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Fowl Ball! Weekly report on the DUCKS It does not happen very often that one player can be both the hero and the goat in the same game. Lucky for Kevin Haverbusch, people tend to remember only what happens last. In this case, the lasting image for those in attendance at Citibank Park will be the Ducks outfielder hitting a walk-off grand slam in his first at-bat of the game to give Long Island a 6-3 win over the Newark Bears. "That is my first time hitting a gamewinning grand slam," the Massapequa native said after the game, "Actually I don't know, my memory is terrible so maybe I did it once back in college, but never anything like this. I tried to play it cool and calm while running around the bases but I had too many guys pounding me on top of the head when I got to the plate." If not for his heroics in the bottom of the ninth, Haverbusch's teammates might have been pounding him on the head for another reason after what transpired in the top of the ninth. After coming into the game as a pinchrunner in the eighth, Haverbusch took over centerfield the next inning with the Ducks hoping to close out a 2-0 win. Ducks reliever Todd Erdos got himself in trouble by allowing a run and loading the bases, but Long Island was still up by a run and only needed one more out. The next Newark batter, second baseman Javier Colina, hit a pop up to shallow right-centerfield and Haverbusch immediately started in from center while second baseman Ray Navarrete made a move towards the outfield. Unfortunately, the ball hit the ground between them and Newark scored two runs to take the lead. Even though he was not given an error on the play, Haverbusch took responsibility for what occurred. "That should not have happened, there was a miscommunication and it was my fault," said Haverbusch, "I saw Ray move and [right-fielder] Jorge (Piedra) move so I hesitated and you saw what happened. As the centerfielder I should have taken charge." As fate would have it on this night, Haverbusch got his chance at redemption just a few minutes later and he came through for the team. "It was surprising how relaxed he was going to the plate because many guys would still be thinking about the mistake," Lapoint said, "As he left the dugout I just told him to go win the game for us and he did." Lapoint acknowledged that it was a game the Ducks probably should not have won but they still pulled it out and it is a good indication of how well things have been going for Long Island recently. Going into their series this week against Bridgeport at Citibank Park (which started Tuesday night), the Ducks had won seven games in a row overall and eleven straight at home. As a result, the streaking Ducks, who have a league-best 15-3 record at home, have jumped over the Bluefish in the standings and taken over first place by a game and a half. Garcia Shows Renewed Confidence With Starting Role Following all the dramatics of the ninth inning, it was easy to forget that the Ducks would not have even been in a position to win the game if not for the spectacular performance by starting pitcher James Garcia. In his second start since taking over the departed Pat Ahearne's spot in the rotation, Garcia threw seven shutout innings allowing only two hits and actually had a no-hitter going before giving up a bunt single in the fifth. "James sure pitched a great game and it is a shame he couldn't come out with the win," said manager Dave Lapoint, "He shut a tough lineup down inning after inning and he has obviously come a long way since spring training." After struggling in a relief role for the early portion of the season, Garcia has improved his mental approach and his pitch selection since becoming a starter. "It is a little bit easier for me to get into a routine as a starter because I know when I will be throwing," says Garcia, "But honestly I don't really feel any different, it just happens that I have had better outings when starting." This is Garcia's first season on Long Island but the 27-year-old pitcher says he had previously heard about the Atlantic League and the Ducks during his time in affiliated ball. "I knew this was the best league to come to if you are going to play independent ball," says Garcia, "My agent basically told me not to listen to any other team because if I was not signed by an affiliated team I was going to the Atlantic League and I was going to play for the Ducks." Even though he has spent parts of the last two seasons playing with minor league affiliates of the San Francisco Giants which were located in Connecticut, Garcia, a native of Torrance, California, is still getting used to the East Coast. "It is completely different being on this side of the country," Garcia says, "I am still getting used to the Long Island accent, which I guess is normal to everybody else. I know the weather is a lot more humid here because I sweat a lot more." Having experienced all three levels of minor league baseball, Garcia is impressed with the quality of play in the Atlantic League. "This team here (the Ducks) definitely plays at a Triple-A level, maybe even better, and the league as a whole has, in my opinion, been everything it is hyped up to be," says Garcia. While he would like to get back to an affiliated club, Garcia says he can't be focused on that. "Right now the only thing I am thinking about is going out there for the Ducks, giving up no runs, as minimal hits as possible and keeping this team in the game," Garcia says, "From there whatever happens is out of my control." Extra Innings:
+As if the Ducks needed to add any more big names to their already imposing lineup, the team announced early last week that they had signed former major leaguer Jose Offerman. This means that Long Island now boasts a batting lineup consisting of five players with at least 140 games of Major League experience (Edgardo Alfonzo, Carl Everett, Damian Rolls, and Jorge Piedra are the other four). The 38-year-old Offerman, a native of the Dominican Republic, has a career batting average of .273 with 57 home runs and 537 RBIs in 14 seasons of big league action.
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