WE’RE GOING STREAKING!
Mancer Mojo, Pitching Propel Cannons Over Caps, Out of CNMSBL Cellar
Newington, CT (AP)—Streak \′strêk\ n: a brief run; also an unbroken series. On Sunday at Newington’s Sacco Stadium at Alumni Field the Connecticut Cannons ended a seven-game slide and started a winning streak with their first victories since May 6. In doing so the Cannons earned a regular season series sweep against the cross-town rival Capitals in what catcher Mark Lynch, who deemed himself refocused and rededicated during the week, dubbed “The Battle to Be Best of the Worst” moving the Big Guns into seventh place in the A Division, mere percentage points behind the struggling Glastonbury Marlins (3-7; Connecticut holds the all-important tie-breaker with Newington should the teams end the season in a deadlock and earlier split a pair with Glastonbury). In the movie Major League, Indians Manager Lou Brown stated: “We won yesterday. If we win today, that's two-in-a-row and that's called a winning streak; it has happened before.” Like The Tribe and Old School’s Frank “The Tank” Ricard, these Cannons are streaking and the team enters the Independence Day break as the hottest club in the CNMSBL with a half dozen games to go. The remaining six-pack will play an important part in determining playoff positioning as the Cannons look to improve upon last season’s third-place finish. “It feels good to go out there and get a sweep especially against ‘good guy’ Dave Sacco,” Manager Matt Celio said as he spoke with reporters in his post-game press conference, vaguely veiling his venom for Newington’s skipper and his off-season antics, affronts and all-out attempts to keep the Cannons from making the move to town. “These wins were undoubtedly a few weeks in the making. We’ve improved our offensive output—the team’s batting average and on-base percentage have climbed approximately eighty points since the early portion of the season leading to an increase of more than two runs scored per game—and we’re starting to get the top-to-bottom production from our line-up that we expected. Today we put all of the pieces together and showed that we’re a tough team to beat when we play Cannons Baseball. These few weeks off should allow us to get some of our bumps and bruises taken care of and we will come back rested and ready for the stretch run. It’s going to be a lot of fun.” Here the Cannons come, boogie-dy, boogie-dy. Oh yes, they call this the streak!
Connecticut was confident coming into Sunday’s contests with Celio guaranteeing double header domination to members of Cannon Nation—a partisan Cannons crowd was on hand for the first-ever meeting between Newington’s two teams—and Leo Dionicio pledging an end to the losing streak behind pitcher Mike Patenaude. Jason Maule dug in against Newington starter Mike Karp in the top of the first and immediately drilled a double to deep centerfield. Dionicio, batting second, expressed his affinity for this spot in the line-up before the game: “I love the number two hole and I plan to go deep in it. I feel right at home behind Maule and I fully expect to make some noise from the two-hole today. There's a lot of little boy in me right now.” Wow! He didn’t disappoint with a run-scoring double that gave the Cannons an early 1-0 lead. In the dugout, Celio promised that Patenaude would make the spread stick and this prediction proved prophetic. Luby followed with a single that scored “The Gringo from Santo Domingo” and Chris “T-Rex” Barsa drove Luby in with a base hit of his own to stake Patenaude to a 3-0 advantage against a team Maule called “as flat as a pancake,” matching Connecticut’s largest first inning production of 2007 to this point. Patenaude, following a two hundred eleven-pitch performance last weekend that resulted in disappointing double dip losses, appeared to be at his most effective on Sunday striking out lead-off hitter Robert Hayes—the lefthander fanned at least one Capital in each inning he worked—while allowing just two base runners to reach safely over the first three frames. In the fourth and sixth innings Chris “Suck My” Corkum reached third base, on a lead-off error—the Cannons only miscue of the contest—and a one-out double respectively, but Patenaude (7 IP, 0 R, 5 H, 8 K, 0 BB) was able to work out of trouble each time. Although Karp baffled the Cannons batters for much of the afternoon—after the four-hit first he went almost exclusively to a wide array of off-speed pitches, scattering five hits over the final six frames—he was bested by Patenaude (1-3) who earned his first victory of the 2007 campaign and Connecticut’s first shutout in its two-year A Division existence. “MP was remarkable out there today,” Celio stated. “There was a lot of pop on his fastball and I know the team was excited to see him go with the heater on several two-strike counts (his eight strike outs nearly matched the total of nine he had produced over his previous twenty-four innings of pitching). He’s a smart pitcher and it was obvious he knew he could overpower the opposing hitters. The effort he has given us over the past two weekends is exactly what one would expect from the staff ace trying to stop a skid. Gritty and gutsy, it was one of his best performances in a Cannons uniform, period.”
In the nightcap, Luby matched up against Newington right hander Mel “Men In Tights” Brooks to see which ball club would be in the basement of the CNMSBL when play resumes in July. After finishing his pre-game Budweiser—a ritual the Anheuser-Busch brewing behemoth hopes to market to the Cannons many fans, especially the “Cannons Kids”—Luby implored the team to play solid defense and score him some runs and it seemed as if the Cannons took these comments to heart. Maule doubled off the 380’ sign in right to start the game, missing a home run by just a few feet, and moved to third on a Dionicio single to left prompting this post-game response from “Dominican Dreamboat” Leo: “When Maule and I stroke balls it feels great. It really gets the team excited, gets everybody up and takes us to that explosion point.” Holy cow! Luby helped his own cause by scoring Maule with a single and an error on a Mark Lynch ground ball by third baseman Liz Hurley scored Dionicio. Barsa had his second RBI of the day as he drove in Luby and Mike Weber got his first RBI of the season on a fielder’s choice that plated Lynch. Mike McGann and Celio were hit by pitches to reload the bases and John “Blue Fire” Mancini came up with a clutch, crazy and careening two-out double—his first A Division hit—down the right field line to score Weber and McGann. Maule stepped to the plate and drilled his second double of the inning, his seventh of the season and fifth in nine at bats, driving in Celio and Mancini to give Luby a healthy 8-0 advantage while at the same time establishing a new total for first inning production in ’07. Luby was touched for a run in the first on a single by catcher Noose Roppo that scored Hayes who had reached on a lead-off hit. Two runs crossed in both the fourth and fifth innings against the Cannons right hander to cut the lead to three and in the home half of the sixth James L. Brooks hit a towering three-run homer to left field, after Luby (7 IP, 8 R, 8 ER, 16 H, 1 K, 2 BB) shook off Lynch, that evened the score at eight (“Shades of Schilling,” Luby postulated post-game, referring to the Red Sox righty’s recent near no-hitter in which he shook of catcher Jason Varitek with two outs in the ninth and subsequently allowed a single). The Cannons offense, quiet since the first when fastballs once again became passé except for a McDowell walk and a Weber infield hit, came up big when it was most needed. Maule ripped a one-out seventh inning single and stole second. After McDowell was hit in the leg by a ball-on-bone pitch Luby lined a bookend single to left that scored the fleet-footed centerfielder to give the Cannons a 9-8 lead. Luby walked Sacco to start the home half for the Capitals and Brooks entered as a pinch runner. On a three and one count Luby floated a fastball to Paul Mooney who hit the ball sharply to short. Dionicio—who once again asked “Luby who?” after the game calling himself “the best shortstop on the Cannons”—flipped to a waiting “Remember the Alomar” Weber at second and he delivered a perfect toss to Barsa at first for the tailor-made 6-4-3 double play. Following a two-out walk to Jason Marquis, Luby threw some of his best pitches of the day—“a nasty knuckler and a curve that dropped off the table,” according to Lynch—and got Karp swinging to close out the victory. “Leo, Mike and Chris turned the play of the year for us,” said a smiling Luby as he emerged from the visitor’s clubhouse. “The guys played great defense out there all day and we did just enough with our bats to beat the Caps today. We’re starting to see signs of what we expected this team to be in 2007. The guys who are showing up are playing with passion and poise. It’s been fun to be on the field with the fellas. If we get this kind of effort out there each and every time we take the field then the sky’s the limit for this team. We haven’t played our best baseball yet and I think that is a scary proposition for the other teams in the league. I’m really excited for July and August.”
3-9 is a far cry from where the Connecticut Cannons expected to be heading into the slower-paced sultry days of summer. Yet with two wins on Sunday the aspirations and expectations that have persistently pursued this team have finally started to pay dividends. Celio expressed his controlled exuberance thusly: “Though I’m pleased that we are ‘streaking’ the only ‘old school’ we care about is the education we doled out to the rest of the league circa 2005 when we won our first championship. I think it’s time for our second.” Many questions were answered on Sunday as the offense put up some runs, the defense made plays and the pitching put the team in a position to win. Will the Cannons continue their winning ways when they return to action on Sunday, July 15? That remains to be seen. The rematch against first-place Bristol is sold out but the games will be televised nationally as the FOX MLB Baseball games of the week—WTIC Channel 61 in the Hartford/New Haven markets—and can be followed on the internet at ctcannons.blogspot.com. Hopefully for Cannon Nation this team can stay hot and follow Jake Taylor’s advice: win the whole f****** thing! Honey, you think KFC is still open?
Cannons News and Notes: Maule is tied for second in the CNMSBL in hits with Hartford’s Basilio Ortiz (16)…Maule’s college roommate and Nationals shortstop Mike Lombardo is first (19)…all three share the top spot in the statistical standings with seven doubles apiece; Maule’s three doubles on Sunday give him thirteen for his career moving him into sole possession of fifth place on the Cannons all-time list ahead of Andy Borst (Celio, Luby, Ed Poland, Weber)…he also edged out Poland as the team’s leader in lifetime average, .427 to .426; McDowell went hitless for the first Sunday this season…his eight free passes (six walks, two hit by pitches) lead the team; McGann donned his Washington Nationals “Get Your Red On” t-shirt, claiming the Cannons have never lost a game when he wears the undergarment…the streak stands; Patenaude leads the team in seven of thirteen statistical pitching categories (Games Pitched, Games Started, Innings Pitched, Strike Outs, Batting Average Against, Earned Run Average and Wins)…Luby leads the team in six (Hits Against, Runs Against, Earned Runs, Walks Against, Wins and Fewest Losses); Patenaude and Luby joined Brian Pinney as the Cannons pitchers with wins in ’07…no Cannons’ pitcher has a save this season; Luby (four hits, 104 total) moved past Weber (two hits, 103 total) into second place on Connecticut’s career hit list; the Cannons leapt out of last place in the CNMSBL for the first time since May 7, 2006 when they were 1-1; Luby wore an alternate navy blue belt during the double header…he plans to keep karma in his corner in upcoming contests; Dionicio’s son, Bryan, had several health scares this week (he was unexpectedly hit in the head with an errant McDowell throw as he sat in the dugout and a case of hives resulted in a trip to the emergency room); Web’s new nickname is Wes; Mike Calabrese averaged 28.5 points per game in leading his basketball team to the semifinals…McGann quipped with members of the media that this average mirrors Cal’s ’07 ERA; team doctors issued a press release stating that Poland is scheduled to have an MRI before the 4th of July holiday; votes are arriving at Cannons World Headquarters for the “Build a Perfect Cannon” promotion where fans were asked to pick body parts that would make “the ultimate Connecticut Cannon”…Maule’s torso (chest and abdominal muscles), Dionicio’s biceps, McDowell’s forearms, Celio’s calves and Mancer’s man-meat have been run-away favorites (Mancini’s “Orc Feet” have received 0% of votes at press time); Maule has tentatively agreed to terms for a Physical Education teaching position in Meriden.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
OUR LONG “NATIONAL” NIGHTMARE CONTINUES
Nats Take Two from Guns; Patenaude Pitches a Pair but Skid Stretches to Seven
Newington, CT (AP)—“This is an hour of history that troubles our minds and hurts our hearts.” On August 9, 1974 Gerald Ford spoke these words to an anxious nation after being sworn in as President of the United States as the wounds of the Watergate scandal and Richard Nixon’s resulting resignation cut America to its very core. These words ring true today as an equally anxious Cannon Nation awaits the team’s next win and an end to the seven-game slide that has sent the Connecticut Cannons spiraling into the CNMSBL A Division cellar at the mid-way point of the 2007 campaign. “We’re in the same spot we were in a year ago,” said a surprisingly upbeat Manager Matt Celio after two tough losses, including the club’s second one-run setback in as many weekends, “and I was pretty pleased with how things ended up in ‘06. The expectations are a little different now that we have shown our ability to compete at this level—we won’t sneak up on anybody come August—and I know the team and our rabid fan base won’t be satisfied until we take that next step, bringing a title to town. That being said, slow starts are as much a part of summer for the Cannons as Italian-Fests, Porno Pool Parties and phenomenal post-season finishes. It’s always darkest before dawn. We’re not at DEFCON 1 just yet so don’t sell all of that team merchandise on eBay everybody. We’ve got some work ahead of us but we’ve got the makings for some magical moments as well. I guarantee you’ll be glad you stuck with a winner by the time Labor Day rolls around.” God helping, the Cannons will not let you down.
Game One saw the return of Cannons’ pitcher Mike Patenaude to his familiar perch atop the mound for the first time in nearly a month (May 20 mop-up work against Marlborough). The left-hander, looking a bit rusty from the lay-off, allowed a run in the first on an uncharacteristic pair of walks (just his fifth and sixth of the season), a single and a passed ball but the Cannons offense, more crock pot than convection oven to this point of the season, immediately warmed to the challenge tying things in the home half of the first on a Leo Dionicio single and stolen base followed by a two-out RBI base hit from Rookie of the Year candidate Drew McDowell. Sloppy play put Patenaude (7 IP, 10 R, 7 ER, 13 H, 3 K, 4 BB) in a tough position in the third as he induced a lead-off out but was then touched for seven runs, four of the two-out variety, on seven hits following a pair of potential double play balls—a tough hop grounder to second baseman Mike Weber and a catch and throw by centerfielder Jason Maule that got away from screened first baseman Chris Barsa—that would have at best prevented or at worst minimized the damage. Connecticut was able to capitalize on production from the bottom half of the line-up as Celio led off the third with a single followed by a Craig Perrier double that put runners in scoring position with no outs. Maule pushed Celio across with a ground out to the right side and Dionicio doubled Perrier home to make things 8-3 but the Cannons bats would cool considerably with just three more hits over the final four innings (singles by McDowell and Lynch and a double from Celio) and the team would not close the gap further against ace Todd Lynch (1.38 ERA through four games). Patenaude (0-2) allowed additional runs in the fourth and fifth to complete the scoring as the Nationals took the opener by a final score of 10-3. “That was the best seven-run loss I’ve seen in quite some time,” boasted Assistant Manager Weber between games. “Some guys are starting to heat up and it was just one faulty frame that did us in. We’re going to put up some big numbers in the next game. We’re starting to have some fun and we’re playing Cannons Baseball.”
Game Two found Patenaude on the hill again having thrown just one hundred seventeen pitches over the course of the first game. In the past the rubber-armed ace’s performances earned him acclaim as the Tom Glavine of the A Division but he now found comparisons being drawn between himself and Roy “Rubber Man” Munson of Kingpin fame. Unfortunately MP and the rest of the Cannons got “Munsoned” before all was said and done. Patenaude promised to “go as far as [he] could” with Tom Luby providing right-handed relief out of the bullpen. The staff stalwart allowed a pair of runs in the first on two hits and an error by second baseman Dionicio. When asked how the seemingly simple grounder had gotten through him teammates kidded the Dominican Dreamboat that he should have “put his third leg down” to which Dionicio replied, “No way. It’s Father’s Day so I actually get to use [El Dickie] today.” The Cannons, playing things light and loose with a ten-man roster, came back in the home half of the first to take a 3-2 lead on a double by Maule, a walk by Dionicio, a two-run double by McDowell and an RBI knock by Mike McGann but were unable to take full advantage of the opportunity at hand as “The Twins”—Dionicio’s affectionate nickname for the corpulent Cannons managers—both struck out to end the threat (Weber had his own take on the “twin” concept calling the two “Yin and Yang. I watched a perfect strike three come right down the pipe and Cel took a cut at an obvious ball four,” a knuckler from Hartford starter Basilio Ortiz). Patenaude put down the Nats in order in the second and the Cannons offense was off and running again. Perrier led off the inning with a walk, Maule singled and McDowell took ball four to load the bases. Luby followed with a two-run single—the one hundredth hit of his illustrious career—and McDowell later scored on an error to give the Cannons an early 6-2 lead. Patenaude, pitching his tenth frame, surrendered three runs in the third but the bottom third of Connecticut’s line-up provided some more much needed pop as Weber and McGann singled to lead things off and Celio hit a thunderous shot to deep left field that some in attendance say traveled an estimated four hundred feet—with his speed the Manager managed to just leg out a double. Weber scored easily but a perfect relay and a bang-bang play at the plate meant McGann was out and Celio was subsequently stranded at third with the Cannons up 7-5 (as the Nationals took the field, Manager Tony Santiago stopped by the bench and said to Celio that he was sure that blast has come off the bat of monster masher Maule…until, that was, he saw the tortoise-like trot of the base runner). Clinging to a tenuous two-run cushion, Connecticut squandered the lead as a pair of errors opened the floodgates and six runs crossed the plate to provide Hartford with an 11-7 lead against an otherwise tireless Patenaude (7 IP, 11 R, 6 ER, 9 H, 3 K, 3 BB). In the home half of the fifth the Cannons cut the deficit to one as Weber walked, Celio singled and Perrier and Maule roped back-to-back run-scoring doubles (Perrier’s two-bagger gave him the first run batted in of his young Cannons career). A poised and precise Patenaude (0-3) allowed just two base runners to reach in the last three innings—perhaps the strongest consecutive innings he threw on this day—but the Cannons offense faltered over the final two frames resulting in a particularly painful 11-10 loss to the Nationals (7-3).
The losing streak stands at seven and though it pales in comparison to the twelve-game slide during the ’06 campaign one begins to wonder what toll it might take on a team that entered this season with such elevated expectations. To paraphrase President Ford’s remarks as he took the oath of office back in ’74, the Connecticut Cannons have not sought the enormous responsibility at hand, but they will not shirk it. They cannot stand still or slip backwards. They must go forward now together. One thing became obvious to even the most casual observer of the Cannons this weekend: they are not ready to sell this season short by a long shot. Newington’s battle for bragging rights looms largely as the Cannons travel across town to take on the Capitals this Sunday at Sacco Stadium at Alumni Field (Newington High School). A series sweep against the hugely hated Caps could prove to be just the draught the team needs to wake up from the nightmare, making the dreams of all in Cannon Nation come true. Grandstand tickets are available via phone at 800-CANNONS or via the internet at ctcannons.blogspot.com.
Cannons News and Notes: Sunday’s “See Red” campaign—both teams and the umpiring crew wore red jerseys for the opener—raised Father’s Day awareness for Mother’s Against Drunk Driving…Cannons management refrained from serving post-game pilsners in the parking lot to show support of this cause…the Buds will be back on ice for the games at Newington this weekend; Patenaude became the first Connecticut pitcher to throw both ends of a double header since “Father of Cannons Baseball” Andy Borst accomplished the feat during the inaugural 2001 campaign; Luby became the third member of Connecticut’s Century Club joining Celio (113) and Weber (101) as the only Cannons with more than one hundred hits all-time; 9-10-1 hitters Celio, Perrier and Maule had two doubles each on Sunday…this was the first time the vaunted Clark Cougar combination of Celio and Perrier batted back-to-back since the historic 1993 season when they were crowned Division III Champions; with eighteen hits on Sunday the Cannons team average rose from .241 to .258…when factoring in ten walks the club’s on-base percentage jumped from .332 to .352; Dionicio, obsessed with the size of McDowell’s forearms, felt up the first year player openly expressing his love for “things that are big and thick”…when asked about the energy drink he consumed between games the “Latin Lothario” puzzled reporters by responding that it was “Barbaro Sperm,” claiming the donation was the last earthly act of the heroic horse moments before being euthanized; the Cannons swept the season series from the Nationals in 2006; in a shake-up rivaling the introduction of New Coke in 1986, Weber altered the secret formula that has made Cannonade a clubhouse staple since 2004; the games were played at Mill Pond Park instead of New Cannon Yards due to an in-town soccer scheduling conflict; Kevin Quinn is expected to make his Cannons debut against the Capitals; Ed Poland contacted Cannons World Headquarters on Monday afternoon and informed team officials that he is “back to square one” in the rehabilitation process with his injured left knee…Cannons management remains “guardedly pessimistic” that the hard-throwing right-hander will return to action in July for the stretch run; Mike Calabrese initially informed the team that he would be available for Sunday’s double dip but backed out because of a head injury suffered by his son…when asked about his unexpected absence an anonymous member of management expressed, “It’s just the latest example of Cal being Cal.”
Nats Take Two from Guns; Patenaude Pitches a Pair but Skid Stretches to Seven
Newington, CT (AP)—“This is an hour of history that troubles our minds and hurts our hearts.” On August 9, 1974 Gerald Ford spoke these words to an anxious nation after being sworn in as President of the United States as the wounds of the Watergate scandal and Richard Nixon’s resulting resignation cut America to its very core. These words ring true today as an equally anxious Cannon Nation awaits the team’s next win and an end to the seven-game slide that has sent the Connecticut Cannons spiraling into the CNMSBL A Division cellar at the mid-way point of the 2007 campaign. “We’re in the same spot we were in a year ago,” said a surprisingly upbeat Manager Matt Celio after two tough losses, including the club’s second one-run setback in as many weekends, “and I was pretty pleased with how things ended up in ‘06. The expectations are a little different now that we have shown our ability to compete at this level—we won’t sneak up on anybody come August—and I know the team and our rabid fan base won’t be satisfied until we take that next step, bringing a title to town. That being said, slow starts are as much a part of summer for the Cannons as Italian-Fests, Porno Pool Parties and phenomenal post-season finishes. It’s always darkest before dawn. We’re not at DEFCON 1 just yet so don’t sell all of that team merchandise on eBay everybody. We’ve got some work ahead of us but we’ve got the makings for some magical moments as well. I guarantee you’ll be glad you stuck with a winner by the time Labor Day rolls around.” God helping, the Cannons will not let you down.
Game One saw the return of Cannons’ pitcher Mike Patenaude to his familiar perch atop the mound for the first time in nearly a month (May 20 mop-up work against Marlborough). The left-hander, looking a bit rusty from the lay-off, allowed a run in the first on an uncharacteristic pair of walks (just his fifth and sixth of the season), a single and a passed ball but the Cannons offense, more crock pot than convection oven to this point of the season, immediately warmed to the challenge tying things in the home half of the first on a Leo Dionicio single and stolen base followed by a two-out RBI base hit from Rookie of the Year candidate Drew McDowell. Sloppy play put Patenaude (7 IP, 10 R, 7 ER, 13 H, 3 K, 4 BB) in a tough position in the third as he induced a lead-off out but was then touched for seven runs, four of the two-out variety, on seven hits following a pair of potential double play balls—a tough hop grounder to second baseman Mike Weber and a catch and throw by centerfielder Jason Maule that got away from screened first baseman Chris Barsa—that would have at best prevented or at worst minimized the damage. Connecticut was able to capitalize on production from the bottom half of the line-up as Celio led off the third with a single followed by a Craig Perrier double that put runners in scoring position with no outs. Maule pushed Celio across with a ground out to the right side and Dionicio doubled Perrier home to make things 8-3 but the Cannons bats would cool considerably with just three more hits over the final four innings (singles by McDowell and Lynch and a double from Celio) and the team would not close the gap further against ace Todd Lynch (1.38 ERA through four games). Patenaude (0-2) allowed additional runs in the fourth and fifth to complete the scoring as the Nationals took the opener by a final score of 10-3. “That was the best seven-run loss I’ve seen in quite some time,” boasted Assistant Manager Weber between games. “Some guys are starting to heat up and it was just one faulty frame that did us in. We’re going to put up some big numbers in the next game. We’re starting to have some fun and we’re playing Cannons Baseball.”
Game Two found Patenaude on the hill again having thrown just one hundred seventeen pitches over the course of the first game. In the past the rubber-armed ace’s performances earned him acclaim as the Tom Glavine of the A Division but he now found comparisons being drawn between himself and Roy “Rubber Man” Munson of Kingpin fame. Unfortunately MP and the rest of the Cannons got “Munsoned” before all was said and done. Patenaude promised to “go as far as [he] could” with Tom Luby providing right-handed relief out of the bullpen. The staff stalwart allowed a pair of runs in the first on two hits and an error by second baseman Dionicio. When asked how the seemingly simple grounder had gotten through him teammates kidded the Dominican Dreamboat that he should have “put his third leg down” to which Dionicio replied, “No way. It’s Father’s Day so I actually get to use [El Dickie] today.” The Cannons, playing things light and loose with a ten-man roster, came back in the home half of the first to take a 3-2 lead on a double by Maule, a walk by Dionicio, a two-run double by McDowell and an RBI knock by Mike McGann but were unable to take full advantage of the opportunity at hand as “The Twins”—Dionicio’s affectionate nickname for the corpulent Cannons managers—both struck out to end the threat (Weber had his own take on the “twin” concept calling the two “Yin and Yang. I watched a perfect strike three come right down the pipe and Cel took a cut at an obvious ball four,” a knuckler from Hartford starter Basilio Ortiz). Patenaude put down the Nats in order in the second and the Cannons offense was off and running again. Perrier led off the inning with a walk, Maule singled and McDowell took ball four to load the bases. Luby followed with a two-run single—the one hundredth hit of his illustrious career—and McDowell later scored on an error to give the Cannons an early 6-2 lead. Patenaude, pitching his tenth frame, surrendered three runs in the third but the bottom third of Connecticut’s line-up provided some more much needed pop as Weber and McGann singled to lead things off and Celio hit a thunderous shot to deep left field that some in attendance say traveled an estimated four hundred feet—with his speed the Manager managed to just leg out a double. Weber scored easily but a perfect relay and a bang-bang play at the plate meant McGann was out and Celio was subsequently stranded at third with the Cannons up 7-5 (as the Nationals took the field, Manager Tony Santiago stopped by the bench and said to Celio that he was sure that blast has come off the bat of monster masher Maule…until, that was, he saw the tortoise-like trot of the base runner). Clinging to a tenuous two-run cushion, Connecticut squandered the lead as a pair of errors opened the floodgates and six runs crossed the plate to provide Hartford with an 11-7 lead against an otherwise tireless Patenaude (7 IP, 11 R, 6 ER, 9 H, 3 K, 3 BB). In the home half of the fifth the Cannons cut the deficit to one as Weber walked, Celio singled and Perrier and Maule roped back-to-back run-scoring doubles (Perrier’s two-bagger gave him the first run batted in of his young Cannons career). A poised and precise Patenaude (0-3) allowed just two base runners to reach in the last three innings—perhaps the strongest consecutive innings he threw on this day—but the Cannons offense faltered over the final two frames resulting in a particularly painful 11-10 loss to the Nationals (7-3).
The losing streak stands at seven and though it pales in comparison to the twelve-game slide during the ’06 campaign one begins to wonder what toll it might take on a team that entered this season with such elevated expectations. To paraphrase President Ford’s remarks as he took the oath of office back in ’74, the Connecticut Cannons have not sought the enormous responsibility at hand, but they will not shirk it. They cannot stand still or slip backwards. They must go forward now together. One thing became obvious to even the most casual observer of the Cannons this weekend: they are not ready to sell this season short by a long shot. Newington’s battle for bragging rights looms largely as the Cannons travel across town to take on the Capitals this Sunday at Sacco Stadium at Alumni Field (Newington High School). A series sweep against the hugely hated Caps could prove to be just the draught the team needs to wake up from the nightmare, making the dreams of all in Cannon Nation come true. Grandstand tickets are available via phone at 800-CANNONS or via the internet at ctcannons.blogspot.com.
Cannons News and Notes: Sunday’s “See Red” campaign—both teams and the umpiring crew wore red jerseys for the opener—raised Father’s Day awareness for Mother’s Against Drunk Driving…Cannons management refrained from serving post-game pilsners in the parking lot to show support of this cause…the Buds will be back on ice for the games at Newington this weekend; Patenaude became the first Connecticut pitcher to throw both ends of a double header since “Father of Cannons Baseball” Andy Borst accomplished the feat during the inaugural 2001 campaign; Luby became the third member of Connecticut’s Century Club joining Celio (113) and Weber (101) as the only Cannons with more than one hundred hits all-time; 9-10-1 hitters Celio, Perrier and Maule had two doubles each on Sunday…this was the first time the vaunted Clark Cougar combination of Celio and Perrier batted back-to-back since the historic 1993 season when they were crowned Division III Champions; with eighteen hits on Sunday the Cannons team average rose from .241 to .258…when factoring in ten walks the club’s on-base percentage jumped from .332 to .352; Dionicio, obsessed with the size of McDowell’s forearms, felt up the first year player openly expressing his love for “things that are big and thick”…when asked about the energy drink he consumed between games the “Latin Lothario” puzzled reporters by responding that it was “Barbaro Sperm,” claiming the donation was the last earthly act of the heroic horse moments before being euthanized; the Cannons swept the season series from the Nationals in 2006; in a shake-up rivaling the introduction of New Coke in 1986, Weber altered the secret formula that has made Cannonade a clubhouse staple since 2004; the games were played at Mill Pond Park instead of New Cannon Yards due to an in-town soccer scheduling conflict; Kevin Quinn is expected to make his Cannons debut against the Capitals; Ed Poland contacted Cannons World Headquarters on Monday afternoon and informed team officials that he is “back to square one” in the rehabilitation process with his injured left knee…Cannons management remains “guardedly pessimistic” that the hard-throwing right-hander will return to action in July for the stretch run; Mike Calabrese initially informed the team that he would be available for Sunday’s double dip but backed out because of a head injury suffered by his son…when asked about his unexpected absence an anonymous member of management expressed, “It’s just the latest example of Cal being Cal.”
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
MISFIRE
Rifles Outgun Cannons; Connecticut Shows Character In Latest Losses
Newington, CT (AP)—Little Bill Daggett: Well, sir, you are a cowardly son of a b****! You just shot an unarmed man!
William Munny: Well, he should have armed himself if he’s gonna decorate his saloon with my friend.
Daggett: You’d be William Munny out of Missouri, killer of women and children.
Munny: That’s right. I’ve killed women and children. I’ve killed about everything that walked or crawled at one time or another. And I’m here to kill you, Little Bill, for what you did to Ned. You boys better move away.
(The men standing around Daggett scatter.)
Daggett: All right gentlemen, he’s got one barrel left. When he’s fires that, take out your pistols, and shoot him like the mangy scoundrel he is.
(Thunder peals. Munny pulls the trigger of the shotgun but no shot issues from the barrel.)
Daggett: Misfire! Kill the son of a b****!
(Munny tosses his shotgun at Little Bill, draws his pistol and calmly fires at Daggett, injuring and eventually killing him and four other members of the posse in a shootout before speaking ominously to the other survivors.)
Munny: Any man that doesn’t want to get killed better clear on out the back.
(Countless cowboys skedaddle out of the saloon.)
These are excerpts from the explosive final scene in the 1992 film Unforgiven, which explored the blurred line between heroism and villainy, man and myth. Fifteen years later, the Connecticut Cannons have started a second straight season 1-7 and many citizens of Cannon Nation find this unforgivable: a Championship-caliber team buried in the basement of the CNMSBL A Division standings. True, the Cannons have misfired on a multitude of levels over the course of the 2007 campaign. Like Munny in the early parts of the movie, the Cannons have repeatedly insisted that they are changed men following their impressive playoff run in 2006 — but there is an underlying sense of men trying to convince themselves of the fact, men not entirely sure that what they say is true. Right now this team is more layperson than legend. However, that fickle fine line between being just another ball club and being the best has been flirted with at times and Sunday’s double header showed something that was noticeably missing over the previous three games: a competitive spark. And sometimes all a Cannon needs is the faintest of flickers to fire the fuse of a full-blown winning streak. “Moral victories are not the type of wins we want or need right now,” Manager Matt Celio candidly told reporters after the contests. “But I’m proud of the way we fought back out there and I think we laid the first building block in the foundation of a solid season. The bats were better and our pitchers battled, though they were hurt by some bad defense. If we can put all three facets together in the same game we are going to be the dangerous team everyone thought we would be. Commitment is a big key for us right now (for most of the day, Connecticut competed with just nine of seventeen 2007 roster invitees).” The time has come for this team to transform from man to myth and treat the rest of the A Division like the “mangy scoundrels” they are. Sunday against the Eastern Connecticut Cubs is where they hope to start.
Game One saw a surprise start on the mound from Cannons catcher Steve Markie (0-1) who had logged just one-third of an inning of pitching work this season. Command was a concern as the right-hander allowed two runs to cross in the top of the first on two hit batters, two singles and a sacrifice fly. The Cannons, averaging just 1.67 runs per game coming into Sunday, were able to score a single run in the home half as Jason Maule walked and later scored on a passed ball but the Rifles would add two more runs against Markie (3 IP, 4 R, 3 ER, 4 H, 2 K, 5 BB, 2 HBP) before Mike Calabrese relieved him in the fourth. Cal, the scheduled Game One starter, appeared uncomfortable on the mound having missed his warm-up session and was touched for two runs in the fifth on a walk, two singles and a double and another run in the sixth on a walk and a pair of infield errors. The Cannons would cut the deficit to five with a RBI single from Mark Lynch that scored Tom Luby who had reached earlier on a base hit (one of four knocks on the day for the sweet-swinging shortstop) but Calabrese (4 IP, 5 R, 4 ER, 5 H, 3 BB) gave up two more runs in the seventh, just when the Cannons bats started to warm up. Celio led off the final frame with a walk and Cal, entering as a runner, moved to second on a passed ball. Mike McGann followed with a run-scoring double down the right field line and Maule singled him home. Drew McDowell just missed a fat fast ball and hit a deep sacrifice fly to left that scored Maule but the Cannons would come no closer, leaving runners on first and second to lose their fourth straight, 9-5 versus the 2006 B Division regular season champs. “We got some top-to-bottom production from the line-up in the opener and that is encouraging,” Celio stated. “We hit some balls hard but right at people while they found some holes and dropped some hits in. Baseball is a game of inches and, as is the case with most of the players on the team in other more private facets of life, we could have used a few extra inches out there today.”
Game Two found Luby on the lump for his second start in as many seasons and the clubhouse king pulled the team in before the game, promising to work hard while petitioning the position players to follow suit in the field. Lubes (7 IP, 6 R, 4 ER, 8 H, 3 BB) looked strong early, baffling batters with an array of pitches. The Rifles scored an unearned run in the top of the first on a pair of singles and a bungled ball in left but Luby escaped further damage when Lynch threw a laser behind the runner at first catching him unaware for the third out of the inning. A second unearned run scored in the second on another dropped ball, this time in right, and the Rifles padded the lead with three runs in the third on three hits, a walk and a sacrifice fly. Again, the Cannons line-up showed signs of life as Celio led off with a double to center, moved to third on a passed ball and scored on a Maule line drive base hit. McDowell, batting in the clean-up spot, had a RBI single and scored on a Chris Barsa one-bagger but Luby, running for the catcher Lynch with two down, was gunned down at the plate on a perfect throw by Rifles Manager Paul Graves in left. The Cannons completely erased the lead in the sixth as McGann led off with a walk, Maule singled and Luby batted both in with a hit to left. Lynch was robbed as his quickly-sinking liner to left was corralled by a tumbling Graves, but the Cannons had come all the way back and the score was knotted at five going into the final frame. Luby (0-1), having pitched his heart out, asked for the ball in the seventh but allowed a two-out run-scoring single that gave Winsted the lead again. Connecticut hit the ball hard in the seventh, but failed to put the tying run aboard as they dropped a 6-5 decision to the Rifles.
The Connecticut Cannons cannot be fully forgiven for a 1-7 start and a five-game skid. However, there is still quite a bit of baseball to be played and a championship has never been won or lost on the first weekend of June. There is still plenty of time for this team to meet an even exceed the early-season expectations that so many have placed upon them. “We’ve always said the season starts in June,” Assistant Manager Mike Weber responded when asked by reporters about another slow start. “We had some guys step up today and, more importantly, we had fun out there as a team. It won’t be long before we find ourselves in the ‘W’ column.” The moment has arisen for these men to be “Munny.” Once the Cannons begin to fire freely the CNMSBL better be on the lookout. Any team that doesn’t want to get killed better clear on out the back. The “Clash of Connecticut” will be carried as the nationally televised double header on FOX (Channel 61 in the Hartford/New Haven markets). Although the games are sold out, fans can follow along with all of the action by listening to the simulcast on ctcannons.blogspot.com.
Cannons News and Notes: With nineteen hits on Sunday, the Cannons team batting average jumped from .207 to .241; on-base percentage is at a season-high .332; Connecticut averages 4.25 runs per game at New Cannon Yards while averaging just .75 runs per game on the road; Luby and Maule had four hits each—raising their averages to .286 and .400 respectively (Maule’s final hit in Game Two was the twentieth of his regular season career…he also leads the team with three extra base hits in ‘07)—while Barsa, McDowell and Weber added two apiece; Weber’s second hit was the one-hundredth of his career making him just the second Cannon to surpass the century plateau (Celio: 109…Lubes now has ninety-seven); Celio and Luby both doubled keeping them tied atop the team’s all-time list with twenty-three two baggers; Celio cracked a rib on a Game Two swing—x-rays conclusively showed the fissure as predicted post-game by Dr. Thomas Luby, M.D.—and team doctor’s have suggested a minimum ten to fourteen day hiatus to allow the bone to heal…Celio plans to play this Sunday at Eastern (the team also hopes to have Leo Dionicio, John Mancini, Brian Pinney and Ed Poland back in uniform); Maule has scored or knocked in fourteen of the Cannons twenty runs; through eight games the Cannons have sent seven pitchers to the mound (Calabrese, Luby, Markie, McDowell, Patenaude, Pinney and Poland) during 2007 play; the Cannons fielded an all-Hall High infield in Game Two with Hall alum Luby on the mound and four Class of ’89 grads—Celio at first, Weber at second, McDowell at short and McGann at third—behind him; the team’s “Cannon-Ball” campaign got underway with Will Ferrell’s Ron Burgundy announcing over the public address system: “Ladies and gentlemen, can I please have your attention. I've just been handed an urgent and horrifying news story. I need all of you, to stop what you're doing and listen. Cannonball!;” Weber’s post-game festivities were well-attended with eight players making an appearance (Barsa, Calabrese; Celio, Luby, Lynch, Mancini, Perrier and Weber); Italian-Fest 2007 was exactly two months away from Sunday (Friday, August 3, 6:30 p.m.); John Mancini announced the mid-season front-runners for the ’07 Mancer Mojo Award, naming the six players who participated in the twenty-four hour Step up to the Plate charity baseball marathon (Barsa, Celio, Dionicio, McGann, Patenaude, Weber)…things can change in a hurry…Got Mojo?
Rifles Outgun Cannons; Connecticut Shows Character In Latest Losses
Newington, CT (AP)—Little Bill Daggett: Well, sir, you are a cowardly son of a b****! You just shot an unarmed man!
William Munny: Well, he should have armed himself if he’s gonna decorate his saloon with my friend.
Daggett: You’d be William Munny out of Missouri, killer of women and children.
Munny: That’s right. I’ve killed women and children. I’ve killed about everything that walked or crawled at one time or another. And I’m here to kill you, Little Bill, for what you did to Ned. You boys better move away.
(The men standing around Daggett scatter.)
Daggett: All right gentlemen, he’s got one barrel left. When he’s fires that, take out your pistols, and shoot him like the mangy scoundrel he is.
(Thunder peals. Munny pulls the trigger of the shotgun but no shot issues from the barrel.)
Daggett: Misfire! Kill the son of a b****!
(Munny tosses his shotgun at Little Bill, draws his pistol and calmly fires at Daggett, injuring and eventually killing him and four other members of the posse in a shootout before speaking ominously to the other survivors.)
Munny: Any man that doesn’t want to get killed better clear on out the back.
(Countless cowboys skedaddle out of the saloon.)
These are excerpts from the explosive final scene in the 1992 film Unforgiven, which explored the blurred line between heroism and villainy, man and myth. Fifteen years later, the Connecticut Cannons have started a second straight season 1-7 and many citizens of Cannon Nation find this unforgivable: a Championship-caliber team buried in the basement of the CNMSBL A Division standings. True, the Cannons have misfired on a multitude of levels over the course of the 2007 campaign. Like Munny in the early parts of the movie, the Cannons have repeatedly insisted that they are changed men following their impressive playoff run in 2006 — but there is an underlying sense of men trying to convince themselves of the fact, men not entirely sure that what they say is true. Right now this team is more layperson than legend. However, that fickle fine line between being just another ball club and being the best has been flirted with at times and Sunday’s double header showed something that was noticeably missing over the previous three games: a competitive spark. And sometimes all a Cannon needs is the faintest of flickers to fire the fuse of a full-blown winning streak. “Moral victories are not the type of wins we want or need right now,” Manager Matt Celio candidly told reporters after the contests. “But I’m proud of the way we fought back out there and I think we laid the first building block in the foundation of a solid season. The bats were better and our pitchers battled, though they were hurt by some bad defense. If we can put all three facets together in the same game we are going to be the dangerous team everyone thought we would be. Commitment is a big key for us right now (for most of the day, Connecticut competed with just nine of seventeen 2007 roster invitees).” The time has come for this team to transform from man to myth and treat the rest of the A Division like the “mangy scoundrels” they are. Sunday against the Eastern Connecticut Cubs is where they hope to start.
Game One saw a surprise start on the mound from Cannons catcher Steve Markie (0-1) who had logged just one-third of an inning of pitching work this season. Command was a concern as the right-hander allowed two runs to cross in the top of the first on two hit batters, two singles and a sacrifice fly. The Cannons, averaging just 1.67 runs per game coming into Sunday, were able to score a single run in the home half as Jason Maule walked and later scored on a passed ball but the Rifles would add two more runs against Markie (3 IP, 4 R, 3 ER, 4 H, 2 K, 5 BB, 2 HBP) before Mike Calabrese relieved him in the fourth. Cal, the scheduled Game One starter, appeared uncomfortable on the mound having missed his warm-up session and was touched for two runs in the fifth on a walk, two singles and a double and another run in the sixth on a walk and a pair of infield errors. The Cannons would cut the deficit to five with a RBI single from Mark Lynch that scored Tom Luby who had reached earlier on a base hit (one of four knocks on the day for the sweet-swinging shortstop) but Calabrese (4 IP, 5 R, 4 ER, 5 H, 3 BB) gave up two more runs in the seventh, just when the Cannons bats started to warm up. Celio led off the final frame with a walk and Cal, entering as a runner, moved to second on a passed ball. Mike McGann followed with a run-scoring double down the right field line and Maule singled him home. Drew McDowell just missed a fat fast ball and hit a deep sacrifice fly to left that scored Maule but the Cannons would come no closer, leaving runners on first and second to lose their fourth straight, 9-5 versus the 2006 B Division regular season champs. “We got some top-to-bottom production from the line-up in the opener and that is encouraging,” Celio stated. “We hit some balls hard but right at people while they found some holes and dropped some hits in. Baseball is a game of inches and, as is the case with most of the players on the team in other more private facets of life, we could have used a few extra inches out there today.”
Game Two found Luby on the lump for his second start in as many seasons and the clubhouse king pulled the team in before the game, promising to work hard while petitioning the position players to follow suit in the field. Lubes (7 IP, 6 R, 4 ER, 8 H, 3 BB) looked strong early, baffling batters with an array of pitches. The Rifles scored an unearned run in the top of the first on a pair of singles and a bungled ball in left but Luby escaped further damage when Lynch threw a laser behind the runner at first catching him unaware for the third out of the inning. A second unearned run scored in the second on another dropped ball, this time in right, and the Rifles padded the lead with three runs in the third on three hits, a walk and a sacrifice fly. Again, the Cannons line-up showed signs of life as Celio led off with a double to center, moved to third on a passed ball and scored on a Maule line drive base hit. McDowell, batting in the clean-up spot, had a RBI single and scored on a Chris Barsa one-bagger but Luby, running for the catcher Lynch with two down, was gunned down at the plate on a perfect throw by Rifles Manager Paul Graves in left. The Cannons completely erased the lead in the sixth as McGann led off with a walk, Maule singled and Luby batted both in with a hit to left. Lynch was robbed as his quickly-sinking liner to left was corralled by a tumbling Graves, but the Cannons had come all the way back and the score was knotted at five going into the final frame. Luby (0-1), having pitched his heart out, asked for the ball in the seventh but allowed a two-out run-scoring single that gave Winsted the lead again. Connecticut hit the ball hard in the seventh, but failed to put the tying run aboard as they dropped a 6-5 decision to the Rifles.
The Connecticut Cannons cannot be fully forgiven for a 1-7 start and a five-game skid. However, there is still quite a bit of baseball to be played and a championship has never been won or lost on the first weekend of June. There is still plenty of time for this team to meet an even exceed the early-season expectations that so many have placed upon them. “We’ve always said the season starts in June,” Assistant Manager Mike Weber responded when asked by reporters about another slow start. “We had some guys step up today and, more importantly, we had fun out there as a team. It won’t be long before we find ourselves in the ‘W’ column.” The moment has arisen for these men to be “Munny.” Once the Cannons begin to fire freely the CNMSBL better be on the lookout. Any team that doesn’t want to get killed better clear on out the back. The “Clash of Connecticut” will be carried as the nationally televised double header on FOX (Channel 61 in the Hartford/New Haven markets). Although the games are sold out, fans can follow along with all of the action by listening to the simulcast on ctcannons.blogspot.com.
Cannons News and Notes: With nineteen hits on Sunday, the Cannons team batting average jumped from .207 to .241; on-base percentage is at a season-high .332; Connecticut averages 4.25 runs per game at New Cannon Yards while averaging just .75 runs per game on the road; Luby and Maule had four hits each—raising their averages to .286 and .400 respectively (Maule’s final hit in Game Two was the twentieth of his regular season career…he also leads the team with three extra base hits in ‘07)—while Barsa, McDowell and Weber added two apiece; Weber’s second hit was the one-hundredth of his career making him just the second Cannon to surpass the century plateau (Celio: 109…Lubes now has ninety-seven); Celio and Luby both doubled keeping them tied atop the team’s all-time list with twenty-three two baggers; Celio cracked a rib on a Game Two swing—x-rays conclusively showed the fissure as predicted post-game by Dr. Thomas Luby, M.D.—and team doctor’s have suggested a minimum ten to fourteen day hiatus to allow the bone to heal…Celio plans to play this Sunday at Eastern (the team also hopes to have Leo Dionicio, John Mancini, Brian Pinney and Ed Poland back in uniform); Maule has scored or knocked in fourteen of the Cannons twenty runs; through eight games the Cannons have sent seven pitchers to the mound (Calabrese, Luby, Markie, McDowell, Patenaude, Pinney and Poland) during 2007 play; the Cannons fielded an all-Hall High infield in Game Two with Hall alum Luby on the mound and four Class of ’89 grads—Celio at first, Weber at second, McDowell at short and McGann at third—behind him; the team’s “Cannon-Ball” campaign got underway with Will Ferrell’s Ron Burgundy announcing over the public address system: “Ladies and gentlemen, can I please have your attention. I've just been handed an urgent and horrifying news story. I need all of you, to stop what you're doing and listen. Cannonball!;” Weber’s post-game festivities were well-attended with eight players making an appearance (Barsa, Calabrese; Celio, Luby, Lynch, Mancini, Perrier and Weber); Italian-Fest 2007 was exactly two months away from Sunday (Friday, August 3, 6:30 p.m.); John Mancini announced the mid-season front-runners for the ’07 Mancer Mojo Award, naming the six players who participated in the twenty-four hour Step up to the Plate charity baseball marathon (Barsa, Celio, Dionicio, McGann, Patenaude, Weber)…things can change in a hurry…Got Mojo?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)