RSS Feed
 |
|
|||||
|
Harris is Ducks' newest hometown hero; roster turnover continues as losses pile up
Harris, a second round draft pick of the New York Yankees in 2003, was signed by the Long Island Ducks a few days before spring training but was immediately assigned to the Road Warriors. With the offensive depth in the Ducks lineup, Harris would not get the same chance to be an everyday player on Long Island as he did with the Road Warriors. In June, Harris was recalled and made his debut in a Ducks uniform, but only two weeks later he would find himself on his way back to the Road Warriors. Now that he is with the Ducks again, Harris believes that his short visit earlier in the season has actually helped him feel more comfortable this time around since he already knows most of his teammates. "I love playing here so I was excited when I got the call to come back and play at home," Harris says, "So many of these guys have played in the big leagues, so to be around them day after day makes me a better player. Being a young guy, I just try to pick their brains about certain things, watch them and then do what they do." Playing for the Road Warriors is not an ideal situation for anybody. The team has no home ballpark or fans, they are always traveling from one Atlantic League city to the next, and their players never have a consistent place to live during the season. This is not exactly the lifestyle a professional athlete expects, and for Estee Harris the difference between playing with the Road Warriors and the Ducks is even more drastic. "Being on a traveling team is obviously tough, but even if I was playing with another team that did have a home it would still be a huge difference because here I am playing in my actual hometown," Harris says, "It is really an awesome experience, I get to live at home and play baseball, you can't ask for a better situation than that." Harris admits that it was a weird feeling when he would come to play against the Ducks at Citibank Park as a member of the Road Warriors. "It was kind of funny the whole situation, I knew I was technically property of the Ducks yet I was coming here to play against them as part of the opposing team," says Harris, "I am friends with all of these guys so I am just glad to be back on the same side as them." Harris' happiness about being back on Long Island has showed in his recent performance on the field. Last Friday, the graduate of Central Islip High School hit his first home run as a member of the Ducks to the delight of the home crowd, which usually gives him ovations that rival those of other fan favorites like Edgardo Alfonzo and Carl Everett. "It felt pretty good to get that first one here on Long Island," Harris said after the game, "What an experience, having my family and friends out there in the crowd, that at-bat is definitely something I will always remember." Harris then proceeded to follow that up the next night by hitting two more out of the ballpark, including a threerun shot in the seventh inning which turned a one run deficit into a Long Island victory. Ducks manager Dave Lapoint has taken notice of what his youngest player has accomplished since coming back to the team. "He has played great for us and recently he has had some of our biggest hits," says Lapoint, "I don't know for sure what is going to happen, but based on the way he is hitting right now I feel like I want to keep him here the rest of the year this time." DUCKS STRUGGLING MINUS OFFERMAN, LEEK At this point, even the Ducks players and coaches themselves might need to purchase a program just find out who is and is not currently on the team. The revolving door of players coming and going continues to spin, and the team that remains is having a hard time getting back to the high level of play they had shown for most of the second half. In just the last two weeks alone, the Ducks lost Jose Offerman to suspension, top pitcher Randy Leek was signed by the Toronto Blue Jays and assigned to their Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse, starting pitcher Donovan Osborne missed his turn in the rotation because of an arm injury, former Baltimore Oriole, Jose Leon, was signed by Long Island only to leave for Taiwan four days later, and former major leaguer Reggie Taylor as well as starting pitcher Jose Espinal were both signed by the Ducks this past weekend. "As long as I have been here with this team, we are never good during periods of transition where we lose players or get new guys in," says manager Dave Lapoint, "This is just an unsettled clubhouse right now and it seems like everybody has kind of lost focus on what we are trying to do." At least in the short term, the biggest loss would probably be the decision by Randy Leek to leave for the Blue Jays' Triple-A team. However, Dave Lapoint is confident that Leek will probably be back when the minor league season ends in a few weeks. "I personally don't think it was a good move myself, career wise, because after two more starts he would have enough innings to be leading this league in ERA by almost two runs," says Lapoint, "But it is Triple-A so I understand why he wanted to go, you never know what might happen. All I can do is wish him well and hope we get him back." After losing only eight times in their first 29 games of the second half, the Ducks have now lost eight of their last 14 games and their lead in the division is down to five games. "I think the struggles really started when we lost Offerman, trying to replace what he brings is almost impossible," says Dave Lapoint, "I don't think it is going to be the way it was until everybody is here and we go a couple of days where nobody is moving around. Hopefully, we have a big enough lead where this slump is not going to hurt us too much in the long run."
|
for larger version       |
||||
)
