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.

Mark Kohoon is 5-1 in six starts this season. Opponents are hitting just .233 off him. In 40 innings pitched, he also surrendered just seven walks.

James Fuller has a 3-3 record, but has a sparkling 1.75 ERA in six starts. He’s also pitched six innings in five of his appearances and has 40 Ks.

Brandon Moore has administered just three walks in 41 innings pitched. Hitters are batting just .190 against him.

Michael Powers has six saves in 10 appearances and has given up just nine hits in 12.1 innings.

Hitters:

Catcher Juan Centeno only has two hits in his last 33 ABs.

First baseman Sam Honeck has 14 hits in his last 40 ABs. He’s also hitting .349 in July.

Luis Rivera currently leads the team with 19 RBI, five stolen bases and a .417 on-base percentage.

Despite hitting .120 on the road this season, John Servidio has six homers, 14 RBI and a .282 BA at Keyspan Park this season.

He was a star all by himself.

On his game all night, the second-year Clone gave up just four hits in seven scoreless innings of work, leading “Baracklyn” to a 7-3 win over the Hudson Valley Renegades.

“I’ve been in a groove since extended spring training,” said Moore. “It just carried on to today. I felt great out there.”

The Cyclones coaching staff was pleased with his performance as well.

“He’s made big strides from last season in Kingsport,” said Clones skipper Pedro Lopez. “It’s unbelievable.”

The Renegades pitching staff was not solid however, as Glenn Gibson, Jordi Amargos and Jeffrey Cinadr gave up seven runs on seven hits and an error, courtesy of RBI hits by John Servidio, Matt Bouchard, Ralph Henriquez, Alex Gregory and Juan Centeno.

Wes Wrenn came into the game for Baracklyn in the eighth and gave up three runs the rest of the way, but kept it together to get the final out and ensure a 7-3 Clones win.

“Tonight was an outstanding game,” said Lopez. “I just told the guys that we have a good thing going here.”

Photo by Patrick Hickey Jr.

Hope you enjoy it.

After being no-hit for the first two innings by Staten Island Yankees hurler Ardonis Vizcaino, the Cyclones rallied for three runs in the third. Clones center fielder Seth Williams crossed the plate after a Vizcaino balk that tied the game. Vizcaino continued to lose control in the frame and gave up RBI hits off the bat of Matt Bouchard and Nick Giarraputo.

On the other side of the mound, Brooklyn starter and birthday boy Collin McHugh gave up two runs on five hits in innings of work.

“My fastball was working, I was getting ahead of many of the hitters,” said McHugh. “I could finish some of them off though. It was a battle. My arm felt good though.”

The Baby Mets got help from their cross-bridge rivals however, as the Yankees made two errors through the first four innings.

McHugh then lost control in the fifth, hurling a wild pitch that allowed a Staten Island run to score and make it a 3-2 game. He then beaned Luke Murton to load the bases with two outs. He was lucky enough to get Kyle Higashioka to fly out to Bouchard to end the inning though, keeping the Brooklyn lead in tact.

“He was outstanding. He did it for us over in extended and in St. Lucie,” said Cyclones skipper Pedro Lopez of his starting pitchers performance. “That’s one of the reasons why he was the number one guy for us tonight.”

John Servidio launched a lead off dinger off Vizcaino in the fifth, giving Brooklyn their two-run lead back.

Leading the team in RBI for a spell last season before a season-ending arm injury, Servidio looks to be a leader this season.

“I’m looking to have the best season of my career this year,” he said. “I’m really happy to be back. I love it here.”

Just like Servidio, Bouchard too is looking to lead. His third stint as a Cyclone, he’s hoping this one won’t be for long.

In the sixth, another holdover from last season, Mattias Carrillo, came in to pitch and responded by throwing three scoreless innings.

19-year-old catcher Juan Centeno extended the lead with an RBI triple in the sixth. He also notched an RBI single later that stretched the lead to 6-2.

“People think I can run because I’m a catcher,” said Centeno. “But it’s a big part of my game.”

Mike Powers came into the game in the ninth and got the three outs needed to end the game, earning his first save and the team’s first win in the process.

“It was everything I was looking for,” said Lopez of the win. “It was a close game and I think our boys responded. You hear a lot of things about the rivalry between these two teams and tonight was a good test for both of us. It was fun for me and it was fun for the guys. A good ballgame all the way around.”

Notes-

Mark Cohoon is scheduled to start tomorrow at Staten Island, while Angel Cuan is on the slate for Sunday in Brooklyn.

Flub of the night- Cyclones shortstop Luis Nieves misjudged a fly ball that ended up landing in for a hit. After looking like he had the ball under control, he dipped away to only have the ball drop about 15 feet behind him.

“I asked him if the ball took a bad hop up in the air. I’m going to see if I can get a rake and rake the air a bit,” said Lopez. “He hasn’t played many night games, he hasn’t played under the lights very often. We didn’t have much pop up practice because of the rain and the last time the wind was blowing in. Tonight, the wind was blowing out and he forgot. Things like that are going to happen and I’m not going to second guess him. I’m not worried about him, he’s a great shortstop with good tools. He’s going to make mistakes, he just has to learn from them.”

Attendance for the game was 9,284.

While they got one answer to their questions when Pedro Lopez was announced the team’s new skipper a few months back, the jury is still out on how dominant the team will be this season

If you ask Lopez though, he believes his team will be energetic and quick on the base paths, producing a high-octane product that is sure to induce thrills at Keyspan Park this summer.

“I’m aggressive and I like the running game,” said Lopez. “Fonzie did a great job here and hopefully I can continue where he left off.”

With 10 returning Cyclones, including fan favorites Erik Turgeon and John Servidio and seldom-used, but highly effective hurler Jim Fuller on the roster as well, Lopez has plenty of players to evaluate this season. As a matter of fact, Lopez has already saw his fair share of players that have caught his eye.

“We have this exciting kid [Luis] Nieves,” he said. “We’re trying to decide whether he’s going to start at shortstop on Friday or not. We have a 19-year-old, [Juan] Centeno behind the plate too. We have a lot of exciting players.”

Last managing in the Texas Rangers system in 2007, Lopez also has an impressive minor league playing resume under his belt.

A .249 career hitter over 877 games in the San Diego, Houston and Milwaukee systems, his best season came in 1991 when he hit .284 with eight homers and 57 RBI in 102 games at the A-level Waterloo Diamonds. During his 12-year minor league career, the catcher was also a teammate of big leaguers such as Tim Worrell, Lance Painter, Joey Hamilton, Keith Lockhart and Kevin Maas.

That experience he feels will help him plenty this season.

“I just want my guys to feel that they can go out there and play the game without making mistakes,” Lopez said. “They’ll play and we’ll talk after the game. I’m not going to second guess them. My coaching staff isn’t going to do that either. We’re going to create the best atmosphere for them and give these fans the best show ever.”

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.

Before we get too serious, here’s a fun one.

The Foreigner started out “Hot Blooded,” but ended up “Cold as Ice” Award:

Nominees-

JR Voyles- hit .050 over his last 11 games of the season.

Jose Jimenez- hit .093 over the last 12 games of the season and hit .073 with runners in scoring position.

John Servidio- hit .117 in August before going down with a hand injury.

And the winner is… Jose Jimenez.

Voyles started out very strong, but fizzled the same way he did last season. Servidio was injured and led the team in RBI for a big chunk of the year, so he’s not right for the award either. Jimenez, however, was so unreliable at the plate that he was relegated to bench duty by the end of the season. Like I’ve said in older posts, he’s got a ton of power, so he is going to be fun to watch in the future, However, he shouldn’t be happy with the way his season ended.

OK, on to the serious stuff.

Best Off-Speed Pitch

Nominees

Brad Holt’s power curve ball

Jenrry Mejia’s 12-6 curve ball

Roy Merritt’s slider

And the Winner is… Roy Merritt’s slider.

Nothing against Holt or Mejia, but Merritt’s slider is amazing. Sweeping through the strike zone like a Frisbee, Merritt needs to add another pitch to his repertoire to compliment his fastball and changeup and I think he’ll eventually be ready to pitch in the Mets bullpen. Remember where you heard that first boys and girls, it’s something I’d feel comfortable betting on.

Best Swing

Nominees

Wilmer Flores

Kirk Nieuwenhuis

Zach Lutz

And the winner is…Wilmer Flores

In the three years I’ve covered the Cyclones, I’ve seen some very nice swings, but Flores’ is so quick through the hitting zone that I think he’s going to be a great ballplayer one day despite his relatively young age and someone to definitely watch next season.

And lastly…Team MVP.

Nominees

Kirk Nieuwenhuis

Brad Holt

Jimmy Johnson

And the winner is… Brad Holt.

Nieuwenhuis played great ball all season and Johnson was amazing out of the bullpen, but Holt was the bee’s knees. After watching guys like Joe Smith, Eric Brown, Dylan Owen and Dillon Gee in year’s past, I never thought I’d see anything better than that, but Holt surpassed all expectations.

Photos by Ron Hatcher

DemBrooklynBums.com: You were hitting very well down in Kingsport, can you tell us a little about your game?

Dock Doyle: I started off a little slow this summer, I guess it was the transition from college ball and the metal bats to the pros and wood. It just took some time. Now I’m here in Brooklyn and ready to experience the game with the Brooklyn Cyclones.

DBB: To give the fans at home a better idea of what kind of player you are, is there a player at the major league level that you try and emulate?

Doyle: I like watching guys like Jorge Posada and Jason Varitek catch. Mets fans may not like that though.

DBB: What do you take more pride in, calling a game, or hitting?

Doyle: I’m a hitter, I love to hit. I enjoy being behind the plate and helping pitchers and I really like to lead as much as I can when I’m out there, but hitting is definitely my favorite part of the game.

DBB: Has the organization told you what to expect as far as playing time is concerned? Do you have any expectations?

Doyle: I don’t know, I haven’t heard anything from anyone, so I’m just going to enjoy the rest of my summer and see where it takes me.

DBB: Josh Satin and John Servidio spent some time in Kingsport earlier in the season, did you hang out with them at all? Do you know any of the other guys?

Doyle: They were there for a few nights and we went out to dinner a few times. They were a lot of fun to be around. Erik Turgeon was my roommate down there to and I know Seth Williams from when he was there. I haven’t met most of the other guys though.

Link-

Box Score to last night’s 5-4 Cyclones Win.

Photos by Patrick Hickey Jr. and Jim Dolan

On Sunday, he proved good things come to those who wait.

Going two for four with two RBI, Havens played a pivotal role in a crucial 6-5 Brooklyn extra-inning win and answered any questions about his ability on the field.

“He looked really good today,” said Cyclones manager Edgar Alfonzo. “He was ready to play and so was the team. I had faith in them.”

Jordan Abruzzo got the Cyclones on the board in the first with an RBI double that was followed by a two-run triple by Havens and an Eric Campbell sacrifice fly that gave Brooklyn an early 4-0 lead.

Continuing to add to their lead in the second, the Baby Bums got another run on a stand-up triple by Kirk Nieuwenhuis that scored John Servidio and stretched the lead to 5-0.

Cyclones 18-year-old starter Jenrry Mejia [2-1, 4.03 ERA] wasn’t on his game however and gave up three runs in five innings of work, but nevertheless left in the sixth with Brooklyn still ahead 5-3.

“He was working very slow today in between pitches,” said Alfonzo. “He wasn’t hitting his spots with his fastball or breaking ball either.”

Lefty side-armer Roy Merritt then made his 16th appearance of the season and kept the Muckdogs scoreless through the sixth, but left the game in the seventh in one out and runners on first and second.

Yury Santana, who made his first appearance after straining a muscle in his throwing arm on the road, wasn’t able to clean up Merritt’s mess though and allowed a pair of RBI singles from Colt Sedbrook and Shane Peterson that tied the game at 5-5.

After a scoreless eighth, Stephen Clyne pitched the ninth for Brooklyn and kept the score 5-5. Havens led off the bottom of the inning and was sent down swinging, while Eric Campbell and Ike Davis were also retired, sending the game into extra-innings.

With Clyne coasting, Alfonzo was confident of Brooklyn’s chances.

“When Clyne came in and pitched the way he did, it made me feel confident,” said Alfonzo. “I knew we were going to win.”

Clyne continued to silence Batavia’s bats in the tenth and that’ when the Clones were able to put something together offensively for the first time since the second inning.

After a Sean Ratliff lead off single and a sacrifice bunt by Servidio, Nieuwenhuis singled for his second hit of the game to score Ratliff, giving the Baby Bums a hard-earned 6-5 win.

“Any time you can lead off an inning like that, you feel like it can end it with a swing of the bat,” said Ratliff. “I was happy I got on base and when Servidio moved me over, I knew we were in good shape. Kirk [Nieuwenhuis] took care of the rest.”

Winning the second game of the three-game series, Brooklyn currently finds themselves three and a half games behind the Yankees, who had today’s game canceled due to inclement weather.

Winners of four of their last five games, they know they’ll have to keep up the pace in order to stay in the playoff hunt.

“There’s plenty of baseball left and we’ve been playing well,” said Ratliff. “We just have to keep it going.”

Notes-

Josh Satin is still recovering from a bone bruise on his right knee and is expected to be out for another week.

Alfonzo was asked for an update on Clones third baseman Zach Lutz and said that he hadn’t heard anything from Florida where the 2007 fifth round pick is rehabbing.

Alfonzo also said he was a little worried about Havens when he legged out a triple in the first, but believed he got more comfortable with him as the game went on.

“I wasn’t used to seeing him at shortstop either,” he said with a laugh. “I’m happy he’s on the field with us now.”

Photos by Patrick Hickey Jr., 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.