A fan favorite due to his hard-nosed work ethic and mega-watt smile, the 23-year-old is looking forward to getting an opportunity to show what he can do in a starting role, something he lost last season after the Cyclones brought in Sean Ratliff and Seth Williams to add depth to the outfield.

“I’m looking to set personal highs, be consistent and injury free,” he said. “I’ve never got a ring before either, so that’s another goal.”

Getting plenty of ABs in Extended Spring Training this season, Cyclones manager Pedro Lopez has liked what he’s seen so far from the Barry University-alumnus as well and plans to use him in a variety of roles.

“He’s a big part of our team,” said Lopez, who also mentioned that he likes Servidio in the lead-off spot due to his versatility. “He did a great job through extended Spring Training with us.”

Photos by Patrick Hickey Jr.

New York Mets

Pitchers

Bobby Parnell

Outfielders

Ryan Church- rehab stint, Daniel Murphy

Buffalo Bisons

Pitchers

Dillon Gee, Junior Guerra, Eddie Kunz, Carlos Muniz

Infielders

Nick Evans, Jon Malo

B-Mets

Pitchers

Nick Abel, Mike Antonini, Eric Brown, German Marte, Roy Merritt, Dylan Owen, Jake Ruckle, Tobi Stoner

Infielders

Matt Bouchard, Shawn Bowman, Lucas Duda, Emmanuel Garcia

Outfielders

Josh Peterson, Caleb Stewart, D.J. Wabick

St. Lucie-

Pitchers

Nicholas Carr , Matias Carrillo Jr., Stephen Clyne, Jose De La Torre, Bradley Holt, Jenrry Mejia, Eric Niesen, Edgar Ramirez, Brant Rustich, Scott Shaw, Nick Waechter

Infielders

Ike Davis, Jake Eigsti, Reese Havens, Luis Rivera, Zach Lutz

Outfielders

Kirk Nieuwenhuis,Seth Williams

Savannah

Pitchers

Eric Beaulac, Rhiner Cruz,Jimmy Johnson, Jeff Kaplan, Manny Olivares, Wendy Rosa, Chris Schwinden, Erik Turgeon

Catchers

Luis Alen

Infielders

Eric Campbell, Wilmer Flores, Jose Jimenez, Juan Lagares, Josh Satin

Outfielders

Rafael Fernandez, Sean Ratliff, Raul Reyes

Now that these rosters are available, fans will begin to have a much better idea of who may be headed to Brooklyn this season.

Here are a few notables that are missing from these rosters:

Pitchers

Pedro P. Martinez, Tim Stronach, James Fuller

Catchers

Jordan Abruzzo- DL, Caesar Cordido, Doc Doyle

Infielders

Kyle Suire, Matt Smith-DL, J.R. Voyles

Outfielders

John Servidio

Photo by Ron Hatcher.

While Dan Murphy and Nick Evans are currently hitting over .300 and positioned atop the teams leader board in hitting this spring, several other former baby bums have been swinging well as well.

Even four Cyclones from last year got a call, as Sean Ratliff, Zach Lutz, Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Ike Davis have garnered plate appearances, with mixed success. Lutz and Nieuwenhuis each have a double a piece in three combined at bats, while Ratliff and Davis have gone hitless in four at bats.

It should be very interesting to see what happens with Lutz, who despite showing remarkable poise at the plate in his minor league plate appearances, has had tremendous problems staying healthy over the past two seasons. A good and injury-free showing in the Grapefruit League could help get him back on track.

The same thing goes for former Cyclone Angel Pagan, who looks ready to rock again after spending most of last season on the shelf after a fast start and is hitting .467 in 15 at-bats.

On the pitching side of things, Dillon Gee has looked decent in three appearances, but doesn’t seem ready for the show as of yet. Some more seasoning in Double-A with a stop in Triple-A before his big league debut should do the trick for him. Carlos Muniz also seems like another pitcher that could use a bit more seasoning, but at 28 years old, you wonder if he’ll ever be able to reproduce the stellar numbers he put up in Brooklyn, in Queens.

2005 Cyclone Bobby Parnell looks a bit more polished than he did in his small cup of coffee with the team last season and could be someone to keep an eye out for as well.

Other notables include Mike Antonini and Roy Merritt, who have also seen time in Spring Training with much different results. Antonini has thrown two scoreless innings this Spring, while Merritt, who is still developing his secondary pitches to compliment an excellent slider and a average fastball, is still finding out what he needs to do in order to be successful. In just a third of an inning of work, the lefty-side-armer has given up three runs and two hits.

Photo by Ron Hatcher

Simply put, Alfonzo looked like he needed a break.

Nevertheless, as soon as the season was over, Fonzie was out coaching the very same players he spent the summer with, at the team’s instructional leagues, doing whatever he had to in order to help them climb up the proverbial food chain in the Mets organization.

You see, dedication and maintaining a top-notch work ethic are things that Alfonzo takes very seriously.

So despite the fact that he probably was in the need of a shave of a Red Bull, Alfonzo went to instructional league and ended up enjoying himself.

“These guys are working very hard and are learning a lot,” Alfonzo, who has served at several different positions in the organization over the past decade, said via telephone in . “I’ve had a lot of fun with them here. Guys like [Cyclones outfielder] Sean Ratliff and [Cyclones first baseman] Ike Davis have shown me a lot. They are absorbing all the information and are playing very well.”

A few months later, Alfonzo’s name still appears on the team’s website as the team’s skipper, but unlike previous years, where announcements were made at this time in the season, the team has yet to make a decision on who will be behind the bench.

In spite of how last season ended, with the team missing the playoffs for the first time in three seasons and the first time with Alfonzo at the helm, Fonzie was rewarded for his time and energy and was appointed as the head coach of the Savannah Sand Gnats a week and a half ago.

That doesn’t mean he didn’t enjoy himself in Brooklyn though.

“Aside from the big leagues, Brooklyn is the best place to manage in the Mets organization,” said Alfonzo. “I don’t know what the organizations plans are for me next season, but I know that I’ve really enjoyed my time there.”

However, with Alfonzo now in Savannah, who will manage the Cyclones?

Many fans feel that Donovan Mitchell, former Cyclones coach and lifetime .275 hitter over 780 minor league games is the front runner. Coaching at Savannah last season and Kingsport in ’06 and ’07, Mitchell definitely has the charisma and resume to coach in Brooklyn.

The only question is, will he?

After reliever Jeff Kaplan inherited a one run lead in the fourth and pitched his best game this season however, that thread just got a little longer.

Beating Oneonta 3-2 behind Kaplan and a two-RBI night from Seth Williams, Brooklyn, who have now won six in a row, aren’t laying down and are focused on stealing a playoff spot anyway they can.

“I feel like they know what they need to do now to win games,” said Cyclones manager Edgar Alfonzo. “A couple of weeks ago, it was scary. Right now though, everyone is ready to contribute.”

The Cyclones got on the board first on a Sean Ratliff RBI double in the second that scored Wilmer Flores and gave them a 1-0 lead. Williams then stretched the lead even further in the second after an RBI single that scored JR Voyles and Kirk Nieuwenhuis and put them up by three.

The Mets Single-A affiliate saw their lead shrink the next half inning however, after a Brent Wyatt single down the third base line [that was argued by Alfonzo to no avail] scored two runs and made it a one-run ballgame at 3-2.

“That hit really got in my head and I lost my concentration because of it,” said Martinez through a translator. “Other than that, I thought I was okay.”

Giving up six hits in 3.1 innings, Martinez was replaced by Jeff Kaplan with runners on the corners in the fourth. Getting the finals two outs of the inning, Kaplan held the lead and pitched 4.2 innings, giving up only one hit. Losing his spot in the rotation earlier in the season, Kaplan has been a revelation in relief over his past seven outings and has given up only two earned runs in 19.2 innings pitched.

“I knew if I threw strikes, my defense would help me out,” said Kaplan. “I pitched my game.”

Jimmy Johnson came out of the bullpen and replaced Kaplan in the ninth, but lasted only two outs after giving up a lead-off single and an error by Flores.

With the winning run on first base for Oneonta, Alfonzo called in closer Yury Santana, who retired the only hitter he faced via strikeout and gave Brooklyn their 40th win of the season.

Despite the win however, Brooklyn failed to gain any significant ground in the playoff race, as both Batavia and Staten both won their respective games, putting them one and half games out of the Wild Card and four back of the McNamara Division lead. Nevertheless, Kaplan and the Clones know that they can’t control how other teams play and are focused on winning their remaining games.

“We know that we have to win,” he said. “We can’t worry about what everybody else does and we’re not.”

Notes-

Wilmer Flores had three hits again for Brooklyn and by the smile on his face on the field, he seems to be enjoying Brooklyn immensely. [By the way, just to answer a fan's e-mail yesterday, yes, Flores still has braces.]

The coaching staff is enjoying his play as well.

“He’s played well these two games,” said Alfonzo. “This kid is doing good and he has a routine.”

Clones shortstop Reese Havens was seen during batting practice on Friday looking very much like a player very close to returning to the lineup. The Cyclones however, refuse to rush the first rounder back.

“We don’t want to think about it now,” said Alfonzo. “As of right now, we’re still wait and see with him.”

Video-

Havens fielding during BP yesterday.

[youtube ch3JWIxYcso]

Photos by Ron Hatcher. Video by Patrick Hickey Jr.

Getting another quality outing from staff ace Brad Holt and clutch hitting from Sean Ratliff, the Baby Bums looked recharged indeed and scratched out a hard-fought 3-1 win.

“The way we played tonight, I feel like this team is relaxed and ready,” said Cyclones manager Edgar Alfonzo. “They know what they have to do now and I believe in them.”

Things didn’t start Brooklyn’s way however, as after hurling four scoreless innings, Holt gave up two hits and threw a wild pitch in the fifth that allowed an Oneonta run to score and gave the Tigers a one-run lead.

“I started off well,” said Holt, who threw 90 pitches on the night. “My changeup was good all night, except for the one that spiked past the catcher and gave them the lead. Other than that, I think I was alright.”

The Clones wasted no time getting back into the game however, as a Ratliff a solo bomb off Oneonta hurler Trevor Feeney in the bottom of the fifth tied the score at 1-1.

Lefty reliever Roy Merritt came out of the Brooklyn bullpen in the sixth, replacing Holt and kept the score deadlocked at 1-1 through the eighth. The Mets Single-A affiliate then broke the game wide open the following half inning, getting a bases-loaded single from Ratliff that scored Ike Davis and Jordan Abruzzo and put the Clones ahead 3-1.

“I got a changeup I was able to hit over the second baseman’s head and get us the lead,” said Ratliff, who has four homers in his past 10 games. “I’ve been feeling great out there lately and it feels good to help the team in a clutch situation like that.”

After getting their first lead of the night in the eighth, Jimmy Johnson was summoned out of the bullpen and wasted no time, retiring the side in order, earning the first save of his professional career and securing a 3-1 Brooklyn win.

Winning their fourth game in as many days, the Baby Bums know that with only 10 games left to go, the winning ways must continue for their playoff dreams to come true.

“We’re rolling right now,” said Ratliff, who also made a pair of diving grabs in keep the game tied. “We really want to keep this going.”

Notes-

Clones starter Chris Schwinden, who was forced to leave his last start after being hit by a ball on his upper thigh in Tri-City, told reporters today that he’s fine and should be ready to pitch when his turn in the rotation comes up.

“I’m a little purple,” he said of his thigh. “But I’ll be okay. I was pretty lucky”

Update 5:15 P.M.-

Mets 17-year-old prospect Wilmer Flores has been sent to Brooklyn and will be hitting seventh tonight against the Oneonta Tigers. Hitting .310 with 48 RBI with Kingsport this season, Flores is one of the fast-rising prospects in the organization and should be able to do more than just fill in for first round pick Reese Havens.

Photos by Ron Hatcher.

Winners of eight of their last 11 games, Brooklyn knows that as long as the victories keep coming, their season is far from over.

“We have the pitching staff, we just need to keep winning,” said Cyclones manager Edgar Alfonzo. “We have a good chance, if everything continues to go the right way.”

Behind solid pitching from both starters, Lowell’s Yeiper Castillo and the surreptitiously-quick Shaw, the game remained scoreless through the fourth inning.

“I was locating my fastball and that’s always the key to success,” said Shaw [5-2, 2.76 ERA]. “When I pitch well, I also work very fast and I don’t throw a lot of pitches. That’s exactly what happened tonight.”

The stalemate was finally lifted in the fifth however, after a Josh Satin solo-homer in the fifth that gave Brooklyn a 1-0 lead.

“I’m starting to swing the bat better,” said Satin, who is hitting .333 over his past ten games. “I feel more comfortable at the plate and right now, it feels like something just clicked.”

Striking out ten and allowing only one hit, Shaw was again solid for Brooklyn and kept the Lowell bats dormant through his 6.2 innings of work.

“He had a good tempo going,” said Cyclones catcher Jordan Abruzzo. “The hitter’s were uncomfortable and they didn’t have time to think tonight.”

Roy Merritt came into the game with two outs in the sixth and a runner on first base and kept the Spinners off the scoreboard in the seventh, while Satin got his second RBI of the night on a double that scored Sean Ratliff in the bottom of the inning and gave Brooklyn a 2-0 lead.

After Merritt threw a scoreless inning in the eighth, Stephen Clyne came in and pitched a scoreless ninth, earning his ninth save of the season and inducing a hard-earned 2-0 win.

Winning the first game of the three-game series with Lowell, Brooklyn knows their season is hanging in the balance, but sees their pitching staff as the key to their playoff birth.

Giving up just one-hit as a staff on Thursday, it’s safe to say the Baby Bums are confident in their post season chances.

“I don’t see us slowing down,” said Shaw. “And if we don’t make the playoffs, it’s going to take a heck of a run by the teams in front of us. We’re going to catch them. I don’t see a way we wouldn’t.”

Notes-

Satin, who hit ninth on Thursday, was surprised where he hit in the lineup, but believes it’s because of the team’s depth and not because of any struggles on his part.

“I never hit lower than fourth in my life,” he said with a laugh. “Our team is just so good from top to bottom though. It’s one of those things that it doesn’t matter where you hit, you just have to capitalize when you get the chance.”

Video-

Josh Satin RBI Double

[youtube 1vesQ4NvLs4]

Update- 5:25 P.M.

Catcher Ralph Henriquez was optioned to Savannah. As a result, Dock Doyle was called up from Kingsport, where he was hitting .308 with 20 RBI in 41 games.

Photos by Ron Hatcher. Video by Patrick Hickey Jr.

Powered by a two dinger night from Sean Ratliff and three costly errors by their opponents, the Baby Bums kept their playoff hopes alive with a 6-5 win over the Valley Cats and go into this week’s All-Star game with a renewed sense of purpose.

“They are playing better now,” said Cyclones skipper Edgar Alfonzo. “I hope we continue to play the way we have been. It’s not over yet. Anything can happen.”

Things didn’t start Brooklyn’s way however, as the Valley Cats jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first after a Jason Castro two-run homer off Brooklyn starter and NYPL All-Star Chris Schwinden. The Mets Single-A affiliate stormed right back in the bottom half of the inning however, getting four hits and a RBI single and sacrifice fly from Eric Campbell and Jose Jimenez, tying the score at 2-2.

With the score still tied in the bottom of the fourth, Brooklyn got the lead on a Ratliff solo homer and kept it behind stellar pitching from Schwinden. Hurling four scoreless innings after the rocky first, the 22nd round pick looked to be in prime position to earn his fourth win of the season.

Things abruptly fell apart for the 21-year-old in the seventh though, as an error by JR Voyles allowed a run to score to tie the game and a RBI double by Ronald Ramirez put the Valley Cats ahead 4-3.

“I was attacking hitters pretty well,” said Schwinden. “But I was throwing my curve ball too much to some hitters and they capitalized. You can only get away with things for so long.”

With two outs in the seventh, Schwinden was replaced by Yury Santana, who gave up a RBI single from JT Shuck that gave Tri-City a two-run lead with only two and a half innings left to play.

The Mets Single-A affiliate came right back in the game in the bottom half of the seventh again after a solo homer from Kirk Nieuwenhuis. Santana kept Tri-City scoreless in the eighth and Roy Merritt pitched a scoreless ninth, giving the offense every opportunity to get back in the game and keep their playoff hopes alive.

Brooklyn did just that in the ninth, as Ratliff homered again, tying the game at 5-5.

“I got some good wood tonight,” said Ratliff. “It feels real good to start hitting balls hard now. Hopefully, it continues.”

After Merritt hurled another scoreless frame in the tenth, the Cyclones offense got cooking again, as Seth Williams lead off the inning with a single, while Jordan Abruzzo reached on an error and advanced to second to put two runners in scoring position with no outs. After a Jimenez strike out, Ike Davis was intentionally walked, loading the bases for Juan Legares.

What looked like an innocent double-play opportunity, after Legares grounded right to Tri-City pitcher Ashton Mowdy, turned into a disaster for Tri-City when Valley Cats backstop Castro threw the possibly inning-ending out into right field, allowing Abruzzo to score, giving Brooklyn a 6-5 win

Still five games out of first place after the victory, the Clones feel confident going into the All-Star break and feel they still have a shot at nabbing a post season birth.

“It was a huge win tonight,” said Ratliff. “It’s good to gain ground and to go out on a positive note before we come back to work after the All-Star break.”

Notes-

Brooklyn Dodger Carl Erskine was honored before the game and played the National Anthem on his harmonica.

Reese Havens groin pull will apparently keep him out of the lineup for the foreseeable future, as Alfonzo had no time table for his return.

“We’re trying to be careful with him,” he said. “We don’t want him to get hurt again.”

New Podcast!

Interview with Sean Ratliff after the game. Like always, you download it here on I-Tunes or stream it on the web here. Enjoy!

Pics by Jim Dolan and Ron Hatcher.

The rest of his teammates didn’t help the cause much either though, amassing only two extra-base hits and committing two costly errors in a 6-4 loss.

“We scored four runs today,” said Cyclones skipper Edgar Alfonzo of his team that ended up with 12 hits on the night. “I know this team is going to score runs. Again, we were one hit away from winning the game. We finished the game strong too, so I’m proud of them for that.”

Jim Fuller made his first professional start for the Cyclones and despite giving up two hits to start the game, the lefty managed to keep the Renegades off the board in the first. Giving up another hit in the second, Fuller was saved after John Servidio made his fourth outfield assist of the season, nailing Michael Ross at the plate and keeping the game scoreless.

Kirk Nieuwenhuis got the Cyclones on the board with an RBI single in the second, scoring Mets fourth round pick Sean Ratliff, who singled earlier in his first professional at bat.

The lead wouldn’t last for long however, as the third inning was also an adventure for Fuller, who left the game with the base loaded in favor of reliever Wendy Rosa.

“He threw the ball well for his first start here in Brooklyn,” said Cyclones catcher Ralph Henriquez of Fuller. “He had good stuff. He was a lot better than it looked.”

The Cyclones reliever couldn’t keep Fuller’s shutout though, walking Ross and allowing a run to cross the plate to tie the game. That was all the offense Hudson Valley could muster however, as catcher John Mollicone grounded out to Brooklyn third baseman Zach Lutz to end the inning.

Brooklyn then got back on top in the third, as Davis scorched an opposite field double that scored Matt Bouchard. Things then began to fall apart for Renegades starter Chris Andujar, who ended up surrendering an RBI ground out from Zach Lutz, giving the Mets Single-A affiliate a 3-1 lead.

Both teams then made pitching changes in the sixth, as Manny Olivares came into the game for Brooklyn and Rob Della Grotta came out of the Hudson Valley bullpen and replaced Andujar. Both pitched scoreless frames in the sixth, but Olivares ended up coughing up the lead, giving up a bases loaded single to pinch-hitter Anthony Scelfo, which tied the score at 3-3.

Mike Lynn came into the game in eighth for Brooklyn and only lasted two hitters, getting Mark Thomas to ground out and walking Jason Appel. Lefty side-armer Roy Merritt made his Keyspan debut and instead of getting out of the inning on a routine ground ball that should have been converted into a double play, Cyclones shortstop Matt Bouchard missed second baseman Josh Satin and threw the ball into right field, allowing a run to score and gave Hudson Valley a 4-3 lead with only one out.

A Jason Corder sacrifice fly later in the eighth also padded the Renegades lead, giving them a two-run cushion with only two innings left to play.

“Roy gave me exactly what I wanted with the bases loaded,” said Bouchard. “I rushed it a bit though and I was a bit off balance. I was too quick with it. I really wanted to get the double play.”

Unlike earlier in the week, the Cyclones didn’t have any come from behind magic in them tonight, as Joshua Satow, who replaced Della Grotta in the seventh, kept the Baby Mets off the scoreboard in the eighth. Merritt continued pitching in the ninth and gave up a Mollicone RBI single, giving the Renegades a three-run lead with Brooklyn’s last licks on the way.

Coming in after Satow gave up a Henriquez single, Renegades closer Travis Risser proved to be no where near as potent as his team’s offense, but was saved by solid defense. Giving up a RBI single from Murphy that scored Henriquez, Risser got Zach Lutz to ground into a a game-ending double-play, putting the finishing touches on a 6-4 Renegades win.

“We had a lot of chances, but we didn’t take advantage of them,” said Bouchard, who had two hits on the night, to go along with two errors. “Our hits weren’t timely either, we put together a couple of good innings late. If we would have put them together earlier, things could have turned out different.”

Notes-

According to a source in the organization, the Mets other first round pick, Reese Havens, is expected to DH today in the second game of the series against Hudson Valley.

Daniel Murphy concluded his rehab assignment with the Clones last night, amassing seven hits and two RBI in just three games and is scheduled to rejoin the Double-A B-Mets today.

“He’s a professional hitter,” said Alfonzo. “He can hit.”

Alfonzo also announced that outfielder Brandon Kawal [stiff back] and Luis Alen [chin laceration] have been added to the Disabled List to make room for Havens. Alfonzo also expects a roster move to take place tomorrow to help sort out a team that is currently carrying six outfielders and three catchers.

Video-

Cyclones LF Sean Ratliff singles in his first pro AB

[youtube D97HTLrpmAM]

Photos by Ron Hatcher, Video by Patrick Hickey Jr.