On Wednesday however, the towering righty reclaimed the effectiveness he had through his first five starts this season, hurling eight scoreless innings in a 2-0 Brooklyn win.

“We played a good game tonight,” said Cyclones manager Edgar Alfonzo. “We got good pitching, defense and hitting. I told these guys during the game that they can do this and they came through.”

Unlike Tuesday night, where the team managed only six hits and one run, the Mets Single-A affiliate’s offense was alive and kicking, getting two runs in the fifth, courtesy of RBI doubles by Sean Ratliff and Matt Smith.

Armed with a two-run lead, Shaw’s masterful performance then lead the way, as Brooklyn needed no more offense to come up with a win.

Keeping the score at 2-0 into the final frame, Brooklyn Closer Stephen Clyne stepped on the mound and got Vermont in order, successfully bouncing back after a pair of bad outings, effectively and quickly securing a 2-0 win.

“We feel really good,” said Ratliff. “We’ve won three out of our last four and Shaw pitched great tonight. He kept their hitters off-balance and it felt good to give him the support he needed. It was very motivating for us.”

Putting Tuesday night’s 6-1 loss behind them, Brooklyn heads into the rubber game of this three-game series with Vermont with a renewed vigor and intensity.

Still three games under .500 however, this team isn’t ready to rest on it’s laurels.

“Regardless of who got this win, we really needed it,” said Shaw, who threw only 82 pitches and didn’t allow a walk. “If we can get a few more games like this, I think we’ll be a tough team to beat.”

Notes-

Speaking with Zach Lutz before the game, the Clones third baseman believes he should be ready to practice with the team in the next few days. On Tuesday, Alfonzo said that he expected Lutz to be out up to a month with a hematoma in his right quad. Last night, Alfonzo said that he could be back in two weeks at the earliest.

2007 Cyclone JR Voyles started at third base tonight, but was unable to jump start the offense, going 0-4. Hitting .216 in St. Lucie this season, the utility infielder who wowed fans with his bat early last season with several walk-off hits and earning the nickname “J-RBI” for his efforts, is just looking to get some at bats and be a factor.

“I wasn’t playing much in St. Lucie,” he said. “I just want to help this team win anyway I can.”

Eric Campbell started tonight at left field, a position he hasn’t played much since High School. Nevertheless, the 21-year-old made a great play to start the game and with nine RBI and an uber-solid .385 on-base percentage, he’s a player Alfonzo wants in the lineup.

“He’s going to be playing there more,” he said.

Photos by Ron Hatcher.

However, the Washington Nationals Single-A affiliate had their own agenda last night, stifling the supposedly surging Brooklyn offense and limiting them to only six hits in a 6-1 Cyclones loss.

Now four games under .500, the Baby Bums know that even without offensive stars Zach Lutz and Reese Havens, both of whom are still nursing injuries and will be out for at least a month, the team needs to be able to offensively support the solid starting pitching they’ve gotten so far this season.

“We can’t make any excuses,” said catcher Jordan Abruzzo. “We have to just keep plugging and have the confidence in the people we have. I know we do. Today, we came out flat and tomorrow we know we have to come out with the intensity we had in Staten Island. We know what we have to do.”

Tuesday’s starter, Jeff Kaplan [1-0, 2.70 ERA in four appearances] has been solid the majority of the season, but wasn’t on his game tonight, giving up four hits and three runs through his first two innings pitched.

But before he could settle down, Kaplan was yanked in favor of righty groundball specialist Tim Stronach, who hurled two scoreless innings before giving up a bases-loaded double in the fifth that doubled the Lake Monsters lead to 6-0.

“He had good stuff, but in that inning, he was aiming the ball instead of throwing,” said Alfonzo. “He got in trouble because of that.”

Over their past two games, the Mets Single-A affiliate has scored 11 runs, making it appear like the offense had finally bounced back after a string of mediocre performances last week in Oneonta. Vermont starter Pat McCoy [1-2, 4.88 ERA in five starts] was sharp however and limited Brooklyn to only three hits in 4.1 innings of work.

The Baby Bums did have offensive chances in the game however, chasing McCoy out of the game in the fifth with a bases-loaded opportunity with only one out against Vermont reliever Randy Matias. However, like most of the season, the Cyclones were unable to cash in with runners in scoring position, as a John Servidio strikeout and Ike Davis foul out kept Brooklyn down 6-0.

After a shaky fifth, Stronach then redeemed himself by throwing a scoreless sixth and seventh. Erik Turgeon came into the game in eighth and kept Vermont scoreless the rest of the game, but the offense failed to come up with any real support.

With the bases loaded and one out in the eighth, Brooklyn cashed in, but it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t pretty either, as a Jake Eigsti walk with the bases juiced finally got the Cyclones on the board. That was the only offense the team could muster however, going silent in the ninth in a 6-1 loss.

Just two days after one of their best offensive performances at home this season, Brooklyn still seems unable to produce at Keyspan Park on a consistent basis. Slowly beginning to understand that every game at home is becoming increasingly important, the Clones admit they are running out of excuses.

“They had plenty of opportunities to score a lot of runs tonight,” said Alfonzo. “I was disappointed in their effort.”

Notes-

According to Alfonzo, both Reese Havens and Zach Lutz will be out for at least a month, nursing a pulled groin and a strained quad respectively.

Before the game, Lutz said he’d be out a week and wasn’t available after the game to comment on his updated status.

Video:

Ike Davis robbed in foul territory by Lake Monsters third baseman Steve Souza.

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Photos by Ron Hatcher. Video by Patrick Hickey Jr.

In a move more expected of a veteran hockey team, the Baby Bums, a team full of clean-shaved and fresh faced 21-year-olds, decided that the only way to change their fortunes this season was by growing mustaches.

Coming off of a 7-4 win on Monday, the move seems to be working in their favor.

“A few days ago, the whole team came to the conclusion that we needed to change something,” said outfielder John Servidio, who had a hit and two RBI with a few sprinkles of blossoming black upper-lip hair on Monday. “So all of us decided to grow mustaches.”

While the young and now more mature-looking Clones believe they are be setting new ground in their current cosmetic endeavor, using facial hair as a way to induce victories at Keyspan Park has been done in Brooklyn before.

In 2006, Brooklyn hitting coach Scott Hunter held a “best porno-star mustache” competition that alongside “clucky” a rubber chicken [Don't Ask], brought the team together in time for a surprise playoff run after a miserable start. French Canadian third baseman Ivan “Oppo Pop” Naccarata took the crown in the competition that season in a landslide that turned the Keanu Reeves lookalike into a young Captain Jack Sparrow.

Like the team of two years ago, these Baby Bums have also gotten off on the right foot with their new looks. With their bristled upper lips, these Brooklyn Cyclones are 1-0 since they threw out their razors.

As a result, the team’s confidence has seemingly gone through the roof.

However, while players like Servidio, Ike Davis and Jimmy Johnson currently have the seedlings of what may eventually turn out to be mustaches of Ron Burgundy-esque proportions, backup first baseman Jeffries Tatford is setting the bar pretty high with what looks to be the beginning of a killer ’stache.

“I’m enjoying this,” said Tatford, who already looked like a young Ringo Star with his flowing jet black locks and now looks like he’s on the CD cover of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band with the rest of the ‘fab four.’ “The first couple of days have been good, but I think it’ll show better in a few days. I’m prepared to take this as far as I have to. My girlfriend isn’t here and I’m not out to impress anyone.”

Tatford isn’t the only one on the team that has met this new challenge with some resistance however.

“I called my girlfriend up and told her I was growing a mustache,” said lefty reliever Jimmy Johnson with a smirk on his face not seen since the first week of the season when the Cyclones were challenging for first place. “She said, ‘No you’re not.’ I then told her that I was because she’s not here and it’s staying, so we’ll see how long it lasts. I’m going to keep it until we start going bad. When we do, it’ll be off before I get here.”

Cyclones manager Edgar Alfonzo, while admitting he knew nothing about the team’s scheme, was elated with the team’s performance on Monday and sees it as a new beginning for his team.

If it was because of the added weight to their upper-lips, that’s of no difference to him.

“Hey, what ever works for them,” said Alfonzo with a laugh. “I didn’t know anything about this.”

Link:

Box Score to Last Night’s 4-1 Cyclones win

Breaking News:  5:00 P.M.

On my way to Keyspan Park today, I stumbled across one Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez, who was on his way out and into a nearby car. When I got into the press box, I checked today’s roster and he wasn’t on it. I’ll try and find out anything I can, as soon as I can.

Breaking News: 7:00 P.M.

Chatting with DemBrooklynBums.com before tonight’s game with the Vermont Lake Monsters, Zach Lutz told the media that he will be out for at least a week, recovering from a hematoma on his right quad he had drained in Manhattan today.

“I’m kind of in the dumps,” he said. “But I’m trying to stay positive.”

Update 8:30 P.M.

New Podcast is up. A special thanks goes out to Daily News Writer and Wave of Long Island Sports Editor Elio Velez for lending a helping hand this week.

Click Here to Listen!

Photos by Ron Hatcher

The answer?

Grow mustaches.

Sporting five o’clock shadows and the beginning of what may eventually turn into a fine collection of young upper-lip hair, the Baby Mets pounced on their cross-borough rivals on Sunday, smacking them around for seven runs and 11 hits in a 7-4 win.

“We needed this after last night’s game,” said Brooklyn skipper Edgar Alfonzo. “We came out hard and got really good pitching and some big hits.”

Both starting pitchers, Brooklyn’s Jenry Mejia and Staten Island’s Luke Grienke were solid early on, keeping both team’s hitless through the first inning. Grienke ran into serious trouble in the second however, surrendering an RBI single from Eric Campbell and a bases loaded walk to John Servidio.

That signaled the end of Grienke’s day, as he was replaced by righty Jason Kiley with no outs in the second. The Clones roughed up Kiley as well however, adding another run to the scoreboard after Caesar Cordido grounded into a bases loaded double play and gave the Mets Single-A affiliate a 3-0 lead.

Brooklyn wasn’t done producing offensively however, as a Servidio RBI single and a two-run double from Cordido in the fourth stretched the lead to 6-0. Matt Smith, an infielder on a rehab assignment from St. Lucie also became a factor, hitting an RBI single of his own, which gave the Baby Bums a 7-0 lead.

“We got the monkey off our backs tonight,” said Smith. “We’ve been one hit or one pitch away from winning a few ball games lately. We really needed this.”

Unlike his two previous starts at Keyspan, Mejia managed to keep his composure after the third, surrendering only one hit and striking out nine in only five innings of work.

However, Erik Turgeon came out of the Brooklyn bullpen in the sixth and lasted only one out after giving up a Brian Baisley sacrifice fly that finally got Staten Island on the scoreboard. Southpaw Jimmy Johnson was then summoned from the bullpen and calmed things down, retiring the next two hitters he faced and keeping the score at 7-1.

Johnson continued to pitch into the eighth after a scoreless seventh and struck out two, keeping Brooklyn in the driver’s seat at 7-1 with only an inning and a half left to play. Things then got spicy in the ninth as setup man Yury Santana came into the game and continued his erratic play as of late, giving up three runs, all with two outs, before retiring Brian Chavez on strikes with the tying run in the on-deck circle, giving the Clones a 7-4 win.

Winning only their third game since Jul. 7, the Clones will head back to Staten Island for the rubber game of the three-game series. Confident the offense will continue to produce, Alfonzo sees the victory as a turning point for his team.

“After we lost on Saturday, the team was really mad,” said Alfonzo. “I was hoping for a response like this at some point in the season and after they let it all out, I told them that the season starts today. If we get a few wins now, we’re still in this thing. It’s up to them.”

Notes-

Cyclones shortstop Reese Havens is expected to be out for at least 10 games with what Alfonzo said was a pulled groin.

Third baseman Zach Lutz is also back on the shelf, nursing a variety of injuries, including a strained quad, sore lower back and right ankle. No timetable was given to when the Cyclones leading-hitter will be back in the lineup.

Video-

Matt Smith strikes out in the first.

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Cesar Cordido RBI double.

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Photos by Ron Hatcher. Videos by Patrick Hickey Jr.

While their stats alone don’t attest to how valuable they were on the team, their character, passion and candor on the field made all three special players in one way or another.

The so-called “funny” guy on the team, Richey was never given a real opportunity to play shortstop when Mets first round pick Reese Havens went down with an injury and in part-time duty, amassed only 9 hits in 40 ABs. Nevertheless, the 22-year-old, who spoke fluent Spanish, made sure that the handful of Latino players on the team were never out of the loop and did his best to make them feel comfortable on the bench.

A devastating power hitter during his college career at St. Johns, Vogl never recovered from a late-season slump last season that sent his batting average to a mediocre .240. This season, it looked like Vogl would stick around as the team’s fourth outfielder, but with John Servidio being recalled and Darren Clark sent to Brooklyn, the 24-year-old’s time in the organization was numbered. Known for his grit and clutch hitting, Vogl too set an example while on the field, never letting up, even when times were dark.

Of the three players released, Kawal was the only one that could say he was an All-Star with the Cyclones. Hitting .302 with 14 RBI in only 32 games last season, Kawal was a NYPL All-Star and was quickly climbing the organization’s depth chart. As a matter of fact, many saw the 23-year-old as the team’s leader heading into the 2008 season. However, just like Vogl, Kawal too was lost in the shuffle in the Keyspan outfield.

Releasing the trio in an effort to rehash the roster and turn the season around, the Cyclones were hoping some new faces would brighten the increasing dark skies around Keyspan Park this season. Going 2-8 in their past ten games, the moves have done little to ignite the team’s mediocre offense.

Some players still seem affected by the moves as well.

“It’s tough because you form bonds with these guys,” Brooklyn catcher Jordan Abruzzo, who played with Richey in Kingsport and Kawal and Vogl in Brooklyn last season, said. “You’re with them everyday and then you have to see them go. It’s like losing a brother, but that’s the business side of it. You keep in touch with them though. Kawal has been texting me to see how I’m doing, but it’s still tough to see him go.”

Others, while still hoping the trio finds a new home in professional baseball, are indifferent to it.

“This is baseball, it happens,” said Clones reliever Stephen Clyne, who also played in Brooklyn with Vogl and Kawal last season. “With all the new faces after the draft, some old faces had to go. Those guys are all good players, so I’m sure they’ll find a job somewhere else.”

Cyclones manager Edgar Alfonzo on the other hand, finds himself somewhere in the middle. Trying to turn around what may end up being his first losing season at the helm in Brooklyn, knows that changes had to be made in order to get his team, which as been struggling mightily all season at the plate, the firepower it needs to win.

That doesn’t mean he wanted to see the trio go though.

“It’s always hard for me to release players,” said Alfonzo. “Especially when you spend two years with those guys. The front office made those roster moves and they’re trying to bring in better players and win here. There’s nothing I can do about it. I hope they find a job somewhere else. It’s hard to be face to face with a player and tell them to go home. But this is professional baseball and we have to make tough decisions like these.”

Link:

Box Score to Last Night’s 5-4 Cyclone loss

Photos by Ron Hatcher.