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Fowl Ball! Weekly report on the DUCKS For the first week of the season, the Long Island Ducks seemed to be in a fog, having lost four of their first six games. But then came last Friday and the team was literally playing in the fog during their game at Citibank Park against the visiting Lancaster Barnstormers. The conditions got so bad that the outfielders could not even be seen from home plate in the fourth inning, leading the umpires to stop play. After a 41-minute delay and a total of more than four hours in elapsed time, the Ducks finally pulled out a one run win in the bottom of the tenth inning. One look at the scoreboard and it was obvious the game should not have been this close. Long Island out-hit Lancaster 13-4 but often could not come up with the big hit when players were on base. "This is the type of game that will bring a team together," said Ducks manager Dave Lapoint, "We didn't beat them the way you normally should but everyone chipped in to get the job done." One of the players Lapoint was referring to is Massapequa Park native Rob Cafiero. In the bottom of the tenth inning, Cafiero came to the plate with the score tied and Edgardo Alfonzo and Carl Everett already on base. It was Cafiero's first at-bat of the night since being inserted into the game and the 6 foot-4 inch, 275 pound infielder proceeded to lay down a perfect surprise bunt, not only advancing the runners but also making it safely to first base before any throw could be made. This set up Jorge Piedra's infield single which knocked in the winning run and finally ended the long game. Afterwards, manager Dave Lapoint said he had no reservations sending Cafiero up to bat in such a crucial situation. "He (Cafiero) is actually a very good bunter, so that was the play to make," said Lapoint, "Rob is such a laid back guy and a good, smart ballplayer that there was no doubt in my mind about putting him in there off the bench." Cafiero, who is one of the longest tenured Ducks, having been with the team since 2005, enjoys his role with the team and is just glad to get the chance to contribute. "The first couple of years here, it was kind of difficult coming off the bench because it requires a different mindset," says Cafiero, "but now that I have learned how to handle it, I have a lot of confidence that I can come through for the team when these situations come up." As for his at-bat in the tenth, Cafiero says bunting was in the back of his mind the entire time. "I practice it all the time in BP[batting practice] and I knew the most important thing was moving the runners so I bunted and thankfully they didn't catch it so everything worked out." Overall, it was a really good night for the Ducks as second baseman Ray Navarrete and shortstop Derek Wathan continued their early strong play by each hitting a solo home run. Outfielder Jorge Piedra added two RBIs and previously struggling closer Danny Graves pitched two solid scoreless innings to pick up the win. Lost in all of the other dramatics was perhaps the real standout performance of the night which came from Ducks starting pitcher John Riedling. The former major leaguer threw six shutout innings allowing only a single hit while striking out seven batters. Even the fog delay did not seem to have a negative affect on the thirty-one year old pitcher. "I felt really good on the mound tonight so I was in the mindset of staying really focused and getting back out there after the fog was gone," said Riedling. Dave Lapoint was happy with how his pitcher performed but did not regret his decision to take Riedling out after only six innings. "He had gotten up over the 90 pitch count after never throwing more than two innings during spring training," said Lapoint, "This was only his second start and with the long delay there was just no reason to take any chances with his arm." After the game, Riedling said he probably could have gone another inning but completely agreed with his manager's decision. "I can't remember the last time I threw this many pitches and the problem with my career has always been injuries so you don't want to push it," says Riedling, "It is still very early in the season and I have felt comfortable in both of my starts so I am looking forward to getting back out there and doing the same thing next time." Riedling will be hoping to finally get some run support from his teammates in his next game. In his two starts, Riedling has allowed only two runs and five hits over eleven innings while striking out ten batters, yet he still has a zero in the win column. As for the rest of the team, manager Dave Lapoint seemed prophetic, at least for the time being, when saying this win could bring the team together. The Ducks responded by winning both halves of Saturday's doubleheader to sweep the weekend set from Lancaster and in doing so won their first series of the young season. "Who knows what will happen tomorrow," said Lapoint, "but right now we are getting good pitching and balanced contributions from most of our lineup so things definitely appear to be headed in the right direction." Extra Innings: After two off-days, the Ducks started a six game series with the Patriots on Tuesday night. The first three games (Tuesday-Thursday) are at Citibank Park followed by a weekend trip to Somerset to finish off the home-and-home series. Early next week, Long Island will make their first visit to York, Pennsylvania to face the new Atlantic League expansion team, the Revolution. York does not travel to Citibank Park until the first week of July during the Independence Day holiday. Tickets for all upcoming Ducks games are available at the Citibank Park Box Office, by calling 631-940-TIXX, or by logging onto www.liducks.com and clicking on the tickets icon.
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