RSS Feed
 |
|
|||||
|
Fowl Ball! Weekly
report on the DUCKS In what is quickly becoming an annual tradition, Bill Pulsipher has made a late-season return to the Long Island Ducks. This is the fourth year in a row that Pulsipher will play with the Ducks, and the third consecutive time he has joined the team mid-season or later. With Donovan Osborne being placed on injured reserve, the Ducks, at least for the moment, have only one member (John Halama) of their opening day starting rotation still on the roster. For that reason, the team is counting counting on Pulsipher to provide some stability to their pitching staff with less than two weeks to go in the regular season. Before coming back to the Ducks, the 33-year-old Pulsipher had spent some time in the Mexican League earlier this summer pitching for Yucatan. "Bill has been a major contributor to our success on the field the past three years," said Ducks general manager Michael Pfaff. "We're excited to have him back in a Ducks uniform for this final push to the playoffs." The Ducks won only three-out-ofseven games during another lessthan superb week of baseball. However, on the positive side, Pulsipher was effective as the starting pitcher in two of the three Long Island wins. In his first start back with the team, the big left-hander picked up the win, throwing five innings and striking out four batters while allowing only a single run. Even though he did not factor in the decision in his second start of the week, Pulsipher was solid during his seven innings on the mound. He allowed eight hits and four runs, but kept his team in the game until the Duck offense exploded in the ninth inning for another come-from-behind victory. Considering how the team has been playing for the last few weeks, somehow the Ducks still maintained a five-game lead in the North Division at the start of this week. With only 13 games to go, Long Island controls their own destiny and will clinch the playoffs, regardless of what any other team does, if they can win eight of their remaining games. With a proven veteran like Pulsipher on board, the team not only feels good about their chances to make the playoffs but also is now expecting to make some noise once they get there. OUTFIELDER MEL STOCKER JOINS MILWAUKEE BREWERS During the past weekend, the Long Island Ducks added another name to their list of former players who have made it to the major leagues. Mel Stocker, a member of last year's Ducks squad, had his contract purchased by the Milwaukee Brewers and made his big league debut on Saturday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates. With the Brewers up by 10 runs, Stocker entered the game at the start of the eighth inning as a defensive replacement in right-field. In the bottom half of the inning, Stocker stepped up to the plate for his first major league at bat and was able to reach base after grounding into a fielder's choice. Although the Brewers have said that the speedy Stocker will be used primarily as a pinch-runner and bench player, it is quite an achievement for the 27-year-old native of Tucson, Arizona to go from independent ball last season to Double-A for most of this season to playing for a big league club in the middle of a pennant chase. "Good for him. We're thrilled to hear Mel made it to the big leagues," said Ducks principal owner Frank Boulton. "No one has worked harder or deserves it more." Last season, Stocker was a mainstay in the Ducks' outfield and served as the team's lead-off man for just about the entire season. In his one season on Long Island, Stocker batted .303, led the league with eight triples, stole a Ducks-team record 56 bases and played in the Atlantic League All-Star Game. Stocker's speed in particular has been very difficult for the Ducks to replace, as this year's entire team combined has just two more stolen bases than Stocker alone recorded during the 2006 season. Prior to joining the Brewers, Stocker was hitting .255, with 56 runs scored and 35 stolen bases in 112 games for Double A-Huntsville this season. Stocker becomes the fifth player to appear in a game at the major league level after wearing a Long Island Ducks uniform. The other four are Carlos Baerga, Bill Pulsipher, Pedro Borbon, Jr. and Ken Ray. EXTRA INNINGS: In a somewhat curious roster move, the Ducks traded infielder Dionys Cesar to Lancaster in order to complete the previously announced signing of outfielder Reggie Taylor. This transaction was necessary because Taylor was technically still property of the Barnstormers after playing for the team last season. As a result, the Ducks were forced to give up a good player in Cesar to officially get the rights to Taylor. However, the move might not be nearly as bad as it first looked based on Taylor's performance during his first week as a Duck. The former-major leaguer is batting over .400, has provided some much needed speed and aggression on the base paths and hit two home runs, including the game winner, to help Long Island avoid a series sweep at the hands of Newark on Labor Day. | |||||
