Our pic of the day comes courtesy of rejuvenated St. Louis converted outfielder Rick Ankiel. You remember him, don’t you? The former top pitching prospect of the Cardinals a few years ago who was fallen by wildness and arm problems is back with a vengeance as an outfielder.

Now 28, the former 1997 second round pick has made the transformation to the batter’s box. He scrapped his pitching career a couple of Springs ago and has since been in the minors turning himself into a pretty good power hitter. So much so that his 31 dingers with Triple-A Memphis ranked second in the minors before the Cards finally decided to recall him for his much anticipated return. Well, if you didn’t notice, then that’s too bad.

We had been keeping a close eye on him and kept waiting for that recall. So, how has Ankiel done thus far? In his first game back, he went yard and got a standing ovation in a win. After a 1-for-4 effort in a loss Friday, the major league version of Roy Hobbs responded with his first multi-homer game and a great over the shoulder catch in right during a 6-1 win to keep his team within 6.5 of first place Milwaukee.

That’s three long balls already for what could evolve into a great feel good story. So how does he feel about all the attention?

“Don’t hold me to days like this. … I always believed in myself. It’s just a matter of getting out there, feeling comfortable and letting your talent take over.”

The reality of the situation hasn’t been lost on skipper Tony La Russa:

“It’s been a lot of fun. Everyone is really happy to see him, but this is the big leagues and you need to perform and be productive. There’s a lot of good guys, but if they can’t play, pretty soon you get somebody else.”

Such is how things are when your team despite still being six under .500 is in a pennant race because both the Brew Crew and the Cubbies haven’t been able to put enough distance between themselves and the defending World Champs.

Think they can’t sneak up and steal the division? Don’t blink cause you never know what could happen next.

Who had them winning it all last Fall? Exactly about the same amount who saw Ankiel tearing up the minors and now trying to write a great chapter in his renewed ballplaying career.

For now, we’ll be pulling for Ankiel to continue to have success in his comeback and see where it takes him and his ballclub.

STATEN ISLAND, NY- Pitching and defense is usually a good recipe for success.

That was the case for the Baby Bombers as they posted their sixth win in seven by getting great pitching and D in a 3-0 blanking of the Jammers Friday night at Richmond County Bank Ballpark.

The win improved them to 30-20, picking up a half game on Oneonta who was rained out against Williamsport and will play two later today. The Bombers now lead the wildcard by a full game.
“We came off a tough win last night and it’s good to follow it up with another win today coming back from the road trip,” expressed left fielder Matt Morris after coming up with a big eighth inning RBI single for a big insurance run in the win.

With the Staten Island pen protecting a two-run lead in the top half of the frame thanks to some nifty glove work by third baseman Braedyn Pruitt which prevented Ryan Curry from making things interesting, Morris delivered a big two out hit to give closer Jonathan Ortiz some breathing room.

He drove home second baseman Damon Sublett from third with a clean RBI single to left which made it 3-0.

“That was big. You always like to win close games. It makes it seem better in the long run but to have those extra runs are always good,” he added.

It supported winning starter Jason Stephens (2-0) who continued to look sharp in his return back from Tommy John surgery.

“Just throwing the ball well,” the pleased pitcher pointed out after working the first six scoreless while allowing just two baserunners to reach on hits in his final two innings of work. He retired the first 12 batters he faced.

“I’m starting to feel a lot better. Getting a few more fastballs in outings and I’m throwing it well. Getting a lot healthier. … I just try to throw strikes and let them hit it.”

“I noticed he works off his fastball a lot,” said Justin Snyder. “Like he doesn’t throw too many offspeed pitches and it’s good that he gets people out without showing them all his pitches. At an important time of a game, he can just knock off a curveball they haven’t seen before and they pretty much buckle.”

While Stephens was taking care of business on the mound, he got some early support from his teammates in the home first.

After the 1-2 punch of Snyder and Taylor singled and doubled, Sublett’s sacrifice fly put Staten Island in front. Cleanup hitter Pruitt followed through with a runscoring single to center which plated Sublett for a two-run lead.

“All around we’re playing pretty well. Defense, offense and pitching’s awesome. So it’s hard to lose when you do that,” the Bombers’ versatile leadoff hitter who played a flawless short explained a day after being selected as a NY-Penn League All-Star.

“Jumping out to a lead, it’s good. It’s good to put the other team against the wall because it’s hard to get going for them cause they’re already down so early.”

Morris came up with a chance to add more but a great catch by a hustling Justin Jacobs prevented an extra base hit and helped keep Jamestown in the game.

“I thought this was a bit of a deceiving game for me. The pitching was obvious. … We had six good at bats in a row in first inning. Only got two runs but hit into a couple of tough outs. And we hit into at least three tough outs after that,” skipper Mike Gillespie noted.
After middle reliever Jason Kiley took the ball and worked a solid seventh, he ran into trouble in his second inning of work putting runners on the corners with one out. He cameback to fan Marcus Crockett before Gillespie decided to bring in his closer for a four out save.

Ortiz got Curry to ground down the third base line but a diving stop by Pruitt and perfect strike across the infield helped end the threat- drawing cheers from those who braved autumn-like conditions after a severe storm earlier in the day.

“It was a real close game. We pitched real well and Pruitt’s play was a big play. It was a good win. Real good win,” Gillespie stated.

“[Ortiz] has been money for us since he’s gotten here. In big situations, I don’t think he’s really scared of anything. Any pitch. Any count. He’ll throw it,” added Snyder.

“Pruitt’s play just…defense like I said has been going pretty well. Everything’s cooking right now. Hopefully we can make a run at Brooklyn.”

Notes: The Bombers were unable to gain any ground on the division leading Cyclones who pulled out a 4-3 win over Auburn to remain four and a half up. … On base three times, Holiday finished with a double, two walks, a run scored and swiped his club leading 14th base. … With another run knocked in, Sublett now has 10 RBI’s in his last four contests. … Stephens went the first six permitting only two hits and striking out five. In his last two outings, he’s tossed 12 straight scoreless while giving up just four total hits while walking two and fanning seven. … After coming on for one out in the eighth, Ortiz struckout the side in the ninth for his ninth save. … Staten Island hosts Jamestown in the middle game later tonight.

It took a while. But the Baby Bombers swung to life late in a come from behind 5-2 extra inning victory to cross up the Cutters in the rubber game of the series before 1,594 Thursday night in Williamsport.

The win improved Staten Island to 29-20, vaulting them half a game back in front of Oneonta for the wildcard lead because the Tigers fell at Auburn 8-2 yesterday.

Trailing by a run in the eighth, the Bombers rallied to tie the game against Williamsport reliever Moises Melendez.

Ninth place hitter Matt Morris got it started with a leadoff single to center. The 1-2 punch of Justin Snyder and Taylor Holiday then got on base via a walk and infield hit to suddenly load the bases with nobody out.

Second baseman Damon Sublett’s sacrifice fly to right knotted a game his team once trailed 2-0 after the first two innings. The Bombers had a golden opportunity to go ahead after third baseman Braedyn Pruitt was plunked to reload the bases. However, catcher Jose Gil bounced into an inning ending 4-6-3 double play.

After Staten Island middle reliever Nick Chigges tossed his third consecutive scoreless frame doing it in style by getting his final two batters swinging, manager Mike Gillespie called on Jacinto Gonell to get his ballclub into extras. The reliever worked around a one out walk to Tim Kennelly by inducing Caleb Mangum into a 6-4-3 twin killing.

Just as they had done in a wacky road win over Hudson Valley last Sunday, the Bombers used a big 10th to pull it out for their fifth win in the last six.

Morris, who finished with a game high three hits and three runs scored was again the catalyst. The outfielder who shifted from right to left started the inning off with another base hit this time to left which got his teammates steered in the right direction.

After Snyder singled him to third, he came into score the go-ahead run on a wild pitch by losing pitcher Rich Austin (1-3). Holiday then reached on an E5 and swiped second for his team-leading 13th base to put runners in scoring position for Sublett, who drove them in with a two-run double for a game best three RBI’s.

Staten Island closer Jonathan Ortiz came on to retire the Crosscutters in order, fanning a couple of batters including Dominic Brown to notch his eighth save.

Williamsport pushed across a run in the first two frames off starter Ryan Pope. A two out Matt Spencer RBI single scored Brown in the home first to give them the lead.

An inning later, they got another key two out hit this time from D’Arby Myers who drove in Mike Taylor with an RBI single to left to increase the lead to 2-0.

But that would be it for the Cutters as Pope settled down to toss three consecutive scoreless going the first five, finishing strong with five of his seven K’s coming in those final three innings.

The Bombers got an unearned run back in the third when Morris scored from second on Williamsport shortstop Phillip Cuevas’ fielding error.

Chigges took over from there tossing three scoreless while whiffing five as the S.I. pen kept the Cutters in check by not allowing a run while giving up just a hit and K-ing seven in the final five frames.

Notes: The game took three hours and eight minutes to play. … In his second relief appearance with Staten Island, Gonell worked a scoreless ninth to pickup his first win. … In a losing effort, Williamsport starter Chance Chapman went the first six giving up just an unearned run on three hits while walking no one and striking out seven. … Brown finished with two of five Cutter hits on the night also scoring a run. Meanwhile, eight of 11 Bombers registered at least a hit. … Sublett concluded the series with four hits along with a gaudy nine knocked in in 10 plate appearances. … Before the All-Star Break, Staten Island will kick off a three-game home set later tonight against Jamestown weather permitting.
Snyder and McAllister Tabbed Penn League All-Stars: The Staten Island Yankees got some more good news as two of their players were officially named Penn League All-Stars yesterday according to the official league site (nypennleague.com).

Versatile utilityman Justin Snyder was tabbed along with staff ace Zach McAllister. Both are well deserving.

Playing four different positions and batting leadoff to spark his team’s offense with a league best on-base percentage (.488) along with the second highest average (.385), the 21 year-old Snyder who is out of San Diego has been brilliant all summer.

Whether the 5-9 190 pound has played as many as three infield positions including third, short and second or a flawless centerfield, he’s never looked out of place.

The multidimensional player is turning heads and probably making a lot of major league scouts regret overlooking him and allowing the Yankees to select him in the 21st round (664th overall) of the First-Year Player Draft a couple of months ago.

With a hit and run scored Thursday night, Snyder is now hitting .385 with five homers, 31 RBI’s, 44 runs and 67 hits. He’s also shown some plate discipline drawing as many walks (33) as strikeouts (33). The speedy player from the West coast also has swiped seven bases, truly putting all his talent on display this summer.

Meanwhile, the 19 year-old McAllister who was drafted by the Yankees last year in the third round has anchored a staff which includes currently DLed Grand Street High native Dellin Betances, who happens to be the youngest player in the league and has gotten much more notoriety due to his local status.

It’s allowed the 6-5 230 pound righty out of Chillicothe Illinois to fly under the radar and pitch effectively in his second pro season. In 2006, he got into 11 games (1 start) with the Gulfcoast Yanks going 5-2 with a 3.09 ERA while allowing as many hits (35) as innings (35.0), walking 12 and striking out 28.

This summer, McAllister has made the adjustment to the Penn League faring well thus far in 10 starts. Though he is only 3-2, his 2.78 ERA ranks just outside the top 10 in the league. In 45 and a third, he’s allowed 40 hits with just one leaving the park while walking 15 and fanning 51.

He’s sometimes worked in and out of trouble due to a fastball which can reach the low  to mid 90’s along with a nasty slider as well as a changeup.

In his most recent outing, he went two perfect innings while fanning four before rain suspended the Bombers’ 10-2 win over the Cutters Thursday.

Both players will represent the Bombers in the third NYPL AS Game next Tuesday night at Dutchess Stadium in Wappingers Falls, New York. Festivities will commence on Monday in Poughkeepsie.

Hard Hits: The case of Barry Bonds

by Derek Felix

It had to happen eventually. Tuesday night at Pac Bell (AT&T Park) out on the Bay, there was officially a new home run king 33 years later supplanting Hank Aaron.

For some passionate baseball observers, it was a regrettable day because of who made history. Sadly, that’s the kind of reaction one of the game’s greatest players, Barry Bonds initiates.

The seven-time NL MVP had been chasing Aaron for a couple of years fighting off nagging injuries to finally tie and pass Homerin’ Hank, who surprisingly taped a congratulatory message which appeared the other night on the San Francisco scoreboard after his record was finally broken.

It happened in the fifth inning against Washington pitcher Mike Bacsik, who became the 446th pitcher to serve one up to Bonds. As it turned out a night later, he wouldn’t be the last.
The 43 year-old former Pittsburgh Pirates No.1 pick (sixth overall in 1985) was already two-for-two in the game when he worked the count full. Bacsik didn’t pitch around instead challenging him with a fastball which Bonds clocked to deep right center for the milestone.

As he connected, the All-Star slugger pumped his fist and watched it before finally going into his home run trot and then being congratulated at home plate by his son as well as family and teammates. Included was his godfather Willie Mays who gave him a hug. To say he was blessed would be an understatement.

Then the superstar graciously thanked all of San Francisco along with his family for their support in what had been a difficult climb to the finish. Especially when one considers that three years ago, he had 703 home runs after concluding 2004 with 45 in 147 games. Then came offseason knee surgery along with the chaotic BALCO investigation as he took almost the entire following season off before returning late to tack on five more in just 42 at bats.

As Game of Shadows was released last year which documented some very damaging accounts of what Bonds put into his body, the Giants’ left fielder got into 130 games and added 26 dingers in 367 at bats (14.1 avg) to his total, giving him 734 entering this record breaking season.

In better shape, he started out like a house of fire knocking eight out of the park in April while hitting .356 with 17 RBI’s. But what would transpire was an up and down struggle to the finish line.

Finally after a subpar July in which he batted only .186 with four dingers to crawl within two of the record, Bonds needed only six games to match Aaron and then surpass him this month. After tying the former Brave 33 years later in San Diego, he made history to take his place in baseball’s record book.

A night later, he’d quickly add to it by hammering a 1-1 Tim Redding offering into McCovey Cove 438 feet for his 35th career splash (yes they actually keep that crazy stat) which became No.757 in a 5-0 Giants win- giving manager Bruce Bochy career win 1,000.

It was Bonds’ 23rd homer of the season. He finished 1-for-2 before exiting. He has 23 long balls in 269 at bats this summer which averages out to one every 11.7 plate appearances. Compared to last year, it’s a decent pace but still pales in comparison to what he did only a few years ago.

Age is a funny thing. One minute, the stars we watch are putting up big numbers. The next, they’re barely hanging on as decline has finally taken its course.

Lately, so much has been made of how Bonds did it. What should’ve been a huge deal instead was just shrugged off with a slump of the shoulders by many because of recent history which suggests that his remarkable accomplishment was tainted.

A New York Post headline read, “Big sh*t” Wednesday. Considering that this same paper a couple of months ago had Yankee Alex Rodriguez stepping out on his wife with a stripper in Toronto, their credibility was already in as much question as the controversial slugger they had to get a cheapshot in on.

So this rag hit rock bottom with that classless front page. One I’ll never read again.

These days, sometimes the media takes it too far. When is enough enough? Many have acted like Bonds owed them something. We’re mostly talking about a lot of the mainstream writers who have covered baseball as well as other sports and sit behind their laptops or pcs hiding while judging the players they cover. As if they knew exactly what kind of dedication it took to be a star athlete. Heck. It doesn’t even have to be that. It could just be an everyday player who busts their ass.

Most sportswriters wouldn’t know the first thing about the kind of extreme levels these athletes put themselves through. So maybe they should stick to what they know.

As for myself, I was a long distance cross country runner in high school. So I do have an idea of how much preparation goes into getting ready for every race. Like many, I played sports when I was younger. Who doesn’t like to get out there and compete? Challenging yourself athletically is a real adrenaline rush.

Being able to cover minor league ballplayers these days, I don’t sit here trying to pretend I know every little thing these guys do. But what I realize is how hard they have worked just to get to this point in their pro careers. It takes an awful lot of commitment.

Did Bonds cheat? Probably. If he did, who’s at fault? A lot of players probably juiced during the period in question. The question which never seems to be asked is if this was such an epidemic, why didn’t Major League Baseball (MLB) step up to the plate and do something about it?

Up until our federal government stepped in and got involved with the well known BALCO investigation, baseball didn’t have any rules permitting players abusing performance enhancers.

Finally, commisioner Bud Selig and his cronies got involved and changed the rules dramatically even going as far to ban amphetamines (greenies) last year. Those had been around for half a century and you can bet plenty of the stars our parents and grandparents grew up idolizing used them to get by.

The point being that bending the rules had been going on in baseball for a lot longer than most want to acknowledge. The big difference is that back then, players of that Golden Era were more respected and weren’t front and center on papers for all to see. Their private lives were private which is really how it should be.

Today, everyone’s trying to get a good story and make a name for themselves. A few will do whatever it takes even going as far as to sneak into George Steinbrenner’s home by lying just to find out the Yankee Boss isn’t all there anymore. Like it was some big secret.

Does any of this change who Bonds is and how he’ll be looked at in the future? Probably not. Before he came into question after 1998, he had already hit 411 homers (first 176 as a Pirate), become part of the 40/40 Club (1996), won three MVPs, eight Gold Gloves, taken part in eight All-Star Games and seven Silver Sluggers.

That btw was all before he turned 34 the following summer and started ‘experimenting.’ From 1999-2004, he slugged 292 dingers including a new modern-day single season record of 73 in 2001 which passed Mark McGwire’s 70 set back in ‘98 when he and Sammy Sosa smashed Roger Maris’ 1961 record of 61.

That was the summer which helped save baseball and was widely celebrated if you recall. Nobody seemed to mind that the two players looked like a combination of professional bodybuilders and wrestlers.

One well known writer across the country even wrote a book about that epic home run race and made a lot of money off them. Years later, that same person would be crying foul and ripping into those same players along with Bonds and admitted user and current Yankee Jason Giambi. Kind of seems like they’re talking out of both sides, huh?

My stance on the Juiced Era is that baseball turned a blind eye to what was going on. They were far too preoccupied pushing the Chicks Dig The Longball ad campaign. You remember it. Every baseball fan does. Message. Hit as many homers as possible.
They bared the responsibility for what took place. You think Bonds didn’t notice all the positive feedback both McGwire and Sosa got? Both were star players but not on the level of Barry.

You just can’t have it both ways. Maybe we all just didn’t want to notice. I can still recall a funny skit on the old Wcw where wrestler Marcus “Buff” Bagwell dressed in a Cardinals jersey and pretended to be Big Mac and joked about steroids to boos in St. Louis on Monday Nite Nitro. It was quite hilarious but turned out to be prophetic for baseball and now wrestling.

Who can you trust these days? It’s a difficult question to answer. One can only hope that A-Rod is clean as he begins his chase of Bonds. The youngest slugger to ever reach 500 home runs at age 32, the current Yankee third baseman looks to have some prime years left.

With great power to all fields and a natural home run stroke, many will follow the future $30 million man’s pursuit. If he finishes with 50 homers this year (needs 14 more), A-Rod will be at 514 for his career. If he averages 40-per-season over the next five, that would put him at 714 at the age of 37. Who thinks he can’t get to that point? He keeps himself in phenomenal shape and rarely is on the DL.

Rodriguez is someone the general public will pull for to become the new home run king no matter what former Bash Brother and knucklehead Jose Canseco says. Talk about turning your back. The first ever player to 40/40 should meet Benedict Arnold. They have plenty in common.

So where do we stand on Bonds? He’s still a great player with phenomenal ability and should be a first ballot Hall of Famer regardless of all the questions as to the validity of his record.

We’re talking about a player who hit over 500 homers and stole over 500 as well. A guy who was also a dangerous hitter with one of the best eyes ever to step into a batter’s box. The ridiculous amount of walks (2,540) which increase daily are definitive proof.

What else is there to say of a guy who got the most out of his God given talent?

Well, he never was the most lovable which might explain why the media grew to loathe him as did fans. He’s just never been an engaging athlete. Had he had a different persona, does anyone really believe he’d be painted as being so evil even if he did cheat? I’m having a hard time with that one. It’s up to the general public.

Love or hate him, Bonds will always be part of baseball history and take his place among the all-time greats.

Late heroics helped the Staten Island Yankees prevail over the Hudson Valley Renegades for the second consecutive night to sweep the home-and-home series.
The wildcard leading Baby Bombers used a two-run ninth inning rally to get past Hudson Valley in dramatic fashion 5-4 before 2,346 at Richmond County Bank Ballpark Monday night.

It was their sixth win in the last eight and lifted their record to a season best 27-19- keeping them half a game ahead of Oneonta (27-20) who prevailed over Lowell for the second straight night.

The Bombers also pulled within four of McNamara Division leading Brooklyn, who fell to Aberdeen at home 11-5.

A night after blowing an eight-run lead at Hudson Valley before scoring five times to pull out a wild 13-8 extra inning win, Mike Gillespie’s ballclub this time rallied to comeback from two three-run deficits in the first two innings by pulling out the victory in their final at bat.

Before starter Chris Farley even retired a batter, he put the first three on base via an infield hit and two walks. Two sac flies and a Stephen Vogt RBI single immediately put Staten Island in a three-run hole.

The Bombers got one back in the home half thanks to a Jose Gil sacrifice fly which scored leadoff man Justin Snyder who started it with a walk. They could’ve gotten more but third baseman Ryan Wehrle who in the top of the frame dropped a ball for an E5 bounced out to short to end it.

Hudson Valley responded right away in the second to rebuild their three-run lead. After a leadoff triple to right by Shawn O’Malley, he crossed home plate on another sac fly this time by Emeel Salem.

The Bombers trimmed the lead to two in the second. Austin Krum ledoff with a double to center and two batters later came around to score when Snyder singled him in to cut it to 4-2. With a couple of runners on and two out, Taylor Holiday was caught trying to steal third to end the frame leaving dangerous cleanup hitter Braedyn Pruitt at the plate.

With Farley settling down to toss three scoreless innings in a row and middle reliever Nick Chigges coming out of the pen and being almost flawless by allowing just one hit in the middle innings, it gave their team a chance to comeback.

They crawled to within one on a Gil two out runscoring single which plated Holiday after he started the fifth with a ground-rule double.

Trailing by one in the seventh, the Bombers stranded runners in scoring position when Gil flied out to right.

The game would still be hanging in the balance after Jason Kiley worked around a two out walk in the ninth to set the stage for some dramatics.

Facing Hudson Valley’s Ryan Zimmerman in his second inning of work, it didn’t take long for Staten Island to get to him. After pinch hitter D.J. Hollingsworth singled and was nailed trying to stretch it to a double, Snyder came up and took the closer deep to center for his fifth homer of the year which knotted it.

Zimmerman would get the second out by getting Holiday swinging before departing in favor of Mark Suchowiecki. As fortune had it, a miscue by Suchowiecki led to his own demise when he allowed second baseman Damon Sublett to reach on an error.

That brought up Pruitt, who made him pay with a walkoff double to center which scored Sublett all the way from first to give Staten Island the exciting victory.

Notes: With two more hits, the versatile Snyder who played short last night hiked his average to .383. He also finished with two runs scored and two RBI’s. … Holiday also had a multi-hit night and swiped two bases to reach double digits for the summer. … With another pinch hit, Hollingsworth is now batting .355. … Vogt and O’Malley each finished with two hits to pace the Renegades. … The Bombers were able to prevail despite three errors including two from Wehrle at the hot corner and one from Gil behind the plate. … Kiley picked up his third win after a scoreless ninth to improve to 3-2. … Staten Island now heads to Williamsport for three before returning to St. George Friday to host a three-game set against Jamestown.

This is a neat video we found off YouTube using Belinda Carlisle’s hit song “Heaven Is A Place On Earth,” for a theme to a Disney movie from last year.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=KdhAq9KYEvY

And you’re probably left wondering what the hell does this have to do with sports and why are we using it?

Because I feel like being random for a change and it’s been a while since we took advantage of some of the other features on this site!

So sit back and enjoy it because the person who put it together did a pretty good job!

STATEN ISLAND, NY- Minor league ball has its perks. A fan friendly atmosphere. A chance to meet mostly first and second-year players who are very accomodating when it comes to keeping their supporters happy before and after games. And plenty of entertainment at the ballpark.

During last night’s Baby Bomber 7-3 win over the Spinners at St. George, the 5,031 in attendance were in for a special treat. That’s because The Blues Brothers were on hand providing all sorts of fun filled rambunctious stuff between innings.

Much like their Blues Brother movie predecessors John Belushi and Dan Akroyd, the duo of Jake and Elwood from Chicago have been at it for 23 years traveling across the country and even taken their act across the continent to seven other countries.

“This is 23 years of fun,” expressed Jake after just getting warmed up in the early innings of a game which lasted nearly three and a half hours. “We can’t consider it a job. How could you give it up after 23 years?”

So how exactly did they get started and keep alive one of the funniest movies of our generation? Jake credited his partner Elwood who has been there since the beginning.

“Actually, he did. He’s the one who came up with it,” the Belushi look alike pointed out.

“It all started on a dare in a bar at college in 1984. And from there they moved on to doing the national show of Putting On The Hits. The lip synch contest. … I’ve actually been doing this for 12 years. It moved onto the Chicago Bulls and then other sporting events and corporate parties. It’s just been a crazy, crazy ride.”

Staten Island was one of their final stops in what marks the end of a great run for the dynamic duo who look and play their roles right down to a tee.

Just ask the pleased spectators who cheered their every move on the field which included a hilarious bit where Jake pretended to be home plate umpire and inspired real umpire Max Guyll to test out his dance feet along the third base line.

When they weren’t singing or dancing their asses off on the field, the pair were in the crowd talking with fans while taking pictures and signing plenty of autographs for kids.

What more would you expect from two affable gentlemen who have just four more stops left before hanging it up?

At least for Jake, it’s hard to come up with one place that stands out where they performed. But he did recall one story.
“Each place has their own special little memory. Even in Greenville, Mississippi where they had 96 people at the baseball game and they had tornadoes around all night, all day long and 96 people still came out. Scott Sanderson who was a pitcher for the Chicago Cubs, he was the general manager, owner for …”

“We went out and performed for like 25 minutes. They stopped the game and all the players stood right in front of  us while we were behind home plate while we were performing. And then we were done. And then we moved on. That was special.”

One thing that has never gotten old for the dynamic duo is the reception they’ve gotten.

“It’s awesome. It’s awesome. You don’t do it for a while and you get depressed. … I heard like riding giants for big wave surfers. They don’t have those big waves for a while and they get depressed cause they don’t get that adrenaline rush.”

“Once you go out and you get that energy going from the crowd, they give it to you and you give it back to them and it’s reciprocating all the way through.”

As for what they’ll do when it finally concludes, he’s not sure but knows one thing.

“I want to stay in the entertainment industry. I’d like to. … The future’s wide open.”

STATEN ISLAND, NY- Sometimes, a team can draw extra motivation from seeing a former player honored.

That might’ve just been the case Saturday night as the Baby Bombers honored current Yankee second baseman Robinson Cano in fitting fashion with a well earned 7-3 victory over Lowell to take the rubber game of the series that sent many of the 5,031 at Richmond County Bank Ballpark home happy.

Before the game, the former Staten Island product who starred on the 2002 Penn League championship team with last year’s retiree Chien-Ming Wang made it back from the Bronx in time to be presented with a plaque commemorating his No.17 jersey which was retired during a pregame ceremony.

“It was fun. I never met Robinson before but some of the guys know him from playing down in Spring Training. It kind of gave us motivation,” expressed right fielder David Williams after finishing with a hit. “You see he’s been here. He’s done well and he’s where we want to be. So inspiration for all of us.”
More importantly, it helped Staten Island (25-19) bounceback from a 7-2 loss Friday night and stay in a deadlock for the wildcard lead with the Spinners (25-19), just half a game better than Oneonta (25-20) who fell to division leading Brooklyn 7-2.

“It’s definitely important to take the series. We played well. Got good pitching and timely hitting. So definitely a good series,” noted designated hitter Chris Raber outside the dugout after finishing the night with two hits and two runs scored.

“It was a big win coming back from yesterday. We kind of let it go and it was good to get the series,” added Williams. “A lot of good teams that we’ve been playing real well last two, three series. I mean we’ve played Oneonta twice. I think we pretty much match up with anyone in the league.

“Just a matter of us putting our game together. We played good defense. We pitched a heck of a ball and we hit pretty good too.”

Despite two miscues in the field, Staten Island turned in several defensive gems including a couple of running catches by outfielders Austin Krum and Taylor Holiday plus a nice diving stop for a force by second baseman Damon Sublett, who returned after missing the first two games of the series. He also started a game ending 4-6-3 twin killing to stop a Lowell bases loaded threat as closer Jonathan Ortiz picked up winning pitcher Craig Heyer (3-0) to notch save number seven.

“The defense was outstanding with turning a couple of double plays,” Raber added.

That wasn’t the only thing the Bombers were able to execute well in the win. Back up two after a sixth inning Justin Snyder RBI double which scored Raber all the way from first, Staten Island tacked on a run without a ball leaving the infield the following inning.

A one out walk to third baseman Ryan Wehrle opened the door. D.J. Hollingsworth then pinch ran for him and advanced to second on a wild pitch. He then stole third before coming home to score two batters later on a perfectly executed squeeze by Krum.
“It’s good to take two of three from these guys and hopefully go into Hudson Valley and keep this streak up,” said Hollingsworth after utilizing his speed to manufacture a little insurance.

“Mike [Gillespie] said he needed me to get to second and hopefully third base. So I did get to third base and they talked to Austin before he went to the plate to be ready for the squeeze. He put it on in a perfect situation and it worked out very nicely.”

After a scoreless eighth from Heyer, the Bombers added one more in the home half thanks to Sublett leading off the frame on a walk and going to third on a Braedyn Pruitt single through the hole. Williams then grounded into a 1-6-3 twin killing which scored Sublett to make it 7-3.

But the game was far from over as Lowell threatened enough in the ninth to force Gillespie to take the ball from Heyer and go to his stopper. With the tying run at the plate twice, Ortiz calmly got Rafael Cabreja swinging and then got just what he needed when Carlos Fernandez-Oliva bounced into a game ending double play.

“He’s unbelievable. I obviously seen Ortiz while in extended Spring Training. Very quiet. Doesn’t really say much. Didn’t throw many innings cause there were a lot more guys there,” Hollingsworth said.

“He’s came out here and just done absolutely outstanding. Closing the door. Coming in with no one on. With people on. Just throwing all his pitches just throwing strikes and doing good things for us.”

“Our pitchers did a good job of staying on top and that helps out because you’re always staying active. That always helps when they throw strikes,” added Wehrle.

Notes: The first 1,500 fans 14 and under took home an autographed Cano poster. … Raber and Snyder led a balanced S.I. attack with two hits apiece. Seven batters registered at least one hit. … The game took a lengthy three hours and 28 minutes due to some sloppiness in the field as the teams combined for five errors (Low-3, SI-2). They also left a combined 63 runners on including almost half coming from Staten Island despite taking their sixth in nine. … Bombers finished their homestand 4-2 and will now travel to Hudson Valley for two of three with one home game Monday night.

One other positive was the effort of starter Ryan Pope, who went the first four and two thirds permitting two unearned on five hits while walking a batter and fanning four.

“Not too bad. I felt good but I could do better,” he noted despite being unable to go the full five to qualify for the win. “I wish I could’ve gone the extra batter but my pitch count got a little too high for me and I had to use too many pitches and I couldn’t help myself out that third time.”

It’s taken a couple of outings but the righthander is coming around.

“The first couple of starts, I was adjusting to my environment and what I was going through from college to now but I feel pretty comfortable with where I’m at now and with what kind of competition I’m seeing.”

During their recent good run, the Staten Island Yankees have shown resiliency coming back to pull games out late.

That was again the case in Thursday night’s come from behind 5-4 victory over Lowell in 11 innings seen by 2,869 at Richmond County Bank Ballpark at St. George.

It was the Baby Bombers’ fifth win in their last seven, vaulting them into a tie with the Spinners for the wildcard. Each team now has identical 24-18 records while Oneonta  (24-19) dropped a half game back with a 5-2 loss to Brooklyn last night.

Trailing by two in their last licks, the Bombers rallied to tie it off Lowell closer Felix Ventura.

After right fielder David Williams started it off with a bunt hit to third, left fielder Austin Krum reached on an E6 by Lowell shortstop Yamaico Navarro allowing the first two runners to reach base. Then first baseman Chris Raber beat out another bunt to load the bases with nobody out to set things up.

Ventura managed to get pinch hitter D.J. Hollingsworth swinging for the first out but he lost the plate against pinch hitter Ryan Wehrle, whose RBI walk sliced the deficit in half.

With one out and the bases still loaded, leadoff man Justin Snyder’s RBI groundout allowed Krum score from third and tie the game. With the winning run 90 feet away, centerfielder Taylor Holiday had a chance to end it but instead bounced out to third which forced extras.

In the 10th, Lowell threatened to go ahead against Staten Island closer Jonathan Ortiz. Yamaico Navarro ledoff with a single to center and then swiped second after Ortiz fanned Tyler Weeden. But with Navarro in scoring position, the Bomber reliever got just what he needed when David Marks lined right back to him to start a 1-6 double play to get out of it.

In the home 10th, the Bombers had two cracks to drive home Braedyn Pruitt from second but Lowell reliever Adam Blackley got Williams and pinch hitter Isaiah Howes swinging.

Ortiz got some help from catcher Jose Gil when he threw out Luis Segovia at third in the next frame to kill another Lowell opportunity.

Staten Island finally won it in the 11th thanks to a couple of more Lowell miscues.

With one out and Hollingsworth on first after beating out another bunt, Blackley threw wildly on a pickoff attempt to move the speedy outfielder into scoring position. He then uncorked a wild pitch which put the winning run 90 feet away.

After Wehrle walked to put runners on the corners, Snyder finally ended it with an infield single to second which allowed Hollingsworth to cross home plate for the walkoff run which got this series started on the right foot.

Notes: Ortiz worked two scoreless to improve to 2-0 on the season. … A big part of the comeback was the relief effort of Jason Kiley. The righthander turned in a valuable four and a third of scoreless work to pickup starter Nick Chigges (3.2 IP, 6 H, 4 ER) and allow his teammates to comeback. Kiley allowed just two hits, walking two and fanning five. … Reliever Daniel Kapala also worked a scoreless ninth before Staten Island rallied to tie it. … Pruitt continued his hot hitting by connecting for his third home run in the first, finishing 2-for-4 with a run scored. … Holiday also went yard in the sixth for his second dinger to put the Bombers within two.
A night removed from a rare 0-for, Snyder finished with three hits to hike his average back up to .375. … Another bright spot was Raber who also finished with three hits. … Each team left 10 runners on in a game which took three and a half hours. … Staten Island plays host to Lowell in the second game later tonight. They’re 3-1 so far on the six-game homestand.

STATEN ISLAND, NY- The Tigers turned on the power switch late to blast past the Baby Bombers 4-2 in 11 innings before 2,302 at Richmond County Bank Ballpark Wednesday night. The game took three hours and 39-minutes.