CUBS "BEAR-LY" CLAW PAST CANNONS
W. H. Battles But Can't Break Out Against Second-Place Manchester

West Hartford, CT (AP)--Another CNMSBL Sunday came to a close and the Cannons suffered the same cruel fate that has befallen them each weekend since late May. Compete at the highest level the league has to offer. Challenge any and all takers throughout Connecticut, from Marlborough to Manchester. Command the all-out attention of the A Division's old guard. Come up empty in the end, this time dropping a pair to the Baby Bears, 9-6 and 4-2 at cozy Cannon Yards. True, wins and losses aren't everything, especially since it has been common practice for opposing skippers to praise West Hartford's play, wondering how a team this talented has only tallied one win. As all baseball fans know, a regular-season championship means little: it's the post-season that matters most (just ask the New Haven Cardinals). But the Cannons are still searching for that season-defining moment--that clutch rip, run-saving grab or rally-ending strike out against an opponent--that puts the team over the top and turns the 2006 tide in their favor. "It's tough to talk about the same things week after week," Manager Matt Celio told members of the media during his post-game press conference. "When you are short-handed [the Cannons were without pitchers Mike Patenaude and Mike Calabrese, shortstop Tom Luby, outfielder Brian Pinney and injured catcher Mark Lynch; free agent acquisition John Giudice missed a connecting flight from Raleigh, NC rendering him ineligible for the remainder of the season and the playoffs] and you still play a 10-4 team tight over the course of two ball games you've certainly got some special ingredients. I'll say it again: we're a very solid ball club and it's just a matter of time before we find the right mix. It's time to get cooking."

The Cannons returned home after more than a month and trotted Troy Barber to the mound in the opener. It was Barber's first start for West Hartford since June, 2004 against Griswold (the thirty-four year old has been used in spot relief this season behind Patenaude, Poland and Calabrese) and the right-hander showed signs of rust, immediately running into trouble after allowing singles to Eddie Harris and Red Moulin and then surrendering a three-run homer to Richard "Don't Mean Nothing" Marks on an 0-2 knuckleball that stayed up in the strike zone. Leif Ericson followed with a single and later scored on a passed ball and before the Cannons could blink they were down 4-0 heading into the home half of the first, a tall order for a team that has struggled with the sticks this season. West Hartford loaded the bases in the first frame against Ericson on singles by Ed Poland and Leo Dionicio and a Chris Barsa hit-by-pitch but the big blast wasn't there and the Cannons offense remained quiet until late in the game. The Cubs on the other hand added single runs in the second and third and two more in the fifth to take a commanding 8-0 lead against Barber (0-1). "It's frustrating," pronounced a bewildered Barber (5 IP, 8 R, 8 ER, 13 H, 1 K, 5 BB) after the game. "We've got a great staff here and I want to do my part. You just keep working hard and wait for a chance to take the hill. You're presented with an opportunity, you mentally and physically prepare for your performance all week and things go poorly from the get-go. I felt good out there and I felt like I was hitting my spots but as [Assistant Manager Mike] Weber said, 'So were they.' Plain and simple, I didn't get the job done today." It would have been easy for the Cannons to quit but the offense showed signs of life late behind the big bat of Jason Maule. Andy Borst used his wheels to work an infield base hit and Maule put West Hartford on the scoreboard with a two-run rocket into the left field grandstands. Poland worked a walk, stole second and scored on a Dionicio single as the Cannons cut the lead to 8-3 with two to play. In the sixth, Mike McGann singled and Borst beat out another base hit setting the stage for more firepower from Maule. The twenty-eight year old center fielder smashed his second homer in as many innings, a towering three-run shot to left, and West Hartford was only down a deuce after spotting Manchester an early snowman. Weber reached on an error by Cubs' Manager Mike Kakalow at short and Poland was hit by a pitch but Dionicio's deep drive to left-center dropped harmlessly for an out at the warning track to end the threat. The Cubs added an insurance run off of reliever Steve Markie (2 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 1 HBP) in the seventh and the Cannons went down in order to end Game One, a 9-6 loss for the hometown team.

With Poland pitching Game Two, the Cannons were confident that they could challenge the Cubs, securing a split. The thirty-one year old righty, pitching for his third straight Sunday, started strong and was able to hold Manchester scoreless over the first two innings while scattering three singles. In the home half of the first, West Hartford worked a runner into scoring position in the form of Kevin McGann but a 1-6-3 double play got pitcher Eddie Murphy out of the potential jam. In the top of the third, the left-handed hitting Murphy stuck out his bat against Poland a deposited a 308 foot just-fair fly ball over the right field fence for a 1-0 Cubs lead. Manchester struck for three additional runs in the fourth on a lead-off homer from Adolf Verboven, a wild pitch that scored Ericson who had reached on an error and a Jay Riehl RBI single. Poland (0-3) continued a troubling trend of being beaten by one bad inning--he allowed all three of his runs in the fourth frame against Newington last Sunday and took a tie into the seventh against Hartford at Cannon Yards on Father's Day but gave up five runs in the sweltering heat and humidity before being removed--even as the Cannons defense dug down to help him end the Cubs rally. Dionicio, playing shortstop in place of the vacationing Luby--in classic fashion Leo constantly questioned "Luby who?"--dove to his right to smother a sharply hit Brooks Dunne grounder and fired home from his knees for the second out of the inning to keep West Hartford close, down by only four. NESN's Tina Cervasio talked to the "Dominican Dreamboat" during the home half of the fourth, asking him specifically about his defensive play: "I'll suck up any balls that come my way. And there's nobody better on his knees than me," Dionicio replied. Perhaps something was lost in translation. West Hartford's offense provided another late spark when K. McGann led off the sixth with a single and Poland followed with a base hit. Dionicio hit a dribbler but legged out an infield hit (his third single of the day and third multi-hit Sunday in a row, showing why he was a Triple Crown candidate during the 2005 campaign) to load the bases. Celio had a one-out sacrifice fly to right that scored Poland but the Cannons could not muster any more runs and found themselves down 4-2 going into the seventh. Poland (7 IP, 4 R, 3 ER, 7 H, 5 K, 2 BB, 1 HBP) kept West Hartford within striking distance, allowing only a two-out single to Kakalow and gave Dionicio another chance to be the hero. In the home half of the seventh, K. McGann reached on a fielder's choice and Poland followed with a ground ball to third that was flubbed by Dunne. The "Gringo from Santo Domingo," perhaps remembering his missed opportunity in Game One, swung for the fences on a ball low and out of the strike zone and then grounded to short to put the finishing touches on the Cubs season sweep with a 4-2 victory.

The losing streak has reached ten but it hasn't yet taken its toll on the Cannons' confidence. Expectations are still high as the team prepares to play the first-place Monaco Ford Marlins (13-3) on Sunday at Glastonbury. Ancient Roman generals were expected to have three defining qualities: they were to be young, brave and fortunate. Surely the team from West Hartford is youthful--both in age and A Division experience--and at times they have shown signs of the bravura or the "Cannon-style" that made them the pre-season favorite to win the 2006 CNMSBL Championship. At the moment, fortune has yet to fully smile down upon this team but the season is far from over. An old Italian proverb states that fortune and misfortune are two buckets in the same well, while Latin poet Claudian wrote, "Fortune sides with the bold." The start to the season has been a series of unfortunate events, Lemony Snicket lovers. But there is much more baseball to be played. Be bold, pull up that lucky bucket and the Cannons still might shock the world. This weekend's games at Glastonbury--West Hartford's first trip to town as members of the A Division--are sold out (the Cannons advanced out of the Glastonbury Regional in the 2005 B Division playoffs on their way to the title).

Cannons News and Notes: Maule has fourteen hits on the season, seven of them for extra bases (four doubles, three home runs) and is the team leader in ten of thirteen offensive categories; Dionicio and Poland are tied for second on the team with nine hits each; with two hits on Sunday, Borst raised his average from .154 to .211...he now has 76 hits for his regular-season career; with sixteen more hits on Sunday, the team batting average rose nine points from .225 to .234; West Hartford scores an average of 2.58 runs per game (3.67 at home to 1.5 on the road); the Cannons surrender an average of 4.83 runs per contest (5.33 at home to 4.33 on the road); nine of fifteen Cannons are eligible for post-season play (Barsa, Borst, Dionicio, Luby, Maule, K. McGann, M. McGann, Poland and Weber)...Barber, Calabrese, Celio and Patenaude can join them this weekend; Italian-Fest 2006 is scheduled for Friday, August 4 starting at 6:00 p.m.; original Cannon John Mancini married long-time girlfriend Kelley Whitaker this past Saturday in West Hartford.