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Fowl Ball! If the Long Island Ducks are to make the Atlantic League playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, they will have to do it in the second half. A disastrous final stretch to a mostly inconsistent first half resulted in Long Island finishing one single game behind the division winner. Surprisingly that team was not the rival Bridgeport Bluefish, it was the Newark Bears who capped off a miracle run coming from five and a half games back with less than two weeks remaining to clinch their first postseason berth in five years. Having been counted out by just about everyone, the Bears won 10 of their final 12 games to move up the standings past the Ducks, who won only three of their last 10, and the Bluefish, who lost their final six games. The situation is even more disappointing for the Ducks considering they came back to Citibank Park two weeks ago tied for the division lead and began a ten game home-stand which would see them win only four times. This was clearly the turning point which cost Long Island the division title and guaranteed playoff spot. "I didn't think we would get swept by Camden, then we came out flat against York in a couple of games, it is all very discouraging," says manager Dave Lapoint, "This is not the way you should be playing in a pennant stretch. The only answer I have is we might have been tight, each player trying to do too much and we might have tensed up as a team." The Ducks did end the home stand on a positive note winning the final game 9- 8 over the York Revolution. This particular game was very indicative of Long Island's whole season to this point. Ducks starting pitcher Lance Davis allowed just a single run off only two hits while striking out seven batters in his first five innings on the mound, yet the Ducks trailed in the game 1-0. Then in the second half of the game the offense got going, scoring nine runs over the next four innings thanks in most part to a 5-for-5 performance at the plate from shortstop Jose Offerman. However, it was now the pitching which started to falter as Davis and reliever Joe Valentine combined to allow seven runs over a span of three innings, putting the game in doubt until reliable closer Danny Graves came in to save the win in the ninth inning. This has proven to be the Ducks biggest problem all season so far; trying to get both sides of the game clicking at the same time on a consistent basis. "It is true, and I sure wish I could put a finger on it why we can't put a whole complete game together by everybody," says Dave Lapoint, "I wish there was an answer because if there was I would definitely correct it." Lapoint did take one positive out of the game and that was the play of Jose Offerman. The Ducks leadoff man had a home run, a double, and three singles, scored two runs and knocked in four more. "Last time he got hot like this it was also in the leadoff spot, so I am just going to leave him there this time because he seems comfortable," Lapoint said about Offerman, "We might toy with the rest of the lineup but he is definitely going to stay at the top." Despite how poor they played at home, the Ducks unbelievably still had faint hopes of winning the division heading into the final weekend. They even got the outof town help they needed as Bridgeport continued to lose every game. Unfortunately, the wave of momentum that Newark was riding proved too much for the Ducks to handle as the Bears won two of the three games and claimed the division title for themselves. "It's all just part of the game; we knew what we had to do and that is win more ballgames, that is how it goes," said Jose Offerman, "But now it is in the past and we have to be ready for our next game." Looking back over the first half, it is hard to pinpoint exactly what went wrong and who is to blame. However, even though many of the hitters have been very streaky, one thing is for sure, the pitching absolutely must get better. The offense, although inconsistent, put up the second most runs in the whole league over the first half. On the other side, Long Island's pitching staff had the second worst ERA in the league and allowed more hits in the first half than any other team. That is simply unacceptable for a staff which is mostly made up by guys with significant major league experience. Closer Danny Graves continues to be a bright spot as the only regular pitcher on the team with an ERA under three. "I really feel like we have played good baseball for most of the first half," says Graves, "We have gone through these stretches over the last few weeks where we have had some bad luck, but baseball is a long season and every team is going to have some bad times, we just have to bounce back." There were some other standout performances that should not go unnoticed. Jose Offerman, as previously mentioned, established himself as a solid leadoff man. Pete Rose, Jr., leading the entire league in batting with an average over .350, and outfielder Ray Navarrete, who is also batting over .300, were probably the most consistent hitters for the Ducks from opening day until the final game of the half. Two late additions have already contributed and provide optimism for the Ducks moving forward, as Bryant Nelson has 11 RBIs in just 16 games with the team, and pitcher Lance Davis has been sharp in four of his five starts. Finally, what more can be said about the recent power streak of Carl Everett. Manager Dave Lapoint puts it perfectly, "Right now every time Carl gets up there you think he is going to hit a home run." The Ducks slugger rebounded from a slow start to hit ten home runs over the past month and is currently leading Long Island with 44 RBIs.
If the Ducks want to be successful in reaching the playoffs this season they are going to need all of these players to keep it up but others are going to have to step up and help out as well. "All of us want to put up good numbers because we would like to get picked up by a major league team, but I am speaking for everybody when I say we are here to win games," says Ray Navarrete. "This team does not like losing, trust me,. We all want to make the playoffs and we all want to win the championship." On this Friday, the standings will be reset, and everything starts all over again as the Ducks will get a second chance to reach their goal.
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