Hitting .270 going to into the second half of the season, Sam Honeck was a New York Penn League All-Star, but hit a disastrous .176 after the break.

Clones outfielder Luis Rivera had 66 hits in as many games and amassed an uber solid OBP of .402.

In spite of only playing in 49 games this season, outfielder John Servidio shared the team lead in homers with Nick Santomauro with six. Santomauro only played in 45 games.

In spite of setting a new team record with 17 saves this season, Clones Clones Mike Powers have up eight earned runs in his last ten outings.

10- Ezequiel Carrera- Even though he only had a small cup of coffee with the team in 2007, Carrera was like a mini-Ichiro Suzuki, hitting .300 and stealing six bases in 20 games. Stealing 28 bags with St. Lucie last season, he’s definitely someone to watch out for in the future.

9- Corey Coles- Regardless of what I’ve heard about his temperament with the media, it would be unfair to include Cole son this list who hit .278 with ten steals in 2004. Coles hit .342 with St. Lucie a few seasons ago and was part of the deal that brought Angel Pagan back to the Mets. A lifetime .304 hitter at the minor league level, Coles at 25, needs to make an even bigger splash soon if he wants to get to the big leagues.

8- Dante Brinkley- A new York Penn-League All-Star in 2004, Brinkley was one of the backbones of that team that season, hitting .316 with 14 steals and 30 RBI.

7- Kirk Nieuwenhuis- One of my all-time favorites. What Nieuwenhuis lacked in sheer power last season, he made up for with speed, great defense and a great attitude. Tying the team’s single season record in hits, Nieuwenhuis is another player to keep an eye on in the future.

6- Joe Holden- One of the team’s most popular players, the speedy Holden won the Sterling Award as the team’s top player in 2005 and then came back in 2006 and showed the fans he had some pop in his bat.

5- Caleb Stewart- Big Stew is a power hitter, no doubt about it. In a season and a half in Brooklyn in 2004 and 2005, the behemoth hit 10 homers and drove in 57 RBI.

4- Dustin Martin- Of all the guys I’ve mentioned so far, Martin may have the brightest future. The only real offensive force for the Clones in 2006, the trade that sent Martin and Drew Butera to the Twins for Luis Castillo may go down as one of the worst trades in Cyclones and maybe even Mets history. This kid is a stud and once he gets to the bigs, he’ll be a more than solid outfielder who can steal bags and hit for contact.

3- Ambiorix Concepcion- The enigma. Everyone knew that Concepcion was going to have a hard time duplicating the numbers he had in Brooklyn in 2004, when he hit .305 with eight homers and 46 RBI, but no one thought he’s be middling his way through the organization.

2-Angel Pagan- The team best overall outfielder in my min, Pagan was a singles machine in Brooklyn with 75 hits in 2001. He’s also the team’s all time single season stolen base leader with 30…in only 62 games.

1- Frank Corr- Say what you want about this final choice, but this guy was the team’s Frank Thomas [the white guy that played for the 62 Mets that led the team in homers]. Their first power hitter, Corr hit 13 homers and drove in 45 with 21 doubles in only 62 games in 2001. If that isn’t impressive, I don’t know what is.

Photo by Conroy Walker.

Ask any journalist in the world how that feels and they’ll all say the same thing: amazing.

With that being said, I was thrilled once the season started because I could finally cover the team the way I truly wanted to. I could challenge myself to not only write, but report on the same team, everyday of the season. It was something that I was pretty close to doing the previous two years I covered the team, but once the team went on the road, I wrote about the offseason goings on of the Islanders, Jets and Nets. This season, while I did write more than my fair share of pieces on those teams, I was the only reporter covering the team that wrote everyday about them. I scooped every local newspaper and website I don’t write for several times in the process. I know the past few sentences sound a bit arrogant, but it feels good to truly know that you did a good job.

When I decided to embark on a journalism career almost five years ago, I knew the hours were going to stink and that I wouldn’t have as much time to spend with my friends and family. Nonetheless, I went down this path because I felt it was my duty to write for the people. This season, this blog’s mission was the same. Over the years, I’ve seen so many horrible articles written about this team, from local newspapers that don’t even go to the games or good ones by great writers such as Jim Dolan, Elio Velez and Ed Shakespeare that never get the credit they deserve because of small circulations and mediocre websites.

With that being said, I knew that if I reached out to the Cyclone fan base and gave them a daily-updated site, chock full of my work, they’d read it. Dozens of my friends thought I was crazy for it, but in the end, we all proved them wrong, right? This team was so much fun to write about and each and every player took time out for me to interview them. Some of them weren’t the talking type, but together they trusted me to tell their story and I appreciate it. At certain points of the season, it was obvious they didn’t want to talk to anyone, but they acted like true professionals and allowed me to get the information I needed out to you guys. There are no words I can ever say that can truly grasp how important that was to the development of this site.

These guys play 76 games in 81 games and on top of that are asked to have smiles on their faces [Sean Ratliff will always be the king of funny faces though] and be cordial to the media. It’s not an easy job guys. Despite the fact that I truly believe this team had the talent to “win the whole damn thing,” they were all classy guys and I’m sure we’ll see a few of them in the big leagues in the next few years, making this year one of the best in the team’s history, even if they didn’t make the playoffs.

Anyway, this went a little longer than expected. Hope I didn’t put anyone to sleep.

Notes-

Just because the season is over, don’t expect this site to just shut down either. I have done so many interviews this season and have so much information that I plan to post 1-2 articles a week to keep you guys in the loop. I also have dozens of numbers of former Clones that I will interview over the winter and spring, which should satisfy any hunger you have for Brooklyn baseball.

I am also working on a book on the team this season, which I plan to have finished by the end of the year. Over the next few months, I will be putting all the pieces together so everyone knows as much about this season’s team as humanely possible. They were a great group of guys from all over the country and the funny stories and situations they were in was like something out of “Bull Durham.” I am confident that his book will bring all those funny and entertaining moments together in a work that will be one of the most comprehensive works ever written about a minor league baseball team.

My photographer, Ron Hatcher is also working on a picture book, filled with all the great photos he took this season, in coffee-table book format, for of course, your viewing pleasure.

When they are released, you guys will get all the details.

As well, I will be appearing on Mike Silva’s NY Baseball Digest @ six P.M. tomorrow. You can listen online at NYBaseballDigest.com. I will be discussing the team this season and whatever Mike wants to chat about.

This year didn’t end the way many of you guys would have liked it, but it was a fun year nonetheless.

To everyone that commented on the site or e-mail me during the season to tell me how much they enjoyed my writing or Ron’s pictures, thank you. For everyone else, thank you as well, you pushed us to work even harder and made us better people and professionals by season’s end.

Photos by Ron Hatcher.

With three RBI on the night, the Jordan Abruzzo-powered Clones kept their magical playoff carpet ride alive for another night, defeating Hudson Valley 5-3.

“We’re in good shape right now,” said Abruzzo. “We’re confident and everything is coming together right now. You can see it coming.”

Hudson Valley got on the board in the top of the first after a Jacob Jefferies RBI single off Brooklyn starter Chris Schwinden that scored lead-off hitter Robi Estrada and gave the Renegades an early 1-0 lead.

Not looking like the same pitcher that made the NY-Penn League All-Star team a weeks ago early on, Schwinden knew he had to make a few adjustments.

“The wind was blowing pretty good and I was trying to nibble at the hitters,” said Schwinden. “After the first, Fonzie told me to pitch to contact and it ended up working for me.”

The Clones got some help soon after, as Hudson Valley starter Chris Andujar coughed the lead over the next half inning, giving up a pair of RBI singles from Eric Campbell and Abruzzo and putting the Mets Single-A affiliate up 2-1.

After Schwinden and Andujar threw scoreless frames in the second, Hudson Valley catcher Frank Mollicone got tied the score at 2-2 in the third with a RBI single. The Baby Bums then answered back quickly in the fourth, after a Kirk Nieuwenhuis RBI double scored Josh Satin and gave Brooklyn a 3-2 lead.

In the fifth, the Clones added to their lead with an Abruzzo two-run homer off Hudson Valley reliever Neil Schenk, which put them ahead 5-2.

“I told Schwinden earlier in the game to pitch to contact because of the wind,” said Cyclones manager Edgar Alfonzo with a laugh. “I didn’t think anyone was hitting it out tonight. After Abruzzo hit his homer, he came to me and asked me to ‘say that again.’”

After giving up two runs in his first three innings, Schwinden settled down and hurled scoreless innings in the fourth, fifth and sixth, before leaving favor of Jimmy Johnson in the seventh.

“When he’ good, he attacks the zone,” said Abruzzo of Swinden. “He made adjustments tonight and was very good for us.”

With a three-run cushion supporting him on the mound, Johnson pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth, but gave up a run in the ninth and left the game with two outs and runners on first and second. With the winning-run at the plate, lefty side-armer Ron Merritt came out of the Brooklyn pen and retired Hudson Valley’s Jason Tweedy on a line drive to second baseman JR Voyles, cementing a 5-3 Cyclones win.

Winners now of 13 of their past 16 games, Brooklyn’s confidence seems at a season high. However, despite the win, Brooklyn failed to separate themselves from Jamestown, who won their game over Batavia 13-4.

Nevertheless, the Baby Bums seem determined to keep their miracle season going.

“We’re playing incredible baseball now,” said Schwinden. “We can’t play any better than we’re playing right now. The chemistry is there and we want to keep this going.”

Notes-

In my three seasons covering the Cyclones for pretty much every local newspaper in the area, I have never had a fan approach me after a game and tell me to put them in my story for the night. That is until tonight, when little Sol Ayal wanted to share his thoughts on the Cyclones play as of late.

“They’ve been awesome,” he said. “And of course, they are making the playoffs. I think they are going to win it all.”

Well, if Sol said it, it must be true.

On a more journalistic note…

After rejoining the Brooklyn lineup on Sept. 1 against Aberdeen, Reese Havens was taken out of the lineup the next game and hasn’t been there since. After Thursday’s game, Alfonzo said Havens was out for the season.

“He’s done,” he said.

Photos by Ron Hatcher.

Powered by a two-homer night from catcher Jordan Abruzzo, the Baby Bums kept their playoff hopes alive with a 3-1 win over the Hudson Valley Renegades Sunday night, climbing to just a half game behind the Jamestown Jammers for the NYPL Wild Card spot.

“It feels like we can’t lose,” said Cyclones starter Scott Shaw. “But we can’t stop there. We have six games left and we have to keep winning.”

Despite giving up eight hits, Shaw limited the Hudson Valley offense to only one run over 5.1 innings pitched.

Hudson Valley starter Shane Dyer was just as solid early on, but gave up an Abruzzo solo-homer in the fourth that gave Brooklyn a 1-0 lead.

Looking for their eighth win in a row, the Cyclones admitted they would have liked to give Shaw some more offensive support, but loved his perseverance on the mound in spite of it.

“When a pitcher doesn’t have his best stuff and pitches that way, you have to be proud,” Cyclones skipper Edgar Alfonzo said. “He gave us a chance to win tonight.”

Showing the moxie of a playoff team, the Clones got the lead right back in the bottom of the sixth after an Ike Davis single and an error by Renegades right fielder Kyeong Kang allowed Eric Campbell, who reached on an error earlier in the inning by Hudson Valley shortstop Robi Estrada, to score and give them their one-run lead back at 2-1.

Johnson continued to pitch for Brooklyn and twirled scoreless frames in the seventh and eighth, while Abruzzo added his second homer in the bottom of the eighth to put the Mets Single-A affiliate up by two runs with only one inning left to play.

Johnson then returned to the mound on the ninth and retired the side in order, giving the Baby Bums their eighth consecutive victory.

With losses by Staten Island and Jamestown on Sunday, Brooklyn is now three games out of first place in the McNamara Division and a half game back of the Wild Card.

Nevertheless, Brooklyn knows they can’t afford to count their chickens before they hatch and must continue winning in order to secure a post-season birth.

“We keep this up, who knows what could happen,” said Johnson. “We’re making it interesting. That’s for sure.”

Notes-

While the Cyclones coaching staff said on Sunday that Reese Havens’ return could be as soon as today, with the Mets first round pick taking batting practice on Sunday and looking like he’s awfully close to 100 percent, the team still feels like it may keep him out of the lineup longer.

“He’s ready to play, but I don’t know,” said Alfonzo. “In terms of his career, it’s not important for him to play right now. Maybe he’ll DH or pinch-hit here and there, but we don’t want him to go out there and get hurt and miss more time. We need to be careful.”

With Wilmer Flores thriving in Brooklyn [seven hits in his first four games], the Mets Single-A affiliate could have an interesting situation develop over the final week of the season.

Cyclones first baseman Ike Davis is hitting .351 over his past 10 games and has a nine-game hitting streak.

“I hope he keeps hitting this way,” said Alfonzo. “We need him hot over the last six games.”

Update 9:30 P.M.-

With 12 strikeouts tonight, Cyclones starter Brad Holt has broken the record for most K’s in a season by a Brooklyn pitcher. The previous record was 93 by Kevin Deaton in 2002.

Photos by Ron Hatcher.

By the time the eventual selections were made however, only Brad Holt, Chris Schwinden and Yury Santana managed to garner All-Star honors.

That doesn’t mean anyone in Brooklyn is upset though.

“They all deserve it,” said Cyclones manager Edgar Alfonzo in reference to his entire pitching staff. “But those guys in particular have worked really hard this season. As far as I’m concerned, we have the best pitching staff in the league and they’re a very big reason why.”

The Mets first pitcher selected in the 2008 draft, Holt had some mighty expectations put upon him before the season began and hasn’t let anyone down yet, going 4-3 with a microscopic 1.98 ERA and a league-leading 69 K’s.

Humble and modest throughout the season, the likable Holt tried to not make too much of his appearance in the game, but couldn’t seem to wipe the smile of his face.

“I figured maybe, but it was wait and see,” said Holt. “I’m having a decent season, but I wasn’t expecting to be anywhere.”

While many believed that Holt was a lock to make the team, many of the media were a bit surprised with Schwinden’s selection to the team, not because of his stats, but because lack of a clear-defined role on the team for most of the season. Second in the league with a minuscule ERA of 1.31, Schwinden has been in the starting rotation for barely a month, after working as the team’s long reliever for most of the season. Nevertheless, Schwinden’s ability to make the most of opportunities has gotten him a deserved All-Star nod.

A 22nd round pick by the Mets this season, Schwinden has battled adversity all season and it’s paying off.

“It was a big surprise,” said Schwinden. “I just barely started in the rotation. I’m excited to be there and it’s a great opportunity to show people what I have.”

However, of all the three Brooklyn players selected to the All-Star game, Clones reliever Yury Santana is easily the most intriguing. A converted shortstop, the 26-year-old is making the first All-Star game appearance of his professional career. Originally losing his closer’s spot to Stephen Clyne halfway through th season, Santana has battled back to regain that role and is currently sitting fourth in the NYPL with 10 saves.

A fun-loving and energetic player, Santana was thrilled when he found out the news.

“I feel great,” said Santana. “This is something I never would have thought about before. I was surprised because there are a lot of guys playing well right now.”

Photos by Patrick Hickey Jr., Ron Hatcher and Jim Dolan

Brooklyn pitcher Chris Schwinden however, actually prefers to burn the midnight oil on a consistent basis.

As a matter of fact, he even believes it makes him a better pitcher.

“I don’t know why, but I do pitch much better when I don’t get a lot of sleep,” said Schwinden. “If I get too much sleep, I feel lazy on the mound and usually get hit pretty hard. When I don’t, I’m more energized out here and I win.”

So what does he do during all those late nights, you ask?

“Our catcher Ralph Henriquez has a Playstation 3 and I stay up playing MLB:08 The Show or Tiger Woods a lot of the time,” he said. “Most of the guys usually head to bed around 1 am, but I stay up a few hours longer than them.”

You’d expect a ballplayer who stays up all night exercising his thumbs and index fingers on Sony’s newest video game console to be a bit lethargic come game time, but with a 3-1 record and a 1.09 ERA in 10 appearances this season,Schwinden is one of three Cyclones appearing in the New York Penn-League All-Star game next week.

Armed with four pitches, a 92 mile-per-hour fastball, changeup, curve ball and slider, Schwinden has baffled hitters consistently this season, striking out 45 hitters in 41 innings with only six walks, indeed making it look like he’s playing a video game, rather than facing professional hitters. Allowing only 28 hits in that time as well, Schwinden hasn’t given his teammates on the field much work to do, making up for the fact that he keeps some of them awake with his late-night gaming escapades.

“He’s easy to play behind,” said Cyclones third baseman Eric Campbell. “He comes ready to play every time his name is called upon. The main thing with him is that he throws strikes. I think he has the best control of any pitcher on our staff.”

While his teammates have to deal with his late-night habits, the coaching staff only sees the 21-year-old’s successes on the mound. Starting the season as the team’s spot starter and long reliever out of the bullpen, Schwinden got an opportunity to start and hasn’t faltered yet. Pitching into the sixth inning in each of his last three starts, Schwinden has proved he belongs in a rotation consisting of hot shot prospects such as Brad Holt and Jenrry Mejia and has quickly become a cornerstone of the pitching staff.

Schwinden has been so good as of late that the coaching staff sees him in the rotation for the rest of the year, something that appeared quite unlikely for the 2008 22nd round pick when the season first began.

“He’s worked really hard to get to where he is right now and he deserves it,” said Cyclones manager Edgar Alfonzo. “He’s one of my starters now and I’m happy for him.”

The Visalia, California-native is pretty proud of his accomplishments on the field this season as well and as a result, has vowed to continue playing video games this season.

As a matter of fact, Schwinden has already been talking about picking up a new game in the near future: Madden 09.

“A bunch of us have been talking about getting it,” said Schwinden on August 11, a day before the game was released to the public. “I’m looking forward to playing it soon.”

Notes-

Got word of a few Cyclones currently nursing injuries such as John Servidio, Ike Davis and Reese Havens. However, there is no clear word on the what the actual injuries are. When th team comes back home on Friday, expect an update after the day’s article.

Link-

Box Score to last night’s 3-1 Cyclone loss.

Update-

New Podcast up!

Interview with Ralph Henriquez on 8-10.

You can download it from I-Tunes here, or stream it from the web, here. Enjoy!

Photos by Patrick Hickey Jr. and Jim Dolan

Subbing for injured first baseman Ike Davis who injured his foot a few days earlier, Jacobs was brought to Brooklyn to provide a jolt to an offense in desperate need of one and the leadership that comes with being a two-time New York Penn-League All Star. Hitting just .176 with three hits in four games with his former team, Jacobs’ time in Brooklyn didn’t go exactly as planned, but it did serve a purpose.

Alone in the Cyclones clubhouse after a 9-4 loss against Staten Island on Sept. 4, the shaggy haired catcher packed his bags and talked about his season with the same reporters that watched him slug 12 home runs and 46 RBI last season.

“I’m not hitting the ball as good as I was last year, but I’ve learned a lot,” Jacobs said. “The game is simpler and even though I still make mistakes all the time, I know what they are now and it’s much easier to fix them than it was before. It’s a slow process, but I feel like I’m learning and that’s what being in the minors is all about.”

Spending a week in Brooklyn has afforded the slugger the opportunity to work on his game and continue that process. Quickly becoming one of the boys, Jacobs grew a mustache because every one else on the team had been doing so for about two weeks in a ritualistic effort to get the offense rolling. While Jacobs insists he won’t let his wife see it when he gets home, he proved in a short time that he’s still the same leader in clubhouse he was last season and the year before.

His play on the field isn’t exactly what it was last season however. Before being sent to Brooklyn, Jacobs, In spite of a solid .380 on-base percentage and 20 walks, was hitting .223 with 14 RBI in 38 games with St. Lucie,. Because of those struggles, Jacobs relished the chance to get to work with a coaching staff that watched him flourish last season.

“My swing is not the same as it was last year at all,” said Jacobs. “The coaches here, [Edgar] Alfonzo and [Guadalupe] Jabalera know me better than anyone. The coaches in St. Lucie are just starting to know what to expect from me. Over the past week, I’ve worked really hard and I feel a lot better about my game and I’m looking forward to going back to work.”

Despite heading back to St. Lucie, Jacobs wasn’t about to dismiss his week back in Brooklyn or the two All-Star years that preceded it.

Instead, he deflected the attention to his now former teammates, believing that they have what it takes to do something the teams he was an instrumental part of didn’t- win a NYPL championship.

“It was nice to be back. I missed you all,” he said to the handful of reporters surrounding him. “This a great place to play and winning matters a lot here. Most of the time in the minors, it’s about development, so it’s fun to have that type of competition, it takes you back in college. But being back here for a few days, I’ve gotten an opportunity to play with some great guys that I’ve seen develop in just the week that I’ve been here. I’m looking forward to hearing about this guys taking it home this season.”

Links-

Box Score to last night’s 5-2 Cyclones win.

Photos by Ron Hatcher and Jim Dolan