The Intentional Walk Off

In honor of Michael Woods’ hot start…
Make sure to click on it twice to see the whole effect.  Any suggestions about what players you would like to see would be great.

Zack Parker was nothing short of brilliant tonight. A 2 hit shutout for the Barnstormers was exactly what the team needed. I went in believing that regardless of how many runs he gave up, he would have to go at least 7 tonight. The bullpen is an absolute mess. The seven game losing streak coming into tonight did not help either. Zack answered the bell, and you cannot ask for more than that. He pitched like he knew he had to go deep into the game, not trying to fool hitters, but trying to get them to make contact and produce outs. This is when I believe he is at his best. He does not have a blazing fastball or a knee buckling curve, but his pitches are solid, and are more than good enough to make hitters miss and make them err when they actually do hit the ball.

There was a good feeling in the stadium tonight, although the crowd did seem to be quite sparse. I suppose that is understandable, considering the losing streak and the fact that it was a Monday night, not a Friday or Saturday. Throughout the game, Zack showed emotion, and he had many opportunities to do so, whether it be the line drive out to Blade, the strike ‘em out / throw ‘em out double play, or the superb catch by Jarred Ball in right field that appeared headed for no man’s land.

The Frosty chant almost died tonight. I was almost happy. But then the batter got two strikes, and it reared its Cool, Ice Creamy head once again. My favorite was when there was a runner on first with one out and the K Man up. Everyone began to chant “Frosty…Frosty…” My response? Who cares about a Frosty when you can have a double play to end the inning. Maybe I care too much. Maybe I just don’t like Wendy’s frozen desserts. Or maybe we need a chant for double plays….Hmmm….

All told, tonight was a great game to watch. It had exciting defense, including an awfully executed attempt at what would have been the play of the year between Lloyd Turner and Danny Gonzalez on a ground ball to Turner in the early innings. It had some pop, with Stavisky hitting another Tent Poke to right field…I feel like there should be a better name for home runs to that short right field…can the readers help me out with that? Most of all, it had a dominant performance by a true ace.  In honor of his performance, here is a photo courtesy of Stormin’ edited by yours truly.

The first series of the season had it all. Home runs, great defensive plays, clutch pitching, awful pitching, rain, and bright sunshine. In the end, the result was a 2-1 series win for the Barnstormers.

The best single game performance of the series was by Jutt Hileman on Saturday night, with a double and a 3 RBI triple.

The best pitching performance of the series was by Eric Ackerman, who in his first outing as a starter only allowed 2 hits, striking out four, and allowing no runs in a no decision on Sunday.

The player of the series for the first series has to be Ian Bladergroen. In three games, he was 6-9 with 3 extra base hits, two of which were home runs. He also scored 4 runs.

PS…the address to send me pictures you would like to share with the other fans is up and running…
stormerpics@gmail.com

Thanks,
Dawes

There will be a recap of the first series of the season before the end of the night.

How about some visual representation of tonight’s win?  I am just going to post the video I got of Stavisky’s RBI single…not that great, but it is cool to see the slide by Lloyd Turner at the end…  I will get some pictures from tonight and tomorrow posted after the game tomorrow night.   As for right now, I am tired and need to get up early…Enjoy!

You may wonder why I am home right now, typing an article.  Well, the answer is rain….a downpour to be precise.  I was punished for leaving early, though.  I wore slippers to the park tonight, so guess who had to walk barefoot all the way to the car?? This guy.  I will be posting pictures of the game and maybe even some video before I head to bed.  I am listening to Dave Collins as I watch my Celtics take on the Hawks.  Look for the pictures before midnight.

First off, about the title. I don’t think that I was prepared for the windstorm that enveloped me and the others surrounding me in the outfield section when the helicopter flew right over us. Papers were flying, dust was penetrating mercilessly into the eyes of several people in my general vicinity, and I felt like I was about to get blown into left field. And then the fun started…

Does it get any better than Cylo riding an elephant? But I digress.

The real show was on the field, as the Stormers took flight for the first time under new skipper Von Hayes. Things went according to plan for Zack Parker with the first two batters, but then Bridgeport Bluefish catcher Brian Peterson reached based on what the official scorer generously termed a base hit. In my estimation, and I assume in the estimation of other observers, it was a clear error on one Danny Gonzalez. This disturbed me, not so much in that he did not make the play, but in that it was a play he could have made. I did not see effort. I was angry. I was angry that I was angry 3 batters into the season. I immediately prayed it was not an omen of things to come.

After two innings, it appeared my prayers had not been answered. Zack had already thrown 41 pitches and surrendered 2 runs, 4 hits, and 2 walks. The home team, on the other hand, had only forced Bluefish starting pitcher Eric Dubose to throw 25 pitches through two innings, lowlighted by a Danny Gonzalez double play in the first inning, which destroyed the effectiveness of a Michael Woods leadoff walk that had preceded it. I was beginning to fear the worst. Perhaps this team had received too much hype in the preseason. Perhaps the hitting just wasn’t there like I had envisioned it. I was expecting fireworks, and so far I had seen a 3 year old burning his hand on a sparkler. Not my idea of fun.

The tide turned in the top of the 3rd inning. The mood of the game shifted with one at bat. The batter was Danny Gonzalez, and we can consider his effort to be his penance for the early miscues. With Woods on second after a walk and stolen base, Danny worked a 14 pitch at bat, which resulted in a walk for himself. This allowed Brian Stavisky to stride to the plate and lace an RBI single down the right field line. Although the Stormers would only score one run in the inning, this is where the game turned. With the one at bat, Danny forced Bridgeport’s hand in the pitching game. After a 38 pitch 3rd inning, Dubose simply had no gas to go past the 4th. This necessitated the use of relievers Ellison and Eickhorst for Bridgeport, and would lead to Lancaster’s monster of an eighth inning. With Eickhorst already out there, it was clear that Bridgeport skipper Tommy John did not want to use more than 3 pitchers in the first game of the season. Eickhorst got tired, and the onslaught began.

What was a 2-2 game after 7 and a half innings became a 10-2 wipeout. Quite a way to start the Von Hayes era. They say little things win games and championships, and Danny Gonzalez’ at bat tonight was one of those little things. In all, the Barnstormers worked 6 full counts tonight. If this team can stay disciplined at the plate, it can be a fantastic club. If the effort shows up in the field, as it did on Vasili Spanos’ Web Gem quality diving catch in the top of the 5th, this incarnation of the Barnstormers could be a force unseen in the annals of the Atlantic League.

Here’s to a new journey as Barnstormer addicts.
I realize that creating a blog to follow a professional baseball franchise, no matter the level, is a huge undertaking. However, I believe it is time that the most passionate fans in independent league baseball had a place to have their voice heard.

This site is not meant to be a carbon copy of Jason Guarente’s Barnstormin’ page, which is the official branch off of the Lancaster New Era’s coverage of the team. In fact, it should be quite different. The aim is to have the bloggers from that site have an opportunity to actually write what they feel about the team in actual entry form. In other words, it is my desire to hear some of the great thoughts and arguments made by those on Jason’s blog put in longer posted form here.

Also, I would like to be able to do some things with the site that Jason simply is not able to do, due to his time constraints. I would like to have a player of the week page on the site, where we can recognize those on the team who have been excelling on the field. I would also like to have a photographs page, where pictures of the team will be easily accessible to the average fan, since, as we all know, there are not many opportunities (outside of the newspapers) for the fans to see pictures of their favorite players from the team. I think it would be fantastic if we could have votes at the end of the year for fan player of the year, defensive player of the year, pitcher of the year, and so on.

In short, I want this to be a fan site worthy of the fans who follow the Barnstormers. I truly believe we have the best fan base in the Atlantic League, and that this website could be a great tool to show our appreciation for and devotion to the team.

Here’s to a playoff bound Barnstormers team in 2008!!