consecutive game --- would have thought about this ugly incident. I'm guessing he was not happy to hear the news.
Beauregard and bench player Greg Smith were tossed out of the game for Worcester.
On the Spirit side, Josue Lopez and Carlos Rodriguez were tossed. Rumor has it Robinson could be facing league sanctions at some point.
No coaches were ejected.
The most significant event to occur, though, as far as the game was concerned, was the fact that Worcester starter Alex Pena - who at the time had a no-hitter through three innings - hurt his wrist in the fracas and had to leave the game in favor of Reed Willets.
The Spirit responded immediately, as Luis Lopez ripped an RBI single to score Gary Roche to give North Shore the 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 4th.
The lead held up until the 8th inning as Bicondoa was simply masterful, baffling Worcester hitters with a solid fastball at around 85-86 MPH and unhittable backdoor breaking balls in the low 80s.
After 7 innings of shutout, 2-hit ball, however, Bicondoa yielded the 1-0 lead in the 8th. Mike DeCarlo blasted a solo homer to deep left to tie the game at 1.
The Spirit rallied around their starter, however, and gave him the victory he deserved with a few clutch runs in the bottom of the 8th.
BJ Weed got it started off of Worcester reliever PJ Bevis with a 1-out single up the middle. Gary Roche followed with his 2nd hit of the day, which advanced Weed to 3rd base; Roche was thrown out trying to stretch his hit into a double.
With 2 out, Mike Torres hit a high chopper to the second baseman who tossed it toward first, but the ball scooted away from first baseman Yohanny Valera, allowing Torres to reach and Weed to score the go-ahead run.
Alex Trezza added an RBI single later on in the inning to score Torres and give the Spirit a 3-1 lead.
Worcester would not go quietly in the 9th. After Bicondoa got the first two men to go down easily, Omar Pena smashed a 2 out double, which prompted Vic Davilla to make the move to bring in Derek Drage.
As Bicondoa walked off the field, he of course received the rousing standing ovation he deserved for 8.2 excellent innings of work ----------- NOT. Needless to say, Fraser Church remained just that as one of the best pitching performances of the year came to an end.
Bicondoa's final line was very impressive: 8.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 7 K.
Derek Drage had a heart attack moment, giving up a double to Patrick Perry to make it 3-2, but he got Yohanny Valera to pop up to end the game and send the fans home happy.
It was North Shore's 7th straight victory over Worcester and second consecutive series sweep against our Commonwealth Cup rivals.
It should be an interesting off-day tomorrow - hopefully we can get the scoop about potential punishments (either from the league or from the team itself) that come down in response to todays extracurricular activities.
What shouldn't be lost in this, however, is the fact that Bic did an amazing job out there on the hill today. On to Brockton.
In the middle of the fourth inning, seemingly out of nowhere, a brawl broke out. There is still confusion as to what actually set off the fight, but by most accounts, Carlos Rodriguez tossed a baseball either at Worcester pitcher Alex Pena on his way out of the dugout, or into the Worcester dugout in general. If this is the case, Rodriguez should never play another game in a Spirit uniform again, no matter what his official punishment is from the league. Carlos Marley has already had some off the field issues, but personal issues are one thing, endangering people on the baseball field is another thing entirely.
Rodriguez had been plunked by an 89 mph fastball earlier in the game, but that is no excuse for what he evidently did today.
According to numerous sources after the game, including one player, Worcester's Keith Beauregard had been 'getting into it' verbally with several Spirit players, including Dennis Robinson, throughout the weekend, which set up today's tensions.
In the actual fracas, Josue Lopez bulldozed three Tornadoes players, Rodriguez charged like a bull at a few players but came empty, and Beauregard and Robinson squared off head to head at around the second base bag.
Beauregard got Robinson into somewhat of a headlock and grabbed his hair, and Andy Theriault came flying out of the bullpen to smash Beauregard off of D-Rob.
One has to wonder what Rich Gedman --- absent for the second consecutive game --- would have thought about this ugly incident. I'm guessing he was not happy to hear the news.
Beauregard and bench player Greg Smith were tossed out of the game for Worcester.
On the Spirit side, Josue Lopez and Carlos Rodriguez were tossed. Rumor has it Robinson could be facing league sanctions at some point.
No coaches were ejected.
The most significant event to occur, though, as far as the game was concerned, was the fact that Worcester starter Alex Pena - who at the time had a no-hitter through three innings - hurt his wrist in the fracas and had to leave the game in favor of Reed Willets.
The Spirit responded immediately, as Luis Lopez ripped an RBI single to score Gary Roche to give North Shore the 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 4th.
The lead held up until the 8th inning as Bicondoa was simply masterful, baffling Worcester hitters with a solid fastball at around 85-86 MPH and unhittable backdoor breaking balls in the low 80s.
After 7 innings of shutout, 2-hit ball, however, Bicondoa yielded the 1-0 lead in the 8th. Mike DeCarlo blasted a solo homer to deep left to tie the game at 1.
The Spirit rallied around their starter, however, and gave him the victory he deserved with a few clutch runs in the bottom of the 8th.
BJ Weed got it started off of Worcester reliever PJ Bevis with a 1-out single up the middle. Gary Roche followed with his 2nd hit of the day, which advanced Weed to 3rd base; Roche was thrown out trying to stretch his hit into a double.
With 2 out, Mike Torres hit a high chopper to the second baseman who tossed it toward first, but the ball scooted away from first baseman Yohanny Valera, allowing Torres to reach and Weed to score the go-ahead run.
Alex Trezza added an RBI single later on in the inning to score Torres and give the Spirit a 3-1 lead.
Worcester would not go quietly in the 9th. After Bicondoa got the first two men to go down easily, Omar Pena smashed a 2 out double, which prompted Vic Davilla to make the move to bring in Derek Drage.
As Bicondoa walked off the field, he of course received the rousing standing ovation he deserved for 8.2 excellent innings of work ----------- NOT. Needless to say, Fraser Church remained just that as one of the best pitching performances of the year came to an end.
Bicondoa's final line was very impressive: 8.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 7 K.
Derek Drage had a heart attack moment, giving up a double to Patrick Perry to make it 3-2, but he got Yohanny Valera to pop up to end the game and send the fans home happy.
It was North Shore's 7th straight victory over Worcester and second consecutive series sweep against our Commonwealth Cup rivals.
It should be an interesting off-day tomorrow - hopefully we can get the scoop about potential punishments (either from the league or from the team itself) that come down in response to todays extracurricular activities.
What shouldn't be lost in this, however, is the fact that Bic did an amazing job out there on the hill today. On to Brockton.
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Another exciting win
Carlos Rodriguez continued his hot return tonight, chipping in a 2-run homer, a triple, and an outfield assist as the Spirit downed the Worcester Tornadoes 6-3 in front of a packed house at Fraser Field.
Dennis Robinson had an outing very similar to his last one in New Haven. He wasn't dominant - he gave up 7 hits and 4 walks in 6.2 innings pitched - but he worked his way out of a lot of jams and was only charged with 3 earned runs as he picked up his third victory of the season. His fastball was consistently in the 85-86 mph range, and he ratcheted it up to 88 and 89 to earn a few outs in big spots. He stayed strong throughout, hitting his high of 89 mph in the 6th inning.
Much like last night, the Spirit rattled Worcester's starter early. Matt Weagle fell to 2-4 for the Tornadoes as he got knocked around for 6 runs in 6 innings of work.
In the 2nd inning, Carlos Rodriguez opened the scoring with a smoked 2 run homer to right field.
One inning later, Worcester threatened to bounce right back. Andrew Wishy blasted a fat one over the rightfield fence to halve North Shore's lead. Then, Robinson walked a man and gave up a single to Dom Ramos to put runners on the corners with 1 out. A stroke of good fortune rescued D-Rob after that. Keith Beauregard smashed one toward short, and Jerson Perez made a NICE leaping catch. He tossed it over to first to double off Ramos - one of many hard-hit double (and triple) plays on the day.
After escaping that jam in the top of the 3rd, the Spirit extended their lead and got all the runs they would need to win. Jerson Perez followed his stellar defensive display in the top half of the inning with a leadoff double in the bottom half. BJ Weed then chopped one at the second baseman Ramos, who made a stupid decision, throwing the ball to 3rd in an attempt to throw out Perez. He overthrew the 3rd baseman, Perez jogged home with the 3rd Spirit run, and Weed moved up into scoring position.
After Gary Roche legged out a bunt single, Mike Torres brought home Weed to make it 4-1 Spirit.
Then, we stepped into bizzaro world. Luis Lopez hit a liner at the shortstop, Omar Pena. Pena dropped the liner, but obviously neither Roche nor Torres left their bases. Pena stepped on 2nd, retiring Torres, tagged out Roche for the 2nd out, then threw to first where Lopez was retired. Bing-bing-bing --- triple play.
Luckily, that wound up not being a big factor in the game, as Carlos Rodriguez's triple in the
4th followed by a wild pitch netted another insurance run.
There was some more scoring in what amounted to the baseball equivalent of 'garbage time,' but Jamie Baker (1.1 IP, 0 ER) and Derek Drage (1.0 IP, 0 ER, SV) paved the way to North Shore's 3rd straight victory and 5th in the last 6 games.
The Spirit go for the sweep at 1 PM tomorrow and Bic will be on the hill.
Dennis Robinson had an outing very similar to his last one in New Haven. He wasn't dominant - he gave up 7 hits and 4 walks in 6.2 innings pitched - but he worked his way out of a lot of jams and was only charged with 3 earned runs as he picked up his third victory of the season. His fastball was consistently in the 85-86 mph range, and he ratcheted it up to 88 and 89 to earn a few outs in big spots. He stayed strong throughout, hitting his high of 89 mph in the 6th inning.
Much like last night, the Spirit rattled Worcester's starter early. Matt Weagle fell to 2-4 for the Tornadoes as he got knocked around for 6 runs in 6 innings of work.
In the 2nd inning, Carlos Rodriguez opened the scoring with a smoked 2 run homer to right field.
One inning later, Worcester threatened to bounce right back. Andrew Wishy blasted a fat one over the rightfield fence to halve North Shore's lead. Then, Robinson walked a man and gave up a single to Dom Ramos to put runners on the corners with 1 out. A stroke of good fortune rescued D-Rob after that. Keith Beauregard smashed one toward short, and Jerson Perez made a NICE leaping catch. He tossed it over to first to double off Ramos - one of many hard-hit double (and triple) plays on the day.
After escaping that jam in the top of the 3rd, the Spirit extended their lead and got all the runs they would need to win. Jerson Perez followed his stellar defensive display in the top half of the inning with a leadoff double in the bottom half. BJ Weed then chopped one at the second baseman Ramos, who made a stupid decision, throwing the ball to 3rd in an attempt to throw out Perez. He overthrew the 3rd baseman, Perez jogged home with the 3rd Spirit run, and Weed moved up into scoring position.
After Gary Roche legged out a bunt single, Mike Torres brought home Weed to make it 4-1 Spirit.
Then, we stepped into bizzaro world. Luis Lopez hit a liner at the shortstop, Omar Pena. Pena dropped the liner, but obviously neither Roche nor Torres left their bases. Pena stepped on 2nd, retiring Torres, tagged out Roche for the 2nd out, then threw to first where Lopez was retired. Bing-bing-bing --- triple play.
Luckily, that wound up not being a big factor in the game, as Carlos Rodriguez's triple in the
4th followed by a wild pitch netted another insurance run.
There was some more scoring in what amounted to the baseball equivalent of 'garbage time,' but Jamie Baker (1.1 IP, 0 ER) and Derek Drage (1.0 IP, 0 ER, SV) paved the way to North Shore's 3rd straight victory and 5th in the last 6 games.
The Spirit go for the sweep at 1 PM tomorrow and Bic will be on the hill.
Friday, August 03, 2007
Game over before it starts: Spirit crush Worcester 12-2
Gary Galvez had his most impressive outing of the season tonight, going the distance and giving up only two runs as the Spirit beat Worcester 12-2 in front of a good crowd on Doug Flutie night at Fraser Field.
The game also featured the glorious return of Carlos Rodriguez, who picked up two hits, drove in two runs, and got one of his trademark outfield assists.
Galvez had good velocity and consistency with his fastball tonight, hitting 91 at a regular basis and topping out at 94 MPH in the 4th inning. He added in a few breaking pitches at around 72-75 MPH to keep hitters off balance.
He gave up a leadoff triple in the 3rd inning to Greg Smith, who came around to score on a sacrifice fly, then was hit pretty well in the 4th but escaped a jam. The first batter, Keith Beauregard, lined one back toward Galvez, who stuck out his glove and caught the ball. The 2nd batter of the inning reached with a base hit, which was followed by another hit by Patrick Perry. Perry got greedy on the play, however, and was gunned out running to 2nd base by Carlos Rodriguez.
From that point on, Galvez was almost untouchable, save for a 2nd Worcester run scored on an E5 in the 6th.
Galvez's counterpart, Mike "Don't call me mee-ger, don't spell it Ma-Ha" Meagher, did not have the same success - he was hung out to dry by Rich Gedman, iving up 10 runs on 7 hits and 6 walks in 3 1/3 innings.
The Spirit offense ripped it open early on, batting around in the first inning. In Carlos Rodriguez's first at-bat back with the Spirit, he ripped an RBI double. Josue Lopez and Luis Lopez also had RBIs in the first as the Spirit jumped out to a 4-0 lead.
After Carlos Rodriguez, Alan Mottram, and Alex Trezza added RBI hits in the 4th, Jerson Perez absolutely nailed it down with a 3 run homer to right which made it 10-1.
North Shore added two more in the 8th to make it 12-2, which would be the final score.
*
I, for one, think it's great to have C-Rod back --- for all his faults (such as his .212 average and his off the field 'issues') the guy is a beast with a cannon arm and great power. We badly needed another power threat in the lineup in the absence of Vic Davilla. The lack of power is a great flaw on the '07 Spirit - as evidenced by the fact that Blakely is still 2nd on the team in homers.
Welcome back, C-Rod.
The game also featured the glorious return of Carlos Rodriguez, who picked up two hits, drove in two runs, and got one of his trademark outfield assists.
Galvez had good velocity and consistency with his fastball tonight, hitting 91 at a regular basis and topping out at 94 MPH in the 4th inning. He added in a few breaking pitches at around 72-75 MPH to keep hitters off balance.
He gave up a leadoff triple in the 3rd inning to Greg Smith, who came around to score on a sacrifice fly, then was hit pretty well in the 4th but escaped a jam. The first batter, Keith Beauregard, lined one back toward Galvez, who stuck out his glove and caught the ball. The 2nd batter of the inning reached with a base hit, which was followed by another hit by Patrick Perry. Perry got greedy on the play, however, and was gunned out running to 2nd base by Carlos Rodriguez.
From that point on, Galvez was almost untouchable, save for a 2nd Worcester run scored on an E5 in the 6th.
Galvez's counterpart, Mike "Don't call me mee-ger, don't spell it Ma-Ha" Meagher, did not have the same success - he was hung out to dry by Rich Gedman, iving up 10 runs on 7 hits and 6 walks in 3 1/3 innings.
The Spirit offense ripped it open early on, batting around in the first inning. In Carlos Rodriguez's first at-bat back with the Spirit, he ripped an RBI double. Josue Lopez and Luis Lopez also had RBIs in the first as the Spirit jumped out to a 4-0 lead.
After Carlos Rodriguez, Alan Mottram, and Alex Trezza added RBI hits in the 4th, Jerson Perez absolutely nailed it down with a 3 run homer to right which made it 10-1.
North Shore added two more in the 8th to make it 12-2, which would be the final score.
*
I, for one, think it's great to have C-Rod back --- for all his faults (such as his .212 average and his off the field 'issues') the guy is a beast with a cannon arm and great power. We badly needed another power threat in the lineup in the absence of Vic Davilla. The lack of power is a great flaw on the '07 Spirit - as evidenced by the fact that Blakely is still 2nd on the team in homers.
Welcome back, C-Rod.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Sweep (and a wild one at that)
Today, once the Sox game got delayed to a 9 PM start, I pursued my favorite rainy-night pastime: dashing down to Fenway to poach a cheap ticket off of someone ditching due to the rain delay. Mission accomplished - I was in the 2nd row next to the Sox dugout by the end of the night and got some good pictures, all for $20. Unfortunately, it was a frustrating as $@!#! game.
But in Worcester, the news was much better for our Spirit, as they swept the Tornadoes to maintain 1st place in the 2nd half standings at 4-0.
It was a wild one at Hanover Insurance Park as the Spirit beat Worcester, 10-8. Vic Davilla and Tom Donahue were both tossed during the game for arguing with the umps, and Mike Torres left the game in the first inning with an injury. (The Spirit indicated that it was precautionary, however, and that Torres would be OK.) The Spirit overcame all of that to get the win.
Gary Galvez, making his Spirit debut, was chased in the 5th inning. He tossed 4 1/3 innings and gave up 5 runs - not a very glittering debut. It was 5-4 Spirit with 1 out and the bases loaded when Galvez gave way to Sean McNamara, who gave up a bases-clearing triple to Dom Ramos which gave the Tornadoes a 7-5 lead. A sac fly by Josh Bureaugard increased Worcester's lead to 8-5.
In the top of the 6th, North Shore struck right back against Worcester's Matt Desalvo. BJ Weed chased Desalvo with an RBI single that plated Josue Lopez. Chris Shank came in for the Worcesterians and provided little relief. With 2 runners on base and 2 out, Joe Hough popped up to the catcher Yohanny Valera in fair territory. Valera dropped the ball, and an errant snap throw to 3rd gave Valera 2 errors on the play and allowed both runners to scamper home and tie the game.
P.J. Bevis gave up the decisive blow in the top of the 8th as Carlos Rodriguez smashed an opposite field solo home run to give North Shore the 9-8 lead. They would add another in the inning to make it 10-8.
The big story was Derek Drage, who pitched four shutout innings of relief from the sixth 'til the ninth to get the win.
Now, the Spirit get a few hours of sleep before taking the bus up to Quebec at 7 AM.
Hey Miles:
...IT'S ON, MOTHAF**KA
But in Worcester, the news was much better for our Spirit, as they swept the Tornadoes to maintain 1st place in the 2nd half standings at 4-0.
It was a wild one at Hanover Insurance Park as the Spirit beat Worcester, 10-8. Vic Davilla and Tom Donahue were both tossed during the game for arguing with the umps, and Mike Torres left the game in the first inning with an injury. (The Spirit indicated that it was precautionary, however, and that Torres would be OK.) The Spirit overcame all of that to get the win.
Gary Galvez, making his Spirit debut, was chased in the 5th inning. He tossed 4 1/3 innings and gave up 5 runs - not a very glittering debut. It was 5-4 Spirit with 1 out and the bases loaded when Galvez gave way to Sean McNamara, who gave up a bases-clearing triple to Dom Ramos which gave the Tornadoes a 7-5 lead. A sac fly by Josh Bureaugard increased Worcester's lead to 8-5.
In the top of the 6th, North Shore struck right back against Worcester's Matt Desalvo. BJ Weed chased Desalvo with an RBI single that plated Josue Lopez. Chris Shank came in for the Worcesterians and provided little relief. With 2 runners on base and 2 out, Joe Hough popped up to the catcher Yohanny Valera in fair territory. Valera dropped the ball, and an errant snap throw to 3rd gave Valera 2 errors on the play and allowed both runners to scamper home and tie the game.
P.J. Bevis gave up the decisive blow in the top of the 8th as Carlos Rodriguez smashed an opposite field solo home run to give North Shore the 9-8 lead. They would add another in the inning to make it 10-8.
The big story was Derek Drage, who pitched four shutout innings of relief from the sixth 'til the ninth to get the win.
Now, the Spirit get a few hours of sleep before taking the bus up to Quebec at 7 AM.
Hey Miles:
...IT'S ON, MOTHAF**KA
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Sweep?
Chat
Starters:
Reed Willett (WOR) vs.
Gary Galvez (NSS)
7:18 PM:
The game is under rain-delay and is scheduled to start at 7:30.
0-0
Top 1st:
It really is funny at this point. Vic Davilla lines an RBI double to right, scoring Gary Roche.
1-0 Spirit
Top 1st:
Torres gets an infield hit to 2nd base; on an errant throw to 1st, Davilla scores. Torres is shaken up on thet play.
2-0 Spirit
Top 1st:
SHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Torres out of the game, Hough comes in to take his place.
2-0 Spirit
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ||||||||
 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Starters:
Reed Willett (WOR) vs.
Gary Galvez (NSS)
7:18 PM:
The game is under rain-delay and is scheduled to start at 7:30.
0-0
Top 1st:
It really is funny at this point. Vic Davilla lines an RBI double to right, scoring Gary Roche.
1-0 Spirit
Top 1st:
Torres gets an infield hit to 2nd base; on an errant throw to 1st, Davilla scores. Torres is shaken up on thet play.
2-0 Spirit
Top 1st:
SHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Torres out of the game, Hough comes in to take his place.
2-0 Spirit
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
4 straight
I tuned in to the radio tonight during the 5th inning to find, much to my delight, that the Spirit had sprinted out to yet another early lead, putting up 4 runs in the first two innings en route to a 6-1 victory over the Worcester Tornadoes.
North Shore had 12 hits - that's 33 runs and 55 hits in 4 games, for those keeping track.
In a surprising twist, Dennis Robinson got the start tonight, filling in for the injured Matt Bishop. He performed extremely well, giving the Spirit six solid innings and giving up just one run. Baker, Langdon and Drage combined to give North Shore's bullpen another shutout performance.
Vic Davilla was a pedestrian 2-for-4 with just a home run, a double, and a sac fly. What a bum.
Alex Trezza added his 6th HR of the season as part of the Spirit hit parade.
North Shore can totally avenge their earlier embarassment in Worcester by completing a 4-game sweep tomorrow night at 7 PM. Gary Galvez will take on Worcester's Reed Willett in his Spirit debut.
North Shore had 12 hits - that's 33 runs and 55 hits in 4 games, for those keeping track.
In a surprising twist, Dennis Robinson got the start tonight, filling in for the injured Matt Bishop. He performed extremely well, giving the Spirit six solid innings and giving up just one run. Baker, Langdon and Drage combined to give North Shore's bullpen another shutout performance.
Vic Davilla was a pedestrian 2-for-4 with just a home run, a double, and a sac fly. What a bum.
Alex Trezza added his 6th HR of the season as part of the Spirit hit parade.
North Shore can totally avenge their earlier embarassment in Worcester by completing a 4-game sweep tomorrow night at 7 PM. Gary Galvez will take on Worcester's Reed Willett in his Spirit debut.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Reasons for enthusiasm
There have been several points this year where it looked like the team was starting to "click" and "turn the corner" - only to eventually fall back into the morass of inept offense and .500 ball.
But it's hard to dispute these numbers - in the past 3 games, the Spirit have 27 runs, 43 hits, and 3 victories. Vic has 6 RBI. Josue Lopez has 9 hits.
The offense is simply red-hot right now.
Torres has been outstanding all year.
Vic has been MVP-caliber during each of his stints this year --- this one BETTER be permanent.
Josue Lopez and Jerson Perez are suddenly swinging very hot bats.
Gary Roche has been solid and impressive over the past month. BJ Weed is getting on base and scoring runs again - he's scored 6 times in the past 2 games.
The only 'black holes' have been Trezza and Carlos Rodriguez with their many strikeouts - but they are both powerful hitters capable of taking any pitcher deep at any time. And each of them contributed to today's hit parade - both drove in a run in the first inning.
If anything, the main concern right now is the fact that the Spirit have unloaded/lost some of their best pitchers.
Just like last night, the pitching tonight was shaky but effective as the Spirit crusied to an 8-1 victory over Worcester to improve to 2-0 in the 2nd half.
Joey Siak pitched 5 2/3 solid innings to get the win, giving up just one run on a Wishy HR in the 2nd. Donny Langdon, Jamie Baker and Billy Simon had a few troubling moments in 3 1/3 innings of relief, but they got the job done and didn't give up a single run.
The Spirit put up all the runs Joey would need in the first inning. Vic Davilla hit a 2RBI double for ribbies #8 and 9 on the season... pretty ridiculous, seeing as he's played in seven games. Alex Trezza and Carlos Rodriguez added RBIs to send the Spirit off to a flying 4-0 start.
Wishy's HR in the 3rd briefly made it seem like a game, but from there, the Spirit were on cruise control. Just like last night, it was a stifling victory...very boring, but very dominant and effective.
Josue Lopez added 2 more hits tonight including an RBI double in the 7th that built the Spirit lead to 7-1. BJ Weed also chipped in with an RBI in the 8th to give us the final score of 8-1.
Billy Simon loaded the bases in the 9th, but he kept Worcester off the board.
Before this series, I thought 4-3 would be a decent start on the road for the 2nd half. 2-0 is certainly a great way to get things rolling.
But it's hard to dispute these numbers - in the past 3 games, the Spirit have 27 runs, 43 hits, and 3 victories. Vic has 6 RBI. Josue Lopez has 9 hits.
The offense is simply red-hot right now.
Torres has been outstanding all year.
Vic has been MVP-caliber during each of his stints this year --- this one BETTER be permanent.
Josue Lopez and Jerson Perez are suddenly swinging very hot bats.
Gary Roche has been solid and impressive over the past month. BJ Weed is getting on base and scoring runs again - he's scored 6 times in the past 2 games.
The only 'black holes' have been Trezza and Carlos Rodriguez with their many strikeouts - but they are both powerful hitters capable of taking any pitcher deep at any time. And each of them contributed to today's hit parade - both drove in a run in the first inning.
If anything, the main concern right now is the fact that the Spirit have unloaded/lost some of their best pitchers.
Just like last night, the pitching tonight was shaky but effective as the Spirit crusied to an 8-1 victory over Worcester to improve to 2-0 in the 2nd half.
Joey Siak pitched 5 2/3 solid innings to get the win, giving up just one run on a Wishy HR in the 2nd. Donny Langdon, Jamie Baker and Billy Simon had a few troubling moments in 3 1/3 innings of relief, but they got the job done and didn't give up a single run.
The Spirit put up all the runs Joey would need in the first inning. Vic Davilla hit a 2RBI double for ribbies #8 and 9 on the season... pretty ridiculous, seeing as he's played in seven games. Alex Trezza and Carlos Rodriguez added RBIs to send the Spirit off to a flying 4-0 start.
Wishy's HR in the 3rd briefly made it seem like a game, but from there, the Spirit were on cruise control. Just like last night, it was a stifling victory...very boring, but very dominant and effective.
Josue Lopez added 2 more hits tonight including an RBI double in the 7th that built the Spirit lead to 7-1. BJ Weed also chipped in with an RBI in the 8th to give us the final score of 8-1.
Billy Simon loaded the bases in the 9th, but he kept Worcester off the board.
Before this series, I thought 4-3 would be a decent start on the road for the 2nd half. 2-0 is certainly a great way to get things rolling.
Game 2 in Worcester
Game 2. Can the Spirit stay 'undefeated'?
FINAL - Spirit 8, Tornadoes 1
Starters:
Michael Meagher (WOR) vs.
Joey Siak (NSS)
Top 1:
2 RBI hit for Vic Davilla. The guy is f'in SICK. 9 RBI. That's as many as most of the players who have been playing all year....
2-0 Spirit
Top 1:
Alex Trezza hits a sac fly to right, scoring Davilla. It's the first out in the inning.
3-0 Spirit
Top 1:
Carlos Rodriguez RBI single scores Torres.
4-0 Spirit
Bot 2:
Andrew Wishy hits a solo HR to left.
We traded Andrew Wishy for Zach Strong.
We traded Andrew Wishy for Zach Strong.
We traded Andrew Wishy for Zach Strong.
We traded Andrew Wishy for Zach Strong.
We traded Andrew Wishy for Zach Strong.
We traded Andrew Wishy for Zach Strong.
We traded Andrew Wishy for Zach Strong.
We traded Andrew Wishy for Zach Strong.
We traded Andrew Wishy for Zach Strong.
We traded Andrew Wishy for Zach Strong.
We traded Andrew Wishy for Zach Strong.
We traded Andrew Wishy for Zach Strong.
We traded Andrew Wishy for Zach Strong.
We traded Andrew Wishy for Zach Strong.
4-1 Spirit
Top 4:
Jerson Perez scores on a passed ball.
5-1 Spirit
Top 6:
Jerson Perez gets a hit - he's now 3-for-3. Then he comes home on a hit by Roche and an E9.
6-1 Spirit
Bot 6:
Donny Langdon comes in with 2 on and 1 out - the first two men singled in the inning for Worcester.
6-1 Spirit
Bot 6:
Langdon faces Wishy induces a double play. Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!
6-1 Spirit
Top 7:
Josue Lopez is ON. FIRE. RBI Double scores Luis Lopez.
7-1 Spirit
Top 7:
Jerson Perez singles - he's 4-for-4. Runners on the corners now with 1 out.
7-1 Spirit
Top 7:
BJ Weed with an RBI double now. Josue scores. The Spirit are flyin' now.
8-1 Spirit
Bot 7:
Baker in w/ 2 out. Hold your breath.
8-1 Spirit
Bot 9:
Billy Simon in.
8-1 Spirit
Bot 9:
Worcester loads the bases, but Simon escapes the jam. Win!
8-1 Spirit
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 15 | 1 |
| 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 |
Starters:
Michael Meagher (WOR) vs.
Joey Siak (NSS)
Top 1:
2 RBI hit for Vic Davilla. The guy is f'in SICK. 9 RBI. That's as many as most of the players who have been playing all year....
2-0 Spirit
Top 1:
Alex Trezza hits a sac fly to right, scoring Davilla. It's the first out in the inning.
3-0 Spirit
Top 1:
Carlos Rodriguez RBI single scores Torres.
4-0 Spirit
Bot 2:
Andrew Wishy hits a solo HR to left.
We traded Andrew Wishy for Zach Strong.
We traded Andrew Wishy for Zach Strong.
We traded Andrew Wishy for Zach Strong.
We traded Andrew Wishy for Zach Strong.
We traded Andrew Wishy for Zach Strong.
We traded Andrew Wishy for Zach Strong.
We traded Andrew Wishy for Zach Strong.
We traded Andrew Wishy for Zach Strong.
We traded Andrew Wishy for Zach Strong.
We traded Andrew Wishy for Zach Strong.
We traded Andrew Wishy for Zach Strong.
We traded Andrew Wishy for Zach Strong.
We traded Andrew Wishy for Zach Strong.
We traded Andrew Wishy for Zach Strong.
4-1 Spirit
Top 4:
Jerson Perez scores on a passed ball.
5-1 Spirit
Top 6:
Jerson Perez gets a hit - he's now 3-for-3. Then he comes home on a hit by Roche and an E9.
6-1 Spirit
Bot 6:
Donny Langdon comes in with 2 on and 1 out - the first two men singled in the inning for Worcester.
6-1 Spirit
Bot 6:
Langdon faces Wishy induces a double play. Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!
6-1 Spirit
Top 7:
Josue Lopez is ON. FIRE. RBI Double scores Luis Lopez.
7-1 Spirit
Top 7:
Jerson Perez singles - he's 4-for-4. Runners on the corners now with 1 out.
7-1 Spirit
Top 7:
BJ Weed with an RBI double now. Josue scores. The Spirit are flyin' now.
8-1 Spirit
Bot 7:
Baker in w/ 2 out. Hold your breath.
8-1 Spirit
Bot 9:
Billy Simon in.
8-1 Spirit
Bot 9:
Worcester loads the bases, but Simon escapes the jam. Win!
8-1 Spirit
Monday, July 16, 2007
Spirit 5, Holy Cross 1
OK... case f'in closed. Vic Davilla is this team's MVP. He needs to stay in the lineup. PERIOD.
All Vic did tonight was drive in 4 of the Spirit's 5 runs tonight against the Sr. Crusaders in Worcester, including a 2-run homer in the 7th that gave North Shore some critical insurance. Mike Torres also added 3 hits and Ho-Sway Lopez continued his hot streak, going 2-for-4.
Ryan Bicondoa pitched seven solid innings for the Spirit, giving up 1 run on 5 hits. He picked up his 4th win on the season. Donny Langdon was shaky in the 8th, putting the first two men he faced on base, but he got two outs before turning it over to Derek Drage, who got 4 outs to nail down the save.
Davilla's RBI single in the 3rd inning drove in BJ Weed and gave the Spirit a 1-0 lead. One inning later, an RBI double by Jerson Perez scored Josue Lopez and doubled the lead.
Holy Cross got one back in the 4th on an RBI single by Patrick Perry on a controversial play. With Perry up, Wishy on 2nd and 2 out, Bic threw what appeared to be strike 3 according to John Leahy. Bicondoa was reportedly visibly perturbed at the call. Then, on the very next pitch, Perry lined in the run to cut the lead in half.
But Vic Davilla's 2-run homer in the 7th inning put the game away.
Vic added an RBI single to score Weed in the 9th to make it 5-1. Interestingly enough, Davilla brought Weed home 3 times on the night.
Vic makes everyone so much better...... please stay on board, Vic.
We're in first place! Huzzah!
All Vic did tonight was drive in 4 of the Spirit's 5 runs tonight against the Sr. Crusaders in Worcester, including a 2-run homer in the 7th that gave North Shore some critical insurance. Mike Torres also added 3 hits and Ho-Sway Lopez continued his hot streak, going 2-for-4.
Ryan Bicondoa pitched seven solid innings for the Spirit, giving up 1 run on 5 hits. He picked up his 4th win on the season. Donny Langdon was shaky in the 8th, putting the first two men he faced on base, but he got two outs before turning it over to Derek Drage, who got 4 outs to nail down the save.
Davilla's RBI single in the 3rd inning drove in BJ Weed and gave the Spirit a 1-0 lead. One inning later, an RBI double by Jerson Perez scored Josue Lopez and doubled the lead.
Holy Cross got one back in the 4th on an RBI single by Patrick Perry on a controversial play. With Perry up, Wishy on 2nd and 2 out, Bic threw what appeared to be strike 3 according to John Leahy. Bicondoa was reportedly visibly perturbed at the call. Then, on the very next pitch, Perry lined in the run to cut the lead in half.
But Vic Davilla's 2-run homer in the 7th inning put the game away.
Vic added an RBI single to score Weed in the 9th to make it 5-1. Interestingly enough, Davilla brought Weed home 3 times on the night.
Vic makes everyone so much better...... please stay on board, Vic.
We're in first place! Huzzah!
Season opener #2: Spirit @ Worcester, 7-16
It's like a whole new season tonight at Fitton Field. The Spirit have re-vamped their roster and are ready to make a run at the playoffs...feel free to join the chat room tonight at 7.
italic = inning in progress
FINAL - Spirit 5, Tornadoes 1
Starters:
Alex Pena (WOR) vs.
Ryan Bicondoa (NSS)
Top 3:
Vic Davilla singles in BJ Weed to make it 1-0. Weed reached with a 1-out double.
1-0 Spirit
Bot 3:
Bicondoa strikes out the side --- he has 7 Ks.
1-0 Spirit
Top 4:
Jerson Perez RBI double drives in Josue Lopez.
2-0 Spirit
Bot 4:
Patrick Perry RBI single scores old friend Andrew Wishy, who led off the inning with a single and stole 2nd w/ 2 outs. Controversy on the play, as Leahy and [apparently] Bic contend that he had strike 3 on Perry but it wasn't called. On the next pitch, Perry lined the RBI single. He's now .333 against the Spirit this year.
2-1 Spirit
Top 7:
AHhhhhhh. Feel that? It's called breathing room. Vic Davilla crushes his 2nd HR of the season, scoring BJ Weed in the process.
4-1 Spirit
Top 8:
Ryan Mitchell in to pitch for Worcester.
4-1 Spirit
Bot 8:
Donny Langdon in to pitch for North Shore.
4-1 Spirit
Bot 8:
With 2 on and 2 out, Derek Drage comes in for North Shore.
4-1 Spirit
Bot 8:
Drage strikes out Valera to end the inning!
4-1 Spirit
Top 9:
Davilla gets his 4th RBI, singling in BJ Weed again.
5-1 Spirit
italic = inning in progress
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 13 | 2 |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
Starters:
Alex Pena (WOR) vs.
Ryan Bicondoa (NSS)
Top 3:
Vic Davilla singles in BJ Weed to make it 1-0. Weed reached with a 1-out double.
1-0 Spirit
Bot 3:
Bicondoa strikes out the side --- he has 7 Ks.
1-0 Spirit
Top 4:
Jerson Perez RBI double drives in Josue Lopez.
2-0 Spirit
Bot 4:
Patrick Perry RBI single scores old friend Andrew Wishy, who led off the inning with a single and stole 2nd w/ 2 outs. Controversy on the play, as Leahy and [apparently] Bic contend that he had strike 3 on Perry but it wasn't called. On the next pitch, Perry lined the RBI single. He's now .333 against the Spirit this year.
2-1 Spirit
Top 7:
AHhhhhhh. Feel that? It's called breathing room. Vic Davilla crushes his 2nd HR of the season, scoring BJ Weed in the process.
4-1 Spirit
Top 8:
Ryan Mitchell in to pitch for Worcester.
4-1 Spirit
Bot 8:
Donny Langdon in to pitch for North Shore.
4-1 Spirit
Bot 8:
With 2 on and 2 out, Derek Drage comes in for North Shore.
4-1 Spirit
Bot 8:
Drage strikes out Valera to end the inning!
4-1 Spirit
Top 9:
Davilla gets his 4th RBI, singling in BJ Weed again.
5-1 Spirit
Friday, June 15, 2007
Pretty weak
Not much to say other than the Spirit were dominated by DJ Mattox, getting no-hit thru 6 innings and getting shutout for the whole game as Worcester beat the Spirit 4-0.
Shawn McNamara pitched decently filling in for Morse in the rotation, pitching 5+ innings and giving up 4 earned runs on 10 hits. Basically, he did enough to keep the Spirit IN the game, but when your offense is more anorexic than the average BC female it's hard to win unless your pitchers are dominant.
Dennis Robinson also did very well pitching in relief, tossing two shutout innings. I didn't pay attention to who pitched the last few innings for the Spirit. It's hard to focus on a game that's like listening to paint dry. At least watching paint dry is visual.
Old friend Andrew Wishy got Worcester's offense jumpstarted in the first with an RBI single. Josh Bueregard (3-4 on the day) added a 2 RBI triple in the 3rd that essentially put the game out of reach.
Bred Rea was the first Spirit player to get a hit, picking it up in the 7th.
Game 3 tomorrow... let's hope for a split in this series.
On a brighter note, the Yankees lose!
Shawn McNamara pitched decently filling in for Morse in the rotation, pitching 5+ innings and giving up 4 earned runs on 10 hits. Basically, he did enough to keep the Spirit IN the game, but when your offense is more anorexic than the average BC female it's hard to win unless your pitchers are dominant.
Dennis Robinson also did very well pitching in relief, tossing two shutout innings. I didn't pay attention to who pitched the last few innings for the Spirit. It's hard to focus on a game that's like listening to paint dry. At least watching paint dry is visual.
Old friend Andrew Wishy got Worcester's offense jumpstarted in the first with an RBI single. Josh Bueregard (3-4 on the day) added a 2 RBI triple in the 3rd that essentially put the game out of reach.
Bred Rea was the first Spirit player to get a hit, picking it up in the 7th.
Game 3 tomorrow... let's hope for a split in this series.
On a brighter note, the Yankees lose!
Spirit bats silent so far
Spirit are losing 3-0 going into the 6th.
Anyone out there in readerland listening to the game?
Update: Worcester's DJ Mattox has a no hitter going through 6 innings. I don't believe there has ever been a no-hitter in a Spirit game (for or against North Shore), so we could be listening to some unfortunate Spirit history tonight.
Update again: Brad Rea singles in the 7th but despite breaking up the no-hitter the Spirit offense still can't get off the ground, it's 4-0.
Anyone out there in readerland listening to the game?
Update: Worcester's DJ Mattox has a no hitter going through 6 innings. I don't believe there has ever been a no-hitter in a Spirit game (for or against North Shore), so we could be listening to some unfortunate Spirit history tonight.
Update again: Brad Rea singles in the 7th but despite breaking up the no-hitter the Spirit offense still can't get off the ground, it's 4-0.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Spirit lose in ten
Derek Drage blew a 6-5 lead in the 9th then let Jeff Lahair hit a walkoff double in the bottom of the 10th as the Spirit fell to Worcester tonight, 7-6. Ryan Bicondoa pitched six innings and gave up three earned runs. He pitched well enough to win but the bullpen couldn't hold a 6-3 lead.
I didn't listen to the whole game so I don't know the full details and honestly after the painful way we lost the game I don't feel like going back over it in great detail. Some bright spots - Gary Roche went 3-3 with 2 doubles and a walk, and new Spirit outfielder Adam Balkan reached base twice in his Spirit debut.
Before the game, Balkan was signed and backup C Chris Torres was cut.
Derek Drage led off the bottom of the 9th by walkinig Euvi Solano. A sac bunt moved Solano into scoring position, and Chris Colabello followed by lining an RBI single to left-center to tie the game.
At first, Drage appeared to dodge a bullet in the 10th. Yohanny Valera led off the inning with a double, and Patrick Perry came up to bunt him over to 3rd. His bunt was too hard, however, and Valera was thrown out at third. The relief was short-lived however as Lahair followed with his walk-off double.
I'm thinking of heading out to the game in Worcester tomorrow night so there won't be a recap til late, but I'll make up for it by taking some good pictures.
I didn't listen to the whole game so I don't know the full details and honestly after the painful way we lost the game I don't feel like going back over it in great detail. Some bright spots - Gary Roche went 3-3 with 2 doubles and a walk, and new Spirit outfielder Adam Balkan reached base twice in his Spirit debut.
Before the game, Balkan was signed and backup C Chris Torres was cut.
Derek Drage led off the bottom of the 9th by walkinig Euvi Solano. A sac bunt moved Solano into scoring position, and Chris Colabello followed by lining an RBI single to left-center to tie the game.
At first, Drage appeared to dodge a bullet in the 10th. Yohanny Valera led off the inning with a double, and Patrick Perry came up to bunt him over to 3rd. His bunt was too hard, however, and Valera was thrown out at third. The relief was short-lived however as Lahair followed with his walk-off double.
I'm thinking of heading out to the game in Worcester tomorrow night so there won't be a recap til late, but I'll make up for it by taking some good pictures.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Sabino gone; Another piece in the puzzle
Luis Sabino has been traded to Worcester for 'future considerations.' The outfield (and the team in general) is shaping up or '07.
One more position player will be gone before the season starts (I'm guessing one of the catchers).
Interestingly enough, it looks like Worcester's starting outfield next season will have two ex-Spirit (Wishy, Sabino). Annoyingly, the guy we got for Wishy, Zach Strong, is gone, so that turned out to be a poor trade.
In other news, Papelbon is awesome.
One more position player will be gone before the season starts (I'm guessing one of the catchers).
Interestingly enough, it looks like Worcester's starting outfield next season will have two ex-Spirit (Wishy, Sabino). Annoyingly, the guy we got for Wishy, Zach Strong, is gone, so that turned out to be a poor trade.
In other news, Papelbon is awesome.
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