Offense was at a premium up in Vermont. The wildcard leading Staten Island Yankees provided enough firepower in an unpredictable 13-9 win over the Lake Monsters to take their second straight on the road Thursday night.

With Lowell falling to Aberdeen 6-5, it gave Mike Gillespie’s club a three game lead for the wildcard. They also are now four and a half up on the Monsters.

A night removed from putting up 13 runs in a 13-2 rout in the series opener, the Bombers used the same magic number to hold off their pesky opponents.

Trailing by two runs, Staten Island exploded for a nine run fifth by batting around. Chris Raber started it off with a walk and would come around to score the team’s first run on a Justin Snyder sacrifice fly. With one out, Taylor Holiday then reached on an E2 from Vermont’s Craig Stinson to put a couple of runners on knocking out losing starter Cole Kimball (2-5).

But it backfired on the Monsters as the Bombers pounced on reliever Edulin Abreu, who gave up six runs (four ER) on four hits while walking two as he failed to retire a batter.

Staten Island second baseman Damon Sublett greeted him rudely with an RBI single to right which tied the game. Third baseman Braedyn Pruitt followed with a runscoring hit of his own to put the Bombers ahead.

After a David Williams single loaded the bases, left fielder Austin Krum followed with an RBI walk to plate another run. The ninth batter in the inning catcher Jose Gil singled in one more which brought Raber back up. The first baseman walked to bring home the Bombers’ seventh run forcing Vermont to finally make a change and bring in Caleub Staudt.

The reliever hurt his own cause by making a throwing error which allowed Krum and Gil to cross the plate for the final runs of the huge frame which gave Staten Island a 9-2 lead.

To Vermont’s credit, they didn’t go away immediately getting two back in the home fifth off Bomber starter Jason Stephens thanks to a two-run single from DH Aaron Seuss.

Sublett responded with his seventh home run of the season- a solo shot to right off Staudt in the sixth to restore a six-run lead.

The Monsters cameback with a run on a Brandon Whiting RBI single off Staten Island reliever Craig Heyer to slice it to 10-5.

A half inning after D.J. Hollingsworth knocked in Staten Island’s 11th run of the night, the Monsters made things interesting by scoring four times in the seventh off Heyer and reliever Nick Chigges.

Seuss started it with a leadoff solo shot to left off Heyer which cut it to five. After Heyer put the next two on via a walk and base hit, he was an out away from getting out of it when he fanned Stephen Englund and flied out Sean Rooney.

However, he plunked Anthony Benner to load the bases forcing Gillespie to go to the pen. But Chigges gave up a two-run single to pinch hitter Garrett Bass. Snyder’s second miscue of the night allowed Bass to get into scoring position and then come home a batter late when Daniel Lyons singled him in which suddenly cut the Bombers’ lead to 11-9.

Jacinto Gonell took over for Chigges and got the final out of the frame by flying out Bill Rhinehart. The S.I. reliever also would get the side in order in the eighth fanning two to retire all four Vermont batters he faced.

An inning after stranding two with one out, Staten Island got a little insurance in the ninth thanks to a Hollingsworth sac fly and an error by left fielder Jean Alvarez which allowed Snyder to score restoring a four-run cushion.

In a non-save situation, closer Jonathan Ortiz got the Monsters in order K-ing two and getting Benner to fly out to finally conclude a long night which included a 63-minute rain delay.

Notes: After the delay, the game took three hours and 48-minutes to complete ending near midnight. … Staying hot since the break, Sublett finished with three hits, two runs scored, a dinger plus two RBI’s to raise his average to .307. … Hollingsworth had a multi-hit night driving in three and lifting his average to .368. … Ironically, almost every batter in the lineup had a hit except their top hitter Snyder, who took the collar in three chances despite a pair of walks, a sac fly and run scored. Raber was also 0-for-3 but had two walks and two runs. Showing remarkable patience, the Bombers walked 12 times. … Despite allowing five runs (4 ER) on nine hits in 5.1 innings, Stephens improved to 4-0. … Staten Island aims for the sweep tonight before heading to Lowell for a three-game series.

Our video of the day comes from one of the many zany and unpredictable videos that Depeche Mode has made.

Definitely not your normal rock group, this Euro-based band has been together for three decades putting out great music. Their most popular hit is probably “Enjoy The Silence” with their most recent video “Precious” definitely extraordinary stuff.

This one’s called “Never Let Me Down Again” and is worth checking out because like most of their videos, it’s freaking cool as hell.

So it definitely didn’t let us down.

The final game of the four-game series between the Staten Island Yankees and Brooklyn Cyclones was postponed earlier today due to heavy rain.

According to the team site (siyanks.com), the game will be made up as part of a doubleheader at Richmond County Bank Ballpark on Sunday, September 2nd.

The Bombers lead Lowell and Vermont by two and a half games for the wildcard pending the result of the second game of a doubleheader between Vermont and Oneonta tonight.

Staten Island hits the road for the next six games with three at Vermont starting Wednesday and then a three-game set at Lowell this weekend.

The two series could go a long way to determining their playoff fate.

The Staten Island Yankees were finally cooled off by the pitching and defense of the Brooklyn Cyclones.

Mike Gillespie’s ballclub who had won four straight out of the AS Break and taken the first two games of a four-game series against their Verrazano rivals were shutdown at Key Span Park tonight- falling 1-0 to drop back to four behind McNamara Division leading Brooklyn (37-18).

Pending what Lowell does in the second game of a doubleheader at Tri-City, the Baby Bombers currently lead the Spinners by two games for the wild card.

Meanwhile, Vermont gained half a game because they were rained out at Oneonta. So they now trail Staten Island by two and a half games (two in loss column).

Despite getting an outstanding pitching effort from starter Chris Farley along with relievers Ryan Zink and Nick Peterson, the Bombers couldn’t come up with the big hit against the Cyclone trio of winning starter Dylan Owen (7-1), Stephen Clyne and closer Eddie Kunz.

With the game televised on SNY due to the Mets being idle, Farley pitched extremely well striking out seven in the first four frames while allowing just one hit.

The problem was that the 24 year-old Massachusetts native who the Yanks signed as a free agent out of the International League had one small hiccup in the Cyclones first which ultimately decided a well played game which took only two hours and 26 minutes to complete.

Despite striking out the side, the righty was hurt by a momentary loss of control when he hit a batter and walked one to put two runners on. Brooklyn’s J.R. Voyles delivered a two out RBI single to left which plated Micah Schilling for the game’s only run.

The Cyclones managed just two hits the rest of the night and were doubled up by Staten Island on the scoreboard. But it didn’t matter because the Bombers couldn’t come up with the big hit stranding 11.

Given an early lead, Owen pitched very effectively keeping S.I. batters off balance with a nasty offspeed pitch freezing a couple on his way to five strikeouts over the first six before giving way to the bullpen.

The Bombers’ best chance against him came in the fourth when they put back-to-back runners on via a Damon Sublett free pass and an opposite field hit from first baseman Braedyn Pruitt with one out.

However, Owen managed to squeeze out of it by getting right fielder David Williams to fly out to right and having Austin Krum bounce out to first.

The Bombers also had two runners on the very next inning when dangerous leadoff man Justin Snyder was intentionally walked to put runners on the corners with a couple out. But Taylor Holiday failed to get Jose Gil in from third and flied out to right which ended it.

Williams also flied out to deep right in the sixth which was Owen’s final batter.

Despite three scoreless frames from Zink in which he fanned three, Staten Island couldn’t tie it up.

Making his first appearance in almost two months due to tendinitis, Peterson worked around a two out walk by getting his final batter looking for his second K of the night.

The Bombers went in order in the ninth against Kunz who notched his third save. But there was a little controversy when it appeared Chris Raber beat second baseman Voyles’ off balance throw which ended it.

SNY replays seemed to indicate that Raber’s foot was on the bag as the ball reached Lucas Duda’s mitt.

Raber and outfielder/first base coach Matt Morris protested but field umpire Shea Gipson didn’t change his mind ending a heartbreaker for the Bombers.

Notes: Despite falling to 1-2, Farley pitched perhaps his best game and had many Cyclones off balance, retiring 10 of the final 11 batters he faced. … OF D.J. Hollingsworth came on to pinch hit for third baseman Brian Chavez in the seventh and beat out an infield hit in the seventh to put runners on first and second but Snyder flied out to left to end another frustrating chance. Pruitt shifted from first to third while Krum went from left to center allowing Hollingsworth to play left. Pruitt was the only player with two hits in the low scoring affair. … The final game of the series wraps up tonight at the ballpark at St. George.

In light of recent devastating news which affected the NBA when former referee Tim Donaghy was connected with a betting scandal and pleaded guilty in a Brooklyn federal court Wednesday where he now could face up to 25 years behind bars for the conspiracy to fix NBA games dating as far back as 2003, one can’t help but take notice of how other sports fans have reacted to this scandal.

In a superstar driven league where select players have gotten the ’star treatment’ in big games, some who questioned that level of officiating felt validated by the recent charges the 40 year-old Donaghy faces.

An NBA referee for 13 years, the Bradenton Florida resident was best known for two prior incidents in games including the ugly brawl which took place in Detroit between the Pistons and Pacers on November 19, 2004.

The other was a technical foul assessed to then Trail Blazer Rasheed Wallace in 2003 for throwing a ball at another official during a game. After the game, Donaghy was met by an aggravated Wallace who allegedly cursed and threatened him outside the loading area.
At the time, the league investigated and suspended Wallace seven games which then became the longest suspension not pertaining to drugs or violence.

Off the court, Donaghy had issues with a Pennsylvania neighbor in which he was said to have harassed then before a lawsuit was filed, forcing the NBA to keep him off their roster for the 2006 second round of the playoffs.

When the latest discouraging news came down from the FBI last month, the proverbial writing was on the wall.

The evidence found the troubled ref in gambling debt where he then bet thousands of dollars on NBA games the past couple of seasons.

It forced league commisioner David Stern to hold a public press conference and emphasize that officials aren’t permitted to bet on games. In fact, they’re only allowed to go to the race track during the offseason.

The league wasn’t aware of Donaghy’s recent history and Stern referred to it as “an isolated case involving an NBA referee who engaged not only in a violation of our rules, but in criminal conduct” and “the most serious situation and worst situation that I have ever experienced” in 40 years with the NBA.

Regardless, it definitely was a severe hit to the league’s credibility which was already on downspiral with record-low ratings for a dreadful NBA Final in which the Spurs swept the Cavaliers.

With the league trying to clean up its act on and off the court in terms of how their players handle themselves, this was the last thing they needed.

Other fans from rival sports laughed at the news with a few, ‘I told you so’s’ about this scandal.

But what if the shoe was on the other foot? How would these fans act if the same disturbing news came down about their own league? They’d be outraged and probably act stunned.

There’s no way it could happen. Right? Think again.

In competitive sports, most are put into the trust of a an official(s) hands. Kids’ games must have unbiased people involved to make key calls and keep proper order so that heated battles don’t spiral out of control. Something that can happen when tempers flare in the heat of the moment.
That’s where sports officials come in. Their respective jobs are to referee to the best of their abilities and not get in the way of a closely contested game. How do you know when they’re doing their job? When both sides aren’t constantly on them and afterwards, tell them they handled the game well.

How would I know? My father happens to be a referee who can work four sports: baseball, basketball, lacrosse and soccer.

During almost a two decade career, I’ve caught some of his games and tried to be objective when critiquing how he did. For the most part, he does a good job but there have been times where even I questioned a few calls.

That’s the nature of a referee. They’re there to do a job. Many observers think they could be one. I’ve seen and heard some pretty silly stuff at games. One fan even got on my nerves this past year during a basketball game because they were constantly on the refs and almost got into it with a home fan at the half.

That should never happen.I scoff at fans who take it to that level.

The thing which must be remembered about officials is they’re human and can make mistakes such as one at first that cost the Cardinals the 1985 World Series against the Royals.

It happens. Officials aren’t perfect.

So could what happened in the NBA happen in other sports? Sure.

A perfect sport would be the NHL. And I can hear all my hockey brethren yelling and screaming at the thought.

Why hockey? Well, for starters, it’s not that high scoring. A majority of games can be decided by a goal.

Imagine the stakes of a tie game for all the marbles late in the third period. And one of the refs has something on the line. Suddenly, a penalty is called much to the fans of the other side’s dispute.

The team gets a power play and scores with seconds to spare to win the Stanley Cup. But the real winner was that ref who made a killing by making a questionable call which helped decide the winner.

How easy would this be? That’s what professional sports leagues such as the NHL, NBA, MLB, NFL, MLS and even ATP and WTA fear most.

You can be a good ref or bad one. But leagues are entrusting you to do the best job possible without even a thought such as this creeping in their minds.

Just imagine the possibilities.

We’ve seen gambling prominent in fixing European World Soccer leagues where officials were on the take. Boxing has had problems for years with the legitimacy of judges for a long time. They should just rename them three blind mice. It would make it a much easier and more laughable process.

Recently, an ATP Tour match featuring fourth ranked Russian Nikolay Davydenko came into question due to bets being placed on the heavy underdog Martin Vassallo Arguello as the match neared. The number remained abnormally high even after Davydenko took the first set.

Shockingly, Davydenko retired due to a foot injury tied at a set apiece trailing 1-2 early in the final set forcing cancelations of those bets and skepticism. Since, he’s denied any involvement. Professional tennis sure hopes so.

The matter is being looked into by the ATP with cooperation from British horse racing authorities with experience to oversee if there was a scam involving online bookmaker Betfair which voided bets on Davydenko’s opponent earlier this month in Poland.

What about baseball or football? All it would take is one pivotal call in a tight game late which could swing the balance one way.

In baseball, there can be a number of close plays involving throws to first or at other bases including home plate. The plate umpire’s strike zone also factors into how the game is called and gives ballplayers a better idea of what to swing at.

What if an umpire called it one way? Think that wouldn’t draw attention? The good umpires are consistent for both sides.

In football, there are always issues it seems even with their replay system where you often wonder if they’re at a peep show instead of reviewing a key play because it takes so long.

And here’s the scary aspect. Even after a few of those lengthy review sessions, there was doubt as to whether they actually got it right.

The same could also be said for the NHL which seems to be haunted by this dilemma almost every season. Even when they didn’t play a couple of years ago, they were getting blamed.

Video review must be conclusive to overturn a call on the ice. So it explains why Daniel Briere’s potential tying goal was wiped out against the Rangers in a second round match at Madison Square Garden. The initial ruling was “no goal” on the ice.

But these types of reviews aren’t always cut and dry due to camera availability and sometimes an obstructed view due to Gatorade bottles on top of the net which can make the decision making even tougher.

While the video review is there to doublecheck and get things right, could it really stop a ref from taking over a game and calling a slew of penalties on one side to try to influence a result on the ice? That’s a tough one.

We’ve all seen officials at their worst. Just imagine if doubt starts to enter the equation. It’s troubling.

I’ve been following sports for 20-plus years. At this point, I have to put some faith in the people who are on these games.

These officials are there for a reason. Because they have worked their way up and built up their reputations. If they’re anything like my Dad, then they take a tremendous amount of pride doing their jobs and getting calls right.

It might not be a perfect process but until some crazy machine is invented in the future, it’s the best we can do.

Just hope they’re there for one purpose. To be the best they can be.

Tonight’s edition comes courtesy of YouTube from The Police concert at Madison Square Garden we were fortunate to be at a couple of weeks ago.

This is Synchronicity II from the August 3rd show:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xf_5QAZLNTo 

The Staten Island Yankees got off to a good start after the All-Star Break. They posted a 9-5 win at Aberdeen Thursday night to improve to 31-22 and pull a game ahead of Vermont, who lost to Lowell.

They also remained a game and a half up on Mahoning Valley who were victorious at Jamestown.

Designated hitter Isaiah Howes had two hits and three RBI’s including a go-ahead two-run home run in the fourth which gave Staten Island starter Ryan Pope the lead for good.

The 21 year-old righthander from Bradenton Florida went the first five giving up two runs (1 ER) on three hits while walking one and striking out three to pickup his first victory of the season.

After his last inning of work, he got some more support from Howes and Austin Krum who each had RBI doubles in the sixth which made it 6-2.

The Bombers tacked on a couple of more the following inning thanks to an RBI double from right fielder David Williams and an RBI groundout from backstop Jose Gil.

They added an unearned run in the eighth taking advantage of one of six Aberdeen miscues on the night to go up seven before the Birds closed out the scoring with the last three.

Notes: Middle reliever Nick Chigges tossed two scoreless frames fanning five to lower his ERA to 2.72. … The trio of Howes, Krum and Williams each finished with multi-hit nights combining to go 6-for-14 with three doubles, a homer, four runs scored while knocking in six of the club’s nine runs. … The Bombers aim for a sweep of the two-game series before traveling to Brooklyn for a big four-game series starting Saturday.

Phil Rizzuto passed away at the age of 89 late Monday night. He died in his sleep at a nursing home in West Orange, New Jersey where he had been staying the past several years due to declining health.
A member of the New York Yankee family for 66 years, Rizzuto became a fan favorite. Most fans from my generation remember him best as the very friendly Yankee announcer for 40 years on WPIX.

There, the Scooter’s flambuoyant personality shined most. No matter who he was teamed up with in the booth, the interesting commentary, anecdotes, birthday wishes and cannoli pastry references were all part of why we enjoyed watching him.

Whether the Yankees were winning or losing, Rizzuto always made it more fun to put the game on. Even if he did sneak out of The Stadium early to beat traffic across the George Washington Bridge, it was just Scooter being Scooter.

Of course, one expression the loveable broadcaster borrowed from all-time great Chicago Cubs play-by-play man Harry Caray was, “Holy cow!”

The catch phrase can be heard when Rizzuto called Roger Maris’ record-breaking 61st home run on the final day of the 1961 season where he beamed, “Holy cow! He did it,” as Maris rounded the bases.

After being forced into retirement after the 1956 season, he went behind the microphone starting in 1957 which began a successful run of 40 years calling Yankee games. Along the way, he got to work with great commentators such as Mel Allen, Red Barber, Joe Garagiola, Frank Messer, Bill White, Tony Kubek and Bobby Murcer, etc.

While his broadcasting career might be what many today remember him for, it’s worth noting that the Scooter was much more than that during his playing days. He had to overcome the odds just to make it to the majors after a failed tryout with the Brooklyn Dodgers in which his smallish 5-6, 160 frame worked against the hometown native.

However, it didn’t stop Rizzuto from fulfilling his dream when he had a successful tryout with the Yankees who signed him as an amateur in 1937.

At age 23, he debuted in 1941 and got into 133 games hitting over .300 (307) with three homers, 46 RBI’s, 20 doubles, nine triples and 14 stolen bases as part of another Yankee world championship, beating the Dodgers in five games.

After the first of five All-Star selections in 1942 helping the Yanks get back to another Series before falling to the St. Louis Browns, Rizzuto like many had his playing career interrupted by World War II. From 1943-45, he served under the United States Navy playing on the baseball team before resuming his career in 1946 at the age of 28.

The shortstop played 11 more years helping the Bronx Bombers win six more World Series including a record five straight from 1949-53. During his 13-year career, the team won nine pennants and went on to win seven world titles.

His career peaked in 1950 when he posted career bests in games played (155), average (.324), hits (200), runs (125), home runs (7), doubles (36) and extra base hits (50) while batting leadoff. He also swiped 12 bases, walked a career high 92 times posting a career best .418 on-base percentage along with a .439 slugging percentage.

Along with near flawless play at short in which he paced all shortstops with a .982 fielding percentage, it led to him winning the AL MVP as the Yanks went on to repeat as world champions by sweeping the Philadelphia Phillies. He beat out buddy and teammate Yogi Berra, who took the award in 1951.
Rizzuto would play all the way until age 38 when he was forced to retire by management in 1956 to make room for Enos Slaughter who the team has acquired for the postseason roster. It was a heartbreaking end to a great career.

While a few cynics might argue that his career numbers aren’t Hall of Fame worthy, it’s worth pointing out that all-time great Ted Williams always thought one of the differences aside from pitching between the Yankees and his Red Sox teams was the short guy who played short for the Pinstripes. It speaks volumes to what kind of intangible value Rizzuto possessed which helped his team win.

Rizzuto was a very good bunter and led the AL in sacrifice hits from four years running (1949-52). That was always something that was valued along with his strong defense up the middle.

He had his No.10 retired by the Yanks on August, 4, 1985. Ironically on the same day, the Scooter would be upstaged by future broadcast partner Tom Seaver, who won his 300th career game for the White Sox. Of course, he would tease Seaver when they later worked together about it.

Despite being well regarded by his peers which included the Splendid Splinter, Rizzuto didn’t make Cooperstown until the Veteran’s Committee along with a lengthy campaign by Yankee fans helped finally get him in in 1994. Ten years after similar in stature Pee Wee Reese at his position made it starring for the Dodgers.

As usual, he would steal the show at his induction ceremony by making a long speech rambling on from topic to topic even prompting former partner White to get up and answer, “Grits” to Rizzuto’s question about the “stuff that looked like oatmeal,” to the delight of many.

He also would later swat away some flies and maybe even kill a couple in the process on what was a very humid day.

Rizzuto would work a couple of more years up in the booth and get the chance to call another future great Yankee shortstop who was a rookie by the name of Derek Jeter in 1996. During a game against the Indians, he praised a very nice play by Jeter who caught a tough pop up facing the outfield. Rizzuto also had the honor of calling the rookie’s first home run in the Yankee win.

Among some of his other famous calls was Chris Chambliss’ 1976 pennant clinching home run, Dave Righetti’s no-hitter against the Red Sox on Independence Day in 1983 and The Pine Tar game when George Brett raced out of the Kansas City dugout and protested wildly after a home run in the ninth was reversed.

Rizzuto also took part in Meat Loaf’s 1977 hit song “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” with some classic play-by-play commentary during it which only helped its success even if he didn’t realize what the real meaning was.

The past couple of years had been a struggle for him health-wise. When he didn’t show for last year’s Old-Timer’s Day, the writing was on the wall that time could finally be short for baseball’s oldest living Hall of Famer.

He had been suffering lately. Now Scooter is in an even better place. But even with him no longer with us, there will still be Scooter the Holy Cow- the Staten Island Yankees team mascot named for him at the ballpark at St. George.

Plus many Yankee and baseball fans will always remember him.

Holy Cow will never leave our households.

STATEN ISLAND, NY- It’s been a great summer thus far for Justin Snyder.

Since the Yankees selected him in the 21st round of this year’s draft back in June, the 21 year-old University of San Diego standout has taken the New York-Penn League by storm.

A versatile utility player who’s been a fixture in the leadoff spot for the Baby Bombers, Snyder has adjusted very well to his first summer of pro ball.

A three sport athlete in high school where he played baseball, football and soccer, the San Diego native was a 2007 All-West Coast Conference first team selection this past year finishing with a .352 average, 89 hits, 21 doubles, 50 runs, four homers and 36 RBI’s.

He’s been able to carry that over successfully in his first season with Staten Island where he’s helped the team into a tie for the league’s wildcard with Vermont through 52 games with each sharing identical 30-22 records.

With a couple of hits plus a run scored in Sunday’s 3-1 loss to Jamestown at the ballpark at St. George, Snyder moved into a tie for the league lead in hitting with Mahoning Valley’s Todd Martin with both at a .382 clip.

Not surprisingly, that’s not the only offensive category you can find Snyder at or near the top of. His 71 hits along with an impressive .482 on-base percentage pace the league and he also ranks second to Martin with 46 runs scored. Thanks to a patient approach at the plate, he’s also drawn the third most walks (34).

All this has helped make Snyder a Penn League All Star where he’ll take part in the league’s third annual AS Game later tonight in Hudson Valley.

“It’s awesome,” he beamed at his locker Sunday afternoon before getting ready to leave. “One of my goals coming out here was to do that. So hopefully it will be fun and hopefully I’ll do good.”

As the ballclub’s leadoff hitter who his manager can pencil in everyday without giving much thought, Snyder has excelled at getting on base and setting a good tone for his teammates throughout the lineup who follow.

“Usually, you just go up there looking for something to hit. I’m usually taking a few more pitches as the leadoff guy so people behind me can see how he’s pitching and see what he has and all that stuff. It’s kind of on me to get the game going. Get it rolling.”

One edge that Snyder has is he knows that the hitters which follow can make opposing pitchers pay the price for putting him on.

“Especially if like I get a hit and he pitches out of the stretch and he’s going to leave it up. [Taylor] Holiday and [Damon] Sublett and [Braedyn] Pruitt behind me, that’s pretty tough.”
Listed at a stocky 5-9 190 pounds, the Staten Island Yankees’ table setter wasn’t too pleased about having to wait until the 21st round to get selected. So he certainly arrived to New York with a chip on his shoulder.
“Coming out here, I felt I had something to prove. Obviously, some people in the organization didn’t think I deserved to go higher than that. So I mean I’m just coming out here and showing what I can do and showing them what maybe they thought I couldn’t do.”

A player who Staten Island manager Mike Gillespie praised for his ability to play multiple positions, Snyder has lived up to that billing by playing four for the Bombers this summer including third, short, second and center. He doesn’t really have a preference.

“It doesn’t matter to me where I play. It’s just as long as I get to swing that wood. I could care less. You could put me at first base, catcher and I probably wouldn’t do so good at catcher but it don’t matter as long as I’m in the lineup.”

The multidimensional fielder even recalled a time in his career where he played all nine positions.

“Summer ball one time. I played all nine. It was a pretty good experience,” pointing out that he even pitched back in high school while teammate David Williams chided in the background that ‘he’s not that good. I faced him,’ to friendly chuckles.

“I pitched a little bit last summer an inning in an All-Star Game cause they didn’t have any arms. Nothing overpowering or anything like that. I just throw it and I don’t really know where it’s going. I struck out the league MVP in the All-Star Game. It’s not a big deal,” Snyder recalled with a wide eyed grin.

“Changeup. Changeup and then a fastball and then he swung and missed and I kind of had to put my glove over my mouth cause I was laughing kind of hard.”

As for his approach to the game, it’s pretty simple.

“Going out there trying to have a good approach at the plate. … In the field, just using my versatility to get in the lineup and try to get really good at all the positions instead of just concentrating on one.”

Despite on-field success, there are noticeable differences between college and the pros.

“All the pitchers are really good. There’s a reason they’re here meaning sometimes on a college team, you don’t really get like all their bullpen. They want their really good guys. All the hitters can swing and all the hitters can hit home runs. All the hitters can drive the ball in the gap.”

“You can let up a little bit in college not as much but you could still do it and get away with it. You can’t really do that here.”

The schedule is also much busier which is part of the learning curve in the minors.

“You can’t really go out. In college you could cause you didn’t have a game the next day. This year, you got to pace yourself and you got to figure out what you want to work on. … You got to get in there and get after it and do what you need to get done.”
Being from the West Coast, Snyder couldn’t help but notice the difference in weather.

“It’s humid as hell. The last few days have been awful. Humidity is just bad. Sometimes, you go outside and sweat. That’s pretty much the only difference and when it rains, it pours. Sometimes, it rains more in one night than in eight years in San Diego.”

Snyder wasn’t the lone Staten Island Yankee who will represent the club in Poughkeepsie. He’ll also be joined by teammate Zach McAllister. The second-year righthander was a hardluck loser Saturday giving up three runs in six to fall to 3-3. He still has a respectable 2.98 ERA which places him just outside the league’s top 10 and has fanned 56 in 51-plus.
It hasn’t been hard to recognize the 19 year-old former 2006 third round pick’s composure.
“He’s very mature on the mound for his age. Knows how to pitch people inside. Doesn’t really give in when things are going tough. He’s poised and gives good effort,” Snyder noted.

“Especially when people are on base. And when people are in scoring position, just get right down to it and get after the guy. Strike him out. Get him to pop up. Something like that.”

And while a couple of teammates such as Sublett and Pruitt didn’t get the same respect, it’s not going to alter Snyder’s approach.

“Just cause I made it doesn’t mean I’m going to stop working now.”

STATEN ISLAND, NY- There will be days like this. That’s what Staten Island manager Mike Gillespie lamented after his team’s disappointing 3-1 loss to the Jammers before 2,828 at Richmond County Bank Ballpark.

They also fell the night before 4-3 to conclude a lost weekend after it started out well with Friday night’s 3-0 shutout. The Baby Bombers will now hit the All-Star break tied for the wildcard with Vermont who prevailed 10-4 over Batavia to put the two teams in a deadlock at 30-22.

With Mahoning Valley a game and a half back and Lowell two off the pace, the crowded race for the final playoff spot should heat up when teams return to action later this week.

“I don’t have an acceptable explanation for what went on today,” the skipper pointed out after holding a team meeting directly after the game. “You’d like to think when you give up three, you got a chance to win. … I would’ve expected that we would’ve been a little more competitive at the plate today.”

Jamestown used a two-run first along with six splendid shutout innings from victorious starter Alejandro Sanabia (1-4) to post the two-run win and take the rubber match of the series.

“We came out kind of slow,” expressed leadoff man Justin Snyder who finished with two hits and scored the team’s only run in defeat. “The past few days have been rough and like [Gillespie] said ‘there are no excuses about it’ but we’ve been traveling and I think it might’ve caught up to us today and plus their pitcher threw pretty good.”The Jammers got out quickly against losing Staten Island starter Chris Farley (1-1), who settled down to toss the next three scoreless before giving way to reliever Craig Heyer in the fifth.

After Farley beaned Ryan Curry to start the game, he allowed a Marcus Crocket run-scoring double which plated Curry for the game’s first run. Three batters later, Thomas Hickman delivered a two out RBI single which increased their lead to two.

Though only down a couple, the problem for the Bombers was they couldn’t solve Sanabia. The 18 year-old righthander from San Diego entered winless with over a 6.00 ERA. But none of that mattered as he kept the Staten Island batters guessing striking out eight while allowing just two hits and a walk en route to his first win.

“Just mixing pitches and spotting up really well,” Snyder noted. “I mean his changeup is good and his fastball he wasn’t throwing consistent like 88, 88, 88. He was mixing and it was like 84 and 91 a few times. It had a little bit of movement on it and it was just tough to get a good swing on it.”

Unable to mount a rally against Sanabia, they tried their luck against Jamestown reliever Andrew Alsup in the home seventh and nearly broke through. The problem was Alsup and his defense weren’t cooperating.

After Braedyn Pruitt ledoff with a single, left fielder Matt Morris hit a hard comebacker which looked headed for center but Alsup snagged it and turned it into a 1-4-3 twin killing. Unfortunately for them, Dave Williams and Jose Gil then singled. So it turned out to be a huge play because it could’ve meant a different inning. Instead, centerfielder Austin Krum flied out to deep left stranding both runners to end it.

Carlos Piste would tack on some insurance with one out in the eighth when he took Heyer deep to right center which gave Jamestown a three-run cushion.

The Bombers finally got on the board in the home half of the frame thanks to a two out RBI double by second baseman Damon Sublett to the opposite field which scored Snyder after he singled to start it. But the tying run at the plate, Pruitt bounced out to second against reliever Corey Madden.

Staten Island would get the tying run to the plate again in their last licks when Williams was hit by a pitch with an out but Madden got Gil looking and Krum grounded to second which ended it.

Now they’ll get a couple of days off to regroup.

“Definitely. I mean everybody can,” Snyder said at his locker about the much needed rest. “We’ll see on our first game back that if we come out a little slow but I think we’ll be well rested to make a run for the rest of the season.”

Notes: The game took a fan friendly two hours and 40 minutes to play. … Staten Island left 12 runners on base. … With another RBI, Sublett raised his season total to 37 with 11 of those coming in the past six contests. He also swiped his sixth base as did Williams in a losing effort. … Heyer allowed just a home run and three other hits in four effective innings in relief before giving way to Nick Chigges, who tossed a scoreless ninth, lowering his ERA to 2.85 with a .212 batting average against. … Piste finished three-for-four with a homer, run scored and two RBI’s for Jamestown along with some solid D. … Snyder and SP Zach McAllister will take part in the third annual NYPL AS Game with festivities beginning later today in Hudson Valley. … When they return to action Thursday, Staten Island visits Aberdeen twice before a crucial three-game weekend series against the Verrazano rival Cyclones in which they’ll host Game 2 next Sunday.