It was a bad day for the Trail Blazers. They learned that 2007 first overall pick Greg Oden who underwent an exploratory procedure for swelling on his right knee a day before undergoing microfracture surgery Thursday will likely miss the entire 2007-08 season.

The seven foot center was expected to be the cornerstone of a franchise which boasted 2006-07 NBA Rookie of The Year guard Brandon Roy along with promising big man LaMarcus Aldridge.

Instead, the former NCAA First Team selection who helped lead Ohio State to the championship game before falling short against the repeat winning Gators will now have a long recovery period which can take six to even 12 months to get back to full strength from this procedure.

For now, the 19 year-old man child out of Indianapolis will spend the next eight weeks on crutches before starting a grueling rehab.

“Greg looked at me as he was coming out of his surgery, and he and his mom, Zoe, probably said ’sorry’ 20 times,” Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard said.

“I could feel the weight of the world on his shoulders. And as a leader and as leaders of this organization, my first thought was how lucky we were to have a guy that cares about the organization that much.”

Oden, who averaged 15.7 points and 9.6 rebounds during his freshman year did his part against the Gators scoring 25 and pulling down 12 boards in the championship game. But they still came up short.

After only a couple of Las Vegas Summer League games in which he had his foul problems, the center underwent a tonsillectomy in July which kept him out the remainder.

Though Pritchard indicated that Oden had MRI’s taken on both knees before the draft which cameback “pristine,” the former Buckeye recently admitted on his blog that he had some sharp pain during a vacation.

“I didn’t tell anyone because I didn’t want to seem like I was complaining or making excuses for anything. Plus, I wasn’t doing anything at the time I realized it hurt, so I figured it couldn’t be anything big,” he explained.

“We picked the right kid, he cares about his organization. And I can’t (overemphasize) how bad he felt, and not because he had to go through the rehab and all that, but because he felt like he let us down, Pritchard stated, “and he hasn’t let us down at all.”

While that’s definitely true, it’s a disappointment for sure. It’s anyone’s guess how long it could take for Oden to completely recover and be up to speed. For now, just don’t expect to see him anytime soon as the Blazers shouldn’t take any chances with an injury like this.

It’s all about the future in Portland.

While the other Yankee organizational farm teams are done, the Trenton Thunder have been busy chasing their first Eastern League championship.

Thanks to Noah Hall’s clutch walkoff hit in the home ninth, they’re within one win of staking that claim after a come from behind 3-2 victory Wednesday night before 4,380 to hold serve in Game Two as the best-of-five series now shifts to Akron.
With the game tied at two, former 2006 Baby Bomber outfielder Colin Curtis drew a walk to leadoff the inning and advanced to second thanks to a wild pitch by Akron reliever Jim Ed Warden.

Having already come around to score his team’s first run in the fifth, this time the Trenton left fielder was driven in by a Hall RBI single to right getting in just ahead of Wyatt Toregas’ tag which gave the Thunder the big win- putting them up 2-0 in the championship series with three chances to clinch.

It completed a comeback as Trenton rallied for the game’s final three runs in the last five frames.

A half inning before the Aeros got their two runs, the Thunder had threatened by putting the first two runners on courtesy of a leadoff walk to center fielder Austin Jackson and an infield hit by Curtis. Hall came up and bounced into a 6-4-3 double play.

Then consecutive walks to Matt Carson and Cody Ehlers loaded the bases with two out leaving it up to ex-2005 S.I. Yankee catcher P.J. Pilittere but he lined out to center to end it.

Michael Aubrey put Akron ahead in the fourth by doubling in Jordan Brown. He came around to score the second run of the inning on a throwing error by Trenton third baseman Marcos Vechionacci.

After the Aeros stranded a runner at third, Curtis helped get the Thunder a run closer in the fifth by walking and coming around to score the team’s first run thanks to a big two out RBI single from Pilittere which sliced the deficit in half.

The Thunder waited until the final two frantic innings to complete the comeback.

Still trailing by a run in the home eighth, Vechionacci singled and swiped second. Gabriel Lopez followed with a huge one out runscoring double to left which knotted the game. Trenton had two shots to get him in but former 2005 Bomber hero Reegie Corona lined out to right and Jackson struckout swinging to keep the game tied.

Trenton reliever Scott Patterson ran into trouble in the Akron ninth when the first two batters started the inning with hits to put runners on first and second.

But after Cirillo Cumberbatch failed to advance them over by popping out to third, Patterson buckled down by getting the final two hitters swinging which set the stage for the last inning dramatics.

Notes: A former Yankee recall earlier this season for a couple of spot starts, Chase Wright was strong going the first seven for the Thunder allowing two runs (1 ER) on five hits while walking a pair and fanning four. … Michael Gardner worked a perfect eighth K-ing one before Patterson came on for a scoreless ninth to earn his first postseason victory. … Warden took the loss for the Aeros recording just one out against three batters. … Aside from his game-winning hit, Hall paced Trenton with three hits. … Hitting third, Curtis (1-for-2, 3 BB) was on base four times scoring two runs on the night. …The teams are off today due to travel with Game Three at Akron Friday night when Alan Horne gets the ball for Trenton and opposes Jeremy Sowers. … Game One of the NY-Penn League championship series gets underway later tonight as Auburn hosts Brooklyn in the best-of-three series with first pitch after 7 PM.

It had to come to an end some time. That’s exactly what happened Monday night at Key Span Park as the two-time defending NY-Penn League Champion Baby Bombers fell at the hands of their Verrazano rivals the Cyclones 3-1 in a game which featured two lengthy delays due to patchy fog.

The Penn League’s best team during the regular season completed a sweep of the three-game series thanks to outstanding pitching from staff ace Dylan Owen. Despite a two hour delay, the Mets’ 20th round selection who set a Cyclones’ franchise mark with nine wins and a sub-2.00 ERA went the first five scoreless striking out seven Bombers en route to his first victory of the playoffs.

He outpitched rehabbing Yankee pitcher Darrell Rasner whose only tough inning was the third in which he allowed two runs courtesy of a Raul Reyes runscoring double and an RBI single off the bat of Ezequiel Carrera.

The problem was Owen and a tough Brooklyn pen had silenced the Penn League’s second best hitting team in the regular season.

After another hour delay, the Cyclones tacked on a key insurance run off Staten Island reliever Nick Chigges in the home sixth when Game One star Lucas Duda singled home Micah Schilling to give them a three-run lead.

The Bombers would get the tying run to the plate in the seventh with two out but right fielder Matt Morris struckout swinging against Brooklyn reliever Brant Rustich to end the threat.

Down to their final three outs in the ninth, they would get the first two runners on against closer Eddie Kunz when Austin Krum reached on an E4 and Chris Raber singled to put runners on the corners.

Left fielder D.J. Hollingsworth broke up the shutout with a sacrifice fly cutting it to 3-1 which gave his team two cracks with the tying run at the plate. However, Kunz buckled down getting catcher Jose Gil to pop out and Morris to bounce to second for the save which allowed the Cyclones to clinch the series and advance to the Penn-League championship round where they’ll meet Auburn, who held on to edge Oneonta in Game Three tonight 4-3.

The series gets underway with Game One at Auburn Thursday night.

Though the Staten Island Yankees fell short in their attempt to become the first three-peat Penn League winner, they still had a great season and finished with the second best record (47-28) to their archrivals who were just a little better this summer in exacting a measure of revenge for being swept out of last year’s first round by the eventual back-to-back champs.

With promising players such as Justin Snyder, Taylor Holiday, Damon Sublett, Braedyn Pruitt, Ryan Pope, Chris Farley, Dellin Betances, Jason Stephens, Chigges, Ryan Zink, Nick Peterson, Jonathan Ortiz, it should be interesting to follow their minor league careers as they try to progress in the Yankee farm system.

There were many unsung heroes on what was a balanced team which included Krum, Raber, Morris, Hollingsworth, Gil, David Williams, Jason Kiley, Craig Heyer, Kyle Hollander,  Phil Bartleski, Daniel Kapala, Adam Olbrychowski, Zach McAllister, Brian Chavez, Ryan Wehrle, Frank Lonigro, Isaiah Howes, Jacinto Gonell, Fred Jones, Jeff Livek, James LaSala,  Josue Selene, etc.
What made this year’s team so much fun to cover was how together everyone was. They were about as loose a bunch as you’ll ever meet and were very confident in their approach leading to on field success.

It’s hard to exclude anyone because this was a team in every sense of the word.

We wish everyone the very best this offseason and hope to see them continue to progress at Charleston or Tampa.

Thanks to all players and first-year skipper Mike Gillespie and assistants Jeff Ware, Ty Hawkins, Julio Mosquera for making it an enjoyable summer!

Our video of the day comes courtesy of YouTube where the Tampa Bay Lightning mascot decided to have a little Spring Break fun a few months ago.

Tampa Mascot has some fun in sun

-Eli Manning was outstanding in last night’s 45-35 season opening loss at Dallas even impressing ex-teammate turned NBC troll Tiki Barber. The fourth year QB did everything possible to try to carry the Giants to victory, completing 28-of-41 for 312 yards and four touchdowns.

The problem was his team’s D was non-existant allowing Tony Romo to throw for a career best 345 yards and account for five TD’s including one rushing in which he went in untouched by human hand. Ah. Untouched by human hand. An expression which usually isn’t a good thing especially if you’re required to tackle opponents.

Just how dreadful was Big Blue? If you watched just one quarter like we did after getting back from Brooklyn’s 8-4 Game One win over Staten Island, it was enough to make you sick. If missed tackles were in the dictionary, R.W. McQuarters and Sam “I ate too much icecream” Madison would appear next to the terminology.

How are these two washed up players still part of the roster? Apparently, they aren’t doing much good for Corey Webster who’s quickly picking up all their bad habits.

Aside from the awful coverage, the Giants got no pressure on Romo who had enough time to watch Britney Spears’ dismal MTV VMA’s performance. One problem was that key rusher Osi Umenyiora went down to a knee injury. With Michael Strahan back for his first action after missing the entire preseason, the Giants predictably got no pressure on the Dallas QB and paid the price giving up at least 10 plays of 15-or-more yards. Pathetic!

Aside from losing Umenyiora in the first half to a knee injury, Big Blue also lost starting RB Brandon Jacobs (knee) though third string back Derrick Ward (116 total yards) performed well. Plaxico Burress was outstanding torching the Cowboys for 144 yards on eight catches and three scores. Amani Toomer (9 receptions) was excellent in his first game back and Jeremy Shockey caught five passes and ran over some Cowboys.

Offense wasn’t the problem. Even Lawrence Tynes connected on all three field goals including from 48.

The biggest question right now is whether Manning will be in for the home opener against Green Bay in Week Two. Who knows? Last night, he suffered a bruised right shoulder and still came back in to lead a scoring drive before eventually exiting after Romo and Sam Hurd hooked up for a 51-yard score which put the game out of reach.

It’s been reported by ESPN (who else would jump the gun here) that he suffered a separated shoulder but the Giants have denied that Eli will be out a month. So who knows what the truth is?

If he is out, they’re screwed. Would anyone really have faith in Jared Lorenzen? They may as well give Jeff Hostetler a call.

-What happened to Bills TE Kevin Everett is what everyone associated with football fears the most. One can only keep their fingers crossed for him now.
-Speaking of Buffalo, only they could find a way to lose a home opener at the buzzer. Even with Denver having no timeouts, they got a first down and snap off in time for Jason Elam to bury a 42-yard kick with no time left. This isn’t the first time Bills fans have seen their team lose in heartbreaking fashion. It just seems to happen often to this franchise which makes you wonder if they should star in a real life version of Groundhog Day. But who would Bill Murray play? Maybe one of my two Bills buddies who are probably pondering when the nightmare will finally end.

-This just in. … TO just ran by another Giant.

-Which New York D was worse? The Giants or the Jets which allowed 38 points, 431 total yards and 28 first downs to the Pats?

-Gang Green supporters who cheered when Kellen Clemens entered the game for a hobbled Chad Pennington looked bad because of the timing of it. Their star QB looked seriously hurt and still might be even though he heroically returned and led them down the field like a true leader who has more heart than anyone. It’s understood that the fans were lending support to the new guy cause they want to see what he’s got but it looked very bad. That Pennington wouldn’t utter a bad word about the awkwardness of the moment yesterday is a testament to what kind of a person he is. He’ll always be easy to root for.

-If you’re the Jets and even if you’re acting like the Devils when it comes to the injury status of your QB mysteriously referring to him as “day-to-day,” it might be wise to sit him out against Baltimore next week.

-That defense the Packers displayed yesterday against the Eagles just might be good enough to keep them in enough games this season.

-For as well as they shutdown league MVP LaDainian Tomlinson yesterday, the Bears must be wondering about Rex Grossman because 11 incompletions in 23 attempts along with 145 yards and three sacks isn’t going to cut it. Neither are the 42 rushing yards Cedric Benson had while losing two fumbles. Fortunately, they don’t have to play the Chargers anymore. It doesn’t help that they finally get back Tommie Harris and then suffer a blow to the D losing Mike Brown for the season.
-Chad Johnson is a very exciting player on and off the field but could the ESPN commentators stop overdoing it already? It’s enough to make you sick.

-Thirty-three passes for Damon Huard and 10 carries for franchise back Larry Johnson can’t be the game plan for Herm Edwards can it? But hey, he plays to win the game!

-Whoever would’ve believed that Michigan vs Notre Dame would become a toilet bowl game in week three of the college football season?

-Did MTV really think having Britney back on their hideous awards show was a good idea? It’s been over for a while. And try telling me the last time actual music and MTV were relevant.

Earlier this morning, we were delighted to have Staten Island Yankee third baseman Braedyn Pruitt join us for a special edition of Hard Hits.

Selected out of Stetson University, the 14th round pick finished second in the NY-Penn League in hitting batting .347 with four home runs and 32 RBI’s in 51 games mostly as the team’s cleanup hitter.

The 22 year-old out of West Palm Beach, Florida came on to discuss the Bombers’ 8-4 Game 1 defeat to archrival Brooklyn last night at home and what they’ll need to do to turn the tide when the three-game first round series shifts to the other side of the Verrazano Bridge later tonight.

He also talked about his first pro season as well as other team oriented stuff, etc.

Please be sure to go to our host page over at Blogtalk Radio and check out the archive:

Hard Hits

Hope you enjoy it and thanks for the support!

STATEN ISLAND, NY- If first impressions were deadly, then the Cyclones have to be pleased with the position they’ve put themselves in.

A four-run ninth allowed Brooklyn to come from behind and pull out an 8-4 win over the Bombers in Game One of the best-of-three game first round series before 2,313 at Richmond County Bank Ballpark Sunday night.

With the next two games on their turf back in Coney Island, the McNamara’s best team during the regular season is in the driver’s seat with two chances to wrap up the series at Key Span Park with Game Two set for later tonight.

A big reason why they prevailed was the productive bat of left fielder Lucas Duda, who slugged a tying two-run home run in the sixth off Staten Island starter Ryan Pope and later drove home a couple of more in the pivotal ninth off Bomber closer Jonathan Ortiz to give his team some insurance.

With his team trailing by a couple of runs in the sixth, Duda came to the plate thanks to a two out single from Mets rehabbing backup catcher Ramon Castro. It was the Cyclones first hit off Pope since a Raul Reyes RBI single during a two-run second.

Duda didn’t make any mistake on a Pope fastball which was up, hammering it off the black in dead center about 425 feet which tied it.

“Ramon got on. Luckily, I made contact with a fastball. It was just a lucky day,” the outfielder indicated in the winner’s dugout afterwards.

With the game still tied, the Cyclones had a good chance to go ahead in the eighth off Staten Island reliever Ryan Zink. A one out Castro hit put runners on the corners but Zink worked out of it by getting Duda swinging and then got some help from shortstop Justin Snyder, who made a diving snag of a sinking Jason Jacobs line drive.

But Zink ran into trouble in the ninth after a one out walk to Matt Bouchard and an infield hit by Reyes which put two runners on.

Staten Island skipper Mike Gillespie didn’t mess around opting to go with his best in Ortiz. But a great at bat by Brooklyn’s Jake Eigsti resulted in a line drive hit to left which loaded the bases.

Then came a key play. Playing for the force at any base, Staten Island nearly caught a break when first baseman Taylor Holiday made a diving scoop of a sharp grounder by Brooklyn’s Ezequiel Carrera. He got up and quickly tossed home to Jose Gil but the throw was in the dirt which made the catcher bobble it. Gil scrambled to get back to the plate but home plate umpire Joe Hannigan ruled Bouchard safe for the go-ahead run.

“[Taylor] Holiday made a good play but the ball was in the dirt and was bobbled. He may or may not have been out,” a disappointed Gillespie expressed after also pondering an earlier call in the inning which was properly ruled backswing interference with Reyes up. He made contact with Gil but by rule, it’s unintentional interference which puts the runner back to first and allows the hitter to get back in the box.

“I just rushed it,” Holiday lamented while sitting at his locker. “I had a little more time than I thought. It’s not the end. Hopefully, we can get two there.”

After a bases loaded walk to Brooklyn second baseman Micah Schilling gave them a two-run lead, Duda delivered another huge hit lacing a two-run single to right which put Brooklyn up 8-4.

“It was a big win for us. He came up with the big hits tonight,” pointed out Eigsti. “All tied up, it was good to get hits and put together some quality at bats.”

“I knew we we’re going to have to do it off Ortiz. We felt like we just needed one run because of our bullpen,” the third baseman noted referring to a Cyclone pen which shutdown the Bomber attack thanks to four combined perfect innings (5th thru 8th) from Will Morgan and Stephen Clyne before closer Eddie Kunz got the final three outs including freezing Holiday to end it with two Staten Island runners on.

“We had a chance early but couldn’t punch a run across,” Gillespie said. “They were excited to play. It was a good effort. Some losses are tougher to take than others.”
His ballclub loaded the bases with one out against Brooklyn starter Mike Antonini in the home first thanks to a couple of infield hits from Snyder and third baseman Braedyn Pruitt sandwiched around Holiday who was beaned. However, right fielder David Williams K’d swinging and center fielder Austin Krum bounced out to second which ended the early threat.

The Cyclones drew first blood getting two runs in the second off Pope when he put the first two runners on via a walk to Jason Jacobs and a J.R. Voyles ground rule double to left.

An infield single to second by Reyes scored the first run. Eigsti followed with a sac fly to center which gave Brooklyn a two-run lead.

The Bombers finally got to Antonini thanks to a two out fourth inning rally. Krum doubled down the left field line which got it started. Then a Gil fly ball double dropped in front of a diving Duda which allowed Krum to score their first run slicing the deficit in half.

They weren’t done as DH Chris Raber’s infield single eluded Bouchard going to the edge of the outfield allowing a hustling Gil to tie the game. Left fielder Matt Morris then connected for a two-run home run driving a pitch over the left field wall which suddenly gave Staten Island a 4-2 lead.

“It was a fastball. Middle in. I put a good swing on it,” Morris later said.

Having settled down, Pope retired 11 straight Cyclones including impressively fanning the side in the fifth. He got the first two hitters in the sixth before Castro’s hit and Duda’s big blow turned the tide.

“Maybe losing the first game will light a fire under us. It’s win or go home,” Snyder stated as he packed for tomorrow’s game after finishing with two hits and a walk.
“We’ve had good character all year long never giving up,” Raber added after a hit, RBI and run scored in four at bats.

“I’m anxious to see how we come out,” Snyder added. “We’ve got a good chance. We pitch well, field and hit.”
They’ll find out what they’re made of starting tonight.

Notes: Pope went the first six allowing four earned on four hits while walking two and striking out four. … Zink took the loss falling to 0-1 after giving up two runs (1 ER) in two and a third walking two and K-ing one. … Despite the lengthy Brooklyn ninth, the game still took less than three hours to complete. … Castro finished 2-for-3 with a walk and run scored. … Retiring all six batters he faced in the seventh and eighth, Clyne (1-0) picked up the win for Brooklyn. … Gillespie indicated that the Game Two starter will be rehabbing Yankee pitcher Darrell Rasner, who will oppose Brooklyn ace Dylan Owen.

What would an NFL Week One be without it?

1.How bad are the Browns? Already down 17 to the Steelers at the Dawg Pound, they probably are making Cleveland fans wish they never got another NFL franchise. Either that or they’re all hoping the Indians finally have what it takes to win their first World Series since 1948.

2.Randy Moss looks pretty good so far against the Jets. Will he still be motivated when the weather turns much colder in December?

3.New CBS studio analyst if you can call ex-Steeler coach Bill Cowher that says the Bears will disappoint and miss Thomas Jones. Judging from this first half, they’re sure missing the new Jets RB. Maybe they should focus more on his chin. Well, maybe not.

4.Apparently, Pats’ TE Ben Watson was jacked up for this first game. After catching a go-ahead TD from Tom Brady, he gave a loud scream which we couldn’t really understand. Maybe he was trying to awaken the Browns offense. Well, some things aren’t possible. And of course, what was a clear touchdown now has to be reviewed for five minutes. We all know what the stripes are really watching and it’s not the instant replay.

5.The real upset so far in this game is not one Fireman Ed sighting. Between him and Dancin’ Larry at Ranger games, I can’t tell them apart. Considering how egotistical both are, they might be related.

6.If they take anymore commercials in this half, that lame new CBS comedy promo might be mistaken for the actual programming. Considering it’s got no chance, it needs all the airtime it can get.

Over/under on how many more times it’s shown: 50

7.And already the loyal Gang Green fans are booing the end of the first half even though their team was terribly outplayed. And the good news is they’re only down a TD. If not for the NE holder on a FG attempt doing his best Tony Romo impersonation, it could be a lot worse.

8.Alex Rodriguez hit yet another home run making it four in the past three days for his ML leading 52nd. Will the Yankee third baseman pass Roger Maris to set a new single season record in Pinstripes? One thing is certain. He better save a few of these for October.

9.That throw by new Atlanta QB Joey Harrington was so bad, I could’ve made the Falcons and thrown it. Try telling my Jersey pal Rob about it in North Carolina. According to him, Harrington is better than Daunte Culpepper. Something tells me he might want to rethink that while on vacation.

10.Can Mike Lupica just once get off his fascination of convicting every baseball player because his co-workers did all the research on Rick Ankiel? The St. Louis Cardinal real life version of Roy Hobbs is already being judged by this tool. It’s far too early for that. Does it look good that his name was on the list for HGH in 2004? No. But why every time someone gets mentioned does he have to lead with it in all his articles? It’s almost as bad as his anti-Yankee gimmick.

11.Ellis Hobbs returns the 2nd half kick an NFL record 108 yards on about five Jets’ missed tackles to put the Pats up two scores. Why is it necessary for him to point? Does he think it’s cool? I’m sure the people at Bristol are getting off on it right now cause it’s a beloved Patriot. Who cares about sportsmanship?

12.The more you watch Jones try to run on this New England D, he looks like Blair Thomas which isn’t why the Jets acquired him from Chicago. Maybe it’s just rust from missing preseason or maybe it’s the Pats D. But he looks slow.

13.And already Pennington is hurt after a sack and limping to the sidelines. Poor guy just can’t catch a break. It looked pretty serious. The Jets fans cheered Kellen Clemens but it looked bad because their No.1 QB who has led them to postseasons just went down. My guess is that they wanted to show support for Clemens and not cheer because he was hurt as Phil Simms pointed out. But the timing was off.

14.Story of the day comes courtesy of AOL News where country singer Sara Evans is accused of carrying on multiple affairs by hubby Craig Schelske. It’s said that she might’ve slept with all members of 3 Doors Down. Way to go! Our guess is the doors were locked up quickly before all the action took place. For more on this story, you need only sample some of the reaction:

He sings ok but anybody who could sleep with Kenny C is hard up. that guy has a face that would be hard for even a mother to love. He is Fugly ugly

YOU CANT MAKE A DOG CHANGE HIS OR HER SPOTS

When Britney Spears opens the CMA Country Music Awards show, have her kiss Sara Evans, , , THAT would be HOT.

You got to love it!

15.It says here that Novak Djokovic has a chance today to beat Roger Federer for the U.S. Open and deny history as the top ranked Swiss aims for four straight Opens.

16.Line of the day from Simms on a Brady TD pass to Moss:

“He had so much time, he could’ve been a javelin thrower.”

When you have the ex-Giant calling the opposing QB “a statue” and it’s good news for them unlike former retired quarterback Drew Bledsoe, that’s not a ringing endorsement for the D.

17.Can the Williams Family invent anymore excuses about why they lost to eventual Open champ Justine Henin? It all stems from their father Richard who apparently believes nobody is better than his daughters. He also probably believes in the tooth fairy.

18.With Pennington somehow back in and driving his team to a score, you have to give the QB tons of credit. He looked seriously hurt and definitely is limping but nobody has more heart.

19.Five shutout innings against Houston and in line for his second victory is pretty good for Pedro Martinez but 92 pitches isn’t for two reasons:

A.The Mets pen isn’t that good.

B.He’ll be facing better teams in October.

20.Does anyone want to win the NL Central? Last year, at least the Cards got to 83 wins.

21.Over/under on how many times Tiki Barber mentions the Giants during the NBC halftime show:  20

But remember. He’s over them.

STATEN ISLAND, NY- With their playoff standing already set as the wildcard, the Staten Island Yankees fell to Tri-City 11-2 in the regular season finale before a packed house of 5,969 at Richmond County Bank Ballpark Friday night.

With a couple of days before they host Game One against their bitter Verrazano rivals the Brooklyn Cyclones, Staten Island manager Mike Gillespie opted to use eight pitchers including starters Jason Stephens and Zach McAllister.

Stephens was a member of the 2005 championship team and has looked very sharp since returning from Tommy John surgery. He allowed two runs on four hits including back-to-back runscoring singles from Russell Dixon and Cat Everett to give the Valley Cats a 2-0 lead.

After the Bombers got their only pair of runs in the home first courtesy of sac flies off the bats of RBI leader Damon Sublett and recent Penn League Player of The Week Austin Krum, McAllister came in and got tagged for six runs (all earned) in just one and two thirds while walking three and uncorking a wild pitch.

The outing was far from pretty but didn’t really matter since he and his teammates knew that they’ll be facing a familiar opponent when the NY-Penn League playoffs begin this Sunday.

“They’re tough,” said the 2006 third round pick after the game at his locker. “We’ve played so many times. Whoever pitches well, makes less errors, has good D and timely hitting will win. One little play gets runs across.”

“We know what to expect. It’s good for the fans. It’s put up or shut up,” added third baseman Braedyn Pruitt who finished 1-for-3 winding up at .347 for the summer before Ryan Wehrle replaced him at the hot corner.

There’s no love lost between the two rivals. But the Staten Island side was keeping everything in perspective.

“We got to play our game. Pitch. Defense. Timely hits,” first baseman Chris Raber explained after an 0-for-2 night. “It’s playoffs. Either win or go home.”

Krum chose to focus on just reaching this point.

“After the break, we set ourselves a goal and met it to get to this position,” the center fielder stated after making a splendid diving catch to rob a Tri-City batter of a certain hit in one of the middle innings before they tacked on three off reliever Jacinto Gonell in the eighth to pad their victory.

“Anything can happen. It’s going to be fun. Two good teams. We split during the regular season. It should be a very good series,” Krum noted. Staten Island held the recent edge taking three of five this past week which got them even with Brooklyn with each ballclub winning seven of the 14 games.

Now, it’s all on the line.

“It’s pretty big. The first game will be huge. Especially since the next two are at their field,” right fielder Matt Morris said after an 0-for-4 night. “But it doesn’t matter if they’re our rivals. We just got to beat them.”

“It’ll be nice. A familiar setting against a team we’re familiar with,” middle relief specialist Ryan Zink pointed out as he stood next to a few teammates watching some of the Yankees’ 3-2 win over the Royals. “It’s been a lot of fun.”

Game One starter Ryan Pope seemed raring to go in anticipation of the big series against a club the Baby Bombers have eliminated in the first round each of the past two years en route to their third and fourth championships.

“I’m excited to get it going and ready to get the first win,” he said after charting pitches on his day off after getting some work in the previous night. “Brooklyn is a good team. It’s a test against them. We were 7-7 during the regular season. Now we’ll see who’s the best.”

Reliever Nick Peterson knows a little about what the postseason is like after having helped pitch last year’s club to a successful repeat as a setup man before closer Mark Melanchon slammed the door on Tri-City in a deciding Game Three last year.

“These guys are our biggest rival. It’s more exciting,” he explained after striking out the side for a scoreless fifth to finish his year without giving up a run in seven appearances while saving a pair and fanning 12 in eight innings.

Maybe the wise seasoned vet summed it up best:

“Nothing feels better than beating your rival.”
Notes: Leadoff hitter Justin Snyder finished two hits shy of a new franchise season mark behind former shortstop Eduardo Nunez whose 88 still are the most. Snyder’s double in the first however helped him overtake Wilmer Pino for the highest single season batting average. He finished at .335 which was nine points better than the former Penn-League All-Star second baseman from last year’s championship team. … Sublett’s sacrifice fly in the home first left hime one shy of matching Mitch Jones’ 2000 record of 54 RBI’s.

Get your playoff tix: Tickets are still available for Sunday’s home playoff game against division rival Brooklyn. They can be purchased at the box office or online at Ticketmaster. Start time for Game One against the Cyclones is just after 5 PM.

STATEN ISLAND, NY- On a night where a few of his teammates were honored before the game, Braedyn Pruitt’s star shined brightest in a Baby Bomber come from behind 4-3 victory over Tri-City at Richmond County Bank Ballpark Thursday night.

The Staten Island third baseman’s two-run home run capped a three-run rally in the home sixth and his eighth inning RBI single to center completed the comeback, lifting the Bombers to their third consecutive win and a season best 20 games over .500 (47-27).

“We hit the ball hard early into a little bad luck,” said team MVP Justin Snyder who shifted from short to second and also drove in his team’s first run. “We hit enough thanks to people like Pruitt who stepped up.”
Trailing by three runs in a game which manager Mike Gillespie rotated guys in and out including letting Game 1 starter Ryan Pope pitch the first inning to stay sharp for this Sunday, the Bombers fell behind the Valley Cats by three early.

Collin DeLome tripled in the first run and later scored on a runscoring base hit from Russell Dixon in the first. Craig Corrado tacked on a run with an RBI single off Chris Farley in the fourth to give Tri-City a three-run lead.

Still down three in the sixth, right fielder Matt Morris got the comeback started with an opposite field leadoff triple. He came into score a batter later on an RBI fielder’s choice from Snyder.

“I was just trying to find a way to get on base,” he said. “I had to battle and got a pitch I can use. It’s been a battle lately.”

Center fielder Taylor Holiday who earlier made a great sliding catch to prevent a hit singled up the middle to bring the tying run up. Following pinch hitter Brian Chavez’ routine fly to left, Pruitt stepped up to the plate against Tri-City starter Thomas Vessella and drove a pitch to deep right which kept carrying and eventually bounced off the top of the wall and over for a game tying two-run homer.

“I got a little help from the wind. I wasn’t sure. It was a favorable bounce,” he chuckled in the dugout of his fourth dinger.

Pruitt would also come up in a key situation a couple of innings later and once again deliver the big hit.

Holiday walked to start the eighth and was sacrificed over by Brian Chavez setting the stage for the third baseman, who got enough of a Jordan Powell pitch to line it into center for the go-ahead run.

“I was looking for something over the middle of the plate. I was jammed a little on the first pitch and got a little lucky.”

Already having recorded the final out of the eighth, Staten Island Firemen recipient Jonathan Ortiz pitched around a leadoff walk, improving to 5-0 when he got Brandon Barnes to chase a nasty offspeed pitch out of the zone for the final out with the tying run 90 feet away.

Backup catcher Frank Lonigro calmly tossed to first baseman Chris Raber to officially conclude the game.

Cyclones clinch McNamara Division: With the Cyclones rallying in their final at bat to tie Lowell before eventually pulling out a 3-2 win in 11, Brooklyn wrapped up the McNamara Division and most likely will see the Bombers who took the wildcard in the first round.

If Brooklyn wins later tonight, they’ll clinch the NY-Penn League’s best record and top seed. But if they lose and Auburn wins their final game, then the Doubledays would overtake them.

Snyder named Team MVP: Before the game, team awards were handed out including Team MVP which went to leadoff hitter Snyder.

One of two All-Stars who represented the club last month at Aberdeen, he’s established franchise records in walks (58) and runs scored (67) while setting the tone for the Bombers hitting over .330 while being extremely versatile in the field playing four different positions including center, third, short and second.

“I’m happy I got it,” he said later at his locker. “My approach is to get on-base for Taylor, Damon [Sublett], Braedyn and Jose [Gil].”

It’s worked wonders as the college star out of San Diego who frequently batted first there has continued to be a nuisance for opponents all summer long.

Meanwhile, Pope was awarded Pitcher of the Year. A third round pick out of Savannah College of Art and Design, the righthander has pitched extremely well for the Bombers going 3-0 with a 2.49 ERA having fanned 46 batters in 43-plus.

“It’s alright. I didn’t expect it,” he explained at his locker. “I’ve never received anything like this before. So it feels good to be recognized.”

Ortiz also took home the award for top Fireman. The closer has been outstanding saving 13 games while posting a perfect 5-0 record with a 1.80 ERA.

In 21 games, the 21 year-old out of the Dominican Republic has fanned 39 in 25 innings and has allowed just a .173 batting average against.

Catcher James LaSala was awarded the club’s most fan friendly player for this year signing plenty of autographs for fans.